Chapter Text
The group sprinted down the corridor, boots slamming against the smooth white floor.
Kazuto kept pace beside Leafa, sword drawn, heart still pounding from the guardians’ ambush.
But the deeper they went, the stranger the environment became.
Every hallway Yui guided them through was the same—featureless, seamless, and white. No textures, no light sources, no UI markers. It felt less like a fantasy world and more like the inside of a sterile research facility… or a spacecraft.
“Yui… where are you taking us?” Kazuto whispered.
“This area isn’t part of ALO’s normal map data,” Yui replied, voice tight. “But I sense her. She’s close.”
They turned a corner and burst into a small cargo room lined with gray crates—another environment that didn’t match ALO at all.
Yui suddenly froze.
Her wings fluttered once.
Then her whole face lit up, bright and trembling.
“Mommy!!”
Her voice cracked as she launched forward, practically flying across the white room. She dove behind a stack of crates so fast Kazuto barely registered it.
Kazuto blinked, startled.
“Yui—? What—”
Then he heard it.
A small gasp.
A soft, familiar inhale.
That voice.
That presence.
No.
No way.
His chest tightened painfully as he ran toward the crates.
“Sachi…?”
His own voice broke mid-word.
He skidded around the corner—and everything in his mind went silent.
There, on the floor, Yui had tackled someone so hard they nearly rolled. A girl in a torn white dress, arms instinctively wrapping around Yui’s tiny frame, holding her like she’d been waiting years for that hug.
Long black hair.
Soft, gentle features.
Eyes filling with tears the moment she looked up.
Their eyes met.
And time stopped.
Sachi’s lips parted in a tiny breath.
Kazuto’s knees nearly buckled.
Then tears blurred his vision, hot and instant.
“Sachi—”
His voice cracked as he fell to his knees and pulled her into the tightest embrace he’d ever given anyone. Sachi let out a trembling sob and threw her arms around him, pressing her face into his neck like she was terrified he’d vanish.
“K-Kazuto…” she whimpered.
He clutched her tighter, shaking, his fingers curling into the fabric of her dress like he never wanted to let go again.
“I-It’s really you…?” his voice broke, barely a whisper. “Sachi… it’s really you?”
“Yes…” she cried softly. “I’m here… I’m right here…”
Yui squeezed between them, trapped in their arms—but Sachi only hugged the little girl tighter with one arm and reached for Kazuto with the other, pulling him in like she needed both of them to breathe.
Kazuto buried his face against her shoulder, inhaling sharply, his whole body trembling.
“I love you,” he choked out. “I love you so much… I couldn’t sleep without you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you—every night, every time I closed my eyes… you were there. And I thought I lost you forever.”
Sachi’s breath hitched. She cupped his cheek with one shaking hand, brushing away his tears with her thumb.
“I… I love you too,” she whispered. “I never stopped. Not for a second. I always knew you would find me”
He pressed his forehead to hers, their noses touching, both of them crying openly now. Yui hugged them both around the middle, trembling with happiness.
Sachi let out a tiny, disbelieving laugh through her tears, gently rubbing Kazuto’s back as if reassuring herself he was real.
Kazuto held her even closer, whispering into her hair, voice breaking:
“You’re safe now. I’m here. I’m not letting us get seperated again.”
Leafa, Mortimer, and the others finally caught up—only to skid to a halt at the sight of Kazuto on the ground, holding a crying girl and kissing her hair, face, anywhere he could reach as if afraid she’d vanish.
Mortimer blinked repeatedly.
“Uh… Leafa? Who the heck is that?”
Leafa stared, stunned. “…If I remember right… that’s Sachi. From the SAO incedent”
Mortimer’s jaw dropped.
“I know,” Leafa whispered.
The group slowly circled around, giving Kazuto and Sachi space.
Sachi looked up at the strangers through trembling eyes. Mortimer knelt, gentle but confused.
“Miss… do you know where the Fairy King Oberon is? Or where he’d be holding Asuna?”
Sachi flinched violently.
Then she grabbed the front of Kazuto’s coat with both hands, voice shaking.
Sachi’s words hit him like ice water.
“H-He… he’s not real,” she whispered, shaking. “None of that was real. There’s no king… nothing up here except what Sugou made.”
Kazuto’s whole body went rigid.
Leafa’s face drained of colour. “Sugou…? Sugou Nobuyuki? Are you absolutely sure it’s him?”
Sachi buried her face against Kazuto’s chest and nodded, shoulders trembling.
“He… he did unforgivable things,” she choked out. “To us. To Asuna. H-He kept her trapped in a cage for over a month. And he kept me there with her for two days…”
Kazuto felt his stomach twist hard enough to make him dizzy.
“Asuna—she’s alive?” His hands closed around Sachi’s shoulders, tighter than he meant.
Sachi looked terrified but nodded again. “Y-Yes… she is. But when we tried to escape, the slugs caught us. I… I couldn’t get her out with me…”
Kazuto’s breath stalled in his throat.
Alive.
Asuna was alive.
His mind flashed back to the hospital room—the sterile white walls, the quiet beeping, the look on her sleeping face. The way Sugou touched her cheek with fingers, promising he’d bring her back.
He felt sick.
Because Sugou brought Sachi and Asuna together in that room side by side. KAzuto thinking both of them were finally out of danger. He’d believed it. He’d let himself believe she was safe but in reality the monster was right infornt of him.
And all that time… Sugou had been doing this.
His hands shook with rage. Hot, blinding, suffocating rage.
“Sugou…” he whispered, barely audible. “I swear… I swear I’ll stop him. Whatever it takes.”
The thought of what Sugou had done—what he was still doing—made something deep inside him snap. For a second, he actually felt like he might tear the entire world down with his bare hands.
Sachi felt it. She grabbed his hand instantly, squeezing hard, grounding him.
“…I’m sorry. I just—”
His voice cracked.
“I should’ve protected both of you. I promised I would.”
She shook her head desperately against him.
“No… no, Kazuto. None of this is your fault. Sugou is the monster. Not you.”
Kazuto held her tighter, jaw clenched, rage still burning under his skin—but now focused, sharpened.
He wasn’t going to lose anyone else.
“You said Asuna, she’s alive?” he asked, gripping Sachi’s shoulders. Sachi looked terrified, but nodded. “Y-Yes… but when we tried to escape, the slugs caught us. I… I couldn’t get her out with me…” Kazuto tightened his hold on Sachi, forcing his voice to stay steady. ) as Kazuot thinks and aks fi she sure as he brought her and Ausna toghe rin the hosptala dn thne eh remebrs hwo eh toucehs asuna on the cheecks as he rleizes hes rlesobkllle and wnat to kill him
“Sachi… what do you mean the slugs? What… what are those?”
Sachi’s entire body tensed. She buried her face deeper into his chest, voice trembling.
“They’re the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen…” she whispered. “The way they… touched us…”
She shuddered violently, fingers gripping his coat like she was afraid he’d disappear.
“Kazuto… I don’t want to remember it…”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, stroking the back of her head. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
Mortimer glanced toward Leafa, still pale.
“So what—you’re telling me all this was for nothing? That the game never mattered at all?”
Leafa swallowed. “If what she’s saying is true… then this is more than just players glitching or NPCs bugging out. Something’s horribly wrong in the real world too.”
Sachi began crying again, and Kazuto gently lifted her chin, brushing away her tears with his thumb.
“Sachi… why did you say you were kept there for two days? Not a full month like Asuna?”
Sachi sniffed, voice barely a whisper.
“Because… there were others. M-Many others. I don’t know how many. Maybe hundreds. Asuna and I found out we were all hooked up in these… pods. He was doing research. On how to control people’s minds through the pain signals…”
Kazuto’s blood chilled.
Sachi clutched his arm, terrified.
“And when one of those slugs grabbed me by the leg—its slimy arm wrapped around me—they dragged me through the room and threw me in Asuna’s cage…”
Kazuto’s hands shook—then tightened.
“I swear,” he growled under his breath, “I’m going to kill him.”
Sachi didn’t let go, not even for a second. Kazuto stood up with her still in his arms, holding her close like she was something fragile he refused to release.
She pressed her forehead against his shoulder. “W-We found a control panel down there… it can log people out. At least, we think it can.”
Kazuto stiffened, realization sparking in his eyes.
“A control panel? Does that mean—those three hundred people you saw… are still alive and conciuse?”
Sachi nodded miserably. “I-I think so. The room was huge… it could’ve held three hundred, maybe more…”
Kazuto exhaled sharply. “This is bad. Sugou is trusted by the entire board. He controls the whole system from the admin level. Asuna’s dad even said—he basically runs the server.”
Leafa’s face twisted with sudden anger and fear.
“And he’s on the board of directors for RECT Progress… the ones running ALO… I—I can’t believe this…”
Yui clung tightly to Sachi’s side, her small arms trembling.
“We have to save Mommy… we have to save her now…”
The group turned toward the exit, ready to move—
—but stopped cold.
Because standing in the doorway was something that made every breath in the room freeze.
Sachi immediately ducked behind Kazuto, clutching the back of his coat.
Her legs were trembling so violently he could feel the shaking through his armor.
This was just like back then.
when she broke down as everyone died around her.
Kazuto stepped forward, shielding her with his whole body.
Two massive slug-creatures oozed into the doorway, their pale, glistening bodies squelching with each movement. Their eyestalks twitched wildly as they spotted the group—then locked onto Sachi.
“WH–WHAT ARE PLAYERS DOING UP HERE?!” one screeched, voice wet and distorted.
The other one reared back.
“GIVE BACK THE GIRL! GIVE HER BACK AND YOU CAN LEAVE WITH A PRIZE!”
Weapons came up instantly.
Mortimer stepped in front of Kazuto, blade already lit with flame.
He didn’t look afraid—just determined.
“Kazuto,” he said, voice low and serious, “run. Save the others. If what you’re saying is true… if what she said is true—”
He nodded at Sachi trembling behind him.
“—you need to save them. I trust you. All of it.”
The slugs’ tentacles whipped out, cracking the floor.
Leafa and Recon rushed forward beside Mortimer, faces pale but steady.
“We’ll help hold them!” Leafa shouted.
She turned back to Kazuto, forcing a small, trembling smile.
“Get Asuna… and tell her we said hello.” as she winked at her brother.
Yui bolted ahead through the next door.
Kazuto grabbed Sachi’s hand—she couldn’t even stand without him—and they ran after her.
The slugs screeched behind them.
“STOP! GET OUT! LEAVE THE GIRL!”
Then the world exploded into combat.
Tentacles lashed out at Mortimer and the others, slamming into the walls and floor with sickening force.
Leafa and Recon slashed and stabbed, but each time a tentacle was severed, two more burst out of the wound, writhing and regenerating.
Nothing was working.
Six minutes of nonstop combat—
again, and again, and again—
the slugs didn’t weaken.
A tentacle snapped around Leafa’s leg, yanking her off her feet.
“AHH—! KAZUTO!!” she screamed, panic flooding her voice.
“LEAFA!” Recon yelled.
Without hesitation, he sprinted straight toward the creature gripping her, chanting something under his breath—something desperate, something final.
Leafa’s eyes widened.
“No—RECON, DON’T—!”
But he didn’t stop.
He charged right into the slug’s body—
—and detonated in a burst of white-hot flame.
The slug shrieked, its entire upper half evaporating in the explosion, melted into pixels and smoke—
dropping Leafa free as she hit the stone floor hard, the impact rattling up her spine.
“Ghh—!” She winced, pushing herself up to her knees. Her vision spun like someone had shaken her head from the inside. The world lagged, colors smearing for half a second before her HUD finally stabilized.
Her ears were ringing.
Her hands were shaking.
Recon… he was gone.
She forced herself upright, swaying a little as the white hallway snapped back into focus. The remains of the first slug were dissolving into drifting blue particles but the second slug was still alive.
And it was tearing into Mortimer.
Mortimer was staggering backward, boots skidding across the smooth white floor. His dual-bladed greatsword spun in his hands, flashing with flame enchantments — but every strike bounced off the slug’s wet, rubbery hide. Worse, every time he managed to carve a chunk off, the creature’s flesh bubbled and regenerated instantly.
He was being pushed back, step by step, toward the wall.
And his HP bar was dropping fast.
Leafa’s stomach twisted.
“Mortimer!!”
He didn’t look back — he couldn’t. He was too busy blocking three whipping tentacles at once, his sword a blazing whirl as he barely held them at bay.
“Not good—NOT GOOD!” he yelled, kicking off the ground to avoid a tentacle that slammed into the tiles where he’d been standing. “Little help?! Like, ANY help?!”
Leafa didn’t hesitate. She planted her sword, took a breath, and forced her shaking hands to steady.
“Regen Field!”
A soft green circle spun out under Mortimer’s feet, bathing him in a healing glow. His HP bar, which had been sinking dangerously low, jolted upward — then slowly climbed back to full.
Mortimer blinked.
“Oh thank the devs,” he muttered, bracing himself again. “Okay! Round two!”
The slug froze, confused.
It lashed Mortimer again.
His HP dropped—
and then instantly filled right back up.
“WHAT—?! WHAT IS THIS?!” it screeched in its wet, bubbling voice.
Leafa kept channeling, teeth clenched, breath coming sharp and quick.
The spell drained mana constantly, forcing her to stand completely still, exposed, defenseless. Her lungs burned with each inhale, but she didn’t stop.
Mortimer grinned grimly.
“Heh. That’s right. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”
He spun his dual-sword once more and lunged in, driving the blade deep into the slug’s side. The creature roared, thrashing wildly — but its swings couldn’t break through the constant healing Leafa was feeding into Mortimer.
Still… they were in trouble.
The slug wasn’t weakening.
Its HP bar wasn’t dropping.
And Mortimer’s stamina was fading. She could see it — the slight delay in his swings, the way his shoulders sagged between blocks.
“Come on… come on…” Leafa whispered, forcing more mana into the spell. “We need an opening… something…!”
Mortimer ducked a sweeping tentacle, rolled forward, and slashed upward — but again, the wound sealed instantly, splitting into two fresh tentacles that whipped toward his face. He barely blocked, sparks flying as his blade clanged against the regenerating limbs.
“HATE THIS THING!” he roared.
Another tentacle smashed into his shoulder — the blow would’ve been lethal if not for Leafa’s healing. Mortimer hissed in pain but kept fighting.
And that’s when he saw it.
Just for a moment — just a flicker — something on the slug’s head caught the light.
A metallic glint.
Small and Circular.
A weak point.
Mortimer narrowed his eyes.
“…No way.”
He feinted left and dodged right, letting a tentacle graze his arm. Pain shot through him, and his HP dipped — but shot right back up thanks to Leafa.
He kept his eyes locked on that small shine.
“Leafa!” he shouted over the chaos. “I think I found something!”
She strained to look while maintaining the spell. “Where?!”
“Top of its head! Looks like a—”
He ducked another tentacle.
Leafa’s eyes widened. That made sense.
These things weren’t mobs.
They were controlled by real; people.
Maybe Sugou had built in a way to control him himself.
“Then hit it!” she yelled.
Mortimer snorted.
“Oh yeah, sure, let me just politely request it to hold still.”
But even while joking, he was already pushing through the hall — blade spinning, sparks flying, each strike sending goo splattering across the sterile white floor.
The slug shrieked, whipping every tentacle it had at him. Mortimer dodged two, blocked one —
But the fourth one caught him.
A spear-like tentacle impaled straight through his upper arm.
“AUGH—!!”
Leafa screamed.
“Mortimer!!”
His HP plunged dangerously — then Leafa shoved more mana into the spell and forced it back up, her own vision flickering around the edges as exhaustion hit.
Mortimer gritted his teeth, blood dripping down his arm, but he didn’t fall.
Didn’t slow.
Instead, he grabbed the tentacle with his free hand, pulled himself forward—
“RRRAAAAGH—!!”
—AND RAMMED HIS BLADE STRAIGHT INTO THE SHINING SPOT.
The slug convulsed violently.
Its entire body glowed a bright, electric blue — then trembled, limbs flailing in wild arcs.
“NONONONO—!!”
Then, with one last shriek,
it exploded into a cloud of blue light, dissolving into pixel dust that rained down across the hallway.
Mortimer dropped to his knees immediately, clutching his ruined arm.
Blood dripped between his fingers. His breath came in ragged gasps.
Leafa canceled her spell and collapsed beside him, grabbing his shoulders.
“M-Mortimer! Stay still, I’ve got healing—just hold on—!”
He laughed weakly.
“Oh, don’t worry… It hurts like hell… but hey—”
He slumped back against the wall, panting.
“—we won and its not like this is a real wound.”
Leafa exhaled shakily, tears burning at the corners of her eyes as she began healing his wound properly.
For a moment, the hallway was silent — just the two of them, breathing hard, surrounded by fading particle dust.
Leafa leaned against the wall, her wings trembling from the last spell she’d fired. Mortimer wiped blood-red pixels off his cheek with the back of his hand, panting hard. The slug’s remains drifted away like fading snow.
Then—
Footsteps.
Slow. Calm. Almost casual.
Both of them snapped their heads toward the sound.
“At last,” Mortimer muttered, shoulders dropping slightly. “Kazuto must’ve finally caught up.”
But Leafa froze.
“Kazuto… wouldn’t walk like that and he also has 2 other people with him,” she whispered.
The steps grew louder. Smooth leather. Heavy, deliberate pacing. Not running. Not rushing. Someone who knew they didn’t have to hurry.
Mortimer’s expression shifted from relief to confusion.
“Wait. You're right, why is he alone? If Sachi and Yui just ran with him, why would he—”
They rounded the corner.
Leafa stopped breathing.
A tall figure walked forward — wings shimmering like cracked emerald glass, long blond hair flowing behind him, a pristine green gem gleaming at his forehead. His cloak hung perfectly, as if not a single fold dared to wrinkle.
An elegant smile cut across his face.
Leafa felt her stomach violently drop.
“That’s…” she whispered, voice dry.
Mortimer blinked. “He looks like—”
“It’s him.” Leafa swallowed. “The Fairy King Oberon… from the promotional posters.”
The Fairy King’s smile slowly faded as he took in the scene — the empty husks of the slugs, the cracked walls, the burned floor tiles.
His eyes sharpened.
And then his expression twisted into disgust.
“You,” he snapped, voice slicing the air. “What are you two doing up here? And why—”
He pointed abruptly at the dissolving remains of his slug-like familiars.
“—did you kill my assistants?! That shouldn’t even be possible.”
Mortimer and Leafa stumbled to their feet. Their wings flared automatically in readiness.
Oberon’s eyebrows lowered, fury tightening around his lips.
“No matter. You’ve already stepped too far into forbidden territory. So now…” He raised a hand and flicked his fingers like brushing away dust. “…you die.”
Mortimer instantly stepped in front of Leafa, arm out like a shield.
“Leafa,” he said quickly, “heal me during the fight. Keep me alive. Don’t stop.”
She nodded stiffly, heart thundering in her chest, hands lighting up with green light.
Oberon tilted his head, amused.
“How unusual,” he said. “Two different races… fighting together. Sharing roles. Protecting each other.”
His smile widened into something colder.
“Perhaps PK needs to be made even more profitable. Can’t have players forgetting how the game is meant to be played.”
Mortimer didn’t wait for more taunting.
He roared and charged.
Oberon simply watched with a lazy, almost bored expression as Mortimer swung his massive double-sided sword.
Then—
Mortimer’s entire body locked.
Mid-swing. Mid-step.
Frozen.
Leafa gasped. “Mortimer?!”
His sword hung inches from Oberon’s face but wouldn’t move. His feet refused to budge. His cursor flickered with a strange purple shimmer — something Leafa had never seen before.
And then Mortimer remembered.
How his brother had lost.
How everything froze in the final moment.
How the humiliation afterward never left him.
Mortimer’s pupils shrank.
This man…
Mortimer felt cold horror run up his spine.
“I’m… a dead man walking,” he whispered.
Oberon smirked, leaning forward slightly.
“Your health bar looks lovely today.”
Mortimer felt it instantly.
A burning sensation slashed across his chest — yet Oberon hadn’t moved his hand. Hadn’t swung a weapon. Hadn’t cast a spell.
His HP started dropping.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Tick… tick… tick…
Leafa shouted, “Heal! Heal!”
She poured everything into him — green light bursting from her palms, healing sigils swirling around Mortimer’s torso.
But Oberon kept draining him, completely unfazed.
Mortimer’s HP reached the halfway point.
Leafa pushed more power, sweat dripping down her face.
Mortimer’s HP reached a quarter.
Leafa’s wings trembled violently as dizziness hit her.
Mortimer’s HP hit a sliver.
And then—
Zero.
His body shattered into glowing particles.
DEAD.
RESPAWNING IN: 5:00
The notification hung cold and merciless in the air.
Leafa staggered backward, nearly falling.
“No… Mortimer—”
Oberon turned toward her slowly, raising his hand with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“You should not have interfered,” he said. “And you certainly shouldn’t shout my real name so casually.”
Leafa felt the air choke around her.
She had screamed it.
She had screamed—
—Sugou.
“How…” Oberon’s voice dropped dangerously low. “How exactly do you know that name?”
She glared, fury tearing through her fear.
“Don’t pretend! You’re Sugou Nobuyuki! You’re the one who hurt Asuna! You’re the one who—”
“I,” he interrupted sharply, “am the Fairy King Oberon. That is all.”
He flicked his wrist.
Invisible force wrapped around her throat.
Leafa gagged instantly, legs kicking as her body lifted into the air. Her wings beat erratically, trying desperately to stabilize her.
Her lungs screamed.
Her fingers clawed at nothing.
Oberon only watched, expression twisted with annoyance, not effort.
“So noisy… all of you,” he muttered. “Always yelling my old name. Always pretending you understand anything.”
Leafa’s vision blurred.
A warning box suddenly appeared, glowing bright red across her sight.
EMERGENCY SYSTEM ALERT
HEART RATE CRITICAL: 200 BPM
AUTO-LOGOUT IN 5 SECONDS
Oberon’s hand extended toward her chest, fingers curling like claws.
4 seconds.
“Don’t you dare—” Leafa rasped, unable to finish as her throat closed.
3 seconds.
Oberon’s fingers brushed the air in front of her heart.
2 seconds.
“You will not ruin my world too—”
1 second.
Her body vanished.
Instant disconnection.
…
Leafa shot upward in her bed with a violent gasp, nearly ripping off her headset. Her hair clung to her face with cold sweat.
Her chest heaved.
Her pulse hammered so hard it felt like it was trying to escape her ribcage.
It took a full three seconds for her brain to process that she was safe.
Then the next realization slammed her even harder:
“Kazuto—”
Her brother was still inside.
Still fighting that monster.
She threw the blankets off, feet stumbling as she tried to stand too quickly. Her vision spun for a moment from the sudden movement, but she didn’t stop.
Her VR headset hit the floor.