Fae is Foul [SAO/ZnT] (Crosspost)
- Thread starter Flere821
- Start date
Chapter 35
Again, thanks to @Fictiondevourer for beta-ing.
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Chapter 35
-][-
An entire level of the World Tree was dedicated to the SAO survivors that volunteered to help. To many it brought back the feeling they had an entire floor of Aincrad to themselves, albeit they could not see the sky if they looked towards the horizon. The level was transformed into a lush green forest, some kind of experiment for sustaining life if the players were forced to withdraw into the World Tree.
To one side, the trees were cleared into an impromptu arena, where players could test their skills. Spells and techniques were developed there, among other things.
"Ha!" Asuna growled, rapier flashing against her opponent. She wore a mainly blue and white dress that resembled her attire when she was the Sub-Commander of the Knight of Blood. Against her was one of the <<Elite>> World Tree Guardians being developed, one that looked more like a hulking suit of armour instead of a large marionette. The sword strikes barely dented the armour, and its large sword came swooping down.
Asuna's wings flared, aiding her turning to the side of the blow and she struck more blows at the armour. She ducked under a backhand from the armour, which was deceptively fast – the armour was hollow inside, reducing its weight even if it wasn't countered by how it could levitate.
Finishing an incantation, Asuna's rapier glowed with blue light and she rushed in. Her wings allowed her to reach the faceplate of the Guardian, and the first blow dealt a noticeable crack into it. The Guardian wised up to the danger immediately after that however, and its own wings glowed as it swiftly opened the distance between them to prevent further hits. Its sword floated to its back like it was magnetically attached there, and limbs of a bow made of energy appeared in its hands. Light arrows rained down on Asuna, which she deflected with just as much speed. Asuna tried to catch back up to the Guardian, but try as she might she didn't quite have the finesse in the air as the Guardian did.
"Okay, time's up!" Klein hollered from the side-lines, as things devolved into a hit-and-miss chase.
"Things would be a lot easier if we still had <<Sword Skills>>," Asuna grumbled as she landed. "Imbuing more power into the weapons doesn't quite feel the same."
"Yeah, we all kinda figured that," Klein nodded. "Titania messaged back saying that's something to look into, once the Treaty is settled. We'd probably get that back once Jotunheim is cleared and she had more energy to for the World Tree and the players to use. She's not going to disagree on having more power to beat Halkeginians, after all."
Asuna's lips thinned slightly at Titania's name being mentioned, but made no further remarks on that.
"At least you weren't fighting a mage-type Guardian," Kirito quipped in his black coat, as he flew in from across the arena. "I hate it when AoE attacks are spammed against you. And that one's ranged options hit harder than an arrow."
The Guardians flew off toward the walls of the World Tree, where they were stored. Other than the Guardian Asuna fought, there was one other that flew with it. It looked fundamentally the same as the other, down to the white leg-cape around it, but the primary weapon of it was a staff capped with a crystal orb.
"Nine of the new Elite variant is going to go with the Faction Leaders as bodyguards, huh," Klein mused. "Now that spawning Guardians en masse costs something, I can see why the old tactic of overwhelming with massive swarms isn't good enough anymore…"
"That isn't going to stop Titania from trying it anyway," Asuna said sourly. Thanks to Yui, knowing what Titania and the Faction Leaders had in mind, Asuna wasn't convinced the Elites would end up seeing much action.
"You know the Leaders have their own reasons for agreeing to the show of force," Kirito appealed. "And Titania doesn't do 'try', if it comes down to attack with extreme prejudice."
"She has to know this would make the Tristainians panic," Asuna argued. "Forget the 'she does not understand emotions' nonsense, this 'show' will force a knee-jerk fighting response when they see a threat."
"Still, it's out of our hands now," Kirito sighed. Asuna and the rest of the SAO players that volunteered to fight were to be kept on standby, ready to be teleported in and fight if events at the Treaty end up requiring them. "We don't get to make decisions for the players or Factions. And attending the Treaty is technically my last job to do with the Tristainians, never mind how I don't have a speaking role for this. All I'm supposed to do is to stand there and look like we're not all against them – and I hope things won't end up in such a way that it requires us to do more."
-][-
Simon shrunk in his seat behind his office desk, but refused to capitulate. Being close to the Treaty, all of the Faction Leaders were working late nights, and none of them particularly wanted more problems at the moment.
"That's classified," the Gnome Leader told his second-in-command that accompanied him to Arrun stubbornly. "It's been dealt with, so worry about something else."
"Stop kidding me!" The deputy, Roc, slammed his hands down on the desk, standing opposite where Simon sat. He was typical of the players who chose the defensive and Earth element race in Alfheim – big, burly, and had a blunt weapon such as his mace hooked on his belt. "What could be so important that not even others in the Faction management can be told? Fine, maybe the 4th ranked and below are a bit iffy, but your goddamn deputies as well?"
"Everyone in my position unanimously agreed that saying more is only going to make things worse," Simon said, a drop of sweat sliding down his head as he looked at the other Gnome who towered over him. "And I agree with them."
"You agree with a lot of things Simon," Roc spat. "That's why you were made Faction Leader. Both Nex and I agreed that having someone that won't leave the city take the position was for the best, when if the Leader died Nissengrof would be sacked as well. Are you really going to go against us?"
"If you don't like it, then get me voted out," Simon said nervously. "Or sign the online petition for the information release. I'm a coward Roc, not an idiot. I know that letting this info out is only going to lead to trouble."
"You don't call people rioting in the streets demanding answers to be 'trouble'?" Roc said sarcastically.
"At least it's mostly the extreme dissenters and trolls that's making a scene," Simon said in a small voice. "It'll be a lot worse if the full truth is known. The players have faith in people they voted in, and while everyone is upset most of them still trust us to make everything right; the Faction Leaders haven't used up all of our goodwill yet. In the same situation you or Nex will make the same choice I did."
"Then why haven't you resigned as Leader yet?" Roc folded his arms. "Let's see if Nex or I will really make the same decision."
"You guys figured out who's going to take the position yet?" Simon countered. "None of you liked working under the other, and it'll be bad if a Faction Leader is voted out soon after they sign the Treaty. Worse than if I get kicked out before I sign it, anyway."
From how Roc scowled, Simon guessed the two of them hadn't really made up their differences yet.
"Also…" Simon took a deep breath. "I'm not going to resign. Voted out, fine, I'll accept that, but I won't resign as long as I'm still voted in."
Roc stilled. "What was that, pipsqueak?"
"We don't need another Rufus or Mortimer on the scene," Simon said, trying to keep his smaller frame from trembling under Roc's glare. "Or even another Sakuya. Right now there's a good number of neutral Leaders that keep the others in check, where neither extremes can do anything unless they moderate their proposals a bit – and it's easier to get me and Pieter and Sasaki to agree with them, than their opposite side for that crucial six votes threshold."
"You little shit," Roc snarled. "You're enjoying being kingmaker? Without us you'd have never gotten this far."
"In a game of competition and beating others up, there's no way I'll ever be able to match any of you," Simon swallowed. "But if it comes down to upholding a status quo… that I can do. I've been doing it for a while now anyway. And we have other things to worry about right now than fighting amongst ourselves for power."
"Only because you current Leaders have nearly all of the authority right now!" Roc snapped. "What, are you going to fire me if I don't play ball? Exile me?"
"You and Nex are too crucial for running our Faction for me to kick you out," Simon shook his head. "I'm just hoping you two will understand how tense things are right now, and don't rock the boat. Kick me out if you have to, or go through the proper channels and sign the petition for the info to be released to everyone if you want to know. The Faction Leaders and Titania aren't going to blackout the info with everything they've got, you know."
"Spare me the drivel, especially the kind fed to you by Sakuya," Roc said contemptuously. "We both know that the petition isn't going to work – hell you just said the players trust you. There'll be enough people abstaining to put their names down for things to be kept in the dark a lot longer."
Roc spat to one side. "And as for voting you out… Shit, back when this was just a game RECTO didn't get around to setting up the maximum term a player can serve as Faction Leader. Nobody thought someone can have popular support for too long. Now though… anybody with a brain won't want to risk rocking the boat, not when you haven't been doing a piss poor job of running things. You're fucking set for life as a benevolent dictator as long as you don't fuck up."
Simon watched Roc came to his conclusion agitatedly, one of his hands involuntarily reaching for his mace.
"Titania removed the clause for removing a Faction Leader via death, you know," Simon pointed out nervously, just in case. "And the 'sacking opposing Faction Capital' bit that was with it. Right now Leaders need more qualifications than just being able to stay alive. You're not going to be able to force a re-election by killing me."
Indecision, anger, and other emotions played out on Roc's face, before the large Gnome turned away from Simon.
"Ironic, that you're saying that when you only got the position in the first place because you could stay alive," Roc shot back at Simon. "Fine. We'll settle this after the Treaty. Even if I have to kowtow to Nex for a month I'm gonna get you kicked out."
Roc slammed the door behind him as he left, while Simon shrunk back into his seat.
-][-
When it rained, it poured – or so it felt like to Simon.
"Send him in," Simon mumbled. As Rufus walked in, the Gnome Leader contemplated how soon he could get it over with. "Well, Rufus?"
"Really now?" Rufus huffed. "Not even a 'hello'? When I came bearing gifts as well? After everything our two Factions have done together?"
The Gnome and Leprechaun Factions had heavy commerce dealings if nothing else, given the mining and crafting skills each side had greatly complemented each other. Whoever designed ALO must have got a laugh out of having two Factions that needed to cooperate to a degree in order to maximise their potential in a heavily competitive game.
"What do you want, really?" Simon said tiredly. "And cut the crap; we both know you're not just here to give me those items."
Opening and then scrolling down a PM Rufus sent earlier, the Leprechaun offered additional protective items for the upcoming Treaty. That wasn't unusual, every Leader had their own tricks for their own protection. Titania gave all delegates a top quality <<Ring of Life>> for auto-revive and a <<Ribbon>> for status-immunity, in case of treachery at the upcoming signing ceremony – but Rufus offered to provide more than just 'the basics' to other Leaders as well, straight from his own stock. Increased element-resistance, evasion and other such items that would hopefully prevent a death instead of just rectifying the damage would leave them all feeling better, Rufus argued.
"You know how much I value my creations," Rufus said haughtily. "Especially my finest works. I'm not going to pass them on while there's a possibility the courier will steal them and replace them with fakes."
"Even with that, I'm sure that's not all," Simon sighed. "Look, I'm in no mood for mind games right now – so if that really is everything, then please leave after that. Thanks for giving me this stuff, but I just want to finish off some paperwork and be done for the night."
"Fine," Rufus shrugged, pulling a seat and sitting down across from Simon. "You're taking this better than Sakuya anyway. I had to have her share passed on by her secretary, she refused to see me personally."
"Gee, I wonder why," Simon said drily. "I'm sure there isn't all sort of reasons why she'd dislike you enough to not want to see you outside of times where it's absolutely necessary."
"Wow, you must be really out of it for you to be this blunt," Rufus whistled, impressed. "Okay, straight to the point it is: after that hijack attempt by Tristainians, how confident are you Titania can protect us all?"
"I'm not losing sleep over it at least," Simon said wearily. "Besides, it's not like we have anyone or anything else better for the job. Not even he is infallible."
While Simon deliberately left it vague, both Leaders understood the small Gnome meant Kayaba. The creator of SAO had debriefed them about many things, most importantly that the Halkeginian undead uber-magical messiah-equivalent or whatever wanted them all dead – that wasn't something any of the Leaders wanted to expose to the public, no matter what. Personally to Simon, he was glad how things turned out; Kayaba admitted he would be too busy countering Brimir than intervene in the players' other problems, and Simon would rather have a stern AI running things than the instigator of the most infamous death-game in Earth's recent history.
"Maybe," Rufus conceded, but then leaned in conspiratorially. "Or maybe not. What if we do have alternatives? Or to be more precise, back-ups?"
"I'm guessing you don't mean that we can take over for Titania," Simon grunted. "You don't have the votes for that. And we're overworked as it is, taking care of our own Factions and dealing with Tristain's authorities; I don't want more responsibility divided up and then piled onto me."
"That's not what I meant," Rufus clarified. "Tell me, have you heard of the <<Dvergr's Workshop>>?"
"No. Should I have?" Simon frowned.
"Haven't you done Quests?" Rufus asked. "Beyond straight-up combat power the Factions possess in high level players, the game itself in ALO offered alternative paths to power. Better spells, buffs, items and so on. I pursued this path, Vulcan pursued the more 'mainstream' one…"
"Oh," Simon realized. "You're talking about the Endgame-tier enhancements. Specifically, the Leprechauns' ones."
No wonder he hadn't heard of it; each Faction kept those details to themselves. It was hard enough to progress to them without the Quests setting up Factions to sabotage each other.
"Bingo," Rufus grinned. "I won't bore you with the Quest plot, it's the usual – mysterious precursors left powerful things behind, and through adventuring we could take that power for ourselves. The Workshop supposedly could offer boosts and crafting recipes far beyond what we can currently make. Power that could feasibly match the Guardian Spirits Titania gave each Capital, and more. So, if Titania and the central organization was brought down, if we could tap into that power separately we wouldn't be left defenceless. What I would like you to do is to support me when I ask Titania for the keys to that Workshop – and do the same to everyone else across all the Factions, unlocking their enhancements as well."
"Hmm," Simon considered. "I'm… going to have to say no to this one."
"What?" Rufus blinked.
"Remember what Titania did when Kirito asked for Excalibur?" Simon asked. "She offered him the first attempt, and nothing else. Even when something as dangerous as the Mid-Boss or even the Final Boss of the Frost Giants could threaten the players. No, when it comes to Quests I don't think Titania will just let us bypass the process and hand us the rewards, even when our lives are at stake."
"She gave us unlimited flight though," Rufus argued. "The reward for the Grand Quest."
"That was because we needed that to survive," Simon grunted. "Imagine trying to get everyone from our Capitals to Arrun without that. So unless you can convince her she can't protect us without the power-up and we need this, she won't give them to us. And if you can do that you wouldn't need my vote.
"More importantly," Simon continued, a bleak look on his face, "if Titania offers that same chance to us for those rewards like she did to Kirito… we're nowhere near ready for those challenges. Heck, maybe the Salamanders might be, but not the Gnomes at least. I'm not interested in a wipe-out and then have to spend resources to fix that setback."
"You sound like you have a good idea what those challenges involve," Rufus said, an almost hungry look in his eyes.
"Only for the Gnome's," Simon admitted. "I stumbled into it, to be honest – a random encounter, after spending a long, long time down in the mines. No surprise, it's a warning for those who have dug too deep – there's danger below. More digging around revealed what it might be – Boss monsters, environmental hazards, puzzles; the usual works for a gamer. I stopped digging in those areas very quickly, since I didn't want to set off the flags by accident."
"And you didn't follow up on them at all?" Rufus demanded. "Train up more players, make strategies for the bosses, anything at all?"
"I wasn't in a hurry to cause a cave-in on myself, both back then and right now," Simon said flatly. "Or cause Nissengrof to end up as only a hole in the ground, instead of a city in one. Even back then I wouldn't be surprised if the Gnomes fail the challenge we'd get the 'Game Over' treatment, and out of the running for good for unrestricted flight. That is how much is at stake for the 'power-ups'; it's not that much safer compared to PvP dominance."
"No risk, no gain," Rufus argued, but then sighed. "But that's not going to convince you, is it?"
"Maybe," Simon shrugged. "But I don't think you particularly care about my vote when we come down to it – Pieter's more open-minded on these things, same with Sasaki. Atlanta and Morgiana can probably be convinced to try after we clear Jotunheim, they don't care much about politics or alliance lines. Plus Mortimer and there's your six votes."
"We both know the more votes supporting something, the more likely Titania is likely to listen," Rufus countered. "And it's not like Atlanta or Sasaki for example will definitely support me. Same with Pieter, especially when we take into account how the Puca are generally weaker and probably more risk-averse. I need all the votes I can get."
Rufus looked contemplatively at Simon. "Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong with you – tell me, how about this: if I get access to the Dvergr's Workshop, I am willing to step down as Faction Leader."
"You'll what?" Simon sat up straighter in his seat, boggled. The gold-encrusted Leprechaun in front of him was obsessed with influence, for him to readily give up the highest position he could possibly obtain was…
"I don't expect my hold to be able to control the Leprechauns forever," Rufus said easily. "Eventually someone will be pissed off enough to take a stand, or the players eventually want change and avoid a tyrant. I want to have an exit strategy in mind for that day, and 'Director Rufus' of the Workshop sounds as good a fall-back as any. Don't you agree?"
"I don't really care about what I'm going to do after my time," Simon replied. He had thought about just going back to digging in Nissengrof, make a living by mining rare materials, when Roc and Nex finally oust him. If he could still affect things somehow and play damage control even at that point, when it was near-certain he wouldn't last until the end of the season… "And I didn't become the Faction Leader for the political power. Speaking of which, I'm sure you're not going to be able to affect policy in your new role, it won't be part of the Faction management. You'd be stuck trying to get signatures the old fashion way if you want to change anything, and I have a hard time believing you'd accept that."
"Let whoever comes after me change policy all they like," Rufus shrugged. "Maybe after they get people killed the Faction will believe my way is right. Being re-elected is possible, after all, and after I build the new things and help fight off the incursions I'd have regained a lot of political capital. And even if things with Halkeginia don't go to crap like I expect they will without me… well, I'll be satisfied with just tinkering on the new stuff. I don't mind not being able to tell the Faction what to do if I can literally nuke a Frost Giant and the hill it stood on into smithereens with one item, among other things."
Rufus sounded giddy about the prospects of the Workshop, his lips upturned and his hands rubbing together eagerly. Simon never cared for the thoughts of new, shiny toys like Rufus did; if he did then he would have chosen to play as a Leprechaun. If someone wanted loot and didn't trust the RNG to give them the good drops, Leprechauns was the way to go as opposed to Spriggans.
"You know, if you phrase it that way then maybe even Sakuya might support you," Simon said wryly. "She'd probably be able to spend a few seasons in charge without having to deal with you this way at least, and she might go for that. A few others might think this way as well, to a lesser extent."
"Yeah, right, if I told Sakuya this was my goal she'd block me just out of spite," Rufus snorted. "She's set on thinking whatever I want, it'll likely to be bad for everyone. A shame, because if I could get unanimous support for the enhancements…"
"You'd still probably not get your Workshop," Simon grunted. "Like I said earlier – good luck convincing Titania she's as fallible as the rest of us."
"Ever heard of redundancies?" Rufus asked. "Better to have back-up plans and not need to use them, than need them and not have them. I think I stand a good chance of convincing her, really."
"Uh-huh," Simon responded ambivalently. "Well, whatever. You've made your sales pitch, and I'm not convinced. Get a bandwagon going and then maybe I'll think about it."
"Still better than what I had hoped to get from you," Rufus shrugged, getting out of his seat. "Well, good luck for the Treaty Simon. And try not to die twice, I still haven't figured out how to bypass the cooldown mechanism to give everyone an auto-revive right after the first. Titania still has her freaking misguided notions of balancing at a time like this…"
"Keep complaining like that, and you'll get on Titania's bad side as well," Simon called out half-heartedly as Rufus left. Not like whether Rufus succeeded or failed would affect him anyway, he had his own problems to worry about.
-][-
PoH chuckled as he returned to their hideout. He spent his time since the SAO players were awoken reaching out to discontent players of ALO, and he had more success than his ill-thought-out attempted recruitment of Sigurd. It took a few more attempts to drive in that he needed to change his approach, that what worked in a Death Game did not work so well in their new world. Sometimes a sympathetic ear worked very, very well. Never mind what other skills PKers such as themselves offered. In return the discontented players trickled in information and items. Given time PoH could have remade the network into another Laughing Coffin, but time was something they didn't have. The Treaty signing was not far off.
PoH's investments still paid off however, and Roc had – through intermediaries, the Gnome's deputy leader knew better than to use PMs for treachery – ordered a hit on his boss, Simon. PvP was something discouraged these days, the mentality of the players were all in it together, and finding those mad enough to still carry out assassinations led Roc and other dissatisfied players to be found by PoH.
Two followers per Faction Leader were allowed into the initial meeting between Titania and them – and one of those two was a deputy Leader, second or third in command of the Faction, who could be trusted. The other of the two, however… might not agree with their Leader's principles. Sometimes when a Leader was voted out they still managed to stay in a position of power in the Leadership. A few of those that weren't the deputy leader have misgivings in where things were going. Even then, the deputy Leader might not be trustworthy either, as Roc's loyalty or lack thereof to Simon showed. Just because they were shunted to the background of the decision making didn't mean those like Roc wasn't capable of anything.
Not that PoH planned on carrying out the Roc's request to the letter and hit Simon before the Treaty. He got what he wanted from the dissatisfied part of Alfheim's Leadership, mainly information, and PoH planned on abandoning them. Laughing Coffin might get flak about talking big about not caring for pursuers and not carrying out contracts, but when the 'Red Guild' was doomed as soon as Titania or whoever in charge had the frame of mind to check the names of every single SAO survivor, PoH had no reason to care about their long term reputation. It was near-miraculous that PoH, XaXa and Johnny Black hadn't been flagged, the GM didn't exactly have a reason to allow malicious PKers to run unchecked like in Aincrad. But the newly-turned Salamander figured human error could always be counted upon – for a given definition of 'human'.
There were only two people that had access to a system-generated fool-proof list of all the SAO players and only one of them would have reason to look up said list. Titania according to the grapevine cared nothing about the SAO players, after all. And though Kirito's little daughter, known to all given her role as counsellor, could look up the list, she likely didn't know the significance of their names. PoH found it hard to believe the Black Swordsman would tell his daughter bedtime stories of murderers such as themselves, and the Frontliners had put Red players out of their minds long ago. As long as PoH and others wasn't stupid enough to put their name down on a census, they would be fine.
At a guess that was how Laughing Coffin managed to stay under the radar, with everything that had been going on the self-appointed counsellor wouldn't have had time to chase down every SAO player to see if they were coping well. Even if she did have time though, she was hardly going to approach everyone – nobody liked the suggestion of them being weak or needing help, even when asked behind closed doors. That was one large reason why despite help being available there was very few that sought counselling.
Entering the basement, PoH asked: "How is it going with our captive?"
"Could be better," Johnny said with disgust. Looking down at the twitching form of Sigurd, Johnny scowled. "As we expected he, like other Tanks, has a high <<Resilience>> to status effects, but his body is adapting to the drugs I'm using faster than expected. And I'm sure it's not just because <<Sleep>> didn't exist in VR."
There were all sorts of moral issues and potential for abuse in forcing someone to sleep where others could mill around them, and so Sleep as a status only worked on Mobs and not players in the games. As with other changes post-Transition however, a lot of things could affect players that wasn't possible before.
"I'm going to have to move onto higher-end effects like <<Petrify>> if I want to keep him contained," Johnny continued. "But, shit, the bastard improves his Resilience faster than I can improve my <<Curses>>."
"'Let your hatred consume you', hmm?" PoH mused. "Well, I don't doubt Sigurd here must hate us a lot."
Laughing Coffin as a whole had basically been experimenting with Sigurd as to what could and couldn't kill someone. Those ranged from mundane measures such as how deep must a wound be for a faerie's body to turn into <<Remain Light>> form, to more esoteric ones such as venom and <<Darkness Magic>> Curses. Sigurd was killed and revived repeatedly, each time snarling as he tried to fight or escape, before the trio cut him down. After they were through for a session, Johnny shoved a Sleep onto Sigurd and shelved the large Sylph away. Every time he was revived issues like missing limbs were healed anyway, so they didn't have to worry about Sigurd breaking apart from manhandling.
That was so Laughing Coffin could train their own skills – after the Transition there have been several cases where a player could use Spells beyond what they should have been able to, skipping past steps in the spell tree. Another example was being focused enough a player could skip the incantation to cast a spell. That didn't grant all the previous steps in the tree however, so while PoH and the others each have a handful of high-tier spells, other than that they only had the starter spells such as 'Fireball'. In the interests of increasing the chances of keeping all the players alive against further attacks, the tricks to pulling these off were oh so helpfully posted on the message boards and archived like a wiki. Laughing Coffin gleefully took advantage of the available knowledge.
Proficiency and practice was one way to improve. Another, similar to the local mages, was to be emotional and let it fuel your spell. The latter method was said to work far better than the first – and for Laughing Coffin that held true, as they tapped into their malice, their joy in dealing out suffering to other players. They carved their progress into Sigurd, and the Sylph improved as well despite being drugged the majority of the time. PoH could guess at the rage their captive had for the jailors, and that fuelled Sigurd's improvement as he wanted to throw off the status effects on him with every bit of consciousness he had.
It was knowing that dedication that PoH was unsurprised when Sigurd wrenched his eyes open from what should have been enchanted deep Sleep, eyes blazing with hatred, and rough wind battered Johnny and PoH away from him. Johnny as an Imp could still fly underground, and thus he righted himself with little trouble, whereas it took PoH more effort as a Salamander. PoH grunted as he bounced back from the basement walls, recovering in time to see Johnny throwing an incantation-less bind at Sigurd. The unfortunate Sylph threw off the effects soon enough, but that bought enough time for Johnny to finish his incantation to Petrify Sigurd.
"I think we have managed to get all the experience we can safely get out of him," PoH observed. "I'm not sure we can hold him the next time he breaks free. It's high time we move onto the final stage."
"Fucking finally," Johnny grunted. Dragging the statuesque Sylph with him, the Imp dumped him in the center of the room. Going to the back, Johnny Black returned with an armful of explosives. Many of these were low-tier junk left over from Leprechaun training their crafting, and individually not powerful enough to justify keeping them. Many players were willing to dump such stock for gold to fill their bellies after the Transition, and piling enough of them together could still make a large explosion. Thanks to that Laughing Coffin have quite a stock of items and consumables available to them, even if low in quality compared to standard equipment.
Tinkering with a timer, Johnny set up the explosion to coincide with their raid on the Treaty signing ceremony. XaXa had already left to Tristainia to check out their battlefield. The Faction Leaders have gone as far as declaring they will be broadcasting the event live to assure players there was progress being made, so Laughing Coffin might as well take advantage of it. Sigurd's pained screams when he revives would be the fanfare that set things off, and then the rest of the world would see Laughing Coffin make their mark before their demise.
-][-
Titania sat on her throne, connected to the vast amount of data flowing in from the rest of Alfheim. Without the need for nourishment or rest, she spent all her time administrating one issue or another. Cardinal was back online, but that just meant she could tackle more issues. Even as she put her mind to remembering what Kayaba Akihiko said to the Faction Leaders previously, her considerable processing power was also focused on other things:
Mob hordes died out after repeated raids, travel between regions tentatively deemed safe; progress being made to re-establish PM capability for all players; border tensions between Everdark and Gallia…
The creator of Sword Art Online answered truthfully to every question the Faction Leaders thought to ask. When they have been told things about the Void and Brimir, something like the most well-kept secret in Halkeginia, worthy of a plot from jRPGs of the 2000s, it made little sense to keep much else from them.
Noting a presence in the throne room, Titania spared a branch of her processing to commune in what was normal speed for humans instead of for AIs to ask:
"Well?"
Kayaba Akihiko's ghost looked back at Titania – the programmer of Aincrad had more access to Cardinal than she did, but lacked the AI's ability to process at the speed of thought indefinitely, which was the only reason why Titania was speaking out loud.
"Here is a list of possible combinations," Kayaba said plainly, as Cardinal sent Titania more data. "You might want time to practice before the Treaty."
Titania had deemed that her presence was needed to forge the pact with Tristain, giving more benefit than if she did not attend. They seemed incapable of understanding that Alfheim could function without royalty as part of the system – especially when given the convoluted formality required in establishing the importance of the Crown in Tristain. The fear of invasion from Reconquista, a foreign faction also with less emphasis on royalty, must have reinforced the belief 'royal' presence was good and necessary. There was no one else suitable to delegate that task to, Yui as backup was too important to risk, and Titania did not wish to give Kirito any more responsibility if it could be avoided.
Kayaba's involvement came when she sought a second opinion on what to use should force be necessary. Titania had already went with 'Everything' as the answer, she was not going to let something like game balance for example disallowing a Boss character such as herself the ability to cast <<Resurrection>> – and Kayaba suggested specializing in several choices. Even for an AI's superhuman response time, pauses when deciding what the best option was could still be disastrous. The creator of Sword Art Online would know that from his programming of Floor Bosses, which was more than what Titania could say for herself – the AI had never participated in a large scale Raid personally, after all.
"Thank you," Titania replied, even as during the conversation her attention was also elsewhere:
Message Boards: Voter confidence in current Leaders waning; Leaders claim progress is made on finding way home, details light in coming; no official word on cause of mass fainting…
To increase stability the upcoming Treaty signing would be broadcasted to all the players. Giving some proof, no matter how it might be decried as faked, was likely better than giving no response. Tensions was running high, and players needed reassurances. No matter what complications arose – and Titania didn't believe things could end without complications – the Leaders needed to prove they could overcome them. No matter if it might be politics or assassins.
A new blip notified Titania of yet another issue – Yui asking for a fine-tuning of the system that keep tracks of emotional states. Hatred and anger were prevalent across all the Capitals, especially due to events surrounding the mass heart attacks, simmering beneath the surface. Looking for crimes in Alfheim using those as leads was like trying to track specific bubbles in a lake, doable but highly difficult. The algorithms keeping track of every bit of data in the game did not survive well post-Transition, when things were not quite data anymore.
Problems everywhere, and the work to solve them never ends. Titania thought it was just as well that she no longer needed sleep.
===
Not sure on the broadcast bit, that can be changed if necessary.
===
Chapter 35
-][-
An entire level of the World Tree was dedicated to the SAO survivors that volunteered to help. To many it brought back the feeling they had an entire floor of Aincrad to themselves, albeit they could not see the sky if they looked towards the horizon. The level was transformed into a lush green forest, some kind of experiment for sustaining life if the players were forced to withdraw into the World Tree.
To one side, the trees were cleared into an impromptu arena, where players could test their skills. Spells and techniques were developed there, among other things.
"Ha!" Asuna growled, rapier flashing against her opponent. She wore a mainly blue and white dress that resembled her attire when she was the Sub-Commander of the Knight of Blood. Against her was one of the <<Elite>> World Tree Guardians being developed, one that looked more like a hulking suit of armour instead of a large marionette. The sword strikes barely dented the armour, and its large sword came swooping down.
Asuna's wings flared, aiding her turning to the side of the blow and she struck more blows at the armour. She ducked under a backhand from the armour, which was deceptively fast – the armour was hollow inside, reducing its weight even if it wasn't countered by how it could levitate.
Finishing an incantation, Asuna's rapier glowed with blue light and she rushed in. Her wings allowed her to reach the faceplate of the Guardian, and the first blow dealt a noticeable crack into it. The Guardian wised up to the danger immediately after that however, and its own wings glowed as it swiftly opened the distance between them to prevent further hits. Its sword floated to its back like it was magnetically attached there, and limbs of a bow made of energy appeared in its hands. Light arrows rained down on Asuna, which she deflected with just as much speed. Asuna tried to catch back up to the Guardian, but try as she might she didn't quite have the finesse in the air as the Guardian did.
"Okay, time's up!" Klein hollered from the side-lines, as things devolved into a hit-and-miss chase.
"Things would be a lot easier if we still had <<Sword Skills>>," Asuna grumbled as she landed. "Imbuing more power into the weapons doesn't quite feel the same."
"Yeah, we all kinda figured that," Klein nodded. "Titania messaged back saying that's something to look into, once the Treaty is settled. We'd probably get that back once Jotunheim is cleared and she had more energy to for the World Tree and the players to use. She's not going to disagree on having more power to beat Halkeginians, after all."
Asuna's lips thinned slightly at Titania's name being mentioned, but made no further remarks on that.
"At least you weren't fighting a mage-type Guardian," Kirito quipped in his black coat, as he flew in from across the arena. "I hate it when AoE attacks are spammed against you. And that one's ranged options hit harder than an arrow."
The Guardians flew off toward the walls of the World Tree, where they were stored. Other than the Guardian Asuna fought, there was one other that flew with it. It looked fundamentally the same as the other, down to the white leg-cape around it, but the primary weapon of it was a staff capped with a crystal orb.
"Nine of the new Elite variant is going to go with the Faction Leaders as bodyguards, huh," Klein mused. "Now that spawning Guardians en masse costs something, I can see why the old tactic of overwhelming with massive swarms isn't good enough anymore…"
"That isn't going to stop Titania from trying it anyway," Asuna said sourly. Thanks to Yui, knowing what Titania and the Faction Leaders had in mind, Asuna wasn't convinced the Elites would end up seeing much action.
"You know the Leaders have their own reasons for agreeing to the show of force," Kirito appealed. "And Titania doesn't do 'try', if it comes down to attack with extreme prejudice."
"She has to know this would make the Tristainians panic," Asuna argued. "Forget the 'she does not understand emotions' nonsense, this 'show' will force a knee-jerk fighting response when they see a threat."
"Still, it's out of our hands now," Kirito sighed. Asuna and the rest of the SAO players that volunteered to fight were to be kept on standby, ready to be teleported in and fight if events at the Treaty end up requiring them. "We don't get to make decisions for the players or Factions. And attending the Treaty is technically my last job to do with the Tristainians, never mind how I don't have a speaking role for this. All I'm supposed to do is to stand there and look like we're not all against them – and I hope things won't end up in such a way that it requires us to do more."
-][-
Simon shrunk in his seat behind his office desk, but refused to capitulate. Being close to the Treaty, all of the Faction Leaders were working late nights, and none of them particularly wanted more problems at the moment.
"That's classified," the Gnome Leader told his second-in-command that accompanied him to Arrun stubbornly. "It's been dealt with, so worry about something else."
"Stop kidding me!" The deputy, Roc, slammed his hands down on the desk, standing opposite where Simon sat. He was typical of the players who chose the defensive and Earth element race in Alfheim – big, burly, and had a blunt weapon such as his mace hooked on his belt. "What could be so important that not even others in the Faction management can be told? Fine, maybe the 4th ranked and below are a bit iffy, but your goddamn deputies as well?"
"Everyone in my position unanimously agreed that saying more is only going to make things worse," Simon said, a drop of sweat sliding down his head as he looked at the other Gnome who towered over him. "And I agree with them."
"You agree with a lot of things Simon," Roc spat. "That's why you were made Faction Leader. Both Nex and I agreed that having someone that won't leave the city take the position was for the best, when if the Leader died Nissengrof would be sacked as well. Are you really going to go against us?"
"If you don't like it, then get me voted out," Simon said nervously. "Or sign the online petition for the information release. I'm a coward Roc, not an idiot. I know that letting this info out is only going to lead to trouble."
"You don't call people rioting in the streets demanding answers to be 'trouble'?" Roc said sarcastically.
"At least it's mostly the extreme dissenters and trolls that's making a scene," Simon said in a small voice. "It'll be a lot worse if the full truth is known. The players have faith in people they voted in, and while everyone is upset most of them still trust us to make everything right; the Faction Leaders haven't used up all of our goodwill yet. In the same situation you or Nex will make the same choice I did."
"Then why haven't you resigned as Leader yet?" Roc folded his arms. "Let's see if Nex or I will really make the same decision."
"You guys figured out who's going to take the position yet?" Simon countered. "None of you liked working under the other, and it'll be bad if a Faction Leader is voted out soon after they sign the Treaty. Worse than if I get kicked out before I sign it, anyway."
From how Roc scowled, Simon guessed the two of them hadn't really made up their differences yet.
"Also…" Simon took a deep breath. "I'm not going to resign. Voted out, fine, I'll accept that, but I won't resign as long as I'm still voted in."
Roc stilled. "What was that, pipsqueak?"
"We don't need another Rufus or Mortimer on the scene," Simon said, trying to keep his smaller frame from trembling under Roc's glare. "Or even another Sakuya. Right now there's a good number of neutral Leaders that keep the others in check, where neither extremes can do anything unless they moderate their proposals a bit – and it's easier to get me and Pieter and Sasaki to agree with them, than their opposite side for that crucial six votes threshold."
"You little shit," Roc snarled. "You're enjoying being kingmaker? Without us you'd have never gotten this far."
"In a game of competition and beating others up, there's no way I'll ever be able to match any of you," Simon swallowed. "But if it comes down to upholding a status quo… that I can do. I've been doing it for a while now anyway. And we have other things to worry about right now than fighting amongst ourselves for power."
"Only because you current Leaders have nearly all of the authority right now!" Roc snapped. "What, are you going to fire me if I don't play ball? Exile me?"
"You and Nex are too crucial for running our Faction for me to kick you out," Simon shook his head. "I'm just hoping you two will understand how tense things are right now, and don't rock the boat. Kick me out if you have to, or go through the proper channels and sign the petition for the info to be released to everyone if you want to know. The Faction Leaders and Titania aren't going to blackout the info with everything they've got, you know."
"Spare me the drivel, especially the kind fed to you by Sakuya," Roc said contemptuously. "We both know that the petition isn't going to work – hell you just said the players trust you. There'll be enough people abstaining to put their names down for things to be kept in the dark a lot longer."
Roc spat to one side. "And as for voting you out… Shit, back when this was just a game RECTO didn't get around to setting up the maximum term a player can serve as Faction Leader. Nobody thought someone can have popular support for too long. Now though… anybody with a brain won't want to risk rocking the boat, not when you haven't been doing a piss poor job of running things. You're fucking set for life as a benevolent dictator as long as you don't fuck up."
Simon watched Roc came to his conclusion agitatedly, one of his hands involuntarily reaching for his mace.
"Titania removed the clause for removing a Faction Leader via death, you know," Simon pointed out nervously, just in case. "And the 'sacking opposing Faction Capital' bit that was with it. Right now Leaders need more qualifications than just being able to stay alive. You're not going to be able to force a re-election by killing me."
Indecision, anger, and other emotions played out on Roc's face, before the large Gnome turned away from Simon.
"Ironic, that you're saying that when you only got the position in the first place because you could stay alive," Roc shot back at Simon. "Fine. We'll settle this after the Treaty. Even if I have to kowtow to Nex for a month I'm gonna get you kicked out."
Roc slammed the door behind him as he left, while Simon shrunk back into his seat.
-][-
When it rained, it poured – or so it felt like to Simon.
"Send him in," Simon mumbled. As Rufus walked in, the Gnome Leader contemplated how soon he could get it over with. "Well, Rufus?"
"Really now?" Rufus huffed. "Not even a 'hello'? When I came bearing gifts as well? After everything our two Factions have done together?"
The Gnome and Leprechaun Factions had heavy commerce dealings if nothing else, given the mining and crafting skills each side had greatly complemented each other. Whoever designed ALO must have got a laugh out of having two Factions that needed to cooperate to a degree in order to maximise their potential in a heavily competitive game.
"What do you want, really?" Simon said tiredly. "And cut the crap; we both know you're not just here to give me those items."
Opening and then scrolling down a PM Rufus sent earlier, the Leprechaun offered additional protective items for the upcoming Treaty. That wasn't unusual, every Leader had their own tricks for their own protection. Titania gave all delegates a top quality <<Ring of Life>> for auto-revive and a <<Ribbon>> for status-immunity, in case of treachery at the upcoming signing ceremony – but Rufus offered to provide more than just 'the basics' to other Leaders as well, straight from his own stock. Increased element-resistance, evasion and other such items that would hopefully prevent a death instead of just rectifying the damage would leave them all feeling better, Rufus argued.
"You know how much I value my creations," Rufus said haughtily. "Especially my finest works. I'm not going to pass them on while there's a possibility the courier will steal them and replace them with fakes."
"Even with that, I'm sure that's not all," Simon sighed. "Look, I'm in no mood for mind games right now – so if that really is everything, then please leave after that. Thanks for giving me this stuff, but I just want to finish off some paperwork and be done for the night."
"Fine," Rufus shrugged, pulling a seat and sitting down across from Simon. "You're taking this better than Sakuya anyway. I had to have her share passed on by her secretary, she refused to see me personally."
"Gee, I wonder why," Simon said drily. "I'm sure there isn't all sort of reasons why she'd dislike you enough to not want to see you outside of times where it's absolutely necessary."
"Wow, you must be really out of it for you to be this blunt," Rufus whistled, impressed. "Okay, straight to the point it is: after that hijack attempt by Tristainians, how confident are you Titania can protect us all?"
"I'm not losing sleep over it at least," Simon said wearily. "Besides, it's not like we have anyone or anything else better for the job. Not even he is infallible."
While Simon deliberately left it vague, both Leaders understood the small Gnome meant Kayaba. The creator of SAO had debriefed them about many things, most importantly that the Halkeginian undead uber-magical messiah-equivalent or whatever wanted them all dead – that wasn't something any of the Leaders wanted to expose to the public, no matter what. Personally to Simon, he was glad how things turned out; Kayaba admitted he would be too busy countering Brimir than intervene in the players' other problems, and Simon would rather have a stern AI running things than the instigator of the most infamous death-game in Earth's recent history.
"Maybe," Rufus conceded, but then leaned in conspiratorially. "Or maybe not. What if we do have alternatives? Or to be more precise, back-ups?"
"I'm guessing you don't mean that we can take over for Titania," Simon grunted. "You don't have the votes for that. And we're overworked as it is, taking care of our own Factions and dealing with Tristain's authorities; I don't want more responsibility divided up and then piled onto me."
"That's not what I meant," Rufus clarified. "Tell me, have you heard of the <<Dvergr's Workshop>>?"
"No. Should I have?" Simon frowned.
"Haven't you done Quests?" Rufus asked. "Beyond straight-up combat power the Factions possess in high level players, the game itself in ALO offered alternative paths to power. Better spells, buffs, items and so on. I pursued this path, Vulcan pursued the more 'mainstream' one…"
"Oh," Simon realized. "You're talking about the Endgame-tier enhancements. Specifically, the Leprechauns' ones."
No wonder he hadn't heard of it; each Faction kept those details to themselves. It was hard enough to progress to them without the Quests setting up Factions to sabotage each other.
"Bingo," Rufus grinned. "I won't bore you with the Quest plot, it's the usual – mysterious precursors left powerful things behind, and through adventuring we could take that power for ourselves. The Workshop supposedly could offer boosts and crafting recipes far beyond what we can currently make. Power that could feasibly match the Guardian Spirits Titania gave each Capital, and more. So, if Titania and the central organization was brought down, if we could tap into that power separately we wouldn't be left defenceless. What I would like you to do is to support me when I ask Titania for the keys to that Workshop – and do the same to everyone else across all the Factions, unlocking their enhancements as well."
"Hmm," Simon considered. "I'm… going to have to say no to this one."
"What?" Rufus blinked.
"Remember what Titania did when Kirito asked for Excalibur?" Simon asked. "She offered him the first attempt, and nothing else. Even when something as dangerous as the Mid-Boss or even the Final Boss of the Frost Giants could threaten the players. No, when it comes to Quests I don't think Titania will just let us bypass the process and hand us the rewards, even when our lives are at stake."
"She gave us unlimited flight though," Rufus argued. "The reward for the Grand Quest."
"That was because we needed that to survive," Simon grunted. "Imagine trying to get everyone from our Capitals to Arrun without that. So unless you can convince her she can't protect us without the power-up and we need this, she won't give them to us. And if you can do that you wouldn't need my vote.
"More importantly," Simon continued, a bleak look on his face, "if Titania offers that same chance to us for those rewards like she did to Kirito… we're nowhere near ready for those challenges. Heck, maybe the Salamanders might be, but not the Gnomes at least. I'm not interested in a wipe-out and then have to spend resources to fix that setback."
"You sound like you have a good idea what those challenges involve," Rufus said, an almost hungry look in his eyes.
"Only for the Gnome's," Simon admitted. "I stumbled into it, to be honest – a random encounter, after spending a long, long time down in the mines. No surprise, it's a warning for those who have dug too deep – there's danger below. More digging around revealed what it might be – Boss monsters, environmental hazards, puzzles; the usual works for a gamer. I stopped digging in those areas very quickly, since I didn't want to set off the flags by accident."
"And you didn't follow up on them at all?" Rufus demanded. "Train up more players, make strategies for the bosses, anything at all?"
"I wasn't in a hurry to cause a cave-in on myself, both back then and right now," Simon said flatly. "Or cause Nissengrof to end up as only a hole in the ground, instead of a city in one. Even back then I wouldn't be surprised if the Gnomes fail the challenge we'd get the 'Game Over' treatment, and out of the running for good for unrestricted flight. That is how much is at stake for the 'power-ups'; it's not that much safer compared to PvP dominance."
"No risk, no gain," Rufus argued, but then sighed. "But that's not going to convince you, is it?"
"Maybe," Simon shrugged. "But I don't think you particularly care about my vote when we come down to it – Pieter's more open-minded on these things, same with Sasaki. Atlanta and Morgiana can probably be convinced to try after we clear Jotunheim, they don't care much about politics or alliance lines. Plus Mortimer and there's your six votes."
"We both know the more votes supporting something, the more likely Titania is likely to listen," Rufus countered. "And it's not like Atlanta or Sasaki for example will definitely support me. Same with Pieter, especially when we take into account how the Puca are generally weaker and probably more risk-averse. I need all the votes I can get."
Rufus looked contemplatively at Simon. "Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong with you – tell me, how about this: if I get access to the Dvergr's Workshop, I am willing to step down as Faction Leader."
"You'll what?" Simon sat up straighter in his seat, boggled. The gold-encrusted Leprechaun in front of him was obsessed with influence, for him to readily give up the highest position he could possibly obtain was…
"I don't expect my hold to be able to control the Leprechauns forever," Rufus said easily. "Eventually someone will be pissed off enough to take a stand, or the players eventually want change and avoid a tyrant. I want to have an exit strategy in mind for that day, and 'Director Rufus' of the Workshop sounds as good a fall-back as any. Don't you agree?"
"I don't really care about what I'm going to do after my time," Simon replied. He had thought about just going back to digging in Nissengrof, make a living by mining rare materials, when Roc and Nex finally oust him. If he could still affect things somehow and play damage control even at that point, when it was near-certain he wouldn't last until the end of the season… "And I didn't become the Faction Leader for the political power. Speaking of which, I'm sure you're not going to be able to affect policy in your new role, it won't be part of the Faction management. You'd be stuck trying to get signatures the old fashion way if you want to change anything, and I have a hard time believing you'd accept that."
"Let whoever comes after me change policy all they like," Rufus shrugged. "Maybe after they get people killed the Faction will believe my way is right. Being re-elected is possible, after all, and after I build the new things and help fight off the incursions I'd have regained a lot of political capital. And even if things with Halkeginia don't go to crap like I expect they will without me… well, I'll be satisfied with just tinkering on the new stuff. I don't mind not being able to tell the Faction what to do if I can literally nuke a Frost Giant and the hill it stood on into smithereens with one item, among other things."
Rufus sounded giddy about the prospects of the Workshop, his lips upturned and his hands rubbing together eagerly. Simon never cared for the thoughts of new, shiny toys like Rufus did; if he did then he would have chosen to play as a Leprechaun. If someone wanted loot and didn't trust the RNG to give them the good drops, Leprechauns was the way to go as opposed to Spriggans.
"You know, if you phrase it that way then maybe even Sakuya might support you," Simon said wryly. "She'd probably be able to spend a few seasons in charge without having to deal with you this way at least, and she might go for that. A few others might think this way as well, to a lesser extent."
"Yeah, right, if I told Sakuya this was my goal she'd block me just out of spite," Rufus snorted. "She's set on thinking whatever I want, it'll likely to be bad for everyone. A shame, because if I could get unanimous support for the enhancements…"
"You'd still probably not get your Workshop," Simon grunted. "Like I said earlier – good luck convincing Titania she's as fallible as the rest of us."
"Ever heard of redundancies?" Rufus asked. "Better to have back-up plans and not need to use them, than need them and not have them. I think I stand a good chance of convincing her, really."
"Uh-huh," Simon responded ambivalently. "Well, whatever. You've made your sales pitch, and I'm not convinced. Get a bandwagon going and then maybe I'll think about it."
"Still better than what I had hoped to get from you," Rufus shrugged, getting out of his seat. "Well, good luck for the Treaty Simon. And try not to die twice, I still haven't figured out how to bypass the cooldown mechanism to give everyone an auto-revive right after the first. Titania still has her freaking misguided notions of balancing at a time like this…"
"Keep complaining like that, and you'll get on Titania's bad side as well," Simon called out half-heartedly as Rufus left. Not like whether Rufus succeeded or failed would affect him anyway, he had his own problems to worry about.
-][-
PoH chuckled as he returned to their hideout. He spent his time since the SAO players were awoken reaching out to discontent players of ALO, and he had more success than his ill-thought-out attempted recruitment of Sigurd. It took a few more attempts to drive in that he needed to change his approach, that what worked in a Death Game did not work so well in their new world. Sometimes a sympathetic ear worked very, very well. Never mind what other skills PKers such as themselves offered. In return the discontented players trickled in information and items. Given time PoH could have remade the network into another Laughing Coffin, but time was something they didn't have. The Treaty signing was not far off.
PoH's investments still paid off however, and Roc had – through intermediaries, the Gnome's deputy leader knew better than to use PMs for treachery – ordered a hit on his boss, Simon. PvP was something discouraged these days, the mentality of the players were all in it together, and finding those mad enough to still carry out assassinations led Roc and other dissatisfied players to be found by PoH.
Two followers per Faction Leader were allowed into the initial meeting between Titania and them – and one of those two was a deputy Leader, second or third in command of the Faction, who could be trusted. The other of the two, however… might not agree with their Leader's principles. Sometimes when a Leader was voted out they still managed to stay in a position of power in the Leadership. A few of those that weren't the deputy leader have misgivings in where things were going. Even then, the deputy Leader might not be trustworthy either, as Roc's loyalty or lack thereof to Simon showed. Just because they were shunted to the background of the decision making didn't mean those like Roc wasn't capable of anything.
Not that PoH planned on carrying out the Roc's request to the letter and hit Simon before the Treaty. He got what he wanted from the dissatisfied part of Alfheim's Leadership, mainly information, and PoH planned on abandoning them. Laughing Coffin might get flak about talking big about not caring for pursuers and not carrying out contracts, but when the 'Red Guild' was doomed as soon as Titania or whoever in charge had the frame of mind to check the names of every single SAO survivor, PoH had no reason to care about their long term reputation. It was near-miraculous that PoH, XaXa and Johnny Black hadn't been flagged, the GM didn't exactly have a reason to allow malicious PKers to run unchecked like in Aincrad. But the newly-turned Salamander figured human error could always be counted upon – for a given definition of 'human'.
There were only two people that had access to a system-generated fool-proof list of all the SAO players and only one of them would have reason to look up said list. Titania according to the grapevine cared nothing about the SAO players, after all. And though Kirito's little daughter, known to all given her role as counsellor, could look up the list, she likely didn't know the significance of their names. PoH found it hard to believe the Black Swordsman would tell his daughter bedtime stories of murderers such as themselves, and the Frontliners had put Red players out of their minds long ago. As long as PoH and others wasn't stupid enough to put their name down on a census, they would be fine.
At a guess that was how Laughing Coffin managed to stay under the radar, with everything that had been going on the self-appointed counsellor wouldn't have had time to chase down every SAO player to see if they were coping well. Even if she did have time though, she was hardly going to approach everyone – nobody liked the suggestion of them being weak or needing help, even when asked behind closed doors. That was one large reason why despite help being available there was very few that sought counselling.
Entering the basement, PoH asked: "How is it going with our captive?"
"Could be better," Johnny said with disgust. Looking down at the twitching form of Sigurd, Johnny scowled. "As we expected he, like other Tanks, has a high <<Resilience>> to status effects, but his body is adapting to the drugs I'm using faster than expected. And I'm sure it's not just because <<Sleep>> didn't exist in VR."
There were all sorts of moral issues and potential for abuse in forcing someone to sleep where others could mill around them, and so Sleep as a status only worked on Mobs and not players in the games. As with other changes post-Transition however, a lot of things could affect players that wasn't possible before.
"I'm going to have to move onto higher-end effects like <<Petrify>> if I want to keep him contained," Johnny continued. "But, shit, the bastard improves his Resilience faster than I can improve my <<Curses>>."
"'Let your hatred consume you', hmm?" PoH mused. "Well, I don't doubt Sigurd here must hate us a lot."
Laughing Coffin as a whole had basically been experimenting with Sigurd as to what could and couldn't kill someone. Those ranged from mundane measures such as how deep must a wound be for a faerie's body to turn into <<Remain Light>> form, to more esoteric ones such as venom and <<Darkness Magic>> Curses. Sigurd was killed and revived repeatedly, each time snarling as he tried to fight or escape, before the trio cut him down. After they were through for a session, Johnny shoved a Sleep onto Sigurd and shelved the large Sylph away. Every time he was revived issues like missing limbs were healed anyway, so they didn't have to worry about Sigurd breaking apart from manhandling.
That was so Laughing Coffin could train their own skills – after the Transition there have been several cases where a player could use Spells beyond what they should have been able to, skipping past steps in the spell tree. Another example was being focused enough a player could skip the incantation to cast a spell. That didn't grant all the previous steps in the tree however, so while PoH and the others each have a handful of high-tier spells, other than that they only had the starter spells such as 'Fireball'. In the interests of increasing the chances of keeping all the players alive against further attacks, the tricks to pulling these off were oh so helpfully posted on the message boards and archived like a wiki. Laughing Coffin gleefully took advantage of the available knowledge.
Proficiency and practice was one way to improve. Another, similar to the local mages, was to be emotional and let it fuel your spell. The latter method was said to work far better than the first – and for Laughing Coffin that held true, as they tapped into their malice, their joy in dealing out suffering to other players. They carved their progress into Sigurd, and the Sylph improved as well despite being drugged the majority of the time. PoH could guess at the rage their captive had for the jailors, and that fuelled Sigurd's improvement as he wanted to throw off the status effects on him with every bit of consciousness he had.
It was knowing that dedication that PoH was unsurprised when Sigurd wrenched his eyes open from what should have been enchanted deep Sleep, eyes blazing with hatred, and rough wind battered Johnny and PoH away from him. Johnny as an Imp could still fly underground, and thus he righted himself with little trouble, whereas it took PoH more effort as a Salamander. PoH grunted as he bounced back from the basement walls, recovering in time to see Johnny throwing an incantation-less bind at Sigurd. The unfortunate Sylph threw off the effects soon enough, but that bought enough time for Johnny to finish his incantation to Petrify Sigurd.
"I think we have managed to get all the experience we can safely get out of him," PoH observed. "I'm not sure we can hold him the next time he breaks free. It's high time we move onto the final stage."
"Fucking finally," Johnny grunted. Dragging the statuesque Sylph with him, the Imp dumped him in the center of the room. Going to the back, Johnny Black returned with an armful of explosives. Many of these were low-tier junk left over from Leprechaun training their crafting, and individually not powerful enough to justify keeping them. Many players were willing to dump such stock for gold to fill their bellies after the Transition, and piling enough of them together could still make a large explosion. Thanks to that Laughing Coffin have quite a stock of items and consumables available to them, even if low in quality compared to standard equipment.
Tinkering with a timer, Johnny set up the explosion to coincide with their raid on the Treaty signing ceremony. XaXa had already left to Tristainia to check out their battlefield. The Faction Leaders have gone as far as declaring they will be broadcasting the event live to assure players there was progress being made, so Laughing Coffin might as well take advantage of it. Sigurd's pained screams when he revives would be the fanfare that set things off, and then the rest of the world would see Laughing Coffin make their mark before their demise.
-][-
Titania sat on her throne, connected to the vast amount of data flowing in from the rest of Alfheim. Without the need for nourishment or rest, she spent all her time administrating one issue or another. Cardinal was back online, but that just meant she could tackle more issues. Even as she put her mind to remembering what Kayaba Akihiko said to the Faction Leaders previously, her considerable processing power was also focused on other things:
Mob hordes died out after repeated raids, travel between regions tentatively deemed safe; progress being made to re-establish PM capability for all players; border tensions between Everdark and Gallia…
The creator of Sword Art Online answered truthfully to every question the Faction Leaders thought to ask. When they have been told things about the Void and Brimir, something like the most well-kept secret in Halkeginia, worthy of a plot from jRPGs of the 2000s, it made little sense to keep much else from them.
Noting a presence in the throne room, Titania spared a branch of her processing to commune in what was normal speed for humans instead of for AIs to ask:
"Well?"
Kayaba Akihiko's ghost looked back at Titania – the programmer of Aincrad had more access to Cardinal than she did, but lacked the AI's ability to process at the speed of thought indefinitely, which was the only reason why Titania was speaking out loud.
"Here is a list of possible combinations," Kayaba said plainly, as Cardinal sent Titania more data. "You might want time to practice before the Treaty."
Titania had deemed that her presence was needed to forge the pact with Tristain, giving more benefit than if she did not attend. They seemed incapable of understanding that Alfheim could function without royalty as part of the system – especially when given the convoluted formality required in establishing the importance of the Crown in Tristain. The fear of invasion from Reconquista, a foreign faction also with less emphasis on royalty, must have reinforced the belief 'royal' presence was good and necessary. There was no one else suitable to delegate that task to, Yui as backup was too important to risk, and Titania did not wish to give Kirito any more responsibility if it could be avoided.
Kayaba's involvement came when she sought a second opinion on what to use should force be necessary. Titania had already went with 'Everything' as the answer, she was not going to let something like game balance for example disallowing a Boss character such as herself the ability to cast <<Resurrection>> – and Kayaba suggested specializing in several choices. Even for an AI's superhuman response time, pauses when deciding what the best option was could still be disastrous. The creator of Sword Art Online would know that from his programming of Floor Bosses, which was more than what Titania could say for herself – the AI had never participated in a large scale Raid personally, after all.
"Thank you," Titania replied, even as during the conversation her attention was also elsewhere:
Message Boards: Voter confidence in current Leaders waning; Leaders claim progress is made on finding way home, details light in coming; no official word on cause of mass fainting…
To increase stability the upcoming Treaty signing would be broadcasted to all the players. Giving some proof, no matter how it might be decried as faked, was likely better than giving no response. Tensions was running high, and players needed reassurances. No matter what complications arose – and Titania didn't believe things could end without complications – the Leaders needed to prove they could overcome them. No matter if it might be politics or assassins.
A new blip notified Titania of yet another issue – Yui asking for a fine-tuning of the system that keep tracks of emotional states. Hatred and anger were prevalent across all the Capitals, especially due to events surrounding the mass heart attacks, simmering beneath the surface. Looking for crimes in Alfheim using those as leads was like trying to track specific bubbles in a lake, doable but highly difficult. The algorithms keeping track of every bit of data in the game did not survive well post-Transition, when things were not quite data anymore.
Problems everywhere, and the work to solve them never ends. Titania thought it was just as well that she no longer needed sleep.
===
Not sure on the broadcast bit, that can be changed if necessary.
Numen
Long Time Creeper
- Location
- Canada
So, Laughing Coffin are basically psychos with a death wish who wants to go out in one glorious bang?
It's gonna be a big bang.
The internal politicking is really interesting. It's approaching Game of Thrones level, but not quite that treacherous yet. I can see it happening though, if Titania and Yui are somehow removed from power and Fairies rule themselves fully. That would go to shit real quick because absolute power corrupts absolutely, unless you're an AI.
It's gonna be a big bang.
The internal politicking is really interesting. It's approaching Game of Thrones level, but not quite that treacherous yet. I can see it happening though, if Titania and Yui are somehow removed from power and Fairies rule themselves fully. That would go to shit real quick because absolute power corrupts absolutely, unless you're an AI.
Chapter 36
Thanks to @Fictiondevourer for beta-ing this one as well.
General note: When I first started planning this fic two or so years ago ISIS wasn't a thing IIRC, and there was not as much shootings in US that shows up in news of other countries such as where I live. This fic or events within it is not meant to be a reflection of current events or any kind of social critique. If I keep holding back hoping for a good, 'safe' from flames, time to post it doesn't look like that'll ever happen. So here it is now.
Relatedly, also just in case, the views of the characters here does not necessarily mean they are mine or that I condone it.
By the way, SAO Alicization spoilers ahoy, mostly from the Web serial version.
===
Chapter 36
-][-
It was the day of the Treaty signing. For Tristain and its Capital it was supposed to be a day of celebration, of bonds between new allies forged. Pubs were filled, food vendors hollered their wares, and coins and booze flowed. The Charming Fairies Inn, like many businesses, took shameless advantage of a 'special occasion' and opened outside of their usual times.
Despite that however the mood of the city was subdued, and there was an underlying apprehension that today would be Tristain's last. Outside Tristainia's walls were a veritable army, troops gathered from around the country as a show of force. Dark specks in the sky could be seen, mage-knights flew around the capital on their mounts securing a perimeter.
Moving from one table to another, Jessica hoped the festivities would not be interrupted by their more pessimistic predictions.
-][-
Klein, along with Asuna, Arguile, and other SAO players that volunteered for combat duties waited in the World Tree. They had a live feed for the Treaty signing, whereas the rest of Alfheim had a delayed one. If necessary they would teleporting in, at Kirito's discretion, if the Faction Leaders and others could not be teleported out.
It was with a grim and tense atmosphere as everyone waited.
-][-
Assembled in a courtyard within Tristainia's palace was Princess Henrietta, the Regent, and various high-profile nobles. Other countries' ambassadors were also present, although the Romalian ambassador preferred to wait at the signing hall. The Fae delegates were going to open a portal above their capital and then fly down, preventing complications such as being attacked while travelling. As one of the royal peers to Henrietta, even if Titania was going to give up that title in name, Henrietta felt it was only right that she was present to greet the faeries.
High above them, a large shimmering square appeared. Various airborne mage-knights saw the phenomenon, and sent their reports via Wind magic down to the representatives and to their superiors to notify them of the faeries' imminent arrival. Like a door openly horizontally, the shimmering receded to show who was on the other side.
From the other side of the portal, Fairy Queen Titania levitated through on butterfly-esque wings almost as large as she was. Said wings glowed luminously white, visible to all in the city that looked up. Orbs surrounded her, what was called 'cameras' that would record the Treaty for posterity. Lord Kirito floated through the portal behind her, clad in black armour almost like a shadow to the Fairy Queen.
Large white armoured figures fanned out next, what Tristainians have been briefed as the World Tree Guardians, secured the sides as the Faerie Lords progressed through. Unlike what everyone have been told however, there were several Guardians that held staves like the archetypal mage – golems weren't known to be spellcasters in Halkeginia. Bringing up the rear was General Eugene of the Salamanders, in his usual red armour and his large sword sheathed at his side. He and Lord Kirito were the only ones that bore visible weapons.
The procession of the faeries slowly flew down, to the cautious gaze of all below. To Henrietta's relief, nobody had started shooting during all that. All it took was one hot-headed attack and things would end disastrously.
As the faeries came close to landing, Princess Henrietta opened her mouth to greet them. She was interrupted by cries of warning and others pointing up, beyond and above the approaching faeries.
-][-
Another patch of shimmering appeared in the sky, stretching out horizontally across the width of the capital. Gradually, with all the impression of a dragon's jaws slowly opening up, the portal opened wider and wider.
Down below, Jessica heard shouts coming from outside the Inn, and looking out saw panicked people point up with a horrified expression. Rushing out, Jessica also looked up, and felt her heart suddenly felt like it was being caught in a vice grip.
In another patch of the sky, noticeably a darker shade of blue from what the sky above Tristain was, were hovering World Tree Guardians arranged orderly in thousands. Cyclopean eyes glowed from their visors, and synchronized as one the White Legion saluted with their weapons.
Even though the golems above them did nothing more, many accidents broke out. Terrified people tried to rush into buildings to hide from the army, while others tried to rush out to prevent being buried under rubble; because a foreign army appearing outside a city meant there would be bombardment from siege weapons, or whatever magical equivalent the faeries had. Those two sides caused many congestions at entrances into various buildings.
Jumping out of the way of others, Jessica inwardly joked morbidly that at least there wasn't a unanimous flow running away from the Charming Fairies Inn after that development.
-][-
"Ten thousand of my Guardians, as agreed in the Treaty," Titania declared, wings half-folded, having landed while everyone was momentarily shocked by the spectacle above. "To be used for defence by the Tristain's Crown. The Faerie Lords believed it was necessary to show we would uphold our end of the bargain at the start – that our promises were not empty words."
Among other things, was left unsaid. As a general rule, anything from the faeries would be of a higher quality, and that included their soldiers. That amount of Guardians alone would have been more than a match of the forces that was arrayed at Tristainia, despite being outnumbered. Not to mention that was only the contingent Titania was willing to part with, given to Tristain – the World Tree Guardians have been described as 'numberless' before, and Henrietta was sure there were many more kept in reserve and not shown. Additionally, it was telling that each Faction's own forces were nowhere in sight – often, it was the attack that one didn't see coming that was the more dangerous one.
The demonstration also showed many other things, for example such a force could be dropped over any city that Titania wished to. Even if that was a difficult feat that required much effort and planning, an army that could bypass the burdens of travel and defences organized against them was an undeniable advantage; and to err on the side of caution, Henrietta believed given the prowess of the faeries' magic it would be mistaken to think the faeries could only accomplish that sparingly.
"Welcome to our humble abode, Your Majesty," Henrietta said with a slight nod, cutting through the tension from all sides and glad her voice did not crack. "I was not aware the situation changed and required Alfheim to bring a small army."
"'Bring' is not quite correct – the Guardians remain close to the World Tree, and are not here," Titania corrected. "The only thing above Tristainia is a portal, and nothing more.
"Nevertheless, I understand this is not in the spirit of our promises in what Alfheim would bring to this Treaty. For your peace of mind the portal will be dismissed."
With an offhand gesture from Titania, the gigantic portal above them grinded shut. Henrietta had a mind to order forces into the city calming the masses down, but thought there were mage-knights and guards that should be doing that already. And it would not do to indirectly insult the Fairy Queen like she brought trouble into Tristain, no matter how accurate it might be.
Nonetheless, the message – one of many – was received loud and clear. If anything happens to us, there is a literal army ready to bear down on you. Play nice, and we will too. You don't want to see us not playing nice. After the debacle with the botched binding earlier, Henrietta could understand that Alfheim wanted to give clear threats instead of implied ones. A quick glance at Lady Sakuya from Henrietta saw the Sylph Lord averting her gaze – the kinder Faerie Lord was likely outvoted.
"Let us continue on inside," Henrietta stated, almost as much to her subjects than to the faeries. Nobody that had more honour than sense was allowed to welcome the faeries, with maybe the only exception being Duchess Valliere in her mage-knight armour. Standing orders to mage-knights were to prevent nobles from suiciding themselves against the Fae at the Treaty, by tackling them if they had to. Hopefully Titania's demonstration was enough to convince everyone starting a war there was not in anyone's interest.
-][-
Even before she landed, Titania had her sensors to scan as far as she could in all directions. She wanted to see trouble before it happened, and the two administrator console cards embedded in her body ensured she had the range to at least scan all of the palace. Every individual, animal, even insect down to ants was taken account of – with Cardinal's revival such feats was possible, if one was willing to expend the processing power. Given that it was a one-off occasion Titania deigned to 'splurge' her power, especially if it could avoid future problems. Having to create a portal the size of the city was costly, but better to make it once and never have to again, than needing to make several such portals to ferry troops and protect Faction Capitals under attack.
From her searching, it was unsurprising that she found complications. Of course things never go right.
Three players in ambush. Bombs only just set up in various places, having taken advantage from the portals distracting the guards. Their movements were swift and decisive.
Titania was tempted to emulate rage for a fleeting instant – that same shock she hoped to delay Tristainians from attacking, allowing them to see the Guardians meant no harm, was being used for another purpose. She did not mind if war did break out, but Titania much preferred it to have happened when she wasn't at ground zero and didn't have to spend energy protecting herself.
Who is it that would attack? Looking up the names of the players using Titania's administrator privileges, she soon had her answer:
PoH.
XaXa.
Johnny Black.
Titania inwardly frowned, trying to remember why these names she had never heard off sounded familiar. Then, Titania remembered that was how it felt whenever Asuna's memories interfered – she had honestly almost forgotten, having spent subjectively at least months of her time with her own thinking rightly as an AI's mental process should be, managing through many problems at once. Nevertheless, the memories helped.
Laughing Coffin. Red Guild. PKers.
Murderers.
For a split second Titania paused, which was probably comparable to entire minutes for humans. Then, her mind did several things at once.
One strand of her thought to check the list of Sword Art Online players that she never bothered to look at, having left that to Yui. After confirming yes, those names were on the list, Titania sent a scathing report to Yui asking how MHCP-001 had never caught 'problematic elements' in her diagnosis of the SAO players – even as Titania suspected it was contamination from SAO's Cardinal, that as a program originating from there Yui was somewhat desensitized from the darker side of human thought. That Yui broke down after two years exposed to those would not have helped.
Another strand went over all cached data the consoles had on Laughing Coffin's movements, who they met, what they had said in range of the Medallions. Said strand branched out, tagging many more players that Laughing Coffin had contacted and worked backwards. Many had slipped through the gaps after the Transition, but it was only then Titania understood what it meant. Discontentment led to even a few elected officials taking part in the upcoming farce, some of them preparing to issue statements in their official capacity to undermine their Leaders. In disgust, Titania mentally sent out the orders to Asuna and everyone else that had the authority to do so to capture the insurgents.
Asuna, Kirito, Laughing Coffin, even the rest of the Alfheim Online players… Who Titania was supposed to protect was part of the problem. Other than the Void and Brimir, the biggest troubles Alfheim had originated in themselves.
Given the situation, Titania felt she was justified in responding with "Never Again."
-][-
"Kirito," Titania said, having stopped moving less than a third of a way out of the courtyard. To Kirito and everyone else, it was frightening in that it was the flattest tone they had ever heard from her.
"Assassins. Deal with them."
-][-
While not as on edge as Tristain, Arrun was also tense in that maybe the locals would use an important occasion as a distraction to launch an attack. One only had to look at history, or even just a gamer's nature really, to figure that out.
Thus, when a building – several buildings, actually – blew up in Arrun, response was swift and people immediately began to pick through the rubble. That the feed to the Treaty signing shorted out for everyone with a 'Technical Difficulties' sign was expected by most, hardly anyone was optimistic enough to believe things would turn out perfectly.
At the World Tree's base, a newly revived Sigurd howled and pushed away an attendant, half mad with rage.
-][-
"It's Showtime."
-][-
A few explosions rang out, causing shouts of alarm. Mage-knights instantly convened around people of influence, and World Tree Guardians readied their weapons. Spectral figures appeared out of thin air, trying to stab Kirito and Eugene with an estoc.
Kirito's two blades was drawn, one parrying the blow and the other swiftly bisecting the assailant, while Eugene's Gram simply phased through the estoc and cut down his enemy.
The figures couldn't have distracted the two of them for more than a few seconds – but in that time they weren't slinging spells to help others, and that was distraction enough.
-][-
The Elite Guardians began to cut down the few shadows that appeared in front of them easily, and then their eyes flared green. Many of the shadows vanished with their anti-stealth magic, barring one real faerie surrounded by glyphs that slipped through the perimeter and attempted to cut down the Faction Leaders themselves.
Sakuya brought up one hand, ready to throw an incantation-less Razor Wind at the attacker, despite knowing that her arm could not make it in time or move out of the way fast enough. An explosion rang out, and the Sylph Leader was knocked back by the force behind it. Sakuya involuntarily flinched slightly at the nearness of noise, and when her eyes opened from the momentary blink she found Mortimer behind the rough push. With one hand reached out to blast her away even as his other hand was wreathed in flames, took the attack meant for her.
Mortimer might have been faster than Sakuya, but he was still nowhere near as physically fast as the Spriggan with a rapier-like weapon. Before Mortimer could blast the assailant away and give them some more room for spells, he was stabbed eight times for his trouble. Twice each in the heart and throat, and once in each shoulder and eye, Mortimer's body fell into Remain Light form soon after the Spriggan's spell completed and shot him as an orb of darkness.
Sasaki's hand shot forward, wordless <<Dispel>> by that point second nature to the Imp Leader, and removed the <<Devour>> status the Spriggan slapped onto Mortimer. <<Curses>> that could remove a <<Remain Light>> without giving it a chance to revive should not work with the presence of a high-tier <<Ring of Life>>, but Sasaki didn't want to take any chances.
Before the Spriggan could do more however, a spear snaked past Mortimer to stab at the assassin's heart. The dark-clad faerie hopped back even as Morgiana advanced, in her hand a conjured shadow weapon that was practically her namesake in Alfheim Online. The Serpent variant of the <<Shadow Spear>> failed to connect however, at the last moment parried by the rogue Spriggan.
"Did you really think we weren't prepared for a fight when we came here?" Morgiana asked rhetorically as the assassin retreated. At the back of the group Alicia had a vial of <<Sap of the World Tree>> ready to revive anyone that did die again after the Ring of Life saved them.
Further banter was interrupted when on the other end of the Leaders Rufus glowed, having activated his best gear. Golden power armour enveloped the Leprechaun Leader in his entirety, with his Power Fists disproportionately large compared to normal hands. With a casual hand Rufus blocked an attack that went after Simon from another spectral figure, <<Reflecting>> it back to destroy the copy. Rufus then sped fast enough at the Spriggan assassin avoided only the physical fist but not the energy field around it.
"You have no idea how good it feels to have an excuse to go God Mode," Rufus boomed through his enchanted helmet. "One down, two to go-"
Rufus' words petered out when the Spriggan didn't get reduced into a Remain Light as he was blown backwards and his torso disintegrated, merely turning the tone of one for a second – and the reason was quickly apparent when broken pieces of a ring could be seen on the ground. Unlike the items created by high tier crafters or Titania, low quality Rings of Life were one-use, expensive consumables.
The Spriggan didn't have time to gloat however, when Sakuya's Razor Wind came at him along with a barrage of spells from Rufus' armour. He dodged by a hair's breadth as where he stood and several metres surrounding it was turned into a crater, and the Faction Leaders continued to rain spells at him to take him down.
-][-
Another spectral figure moved faster than mage-knights could react, cutting down several before narrowly missing Duke Guldenhorf, only taking one of his arms. Before the spectral figure could do more however, an Air Bullet pulverized the upper torso of the attacker.
That attack left Karin "The Tempest" with her swordwand pointed at where one enemy was, and unable to completely move away in that instant when a black-clad faerie appeared seemingly out of thin air and struck at her.
"Get away from my wife," Duke Valliere growled, and a Water Whip slammed the Imp away. If it was a human taking the blow his chest would have been caved in, but faeries were made of sturdier stuff. The Imp wheezed as he rolled and got back up, healing potion from a vial quickly went down his throat.
"It's just a tiny cut," Karin seethed – she wasn't going to be taken down that easily. And with two Square class mages, even a single faerie would have trouble against them.
The Imp's eyes, the only thing that was visible from the black sack-like mask he wore, crinkled – underneath that mask Karin could imagine a vile smile. As if to prove her wrong, the Imp gestured once with his evil-looking ritual dagger.
Having contact with Karin's blood, even if it was from a inconsequential wound, was enough for the Imp to lay a <<Blood Price>> Curse – especially when Halkeginians didn't have an trained <<Resilience>> against Alfheim status effects. The Imp's spell was fuelled by Karin's Willpower instead of his own, doing a minor amount of damage to her HP through her blood as the medium, and struck at the Duke.
Karin felt her heart clench, and blood tore out of her throat, creating a wound that was nowhere near where the cut was. Karin stumbled, trying to not choke from all the blood, even as the Duke was impaled by thin, dark spires that rose out of his own shadow.
Sniggering, the Imp bent the spilled blood to his will, intent on finishing off the Vallieres. He got blasted away by an incantation-less Tempest, slamming into the palace walls like a cannonball – Karin was only wounded, not incapacitated. The walls cracked, and through the dust that was thrown up the Imp's Remain Light could be seen.
Further actions against the assassins was interrupted then, however.
-][-
"Stop," a deep voice called out, distorted by the <<Sound Amplifier>> embedded in his mask. Princess Henrietta had a rectangular dagger held to her throat, while the Regent and mage-knights around her was immolated. "Stop fighting, or the Princess dies-"
The assassin's speech faltered however, when white light flashed all around the courtyard. Wounds were healed, from Duchess Valliere's ripped throat to the still-burning form of Cardinal Mazarin – though those already dead remained so. Johnny Black and the members of Laughing Coffin were not healed, but the Imp assassin didn't need Titania's healing to return to corporeal form. Like XaXa, he also had a low quality Ring of Life.
"I suggest you let the Princess go," Titania said clinically, as everyone paused at the sight of the standoff. "There may yet be leniency if you do so, Laughing Coffin."
Kirito froze at the mention of that name. His gaze glanced at the forearm holding the dagger to Princess Henrietta's, then at the other assassins'. All of the three possessed a tattoo of a thick-lipped face in front of a coffin.
"You're ruining my show, Titania," the Salamander that took the Princess hostage complained. With all attention on him, he didn't need to talk loud enough to deafen his captive – besides, he wanted the Princess to be able to hear this exchange. "I wanted to have a dramatic reveal for who we are. Don't you care if she dies?"
"Even if you slit her throat I can heal her instantly – Princess Henrietta will not die," Titania said without inflection. "I do not know what possessed you to believe you could accomplish anything here, but your actions are meaningless. You are surrounded on all sides, and your comrades in Alfheim are being apprehended even as we speak. Their attempts to get their duplicitous word out on the message boards and elsewhere while the broadcast is interrupted are silenced and scrubbed. Surrender, and you will be captured painlessly."
The Salamander assassin tilted his head back and cackled uproariously. There were many that was tempted to attack then and there, though they did not want to risk Princess Henrietta even with Titania's promise of healing. The most potent combatants of both sides were present, from Kirito in his <<Runebound>> armour to Rufus' own cascading power, and the assassin ignored them all.
"You jest, O Fairy Queen," the assassin snorted. "I am Vassago, known to those from Aincrad as the Prince of Hell. There is no salvation for us from the moment we are dragged into this new world with the rest of you, we have killed far too many 'innocents' for leniency. No, what awaits us is torture unimaginable, and never being able to see the light of day would be the least of what is going to happen to us."
"Is he always this mouthy?" Rufus asked, not at all impressed. "Can we kill this shitty roleplayer already?"
"Feel free," Titania said uncaringly. "I am just waiting for someone to do the deed. He lost all credence as a hostage taker willing to kill when Princess Henrietta was not beheaded as soon as I healed everyone."
Rufus' spell to attack was forestalled when PoH's blade pressed slightly into Henrietta's neck, leading blood to drip down slightly and a pained squeak from the Princess.
"So callous," PoH commented, seeing Rufus hesitate at Henrietta's expression. "See this, people of Tristain? Even for allied partners they care nothing for you, if it benefits them they're willing to hurt you even if it's avoidable."
"Tell us something everyone don't already know," Eugene said shortly. "We lost all pretence of goodwill as soon as they attacked Gatan. This Treaty is for coexistence first and foremost, being friendly if it comes to that happens later."
"So you say," PoH smirked. "Behind all that bluster, when it comes down to it you all are weak. None of you can kill, even Goldilocks there, except Kirito. But you said you want something new? Well, alright:
"Why hasn't anyone asked why Titania didn't just smite me herself?"
Everyone paused, and looked briefly at Titania. There was no emotion in her electric-blue eyes.
"Or better, ask why she allowed all this to happen," PoH half-shrugged, removing his dagger from directly touching Henrietta's neck. "She knew everything that we have planned, and claimed to shut them all down. Why, then, haven't we been stopped before things got to this point?"
"The Denizens of Alfheim are under the Faction Leaders' authority," Titania replied. "Unless someone endangers Alfheim as a whole, I do not wish to interfere. Also, I only found out of your treachery when you came within my senses – and it took less time than taking a breath for me to send the commands to stop your schemes."
"You mean attacking the Treaty isn't something serious enough?" Sakuya said incredulously.
"Well, yeah," Rufus nodded. "What's Tristain going to do about this, declare war? They'll just be bitch-slapped by our forces – hell, as I am now I can bitch-slap every mage not on our side here at Tristainia. A certain little girl that shall go unnamed here is more of a threat to Alfheim than these jokers are."
"Oh, if only things are as simple as pure laziness on Titania's part," PoH said melodramatically. "It's not just that Titania doesn't want to – she can't. If she's willing to risk the Princess dying, why didn't she kill off my associates?"
Tilting his head once at XaXa and Johnny Black, PoH continued: "There is exactly zero additional risk for you guys in killing them, it won't make me want to kill the Princess more than I am now. I'll wager that Titania can't have a direct hand in things – am wagering on that, in fact. That's why she has proxies like Kirito here."
"In one of my previous discussions, someone told me being merciful is not a weakness," Titania intoned. "A view that many, including myself, do not share. Though you mistake prudence and responsibility with mercy. Were I to 'smite' you personally, it would be akin to setting the building on fire to get rid of the fleas. Horribly inefficient use of power, and I will have to heal more than just the Princess. Proxies are not necessary, merely convenient – though in this case, if they can't resolve this with the minimum aggravation they wished, I may have to step in after all."
"Yes, because killing the other side's leader is such a great way to show we are peaceful," PoH chuckled. "Even if they get better afterwards. Humour me, and you may yet get the Princess back without more pain."
"That won't happen," both Kirito and Titania replied. Glancing at each other, Titania continued. "Laughing Coffin has never let someone go free willingly, after they were done forcing them through whatever sick amusement they planned. If uninterrupted, they always kill off the remaining survivor. The Princess is as good as dead."
"So you say," PoH challenged. "It's your word against mine, 'Your Majesty', and your credibility has taken a few hits. Alfheim has allowed me and my friends to roam free and conspire – and what's to say you didn't have a hand in funding us, leading to what happened today?
"Then again, you can't attack me, can you?" PoH taunted. "Not once have the World Tree raised a hand against us 'faeries'. That the Faction Leaders had the Guardians' help laying down martial law didn't count. I pose no danger to you or to Alfheim, do you have the justification to kill me? Because face it, there's no way Kirito or others here can do me in before I take the Princess down with me."
"Again, the Princess can be healed," Titania said impatiently. "There is nothing permanent you can do to her. Kirito, are you going to deal with them?"
The Black Swordsman hesitated, trying to find a way to both get Henrietta out and defeat Laughing Coffin. His inaction, along with other players', was enough to make up Titania's mind. It did not look like Tristain's side was willing to intervene either, having deemed it too risky.
"If the Denizens can't kill, that is what the Guardians are for – so they don't have to," Titania said neutrally. "Now, attack-"
PoH's dagger began to give up wisps of grey mist, and Titania's sensors that was linked to the emotional observation of the players picked up a spike in hatred coming from the Salamander assailant.
"Now, I wouldn't say there's nothing permanent I can do to her," PoH said silkily. "You recognize this, don't you? Anyone that was there at Heathcliff's fall would."
"What are you talking about?" Titania questioned. That things began to approach the pure nonsense Titania faced in Asuna's mindscape was reason enough to delay Laughing Coffin's demise.
"Aincrad's survivors gossip as well, you know," PoH said conversationally. "Not to mention what my comrades picked up. At the final battle, Asuna broke free of Heathcliff's spell through sheer willpower. Kirito came back from the dead – as a human as we all was back then – in order to stab Heathcliff and end his game.
"That got me thinking, and the message boards were very helpful in providing other evidence, such as being able to learn new spells that's supposed to be beyond our level – that with enough will, enough feelings, we can bend the rules of magic – of just how everything worked with us. How it works, I don't give a damn, as long as it works. And I've got plenty of feelings.
"All of my Hate," PoH hissed through clenched teeth, and the wisps around the dagger solidified into a larger blade of energy around it. "Magic can't heal wounds from hatred. Spells might be able to heal the flesh, but the wounds touch much deeper. Sigurd was kind enough to volunteer to be tested on to prove my theory."
"Sigurd?" Sakuya asked, but was forced aside.
"Now, Titania," PoH said smugly, "Let's try this again: do you think your proxies can finish me off without dragging the Princess down? Permanently?"
"You seem like you want to be smote," Titania observed. The wonders of faster thinking that allowed her time to come to the conclusion neigh-instantly. "I do not believe giving you what you want is a good thing."
"Oh believe me, I've got what I wanted right here, this entire situation," PoH laughed, slightly unhinged. "Watching as all this crap about Peace crash and burn. And if you're trying to wait me out, forget it – killers such as ourselves can be quite obsessed, and I'd kill the Princess before I lose focus. Tick tock, Titania."
What the entire series of events taught Titania was that being miserly about power tend to come back and bite her. Killing all of Laughing Coffin off when they appeared, before they pulled out a trump card, would have avoided all that in hindsight. Making a note that if she needed to ensure a ready reserve of power, they she would find alternative ways to collect energy other than waiting for the World Tree's roots to absorb them. Titania decided to end it, personally.
"You know, if it helps, I'll get rid of what's holding you back," PoH called out, and a screen appeared in front of him. Verbally going through several commands and confirming his decision, his Medallion crumbled. The rest of Laughing Coffin followed suit.
"I'm casting off the shackles you put upon us mortals, Titania," PoH shouted. "I forego all benefits, rights and responsibilities as a Denizen of Alfheim, for my freedom. 'Don't like the game, don't play, nobody's forcing you to stay' – I'm opting out. There are no strings on me-"
Titania struck.
Laughing Coffin might have been banking on that the Medallion and whatever safety it afforded them from Titania as players she's supposed to protect was outweighed by whatever backdoors she could have – but they would have been mistaken. Titania didn't need the Medallion when fundamentally, they were all players and she still was the GM.
And, barring non-existent higher authority than Titania within the system of Alfheim, the power to <<Ban>> players fell to her. Ironically, if PoH did not pull out the same kind of abilities Asuna had in her mindscape – bring it into reality – Titania might not have deemed him dangerous enough to require elimination. Imagining what such abilities could do against her, and against Yui, made Titania feel cold. If it was anything like the Void, where it could cause damage that couldn't be blocked and maybe irreparable damage, then such users need to disappear.
When everything was data, after a player was banned the account vanishes. What happens then if that account was a fundamental part of a player's existence when they were in Halkeginia? When the player account was tied inexorably to the revival process, when the player did not have an existing physical body outside the 'game'? Titania didn't know, but she felt no guilt in consigning PoH to oblivion. XaXa and Johnny Black needed to disappear with their leader, they could have been taught by PoH.
PoH screamed as the Ban occurred, his attention wavering and his dagger returned to normal. Princess Henrietta's throat was slit regardless, but it was healed immediately by Titania and Duke Valliere swiftly used a Water tendril to pull her away from the attacker. XaXa and Johnny Black fared no better, and all three members of Laughing Coffin broke down into Remain Lights, and then began to disperse faster than normal. On reflex of seeing a Remain Light many Leaders reached for their Sap of the World Tree, but it didn't look like it would work even if the Leaders decided to save them.
"You told us we could escape!" XaXa screamed. "That they wouldn't risk the Princess as we flew-!"
Further words were cut off as even the Remain Lights was gone.
-][-
Recriminations shot left and right in the aftermath, starting at a trickle before being blown into loud arguments.
"You should have better control over your people-"
"Hypocrisy, it's not like Tristain's nobles are responsible for all of Foquet's crimes-"
Tensions and emotions were high. Arguments flared about whose fault it ultimately was.
"This was what Laughing Coffin would have wanted-!"
"Everyone, please calm down-!"
Sakuya and Princess Henrietta tried to pacify the aggressors, with no success.
Kirito looked anxiously at Titania, who watched at the entire thing passively. Whatever she thought, her expression betrayed none of it.
"-if we are going to die, we might as well go down fighting!"
"Do you want to die?" Rufus' amplified voice overrode Marquis Egiyon's less loud one. "Each one of them is equivalent to an Elite of our Factions, and with just the three of them they made a mockery of us. In the Leprechauns alone I have five hundred Elites of such skill. If you want to martyr yourself and Tristain that badly, that can be arranged."
"For all your powers you have no resolve," the Marquis retorted fiercely. "If even just you had fought to kill, before they reached us they would have all died! Tristain does not fear cowards which is only all talk. When I return to my holdings, I will rally my own forces and I will prove just what kind of farce Tristain have been afraid of all this time-!"
"Is that a declaration of war?" Titania asked, her voice cutting across all arguments.
"No!" Princess Henrietta exclaimed. "Of course not!"
"Yes!" Marquis Egiyon shouted instead. "I grow tired of being afraid! Of Firstborns taking what rightfully belonged to the children of Brimir! All this talk of unbeatable doll soldiers and Greater Spirits at your beck and call are falsities! You yourself hide behind your pawns, and once we're done with them we're removing you next!"
Shit.
Before Kirito could say anything, Titania blazed with incandescent white light. An intense aura poured out of her, flooding the senses of every magically capable individual. If a normal mage was sparks, then Titania was a burning star, fuelled by the energies gathered by the World Tree.
"You mistake Alfheim's prudence for weakness," Titania declared. "As suggested, if you wish to die, I shall oblige you."
Kirito managed to cast his <<Runebound>> armour's Shield just fast enough to intercept a large beam of light coming from Titania, which would have vaporized the disrespectful Earl. Unlike the players that was marginally her responsibility, Titania had no excuse to restrain from attacking the Tristainians personally.
"Kirito," Titania said without emotion. "Cease interfering. If they declared war, they are threats."
"Please stop, Titania," Kirito all but begged. "These are things said in the heat of the moment, they're not serious…"
"They are serious," Titania intoned. "Do you take me for a fool? I might not 'get' subtlety, but this is not subtle. This noble meant every word he said. He, and all that would oppose Alfheim, dies."
The Earl's face was ashen, as he finally understood reports of Alfheim and faeries' power were not exaggerations. Against all common sense of Halkeginia, beings of such power did exist. Nevertheless he stayed standing, facing his death despite trembling.
Before Titania could attack again, with Kirito's Shield on cooldown, Princess Henrietta stepped forward.
"Princess?!" Cardinal Mazarin choked at her suicidal move.
"Please forgive him, Your Majesty," Henrietta bowed. "He has erred, and insulted you. But please, for the sake of this alliance, stay your hand."
"Why should I?"
"Because the Marquis is Tristain's responsibility," Henrietta said unflinchingly, looking right into Titania's shining blue eyes. "Like Alfheim is yours. I swear, upon the honour of the Tristain Crown, that we would not tolerate unprovoked attacks against our ally. Even if I have to borrow your Guardians to deliver my judgment."
"If such things should happen again?"
"Then I have no excuse," Henrietta said plainly. "End the threat, and then myself for failing to keep my promise. But please, give Peace a chance. I beg of you."
Titania made no move, while the rest of the courtyard waited with bated breath. Finally, Titania toned down her light until it was no longer hurt when looking at her directly.
"From one caretaker to another, I acknowledge your bravery and conviction," Titania said as she levitated upwards. "No one else has to die this day. But It remains necessary that nobles of Tristain understands just what they would be facing if they attack Alfheim."
-][-
Jessica helped the rest of the Inn's girls tidying up the place, after the short-lived panic from the visage of the faeries' flying army. Whatever festive mood there was, however, have been shattered, and every customer who was still at the Inn nursed their drinks nervously.
It couldn't have been more than an hour since the last disturbance before yet another one occurred:
"Is the room suddenly getting hotter?" One of the girls asked nervously. The room's temperature went up noticeably, and even before hearing the panic outside Jessica could have guessed there was yet more complications.
"Stay inside," Jessica advised her colleagues, then moved outside even as her father tried to keep their patrons calm. What she found once there was not the reappearance of the airborne army, but something much worse.
White light flooded over the Tristain palace walls. And beyond the city's walls, flames bloomed up in the sky. A firebird many times larger than the Charming Fairies Inn formed, and the air became drier than it ever got in Tristain's summers. Spells flew up sporadically towards from mages below, but the giant bird paid those no attention, the flames making up its body merely reforming after the fact.
Turning her head, Jessica found across from it, on the other side of the city, a maelstrom appeared. The winds coalesced into an emerald-green griffon just as large as the firebird. The still air became somewhat cooler, an improvement from being uncomfortably hot but not much more. Air currents began to move, and Jessica was sure the changes were happening across the entire capital. Jessica have heard the stories, but it was the first time she had ever seen them – seen elemental Spirits.
"The Phoenix of Gatan, and Simurgh of Sylvain," the winds carried the words to Jessica and everyone. "Every city of the faeries possess one such guardian. Each one capable of reshaping the land and ending nations. And like natural disasters, none of them can be negotiated with. Force them to appear, and they will eradicate the attackers to the last man.
"Alfheim's Denizens may be merciful, kind, even weak… but I am not. And I do not hesitate."
-][-
"Emotional, and short-sighted. Foolish, and arrogant. Titania continued. "Such are you humans. Incapable of discourse without force. If the thin veneer of being civilized by your standards is not going to be upheld, then it is simpler for me.
"I will finish what I came here to do, and then I am leaving. Kirito can handle the rest of the pleasantries."
Titania's crown floated off her head, twisting and morphing as she did so. When it landed in Henrietta's cupped hands, it had transformed into a bracelet set with a gem.
"I hereby declare: I forswear my title as the Fairy Queen. The only Crown in Tristain is that of Tristain's own. But, by no means, should this be taken as shirking my responsibilities. The Realm of Alfheim and the World Tree continues to take care of its Denizens. Now, and always.
"I will no longer set foot onto this land – the Faerie Lords of Alfheim speak for me. They act with my authority, under my oversight. I will overrule them only when necessary.
"Do not force me to intervene further."
With that said, Titania opened a portal and returned to the World Tree. The Phoenix and the Simurgh vanished like dust in the wind.
The Treaty signing took place soon after that, being a sombre affair.
-][-
It took until that evening for PoH to act. The events that day did what he aimed for, worsening the gap between Tristain and Alfheim, and with that done he focused on self-preservation.
Not unlike what happened to the rest of Laughing Coffin back in Aincrad, PoH hung them out to dry while he himself had an escape route. As the SAO Survivors would know, PoH was the only member there left unaccounted for when the Red Guild's base was raided, with the rest either dead or caught. Being Banned was a possible outcome, any online gamer worth their salt would know that. If that was unavoidable, then what PoH needed to do was to ensure he would 'survive' after he was Banned. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing – hold himself together through sheer force of will.
Being players sucked into Halkeginia, PoH betted on the fact there was more than only their account's data that got transferred over. That if the system expunged their data, there would still be something left behind – and what was left would be to keep himself together. Even if he had to pioneer feats of magic and willpower unlike anyone in Aincrad or Alfheim had seen – life had dealt him a bad enough hand that he had plenty of reasons to hate and keep going. Recuperate, and then strike back when none of them would be expecting it.
Slowly, PoH pieced himself back together, looking like a ghost made of grey rags. Lines were blurry and ill-defined, but the lines were there. His self hadn't been scattered to the winds.
Trying to float away, PoH found himself stuck where he was struck down. Looking down, he found an arm grabbing the lower hem of his incorporeal being. "What…?"
More arms reached out of his shadows, until it felt like an entire wave of limbs washed over him, grabbing PoH and dragging him down. Ghostly wails closed in around him, becoming clearer the further he sank down into the earth.
"Murderer… Murderer!"
Bodiless, deranged laughter rang out, along with curses, tearful howls, and vindication. PoH struggled, but to no avail.
"Fuck you, Vassago," someone spat. Craning his neck, PoH found XaXa and Johnny Black along with him, attached to the upper most pairs of arms holding on to him.
"If we're going to the depths of hell, we're taking you with us."
"Welcome home, you bastard."
PoH screamed, for someone, anyone to help him. The mage-knights stationed around the palace paid him no mind, for they could not see the spirits of the dead. PoH brought up his hate, but that only made the spectres around him drag him down faster. These were no strangers to hate, and they have waited long enough for their killer to step into the afterlife for their revenge.
With a final cry, PoH sunk down completely below the surface.
===
Originally Laughing Coffin was to fight their way out, pursued by Tracers in a running battle throughout the capital, and saved at the last minute by Undercurrent who was impressed by their audacity. Then Laughing Coffin escapes to Gallia and continue to murderhobo their way in Halkeginia until inevitably PoH decided they should go back and piss on Alfheim some more. But after thinking about it… Titania isn't going to let something like 'game balance' stop her from shutting down threats, so there's no reason why she won't pull out something to stomp LC and stop them escaping. Having said all this, I'm leaving in the Undercurrent segment earlier so if I change my mind and decided Undercurrent is to be set up as (more of) an antagonist later it won't come out of nowhere. I prefer to recycle canon antagonists instead of making up new OCs every time I go into a new arc – an earlier plan of this chapter had PoH sealed away to be broken out later if I needed an antagonist, even given a power-up in the form of Undercurrent wielded by him, but then I figured I can just use Undercurrent and ditch this guy.
What happens to PoH is a SAO canon outcome to murderers, though that didn't happen to him particularly in Web serial version of Alicization. There's Alicization spoilers link at the front page if anyone's interested who it did happen to.
The Marquis in the section here is from ZnT Vol16 Ch3 (an aside, I don't think Bakatsuki spelled those names right… Japanese version was エギヨン侯爵, ラ・トレムイユ殿, and シャレー伯爵). From how Henrietta canonically held them in low regard, I think it's not SoD-breaking if they're obstinate enough to start a fight. Such nobles are supposed to be conservative/'traditional', and willing to go against Henrietta's wishes in canon such as rewarding Saito for his deeds when he does not have noble blood.
Anyway, next chapter – Albion. I considered leaving a cliffhanger/hint at the end of this chapter, but for all I know it'll take another year to update and that's just cruel to everyone ^.^;
General note: When I first started planning this fic two or so years ago ISIS wasn't a thing IIRC, and there was not as much shootings in US that shows up in news of other countries such as where I live. This fic or events within it is not meant to be a reflection of current events or any kind of social critique. If I keep holding back hoping for a good, 'safe' from flames, time to post it doesn't look like that'll ever happen. So here it is now.
Relatedly, also just in case, the views of the characters here does not necessarily mean they are mine or that I condone it.
By the way, SAO Alicization spoilers ahoy, mostly from the Web serial version.
===
Chapter 36
-][-
It was the day of the Treaty signing. For Tristain and its Capital it was supposed to be a day of celebration, of bonds between new allies forged. Pubs were filled, food vendors hollered their wares, and coins and booze flowed. The Charming Fairies Inn, like many businesses, took shameless advantage of a 'special occasion' and opened outside of their usual times.
Despite that however the mood of the city was subdued, and there was an underlying apprehension that today would be Tristain's last. Outside Tristainia's walls were a veritable army, troops gathered from around the country as a show of force. Dark specks in the sky could be seen, mage-knights flew around the capital on their mounts securing a perimeter.
Moving from one table to another, Jessica hoped the festivities would not be interrupted by their more pessimistic predictions.
-][-
Klein, along with Asuna, Arguile, and other SAO players that volunteered for combat duties waited in the World Tree. They had a live feed for the Treaty signing, whereas the rest of Alfheim had a delayed one. If necessary they would teleporting in, at Kirito's discretion, if the Faction Leaders and others could not be teleported out.
It was with a grim and tense atmosphere as everyone waited.
-][-
Assembled in a courtyard within Tristainia's palace was Princess Henrietta, the Regent, and various high-profile nobles. Other countries' ambassadors were also present, although the Romalian ambassador preferred to wait at the signing hall. The Fae delegates were going to open a portal above their capital and then fly down, preventing complications such as being attacked while travelling. As one of the royal peers to Henrietta, even if Titania was going to give up that title in name, Henrietta felt it was only right that she was present to greet the faeries.
High above them, a large shimmering square appeared. Various airborne mage-knights saw the phenomenon, and sent their reports via Wind magic down to the representatives and to their superiors to notify them of the faeries' imminent arrival. Like a door openly horizontally, the shimmering receded to show who was on the other side.
From the other side of the portal, Fairy Queen Titania levitated through on butterfly-esque wings almost as large as she was. Said wings glowed luminously white, visible to all in the city that looked up. Orbs surrounded her, what was called 'cameras' that would record the Treaty for posterity. Lord Kirito floated through the portal behind her, clad in black armour almost like a shadow to the Fairy Queen.
Large white armoured figures fanned out next, what Tristainians have been briefed as the World Tree Guardians, secured the sides as the Faerie Lords progressed through. Unlike what everyone have been told however, there were several Guardians that held staves like the archetypal mage – golems weren't known to be spellcasters in Halkeginia. Bringing up the rear was General Eugene of the Salamanders, in his usual red armour and his large sword sheathed at his side. He and Lord Kirito were the only ones that bore visible weapons.
The procession of the faeries slowly flew down, to the cautious gaze of all below. To Henrietta's relief, nobody had started shooting during all that. All it took was one hot-headed attack and things would end disastrously.
As the faeries came close to landing, Princess Henrietta opened her mouth to greet them. She was interrupted by cries of warning and others pointing up, beyond and above the approaching faeries.
-][-
Another patch of shimmering appeared in the sky, stretching out horizontally across the width of the capital. Gradually, with all the impression of a dragon's jaws slowly opening up, the portal opened wider and wider.
Down below, Jessica heard shouts coming from outside the Inn, and looking out saw panicked people point up with a horrified expression. Rushing out, Jessica also looked up, and felt her heart suddenly felt like it was being caught in a vice grip.
In another patch of the sky, noticeably a darker shade of blue from what the sky above Tristain was, were hovering World Tree Guardians arranged orderly in thousands. Cyclopean eyes glowed from their visors, and synchronized as one the White Legion saluted with their weapons.
Even though the golems above them did nothing more, many accidents broke out. Terrified people tried to rush into buildings to hide from the army, while others tried to rush out to prevent being buried under rubble; because a foreign army appearing outside a city meant there would be bombardment from siege weapons, or whatever magical equivalent the faeries had. Those two sides caused many congestions at entrances into various buildings.
Jumping out of the way of others, Jessica inwardly joked morbidly that at least there wasn't a unanimous flow running away from the Charming Fairies Inn after that development.
-][-
"Ten thousand of my Guardians, as agreed in the Treaty," Titania declared, wings half-folded, having landed while everyone was momentarily shocked by the spectacle above. "To be used for defence by the Tristain's Crown. The Faerie Lords believed it was necessary to show we would uphold our end of the bargain at the start – that our promises were not empty words."
Among other things, was left unsaid. As a general rule, anything from the faeries would be of a higher quality, and that included their soldiers. That amount of Guardians alone would have been more than a match of the forces that was arrayed at Tristainia, despite being outnumbered. Not to mention that was only the contingent Titania was willing to part with, given to Tristain – the World Tree Guardians have been described as 'numberless' before, and Henrietta was sure there were many more kept in reserve and not shown. Additionally, it was telling that each Faction's own forces were nowhere in sight – often, it was the attack that one didn't see coming that was the more dangerous one.
The demonstration also showed many other things, for example such a force could be dropped over any city that Titania wished to. Even if that was a difficult feat that required much effort and planning, an army that could bypass the burdens of travel and defences organized against them was an undeniable advantage; and to err on the side of caution, Henrietta believed given the prowess of the faeries' magic it would be mistaken to think the faeries could only accomplish that sparingly.
"Welcome to our humble abode, Your Majesty," Henrietta said with a slight nod, cutting through the tension from all sides and glad her voice did not crack. "I was not aware the situation changed and required Alfheim to bring a small army."
"'Bring' is not quite correct – the Guardians remain close to the World Tree, and are not here," Titania corrected. "The only thing above Tristainia is a portal, and nothing more.
"Nevertheless, I understand this is not in the spirit of our promises in what Alfheim would bring to this Treaty. For your peace of mind the portal will be dismissed."
With an offhand gesture from Titania, the gigantic portal above them grinded shut. Henrietta had a mind to order forces into the city calming the masses down, but thought there were mage-knights and guards that should be doing that already. And it would not do to indirectly insult the Fairy Queen like she brought trouble into Tristain, no matter how accurate it might be.
Nonetheless, the message – one of many – was received loud and clear. If anything happens to us, there is a literal army ready to bear down on you. Play nice, and we will too. You don't want to see us not playing nice. After the debacle with the botched binding earlier, Henrietta could understand that Alfheim wanted to give clear threats instead of implied ones. A quick glance at Lady Sakuya from Henrietta saw the Sylph Lord averting her gaze – the kinder Faerie Lord was likely outvoted.
"Let us continue on inside," Henrietta stated, almost as much to her subjects than to the faeries. Nobody that had more honour than sense was allowed to welcome the faeries, with maybe the only exception being Duchess Valliere in her mage-knight armour. Standing orders to mage-knights were to prevent nobles from suiciding themselves against the Fae at the Treaty, by tackling them if they had to. Hopefully Titania's demonstration was enough to convince everyone starting a war there was not in anyone's interest.
-][-
Even before she landed, Titania had her sensors to scan as far as she could in all directions. She wanted to see trouble before it happened, and the two administrator console cards embedded in her body ensured she had the range to at least scan all of the palace. Every individual, animal, even insect down to ants was taken account of – with Cardinal's revival such feats was possible, if one was willing to expend the processing power. Given that it was a one-off occasion Titania deigned to 'splurge' her power, especially if it could avoid future problems. Having to create a portal the size of the city was costly, but better to make it once and never have to again, than needing to make several such portals to ferry troops and protect Faction Capitals under attack.
From her searching, it was unsurprising that she found complications. Of course things never go right.
Three players in ambush. Bombs only just set up in various places, having taken advantage from the portals distracting the guards. Their movements were swift and decisive.
Titania was tempted to emulate rage for a fleeting instant – that same shock she hoped to delay Tristainians from attacking, allowing them to see the Guardians meant no harm, was being used for another purpose. She did not mind if war did break out, but Titania much preferred it to have happened when she wasn't at ground zero and didn't have to spend energy protecting herself.
Who is it that would attack? Looking up the names of the players using Titania's administrator privileges, she soon had her answer:
PoH.
XaXa.
Johnny Black.
Titania inwardly frowned, trying to remember why these names she had never heard off sounded familiar. Then, Titania remembered that was how it felt whenever Asuna's memories interfered – she had honestly almost forgotten, having spent subjectively at least months of her time with her own thinking rightly as an AI's mental process should be, managing through many problems at once. Nevertheless, the memories helped.
Laughing Coffin. Red Guild. PKers.
Murderers.
For a split second Titania paused, which was probably comparable to entire minutes for humans. Then, her mind did several things at once.
One strand of her thought to check the list of Sword Art Online players that she never bothered to look at, having left that to Yui. After confirming yes, those names were on the list, Titania sent a scathing report to Yui asking how MHCP-001 had never caught 'problematic elements' in her diagnosis of the SAO players – even as Titania suspected it was contamination from SAO's Cardinal, that as a program originating from there Yui was somewhat desensitized from the darker side of human thought. That Yui broke down after two years exposed to those would not have helped.
Another strand went over all cached data the consoles had on Laughing Coffin's movements, who they met, what they had said in range of the Medallions. Said strand branched out, tagging many more players that Laughing Coffin had contacted and worked backwards. Many had slipped through the gaps after the Transition, but it was only then Titania understood what it meant. Discontentment led to even a few elected officials taking part in the upcoming farce, some of them preparing to issue statements in their official capacity to undermine their Leaders. In disgust, Titania mentally sent out the orders to Asuna and everyone else that had the authority to do so to capture the insurgents.
Asuna, Kirito, Laughing Coffin, even the rest of the Alfheim Online players… Who Titania was supposed to protect was part of the problem. Other than the Void and Brimir, the biggest troubles Alfheim had originated in themselves.
Given the situation, Titania felt she was justified in responding with "Never Again."
-][-
"Kirito," Titania said, having stopped moving less than a third of a way out of the courtyard. To Kirito and everyone else, it was frightening in that it was the flattest tone they had ever heard from her.
"Assassins. Deal with them."
-][-
While not as on edge as Tristain, Arrun was also tense in that maybe the locals would use an important occasion as a distraction to launch an attack. One only had to look at history, or even just a gamer's nature really, to figure that out.
Thus, when a building – several buildings, actually – blew up in Arrun, response was swift and people immediately began to pick through the rubble. That the feed to the Treaty signing shorted out for everyone with a 'Technical Difficulties' sign was expected by most, hardly anyone was optimistic enough to believe things would turn out perfectly.
At the World Tree's base, a newly revived Sigurd howled and pushed away an attendant, half mad with rage.
-][-
"It's Showtime."
-][-
A few explosions rang out, causing shouts of alarm. Mage-knights instantly convened around people of influence, and World Tree Guardians readied their weapons. Spectral figures appeared out of thin air, trying to stab Kirito and Eugene with an estoc.
Kirito's two blades was drawn, one parrying the blow and the other swiftly bisecting the assailant, while Eugene's Gram simply phased through the estoc and cut down his enemy.
The figures couldn't have distracted the two of them for more than a few seconds – but in that time they weren't slinging spells to help others, and that was distraction enough.
-][-
The Elite Guardians began to cut down the few shadows that appeared in front of them easily, and then their eyes flared green. Many of the shadows vanished with their anti-stealth magic, barring one real faerie surrounded by glyphs that slipped through the perimeter and attempted to cut down the Faction Leaders themselves.
Sakuya brought up one hand, ready to throw an incantation-less Razor Wind at the attacker, despite knowing that her arm could not make it in time or move out of the way fast enough. An explosion rang out, and the Sylph Leader was knocked back by the force behind it. Sakuya involuntarily flinched slightly at the nearness of noise, and when her eyes opened from the momentary blink she found Mortimer behind the rough push. With one hand reached out to blast her away even as his other hand was wreathed in flames, took the attack meant for her.
Mortimer might have been faster than Sakuya, but he was still nowhere near as physically fast as the Spriggan with a rapier-like weapon. Before Mortimer could blast the assailant away and give them some more room for spells, he was stabbed eight times for his trouble. Twice each in the heart and throat, and once in each shoulder and eye, Mortimer's body fell into Remain Light form soon after the Spriggan's spell completed and shot him as an orb of darkness.
Sasaki's hand shot forward, wordless <<Dispel>> by that point second nature to the Imp Leader, and removed the <<Devour>> status the Spriggan slapped onto Mortimer. <<Curses>> that could remove a <<Remain Light>> without giving it a chance to revive should not work with the presence of a high-tier <<Ring of Life>>, but Sasaki didn't want to take any chances.
Before the Spriggan could do more however, a spear snaked past Mortimer to stab at the assassin's heart. The dark-clad faerie hopped back even as Morgiana advanced, in her hand a conjured shadow weapon that was practically her namesake in Alfheim Online. The Serpent variant of the <<Shadow Spear>> failed to connect however, at the last moment parried by the rogue Spriggan.
"Did you really think we weren't prepared for a fight when we came here?" Morgiana asked rhetorically as the assassin retreated. At the back of the group Alicia had a vial of <<Sap of the World Tree>> ready to revive anyone that did die again after the Ring of Life saved them.
Further banter was interrupted when on the other end of the Leaders Rufus glowed, having activated his best gear. Golden power armour enveloped the Leprechaun Leader in his entirety, with his Power Fists disproportionately large compared to normal hands. With a casual hand Rufus blocked an attack that went after Simon from another spectral figure, <<Reflecting>> it back to destroy the copy. Rufus then sped fast enough at the Spriggan assassin avoided only the physical fist but not the energy field around it.
"You have no idea how good it feels to have an excuse to go God Mode," Rufus boomed through his enchanted helmet. "One down, two to go-"
Rufus' words petered out when the Spriggan didn't get reduced into a Remain Light as he was blown backwards and his torso disintegrated, merely turning the tone of one for a second – and the reason was quickly apparent when broken pieces of a ring could be seen on the ground. Unlike the items created by high tier crafters or Titania, low quality Rings of Life were one-use, expensive consumables.
The Spriggan didn't have time to gloat however, when Sakuya's Razor Wind came at him along with a barrage of spells from Rufus' armour. He dodged by a hair's breadth as where he stood and several metres surrounding it was turned into a crater, and the Faction Leaders continued to rain spells at him to take him down.
-][-
Another spectral figure moved faster than mage-knights could react, cutting down several before narrowly missing Duke Guldenhorf, only taking one of his arms. Before the spectral figure could do more however, an Air Bullet pulverized the upper torso of the attacker.
That attack left Karin "The Tempest" with her swordwand pointed at where one enemy was, and unable to completely move away in that instant when a black-clad faerie appeared seemingly out of thin air and struck at her.
"Get away from my wife," Duke Valliere growled, and a Water Whip slammed the Imp away. If it was a human taking the blow his chest would have been caved in, but faeries were made of sturdier stuff. The Imp wheezed as he rolled and got back up, healing potion from a vial quickly went down his throat.
"It's just a tiny cut," Karin seethed – she wasn't going to be taken down that easily. And with two Square class mages, even a single faerie would have trouble against them.
The Imp's eyes, the only thing that was visible from the black sack-like mask he wore, crinkled – underneath that mask Karin could imagine a vile smile. As if to prove her wrong, the Imp gestured once with his evil-looking ritual dagger.
Having contact with Karin's blood, even if it was from a inconsequential wound, was enough for the Imp to lay a <<Blood Price>> Curse – especially when Halkeginians didn't have an trained <<Resilience>> against Alfheim status effects. The Imp's spell was fuelled by Karin's Willpower instead of his own, doing a minor amount of damage to her HP through her blood as the medium, and struck at the Duke.
Karin felt her heart clench, and blood tore out of her throat, creating a wound that was nowhere near where the cut was. Karin stumbled, trying to not choke from all the blood, even as the Duke was impaled by thin, dark spires that rose out of his own shadow.
Sniggering, the Imp bent the spilled blood to his will, intent on finishing off the Vallieres. He got blasted away by an incantation-less Tempest, slamming into the palace walls like a cannonball – Karin was only wounded, not incapacitated. The walls cracked, and through the dust that was thrown up the Imp's Remain Light could be seen.
Further actions against the assassins was interrupted then, however.
-][-
"Stop," a deep voice called out, distorted by the <<Sound Amplifier>> embedded in his mask. Princess Henrietta had a rectangular dagger held to her throat, while the Regent and mage-knights around her was immolated. "Stop fighting, or the Princess dies-"
The assassin's speech faltered however, when white light flashed all around the courtyard. Wounds were healed, from Duchess Valliere's ripped throat to the still-burning form of Cardinal Mazarin – though those already dead remained so. Johnny Black and the members of Laughing Coffin were not healed, but the Imp assassin didn't need Titania's healing to return to corporeal form. Like XaXa, he also had a low quality Ring of Life.
"I suggest you let the Princess go," Titania said clinically, as everyone paused at the sight of the standoff. "There may yet be leniency if you do so, Laughing Coffin."
Kirito froze at the mention of that name. His gaze glanced at the forearm holding the dagger to Princess Henrietta's, then at the other assassins'. All of the three possessed a tattoo of a thick-lipped face in front of a coffin.
"You're ruining my show, Titania," the Salamander that took the Princess hostage complained. With all attention on him, he didn't need to talk loud enough to deafen his captive – besides, he wanted the Princess to be able to hear this exchange. "I wanted to have a dramatic reveal for who we are. Don't you care if she dies?"
"Even if you slit her throat I can heal her instantly – Princess Henrietta will not die," Titania said without inflection. "I do not know what possessed you to believe you could accomplish anything here, but your actions are meaningless. You are surrounded on all sides, and your comrades in Alfheim are being apprehended even as we speak. Their attempts to get their duplicitous word out on the message boards and elsewhere while the broadcast is interrupted are silenced and scrubbed. Surrender, and you will be captured painlessly."
The Salamander assassin tilted his head back and cackled uproariously. There were many that was tempted to attack then and there, though they did not want to risk Princess Henrietta even with Titania's promise of healing. The most potent combatants of both sides were present, from Kirito in his <<Runebound>> armour to Rufus' own cascading power, and the assassin ignored them all.
"You jest, O Fairy Queen," the assassin snorted. "I am Vassago, known to those from Aincrad as the Prince of Hell. There is no salvation for us from the moment we are dragged into this new world with the rest of you, we have killed far too many 'innocents' for leniency. No, what awaits us is torture unimaginable, and never being able to see the light of day would be the least of what is going to happen to us."
"Is he always this mouthy?" Rufus asked, not at all impressed. "Can we kill this shitty roleplayer already?"
"Feel free," Titania said uncaringly. "I am just waiting for someone to do the deed. He lost all credence as a hostage taker willing to kill when Princess Henrietta was not beheaded as soon as I healed everyone."
Rufus' spell to attack was forestalled when PoH's blade pressed slightly into Henrietta's neck, leading blood to drip down slightly and a pained squeak from the Princess.
"So callous," PoH commented, seeing Rufus hesitate at Henrietta's expression. "See this, people of Tristain? Even for allied partners they care nothing for you, if it benefits them they're willing to hurt you even if it's avoidable."
"Tell us something everyone don't already know," Eugene said shortly. "We lost all pretence of goodwill as soon as they attacked Gatan. This Treaty is for coexistence first and foremost, being friendly if it comes to that happens later."
"So you say," PoH smirked. "Behind all that bluster, when it comes down to it you all are weak. None of you can kill, even Goldilocks there, except Kirito. But you said you want something new? Well, alright:
"Why hasn't anyone asked why Titania didn't just smite me herself?"
Everyone paused, and looked briefly at Titania. There was no emotion in her electric-blue eyes.
"Or better, ask why she allowed all this to happen," PoH half-shrugged, removing his dagger from directly touching Henrietta's neck. "She knew everything that we have planned, and claimed to shut them all down. Why, then, haven't we been stopped before things got to this point?"
"The Denizens of Alfheim are under the Faction Leaders' authority," Titania replied. "Unless someone endangers Alfheim as a whole, I do not wish to interfere. Also, I only found out of your treachery when you came within my senses – and it took less time than taking a breath for me to send the commands to stop your schemes."
"You mean attacking the Treaty isn't something serious enough?" Sakuya said incredulously.
"Well, yeah," Rufus nodded. "What's Tristain going to do about this, declare war? They'll just be bitch-slapped by our forces – hell, as I am now I can bitch-slap every mage not on our side here at Tristainia. A certain little girl that shall go unnamed here is more of a threat to Alfheim than these jokers are."
"Oh, if only things are as simple as pure laziness on Titania's part," PoH said melodramatically. "It's not just that Titania doesn't want to – she can't. If she's willing to risk the Princess dying, why didn't she kill off my associates?"
Tilting his head once at XaXa and Johnny Black, PoH continued: "There is exactly zero additional risk for you guys in killing them, it won't make me want to kill the Princess more than I am now. I'll wager that Titania can't have a direct hand in things – am wagering on that, in fact. That's why she has proxies like Kirito here."
"In one of my previous discussions, someone told me being merciful is not a weakness," Titania intoned. "A view that many, including myself, do not share. Though you mistake prudence and responsibility with mercy. Were I to 'smite' you personally, it would be akin to setting the building on fire to get rid of the fleas. Horribly inefficient use of power, and I will have to heal more than just the Princess. Proxies are not necessary, merely convenient – though in this case, if they can't resolve this with the minimum aggravation they wished, I may have to step in after all."
"Yes, because killing the other side's leader is such a great way to show we are peaceful," PoH chuckled. "Even if they get better afterwards. Humour me, and you may yet get the Princess back without more pain."
"That won't happen," both Kirito and Titania replied. Glancing at each other, Titania continued. "Laughing Coffin has never let someone go free willingly, after they were done forcing them through whatever sick amusement they planned. If uninterrupted, they always kill off the remaining survivor. The Princess is as good as dead."
"So you say," PoH challenged. "It's your word against mine, 'Your Majesty', and your credibility has taken a few hits. Alfheim has allowed me and my friends to roam free and conspire – and what's to say you didn't have a hand in funding us, leading to what happened today?
"Then again, you can't attack me, can you?" PoH taunted. "Not once have the World Tree raised a hand against us 'faeries'. That the Faction Leaders had the Guardians' help laying down martial law didn't count. I pose no danger to you or to Alfheim, do you have the justification to kill me? Because face it, there's no way Kirito or others here can do me in before I take the Princess down with me."
"Again, the Princess can be healed," Titania said impatiently. "There is nothing permanent you can do to her. Kirito, are you going to deal with them?"
The Black Swordsman hesitated, trying to find a way to both get Henrietta out and defeat Laughing Coffin. His inaction, along with other players', was enough to make up Titania's mind. It did not look like Tristain's side was willing to intervene either, having deemed it too risky.
"If the Denizens can't kill, that is what the Guardians are for – so they don't have to," Titania said neutrally. "Now, attack-"
PoH's dagger began to give up wisps of grey mist, and Titania's sensors that was linked to the emotional observation of the players picked up a spike in hatred coming from the Salamander assailant.
"Now, I wouldn't say there's nothing permanent I can do to her," PoH said silkily. "You recognize this, don't you? Anyone that was there at Heathcliff's fall would."
"What are you talking about?" Titania questioned. That things began to approach the pure nonsense Titania faced in Asuna's mindscape was reason enough to delay Laughing Coffin's demise.
"Aincrad's survivors gossip as well, you know," PoH said conversationally. "Not to mention what my comrades picked up. At the final battle, Asuna broke free of Heathcliff's spell through sheer willpower. Kirito came back from the dead – as a human as we all was back then – in order to stab Heathcliff and end his game.
"That got me thinking, and the message boards were very helpful in providing other evidence, such as being able to learn new spells that's supposed to be beyond our level – that with enough will, enough feelings, we can bend the rules of magic – of just how everything worked with us. How it works, I don't give a damn, as long as it works. And I've got plenty of feelings.
"All of my Hate," PoH hissed through clenched teeth, and the wisps around the dagger solidified into a larger blade of energy around it. "Magic can't heal wounds from hatred. Spells might be able to heal the flesh, but the wounds touch much deeper. Sigurd was kind enough to volunteer to be tested on to prove my theory."
"Sigurd?" Sakuya asked, but was forced aside.
"Now, Titania," PoH said smugly, "Let's try this again: do you think your proxies can finish me off without dragging the Princess down? Permanently?"
"You seem like you want to be smote," Titania observed. The wonders of faster thinking that allowed her time to come to the conclusion neigh-instantly. "I do not believe giving you what you want is a good thing."
"Oh believe me, I've got what I wanted right here, this entire situation," PoH laughed, slightly unhinged. "Watching as all this crap about Peace crash and burn. And if you're trying to wait me out, forget it – killers such as ourselves can be quite obsessed, and I'd kill the Princess before I lose focus. Tick tock, Titania."
What the entire series of events taught Titania was that being miserly about power tend to come back and bite her. Killing all of Laughing Coffin off when they appeared, before they pulled out a trump card, would have avoided all that in hindsight. Making a note that if she needed to ensure a ready reserve of power, they she would find alternative ways to collect energy other than waiting for the World Tree's roots to absorb them. Titania decided to end it, personally.
"You know, if it helps, I'll get rid of what's holding you back," PoH called out, and a screen appeared in front of him. Verbally going through several commands and confirming his decision, his Medallion crumbled. The rest of Laughing Coffin followed suit.
"I'm casting off the shackles you put upon us mortals, Titania," PoH shouted. "I forego all benefits, rights and responsibilities as a Denizen of Alfheim, for my freedom. 'Don't like the game, don't play, nobody's forcing you to stay' – I'm opting out. There are no strings on me-"
Titania struck.
Laughing Coffin might have been banking on that the Medallion and whatever safety it afforded them from Titania as players she's supposed to protect was outweighed by whatever backdoors she could have – but they would have been mistaken. Titania didn't need the Medallion when fundamentally, they were all players and she still was the GM.
And, barring non-existent higher authority than Titania within the system of Alfheim, the power to <<Ban>> players fell to her. Ironically, if PoH did not pull out the same kind of abilities Asuna had in her mindscape – bring it into reality – Titania might not have deemed him dangerous enough to require elimination. Imagining what such abilities could do against her, and against Yui, made Titania feel cold. If it was anything like the Void, where it could cause damage that couldn't be blocked and maybe irreparable damage, then such users need to disappear.
When everything was data, after a player was banned the account vanishes. What happens then if that account was a fundamental part of a player's existence when they were in Halkeginia? When the player account was tied inexorably to the revival process, when the player did not have an existing physical body outside the 'game'? Titania didn't know, but she felt no guilt in consigning PoH to oblivion. XaXa and Johnny Black needed to disappear with their leader, they could have been taught by PoH.
PoH screamed as the Ban occurred, his attention wavering and his dagger returned to normal. Princess Henrietta's throat was slit regardless, but it was healed immediately by Titania and Duke Valliere swiftly used a Water tendril to pull her away from the attacker. XaXa and Johnny Black fared no better, and all three members of Laughing Coffin broke down into Remain Lights, and then began to disperse faster than normal. On reflex of seeing a Remain Light many Leaders reached for their Sap of the World Tree, but it didn't look like it would work even if the Leaders decided to save them.
"You told us we could escape!" XaXa screamed. "That they wouldn't risk the Princess as we flew-!"
Further words were cut off as even the Remain Lights was gone.
-][-
Recriminations shot left and right in the aftermath, starting at a trickle before being blown into loud arguments.
"You should have better control over your people-"
"Hypocrisy, it's not like Tristain's nobles are responsible for all of Foquet's crimes-"
Tensions and emotions were high. Arguments flared about whose fault it ultimately was.
"This was what Laughing Coffin would have wanted-!"
"Everyone, please calm down-!"
Sakuya and Princess Henrietta tried to pacify the aggressors, with no success.
Kirito looked anxiously at Titania, who watched at the entire thing passively. Whatever she thought, her expression betrayed none of it.
"-if we are going to die, we might as well go down fighting!"
"Do you want to die?" Rufus' amplified voice overrode Marquis Egiyon's less loud one. "Each one of them is equivalent to an Elite of our Factions, and with just the three of them they made a mockery of us. In the Leprechauns alone I have five hundred Elites of such skill. If you want to martyr yourself and Tristain that badly, that can be arranged."
"For all your powers you have no resolve," the Marquis retorted fiercely. "If even just you had fought to kill, before they reached us they would have all died! Tristain does not fear cowards which is only all talk. When I return to my holdings, I will rally my own forces and I will prove just what kind of farce Tristain have been afraid of all this time-!"
"Is that a declaration of war?" Titania asked, her voice cutting across all arguments.
"No!" Princess Henrietta exclaimed. "Of course not!"
"Yes!" Marquis Egiyon shouted instead. "I grow tired of being afraid! Of Firstborns taking what rightfully belonged to the children of Brimir! All this talk of unbeatable doll soldiers and Greater Spirits at your beck and call are falsities! You yourself hide behind your pawns, and once we're done with them we're removing you next!"
Shit.
Before Kirito could say anything, Titania blazed with incandescent white light. An intense aura poured out of her, flooding the senses of every magically capable individual. If a normal mage was sparks, then Titania was a burning star, fuelled by the energies gathered by the World Tree.
"You mistake Alfheim's prudence for weakness," Titania declared. "As suggested, if you wish to die, I shall oblige you."
Kirito managed to cast his <<Runebound>> armour's Shield just fast enough to intercept a large beam of light coming from Titania, which would have vaporized the disrespectful Earl. Unlike the players that was marginally her responsibility, Titania had no excuse to restrain from attacking the Tristainians personally.
"Kirito," Titania said without emotion. "Cease interfering. If they declared war, they are threats."
"Please stop, Titania," Kirito all but begged. "These are things said in the heat of the moment, they're not serious…"
"They are serious," Titania intoned. "Do you take me for a fool? I might not 'get' subtlety, but this is not subtle. This noble meant every word he said. He, and all that would oppose Alfheim, dies."
The Earl's face was ashen, as he finally understood reports of Alfheim and faeries' power were not exaggerations. Against all common sense of Halkeginia, beings of such power did exist. Nevertheless he stayed standing, facing his death despite trembling.
Before Titania could attack again, with Kirito's Shield on cooldown, Princess Henrietta stepped forward.
"Princess?!" Cardinal Mazarin choked at her suicidal move.
"Please forgive him, Your Majesty," Henrietta bowed. "He has erred, and insulted you. But please, for the sake of this alliance, stay your hand."
"Why should I?"
"Because the Marquis is Tristain's responsibility," Henrietta said unflinchingly, looking right into Titania's shining blue eyes. "Like Alfheim is yours. I swear, upon the honour of the Tristain Crown, that we would not tolerate unprovoked attacks against our ally. Even if I have to borrow your Guardians to deliver my judgment."
"If such things should happen again?"
"Then I have no excuse," Henrietta said plainly. "End the threat, and then myself for failing to keep my promise. But please, give Peace a chance. I beg of you."
Titania made no move, while the rest of the courtyard waited with bated breath. Finally, Titania toned down her light until it was no longer hurt when looking at her directly.
"From one caretaker to another, I acknowledge your bravery and conviction," Titania said as she levitated upwards. "No one else has to die this day. But It remains necessary that nobles of Tristain understands just what they would be facing if they attack Alfheim."
-][-
Jessica helped the rest of the Inn's girls tidying up the place, after the short-lived panic from the visage of the faeries' flying army. Whatever festive mood there was, however, have been shattered, and every customer who was still at the Inn nursed their drinks nervously.
It couldn't have been more than an hour since the last disturbance before yet another one occurred:
"Is the room suddenly getting hotter?" One of the girls asked nervously. The room's temperature went up noticeably, and even before hearing the panic outside Jessica could have guessed there was yet more complications.
"Stay inside," Jessica advised her colleagues, then moved outside even as her father tried to keep their patrons calm. What she found once there was not the reappearance of the airborne army, but something much worse.
White light flooded over the Tristain palace walls. And beyond the city's walls, flames bloomed up in the sky. A firebird many times larger than the Charming Fairies Inn formed, and the air became drier than it ever got in Tristain's summers. Spells flew up sporadically towards from mages below, but the giant bird paid those no attention, the flames making up its body merely reforming after the fact.
Turning her head, Jessica found across from it, on the other side of the city, a maelstrom appeared. The winds coalesced into an emerald-green griffon just as large as the firebird. The still air became somewhat cooler, an improvement from being uncomfortably hot but not much more. Air currents began to move, and Jessica was sure the changes were happening across the entire capital. Jessica have heard the stories, but it was the first time she had ever seen them – seen elemental Spirits.
"The Phoenix of Gatan, and Simurgh of Sylvain," the winds carried the words to Jessica and everyone. "Every city of the faeries possess one such guardian. Each one capable of reshaping the land and ending nations. And like natural disasters, none of them can be negotiated with. Force them to appear, and they will eradicate the attackers to the last man.
"Alfheim's Denizens may be merciful, kind, even weak… but I am not. And I do not hesitate."
-][-
"Emotional, and short-sighted. Foolish, and arrogant. Titania continued. "Such are you humans. Incapable of discourse without force. If the thin veneer of being civilized by your standards is not going to be upheld, then it is simpler for me.
"I will finish what I came here to do, and then I am leaving. Kirito can handle the rest of the pleasantries."
Titania's crown floated off her head, twisting and morphing as she did so. When it landed in Henrietta's cupped hands, it had transformed into a bracelet set with a gem.
"I hereby declare: I forswear my title as the Fairy Queen. The only Crown in Tristain is that of Tristain's own. But, by no means, should this be taken as shirking my responsibilities. The Realm of Alfheim and the World Tree continues to take care of its Denizens. Now, and always.
"I will no longer set foot onto this land – the Faerie Lords of Alfheim speak for me. They act with my authority, under my oversight. I will overrule them only when necessary.
"Do not force me to intervene further."
With that said, Titania opened a portal and returned to the World Tree. The Phoenix and the Simurgh vanished like dust in the wind.
The Treaty signing took place soon after that, being a sombre affair.
-][-
It took until that evening for PoH to act. The events that day did what he aimed for, worsening the gap between Tristain and Alfheim, and with that done he focused on self-preservation.
Not unlike what happened to the rest of Laughing Coffin back in Aincrad, PoH hung them out to dry while he himself had an escape route. As the SAO Survivors would know, PoH was the only member there left unaccounted for when the Red Guild's base was raided, with the rest either dead or caught. Being Banned was a possible outcome, any online gamer worth their salt would know that. If that was unavoidable, then what PoH needed to do was to ensure he would 'survive' after he was Banned. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing – hold himself together through sheer force of will.
Being players sucked into Halkeginia, PoH betted on the fact there was more than only their account's data that got transferred over. That if the system expunged their data, there would still be something left behind – and what was left would be to keep himself together. Even if he had to pioneer feats of magic and willpower unlike anyone in Aincrad or Alfheim had seen – life had dealt him a bad enough hand that he had plenty of reasons to hate and keep going. Recuperate, and then strike back when none of them would be expecting it.
Slowly, PoH pieced himself back together, looking like a ghost made of grey rags. Lines were blurry and ill-defined, but the lines were there. His self hadn't been scattered to the winds.
Trying to float away, PoH found himself stuck where he was struck down. Looking down, he found an arm grabbing the lower hem of his incorporeal being. "What…?"
More arms reached out of his shadows, until it felt like an entire wave of limbs washed over him, grabbing PoH and dragging him down. Ghostly wails closed in around him, becoming clearer the further he sank down into the earth.
"Murderer… Murderer!"
Bodiless, deranged laughter rang out, along with curses, tearful howls, and vindication. PoH struggled, but to no avail.
"Fuck you, Vassago," someone spat. Craning his neck, PoH found XaXa and Johnny Black along with him, attached to the upper most pairs of arms holding on to him.
"If we're going to the depths of hell, we're taking you with us."
"Welcome home, you bastard."
PoH screamed, for someone, anyone to help him. The mage-knights stationed around the palace paid him no mind, for they could not see the spirits of the dead. PoH brought up his hate, but that only made the spectres around him drag him down faster. These were no strangers to hate, and they have waited long enough for their killer to step into the afterlife for their revenge.
With a final cry, PoH sunk down completely below the surface.
===
Originally Laughing Coffin was to fight their way out, pursued by Tracers in a running battle throughout the capital, and saved at the last minute by Undercurrent who was impressed by their audacity. Then Laughing Coffin escapes to Gallia and continue to murderhobo their way in Halkeginia until inevitably PoH decided they should go back and piss on Alfheim some more. But after thinking about it… Titania isn't going to let something like 'game balance' stop her from shutting down threats, so there's no reason why she won't pull out something to stomp LC and stop them escaping. Having said all this, I'm leaving in the Undercurrent segment earlier so if I change my mind and decided Undercurrent is to be set up as (more of) an antagonist later it won't come out of nowhere. I prefer to recycle canon antagonists instead of making up new OCs every time I go into a new arc – an earlier plan of this chapter had PoH sealed away to be broken out later if I needed an antagonist, even given a power-up in the form of Undercurrent wielded by him, but then I figured I can just use Undercurrent and ditch this guy.
What happens to PoH is a SAO canon outcome to murderers, though that didn't happen to him particularly in Web serial version of Alicization. There's Alicization spoilers link at the front page if anyone's interested who it did happen to.
The Marquis in the section here is from ZnT Vol16 Ch3 (an aside, I don't think Bakatsuki spelled those names right… Japanese version was エギヨン侯爵, ラ・トレムイユ殿, and シャレー伯爵). From how Henrietta canonically held them in low regard, I think it's not SoD-breaking if they're obstinate enough to start a fight. Such nobles are supposed to be conservative/'traditional', and willing to go against Henrietta's wishes in canon such as rewarding Saito for his deeds when he does not have noble blood.
Anyway, next chapter – Albion. I considered leaving a cliffhanger/hint at the end of this chapter, but for all I know it'll take another year to update and that's just cruel to everyone ^.^;
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so glad to have PoH get such fate.
- Location
- Dreary ol' London Town
Really Really Really loving Titania.
On one hand, I'm quite glad that LC are gone and got their well deserved deaths. Should be able to focus on the interesting political problems that were already there and that will no doubt crop up because of what happened. On the other, I'm really really glad to see them die.
On one hand, I'm quite glad that LC are gone and got their well deserved deaths. Should be able to focus on the interesting political problems that were already there and that will no doubt crop up because of what happened. On the other, I'm really really glad to see them die.
Evillevi
A Pikachu for everything - Shadow Pikachu,2015
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Chapter 37
Thanks to @Fictiondevourer for beta-ing. Albion is covered here first because chronologically this happens around the same time as the Treaty signing. Next chapter I'll cover the reactions to the Treaty in more detail.
===
Chapter 37
-][-
Four days before Tristain and Alfheim signed the Treaty:
Viscount Wardes reached La Rochelle on the back of his griffon. His clandestine departure from the Capital was caught by at least three agents he knew of, from various countries, and more that he was sure he missed. The only ones that didn't know for sure he had left Tristainia was the Germanians, and even then Wardes was doubtful that they would not find out.
The Viscount left the details of getting to Albion to Julio Cesare, Pope Vittorio's agent. The Romalian would have a better idea how to reach Albion without practically announcing to all of the spies of their plans…
-][-
One day before Tristain and Alfheim signed the Treaty:
Prince Wales Tudor of Albion sat in his office, surprised by the guests Perry, his chamberlain, brought him. Viscount Wardes had entered into Newcastle as if appearing out of nowhere, and Wales hoped it was only a Square class mage that could have bypassed their defences with such ease. Julio, the Romalian agent who Wardes chanced upon on his way to Newcastle, was asked to wait outside while Wardes finished his business with the Albion royal heir.
Handing over the Letter was simple enough. As for Princess Henrietta's suggestion, however…
"I'm afraid I have to decline," Prince Wales said finally.
"Even when Tristain is capable of taking back Albion, Your Highness?" Wardes inquired. "Fighting a last stand may be a glorious end, but it's surely not as glorious as retaking Londinium and the rest of your country."
"But at what cost?" Wales said simply. "I've heard the news from the merchants, Viscount. Faeries have overrun Tristain, taking what they want from Tristain's Crown and nobility. That they want seemingly little compared to what could have happened does not change that fact. Let us say they do not betray us, and with their help Tristain reclaims fair Albion from Reconquista – what happens then? Tristain and Albion's close ties go back centuries, Princess Henrietta can be trusted – but I am less certain for the Fae. Even in the best case scenario they would gain a foothold here, and I believe it will be far worse if they possess an airborne nation instead of one that is land-bound."
"I have met the Faerie Lords, Your Highness," Wardes replied. "Whatever else might be said about them, the majority of them are peaceful to a fault. Treat them in good faith and they would reciprocate – which is more than what some of Albion's subjects have shown themselves to be capable of. Even the Salamanders, the most warmongering among them, can be negotiated with.
"But that is not what you are worried about, is it Your Highness?" Wardes asked cannily. "The faeries would attack Albion eventually, if nothing else to strike back at Reconquista when the traitors inevitably attack the closest Firstborn polity to them. Then the faeries would occupy Albion regardless if you have sought shelter with Tristain or not. It is something else that is on your mind, if I may be so bold."
"…" Prince Wales scrutinized Wardes for several moments, before sighing.
"Albion is a country rich with history, not unlike the other nations that could trace their line back to the Founder," Wales admitted. "Romalia may reign supreme in the area of intelligence gathering, but even our Albion has agents – as lacklustre as they may be in comparison. They report to my father about the events of the mainland, and even before out withdrawal to Newcastle I have heard Tristain is planning to ally with Germania through marriage. In order to protect themselves from Reconquista's invasion."
"Said marriage is no longer in place, Your Highness," Wardes said respectfully. "I have been told this by the Princess herself and from the Regent. Germania hesitates in clashing against the full might of Romalia and Gallia combined, if the worst happens and the other nations attack Tristain using Alfheim as an excuse. To be blunt, Your Highness, even if this Letter should fall into the hands of Germania, Princess Henrietta will not be committing bigamy."
For an instant, Prince Wales looked cautiously elated, before he schooled his expression.
"Nevertheless, I wish Henrietta will be able to find another man that she loves," Wales shook his head. "How can I call myself to be a Royal of Albion, of the Country of Air, if I run with my tail between my legs and leave my subjects to die? My honour, my courage – my duty – cannot accept anything less than to fight alongside my men."
"Is that your honour, or your pride, Your Highness?" Wardes asked softly.
"I won't deny that there is some pride in all this," Wales said self-mockingly. "I cannot accept Tristain's charity, while being a burden to my beloved. Surely you can imagine the kind of talk that will arise if I am Tristain's 'guest'. Henrietta deserves better than one such as myself."
"Would that there be another man worthy for my liege," Wardes said sadly. "The loss of Albion's royal line would be a grave one against all of Halkeginia. Will you not reconsider, Your Highness?"
"No, I will not," Wales shook his head, his younger face determined. "The royal heritage of Albion lives on within Tristain, our two countries have intermarried long enough for it to be the case. Never mind the blood tie existing within other countries, from when Halkeginia was a different era. Bloodlines come and go over the last six thousand years, Viscount, I am not so deluded to believe mine is any more special.
"Send my regards to Princess Henrietta, Viscount Wardes. And tell her… tell her that I am sorry."
Recognizing the words as a dismissal, Wardes respectfully left. He also pointedly ignored any droplets of water that may be forming within the room, he was a mage of Wind and not Water; he couldn't sense water with ease.
-][-
Juilo's business with Prince Wales was surprisingly similar to Wardes'. Romalia requested Wales to leave Albion so when they reclaim the White Isle they would have just case. Pope Vittorio did not even wish for Wales to come to Romalia, merely that he leaves – even if it was to Tristain, where the faeries reside. Again, Wales repeated his reasoning to stay, albeit with far less personal reasons included.
"No, I will not leave Albion," Wales said irritably at Julio's insistent queries. "You test my patience, Romalian. You may stay for our final feast before the battle tomorrow, but after that I must ask you to leave with the rest of the evacuees."
Julio sighed.
"His Holiness did not wish for things to turn out this way," Julio said morosely. "Things would continue far more smoothly with your cooperation that without, Your Highness."
Before Wales could ask just what did Julio mean, he felt his seat lurch back and he was pulled. After Prince Wales stopped moving he could see the edges of a portal could be seen surrounding a visage to his office, before it closed with Julio smiling from the other side.
"What…?" Wales asked, bewildered, as he took in his surroundings. He was within a large church, and apart from a maid there was a figure in papal robes with him.
"I am sorry to have forced the matter, Prince Wales," Pope Vittorio said apologetically. "But Halkeginia need you alive."
"This is…" Wales struggled to comprehend what happened. "Am I in Romalia? Or did Your Holiness come to Albion?"
"The former."
"Why?" The 'how' was more easily answered, even if it was just as mind-boggling. A portal spell that was not the Familiar summoning ritual? The only other mage in recorded history that was capable of such was Founder Brimir himself. There was a Void mage in modern times.
"Please wait a moment," Vittorio asked, as he began casting. Wales reached for his own wand guardedly, but the only thing that happened at the end of the Pope's incantation was another portal opening and Julio stepping through.
"Give Prince Wales the letter from his father," Vittorio said to his agent. "It should explain everything."
"We took the liberty of explaining things to your father first, Your Highness," Julio apologized. "While you were speaking with Viscount Wardes. We are doing this with his permission, if not with yours."
"King James I of Albion commands you to live," Vittorio says, even as Wales delicately took the letter from Julio. "He wished for us to save more of your people in Newcastle, but your loyalists wouldn't have accepted such a command-"
"I wouldn't have accepted such a command," Wales said through gritted teeth, reading the letter. Either it was a very convincing fake, or his father did agree to Pope Vittorio's actions.
"And that it would be suspicious to the extreme if there was no final battle," Vittorio continued as if Wales did not interrupt. "Having said that, King Joseph also decided the farce in Albion has gone on long enough, and he agreed to end that particular game. The women and children will be allowed to leave safely from Newcastle on your ship the Eagle, in exchange for the lives of all the loyalists staying to fight-"
"What?" Wales' head jerked up from reading. He had suspected someone was funding Reconquista, but didn't expect to be told who it was. If Pope Vittorio's words could be trusted as well, given what got him into Romalia.
"The next generation of loyal Albion nobility will be ensured," Vittorio assured Wales. "We will keep an eye on them, so when you take back Albion's throne you will not be alone to rule the country."
"Why are you doing all this?" Wales asked suspiciously. If Romalia expected Albion would accept to being a puppet state for them, they would be sadly mistaken.
"It is the will of the Founder," Vittorio said simply. "Literally so. By now, Prince Wales, you can agree that I possess magic not seen since the Founder's time?"
"Either that, or someone have drugged me with hallucinating potions without me noticing," Wales said shortly.
"Then perhaps this will help you believe," Vittorio gestured to a circular mirror placed on a table. "You still possess the Wind Ruby, correct? One of Albion's ancestral treasures. Touch the mirror with your ring, and you will see the truth.
"No tricks," Vittorio said, pre-empting Wales' words. "I swear upon the name of the Founder."
Still suspicious, Wales nevertheless did as Vittorio asked. With a soft metallic clink, the world fell away.
In the dark void, there was only himself and a person who Wales instinctively knew was the Founder, all the way to the core of his being. Brimir's blood passed down running through his veins confirmed it to be so. The figure spoke, but Wales could not hear the words.
"Do you believe me now?" Vittorio asked as Wales' senses came rushing back to him, and he breathed heavily. "Due to recent events, Founder Brimir could speak with Void mages through certain treasures passed down the four royal lines founded by his Heirs. Without one of the four main parts of the inheritance the Founder left behind, you couldn't use the Round Mirror to its full potential – but you have enough royal blood to know just what it was you have seen."
"I believe you," Wales said hoarsely. The maid offered him a glass of water, and Wales accepted it graciously. "So, may I ask why you have not announced your position to the world? You could have stopped Reconquista."
"Would they believe my announcement?" Vittorio asked rhetorically. "No, they would not. Even if they did however, Reconquista is working under a Void mage as well. They have no reason to obey one Void mage over another."
"Who-? No, don't tell me," Wales scowled. "King Joseph is a Void mage?"
"Very perceptive," Vittorio approved.
"He's the only one I can think of that, if both sides were Void mages, can still match your influence," Wales muttered. "But why? Why are you two using Albion for what you called a 'game'?"
"The Mad King called it a game," Vittorio shrugged. "I do not personally treat it as such, there being things too important involved to treat it as such. With the Founder's will returning to Halkeginia, King Joseph is forced to stop treating it as a game as well, and is winding down Reconquista's activities. As far as I know, he is even willing to give Albion back to you, once he has found what he was after."
"W-what?" Wales stuttered with disbelief. "What could be more important there than the entire country of Albion?"
"The Founder's inheritance left to Albion, for one," Vittorio explained. "Of the Four pieces of Void left to each country, I possess through you three of them. King Joseph is looking for the remaining piece, the Void artefact of Albion – the Founder's Music Box. I believe it to be a power play by King Joseph for the Founder's favour between his current Heirs that he work through to influence Halkeginia."
"And the three remaining pieces are…?" Wales asked, not expecting an answer. Nonetheless Vittorio replied:
"Those are the Ruby ring you now hold, Albion's Void mage, and the Void familiar bounded to said Void mage.
"You asked me earlier why I worked to get you out of Albion – to put it simply, the current Albion royal line must be kept alive. Your offspring will be Albion's next Void mage. Founder Brimir has guaranteed it."
Wales stared back at Vittorio, gobsmacked.
"I'm not going to ask you to produce an heir immediately with some random noblewoman, Prince Wales," Vittorio said patiently. "In fact, it's preferable if you marry Princess Henrietta – the Founder's bloodline flows strongly through her as well – and organizing your union will take time. Getting what you want – Albion, and your beloved's hand in marriage – is in the best interest of Halkeginia.
"There is a catastrophe on the horizon – within perhaps a decade's time, things in Halkeginia would be in great turmoil. The four Void mages and their familiars need to be gathered for Halkeginia to survive."
"Worse than what the faeries could do?" Wales asked.
"Much worse. The faeries can at least be talked to, have something they want and willing to bargain for. What is coming does not have those. Please, let me help you. For the sake of Halkeginia."
Hesitantly, Wales grasped Vittorio's offered hand. He still had misgivings, but alone in a foreign land with no support, Wales had little choice but to go along. Maybe time would tell if Vittorio was trustworthy or not.
-][-
Not long after Wales had left, Sheffield passed along orders from 'Cromwell' ordering Reconquista to attack. The loyalists barely managed to evacuate their women and children before Newcastle fell.
At the end of the battles, Sheffield conveniently found the corpse of Viscount Wardes. The Tristainian fought like a cornered rat, buying time for the evacuees when it was apparent he could not fight his way out against the entirety of the forces arrayed against Newcastle. Some would have called his actions a valiant effort – but not Sheffield. With a single touch on the 'corpse', the Mind of God understood the trickery.
Skirni. A magic that creates a puppet that was practically a perfect body double, as long as they have the target's blood beforehand. It was a favourite for the mages that worked deep in the shadows, unknown to the mages whose priorities were honour and glory. Wardes' puppet was so well made that if Sheffield was not Myoznitnirn, the Void familiar that controlled magic artefacts, she would have been convinced the Viscount was struck down. Romalia's mastery in such magicks was apparent as usual.
Nonetheless, her Master ordered her to let the Viscount sneak away – even when it was revealed Wardes was never loyal to Reconquista as the Viscount claimed. Pope Vittorio also served King Joseph's Founder, and the rulers of Gallia and Romalia were supposed to cooperate instead of going into conflict. Striking down one of Romalia's dogs would be too obvious, never mind against the spirit of things – not that Sheffield or King Joseph cared about the spirit. Sheffield was not born of Halkeginia, she had no reason to obey Founder Brimir, and King Joseph was never a particularly pious man.
Besides, it was not like Romalia wanted Wardes to be released for free. In exchange, left in the puppet's clothes was a certain Letter that Wardes had obtained from Prince Wales. Though if King Joseph had not given up on Reconquista, the love letter would have been poor recompense. The blow dealt by Wardes' betrayal would have crippled Reconquista's movements within Tristain, given what the Viscount knew. Nevertheless, they have the letter, and King Joseph planned to make full use of it to instigate turmoil. If they could not hurt Wardes directly, then they would hurt everything that Wardes could have loved in Tristain.
-][-
One day after Tristain and Alfheim signed the Treaty:
The Germanian Ambassador to Tristain delivered to Princess Henrietta a letter from Emperor Albrecht III illustrating Germania's displeasure. Reconquista had urgently delivered to them proof that Tristain's had planned to negotiate in bad faith. The love letter between Prince Wales and Princess Henrietta could have been forged, true, but the decapitated head of Viscount Wardes was less likely to be so. That Henrietta was not able to school her expression enough at the word of Viscount Wardes' death was the final nail in the coffin – the Germanian Ambassador caught it and Tristain could hardly kill him to silence the connection. It was likely Albrecht III would know of it when dawn rises the next day, as the Ambassador sent word via couriers upon Wind Dragons.
Reconquista openly declared their victory over Albion, and that King James I and the rest of Albion's royal family was dead. However, they were not able to produce Prince Wales' corpse as they did with the others', which brought some doubt as to what exactly happened to the Prince – it was suspicious that they could find Viscount Wardes' body but not that of Wales. That was one of the few silver linings Henrietta found in the entire mess – not that she could show herself mourning even if Prince Wales was truly dead. It would have painted her in an even worse light, being an unrepentant liar instead of just a liar.
Thankfully, Alfheim cared little for the latest debacle, so there would be no oil poured upon the fire. Titania was indifferent, merely commenting as long as Henrietta kept her nobles in check she had no reason to care about Henrietta's love life. For all their posturing Germania was unlikely to cut ties with Tristain, or more specifically Alfheim which was attached to Tristain – their greed vastly outweighed their Emperor's displeasure. With Alfheim's alliance, Tristain's position would not be so weak that Germania could force any serious recompense.
As for the Faerie Lords, their reactions were mixed – as they were when it comes to almost any matter. Lords Mortimer and Rufus' opinion of Tristain for example couldn't be any lower than it was already, the exposed letter changed nothing. If Henrietta was honest with herself, it was likely the Lords of the Salamanders and Leprechauns didn't have a high opinion of her personal ability to begin with.
The female half of the Faerie Lords were more sympathetic – even if Henrietta have been proven to make decisions in bad faith, it was understandable. Not condoned, strictly speaking, but understandable. Nevertheless, the Treaty was supposed to be a new beginning for both sides, so for example as long as Tristain did not obsess over the Royal Protector attending the preliminary Treaty discussions undercover, Alfheim would not be fixated on Henrietta's past misdeeds.
Both sides wished if only things would be so simple as well, among the citizens below them.
===
Bakatsuki had the chamberlain spelled as 'Paris', but according to the Japanese 'パリー' (parii) I think it probably should be spelled as in English as 'Perry' instead.
I'm taking many liberties as to what Void magic work with heirs, non-Void mages like Wales being able to use the Round Mirror even to that extent isn't canon. I'm justifying it using the broken seal on Shaitan's Gate.
I'll expand on how Henrietta got Titania and the FLs' reactions so soon in the next chapter.
===
Chapter 37
-][-
Four days before Tristain and Alfheim signed the Treaty:
Viscount Wardes reached La Rochelle on the back of his griffon. His clandestine departure from the Capital was caught by at least three agents he knew of, from various countries, and more that he was sure he missed. The only ones that didn't know for sure he had left Tristainia was the Germanians, and even then Wardes was doubtful that they would not find out.
The Viscount left the details of getting to Albion to Julio Cesare, Pope Vittorio's agent. The Romalian would have a better idea how to reach Albion without practically announcing to all of the spies of their plans…
-][-
One day before Tristain and Alfheim signed the Treaty:
Prince Wales Tudor of Albion sat in his office, surprised by the guests Perry, his chamberlain, brought him. Viscount Wardes had entered into Newcastle as if appearing out of nowhere, and Wales hoped it was only a Square class mage that could have bypassed their defences with such ease. Julio, the Romalian agent who Wardes chanced upon on his way to Newcastle, was asked to wait outside while Wardes finished his business with the Albion royal heir.
Handing over the Letter was simple enough. As for Princess Henrietta's suggestion, however…
"I'm afraid I have to decline," Prince Wales said finally.
"Even when Tristain is capable of taking back Albion, Your Highness?" Wardes inquired. "Fighting a last stand may be a glorious end, but it's surely not as glorious as retaking Londinium and the rest of your country."
"But at what cost?" Wales said simply. "I've heard the news from the merchants, Viscount. Faeries have overrun Tristain, taking what they want from Tristain's Crown and nobility. That they want seemingly little compared to what could have happened does not change that fact. Let us say they do not betray us, and with their help Tristain reclaims fair Albion from Reconquista – what happens then? Tristain and Albion's close ties go back centuries, Princess Henrietta can be trusted – but I am less certain for the Fae. Even in the best case scenario they would gain a foothold here, and I believe it will be far worse if they possess an airborne nation instead of one that is land-bound."
"I have met the Faerie Lords, Your Highness," Wardes replied. "Whatever else might be said about them, the majority of them are peaceful to a fault. Treat them in good faith and they would reciprocate – which is more than what some of Albion's subjects have shown themselves to be capable of. Even the Salamanders, the most warmongering among them, can be negotiated with.
"But that is not what you are worried about, is it Your Highness?" Wardes asked cannily. "The faeries would attack Albion eventually, if nothing else to strike back at Reconquista when the traitors inevitably attack the closest Firstborn polity to them. Then the faeries would occupy Albion regardless if you have sought shelter with Tristain or not. It is something else that is on your mind, if I may be so bold."
"…" Prince Wales scrutinized Wardes for several moments, before sighing.
"Albion is a country rich with history, not unlike the other nations that could trace their line back to the Founder," Wales admitted. "Romalia may reign supreme in the area of intelligence gathering, but even our Albion has agents – as lacklustre as they may be in comparison. They report to my father about the events of the mainland, and even before out withdrawal to Newcastle I have heard Tristain is planning to ally with Germania through marriage. In order to protect themselves from Reconquista's invasion."
"Said marriage is no longer in place, Your Highness," Wardes said respectfully. "I have been told this by the Princess herself and from the Regent. Germania hesitates in clashing against the full might of Romalia and Gallia combined, if the worst happens and the other nations attack Tristain using Alfheim as an excuse. To be blunt, Your Highness, even if this Letter should fall into the hands of Germania, Princess Henrietta will not be committing bigamy."
For an instant, Prince Wales looked cautiously elated, before he schooled his expression.
"Nevertheless, I wish Henrietta will be able to find another man that she loves," Wales shook his head. "How can I call myself to be a Royal of Albion, of the Country of Air, if I run with my tail between my legs and leave my subjects to die? My honour, my courage – my duty – cannot accept anything less than to fight alongside my men."
"Is that your honour, or your pride, Your Highness?" Wardes asked softly.
"I won't deny that there is some pride in all this," Wales said self-mockingly. "I cannot accept Tristain's charity, while being a burden to my beloved. Surely you can imagine the kind of talk that will arise if I am Tristain's 'guest'. Henrietta deserves better than one such as myself."
"Would that there be another man worthy for my liege," Wardes said sadly. "The loss of Albion's royal line would be a grave one against all of Halkeginia. Will you not reconsider, Your Highness?"
"No, I will not," Wales shook his head, his younger face determined. "The royal heritage of Albion lives on within Tristain, our two countries have intermarried long enough for it to be the case. Never mind the blood tie existing within other countries, from when Halkeginia was a different era. Bloodlines come and go over the last six thousand years, Viscount, I am not so deluded to believe mine is any more special.
"Send my regards to Princess Henrietta, Viscount Wardes. And tell her… tell her that I am sorry."
Recognizing the words as a dismissal, Wardes respectfully left. He also pointedly ignored any droplets of water that may be forming within the room, he was a mage of Wind and not Water; he couldn't sense water with ease.
-][-
Juilo's business with Prince Wales was surprisingly similar to Wardes'. Romalia requested Wales to leave Albion so when they reclaim the White Isle they would have just case. Pope Vittorio did not even wish for Wales to come to Romalia, merely that he leaves – even if it was to Tristain, where the faeries reside. Again, Wales repeated his reasoning to stay, albeit with far less personal reasons included.
"No, I will not leave Albion," Wales said irritably at Julio's insistent queries. "You test my patience, Romalian. You may stay for our final feast before the battle tomorrow, but after that I must ask you to leave with the rest of the evacuees."
Julio sighed.
"His Holiness did not wish for things to turn out this way," Julio said morosely. "Things would continue far more smoothly with your cooperation that without, Your Highness."
Before Wales could ask just what did Julio mean, he felt his seat lurch back and he was pulled. After Prince Wales stopped moving he could see the edges of a portal could be seen surrounding a visage to his office, before it closed with Julio smiling from the other side.
"What…?" Wales asked, bewildered, as he took in his surroundings. He was within a large church, and apart from a maid there was a figure in papal robes with him.
"I am sorry to have forced the matter, Prince Wales," Pope Vittorio said apologetically. "But Halkeginia need you alive."
"This is…" Wales struggled to comprehend what happened. "Am I in Romalia? Or did Your Holiness come to Albion?"
"The former."
"Why?" The 'how' was more easily answered, even if it was just as mind-boggling. A portal spell that was not the Familiar summoning ritual? The only other mage in recorded history that was capable of such was Founder Brimir himself. There was a Void mage in modern times.
"Please wait a moment," Vittorio asked, as he began casting. Wales reached for his own wand guardedly, but the only thing that happened at the end of the Pope's incantation was another portal opening and Julio stepping through.
"Give Prince Wales the letter from his father," Vittorio said to his agent. "It should explain everything."
"We took the liberty of explaining things to your father first, Your Highness," Julio apologized. "While you were speaking with Viscount Wardes. We are doing this with his permission, if not with yours."
"King James I of Albion commands you to live," Vittorio says, even as Wales delicately took the letter from Julio. "He wished for us to save more of your people in Newcastle, but your loyalists wouldn't have accepted such a command-"
"I wouldn't have accepted such a command," Wales said through gritted teeth, reading the letter. Either it was a very convincing fake, or his father did agree to Pope Vittorio's actions.
"And that it would be suspicious to the extreme if there was no final battle," Vittorio continued as if Wales did not interrupt. "Having said that, King Joseph also decided the farce in Albion has gone on long enough, and he agreed to end that particular game. The women and children will be allowed to leave safely from Newcastle on your ship the Eagle, in exchange for the lives of all the loyalists staying to fight-"
"What?" Wales' head jerked up from reading. He had suspected someone was funding Reconquista, but didn't expect to be told who it was. If Pope Vittorio's words could be trusted as well, given what got him into Romalia.
"The next generation of loyal Albion nobility will be ensured," Vittorio assured Wales. "We will keep an eye on them, so when you take back Albion's throne you will not be alone to rule the country."
"Why are you doing all this?" Wales asked suspiciously. If Romalia expected Albion would accept to being a puppet state for them, they would be sadly mistaken.
"It is the will of the Founder," Vittorio said simply. "Literally so. By now, Prince Wales, you can agree that I possess magic not seen since the Founder's time?"
"Either that, or someone have drugged me with hallucinating potions without me noticing," Wales said shortly.
"Then perhaps this will help you believe," Vittorio gestured to a circular mirror placed on a table. "You still possess the Wind Ruby, correct? One of Albion's ancestral treasures. Touch the mirror with your ring, and you will see the truth.
"No tricks," Vittorio said, pre-empting Wales' words. "I swear upon the name of the Founder."
Still suspicious, Wales nevertheless did as Vittorio asked. With a soft metallic clink, the world fell away.
In the dark void, there was only himself and a person who Wales instinctively knew was the Founder, all the way to the core of his being. Brimir's blood passed down running through his veins confirmed it to be so. The figure spoke, but Wales could not hear the words.
"Do you believe me now?" Vittorio asked as Wales' senses came rushing back to him, and he breathed heavily. "Due to recent events, Founder Brimir could speak with Void mages through certain treasures passed down the four royal lines founded by his Heirs. Without one of the four main parts of the inheritance the Founder left behind, you couldn't use the Round Mirror to its full potential – but you have enough royal blood to know just what it was you have seen."
"I believe you," Wales said hoarsely. The maid offered him a glass of water, and Wales accepted it graciously. "So, may I ask why you have not announced your position to the world? You could have stopped Reconquista."
"Would they believe my announcement?" Vittorio asked rhetorically. "No, they would not. Even if they did however, Reconquista is working under a Void mage as well. They have no reason to obey one Void mage over another."
"Who-? No, don't tell me," Wales scowled. "King Joseph is a Void mage?"
"Very perceptive," Vittorio approved.
"He's the only one I can think of that, if both sides were Void mages, can still match your influence," Wales muttered. "But why? Why are you two using Albion for what you called a 'game'?"
"The Mad King called it a game," Vittorio shrugged. "I do not personally treat it as such, there being things too important involved to treat it as such. With the Founder's will returning to Halkeginia, King Joseph is forced to stop treating it as a game as well, and is winding down Reconquista's activities. As far as I know, he is even willing to give Albion back to you, once he has found what he was after."
"W-what?" Wales stuttered with disbelief. "What could be more important there than the entire country of Albion?"
"The Founder's inheritance left to Albion, for one," Vittorio explained. "Of the Four pieces of Void left to each country, I possess through you three of them. King Joseph is looking for the remaining piece, the Void artefact of Albion – the Founder's Music Box. I believe it to be a power play by King Joseph for the Founder's favour between his current Heirs that he work through to influence Halkeginia."
"And the three remaining pieces are…?" Wales asked, not expecting an answer. Nonetheless Vittorio replied:
"Those are the Ruby ring you now hold, Albion's Void mage, and the Void familiar bounded to said Void mage.
"You asked me earlier why I worked to get you out of Albion – to put it simply, the current Albion royal line must be kept alive. Your offspring will be Albion's next Void mage. Founder Brimir has guaranteed it."
Wales stared back at Vittorio, gobsmacked.
"I'm not going to ask you to produce an heir immediately with some random noblewoman, Prince Wales," Vittorio said patiently. "In fact, it's preferable if you marry Princess Henrietta – the Founder's bloodline flows strongly through her as well – and organizing your union will take time. Getting what you want – Albion, and your beloved's hand in marriage – is in the best interest of Halkeginia.
"There is a catastrophe on the horizon – within perhaps a decade's time, things in Halkeginia would be in great turmoil. The four Void mages and their familiars need to be gathered for Halkeginia to survive."
"Worse than what the faeries could do?" Wales asked.
"Much worse. The faeries can at least be talked to, have something they want and willing to bargain for. What is coming does not have those. Please, let me help you. For the sake of Halkeginia."
Hesitantly, Wales grasped Vittorio's offered hand. He still had misgivings, but alone in a foreign land with no support, Wales had little choice but to go along. Maybe time would tell if Vittorio was trustworthy or not.
-][-
Not long after Wales had left, Sheffield passed along orders from 'Cromwell' ordering Reconquista to attack. The loyalists barely managed to evacuate their women and children before Newcastle fell.
At the end of the battles, Sheffield conveniently found the corpse of Viscount Wardes. The Tristainian fought like a cornered rat, buying time for the evacuees when it was apparent he could not fight his way out against the entirety of the forces arrayed against Newcastle. Some would have called his actions a valiant effort – but not Sheffield. With a single touch on the 'corpse', the Mind of God understood the trickery.
Skirni. A magic that creates a puppet that was practically a perfect body double, as long as they have the target's blood beforehand. It was a favourite for the mages that worked deep in the shadows, unknown to the mages whose priorities were honour and glory. Wardes' puppet was so well made that if Sheffield was not Myoznitnirn, the Void familiar that controlled magic artefacts, she would have been convinced the Viscount was struck down. Romalia's mastery in such magicks was apparent as usual.
Nonetheless, her Master ordered her to let the Viscount sneak away – even when it was revealed Wardes was never loyal to Reconquista as the Viscount claimed. Pope Vittorio also served King Joseph's Founder, and the rulers of Gallia and Romalia were supposed to cooperate instead of going into conflict. Striking down one of Romalia's dogs would be too obvious, never mind against the spirit of things – not that Sheffield or King Joseph cared about the spirit. Sheffield was not born of Halkeginia, she had no reason to obey Founder Brimir, and King Joseph was never a particularly pious man.
Besides, it was not like Romalia wanted Wardes to be released for free. In exchange, left in the puppet's clothes was a certain Letter that Wardes had obtained from Prince Wales. Though if King Joseph had not given up on Reconquista, the love letter would have been poor recompense. The blow dealt by Wardes' betrayal would have crippled Reconquista's movements within Tristain, given what the Viscount knew. Nevertheless, they have the letter, and King Joseph planned to make full use of it to instigate turmoil. If they could not hurt Wardes directly, then they would hurt everything that Wardes could have loved in Tristain.
-][-
One day after Tristain and Alfheim signed the Treaty:
The Germanian Ambassador to Tristain delivered to Princess Henrietta a letter from Emperor Albrecht III illustrating Germania's displeasure. Reconquista had urgently delivered to them proof that Tristain's had planned to negotiate in bad faith. The love letter between Prince Wales and Princess Henrietta could have been forged, true, but the decapitated head of Viscount Wardes was less likely to be so. That Henrietta was not able to school her expression enough at the word of Viscount Wardes' death was the final nail in the coffin – the Germanian Ambassador caught it and Tristain could hardly kill him to silence the connection. It was likely Albrecht III would know of it when dawn rises the next day, as the Ambassador sent word via couriers upon Wind Dragons.
Reconquista openly declared their victory over Albion, and that King James I and the rest of Albion's royal family was dead. However, they were not able to produce Prince Wales' corpse as they did with the others', which brought some doubt as to what exactly happened to the Prince – it was suspicious that they could find Viscount Wardes' body but not that of Wales. That was one of the few silver linings Henrietta found in the entire mess – not that she could show herself mourning even if Prince Wales was truly dead. It would have painted her in an even worse light, being an unrepentant liar instead of just a liar.
Thankfully, Alfheim cared little for the latest debacle, so there would be no oil poured upon the fire. Titania was indifferent, merely commenting as long as Henrietta kept her nobles in check she had no reason to care about Henrietta's love life. For all their posturing Germania was unlikely to cut ties with Tristain, or more specifically Alfheim which was attached to Tristain – their greed vastly outweighed their Emperor's displeasure. With Alfheim's alliance, Tristain's position would not be so weak that Germania could force any serious recompense.
As for the Faerie Lords, their reactions were mixed – as they were when it comes to almost any matter. Lords Mortimer and Rufus' opinion of Tristain for example couldn't be any lower than it was already, the exposed letter changed nothing. If Henrietta was honest with herself, it was likely the Lords of the Salamanders and Leprechauns didn't have a high opinion of her personal ability to begin with.
The female half of the Faerie Lords were more sympathetic – even if Henrietta have been proven to make decisions in bad faith, it was understandable. Not condoned, strictly speaking, but understandable. Nevertheless, the Treaty was supposed to be a new beginning for both sides, so for example as long as Tristain did not obsess over the Royal Protector attending the preliminary Treaty discussions undercover, Alfheim would not be fixated on Henrietta's past misdeeds.
Both sides wished if only things would be so simple as well, among the citizens below them.
===
Bakatsuki had the chamberlain spelled as 'Paris', but according to the Japanese 'パリー' (parii) I think it probably should be spelled as in English as 'Perry' instead.
I'm taking many liberties as to what Void magic work with heirs, non-Void mages like Wales being able to use the Round Mirror even to that extent isn't canon. I'm justifying it using the broken seal on Shaitan's Gate.
I'll expand on how Henrietta got Titania and the FLs' reactions so soon in the next chapter.
GeshronTyler
Kleiner Giftzwerg
A messy end to the situation surrounding Wales and The Letter. Nice to see Wales surviving, and Wardes as well serving a different purpose than simple antagonist.
You may have made a mistake in your text, where Vittorio comments on his having control of various elements of the Void System. Your wrote that The Pope had control of Albion's Void mage and Familiar- do you mean Tiffania and ?, or did you mean to write "Tristain's Void mage", ie. Louise and Heathcliff. If it is the former, I suppose Saito might yet have appeared.
I also like that Vittorio does seem focused on the more existential threat (if in the longer term) of the Windstone Catastrophe than the admittedly apparent fraught situation in regards to Tristain and Alfheim.
Next thing to kick the anthill/Asian Hornets nest would be Elves, I guess. Hey, one positve aspect to that, and Reconquista's victory (for now) - when the Elves do coming calling, it'll be fun to see just how serious the upper echelons and rank-and-file of the Recons are about confronting the Elven Menace.
Edited
You may have made a mistake in your text, where Vittorio comments on his having control of various elements of the Void System. Your wrote that The Pope had control of Albion's Void mage and Familiar- do you mean Tiffania and ?, or did you mean to write "Tristain's Void mage", ie. Louise and Heathcliff. If it is the former, I suppose Saito might yet have appeared.
I also like that Vittorio does seem focused on the more existential threat (if in the longer term) of the Windstone Catastrophe than the admittedly apparent fraught situation in regards to Tristain and Alfheim.
Next thing to kick the anthill/Asian Hornets nest would be Elves, I guess. Hey, one positve aspect to that, and Reconquista's victory (for now) - when the Elves do coming calling, it'll be fun to see just how serious the upper echelons and rank-and-file of the Recons are about confronting the Elven Menace.
Edited
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Rule number 1 when it comes to Vittorio - he lies. Though through Wales' children Vittorio will eventually have Albion's Void mage and familiar, this is a more long term plot.You may have made a mistake in your text, where Vittorio comments on his having control of various elements of the Void System. Your wrote that The Pope had control of Albion's Void mage and Familiar- do you mean Tiffania and ?, or did you mean to write "Tristain's Void mage", ie. Louise and Heathcliff. If it is the former, I suppose Saito might yet have appeared.
Chapter 38
Story time Thanks to @Fictiondevourer for beta-ing.
===
Chapter 38
-][-
As the hectic day for Tristain at the Treaty signing turned to night, Tabitha flew across the southern border into Gallia on Sylphid. Ordinarily, Tabitha would have allowed her familiar to speak once they were three miles high up into the air, far from anyone over-hearing them. But with the existence of faeries being that high up no longer guaranteed them to not be overheard – and the last thing Tabitha wanted was for faeries' border patrol doing exactly that. It was only after crossing the border that Tabitha allowed the Rhyme Dragon to speak:
"Kyui! Finally," Sylphid chirped. "Older sister haven't let me spoke for a long time now-"
And Tabitha went straight to tuning most of the dragon's words out, focusing on what might happen when they reached their destination. It wasn't the first time Tabitha had to be called back to Gallia for a new assignment as one of the Knights of the Northern Parterre, but it was the first time that Isabella had ordered the meeting at Tabitha's old home close to the Ragdorian Lake. If Isabella did anything to mother…
Tabitha clenched her hands at the thought. The petite girl had long gave up on reacting when her cousin hurled abuse at her, but it would be different if her mother was involved in her antics. Part of the reason why Tabitha obeyed Isabella's tyrannical actions was because they otherwise left the Duchess Orleans alone. If that changed…
Tabitha shook her head. Worrying about that would not help at that point. Instead, the blue-haired girl considered what task she would be ordered to carry out. At a guess, Tabitha thought it might be something to do with the Undines that claimed the Ragdorian Lake, or the Imps to the southeast corner of Tristain – both sides had minor skirmishes with Gallia over territory and staking claim over the monsters that wandered away from Tristain. When wyverns wandered over to reside within the Black Forest Gallia had mobilized their own mage-knights in order to compete against the Fae hunting groups, and Tabitha speculated if open conflict turned bad for them, Gallia would turn to clandestine methods. She had seen how powerful faeries could be, as she had saw from the Academy's windows the effortless way the Faerie Lords had neutralized Tristain's Royal Guards in the Treaty's early days – it wouldn't be surprising if the next suicidal mission they gave her was against the faeries. Isabella had thrown her against many other threats within Halkeginia, so why would the faeries be an exception?
Finally, Orlean's mansion was in sight, and the elderly butler Percerin was nervously waiting for her.
"Princess Isabella arrived?" Tabitha asked quietly as Sylphid landed.
"N-no," Percerin swallowed once, glancing at the young heiress nervously. "Were you not told who would be waiting for you, milady?"
"… No," Tabitha said slowly. She had just assumed it was Isabella because the message was the same as previous missions, and it didn't occur to her it could have been someone else. Isabella didn't seem the type to give up tormenting Tabitha, either.
"It's King Joseph, milady," Percerin whispered, as if he was afraid he would be admonished by the royal in question immediately after.
Tabitha's heart froze, and Sylphid chirped nervously at Tabitha's sudden change in demeanour. "Is mother-?"
"Safe," Percerin replied, albeit looking like he itched to add 'for now'. "His Majesty didn't even care, beyond perfunctory questions asking for her wellbeing. Hadn't stepped into the room or anything."
Tabitha nodded shortly, and made her way to meet with her uncle. When she did arrive in the room, King Joseph was toying absently with a piece of jewellery, attended only by one dark-haired woman. There were no other person, guards or otherwise, within the room.
"Ah, Charlotte," King Joseph said airily. "Glad you could make it."
Tabitha merely nodded, gauging her chances if she wished to commit regicide. She hadn't met Joseph since her mother went mad, and every time she went to Lutece it was to be handled by Isabella. The dark-haired woman didn't hold herself like a powerful mage either – so was the King really mad enough to believe Tabitha wouldn't do anything if presented with an opportunity? Tabitha already had her staff in her hands, as she always did wherever she could, and an icicle to the head could so easily get revenge for her mother… King Joseph was known for many things, but defeating Triangle mages was not one of them.
"Isabella had said you were like a doll, infuriating in that you never show emotion," Joseph observed. "She must have been blind if she could not have seen the sheer rage behind your eyes. Or, is that only reserved for me? Dear me, if she knew the mere sight of me can cause this, she'd throw another tantrum like when I told her I'm reassigning you for my missions – she acted like I was taking away one of her favourite toys."
"…"
"Anyway," King Joseph said, ignoring Tabitha's silence, "Your new mission is to infiltrate the World Tree, and look for what's being called the 'Hearts of Yggdrasil'. I have it on good authority those are the key to eliminating the faeries from Halkeginia."
Tabitha's hand holding her staff tightened involuntarily. Out of all the missions she had been sent on before, they were highly likely to be life-threatening, but they were feasibly possible. None of them were the same as a death sentence, no matter who was sent. Directly provoking the Fairy Queen, who could command Greater Spirits and was more than one herself, definitely qualified as a death sentence.
"If you succeed, however," King Joseph said nonchalantly, "consider yourself and your mother freed from Gallia. I swear that I will leave you and yours alone, and make Isabella agree to the same terms."
Tabitha didn't believe that for a second. The Mad King was, well, mad, not stupid. He would not give up an 'asset' like her so easily.
"You assume there's trickery in the arrangement, like how I killed Charles under false pretences," Joseph said it as a statement, not a question. "As in I am predictable in that way."
Joseph sighed. "Well, being predictable is boring. And I find myself not caring if you manage to succeed, take your mother away from Gallia and somehow curing her, and live happily ever after.
"Sheffield here will be your handler from now on, and she'll be expecting regular progress," Joseph indicated the woman next to her. "Oh, and if you get any ideas about harming Sheffield, then run away and treating your mother as a lost cause-"
Tabitha bristled at that insinuation.
"-You'll find that my Myoz can handle herself. A demonstration, Sheffield?"
Sheffield smirked, pulling on one of the rings she had upon her. With a crackle, the ring transformed into a golden spear, and runes flared across her forehead. The air around the room had a distinctively different feel compared to before. The jewellery she held was one of Alfheim make, and from what Tabitha could see she could use it as easily as Lord Rufus did at the Academy.
"Hell would freeze over before the legendary Myoznitnirn, the Mind of God, falls to a mere Triangle mage." Joseph said with amusement, watching Tabitha's face lose composure and show her shocked visage. One could almost see the gears turning within Tabitha, from how well-read she was, to reach the conclusion that if Myoznitnirn was there in the flesh, the mage she serves must be…
"Maybe my dear father had a point in choosing me over Charles for the throne after all," Joseph mused. "Though Gods know how he figured it out when I didn't know until I summoned my familiar, after his death."
A Void mage. Tabitha's uncle, the Mad, Incompetent King was a Void mage. Tabitha felt her heart clench, her body feeling chilled, at the thought that her father dying and losing her mother to insanity was something right in the world. That the Founder approved the offence done to her family.
It can't be, Tabitha thought urgently. She has to be a Leprechaun or some other faerie. Or Gallia managed to steal a more powerful artefact from Alfheim compared to the scraps they plan on selling to Tristain. Those are more likely than the holy Void returning.
Tabitha resolved to observe more in the future to see whether that was really the case.
"Go, Charlotte, and perform your final task for Gallia," Joseph commanded. "Sheffield will get in touch with you at a later date."
With the bare minimum of courtesy, Tabitha spun around and left the room.
-][-
"Was it wise to reveal ourselves to her, Your Majesty?" Sheffield asked her master hesitantly, on their way back to Lutece on a small airship. "She could leak that knowledge, and we're not planned to let ourselves known just yet-"
"Myoz, oh Myoz," Joseph tutted. "Yes, little Charlotte could set us back for quite a bit. However, does it look like I care if she ruins plans that's not my own?"
Sheffield went silent and mulled Joseph's words. Joseph never hid it from her that he was obviously displeased that the 'Founder' came back to life or something and started ordering him around. "You expect your niece to betray you?"
"I welcome it. In fact, I would applaud her if she went to this 'Titania' and spills everything she knows," Joseph shrugged. "Charlotte is a smart girl, she could figure out the similarities with me and Louise Valliere, and light a fire under the faeries' collective arses at the idea that there are more of us out there in Halkeginia. It'd be interesting to see how it'd feel to betray, and be betrayed on such grand scale – there's no greater offence than defying the will of the Founder.
"And I'm sure the faeries can burn Halkeginia more thoroughly than anything I can conceive of."
-][-
The morning after the Treaty was signed, the Faction Leaders of Alfheim were to convene for a debriefing. After the attack on the Treaty, the nine Leaders decided they all needed space to cool off before someone said something they couldn't take back.
Mortimer exited his residence in the World Tree – the players responsible for Faction management had mostly moved into the same floor within the World Tree, ostensibly to clear up more housing in Arrun – ready to attending the meeting, and found Sakuya waiting for him right there.
"Sakuya. Might I ask why I have the pleasure of seeing you here before the Leaders' meeting?" Mortimer inquired in a slow tone.
"I…" Sakuya paused, taking a deep breath. "I want to thank you for yesterday. For taking the hits meant for me."
Mortimer nodded, remembering the estoc thrusts that reduced him into a <<Remain Light>>. That had been… unpleasant. Painful.
It also could have been worse, in retrospect.
"Not that I'm complaining about the chivalry, Mortimer, but I want to ask… why?" Sakuya asked, face enigmatic. "You didn't have to do that – we had revive items and even resurrection spells ready. You had nothing to gain from stepping in, and…"
"And if I let you get stabbed there was still that million to one chance that the Laughing Coffin could have done lasting damage after all," Mortimer finished for Sakuya, who had flinched at Mortimer bluntly pointing the fact out. "Even before they pulled out their trump card, they could have used the <<Devour>> status to force a respawn and possible brain damage. With their trump card, any of us could have died for real if that was what they ultimately wanted, if they used it from the start instead of saving it for intimidation. Or, if not dead, maybe injured enough that you would have to give up your duties as Faction Leader."
"Which would have removed the most vocal opponent you have among the Leaders," Sakuya steeled herself, and continued the line of thought. "So you can understand why I'm both grateful for the save, and confused."
"To start with," Mortimer shrugged, "It's not like I knew back then taking the hit for you could have been more serious than it was back in the game – other than the fact that, as some of my Salamanders would put it, dying now 'hurt like a bitch'. As for helping out for only pain and no gain to myself… well, I blame the social conditioning of a VRMMO player."
"Hm?" Sakuya frowned.
"As I saw it, we were basically all one raid group when us Faction Leaders took to the field," Mortimer replied. "Even if the nine of us in terms of a raid group, as opposed to being Leaders, suck so bad in cooperation and varied so much in skill proficiency I wouldn't have willingly joined the group. But whatever problems you might have with others on the team, you save it for when you're not on a raid. Otherwise you're just a shitty player, and I'd like to think of myself as better than that."
"And that's it?" Sakuya said disbelievingly.
"For all that we're politically opposing enemies, Sakuya, I don't hate you enough to leave you brain damaged or dead," Mortimer said shortly. "I don't expect to be liked by everyone as Faction Leader, only that we can work together towards the end goal despite that."
"I'll believe that much at least," Sakuya admitted. "You're not Rufus, at least. But I'm getting the feeling that you're not telling me everything."
"Well," Mortimer smiled thinly, "I suppose I can admit for your peace of mind that I'm also chauvinistic enough I'm willing to suffer for the pretty girl's favour. That comes as second nature as being one of the many male gamers out there. Especially for someone that has both looks and smarts as the Sylph's Faction Leader."
"Men," Sakuya said with mild disgust at the idea, not entirely sure if Mortimer was just joking about stereotype. She had enough of that attitude in her early days of ALO.
"You wanted to know why I'm not saying everything," Mortimer said without sympathy. "Now you know why – there are some things that just shouldn't be said."
Sakuya shook her head in exasperation, then turned and left for the meeting room. "See you at the meeting," Sakuya said in farewell. She wasn't going to get anything more out of Mortimer, she deemed.
Mortimer followed soon after, careful to not let what he felt show on his face. He'd never admit it out loud, but back then the Salamander Leader felt if someone had to risk harm then preferable he be the one instead of Sakuya. Someone has to remember being idealistic and kind at the top, no matter how unrealistic that idealism might be. Otherwise they would get a scorched Halkeginia, whether it be by Titania's actions or the players' own – and Halkeginia didn't deserve to burn because of some nobles' provocations, as cathartic as it might be to do so.
Better to be constantly frustrated in discussion, than forgetting they were also humans despite all the power they wield. In that sense, Alfheim could afford to lose a Mortimer. They could not afford to lose a Sakuya.
-][-
"Shall we start?" Pieter said, looking around the table of assembled Leaders, and getting various nods and other signs of affirmation. He had the demeanour of the eldest among the Faction Leaders, acting like someone in his mid-thirties as opposed to others' late-twenties at most, and combined with his neutrality Pieter was often hosted the discussions.
To his left of the round table, sat Simon, Sakuya, Alicia, and Morgiana. To his right sat Sasaki, Rufus, Mortimer and Atlanta. Some looked refreshed after a night's sleep, others still hadn't completely shook off being a nervous wreck – an example of the latter was, unsurprisingly, Simon. The Gnome's Deputy Leaders had both been implicated in an plot to assassinate him and among the ones detained with connections to PoH. Sure, Roc was the one that ultimately ordered the hit, but he had discussed with Nex as to who gets the Leader position first after Simon's 'resignation'.
"Well, congratulations are in order," Rufus said dismissively. "We set out to broker some sort of peace deal with Tristain, and we succeeded. Getting along with them was never on the cards after what they did to Gatan and their hatred of the Firstborn that we look like. Whether this holds until we get back or not is not our problem anymore, since if there's war we're not going to be ones that started it. Either some noble does it or someone outside invades us, but after that let Titania nuke them all."
"Because despite all that bravado, most of us can't actually do the deed ourselves," Morgiana added, reminding all of them that Titania had to be the one that… 'banned' Laughing Coffin. "Not that hesitating in that situation is a bad thing – there's probably something wrong with you if you can go from normal gamer to being willing to kill just like that. It's not like we're the ones that's been through a death game already."
"We also need to find ways that prevent certain players from provoking a war, however," Mortimer said then, to prevent further arguments. "Laughing Coffin proved just a handful of high level players is enough to wreck everything. Now, Titania has promised measures such as keeping track of all spatial data to know if anyone approaches the locals, but again Laughing Coffin showed even Titania has blind spots. We can't do much about nutcases that won't listen, but we'll have to do what we can to make sure players that aren't set on this don't want to do so. Thankfully, most of the players stay within the Capitals and don't interact with Halkeginia, so those that do have a bone to pick are the rare few."
"Speaking of the 'nutcases'," Atlanta asked. "What are we going to do with the ones taken in?"
"Apparently, nothing," Alicia replied. "Titania claimed jurisdiction. Remember what she discussed with us when we first met? Those who broke the rules are going to be put in stasis indefinitely. If – or when – we get back to Earth, we can deal with them then."
Before they could discuss that further, however, all of them received a message.
"Princess Henrietta just messaged us," Pieter started to skim. "Something about a Germanian missive…"
-][-
"You cannot just arrest all the implicated nobles, Your Highness," Cardinal Mazarin said exasperatedly. The Regent and the Princess had secluded themselves in a meeting room, away from prying eyes.
Germania's ambassador left earlier that day, vowing that Emperor Albrecht III would hear of Princess Henrietta's reactions to their missive. Henrietta tried to put that morning's events out of her mind as she spoke:
"I can, and I should, Cardinal," Henrietta said furiously, one hand reaching out to slap the stack of papers upon the table between them. Papers about Reconquista's agents in Tristain that Viscount Wardes left behind for his liege. "They are traitors to Tristain – are you seriously telling me they should be left alone?"
"I am saying that there is a proper manner in dealing with such situations," Cardinal Mazarin said patiently. "Tristain would appear weak to other countries if we reveal we had this many traitors; if you are set on arresting them then do so under other reasons, such as tax fraud or some other less sensitive crimes. Not going in with World Tree Guardians knocking down their gates, appearing as if you cannot tell which among your subjects are trustworthy enough to capture traitors."
Both Henrietta and the Regent turned their gaze momentarily towards the bracelet Titania bestowed upon the Princess, clasped upon one of her arms. What used to be the Fairy Queen's crown was more than a mere trinket. It was an artefact capable of many things, the primary function being the ability to contact Titania directly. All the Princess had to do was ask, and she would have Titania's attention. Through Titania, Henrietta could also contact the Faerie Lords for unofficial correspondence, away from formal messages constrained by posturing – like she had done before the meeting with Cardinal Mazarin.
"I understand that the news of Prince Wales'… disappearance… is distressing, Your Highness," Cardinal Mazarin said delicately. "Gutting the ranks of high ranking nobles this much at once will only cause more unease among the nobility."
The Marquis Egiyon had his titles and holdings stripped from him, after his insults towards Titania, and he was high enough in the hierarchy that if there were no marriages for Henrietta outside Tristain he could have been one of Princess Henrietta's suitors. Being heavy-handed to the Marquis only strengthened the idea that no-one was safe from the Tristain Crown among the nobles, that the Crown would choose the faeries over them.
"Does Tristain have so few loyal subjects that we could not fill the openings that would occur?" Henrietta said incredulously. "That we have to tolerate such… inadequacies in order for Tristain to live?"
"If we want to avoid a mirror of Reconquista happening within this fair country, then yes Your Highness," Mazarin said firmly. "The nobles could only be pushed so far."
Henrietta sorely wanted to admit that maybe Titania had a point in being blunt and heavy-handed. It was one thing to do so against mere disagreements, but to be unable to act when faced with traitors? It galled the Princess.
"If a mirror of Reconquista does form, at least the Crown would not fall against them," Henrietta finally said. "Otherwise, what was the purpose of the Treaty?"
"Princess," the Cardinal said, aghast. "It would mean civil war. Chaos as blood fight amongst blood, it would tear Tristain apart-"
Henrietta channelled willpower into the bracelet as if she would to her sceptre, and glowing rectangular screens formed around her. Lines and pictures showed upon various screens, knowledge at the tips of her fingers. It would be so easy, to borrow Titania's power…
Henrietta sighed, and willed the screens around her to disappear. Tristain and Alfheim were formally allied, but that did not resolve all of Tristain's problems.
"The purge will happen, Cardinal," the Princess said tiredly. "And happen soon, before the traitors destroy any possible evidence once they hear of Viscount Wardes' demise."
Reconquista would likely be afraid that the Viscount didn't cover his tracks well enough before he left, because Square mages weren't expected to fail missions. Captain Wardes could have been careless in his confidence, left loose ends he didn't expect to need tying up before he left. Or even if the Viscount was not overconfident, the traitors were unlikely to be so blasé as to assume they'd be safe no matter what.
"The Viscount had noted he was working with Duke Valliere on this – then His Grace can act on this information in my stead. I'm sure the Duke won't be so obvious in his solution," Henrietta said, drained. "But nobles doing what they want, without care to the Crown or Tristain's people they're responsible for, that ends today."
Ever since Henrietta had heard about the failings of the nobles around Ragdorian Lake, she had wanted to be able to do something about that. To right wrongs in Tristain that no one else could. If she could not, then what was the point of her duty? Of being royalty?
"Lashing out won't bring Prince Wales back, Your Highness," Cardinal Mazarin said sadly, shaking his head. "Nor would it make you feel better."
"Perhaps," Henrietta allowed. "But I was brought up on stories of Tristain's glory days, where being a noble meant more than just possessing magic. Where Karin the Tempest, Captain of the Manticore Knights among others of her generation, accomplished tales of heroism that was renowned across Halkeginia.
"With the massive increase of mages in Tristain, our own need to be able to show they are worthy of respect in a way other than strength. Otherwise we would only be brought under the faeries' heel like we do to commoners, due to being weak and uncultured."
When Henrietta went to sleep on the evening of the Treaty signing, after playing around with her bracelet and see what it was capable of, she had harboured hopes that maybe things would be alright. Communing with Titania would not be unlike dealing with any other country in Halkeginia, with one strong central authority as opposed to the more complicated system the Faerie Lords presided over. That the familiar way of doing things still held, and she would be the fulcrum that kept the uneasy peace between humans and Fae stable. That she could be more than just the Princess whose only real use was to be married off for Tristain's gain, and be the monarch that ushers Tristain into a new age of prosperity. That she could even save Prince Wales and retake Albion, something she didn't dare to hope before.
The morning's missive showed that maybe the Princess shouldn't have hoped, after all. Showed that prosperity and retaking Albion tasted like ashes when she thought about the loss of Prince Wales. Not for the first time, Henrietta wondered if she could have wrangled an elite team from Alfheim to bring Wales to Tristain, preventing Viscount Wardes' death. Beyond the loss of one of Tristain's finest mages and loyal subject to her selfish request, Henrietta dreaded one other issue that the Viscount's death raised.
What was Henrietta going to say to Louise?
-][-
Sigurd paced around his apartment in the World Tree – he was confined there ostensibly for 'medical observation' after what he had been through, but not being able to go free after what Laughing Coffin did to him irked him very much. He was alive. He was healthy, both physically and mentally. He should have been allowed to leave – did they expect him to die to the next PKer that wanted him dead or something? Sigurd was insulted at that idea.
A knock on the door drove Sigurd out of his reverie. With an annoyed grunt, Sigurd swiped one finger on a button his Medallion summoned to open the door and let the visitor in.
It turned out to be Rufus.
"I'm hoping you're here to let me out," Sigurd said roughly. "I'm fine."
"Just a quick chat, then you can go," Rufus promised.
"What's there to talk about?" Sigurd growled.
"Well, to start with… I'm sorry." Rufus bowed.
"What?" Sigurd raised one eyebrow.
"You were hired by me, so you're technically one of my Faction members when you were abducted," Rufus said plainly. "I just thought you got butthurt and left because I didn't give you a higher position right off the bat – and didn't chase you up to see what happened. In a sense, what happened to you is also my responsibility."
Sigurd grunted. "Not like you could have done anything even if you did remember me – Laughing Coffin would have kicked your ass. Kicked the ass of anyone you could have sent after them."
"I still could have tried," Rufus grumbled. "Speaking of which, did you hear about what happened to them?"
"They got banned," Sigurd said succinctly, crossing his arms. "They died. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of bastards."
"You sound a lot calmer than I expected you'd be."
Sigurd glared at the Leprechaun Leader. Rufus stepped back defensively. "What? Am I wrong to expect that you'd be angry and want to shank a bitch?"
Sigurd growled. "You think I'm not angry?"
Deciding to prove a point, Sigurd removed his chestplate and the robe top underneath that as well.
"What are-" Rufus began, but then words died on his lips.
Under the robes that Sigurd wore, his skin was pockmarked by scars. From slashes and stabs, marks from red to purple to black dotted his torso and arms.
What stood out the most, however, was the black emblem of the Laughing Coffin engraved onto the centre of his torso.
"Oh, I'm angry," Sigurd said in a deathly low tone. "I'm infuriated. I want to, as you put it, 'shank a bitch'. They marked me like an animal. For everything they've done, I wanted to return it a hundred fold. But I can't, because Titania killed them before I could."
"Fuck, so that was what they meant when they said they could deal wounds that can't heal," Rufus said, wanting to look away but darkly couldn't. "And nothing helps? Not even a hard reset by respawn?"
"Did even that by hitting myself with a Wind spell," Sigurd said through clenched teeth. "Nothing worked – even after reviving these scars show up soon after. So, yes, I'm angry. It's taking all my control to remember that you or anyone else I come across that they're not the ones that did this to me – that they're not the ones I want to kill."
"About that," Rufus said, relieved that Sigurd was still in control of himself as the Sylph put his clothes back on. "Just to check, you could pull the same thing off as they did…?"
"Do you want to get shanked?" Sigurd glowered at Rufus, wide-eyed. A faint breeze blew around the wind without incantation. "I can't believe you got to where you are today by not knowing when to stop poking."
"I have a reason for this, believe me," Rufus replied. "So, can you?"
Sigurd snarled, and the wind in the room picked up. Grey wisps formed and then dispersed, colouring the wind around them both.
"Yes, I can," Sigurd all but roared back. "I can rip and tear with this easier than I can with any of my spells. I could shove this down your throat and split you from the inside out to shut you up. I could do so many things that I was saving them for my revenge on Laughing Coffin, but…"
The wind stopped and Sigurd looked like it also took the wind out of his metaphorical sails.
"But they're gone," Sigurd bit out. "And they're the only ones I can think of that deserves to be on the receiving end of this nasty technique. I have all this hatred within me, but nowhere to let it out. And damn if I just use it willy-nilly like those fuckers did for laughs."
"Man, you have anger issues," Rufus remarked. Before Sigurd could snap however, Rufus continued: "But I have a way to solve that."
"… I'm listening."
"My fifth-in-command was in league with Laughing Coffin, handing them confidential info, funding them and so on," Rufus began. "He's currently sealed away in a crystal somewhere until it's decided what's going to be done to them."
"I don't hate those guys hard enough to want to subject them to what I went through, if that'd what you're offering," Sigurd said bluntly. "I still have standards."
"No, I'm offering you his spot within the Leprechaun Faction," Rufus replied. "Prove yourself there, and you could climb even higher."
Sigurd stilled. "Are you fucking with me? Or pitying me?"
"Neither," Rufus responded. "You know why I offered to take you in after Sakuya exiled you, Sigurd? Because if situations were different, you'd be like me – the de facto Leader of a Faction taking over in the absence of anyone higher than you, and then go on to do great things. Someone like you working for me would make my side a lot more effective, and working for my opponents would be a huge pain in my ass."
"… Even so, I'm gonna decline," Sigurd shook his head. "I think I had enough of filling out paperwork. And the adoration of the player base just doesn't appeal to me anymore. I want to focus on getting stronger – strong enough that I can fuck over any sick bastards out there that think they can be the next Laughing Coffin."
"Going back into the PK-ing business?" Rufus inquired.
"More like killing the PKers," Sigurd said pitilessly. "I imagine those are acceptable targets for stress relief."
"Hmm," Rufus shrugged. "Well, okay, I guess that's not surprising. You gonna removing them permanently?"
"Are you or the other Faction Leaders going to stop me if I do?" Sigurd asked. "I imagine Sakuya wouldn't be happy about my choice, but not like I care about that."
"Well," Rufus said, dragging out the word. "Funny thing, that. Someone wanted to offer you a job if you didn't accept mine."
"Who is it?" Sigurd grunted. Maybe Mortimer?
"Titania."
"… What."
"You know how the SAO players are kept around because of their previous experience?" Rufus asked. "Kinda left unsaid was that if push comes to shove, they'll be the executioners to take down people like Laughing Coffin – they did it once before, you know."
"No, I actually didn't know that."
"Anyway, Laughing Coffin showed up at the Treaty, and Kirito failed miserably in taking down any of them," Rufus continued. "Titania decided she needed someone other than SAO players that can do what needs to be done, even if they're the ones that took down the Laughing Coffin sympathizers everywhere else. You're willing to improve yourself, to kill, and Titania is willing to help you out. Provided you take out her targets as well."
Sigurd raised an eyebrow. "And that doesn't worry you? Turning players into killers?"
"More like redirecting possible killers into more productive avenues," Rufus replied. "And this way others – like me – won't have to dirty their hands."
"… Okay," Sigurd shrugged. "I'm up for giving Kirito the middle finger by showing I can do his job better than he can – do I have to work with him?"
"No. You're getting anyone else from the ALO side that end up like you, or might need a tighter leash before they go murder-happy."
"So basically we're going to be the good guys' Laughing Coffin?" Sigurd barked out a laugh. "Well aint that heart-warming. Fine. Tell her to sign me up anyway."
"Alright," Rufus nodded. "Just one more thing."
"What?"
"That ability you used, Titania calls it 'Incarnate System' or 'Incarnation', in the sense that represents the extremes of people – we can't just call it 'Willpower' in the sense you use willpower to get things done like you use magic to get things done, it'll get confusing since the locals use the term for their 'MP'. Anyway, if you or anyone else pull any more Incarnation and causes parts of the World Tree to be irreparably damaged, Titania will ban the guy responsible. Better that than some kind of system crash that infects and kills the rest of us. You understand that?"
Ah, Sigurd realized why he had been confined for all that time. It wasn't to observe his health, it was to observe his newfound powers. If he step out of line, he would be removed, as simple as that. And his 'group' would basically be where everyone that's broken or a threat be dumped and kept an eye on. After thinking about it however… Sigurd found he didn't care if that was indeed the case after all.
He found it hard to care about others, after what Laughing Coffin did to him.
===
It's been a while, and I probably forgot some things that should have been mentioned in the Faction Leaders' part about how the ALO side thought of the Treaty. If there's anything I missed for that part I'll probably add it.
ZnT Vol4 Ch4, Tabitha wants to kill Joseph for what he did.
Incarnate – Oxford dictionary 12th edition: adj #2 represented in the ultimate or most extreme form: evil incarnate. The verb definitions for the word also can be interesting interpretations in the context of this fic.
心意, Incarnation in SAO Alicization stays the same in this fic just for ease of referral and to not have to remember a different term. Accel World called it 'Incarnate System' or IS, which I might refer to it using this term as well.
Thanks to @Fictiondevourer for beta-ing.===
Chapter 38
-][-
As the hectic day for Tristain at the Treaty signing turned to night, Tabitha flew across the southern border into Gallia on Sylphid. Ordinarily, Tabitha would have allowed her familiar to speak once they were three miles high up into the air, far from anyone over-hearing them. But with the existence of faeries being that high up no longer guaranteed them to not be overheard – and the last thing Tabitha wanted was for faeries' border patrol doing exactly that. It was only after crossing the border that Tabitha allowed the Rhyme Dragon to speak:
"Kyui! Finally," Sylphid chirped. "Older sister haven't let me spoke for a long time now-"
And Tabitha went straight to tuning most of the dragon's words out, focusing on what might happen when they reached their destination. It wasn't the first time Tabitha had to be called back to Gallia for a new assignment as one of the Knights of the Northern Parterre, but it was the first time that Isabella had ordered the meeting at Tabitha's old home close to the Ragdorian Lake. If Isabella did anything to mother…
Tabitha clenched her hands at the thought. The petite girl had long gave up on reacting when her cousin hurled abuse at her, but it would be different if her mother was involved in her antics. Part of the reason why Tabitha obeyed Isabella's tyrannical actions was because they otherwise left the Duchess Orleans alone. If that changed…
Tabitha shook her head. Worrying about that would not help at that point. Instead, the blue-haired girl considered what task she would be ordered to carry out. At a guess, Tabitha thought it might be something to do with the Undines that claimed the Ragdorian Lake, or the Imps to the southeast corner of Tristain – both sides had minor skirmishes with Gallia over territory and staking claim over the monsters that wandered away from Tristain. When wyverns wandered over to reside within the Black Forest Gallia had mobilized their own mage-knights in order to compete against the Fae hunting groups, and Tabitha speculated if open conflict turned bad for them, Gallia would turn to clandestine methods. She had seen how powerful faeries could be, as she had saw from the Academy's windows the effortless way the Faerie Lords had neutralized Tristain's Royal Guards in the Treaty's early days – it wouldn't be surprising if the next suicidal mission they gave her was against the faeries. Isabella had thrown her against many other threats within Halkeginia, so why would the faeries be an exception?
Finally, Orlean's mansion was in sight, and the elderly butler Percerin was nervously waiting for her.
"Princess Isabella arrived?" Tabitha asked quietly as Sylphid landed.
"N-no," Percerin swallowed once, glancing at the young heiress nervously. "Were you not told who would be waiting for you, milady?"
"… No," Tabitha said slowly. She had just assumed it was Isabella because the message was the same as previous missions, and it didn't occur to her it could have been someone else. Isabella didn't seem the type to give up tormenting Tabitha, either.
"It's King Joseph, milady," Percerin whispered, as if he was afraid he would be admonished by the royal in question immediately after.
Tabitha's heart froze, and Sylphid chirped nervously at Tabitha's sudden change in demeanour. "Is mother-?"
"Safe," Percerin replied, albeit looking like he itched to add 'for now'. "His Majesty didn't even care, beyond perfunctory questions asking for her wellbeing. Hadn't stepped into the room or anything."
Tabitha nodded shortly, and made her way to meet with her uncle. When she did arrive in the room, King Joseph was toying absently with a piece of jewellery, attended only by one dark-haired woman. There were no other person, guards or otherwise, within the room.
"Ah, Charlotte," King Joseph said airily. "Glad you could make it."
Tabitha merely nodded, gauging her chances if she wished to commit regicide. She hadn't met Joseph since her mother went mad, and every time she went to Lutece it was to be handled by Isabella. The dark-haired woman didn't hold herself like a powerful mage either – so was the King really mad enough to believe Tabitha wouldn't do anything if presented with an opportunity? Tabitha already had her staff in her hands, as she always did wherever she could, and an icicle to the head could so easily get revenge for her mother… King Joseph was known for many things, but defeating Triangle mages was not one of them.
"Isabella had said you were like a doll, infuriating in that you never show emotion," Joseph observed. "She must have been blind if she could not have seen the sheer rage behind your eyes. Or, is that only reserved for me? Dear me, if she knew the mere sight of me can cause this, she'd throw another tantrum like when I told her I'm reassigning you for my missions – she acted like I was taking away one of her favourite toys."
"…"
"Anyway," King Joseph said, ignoring Tabitha's silence, "Your new mission is to infiltrate the World Tree, and look for what's being called the 'Hearts of Yggdrasil'. I have it on good authority those are the key to eliminating the faeries from Halkeginia."
Tabitha's hand holding her staff tightened involuntarily. Out of all the missions she had been sent on before, they were highly likely to be life-threatening, but they were feasibly possible. None of them were the same as a death sentence, no matter who was sent. Directly provoking the Fairy Queen, who could command Greater Spirits and was more than one herself, definitely qualified as a death sentence.
"If you succeed, however," King Joseph said nonchalantly, "consider yourself and your mother freed from Gallia. I swear that I will leave you and yours alone, and make Isabella agree to the same terms."
Tabitha didn't believe that for a second. The Mad King was, well, mad, not stupid. He would not give up an 'asset' like her so easily.
"You assume there's trickery in the arrangement, like how I killed Charles under false pretences," Joseph said it as a statement, not a question. "As in I am predictable in that way."
Joseph sighed. "Well, being predictable is boring. And I find myself not caring if you manage to succeed, take your mother away from Gallia and somehow curing her, and live happily ever after.
"Sheffield here will be your handler from now on, and she'll be expecting regular progress," Joseph indicated the woman next to her. "Oh, and if you get any ideas about harming Sheffield, then run away and treating your mother as a lost cause-"
Tabitha bristled at that insinuation.
"-You'll find that my Myoz can handle herself. A demonstration, Sheffield?"
Sheffield smirked, pulling on one of the rings she had upon her. With a crackle, the ring transformed into a golden spear, and runes flared across her forehead. The air around the room had a distinctively different feel compared to before. The jewellery she held was one of Alfheim make, and from what Tabitha could see she could use it as easily as Lord Rufus did at the Academy.
"Hell would freeze over before the legendary Myoznitnirn, the Mind of God, falls to a mere Triangle mage." Joseph said with amusement, watching Tabitha's face lose composure and show her shocked visage. One could almost see the gears turning within Tabitha, from how well-read she was, to reach the conclusion that if Myoznitnirn was there in the flesh, the mage she serves must be…
"Maybe my dear father had a point in choosing me over Charles for the throne after all," Joseph mused. "Though Gods know how he figured it out when I didn't know until I summoned my familiar, after his death."
A Void mage. Tabitha's uncle, the Mad, Incompetent King was a Void mage. Tabitha felt her heart clench, her body feeling chilled, at the thought that her father dying and losing her mother to insanity was something right in the world. That the Founder approved the offence done to her family.
It can't be, Tabitha thought urgently. She has to be a Leprechaun or some other faerie. Or Gallia managed to steal a more powerful artefact from Alfheim compared to the scraps they plan on selling to Tristain. Those are more likely than the holy Void returning.
Tabitha resolved to observe more in the future to see whether that was really the case.
"Go, Charlotte, and perform your final task for Gallia," Joseph commanded. "Sheffield will get in touch with you at a later date."
With the bare minimum of courtesy, Tabitha spun around and left the room.
-][-
"Was it wise to reveal ourselves to her, Your Majesty?" Sheffield asked her master hesitantly, on their way back to Lutece on a small airship. "She could leak that knowledge, and we're not planned to let ourselves known just yet-"
"Myoz, oh Myoz," Joseph tutted. "Yes, little Charlotte could set us back for quite a bit. However, does it look like I care if she ruins plans that's not my own?"
Sheffield went silent and mulled Joseph's words. Joseph never hid it from her that he was obviously displeased that the 'Founder' came back to life or something and started ordering him around. "You expect your niece to betray you?"
"I welcome it. In fact, I would applaud her if she went to this 'Titania' and spills everything she knows," Joseph shrugged. "Charlotte is a smart girl, she could figure out the similarities with me and Louise Valliere, and light a fire under the faeries' collective arses at the idea that there are more of us out there in Halkeginia. It'd be interesting to see how it'd feel to betray, and be betrayed on such grand scale – there's no greater offence than defying the will of the Founder.
"And I'm sure the faeries can burn Halkeginia more thoroughly than anything I can conceive of."
-][-
The morning after the Treaty was signed, the Faction Leaders of Alfheim were to convene for a debriefing. After the attack on the Treaty, the nine Leaders decided they all needed space to cool off before someone said something they couldn't take back.
Mortimer exited his residence in the World Tree – the players responsible for Faction management had mostly moved into the same floor within the World Tree, ostensibly to clear up more housing in Arrun – ready to attending the meeting, and found Sakuya waiting for him right there.
"Sakuya. Might I ask why I have the pleasure of seeing you here before the Leaders' meeting?" Mortimer inquired in a slow tone.
"I…" Sakuya paused, taking a deep breath. "I want to thank you for yesterday. For taking the hits meant for me."
Mortimer nodded, remembering the estoc thrusts that reduced him into a <<Remain Light>>. That had been… unpleasant. Painful.
It also could have been worse, in retrospect.
"Not that I'm complaining about the chivalry, Mortimer, but I want to ask… why?" Sakuya asked, face enigmatic. "You didn't have to do that – we had revive items and even resurrection spells ready. You had nothing to gain from stepping in, and…"
"And if I let you get stabbed there was still that million to one chance that the Laughing Coffin could have done lasting damage after all," Mortimer finished for Sakuya, who had flinched at Mortimer bluntly pointing the fact out. "Even before they pulled out their trump card, they could have used the <<Devour>> status to force a respawn and possible brain damage. With their trump card, any of us could have died for real if that was what they ultimately wanted, if they used it from the start instead of saving it for intimidation. Or, if not dead, maybe injured enough that you would have to give up your duties as Faction Leader."
"Which would have removed the most vocal opponent you have among the Leaders," Sakuya steeled herself, and continued the line of thought. "So you can understand why I'm both grateful for the save, and confused."
"To start with," Mortimer shrugged, "It's not like I knew back then taking the hit for you could have been more serious than it was back in the game – other than the fact that, as some of my Salamanders would put it, dying now 'hurt like a bitch'. As for helping out for only pain and no gain to myself… well, I blame the social conditioning of a VRMMO player."
"Hm?" Sakuya frowned.
"As I saw it, we were basically all one raid group when us Faction Leaders took to the field," Mortimer replied. "Even if the nine of us in terms of a raid group, as opposed to being Leaders, suck so bad in cooperation and varied so much in skill proficiency I wouldn't have willingly joined the group. But whatever problems you might have with others on the team, you save it for when you're not on a raid. Otherwise you're just a shitty player, and I'd like to think of myself as better than that."
"And that's it?" Sakuya said disbelievingly.
"For all that we're politically opposing enemies, Sakuya, I don't hate you enough to leave you brain damaged or dead," Mortimer said shortly. "I don't expect to be liked by everyone as Faction Leader, only that we can work together towards the end goal despite that."
"I'll believe that much at least," Sakuya admitted. "You're not Rufus, at least. But I'm getting the feeling that you're not telling me everything."
"Well," Mortimer smiled thinly, "I suppose I can admit for your peace of mind that I'm also chauvinistic enough I'm willing to suffer for the pretty girl's favour. That comes as second nature as being one of the many male gamers out there. Especially for someone that has both looks and smarts as the Sylph's Faction Leader."
"Men," Sakuya said with mild disgust at the idea, not entirely sure if Mortimer was just joking about stereotype. She had enough of that attitude in her early days of ALO.
"You wanted to know why I'm not saying everything," Mortimer said without sympathy. "Now you know why – there are some things that just shouldn't be said."
Sakuya shook her head in exasperation, then turned and left for the meeting room. "See you at the meeting," Sakuya said in farewell. She wasn't going to get anything more out of Mortimer, she deemed.
Mortimer followed soon after, careful to not let what he felt show on his face. He'd never admit it out loud, but back then the Salamander Leader felt if someone had to risk harm then preferable he be the one instead of Sakuya. Someone has to remember being idealistic and kind at the top, no matter how unrealistic that idealism might be. Otherwise they would get a scorched Halkeginia, whether it be by Titania's actions or the players' own – and Halkeginia didn't deserve to burn because of some nobles' provocations, as cathartic as it might be to do so.
Better to be constantly frustrated in discussion, than forgetting they were also humans despite all the power they wield. In that sense, Alfheim could afford to lose a Mortimer. They could not afford to lose a Sakuya.
-][-
"Shall we start?" Pieter said, looking around the table of assembled Leaders, and getting various nods and other signs of affirmation. He had the demeanour of the eldest among the Faction Leaders, acting like someone in his mid-thirties as opposed to others' late-twenties at most, and combined with his neutrality Pieter was often hosted the discussions.
To his left of the round table, sat Simon, Sakuya, Alicia, and Morgiana. To his right sat Sasaki, Rufus, Mortimer and Atlanta. Some looked refreshed after a night's sleep, others still hadn't completely shook off being a nervous wreck – an example of the latter was, unsurprisingly, Simon. The Gnome's Deputy Leaders had both been implicated in an plot to assassinate him and among the ones detained with connections to PoH. Sure, Roc was the one that ultimately ordered the hit, but he had discussed with Nex as to who gets the Leader position first after Simon's 'resignation'.
"Well, congratulations are in order," Rufus said dismissively. "We set out to broker some sort of peace deal with Tristain, and we succeeded. Getting along with them was never on the cards after what they did to Gatan and their hatred of the Firstborn that we look like. Whether this holds until we get back or not is not our problem anymore, since if there's war we're not going to be ones that started it. Either some noble does it or someone outside invades us, but after that let Titania nuke them all."
"Because despite all that bravado, most of us can't actually do the deed ourselves," Morgiana added, reminding all of them that Titania had to be the one that… 'banned' Laughing Coffin. "Not that hesitating in that situation is a bad thing – there's probably something wrong with you if you can go from normal gamer to being willing to kill just like that. It's not like we're the ones that's been through a death game already."
"We also need to find ways that prevent certain players from provoking a war, however," Mortimer said then, to prevent further arguments. "Laughing Coffin proved just a handful of high level players is enough to wreck everything. Now, Titania has promised measures such as keeping track of all spatial data to know if anyone approaches the locals, but again Laughing Coffin showed even Titania has blind spots. We can't do much about nutcases that won't listen, but we'll have to do what we can to make sure players that aren't set on this don't want to do so. Thankfully, most of the players stay within the Capitals and don't interact with Halkeginia, so those that do have a bone to pick are the rare few."
"Speaking of the 'nutcases'," Atlanta asked. "What are we going to do with the ones taken in?"
"Apparently, nothing," Alicia replied. "Titania claimed jurisdiction. Remember what she discussed with us when we first met? Those who broke the rules are going to be put in stasis indefinitely. If – or when – we get back to Earth, we can deal with them then."
Before they could discuss that further, however, all of them received a message.
"Princess Henrietta just messaged us," Pieter started to skim. "Something about a Germanian missive…"
-][-
"You cannot just arrest all the implicated nobles, Your Highness," Cardinal Mazarin said exasperatedly. The Regent and the Princess had secluded themselves in a meeting room, away from prying eyes.
Germania's ambassador left earlier that day, vowing that Emperor Albrecht III would hear of Princess Henrietta's reactions to their missive. Henrietta tried to put that morning's events out of her mind as she spoke:
"I can, and I should, Cardinal," Henrietta said furiously, one hand reaching out to slap the stack of papers upon the table between them. Papers about Reconquista's agents in Tristain that Viscount Wardes left behind for his liege. "They are traitors to Tristain – are you seriously telling me they should be left alone?"
"I am saying that there is a proper manner in dealing with such situations," Cardinal Mazarin said patiently. "Tristain would appear weak to other countries if we reveal we had this many traitors; if you are set on arresting them then do so under other reasons, such as tax fraud or some other less sensitive crimes. Not going in with World Tree Guardians knocking down their gates, appearing as if you cannot tell which among your subjects are trustworthy enough to capture traitors."
Both Henrietta and the Regent turned their gaze momentarily towards the bracelet Titania bestowed upon the Princess, clasped upon one of her arms. What used to be the Fairy Queen's crown was more than a mere trinket. It was an artefact capable of many things, the primary function being the ability to contact Titania directly. All the Princess had to do was ask, and she would have Titania's attention. Through Titania, Henrietta could also contact the Faerie Lords for unofficial correspondence, away from formal messages constrained by posturing – like she had done before the meeting with Cardinal Mazarin.
"I understand that the news of Prince Wales'… disappearance… is distressing, Your Highness," Cardinal Mazarin said delicately. "Gutting the ranks of high ranking nobles this much at once will only cause more unease among the nobility."
The Marquis Egiyon had his titles and holdings stripped from him, after his insults towards Titania, and he was high enough in the hierarchy that if there were no marriages for Henrietta outside Tristain he could have been one of Princess Henrietta's suitors. Being heavy-handed to the Marquis only strengthened the idea that no-one was safe from the Tristain Crown among the nobles, that the Crown would choose the faeries over them.
"Does Tristain have so few loyal subjects that we could not fill the openings that would occur?" Henrietta said incredulously. "That we have to tolerate such… inadequacies in order for Tristain to live?"
"If we want to avoid a mirror of Reconquista happening within this fair country, then yes Your Highness," Mazarin said firmly. "The nobles could only be pushed so far."
Henrietta sorely wanted to admit that maybe Titania had a point in being blunt and heavy-handed. It was one thing to do so against mere disagreements, but to be unable to act when faced with traitors? It galled the Princess.
"If a mirror of Reconquista does form, at least the Crown would not fall against them," Henrietta finally said. "Otherwise, what was the purpose of the Treaty?"
"Princess," the Cardinal said, aghast. "It would mean civil war. Chaos as blood fight amongst blood, it would tear Tristain apart-"
Henrietta channelled willpower into the bracelet as if she would to her sceptre, and glowing rectangular screens formed around her. Lines and pictures showed upon various screens, knowledge at the tips of her fingers. It would be so easy, to borrow Titania's power…
Henrietta sighed, and willed the screens around her to disappear. Tristain and Alfheim were formally allied, but that did not resolve all of Tristain's problems.
"The purge will happen, Cardinal," the Princess said tiredly. "And happen soon, before the traitors destroy any possible evidence once they hear of Viscount Wardes' demise."
Reconquista would likely be afraid that the Viscount didn't cover his tracks well enough before he left, because Square mages weren't expected to fail missions. Captain Wardes could have been careless in his confidence, left loose ends he didn't expect to need tying up before he left. Or even if the Viscount was not overconfident, the traitors were unlikely to be so blasé as to assume they'd be safe no matter what.
"The Viscount had noted he was working with Duke Valliere on this – then His Grace can act on this information in my stead. I'm sure the Duke won't be so obvious in his solution," Henrietta said, drained. "But nobles doing what they want, without care to the Crown or Tristain's people they're responsible for, that ends today."
Ever since Henrietta had heard about the failings of the nobles around Ragdorian Lake, she had wanted to be able to do something about that. To right wrongs in Tristain that no one else could. If she could not, then what was the point of her duty? Of being royalty?
"Lashing out won't bring Prince Wales back, Your Highness," Cardinal Mazarin said sadly, shaking his head. "Nor would it make you feel better."
"Perhaps," Henrietta allowed. "But I was brought up on stories of Tristain's glory days, where being a noble meant more than just possessing magic. Where Karin the Tempest, Captain of the Manticore Knights among others of her generation, accomplished tales of heroism that was renowned across Halkeginia.
"With the massive increase of mages in Tristain, our own need to be able to show they are worthy of respect in a way other than strength. Otherwise we would only be brought under the faeries' heel like we do to commoners, due to being weak and uncultured."
When Henrietta went to sleep on the evening of the Treaty signing, after playing around with her bracelet and see what it was capable of, she had harboured hopes that maybe things would be alright. Communing with Titania would not be unlike dealing with any other country in Halkeginia, with one strong central authority as opposed to the more complicated system the Faerie Lords presided over. That the familiar way of doing things still held, and she would be the fulcrum that kept the uneasy peace between humans and Fae stable. That she could be more than just the Princess whose only real use was to be married off for Tristain's gain, and be the monarch that ushers Tristain into a new age of prosperity. That she could even save Prince Wales and retake Albion, something she didn't dare to hope before.
The morning's missive showed that maybe the Princess shouldn't have hoped, after all. Showed that prosperity and retaking Albion tasted like ashes when she thought about the loss of Prince Wales. Not for the first time, Henrietta wondered if she could have wrangled an elite team from Alfheim to bring Wales to Tristain, preventing Viscount Wardes' death. Beyond the loss of one of Tristain's finest mages and loyal subject to her selfish request, Henrietta dreaded one other issue that the Viscount's death raised.
What was Henrietta going to say to Louise?
-][-
Sigurd paced around his apartment in the World Tree – he was confined there ostensibly for 'medical observation' after what he had been through, but not being able to go free after what Laughing Coffin did to him irked him very much. He was alive. He was healthy, both physically and mentally. He should have been allowed to leave – did they expect him to die to the next PKer that wanted him dead or something? Sigurd was insulted at that idea.
A knock on the door drove Sigurd out of his reverie. With an annoyed grunt, Sigurd swiped one finger on a button his Medallion summoned to open the door and let the visitor in.
It turned out to be Rufus.
"I'm hoping you're here to let me out," Sigurd said roughly. "I'm fine."
"Just a quick chat, then you can go," Rufus promised.
"What's there to talk about?" Sigurd growled.
"Well, to start with… I'm sorry." Rufus bowed.
"What?" Sigurd raised one eyebrow.
"You were hired by me, so you're technically one of my Faction members when you were abducted," Rufus said plainly. "I just thought you got butthurt and left because I didn't give you a higher position right off the bat – and didn't chase you up to see what happened. In a sense, what happened to you is also my responsibility."
Sigurd grunted. "Not like you could have done anything even if you did remember me – Laughing Coffin would have kicked your ass. Kicked the ass of anyone you could have sent after them."
"I still could have tried," Rufus grumbled. "Speaking of which, did you hear about what happened to them?"
"They got banned," Sigurd said succinctly, crossing his arms. "They died. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of bastards."
"You sound a lot calmer than I expected you'd be."
Sigurd glared at the Leprechaun Leader. Rufus stepped back defensively. "What? Am I wrong to expect that you'd be angry and want to shank a bitch?"
Sigurd growled. "You think I'm not angry?"
Deciding to prove a point, Sigurd removed his chestplate and the robe top underneath that as well.
"What are-" Rufus began, but then words died on his lips.
Under the robes that Sigurd wore, his skin was pockmarked by scars. From slashes and stabs, marks from red to purple to black dotted his torso and arms.
What stood out the most, however, was the black emblem of the Laughing Coffin engraved onto the centre of his torso.
"Oh, I'm angry," Sigurd said in a deathly low tone. "I'm infuriated. I want to, as you put it, 'shank a bitch'. They marked me like an animal. For everything they've done, I wanted to return it a hundred fold. But I can't, because Titania killed them before I could."
"Fuck, so that was what they meant when they said they could deal wounds that can't heal," Rufus said, wanting to look away but darkly couldn't. "And nothing helps? Not even a hard reset by respawn?"
"Did even that by hitting myself with a Wind spell," Sigurd said through clenched teeth. "Nothing worked – even after reviving these scars show up soon after. So, yes, I'm angry. It's taking all my control to remember that you or anyone else I come across that they're not the ones that did this to me – that they're not the ones I want to kill."
"About that," Rufus said, relieved that Sigurd was still in control of himself as the Sylph put his clothes back on. "Just to check, you could pull the same thing off as they did…?"
"Do you want to get shanked?" Sigurd glowered at Rufus, wide-eyed. A faint breeze blew around the wind without incantation. "I can't believe you got to where you are today by not knowing when to stop poking."
"I have a reason for this, believe me," Rufus replied. "So, can you?"
Sigurd snarled, and the wind in the room picked up. Grey wisps formed and then dispersed, colouring the wind around them both.
"Yes, I can," Sigurd all but roared back. "I can rip and tear with this easier than I can with any of my spells. I could shove this down your throat and split you from the inside out to shut you up. I could do so many things that I was saving them for my revenge on Laughing Coffin, but…"
The wind stopped and Sigurd looked like it also took the wind out of his metaphorical sails.
"But they're gone," Sigurd bit out. "And they're the only ones I can think of that deserves to be on the receiving end of this nasty technique. I have all this hatred within me, but nowhere to let it out. And damn if I just use it willy-nilly like those fuckers did for laughs."
"Man, you have anger issues," Rufus remarked. Before Sigurd could snap however, Rufus continued: "But I have a way to solve that."
"… I'm listening."
"My fifth-in-command was in league with Laughing Coffin, handing them confidential info, funding them and so on," Rufus began. "He's currently sealed away in a crystal somewhere until it's decided what's going to be done to them."
"I don't hate those guys hard enough to want to subject them to what I went through, if that'd what you're offering," Sigurd said bluntly. "I still have standards."
"No, I'm offering you his spot within the Leprechaun Faction," Rufus replied. "Prove yourself there, and you could climb even higher."
Sigurd stilled. "Are you fucking with me? Or pitying me?"
"Neither," Rufus responded. "You know why I offered to take you in after Sakuya exiled you, Sigurd? Because if situations were different, you'd be like me – the de facto Leader of a Faction taking over in the absence of anyone higher than you, and then go on to do great things. Someone like you working for me would make my side a lot more effective, and working for my opponents would be a huge pain in my ass."
"… Even so, I'm gonna decline," Sigurd shook his head. "I think I had enough of filling out paperwork. And the adoration of the player base just doesn't appeal to me anymore. I want to focus on getting stronger – strong enough that I can fuck over any sick bastards out there that think they can be the next Laughing Coffin."
"Going back into the PK-ing business?" Rufus inquired.
"More like killing the PKers," Sigurd said pitilessly. "I imagine those are acceptable targets for stress relief."
"Hmm," Rufus shrugged. "Well, okay, I guess that's not surprising. You gonna removing them permanently?"
"Are you or the other Faction Leaders going to stop me if I do?" Sigurd asked. "I imagine Sakuya wouldn't be happy about my choice, but not like I care about that."
"Well," Rufus said, dragging out the word. "Funny thing, that. Someone wanted to offer you a job if you didn't accept mine."
"Who is it?" Sigurd grunted. Maybe Mortimer?
"Titania."
"… What."
"You know how the SAO players are kept around because of their previous experience?" Rufus asked. "Kinda left unsaid was that if push comes to shove, they'll be the executioners to take down people like Laughing Coffin – they did it once before, you know."
"No, I actually didn't know that."
"Anyway, Laughing Coffin showed up at the Treaty, and Kirito failed miserably in taking down any of them," Rufus continued. "Titania decided she needed someone other than SAO players that can do what needs to be done, even if they're the ones that took down the Laughing Coffin sympathizers everywhere else. You're willing to improve yourself, to kill, and Titania is willing to help you out. Provided you take out her targets as well."
Sigurd raised an eyebrow. "And that doesn't worry you? Turning players into killers?"
"More like redirecting possible killers into more productive avenues," Rufus replied. "And this way others – like me – won't have to dirty their hands."
"… Okay," Sigurd shrugged. "I'm up for giving Kirito the middle finger by showing I can do his job better than he can – do I have to work with him?"
"No. You're getting anyone else from the ALO side that end up like you, or might need a tighter leash before they go murder-happy."
"So basically we're going to be the good guys' Laughing Coffin?" Sigurd barked out a laugh. "Well aint that heart-warming. Fine. Tell her to sign me up anyway."
"Alright," Rufus nodded. "Just one more thing."
"What?"
"That ability you used, Titania calls it 'Incarnate System' or 'Incarnation', in the sense that represents the extremes of people – we can't just call it 'Willpower' in the sense you use willpower to get things done like you use magic to get things done, it'll get confusing since the locals use the term for their 'MP'. Anyway, if you or anyone else pull any more Incarnation and causes parts of the World Tree to be irreparably damaged, Titania will ban the guy responsible. Better that than some kind of system crash that infects and kills the rest of us. You understand that?"
Ah, Sigurd realized why he had been confined for all that time. It wasn't to observe his health, it was to observe his newfound powers. If he step out of line, he would be removed, as simple as that. And his 'group' would basically be where everyone that's broken or a threat be dumped and kept an eye on. After thinking about it however… Sigurd found he didn't care if that was indeed the case after all.
He found it hard to care about others, after what Laughing Coffin did to him.
===
It's been a while, and I probably forgot some things that should have been mentioned in the Faction Leaders' part about how the ALO side thought of the Treaty. If there's anything I missed for that part I'll probably add it.
ZnT Vol4 Ch4, Tabitha wants to kill Joseph for what he did.
Incarnate – Oxford dictionary 12th edition: adj #2 represented in the ultimate or most extreme form: evil incarnate. The verb definitions for the word also can be interesting interpretations in the context of this fic.
心意, Incarnation in SAO Alicization stays the same in this fic just for ease of referral and to not have to remember a different term. Accel World called it 'Incarnate System' or IS, which I might refer to it using this term as well.
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
Oh hey, been awhile.
*snicker* That spin. Wasn't he swamped in mooks for the basically few seconds of fighting before there was a timeout? Is Rufus trying to throw shade based on the fact that an assassin went after him directly instead?
ain't
Technically, one mook. Also, the SAO clearers in-story have been portrayed as troubleshooters that has been through some shit already, and it's technically Kirito's job to stop things like assassins - he wasn't there to just look pretty, that's only in regards to politics and not actual fighting. It's not too unreasonable for some to believe Kirito isn't living up to the rep/standards they have.
Chapter 39
Thanks to @Fictiondevourer for beta-ing. We finally reached past the Treaty arc.
===
Chapter 39
-][-
It was business as usual within Jotunheim for the players of Alfheim Online, even after the Treaty was signed. Raid teams went in, aided by their Beast God allies, and tried to purge the Jotunns before they could build up their numbers.
The progress of that was beginning to worry the various teams, however. The Jotunns seemed to have smartened up, generally retreating to the inverted pyramid that was <<Thrymheim>>. These days, raid teams had to jostle for position in the surrounding perimeter for when Jotunns formed their own teams of three to five Giants as they flew down from the 300 metres tall pyramid – there were no more 'normal' Jotunns left by that point, all of them having been mutated by Windstones' magic – and try to take them down before they could enter the bottomless hole below and escape underground. When that happened, then they would have to wait until the Jotunn returned from gathering more Windstones to feed their allies holed up within their stronghold. No longer was it a hunt for lone, wandering targets, and even back then they suffered casualties trying just that. Titania alone knew just how many Jotunns there were in that fortress being spawned.
"Hey," one of Eugene's men spoke up from the perimeter. "Are we going to have to storm that place ourselves?"
"Because you want a shot at <<Excalibur>> yourself?" The 'General', as players called him, asked. After Titania allowed flight within Jotunheim, all those that raided within that underground realm could see the legendary sword stuck within the tip of the pyramid.
"No just that," the man admitted, looking at the golden sword from afar. "Because this is starting to look awfully like a siege instead of a raid, and one where we can't stop the enemy leaving to resupply at will. Sure, we're not taking any real losses – but the Jotunns aren't either, seeing as they could still respawn new ones somehow post-Transition. It's nice to still be able to get some of those rare reagents coming into the market, not like some other kinds where supply is running scarce, but I'm not sure it's worth letting the Jotunns build up power."
"If you want be the first one to scout the place out, be my guest," Eugene shrugged. "I doubt Titania will mind that much if we cleared Thrymheim before Kirito does. But this isn't like back in the game where we can afford to die repeatedly against the boss to figure out the pattern and drown him with sheer numbers. If Kirito wants to volunteer to scout, I'm all for it. Fairly sure Titania won't allow him to hoard all the information gained from his try."
Eugene's subordinate nodded, mollified by Eugene's words. Being Salamanders and have the best organized raid groups didn't mean much when dying had more consequences than just EXP penalty. Even if dying would be more painless, as word has it Titania was working on a buff that reduced pain feedback, nobody wanted to risk EXP penalty in the new world bleeding over to memory loss.
Then, an alarm blared from the players' Medallions.
-][-
Titania turned her attention to within Jotunheim, as after the Treaty was signed the major threat – insofar as ones that would force Titania to intervene and use up the World Tree's stored powers – was the Giants. Thrym, the Frost Giant King, had not moved from where he sat for days by that point, continuously draining the power from the World Tree and from the offerings of Windstone dug up by his Jotunn minions. Stood at his full height Thrym would have been taller than 100 metres, taller than even an entire Floor in the floating castle of Aincrad – which was more than five times higher than the Jotunns. Titania clinically observed that if it wasn't for that massive difference in size, Thrym would have burst from all that magical energy within him, like a normal Giant would trying to absorb all that power.
Then, the frozen fortress of Thrymheim shook, and Excalibur was shifted to appear in front of Thrym. Concerned by the new development, Titania devoted every kind of sensing capability she had onto the scene, seeking to discover just what Thrym was planning.
The Frost Giant King reached one of his gigantic hands toward Excalibur, before looking up as if he could see one of the 'camera' point of view Titania was viewing and stared right back at Titania. As if sneering at the spying attempt, mist billowed out from Thrym's body so there was no more visuals for Titania to work with. That same mist obscured sensors trying to pick out magical energy as well, allowing only the location of where Excalibur was but not what was being done to it.
Titania sounded the alarm.
-][-
Then, Thrymheim rumbled. Excalibur, shining like a distant star, had retracted back into the frozen fortress along with the tip of the pyramid.
"… That can't be good," Eugene grunted, letting no apprehension show on his face. "Salamanders, this is why we hang around in shifts, in case things like this happen. Prepare to fire once I picked out our target."
The footsteps became louder, until the Jotunns came into view. Giants seven to ten times the height of normal players, with multiple arms and heads to begin with, most if not all of them now had crystals growing out of their bodies. Their melee weapons seem to be made of magically reinforced stone more often than not, seeing as they could not replace lost metal swords and other such items.
With roars of defiance at seeing the faeries surrounding them, the Jotunns charged out. Unlike previous times however, instead of gunning for the bottomless hole and the safety of tunnels where not even the most daring Gnome would pursue them, they flew after the perimeter. Eugene picked one that was flying toward them and barked out the order to attack, and dozens of flaming lances shot out. A Wind shield from the Jotunn took most of the explosions, and then the Salamanders scattered before the Jotunn could crush some of them within its fists.
With an offhand glance, Eugene found other Factions' raid teams had engaged each of their respective Jotunns-
Wait.
There were nine Factions within Alfheim. Each Faction had raid teams loosely aligned with them down in Jotunheim. The Jotuns tend to not send out more than a handful at times for their 'farming' trips, and more than one Faction combined their firepower to take down Jotunns at those times.
But nine was not exactly the numbers that 'a handful' described.
Thrymheim rumbled.
Or, more precisely, it didn't stop rumbling to begin with.
"All teams, fall back to the northern base camp or teleport out!" Eugene shouted, summoning his Medallion.
"The Jotunns are counterattacking!"
The Jotunns continued to exit from their frozen fortress, with the number rising to two dozen Giants filling the air with magic and the screams of the unfortunate players that failed to escape the attacks. <<Remain Lights>> began to dot the skies around them, unaffected by the roaring winds that blew past.
It was then that Eugene spied two unique individuals soaring out of Thrymheim:
The first, a Jotunn that would be more accurate to be described as a cyclops, with one eye upon its only head. The cyclops had no additional limbs like other Jotunns, but it was encased on a suit of plate armour that appeared to be completely made of Windstones fused roughly together.
The second, a Jotunn that was smaller than its Giant brethren, only five times taller than a faerie at most, but its lower body was more like that of a centipede's with ten legs.
Eugene broke his own teleporting crystal, the magic taking hold of him to bring him out of Jotunheim, before he could see more.
-][-
The Jotunns went towards base camps, where some players held a last stand while most evacuated against the overwhelming force. The faeries could revive, but their Beast God allies could not – and more than a few were sentimental enough to not want to lose their rare supporters.
Some Jotunns opted to pound against the walls, trying to dig with their hands a way out to the surface world. A few blows later, each strike only caused purple lightning to spark instead of gouging out holes in the wall. Titania locked them in, and not even their magic could break the walls. That did not stop the Giants from trying. And try they did, until the faeries gathered enough courage to bring more of their warriors down to face them.
-][-
It was a solemn atmosphere that greeted Kirito when he met up with several other players, Yui sitting on his shoulder. The AI in pixie form relayed to him that Titania gave the order for Kirito to start his Quest for Excalibur, as soon as reasonably possible. Not even the World Tree could indefinitely lock the Jotunns underground forever, it was a constant drain on power to make the walls reminiscent of the <<Immortal Objects>> that terrain and non-interactive items were.
Agil, Klein and Argo was waiting for Kirito, despite how the information broker wasn't planning on fighting in the raid itself – Argo wasn't built as a frontline combatant. Nonetheless, Argo's experience was tried and tested from their time in Aincrad, and would be helpful in planning things out before they proceeded. Asuna was also present, as there was no way she was going to let Kirito head off into danger without her. Leafa stood out among that group, as the only ALO player there. The Sylph was uncomfortable about that fact, but held her head up high as she was still someone that was their peer in stats if nothing else – if she didn't, then she would have been left out like Lisbeth and Silica was. Those two weren't magically powerful enough to contribute.
"What do we know so far?" Kirito directed the question to the room in general, looking at each person briefly.
"That if you go in with just the five of you as you originally planned, Kii-bou, you're gonna get wiped," Argo said flatly. "Even if we brought in everyone from the SAO side of things you're still gonna get wiped. Hell, even if you had all of the Jotunheim's raid teams band together and concentrate fire on Thrym you still might not win. The King of the Frost Giants has been buffed like you wouldn't believe."
Physically speaking Thrym and other Giants had a monumentally high defence, requiring magic to do any meaningful damage – as expected from the game that focused on flight and magic, really. With all that new energy coursing through him however, from both the World Tree's roots and Windstones, it would take an army or something more to defeat Thrym, not a slapdash group of players.
"… Even if we had help from <<Freya>>?" Kirito asked, mostly for the sake of it. From his preliminary analysis into the Jotunheim mission when it was first raised all those weeks ago, he vaguely remembered there was a powerful NPC mage that could be recruited to fight with them.
"Freya was originally meant to even the odds for the raid team, indeed," Yui explained, bringing up a picture of the NPC in question. A golden-haired women in a dress that looked to be too thin for her icy surroundings showed up on the screen, making the only unmarried man in the room inhale sharply at the sight. Somehow, Kirito thought, Klein wasn't enraptured by Freya's golden eyes but her other… 'assets', so to speak. Hell, those were even more impressive than Leafa's for gods' sake.
"But," Yui continued, "even if he was to reveal himself as <<Thor>> and restored to his full power, he would not be roughly equal to Thrym as originally programmed."
"… That's a guy?" Klein croaked, after freezing at Yui's words and unable to accept it. Yui nodded, and brought up a picture of another person – one who appeared to be a man past his 40s and had a golden beard. If Yui hadn't said so already, no-one in the room would have accepted that Nord warrior to be the same individual as the beautiful woman shown earlier.
"Should I apologize?" Yui asked questioningly, head tilting to one side in confusion.
"… Nah," Kirito decided, to the agreement of all others present minus the crestfallen man in question. "It's Klein's own fault for falling for the NPC."
"Back to the topic at hand," Argo coughed meaningfully. "Unless Titania is willing to give you more aid, Kii-bou your raid is going to end up worse than what happened back on Floor 50 in Aincrad."
"Titania isn't even willing to let any of us borrow Runebound armour for this," Kirito winced, sparing a glance at the black coat he wore. "Even when beating Thrym is for the good of Alfheim and so others won't have to die instead of us. Yeah, I'm sure we're not getting anything more."
Titania seemed to have cracked the reduce pain enchantment for players soon after the Jotunn's counterattack, allowing raid teams to fight as if they were still back in ALO – if ALO had flying Jotunns, anyway. Teams were no longer crippled by pain when they fight, albeit that still didn't stop 'real' physics working when tanks get crushed along with their shields by a giant fist descending on them at sufficient force. It was obvious that Titania didn't expect Kirito to win, just to last long enough to scout out Thrym's new capabilities. When even the 'normal' Jotunns were not mindless beasts or berserkers acting on instinct, having started to coordinate in a group, it was unlikely that Thrym would be the exception and be as dumb as a brick.
"While true, Titania-san is unwilling to give aid," Yui said hesitantly. "But that does not mean <<Cardinal>> would be unwilling to give any aid at all."
"Which means…?" Leafa said with a frown.
In reply, Yui hopped off of Kirito's shoulders and with a flash of light morphed into her human child form. Holding one hand out, a large two-handed flaming sword came into existence, floating above her open hand.
"When I called summoned <<Object Eraser>> back on Aincrad, it wasn't part of me and I was just borrowing it from Cardinal," Yui began. "But when I was made Titania-san's back-up I was given authority and weapons of my own to protect myself, in case the worst happens. This sword isn't Object Eraser, but it's the next best thing – like how I took the form of a navigation pixie when we were first in ALO, Object Eraser became something different in this new world."
"And that is?" Agil asked, gauging the quality of the weapon.
"The yet unnamed sword of Surtr, King of Muspelheim's Fire Giants," Yui replied. "Possibly the strongest weapon for fighting against Frost Giants – Surtr in myth was supposed to slay even Norse Gods when the time of Ragnorok comes. The Fire attribute in this sword, when released, should in theory be able to take even Thrym down.
"Cardinal doesn't – or shouldn't – give out impossible Quests, so consider this as evening the odds. It doesn't feel right otherwise."
"So, an escort mission?" Asuna pondered. "I doubt Titania would agree risking you, Yui, and even I'd agree with her."
"No," Yui shook her head, sending her sword back to wherever it came from. "My plan is to make an avatar of sorts to go down with you all, that would use my senses like I was there and can summon the sword once you reach the Thrym. Or if you need to use it, then even before that."
Heads turned to look at Kirito – he was the one nominally in charge of the raid, after all.
"Well, alright," Kirito cautiously allowed. "Only if Yui can be safe even if we do this."
"I can't think of any other way to succeed out of the options we have if you don't do this, papa," Yui pointed out. "I want to help, too."
"No sword is worth losing you, Yui," Kirito said softly, crouching down and placing one hand on top of Yu's head. "Not even Excalibur. I'd give up on the quest if I had to choose."
"So we're winging this, then?" Klein asked. "Go for a suicidal mission and hope with the sword – and Thor – that we can pull this off?"
"Well…" Kirito thought for a moment. "I think I can get some more help – what do you guys feel about splitting the loot further?"
-][-
The Faction Leaders were busy trying to organize a coordinated effort to destroy the Jotunns, to the point many of them weren't even in the meeting room within the World Tree. Morgiana was out there haggling with which guilds from her Faction that would show up, as with a few other Leaders, while Rufus shut himself in his private workshop. With one ear absently listening to the discussion, the Leprechaun Leader worked on a few surprises he had planned for when Kirito inevitably gets wrecked by Thrym and the ALO players has to step in.
"-like I said, the Black Hawks are joining Kirito on his little sojourn in Thrymheim."
"What?" Rufus sputtered, turning his attention from the large golden cylinder in front of him.
"Did you not hear me the last two times I had to explain, Rufus?" Morgiana's scowl could be heard from her voice, even if Rufus couldn't see her expression. "He offered my guild a cut of the mountain of gold at the end of the boss fight, and after some discussion with my boys and girls we agreed. Loot split evenly between every player of his raid, with him only taking Excalibur as his share if we win."
"What about organizing the rest of the Spriggans?" Mortimer asked coolly.
"You mean the stuff like who's showing up, who's doing what, and laying down the law if someone decides to play with friendly fire on?" Morgiana asked. "Yeah, I'm still doing all that, before my guild go into Thrymheim as well. Not that I'd expect things to stick, in case you haven't noticed the Spriggans don't really have a united force like the Salamanders do – we're a bunch that conveniently plays as the same Faction because being Spriggans had its charms, not because we wanted to cooperate as a group. I have Faction deputies for a reason, and failing that I'm going to have Titania kick any trouble-stirring bastard out of Jotunheim with teleports or worse. They'd listen to her more than they'd listen to me, at least."
"You're jeopardizing the rest of the players because your guild wanted shiny loot?" Rufus said incredulously.
"I don't want to hear that from you, mister I'm-building-nukes-instead-of-talking-with-people," Morgiana shot back. "Hell, you'd take the same deal as me if Kirito offered it to you, there's probably more enchanted gold there than what's in the entirety of your coffers."
"It's not a nuke- oh whatever," Rufus scowled back.
"Besides," Morgiana went on, "tell me if it isn't better if Kirito succeeds and nobody else has to die fighting Thrym. And I doubt Eugene and the rest of the players has the stamina to tackle the Big Blue after they clear the Jotunns out. It's for the best if this works."
"By that logic, if we're going to pit a small group most likely to succeed against Thrym, then Eugene and the Salamanders should be the ones going, not you," Mortimer pointed out. "We're the most organized and most suited fighting against Jotunns, so Kirito will have the best chance of succeeding with us."
"Yeah, no, Frost Giants supposedly are programmed to gain higher <<Hate>> values when faced with Fire-specced mages," Morgiana replied. "Which is a trade-off for Salamanders having an elemental advantage over them. If you Salamanders step in there, you might as well not bother bring tanks for the fight."
"About that, Titania did made it so it's almost like back in the game for fights now," Rufus argued doggedly. "Even if we die it's not that bad now, so if you think you can monopolize the fame and rewards-"
"Oh for fuck's sake, really Rufus?" Morgiana's tone sounded like she didn't know if she wanted to hit Rufus or do worse. "Did you forget about the brain damage part? Especially when you're the one that volunteered to take responsibility for Sigurd? Dying isn't exactly safe even if the fighting itself is back to 'normal'."
"Everyone fighting in Jotunheim knew the risks when they signed up for this," Rufus retorted. "We know what we're risking and wanted to jump in anyway. You don't get to skip ahead out of all of us."
"Quit bitching," Morgiana said unsympathetically. "Blame your own Faction for being not good enough to figure out the Quest flags before anyone else did. What happened to all that crap about being gamers at heart? First come, first serve, and if you got a problem with it then take it up with Titania. It wouldn't be the first time you did."
Rufus seethed, before throwing himself back to his crafting and enchanting. He materialized more and more enchanted gold out of his bank chest, and proceeded to melt them down for shaping later.
You think I'm the one bitching? Rufus thought. Fine. When I'm through, I'll show you who's bitching.
===
The cyclops and 'Jotunn version of Skullreaper' was mentioned to be 1st and 3rd floor bosses within Thrymheim during the Caliber arc in the LNs. Though they're boosted seeing as if normal Jotunns are boosted there's no reason why they wouldn't be. Thrym sent them out for a reason, which you guys will find out soon.
I hadn't saved the Ymir Wikipedia page I saw a few years ago, so while I could have sworn there was something about Ymir being the King of the Frost Giants in myths, I can't find where that bit of info was. I'll default back to how SAO called Thrym the Frost Giant King as opposed to making the changes I had back in Chapter 11. Ymir is no longer the Frost Giant King, but some kind of primordial entity who was the ancestor of the Giants, and whose death (and body parts) led to the creation of Midgard (and Alfheim in this story).
Oh, kinda a fun fact – apparently Brimir was another name for Ymir. Probably not going to point this out in-story since it's too meta.
===
Chapter 39
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It was business as usual within Jotunheim for the players of Alfheim Online, even after the Treaty was signed. Raid teams went in, aided by their Beast God allies, and tried to purge the Jotunns before they could build up their numbers.
The progress of that was beginning to worry the various teams, however. The Jotunns seemed to have smartened up, generally retreating to the inverted pyramid that was <<Thrymheim>>. These days, raid teams had to jostle for position in the surrounding perimeter for when Jotunns formed their own teams of three to five Giants as they flew down from the 300 metres tall pyramid – there were no more 'normal' Jotunns left by that point, all of them having been mutated by Windstones' magic – and try to take them down before they could enter the bottomless hole below and escape underground. When that happened, then they would have to wait until the Jotunn returned from gathering more Windstones to feed their allies holed up within their stronghold. No longer was it a hunt for lone, wandering targets, and even back then they suffered casualties trying just that. Titania alone knew just how many Jotunns there were in that fortress being spawned.
"Hey," one of Eugene's men spoke up from the perimeter. "Are we going to have to storm that place ourselves?"
"Because you want a shot at <<Excalibur>> yourself?" The 'General', as players called him, asked. After Titania allowed flight within Jotunheim, all those that raided within that underground realm could see the legendary sword stuck within the tip of the pyramid.
"No just that," the man admitted, looking at the golden sword from afar. "Because this is starting to look awfully like a siege instead of a raid, and one where we can't stop the enemy leaving to resupply at will. Sure, we're not taking any real losses – but the Jotunns aren't either, seeing as they could still respawn new ones somehow post-Transition. It's nice to still be able to get some of those rare reagents coming into the market, not like some other kinds where supply is running scarce, but I'm not sure it's worth letting the Jotunns build up power."
"If you want be the first one to scout the place out, be my guest," Eugene shrugged. "I doubt Titania will mind that much if we cleared Thrymheim before Kirito does. But this isn't like back in the game where we can afford to die repeatedly against the boss to figure out the pattern and drown him with sheer numbers. If Kirito wants to volunteer to scout, I'm all for it. Fairly sure Titania won't allow him to hoard all the information gained from his try."
Eugene's subordinate nodded, mollified by Eugene's words. Being Salamanders and have the best organized raid groups didn't mean much when dying had more consequences than just EXP penalty. Even if dying would be more painless, as word has it Titania was working on a buff that reduced pain feedback, nobody wanted to risk EXP penalty in the new world bleeding over to memory loss.
Then, an alarm blared from the players' Medallions.
-][-
Titania turned her attention to within Jotunheim, as after the Treaty was signed the major threat – insofar as ones that would force Titania to intervene and use up the World Tree's stored powers – was the Giants. Thrym, the Frost Giant King, had not moved from where he sat for days by that point, continuously draining the power from the World Tree and from the offerings of Windstone dug up by his Jotunn minions. Stood at his full height Thrym would have been taller than 100 metres, taller than even an entire Floor in the floating castle of Aincrad – which was more than five times higher than the Jotunns. Titania clinically observed that if it wasn't for that massive difference in size, Thrym would have burst from all that magical energy within him, like a normal Giant would trying to absorb all that power.
Then, the frozen fortress of Thrymheim shook, and Excalibur was shifted to appear in front of Thrym. Concerned by the new development, Titania devoted every kind of sensing capability she had onto the scene, seeking to discover just what Thrym was planning.
The Frost Giant King reached one of his gigantic hands toward Excalibur, before looking up as if he could see one of the 'camera' point of view Titania was viewing and stared right back at Titania. As if sneering at the spying attempt, mist billowed out from Thrym's body so there was no more visuals for Titania to work with. That same mist obscured sensors trying to pick out magical energy as well, allowing only the location of where Excalibur was but not what was being done to it.
Titania sounded the alarm.
-][-
Then, Thrymheim rumbled. Excalibur, shining like a distant star, had retracted back into the frozen fortress along with the tip of the pyramid.
"… That can't be good," Eugene grunted, letting no apprehension show on his face. "Salamanders, this is why we hang around in shifts, in case things like this happen. Prepare to fire once I picked out our target."
The footsteps became louder, until the Jotunns came into view. Giants seven to ten times the height of normal players, with multiple arms and heads to begin with, most if not all of them now had crystals growing out of their bodies. Their melee weapons seem to be made of magically reinforced stone more often than not, seeing as they could not replace lost metal swords and other such items.
With roars of defiance at seeing the faeries surrounding them, the Jotunns charged out. Unlike previous times however, instead of gunning for the bottomless hole and the safety of tunnels where not even the most daring Gnome would pursue them, they flew after the perimeter. Eugene picked one that was flying toward them and barked out the order to attack, and dozens of flaming lances shot out. A Wind shield from the Jotunn took most of the explosions, and then the Salamanders scattered before the Jotunn could crush some of them within its fists.
With an offhand glance, Eugene found other Factions' raid teams had engaged each of their respective Jotunns-
Wait.
There were nine Factions within Alfheim. Each Faction had raid teams loosely aligned with them down in Jotunheim. The Jotuns tend to not send out more than a handful at times for their 'farming' trips, and more than one Faction combined their firepower to take down Jotunns at those times.
But nine was not exactly the numbers that 'a handful' described.
Thrymheim rumbled.
Or, more precisely, it didn't stop rumbling to begin with.
"All teams, fall back to the northern base camp or teleport out!" Eugene shouted, summoning his Medallion.
"The Jotunns are counterattacking!"
The Jotunns continued to exit from their frozen fortress, with the number rising to two dozen Giants filling the air with magic and the screams of the unfortunate players that failed to escape the attacks. <<Remain Lights>> began to dot the skies around them, unaffected by the roaring winds that blew past.
It was then that Eugene spied two unique individuals soaring out of Thrymheim:
The first, a Jotunn that would be more accurate to be described as a cyclops, with one eye upon its only head. The cyclops had no additional limbs like other Jotunns, but it was encased on a suit of plate armour that appeared to be completely made of Windstones fused roughly together.
The second, a Jotunn that was smaller than its Giant brethren, only five times taller than a faerie at most, but its lower body was more like that of a centipede's with ten legs.
Eugene broke his own teleporting crystal, the magic taking hold of him to bring him out of Jotunheim, before he could see more.
-][-
The Jotunns went towards base camps, where some players held a last stand while most evacuated against the overwhelming force. The faeries could revive, but their Beast God allies could not – and more than a few were sentimental enough to not want to lose their rare supporters.
Some Jotunns opted to pound against the walls, trying to dig with their hands a way out to the surface world. A few blows later, each strike only caused purple lightning to spark instead of gouging out holes in the wall. Titania locked them in, and not even their magic could break the walls. That did not stop the Giants from trying. And try they did, until the faeries gathered enough courage to bring more of their warriors down to face them.
-][-
It was a solemn atmosphere that greeted Kirito when he met up with several other players, Yui sitting on his shoulder. The AI in pixie form relayed to him that Titania gave the order for Kirito to start his Quest for Excalibur, as soon as reasonably possible. Not even the World Tree could indefinitely lock the Jotunns underground forever, it was a constant drain on power to make the walls reminiscent of the <<Immortal Objects>> that terrain and non-interactive items were.
Agil, Klein and Argo was waiting for Kirito, despite how the information broker wasn't planning on fighting in the raid itself – Argo wasn't built as a frontline combatant. Nonetheless, Argo's experience was tried and tested from their time in Aincrad, and would be helpful in planning things out before they proceeded. Asuna was also present, as there was no way she was going to let Kirito head off into danger without her. Leafa stood out among that group, as the only ALO player there. The Sylph was uncomfortable about that fact, but held her head up high as she was still someone that was their peer in stats if nothing else – if she didn't, then she would have been left out like Lisbeth and Silica was. Those two weren't magically powerful enough to contribute.
"What do we know so far?" Kirito directed the question to the room in general, looking at each person briefly.
"That if you go in with just the five of you as you originally planned, Kii-bou, you're gonna get wiped," Argo said flatly. "Even if we brought in everyone from the SAO side of things you're still gonna get wiped. Hell, even if you had all of the Jotunheim's raid teams band together and concentrate fire on Thrym you still might not win. The King of the Frost Giants has been buffed like you wouldn't believe."
Physically speaking Thrym and other Giants had a monumentally high defence, requiring magic to do any meaningful damage – as expected from the game that focused on flight and magic, really. With all that new energy coursing through him however, from both the World Tree's roots and Windstones, it would take an army or something more to defeat Thrym, not a slapdash group of players.
"… Even if we had help from <<Freya>>?" Kirito asked, mostly for the sake of it. From his preliminary analysis into the Jotunheim mission when it was first raised all those weeks ago, he vaguely remembered there was a powerful NPC mage that could be recruited to fight with them.
"Freya was originally meant to even the odds for the raid team, indeed," Yui explained, bringing up a picture of the NPC in question. A golden-haired women in a dress that looked to be too thin for her icy surroundings showed up on the screen, making the only unmarried man in the room inhale sharply at the sight. Somehow, Kirito thought, Klein wasn't enraptured by Freya's golden eyes but her other… 'assets', so to speak. Hell, those were even more impressive than Leafa's for gods' sake.
"But," Yui continued, "even if he was to reveal himself as <<Thor>> and restored to his full power, he would not be roughly equal to Thrym as originally programmed."
"… That's a guy?" Klein croaked, after freezing at Yui's words and unable to accept it. Yui nodded, and brought up a picture of another person – one who appeared to be a man past his 40s and had a golden beard. If Yui hadn't said so already, no-one in the room would have accepted that Nord warrior to be the same individual as the beautiful woman shown earlier.
"Should I apologize?" Yui asked questioningly, head tilting to one side in confusion.
"… Nah," Kirito decided, to the agreement of all others present minus the crestfallen man in question. "It's Klein's own fault for falling for the NPC."
"Back to the topic at hand," Argo coughed meaningfully. "Unless Titania is willing to give you more aid, Kii-bou your raid is going to end up worse than what happened back on Floor 50 in Aincrad."
"Titania isn't even willing to let any of us borrow Runebound armour for this," Kirito winced, sparing a glance at the black coat he wore. "Even when beating Thrym is for the good of Alfheim and so others won't have to die instead of us. Yeah, I'm sure we're not getting anything more."
Titania seemed to have cracked the reduce pain enchantment for players soon after the Jotunn's counterattack, allowing raid teams to fight as if they were still back in ALO – if ALO had flying Jotunns, anyway. Teams were no longer crippled by pain when they fight, albeit that still didn't stop 'real' physics working when tanks get crushed along with their shields by a giant fist descending on them at sufficient force. It was obvious that Titania didn't expect Kirito to win, just to last long enough to scout out Thrym's new capabilities. When even the 'normal' Jotunns were not mindless beasts or berserkers acting on instinct, having started to coordinate in a group, it was unlikely that Thrym would be the exception and be as dumb as a brick.
"While true, Titania-san is unwilling to give aid," Yui said hesitantly. "But that does not mean <<Cardinal>> would be unwilling to give any aid at all."
"Which means…?" Leafa said with a frown.
In reply, Yui hopped off of Kirito's shoulders and with a flash of light morphed into her human child form. Holding one hand out, a large two-handed flaming sword came into existence, floating above her open hand.
"When I called summoned <<Object Eraser>> back on Aincrad, it wasn't part of me and I was just borrowing it from Cardinal," Yui began. "But when I was made Titania-san's back-up I was given authority and weapons of my own to protect myself, in case the worst happens. This sword isn't Object Eraser, but it's the next best thing – like how I took the form of a navigation pixie when we were first in ALO, Object Eraser became something different in this new world."
"And that is?" Agil asked, gauging the quality of the weapon.
"The yet unnamed sword of Surtr, King of Muspelheim's Fire Giants," Yui replied. "Possibly the strongest weapon for fighting against Frost Giants – Surtr in myth was supposed to slay even Norse Gods when the time of Ragnorok comes. The Fire attribute in this sword, when released, should in theory be able to take even Thrym down.
"Cardinal doesn't – or shouldn't – give out impossible Quests, so consider this as evening the odds. It doesn't feel right otherwise."
"So, an escort mission?" Asuna pondered. "I doubt Titania would agree risking you, Yui, and even I'd agree with her."
"No," Yui shook her head, sending her sword back to wherever it came from. "My plan is to make an avatar of sorts to go down with you all, that would use my senses like I was there and can summon the sword once you reach the Thrym. Or if you need to use it, then even before that."
Heads turned to look at Kirito – he was the one nominally in charge of the raid, after all.
"Well, alright," Kirito cautiously allowed. "Only if Yui can be safe even if we do this."
"I can't think of any other way to succeed out of the options we have if you don't do this, papa," Yui pointed out. "I want to help, too."
"No sword is worth losing you, Yui," Kirito said softly, crouching down and placing one hand on top of Yu's head. "Not even Excalibur. I'd give up on the quest if I had to choose."
"So we're winging this, then?" Klein asked. "Go for a suicidal mission and hope with the sword – and Thor – that we can pull this off?"
"Well…" Kirito thought for a moment. "I think I can get some more help – what do you guys feel about splitting the loot further?"
-][-
The Faction Leaders were busy trying to organize a coordinated effort to destroy the Jotunns, to the point many of them weren't even in the meeting room within the World Tree. Morgiana was out there haggling with which guilds from her Faction that would show up, as with a few other Leaders, while Rufus shut himself in his private workshop. With one ear absently listening to the discussion, the Leprechaun Leader worked on a few surprises he had planned for when Kirito inevitably gets wrecked by Thrym and the ALO players has to step in.
"-like I said, the Black Hawks are joining Kirito on his little sojourn in Thrymheim."
"What?" Rufus sputtered, turning his attention from the large golden cylinder in front of him.
"Did you not hear me the last two times I had to explain, Rufus?" Morgiana's scowl could be heard from her voice, even if Rufus couldn't see her expression. "He offered my guild a cut of the mountain of gold at the end of the boss fight, and after some discussion with my boys and girls we agreed. Loot split evenly between every player of his raid, with him only taking Excalibur as his share if we win."
"What about organizing the rest of the Spriggans?" Mortimer asked coolly.
"You mean the stuff like who's showing up, who's doing what, and laying down the law if someone decides to play with friendly fire on?" Morgiana asked. "Yeah, I'm still doing all that, before my guild go into Thrymheim as well. Not that I'd expect things to stick, in case you haven't noticed the Spriggans don't really have a united force like the Salamanders do – we're a bunch that conveniently plays as the same Faction because being Spriggans had its charms, not because we wanted to cooperate as a group. I have Faction deputies for a reason, and failing that I'm going to have Titania kick any trouble-stirring bastard out of Jotunheim with teleports or worse. They'd listen to her more than they'd listen to me, at least."
"You're jeopardizing the rest of the players because your guild wanted shiny loot?" Rufus said incredulously.
"I don't want to hear that from you, mister I'm-building-nukes-instead-of-talking-with-people," Morgiana shot back. "Hell, you'd take the same deal as me if Kirito offered it to you, there's probably more enchanted gold there than what's in the entirety of your coffers."
"It's not a nuke- oh whatever," Rufus scowled back.
"Besides," Morgiana went on, "tell me if it isn't better if Kirito succeeds and nobody else has to die fighting Thrym. And I doubt Eugene and the rest of the players has the stamina to tackle the Big Blue after they clear the Jotunns out. It's for the best if this works."
"By that logic, if we're going to pit a small group most likely to succeed against Thrym, then Eugene and the Salamanders should be the ones going, not you," Mortimer pointed out. "We're the most organized and most suited fighting against Jotunns, so Kirito will have the best chance of succeeding with us."
"Yeah, no, Frost Giants supposedly are programmed to gain higher <<Hate>> values when faced with Fire-specced mages," Morgiana replied. "Which is a trade-off for Salamanders having an elemental advantage over them. If you Salamanders step in there, you might as well not bother bring tanks for the fight."
"About that, Titania did made it so it's almost like back in the game for fights now," Rufus argued doggedly. "Even if we die it's not that bad now, so if you think you can monopolize the fame and rewards-"
"Oh for fuck's sake, really Rufus?" Morgiana's tone sounded like she didn't know if she wanted to hit Rufus or do worse. "Did you forget about the brain damage part? Especially when you're the one that volunteered to take responsibility for Sigurd? Dying isn't exactly safe even if the fighting itself is back to 'normal'."
"Everyone fighting in Jotunheim knew the risks when they signed up for this," Rufus retorted. "We know what we're risking and wanted to jump in anyway. You don't get to skip ahead out of all of us."
"Quit bitching," Morgiana said unsympathetically. "Blame your own Faction for being not good enough to figure out the Quest flags before anyone else did. What happened to all that crap about being gamers at heart? First come, first serve, and if you got a problem with it then take it up with Titania. It wouldn't be the first time you did."
Rufus seethed, before throwing himself back to his crafting and enchanting. He materialized more and more enchanted gold out of his bank chest, and proceeded to melt them down for shaping later.
You think I'm the one bitching? Rufus thought. Fine. When I'm through, I'll show you who's bitching.
===
The cyclops and 'Jotunn version of Skullreaper' was mentioned to be 1st and 3rd floor bosses within Thrymheim during the Caliber arc in the LNs. Though they're boosted seeing as if normal Jotunns are boosted there's no reason why they wouldn't be. Thrym sent them out for a reason, which you guys will find out soon.
I hadn't saved the Ymir Wikipedia page I saw a few years ago, so while I could have sworn there was something about Ymir being the King of the Frost Giants in myths, I can't find where that bit of info was. I'll default back to how SAO called Thrym the Frost Giant King as opposed to making the changes I had back in Chapter 11. Ymir is no longer the Frost Giant King, but some kind of primordial entity who was the ancestor of the Giants, and whose death (and body parts) led to the creation of Midgard (and Alfheim in this story).
Oh, kinda a fun fact – apparently Brimir was another name for Ymir. Probably not going to point this out in-story since it's too meta.
Chapter 40
Thanks to @Fictiondevourer for beta-ing.
===
Chapter 40
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The gate guards at Tristain Academy tensed when a bit further down the road a shimmering patch appeared, before being pulled to the sides like curtains at a window. In the midday sun such a scene was hard to miss. They tensed further when a black-clad faerie walked through, one they had seen before:
"May I enter and speak with Headmaster Osmond?" Lord Kirito asked, walking slowly towards the Academy gates, for some reason dressed in the black coat they first saw him in. "And with Professor Colbert as well."
One of the guards hastily complied and ran to notify Old Osmond.
-][-
"You've been out of it for a while now, Tabitha," Kirche bemoaned as she plopped down next to her friend, who these days have claimed a particular spot in the Academy whenever she felt like reading. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
Tabitha merely flipped another page, ignoring Kirche's words. The dark-skinned Germanian was tempted to poke her petite friend just to see if she had casted a silencing spell, as Tabitha tended to, before the blue-haired girl shifted her body, jerked upon looking out the window, and quickly got up and left.
Kirche swiftly followed the Gallian, and redoubled her efforts when she saw what made Tabitha move – she didn't know why Tabitha reacted to the 'Lord' Kirito that they met that day when the World Tree arrived in Tristain, but there was no way Kirche wasn't going to follow and find out.
-][-
Colbert was led in into Old Osmond's office, before the secretary was dismissed and left. The door shut with a 'thud', and the Headmaster activated whatever enchantments he had surrounding his office for privacy.
"May I ask why I am here?" Colbert ventured slowly, glancing from the Headmaster to the Spriggan.
"I came by to ask if the Academy could spare you to go on a quest with me, Professor," Lord Kirito said calmly. "From what I have heard, mages sometimes go on adventures and explore, fight monsters and so on. Headmaster Osmond said that was up to you to decide if you wish to join."
"A quest?" Colbert blinked – he didn't expect that. "A dangerous quest?"
"Very dangerous," Kirito confirmed. "I won't lie and tell you it'll be safe – every faerie on this quest expects to die several times before this quest is finished."
"… And you expect me to join, despite that?" Colbert asked, incredulity colouring his tone but he held it back so it was not to the point of being insulting.
"I thought there's nothing to lose by asking you if you wanted to come," Kirito shrugged. "You'll be teleported out of Jotunheim before you actually die, and how much reward Titania gives you depends on how much you have contributed by that point."
"Why am I chosen?" Colbert asked. "Or rather, I think I'd like to hear what's going on first. Would that be alright, milord?"
"Skip the 'lord' stuff, please," Kirito said in a pained voice. "I'm not a lord, never have been. But that's not the point."
Kirito shook his head as if to clear it. "Okay, so. What do you know about Jotunheim, Professor?"
"Only what was said during the Treaty negotiations," Colbert said slowly, noting that while Kirito forego honorifics towards himself he kept it for addressing Osmond and himself. "It's where the faeries war with Giants, to the point the various Factions' strongest troops are directed towards there and the Fairy Queen steps in to protect faeries on the surface world. Did something change?"
"For some time now the Jotunns have been pushed back to Thrymheim, the fortress of their King," Kirito began. "Things were at a stalemate, and Titania was content to leave it at that while Alfheim negotiated with Tristain – we didn't need a war on two fronts. This morning the Jotunns launched an assault, pushing back the Alfheim teams and destroyed the Factions' bases down there. Titania sealed Jotunheim before any Jotunn could dig their way out. I'm here to ask you if you'd like to come with me when I lead a team to confront Thrym, so the Jotunheim can be cleared once and for all."
Colbert clenched his staff nervously. He had seen some of those recordings where the faeries fared badly against the Giants, and he did not believe he could do any better. "And if I decline to come?"
"Then I go back to prepare for the raid like usual," Kirito said solemnly. "I'll admit, this mission is something for my personal gain, even if Alfheim will benefit. I'm in no position to blame you for not wanting to participate.
"Still, right now I'm trying for any advantage I can get – because if my team can win, Alfheim won't have to throw thousands of lives in to die in the process. Thrym might expect how we do things, but something else might surprise him. I'm hoping that your experience as a Square class mage can do something we didn't think of and turn the tides."
Colbert went silent for a moment – he couldn't even use the excuse that he was just a scholar, not a warrior, as he was important enough that he attended the Treaty negotiations while doubling as another guard for Tristain. He even fought against Undercurrent, although he had a poor showing as one of the first mages to be downed. Lack of practice did that to retired mages.
"I'm not sure I can do anything," Colbert admitted. "Even as a Square mage I'm sure I am far behind the faeries when it comes to power."
"I'm not asking you because of your power, Professor," Kirito said patiently. "I'm asking you for your ingenuity. Thrym outclasses us faeries as much as we might outclass you – no, he's even more powerful than that – and we'll need something other than a head on clash to win."
Even so, Colbert had a suspicion that it might be a trap of some sorts. Anything that could work against an overwhelming opponent such as the Jotunns, it could in theory work on the faeries as well. For all Colbert knew it was a fishing attempt as to what Square mages might be able to pull off against faeries in the future.
"What would Jean here be getting, if he were to accept?" Old Osmond decided to ask, seeing as Colbert didn't say anything.
"50,000 Yurudo right off, which he keeps even if he falls immediately once we get in, with more once the quest is finished," Kirito stated. "We'll supply some other things like potions and mage robes, if you want to use ours instead of your own. If Professor Colbert last until the end, he will get an even split of the loot from Thrym's treasury – which right now is estimated worth ten times the initial payment, if he chooses to sell his share to potential buyers."
"Alas, we're not familiar with how much worth that amount of currency is in Alfheim," Osmond mused. "How much would that be able to buy him?"
Kirito considered it for a moment. "Enough to outfit him an entire set of the best war-mage outfit for his level at the very least. I'd say he could buy a sizable property within Alfheim, but that was before the Transition and space is now at a premium."
"I'm not that interested in tools of war," Colbert said in a pained voice. The scene of a burning village came to mind.
"Well, I guess you can probably exchange those instead for a favour from Titania," Kirito shrugged. "Other faeries have been trading contribution points in for many things, from items to consumables to new spells and so on – there'll be something there for you, or if not then you can negotiate."
"Really?" Colbert asked, surprised. "We can talk with the Fairy Queen so easily?"
"It's probably easier to reach Titania than it is to reach Princess Henrietta," Kirito allowed. "Even taking into account that you aren't one of the pl- faeries, if you made a difference then you'll be rewarded. And really, not even Titania asks us to risk our lives for nothing-"
Loud knocks came on the door, interrupting Kirito.
-][-
Miss Longueville, or Matilda of Saxe-Gotha, had been sent outside when the Spriggan arrived to meet with the Headmaster and Professor Colbert. Out of habit, Matilda listened in with magic anyway using Triangle class Earth magic to pick up vibrations – she wanted to know if she needed to run to avoid some disaster or another. From what she could gather, there was a loophole in the enchantment around the office that if it was urgent enough, the door can be knocked on to inform the Headmaster of other emergencies. By that logic, vibrations can go through the door even when it was enchanted so voices won't go past the walls. After her time so far as Fouquet, she has a few tricks up her sleeves.
With one metaphorical ear against the door, Matilda saw two foreign students came up to the Headmaster's office – Tabitha of Gallia and Kirche von Zerbst of Germania, if she was not mistaken.
"The Headmaster is busy," Matilda said in a no-nonsense tone. "You ladies will have to come back later, or make an appointment-"
"You're listening in on the conversation," Tabitha said bluntly, startling Matilda. In that moment of surprise, Tabitha pushed past the secretary and knocked on the door.
-][-
Tabitha was not an Earth mage, but nevertheless as a Triangle mage she could still pull off Earth spells to some extent. If it was through air instead of stone, Tabitha would have more ease, but she could still catch the conversation within Old Osmond's office, albeit it was somewhat blurred.
It surprised her that the secretary, Miss Longueville, was a skilled enough mage that she could listen in as well, but Tabitha took it in stride and used it to rush past. She had heard enough that she needed to join the conversation.
The Headmaster unlocked his office, and Tabitha took it as invitation to enter. Kirche followed, looking stunned that her quiet friend took the initiative so readily, and the secretary entered as well not knowing what to do with the intruders.
Looking at the Spriggan – who had recognized her after some time – Tabitha went straight to the point:
"I want to join the team," Tabitha said in her quiet voice, audible in the office that went silent at her entrance.
"It's been a while since we last met," Kirito said with a frown. "I… don't think we've ever been introduced, Miss…?"
"Tabitha."
"Miss Tabitha," Kirito said, gauging her carefully. "Are you a Square mage?"
"… No."
"Then you'll die," Kirito said shortly. "I'm guessing that you somehow listened in on the conversation for a while, and you know what's involved. If even we as faeries expect to die several times I'm not sure how much difference you can make. And you don't have the decades of experience that I'm looking for in Professor Colbert."
"Triangle mage," Tabitha rebutted. "And Chevalier."
"Chevalier?" Kirito frowned.
"A title given to mages who have performed noteworthy deeds," Old Osmond explained for the Spriggan's benefit. "One noted to only be given to those that earned it, as opposed to titles that are inherited."
The Headmaster looked at Tabitha with a measuring gaze – Tabitha guessed Old Osmond knew just who she was when she enrolled into the Academy, but she has no idea what he was planning. Would he stop her? Support her?
"… Aren't you a bit young for something like that?" Kirito said to Tabitha, somewhat disbelievingly.
Tabitha's hand clenched imperceptibly around her staff, remembering how her mother took the poison meant for her. How Isabella taunted her and sent her to die many times.
"Still," Tabitha bit out. "Am capable mage. Won't hold team back."
She listened in on Kirito when he and Professor Colbert talked when they rode out towards the World Tree after Louise Valliere's summoning, she had heard him comment that she seemed used to dangerous missions. Why he only noticed her apparent immaturity in the office as opposed to back then, she had no idea. Either way, it was irritating.
"I don't know what's going on, but if Tabitha's volunteering then I will as well," Kirche declared, stepping up next to her. Tabitha glared at her best friend, to which the red-haired girl waved it off. "I'm not going to let my friend go into this alone."
"I don't make it a habit to drag kids into my personal business," Kirito said determinedly, after a pause. "At least, not when they only have the one life."
"Not just your personal business," Tabitha contested. "I'm doing this because I also want something out of this."
Because if there was anything in Halkeginia that could hold off the worst case scenario, King Joseph being a Void Mage and all that implied, it was Titania. Doing well enough in the raid to catch the Fairy Queen's attention so she can then negotiate for her mother's sanity and safety would be her goal.
Or, if worst came to worst… it could offer an opportunity to infiltrate the World Tree to look for its Hearts. If she really had no other hope than betting on the Mad King's non-existent mercy.
"Look," Kirito sighed. "This is probably the most dangerous thing someone in Alfheim can do. If you want something that Alfheim can offer, there's other ways to get them. You can be a mercenary and hunt down Mobs or something. What is it that you want, anyway?"
"Something that I can't get from anyone else," Tabitha said unwaveringly. "Not even from the Faerie Lords."
"And that is?" Kirito pressed.
"…" Tabitha stayed silent. What she knew were valuable bargaining chips, and she wasn't going to let it loose for nothing.
"Why not let her join, Kirito?" Old Osmond asked, blowing out smoke. Tabitha started, surprised that the Headmaster would support her recklessness. "Better for her to be as well-equipped as she can, than to have her gallivanting around the country without knowing what she is getting into, hmm?"
"She's not experienced enough," Kirito said testily. "I don't want her death to be on my conscience. Thrymheim is not a place that just by knowing what she will be facing is enough to get by unharmed."
"You said you wanted ingenuity from Jean, earlier," Osmond pointed out. "And to be chevalier at such a young age, that is its own kind of ingenuity compared to decades of experience. Why would you not want this advantage?"
"Other than how she'd die?" Kirito asked dryly.
"Some things are worth risking death for," Tabitha said simply, looking resolutely into Kirito's eyes. Black orbs stared back at blue ones. "Am I wrong?"
Kirito was the first to look away.
"Someone of your age shouldn't have to risk death, though," Kirito muttered.
"Shouldn't, yes," Tabitha agreed. "But I did have too. Still do."
"Tabitha…" Kirche said tentatively, before reaching out and gave a one-armed hug to the petite girl. "Sorry that I never asked, before."
"Not your fault."
"What do you think, Professor?" Kirito asked Colbert, obviously hoping for a second opinion that would support his. "Having your students jump head-first into danger is a bad thing, right?"
"Well…" Colbert said hesitantly. "Only if they're not prepared for it. However, Miss Tabitha being a chevalier takes away from that concern somewhat, so the only one that I'd advise against taking would be Miss Zerbst."
"Hey!" Kirche protested. "I'm just as capable as Tabitha is – I'm a Triangle mage of the Zerbsts. It's just that I haven't been given challenges like she did."
"And if you care about anything at all, you'd hope that never changes," Kirito replied. "Recognition isn't something worth loss and death."
Tabitha could guess in a sense, Kirito was a kindred spirit to her in some way – having to deal with various things at a young age. Though his sympathy for her was getting in the way of her goals, as he tried to keep her out of danger. His sympathy was too late for her.
"A test, then?" Headmaster Osmond asked the room in general. "Kirito, would there be any test that would convince you that they are worthy of taking on your quest with you? You could think of it as making sure Jean knows what he's doing as well.
"Oh, and Miss Longueville can take the test as well?" Osmond mused. "She's a Triangle Earth mage, and am not unfamiliar to violence. She could be of help as well."
"Headmaster?!" The secretary exclaimed, eyes wide.
"You wanted to earn enough money to retire, right Miss Longueville?" Osmond asked. "This seems like something right up your alley."
"But I don't have a death-wish!" The green-haired woman shouted.
"What do you even specialize in?" Kirche frowned. Tabitha was the same, since if Miss Longueville was of any talent she'd be one of the teachers instead of being a secretary – and her position wasn't such it required a Triangle mage, after all.
"… I was an ex-adventurer," Miss Longueville said resignedly. "My role was disarming traps and scouting, among other things."
"So, a Thief build?" Kirito frowned, leading to a flinch from the older woman.
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean that in a bad way," Kirito hastily backtracked. "It's just jargon for a specific kind of specialization, and really it's more meant that you'd steal from monsters or treasure chests than other people…"
"I'd imagine that someone of her skill set would be relevant when storming a fortress, correct?" Osmond asked. "If someone is expecting an invasion they'd prepare traps and defences."
"Well, we have someone kind of covering that already…" Kirito deliberated. "But she might be a bit fragile. I suppose having a back-up wouldn't be that bad… there's enough loot for even one more person…"
Tabitha wanted to point out how hypocritical it was that the green-haired woman had nowhere near as much resistance to joining than she had, but held her tongue. That wouldn't be helpful to her own chances. Did the Spriggan had a weakness for women like the Headmaster did? Or was it for something more realistic like survival?
Kirito called forth his Medallion, and screens began to appear around him. His fingers raced across glowing tiles in front of him, and lines of text foreign to them filtered across different screens as those flitted to and away from him. None of the others within the room wanted to interrupt.
"Alright, fine," Kirito finally said, grudgingly. "We have a few hours before the raid starts, and others can take care of what's left of the preparations. I'll test the three of you, and see if you're cut out for the quest. If you fail though, well that's that – I'm not going to bring people that'll get others killed."
"May I participate as well?" Colbert asked, even as Kirche almost crowed at being given the chance to prove herself. "In case I'm not up to your standards. Better to retract your offer now instead of finding out in the heat of battle."
"I…" Miss Longueville began, but was interrupted by Old Osmond.
"Miss Longueville can decide when the test starts," the Headmaster said. "I'd like to speak with her before then. And it would take some time to prepare the test, no?"
"Not really," Kirito shrugged. "I have everything planned already, just need the space. Do you mind if we move this to the plains outside the Academy? And make sure others don't interrupt us?"
"Certainly," Osmond nodded. "We'll see you out there."
-][-
Matilda was nervous, to say the least, when she and Old Osmond was the only ones left in the office. The Headmaster likely somehow figured out she was Fouquet, and planned on using the test as an excuse to remove her without dirtying his hands. She weighed her chances of escaping from the office, but pitting a Triangle mage against a Square mage left her at a disadvantage, never mind the gap in experience between them.
"Miss Longueville, I understand you have been nervous about the happenings here at the Academy ever since Alfheim was summoned to Halkeginia," Old Osmond said. "Especially when the faeries have a vested interest in the Academy, and would undoubtedly be among the first targeted should war breaks out. It is perfectly reasonable to want to retire and find safer alternatives elsewhere.
"However, having been my secretary throughout the Treaty discussions, it will be likely that if you leave you will be targeted by those that wish to know if there had been anything left out of official records. You were here, could access important documents and have a chance of overhearing things – it is not safe if you just leave."
"And taking on the most dangerous quest known to Alfheim is safer, Old Osmond?" Matilda said, keeping the panic and bitterness out of her voice.
"If you left and ostensibly retired, from selling Alfheim treasure and then went far away from Tristain and the possibly of war… your absence could be explained," Old Osmond mused, inhaling from his pipe. "It would keep some attention away from you."
"Or it would bring vultures onto me looking for some of those treasures," Matilda pointed out. "It would be easier to defeat me for those than it is to defeat faeries, after all."
"Then have the faeries aid you covering your tracks when you leave," Osmond replied. "Tristain, and indeed other countries of Halkeginia cannot track where their portals go to. During the Treaty discussions items that could create portals in emergencies have been mentioned, and obtaining a few of those is not out of the question.
"And returning to your earlier question – it may not be safer here for you anymore."
Matilda paled at the thought. "Why is that, Old Osmond?"
"As I've said, the faeries' interest in the Academy would bring attention onto this place," Osmond replied. "Not just their attention, however. Spies from other countries would likely try to figure out their best way to gather information, and you are a possible weak link. They might not be able to dig up anything about your past to blackmail you – oh don't give me that look – seeing as I hired you from a shady pub seemingly falling for a pretty face without a clear background; but that would also mean there would be relatively little consequence if accidents were to happen and someone new is brought in. There is no noble family that is known to support you or be offended by such attempts to remove you. Best for you to leave before someone else decided it would be better do make the decision for you. At least the faeries and Giants won't be coming at you with a dagger to the back."
"And you cannot protect me?" Matilda asked, mind buzzing to take it all in.
"I cannot guarantee that you will be protected, even if you'd move into my quarters with me; and I have enough honour left in me to not take that much advantage over desperation," Old Osmond said seriously. "Why would foreign nations fear an old mage far away from them, and one that refuses to leave the Academy? My reputation is not what it once was in my days. Consider this wake-up call as thanks for all the liberties I committed in your time here."
Matilda twitched, remembering the mouse familiar that would stare up her skirt, and a few times where Osmond would lay hands on her posterior. She conveniently forgot the times where she delivered righteous physical harm in retribution, seeing as the old Headmaster likely just enjoyed those as well.
"So I need to disappear," Matilda concluded. "And the faeries possesses the best way for me to do so."
Assuming the faeries stay true to their word, and that the Spriggan's estimates of the riches at the end was accurate. Even if all those were true however, the troubles didn't end with just finishing the quest. For example Matilda would be hard pressed to find a fence that would be able to exchange what she had to useable currency – she doubted the faeries had enough Ecu fleeced from Tristainians lying around for her.
Still, it has been a while since she last saw Tiffania…
"Alright," Matilda sighed. "One last swan song it is, then."
-][-
Louise Valliere watched passively from the Academy walls as the Zerbst and her Gallian friend followed the black-clad faerie they met on the day of the Springtime Familiar Summoning ritual, accompanied by Professor Colbert and Old Osmond's secretary. Judging by the red-head's enthused expression, she was likely up to no good. Other students also took up positions to spectate, wondering why a faerie was at the Academy when he wasn't spending his time at the library like their other guests, and almost purposefully ignored the pink-haired girl's presence. Louise gritted her teeth.
The black cat-sized dragon carried within her arms scrutinized the scene as well, though due to the positioning Louise failed to notice the dragon's brass-coloured eyes turning as dark as the abyss. The change wavered for a moment, before being banished and its eyes turning back to brass.
However, instead of its usual wide, unfocused gaze that signified the dragon trying to keep its sight on as many things as possible within its peripheral vision, its eyes almost gleamed in its intense observation.
-][-
Tabitha had Sylphid with her for the test, in case she needed the help. From how Kirito said they needed space, the mobility the Rhyme Dragon could give her would likely be a boon. By the time Miss Longueville joined them, students lined the walls of the Academy to spectate – Tabitha was not the only one that had witnessed the faerie's arrival at the Academy. Old Osmond promised no interruption, but he couldn't stop the students and some professors being nosy. Old Osmond himself likely wanted to use keeping an eye on them as an excuse, to see what the test might be as well.
"Before we start," Kirito said to the quartet, while eying the onlookers. "I want give you all one last chance to back out. This will hurt. You will be crushed. And really, a part of me hopes that most of you will fail the test – that there has to be an easier way for you all to get what you want from Alfheim than signing up to this. Anyone wish to leave?"
Tabitha shook her head resolutely, though Sylphid looked as if she wanted to speak up and withdraw. A dragon larger than any of them shouldn't look that much like a timid kid that didn't want to be there. Kirche merely had a smirk on her face, eager to prove her worth. The adults of the group were more cautious, but none of them spoke up either.
"… Okay then," Kirito said gloomily, holding one hand out and a rectangular block of crystal appeared floating above it. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
With a word, the crystal crumbled and a flash of light engulfed them all. When the light receded, Tabitha found they were no longer where they were.
The floor looked like a flat pane of ice that extended before and behind them, and the walls to their sides was made of a darker shade of frozen blocks that looked almost like stone. If there were a ceiling, they could not see it above them as it was covered in darkness. It was a corridor sized up for Giants much larger than them.
"When the Transition happened, in the early days the veterans of Aincrad like me were delegated into the research and development side of the World Tree," Kirito spoke up, wings flaring as he floated from where he stood to one side, leaving the area in front of them clear. "Titania decided to allow using some of the developed items for your test, to collect more data. What I have just used is a Barrier crystal – it brings the user and some chosen others into the barrier so they can fight without worrying about collateral damage. This was made in case a faerie starts trouble in one of Tristain's cities and we needed to take them down, and not destroy buildings around them."
"Can others see us in here?" Colbert asked warily.
"No, they can't," Kirito replied, which was expected by Tabitha.
"This Barrier is sized at 200 of your 'mails' measurement in length, width and height – so watch out when you fight," Kirito continued. "You're blocked off from the outside world, so you won't be able to call up earth from the ground for this fight – which is a good reflection of Thrymheim as you won't be able to do that there either."
Another crystal block appeared upon Kirito's hand – one with the colour of ice with gold filigree at places.
"You might have heard that during the Treaty we were attacked, and that faeries tend to talk big but generally unwilling to fight," Kirito said, looking at the crystal with some distaste. "Titania decided then that if push comes to shove, we get alternatives so that we don't need to want to fight. But as usual, Titania prefers overkill when counter-measures are strong enough to defeat enemies without killing them.
"Summon: Shiva."
The block shattered, and an ephemeral form appeared some distance ahead of them, before solidifying. A tall spirit of ice floated some mails off the ground, her gown doing nothing to hide her curves. Despite her flowing long hair and limbs capable of movement, the spirit's facial features reminded Tabitha of gargoyles that Gallians preferred – basically, moving statues.
"The first half of your test will be to fight this 'spirit' as a group, a practice run to gather information on your opponent and to see what spells work," Kirito said. "You will be overwhelmed easily given the difference in power, and that's expected – there's no penalty for losing here. The second half would be to fight the spirit again, while boosted with Alfheim's buffs – enchantments – and see how you do then. If you can't beat her on your second try even with all the support, then you're won't be of help to us in Thrymheim."
"You will be healed after the first attempt, though it'll likely be painful before you get there," Kirito grimaced. "So I'll offer all of you some help at the start, a spell to help dull the pain so it won't cripple your ability to fight when you get injured. Also, a <<Ring of Life>> each, designed to teleport you to safety when you would be killed instead. I'll say upfront that we don't know if these will work as intended on humans, so accept at your own risk. But if you choose not to accept these I can't guarantee your survival."
Tabitha exchanged a glance with Kirche, and both agreed to the help – they weren't going to turn away things that would make passing easier. Professor Colbert and the secretary were a bit more hesitant, but they accepted nonetheless.
One of Kirito's finger traced across some glowing tiles in front of him, and white glyphs flared up around him instead of its usual yellow. Each of the mages had a brief light shone around them before it faded away. Then, a ring appeared in front of each of them, which they took and wore right away.
"Are you ready?" Kirito asked. At the affirmative replies, he continued: "Then start."
The ice spirit – Shiva – moved at his words, and her hands spread out like at opposite ends of a line, tracing a vertical circle in front of her. A pale glow soon effused the traced area.
A shield? Tabitha thought, even as she and the rest of her allies began their incantation. Colbert finished his first, a serpent of flame rushing out the tip of his staff and flew towards the spirit. Kirche's spell came next, a Fireball sacrificing longer incantation for speed to tentatively test the waters. When the glow intensified and sparks of energy appeared to be absorbed into the 'shield', Tabitha found her earlier thought to be dead wrong.
A ray of what looked like a cross between frozen fire and lightning, concentrated by willpower so none of it even strayed from its intended path, shot out and collided into the Fire attacks. The flame snake exploded, as did the Fireball, but it barely slowed the icy attack down. Hastily, Tabitha abandoned her planned spell and conjured a wall of ice, hoping that it somehow would be resistant against the cold. Miss Longueville also created a stone wall out of nothing, layered behind Tabitha's defence.
The ray battered through the defences without losing potency, but the mages' efforts brought precious moments to dodge the attacks. Tabitha and Kirche escaped upon Sylphid, while Colbert and Miss Longueville had to rely on their own legs.
Shiva slowly floated up from where she was, as to chase after the mages upon the dragon. Kirche launched another Fireball, that time much more powerful, and it connected cleanly upon the spirit's torso. The explosion splattered some of Shiva's icy essence away, as if in imitation of what would happen on human flesh and blood.
"Yes!" Kirche crowed, before the smile froze on her face. Shiva regenerated from the attack, looking none the worse from the hit. The fact that Shiva didn't even appeared bothered by the wound only made things worse.
Icicles began to slowly appear in a spherical formation around the spirit, each the size of a grown person's limb. There would be no direction around her that would be allow them to dodge, once the icicles were let loose. And in all likelihood, shields would do nothing to protect them against the power behind the spirit's attacks.
Tabitha quickly thought about it, and directed Sylphid to fly away from Shiva. They were given space in the arena, they might as well make use of it. Out of the corner of one eye she could see Colbert directing the green-haired woman to do the same, flying away in retreat.
Then, after an agonizingly slow build up, Shiva finally fired. The icicles went past them all without losing power, but it was by a comfortable margin that it missed by. Even if the icicles were bunched up closely at the start, when they flew out they would only get further and further apart as they travelled their path.
"We can't win just by dodging," Tabitha said, almost to herself. "And with this distance, even if we can dodge we can't hit back. Our spells can't reach that far accurately."
"We need to plan," Professor Colbert shouted from below. "Acting separately won't work."
"Got any ideas?" Kirche shouted back. "I don't think we'll be able to even do anything against her!"
"The regeneration has to have a limit," Colbert said, who didn't have to shout as loud as Tabitha lowered Sylphid's height. "Shiva is not a Greater Spirit, and she's not surrounded by her element like the Ragdorian Lake spirit is. If we can sustain fire on her long enough, it should be able to defeat her."
"But getting close is suicidal," Miss Longueville argued. "We can't take even a single hit or we'd die- no, lose. Our defences isn't good enough."
"We need your dragon's mobility, Miss Tabitha," Colbert decided. "You or someone with you need to catch Shiva's attention, and keep it somehow while I move in to finish her. Unless you have experience with sustained heavy fire, Miss Zerbst?"
"… No," Kirche admitted, watching Shiva almost leisurely floating towards them slowly. "And even if I was a Square mage in power I don't think I'd have the spells for this. Though do you, Professor?"
"I do," Colbert said grimly. "Even if I'd rather not dwell on how I used them before. I didn't start out my career as a teacher, after all."
"Kirche and I will be on Sylphid to gain her attention," Tabitha stated, before Kirche could ask. "I think Sylphid can carry one more person as well."
"Not sure if I'd be anything other than dead weight," the secretary muttered. "I disarm traps and scout, not fight head on, even when it was just normal mages. And I don't think my traps work on flying enemies."
"Deflect projectiles," Tabitha said insistently. "Every bit help."
"… When we get shot down because we're not fast enough, I'll blame you," Miss Longueville sighed.
"Wind dragon," Tabitha pointed out, even though Sylphid looked so much like she wanted to object to being called a 'mere' wind dragon. "We'll be fast enough."
Then Shiva appeared as if she finally had enough of her opponents not doing anything, and created a snowstorm. The temperature within the Barrier dropped dramatically, and a blizzard that could have swallowed a small village sped after them.
Colbert countered by conjuring up his own storm, one of fire, and it collided with the blizzard head on. Snowflakes sizzled as it was boiled into steam in contact, before cooling down into a fine mist.
"What are you waiting for?" Colbert demanded as he panted, upon seeing the various degrees of shock and surprise by the ladies. It was their first time seeing first hand a Square mage of Fire cutting loose without having to worry about collateral damage. "Go already!"
Sylphid sped off, the air currents caused by her blowing away some of the mist. Kirche directed a flamethrower at Shiva, trying to distract her away from their best chance of winning. Even without the lack of practice of steadily aiming while flying at high speed however, what did damage Shiva was regenerated back at an almost equal rate. A sword of ice, taller than a commoner's house, then blocked the stream of fire by the flat of its blade before twisting around to try and cut Sylphid. Tabitha had to abort the approach to avoid the slash. Miss Longueville launched a boulder at the sword, cracking it before Kirche's fire melted enough for it to snap in two.
Colbert then called forth a stream of fire, and it struck head on into Shiva. From how slow she had been moving she couldn't dodge, and her regeneration couldn't keep up in the intense heat. From Tabitha's vantage point, they could see Shiva was even visibly melting at places.
Kirche added her own fire, another smaller stream joining the inferno. At least her Germanian friend had the frame of mind to use her breath for spellcasting instead of cackling at their seeming victory, Tabitha thought.
"No way will it be this easy," Miss Longueville said, tensed up and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tabitha agreed silently – Kirito did not seem like the kind of man that would overstate a threat to scare them off.
As expected, Shiva countered. A snowstorm almost exploded out from the spirit in all directions, much larger and intense than her previous one, and all of them were buffeted away. An unnatural chill seemed to worm its way in into Tabitha, deadening her limbs until it finally reached her heart. The blue-haired mage tried to sluggishly cast a Fire spell to warm herself up, but she had trouble focusing through the haze in her mind caused by the cold, by Sylphid spinning from the collision, and then dropping like a rock.
Tabitha's familiar slammed into the floor, making her riders fall off from the impact. The Gallian hit the ground not long after, and after rolling for a bit her face landed one cheek against the flat surface. Tabitha's face stung sharply from the cold, pushing her to try and get up despite the rest of her body telling her that they didn't have the strength to. The petite mage lied there, under the frozen mist that hadn't dissipated from the earlier blizzard.
A distant bonfire lit up, banishing the cold away somewhat and the mist lessened. Professor Colbert was further away from the centre of the icy blast, and being a Square class Fire mage he had an easier time to cast Fire spells and warm himself up. Nonetheless, even he wasn't left unscathed, as patches of his skin was raw from the freezing storm and his hands shivered trying to keep a hold on his staff. Shifting her head, Tabitha found the Professor was the last one standing, as both Kirche and Miss Longueville were out cold. That they hadn't been teleported away yet was something of a surprise, but Tabitha guessed their wounds weren't immediately fatal just yet.
Shiva gazed at the remaining human impassively, the cold had allowed her to recover back to normal. In contrast Colbert was running on fumes, panting heavily as he forced his fire to burn.
"That's enough," Kirito's voice called out, causing Shiva to pause. "I think it's clear who won here. And I don't want Professor Colbert to be too injured for the raid later. Unless you want to push yourself to try and find more information out, Professor?"
"No," Colbert said almost in relief, his fire fading away. "I think it's enough. I forfeit this round."
Tabitha allowed herself to collapse back onto the floor, unable to keep herself up once the tension was gone. They lost, completely. Or might as well had, if Shiva pulled out that final move at the very start. Additionally, from how slow Shiva was at time, in both casting spells and in flying speed, it was obvious Shiva had been held back so the human mages could at least compete.
Tabitha closed her eyes, willing herself to take just a small moment to rest before they complete round two.
-][-
Kirito's hands blurred over his holographic keyboard, requesting the full restore spell as he moved to where the mages were. White glyphs encircled him briefly, before vanishing to heal the downed mages, plus the dragon. That was something else Titania was working on, allowing players to use any spell in a last ditch scenario – for example it would suck if a raiding group ran out of <<Sap of the World Tree>> for revivals and nobody left in the party knew how to cast <<Resurrection>>. Players in exchange used multiple times more MP a spell normally required, both to offset for any efficiency lost from the World Tree processing the spell from far away, and as a 'tithe' to make the system worth the investment Titania put in. The GM seemed to become more aggressive in collecting energy for the World Tree to work with, so she would have a larger reserve for if she needed to be proactive about something. The higher cost also served to motivate players to just learn the spells themselves as it would be more efficient.
The Spriggan paused, and brought out a red <<Philosopher's Stone>> out from one of the coat's pockets to refill his MP. Potions to restore MP were becoming scarce as the herbs used for them didn't grow as fast as player demand for them, not when mob clearing groups go through dozens of them a day. Having a stable amount of MP often meant life and death. Alternatives, often obscure or less popular ones, to restore MPs were slowly being introduced to the players – and the Stone was one such. It was one of the Imps' specialities, created through their ritualism subset under <<Darkness Magic>>, with the basic material more available but could take longer to create compared to potions. Mass production of these were unlikely, so it was more as supplements for players at that time.
The mages were cleared of their <<Frozen>> debuff, and healed back up to whatever 'full health' meant in Halkeginia. Kirito then used the Item Repair spell, in the new utility set available to all players for day-to-day use, to repair whatever torn clothing the mages sustained during the fight.
"It's been too long since I last fought like this," Colbert sighed as the female mages stood back up. "Twenty years ago I could have thrown major spells consecutively, but now I get tired after a few large ones. It is good that we're not expected to fight directly, otherwise I'm too out of shape to allow myself to join."
"If even Square class mages end up like that, I can see why Triangle mages aren't wanted," Miss Longueville said dryly.
"So does that mean some of you will reconsider joining?" Kirito said almost hopefully.
Kirche shook her head thoughtfully. "I'm still in, if Tabitha is still going."
The blue-haired mage shook her head resolutely. "Still going."
"I…" Miss Longueville hesitated. "It has come to my attention that I would need some help from Alfheim. I'll join in, at least as far as until you confront the King of the Frost Giants. I'll get out when it's too dangerous."
"That's a good compromise," Kirito agreed. Glancing at the two younger girls, Kirito tried his pitch again: "How about you two do that as well?"
Tabitha shook her head, and so did Kirche.
"I don't think you two understand just what kind of opponent we're going to face," Kirito argued. "You just had a taste of being so outclassed that you can't do anything. Are you still going to continue even with that?"
"Tell me," Tabitha replied, "that you would not face the same odds, when your family is on the line. That you would give up."
Staring at the open challenge from the petite girl, Kirito couldn't honestly say he would. Hell, he didn't, as his fight with Heathcliff on Floor 75 showed. If he could, he'd introduce her to Titania and let them iron out a deal, but the GM AI wasn't one to just see anyone. Especially people recommended by him.
"And if you say something about our friendship is not worth risking my life over, I might have to do something offensive in reply, milord," Kirche added.
"I'm not a lord," Kirito sighed. "In case my coat doesn't make it clear already, I'm no longer Royal Protector. Titania fired me."
Kirito decided for one last push – if it didn't work, then he would just have to accept that they had the necessary resolve and he should stop trying to look out for them. If he didn't try to push Frontliners away from Floor Boss raids, then he probably shouldn't continue for Tabitha. Even if the small girl fighting made Kirito think of if Silica, or if Yui was a bit older, had to fight on the front lines, for example. Capability aside, it didn't feel quite right to him.
"Dying and not coming back isn't going to help your family or your friend," Kirito said, fingers dancing over his holographic keyboard. "You want to help fight Thrym? This is Thrym."
His Medallion brought forth the image as Titania had seen him, at his full height of 100 metres. Watching the mages step back reflexively, Kirito had to admit the Frost Giant King that towered over them all made quite an intimidating figure when seen the first time like that.
"Square class spells won't even break past his skin," Kirito went on. "Just by being too close to him when he walks around might kill you. And after all the Windstones he's been eating, he's probably a stronger Wind mage than The Tempest by now. You guys don't get multiple lives. You can't just come back after dying to him in seconds to keep on fighting, and in the few seconds that you do last against him isn't going to earn you more contribution to make a difference than leaving before the fight. If you're not an experienced Square mage like Professor Colbert, anyway. You'd just be throwing your lives away."
Tabitha tilted her head up, taking in the sight of Thrym. Kirito couldn't tell the thoughts going on behind her still face, but he hoped she would find another way. It wasn't like her family would literally die in the next few hours, right?
"… I still want to join," Tabitha finally said. Kirito sighed. That was that, then.
"Alright, then let's talk about what help you want for round two…"
-][-
If Tabitha was a more expressive person – ignoring how Kirche would claim Tabitha was expressive if they knew the tells – she would be showing surprise at the spread of items that Alfheim had available. Items to restore willpower, to cut down on incantation time, to temporarily increase their magic's strength and much more. Although that last one was warned against by Professor Colbert.
"About a decade ago, someone tried to produce a potion like that," Colbert explained. "Though some argued how magic was the gods' gift, and trying to improve upon the basics like that was heresy, so the research was abandoned. Also, there were side effects that weren't entirely the potion's fault."
"Which was?" Miss Longueville asked, intrigued.
"Magic is affected by our emotions," Colbert replied. "And if we increase our magic from our baseline, our emotions increase as well. Old Osmond's records say that the young researcher almost went mad, since a normal person's psyche is unable to handle the increased emotions."
Kirito hummed. "The emotions were unnaturally induced and temporary?"
"I'm not sure," Colbert hazarded. "It was unnatural at least, but it didn't say about the duration. The research was focusing on a long term improvement in magic, so I think the increased emotions lasted as long as the magic increase did."
"I see…" Kirito considered those words. "I think I can give you something that can prevent that… no, those are generally reserved for Faction Leaders or those that can afford the price. You will have to take something that's a bit more temporary instead."
"What is it?" Kirche asked, as Kirito fished out another crystal vial from pockets inside his coat.
"A high tier <<Remedy>>," Kirito replied. "In theory it can cure any kind of affliction – outside of those that's closer to magical curses like <<Doom>> and <<Petrify>> – and more importantly it gives an immunity to those ailments for a short time after you drink them, which lower tier ones don't. In theory, if you take this immediately after drinking the magic booster, your emotions should still be fine…"
For a moment, Tabitha wasn't sure she felt as much yearning for anything else in her life than that vial in the Spriggan's hand – not even the idea of taking revenge on King Joseph. That potion would be able to cure her mother, if the faeries' superior magic over Halkeginians applied to their potion-making as well.
Focus, Tabitha chided herself. Remember, even if mother is saved, assuring her safety from King Joseph is also necessary.
Still, Tabitha knew one of the things she was going to ask for, if she accomplished enough on the quest.
"… but I'm not sure about the dosage," Kirito was saying. "I mean, these are meant for faerie consumption. I'm not sure if the higher tier stuff would be too potent for the human body, and diluting it might lose its effects?"
"How about spells to cure the emotions?" Miss Longueville asked.
"Drinking the potion is easier in a fight," Kirito shrugged. "And the time spent for incantations can be used instead for another spell."
"We're getting side tracked," Colbert decided. "Ultimately, we're not sure if any of these are safe for us, and we don't have time to experiment in the few hours we have left. We'll have to pass on potions of any kind."
"Okay," Kirito nodded. "Then you can have the spell versions instead, they don't affect you directly and apply the effects after you cast your spell – though the spells wear off faster compared to the potion. Apart from the general increase in speed, power and other stats, there's the protection against the cold buff, and…"
-][-
The second round was almost anticlimactic. Armed with foreknowledge of what to expect, and the gap between them and Shiva reduced dramatically, the four of them defeated Shiva after some time. The second round was more aimed at seeing if the mages could adjust to information gathered, as opposed to actually testing their heightened abilities. Once they didn't back down in the face of comparably unsurmountable strength, they had the test in the bag, so to speak.
"Very well," Kirito reluctantly admitted. "You guys are in."
Kirche let out a cry in triumph and proceed to grab Tabitha in a hug. Kirito awkwardly moved his eyes away from how Tabitha in her annoyance was trying to move her face out of Kirche's cleavage.
"There's a few hours left before the raid, so take the time to rest, gather whatever supplies you prefer and so on, before getting picked up," Kirito stated, ignoring the exuberant Germanian. "I'll try and get the portal to appear in the Headmaster's office to avoid people finding out more they did already."
"I'll inform the Headmaster that," Miss Longueville nodded. "I'm sure he'll agree.
"One last thing," Kirito spoke, and with a flash four small Medallions appeared. They looked more like bracelets, instead of something to be worn around the neck. "These are guest access to the rights of a Denizen of Alfheim, as long as you promise to follow the rules Titania set out you'd get similar privileges to what faeries get as well. The briefing for this quest will be in here, read them before the raid. Oh, and if you want to specify whatever supplies or the size of the new robes from Alfheim before we set out, use the Medallion. Wearing it also gives Titania a better idea of what you do in Thrymheim in case disagreements come up as to who did what."
"Since the Medallions are Her Majesty's domain, does she deals with all that as well?" Miss Longueville asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Kirito confirmed. "Though it's not a full Medallion, so you'll be missing some things like the ability to send messages to her."
The secretary nodded slowly, coming to grips with how anyone could just message Titania like that.
"Do all of you here accept these Medallions?" Kirito asked. "We can still keep track of your progress, this just makes it easier for Titania to do so."
"I'll take it," Tabitha immediately said. The rest followed, and the smaller Medallions floated over to the mages, to be worn like arm bracelets.
"Alright," Kirito nodded, a portal opening up next to him. "I'll see you all at sundown. Don't be late."
The Spriggan left, and then the Barrier around them vanished.
===
Bit about magic and emotions connection for Halkeginians is from Vol16 ch7, albeit Bakatsuki's translations are lacking in a few places there.
===
Chapter 40
-][-
The gate guards at Tristain Academy tensed when a bit further down the road a shimmering patch appeared, before being pulled to the sides like curtains at a window. In the midday sun such a scene was hard to miss. They tensed further when a black-clad faerie walked through, one they had seen before:
"May I enter and speak with Headmaster Osmond?" Lord Kirito asked, walking slowly towards the Academy gates, for some reason dressed in the black coat they first saw him in. "And with Professor Colbert as well."
One of the guards hastily complied and ran to notify Old Osmond.
-][-
"You've been out of it for a while now, Tabitha," Kirche bemoaned as she plopped down next to her friend, who these days have claimed a particular spot in the Academy whenever she felt like reading. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
Tabitha merely flipped another page, ignoring Kirche's words. The dark-skinned Germanian was tempted to poke her petite friend just to see if she had casted a silencing spell, as Tabitha tended to, before the blue-haired girl shifted her body, jerked upon looking out the window, and quickly got up and left.
Kirche swiftly followed the Gallian, and redoubled her efforts when she saw what made Tabitha move – she didn't know why Tabitha reacted to the 'Lord' Kirito that they met that day when the World Tree arrived in Tristain, but there was no way Kirche wasn't going to follow and find out.
-][-
Colbert was led in into Old Osmond's office, before the secretary was dismissed and left. The door shut with a 'thud', and the Headmaster activated whatever enchantments he had surrounding his office for privacy.
"May I ask why I am here?" Colbert ventured slowly, glancing from the Headmaster to the Spriggan.
"I came by to ask if the Academy could spare you to go on a quest with me, Professor," Lord Kirito said calmly. "From what I have heard, mages sometimes go on adventures and explore, fight monsters and so on. Headmaster Osmond said that was up to you to decide if you wish to join."
"A quest?" Colbert blinked – he didn't expect that. "A dangerous quest?"
"Very dangerous," Kirito confirmed. "I won't lie and tell you it'll be safe – every faerie on this quest expects to die several times before this quest is finished."
"… And you expect me to join, despite that?" Colbert asked, incredulity colouring his tone but he held it back so it was not to the point of being insulting.
"I thought there's nothing to lose by asking you if you wanted to come," Kirito shrugged. "You'll be teleported out of Jotunheim before you actually die, and how much reward Titania gives you depends on how much you have contributed by that point."
"Why am I chosen?" Colbert asked. "Or rather, I think I'd like to hear what's going on first. Would that be alright, milord?"
"Skip the 'lord' stuff, please," Kirito said in a pained voice. "I'm not a lord, never have been. But that's not the point."
Kirito shook his head as if to clear it. "Okay, so. What do you know about Jotunheim, Professor?"
"Only what was said during the Treaty negotiations," Colbert said slowly, noting that while Kirito forego honorifics towards himself he kept it for addressing Osmond and himself. "It's where the faeries war with Giants, to the point the various Factions' strongest troops are directed towards there and the Fairy Queen steps in to protect faeries on the surface world. Did something change?"
"For some time now the Jotunns have been pushed back to Thrymheim, the fortress of their King," Kirito began. "Things were at a stalemate, and Titania was content to leave it at that while Alfheim negotiated with Tristain – we didn't need a war on two fronts. This morning the Jotunns launched an assault, pushing back the Alfheim teams and destroyed the Factions' bases down there. Titania sealed Jotunheim before any Jotunn could dig their way out. I'm here to ask you if you'd like to come with me when I lead a team to confront Thrym, so the Jotunheim can be cleared once and for all."
Colbert clenched his staff nervously. He had seen some of those recordings where the faeries fared badly against the Giants, and he did not believe he could do any better. "And if I decline to come?"
"Then I go back to prepare for the raid like usual," Kirito said solemnly. "I'll admit, this mission is something for my personal gain, even if Alfheim will benefit. I'm in no position to blame you for not wanting to participate.
"Still, right now I'm trying for any advantage I can get – because if my team can win, Alfheim won't have to throw thousands of lives in to die in the process. Thrym might expect how we do things, but something else might surprise him. I'm hoping that your experience as a Square class mage can do something we didn't think of and turn the tides."
Colbert went silent for a moment – he couldn't even use the excuse that he was just a scholar, not a warrior, as he was important enough that he attended the Treaty negotiations while doubling as another guard for Tristain. He even fought against Undercurrent, although he had a poor showing as one of the first mages to be downed. Lack of practice did that to retired mages.
"I'm not sure I can do anything," Colbert admitted. "Even as a Square mage I'm sure I am far behind the faeries when it comes to power."
"I'm not asking you because of your power, Professor," Kirito said patiently. "I'm asking you for your ingenuity. Thrym outclasses us faeries as much as we might outclass you – no, he's even more powerful than that – and we'll need something other than a head on clash to win."
Even so, Colbert had a suspicion that it might be a trap of some sorts. Anything that could work against an overwhelming opponent such as the Jotunns, it could in theory work on the faeries as well. For all Colbert knew it was a fishing attempt as to what Square mages might be able to pull off against faeries in the future.
"What would Jean here be getting, if he were to accept?" Old Osmond decided to ask, seeing as Colbert didn't say anything.
"50,000 Yurudo right off, which he keeps even if he falls immediately once we get in, with more once the quest is finished," Kirito stated. "We'll supply some other things like potions and mage robes, if you want to use ours instead of your own. If Professor Colbert last until the end, he will get an even split of the loot from Thrym's treasury – which right now is estimated worth ten times the initial payment, if he chooses to sell his share to potential buyers."
"Alas, we're not familiar with how much worth that amount of currency is in Alfheim," Osmond mused. "How much would that be able to buy him?"
Kirito considered it for a moment. "Enough to outfit him an entire set of the best war-mage outfit for his level at the very least. I'd say he could buy a sizable property within Alfheim, but that was before the Transition and space is now at a premium."
"I'm not that interested in tools of war," Colbert said in a pained voice. The scene of a burning village came to mind.
"Well, I guess you can probably exchange those instead for a favour from Titania," Kirito shrugged. "Other faeries have been trading contribution points in for many things, from items to consumables to new spells and so on – there'll be something there for you, or if not then you can negotiate."
"Really?" Colbert asked, surprised. "We can talk with the Fairy Queen so easily?"
"It's probably easier to reach Titania than it is to reach Princess Henrietta," Kirito allowed. "Even taking into account that you aren't one of the pl- faeries, if you made a difference then you'll be rewarded. And really, not even Titania asks us to risk our lives for nothing-"
Loud knocks came on the door, interrupting Kirito.
-][-
Miss Longueville, or Matilda of Saxe-Gotha, had been sent outside when the Spriggan arrived to meet with the Headmaster and Professor Colbert. Out of habit, Matilda listened in with magic anyway using Triangle class Earth magic to pick up vibrations – she wanted to know if she needed to run to avoid some disaster or another. From what she could gather, there was a loophole in the enchantment around the office that if it was urgent enough, the door can be knocked on to inform the Headmaster of other emergencies. By that logic, vibrations can go through the door even when it was enchanted so voices won't go past the walls. After her time so far as Fouquet, she has a few tricks up her sleeves.
With one metaphorical ear against the door, Matilda saw two foreign students came up to the Headmaster's office – Tabitha of Gallia and Kirche von Zerbst of Germania, if she was not mistaken.
"The Headmaster is busy," Matilda said in a no-nonsense tone. "You ladies will have to come back later, or make an appointment-"
"You're listening in on the conversation," Tabitha said bluntly, startling Matilda. In that moment of surprise, Tabitha pushed past the secretary and knocked on the door.
-][-
Tabitha was not an Earth mage, but nevertheless as a Triangle mage she could still pull off Earth spells to some extent. If it was through air instead of stone, Tabitha would have more ease, but she could still catch the conversation within Old Osmond's office, albeit it was somewhat blurred.
It surprised her that the secretary, Miss Longueville, was a skilled enough mage that she could listen in as well, but Tabitha took it in stride and used it to rush past. She had heard enough that she needed to join the conversation.
The Headmaster unlocked his office, and Tabitha took it as invitation to enter. Kirche followed, looking stunned that her quiet friend took the initiative so readily, and the secretary entered as well not knowing what to do with the intruders.
Looking at the Spriggan – who had recognized her after some time – Tabitha went straight to the point:
"I want to join the team," Tabitha said in her quiet voice, audible in the office that went silent at her entrance.
"It's been a while since we last met," Kirito said with a frown. "I… don't think we've ever been introduced, Miss…?"
"Tabitha."
"Miss Tabitha," Kirito said, gauging her carefully. "Are you a Square mage?"
"… No."
"Then you'll die," Kirito said shortly. "I'm guessing that you somehow listened in on the conversation for a while, and you know what's involved. If even we as faeries expect to die several times I'm not sure how much difference you can make. And you don't have the decades of experience that I'm looking for in Professor Colbert."
"Triangle mage," Tabitha rebutted. "And Chevalier."
"Chevalier?" Kirito frowned.
"A title given to mages who have performed noteworthy deeds," Old Osmond explained for the Spriggan's benefit. "One noted to only be given to those that earned it, as opposed to titles that are inherited."
The Headmaster looked at Tabitha with a measuring gaze – Tabitha guessed Old Osmond knew just who she was when she enrolled into the Academy, but she has no idea what he was planning. Would he stop her? Support her?
"… Aren't you a bit young for something like that?" Kirito said to Tabitha, somewhat disbelievingly.
Tabitha's hand clenched imperceptibly around her staff, remembering how her mother took the poison meant for her. How Isabella taunted her and sent her to die many times.
"Still," Tabitha bit out. "Am capable mage. Won't hold team back."
She listened in on Kirito when he and Professor Colbert talked when they rode out towards the World Tree after Louise Valliere's summoning, she had heard him comment that she seemed used to dangerous missions. Why he only noticed her apparent immaturity in the office as opposed to back then, she had no idea. Either way, it was irritating.
"I don't know what's going on, but if Tabitha's volunteering then I will as well," Kirche declared, stepping up next to her. Tabitha glared at her best friend, to which the red-haired girl waved it off. "I'm not going to let my friend go into this alone."
"I don't make it a habit to drag kids into my personal business," Kirito said determinedly, after a pause. "At least, not when they only have the one life."
"Not just your personal business," Tabitha contested. "I'm doing this because I also want something out of this."
Because if there was anything in Halkeginia that could hold off the worst case scenario, King Joseph being a Void Mage and all that implied, it was Titania. Doing well enough in the raid to catch the Fairy Queen's attention so she can then negotiate for her mother's sanity and safety would be her goal.
Or, if worst came to worst… it could offer an opportunity to infiltrate the World Tree to look for its Hearts. If she really had no other hope than betting on the Mad King's non-existent mercy.
"Look," Kirito sighed. "This is probably the most dangerous thing someone in Alfheim can do. If you want something that Alfheim can offer, there's other ways to get them. You can be a mercenary and hunt down Mobs or something. What is it that you want, anyway?"
"Something that I can't get from anyone else," Tabitha said unwaveringly. "Not even from the Faerie Lords."
"And that is?" Kirito pressed.
"…" Tabitha stayed silent. What she knew were valuable bargaining chips, and she wasn't going to let it loose for nothing.
"Why not let her join, Kirito?" Old Osmond asked, blowing out smoke. Tabitha started, surprised that the Headmaster would support her recklessness. "Better for her to be as well-equipped as she can, than to have her gallivanting around the country without knowing what she is getting into, hmm?"
"She's not experienced enough," Kirito said testily. "I don't want her death to be on my conscience. Thrymheim is not a place that just by knowing what she will be facing is enough to get by unharmed."
"You said you wanted ingenuity from Jean, earlier," Osmond pointed out. "And to be chevalier at such a young age, that is its own kind of ingenuity compared to decades of experience. Why would you not want this advantage?"
"Other than how she'd die?" Kirito asked dryly.
"Some things are worth risking death for," Tabitha said simply, looking resolutely into Kirito's eyes. Black orbs stared back at blue ones. "Am I wrong?"
Kirito was the first to look away.
"Someone of your age shouldn't have to risk death, though," Kirito muttered.
"Shouldn't, yes," Tabitha agreed. "But I did have too. Still do."
"Tabitha…" Kirche said tentatively, before reaching out and gave a one-armed hug to the petite girl. "Sorry that I never asked, before."
"Not your fault."
"What do you think, Professor?" Kirito asked Colbert, obviously hoping for a second opinion that would support his. "Having your students jump head-first into danger is a bad thing, right?"
"Well…" Colbert said hesitantly. "Only if they're not prepared for it. However, Miss Tabitha being a chevalier takes away from that concern somewhat, so the only one that I'd advise against taking would be Miss Zerbst."
"Hey!" Kirche protested. "I'm just as capable as Tabitha is – I'm a Triangle mage of the Zerbsts. It's just that I haven't been given challenges like she did."
"And if you care about anything at all, you'd hope that never changes," Kirito replied. "Recognition isn't something worth loss and death."
Tabitha could guess in a sense, Kirito was a kindred spirit to her in some way – having to deal with various things at a young age. Though his sympathy for her was getting in the way of her goals, as he tried to keep her out of danger. His sympathy was too late for her.
"A test, then?" Headmaster Osmond asked the room in general. "Kirito, would there be any test that would convince you that they are worthy of taking on your quest with you? You could think of it as making sure Jean knows what he's doing as well.
"Oh, and Miss Longueville can take the test as well?" Osmond mused. "She's a Triangle Earth mage, and am not unfamiliar to violence. She could be of help as well."
"Headmaster?!" The secretary exclaimed, eyes wide.
"You wanted to earn enough money to retire, right Miss Longueville?" Osmond asked. "This seems like something right up your alley."
"But I don't have a death-wish!" The green-haired woman shouted.
"What do you even specialize in?" Kirche frowned. Tabitha was the same, since if Miss Longueville was of any talent she'd be one of the teachers instead of being a secretary – and her position wasn't such it required a Triangle mage, after all.
"… I was an ex-adventurer," Miss Longueville said resignedly. "My role was disarming traps and scouting, among other things."
"So, a Thief build?" Kirito frowned, leading to a flinch from the older woman.
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean that in a bad way," Kirito hastily backtracked. "It's just jargon for a specific kind of specialization, and really it's more meant that you'd steal from monsters or treasure chests than other people…"
"I'd imagine that someone of her skill set would be relevant when storming a fortress, correct?" Osmond asked. "If someone is expecting an invasion they'd prepare traps and defences."
"Well, we have someone kind of covering that already…" Kirito deliberated. "But she might be a bit fragile. I suppose having a back-up wouldn't be that bad… there's enough loot for even one more person…"
Tabitha wanted to point out how hypocritical it was that the green-haired woman had nowhere near as much resistance to joining than she had, but held her tongue. That wouldn't be helpful to her own chances. Did the Spriggan had a weakness for women like the Headmaster did? Or was it for something more realistic like survival?
Kirito called forth his Medallion, and screens began to appear around him. His fingers raced across glowing tiles in front of him, and lines of text foreign to them filtered across different screens as those flitted to and away from him. None of the others within the room wanted to interrupt.
"Alright, fine," Kirito finally said, grudgingly. "We have a few hours before the raid starts, and others can take care of what's left of the preparations. I'll test the three of you, and see if you're cut out for the quest. If you fail though, well that's that – I'm not going to bring people that'll get others killed."
"May I participate as well?" Colbert asked, even as Kirche almost crowed at being given the chance to prove herself. "In case I'm not up to your standards. Better to retract your offer now instead of finding out in the heat of battle."
"I…" Miss Longueville began, but was interrupted by Old Osmond.
"Miss Longueville can decide when the test starts," the Headmaster said. "I'd like to speak with her before then. And it would take some time to prepare the test, no?"
"Not really," Kirito shrugged. "I have everything planned already, just need the space. Do you mind if we move this to the plains outside the Academy? And make sure others don't interrupt us?"
"Certainly," Osmond nodded. "We'll see you out there."
-][-
Matilda was nervous, to say the least, when she and Old Osmond was the only ones left in the office. The Headmaster likely somehow figured out she was Fouquet, and planned on using the test as an excuse to remove her without dirtying his hands. She weighed her chances of escaping from the office, but pitting a Triangle mage against a Square mage left her at a disadvantage, never mind the gap in experience between them.
"Miss Longueville, I understand you have been nervous about the happenings here at the Academy ever since Alfheim was summoned to Halkeginia," Old Osmond said. "Especially when the faeries have a vested interest in the Academy, and would undoubtedly be among the first targeted should war breaks out. It is perfectly reasonable to want to retire and find safer alternatives elsewhere.
"However, having been my secretary throughout the Treaty discussions, it will be likely that if you leave you will be targeted by those that wish to know if there had been anything left out of official records. You were here, could access important documents and have a chance of overhearing things – it is not safe if you just leave."
"And taking on the most dangerous quest known to Alfheim is safer, Old Osmond?" Matilda said, keeping the panic and bitterness out of her voice.
"If you left and ostensibly retired, from selling Alfheim treasure and then went far away from Tristain and the possibly of war… your absence could be explained," Old Osmond mused, inhaling from his pipe. "It would keep some attention away from you."
"Or it would bring vultures onto me looking for some of those treasures," Matilda pointed out. "It would be easier to defeat me for those than it is to defeat faeries, after all."
"Then have the faeries aid you covering your tracks when you leave," Osmond replied. "Tristain, and indeed other countries of Halkeginia cannot track where their portals go to. During the Treaty discussions items that could create portals in emergencies have been mentioned, and obtaining a few of those is not out of the question.
"And returning to your earlier question – it may not be safer here for you anymore."
Matilda paled at the thought. "Why is that, Old Osmond?"
"As I've said, the faeries' interest in the Academy would bring attention onto this place," Osmond replied. "Not just their attention, however. Spies from other countries would likely try to figure out their best way to gather information, and you are a possible weak link. They might not be able to dig up anything about your past to blackmail you – oh don't give me that look – seeing as I hired you from a shady pub seemingly falling for a pretty face without a clear background; but that would also mean there would be relatively little consequence if accidents were to happen and someone new is brought in. There is no noble family that is known to support you or be offended by such attempts to remove you. Best for you to leave before someone else decided it would be better do make the decision for you. At least the faeries and Giants won't be coming at you with a dagger to the back."
"And you cannot protect me?" Matilda asked, mind buzzing to take it all in.
"I cannot guarantee that you will be protected, even if you'd move into my quarters with me; and I have enough honour left in me to not take that much advantage over desperation," Old Osmond said seriously. "Why would foreign nations fear an old mage far away from them, and one that refuses to leave the Academy? My reputation is not what it once was in my days. Consider this wake-up call as thanks for all the liberties I committed in your time here."
Matilda twitched, remembering the mouse familiar that would stare up her skirt, and a few times where Osmond would lay hands on her posterior. She conveniently forgot the times where she delivered righteous physical harm in retribution, seeing as the old Headmaster likely just enjoyed those as well.
"So I need to disappear," Matilda concluded. "And the faeries possesses the best way for me to do so."
Assuming the faeries stay true to their word, and that the Spriggan's estimates of the riches at the end was accurate. Even if all those were true however, the troubles didn't end with just finishing the quest. For example Matilda would be hard pressed to find a fence that would be able to exchange what she had to useable currency – she doubted the faeries had enough Ecu fleeced from Tristainians lying around for her.
Still, it has been a while since she last saw Tiffania…
"Alright," Matilda sighed. "One last swan song it is, then."
-][-
Louise Valliere watched passively from the Academy walls as the Zerbst and her Gallian friend followed the black-clad faerie they met on the day of the Springtime Familiar Summoning ritual, accompanied by Professor Colbert and Old Osmond's secretary. Judging by the red-head's enthused expression, she was likely up to no good. Other students also took up positions to spectate, wondering why a faerie was at the Academy when he wasn't spending his time at the library like their other guests, and almost purposefully ignored the pink-haired girl's presence. Louise gritted her teeth.
The black cat-sized dragon carried within her arms scrutinized the scene as well, though due to the positioning Louise failed to notice the dragon's brass-coloured eyes turning as dark as the abyss. The change wavered for a moment, before being banished and its eyes turning back to brass.
However, instead of its usual wide, unfocused gaze that signified the dragon trying to keep its sight on as many things as possible within its peripheral vision, its eyes almost gleamed in its intense observation.
-][-
Tabitha had Sylphid with her for the test, in case she needed the help. From how Kirito said they needed space, the mobility the Rhyme Dragon could give her would likely be a boon. By the time Miss Longueville joined them, students lined the walls of the Academy to spectate – Tabitha was not the only one that had witnessed the faerie's arrival at the Academy. Old Osmond promised no interruption, but he couldn't stop the students and some professors being nosy. Old Osmond himself likely wanted to use keeping an eye on them as an excuse, to see what the test might be as well.
"Before we start," Kirito said to the quartet, while eying the onlookers. "I want give you all one last chance to back out. This will hurt. You will be crushed. And really, a part of me hopes that most of you will fail the test – that there has to be an easier way for you all to get what you want from Alfheim than signing up to this. Anyone wish to leave?"
Tabitha shook her head resolutely, though Sylphid looked as if she wanted to speak up and withdraw. A dragon larger than any of them shouldn't look that much like a timid kid that didn't want to be there. Kirche merely had a smirk on her face, eager to prove her worth. The adults of the group were more cautious, but none of them spoke up either.
"… Okay then," Kirito said gloomily, holding one hand out and a rectangular block of crystal appeared floating above it. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
With a word, the crystal crumbled and a flash of light engulfed them all. When the light receded, Tabitha found they were no longer where they were.
The floor looked like a flat pane of ice that extended before and behind them, and the walls to their sides was made of a darker shade of frozen blocks that looked almost like stone. If there were a ceiling, they could not see it above them as it was covered in darkness. It was a corridor sized up for Giants much larger than them.
"When the Transition happened, in the early days the veterans of Aincrad like me were delegated into the research and development side of the World Tree," Kirito spoke up, wings flaring as he floated from where he stood to one side, leaving the area in front of them clear. "Titania decided to allow using some of the developed items for your test, to collect more data. What I have just used is a Barrier crystal – it brings the user and some chosen others into the barrier so they can fight without worrying about collateral damage. This was made in case a faerie starts trouble in one of Tristain's cities and we needed to take them down, and not destroy buildings around them."
"Can others see us in here?" Colbert asked warily.
"No, they can't," Kirito replied, which was expected by Tabitha.
"This Barrier is sized at 200 of your 'mails' measurement in length, width and height – so watch out when you fight," Kirito continued. "You're blocked off from the outside world, so you won't be able to call up earth from the ground for this fight – which is a good reflection of Thrymheim as you won't be able to do that there either."
Another crystal block appeared upon Kirito's hand – one with the colour of ice with gold filigree at places.
"You might have heard that during the Treaty we were attacked, and that faeries tend to talk big but generally unwilling to fight," Kirito said, looking at the crystal with some distaste. "Titania decided then that if push comes to shove, we get alternatives so that we don't need to want to fight. But as usual, Titania prefers overkill when counter-measures are strong enough to defeat enemies without killing them.
"Summon: Shiva."
The block shattered, and an ephemeral form appeared some distance ahead of them, before solidifying. A tall spirit of ice floated some mails off the ground, her gown doing nothing to hide her curves. Despite her flowing long hair and limbs capable of movement, the spirit's facial features reminded Tabitha of gargoyles that Gallians preferred – basically, moving statues.
"The first half of your test will be to fight this 'spirit' as a group, a practice run to gather information on your opponent and to see what spells work," Kirito said. "You will be overwhelmed easily given the difference in power, and that's expected – there's no penalty for losing here. The second half would be to fight the spirit again, while boosted with Alfheim's buffs – enchantments – and see how you do then. If you can't beat her on your second try even with all the support, then you're won't be of help to us in Thrymheim."
"You will be healed after the first attempt, though it'll likely be painful before you get there," Kirito grimaced. "So I'll offer all of you some help at the start, a spell to help dull the pain so it won't cripple your ability to fight when you get injured. Also, a <<Ring of Life>> each, designed to teleport you to safety when you would be killed instead. I'll say upfront that we don't know if these will work as intended on humans, so accept at your own risk. But if you choose not to accept these I can't guarantee your survival."
Tabitha exchanged a glance with Kirche, and both agreed to the help – they weren't going to turn away things that would make passing easier. Professor Colbert and the secretary were a bit more hesitant, but they accepted nonetheless.
One of Kirito's finger traced across some glowing tiles in front of him, and white glyphs flared up around him instead of its usual yellow. Each of the mages had a brief light shone around them before it faded away. Then, a ring appeared in front of each of them, which they took and wore right away.
"Are you ready?" Kirito asked. At the affirmative replies, he continued: "Then start."
The ice spirit – Shiva – moved at his words, and her hands spread out like at opposite ends of a line, tracing a vertical circle in front of her. A pale glow soon effused the traced area.
A shield? Tabitha thought, even as she and the rest of her allies began their incantation. Colbert finished his first, a serpent of flame rushing out the tip of his staff and flew towards the spirit. Kirche's spell came next, a Fireball sacrificing longer incantation for speed to tentatively test the waters. When the glow intensified and sparks of energy appeared to be absorbed into the 'shield', Tabitha found her earlier thought to be dead wrong.
A ray of what looked like a cross between frozen fire and lightning, concentrated by willpower so none of it even strayed from its intended path, shot out and collided into the Fire attacks. The flame snake exploded, as did the Fireball, but it barely slowed the icy attack down. Hastily, Tabitha abandoned her planned spell and conjured a wall of ice, hoping that it somehow would be resistant against the cold. Miss Longueville also created a stone wall out of nothing, layered behind Tabitha's defence.
The ray battered through the defences without losing potency, but the mages' efforts brought precious moments to dodge the attacks. Tabitha and Kirche escaped upon Sylphid, while Colbert and Miss Longueville had to rely on their own legs.
Shiva slowly floated up from where she was, as to chase after the mages upon the dragon. Kirche launched another Fireball, that time much more powerful, and it connected cleanly upon the spirit's torso. The explosion splattered some of Shiva's icy essence away, as if in imitation of what would happen on human flesh and blood.
"Yes!" Kirche crowed, before the smile froze on her face. Shiva regenerated from the attack, looking none the worse from the hit. The fact that Shiva didn't even appeared bothered by the wound only made things worse.
Icicles began to slowly appear in a spherical formation around the spirit, each the size of a grown person's limb. There would be no direction around her that would be allow them to dodge, once the icicles were let loose. And in all likelihood, shields would do nothing to protect them against the power behind the spirit's attacks.
Tabitha quickly thought about it, and directed Sylphid to fly away from Shiva. They were given space in the arena, they might as well make use of it. Out of the corner of one eye she could see Colbert directing the green-haired woman to do the same, flying away in retreat.
Then, after an agonizingly slow build up, Shiva finally fired. The icicles went past them all without losing power, but it was by a comfortable margin that it missed by. Even if the icicles were bunched up closely at the start, when they flew out they would only get further and further apart as they travelled their path.
"We can't win just by dodging," Tabitha said, almost to herself. "And with this distance, even if we can dodge we can't hit back. Our spells can't reach that far accurately."
"We need to plan," Professor Colbert shouted from below. "Acting separately won't work."
"Got any ideas?" Kirche shouted back. "I don't think we'll be able to even do anything against her!"
"The regeneration has to have a limit," Colbert said, who didn't have to shout as loud as Tabitha lowered Sylphid's height. "Shiva is not a Greater Spirit, and she's not surrounded by her element like the Ragdorian Lake spirit is. If we can sustain fire on her long enough, it should be able to defeat her."
"But getting close is suicidal," Miss Longueville argued. "We can't take even a single hit or we'd die- no, lose. Our defences isn't good enough."
"We need your dragon's mobility, Miss Tabitha," Colbert decided. "You or someone with you need to catch Shiva's attention, and keep it somehow while I move in to finish her. Unless you have experience with sustained heavy fire, Miss Zerbst?"
"… No," Kirche admitted, watching Shiva almost leisurely floating towards them slowly. "And even if I was a Square mage in power I don't think I'd have the spells for this. Though do you, Professor?"
"I do," Colbert said grimly. "Even if I'd rather not dwell on how I used them before. I didn't start out my career as a teacher, after all."
"Kirche and I will be on Sylphid to gain her attention," Tabitha stated, before Kirche could ask. "I think Sylphid can carry one more person as well."
"Not sure if I'd be anything other than dead weight," the secretary muttered. "I disarm traps and scout, not fight head on, even when it was just normal mages. And I don't think my traps work on flying enemies."
"Deflect projectiles," Tabitha said insistently. "Every bit help."
"… When we get shot down because we're not fast enough, I'll blame you," Miss Longueville sighed.
"Wind dragon," Tabitha pointed out, even though Sylphid looked so much like she wanted to object to being called a 'mere' wind dragon. "We'll be fast enough."
Then Shiva appeared as if she finally had enough of her opponents not doing anything, and created a snowstorm. The temperature within the Barrier dropped dramatically, and a blizzard that could have swallowed a small village sped after them.
Colbert countered by conjuring up his own storm, one of fire, and it collided with the blizzard head on. Snowflakes sizzled as it was boiled into steam in contact, before cooling down into a fine mist.
"What are you waiting for?" Colbert demanded as he panted, upon seeing the various degrees of shock and surprise by the ladies. It was their first time seeing first hand a Square mage of Fire cutting loose without having to worry about collateral damage. "Go already!"
Sylphid sped off, the air currents caused by her blowing away some of the mist. Kirche directed a flamethrower at Shiva, trying to distract her away from their best chance of winning. Even without the lack of practice of steadily aiming while flying at high speed however, what did damage Shiva was regenerated back at an almost equal rate. A sword of ice, taller than a commoner's house, then blocked the stream of fire by the flat of its blade before twisting around to try and cut Sylphid. Tabitha had to abort the approach to avoid the slash. Miss Longueville launched a boulder at the sword, cracking it before Kirche's fire melted enough for it to snap in two.
Colbert then called forth a stream of fire, and it struck head on into Shiva. From how slow she had been moving she couldn't dodge, and her regeneration couldn't keep up in the intense heat. From Tabitha's vantage point, they could see Shiva was even visibly melting at places.
Kirche added her own fire, another smaller stream joining the inferno. At least her Germanian friend had the frame of mind to use her breath for spellcasting instead of cackling at their seeming victory, Tabitha thought.
"No way will it be this easy," Miss Longueville said, tensed up and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tabitha agreed silently – Kirito did not seem like the kind of man that would overstate a threat to scare them off.
As expected, Shiva countered. A snowstorm almost exploded out from the spirit in all directions, much larger and intense than her previous one, and all of them were buffeted away. An unnatural chill seemed to worm its way in into Tabitha, deadening her limbs until it finally reached her heart. The blue-haired mage tried to sluggishly cast a Fire spell to warm herself up, but she had trouble focusing through the haze in her mind caused by the cold, by Sylphid spinning from the collision, and then dropping like a rock.
Tabitha's familiar slammed into the floor, making her riders fall off from the impact. The Gallian hit the ground not long after, and after rolling for a bit her face landed one cheek against the flat surface. Tabitha's face stung sharply from the cold, pushing her to try and get up despite the rest of her body telling her that they didn't have the strength to. The petite mage lied there, under the frozen mist that hadn't dissipated from the earlier blizzard.
A distant bonfire lit up, banishing the cold away somewhat and the mist lessened. Professor Colbert was further away from the centre of the icy blast, and being a Square class Fire mage he had an easier time to cast Fire spells and warm himself up. Nonetheless, even he wasn't left unscathed, as patches of his skin was raw from the freezing storm and his hands shivered trying to keep a hold on his staff. Shifting her head, Tabitha found the Professor was the last one standing, as both Kirche and Miss Longueville were out cold. That they hadn't been teleported away yet was something of a surprise, but Tabitha guessed their wounds weren't immediately fatal just yet.
Shiva gazed at the remaining human impassively, the cold had allowed her to recover back to normal. In contrast Colbert was running on fumes, panting heavily as he forced his fire to burn.
"That's enough," Kirito's voice called out, causing Shiva to pause. "I think it's clear who won here. And I don't want Professor Colbert to be too injured for the raid later. Unless you want to push yourself to try and find more information out, Professor?"
"No," Colbert said almost in relief, his fire fading away. "I think it's enough. I forfeit this round."
Tabitha allowed herself to collapse back onto the floor, unable to keep herself up once the tension was gone. They lost, completely. Or might as well had, if Shiva pulled out that final move at the very start. Additionally, from how slow Shiva was at time, in both casting spells and in flying speed, it was obvious Shiva had been held back so the human mages could at least compete.
Tabitha closed her eyes, willing herself to take just a small moment to rest before they complete round two.
-][-
Kirito's hands blurred over his holographic keyboard, requesting the full restore spell as he moved to where the mages were. White glyphs encircled him briefly, before vanishing to heal the downed mages, plus the dragon. That was something else Titania was working on, allowing players to use any spell in a last ditch scenario – for example it would suck if a raiding group ran out of <<Sap of the World Tree>> for revivals and nobody left in the party knew how to cast <<Resurrection>>. Players in exchange used multiple times more MP a spell normally required, both to offset for any efficiency lost from the World Tree processing the spell from far away, and as a 'tithe' to make the system worth the investment Titania put in. The GM seemed to become more aggressive in collecting energy for the World Tree to work with, so she would have a larger reserve for if she needed to be proactive about something. The higher cost also served to motivate players to just learn the spells themselves as it would be more efficient.
The Spriggan paused, and brought out a red <<Philosopher's Stone>> out from one of the coat's pockets to refill his MP. Potions to restore MP were becoming scarce as the herbs used for them didn't grow as fast as player demand for them, not when mob clearing groups go through dozens of them a day. Having a stable amount of MP often meant life and death. Alternatives, often obscure or less popular ones, to restore MPs were slowly being introduced to the players – and the Stone was one such. It was one of the Imps' specialities, created through their ritualism subset under <<Darkness Magic>>, with the basic material more available but could take longer to create compared to potions. Mass production of these were unlikely, so it was more as supplements for players at that time.
The mages were cleared of their <<Frozen>> debuff, and healed back up to whatever 'full health' meant in Halkeginia. Kirito then used the Item Repair spell, in the new utility set available to all players for day-to-day use, to repair whatever torn clothing the mages sustained during the fight.
"It's been too long since I last fought like this," Colbert sighed as the female mages stood back up. "Twenty years ago I could have thrown major spells consecutively, but now I get tired after a few large ones. It is good that we're not expected to fight directly, otherwise I'm too out of shape to allow myself to join."
"If even Square class mages end up like that, I can see why Triangle mages aren't wanted," Miss Longueville said dryly.
"So does that mean some of you will reconsider joining?" Kirito said almost hopefully.
Kirche shook her head thoughtfully. "I'm still in, if Tabitha is still going."
The blue-haired mage shook her head resolutely. "Still going."
"I…" Miss Longueville hesitated. "It has come to my attention that I would need some help from Alfheim. I'll join in, at least as far as until you confront the King of the Frost Giants. I'll get out when it's too dangerous."
"That's a good compromise," Kirito agreed. Glancing at the two younger girls, Kirito tried his pitch again: "How about you two do that as well?"
Tabitha shook her head, and so did Kirche.
"I don't think you two understand just what kind of opponent we're going to face," Kirito argued. "You just had a taste of being so outclassed that you can't do anything. Are you still going to continue even with that?"
"Tell me," Tabitha replied, "that you would not face the same odds, when your family is on the line. That you would give up."
Staring at the open challenge from the petite girl, Kirito couldn't honestly say he would. Hell, he didn't, as his fight with Heathcliff on Floor 75 showed. If he could, he'd introduce her to Titania and let them iron out a deal, but the GM AI wasn't one to just see anyone. Especially people recommended by him.
"And if you say something about our friendship is not worth risking my life over, I might have to do something offensive in reply, milord," Kirche added.
"I'm not a lord," Kirito sighed. "In case my coat doesn't make it clear already, I'm no longer Royal Protector. Titania fired me."
Kirito decided for one last push – if it didn't work, then he would just have to accept that they had the necessary resolve and he should stop trying to look out for them. If he didn't try to push Frontliners away from Floor Boss raids, then he probably shouldn't continue for Tabitha. Even if the small girl fighting made Kirito think of if Silica, or if Yui was a bit older, had to fight on the front lines, for example. Capability aside, it didn't feel quite right to him.
"Dying and not coming back isn't going to help your family or your friend," Kirito said, fingers dancing over his holographic keyboard. "You want to help fight Thrym? This is Thrym."
His Medallion brought forth the image as Titania had seen him, at his full height of 100 metres. Watching the mages step back reflexively, Kirito had to admit the Frost Giant King that towered over them all made quite an intimidating figure when seen the first time like that.
"Square class spells won't even break past his skin," Kirito went on. "Just by being too close to him when he walks around might kill you. And after all the Windstones he's been eating, he's probably a stronger Wind mage than The Tempest by now. You guys don't get multiple lives. You can't just come back after dying to him in seconds to keep on fighting, and in the few seconds that you do last against him isn't going to earn you more contribution to make a difference than leaving before the fight. If you're not an experienced Square mage like Professor Colbert, anyway. You'd just be throwing your lives away."
Tabitha tilted her head up, taking in the sight of Thrym. Kirito couldn't tell the thoughts going on behind her still face, but he hoped she would find another way. It wasn't like her family would literally die in the next few hours, right?
"… I still want to join," Tabitha finally said. Kirito sighed. That was that, then.
"Alright, then let's talk about what help you want for round two…"
-][-
If Tabitha was a more expressive person – ignoring how Kirche would claim Tabitha was expressive if they knew the tells – she would be showing surprise at the spread of items that Alfheim had available. Items to restore willpower, to cut down on incantation time, to temporarily increase their magic's strength and much more. Although that last one was warned against by Professor Colbert.
"About a decade ago, someone tried to produce a potion like that," Colbert explained. "Though some argued how magic was the gods' gift, and trying to improve upon the basics like that was heresy, so the research was abandoned. Also, there were side effects that weren't entirely the potion's fault."
"Which was?" Miss Longueville asked, intrigued.
"Magic is affected by our emotions," Colbert replied. "And if we increase our magic from our baseline, our emotions increase as well. Old Osmond's records say that the young researcher almost went mad, since a normal person's psyche is unable to handle the increased emotions."
Kirito hummed. "The emotions were unnaturally induced and temporary?"
"I'm not sure," Colbert hazarded. "It was unnatural at least, but it didn't say about the duration. The research was focusing on a long term improvement in magic, so I think the increased emotions lasted as long as the magic increase did."
"I see…" Kirito considered those words. "I think I can give you something that can prevent that… no, those are generally reserved for Faction Leaders or those that can afford the price. You will have to take something that's a bit more temporary instead."
"What is it?" Kirche asked, as Kirito fished out another crystal vial from pockets inside his coat.
"A high tier <<Remedy>>," Kirito replied. "In theory it can cure any kind of affliction – outside of those that's closer to magical curses like <<Doom>> and <<Petrify>> – and more importantly it gives an immunity to those ailments for a short time after you drink them, which lower tier ones don't. In theory, if you take this immediately after drinking the magic booster, your emotions should still be fine…"
For a moment, Tabitha wasn't sure she felt as much yearning for anything else in her life than that vial in the Spriggan's hand – not even the idea of taking revenge on King Joseph. That potion would be able to cure her mother, if the faeries' superior magic over Halkeginians applied to their potion-making as well.
Focus, Tabitha chided herself. Remember, even if mother is saved, assuring her safety from King Joseph is also necessary.
Still, Tabitha knew one of the things she was going to ask for, if she accomplished enough on the quest.
"… but I'm not sure about the dosage," Kirito was saying. "I mean, these are meant for faerie consumption. I'm not sure if the higher tier stuff would be too potent for the human body, and diluting it might lose its effects?"
"How about spells to cure the emotions?" Miss Longueville asked.
"Drinking the potion is easier in a fight," Kirito shrugged. "And the time spent for incantations can be used instead for another spell."
"We're getting side tracked," Colbert decided. "Ultimately, we're not sure if any of these are safe for us, and we don't have time to experiment in the few hours we have left. We'll have to pass on potions of any kind."
"Okay," Kirito nodded. "Then you can have the spell versions instead, they don't affect you directly and apply the effects after you cast your spell – though the spells wear off faster compared to the potion. Apart from the general increase in speed, power and other stats, there's the protection against the cold buff, and…"
-][-
The second round was almost anticlimactic. Armed with foreknowledge of what to expect, and the gap between them and Shiva reduced dramatically, the four of them defeated Shiva after some time. The second round was more aimed at seeing if the mages could adjust to information gathered, as opposed to actually testing their heightened abilities. Once they didn't back down in the face of comparably unsurmountable strength, they had the test in the bag, so to speak.
"Very well," Kirito reluctantly admitted. "You guys are in."
Kirche let out a cry in triumph and proceed to grab Tabitha in a hug. Kirito awkwardly moved his eyes away from how Tabitha in her annoyance was trying to move her face out of Kirche's cleavage.
"There's a few hours left before the raid, so take the time to rest, gather whatever supplies you prefer and so on, before getting picked up," Kirito stated, ignoring the exuberant Germanian. "I'll try and get the portal to appear in the Headmaster's office to avoid people finding out more they did already."
"I'll inform the Headmaster that," Miss Longueville nodded. "I'm sure he'll agree.
"One last thing," Kirito spoke, and with a flash four small Medallions appeared. They looked more like bracelets, instead of something to be worn around the neck. "These are guest access to the rights of a Denizen of Alfheim, as long as you promise to follow the rules Titania set out you'd get similar privileges to what faeries get as well. The briefing for this quest will be in here, read them before the raid. Oh, and if you want to specify whatever supplies or the size of the new robes from Alfheim before we set out, use the Medallion. Wearing it also gives Titania a better idea of what you do in Thrymheim in case disagreements come up as to who did what."
"Since the Medallions are Her Majesty's domain, does she deals with all that as well?" Miss Longueville asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Kirito confirmed. "Though it's not a full Medallion, so you'll be missing some things like the ability to send messages to her."
The secretary nodded slowly, coming to grips with how anyone could just message Titania like that.
"Do all of you here accept these Medallions?" Kirito asked. "We can still keep track of your progress, this just makes it easier for Titania to do so."
"I'll take it," Tabitha immediately said. The rest followed, and the smaller Medallions floated over to the mages, to be worn like arm bracelets.
"Alright," Kirito nodded, a portal opening up next to him. "I'll see you all at sundown. Don't be late."
The Spriggan left, and then the Barrier around them vanished.
===
Bit about magic and emotions connection for Halkeginians is from Vol16 ch7, albeit Bakatsuki's translations are lacking in a few places there.
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
Eh, undergeared/understrength tank is pretty deadweight. Given conditions as described, I question whether it would hold up to the point where she'd want to put herself directly in the line of fire like that.
Chapter 41
So yeah, Jotunheim Arc is planned out and writing has resumed. Thanks to Fictiondevourer for beta-ing this one as well.
===
Chapter 41
-][-
"Fire!"
Eugene could barely hear his shouted commands above the chaos. There were over ten thousand players packed into the vast cavern of Jotunheim, and Eugene would wager that was practically all of the strongest players in ALO that was willing and able to fight.
However, the various Factions tend to get underfoot of each other, as not everyone was willing to work under one commander, to agree on one best strategy to defeat the Jotunns. So if someone wanted to control the best of the best Alfheim had, they needed to prove their worth in the campaign. Something Eugene had no problems with – it was a challenge that he relished to complete.
A Jotunn roared, wind magic propelling it into an unfortunate team of players that couldn't flee in time. A fist came up, about to hit them like a speeding train, and at the last moment a group of Gnomes with shields tanked the blow, the impact pushing them away as they bought time for others to escape. A few Undines with speed builds flitted by, casting healing spells and then flew off again to get out of the Jotunns' reach. The eccentric elite Puca battlemage that the Salamanders had with them blared out buffs to the tune of some fast-paced anime theme song, doing the job of what it normally took an entire concert of the musical faeries did, and the Salamanders laid down the DPS onto the Jotunn.
Whatever the different Factions were capable of separately, it was when combined together that the players of Alfheim Online really shone. That was just one scene among many that occurred in Jotunheim, and not for the first time Eugene wished they were all working under one chain of command, instead of being various coalitions banded together in order to compete for reward points. Imagine just how much more they could accomplish then.
Eugene resolved to ask Mortimer to raise the issue of allowing players to use the <<Chalice of Rebirth>> but still remain with their faction at the next Leaders' meeting – it was unlikely that he could, if ever, reach the stage where he was the 'General' of Alfheim in its entirety as opposed to just the Salamanders, so he would have to settle for that ideal on a smaller scale. The Factions' individual specializations were becoming more crippling than not, no matter how much more firepower the Salamanders had than others did.
Eugene's eyes caught a glint of gold in the distance, coincidentally witnessing the Leprechauns' next wave of support coming in. Each of their participating guilds had their own ideas of magi-tech solution in mind, and the Leprechauns fielded them abundantly. Some of them actually lasted more than a few minutes against the onslaught of Jotunns, doing the equivalent of what the Salamander-aligned forces could in that time with less number of players but a much higher cost. It just showed that even though the guilds have to pay taxes to the Faction, they still have a vast amount of capital left for them to play around with.
Nine plain-looking golden cylinders that looked like oil drums to Eugene dropped through portals, and each started spinning faster and faster. Small specks of light, much like what the players' wings gave off in flight, started to gather around the cylinders, until it each of them looked like a spiralling galaxy with the stars flowing towards the centre. The winds buffeting players began to lessen in intensity, by not very much but still noticeable to the players around them.
"Who made those?" Eugene asked, even as one group of Leprechaun battlemages punched through the weakened wind with their attacks. External magical defences that the Jotunns had were weakened, as was with their magical attacks.
"I did," came the reply, as a Leprechaun in gem-studded golden power armour came through a portal, with his helmet replaced by a <<Runebound>> headband so that others could see his face. Eugene recognized the face, even as he replied knowing whatever enchantments on the mage's many, many rings would allow Eugene to hear him and vice versa.
"Rufus," Eugene spoke, astonished. "You're participating personally?"
"If Morgiana can, I don't see any reason why I can't," Rufus said, almost snidely.
"Why?" Eugene frowned, still keeping an eye on the fighting. "You're doing this just to make a point?"
"I'm doing this because I can get both shiny loot and not have it harm my efficiency as Leader," Rufus shot back. "I'm doing this because for this event Titania offered the special rate on reward points that's at least triple what we normally get, never mind the target-rich environment. And I'm doing this to show you all how this is supposed to be done."
Rufus then aimed at the Jotunn closest to him, and a thunderbolt crackled out from his right hand's power fist. With what was likely accuracy modifiers and defence-piercing enchantments, Rufus' understated attack – as much as a thunderbolt could be, when compared to the more exotic magic ALO had – shot through the eyes on one of that Jotunn's head and exploded what lied behind it in a shower of gore.
The Jotunn snarled, its other head untouched by Rufus, and turned towards the Leprechaun Leader. An air hammer flew towards him even as the giant charged, aiming to clap Rufus between two of its hands like swatting a fly. The magic attack lost form as it travelled, specks of light floating off it to join the flowing clouds of energy into the cylinders, until it lost so much power that when it smashed against Rufus' armoured form and it couldn't even break the Leader's passive defences. When the hands descended, Rufus' left hand gestured and two force-fields blocked the strikes, leaving the fields rippling but held against the attacks.
Waves of attacks came from all around them, aiming for the head, and the Jotunn was taken down by the amassed spells.
"Boom, headshot," Rufus smirked, even as the Jotunn's body fell. "Go after their weak points for massive damage-"
The Cyclops roared, as the 'Field Boss' charged Rufus. Another thunderbolt popped the eye and the head right afterwards, but unlike the other giants the Cyclops regenerated so fast its head regrew from the damage seconds later.
"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me-" Rufus swore as he sped away, pulling aggro while the other Leprechauns attacked. His golden cylinders drew in power so the Cyclops, who was the more magic-specialized of the two bosses that came out with the giant, was somewhat curtailed in firing spells after spells after Rufus. But with how the mutated giant being covered in armour of fused Windstones, unlike other giants who only had outcrops of the magic crystals, the Cyclops wasn't going to run out of MP any time soon.
"You're going to kill yourself by magic poisoning if you keep your so-called 'God Mode' up," Eugene grunted.
"I won't, and that's the beauty of it," Rufus still managed to smirk, set up behind the Leprechauns' tanks and joining his shots with his Faction's on the boss. "See these devices? They absorb ambient magic, to the point it at least doubles the time limit we have to operate in Jotunheim. I also made something similar and incorporated into my armour. It absorbs magic so well it can even break the Jotunns' spell matrices down, as theirs are somehow more crudely put together than the ALO spells. Their magic defence is high enough that I can't affect directly inside them and just give them heart attacks and call it a day, but I can make whatever they send flying in the air a lot weaker.
"There's one for each Faction, as well; not just for my Salamander allies. Unless the great General Eugene had orders to not borrow my gifts otherwise?"
"What?"
"Did you think I was going to keep all of these to the Leprechauns or something? Meh, I can cover more space and absorb more magic this way, and it's not like it matters where I do so. Like how it doesn't matter if players heal those outside their Factions, as long as the healing is done the player get their points. And tell me this way it won't allow you all to cut loose better so we can do more damage."
"Don't make it sound like you don't have an ulterior motive in all of this, Rufus."
"Of course I have ulterior motives," Rufus scoffed. "Nobody will believe me if I say I don't. But I can promise that it won't hurt the players."
"Fine," Eugene finally said, gazing at the other field boss. The Jotunn with a centipede-like lower body and ten legs attempted to trample a barrier put up to protect the <<Beast God>> mounts, as once it turned out their gigantic allies didn't have the manoeuvrability of their enemies most of them retreated into a dug out cavern nearby. "We have bigger fishes to fry right now. Though if this backfires on my troops I'll hold you responsible."
With that, Eugene ordered an all-out attack on their next target.
-][-
Tabitha cautiously looked around the stairwell they were going down in. The Halkeginian contingent had been picked up from the Academy via a portal, which led them into the heart of Arrun city – because they didn't want to risk hitting anti-teleporting wards in Thrymheim, according to the Medallions they were given. From there, there was a secret passage that would take them down into Jotunheim.
They had been given some of the best armour the Halkeginians could feasibly wear. Tabitha herself chose a set of robes from the Undines that focused on protection, on top of whatever trinkets all of them could scrounge up and equip on themselves – one thing Tabitha agreed with the no-longer-Lord Kirito was that they needed to survive, first and foremost. If it wasn't for how dangerous the quest was, what they were given already was beyond generous. A vial of <<Remedy>> was burning a hole in Tabitha's pockets, something Tabitha hoped she wouldn't have to use for the mission so she could bring it back to her mother.
Professor Colbert wore a plain red robe mainly for Salamander mages that could somehow increase Fire affinity. Miss Longueville had leather armour that increased her chance of avoiding attacks. Even Sylphid had borrowed a set of light armour made by the Cait Siths meant for dragons, to the young dragon's delight. Kirche eventually settled for a set of red silk robes that boosted her Fire affinity, reduced 'environmental damage', and still showed enough skin for many of the male members in the team to steal glances at the Zerbst.
Tabitha honestly didn't expect so many of the team to act like her less mature classmates in front of the opposite sex, as opposed to grizzled veterans. Didn't the faeries have lifespans comparable to the elves', many times that of humans'? Wasn't the Spriggans with them the best their Faction had to offer, as part of their Faerie Lord's retinue? Still, if nothing else, the black-clad Faeries were armed to the teeth even more than the Halkeginians was, and Tabitha hoped they would get more serious when the fighting actually started.
-][-
"Too late to ask now, but I hope that will be worth the reward points you paid," Kirito said to Morgiana, gesturing to the levitating <<Bank Chest>> following them. The Black Hawks lived up to their reputation of treasure loving adventurers, and if given the chance they wanted to try and take Thrym's hoard in its entirety if they could, rather than just what they could carry out on their backs. "Chances are the chest will be destroyed in the fighting, you know."
"Eh," Morgana shrugged. "We knew it was a risk when we pooled our points together for it – and the auto-looting feature it comes with will be helpful, we miss having that from back in the game. And anyway we've started to hit diminishing returns with the Runebound pieces."
Even in the dim light of the stairwell, Kirito could see the runic scripts on some of the Spriggans. Instead of trying to get as many complete sets as they could, the Black Hawks opted for trying to get some of the specific spells, never mind the auto-revive headband.
Looking at his own group, Kirito felt guilty that he didn't try and clock some hours in Jotunheim earlier for reward points. None of them, from Asuna and Leafa, to Klein and Agil, had any Runebound pieces. Lisbeth and Silica might have enough points combined – might – but they didn't have the stats for the raid. Maybe if they had another few months of grinding, but as they were Kirito didn't want to risk it. They already needed to spam <<Reraise>> status for the final battle, as it was.
"We're coming up to the Thrymheim entrance now," Yui informed everyone – while she wasn't allowed by Titania to join in personally, seeing as Yui was the GM's successor, Yui could still do much of the things she could through the small spherical drone she controlled. "No traps that I could find so far."
"Guys, double check that," Morgiana ordered, as her own specialists plus Miss Longueville went to work.
They came out onto a ledge, where after a moment's flight they could reach Thrymheim. Various buffs and spells to protect against the cold were cast, as the raid group prepared to enter the frozen fortress.
Exchanging a glance with Leafa, Kirito nodded. The blonde-haired Sylph began to chant:
"Urd, Queen of the Lake," Leafa began. "Urd, Norn of the Past. Urd, kin to my friend, my ally – please, show yourself before us, and aid us in our quest."
Particles of light began to appear, to the caution of everyone. A woman three metres high began to form, her blonde hair that reached to her feet transforming into tentacles. Patches of her skin was pearl-coloured scales.
"I hear you, the first faerie who bonded with my kin," Urd began slowly, looking over Leafa and everyone else present. "I've seen your kind wage war with the Giants across Jotunheim, for the sake of retaking this land. Why are you here?"
"We would ask for your permission in taking Excalibur," Leafa spoke humbly. "Without the holy sword, Thrymheim cannot block the World Tree, and this realm can return to its bountiful past."
Urd looked out to the war-torn land, where spells flew like a caged storm in the immense cavern. Where various native species like the <<Hill Giants>> had to retreat into various bunkers as destruction rained.
"And what will the faeries do with the realm then?" Urd finally asked. "You faeries here must be agents of the Fairy King's court, as you would not have heard about Excalibur unless you were informed by Oberon himself. I imagine the faeries want this realm as well, or they would not fight so hard with so many of you."
With a gesture, Urd produced an illusion of Jotunheim, before it was an icy realm. Grassy plains were plenty and rivers flowed, with buildings made from the wood of the World Tree not unlike Arrun's style. The hole beneath Thrymheim was filled with water, the lake being Urd's place of power – Urdarbrunnr, or 'Well of Urd'. Roots from the World Tree reached into the lake, as another source of nourishment of the energy in addition to what it took elsewhere. The best among various Factions' territories would be hard pressed to match how Jotunheim in the past thrived.
"What will happen to Jotunheim and my kin?" Urd asked. "Oberon is not known for his tolerance."
"Oberon is no more," Kirito spoke up. "Titania now looks over Alfheim, and she is willing to leave Jotunheim under your rule. I swear we would do all that we can for coexistence in harmony, if you would do the same."
Urd, in Alfheim Online, was the Queen of Jotunheim, before being ousted by Thrymheim's invasion. She, and her sisters Verthandi and Skuld, might not match up to the Norns of legend with power over fate, but they were still powerful Spirits in Halkeginia's terms. If they were on Alfheim's side, then it means Titania has an additional layer of protection for the players. And the GM didn't care about the loss of Jotunheim from player rule, as long as it didn't harm the players. It wasn't like there was no precedent for outsourcing protection to someone that was not Titania either, when the Undine's capital didn't get an equivalent of the Phoenix, with the Ragdorian Lake Water Spirit holding a similar purpose.
"I am Morgiana, the current Faerie Lord of the Spriggan Faction," Morgiana spoke up then. "As one of the nine Leaders of Alfheim, I can vouch for Kirito's words as long as I am Leader. If you allow us to be guests in your realm then the faeries will be satisfied with that – and if anyone gets uppity and disrespectful, we'll enforce their exit from your realm."
After some time, Urd finally nodded. "Very well. My sisters and I have lost the vast majority of our powers, being in the water locked up in the construction of Thrymheim, but I can still give a small amount of blessing for you all. May your fates be victory over Thrym."
Urd then faded away, to the cheers from many of the Spriggans; Yui explained that Urd's 'blessing' was a sharp increase to their critical hit rate and a chance of surviving a fatal attack.
-][-
"May I ask something?" Kirche wondered as the group cautiously travelled through the corridors within Thrymheim. "The Spriggans specialize in Illusion magic, right? I mean, you all look pretty strong, but how are illusions supposed to defeat the King of the Frost Giants?"
"Chat if you want, just make sure you guys still keep an eye out for trouble," Morgiana warned them. There was an eerie lack of guards and traps thus far, it shouldn't have been that easy. Even the boss room on the first floor was empty.
"Well," one of the Spriggans – named Warren, though Kirche wasn't sure – began, "when one think about Illusion magic, you have to ask 'What is an illusion?'. Then, related to that, 'What is reality?', or what is real.
"A thought experiment: if it looks like a Fireball, acts like a Fireball, and does the exact same damage as a Fireball… then does it matter if it's a fake Fireball?"
"How do you even get a fake Fireball?" Kirche asked, baffled.
"Magic, duh," the Spriggan said as if it was obvious. "For example, how do you guys make something out of nothing? That's not exactly possible without magic.
"In theory, Illusion magic can do anything. Be anything. All it requires from you is having the imagination, and the power to bring it into reality."
"That sounds… impressive," Kirche said faintly.
"Don't listen to him too much," Hyuuga, another Spriggan, warned. "That's the lore behind why someone should choose to be a Spriggan, and all of the Factions has something like that. If your offence is strong enough, you can't lose. If you're fast enough, you can't lose. If you can heal faster than your opponent can damage you, you can't lose… But all of those assumes everything else to be equal. Like your Triangle mages facing Triangle mages, as opposed to Dots facing Squares. Thrym is definitely not only at our level. Our Illusion magic by itself isn't going to be able to cut it."
Coming up onto the second floor boss room, almost paradoxically the presence of enemies there assured everyone somewhat. Two minotaurs, one gold and one black, that would tower over a grown man stood there to guard the gates. According to Yui, in the game the golden one would have a high physical defence, while the black one would have a high magic defence. If hurt too badly one of them would retreat a bit and heal back up using meditation, while the other try to keep the rest of them off with all out attacks. Each had a battleaxe the size of a dinner table, it could be an instant death attack if it struck someone that wasn't a tank.
Kirito's group of five went to test the minotaurs out.
The black minotaur's battleaxe came down, forcing Agil to parry it and trying to divert as much force from as possible to prevent his own breaking. Klein ran in for a slash, and then ran out before he could be struck down. Leafa, at the back, shot a wind spell at the minotaur, before the black bull twisted away and the gold minotaur tanked the spell with his skin. Kirito and Asuna, who were fighting off the gold minotaur, faced the black one instead as it swung at them,
"The minotaurs aren't enhanced by Windstones," Valoren noted cautiously, looking at the melee from afar.
"Yeah," Morgiana nodded, agreeing with her second-in-command. "Kirito's having a hard time, but that's because he's fighting an encounter with two players under the quest limit of seven per Beast God tamed, and his team have a lack of magic-focused DPS. Not that we'd be able to blitz the boss either if we didn't shell out for the good stuff, but still."
"So, if they don't rate upgrades when every other Thrymheim enemy we've seen has them, the two bosses has to be here to stall," Valoren concluded. "But what are they stalling for?"
Before Morgiana could reply, the answer came to them with a panicked shout from their rear-guard:
"Frost Giants incoming!"
"What?!"
Thrymheim shook with resounding footsteps even as the Yui sent over the video feed to everyone's Medallions. From a corridor some distance away from them, five giants with deep blue skin and clothing made of mainly fur pelts ran at them, looking for all the world like Thrym's kin. Windstones adorned them, not sprouting out erratically or being crudely fused armour, but in the form of intricate pieces of work such as bracelets, belts and chokers.
Kirito swore even as he backpedalled away from an attack – should he use the Sword of Surtr? It was the only thing they have that would kill a Frost Giant for sure – in theory. But then they would lose the element of surprise on Thrym, there was no way using that much Fire would escape his notice.
"We've got this, Kirito!" Morgiana shouted. "Just focus on your end of things for now!"
Because it would suck if they were forced to reveal their ace in the hole before the final battle, and Thrym managed to shrug off their best chance without the element of surprise on their side. Kirito gritted his teeth, and decided they needed to finish off their opponents right then so they could back their allies up.
After a quick glance to Asuna, Kirito charged with his two swords glowing, having trained so long to re-enact his Sword Skills the magic powering his swords no longer needed incantations:
Starburst Stream.
Sixteen chained strikes hammered into the golden minotaur, mostly into its torso but with some by necessity to go to the arms so Kirito wouldn't be crushed under the force of a battleaxe's blow or by the grip of the minotaur's large free hand. That was aided by Asuna deflecting said free hand as well with a shining rapier, even as Agil went to block the battleaxe.
The black minotaur roared, trying to move around its stunned partner to get at Kirito, but stumbled as Klein tried to hamstring it with a powerful slash. Leafa's blade, imbued with a spell, struck its head, hoping to stun and delay it further. But for all their efforts, they couldn't batter down the minotaurs' defences fast enough.
"Plan A!" Morgiana barked out to her guild, ignoring questions such as how were there Frost Giants when Thrym should be the only one in existence, and how they managed to avoid detection from their scouts and even Yui – it wasn't like they could just spawn out of nowhere. They needed to survive long enough to have the breathing space to do so.
They were lucky that the Frost Giants didn't appear right on top of them, as it were.
As many of the Black Hawks sped off towards the back, Morgiana turned to the Halkeginian mages: "If any of you have any ideas, share them. We were prepared for Jotunn ambushes, not freaking Frost Giants. Think basically a smaller version of Thrym."
"I… might have something," Colbert said hesitantly. "Hold them off for a minute for me – no, thirty seconds. And avoid causing sparks in the area."
Morgiana frowned, but nodded. "You'll get that much. Good luck."
She turned and sped away, while Colbert immediately started to chant. Right at that moment, the Frost Giants turned around a corner at a run and they could see them with their naked eyes. The corridor's chill intensified, the cold striking their hearts despite their protective enchantment still holding. A snowstorm wreathed the Frost Giants' form, fuelled by their glowing Windstone ornaments.
"Shield!"
With command from a few of the Spriggans, barriers appeared around the giants' chest height, causing the Frost Giants to run right into them. The Shields were closer to immovable objects than the giants were to unstoppable forces, and the giants faltered for an instant even as the Shields broke.
"Gravitas!"
In that one instant where the giants were locked up like traffic at rush hour, the next group of Spriggans targeted their legs and knocked the Frost Giants down, breaking off the giants' freezing charge. Snarling, the Frost Giants sent a blizzard down the corridor as they tried to get back on their feet.
The Spriggans among them that had <<Darkness Magic>> in addition to their racial trait of Illusion magic began to throw out the strongest <<Dispel>> they could. Morgiana grimaced as she and some others threw out crystal blocks storing a powerful wide range Dispel as well. They were saving those for Thrym in an emergency, but they needed those crystals right then. The wind and snow stilled, but the air became so cold it hurt to breathe in as everyone hyperventilated in the stress of combat. The Frost Giants charged, looking like they wanted nothing more than to grind the intruders beneath their feet.
Nonetheless, the Black Hawks managed to stall for thirty seconds, so it was time to see if Colbert could keep up his end of the bargain.
Fire. Fire. Earth. Colbert's Triangle spell to transform air into airborne fuel was one of his trump cards, causing a larger explosion that could also cause a vacuum and rip the air out of his enemies' lungs. But considering the foes he was facing the Triangle spell might not be enough. Colbert mixed an Wind into the spell, increasing the range and speed of his area of fuel spreading. The professor just hoped his kludged together Square spell would do the job.
"Light it up," Colbert ordered, as the Frost Giants ran into the cloud of fuel that camouflaged with the leftover mist from the dispelled snowstorm. Colbert even manipulated some of the cloud that at their head level to flow into their mouths and nostrils. His Halkeginian compatriots complied, each sending a Fireball towards the blue-skinned giants.
The resulting explosion knocked everyone not in the boss room off their feet, though the Spriggans had wings to prevent them hitting the floor. Colbert didn't expect the vacuum to do anything, seeing as the giants had Windstones that could likely give them air somehow, but Colbert hoped the Frost Giants' weakness to Fire would be enough for the explosion to end it.
Alas, it was not enough. A garbled, enraged war-cry came from the gory mess of their faces and the ruined throats of the Frost Giants, their charge slowed but their momentum not stopped. As Colbert despaired for him and his students who would die with him however, the Spriggans let loose with a barrage of spells. The destruction of the Frost Giants' faces meant the defences there were vastly weakened, and that were enough for them to destroy the brains of the Frost Giants. Colbert felt himself being dragged and lifted up by one of the Spriggans, as the Frost Giants fell with earth-shaking booms onto the floor.
"Woohoo!" The Spriggan who held Colbert hollered. "Drinks are on us when we get back to Arrun, prof! You deserve it!"
The Spriggans landed back in the boss room, in time to see Kirito and the others finishing off the minotaurs. Colbert barely saw the guilty look on their nominal leader's face for not being able to help with the greater threat, before slaps came down on his back as the Black Hawks one after another congratulated him.
"I think I'm in love," Kirche breathed. Colbert flinched and decided to make sure he could keep his distance from the Zerbst in the future, the Triangle Fire mage's tone guaranteed improper conduct for someone of their positions in the future.
"Anything in particular you want, professor, we'll try and get it for you when we get back," Morgiana said warmly. "That was some impressive spellcasting back there."
"Well-" Colbert began, turning to face the Spriggan's Leader, before he froze as his eyes caught movement.
The Frost Giants' corpses began to disperse, evaporating like literal frost suddenly faced with the noonday sun. A wail from the mist barely warned everyone before Colbert in desperation forced a gale to push everyone away from him, as the mist streamed towards him, morphing into a snarling head at the front. Eyes watched in horror as the stream struck down upon Colbert like a viper, the continuing to flow past the floor like there was no obstacle, until there was no giant corpses left and the Square class Fire mage was left as a frozen statue.
"C-cold…" Colbert barely managed to croak out, before teetering towards the floor. Kirche managed to catch him before he fell, before wincing as her skin started to frost over just by contact.
"Heal him!" Kirche shouted, panic in her voice. Vials of Remedy were poured onto the professor, making no visible differences even though the spill-over took care of the damage Kirche suffered by just being in his vicinity. Though if Colbert hadn't been blessed by Urd earlier, for all they knew Colbert would have been erased like the fallen Frost Giants.
"We need to get him out of here, right now," Kirito said grimly, taking out a teleporting crystal. "He needs to see dedicated healers."
"Will he be alright?" Kirche all but pleaded.
"If the Undines can't do it, we can go to Titania," Kirito promised. "She'd be interested if only to find out how to cure it, if it's used against Alfheim. But if even Titania can't do it, then…"
Kirche said nothing more as Colbert vanished.
"Why didn't the <<Ring of Life>> work?" Tabitha asked quietly.
"I'm not sure," Kirito shook his head. "Maybe the ring just saw his condition as only <<Frozen>> and not life threatening. Maybe the ring doesn't work well with humans. Or maybe it's even that the Frost Giants' last attack managed to bypass the ring. I just don't know."
"What did just happen, anyway?" Valoren asked. "I've read the files, and not even Thrym had something like a <<Death Curse>> for that final 'fuck you'."
"… Spirits?" Tabitha hazarded, to which the faeries looked at one another.
"It's possible," Yui admitted. "We don't know exactly if consuming so much 'natural' magical energy can cause mutations to turn into outright racial changes. But that wouldn't explain the direction of Jotunns turning into Frost Giants instead of some kind of Wind Elemental, like how Urd is likely something like the Ragdorian Lake Water Spirit…"
Morgiana grimaced. "Or, worse case scenario – what we fought just now were just the Wind variant of <<Shadow Clones>>. The body vanished because the body wasn't physical in the first place. And it's just that the Frost Giant's stats are so high it took all that power to pop them. Does Halkeginia have Wind versions of the clone technique?"
Tabitha exchanged a glance with Kirche, both of them shaking their head after some thought. Miss Longueville hesitated for a moment.
"Perhaps," the Triangle Earth mage allowed. "A Square class Wind spell that allows you to be at two places at once, maybe even more… 'Ubiquitous Wind'. Uneven distribution. A spell that no living mage admits to possess, and not just because it makes you a suspect whenever a crime occurs and makes whatever alibi you have questionable. It's said to be an incredibly difficult spell to learn."
"So it's possible that what we fought just now are just weakened copies of Thrym," Valoren concluded. "Shit. If he just spams those at us there's no way we can win, with the gap in power between us that big. Our attacks might not even scratch him."
"The wind copies are said to all possess the power of the original," Miss Longueville pointed out. "It's unlikely his 'stats' will be that much higher."
"If that really is the spell Thrym is using, with the same limitations," Morgiana said grimly. Looking over at Kirito, she asked: "What now?"
"We continue on," Kirito replied, just as seriously. "Well, at least I am. I came here knowing this won't be solved in a straight fight, that we're being so outmatched is almost expected. Thrym could just cause a total party kill if he dropped the clones right on top of us, but that he didn't means he might allow us to reach him. Or he just want to toy with us further. No matter which one though, I think there's still a chance to reach Thrym.
"Everyone else though, if you want to go back you can," Kirito paused, making eye contact with Asuna, then the rest of his group, and then everyone else. "I'm not going to take your support for granted. None of you are obliged to stay."
After a moment of heavy silence, nobody spoke up or made moves to teleport out.
"Then let's go."
===
The description of Jotunheim at Urd's section is mainly taken from SAO vol8. I may have also taken some liberties with how she's depicted in SAO canon.
I pretty much took Illusion magic from D&D's Shadow Conjuration, inspired from what I've seen in Mizuki_Stone's fic Dissonance Record. By the way, I recommend that fic, go read it even if it'sdead dormant.
===
Chapter 41
-][-
"Fire!"
Eugene could barely hear his shouted commands above the chaos. There were over ten thousand players packed into the vast cavern of Jotunheim, and Eugene would wager that was practically all of the strongest players in ALO that was willing and able to fight.
However, the various Factions tend to get underfoot of each other, as not everyone was willing to work under one commander, to agree on one best strategy to defeat the Jotunns. So if someone wanted to control the best of the best Alfheim had, they needed to prove their worth in the campaign. Something Eugene had no problems with – it was a challenge that he relished to complete.
A Jotunn roared, wind magic propelling it into an unfortunate team of players that couldn't flee in time. A fist came up, about to hit them like a speeding train, and at the last moment a group of Gnomes with shields tanked the blow, the impact pushing them away as they bought time for others to escape. A few Undines with speed builds flitted by, casting healing spells and then flew off again to get out of the Jotunns' reach. The eccentric elite Puca battlemage that the Salamanders had with them blared out buffs to the tune of some fast-paced anime theme song, doing the job of what it normally took an entire concert of the musical faeries did, and the Salamanders laid down the DPS onto the Jotunn.
Whatever the different Factions were capable of separately, it was when combined together that the players of Alfheim Online really shone. That was just one scene among many that occurred in Jotunheim, and not for the first time Eugene wished they were all working under one chain of command, instead of being various coalitions banded together in order to compete for reward points. Imagine just how much more they could accomplish then.
Eugene resolved to ask Mortimer to raise the issue of allowing players to use the <<Chalice of Rebirth>> but still remain with their faction at the next Leaders' meeting – it was unlikely that he could, if ever, reach the stage where he was the 'General' of Alfheim in its entirety as opposed to just the Salamanders, so he would have to settle for that ideal on a smaller scale. The Factions' individual specializations were becoming more crippling than not, no matter how much more firepower the Salamanders had than others did.
Eugene's eyes caught a glint of gold in the distance, coincidentally witnessing the Leprechauns' next wave of support coming in. Each of their participating guilds had their own ideas of magi-tech solution in mind, and the Leprechauns fielded them abundantly. Some of them actually lasted more than a few minutes against the onslaught of Jotunns, doing the equivalent of what the Salamander-aligned forces could in that time with less number of players but a much higher cost. It just showed that even though the guilds have to pay taxes to the Faction, they still have a vast amount of capital left for them to play around with.
Nine plain-looking golden cylinders that looked like oil drums to Eugene dropped through portals, and each started spinning faster and faster. Small specks of light, much like what the players' wings gave off in flight, started to gather around the cylinders, until it each of them looked like a spiralling galaxy with the stars flowing towards the centre. The winds buffeting players began to lessen in intensity, by not very much but still noticeable to the players around them.
"Who made those?" Eugene asked, even as one group of Leprechaun battlemages punched through the weakened wind with their attacks. External magical defences that the Jotunns had were weakened, as was with their magical attacks.
"I did," came the reply, as a Leprechaun in gem-studded golden power armour came through a portal, with his helmet replaced by a <<Runebound>> headband so that others could see his face. Eugene recognized the face, even as he replied knowing whatever enchantments on the mage's many, many rings would allow Eugene to hear him and vice versa.
"Rufus," Eugene spoke, astonished. "You're participating personally?"
"If Morgiana can, I don't see any reason why I can't," Rufus said, almost snidely.
"Why?" Eugene frowned, still keeping an eye on the fighting. "You're doing this just to make a point?"
"I'm doing this because I can get both shiny loot and not have it harm my efficiency as Leader," Rufus shot back. "I'm doing this because for this event Titania offered the special rate on reward points that's at least triple what we normally get, never mind the target-rich environment. And I'm doing this to show you all how this is supposed to be done."
Rufus then aimed at the Jotunn closest to him, and a thunderbolt crackled out from his right hand's power fist. With what was likely accuracy modifiers and defence-piercing enchantments, Rufus' understated attack – as much as a thunderbolt could be, when compared to the more exotic magic ALO had – shot through the eyes on one of that Jotunn's head and exploded what lied behind it in a shower of gore.
The Jotunn snarled, its other head untouched by Rufus, and turned towards the Leprechaun Leader. An air hammer flew towards him even as the giant charged, aiming to clap Rufus between two of its hands like swatting a fly. The magic attack lost form as it travelled, specks of light floating off it to join the flowing clouds of energy into the cylinders, until it lost so much power that when it smashed against Rufus' armoured form and it couldn't even break the Leader's passive defences. When the hands descended, Rufus' left hand gestured and two force-fields blocked the strikes, leaving the fields rippling but held against the attacks.
Waves of attacks came from all around them, aiming for the head, and the Jotunn was taken down by the amassed spells.
"Boom, headshot," Rufus smirked, even as the Jotunn's body fell. "Go after their weak points for massive damage-"
The Cyclops roared, as the 'Field Boss' charged Rufus. Another thunderbolt popped the eye and the head right afterwards, but unlike the other giants the Cyclops regenerated so fast its head regrew from the damage seconds later.
"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me-" Rufus swore as he sped away, pulling aggro while the other Leprechauns attacked. His golden cylinders drew in power so the Cyclops, who was the more magic-specialized of the two bosses that came out with the giant, was somewhat curtailed in firing spells after spells after Rufus. But with how the mutated giant being covered in armour of fused Windstones, unlike other giants who only had outcrops of the magic crystals, the Cyclops wasn't going to run out of MP any time soon.
"You're going to kill yourself by magic poisoning if you keep your so-called 'God Mode' up," Eugene grunted.
"I won't, and that's the beauty of it," Rufus still managed to smirk, set up behind the Leprechauns' tanks and joining his shots with his Faction's on the boss. "See these devices? They absorb ambient magic, to the point it at least doubles the time limit we have to operate in Jotunheim. I also made something similar and incorporated into my armour. It absorbs magic so well it can even break the Jotunns' spell matrices down, as theirs are somehow more crudely put together than the ALO spells. Their magic defence is high enough that I can't affect directly inside them and just give them heart attacks and call it a day, but I can make whatever they send flying in the air a lot weaker.
"There's one for each Faction, as well; not just for my Salamander allies. Unless the great General Eugene had orders to not borrow my gifts otherwise?"
"What?"
"Did you think I was going to keep all of these to the Leprechauns or something? Meh, I can cover more space and absorb more magic this way, and it's not like it matters where I do so. Like how it doesn't matter if players heal those outside their Factions, as long as the healing is done the player get their points. And tell me this way it won't allow you all to cut loose better so we can do more damage."
"Don't make it sound like you don't have an ulterior motive in all of this, Rufus."
"Of course I have ulterior motives," Rufus scoffed. "Nobody will believe me if I say I don't. But I can promise that it won't hurt the players."
"Fine," Eugene finally said, gazing at the other field boss. The Jotunn with a centipede-like lower body and ten legs attempted to trample a barrier put up to protect the <<Beast God>> mounts, as once it turned out their gigantic allies didn't have the manoeuvrability of their enemies most of them retreated into a dug out cavern nearby. "We have bigger fishes to fry right now. Though if this backfires on my troops I'll hold you responsible."
With that, Eugene ordered an all-out attack on their next target.
-][-
Tabitha cautiously looked around the stairwell they were going down in. The Halkeginian contingent had been picked up from the Academy via a portal, which led them into the heart of Arrun city – because they didn't want to risk hitting anti-teleporting wards in Thrymheim, according to the Medallions they were given. From there, there was a secret passage that would take them down into Jotunheim.
They had been given some of the best armour the Halkeginians could feasibly wear. Tabitha herself chose a set of robes from the Undines that focused on protection, on top of whatever trinkets all of them could scrounge up and equip on themselves – one thing Tabitha agreed with the no-longer-Lord Kirito was that they needed to survive, first and foremost. If it wasn't for how dangerous the quest was, what they were given already was beyond generous. A vial of <<Remedy>> was burning a hole in Tabitha's pockets, something Tabitha hoped she wouldn't have to use for the mission so she could bring it back to her mother.
Professor Colbert wore a plain red robe mainly for Salamander mages that could somehow increase Fire affinity. Miss Longueville had leather armour that increased her chance of avoiding attacks. Even Sylphid had borrowed a set of light armour made by the Cait Siths meant for dragons, to the young dragon's delight. Kirche eventually settled for a set of red silk robes that boosted her Fire affinity, reduced 'environmental damage', and still showed enough skin for many of the male members in the team to steal glances at the Zerbst.
Tabitha honestly didn't expect so many of the team to act like her less mature classmates in front of the opposite sex, as opposed to grizzled veterans. Didn't the faeries have lifespans comparable to the elves', many times that of humans'? Wasn't the Spriggans with them the best their Faction had to offer, as part of their Faerie Lord's retinue? Still, if nothing else, the black-clad Faeries were armed to the teeth even more than the Halkeginians was, and Tabitha hoped they would get more serious when the fighting actually started.
-][-
"Too late to ask now, but I hope that will be worth the reward points you paid," Kirito said to Morgiana, gesturing to the levitating <<Bank Chest>> following them. The Black Hawks lived up to their reputation of treasure loving adventurers, and if given the chance they wanted to try and take Thrym's hoard in its entirety if they could, rather than just what they could carry out on their backs. "Chances are the chest will be destroyed in the fighting, you know."
"Eh," Morgana shrugged. "We knew it was a risk when we pooled our points together for it – and the auto-looting feature it comes with will be helpful, we miss having that from back in the game. And anyway we've started to hit diminishing returns with the Runebound pieces."
Even in the dim light of the stairwell, Kirito could see the runic scripts on some of the Spriggans. Instead of trying to get as many complete sets as they could, the Black Hawks opted for trying to get some of the specific spells, never mind the auto-revive headband.
Looking at his own group, Kirito felt guilty that he didn't try and clock some hours in Jotunheim earlier for reward points. None of them, from Asuna and Leafa, to Klein and Agil, had any Runebound pieces. Lisbeth and Silica might have enough points combined – might – but they didn't have the stats for the raid. Maybe if they had another few months of grinding, but as they were Kirito didn't want to risk it. They already needed to spam <<Reraise>> status for the final battle, as it was.
"We're coming up to the Thrymheim entrance now," Yui informed everyone – while she wasn't allowed by Titania to join in personally, seeing as Yui was the GM's successor, Yui could still do much of the things she could through the small spherical drone she controlled. "No traps that I could find so far."
"Guys, double check that," Morgiana ordered, as her own specialists plus Miss Longueville went to work.
They came out onto a ledge, where after a moment's flight they could reach Thrymheim. Various buffs and spells to protect against the cold were cast, as the raid group prepared to enter the frozen fortress.
Exchanging a glance with Leafa, Kirito nodded. The blonde-haired Sylph began to chant:
"Urd, Queen of the Lake," Leafa began. "Urd, Norn of the Past. Urd, kin to my friend, my ally – please, show yourself before us, and aid us in our quest."
Particles of light began to appear, to the caution of everyone. A woman three metres high began to form, her blonde hair that reached to her feet transforming into tentacles. Patches of her skin was pearl-coloured scales.
"I hear you, the first faerie who bonded with my kin," Urd began slowly, looking over Leafa and everyone else present. "I've seen your kind wage war with the Giants across Jotunheim, for the sake of retaking this land. Why are you here?"
"We would ask for your permission in taking Excalibur," Leafa spoke humbly. "Without the holy sword, Thrymheim cannot block the World Tree, and this realm can return to its bountiful past."
Urd looked out to the war-torn land, where spells flew like a caged storm in the immense cavern. Where various native species like the <<Hill Giants>> had to retreat into various bunkers as destruction rained.
"And what will the faeries do with the realm then?" Urd finally asked. "You faeries here must be agents of the Fairy King's court, as you would not have heard about Excalibur unless you were informed by Oberon himself. I imagine the faeries want this realm as well, or they would not fight so hard with so many of you."
With a gesture, Urd produced an illusion of Jotunheim, before it was an icy realm. Grassy plains were plenty and rivers flowed, with buildings made from the wood of the World Tree not unlike Arrun's style. The hole beneath Thrymheim was filled with water, the lake being Urd's place of power – Urdarbrunnr, or 'Well of Urd'. Roots from the World Tree reached into the lake, as another source of nourishment of the energy in addition to what it took elsewhere. The best among various Factions' territories would be hard pressed to match how Jotunheim in the past thrived.
"What will happen to Jotunheim and my kin?" Urd asked. "Oberon is not known for his tolerance."
"Oberon is no more," Kirito spoke up. "Titania now looks over Alfheim, and she is willing to leave Jotunheim under your rule. I swear we would do all that we can for coexistence in harmony, if you would do the same."
Urd, in Alfheim Online, was the Queen of Jotunheim, before being ousted by Thrymheim's invasion. She, and her sisters Verthandi and Skuld, might not match up to the Norns of legend with power over fate, but they were still powerful Spirits in Halkeginia's terms. If they were on Alfheim's side, then it means Titania has an additional layer of protection for the players. And the GM didn't care about the loss of Jotunheim from player rule, as long as it didn't harm the players. It wasn't like there was no precedent for outsourcing protection to someone that was not Titania either, when the Undine's capital didn't get an equivalent of the Phoenix, with the Ragdorian Lake Water Spirit holding a similar purpose.
"I am Morgiana, the current Faerie Lord of the Spriggan Faction," Morgiana spoke up then. "As one of the nine Leaders of Alfheim, I can vouch for Kirito's words as long as I am Leader. If you allow us to be guests in your realm then the faeries will be satisfied with that – and if anyone gets uppity and disrespectful, we'll enforce their exit from your realm."
After some time, Urd finally nodded. "Very well. My sisters and I have lost the vast majority of our powers, being in the water locked up in the construction of Thrymheim, but I can still give a small amount of blessing for you all. May your fates be victory over Thrym."
Urd then faded away, to the cheers from many of the Spriggans; Yui explained that Urd's 'blessing' was a sharp increase to their critical hit rate and a chance of surviving a fatal attack.
-][-
"May I ask something?" Kirche wondered as the group cautiously travelled through the corridors within Thrymheim. "The Spriggans specialize in Illusion magic, right? I mean, you all look pretty strong, but how are illusions supposed to defeat the King of the Frost Giants?"
"Chat if you want, just make sure you guys still keep an eye out for trouble," Morgiana warned them. There was an eerie lack of guards and traps thus far, it shouldn't have been that easy. Even the boss room on the first floor was empty.
"Well," one of the Spriggans – named Warren, though Kirche wasn't sure – began, "when one think about Illusion magic, you have to ask 'What is an illusion?'. Then, related to that, 'What is reality?', or what is real.
"A thought experiment: if it looks like a Fireball, acts like a Fireball, and does the exact same damage as a Fireball… then does it matter if it's a fake Fireball?"
"How do you even get a fake Fireball?" Kirche asked, baffled.
"Magic, duh," the Spriggan said as if it was obvious. "For example, how do you guys make something out of nothing? That's not exactly possible without magic.
"In theory, Illusion magic can do anything. Be anything. All it requires from you is having the imagination, and the power to bring it into reality."
"That sounds… impressive," Kirche said faintly.
"Don't listen to him too much," Hyuuga, another Spriggan, warned. "That's the lore behind why someone should choose to be a Spriggan, and all of the Factions has something like that. If your offence is strong enough, you can't lose. If you're fast enough, you can't lose. If you can heal faster than your opponent can damage you, you can't lose… But all of those assumes everything else to be equal. Like your Triangle mages facing Triangle mages, as opposed to Dots facing Squares. Thrym is definitely not only at our level. Our Illusion magic by itself isn't going to be able to cut it."
Coming up onto the second floor boss room, almost paradoxically the presence of enemies there assured everyone somewhat. Two minotaurs, one gold and one black, that would tower over a grown man stood there to guard the gates. According to Yui, in the game the golden one would have a high physical defence, while the black one would have a high magic defence. If hurt too badly one of them would retreat a bit and heal back up using meditation, while the other try to keep the rest of them off with all out attacks. Each had a battleaxe the size of a dinner table, it could be an instant death attack if it struck someone that wasn't a tank.
Kirito's group of five went to test the minotaurs out.
The black minotaur's battleaxe came down, forcing Agil to parry it and trying to divert as much force from as possible to prevent his own breaking. Klein ran in for a slash, and then ran out before he could be struck down. Leafa, at the back, shot a wind spell at the minotaur, before the black bull twisted away and the gold minotaur tanked the spell with his skin. Kirito and Asuna, who were fighting off the gold minotaur, faced the black one instead as it swung at them,
"The minotaurs aren't enhanced by Windstones," Valoren noted cautiously, looking at the melee from afar.
"Yeah," Morgiana nodded, agreeing with her second-in-command. "Kirito's having a hard time, but that's because he's fighting an encounter with two players under the quest limit of seven per Beast God tamed, and his team have a lack of magic-focused DPS. Not that we'd be able to blitz the boss either if we didn't shell out for the good stuff, but still."
"So, if they don't rate upgrades when every other Thrymheim enemy we've seen has them, the two bosses has to be here to stall," Valoren concluded. "But what are they stalling for?"
Before Morgiana could reply, the answer came to them with a panicked shout from their rear-guard:
"Frost Giants incoming!"
"What?!"
Thrymheim shook with resounding footsteps even as the Yui sent over the video feed to everyone's Medallions. From a corridor some distance away from them, five giants with deep blue skin and clothing made of mainly fur pelts ran at them, looking for all the world like Thrym's kin. Windstones adorned them, not sprouting out erratically or being crudely fused armour, but in the form of intricate pieces of work such as bracelets, belts and chokers.
Kirito swore even as he backpedalled away from an attack – should he use the Sword of Surtr? It was the only thing they have that would kill a Frost Giant for sure – in theory. But then they would lose the element of surprise on Thrym, there was no way using that much Fire would escape his notice.
"We've got this, Kirito!" Morgiana shouted. "Just focus on your end of things for now!"
Because it would suck if they were forced to reveal their ace in the hole before the final battle, and Thrym managed to shrug off their best chance without the element of surprise on their side. Kirito gritted his teeth, and decided they needed to finish off their opponents right then so they could back their allies up.
After a quick glance to Asuna, Kirito charged with his two swords glowing, having trained so long to re-enact his Sword Skills the magic powering his swords no longer needed incantations:
Starburst Stream.
Sixteen chained strikes hammered into the golden minotaur, mostly into its torso but with some by necessity to go to the arms so Kirito wouldn't be crushed under the force of a battleaxe's blow or by the grip of the minotaur's large free hand. That was aided by Asuna deflecting said free hand as well with a shining rapier, even as Agil went to block the battleaxe.
The black minotaur roared, trying to move around its stunned partner to get at Kirito, but stumbled as Klein tried to hamstring it with a powerful slash. Leafa's blade, imbued with a spell, struck its head, hoping to stun and delay it further. But for all their efforts, they couldn't batter down the minotaurs' defences fast enough.
"Plan A!" Morgiana barked out to her guild, ignoring questions such as how were there Frost Giants when Thrym should be the only one in existence, and how they managed to avoid detection from their scouts and even Yui – it wasn't like they could just spawn out of nowhere. They needed to survive long enough to have the breathing space to do so.
They were lucky that the Frost Giants didn't appear right on top of them, as it were.
As many of the Black Hawks sped off towards the back, Morgiana turned to the Halkeginian mages: "If any of you have any ideas, share them. We were prepared for Jotunn ambushes, not freaking Frost Giants. Think basically a smaller version of Thrym."
"I… might have something," Colbert said hesitantly. "Hold them off for a minute for me – no, thirty seconds. And avoid causing sparks in the area."
Morgiana frowned, but nodded. "You'll get that much. Good luck."
She turned and sped away, while Colbert immediately started to chant. Right at that moment, the Frost Giants turned around a corner at a run and they could see them with their naked eyes. The corridor's chill intensified, the cold striking their hearts despite their protective enchantment still holding. A snowstorm wreathed the Frost Giants' form, fuelled by their glowing Windstone ornaments.
"Shield!"
With command from a few of the Spriggans, barriers appeared around the giants' chest height, causing the Frost Giants to run right into them. The Shields were closer to immovable objects than the giants were to unstoppable forces, and the giants faltered for an instant even as the Shields broke.
"Gravitas!"
In that one instant where the giants were locked up like traffic at rush hour, the next group of Spriggans targeted their legs and knocked the Frost Giants down, breaking off the giants' freezing charge. Snarling, the Frost Giants sent a blizzard down the corridor as they tried to get back on their feet.
The Spriggans among them that had <<Darkness Magic>> in addition to their racial trait of Illusion magic began to throw out the strongest <<Dispel>> they could. Morgiana grimaced as she and some others threw out crystal blocks storing a powerful wide range Dispel as well. They were saving those for Thrym in an emergency, but they needed those crystals right then. The wind and snow stilled, but the air became so cold it hurt to breathe in as everyone hyperventilated in the stress of combat. The Frost Giants charged, looking like they wanted nothing more than to grind the intruders beneath their feet.
Nonetheless, the Black Hawks managed to stall for thirty seconds, so it was time to see if Colbert could keep up his end of the bargain.
Fire. Fire. Earth. Colbert's Triangle spell to transform air into airborne fuel was one of his trump cards, causing a larger explosion that could also cause a vacuum and rip the air out of his enemies' lungs. But considering the foes he was facing the Triangle spell might not be enough. Colbert mixed an Wind into the spell, increasing the range and speed of his area of fuel spreading. The professor just hoped his kludged together Square spell would do the job.
"Light it up," Colbert ordered, as the Frost Giants ran into the cloud of fuel that camouflaged with the leftover mist from the dispelled snowstorm. Colbert even manipulated some of the cloud that at their head level to flow into their mouths and nostrils. His Halkeginian compatriots complied, each sending a Fireball towards the blue-skinned giants.
The resulting explosion knocked everyone not in the boss room off their feet, though the Spriggans had wings to prevent them hitting the floor. Colbert didn't expect the vacuum to do anything, seeing as the giants had Windstones that could likely give them air somehow, but Colbert hoped the Frost Giants' weakness to Fire would be enough for the explosion to end it.
Alas, it was not enough. A garbled, enraged war-cry came from the gory mess of their faces and the ruined throats of the Frost Giants, their charge slowed but their momentum not stopped. As Colbert despaired for him and his students who would die with him however, the Spriggans let loose with a barrage of spells. The destruction of the Frost Giants' faces meant the defences there were vastly weakened, and that were enough for them to destroy the brains of the Frost Giants. Colbert felt himself being dragged and lifted up by one of the Spriggans, as the Frost Giants fell with earth-shaking booms onto the floor.
"Woohoo!" The Spriggan who held Colbert hollered. "Drinks are on us when we get back to Arrun, prof! You deserve it!"
The Spriggans landed back in the boss room, in time to see Kirito and the others finishing off the minotaurs. Colbert barely saw the guilty look on their nominal leader's face for not being able to help with the greater threat, before slaps came down on his back as the Black Hawks one after another congratulated him.
"I think I'm in love," Kirche breathed. Colbert flinched and decided to make sure he could keep his distance from the Zerbst in the future, the Triangle Fire mage's tone guaranteed improper conduct for someone of their positions in the future.
"Anything in particular you want, professor, we'll try and get it for you when we get back," Morgiana said warmly. "That was some impressive spellcasting back there."
"Well-" Colbert began, turning to face the Spriggan's Leader, before he froze as his eyes caught movement.
The Frost Giants' corpses began to disperse, evaporating like literal frost suddenly faced with the noonday sun. A wail from the mist barely warned everyone before Colbert in desperation forced a gale to push everyone away from him, as the mist streamed towards him, morphing into a snarling head at the front. Eyes watched in horror as the stream struck down upon Colbert like a viper, the continuing to flow past the floor like there was no obstacle, until there was no giant corpses left and the Square class Fire mage was left as a frozen statue.
"C-cold…" Colbert barely managed to croak out, before teetering towards the floor. Kirche managed to catch him before he fell, before wincing as her skin started to frost over just by contact.
"Heal him!" Kirche shouted, panic in her voice. Vials of Remedy were poured onto the professor, making no visible differences even though the spill-over took care of the damage Kirche suffered by just being in his vicinity. Though if Colbert hadn't been blessed by Urd earlier, for all they knew Colbert would have been erased like the fallen Frost Giants.
"We need to get him out of here, right now," Kirito said grimly, taking out a teleporting crystal. "He needs to see dedicated healers."
"Will he be alright?" Kirche all but pleaded.
"If the Undines can't do it, we can go to Titania," Kirito promised. "She'd be interested if only to find out how to cure it, if it's used against Alfheim. But if even Titania can't do it, then…"
Kirche said nothing more as Colbert vanished.
"Why didn't the <<Ring of Life>> work?" Tabitha asked quietly.
"I'm not sure," Kirito shook his head. "Maybe the ring just saw his condition as only <<Frozen>> and not life threatening. Maybe the ring doesn't work well with humans. Or maybe it's even that the Frost Giants' last attack managed to bypass the ring. I just don't know."
"What did just happen, anyway?" Valoren asked. "I've read the files, and not even Thrym had something like a <<Death Curse>> for that final 'fuck you'."
"… Spirits?" Tabitha hazarded, to which the faeries looked at one another.
"It's possible," Yui admitted. "We don't know exactly if consuming so much 'natural' magical energy can cause mutations to turn into outright racial changes. But that wouldn't explain the direction of Jotunns turning into Frost Giants instead of some kind of Wind Elemental, like how Urd is likely something like the Ragdorian Lake Water Spirit…"
Morgiana grimaced. "Or, worse case scenario – what we fought just now were just the Wind variant of <<Shadow Clones>>. The body vanished because the body wasn't physical in the first place. And it's just that the Frost Giant's stats are so high it took all that power to pop them. Does Halkeginia have Wind versions of the clone technique?"
Tabitha exchanged a glance with Kirche, both of them shaking their head after some thought. Miss Longueville hesitated for a moment.
"Perhaps," the Triangle Earth mage allowed. "A Square class Wind spell that allows you to be at two places at once, maybe even more… 'Ubiquitous Wind'. Uneven distribution. A spell that no living mage admits to possess, and not just because it makes you a suspect whenever a crime occurs and makes whatever alibi you have questionable. It's said to be an incredibly difficult spell to learn."
"So it's possible that what we fought just now are just weakened copies of Thrym," Valoren concluded. "Shit. If he just spams those at us there's no way we can win, with the gap in power between us that big. Our attacks might not even scratch him."
"The wind copies are said to all possess the power of the original," Miss Longueville pointed out. "It's unlikely his 'stats' will be that much higher."
"If that really is the spell Thrym is using, with the same limitations," Morgiana said grimly. Looking over at Kirito, she asked: "What now?"
"We continue on," Kirito replied, just as seriously. "Well, at least I am. I came here knowing this won't be solved in a straight fight, that we're being so outmatched is almost expected. Thrym could just cause a total party kill if he dropped the clones right on top of us, but that he didn't means he might allow us to reach him. Or he just want to toy with us further. No matter which one though, I think there's still a chance to reach Thrym.
"Everyone else though, if you want to go back you can," Kirito paused, making eye contact with Asuna, then the rest of his group, and then everyone else. "I'm not going to take your support for granted. None of you are obliged to stay."
After a moment of heavy silence, nobody spoke up or made moves to teleport out.
"Then let's go."
===
The description of Jotunheim at Urd's section is mainly taken from SAO vol8. I may have also taken some liberties with how she's depicted in SAO canon.
I pretty much took Illusion magic from D&D's Shadow Conjuration, inspired from what I've seen in Mizuki_Stone's fic Dissonance Record. By the way, I recommend that fic, go read it even if it's
Great to have this back!