Through A Scope (Sinon X Reader)

Chapter 24 - Ragnarok

十哲 (Pixiv)

~

The mysterious maiden struts her way out of the grand hall, a menacing cackle accompanying her as she heads for the exit. You know you should do something to stop her from leaving — you have too many questions to let her go just like that. But before you can lift a finger, the doors close with a thud behind her.

"Who was that..?" You break the silence.
"You can ask your good friend, Eugeo, that." Johnny Black answers. "What, did you forget I was here? I'm a little heartbroken."
"Why are you still here?" Asuna interrupts him. "Spit it out already."
"Sheesh, so rude. Fine, I'll tell you." 

"But first, a question. What do you all think of this new update to ALO? It's pretty cool. I mean, Ragnarok is the end of everything! ...And everyone."
"What are you getting at?" Silica raises her dagger.
"Calm down, little catgirl. You could poke someone's eye out with that!" Silica grunts. "Back on topic; don't you think it's cool that the developers let you choose how the individual player wants the war to end?" We all look at each other, stunted by his words. "Don't tell me you didn't know. Each player can choose to either help the gods face off against Loki or join the armies of Hel and irradicate the gods."

"First I'm hearing of it," Yuuki says. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"
"I mean, you have a daughter that can read boss moves. Ask her!" We all turn to Yui.
"He's right. There have been several articles written about the event. I assumed you all had read about it."

How did we all miss that?
"The reason the snow started to fall? It was all because a group of players decided to kill the Norse god, Baldur."

"The players can choose a side. So what?" Agil raises his voice slightly.
"Woah!" Johnny Black laughs. "Cool your jets, big guy! I'm trying to say that we all at Laughing Coffin want a fair match. You guys are siding with the gods, correct? When Ragnarok comes, we'll be against each other on the battlefield."
"A fair match, huh?" Liz scoffs. "Since when has anything you guys ever done 'fair'?"
"Oh, don't worry, Lisbeth. We'll play fair. How can we not when the stakes are so high?"
"Stakes? What stakes?!" Sinon interrogates.
"You'll find out in due time." He smirks and makes his way to the doors to the entrance hall. "But as for now? I'd suggest you quickly work your way through the bosses. Trust me. You don't want to lose this war." With those final words, he exits Valhalla, leaving you and your group in silence.

"Eugeo," Leafa faces him. "Who was that woman?"
"That was the Administrator. She is... was... the leader of the Underworld."
"How did she get here?" Klein asks.
"I don't know. The last time I saw her, we fought each other. However, I don't remember much of the fight as I was knocked out. When I came to, I saw Kirito unconscious on the floor."

"Regardless," Kureha says. "The fact that she's here, however she may have escaped Underworld, means she's planning something."
"But what?" Akira asks.
"I don't know." Asuna answers. "But whatever it is, she's roped Laughing Coffin into this. That's bad news no matter what way you look at it."
"Asuna's right." Yuuki agrees. "We should make a plan on how to deal with them. They're planning something. 'You don't want to lose this war'? That's got evil plans written all over it." 

"You're right." Zeliska seconded. "But what should we do? Johnny Black told us to kill bosses, but should we trust him? How do we know we're not doing what he wants us to." We all stay in silent contemplation at Zeliska's words.
"Asuna, Silica, Liz, Agil, Klein." You get their attention. "You all were in SAO. You all know Laughing Coffin a lot more than us. What do you think they're planning?"
"Laughing Coffin has always been a group that seeks out death at any cost," Liz explains. "SAO, GGO, Underworld; all those occasions ended in several tragedies."
"If I were to take a guess," Agil pitches in. "I'd say that their plan, whatever it is, is highly dependent on the war they were talking about."
"What do I think?" Klein speaks next. "Johnny Black was telling the truth. We will have to fight in this war to win."
"Considering they're sadistic maniacs that just want to harm others." Silica says. "Those 'stakes' he was talking about are dangerous. We should come fully prepared."