War For Underworld

Plan and Reconciliation

Asuna

"Will he be okay?"

Asuna hears Kirito's concerns as he and the knight apprentices overlook Asuna healing Jaymes inside the Orthinanos manor. His concern is pointed at Medina, who just woke up from her unconscious state. She nods her head and looks away from Asuna and Jaymes to the people gathered in the meeting room. "I believe so. He regained his sense of self...though I did little to help in that regard. Your friend, the blacksmith, protected him." Asuna smiles, keeping the comment to herself as she stands up and takes the seat beside him, facing Kirito.

"If Liz is helping him, then I don't think we have to worry any longer... Now we can focus on the enemy. How much time do we have remaining?"

Kirito shrugs. "The seven o'clock bells haven't rung, and I left at the top of the hour, so...enough?"

"We'll have to go with the 'we need to quickly figure out a plan' amount of time, then." Asuna's eyes dart to Ilia, Ronie, and Tiese. "You three have met with the First Children or someone associated with them. Do you know what they're planning?"

Ilia nods. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I was going to tell Lady Medina before this all happened. The three otherworlders fighting and killing one another was the primary plan. Eydis says the backup is a simultaneous assault on Obsidia and Centoria. Problem is... If you just left Centoria, Delegate Kirito, then there's no way a massive army could be there. If there was... we would sense something wrong, right?"

Kirito shrugs again. "Maybe... And now that you remind me that we are on a clock, Medina, have you been in close contact with Primus? I know the likelihood is low, but he claims that he returned my sister and our friends back to this world and is holding them hostage."

"No. There's no way that happened considering I haven't seen Primus since the matter in Rulid. I do know Jaymes and I spoke of the possibility, that it may be possible, yet I haven't tried. And, just to put it out there, Cardinal modified it so my power can only be used at my command, so no one else can call forth wayfarers."

Asuna feels a burden fall off her shoulder, and sees Kirito's relief. "That's great. We all fell for a lie, and look where it got us. I'm feeling the need for some payback."

"Yes, Asuna, and we'll get to that. But first, I have to ask a question. Medina, in the Windcutter's Ridge, you say a barrier was created that cut off communications and sensations from anywhere out the ridge and vice versa, right?"

"Yes. It was the reason Jaymes and Ilia couldn't help me against Eydis at first and why we were unable to communicate with one of his subordinates later. At the same time, his mage thought something was wrong because he wasn't being sensed, right?"

"Yes. Also, you say Primus almost used Perfect Weapon Control with Falchion within moments of stealing it, correct."

"Yes."

Kirito crosses his arms and bows his head in silence. Asuna wonders what he's thinking about, while at the same time, she goes over the questions herself. Eva's barrier... It sounds familiar in function to an instance field used in RPGs. She learned from Kirito and Jaymes that, when an instance is entered, only the people in the field can access it. No one else can enter the same field unless they're in a party together. So when Jaymes left Eydis but couldn't return, that was when the first barrier was raised. The second came sometime after Jaymes and Ilia rejoined Medina. Then there are Stella's arrows. Both Kirito and Ilia report feeling a sensation in which they feel unfocused and disconnected between their minds and bodies. In real life, that'll be a proprioception issue, but in VR, that sounds like non-conformity. It wouldn't make sense for Ilia to feel that, but from her experiences, non-conformity is the only thing Asuna can compare Stella's ability to.