Her Mission To Save Them All || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Chapter 43

POV: Kayoko

There's something about seeing cities in real life that's different from seeing it in pictures, or even in a hologram. There's a sense of scale that pictures can't match; no image could ever replicate just how small you can feel when you walk alongside towering buildings.

When we draw closer to each of the layers of wall, on towering crags of rock people have built buildings with wooden scaffolding crisscrossing the stone like veins to one big organism.

They call it Katralis, the city of safety.

Tori's steps are wide, hurrying as she makes her way through the city, not even pausing as a few orange cursors murmur a greeting. She keeps her hand on her bone-white sword, the symbol of her power, of her title.

Here, she's ditched her cape in favour for armour; a white sleek undercover, with sharp black armoured plates circling her waist to elegantly sweep down to the ground. The same black plates on her shoulders give her a type of presence as she strolls through the crowd.

Shi and I follow her at the flank, my jumpsuit of sewn plated scales replaced with another to suppress the feature of tattoos inked on my back. This time, I too have kept my cape in my inventory.

The three of us pass through the gate of each layer easily, with salutes from the pair that guards the opening. I make a note of the weapons each has, the levels and possible skills. With only two of them, it might be easier than I thought to pull this raid off.

It can't really be that easy?

Could it? The more I observe about this place, the more I found my suspicions confirmed; there are no openly hostile populations, as I had somehow imagined in my head. No open guild marks either.

Guards, recognisable by their white and black armour, similar to Tori's own, pop up infrequently at best, and never at worse.

Even as we head to the centre, towards where non-guild members were barred from entering, there is no increased security. Then, how in the hell had they managed to keep this city a secret this whole time?

The idea of it all being a game glitch strikes me but disappeared as soon as it came. Despite the fact it is a death trap, this game is still playable. Still, it was well made.

I know from all the nights I watched my uncle spent bend over his desk, shadowed by the glow of the screen, that he cared about this world possibly more than anyone else.

Maybe you won't let yourself believe it. That nagging aspect of me hushes into my ear, an involuntary shiver shuddering down my spine. Shi offers me a bright, condescending smirk over Tori's shoulder, one which I wish to respond to with a middle finger, but I hold myself back.

That's the reaction he wants and you know it. Don't let have the satisfaction of seeing you bow to his whims. You're a Queen and you bow for no one. Instead, I offer him a mirroring smile that sends him blinking in surprise, eyes skittering away to look at the floor and the stalls lining the streets.

"If you two are done taunting each other," Tori says impatiently, dropping her relentless pace to allow us to catch up. "Then we should hurry."

"Where exactly are we going anyways?" asks Shi casually.

As she turns, I see Tori's lips begin to purse. "I thought we had discussed this in the plan." 

"We have." I lower the tone of my voice, not letting a single word escape from within earshot. "As soon as you would like, Sister, we can do it."

Her lips loosen to form a grin. In the few days I have known her, Tori hasn't upturned her lips into a warm smile once, as if the only thing her expression can thaw to is a smirk. It never reaches her eyes; the dark pools never sparkle the way Shi's can when he toys with others.