After finishing their meal at Mystia Lorelei's shop, Asagi Aiba wasted no time.
She brought Asuna Yuuki straight to her laboratory.
There was no hesitation.
No delays.
Only action.
Above the Tree of Life
With a spatial transfer, the two appeared high above the colossal structure known as the Tree of Life — Sephiroth.
From that vantage point, Asuna froze.
"…This…"
Her breath caught.
Below them, the entire world spread out like a living map.
Layer upon layer—
Upper and lower districts intertwined.
Countless architectural styles coexisted, forming a surreal, almost divine cityscape.
It was overwhelming.
Beautiful.
Impossible.
Before she could fully process it, Asagi led her into the laboratory.
And then—
The examination began.
Asuna underwent a full series of scans.
Data streamed across countless displays.
Asagi's expression gradually shifted.
Interest.
Fascination.
Excitement.
"…Incredible."
This body—
It was nearly identical to a real human body.
Yet fundamentally different.
Damage could be restored with items.
Lost limbs?
Recovered with a potion.
A system of absolute logic and restoration.
"…So this is a game-world construct."
Now she understood.
Why Izumi was interested.
Once all the data had been collected and processed through the Moon Spirit Crystal's calculations, Asagi turned back to Asuna.
"We're done here."
Then, decisively:
"Let's go to your world."
Asuna's heart skipped a beat.
"…Yes!"
Finally.
An end to the nightmare.
Without wasting another second, Asagi grabbed her hand—
And the two vanished.
They didn't notice—
Izumi had followed.
Sword Art Online — Aincrad
Within the floating castle of Sword Art Online, despair had already taken root.
The death game had begun.
Players filled the First Floor plaza.
Not fighting.
Not progressing.
Just…
Sitting.
Frozen.
Broken.
The Black Iron Palace displayed the truth.
A growing list of the dead.
Hundreds—
Already gone.
Fear spread like a disease.
No one could accept it.
No one could escape it.
...
In a quiet alley—
Two figures appeared.
Asuna.
And Asagi.
At that exact moment—
Deep within the system's core—
Akihiko Kayaba noticed.
Player count.
Fixed.
Unchanging.
Absolute.
And yet—
It increased.
"…What?"
Kayaba immediately pulled up the new player's data.
And what he saw—
Made his expression collapse.
Name: ???
Gender: Female
Level: 0
Stats: ???
Skills: ???
Inventory: ???
Everything—
Blank.
Then—
Corruption.
"…Impossible."
He switched to live monitoring.
And what he saw next—
Destroyed his composure completely.
Asagi pulled out a device.
A laptop.
Connected.
Executed.
And in the next instant—
Control was gone.
System Alert
Alarms rang throughout the entire world.
Aincrad trembled.
"What's happening?!"
"Another event?!"
"The system's been hacked?!"
"Are we… saved?"
Hope.
For the first time—
Hope appeared.
Those with technical knowledge understood immediately.
This wasn't a bug.
This was a takeover.
...
Total Collapse — From the Inside
Inside the control room, Kayaba's face darkened.
"This… can't be happening."
"My system…"
"…overwritten so easily?"
He knew the truth.
Better than anyone.
This system—
Was unbreakable.
He had built it himself.
A genius engineer.
A master hacker.
And yet—
Against her—
He was nothing.
Not only was control seized—
But even the logout restriction was forcibly removed.
Across Aincrad—
A new option appeared.
Log Out.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Players vanished.
One after another.
Because no one—
Wanted to stay.
The Real World Reacts
Outside—
Shockwaves spread instantly.
Governments.
Organizations.
Researchers.
All of them had failed to crack the system.
And now—
Someone had done it in under a minute.
Unthinkable.
...
Behind Asagi—
Asuna watched everything.
Her hands trembled.
"…Amazing…"
She had seen it all.
Every keystroke.
Every command.
A so-called "unbreakable" death game—
Destroyed in less than a minute.
Without turning back, Asagi spoke:
"Asuna."
"Log out."
"I'll come find you afterward."
Her fingers continued moving.
Fast.
Precise.
Absolute.
"I'm taking the source code."
Asuna nodded.
"…Thank you."
Then—
She disappeared.
Now—
Only two remained.
Asagi.
And Kayaba.
A silent war erupted.
Code against code.
Mind against mind.
But it wasn't a battle.
It was—
A one-sided suppression.
Every move Kayaba made—
Predictable.
Childish.
Transparent.
Compared to her—
He was a beginner.
Then—
The final line.
Asagi's lips curled.
"Checkmate."
She pressed Enter.
System Freeze
Everything—
Stopped.
Time.
Movement.
Reality.
The entire world—
Paused.
Control—
Absolute.
The system.
The code.
Everything—
Now belonged to her.
Even Kayaba himself—
Was forcibly dragged from the 100th Floor Boss Chamber—
Into the alley.
He stood there.
Face dark.
Eyes locked onto her.
Voice low.
Cold.
Demanding.
"…Who are you?"