Chapter 125: Entering the World Tree
"Now's the time! Charge!" Hachiman, trusting in Recon, didn't let the opening slip by and gave the command to charge. "Amazing, Recon… I won't lose either!" Leafa was surprised by Recon's move, but determined not to fall behind, she dashed toward the opening.
Just as the enemies began to swarm in an attempt to block the hole, their respawn suddenly stopped. "What's going on? External interference? Zaimokuza? Miss Haruno?" "Hachiman, now's our chance. Let's go in too." "Yeah. Eugene, lead the way!" "We're going too! Everyone, this is the crucial moment!" "Eruki, stick to that wall, form a circular defense around Hachiman!" "Leave the rear defense to me! Senpai, please move forward!" "Yui, get ready to teleport! The moment we stick to the wall, send me and Kirito—and if possible, a few more—across!" "Okay, Daddy!" "Everyone, chargeeeeeee!!"
The group surged into the opened gap, completely ignoring defense and entrusting all healing to Yukino as they pushed toward the deepest part.
Thanks to their efforts, the enemies at the front were nearly wiped out. Only a massive horde chasing from behind remained as they finally reached the wall at the back of the final mission hall. "Alright, Yui, we're counting on you! We're going to Asuna!" "Understood!" "We absolutely won't let the enemy near Hachiman!" "Asuna and Liz—I'll leave them to you two!" "This time, I'll protect them!" "Hachiman-kun, leave this side to us." "H-Hachiman, Kirito-kun, do your best!" "Onii-chan, I'm counting on you to save my future sister-in-law!" "Senpai! Senpai!" "Kirito, don't lose to anyone—except me." "Hachiman-kun, Onii-chan… no, Kirito-kun, you both must achieve your goal!" "Leave it to me! I'll fight with everyone's will in my heart!" "Yeah, we'll definitely make it!"
"Ready. Begin teleport!" With Yui's shout, the two disappeared. At that very moment, all enemies vanished and silence fell.
"What was that?" "The enemies… are gone." "Could it be that someone entered the World Tree?" "Ha-ha! We did it—we succeeded!"
The group cheered, and even the surviving players below let out thunderous roars of victory. "Looks like our job ends here. The rest is up to those two." "Wait, wasn't the number wrong?" "Now that you mention it, we did say to teleport as many as possible, besides Hachiman and Kirito…" "Who's missing?"
Those who remained began to check who was absent. The truth was quickly revealed—Yui hadn't had time to choose and had randomly sent one additional person. "I see." "In a way… that makes sense." "Now everything's in the hands of those three."
"Hey, everyone—we did it!" Just then, Mobius shouted from below, waving. "Let's head to Mr. Mobius. Oh, Leafa-san, can you contact Recon? Thanks to him, the first phase succeeded." "Yes, Yukino. He worked so hard, we have to tell him the good news right away."
Meanwhile, at RECT Progress Inc., chaos erupted.
"What the hell? A player got inside the World Tree!" "Of all times—just when only the two of us are here..." "I'll contact Mr. Sugo immediately!" "Zaimokuza, Zaimokuza! Dammit, where did that guy go?" "Mr. Sugo said he's logging in from home immediately." "If the servers go down now, we're screwed."
"Gooood eeeevening~!" "Wah! You scared me… You're from headquarters?" "I'm Yukinoshita Haruno~ Just here to give a little moral support~" "We're a little busy right now. Could you come back later?" "Something going wrong~?" "Ah, yeah. Kinda."
"I see~ But I can't let you continue your nonsense, so I'm not leaving~"
Her aura suddenly changed. "I've been investigating you all along. You've done quite a lot of shady things, haven't you?" Her expression now radiated deadly intensity, like a predator baring its fangs.
Though the two men hesitated, they exchanged glances and lunged at Haruno. In the next moment, they were thrown to the ground. "Guh!" "Sorry~ But don't underestimate me. I'm fully certified in Aikido."
Pressing the intercom, Haruno made a call: "Security? As discussed, please check the surveillance. These two just tried to attack me, and I've subdued them. Come restrain them. It's earlier than planned, but the police will be raiding shortly. Thanks." "You… You planned this from the start…" "You're finished. Sugo too. Hachiman-kun, things are taken care of here. The rest is up to you. Even if Hachiman-kun fails, I won't let Sugo off. But I do hope you succeed. Good luck, little brother. Please save my little sister."
After whispering those words—treating Hachiman and Asuna as her own little brother and sister—Haruno called the waiting police.
Then she dialed another number: "It's me. As discussed, begin deployment. I'm counting on you with his matter."
At the same time, Hachiman finally infiltrated the inside of the World Tree.
"Whew… we made it. Yui, where's Kirito?" "Sorry, Daddy. Because we sent one extra person, the three of us got separated. Kirito Onii-chan is closer to Mommy's location." "I see. So one extra person did make it. Good job, Yui." "Yup! I tried my best!" "Yui, do you know where Mommy is?" "She's over there, Daddy. And there's a player of unknown identity nearby… also… Daddy, I know who got teleported with us!" "Who is it?" "JE…!"
"If it's him, he'll do fine. Alright, let's go too." "Okay!"
Hachiman and Yui moved through the passage to rendezvous with the others. As they approached the Specimen Holding Room, Yui suddenly shouted: "Daddy! Just now, for a moment, there was a presence—'Grand Master'—inside that room!" "Grand Master? No way… damn…"
'Sorry, you two… I'll be a little late.'
Unable to ignore the signal, Hachiman opened the door. "Mr. Kayaba? Are you here?"
He called out while cautiously scanning the room. Soon, he found a familiar name on a monitor.
"Liz… You really are here!"
Sure enough, Lisbeth's name was displayed. "Yui, can you release this player named Lisbeth?" "Please wait… I can't. I don't have the necessary permissions right now." "I see… damn. Sorry, Liz. Hang in there—I will come back for you."
While continuing the search, Yui reacted to another monitor. "Daddy, here! There's a presence here!" "Here?"
As Hachiman stared at the screen, the previously normal data began to distort. Gradually, a man's face appeared.
'Bzzt… bzzt…' "Mr. Kayaba?" '…Unified… Sorry… My… name… used…'
After muttering those fragmented words, the face vanished. "Hey! Mr. Kayaba! Mr. Kayaba!" "…The signal's gone, Daddy." "Damn. No point staying here. Let's go, Yui!" "Yes!"
As they returned to the passage, Hachiman asked: "Just now—did you hear 'name ID'? Do you know what that means?" "ID usually refers to identification, Daddy." "ID… huh? Since it's the same server, it's possible…"
Not far ahead, they saw a plaza-like space. In the distance, a cage-like structure was visible. Hachiman stopped to take a deep breath.
"Daddy, Mommy is right over there." "Okay. Let's not be discovered. I'll assess the situation first."
As soon as he looked in, however, what he saw overturned his expectations. He immediately told Yui to hide and then dashed straight toward the cage.
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