Chapter 126: Asuna Rescue Operation – Great Success
When he came to, Kirito found himself standing in an unfamiliar corridor. "We did it... the teleport worked, right...? Hachiman?" Noticing there was no one around, Kirito looked a little puzzled but decided to move on anyway. "Well, first I'll just keep moving... Alright, this way."
Trusting his instincts, Kirito picked a direction and began walking. He faintly sensed something unpleasant, but his battle-hardened intuition proved right.
When he spotted a cage-like structure up ahead, he carefully approached. From within, he heard a familiar male and female voice, and stopped walking.
'That voice... Asuna and Sugo.'
"What exactly do you want?" "Looks like your little friends have invaded here, so please wait here for a while, Miss Asuna." "Has Hachiman-kun come!?" "That hopeful expression is seriously pissing me off!" "Kyah!"
"Asuna!" Hearing Asuna's cry of pain, Kirito rushed out reflexively. He saw Asuna locked inside a cage. "Kirito-kun!" "So it really was you two! How the hell did you get in here, damn it!" "Haven't seen you in a while, and you've gotten even more disgusting, Sugo." "Hah? Call me Mr. Sugo, you damn brat!" "You're finished. Why don't you just log out and turn yourself in?" "You cocky little shit. Among the other two intruders, there's also that brat Hachiman, right? Don't worry—once I catch all three of you and lock you in no-logout status, I'll vanish overseas!"
"Three people? I see... So there's someone else too? Fine. Since we've been exposed, guess I'll do what I can before Hachiman arrives." Kirito muttered to himself, taking a battle stance.
"Oh? So you want to fight? Fine, I'll play with you. Object ID [Excalibur], manifest!"
Sugo shouted as he summoned a giant sword, showing it off with glee: "How about this? This is the ultimate sword, [Excalibur]. In this world, I'm a god. I can do whatever I want!" "Hah? A self-proclaimed god? Can you even swing a sword properly? Try posing with it, let's see." "You snot-nosed brat!"
Sugo raised Excalibur and closed in.
Kirito saw immediately that Sugo was a complete amateur in battle, which only made him more alert. Suddenly, a massive force slammed him to the ground.
"Guhah!" "Kirito-kun!" "Ahahaha! Why would a god need to use a sword? I can crush you without even lifting a finger!" "This is... gravity magic!" "And it's even chantless! That's the power of god!" "You're just as despicable as ever, you coward!"
Asuna shouted at Sugo. "Hah? Who are you calling despicable? This is divine power! Oh, I just thought of something fun." Sugo walked over to the cage and suddenly slapped Asuna across the face from a distance.
"You bastard Sugo! What the hell are you doing to Asuna!?" "Watch closely, brat. How's that, Miss Asuna? That didn't hurt, right? But what about this? System command! Adjust pain absorber level to 8!"
Sugo slapped her again. "Ow..." "Ahahahaha! How's that? Hurts now, doesn't it? Normally you shouldn't feel pain, but I tweaked the settings just for you!" "Hit me all you want—I'll never give in!" "Sugo, you really are scum to the core." "You brought this on yourselves by defying a god!"
Suddenly, Sugo lunged at Kirito and drove Excalibur into his palm. "..." "Hurts, doesn't it? Heheheh! You can't do a thing in front of a god! Maybe I'll violate this woman right in front of Hachiman!"
"Guhah!" Sugo kicked Kirito away and once again approached Asuna. Asuna glared at him, speaking firmly:
"Do whatever you want. You're just a gilded king. Nothing you do can hurt me." Infuriated by her words, Sugo roared:
"Then before I flee the country, I'll ravage your real body in the hospital! Let's see if you can keep that mouth shut then, you filthy woman!" "Shut your filthy mouth. Get away from Asuna—Sugo."
"Hachiman-kun!" "Hachiman!"
As Hachiman rushed in, Sugo grinned with bloodlust: "Oh? You're finally here? Perfect timing—about to start punishing this arrogant woman. You can watch from over there." In the next instant, Hachiman too was crushed to the ground by gravity.
"Ugh!" "Hachiman-kun!"
Asuna panicked, but then an unfamiliar female voice echoed in her ears: 'Don't worry. That look on his face—he's got a plan. I'm going to undo your restraints now. Just wait a bit.' '!? ...Got it. Who are you?' 'I'm...'
Sugo hadn't noticed the exchange behind him and triumphantly shouted: "Ahahaha! Both of you look so pathetic!" "This is your trump card?" "They say it's divine power, Hachiman." "Hah? You call this divine power? It's not even a real threat, right, Kirito?" "Right."
Both of them gritted their teeth and slowly stood against the gravity.
"Impossible... How are you standing!?" "Because... your power... is fake, isn't it?" "How could I be defeated by system control... so easily..." "This can't be happening..."
At that moment, a nostalgic voice rang in Hachiman's ears:
'Yes... that's it.'
Suddenly, lines of complex code and commands appeared in Hachiman's mind.
'The final piece of the puzzle is complete. Thank you.'
Hachiman shouted the command: "System login—ID: [Heathcliff], password..."
Then, using the instructions that appeared in his mind, he shouted: "System command: Super Administrator Privilege Change – ID [Oberon] downgrade to Level 1!"
"What!? What did you do!?"
Sugo saw his system window disappear and panicked, trying to access it again.
"Hachiman, was that... Heathcliff's ID? How did you know the password?" Kirito asked, shaking off the gravity as he flexed his hand.
"Long story. Yui, you can come out now." "Yes!"
"Hachiman-kun! Yui!" Asuna ran from the cage and leapt into Hachiman's arms, the little girl flew around them joyfully. Sugo watched in disbelief as the restraints dissolved.
"No way..." "Yup~ I did it!"
A cheerful voice rang out, and Sugo turned around.
"Who are you!? When did you...?"
"I'm a scout. I snuck in a while ago! Mr. Sugo, you really let your guard down, huh? Have you even played your own game properly?" "And for what you said to my future sister-in-law... Komachi will never forgive you!"
"Future sister-in-law...?" "Nice job, Komachi." "Sorry to keep you waiting, Onii-chan! Kirito-san, sorry I couldn't help more." "No worries, Komachi. I didn't even notice you. Impressive." "Hehe, I am my big brother's little sister!"
Sugo's face turned red with fury as he shouted: "You worthless bugs! How dare you chat so casually!!"
"Looks to me like you're the one who's finished." "Thought you were the final boss? You're just a minor enemy." "Onii-chan doesn't go easy on anyone." "Yeah—this is your execution."
Hachiman declared loudly.