Picture shows Mikoto with the uniform she will wear when she becomes an Elite Swordswoman Noble, wielding the Master Sword and River Spirit. Red Eyed XaXa is shown in his Death Gun outfit as he is using the Sterben avatar in Underworld. By the way.. I'm kinda scared that people are starting to ship Death Gun with Mikoto.. I know they're like worst enemies.. but.. I'm pretty sure it's not a frenemy relationship 0_-
"You know.." said Thevos with a chuckle as he glided through the trees, his large creepy eye swiveling around under the darkness of his mask. "I have to say.. taking Laughing Coffin was a good idea on my part of the mission Krux.. they have been so useful.. having my own little army.."
A dark voice spoke out of nowhere.. breathing out from the trees.. the soil.. everywhere..
"They are an interesting army.. but humans? I always knew you were an odd one Thevos.. but involving humans in our missions is a brash decision.."
Thevos laughed. "Maybe so.. you know the Swiss have an interesting army, they've gone 500 years on this planet without any wars.. quite an interesting accomplishment. And also very lucky, I mean you ever see those little Swiss Army knives they have to use? Not an effective weapon.. I mean seriously.. 'come on buddy! You get past me, and the other guy's got a spoon!! Bring it on!! I've got the toe clippers right here!' "
"Human jokes.. you always pick up so many interesting traits.. So the plans.. are they proceeding as scheduled?"
"Yeah yeah.." said Thevos. "All the bases are set.. and all the humans will pay for misusing our power.. bla bla bla.. but seriously.. having all these plans stacked up on top of each other is a bit exhausting.. do you know what that's like? Well imagine you're drowning.. then somebody hands you a textbook and tells you to read it by Monday.. Then while you're drowning you open this book and it has nothing but words that say 'Go F*ck yourself.." Then you realize that every other sentence says F*ck yourself without the 'Go' part. And you realize it's morse code. And then when you finally read the entire morse code.. it really is just saying 'Go F*ck yourself in morse code."
"So.. what are the humans like?"
"Complete idiots!!" said Thevos. "They don't even know how to speak their own language! English especially!! They butchered that language completely. I tested it out actually, I went to some poor sucker and asked him, ' can I buy you a drink?' He said 'yes', and I said 'WRONG, I'm broke!!' "
".... that didn't happen.. anyways..They don't seem like a knowledgeable race.. "
"Oh they're knowledgeable.. just not wise.. I mean.. knowledge is knowing tomatoes are fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad. In any case.. I'll complete my mission here, kill that Symbiotic Host and Nox.. and we can then continue the larger mission on Earth." said Thevos.
"It feels strange Thevos.. " said Krux. "These beings are intelligent like us.. and yet, are we truly fit to play judge and jury over them?"
"Here's a bit of my take on it.. I once asked God for a power action Giga Drive Starship.. But I knew God didn't work like that, so I stole the Starship and asked for forgiveness instead." said Thevos. "Heheheh.. just kill the rats and then worry about it! Does wonders! Anyways.. it's not like you feel moralistically inclined to spare them.. do you?"
"No.. we are assassins.. that is how our life is lived.. and guilt is not something I have the time or energy to feel..And what of Seyat?" said Krux. "He is sure to interfere.. that wandering researcher."
"I'll snap his little neck into dust." said Thevos simply. "Besides.. not like we need any more researchers.. I mean the only human mystery I'm curious about is why Kamakaze Pilots wore helmets."
The electronically distorted voice of Red-Eyed XaXa interrupted Thevos's conversation with Krux. "Thevos.. you called for me?"
"Ahh.." Thevos turned to look at XaXa. "There you are.. What do you think"
"I never quite understood your fighting style." said XaXa. "taking weapons and armor from others and then developing something new from it.. isn't it a bit.. uncreative?"
"If you seal from one author.. it's plagiarism.." said Thevos. "If you steal from many.. it's research.. I guess that's why Seyat was such an effective scientist. In any case.. I have been thinking.. and Ross.. as short as his life was.. had a slight point. Do we really need an army just to take on one girl? Of course I could also just go in after her myself.. but unlike Gun Gale Online when my colleague Congono attacked, this time Misaka has access to her Esper power as well.. which means the battle would get heated.. and I might destroy a little more then just her.. I just hate tearing up the environment.. always such a big mess afterwards."
"So.. how do you want to approach this?" said XaXa.
"I know you have a rather massive grudge with this girl." said Thevos. "And who should I be to deny one the chance for brutal bloody revenge? I mean.. it's one thing to just kill a guy.. but I think successfully taking revenge on somebody is like peeing your pants."
"Excuse me?!"
"Everybody can see it." said Thevos. "But only you get that warm feeling that spreads all over you.."
"That is.. one way to look at it.. I guess."
"In any case." said Thevos. "Viros have two ways of granting somebody power.. there is the strongest form.. which is to merge with a human.. and form a Symbiosis.. however.. that is only done when we are near death and desperate.. the first method though.. is much simpler.. we use our power to craft a weapon that responds only to the human of our choice..."
Thevos held out a sleeve.. and the ribbons on the end once more moved like fingers.. and darkness ripped out of it.. combined with terrible orange flames.. that seemed to be melding the darkness into a form..
A dark looking Estoc sword with an extremely black blade emerged.. and a cross-guard shaped like a crow's wing. "This is Guilty Wing... You will find that it most definitely matches the power of any Level 5 Esper.."
"Very nice.. the weight is perfect." said XaXa, taking the sword.
"You'll be able to summon it IRL.. " said Thevos. "And the power it grants is interesting. "
"So.. why me?" said XaXa. "As thirsty as I am to kill that b*tch.. I rather doubt that you're granting me this opportunity out of the goodness of your heart.."
"Well.. it's all a matter of finding the right person for the right job." said XaXa. "We've all heard that theory where supposedly a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare.. thanks to the internet, we know that it's a bunch of freaking scrambled crap.... boy.. I don't think you're a monkey.. that's all the reason I need"
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Mikoto woke up the next morning feeling refreshed.. next to her sleeping bag.. she saw Ashley, still sound asleep, breathing quietly in her own sleeping bag..
Mikoto yawned.. and pulled herself up.
After quickly bathing in the waterfall and gathering up the net.. she trekked down the ledge path back to the large lake below to begin fishing.
Thanks to her full understanding of the system and patterns, she was able collect large enough fish to last them a while.
It was looking to be a pretty normal training day anyways.. when she came back up however, she noticed something behind one of the large barrels.. it was a painting..
Mikoto took it out and was amazed to find Ashley with a small smiling blue haired girl who looked like Ashley.
"That's my daughter.."
Mikoto nearly jumped out of her skin. "S-Sempai!! I'm sorry!! I-"
"It's okay." said Ashley, sitting next to Mikoto and staring at the picture. "I had her when I was only 14.. her father ran off.. and I was left alone with her.. as a result.. I almost died, and my poor girl died of sickness at age 3.. 2 years ago.. "
"I'm sorry." said Mikoto. "What was her name?"
"Mikoto.. Mikoto Rowena.."
Mikoto stared at Ashley. "R-really?"
"Yes.. funny isn't it?" said Ashley with a laugh. "But don't worry, I'm not so shallow that I chose you to be my Valet because you had my daughter's name. I chose you because your sword skills were absolutely exceptional.. and because you actually managed to keep Hei-Long on her toes.. and I've never been able to do that before."
"You know Hei-Long?" Mikoto said.
"No.. rather I fought her once, and it was interesting." said Ashley. "She's a strange type that's for sure, in any case.. I believe it's time we had some meat in our diets that doesn't possess fins.. south of here in the forest is an area where a lot of game animals tend to gather.."
"And you want me to go get some.." said Mikoto picking up the Master Sword and using a leather strap to hand it around her shoulder.
"Now now! Don't go wearing that into the woods!" said Ashley with a laugh.
"But.. you said.."
"I said that this waterfall camp and the lake here is secret.. not the forest beyond it.. don't want random hunkish man travelers to see you wearing nothing but a shirt and a sword now do we?"
"You're giving me my clothes back!?"
"No!" said Ashley, taking out a green two piece bathing suit. "Just improvising!"
Mikoto frowned. "Really?"
Ashley giggled at Mikoto's expression. "Oh come.. and why shouldn't a girl get to show off her body to a man once in a while? It's less skimpy and more shapely hmm? Misaka-chan?"
Mikoto sighed and took the swimsuit.. after putting it on though.. she took some woven grass and wrapped it around her waste like a towel skirt. She then wrapped a leather belt with pouches full of supplies like throwing knives, bait, and other things over her shoulder and across her chest.
"There.." Mikoto muttered to herself. "At least people won't think I'm going to a beach party."
Mikoto was about to head out.. but she looked back and stared at the sheathed River Spirit.. sitting against the wall of the cave.
"Hmm.." Mikoto muttered. "Why not?"
And so she secured the sheathe holster for River Spirit to the other side of her waist to join her Master Sword, and after putting on a small backpack with extra supplies she leapt out of the waterfall.. leaping from stone to stone until splashed down into the lake below..
It wasn't as if she and Ashley hadn't already journeyed beyond the campsite before.. Mikoto suspected the whole clothing issue was because of the fact that Mikoto was going much farther then they had before.. and Ashley was secretly worried.. in any case, Mikoto, being one who loved to swim ever since she gained an interest in increasing her Diving Skill in SAO, preferred to travel by lake.
Unlike GGO, the Underworld allowed one to swim without removing any gear.. though heavy armor could possibly drown somebody..
Mikoto promised herself if she ever succeeded in becoming an Integrity Knight, she would not wear the armor, instead, she would focus on nice, light, durable clothing.. something she could run like a gazelle in.
Mikoto swam through the water.. only coming up for air when she really needed it. She had grown used to holding her breath for extended periods, sticking to the bottom of the giant river as she swam. Monsters were very rare in the river, so Mikoto knew that the last place any edible monsters would expect a hunter to come from, would be the water.
After about 15 minutes of swimming, Mikoto had finally gone farther into these uncharted woods then she ever had before.. though.. what she saw next made her sincerely doubt that these woods were completely uncharted now.
On the densely forested shore to her left, she saw a strange looking cabin, reinforced with stone supports.. and the emblems on it indicated it was an old Integrity Knight outpost.
"Worth a look." Mikoto muttered to herself as she waded to her left and stepped ashore.
The lock was easy to break, a <<Horizantal>> with her sword was all she needed. When came in.. she whistled.. the items here were amazing. There were swords of at least Divine Instrument class hanging on the walls.. and when she opened the old looking closet.. she found older versions of Academy uniforms, of varying different colors too.
Unlike the newer versions, these ones consisted of short cut long sleeved open coats with shirts underneath that bore a cross insignia near the collar.. so far, Mikoto could only see the female ones, which also bore medium length skirts with adjustable buckle belts..
Mikoto noticed one of the uniforms.. which must have been that of a Noble, since it was colored and not grey, bore a familiar nostalgia to it. It's jacket was black.. and the shirt gold... black and gold.. the colors she loved to wear in ALO and SAO..
Mikoto grinned. "Well.. couldn't hurt."
A few minutes later.. Mikoto was admiring herself in the old mirror on the wall.. looking at how it fit perfectly.. the long black socks.. the black and gold uniform.. there was something missing though.
Mikoto instantly found what she was looking for.. a nice cozy looking red scarf.. it wasn't a muffler like the one she wore in SAO.. and it was red, which kind of clashed.. but, it didn't feel right not wearing it. Mikoto smiled happily as she put on the scarf. "Heheh! I think I'll keep this.. just cause it feels right.."
Mikoto's thoughts of happy memories were soon dashed with alert fearfulness.. as her senses were riddled with one terrible intent...
The Intent to Kill..
Mikoto's eyes flashed, as she sensed the feeling of inherent violence coming from outside the cabin.. and saw the red bullet line that had become so familiar in Gun Gale Online aimed straight at her chest..
In a flash, she drew both her blades.. The Master Sword, white as the heavens, and River Spirit, flowing and churning like a waterfall...
She crossed her two blades together and blocked the Silent Assassin Sniper bullet that crashed through the window in a burst of sparks.
"DAMN!!!" Mikoto jumped through the broken window, and dashed through the forest.. as she did.. more sniper bullets shot at her.. but she flipped through the air, twirling her blades with quick precision, slicing the bullets out of the air with ease.
"How.. " Mikoto growled as she deflected more bullets, and her steps quickened. "HOW!? HOW THE HELL!?"
Had Mikoto not been distracted by the terrible forboding in her heart.. she would've marveled at how it felt to wield both the Master Sword and the River Spirit at once. She would've noted that the blades seemed to cry out with joy at being in union with each other.. as if they were siblings.. but she couldn't focus on that.. right now.. she was focused on the dark figure crouched in the bushes ahead.. aiming the Silent Assassin Rifle at her..
"How.. HOW CAN YOU BE HERE!!!?" Mikoto screamed as she jumped into the air and performed a dual bladed Sonic Leap at her target.. her long time foe. "RED-EYED XAXA!?"
XaXa rose from the brush.. and as Mikoto's two blades sliced into his form.. suddenly he exploded.. his black cloak turning into a massive flock of crows that dispersed and flew into the forest.
"Wh-what!?" Mikoto stammered as the crows swirled around him.. and the laughing voice of XaXa was heard echoing from everywhere..
A great number of crows suddenly merged together behind her.. clumping together until they became the tall figure with red eyes.. wielding his new Estoc Guilty Wing, raising it above his head.
"Actually.. it's just Sterben now.. with a new weapon.. comes a better name.."
Mikoto whirled around and crossed her two blades together again.. as the black estoc's blade came crashing down against them in a burst of sparks.
"So it's Sterben again!?" Mikoto growled mockingly. "Well well well.. you loved GGO a bit TOO much didn't ya!? How nice, you even kept the Darth Smokey outfit!! How did you do that?"
"How did you keep the Master Sword?" said Sterben. "It's not rocket science to upload the information of different items into separate games.. But enough of how I got here.. and how this is possible.. you know why I'm here.. and that's what counts.."
"You bet I know why.." Mikoto growled. "BUT IT AIN'T HAPPENING!! THINGS ARE DIFFERENT IN HERE!!!!"
Lightning raged around Mikoto and her blades glowed with electric power as she bashed Sterben away with a sweep of her electric fury. She screamed and lunged at Sterben. "STAR BURST THUNDER!!!!"
The electrically infused Star Burst Stream Combo hammered against Sterben's blade as he parried the incredibly powerful combo.. lightning raging from all around him as Mikoto struck. "HAHAHAHA!! SO THIS IS THE POWER OF A LEVEL 5!!! I ALWAYS WONDERED!!!"
Sterben powered through the blows.. before dealing several incredible strikes of his own.. hammering Mikoto back with a fierce strike.
Mikoto fell back, her eyes widening with surprise. How had he managed to parry and counter a full powered Railgun Style attack!?
"That power was wonderful to the taste." said Sterben. "NOW HERE'S A TASTE OF MINE!!!"
Sterben opened up his Optical Camouflage Cloak and a dense Murder of Crows exploded out, all cawing violently, their eyes glowing red as they swarmed into Mikoto.
Mikoto roared out with pain as the sharp talons and beaks of the birds drilled into her body.. and slammed her to the ground with the force of a freight train, even managing to rupture the earth.
"ZAAAAAAMMMMMMMM!!!" Mikoto sent her power hurling out of her from all directions.. electrocuting the crows away as she dashed back at Sterben..
But before she could even slash a single attack at him.. crows appeared out of nowhere, swirling around him like a smokescreen before he disappeared.. as if he had used the crows to somehow teleport..
The crows swirled back together 50 yards away.. remerging into Sterben.. who laughed as he held up his blade... and swarms of crows materialized from the blade and circled into the sky.. blocking out the sun.
"Prepare yourself.. Railgun!!" said Sterben. "I am Sterben of the Guilty Wing.. and this fight is only just beginning!!"