Boom!
The Paper Mill was blown apart, flames reached the sky, and a massive explosion sounded, clearly audible for ten miles around.
Ten minutes later, Illustrious and the others crawled out from underground, covered in dirt with their clothes in tatters, looking quite miserable.
Looking at her tattered clothes, Illustrious breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no one around. Fortunately, she was the first to crawl out, so there were no other people here; otherwise, her beautiful image would have been ruined. She quickly used her will, and a set of female Red Dragon Knights clothes appeared on her body.
Now, joining the guild allowed one to change their clothing style to that of the Red Dragon Dragon Knight Order, so she wasn't afraid of her clothes getting damaged at all.
Half an hour later, the Organization's logistics team arrived; they were responsible for cleaning up the battlefield.
Seeing there was nothing left for them to do, Illustrious and Asuna took a military vehicle home together... Three years passed in a flash. During these three years, Alice led the Strategy Group all over the world to hunt BOSS-level Monsters.
Over time, Alice had killed 99 out of 100 BOSS-level Monsters, leaving only the last one.
This final BOSS-level Monster was the boss of the 100th floor of Aincrad, named the Avatar of Reus.
The Avatar of Reus was located in Hunan, China. Illustrious was currently on a plane with her companions from the Strategy Group to subjugate this final BOSS-level Monster.
After getting off the plane, Illustrious and the others were immediately met with constant interviews from reporters.
"Miss Alice, we heard that the Chinese military sent troops to subjugate the Avatar of Reus but they never returned. Do you have confidence in this BOSS-level Monster subjugation?" a reporter from Hunan TV pressed.
"We are quite confident in subjugating this final BOSS-level Monster. After all, we have already defeated 99 BOSS-level Monsters. When it comes to how to defeat a BOSS-level Monster, our Strategy Group are complete experts. We will definitely rescue the people of Hunan from their suffering," Alice replied.
"Then may I ask..." The Hunan TV reporter wanted to ask more, but Alice directly led the members of the Strategy Group to a hotel arranged by the China Branch of the Organization and settled in.
The next day, the head of the China Branch of the Organization brought a secretary to the hotel to find Alice. "Miss Alice, are you there?"
Alice was currently playing mahjong with Illustrious, Asuna, and Kirito. Hearing someone calling her, she had no choice but to give up the game and open the door.
Seeing Alice leave, Illustrious peeked at Alice's hand and found it was incredibly good, so she secretly swapped Alice's tiles.
Asuna and Kirito didn't bother with Illustrious's little trick because Alice was too good at mahjong; she had beaten the three of them soundly, and their faces were covered in paper strips.
Illustrious especially had the most paper strips on her face. The content on the strips was written by Alice, who had written things like "Big Cow," "Chest Bigger than Head," and "Super Breast Alien" for Illustrious.
Alice opened the room door to let Li Mingqiao in, and then he introduced himself to Alice: "Hello, Alice! I am Li Mingqiao, the head of the China Branch of the Organization, and this is my secretary, Type 95."
"Hello! Nice to meet you. We can talk later; have a seat first. I'll finish this round first," Alice replied to Li Mingqiao and returned to the mahjong table.
Looking at her hand, Alice felt something was wrong. Her hand was clearly great just now, so why did it suddenly become so terrible? Staring at the three "paper-strip people," Alice's murderous intent surged: "Which one of you swapped my tiles? Confess honestly."
Illustrious pointed at Asuna, Asuna pointed at Kirito, and Kirito pointed at Illustrious. The three paper-strip people said in unison: "He/She swapped them!"
Seeing Illustrious point at her, Asuna got angry. "Illustrious, why are you pointing at me! I kindly helped you, and this is how you treat me."
"Asuna, let me explain. If I pointed at Kirito, Alice definitely wouldn't believe it. But by pointing at you, she definitely wouldn't be sure who swapped them," Illustrious explained.
Asuna covered her ears and said, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening! You jerk, get out of my room tonight and sleep in the living room."
Hearing about sleeping in the living room, Illustrious nervously said to Kirito, "Kirito, help me explain!"
"Wow! I thought you'd point at me, but I didn't expect you to point at Asuna. Sorry, I can't help you," Kirito said, standing idly by.
"You! Hmph, I considered you a friend in vain. To think you'd just stand by and watch. I misjudged you," Illustrious said angrily.
Alice messed up all the mahjong tiles. "I'm not playing anymore! You guys are cheating too much."
"If we don't play, what about my revenge match!" Illustrious said anxiously.
"Forget it!" Alice said seriously. "You guys should also come and meet the head of the China Branch of the Organization."
Seeing that Alice wasn't playing anymore, the three of them immediately tore off the paper strips and followed Alice to talk with the head of the China Branch of the Organization.
"Hello Illustrious, Asuna, and Kirito! My name is Li Mingqiao, and this is my secretary, Type 95," said Li Mingqiao.
"How do you know our names?" Illustrious asked curiously.
Li Mingqiao replied, "You are the three famous figures of the Strategy Group! The Silver Swordsman, the Black Swordsman, and the Flash Swordsman. Your titles are well-known; almost most people in the world know you, so it's not surprising that I know."
"Wow! So we're that famous!" Illustrious said bashfully.
"Alright, stop praising them. If you keep going, their tails will be wagging in the sky. Let's get to the point. You came today because of the final BOSS-level Monster, Reus, right?" Alice said with her arms crossed.
"Yes! This final BOSS-level Monster, the Avatar of Reus, is extremely powerful. For the past three years, our China Branch of the Organization has had no way to defeat it." Li Mingqiao continued, "But today, the situation might change because you are here. I believe you can definitely kill the BOSS-level Monster."
"I hope so. However, if the final BOSS-level Monster undergoes a mutation, it will be quite difficult to deal with, and it's even possible for the whole team to be wiped out. But now, only this final BOSS-level Monster is left in the world. No matter how difficult it is to conquer, we will destroy it," Alice said firmly.
Li Mingqiao handed over the intelligence gathered from three years of fighting the BOSS to Alice. After exchanging some words with Li Mingqiao, he left Alice's room with Type 95.
Alice showed the intelligence to every member of the Strategy Group. Once everyone had read and understood it, Alice posted an announcement in the "sword art online Strategy Group" group chat that the Strategy Group would go to kill the final BOSS-level Monster tomorrow.
When the third day arrived, Alice led the Strategy Group to subjugate the Avatar of Reus. Because it was the final BOSS-level Monster, a large group of reporters had gathered early at the perimeter of the Avatar of Reus's location. People all over the world were watching at the same time.
"Hello, viewers. This is Hunan TV. We are currently seeing Alice's Strategy Group and the Light of the Bright Moon combat team from the China Branch of the Organization fighting against the BOSS, the Avatar of Reus," the Hunan TV reporter explained to the camera.
"The strength of this BOSS, the Avatar of Reus, is quite terrifying. It is actually using a heavy sword and petrification laser beams from its eyes to deal with the Rulers. Not long after the battle began, thirteen Rulers on the scene died tragically. Can the Rulers ultimately kill the Avatar of Reus? Let's watch a commercial first; it'll be even more exciting after the break. Viewers, please don't go away."
[Silu Milk Powder contains a variety of rich nutrients. Good mothers say it's great after buying it. Silu Milk Powder aims to be the best milk powder for the Chinese people...]
Just as things were getting exciting, a commercial started. People on the internet began spamming comments against Hunan TV.
"Holy crap! Do you have to be so arrogant? This is a world-shaking event, and you're actually showing commercials."
"Let's go, let's go! Watch on another channel."
"Don't go to other channels. The cameras on other channels are too far away; you can't see clearly at all. They're only being this arrogant with commercials because they have the high-definition feed."
After three or four commercials, the Hunan TV reporter resumed the broadcast. The commercial break just now was because they were too close, causing the cameraman to be hit by the Avatar of Reus's attack. While the cameraman was being petrified, the staff used commercials as cover to switch to a backup cameraman. It seemed Hunan TV was risking its life to secure the closest filming spot.
"Viewers, sorry to keep you waiting. The Avatar of Reus used petrification laser beams from its eyes to try and petrify our Black Swordsman, Kirito, but the Black Swordsman is agile and dodged it." The reporter continued:
"While the Flash Swordsman, Asuna, used New Star Ascension to draw the BOSS's attack, Kirito saw an opening and immediately used the 16-hit high-tier Dual Blades sword skill—Starburst Stream. This move directly destroyed the Avatar of Reus's eyes."
"After its eyes were destroyed, the Avatar of Reus immediately summoned a giant tree into reality to save its life. Oh my god, viewers, the Avatar of Reus's injuries are healing!"
Seeing this scene, the audience began to worry for the Rulers. This is the final BOSS; you guys have to do your best!
The reporter comforted: "But don't worry, everyone. Our China Branch head, Li Mingqiao, has three years of combat experience with the BOSS Reus. He used Sonic Leap to throw his sword, hitting Reus's eye and directly interrupting its recovery."
"After Reus's recovery was interrupted, she threw away her heavy sword. Huh? Why throw away the heavy sword? Could it be she thinks she can't beat the Rulers and plans to wait for death?" the Hunan TV reporter said in shock.
"No, I was wrong. The Avatar of Reus actually manifested a spear! That spear technique is beating the Rulers senseless. Most terrifyingly, there are tree vines around interfering with the Rulers. During this time, several more Rulers have sacrificed themselves."
"Look! That's the number one ranked Silver Swordsman on the Ruler list, Illustrious. With a flash of her sword, she cut down all the vines. The Avatar of Reus seems to find Illustrious an eyesore; she threw away the spear, picked up the heavy sword again, and launched an attack on Illustrious. However, these attacks haven't hurt Illustrious."
The reporter said passionately: "Because the BOSS Reus is only focused on Illustrious, the other Rulers have all unleashed their skills on the Avatar of Reus. The Avatar of Reus let out a roar of rage and swept the surrounding Rulers away with a single strike of her spear."
Just as the BOSS Reus was about to press his advantage, our Silver Swordsman, Illustrious, prepared her ultimate move. It was the highest-tier dual-wielding sword skill, the 27-hit combo—Eclipse. Seeing this, Reus's avatar also unleashed its ultimate move, clashing head-on with Illustrious.
Reus's avatar ran out of moves after the twenty-first strike, and Illustrious's remaining seven strikes slashed through the avatar. Finally, Reus's avatar wobbled a few times before collapsing and shattering into fragments. 'Wonderful, viewers! The final BOSS is finally dead! The surrounding small monsters are also ascending and turning into starlight. The world is finally welcoming peace and—'
Before the sentence could be finished, the Hunan TV camera was attacked by an unknown electromagnetic field, causing it to break and lose the ability to transmit images.
People on the internet exploded with excitement and confusion. 'Why is the screen black?' They switched to other channels only to find they were blacked out too. Hunan TV was like this, and so were the other stations. What on earth was going on?
Ignoring the camera issue, the Hunan TV reporter was shocked. She swallowed hard. After BOSS Reus was destroyed, a mysterious black-haired girl was floating ten meters in the air.'She's walking on air... what is this girl's background?'
"Who are you?" Illustrious asked, staring at the girl in black stockings and a high-slit cheongsam before her.
"My name is Kangxi. I am an S-rank Divine Seal Bearer of the Divine Miracle, and also the mastermind you have been looking for," Kangxi said with a smile.
"Divine Miracle? S-rank Divine Seal Bearer? What are those!" Illustrious asked in confusion.
"The Divine Miracle is like a Main God, and Divine Seal Bearers are like Reincarnators. As Divine Seal Bearers, we travel through various worlds to carry out missions." Kangxi didn't hide anything and spoke freely, leaving everyone wondering what she was up to.
"So, the reason this world has become like this is all because of you," Illustrious said, her face darkening.
"Exactly! I took an S-rank mission. The objective was to change the world's plot by more than 80% to complete it," Kangxi said, indifferent to Illustrious's expression.
"Why would you do this? Because of you, a billion people in this world have died permanently due to monsters! Don't you feel any guilt?" Asuna shouted.
Kangxi said disdainfully, "So what? In the eyes of us S-rank Divine Seal Bearers, human lives are but dust, not worth mentioning at all."
"Your true purpose isn't just that, is it! If you just wanted to change the plot, you could have completely prevented us from gaining power and let the monsters destroy the world directly!" Illustrious said, seeing through Kangxi.
Kangxi was surprised. "Smart! I didn't expect you to see through it. Actually, my true goal is to allow my divine artifact—the Chaos Cauldron—to give birth to a new spirit. The original spirit was very disobedient and refused to accept me, so I killed it and split the Chaos Cauldron into one hundred Dark Fragments and eleven thousand Light Fragments."
"Are those fragments inside us?" Alice asked.
Looking at Akihiko Kayaba, whom she had turned into a girl, Kangxi smiled. "Correct! The Light Fragments are within you Rulers, and the Dark Fragments are within the BOSS monsters. The reason you Rulers and the BOSS monsters possess power and immortality is all because of the fragments of the Chaos Cauldron."
"You Rulers represent justice, while the BOSS-level Monsters represent evil. As long as you fight each other, the fragments produce emotional energy. This energy can be used to create a new spirit, birthing a truly controllable divine artifact, the Chaos Cauldron. At that time, I will possess the power to control all planes of existence."
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