Chapter 213

　Inside a brightly lit tunnel, several beautiful elven maidens and a young man were walking forward. Four of the elven maidens had solemn expressions and were carefully holding weapons in their hands, in case something unexpected happened in the tunnel.

　　The young man at the back of the group appeared completely unguarded, with two little girls, one big and one small, sitting on his shoulders. He was only giving directions to the elven girls, guided by the little girl.

　　”Turning right and continuing straight should lead to the exit.” Guided by Yui, who was also a part-time guide, Asuna and I arrived at the last fork in the road. We hadn’t encountered any attacks or traps along the way, and everyone quickened their pace for the latter half.

　　Upon hearing this, the girls immediately started running. After making a right turn, they continued walking for five minutes until an even brighter light appeared at the tunnel entrance. Stepping out of the tunnel, the view suddenly opened up.

　　The vast night sky is dotted with stars, and the huge trunk of the World Tree extends into a circular road. With the branches and leaves of the World Trees around it as embellishments, it would be a good tourist attraction in your spare time.

　　”Is this the top of the World Tree?” Leafa looked around. The clouds in the distance, the view from the sky, and the top of the World Tree above all indicated their current location. “But where is the final quest we were promised?”

　　There were no mission prompts, and the surrounding environment didn’t seem to indicate where a mission was taking place. Apart from a dialog box prompting the initial entrance, there was almost no indication that a mission was in progress.

　　”It might be at the very top of the World Tree here. Reaching there will complete the mission, or maybe there’s nothing there.” As the daughter of the CEO of the company that invested in and developed the game Alo, Asuna, without being asked, also didn’t know what the ultimate mission in the game was.

　　From both a game design and operational perspective, Asuna didn’t believe her father would resort to such a fraudulent scheme; logically, there should have been an ultimate mission.

　　But things might change after that guy named Sugo caused trouble. It wouldn’t be surprising if he canceled the ultimate mission. The only thing that’s certain is that he’s at the very top of the World Tree.

　　”Leaf, there’s something I need to explain to you.” Now that she was here, Asuna felt she could briefly tell Leaf about Sugou.

　　”What is it?” The blonde, ponytailed elf girl’s heart skipped a beat. She had a rough idea of ​​what Asuna wanted to say to her. It was probably about why they were dedicated to completing the World Tree quest, and not just because they were players.

　　“Let’s talk as we make our way to the top of the World Tree.” Asuna prepared to unfold her pale blue fairy wings, but there was no response. “Can your wings unfold?”

　　“Mine didn’t work either.” Silica tried and was also unable to unfold her fairy wings.

　　”It’s probably a no-fly zone.” I glanced up and said meaningfully, “It’s just that flying is prohibited in the area where the Pokémon’s ultimate quest takes place. I don’t know if that’s how it was designed or if something went wrong.”

　　”Then we’ll have to run, Leafa. Let’s talk as we run.” Asuna understood what she meant; it was highly likely that Sugou had done something.

　　”Hmm.” So the girls and I started running around the World Tree. During this time, Asuna briefly told Leafa about Sugou trapping some of the Sacred Tales players in Alo.

　　”So, Asuna, you guys are actually players from SAO, and you entered Alo to rescue players who are still trapped in the game.” Leafa’s emerald green eyes widened. The fact that Asuna was a SAO player reminded the girl of someone.

　　Her brother, or more accurately her cousin Kiritani Kazuto, was her kendo partner in childhood. They had a very good relationship and seemed destined to become childhood friends.

　　However, as she grew older, her relationship with her brother did not improve; instead, they gradually became estranged. Later, her brother became addicted to the online world, and their relationship became more like that of ordinary friends, or even worse. Apart from exchanging greetings when they met, they rarely communicated anymore.

　　Leafa had thought about repairing their relationship, but she didn’t know how to bring it up. Then, with the release of the game Sao, her brother, who was addicted to the game, bought the first release and started playing.

　　As a result, the worst incident in the gaming world occurred: a large number of players were trapped in the game SAO. Most importantly, those trapped in the game would die, and no one knew what happened in the game or why it happened.

　　At the time, she was also very worried, afraid that her brother might die at any moment, and regretted that she had not been able to repair their relationship before. So when she learned that her brother had returned safely from Sao, Leafa decided to take the initiative to repair their relationship, so that they could at least be like ordinary siblings.

　　However, things didn’t go as planned. After returning from the Sao game, her brother became very depressed. At first, Leafa thought that it was just because her brother had just returned from the death game and hadn’t recovered yet, and that he would be fine after a while. However, as the days went by, her brother was still in that depressed state.

　　Leafa tried to ask her brother why, but her dejected brother ignored her. Under these circumstances, Leafa’s original desire to repair their relationship faded away again.

　　Now that Leafa has heard that Asuna and the others have experience with Sao games, she wants to ask them if they know her brother, Kirito. However, she is currently engaged in important matters, and besides, what a coincidence!

　　So Leafa put the matter aside for the time being. What good would it do to figure out why her brother was so depressed? What could she, as a sister who wasn’t even a friend, possibly do to help?

　　Sometimes missing out once can lead to a gradual drifting apart, let alone missing out multiple times. If other variables are added, it becomes even more difficult to make up for it.

　　”What is that?” As they talked and ran, they were getting closer and closer to their final destination, the very top of the World Tree, when a courtyard came into Silica’s view.

　　”That’s probably our destination.” Asuna’s left hand unconsciously tightened its grip on the scabbard. Now it was time to solve the final problem of this incident. “Everyone, let’s speed things up.”

　　With a goal in sight, the girl quickened her pace. Before long, we arrived at the entrance of the courtyard. Vibrant flowers and plants were planted around the courtyard, and white marble slabs were laid on the ground. In the center of the courtyard was a large circular black glass panel.

　　”Let’s go in.” The girls exchanged glances and nodded. Asuna glanced at me, seemingly unintentionally, and then we passed through the white archway of the courtyard and entered the courtyard.

　　As soon as we all entered the courtyard, the white archway that was behind us disappeared, and then the entire courtyard was enveloped in a pale white protective shield.

　　The girls immediately took their weapons, and then, from the inside of the courtyard, about twenty meters away, a series of white jade steps suddenly rose up. After forming dozens of steps, a white jade throne appeared at the top, and finally, a blond man appeared on the throne.

　　”Ah, I’ve finally waited for you.” The blond man sitting on the throne rubbed his forehead and exclaimed, “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you here, Asuna!”

　　Sitting on the throne is naturally the target of this attack: Nobuyuki Sugo, the instigator who trapped some of the Sao players in Alo.

　　”I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.” Asuna responded coldly, her silver-white rapier already wrapped in light blue water-based support magic.

　　“I’ve been waiting here all this time. Ever since you stole me, Asuna, I’ve been waiting here, all alone, silently waiting for you…” Sugo Nobuyuki stood up unsteadily from his throne. “Finally, today, I’ve waited for this day. I knew you would come back!”

　　”Disgusting. Don’t call me by my name. I’m here to deal with you. Stop trying to get close to me.” Asuna raised her rapier, pointing the tip directly at Sugou Nobuyuki.

　　Leafa and the others also cast support magic on themselves, while I added buffs to them one by one. Facing Sugou Nobuyuki, the girls clearly intended to go all out from the start.

　　”I’ve been all alone for a while now, without anyone to talk to, not even an NPC. I can’t even leave here. It’s like being a monster boss stuck here.”

　　Sugo Nobuyuki ignored Asuna’s words and muttered to himself. Ever since he discovered that Asuna had disappeared from the giant birdcage, Sugo Nobuyuki had immediately tried to use the system to find Asuna’s whereabouts, but for some reason the system’s search function seemed to be broken and did not respond at all.

　　Not only that, he couldn’t even leave the courtyard. The situation seemed to have suddenly reversed, and he was now trapped in the courtyard. During this time, Sugo Nobuyuki, who refused to believe in the supernatural, kept trying, but to no avail. Even trying to create an NPC to chat with didn’t work.

　　This meant he could only stay in the courtyard alone. After more than two weeks, Sugo even considered logging out of the game, but as expected, he failed.

　　”Compared to those players trapped in the game by you, what are you?” Asuna could roughly guess why Sugou Nobuyuki had become like that. Apart from a certain being who could do whatever he wanted in the game, no one else could have done that to Sugou Nobuyuki, who had administrator privileges.

　　”So! So this time I won’t let Asuna escape again!” Sugo Nobuyuki seemed to be deaf to human speech, shouting and yelling to himself. All the women present thought he had gone mad from staying there.

　　Asuna didn’t reply, because their buffs were already applied. She had been wasting time talking to Sugou Nobuyuki to buy more time to prepare, but now that they were ready, she didn’t say anything more and launched an attack on the blond man on the throne.

　　A series of ranged spells, including Flame Ball, Zero Water Bullet, and Gale Blade, were launched at Sugo Nobuyuki. Faced with the incoming spells, Sugo Nobuyuki burst into laughter, making a face with one eye bigger than the other. “Ah, Asuka, are you already so eager to come back to my side?”

　　“Then I must properly welcome you.” Nobuyuki Sugo opened his arms, and then a huge purple plant burst out from the circular black glass in the center of the courtyard.

　　The intertwined oval roots take hold on the courtyard floor, with several large fan-shaped leaves covering most of the roots. Above the leaves, hundreds of purple vines spread out, with a winding flower path in the center, covered with sharp thorns. At the very top of the flower path is a deep purple flower, with fluorescent purple liquid flowing from its stamen.

　　”It’s disgusting, just like its summoner.” Silica felt nauseous when she saw the purple vines dancing in the air like tentacles. Pina, who was flying beside her, chirped in agreement with her master’s opinion.

　　However, although its strange appearance was disgusting, its combat power was not to be underestimated. All the girls’ magical attacks were blocked or dispersed by its purple vine tentacles.

　　Asuna and the others tried to bypass the purple plant and attack the target directly, but they failed. Firstly, the plant was too large, occupying a large part of the center of the courtyard. Secondly, the flying vines kept hindering their progress, forcing the girls to stop and deal with the plant first.

　　Asuna severed the purple vines that were swinging at her with a single sword stroke, then sprayed the same fluorescent purple liquid as the flower’s stamen from the cut end. Asuna didn’t know what the side effects of this liquid were, but she certainly didn’t want it to get on her.

　　Asuna sidestepped to avoid the splash of liquid, but two more purple vines attacked her, and the blue-haired elf girl responded with a quick thrust.

　　The silver-white rapier struck two attacking purple vines, but failed to pierce them, leaving only two shallow wounds. Asuna noticed that the purple vines had an additional thin layer of keratin compared to before, and it was that keratin layer that slowed down her attack.

　　”My Purple Orchid Fairy Flower will not be easily defeated by you.” Sugou Shinichi walked down the steps one by one. “So Asuna, you should give up resisting, so that I can properly welcome you.”

　　”Aren’t you annoying me with your incessant chatter?” Liz slammed her hammer on the floor, the shockwave repelling all the nearby purple vines.

　　”Shut up, you irrelevant people. You have no idea how much I love Asuna.” Nobuyuki Sugo pointed his finger at Liz, and then the deep purple flowers of the Purple Orchid Fairy Flower turned towards Liz and spat out purple venom bullets at her.

　　The venom bullets and several rapidly attacking purple vines were difficult for Liz to handle after she had just used her impact skill. However, Leafa, who was not far from her, immediately came to her aid.

　　The blonde, ponytail-wearing elf girl’s swordsmanship was crisp and clean; each strike repelled a purple vine and left a scratch on it. Without the vines attacking her, Liz was able to dodge the venom bullets without difficulty.

　　”You arrogant fool, do you think you’re invincible here?” Asuna dodged the purple vines that attacked her one after another, trying to break through her limits. However, when she broke through to a certain point, dozens of purple vines would rush up at her, forcing her to avoid their attacks.

　　“Otherwise what? I have system privileges. Who can defeat me in the Alo game world?” Sugo Nobuyuki finally stepped down from the stairs to the floor. He stood behind the Purple Orchid Fairy Flower as if he was not worried about being attacked at all.

　　”Is that so? Then what happened to you before? You kept saying you had special privileges, yet you were trapped in this courtyard.” Asuna used words to distract the enemy while looking for an opportunity.

　　”That…that was just an accident, that’s right, it was an accident caused by a system error.” Nobuyuki Sugo’s expression froze for a moment, then he immediately found an excuse that could convince himself.

　　”How ugly. Even if it really is because of a system error, you are not invincible here.” As expected, it distracted Sugo Nobuyuki, and the demon flower’s attack and intelligence level decreased, but that was not enough.

　　“Asuna is right.” Silica and Pina worked together, and with Pina’s dragon breath, dealing with the plant-type Purple Orchid Fairy Flower would be a bit easier.

　　”Huh? You guys are joking. If that’s the case, then tell me who’s stronger than me.” Sugo Nobuyuki clearly didn’t believe the girls’ words, thinking they were just bluffing.

　　”Haven’t you noticed? Compared to the most composed person in this squad, you’re practically a weakling.” Asuna’s words were completely true, but apart from Silica, most of the girls present thought Asuna was bluffing.

　　Upon hearing this, Nobuyuki Sugo immediately shifted his gaze. He had indeed seen a man in the team earlier, but he had simply ignored him. So far, the man hadn’t made any big moves, which made him almost forget that he existed.

　　”This guy? A useless man who only knows how to hide behind women is not worthy of comparing himself to me!?” Sugo Nobuyuki looked at me with deep disdain, unaware that the person who had driven him crazy by trapping him in the courtyard was the one right in front of him.

　　”That’s not right of you. My role is support. Staying in a safe place and providing buffs to Asuna and the others from behind is the proper way.” I shrugged, completely unfazed by Sugou Nobuyuki. In my eyes, he was just a clown, the ridiculous kind.

　　”No matter what, you’re definitely an eyesore, Purple Orchid Demon Flower, go.” Seeing the other party’s relaxed appearance, Sugo Nobuyuki felt that he was being looked down upon, and he decided to make that guy regret it.

　　At Sugo Nobuyuki’s command, the Purple Orchid Demon Flower immediately extended more than a dozen purple vines, looking like it was determined to kill me outright.

　　”Mercury Lamp, I’m counting on you.” Asuna’s tactic of diverting the trouble was clearly very effective. I guess this was one of the reasons she insisted that I come along. Since the enemy had attacked, I couldn’t just stand there and take the hits, even though I could prevent them from breaking through my defenses even if I didn’t move.

　　”Leave it to me, Father.” Suigintou had been staying by my side the whole time, without any intention of helping Asuna and the others. The girls were used to it, after all, they weren’t Suigintou’s father, and it would be too difficult to get Suigintou to help them on her own initiative.

　　Facing the purple vines rushing towards her, Mercury Lamp spread her black wings in mid-air. The black wings fell and then gathered into a black torrent to meet the purple vines.

　　Although I told Suigintou before we started the Yggdrasil strategy that we should use an appropriate amount of power for protection, Sugou Nobuyuki’s words clearly angered Suigintou, so the silver-haired gothic lolita went a little too far.

　　The seemingly weak, jet-black feathers successfully sliced ​​through the purple vines, instantly cutting more than a dozen purple vines into pieces, and continued their momentum towards the main body of the Purple Orchid Demon Flower.

　　”Asuna, now’s the time!” Liz quickly arrived at Asuna’s side with the hammer, as did Silica and Leafa. After Suigintou made her move, the three girls understood Asuna’s intention, so they immediately gathered in Asuna’s direction.

　　”I understand.” Asuna, who had been teaming up for a while, immediately understood what Liz and the others meant, relying on their tacit understanding. They wanted to take advantage of the situation and create an opportunity for her to break through.

　　Just as Mercury Lamp’s black feathers tore through the vine defenses and struck the Purple Orchid Flower’s true form, the three girls, Liz, Silica, and Leafa, immediately sprang into action.

　　Because the Purple Orchid Fairy Flower mobilized most of its vines to block Mercury Lamp’s black feathers, the remaining purple vines used to hinder them have decreased significantly, and now there is a chance to break through.

　　”Damn it, how could this happen?” Sugo Nobuyuki never expected that an inconspicuous young man would cause the situation to take such a turn for the worse. Even with his further enhancement of the Purple Orchid Demon Flower, he still couldn’t withstand the attack of the black feathers.

　　Black Feather pierced through the stem of the Purple Orchid Demon Flower, leaving it riddled with holes. This was only because Mercury Lamp stopped at the last moment; otherwise, the Purple Orchid Demon Flower would have been directly shattered by Mercury Lamp’s torrent of Black Feathers.

　　Nobuyuki Sugo’s expression began to turn ugly, but soon something else happened that made his expression even worse: a silver-white slender sword thrust repeatedly at him, and a blue-haired elven girl had somehow crossed over the purple orchid flower and arrived there.

　　”Clang clang clang” The tip of the rapier thrust repeatedly. Fortunately, he had put on a protective shield, otherwise he would have been stabbed to the core. Sugo Nobuyuki quickly retreated to try to create distance.

　　However, Asuna would not give Sugou Nobuyuki a chance to escape. Her silver-white rapier continued to attack Sugou Nobuyuki’s shield, which began to tremble from the piercing.

　　”Asuna, do you think you can defeat me with this?” Sugo Nobuyuki felt frustrated, extremely frustrated. Despite being an authority user, he was being suppressed and beaten. Frustrated, he immediately materialized a golden sword, a divine weapon modeled after Charlemagne’s sword.

　　With his confidence boosted by wielding the divine weapon, Sugou Nobuyuki gripped its golden hilt and slashed at Asuna, saying, “Don’t worry, Asuna, I’ll leave you with a sliver of health.”

　　The artifact has excellent attributes, and Sugo Nobuyuki’s own character attributes must also exceed the player’s limits. However, he himself is too weak and cannot compare with Kayaba Akihiko, who is a top-tier player and has the authority to play.

　　Therefore, Sugo Nobuyuki originally had great attack power and a very fast attack speed, but his attack route was very simple, and he didn’t even use the correct technique for exerting force. He only utilized about 50% to 60% of his speed and power.

　　This is too much of a weakness for a top player like Asuna, who can easily dodge and counterattack. “I will kill you without mercy.”

　　”Damn it, what’s going on? I clearly used my divine weapon, and my attribute points are more than twice that of the players, so why am I missing every single attack?” Sugo Nobuyuki became more and more impatient as he fought, and his already chaotic attacks were like a child swinging a toy sword haphazardly.

　　”Aren’t you underestimating gamers? You think someone who only relies on attribute points can easily win? Dream on.” Asuna’s continuous sword strikes were basically unaffected by Sugou Nobuyuki’s attacks. If it weren’t for the defensive shield, she would have finished him off long ago.

　　”Don’t get too cocky. I just… I just haven’t gotten used to it yet.” Nobuyuki Sugo found an excuse to comfort himself. “That’s right, once I get used to this power, Asuna, you’ll…”

　　However, before Sugo Nobuyuki could finish speaking, the pale gold shield protecting him made a “crack” sound, interrupting his words. The pale gold shield was about to be broken by Asuna.

　　It’s important to know that while Asuna’s attributes haven’t reached the pinnacle in every aspect, they’re close. Her agility is even at its maximum. With my buff, Asuna’s attributes have also broken through the player’s limits, exceeding them by about 1.5 times, if not more than double.

　　This was something Sugo Nobuyuki couldn’t have imagined, because even with buffs, it’s impossible to break through the game’s numerical limits, but it’s different when the one giving the buff is me.

　　”I won’t give you that chance.” After breaking through the shield, Asuna didn’t pause at all and continued to stab Sugou Nobuyuki with her silver-white rapier.

　　Sugo Nobuyuki hastily raised his golden sword to block Asuna’s thrust, but Asuna twisted her wrist, causing the side of the rapier to pierce Sugo Nobuyuki’s left arm along the blade of the golden sword.

　　”It hurts… How can I feel pain? I clearly turned off the pain system.” Red dots floated on Nobuyuki Sugo’s arm, which was the manifestation of injury in the game. The pain in his arm almost made him let go of the golden sword he was holding.

　　Asuna knew without even thinking who did it. Although the person said they wouldn’t help much, they had actually helped quite a bit by trapping Sugou Nobuyuki and restricting his system privileges.

　　As Asuna thought this, her hands did not stop moving. After landing a successful attack, she continued to pursue, her silver-white rapier continuously damaging Sugou Nobuyuki, cutting out wounds, and red light particles were already floating around Sugou Nobuyuki.

　　”This shouldn’t be… This isn’t what I expected!” The pain all over his body made Nobuyuki Sugo realize a fact: he was really going to be killed. If he was killed in the game, endless darkness would await him when he returned to reality.

　　”No, no…” Just as Sugo Nobuyuki was about to say something tough to encourage himself, he felt as if his chest had been pierced. Given that his strength had been forcibly increased, how could he dare to lose focus when facing a powerful opponent? He deserved it.

　　Asuna pushed the silver-white rapier forward a little before drawing it. Sugo Nobuyuki clutched his chest and took a few steps back. The pain in his chest made his mind go blank for a moment.

　　”I advise you to release the players trapped in the game. You’re finished.” Asuna pointed her sword at Sugou Nobuyuki. If he were willing to release the trapped players, it would save her a lot of trouble later.

　　”It’s over? No… no, I can’t possibly be finished here…” Sugo Nobuyuki, clutching his chest, raised his head, a look of madness in his eyes. “I am the ruler of this world, the god of this world, how could I possibly be finished here!”

　　As he spoke, Sugo Nobuyuki’s body swelled and mutated, his skin turned blue-purple, his body was covered with a layer of scales, the whites of his eyes turned black, and his pupils turned red.

　　The sudden change made Asuna frown, but she reacted quickly and immediately launched another attack on Sugou Nobuyuki.

　　With a “clang,” Sugo Nobuyuki raised his arm to block the slender sword that was swinging towards him. This time, the silver-white slender sword failed to leave a wound on Sugo Nobuyuki’s body, only leaving a white mark.

　　”Unfortunately, just in case, I had a backup plan. Once my character enters the red line of dangerous health, it will be triggered passively, merging me with the monster boss in the game: Angones, turning me into a new game character.”

　　Sugo Shinji swung his hand, using it to attack in a claw-like form. Asuna immediately retreated to dodge the claw’s sweep. Sugo Shinji’s situation was equivalent to the second phase of a boss fight, and things were getting complicated.

　　”Oh? So you’ve become a half-human, half-monster.” It seems that the other party’s fusion is not only in terms of character abilities, but also in terms of monster combat logic, making the combat style much more reasonable than before.

　　”Shut up, I’m not a monster. As long as I win, I’ll still be the Elf King of the Alo world.” The fusion of player and monster data is irreversible, meaning that Sugou Nobuyuki will remain in his current form in Alo. Touched on his sore spot, he immediately retorted loudly.

　　”Since that’s the case, I’ll quickly defeat you, Asuna. Once you’re mine, you won’t be able to say such things anymore.” A purple demonic flame spread out from beneath Sugou Nobuyuki’s feet in a circle, forcing Asuna back.

　　Then, Sugo Nobuyuki opened his left hand towards the purple orchid flower not far away. Asuna used water magic to try to stop Sugo Nobuyuki’s actions, but it was blocked by the purple demon flame wall.

　　”Come, Purple Orchid Fairy Flower.” As Sugou Nobuyuki’s words fell, the Purple Orchid Fairy Flower, which was teetering under the attacks of Liz and the others, turned into purple light spots and gathered in Sugou Nobuyuki’s hand, where it was then absorbed by him.

　　After absorbing the data from the Purple Orchid Demon Flower, Sugo Nobuyuki donned a set of orchid armor over his original robes, with the breastplate woven with the shape of the Purple Orchid Demon Flower.

　　“Very good, that’s the feeling. Let’s fight again, Asuna.” Nobuyuki Sugo spread his hands to the sides, and several purple vines covered with sharp thorns sprouted from behind him.

　　”How is it, Asuna?” After the purple orchid flower disappeared, Leafa, Silica, and Liz rushed to Asuna’s side and asked as they looked at Sugou Nobuyuki, who was spouting nonsense.

　　”It’s gotten a little more complicated, but with your help, things are much better.” Sugo Nobuyuki might think that with the addition of the Purple Orchid Fairy Flower, his strength would be even greater, but Asuna felt that with the help of her three teammates, she received even more assistance.

　　”Leave it to us. I’ve been wanting to give this lunatic a good whack for ages.” Liz brandished the hammer in her hand, eager to give it a try.

　　“That’s right, bad guys like that deserve to be taught a lesson.” Silica and Pina also disliked Sugo Nobuyuki.

　　”I second that.” Leafa was disgusted by both what Sugo Nobuyuki did and his attitude. The kendo girl was ready to pounce.

　　At this moment, I gave the girls another buff and glanced at the purple demonic flames burning around Sugou Nobuyuki. Asuna and the others would have a hard time dealing with this. Although Alo is a game world of swords and magic, the latter still accounts for a smaller proportion than the former. This level of demonic flames is not easy to break.

　　”Mercury Lamp, go help them.” The Purple Orchid Fairy Flower has disappeared, and I can’t expect Mercury Lamp to keep protecting me all this time, so I asked the silver-haired gothic lolita to help Asuna and the others, lest they accuse me of slacking off.

　　”Hmm.” Suigintou understood and flew towards Asuna and the others’ location. After Suigintou left, a little girl sitting on my shoulder had already complained about my slacking off.

　　Yui sat up straight only after the aloof silver-haired gothic loli flew away. The black-haired loli grabbed the black hair in front of her and said, “You big bad guy, why didn’t you make a move sooner?”

　　”Asuna and the others were doing pretty well before, and I even gave them buffs. Yui, you can’t be so dismissive of your support role, can you?” I raised my right hand and poked the little girl sitting on my shoulder with my finger.

　　”Hmm…you know what I mean. With your abilities, you big bad guy, if you really made a move, that madman would be finished long ago.” The figure-sized Yui leaned back involuntarily when poked by my finger, so she had to let go of my hair and instead hug my finger.

　　”That would be pointless. If we were really going to do this, I would have just dealt with Sugo from the very beginning.” Yui’s little hands couldn’t stop me from poking her. The little loli’s face was smooth, and my fingertips were even poking her upper body. The loli’s body was still quite soft.

　　However, because she is a loli, Yui’s breasts are quite flat, practically nonexistent, so my fingers barely felt any sensation on her breasts.

　　”Then you should have dealt with it from the beginning. You really are a big bad guy.” In response to my teasing of my finger, Yui puffed out her cheeks, opened her little mouth, and bit my fingertip.

　　“Yui, you’re not entirely right.” After letting go, Yui left a faint tooth mark on my fingertip. “If I hadn’t intervened secretly, Asuna and the others would probably be facing a situation that would be at least one level higher.”

　　”Now that you’ve said that, Yui, I think I’m going to take back all the restrictions.” I sighed and shook my head, as if I were about to take back the restrictions on Sugo Nobuyuki at any moment.

　　”No.” Yui hugged her fingers tightly. She had tried to influence Nobuyuki Sugo’s authority, but his authority was much higher than hers, so it was difficult for her to affect him. Otherwise, she would have made that madman’s ability disappear long ago.

　　”So what should you say, Yui?” I said, rubbing my fingers against Yui’s cheek.

　　”Ugh, I was wrong, Master.” Although a little reluctant, Yui still took the initiative to admit her mistake and changed my address back to Master.

　　”That’s right.” I withdrew my finger with satisfaction. “This is the Yui I like.”

　　”I don’t need your affection, you big bad guy!” Seeing that I had no intention of taking back my restrictions, Yui returned to her previous attitude. This little girl wouldn’t easily bow down to evil forces.

　　Meanwhile, with the addition of Mercury Lamp, the purple demonic flame was broken, and the girls immediately launched an attack. Just as Asuna said, with the cooperation of her teammates, her enhancement was far more than just 1 plus 1. Even after entering the second stage, Sugou Nobuyuki still could not gain the upper hand.

　　Especially with the mercury lamp restraining the purple vines, Sugo Nobuyuki’s only advantage after fusing with the Purple Orchid Demon Flower was the vine armor. And this advantage was reduced to being only slightly more durable under the girls’ skillfully coordinated attacks.

　　”Mom, are they okay?” Yui looked nervously at Asuna and the others’ battle. To the little black-haired girl, the two sides were fighting fiercely, and for a moment she couldn’t tell who was better or worse.

　　”No problem, Sugo Nobuyuki is just pretty tough right now. We can slowly whittle him down until his health is gone.” Although Sugo Nobuyuki has incorporated the combat data of the monster boss, he still plays a role as the one who drags the team down.

　　To be honest, it would have been more troublesome to just summon Angnes directly. The same goes for the disappearance of the Purple Orchid Fairy Flower. Even though the Purple Orchid Fairy Flower was teetering on the brink of collapse due to the attack of the Mercury Lamp, it could still hold off Leafa and the other two for a while.

　　If Angnès and the Purple Orchid Flower had self-awareness, they would undoubtedly say to Sugo Nobuyuki, “What a terrible teammate!”

　　It would be quite troublesome if Asuna were to deal with it alone, since Sugou Nobuyuki’s combat awareness has been enhanced, and with the combination of scales, claws, and thorny vines, he would be difficult to handle alone.

　　However, with the addition of Liz and the others, when one of them is threatened by an attack, the other three immediately provide support or attack to force Sugo Nobuyuki back, making it difficult for Sugo Nobuyuki’s high attack power to be effectively utilized.

　　On the contrary, the girls’ agile attacks landed on Sugo Nobuyuki, and even without any obvious breaches in his defenses, his health was still dropping little by little.

　　”That’s good.” Hearing this, Yui felt a little relieved. It was undeniable that the man she was sitting on was unfathomable in terms of strength. At least for now, Yui felt that she had not yet seen through him.

　　As I predicted, with the four girls cooperating and a loli holding them back, Sugo Nobuyuki’s health bar was gradually reduced to a red bar, meaning his health was in a dangerous state.

　　”Impossible! Why can’t I even defeat a few players?” In Sugou Nobuyuki’s mind, victory should have been assured; he never imagined he’d be defeated by a few girls. “No, it’s not over yet…”

　　Suddenly, a red light emanated from Sugo Nobuyuki’s body. The girls, who were familiar with the game’s progression, knew that he had entered a berserk state with low health. It was not unusual for Sugo Nobuyuki to be in this state after merging with a monster; in fact, it was within the girls’ expectations.

　　The elf girls exchanged glances and then launched a full-scale attack. Their abilities would be enhanced in their berserk state, and in general, the best approach in such situations was to finish the battle quickly. Asuna and the others had been waiting for this opportunity.

　　The instant Sugo Nobuyuki went berserk, Leafa, Liz, Silica, Pina, and Asuna unleashed their strongest attacks on him with all their might.

　　”Wait, I haven’t…” Just as Sugou Nobuyuki was about to bounce back, he was caught off guard by the girls’ powerful attacks. Liz’s hammer struck him, causing him to be forced into a stun for a second, and Leafa followed up with her well-charged sword slash.

　　A sky-blue dragon’s breath erupted from behind Sugou Nobuyuki, burning him and blocking his retreat. Finally, Asuna’s silver-white rapier was surrounded by swirling water ripples, emitting a light blue light.

　　This is the effect created by combining the sword’s inherent properties with water-based support magic. Asuna, wielding the rapier, used her most skilled and proficient continuous thrusts to deliver the final blow to Sugou Nobuyuki.

　　”You’ve been talking too much nonsense.” Asuna flicked her silver-white rapier, and Sugou Nobuyuki began to turn into specks of light, signaling the end of the battle.

　　”Why… I don’t understand…” Sugo Nobuyuki, who was turning into specks of light, muttered to himself. No one wanted to answer his question. If anyone was going to say anything, it would only be that he had brought it on himself. Before long, Sugo Nobuyuki disappeared into the air.

　　Seeing this, I could only shake my head. Sugo Nobuyuki was too weak as a boss. He was far inferior to Kayaba Akihiko in both spirit and strength, even though I had imposed some restrictions on him.

　　”Mom!” As soon as Asuna and the others won, little Yui, who was sitting on my shoulders, couldn’t wait to fly over.

　　”Great, Mom, we won!” Yui hugged Asuna’s pretty face happily, and the long-haired azure-blue fairy girl smiled back, “Mm.”

　　”Phew, finally done.” Leafa breathed a sigh of relief. She was probably the most nervous person here, since she had only recently learned that she was dealing with such a villain.

　　”But does this mean we’ve completed the World Tree quest, or…?” Leafa, now relaxed, remembered her original game objective for the day: defeating Sugou Nobuyuki, but there was no notification that the quest was complete.

　　”Yes, how exactly should we calculate it? If there’s nothing, we’ll have to reveal Sugo Nobuyuki’s matter.” If possible, it’s best not to let too many people know the specifics of Sugo Nobuyuki’s affairs, since it concerns our father’s company.

　　However, if they go back empty-handed without giving a reason for mobilizing so many people tonight, it will be difficult to end the matter properly. This would also damage the reputation of the father’s company, and Alo’s subsequent operations may be significantly affected.

　　Thinking of this, Asuna couldn’t help but look at me, who had arrived later. At that moment, I was holding Suigintou in front of me and patting her head as a reward.

　　Noticing Asuna’s gaze, I thought for a moment and realized that it wouldn’t be good to do nothing. Putting aside Asuna’s father’s company, Sakuya, who was in charge of this operation, would probably be in an awkward position.

　　I gave Asuna a “okay” look, and immediately the entire courtyard shook.

　　”What happened?” Silica helped Liz, who was standing next to her, and the sudden tremor almost made her lose her balance.

　　“Could this be…” Liz pointed to the left front, and Silica looked over and saw a huge tree branch rising up, with a white palace standing on top of the branch.

　　”I think this must be the original Elf King’s palace. It seems that without Sugou Nobuyuki’s interference, the World Tree quest from the original game has finally appeared.”

　　Originally, Nobuyuki Sugo had completely changed the World Tree quest, but I’ve changed it back now. Otherwise, we’d have to wait for Asuna’s father’s company to perform subsequent maintenance and restore it.

　　”Should we go take a look?” I’m sure it’s no problem, but the girls have exhausted themselves in the previous battle, and even if there is an ultimate mission, it would be difficult for them to complete it in their current state.

　　”Let’s go take a look. We’re already here, so getting some information will at least give us some peace of mind.” Asuna felt a little relieved to see the palace appear; at least this made it easier to explain.

　　The other three girls had no objections, so our group entered the white porcelain palace and met Oberon, the original Elf King of Alo, successfully starting the second phase of the ultimate mission.

　　The second stage involves the Elf King Oberon giving players three trials. Asuna and her friends passed the first trial by defeating the guardian Elf Ancient Tree, but failed in the second trial against the Elf Dragon. After defeating the Elf Ancient Tree, the girls were no longer in a good condition to continue fighting, so their failure was understandable.

　　”What a pity, we were just a little short of taking down that elf dragon.” Silica said, shaking her animal ears as she emerged from the white porcelain palace.

　　Pina, perched on her shoulder, nuzzled her owner’s cheek in comfort, while Silica returned the gesture in gratitude.

　　”It’s alright, at least I got the reward.” The pink-haired elf girl shrugged, the fatigue from the continuous high-intensity battles not something that could be eliminated in a short time.

　　”That’s right. Go back and report to Shuoye, then everyone can log off and rest. We’ve had a long day.”

　　Having passed the Elf King’s first trial, they received corresponding rewards. Not only them, but all the players who participated in the battle also received rewards based on the number of armored elf soldiers they killed in the first phase.

　　”Okay.” After that, the girls and I went directly back to the bottom of the World Tree through the teleportation array opened in the courtyard, where Sakuya and the others were waiting for us.

　　Actually, after our challenge ended, Shuoye and the others received the corresponding rewards and knew that the World Tree mission was over, but they were still unsure whether they had succeeded.

　　So Asuna and the others gave Sakuya and the others a brief explanation, omitting Sugo Nobuyuki’s part. After listening, Sakuya and the others were not disappointed by their failure; on the contrary, they were filled with enthusiasm because they had a new goal to challenge. That’s probably what gamers are like.

　　After explaining, Asuna and the others decided to log off first. Sakuya and Alisa understood, as the mental exhaustion after a series of battles couldn’t be recovered simply by restoring health or mana.

　　”Goodnight, everyone.” Back in the square of Arune City, Asuna said goodnight to the girls under the light of the mineral lamps.

　　”Goodnight.” Liz, Silica, and Leafa said goodnight to each other and then logged off. Asuna glanced at me, then reluctantly made Yui fly back to my side, and then she logged off as well.