Chapter 4: Come on! Di...Asuna!

"your name?"

　　The silver-haired girl raised her head, not hiding her eyes that were red from crying.

　　Aragami is also mortal... And if I could be like the big sister in front of me...

　　The girl sniffed and blinked away the tears that were about to burst out of her eyes.

　　Can't cry.

　　Can't cry.

　　Alyssa, my parents are looking at me in the sky!

　　Can't cry!

　　Her blue eyes were filled with a look that Asuna had never seen before, which made her extremely heartbroken.

　　That's not something a child of this age should have.

　　If...if I could arrive earlier...

　　Suppress the guilt and self-blame in your heart, because things have become a foregone conclusion and cannot be changed. Self-pity will not make people move forward after all.

　　"Asuna."

　　Asuna knelt down and kept her eyes level with the girl in front of her. She hesitated for a moment, and finally reached out and touched the girl's head.

　　"You can call me Asuna."

　　Asuna forced herself to smile and asked in a slightly hoarse voice:

　　"And you?"

　　"Alyssa."

　　The girl said so.

　　"Alyssa Elinitina Amiella"

　　"Sister Asuna, can you teach me how to kill Aragami?"

　　"Well... of course, Alyssa..."

　　She said this while holding Alyssa's hand.

　　Take her to the outside world.

　　"I will teach you the method of 'killing' them without reservation."

　　"Um."

　　Alyssa nodded heavily and followed Asuna with small steps.

　　She walked quickly, following Asuna closely.

　　However, her hand held Asuna's hand tightly, as if she was afraid that she would abandon her.

　　Asuna glanced behind her.

　　There was nothing there except a horrifying pool of blood.

　　Including the remains of the girl's parents…

　　…

　　…

　　At night, Asuna and Alyssa stopped in the ruins of a relatively well-preserved mansion.

　　In the morning, this town, which had long been in ruins, was attacked by the Aragami.

　　When Asuna took Alyssa out of the abandoned factory, the outside world had already turned into a human hell.

　　Scavengers have become the primary prey of the waste gods.

　　Even if Asuna rushed to the rescue immediately, it would only be a drop in the bucket.

　　After all, Asuna is only one person, and she cannot save everyone.

　　After bidding farewell to the scavengers and thanking them, Asuna took Alyssa on their journey.

　　She can't stay in this world forever, she needs to become stronger, her family and her friends are waiting for her.

　　Moreover, even with her current strength, the Aragami on Earth cannot cause fatal harm to her, but Asuna knows that there are more terrifying existences hidden in the starry sky.

　　That is the true [God] that Asuna cannot touch!

　　If I kill all the wild gods on earth, will the [gods] in the stars appear?

　　Asuna didn't dare to bet, because once it appeared, the only way for all humans on the earth would be death.

　　However, those [gods] in the starry sky are not dead. Even if I kill and absorb all the Aragami on the earth, sooner or later, the Aragami will reappear on the earth.

　　At that time, would humans, who thought that all the wild gods had disappeared, still retain a spark of civilization like they do now?

　　Asuna took out bread and water from the warehouse and handed them to Alyssa.

　　"Thanks."

　　Alyssa stared at Asuna's palm curiously, as if wondering where she conjured the food.

　　"Eat quickly and take a rest early."

　　Asuna patted Alyssa's little head and said with a smile.

　　For a little girl, everything she encountered today was too cruel.

　　Her parents died due to her own reasons. Although Alyssa didn't say anything, she couldn't hide the guilt and sadness in her eyes.

　　For a child, hiding one's heart is simply impossible.

　　The mental grief and physical fatigue urged Alyssa to fall asleep.

　　Asuna sighed softly and held Alyssa in her arms.

　　Putting away the harsh armor on her body, Asuna put on a layer of soft pajamas under her cloak.

　　At present, the Aragami on the earth cannot cause harm to itself at all, and the reason why Asuna always wears armor is just out of habit in SAO.

　　Asuna keeps her beloved sword close at hand. If an Aragami approaches, she will destroy it immediately and not give it a chance to get close.

　　Alyssa in her arms took the initiative to hug her at some point, and the pajamas on her chest seemed to become a little damp.

　　"Dad...Mom..."

　　Hearing Alyssa's low call, Asuna silently reached out and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

　　If only... I could be stronger...

　　Asuna tapped her fingers twice to open the SAO panel that only she could see.

　　Her eyes directly skipped the panel that had absorbed a large number of oracle cells and remained unchanged, and turned directly to the warehouse.

　　There, there are stored Aragami cores that exude a shimmering light.

　　Asuna clicked on them one by one, and the introduction frames suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.

Small Aragami - [Inferior God Slave Core]

　　Medium Aragami——[Inferior God Servant Core]

　　Large-scale Aragami——[High-quality God Slave Core]

　　Mutated Aragami——[High-quality God Servant Core]

　　The sources of these Aragami cores all come from those Aragami who attack scavengers.

　　Among them, the last mutant Aragami - [High-quality God Servant Core] was obtained from the black lion-like human-faced Aragami who killed Alyssa's parents.

　　"Only the core of a large-scale Aragami can be considered excellent..."

　　Asuna murmured softly.

　　Although he possesses magical power and can even absorb the oracle cells of the Aragami after his "death", the God Eaters in this world can only rely on their own divine machines and their bodies to fight against the Aragami.

　　According to information obtained from scavengers.

　　The average team of God Eaters can only deal with medium-sized Aragami. For large Aragami, only the elite team of God Eaters can complete the crusade.

　　As for the mutant Aragami... the scavengers said they had never heard of them. Probably, everyone who saw those Aragami would have died...

　　"Those Aragami named after gods...are gods-level existences..."

　　Asuna looked up at the night sky.

　　Even the mutated Aragami are in the [Servant of God] class. So, what is the status of those Aragami named after gods on earth?

　　Messenger of God?

　　"Hurry up and become stronger, Asuna! We can't continue to be so leisurely!"

　　Asuna made a fist with one hand to cheer herself up. This world is still waiting for a visitor from another world like herself to save it!

　　[God] in the starry sky, sooner or later I will defeat you with my own hands!