E11 - Heartless Choice

Source: Crunchyroll
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:03] ---
    Have you ever had a premonition about death?
[00:07] ---
    A premonition about death?
[00:10] ---
    When I was less experienced,
[00:12] ---
    and either the previous dark general
    or the one before him easily defeated me,
[00:16] ---
    I thought that might be it for me.
[00:19] ---
    But you brought back his head
    quite some time ago.
[00:23] ---
    You haven't had any since?
[00:27] ---
    You know, I can't really remember.
[00:29] ---
    But why would you ask me that so unexpectedly?
[00:32] ---
    Surely Your Eminence is free of such sensations.
[00:35] ---
    You don't understand, do you, Bercouli?
[00:38] ---
    It's every day. Every day, I sense death.
[00:43] ---
    Every morning when I open my eyes...
[00:45] ---
    No, even in my dreams.
[00:48] ---
    And why is that?
    Because I still don't control everything.
[00:53] ---
    Because I have enemies who are still alive.
[00:55] ---
    And because the possibility of a new enemy emerging
    at some point in the future is always looming.
[01:04] ---
    Well, well...
[01:06] ---
    Being the pontifex certainly isn't easy, huh?
[01:18] ---
    Your Eminence...
[01:19] ---
    I think I finally understand
    what you meant now.
SIGN    Heartless Choice
[03:05] ---
    Here, Senpai.
[03:18] ---
    You look a bit healthier today, Kirito-senpai.
[03:23] ---
    And you have a good appetite!
[03:27] ---
    Perhaps sleeping beside four beauties
    did him good!
[03:45] ---
    I see.
[03:47] ---
    The enemy from the real world
    really has some unique strategies.
[03:51] ---
    Emperor Vecta is taking a risk.
[04:04] ---
    This is war.
[04:07] ---
    Unlike the outsider, little Asuna, this is no time
    for us to feel sorry for the forces of darkness.
[04:14] ---
    We have to take this chance.
[04:16] ---
    Chance?
[04:16] ---
    That's right.
[04:29] ---
    Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
[04:42] ---
    Have your people climb across ropes
    cast over the chasm to reach the other side.
[04:47] ---
    I don't care if there are casualties.
[04:51] ---
    You're to enforce the tightrope walking
    no matter what.
[04:55] ---
    They're dying in vain!
[04:56] ---
    Not for the five tribes of darkness's long-cherished goal,
    the invasion of the Human Empire...
[05:01] ---
    but for something called the Priestess of Light!
[05:05] ---
    Hurry! Hurry up!
[05:07] ---
    Before something else comes to get in your way!
    Just make it over, all of you!
[05:36] ---
    Enemy attack! Protect them!
    Protect those ropes at all costs!
[05:40] ---
    They're only a small force!
    Don't let them get near the ropes!
[05:56] ---
    Stop!
[06:05] ---
    So this... So this is war, huh?
[06:09] ---
    How can you call this a battle?
[06:12] ---
    No way did they endure all that grueling training
    just to die like this!
[06:22] ---
    Forgive me. Forgive me, all right?
[06:31] ---
    Just as I suspected, the AI of the Human Empire units
    appear to be slightly superior.
[06:37] ---
    No.
[06:39] ---
    Strictly in terms of adaptability,
    they're in a different class.
[06:44] ---
    Don't mess up, Critter.
SIGN    Tuesday, July 7, 2026 12:05 AM Ocean Turtle
[06:53] ---
    Syncing of the Underworld
    and the real world times is complete!
[07:07] ---
    What?
[07:08] ---
    Hey, is this for real?
[07:11] ---
    Are they crazy? A PvP with life-like human avatars
    AND realistic violence?
[07:17] ---
    You mean we can like,
    cut off arms and heads and stuff? No way!
[07:21] ---
    No restrictions? Hell to the yes!
    The developer is adventurous!
[07:25] ---
    I'm so signing up for this beta!
[07:29] ---
    I'll let you have the dark knight accounts.
[07:32] ---
    Go on and massacre the Human Empire Army
    to your heart's content!
[07:49] ---
    Oh, no!
[07:50] ---
    Daddy and Mommy are in danger!
SIGN    Tuesday, July 7, 2026 3:02 AM Shino's apartment
SIGN    Incoming Call
SIGN    Kazuto Kirigaya
[08:08] ---
    Sinon! It's Yui!
[08:11] ---
    Y-Yui?
[08:12] ---
    I'll explain later!
[08:13] ---
    Get ready to go out right now,
    leave your apartment, and get into a taxi!
[08:17] ---
    I'm sending the address
    and the fastest route to get there to your phone!
[08:21] ---
    A-A taxi? To where?
[08:23] ---
    Please hurry! Daddy and Mommy are in danger!
SIGN    Tuesday, July 7, 2026 3:02 AM Kirigaya residence
[08:29] ---
    Um... can you take me to Minato Ward
    in Tokyo, please?
[08:34] ---
    Sorry, Mom. I promise
    that I'll rescue Big Brother, okay?
[08:57] ---
    It's already been ten hours
    since Ms. Asuna logged into the Underworld, huh?
[09:01] ---
    Which means that about a year
    should have gone by over there.
[09:08] ---
    Was the World End's Altar that far
    from the Human Empire?
[09:14] ---
    M-Mr. Kiku! The phone!
[09:18] ---
    Sub Control Room. This is Kikuoka.
[09:20] ---
    U-Uh, that's the Rath main location
    STL Development headquarters, right?
[09:25] ---
    This is Hiraki at the Roppongi Branch.
    We have a problem, or should I say,
[09:30] ---
    something odd is going on.
[09:32] ---
    Someone from outside Rath just showed up
    without an appointment.
[09:36] ---
    Outside? You mean clients?
[09:39] ---
    No. It has nothing at all to do with clients.
[09:42] ---
    And they don't look to be anything
    but high school girls.
[09:45] ---
    And there's two of them.
[09:47] ---
    D-Did you say high school girls?
[09:49] ---
    Yes.
[09:50] ---
    And they asked me to contact Seijiro Kikuoka
    of Rath headquarters right now,
[09:55] ---
    to tell you to check
    the Underworld FLA rate immediately.
[10:05] ---
    I-It's the same? Since when?
[10:08] ---
    N-Names! Did those girls give their names?
[10:11] ---
    Uh, yes! Actually...
    This is going to sound crazy, too, but...
SIGN    Tuesday, July 7, 2026 4:34 AM Rath Roppongi branch
[10:15] ---
    There's no way it's their real names.
[10:18] ---
    Uh, let's see. They told me to tell you
    that it's "Sinon" and "Leafa."
[10:24] ---
    I mean, they look totally Japanese to me, but...
SIGN    Tuesday, July 7, 2026 4:40 AM ALO New Aincrad Floor 22
[10:35] ---
    For crying out loud.
[10:36] ---
    Damn him, he had to go off on his own
    and get mixed up in some trouble again?
[10:41] ---
    A virtual world created by the SDF,
    and an honest-to-goodness AI named Alice?
[10:48] ---
    But that's so beyond the realm of a game!
[10:52] ---
    Not only that, but they're going to load her
    into a fighter jet and make her wage war?
[10:57] ---
    Apparently, for now, Rath intends to use that technology
    in demonstrations both domestically and internationally.
[11:04] ---
    But my guess is that
    the attackers occupying the Ocean Turtle
[11:08] ---
    have a more specific application in mind.
[11:13] ---
    Who the heck are these attackers, anyway?
[11:17] ---
    It's extremely likely that the U.S. military
    or a U.S. intelligence agency is involved.
[11:23] ---
    Th-The U.S. military?
    You mean the American army?
[11:26] ---
    If Alice were to fall into the hands
    of the U.S. military,
[11:30] ---
    in the not-so-distant future, she'd most likely
    be deployed in battle as an unmanned AI weapon.
[11:37] ---
    I'm sure Daddy and Mommy want to prevent that,
    if nothing else.
[11:41] ---
    Because...
[11:43] ---
    Because Alice...
[11:45] ---
    is proof that all VRMMO worlds,
    beginning with SAO,
[11:49] ---
    and the people who lived in them,
    really existed,
[11:52] ---
    and she's also the fruit of massive amounts
    of time, material, and mental resources!
[12:02] ---
    I am convinced beyond a doubt
    that the true objective created by the Seed package
[12:09] ---
    is none other than the birth of Alice.
[12:12] ---
    Throughout countless connected worlds,
[12:14] ---
    so many people have laughed,
    cried, grieved, and loved
[12:20] ---
    and because the radiance of their souls resonated,
    a new form of humanity was born in the Underworld.
[12:28] ---
    Daddy. Mommy. Leafa. Klein.
    Lisbeth. Silica. Agil. Sinon.
[12:35] ---
    As well as so many other people. It was from the cradle
    woven by your hearts that Alice was born!
[12:44] ---
    Yeah. That's true, isn't it?
[12:46] ---
    We're connected to all of it.
[12:49] ---
    Time, people, and our hearts, too.
[12:52] ---
    Like a huge river.
[12:55] ---
    Don't worry... Yui.
[12:58] ---
    We'll go save Kirito and Asuna.
    We're definitely going to save them.
[13:05] ---
    So please don't cry.
[13:07] ---
    You heard her!
    You should've come to us sooner, Yuippe!
[13:10] ---
    There's no way we'd ever abandon Kirito!
[13:13] ---
    We owe that guy big time, after all.
[13:16] ---
    We should pay him back a little now, at least.
[13:19] ---
    Everyone, thank you so much!
[13:23] ---
    Thank you so much.
[13:27] ---
    Still, 30,000 VRMMO players diving from America?
    It could even be 100,000.
[13:34] ---
    And they'll all side with the enemy
    against the Human Empire, huh?
[13:37] ---
    What if we exposed the experiment or the attack
    on the American VRMMO sites,
[13:44] ---
    and asked them not to take part
    in the fake beta test?
[13:49] ---
    The reality is that this is war for a secret
    between the U.S. and Japanese militaries.
[13:53] ---
    If we were to give off any hint of that,
    it could very well backfire.
[13:58] ---
    Posting "Your opponents are real humans,
    so please don't kill them," wouldn't help, huh?
[14:06] ---
    Well, then all we have to do
    is take a page from their book!
[14:08] ---
    By making our own notification site for the beta test.
[14:11] ---
    If the Rath guys give us accounts of equal level,
    we can drum up 30 or 40,000, just like that!
[14:17] ---
    But there is one problem, you know.
[14:21] ---
    What problem?
[14:23] ---
    The time difference.
[14:24] ---
    Right now, it's 4:30 am in Japan,
    meaning the period with the fewest connections.
[14:30] ---
    On the other hand, in the U.S.,
    it's 12:30 noon in LA, and 3:30 PM in New York.
[14:35] ---
    There are way more active players over there.
[14:39] ---
    Agil is right about that.
[14:42] ---
    We couldn't hope to gather
    anywhere near 10,000 people right now.
[14:48] ---
    If we were to use accounts
    of the same level as the enemy,
[14:51] ---
    our chances of holding our own
    would be extremely low, I'd have to say.
[14:55] ---
    But aren't any more of the god account
    that Asuna used, are there?
[15:00] ---
    Not that we have time
    to level up from scratch like Kirito did.
[15:04] ---
    So it's game over, huh?
[15:07] ---
    No.
[15:08] ---
    Accounts do exist.
[15:11] ---
    Accounts far more powerful in terms of level and equipment
    than the default accounts being used by the enemy.
[15:18] ---
    Wh-Where are they?
[15:19] ---
    The very accounts you're logged in with
    at this moment!
[15:26] ---
    Data conversion!
[15:27] ---
    All of you, as well as scores of other VRMMO players
[15:32] ---
    must convert the characters that you've trained
    throughout the Seed worlds into Underworld accounts.
[15:38] ---
    I get it! Never thought of that!
[15:41] ---
    That said, this particular method
    does have a few problems.
SIGN    Tuesday, July 7, 2026 5:02 AM ALO Neutral City Arun
[15:51] ---
    This is neither a lie or a joke.
[15:55] ---
    Soon, tens of thousands of American players
    will unknowingly dive into the Underworld,
[16:02] ---
    a virtual world based on the Seed
    created by a certain Japanese research company,
[16:06] ---
    and they're going to massacre
    everyone who lives there!
[16:12] ---
    The residents of the Underworld aren't mere NPCs!
[16:16] ---
    They share the same emotions and souls as us!
[16:20] ---
    Please lend us a hand to protect them!
[16:24] ---
    Everyone, please convert your existing character data
    to the Underworld!
[16:33] ---
    Lisbeth, I know that you and your friends
    wouldn't joke around this early in the day,
[16:41] ---
    and the fact that Kirito hasn't logged in for more
    than ten days means this is no trivial matter. But...
[16:49] ---
    To be honest, I find it hard to believe.
[16:51] ---
    AIs with the same souls as humans,
    with the U.S. military out to seize them?
[16:57] ---
    Both scenarios are far too unrealistic.
[17:00] ---
    Moreover, didn't you also just say
    that there'd be several problems with conversion?
[17:07] ---
    Would you mind explaining
    what those issues are first?
[17:11] ---
    Yes.
[17:13] ---
    The Underworld...
[17:16] ---
    isn't being operated
    as a normal VRMMO game.
[17:20] ---
    Which is why diving into it
    will present some problems.
[17:25] ---
    First of all, the Underworld has no operational UI.
[17:30] ---
    In other words,
    you can't log out of your own accord.
[17:35] ---
    The only way to log out is to "die" in-game.
[17:39] ---
    But that would trigger yet another problem.
[17:43] ---
    The Underworld has no built-in pain absorber.
[17:48] ---
    If you take enough damage to drop your HP to zero,
    you're likely to feel the most excruciating pain.
[17:55] ---
    And finally...
[17:57] ---
    at this time, the developers are unable
    to operate the Underworld.
[18:03] ---
    Which means that
    once you've converted your character data,
[18:06] ---
    there's no guarantee
    it can be converted back to the original game.
[18:10] ---
    In some cases,
    it may even end up in character loss.
[18:15] ---
    Hold on a second.
[18:16] ---
    What's up with that?
[18:17] ---
    Loss?
[18:18] ---
    Give me a break!
[18:19] ---
    D-Don't give us that!
[18:22] ---
    Character loss, you say?
[18:23] ---
    So if they're lost,
    are you guys going to make good?
[18:26] ---
    Or is this just a trap to weaken us, tribe by tribe?
[18:31] ---
    I'm sorry! We won't be able to compensate you.
[18:34] ---
    We're keenly aware that money can't buy
    the characters you've raised until now!
[18:41] ---
    That's why we're pleading with you! To help us.
[18:45] ---
    To help our friends who are desperately fending off
    the American attack in the Underworld, even as we speak!
[18:52] ---
    These friends you're talking about,
    you mean SAO survivors, don't you?
[18:57] ---
    You can't fool us! We know that you former SAO players
    all secretly look down on the rest of us!
[19:04] ---
    What do we care about invasions,
    artificial intelligence, or souls!
[19:07] ---
    Don't waste our time with all this talk
    about bringing the real world into a VRMMO!
[19:11] ---
    You guys can deal with
    that kind of thing yourselves!
[19:14] ---
    Just you survivors, celebrated even in real life!
[19:24] ---
    It didn't work.
[19:25] ---
    My words weren't enough
    to get through to them at all.
[20:00] ---
    That's right, this is happening in the real world!
[20:04] ---
    Like you said, those of us who came from SAO might have
    the tendency to blur what's real and what's virtual!
[20:11] ---
    But I swear to you, we don't think of ourselves
    as heroes, or anything special!
[20:18] ---
    This girl and I...
[20:20] ---
    we attend a school made up of only survivors.
[20:23] ---
    The students there have to undergo counseling
    once a month, no matter what.
[20:29] ---
    We get asked all these uncomfortable questions.
[20:31] ---
    And they make a lot of kids take meds
    against their will.
[20:36] ---
    We're all part of the government's
    potential criminal watch list.
[20:42] ---
    And it's not just the students at the returnee school
    who are being treated that way.
[20:48] ---
    All VRMMO players are looked upon that way,
    more or less.
[20:53] ---
    As if we're dead weight
    that doesn't contribute to society.
[20:57] ---
    People who refuse to face up to reality,
    not paying taxes or social security.
[21:01] ---
    Some people even argue
    that the military draft should be reinstated,
[21:03] ---
    so we can be forced to serve.
[21:07] ---
    But there's one thing I know! And I believe it!
[21:10] ---
    That reality is right here!
[21:16] ---
    This world, as well as
    the countless virtual worlds connected to it,
[21:21] ---
    in no way are they make-believe refuges!
[21:25] ---
    For me, this world is the reality
    where I have a real life,
[21:29] ---
    real friends, real encounters and partings,
    and real smiles and tears!
[21:34] ---
    Don't you all feel the same way?
[21:36] ---
    Aren't you all doing your best
    because this world is your alternate reality?
[21:41] ---
    And yet, if it's just a game,
[21:44] ---
    if you abandon it
    because it's nothing but a virtual fake,
[21:48] ---
    then tell me, where is our truth?
[21:55] ---
    All these worlds that we've grown came together
    just like this World Tree and started to bud.
[22:03] ---
    And caused this flower called the Underworld
    to bloom.
[22:06] ---
    Well, I want to protect it.
[22:09] ---
    Please!
[22:11] ---
    Please... help us.
SIGN    Dark Territory Northern Chasm
[22:51] ---
    All right! On to the sixth rope!
[23:36] ---
    Next time: Ray of Light.