# E11 - Heartless Choice
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/G6P5M94D6/heartless-choice)
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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.