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Previous Episode
At a hospital there numerous CC Corporation workers have fallen into comas. The doctors cannot directly determine what the
problem is, but they believe that it has something to do with "The World". With Balmung and Kamui no longer available
to be system managers, CC Corp appoints Reki as the new head of the mission. CC Corp has determined that they will go public
and state that the incident was a prank started by three elementary school kids. However, they will not bring up the issue
of the Wandering AI.
Inside "The World", Mireille and Ouka are discussing that they are not surprised that the newspapers are not
reporting the whole truth about what happened. Mireille and the others are all adding lines from the paper about what recently
happened and the reason the CC Corp employees went into a coma. After a few of them, Ouka says they have too much free time
on their hands.
In Mac Anu, Sanjuro talks to Reki about how "The World"is becoming less complex than the real world. Reki can
only reply that it doesn't seem that way for him. Sanjuro then quickly replies on what Reki is plotting now and he goes through
a list of sneaky things he had done up to that point. When Sanjuro finishes, Reki says he is trying to paint him as a bad
guy and that he did not do all of this to get Balmung's job and that he has no desire to pursue a systems admin job. After
that, he leaves Sanjuro.
Shugo says that they have to head out to find Rena because he says that they are close. Ouka says that they have to be
cautious because a Wandering AI can destroy an area right under their feet. That doesn't stop Shugo though. He wants to
quick rush out and find Rena no matter what the danger might be. Sanjuro walks in and says that they have to be level-headed
and they can't rush into battle without using their heads first. This frustrates Shugo who insists that they are running
out of time.
Sanjuro explains that their enemy is now a Wandering AI. When Hotaru asks what a wandering AI is, Sanjuro explains that
it is an unused non-player character that has gained knowledge of its own consciousness. Ouka replies that she can't believe
a NPC could have such power. Shugo is upset because he thinks this means that Sanjuro has given up on Rena.
Back in the dungeon, Rena looks upon all of the Cerulian Knights who are now merely fragments. Upon looking at them,
she thinks back to how the Wandering AI destroyed them and sent them into a coma. Rena says she will not give up hope and
she calls out for Shugo. Shugo hears her call, and says that he will go search for Rena, even if he needs to go alone.
Sanjuro shows up and says there is no excuse for a student to get up later than his master. As they head off to a field
to train, Ouka and Hotaru show up saying they are coming along too. Ouka wants to fight tough creatures so she can level
up while Hotaru says that Grunty wants to see Rena again.
As the four head towards the gate, Mireille is waiting. She says that she wants to come too because if something happens
to "The World", all of her rare items will become useless. Sanjuro says once they start on this path there is no
turning back, Ouka says she is up for it while Hotaru says she bought plenty of healing items for them. With all of them behind
Shugo they get ready to head off to try and find Rena finally.
Balmung is playing a game of chess by himself when Reki shows up asking what he is doing out here all alone. Balmung
tells him to leave, but Reki tells Balmung that it must have been great fighting with Kite as a regular player during the
first Twilight. Balmung then understands that Reki knew he would be more useful to everyone as a player instead of a system
administrator. Before Balmung leaves to help the others, Reki gives him the prime keycard.
Shugo and the others arrive on the server where they believe they will find Rena. It is a new experimental server called
The Capital of Illusion. When they come into the town, they discover that there are no people there and that there are not
even any NPCs. This scares them, but Hotaru says that "at least there are no monsters". Sanjuro says that common
sense doesn't apply anymore in this new server. Just then a monster shows up in the town and attacks the group. Rena is
stuck in another part of the area and the place she is in is connected to where Shugo is fighting. Rena says that she has
tried to find a way out of the dungeon, but the only exit is the dungeon's entrance.
Rena starts to give up hope because because no matter which ways she goes she ends up in the same place. Then she sees
a glowing character and Rena naturally thinks that it is Aura, but when Rena gets a closer look, she discovers that it is
not Aura and that its another Wandering AI. Rena tries talking to the Wandering AI but it responds by saying "she must
understand death to trancend it". She then tells Rena that she has been thinking about death for a while now.
As the others fight the monster, Shugo uses Data Drain, however instead of rewriting the monster's data, the monster is
able to split into two and dodge the attack. Sanjuro and Ouka charge at the monster with powerful attacks, but their physical
attacks don't seem to work. Shugo then tries to make an attack but he is easily tossed aside by the monster. Moments before
hitting the ground, Shugo is rescued by Balmung. Balmung says that the old fighting tactics won't work against the monster
and they have to attack it as a team. He then splits the team apart and sends them to different parts of the town.
After they are set up, Sanjuro and Ouka attack the creature and then while the monster is slightly stunned, Mireille casts
a powerful spell. Finally, it is Shugo's turn and he is able to Data Drain the monster. While the monster is defeated, the
Wondering AI that was talking to Rena, is now talking to the monster that just got defeated. As the AI is leaving, Rena begs
her to stay, but it doesn't work. Back in the town, the party thanks Balmung for his help and Sanjuro says something is coming.
The Wandering AI reappears and introduces herself as Morti.
She creates an energy barrier behind her and Shugo is concerned as she gazes down at them. When the wind of the energy
becomes so fierce, we can see that one of her eyes appears to be human.
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