"Jacob, Alice!" Legolas ran upstairs, finally making his way into the room Pocchi told him about.
He busted the door wide open, walking through the doorway, holding his arm in pain.
"L-Legolas?" Jacob stood in the middle of the room, holding a basket of laundry.
He couldn't believe his eyes… he thought he was dreaming.
"It's really you… Legolas?" He dropped his basket of clothes, rooted in place.
Jacob's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes only widened, baffled to see his friend before him.
"Jacob… we have to escape, at once!"
"I-I don't understand…" Jacob stood there, gazing at the elf in utter shock.
"You don't understand?" Legolas limped his way, grabbing Jacob's wrist, "We can talk later, right now we have to escape at all costs."
The elf started pulling him and his friend from the room, but Jacob tugged away, taking a step back.
"Hey, what are you doing? You can't stay here! I found a way for us to escape when I and the grim reaper attacked this place—so we shouldn't be wasting time."
"Alice… she…"
Legolas boosted his brows, taken in suspense from Jacob's hesitant speech.
"…she said that you were dead."
"What?" Legolas gasped, realizing something, "That's right… Alice… she's-"
But before he could finish, he was kicked in the hip, hurdling sideways into the corridor, "Gnngh!" Legolas clenched his teeth in pain, tumbling across the floor.
"No way… Alice?" Jacob watched his beloved stand there, shallow in her eyes, "Stay away from Jacob, you don't belong here." She lifted her arm, pointing a gun towards Legolas, "I'll kill you."
"Alice, what are you doing?! That's Legolas that you're holding the gun at! Don't shoot him!!"
Jacob stood in front of Alice, extending his arms to the side.
"Jacob… move out of the way."
"No, I won't do that! He's our friend, I won't let you kill him like some street punk. What's gotten into you? This isn't like you at all! To lie about his death, why? What's wrong with you Alice?!"
Alice would only stare at Jacob, putting her finger on the trigger.
"…He deserves to die."
"No, he doesn't!"
"Yes… he does…"
"No… he doesn't!!"
"...." Alice looked down, lowering her weapon, "Alright…"
"Good, now put the gun away."
"I'll just have to kill you then."
"Wha-?"
A loud bang echoed across the hallway, as a bullet was launched from the gun, trailing its way towards Jacob.
He couldn't react in enough time.
Jacob couldn't dodge the bullet-
"Damnit!!" Jacob stepped back, stumbling from his loss of footing, "I'm… gonna die."
"Knock that off."
The bullet collided into someone's stomach, ricocheting into the air.
Everyone looked at this figure in awe. Their eyes were lit up in admiration, except Alice herself.
"…It's one of the four great kings, Angelica?!" Exclaimed Jacob.
"…How did you get past it?" Asked Alice.
"You mean that weird glitched barrier set up around this guild?" Questioned Angelica.
"….Yes, how?"
"Pretty simple, I just punched through it."
"That's impossible…"
"Let me guess, it was created using mods, wasn't it? Yeah I figured as much. It's not like you'll see some large glitched area in Isekai World Online, every day."
"Punching through a glitched barrier created from mods is impossible to do, lord Belial said so himself."
"Lord Belial?! Why are you calling him 'lord', Alice?!" Exclaimed Jacob.
"Hmmm…" Angelica approached the girl, lifting her hand into the air, "Authority, Unfold."
A magical circle appeared on Alice's body, bringing her personal hub into view.
Naturally, Alice had her personal hub and name hidden via settings, so no one could see her belongings and gamer tag. But that didn't matter in front of a Great King. With "authority" they were able to have absolute domination over all spells. In other words; she bypassed the mechanics of the game, forcing Alice's personal hub into view with the usage of the unfold spell, and authority spell.
"…How did you… do that?" Muttered Alice.
"I see," Angelica closed the girl's personal hub, placing her hands on her hips, "Your 'Alice' fellow is being controlled by a certain spell. It isn't any spell in the game, but rather a spell created from a mod, that Belial placed on her."
"A spell… created from a mod? What mod is it?" Asked Jacob.
"I've seen this mod used plenty of times in the past. It's called 'The Abolisher of Worlds", I'm surprised the admins didn't ban this mod from the game yet, and prevent players from using it."
"The… Abolisher of worlds?" Asked Jacob.
"Yes. It allows the players to bring new spells in the game that not only interact with the Game Avatars but the consciousness… and Data Core."
"…Data core?" Legolas managed to stand on his feet, though he fell to his knee, still injured.
"Ah, right, not many players have heard of the term 'data core', mostly because it's hidden knowledge," Angelica turned around, facing the both of them, "The Data Core is the concept of one's existence. It makes up who we are. Mods are able to interact with Data Cores, mainly because the game wasn't designed to withstand these mods, thus, they're able to destroy Data Cores, which also destroys the player's conciousness, alongside their game avatars, permanently."
"D-Delete one's consciousness? So you're saying… these mods were killing people before we were even forced into the game?!" Exclaimed Legolas.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying."
"…So let me get this straight, this means the mod that is affecting Alice's data core is unable to be destroyed unless we find another modder?" Asked Jacob.
"…Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying," Angelica responded, quite disappointed to bring him the horrible news.
"…Oh… I see." Jacob closed his eyes, balling up his fists, and shaking with emotions.
"Every player has a data core, it exists beyond their data particles, and consciousness, in a state of changeless totality. It transcends the laws of causality for a reason, as it's not meant to be interacted with," Angelica turned her head around, gazing upon the baffled Alice, "Data Cores, alone, are above the systems of Isekai Online. Every system in this world follows an order of duality, meant to keep balance for players to enjoy the game."
"…I see, that duality is quite simple, isn't it?" Responded Legolas, "If there's a system for Dark Elemental Magic spreading more evil through the world, then there must be a system for Light Elemental magic spreading more good through the world. That's the system of dualities… right?"
"Oh, you're pretty sharp, aren't you? Heheheh, you must be the smart one out of the group. Color me impressed." Angelica crossed her arms, nodding her head with closed eyes, "The systems of the world follow a state of unification, compromised of two parts. If there's a system of evil, then there's a system of good. Data Cores transcend these systems and prevent any spell in the game from working, except modded spells. You see why having mods is so dangerous?"
"…Then, is there anything a Great King can do!? I heard the stories of you people… you've transcended the system of this world many times, and done feats that not even modders can do!" Jacob stood up, approaching Angelica in haste.
"Well…" Angelica looked to the side, rubbing the back of her head, "Emperor told me to wait before I try anything."
"…Emperor?" Legolas stood up, holding his hip in pain, "The ruler, and leader of humankind. That Emperor?"
"Yep. I know I'm one of the Four Great Kings and all, but I'm still part of the guild, and he's the guild leader. So it's only respectable if I follow his orders."
"Can we see him?" Exclaimed Jacob.
"Eh?"
"I want to meet Emperor, immediately, for Alice's sake!"
POW!
"Ow!" Jacob yelled in pain, falling to one knee, "Why did you chop my shoulder? What did… I do?!"
"You know, I may be carefree and all, but I'm still one of the Four Great Kings, and I can follow my own rules from time to time."
"…So… are you saying…"
"Yeah, I'll break the curse put on her Data Core, no need to worry. I'll apologize to Emperor later."
"…Thank you… Lady Angelica." Jacob bowed his head, lifting his hands in prayer, "…I never knew she was… cursed," tears started streaming down his face, dropping upon the ground, "But with your help… you managed to find the solution. Now… we can be together again, as a party!" Jacob dropped his body forward, slamming his forehead against the ground. His wailing of joy echoed through the corridor, bringing a smile to Legolas' face.
"Hehehe," Angelica kneeled to his level, gently lifting his head with her soft palms, "I'm glad I can help all three of you. It's important to always keep your friends, and never let them go…" Angelica closed her eyes, remembering her party with Lucifer, Emperor, and Lilith, "Trust me. If I could ever bring my old party back together, I would risk everything that I have, to do that."
"…Lady Angelica—you have my eternal gratitude." Legolas kneeled his head, showing his respect.
"It's no problem, really." Angelica would let Jacob go, standing back up to her original height.
"There's one question I have to ask, however."
Angelica looked at Legolas with a curious expression, "What is it?"
"Alice… why isn't she moving?"
"Oh, right. I forgot I stopped her in time so she wouldn't attack!"
"…Huh?"
Legolas couldn't believe his ears.
He thought stopping people in time was impossible, but… time and time again, the Great Kings proved their superiority.