Like much of this year's spring season anime card, the second part of the Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld series was delayed from its original release date, but now its premiere is assured for the next July 11. What started with a virtual war between humans and the inhabitants of the Dark Territory has now evolved into an international conflict that could have severe consequences for both the Underworld and the real world. With multiple plots unfolding in parallel, here is everything you need to know (or remember) before the series returns that will end the Alicization arc.
Emperor Vector has captured Alice
Gabriel Miller was hired by the NSA to carry out an attack on the research facilities known as the "Ocean Turtle", with the aim of stealing the most advanced artificial intelligence created to date, known as "Alice". Successfully sneaking into the base, Miller used one of the Soul Translators to enter the Underworld using the "Emperor Vector" account. Quickly, Miller unified the races from the Dark Territory and sent them to war against humans and their Knights of Integrity.
The previous arc ended with Vector capturing Alice and flying away towards the End of the World Altar, with Commander Bercouli chasing him. Can the Underworld's most powerful Knight of Integrity stop the Emperor and save Alice from a horrible fate? Only time will tell.
Asuna and Sinon have arrived at the Underworld
The Alicization arc practically left the secondary characters of the series more forgotten than they already were. This changed slightly in the previous arc with the arrival of Asuna to the Underworld taking the account of the Goddess of Creation, Stacia. The final episode also showed the arrival of Sinon using the account of the Sun Goddess, Solus, and Leafa is still pending to appear.
Meanwhile, Lisbeth traveled to the world of Alfheim Online to try to convince Japanese players to transfer their accounts to the Underworld and to support the battle against the Dark Territory. Increasing the numbers is vital to Gabriel Miller's vast army, as a hacker named Critter created a "beta test," opening the Underworld to 20,000 American players who will fight for the Emperor.
The Underworld war has transcended to the international level
Just as the Knights of Integrity had begun to gain an advantage over the Dark Territory army, a "new army" came into the service of the Vector Emperor. However, this resulted in a series of unexpected alliances, such as Iskahn and the boxers joining forces with Asuna and the Knights of Integrity.
But even though Lisbeth successfully conventioned the Japanese players of Alfheim Online to join the war, there seemed to be not enough people to deal with the numbers of the Americans. Furthermore, Critter is already preparing a second wave of American players and, in addition to the immediate consequences this will bring to the Underworld, the situation could also endanger Rath and the war for technology taking place in the real world. With two virtual armies facing each other, history could lean on either side.
Kirito is still in a coma
It's easy to forget a few things with all the mess that's going on, but the protagonist has been out of action for a long time. Kirito continues, as Kikuoka mentioned, "attacking his own fluct light" lamenting and blaming himself for Eugeo's death, while still connected to the Soul Translator in the real world. Although Asuna's appearance caused an emotional reaction in him, he is still in a comatose state.
What then does it take to wake you up? With Alice captured, the overwhelmed Knights of Integrity, and more of her friends arriving in the Underworld and joining the war, it seems like it's only a matter of time for Kirito to return to the game. Will Vassago, one of Miller's minions who recognized Asuna from the original Sword Art Online game, play an important role in her return?
Unsolved doubts in the real world
The Alicization arc featured multiple intertwined stories that have thinned the line that divides the real from the virtual world. Clearly, one way or another, Alice will go into the real world. But it remains to be seen how this will happen. She would be leaving her family, friends and fellow Knights of Integrity behind to go to a new world. Will society see her as a human being or as a piece of advanced technology? Will Rath continue her original plan to use it as a weapon of war?
And what about Kirito? Having relied on the Soul Translator to survive from the deadly wound he sustained at the beginning of the arc, will he recover? Even if the Underworld war ends in a victory, what then becomes of Gabriel Miller, Vassago, and the rest of their team found on the Ocean Turtle? The questions continue to pile up, but with the final arc for Sword Art Online: Alicization starting next July 11, it seems the answers are already closer than they seem.
