Medina Orthinanos

Medina Orthinanos (メディナ・オルティナノス) is a game-original main character in Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, a game adaptation of the Sword Art Online series. She became the current head of the disgraced Orthinanos noble family after the passing of her father in an accident. Born into an environment where the Orthinanos are labeled as a family of defects (欠陥品), Medina aims to become an Integrity Knight to clear the legacy of the Orthinanos name.

Project Alicization
Medina has short, crimson red hair and green eyes with short, thick eyebrows. She is often seen wearing crimson red armor with white and gold-colored patterns. She also has a narrow cape hanging behind her back and gloves with wide wrists on her hands in the same colour. Below the short skirt of her overalls, black, thigh-high boots with the same crimson, white and golden patterns accompany her outfit. Medina's preferred choice of weaponry is her katana, the Mirage Blade.

During her first year at the Sword Mastery Academy, Medina wore a standard gray uniform and rearranged her hair so that her bangs covered her right eye. After becoming an Elite Swordsman-in-Training and being allowed to customize her uniform color, she wore an orange uniform.

Background
Medina was born into House Orthinanos, a first-rank noble family that claimed descent from the founder of High-Norkia style swordsmanship. Unbeknownst to them, those born into the family were implanted with a Warrior Replenishment Module. In the event the Human Empire lacked sufficient manpower to handle the Final Stress Test, these modules would summon Non-Player Characters constructed out of personality data from the Real World to act as soldiers. This attracted the attention of the Pontifex Quinella, who sought to use the modules to escape Underworld without outside assistance. When her attempts to activate the modules repeatedly failed, the Orthinanos family was labeled as defective for supposedly failing a secret task she had personally given them and demoted to second-rank, which led to them being ostracized by the rest of the nobility. Subsequently, the Orthinanoses were forced to live on land poorly suited for growing crops and forbidden from working in the government or military, which left them in poverty.

Despite these circumstances, Medina had a relatively happy childhood, being particularly fond of her sparring sessions with her father. However, in the 377th year of the Human Empire Calendar (HEC), their territory experienced an extended drought. Since her father was unwilling to place more taxes on their already suffering tenant farmers in this situation, he lacked the funds to purchase for her a new wooden sword to train for the Swordcraft Academy test. Upset, the young noblewoman expressed to him her wish that she had been born into a different family.

To Medina's regret, those were the last words she spoke to her father, as he died in an accident in the 12th Month of that same year while participating in a horse race in an attempt to obtain money for her practice sword. As the accident had been caused by the nobleman's ignorance of the alteration to the landscape of the race's route since he last visited it, the girl suspected and accused the other nobles competing in the event of indirectly arranging for his death but still blamed herself for spurring him to enter the race in the first place with their last conversation. Guilt-ridden, the young noblewoman vowed on the family sword she inherited from her father that she would rebuild House Orthinanos's name as atonement, and to always remember the promise she made with him to remain strong, just, and proud of their family.

Alicization Lycoris
During her journey through the Lodend Mountains to Zakkaria in the 3rd Month of 378 HEC, Medina was attacked by a pack of wild beasts. While defending herself from the animals, she encountered two boys named Eugeo and Kirito, who assisted her in dispatching the beasts. After the battle, Medina learnt that the boys were heading for Zakkaria as well and thus reluctantly agreed to let the boys accompany her for the remainder of her journey, despite her irritation that they would interfere with her training.

Having arrived at Zakkaria a day and a half later, Medina parted ways with the boys to continue her training, eventually enrolling at the Imperial Sword Mastery Academy in North Centoria. Shortly after she, Eugeo, and Kirito passed the entrance exam in the 4th Month of 379 HEC, the girl encountered the boys at the entrance to the Academy grounds. Although Medina attempted to distance herself from the duo, she appreciated how they treated her as an equal, in contrast to the harassment she faced from the other nobles attending the school.

Sometime later in the 8th Month of 379 HEC, Medina was attempting to escape Kirito's efforts to converse with her when they encountered a starving stray cat wandering close to the Academy campus. Feeling pity for the cat, the girl accepted the boy's suggestion to adopt it in order to circumvent the Taboo Index that prevented anyone from feeding stray animals.

Over the next few months, Medina continued to suffer persecution from her classmates, including her fiancé. This eventually culminated in posters vilifying House Orthinanos being displayed on the Academy's bulletin board in the 11th Month of 379 HEC, prompting the girl to retreat to privately vent her frustrations on practice dummies. She was then approached by Kirito, who revealed he had disposed of the posters and questioned why she had to experience such extreme mistreatment. As the boy had repeatedly offered her help and encouragement whenever he had seen her in trouble on prior occasions, the young noblewoman divulged how her family had become pariahs and explained her intent to restore House Orthinanos's honor by proving herself to Quinella. Having finished her exposition, Medina was then requested by Kirito to participate in an extracurricular lesson with him, wherein Academy students would assist the Centoria city guard with exterminating wild beasts. Though reluctant to risk putting the boy in trouble by continuing to associate herself with him, the swordswoman agreed to join when she learned her refusal would be inconvenient for Sortiliena Serlut.

Having returned from their extracurricular lesson, Medina and Kirito traveled to feed the former's cat. To their distress, they found the cat had died due to Medina's fiancé deliberately feeding it improper foods. When she attempted to confront him over the matter as well as his general abuse of her, the nobleman threatened to indirectly harm her and Kirito if she refused to obey him. Unwilling to jeopardize Kirito's safety, Medina decided it would be best to sever ties with the boy so her betrothed would not have any reason to target him. For the next several months thereafter, the girl rigorously distanced herself from Kirito and Eugeo, rebuffing any attempt at conversation from them.

On the day of the Elite Disciple promotion exam in the 3rd month of 380 HEC, Medina was summoned by her fiancé to a remote part of the Academy a short while before the start of the practical test. When the girl protested she would be late for the exam, she was thrown into a storage shed by the nobleman, who divulged he was aware of her deliberate underperformance in the quarterly placement exams in a bid to avoid his attention until the final exam. He declared her actions and capabilities thereof to be an insult to him, and announced the termination of their betrothal. Shocked by the revelation her fiancé never had any intention of honoring their engagement and thus her attempts to rebuild her house's reputation via complying with his demands had been for nothing, Medina could only sit where she had fallen as the nobleman manipulated a passing janitor into locking the shed, fully expecting no one would come rescue an outcast like her. However, to her shock, she was soon freed by Kirito, who had noticed her absence and managed to locate her just in time for them to arrive at the examination venue with only minutes to spare.

Having succeeded in ranking among the top eight on the practical test, Medina was accused by her ex-fiancé of cheating. Averse to continue facing further derogation from him, the girl challenged the nobleman to a duel, where she would reinstate their engagement and declare her exam results as fraudulent if she lost. Fueled by rage over how he had used her, the swordswoman defeated her former betrothed, though the Seal of the Right Eye prevented her from following through on a impulse to actually kill him towards the end of the fight.

After the exams, Medina joined Kirito for an impromptu private party celebrating their advancement to Elite Disciples, where she confided to him what she had experienced in the battle and inquired how he had managed to find her in the shed. Although unsatisfied with his claim he had heard her voice, the girl nonetheless thanked the boy for rescuing her and giving her hope, despite her prior attempts to shun him.

<!--Several weeks later, sometime after the 5th Month of 380 HEC, Medina received a request to join the Anti-Cedar Task Force (ACTF), which had been formed by the Axiom Church to combat an outbreak of magical beasts created by the Cathedral Cedar, a massive tree that had suddenly enveloped the upper levels of the Central Cathedral. Despite some initial hesitation, the young noblewoman decided assisting the task force would contribute greatly to eventually restoring House Orthinanos's honor. Surprised to find the registration process being overseen by Eugeo and Kirito, who she heard had been arrested for assaulting Humbert Zizek and killing Raios Antinous, she assumed they had been personally pardoned by Quinella in exchange for their cooperation. After a brief conversation with Kirito regarding their actions since they last met, Medina was accepted into the ACTF, whereupon she was assigned by the Integrity Knight Commander, Bercouli Synthesis One to work with the boys' group. Though the swordswoman doubted she could fell the Calamity Plants (Clamps), giant flowers seemingly related to the Cathedral Cedar from which the magical beasts were spawned, as doing so would require enough willpower to resist the Pontifex's Incarnation itself, she felt confident in her ability to handle the monsters themselves. {I just sooooo hate this paragraph... So many fancy words, too many side sentences, while are vital story beats, just flow horribly... I literally have been coming back every day to adjust sentences but end up giving up.. I'll probably just rewrite entirely... -Kaan}

Not long afterwards, Medina accompanied Kirito's team on a mission to the Sothercrois Empire, where multiple Clamps and magical beasts had been spotted. While investigating the report of one such sighting in Williria Town in the Warmia Greenbelt, the group learned a Lost Child of Vector had been interfering with the local hunter's Calling by hunting in the same hunting grounds. Driven by empathy over losing one's purpose because of another, Medina confronted the amnesiac hunter and attempted to persuade him to cease his encroachment. Growing indignant when he shoved her out of irritation, the young noblewoman lectured the Lost Child that he had no right to steal the purpose of others. To her astonishment, the amnesiac hunter quickly apologized for his actions and thanked her for showing him the error of his ways, going so far as to declare her his savior.

Having located and eliminated the Clamp in the region, Medina and the others proceeded south to the Vizeah Valley, where an especially powerful magical beast had been seen. Shortly upon arrival, they encountered a small band of skilled Lost Children of Vecta who were pursuing the beast themselves. Despite her misgivings, the swordswoman reluctantly consented to temporarily work with the warriors when she learned the monster might be too strong for the ACTF team to handle on their own. After finding and dispatching the creature, Medina awkwardly gave the Lost Children squad's leader a celebratory high five at his request, expressing interest in fighting alongside him again in the future. To her surprise immediately afterward, the warrior responded by addressing her as his savior and dedicating himself and his group to hunting the magical beasts on her behalf.

A short while later, Medina and the group continued further south to the Deusoldort Desert, both in search of more Clamps and to help reopen a blocked passage between the regions. In the process of acquiring equipment to protect themselves from the desert heat and winds, they attracted the attention of one of the residents of Sustira Village, who requested they locate a Lost Child of Vecta he had recently taken under his care but had wandered off. Having found and rescued the girl from a monster, the swordswoman learned the Lost Child's departure from the village had been spurred by fear over her amnesia, loneliness, and lack of purpose. Sympathizing with the girl's situation, Medina held the crying Lost Child's hands to comfort her, assuring her she could find the answers to her questions in her own time. To her shock, the girl instantly calmed down and thanked Medina for her kindness, even calling the swordswoman her savior despite never having each other before.

Once Kirito's crew escorted the Lost Child of Vecta back to Sustira Village, they elected to stay the night there before resuming their journey. Unable to sleep, Medina wandered around the village, pondering on the Lost Children she had encountered and how they had changed their attitude toward her as soon as she made physical contact with them. Her musings were interrupted by the approach of the Lost Child she had soothed, who inquired if there was any way she could improve the young woman's apparent malaise. Uncertain of the limits of the girl's commitment to her, Medina commanded the Lost Child to become her friend, not really expecting her demand would be obeyed. To her surprise, the girl quickly accepted the request.

Exhilarated by the amnesiac girl's devotion to her, Medina decided to surreptitiously amass more Lost Children of Vecta that would pledge themselves to her. After Kirito's team resumed their Clamp hunt, the young noblewoman covertly had her followers locate Clamps scattered throughout the desert and relayed the information to the others, claiming her knowledge was based solely on gut instinct. With this information, the group was able to fell several Clamps in rapid succession, which enabled them to deduce from the flowers' roots that they were all connected to a central stalk; severing this stalk would eliminate all Clamps in Sothercrois and prevent them from regenerating.

Before Kirito's crew could begin their search for the central Clamp stalk, though, they encountered a merchant who claimed to have seen a titanic creature, the description of which Alice Synthesis Thirty identified as a giant from the Dark Territory. As the ACTF had received reports of a disturbance at the Southern Corridor earlier, the team decided to investigate the giant sighting to check if the corridor had been breached. Having secretly rendezvoused at night with her supporters who had discovered the giant's footprints, Medina led the others the next day to the tracks, which they followed until they found the Dark Territory denizen, who named himself Zacza. Once the crew managed to defeat the giant, they concluded from the comments Zacza had made about his brothers prior to his death that other giants had also invaded the Human Empire via the Southern Corridor. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to advance her mission of rebuilding her family's name, the young noblewoman furtively joined her followers while everyone else slept and hurried to the corridor to gain all the glory of repelling the Dark Territory invaders herself.

Having reached the entrance to the Southern Corridor, Medina and her supporters ventured deep into the labyrinthian passageways within, where they encountered another giant. Despite their numerical superiority, they struggled to handle the Dark Territory denizen until Kirito's group arrived to reinforce them. Though reluctant to share the glory of protecting the Human Empire with them, the young noblewoman acquiesced to cooperate with the others and continued to the end of the corridor. There, they found Zacza's elder brother Ziczi killing the last of all the other giants, as well as an unconscious Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-one under a state of Deep Freeze and bound to a Clamp Core, the source of the central Clamp stalk. After managing to vanquish Ziczi, the crew severed the Clamp Core and resuscitated Eldrie before returning to Centoria to report their findings.

Once everyone had finished relaying their account of their mission in Sothercrois, Medina explained her encounter with the Lost Children of Vecta who had sworn themselves to her upon her touch and how she collaborated with them to locate the Clamps and giants. She then learned from Cardinal that these particular Lost Children, who the acting Pontefex dubbed wayfarers, were actually amnesiac adventurers summoned from another world. Realizing she could use her control over the wayfarers to help clear her family's name, the young noblewoman asseverated she would have her followers provide the ACTF severely needed manpower in protecting the Human Empire. Although Medina acknowledged the others' concerns over the wayfarers' agency and the possibility that her power could corrupt her, she refused to ignore what she saw as her biggest opportunity to finally fulfill her lifelong dream.

Almost immediately afterwards, Medina joined a party held by the ACTF to celebrate the destruction of the Sothercrois Clamp Core. During the festivities, she conversed with Kirito's female friends, many of whom had arrived from the same world as the swordsman. Wondering why the girls would take the trouble of traveling to an entirely different world, Medina was surprised to find they simply wanted to save the boy when he was in trouble. Impressed by their resolve to remain by Kirito's side and do whatever they could to help Underworld, the young noblewoman confessed to not always knowing the best course of action to take but was comforted by Asuna's assurance they all had that feeling at times.

After the celebration, Medina enlisted Kirito's help in training the wayfarers she had brought to the ACTF's headquarters, in preparation for deploying them on magical beast hunting missions throughout the Human Empire. Though appreciative of the swordsman's assistance and gratified by her followers' exponential improvement in combat proficiency, she was dismayed by the other nobles in the task force claiming her rise in social status was only due to her reliance on the wayfarers, which she acknowledged as partially correct. This displeasure was further exacerbated when Alice excluded the young noblewoman from attending a private briefing with Bercouli alongside her and Kirito, which Medina interpreted as proof the Integrity Knights were not fond of her or the wayfarers. Viewing them as the biggest obstacle in being accepted by the Axiom Church again, this strengthened the swordswoman's determination to do everything in her power to earn the Integrity Knights' trust, regardless of the cost.

A short time later, Medina and a contingent of wayfarers accompanied Kirito's group on a mission to the Norlangarth Empire, where many commoners were reported to have mysteriously vanished. During their trek through the Cordea Plains en route to Rulid Village, they were obliged to exterminate multiple magical beasts that had spawned due to the local sentry neglecting his duties. While reprimanding the man for his negligence, Medina recognized the sentry as one of the nobles that had attended her father's funeral, prompting him to disparage the previous Orthinanos head for the way he died. Although the young noblewoman attempted to refute the insult, the stress of remembering her father's death caused her to collapse, but the emotional support from the wayfarers allowed her to muster enough willpower to recompose herself and resume her journey.

Not long thereafter, Medina and the others learned that unfamiliar children had been sighted on the outskirts of the nearby hidden mountain village. As the team had also heard an old legend of a witch kidnapping good children in Norlangarth, they suspected the sighting might be related to the disappearances they were investigating and so decided to look into the matter. While gathering water with Kirito in the Sustnel Mountains along the way, she was prompted by the boy to explain the circumstances of her feather's death. However, their conversation was interrupted by an attack from a magical beast; having dispatched it, the crew found small wounds on its body that were seemingly made by children. They managed to follow the beast's trail to locate the children, who revealed to also be wayfarers. Almost immediately afterward, however, they were assaulted by a pack of magical beasts. Though the band succeeded in handling the creatures, Medina felt obliged to use her touch on one of the child wayfarers to protect her, sparking an argument between the swordswoman and Alice over the former's action. Even after they secured the children in a safe place and continued their expedition, the stress from the incident compelled the young noblewoman to push her wayfarers into continuing their travel despite their growing exhaustion. However, when Alice directed her attention to her followers' increasing fatigue, Medina quickly ordered them to rest for a time, but her insecurities were fanned regarding the differences between her and the Integrity Knight.

Having arrived at Rulid Village, Medina and the wayfarers began gathering information on the disappearances while everyone else worked on other tasks. After the girl finished organizing reconnaissance by sunset, she met with Alice, Eugeo and Kirito to discuss their findings, during which she learned the trio had found more wayfarers. Surprised when Alice requested her to not use her touch to convert the new wayfarers to their cause due to them not wanting to engage in combat unlike most of her subordinates, the young noblewoman argued the ACTF needed more personnel on account of the nobility and local guards being uncooperative and unreliable. However, she was taken aback when the Integrity Knight mentioned her tone and viewpoint had grown more forceful than she had realized. They decided to postpone further discussion over how to handle the new wayfarers, though, after they were informed that children had gone missing from other villages, seemingly as the focus of the disappearances. Troubled by her constant disagreements with Alice over the matter of her power, Medina dismissed her followers after nightfall to practice her swordplay by herself. When Kirito found her, she confessed to him her suspicion that the Integrity Knight did not trust her, but still felt the need to use the wayfarers to restore her family's reputation regardless of that or her own desires. Quietly comforted by Kirito's assurance he would provide help so she would not have to bear her burden all on her own, the swordswoman left to resume her training.

Having been joined by Deusolbert Synthesis Seven, Linel Synthesis Twenty-eight, and Fizel Synthesis Twenty-nine, Medina and everyone else traveled the next day to Flaggidd Village in the Lockiss Rocks, where most of the missing children reports had originated. As they approached their destination, the group was forced to handle an outbreak of Clamps and magical beasts that had overwhelmed the local guards, reinforcing the young noblewoman's belief the ACTF desperately needed more manpower. Once Kirito's team had eradicated the beasts around the village, they gained the confidence of its residents, after which they learned the local sentinels were refusing to investigate the disappearances. Disgusted by the sentries' flagrant irresponsibility, Medina and the others opted to prioritize searching for the missing children over extirpating the Clamps. Their investigation eventually led to the discovery the children had been taken to the former castle home of the Norlangarth empress, as well as a hidden passage they could use to infiltrate it.

Before Kirito's crew could access the secret entrance, however, they were obliged to handle a report of a large pack of magical beasts while Deusolbert separated from them to locate Fizel and Linel, who had vanished to infiltrate the castle by themselves. When everyone reached where the beasts were sighted, though, they found the creatures had already been dispatched by a mysterious man introducing himself as Senate Representative Hersyrian, who labeled Medina as the savior of House Orthinanos. Apprehensive of the familiar and deferential manner in which he addressed her and his condescension toward everyone else, she inquired his business with them, to which she was requested to help him revive Quinella. As she was under the impression the Pontifex was merely slumbering, the girl questioned why the woman would need to be resurrected. To her shock, Hersyrian revealed Quinella had actually been killed by Kirito. After the man took his leave, Medina asked Kirito if the accusation was true. Stunned when the swordsman confirmed it was, the young noblewoman grew stressed over her attempt to comprehend why he would kill the Human Empire's absolute leader even while he and Alice claimed it was in the people's best interest. At Kirito's behest, she agreed to stop thinking about the matter until he could explain it at a proper time but still questioned why he would withhold such important information from her.

Having resumed their investigation, Medina and the others entered the Norlangarth imperial residence through the secret tunnel. There, they found the children's abduction had been orchestrated by Kayode Norlangarth, the deceased fourth empress of the northern empire who had somehow been brought back to life, in an attempt to mold them into replacements for her dead son Alaud. Disgusted by the abuse Kayode confessed to have done on the children, including her own son, Medina and everyone else fought the empress in an effort to force her to abandon her mad scheme. After Kayode was persuaded to let the children go, Kirito's band proceeded to the dungeon, where they found the children, Linel, Fizel, and Deusolbert bound to and having their Life drained by Clamps, the last of whom attacked them after being freed from a Clamp Core and released from Deep Freeze. Once they managed to return the man to his senses through a fierce fight, they learned he and the apprentice Integrity Knights had been captured and trapped in the Clamps by a hooded man, likely the same one who incapacitated Eldrie in the Southern Corridor and had been seen flying away from the Central Cathedral on a dragon when the Cathedral Cedar first sprouted. Although concerned the hooded man was able to violate the Taboo Index by depleting the Life of others via the Clamps, Medina temporarily dismissed further contemplation on the subject to focus on returning the children to their homes.

The team's celebration over the children's safe return was short-lived, however, as they heard Rulid Village was under attack from a horde of magical beasts created from Clamps that had outlived the Norlangarth Clamp Core's destruction. Medina hurried ahead of the others to the village, where she found there was insufficient manpower to repel the creatures. Coupled with her growing repugnance for the local sentries' negligence of their duties, this drove the young noblewoman to use her touch on the noncombatant wayfarers Alice had found to have them fight. Though the swordswoman and her followers managed to dispatch the beasts and sever the surviving Clamps with assistance from Kirito's group once they arrived, Medina was confronted by Alice afterward over her action, to which she defended herself by claiming she had no other way to protect the Human Empire. Displeased when Kirito and the others questioned if her decision really was necessary, the young noblewoman castigated the swordsman for concealing his killing Quinella from her and declared she would not accept any further criticism of her methods from them, before angrily taking her leave to exterminate any surviving magical beasts with her wayfarers.

Having arranged the wayfarers to continue patrolling Norlangarth and protecting its people in her absence, Medina regrouped with Kirito and his friends the next day for their return to Centoria. While passing through the Sustnel Mountains, she joined the boy in foraging for food due to having exhausted all the investigation funds allocated to them by the ACTF. During their search, the girl privately confided to the swordsman she felt uncomfortable regarding her last interaction with Alice but was unsure how to rectify the situation. Their conversation was interrupted, however, when the pair were approached by the nobleman Diamon Altimious, the self-proclaimed Cat Baron and chairman of Norlangarth Cat Lovers' Club, who demanded they help him find his missing cat Marlou. Concerned about the cat's disappearance despite the owner's haughtiness, Medina agreed to the request once the noble promised he would reward them for their efforts.

Having located and extracted Marlou from where she had been stuck with some difficulty, Medina and Kirito returned the cat to Diamon's vacation home. There, the girl rebuked the nobleman for knowingly spoiling his pet with blue sardines, which were known to be addictive and unhealthy for cats. To her surprise, the Cat Baron was convinced of the validity of her reprimand by Marlou's affection toward her, even going so far as to declare he would praise House Orthinanos's great qualities to the Cat Lovers' Club from now on. Amazed at how her action had unexpectedly changed the beliefs of one of her family's critics, she discussed the subject with Kirito once they had bought some provisions with the reward money Diamon had given them. From a passing comment the boy made about her being able to change the nobility's beliefs about House Orthinanos by gaining the people's trust, Medina concluded he and Alice did not understand her methods because she was still not strong enough to earn their trust.

Having rejoined the rest of Kirito's friends for the resumption of their journey, Medina separated from them to continue training her followers once they arrived at Centoria. While contemplating how to grow strong enough to be accepted by Alice and Kirito, she was approached by Hersyrian, who repeated his request for her aid in reviving the Pontifex. Although uncertain of the man's intentions, she was persuaded to follow him through a door that somehow led to the top floor of the Central Cathedral, despite the entire area being rendered inaccessible by the Cathedral Cedar. There, the girl saw Quinella's body seemingly in preserved suspended animation. She was also shown via a Post-Cognition Sacred Art from Hersyrian the last moments of the woman's life before being killed by Kirito, apparently confirming the Senate Representative's assertion her death was unjustified. As if to further support his claim, Medina heard the Pontifex's voice proclaiming House Orthinanos's honor would be restored if the young noblewoman assisted in her resurrection. Growing more receptive to Hersyrian's words because of these revelations, the girl learned he had planted the Clamps to gather enough Sacred Power to revive Quinella; as the leader of the wayfarers, she could organize them into an army that would protect the Clamps and hunt the magical beasts to accelerate the flowers' production of fruits containing Sacred Power to be gathered for the resurrection ritual. However, out of concern for the people's well-being, the swordswoman insisted she needed to inform the ACTF of the situation but was dissuaded when the Senate Representative insinuated the task force would never accept her as an equal and that Kirito would never truly let her stand by his side.

Troubled, Medina deeply pondered over what she had learned from Hersyrian even as she accompanied Kirito a few days later on a mission to the Wesdarath Empire, where magical beasts and Clamps had been sighted in the Mildea Plains. Still disturbed over how he had concealed Quinella's death from her, upon their return to Centoria, the girl attempted to inquire the boy what she meant to him but was interrupted by Alice when the Integrity Knight notified them Bercouli had requested their presence for a discussion. The swordsman's familiarity with Alice having reminded her of the Senate Representative's insinuation Kirito would never really accept her as a friend, Medina's insecurities drove her to conclude the man was correct and excused herself from the summons. Before she took her leave, the girl asked the boy what he would do if forced to choose between his feelings and what he valued most. When the swordsman responded he would prioritize protecting what was important to him due to having experienced the pain of losing it before, the young noblewoman decided to follow his example and withdrew herself and all her followers from the ACTF's headquarters in search of a place where they could feel they belonged.

Having established a base of operations at an abandoned fort in the Minelda Rocks, Medina began spreading the wayfarers throughout Wesdarath to guard Clamps and dispatch the magical beasts. Despite their success in collecting the Clamps' fruits and protecting the people, quarrels started to develop between the original members of her force and some of the newer wayfarers she recently inducted, the latter of whom aggressively prioritized hunting and money over their duties. Her uncertainty over how to rectify the situation eventually caused difficulties in handling beasts spawning from one particular Clamp, which was only resolved by Hersyrian's intervention. Once everyone returned to the fort, she was criticized by the Senate Representative for not being ruthless enough in commanding her followers due to her lingering feelings for the ACTF members, especially Kirito. Though still distrustful of the man, the young noblewoman concluded his argument was valid and resolved to reject those feelings from that point onward for the sake of her family and goal.

Sometime later, upon learning Alice, Eugeo and Kirito had located and entered the fort, Medina received them in the main hall. There, she refused to apologize for her departure from the ACTF or her current management of the wayfarers, asserting the task force never needed her and their actions were hindering her efforts to redeem her family's reputation. Although taken aback when Kirito protested everyone had been concerned at her sudden disappearance, as well as learning from Alice that some of her followers had been using civilians as shields for the Clamps and decoys for the magical beasts, the young noblewoman suppressed her reaction and proclaimed she would use any means she deemed necessary for Quinella's revival. Outraged at the trio's continued questioning of her methods, the swordswoman commanded all available wayfarers in the fort to surround them and ordered the three to leave, warning them she would not hesitate to fight if they persisted in resisting her.

Not long afterward, Medina visited the Villind Plateaus to check on the Clamps growing there, where she found Kirito's group had assisted wayfarers guarding one particular Clamp in dispatching an especially powerful magical beast. Ignoring the ACTF team and her followers' injuries, she ordered the wayfarers to collect the flower's fruit. When Kirito confronted her for underprioritizing the safety of her allies and the people, the swordswoman slashed him and had her followers act as human shields for the Clamp, spurning the boy's and Alice's attempts to dissuade her from her plan to help Hersyrian resurrect the Pontifex. Having threatened to have the wayfarers hurt themselves if the swordsman's band continued to obstruct her, the young noblewoman let them leave but acknowledged Alice's request to ensure the magical beasts were eliminated.

A short while later, Medina and a large battalion of wayfarers accompanied Hersyrian to the Western Ravine, where Vallenthor, the revived Guardian Dragon of the western empire, was blocking the entryway to a Clamp Core. When Kirito's team arrived at Vallenthor's lair in an effort to communicate with the Guardian Dragon and check on Scheta Synthesis Twelve, the swordswoman and her followers revealed themselves after Hersyrian slew Vallenthor, standing between the boy and the Senate Representative as the latter moved to secure the Clamp Core. Commanding the wayfarers to refrain from interfering and to prevent the others from intervening, she engaged the swordsman in a fierce duel. To her surprise toward the end of the fight, the girl wayfarer she had befriended in the Deusoldort Desert disobeyed her noninterference injunction and shielded the young noblewoman from a Sacred Art attack, declaring she could not suffer any harm to befall her friend. Since Medina had assumed her touch had rendered all her followers blindly loyal to her as their savior and not as a peer, this convinced the swordswoman to pause the battle and heed Alice's and Kirito's entreaties for her to finally listen to them. During this time, she learned Alice and the other Integrity Knights were once ordinary people whose memories were rewritten by Quinella and transformed into the Pontifex's unwitting pawns, much like how the young noblewoman had converted the wayfarers into her fanatical devotees. Now understanding why they had been so critical of her recent actions, this insight enabled Medina to realize she had forgotten her original wish to earn Kirito's trust and fight alongside him in her obsession to restore House Orthinanos's name but was heartened he still viewed her as a friend even after all that. Thus, she allowed him and his friends to pass through her company of wayfarers in search of Scheta.

Almost immediately afterward, though, Medina and the wayfarers were suddenly attacked by Hersyrian. Incapacitated by his overwhelming assault, the swordswoman could only watch helplessly in horror as the man slaughtered all her present followers. Further compounding her despair when Kirito's crew returned, the Senate Representative revealed he had been deceiving her the entire time; reviving Quinella would never have redeemed House Orthinanos's legacy or protected the Human Empire, he had influenced the wayfarers to endanger civilians and engineered circumstances to force her into mortal combat with her old friends, and what she thought was the Pontifex promising the restoration of her family's name in exchange for her cooperation was actually the man mimicking her voice. Realizing she had let herself be manipulated by Hersyrian, the girl prepared to accept her impending death at his hands. However, she was saved at the last moment by Kirito, who managed to force the Senate Representative to retreat despite being grievously wounded in the process.

While everyone else tended to Kirito's injuries in the aftermath, Medina with Alice's assistance buried the slain wayfarers, mourning their deaths and swearing to never again abuse her power. Once the boy had recovered about half a day later, the young noblewoman learned he had fought and killed Quinella to thwart her plan to transform half of the Human Empire's population into mindless weapons of war for battle against the Dark Territory. Acknowledging she likely would have been unable to comprehend his explanation even if he had informed her earlier, the swordswoman apologized for distrusting and refusing to listen to him. Relieved to find he and his friends still accepted her despite her betrayal, she vowed to help them stop Hersyrian's machinations, for the sake of everyone she had lost.

Upon their return to Centoria, Medina and the others reported what had transpired in Wesdarath. As Hersyrian had mentioned he needed only one more component to resurrect Quinella after obtaining enough Sacred Power, and the ACTF had severed Clamp Cores in the other empires, everyone inferred they would need to travel to Eastavarieth if they hoped to intercept his scheme. Unwilling to continue exploiting the remaining wayfarers like before for this endeavor, the young noblewoman consulted Cardinal on how to release them from their devotion to her before gathering them at the task force's headquarters, where she apologized to them for depriving them of their freewill for her own interests. To her surprise, her followers did not condemn her for her usage of them, only expressing gratitude she had at least given them a purpose when they were lost and confused. Reassured by everyone's support, she cast the Sacred Art that dispelled the wayfarers' compelled loyalty to her, then sincerely requested and received their aid as equals.

While waiting for the Axiom Church to finish restocking medical supplies for their expedition to the Eastavarieth Empire, Medina accompanied Kirito on a mission to handle remnants of magical beasts still prowling Norlangarth. Seeing their journey took them close to House Orthinanos's territory in the Uetra Valley, she had the swordsman follow her once they exterminated the beasts. Having led him to her family's lycoris garden, the young noblewoman offered Kirito one of the flowers along with a formal apology for turning against him so quickly all on Hersyrian's word alone. Relieved to learn his forgiveness was sincere, this strengthened the swordswoman's determination to continue atoning for what she had done under the Senate Representative's influence, declaring the boy had given her hope to do so just like the red spider lily had given House Orthinanos hope they could endure their persecution from the rest of the nobility.

Once preparations were complete, Medina followed Kirito and the others into Eastavarieth, where several guards and sentries were reported to have gone missing, as well as unverified sightings of Dark Knights. During their investigation into the disappearances in Fanis Town in the Sivilia Mountains, the group tracked one of the missing guards to a nearby temple, where they discovered several Dark Knights had indeed been reanimated by a Clamp, just like with the giants, Kayode, and Vallenthor. Though everyone managed to dispatch the Dark Knights and Clamp, they were disturbed to find signs many more Dark Knights had also been revived but were no longer in the area. Concerned at what the Dark Territory denizens might be planning, the team decided at Bercouli's recommendation to search for historical Dark Knight gravesites and sever any Clamps growing there to prevent further Dark Knight resurrections.

Medina and the rest of Kirito's band traveled to various ancient battlegrounds throughout Eastavarieth, where they dispatched any Clamps and Dark Knights they encountered. Despite their success, everyone was concerned at the large number of revived Dark Knights still left unaccounted for. Their question on the missing Dark Knights' location was partially answered when the ACTF received a report the Dark Territory denizens were marching on Centoria. As Cardinal had informed them a large force of Dark Knights had been decimated at the Eastern Gate a century prior, they suspected the attack was only a feint meant to distract them while the Clamps resurrected the rest of the Dark Territory army. Therefore, Medina and Kirito's friends hurried to the Great Mound Road while Bercouli and most of the Integrity Knights remained behind to protect the capital.

Despite their best efforts, Medina and the others failed to reach the Eastern Gate before a Clamp Core reanimated the Dark Knight army, led by their revived commander Hektor Ul Günther. Unwilling to risk the Dark Territory invaders proceeding further into the Human Empire, the band engaged the multitudinous Dark Knights until Bercouli and all the other available Integrity Knights arrived. With these reinforcements, the swordswoman and everyone else eventually managed to vanquish Günther and his men before felling the Clamp Core. Their victory was short-lived, however, when Hersyrian suddenly appeared and cast a Deep Freeze art on the Integrity Knights while binding them to newly sprouted Clamps. Although Medina and the rest of Kirito's team battled the man, they were ultimately unable to stop him from forcing Bercouli to fight Kirito or preventing the Senate Representative from escaping with seeds generated from the Clamps.

Having released the rest of the Integrity Knights from their state of Deep Freeze, Medina and everyone else returned to Centoria. There, they found that the canopy of the Cathdreal Cedar, which had sprouted after the destruction of the Norlangarth Clamp Core, was starting to descend, leaving the Central Cathedral's higher floors physically accessible now. Troubled by this ominous development, the group reported the events at the Eastern Gate to Cardinal, who had been studying leftover seeds produced by the Clamps that had reanimated the giants and Kayode. From her research, they learned the seeds Hersyrian had collected from his ambush of the Integrity Knights may have contained memory data of Quinella, likely the last element needed for his plans. With the Pontifex's resurrection apparently imminent, the ACTF began preparing for a large-scale invasion of the cathedral. During this time, Medina noticed Kirito seemed stressed over their upcoming battle. Hoping to alleviate his anxiety, she invited the swordsman for a tour around the Human Empire to express her gratitude for his acceptance and to show him those who valued what he had done for them, under the guise of wanting to check on the wayfarers she had stationed in the empires. To her surprise throughout their journey, the two encountered several Human Empire citizens who praised the young noblewoman for her work in protecting them, including some of her former critics who were inspired by tales of her deeds, such as those spread by Diamon. Coupled with the boy's appreciation for her efforts to relieve his tension over potentially losing any of his companions, the swordswoman realized her dream of clearing her family's name was not as impossible as she once feared and that she had already earned Kirito's and the rest of the task force's trust, thus she could confidently enter the final battle alongside him.

After returning to the ACTF's headquarters, Medina and everyone else launched their assault on the Central Cathedral. In addition to the numerous Clamps and magical beasts populating the interior of the tower, they were forced to contend with other enemies brought to life by Hersyrian's machinations: the deceased Integrity Knights Cardo Synthesis Twenty-eight and Jared Synthesis Twenty-nine; an imperfect clone of Quinella; and a replica of Prime Senator Chudelkin's Incarnation fused with his Infernal Genie art. At the same time, the young noblewoman experienced a continual sensation of vague unease and memories of someone who suffered at the Pontifex's hands within the cathedral but ignored these thoughts and accompanying headaches to focus on her mission.

Despite their efforts, the group failed to reach the Central Cathedral's top floor before the resurrection ritual on Quinella was completed there by Hersyrian, who stood between them and the woman. Her outrage having returned over how the Senate Representative had used her, Medina swore she would kill him for the sake of her family. To her shock, the man announced he was actually one of her grandsires, having forcibly impregnated her great-grandmother Miriam Orthinanos, thus the young noblewoman could not raise her blade against him anymore than she could decry any of her revered ancestors. Further compounding her horror, Hersyrian then jealously swallowed the gems containing the transmuted blood and modules of the first five House Orthinanos heads in an attempt to redirect onto himself the Pontifex's attention on her experiments on the Orthinanos lineage, transforming him into a monstrosity bearing the tortured expressions of the Orthinanoses' Incarnation. However, Medina regained her composure and vowed to free her ancestors from their torment, denouncing Hersyrian as never having been a proper member of her family. With everyone's assistance, the swordswoman struck a lethal blow on the mutated Senate Representative.

While Medina was recovering from her ordeal, though, Quinella converted Hersyrian's corpse fused with the Orthinanos bloodstones into a sword, declaring the man's actions had finally completed her experiments on House Orthinanos. Although the girl could not completely follow the Pontifex's explanation of the purpose behind the experiments, she instinctively understood her entire family's suffering was callously engineered to fulfill the woman's selfish desire. However, the Seal of the Right Eye prevented the swordswoman from continuing to resist Quinella. Therefore, she was unable to aid Kirito as he engaged with the woman until Cardinal sent the two combatants into the Main Visualizer, the only place where the Pontifex's reconstructed consciousness could be destroyed for good. When Cardinal attempted to send the rest of the team after the boy, though, they learned Quinella had disconnected the Main Visualizer's address so they could not reinforce Kirito. In the middle of pondering what to do, Medina sensed the swordsman struggling against Quinella and pleas for help from the same voice she had heard while climbing the Central Cathedral earlier. Recognizing the voice as belonging to one of her ancestors, she resolved to do everything she could to save Kirito, which resonated with her module such that it sent her into the Main Visualizer via Incarnation.

Having arrived at Kirito's side, Medina attempted to stand against the Pontifex but was quickly disabled by pain from the Seal of the Right Eye. Upon being informed the swordsman could not harm Quinella due to the woman having cast an art that negated any damage from all weapons not created from Orthinanos modules, the girl devised a plan to enable their victory. To that end, she tricked the Pontifex into fatally striking her down. As she laid bleeding from the attack, the young noblewoman renounced all loyalty to Quinella, breaking her right eye and its seal in the process. Now freed from her mental restraints, the swordswoman fused herself with the Mirage Blade, giving the boy a weapon he could use to actually hurt the Pontifex. Once Kirito managed to defeat Quinella, Medina's consciousness contacted the boy from within the Mirage Blade. Sensing she would be succumbing to her injury due to having put so much of herself into her sword, the girl thanked the swordsman for always believing in her and saving her from her despair, before her Life expired.

After every fragment of Quinella's consciousness was thoroughly purged from the Main Visualizer and the Cathedral Cedar felled, the damaged remnants of Medina's fluctlight was implanted in Miriam's comatose body via the Mirage Blade, with the Orthonanos bloodstone containing Miram's memories added as a catalyst. Once the transfer was complete, Miriam's body was transformed into Medina's likeness and the younger Orthinanos's consciousness restored. Though nearly all of her memories were erased, the girl retained her personality and some vague recollection of the time she spent with Kirito and his friends, which was strengthened by them relaying what they knew about her.-->

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Medina Orthinanos