Sword Art Online Light Novel Volume 17

Alicization Awakening (アリシゼーション・アウェイクニング) is the 17th book in the Sword Art Online light novel series, published on April 9, 2016. It is the third volume in the War of the Underworld sub-arc of the Alicization arc.

Part 1
Kirito's friends: Agil, Klein, Lisbeth and Silica, gathered at the World Tree in ALfheim Online (ALO) along with three thousand other virtual reality game players from ALO or converted from other games. Lisbeth gave a speech and attempted to persuade the crowd to convert their accounts to Underworld to help its residents defend against the incoming foreign players. However, the crowd was discouraged when they discovered that Underworld did not have a Pain Absorber and that their avatars might be lost if they died there. Despite facing hostility from the players, Lisbeth continued her speech.

In Underworld, Asuna and the Integrity Knights continued cutting the ropes that bridged the ravine that Asuna created with her Stacia super account. As they were about to cut the sixth rope, thousands of red light beams streaked down from the sky. While both the Human Empire and the Dark Territory armies watched in amazement, approximately thirty thousand warriors clad in crimson armor began to form. Asuna realized that the soldiers were Americans when they began to yell in English while attacking the Fist Fighters, who were supposed to be their allies. As the situation grew worse, Asuna was approached by Iskahn, who proposed a deal to her. In return for creating a bridge across the ravine to allow the Fist Fighter forces to regroup, the Fist Fighters began repelling the crimson army.

In the fray of the battle, Alice Synthesis Thirty went ahead of the rest of the Human Decoy Army, rendering her vulnerable. Atop a black dragon, Emperor Vector, the avatar of Gabriel Miller, snatched Alice and rendered her unconscious with his incarnation power. Bercouli Synthesis One took the dragons of Alice, the deceased Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-one, as well as his own dragon in pursuit of Gabriel and Alice. The Human Decoy Army began to move south after Bercouli and Vector, while the Fist Fighters and Integrity Knight Scheta Synthesis Twelve remained to occupy the attention of the Americans. Meanwhile in the real world, Vassago Casal awoke in the main control room of the Ocean Turtle.

Part 2
Vassago awoke to find that the Fluctlight Acceleration rate was at 1, then decided to Dive back into Underworld through the use of his old SAO avatar.

Asuna healed herself near the supply trains while talking to Ronye and Tiese about Kirito. Integrity Knight Renri Synthesis Twenty-seven then ordered the Human Empire army, reduced to seven hundred, to head south to save Alice. On the way, the army stopped as thousands of red columns of light rained down from the sky and transformed into players clad in red armor. As they prepared to fight, a blue light shone through the clouds and a figure appeared. It was Sinon, logged in as Super Account 02, Sun Goddess Solus, used the power of her wide-ranged annihilator attack to wipe out much of the enemy army. Solus also had the power of flight, so Sinon flew down to where Asuna was waiting. After greeting Kirito, Asuna sent Sinon to fly in pursuit of Alice. The Human Empire army continued south through a detour, with the second wave of the crimson army chasing from the north. As Sinon left, she wondered where Leafa was since they both Dived in at the same time.

Part 3
Way to the north, Orc Chief Rirupirin mourned the death of thousands of his tribesmen. As he picked up an earring belonging to his childhood friend, Leafa appeared right behind him, logged in as Super Account 03, Earth Goddess Terraria. He planned to kill her, but was shocked when she spoke to him like a person rather than running away in fear. She let him tie her hands together and take her to Vector as a prisoner, but as they were walking a black haze appeared and the supposedly dead Dark Sorceresses' Guild leader D.I.L. stepped out.

Bercouli Synthesis One was in pursuit of Vector and Alice, but despaired when he could not catch up despite alternating between three dragons. He used his Time Piercing Sword's Release Recollection Art, «Arcane Slash», to cut off the left wing of Vector's black dragon far ahead.

D.I.L. transformed the fingers on her left hand into long worm-like figures. She stabbed them into Leafa and began absorbing her Life. When Leafa's Life was almost depleted, the ground below her began to glow green and, in an instant, Leafa's Life was completely recovered due to Terraria's healing abilities. Shrieking in surprise, D.I.L. transformed the fingers on her right hand into the worm-like creatures as well and began taking more of Leafa's Life. Rirupirin tried to stop D.I.L. by attacking her with his own sword, but as he was doing so an enormous pain erupted in his right eye and it exploded. Thrown off by perception problems, he was only able to land a glancing blow. D.I.L. turned to him in fury, transformed her fingers into black blades, and swung down. Just before the hit landed, however, D.I.L.'s arms fell to the ground. Leafa then attacked, cutting D.I.L. in half.

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Volumen 17 (novela ligera)