Sword Art Online Alicization Episode 27

The Final Load Test (最終負荷実験) is the twenty-seventh episode of the Sword Art Online Alicization anime adaptation. It aired on October 26, 2019.

Plot
Gabriel Miller, the CTO of GlowGen Defense Systems, is on a mission to capture Alice, the artificial fluctlight that holds the key to the Soul Translator technology. He and his team have infiltrated the Ocean Turtle, the secret base where the STL and the lightcube cluster are located, but they encounter a problem: the computer system is secured by a strong encryption and they cannot access the sub control room or the lightcube cluster without triggering an alarm. Gabriel remembers his previous encounter with Kirito, the hero of SAO, in GGO 4, where he fought him as Subtilizer, a mysterious player who can steal souls. He decides to use his STL to dive into the Underworld, the virtual world where Kirito and Alice are trapped, and take Alice by force. He logs in as Vector, the Dark Emperor who commands the dark forces, and brings his subordinate Vassago with him as a dark knight. Their plan is to exploit the final load test, a scenario that will erase the border between the Human Empire and the Dark Territory and unleash a war between them. Meanwhile, Asuna, Kirito's girlfriend and another SAO survivor, learns about the situation and decides to join Kirito in the Underworld to protect him and Alice. She logs in as Stacia, the Goddess of Creation who can manipulate the terrain. Back in Tokyo, Sinon, another GGO player and friend of Kirito and Asuna, wakes up from a nightmare where she relives her defeat by Subtilizer in GGO 4. She recalls his chilling words: "Your soul will be so sweet" and his brutal attack that choked her to death.

Locations

 * Real World
 * San Diego, America
 * Ocean Turtle
 * Tokyo
 * ALfheim Online
 * Swilvane
 * Underworld
 * Dark Territory
 * Obsidia castle

Adaptation Notes

 * Adapted from Volume 15, Chapter 16, Parts 2-3; Chapter 17, Parts 1-2