Sword Art Online Vol. 15 – Alicization Invading Chapter 14 - Subtilizer (The One Who Steals Souls) 13 | P a g e Gabriel expected development on full-dive technology to wane due to the commotion caused by that death game. However, they had quietly continued their research and finally drew near the secrets of the human soul. The request from NSA felt like destiny to Gabriel. Glowgen DS might be one of the larger private military companies around, but that was all they were; they could hardly decline the NSA who now held even more power than the CIA in the first place. The vote for the contract was passed with a lead of two in the emergency board meeting. To prevent information from leaking, it was decided that the combat team would consist of contract employees specializing in wet work with their own dark histories to cover up— Gabriel volunteered himself as the operation commander. Naturally, the fact that Gabriel was an officer in Glowgen was hidden from the combat team. Those people would likely betray the company at the drop of a hat if they knew, abducting Gabriel for a ransom. Gabriel had to go even with such risks. The NSA agents mentioned. That Rath had succeeded in not just deciphering the human soul, but also cloning it through STL technology. That if that artificial soul given the codename «A.L.I.C.E.» was completed and loaded onto Japanese unmanned weapons, it would destroy the military balance in East Asia. He didn’t care if disputes arose in the Far East—or anywhere else in the world. But Gabriel was convinced the moment he heard the name Alice. He would make that his own. He would procure that small media storage device, known as the light cube, with that soul on board at all costs. ―Alice…… Alicia……‖ Leaning against the chair with its back down, he softly murmured the two names. A faint smile appeared on his lips without his notice.