Ame Infinite

 

Chapter 11

Unfortunately for us, we ran into a group of Lizardmen on the way up. By the time the eight of us arrived at the top-floor passageway, thirty minutes had already passed, and we still hadn't caught up to the army members.
“Maybe they've already used their crystals to escape?”
Klein said jokingly, but none of us believed that they would have done that. As a result, we subconsciously sped up our footsteps as we walked down the long passage.
When we were about halfway down, a sound that confirmed our fears echoed off the walls. We all immediately stopped to listen.
“Ahhhh...”
The faded noise that we heard was, without a doubt, a scream.
But it didn't belong to a monster. We all looked at each other and then started sprinting. Because of our high dexterity, Asuna and I ran faster than everyone else, and a gap quickly opened up between us and Klein's group. But this wasn't the time for us to care about that. We dashed like the wind through the shining blue corridor in the opposite direction as we had gone last time.
Soon, the great double doors came into sight. They were already open, and we could see the blue flames flickering inside and a huge shadow moving slowly within its depth. We also heard the intermittent sounds of screaming and metals clashing.
“No...!”
Asuna screamed with grief and accelerated her speed. I followed closely behind her. Our feet were barely touching the ground, as if we virtually flew through the air. I figured that we had already reached the limits of the system's support. Meanwhile, the pillars on either side of the passage flashed past us.
As we neared the door, Asuna and I quickly reduced our speed. Sparks flew off our boots, and we managed to stop just barely in front of the gateway.
“Hey! Are you guys alright!?”
I shouted and leaned my body forward for a better view.
The inside— looked like hell.
Bluish-white flames were burning all across the floor. A huge figure stood straight in the middle of all this, its body shining as if it was made out of metal. That was the blue demon: The Gleameyes.
As The Gleameyes flourished its enormous zanbato-like sword around, a huge flaming breath streaked out of its mountain goat head. The damage dealt to it hadn't even reached one-third of its HP. Across the room from it, there were a bunch of silhouettes, their sizes tiny compared to the demon. They were the army group, and their members were busy scrambling for their lives.
They no longer had any order to speak of. I checked the number of people and immediately noticed that two of them were missing. It would be good if they had escaped by using a teleport item, but—
Even as I thought this, one of them was hit by the side of the zanbato and went flying. His HP had gone into the red danger zone. I don't know how it had gotten to this situation, but the demon had managed to get in between the Army members and the exit, and as a result they couldn't even flee. I shouted at the player who had fallen.
“What are you doing!? Use your teleport item!”
The man looked my way. His face reflected the bluish color of the flames and was full of despair. He then shouted:
“That doesn't work...! T-The crystals aren't working!!”
“Wha...?”
I couldn't say anything. Did that mean that this room was an «Anti-Crystal Area»? It was a rare trap that appeared in dungeons once in a while, but it had never appeared in a boss room up till now.
“How can that...!?”
Asuna breathed in sharply. This was a case when we couldn't even just rush in and save them. Then, a player on the other side of the demon raised his sword and shouted.
“What are you saying!! The word retreat does not exist for the Liberation Army!! Fight!! Fight I tell you!!”
It was definitely Cobert's voice.
“You bastard!”
I screamed. The fact that two people had already disappeared in a no-crystal area — it meant that they were already dead, already gone. Something that should be avoided at all costs had already happened, and this idiot was still saying those things? I felt my blood boil with rage.
Then Klein and his party arrived.
“Hey, what's happening!?”
I quickly told him what the current situation was. As he heard it, Klein's expression got darker.
“Isn't...Isn't there anything we can do...?”
We might be able to run in and make a way for them to get out. But since an emergency escape was impossible in this room, we couldn't ignore the possibility that one of us could die as well. We just didn't have enough people. As I struggled with this thought, Cobert had somehow managed to get his men back into order and shouted.
“Charge—!”
Two of the ten had already lost almost their entire HP and were lying on the ground. The other eight had gotten into lines of four with Cobert in the center, who led the charge with his sword raised high.
“No—!!”
But my voice didn't reach them.
It was such a pointless attack. If all eight of them ran in together, they wouldn't be able to use their sword skills properly and would only add to the confusion. They should be fighting defensively, rotating in one person at a time to deal damage, and then quickly switching out for the next member.
The demon straightened up and gave a ground-shaking roar before breathing out a blinding jet of fire. It seemed as if the breath counted as a damage-inflicting attack, and the eight slowed as the blue light of the flames engulfed them. The demon seized its chance and swung its huge sword. The body of a person was knocked into the air, flew over the demon's head, and then crashed hard into the ground before us.
It was Cobert.
His HP had vanished. With an expression that didn't even seem to understand the situation, he slowly moved his mouth.
—This is impossible.
He said soundlessly. Then, with a nerve-rending sound effect that pierced our souls, his body had shattered into a swirl of polygons. Next to me, Asuna gave a short scream at this meaningless death.
With their leader gone, the Army members immediately fell into chaos. They ran around screaming. All of their HP counts were already below the halfway mark.
“No... No... No more...”
As I heard Asuna's strained voice, I glanced sideways towards her. I immediately rushed to grab her arm...
But I was already too late.
“No—!!”
With this scream, Asuna ran off like a gust of wind. She drew her rapier from thin air and charged at The Gleameyes like a flash of light.
“Asuna!!”
I screamed. With no other choices available, I drew my sword and followed her.
“Eh, whatever!!”
Klein and his party then shouted and followed suit.
Asuna's reckless strike hit the back of the demon while its attention was elsewhere. But its HP hardly decreased at all.
The Gleameyes roared, then turned around and swung its zanbato downwards. Asuna immediately sidestepped to dodge, but she couldn't evade it completely and was knocked down by the shockwave. The second strike then swung towards her without hesitation.
“Asuna—!!”
I felt my body go cold with fear as I flung myself between Asuna and the blade. My sword barely managed to deflect the attack in time. Then, I felt an impact across my whole body as the shockwave hit me.
As sparks flew off the two blades, the demon's sword hit the floor only a few centimeters away from Asuna. It dug a huge hole into the ground with an explosion-like sound effect.
“Get back!”
I shouted and prepared for the demon's attacks. Its sword came at me repeatedly with a crushing might that felt like it could take my life with one hit. There wasn't any room for me to even attempt a counterattack.
The Gleameyes' techniques were basically two-handed sword skills. But they were slightly customized, which made them impossible to read. I concentrated fully on defending with sidesteps and parries. But its attacks were monstrously powerful and chipped away at my HP with every passing swing.
“Argh!!”
Eventually, one of its strikes accurately hit my body. I felt its stunning impact, and my HP decreased immensely.
My equipment and skills were far from those of a tank. If I kept this up, it would only lead to my death. The fear of dying sent a chill down my body. I couldn't even try to escape anymore.
There was only one thing that I could do. I would have to go against it with everything I had as a damage dealer.
“Asuna! Klein! Give me ten seconds!”
I shouted and swung my sword hard to block the demon's blow and make a break point. Then, I flung myself to the ground and rolled away. Klein immediately took my place and kept the demon back with his katana.
But Klein's katana and Asuna's rapier were weapons that relied on speed and therefore lacked in weight. I figured that it wouldn't be easy for them to block the demon's zanbato. As I laid on the ground, I opened the menu with my left hand.
I couldn't afford to make a single mistake now. With my heart pounding against my chest, I began moving the fingers of my right hand. I scrolled down my item list, picked something from it, and equipped it in the blank space on my equipment profile. Then I opened the skill window and changed my weapon skill.
After finishing all this, I touched the OK button and closed the window. I confirmed the additional weight on my back, then raised my head and shouted:
“I'm done!!”
I saw Klein get hit once, and his HP decreased as he stepped back. Normally, he should have used a crystal to heal himself, but that wasn't possible in this room. Now, Asuna was fighting with the demon, and within just a few seconds her HP had already gone below the halfway mark and turned yellow.
After she heard me, Asuna nodded with her back towards me and gave a short shout before executing a piercing skill.
“Yaaaa!”
A white streak of light flew through the air and struck The Gleameyes' weapon, causing sparks to spray out. As a loud noise resounded, the distance between Asuna and the demon widened.
“Switch!!”
I didn't miss the opportunity and charged straight at the enemy. The demon quickly recovered from the short stunning effect and raised its sword high up into the air. With the sword in my right hand, I blocked the demon's blade as it came down from a flame-like trajectory. Then, I reached behind my back with my left hand and grabbed the handle of the new sword. I drew it and struck in one smooth movement. The demon's HP reduced noticeably as the first clean hit registered.
“Kwuaaaaa!”
The demon roared with rage and attempted another downward strike. This time, I crossed my two swords and blocked it completely. As its stance became unbalanced, I decided to break free from my defending streak and launched a combo attack.
My right sword slashed horizontally towards the demon's midsection. My left sword followed immediately to cut vertically into its body. Right, left, then right again. I swung my swords as if the nerves in my brain were going into overdrive. The sounds of metal clashing resounded loudly one after another as white lights flared through the air.
This was the extra skill that I had been hiding, «Dual Blades», and the technique I was using was its high-class sword skill «Starburst Stream», a sixteen-hit combo attack.
“Ahhhhh!!”
Paying no attention to the few hits that the demon's sword managed to block, I kept on screaming as I hacked away relentlessly with my swords. My eyes heated up, and my vision saw only the demon. Although the demon's sword still struck my body every so often, its impact felt like it was happening in some faraway world. Meanwhile, adrenaline continued to rush through my body, and my brain waves spiked every time my swords hit their mark.
Faster, faster. The rhythm of my swings already exceeded twice the normal speed, but it still felt slow to my heightened senses. I continued my attack at a pace that seemed to overtake even the system's assistance.
“...Ahhhhhhhhh!!”
With this shout I launched the last of my sixteen strikes, which penetrated The Gleameyes' chest.
“Kkaaaaaaahh!!”
When my senses returned, I realized that I wasn't the only one screaming. The huge demon was roaring towards the ceiling as massive breaths streamed out of its mouth and nose.
Then its body froze, and as soon as I noticed that—
The Gleameyes shattered into countless blue shards. Fragments of blue light rained down across the room.
It's... finished...?
Feeling dizzy from the aftereffects of the battle, I habitually swung both of my swords once more before simultaneously sheathing them into the scabbards that lay crossed on my back. I immediately checked my HP. There was a red line with only a few dots left. As I stared at my HP without care, I suddenly felt strength leave my body and collapsed onto the floor without a sound.
My vision faded out into blackness.

Chapter 12

“...-kun! Kirito-kun!!”
Asuna's calls, which were almost like screams, forced me awake. As I sat up, pain spiked through my head and caused my face to distort.
“Owww...”
I looked around and saw that we were still in the boss room. Blue light fragments were still floating around the room. It seemed like I had only lost consciousness for a few seconds.
Asuna was kneeling on the ground, her face right before my eyes. Her eyebrows were tightened, and she was biting her lip. It looked like she was going to cry.
“You idiot...! Why...!?”
She shouted and then jumped into my arms and hugged me. It shocked me enough to make me forget my pain for a moment. I could only blink in surprise.
“...Don't hug me so tightly. You're going to make my HP disappear.”
I said in a joking tone, but Asuna responded with a really angry expression. She shoved a small bottle into my mouth. The liquid which flowed in was a high-quality potion that tasted like a combination of lemon juice and green tea. It should fully heal my HP within five minutes, but my fatigue was going to last a while.
Asuna checked to confirm that I had drunk all of it. Then, as her face began to scrunch up, she put her forehead on my shoulder to hide it.
I raised my head at the sound of footsteps and saw Klein approach. He seemed a little apologetic for disturbing us, but started speaking nevertheless.
“We've finished healing all the remaining Army members, but Cobert and two of his men had already died...”
“...Yeah. It's the first time since the 67^th floor that someone died during a boss fight...”
“That wasn't even a fight. That idiot Cobert... You can't do anything if you're dead...”
Klein spat out. Then he took a deep breath, shook his head, and asked me in an attempt to change the mood.
“But back to the topic, what the hell was that just then!?”
“...Do I really have to explain it to you?”
“Of course! I've never seen something like that before!”
I suddenly noticed that aside from Asuna, everyone in the room was looking at me, waiting for my reply.
“...It's an extra skill: «Dual Blades».”
Expressions of amazement rose throughout Klein's party and the survivors from the Army.
All weapon skills had to be learned in a certain order depending on their type. Take swords for an example; you had to train the one-handed straight sword skill quite a bit before «Rapier» and «Two-Handed Sword» appeared on the list.
Naturally, Klein was interested, and he urged me to tell the rest.
“The conditions that have to be met are?”
“I'd have told everyone if I knew that.”
As I shook my head, Klein sighed and muttered.
“You're right...”
Weapon skills that didn't have clear conditions for appearing are called extra skills. They were sometimes even called random conditions. An example would be Klein's «Katana». But «Katana» wasn't all that rare and appeared quite often as long as you kept training the Curved Sword skill.
Most of the ten-plus extra skills that had been found up until now, «Katana» included, had at least ten people who used each of them. The only exceptions were my «Dual Blades» and one other man's extra skill.
These two were most likely limited to only one person, so they should be called «Unique Skill». I had hidden the existence of my unique skill up until now. But from today, the news that I was the second unique skill user would spread throughout the world. There was no way I could hide it after using it in front of so many people.
“I'm disappointed Kirito. You didn't even tell me that you had such an awesome skill.”
“I would have told you if I knew the conditions for its appearance. But I really couldn't figure out how it happened.”
I answered Klein's complaint with a shrug.
There wasn't a shred of lie in what I said. About a year ago, I opened my skills window one day and found the name «Dual Blades» just sitting there. I really had no clue on what conditions made it appear.
Since then, I only trained it when there was nobody around. Even after I nearly mastered it, I rarely used it against monsters unless it was an emergency. Aside from using it to protect myself in a crisis, I simply didn't like this kind of skill due to the attention it draws.
I even thought that it would be better if another Dual Blades user appeared—
I scratched the area around my ear and muttered.
“...If it became known that I had such a rare skill, not only would people pester me for information... it might attract other kinds of problems too...”
Klein nodded.
“Online gamers get jealous easily. I wouldn't since I'm an understanding guy, but there sure are plenty of envious people. Not to mention...”
Klein suddenly stopped talking and looked at Asuna, who was still tightly hugging me, and smiled meaningfully.
“...Well, just consider suffering as another way of training yourself, young Kirito.”
“So, to you it's just someone else's problem...?”
Klein bent over and thumped me on the shoulder, then turned around and walked towards the survivors of «The Army».
“Hey, you guys, do you think you'll be able to make it back to HQ by yourselves?”
One of them nodded at Klein's question. He was a boy who looked like he was in his teens.
“OK. Tell your superiors what happened here today and that they shouldn't do something this stupid again.”
“Yes. ...and, err...thank you.”
“Thank him over there.”
Klein pointed my way with his thumb. The players from the army stood up shakily, turned towards Asuna and I, who were still on the floor, and bowed deeply before walking out of the room. Once they reached the passageway, they used their crystals to teleport out one after another.
After the blue lights faded, Klein put his hands on his hips and started speaking.
“Well, let's see... We're going to continue on to the 75^th floor and open the gate there. How 'bout you? You're the man of the day, so do you want to do it?”
“No, I'll leave it to you. I'm totally wiped.”
“If that's the case... be careful on your way back.”
Klein nodded and then signaled to his teammates. The six walked over to the huge door in the corner of the room. Behind it should be the stairs to the next floor. The katana-wielder stopped in front of the door and turned around.
“Hey... Kirito. Y'know when you jumped in to save those Army members...”
“...What about it?”
“I was... well, really glad. That's all I have to say. See ya around sometime.”
I don't get what he was trying to say. As I cocked my head, Klein gave me a thumbs-up, then opened the door and disappeared through it with his party.
Only Asuna and I were left in the huge boss room. The blue flames that had been flaring up from the floor had disappeared some time ago, and the sinister atmosphere that once filled the room had vanished without a trace. The soft light that filled the passageway now flooded this room as well. Not a single sign of the battle remained.
I said something to Asuna, who still had her head against my shoulder.
“Hey... Asuna...”
“...I was so scared... I didn't know what I'd do... If you had died.”
Her shaking voice was weaker than I had ever heard it.
“...What are you talking about? You were the one who charged in first.”
I said this as I softly placed my hand on Asuna's shoulder. A manner infraction flag would come up if I grabbed her too blatantly, but this really wasn't a situation where I should worry about that.
As I gently pulled her towards me, my ears had almost missed her small voice.
“I'm going to take a short break from the guild.”
“T-Take a break...? Why?”
“...I said that I was going to party with you for a while... Did you forget already?”
As soon as I heard that...
Somewhere deep within my heart, a feeling that could only be described as a strong longing reached out. It surprised even me.
I —solo player Kirito— was a person who had abandoned every other player in order to keep myself alive in this world. I was the coward who had turned his back on his only friend and ran away two years ago, on the day that all of this had started.
A person like me, who didn't even have any right to wish for a comrade—let alone something more than that.
I had already realized this in a painful and unforgettable way. I had sworn never to wish again, never to yearn for the care of others.
But—
My left hand, which had turned rigid, didn't want to let go of Asuna's shoulder. I just couldn't pull myself away from the virtual warmth of her body.
I buried this huge contradicting conflict inside me with an inexplicable emotion, and then answered with a short reply.
“...Okay.”
After hearing my response, Asuna's head nodded slightly on my shoulder.


The next day.
I had been hiding on the second floor of Agil's shop since this morning. I was sitting on a rocking chair with my legs crossed and was drinking a strangely flavored tea, which I figured was probably a defective product. I was also in a rather foul mood.
All of Algade— No, most probably all of Aincrad was busy discussing the events of yesterday.
Floor clearing, which meant the opening of a new city, was already enough to start an exorbitant amount of gossiping. But this time, various other rumors had also been mixed in, like «The demon that wiped out a whole Army battalion» and «The Twin Blade swordsman that killed the demon by himself with fifty hits»... There should be a limit on how much they can exaggerate these things by.
Somehow they had found out about where I lived. As a result, swordsmen and information dealers had crowded around my house since early morning. I ended up having to go through the trouble of using a teleport crystal to escape.
“I'm going to move... To some super-rural floor, to some village where they'll never be able to find me....”
As I endlessly muttered my complaints, Agil walked over to me with a smile.
“Hey, don't be like that. It's good to become famous for once in your life. Why don't you host a presentation? I'll take care of the tickets and the venue...”
“No way!”
I shouted and threw the cup in my right hand, aiming for the area about fifty centimeters to the right of Agil's head. But I habitually made the motion which activated my Throw Weapon skill and hurled the cup towards the wall at a high speed. The cup left a trail of light before it smashed into the wall with a loud noise. Thankfully, the room was an indestructible object, so nothing else happened other than the appearance of the «Immortal Object» system tag. If I had hit a piece of furniture, it would have been destroyed for sure.
“Ah, are you trying to kill me here!?”
At the shopkeeper's exaggerated shout, I raised my right hand as a sign of apology and leaned back against the chair once more.
Agil was currently examining the treasure I had received from yesterday's fight. Every once in a while, he would make a strange noise, which most probably meant that there were some pretty valuable goods in there.
I had planned to equally share with Asuna the money I would get from selling the loot, but it was already past the promised meeting time and she still hadn't arrived. I had already sent her a friend-message, so she should know where I was...
We parted at the main street teleport gate of the 74^th floor yesterday. She said that she was going to apply for a break and went to the KoB HQ in Grandum on the 55^th floor. I asked her if I should go with her, given the trouble with Kuradeel and all. But she said it was fine with a smile on her face, so I abandoned the thought.
It was already two hours past the promised time. If she was this late, did it mean that something had happened? Should I have gone with her? I downed the cup of tea in a single gulp in order to calm my anxieties.
Just as I had drained the tea pot before me, and Agil had finished his examination of my items, I heard the sound of footsteps running up the stairs. Then, the door quickly crashed open.
“Hey, Asuna...”
I had almost said "You're late" but stopped myself. Asuna was in her uniform as usual, but her face was white and worry shone through her eyes. She held both her hands in front of her chest, bit her lip twice or thrice, and then said:
“What should we do... Kirito-kun...”
She forced out in a voice that was close to tears.
“Something... bad has happened...”


After drinking some newly-boiled tea, life managed to return to Asuna's face, and she started explaining a bit hesitantly. Agil had moved back down to the first floor after noticing the atmosphere.
“Yesterday... after I returned to the HQ in Grandum, I reported everything that had happened to the guild leader. Then I said that I wanted to take a break from the guild and then went back home... I had thought that I would get permission during the regular morning guild meeting...”
Asuna, who was sitting opposite of me, lowered her eyes and grabbed her tea cup tightly before she continued.
“The leader... said that I could take a brief leave from the guild. But there was one condition... He said that... he wanted to have a fight... with Kirito-kun...”
“What...?”
I couldn't understand what she meant for a moment. Fight...? Did that mean a duel? What did a duel have to do with Asuna taking a break?
When I asked these questions...
“I don't know either....”
Asuna shook her head while looking at the floor.
“I tried to persuade him that there's no meaning in doing that... but he just wouldn't listen to me...”
“But... this is problematic. For that guy to suddenly present a condition like this...”
I muttered as the image of the guild leader flashed through my mind.
“I know. The leader usually leaves us alone even when we're planning our strategy for clearing floors, let alone everyday guild activities. But I don't know why this time he...”
Although the KoB leader had overwhelming charisma, which attracted the admiration of not only all his guild members but also most of the front lines people, he never gave any instructions or orders. I fought beside him during a couple of boss fights as well and greatly admired his ability to maintain the line without a single word.
For such a guy to put forth an objection with the condition of having a duel with me, just what on earth could it be about?
Even though I was completely confused, I spoke in order to calm Asuna down.
“...Well, let's go to Grandum first. I'll try talking to him directly.”
“Yeah... Sorry. I'm always causing you trouble...”
“I'll gladly do anything, because you're my...”
Asuna looked at me expectantly as I stopped in the middle of my sentence.
“...important partying partner.”
Asuna pouted with dissatisfaction, then revealed a warm smile.


The Strongest Man, The Living Legend, The Paladin, and et cetera— The leader of the Knights of the Blood had so many titles that you couldn't count them with your hands.
His name was Heathcliff. Before my «Dual Blades» became widely known, he was renowned as the only unique skill user amongst the six thousand players of Aincrad.
His extra skill used a sword and shield combination, both of which were cross-shaped, and allowed the user to switch freely between attack and defense. It was named «Holy Sword». I had seen it myself a couple of times and noticed that the skill's most remarkable aspect was its overwhelming defensive strength. Rumors claim that no one had ever seen his HP go into the yellow zone. During the 50^th floor boss fight which had inflicted heavy casualties on the players, he had managed to hold the line by himself for ten whole minutes. This achievement remained a popular topic of conversation even today.
There was no weapon that could pierce Heathcliff's cross-shaped shield.
This was one of the most widely-accepted tenets within Aincrad.
As I arrived on the 55^th floor with Asuna, I felt an indescribable nervousness. Of course, I had no intention of crossing swords with Heathcliff. I was merely going to ask him to accept Asuna's request for a temporary break from the guild; that was my only goal.
Grandum, the living area of the 55^th floor, was nicknamed «Steel City». This was because Grandum, unlike the other cities which were built with stone, was mostly comprised of huge towers that were made of shining black steel. Since the city had a large number of blacksmiths, its player population was quite high. However, there weren't any trees or other greenery alongside the streets, which gave off a feeling that this city was harshly unforgiving in the winter winds.
We came through the gate plaza and walked along the road, which was made with steel plates locked into position with rivets. Asuna's footsteps seemed heavy; maybe it was because she was afraid of what might happen.
We walked amongst the steel towers for about ten minutes until an even larger tower loomed before us. Silver spears protruded out above the huge gates, while white flags with red crosses swayed in the cold wind. It was the HQ of the Knights of the Blood guild.
Asuna stopped in front of me. She looked up at the tower for a while and then said:
“Before, the HQ was a small house in a countryside village on the 39^th floor. Everyone always complained that it was too small and crowded. I'm not against the guild expanding... but this city is too cold, and I don't like it...”
“Let's just get this over with quickly; then we can go get something warm to eat.”
“You're always talking about eating.”
Asuna smiled and moved her left hand to gently grasp the fingers of my right hand. She didn't even look at me, who was perplexed at her behavior, and just stood there like that for a few seconds.
“Okay, charging complete!”
Then she released my hand and began to walk towards the tower in long strides. I hurried to follow behind her.
After going up the stairs, we came across two wide-open gates, although there were two heavily-armored guards equipped with a particularly long spear on each side. Asuna walked over to them, the heels of her boots clanking against the floor. As she approached them, both of the guards greeted her by raising their spears off the ground.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
With her crisp response and her confident stride, it was hard to believe that this was the same depressed girl who had been in Agil's shop just an hour ago. Following closely behind Asuna, I passed the guards and entered the tower with her.
Like the other buildings of Grandum, this tower was also built from black steel. Its first floor was a spacious lobby, but there wasn't a single person here right now.
Thinking that the building felt even colder than the streets outside, we walked past the mosaic floor, which had been meticulously constructed from numerous metal pieces, and came to a spiral staircase.
We went up the stairs; our footsteps echoing through the hall. The staircase climbed so high, a person with low vitality stats would have collapsed halfway up. After passing countless doors, I started to worry about how much further we would still have to go. Then Asuna finally stopped in front of a cold steel door.
“This is...?”
“Yeah...”
Asuna nodded with an expression of reluctance on her face. But she seemed to have arrived at a decision right away. She raised her right hand, knocked loudly on the door, and then opened it without waiting for a reply. I squinted as bright light poured out from the room.
Inside was a round room that took up an entire floor of the tower. The walls on all four sides were made of transparent glass windows. The light that filtered through them colored the room in a monotone gray.
A huge semi-circular table stood in the center of the room; five men sat in the chairs behind it. I had never seen the four on the sides, but I recognized the one in the middle all too well. He was the paladin Heathcliff.
He didn't look all that imposing. His age was probably around twenty-five. His features were sharp like that of a scholar, and a strand of steel-grey hair hung over his forehead. The richly red robe draped around his tall, thin body made him seem more like a wizard that didn't exist in this world than a swordsman.
But the most prominent features were his eyes. Those mysterious brass eyes emitted a strong magnetism that overwhelmed people. This wasn't even my first time meeting him; but to be truthful, I was still intimidated.
Asuna walked over to the table, the sound of her boots echoing, and gave a light salute.
“I've come to say my farewell.”
Heathcliff gave a bitter smile in response:
“There's no need to rush. Please allow me to talk to him for a bit first.”
He looked my way as he said that. I drew back my hood and stood next to Asuna.
“Is this the first time I've met you outside of a boss fight, Kirito?”
“No... We talked for a while during the 67^th floor strategy meeting.”
I answered in a formal tone without realizing it.
Heathcliff nodded slightly and clasped his hands together on top of the table.
“That was a difficult battle. We almost took some casualties within our guild. Even though they call us the top guild, we're always short on people. Yet now you are trying to take away one of our precious top players.”
“If she's so precious, how about putting more thought in selecting her bodyguards?”
The man on the furthest right began to stand up at my sharp retort, his expression changing. But Heathcliff stopped him with simple wave of the hand.
“I've ordered Kuradeel to return to his house and reflect upon his mistakes. I must apologize for the trouble we have caused you. But, we cannot just stand aside and allow you to take our sub-leader away. Kirito—”
He suddenly glared at me; his sharp metallic eyes showed an unwavering will behind them.
“If you want to take her— win her with your sword, with «Dual Blades». If you fight me and win, then Asuna can go with you. But if you lose, then you will have to join the Knights of the Blood.”
“...”
I felt like I could finally understand a bit of this mysterious man.
He was someone obsessed with sword duels. Furthermore, he had unshakable confidence in his own skills. He was a hopeless person who could not throw away his pride as a gamer despite being trapped in this inescapable game of death. In other words, he was the same as me.
After hearing Heathcliff's words, Asuna, who had been silent until now, opened her mouth and spoke as if she couldn't take any more of this.
“Leader, I didn't say that I would quit the guild. I just wanted a temporary leave, to get away and think about some things...”
I placed my hand on Asuna's shoulder, whose words had become more agitated, and took a step forward. I faced Heathcliff's gaze directly, and my mouth moved almost by itself.
“Okay. If you want to talk through our swords, then I have no objections. We'll decide this with a duel.”


“Auu—!!! Idiotidiotidiot!!!”
We were back in Algade, on the second floor of Agil's shop. After chasing the curious shopkeeper back to the first floor, I tried to calm Asuna down.
“I was trying so hard to convince him, yet you just had to say something like that!!!”
Asuna was sitting on the armrest of the rocking chair I was on and was using her tightly balled fists to grind against me.
“I'm sorry! I'm reaaaally sorry! I just went with the flow and...”
She finally calmed down after I gently grabbed her fists; but now she was pouting. I had to forcibly keep myself from laughing at the huge gap between her behavior at the guild HQ and that of right now.
“It's fine. We've decided on using first strike rules, so there's no danger involved. Besides, it's not like I'm definitely going to lose...”
“Uu~~~~...”
Asuna made an angry noise and crossed her thin, long legs atop the armrest.
“...When I saw Kirito-kun's «Dual Blades», I thought that your skill was on a totally different level. But it's the same for the leader's «Holy Sword»... One could say that his power was strong enough to destroy the game's balance. Truthfully, I really don't know who'll win... But what are you going to do? If you lose, it doesn't matter if I can't take a break, but you'll have to join KoB, Kirito-kun.”
“Well, you could say that I would still achieve my goal, depending on how you think about it.”
“Eh? Why?”
I had to force my mouth open to respond.
“Err, well, as...as long as Asuna is with me, I don't mind joining the guild.”
In the past, I would never have said something like this, even if it was to save my own life. Asuna's eyes went wide with surprise, and her face turned as red as a ripe apple. Then, for some reason, she fell quiet, got up from the armrest, and walked over to the window.
From across Asuna's shoulders, I could hear the everyday sounds of Algade under the setting sun.
What I just said was the truth, but I still felt reluctant about becoming part of a guild. As I remembered the name of the only guild that I had ever belonged to, which no longer exists today, a sharp pain ached in my heart.
Well, I have no intention of losing...
I thought to myself, then got up from the chair and walked over to Asuna.
Soon afterwards, Asuna rested her head softly against my right shoulder.

Chapter 13

The newly opened living area on the 75^th floor was a city reminiscent of ancient Rome. According to the map, its name was «Collinia». The entire city was already filled with activity, thanks to the large numbers of fighters and merchants that have settled in, as well as others who took no part in clearing the game but had come to sight-see. On top of all that, a rare special event would be held here today, so guests had been pouring out of the teleport gate since this morning.
The city was mostly constructed from square bricks of white limestone. One building stood out amongst its temple-like buildings and wide waterways; that was the huge coliseum which towered in front of the gate plaza. It was perfect for holding the duel between Heathcliff and me. But...
"Fire-breathing popcorn for ten Col a cup! Ten Col!"
"Cold black beer for sale~!"
Numerous merchants were selling their goods in front of the coliseum entrance; they were calling out to the long line of spectators and selling them strange looking refreshments.
"...This, what on earth is this...?"
Shocked by the sight unfolding before me, I could only ask Asuna, who was standing beside me.
"I-I don't know..."
"Hey, isn't that a KoB member selling the tickets!? How on earth did it turn into such a large event!?"
"I-I don't know..."
"Is this Heathcliff's real goal...?"
"No, I think that the head of finances, Daizen-san, is the one behind this. He wouldn't miss an opportunity like this."
As Asuna laughed, I sagged my shoulders and felt completely powerless.
"...Let's run away Asuna. We can go live in some small village on the 20^th floor and plow fields."
"I'm fine with that, but..."
Asuna then added teasingly:
"You'll make a rea~lly bad name for yourself if you run away now."
"Damn-it..."
"Well, it's your own fault, isn't it? Ah... Daizen-san."
As I lifted my head, I saw a fat man who was waddling towards us; he was so wide that it was impossible to find a person less suited to wear the red-white uniform of the KoB.
With a wide smile covering his round face, he started talking to us:
"Thanks ta Kirito-san we're makin' lotsa money! If ya jus' did it once every month I'd be really thankful!"
"No way!!"
"Come, come, the waitin' room's over here. Come on, this way please."
I resigned myself to my fate and followed him. I didn't even care about what would happen anymore.
The waiting room was a small place that faced the arena. After Daizen escorted me to the entrance, he said something about adjusting the betting prices and disappeared. I didn't even have the energy to curse him anymore. From the waiting room, I could hear countless indistinct cheers outside. It seemed that the audience seating was already filled.
When only the two of us remained, Asuna grasped my palm with both her hands and spoke with a serious expression.
"...Even if it's a First Strike match, it'll be dangerous if you get directly hit by a strong critical strike. Especially since many of the leader's moves aren't even known, you should forfeit as soon as you feel something is wrong, understood? I'll never forgive you if you do something dangerous again like last time!"
"You should be worrying about Heathcliff more."
I smiled and tapped both of Asuna's shoulders.
As an announcement declared the start of the duel, the crowd gave off a thunderous roar. I pulled the two swords on my back out by a bit, and then slid them back into their scabbards with a *clang*. After that, I began to walk towards the square light hoop on the field.
The step seating that ringed the amphitheater was fully packed with people. My guess is that there were at least a thousand spectators. I could see Klein and Agil on the front rows, screaming dangerous things like "Dice him up" and "Kill him" .
I walked to the center of the arena before stopping. Then, a deep red silhouette emerged from the opposite waiting room, and the cheering became even more intense.
Unlike the normal Knights of the Blood uniform, which was red on white, Heathcliff wore a red surcoat that was the complete opposite. Although he was like me and wore almost no armor, he held a huge, pure-white, cross-shaped shield in his left hand, which had immediately caught my attention. His sword seemed to be sheathed within the shield, as I could see the cross-shaped handle protruding from its top.
Heathcliff walked casually until he stood right before me. He glanced at the crowd and then spoke with a bitter smile.
"I must apologize, Kirito-kun. I really had no idea that this was going to happen."
"I'm going to be asking for my share of the money."
"No... After this fight you'll be part of our guild. I'll be designating this duel as one of the guild's missions."
Heathcliff then erased his smile, and his brass colored eyes started giving off an overwhelming energy. Intimidated, I unconsciously took half a step back. In reality, we were probably lying down at places far away from each other, with only digital data being passed between us. But, I still felt something that could only be called killing intent.
My mind went into its battle state, and my eyes received Heathcliff's gaze head on. The loud cheering sounded as if it was moving further away. Before I realized it, my senses had already begun to quicken, and it felt like even the colors of the surroundings had changed.
Heathcliff turned his gaze and walked to a spot about ten meters away from me. He then raised his right hand and manipulated the menu screen that appeared without even glancing at it. A duel message appeared in front of me. I consented and set the mode to first strike.
The countdown started. I could barely hear the shouts around me now.
My blood began to pump faster. I vanquished the last remaining bits of hesitation and let loose my desire to fight. Then I drew my two swords at the same time from behind my back. My opponent wasn't someone I could win against unless I went all out from the beginning.
Heathcliff drew his thin, long sword from his shield, and then held it resolutely as he entered his combat stance.
He stood with his shield turned towards me and the right side of his body away from me. I couldn't feel any forced strength behind his stance. I realized that trying to predict his actions would only confuse me further, and decided to simply charge in immediately and attack with full power.
Even though neither of us glanced at the window, we both kicked off as soon as the «Duel» message appeared.
I lowered my stance as I ran; my body nearly scraping the floor as it glided in.
I twisted my body around right before reaching Heathcliff and swung the sword in my right hand upwards to the left. It was blocked by the cross-shaped shield and sent out a burst of sparks. But my attack was part of a two hit combo. Point one second after the first strike, my left sword slid in behind the shield. It was a Dual Blades dash-type skill «Double Circular».
The strike from the left was deflected by the long sword; its circular lighting effect stopped midway. Although it was disappointing, this move was just a signal for beginning the fight. Using the force of the sword skill, I widened the distance between us and then charged at my opponent again.
This time, Heathcliff countered by charging me with his shield. His right arm was hidden behind his huge cross-shaped shield, making it hard to see.
"Che!"
I dashed to my right in an attempt to evade his attack. I thought that if I stayed on Heathcliff's shield side, I would have enough time to react to his attacks even if I couldn't see the trajectory.
But then Heathcliff lifted his shield up horizontally.
"Haa!"
With this low shout, he executed a piercing attack with his shield. It came at me, leaving a trail of pure white light.
"Ahh!!"
I just managed to guard by crossing my two swords. The powerful impact rattled my entire body and sent me flying back by several meters. I dug my right sword into the ground to stop myself from falling over and then flipped in midair before landing.
It was unexpected, but it seemed that the shield itself could also be used as a weapon. It was similar to Dual Blades in a sense. I had originally thought that my overwhelming attack speed would allow me to win in a first strike duel; but it seemed that I was wrong.
Heathcliff dashed towards me, closing the distance between us and denying me of any time to recover. The sword with the cross-shaped hilt in his right hand pierced towards me at a speed that could rival Asuna the «Flash».
As the opponent started his combo attack, I could only use both of my swords to defend. Before the duel, Asuna had explained as much as she could about «Holy Sword»; but it seemed that cramming just wasn't enough. Therefore, I could only rely on split-second decisions to block the incoming blows.
After using my left sword to parry the last upward slash of his eight strike combo, I immediately attempted a one-hit sword skill, «Vorpal Strike», with my right.
"Hya...aaa!!"
With the metallic noise of a jet engine, the sword skill left a red trail of light before striking the center of his shield. It felt as if I had hit a stone wall; but my hands kept going to finish the strike.
*Claang!!* The sound of the impact rang out, and this time Heathcliff was pushed back. I couldn't completely pierce the shield, but I felt the feeling of having «penetrated» his defense. Heathcliff's HP had been reduced slightly, but not enough to decide the fight.
Heathcliff landed agilely and widened the distance between us.
"...Impressive reaction time."
"More like your defense is too perfect...!!"
I charged as I said this. Heathcliff also raised his sword and closed in on me.
We started trading blows at blinding speeds. My sword was blocked by his shield; his sword was deflected by mine. Various light trails of different colors appeared and faded continuously around us, while the sounds of our weapons clashing shook the arena floor. A minor blow made it through every once a while, and our HP decreased bit by bit. Even if both players failed to make a clean hit, one would win the moment their opponent's HP fell below 50%.
But I didn't care about that anymore. I felt myself accelerating in exhilaration, as this was the first time I had faced such a strong opponent since being trapped in SAO. Every time my senses sharpened, the speed of my attacks rose by another notch.
I still haven't reached my limit. I can still get faster. Follow me if you can, Heathcliff!!!
As I released every ounce of strength at my disposal, I drowned myself in the savage joy of swinging my swords. I was most probably laughing. While the exchange of sword blows intensified, the HP of both sides continued to decrease until they nearly reached the 50% area.
At that instant, Heathcliff's stoic face finally showed a flash of emotion.
What was it? Nervousness? I felt the speed of his blows decrease just a little.
"Haaaa!"
In that moment, I abandoned all defenses and launched an assault with both of my swords: «Starburst Stream». My blades rushed towards Heathcliff like the blazing flames of a solar prominence.
"Argh...!!"
Heathcliff raised his cross-shaped shield to guard. But I just ignored it and kept hacking away at him from the right, left, up, and down. Meanwhile, his responses became even slower.
—I can break through!!
I was certain that the last strike would breach his defense. With his shield overextended to the right, my attack from the left streaked in, drawing a trajectory of light. As long as this blow lands, his HP will definitely fall below the halfway mark, and I would win the—
Then, at this moment, my entire world shook.
"—!?"
How should I describe it? It was as if some of my time had been taken away from me.
For several tenths of a second, everything around me seemed to freeze; everything except Heathcliff. The shield that should have been on the right suddenly appeared on the left, as if I was watching a stop motion video, and blocked my sword.
"Wha—!?"
I was stunned for a fatal moment after the strong attack was blocked. There was no way that Heathcliff would have lost that chance.
The long sword in his right hand launched a one-hit skill, which came at me with a detestable accuracy that would surely decide the match. I fell into an unsightly heap. I could see the purple system message, which announced that the duel had ended, with the corner of my eye.
My battle state had disappeared. I simply laid there, my mind blank, even as the cheering registered in my head once again.
"Kirito-kun!!"
Asuna ran over and shook me back to my senses.
"Ah...yeah... I'm fine."
Asuna looked at my blank expression with worry.
I lost—?
I still couldn't believe it. Heathcliff's unearthly speed during those final moments had gone past the limits of a player— past the limits of any human. I even saw the polygons that made up his avatar distort for a moment because of the impossible speed.
As I sat on the ground, I raised my head and gazed at Heathcliff's face.
But the expression of the winner was angry for some reason. The red paladin glared at us with his metallic eyes, then turned around wordlessly and walked over to his waiting room amidst the thunderous cheering.

Chapter 14

"Wha...? What is that!?"
"What do you mean? You know what this is. Now come on, get up!"
The things that Asuna had forced me into were my new clothes. Although it had the same design as the coat I used to wear, it was also blindingly white. There were two small crosses on each of my cuffs and a large one on my back; all three of them were dyed in bright red. It was, beyond any doubt, a KoB uniform.
"...I-I said I wanted something plain..."
"This is already pretty plain. Yeah, it suits you!!"
I sank into the rocking chair as all strength left my body. I was still living on the second floor of Agil's shop. The place had already become my disaster shelter, so the pitiable shopkeeper could only sleep on a simple bed on the first floor. The only reason he hadn't chased me out was because Asuna came every other day to help out with the shop. It was the best advertising opportunity he could get.
As I groaned in my chair, Asuna came and sat down on the armrest, which had become her designated spot. She rocked the chair with a smile, as if my current predicament was amusing to her, and then clapped her hands together as if she had thought of something.
"Ah, we better say our greetings properly. As a member of the guild, I hope we can get along well."
As she suddenly bowed, I straightened my back to reply.
"I-I hope we get along too... but then again, I'm just a normal member while you're the sub-leader, so..."
I swept my right forefinger down Asuna's spine.
"I won't be able to do things like this anymore—"
"Kyaa!"
With this scream, my superior jumped up and struck her subordinate's head. Then she walked over to the opposite chair and sat down; her face pouting.
Under the lazy sunlight of late autumn, we went into a short and peaceful lull.
My loss in the duel against Heathcliff had passed two days ago. As I wasn't someone who would go back on his word, I joined the Knights of the Blood as I had agreed with Heathcliff. The guild gave me two days to prepare, so starting tomorrow I would be following their orders to explore the 75^th floor labyrinth.
Joining a guild, huh—
Asuna glanced at me as she heard my quiet sigh.
"...You got mixed up in all this because of me."
"Nah, it's fine. It's a good opportunity for me. I was starting to feel the limits of solo playing anyway..."
"It's a relief to hear you say that... Hey, Kirito-kun..."
Asuna's hazelnut eyes looked directly at me.
"Can you tell me why you avoid guilds... avoid people...? I don't think it's merely because you're a beta tester or a unique skill user, because you are a very kind person."
I shifted my gaze downwards and slowly rocked my chair.
"...A long time ago... over a year actually, I once joined a guild...."
The words came out so easily that it surprised me. Maybe it was because Asuna's gaze felt like it would be able to melt the pain that spiked through me every time I thought about this.
"I was offered a spot after I met and helped them by chance in a labyrinth area... It was a small guild with only six members, including me, and it had an interesting name: «Black Cats of the Full Moon»."
Asuna smiled lightly.
"The leader was a good person. He was a two-handed stave user called Keita. He always thought of the guild members first in any situation, so everyone trusted him deeply. He told me that he was on the lookout for a forward, since most of the members used longer-ranged two-handed weapons...
To tell the truth, their levels were all much lower than mine. No, I should say that I had leveled too much.
If I had told him my level, Keita would have thought otherwise about inviting me. But I had been getting tired of going into the Labyrinths alone day after day, and the family-like atmosphere of the «Black Cats» had made me envious. It felt like they were real-life friends, as the conversations they had with each other lacked any of the awkwardness and distance that was usually evident in online conversations between players; that had deeply appealed to me as well.
Frankly, I had no right to desire for the care of others. I had lost that right when I decided to become a solo player and selfishly leveled only for myself. But I had quelled my inner voices and joined the guild, hiding both my level and my beta-tester past.
Keita asked me if I could train one of their spear users into a sword-and-shield user. Because then there would be three forwards, including myself, and the guild would make a balanced party.
The spear user who he had entrusted to me was a quiet girl with shoulder-length black hair named Sachi. When we were introduced, she said, with an embarrassed smile, that despite being a long-time gamer, she hadn't been able to make many friends due to her personality. Whenever there were no guild activities, I had hung out with her and taught her how to use her single-handed sword.
Sachi and I were similar in a lot of ways. We were both socially awkward, preferred to wall ourselves in, and yet feared loneliness.
Then one day, she suddenly told me that she was afraid of dying, that she was so scared of this game of death that she didn't want to go out and train.
In response to her divulgence, I could only say 'I won't let you die'. I couldn't say anything else to her since I was still trying to hide my level. After she heard my response, she cried for a bit before forcing out a smile.
On another day, some time later, the five of us, all of the guild excluding Keita, went into a labyrinth. Keita didn't come with us because he had gone to bargain for a house to use as our HQ with the money that we had managed to save up.
Although the labyrinth we went to had already been cleared, there were still unexplored areas within it. One of the members discovered a treasure chest when we were preparing to leave. I recommended leaving it alone, as we were close to the front lines so the monsters had high levels. Furthermore, I didn't trust the trap dismantling skills of the members. But since only Sachi and I opposed opening the treasure chest, we lost 3 to 2 on the vote.
It was an alarm trap, one of the worst types of traps. As soon as we opened the chest, an ear-splitting alarm sounded, and monsters began to pour in from every entrance to the room. We immediately attempted to escape by teleporting.
But the trap was twofold. The room was an Anti-Crystal Area— our crystals didn't work.
There were simply too many monsters to hold back. The other members fell into complete confusion and ran around aimlessly. I tried to cut a path open by using the high class sword skills that I had been hiding up until now, but the panicked members didn't make it out in time. One by one, their HP fell to zero, and they screamed before bursting into tiny fragments. I thought that I could at least save Sachi and swung my sword endlessly.
But it was too late. I saw Sachi reaching out towards me with her hand while a monster cut her down mercilessly. Her eyes were still trusting even as she shattered like a glass statue and disappeared. She had trusted and relied on me until the very end; but because my words were weak and shallow, they had become nothing more than an empty promise, a lie.
Keita had been waiting for us in the inn that had served as our temporary base with the new HQ keys in his hands. After returning to the inn by myself, I explained to Keita what had happened. He had listened wordlessly until I finished, then asked me:
'How did you survive?'
Then I revealed my real level and that I had been a beta tester.
Keita had glared at me as if I was something disgusting, then said one thing.
'—A beater like you didn't have any right to join us.'
Those words had stabbed through me as if they were a steel sword."


"...What happened... to that person...?"
"He committed suicide."
Asuna's body shuddered on the chair.
"He jumped off the edge of the floor. Most probably cursing me... to the very end..."
I felt my throat contract. As I recounted these memories that I had sealed deep inside my heart, the painful emotions of back then returned with perfect clarity. I gritted my teeth. Although I wanted to reach out to Asuna for comfort, a voice in my mind whispered, "You have no right to do so", which left me with only the option of tightly clenching my fists.
"I had killed them. If I didn't hide the fact that I was a beta tester, I would have been able to persuade them to leave the chest alone. It was me... I'm the one who had killed Keita... and Sachi..."
With my eyes wide open, I forced these words out of my gritted teeth.
Asuna suddenly stood up, took two steps towards me, and caressed my face with both her hands. She pulled her beautiful face closer to mine with a warm smile.
"I won't die."
She said it in a whisper, yet the voice was very clear. I felt the strength leave my tensed body.
"Because, I'm... I'm somebody who'll protect you."
After saying this, Asuna brought my head to her chest and embraced it. I felt a soft and warm darkness cover me.
As I closed my eyes, my mind reached over the dark veil of my memories and saw the faces of the Black Cat members; they were all sitting at the Inn's counter, bathed in an orange glow.
I cannot be forgiven. I can never pay the price for my wrongdoings.
Yet despite this, the faces that remained in my memories seemed to be smiling.


On the next day, I put on my blindingly white coat and left with Asuna for Grandum on the 55^th floor.
Starting today, I would begin my work as a Knights of the Blood guild member. However, in contrast to the usual five-person party, Asuna took advantage of her power and allowed us to form a two-person party; so in reality, it was no different from yesterday.
But the orders that awaited us at the guild HQ were totally unexpected.
"Training...?"
"Yes. We will make a party of four and go through the Labyrinth Area in the 55^th floor until we reach the living area of the 56^th floor."
The man who said this was one of the four other men who were present at the table when I had talked with Heathcliff. He was a huge man with thick blond curls and looked like an axe wielder.
"Wait, Godfree! Kirito-kun is going to..."
As Asuna started arguing, Godfree raised one eyebrow and responded in a confident, if not presumptuous, voice.
"Even the sub-leader must adhere to the rules. I don't mind the party he joins for exploration. But as the commander of the vanguard, I must test his capabilities. Even if he is a unique skill user, we don't actually know if he'll be of any use to us."
"W-With Kirito-kun's strength, there's no way he'll be an inconvenience..."
I calmed the agitated Asuna down before speaking:
"If you want to see, then I'll show you. But I don't want to waste time in such a low-level labyrinth. Would rushing through it in one run be alright with you?"
Godfree closed his mouth with an expression of displeasure. Then he left after saying:
"Assemble at the west city gate in thirty minutes."
"What kind of attitude is that!?"
Asuna kicked the steel pillar with her boots in indignation.
"I'm sorry, Kirito-kun. Maybe it would have been better if we had run away..."
"If we did that, all the members of the guild would collectively curse me to death."
I smiled and hit Asuna's head playfully.
"Uuuu, I thought that we would be together today... Should I go along with you...?"
"I'll be back soon. Just wait here."
"Yeah... Be careful..."
Asuna nodded reluctantly. After waving my hand towards her, I walked out of the HQ.


But when I arrived at the appointed location —the west gate of Grandum— I saw something even more shocking.
Next to Godfree stood the person who I least wanted to see in this world — Kuradeel.

Chapter 15

“...What is this?”
I asked Godfree quietly.
“Hmm, I already know what happened between you two. But since you're comrades within the same guild from now on, I thought this would be a good opportunity to work out the bad blood between you two.”
As I watched Godfree laugh with his head up in the air, Kuradeel slowly walked towards me.
“...”
I tensed and prepared to react to any situation. Even though we were in a safe area, there was no telling what he might do.
But against all my expectations, Kuradeel suddenly bowed. He then muttered in a barely-audible voice under his long hair.
“I'm... sorry for causing you trouble last time...”
This time I was genuinely shocked. My jaw dropped in amazement and I was left wordless.
“I won't act so rudely again... I hope you will forgive me...”
I couldn't see his expression under his long, greasy hair.
“Ah... yeah...”
As I forced myself to nod, I wondered what in the world had happened. Did he get a personality altering surgery or something?
“Yes, yes. Well, that's all taken care of now!!”
Godfree gave another hearty laugh. I felt really suspicious; Kuradeel must be up to something, but I couldn't guess from looking at his lowered head. In contrast to its overstated emotions, SAO had a hard time portraying subtle expressions. I could only accept his apology for now, but I reminded myself not to let my guard down.
The last member arrived after a while, and then we set off for the labyrinth. Just as I began to step into my pace, Godfree stopped me with a gruff voice:
“Wait... Today's training will be done under the most realistic circumstances. I want to see how well you deal with dangerous situations, so I will be taking all of your crystals.”
“...Even our teleport crystals?”
Godfree only nodded in response. I hesitated. Crystals, especially teleport crystals, were the last safety net in this death game. I had never been without them. I was about to refuse, but a problem here might put Asuna in a problematic situation, so I decided to hold back my words.
Seeing as Kuradeel and the other member handed over their crystals obediently, I had no choice but to follow. Godfree even carefully checked my inventory afterwards.
“Hmm, good. Then let's go!”
At Godfree's order, we walked out of Grandum and journeyed towards the Labyrinth Area that we could see to the far west.


The 55^th floor training area was a desolate wasteland almost devoid of vegetation. I wanted to finish the training quickly, so I suggested running all the way to the labyrinth, but it was rejected by a single wave of Godfree's hand. It was most probably because he had focused on raising his strength stats and disregarded his dexterity. I could only give up and continue to tread through the endless wilderness.
We ran into monsters a couple of times. But when it came to this, I had no time to wait patiently for Godfree's orders, so I simply cut them down right away.
Eventually, after making it past a number of tall, rocky mountains, the gray limestone of the labyrinth finally came into view...
“Okay, we're taking a break here!”
After Godfree announced this in his gruff voice, the party stopped.
“...”
I wanted to just rush through the labyrinth; but since I figured it'd be overruled even if I brought it up, I simply sighed and sat down on a rock. It was already nearly midday.
“I'll hand the food out.”
Godfree then called up four leather pouches and threw them to the members. I caught mine with one hand and opened it without any expectations. Inside were a water bottle and some hard bread that were sold at NPC stores.
I opened the bottle and swallowed a mouthful while cursing my bad luck; I would be eating Asuna's handmade sandwiches right now if everything had gone as we had planned.
Then, I suddenly noticed that Kuradeel was sitting on a distant rock. He hadn't even touched his pouch, and those eyes beneath his long hair glanced darkly in our direction.
What on earth was he looking at...?
A cold feeling abruptly passed through my body. He was waiting for something. That something... It most probably—
I immediately threw the bottle away and tried to spit the liquid out of my mouth.
But it was too late. Strength suddenly left my body and I collapsed. The HP bar came up at the edge of my vision; it was surrounded by a green line that wasn't usually there.
There was no mistaking it; it was a paralysis poison.
When I looked around, I discovered that Godfree and the other member were also writhing on the ground. I immediately reached inside my pouch with my left forearm, but this only intensified my panic. I had already handed all my antidote crystals and teleport crystals to Godfree. I still had a potion, but it didn't have any effect on paralysis.
“Ku...kukuku...”
Shrill laughter reached my ears. As he sat on the rock, Kuradeel held his stomach with both hands and bent over in laughter. His heavily lidded eyes revealed the crazed ecstasy that I remembered all too well.
“Waha! Haha! Hyahahahaha!!”
He guffawed towards the skies, seemingly unable to control himself. Godfree stared at him with a stupefied expression.
“What...? What is this...? Wasn't the water... prepared by... you, Kuradeel...”
“Godfree! Quick, use an antidote crystal!!”
After hearing my shout, Godfree finally began to rummage through the pouch at his side.
“Hya—!!”
With a strange scream, Kuradeel jumped off his rock and kicked aside Godfree's left hand with his boot. A green crystal rolled out of Godfree's hand. Kuradeel picked it up, then stuck his hand in Godfree's pouch, took out the remaining crystals, and put them into his own pouch.
Everything was over.
“Kuradeel... What, what are you doing...? Is this some sort of... training exercise?”
“Re—tard!!”
Kuradeel said as he kicked Godfree, who still didn't understand the situation and muttered these stupid things, in the mouth.
“Argh!”
Godfree's HP went down a little, and at the same time Kuradeel's cursor changed from yellow to the orange color of criminal status. But this didn't change anything. There was no way that someone would pass by on a floor that had already been cleared.
“Godfree-san, I always thought you were an idiot, but I never imagined that you were this hopeless. Is even your brain made out of muscle?”
Kuradeel's sharp laughter echoed across the wastelands.
“There are still a lot of things that I want to say to you... but it wouldn't do to waste my time with appetizers...”
Kuradeel drew his two-handed sword as he spoke. He raised it high into the air and stretched out his thin body. Sunlight reflected off the thick blade as he waved it about.
“W-Wait, Kuradeel! You... What...What are you saying...? Isn't...Isn't this training...?”
“Just shut up and die.”
Kuradeel spat out and swung his sword down without mercy. A heavy and dull noise sounded, and Godfree's HP greatly decreased.
Godfree finally grasped the seriousness of the situation and started screaming. But it was already too late.
Twice, thrice, the sword came down with a merciless glint, and Godfree's HP reduced noticeably with each swing. Then, when it reached the red area, Kuradeel stopped.
Just as I thought that he wouldn't commit murder no matter how crazy he was, Kuradeel reversed his grip on the sword and slowly pushed it into Godfree. As Godfree's HP went down bit by bit, Kuradeel began to press his entire weight against the sword.
“Aaaaaaaahhh!!”
“Hyahahahaha!!”
While Godfree's wailing became louder, Kuradeel began mixing in a strange scream of his own. The sword dug into Godfree's body slowly and his HP reduced at a steady pace—
While the other member and I watched silently, Kuradeel's sword penetrated completely through Godfree, and his HP bar reached zero at the same time. Godfree most probably didn't understand what was going on even as his body shattered into countless shards.
Kuradeel slowly pulled his sword out of the ground, then spun his head around like a clockwork doll and looked at the other member.
“Ah!! Ahhh!!”
With these short screams, the member flailed around in an attempt to escape. Kuradeel then started walking towards him in odd steps.
“...I have nothing against you... But according to my scenario, only I can return alive...”
He raised his sword while muttering to himself.
“Aaaahh!”
“You wanna hear~? You see, our party—”
He swung it down; his ears deaf to the member's screams.
“Was ambushed in the wilderness by a large group of PKers—.”
Another swing.
“We fought bravely, but all three had died—.”
And another.
“I was the only one remaining, but I drove back the criminals and managed to stay alive before returning to HQ—.”
After the fourth attack, the member's HP vanished. A sound effect that sent shivers down my body resonated. But Kuradeel looked as if he had heard the voice of a goddess. He stood there, in the middle of the explosion of shards, and listened to it with a blissful expression on his face.
It wasn't his first time...
I was sure of this. His cursor may have turned to the orange color of criminals' only moments ago, but there were plenty of despicable ways to kill people without triggering it. However, understanding this fact now didn't solve anything.
Finally, Kuradeel turned to look my way, with an uncontrollable mirth spreading across his face. He slowly walked towards me, his sword making an unbearable noise as he dragged it along the ground.
“Hey.”
He crouched down next to me, who was still sprawled on the ground, and said in a whisper.
“Because of an idiot like you, I had to kill two completely innocent people.”
“You seem quite happy about it though.”
I responded as I looked desperately for a way out of this situation. The only thing that moved was my mouth and my left arm. Because the paralysis condition kept one from opening the menu window, it also forbade the player from sending any messages. Even though I knew it wouldn't do me much good, I struggled to move my left hand, which was inside Kuradeel's blind spot, while I continued to talk.
“Why did a person like you join the KoB? A criminal guild would have suited you better.”
“Keh, why are you asking something so obvious? It's because of that girl.”
He said this with his raspy voice and licked his lips. When I realized that he was talking about Asuna my blood began to boil.
“You damn bastard...!”
“Woah, why are you glaring at me like that? It's just a game isn't it...? Don't worry. I'll look after your precious sub-leader for you. After all, I have a lot of useful items.”
Kuradeel picked up the poisoned water bottle and then shook it to produce some splashing sounds. Then he gave an awkward wink and kept talking.
“And you just said something very interesting, that a criminal guild would suit me more.”
“...Well, it's just the truth.”
“I was complimenting you. You're pretty sharp.”
“Kekekeke.”
Kuradeel seemed to be considering something as he laughed. Then, he suddenly unequipped the gauntlet on his left arm. He rolled up the white sleeves of his undershirt and turned his bare forearm so that I could see its underside.
“...!!”
When I saw what was there— my breath suddenly stopped. It was a tattoo. The image was a manga-like caricature of an ink-black coffin. A mouth and a pair of eyes formed a grin atop the coffin lid; the white bones of a skeletal arm reached out from inside.
“That... emblem is... «Laughing Coffin»?”
I asked in a dry voice. Kuradeel gave a smile and nodded in response.
«Laughing Coffin» used to be the biggest and worst PK guild in Aincrad. They were headed by a cold, sly leader and experimented endlessly with new methods of killing people; in the end, the number of players it had killed went into the triple digit figures.
The players once attempted to solve the issue through negotiations, but every messenger had been killed immediately. We couldn't even understand why they PKed, since it only lessened the chances of clearing the game, and because of this we couldn't talk with them properly. Not too long ago, the players who aimed to clear the game had formed a subjugation group that rivaled the boss-killing groups, and finally destroyed their guild after several long and bloody battles.
Asuna and I were in the group too. But the information had leaked somewhere, and the PKers were prepared and waiting for us. In my frenzy to protect my comrades, I ended up taking the lives of two Laughing Coffin members by accident.
“Is this... for revenge? You're a survivor from the Laughing Coffin?”
I asked with my cracking voice. Kuradeel virtually spat out his answer:
“Heh, no way. Why would I do something as stupid as that? I joined the Laughing Coffin only recently, and only in spirit anyways. I learned this paralysis technique from them... Ah, that's bothersome.”
He stood up with an almost machine-like movement and raised his sword up again.
“Well, we've talked for long enough. The poison should wear off soon, so I should finish this now. I've been dreaming of this moment... ever since that duel...”
Fire burned in his eyes, which were opened so wide they became circles. His smiling mouth had stuck its tongue out, and he even raised his heels to stand tiptoed as he prepared to swing his sword down.
Just before he moved, I tossed the throwing pick in my left hand using only my wrist. Although I aimed for the face where the damage was greatest, the accuracy penalty from paralysis caused the steel pick to miss and pierce into Kuradeel's left arm. Kuradeel's HP reduced by only a small amount, while I fell into a completely hopeless situation.
“...That hurt...”
Kuradeel wrinkled his brow and curved his lips upwards, then stabbed my right arm with the tip of his sword. He then twisted it twice, then thrice.
“Argh...!”
Although I didn't feel any pain, an unpleasant feeling of being stimulated in the nerves passed through my entire body alongside the strong paralysis effect. Every time the blade dug into my arm, my HP decreased slowly but steadily.
Still there...? Was the poison's effect still not going away...?”
I gritted my teeth and waited for the moment my body would be freed. The duration of paralysis differed based on the strength of the poison, but most paralyzing poisons wore off in five or so minutes.
Kuradeel pulled out his sword and then stabbed my left leg. The unpleasant feeling of being paralyzed rushed through my entire body once again, and the system calculated the damage mercilessly.
“Well...? How is it...? How does it feel to know that you're going to die soon...? Tell me... would you...?”
Kuradeel said this in an almost whisper as he stared intently at my face.
“Say something squirt... Cry and scream that you don't want to die...”
My HP fell below the halfway line and turned yellow. The paralysis still wasn't gone yet. My whole body grew colder, as if death was enveloping me with freezing air, its chill slowly crawling up from my feet.
I had seen many players die in SAO. They all had the same expression on their faces as they shattered into countless fragments and disappeared; it was always the same simple expression of pondering, one that asked, "Am I really going to just die like this?"
It was most probably because, deep within our hearts, none of us wanted to accept the absolute rule of the game. We simply didn't want to believe that death in the game meant an actual death.
We all held a hopeful speculation, that "Maybe we'll just return to the real world when our HP reaches zero and we disappear." Of course, you had to personally die to find out what would actually happen. If you think about it like that, then death would be one of the ways to escape this game—
“Hey, hey, say something. I'm really killing you here.”
Kuradeel pulled his sword out of my leg and stabbed my stomach this time. My HP decreased significantly and went into the red danger area. But it felt like this didn't concern me, as if it was all happening in another faraway world. Even as I was being tortured by the sword, my mind was embarking down a dark path, as if a heavy and thick cloth was gradually covering it.
But then— a strong fear suddenly clenched my heart.
Asuna. If I disappeared and left her in this world, Asuna would fall into Kuradeel's hands and endure the same pain as me. That possibility formed an unbearable pain which shocked me back into consciousness.
“Kaaaah!!”
I opened my eyes, grabbed the sword that was buried in my stomach, and started pulling it out with all the strength I had. I had only about ten percent of my HP left. Kuradeel then shouted in surprise:
“Huh...? Huh? What's this, you're scared of dying?”
“Yeah... I... can't die yet...”
“Heh!! Hyahaha!! That's more like it!!”
Kuradeel laughed like a freakish bird and put his weight behind the sword. I strained against it with one hand. The system performed a set of complicated calculations based on my and Kuradeel's strength and determined the result.
The final result— the sword started coming down again, slowly but steadily. I was filled with fear and despair.
Was this the end?
Was I going to die? Leaving Asuna in this insane world?
I resisted the gradually closing sword and the despair that reached out from within me.
“Die—!! Diiieeeee—!!”
Kuradeel screamed in a shrill voice.
The killing intent that took the form of a dully shining sword came down centimeter by centimeter. Then finally, the sword tip reached my body— and slowly dug in...
At this moment, a gust of wind blew.
It was a gust of deep red and pure white wind.
“Huh...!?”
With this exclamation of surprise, the murderer and his sword were thrown high into the air. I stared speechlessly at the silhouette of the person who had appeared.
“...I'm not late... I'm not late... Thank God... I'm not late...”
Her trembling voice sounded sweeter than the flapping wings of an angel. Her lips trembled violently as she collapsed onto her knees and looked at me.
“Alive... You're alive, right, Kirito-kun...?”
“...Yeah... I'm still alive...”
My voice sounded so weak that it surprised me. Asuna nodded once and took out a pink crystal from her pouch, then put her left hand on my chest and shouted.
“Heal!”
The crystal broke and my HP bar filled up in an instant. After confirming my recovery, Asuna whispered to me:
“...Wait here. I'll take care of this quickly...”
Asuna then stood up, drew her rapier elegantly, and started walking.
Her target Kuradeel was still preparing to pick himself off the ground. When he saw the person that was walking towards him his eyes grew wide.
“A-Asuna-sama... H-How did you get here...? T-This, is, training, yes, there was an accident in the middle of training...”
Kuradeel bounced back up as if he had springs and attempted to form an excuse with his nervous voice. But before he could finish, Asuna's right hand flashed and the tip of her sword tore Kuradeel's mouth. She didn't become a criminal since her opponent already had an orange cursor.
“Ahh!!”
Kuradeel covered his mouth with his hand, leaned backwards, and froze for a moment. Then, as he righted himself, his eyes were full of a familiar anger.
“You bitch... That went way too far... Heh, well it's fine. I'll just take care of you as well...”
But he stopped mid-sentence; Asuna had started attacking fiercely as soon as she fixed her grip on her sword. Her rapier drew countless lines of light as it slashed and stabbed towards Kuradeel at unbelievable speeds. Even I couldn't see the trajectory of her sword, and I was several levels above her. I just watched as the angel swung her sword almost as if she was dancing.
It was beautiful. Asuna pushed her opponent back expressionlessly, her long chestnut hair flowing while sparks of anger enveloped her entire body; it was indescribably beautiful.
“Ah!! Kaaaa!!”
Kuradeel had already begun panicking, his sword swung about wildly without even landing a scratch on Asuna. As his HP decreased noticeably from the yellow zone to the red danger area, Kuradeel finally threw his sword aside and screamed with both of his arms held up in the air.
“O-Okay!! Okay!! I'm sorry!!”
He then went to his knees and begged.
“I-I'll leave the guild! I won't appear in front of you two ever again!! So—”
Asuna silently listened to his cries.
She raised her sword slowly and reversed her grip. Her thin arm tensed with nervousness, and then went up another couple of centimeters as it prepared to stab through Kuradeel. At that moment the murderer screamed even more loudly.
“Heeeek! I-I don't want to die—!!”
The sword stopped as if it hit an invisible wall. Her thin body began to shake violently.
I could fully feel Asuna's inner conflict, both her fear and her anger.
By what I knew, she had never killed anyone in this game. Since when a player is killed in this world they also die in the real world, PKing in this network game is equivalent to actual murder.
—Yeah. Stop, Asuna. You shouldn't do that.
As I screamed this to myself, I also thought of the complete opposite at the same time.
—No, don't hesitate. That's what he's after.
My prediction became reality 0.1 seconds later.
“Ahahahaha!”
I wasn't sure when Kuradeel had picked his sword back up, but he suddenly swung it upwards with a scream.
Asuna's rapier made a clanging sound and flew out of her right hand.
“Ah...!?”
As Asuna exclaimed and lost her balance, a metallic shine flashed above her head.
“Sub-leader, you're still faaaaaaaaaaaarr too naive!!”
With a shriek filled with madness, Kuradeel swung his sword down without hesitation, drawing a dark red line of light.
“Ahhhhhhh!!”
This time, I was the one who had screamed. I kicked off from the ground with my right foot, which had just recovered from the paralysis, and flew a couple of meters before pushing Asuna aside with my right hand while blocking Kuradeel's sword with my left.
*Thump*.
With this unpleasant sound, my left arm was severed from the elbow down. The body part loss icon flashed below the HP bar. While bloody red lines of light flowed from the cut on my left arm, my right hand straightened its fingers and—
I stabbed my hand into the gap between Kuradeel's thick armor. It glowed yellow as it buried itself deep within Kuradeel's stomach.
I had successfully countered with the point-blank range skill «Embracer», which immediately eliminated the last 20% of Kuradeel's HP. His gaunt body shivered violently beside me, then completely lost all strength and sagged.
As his great sword fell onto the ground and clanged, he whispered into my ear:
“You... murderer...”
He sneered in a "kuku" sound.
Kuradeel's entire body shattered into numerous glass fragments. I was pushed back by the chill force of the dissipating polygons and fell backwards.
For a while, my exhausted, frozen mind registered only the sound of wind blowing.
Then I heard irregular footsteps stepping on the gravel. When I turned my gaze, I could see a fragile looking figure walking towards me with a hollow expression.
Asuna walked shakily towards me with her head lowered, and then collapsed to her knees in front of me like a puppet with its strings cut. Although she reached out towards me with her right hand, she suddenly pulled it back before it could reach me.
“...I'm sorry... Because of me... It's all because of me...”
Asuna forced this out with a shaking voice and a grief-stricken expression. Tears rolled down from her large eyes and fell to the ground like sparkling gems. I barely managed to say something short with my dry throat:
“Asuna...”
“I'm sorry... I... won't... meet Kirito-kun... a...again.”
I exerted myself to right my body back up, which was finally regaining its normal senses. My body was still filled with an unpleasant feeling because of the devastating damage I took, but I hugged Asuna with both my right arm and my crippled left arm. Then, I covered her beautiful, cherry-colored lips with mine.
“...!”
Asuna went rigid and tried to push me away, but I held her small body tightly with all the strength I had. It was without a doubt something that went against the manner violation prevention code. Right now a system message should have appeared in front of Asuna, and if she pressed OK, I would be immediately teleported to the prison area of the Black Iron Castle.
But my arms showed no signs of loosening up. As I left Asuna's lips, I passed her cheeks before burying my face in the curve of her neck. Then I whispered:
“My life belongs to you, Asuna. So I'll use it for you. I'll stay with you until the end.”
I pulled Asuna in closer with the left arm that had the body part loss status imposed on it for three minutes. Asuna took a trembling breath and then whispered in response:
“...I-I'll protect you as well. I'll protect you forever. So...”
She wasn't able to continue talking. So I listened to Asuna's sobbing with our arms held tightly around each other.
The warmth of our bodies began to melt my frozen heart bit by bit.