Sword Art Online

Chapter 22

The fighting continued for over an hour.

It felt like an eternity had passed before the battle finally finished. When the boss monster's huge body shattered into countless shards, no one had even the energy to cheer. Everyone either collapsed into a sitting position on the obsidian ground or laid down completely with their breathing ragged.

Is it— over...?

Yeah— It's over—

After we exchanged these thoughts, it felt like the «link» between Asuna and I also severed. Fatigue suddenly overwhelmed my body and I knelt down onto the floor. Asuna and I sat with our backs against each other, feeling as if we wouldn't be able to do anything for a while.

We were both alive— But even when I thought of this, I just couldn't be happy about the situation. Too many people had died. After the first three deaths at the start of the battle, the grim sound effect of people shattering continued to resound at a steady pace and I had forced myself to stop counting at the sixth one.

“How many— died...?”

Klein, who was sitting to my left, asked in a wheezing voice. Agil, who was lying on the floor next to him with his arms and legs spread out, also turned his head this way.

I waved my right hand to open the map and then counted the green dots on it. I subtracted the tally from the number of people who had been present when we first set off.

“—Fourteen dead.”

I couldn't believe this number even though I had counted it myself.

They were all high-leveled, skilled warriors who had experienced countless battles. Even if we couldn't escape or heal instantly, we should still be able to avoid suffering too many deaths if we fought in a manner that put survival first— That's what we had all thought, but—

“...Impossible...”

Agil's voice didn't carry a hint of its usual brightness. A depressing gloom pressed down on the survivors.

We were only three-fourths of the way there— There were still twenty-five floors left to clear. Even though there were thousands of players here, only a few hundred were still serious about clearing the game. If every floor generated as many fatalities as this one, then it was highly possible — that only one person would face the final boss.

If that happened, the last one standing would probably be that man...

I shifted my gaze further back into the room. Amongst everybody who sat on the floor, a single red-clothed figure continued to stand straight. That person was Heathcliff.

Of course, he wasn't unscathed. As I focused on him, the cursor appeared to show his HP, and I could tell that he had taken quite a bit of damage. He had blocked the bone scythe, which Asuna and I had barely managed to keep at bay, by himself until the end. It wouldn't be strange if he collapsed from exhaustion alone regardless of his HP.

But I couldn't feel even the slightest hint of tiredness from his calm figure. It was a toughness that was hard to believe. It was as if— he was a fighting machine...

Because my mind was hazy due to the fatigue, I continued to stare at the side of Heathcliff's face. The legend's expression was composed. He was silently looking down at the sitting KoB members and the other players. His eyes were warm and full of mercy— as if—

As if he was looking at a bunch of white mice playing in an inescapable cage.

Just then, a shudder racked through my body.

My mind became clear in an instant. My body grew cold, starting from the tips of my fingers and spreading all the way to the center of my brain. It was a strange foreboding. The impossible idea infested my mind like a seed and suspicion grew from it.

The expression within Heathcliff's eyes, the calmness it showed, it wasn't a look that consoled his wounded comrades. He wasn't standing on the same level as us. His expression was offering mercy from some faraway place high above us— It was the expression of a god...

I thought of the inhuman reaction speed that Heathcliff had shown during our duel. It had far surpassed the speed of a human being. No, I said that wrongly; it had far surpassed the limits that SAO had set on the players.

Add his usual behavior on top of that: he was the leader of the strongest guild, yet he never gave any orders and simply watched the other players take care of things. Maybe that wasn't because he trusted his men— Maybe he was holding himself back because he knew of things that normal players didn't!

He was a being that wasn't bound by the rules of this game of death. Yet he wasn't an NPC. There was no way that a program could be able to make such a merciful expression.

If he was neither an NPC nor a normal player, then there was only one possibility left. But how on earth do I confirm this? There was just no way to... Not even one.

No, there is. It was a way that I could try only right here and right now.

I looked at Heathcliff's HP bar. It had been greatly reduced from the hard fight. But it hadn't dropped to 50%. It was barely, just barely in the blue zone.

No one had ever seen this person's HP go into the yellow zone. He had an overwhelming defense that nobody could even compare with.

During his duel with me, his expression had changed the moment his HP had neared the halfway point. It shouldn't be a fear of his HP turning yellow.

It was— most probably—

I slowly fixed my grip on the sword in my right hand. I pulled my right foot back with the tiniest movements. I bent my hips back slightly and got into a low dash position. Heathcliff didn't notice any of my movements. His warm gaze was currently directed only towards his tired guild members.

If my guess is wrong, then I would be branded a criminal and be punished without mercy.

If that happens...I'm sorry...

I glanced at Asuna, who sat next to me. She raised her head at the same time and our eyes met.

“Kirito-kun...?”

A surprised expression overcame Asuna, whose mouth moved yet gave off no voice. But at that moment, my right foot had already kicked off against the ground.

There were ten meters between me and Heathcliff. I sped towards him at full speed with my body almost touching the ground and reached him in an instant. Then I tilted my sword and stabbed upwards. It was the basic one-handed sword skill «Rage Spike». Since it was a weak skill, it shouldn't kill Heathcliff even if it made a critical hit. But if my guess was right—

The blade rushed in from the left, leaving a trail of bright blue light. Heathcliff reacted with surprising speed, and an expression of shock appeared on his face. He immediately lifted his shield in an attempt to guard.

But I had already seen him perform that motion many times during our duel and remembered it clearly. My sword dissolved into a streak of light, changed its course in midair, and scraped along the edge of his shield before continuing to pierce towards his chest.

But just before the sword struck him, it was stopped by an invisible wall. A powerful shock coursed through my arm. A spark of purple light flashed and a message of the same color appeared— a system message between us.

[Immortal Object]. It wasn't a status that weak beings like us players could have. What Heathcliff had feared during the duel must be the revelation of this godlike safeguard to everyone.

“Kirito-kun, what are you—?”

Asuna, who had shouted in surprise at my sudden attack and ran after me, suddenly stopped and froze in place after seeing the message. Me, Heathcliff, Klein, and all the other players around us were completely motionless as well. The system message faded slowly in the midst of this stillness.

I lowered my sword and jumped back lightly, widening the distance between Heathcliff and myself. Asuna took a couple of steps forward and stood next to me.

“Immortality granted by the system... How's this possible... guild master...?”

Heathcliff didn't respond even after hearing Asuna's confused voice. He simply glared at me with a severe expression. With both of my swords in hand, I opened my mouth and spoke:

“This is the truth behind the legend. His HP was protected by the system and wouldn't fall into the yellow zone no matter what happened to him. The status of immortality... other than NPCs, only system administrators could have it. But this game didn't have any administrators, except for maybe one person...”

I stopped talking at this point and glanced upwards into the skies.

“...I had always wondered after my arrival in this world... Just where he was watching us from as he manipulated this world. But I forgot one simple truth, one that even a little kid should know.”

I looked straight at the red paladin and continued:

“«There's nothing more boring than watching someone else play a game». Isn't that right?...... Kayaba Akihiko?”

There was a stunned silence, as if everyone had just frozen over.

Heathcliff was glaring at me with an emotionless expression. The players around us didn't move even a muscle. No, it was more accurate to say that they couldn't move.

Asuna took a step forward from beside me. Her eyes didn't contain a trace of emotion, as if they were bottomless voids. She opened her mouth slightly and spoke in a dry and barely audible voice.

“Leader...... Is this...... true...?”

Heathcliff ignored her question. Instead, he tilted his head slightly and asked me:

“...Just for reference, could you tell me how you figured it out?”

“...The first time I thought that something was off was during our duel, because your speed during that final moment was simply too fast.”

“As I expected. That was a grievous mistake on my part. I was so overwhelmed by your speed that I ended up using the system's assistance past its normal limits.”

As Heathcliff nodded, his face finally revealed another expression; his lips moved slightly to form a bitter smile.

“I originally expected to reach the 95th floor before this would be revealed.”

His smile turned into one of authority as he slowly swept his gaze across the players. Then, the red paladin stated confidently:

“—Yes. I am Kayaba Akihiko. I am also the final boss of the game who awaits you all on the top floor.”

I felt Asuna sway slightly beside me. I extended my right hand to support her without turning my gaze.

“...You've got some strange tastes. To think that the strongest player would suddenly become the most malignant final boss.”

“Don't you think that this is an interesting scenario? I had originally thought that this revelation would incite a wave of shock throughout Aincrad, but I had never thought that I would be found out only three-quarters of the way through the game. I knew that you were this game's most unpredictable factor, but I never imagined that you would have such potential.”

As the creator of this game who imprisoned the minds of ten thousand players, Kayaba Akihiko smiled in a way that I could still remember and shrugged. Kayaba's expressions were totally different from those of Heathcliff the Paladin. But that impenetrable, steely presence was somehow similar to that of the expressionless avatar which had descended upon us two years ago.

Kayaba continued with a bitter smile:

“...I had expected that you would be the player who would stand against me in the end. Out of the ten unique skills, «Dual Blades» is given to the player with the fastest reaction speed, who would then act out the hero's role against the final boss, regardless of whether he wins or loses. But you have shown me strength beyond my expectations, be it your speed or your insight. Well... I suppose that such unpredictable developments are part of the essence of online RPGs....”

At this moment, one of players who was frozen stood up slowly. He was one of the KoB leaders. His seemingly brusque eyes were filled with a tormented agony.

“You...... You...... How dare you take our loyalty — our hopes...... and... and... completely defile them—!”

He raised his huge halberd into the air and launched himself with a scream. There wasn't even any time to try to stop him. We could only watch as he swung his weapon down at Kayaba—

But Kayaba was a step faster. He waved his left hand and quickly manipulated the window that appeared; the man immediately stopped in midair and then fell to the ground with a loud noise. A green outline flashed around his HP bar, indicating paralysis. However, Kayaba didn't stop there and continued to move his hand.

“Ah...Kirito-kun...!”

I turned around and saw Asuna kneeling on the ground. It wasn't just her either, as all the players except Kayaba and I were on the ground, groaning from awkward positions.

After sheathing my blades, I knelt down to prop up Asuna's upper body with my arm and held her hand. Then I looked back at Kayaba.

“...What are you going to do? Are you going to kill us all to hide the truth...?”

“Of course not. I would never do something so unreasonable.”

The man in red smiled and shook his head.

“But since the situation has gotten to this point, I have no other choice. I will move my schedule forward and await for your arrival in the «Ruby Palace» on the top floor. It's a shame that I must desert the KoB, as well as the other front-line players, that I had carefully cultivated to fight against the powerful mobs on the 90th floor and above. But I believe that all of you should have enough strength to reach the top level. But... before that...”

Kayaba suddenly stopped talking and turned his eyes, which were full of overwhelming will-power, to focus on me. He then drove his sword softly into the obsidian floor, and a sharp yet clear metallic ring resounded across the air.

“Kirito, since you figured out my true identity, I will reward you with an opportunity: you can have a one-on-one duel with me, right here and right now. Of course, I will negate my immortality status. If you win, the game will be cleared immediately, and all the players will be able to log out. What do you say...?”

As soon as she heard this, Asuna began to squirm in my arms, trying desperately to move her paralyzed body as she shook her head.

“No, Kirito-kun...! He's trying to get rid of you first... Right now... Right now you have to back down...!”

My instincts told me that was the best course of action. This guy was an administrator who could intervene with the system. Even if he claimed that it would be a fair fight, there was no way to know whether or not he was somehow manipulating the system. The best choice would be to retreat now and come up with a countermeasure with the others.

But...

What did that guy say? That he raised the KoB? That we would surely be able to reach...?

“What a load of crap....”

I unconsciously muttered in a dry voice.

This guy confined the minds of ten thousand people in a world he had created, where he had already killed four thousand with electromagnetic waves. He had been watching the players struggle foolishly and pitifully according to the script he had written. This must be the most enjoyable experience available to a game master.

I thought of Asuna's past, which she had shared with me on the 22nd floor. I remembered the tears she had shed while clutching me. The man before my eyes had created this world for his own joy and hurt Asuna's heart countless times, making it bleed profusely; there was no way I could just back down from this.

“Fine. Let's settle this.”

I nodded slowly.

“Kirito-kun...!”

At Asuna's stricken cry, I dropped my gaze to the figure in my arms. Pain pierced my heart as if my chest had been stabbed through, but somehow I managed to force a smile.

“Sorry. But I can't... run away right now....”

Asuna opened her mouth to say something, but then gave up halfway and tried her best to smile. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

“You weren't planning... on sacrificing yourself...?”

“Of course... I'll definitely win. I'll win and put an end to this world.”

“Okay. I'll trust you.”

Even if I lose and die, you must live on— although I wanted to say that, but I still couldn't force it out. I could only hold Asuna's right hand firmly in its stead.

After I released her hand, I laid Asuna's body down on the obsidian floor and then stood back up. I slowly approached Kayaba, who was silently looking upon us, and drew both my swords with a sharp sound.

“Kirito! Stop—!”

“Kirito—!”

When I turned my head towards the source of those voices, I saw Klein and Agil shouting and trying desperately to lift themselves up. I focused my sight upon Agil first and nodded slightly towards him.

“Agil, thanks for supporting the warrior class players up till now. I know that you spent most of the money you had earned to help the players on the middle floors.”

I smiled at the huge guy whose eyes were wide open before shifting my gaze again.

The katana warrior, with a simple bandana and fully-bearded cheeks, fumed on the floor as if he was still trying to find the words to say.

I gazed straight into those deep eyes of his and took a deep breath. This time, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't control my faltering voice.

“Klein. That time... I'm really sorry... about leaving you. I've always regretted it.”

As soon as I finished this short line in my hoarse voice, something twinkled at the corners of my old friend's eyes, and tears soon began to roll down one after another.

With tears still coming out of his eyes, Klein struggled to stand up while shouting loudly with a coarse voice that was about to break:

“You... You bastard! Kirito! Don't apologize! Don't apologize now! I won't forgive you! Until you invite me to a meal in the real world, I definitely won't forgive you!!”

I nodded at Klein, who wanted to continue shouting.

“Yeah, I promise. Next time, I'll see you on the other side.”

I raised my right hand and gave him a thumbs up.

Finally, I turned my gaze back to the girl who had allowed me to say the words that had been buried deeply within my heart for two years.

I looked upon the smiling Asuna whose face was covered by tears—

I muttered an apology to her inside my mind and turned back around. I faced Kayaba, who still had an expression of absolute superiority, and opened my mouth:

“...Sorry about this, but I have one thing to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I don't have any intention of losing, but if I die — can you prevent Asuna from committing suicide, even if only for a short period?”

Kayaba raised an eyebrow in surprise, but calmly nodded to my request.

“Okay. I'll set it so that she won't be able to leave Selmburg.”

“Kirito-kun, no!! You can't, you can't do this—!!”

Asuna screamed tearfully from behind me. But I didn't look back. I shifted my right foot backwards, brought my left sword forward while lowering my right sword, and entered my stance.

Kayaba manipulated the window with his left hand and readjusted our HP bars to the same level. It was just before the red zone, where a single, strong hit would decide the fight.

After that, the system message [changed into mortal object] appeared above his head. Kayaba then closed the windows, pulled out the sword he had dug into the ground, and raised it behind his cross-shaped shield.

My mind was completely calm and clear. Thoughts like Sorry, Asuna bubbled away and scattered as I sharpened the fighting instinct within me into a razor's edge.

Frankly, I had no clue what my chances of winning were. If we were only talking about sword skills, then he wasn't any better than me based on the last duel. But that's only if he doesn't use his 'overassist', during which only he would be able to move while I would be completely frozen in place.

It all depended on Kayaba's pride. Based on what he said, he was planning to defeat me with only the strength of «Holy Sword». If that was the case, my only chance of surviving this was to defeat him before he used any special abilities.

The space between me and Heathcliff tensed.

It felt as if the air itself trembled under the pressure of the murderous intent pouring out of us. This was no longer a duel; it was a fight to the death. That's right— I'm going to—

“Kill you...!!”

I shot forward with a sharp shout.

I swung my right sword horizontally as the distance closed. Kayaba blocked this easily with his shield. There was a spray of sparks and our faces were lit for a second.

It was as if the metallic clashing noise signaled the start of our fight; our weapons immediately accelerated to breakneck speeds and dominated the space around us.

This fight was the strangest, yet the most human fight that I'd partaken in up until now. Both of us had already shown our skills to each other. Furthermore, this was the person who designed «Dual Blades», thus he easily saw through any common skill combinations. That was why he had blocked all of my attacks during our last duel.

I couldn't rely upon the combos offered by the system; I had to depend on my own skills and instincts to swing my swords. Of course, I couldn't receive the system's assistance this way, but I could still move my arms at high speeds with the help of my accelerated senses. I could even see the afterimages, and it looked almost like there were several dozen swords in my hands. But—

Kayaba was blocking all of them with stunning accuracy. He also countered immediately whenever I showed even the slightest opening. The situation showed no sign of changing. I concentrated on Heathcliff's eyes in an attempt to read even a bit of the enemy's thoughts and reactions. We ended up exchanging glances as a result.

But Kayaba—Heathcliff's bronze eyes were cold and desolate. There wasn't a trace of the human emotions that he showed last time.

Suddenly a chill ran down my spine.

My opponent was someone who had mercilessly killed over four thousand people. Could a normal human being do such a thing? The deaths of four thousand, the resentment of four thousand, he could withstand such a pressure and still remain perfectly calm— He was no human, he was a monster.

“Aaaaaaah!”

I screamed to eliminate the small fragment of fear that had appeared in the depths of my mind.

I accelerated my movements further and rained down countless blows upon him per second. But Kayaba's expression showed no change. He blocked all my attacks with his cross shield and long sword at speeds the naked eye couldn't even see.

Is he just toying with me—!?

My fear became nervousness. Was it possible that Kayaba only stayed on the defensive because he could actually counterattack whenever he wanted and was confident that he could survive even a direct hit from me?

The suspicion overtook my mind. He had never even needed the 'overassistance' from the beginning.

“Damnit......!”

In that case— How about this—?!

I changed my attack pattern and activated «The Eclipse», the highest level Dual Blades skill. Like the tips of an enveloping corona, my swords sent twenty-seven consecutive attacks towards Kayaba—

But— Kayaba had been waiting for me to use a combo skill designated by the system. His face revealed an expression for the first time since the start of the duel. It was completely opposite to the one he had shown last time— It was the smile of someone certain of his victory.

I realized my mistake as soon as I launched the opening attacks of the combo. In these final moments, I had relied on the system instead of myself. But it was already impossible for me to stop the skill, and once the attacks finish I would be subjected to a short delay. Furthermore, Kayaba saw through all my blows, from the start of the combo all the way to the last attack.

As I watched Kayaba swing his shield at blinding speeds, deflecting my swords with knowledge of exactly where each blow would land, I muttered in my mind:

Sorry— Asuna.... At least you must— stay alive—

The twenty-seventh attack struck the middle of the shield, sending out a shower of sparks. Then, with the shrill scream of metal, the sword in my left hand shattered.

“Well, this is goodbye— Kirito-kun.”

Kayaba raised his sword high above me as I stood stunned. A deep red shine glinted off the blade. The blood-red sword was then swung down at me—

At that moment, a strong, vibrant voice rang within my head.

I— will protect— Kirito-kun!!

The silhouette of a person charged in between Kayaba's red sword and me at an incredible speed. The long, chestnut-brown hair danced in the wind before my eyes.

Asuna— How—!?

She was standing in front of me even though she should be unable to move because of the paralysis. She bravely straightened her chest and opened her arms out wide.

An expression of shock exposed itself on Kayaba's face. But nobody could stop his attack now. Everything moved as if in slow motion as the long sword ripped its way down, through Asuna's shoulder and all the way into her chest before it stopped.

I reached out with both hands towards Asuna as she fell backwards towards me. She collapsed into my arms without a sound.

As her gaze met mine, Asuna gave a weak smile. Her HP bar— was depleted.

Time had stopped.

The sunset. The meadow. The gentle breeze. The slightly cold weather.

We were both sitting on a hill and looking down upon the lake as it shone with the deep golden red of the setting sun.

The sound of rustling leaves. The sound of birds returning to their nests.

She held my hand softly, then rested her head against my shoulder.

The clouds drifted by. Then the stars began to appear one by one, twinkling in the evening sky.

We gazed on as the world changed its colors bit by bit.

Then, she finally said something:

“I'm a little tired. Can I rest on your lap for a bit?”

I answered with a smile.

“Yeah, of course. Rest well—”

The Asuna in my arms now smiled at me just like that time, her eyes filled with endless affection. But the weight and warmth of that time had completely vanished.

Bit by bit, Asuna's body was slowly engulfed by a golden light. The small shards of light began to collapse and scatter.

“This is just a joke, right...? Asuna... this... this is...”

I muttered with a trembling voice. But the uncaring light got brighter and brighter and then—

A single tear rolled down from Asuna's eyes, which sparkled for a single moment before disappearing. Her lips moved slightly, slowly, as if she was trying to force her final voice out of them.

S o r r y

G o o d b y e

Her body began to float—

The blinding light exploded in my arms, transforming into numerous feathers that drifted across the air.

And not a trace of her body remained.

I screamed silently and tried desperately to gather the scattering light back into my arms. But the golden feathers flew up into the air as if blown by the wind, where they scattered and vanished. Just like that, she had disappeared.

This wasn't something that should have happened. It couldn't happen. It just couldn't. It just—

I knelt on the ground as if I was about to collapse, as the last feather floated down into my right palm and then disappeared.