Sword Art Online - Volume 1 - Aincrad (32 page)

“…
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
…
!
”
 

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 «Scarlet Jade Castle» 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 ninetieth 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 an 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
…
! 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 twenty-second 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
…
!
”
 

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 Cline and Egil shouting and trying desperately to lift themselves up. I focused my sight upon Egil first and nodded slightly towards him.

“
Egil, thanks for supporting the warrior class players up till now. I know that you had spent most of the money you 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.

“
Cline. 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, Cline 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 Cline, 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 Salemburg.
”
 

“
Kirito, 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
—