Aincrad 1

  A large, semicircular desk was placed in the middle of the room, surrounded by five chairs, each of which seated a man. I didn’t recognize the four on the sides, but there was no way to mistake the man sitting in the middle. It was Heathcliff the paladin.

  There was nothing imposing about his appearance. He looked to be a man in his twenties, rather scholarly, with a pointed face, as if filed down. Grayish bangs flowed over his high forehead. His tall and slender body was draped in a crimson robe that made him look less like a swordsman than the magicians that this game notably lacked.

  But it was his eyes that were most notable. Those brass-colored irises seemed to throw a magnetic field over whatever they met. I’d been around him before, but I felt as intimidated as if it were our first meeting.

  Asuna strode over to the table, her boots clicking, and gave a brief bow.

  “I’ve come to say my farewell.”

  Heathcliff gave a wry smile. “There’s no need to rush to that conclusion. Let me talk with him first.”

  And he cast his gaze upon me. I lowered my hood and walked up next to Asuna.

  “I don’t believe we’ve met outside of the boss battles, Kirito.”

  “Not quite. We did speak briefly at the planning meeting for the sixty-seventh floor,” I answered politely. Heathcliff gave a slight nod, then clasped his angular hands together on top of the table.

  “That was a painful battle. We nearly lost some good people in that one. They call us the top guild, but our abilities are constantly stretched to the breaking point. And yet, you want to remove one of our core members, a pillar of our guild.”

  “If she’s that important, you should put more care into picking her guards.”

  The burly man in the rightmost chair bolted out of his seat at my curt reply, his face a dark mask. But Heathcliff held up a hand calmly.

  “Kuradeel is serving a period of house arrest. I apologize for his transgression. But I’m afraid we cannot watch our vice commander leave without so much as a comment, Kirito…”

  He stared me down. I could sense a powerful will behind the metallic glimmer of those eyes.

  “If you want her, you must take her by sword—your Dual Blades, in fact. Fight me, and if you win, you may take Asuna with you. Lose, and you must join the Knights of the Blood.”

  “…”

  I finally felt as though I was beginning to understand the mysterious man.

  He was drawn to the allure of battle. And he had absolute faith in his abilities. Even trapped prisoner inside this game of death, he still couldn’t cast off his gamer’s ego. Just like me.

  Asuna had been silently listening to everything Heathcliff said, but she couldn’t hold back any longer.

  “Commander, I’m not saying I want to quit the guild. I just need a bit of personal time to think about my situation.”

  I placed a hand on Asuna’s shoulder as she tried to plead her case and took a step forward. I walked directly into Heathcliff’s gaze. My mouth seemed to move on its own.

  “I accept. Speaking with my sword is my preference anyway. Let’s settle this with a duel.”

  “You jerk! You stupid, stupid jerk!”

  We were back upstairs at Agil’s store in Algade. I kicked the owner back down the stairs when he tried to peek in and observe, and now I was desperately trying to calm Asuna down.

  “I was going to try and convince him myself! Why did you have to say that?”

  She was sitting on the armrest of my rocking chair, bopping me with her little fists.

  “Sorry, I said I was sorry! I just couldn’t help it…”

  I grabbed her wrists and held them lightly to make her stop. With this method of venting denied her, she settled on puffing out her cheeks instead. It was hard not to laugh at the difference between this Asuna and the one who was all business at the guild.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ll be safe—it’ll be under the one-hit-victory rule. Besides, it’s not like I’m guaranteed to lose…”

  “Arrrgh…”

  Asuna groaned and crossed her slender legs, still sitting on the armrest.

  “When I saw your Dual Blades in action, it seemed like you were on another dimension entirely in terms of power. But that goes for the commander’s Holy Sword ability, too…His aura of invincibility practically destroys the game balance. I honestly don’t know which of you will win. Besides, what happens if you lose? Not only will I not get a break, but you’ll be forced to join the KoB!”

  “Depending on how you think of it, that might satisfy my goal as well.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  I had to force myself to continue.

  “I mean, as long as I’m with you…that’s all I need.”

  Previously, you couldn’t have held me upside down and shaken those words out of me. Asuna’s eyes went wide with surprise, and her face blushed red so fast it was practically audible. As the pause stretched on, she got up from her chair and went to stand by the window. Over her shoulder, Algade buzzed with its usual activity in the evening light.

  I’d told her the honest truth, but I still didn’t want to join a guild. I thought about the guild I’d been in before, the guild that no longer existed, and a dagger of pain jabbed into my chest.

  I won’t go down that easily, I told myself. I got up and joined Asuna at the window. After a few moments, I felt her head rest lightly against my shoulder.

  13

  The main town of the newly opened seventy-fifth floor was built like an ancient Roman city. According to the map, its name was Collinia. Between the warriors, the traders, and the tourists who weren’t going to spend time at the front line but still wanted to see the new city, it was a madhouse of activity. On top of all that, the grand event unfolding today meant that the teleport gate square had been bustling since sunrise.

  The town was built of massive, chalky-white blocks of stone. In addition to the temple-like buildings and canals, there was one other significant feature of Collinia—an enormous coliseum looming over the teleport gate. Coincidentally, it was the perfect place for the duel between Heathcliff and me. And yet…

  “Fire-breathing corn, just ten col!”

  “Nice cold black ale here!”

  The entrance to the coliseum was buzzing with merchants hawking suspicious food to the lengthy lines of visitors hoping to see the event.

  “Wh-what’s going on here?” I asked Asuna, completely stunned.

  “I…don’t know…”

  “Hey, are those KoB members selling tickets over there?! Why has this turned into a huge event?!”

  “I…don’t know…”

  “This wasn’t what Heathcliff was planning all along, was it…?”

  “I’m guessing this is Daizen’s handiwork. I tell you, those accountants know their business.” She chuckled. My shoulders slumped.

  “Let’s run away, Asuna. We’ll find a nice secluded little village down around the twenties and tend to some fields.”

  “I wouldn’t mind,” she said, straight-faced. “But I have a feeling that if you run away from all of this, you’ll be absolutely infamous.”

  “Damn…”

  “Well, you made your bed, and now you have to sleep in it. Oh, Daizen!”

  I raised my head and saw a very portly man with a rippling belly approaching, proving definitively that it was, in fact, possible for the red-and-white KoB uniform to look bad on someone.

  “Thank ye kindly, thank ye kindly!” he called out, a wide grin plastered across his round face. “We’re doin’ a brisk business on account o’ you, Kirito! The only thing that’d make this better is if ya decided to hold it every month!”

  “In your dreams!”

  “Come, the changin’ room is right this way. Go on, my friend!”

  I dejectedly followed after the plodding man. My mood was quickly growing fatalistic.

  The changing room was a small chamber that bordered the arena grounds. Daizen showed me to the door, then said something about adjusti
ng odds and disappeared. I couldn’t even muster up a snappy reply. The stadium must have been full, since I could hear the crowd from there.

  Once we were alone, Asuna squeezed my wrist in both hands and looked me straight in the face.

  “Even in a one-hit match, you have to watch out for the critical hit on a heavy attack. There are aspects to his sword skills that even I don’t know about. If you feel endangered at any time, just resign. And if you push yourself like the last time, I’m holding it against you!”

  “Worry about Heathcliff, not me.”

  I gave her a wry grin and patted her shoulders.

  On top of the distant thunder of the crowd, an amplified voice was announcing the start of the match. I pulled my swords just a sliver out of the scabbards crossed over my back and then pushed them back in with a satisfying ching. The square of light leading out of the waiting room beckoned.

  The circular arena was surrounded by fully packed stands arranged in steps. There had to be at least a thousand people gathered. I could see Agil and Klein in the front row, shouting rather unsavory suggestions like “Cut him down!” and “Kill him!”

  I stopped when I reached the center of the coliseum. As soon as I did, a red silhouette appeared from the waiting room on the other side. The cheers grew louder.

  Heathcliff wasn’t wearing the usual KoB pattern of red on a white background; this time it was a full crimson surcoat. Like me, he chose a minimum of armor, but it was hard to ignore the enormous white crucifix shield on his left hand. His sword must have been equipped behind the shield, as I could see the hilt protruding over the top.

  He strode up matter-of-factly, paused to glance around at the crowd, and gave me a pained grin.

  “I’m sorry about this, Kirito. I didn’t realize it’d turned into such a production.”

  “I should collect appearance fees.”

  “…No. You’ll be a member of the guild at the end of this duel. I’ll treat it as a regular assignment.”

  He stopped smiling, and I felt the overwhelming force of his brass-colored eyes again. They were so overpowering that I stumbled back a step. We were lying on beds far, far apart in the real world, everything between us a mere exchange of digital data, but I felt something powerfully ethereal from him—a palpable, murderous intent.

  With a mental flick of my brain, I was in battle mode. The roar of the crowd died away as I focused solely on Heathcliff’s gaze. Even the colors around me began to shift, as though my mind was already accelerating.

  Heathcliff looked away, backed up to a distance of about ten yards, and raised his hand. He manipulated the game window that appeared without looking at it, and a duel message appeared in front of me. I accepted. The victory condition: first strike.

  A countdown began. The roar of the crowd was muted down to a dull murmur.

  All the blood in my body pulsed faster. I gripped the reins around my instinct to fight and stifled a slight hesitation. Reaching over my back with both hands, I pulled both swords out at once. This was not an opponent that I could afford to give anything but my best.

  Heathcliff drew a slender longsword from behind his shield and held it out.

  His form as he pointed the shield toward me was easy and natural—no imbalance, no awkward force. I suspected that attempting to guess his first move would only confuse me, and I prepared to strike with everything I had.

  Neither of us gave our countdown windows even the briefest glance. Yet we both leaped forward at the exact instant that the word DUEL appeared in midair.

  I darted in low, gliding just over the ground. As I reached Heathcliff, I twisted, striking down-left with my right sword. The cross shield blocked it, sending up a burst of sparks. But my attack was twofold. A tenth of a second later, my left blade slipped around the side of the shield: a dual-blade charging attack, Double Circular.

  Just before the latter swing could hit his side, he met it with his own sword. A circular visual effect bounced off harmlessly. It was a good attack that he blocked, but this was just my initial greeting. The attack’s momentum allowed me to maintain distance and regroup.

  This time, Heathcliff responded by charging with his shield. It was hard to see what his right hand was doing behind that massive cover.

  “Tsk!” I clicked my tongue, dashing right to avoid it. I figured that if I circled in the direction of the shield, I might not see the attack’s initial location, but at least it’d be easier to avoid it.

  Instead, Heathcliff pulled his shield up parallel to the ground and—

  “Mmf!”

  With a heavy grunt, he thrust the pointed end of the shield at me. The massive cross darted in close, trailing white light.

  “Whoa!”

  I had to cross both swords in front of me to block the blow. The powerful shock wave rattled throughout my body, and I was knocked back several feet. I jabbed my right sword into the ground to keep from falling over, did a flip in midair, and landed on my feet.

  So the game recognized his shield as being capable of an attack. He might as well have been double wielding himself. I’d figured that having more chances to attack was my key to victory in a one-hit battle, but this was coming out of left field.

  Heathcliff came rushing up in an attempt to deprive me of time to recover. His cross-hilt longsword blazed forth at a speed worthy of Asuna the Flash.

  Now that he was in the midst of a combination attack, I had to keep using both swords to my utmost just to block him. Asuna had given me as much information as she possibly could about Heathcliff’s Holy Sword skill, but secondhand knowledge was a far cry from actual experience. My momentary reflexes were all that protected me from his onslaught.

  As soon as my left sword had blocked the last upward slash of his eight-part combo, I immediately unleashed the Vorpal Strike heavy attack with my right.

  “R…raah!!”

  With a metallic sound like a jet engine, my glowing red thrust hit the shield right in the middle of its crucifix. It felt like hitting a brick wall, but I didn’t let that stop me.

  The collision was explosive, and it was Heathcliff’s turn to be tossed backward. I didn’t break through the shield, but I’d felt a little bit of give. His HP bar was ever so slightly smaller, but not enough to be a decisive blow.

  Heathcliff landed lightly on his feet and pulled back.

  “Your reaction speed is admirable.”

  “And your defense is beyond tough!”

  I darted forward again. Heathcliff raised his sword and closed the distance.

  We traded furious combinations at high speed. His shield blocked my swords; my swords blocked his. Effects and trails of various colors fizzled around us, and the shock waves echoed off the stones of the arena floor. Occasionally, a quick strike would glance weakly off of one of us, and our HP bars slowly but steadily shrank. Even if neither of us landed a powerful blow, as soon as someone had fewer than 50 percent, the match would be over.

  But there wasn’t a single cell in my brain considering that as a means of victory. I was facing a true rival, a worthy foe, for the first time since I fell into SAO, and all of my senses were racing like never before. Every time I thought it couldn’t get more intense, the attacks kicked into a higher gear.

  Again. And again. Follow me if you can, Heathcliff!

  I was experiencing the ecstasy of battle, the sensation of my abilities unleashed to their fullest extent. If I had to guess, I was probably smiling. As the heat of our combat reached new heights, his health fell faster and faster, and that halfway point was coming into sight.

  In an instant, I finally saw something like emotion flash across Heathcliff’s mask of a face. What was it, panic? I felt the slightest hesitation, a tiny delay in my foe’s attack tempo.

  “Raaaah!!”

  Seizing upon the moment, I abandoned all defense and went on the offensive with both swords: Starburst Stream, a double-bladed assault named for the blazing arms of a solar prominence. It bore down on Heathcliff.


  “Hrrg…!”

  He held up his shield to guard. I continued raining down blows, above and below, left and right. His responses grew slower and slower.

  I was getting through!

  It was clear that my final barrage was going to break through his defense. I saw his shield stray too far to the right, and my glowing strike from the left disappeared into Heathcliff’s body. If it hit, his HP would easily fall below 50 percent, and I’d win the duel. But—

  —The world shifted.

  “…?!”

  How else could I describe it? A moment of time stolen from me, perhaps.

  I sensed my body and everything else freeze for less than a tenth of a second. Everything except for Heathcliff. His shield, which should have been on the right, had blinked over to the left like a transition between two frames of film. It easily deflected my perfect attack, my certain victory.

  “Wha—?”

  Any time a major attack is blocked, the attacker is left fatally frozen for an instant. Heathcliff did not miss his chance.

  I fell with a simple thrust of his sword, a miniscule attack delivering just enough damage to bring the duel to an end. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the purple system text announcing the winner.

  Battle mode disengaged. The roar of the crowd rushed back into my ears, but I was still dumbfounded.

  “Kirito!” Asuna ran over and helped me up.

  “Y…yeah…I’m all right.”

  She looked pensively into my slackened face.

  I’d lost…

  I still couldn’t believe it. That incredible reaction that Heathcliff managed at the end was beyond the ability of any player—of any human being. It was as though his impossible speed actually broke his polygonal model for an instant.

  I looked up at Heathcliff, who was standing at a slight remove. Despite his victory, his face was sharp. Those metallic eyes fixed upon me for a moment, then the red paladin spun around without a word, striding through the storm of cheers to his waiting room.

  14

  “Wh-what’s up with this outfit?”

  “Seems pretty self-explanatory to me. Now stand up!”