"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 cla.s.s 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 hoa.r.s.e 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 coa.r.s.e voice that was about to break: "You...you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! 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 Salemburg."
"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 "overa.s.sist," 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 s.p.a.ce 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 s.p.a.ce 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 a.s.sistance 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 overa.s.sistance from the beginning.
"d.a.m.nit......!"
Then-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 n.o.body 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.
Chapter 23.
Kayaba pursed his lips and flaunted his arms dramatically.
"This is really surprising. Isn"t it just like a standalone console RPG scenario? It should have been impossible for her to recover from the paralysis... So things like this really do happen..."
But his voice didn"t even register in my mind. It felt as if all my emotions were being burnt out, as if I was falling into a bottomless abyss engulfed by despair.
There was no reason for me to do anything anymore.
Whether it was fighting in this world, returning to the original world, or even continuing to live on, all of them had lost their meaning. I should have killed myself in the past when my inability and lack of strength led to the death of my guild mates. If I had done that, then I wouldn"t have met Asuna, nor would I have made the same mistake again.
Prevent Asuna from committing suicide- what a stupid and careless thing to say. I hadn"t understood anything at all. Just like this- with my heart filled with emptiness, how could I possibly keep on living...
I stared blankly at Asuna"s rapier, shining as it laid on the ground. I reached out with my left hand and grabbed it.
I sought to find a trace of Asuna"s existence on that thin and nimble weapon, but there was nothing. There wasn"t a thing left on that expressionless shining surface that would hint at its owner. With my own sword in my right hand and Asuna"s in my left, I slowly stood back up.
Nothing mattered anymore. I only want to go find her with the memories of the short period we spent living together.
I thought I heard somebody call me from behind.
But I didn"t stop and continued to walk towards Kayaba with my right sword raised. I took several unsightly steps towards him and stabbed with my sword.
Kayaba looked pitifully upon my movement, which could neither be called a skill nor an attack- he deflected my sword easily with his shield and sent it flying, while the long sword in his right hand pierced straight through my chest.
I stared emotionlessly at the shining piece of metal buried deeply within my own body. My mind no longer thought of anything. All that was left was the blank resignation that everything had ended.
From the edge of my vision, I could see my HP bar slowly reducing. I don"t know if it was the continuation of my accelerated senses from the battle, but it felt like I could see each dot disappearing. I closed my eyes, hoping that the image of Asuna"s smile would resurface as my mind went blank.
But even though I closed my eyes, the HP bar still didn"t disappear. It was flashing red and getting smaller at an unrelenting pace. I felt as if the G.o.d called the system, which had tolerated my existence up until now, was waiting for the final moment. Only ten dots left to go, now five dots, now- Then, I suddenly felt an anger that I had never experienced before.
It was this b.a.s.t.a.r.d. It was the one who had killed Asuna. The creator Kayaba was merely a part of it. The one who had ripped apart Asuna"s body and extinguished her spirit, it was the presence which surrounded me right now- the will of the system itself, the digital death G.o.d which mocked the stupidity of the players and swept its scythe mercilessly- What the h.e.l.l are we? Are we just a bunch of idiotic puppets controlled by the inviolable threads of the SAO system?
My HP bar vanished completely as if mocking my anger. A purple message appeared within my vision: [You are dead]. It was the command from the G.o.d to die.
An icy coldness permeated my body. My senses dulled. I felt the innumerable blocks of code unraveling, severing, and destroying my very being. The cold crept up my neck and into my head. Touch, sound, sight, everything became hazy. My entirely body was starting to dissolve- becoming shards of polygons- before scattering in all directions- You think I would let that happen?
I opened my eyes widely. I could see. I could still see. I could still see the face of Kayaba, whose sword was dug deeply into my chest, and the expression of surprise on him.
Perhaps my accelerated senses returned, as the death of my avatar, which normally happened within a single moment, felt like it was slowing down. The outline of my body was hazy, and particles of light broke off and disappeared here and there. But I was still existing. I was still alive.
"Hiiiiyaaaa!"
I screamed with all my strength. I screamed and resisted. Resisting the system, the absolute G.o.d.
Just to save me, the shy and spoiled Asuna had shaken off the incurable paralysis with her willpower and thrown herself against an attack that was impossible to block. How could I fall now without doing anything. I couldn"t fall now, absolutely not. Even if I couldn"t avoid death- I had to- at least- I tightened the grip on my left hand. I took back my senses as if pulling them back with a thread. The feeling of holding something in my left hand returned. Asuna"s rapier- I could feel the determination she had. I could hear her telling me to be strong.
My left arm slowly began to move. Its shape was distorting and chunks of it broke off with every bit of movement. But it didn"t stop. Bit by bit, it consumed my very soul in order to raise itself.