What if Heathcliff never offered his fight with Kirito... What if Kirito requested it instead? What if he lost, being far too low level to fight the final boss? If it did, and here it has, the fight to clear Aincrad rages on. And if it took this long just to reach floor 75, how much longer could it possibly be?... Not long, right? If the surviving 6,147 players want to make it even one more step, they'd better fight twice as hard. Just a few heroes aren't enough anymore. The Black Swordsman and The Flash, Kirito and Asuna, step into the background in this, the story of the spearhead of the new clearing effort. Players who abandon their guilds, put everything they've got on the line, to be the first into every dungeon, every hallway... And every trap. And when one of them makes it out and passes on the information, the main force goes in... A solid plan, for now...

"But before we part ways... Kirito. You deserve a reward for uncovering my identity. I'll offer you a choice. You can choose to fight me, one-on-one, right here, right now. Naturally, I will disable my immortality. Defeat me, and the game will be cleared, allowing all players to log out. How about it?"

Kirito looked around. Everyone who had survived fighting the Skull Reaper, the floor 75 boss, lay paralyzed by the creator of the game. Heathcliff, secretly Akihiko Kayaba, had just given him the chance to set them all free.

"Don't do it, Kirito," said Asuna, his wife paralyzed in his arms. "For now... Just stand down."

As memories filled his head of all those he'd lost, all the despair he'd witnessed, he had an idea. He gritted his teeth and raised his head.

"Stand down...? Not on my life..." he said, laying Asuna down gently. "You hear me? I'll take your offer, but on one condition! This is supposed to be a free shot, right? Then I can't die. If my HP hits the red, I'll forfeit. But if I beat you, we all go home."

Heathcliff considered it. "Hmm... A good offer. Especially since you're far too low of a level to fight me yet. I accept."

Kirito drew his swords, spoke to Agil and Klein, and waited for Heathcliff to draw his sword.

"This is not a duel," Kirito thought to himself. "This is a fight to the death. That's right. I'm going to kill him, here and now!..."

Based on the animated adaptation of Sword Art Online.

Event 1: New Rules coming soon...