Sword Art Online: Re:Designed

Chapter One: Killer of Killers

Author's Note

Okay, I know you guys are going to be mad at me for publishing another new story. Rest assured, however, for Gun Gale Online: The Swordswoman and Shoot to Thrill, Swing to Kill are both making notable progress. The former is being slower, but it should speed up soon.

So, a little info on this story that you should know before beginning to read.

First off, as per the usual for me, Kirito will be a girl in this. Her real-life name will be "Kimiko", and her in-game name will be "Kiriko" (Coming from the "Kiri" in Kirigaya and the "ko" in Kimiko, of course).

Next up, the personality of Kimiko will be drastically altered in this story. The chapter title should give you enough of a clue.

In addition, and this won't be much of a shocker to all of my followers, but this story is yuri, meaning girl/girl, femslash, whatever you want to call it. The pairing should be obvious by the character settings, so I won't say it outright.

And finally, the game mechanics for SAO will be altered as well. First off, you can only start out with one of a few weapons. They all unlock different types when you get to certain levels of mastery, so you can branch off into your preferred build when you meet the prerequisites. Thus, there are no Unique Skills involving weapons. There are other things, too, but those will be explained as the story moves forward.

Well, I guess that's all you need to know for now! I'll see you below!

"Please, spare me!" the man, clad in black armor reminiscent of the darkest of nights, screamed. Paralyzed with fear, he could only watch as I slowly closed the distance between us, my swords of black and white gleaming menacingly in the dim torchlight of the dungeon.

I hid my unease with a laugh akin to that of a madman, gripping the hilts of my blades tighter to quell the ceaseless shaking of my hands. What I was about to do – I knew it wasn't right, but I couldn't stop the urge from consuming me, despite my nervousness.

"Like how you and your buddies spared the «Black Cats of the Full Moon»?"

These words rang loud and clear throughout the dungeon, shocking the man backed up against the wall before me. Feeling the anger consuming me, I felt the shaking in my hands cease, and all restraints start to fade.

"You're… you're the clearer of that guild, Kiriko! You're the girl we lured away so that we could finish them off!"

I said nothing in reply, opting instead to close the rest of the distance between us. Just as I put both of my blades to his neck in a cross-like pattern, he spoke up again, shouting something that shocked me to the core.

"Wait!" he screamed desperately. "We were hired to do it!"

"Oh?" I masked my surprise with a façade of cold curiosity. "And who might your employer be?"

"I don't know—AAH!"

I pressed my swords up against his neck, making red marks that signified HP damage. However, my cursor remained green; killing an orange player such as this one had no consequences. It was like some sick form of justice, in a way.

"I'll ask one more time," I whispered, pressing my swords further into his neck. It wouldn't interfere with his ability to talk; not in this world, at least. "Who hired you?"

"Look, all I know is that they were an advocate for a member of the «Knights of the Blood»!" he shouted, making my eyes narrow. "His client said that the «Black Cats» were slowing you down, and that you were needed as a strong player!"

My eyes widened considerably. When he noticed the disbelief in my expression, he shouted out one last thing. "I swear, that's all I know! I'm not lying, please believe me!"

"Don't worry," I said softly, retracting my gleaming swords from his neck. "I believe you. But…"

That was the turning point. The day where I passed the point of no return. The day I killed my first player.

I plunged both of my swords into his chest, putting them in the initial position to activate a «Sword Skill» from within him. "I can't have my revenge without getting my hands dirty."

"AAAAAAAAGH!"

The sound of shattering glass filled the dungeon.

I awoke with a start, sitting upright in bed and putting my hands to my spinning head. That same dream— no, that memory— kept replaying itself in my sleep, night after night. I could count on one hand the nights since the incident that I slept peacefully, and it had been almost six months already.

Seven… since they were killed…

I looked up at the cracked ceiling of my run-down house in «Algade», inspecting the fractures to get my mind off of the current subject. Though the entire building was an «Immortal Object», my small dwelling looked as if it had seen much better days. Of course, that's the way the system designed it, which is why it was so cheap to buy.

I don't need a comfortable living space, anyway, I thought, casting my gaze to the sole window of my house. The morning light poured down onto the space right next to my bed, allowing me to see just enough to move around without bumping into anything. Since I don't even come here that often.

I chose this small, crappy house not for its interior or the fact that it was incredibly hard to find (though that did help me out a bit), but for its prime location. Not thirty meters away from my small dwelling, a certain info broker had purchased an apartment, similar in quality to mine, to use as her base of operations. She didn't actually live there, of course; that would make it easy for her to be found by anyone who had a grudge against her.

In fact, I had been the first and only person she told about her real living space. She knew my lips would be sealed, since she had important info on me as well. She called it, "the law of equivalent exchange"; I called it copyright infringement on a twenty-year-old show. But I digress.

"I should probably get up…" I whispered to myself, yawning loudly as I got out from under the covers. "I've got a long day of dungeon-mapping ahead."

My face darkened as I remembered what would come after I finished mapping for the day. "That's right… she gave me info on a PK guild's base location."

And so, I'll kill them. All of the red players in that base… they'll be dead before tomorrow morning.

"And you're sure this info is accurate?"

These words escaped my lips without a second thought. All heads in the room turned to me, looks of disbelief written on their faces. I heard one of them mutter something akin to, 'Did she just question the accuracy of Argo's information?'

"Don't worry about it, everyone," the whiskered girl in the middle of the group dismissed, waving her hand to show she didn't care. "Sinon's new to the lead group, so her distrust of a beta-tester like me makes sense."

All heads returned their gazes to the auburn-haired info broker, whose laid back attitude had just effectively saved me from enduring any negative consequences for doubting her. She served as a vital piece of the lead group, apparently, for her ability to find impossible information about the game, even after the tenth floor, where the beta period ended.

"So, as I was saying," Argo continued on as if nothing had happened. "The «Killer of Killers» will be making an appearance tonight on floor thirty-seven, in the southwest part of the «Graveyard of the Royal» map.

"Now then, as you all know by now, I'm not just giving you this info," she informed us, looking at me directly. "I want you to do something about it."

"What do you want us to do?" I ended up asking after everyone remained silent for a little while.

"I want the lead group to form a team of strong players to capture him," Argo said, the whisker marks on her cheeks distorting slightly as she smiled. "A party of six of your best should suffice. When you've got him, bring him directly to me."

"You've got to be kidding me," I scoffed, ignoring the narrowed eyes of the rest of the people in the room. "Six people just to bring down one man? He can't be that strong."

"But he is," the info broker countered, giving me a more stern expression. It seemed she had finally gotten fed up with my doubts. "I saw him once, when he was trying to kill a strong orange player. He has the kind of strength I've never seen before."

Something about the way she said that bothered me, though I chose not to say anything else, as I could already see looks of astonishment coming from everyone in the room. No one had been so blunt to Argo before, or at least, not in that way—that's what I gathered from their expressions.

"If you want to see his power first hand, Sinon," she continued, a smug look on her face. "Then we can put you on the team. An archer such as yourself would be a good addition, and you're the best at what you do."

I weighed my options carefully. I could either reject her offer and suffer even more bad blood with the lead group that I had just become a part of, or I could go and risk my life against whom she was making out to be the strongest player in the game.

But even then, it's six against one, I tried to inwardly reassure myself. What am I afraid of?

"Okay, I'll go."

And with that, the meeting continued as if nothing had happened.

By the time the sun set, I had just made my way into the «Graveyard of the Royal», a map that continues to be one of the most dangerous maps, even more than twenty floors after it was discovered. It wasn't that the monsters themselves were particularly strong breeds. Actually, it was quite the opposite; the variety of monsters that appeared there were mostly weak breeds that would swarm you, should you attract their attention.

Why was it so dangerous? That was a commonly asked question amongst the players not of the front lines. There are several factors that play into the incredibly high risk of dying, just by being in the area.

The first— which could also be a big reward for the strongest players— was the insanely high spawn rate of the monsters in the area. It only took one minute for each monster slain to be replaced by another, and each different breed had some kind of attack to inflict the poison or bleed status. And, considering the other factors, this alone would make the area dangerous.

The second— which, again, could be helpful for the strongest, bravest players— was the «Spawn Change», a map feature that first appeared on the floor below the «Graveyard of the Royal». Certain maps would alternate between what kind of monsters would spawn in their perimeters, hence the name. Most «Spawn Change» maps followed a certain pattern, and also made sure to stay within the monster types of their floor. However, the «Graveyard of the Royal» was different, in the sense that the type of monsters that would spawn every hour or so was almost completely random. Most of the time, there would be weak breeds that could swarm and inflict status conditions. However, on very rare occasions, the types of monsters that spawned would be incredibly powerful. Thus, it was incredibly risky to stay there for very long without the «Hiding» skill equipped.

The third, and most dangerous, factor— one that made even the strongest players fear entering without being in a full party of six— was the level of the monsters. The levels themselves weren't set. In fact, the level of every monster that spawned would be at least five levels higher than that of the strongest player in the map. This, combined with all of the other factors, made for a map that almost everyone steered clear from.

The keyword there is, 'almost'. After all, with incredible risks, there must also be incredible rewards. Highly effective leveling rates, respawning treasure chests that contained weapons that stayed consistently better than the current weapon the player opening it has equipped… the list of amazing rewards for braving this area go on and on.

Which is exactly why it made sense for a PK guild to make its base of operations in the one area of the map where no monsters would spawn— the southwest corner. With that area as a base, they could effectively out-level and out-gear everyone else in the game, should they be brave enough to fight the monsters in the vicinity.

I have to be on my guard…

This thought constantly resounded throughout my mind as I sprinted towards the southwest area of the map. There was no telling how long this PK guild had been there, leveling in secret. They could be far superior to me in level, weapons and equipment. At the same time, they could be much weaker, should they have only moved their base to this area recently.

Whatever the case, I knew I had no option of stealthily taking them out one at a time— the coat I used at night to perform my runs, a boss drop known as «Killing Shadow», had an effect that kept me from using my «Hiding Skill». In exchange, the «Scout» passive effect of the coat maximized my «Searching» skill when I had both equipped. In addition, my attack was greatly boosted, and, as a tradeoff, my defense was set to zero. I had essentially become a glass cannon when I performed my night runs. But that was fine. I was much more accustomed to fighting humans than monsters, and I only fought the latter during the day, when I had a different coat equipped.

Thus, I had no choice but to recklessly charge in and slaughter the other murderers with my two swords.

Five minutes into my trek, and I finally found myself nearing my destination. Just up ahead, I could see the cursors of several players. In the dim light of the forest night, I couldn't make out the color from the current distance. I knew I had to get closer, but also that I needed to be careful— my «Hiding» skill had been disabled by my coat, so I could only get so close before they inevitably noticed my own cursor. If they were members of my target guild, then they probably had high-level «Searching» skills, like mine.

As I slowly closed in, I tried to formulate a plan of attack. There were six of them, so I couldn't be too careful. When I got within the distance to see their actual avatars, I found five members of the lead group, as well as someone I had never seen before.

What the hell are they doing here? I thought, grimacing lightly. Then, I noticed that they were walking in the same direction as I. Well, this complicates things…

Looking at the cursors of the players in front of me one last time, I confirmed that they were all green. I don't have to kill the PK guild today, anyway…

But then, just as I turned to leave, I felt my foot step on something other than the ground, making a large crunching sound. When I turned back to the players, I noticed all their eyes focused on me. Not good for me.

With the hood of my «Killing Shadow» coat up, they couldn't see my face. As long as I didn't speak, they wouldn't find out who I was. Just before I turned to walk away, I noticed them walking towards me.

They reached me in a matter of seconds, they reached me, one of them tentatively saying, "We don't want to fight you. Just come with us and nothing will happen, we promise."

I turned to walk away, stopping when one of them grabbed my wrist. When I turned back to face the man, trying to tug my arm away, he tightened his grip. I knew what would happen if he tightened his grip even a fraction more, and it wouldn't be pretty for him. And yet, at the same time, I needed to pull away.

Speaking in the deepest tone I could muster, I tried to warn him. "Let go," I said, tugging at my arm one last time. "I don't want to hurt you."

When he tightened his grip to keep my arm in place, it happened. His cursor turned orange, his hand having gripped me hard enough to enact the «Crime Prevention Code».

The moment I saw his cursor change colors, I felt something within me snap. I heard the sound of a woman's scream in my head, and when I returned my mind to the situation at hand, all I could feel were instincts. To kill or be killed.

And, of course, I chose to kill.

In a flash, I ripped my arm from the man's grasp, drawing both of my swords from the scabbards on my back and slicing them through his torso without a second thought. He screamed in agony, but this didn't stop me as I continued to slice through him with my swords of white and black. I was past the point of feeling remorse, feeling any kind of negative emotion about killing orange players. No matter what they did, as soon as I saw their cursors, I went completely berserk.

Within just a few seconds, the sound of shattering glass filled the area. The player that crossed the line had been killed, and my cursor remained green.

Looks of shock and anger reigned the faces of the five remaining players. In particular, the one I hadn't seen before in the lead group, an archer who held her bow in her right hand, seemed more fearful than the rest.

Another player soon came running at me, his one-handed curved sword raised high in preparation for an overhead strike. I easily sidestepped, having come back to my senses the moment the orange player had been killed. But if this person hit me with his blade…

Then I'll snap again.

After several unsuccessful swings, my assailant made a scratch on my right shoulder with his curved sword. In an instant, his cursor turned orange, making my eyes go wild from inside the hood of my black coat.

"Big mistake," I whispered, immediately tearing straight through his abdomen with my right sword. I followed up with a vicious stab from my left, which I then dragged down through his middle, then back upwards and out through his head.

I plunged my right sword into his chest, draining the last of his HP and sending his avatar —and his soul— into oblivion. What ensued next was pure chaos.

Three of the four remaining players in the party all lunged at me, the archer being the only one to stay behind. Even she, however, had drawn an arrow from the container on her back, putting it on her bow string and preparing to strike me.

At this point, I had begun to succumb to the bloodlust inside me. I let each of the three charging players hit me once with each of their weapons, taking a whopping thirty percent of my HP away. It didn't matter, however; there wouldn't be anyone in the area to fight me soon enough.

The moment I saw each of their cursors turn orange, I activated an AOE skill unique to the two-sword build known as «Dual Blades».

«End Revolver»

With swords shimmering a vibrant green, I delivered a spin attack that hit them all at once, causing a cloud of dust to kick up and obscure their vision. The second hit ensued, making me reverse directions and hit them all at once again, this one landing double the damage of the first and inflicting them with a «Slow» status.

Once the split-second post-motion delay from my skill wore off, I delivered one last spin attack, hitting them all and kicking up another cloud of dust.

The sound of shattering glass filled the area once more.

"No way…"

These words escaped my gaping mouth in a hoarse whisper as I looked at the massive cloud of dust before me with wide eyes. I could see innumerable fragments of white and blue floating out of the cloud and into the night sky.

"He couldn't have… there's no way he could have killed them all… not so fast…"

Suddenly, my shock turned to rage. I had finally befriended a few members of the lead group, and they were all killed in but a few moments by this player… «Killer of Killers», my ass! They never killed anyone before! He just destroyed them without a thought as soon as their cursors changed colors!

Gritting my teeth, I waited patiently for the dust to clear and reveal the murderer's form. After a few seconds, when the dust finally cleared enough for me to see him, I noticed something very odd. Both of his swords were sheathed, and he was looking directly at me from under the hood of his cloak.

"Don't… don't mock me!" I shouted, pulling my arrow back on the bowstring of my bow. I put it in the position to activate a powerful stun skill, preparing to hit him with it, then unsheathe my dagger and kill him. Not only had he killed my new friends… he had also mocked me by putting his weapons away, as if I wasn't a threat—

"Don't do this," he said in what seemed to be a forced-low voice, putting his hands up in an attempt to appease me. "Don't hit me and become orange. I don't want to fight you."

My arrow dropped to the ground, the hand holding it having gone slack at the shock his words sent through me. My jaw dropped, and it was all I could do not to let my body drop as well.

As soon as the «Killer of Killers» noticed my weakness, he turned to walk away. "I'm sorry."

Those were the last words he said before slipping away into the night.

Author's Note

So, what do you think? I know the POV switch between Kiriko and Sinon may be a bit confusing, but you'll get used to it eventually.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story so far! For those of you who like it, I encourage you to leave a review telling me what you like. For those of you who dislike it, I encourage you to leave a review telling me just what you think needs working on.

I'll leave you for now, guys. You'll probably see me next in Shoot to Thrill, Swing to Kill, so I'll see you then! Until we next meet, let this disclaimer remind you of me.

I don't own it. Seriously, I don't. Give the hell up, Aniplex and Reki. It's obvious that I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series, any of its adaptations, or anything I use from them, so just stop making me write these things telling everyone just that.

Without further ado, I'll see you next chapter!

Ciao!