.:.:.:.
[Immortal Object]
.:.:.:.
The purple message remained glowing in the air long after the sparks of my attack animation had extinguished themselves.
"Kirito what are you -"
Asuna, shouting in response to my unexpected attack on the Guild Leader, stopped mid-sentence. The room had fallen eerily silent. The recoil I had felt when my attack got blocked was nothing compared to the look of shock that adorned the guild members' faces. The system message began to fade slowly, but the damage had been done.
.:.:.:.
I lowered my sword and jumped back several yards, placing some distance between me and Heathcliff. Asuna took a couple of steps forward, drawing level with me.
"Immortality granted by the system... How is this possible... Guild Master?"
She knew of course, but she couldn't accept it, or rather she didn't want to. Perhaps by saying it out loud she was hoping that someone would tell her the events of the last ten seconds were a hallucination. I think all of us felt the same way. If my suspicions were correct, things were about to get significantly worse. Having lost 14 people in that boss fight, a minute earlier and I would have thought it impossible. But this was now.
.:.:.:.
Heathcliff responded to neither the shout nor the horrified question. He simply glared at me, his face serious and unreadable. With both my swords at the ready, I opened my mouth and spoke.
"The truth behind the legend. With your HP protected by the system, your health could never fall into the yellow, no matter what happened to you. Immortality...
Other than NPCs," I said, remembering a certain cheerful daughter, "the only ones with it are System Administrators. But there are no administrators in this game. Except for perhaps one person..."
.:.:.:.
I looked up at the domed ceiling, as a sort of despairing laugh began to creep into my voice.
"I had always wondered, after arriving here... just where was he watching us from as he manipulated this world. But I had forgotten one simple fact, that even the smallest of children know."
I lowered my head, meeting the red paladin's steely gaze once more.
"There's nothing more boring watching someone else play an MMO."
"Isn't that right... Kayaba Akihiko."
As the echoes of my final syllable died, the room returned to silence once more. But it was at least ten times as bad as before. With cold dread gripping our hearts, it felt like the room had frozen over. Time seemed sluggish, as if the immense weight of that last statement was somehow distorting it.
.:.:.:.
Heathcliff hadn't moved, hadn't even blinked. He just stared with an emotionless expression.
No-one else had moved either, but the reason for that was different. The pressure in the room was paralysing, suffocating. Another second passed.
Asuna managed to take half a step forward. Her eyes were devoid of emotion, bottomless voids almost resembling her captain's. She opened her mouth slightly, and spoke in a barely more than a whisper.
"Leader... is this true?"
Heathcliff ignored her question once again. Instead of answering, he tilted his head slightly and, in a calm and disinterested voice, asked me one of his own.
"...Just for reference, could you tell me how you figured it out?"
"During our duel, I felt something was off. You were too fast in those final moments."
"I thought so. A grevious mistake on my part, I underestimated your speed and had to fall back on the system's over assist."
He nodded, breaking eye contact, his facial expression changing for the first time since the attack, his mouth forming a bitter smile.
"I originally expected to make it to the 95th floor before this would be revealed."
Then his posture changed, becoming confident, full of authority, like a king in his throne room, in complete control of the situation. And his smile changed to match it. For a moment I thought there was going to be maniacal laughter, but Kayaba didn't have a voice like Mamoru's.
.:.:.:.
"Yes. I am Kayaba Akihiko."
"I am also the game's final boss who awaits you on the top floor."
I felt Asuna begin to sway slightly, and extended my hand to her without taking my gaze off the man before us, and spoke up again.
"You've got some strange tastes. To think that the strongest player would suddenly become the final boss..."
"Don't you think it would be an interesting scenario. I'd originally thought this incident would incite waves of shock throughout Aincrad, but I never thought I would be found out only three-quarters of the way through the game. I knew you were the game's most unpredictable factor, but I underestimated your potential."
Kayaba disagreed. As the creator of a game that had imprisoned the minds of ten thousand people, it was to be expected. His demeanour had lost some of its regality, and his expression had changed to one that brought back vague memories of news articles from another world. Kayaba's expressions were totally different to those of Heathcliff the Paladin, but the impenetrable iron presence gave off a similar impression to the giant avatar that had descended almost two years ago.
"I had expected you to be the player who would stand before me at the end. Out of the ten unique skills in this game, Dual Wield is given to the player with the fastest reaction speeds, who would then act out the role of the hero in the final boss fight, regardless of how the fight would turn out. But tonight you have shown me strength that bested my expectations, be it your speed or insight. Well... I suppose that such unpredictable developments are part of the essence of online RPGs..."
.:.:.:.
As Kayaba trailed off, one of the other guild members moved. He was a high ranking member of KoB and his eyes were filled with a tormented agony.
"You... you... How dare you take our loyalty, our hopes, and completely - defile them!"
As he spoke he raised his weapon, a huge halberd, and launched himself at Kayaba, the final two words turning into a scream. He was too fast for us. We could only watch as the Halberd descended, as if in slow motion.
But Kayaba was faster. A quick wave of his left hand and a gesture or two at the menu that had appeared under it, and the man froze mid-air, his armour making a heavy clang as he hit the ground paralysed. And paralysis it was, the flashing green outline around his HP bar confirmed our suspicions.
Kayaba needn't have done that as the system would have shielded him anyway, but he wasn't finished; his hand was still moving.
A series of thumps and groans came from behind me as the other guild members fell in sequence, landing in awkward positions on the ground behind me.
"Ah, Kirito!"
I turned and saw Asuna keeled over on the ground, and it wasn't just her. Apart from me and Kayaba, everyone else was on the floor unable to move. I sheathed my blades and knelt too, propping Asuna's body up with my arm, and holding her hand tightly. I turned back to Kayaba.
.:.:.:.
"So what now? Going to kill us all and hide the truth?"
"Of course not, I would never do something so unreasonable."
The man in red shook his head smiling, as if my impressions of him were a source of amusement.
"However, the situation has reached the point where I have no other choice. I shall move my schedule forward and await your arrival in the Scarlet Jade Castle on the top floor. It's a shame that I must desert the KoB and leave behind the front line players I was carefully raising to fight the powerful mobs on the 90th floor and above, but I believe that all of you have the strength to make it to the top. But before I go, one last thing..."
Kayaba's eyes swivelled to focus on mine, the willpower in them overwhelming. Without breaking eye contact, he drove his sword into the obsidian floor, causing a sharp metalling ring to resonate throughout the dome.
"Kirito, since you figured out my true identity, I will reward you with an opportunity. You can have a one-on-one duel with me, right here and now. Naturally I will disable my immortality. If you win, the game will be cleared immediately, and all the players will be able to log out. What do you say?"
At Kayaba's words, Asuna began to squirm frantically in my arms, desperately trying to move her paralysed body and shaking her head.
"No Kirito, he's just trying to get rid of you first... Y-You've got to back down!"
My instincts agreed with her. He was a system administrator. Even if he claimed it would be a fair fight, there was know way of telling whether he was cheating somehow. The best choice now would be to retreat and come up with a plan with the others.
.:.:.:.
But...
What had he said? That he'd raised the KoB? That we'd surely be able to reach the top floor?
Like a proud parent, praising a child, full of hope for their future.
"Don't play with us."
It came out as a whisper.
Rage was building inside me, and I was feeling strangely calm.
This guy had imprisoned the minds of ten thousand people in a world of his own creation, and fried the brains of two fifths of them with microwaves. He had watched the players struggle foolishly and pitifully as they followed the script he had devised. It must have been the greatest experience a game master could have.
I thought back to Asuna's past which she had shard with me on the 22nd floor. I thought back to the tears she had she while clutching me. I thought back to Yui, sealed until we find a way to clear the game. I thought back to Sacchi and the thousands of players who had died. The man before my eyes had created this world for his own amusement, and had hurt them all countless times.
There was no way I could back down.
.:.:.:.
But...
I thought back to Asuna's words. Not ten seconds had passed, but they seemed so distant. I looked away from Kayaba's gaze, and took in the room around me. I took in Asuna's pleading face. I took in the prone forms of Klein, Agil, and my front line friends. I took in the devastated KoB writhing on the dark tiles. I thought back to Asuna's words. I thought of the six thousand or so survivors. I thought of the outside world they were desperate to return to. I thought of my family. I thought of Asuna, and the promise we made.
It would be easy to not to do it, or would it?
Anger and Logic fought for control, and Anger was making some very good points.
But everyone is counting on me. I can end it right now. Save everyone. And I can do it. Kayaba had to cheat to avoid me last time, if it's like last time and he keeps his word I can wipe that smug look off his face.
*If* he keeps his word. *If* it's like last time. Those are some pretty big ifs.
I've been on the front line fighting continuously since then, I've gotten better.
Yes but you were against mobs, players are a different matter. Remember the Laughing Coffin incident. You heard Kayaba, he always expected to be up against you in the end. He's probably trained specifically for that fight.
But look around, look how many died because of him!
Look around, see everyone that's still there. Think how many more might die if you fell here.
Look around, look at Asuna. Think back to what she said.
Think of Yui.
Think of Asuna.
.:.:.:.
It had felt like several minutes while my internal monologue ran out control, but in reality (or Kayaba's crude approximation of it), it had only been about five seconds.
There was only one decision I could make when presented with a choice like that.
I stood up slowly.
I took two steps forward, my fingers creeping towards my swords.
"Kirito! Stop!"
"Kirito! -"
I heard Klein and Agil's voices. I imagine they too were desperately trying to get up, to escape the paralysis that glued them helplessly to the floor. But I didn't turn round.
I drew my sword and issued my challenge to Kayaba.
And years later I would find myself wondering what would have happened if I had made the other choice. What would have happened if I had said something different. What would have happened if I hadn't said that...
.:.:.:.
"Let's settle this"
.:.:.:.
"...on the top floor as you had originally intended."