Nineteenth Day of the Month of the Ash Tree, 2024

1025 AST

Asuna's home, Selmburg, 61st Floor.

Kirin was downstairs in the kitchen cooking some breakfast. She simply perused through Asuna's cupboards for cooking materials and literally slapped together what looked like several delicious slices of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Asuna herself appeared at the stairwell at that moment and said, "No wonder I smelled something good! You're making some breakfast?"

"Yup," she replied. "Is everyone else awake?"

"Mostly," Asuna reported. "Kirito is getting ready, Yuna is in the bathroom and Nautilus is still zonked out."

"Pfft," Kirin scoffed. "I find it odd that Kirito woke up first."

"True. Should I help?"

"No, I think I'm good. Anyways, we need to bring Kirito to see Heathcliff today."

"Ah… Yeah, good point. I honestly hoped that that was a dream and as such, we had no need but nope, it's the reality."

"Reality is a pain."

"It's quite ironic though." A new voice entered into the conversation. The visage of Kirin appeared in the stairwell as he continued, "We're in a game so this can't be 'reality'."

"Haha, good point," Kirin laughed.

"Anyways, what's this about me having to see Heath-what's-his-name?"

"Heathcliff," Asuna corrected. "Our commander wants to see you since we cleared the seventy-fourth floor without any prior strategy meetings and stuff."

"Oh…"

Kirin shrugged. "Yeah, I know, it sucks. Oh, by the way, I've been meaning to ask. What was that skill you first used against The Gleam Eyes?"

"Oh, that one? It's called Gale Slicer," Kirin confirmed. "I can use it in two ways; I can either rip outwards or slash inwards. With both swords, of course."

"I see, I see," the two girls said at the same time. Kirin asked, "Anyways, we're going to need to see the boss."

"Before that, we need to eat," he declared.

Another masculine voice echoed from the upstairs hallway. "Did someone say 'food'?"

"Shaddup, Nautilus!" Kirin yelled back. "This is all my food!"

"Oh no, you don't! This food is made by the two Lieutenant Generals of the Knights of the Blood! You're an outsider so butt off!" Nautilus argued as he ran down the stairs and took his seat at the table.

"Oh, but, Nautilus-kun, we are virtuous and we think it is right to share," Kirin teased. "Isn't that right, Asuna?"

"Of course, Kirin-shi," Asuna giggled. "This food is for everyone who sits at this table to partake of."

Nautilus sighed. "Alright, fine. If you say so, Lieutenant General, I have neither the right nor the authority to tell you to stop."

Kirin sighed as she stopped her laughter and once more, took the time to take in the view of the house's living room. From where she was standing in the kitchen with the cupboards and the sinks behind her and the counter and stoves in front of her, Kirin could see the stairwell that led up to the second floor which was tucked away on the right side corner of the far end of the room. The sliding glass doors that open outwards to the backyard were direct across her position and about one meter away from the stairs. In that space, there stood a table whose top was adorned by a vase of flowers. On the opposite side of this in relation to the glass doors was a V-shaped corner desk adorned with no decorations yet with a revolving chair planted at the mouth. "Sorry!" A voice called out from above. "Am I late?"

Kirin tore away her vision from her scanning of the living area to the stairwell where a head with hair the color of hot milk tea appeared following the legs and the rest of the body. "No, you're not, Yuna," Asuna stated. "We were just planning to eat breakfast." Kirin held two breakfast plates in each hand and carried them to the rectangular table, enough to seat six people. Kirin and Nautilus were sitting across from each other while Asuna would sit at the head of the table and Kirin on the opposite end. Yuna took a seat next to Nautilus. With everyone finally seated, they all put their hands together in unison and said, "Let's eat!"

Kirin was the first to stuff his mouth. He shoved his mouth with two sandwiches at once and squealed, "Holy, this is really good!"

"Well, what do you expect?" Kirin scoffed. "It's made by two people with completed cooking skills!"

"Uh-huh," he mumbled, unable to form coherent words as his mouth was full to the brim with food.

"Jeez, where are your manners, Kirito?!" Nautilus yelled.

"Not like you have manners yourself, Nautilus," Asuna scolded. Indeed, the boy was gorging himself in a way that was on par with Kirin or perhaps, even rowdier than him. "Anyways, since Kirin-shi and I were unable to report to you guys yesterday about what the commander said since you were already out, I'll tell you guys now."

Kirin casually picked up her fork which she had just used earlier to daintily pierce a piece of bread for eating purposes now held it up and pointed it at Kirin. "You, Kirito," she began. "The commander wants to see you."

Kirin continued eating for a bit. "Who, Heathcliff?"

"Yes," Asuna confirmed. "He wants to see you, especially after we told him about your Unique Skill…"

Nautilus's hand stopped as he was about to put another sandwich in his mouth. "Wait, hold up. Rewind," he pleaded. "Kirito has a unique skill?"

Kirin sighed as he sat back in the chair and twirled around the fork between his index and middle fingers. "Alright, I'm pretty sure I can trust you guys with this. My Unique Skill is called «Dual Blades». As its name suggests, it allows me to not only wield two swords at once but also allows me to use sword skills that utilize both swords at the same time. My Gale Slicer and Starburst Stream skills are just a few of what I have in my skill inventory as a result of my Dual Blades skill."

"Like my own Songstress," Kirin said. "It's basically the same thing as the Chant Extra Skill except for the fact that it is around twelve times more potent."

"Anyways, why does Heathcliff want to see me?" he asked.

"Well…" Asuna said dripping imaginary sweat as she nervously looked at Kirin. She nodded at her to reveal the issue at hand, giving her silent encouragement. Clearing her throat, Asuna continued, "Heathcliff wants to talk to you with the ultimatum of inviting you to the guild."

Kirin froze. He shook his head and said, "Asuna, you know I don't do guilds!"

"Yes, I know, I know," she whined. "However, once the commander sets his mind on something, he wants it in its entirety."

Kirin sighed. "Must I join? Is there any other way?"

"I don't know, Kirito," Kirin stated. "I just don't know."

Nautilus pointed his fork at him. "Yo, what's with you and your fear of guilds? Are you scared to be around people that much?"

"Hey, that's rude!" Yuna scolded.

Kirin held up a hand. "It's fine, Yuna. I guess I shouldn't keep this secret anymore…" Taking a deep breath, Kirin began his story. "My fear of guilds originates from the first one I ever joined, the «Moonlit Black Cats». I, being a person who is not used when surrounded by people, lied about my level. I said I was level 20 like them when in reality, I was already level 40. Anyways, I am not going to lie but I had a very fun time with them. However, everything went south when one of the members, eager for treasure, barrelled into a treasure vault. Unfortunately, it was an Anti-Crystal trap area and I had to watch as every single guild member was killed. Following that, I went to report to the guild leader but he couldn't bear being alone. He threw himself off the side of the castle."

The silence that ensued was grim. Kirin simply stated, "Ouch."

Nautilus silently put his fork down on the table before saying, "Sorry. I didn't know that that happened to you in the past…"

Kirin held up his hand again and replied, "It's fine. It's all in the past anyway…"

Kirin was disliking the current atmosphere. She decided to change the topic of the conversation. "A-Anyways, why were you guys so late into the Labyrinth?"

"Late?" Kirin asked.

Kirin ignored the boy's comment and instead turned to Asuna, demanding an explanation, "Didn't we agree to meet up in the Labyrinth at an hour before noon? I literally spent two hours trying to search for you."

"Ah…" she said. "Well, I did meet up with Kirito as scheduled: ten minutes past nine this morning. However, a certain disturbance involving myself and my bodyguard delayed us."

"Kuradeel-san?"

"Yes, him," she confirmed. "I had difficulty shaking him off his duties this morning. When I appeared out of the teleport gate in Kamdet on the seventy-fourth floor, he followed me. It even got to the point where Kirito had to duel him to get him to leave me alone."

"Yeah, it was a First Strike duel which I ended by breaking his weapon," Kirin interjected. "I call it Arms Blast. I basically try to pinpoint the weakest point of a weapon and hit it hard there with a sword skill, breaking it. He had tried attacking me with Avalanche but I easily just sidestepped and slammed the weak point of the sword with Radiant Arc."

"Sounds really cool," Nautilus said. "Anyways, are you seriously going to be fine, Kirito? I'm quite sure if we explain the situation to Heathcliff, he'll reconsider adding you into our ranks."

"No, it's fine," he insisted. "I'll confront him myself and state it straight to his face."

"Alright…" Everyone else finished their breakfast in silence. Asuna and Kirin worked together to clear the plates used by them for their food and dropped them in the sink. Asuna did the washing while Kirin went to create some bento for lunch, just in case they go hunting on the seventy-fifth floor for the Labyrinth following their report to Heathcliff.

Kirin sang, "Make some more sandwiches for me, Kirin!"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, figuratively waving him off. She put together some sandwiches and put it all together in a basket that Asuna had put on the counter. "Keep it in your inventory."

Asuna nodded and shoved the lunch into her inventory. "Alright, guys! Heads up high and chests puffed out! We're heading to the boss."


Fifteen minutes later…

Granzam, 55th Floor

Instead of just two players appearing out of blue light, it was five players. Kirin felt her feet touch the ground again as she stretched. "Ahh…" she sighed woefully. "This rather cold weather makes me want to ignore the summoning, head back to the fifty-ninth floor and just take a nap in the meadow."

Kirin, who had apparated directly to the right of her, crossed his arms and nodded with his eyes closed and a smug smile plastered on his face, "Yes, yes, you have good taste as well, Kirin. In beautiful weather, it is the perfect place to just lay down and fall asleep. Asuna and I napped there a few months ago."

On the right of Kirin, Asuna reddened intensely as she used both hands to hammer rapidly on his back. "Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet! No spilling the beans!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" he cried clearly hoping for absolvement for his crime of giving out a secret. "A-Anyways, aren't we here for something else?"

"I'll get you back later…" Asuna growled. "For now, let's go." She led the group out of the small rectangular area that was their landing point when teleporting from different floors and locations. They marched through the plaza, earning the stares of a great number of players who had gathered there for countless different purposes.

Said mumblings by onlooking players include:

"Hey… Isn't that the Lightning Flash of the Knights of the Blood?"

"That's the Snow White Songstress…"

"Our goddess!"

"Kirin-sama, you're the best!"

"Kirin-sama, continue working hard!"

"That's the Beater, Kirito, isn't it?"

"What's he doing with our goddesses?!"

"Hey, loser, don't think for a second you're worthy of their attention!"

"Yeah, get your loser ass out of there!"

"Wait, isn't he the one who basically soloed the seventy-fourth floor?"

"Yeah, he has a Unique Skill."

"Dual Blades or something."

Kirin sighed. She turned to Kirin and tried for a weak smile which was received and countered with a shrug. "They need to seriously stop this. They think that I'm only useful for entertainment!"

"There, there, Kirin-shi," Asuna cooed. "Remain calm. Just ignore them."

"Easy for you to say," she countered. "You're not the one on the receiving end of their praise. Even though I don't dislike being praised, I dislike being praised excessively. I'm just another human person like them yet they treat me like I'm Aphrodite incarnate."

Kirin interrupted, "However, I believe the more pressing matter at hand is how do they know about my Unique Skill?"

"Quite possibly because of Klein," Nautilus suggested as he kept his palm on the pommel of his sword, Eternal Unrest, so he is ready to draw it at any time in case any of these players were insane enough to try and get personal with Kirin. He quickened his pace so that he walked beside her, a subtle sign he was acting as her bodyguard. He whisprered whispered in her ear, "You can rest easy, Major General. If any of these guys get close, I'll smack them with my sword."

"Thanks, Nautilus," Kirin said. They soon exited the plaza and marched into the streets where even the morning light had difficulty illuminating. The steel towers and buildings commanded a very deep and resounding foundation. They wove through the corridors until they got to the portcullis that was the entrance to the Knights of the Blood guild headquarters. Kirin yelled, "This is your Major General, Kirin! Lift high the gates!"

"Ma'am!" The four guards at the inner portion of the gate saluted and began rolling up the iron portcullis. Once it was safely out of the way, they stood at attention on opposite sides of the hallway and saluted again, this time, not speaking a word.

Asuna walked in first and ordered, "At ease, gentlemen." Still not speaking another word, they lowered their arms and locked them stiffly at their sides. In a single file, Kirin, Nautilus, Yuna, and finally, Kirin, walked inside. Asuna led them down the corridor and up the stairs just immediately past the common area which opened up on the left side. The stairs marched through the wall before breaking open into a large assembly room. "Commander, I've brought him."

Kirin stepped aside to reveal the black-clad swordsman. She took the time to once again, take in the view of the room even though she had seen it many times before. Directly across from the stairwell and the oakwood double doors they had just entered from was the half-moon-shaped Round Table conference table. Kirin slightly dipped her head to acknowledge her vision of Heathcliff before returning her gaze to the room yet again.

High above, a crystal chandelier with six arms hangs proudly from the ceiling. In the directions of nine and, three o'clock sits the pillars inscribed with the symbol of the guild. With those same designs on them, three red flags are hung in front of the nearly one-eighty-degree viewing window at the eleven, twelve, and one o'clock positions. The tiled floor beneath was an engineering marvel with lapis lazuli tiles interchanging with polished blue sandstone. Kirin returned her vision to the commander who was previously standing up and looking out of the window. He turned around at Asuna's voice and said, "Ah. Good work, Asuna."

Nautilus went to lean against the window while Yuna hid behind Kirin as Kirito marched into the room and rooted himself front and center. "So you're Heathcliff?"

"And you're Kirito," he repeated as he sat down in his seat at the head of the table. "To be perfectly honest, you do not seem like much."

"Really? You definitely look much more commanding in person."

"Why, thank you."

"None needed. Anyways, with all due respect, sir, I have been informed that you have specifically summoned me here for the reason of inviting me into this guild."

"Yes, indeed, that is my intention. Aincrad needs a player like yourself. One that was able to essentially defeat the seventy-fourth Floor Boss on his own with a special Unique Skill."

Kirito sighed. "News travels fast, huh? I did not expect so many people to know about the skill already."

"Yes, quite true. Twelve hours is more than enough time for information such as this to be released throughout Aincrad."

"I assume there is no way that I can refuse?"

"No, I am afraid not. I must insist that you join our ranks. It is for the benefit of us all."

"What would the benefits be for me?"

"What would it need to convince you? Money? Rare items? Perhaps, even Asuna?"

Asuna tripped over herself as she stammered, "Ex-Excuse me?!"

Heathcliff raised an eyebrow. "What seems to be the problem? I am merely complimenting you on your exquisitely fine finesse."

"Amazing," she said, the sarcasm in her voice as obvious as her chestnut hair, "Commander, last I checked, magic was nonexistent in this world. However, here you are, weaving your spells and turning women into trophies."

Heathcliff held up his arms in surrender. "You know that I jest. On another note, I must insist again, Kirito. This world needs you. This world needs you to be the torch that provides the guiding light. Just name your price."

Kirito crossed his arms and smiled. "Well… I suppose the one thing I want to ask for is a duel with you."

Heathcliff raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How interesting."

"I personally believe it is better to settle this with the sword rather than with the eloquence of words."

"Yes, go on."

"I shall set the terms. If I win, I will regretfully refuse your kind offer to join the guild as well as take Asuna as my trophy," he began.

"Hey!" Asuna protested.

Ignoring her, Kirito continued, "However, if I lose and I quite doubt that will happen, I will accept your offer to join the guild. However, you must make me a high-ranking member."

Heathcliff scratched his chin, deep in thought. "You drive a very hard bargain, Kirito." He then turned to his chief financial officer, a fellow aged man named Daizen, and asked. "What are your thoughts on this?"

"I personally have taken a liking for these terms," he stated. "I don't see any problem with accepting them."

"Alright, it has been set," Heathcliff said but before he could continue, he was cut off by Kirin.

"With all due respect, Commander, I would like to take responsibility for this duel," she declared as she marched from her location at the back of the room to the front. Upon arriving at the designated location she had chosen, a spot about two meters away from the table, she stamped her feet and rooted herself to the spot before spinning around and pointing her left index finger at Kirin. "I'll be the one to duel you, Kirito."

Heathcliff's eyebrow rose ever higher. "Oh? Why must you burden yourself so, Kirin?"

"This is something that I would want to fight over," she explained. "I have been wanting to test Kirito's skills again. The First Strike duel I challenged him to two months ago resulted in my loss. However, this time, I won't hold back. I will stake all my pride in defeating you."

Kirito smiled playfully. "Are you sure, Kirin-chan?"

"Don't use that honorific on me anymore!" she demanded. "I'll have you know just how much I have improved!"

Heathcliff clapped once to silence the room and announced, "Let it be so. The duel is to take place tomorrow exactly two hours before noon. The conditions are as follows: Kirito's victory will result in his refusal to join our guild and Asuna as a trophy, however, in the event that Kirito is defeated, he will be integrated into our ranks and he will be given a position of high rank within the guild. Am I stating this correctly?"

Kirito nodded. "Yes. I shall abide by these terms."

"Very well," Heathcliff continued. "Asuna, Kirin, Nautilus, Yuna. You are hereby dismissed. Kirito, I will look forward to you in our ranks."

"No thanks to you, 'Commander'," he replied. Turning on his heels, Kirito led the vanguard as he marched through the double doors leading the other four players as the distant sounds of fate tick through the world.