His body didn't hurt.

He'd exceeded his limits by wringing too much od out of his body, so the expected sensation like his blood vessels had been twisted around his bones was there. It was the familiar spiritual pain as his soul protested that he'd wrung too much of himself out.

However, his muscles weren't torn and his joints weren't dislocated. Compared to how much he'd exceeded his spiritual limits, the gap between forcing his body to move like Saber and what his body was capable of was wider. Moving at high speed was easier for this holographic body than his real self, but he had still required more speed, more strength, than the limit would allow. Therefore he'd exceeded his limits. Obviously he should expect the pain of tearing himself apart. But that sensation was completely absent.

As a result of pumping so much od through his Circuits, his temperature had gone up so much that the [System] was simulating a steam effect rising from him. The almost delirious state of the corresponding fever wasn't there. Instead of any kind of physical pain, there was only the generalized numbness in his bones and muscles.

But as compensation for the lack of pain, instead he received [HP damage]. Right now, his HP bar was in the yellow zone, and from a glance it was only a sliver away from the red zone. In a direct numerical sense that made him approximately three-fourths dead.

If he extrapolated the time they'd swung Caliburn together onto this action, then 75% of [Killing Himself] was about accurate.

There was a trumpet fanfare.

Shirou looked around. There were 51 other people present. He counted quickly as he swept his eyes across them. Injuring himself by this much was perfectly acceptable. As compensation for no one dying, dealing that amount of damage to himself was a bargain he'd accept without hesitation every time.

Truly, there was every reason for his delighted smile.

I I I

"What the fuck was that!?" In the church-like silence of the [Boss Room], a single voice cried out with a demand. Even if his question was excessively rude, Kirito found that he wholeheartedly agreed with that Cactus' words. In his admittedly limited experience with the other man he was already willing to call that a [Rare Event].

"Seriously, what just happened?" With a strident cry, the one named Kibaou stormed forward, with an amazed and disgusted expression on his face.

With the extraordinary atmosphere gone, Kibaou's words reminded everyone they could speak. A buzz of talking rippled across the players. There were happy exclamations as people celebrated their success. But, they were like lone islands in a dark and distrustful sea. There was a sick sensation of expectation that spread across the gathered players.

"You're pretty ungrateful, huh."

Once again, the [Fairy] calmly and boldly interrupted the glaring and glowering [Cactus].

Seeing the anger in his eyes as his gaze turned from Shirou to Ilya, everyone that stood between those two instinctively stepped back. More than anything else, it was the social instinct that they shouldn't get in the way of the confrontation between these two. Basically, everyone was pushed aside by the intensity of their confrontation. Asuna, who stood behind Ilya, was not exempt. She didn't back off, but after hesitantly raising her hand, dropped. Instead, she simply stood by her friend during this confrontation.

Kirito, who was standing the vertex of a triangle relative to the line that went between them, suddenly felt a sensation of danger. Once, his father had taken the family on a tour of a particle physics research facility. The line between them was like the emission line from the laser that had been the central attraction of that facility. It was completely invisible from the side, but somehow there was a sensation that standing where it could cross your body was just asking to get cut in half.

However, rather than just lash out in an explosion, the expression on that guy's face was more sullen. "You… you self-proclaimed beta tester, how can I trust even one thing you say?"

Ilya cocked her head to the side, like a bird that was examining something it didn't understand. Kirito had seen that expression plenty of times outside the game, but mostly on crows before they examined something by tearing at it with their beaks.

"I don't understand." Ilya announced. "What are you even complaining about?" Ilya tapped her cheek with her finger, as her other hand supported the elbow tucked at her side. "How can you be angry that someone beat the boss? Are you just throwing a tantrum because we didn't let you perform the [Last Attack], or is it something even more childish?"

"You…" his voice had grown dark. His eyes were hooded. "You think I'm just jealous?" He growled, and threw his hand out. "Of course I'm jealous!" With that bald and shameless announcement, he continued to shout. "Any Netgamer would be jealous to see someone use such an amazing skill! However!" Kibaou took a deep breath, and pulled his arms taunt to the sides, visibly reigning in his desire to flail about. While he was doing that, Kirito reflected that the [Rare Event] called [Agreeing with Cactus] had been triggered again, but somehow it felt different. "The problem isn't that some players are beta players. It's the secrecy!" Kibaou swept his eyes across everyone gathered. "Everyone gathered here wants to be the strongest player, but this isn't just a game! If someone like that is so strong, then why did he wait until Diabel-san was in danger of dying to act! Letting others suffer for your own insecurity, that's what I can't trust!"

"Kibaou."

The voice that called out was not Ilya's. It was warmer, more confident. Compared to Kirito, it drew a vertex of an even sharper triangle, so he had to turn his head.

Yes, the [Rune Knight] himself had spoken. He was sitting on the ground. He still had a trembling and amazed look, as if he wasn't certain until now that he could support his own weight after his close brush with death. But, the act of calling everyone's attention to him seemed to help him master himself.

With a simple gesture, he held his hand out, above and across from him, to the man that saved him. There was a moment of hesitation in the crowd, as everyone understood the weight of that symbolism. The only one that did not hesitate was Shirou, who immediately reached out to take the extended hand in his own, and pull the sitting man up so he could stand on his own feet.

Smiling widely, Diabel stepped forward. "Kibaou, if you're going to react like that, can you really blame them for keeping their true strength a secret?"

"Even so!" Kibaou began, but something in the warm smile of the [Rune Knight] stopped him.

"Let me tell you a story." Diabel began. "During the [Beta], there was a player who focused on PvP. It's not exceptional that there are players like that, but this player was special. Rather than simply staying on one side of the division between PvP and PvE camps, he actively reached out to drag people in. More than anything, he enjoyed the sense of superiority that came from winning Duels against players that had grown mentally rigid while playing against the computer. His favorite tactic to force those Duels was to ambush players in the field with MPK or some other method, gather their dropped equipment when they died, and then when they respawned, bet that dropped equipment on a [Duel Challenge]."

Yes. It was called a [Devil's Bargain] to accept the duel, because the player had deliberately named himself [Akuma]; it was faster and easier than going back to the field on the gamble your equipment would still be there, but it was a frustrating proposition. Kirito had encountered him three times. Once had been a simple challenge that Kirito had dismissed. Twice had been Monster Player Kill attempts, MPKs, where Diabel had created an ambush of too-powerful monsters for the sake of looting the corpse, but Kirito hadn't fallen to them. Well, Kirito was 90% confident he understood the remainder of the anecdote at this point.

Diabel smiled. "This player had every intention of continuing during the full launch, but the name [Akuma] had been selected by another player. To maintain the [Devil] theme in naming, he resorted to the Polish language." It was a painful smile. "That's the origin of the name [Diabel]."

"No…" Kibaou was the one that whispered, with a voice like he'd been betrayed.

"But." Diabel powered through, with a simple connecting word that indicated his story was not complete. "Then Kayaba Akihiko officially launched the game, and it wasn't a game anymore. It's not just that the state changed from [Player vs Player Gaming] to [Murdering Each Other], but [SAO] itself was no longer really a game, was it?" Diabel raised his hands. "It's not that I'm ashamed of my past, but the environment itself changed. [SAO] is no longer where I blow off steam from stress at my job. Now, it's an existence where we struggle against death."

"That's…" Kibaou swallowed. "It's not the same!"

"Isn't it?" Gently, Diabel challenged those words. "Kibaou, can you really say that whatever you're afraid of is definitely worse than the truth of [Diabel]?"

Kibaou grimaced, a conflicted emotion crossing his face, as he found he could not deny those words. But, even if he wanted to sink into the ground, he found himself compelled to answer by those warm eyes. "No."

"I forgive you."

It was a voice out of nowhere. It was soft, and quiet, but since it was said into that silence, it was no problem to hear it.

The boy that spoke flushed. It wasn't something you could see because of the mask stretched across the bottom half of his face, but the way he flinched and shrunk into himself slightly when everyone turned to him, the way he lowered his head, was exactly the same body language that matched blushing. But, he firmed himself, and met Diabel's eyes. The mismatched weapons in his hands were gripped more tightly. "When you asked me to join your party, I was amazed at your audacity. But… my appearance is completely different compared to the beta, and I was running a different build then and my name was completely different, so… so I realized after a day or two that you honestly didn't know that I had already encountered you before." He swallowed. "I mean, that, when I compare the frustration of the beta, to the way that you've been here, it's like night and day. So, that is, as someone that was trolled by you personally, I forgive you."

"For me it's different." The person that spoke was almost as tall as Shirou. Kirito ruefully thought the audience must look ridiculous, as their heads avidly turned back and forth in perfect synchronization like dogs that were alertly tracking a ball.

In terms of public speaking ability, the one that spoke was much closer to Diabel than the hesitant boy. His thick arms were crossed, his two-handed sword was slung over his back, and he confidently made eye contact from a naturally high height parameter.

"I'm one of the so-called [New Players]." He announced. "For me, what drew me in was the [Sword Arts], because I thought it would be a chance to practice my kendo. But, after the, uh," here he paused, casting about for how to say it, "the official launch, as you call it, I was uncertain, and just wandered about. But Diabel-san recognized my talent, and asked me to join his party and clear the floor, and then the game." He smiled. "I was a little amazed at the audacity, but at the same time, I was proud that he recognized my strength. And now, I'm proud to have been a part of the first clearing group, that protected everyone." With that, he nodded to Diabel. Yes, Kirito thought, his [Public Speaking] skill definitely had more points that the last guy. Not only did he end on a higher note, but he had the humility and compunction to clearly hand the chair of the meeting back to the main speaker when he finished.

Diabel's smile was almost vulnerable. "Hexadecimal… One Snow… thank you. I'm not worthy of so much esteem, but I will do my best so that I'll become worthy." He paused, gathering himself together, before finally turning himself back to that Cactus guy.

"Kibaou…" Diabel asked. "Like this, can you believe in everyone?"

Kibaou had a complicated expression on his face. Halfway, he was frustrated that he'd essentially been defeated so utterly that surrender was the only option, but at the same time, he also had a look on his face that called only be called [Hope]. He reached up, rubbing the back of his head as he cast his eyes at the ground, before he finally looked up. "Diabel-san…when you found a guild, let me join it, okay?"

Someone started cheering. It was infectious, so it spread quickly. Kirito smiled. Rather than the same sense of joy as others, it was more like relief. However, feeling the same elation that everyone else did even if it was for the more cynical reason that somehow the raid hadn't dissolved into complaints and recriminations (this time), it was certainly true that he was happy just like everyone else.

The cheers tapered off. Into that natural lull, the raid leader perfectly picked up the timing. "Everyone!" Diabel shouted, thrusting his fist into the air. "Let's climb the stairs and look out across the second floor!"

In a surge, everyone moved forward. It had an atmosphere like a shrine parade. It was true they were laughing and cheering, but compared to when they'd unlocked floors in the beta, there was a delicate but indisputable emotional sensation that was completely new. Like when the shrine itself was carried past you, and the vague feeling that holiness was real crept up on you.

Kirito couldn't help but get swept up in it. At the same time, his gaze fell across the crowd, and he felt himself pulled back to his party.

Asuna was smiling.

That smile, Kirito just shared in it. It was a warm smile, but the feeling like it was aimed only at him… Kirito smiled back.

"Congratulations." Like that, Asuna mirrored the floating icon that had timed out while the raid was confronting itself rather than the boss.

"GJ." Without wondering whether she would recognize the gamer term, Kirito automatically replied.

When Shirou wandered over to join them, still with his own heartbreakingly sincere smile, Kirito smiled, and also wished him well.

Ilya silently held up the helmet.

Kirito snorted.

With an expression that was ten, no, twenty times more dignified than Kirito thought would be possible in that circumstance, Shirou reequipped the [Stupid Helmet].

"Ilya-chan", Asuna said. Kirito noticed that the san was gone. Asuna spoke with the careful tone that Kirito recognized his mother used when his sister was sulking. "Is something wrong?"

"Doesn't it bother you?" Ilya asked. She wasn't addressing Asuna, or even Kirito. Rather, she was looking directly at Shirou. Somehow, it was obvious she was reading his face even though it was completely obscured.

After a pause, Shirou spoke. His voice was quiet, and the conviction was absolute. "No."

Kirito felt like someone who pushed the skip button during the opening animation of a game, and as a result, was thrust immediately into a tutorial battle without any context. "Does what bother him?" He finally asked. He regretted it immediately. The look Ilya gave him indicated that he the consequences of losing the tutorial battle would be extremely dire. And that he'd just made a critical mistake.

"Getting upstaged by Diabel!" She said. Oh, of course. Kirito nodded solemnly, as if that was a completely reasonable thing to be so concerned about.

"I mean," Ilya paused, frowning, "He completely took your victory from you, onii-chan!" She tugged on his sleeve. "Even though it was you that did everything, and even after the dramatic reveal of your real identity, he still went and completely made it about him!"

Shirou didn't speak. Since they had fallen behind the rest of the raid to speak, it was only then that the four of them reached the base of the stairs. Well, buying space for some privacy while they talked was easy since the remainder of the group was excitedly pushing ahead.

Shirou had chosen his words. "No one died. No one was hurt. Everyone was saved. Compared to that, things like that are irrelevant."

"Real Identity?" Kirito asked in a murmur. Once again, he received a look like he'd made a big mistake, but somehow, he had discovered that it was just a tutorial, so he wasn't concerned.

Ilya seemed to have grasped that, so she changed modes, but only a little bit, because the new mode was halfway between pouting and bragging.

"Un!" Ilya nodded her head. "You saw him dramatically throw his helmet off. Like that, everyone could see his face, and I'm certain at least some of the people there recognized him as the [Sixth Ranger]!"

Once again, Kirito found himself snorting. Not at absolutely serious way she had declared it, but the pause in his stair climbing when Shirou winced at the nickname. In his mind, Kirito solemnly clicked the [rename] box and entered the new value, which was at least four times more superior to even [Helmet-san].

"Sixth Ranger?" Asuna asked, with a confused look on her face. It was the kind of confusion that resulted when someone thought the probability was 20% a dumb joke on them and 80% that it as a targetless dumb joke.

Kirito decided to field her question. "[Sixth Ranger]." He nodded in a serious manner. "In a super-sentai show, the title referring to the extra party member outside the main cast. Despite not fitting in with that main cast, he shows up out of nowhere and abruptly wins the episode's battle because he's unbalanced and OP. You could say he's a reliable trump card, but on the other hand, that's exactly why he doesn't fit in."

"That's kind of rude…." Asuna said. Kirito winced at her threatening tone.

"Mou!" Ilya complained, and shot a black look at Kirito. "Stop making Shirou sound like a killstealer!" However, rather than challenge him to a duel as he somewhat expected, instead she tugged on Shirou's hand. "Oniichan! You should defend yourself!"

Shirou wasn't paying attention. He'd pulled ahead of the party as he studiously ignored the banter, but he had paused, not moving as he stared in front of him.

Belatedly Kirito realized from the lighting effects they'd reached the top of the stairs. He let Ilya step in front of him so she could stand right beside Shirou, and in turn Kirito himself stepped over so that Asuna could mount the last step and look over across Ilya's other shoulder herself.

The sun was setting. Long red lights cast deep shadows across the grassy hills of the second floor. From the path down the side of the hill they emerged from, the central town of the second floor, [Urbus], was visible lights in the twilight. Wind blew and the grass waved like a placid green ocean.

In front of them, players laughed and jogged around, walking and skipping down the hillside like excited children. Somehow, compared to the beautiful scenery laid out before them, so many voices raised in excited chatter was better than the BGM.

Ilya was the one that broke the spell. "Come on come on!" She said, tugging on Shirou's hand. "Don't just stand there watching, let's go too!" Shirou allowed Ilya to tug him forward, although it was pretty clear to Kirito he'd rather stay back and just watch from the outside for a little bit.

"Yes." Asuna said. "Let's." And, when she smiled at Kirito, he automatically smiled back and fell in step as she also began to cheerfully descend the hill.