"I just can't believe Nadar of all people was willing to jump right back into a VR game without a second thought." Hachiman sighed after Klein explained his group's side of their plan. "He was paranoid at the idea of even looking at his old NerveGear, I didn't expect him to put it back on."

"Are you really that surprised?" Klein asked. "He's been down in the dirt ever since we got out, and this is the first chance he has to get back up. What happened to Asuna and Kirito really hurt him, he needed this."

"But why not come to all of us?" Sachi responded. "I know it's been difficult but… I didn't think he'd just brush us off and try to do everything by himself."

"What part of that is out of character for me?" Nadar asked as he appeared from the ashes of the spawn bonfire, Yui forming behind him out of the others' sight. "I've always done stuff like this, I'm surprised you're all questioning this."

"You finally made it." Klein commented, crossing his arms as he did. "What took you so long?"

"I… had a bit of a detour." He said, not going into detail on his fight against Gundyr. "But I'm here now, has Leafa made it yet?"

"She'll be here in a minute." Anra answered. "Recon was adamant on coming with her so they're having a bit of a delay in dealing with the mobs."

"Guess I'm not that late after all."

"Nadar, are you sure you're okay?" Sachi asked, stepping up to him. "You've been so against ever stepping into VR ever since we got out. I thought you'd never step in again."

"I'm not okay Sachi, but running from it isn't going to help." He stated, smiling to her as he patted her head. "I should be asking if you're okay honestly. Something must be wrong if you came into a game where undead are the main monsters you have to kill."

"I couldn't just let you do this all by yourself, this is as much my fight as it is yours." She answered, looking up to him with determination. "Kirito and Asuna are stuck in here, and I won't let you do everything to save them alone. I won't put that burden on you again."

"And I couldn't let that happen either." Silica added in, surprising Nadar as he realized she was here. "You looked so defeated for the past two months, I couldn't stand seeing you like that and I… I had to do something."

"Silica, you of all people shouldn't be here." Nadar spoke, pointing to her. "Your recovery hasn't finished yet, you still need crutches to get around! You shouldn't have put on the NerveGear!"

"I won't stand by and do nothing!" Silica shouted back, everyone caught off guard by the outburst. "You and Kirito have helped me ever since we got stuck in SAO! And even when I was on the front lines with you I was barely doing anything to help! And Asuna was always nice to me, she's like another sister to me and I… I…"

Seeing Silica start to cry, Nadar walked up to her and hugged with a single arm, feeling her return the embrace. "Hey, there's no need to cry. I'm sorry I shouted at you, I forget sometimes that I'm the one who's used to being yelled at and not you."

"I just… I don't want you to think I can't help." Silica sobbed.

"I never thought that, I was just worried back in SAO for your well being." He smiled as he patted her head between her ears. "I guess I wasn't doing too good of a job, I must have made you doubt yourself back then. And I guess I don't have room to talk anymore after how I've acted the past two months."

He then stepped back a bit from her, wiping her tears away as he regarded everyone. "I didn't want to get all of you involved, I'm used to thinking my problems are just mine. But I sometimes forget, just because it's my problem doesn't mean it isn't any of yours either."

"Even if we didn't, we wouldn't hesitate to help." Hachiman nodded, smirking to him. "I hated getting trapped in SAO, but now that lack of control is gone and I can feel confident in my choices again. And what better way than starting off with rescuing our friends?"

"I'm not the best with my sword, but if Hachiman is dedicated to help, then I'll give my all as well." Anra stated, her hand going to her straight sword as she did.

"Hey guys!" The entire group turned as they heard a voice call out, and turned to see two players running towards them. The one at the front was a blonde female elf with green eyes, she had on a set of green and white cloth armor. At her hip was a thin scimitar, signaling her an Agility/Dexterity build.

Behind her was a male elf that was shorter than most of the group, wearing a similar set of cloth armor but minus the cape the girl had. He had a regular hood up, although the traces of his green hair were still visible. His weapon was much more hidden, but Hachiman and Silica identified the dagger on his hip.

"Leafa, that you?" Nadar asked, recognizing the details Suguha told him to look out for.

"Yeah, that's you right Nadar?" Leafa asked in return, getting a nod in response. "Sorry I was so late, we ran into a bit more trouble than we were expecting. A pair of Darkwraiths tried to ambush us, but we managed to scare them off. I didn't keep everyone waiting long did I?"

"No, you're good." Klein said, rubbing the back of his head. "Everyone was done drilling into my head the stupidity of us all going alone, and Nadar only showed up a couple minutes ago."

"Did it take you awhile to load in?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Nadar responded, looking over to her friend. "So who's the midget?"

"I'm Recon, Leafa's partner here." He introduced, getting approached by Silica.

"Hi Recon, it's nice to meet you. My name's Silica."

"My name's Hachiman."

"I'm Sachi."

"Yo, the name's Klein!"

"And I'm Nadar." The group quickly introduced, Anra having already known Recon due to being in the same guild.

"So are we all set?" Leafa asked. "We can get back to Volrun in around twenty minutes with all of us together. From there we can get you better equipment and then head out to Anor Londo."

"Almost, someone's got cold feet." Nadar said as he looked back to Yui, motioning her with his head to step up. "Come on, no one's going to bite ya. It's family and friends after all."

The girl was hesitant, mostly nervous to confront everyone again after two months had gone by. But eventually she walked up past Nadar, shocking all the former SAO players as she looked to Sachi. "H-Hi mommy… I'm back."

"Y-Yui?" Sachi stuttered back, her eyes widening as she began to shake. "Yui!" She didn't hesitate to crouch down to Yui's level and hug her close, tears going down her face as she held her. "Yui you're okay! I thought… I thought you were deleted when Nadar's avatar was destroyed and… and…"

"It's okay mommy." Yui smiled as she cried as well.

"So your data didn't get wiped then?" Hachiman asked, the group giving the pair time to release their emotions.

"Apparently not, a draw of the luck if anything." Nadar admitted. "Our stats are ridiculous here. My sword already completely busted because it couldn't handle my strength."

"Hopefully this Vincent has some good equipment for us, and maybe a few spells to hand out as well." Hachiman said, looking at his staff. "I only have Soul Arrows, I can tell it won't be easy if that's what I'm left with."

"I don't know how magic works, but I'll take your word for it." Nadar shrugged, looking back to Sachi and Yui with a guilty expression.

'Kirito should be the one here with them, not me.' He thought, clenching his fist before turning north, seeing the tallest point of Anor Londo far in the distance. It was still a long shot, but he knew that his brother and Asuna were the blurs. But there was too many questions running through his head to think on why Sugou kept Kirito as well. He'd have to stay focused though, as he had to get to the castle before he could figure anything else out.

"God! Damn! It!" At the peak of Anor Londo's castle, the sound of metal clashing against metal could be heard, the shouting following it after each ring. In the castle, Kirito was swinging constantly at the prison bars that held him, a massive swordspear in hand. He was wearing a set of faded gold armor with ragged wrappings, waistcloth and crown finishing his gear.

Kirito had been swinging his swordspear constantly since their entrapment; whenever he wasn't resting to recover he was striking at the bars with everything he had. But no matter the swings the bars wouldn't give in, despite the countless scratches and bends it had from it. It wasn't immortal like most world objects, but its strength was showing to test the swordsman's limits at every corner.

Across from him, Asuna sat in her confinement silently, looking down to the table as the ringing kept going. She had on a set of royal white cloth that covered most of her body, her midriff exposed. She was decorated with golden jewelry on her wrists, ankles and arms, a smaller crown on her head to finish the outfit.

"Damn it…" Kirito panted after nearly twenty minutes of swinging, his arms dropping as he still held onto the swordspear. Looking down to his weapon, he narrowed his eyes while clenching it tightly. "Two months and I still can't get through the stupid metal. If this weapon wasn't as heavy as it was I could be hitting it twice as much in half the time."

"I'm impressed you're still swinging at it." While Asuna kept her head down at hearing Sugou speak up, Kirito turned his glare to the man as he walked into the massive prison room they were in, unfortunately on the other side of the cages. He had on a royal set of armor known as the Great Lord set, the same set placed onto the final boss Gwyn in the first Dark Souls, and the presumptuous title he gave himself.

"Why not get a bit closer to see how I do it?" Kirito spoke through gritted teeth, managing another swing despite his fatigue.

"I'll pass on the opportunity, but feel free to continue on with your fruitless effort." Sugou smirked as he turned to Asuna's cage, opening the door and entering. "The constant sound of metal going off must be rather irritating, I'm sure you've been bothered by it?"

Asuna didn't respond to him, rather her expression darkened as she looked ahead to the bars. That caused Sugou to smirk, walking next to her while placing a hand on the table. "The silent treatment my dear Qwynla? That's rather unbecoming of you."

"Stop calling me by that name Sugou." She ordered, not looking to him as she did.

"Oh come now, you really need to relax more." He smirked. "In here we're Lords, the equivalent of gods among any players. And I am the Lord above all: Gwyn the Lord of Cinder. Why not enjoy the taste of godhood my dear queen?"

"Back off you bastard." Kirito growled, slashing the swordspear across the bars again.

"Such fire, truly why I had to remove you from those escaping." He added. "You were the perfect fit to be the Nameless King, who is rumored to be fighting in here throughout time. And those attacks you swing only add to the reality of that. I had hit the jackpot with the timing of your victory over Kayaba."

"If I wasn't in this cage I'd-!"

"Do what? Cut me down?" Sugou questioned. "I'm the admin, you have no power over me. Here no matter what I'm God, anyone else doesn't stand a chance."

"You think you're powerful, but you wouldn't stand so tall if he was here. You're nothing compared to Kayaba, and he pushed him to his absolute limit!"

"Who, that "notorious" Executioner of Aincrad?" He chuckled, shrugging as he did. "It says a lot that you'd feel such inspiration from a coward like him. Truly you must have been desperate in SAO to rely on him."

Sugou then flinched as Asuna spit on his face, glaring up to him. "Nadar wasn't a coward. He looked death in the eyes and never even flinched. Anything you could make into a boss, he'd fight it with his bare fists if he had to."

"You learned rather rude habits from him, I can tell." Sugou responded as he wiped the spit off. "But your faith is horribly placed. When he found out what happened to you, he wouldn't even raise a finger to confront me. Rather he just crumbled like the weakling that he is."

"W-What did you say?" Asuna questioned, both her and Kirito staring at shock at Sugou's words.

"Oh that's right, I never told you." He grinned, walking towards the opening in the wall that overlooked all of Lordran. "In a benevolent act, I spared your precious executioner's life from a fate he very much deserved. But perhaps that was a fitting punishment, seeing how frail and powerless he is now."

"You're… you're wrong. He isn't weak."

"Oh but he is. I practically told him what I had done and he didn't do anything to even retaliate." Sugou spoke, chuckling as he did. "Oh you should have seen it, he was in so much shock he couldn't even speak. And when he just couldn't handle it he broke down and cried! He knows I have the power and didn't do anything about it!"

"You're underestimating him." Kirito stated, glaring at him. "Now that he knows, you should watch your back. You're his top priority now, and trust me it won't be pretty when he catches you."

"Hmph, I'm shaking in my boots." Sugou said before looking to the time, sighing as he walked out of Asuna's cage. "Unfortunately, I have business I must attend to. I'll be back later to check up on you. Oh and remember, I was the one who saved him, a token of appreciation would be fitting considering how much you two seem to care for him."

The moment Sugou walked out of the prison, Asuna looked back down to the table and smiled, tears of relief running down her face as she no longer needed to compose herself. "He's… he's alive. Nadar didn't die…"

"It'd take more to do him in." Kirito smiled as he sighed in relief, collapsing down and sitting on the concrete floor. "If he's alive, I know he's going to be coming for us. Sugou doesn't know the storm that he just brought on this game."

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second."

"Hey Vince, we're here!" Leafa called out as she opened the door to the shop. It was a surprisingly spacious area, larger than Lisbeth's shop back on Aincrad by about twice, lined completely by swords, bows, staffs, daggers and armor of all kinds.

'This place looks like it's lacking in heavy weapons.' Nadar noted as he looked around, not seeing a single axe in the shop that could compare to the ones he wielded in SAO.

"Leafa, it's good to see you!" Vincent responded as he came out from the back of the shop. He was a human with black hair and blue eyes, wearing brass armor similar to Anra and a mace attached to his waist. "Wow… when you said you had a few friends coming I… wasn't expecting this many."

"Yeah, sorry about that." She laughed awkwardly. "It was originally supposed to be just Nadar and Klein, but some of their friends caught on and joined."

"Well, I'm still sure I have what you'd need!" Vincent responded, looking to the group of new players. "Feel free to look around! I got dozens of armor and sword types! And if your looking for some spells, I got a library in the back that you can choose them from."

"That's for us." Hachiman said as he looked to Yui and Sachi. "We'll come out for other equipment, we should get some spells and Miracles to start though."

"Come on Yui." Sachi nodded, the three heading for the back while the others began to look around.

"Where would your katanas and heavy armor be?" Klein asked, looking among the straight swords.

"Katanas are on the top shelf near the counter. And heavy armor is on the left next to the maces." Vincent answered, turning back to Leafa as the two stood at the entrance. "So, does Siggard know about this?"

"Not exactly, I just told him I'd be busy for a bit." Leafa responded, looking to him. "There's something important going on and I promised Nadar that I'd help him."

"Which one's Nadar?"

"This one." Nadar spoke up as he raised his hand, walking up to them. "Yo pretty boy, I'm noticing a lack of axes here. Got anything more in the heavy department?"

"Oh right, sorry there isn't a whole lot of axes in this area." Vincent said. "The players I trade with also don't offer many weapons heavier than a greatsword."

"I just asked if there was any you had, not the reason for the lack."

"Sorry, right over here." Vincent spoke as he led the player to a large chest, opening it up to reveal a pile of weapons. "Most players here don't use greatswords, most of the Sun covenant prefer a longsword or shortsword. So I don't leave any out on display. But if you're looking for heavy…"

He then grabbed onto one of the weapons and pulled it out, showing it to Nadar. "This is the heaviest greatsword I have in stock. After this I don't have anything to compare."

Nadar looked at the weapon with a raised eyebrow, seeing the chipped pieces of the sword and even rounded tip. "That thing looks like it's not even a sword, its busted and doesn't even have a real edge to it."

"That's the point behind it, it doesn't slash as good but it can hit real hard." Vincent said as he tossed it to Nadar, hiding his surprise at how easily Nadar caught it. "It's called the Executioner's Greatsword, it got dull from killing so many people but still retains its power."

"Executioner's Greatsword?" Nadar echoed, holding the blade over him as he looked at it. He then smirked as he placed it on his shoulder, looking over to Vincent in amusement. "You have no idea how ironic you are right now. I'll take this though."

"Great, and what about armor?"

"I'll figure that out myself. I'll leave you to continue your conversation with Leafa." Nadar stated, walking over to the different armor rakings. Even with his weapon's lighter weight, he still didn't want to go over the top with armor. He was built to lift heavy objects, not wear them and maneuver properly like Klein or Agil was in SAO.

In a couple minutes, most of the group had what they were looking for. The first to get their full equipment was Klein, who was wearing full body samurai armor with black plating, a regular katana attached to his hip. The black didn't match with him, but according to Vincent there was no way to customize armor yet, so he was stuck with the unflattering color.

Next was Silica, who with Recon's help was able to find good red and yellow cloth armor with a silver gauntlet for her light build. He also recommended the same dagger he had, to which she accepted and bought similarly. The simple interaction brought a glare from Nadar, causing the boy to flinch in fear while Silica sighed tiredly.

Shortly afterward, Sachi and Yui finished their Miracle and equipment gathering. While Yui went with a light black and blue set of cloth armor, Sachi went with a set of medium silver armor. It was edged and sharpened at certain points, but overall was still mobile and left her room to work with. She had gotten herself an Astora straight sword, while Yui had a small but manageable broadsword.

Hachiman had went and gotten a set of brown cloth armor known as Conjuror armor, the hood going over and hiding most of his face. He got a magic catalysts that was a lengthened staff with a bladed end, serving as a weapon should he need it.

The last one to get their equipment was Nadar, who was just walking up to Vincent wearing a medium set known as the Undead Legion set. It was the lightest set he could find in the category, and it served to properly balance his style. It had a single shoulder guard on his left shoulder and a metal gauntlet on the same arm. Behind him was a tattered red cape, the color fading across the entire gear from what appeared to be ash on him. The only thing left out was the hat that came with it, as he refused to where it.

"Is there anything else you need?" Vincent asked. "Everyone else bought some consumables and buffed their gear. What about you?"

"How much can you upgrade the sword you gave me?" Nadar asked, pulling the weapon out from under his cape and placing it on the counter.

"Up to ten times, but considering the price everything else will be you might want to make it just five."

"Money…" Nadar mumbled as he opened his menu, looking at his inventory. "Are souls the currency in this game?"

"Yep, although you also use it to level up your stats faster."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Nadar responded, looking back to him. "Set this up to ten, and give me five of all of the consumable buffs you have."

"Wow, hold up there man." Vincent said, surprised by the amount of requested supplies. "The equipment itself is probably going to take out most of what you have as a new player, and you should put whatever you have left into your stats like your friends. They're now at least better balanced thanks to that."

Nadar didn't respond as he transferred 500,000 souls to Vincent, shocking him at the amount. "I'm not interested in leveling myself, I was already more than a few ahead of them so now we're about equal. As for my money you should see I don't have a lack of it."

"I… I don't know what to say. This is more than the amount of souls your equipment costs and I… do you want the rest back?"

At Vincent's question, Nadar looked over to the weapon racks and his eyes came across a rapier, seeing the thin blade pointing down. "How much for that rapier and to level it up five times?"

"That? It's a basic one so it won't cost much. And even then you'll have plenty of souls left over."

"Than add another fifteen of the consumable buffs with it." Nadar said as he walked over and grabbed the rapier, the holster forming on his right hip. Feeling the weight, he grew a somber expression, thinking back to the last time he held a rapier.

'It's almost as light as hers too.' He thought, taking great care of it and sheathing it on his hip. The notification of the equipment being transferred to him and the weapons leveling up then came up, signaling that Vincent finished the trade between them.

"That's a rather interesting build you have." Vincent commented, Nadar walking back and grabbing his greatsword. "Used one like it before?"

"No, I had a friend who used a rapier in the last game I played." He admitted, placing the sword back on his back and below his cape. "It just feels good having it with me, I don't know the first thing on how to use one."

Nadar then walked out, meeting everyone outside. "So are we all set up to go now? Or is there something else we need to do before heading out?"

"We should be good, unless you have something else you need." Leafa responded.

The players all shared a glance to one another, and when none spoke up it served as the confirmation to get moving. Anra and Leafa took the lead, directing everyone to the northern end of the city.

"The nearest bonfire is about three hours out from here." Anra explained, looking back as they stopped at the edge of the city to explain. "Once we get there, we can rest and log off. As long as we're within ten feet of it we won't have to worry about being left open to an ambush."

"Three hours? There isn't a quicker way out?" Klein asked.

"Unfortunately that's out of the question." Leafa said. "There's a forest between us and the bonfire, it's notorious for having PvP guilds waiting for players to come for an ambush. And it's too late in the day to risk running into one of the higher rank guilds."

"How long would it take us if we went straight through?" Nadar questioned.

"Well… I'd say it'd cut the time in half at least." Leafa guessed. "But these guys that we'd run in to, there's no telling who it might be. We're safe from the Abyss Watchers; they only target people if there's a bounty on them. But there's some really nasty guys in the rest of the forest."

"If it cuts time in half then let's just go through it."

"You did listen to her right? We're not talking of casual players. This forest can have some of the more elite ranks in this game." Anra stated, raising an eyebrow as Nadar walked past them.

"Oh I heard, but frankly my dear I don't give a damn." He shrugged. "We have a large group here, I don't know how good you, Leafa and Recon are, but the rest of us have hold our own against the most dangerous killers in SAO. I think we can handle a few PvP players wanting to test their luck."

"A-Actually, there's something I need to do back here." Recon admitted, getting the group's attention.

"Wait, you do?" Leafa asked.

"Yeah, you see I-"

"Leafa! Anra!" A calm voice called out, interrupting Recon from explaining. Approaching the group was a party of three players, wearing a mix of different plated armors and weapons. At the lead was a man with black hair and red eyes, standing around the same height as Klein.

"Oh, um… hi Siggard." Leafa responded to him, her and Anra stepping up from the others to talk.

"What's this I hear about you two leaving the party?" He asked.

"We promised a few of our friends we'd get them to Anor Londo, they have business there and we're going to be their guides." Anra explained, motioning back to everyone. "We should be done in about a week, so there shouldn't be a problem with us going."

"Don't you understand how much the others are going to be upset over that? Even if it's only for a few days, the fact you both are going to be missing our next hunt is going to effect moral among the party.

"You said there wouldn't be a problem if we left at any time, you gave that offer to everyone."

"Yes, but this sudden leave could have greater impact on the party as a whole. Our entire reputation could be in jeopardy if you leave like this."

"Then your party must have some problems." Hachiman stated, narrowing his eyes as he did.

"What did you say?" Siggard responded, glaring at Hachiman.

"If two people can change your party that much, then you yourself have bigger issues to address." Hachiman continued. "A party shouldn't just be comprised of a few competent players and the rest simple followers. The entire group should be working their hardest to improve, not rely on the few higher levels to do everything for them. Nothing good comes from having a dependency like that."

"And where do you, a new player, think you can stand in how I manage a party?" Siggard demanded.

"On grounds higher than you ever could reach."

'You still blame yourself for that over me.' Nadar thought as he stared at Hachiman's back with sympathetic eyes. Him and Sachi both knew that Hachiman held himself to an impossible standard in leadership after the death of the original Moonlit Black Cats, that sense of responsibility still there despite the time that's passed.

"You should watch you tongue, your speaking to the military leader of the Warriors of Sunlight, I have authority over you." Siggard warned. "If you speak out like that again, I can have you labeled a heretic and banish you from the faction."

"You know, why should he watch what he says?" Nadar asked, stepping up past the others to stand next to Hachiman. "Hachiman knows Anra in person, to a personal level in fact. And Leafa's a friend of ours as well, so if anything we have more ground in regards to them than you."

"You will have no say in this, Gravelord Servant." Siggard said with spite, getting Nadar to raise an eyebrow.

"When you're in the capital of your faction, you can see the standing of any players that are in it." Leafa quickly explained to him, getting a confirmation nod.

"Oh, I think I'll have plenty to say about this." Nadar grinned, stepping ahead of Hachiman. "I'll let you know now, I've dealt with players that act like you. Made it big and now feel like they're untouchable, not even bothering with the players they don't know about. After all, if you don't know their name, what's the point of them?"

"Where are you getting at?"

"Well I could go into a lot, but I'm in a hurry to get to Anor Londo so I'll keep it brief." Nadar then narrowed his eyes, the faintest traces of embers forming around them as he did. "Leafa and Anra are coming with us, they made the choice to help us and I won't let a controlling bastard like you stop us."

"Is that a threat?" Siggard questioned as he reached for his sword, unsheathing it and aiming it at Nadar. "I will not take that from a bone following freak like you. You have no power here, and should know your place."

"Listen buddy, last time someone challenged me to a duel while being creepily controlling it didn't turn out well for him." Nadar warned as he smirked, staring at the tip of the blade without flinching. "So I'll give you the same warning I gave him: How about saving the humiliation of getting planted firmly into that building over there and I make your face look ten times worse."

"I'd like to see someone like you try."

Nadar looked back to the group, almost as if asking permission to do so. Almost everyone nodded and shrugged, confusing Leafa and Anra at the silent interaction before he turned back around.

"Well, I normally don't do this, but I'll give you to the count of three to put that sword down." Nadar smirked, holding up one finger as he began counting. "One…"

"Your insane, you won't have the chance to even draw your rapier." Siggard stated, noting Nadar's weapon on his waist.

"Two…"

"If you make a move I'll gut you like a fish, you won't even have the chance to blink before-"

"Three!" In the second Nadar finished he lunged forward, narrowly dodging Siggard's blade and getting a cut across his entire chest. However, the player didn't even react as he pushed Siggard's arms open, gripping onto his sword arm. And in one fluid motion, Nadar twisted his body and threw Siggard onto the ground, the impact enough to make him bounce of the dirt.

As he was going back into the air, Siggard caught a glimpse of Nadar reaching behind his cape, and in the next second he was hit with the full impact of Nadar's sword. The damage was minimum since they were in a safe zone, however the force sent him rolling and crashing back into the building across from them.

All of the players around watching stared in shock at Nadar as he remained in the finished posture of his attack. Standing up to his full height, Nadar smirked at Siggard as he coughed a bit of blood out, sheathing his greatsword on his back as he did.

"From now on, you'll fuck off when I tell you too. Get it?" Nadar spoke up, giving a quick glare to Siggard's party members to scare them. "So are we done here, cause I have a lot better things to do then deal with a couple of elitist pricks spending their time stewarding others."

"That's… Asashi?" Anra asked in shock, the confident fighter in front of her being the farthest from what he was like in real life.

"Yep, and that's why nobody wanted to mess with him back in SAO." Klein grinned, happy to see Nadar back in his element.

"I told you he was one of our top players, but I didn't mention what he did on the Assault Team." Hachiman continued. "He was the best tank we had, he could take hits from bosses that would nearly kill others and shrug it off. He's not the same frail kid in VR that you know in the real world. In here, he has the strength of ten players."

'But he isn't the god some people hold him up to be either.' Hachiman thought to himself, the memory of Nadar's two deaths replaying in his head while Nadar shrugged his cape to the side. He then shook his head, looking down to his staff as he tightened his grip. 'I won't let that happen again, you're done carrying this burden alone Nadar.'

"Hope my message got across to you." Nadar left one last shot at Siggard's pride as he turned away, walking back to the group. "So are we done debating now? The longer we stay here the less time Asuna has."

"Well I… I still need to stay." Recon brought up. "There's something I have to look in to, something that doesn't feel right. Vincent and I will try to catch up, but we don't know how long we'll be busy for."

"Are you sure Recon?" Leafa asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He nodded before looking to Nadar. "Listen, Nadar, I don't know what Siggard will try to do to you, but he might make Leafa and Anra heretics after this. And if that's the case, all of the PKers will target them, so you better watch after them!"

"Hey, we can take care of ourselves just-"

"Sure thing kid." Nadar responded, punching Recon's shoulder. "Just go whatever you got to do and catch up, we won't be waiting."

"Right, good luck everyone!" Recon shouted as he ran off, leaving the group as he moved with a purpose.

"Bye Recon! Thanks for the equipment recommendation!" Silica called out to him before he disappeared from sight.

'I should've wringed his neck instead.'

"Nadar, you got that look again." Sachi responded, surprising him at the call out.

"What face?"

"Your "Protective Big Brother" face you always glared at Kirito with when we were together."

"I do not! You're making that up!"

"And now he's… acting like that?" Anra questioned, looking over to Hachiman.

"Is that weird?" He asked back, rubbing the back of his head. "I think we've basically gotten used to his complete 180 responses. You just need to memorize his reactions to certain people and it becomes normal."

"That sounds crazy and bad for his health."

"We never said his health was good to begin with."

"Oh my god Saizo."

"Siggard, wait up!" One of Siggard's two party members called out to him as he stormed off, glaring heatedly as he wiped the blood off of his lip.

'You damn son of a bitch, making a fool out of me in front of dozens of players. You have no idea what storm you've just brought upon yourself because of that.' Siggard thought as he headed straight for the nearest pub, slamming the door open to enter. He walked right to the corner of the pub without hesitation, seeing a cloaked figure spinning a jagged knife between his fingers.

"Well, well, commander of the Sunlight Warriors, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The player asked, looking up to Siggard as he remained seated.

"I have a target for you and your guild, a Gravelord Servant." Siggard stated, getting straight to the point. "He's wearing your uniforms, but he's new, using an Executioner's Greatsword."

"A Servant this far out here? Must be an interesting guy." The player commented as he stabbed the dagger into the table, leaning forward to reveal his glowing red eyes. "The cost is going to be double our normal rate, considering the plan you got going on."

"Stop him before he gets to the first bonfire across the Loden Forest, and I'll triple it." Siggard responded, getting a toothy grin from the player as he stood up.

"Well then, why didn't you just say so?" He asked, grabbing his dagger in his left hand and holding it in a reverse grip. "That price is well worth the hustle, you should've just led with that boss man." He then walked past, the cloak slowly unfurrowing to reveal his red cape and Undead Legion uniform. "This Gravelord Servant is as good as dead."

'You think you're powerful, let's see how you deal with the best assassin guild in this game.' Siggard thought with a smirk, watching the player leave.

(A/N): Well I must admit, I was not expecting to get this out when I did. I had just finished an Abysswalker chapter and came back to finish this. It isn't the longest, but I feel pleased at least that I didn't let my hiatus go on for too long. This chapter's a little slow, it was hard to think of a way to get the action pumping so suddenly without at least some buildup. But that action will come in the next chapter, as I'm sure it's known what will come.

Fun fact about Nadar's equipment, it's the exact same build I have for my character in DS3. I had actually started playing it before I started writing this pic, and his gear served as the inspiration of his armor changes during Aincrad and was the inspiration for going with big weapons but lower weight equipment. Not really anything special but I thought I'd throw that out there.

Also, there might be a surprise story that will come out at some point. I won't go into details, but it will be another variation of Aincrad's Executioner, the demo title so far being Aincrad's Liberators. Lazy I know, but it's better than my older titles. Anyways I'm not sure when I'll make it, but I'm actually slightly excited in it, but I won't ever let it draw me too much away from this story, as I've gone too far into this to just leave off on an extended hiatus like I have in the past.

And with that done, we conclude this update. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, Peace!