"So, what do we think?"

Sitting in the back corner of one of the taverns in the Town of Beginnings, Klein looked around the table at his friends. Unlike many of the unfortunate souls trapped in the Death Game, Klein had been fortunate enough to have several friends from real life trapped in here with him. Or perhaps it was unfortunate. In any case, Klein locked eyes with each member of the group calling themselves Fuurinkazan while he awaited an answer.

Dale, a larger man with a black afro, was the first to speak. "I think we can do it. We're a little behind, but with a little grinding we can catch up in no time."

Dynamm, a slender man with a bandana and a thin goatee was the next to chime in. "We've got a pretty balanced team here, so it's not like we won't be contributing anything."

Issin, just as thin as Dynamm, but clean shaven and sporting brown hair that was spiked back raised a hand to his chin, seemingly deep in thought. "How are we doing on Cor, though? We'll need to stock up on potions and gear first."

Kunimittz, who had been absent-mindedly stroking the jet-black patch of hair on his chin, spoke up. "I think we're fine. We do need potions, though. Those kobolds really messed us up yesterday."

Harry One, who looked the youngest out of the troop, finished his drink before contributing. "I think we're all in agreement, Leader. We're ready."

Klein sat back in his seat and looked over his crew. Over the course of a month, Fuurinkazan had become a force to be reckoned with, in his eyes. Sure, they weren't high enough level to participate in today's raid on the 1st floor boss, but they weren't far behind. If Klein hadn't taken the first few days to train the others on how to fight properly, he might have been part of today's raid. Not that he minded, of course. He had hoped that his buddies would be strong enough to survive without his help, but the training he passed on from Kirito did wonders for his confidence, and by proxy the confidence of his team.

He stood up, prompting the others to do the same. "Well, we'll have to wait until the raid finishes, one way or the other." His expression grew solemn. "They'd better win. I don't know what'll happen if they wipe."

A wipe on the first floor boss would be absolutely devastating to what little morale the players had. Any hope of escaping this game would die along with those brave souls, the strongest that Aincrad had to offer. As Fuurinkazan pushed in their chairs and started towards the exit, the door flew open as a blonde boy stopped in the doorway. He must have been excited about something.

"They're taking on the boss!"

Klein placed a hand on his hip and looked at the boy. "Yeah, we know. This isn't news to anyone here, buddy."

The blonde boy looked right at Klein before continuing. "No, you don't understand. It's being broadcast in the town square!"

As if on cue, everyone in the tavern who was otherwise minding their own business practically leapt out of their seats and rushed towards the door. Poor Klein and the rest of Fuurinkazan had to step out of the way for fear of being trampled. Once the anxious mob had cleared out of the tavern, Klein and his crew were right behind them. Stepping outside, it was clear that they were not the only ones who'd caught wind of this development. Dozens upon dozens of players were either walking, jogging, or outright sprinting towards the center of town.

Due to their increased stats, namely agility, the Fuurinkazan crew were faster than most of the civilian players and were one of the first to arrive in the town square. Many other novice adventurers were already assembled and were staring upward. Klein followed their gaze upward and, lo and behold, there were several enormous projections floating high above the center of the plaza which showed a group of over 40 players, by Klein's estimate, rushing into the boss's chamber.

It was then that Klein spotted three familiar figures in the raid group.

Kirito. Sinon. Leonn.

It was the strangest feeling, Klein would later admit. He felt joy since three people he knew and regarded as friends were among those strong enough to challenge the boss. That these three would also help lead the charge to free the 8,000 plus players made Klein's chest swell with pride. However, that pride soon gave way to concern and worry.

What if they died here?

As one of the many thousands of players who now begrudgingly called Aincrad home, he was no stranger to death. The 2,000 poor souls who had been lost in the past month were enough to expose just about everyone to the reality of death and the fragility of their own mortality. Never, Klein realized, had he ever had to deal with the deaths of anyone he knew personally.

He looked up toward the screen with a stern, determined look which was mirrored by the rest of his closest friends as they strode up beside him.

You guys better win.

"Charge!"

A fierce battle cry filled the air as forty-six players rushed into the boss chamber, ready to meet the enormous red kobold that had just pounced forward to meet the intruders. The chamber itself was rather large, measuring at least 60 feet across and over 300 feet deep. The sides of the chamber were adorned with a strange mottled aesthetic, similar to stained glass. The sides were flanked by large stone pillars, clearly designed to support the weight of the expansive stone ceiling that stretched above them. Not that any of that mattered at the moment, after all.

They had a boss to kill.

The raiders quickly adopted a wedge-like formation, with one tank party engaging the boss and a reserve party of tanks, led by Agil, ready to switch in at any given time. On the flanks of the tank party were two damage-dealing parties, one of which Diavel himself led, who were equipped with agile or heavy weaponry to provide bursts of damage to the boss as the opportunities presented themselves. Kibaou and Kirito's parties had been assigned to crowd control, having the responsibility of clearing away adds as they spawned in. Lastly, there were two parties who were designated as support; their role was to fill in any spots if any combatant were to become too seriously injured to keep fighting.

Kirito thought it had been a solid plan, allowing for parties to swap in as was needed. In other MMOs, roles were a lot more simplified. You had a dedicated tank, maybe an off tank, several DPS groups, and healers. SAO had no way to consistently heal, given the lack of a magic system, and a stockpile of healing potions would only go so far. Keeping redundancies in reserve and creating dedicated support groups was the best way to minimize damage taken and ultimately casualties. Needless to say, that particular detail was very important in the Death Game.

That possibility of casualties in this fight became much more evident when Kirito got a good look at the boss.

((Illfang the Kobold Lord)) certainly lived up to his title. Easily over seven feet tall, the enormous red kobold towered over most players and easily outweighed every other creature in the room. Covered head to toe in red fur and clothed only in a leather helm and loincloth, Illfang was not the easiest thing on the eyes. It brandished its bone axe and leather shield even as it snapped its jackal-like jaws at the tanks it currently focused its glowing red eyes on. Strapped to its back was an enormous sheathed blade, which according to Argo's guide was a weapon called a talwar. Apparently once its last health bar was low enough to become red, it would discard its axe and shield to bring out the talwar, signaling a shift in attack patterns and an increase in strength. Effectively a last-ditch effort to kill players.

Pretty standard stuff, Kirito recalled. No one enjoys a boss fight that's stagnant and unchanging.

"Kirito, switch!"

Kirito snapped himself out of that train of thought to see Leonn step back after clocking a ((Ruin Kobold Sentinel)) with a ((Jawbreaker)), causing it to stagger backwards and afford Kirito enough time to dash in and finish off the minion with a slash of his blade. As the kobold exploded in a mist of polygons, Kirito spotted another one approaching Asuna, who was otherwise finishing off one of her own with Sinon's help.

Kirito charged forward, intent on intercepting the monster before it could harm one of his party members. Fortunately, his AGI stat was high enough where he was just able to intercept the kobold's swing. The kobold's mace, which had been intended for Asuna, instead collided with Kirito's ((Anneal Blade+6) as the two weapons bounced off one another. Kirito could almost feel his blade's durability weakening from a direct parry like that, but it was worth it in the long run.

Weapons were easy to fix. People? Not so much.

Having successfully drawn the aggro of the kobold, Kirito slowly circled around it so as to draw it away from Asuna and Sinon, who were getting some much-needed assistance from Leonn. The girls were great at fast strikes and hit-and-run tactics, but the fact of the matter was they weren't built to mitigate damage like the maul user was. Even Kirito was capable of tanking smaller monsters in some limited capacity.

With the kobold distracted and turned away from his party, Kirito began a series of slashes and strikes meant to put his opponent on the defensive. The kobolds might have been simple AI, but they had enough sense of self-preservation to know when to guard against attacks. Retreating for a moment to catch his breath, Kirito leapt backward. His kobold opponent, having been forced on the defensive this whole time, took the opportunity to lunge forward with a speed Kirito had not been anticipating. Not so quick, however, that he was unable to launch a sword skill of his own to parry the strike. As the two weapons collided once more, Kirito saw a flash of movement from behind his opponent.

Good, she's ready.

"Asuna, switch!"

"I'm on it!" Asuna shouted in response, bringing her rapier across her chest, holding it parallel to the ground in an exaggerated pose that could only mean she was about to stab her opponent. Hard.

The kobold, having been thrown off balance by Kirito's parry, could only spin its head around to see a green-glowing rapier erupting in a series of lightning-fast jabs. Kirito was floored by his collision with the kobold's mace, but also by the speed at which Asuna was riddling the monster with holes with a ((Parallel Sting)) .

I can't even see the tip of her sword!

The kobold, much like its brethren scattered about the room, exploded into polygons. With the last of their adds taken care of, Kirito's party found themselves with an unexpected respite before the next wave appeared. They quickly jogged over to meet up, sparing glances over at the rest of the battle raging in front of them.

"This is intense. We've been at this for at least 10 minutes." Sinon said with some exasperation.

"We've already burned through two potions. They've gotta be close to killing that thing." Leonn said, taking the break in the action to lean on his maul for support.

The entire party collectively spun towards the boss as the sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the chamber, signaling that the third of ((Illfang the Kobold Lord))'s four health bars had shattered, leaving only one remaining.

"Squads A and C, switch in! Squad C, get ready to guard. Squads E and F, we've got more minions coming!" Diavel shouted before turning behind him to face the crowd control groups behind him, locking eyes with Kirito. "Keep them off of us!"

"Right!" Kirito's party seemed to answer in unison.

The last health bar seemed to dwindle the slowest. Whether it was due to battle fatigue on the players or increased stats, nobody knew. All that was certain that it took over five minutes for the last health bar to finally dip into the red. ((Illfang the Kobold Lord)) let loose a mighty roar, alerting everyone to the change in attack patterns. It slammed its jaws together with a unsettling *CRUNCH* before dramatically throwing its axe and shield to the side.

A cutscene. Cutscenes in other games interrupted the boss battle to play out a pre-scripted series of events meant to highlight dramatic tension. While this display certainly accomplished that, the raid group took the brief 5 second break in stride, regrouping themselves and drinking health potions if necessary. Diavel even planned for the cutscene.

"Looks like the guidebook was right." Kibaou quipped, looking smug as ever.

"Stand back!" Diavel shouted, drawing everyone's attention to their raid leader. "I've got this!"

Kirito stopped and stared at Diavel as two of Sinon's throwing picks zoomed past his head to finish off the kobold he'd been fighting.

"Wait, this wasn't part of the plan." Sinon murmured.

Kirito had the same train of thought. I thought the plan was for everyone to surround it.

Diavel ran to the front of the raid group and planted his feet. Staring the kobold lord in the eye, he leveled his sword near his head and parallel to the ground, charging up a sword skill. ((Illfang the Kobold Lord)) apparently had a similar idea, as it reached behind its back and pulled out its massive blade.

Kirito's eyes grew wide. That's not a talwar, that's a nodachi!

"Wait, stop!" Kirito shouted as several pairs of eyes looked his way. "That's a nodachi! Get out of there!"

As the red kobold boss leapt into the air, Diavel seemed to recognize the truth in Kirito's words. Not having planned for this, Diavel remained frozen in place, watching as the boss leapt from pillar to pillar with surprising and terrifying speed before ultimately launching downward right towards Diavel. The blue-haired raid leader did his best to block the strike with his shield, but it was no good. He took the attack head on and flew backwards from the impact, his health bar plummeting as a red pixelated gash painted his torso a bright crimson. Not satisfied, ((Illfang the Kobold Lord)) chased Diavel's flailing body and slammed it with the flat of its blade, sending the now-limp raid leader right into a pillar.

"Diavel, no!" Kibaou shouted.

The raid quickly devolved into chaos. With their fearless leader lying off to the side and mortally wounded, the tanks tried desperately to get a handle on the situation, surrounding the boss in an attempt to limit its destructive capabilities.

It was the absolute worst thing to do against a nodachi wielder, and Kirito knew it.

"Leonn! Stop him!" Kirito shouted while running towards Diavel, not even looking back to see if his fellow beta tester understood what he meant. One of the skills a nodachi user could employ was a circular sweeping attack, and it was often used when surrounded. Surrounding the boss like that would only prompt it to use that skill to devastating effect. Kirito could hear a growl from the kobold lord himself, followed by at least two screams, and finally the sound of metal striking metal.

Kneeling down in front of Diavel, Kirito fished out a health potion. "What the hell were you thinking?"

In what was possibly the last thing Kirito expected the raid leader to do, Diavel placed a hand on Kirito's, pushing the health potion away.

"You… were a beta tester too, weren't you?" Diavel struggled to get the words out.

It all made sense.

"You were after the last attack bonus. The rare item." Kirito thought out loud. "You're just like me. A beta tester."

Diavel winced. There was no pain in SAO, of course, but the sensation of your health bar depleting to abysmally low levels couldn't have been comfortable. "You have to save them. Defeat it. For everyone here."

And then he shattered.

Those currently not engaged with the boss in some capacity could only look on in horror at Kirito, who was hunched over the space where Diavel was. Kirito fell onto his hands and knees, health potion still tightly gripped in his hand.

When this death game started, the only thing I thought about was how I was going to survive. I found friendship in others, but even then nothing else mattered. Only our survival. Nobody else's. But you weren't like that. You never abandoned the other players. You brought them together. You tried to accomplish something I couldn't dream of doing.

You led.

Kirito stood up and turned around to face the boss. Diavel's sacrifice would not be in vain. He would finish what Diavel had started. Kirito gripped the hilt of his sword as a shuffle of footsteps came up alongside him. He didn't need to look to see who it was.

"I'll go too." Asuna said.

"Let's go." Kirito said with newfound determination.

Both players rushed forward, and now Kirito could see why the damage had not been more severe. Between Sinon pestering the boss with throwing picks from all angles and Leonn parrying nearly every strike with his heavy maul, the two of them had the boss locked in a stalemate. Sinon wasn't doing enough damage and was only serving to distract it, and Leonn was too busy intercepting the nodachi with carefully timed heavy strikes of his own, so neither side was making any headway.

"We'll hit him just like we did the minions." Kirito said, not even bothering to look over at his partner as they rapidly closed the distance.

The timing couldn't have been better, because it was at that point that Leonn's energy started to falter and he wasn't able to fully parry the next swing of the nodachi. It was all he could do to bring the maul up to block, and the resulting impact launched him backward, crashing into Sinon and sending the duo rolling back to the rest of the raid group.

Illfang saw Kirito and Asuna closing and now that its main obstacle was gone, readied a sword skill. Kirito charged up one of his own, quickening his speed to outpace Asuna. The two sword skills clashed in a spark of blue light, sending both Kirito and the boss staggering backward.

"Switch!"

Asuna sped up to make the most of the opportunity Kirito afforded her, readying a sword skill of her own. Her rapier glowed with purple light as she brought the blade forward. Illfang recovered quicker than either of them expected, however, and swiftly brought his nodachi downward.

"Asuna!"

Quickly cancelling her sword skill before it launched, she ducked as the nodachi screamed by, narrowly missing her head, but somehow managing to catch her cloak and destroy it. Using the downward momentum of her dodge, she reared back once more with her rapier and thrust forward again with the skill she'd cancelled before, ((Linear)), digging her blade into the boss's flank. The impact was enough to force Illfang back, but not enough to stun it for long.

"He's coming back!" Kirito shouted before diving in. A series of flashes and swings danced between the three combatants, either side trying to get the upper hand in their lopsided duel. This continued for the better part of 10 seconds, which is considerably long in the heat of combat. However, despite all their skill, both Kirito and Asuna were sent flying by a swing that was quicker than they'd expected. The two rolled and skidded to a stop, perhaps 50 feet away from Illfang.

Asuna was the first to sit up and was forced to watch her party leader's health drop down to half from the blow. She was about to pull a potion out of her pack when a shadow covered her and Kirito. Looking up, she saw Illfang bring his blade up in the activation of a sword skill, the malicious purple light casting an ominous glow upon the two below. Asuna quickly draped her body over Kirito and raised her rapier to block. There was no way her little rapier would be able to block a nodachi, a fact she was all too aware of, but she had to do something.

A green light shot out from behind her and the crash of steel meeting steel rang out in the chamber.

The large man from the meeting, the one called Agil, had stepped forward to intercept the boss's strike much like Leonn had done earlier. Fortunately, the man's battle axe was heavy enough to deflect the blow. A battle cry rang out as the remaining raid members rushed forward, having rallied and found their second wind.

Agil looked back at the two teenagers still on the floor behind him. "We can hold off this bastard until you two get back on your feet."

Kirito smiled. "You got it."

Asuna reached down and helped pull Kirito to his feet. The two gave each other a nod and prepared to dash forward again, just in time to see Illfang perform another circular sweep of its nodachi. Without any solid leadership, the raid members had resorted to surrounding the boss again, which they were now paying the price for. As the four raiders lay on the ground, Agil included, Illfang leapt into the air and prepared to bring its monstrous nodachi down in a cleave.

"Not so fast!" Kirito cried, leaping into the air with his own sword skill charged up.

Boss and player collided once again, but this time Kirito managed to avoid the nodachi and carve a deep red gash across Illfang's side, throwing off the boss's trajectory and sending it crashing to the side, well clear of Agil and his group. As Illfang stood up from its rather abrupt crash landing, Kirito charged forward again, seeking to make the most of this offensive momentum.

"Asuna! One last attack! Let's do it together!"

"Roger!"

What followed was nothing short of a perfect display of teamwork and swordsmanship. Both Kirito and Asuna sprinted forward at a speed that was dizzying for all who were watching, sword and rapier poised at the ready. Kirito sped forward with his sword, slashing and colliding with Illfang's nodachi and throwing the kobold lord off balance. Asuna immediately followed, thrusting her rapier, bathed in purple glow, into Illfang's gut, bringing its health bar even closer to zero. One last strike was all that was needed, and Kirito was happy to provide. Coming up on Illfang's flank, Kirito charged up a ((Horizontal)) and cleaved one last gash across the kobold lord's exposed side, rending the boss with a yell of anger and determination.

Illfang flew up and backwards from the devastating blow, glowing with a bright intensity that forced everyone to shield their eyes. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, there was the sound of shattering glass as ((Illfang the Kobold Lord)) exploded in a cloud of polygons.

Stunned silence filled the room, the entirety of the raiding party still processing what had just happened. Awkward glances were shared as each member looked to the others for validation.

[Congratulations!]

"We did it!"

The chamber erupted in cheers and applause as the forty-five raiders celebrated. Kirito, still kneeling and recovering from the ordeal, looked up as a system notification appeared before him.

[You got the last attack bonus!]

[Coat of Midnight]

"That was some damn good swordsmanship." Agil said, coming up from behind Kirito. Asuna, Sinon, and Leonn were right alongside him, each with a smile on their face. "Congratulations. This victory belongs to you."

"No." Kirito rebuked. "This victory belongs to all of us."

He looked up to see the rest of the raid group smiling at him. There were looks of genuine joy, admiration, and acceptance. All expressions that Kirito had seldom encountered in the month he'd spent while trapped in the Death Game. Maybe this was the start of something new. For the first time in a long time, Kirito felt hopeful.

It didn't last long.

"Why?!"

All eyes shifted back towards a very distraught Kibaou, who was sitting on his knees and glaring daggers at Kirito.

"Why did you let Diavel die?!"

Kirito blinked. "Let him die…?"

"Yes! You knew what techniques the boss would use! If you had shared that with the rest of us beforehand, Diavel would still be alive!" Kibaou practically screamed.

A murmur spread through the raid group as the once lofty opinion they felt towards Kirito changed to one of disgust.

"He must be an ex-beta tester!"

"That's how he knew all the boss's attack patterns!"

"He knew, but kept it from us!"

"There might be more of them in here with us! Come out, cowards!"

Those immediately around Kirito had varying reactions to what was now unfolding. Agil and Asuna were slowly scanning over the crowd, unwilling to focus their attention on the already-vilified Kirito. Leonn had his fists and teeth clenched in an obvious attempt to restrain himself, a side of him that none of his companions had ever seen. Sinon was surprisingly the most calm out of the bunch, crossing her arms and in general looking unimpressed.

"You guys are idiots, you know that?"

All eyes looked to Sinon, some in bewilderment at the bold claim and others in anger at being slighted. Even Leonn, who among the group had known her the longest, was pulled out of his fervent ire and looked profoundly stupefied

"You wanna say that again?" Kibaou spat. The look in his eyes right then could only be described as incendiary.

Sinon shrugged. "You guys are idiots. Do you honestly think Kayaba would make things that easy for us? Of course he'd change things from the beta. Even the guidebook mentioned that Illfang would have a talwar, but he actually had a... what was it called?"

"A nodachi." Kirito answered.

"Kirito tried to warn Diavel about the change." Sinon went on. "I heard it. You heard it."

The crowd seemed divided with this new information. Some were adamant that Kirito had committed the equivalent of a war crime, where others had sympathized with the black-haired swordsman. Tempers were flaring and within a matter of seconds those who once fought beside one another were threatening to trade blows.

Kirito looked down, eyes glazed over seemingly focused on nothing. A million thoughts raced through his mind.

This isn't good. If people start to mistrust beta testers, there's going to be a manhunt. Ex-beta testers might be hunted down and PK'd if it gets bad enough. People won't trust each other anymore, and if they can't unite then we'll never get out of this place. I need to do something, give them something else to think about. I need to lower the temperature.

Then a thought crossed his mind.

Or I could raise it.

"... Hey, calm down a second." Agil said, hands raised in front of him towards Kibaou and Sinon, who were just about ready to start a fistfight.

And then Kirito laughed. No, he cackled.

The entirety of the raid shifted their gaze again over to the boy who'd landed the killing blow, the dreaded beta tester. He was cackling like a madman.

"So you think I used to be a beta tester." Kirito began, his voice taking on a cruel, almost mocking tone. "You're right, of course, but don't lump me in with those noobs."

Kibaou looked equal parts furious and confused. He hadn't expected such a brazen confession from the black-haired swordsman. "What'd you say?!"

"You heard me." Kirito answered, fully committing to this charade. "Most of the beta testers were complete noobs. The majority of them never even made it to this room. You guys are better in that sense, but don't put me in the same category as those losers."

Kirito's party could only stare in abject horror at the scene playing out. This wasn't like Kirito at all. Even Asuna, who'd only known him two days now, knew that this was very out of character for him.

"See, I made it to some of the higher floors, way past the other testers." Kirito flashed an evil grin. "You'd be surprised how much I know."

Kibaou grit his teeth together before answering. "You… you're worse than a beta tester. You're a cheater!"

The crowd erupted into jeers and cries of anger. Kirito's group knew he was bluffing, of course, and even Agil was able to see right through his lies. They could do nothing to stop the outcry, though. The damage had been done. It might have been a bold faced lie, but it was a confession nonetheless. Any sympathy Kirito might have had in the crowd vanished in an instant.

"He's a beta tester and a cheater!"

"He's a BEATER!"

Kirito smiled. There it is. Now their hate and anger will be focused on me. Hopefully that'll take the heat off of the other beta testers. It was a gamble, and it was sure to make Kirito's life much more difficult in the coming months, but it was worth it if it brought people together.

"A Beater. I like it." Kirito said with deceptive malice in his voice. "You can call me a Beater, then. Just don't confuse me with those pathetic beta testers."

With a flick of his wrist and several swipes on his menu, a black overcoat materialized around Kirito, the ((Coat of Midnight)). It was perfect, really. Not only did it fit Kirito's aesthetic, but the power move of equipping a brooding black coat he won through the boss's last attack bonus would cement the distinction between beta testers and beaters forever, in his mind.

Nobody said a word. Stunned silence would be the only descriptor that came anywhere close to what hung in the room. That same surprise only deepened when Kirito walked towards the stairs to the next floor, with Leonn, Sinon, and Asuna following behind. It didn't take long for the party of four to round the corner of the spiral staircase, leaving a very stunned, very confused, and very angry raid group behind.

Asuna quickened her pace until she was walking side-by-side with Kirito.

"Why'd you do that? You just made yourself everyone's enemy." Asuna asked, genuine confusion easy to read now that her hood was gone.

Kirito let out an exasperated sigh, letting that pent-up angst and tension wash away. "Kibaou was going to start a manhunt for beta testers if I let that continue. People would start to turn on each other, any trust would break apart, and those divisions would only work against us. We need everyone working together if we're ever going to escape. I just gave them a clear enemy they could agree on."

Asuna looked thoughtful for a moment before a frown crossed her face.

"I still don't see why it had to be you." She gave him a half-hearted smack on his arm, garnering surprised looks from her party members. "Dummy."

Kirito glanced over his shoulder at his team. "Partying with a known Beater isn't going to make things easy for you guys. You should make your own party."

That particular suggestion earned Kirito another smack from Asuna, an ear flick from Sinon, and a laugh from Leonn.

"Are you kidding? That was a bold move, dude. I'm proud to be in a party with someone so self-sacrificing." Leonn said with a smile before looking at Sinon and Asuna. "And I don't think I'm alone."

Kirito looked back and was surprised to discover that all three of his party members - no, his friends - were smiling. They were willing to stick with him despite the scorn and public shame they were about to receive for being associated with a self-proclaimed Beater.

He'd make it up to them, and he knew how.

He'd bring them home.