On Today's Episode: Ten floors have been cleared since Strea's tearful departure, but the Sleeping Knights haven't given up looking for her. But they might have bigger problems to deal with when a strange group of players wishes to join the Clearers. Their leader, a man named Alberich, is shockingly level 200, but in contrast, he seems to have no real skill whatsoever. Who is this strange man, and does he have an ulterior motive for wanting to join the Clearers?
Episode 13: The Darkness of Eternity
January 8th, 2025
3:34 P.M. Aincrad Time
Floor 85, Yusnaan
"STREA?!" Yuuki shouted as she and the rest of the raid party entered Yusnaan, the capital city of floor 85. Yusnaan was a harbor city with a very festival-like atmosphere, though festivals and fun were the last thing on Yuuki's mind at the moment. "STREA, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Yuuki, I think she would have shown up by now," Aiko sighed.
It had been three months and ten cleared floors since Yui had uncovered the truth of Strea's origins, and she had vanished completely. Ever since that day, Yuuki and the Sleeping Knights had thoroughly explored practically every floor of Aincrad in hopes of finding her, but had found no trace of her. Since she was no longer on their friends list, it seemed like she was constantly on the move.
"Why won't she come and find us?" Yuuki wondered even as Nick walked up and hugged her.
"Maybe she doesn't want to be found," Nick answered.
"B-But... what are we supposed to do, Nick?!" Yuuki wailed. "I'm not leaving Strea out there all by herself!"
"Hey, hey, don't worry, Yuuki," Nick replied, kissing Yuuki on the forehead. "I promise you, we're going to find her. I don't care if she is an AI like Yui, she doesn't deserve to be alone in all of this."
"Friends look out for each other," Lux admitted. "That's something I learned from all of you, after all."
"But here's the big problem, though," Lisbeth stated. "We've combed over pretty much every floor that's open right now, and we haven't found hide nor hair of Strea."
"I think she might be moving between different floors," Nick replied. "Remember, since she unfriended us, we can't track her that way. That means it's probably gonna be a needle in a haystack to find her..."
"Well, I'm not giving up!" Yuuki proclaimed. "I don't care if we have to tear this entire game apart to find Strea, we're going to find Strea."
"Can't you find her, Yui?" Silica wondered. "After all, you still have some of your GM privileges, right?"
Yui put her hands on either side of her head to scan for Strea, only to shake her head. "It seems like she's hiding her program from me," Yui responded.
"Okay, here's my question, and it's something that's been really bugging me since that day," Aiko stated. "First off, why would the Cardinal System do something like this? Why would it give an MHCP false memories of a real life?"
"Essentially, the Cardinal System is an artificial intelligence that governs the entire Sword Art Online server," Yui explained. "I have never noticed any signs of strange activity within the Cardinal System until I regained my memories, though..."
"And I'm willing to bet that it was Kayaba who told the Cardinal System to give you that order to not interfere," Yuuki proclaimed. "What if that whole 'giving an AI false memories' thing was something else Kayaba told it to do?"
"Now I'm starting to get an eerie feeling that we need to finish this game quickly before things start getting worse," Nick stated.
"I mean, hey, we've cleared ten floors in barely three months, so I think we'll have this game finished in no time we keep up this pace," Sachi answered.
"I really hope so," Lisbeth proclaimed. "Now, come on, everyone, let's see what this festival city's all about!"
Glad for Lisbeth changing the tone of the conversation, the Sleeping Knights all headed deeper into Yusnaan to explore the city and see what it provided for them.
Even so, Nick's thoughts would occasionally return to Strea and the last words she had said before her disappearance.
"All this time, I've been living a lie? I... I really thought I was your friend... everything I've been feeling is an absolute lie, isn't it?!"
Why would Strea have thought such treacherous thoughts? Nick knew that everyone in their group would accept her for who she was, AI or not, so why...
Suddenly, a terrifying thought.
Kayaba, did you have something to do with this? Nick thought. After all, Kayaba would know this game inside and out, so it wasn't too far-fetched to think he had planned this from the beginning.
Then again, Nick also had a feeling that, since he knew the Cardinal System was currently glitched due to Yui using the GM console to erase The Fatal Scythe, Kayaba was most likely focusing his efforts on fixing the glitches.
Nick looked over at Yui, who was happily chatting with Yuuki, and realized that if the glitch was fixed too soon, then the Cardinal System would no doubt come after Yui since it had disobeyed its orders.
I just hope we can fix all of this before that happens, Nick thought. I don't care what the Cardinal System thinks, it's not taking my daughter away from us.
Nick walked closer to Yuuki and reached out to hold her hand, knowing how stressed she'd been about Strea ever since floor 75.
And when Yuuki squeezed back and gave him a sweet smile, that was all he needed to assuage his own fears.
January 10th, 2025
6:21 P.M. Aincrad Time
Floor 55, Grandzam
Knights of the Blood Oath Headquarters
"Okay, so what did Asuna have to say?" Yuuki asked as the Sleeping Knights returned to Grandzam after having been called there by Asuna.
"Apparently, there's an odd group of players that want to join the Clearers," Aiko answered. "But since Heathcliff is busy at the moment, that means Asuna's stuck with the process of evaluating them."
"Evaluating?" Silica wondered.
"Remember the nonsense with Kuradeel?" Nick replied, only to quickly glance in Lux's direction, though she waved him off with a smile.
"It's okay, Nick," Lux giggled. "Nowadays, the Clearers have a much stricter method of allowing players to join their ranks so that we don't have another repeat of what happened with him."
"After what he tried to pull, I'm honestly not surprised," Yuuki quipped. "But why does Asuna want our help with these guys?"
"I've got a feeling that we're about to find out," Nick stated as they approached the group of players in question.
It didn't take long for the Sleeping Knights to deduce who this group's leader was, the man in the center with the spiky blonde hair and paladin-like armor.
"Yeesh, ego much?" Nick proclaimed.
"He looks like a nice enough guy," Silica quipped.
"I don't know," Yuuki stated as she studied the group of players. "You know the old saying, 'a record all white is more suspicious than one all black'. I'm gonna go see what this guy's deal is. Excuse me, all."
Yuuki began walking towards the player in question, his info window identifying him as Alberich.
And immediately, Yuuki was suspicious of something.
Because Alberich's info window, if she was reading this correctly, had him pegged at level two-hundred. The recommended level for safety on this current floor was a minimum of 95, and Yuuki herself was currently level 125.
But, she figured she'd get her answers eventually.
"Um, excuse me?" Yuuki asked as she tapped Alberich on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Ah, if it isn't the Absolute Sword herself," Alberich proclaimed. "I've heard so much about you and your guild. You're practically legends in this wretched game."
"Aw, I wouldn't go that far," Yuuki giggled. "Just doin' my part, after all. But, on to what I'm doing here, I noticed that, well, you're really high level."
"Yes, and I wish to use my incredible level and powerful equipment to prove my worth to the Clearers, so that I may join them and assist in clearing SAO," Alberich explained.
"All right-y then, so, how about this?" Yuuki asked, sending a duel request to Alberich for a Half-Loss Duel. "Let's see your skills first-hand, shall we?"
"I'm afraid that I might be too much for you, Zekken," Alberich chuckled even as he raised his hand to accept the duel request. "After all, I am much higher level than you currently are."
"I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch, my dude," Yuuki stated as she drew Elucidator and Dark Repulser while the duel countdown began. "After all, level isn't always everything. I mean, my sister blitzed through a Pokémon game using a really out-there strategy with a level one Pokémon. Sometimes, skill can make all the difference."
If Alberich had heard Yuuki, he apparently chose to ignore her as the countdown reached zero and the two players rushed each other.
Yuuki prepared to feint away from Alberich's opening strike, only to see him rather clumsily swing his sword in a way that was incredibly easy for her to sidestep, allowing her to go on the offensive and chop away with both of her swords. Though her rate of damage was slower considering the huge level gap between them, it did tip Yuuki off that something clearly wasn't right here.
And as the duel continued, those feelings would only get stronger and stronger, since despite Alberich having insane stats for his level, his swings were all very clumsy and uncoordinated, attacks that anyone with the slightest amount of skill could rather easily dodge or parry.
And that's pretty much what Yuuki did, either dodging or parrying his attacks and attacking whenever she could. Soon enough, Alberich's health eventually fell below halfway and Yuuki was declared the winner of the duel.
To everyone's surprise, Yuuki hadn't taken a single hit during the duel.
"Just as I thought," Yuuki proclaimed.
Alberich was stunned by his defeat. After all, he was level 200, but he'd lost to someone seventy-five levels below him, and he hadn't landed a single hit on her?!
Unable to believe what had just happened, Alberich stormed off in a huff, the rest of his group following him.
"Well, well, talk about an absolute curb-stomp," Aiko giggled. "You're really becoming the star player everyone thinks you already are, huh, Yuu?"
"I wouldn't go that far, sis," Yuuki answered. "There's something really, really off about that guy. You all saw his level, right?"
"Yeah, I almost lost my jaw from that," Lisbeth teased.
"And here's my major malfunction with him," Yuuki continued. "Despite his super-high level, he absolutely sucks at fighting. And he wanted to join the Clearers!"
"Yeah, that lack of skill would only end badly for everyone involved," Nick replied. "I'm thinking that this is one player we're gonna have to keep an eye on."
"True that," Aiko quipped. "Did you sense anything off about him, Yui?"
"I do not have access to all of my GM privileges from before, but nothing else seems off about him," Yui answered. "But, if I do sense something, I'll let you know, auntie."
"...auntie?" Lisbeth laughed.
"I've pretty much accepted it by now," Aiko replied. "But, let's get back to business. Which floor are we exploring today?"
"Let's look for her in Dahngrest," Yuuki immediately replied.
"Right then, to Dahngrest it is!" Nick proclaimed.
And as the Sleeping Knights charged for Grandzam's Teleport Gate, Nick once again let his thoughts drift to the Cardinal System and whatever Kayaba was up to.
Well, it turns out it wouldn't be long before I got my answers about many of the questions I'd been pondering for so long. Though, in hindsight, I'm wishing that it hadn't been in the way that I'd thought...
January 10th, 2025
7:31 P.M. U.S. Central Time
Dearly Beloved Medical Hospital
Melissa couldn't help but smile slightly when she walked into Nick's hospital room as she had practically every day for the past two years. Nick was still there on that hospital bed, NerveGear over his head but looking like he was merely peacefully sleeping instead of being trapped in a virtual world.
"Hey, Nick," Melissa stated as she pulled up a chair and sat down by Nick. "I hope you don't mind the constant visits. I know it's been strange without you here, but I know you'll pull through eventually."
Shuffling through her own thoughts for something to talk about, Melissa looked at her phone, which was currently displaying a picture of her and Nick on Sword Art Online's launch day, the two of them looking as happy as ever.
It had been the last time they'd talked before Akihiko Kayaba's death game had begun.
"Oh, did I tell you? I'm working directly with the Sylph Lord now!" Melissa proclaimed. "Yeah, Sigurd got tossed out on his keester once we exposed his crimes, and Lady Sakuya actually chose me to help her out! I'm so surprised, honestly."
Even though Nick obviously couldn't respond, Melissa still felt like talking to him.
"I gotta thank Recon for helping me out in that one quest the other day, too," Melissa continued, a few tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "His trap skills are really useful, and I p-probably wouldn't have gotten through t-that dungeon without his... without his..."
Melissa finally couldn't hold it in any longer and started crying, burying her head in her arms so no one could see her cry.
"Why you, Nick?! Why did it have to be you?!" Melissa cried.
Just then, Melissa felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw that it was Nurse Bailey, the nurse who had been looking after Nick ever since the death game had started.
Unable to stop herself, Melissa threw herself into Bailey's arms and cried harder. Bailey just held Melissa close, allowing her to unload all of her sadness. She knew how much Melissa missed Nick, and with her own son trapped in SAO as well, she knew how Melissa felt.
And she would support Melissa no matter what happened.
March 12th, 2025
4:51 P.M. Aincrad Time
Floor 95, Labyrinth
Boss Chamber
"Now, Knights of the Blood Oath, let us make the final push!" Heathcliff exclaimed as the raid party advanced on the boss of floor 95, The Genocide Eye. Nick, Yuuki, and Aiko all charged down the rampaging monster alongside Asuna and several members of the Knights of the Blood Oath.
The Genocide Eye swung its massive sword in a downward arc, a powerful move that had already ended the life of at least five players in this boss fight alone, though Yuuki simply crossed both Elucidator and Dark Repulser to parry the strike, and this allowed Nick to move in and start cutting away at The Genocide Eye with an Ars Arcanum, glad that its defense-piercing attribute was doing noticeable damage.
Just as The Genocide Eye had recovered and was about to cut Nick in half thanks to his post-motion delay, Aiko stabbed it in the back with her rapier, forcing its attention on her so that Asuna could charge in and ravage it with a Starry Tear.
After only a few more minutes of battle, The Genocide Eye finally lost all of its health, and it fell to its knees, planted its sword into the ground, and exploded into a shower of glowing polygons. The large CONGRATULATIONS message that appeared over the boss arena was once again a massive relief to the remaining players as they all recuperated from the grueling battle they'd just fought through.
It seemed that, though many of the floor bosses were getting harder and harder, the labyrinths themselves were actually getting easier to get through.
Though that didn't seem to slow down the casualties much, as there were currently only 5,621 of the ten thousand players trapped in SAO still alive.
"Holy crapbaskets, that was intense," Yuuki gasped as she wobbled backward and fell into Nick's arms.
"But we're one step closer to finally finishing this game, you know," Nick quipped.
"Hey, yeah! We've only got give floors left!" Yuuki proclaimed, spinning around to hug Nick. "We're gonna keep our promise after all!"
"Head count, everyone!" Asuna exclaimed once the boss chamber had returned to normal. "How many casualties?!"
"It appears that we have lost ten more brave warriors today," Heathcliff proclaimed. "But let us honor their sacrifice by continuing the fight. We are within reach of freedom, and we must press ever onward, especially for the sake of those we have lost! This is our world, and it is worth fighting for!"
Despite everyone's exhaustion, they couldn't help but cheer in response.
However, as the raid party began to advance towards the Teleport Gate that would unlock the way to floor 96, Nick couldn't help but notice something.
Despite the grueling and intense battle with The Genocide Eye, Heathcliff didn't look exhausted at all. Heathcliff's hit points were also still in the green zone as well.
Though Nick initially attributed this to his Holy Sword skill, now he wasn't so sure. Why was this bothering him now of all times?
Just then, Nick recalled what Heathcliff had just said.
"This is our world, and it is worth fighting for!"
And then he recalled the first words he'd heard on launch day... from him.
"Attention, all players of Sword Art Online, I humbly welcome you... to my world."
Nick compared the two statements in his head, and when a familiar feeling came from both of them...
...he unsheathed Star Cluster from its scabbard, to Yuuki's surprise.
"N-Nick? What are you..." Yuuki gasped.
"God, I hope I'm right about this," Nick sighed as he made his move, charging full speed towards Heathcliff while he was tending to other members of the KoB. When Heathcliff noticed Nick about to stab him, he raised his shield, but Nick was ready for that, slightly altering the trajectory of his Rage Spike so that it just barely avoided the shield and went on to stab Heathcliff's chest.
Only, the stab was stopped by a hexagonal purple barrier. Just as Nick expected. A purple information window appeared above Heathcliff that read IMMORTAL OBJECT.
And when Yuuki saw that info pop-up, she gasped in shock, as that had been the exact same thing she'd seen when Yui had defended them from The Fatal Scythe.
"C-Commander?" Asuna stammered. "What is that supposed to mean? Why did..."
"You wanna know why Commander Heathcliff's HP has never gone into the yellow zone?" Nick proclaimed, making sure everyone here heard what he had to say. "Simple. It's because he had the system protecting him from letting that happen. Also, I've been curious about something ever since this cavalcade of crap started, and it's only gotten me more curious after our friend vanished. I've always been wondering if he has been watching us, changing this world at his whim in order to satisfy those whims."
"Nick, please make sense," Aiko responded. "What's going on here?"
"Well, Aiko, the answer, once you think about it, is pretty obvious," Nick answered. "I'll admit it didn't really hit me until recently, considering everything else we've been dealing with, but... let's just say the good commander has been hiding something from us. I remember one of my classmates saying something peculiar before we were trapped in here. He said 'there's nothing more boring than watching someone else play an RPG'. And while I wouldn't always agree with that, in this case, it's probably true."
Nick glared at Heathcliff, fixing him with an accusing gaze. "Isn't that right... Akihiko Kayaba?!"
Naturally, the entire boss chamber went silent at that accusation. But that silence only lasted a few seconds when Heathcliff let out a surprised chuckle.
"Well, well," Kayaba quipped. "Tell me, then, Nick. How did you figure me out?"
"To be honest, most of it was a hunch, but I did notice a few things during the boss fight," Nick answered. "When mister Genocide boy did his super sword combo on you, I saw how easily you defended against it. And I've seen you in action before, and from what I could tell, the speed that you defended yourself was probably just a bit faster than what the system allows. Am I right? Stop me if I'm wrong."
"I guess overusing the system assist was my mistake," Kayaba admitted. "I'll admit, it was strange being surprised by a boss that I created. But, you are correct, Nick. My real name is Akihiko Kayaba, and I am the final boss of Sword Art Online. I was meant to reveal myself after this boss either way, but..."
"Oh, that's a real cliché, isn't it?" Nick teased. "The strongest player in the game turns heel and becomes the final boss?"
"It would have made for a good story twist, wouldn't you say?" Kayaba laughed. "If I'm being honest with myself, I almost thought that Yuuki would be the one to figure me out first."
"What? Why me, Kayaba?" Yuuki wondered.
"Your Dual Blades skill," Kayaba proclaimed. "I designed that skill with the intent of the player who received it to be one to stand against me as Sword Art Online's final boss. But, these kinds of twists are what make RPGs fun, am I right?"
During all of this, one member of the KoB picked himself up and lunged towards Kayaba.
"You betrayed us!" the knight shouted. "Now prepare to die!"
Nick tried to warn the knight that attacking Kayaba right now was probably a bad idea, but Kayaba beat him to it by using his personal system console to immediately paralyze the player on the spot, making him drop to the floor. Subsequently, all of the other players in the chamber dropped to the ground as well, indicating that Kayaba had paralyzed them as well.
"Well, this has been fun, but I'm afraid I must be leaving now," Kayaba proclaimed.
"So you're just going to kill all of us to keep your identity a secret, is that it?!" Aiko exclaimed.
"I am not so cruel, Aiko," Kayaba replied. "If I did so, this game might never be cleared. Once I leave, you will all be free to go. I will await your arrival at the Ruby Palace on floor 100. In the meantime, I must complete my maintenance of the Cardinal System."
At those words, Nick tried to pick himself up, only to be unable to because of the paralysis.
"C-Cardinal?! Answer me, you son of a bitch! You better not have done anything to Strea!" Nick growled.
Kayaba chose to ignore him and teleported away from the boss chamber, which undid the paralysis and allowed the players to gather themselves. Naturally, there was a lot of discussion about what had just happened.
"So... are we screwed?" one knight asked.
"Wait, what?" Yuuki quipped.
"In case you missed the memo, Zekken, our leader, the strongest player in this game, is the one that created this game, trapped us in it, and is now out for our blood," a second knight growled. "What chance do any of us have of finishing this game now?! It's hopeless!"
Yuuki was immediately in that knight's face, as she'd heard this song and dance many times before on the early floors, and she wasn't going to stand for it.
"Listen here, jerk boy," Yuuki growled, grabbing the knight by his collar and yanking him towards her so that she was staring him right in the face. "In case you missed the obvious memo that's right in front of your eyeballs, we just reached floor 96. And that means we only have five floors left! Look at the speed we've been clearing the last quarter of this game with! You look me in the eye and tell me to my face that that's not honest-to-god progress!"
"Yuu's right!" Aiko proclaimed. "There's no way in hell we can all give up now just because the KoB leader turned out to be Kayaba in disguise! In fact, that should be even more motivation to clear these final five floors and kick this game to the curb, then kick Kayaba's ass six ways from Sunday and avenge everyone we've lost!"
Slowly but surely, the doom and gloom in the chamber was replaced by steely determination.
"Yuuki's right! We can't stop now!"
"We've got a good reason to keep going, don't we?!"
"I'm going to see my family again! You're not stopping me, Kayaba!"
"Again with the inspiring speeches, Yuuki?" Asuna giggled despite her own worries.
"I guess I've gotten pretty good at it," Yuuki admitted. "Well, commander, go ahead and lead us."
Asuna gasped in surprise when she realized that, yes, with Heathcliff being exposed and leaving, she was effectively the new commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath.
Though Asuna was able to adapt quickly, organizing the remaining players in the boss chamber so they could all head to floor 96.
One thing still raced through Nick's mind as they moved on to the next floor, however.
Kayaba hadn't answered his question about Strea.
And that only increased how much he worried about her.
Please be okay, Strea, Nick thought. Wherever you are.
March 28th, 2025
7:31 P.M. Aincrad Time
Floor 97, Luxerion
"Still no sign of her?" Nick asked as the Sleeping Knights reconvened at the center of Luxerion, the capital city of floor 97.
"Nothing," Aiko sighed.
"You guys, I'm really worried now," Yuuki proclaimed. "What if Kayaba actually did do something to her?! He said he was going to fix the Cardinal System, and that means... that means..."
"I'm not so sure about that, honestly," Nick answered. "Yui's still with us, after all."
"Don't worry, mama," Yui stated. "We'll find Strea. I won't allow her to wallow in her own sorrow without her friends to help her."
"Spoken like a true friend, Yui," Aiko giggled. "Come on, let's keep searching. Where to next?"
A loud, piercing scream caught the attention of the Sleeping Knights, coming from just outside the city.
"Sounds like we're going that way," Lisbeth quipped. "Let's move!"
The Sleeping Knights all raced out of Luxerion and towards the source of the scream, only to find a very disturbing sight when they got there.
Alberich was standing over another player, having stabbed her with a strange-looking knife that swiftly drained her health until it hit zero and she exploded into a shower of glowing polygons. Alberich didn't have time to cackle, however, as all of the Sleeping Knights were on him, their weapons extended.
"Ah, if it isn't the Sleeping Knights again," Alberich cackled. "How fortuitous that I'd run into you here."
"You wanna start explaining yourself, paladin boy?!" Aiko growled. "You're not supposed to be able to attack players out here without your cursor going orange, and you're still green, which can only mean you're hiding something."
"What does it matter, really?" Alberich laughed. "I was rejected from the Clearers because of you! Do you have any idea how much I was humiliated that day?!"
"It's your own fault, you know!" Yuuki shot back. "Despite your probably hacked avatar, your lack of skill is just going to be a liability, especially considering how tough the final few bosses are probably going to be!"
"And, what, you're so humiliated that you take it out on an innocent player?!" Nick shouted. "Are you out of your mind?!"
"You're all going to pay for this," Alberich cackled, a truly insane-sounding laugh, before managing to calm himself down. "Now, now, Sugou, no need to get so crazy. You have all the pieces in place."
"Wait a minute, who are you talking to, mister nut?!" Lisbeth shouted.
"Oh, that. I guess I can explain myself, since my master plan is almost coming to fruition," Alberich sneered, so wrapped up in gloating that he didn't notice what Aiko was up to. "You'll all be dead soon, so there's no point in hiding it. My actual name is Nobuyuki Sugou, and I work for RECT Progress."
"Isn't RECT Progress the company behind the SAO servers?" Lux asked.
"Yes, the division that I lead," Sugou replied. "I'm currently in charge of creating a program to control people's emotional states, and this wretched game is doing quite nicely when it comes to test subjects. In case you're wondering why I'm so high level, it's because I own an administrator account that I was using when my subordinates and I got sucked into the game."
"So, I was right, and you're basically just a filthy cheater!" Yuuki shouted.
"More like mastermind," Sugou laughed. "Do you have any idea how rich I'll be once I sell off my emotional manipulation program?"
"And there's another thing, jerk dip," Aiko proclaimed, aiming her rapier straight for Sugou's face. "What was that crack about 'test subjects' for your program?!"
"Oh, that," Sugou chuckled. "There are so many wonderful players that make excellent lab rats for my program. Like this one, for instance. I found her wandering around a few days after you humiliated me and saw she'd make a perfect piece for my revenge against you all."
A figure stepped out from behind a nearby rock formation, and the sight of her shocked every single one of the Sleeping Knights.
It was Strea. But her eyes were dull and lifeless, almost as if...
"S-Strea?!" Yuuki gasped.
"What did you do to her, you scumbag?!" Nick shouted.
"Oh, I could tell you," Sugou cackled. "But I think it'd be easier if I showed you. Sic 'em, my lovely."
Strea lunged forward and swung Invaria in an overhead chop that caused Nick to jump backwards to avoid it. Strea was immediately on Nick, slashing wildly at him and forcing Nick to unsheathe Star Cluster to parry each blow as best as he could.
"Strea, snap out of it!" Nick shouted.
Strea didn't listen, just thrusting Invaria towards Nick's abdomen, only for Yuuki to swing both of her swords and knock the larger blade away.
"Come on, Strea, don't make me do this," Yuuki proclaimed.
Strea leaped through the air and stabbed Invaria into the ground, creating a shockwave that threw Nick and Yuuki backwards. Pressing her advantage, Strea swung Invaria, catching Nick across the chest and sending him tumbling to the ground.
While all of this was happening, Sugou was using his admin privileges to summon a massive, grotesque monster to the field.
"Isn't it beautiful?!" Sugou cackled. "This monster is the Hollow Avatar, the boss originally intended to be Sword Art Online's final boss before Kayaba turned it into a death game. And what do you know, with my admin privileges, I can summon it here to kill you all!"
Strea pounced on Nick while he was still down and stabbed Invaria through his chest, dropping his health to about three-fourths.
"Strea, wake up," Nick gasped. "Please wake up..."
"It's no use, boy," Sugou laughed. "She can't hear you, nor can she help you."
Summoning all of the strength he could, Nick jumped to his feet, which sent Strea stumbling back, wrenched Invaria out of his chest and tossed it aside before raising Star Cluster and fully intending to cut Sugou down, level gap or no level gap.
"What part of all this don't you understand?" Sugou proclaimed as he brought out a very strange-looking knife, the same one he'd stabbed that other player with. "If I hit you with this, you'll be inflicted with an incurable poison, and you'll slowly die. Do you want to die, boy?!"
"You're going to pay for what you did to Strea, you monster!" Nick growled.
"Oh, I'm the monster?!" Sugou bellowed as Nick charged for him. "You're the monster for screwing with my plans, boy!"
His patience exhausted, Sugou thrust his dagger for Nick.
"NO!"
Sugou looked up in surprise as Strea, her eyes back to normal, threw herself in front of Nick, taking the dagger strike to her chest instead of Nick.
"Wh-what?!" Sugou gasped. "H-How did you...?!"
"You... get your filthy hands... off of my friends!" Strea shouted, grabbing Sugou by the face. Just then, Strea's hands began glowing, much to Sugou's shock when he realized what she was doing.
"W-what?! How are you taking my admin privileges?!" Sugou growled.
"I'm an MHCP, which means I technically have admin privileges of my own!" Strea exclaimed.
Sugou eventually wrenched out his dagger, and Strea stumbled backwards from the recoil of taking the blow, only to clutch her head in agony and start screaming loudly, which caused the Hollow Avatar to shuffle towards her. Strea's screaming only got louder until her body actually exploded into little balls of light that absorbed themselves into the Hollow Avatar.
Rather swiftly, the Hollow Avatar began to change until its grotesque body resembled Strea, complete with the same hair color and everything. Four health bars appeared above its information window, which now read Hollow Strea.
"What did you do to her now, you coffin-stuffer?!" Aiko growled.
Sugou just grinned evilly, that is, until Asuna came up behind him and knocked him to the ground.
"It's over, Sugou," Asuna proclaimed, reaching to grab a Teleport Crystal. "Thank Aiko for recording your confession and sending it to me so I could get here and send you to prison where you belong."
"Y-You can't stop what's already begun, Asuna!" Sugou growled. "It's too late to save your little AI girl, you know!"
Asuna just shoved Sugou forward before using her Teleport Crystal to send Sugou to the Black Iron Prison on floor one, then immediately drawing Lambent Light in response to the sight of Hollow Strea.
"What happened to her?!" Asuna gasped.
"Sugou did something to her, then he fused her with this giant monster that was supposed to be the original final boss before Kayaba took over," Yuuki explained. "And now it turned her into this!"
"It was because of her near-death experience at Sugou's hand," Yui proclaimed. "It altered her data and caused her to fuse with the Hollow Avatar. If you can defeat this boss, I should be able to use my own GM privileges to extract her from the boss. Please, you must hurry!"
"I think that's all the motivation we need to tear this thing down," Nick stated, his weapon already ready to strike. "Let's do it for Strea, everyone!"
With that, the Sleeping Knights all charged into battle even as Hollow Strea swung its meaty arms towards them. Yuuki crossed both of her swords to parry the blow, and this gave Nick a chance to slip under its arms and wail on its unprotected body with an Ars Arcanum.
And Nick was relieved to see that he was actually doing visible damage, considering this monster's status as Aincrad's original final boss.
I wonder if that means Strea's fighting back? Nick thought as he jumped away to avoid Hollow Strea's shockwave attack.
Silica moved around to Hollow Strea's backside, slashing at it with her daggers while Pina stayed behind her in case Silica needed emergency healing.
Hollow Strea attempted to punch out its attackers, only for Lisbeth to swing her hammer to parry each blow as best she could, allowing Aiko to perform a sliding dash to drive her rapier into Hollow Strea's chest, stunning it just long enough to wrench the rapier back out and begin a rapid spiraling dash around Hollow Strea, jabbing it in multiple spots while circling it, and eventually finishing with a downward thrust into Hollow Strea's front, sending an array of visible light lines out from the impact point.
Hollow Strea bellowed out a loud scream before raising its arms and causing beams of light to rain down all over the battlefield, forcing the Sleeping Knights to scatter to avoid the blasts.
When the barrage of beams finally ceased, Lux was the first to start attacking, slashing at Hollow Strea's body with her katana while Yuuki ravaged it with a Starburst Stream from behind.
Even Sachi was getting in on the action, switching to her spear and stabbing at any weak point she could find while making sure to stay as far out of Hollow Strea's attack range as she could.
When Nick jumped away from a spinning arm attack, Asuna moved in, stabbing Hollow Strea five times in different spots, then slashing Lambent Light five more times, the slashes and stabs combining to form the shape of a star. Asuna bent back before thrusting Lambent Light forward into the center of the star shape, then finishing with a lunging uppercut slash.
Nick dodged around Hollow Strea's punches and lunged forward to hit it with a Vertical Square, causing Heavy Paralysis and locking Hollow Strea in its place.
"All right, everyone, RIOT!" Yuuki shouted, and all of the Sleeping Knights went to town on Hollow Strea, attacking it with everything they had in the hopes of rescuing their friend.
Eventually, Hollow Strea did recover from the Heavy Paralysis and used its shockwave attack to throw all of the Sleeping Knights back.
"Is everyone okay?!" Asuna shouted. Most of the Sleeping Knights were only missing about a fourth of their health, even as Pina flew around healing them.
"Man, this thing hits like a truck!" Aiko proclaimed. "Quite fitting for what was supposed to be the final boss, am I right?"
"But its attacks aren't doing colossal damage like we all thought, is it?" Lisbeth quipped. "I figured one hit from this thing would be instant death!"
"That can only mean that Strea's fighting back!" Nick exclaimed. "Come on, everybody, we're almost there!"
And so, the Sleeping Knights continued fighting Hollow Strea, hoping that it wasn't too late.
Nick jumped over another shockwave attack and moved to attack Hollow Strea's body, only for it to thrust its head forward and headbutt Nick, sending him flying backwards with about a fifth of his health gone.
Yuuki took this as her chance and charged, knowing this was all riding on her now.
Hollow Strea hit Yuuki with a laser beam from its eyes, but Yuuki just tanked the hit and kept moving in.
"Come back to us, Strea!" Yuuki shouted, gripping Elucidator tightly as she stabbed outwards five times, the stabs tracing a horizontal line down Hollow Strea's body. Not done just yet, Yuuki spun around and stabbed at Hollow Strea's body five more times, tracing a vertical line. This caused the lines she had traced to form an X. Finally, Yuuki reared back and, after a loud battle cry, thrust Elucidator forward with all her might, driving the point of the blade straight into the center of the X she'd formed with her earlier sword stabs. Purple trails of light exploded from the point of impact, the damage registering and completely draining what remained of Hollow Strea's health.
"Yui, whatever you need to do, do it!" Aiko exclaimed.
In response, Yui closed her eyes and aimed her hands towards Hollow Strea as it stumbled around in its death animation. Eventually, it threw its hands to the sky and roared loudly in disbelief, cracks appearing all over its body until it finally exploded into a cascade of glowing polygons that quickly disintegrated.
And in the center of that cloud was Strea herself, seemingly unconscious after that harrowing experience. Nick was immediately over there to catch her before she could hit the ground, cradling her in his arms and just hoping she was all right.
"Strea? Can you hear me?" Nick asked. "Please wake up..."
It took about ten seconds, but Strea slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Nick, letting out a gasp of surprise when she saw him.
Nick couldn't help but expect Strea to throw herself at him in one of her famous bone-crushing hugs, but her next words surprised him.
"N-Nick?" Strea asked. "...can I have a hug?"
Nick was more than happy to oblige, hugging Strea tightly even as the other Sleeping Knights moved closer to check on her and make sure she was okay.
Just then, Strea did something completely unexpected.
She leaned over and kissed Nick full on the lips, much to his surprise.
When Strea pulled away, she was blushing like mad, especially when she realized Yuuki had just seen that.
"Oh, my god, Strea, are you all right?!" Yuuki exclaimed, jumping over to hug Strea herself.
"Y-Yuuki, you're not mad that I just...?" Strea asked.
"Honestly, you deserved that kiss after everything you've been through, Strea," Aiko admitted. "And I'm pretty sure Yuu believes that, too."
"I-I just... oh, man, it's been hell for me," Strea responded. "Trapped in my own body, unable to do anything but follow that jackass and his stupid commands... I thought I was never going to see my friends again..."
"That's another thing, Strea," Nick stated. "Why did you run away from us on floor 75? You know we wouldn't have cared that you're an AI like Yui. You're still our friend, no matter what, and that's not going to change."
"I guess I thought that everything I'd done up until then, the people I'd met, the friends I'd made... I thought it didn't mean anything because I'd been created by the Cardinal System," Strea admitted.
"But the experiences you've made here are real, regardless of how you came to be," Aiko proclaimed. "No one chooses the way they're brought into the world, but only you can make your existence your own, Strea."
"I'll definitely never forget that again," Strea cried as all of her friends moved in to join the group hug.
And finally, for the first time in a long while... Strea felt human.
March 29th, 2025
12:37 A.M. Aincrad Time
Floor 97, Luxerion
Clockwork Inn
"Yuuki, did we really have to go to Fortune's Market this freakin' late at night?" Aiko quipped as she and Yuuki returned to the Sleeping Knight's temporary rest stop at the Clockwork Inn.
"Hey, a girl's gotta eat, right?" Yuuki giggled. "And god, was I hungry! I don't know why I was so hungry..."
"Probably because of all the fighting we did today," Aiko stated. "Even here in the virtual world, that can work up an appetite."
"Tell me about it," Yuuki replied.
"At least Madam President's a good sport about it, since you're clearly her favorite customer," Aiko laughed. "Right? ...Yuuki?"
When Aiko didn't get an immediate answer from her sister, she looked at Yuuki, only to see her staring ahead with a big smile on her face. And when Aiko glanced in the direction Yuuki was staring at, she couldn't help but smile as well.
Nick and Strea were fast asleep in the nearby bed, with Strea cuddling close to him in her sleep.
"They're so adorable," Yuuki giggled.
"You're not worried, Yuuki?" Aiko asked.
"Nah. I know those two well enough by now," Yuuki answered. "Besides, after all the literal hell that Strea's been through since floor 75, I won't begrudge her this."
"Still a nice girl even after all this time, eh?" Aiko laughed. "But yeah, let's let those two sleep. We all need a good night's sleep after today."
"Tell me about it," Yuuki replied as she and Aiko walked out of the room so they could let Nick and Strea sleep.
Lord knew they'd need all the strength and stamina they could for the final few battles ahead.
To be continued...
On the next episode...
Strea: I really can't believe it. Just one more floor boss to beat and then we can put an end to this game!
Yuuki: We're so close, I can practically taste our freedom!
Nick: There's just one problem with this, though.
Aiko: What's that?
Nick: Look at those murals and tell me if you can figure out who we're going to be fighting.
Yuuki: Uh-oh, I know that look. Why am I getting flashbacks of floor 75?
Nick: We're almost there, readers and players! The end of SAO is in sight, but first, we have to get through one more grueling battle, and you'll see that glorious showdown next time on Sword Art Online: Twin Memory, "Dual Divinities"!
Nick, Yuuki and Aiko: This may be a game, but it's not something you play!