A/N: Yo. Me again, finally. The fic you are looking at is a reupload because I didn't notice how I uploaded it into a wrong category, so I hope you'll accept my apologies regarding that. As for my reasons for writing the fic, this is my take on the state of Kirito's fluctlight after the battle with Quinella, and I thought that it would make a nice crossover fanfic (plus, I wanted to try writing Kirito's interactions with the Ao no Exorcist cast and vice versa, so do look forward to that!).

Before we get the ball rolling, a disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online and Ao no Exorcist, they are owned by Kawahara Reki and Kato Kazue respectively.

Now then, I hope you enjoy! As always, feel free to comment!

Kirito

It was all over… The Administrator perished in flames, Alice was out cold and Eugeo was dead. Nothing really mattered to me now, as I did my best to suppress the terrible pain coming from my severed right arm and walked up to the system console that was the sole connection to the real world. As I started to frantically fiddle with the keyboard, a message about establishing a connection with the outside appeared. I pressed the message and a warning popped up.

[Performing this operation will set the Fluctlight Acceleration Rate to 1.0. Are you sure you want to continue?]

Determination to get answers from Kikuoka surged through me and without a second thought I pressed [Accept].

There was no end to my frustration as the console let no sound out.

"Kikuoka? DO YOU HEAR ME, KIKUOKA? KIKUOKA!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, hitting the console with my fist.

Suddenly, the shooting of a gun could be heard on the line.

"Lt. Colonel Kikuoka, the door has been breached! We won't last much longer. We'll have to abandon the Main Control Room and close the pressure-resistant bulkhead," said an unfamiliar male voice.

"Sorry, hold out for two more minutes. We can't let them seize the room now," replied Kikuoka.

"What's going on…" I muttered to myself in shock.

"Higa, is the lockdown done?" Kikuoka spoke to a man whose surname was supposedly Higa.

"Just another eight…no, seventy seconds!" Higa replied, only to gasp in surprise. "Kikuoka-san, we are getting a call from the inside!"

"It's…" Kikuoka went silent

"It's him. It's Kirigaya, alright!" Higa exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and relief in his voice.

"H-huh? Kirito, is that you? Are you there?" Kikuoka asked me from the other side of the line.

"That's right! Listen up, Kikuoka! Do you… do you know what you've done?!" I mumbled angrily, gritting my teeth.

"You can scold me all you want later! But right now, listen to me, please!" Kikuoka replied.

"What?" I asked in confusion. "Hey, what's going on over there?!"

"Sorry, no time to go over the details. Listen, Kirito. Look for a girl named Alice and take her—"

"I don't have to look for her, she is right here with me!"

"What? It's a miracle!" Kikuoka and Higa yelled in unison.

"Alright, once the transmission ends, we'll set the FLA back to 1000. Take Alice to the World End Altar!"

"What do you mean take—" I was about to say back.

"Listen! Once you exit the Eastern Gate, the Altar is due south—"

"Oh no! They're about to infiltrate the electrical supply room!" the unfamiliar voice from before yelled

"What?"

"This is really bad! If they sever the main power line, there'll be a surge. The Lightcube Cluster is protected, but the surge will definitely hit Kirigaya's STL in the Sub Control Room. His fluctlight will be fried!" Higa panicked.

These words alone were enough to send shivers down my spine.

"I'll handle the lockdown! Higa, you take Dr. Kojiro and Asuna and evacuate to the Upper Shaft. Keep Kirito safe," Kikuoka replied with determination.

"Asuna?" I muttered to myself yet again. Asuna's at Rath? But why?

"Dammit, they are cutting the power! The screw propellers are going to stop!"

And then, the world went silent before a loud blast sounded in the skies of the Underworld. A pillar of blinding light shot through the ceiling of the Central Cathedral's 100th floor and engulfed me. A deafening screech invaded my ears as I started falling. But just then, I heard a familiar voice…

"Kirito-kun! Kirito-kun!"

I felt as if Asuna was there with me and a slight feeling happiness filled my heart.

"Asu…na…" I reached my hand out towards the light, but it blinded me completely.

Then, everything went black and I continued to fall infinitely.

Is it…over? Did I fail?

Do not worry, you are not dead, an enigmatic female voice spoke.

"W-wait, who are you?" I said into the space around me, looking for the mysterious speaker.

This world needs you alive, but you can't go back just yet. Find your sword in the land you are about to enter and return strong enough to protect those dear to you. Someday, we shall meet again…

"Wait!" I yelled, but the bright light consumed me yet again.

Rin

Today's morning was just ordinary, if not for the fact that I was fired from my last part-time job. This time around I got hired as a deliveryman and had to go deliver orders to people.

As I was cycling through the park to my first destination, I heard three loud voices coming from the direction of the playground.

Just who the hell is causing such a commotion this early in the morning, I thought, stopping my bike and turning my gaze towards the noisemakers.

"Bullseye!" yelled the tallest out of the trio, shooting a pigeon in the wing from a crossbow.

"Nice shot, Shiratori-san!" the boy with dyed hair from the shooter's clique cheered before giving the leader another arrow.

"Really…can't believe how their numbers have swelled. It's a huge pain in the ass I tell ya," the shooter said in annoyance before recharging his crossbow.

To be honest, it was me who was really annoyed. Hurting innocent animals is not something I would let slide.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" I yelled at them in outrage.

The shooter quickly turned to me and pulled the trigger. Thankfully, the arrow didn't hit me and got stuck in the nearby tree.

"Hah, get out of my face! Can't you see I'm doing the city a favor by getting rid of those worthless pests who only swarm and crap all over the place. So shut the hell up!" he laughed me in the face and aimed at the nearby flock of pigeons.

Rage clouded my mind and I could no longer think normally. I ran up to the shooter and hit him in the face.

What happened after that was something I couldn't remember because of the rage welling up inside me. I could only remember that both me and the shooter were worn out and my clothes were a mess. After I delivered the finishing blow to the guy, his minions picked him up.

"Who is this guy? He is a demon!" one of them yelled.

"Oh crap, he is bad news!" the other one panicked.

"Let's get out of here!" the shooter ordered and the trio went away.

"Who are you even calling a demon…? You assholes are way more demonic than me," I said to myself, wiping blood from under my nose.

I looked at my torn gloves as a pigeon flew past me. "Damn, I did it again…"

"What the hell am I doing?"

Later…

And here I was at a church, or rather my house. As I sat inside the confessional booth, the other side was occupied by a priest of the church and by extension my father.

"O stray lamb, confess thy sins and pray for forgiveness…" he spoke in a calm tone, befitting a priest.

"Yeah, yeah, but I haven't done anything wrong," I replied in annoyance.

"Where did you get that cut on your face?"

"I fell down the stairs."

"Your clothes are a mess, even the back."

"That was one hell of a fall."

"What about that trace of a nosebleed?"

"Right when I fell, I bumped into this super-hot chick—"

"W-WHAT?! WHERE?! LET'S GO AFTER HER, LEAD THE WAY, RIN!" the Old Man enthusiastically jumped out from his side of the booth, surprising me.

But the excited expression on his face quickly changed.

"I mean… Wrong answer!" he grappled me in a stranglehold angrily, making me choke. "Just admit it, you got into another fight? Why must you always brawl?"

"Let me go, you old fart!" I yelled, prompting him to let me go.

"Anyway, I just received a call from your employers. They said they have no need for a delivery boy who doesn't bother to come back," he said disappointedly.

There was no end to my frustration.

"Yeah, big deal. Like I had any chance to cut it anyway. As if a guy like me could hold down a respectable job…"

"Don't be a wimp! There is going to be a day when you must leave this monastery and strike out on your own. As your guardian, it's my duty to see you do so with my own eyes!" he scolded me. "Unless…you'd want to become a priest and take over the church?"

"Take over this crappy church? In your dreams!" I talked back.

"Dad, I'm done getting ready to move out. I'll only have to carry out the luggage."

I could recognize that voice anywhere. It belonged to the glasses-wearing boy with two strange moles under his eye, that is being my younger twin brother Yukio.

"Good job," the Old Man said to Yukio.

"Welcome back, Rin. Did you get into a fight again?" Yukio greeted me.

To be honest, I was starting to get annoyed.

"Just shut the hell up," I cut him off.

"Jeez, how could twin brothers be so different in caliber," one of the two priests behind me said.

"Wha—"

"Yukio, the younger brother, is an honor student and is good at sports. This spring he'll enter the elite True Cross Academy," the second of the duo added.

"Meanwhile, the elder brother does little else than be a troublemaker. Rin, you should try to take a cue from Yukio," the first reprimanded.

Now I was angry. I have never felt so angry and annoyed in my life. At the same time, some strange invisible energy was flowing out of me.

"I said, just shut the hell up!" I lashed out at the two.

BANG!

Surprisingly, the heater at the center of the church broke down loudly, sending the device's lid flying. Everyone in the room shuddered.

The lid landed in front of the Old Man.

"Whoa, my goodness… It's about time we had this piece of junk replaced anyway…" he said while running up to the heater to check its condition.

"Father Fujimoto," a new priest appeared. "We have visitors."

"Sure," the Old Man stood up. "Clean up this mess before the service starts," he ordered before leaving for the exit.

"Roger," the two priests complied.

The Old Man stopped and turned to me and Yukio.

"Yukio, tend to Rin's wounds."

"Yes, Dad. Let's go, Rin."

Kirito

Kirito-kun! Kirito-kun!

"H-huh? Asuna?" I quickly opened my eyes only to be blinded by sunlight. Once I got used to the light, I realized I was sitting on a park bench near a playground in my regular spring street clothes. And my head hurt like hell.

Was it just a dream?

"Asuna?" I repeated the question hoping to find the brown-haired girl sitting near me, but nobody replied.

Then, I remembered it all. I was on top of the Central Cathedral and…

A tear rolled down my cheek. Was I really dead? Was it the afterlife?

The words said by the mysterious voice came to my mind.

I wiped my tears.

What if this is some realistic VR world like the Underworld? Maybe I should try something…

"System Call!" I stood up and yelled. "Generate Thermal Element!"

But nothing happened. I tried doing the hand motions that bring up VRMMO menus and the Stacia Window, but again, nothing happened. The only thing I got is weird looks from parents and kids on the playground. Way to go, Kazuto… At least this proves that I'm not in VR.

Dumbfounded, I left the playground and decided to check my phone. Maybe I somehow got back to the real world. Weirdly, the phone looked older than my actual one.

As I opened the list of my phone contacts, only three registered people appeared.

[Mom, Dad, Sugu.]

I checked further. No contacts for Asuna, Klein or the others could be found. Something was definitely off.

The outdated look of the phone and the absence of my friends' phone numbers made me guess that I am not really in the real world either.

There was another thing that piqued my interest. I approached a small pond in the park and looked into the water. To my great surprise, my face looked slightly younger than it actually is.

A thought crossed my mind. Perhaps, the owner of the mysterious voice sent me somewhere else. Some other world? Back in time? Or both?

I quickly brushed off the thought and tried to stay logical. Since it's impossible to travel between dimensions or in time, this will stay merely as a theory for now. I'll need more proof to understand the situation I'm in. Plus, it would be idiotic if a guy came to a police office and begged for help because he came from a different world. He'd be sent to a hospital right away!

At that moment, I saw several fuzzy black dots float past me, but I paid no attention to them, thinking I was still dizzy, though something inside me felt that this was no hallucination and the predicament I'm in is way more complicated than I think it is.

Rin

"Ouch-ouch-ouch! That stings!" I complained as Yukio applied the antiseptic to the cut on my hand.

"Hang in there. I'm almost done," Yukio replied.

I looked at the boxes in the corner of the room.

"Hey, you are moving into the dorm, huh?" I asked.

"Well, since school starts next week. Tomorrow I'll be saying goodbye to the church where I've spent fifteen years."

"So I guess this is the last time you'll be treating my injuries."

"When I become a doctor, I'll give you all the treatment you want. For a price, of course."

"It's always been your dream of becoming a doctor, hasn't it? Go for it. I'm sure you're gonna make it," I cheered Yukio up.

"Did you miss the part where I said about me charging you, Rin? Listen, are you going to be alright without me?"

Oh sweet mother of… First the Old Man, and now him. Or so I thought.

"W-what's up with that? You gonna lecture me too?"

"I'm just worried, that's all. Not just me, either. Dad's worried, everyone at the church too. I mean, you're getting into fights almost everyday and you can't hold down a part-time job for long."

At least he understands my situation.

"Look, I'm stressed by all that too. I know I've got to pull it together, but…"

Painful memories of the fight with that Shiratori guy came back to me.

"I'm sure you're being tested in a way," Yukio said.

"By who?" I asked.

"By God."

"…You know, you're starting to sound like the Old Man," I cringed.

"Aha, there you are!" a different voice yelled from behind. I turned to see one of the priests from before along with a different one.

"We heard the Southern Cross Mall is looking for part-timers," the shorter of the two said, showing me the ad.

"Part-time?" I asked in disbelief.

Man, maybe I'm not that unlucky, I thought

"We called and they want you there for an interview now."

Now that was uncalled for. I could've gone there myself.

"Hey… What's the big idea of calling without telling me?" I talked back indignantly.

"Just go," another priest from before said, entering the room with a box in his hands. "Here, I'll lend you my suit," he threw the box to me.

"Uh, do I really have to wear a suit for a part-time job interview?"

The tall priest gave me a second box. "Take these shoes, don't mess them up! Got that?"

"And here's a map and your new resumé," the short priest handed me two pieces of paper. "Take care of the photo yourself."

Yukio smiled. "Rin…"

I rubbed my head bashfully.

"Looks like there's no way out of it…"

Half an hour later…

"What the hell? How am I supposed to get this thing tied?" I yelled, fiddling with the suit's necktie. But it was me who was getting tied up all the time.

My patience ended.

"Gah, whatever!" I blurted out and headed for the church's exit.

While walking through the cozy wooden building's hallway, I could hear someone speaking.

"Thank you very much, Father."

I looked out of the open window to see my old man with a small girl and her mother.

"Don't mention it," the Old Man said. "You really needn't take it to heart."

"You are really lucky you know?" he squatted and put his hand on the little girl's head. "You have parents you can depend on right by your side. If you feel scared, call your mom and dad right away! And if even that proves insufficient, it's time for us exorcists to step in."

Seriously? Again with all this exorcist stuff, I thought, watching how the girl and her mom bowed and left the church grounds.

"Pretty tough being an exorcist, huh?" I approached the Old Man and asked him sarcastically from behind. "I mean, you fight something that doesn't even exist."

"But those demons really exist… Inside our souls," he replied.

"You've gotta be kidding me. You're just a glorified guidance counselor."

"Never mind that. Tell me, what kind of clothes are that?" he pointed at my suit.

"Oh, uh…well, uh…you see… Everyone's been pushing me to go to this interview, so I borrowed these."

"And no necktie?"

"I-I wanted to go tieless, I'm telling you!" I tried to lie.

"It's just that you don't know how to knot it? Give it to me, I'll show how it's done," he saw through my bluff.

"Eh?" I said embarrassedly.

"Lift up the collar and button up the shirt," he ordered.

"Really…Can't believe how tall you've become. And to think back how funny you were when you were little, going "Dad, Dad—" he commented while knotting the tie.

"That was a hell of a long time ago. And that would be really creepy for a grownup to be "cute"," I cut him off.

"Grownup? Eh? I don't see any," he said jokingly, looking around. He looked at me and laughed.

"Oh, shut up!" I yelled

"And done," he put his hand on my head and pushed me back. "If it really stings you, then show me how much you've grown!"

"Don't diss me! I'm gonna prove that I can make it on my own! Gouge out your eyes and just watch!" I pointed at him.

"Well, I don't think I can gouge out my eyes, but…"

"Uh, shut the hell up, old fart," I hissed and left.

Neutral

As Rin passed through the same park towards the supermarket he was supposed to visit for his part-time job interview, he stopped to recall the unpleasant events that took place on the playground in the morning. The bandaged bluish-black haired boy frowned at the thought of further contact with that Shiratori guy and his gang and continued his way to his destination.

Then, strange mumbling caught his attention and he turned to see a dark-eyed, black-haired guy the same age and around the same height as him.

"Hey, dude, are you okay?" Rin asked the boy, to which the boy shuddered and seemingly tensed up, as if feeling some strange otherworldly power emanating from Rin.

"Huh, n-no, everything is fine, really!" he replied in a tense manner, to which Rin raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, okay then," Rin said and pressed onwards, shaking off the uneasy feeling that followed the short conversation with the strange boy.

Rin

The rest of the day went rather uneventful, except for the manager lady at the store making me go through hell and giving me hellishly tough tasks. Thankfully, my cooking skills saved my place at the store and I was finally hired.

In the evening…

"What, they hired you?" Yukio gasped in surprise over the phone.

"Yeah, they want me to start tomorrow!"

"Congratulations, Rin!" Yukio's voice started to tremble.

"Thanks!"

"I'm really glad I got such good news before I left!"

"Hey, what's up with all the tears?"

"I'm not cry— Oh…"

"Get yourself home fast, we are having sukiyaki since you got hired and it's Yukio's last night here," the Old Man intercepted.

Now we're talking, sukiyaki for life!

"Wow…Awesome!" I yelled.

Once I finished the conversation, I left the phone booth in high spirits.

"Stop! Give it back, please!" a yell of a small girl chasing after her scarf caught my attention.

I ran up to her and caught the scarf.

"Here, it's yours, right?" I said, giving her possession back, only to recognize the girl.

Wait… I think she was back at the church.

Cold wind suddenly blew, and a feeling of uneasiness came over me. As I watched the scarf rippling in the wind, a strange round green and red creature materialized out of the blue.

"What the…" I stared at the creature in awe, lightening my hold on the scarf, which gave the little round something a chance to run away with it.

"Hey, come back!" I yelled, chasing the creature and running inside the store. My curiosity and determination to catch the strange thing made me oblivious to how I knocked down almost everything in my way. I lost count of how many times I apologized to people I bumped into.

What the hell is this thing? A monkey? I wondered, running through an aisle and stumbling.

"Dammit!" I shouted, quickly recovering from my stumble.

The weird creature ran into the girl from before, jumped on a pile of boxes and waved the scarf in a dance, as if teasing me. The boxes fell, but I managed to cover and protect the girl from its contents.

"Yui! Stay with me, Yui!" the girl's mother yelled, running up to us and holding the girl.

Long story short, the boss lady fired me after this whole strange incident, saying she didn't need aggressive employees at her place.

As darkness descended upon the city, I went back to the playground with my hopes broken and sat on the swing to try to process what happened today. The accident with delinquents shooting down birds, being fired twice in a single day. My life have never been so hellish before.

"I knew you'd be here," Yukio said out of the blue. "You better hurry up or the sukiyaki will be all gone. Let's go."

"I can't go, I don't want to face everyone after what happened," I replied despairingly.

"What do you mean?"

"She fired me. Said she couldn't have a thug like me in her store."

"What happened?"

I thought about the strange creature from before. The image of it still couldn't leave my mind. Just what in the world was that?

"I don't even know."

A mix of concern and anger appeared on his face.

"Don't give me that!" he said with slight annoyance. "Everyone was so happy that you had found a job, Rin. So how could you… How could you give up so easily? You need to explain it so that everyone would understand!"

Now the guy was getting on my nerves.

"Listen, there are things that you can't understand even if somebody explains!" I yelled back.

"Rin…"

"Sorry, my bad."

"Anyway, let's get back home, Dad's waiting."

I apathetically stood up from the swing and followed Yukio back to the church.

At the church's entrance, I saw the Old Man talking to some man I didn't know. Perhaps he was a visitor.

"Oh, you're back," the Old Man said, turning to us.

"Okumura Rin-kun?" the unknown man asked me.

"Who are you?" I asked

"I'm her… I'm Yui's father," the man introduced himself and stepped aside to reveal the familiar girl.

"I don't know how to thank you enough for what you've done for her."

"Oh… Is she okay?"

"Thanks to you, she only suffered a small scrape. You really saved her."

"Well, that's a relief," I squatted and smiled to the girl, who only smiled shyly.

"Yui's always been a scatterbrained girl. She's never without some wound…"

"You're wrong," I interrupted the father.

"Excuse me?"

"It's not because she is a scatterbrain. She's being tormented. They pull her hair, snatch her things away…"

"You saw this happen?" the Old Man suddenly asked with wide eyes.

"Can you describe the person who did that?" the father inquired.

"I don't know. It was someone I had never seen before. Small and with a face like a monkey…"

"Unbelievable," the man blurted out angrily and turned for the exit.

"Where are you going?" the Old Man called out to the girl's father.

"To the school! We need to find out whoever it is who's been bullying Yui!" Yui's father replied.

"You don't understand!" Yui said all of a sudden.

"Humans don't bully me. It's evil fairies!" she yelled while trying to stop her dad.

"Fairies…?" I asked myself.

"They come to my room at night and make all sorts mischief! And they started to bully me even outside the house these days…" the small girl continued.

"You see, Yui has a vivid imagination. I've already heard such stories from her already. It seems she can't distinguish her daydreams from reality lately…" her dad tried to explain.

"But they're not daydreams!" I cut in.

"Rin," the Old Man whispered annoyedly.

"Why don't you believe her? Who's a kid supposed to rely on if her parents don't believe her?!" I started to get angry. "Can't you be seriou— Ouch! What was that for?"

A slap on the back of my head from the Old Man really hurt.

The Old Man approached the girl and gave her a small bottle.

"Here, take the four-leaved clover charm. Holding onto it will protect you from evil," he whispered.

"Thank you," Yui took the bottle.

"I urge you not to scold your daughter too much. There is no one else in the world she relies on as much as you, her parents."

Yui's father smiled.

"Let's go home, Yui."

"What the hell, you think that was enough to convince him?" I asked the Old Man skeptically, as the three of us watched the girl and her father leave.

"It's far too soon for you, of all people, to start lecturing others," the Old Man grumbled. "Anyway, Rin, you are grounded for the foreseeable future."

"Huh, what?" I stared at him.

"Your ex-boss from the supermarket part-time job stopped by and left this!" he showed me a list with something I didn't expect to see. "A bill for all the damage you caused to her store!"

"You're kidding me!" I yelled with huge eyes.

"Rin, no sukiyaki for you!"

"What the…? No fair!" I yelled even louder. I bet my yell could've been heard across the whole neighborhood.

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

Kirito

Night covered the bustling metropolis with darkness, turning the streetlights on. I spent my whole day wandering the streets, thinking about the circumstances of me arriving to this place, as well as the encounter with the bandaged boy at the park. Going back home wasn't considered as an option by me before, but I'd be in real trouble if my parents and Suguha started looking for me. Plus, the feeling of curiosity wether our house was the same or not got to me. Still, the feeling of uneasiness just couldn't leave me. I never took myself for the spectrally-aware type, but the boy I had a short conversation with before had a presence unlike anyone I had met before. The presence was emitting pressure. Though not as powerful as the pressure of the noble aura of the Integrity Knights, the crushing, cold pressure Quinella gave off or the aura of cruelty and pure evil PoH radiated, it was definitely similar in a way. This definitely wasn't Incarnation, as my earlier experiments proved my theory about being in VR wrong. This sort of aura felt like something burning, like being encased in hellfire. Another word that came to mind was 'demonic', while at the same time it didn't really feel evil. Moreover, those flying black dots I saw earlier were a point of my interest. At first, I thought of them as hallucinations, but during my wandering through the streets, I encountered more of them, and seemingly people were oblivious to their presence. Either they were used to them, or maybe they couldn't see them to begin with…

"Gah, enough with the thinking," I said to myself out loud, while walking through a mostly empty street. But no matter how many time I said such words to myself, the thoughts always came back.

Thoughts about my friends and Asuna caused me the most sadness, as I was apparently unable to reunite with them. But there was Sugu, even though she wasn't really the Sugu I knew and I haven't met her counterpart of this world yet, she was still my little sister, and I sincerely hoped that no other world could change her.

My deliberations were cut short by a faint sensation of cold seeping from behind the corner. I decided to follow the sensation, but it led me to an empty dead end off the route home, lit only by a lone streetlamp.

Must have been my imagination, I thought. And just as I was about to turn back, the cold got worse. I swear I could see frost covering the walls of the two buildings. A shiver went down my spine. Strong cold wind suddenly blew, making me close my eyes.

Right at that moment, I saw an armored person standing in front of me. The shine of streetlamp's shine reflected off the person's armor, revealing the person to be a teenage girl. I squinted to see who the girl was and gasped in shock.

Unmistakably, that was Asuna in her Knights of the Blood attire.

"Kirito-kun," she spoke.

"Asuna…Is that really you…?" I asked in a shaking voice, with my feeling of loneliness crying out. My legs started to move on their own.

"Kirito-kun," Asuna repeated.

As I approached the girl, a slight sense of doubt overcame me. Something was definitely off. That wasn't really the Asuna I knew.

I quickly snapped out of my daze and took a few steps back from 'Asuna'.

The Asuna wannabe chuckled cruelly.

"Honestly, I am surprised that you were able to see through my illusion," she said. "But let's see how you will react to this!"

The 'Asuna' suddenly dissolved into thin air, turning into dust.

The cold wind from before blew again, gathering dust from all over, creating a tornado. The dust dissipated, revealing a towering figure which I knew too well, painfully well. Its shining eyes pierced the night, lighting up the space around it. No doubt, that was The Gleam-Eyes, the terrifying boss of the 74th floor of Aincrad.

I was overcome with fear, unable to move. Back in Aincrad I had Dual Wielding that could counter the monster's ferocious attacks, but now I was powerless against the beast. This wasn't VR, so I couldn't use any of my weapons, which left me with only one option: to run.

Do not run! the enigmatic voice from before rang in my head just as I was about to run. Remember all of your friends and the memories you made along the way. It is the memories that shall give you strength to face any adversary.

The memories? I asked myself. Suddenly, realization came to me. That's right, I swore to protect my friends no matter what. It's thanks to my friends we escaped the death game and overcame any obstacle that stood in our way.

At that moment, the fake Gleam-Eyes raised its sword over my head, ready to strike at any second. But as it started to lower the sword, blue flames surrounded and blinded me, putting the beast into a stupor.

Once the flames disappeared, I noticed that I was in a familiar attire, the one I wore in Aincrad and during my battle with Quinella. The feeling of the two swords on my back brought back warm memories.

I drew the two swords from their scabbards, only to see Elucidator and Dark Repulser instead of the Night Sky Sword and the Blue Rose Sword. Nevertheless, that posed no problem, as the black sword and the crystalline sword I used in Aincrad were my strongest, so I definitely wasn't at a disadvantage.

The Gleam-Eyes recovered, roaring wildly.

Without a second though, I charged at the monster.

"Hah! End Revolver!" I yelled, readying the red-shining Elucidator, before slashing The Gleam-Eyes in an End Revolver's first full-circle spin and then slashing it horizontally with Dark Repulser.

The fake beast shrieked, but suffered no damage. All of its wounds closed up as quickly as they were made, absorbing dust from its surroundings. And at the same time, it felt like The Gleam-Eyes was growing larger. The End Revolver surprisingly took a lot of effort

I tightened my grip on the two swords, determined to use Starburst Stream, one of the strongest Sword Skills that could defeat The Gleam Eyes, but much to my surprise the false Boss Monster dissolved to dust right before my eyes with a shriek and the mass of dust crawled somewhere I couldn't see.

I sheathed my two swords and my black coat was gone in a flash of already familiar flames, though the swords stayed and landed on the ground behind me.

Before I could ask myself anything, a new presence behind me spoke.

"Right now, you are probably wondering: "Just what in the world is this thing?" the person spoke in a male voice, as if mocking me.

I turned to see a strange pale man with elf-like ears, purple hair and a goatee. The clothes he wore were even stranger: a white top hat and a white suit that made him look like a clown of some sort.

"To sate your curiosity, that was a Shapeshifter, the kin of Azazel. They possess dust and are generally harmless, but the stronger the fear it senses, the more powerful it will become…"

Shapeshifter? Kin of Azazel? I thought in confusion.

The man coughed.

"But where are my manners? I am Mephisto Pheles. Forgive me for appearing here without my guard, but there is something important I want to tell you only," he bowed.

"Tell…me?" I furrowed my brows.

"The power you have used just know. It was something I have never witnessed before, but I could sense that it lacked something crucial. And for that, I have a place where you can put that power to good use…"

"A place?"

"It is called the True Cross Academy and we have special secret classes for those who wish to fight Demons and become Exorcists."

True Cross Academy? Demons? Exorcists? Those words surely didn't ring a bell. Exorcists and Demons are something right out of some fantasy story, but ironically, what I fought before didn't look like a fantasy at all.

"Exorcists…?"

"Yes, the ones who keep the demons of Gehenna, the demonic world, away from Assiah, the human world. So…what do you think about applying?" Mephisto Pheles asked me.

Even though I couldn't understand the reason of me arriving to this world after the battle at the top of the Central Cathedral, enrolling to those special classes at the True Cross Academy place sounded like a good idea, if I could find answers regarding my situation that is. Undoubtedly, that Mephisto guy was a rather suspicious individual, but the words he spoke did not seem to be lies. In fact, I felt something was wrong with the way I fought the Shapeshifter, but couldn't quite make it out what the flaw was. Maybe the classes will show me what I lack.

"Fine, I accept your offer," I agreed.

Mephisto smiled mysteriously.

"It's settled then. For now, I will be taking my leave. Ein. Zwei. Drei."

POOF!

Once the strange man counted down to three in what I recognized to be German, he disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving me in a slight confusion over what and who I have encountered right now.

Neutral

The silence of an underground room was disturbed by the sound of a horizontal wooden door being moved. Right after that, the light of a candle entered the dark space, revealing a bespectacled priest that was Fujimoto Shiro.

Father Fujimoto quickly descended the stairs that led to the farthest reaches of the secret room and walked up to a red cabinet, before taking out a golden key and opening the middle drawer.

As the priest opened the drawer, he gasped in shock. Inside the drawer was an antique katana in a purple scabbard. But that wasn't the reason for the man's surprise.

The paper seal with strange symbols on it that was placed to prevent the sword from being removed from its sheath had a black spot right in the center, with a small column of smoke streaming out of that very place.

"Just as I thought…" the Father muttered.