Disclaimer: I do not own anything beside my OC and their story arcs. Everything els related with SAO belongs to Reki Kawahara.

After the clue they got from Loki; Ilsamor, Asuna and Kirito headed towards to 27th floor.

It had a logic actually, 27th floor was famous for its darkness, unless you are equipped with light-providing equipment or dark vision providing ones, you would have a really high possibility to get a clean and quick death.

Yet this was a hardship they had to endure.

From outside what they were doing could be seen like suicidal; aiming to raid one of the most dangerous guild's outpost with just three players. However, this group was nothing like ordinary.

Later when they talked about it, Ilsamor would say a few things to explain why they had gone there alone. "First of all…" he would say, "At that time, Anti Orange Squads were finally (barely) experienced enough to hold their grounds, but as a golden rule, attacking is harder than defending. To further improve, those commanders had to risk losing their men, and naturally none were enthusiastic about it. Second, Heathcliff and most of the other top guild leaders had no intention to start an offensive war against orange players, they thought their only objective was holding their ground until game is cleared, which proved to be a terrible idea that caused tens of players to pay a heavy cost. So even if we wanted to take an army here, it would be facing a lot of bureaucratic obstacles…"

"Third point was the common obstacle for missions on different terrains. To do it in such a large scale, we would need to train them for this floor especially. Also, there is the issue of items too. These were the factors that could definitely delay us. Furthermore, as a final note, training men and collecting those items from the market would undoubtedly attract attention and consequently, when we went to that outpost we could find a very large force waiting for us or no one at all."

It was clear for him that they were one of the most suitable groups for such a mission. In the end, armies in real world had special forces for a reason, and these three could be called as the Delta Squad of Aincrad. There were only a few players could even try to take them head-on, and for the players that could try sneakier ways… Well, they got a few tricks up their sleeve.

While they were slowly moving Ilsamor raised his hand to stop his friends. "We are close. Don't pull your swords but be prepared."

He too grabbed the hilt of his sword that he hanged to his belly to hide it. They slowly moved with their ears wide open, air around them was carrying an unusual air of death like they were in the realm of Hades, which was technically impossible. On the other hand, their instincts were telling them otherwise.

They passed from a shallow stream, and Ilsamor's senses bit him. At the same time Kirto pulled Elucidator and turned his back to barely block a dagger strike. Then he yelled "Ambush!"

Ilsamor and Asuna quickly unsheathed their weapons.

Area around them was instantly surrounded by four Laughing Coffin members, all smiling viciously like an animal looking its prey. Ilsamor's blood started to boil after he saw this.

One of the members broke an evil laughter. "Looks like there is little flies in our web boys! Let's show them where they are, alright?" Ilsamor raised his sword and pointed it to him "Only one who's showing something is us. And I am gonna show you how many of your friends I have sent to hell."

Like that he shot forward instantly while Asuna screamed "Saint-san! What are-" Then Kirito interrupted her "He can take care of himself Asuna, quick, back to back!"

And like that Kirito and Asuna started to hold themselves against the three assassins meanwhile Ilsamor picked the leader with a scimitar. "So, the famous Swordsaint graces us with his presence. I am gonna send you near to my friends." Ilsamor gritted his teeth "You are a blight that can only be cleansed by the fire of god, be it either fires of heaven or hell!"

Leader laughed and closed in on Ilsamor with Treble Scythe sword skill, which Ilsamor used barely dodged. Leader recovered while Ilsamor gathered himself from his terrible dodge and they quickly traded few blows. Ilsamor's eyes were red with anger, and he was continuously gritting his teeth. Leader seemed like almost enjoying this. "Oh? Is that all you've got Saint-san? I thought you were better than this? I suppose they are just rumors, huh?"

With that he used another sword skill Fell Crescent and pushed him back.

Ilsamor took a deep breath. He knew that he must calm himself if he wanted to win this fight. Thinking what his old self would say in here, he chuckled and took a new stance "As you say, people tend to exaggerate everything these days." With this he slowly approached his enemy.

This guy was no different than the other opponents he had dueled before. Just a gamer at his core, he was relying on sword skills. But Ilsamor was an actual fighter, due to intense training he got from the Lady(which he was still receiving it time to time) and countless PvP battles he entered.

Leader once again tried to close on Ilsamor with Treble Scythe, but this time Ilsamor was ready. He used Slant and managed to hit scimitar's guard; thus, managing to deflect the skill. After their cooldown was ended, they quickly started to trading blows. Ilsamor kept the pace which prevented the assassin from using more sword skills. Deciding to end it, Ilsamor pulled out of the way of assassin's next strike and by using Snake Bite, he cut both of his arms. Assassin's weapon fell to ground with him after Ilsamor's trip.

Meanwhile Kirito and Asuna came near him too. "That was very reckless Saint-san." Asuna said with a serious tone. With his anger finally retreated, his cognitive functions were returning to normal, so he noticed how much Asuna was right. "I am sorry, it is just… I couldn't control myself. What happened to other assassins?"

Asuna pointed towards them, which were all lying on the ground paralyzed. Kirito pointed his dagger "We were lucky that these were new recruits. I suppose this was just a scout team."

"Yeah. Luckily we will not encounter another group like this. At least, not for a while."

"Why would say that?" Asuna asked. Ilsamor looked forward, "Laughing Coffin's field HQs are relatively less-guarded because they are not that strong in numbers. To cover this, they choose the position of their HQ well and place their scouts to a few critical points. So, we will have a time window until their scheduled check. We should hurry."

His friends nodded and they renewed their walk towards to Laughing Coffin's HQ.

They didn't talk much during the way. It was of course related with being in enemy territory, but also due to Ilsamor's inner thoughts.

"It was reckless, Saint-san."

Ilsamor knew that Asuna was right. His instinct and hatred for red players were running wild again, and that player had pressed right buttons to trigger his anger. Still, it wasn't his biggest fear.

What would happen if…

"Saint-san, are you alright?"

He turned back and saw Asuna's gaze, filled with worry and battle-readiness. "Yeah, I am sorry. I was just lost in the thoughts. Kirito, can I talk to you for a second?" Kirito nodded and moved near to him. They didn't talk until they put a little distance between them and Asuna.

"Kirito, I need a favor. After this investigation ends, I will take the procedure. But there might be another moment that I will lose myself, just like before, or worse. If that happens…"

Kirito waited for a moment but insisted when he didn't continue "Yes?"

If Kirito had seen Ilsamor's face, he could saw that it was all red. "Please call Asemi." Kirito was surprised "Sure but why would you want this?" he asked. Ilsamor sighed "Kirito… You and I may stay in a stalemate for hours if we duel, but I cannot win an emotional battle against her. It is just this."

"I wonder…" Kirito mumbled, then with a cheeky smile he turned to him "You sure have confidence in yourself Ilsamor. I bet I could take you, let me say it." Ilsamor chuckled "One day we will get out of this death game, and we will run into each other in another game. That day, I will remind you these words." With a thumbs up from Kirito, deal was sealed.

Trio continued to move deeper into Laughing Coffin territory, all sensing the menace they were closing in.

"Hey, Saint-san…" said Asuna with almost a whisper, "How you will question their leader. I doubt they will tell you willingly." Ilsamor slowly nodded "I know. My only hope is getting his book from either loot or trade window."

"If you don't?" asked Asuna, which Ilsamor had no answer. Kirito joined their talk with a question of his own "One thing bothers me."

Asuna looked at him "What is it?" Kirito explained "You see, Yolko told us that Grimlock did not want to investigate his wife's murder. I mean, if someone had murdered my wife, I would not sleep until I find who did it."

Ilsamor nodded thoughtfully "You think they threatened him to stay quiet and not go further?" "I think it is a possibility, but there might be darker things in here. You know from firsthand that how people's mind sets change in this game."

Ilsamor suddenly stopped and pulled The Sapphire. "Ready your weapons. Things are about to get bloody."

About ten meters in front of them three cloaked figure was approaching, their stealth skill was so high that there were no footstep sounds. It would be a total ambush if trio was not armed with several dark vision enhancing buffs.

"You are trespassing on death's doorstep."

Ilsamor snorted "Give my regards to him when you see it."

Skirmish escalated quickly after that.

Ilsamor picked the one with mace while Kirito and Asuna attacked the ones with axe and spear respectively.

Unlike the scouts from border, these three were more trained. At this point, Ilsamor noticed that his Saint identity was putting a penalty on him. Since he had wear that cloak, his stats weren't as high as his original equipment, and those were not ordinary goons he usually face during their ambushes.

These were at least trained to a basic level, and they were well equipped.

He knew he just had to give a bit more of his effort to defeat this one, but he began to suspect that there is a low probability that finishing this adventure without exposing himself.

But that was not the time for these thoughts. Seeing how situation started to become slightly against their favor, Ilsamor shouted "SWITCH!" To his relief Kirito understood the signal and as they had done in many boss battles, they switched their targets. Kirito turned his back and with a Slant deflected the mace's strike while Ilsamor landed an aerial Vertical to axe-wielder, which he barely managed to block it.

Process was so smooth that their enemies would need a few seconds to gather themselves.

But…

They didn't have those few seconds.

Ilsamor unleashed a chain of two sword skills with Savage Fulcrum and Sharp Nail to disarm the axe-wielder while Kirito executed a well-timed Vertical Square for the same effect to mace-wielder.

Their harmony even surprised Asuna, who managed to escape the spearman's thrust at the last moment. With Kirito and Ilsamor joining the fray, spearman's fall didn't take much longer.

Fight was short but intense.

While trying to gather her breath Asuna frowned to them "What was that? You told me you have just worked on few times before, but this was not something you can do with a few times!"

Ilsamor sighed, knowing well that he and Kirito made a critical mistake not taking this into consideration. He opted to answer with short one "Asuna-san, I believe you will learn the answer you seek soon enough. Now, ready to enter a stronghold full of some of the Aincrad's deadliest assassins?

Asuna seemed like she was still not sure but nevertheless trio moved forward and entered a dungeon, which was according to Loki, Laughing Coffin's outpost.

Keeping their eyes open, they moved slowly towards to dungeon's entrance.

One of the first signs that they were on the right track was the lack of mobs inside the dungeon. Ilsamor guessed that they were clearing it when they need to go out. He checked the clock and saw that it has been twenty-five minutes since they took out the river patrol. Still, he wasn't sure that three men group was a regular sentry group or a scouting party to check the trouble.

They continued to walk inside the dungeon. As they walked deeper into their territory, Ilsamor's skin started to itch due to tension.

Why haven't they encountered another group? Were they walking into a trap?

"More than that," he thought desperately "what would Silver Blade do?"

He was once more feeling the desperation of not having all those feelings and sharpened instincts. It was really a suffering, while he remembered every enemy he beat, every boss he defeated, he didn't have the complete set of instincts and reflexes those fights gained to him.

It was infuriating, being only a shadow of his former self. All these things were only increasing his desire to have the procedure Lady told him. Yes, he was still strong, he was still carrying a bit of his old power with him but…

He could not harness it properly.

What's worse was his sense of responsibility. It was like he couldn't comprehend this thing was not a simple game but a life-or-death situation. He sighed.

"What's wrong Saint-san?" Asuna asked him. He shook his head "Nothing, it is just… Too quiet. And there are no traps or another group of assassins. I don't like this."

Kirito nodded "I agree. There should be around fifteen players here and we have encountered only seven. Where were the remaining eight?

As they continued corridor opened to a large chamber like part of the dungeon. In the center of it a single man with black clothes were standing with his face was turned towards them.

When they entered the chamber, he greeted them with an enthusiastic voice "Welcome to our humble dungeon, heroes of forward team. How may I serve your death?"

Trio took defensive stances. Dark figure just laughed "Oh, no need to be that aggressive. I promise you, if I try to kill you, you will know it beforehand. Unlike my many foolish guildmates, I joined this guild not because I like killing but rather, I like dueling. Killing is merely a byproduct of the process."

Asuna frowned to his words "Then you could just be a duelist, not necessarily a murderer!"

"Oh that…" he said while scratching his head. "You see, one strike duels are not for my liking. I haven't found a strong opponent all this time and it tends become boring after all your enemies can only stand up to you for one strike. This is more fun, since no one fights with more vigor than a man who is fighting for his life."

Ilsamor could feel a dark presence in him yet his words about the thrill of war and dueling slowly started to increase his blood flow speed in his digital bodies. To cut it short, he took a step. "Let's cut to the chase. We are here for a job you took about six months ago. Victim was the leader of Golden Apple, Griselda. I want to know who paid you to kill her."

Something unexpected happened. Man in front of them made a cross and sighed "Ahh, that one. It was quite the tragedy, if you ask me. It was such a big tragedy that…" he snapped his fingers and suddenly trio were surrounded by seven assassins. "…I will kill you to spare you from that pain."

"Impossible!" Kirito said. "How did they managed to evade from our search skill?!"

Man in black sighed "It is not that hard. Stealth is essentially a skill to avoid search skill after all. At its maximum level, not even a maximum leveled search can help you. Though…"

"If you choose Life over Wealth specialization in your search tree, things are different. Yet it is not enough to bypass full level stealth. You need correct items to see them through."

"Right you are." man said with a slightly surprised tone while Ilsamor was swearing to himself. He could see through this trap but his attention was fully drawn to man in front of them. Kirito and Asuna surely didn't have that specialization since it was better suited for PvP-based players, so it was him that was supposed to notice all of this.

But now…

As to make matters worse Kirito gulped "Dammit. Some of the items they are wearing are from last dungeons!"

Leader laughed once more "Yeah! You see, we are, for now, one of the strongest branches in the guild. We are just waiting for forward team to move upper floors to take over. So… You can say your prayers heroes. I will at least be sure to send you afterlife after an entertaining duel."

Ilsamor gritted his teeth. "Kirito…"

"I know. I think we can trust her."

Ilsamor turned to Asuna and surprisingly found her with a steely expression. "At least until I hear from you, I won't tell anyone, and you sure have a lot to explain Ilsamor-san"

Kirito and Ilsamor glanced at each other.

Well, that's the Asuna the Flash for ya!

Sighing he smiled "Sure we do Asuna-san…" he opened his menu and choose his prepared loadouts. "…But they have to wait."

He pressed his loadout.

A bright white light surrounded him, and surrounding assassins covered their eyes. Second later light diminished. He was standing in the middle with a cream white trench coat, white fingerless gloves, and a full set of other white clothes. In his back, his sword Heaven's Grace was hanging.

He held out The Sapphire to Kirito. "You still didn't find a second, yes? Then use it for now."

Kirito hesitated "Are you sure?" Ilsamor nodded "Come on, we will need every help to get out of this cavern."

Kirito slowly stretched his hand held the dark blue blade with his left hand while he unsheathed Elucidator with his right. After that he turned back to the leader. "Hello there."

Leader's mouth widened to the biggest smile they have seen since they stepped into the cave. "General Ilsamor, you are a bold one." Then he did another thing which made Ilsamor full of excitement. "Back away! I will deal with this Sword slime myself."

Kirito nervously spoke "Ilsamor are you-"

Ilsamor's attention was solely focused on leader like a child who finally found a good friend to play. "Your move."

"You fool! I have been trained in the ways of assassins by PoH himself."

He pulled a dark sword, like the Elucidator. Seeing this Kirito's eyes widened, Ilsamor would have too if he was already full of excitement of a game he was awaiting since he met that man.

Since that blade, while not as strong as Elucidator, was a force to reckon with.

"W-Wait a minute! Is it… Tear of Night?!"

Man didn't answer him, and Kirito knew why.

Because he needed to keep Ilsamor inside his delusion if he wanted to win this. He gritted his teeth while Asuna looked at him with a worried face. "K-Kirito-san, what's going-"

"Long story but prepare for the toughest fight. We have lost him for now."

And with a single word of their leader, battle began "Attack, Silver Blade!"

Ilsamor had already prepared his sword skill Purging Strike and as he heard a bang from referee, he shot forward, his eyes were burning with a fire and his mouth curled to a smile of a child who is about play his favorite game.

Had people inside the room could look at their duel, it would be even suspicious that they can follow it. Probably the only thing they could see would be the occasional skill effects and the blur that blades left behind.

Ilsamor was in some kind of berserk mode. It had to be, because if he hadn't, there was no way he could use his sword like that. It was moment's rush that allowed him to reach another small portion of his former abilities.

And he wanted nothing more than to kill the man standing before him.

Of course, none of these were seen. Because as soon as Ilsamor shot forward remaining seven assassins began their assaults on Asuna and Kirito. Under Asuna's surprised gaze, Kirito unleashed a ten-hit two-handed sword skill Voltage Assault to first coming assassin, then used a furry of blows to approaching three. While adding another thing to her question list, Asuna used her Lambent Light to face remaining assassins.

This was the first time since Swords retreat that Anti Orange Coalition was on attacking side.

If this was an ordinary team, they would be dead already. However, as Asuna said earlier, three of the four strongest swordsmen in Aincrad were there, what's more one of them had just revealed another unique skill.

Despite their relatively high tier equipment, assassins were dispatched swiftly. While their last cooldown was ending, Kirito and Asuna turned their attention back to their frenzied friend.

Their clash was still continuing in an incredible pace, but it was evident that Ilsamor got the upper hand, forcing his opponent to defense more and more. Kirito could see the signs of delusion in Ilsamor's eyes as his sole focus was evidently more than disarming his opponent.

Leader's blade glowed red while Ilsamor's glowed blue. Just before they clash…

"ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

Heaven's Grace glowed stronger and when they clashed Ilsamor's skill knocked the assassin out of balance. Before he regained it, Ilsamor used Savage Fulcrum to cut both of his arms. However just before he strike the finishing blow, Kirito intervened and blocked his strike "Ilsamor, that's enough! We need him alive!"

Ilsamor's eyes briefly flashed with anger, but he managed to regain his composure and looked around him with bewilderment. "Kirito… What happened? We were standing at the middle of them, and then… Is the fight over?"

Kirito sighed a breath of relief and smiled "Yeah. We have done it. You singlehandedly took him down." Ilsamor looked the man in front of him and a sense of horror took him. "Wait a minute. Was I about to -"

"Yes Ilsamor-san, and I want an explanation about all." Asuna said with traces of anger in her sound. "What's going on with you, acting all reckless, unleashing such a killer intent."

Ilsamor bowed his head "I am sorry. It seems it would be better if I withdraw form this case." "Don't be ridiculous Ilsamor…," said Kirito. "It was not your fault. He just pressed the right buttons. Considering your mental state."

"What mental state?" said Asuna but Kirito raised his hands "We will explain but first, this guy owes an explanation to us." On his words, trio turned towards the assassin leader that was watching them while he was crouching.

"It was a brilliant duel, Blade-sama. It seems rumors about you was true."

Ilsamor took a deep breath to calm his remaining anger. "Now, will you answer my question? Who ordered you to kill Griselda?"

Man looked at them with a pitying expression "I didn't want to say it, but you forced my hand. Very well, I will say it, though are you ready to hear it?" Trio continued to look at man. He sighed "Very well. It was her husband, Grimlock."

Man's words created a bomb like effect at the cavern.

Asuna's expression became similar to a shocked person "Impossible. H-How…" Man shrugged casually "I don't know. You forced me to say it, I remind you, it was not a job that I wanted to take. To woman's luck, boss was here that day and he took care of it personally."

Kirito shook his hand "Wait a minute, you are saying that PoH did it personally. Even so, how he entered the safe zone? NPC guards had supposed make a short work of him."

Leader clicked his tongue "I thought you were clever Black Swordsman. Of course, they used a teleport crystal to get in her room. That guy somehow placed a corridor crystal inside her room."

Ilsamor took another deep breath. "Kirito, Asuna, let's take them to Black Iron Palace. After that, we need to tell these to Kainz and Yolko."

"Not so fast Ilsamor-san," said Asuna while crossing her arms. "Before them, you owe me a big explanation.

"So that's all I think…" said Ilsamor while an NPC waiter brought his cheeseburger.

Asuna nodded, while her expression was showing that she was still angry, she seemed to understand Ilsamor's motives. "To be honest, it really seems like a cheap trick to go around your promise like that, even if I understand your reason Ilsamor-san."

"I can assure you; I had no intention of doing it while I was making that promise…" Ilsamor said after he swallowed his first bite. "But meeting with PoH… Asuna-san, would you believe me if I say I have never seen such a dark spirit during all my fight with orange guilds? You felt the darkness inside the leader in the cave, right? In comparison with PoH, it was just a small cloud passing front of the sun."

Asuna nodded while sipping her coke. "I see. That's one thing but the thing worries me is the second point, your mental state. How did it become like this?"

Ilsamor sighed "That Asuna-san, is a story that requires more time, explanation and… Hmm, let say a bit of imagination. Its time will come too, don't worry, but right now, we have a more serious problem, like a "husband" ordering to killing his wife."

Kirito raised his head from his pizza and looked to Ilsamor "Hey, while we are talking about it, when you and Asemi will marry? You are with her since 20th floor, and you are dating since last September but still…"

Ilsamor blushed a little "Well, I am making preparations for it. You know, saving money to buy a house, selecting locations for honeymoon and most importantly, I want to hold ceremony at 66th floor if possible."

"It seems like you are taking this a bit too serious, aren't you Ilsamor?" Kirito asked but Asuna's reaction pulled his attention towards her, which was a head turn with a "Hmph" sound. "Some people value these moments and romance unlike others Kirito."

Kirito's eyes opened wide while her expression became hilarious. Ilsamor thanked to fact that they cannot choke in Aincrad for first time while coughing his iced tea.

After situation turned a bit normal Ilsamor asked "Okay, so what now? How will we find Grimlock? More importantly, will we tell this to Yolko and Kainz?"

Kirito scratched his chin "We have to. Remember, they told us that they got that sword from Grimlock, so they must know where he is. But I have another problem: The corridor crystal."

Ilsamor nodded "Yeah, I highly doubt that Grimlock did it himself, if he would than he would not need assassins." while he was saying this his voice showed the signs of a rising fury, which was caught by Asuna "Ilsamor-san?"

"I don't get it…" he said. "…How can you want such a thing to the people you married?! Even it is in-game!" Kirito put a hand on his shoulder "We will get those answers once we find him."

"I have been thinking…" said Asuna "…We are the only ones who knows Kainz isn't dead. How about we work with Yolko and Kainz's plan?"

Ilsamor and Kirito were standing near the door while Schmidt and Yolko were talking about Kainz's death in safe zone. Ilsamor had worn his Saint equipment before coming to Yolko.

After they explained the information they get, it was a shock for the duo. They tried to reject the idea but Asuna convinced them to at least believe them until the otherwise is confirmed.

Next question was what they were gonna do?

After they explained the crystal part, Yolko told them something she found suspicious. A short while after Griselda's death, their guildmate, Schmidt, was accepted to DDA (Ilsamor barely hold himself for not to "hmph"), but surprising part was he was using an expensive that above their guild's reach. Upon hearing that trio exchanged a wordless conversation, then gave Yolko a go on the next part of their plan.

It was simple. They would scare the Schmidt, make him run to Griselda's grave, then informing Grimlock about the confrontation at graveyard and finally apprehend him once he shows up.

There was a high possibility that high-leveled LC assassins would show up, so Ilsamor said something like "Once we learned PoH is involved, I have contacted with leader of Swords. He'll be assisting us on the final part of the mission." to Yolko for explaining his possible appearance as himself at graveyard.

And now, they were listening to the conservation between Yolko and Schmidt.

"So weapon that killed Kainz were made by Grimlock?" Schmidt asked and Yolko slowly nodded. Schmidt's fear was clear from his face "Why would he do it? Was he the one who killed Griselda?"

"I don't think it was Grimlock who killed Kainz…"

"Huh?!"

Ilsamor slightly tensed. Here comes the critical part of their plan.

"I have thought all night, how one can kill someone in safe zone. Then I've found the answer…"

Schmidt was looking like a camper sitting around a campfire while listening a horror story.

"It was probably Griselda-san herself. Only a ghost can kill inside the safe zone."

Schmidt's face was similar to a man looking to his biggest fear. "W-What?!"

"WE SHOULD NEVER INTERFERED! We should do as Grimlock said, leaving decision to Griselda-san! And now, she is coming for revenge!"

"Revenge?! You… You gotta be kidding me! You can't really think we deserve all of this Yolko!"

Ilsamor silently whistled under his hood. Yolko was really good at acting.

Then their waited signal came.

Yolko suddenly tensed and turned her back to show everyone in the room that she had a dagger in her back. As they planned Kirito ran towards her, but unable to catch the girl who fell from the window.

After that he jumped out to follow Kainz for ruse while Ilsamor and Asuna stayed to tend a delirious Schmidt.

While trying to calm him down they glanced at each other.

Trap was set.

Few hours later Kirito and Ilsamor were hiding in a position while silently observing Hill of Cross at 19th floor.

Ilsamor was sure that once Schmidt, Yolko and Kainz were gathered at the same place, Grimlock would try to get rid of three of them, so he and Kirito were silently watching the perimeter around the hill.

Before they set this trap, trio really considered the option of apprehending PoH in case he appeared, though this idea was scrapped quickly considering Ilsamor's mental state. If he was in his prime (and he would allowed to take Champions) he could nip the bud from its base, but for now they needed to be consent with apprehending Grimlock and save the former Golden Apple members from a certain death.

While he was lost in thoughts Kirito poked him "Schmidt is coming." Ilsamor shook his head to clear his thoughts first "Are Yolko and Kainz in position?" Kirito nodded and duo prepared to interfere with any red player move. Ilsamor once more handed The Sapphire to Kirito. "Things can get ugly. But this is the last time I am giving this to you. Find yourself another sword for god's sake!" Kirito smiled nervously and took the sword. "You know, it almost like you don't trust my 1H skills anymore." Ilsamor smiled "No, but I think better to be safe than sorry."

While they were talking Schmidt fell on his face. Kirito's expression became serious "They are here. Let's go."

They started to walk towards the assassin group with a calm manner.

"Hey Boss! Let's play that game where we force them to kill each other and spare the survivor!"

"Though last time you killed the survivor yourself."

"Aww, Boss! It's no fun if you tell this to them-"

"Good evening gentlemen."

Three assassin froze for a spare second, then turned to their backs. A wicked smile formed in PoH's face.

"Hoo, who am I seeing? Isn't this the famous Silver Blade? With Black Swordsman to boot. I am honored."

Ilsamor spent a great deal of energy to keep his face calm. "I am afraid I cannot say the same PoH. I advise you to walk away before things get ugly." PoH's smile disappeared and from Ilsamor's perspective he was surprised "You will let us go? Unexpected of you Blade. I must say, I was already disappointed with you. While I am eagerly awaiting you to join fight, you pull your guild even more to back. And now this…"

Ilsamor closed his eyes for a moment "I cannot say something for the first though I can assure you, when I finally come to you, you will not be disappointed. Now, will you kindly retreat or would you like to duel with me until an elite team of Anti Orange Coalition comes here?"

PoH stood silent for a minute then put his chopper back to his poncho. "We are going for now…" but he stood near Ilsamor for a few seconds and whispered to his ear "I see that you are not yourself now. We will resume this after you become your prime once more. I suggest you hurry though." he said, and Ilsamor sensed a dark meaning at the end of his sentence.

Before they leave he told them one more thing "Oh, and you Black…" on his words one of the assassins stopped "If you dare to show your face to me ever again, I promise you a nice hot place in Hell."

Black just laughed and they soon disappeared from the duo's sight.

After that Ilsamor breathed a gigantic relief as Kirito patted his shoulder "Good job on holding yourself. I really feared that you might lose control once again." Ilsamor nodded, he was really at the edge when he noticed Johnny Black was standing among the three assassins. "Me too. Well, now we wait for Asuna."

They didn't need to wait long. Shortly after assassins disappeared Asuna came with a man from the east of the hill, forcing him to walk while her rapier was directed to his back. "I found him in hiding."

Ilsamor took a deep breath "Grimlock, I presume. We have much to talk about." Grimlock just looked at his old teammates "Hello guys. It is nice to see you."

Yolko looked to him with sadness and disappointment "Grimlock, why? Why did you kill her? Was it for money?" she screamed at him. Grimlock chuckled "Money? You think I would kill my wife for something shallow as money?"

"Huh?"

Yolko was surprised but soon Grimlock's face started to show signs of madness. "I killed her to protect her. Her image in my mind!"

Asuna frowned "What are you talking about?"

"She was my wife back in the real world too. An obedient, loyal wife. We have never had a fight for all those years. Then when we trapped in this game she changed. She became more extrovert, became someone brave and full of life. I knew she was changing. So, before she was completely lost I had to kill her, to protect her memory!"

Kirito was about say something when he heard a sword unsheathe sound and he turned towards the sound's source.

"Unforgivable…"

Ilsamor's voice was trembling with fury. "Unforgivable… Killing your wife just because she was no longer your slave, killing her just because she was happy in this game IS UNFORGIVABLE!"

Kirito sensed the upcoming fight and unsheathed Elucidator. "Hey Ilsamor-"

"Now, I will kill you Grimlock. Not just because you are sick, pathetic son of a ****, but also you represent one of things I resent the most!" He raised his head and Kirito saw that his eyes were glowing, but it was not their usual soft glow.

It was hatred.

Kirito equipped his second sword too "Asuna, send these four away. Now!"

Then three things happened at once.

Ilsamor shot forward, his sword was glowing red with Vorpal Strike and aimed at Grimlock. Kirito intersected the assault and duo began another heated sword duel. At the same time Asuna opened a portal to Black Iron Palace "Yolko, take Grimlock to prison! Do not come back here! I will talk to you later." Yolko nodded with fear then Golden Apple members disappeared in portal.

While they were going, duel's pace was increasing, much that the duel in cave was seemed as a child's play. Kirito was trying to not hurt his friend, but Ilsamor's self-control was literally non-existent. Noticing that Asuna was preparing to enter the duel too, Kirito shouted. "Don't! Call Asemi here, right now!" Seeing the expression on her face he shouted once more "Just do it!"

Asuna nodded and began typing a message for Asemi.

"You… All of you, always standing in my way while I am trying to give just punishment to scum that cannot be called as humans!" Ilsamor screamed while activating Nova Ascension. Kirito countered it with Nightmare Rain, then used Myriad of Spikes to force Ilsamor back. "You once said if were to duel, we would stay in a stalemate forever. I hope you are right for both our sakes."

Duel resumed, after a certain time Kirito forced to turn 1H too, due to relative low level of his dual wield proficiency. However, while they seemed to equal, Kirito was feeling that Ilsamor slowly pushing him, gaining the upper hand.

Then, just before their Horizontal Arcs clashed Ilsamor screamed "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

Resulting impact was strong enough to disarm Kirito. He was staying in front of Ilsamor defenseless. Seconds before Ilsamor made another move…

"Senpai! SENPAI!"

Ilsamor trembled, then fell to his knees while Asemi continued to run towards him at full speed. Kirito sighed a gigantic breath of relief as he noticed tears on Ilsamor's cheeks.

Asemi hugged him front behind "I am here Senpai. I am here, calm yourself. You are okay, it is okay…"

Kirito and Asuna stood and watch as Asemi tried to calm Ilsamor and as he cried his anger out.

Ilsamor was standing in front of the statue at 4th floor's temple.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

It was Kirito's voice. He slowly nodded "Yeah, I cannot take the risk of something like two days ago again."

Behind him were standing Kirito, Argo and Eternal Champions. He sighed and turned to face them. "I know I ask too much of you but…" Rider came forward and hugged him "Don't worry Boss. You gave us so much; it is time to we repay some of that back." Then he let him go and looked at the statue. "So, how will it be?"

"Well, according to Lady, this process will be a mix of replication and reverse transcription. She will copy memories to their correct places in my brain before delete them while using other means to teach my brain the lessons I learned from them. I don't know how long it will take."

"You worry too much Ilsamor…" said Kirito. "We will hold here as long as needed. I hope you will get better soon enough. Now, let's begin."

Ilsamor kneeled in front of the statue then took a deep breath. Statue glowed a little, and Ilsamor's body relaxed. Kirito looked his friend's body one more time before getting out to scout area a little bit.

Procedure had begun.

A/N: Hello and sorry for my long absence. I do hope to upload new chapters on a regular basis from now on. Take care of yourselfs until next time :)