To Protect Those He Loves

by Gaim no Kaze

He was an orphan, he knew nothing of his origins, but he found a family, he found something to fight for. Destiny played against him, but he would fight for them no matter what, even if it costs him his life. Kirito harem...no flaming please. (Kind of AU, and carries Fate elements). Current arc - War Arc

53. Chapter 53

Hey, this is the 53rd chapter.

Now, to where Uzumaki Karin is, well, as of now, she's still in Orochimaru's facility acting as a guard. She'll come in when I have Sasuke, Itachi, Sakura and Kakashi go on a mission to scout out that facility.

That will probably be the next chapter, or a side chapter since none of 'main focus' characters won't be there.

TheB, yes, a Genjutsu with a naked gay Guy, and then sending him to two hairy and muscular male prostitutes... Well, it can be safe to say that Kisame will be traumatised for life, and he won't be appearing for a while now.

So... Here's the final chapter for the Aincrad arc. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

XXX

A few weeks passed, and the five nations had finally cleared 99 floors of Aincrad.

On the hundredth floor, inside the castle, Kayaba glanced out of the window and saw the small army of ninja from all five nations.

The man had to give it to them, they had cleared all floors faster than he had expected, and they had a few weeks left before the time limit was up.

Kayaba smirked and looked at the panel. The man had been planning to use a weaker final boss, and that was the boss the Anbu had gathered infor on, but since they had progressed faster than he had expected, Kayaba didn't need to hold back too much.

Kayaba swiftly replaced the weaker boss with the one he had originally planned to use, one he had designed, one bearing the same name as the structure they were standing on.

An Incarnation of the Radius. Aincrad.

Kayaba smirked again, 'Let's see how you do against this, Kirito.'

Back with the small army, everyone stood in front of the castle. This time, Itachi was with them, without his Anbu mask.

His entry in the Bingo Book had been removed, and he was marked as a loyal ninja of Konoha. Although most were accepting or indifferent to him, not everyone could accept it, but that's another story for another time.

Now, Jiraiya stood in front of the massive doors of the castle. The man turned and nodded to the leaders of the squads from the other villages, who nodded back, before he turned to the small army in front of him.

Jiraiya took a deep breath and said, "We're finally here, on the 100th floor. According to the Anbu, this one is stronger than the ones we fought, but that's to be expected. I don't think I have to say much, but, I expect you all to do your best, and stay alive!"

The army roared in agreement as Jiraiya turned, nodding to Killer Bee, Zabuza, Kitsuchi, Ao and Kankuro. Then the sage pushed open the gates, showing a dark room.

Then, everyone entered.

As soon as everyone stepped in, to their surprise, the ninja all found themselves falling. Then they saw it, the massive beast.

It was mostly white, with a feminine face but the body of a monster. All in all, it looked like a combination of a goddess and a monster. More importantly, it looked nothing like the boss from the information from the Anbu.

As they descended, the massive words, 'An Incarnation of the Radius', appeared behind the monster.

The beast's eyes turned to them, and Jiraiya yelled, "Brace yourselves!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Aincrad moved. It grabbed its sword and spear, and swung, slamming into several Jounin, sending them crashing into the walls.

The others quickly landed, and Kirito yelled, "Let's go!"

The ninja all roared in agreement as they spread out and charged the boss.

Aincrad roared, and to their surprise, seven beams/tentacles shot out from its back, slamming into several of the ninja, sending them back, but luckily not killing them.

The beams continued to push several of the ninja back, but others, like Kirito, Kakashi and the others managed to push through, and they attacked.

Kirito, Sasuke, Suguha, Kakashi and most swordsmen swung their swords, while most others used weapons or close ranged jutsu, and in the Hyugas' case, Juuken strikes.

But to their shock, their attacks stopped, a barely visibile barrier forming in front of them. Then it blew them away.

Aincrad roared and stomped on the ground, causing massive roots to sprout out from the ground. Kakashi cursed as they jumped around to avoid them, "Mokuton jutsu?!"

The man landed and glanced at one of the Anbu with them, "Tenzo!"

The Anbu nodded and clasped his hands together, "Mokuton!"

Immediately, Tenzo's chakra extended to the roots from Aincrad. For a moment, the boss was surprised to feel someone fight it for control over its roots, and Tenzo managed to push against Aincrad's chakra so much that the roots stopped moving.

Aincrad roared, momentarily ignoring the damage from everyone else and sent one of its beams at Tenzo, knocking him straight into a wall.

Then, the beast roared again, slammed its spear onto the ground, sending a massive shockwave that sent everyone stumbling.

Then, to everyone's surprise, pieces of rock rose from the ground and started shooting out randomly, trapping them, Tenzo being one of them.

Several ninja tried to help them, but the rocks wouldn't budge. Hikari tch'd as she quickly made a Rasenshuriken, "Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!"

The blonde threw her shuriken-like jutsu, being one of the only jutsu to actually have some effect on the bosses.

The completed form of the Rasengan slammed onto Aincrad's barrier, and after a brief moment, smashed right through it. Hikari yelled, "Now!"

Everyone charged, with Liz being one of them as she, along with several of her friends that held maces, smashed Aincrad's face, causing it to roar in pain.

Before the boss could recover, Kirito, Suguha, Asuna and Yugao came down from above, slashing at Aincrad's face, causing it to roar in pain yet again.

But they weren't done. Right as Aincrad managed to regain its bearings, it felt a small sting on its cheeks as several arrows embedded themselves in the boss' face, the explosion tags already hissing.

The beast roared in pain as the tags went off, leaving a rather huge scorch mark on its cheeks.

Then, right as everyone were about to attack again, Aincrad roared, slamming its spear onto the ground again, this time reforming its barrier as it leaped away with speeds that wasn't possible for something its size.

Then, behind it, a massive tree that was taller than Aincrad itself, appeared, or rather, grew rapidly from the ground until it towered over the boss.

Killer Bee narrowed his eyes and yelled, "Prepare yourselves FOOLS!"

Everyone braced themselves, preparing to dodge or defend themselves from any attacks Aincrad may send.

But to their surprise and confusion, the only thing that happened, was a droplet of water falling from a leaf, splashing onto Aincrad's head.

Then in a blink of an eye, every single wound, be it bruises or slashes, vanished from its body, revealing a fully healed Aincrad. Zabuza gaped, "It healed itself?!"

Asuna frowned, "This is bad..."

Sinon narrowed her eyes as the tree retracted to the ground, "Just now, it healed after the tree dropped a drop of water onto its head..."

As they were about to continue, they heard Kiba yell, "Don't just stand there, its coming!"

Sinon and Asuna quickly jumped up just in time as another root smashed onto the spot where they were.

As everyone dodged the attacks, Tenten yelled, "This is getting nowhere!"

Neji yelled back as he pushed one of the beams away with a Hakke Kusho, "There must be some weakness!"

Tenten was about to shout back when Hikari flung another Rasenshuriken at Aincrad, this time enforced by Nagato's Shinra Tensei. The Rasenshuriken tore right through the barrier again, and Nagato yelled, "Now!"

Everyone didn't let the chance slip, as they charged straight in, sending waves of attacks at the goddess/monster, causing it roar in pain.

Then, Jiraiya leaped up with a Chou Odama Rasengan in his hands, while Itachi manifested his Susano'o with his Totsuka no Tsurugi. Kirito followed suit, unleashing the memories of the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor, forming a huge blade of light.

Aincrad roared as it sensed the power in the three attacks and tried to send its beams to stop them, but Hikari had already wrapped her chains around the boss, pulling it down before it could do anything.

Then, Jiraiya came down with the massive Rasengan, the sphere of destruction grinding against Aincrad, forcing it the ground. Kirito and Itachi followed, swinging their swords at Aincrad's shoulders, and cleanly sliced off its arms.

The combination of a goddess and a monster roared in pain as its upper limbs fell to the ground along with its weapons. The loss of its limbs seemed to anger it as it roared again and stomped its feet, sending its beams and roots all over the place.

That also broke the chains holding Aincrad in place. Before anyone could react, the boss backed away to the edge the room and reformed its barrier, the tree growing behind it.

As the droplet started to form, Hinata's eyes widened as she realised what it was about to do, and she yelled, "THAT DROP OF WATER! STOP IT!"

Immediately, everyone fired every projectile attack they had. Weapons, elemental ninjutsu, everything. That was their mistake.

The attacks stopped the droplet from even falling half the distance to the beast's forehead. And that was exactly what Aincrad wanted, even if it didn't regenerate its limbs.

To everyone's shock, the attacks, while having stopped the droplet, didn't disperse in an explosion that would normally occur from a collision of so many attacks.

Instead, the attacks, including weapons, were all absorbed into a single point right above its head. To make it worse, Aincrad was also feeding it its chakra, forming what was essentially a massive Bijuudama.

Inside all of the Jinchurikii, Kurama and the Bijuu all warned their hosts to defend themselves, sensing the power behind that sphere of energy.

Bee yelled as he formed a massive and thick earth wall in front of him, "DEFENSIVE ACTIONS! NOW!"

But it was too late. Before any of the ninja could react, Aincrad unleashed, or rather, detonated the sphere. Fortunately, around most of the ninja managed to at least form some sort of defense, be it earth domes, earth walls or water walls.

Some were protected by Hikari's chains, but some unlucky ones were caught in the blast, and the only proof that they ever existed was the ashes and scorch marks on the ground.

Kirito glanced around, everyone stood up from the attack. He frowned and stared at

Aincrad. Then Kirito subconsciously muttered, "I am the bone of my sword... TRACE... ON!"

Immediately, a yellow/bronze/golden sword appeared in his hands.

It was long sword with a slender form. Every part of the sword from the guard to the pommel seemed like they were made out of dazzling gold while the blade itself was dyed in a bright golden yellow distinctly more intense than the sword's scabbard. A cross-shape flower design decorated the sword's guard as the sword gleamed.

The sudden appearance of the sword surprised everyone, and everyone could feel the pressure coming from the sword.

Kirito stared at the sword, and a girl with long braided hair suddenly came to mind. He frowned and turned his attention to the beast in front of him.

As Aincrad roared, sending beams of energy at him, Kirito drew the sword, and spoke, "Enhance Armament."

Immediately, the blade burst into a thousand petals, blocking and cutting off the beams before they could hit or move past him.

Kirito then pointed the hilt at Aincrad, sending the thousand petals shooting at the boss, moving around it like a swarm of angry bees. Everytime the boss moved an inch, a cut would appear on its body.

Kirito glanced back and yelled, "Now!"

Everyone nodded and prepared their strongest attacks. Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Killer Bee prepared their Bijuudama, albeit with only the Bijuu's head materialised. Fuu and Suguha went into the Second Version of their Bijuu chakra cloak and prepared their mini Bijuudama.

Then, everyone unleashed their attacks, and Kirito roared, "RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

Immediately, the petals multiplied, and they swirled around Aincrad with even more intensity, increasing the damage on the beast as all the jutsu smashed onto the boss.

As the attacks collided with the boss, it caused a huge explosion that blinded everyone.

After what seemed like eternity, the light died down, revealing nothing but pieces of what was originally Aincrad. Then, as usual, the words, 'CONGRATULATIONS' appeared in the air.

Everyone let out a breath as the words slowly faded away. A random Jounin from Kumo spoke shakily, "W-we won?"

After a moment, the fact that they finally cleared all 100 floors sank in, and everyone cheered in triumph.

But as soon as they started celebrating, Kayaba's voice boomed through the area, "Very well done, all of you."

Everyone turned as they saw Kayaba Akihiko landing on the ground softly. Kirito stared at his master, "Kayaba-sensei, we won."

The man nodded with a small smile, "Indeed you did, you defeated the boss of the 100th floor spectacularly. Now, a final test, for you, Kirito."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

Kayaba just smiled and snapped his fingers, and immediately, everyone around him fell to the ground. Kirito's eyes widened as he snapped his head at the man, glaring at him, "What are you doing?!"

Kayaba smiled, "A final test, Kirito. You defeat me, and you get the answers you seek."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "And if I lose?"

Kayaba chuckled and spread his arms, "I do what I've been doing, or at least, what I've been planning. I destroy the world."

The younger blacksmith growled, "So, all we've done here, all of that was for nothing?"

The master chuckled, "No no no, I didn't mean it like that. You can say I'm part of the boss on the 100th floor."

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he glanced around. Everyone was paralysed, or at least, that's what he thought.

Kayaba seemed to realize what his protege was thinking and said, "They're fine. I merely used a paralysing seal. You beat me, and they'll be free."

Everyone stared at the swordsman, some confident he will win, some worried for him, some indifferent. Kirito glared at his teacher, "Very well."

Kayaba smirked and snapped his fingers, and Kirito instantly felt his energy and chakra return to him. The younger man narrowed his eyes, "What was that?"

Kayaba chuckled and drew his sword and shield, "I control everything in this structure, and I wanted a fair match with my student, so what better way than to restore you to your best?"

Kirito gripped his swords, "You'll regret that."

The older man just smirked, "Come."

Kirito immediately charged, swinging both blades from the right at his master. Kayaba merely raised his shield as the swords bounced off harmlessly from the shield.

But Kirito saw that coming and used the recoil from hitting the shield and spun, sending a slash from the left with both swords.

A loud clang reached everyone's ears as Kirito's swords clashed against Kayaba's sword. The master smiled, "You've gotten better."

Kirito just smirked before his eyes widened as he noticed Kayaba's shield moving. The man said, "But not good enough."

As the shield was about to slam into Kirito's side, the younger swordsman said quietly and quickly, "Trace on."

To Kayaba's surprise, a copy of the Kubikiribocho embedded itself into the ground, stopping his shield before Kirito spun and kicked him away.

Kirito then charged, his swords glowing as he channelled a sword skill, the Eclipse.

Kayaba just smirked as Kirito unleashed his skill. The man raised his shield as Kirito started hacking at it. The younger swordsman thought, 'Faster... FASTER!'

But right as Kirito went for a stab, the Dark Repulsor broke as it struck the shield, shocking everyone. Kayaba took advantage and quickly kicked Kirito away, causing the Dark Repulsor to drop to the ground.

Kayaba swiftly bashed Kirito with his shield, sending him to the ground. The older man taunted, "Is that all you got, Kirito?"

The black swordsman growled and gripped the Elucidator hard. He activated his mark and the Acceleration, then he charged forward.

Kayaba chuckled and activated the Acceleration himself before he charged forward too.

For the next moment, everyone saw a blur of orange and red as Kayaba and Kirito clashed blades multiple times.

As Kayaba blocked Kirito's slash and swung his blade, only to miss, the man thought, 'Not enough...'

Kayaba then channelled his chakra into the control panel, more specifically, a seal that controlled time inside Aincrad.

As soon as he activated the seal, the intended effect took hold, as Kirito suddenly slowed down, even with the red glow of the Acceleration. Then, Kayaba gave the young man a hard bash with his shield, sending Kirito to the ground yet again.

Kirito growled and got up, but Kayaba merely kicked his sword away, sending the Elucidator flying away before stabbing into the ground.

Kayaba asked again, "Is that all you got?"

Kirito growled and projected two copies of the Kubikiribocho, one in each hand, and he slashed at Kayaba.

But that wasn't what the man wanted, and Kayaba merely activated the time seal before parrying the swords, sending them flying away.

Kirito growled and projected several other swords, sometimes several at once. But the results were the same. Kayaba would only use the time seal to slow him down before destroying all the swords.

For the audience, if you could call them that, it was painful to watch as Kirito was repeatedly beaten to the ground, especially for Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha. They couldn't even say anything due to the paralysis seals.

Then, with Suguha, she suddenly heard Choumei-S' voice, "Suguha, I think I can break the paralysis seals."

Suguha's eyes barely widened, 'Are you serious?!'

Choumei-S nodded, "Yes, but we need to match our timing. Since we don't know where the seal is coming from, I can only place place something similar to a protective barrier around you for a limited time. But after that, you'll be unable to move again, at least until the seal is lifted. "

Suguha glanced at Kirito and nodded, 'Okay...'

Back with Kirito and Kayaba, the older man sighed as he kicked one of Kirito's swords away again, "I suppose its time we end this."

Kirito gritted his teeth as he stood up again. Every sword he projected, Kayaba would either break it or parry it away, and for some reason, his Acceleration was slowing down too.

Kayaba raised his sword, channelling a sword skill through it as it glowed red. Then, he swung the blade downwards.

Right as the blade moved towards Kirito's shoulder, a figure suddenly appeared between them, and before any of them could react, the blade slashed down onto the figure.

Only then they realize who that figure was. Kayaba's eyes widened in surprise, 'How?! The seals should've kept them from moving.'

Kirito's eyes widened as he quickly scrambled over to the girl, "S-suguha?! W-why?!"

The girl smiled weakly as blood seeped through her armor as Kirito lifted her into his arms, "I... wanted to protect you... Kirito-kun."

At that moment, the paralysis seals took hold again as the girl couldn't speak. More importantly, the seals Kayaba had used also prevented Choumei-S' chakra from healing her.

Kirito cursed and chanted, "Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani!"

A green light engulfed Suguha, but the wounds only closed slightly, the bleeding not stopping at all. Kirito gritted his teeth and repeated the spell.

"Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani!"

"Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani!"

"Þú fylla heilagr austr, brott svalr bani!"

Kirito tried several more times, to no avail, until Suguha clasped his hands. The girl smiled weakly, "Protect... everyone... and... live..."

Kirito's eyes widened as her hand went slack, and the spark of life vanished from her eyes. With the others, especially Hikari, Sinon, Asuna and the people who knew Suguha, they screamed their head as they could move to help the girl.

As for Kayaba, he cursed himself for not having seen it coming. Jinchurikii had always been unpredictable after all. But what's done was done, and he could use this to push his student even further.

As Kirito held onto the girl, the man said coldly, "This is the result of your weakness, Kirito. That's why, you can never protect them."

Unknown to anyone, something inside Kirito snapped. He couldn't protect Suguha, because of him, she was dead. He had sworn on his blood that he would protect every one of the four girls he loved. And he had failed. At that moment, something woke up in him.

Kayaba raised his sword again before Kirito's voice stopped hom, anger evident in his voice as the young man slowly placed Suguha down onto the floor, "Shut up... I said SHUT UP!"

Kirito stood up and glared at his teacher, and Kayaba's eyes widened as he saw his eyes.

Kirito's eyes were yellow, but they weren't like how they previously were. The glow was far brighter than it had ever been, and a thick yellow aura surrounded the young man.

Then Kirito started to speak, his voice booming through the hall even though he was speaking rather softly, "I am the bone of my sword..."

The ground started to tremble as the young man spoke, and everyone was shocked as he continued, the tremor increasing with every line he spoke.

"Steel is my body and fire is my blood."

"I have created over a thousand blades."

"Never defeated... Nor ever victorious."

"Have withstood pain to create many weapons."

"Yet this life holds no meaning to it."

"So as I pray... UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!"

(If you're imagining the Japanese version, then use Shirou's chant. I kinda mixed up the fourth and final second line.)

As soon as he finished chanting, the aura around him expanded, engulfing everyone. And as the area glowed, no one noticed Suguha's wounds closing, along with her slowly stabilising breath.

As the glow died down, everyone glanced around and saw that they were in a different area.

Instead of the hall of the Ruby Palace, they were all in a wide plain. The plain was split in two, one side was full of life, with grass, trees and rivers. The other side, was a barren waste land, a desert with wilted trees, skeletons and vultures flying around.

(Just think of the border between the Human Empire and the Dark Territory in the Underworld... The dark part is similar to where Alice accidentally touched the ground of the Dark Territory."

But with all the differences between the two areas, there was one thing that remained the same. Both sides had a massive amount of swords stabbed into the ground.

Immediately, everyone thought it was a Genjutsu, something similar to the Tsukuyomi. But Kayaba knew better. The man said, intrigued, "A Reality Marble... Impressive, Kirito."

Kayaba took a moment to sense Kirito's chakra. It had increased immensely, and his aura was ten times stronger than what it was. The master hid a smirk, this was what he wanted.

Then, Kirito vanished. In an instant, Kayaba found his student in front of him, two random swords in his hands, ready to strike.

Kayaba frowned and blocked the first sword with his shield before clashing blades with the second sword.

The man then pushed on his shield, pushing Kirito away as Kayaba quickly extended his wings and flew away.

Kirito narrowed his eyes and threw one of his blades at the man, vanishing in a burst of blue particles and reappearing by the sword, right behind Kayaba.

But the man was prepared. Kayaba quickly turned just before Kirito could summon a sword and shot several fireballs at him.

The younger swordsman tch'd and grabbed a sword that flew to him from the ground before he slashed the fireballs apart, muttering as he did, "Enhance Armament."

Then, Kirito grabbed another sword from the air and yelled, "Enhance Armament!"

Kayaba's eyes widened as Kirito shot several beams of light at him. The man raised his shield quickly in an attempt to block it. But the blasts of light pierced through the shield easily, creating several holes inin Kayaba's shoulder and legs.

The man grunted in pain before he realized Kirito was gone. The master swordsman's eyes widened as he quickly flew backwards just in time to dodge the Samehada from shredding him to pieces.

Kayaba's eyes widened, 'When the hell did he get the fucking Samehada of all things?'

As the man flew, he charged straight right into Kirito's trap, as he suddenly felt several slashes to his chest. Kayaba gritted his teeth in pain as he realized what Kirito had done.

The man thought, 'First is Bercouli's long sword, the Jisenken/Time Piercing Sword, then Fanatio's Tensenken/Heaven Piercing Sword... And now the Samehada... How did he know of Bercouli and Fanatio's swords?'

Kayaba cursed his luck as he dodged several swords shooting at him from the ground. The man then gasped as he was sent flying down towards the ground by a hard kick to his back, no doubt from Kirito after warping directly above him.

Kayaba cursed and managed to regain his balance right before he crashed into the ground. The man managed to get up, but he was quickly bombarded by the infinite amount of swords on the ground.

For every sword he blocked or parried, he would receive a slash from another from behind. Kayaba cursed as he tried to stop himself from screaming in pain, 'This is working waaay too well. Fuck this...'

The worse thing was that he couldn't even use his seals. The ones that were already in effect would stay that way until he died or if he stopped them. But since this was essentially Kirito's inner world, he couldn't influence this place like he could in Aincrad.

In Aincrad, he was basically God thanks to the seals. But in the Reality Marble Kirito made, Kirito was the god, and Kayaba had no power over anything here.

Then, Kirito landed on the ground, and every one of the floating swords stopped around them, forming something similar to a ring.

Kirito glared at his teacher, "This ends here, Kayaba Akihiko."

The man let out a tired breath and raised his shield. Then Kirito charged.

The young man held out his hand as a copy of the Elucidator shot out from the ring of swords around them. Kirito roared as he swung the sword at the shield.

Kayaba's eyes widened as he was sent skidding back with one slash before he kept his shield up to block Kirito's slashes.

Then, Kirito threw the copy of his sword above Kayaba's head and warped to the sword. The master swordsman's eyes widened as he quickly turned just in time to see Kirito grab a copy of Asuna's Lambant Light, returning his Elucidator to the ring of swords.

The man cursed as Kirito came down, Asuna's rapier glowing pure as he roared, "Mother's ROSARIO!"

The younger man swiftly gave 10 stabs at the shield, pushing Kayaba back. Then, wings of energy formed at the hilt as Kirito charged forward, roaring as he delivered the final 11th stab, breaking the shield into pieces.

Kayaba grunted as he backed away, holding up his sword with two hands as he stayed on guard.

Kirito then let go of the Lambant Light and grabbed a copy of Suguha's Tempest. The man's eyes widened as his protege charged forward with the katana.

The older man barely managed to dodge several slashes before he was forced to block and parry Kirito's slashes. Then, Suguha's sword glowed red as Kirito roared, "KUREYU!"

The swordsman charged and gave a hard diagonal slash from his lower left. Kayaba cursed as he raised his sword to block it, having not enough time to dodge the charging attack.

Then, as the blades met, Kayaba's eyes widened as his blade shattered to pieces, the force from the slash sending him to the ground again.

Not missing a beat, Kirito flipped backwards and extended his wings, shooting up to the sky. The ring of swords quickly closed in on Kayaba, trapping him there as more swords shot up to Kirito's side.

The younger man then grabbed a copy of the Elucidator and pulled it back, willing the swords around him to form a circle in front of him.

Then, with a mental command, all of the swords pointed downwards at Kayaba, energy charging at the center, surrounded by all the swords.

Kirito thought coldly as he stared down at his master, "Farewell... Kayaba Akihiko."

Then he thurst his sword at the sphere of energy, unleashing a massive beam of chakra that engulfed all of the swords surrounding Kayaba, including the man of course.

(Imagine the attack, Bahamut used in FFXV when Luna summoned all the Astral Gods.)

After a while, the beam stopped. And all that was left, was a huge crater. There wasn't a trace that Kayaba even existed.

Kirito let out a breath as he landed beside Suguha, the aura around him dying down, and his eyes returning to normal, just as the Reality Marble vanished.

The man sighed, "Its over..."

He turned and saw that everyone could move again, and Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and the ones who knew Suguha quickly ran over to them.

But before they could say anything, they heard Kayaba's voice boom through the area, "Well done, Kirito."

The swordsman's eyes widened before they narrowed as he turned to glare at his teacher. But before he could do anything, a white light covered the area, blinding everyone.

Soon, the light died down, and Kirito found himself standing above Aincrad, on air, along with Asuna, Sinon and Hikari, with Suguha's body floating by them.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he saw Kayaba standing, or rather floating, in front of them. The younger swordsman growled, "I killed you..."

The man smiled sadly, "Indeed you did, and you did it spectacularly. I am but a chakra projection of Kayaba Akihiko, similar to what Minato and Kushina did in Hikari's seal."

Hikari's eyes widened before she asked warily, "How did you know?"

Kayaba chuckled, "I know a lot of things. But before that..."

He snapped his fingers, causing a green ray of light to shoot out from Aincrad, engulfing Suguha. Kirito's eyes widened as he growled, drawing a sword and charged, "What're you doing?!"

But before Kirito could attack the man, Kayaba raised a palm, "I have total control over Aincrad, thanks to the seals I applied on it. Technically, we, or rather you all, are still inside Aincrad, so I could heal Suguha's wounds and bring her back."

True enough, Suguha's breathing started to stabilise, and the huge slash on her had vanished.

Kirito glared at him, "Why are you doing this?"

The man smiled, "Several reasons. I promised you answers, didn't I?"

The younger man growled, ignoring the worried looks from the three girls with him. Kayaba chuckled and looked at Aincrad, "First, let me explain about the Underworld. I'm sure you've heard of that."

Kirito forced himself to calm down and nodded, "Yeah. What is that?"

The man looked up at the sky, "Every coin has two sides. Our planet is the same. The world we live in now, is the outer world, so to speak, and the Underworld, is the inner part of this planet. At least, that's what it should have been. But some time in the past, the Underworld manifested in the outer world as a whole continent."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as Kayaba continued, "At some point, the Underworld split off from this planet, forming a whole new world. Some times, well most of the time, the worlds would connect, and the Underworld would manifest in the Elemental Nations in its original form."

The man frowned, "But then, something happened, and the Underworld was closed off from us. This happened millennia ago, long before any of us existed, probably during the time of the Rikudo Sennin."

Kirito asked, "And how does the Underworld come in here?"

Kayaba nodded, "Our sword skills, our spells, they all come from the Underworld. I was born during Hiruzen's time, by right, I should be an old man like he was."

The man let out a sigh, "But I couldn't use chakra at that time. By sheer luck, my body was structured the same way a human from the Underworld would be."

Kayaba paused before he continued, "When I was 12, I found a portal linked to the Underworld, and I went there. I was trained by my master there, I learned their arts, their spells. Everything. I lived there until I was 17, then I found a portal that brought me back here."

The man smiled as he thought back on his past, "I reunited with my friends, even if they were all older than me. And with my skills, I could join the shinobi ranks, and I did, with Minato, Kushina and the others. That's how I knew them."

Kayaba cleared his throat before he spoke again, "The rest of that is irrelevant. But over the years, portals to the Underworld would appear, unfortunately, we never got far, as the portals were unstable. But we managed to find out about their military."

Kirito raised his eyebrow again as Kayaba said, "Instead of ninja, they had knights. A normal knight is as strong as a Jounin, and the more advanced Integrity Knights, are all at least Kage level."

The man continued, "The Underworld is also your ancestral home. Your mark, and the yellow aura you possess, along with how your eyes turn yellow, is proof that you carry the blood of the Underworld."

Kirito's eyes widened, the girls were also surprised, "What?"

Kayaba nodded, "I have no idea how you ended up here. The portals to the Underworld stopped appearing after Minato first used the Hiraishin, long before you were born. But regardless, you do possess blood from the Underworld. The fact you could use a Reality Marble just proves it. No one from the Elemental Nations can use that."

The man then tilted his head at his student, "Besides, the swords you used against me, some of them belonged to people I knew from the Underworld."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "Then how?"

Kayaba closed his eyes, "That's something you'll have to find out on your own. One of the reasons I made Aincrad, was to prepare you, and all of the Elemental Nations for the Underworld, in case war happens."

The man looked at Kirito, "My Aincrad is just the beginning. Some time in the future, you will return to the Underworld, and hopefully resolve things between our worlds."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, "Why me? Why us?"

Kayaba shrugged, "You're my student, and you're the only one who fits the bill. But, I know you can do it. You've never disappointed me, not now, not ever."

Then, Kayaba started to fade and the man sighed, "Well, my time is almost up. I've set Aincrad to self destruct in 5 minutes, and I've sent everyone back to the gates of their villages. Everything will reveal itself soon, Kirito. But, just for your information."

Kayaba's body was almost gone, and he threw a scroll to Kirito, who caught it easily. Kayaba smiled, "Farewell, Kirito. It was a pleasure teaching you."

Then, the man vanished, and Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Hikari all found themselves on the ground at Konoha's gates, Suguha still unconscious, with all the Konoha ninja that fought on the 100th floor with them.

Asuna said, "We're back?"

Sinon nodded as she noticed Suguha safe and sound, snoring lightly beside them. Hikari then said, "Look."

Everyone turned up to see Aincrad slowly crumbling and falling to pieces.

Jiraiya commented as they watched the massive castle fall apart, "So... It finally ends..."

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah..."

Soon, Aincrad was gone. Kirito sighed, the information Kayaba gave him still fresh on his mind, and he looked at the scroll in his hands.

He then felt a hand slip into his free hand. The young man turned and saw Asuna smiling softly, "Don't think too hard about it, we'll be with you."

Kirito also saw the smiling faces of Hikari, Sinon and everyone else with them. The swordsman chuckled, "Yeah, let's go home."

The group turned, and Kirito picked up Suguha bridal style before they headed back to the village.

Meanwhile, at the ruins of Aincrad, two spheres of chakra rose from the center of the ruins of the Ruby Palace, one was black, the other was blue.

The black chakra sphere shot up into the sky before disappearing out of sight, while the blue sphere shot straight into the forest.

XXX

Done. So... That officially marks the end of the Aincrad arc... Sort of. The next chapter will finish things up, and I'll start on the Oberon arc.

So yeah, review please.