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

56. Chapter 56

Hello guys, this is the 56th chapter. So sorry it took so long. I recently started my degree in pharmacy, and my schedule is very packed... So the updates might take a little longer to complete.

To Guest-questioner, glad you're back man. Well, I probably won't bring in too many characters yet. And to be honest, I am planning to bring in Rain, Seven and Yuuki, just not so soon. Rain is, after all, my favourite in-game exclusive character.

Argo is in the story, though she's not an importantcharacter, since she's not a fighter, but an informant here.

And they won't be in Kirito's harem, just so I make it clear. They will have a sibling type relationship with him.

As for the sword from Ordinal Scale, I thought about it, and I think I'll just call it as it is, the Ordinal Scale.

Dracus-7, for that crossover, it won't work for me... The difference in technology is too great. Setsuna would one-shot everyone with a simple Trans-AM Raiser and Tieria would do the same with just Virtue. So no.

And I still have my poll for the next story in my profile. If any of you are interested, or you like my work, you can look it up.

With that aside, let's start with the chapter.

XXX

A few days later, Oberon/Sugou had finally managed to master his powers to a decent level. But unknown to the man, the more he used those powers, the more his memories disorientated.

Oberon couldn't remember much about his life at that point. But there was one thing that would linger forever in his mind. His lust for Asuna and Hikari, and his hate for Kirito.

Unfortunately for Oberon, he couldn't remember the specifics. Only that blonde hair and chestnut coloured hair. In his delusional mindset, the King decided to name Asuna 'Titania', and Hikari as 'Ciela'. But that's not important.

So after building his fortress and forming his army of knights and archers, (which looks like a smaller version of the base of the World Tree in ALO) Oberon sent out several squads in his army to search for any girls with blonde or chestnut coloured hair near Hi no Kuni.

That lead to the current situation in the Hokage's office, as Tsunade had received complaints/requests about armored soldiers abducting girls with blonde or chestnut/auburn coloured haired.

The woman had a rough idea of who the man was, since Hikari and Asuna had complained about it when they had dinner after returning from destroying Orochimaru's hideout.

Hence, the reason why she had called in the members of team Gai (without Gai), Kirito, Sinon, Asuna and Suguha.

Tsunade said as she looked at the eight people in front of her, "Recently, I've received reports and requests about knights kidnapping girls. And they all just so happen to be around the age of 20, with blonde and light brown hair."

The eight of them frowned, and Kirito asked, "So, you want us to investigate this?"

Tsunade nodded, "Hikari and Asuna fit the descriptions. And I suspect this has something to do with Sugou, but it still doesn't make sense. So I want Hikari, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha to investigate this, and Kirito, Neji, Tenten and Lee, you four will back them up."

Neji nodded, "I see. If it was Sugou, he would have came straight to Konoha, since he knows both of them are here."

The Hokage nodded, "Exactly."

Lee nodded with vigor in his eyes, "YOSH! WE'LL FIND OUT WHO THIS UNYOUTHFUL PERSON IS!"

Tenten and Neji both sighed, while Kirito and the girls just sweatdropped at his enthusiasm.

The last Senju cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention, "Okay, one more thing, I had Shikaku analyse the reports, and he found that the abductions all happen near the remains of Aincrad."

That got Kirito's attention, "Aincrad?"

Tsunade nodded, "That's the main reason why I'm having you join this mission. With Yui, you have the most knowledge about Aincrad."

Kirito nodded as Yui shot out of his seal in her pixie form and saluted to the Hokage, "Aye aye ma'am!"

Tsunade just smiled and nodded before she turned to the others, "Kirito will lead the mission. You may leave at your own leisure, but try to leave tomorrow by noon at latest."

The eight of them nodded as Tsunade dismissed them.

Outside the office, Kirito looked at the seven ninja, "Okay, how about we leave in an hour?"

Neji nodded, "I'm fine with it."

Tenten nodded, and Lee yelled, "YOSH! KIRITO-SAN IS OUR CAPTAIN FOR THIS MISSION! WE'LL GO WITH ANYTHING YOU DECIDE!"

The other girls nodded in agreement. Kirito sighed, "Okay, pack for a week, and meet up at the gates in an hour."

The members of Team Gai nodded and left to pack while Kirito and the girls went back to their compound.

Several hours later, the two teams were at one of the villages close to the ruins of Aincrad. (By now Kirito has his Dark Repulsor reforged and fixed, just in case anyone is wondering) . Tenten asked as they walked, "So, what do we do now?"

Kirito frowned, "We look for those knights. And unfortunately, we'll have to let them take Hikari-chan and Asuna-chan."

The girls nodded, knowing it was necessary. Neji said, "Then we'll know where the girls are brought to."

Suguha suggested as she looked at the time, "How about we stay at the inn for the night? I mean, its quite late now."

No one objected, as they quickly headed for an inn, where they paid for two large rooms and stayed for the night.

Unknown to them, that night, in Oberon's fortress, the man smiled gleefully as he sensed their presence. The self proclaimed king laughed, "FINALLY! I HAVE FOUND YOU BOTH, MY LOVES!"

Oberon stood up from his throne and walked to a window, staring at the direction of the village the teams from Konoha were in. The blonde smiled, "Tomorrow, I will see you two again, my Titania, and Ciela."

The king then turned away and headed back to his quarters, the two girls being the only people in his mind.

At the same time, in Kirito's shared room with the four girls, Asuna and Hikari both shivered slightly before they calmed down as Kirito subconsciously tightened his arms over them.

(linebreak)

The next day, the two groups checked out of the inn and went to gather information around the village.

After a few hours, the two teams gathered at the center of the village. Kirito said, "So, it seems those knights come here at noon."

Neji nodded, "Yeah, and like the reports told us, they always take girls with blonde or light brown hair."

Lee frowned, "YOSH! WE'LL FIND WHO THIS UNYOUTHFUL PERSON IS, AND STOP HIS ACTIONS!"

Tenten sighed, "So, what should we do?"

Everyone turned to Asuna and Hikari, since they were the ones who fitted the descriptions perfectly. The two girls shared a look and Asuna sighed, "I guess we'll have to act as bait. When those knights come, we let them take us, and find where they're going."

Kirito frowned, "I don't like it, but I guess it can't be helped. But, if I see anything bad, I'll jump in, mission be damned."

The girls smiled at his protectiveness, while Neji nodded, "Of course, we wouldn't expect anything else."

Tenten and Lee nodded in agreement, though the former had to bash the latter on the head before he could shout out again.

Sinon nodded, "Okay, let's begin then."

The group quickly moved. Kirito, Neji, Tenten and Lee scouted the area and hid in places so that they could jump out easily, yet stay hidden from sight.

Suguha and Sinon did the same, except on higher ground so that Sinon could snipe any enemies with her bow, with Suguha guarding her.

As for Asuna and Hikari, the two changed into civilian clothes, with Hikari letting her hair down. Of course, they kept all of their equipment under the clothes, in case anything happened.

Soon enough, by noon, almost every female cleared the streets, leaving only men walking around, and not before long, a small squadron of knights marched in.

Without a word, the knights started searching the area, most likely for girls/women with blonde and light brown hair.

In their hiding spot, Kirito frowned, "They sure aren't making any effort in staying quiet."

Yui nodded in agreement as she materialised in the real world. Neji frowned as he scanned the knights, "Weird... I cannot see any chakra source in them. Its as if they are mere summons, or rather, puppets."

Tenten nodded, "Its not that strange, it may be like how Nagato-san used his paths."

Lee nodded, whispering loudly, "MAYBE."

Kirito nodded before he narrowed his eyes, "Quiet... Here they come."

The swordsman glanced upwards by 45 degrees and spotted Suguha and Sinon on top of one of the higher buildings nearby, exactly in front and above them. The three shared a nod before they focused on the knights.

The knights quickly searched the village, barging into shops and houses, but never coming out with anyone in their grasps.

That was the case, until they noticed Hikari and Asuna sitting by the road on a long bench.

The knights immediately surrounded the two girls, grabbing their arms to take them away. And that was what the ninjas intended, though Hikari and Asuna both acted as if they were struggling to avoid suspicion.

Soon, as the two girls were being taken away, Kirito spoke, "Yui."

The pixie shot out his seal and saluted to him, "Got it, Papa!"

The small girl quickly flew away, following after the knights. Kirito then nodded to Neji, Tenten and Lee, signalling them to move, before he glanced up at Suguha and Sinon, also telling them to move.

With Hikari and Asuna, the two refrained from sighing as the knights pushed them to walk. The girls could easily break out of their bindings, but couldn't fault them since they were meant for normal civilians, or so they thought.

Soon, the two girls, followed by the rest of the team and Yui from a short distance away, reached a familiar area.

Asuna frowned, "Hikari-chan..."

The Kyubi Jinchurikii nodded, "We're at the ruins of Aincrad."

Soon, they reached a large area, but to everyone's surprise, instead of rubble, they were met with the sight of a huge fortress, no traces that Aincrad ever existed.

Asuna and Hikari both glanced back, spotting the others hidden by the trees. The two girls nodded to them, and they nodded back.

The two then followed the knights into the fortress, the gates slamming shut before anyone could act.

Asuna and Hikari snapped their head back, shocked that the gates closed as fast as they did. It was too late, however, as the knights started to push them to move.

Outside, with Kirito and the others, Neji asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Kirito frowned, "We find a way in... Neji, scan the structure for any weak spots. Everyone else, check the area for any clues."

The black swordsman looked at Yui, "Yui, can you help Neji?"

The pixie saluted, "Got it, Papa!"

Yui immediately flew away towards the castle, circling it as she looked for any openings. Neji did the same with his Byakugan, while the others spread out to search for anything useful.

As the team checked for any clues, inside the fortress, Asuna and Hikari were escorted into a rather large throne room. Strangely, it looked like a mini and watered down version of the throne room in Aincrad, with an actual throne at the end of the room.

But what caught the girls' eyes, was the blonde man sitting on the throne, wearing green royal robes, with a golden sword stabbed beside the throne, and he was staring at them gleefully.

However, the sentiment wasn't shared, not in the least, as the girls could practically feel the man mentally undressing them. And they didn't like it one bit.

The blonde man smiled and stood up, spreading his arms in a welcoming manner, "WE FINALLY MEET! MY TITANIA, CIELA! Welcome!"

The two girls instantly recognised the voice, not fond of it at all. Regardless, Asuna asked, "Are you Sugou-san?"

Oberon frowned, "Sugou? No, my name, is Oberon."

His frown turned into a kind smile that did not fit his face at all, "But the two of you can call me whatever you wish, Titania, Ciela."

Hikari frowned slightly, "Ti-tania? Ciela? What are you talking about?"

Oberon's smile drop slightly before he spoke, "It seems your memories have yet to fully return. No matter, we'll take things one at a time."

Asuna and Hikari both shared a look, both slightly confused by what the man was talking about. Though they were sure about one thing, the blonde man was definitely Nobuyuki Sugou, they could feel it in his chakra.

Oberon then frowned as he turned his head to the right slightly, "It seems we have some... uninvited guests."

A small semi-transparent panel appeared in front of him, and Asuna and Hikari both saw the others' faces on it. But what caught their attention, was the change of Oberon's expression the moment the screen focused on Kirito.

The self proclaimed King snapped his fingers, immediately sending a platoon of knights out, "It seems we have some pests to take care of."

He flicked his wrist, causing two slightly smaller thrones to rise up beside his own throne, while the panel enlarged itself until it was the size of a cinema screen.

Oberon turned and started walking towards his throne, "Come, I believe this should serve as a suitable entertainment for us."

Hikari and Asuna both frowned inside, hesitating a bit. For now, Oberon wasn't hostile to them, but as soon as the blonde man sat down, he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, and the girls instantly felt a huge burst of chakra.

The two shared a brief look before they reluctantly sat down on either side of Oberon, the self proclaimed King absolutely oblivious to what the girls were thinking, instead, focused on the screen.

At the same time, back outside, the team had gathered in front of the huge doors again. Kirito asked, "So, what did you all find?"

Suguha and Sinon both shook their heads, having found nothing. Neji and Yui also shook their heads, the Hyuga said, "I scanned the entire building, no openings. But Asuna-san and Hikari-san are both fine."

Yui nodded as Kirito turned to Tenten and Lee. The mini-Gai shouted, "I'M SORRY KIRITO-SAN! WE FOUND NOTHING!"

Tenten winced slightly from the loud shout before she said apologetically, "Yeah, unfortunately, we couldn't find anything. Sorry, Kirito."

The swordsman sighed as he turned to look at the gates, "Its fine... We'll find a way in, eventually."

As the team started to check the fortress again, the gates suddenly opened, surprising the group as 20 knights came out, surrounding them.

Neji frowned as he silently entered his Jyuken stance, "It seems someone doesn't want us to enter."

Kirito nodded as he drew both of his swords, the others preparing themselves for battle.

The knights immediately charged, and everyone went to intercept them, each of them taking on 3 to 4 knights at a time.

The team from Konoha held strong, pushing against the 20 knights as they slowly made for the gates, but no matter how much Kirito, Suguha and Tenten cut down the knights, no matter how much Sinon, Neji and Lee hit them, they always came back.

It was as if they felt no pain. (well, they are puppets, so in a way, yeah)

After a short while, Neji blasted one of the knights away with a Juuken strike, sending it crashing into the trees. He scanned the area, frowning before he yelled, "Kirito-san! Go in! We'll handle this!"

Lee nodded as a punched a knight, sending it falling to the ground, "YOSH! WE'LL HOLD THESE KNIGHTS BACK!"

Tenten nodded as she smashed one of the knights with a huge mace, "GO!"

Suguha slashed down a knight while Sinon blasted a knight away with an explosive arrow before they moved to Kirito, the archer said, "Let's go, Kirito-kun."

The katana user nodded in agreement as she pushed another knight away. Kirito narrowed his eyes as he kicked a knight away, "Got it... But, we'll need to find a way through."

Lee yelled as he kicked another knight away, "WE'LL PAVE A PATH FOR YOU!"

Neji smirked as he realized what Lee wanted to do, "Yeah."

Tenten just sighed as she smashed a knight with her mace before it stood up again.

Lee took a deep breath and opened four gates, his body bursting with power. The green clad man raised his right arm, his palm facing the front, "RYUHA! GOKEN TAIJUTSU SAISHU OUGI!"

As Lee slid into a horse stance, Neji bent down slightly, pulling his right palm back, chakra building up in his arm, "Hakke..."

Then, the two men roared as they pushed their arm (in Lee's case, both arms) forward, "SEKIHA TENKYOKEN/ HASANGEKI!"

From Lee's palms, a huge blast of chakra shot out, a rough shape of a fist/palm in the middle as it blasted the twenty knights away. Coupled with Neji's Mountain Shattering Strike, the two attacks easily removed all the enemies from blocking Kirito and the two girls' path.

But as soon as the attacks ended, the knights were immediately reassembled, though slowly stood up. Neji tch'd before he looked at the others, "Go, we'll hold them back."

Kirito nodded, "Thanks, Neji, Lee, Tenten."

He turned to Suguha and Sinon, sharing nods before they broke into a sprint, charging into the fortress, leaving Tenten, Lee and Neji as they continued to hold the knights back.

As the three ran through the doors, the three slashed/shot down any enemies they saw, moving forward until they reached yet another massive door in front of them.

But before they could approach the gates, a massive creature landed on the ground with a massive boom. And the three got a clear view of the monster.

It was black, grey and ruby in colour, standing on four hind legs with a long tail and huge wings. (The first dragon boss you fight in SAO VS AW in the first meadow field)

The dragon roared at the three as it stood by the gates, guarding it.

Suguha narrowed her eyes as she gripped her katana, "What do we do, Kirito-kun?"

Kirito glared at the dragon, tightening his grip on his two swords, "We fight."

Sinon let out a breath as she took three arrows from her quiver, "Yeah, but how?"

The swordsman was about to extend his wings when he heard Yui's voice, "Papa! Are you forgetting something?"

The man could practically feel his 'daughter' pouting and he chuckled slightly, 'Yeah, sorry. I'll be counting on you, Yui.'

Kirito sheathed his blades and turned his head slightly, "I think I have just the idea."

The man then jumped up, using the Acceleration to push him up higher, before any of the two girls could question what he meant.

Then, Kirito let out a burst of chakra, causing him to glow as he started to grow.

Then, he landed on the ground with a loud boom, not unlike how the dragon did. But instead of Kirito, standing there was a huge familiar samurai, Kagachi the Samurai Lord.

Suguha gaped in surprise, "K-kirito-kun?!"

The massive samurai turned his head slightly and nodded, "Stand back, I'll handle this."

Sinon and Suguha quickly backed away, the archer commented, "I forgot he can do that."

Suguha nodded in agreement before she heard Choumei-S whine, "Why didn't you use our Bijuu mode too?"

The girl smiled forcefully, 'I forgot?'

Choumei-S just continued whining as Suguha tuned the Bijuu out.

Back with Kirito, he drew his katana, holding it in a two-handed grip, staring at the dragon. With the size advantage of the dragon being nullified, it was like Kirito was facing a reptile the size of a horse.

The dragon roared and charged forward, aiming a bite at the samurai's neck. But Kirito saw it coming and smashed the dragon's head with the hilt of his sword.

Then, not missing a beat, Kirito turned and sent a slap kick to the dragon's face, sending it stumbling to its left before it managed to rebalance itself.

The dragon roared and swung its tail at Kirito, and the samurai lord raised his katana, letting the tail hit it. But to his surprise, instead of being sliced into two, the tail struck the blade, pushing him backwards before he pushed it away.

Kirito growled slightly as he glared at the dragon. He didn't want to waste time with the dragon, since he had no idea what was happening to Asuna and Hikari. And he certainly didn't want to take any risks, even if he knew they were strong.

Slashing at the dragon, Kirito pushed the dragon back before he backed away. Then, he pulled his left fist back, chakra gathering around his fists.

Then, Kirito punched with his left arm, sending a chakra whip with the shape of a snake shooting towards the dragon, striking it straight in the face, causing it to stumble backwards again.

Then, Kirito/Kagachi bent his legs, sheathing his sword, and Suguha instantly knew what he was doing, while Sinon had an idea of what the man was doing.

The dragon growled as it regained its balance, glaring at the samurai lord with pure anger in its eyes. It charged, aiming a bite at the massive samurai's arm.

That was its final mistake.

With speed that normally wouldn't be possible for something that huge, Kagachi/Kirito drew his blade, right as the dragon's head was in front of him.

And with one swift swing, the head of the dragon fell to the ground, blood shooting out of the neck of the dead dragon like a fountain.

Kagachi/Kirito let out a breath, though it sounded like a deep grunt, before he turned and walked towards the girls, shrinking gradually until he returned to his normal size and appearance.

The man said as he reached them, "Let's go."

Suguha and Sinon nodded seriously before they followed Kirito to the gates. The man nodded to the two girls, who nodded back, then with one chantless wind spell, he blew the gates open.

Then they walked in, and saw a blonde man with green royal robes sitting on a throne, with Hikari and Asuna sitting beside him. But one look, and the three knew the two girls were waiting for a chance to leave.

Oberon smirked arrogantly as he stared down Kirito, "So, you finally made it, you mongrel."

Kirito, and the four girls, frowned hearing the blonde man acting so hostile. The swordsman asked, "What's your aim in all this? Why kidnap all those girls?"

Oberon rested his head on his right arm, leaning towards Asuna, "None of your business."

The blonde man stared down at the swordsman before he stood up, grabbing his sword, "But... Since you're here, I'll reduce you to ashes."

Oberon pulled out his sword, and in a blink of an eye, Asuna drew her rapier, while Hikari made a Chidori in her right arm, and the two girls thrust their weapon/attack at the man.

But to their surprise, Hikari's Chidori was stopped by a golden blade, while Asuna's stab was stopped by a golden scabbard.

As soon as they realized their attacks were stopped, the two girls leapt away to Kirito, Suguha and Sinon, Hikari dispelling her Chidori in the process, while Asuna gripped her rapier in a defensive grip.

Oberon frowned, "What are you two doing?"

Asuna and Hikari both stayed silent, staring at Oberon wearily. They knew it was Sugou, but they had no idea how he changed, and they didn't like it one bit.

The self proclaimed king, however, took it the other way, "I see, that mongrel brainwashed you, all four of you... No worries, I'll free you all soob enough."

Sinon frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Oberon didn't answer, but instead, snapped his fingers, forming four individual barriers around the four girls. The blonde king stared at Kirito, hostility evident in his eyes, "Now, I'll kill you, mongrel... And free those maidens from your grasps."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, already not liking the man, "I have no idea what you're talking about. You're the one who went around kidnapping girls, and now you took Asuna-chan and Hikari-chan. You'll pay for that, Sugou."

Oberon eyes darkened and he glared at Kirito, "YOU WILL ADDRESS ME... AS THE FAIRY KING, OBERON-SAMA, MONGREL!"

The self proclaimed king drew his golden blade and charged forward, using his wings to propel him towards Kirito.

The man clad in black narrowed his eyes and raised both of his blades, and clashed againts the Excalibur.

As the two repeatedly clashed blades, Kirito frowned. He had the upper hand when it came to pure skill, Oberon obviously had next to no skill with swordsplay.

He merely swung the blade as it was. But Oberon's sword evened that out with the power it had. Every time Kirito parried the sword, he had to be careful to strike the sword where its power wasn't focused at.

The Excalibur wasn't like any normal sword. It radiated power, as if it threatened to break any weapon it came in contact with. The man was sure, if his swords weren't as well made as they are, they'd shatter the moment the weapons touched the golden sword.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as they separated again. He could see Hikari, Suguha, Sinon and Asuna trying to blow the barrier apart.

He suspected there was a seal on them, since they weren't using the Bijuu's powers and their attacks weren't as strong as they were supposed to be.

The man refocused on Oberon as he jumped away to dodge a slash. Kirito muttered as he landed, "Trace... On."

Immediately, two short blade scimitars appeared and shot towards the blonde man. But before the projections could even reach Oberon, two rock pillars rose from the ground, blocking the swords, before retracting back into the ground as if nothing happened.

Kirito frowned, thinking what to do, before he heard Yui yell in his mind, "Papa, move!"

The swordsman's eyes widened as he leaped back just in time to dodge a rock spike from the ground.

Oberon frowned before he smirked, "Not bad, for a mongrel."

Kirito growled and glared at the blonde man, 'How the hell is he doing that?! I can't sense any changes to his chakra.'

Yui answered, frowning as she watched Oberon from the seal, "Papa, I can feel Aincrad's chakra in him. It makes sense now. I received one half, while he received the other. He could be using the seals Kayaba Akihiko placed in Aincrad."

Kirito frowned, 'Do you know what can he do with them?'

Yui nodded, "There were a lot of seals on Aincrad, some of them from back when Sora no Kuni was not destroyed. Most of them weren't even activated during the Aincrad incident. If he does have all of them, then he can do anything."

Kirito just narrowed his eyes, reminding himself to stay focused in case Oberon did something. He thought, 'Any idea how to beat him?'

Yui frowned before she answered, "Maybe your powers with your mark can help."

Kirito nodded, 'Better than anything. Thanks, Yui.'

The girl beamed, "Okay, Papa!"

The man focused on the blonde bastard in front of him, and he silently muttered, "Trace... On."

Instantly, four copies of the Tensenken appeared around him, while two copies of the Jisenken appeared behind Oberon, unknown to the blonde man, all of them in their Enhanced Armament conditions.

Kirito flexed his wrist, making the four copies of the Heaven Piercing sword shoot out beams of light at the man, at the same time, making the copies of the Time Piercing sword to silently slash all around Oberon.

Oberon frowned and jumped up, dodging the beams of light. But that was just what Kirito wanted.

As soon as the fairy king leaped back, he yelled in pain as he felt a dozen blades slashing his back, causing him to drop to the floor growling in pain.

Kirito let out a breath and was about to walk towards Oberon, when the swordsman felt a burst of chakra. And in an instant, all of Oberon's wounds vanished.

The self proclaimed king growled in anger, "YOU MONGREL!"

Kirito tch'd as he jumped away several times as Oberon sent rock spikes from the ground below him over and over again.

Then, the blonde king thrust his arm at Kirito, causing the area around Kirito to take on a blue shade, and the man instantly slowed down to the point that was almost not moving.

Kirito instantly knew what it was, seeing how fast Oberon suddenly became... Space-time seals that slowed down the time around the target.

The man quickly activated his Acceleration and dashed out of the time field, surprising Oberon before the self proclaimed king was forced to block a heavy strike from both of Kirito's swords, skidding back a few feet.

Oberon growled as he glared at Kirito, "How were you not affected?!"

Kirito sheathed both of his blades, "You're not the only one who can manipulate time and space."

Then, the swordsman raised his right arm, holding it with his left arm, "I am the bone of my sword..."

A large amount of chakra burst out from Kirito as he activated his mark, taking on the thick yellow aura. Oberon's eyes widened as he felt the sheer power Kirito radiated.

"Steel is my body and fire is my blood." The ground trembled as Kirito spoke the next sentence, and the trembling increased for every sentence he spoke. "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!"Kirito roared and pulled his arms down, pointing his arm at the ground, and shot a small ball of chakra into the ground.

In an instant, to the shock of Oberon, instead of his throne room, they were all in Kirito's reality marble.

The king glared at Kirito, "What is this sorcery?!"

A copy of Suguha's katana appeared in Kirito's hands as he said, "This is one of my strongest techniques, and the one that will defeat you."

In a burst of blue particles, Kirito reappeared behind Oberon, beside one of the swords stabbed in the ground behind Oberon.

Oberon roared in pain as Kirito slashed at his back with the katana. Not missing a beat, Kirito channeled a sword skill into the katana and yelled, "Hiogi!"

The swordsman swiftly landed three chakra enhanced slashes on Oberon's back, causing him to scream in pain.

Letting the copy of the Tempest drop, Kirito raised his arms as two blades flew into his arms, one was a huge cleaver-like blade while the other was a weird 6 part blade, with each part wider than the previous.

The swordsman raised the cleaver-like blade, charging with chakra before he swung it hard, roaring as he did. The swing unleashed a huge chakra wave that shot towards Oberon.

The fairy king cursed and raised hjs Excalibur, barely blocking it as he was pushed back for several feet.

But Kirito wasn't done. Tightening his grip over the other blade, he pulled back before he thrust the sword forward, hard, just as Oberon turned.

The blade extended, shooting towards Oberon, and struck the Excalibur hard, almost sending it flying out of Oberon's arms.

Kirito immediately charged forward, dispelling the two blades and grabbed two golden blades from the floor, shocking Oberon as he easily recognised one of the blades, a copy of the Excalibur, the other being the Fragant Olive Sword.

Oberon growled as he swung his sword at Kirito, who blocked with the same golden sword, "HOW DO YOU HAVE THAT SWORD?!"

Kirito smirked as he pushed back Oberon's Excalibur with his own Excalibur, "Who knows?"

Releasing a burst of chakra from his mark, Kirito pushed Oberon away, causing the blonde man to stumble backwards. Not willing to miss the chance, Kirito flipped the Fragant Olive Sword into reverse grip, holding it out horizontally and yelled, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"

The heavy blade instantly burst into hundreds of petals, swirling around Oberon as they left countless cuts on the self proclaimed king, causing him to wince in pain.

Then, Kirito yelled, "RELEASE RECOLLECTION!"

Immediately as soon as those words left his mouth, the petals multiplied, further increasing the damage on Oberon, as the man was now bleeding all over on his knees.

Kirito let out a breath, walking over to the man, drawing the Elucidator, "This ends... now."

Oberon growled, "If only you never existed..."

The swordsman sighed, "I've heard that many times, and you probably won't be the last."

Kirito raised his sword, prepared to end Oberon's life.

The self proclaimed king yelled, "IF ONLY YOU NEVER EXISTED!"

Kirito's eyes widened as the fairy king suddenly unleashed a huge amount of chakra from his Excalibur, and everything turned white.

Then, he felt a small shift in his chakra, but shrugged it off.

The light died down, and Kirito opened his eyes. The man blinked, "W-where am I?"

He looked around, confused. Instead of his reality marble, he was surrounded by trees, and Oberon and the girls were nowhere to be found.

Kirito thought, 'Yui, are you there?'

He received no reply.

Kirito clenched his fists. He was sure Oberon did something, but he didn't know what. All he remembered was the bright light, and a small shift in his chakra.

The man looked forward and started to move. For some weird reason, Kirito had a bad feeling about to events that were to come. And he didn't like it one bit.

XXX

Done. So that's chapter 56. Review please.