The Prince of Swords

by ToumaFF

Kazuto was always exceptionally talented, but limited by his own idea of kindness. Having been corrected at an early age, he excels through life without much of a purpose. Now trapped in a rather gruesome death game of his own choice, he will attempt to break though it as Kirito, the famed Prince of Swords. Kirito/Multi

5. The Strongest Leader

On the 24th floor of Aincrad, amidst the heat of the sun and endless fields of sand, was where the front lines currently made its stand.

A scattering of rocks and sand, mixed with what seemed to be the ruins of an ancient civilization. The floor would have likely been a challenging floor that many of the MMO veterans could have appreciated, if not for the fact that the added difficulty only sought to to hinder the already downtrodden players. There was nothing like an endless desert to encourage the players to clear it.

The floor was also a particularly brutal change of pace for the clearers, as the uneven ground made fighting quite a chore. The heat was a constant annoyance, and the sun sought to blind you at every turn. Nothing could be done to change it however, and the clearers had trudged on, seeking to move one step closer to their goal.

The main city of this floor was the walled royal kingdom of «Pilak», built around a large oasis of water. It was quite obvious why the majority of the players had then set up in the city, as the oasis served to bring much needed humidity to the dry atmosphere and contrary to the harsh conditions outside of the city, «Pilak» had an abundance of wealth. The NPCs of the palace city seemed to be living in happiness, showcasing exotic wares and attracting players with the diversity of their selection. Despite having been only unlocked for less than a week, the city was already crowded with all sorts of players, spanning from low to high levels.

It was a common occurrence for players to congregate in the newly unlocked city in each floor, eager to explore new sights and have an excuse to celebrate. There were also many players that simply wanted to thank the clearers for risking their lives, and it served as a good morale boost for the tired players. As the front lines continued to advance, it was to be expected that there would be casualties along the way, with each one serving as a large blow to the mental strength of the clearers.

After the untimely death of a player on the fifth boss of Aincrad, the clearers had become exceedingly aware of their situation. There was no more cheerful air around the clearers when they met anymore, all of them deciding to put their entire focus on strategizing, trying to avoid thinking about the dangers in what they were doing. Yet as each casualty inevitably stacked up, more and more players had become wary and frightened. Some had even dropped away from the front lines, unable to cope with the stress. It was understandable of course, and no one called them out for being cowards... because at the back of their own minds, they thought the same thing.

Seven months into the death game known as SAO, yet there was no end in sight. Morale was low, and players grew more restless everyday. Some had fallen into the monotony of routine, seeking to establish themselves in this world, hoping to put the dream of the real world to the back of their minds. Forgoing leveling, and the game itself, some had settled themselves to a certain location or community, choosing to try and live inside of the game. For the clearers that remained however, settling down was not an option.

To be a front liner was to put yourself at risk everyday, and for those who had been doing so since the beginning, they had slowly grown into the role. The aspect of death that had lingered near the start of the game was no longer a factor, and fighting the monsters of Aincrad was just another fact of life. They knew that there was no danger from the monsters of SAO if you were careful, and you could not compare the danger of a normal mob to the danger of the «Floor Boss».

To them, the only risks seemed to be when they aimed for the boss clear, and if not for the well-organized strategizing meets prior to each boss, they would have never considered participating. As each floor was slowly cleared, the ranks of the front-liners had grown, and despite the fact that many who had started in the beginning left, there many others that joined to fill their spot. In fact, at this time, there were an overabundance of front-liners, most of which who were up to the task of defeating the boss.

On the steps of the central palace; an elegantly designed stone cathedral, was where the majority of the current clearers anxiously stood. To the many passers-by, many who recognized the group as front liners, they made for a curious sight. The clearers were waiting for the start of the most important meeting on each floor.

The boss strategization meeting; an event called before each fight and was not to be taken lightly. Every clearer, even those not participating would be invited in order for every opinion to be heard. There was no room for error when your lives were on the line after all.

Each of the players knew one another, having been with each other for multiple floors now. Many shared acknowledging looks, and some conversed in low tones. The atmosphere was heavy as many were restless. It was due to the fact that the meeting was called much earlier than many had expected. The usual time it took for a full clear of each floor ranged from a week to two, usually only taking one week for bosses that seemed easy. The scouts played a vital role in that regard, some even testing the limits of the boss before escaping death with teleport crystals. Information for the inevitable boss fight was incredibly important as it served to lessen the chance of a fatality, and to bring much needed confidence to the group.

Having a boss meeting this early in the week meant that there was a complication, either the scout had discovered something noteworthy and they wanted more time to prepare, or something had gone wrong. Every player hoped it was the former.

Although the group of clearers seemed to be an unified front, it was obvious once you looked closer that the group was split into certain sections. It was understandable if you knew the dynamics of how the group worked. A raid group was only as strong as its leader, and if this was a normal MMO then there would usually be no inner conflict about who was in charge. Being trapped in a game of life and death however, tended to create rifts among players, often highlighting the differences in personality rather noticeably.

The leader of the clearers... a much speculated person since there really was no clear answer. If you had asked the general population who they thought leaded the front lines, they would inevitably say «The Prince». Most wouldn't blame them as that particular player held an incredible amount of attention, with his achievements being brought to light often. An overwhelmingly strong person, and many of the clearers would follow his lead at a moments notice - he was someone who had proved himself time and time again.

To the group of clearers themselves however, there really wasn't a single leader they could point to. This was due to the fact that the group of high leveled players had naturally gravitated to like-minded individuals, inevitably joining the guilds that they thought was the best. Now mostly separated by the difference in guilds, it was natural that they would look toward their guild leaders for instructions. It was something understandable since the high leveled guilds fronted much of their players to the goal of clearing the front lines, and the very top guilds in turn made up the majority of the players in the boss raid.

In Aincrad, the top three guilds were set in stone.

The guild that ranked third was the «Divine Dragon Alliance», an enormous guild that had the highest concentration of high leveled players. They were often seen clearing the dungeons near the front lines, and were generally known to be rude to those outside of their guild. A tightly knit guild that was created from the union of three separate guilds - likely resulting in their choice of name. Led by a trinity of strong players that was well-known in the MMO world, the three of them commanded a respectable amount of attention.

The guild coming in second would undoubtedly be the «Knights of the Blood», a rather renowned guild that had come into notice due to their leader. Heathcliff «The Unbreakable» was a formidable player known as the strongest shield user in the game. He had seemingly come into fame out of nowhere as he only joined sometime during the 10th floor, but had immediately proven himself by single handedly blocking several special abilities from the boss in quick succession - an action that had likely saved several players. Showing strong charisma and leadership skills, he quickly attracted several strong players to his side and soon created the «Knights of the Blood». With a very noticeable uniform and high standard of behaviour, their presence was clearly felt amongst the higher levels.

The title of the strongest and subsequently the most renowned guild belonged to the «Royal Swords». An extremely popular subject within SAO, they were known as having the strongest, most noticeable players in the game. Led by the much talked about «The Prince», Kirito, known for his overwhelming fighting style and commanding aura. The guild already had the benefit of having the most well-known clearer; someone who had been on the front lines since level 1, and someone who had led the way for boss fights ever since. But the particulars of the guild did not end with Kirito, even with his fame, there were the others in his guild that also made up part of their reputation.

When a guild had some of the cutest girls in Aincrad, and when those girls all had enough skill to be fighting on the front lines... you tended to garner a lot of attention. The girls themselves were so well known in fact, that there were already several fan clubs dedicated to them. Kirito himself had a fanclub, although the numbers were unknown, their presence was felt often when he found himself venturing out - he never knew what being stared at like a piece of meat was until SAO.

Ever since the discovery of the recording crystal on the fifth floor - a very expensive luxury object that could record pictures and audio, there was a sudden influx of crystals that contained members of «Royal Swords» in various situations. Many wondered where the source of the pictures came from since the various people in them seemed to be in a very relaxed state. That did not stop everyone from purchasing the crystals in bulk, leaving the mysterious suppliers very rich with col. The fan club members would take what they could get, since the guild was very close-knit, often seen together and hard to approach. There were rumours that a particularly revealing photo of the guild leader was in circulation... although it's never been confirmed.

The two more well-known girls of the guild were Asuna «The Flash», and Argo «The Thief ». The reason for their popularity can be largely attributed to how well they stood out, with Asuna being known for being an incredible beauty along with an unmatched attack speed, and Argo was known for being an infamous information dealer as well as using the uncommon claw-type weapons - her moniker was likely a reference to her chosen profession and personality.

The lesser known girls were Silica and Lisbeth, and although they did not receive the same amount of attention as the other two girls, they were still rather noteworthy players themselves. The cute, twin-tailed Silica was the youngest clearer in the game which would have already made her stand out, but the one thing that Silica was also known for was her pet. Having tamed the incredibly rare «Feathery Dragon»; a mob that was thought to be impossible to tame, she was now known as the «Beast Tamer». Lisbeth on the other hand, was known for being the highest ranked blacksmith currently in SAO, and as such, she was more well-known amongst the high leveled players than the general population. Despite being rather friendly and cheerful when off the battlefield, she was also known to be quite intimidating when in a fight and had ended up with the title of «Unyielding» as a result, much to her extreme embarrassment.

Although each of the known members of «Royal Swords» were unique by themselves, what made the guild truly stand out was when they were seen working together. With synergy that no one else could claim to have, the group of 5 seemed to trust in each other explicitly, leading to teamwork that was simply amazing to watch. They were also the only guild to be known for using «Combination Attacks»; a technique that combined multiple sword skills in quick succession in order to deal out massive amounts of damage. Kirito and Asuna themselves tended to work in combination much of the time, and along with the other girls, they seemed almost able to clear the floor bosses by themselves.

A slow murmuring spread throughout the gathered crowd as a group of figures approached steadily from the back. The crowd parted to make way for the newer arrivals, causing the player leading them to sigh. Dressed in a rather formal black uniform, trimmed with gold, Kirito attracted much of their attention. Trailing behind him, seemingly engaged in conversation was four girls, all of them ignoring the eyes of the crowd - they were already used to the attention.

One last reason why Kirito was so well known amongst the players was quite simple. When you constantly had four insanely cute girls constantly vying for your attention... you tended to attract a significant amount of attention.

---

The large meeting chamber was an unused room within the white stoned cathedral, and it provided more than enough room for the group of clearers. With their numbers being somewhere around 100, it was rare to find an area indoors that could fit them, this chamber must have been scouted earlier this week - likely a work of the meticulous Heathcliff.

Situated in the middle of the large chamber was a round table made of stone that could have comfortably sat a good dozen players. There was an unspoken message left in the air, and everyone parted to clear room for the 'leaders' to sit.

Kirito stepped up first, taking a seat at the table, and immediately Argo and Asuna took their places by his side, standing at attention. The two official vice-leaders of the guild, they were a common sight when dealing with the «Royal Swords». Dressed in a uniform consisting of white and black as the two primary colours, and trimmed with gold, they looked the part of a royal escort. Standing slightly behind them, not quite amongst the crowd, Silica and Lisbeth waited patiently, understanding the rather troublesome formalities.

Heathcliff followed next, the red clad figure walked around the table to sit directly across from him, and trailing him was a rather surprising player. Blue eyes met his own black orbs and he acknowledged Diabel with a nod. The player had shaped up considerably since the first floor, now being much more humble and open to the others around him. He had been one of the first swayed by Heathcliff's considerable presence and had been there when the «Knights of the Blood» was founded. Taking his place at Heathcliff's right, Diabel nervously shifted when he caught Asuna and Argo glaring at him - they had never really forgiven him for that stunt back on the first floor.

Three more players stepped out from the crowd, the one leading had a mop of dark red hair and a stern face. He was known as Ryuken, the 'official' leader of the «Divine Dragon Alliance», and was known for having a very fierce personality. Trailing behind him were the two co-founders of the DDA, Sansa and Malik, both of which were known players in the MMO scene. They were all equipped with the signature styled armour the DDA were known for; a heavy set of grey and dark blue plate armour. His armour made a loud clanking sound as he sat down in between the other two guild leaders.

The three leaders looked across at each other with mutual respect, knowing that each of them were worthy of it. There was no bad blood between any of them, as they had already fought by each others' side numerous times. If there was any guild that the DDA held any moderum of respect for, then it was the «Royal Swords» and to a lesser extent the «Knights of the Blood». Kirito himself had to admit that the other two at the table were very respectable in their own right, as Ryuken was competent enough to lead a full division of his guild at the same time, while Heathcliff could inspire with just his words alone. He couldn't help but be wary of Heathcliff however, as no one knew anything about the enigmatic KoB leader, and the way that he carried himself... seemed just a bit off.

Seeing that no one else wanted to speak first, the leader of the knights chose to speak first. Clearing his throat, he spoke firmly to the gathered players, gathering everyone's' immediate attention.

"Welcome, my fellow clearers. The boss strategization meeting for the 24th floor will now commence." His tone was captivating as it was strong, his expressionless face seemed to radiate a sense of importance. "Before we begin however, I believe we need to address some rather distressing events that I was informed about from those below."

'Those below' likely referred to the mid-tiered players that usually stayed a good several floors away from the front lines. Kirito frowned, already having a good inkling of what the 'events' in question were. There was really only one type of danger in the lower floors after all.

"Sometime yesterday, I received another report about a mass PKing." His expression was now grim, mouth setting into a thin line.

Kirito heard several gasps behind him, and immediately loud murmurings spread through the assembled crowd. Another mass pking... which would mean that it was related to the one from last month. A particularly gruesome massacre that left only one survivor; a poor girl that was traumatized from the experience, barely remembering anything from the event. The brutal killing seemed to be perpetrated by an orange guild; a guild focused on killing other players. The only thing they knew about the guild was that they wore cloaks that hid most of their features and that they liked to target small groups.

"Is it related to the previous one?" Ryuken spoke up grimly from his right. Even if his guild only focused primarily on its own members, even he could not overlook something as sickening as a mass PK.

"I'm afraid so... we have multiple reports confirming it. Suspiciously cloaked individuals were spotted all around the area." His words caused the players to erupt into angry shouts, everyone seeing the issue with having orange players on the loose.

"Is there anything we can do?" Kirito heard Asuna ask worriedly from his left, and inwardly pondered the same thing.

"I'm afraid not." Holding a hand to stall any protests, Heathcliff immediately continued. "We know next to nothing about this guild, no motive and no pattern that we can discern. They seem to be attacking floors at random, and we have no faces or names to go by."

"But, surely we can do something right? The other players..."

There was a problem that resulted in being trapped in SAO; the complete and utter lack of authority. Sure most of the players had a good sense of morals, and kept conflicts to a minimum due to a general understanding of their situation. Even then, any major disputes were usually settled with a duel.

But for those without moral... there was no higher authority in Aincrad than those who were gathered in this very room. In this game, any conflict could be resolved with a sword after all.

"We need more information." The leader of DDA spat out. "If we only knew where they were..."

"Then what?"

Glaring at Heathcliff, Ryuken slammed an armoured fist onto the table. "We destroy them!"

His shout caused many in the crowd to shift nervously, as the thought of killing another player did not sit well with them. Still, there was a few that silently agreed, already regarding the PKers as monsters.

"How foolish." Heathcliff clasped his hands lightly, regarding Ryuken with a steely gaze. "Trying to stop the PKing with more killing... what a waste."

The DDA leader bristled in anger. "What do you propose then!? Leave them be?"

"Of course not, but before we turn into murderers ourselves, how about we start with some negotiations Hm?" Meeting the glare with his own impassive gaze, Heathcliff was emotionless as Ryuken looked away. "After all... nobody decides to just kill without reason."

Kirito silently disagreed with that statement, but didn't voice his opinion. The atmosphere was now quite tense as the audience did not know what to do in this situation. Red clad members of the KoB seemed to be glaring at the large portion of armoured DDA soldiers. The DDA members were also bristling with anger, and even their vice-leaders were glaring.

"How about you?"

The question came from one of the vice-leaders of DDA, and Kirito vaguely recalled him as Sansa, the one in charge of the DDA dungeon clearing groups. His helmet-clad form seemed to be glaring at him, and Kirito met his glare with a raised eyebrow.

"What does the famed 'Prince' have to say about all of this?" His question caused many of the audience to look his way, finally noticing that he had not said a word during the short discussion.

He felt Asuna and Argo shift besides him, likely in anger, but he answered before they could start a scene. "Well... I think we need to focus more on protection."

Everyone blinked at his answer. "Instead of trying to figure out who the PKers are, how about we have a few clearers tag along with those below?"

"Then when the orange guild attacks..." Heathcliff caught on to his train of thought. "The clearers should be enough to hold them off."

"While the rest of us arrive to detain them if needed, and the levelers will remain safe." Kirito finished with a small smile. He highly doubted that a bunch of orange players, no matter how many, could finish off the clearers in time before reinforcements would arrive. "Of course, there's the matter of volunteers, as we will have to invest quite a few players for this."

"We'll do it!"

The voice came from behind Kirito, and he had to turn to see who had spoken. He sighed as he saw the speaker, smiling wryly at the disheveled look of the player.

"My guild will gladly volunteer, as we were going to sit out this boss fight anyways." He had messy pink hair with a scarf that acted as a bandana. His name was Kelin, the leader of the guild Fuurinkazan. He had a big smile on his face when he saw Kirito looking at him, giving him a big thumbs up. "We might need more players though, since my guild isn't nearly big enough."

Conversations immediately broke out throughout the crowd, and several other players stepped up.

"I'll do it!"

"Me too!"

"My guild will help."

Ryuken looked around before sighing. "As will my guild." His statement was met with surprised glances as the DDA were known to be only focused on the front lines. He shared a few heated words with his vice-leaders, but it was drowned in the sound of the crowd.

"What about us Kirito-kun?" Asuna piped up quietly from his left. "Shouldn't we also help?"

He wanted to immediately point out how much attention they would bring, but was interrupted by Argo who spoke first. "Hmm, I think we can Asuna-chi, we just don't want to announce it."

Kirito did not like the gleam in Argo's eyes when she spoke, but couldn't voice his mind as everyone had quieted down. They all turned their attention back to the stoic Heathcliff who was waiting patiently.

"Good. Very good, I applaud all of you who have stepped up. It is imperative that we work together for a common cause such as this." As usual, his words were laced with charisma, and an undertone of pride. Kirito could not tell if it was faked. "We will have to work out the details later, but for now let us move on to the topic of our meeting, the clearing of the floor boss."

"Wait." Before Heathcliff could continue, he was interrupted by a familiar voice. Everyone turned to stare as the vice-leader of DDA spoke out. "Before we begin, I'd like to point out a few things."

"Very well..." Heathcliff gestured to let the player continue, and Kirito sighed.

"Our last boss fight... we lost two players." His grim tone caused the crowd to grow still, all of them recalling the boss of the 23rd floor. "Due to poor communication, two of our fellow comrades have died needlessly. I don't want to point fingers, but it is obvious that there is a flaw in our leadership."

There was no confusion in his statement, everyone in the room immediately knew he was referring to Kirito. They watched on tensely as Kirito met Sansa's stare with his own calm gaze. Many players had already erupted in protest, speaking out on behalf of him.

"Hey! Just what are you trying to say idiot!" Asuna shouted, glaring at the three DDA leaders who did not flinch.

The two players he was referring to had died because they tried to follow the lead of the «Royal Swords», charging into the boss when they were supposed to be waiting with the others. As such, when the large crab-like boss revealed its ability to cleave, the two newer players were caught. And when the boss had started summoning its minions, there was no room to assist the two misguided players. One of the players belonged to the DDA, and the other belonged to the KoB, both of which had tried to follow the lead of a different guild, despite previous warnings.

"Exactly what I meant Flash. The two deaths could have been easily prevented if we had a clear leader!"

His statement started a whole new wave of arguments as all of the players began to shout in protest. Three factions immediately formed within the span of seconds, each one representing the support behind their chosen guild. Silica and Lisbeth grew worried as the shouting began to rise in volume, but mostly they were worried for Kirito, who had been rather calm despite the situation.

He sighed deeply as he regarded the chaotic room. Everyone seemed to be on the verge of a fight as they exchanged harsh words. The only people who weren't descending into chaos seemed to be the three leaders and their vice-leaders. Although Asuna seemed to be glaring daggers at Sansa, while Sansa continued to glare his way. Meeting Heathcliff's blank stare, he shared a silent exchange.

"Argo, would you?" He reluctantly asked.

She smirked in response before manipulating her inventory. "Of course Ki-bou."

There was a loud -pop- followed by a huge dispersion of smoke that quickly stopped the arguments. The white smoke engulfed the room in seconds but did little else, and the players who had reflexively tensed eventually relaxed as they realized what had happened. Using a very low level [Smoke Bomb] to grab everyones attention proved to be successful as everyone turned to a clapping Argo.

"Alright everyone, thanks for showing us girls how to bicker, but could we get on with the meeting?" Her amused tone served to bring them down from their high-strung state, and they all turned to Kirito who looked ready to say something.

"Sansa was it?" Receiving a terse nod from the player, he continued. "What do you want us to do?"

Sansa blinked in surprise at Kirito's calm tone, as he sounded like he was genuinely curious. "I... I want a more unified leadership of course, someone we can all follow without hesitation." The unspoken message was 'someone not you'.

"Like who?" The voice of Heathcliff caused him to falter.

"Me."

Ryuken stood up swiftly, his large form served to remind the players why the intimidating figure commanded the largest amount of clearers in Aincrad. "It should be obvious isn't it? Our guild consistently makes up most of the front lines."

Although his statement was true, many could disagree as the DDA frequently hoarded the best leveling areas to themselves, and rarely joined the scouting parties that had the hard job of mapping out the dungeons. The only area the DDA had a major presence in was in the boss clearing party; where they consistently filled up to 4 full parties.

"Having the most amount of players does not make you the most suitable leader Ryuken, or have you forgotten what happened on the 18th floor?"

Kirito grimaced as he was reminded of the disaster of that floor. Giving the lead of a mix of solos and other guilds to the command of Ryuken was a disaster. Due to the unique nature of the boss fight; which consisted of two bosses instead of one, the group had decided to split and tackle each boss separately. Royal Swords and KoB for one boss, and the DDA with the rest for the other boss. A sound strategy at first, but when the mixed group couldn't keep up with the DDA members, they were left behind.

Ryuken, to his credit looked rightfully sullen at the mention of the 18th floor. "What happened to them was unfortunate, I agree, but obviously they were not ready to work with our strategies in mind."

Heathcliff regarded him impassively. "Then what would you expect of us if you were the 'official' leader? Have everyone join the DDA?"

"Wouldn't that be fine too?" The quiet voice came from Malik, the main organizer for the DDA, his calculative gaze swept through the crowd. "To have all of the clearers unite under one banner... I think that would be better."

A rather radical statement, if the voices were any indication. There were many who resented the DDA for their seclusive training tactics, and would never willingly join them.

"That will never happen. Our differences are too great."

The prideful nature of the knights, the strict presence of the alliance, and the elusive but regal status of the swords. The top three guilds would never work under one banner.

"And in terms of strength... would it not be us who should take the lead?" Heathcliff's statement was met with protests from the DDA members.

"You Knights may be strong Heathcliff, but we have over double your numbers!" Sansa shouted. "Even with your skill, our guild is undoubtedly stronger."

Another fight seemed to be brewing once more and Kirito shared a look with his two vice-leaders.

"That's not true." Diabel spoke up for the first time this meeting. "Even if you have more members, our average levels should be much higher."

He was speaking the truth, since when you had such a large amount of players leveling at the same time, the experience tended to be spread quite far apart. The knights would be higher leveled on average while the DDA would fall behind in terms of individual comparisons.

"That doesn't matter, so what if you have a few levels over us, we have the most high levels of any guild!"

The two glared at each other, seemingly eager to continue their argument.

"Enough."

Kirito spoke out firmly, his voice echoing through the chamber and silencing the budding arguments. "Let's stop arguing over whose guild is stronger and settle this so we can move on."

"You want an 'official leader', then let's vote, whoever wins will have complete command during a boss fight, nothing more. Agreed?"

Everyone reluctantly settled down, seeing the logic behind his words. Even the DDA members grudgingly acknowledged the plan, seeing the fairness in it. Even Diabel and Sansa seemed appeased, confident that their guild would win.

"I have a different suggestion." Heathcliff interjected. "In light of the fact that the chosen leader should be the strongest, I propose that we settle the issue with a duel."

His words were met with a sudden, shocked silence. By suggesting a duel... which would meant that they would see the two rumoured strongest players of SAO fight. Silence turned into excited murmuring as everyone imagined the fight between the most powerful front liners.

"Are you sure?" Diabel whispered lowly to his leader. "Kirito... he is strong."

"I'm no weakling myself Diabel."

"I know that Leader-sama, but Kirito is different. " Looking over at the leader of the Swords, he was reminded of his immense strength personally. "When he duels... its on another level."

Surprisingly, Heathcliff almost smiled at the prospect. "Then I look forward to it."

Kirito himself furrowed his brows at Heathcliff, trying to understand why he had chosen a more violent direction when the option of voting was on the table. Heathcliff had always seemed the type to avoid a direct confrontation if he could, therefore the act of bringing up a duel seemed slightly out of character for the enigmatic guild leader.

"Hehe, we have no problems with a duel Knight-san, but are you sure the rest of you are up to it?" Argo laughed confidently, annoying the other guilds immensely. She draped her arms around Kirito's neck lazily, jerking him out of his thoughts. "Our leader is quite strong ya know?"

Kirito sighed, but made no move to remove the hands around him. He stared resolutely down at Heathcliff, who met his stare with his own unmoving expression. "Very well, if that is what you would prefer... are you fine with this Ryuken?"

Everyone turned to look at the armoured leader. He sat back down with a grim expression on his face, and one could easily tell he was no longer confident "Of course..."

"Then its settled. We will have a duel to decide who will lead us."

---

"Wow Kirito, it sure looked rough in there huh?"

The Royal Swords all turned to see a the speaker; a familiar red haired figure that was leading a bunch of other players.

"Well well, if it isn't Mr. '22 and single'." Argo greeted with a smirk. "Still planning on applying for the Royal Jester job?"

"Urk..." Klein flinched, inwardly weeping. "Will you stop calling me that!?"

Despite the laughter, everyone was glad to see him as he was a very friendly individual. They had met him clearing a dungeon a few floors back and he had connected well with Kirito. Klein did not know whether to grovel at Kirito's feat for having four extremely cute girls following him, or pity him as he witnessed him following their every whim subconsciously. He had ended up making it his personal mission to help Kirito along as he saw his amazing potential. If he did not have his guild mates to look after, he would have wholeheartedly followed Kirito.

"Hey Klein, nice to see you in one piece." Kirito smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the rest of Fuurinkazan. They were one of the few front-line guilds that he and the girls interacted with, since most of the others were often wary of them. Klein and his guild were unafraid of approaching them despite their aloof aura.

"It got kinda crazy in there huh? For a second I was afraid that Asuna-san would be jumping at that Sansa guy."

Asuna blushed lightly as she remembered her heated expressions. "That guy was so annoying! He kept glaring at Kirito-kun the whole time."

"Yea, what's his problem?" Lisbeth agreed. "It looked rather personal."

"I don't know myself." Kirito muttered, recalling that the player was incensed. "Maybe we disagreed sometime in the past?"

It wasn't impossible, as they had frequent conflicts with the DDA and to a lesser extent, the KoB over farming areas. None of them could really compete against the assertive nature of Asuna and Argo when they got heated however, and the conflicts often ended up in their favour.

"Still though, you seemed quite protective in there..." Klein noted with a hint of jealousy.

Argo caught on immediately with a grin. "Like a housewife right? Fufufu~"

"S-stop that."

Lisbeth and Silica shared a smile as Asuna started blushing, the usually regal figure of The Flash was reduced to a nervous wreck when they teased her about Kirito.

"But Asuna-chi, you were practically hovering over him."

"Well I was worried!"

Kirito rubbed his neck and looked away with a small smile on his face. He knew that Asuna liked to look after him, knowing how much he disliked the amount of attention he got at times.

"About the duels Kirito, are you sure you want to go through with it?" Klein had a somewhat serious expression on his face. "Because you've been leading us steadily for the past 24 floors or so, I'm sure no one can really dispute your role."

If Kirito remained in leadership, the majority of the players would be completely behind him, but it was the vocal minority, and the influence of the large guilds that would make things much harder than necessary.

"If it will satisfy everyone, then I will do it. I've also noticed a lot of tension in the recent floors, and if this will solve some of it then so be it." Kirito stated firmly. Personally, he wanted to avoid the duels as he knew it would either resolve some of the building anger, or make it even worse. It wasn't a matter of simply stepping down either, as he knew many of the front liners preferred his leadership, and stepping down would cause another rift in itself. Not to mention his guild would kill him for conceding the leadership role so easily.

"If its Kirito-kun, then it should be fine right?" Silica worriedly asked, absently stroking her pet dragon that was curled around her neck. She knew he was incredibly strong, but she had never seen him in a duel.

"I wonder about that... you won't lose right Kirito?" Lisbeth was of the opinion that Kirito still held himself back somewhat, knowing that he always kept an eye out for all of them, ready to help at a moments notice. She appreciated his care, and felt safer with him at her side than anywhere in SAO, but couldn't help but wonder if they were dragging down his potential.

"Of course Kirito-kun won't lose!" Asuna huffed, crossing her arms. "...Right Kirito-kun?" She added, staring at him with worry in her eyes.

"I won't." He smiled, touched by how much the girls seemed to care for him. "If it's a duel of swords, then I don't think I'll lose."

Argo smiled secretly to herself, wondering if she should reveal one of Kirito's last hidden secrets to the rest of the girls. There was a reason why she was supremely confident of Kirito's victory after all.

"Ahhh! Look at how much all of these girls care for you Kirito!" Klein shouted in disbelief, gripping at his head. "How do you do it man?!"

Kirito sighed as Klein prostrated himself in front of him. "Teach me Kirito-sama!"

The girls all giggled while his fellow guild mates all palmed their faces in exasperation.

"Come on idiot leader, we're going to train today remember?" One of the members of Fuurinkazan started dragging Klein away by his feet.

"W-wait! Argo!" Klein struggled briefly, and even more of his guild mates came to drag him along, treating him like a captured fish. "You said if I became a Jester- Wait! - then you'd -Put me down! - introduce me right?!"

They all watched as he was dragged kicking and screaming out of the chamber, making quite a scene.

Kirito looked at Argo with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

---

A perfectly cool breeze, coupled with the warmth of the afternoon sun, gave the entire area a sense of relaxation. Nearby, a river flowed slowly, filling the air with the soft sounds of running water. Lying underneath a nearby tree, to complete the picturesque scene of tranquility, was the figure of a certain black-haired boy. Mouth slightly opened, chest rising to the tempo of the rustling leaves, the sleeping person seemed to be at peace with the world.

"He's way too relaxed..."

Several pairs of eyes stared at the sleeping boy, each wondering at just how at peace he seemed.

"And Pina too." Asuna mumbled longingly. The blue feathery dragon seemed to be sleeping contentedly curled up on Kirito's chest. Ever since Silica had tamed the dragon she had been trying unsuccessfully to befriend it. It seemed that the dragon only liked Kirito and Silica as he would duck and hide from any other players.

"I know, shouldn't he be training? He's going up against that player after all."

"What do you mean Lis-chan?" Silica looked at her curiously. "What's so special about Heathcliff-san?"

"You mean you haven't heard the rumours?" Seeing the smaller girls confused look, she grinned sheepishly. "Oh, I forgot that you don't spend much time among the merchant districts."

Silica tended to avoid the large player base ever since she had gotten Pina. She had become something of an infamous character, and especially due to her tiny stature, and cute looks. They tended to swarm her when she went out alone, and only the presence of Kirito or surprisingly Asuna stopped them.

She pouted. "You know I can't stand the crowds..."

"Ah, my bad. Anyways, Heathcliff is actually a really well-known player, probably even up there with Asuna... or you." Lisbeth smiled at her cute expression of helplessness. "We've fought beside him after all- Wait, shouldn't you know how strong he is? You are a shield user too."

"Uhm...I don't really pay attention to the others during a boss fight..." The shorter girl admitted with a blush.

Lisbeth just smiled in response. "It's quite heated most of the times isn't it?"

It was understandable after all, as they were the group primarily engaging the bosses head on. They had no room to make errors or look out for the rest of the raid. Silica who had the unfortunate role of taking most of the bosses' attention, had to make sure she stayed focused at all time.

"Even in the boss fights, Heathcliff has a huge presence, you know he commands most of the KoB, but even the other clearers listen to him." Silica nodded absently, she did recall that most of the groups were well-organized even in the heat of battle. "But what really makes him stand out as a strong player is the fact that he has never gone below half health.

Silica's eyes widened in shock. "Not even once?"

"None." Every rumour stated the same thing, they had never seen his health bar drop that low even in a long boss fight. "That's why he is known as Heathcliff «The Unbreakable», because ever since he joined us on 10th floor, he has never retreated or backed down from anything."

In a boss fight or a dungeon party, Heathcliff was known to take the lead in every confrontation, and he often came out better than those that joined him.

"Heathcliff «The Unbreakable» huh?"

The two girls turned their head to see an amused Argo heading towards them. "Argo-chan!"

"Heya, couldn't help but hear your rumouring, didn't think you girls were the gossiping type." She smirked when they looked away. "But no worries, Argo is here!"

If you wanted to know whether or not a rumour was true, there was no better person in SAO to ask then Argo «The Thief», or «The Rat» when you were dealing with her merchant persona.

Silica and Lisbeth shared a look before looking to the mousy girl. "So? Is it true?"

"Indeed. They are all true, that player is really scary strong, much like Ki-bou." The nonchalant way she announced it made the girls curious.

"You don't seem very worried Argo-chan... Kirito-kun is going to have a hard time if the rumours are true." Lisbeth herself was quite worried for the sleeping boy. It was more than just a position of leadership on the line, it was about the future. There was no person that gave her more strength than Kirito, and if he wasn't there to lead them... then she couldn't help but feel that their chances would be lowered.

"Fufufu~ You shouldn't doubt Ki-bou like that Lisbeth-chan." Seeing her incoming protest, Argo continued. "You have nothing to worry about after all, he won't lose."

"Why are you so sure Argo-chan?" Silica didn't understand why the mousy girl seemed so confident.

"Because, Ki-bou has ne-"

"Argo-sama!"

Twin voices yelled from behind the gathered girls and they all turned to see two figures jogging up to them.

As the two figures came closer, they were revealed to be two girls, each wearing the royal uniform of the «Royal Swords». One had shoulder-length blue hair with brown eyes, and her hair was decorated with a [Rose Flower] hair accessory. The girl beside her had short black hair and brown eyes, and decorated with a similar [Lily Flower] hair accessory. Judging by their familiar features, one could easily tell that they were twins.

"Hello~" Argo greeted with a slight gleam in her eyes. "Have you done it?"

The two eagerly stopped in front of her, ready to talk when they noticed the interested looks from the rest of the girls. They shared a look and dragged Argo away to a secluded area, all the while giving them apologetic looks.

"What are they doing?" Asuna who had finally broken out of her trance-like watch over Kirito and Pina, finally joined them.

"We don't know... but judging by her smirk, it's not going to be good."

The three girls all shared a collective sigh as they thought back to the suffering they had under Argo. She was simply too much sometimes, making her secondary hobby the goal of embarrassing them as much as she could. Luckily her target seemed to be Kirito most of the time, but they often got caught in the crossfire.

Looking at the two twins by Argo's side, Asuna couldn't help but smile as she remembered how they had introduced themselves. Rosy and Lily were a pair of twin sisters who had stayed in the starting city, scared to go out and risk themselves. As the days continued and their despair grew, they were ready to give up when they heard the news; a group had cleared the first floor. Stepping onto the second floor and marvelling at the new city, they had decided to find out everything they could about the 'heroes' of the first floor.

When they had heard about the rumours of the «Royal Swords», they jumped onto it, eventually leading to Argo. Seeing the pleading expressions on their faces, Argo had taken them under her wing, gladly teaching them the ways of selling and trading information. The twins in return took to the lessons with vigor, happy to finally be able to do something in this death game. Eventually, they had realized that the person they were speaking to actually belonged to the party that had helped clear the boss.

With the creation of the guild on the third floor, the twins had begged Argo to join, seeing the potential of the guild, and wanting to help. As Argo was the appointed 'recruiter' of the guild, she invited them and had them serve under her as helpers. They proved to be very effective at gathering information, and were seen as much more approachable than the other members of the Swords. None of them protested the twins joining, as they saw both of them as very hard working players who wanted a place to belong.

The twins were very grateful for the chance, but had seemingly taken the guild name to heart. They referred to them all with a very respectful tone, aware of the risks they were taking on the front lines. Despite the girls' attempts at including the two, the two liked to support them from afar, seemingly acting like servants. They also had a rather intriguing way of interacting with Kirito, or rather not interacting with Kirito.

"What's going on?"

The tired voice came from behind them causing several of them to shriek in surprise.

"Kirito!" Holding her hands to her chest, Asuna took in shaky breaths. "Stop doing that!"

Smiling sheepishly, Kirito rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Ah, sorry..."

The other girls all smiled, all of them knowing it was a regular occurrence with him. He always moved with incredible grace, often making no noise at all. It seemed it affected Asuna the most, since the girl was rather scared of surprises or the unknown.

Argo seemed to have finished talking with the twins, and started making her way back to the group. She smiled upon seeing Kirito, while the twins trailing her blushed while avoiding their gaze.

Kirito looked on with a faint smile, wondering interesting new information she had ready for them. The twins were especially good at gathering the most far-fetched rumours that surprisingly ended up true. They had already gone on several interesting trips so far due to the rumours, and the rewards seemed to be correct each time.

"Ki-bou~" Argo latched onto his arm immediately.

"Hey." Kirito was rather unaffected at this point, though he noticed the small glares from the rest of the girls. "What do you have for us now?"

He was referring to whatever rumour or information that had her in such a happy state.

"Well~ I just happened upon a most interesting bit of news!" She exclaimed. "In fact, I think you'll like it Asuna-chi."

Asuna glanced at her worriedly, not liking her track record with rumours.

"Do you want to tell them Rosy-chan, Lily-chan?"

Kirito looked at the two blushing twins, and they seemed to curl into themselves under his stare. He absently scratched his cheek as he wondered why they always seemed so flustered when he tried to interact with them. Before he could open his mouth to say a greeting they both bowed lowly in his direction.

"Good luck!"

The group watched with slight confusion and befuddlement as the twins rushed away from them.

Argo simply smiled. "Well, guess not then."

"Hah... out with it Argo-chan." Lisbeth said in exasperation, seeing the wary look in Asuna's eyes.

"Hehe, I guess I might as well. You know that sub-leader from the DDA?"

Asuna's eyes suddenly glinted. "Yes?"

"Well it turns out, he is in fact going to be fighting for them in the duel tomorrow." She finished with a knowing grin.

The rest of the group all shared a worried look. Looking towards Asuna she seemed to be shaking a bit, and Kirito felt a rather cold feeling run down his spine.

"Kirito-kun?" Asuna called out slowly.

"Yes?" He began warily, slowly stepping away from her. Pina the pet dragon seemed to curl even deeper around his neck, suddenly feeling a killing intent in the air.

"I'm fighting in your place."

---

There was a sense of restless excitement in the air, and as Kirito led the group into the arena, he couldn't help but marvel at the number of spectators.

Situated just a few minutes away from the main city was the ruins of an ancient colosseum. The giant structure had definitely seen better days, as half of the stadium was in disrepair, seemingly collapsing under the strain of time. The other half of the situation seemed to be completely fine except for some cracked parts of the seats.

It seemed that the entirety of the front-lines, and those players willing to leave the safety of the city had arrived to see the duels. He had no doubt that the rumours had been spread far and wide across aincrad, and judging by the myriad of players, he guessed that the rumours had been overblown tremendously.

As soon as he stepped into the main area, the noise of the crowd picked up considerably. Ignoring the pointing and staring, the group made their way to the middle of the large arena; where several figures could be seen. There was Heathcliff and two others by his side; Diabel and another grimacing figure. The DDA representatives seemed to be only Ryuken and Sansa, both of which seemed to be talking to each other in heated tones.

Making his way over to the gathered leaders, Kirito exchanged a nod with Heathcliff and Diabel. The two DDA members had finally noticed their presence and ceased their arguments. Ryuken gave him a stiff nod while Sansa continued his glaring from yesterday.

"Finally. We can begin."

Sansa stepped up aggressively, sneering down at Kirito before donning his helmet. "Let's get this started prince."

Before Kirito could even respond, the graceful form of Asuna stepped in front of him, regarding the taller figure of Sansa with a cool glare.

He faltered slightly before glaring back. "And what's this? Getting one of your girls to fight for you? How pathetic."

The large crowd of spectators seemed to pick up on the tense situation, if their murmuring were any indication.

"What's the matter DDA-san? Are you scared?" Argo retorted in a teasing voice.

"Tsch, as if I would be scared of a girl!" His voice made several of them narrow their eyes at him. "I just think its a disgr-"

One moment Asuna was cooly regarding him with a glare, the next she had her rapier pressed against his forehead. "Shut up and fight."

There was a few tense seconds before he scowled, backing away from her. "Fine!"

Seeing that the fight was about to begin, everyone made for the stands while leaving the two players on the arena. The group gave her some words of good luck, Kirito sharing a look of understanding with her.

[You have accepted a 1-on-1 duel with Sansa]

Asuna seemed the picture of calm while she stared down at her opponent. Sansa seemed to be glaring murderously at her, but even he was unnerved at her calmness.

30...

29...

The duel mode that Asuna had selected was the «First Strike Mode», where the victor would be determined by either landing the first clean hit or reducing your opponent's HP to half. What was determined as a 'clean hit' was very precise, as a normal slash from a sword would not register. The hit had to deal a significant amount of damage, in other words, the blow had to deal a critical portion of hp.

10...

9...

Sansa suddenly smirked as he decided to finally pull out his choice of weapon. A giant blade of bone, the hilt being in the shape of a skull, appeared in his hands, and Asuna looked on in slight shock. The weapon was familiar to her as it was dropped by the 20th floor boss. [Bone Vengeance] was a rare drop by the skeleton boss, and Argo had bemoaned her loss at not being able to acquire it. It was rumoured to be the strongest 2hander found so far, and had an insane STR requirement.

Asuna frowned at the confident look in her opponents face. His strategy was likely to overpower her with the 2hander's unique property of overcoming most blocks and parries. He would be in for a rude awakening however.

3...

2...

1...

Asuna dashed forward with insane speed, causing her armoured opponent to react in surprise. Her dash ended in a thrust, and her rapier met the flat side of the large weapon in a shower of sparks.

Sansa barely reacted in time for her first attack, and before he could get his bearings Asuna began her barrage. A second thrust, followed by a third, a fourth, and finally becoming uncountable as her attacks became a blur.

Asuna «The Flash».

Her moniker proved to be quite true, and to the excitement of the crowd, her opponent seemed to be struggling severely. Sansa was being pushed back steadily, the only thing saving him was the size of his sword making it somewhat easy to block her thrusts. He gritted his teeth in annoyance and slight panic. The speed of her attacks were insane!

Desperately hoping to break away from her assault, he leapt backwards and activated a sword skill; [Savage Impact]. The high leveled 2handed sword skill made his weapon glow red, and in a feat of strength, he swung it directly at the ground in front of him. To his luck, Asuna was hit somewhat by the impact, and the girl was thrown backwards.

Recovering swiftly, the girl narrowed her eyes at the cloud of dust that had been kicked up. She knew he was likely in a 'frozen' state due to executing the high leveled sword skill, but it would be foolish charging into the unknown.

Her instincts proved to be correct as Sansa charged out of the smoke with a roar, sword held ready for a horizontal swing. He knew that he had gotten lucky with the cloud of dust as he had been stuck waiting in the relatively long cooldown state. To a skilled opponent like Asuna, he would have been hit several times.

"Hah!"

Swinging his sword from the side with a speed that would be fatal to most players, he was mildly shocked when Asuna deftly lept over the strike. To his credit, he did not falter, and followed the momentum of the swing, coming around for a second strike. His whirlwind manoeuvre did not work to his satisfaction as Asuna crouched under the second swing.

Grunting as Asuna left several stabs into his armour, which thankfully did not end the fight. He swung once more, getting the lithe girl to leap back out of range. The two regarded each other with determination, trying to decide the next move. Sansa had to admit that the girl was much more skilled than he had imagined, as even with his high STR stat combined with the best armour you could buy, he had still lost more than a quarter of his health.

The only thing stopping Asuna from taking the fight easily was because she did not use her sword skills, knowing that he only needed one hit from his 2hander to end the fight. The swing from such a weapon would bypass any attempts of parrying, and she did not know if she could get a clean hit through all of his armour.

"Will you give up?" She asked him suddenly.

Sansa's face scrunched up in anger. "What?!"

"Give up." Asuna repeated. "It'll be better for you that way."

Gritting his teeth in absolute anger, Sansa let out a roar once more and began a series of hazardous swings at Asuna. The vice-leader of the Swords did not falter however, and she stepped out of the range of each swing. She was being slowly pushed back towards the wall, and he smirked inwardly. All he needed was one mistake- one misstep, and he would show her!

The crowd watched on with baited breath, each of them waiting for one of the players to slip.

Asuna showed no signs of faltering, merely flashing her rapier every now and then, but failing to reach Sansa. Her sword met the side of his blade multiple times, but each time it glanced off it without any effect. By now the wall was closing ominously close, and soon there would be no room for Asuna to manoeuvre with.

Stepping back, Asuna suddenly tripped on a piece of rubble.

"Heres my chance!"

Gripping his large sword tightly, he began the motions for his most powerful sword skill once more. The red glow of [Savage Impact] enveloped his sword, and he grinned in anticipation, there would be no dodging this one.

Asuna did not fall.

Sansa's eyes widened in shock as the girl merely crouched low, rapier held back in preparation.

"Could she be..."

All too quickly, the scene suddenly came together for him. The girl who had been striking repeatedly at his sword the entire battle. The fact that she never tried to move out of range completely, always just barely out of range and encouraging him to continue his swings. The angle was perfect for Asuna.

Her sword glowed a brilliant blue, and she struck out with her highest leveled sword skill.

The sound of his great sword shattering into pieces was met with a stunned silence.

Sansa collapsed in a state of shock, disbelief evident on his face. "I...lost."

Sudden clapping and cheering came from a section of the stand where Asuna's guild members were, and she smiled. The crowd broke out of their shock and began to cheer with fervor, the fight they had just witnessed was simply incredible.

Regarding the distraught player in front of her, Asuna huffed before heading towards her friends.

"Just a girl huh?"

---

It was a short while after, that the main attractions of the event made their way out to the centre. The two were highly distinguishable, and the crowd suddenly hushed as the two met in the middle, facing each other.

Having two of the most individually famous players dueling each other was simply a sight to see. The crowd was filled with soft murmurs, each of them referring to some rumour or odd fact about the two players in question.

Kirito met Heathcliff's impassive stare with his own. The man in front of him made for a rather intimidating sight, dressed in full red and white uniform. Equipped with a longsword and a white tower shield, Heathcliff completed his image of being an unmatched «Tank».

The smaller figure opposing him was not intimidating in the least if you only looked at his appearance. Dressed in the black uniform of his guild, trimmed lightly with gold, Kirito looked the part of a noble swordsmen. It was when you took in his calm expression, the way he held himself, and the unwavering aura that surrounded him, that you knew he was not just a normal player.

"So, the famed «Prince» of Aincrad at last." Heathcliff began with a light tone. "I have been looking forward to this duel."

"Coming from the leader of the Knights himself, that is quite a statement." Kirito responded in kind. "I have also been looking forward to this."

Despite his thoughts on how pointless the conflicts seemed, the idea of fighting a strong opponent was nonetheless appealing to him. He did have his competitive side after all, and ever since his Kendo days, he had always looked forward to a promising fight.

Fighting the strongest shield-user in the game would prove to be interesting, as even he didn't know what the results would be. From what he had seen of Heathcliff in action, he concluded that breaking through his defense was likely impossible. Using sword skills would likely prove to be fatal for him, since his shield would mitigate most of the damage, leaving him wide open.

"Shall we?" Heathcliff smiled slightly.

Selecting the «First Strike Mode» option, Kirito relaxed as the familiar countdown began.

"Before we begin, I would like to ask you something." Seeing Heathcliff's acknowledging nod, he continued. "This duel... It's not your style. You've been pretty passive ever since you came onto the front lines, resolving most conflicts with just words."

Heathcliff's way with words was simply amazing to see in action, with just words alone he could dissolve a fight before it even began. It wasn't out of the question for Heathcliff to resolve the leadership issue with just his reasoning.

"What changed?"

Heathcliff took in the question silently, seemingly thinking on it.

20...

19...

"It's interesting isn't it?" He began, his tone was oddly wistful. "This duel of ours... an astonishing contest of wills. Isn't that why we are here?"

His words resounded deeply with Kirito, and he frowned in response, there was something odd about his statement. There was no time to think on it more however, as the timer slowly counted down.

5...

4...

Kirito closed his eyes, body moving into a readying stance, drawing his chosen sword. Opening his eyes, he regarded Heathcliff with an expressionless face. Impossible to read, and completely unnerving, he made for quite an intimidating sight.

Heathcliff did not react.

2...

1...

Unlike Asuna's aggressive beginning in her duel against Sansa, Kirito did not dash immediately towards heathcliff. Instead, his calm and steady sprint towards the knight leader was equally as daunting.

If the crowd was disappointed by the unimpressive start, then their opinions quickly changed once Kirito fell into attack range.

His black sword met Heathcliff's own white sword in an equal exchange, seemingly even in strength. They stood still for a split second before Kirito continued his attack, transitioning into a slash in the opposite direction. It was blocked readily by Heathcliff's tall shield, and the knight retaliated by lashing out with his sword.

Kirito stepped expertly to the right, and began his offensive.

The black blade in his hands became a blur as he rained down blows onto his opponent's shield. Heathcliff blocked the blows without hesitation, and his shield barely moved despite the power behind each slash. As he tried to retaliate, he realized that Kirito was moving, slowly circling around him while keeping up with his assault. If he faltered for even a moment, then he would be wide open.

Even the infamous «Unbreakable» defense of his would fail eventually, with every blow taking the slightest bit of HP away. Taking a gamble, Heathcliff thrust out his shield in a bash, connecting rather solidly with Kirito.

As expected, Kirito barely faltered before recovering, but the damage had been done, and Heathcliff was now more than ready to defend against him. There would be no way to enter that pace again.

Heathcliff stood at the ready, this time preparing by positioning his shield closer to his center. He looked at Kirito with an expectant expression on his face.

Meeting the silent challenge, Kirito dashed towards him, sword poised to meet his opponents. As they met, Heathcliff attempted a slash in order to force him to parry, but to his surprise, Kirito merely tilted his body sideways. Kirito's swords glowed a bright blue, going through the motions of a mid-leveled sword skill; [Vertical Square]. The attack landed solidly onto Heathcliff's shield, and to Kirito's annoyance, it was quite ineffective, his opponent's HP barely moving.

Heathcliff's retaliatory strike left a red line across Kirito's cheek. Jumping back once more, both combatants took a small moment of reprieve, each deciding where to proceed.

"As expected of you Kirito-san, that Sword Skill was already in motion when you reached me." He was referring to how Kirito had prepared the special attack in advance in order to minimize the short time-frame in which he was left vulnerable.

Not everyone had the concentration and skill needed to prepare a sword skill during movement.

"I could say the same to you Heathcliff." Kirito replied lightly. "Your defense is simply amazing."

The two gave each other looks of respect before starting to slowly circle each other. They were both waiting for the other to either slip or start the offensive.

Heathcliff decided to initiate this time around, moving with surprising grace for his bulky figure. His shield led the way for him, and Kirito had to dodge to the side as there was simply no way for him to block the shield bash. The knight leader took the chance to strike out with his sword, and executed a sword skill; «Vertical Arc». His sword glowed green and slashed twice in quick succession.

Kirito blocked the two augmented slashes with his own sword, taking a hit of damage in the exchange. Retaliating with several strikes of his own, the lithe swordsmen forced Heathcliff back onto the defensive, setting the pace once again.

There was a major difference this time, as Heathcliff did not allow Kirito to manipulate his movements. Every now and then Heathcliff freely attacked with his sword, using a sword skill that forced Kirito to parry or move out of the way. Kirito could not take advantage due to the fact that the shield blocked his every retaliation and he could not use his more powerful sword skills as he would take much more damage than he could deal out.

A stalemate of sorts.

The two leaders continued their skillful exchange, with each clash ending in a close draw. To the spectators who watched in awe, the battle looked like a dance as the two players clashed in a fury of swords and broke apart only to restart the chain. Showers of sparks and the lights of sword skills being used were all most of the spectators could see.

To the trained eye however, it was clear that one player held an advantage over the other.

---

"Kirito-kun is in trouble..."

Asuna's statement caused several startled heads to turn her way. Silica who clutched Pina tightly to her chest looked up at her with widened eyes. "Why? Kirito-kun seems to be even with him."

It was true, when you counted the number of blows that got past the guards of the other player, they were mostly even. Both players suffered some light wounds here and there, with Kirito leading the way for the most part.

"It's because of his build Silica-chan." Argo chimed in. "Each time Ki-bou lands a hit, it hardly does any damage."

"But when Heathcliff lands a hit..." Lisbeth finished.

They all watched warily as the fierce exchanges continued. If Kirito kept this up then...

"I'm worried..." Asuna murmured. "Doesn't Kirito know?"

Argo hummed lightly. "Of course."

"Then what is he waiting for?" Silica asked in confusion.

"I think he's just enjoying himself."

As the group continued to watch on, they noticed that Kirito's previous blank expression had a faint smile. He was having fun.

"That idiot!"

Argo chuckled as the rest of the girls moaned, wondering how he could be having fun in such a serious match like this. "Relax girls."

Lisbeth huffed, placing a hand on her hips. "You've been confident ever since the duel was announced Argo-chan."

"Yea!" Silica agreed. "You never told us your reason yesterday."

All three girls turned to stare deeply at Argo who laughed and held up her hands in mock surrender. "Alright alright, fine, I'll tell you."

"The reason why I'm so confident is that..." She smirked as all of the girls leaned in to hear her answer. She wanted to tease them but decided to give them a break for the first time in a while.

"Ki-bou has never lost a duel in his life."

---

He couldn't continue like this.

Looking at his HP from the corner of eyes, he was dismayed to see it falling dangerously close to the halfway point. If he kept this up then he would simply lose even though Heathcliff never landed a direct blow onto him.

Staring at his opponent, and meeting his sword with his own, he grimaced when he noticed that Heathcliff's HP was sitting at a very safe green. He had not even chipped away 20% of his health. He had to give the man credit, as he had never met anyone who did not make a single mistake against his onslaught.

Parrying his opponents sword to the left, he surprised Heathcliff by moving directly into his guard. Before Heathcliff could take advantage and take advantage with a shield bash, Kirito's left hand suddenly flew up and struck him directly under the chin.

Heathcliff stumbled back due to the force of the blow and the crowd gasped. It was clearly a clean hit. As Heathcliff settled himself back into his defensive stance, they were shocked to see the fight still continue.

The Martial Arts skill «Stunning Blow» was something Kirito used in combination with one-handed sword skills to easily stun and defeat monsters. As it was an unarmed sword skill however, its damage was fairly low, not nearly enough to qualify for the 'clean hit' condition. It did serve to cause Heathcliff to flinch, giving him time.

Kirito opened up his game menu, surprising all of the spectators. Heathcliff frowned as he couldn't see any reason for the action. He was about to say something when something materialized in Kirito's left hand. The crowd all gasped in unison, all of them confused, but the few that knew Kirito suddenly understood.

A second sword.

The sound of the crowd was drowned out as Kirito wielded the two swords in his hand with a familiar grace. Facing Heathcliff once more, this time in a stance that was completely new.

Understanding suddenly dawned in his eyes, and Heathcliff suddenly smiled. He had been holding back the whole time.

Kirito smiled in return, before dashing forward. His speed was similar, but his movements were completely different.

Heathcliff chose to safe route, choosing to see what his opponent could do with two swords. He was not prepared for the onslaught that followed.

His right sword was thrusted with insane speed and the strike glanced off his shield, but before he could react, his left sword followed with the same speed. A flurry of stabs followed, and Heathcliff could do nothing but try and weather the attacks. Kirito's swords were a blur, and many noted the similarities between his attacks and Asuna's.

His health was slowly dropping, the sheer speed and ferocity of the attacks bypassed the incredible defense his shield provided. It was much like trying to defend against the fury of a boss mob.

Deciding to try and break out of the offensive, Heathcliff struck out with a piercing sword skill; «Fierce Line». His fast stab was parried by Kirito's sword, and before he knew it he had been stabbed by his opponent's other sword.

The regular attack could not pierce his armour, but as Kirito deftly backed up to renew his attack, Heathcliff knew he was at a lost.

With such an incredible offense, Kirito could not be attacked, for every moment that he threw into an attack was one that gave Kirito the opportunity to retaliate. He had no doubt who would be the victor if he did not have his shield and armour.

Yet he continued, bracing himself under the rain of swords, striking out with his swords to no effect.

The crowd had stood up, all of them cheering at the insane spectacle down below.

The battle was now under Kirito's control. Each encounter leaving Heathcliff's health noticieably lower.

To his credit, Heathcliff did not surrender, valiantly defending himself against the overwhelming show of power.

One mistake and it was over.

Heathcliff had brought his shield too high, partially blocking his own vision. Kirito immediately took advantage, and with unmatched agility, stepped into his opponent's blind spot. His swords immediately flowed into a patterned combo, leaving 7 red lines of damage accross his opponent's chest.

«Winner: Kirito!»

Over the deafening roar of the crowd, and the somewhat distinctive cheering of his guild members, was Heathcliff's words.

"As expected of the one-"

His words were drowned out over the renewed cheering, but as Kirito met Heathcliff's oddly satisfied eyes, he couldn't help but feel that something was off.

The feeling was pressed to the back as he was embraced from all sides from his girls.

---

A cloaked figure watched the proceedings with a calculative eye. The battle he had just witnessed was simply incredible, and as he watched the 'hero' become enveloped by his friends, he smirked.

A worthy opponent at last.

---

A/N: Another 13k chapter... I really need to stop with that.

I definitely feel this chapter was too 'wordy'. Ah well.

Thanks for the reviews from last time everyone, definitely appreciate the support despite the interlude chapter.

So about this chapter... A glimpse into how Kirito's guild have affected the front lines. With them being regarded as the #1 guild in Aincrad. I'll be eager to see what you guys thought of the other two guilds, and the fights.

I'd also like to elaborate on why DDA and KoB were fighting over who was the strongest guild if the Swords are considered the strongest. Well, it's only because the Royal Swords are incredibly well known and individually strong that they are regarded as the strongest. Not many know that the Swords consist of a very small amount of members. In an actual 'guild battle' The KoB would probably win, but that doesn't mean the Swords would be easy to beat, quite the contrary as Argo and Asuna are pretty skilled at PvP.

I feel that this chapter went all over the place and had some unnecessary scenes. I really should get a beta sometime soon haha.

Thanks for reading!

Next Chapter: The Royal Disguise

Sidenote: I would like to thank everyone who visited the forums, there was definitely a huge growth. I would also like to encourage anyone who hasn't to go there, since we have several new authors who have some amazing story ideas. Seriously check it out, and help them perfect their ideas so that we can see some amazing new stories!

Also, we have some Omakes for this story, with one from Inconsipicous_Llama!

Omake #1 (By Inconsipicous_Llama):

"So, I was just rereading this story and that combined with Touma's comment a little ways up about there being a "high chance of a duel" in the next chapter got me thinking about how the Royal Swords would fair in PvP. Eventually this lead to wondering how Silica would fight in one on one matches with other clearers and this is the rather amusing (to me) mental image those thoughts spawned.

It's a 50/50 match and goes something like this..." -Llama

Silica stands across from her opponent, trying not to shiver as the countdown to her first PvP match draws ever closer to zero. She glances around the crowd nervously until she spots her guilds mates who smile warmly back and give her confident nods. Feeling some of her determination return, Silica turns her full attention to her spiky haired opponent who sneers back. The tiny tank ignores this and sets herself in a low, solid stance that Kirito showed her long ago so she wouldn't be overrun by larger and heavier NPCs, as well as strong enemy players. The countdown finally hits zero and she freezes when her opponent lets out a loud battle cry and charges.

In a single fluid move Kibaou draws his long sword and it begins to glow yellow with the power of a sword skill. Only instinct saves Silica as she automatically raises her shield high to block the powerful overhead strike. She is jostled back to awareness by the impact but her inattentiveness costs her the opportunity to counter attack as she is sent stumbling back a few steps. She is barely set back in her stance when he is already upon her again, wildly swinging at her without any finesse. With shield raised high she weathers the assault, only loosing a sliver of health. All the while her mind works furiously on a strategy.

She couldn't afford to use sword skills since her attack power was rather low. Even a direct hit wouldn't be enough, and would only leave her defenselessness to counter attack. Matching him directly in swordplay wasn't an option either. He didn't seem particularly skilled but he was fast and strong, not to mention a large advantage in reach due both their respective weapons and body sizes. Even if she managed to break into his guard Silica didnt think she would be fast enough to take advantage of the opportunity anyway, she was a strength and vitality build after all. That only leaves one option...

-Switch to Kibaou POV-

Kibaou knew he had this match in the bag from the beginning. As if some little girl from that royal bastards harem could fight a real man and win. Ha! All he had to do now was keep pushing her back and hammering at that shield until she slips up. Sure in his superiority, he reacts poorly to what happens next.

Kibaou sends a strong horizontal slash at her, just like any other he sent her way in the past thirty seconds, but she reacts differently this time. Instead of just hiding behind her shield she uses it to bat the blow high. The sudden change surprises him so much that he is barely able to bring his sword back to guard as she steps forward and takes a shallow swing at his chest. Enraged at the midgets gall he redoubles his assault, only for the girls small green shield to again deflect his sword at an angle, forcing him a step back.

Rather suddenly the tides shifted and his slow advance became a slow retreat as Silica continued to use her shield to create openings and Kibaou is forced to retreat to close them. The crowd is laughing for some reason, he isn't sure why but he IS sure that it's pissing him off! If he had been paying closer attention rather than just growing more and more enraged he might have might have noticed his health. He didn't however, so he was down to 70% before it turned yellow and caught his eye. He paused to gawk when he finally noticed. Where the hell was his health? She hadn't even hit him yet! His distraction costs him as her silver short sword scratches his stomach and takes another chip off the bar.

An enraged Kibaou quickly regains his wits and attacks with a renewed vigor. It was only now that he was looking for it that he discovered what the crowd could see all along. Each time her shield came forward to knock his sword aside it would cover for a little flash of silver that would strike out at his shins. The damage was minuscule so the slight sting hadn't been noticeable to him in the heat of battle. That's why everyone was laughing? She must have been doing this the whole time to have worn his health down like this!

-Silica POV-

"Gah! Stupid little ankle biter, I'll teach you to mess with your betters!" His decliration was met only with a unnervingly steely glare that looked out of place on the innocent face, she'd have to thank Asuna for teaching her that later. The rude man had obviously discovered her strategy but was seeming to have trouble countering it. He tried to sneak in an attack low and her small form went lower. He tried striking high and she only had an easier time unbalancing him, all the while chipping away at his health with quick attacks at the feet and legs. He even tried dodging her strikes but that only served to delay the inevitable ad well as make him look like a dancing fool to the crowd, who laughed even harder at the sight.

Finally, nearly two minutes in the fight is drawing near a close, barely above 50% of his health remains while Silica is still safely in the green. But a desperate Kibaou finally catches a lucky break. As she goes in for another low strike at his feet, one that should end the match, he manages to step on her blade, pinning it in place and ripping it from her grasp. Panicked, she looks up to find Kibaou leering down at her.

"I told you I'd teach you a lesson" he said with a grin. "Royal Swords aint shit and now everyones gonna know it!" A smirking, Kibaou casually raises his arms high for an overhead strike and his long sword once again takes on the yellow glow of a powerful sword skill. Unfortunately for Kibaou, well, he's kind of an idiot. So he never saw it coming when an angry Silica backhanded him across the face with a hard green shield that sent him spilling to the ground and knocked him out cold, much to her satisfaction.

The crowd bursts into applause and her guild runs in to congratulate her. But most importantly Silica gains a new nickname that day. One that will haunt her and amuse her friends until the end of Sword Art and beyond. She is Silica, The Ankle Biter!

Ah simply hilarious! Thanks Llama.

Omake #2 (Continuation of the scene from Chapter 4):

Kirito woke up feeling abnormally refreshed, it felt like he had woken up upon a bed of clouds, and he yawned tiredly, unwilling to rid the haze of sleep just yet. The familiar softness of the bed was amazing, and he felt as if he were sinking. The best part seemed to be the soft, silky feel of warmth that seemed to be embracing him from both sides.

Wait.

He hesitantly moved his left arm only to have the movement blocked as it seemed to be trapped between a pair of soft, perky mounds. He drew in a breath, gulping as he turned his head slowly, very slowly, to his left. Blinking violet eyes met his own startled black orbs and he struggled not to let out a yell as the figure clinging to his left gave off a cheshire grin before gripping him tighter to him.

Turning his head back to the ceiling, he closed his eyes and hoped that this was all a dream.

"Ki-bou~ Good morning..."

So much for that idea as the girl clinging to him yawned cutely before snuggling deeper into his side.

He didn't reply as he suddenly felt something shift to his right. 'Don't tell me...'

Turning to his right, he saw light-brown hair tousled around the sheets, and as he saw the sleeping face of Silica he counted his blessing as it could have been much worse. Seeing her sleep curled up beside him was an adorable sight as she was lightly clutching at his shirt, and he would have smiled at the sight if not for the foreboding feeling in his gut.

Sighing lightly and deciding to close his eyes, he ignored the feeling of Argo trailing her hands along his chest. He knew he would be in trouble soon enough, therefore he tried to enjoy the scant moment of peace, it was not like things could get any worse.

"Argo, Sili-"

His black orbs met startled hazel ones, and before he could even open his mouth for a hasty explanation, another figure joined Asuna at the door.

"Asuna-chan, have you seen Kiri-"

Kirito cursed... inside of his head of course, and as he saw the fiery aura of anger erupt around the two girls, he tried not to whimper.

See you guys next time!