Author's Note: About 80% of this had been finished for several months, but the beginning and middle were hard to get right. Life also got in the way of this college student. Credits to Ryu again for being the beta.

Sorry to everyone who thought the fight scene was happening in Chapter 8 and immediately in Chapter 9, I had other plans. By the way, for non-gamers, DOT is short for "damage over time." Apologies for disappearing for seven months, let's get to business.

10 January 2024
Floor 50 Tower, Boss Room
14:46

"Star Chasers, switch out!" Lind commanded following a parry of the Six-Armed Metallic Buddha Statue's strike run. The boss was now halfway down on its last HP bar, and it had just changed to a new attack pattern.

"Got it! Over here, boys!" I called to the rest of my guild, waving them to the corner of the temple room. Before long, the tank, thief, DPS, and paladin met at the rendezvous point and each took a knee.

"This bastard is serious trouble, anything that isn't a mace hardly makes a dent," Mason sighed. He's our tank and my right hand man, wielding a smaller form of a claymore in one hand and a scutum tower shield in the other, all while dressed in blue plate armor. Every part of his face looked drained, with his brown faux hawk falling down over his equally brown eyes, and his usual olive face was drained of most of its color.

"Hey, at least you can actually do damage. My first couple passes early on didn't do a damn thing, so all I've gotten to do is run healing items around." said Faulk, running his fingers through his black buzz cut hair. His rogue build makes it easy for him to slip in and out of sticky situations, but it also means he can't do much damage outside of surprise attacks. His secondary role is a healer while in combat, running around in his flashy, scarlet-red cloak helping guildmate and stranger alike. Unfortunately for Faulk, all the points he put towards passive skills - like Sneak, Search, Lockpick, and such - means that his Defense and HP are slightly substandard.

"That's still pretty important, I don't think our turn woulda lasted so long if we couldn't recover." Will reassured him. His steel-blue eyes fought to keep their usual resolve, but his silver-dyed hair, having lost the slicked-back look from before the raid, showed how much the fight had taken out of him. Honestly, I couldn't say that I blamed him for being so worn out; his falchion didn't seem to do much damage in his passes, the buckler was too small to effectively deflect attacks, and his reinforced scale armor didn't absorb enough damage to keep him in the fight for long.

"I guess you're right, but I'll have to restock on crystals and stuff when we get back to town. There's only about one-fourth of them remaining and a lot of fight left." Faulk scrolled briefly and closed his menu.

"Rio, how you doing? I'm at 62%." Kagi was discarding a spent potion and reaching for another. His Han-style Ji polearm rested on his back, and kite-shaped targe shield stayed true on his left forearm. He and I have been friends since about the time we could walk, and given that we both have long-ish light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a button nose, teachers have mistaken us for brothers for years. The main differences between Kagi and myself is that his jaw is mostly square while mine's more rounded, and he's more pale than me.

"Just over half," I answered while pulling out a minor healing potion.

"You sure you don't need a bigger potion than that?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I do more directing than actual fighting, so it's better that I save the stronger potions for you guys or for when things get nastier. Besides, my gear'll keep me in one piece if we have another turn."

My setup was about as basic as could be: a shishpar mace with a light shield, brown leather armor with steel plates over vitals and joints, and a visored Burgonet helmet. The plan when the game started was to jump into a paladin build, but Kagi proved to be a better fit, leaving me in a gray area between support and damage dealer. Being the guild leader, it's probably better that I can move around the fight instead of being stuck having to take damage for everyone.

My brother, friends, and I formed the Star Chasers shortly after Kayaba's fateful announcement, but didn't actually get to start clearing until Floor 44. We all used to casually play MMOs and FPSs in the same guild/clan before getting trapped in here, so I guess old grinding habits die hard. A couple of the Chasers were still below the minimum raid requirement, so there was no choice but to leave them behind today; lately the Assault Team instituted a rule mandating that any clearer's level must be ten places higher than the current floor, and they simply didn't make the cut. Even Mason, Kagi, Faulk, Will, and I barely scraped into the low 60s before the strategy meeting a few days ago.

"Oi, over here you damned trash mob!" a player from a different party shouted out to the Statue. I guess it's their turn to get his attention.

"Hey, this isn't looking good..." Faulk was turned back and watching the fight unfold.

The Buddha statue was using a different attack pattern from moments before, and the parties assigned to the front were already scattered and in the low yellow.

"Hey Mason, think it's time for the Leapfrog?" Will elbowed the tank and had an expression that was somewhere between fear and excitement.

"It's supposed to be a killing shot, but I guess it'd be good to buy enough time for the others to regroup..." Mason ran his fingers through his hair and looked at the pyramidal bust that sat in the center of his shield. "You'd better not touch the bust when we do it, I'm not about to become an orange player because of you."

"'Leapfrog?' What the hell is that supposed to be?" I asked them. "And why didn't you tell me about this thing before we came in here so I could've figured out how or when to call for it?"

"It's a ballsy attack that involves me using Mason's shield as a springboard for a flying overhead swing, and we didn't tell you about it because it's not perfected yet," Will laughed nervously.

"Then no, you won't use it! It's not mastered, and swords don't do much damage on the boss!"

"The Aspis formation's useless! It's knocking down our shield wall with AOE hits!" one of the downed players cried out from the chaos, apparently afflicted with a short paralysis.

"Rio, they need help! It's not supposed to do damage right now, just to distract it long enough for the rest to reorganize!"

"What are you going to do when you have the boss's attention? I'm not going to lose any of you if we can avoid it!"

"I'll dodge its attacks and make a break for the outer rim. I might not be able to deflect much with the small buckler, but that just means I'm quicker!"

"No. It's too risky, and we'll need you for when our turn comes again. Heal up and let me figure out its attack pattern," I ordered. It'd only been a couple of minutes since we rotated out; we'd need more time than that to recover from the beating we took. As far as I could tell, the boss got a slight DEF boost after we switched since maces are taking less HP off the bar.

Will tightened the grip on his sword and bit his lip, then reluctantly sheathed it to drink a potion.

"I know it feels shitty, but we have to look after each other first." I went over and put a hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly, he threw the empty bottle on the ground and turned to give Mason a short nod.

"Alright, let's go!" Mason called as he bolted towards the boss with his shield held flat over his head.

"On it!" Will replied before disappearing from under my hand.

"Dammit, I said to wait!" I shouted at the pair. "Your potion hasn't taken full effect, and we don't even have a plan to fight!"

"Simple: don't get hit!" one of them called back to me.

When Mason was a few meters away from the boss, he stopped and knelt with his shield still over his head. A second later, Will ran up from behind and jumped onto the platform, then Mason stood to do a Bash shield skill for the split second that Will was on it. By some miracle they managed to time it perfectly, and Will was sent at least 8 meters into the air. On the way down, he used his Meteor Fall - a sword skill where the user throws the sword up, jumps to catch it, and slashes downward with the extra momentum - to hit the Buddha in the back of its head. There didn't seem to be any problems until Will failed to actually get back to the ground.

"Will, what the hell are you doing?!" Mason called up, backpedaling to put distance between him and the boss.

"It's jammed in deep, I can't pull it out!" Will called back.

"Leave it in, King Arthur! The DOT from the sword will be distraction enough, get back here!" I shouted. The Buddha Statue stood straight and started turning each way to look for the damage source, causing Will to flail around as it did so. Before he could follow through, the boss reached for the embedded blade and its wielder, ripped both of them off, and spiked Will into the ground.

"Agh!" he cried with the impact. The floor's purple Immortal Object hexagon didn't even have time to dissipate before he was grabbed again and thrown at the wall above us.

"I got him!" Kagi called, dropping his gear and gauging where he would fall.

About halfway down, he started glowing, then shattered a few meters above the ground. His brilliant, blue shards slowly fell into empty, outstretched hands.

"Fuck! Why didn't you just let go?!" I cried out. "The fall damage wouldn't have been enough to take you..." I started slamming my fist into the wall below his impact point, fighting back tears and panic.

Nobody's died in the months we've spent on the front lines, I thought we would at least make it through today.

"Rio, I'm sorry!" Mason ran up and took a knee with his head down. "It was going just fine until his sword got embedded, we didn't think that would happen, I'm sorry!"

He sounded like he'd given in to tears.

Get it together, Rio. If you lose it now, then this guild is effectively out of the fight. Mourn on the 51st floor.

"It's not your fault. He probably held on tight so he wouldn't lose his best sword mid-fight," I choked out.

"The worst thing we can do now is let his effort go to waste. If we can buy the others the time they need, or even kill the boss, he wouldn't have died for nothing," Kagi said, probably trying to give assurance to himself as much as he was to the rest of us.

"You're right," was all I could muster.

Faulk, who'd been watching everything up to this point, moved to form a semicircle with us.

"Okay, so what are we gonna do? I have one healing crystal for each of us and two more in reserve.

"Hit and run. We can't hope to square up with him and last long, especially when we're as short on healing items as we are. Faulk, you'll keep doing what you've been doing so far. Kagi, run straight lines in your attacks."

"What?!"

"Let me finish. You'll run from one end of the fight to the opposite side while Mason and I run forward, strike, and retreat. Almost like a V-shape. If we attack at different times and leave in different directions, the boss will have to pick a target. By the time he does that, either someone else will hit him, or the target can change course."

"I... guess that sounds less dangerous when you put it that way. Just until the others get out or reorganize, right?"

"Right. For Will on three!" I put my hand in the middle of the semi-circle; a different Star Chaser put his hand in at each count.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

"For Will!" we shouted.

Kagi turned towards the boss while Mason and I took positions several meters away on each side of him. I held up three fingers to the other two, then tapped the back of my wrist - our usual signal for the number of seconds between attackers. Kagi turned to each of us before swapping a quick nod and shooting forward for his first pass. I started my run on time, swinging my Shishpar into the Buddha's ankle by the time Kagi was about halfway to the other side.

Good, just run 45 degrees away and you'll be fine.

As I ran back, I glanced to my right to see Mason barely starting his attack run.

Dammit, why did he wait so long to begin? Did he miss the signal?

"Rio, out of the way!" Faulk called from the rim.

"Gotcha!" I turned course about 45 degrees going away from my starting point. On my original path, the Buddha leaned over and smashed a pair of its arms into the ground. "How're they doing?!"

"They probably need another minute! Not enough of them are pulled out, let alone recovered!" Faulk called back.

Okay, that means we should have a few more passes before we can pull out.

"Agh, fuck!" I heard someone call out behind me.

Set for the next run, I saw Mason missing his shield and paralyzed on the ground a few meters from the boss.

"Rio, I'll get him out!" Kagi called as he started his next run.

"No, you won't make it out in time! I got it!" said Faulk, practically throwing a player he was supporting towards the rim. In a flash, he darted around a smash attack from the Buddha and made it to Mason.

Kagi finished his run and headed perpendicular in my direction, since Mason and Faulk were on his straightaway path and the staggered players were opposite of me.

This might screw up the 'keep the boss's focus scattered' part of the plan, but shit happens.

"Stick to the plan! Damn programmers got lucky on that one!" Kagi said, tagging me in for my run.

"Keep attention off of them, keep attention off of them," I muttered to myself as I ran towards the boss's ankles again.

"We're almost set!" one of the Divine Dragon Alliance lieutenants called out.

Good, this might be my last pass. Wait, who's that?

A black blur zipped from the opposite end, almost as if he were going to do a strike run of his own.

Even better, the Black Swordsman's gonna take pressure off too.

Faulk was supporting Mason on their way out of harm's way, trudging at a slow pace by the time I got within striking distance of the boss. With the first hit, my mace let out a loud ping, almost like a baseball on an aluminum bat. The boss, catching on to our hit-and-run plan, started kicking its feet and stomping around.

"Rio, get out of there! I'm ready for the next pass!" Kagi called from the rim.

"Gotcha!" I called back and retreated in a zig-zagging pattern. The Black Swordsman's attack run might buy me a couple of seconds to slip out.

3,835/11,244, my HP gauge read. Instinctively, I grabbed at my waist for a crystal, but caught nothing but my belt.

Right, I burned through mine and Faulk has the rest. I didn't realize the AOE of the stomping had so much damage over time.

Faulk had only been able to carry Mason a few meters in the time it took me to retreat, probably because of his low STR, smaller frame, and the combined weight of Mason with his equipment. Right now my only options were to wait for them to reach the rim, or rush back to them and speed up the evac.

"Kagi, move! He's eyeing you!" I shouted, starting another pass to shake the Buddha's attention. A sliver of health on its last bar remained, and the boss was growing increasingly frustrated. Or desperate.

If killing this boss gets the others out of danger faster, we should prioritize that. Dammit, where's the Black Swordsman now?!

"Agh!" The Buddha Statue kicked Kagi to the edge, giving rise to another purple hexagon. Thankfully he landed in one piece.

"Hurry up, Rio! He's looking at us now!" cried Mason.

"I'm coming, hang on!"

A player close to the rim looked like he was running to help pull Mason and Faulk out, but retreated when the boss committed to an attack in our direction.

So much for some of these bastards. The elite guilds had better recognize us for this.

"Faulk! Throw me a crystal!"

"Here, last one!" The haphazard throw sent the healing crystal on a steep arc, landing about halfway between me and them.

Before I reached the crystal, the boss's attack scored a direct hit on Mason and Faulk. The shockwave destroyed the pinkish prism and left me staggered, dead in the water with the boss's attention turned to me.

The dark blur rushed the Buddha statue with a skill charged, seemingly oblivious to helpless players that littered the battlefield. There was nothing beneath the statue's fists when he raised them to smash me next; even the light blue shards had dissipated.

I'm sorry, guys... This had all better be worth it. The time, the LAB, and Floor 51.

I exhaled and closed my eyes; the last red strip in the upper left corner disappeared, and the red YOU ARE DEAD hexagon flashed in the center of my vision.

Osaka, Japan
Osaka City General Hospital
14:58

The tinted visor of the NerveGear was the first thing I saw after briefly blinking.

What? Is this what really happens when a player dies in SAO? They just wake up in the hospital?

When I sat up and looked down at my body, I found a series of pads attached to major muscle groups and connected to a larger machine. My best guess was that it was an electric muscle stimulator to help curb the atrophy over time.

"Ryoken! You're awake! Your dad had to step out to take a call. What about Kakeru, why is he still trapped?" my mother cried out from a bedside chair, practically jumping out to embrace me. A couple of tears landed on my light blue hospital gown.

It feels weird to hear Derek and I called by our real names after being in Aincrad for so long.

"He wasn't with me in the boss r-"

...

Ryoken Hiraoka cried out and grabbed at the sides of the NerveGear once it started delivering the fatal electrical pulses to his skull. In his sudden quaking, he elbowed his mother hard enough to knock her head back and release her grasp on him. Once the ten-second timer expired, there was nothing for her to do except watch in terror as her oldest son convulsed in his bed. The vital signs monitor began giving off high-pitched beeps and whistles as Ryoken's heart rate spiked and his breathing became irregular; Mrs. Hiraoka started crying out incoherently when she realized what she was watching. Her husband, having heard the chaos from the hallway, practically kicked the door open after letting his phone fall and shatter on the floor. The insurance rep on the other end was going to have to wait to discuss payment plans, since even the 20% expected family contribution for medical bills was becoming too steep for the household.

Once inside, the scene unfolding was so distressing that there was simply no way to respond; any attempt to process and respond was asking for a neurotic break. He didn't cry; he didn't rush to console his wife; he didn't move forward to say goodbye to a son he introduced to MMOs and was putting through college. All he could do was drop to his knees while a pair of nurses and a doctor rushed past him in a vain attempt of revival.

Their son Kakeru was still motionless in his adjacent bed, oblivious to the twisted symphony of shouting, wails, and beeping next to him. In Aincrad, Derek was too busy slashing away at nameless mobs with the other Star Chaser who was barred from that day's raid.

When Ryoken's convulsions ended, all that filled the room was the continuous beep from the monitor, confirming the parents' worst fears. The only solace for the Hiraokas was the knowledge that other Japanese households suffered this type of loss as well.

2 August 2024
Floor 50, Algade, Mediorian Arena
15:47

"Looks like it's showtime, Kakeru." Kagi closed the waiting room door behind him after a return from the seating area. "There's at least a few thousand people out there waiting for the headlining event."

"I already told you, in here I'm Derek," I muttered, closing the Beater's Manifesto and tossing it on a nearby coffee table. "Let's save our real life names for the outside world."

"Sorry, just making sure we don't forget who we are outside of Aincrad. I didn't know you felt that strongly about it," he sighed before taking a seat next to me on an old, shaggy couch.

"It usually doesn't matter, I guess being on this floor puts me in a pissy mood. I'm sorry."

"Can't say I blame you, I keep seeing places around town where Rio and the rest of us made a few memories. It almost feels like he's away on some sort of vacation."

"Except he's not," I spat. "That stupid beater let him die on this floor's raid so he could get the Last Attack Bonus on the boss. To top things off, the black sword he uses all the damn time was the LAB - or so I've heard. It's almost a poetic kind of injustice that the sword that belongs to Rio is wielded by the bastard that let him die."

"Would having that sword make you feel any better?"

I turned and peered at him, visibly confused. Is he fucking serious?

"The sword can shatter to a million pieces for all I care, I just want the person who decided Rio's fate off of the Assault Team." My eyes turned upward to count the marks in the ceiling.

"Listen, as hurt as I am that your brother died, I can't honestly say that any one person's decision got him killed." He turned and rested his hand on my shoulder.

"You know what the facts are! Rio was helpless on his last chunk of HP, most of the Star Chasers were dead at that point, and Kirito was the nearest clearer in a spot to help. Instead of taking him out of harm's way, he ran up to attack the boss, and Rio died while that was happening! Of course his decision got him killed!" I moved from under his hand and stood up to prep my gear.

"I wish I could confidently tell you otherwise, having been knocked out before everything happened. But I know for sure that everyone who walks into the boss rooms knows damn well that they could die. It happens; Rio wasn't the first, and others'll die on the way to the 100th floor."

"You see, that's why I need to beat him today. If that happened on the 50th floor, can you imagine how many people he's let die on the 49 raids before that?! A self-interested jerk like him shouldn't be entrusted with anyone else's life, especially when we're all fighting to get back to the real world."

"Just so you know, Kirito is the strongest solo player in the game. Before I quit the frontlines, I couldn't help but marvel his planning and combat abilities."

"What do you think his level is?"

Kagi rubbed his chin and glanced around the room. "Can't say, but I would guess it's past 90 at this point. The monsters on the front lines probably aren't even giving him enough XP to level up efficiently anymore."

Damn, is he seriously that high? That'll make the Half-Loss duel a lot harder, especially since I barely hit 76 in time for the last raid meeting. At the same time, he's probably put more points to agility and damage output than HP, and I've read his manifesto enough times to recite it from memory. I could also reasonably predict combos he might string together; as long as I avoid those and slip strikes in, winning shouldn't be out of reach.

"That makes things interesting for sure. But I have his entire playbook memorized and a solid shield to stave off his blades, so I'd say things are evened out."

"I'm glad you're confident, but don't let your guard down. A player like him wouldn't have made it this far solo if he couldn't work outside of his playbook."

"I'll be careful. Looks like there's a few minutes til the match starts, so I'll head to the competition gate. I'm sorry if I was being a jerk, this just means so damn much to me." I looked down at the ground and rubbed my neck.

"I know, that's why I didn't smack the hell out of you when you were being lippy earlier," Kagi laughed and nudged my shoulder.

"Thanks... You know, you've always been like a mentor to me. But like, closer to family."

"Don't go around saying that, you're making me sound like an old man. Rio and I both turned 22 last year!"

"That's still six years you have over me, so the old man thought isn't completely wrong to me," I teased, exiting the room.

As much as this fight means to me, I can't go in pissed off or else I'm just asking to lose badly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, go out there and do your thing. I'll cheer on from the stands!" he called as the door shut.

The bright light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter as I took more steps towards the battleground. Dozens of players before me saw elation and heartbreak in just this afternoon, and now it's my turn to see what's in store.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the match you've all been waiting for: Kirito ,The Black Swordsman - elite clearer with a chip on his shoulder - versus Derek, a fresh face on the Assault team and guild leader of the Sky Runners!" the announcer bellowed from the press box. The arena itself wasn't that large in size; the fighting surface was a circle of roughly 60 meters in diameter with a seating area fit for 10,000. Goes without saying that the arena was nowhere close to capacity.

Please, spare us the cliches and let's just get to the duel.

I rolled my eyes, tuning out the announcer and crowd before fixing my gaze at the player before me. The Beater himself. Physically, he doesn't seem to be imposing; he stands at least a few centimeters shorter than me and doesn't show much armor below his black trench coat. Psychologically, however, there's a certain aura that surrounds him. Somewhere between an ice-in-his-veins tense and a shroud of utter mystery.

I had my Gothic plate armor and Silver's Cry upgraded as much as I could afford, thought up countless strategies he may throw at me, and even had my Teardrop shield modified in two ways: rotated the straps so that it pointed out from my fist when I held it - as opposed to perpendicular to my forearm - and fitted the pointed base with steel edges for bashing. It may not do the same damage as a sword, but it's bound to shake up even the best of players.

"Players, you may now send the duel request!" The echoing voice brought my attention back to the arena.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm getting my menu go- what the hell?

As soon as I opened my menu, a duel request was already raised before me. I glanced up to see his eyes fixed at the duel request and lips tightly narrowed.

Shoulda expected nothing less from him. He always means business when it comes to combat.

With one tap of the blue circle the thirty-second countdown started, as did a sudden silence in the arena. In every visible row, the spectator was at the edge of their seat and seemingly poised to spring from where they were. I could also swear that a few were grabbing at the dense tension in the air.

10... 9... 8... the spinning clock read.

When the clock expired, Kirito shot forward with a Revolution; a two-strike skill that launches the user forward while spinning each blade in a circular, horizontal arc. I shot back to avoid the first arc, then parried the second strike upwards with my shield. The skill had a one-and-a-half second cooldown, so I slashed across his chest and bashed him back with my shield, knocking off a small chunk of his HP. My best estimate had him placed at just under 95% of his HP left.

This is gonna be a long ass duel if that kind of counterattack takes off that little health. And I doubt he'll be the type to make the same mistake twice.

Instantly, the crowd roared. Shaking his head, he shot himself forward and swung high and low, trying to exploit my shield's lack of vertical coverage. He was moving so quickly that his blades simply vanished, leaving behind arcs the same color as the swords. Every strike hit my shield, but he left me with no opening to swing back at him. Which only meant that I had to create one.

Gradually, I raised my shield and rotated the outer face upward, hoping to bait him into lowering his aim. Once the first swing passed under the shield - missing my waist by a hair - I swung it down, delivering a glancing blow to his right arm. I raised my sword to slash his exposed upper right shoulder/neck area, but as my blade stood vertical, he shot forward and jammed a Vorpal Strike into my shoulder.

HP: 10,174/12,383, the upper corner of my HUD read.

"And with one strike, Kirito has evened the score!" said the announcer.

Shit, did he seriously just take out one-sixth of my HP in a glancing hit?! How much damage can he deal if he hits that on my torso?

I jumped back to get some breathing room, trying to drown out the noise from the crowd. Several meters in front of me stood Kirito, almost machine-like with a dark cloud hanging around him.

Is that really there, or am I just imagining it? No, it has to be my imagination. Hang on, where's the gap in his HP gauge? It was twice as big just a minute ago! Is his Battle Heal skill leveled that high already?! How strong is this guy?!

"Damn it, stop panicking," I spat to myself.

Just make sure he doesn't have time to recover.

Going on the offensive, I bashed aside a Double Vertical and aimed a Vertical Arc at his left flank. The first strike cut upward into his side, but only with the very tip of Silver's Cry. The second strike missed outright as he jumped away to his right.

Before my cool-off period ended, he sprung forward with a thrust from his bluish sword - almost like a manual Vorpal Strike. I manage to parry his thrust with an outward swing, but he quickly followed it with a manual Horizontal using his black sword.

Wait, that's not being aimed at me. What the -

A loud ping rang out as his sword connected with mine, right where the hilt met the base of the blade. Just as the first ping faded, another one filled the air, and Silver's Cry flew from my hand. The blade landed about 10 meters away, embedded almost vertically in the ground.

The arena filled with a mix of woahs and cheers, so loud I was almost convinced that they were radiating from my head.

Shit, if I run for Silver's Cry now, he'll win in seconds. But there's no way I stand a chance without it!

The fusillade of slashes started again, forcing me to commit both hands to my shield. If I took a step back every other slash, it wouldn't be long before I could leap backwards and take the offensive again. But if he got between me and the sword...

Somewhere in the flurry, he activated Luminous Sword Surface - a 14-hit Dual Blades skill with slashes high, and low, then putting him behind me for more. He'd be left with a five-second cooldown when he was done, which should give me an opening to pull Silver's Cry out of the ground.

Here it comes, you know the defense pattern! Up for the two downward Slants, down for the two low Horizontals... shit, what came next?!

The system took Kirito for a dash attack past me, bouncing his bluish-green sword off of the edge of my shield and slashing into my left side.

HP: 7,263/12,383

"In just two hits, Kirito nearly ended the duel! Will Derek survive the rest of the onslaught?" Another announcer asked.

By some miracle, the second set of strikes were fewer than anticipated, and his slashes ended as quickly as they started. His last slash hadn't even stopped its swing when I bolted for my sword behind him. Silver's Cry was embedded deeper than it looked, but came out in one motion.

Yes! Got it! Is he still penalized?

His black sword let out a ping when it caught the steel edge of the base, spurring another roar from the audience.

Ah shit, here we go again.

Once again, he started a fusillade of slashes and thrusts, but none of them looked system-assisted.

Dammit! He's not even using sword skills anymore!

Little by little, the tips of his blades would get past the cracks in my defense and make small cuts. It wasn't much damage per hit, but several cuts in a short span pushed me closer to the halfway mark.

Don't go down on your heels! Get another hit in! One at a time!

I released the first half of Swipe Slash - a Sword-Shield skill - to knock his incoming downward slashes aside. "That's," the second half sent three slashes in a backwards 'Z' shape, "enough!" The first two hits sunk into his torso while the third got parried by the sword in his left hand.

"Good match," he said, just barely audible.

"What?" I couldn't help but ask.

Oh... he left my arms wide open...

During my cooldown, he released a Slant running from my right shoulder to my left hip. Whatever HP remained above half disappeared instantly, clearly going far below the 50% mark if not for the system's protection.

CONGRATULATIONS! appeared over Kirito's head, and the already loud arena practically shook with the crowd's noise.

"Looks like you're back on the team. Congratulations, you earned it..." My eyes were fixed on the ground and voice barely audible.

"That was the agreement... Congrats to you too. Since you knew all my unlocked skills, I had to get really creative to make openings back there. The only real difference was between our levels, giving me more leeway for risks."

I... I'm sorry, Ryosuke... I couldn't do it...

"I'm gonna go now, there's someone waiting for me. See you at the next meeting," he said as he turned back to his tunnel.

"Wait," I stood straight and looked at the back of his head. "I have a question."

He turned around, seemingly unsure of how to respond. "What is it?"

Should I ask? He probably doesn't even remember. But there's only one way to find out.

"That sword... how'd you get it?"

"The blue one?" He thumbed back to its hilt. "Lisbeth made it for me a while back."

"Not that one, your black one. Do you remember how or where you got it?"

Kirito looked to the ground, biting his lip to concentrate for a moment.

"It was the LAB back on floor 50; we fought a metallic Buddha statue that was resistant to most bladed weapons. The sword I had at the time got really beaten up in the fight, so the Elucidator was a godsend replacement."

Looks like he remembers at least part of the story. Let's keep going.

"Does the name 'Star Chasers' mean anything to you?"

"It sounds vaguely familiar. I think they were a newer frontline guild that was kinda hit-and-miss with raid requirements. Are you connected with them? I can't think of why else you'd ask."

"They were a guild led by my older brother, and all but one died in the raid where you received that. A few clearers told me you saw the members getting struck down and decided to attack the boss instead of saving them, ending up with the Last Attack Bonus as my brother died. That's why I wanted you off of the Assault Team..."

Kirito looked back to his tunnel, then apparently past my shoulder.

"Where was your waiting room? It might be better to continue there."

"Back behind me. I.. think you're right, I don't really wanna stand in front of the crowd for longer than I have to."

We walked out of the Roman-style arena grounds and stopped a few steps outside of my waiting room. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the difference in light between the outside and the lamp-lit hallway; the walls were uniformly beige indoors and out. I leaned on the wall next to the wooden door while Kirito leaned on the side directly in front of me.

"Listen," he started, "I don't let people die. In the first floor's raid, Diabel tried finishing off the boss alone because he knew about the LAB as a former beta tester. The problem was that he made an assumption about the boss's weapons based on his prior experience, which happened to be one of the things the devs changed in the real game. He was hit pretty badly, but rejected the potion I tried giving him before dying. You're one of about five people, myself included, who know about his rejection."

He bit his lip and sighed before he continued.

"As for your brother, that was a time where there was no right choice. I knew there wasn't enough time to pull him out of the way without both of us getting killed, so I tried killing that floor boss before it could get him. It probably would've worked if my sword's durability weren't beaten to hell and the boss weren't covered in metal. I simply couldn't kill it in time in time, and I'm sorry for that."

Kirito shuffled through his menu and materialized his black blade in its sheath, holding it before me.

"Here, take this; I'll trade it for Silver's Cry. It's called The Elucidator, its name roughly meaning 'one that sheds light.' Like you said, it was the drop I got from the 50th floor boss, so I want you to have it."

I must've stood blank for an eternity, glancing between him and the sheath.

"W-why? I don't want to take your sword."

Is this guy serious? Damn, it feels like I've been asking that question all afternoon...

"First of all, you're not taking it, I proposed trading."

Smartass.

"Second of all, I mean it as a kind of apology for being too late for Rio. Had he been able to finish his attack run, he might have gotten this instead of me. I can't give it to him, so that kinda means it would fall to you."

"W-w-what's the catch? There's no way you're doing this completely out of selflessness." I stuttered out.

"There's no catch, but I guess you're right that it's not entirely selfless. Lisbeth is the one who made my Dark Repulsor - the bluish-green sword - and your Silver's Cry a little later on; if we were to trade, I'd get to use a pair of swords made by the one I care most about in Aincrad. Probably the real world as well."

Why is it getting harder and harder to hate him..?!

Kirito inched closer, switching his glance between me and the sword. With a sigh, I relented and grabbed it from his hand, then partially pulled out the blade.

"If you want a practical reason to accept it, there's a high chance that it's stronger than 99% of the swords in the game after all the recent upgrades."

It's no use being so angry... if he's gone this far to apologize after all the shitty things that I did to him, then he must be telling the truth.

With a few taps of the in game menu, we each relinquished control of our original swords and had the new ones transferred.

"I... I'm sorry," I whispered under my breath. Blinking rapidly did nothing to stop the tears from running down my face, since SAO's programming has a way of showing honest emotions all too easily.

"I'll forgive you. But a word of advice: don't start fights or throw out accusations when you have an incomplete picture. Do that to the wrong person, and you'll end up with a price on your head, assuming they don't fight you themselves first." He got off the wall and started heading down the hall towards a public exit. At the end of the hall, he stopped and turned back.

"One more thing. After a few raids, you'll learn that there's always a group of players who aren't fighting or playing support in critical moments. Not always the same people, but enough to make a difference. Whatever their reasons are, those types of players get more people killed than combat damage from the boss." Then he disappeared.

Several minutes later, I was seated against the wall with the Elucidator out and on my lap. Despite its black appearance, there was a faint purplish hue when light reflected off of it at the right angle. It was also really heavy for a one-handed sword, leaving me struggling to hold it out at arm's length.

How high are his stats if he was able to swing this around like nothing during the duel? Hell, how strong were his stats months ago when he started using this thing?

"Hey, I was wondering when you were gonna show your face outside!" the former Star Chaser called from down the hallway. Looks like a lot more time had passed by than expected.

"Sorry, I got caught up in something..." I said as I tried putting the Elucidator back into its scabbard.

"Wait a second, isn't that the sword that Kirito-"

"Yeah," I interrupted. "I'll give you a rundown of the story after we find somewhere to eat, it's... been a day."

He dropped his arm around my shoulders and started walking us over to the exit. "Alright, keep your secrets! And by the way, dinner's on you tonight. Given the size of the crowd today, your cut of the profits'll definitely cover any restaurant in Aincrad!"

"I knew it was a mistake telling you about that!"

"It's about time you're back! You did great out there!" Liz ran up and nearly tackled me when I got back to my waiting room.

"Thanks, silly! Sorry for making you wait, I had a talk with him after we left the battleground." I set her back down and saw a quizzical expression cover her face.

"Really? About what?"

"His motives and some of his past in the game. I don't hate him anymore - just what he did - and I think it's safe to say there won't be issues between us anymore."

"That's good to hear, now we could go anywhere in peace!" Lisbeth grabbed my hand and led me into the hallway.

"Yeah, and I could get used to my new sword any time, too!"

"New sword?"

This would be the time to tell her.

With a few taps, Silver's Cry was materialized and held out in front of her.

"Kirito.. what did you...?"

"There were a lot of reasons for it. Between him and I, it was a way to bury the hatchet so to speak - or umm... I guess exchange hatchets. But the other reason means a lot more to me. I trust you with my life, and I think a great way to show it would be to fight with weapons you made. The Dark Repulsor would be a constant reminder of when we met, and Silver's Cry would be for the time spent getting closer to you. Whether I'm fighting alongside you or solo on the front lines, part of you is always going to be with me!"

Lisbeth's face got progressively more pink as I finished explaining, courtesy of the system's emotion exaggeration.

"Th-that's really sweet! I... hadn't thought of it that way..."

I smiled and pecked her lips. "You've gotta give me more credit than that, silly! What do you say we go home and spend the evening in? Or do you wanna finally have a proper date?"

Lisbeth started raising a hand in an attempt to cover her blush, but decided to grab my hand and walked a few steps ahead of me instead. It looks like even she's getting used to the idea of living together.

"Home is gonna have to wait, I wanna go to 47!" She turned and started walking backwards.

"Sounds great! Let's stop by somewhere to get picnic supplies first, I wanna be in the gardens until at least sundown."

"I know just the place, follow me!" Lisbeth turned back around and pointed in front of her as she spoke.

This is the most normal/natural I've felt in a long time... Maybe I'll ask if she wants to do this every week. No, this'll definitely become a regular thing.

Author's Note: Hey, so fun fact: Kirito's (well, I guess now Derek's) sword's name runs deeper than simply sounding cool. "Elucidate" traces to 'lucidus,' descending from 'lucere,' a Latin verb meaning "to shine;" adding the suffix -ator turns the verb into a noun that performs the verb. It's a really oversimplified explanation since there's more to it linguistically, but for these purposes it gets the job done.

Writing the fight scene was really tricky because I wanted to show the gap in numbers between Kirito and Derek (see episode 4), which would've made the fight short, but I also wanted to show the prowess of Assault Team members and make the fight worth waiting for. Whether I hit that balance is up to you. Have a great one!

PS: Anyone play SAO Memory Defrag? I've gotten pretty into it, but higher level events are pretty tough to beat alone. If you don't play, I recommend it.