CHAPTER 9

"YOU'RE LATE"

Fallen slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see Asuna's body break into pixels and disappear into nothingness. But, the sight in front of him put an even bigger smile on his face.

Kirito was leaning over Asuna, having shielded her from Fallen's attack. Blood dripped down from Kirito's back as he gently raised Asuna's head. Yui was sitting on Kirito's shoulder, with a concerned expression as she looked on at Asuna.

Asuna smiled weakly as she slowly lifted her hand and touched Kirito's cheek. "You're late Kirito-kun."

"I am sorry, Asuna. I got held up." said Kirito, as he took Asuna's hand in his and held them comfortingly.

Kirito lifted Asuna in his arms and got up. He walked to where his comrades were standing. "Lyfa-san, can you heal Asuna?"

"Of course, Onii-san.", Lyfa and Asuna walked up to Kirito and helped Asuna stand once again.

Klein walked up to Kirito and knocked him on his head. Klein's face was lit up on seeing Kirito. "Hey Kirito! You should work on your timing. We almost got killed."

Kirito smiled back at Klein. "After looking at Asuna's condition, I'm surprised that you are still alive."

Klein was about to reply to what Kirito said, but Fallen interrupted.

"Stop with the sweet talk. I have waited for a very long time. And you didn't even let me kill that girl. At least come and entertain me, Black Swordsman."

Kirito turned back and looked at Fallen. Kirito felt a chill run down his spine when he looked into Fallen's cold-blooded eyes. Those eyes. They haven't changed a bit.

Fallen slowly started walking to where his sword had fallen initially. He picked it up and through Asuna's rapier away.

"Let's get started then.", said Fallen Turning back to Kirito.

Kirito unsheathed his sword, the legendary sword Excalibur.

"One sword will not be enough to beat me, irrespective how legendary the sword is. I want to face you with BOTH your swords. And I hope that you know which OTHER sword I am talking about."

Kirito looked astonished on hearing Fallen's words. How did he know?

"But, how did he know that Papa can use two swords and that he has another one?", said Yui, who looked equally surprised.

Having recovered a little from her injuries, Asuna interjected. "What are you talking about Yui? There is no restriction on using two swords in ALO. There are no unique skills like 'Dual Blade' in SAO, so why are you surprised at what he just said?"

"Yes. But using two swords would be extremely difficult in ALO because there are no system assisted dual sword attacks. Besides, he seems to know that Papa has another sword."

"He does? When did Kirito get another?", asked Agil who also looked confused now.

"Yes. Papa has another sword. He got it just before the tournament started."

"Is it also some legendary sword, like The Excalibur?", Sinon asked with a glint in her eyes.

"You and Lyfa-san, might not recognize it. But, I am sure the others will.", said Yui as she pointed at Kirito, whose other sword appeared.

It was the Elucidator, Kirito's sword in SAO. That sword which got him the name, "The Black Swordsman."

"How did you know that I had this sword? I unlocked it only a few hours ago. How is it that you were aware of me possessing it?"

"Well, looks like the guy good with swords wants to hear some words first. About your Elucidator, who do you think told you about it in the first place?"

"It was you, who told me about the quest?"

"Yes. In fact, it was me who put that quest up in the first place."

Kirito was listening to Fallen's words with intent. The only way he could do something like that is.

"As you may have guessed, I am a hacker. I orchestrated all of this. The quest, the tournament, the pain absorber levels, everything. It was all me."

"Why go to such extents? What is it that you want?"

"What do I want? I want you. I want to fight that madman who blew away the Laughing Coffin that day. I want to fight that murderer who annihilated and PKed so many other PKers that day."

Kirito looked at Fallen with a shocked expression on his face. Memories were rushing back to him. He swallowed hard as a sweat trickled down his face.

"Don't be intimidated now. I am tired of facing weaklings. I want to face someone who is at least half as strong as I am. If I was to tell you what I was about to do to your beloved Asuna, you'd probably want to kill me. That is what I want."

Kirito cleared his throat and asked, "What do you mean?"

Fallen had an even bigger smile on his face and started giggling. He then continued, "Like I said, I am a hacker. And this sword, the one I am holding, is no ordinary sword. I programmed this sword to hurt people, both in this world and the real one. It can override the safety features of the AmuSphere and inflict permanent damage on your brain in reality. Of course the degree of that would be very low by default. But that's the reason I hacked into the system and changed the pain absorber level. With the pain absorber level at zero, that bit of damage increases exponentially. The person may not die in the real world, but they would suffer serious damage. Permanent damage, rather."

Fallen slowly turned his head and looked at Asuna with a smirk on his face.

Kirito turned his head in the direction where Fallen was looking at. Another chill ran down Kirito's spine as he realised the implications of what Fallen had just said. He swallowed hard as he looked on at Asuna with a pale morbid expression on his face.

Kirito was dumbfounded as he felt his whole life fall apart in front of his own eyes. Both his swords slipped from his hands and fell down on the ground. Asuna... I didn't come on time... I was late.. I was late... She would be ..

"I wonder if she still looks pretty in the real world. After going through that fight with me, I wonder in what ways the shape of her face has changed. Hmmm. May be her eyes popped out in an ugly way or maybe her ears bled...", said Fallen with a weak smile on his face, his eyes still fixed at Asuna. "Anyway, the damage has been done. She would be hurt in the real world as well. More than you could imagine."

Fallen slowly turned his head to a see the helpless morbid shocked expression on Kirito's face. Priceless.

"You're late, Black Swordsman."

A/N: I just had to bring Kirito in. Even if it was predictable.

Was it confusing? Let me know if you felt it was.

Thanks for reading and please review!