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And now, on to the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own SAO.

Unknown POV; known POV (will be stated); 'known POV's thoughts'; 'unknown POV's thoughts'; "dialogue for the known"; "dialogue for the unknown"

Chapter two

"Hades…. I- I mean…."

"Get on with it. I have better things to do right now than listen to you stammer your head off," I snapped, cutting off the trembling boy in front of me. And it's true: I'm busy watching this blacksmith make this crystal into my blade. And he better get it right too, or he will have Hell to pay. Literally.

"I have news pertaining to those players you heard about before." I grunted in response. "The entire group is made up of converters. Two of them have played Gun Gale Online, all of them have played Alfeim Online, and all but two of them are survivors of Sword Art Online." That last one caught my attention. The death game? We have survivors from the Death Game of the VRMMORPG world?

"Who are these players? The ones from the death game." I looked at him after giving the blacksmith a warning glare.

"Well, there's Agil, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, and… Kirito."

"Kirito?!" I broke out into a grin, and the guy backed away from me. "As in the Kirito? The one that single-handedly beat Akihiko Kayaba and freed all SAO players? That Kirito?!" He nodded slowly.

"Your sword, ma'am." I took the sword and tested its strength.

"Dragon's Hell Blade. It's about time I now have you in my possession." I took its sheath and attached it to my belt. "And with it, I will show everyone The Black Swordsman is not the greatest player in the game."

~Kirito~

"I cannot believe I have long hair again," I complained as I touched my long black locks. Beside me, Leafa giggled as she studied my features.

"I like it. And be happy. At least this time you have masculine features rather than feminine." I sighed, remembering my GGO avatar. Almost everyone in the game had mistaken me for a girl. Even Sinon had until I actually told her I'm a boy right before the Bullet of Bullets had started.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I followed her through the Tri-Brother Cavern, looking around the space. The similarities to an actual cave can easily be seen: the space was dark except for strategically placed torches. Shadows hid many shops and players who didn't want to be seen by others. The area was deceptively small, but according to the map, it's a lot bigger than how it appears.

"So, I'm an Aphrodite Apprentice. My skills will primarily have to do with love and sexuality. Guess I'll act as more of a distraction to a boss?" I shrugged as she studied her Blade of Aphrodite. Like her Master Goddess, it was gorgeous and looks like it could blind an opponent if tilted in the light just right. "What are you, Kirito?"

"Zeus Apprentice. So my skills will be lightning based. I don't find a problem with that."

"Kirito-kun!" We turned around at the sound of my name. Silica and Lisbeth was running towards us. "Klein lost his Blade!" My eyes widened at this.

"Already?" The two girls nodded. "To who? And what made him think he should challenge someone the instant he enters the game?"

"We don't know who she is. All she said was she wanted his Blade. And yours. Kirito-kun, Klein doesn't have any swords at the moment. It's going to be really hard for him to play without a sword of some kind," Silica said with earnest.

"Where are they?"

"This way," Lisbeth answered Leafa, turning around. We ran after her as she led us to what appeared to be an arena. Once there, I could see Klein still on his knees in front of a girl who held the tip of her sword under his chin, smirking at him.

"You were very foolish to accept my challenge just because you are a converter and I am not, Klein-san. That mistake has been your downfall," she was saying softly.

"Klein!" The entire arena turned their attention to me as I jumped over the barrier and onto the field. "Are you alright?"

"Kirito, this has nothing to do with you," he started.

"I don't care. I challenge you to a duel. And if I win, you return his Blade," I told the girl, pulling out my Blade of Jupiter.

"Very well then, Black Swordsman. And if I win, you have to give me your Blade." Klein reluctantly left the field as a timer started counting down.

I studied the girl in front of me as we waited for the buzzer. She was slender and appeared to be light on her feet, which meant she must be a speed type. Her sword had fire marks all over it, so maybe she's a Hades Apprentice. It makes sense since her hair was fire blue and eyes were fire red.

At the buzzer, I was knocked backwards by an unseen force. As I hit the wall behind me, I saw her do hand signs. "Flames of Hell!" She slammed her hand down on the ground, and my eyes widened as cracks were made on the field. As I looked around, I could see fire shoot up at random places and random times.

"What is this?" I asked her, standing up. She smirked.

"My ace skill." She swung her sword to the left just as flames shot up from the crack right next to her. The blade then lit up fire orange, and she smirked as it extended in length. "Now, Kirito-san. Show me exactly who the Black Swordsman is."

I charged at her, sword to the side slightly. She smirked as she easily blocked my swing with her own Blade, making our swords clash in sparks in the shape of an X between us. Again and again, I swung at her. And again and again, she blocked with her own sword. The cheers from the stands slowly quieted as it became clear I was not going to win this as easily as everyone had anticipated.

"Would you like to hear a secret, Blacky-sensei?" she asked conversationally as she blocked once again. This time, however, she held me in place with her eyes that seemed to change colors. "That little rumor about the one player with maxed out game stats? You're looking right at her." My eyes widened as she kicked me away from her just as flames shot up out of the crack two feet behind me. I fought down a scream as my HP lowered to ten percent and I skidded straight across the field.

"You… what are you talking about? What rumor?" I grunted as I stood up slowly. I barely managed to block her sword with my own as she towered over me.

"How about this? I'll end this duel right now. And you can go run off to your pathetic friends and ask them about this rumor. Because Klein-san already knows, believe me."

Before I could respond, she kicked me once again only to the right. This time, my right arm and leg brushed against dying down flames, which lowered my HP to four percent. I watched her do hand signs once again.

"Flaming Sword!" She blew on the tip of the sword, and the entire blade instantly caught fire. I struggled to stand, but I couldn't. My HP was too low. She grinned as she towered over me with her sword over her head. "I win. By the way, the name is Kaia-Mai." I closed my eyes as the Blade swung down to me. The next thing I knew, I was engulfed in flames, my HP lowered to zero, my Blade of Jupiter floated out of my hand, and I disappeared.

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-RozaCourt