Leaf-no, Suguha was elated to see the reinforcements that arrived. The racial leaders commanded their troops forward, and at their words the troops struck hard at the mobs, destroying them en mess with dragonbreath and spells.

As she came to express her heartfelt thanks-

"Thank you, thank you very much!"

"There is no need to thank us. We're indebted to that Spriggan, after all.

"And arming this raid party was only possible with his large donation." Alicia Ru piped in.

"All units, charge!"

They charged forth, with Suguha proceeding forward and forward, cutting through one Guardian, and a by fly bisecting another, with the Sylph leader at her side and katana swinging as well, but then alone, as she rose higher and higher…until she reached, finally, the destination she sought.

Kirito's side.

As he saw her, her brother nodded, and voiced his acceptance of her at his side, even if it was not in the interpretation she wanted at first.

"Watch my back."

The blonde Sylph nodded, as she took a stance behind him, sword at the ready, in front of her, just like in her Kendo instructions.

"Leave it to me."

As they fought, covering each other's backs, and the fea forces taking on the majority of the monsters that spawned to attack them, rising upwards as well, they made their way, but even there, Leafa found that Kirito was rising higher than her, faster than her.

And he needed someone to guard his back against the increasing number of foes his fast progress was agroing.

'If I can't stand at your side like for long like that, I will just have to do so another way, Oni-chan.'

With those thoughts she threwher sword to him, as she called him. "Oni-chan!"

The blade flew upwards, and was in front of his face when he caught it, and took the stance she remembered seeing before, two swords held at his sides.

And he than put both forward, like two halves on a singe whole, adges outwards-as if a single double adged blade, and flew up with all his might, towards the center of the ceiling. The Guardian monsters rushing him as he moved upwards unstopping, cutting through them like hot knife through butter, impaling them so fast it took time for the pixel disintegration they did at their death.

Suguha could just cheer her brother as he went forward like a force of nature, like a hurricane…

"Go, Onii-chan."

"Go!" She shauted at him encouragingly, through tears that started in her eyes.

And he did.

Sakuya found herself smiling at the sight of the Super Spriggan reaching the roof, through the fast closing hole he made in the mobs.

'He really is something…'

"All units, fall back! we're withdrawing."

'It's up to him, now. And we can't keep this for long, anyway.'

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yes, the Black Swordsman will hurry and try to reach the world tree as fast as he can, and we need to get there soon, if we want to be useful. Don't you want to repay him for the freedom from Aincrad he won for us? You seemed pleased when you told me of the massage from Thinker."

"Then why are we going towards the Leprechaun capital?"

"We are?"

"Yes, we are! We have been going the wrong way for hours, how could you ever reach officer in a Clearer guild with such lousy sense of direction?"

"It wasn't like this in Aincrad! And why didn't you warn me, Hex?"

"I trusted you to know what you were doing! Obviously I was wrong!"

"Maybe we will still get to help the guy? No way he would take endgame raid all by himself!"

His companion just deadpanned two words.

"Gleam eyes!"

"That's just a story…"

'damn it.'

"What now?" Kirito wondered aloud, as he stood at the center of the roof, now inverted as floor, there was a circle, cut into four equal sized parts by two perpendicular diameters.

'Don't tell me that I did all that to be stopped by a dead end!'

He called for Yui.

As the little pixie flew from his pocket and into the floor and placed a hand on the ceiling turned floor, she paused for a few moments, that may as well have been an eternity, for Kirito, before voicing the results of her analysis.

"Papa, this door isn't locked by a quest flag.

"It's under the authority of system administrators."

"What do you mean?" he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Worry visible on his face. Despair soon to follow.

"In other words, this door was never intended to be accessible to players!" She said in a worried tone.

That shocked him.

A glance aside revealed more Tree Guardians spawning too close.

His time was running short.

'No! I won't give up! Not when I am this close!'

He struck his heavy sword into the middle of the circle, willing it to open.

And again. And again.

And again. And again. And again. And again.

Each time faster, more furious then the last!

'It can't end like that, it just can't.'

"Stop it, papa, it can't be opened like that. It's not in its programming!" his daughter yelled, frantic, as her papa only swung faster and faster, continuing his illogical actions.

"No! I won't let it end like that! I won't leave Asuna!"

"Papa! You're scaring me!"

'Open! Open goddamnit! I know you can!

He could do it! It couldn't be lost cause, it just couldn't!

'When Heathcliff killed Asuna, she was brought back! my own death on his sword was undone! Asuna even managed to move-in defiance of his admin activated mass paralysis! I! can! Do! it! I! will! Do! it!'

Each word was emphasized by a sword strike.

"Papa, it won't help!"

Kirito just tried harder, faster, more desperately! More! More! More!

'zZZzz'

He heard the mobs getting closer. Soon they will attack!

Suddenly, everything turned gray, as if color itself was leeched away. a surprised glance revealed the Tree Guardians unmoving, as if frozen in time.

"Yui-what's ha-"

Yui was grey and frozen too, in the middle of frantic calls for his attention.

"What, is this…"

"You!" a voice called from behind him.

As he turned, Kirito saw a doppelganger of himself… moving and in color, with a background of blackness that hid the view of what lay behind it.

No… it was not an exact copy. The figure had long hair, and different, though still black cloths, ones that with the long hair and androgynous face made the figure look like a girl version of him.

"This is you-your doing, your will!" his own voice , only slightly higher than usual came from the mouth of the copy.

"Who…what are you?"

"I am you-as you could be, if you embrace your will and push it forward, with all your might! I am your determination, unbound by the mandate of what is possible! I am the key-your only way to reach Asuna!"

"That's all I needed to know! Now what do I need to do?"

The feminine image of himself smirked at the response, in a familiar way he saw in the mirror before, and put its hands on his shoulders, silently whispering.

"Believe-will it! You can change reality!" and then laid her lips on his in a chaste kiss.

He heard a bestial roar, and turned his head upwards instinctively.

The blackness of background had two glowing red points –two eyes. And now that he saw that it shaped what looked like a goatine head against the grey behind it.

It was a baphomet.

The shadow creature roared again, and suddenly, a multitude of details rushed into the mind of the Black Swordsman. The shadows covering the world, keeping it in darkness, in ignorance, were lifted from his mind.

A block was lifted.

He had in his mind's eye images of the impossible, of a Fishzilla and a Geisha that was a noblewoman one moment and a kunoichi the next. Of hidden natures of the world.

He knew what he had to do-he had the answer.

Suddenly the grey around him disappeared, with no hint to the presence of his other self, or the beast behind it, as if they were never there.

But he now knew how to reach Asuna, so it didn't matter. Nothing did.

"Don't worry, Yui, Papa has a way!" he told his panicking adopted girl with a smile, and raised the word one more time, with all of his will, all of his command and determination.

Shouting "Open" as he struck.

It did.

The four parts of the circle slowly started to open as a glow was revealed beneath them.

"Yui, your hand!"

Shocked at the impossible her papa just did, she knew the urgency, and nodded, as sje reached and touched her tiny pixie hand to his outstretched one-the one not holding his heavy sword.

Soon they were covered in a whitish glow and disappeared.