Chapter Seven: Innocence Lost

July 28th 2031

Edmond stared at his translucent menu. The various counters and clocks stared back at him. Khale's counter was ticking down slowly. Would he stick exactly to his original time of arrival? Of course he would…People with god complexes usually were extremely obsessive compulsive. The clock read 00:01:32. Less than two minutes until arrival…arrival of…of what? Edmond, Thatch, Kitami, nor any of the other players standing nervously within the town walls knew what to expect.

In this last peaceful moment Edmond stood with an arrow notched. He held his bow ready, aiming into the forest, waiting for the red glow of the player killer aura to appear. Edmond went over Thatch's latest instructions one last time in his head.

Just keep firing, and make sure to tell Klein where to throw…

Edmond stopped, just as one more, critical, thought entered his mind and plastered itself at the very top of his to do list.

Keep Kitami safe…at ALL costs.

Edmond was bent on protecting Kitami. She was his only source of joy and comfort, and he'd figured that without her, he'd be better off taking on Khale alone and ending it all.

Suddenly, Edmond was ripped from his thoughts as a bright light appeared in the sky and ascended upwards into full view of everyone. The crowd of players began to make a low uproar at the light in the sky. When it had reached its desired point, it transformed into a counter, just like the one Khale displayed when he'd come the first time.

The counter began a countdown from ten. This was it.

Edmond looked over at Kitami, who was staring back at him, He reached out his hand, and took hers.

"Remember my promise…I'm going to keep it."

Kitami nervously nodded and withdrew her hand, notching an arrow.

Edmond gulped as he looked back into the sky. He counted down the final seconds of the clock…3…2…1.

The clock disappeared. Silence fell over the expanse of the Town of New Beginnings.

Edmond looked to his side. He saw several archers with their bows trained on different areas of the forest, waiting for a target. Many of them, with the anticlimax of the clock reaching zero with no grandiose arrival, were now withdrawing their bows and looking at each other in confusion.

Edmond looked back at Kitami, who shrugged, but kept her arrow notched as a safety precaution. Edmond then looked back at the archer closest to him. He was looking around at the some five hundred archers lining the Town's walls. Then, he made eye contact with Edmond. He shrugged in confusion and trained his bow forward again. The player looked young, perhaps only fourteen or so. He was wearing green leather, and had short, silver hair.

Edmond continued looking at him until he saw a throwing knife fly directly into his forehead. The boy ambled back and forth with a confused look on his face. Edmond stared in horror as he saw the boy's health bar drain from green…to yellow…to red. Just as the health bar emptied, he slowly turned his head to look at Edmond. He was obviously in shock. He opened his mouth, as his lower lipped quivered.

"No…way…"

Edmond watched, frozen, as the player blasted into a million tiny turquoise glass shards. The knife in his head fell to the ground and clanked as is landed. Then, it too burst into shards.

Stricken with fear, Edmond swiped his hand, instinctively looking for a healing potion that would be too little, too late. That's when it caught his eye. The second counter Khale had implanted into the menu. The one that had, up until this point, only displayed "00000." Edmond shook in horror as he immediately figured out what the counter was for when he noticed the number had changed. The new counter displayed "00001." It was a body count clock.

"Edmond, get down!"

Kitami's voice roared through the air at him. Edmond fell like a ragdoll onto his back. His body landed horizontally on the hard cobblestone wall just as another knife whisked directly over his head and stuck into the wall behind him, just before disappearing.

Kitami rushed over to him and threw herself on top of him.

"Are you okay? Edmond? Are you hurt?"

Edmond could tell that Kitami was already fighting back sobs, induced by fear.

"I'm okay! I'm okay…Kitami we have to find them! We have to give Klein a target!"

Kitami nodded and crawled back to her previous position. As she tried to sit up, she quickly leapt back down. There were far too many projectiles flying to even consider taking a look.

Edmond, still in shock and laying on his back, looked over to the side. A player was kneeling down where the first archer had died. Edmond could see that this player look almost identical, barring a few cosmetic changes. He was crying bitterly, and calling out a name, as if still holding on to the hope of his comrade respawning. Edmond figured he must had been a close friend, or relative to the slain player. He could see anger building in the second archers eyes. He then saw him notch and arrow, and carelessly stand up, and aim over the wall.

"No! Don't!"

It was no use. So many knives flew into the body of the archer, that he never even had a chance to move before his body was blown into pieces. Edmond didn't have to look at his menu to know that the counter had advanced another number. He felt sick to his stomach.

Cries and pleas of fear rang out into the night. Edmond looked down the wall as far as he could. Players were hunched downward, some in the fetal position. All of them were too afraid to move. The horror of death crept into Edmond's veins, turning them to ice.

"Edmond! Give me a target!"

Edmond could hear Klein, just on the other side of the wall. He suddenly remembered what his duty was. But he didn't have any clue on where to direct Klein's smoke bombs.

"Edmond! We've got people DYING up there! Give me something!"

"Just throw the damn bomb! I can't even lift my head!"

Edmond snapped. It had been a long time since he'd heard himself get that angry. Working in retail, back in the real world that seemed so far away, he'd spent most of his adult life agreeing with every word that came out of a customer's mouth. It was unusual for him to have any sort of honest reaction.

Suddenly a volley of sparks began flying over the wall. The sparks came from lit fuses. The Gunners had begun their end of the counter attack. Suddenly, an enormous wave of explosions began erupting. The clanking of knives flying into stone slowed down to a halt. Edmond could hear agonizing screams of players…no…they weren't players, they were assassins, murderers.

Edmond looked over to Kitami. He pointed towards the stone railing, indicating that it was now safe to take a look. She complied.

Edmond looked down over the forest. He could see nothing but smoke billowing all around the trees closest to the wall. The screams of pain continued to assault Edmond's ears, as bombs continued to fly over the wall and explode with unbelievable power and sound. Edmond looked around quickly to distinguish any target, but didn't see any. He looked into the smoky fog of war and began seeing sporadic white flashes with a slight turquoise hue…assassins were dying.

"To your right! Beside the tree!"

Kitami yelled as Edmond quickly re-notched an arrow and pivoted to his right.

This assassin had a crossbow and was aiming directly at Edmond. Edmond froze up, fear seized him. The bow in his hand quivered. Edmond's eye's locked with the assassin's. Edmond could have sworn he saw the assassin crack a sinister smile. He had short black hair and wore goggles, which probably negated the effects of the smoke. Edmond saw an arrow fly. He clenched his eyes shut as he prepared to be speared through the forehead. But the pain didn't come.

"Edmond, hit him!"

Edmond looked over at Kitami. It was her arrow that had flown. She was desperately trying to notch another arrow. Edmond looked back at the assassin. He'd been hit in the left bicep. He roared out in anger and cursed. Edmond watched as he ripped the arrow out of his arm and tossed it away. Edmond was shocked to see that his health bar didn't even go near the yellow.

Once again, Edmond could see that the assassin was preparing to fire at Edmond. This time, Edmond was ready. He raised his bow, just as his target did the same. He took a deep breath and took aim at his target. Edmond let the arrow go as adrenaline coursed through his veins.

Bulls-eye.

Edmond's arrow struck his target just above the nose. The target fell down backwards, slamming his head on the nearest tree, and blasted into shards. It was Edmond's first kill. The adrenaline was still pumping, Edmond knew he had to keep it going.

"Everyone, fire!"

The archers near Edmond looked over to him as they hunched over in fear. Reluctantly, they jumped to their feet and began volleying arrows into the forest and they relayed Edmond's command throughout the wall. Edmond watched as arrow after arrow flew into the smoke filled hell.

White and turquoise flashes were now lighting the area consistently. The tide of the fight had turned, seemingly, into the favor of the counter attackers. Edmond looked over to Kitami who was re notching an arrow. Knives were no longer flying at them like angry hornets. The two made eye contact and smiled. But it was very short lived.

A crossbow bolt, more than likely shot on complete whim, flew out of the smoke. Kitami quickly turned to her side, attempting to avoid it. But it grazed her arm. Edmond watched as Kitami's health bar went to about 3/4. Kitami grabbed her arm in shock and stood there. There was no blood, only the same shards that a deceased player blasted into, shining from her wound.

"Kitami!"

Edmond began sprinting towards Kitami at full speed. He leapt on top of her, forcing her to the ground. He took her into his arms.

"Are you okay?"

Edmond's words sounded pitiful, as if he was a five year old.

"Y-yeah, I think so. Gah! It hurts!"

Kitami clenched her arm wound yet again, this time as if it hurt even more.

Edmond looked at her in horror as he noticed a new status on Kitami's health bar. Poison. He noticed Kitami's health dipping more and more to the left. It was now at 3/5, and draining. Edmond was mortified. No. This couldn't be happening. His promise. How could he neglect Kitami? Why wasn't he closer to her?

"I-I don't have any health potions, or poison cure!"

Edmond was now talking through sobs as tears began to form streams down his cheeks. He couldn't lose Kitami, she was his only source of happiness. He was now completely unaware of the war going on outside the wall. He didn't even notice the archers yards away desperately fighting off attempts of assassins trying to climb the walls.

"Edmond….y-you can do it. Kayaba…he said so, didn't he?"

Kitami was referring to Kayaba's promise of giving Edmond any class specification he desired. The only problem was, was that Edmond had no clue how to activate healing skills.

"I trust you…you have to do this…p-please Edmond."

Kitami clenched her teeth after saying this, as her body tensed up. Her health bar was now less than half way full. She began to whimper in pain.

Edmond took a deep breath and placed his hand on Kitami's arm where the glow of white and turquoise was seeping out of her arm. He could tell, even in the dark, that she was going pale. Her breathing was becoming shallow…She was dying in his arms.

"Hold on Kitami, please…I can't…be here without you!"

Edmond watched helplessly as Kitami's health went red, and continued to plummet. It was over. Kitami was going to die, and Edmond was going to break his promise, less than a day after making it. He held Kitami close as she barely held on to consciousness.

"Kitami…please…don't leave me here, alone…"

Kitami was now too unconscious to register Edmond's desperate pleas. The seconds passed like hours as Edmond continuously replayed the previous night with Kitami in his mind. He felt so alive, so brave. But now, someone who actually made him feel like achieving something, was seconds away from defragmenting from existence, and leaving Edmond to pick up the nonexistent pieces of his own emotion.

Kitami's health was almost completely drained when, as if by a miracle, a character jumped down beside them. She was short, wearing a blue skirt, darker than Kitami's, and wore a cloak of the same color. On her head was a sapphire circlet. Edmond recognized the circlet immediately. It was a cosmetic exclusively for healer players. Healers were a relatively new class in SAO. Since Kayaba's original design didn't allow players to use magic, the new developers decided to make a class specifically for the design of potions for every ailment.

"Wow! Just made it! Hold on there, girl, I've got you covered."

The girl's voice was high pitched, but at this moment, it sounded like a beautiful song to Edmond. The girl quickly reached into a satchel she was carrying and pulled out a green vial. Edmond could see a crude piece of paper glued to the front of it that had something scribbled on it. Upon further inspection Edmond made out the words "Anti-Venom." She poured the vial into the wound on Kitami's arm and put her hand over it. Kitami instantly reacted by clenching her teeth and screaming in pain, making her instantly conscious.

"I know it hurts! I'm sorry! The lack of a damn pain barrier is really wreaking havoc on players!"

She looked over to Edmond.

"That stopped the poison! Unfortunately, I'm out of heath potions! She needs attention, NOW, if she stubbed her toe she'd be done for in this state. But it's too dangerous for me to move her with this blade blizzard going on! I need to get her into the inn! There are more healers and supplies there!"

Edmond immediately knew what he had to do. He crawled over to the inner portion of the wall.

"Klein! I need as much cover as you can give me, directly in front of the wall!"

"You got it, buddy! But be aware, we're running low on fire power here!"

Soon about a dozen pear shaped objects with lit fuses began flying over Edmond's head. One hit an assassin who was attempting to scale the wall, directly in front of Kitami and her savior healer. This dazed him enough to knock him back over the wall and onto the ground. Edmond quickly dove after the explosive, which had fallen right beside Kitami, and scooped it up. He leaned over the wall and threw it straight down in the direction of the fallen assassin. Edmond then ducked down as the explosion was mixed with smoke and more shards.

"Go! Take her now!"

Edmond pointed towards the inn. The healer nodded and picked up Kitami as best she could and quickly made her way to the closest ladder. She then handed Kitami down to another player who quickly rushed Kitami towards the inn, and out of Edmond's sight.

Edmond took a deep breath. He wanted so badly to burst into tears. He felt useless, and unable to perform any tasks correctly. He was supposed to possess skills that no other class had, and yet he was completely clueless on how to use them.

"Edmond, watch out!"

Edmond's session of feeling sorry for himself was cut drastically short as a voice from another part of the wall yelled at him. It was Thatch. He must have scaled the wall to offer support. Edmond looked forward to see a player surrounded by a red-aura barreling towards him. The assassin pointed a crossbow at him, but Edmond drew his dagger swiped blindly. It connected as Edmond felt the resistance of skin being cut away with a blade.

The assassin screamed in pain as he fell forward onto the stone below him, dropping the crossbow. Edmond's blue blade had sliced into the enemy's leg, just below the kneecap, releasing a vibrant glow turquoise shards. Edmond didn't think, more adrenaline was now pumping. He stabbed his dagger directly into the back of the assassins head as he hit the ground. Edmond felt pressure, and then a sudden pop as the blade sunk into the assassin's skull. The assassin twitched once or twice as Edmond watched his health bar deplete. When it was empty, he burst into nothingness.

Edmond felt slightly stronger. He looked above his head to see the words "LEVEL UP!" floating above him. Edmond felt horrendous. But there was no time to consider his actions. He was in trouble, Khale's army had seized the wall and were attempting to make their way into the city. He jumped up and held out his blade, he couldn't see anything in front of him. It didn't feel right…he took one or two steps forward, and then it hit him. Stealth.

Edmond, stricken with fear, began wildly slashing at the air in front of him. His blade, yet again, and with familiar feeling, connected with something unseen, followed by a gurgling noise of someone choking. In front of him, a body materialized from the air. The assassin was clenching his throat as glowing matter flowed through his fingers. Edmond froze again. It was a young boy, probably no older than twelve. He had disheveled brown hair and large eyes, which stared deep into Edmond's. His expression was that of shock, agonizing fear, and pain.

"I-I was just….trying…to run away…k-kill…me! Please…just finish it...M-mommy…"

Edmond felt his humanity crumble into nothingness. He felt as if he was staring at an animal injured beyond saving. Without thinking, He knelt down beside the young assassin on his knees. Edmond slowly reached out his hand and touched the boy's face as his hand quivered. He tried so hard to fight sobs as he desperately tried to explain himself. But it was too late, the damage was irreparable and complete.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to. I promise."

The assassin choked loudly spewing the animated version of vibrant turquois blood, that Edmond had seen far too much of, from his lips. He fell backwards as his eyes began to close.

"No…NO!"

Before Edmond could say any more, the boy's health bar had reached emptiness, and he blasted away, leaving nothing behind but a very emotionally distraught Edmond.

Edmond leaned forward and placed his hands where the young player had been, just seconds before. He wished so desperately that something, anything, would have been left behind. But there was nothing. Nothing but a pile of shards that dissipated more and more each second, until there was nothing left. If felt as though Edmond had just extinguished a human life, completely from existence, and nobody would ever remember it.

Edmond leaned back and sat against the wall, completely unaware of what was going on around him. Was this war? What the hell was it? It certainly wasn't a game anymore. Flashes and screams continued around him, but he just sat, starring up into the sky. It was slightly cloudy this evening. Could Khale control that, too? He didn't try and make any sense of it. He moved his head to the side and saw a massive group of assassins barreling towards him, across the wall. Others, he saw jumping off of the wall and attempting to attack players within the city. Edmond's only thought, was that he hoped Narok's men were good for something.

Edmond watched as the assassins got closer and closer. Their red auras, all mixed together, were almost blinding. Edmond closed his eyes. He didn't care anymore. He didn't want to be a part of such a sinister and disgusting game as this. Where young children were being controlled by an egotistical maniac, and being forced to their deaths.

Then, as Edmond had accepted his fate, a pinging noise rang in his ears. He quickly swiped his hand, opening his menu. He cringed as he saw that the death counter had exceeded five hundred, and was raising steadily. When he got to his private messages, his heart sank even more.

"Edmond, we need you, now! The assassins are trying to break into a cosmetics shop where players who can't fight are hiding!"

It was from Thatch. At first Edmond didn't care. But then, he thought of the boy that had just died in front of him, and, perhaps more importantly, Kitami and her own safety. No more innocent death. He couldn't bear the thought of any other innocent players being slain recklessly. But the assassins? Those who chose their path from the start, they weren't players…they weren't even human as far as Edmond was concerned.

Adrenaline was, once again, pumping. Edmond leapt to his feet and sprinted towards the assassins bearing down on him. They seemed startled to see him counter attacking. Many of them raised their crossbows. Edmond was ready, though. He quickly became vapor as he activated stealth. The assassins looked around and began firing wildly where they'd last seen him. But it was too late. Edmond had made it behind them, and was now holding something he'd saved in his inventory while nobody was looking. One of Thatch's smoke bombs from the previous training session.

Edmond stood behind the oblivious group of assassins as hatred coursed through his veins. He gritted his teeth as he contemplated life and death for his enemies. But in his soul, he knew his mind was already made up.

He tossed the bomb into the crowd. He stared as some of the assassins looked down in suspicion, but couldn't figure out what they were looking at. When one of them finally understood what was happening, it was far too late.

An unbelievable explosion of reds, blacks, turquoises and whites erupted into the night. The agonizing screams of players who were instantly dismembered were immediately muffled as the deafening sound penetrated throughout the entire area. Edmond, who had been knocked back several feet by the blast, looked up from being on his back. He could see shrapnel slamming into parts of the games environment. The words "immortal object" continuously popped up as the force of the blast hit several buildings and parts of the wall.

Edmond then felt the familiar rush of experience gain. He looked above his head and saw an event box. Small fireworks popped and fizzled as the words "LEVEL UP X 2!" appeared. Edmond wasn't the least bit concerned or excited. The only thing he could think of, was that he'd just instantly killed enough people to gain not one, but two full levels.

Then another, far less useful, but equally recognizable, sensation rushed over Edmond's entire body. Edmond was frozen, and this time not by fear. Paralysis was now crippling him. How? He didn't feel himself get hit by anything. Could it have been an effect of the massive explosion? No. His suspicions were answered as he somehow, through the screams and the sounds of complete chaos going on around him, made out the clapping of footsteps on stone. Each one sounded closer and closer.

It could have been anyone, but somehow Edmond instantly knew who it was.

"That was impressive, Edmond…although, I'm not sure how you, an assassin was able to control a powder keg of a bomb like that. You aren't…Hacking, are you?"

Glog. His disgusting, penetrating voice was distinguishable under any circumstance. The fact that he was so calm was also completely horrifying. Edmond could only think, in sheer terror, of the power that Glog now possessed, being so close to Khale.

Edmond summoned enough strength, through the paralysis, to turn his head and watch as Glog walked from behind him, to so close to his face in front of him, that he could almost taste his words.

"What do you think Edmond? What does it feel like to be powerless as you watch innocent people die?"

Glog slowly put his hand around Edmond's neck, not squeezing, but gripping just tight enough to empower his violating ego.

"I'll spare you the agony of guessing, and come right to the point."

Glog, somehow, got even closer to Edmond's face and put his lips as close to his ear as possible.

"I'm going to kill you, Edmond. I'm going to torture you, demean you, and violate your very existence. Do you know why?"

Edmond began to shudder in fear. He tried so hard to will his way out of paralysis, grunting and gritting his teeth. But it was no use. His body just stood there, standing completely straight, unresponsively.

"Try and get out of it, Edmond, please, I'll wait until you tire yourself out."

Glog pulled his head back and laughed. Edmond stopped moving, as not to give Glog any more pleasure from completely having control over him.

"Done? Good. Let me explain something to you, Edmond. You embarrassed me in front of Khale…You and your will to protect your little, blue haired, doll…"

Glog smiled maniacally and licked his lips.

"We'll get to her in a moment."

This sentence caused Edmond to instantly start struggling again. Torturing him was one thing, but Kitami was off limits. No exceptions.

"You sick, disgusting, son of a bitch! I'll rip your tongue out!"

Edmond was practically spitting these words from his mouth. Glog wasn't pleased.

Glog slammed his fist directly into the side of Edmond's head, sending him flying over the wall and landing, hard, on his back in front of the inn. Edmond opened his eyes to see Klein bolting towards him.

"Whoa! Edmond! Are you okay?"

This was the last thing Edmond wanted. He didn't want anyone he cared about involved in this.

"Klein, get out of here, now!"

"What the hell man? Your health is just barely over halfway…and you're….paralyzed?"

Just as Klein figured out that Edmond was in much more trouble than he'd originally assessed, Glog appeared behind him.

"Klein!"

Edmond watched as Klein whisked around, just in time for Glog to kick him, sending him flying thirty feet away. Another Gunner attempted to run up and attack, but was instantly stopped as Glog grabbed him by the throat and threw him into the wall.

"S-stop it! Leave them alone!"

Edmond, in his mind, begged that Klein and his other Gunner were okay. But his thoughts were immediately redirected to his own life as he felt himself being lifted back up onto his feet, beyond his own control. Where was Glog getting this strength? Was Khale really allowing someone to have this much power, other than himself?

"I don't like being insulted, Edmond. So let's be polite, shall we? Now, where was I? Oh yes, embarrassment."

Glog's voice instantly went from stunningly calm, to dangerously angry.

"Nobody, and I mean NOBODY demeans me in front of my leader! My master…my god."

Edmond's eyes widened. Was he serious? Did he consider Khale to be his god? This was going to get out of hand very quickly. It became painfully obvious that Glog was willing to do anything for his, and his "masters" honor.

"So, now I'm going to make you suffer every single bit as much as I did."

Daggers materialized in Glog's hands. They had a glowing red aura around them. He lifted them slowly to Edmond's throat, to a position where he could slice Edmond's head from his body, with just a simple movement.

"Before I slowly filet you and watch you choke to death. I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do to your little girlfriend…before I murder her too!"

Edmond gritted his teeth and tried to flex his muscles as hard as he could, vainly trying to set himself free. Again, failure was the result.

"I'm going to render her unable to move…then, I'm going to slowly cut away each and every piece of her cloth dressings. Then, when she's completely exposed, I'm going to lick each and every inch of her helpless body."

Glog, again, licked his lips in the more disgusting of ways.

"I'm going to ravage her body, over and over, until my heart is content! Then…I'm going to cut her into pieces and watch her disappear, forever! It's a shame you won't be around to witness it…"

Edmond snapped. Something gave way, and suddenly he felt feeling enter back into his body. The thought of Kitami being violated opened a part of his mind, he'd never experienced: Unconditional, and irrevocable hatred. But in this second, all he could focus on, was having mobility back.

Edmond grabbed Glog's throat and pressed his thumbs as hard as he could onto his windpipe. Glog's eyes flew open in shock as he raised his daggers to stab Edmond in the back. Edmond sensed the coming attack and, with all the strength in his body, hurled Glog's body, headlong, into the side of the inn. Glog's daggers dropped, he tried to reach for his crossbow, but he was so dazed that his hands couldn't grasp anything. But Edmond wasn't done yet. He immediately picked Glog up by the black ponytail and placed his other hand on his throat.

It could have been sheer adrenaline, or perhaps a perk of possession any skill in the game, but Edmond, with ease, lifted Glog into the air by his throat.

"You sick bastard! I'll make it so you never see another person in your short and miserable life. I will slice your eyes out and cut out your tongue! I'll slice off both of your arms and drown you in a bucket of water! You miserable, putrid, pathetic waste of life!"

Glog looked down at Edmond and smiled as he choked and tried to release himself from Edmond's steel grip. Then, somehow, he spoke.

"Yes…we could use someone like you Edmond! J-join Khale! Together we can completely annihilate weakness! First in this game, then over the entire Seed, and finally…over every computer system ever created! Think of the future you could help to forge…j-join us, Edmond."

Edmond thought for a second. He lowered Glog back onto the ground, and released his grip. He stared at Glog for a second as anger welled up inside, more and more.

Then, Edmond plunged his dagger into Glog's stomach and pulled him close. Edmond looked into Glog's eyes as he could see fear and pain permeate through his expression. He pulled Glog closer, as the blue blade sunk deeper into his stomach, causing Glog to grit his teeth and grunt in agony. Finally, Edmond put his mouth close to Glog's ear.

"You don't have a future…People…no…animals like you are good for only one thing-"

Edmond plunged the dagger even further into Glog's abdomen. Causing a flow white and turquois to flow out.

"Being put down like the rabid dog you are."

Suddenly, right behind Glog, and just inches in front of Edmond face, Khale appeared. He was so close that Edmond could see every detail of the cosmetic flames on his face. Edmond yelled in fear as he ripped the blade from Glog's stomach and fell onto the ground. Khale held out his hand and suspended Glog in the air, halting his health bar from completely depleting, as he simultaneously pulled a dagger into his other hand. Khale was now wearing black armor with what appeared to be rubies encrusted into it. Obviously something of his own design.

Edmond turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, where he met Thatch and the Gunners leaning over Klein, who had survived but was barely conscious. Thatch stood up and began walking towards Khale.

"Thatch, NO!"

Edmond's pleading was met with a calm hand gesture to stop by Thatch. He continued walking forward.

"Is this what you wanted, Khale? Is this what you've wanted from the very start? Back all of those years ago in the first Aincrad? To see people murdered for entertainment and sport!"

Thatch was yelling. He was obviously inconsolably angry, and was very animated as he yelled.

"Well, congratulations! You've successfully aided in the death of THOUSANDS of innocent players! What can you possibly hope to achieve through this? You hopeless monster!"

Thatch pulled out a smoke bomb.

"Fight me…now…once and for all. It's what you've always wanted, isn't it? Back when Heathcliff ranked me over you? When he said I would always be one step ahead of you!"

Edmond thought of trying to stop Thatch, but he knew it was no use. Edmond wasn't sure what exactly what Thatch was referring to, but he knew it was all being said to get a rise out of Khale.

Khale, who had yet to say anything, continued suspending Glog beside him. He began to chuckle, then to laugh, until finally he was laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. It was a morbidly disturbing sight, which left a sour feeling in Edmond's stomach. This took everyone by surprise. Everyone but Thatch, who continued to stand poised and ready to launch his smoke bomb.

"Thatch, Thatch, Thatch… you know, for a hopeless cripple, you certainly have a lot of nobility. But, I suppose they say it's what's on this inside that counts. I'm not going to fight you, Thatch. I'm not going to fight any of you…no…not yet. What's the fun in completely obliterating you when I can pick you off…slowly…one by one over the course of months…maybe even years?"

Khale switched the dagger into the hand closest to Glog.

"It's not about winning, Thatch. It's about power, and how much of it I can have! This universe needs someone constantly weeding away the weak and useless! The sick and invalid! The old, and the mentally deficient! That…is me. I'm the god of this little universe…and soon, I'll control every server on the seed, and control each and every player, too stupid to avoid logging in!"

Khale raised the dagger and pointed it at Thatch.

"You'll get to fight me when you prove yourself worthy. When you conquer everything that Akihiko Kayaba created, and I have perfected! Yes…All One Hundred levels of Aincrad. But know this, Thatch…On every floor…in every battle….I'll be there. You've not seen the last of me. So just try, you and your rag tag group of heroes, and defeat me…which leads me to my next point."

Khale, without moving his head, or even averting his gaze, slammed the blade of the dagger into the side of Glog's neck. Glog whimpered as shards oozed from his neck. He choked as the health bar stayed still. His arms flailed as shining shards were now pouring from his mouth, and he cried out in agony.

"These players are useless. You can have them back! I'll forge my own army! An army more powerful than anything in this game, and you'll see…you'll all see what true power is! I will assume my rightful place as king of this world on the throne of the ruby palace on the top floor! You will all eventually be put into your place…but until them, enjoy the game…There will be no change in the rules and you will experience every single bit of pain that befalls you!"

Khale removed the dagger from Glog's throat, allowing him to finally burst into shards of nothingness.

"Don't keep me waiting for too long…I'll see you at the top."

Then, as he had done so the first time, Khale disappeared. The dagger used to finish killing Glog fell to the cobblestone below, and then blew into nothing.

Edmond exhaled as deeply as he could and began to feel dizzy. He swiped his hand to look at his menu. Without emotion he looked at the body counter. It read an astounding "01274." Could that be true? Could that many players really have just died? Edmond then looked at his health bar. His bar was so far into the red that he could barely see the tiny sliver that still remained. The adrenaline had worn off, by now, leaving him to wallow in his wounds. He felt heavy, and the side of his head was throbbing where Glog, who was now gone, had socked him.

"Edmond….Edmond?"

Edmond slowly turned his head to see Thatch kneeling down beside him. His vision went blurry, and suddenly the world started to spin. He fell onto his back and tried his best to think of Kitami and her wonderful smile…but he couldn't concentrate. That last thing he could remember was Thatch's voice calling out to him.

Suddenly he felt his body being sucked through a vacuum into an endless black nothingness.