October 8th, 2023

"Well," Kirito remarked, staring at what awaited them in the final chamber, "I… guess I should've expected something like this. Kind of."

"It is closer to what you assumed would be at the end of the first Trial," Kizmel agreed. "And the inscription outside was blunt about what quality would be needed here." Drawing her new saber, Eldhi Arc, she shot him a rueful glance. "I suppose we were lulled into complacency?"

The path to the Trial of the Strong had been a straightforward one, with none of the swamp nor awkward swim of the route to the Trial of the Wise. Out beyond Ilden, where they'd first gotten word of the quest from Argo, the mobs along the way had been strong, but the two of them had leveled up and improved their equipment enough for it not to be as dangerous as the first trip.

Kirito should've been suspicious when they reached the Trial's dungeon. A simple tower, reaching a full seventy-five meters into the air—taller even than the dungeon that had ended the Black Cats—the inscription before its now-familiar barred gate had spoken plainly that strength was what would be important inside, not wits. True to the warning, they'd found nothing more confusing than locked doors during the ascent—locked doors, and some of the strongest mobs Kirito had fought outside of a full party quest.

Foolishly, he'd still assumed that, after passing through the Swordmaster and Dark Elf-specific doors at the top, they would once again be met by ghosts asking questions, which while emotionally difficult wouldn't have been life-threatening.

Instead, at the center of a circular room altogether too similar to the one which had held The Commandant, a giant knight in black armor stood before them. At least three times Kirito's height, its head was bowed over hands clasped on the pommel of a sword big enough to walk on, and the name beneath its blood-red cursor—just above a full three life bars—was The Gatekeeper.

"Look on the bright side," Kirito said now, drawing his own blade. "At least we don't have to argue with this Trial, right?"

Kizmel shook her head. "To think the day would come when I would prefer a battle to the death…" She was smiling, though, and she added, "But prefer it, I do. Let's go, my friend."

"Right with you."

Resolutely, they advanced on The Gatekeeper at a cautious pace, unsure of when it would take notice of them and attack. At first, it seemed oblivious to them; only when they passed within five meters of the armored giant did its head lift, and fiery red light flared to life behind its helmet's visor. "At last, you've come," it rumbled, the voice about making Kirito jump in the air. "Untold years have I waited here, for those who would seek to uphold ancient treaty. Come here, have you, to claim the final key?"

"We have," Kizmel replied, far less ruffled than her partner. "We are here to prove our strength, and open the path to the Reliquary."

"Hah! A bold claim, Knight of Lyusula. Well, to have come this far, you've proven your wit, and your willingness to sacrifice for victory. Fine, then. Test your swords against mine, Elf and Swordmaster, and see if you've the right to the legacy of the ancients!"

The Gatekeeper lifted his sword then, swinging the heavy blade with frightening speed up to salute them. Kizmel brought up Eldhi Arc in return, followed belatedly by Kirito. The pose held for a moment—then The Gatekeeper took two long steps forward and swung his sword down, a heavy diagonal blow aiming to cut down both clearers in an instant.

They leapt to the sides at once, then charged forward together. "Kizmel, remember the Black Knights!" Kirito shouted, bringing his blade up to begin a simple Slant. "I don't know if we can knock his armor off, but the basic idea—"

"Understood!" Kizmel had likewise drawn back her sword, and together they unleashed their skills on The Gatekeeper's legs; Kirito's Slant taking the knight in the right knee, her Fell Crescent biting into his left thigh.

Both blades rebounded after penetrating only a short way through the heavy armor, but it was enough to make The Gatekeeper stagger. Improbably, once the brief wobble had passed, he actually chuckled; a deep, booming sound that sent a chill down Kirito's spine. "Yes, very good! But—do not be too hasty, young knights!"

It wasn't hard to guess what was coming next, and as large as he was, The Gatekeeper's every move was telegraphed before he made it. Even so, Kirito was startled by the sheer speed with which the huge knight spun around; had he and Kizmel not kept right on going after their first attack, they would've been instantly hit by The Gatekeeper's sword as it whistled through the air.

As it was, they were pushed back just from the pressure of the blade swinging close, prompting them to dodge back several paces, then break to either side to get around him again.

He only has the one sword, Kirito thought, hurriedly ducking as The Gatekeeper's sword came around again and nearly took off his head. If we keep to either side, he can't go after both of us at once. We just need to watch out for AoE—and if he uses usual Two-Handed Sword skills for that, I'll be able to predict him.

It was a trick that had worked for him before, after all. It hadn't saved Diavel, but no one else had died after Kirito began anticipating Illfang's pattern.

He and Kizmel had gotten in another solid hit each to The Gatekeeper's legs when the knight suddenly crouched, zweihander held out low to one side. Unlike the wide swings he'd used before, this careful stance lit up his blade with gleaming red, the clear sign of a Sword Skill about to be unleashed.

"Fall back!" Kirito yelled, instantly aborting the pre-motion he'd begun for a Vertical Arc. "He's starting a Cyclone—!"

His warning was a little late. Though he managed to leap back himself, Kizmel's blade had already lit up, past the point of canceling her attack. Yet instead of trying to pit her slender saber against The Gatekeeper's zweihander—trying to use her own skill to cancel out his, as Kirito might've done—she lunged forward, adding her own motion to the skill. The normally stationary Treble Scythe took her two steps toward The Gatekeeper, the spinning of her blade adding to her own momentum.

Against an opponent of equal height, it just would've gotten her smashed around by The Gatekeeper's arms instead of his sword. Given his sheer size, though, those two steps took her under his attack entirely, while simultaneously increasing her attack's power by striking both legs, effectively doubling the number of hits from the skill.

The Cyclone whirled The Gatekeeper's blade around in a complete circle an instant later, missing Kirito's face by a comfortable half-meter and going completely over the Dark Elf's head. She didn't get off completely unscathed, though; the full spin meant his legs were moving, too, and the circling step tripped her, then sent her sprawling to the side with a grunt of pain.

"Kizmel!" The moment the Cyclone was over, leaving a brief interval in which The Gatekeeper was immobile, Kirito charged back in, resuming his interrupted Vertical Arc. With the knight still crouched, the down-then-up slash carved a V into The Gatekeeper's torso; though more heavily armored than his legs, the location allowed for a more satisfactory chunk of his first HP bar to vanish.

"I'm all right!" The words came out in a cough, but Kizmel had already rolled away under her own power and made it up to her knees. "The injury is not serious!"

Taking a moment to glance at her HP in his HUD, Kirito was relieved to see she was right. It shouldn't have even surprised him, really, given that it was only a minor impact, but he was jumpier than usual; this battlefield reminded him entirely too much of the one that had killed three of his friends.

He didn't have much time to brood, though. The Gatekeeper had recovered as swiftly as Kizmel, and Kirito found himself having to hurriedly sidestep an Avalanche that would've cut him clean in two. Snarling wordlessly, his response was the vicious side-to-side of a Snake Bite; only half of the rushed skill managed to connect, tracing a deep red line in The Gatekeeper's arm, but Kizmel's Linear from behind more or less made up for the lack.

"Clever!" The Gatekeeper boomed, sounding as jovial as he had at the start. "I see that my squires would have been no match for you, as you climbed my Tower! But—how long can you endure, young knights?"

The next moments of frantic slashing, cutting, dodging, and parrying made that a question Kirito was wondering about, too. The Gatekeeper was so large that it was nearly impossible for the clearers to miss with any attack, but by the same token the boss' strikes, while easily predicted, were simply so large as to be difficult to avoid.

And, like Illfang all those months ago, The Gatekeeper was far faster than anything his size had any right to be.

Direct hits from The Gatekeeper's sword would've been fatal in just a few blows. They managed to mostly avoid that, but on the occasions when he had to block instead of dodge, Kirito found himself worrying almost as much; catching and turning aside another Avalanche on his sword, he winced at the way his HP was ground away.

He did more than wince when The Gatekeeper took one hand off his sword's hilt to drive his elbow back into Kizmel. Having just finished carving up his back again with another Treble Scythe, she'd been caught in a recovery period; she came out of it in time to roll with the hit instead of taking it full-on, but it still sent her reeling, HP dropping down into the yellow.

Kirito's response was to leap onto The Gatekeeper's sword to slash the inverted triangle of a Sharp Nail into the huge knight's helmet; though the boss' own stumble forced him to jump awkwardly back to the floor, it was enough to buy Kizmel time to get back on her feet and down a healing potion. She kept back to the edge of the room for several moments then, letting her health creep back up to safe levels while Kirito kept The Gatekeeper busy.

It was a good call, Kirito was soon certain. Before long it was her turn to run interference for him after a botched parry against a Horizontal Crush left him flying across the room, HP dropping alarmingly. Then, right about when they were both back in comfortable health again, they managed to finish off The Gatekeeper's first lifebar.

By this point, Kirito was really hoping this would be the last boss of the Reliquary quest. As soon as they were into the second lifebar, The Gatekeeper's tactics changed, throwing more Martial Arts skills into the mix; the sword skills had been bad enough before they started having to worry about being kicked at bad moments.

Somehow, they still endured. The Gatekeeper was powerful, but clearly balanced for a two-person party of about their level. While it had gotten a little faster along with the changed moveset, the actual skills used were nothing Kirito hadn't seen from other enemies in the past.

Even if having his Savage Fulcrum countered by the truly improbable sight of a several-meter-tall armored knight pulling off the Crescent Moon's backflip startled Kirito into momentary immobility from sheer disbelief. The way Kizmel took the wind out of The Gatekeeper's sails by catching him in the back with a Fell Crescent midair, dropping him with a resounding crash to the stone floor, made it all worth it.

They endured. Half an hour into the battle, they even took The Gatekeeper down to his last lifebar—at which point he let out a loud, booming laugh. "Yes, yes! Excellent, young knights! You are so close—so let me give you one final challenge!"

Naturally, that was when two Black Knights, "only" wearing their lighter chainmail armor and slimmer swords, burst into the room through concealed side doors.

…I'm really starting to hate this quest.

The second Black Knight's head flew away, shattering into oblivion, and Kizmel took the brief moments of immobility following the fatal Sword Skill to catch her breath. Missing the heavy armor that the pair they'd fought days before had worn, these two had been much easier to deal with, but between them and The Gatekeeper, she was beginning to tire.

This is supposed to be the last trial, she reminded herself, turning back to face The Gatekeeper. At the least, we should be able to rest for a short time after this—once we've finished him, at any rate.

She and Kirito had spent the last five minutes in a mad dance around the room, whittling down the Black Knights while trying not to be flattened by The Gatekeeper's enormous blade; once each, they'd had to pull back and use potions to recover again. Just now, with one Black Knight remaining, Kizmel had been dealing with it, while Kirito kept The Gatekeeper occupied. Now they could refocus on the greater threat.

"Almost got him!" Kirito yelled out to her as she ran back to join him. "Just—a little—more!"

Not for the first time, Kizmel found herself envying the Swordmasters' ability to judge a foe's life force at a glance. For now, though, she took his word for it, and launched into a Fell Crescent to cover the last of the distance while he countered an Avalanche from The Gatekeeper with a strong skill of his own. The leaping skill took her high enough into the air to slash her saber in a deep cut along the knight's chest, then carried her on past just ahead of an elbow strike.

Kirito's skill had won out against the Avalanche, and in the moment before The Gatekeeper could recover, he darted ahead to hit the back of the knight's right ankle with a brutally-quick Horizontal Arc. At the same time, Kizmel spun around from where her last attack had landed her and drove a Linear deep into his other leg, trying to match her partner's hamstringing attack.

Somewhat to Kizmel's surprise, The Gatekeeper let out a loud grunt and dropped to his knees, bracing himself against the floor with both hands. Kirito took immediate advantage, using the opportunity to trace the Savage Fulcrum's gleaming "4" into The Gatekeeper's stomach; wasting little time herself, Kizmel threw herself into the Treble Scythe's spin to inflict a similarly deep set of wounds into his back.

The Gatekeeper choked. "You are powerful indeed!" he got out, breathing audibly labored now. "Perhaps you are indeed worthy of the final Key! But—it is not over yet, young knights!"

Shoving himself up, The Gatekeeper unexpectedly spun while still on one knee, a low, whirling kick that forced both clearers back; Kizmel took it on her shield, but was still staggered, while Kirito turned it into an awkward leap that he only barely managed to land from with any semblance of control. Then, propped up on one foot and one knee, The Gatekeeper swept his sword out to the side, parallel to the floor, where it took on a bright golden gleam.

Kizmel didn't recognize the motion, and from the look on his face, neither did Kirito. Probably, she thought, it would've been akin to the Cyclone The Gatekeeper had used earlier, only stronger—if he had had the chance to unleash it.

The strike the massive knight had clearly intended to buy time for it, though, hadn't been quite good enough. Before he could release the power he was building up, Kizmel was using the distance his own attack had forced on her for the run-up to a Flashing Penetrator. Likewise, Kirito had simply immediately rebounded from his awkward landing, and came down on The Gatekeeper's sword again, his own blade already glowing; he'd barely touched down when he was leaping forward again, drawn by the charm channeled through his blade.

Kizmel's Flashing Penetrator drove hard into The Gatekeeper's back, hitting a single point with such force that his armor cracked and broke apart. Kirito's Sonic Leap carved a bright red line in an arc down his faceplate, taking part of the helmet clear off.

They each landed more or less where the other had started, and for a moment there was only silence.

Then the golden glow faded from The Gatekeeper's sword, and he slowly began to chuckle. "…Eons I have been here, waiting for someone to try and fulfill the ancient pact. Ages of nothing but waiting… and now my duty stands complete. Your strength is impressive, young knights—and your bond more so. Two in less than harmony could not have bested me.

"This victory is yours, young ones. Take the proof of your Strength, and seek the Reliquary. What you find there will have its price, but you have proven your ability to shoulder the burdens. …Farewell, young knights."

With a last, quiet laugh, The Gatekeeper shattered into azure shards, scattering to the edges of the room and vanishing. Left behind was nothing but silence, and a pair of pendants that slowly sank to the floor where the huge knight had ended his long duty.

Heaving a deep sigh, Kirito flourished his sword and slid it back into its scabbard. "Well, that was a bit more exciting than I expected," he remarked. "So… which of us got the Last Attack bonus?"

Kizmel sheathed her own blade, shaking her head. "You worry about this now? Your priorities are sometimes very odd, my friend… I think you struck the final blow, barely, although I'm unsure if that had any significance in this battle. The real reward, after all, lies before us."

"True."

The two of them walked up to where The Gatekeeper had been, and each picked up one of the ruby pendants that had been left behind. Simple, unadorned jewels, yet Kizmel could feel a subtle power from them; The Gatekeeper had referred to them as keys, and she could easily believe their power would open some final lock.

"I doubt there is anything more to be done here," she said, slipping the chain of her Strength Pendant around her neck. "Shall we return to Fort Renya, and consult with Countess Ryella?"

"Yeah." Kirito frowned, sweeping his hand to bring up his ethereal map. "We're probably close to finding the boss room in the labyrinth; the sooner we find the Reliquary, the better. I don't want to be late for a Floor Boss."

"Nor I." Kizmel raised her hand for the Swordmasters' traditional "high-five", and smiled as his hand met hers. "Let's go then, Kirito, and finish this quest—before it finishes us."

Though they'd visited Fort Renya briefly since beginning the quest, in order to wash off the muck they'd accumulated during the conquest of the Trial of Wisdom, this was the first time they'd been back to the central tower in those five days. The office at the top was bathed in afternoon light from its wide windows when the two clearers entered, and Countess Ryella was waiting for them.

She stood as they entered, gaze immediately going to the pendants they wore. "Welcome back, Lady Kizmel, Swordmaster Kirito. I see your efforts have brought you victory over the Trials. Congratulations on passing them; I suspect they were not easy."

Kirito shrugged his shoulders uneasily, remembering the questions that had been directed at both himself and his partner in the first two trials. If he was honest, as irritating as The Gatekeeper had been, it had still been less of a pain to face something they could just stab until it died. "We managed, Milady," he said simply.

"Obviously. Well, now that you have returned with proof of your worth, the time has come to fulfill the last of my duty here." Ryella gestured for them to sit, lowering herself back into her own chair as they did. Resting her elbows on her desk, she clasped her hands under her chin and continued, "How much have you learned about the Reliquary, during the Trials?"

"Very little," Kizmel admitted after a brief glance at Kirito. "The Trials themselves gave only vague warnings of what price we might be expected to pay for the Reliquary's contents. Kirito tells me that Swordmaster legends suggest a powerful weapon lies within, but those legends have proven to be… imprecise, at best."

Ryella nodded, apparently unsurprised. "There is truth in both, but that is far from the full story. There is, indeed, a powerful weapon kept within the Reliquary: the Baneblade, a sword forged in the days before the Great Separation by Dark Elven smiths for the Swordmasters of the day, during a time when our peoples were allied. Even after all this time, I expect it remains quite strong—but be warned, Swordmaster Kirito. The nature of its power is likely to draw attention to you, possibly very unwelcome attention."

Why can't anything be simple? I should've known "Diavel" wasn't just spouting flavor text… "What do you mean, Milady?" Kirito asked aloud, not at all sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"The Baneblade is a well-made sword in its own right," she told him. "Even without invoking its ancient magic, it is deadly against the monsters that roam the Steel Castle. However, it was forged as a weapon specifically against evil, and so it is linked to the charms that protect human lands from their own criminals. According to my family's lore, the Baneblade's edge will be felt most keenly by those who have been marked as outcasts by those charms."

He mentally translated that into game-logic, and found himself wincing. In other words, this "Baneblade" has a damage bonus against orange players. It's a PvP weapon—in a game where PvP is literally murder. She's right, if people find out I have something like that…

Well, there were some who'd probably approve; after all, orange players were criminals, right? "Nice" people didn't turn orange at all, and those who did were dangerous, so it would only help if there was someone who had an advantage against them… That was probably how certain people would see it. And at the same time, it'll make me the target of every orange player there is.

A double-edged sword, for sure. Yet Kirito remembered Morte, and the murder of Naga, and couldn't bring himself to try and back out of the quest now.

Ryella seemed to see something in his eyes—or maybe her AI was just programmed to accept silence as an adequate response in that context—because she nodded slowly, and turned her attention to Kizmel. "The Baneblade is not, however, the only artifact within the Reliquary. Tell me, Lady Kizmel, have you ever heard tales of elves granted the charms of Swordmasters?"

"Viscount Yofilis mentioned the idea to me some months ago, yes," Kizmel replied, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Though he was unsure if there was any truth to it, and if so, how it might've been accomplished."

"Well, the tales are indeed true. I do not believe it has occurred since the Great Separation, but ages ago such alliances were indeed made." Ryella leaned forward, a small smile playing at her lips. "There were, in those times, two ways in which a Dark Elf might receive Mystic Scribing, and all it entails—the first being to marry a Swordmaster."

Kirito choked. M-marry?! I know what I said that one time, but it was just the only thing I could think of to say instead of what I was really thinking, and it was just as stupid then, and…! He shot a glance at Kizmel, and immediately regretted it; though she was amply covered by her armor just then, he couldn't help but remember what she looked like coming out of a lake in just her singlet—not to mention the times they'd shared a bath, the first of which having been before she had any clue about human standards of modesty.

Then there was her casual ease with physical contact. Though she'd once mentioned, not long after they met, that her people didn't touch often, Kizmel had shown no issues at all; from early on, it had been the elf girl's habit to hug him and Asuna both, in greeting and farewell.

He'd have been lying if he claimed he hadn't enjoyed it, even if—as close to a hikikomori as he'd been before SAO—he still had trouble getting used to it. And she was certainly a lot of fun to be around, on top of being a reliable battle partner—but—

Marry?! That's—I'm only—urk!

Realizing he was getting completely off-track—and staring—Kirito wrenched his eyes away from his partner; although not before he caught a glimpse of her looking briefly at him, a faint but noticeable blush on her face. "Ah," Kizmel began with a cough, "I believe that would require Her Majesty's permission, Milady. Unless you've already heard from the capital…?"

He was saved from having to wonder about her odd tone of voice by Ryella's quiet chuckle. "You are correct, Lady Kizmel—mostly. In any case, that method is no longer available; no Swordmaster remains with the knowledge to invoke the charm in such a ceremony. There is, however, another way: the invocation of the Treaty of the Three Races."

Desperate to get the subject far away from marriage as quickly as possible, Kirito hastily put in, "Treaty of the Three Races, Milady?"

"A treaty signed between the Nine Kingdoms of Man, the Forest Elves, and the Dark Elves," Ryella explained, "when the Fallen became a threat to us all in an ancient era. A small group of warriors chosen from all three were gathered, and granted the powers and weapons of each. The Baneblade dates back to this conflict, and within the Reliquary lies a copy of the original manuscript. When the oath recounted there is sworn, the ancient Treaty is invoked, and the elf is granted the Swordmasters' power."

Kizmel leaned forward, literally on the edge of her chair. "Such a thing exists, Milady?" she said, sounding more eager than Kirito had ever heard her.

"It does, Lady Kizmel. However," Ryella cautioned, lifting a hand warningly, "as with the Baneblade, invoking that treaty is not without cost. If you do so… you will no longer be counted as a Pagoda Knight, nor indeed a Knight of Lyusula at all. You will still be welcome within our borders, but you will be counted as a Swordmaster—a friend, yes, but only that." Her gaze and tone were both somber, staring deep into Kizmel's eyes. "If you seek power to aid the liberation of the Steel Castle, Lady Kizmel, you will find it in the Reliquary. You must, however, be prepared for the cost."

For a moment, his partner was still, and silent. Then she took a long, deep breath, and settled back into her chair. "I understand, Milady," she said quietly. "I… had suspected such a thing already, actually."

She had? Oh, right; that was what her test back in the first Trial was, wasn't it? But… is she really okay with this? Of course, it's not like she's even suggested taking a break to go home since she teamed up with me, but still…

Ryella considered the two of them for a moment, then nodded once more. "In that case, I have nothing further to say on the matter. Lady Kizmel, Swordmaster Kirito, you will find the Reliquary on the northwest edge of this floor, beyond the Lethe Forest. Once you have found your way through the forest, the pendants you bear will open the final locks. Then you must make your choices. For myself… my duty ends here."

"Thank you for your assistance, Countess Ryella," Kizmel said formally, coming to her feet. "We'll take our leave, then."

Kirito echoed the sentiment and went to follow his partner out of the office—but just as he was about to step out, Ryella called out to him one more time. "Swordmaster Kirito? If Lady Kizmel does, indeed, choose to walk the same path as the Swordmasters… please, take care of her."

"Of course," he said, without hesitation. "She's my friend. I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."

October 9th, 2023

When they passed through Mydo again the next morning, heading northwest for the Lethe Forest, Kizmel could see that she and Kirito weren't alone in believing that the battle to completely clear the Thirty-Seventh Floor would soon be upon them. There were more Swordmasters in town than usual, and the merchants were doing brisk business; Agil in particular, she noticed, was making quite a profit, his wares' quality attracting customers despite his cutthroat practices.

Perhaps more telling, she caught sight of the blacksmith girl they'd worked with against The Hobgoblin's forces with a long line at her stall, many Swordmasters obviously wishing to prepare themselves for what was to come.

Kirito and I should probably seek her out as well, when we've returned from the Reliquary, Kizmel thought, sparing Lisbeth a quick nod as they passed. My new blade is still fresh, but Kirito's hasn't been maintained since we began this quest…

An idle thought, though important, but she knew she was using it to distract herself. She kept her focus on her surroundings anyway, for as long as she could; after they'd passed Lind and his Divine Dragons at the northern edge of Mydo, though, and passed onto the trails leading to more dangerous places, she had to admit to herself the truth.

Watching the Swordmasters go about their business, readying themselves for battle, was simply easier than facing up to the choice she was going to have to make, when they reached the Reliquary. It was something she'd known in her heart was coming from the moment Diavel's shade hinted at it, and she thought she'd already made her decision, but actually facing the reality was proving to be harder than she had believed.

Kizmel could tell that Kirito was preoccupied, as well. As they turned from the trail leading to the labyrinth onto a side path to the northwest, he'd still said almost nothing since they'd set out. Even when they were attacked midway by a pair of Sabertooth Jaguars, the only sound he made was a wordless battlecry, before cutting the first clean in half.

After they'd finished the now-minor foes and resumed their trek, Kizmel finally cleared her throat, unwilling to let the silence continue. "Do you have any idea what this 'Lethe Forest' is likely to have in store for us, Kirito? You looked as if you recognized the name, when Countess Ryella brought it up."

Kirito started, then looked at her with a rueful smile. "Eh? Oh… Kind of. I've never heard of 'Lethe' as a forest, but it's also the name of a river in the underworld of a human mythology. It's supposed to make anyone who drinks it forget… well, everything. Put together with everything else that's been going on, I've got a pretty good idea of what kind of problems we'll have with this forest."

She thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "Ah. Much like the Forest of Wavering Mists, then. We should expect some difficulty finding our path?"

"Pretty sure, yeah," he agreed. "Depending on the version of the story, there's a trick to finding the right path… which I hope we can figure out soon, because I think we're here."

Kizmel stopped as soon as he did, seeing the stark difference between the forest they'd been walking through and what lay ahead of them. The dark wood of the trees behind them was a fairly normal mix; ahead, divided by an invisible but obvious boundary, the trees were all a pale white, bearing leaves of a strangely metallic silver.

The Lethe Forest was also filled with a deep white mist, making it nearly impossible to see very far despite the bright morning light. And… why do I seem to be hearing a faint melody…?

"…I should've known it was going to be this bad," Kirito said after a moment. "With our luck, my map isn't going to work in there, either."

"It won't, Kii-bou. Already been in there m'self, actually, and it's as bad as you think."

This time they both jumped, whirling to see a figure melting into view, leaning against a tree beside the path. The first thing Kizmel noticed was the grin, one that would've put a cat to shame, followed by whiskers, on a face framed by a brown hood.

She took her hand off the hilt of her saber, sighing. "Argo. Sneaking up on people like that isn't very polite, you know."

"Aw, and here I came all this way to help ya guys, Kii-chan!" Argo stepped away from the tree, her continued grin belying her complaint. "Figured your quest would take this way sooner or later, so I checked it out. Wanna buy a guide?"

Kirito eyed her suspiciously. "Didn't you just say maps don't work in there, Argo?"

"I also asked if you wanted a guide, not a guide book, Kii-bou. Place like this, maybe you want some help finding your way through? I got a couple of ideas." She lifted both hands palm up, looking defensive, when they both gave her narrow looks. "I haven't tested 'em yet 'cause it's kinda spooky in there solo—and the first time I went in, I had to use a teleport crystal to get out. But c'mon, guys, you know you want me with you."

"And your fee, Argo?" Kizmel asked warily. The last time she'd "bought" something from the info broker, it had been in exchange for accidentally providing blackmail material on her partner; while she'd personally enjoyed the incident, she wasn't especially inclined to give the Rat another opportunity.

Or to share, if there was one.

"Don't look at me like that, Kii-chan," Argo admonished her cheerfully. "My fee is the info about what all is in the Forest, that you'd otherwise be selling me afterward—if you found your way around at all. Fair enough?"

Kizmel exchanged a silent look with Kirito, who shrugged helplessly. At her resigned nod, he said, "Deal, Argo. Not sure what you're going to get out of it, though—and I don't think you'll be able to come with us into the Reliquary at the end." Even so, he brought up the "party invitation", triggering a matching image in front of the info broker.

"That's okay, Kii-bou. I've got barter for the story you'll have for me from that already, if things go the way I think they will." Before either of them could question that ominous remark, Argo accepted the invitation and casually sauntered ahead of them to the mouth of the trail leading into the Forest. "So… Lethe, eh? Greek, usually translated as 'forgetfulness'… but I think here it's more like 'oblivion' or 'concealment'. Let's go find out, yeah?"

There were a lot of different gameplay conventions that irritated Argo. Even if SAO hadn't had the hazard of real death, the usual annoyances of escort missions, status effects, and block puzzles would've gotten to her as much as always. But if there was one thing that got to her professionally, as Aincrad's premier info broker, it was the one that pertained most directly to Lethe Forest.

Even in the Forest of Wavering Mists on the Third Floor, the map had at least recorded the general path a player had actually crossed. Lethe, on the other hand, stubbornly remained a giant blank space, which meant that even if she found the right way, Argo couldn't sell the exact path.

Be worth something if I can find the trick to this place, she thought, following closely behind her clearer friends. Still. Unless there's something besides this "Reliquary" around here, nobody's gonna care enough to buy even that. Stupid, non-standard quests… The hell are ya playing at, Kayaba?

Oh, well. It would still be worth something, in the end. Just the chance to get more blackmail material was almost worth getting lost. Especially if she was right about what they were going to find in the Reliquary.

"I have to admit," Kizmel commented after they'd been wandering Lethe's paths for a good fifteen minutes, "I'm not certain it was truly necessary for Countess Ryella's soldiers to be guarding the Reliquary all this time. Even if someone managed, somehow, to acquire the proofs from the Trials, this forest is proving a formidable barrier itself."

"I'm trying to remember the last time I visited a place this confusing myself," Kirito said, peering uselessly into the mist ahead of them. "I know I haven't been in a maze like this in Aincrad before… Hey, didn't we pass that fallen tree five minutes ago? Is the forest actually turning us around, or are we just having that much trouble keeping track?"

"Could be either one, Kii-bou," Argo told him, glancing quickly back the way they'd come; something was making the hair on the back of her neck twitch, and she didn't like it. "Gotta admit, I'm used ta being able to rely on the map, but it's just as likely the forest messing with us. Remember the story with the forest kids?"

For a second, she wasn't sure he would; the original version had come out a decade before he was born, after all. Still, there had been that remake back in '11; she'd played it herself when she'd found it in a used bin a few years later, and she wasn't that much older than Kii-bou.

After a second, he nodded with a grimace. "Oh, yeah. That one. Take any path except the right one, and you'd end up right where you started… I haven't thought about that in years."

Me, either. I was waitin' for the VR version of the Wild when we got stuck here… BGM for the woods was nice, though. Argo snorted irritably. There isn't any here at all. C'mon, Kayaba, if you were gonna flout copyright anyway, why not give us some good music with it?

Aloud, she said, "Look on the bright side, Kii-bou. All we gotta do is keep track of what we've seen before, and sooner or later we'll find all the right paths." At least that was possible here; the one bone Lethe had thrown them was that the undergrowth was too thick for it to really be possible to go off the beaten paths, just like in the old games.

Following Kirito down the next randomly-chosen path through pale woods, Kizmel shook her head wearily. "I suppose that method will work, but I admit I would prefer to avoid the hours that's likely to take."

Argo grinned. "What, you got somewhere you'd rather be than a stroll in a forest with Kii-bou? Or am I third wheel on your date?"

As she'd hoped, Kirito choked, flushing red. "This isn't a date, Argo!"

Less expected, but no less welcome, was the way Kizmel's dusky skin turned a shade or two darker. "This is purely business, Argo," she said, affecting a dignity at odds with her face—which, Argo noted with amusement, was not turned in Kirito's direction. "In any case, Pagoda Knights are forbidden from such relationships without specific permission from the Queen herself."

Argo snickered. "Sure. Keep tellin' yourselves that." It might even have been true, for all she knew; she never had been able to get all the details out of those two about the elf's duties and responsibilities. Doesn't mean it's always gotta be that way, though. Kii-chan ain't a regular NPC, and if the system isn't messing around with them, I'll quit being an info broker and take up sewing…

Her nerves twitched again, and as they rounded a bend in the path—coming across that same fallen tree again, she noticed absently—she took a long look back. Technically, she knew, there was no way to "feel" anything in SAO except through the basic five senses, which only told a player what their stats were high enough for the system to allow them to know. Argo knew that, but she also had an increasing number of reports from high-level players about somehow feeling an ambush just before it happened, even when Searching didn't find anything.

Some of those players she trusted a lot, and in a place like this she was inclined to err on the side of superstition. Only thing is, Lethe Forest doesn't seem to have any mobs… unless…?

"Do either of you hear that?" Kizmel asked suddenly, drawing Argo's attention forward again. "It sounds like… music? It is faint, but…"

Argo exchanged a surprised look with Kirito. Kii-chan's hearing BGM? That's… weird… And there wasn't any BGM before. So why… Oh, I'm an idiot!

Abandoning her rearguard position, she stalked past a startled Kirito and strained her virtual ears. "Can't believe I forgot that," she grumbled. "Oi, Kii-bou! A couple of the stories had that, remember? If you can hear the music, you're on the right path. I think the stories were right."

He stared at her, then slapped his forehead. "Right… I should've remembered that, too. Well, that should make this easier." Kirito turned to his partner. "Your ears are better, Kizmel, you'd better take point."

The elf girl smiled. "Of course. Let's be going, then, and leave this maze behind us." She took off at a jog, long ears twitching; Kirito followed closely behind.

Argo snickered again, trotting after the pair. "Wow, Kii-chan. Don't think I've ever heard you get that frustrated with… well, anything. You okay?"

Kizmel glanced over her shoulder at the info broker. "Over the past week, Argo, I've faced emotional turmoil, been covered in mud, and faced more tentacled monsters than I ever feared could possibly exist. Now we're in a forest more difficult to pass through than the one in which I met Kirito. Believe me, I will be quite pleased to leave this place behind me. Although," she went on, voice softening, "I admit I'm also eager to see the reward at the end of this quest…"

Yep. Definitely something important. Following the Dark Elf through the mist-filled forest, no longer passing the same trees over and over as the melody gradually grew louder, Argo chewed on the hints her friends had dropped. Whatever they're after, Kii-chan's looking forward to it more than Kii-bou, so it's not just some nifty bit of gear. So…

She snickered under her breath. This'll be fun.

Even with the trick to Lethe Forest worked out, it still took another half hour to see anything but more white trees. Eventually, though, a stone wall loomed out of the fog, heavily damaged by age but still standing. A tall double gate was set in the middle, looking to be in marginally better condition than the rest of the wall.

Ominously, in front of it lay a large pile of bones, mixed with broken pieces of armor, two swords, and a pair of shields.

Seeing it, Kirito laid a hand on Kizmel's shoulder, pulling her to a halt before she could head straight for the bones. "Hold on," he said. "I think I know what these are." He drew the sword from his back, casting a baleful gaze on the hapless remains.

Argo checked her own claws and crouched low. "Yep. After everything else? No question what we got here."

Lifting one curious eyebrow, Kizmel drew Eldhi Arc. "At this point, I'm not even surprised… Well, they are between us and the Reliquary. Shall we spring this trap, my friends?"

"Of course," Kirito agreed. Argo only grinned, and when the two swordsmen stepped carefully forward, she followed right along.

After everything, she was completely unsurprised when, at their approach, the bones shook, rattled, and levitated, snapping together with a series of disturbing cracks. In seconds, what had been a pile of bones and battered armor had become a pair of Skeleton Knights, wielding chipped and notched—but still obviously sharp—swords.

Two Skeleton Knights, three Swordmasters, Argo thought, bearing fangs with her grin. Well. Two Swordmasters and an elf, but what's the difference now? "C'mon, boneheads!" she called cheerily. "Come and get us!"

She didn't actually get to find out if they could be successfully taunted; just as she spoke, Kirito launched himself at the left Skeleton Knight with a Sonic Leap, while Kizmel charged the right with Fell Crescent. Both attacks rebounded off shields, but the Skeletons were pushed back half a step themselves, left off-balance.

In that moment of vulnerability, Argo catapulted into the fray with an Acute Dive, the charge-type claw skill getting her in under Kizmel's target's guard. There was a hideous screeching noise of metal on bone, and then she was past, skidding to a stop on the wild grass in front of the Reliquary's gate.

The post-motion freeze on Acute Claw was brief, and she was quickly spinning on her heel and rushing Kirito's opponent with the blinding speed that kept her fragile info broker's build alive. As he hit it from the front with a Horizontal Arc to the ribs, she ripped into its spine with the X-shaped double slashes of Fatal Claw.

Heh; either this ain't balanced for three, or it didn't count on Kii-bou or Kii-chan. It's not at all about numbers, after all! Bouncing away from the Skeleton Knight's attempt to spin and gut her, Argo leapt back to her first target, currently recoiling from Kizmel's Treble Scythe. You wanna beat us, bring some friends!

After all, Kii-bou and Aa-chan had once brought her in on taking out a Floor Boss with just twelve people. Three-on-two on a couple of elite mooks was nothing.

Argo did have one bad moment when she launched a three-hit Fury Claw on one of the Skeletons just in time to take a Horizontal to the nose, taking off a larger chunk of health than she was comfortable with; unluckily for the pile of bones, her friends took that as an invitation to hit it from both sides at once. Before it could adapt to the change in attack patterns, Kizmel had lopped off its sword arm, and Kirito's vicious Snake Bite sent its head flying to bounce off the Reliquary's gate and shatter into a million azure shards.

Vengeance was the Rat's, in any case. The remaining Skeleton Knight tried to take advantage of the distraction to hit Kirito in the back, at which point Argo rushed it from behind in turn, slashing its spine from right to left, back, and back again in a more successful Fury Claw. With a clattering of teeth, like a dry imitation of a death groan, it fell back into a pile of bone and blew to polygons.

With both gate wardens gone, Kirito spun in a quick circle to make sure nothing else was coming, then straightened from his combat stance. In a quick flicker of motion, he swept his sword up to the left and back down to the right before smoothly sheathing it on his back; watching with a curious expression, Kizmel abruptly slashed a quick "X" in the air before slipping her own Eldhi Arc back in its scabbard.

Observing the silent byplay, Argo snickered, ostentatiously flicking the nonexistent blood off her claws. Yeah, we're good. See that, world?

"Well," she said then, turning her attention to the large double-door leading into the Reliquary, "I think this is probably where I split, guys. I'm betting you've got the only way to open the door, right?"

"I suspect so, yes." Kizmel approached, peering close to examine an inscription scrawled across the place the doors met, over a pair of round depressions. "Hm… Yes. To open the way, we must present proof of our Wisdom. That most likely means…"

"Right." Kirito moved to join her, pulling one of the jewels he wore from his neck. "Wisdom, huh? Well, we did have to get through a maze to get here."

Together, Swordmaster and Elf placed sapphire gems into the insets, and after a moment's pause the doors ponderously swung open, leading into a place with much better lighting than the misty Lethe Forest. Natural light, if Argo was any judge, suggesting whatever was on the other side wasn't in any better shape than the ruins her friends had reported before.

"Okay, then. I'll leave the rest ta you guys." Grinning, she waved them toward the opened path. "Just remember to tell me what you find inside!"

"Not for free, Argo," Kirito retorted, walking in step with Kizmel through the doorway. "Especially not after that stunt with the recording crystal the other day."

"Don't worry, I got your payment together already. Trust me, you'll like it. Just watch yourselves in there, 'kay? Who knows if there's still a boss waitin' for ya."

"We will be careful, Argo," Kizmel promised. "Till later, then."

Argo watched them vanish into the Reliquary, and her grin slipped. Something ain't right here, she thought, glancing warily about. I dunno what, but… I don't like it.

She couldn't actually see anything amiss, but she wasn't going to ignore it when her instincts were shouting at her. Trying to retrace the path out—which, with the way this quest had gone, would probably have the Reliquary door as the reset point, instead of the Forest entrance—just did not feel safe to her.

I mean it, guys. Be careful. Whatever's gonna happen next, I think it's up to you. Digging into a belt pouch, Argo withdrew a shimmering blue crystal and held it high. "Teleport, Mydo!"

A quick flash as a sphere of azure light whisked the Rat away, and the Reliquary's entrance stood silent and undisturbed… and still open.

Kirito could recall from memory at least six variations of the area he believed served as the basis for the Reliquary. Conditions ranged from a pristine, ornate temple, to just a pedestal in a forest clearing, with no sign that any larger structure had ever been there. They all had one unifying element, one that Countess Ryella's words had confirmed also existed here, but beyond that he wasn't prepared to guess what they'd find.

When he and Kizmel emerged from the passage through the Reliquary's thick outer wall, they found themselves in a place mostly open to the air. Many, if not most, of the walls of a temple still stood around them, broken but still forming the outline of rooms and hallways, yet the ceilings and roof beyond were long gone.

Stepping onto a marble floor, broken in places to let vegetation grow through what had obviously once been a grand entrance foyer, the two paused. "This place… I can almost feel what it was once like," Kizmel murmured, looking about with an expression approaching reverence. "It's in ruins now, but you can still see what it was before, somehow."

Kirito nodded slowly. Soft, warm sunlight filtered through the mist above the Reliquary, but he felt a chill in his bones anyway. The Full-Dive entry in the series hadn't come out yet when SAO launched, so he only had an old, flat-screen knowledge of the temple the Reliquary was based on. Being there, he was learning, was a very different experience.

A recognizable, not-quite-lawyer-friendly remix of the appropriate music acting as BGM added to the sheer sense of unreality.

"I've seen artwork of what this place might've looked like when it was intact," he said softly. "This is… almost as impressive, actually." Giving himself a quick shake, trying to dispel the sense of nostalgia the Reliquary had wrapped him in, he laid a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Come on. What we're after is probably in the center of the Reliquary."

Kizmel twitched, took a long breath, and nodded. "Yes, of course. Let's go."

Across the foyer, up the stairs, and through the first door they went, finally entering the Reliquary proper. Other than the soft BGM and distant bird calls, it was eerily quiet; the only consistent sounds as they navigated the ruined halls were those of their own boots on stone. Between the open roof and the mist above, even that was muffled, adding to the sense of the place being not quite real.

There were no mobs to be found, which on the one hand Kirito was grateful for—he didn't really want to be delayed by fighting, after all the time they'd invested in this quest already—but on the other, he found the total absence of life other than intruding plants more than a little spooky.

Trying to distract himself from that as they passed through a wide chamber with a ruined fountain in its center, he glanced at a mural still visible on one wall. He'd seen several like it in the Trial temples, but had never really had a chance to examine them in any detail. Now that he did…

Noticing now that there was something just a bit odd about the people depicted, in what otherwise seemed an unremarkable painting of some ancient battle, Kirito shot a curious glance at his partner. "Hey, Kizmel? Do you have any idea what that's supposed to be about?" Probably just Aincrad background lore, nothing of any importance, but in SAO he could never tell for sure; either way, it was likely to be interesting.

She paused mid-stride, turning to look at the artwork herself. "…I've no more idea than you of the events depicted," she said after a moment. "If you're referring to the fact that the humans and elves have wings, however, I do know something of it. Well, old stories, anyway; legends even to my people, much like other tales of the world before the Great Separation.

"It is said," Kizmel continued, as they resumed their trek into the next hall, "that in the old world the magic of your people and mine alike was such that we could even fly in the sky on ethereal wings. Indeed, it was supposedly one of the simplest uses of magic, as natural to the people of that era as walking is to us."

Kirito blinked. "Flying was that easy for them? Must've been nice." Right off the top of his head, he could think of at least a dozen times just clearing Aincrad where being able to fly would've saved a lot of trouble, leaving aside the possibility of just going right to the Ruby Palace.

Which is why we can't fly in SAO, he reminded himself ruefully, stepping over a fallen marble statue. Besides, I'm not even sure how that would work, in Full-Dive…

Kizmel nodded in agreement, sighing wistfully. "Indeed. Alas, the stories say that it was also deeply tied to the source of magic which was left behind in the Great Separation, more so than most spells. In Aincrad, there are not even frail imitations in the minor charms that remain to us."

"That's too bad." Rounding a corner to a staircase leading higher up, Kirito came to an abrupt halt. "Yeah… really too bad. We could really use wings right about now."

The stairwell was still there, at least. So were some of the stairs—jutting out from the walls in small ledges, at irregular intervals, between which was a drop whose bottom was lost in shadow, suggesting it was too far even for clearers of their levels to survive.

Kizmel eyed it warily. "…Perhaps there should've been a Trial dedicated to proving our agility?"

In the end, the Reliquary did seem to be truly empty of mobs, but Kirito felt the place made up for it by involving more platforming than any place he'd yet seen in SAO. Fortunately his and Kizmel's strength and agility stats proved to be up the challenge, but by the time they finally reached a door requiring the second set of pendants—Strength, this time—he was sure his real-world body was drenched in sweat. His avatar certainly was, although by grace of system limitations it was evaporating fast.

Pushing open that door, Kirito was mostly unsurprised by what lay before them. A large space with a marble floor, very similar to the Reliquary's entrance, with columns of the same stone set at regular intervals to the sides. Around half of them had fallen; possibly fortunately, there was no sign at all of the ceiling they'd once supported.

The chamber was otherwise empty save for a pedestal with an ornate chest on top, with an inset obviously meant for the final pendant—and in front of the pedestal, a small dais with another, much shorter pedestal, a sword thrust point-first into it.

"That must be the Baneblade," Kizmel murmured, walking in step with Kirito to cross the chamber. "And behind it, in that chest…"

"Yeah. Must be." Kirito was focused on the blade itself as they approached, though. As they got closer, he could tell it wasn't quite what he'd been expecting: the hilt was silver, as was the wing-shaped hand guard; that guard was folded up against the edges of the blade.

The blade itself was visibly rusted, chipped, and notched; the very image of a weapon that had really had been left unprotected against the elements for who knew how many years, not the nigh-indestructible weapon he'd honestly been expecting.

Doesn't mean it isn't worth anything, though, Kirito reminded himself. There's no way that a quest this big is going to end with a joke weapon. Besides, don't I remember one version was—

They were almost to the dais when a chuckle came out of nowhere from behind them, making both of them jump in surprise. "Now, now, Black Swordsman! I think that's far enough."

Kirito whirled, hand going to the sword at his back, and quickly spotted the owner of the voice. A lean man in a poncho, carrying a dagger whose edges gleamed a sickly green; he rippled out of the shadows as a Hiding effect stronger than Kirito's Search skill was broken.

His blood ran cold. He'd seen this man before, more than once. It had been several months, and they'd only come face to face once, but Kirito remembered all too well the man's efforts in the past. "It's you… Morte's boss."

Kizmel inhaled sharply at his side. "The 'player-killer'?" she said, the unaccustomed gamer-speak coming a bit awkwardly from her.

"Yo. It's been a while, hasn't it?" The PKer grinned under his poncho's hood. "I told you we'd meet again, Black Swordsman. It's about time I paid you back for interfering. You cost me a clean sweep on the Fifth Floor—not to mention a guild wipe a couple months ago."

Kirito's blood turned icier still, then the heat of rage started to war with it. "You don't mean—!"

The air beside the man wavered, and suddenly there was someone else standing there. He wore fairly standard gear for a player at or near the frontlines, mostly unremarkable—except for the sword he wore at his side, a long blade even narrower than Asuna's rapiers, and the skull-like mask covering his face, through which all Kirito could see was a pair of bright red eyes.

"Hey, boss," the newcomer said, his voice oddly deep and staccato. "This is, the guy? The one, who ruined, Johnny's little trap?"

"That's him," the player in the poncho confirmed. "The Black Swordsman… and his NPC pet. You can call me PoH, boy," he called to Kirito; his grin was showing teeth, like a macabre parody of Argo. "You might say I'm the 'Prince of Hell'… and I've been looking for you."

"How?" Kirito demanded hotly. "How could you even know to come here?" His gaze flicked up to the pair's cursors—both of which, he saw now, were a bright orange. The color of criminals. "Argo wouldn't sell to orange players. And if 'Johnny' is who I think he is, he can't be your conduit anymore, either—"

"The Rat sells to plenty of other people, though, Black Swordsman," PoH told him. "Including other info brokers, who aren't as particular. Wasn't hard to find where you were going, and then you were nice enough to open the doors for us."

"What do you hope to gain here?" Kizmel demanded. "From what Kirito has said, your aims are greater than a mere two clearers. And if you believe you can defeat us both—"

"Be quiet, you fake girl." The masked player's fingers tapped at the hilt of his blade. "We kill you, then we take, that sword." His mouth twisted in a smile as ugly as his leader's. "We can guess, what it is. Can't let the clearers, have it."

"Yeah, that," PoH agreed. "And you… you may act like any old solo, Black Swordsman, but you've been in the right place at the right time a little too often. It's about time you left the stage—especially before you pick up at that sword."

Kirito's fingers tightened around his blade's hilt. The PKers were overestimating him; he'd just gotten lucky a few times, and he was more than a little afraid that the Baneblade would be more trouble than it was worth. Its nature reminded him all too much of another item he'd gotten stuck with, which still remained in his inventory even then. If anything, the implications of the Baneblade were likely to help PoH's cause along.

Doesn't look like they agree, though. And either way…

"They were behind Joe's false information," Kizmel murmured in his ear. "They've struck us before—and they mean to kill us now, Kirito. Whether they speak the truth or not, their intentions are obvious."

He took a deep, steadying breath. Right. Doesn't matter what the reasons are, does it? There's only one thing these guys ever do.

"C'mon, nothing's gonna happen if we just stand here staring at each other!" PoH flung back his poncho, spinning his dagger in one hand. "Get ready, XaXa!"

The masked "XaXa" drew his blade—Kirito recognized it now as an estoc, a weapon even more specialized for thrusting than most rapiers—with a flourish even the Black Swordsman was unwillingly impressed by. "Two of us, against one. And his doll. Too easy."

"Right on. Black Swordsman—it's showtime!"

Kirito's blade came out in a flash, ready to meet PoH's charge. At the same time, Kizmel drew Eldhi Arc in a blur and launched herself at XaXa, intercepting his blinding-quick lunge at Kirito. "I am no doll," she said through gritted teeth, slashing the estoc aside with her blade. "I am his partner!"

"Hah! Just what I'd expect, from a program, like you! Get out, of my way!"

The two with lighter blades fell off to one side, saber and estoc tangling in a blur so fast even Kirito had trouble keeping up with it—and then he had no time to try, as PoH came in and did his best to a drive his poisoned dagger into Kirito's ribcage.

Somehow, he got his sword in the way in time, his parry deflecting the tainted blade just before it could reach his shirt. He managed to segue the parry into the pre-motion for an Uppercut, the quickest move he knew from that position; but PoH was even faster, jumping back as soon as Kirito's blade started to glow. The sword's upward arc missed by a pair of centimeters, and then PoH was lunging in again.

Only the brevity of the post-motion from such a simple skill kept Kirito from being stabbed in that instant. PoH was fast, faster than any mob Kirito had ever fought; his thrust came in so quickly Kirito's dodge still left the edge of his coat to be ripped by the dagger. Dodged instead of parried, the failed blow did leave PoH over-extended for a brief instant, which Kirito took full advantage of to rip a Slant down at the PKer's neck.

PoH reacted instantly, spinning on his foot like a dancer. The Slant, instead of inflicting a critical on his throat, only traced a shallow cut down his chest, and he laughed as he whirled farther out of reach. "Too slow, boy! You don't have the will to kill!"

Chilled, Kirito suspected he was right; he'd realized months before the difference between a duel in a game, and a duel in SAO, along with mindset required for the latter. With the understanding that victory meant more than just bruises in this world, those who were truly willing to kill had an inherent edge over those who weren't.

But it's not just that, he thought, launching a Snake Bite only to see the back and forth slash be dodged with almost contemptuous ease; while he was held in place for an instant after, PoH snuck in a light slash across his cheek, ratcheting his tension up another notch. He's attacking during pre- and post-motion, with normal strikes; he's not using any Sword Skills at all!

Every player knew that sometimes, it was better to use a weak strike delivered by their avatar's virtual muscles, unaided by a Sword Skill's system assist; if the enemy only had a sliver of health left, it just wasn't worth it to risk the post-motion freeze of a skill, especially in a melee against multiple opponents. Even so, Kirito had never known anyone who could do more than a crude slash or two. Very few players had any real knowledge of how to use any kind of blade for real, after all; that was why Sword Skills existed in the first place.

The way PoH whipped his knife around, aiming for vital spots with frightening speed, was something Kirito had never seen before. It was like the PKer actually knew what he was doing with his chosen weapon, and it was becoming clear that the extra speed the "manual" style gave him made up for missing out on the boost in attack power a Sword Skill granted.

Especially with a poisoned blade, Kirito realized, hastily abandoning an attempted skill of his own to deflect a thrust at his kidney the hard way. My stats are high enough compared to his weapon that the poison hasn't procced yet, but that's not going to last!

On top of all that, he was worrying about his partner, too. He was too busy holding off PoH to see much, but from the mad whirl of light to his left, XaXa was keeping up with Kizmel frighteningly well. The masked PKer was using Sword Skills, but he was doing so with the smooth speed of someone who'd practiced them endlessly.

I have to be faster! Taking a chance, Kirito lashed out with his foot, not even a real Unarmed skill, and caught PoH in the shin. Surprised, the PKer stumbled, giving him an opening to unleash the full three hits of a Savage Fulcrum.

All three slashes struck solidly this time, tracing a bright blue "4" in the air. To Kirito's dismay, though, it only dropped PoH's HP by around a tenth—and the man's reaction was to grin. "That's more like your rep, Black Swordsman! The question is—can you keep it up? We're only just getting started!"

In a race between knockback and post-motion, PoH won out by a hair, and Kirito felt the muted thump of a knife ramming solidly between his ribs. It withdrew just as quickly, having made only a small dent in his health—but the sickly glow that suddenly outlined his HP bar told the real threat.

Poison, and a high-level one at that. Immediately, Kirito's HP started draining away, and there was no time to go for an antidote.

"Tick-tock, Black Swordsman," PoH told with a grin, falling back into a crouch, twirling his dagger between his fingers. "You're on the clock! Can you finish me before the poison gets you? C'mon, let's have some fun!"

I have two minutes before this kills me, Kirito thought, the world seeming to blur around him. My Sword Skills hit harder than he does, but I can't hit him solidly enough. I have to try something else, but what—?

A flash of memory, long forgotten. A very basic stance, not meant for his chosen blade, but one of the first things taught to beginners; something practiced so many times as to be carved into his mind, even after all these years. Something from a time he'd hated, but all the clearer in his memory for it.

PoH… isn't the only one who knows something about fighting without System Assist.

Gripping the hilt of his one-handed sword with both hands, Kirito lifted his blade in a stance Klein would've felt more at home with. I… I have to be faster! With a wordless yell, he leapt across the distance to PoH, slashing down in the most basic overhead strike taught in kendo.

Kizmel had never actually fought one of the Swordmasters before. Even when training the Black Cats, they'd always avoided actually sparring; as Kirito had explained once, the implications were disturbing enough that Swordmasters in general tended to be reluctant to take up arms against one another even for practice. Otherwise, since rejoining Kirito on the Twenty-Sixth Floor they'd never encountered hostile Swordmasters quite willing to take up arms against them.

The masked man called XaXa was clearly different from the average Swordmaster, and Kizmel suspected only her own experience fighting Forest and Fallen Elves kept her from being swiftly overwhelmed. Despite his thin blade, his strength seemed easily a match for the Forest Elf Kirito and Asuna had saved her from that fateful day, and he was astonishingly fast.

Kirito's reflexes are better, Kizmel thought, her Eldhi Arc countering a blinding-quick Linear with a hasty Reaver, but I believe the only Swordmaster I've ever seen whose strikes are faster is Asuna. If I'm not careful—!

To her consternation, what could be seen of XaXa's expression was a strange mix of amusement and irritation. "Never thought, a simple, NPC, could fight, like this! I'd be, impressed, if you weren't, in my way!"

"I believe that is my complaint," she ground out, sidestepping another Linear to return one of her own; somehow XaXa twisted around to let it under his left arm, but she did leave a graze under his shoulder. "We've done nothing to provoke you!"

"Hah! Don't think, a doll, like you, can understand! Just a, parrot who doesn't, understand what, she's even, saying!" He pirouetted in an elegant move that belied his blood thirst, one Kizmel recognized just in time. The swift thrust toward her head she caught on her shield, and she nimbly stepped sideways around Diagonal Sting's lower blow.

I cannot let this last. Kizmel drew back in her sword in the moment it took XaXa to recover from his own attack, letting her saber glow with restrained power. Kirito needs my help! She only had time for the barest glimpses, but she could tell he was harder-pressed by PoH than she by XaXa.

Not that XaXa was by any means slow or weak. He began his next attack before she'd quite launched hers, and the angled slash of a Streak rushed out to meet her own; the two skills collided, canceling each other out with a brilliant flash and a concussive boom, blowing both of them back from the recoil.

Kizmel winced from the bruising pressure, but rallied swiftly. As soon as she regained full control of herself, she threw herself into a spin in place, expecting XaXa to come rushing in again the moment he recovered; if she was right, the triple blow of the Treble Scythe would serve her better than a more aggressive thrust at that moment—

XaXa's surprised grunt as the swift charge of his Shooting Star was met by a whirlwind of steel instead of something more precise proved her suspicion. The way he flew back several paces and hit the stone floor with bone-bruising force was deeply satisfying.

Treat me as a mere figment of a dream, will you? Kizmel thought coolly, rushing to press the attack the moment she could move again. Fine, then; I'll not object if you underestimate me!

He was already rolling to his feet when she reached him, angling a Rising Sting at her throat from a crouch. She instinctively snapped her shield in the way, but by defending she sacrificed the initiative, giving XaXa time to recover his footing.

The next few moments were a confusing blur of slashes and thrusts, each trying to slip a blow past the other's guard, and amidst the occasional hiss of pain as his blade found its mark and grunt of impact as hers struck true, only the long months of combat and years of training kept Kizmel remotely aware of what was happening. XaXa was, she realized, a more skilled swordsman than even Viscount Yofilis, or any of her instructors in the Pagoda Knights.

"Well, now, maybe this, will be, fun, after all," XaXa rasped out, grinning beneath his mask. "Not so, bad, for just, a program!"

This is the true threat the Swordmasters face, Kizmel realized, feeling a thrust strike home in her gut even as she landed a blow on XaXa's sword arm. As powerful as the monsters that infest this castle may be, traitors within their own ranks are so much stronger…!

At last, she found an opening: a fraction of a moment when XaXa was overextended from a missed Triangular, forced to carry through all three hits despite the error. In that tiny space, she hit him with another Treble Scythe, slashing into his knees, stomach, and chest. The most solid hit she'd managed yet, it once again tossed him across the chamber, his arc ending with a hard impact against one of the fallen marble columns.

Visibly dazed, it took XaXa until Kizmel was halfway across the gap before he even began to recover—at which point, once again, he grinned. "Not bad! But do, you really have, time for this? Your precious, partner, is in trouble, you fake!"

She skidded to a halt, head whipping around to look. At some point Kirito had switched to a style that seemed completely at odds with his own weapon, oddly abandoning Sword Skills entirely; now, though, there was a bright crimson glow flaring to life. That's—no!

XaXa's grin vanished in a look of open-mouthed surprise just before Kizmel's flung shield hit him in the face, startling him into falling over again, and she launched herself toward her partner's battle. "Kirito!"

One-handed swords, Kirito had found, really weren't very suited to two-handed styles. It was working, barely—technically, he supposed the sword he currently using would probably be considered a hand-and-a-half sword—but the moves weren't coming out nearly as smoothly as with a shinai or true katana.

Or maybe I'm just way too rusty, he thought, his awkward backhand catching PoH's right arm just above the wrist; not a wasted hit, but he'd been trying to cut the man's hand off, hopefully taking that poisoned knife with it. I never thought I'd regret giving up on kendo back then!

"Better, boy," PoH complimented, flipping the dagger to a reverse grip, the blade folded back against his forearm. "Maybe you do know some good tricks… This is getting fun!"

"Only someone like you—would call this—fun," Kirito got out through gritted teeth. He reversed the sword in his hands, bringing it back in a forehand strike meant to cut down across PoH's chest; just a breath ahead of him, the PKer darted inside his reach and slashed the green-edged knife along his arm, leaving another gleaming red line to join the others.

PoH's dagger was a much weaker weapon than Kirito's sword, going by raw attack power, but a knife was a weapon either for precise, decisive blows to weak points, or gradually bleeding; worse, the PKer obviously knew it, and the poison gave him a nasty edge on top of that.

Kendo isn't the right style to fight him with, either, Kirito thought grimly, gaze flicking up to his own steadily-decreasing HP; he was already down to half, and still falling. I know a few moves without using System Assist, but two-handed is just too slow for this…

I have to be faster!

Clenching his jaw, he called on every reserve his system-governed avatar had, and focused every bit of his attention on the enemy in front of him. If he could just be fast enough, he could take out PoH in a few good hits; all he had to do was be quick and accurate enough to strike the right place. Even if he couldn't bring himself to kill, even PoH would have to pull back if he was hit hard enough—

With another wordless yell, Kirito lunged for PoH, swinging his sword with all the power and speed his arms could bring in. Faster, dammit! PoH ducked under the blade, driving his dagger in once more, but this time Kirito was ready for it. He lashed out with his foot again, even though it cost him his own balance; PoH saw it coming and jumped, yet his attack was still cut short.

Kirito's own attacks threw him completely off-balance, toppling him over, but he'd known it was coming. He turned with the fall, rolled, and came up with his sword dragging up from the ground with him. Faster! He turned with his arms, with his torso, and with his legs as he rose, his blade tearing across faster yet; this time, PoH ducked away just a little too slow, taking the full brunt of the slash across the chest.

Either knockback or surprise slowed PoH's reactions by just a sliver, and Kirito took advantage of it, whipping his sword down, across, and back in a flurry of attacks, dropping the PKer's HP close to the halfway point. Just a little more! Just a little more, and even he'll have to run for it—!

"Now this is making it all worth it, Black Swordsman!" In the brief opening between one attack and the next, PoH leapt back, his grin still wide and wild. "You're in the way, but it wouldn't have been any fun if you just gave up and died! But…" The grin shrank to a smirk. "Playtime's over, boy. It's showtime."

For the first time, PoH's dagger took on the red glow of a Sword Skill. Kirito didn't know daggers well enough to guess from the pre-motion which skill it was, but it left him uncertain and wary; from that distance, he ought to have plenty of time to intercept it. Even with the poison, there was simply no way PoH could kill him with a single Sword Skill, and gripped by System Assist the PKer had no hope of dodging Kirito's retaliation.

He's trying something tricky, Kirito thought. In that case—I'll just have to hit him with the best I've got! Abandoning his awkward two-handed grip, he pulled his blade back, starting the pre-motion for a Sharp Nail. It ran the risk of killing PoH outright, if he critted just "right", but at this point Kirito didn't think he had much of a choice. With the poison, and Kizmel still occupied with XaXa…

His skill released just as PoH's pulled the PKer into a rush, and for just an instant Kirito thought he'd won; his skill was clearly going to hit. A moment before the clash, though, he suddenly realized PoH's dagger wasn't aimed for his body at all.

Its point was driving straight into the flat of Kirito's sword, a few centimeters above the hilt. In the instant the two Sword Skills met, there was the usual loud sound and bright flash—and the sword's blade snapped off just above the guard, spinning off to clatter loudly on the marble floor.

For a second, all Kirito could do was stare at the remains of his sword in sheer disbelief. That wasn't the first time he'd had a sword break in the middle of a fight; his beloved Anneal Blade had perished in the defense of Yofel Castle, the previous Christmas. But that sword was almost at its limit anyway! This one was still close to half-strength, and—did he target a weak point on the sword? On purpose?!

PoH's smirk turned back into a lazy grin. "Didn't know that trick, did you, Black Swordsman? Too bad. There's a lot of things you still ought to learn about this world. Things I could've maybe taught you, if you weren't such a goody-two-shoes." Shaking his head, he started toward Kirito, the young swordsman still frozen in surprise. "It's funny. I get the feeling you understand this world better than almost anybody, but there's one little thing you don't get."

His health was ticking down close to the red now, Kirito noticed, ice racing through his virtual veins. With no sword to parry with, if PoH got in just a couple of good hits in the right places—and the man obviously knew exactly where to aim—he was a dead man.

No. I can't… I can't let it end here! Tossing aside the broken remnants of his sword, Kirito readied himself to try Martial Arts skills instead. "What is it I'm missing, then?" he demanded of the PKer, trying to stall for just a little more time.

"The simplest thing of all, Black Swordsman," PoH told him, never losing that disturbing smile. "This is a death game, right? Then death is exactly what we should be giving out. If you're not killing or being killed, you're denying the very essence of Aincrad, boy."

The reply was so completely incomprehensible that Kirito didn't have the least idea how to respond, and PoH took that moment to set up for another Sword Skill. His poisoned dagger taking on a crimson glow again, he was clearly preparing the same skill as before, and this time Kirito had no defense at all—

"Get away from him!"

PoH started to turn in surprise. "What the—?!" he began, only to be knocked off his feet by a charging Dark Elf.

"Quickly, Kirito!" she shouted to him, wrenching one arm free of the tangle she and the PKer had ended up in. "Take it, and get the sword!"

Kirito caught the antidote she flung his way without even thinking, opening and downing it in a flash. The meaning of her other words was a moment longer sinking in, but then he was whirling around, hand tugging at the chain remaining around his neck.

"Get off me!" PoH snarled, levity vanished. He wrestled with Kizmel for a moment, got most of his body free, and viciously kicked her away, forcing a cry of pain from the elf. "You're not getting away so easily, Black Swordsman!"

PoH was fast. Kirito, maybe because those running for their lives were always just a bit lighter on their feet than those just trying to take them, was faster. Two steps ahead of his would-be murderer, he reached the dais, hurriedly slapping the emerald Bravery Pendant into the slot he'd suspected would be at the base of its pedestal. One step ahead, he gripped the battered hilt in with his sword hand, and pulled.

Light flared, the rusted Baneblade slipping from the stone with ease belying its worn appearance.

Turning the act of drawing the sword from its resting place into a spin, Kirito segued right into the pre-motion for an Uppercut just as PoH tried to stab him in the throat. This time, there was no chance for the PKer to even try to evade, committed as he was to the attack; the skill tore deep into his right hip, arcing up and out through his left shoulder.

Still as light on his feet as ever, PoH sprang back as quickly as he could. Unlike before, though, there was no trace of humor on his face at all; beneath his hood, his face twitched in a way Kirito could tell meant he was checking his HP—the HP that had just taken more damage from one hit of Kirito's new weapon than four or five from the old.

There was a rustle to Kirito's right, and Kizmel was suddenly by his side, Eldhi Arc pointed unwaveringly at PoH's face. At some point she'd lost her shield, and her cloak was as tattered as the battle had left Kirito's longcoat, but she otherwise seemed in better shape than he was, and her expression was murderous.

In the silence, XaXa came up to PoH's side in turn; unlike his boss, the estoc user was still smiling. "Well. The girl, might really, be something, after all," he said. "What now, boss? Shall we, keep going?"

Staring hard at the PKer duo, Kirito almost wished they would. "If you want to end this now, go ahead," he said, hardly recognizing his own voice. "Want to try us again?"

"…Continuing now is pointless," PoH finally said, tucking his dagger under his poncho. "You'd better watch your back, Black Swordsman. You're only alive because of that sword—and it won't help you so much against mobs, will it?"

"Too bad." XaXa spun his estoc in a blurred flourish and sheathed it. "It was, just getting, good. But maybe, next time, will be better."

The two of them turned and walked back toward the chamber's entrance. Kirito watched them closely the whole way, until just before the door they both vanished under Hiding, just as they'd arrived.

After a few moments, Kizmel glanced at him. "Do you think they're actually gone?"

"Probably. They've lost a lot of their surprise, and I'm actually better equipped now than when they got here." Kirito finally allowed himself to relax; though the first thing he did was dig into his pocket with his free hand to pull out a potion, getting a quick start on restoring his HP. He'd come all too close to the red, this time.

Only when he'd drunk the whole potion did his partner begin to relax, slipping her saber back into its scabbard. "I did not expect that," she admitted, shoulders slumping wearily. "To follow us in here, and make such a direct attempt at murder… I knew your stories of the 'orange' Swordmasters, but even after what happened to the Black Cats, I never suspected this."

"Neither did I." But I should have. After what Argo said about Naga… I should've known something like this would happen eventually.

"We survived, Kirito," Kizmel said gently, laying a hand on his arm. "We survived, and we've found what we came for. If, perhaps, not quite as we expected."

Kirito glanced down at the Baneblade, still clutched in his right hand, still as rusted and weathered as when he'd drawn it. "It's still pretty sharp," he pointed out. "And like Countess Ryella said, it hurt PoH pretty bad. I'm willing to bet there's a way to restore it to its true form, too."

Probably another quest, he mused, finally sheathing the blade with his usual flourish. Special item, probably has a special way to upgrade it… Well, there's no way that quest is on this floor, so no need to worry about it now. The real issue is…

As if following his thoughts, Kizmel also followed his gaze to the chest on the pedestal behind the Baneblade's resting place.

By rights, a murder attempt by two rogue Swordmasters should've eclipsed everything else that had happened that day. The greater degree of threat they posed than previously suspected was a change that needed to be discussed in detail, and with more than just her own partner.

Yet despite the fear and pain only now ebbing away, Kizmel's attention was drawn back to what had brought them to the Reliquary to begin with. To the Baneblade Kirito now carried on his back, and to the unopened chest that still remained, a small hollow for a jewel where a keyhole might normally be.

After all, she thought, in many ways, that represents a change far more fundamental—certainly one far more personal.

Slowly, Kizmel stepped up to the chest, slipped the Bravery Pendant from her neck, and placed it in the hollow. With a soft click, the lock released, allowing her to lift the chest's lid, and withdraw its contents.

It was a simple book, bound in green-dyed leather, so aged as to concern her she would destroy it simply by opening its cover. On that cover was etched simply, Record of the Alliance of the Three, written in the same ancient script as the inscriptions around the Trial temples and the Reliquary itself.

When she turned back to her partner, holding the book carefully in both hands, Kizmel found Kirito looking at her with an unusually serious expression. "Kizmel… are you sure you know what you're getting into, if you open that book?" His voice was soft, filled with concern.

"I began to realize it when Swordmaster Diavel first spoke to us in the Trial of Bravery, Kirito," she replied. "Even before Countess Ryella spoke of it, it seemed clear invoking the charms of the Swordmasters might well strip me of my Knighthood. …Though I admit, I had not thought through that I might truly be made a stranger to my own people, as well."

"There's that, but… that's not exactly what I mean, Kizmel." He bit his lip, dark eyes reflecting a struggle to find the right words. "This is so hard to explain. The Swordmasters… we really don't experience the world the same way you do, Kizmel. There's more to gaining our powers and senses than just being able to make writing appear in the air or seeing hidden paths and objects."

"That much has been obvious to me for a long time, Kirito." She tucked the Record under her arm, meeting his somber gaze with one of her own. "I know you've said your perspective on the world is very different from that of my people, or even the humans native to this world."

"Yeah, but there's more to it than that. It's… almost more basic, but more… I don't know, more comprehensive, maybe?" Kirito made a sound of frustration. "Okay, let me try again… Kizmel, if that book really makes you like one of us, then you're literally going to see the whole world differently. You'll see descriptions when you look at things, symbols above people's heads, and… call it status reports in the corners of your vision. All the time. You won't be able to look away from it, ever, even if you close your eyes."

That much did sound disconcerting, Kizmel admitted to herself. She didn't quite grasp the specifics—it sounded much like trying to explain to a Swordmaster her own instinctive perceptions of the world, come to think of it; the sort of thing that could only truly be grasped through experience—but the general point seemed clear enough. "Like seeing your Mystic Scribing at all times?" she suggested.

"Exactly!" Kirito looked relieved for a brief moment, before the seriousness came back again. "You'll always be seeing some of that, no matter where you look. Probably in your dreams, when you've had it long enough; honestly, I think I'd be confused now if I didn't have it…" He shook his head. "And Kizmel… I don't know exactly how close your senses are to working like ours otherwise, but I know you feel pain. Swordmasters don't. I'm not sure if you really understand what that means."

"I don't," she acknowledged at once. "But I have thought about it, Kirito. I remember what you've told me, since the night we left Sachi with Klein. You Swordmasters, too, made a transition when you came to this world. You learned to see the world differently, and what it was to feel no pain. These powers are no more natural to you than to me, are they?"

"Well… no, they're not," he conceded. "In the world we came from, we're close to some of it, maybe, but… no, most of what we can do here, we could never do in our real bodies."

As she'd thought. Only the past week or so had the possibility of finding a means to use the Swordmaster's charms been within her reach, but Kizmel had been thinking about it for some months now. Ever since she found herself considering seeking out her human friends again, she'd thought about the implications of Mystic Scribing and the other Swordmaster powers; the more so since she'd begun to learn more about those powers, and the nature of their wielders.

Kirito had not raised a single point she hadn't already considered some time before. Which was far from saying that the decision before her was an easy one, however simple it appeared; until Countess Ryella said it outright, Kizmel had not truly considered how deeply she might be changing her relationship with her own home and people.

Even so…

"Kirito," she said, stepping close enough to lay a hand on his arm. "Have you wondered why it is I want to do this in the first place?" When he blinked, frowned thoughtfully, and finally gave a slow shake of his head, she continued, "Because I want to know your world, Kirito. Your people. Do you know what I've seen in my journey with you?

"The variety of foods. The multitude of different styles of your buildings—I was particularly intrigued by Taira, the city you mentioned was similar to your own ancestral lands. The sheer diversity of culture, represented throughout the human settlements of Aincrad. Even among the Swordmasters themselves," she added with small smile. "I rather doubt Guildmaster Kibaou's dialect comes from quite the same background as your own."

Kirito coughed, smothering a surprised chuckle. "Well, almost," he muttered. "Not quite, but close."

"Which is still more diversity than among my own Dark Elves. Kirito, I didn't truly understand this myself until I spent months with you, occasionally mingling with other Swordmasters, but when we came to Fort Renya, I realized that your people are, in some ways, simply more vibrant than mine. Do you recall the guards at the gate there?"

He nodded uncertainly, a strange look in his eyes.

"They didn't understand a simple question, Kirito, because I did not ask it the same way I once would have." Kizmel remembered the moment well, brief though it had been. Ordinarily it might've slipped her mind after meeting the much more imaginative Countess Ryella, but she'd seen even some humans acting in much the same way, now that she knew to look. "The Swordmasters are different, Kirito. Different in a way I want to see more of, to understand more. To find that understanding, I realized months ago that I needed to see the world through their eyes."

Kirito swallowed, worry still obvious in those dark eyes. Worry, and… sadness? "…You may not like everything you learn, Kizmel," he whispered. "I've told you before, there's things you may never forgive us for… and even if you do this, someday we'll all…"

He couldn't finish the sentence, but she knew what he meant. Someday the Steel Castle would be cleansed, clear to the Ruby Palace at its peak. If the Swordmasters were right, that would be the moment they would all be free to leave, and it was obvious they believed they would never return.

Rather, their minds would leave, and no body native to Aincrad would accompany them. However much some might want to.

"I know," Kizmel said simply. "I know you're afraid of what I may learn, but I believe it's better to know the truth, however painful. And whatever may come after… well, time remains for us to solve that problem, as well. I believe the risk is worth the reward, my friend."

She took the book from in hand again, and carefully opened the front cover.

"You'll be a target, too, you know," Kirito pointed, with the air of someone trying to convince someone for their sake, not his own. "What happened today—and the Black Cats. From the sound of it, that might actually have been meant to kill me…"

"Then you clearly need someone to watch your back, don't you? Certainly that's worked well enough so far." Smiling, Kizmel lifted the book to eye level, read quickly over the first lines of ancient script, and recited, "I am Kizmel, Royal Guard and Pagoda Knight of the Kingdom of Lyusula! By ancient law and treaty, aided by Swordmaster companion, I come to honor ancient alliance! Let my sword aid my people's ally, as once theirs aided us!" She brought her gaze back up to her partner's. "Is my pledge to be honored?"

Kirito was quick-witted, as he always was where "quests" were concerned; and though his eyes were still troubled, he didn't hesitate. "It is, Lady Kizmel," he said simply, voice stumbling only very slightly with the formality.

Light blazed from the book, brighter even than when the Baneblade had been drawn, and Kizmel fell to her knees. Something in her was changing, she could feel it; a twisting pain-not-pain, as if her very essence was being reshaped at the most fundamental level.

Sparks flared in her mind, a moment of agony that felt both eternal and over so quickly it might never have been there; distantly, she heard Kirito calling her name in panic. Static followed in her ears, darkness consuming her vision, a brief sensation of something melting away on her hand—and then it was gone.

"…Kizmel! Kizmel, answer me!"

Breathing heavily, Kizmel found herself still on her knees, head touching the ground. "I… I'm alright, Kirito," she managed, slowly pushing herself to sitting position. "I am not sure what…"

…Is that music I'm hearing…?

Slowly, she began to realize things really had changed in those few moments of chaos. In the upper-left corner of her vision, she could see two colored bars hanging in the air, her name below one and Kirito's below the other, numbers of unknown meaning below them. To the upper-right, another set of numerals, whose meaning she could not even begin to guess at.

Looking up at Kirito, Kizmel saw a bar over his head matching the one hovering in her vision, and above it a strange, inverted green pyramid, spinning slowly in the air.

Trembling now, she brought the first two fingers of her right hand together as she'd seen Swordmasters do—noticing belatedly, with a distracted pang of sorrow, that the ring that had once been a token of her station as a Knight of Lyusula had vanished—and moved them straight down.

Just as with any Swordmaster, something akin to an ethereal sheet of paper sprang into being beside her hand. The meaning of the words written on it were obscure to her, but she recognized it instantly as the same thing that appeared whenever a Swordmaster invoked Mystic Scribing.

…This is how Swordmasters see the world, Kizmel thought numbly. I don't understand any of it—not yet. But this is really…

Kirito reached a hand to her, a strange smile on his face. "I guess it worked, huh? You okay, Kizmel? I know this is a lot to take in…"

She took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet—then threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in close. "It worked," she said giddily. "This… this is how you see the world, isn't it, Kirito? These numbers, bars, strange symbols… This is how Swordmasters view this world?"

"Um. Yeah." Obviously caught completely off-guard, he hesitantly returned the hug. "Er… it's going to take a little while to explain what all of that means; you don't have the same frame of reference to begin with…"

"It will be worth the effort," Kizmel said firmly, tightening her grip. "If it gives me greater insight into your people, my friend, it will all be worth it."

Yes. I want to know your world better, Kirito. The strange, wonderful place I've seen only glimpses of. The place that sent you here…

Author's Note:

First point of information: the Demon Murphy's Christmas present was not a welcome one. Influenza for the whole family was not a fun way to kick off the new year, and was very much not conducive to writing. First I was sick as a dog—fever delirium was not a symptom with which I was previously acquainted, and I do not wish to become friends—then I was the only functional person for a week. Bleh.

Second point of information: I hope I don't find myself needing to include XaXa very often. His speech patterns are a royal pain to write.

Third point of information: yeah… there's going to be one more chapter for this arc. The end of this chapter does actually conclude the events that I originally planned for Minuet of Forest in the first place, which I hope is good enough to soften the blow, but it became clear as I closed in on the climax that there's a bunch of plot threads here that really need a bit more attention before the jump to the next arc.

For what it's worth, that last Forest chapter is going to be going into areas Duet hasn't really touched on much before now (mostly because it was never planned to be this in-depth a story in the first place): next up, we're getting more into guild politics and other matters of player society. Events as momentous as the climax of this chapter will not be without… consequences. Filler, Chapter IX will not be.

And hey, we get more Argo fun. Because really, there's no way Argo isn't going to find some way to turn this latest development into fun for her, and embarrassment for her targets.

Yeah, I know the Forest arc has ended up dragging on a bit too long, regardless. Well, I know what I did wrong, and I am dead sure the Christmas arc is not going to grow this insanely kudzu-ish. I have it planned neatly for two chapters; worst-case, it will be three. Even I cannot possibly drag it out the before and after of Nicholas the Renegade more than that.

…Right. Verbosity-mode off. Along with this chapter I'm posting edits to most of the previous ones—minor cleanups, nothing major—and with any luck, this was worth the extra-long wait. With this, Chapter III of my original outline is 99 percent finished, five chapters late! -Solid