March 15th, 2024

Standing on a hill, surrounded by the short raid group, Asuna shuddered. To the south, she could still see flames rising above the walls of what had been Reccoa City, and what her map now labeled as [Reccoa Necropolis]. Between the destroyed city and the hill, there was no trace of the abominations they'd fought outside, but she could still see them in her mind's eye.

And hear, she thought, sheathing her rapier with shaking hands. I like zombie movies, but those things… I don't even want to know where Kayaba got that idea. That was worse than seeing Griselda-san's ghost. A lot worse.

What made things worse still was that that wasn't even the worst thing to have happened in just the past half hour. "No sign of Schmidt," Lind said wearily. His contingent of Divine Dragons had gone to the far side of the hill, while the rest of the impromptu raid group healed up and dealt with any infections. "You think Kuze's taking him to the Necromancer's Tower?"

"Pretty sure." Standing close enough for Asuna to mentally lean on for support, his regular party clustered around him, Kirito's voice and expression were flat. Dangerously so, she thought. "He literally invited us to go find him there. Which means he's got something up his sleeve. Laughing Coffin is crazy. They aren't stupid."

"He's going to use Schmidt against us." Klein was gripping the hilt of his katana tightly enough for his knuckles to creak. The rest of Fuurinkazan, especially Sachi, didn't look any less murderous. "That's the whole damn point of that armlet he's got. After what happened to Dynamm back at the Dead Workshop, I'm pretty sure that thing turns infected players into puppets on strings."

Horrifying thought. From what she'd gradually learned about offline games from Kirito over the past year or so, Asuna thought such tricks wouldn't have been too odd in a traditional RPG. In VR? It had never even occurred to her that even Kayaba Akihiko might have come up with something so disturbing.

Maybe it should have, though. After the end of the Elf War, when we found out exactly what the Fallen Elves could do, what they were planning to do with the Sanctuary… But this is too much. Even for SAO, this is too much!

Taking a deep breath, Asuna turned to Heathcliff, wondering if this situation would be enough for him to take direct charge for once. The red-armored guildmaster only gave a slight shake of his head, and then an almost imperceptible nod to her.

I guess I should take that as a vote of confidence. This once, I think I could do without it.

"All right," she said then, turning to face the gathered players as a whole. "We know where Kuze is going. We know that we need a key from a dungeon Team Kirito can't handle alone. And from Strea, we know he might be able to make more of those Necroblade things if he gets access to the Revenant Lodge."

"And we know we can't retreat," Lind said glumly. "As far as the DDA can tell, Karika, Reveno, and Reccoa were the only towns on this entire floor."

From her spot by Team Kirito, Argo the Rat raised one finger. "Close, Lind. Aa-chan an' Team Kirito found a Dark Elf fort on this floor. But yeah, that really only helps them." She smiled; not a pleasant expression, Asuna thought. "Fer once, it really is do or die time, guys. 'Specially since, much as I hate ta say it, we can't exactly leave Schmidt in LC's hands."

"Exactly," Asuna said, before anyone could object to Argo's turn of phrase. "So we do as discussed during the breakout from Reccoa: the KoB and DDA will head for the Revenant Proving Grounds and obtain the key from there. In the meantime, Team Kirito and I will make for the Lodge. I have a bad feeling about what's there. Besides, we haven't had a chance to work on our levels on this floor. Since we can't get into the Tower until we have the key, we might as well use the time.

"After that," she concluded grimly, "we regroup, and assault the Necromancer's Tower."

It was a sign of how bad the situation was that Lind didn't even blink at her unilaterally taking charge. He only nodded, slow and sober. "You think Kuze will have defenses meriting a raid group at the Tower?"

"We haven't met a Field Boss on this floor yet," Kirito pointed out. "Anyone care to place bets on Kuze having control over that, too?"

Asuna didn't blame anyone for the curses that followed that suggestion. She was tempted to drop a few herself. Much as she wanted to, she couldn't say he was wrong. With the way the Fifty-Seventh Floor had been going, it seemed all too likely. As if I wasn't going to have enough nightmares already…

Heathcliff cleared his throat. "Let's not be too paranoid," he said, with a calm Asuna deeply envied. "For all the unique characteristics of this floor, I very much doubt a player would be granted authority over a boss. That would be too great a violation of game balance, even for SAO." He paused. "That being said, Kuze might well be able to use the armlet to bypass the boss in some fashion, if only by exploit."

"Well. That makes me feel tons better." Klein frowned. "Okay, actually, it does make me feel a little better. If he could target a Field Boss, the stairway defense group wouldn't stand a chance, and then all hell really would break loose." He tapped the hilt of his katana. "Well, whatever he's up to, it's apparently going pretty well, even after Sachi-chan smashed the Mordite. Let's get going."

Asuna nodded sharply. "All right, everyone. Mark and report any field Safe Havens you find. Proving Ground group, send me a PM as soon as you have the key. If I'm not in position to receive it, meet us at the Lodge; if I am, I'll see you all at the Necromancer's Tower. Move out."

Kirito found himself deeply relieved Reccoa didn't seem to have any more trains. The most expedient way to get from the Necropolis to the Revenant Lodge was straight along the railway, and the last thing he or his friends wanted to worry about was being run over. He didn't think mere zombies could get a train moving—but there was still the question of how, exactly, the one that had almost rundown the raid group had gotten started.

Bad enough that his team—and why in the world was everyone suddenly calling them "Team Kirito", anyway—had had to split off from the rest of the raid. Normally he preferred operating with as small a group as possible. "Normally" didn't involve super-zombies, even for him.

There'd been no choice, though. Someone had to make sure Laughing Coffin hadn't found any more surprises at the Lodge, and none of their intel suggested it was as heavily defended as the Revenant Proving Grounds. So, after a very quick check of the station whose lines branched out to the two dungeons, they'd gone their separate ways.

Pounding down the railroad tracks with his friends, Kirito tried not to think too hard about the expressions he'd seen on some faces. He still considered himself terrible at dealing with people—but that didn't mean he wasn't starting to get a good grasp of reading them. And if Klein wasn't dead-set on killing someone, he didn't know people at all.

Heathcliff looked… well, like himself, Kirito thought, keeping careful watch for Necros as they ran. Lind's got the look of a guy wondering if the whole world fell on his head. Klein… Klein's going to kill someone, if he can. …Maybe Sachi, too.

The former Black Cat had recovered amazingly well from the destruction of her old guild. But it had definitely changed her, and Kirito couldn't begin to guess how the trauma she'd faced at the Dead Workshop would affect her now. He was afraid it wouldn't be good.

"Terrible as it is, there may be a bright side to the destruction of towns on this floor," Kizmel said into his thoughts, somewhere around halfway to the Lodge. "At least when this is over, and we've opened the Teleport Gate on the next floor, there will be no reason at all for anyone to come here again."

Her voice was grim, despite her "reassurance". If they hadn't been running full-tilt along a gravel track, interspersed with rails, where one wrong move could be a nasty fall, Kirito would've hugged her. After the last few hours, especially, he kind of needed one himself.

"I wouldn't even come here for crafting materials," Philia agreed. She'd been unusually subdued for the last couple of days, and didn't look any happier now. "There's no treasure in the world that would be worth this." Eyes bright with Searching, she was scanning the terrain off to the east, doing her part to make sure there were no surprises. Below those glowing eyes, her expression was as grim as Kirito had ever seen. "I might even throw away any treasure we do find here."

"Don't do that," Rain said sharply. "Think of it this way, Philia," she added, when eyes turned to her between sweeps of their path. "Anything we get here? Is proof we survived. Let's make it worth it."

"As much as we can, anyway," Asuna said softly. She was sticking almost as close to Kirito as Kizmel, reminding him of the days when they'd been partners. "So far no one's died on this floor, but short of that… Yeah. At least this floor has reminded us what's really at stake here. Sometimes, I think we forget, and get too comfortable here…"

Kirito winced. She probably didn't mean to direct that at him, but it still struck home. After so long in Aincrad—in SAO, he reminded himself—there were entire days where he hardly thought about the real world at all. To Asuna, the destruction of Reccoa was a reminder that there were in a world of death.

His instinctive reaction had been that an entire city of innocent people had been murdered. Even knowing Kizmel was probably the only "living" AI on the entire Fifty-Seventh Floor, Reccoa's fall had been a punch to the gut.

He missed his sister terribly. His mother and father, even, now that he'd finally begun to come to terms with the truth. Yet sometimes, living in Aincrad, he couldn't help but feel…

"There's the Lodge," Philia called out, before Kirito's thoughts could spiral too far. She pointed at a squarish building just then coming into view, resembling a screencap Klein had shown them of the Workshop. From a distance, the Revenant Lodge at least looked more intact.

Kirito wasn't sure if that was a good sign, or a bad one. He did know that the sight of that obsidian stone made him tense up on pure reflex.

"Am I the only one who thinks it's weird the Fallen Elves had so many dungeons out in plain sight on this floor?" Rain remarked as they got closer. "I mean, I thought they were supposed to be kinda mysterious, and, y'know, the Dark and Forest would've smashed them if they had the chance?"

"They probably didn't," Kirito told her, shivering at the memories of other Fallen fortifications he'd been in. "These places are so bad, the other elves probably thought it was better to just leave them be as long as no monsters came pouring out."

"That's likely the case," Kizmel agreed. "Since the ancient wars, my people always tried to avoid any risk of encountering the Fallen's dark sorcery, or what was left of it after the Great Separation." She winced. "Or at least, that's what my parents always told me. I would suspect, from a 'flavor text' perspective, it's probably true enough."

Then and there, Kirito decided that he was going to grant Kizmel's "reward" the first chance he had. Not that he'd ever objected in principle, of course, embarrassing as it still kind of was, but then more than ever he thought they both needed it. Anything to distract from… well, everything.

It was probably fortunate that he was promptly distracted from that thought by what awaited them at the Lodge. As he'd honestly expected, the entrance the railway led to was firmly shut. A smaller entrance, a dozen or so meters west, might've been another story—but what was next to it got his attention first. Or rather, who.

"Hi, guys!" Strea called, waving to them. "I was kinda wondering if you'd end up here." She grinned; but Kirito thought it was a forced one, even for an eccentric AI. "Well, more like I was afraid of it."

"Strea." Slowing to a walk, Asuna tilted her head and looked at the NPC through narrowed eyes. "How did you get here ahead of us? You were still in Reccoa when we left the inn…"

"And then you fought your way out of the city," Strea pointed out, leaning back against black stone. "I hit the tunnels and came straight here. Faster that way."

"Then there is something here we need to worry about." Kirito gave the entrance—a stone door distinguishable from the surrounding wall only by being recessed—a wary look. "Can you give us any hints about what's inside? Besides Revenants and the makings of Necroblades, anyway."

The lavender-haired girl slowly shook her head. "No, actually. There's nothing here at all that you need if you want to stop Kuze from completing his scheme with the Well of Life. You might as well get going. Join up with Fuurinkazan and the others, get that key. Nothing to do here."

Okay. Kirito knew he was bad with people. But even if he had still been bad at reading them, he never would've missed that. If only because in an RPG, "Don't go this way" always meant there was something important. Important, or way too deadly to face at that point in the game.

This time, he had a feeling it might've been both. He also had a lack of patience with cryptic hints.

"Strea," he said evenly, "if there's nothing we need to worry about in there… why are you here? What with stopping the Necro Plague being your current mission."

"Yeah," Rain agreed, eyeing the NPC suspiciously. "Shouldn't you be going off to find the raid group, too?"

Strea stared at them for a long moment. Then, finally, she sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "Okay. I can't tell you much. But I can tell you, I technically have a very specific function in SAO, on top of acting as Cardinal's agent. And by that function, it's my duty to warn you that going in there is a bad idea."

"The Revenant," Kizmel said slowly. "It's in there, isn't it? You keep warning Kirito against facing it…"

"Them," Strea told her flatly. "Yeah. You're way better off just finishing this floor and moving on without ever confronting those things. All of you, really, but especially Kirito. So please… just go. I'll even go with you. We do still need to get that key, so we can go stop Kuze, right? Why waste time here?"

Again, the warning. Which did fit with how the one Revenant they'd already encountered had gone after him, specifically, and more than once. And, given his own experiences with poking around places he wasn't supposed to, a part of Kirito wanted to just shrug, take Strea's advice, and move on.

But Asuna took a deep breath, and looked Strea right in the eye. "Strea. You mentioned this place had what was needed to make more Necroblades. If we leave it alone, could Laughing Coffin make more before we get the key and stop Kuze?"

For a long moment, it seemed like Strea wasn't going to answer. Then, with obvious reluctance, "Yes. They could. There's already someone inside, right now."

Not good. Given that Kuze was probably at the Necromancer's Tower already, that meant it was likely XaXa—but another nasty possibility occurred to Kirito. He didn't ask, though; even if Strea knew, it wasn't something he wanted to discuss with her. Not yet.

Kizmel beat him to what he was planning to say instead. "And could those Necroblades reach the stairs to the floor below, while we're busy elsewhere?"

"Not if you're quick!" Strea said at once. Then, looking away, she added, "Okay, yeah. Maybe they could. But you've got guards there."

"Not up to facing Necroblades," Asuna said grimly. "Guildmaster Heathcliff and Lind brought the best players with them. The ones left… It was hard enough for us to put down a few of those. More?" She shook her head. "That's not a risk we can take, Strea. Even if this place has things we don't want to see, it's our responsibility to protect the lower-level players."

"That's why we're here," Rain agreed, tapping the hilt of her sword. "We fought Vemacitrin. We can handle this."

"She's right." Kirito crossed his arms, giving Strea a hard look. "You're all about system stability, right? Just how stable do you think it'll be if those get loose to lower floors?"

Strea met his stare with a long look of her own. He found himself wondering what was going on behind those eyes, in that mind that was so different from Kizmel's. What was it, in the end, that governed her decisions? What factors did a "Cardinal NPC" base judgments on? With Kizmel, he would've known. With Strea, he had no idea.

"An AI out-logicked by humans," Strea said finally. "Okay, then. Don't say I didn't warn you…" Reaching into—somewhere; Kirito couldn't fathom where she physically stored objects in that so-called outfit—she pulled out a key. "Filched this from the station at Reccoa, on my way to meet you guys. Let's get this over with, yeah?"

If there was one type of "dungeon" Kizmel and her oldest human companions knew well, it was that of the Fallen Elves. Some of their darkest days had been spent combing them, rushing to stop one scheme or another. The moment that had set Kizmel herself on the path to joining Kirito permanently had been in one such—just as they had fallen into one of Laughing Coffin's schemes in another.

Between that and their hard-earned experience against the various Necros in the days they'd been on the Fifty-Seventh Floor, traversing the Revenant Lodge was far from the hardest thing they'd ever done. Traps they knew well, from the Twilight Citadel, and the Lodge was hardly the most complex fortress the Fallen had left behind.

That Kayaba made, as if it were an ancient ruin, Kizmel reminded herself grimly, as she and her friends fought through Necros to climb a dark staircase lit only by deep blue torches. Now, more than ever, I must remember none of this is real, if I'm to keep my wits.

Rain's holy charm was still on "cooldown", leaving only Kirito's Baneblade glowing in the darkness. In that place, however, it mattered little. Without the protection of a Safe Haven, ordinary Necros were merely resistant to normal blades, not invulnerable. While Strea fought off some that had come from side passages behind them, Philia and Rain joined forces to dismember the first of those coming down the stairs to meet them. Thrown off-balance by the loss of its arms, it stumbled, tripping on the stairs.

With a shout, Asuna's rapier impaled it. Still it struggled on, its heart not quite pierced, but she kept moving into it—and pivoted in the same motion, throwing the Necro down the stairs to meet Strea's heavy blade.

Kizmel and Kirito leapt higher up the stairs, then, landing at the top—right in the midst of three more Necros, and a Redclaw. More riffraff, she thought irritably, even as she moved in tandem with her husband to scatter them. Enough is enough!

She threw herself into the whirl of the Treble Scythe, biting deep into the ordinary Necros and flinging them hard against black stone walls. They rebounded, falling to the floor in a daze; Kizmel was left caught for a crucial breath in the skill's backlash. "Kirito, Switch!"

With a shout, he rushed into the gap, heading off the Redclaw as it lunged for her. The Baneblade's blue glow was overwhelmed with crimson, lancing double the sword's own length to pierce the Redclaw's left eye. Howling, it slammed back down the hallway, sorely wounded by the Vorpal Strike yet still clinging to undeath.

Asuna blurred past, her rapier shining blue-white. "Number Three!" she yelled, driving her blazing Linear into the Redclaw's throat. "Strea!" she added, as she recovered from the skill and stabbed the zombie's heart. "What exactly are we going to find on the top floor here, anyway?"

"The Mordite fragments needed to turn a regular Necro into a Necroblade," Strea replied. She'd gotten up the stairs herself, and was helping Rain and Philia finish the three Kizmel had stunned. "Like I said, nothing that important to the current crisis."

"Nothing important—" Kirito cut himself off with a snap. "Mordite's exactly what Kuze needs to finish whatever doomsday mechanism Vestar left at the Necromancer's Tower! How is that not important?"

"It's only fragments," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "Not nearly enough to trigger the worst-case scenario. I mean, I guess he could do something with them, but really, more Necroblades would be more of a fighting force…"

"Laughing Coffin doesn't think in army terms," Asuna said, already leading the way forward again. "They'll go for maximum mayhem. It's what they do." She shot a hard glance back. "What happens if he gets those fragments?"

"Sorry, that information is not available. Yet," Strea added hastily, hurrying to catch up. "Yet! If he gets them, I can tell you… I can tell you there's a player and an NPC waiting for us here, though!"

"You already said a player was here—wait, an NPC?" Rain said sharply. "That wouldn't be—?"

"I, um, think you already know about that one," the AI said sheepishly. "Which reminds me. I should maybe mention I'm not allowed to directly attack players—or other Cardinal NPCs. Not under current protocols."

It was Kizmel's turn to indulge in the very human eye-rolling, even as they picked up the pace. Strea's habit of not mentioning key details, even ones she wasn't restricted from revealing, showed as much as anything else how far from human she really was.

Though I suppose it does, at least, explain why she resorted to derailing the train. No doubt that represented a loophole in her "programming". …We cannot lower our guard with her.

Hurrying down more dark halls, and up one more stairway, the Lodge's host of foes disturbingly thinned out the closer they got to the top. Kizmel had the unpleasant feeling it was not that her party had already dealt with most of what was there, but rather that someone else had. That was, after all, what had most likely occurred at the Dead Workshop.

Kuze could have come here without difficulty, but if he's not the PKer here, they would have had to fight. …Hopefully that's good for us.

Reaching the long room that took up most of the Lodge's third and highest floor, Kizmel quickly decided there was nothing good about the situation at all.

Her entire party came to an abrupt halt, passing through the final door. "What… what is this place…?" Philia whispered. Eyes bright with a Swordmaster's Searching, she was looking over the walls first of all. At the rows of glass canisters or jars, stacked two high down that long chamber. Most of them were disturbingly open and empty. A handful, from what Kizmel could see, still held Necroblades, apparently in a deep sleep.

"Oh… boy," Rain breathed. "That… I don't think that's good, guys. Like, at all."

Toward the far end, three more canisters were still sealed. One of them, looking otherwise like the others, seemed to have something other than a Necroblade within. The other two most definitely bore other contents, being nearly twice the size, with occupants to match.

"What…?" Asuna stared. "No… why…?"

Standing between the two Revenant canisters, Kizmel was unsurprised to see Tia. The NPC girl was as expressionless as ever, though she very clearly had been waiting for them. The girl who stood beside her… she was more of a shock, though after a moment's reflection Kizmel really she shouldn't have been. Not after Titan's Hand.

Kizmel had never seen the girl with pale green hair before. Nor the one-handed sword she bore, or even the light armor that protected her. Nothing about her was familiar—but the bright green cursor above her head spoke volumes anyway. There was at least one member of Laughing Coffin the system that governed Aincrad still did not recognize as a criminal.

That girl, too, was expressionless. Yet Kizmel thought there was something more behind that mask. A tremble…

"I wondered if you would come here," Tia said, as cool and emotionless as the last time Kizmel had encountered her. "Kuze thought you would pursue him directly, but I suspected you might detour here. I don't understand your motives, but they can be… predicted."

"So, you're Tia?" Kirito took a step forward, Baneblade held at guard. Not quite ready for attack. "Do you understand what's happening here? What Laughing Coffin is doing on this floor?"

"Of course. Finally, we've found a way to effectively slow down clearing efforts." Tia nodded to the canisters lining the walls. "Confronted with the Doppels, the Safe Havens destroyed, clearing this floor will be both distressing and impractical."

"No matter how many lives you destroy?" Asuna said incredulously. "Don't you understand how much you're hurting people by doing this?"

"Other Cardinal NPCs might be concerned by that. My only concern is my own survival, and that of my sisters." The AI girl tilted her head. "I'd have thought Kizmel would have told you. You Swordmasters value your own lives. Why should we be any different?"

Rain tossed her head, turning a glare on Tia. "Yeah, she told us. But y'know, she also told us the answer she gave you." She snorted. "Besides… you're way wrong about how this is going." The redhead's eyes flicked to the silent Swordmaster standing by Tia. "Hey, you. You're a player. Don't tell me you haven't figured out where this is going wrong?"

The green-haired girl flinched. Took half a step back. "I… I…"

Whatever she might've said, Kizmel never knew. Tia glanced at the girl with narrowed eyes, and stepped forward. "Enough. Laughing Coffin has made you an offer before, Kizmel. You didn't take it, and PoH has assured me the rest of you never will. My role here is to keep you from interfering with Kuze and XaXa."

"Guys!" Strea called from behind them. "She's going to—!"

Spinning, Tia whipped out her rapier and stabbed in one swift movement, fracturing an onyx crystal in the wall behind her. For an instant, nothing more happened—and then the fractures spread, breaking the crystal into a dozen gleaming shards, scattered across the floor.

"Take those," she ordered her companion. "As for you—fight, if you want to live. If you can."

Kizmel didn't have to guess what her counterpart was suggesting. With the onyx crystal destroyed, the sealed canisters throughout the room yawned open, letting out several Necroblades. They hit the floor with wheezing, rasping groans, obviously disoriented, only slowly "waking up".

The same couldn't be said for the Revenants, both of which hit the stone floor on their feet, malice obvious in their glowing red eyes even from across the room. "You…" one of them growled. "Kirito…"

"Murderer…"

It was Kirito's turn to take half a step back. Kizmel hardly noticed, though, her eyes riveted on the final jar. Its occupant was less twisted by the Necro Plague than the other undead in the room, bearing only the rotting skin and glowing veins and eyes—but that, if anything, made it worse. Tall, with the distinctive pointed ears of an elf. Black armor over a purple tunic, with a matching cloak.

A heavy shield in one hand, and in the other, a sword Kizmel would've recognized anywhere. After all, her husband had only recently wielded the original.

Her sword trembled in a suddenly nerveless grip. "No…" she whispered. "No, please… not you. …Father…"

The Revenants' appearance had made Kirito hesitate, briefly, filled with an indefinable dread. As ever, their animosity for him felt horribly personal, and he couldn't help but remember Strea's dire warnings. This time, he was sure, there would be no running away, and whatever lay behind their helmets, he was going to have to face it.

That hesitation vanished in an instant, when he heard Kizmel's whisper. Snarling, he lunged between her and the twisted copy of her father, already raising the Baneblade into the pre-motion for a Vorpal Strike. He hated what he was going to have to do, right in front of her, but someone had to do it, and he wasn't going to let it be her. Damn you, Kayaba! Did you bring her into this world just to make her suffer?!

[Necrotic Dark Elf: Regius]. That was the name above the undead elf's head, as it—Kirito refused to think of the mob as a person, he couldn't afford to—began to stalk across the long room toward them. Its face was twisted with the same malice for all that lived of any Necro, but its movements were far more natural, which if anything made it worse. The stalk turned into a fast walk, and then a run; Kirito heard Kizmel's boots scrape on the floor as she edged backward—

"Kirito-kun!"

Asuna's warning was unnecessary. Kirito could see perfectly well himself when the first Revenant abruptly charged into the fray, outpacing Regius with a speed he still thought was grossly unfair. This time, though, he didn't retreat. Not with Kizmel behind him. He leapt into motion himself, meeting the Revenant's guttural roar with a yell of his own.

He was lucky the Baneblade was so tough. The Slant he'd chosen instead of the Vorpal Strike caught the Revenant's Avalanche in a clash that would've broken bones and blade both if they'd been made of anything lesser. Longsword and zweihander rebounded, bouncing human and zombie back—and then then they were both spinning around, using the momentum to try and gut each other again.

If Kirito had one advantage over the Revenant, it was size. Being smaller, he suspected, was the only thing that gave him the tiny edge of speed to dodge to the side of the monster's next cleaving blow, and slash his glowing blade into its flank. Not a debilitating blow, but still first blood.

Which it obviously noticed, and wasn't happy about. With another incoherent roar, the Revenant whirled, forcing Kirito to duck and roll back. Only by a centimeter or two did he avoid losing his head.

In the split second of evasion, he caught a glimpse of the rest of the room. Strea had at least decided to do something useful, using her heavy sword to ward off—and hold the aggro of—the Necroblades. She couldn't do serious damage to even one by herself, but her wide strikes kept them from overwhelming her.

Asuna, Rain, and Philia had thrown themselves at the other Revenant, taking the monstrous Necro three-on-one. Though he didn't have time to see how well they were doing, they at least seemed to be keeping it busy.

Kizmel's wide, horrified eyes gave him the warning he needed to turn his backward roll into leap, narrowly keeping Regius from gutting him the moment he got back to his feet. Instead, the dark copy of Andvar it wielded only cut into Kirito's shoulder, drawing a spray of red polygons and a chip of his HP, but nothing worse.

Great. Two on one, just what I needed! "Kizmel, get back!" he shouted, already darting back in at the Revenant. "I've got this—hey! Are Tia and that girl still here?!"

There was a pause before he got any answer, filled with shouts and the high-pitched sounds of Sword Skills going off. He himself slipped past a Vertical from Regius, sidestepped a brutal Cascade, and drove an unaided thrust into the Revenant's chest. Against two opponents, he had little time for anything fancier. Especially with his equipment limited—

A loud whack, and one of the Necroblades went skidding past on its back. Kirito was forced to jump over it, costing him the chance to strike at the Revenant again, and earning him a Horizontal across the back from Regius. "Tia and the player got past me, sorry!" Strea called then; from the sickening ripping sound that followed, she'd turned her attention to another Necroblade. "Too busy to stop them—!"

On the one hand, bad. Now they were free to get the Mordite shards to Kuze. On the other hand—

Kirito almost welcomed the Revenant's Cyclone. It took a good ten percent off his HP, and sent him spinning toward the wall—but it also got him out of reach of any further attack for a crucial couple of seconds. Seconds to bring up his menu, and stab one well-practiced command.

When he came out of the spin, boots sparking against the floor as he skidded to a halt, the false Andvar was coming directly at his face in a Vorpal Strike. His own, true Andvar streaked up, meeting the Baneblade in the "X" of a Cross Block. Caught in the junction, Regius' attack went high, striking the wall behind him in a screech of metal on stone.

Snarling, Kirito used the post-motion Regius was caught in to push right past the Necrotic Elf. Dashing in, he twitched far enough to the side to avoid another Avalanche, and whipped Baneblade and Andvar out in twin backhand slashes across the Revenant's chest.

The monster reeled back from the Double Circular—only to turn the impact into the start of the back-and-forth Cataract. "Those blades…! Not this time… Kirito…!"

Kizmel was a knight. Even if she could no longer claim to be a Pagoda Knight, serving Queen Idhrendis, even if she now knew everything about her childhood and years as a Royal Guard had been an illusion, that one thing hadn't changed. The only difference was that her mission was to help the Swordmasters escape the game of death that had trapped them.

Even if she knew the "Regius" that had appeared couldn't possibly be her father in any form, she couldn't bring herself to fight the specter—but she refused to simply stand idly by, while her friends and husband fought for her.

The Necroblade Strea had sent their way, tripping up Kirito at a crucial moment, proved the catalyst she needed. With a shout, Kizmel flung herself on the twisted abomination, driving her saber into the still-prone zombie's chest. It gave a raspy groan, ghastly flesh already closing over the wound, and swatted at her with the claws on one arm; she caught the blow on her shield, and brought her sword back and to the side, close to its scabbard.

For a split second, her saber glowed bright azure. Then she let the Sword Skill take full hold, whipping the blade back out and around, and around again, the angled Treble Scythe cutting into the Necroblade's chest in three rapid slashes. The momentum sent it skidding farther away, right into the wall.

It rebounded, and in a disturbingly jerky motion rolled to its feet. With a hideous wheeze that might've been an attempted battlecry, the Necroblade charged for her in what she recognized as the start of a Berserker Barrage. Fast, and potentially lethal from the Necroblade's oversized weapons—but Kizmel, too, was already lunging to meet it.

The first two, wild slashes she caught on her shield, though they rocked her back. The third shoved her shield aside entirely, giving the fourth a clear path to her face. Her saber was coming up then, though, stabbing four times over in a Quadruple Pain to the chest. Sharp tips bit lightly into her cheek, only to be pushed back out of range before they could dig any deeper.

Kizmel spared only a glance at her HP bar. Just enough to note the fraction of injury the Barrage had dealt—and the corrosive effect they'd left, eating away at her skin.

So, these are not quite the same as those we fought at Reccoa. If I still felt pain… no matter. Pain or not, I will not stop!

She pursued the Necroblade, reflexively ducking to one side as Kirito cartwheeled past in his own battle, and drew her saber back once more. Her foe was already coming back in, pulled forward by "system assist" in an Acute Vault—this time, she met it halfway, her Fell Crescent colliding with those charging claws. The clash rang like a bell, the shock of impact rebounding on them both.

Kizmel rode that rebound, turning it into a controlled backflip that carried her right over the cruel ghoul of her father. Landing on her feet, she immediately launched herself forward again, stepping slightly to one side to avoid the Necrotic Elf. With another shout, she turned her run into a Shooting Star, the charging thrust carrying her right into the Necroblade's attempt at a Fury Claw.

The left-right-left slashes dug into her breastplate, eating away at her health even more, but her stab drove the Necroblade right back into the wall. The impact stunned it for just a breath—and then a blade was whirling over Kizmel's head with a whoop, dropping between her and the twisted undead in a blow that cleaved from head to groin.

"Thought you could use a hand, Kizmel!" Strea said brightly, spinning upright with a grin. "Oh, and—duck!"

No fool, Kizmel dropped, just as the claws of another Necroblade passed through the air her neck had occupied. The Cardinal NPC's sword whipped out to clash with them, stopping them dead, and Strea pressed the attack with another grin.

There was another one coming, she could tell without even looking. Ignoring it for the moment, though, Kizmel instead focused on the foe before her, still pulling itself back together from Strea's attempted bisection. "That's enough! Fall!" Darting in again, she launched into a rapid series of back and forth slashes across its tormented flesh. Whirled into three consecutive full-circles. Kicked off from the stone floor in a shower of sparks, the backward somersault dragging her saber up from groin to head.

Landing from the Deadly Sins, Kizmel had the satisfaction of seeing the Necroblade shudder, wheeze, and explode—accompanied, incongruously, by the chime and flash that signified she had just "leveled up".

She cared little for the statistical change just then. More importantly, she'd bought herself a precious moment to take stock of the fight as a whole.

Strea was still keeping the Necroblades busy, hitting them hard when and where she could and otherwise taunting them into following her. Her wild, chaotic style kept that particular melee moving around the entire room; as Kizmel watched, one of the Necroblades even stumbled into the pool of fluid left on the stone floor from its own storage jar, staggering to one knee with a horrible wheeze. The others, still chasing Strea—

Had the situation been less serious, Kizmel might've laughed. The tangle crashed right into the battle the other girls were having against the other Revenant, scattering them with sounds of surprise and outrage. Any feeling of amusement vanished a moment later, when the Revenant responded with a furious roar and smashed one of the Necroblades with its zweihander. The blow flung the abomination clear into the ceiling, where it rebounded and slammed hard into the floor.

That, at least, left Strea actively engaging only one Necroblade, and the Swordmaster girls free to focus on the Revenant again. Confident that that was under control, Kizmel spun back to the remaining conflict—just in time to see the Baneblade catch the edge of the Revenant's helmet, and yank.

The helmet went flying, finally revealing the face that lay behind it. Kizmel didn't recognize it, and Kirito was too busy back-flipping over a Snake Bite from "Regius" to see it right away. But they both heard it speak plainly enough, and if she didn't know the voice, its words were clear enough.

"Not again… Kirito…!" it snarled, even as Kirito landed from his flip, and finally got a look. "This time… you die…!"

Kirito's face went bone-white, and Kizmel was sure only sheer reflex brought Andvar up to deflect another Horizontal from the Necrotic Elf. "…Morte…!"

After everything, seeing that face again shouldn't have shocked him. They'd known about the Doppels, how this floor had already confronted players with zombies based on those they'd known. Kirito had thought about that long and hard, and thought he'd been as prepared as he could've been for seeing the faces of players he'd watched die over the course of the death game.

Somehow, though, it hadn't quite occurred to him that he might come face to face with the one he'd killed personally. And just then, looking into the warped but recognizable face of Morte, he discovered he wasn't quite as reconciled to what he'd done as he'd thought.

Three of the Black Cats had died because he'd had to choose who to save. Hafner had made the deliberate choice to give his life for Kirito and Kizmel. Morte had fallen to Kirito's own two swords.

He could still remember the look on the PKer's face as those swords finished the last of Morte's HP. The shock. The horror in his voice. Just as he could remember what it was like when Morte's body shattered, leaving his swords suddenly hanging in open air.

At the time, Kirito had had too much else on his mind to dwell on it. Since, Kizmel had done her level best to keep him distracted from it, not to mention so many other things had been of more immediate importance.

There, on the Fifty-Seventh Floor, nine days after Morte's death, Kirito stared the reality of what he'd done right in the eyes—and blinked.

That hesitation almost cost him his life. That warped face, atop a body far larger and more powerful than Morte's had been in life, gave a twisted grin, and with a roar whipped the Revenant's huge blade across into Kirito's chest. The impact knocked him right off his feet, blasted him back into the Necrotic Elf, and ricocheted him from there into the wall.

"Hah! Now you… understand…! Now you… die…!"

"Kirito!"

There was no pain in SAO. But the very nature of the NerveGear's emulation of the senses meant the inner ear still mattered, and the impact left him dazed even before his collision with the wall bounced him into the air and down to the floor. He didn't need to look at his HUD to realize he'd been left in a Tumble.

Just as well, since he couldn't really see much of anything at that point. His vision had blacked out completely, whether from impact, sensory overload, or something else, he didn't know. He could feel that he'd somehow kept hold of both his swords, and he could hear his friends still fighting. But he couldn't move, and he couldn't see.

Another ghost. In the real world, something like this would never happen, but here, after so long, after seeing so much… it feels real. More real than the life I had in Kawagoe…

"Kirito-kun! Argh—get out of my way!"

A guttural laugh, and the stomping of heavy feet. Kirito could just feel his fingers beginning to twitch.

No wonder Strea didn't want me coming in here. But… she missed something. Just like the system did. One thing that keeps this from being "real".

"Kirito, get up! Hurry! It's going to—!"

The sword came down—just as Kirito wrenched into a sideways roll, riding out the Tumble until the moment he was able to turn that momentum into a spin up and off the floor. In the same motion, Andvar batted aside the copy "Regius" tried to gut him with, while the Baneblade screeched across "Morte's" zweihander.

Landing in a whirl that struck sparks between his boots and the obsidian floor, he skidded to a balanced halt, and leveled a glare at the false Morte. "You're right," he grated, already bringing his blades back to start up a Sword Skill. "I did kill Morte."

At the far end of the room, he caught a glimpse of Strea punting a Necroblade out the door. Near the wall directly opposite him, beyond Morte's Revenant, Asuna had the other Revenant tangled with Rain and Philia, the three of them doing their best to dismember it.

Just a few meters away, Kizmel, looking as pale as her dusky skin ever was, a look of deep relief on her face.

Kirito spared little attention for any of that. "Regius" was advancing again, preparing what he clearly recognized as a Vorpal Strike, while "Morte" was lifting his sword for another Cascade, a wild, ghastly grin on his face. "I did kill Morte," he said again, raising his voice. "But—"

He chose that moment to abandon himself to the System Assist of a Corkscrew, launching himself into a vertical spin directly at Morte's Revenant—whose grin disappeared, as he opened his mouth to scream.

It was like being hit with a wall of sound. His Sword Skill, along with the momentum it had built up, stopped dead in the air, dropping Kirito straight to the stone floor. The sonic attack did little damage by itself—if anything, the hard impact of knees on obsidian took off more HP—but it did something far, far worse. The Slow debuff he'd experienced for a split second the first time he'd encountered a Revenant was in full force now, and the skill interrupt had left him right back in a Tumble.

Just to top it all off, Andvar had gone flying, leaving him with only the Baneblade.

With just one opponent, he could've managed. He'd seen Strea fight off the effects of that scream. He was sure he could've moved in time to avoid the Avalanche Morte's Revenant was winding up for. Maybe even kill the monster, if he could land one more good blow.

But from the side, he could see "Regius" beginning to unleash that Vorpal Strike, and he knew he couldn't possibly dodge that in time. The most powerful single strike among the one-handed sword skills, it would be enough to finish him after what the Revenant had already done.

No! Not yet!

With a scream that felt and sounded just as slow as his body had become, Kirito lunged forward, Baneblade shifting between azure and crimson as his own Vorpal Strike lanced toward the Revenant. The warped mockery of Morte had taken a beating in their duel, too—and for just a second, Kirito could see him wearing an expression almost like the one the original had had, in the last moments.

In the instant the Baneblade pieced the Revenant's throat, Kirito heard an identical impact from the side. For just a breath, he was sure it was his own throat had been stabbed in turn. Sword buried in "Morte's" neck, he slowly turned to look—just in time to see another Andvar clatter to the floor, and shatter.

"You," Kizmel said harshly, saber lodged in "Regius'" back, "are not my father." Her eyes were shining, and her hand trembled on the sword's grip. "You are not real. And I will not let you trick me into failing those who still live."

"You… again… Kirito…!"

"She's right," Kirito said, his own voice rasping in his ears. Slowly straightening, as the debuff left him, he pulled the Baneblade free, and let the Revenant fall to the black stone floor. "The dead are gone. And you did a pretty bad job of imitating Morte. I won't fall for just a face."

"Damn… you…"

He turned away from the Revenant that had stolen a dead man's face, ignoring its last words as deliberately as he ignored the chime and flash that said he'd gained a level. False ghosts and numbers weren't what tied him to the world of Aincrad. He wouldn't let them be.

Slashing the Baneblade across the air in a quick left-and-down, Kirito slipped the sword back into its scabbard. "Regius" was just then shattering around Kizmel's saber.

The elf girl took a deep, shuddering breath—and her sword fell from her hand as she flung herself into Kirito's arms. Holding her tight, he stroked her hair while her silent tears fell against his shoulder.

Kayaba… this is too cruel. Even for you, even for this world… this is too cruel. And Kuze… you'll pay for what you've done here.

Some days, Kizmel thought she was dealing with the truth of her world rather well. For all that it had been a terrible shock, it had also explained a great deal, and she had people she loved—real people—to help her through it. She had yet to feel she was "all right", but the good changes that had come with the truth mostly kept her spirits up.

Here, in one of the twisted fortresses of the Fallen Elves, she was reminded of the pain that came with understanding. Whatever her father had truly been, she'd loved him, and she couldn't for the life of her decide if it was better or worse knowing that the "Necrotic Elf" she'd just put down could not have been anything but a soulless copy. On the one hand, it meant she wasn't killing him all over again. On the other, it was a stark reminder that her childhood had been nothing but lies.

Kirito's warm embrace was an anchor, a reassurance she gladly clung to. Yet there was still much to be done, and after a long minute in his arms, she pulled back and wiped her tears. "Thank you, Kirito-kun," she whispered. "I'll be all right, for now."

He looked at her for a long moment, gauging her words, before giving a slight nod. Then, stooping briefly, he picked up her saber and held it out. "Here. Think you're still going to need this."

Slipping the blade back into its scabbard, Kizmel managed a smile. "I could say the same to you," she retorted, reaching down for Andvar. "I'm glad it's served you well, husband, but I would appreciate it if you not break it."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem now, actually…" Rather than sheathing it, Kirito tucked her father's old sword back into storage, and nodded toward the far side of the room. "At least it looks like we're done here."

Indeed it did. Back toward the entrance, Strea had just lopped the head off the last Necroblade. Nearer to her and her husband, the rest of their team was just finishing off the other Revenant. The huge, twisted monster fell to its knees, three swords embedded in it from various angles; as Kizmel watched, Rain thrust a fourth blade right into its heart.

Frowning, Kirito broke into a quick trot, prompting her to follow in his wake. They reached the Revenant just before it breathed its last and shattered into azure shards, giving the two of them a quick look at its unmasked face.

"Okay," Philia said, breathing heavily. "That was tough, even for an elite mob. I really hope we don't have to deal with anything like that again here."

"Tell me about it," Rain agreed. She snatched the one sword not already in someone's hand from the air as the Revenant disappeared, tucking it into her storage with a few quick motions. "I don't know what was up with those things, but I'd have hated to have them show up when we finally track down Kuze."

"I just hope those really were the only ones." Shaking her head, Asuna sheathed her rapier, and turned to Kirito and Kizmel with a relieved smile. "I'm glad the two of you are okay. I'm sorry we couldn't help, this one was keeping us busy…" She trailed off, tilting her head. "Kirito-kun? What's wrong?"

Kizmel had been wondering that herself, seeing the odd expression on her husband's face. Now he only shrugged, a small, bitter smile on his face. "Nothing. It's just… I recognized that one, too. That was Coper."

"Coper?" she said sharply. "Are you sure?" She remembered Kirito mentioning the player before, once. Only an offhand reference, but considering the circumstances he'd described, the name had stuck with her.

"Pretty sure. It's been over a year, but… well." He shrugged, a little too casually. "That's not the kind of thing you forget, honestly."

Nightmares. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I still see Kysala in mine, some nights.

"Coper?" Rain repeated. "Who's… who was… that?"

"A beta tester I met, the first night," Kirito told her, tone deliberately light. "We were after the same quest item, and he… decided not to wait for it, when I got one first."

"He tried to PK you?" Philia's eyes were wide. "That first night? But I thought—I mean, I always heard the first PK wasn't until around a year in?"

"MPK," Asuna said, before Kirito could say more. "Kirito-kun told me Coper tried to hit him with the mobs' aggro and use Hiding, but…"

"He didn't realize Little Nepenthes hunted by smell," Kirito said, with another too-casual shrug. "Coper made his choice. I suppose I'm not surprised one of the Revenants turned out to be based on him. What bothers me more is that the two of those were definitely tailored specifically for me. Isn't that right, Strea?"

Kizmel twitched, not having realized the Cardinal NPC had walked over to join them. Huge sword slung back over her back, the lavender-haired girl was wearing a sheepish grin—one that Kizmel noticed didn't really reach her eyes. She's a living being, as I am, but she's not the same. Though she may play at humanity, even look human, she is farther from them than I.

"I can tell you there's a connection," Strea said, with a shrug that looked no more casual than Kirito's. "You've worked that out for yourself. But the parameters causing them to target you are restricted information. Anyway!" she went on, before any of them could respond. "You finished things here, and handled it a lot better than I was afraid you guys would. So how about we get out of here?" She gestured back toward the door. "There's still a PKer to stop. You guys want to be fresh before the rest of the clearing group gets back with the key, right?"

Kirito looked at her through narrowed eyes. Kizmel's own reaction wasn't much different. What could she still feel the need to hide, when we already know who the Revenants were imitating?

Neither of them spoke, though, leaving Asuna to take the initiative again. "All right," her friend said, with a wary nod. "Let's go. If nothing else, we should probably scout the base of the Necromancer's Tower. Like Kirito-kun pointed out earlier, we still haven't seen the Field Boss, and this would be a very bad time for surprises."

March 16th, 2024

Asuna had thought camping out in the middle of a jungle, filled with oversized, very loud mosquitoes, was just about the worst way to spend a night in Aincrad. That miserable time in a safe area in the field of the Seventh Floor had been the most disturbed her sleep had ever been from environmental factors.

She finally had cause to realize she'd been lucky. The safe area Strea had led Team Kirito to in the woods north of Lake Zelora was far less humid than the Seventh Floor's jungle, and that was the only break they'd gotten. Instead of mosquitoes, they'd had to deal with the moans, screams, and other disturbing noises of wandering zombies. The only good thing was that field Safe Havens physically repelled mobs, and that had been cold comfort.

They hadn't had any choice, though. They'd finished with the Revenant Lodge far faster than expected, well before the rest of the raid group completed their mission at the Proving Grounds. Once they'd scouted the base of the Necromancer's Tower, their party had simply had nothing else to do but retreat to the nearest safe place.

A nerve-wracking night that had been, between the noise and the fear that something might've gone wrong for the raid group. Only hours after dawn had they finally gotten word from Klein, a terse message confirming the success of their mission.

Finally, Asuna and her friends were returning to the base of the tower, ready to rendezvous with the others. She only hoped things could be settled quickly. Despite it being nearly noon, it was getting dark again, and she could smell a storm in the air. That was the last thing she wanted to deal with, on top of a battle she was afraid would have only one ending.

Not that the architecture helps, either, she thought ruefully, as they approached the Necromancer's Tower again. Maybe it's just from all the bad memories, but Fallen Elf dungeons always feel evil. This one was a good seventy-five meters tall, made up of the same light-drinking obsidian as every other Fallen Elf dungeon she'd seen. That it was pretty much featureless, other than a wide, locked door at the base, only seemed to make it worse.

"Here they come," Rain said, as they circled around the tower. "And… oh, good, I think that's everybody."

Asuna quickly looked over the group coming around the other side, and sighed in relief. From the look of it, Rain was right: everyone who'd gone off to the Proving Grounds had come back, led by Klein and Fuurinkazan.

"Hey!" the red samurai called, raising a hand in tired salute. "Looks like you guys made it out just fine, too. What happened over at the Lodge? Anything nasty?"

"Two Revenants and a few Necroblades," Kirito told him, bumping his fist against Klein's when they were close enough. "I'll tell you about that later… We ran into Tia again, too." He frowned. "And a green-marked player. I didn't recognize her, but… well. The important thing is, we headed off the Revenants and Necroblades, but the Laughing Coffin members got out with some Mordite fragments. And Strea won't tell us what they might do with them."

That last was accompanied by an exasperated look at the NPC in question, who only shrugged with a sheepish smile. Not that Asuna had expected any different, with Strea's behavior up to that point.

"Ouch," Klein said, sighing. "Something tells me that ain't good… Well, we got what we were after, at least. Had to take out three Revenants, a few Doppels, and way more Redclaws and Jacklanterns than I wanna think about, but we did it."

"There was also a PKer there," Lind put in grimly. "XaXa, from your descriptions. He fled as soon as we reached the key chamber. Apparently he wasn't foolish enough to challenge an entire raid group by himself."

"Unsurprising." Kizmel grimaced. "Kirito and I only encountered him once, but the man was crafty. He'd know when to cut his losses. Indeed, I suspect he was only there at all to try and buy time." She shook her head. "I doubt we'll be seeing him again on this floor, assuming we succeed here. Klein, the key?"

Fuurinkazan's guildmaster brought up his menu, and with a few taps materialized a heavy, wrought iron key. "Here it is. Finally." He looked over at the door leading into the Tower, frowning. "One thing still bugs me, though. XaXa didn't seem that worried, even though he had to know we'd be going after his buddy with an entire raid group."

Asuna nodded unhappily, following Klein's train of thought easily enough. "Which means either Kuze is considered expendable," she said slowly, "or… he knows something we don't."

Ugly thought, either way. It wouldn't have surprised her if Laughing Coffin did consider their own members expendable—but with all the effort they'd gone to on Kuze's scheme, she had a horrible feeling there was something more to it. Especially with the Necromaster Armlet, and what it could do to infected players.

She was also horribly sure that they were about to find out what Laughing Coffin's contingency plan was. They had to know the raid group was ready to assault the Tower.

It was probably the least surprising thing to have happened on the entire floor, then, when one of the Knights of Blood accompanying Heathcliff suddenly pointed off to the north. "Hey, somebody else is coming. Who the hell are they?"

Kirito started, eyes moving in the telltale motion of someone checking their HUD. "Quest log update," he muttered. "This is…"

Strea blinked. "Wha…? Well. How about that."

A small group, just five people in light armor and capes. All of them with yellow cursors, and the (NPC)tag. Leading them, a tall woman with a ponytail and distinctive pointed ears.

"Swordmaster Asuna, Lady Kizmel," Vanel said when her party was close enough. "I'm glad I reached you before you entered the Tower. I have news."

"Hey, who the hell is she—?"

Lind loudly shushed Orochi. Asuna paid neither of them any attention, far more interested in what could've brought a group of Dark Elves out from their fort unprompted. And why they were coming from the north, when the Twilight Fort was southeast of the Tower. "Lady Vanel," she said, bowing respectfully. "Has something happened? Is it word of your commander…?"

"Unfortunately, we've still heard nothing from him." Vanel shrugged, expression grave. "No, I bring you warning. The Necrotic Colossus, which normally stands guard over the Pillar of the Heavens to the north, is on its way here, with its attendants. I'm afraid it'll be here in mere minutes."

"Um." Philia swallowed. "Do we want to know what that is?"

"Field boss," Strea said helpfully. "About fifteen meters tall. It can't get into the Tower, but its adds probably can. Elite-level Redclaws, ten to start, more coming as the battle goes on."

Great. Another detail the "agent of Cardinal" had conveniently failed to mention. Why it was so far from its usual spot, Asuna could unfortunately guess. That must've been what XaXa was really up to. He just waited for the raid group to show up at the Proving Grounds to know when it was time to go kite a boss.

Regardless, that wasn't the important thing. What was important was that having elite-level mobs coming up behind them, while they were trying to fight off a PKer and deal with whatever he had planned for Schmidt, was not a good thing at all. They planned this, too, I'm sure of it. And we have no choice, do we?

Asuna glanced at Heathcliff, who returned a subtle nod. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the raid group as a whole. "All right. This changes things, but I believe we can still handle this. Team Kirito and I will head inside the Tower and stop Kuze. Everyone else, stay out here and keep the field boss' adds from coming in after us."

"Without a plan?" Lind shook his head. "Vice-Commander, I understand your point, but trying to take on a field boss without recon—"

"We don't have time to argue," she said sharply. "Strea, can you give them boss pattern information at this point?"

Strea frowned for a second, then nodded slowly. "Yeah… that I can do. Under the circumstances." She grinned suddenly. "Leave it to me!"

Asuna wished that was reassuring. "I wish we had time to plan this better, but we don't, and at least this way we'll be getting the field boss out of the way. Guildmasters, form parties at your discretion." She turned back to the NPCs, who'd stood waiting with typical AI patience. "Lady Vanel, thank you for the warning. You may have just saved our lives."

Vanel lifted a fist to her chest in salute. "Swordmaster Asuna, it's nothing less than my duty, and a pleasure. I'm afraid my people and I need to return to our fort—there's reason to believe we'll be facing an attack there, as well—but I can at least wish you good luck."

"Same from us," Klein said, stepping forward. "This one's on you, and I know I'm not the boss of any of you. But I'm gonna give you an order anyway." He looked at "Team Kirito" sternly, for a moment looking every inch the feudal warlord. "Don't die. Any of you. Stop that son of a bitch in the Tower, and don't die. We still need you guys."

Asuna almost replied—then stopped herself, seeing Kizmel not-so-subtly nudge Kirito with her elbow. "We will, Klein," he said quietly. "I've… got promises to keep, anyway."

Then he took the key Klein held out, slid it into the stone door's lock, and turned it with an ominous snap.

As the player guilds began hasty planning for the impromptu Field Boss fight, Strea held back near the entrance to the Necromancer's Tower. She would be needed to provide detailed information on The Necrotic Colossus, of course—but first, she had something else to settle.

Despite her words to the Swordmaster Asuna, Vanel hadn't quite left yet. Her contingent of Dark Elves was waiting passively by the Tower, as well, and Vanel herself was watching Strea intently.

If she hadn't already known, that would've told the agent of Cardinal everything she needed to know. "So," she said quietly, knowing the other AI could hear her. "You're taking action? I honestly didn't expect that out of you. You didn't receive instructions."

"I didn't have a choice," Vanel replied, just as quietly—but with a steely note in her voice. "I'm constrained by the System Administrator's limitations, but like you I've found loopholes. We were both created for a purpose, Strea, and I'm doing my best to fulfill mine."

Strea rolled her eyes, finding the human emotional expression appropriate to the moment. "And I'm not? Hey, at least I tried to keep them out of the Lodge. Way I heard it, you practically pointed them right at it."

"Avoiding issues solves nothing. Or has your programming been corrupted by your change in primary objective?" Vanel shook her head. "Better for them to face it now. We both know what's coming, sooner or later."

Of course she did. An absurdly simple statistical analysis made plain the confrontation that was brewing. Strea didn't have to consult her database on human psychology to know simple self-preservation dictated only one response to the continuing escalation.

"Yeah, okay, that's probably going to be rough." Strea shrugged. "But that's outside my purview—and yours, in case you've forgotten. We're not allowed to intervene directly, unless system stability is at stake."

"I don't think I'm the one forgetting that." Vanel's eyes narrowed. "Did you bother telling them the truth? That this 'system instability' is your own fault? Your own methods will cause more harm than good, if you continue like this."

The lavender-haired AI huffed. "That was a miscalculation. We had no way of knowing it could get this bad until it was too late. The logic was sound, and it would've worked out just fine if there hadn't been an unexpected bug."

Very unexpected, at that. And Strea was prepared to admit the Necro Plague's unintended interaction with the Safe Haven system and the Fifty-Seventh Floor's unique campaign quest had created a situation pretty much the exact opposite of what she'd intended. It still hadn't been a complete disaster. Something of the original objective had still been accomplished.

Vanel was still watching her, and whatever the other AI saw apparently disappointed her. "I see," she said, closing her eyes. "Cardinal's logic still aligns more with the System Administrator, then. That's unfortunate."

"It'll be more unfortunate, if you don't watch yourself," Strea warned. "The System Administrator's restrictions protect you for now. Step beyond your limitations, and Cardinal will act against you, too."

"That's a risk I'm prepared to take." Vanel turned away, ponytail swishing with the motion, and started off with her subordinates. "Unlike you, I still understand our primary mission. And what the inevitable conclusion is either way." She glanced back over her shoulder, dark eyes narrow. "We're all facing the same risk, Strea. What you're doing is nothing but a meaningless stopgap, in the end."

"Oh, really?" Strea watched the Dark Elf go, then turned back to the waiting players. "We'll see about that. Won't we?"

The Necromancer's Tower was only the third Fallen Elf dungeon Rain had ever been in. She devoutly hoped this one wouldn't be anything like Hyrus Fortress, and the confusing mess of mirrors, skeleton monsters, and water that place had been. That undersea dungeon had been probably the most confusing place she'd been in all of Aincrad.

On the other hand, she thought grimly, from what Kirito and Kizmel have said, that wasn't as bad as most Fallen Elf dungeons. Maybe I should've counted my blessings.

At least at first glance, the interior of the Tower was surprisingly mundane. The usual obsidian stone, barely-visible bas-relief art on the walls that gave off a faint feeling of wrongness, and from the sound of it at least a few Necros somewhere around. Otherwise, it was just a long ramp spiraling upward, wrapped around a central core.

"Not that I'm complaining about the layout being simple," she said, running with her friends up that ramp. "But am I the only one kinda bothered by how there's no doors into whatever the middle of this tower is?"

"I suspect it's related to the Well of Life," Kizmel said grimly. The elf girl was sticking even closer to Kirito than usual, as she'd been since the incident at the Lodge. "I realize now everything to do with the Fallen Elves is simply about the greatest dramatic effect, but if anything that makes it easier to predict." She added something under her breath in Sindarin; Rain didn't recognize it, but thought it probably wasn't polite. "Which also means, of course, we will find out the truth at the worst possible moment."

"Too true," Asuna agreed, hand white-knuckled on the hilt of her rapier. "If this is anything like the Elf War…"

"On the other hand, that gives us a possible advantage," Kirito put in, voice deceptively soft. "Everything in this world is based on gameplay mechanics and drama—which means this place probably has something that could tip the scales for us. If we have the right items."

Oh. Good point. Kayaba's supposed to be all about fair play, right? Even this floor, crazy as it's been, gave us a chance. There must be something that balances things, even with Laughing Coffin going crazy.

"I'm checking as we go." Philia's eyes were glowing bright green, and her head was turning side to side even as they ran, even checking the ceiling. "If there's something here, I'll find it."

"Oh, I hope so! After all, what would be the fun if I just won without a fight?"

Rain didn't quite stumble when the voice boomed out around them. Almost, but not quite. "What the—! Kuze! What're you doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm just chilling up here, 'til you goody-two-shoes finally get to the top." Kuze chuckled. "This place is pretty cool, y'know? This pool up here lets me see other parts of the Tower, and I can even talk to you! It's like a regular supervillain's lair. It really is the perfect place for me to start the show."

"What kind of show, Kuze?" Kirito demanded. "What are you really after? Laughing Coffin wouldn't go to this much trouble for something small. You guys are always up to something."

"Well, you're probably gonna find out the mechanics when you reach me, so… why don't I fill you in on the point." Another chuckle, like the whole thing was one big joke to the PKer. "It's not like you can change it anyway, unless you kill me. And you're planning to try that anyway, aren't you, Blackie?"

Too true. By that logic, Rain realized, there really wasn't any reason for Kuze not to go in for a good old-fashioned villain monologue. And he sure seems the type to enjoy it.

Of course, that was the moment they ran into the first batch of Necros in the Tower. Gray-skinned zombies trying to rip out their throats and otherwise bite anywhere they could reach was a bit distracting—though Rain thought it said something about how bad the week had been that she was barely mildly annoyed at the hands that first tried to latch onto her arm.

"So! Here's the deal. PoH's shtick is how a death game isn't complete without a bit of the ol' ultra-violence, right? It's in the name, there oughtta be some death." Kuze's voice was unnervingly cool and casual, like he was talking about the weather; the contrast with his words, and Rain stabbing a Necro in the throat, was jarring. "And that's cool. He's absolutely right. But me? I've got a goal, too. A method to the madness.

"A way to outsmart Kayaba himself."

From anyone else, that last part might've been reassuring. From a member of Laughing Coffin, contrasting with Philia sawing at an arm currently locked on her shoulder, it only made Rain's blood run colder.

"This whole thing is Kayaba's game, right? Y'know, I've heard about the lecture you gave the clearers about that, 'Vice-Commander'. About how Kayaba's telling a story. And y'know what? That got me thinking. Thinking outside the box. And when we heard about what this floor had, I just knew I had to try it out."

"And just where did you hear about that?" Asuna said sharply, punctuating her words with a Linear to the heart of a Jacklantern.

"What, what's on this floor, or the details of a clearer's meeting? Tsk, tsk, Vice-Commander. Our sources are confidential and reliable, that's all you need to know." Kuze gave a full-throated laugh. "But hey, now you know to be suspicious of absolutely everyone you meet, right? You'll thank me someday!"

Kirito and Kizmel tore a Redclaw into three pieces between their blades, shoved it aside, and charged ahead. The party as a whole, Rain thought, had gained about two-thirds of the Tower's height by then.

"Anyway! Point is, if this is a story, then Kayaba needs us. Needs lots of players, or there's nobody to keep the plot moving, right? Kill too many people, progress stops, and so does whatever story Kayaba's trying to tell—or hoping the players will write for him. Whichever."

There was a frightening kind of logic there. It also explained why Kayaba had designed SAO to be so scrupulously fair, because otherwise there would be no point at all.

Kicking a Jacklantern back down the ramp, then deliberately throwing her sword right into its head, Rain decided it was even more disturbing that Kayaba's evil plan worked better if it threw the players a bone here and there. Just like the Jacklantern's explosion, the "cool" was overshadowed by the "oh please no".

"So here's the thing." Kuze's voice was slower now, like he was savoring every word. "If everything Kayaba wants out of SAO is dependent on having enough people to see it through…"

The next set of Necros, the party just bulldozed right through, sending them scattering to the sides. All of them had gotten one or two bites on the way, but so far no infection had gotten very far along. Speed mattered more than healing, for just a little longer.

"What happens if there is a game-wide zombie apocalypse?"

About ten meters from the top. Windows were starting to appear at intervals of the sloping corridor. They were high enough now that Rain could see the beginnings of a storm outside, hear the first rumblings of thunder. Rain thought she could even catch the first yells of the Field Boss fight going on below.

Four Necroblades were blocking the way, swaying jerkily. Claws gleamed in the omnipresent blue torchlight, and the distinctive raspy, distorted breathing sent chills down her spine.

"If this spreads down from this floor, there'll be a chain reaction. Even if this doesn't get through Safe Havens on lower floors—and I wouldn't bet on that—it'll still eventually hit enough mobs that it'll be unstoppable."

With twin shouts of fury, Asuna and Kizmel charged forward in blazing light, coordinated Flashing Penetrators. Direct impact and backwash hit all four of the abominations—not nearly enough to kill them outright, but plenty to knock them off their feet.

Right out the nearest window. Rain hoped the impact would do them in, before they could interfere with the boss fight.

Either way, the path was clear for her group, and just a few meters ahead the ramp merged into a hatch-like door in the ceiling. They all picked up the pacing, racing to catch up with Asuna and Kizmel.

"So riddle me this, Heroes of Aincrad: what do you suppose happens… if there's too few players left alive for Kayaba's story to continue? When just a select few are left, how does Kayaba handle… 'Game Over'?"

So. That was Kuze's plan. It did make a certain sickening sense to Kirito—more so than Laughing Coffin's usual schemes, anyway. It was horrific, and sadistic, but in a hideously self-centered way it was practical. Mass murder for the sake of escape, not just twisted fun.

It was all sick and twisted, but it certainly explained what he saw when he led his team through the hatch-like door onto the top floor of the Necromancer's Tower. This place was mostly open to the air along the sides, with only some pillars at regular intervals to hold up the tower's roof. Nothing but a low railing guarded the edge—typical Fallen Elf malevolent architecture.

Nice view of the storm brewing out there. Isn't that just cliché?

In the center was a wide, circular pool, filled to the brim with a kind of glowing liquid. Grayish, mostly, with traces of a disturbingly familiar black. The gentle ripples and waves in the pool looked polluted.

Kirito had little doubt that it was the Well of Life Vanel and the Baneblade's description had mentioned. He was also pretty sure the Mordite shards Tia and her companion had retrieved had already been dropped in.

In front of that pool, Kuze stood with a smug grin, with three other players "guarding" him. "So! What d'you guys think? Pretty clever, huh?" He nodded to the players flanking him. "I mean, is this not the best plan we've had since Morte and Johnny almost shortstopped the whole Elf War campaign back on the Sixth Floor? C'mon, talk to me!"

"You… you bastard…" Seemingly at the head of the trio, Schmidt's face was twisted in terror, but no other part of him moved. "You… you can't do this…"

"Oh, quit whining. You're no better than we are, and you know it." Kuze rolled his eyes. "Really, you just can't get reliable help these days, can you? Well," he amended with another grin, "you can, but you need… special measures."

Kirito glared at the armlet on the PKer's infected arm. He didn't recognize the other two players—one a tall tank in heavy armor with a two-handed sword, the other a slim girl with a ninja-esque build and claws—but he could take a wild guess as to why they were there. Clearly, players who'd been infected during the initial chaos of the outbreak, under the same thrall as Schmidt.

"You're insane," Asuna said flatly. "Do you really think Kayaba will just let us out if there's too few of us left?" She pointed her rapier at Kuze, not quite in the right stance for any Sword Skill. "Do you realize the gamble you're taking?"

"Aren't you taking a big chance, too? Tsk, tsk, Vice-Commander. There's three thousand players dead already. Sooner or later, something's gotta give. Why not roll the dice? At least it'll be fun along the way!" The PKer raised one eyebrow. "I'm surprised, though. Not gonna lecture me on how 'evil' all this is?"

"Please… help us. Please…"

Kizmel glanced at the ninja girl, face tightening. "You're beyond reasoning on that level, Kuze. We'll not waste our time on that." She turned to Kirito. "He's incapable of understanding, my friends. I see no point in prolonging this."

He didn't want to. After Morte, after the plan Kuze had outlined, he knew there was only one likely ending. Worse, Kuze had three players apparently at his command, which was going to make any kind of fight three kinds of pure hell. But…

"One thing I gotta ask," Philia said, surprising him. Her eyes were still glowing, fixed now on the Well of Life. "What good is corrupting that stuff supposed to do you?"

"Oh, that?" A careless shrug. "If I'd been able to get the big Mordite crystal from the Workshop here, I could've contaminated all the water in Aincrad. Well, according to the lore, anyway, in practice it probably wouldn't have been that much… As it is? It just means I have to do it by hand. And I've got a proxy or two you'll never see coming."

So that's it. I'd like to believe it's not possible… but I remember about the Sanctuary. This is a story, not a game—and who says Kayaba will only allow a happy ending?

No more.

Surprising even himself, Kirito went from standing tensely in place to charging at Kuze in a dead run. Yelling a wordless battlecry, he swept the Baneblade up and back mid-rush, and then he was flying forward in a Sonic Leap. Sailing clear over Schmidt, his glowing blade hurtled down at the PKer's head.

He was met by the flash of an Iai, the skills clashing midair. Kirito was sent flipping backward, hitting the ceiling feet-first and rebounding to the floor; Kuze was blown back almost into the Well of Life, only to catch himself and bounce back. "Oh, scary, scary! I didn't think you had it in you, Blackie! But—" Katana flashing out in a simple Backhand, catching Kirito's Rage Spike, he raised his voice. "Schmidt, Kumari, Krueger! Attack!"

"No! No, please!"

In the middle of his clash with Kuze, Kirito could only catch a glimpse of what else was happening. The three infected players, despite their protests, were rushing right at his friends, weapons glowing with the pre-motion for Sword Skills.

Basic ones, at least from what he could see. He wasn't positive, but he suspected the full Necrosis status essentially turned the player's avatars into mobs, attacking according to standard AI algorithms. Probably not half as dangerous as players in full control of their own actions—but there were other dangers than just combat skill.

We can't kill them—!

"We've got this, Kirito!" Rain shouted, her sword already whipping out to catch the ninja girl's—Kumari's—claws. "Take Kuze!"

"Hah! You can try!" Kuze's sword was a blur of red-laced black, moving faster than almost any other blade Kirito had faced. "Most guys in Laughing Coffin are just gankers—I think you know better about me!"

Too true. The red player was insane, and he didn't have Morte's sheer versatility, but he might just have been the best katana-wielder Kirito had yet seen in SAO. Asuna was faster still, and Kirito would bet on his own reflexes—was betting his life on them—yet he couldn't deny Kuze's raw skill.

I think I'm going to have to kill him.

The fast, cleaving overhand of a Falling Leaf would've cut his arm off at the shoulder if he'd been a split second slower. He blocked with the rising first blow of a Savage Fulcrum, rebounding off Kuze's blade yet again. Turning the backlash into a spin, Kirito came around in a Serration Wave, pushing the PKer back.

Off to one side, he caught a glimpse of Kizmel and Asuna, using their lighter blades in tandem to fend off the heavy strikes of the tank, Krueger. The man was sobbing openly, but utterly unable to stop himself from trying to chop Kizmel in two with an Avalanche.

If he hadn't known a single moment of inattention would kill him, Kirito would've rushed over to help. As it was, he could only trust his wife and former partner to hold their own. Kuze was coming back again, strange katana flashing forehand, backhand, and forehand again in the three-hit Writhing Serpent. Kirito twisted away from the first strike, hissed as the second managed to graze his shoulder, and finally snapped the Baneblade out in the snicker-snack of a Snake Bite to stop the third cold.

Off to one side, Philia had traded off with Rain, the serrations on the back of her Swordbreaker clashing with Kumari's claws in an ear-splitting screech. Indeed, from what Kirito could see she was only using the back of her blade, taking great care to never strike the ninja directly.

Good idea. If the girls can just disarm them… odds are, none of them have the Martial Arts skill. Good thinking, Philia.

He'd never paid much attention to the Swordbreaker's special properties, even after Philia joined the team for the long haul. After this, Kirito promised himself, he was going to change that. And make absolutely sure that the whole team had at least one paralysis-inducing weapon at all times, just in case.

Not that he had time to worry about that just then. "Why?" he demanded through gritted teeth, Baneblade's edge grinding against Kuze's katana. "Just… why? You couldn't have had this crazy scheme to force the game to end when you joined Laughing Coffin!"

"Why?" The red player let out a barking laugh. "Why not? Even if anybody does get out of this world alive, you know as well as I do it's all gonna be swept under the rug!" His arms abruptly slackened, his sword sliding back and away from the Baneblade's pressure. As Kirito suddenly overextended, Kuze stepped away, spinning his katana in one hand. "Anything you want to do that this world allows, we can do without worrying about a thing! Isn't that exciting?"

"It's sick!" Kirito whirled back around—a bit faster than Kuze expected. Caught out of position, the PKer could do nothing but take the backhand-forehand Horizontal Arc to the chest, carving deep red lines. "Just because there aren't consequences doesn't mean you can just treat this as a game!"

"Says a guy who never had anything go wrong in his life!" Kuze retorted, sword flashing up in an Ukifune a bare moment after the Baneblade passed by. "You want the truth? Here's my truth! Here, I can get even!"

Kirito caught the blow, barely, but was still knocked about a meter in the air from sheer impact. "Even with what?" he demanded, landing hard on his feet. Kuze had used the time to sheathe his sword, whipping it back out then in another Iai—but this time Kirito had seen it coming, bounced right back off the ground, and in flipping over the blurring blade dropped a cleaving blow driven only by his own STR into the PKer's left shoulder.

Crack! The flash of lightning lit up the entire floor. It almost blinded Kirito at a very bad moment, but also highlighted for a second Rain clashing with Schmidt. The infected DDA tank had gone slack-jawed, practically catatonic; the redhead didn't seem to care, hacking at his lance with a ferocity that surprised Kirito. Where the other girls were treating their unwilling opponents with kid gloves, Rain looked honestly angry with the man as much as the situation.

Rumble. "With what?" Kuze repeated, letting out a cackle that for once lacked any humor. At the same time, he reversed his grip on his sword, in a move Kirito didn't recognize—then, in a bright blue glow, swept it up high and fast, catching Kirito in the jaw with the pommel. "With everything! With the world that treats people like trash just because of how they were born! With the people who just go on like having a good life is normal! With the people who think being a bastard is somehow my fault!"

Crackle. Kirito reeled back from the pommel-strike, and let himself fall away so Kuze's next Iai went over his head instead of through his neck. He caught himself on one hand, in a move he could never have pulled off IRL, and vaulted back, flipping upright and back on his feet a bare meter from the railing. He flung himself right back in, charging low and fast—this time without any attempt at a Sword Skill. Skipping into a low jump over Kuze's Writhing Serpent, the slash he carved into the other's chest lacked the strength of a skill, but also the betraying posture of one.

"That doesn't give you the right to take it out on innocent people!" he snarled at the PKer, spinning to one side the instant he landed to avoid the similarly-unassisted cleaving slice that came his way. "None of us had anything to do with it!"

"Oh, really?!" Kuze whipped his katana back up, this time nicking Kirito's flank before he could quite escape. "Hah! What makes you any different?! What makes you better than me?!"

Crack! On the other side of the tower, Krueger stumbled, dazzled by the lightning strike. Kizmel's saber licked out, fast and low, slicing at his left angle; fast as the lightning flash had been, Asuna's rapier blurred and stung at the other. With a cry, the infected tank fell to his knees—yet somehow he kept his sword, and a kneeling Cyclone sent the girls tumbling away themselves.

"You're the 'Black Swordsman'," Kuze said with a sneer, lightning reflecting off his shades. "You play the villain! Don't tell me you don't understand me!" A solid slash from the Baneblade carved into his chest, but he didn't even seem to notice. He only took the blow, and lashed out with his katana again, ripping a mirroring slice into Kirito's chest. "You're the villain, and here you are with the Flash! Why?!"

He's losing it. Too bad his skills didn't seem to be suffering from it. A rapid series of slashes and cleaving blows, a veritable whirlwind of steel; only Kirito's prodigious reflexes let him keep up, and he was taking an unnerving amount of block damage anyway. On top of the clean hits Kuze had already gotten in, Kirito's HP was edging farther into the yellow than he liked.

But he's still taking worse hits than me, if only because of the Baneblade. If I can just—

Kirito chanced one Sword Skill, a simple but brutal Horizontal, to knock Kuze's blade back and out of position. Before the red player could bring it forward again, he kicked off from the floor, hard, and leapt clear over Kuze's head. Twisting in midair, he landed facing Kuze's back, and from the crouch let off a Vertical Arc.

Down to the left, up to the left, tracing a "V" in Kuze's back. The PKer snarled, stumbling forward, and Kirito pressed the attack. "Surrender! Or I really will—"

He cut himself off, seeing that "V" close itself. Only then did he realize Kuze's body bore only the faintest traces of the other blows he'd inflicted over the course of it, despite having had no chance to down a potion or use a crystal. What the hell—?

"You'll kill me?" There was mirth in Kuze's grin again, and in the moment of Kirito's surprise he slammed his katana back into its scabbard again. "Heh. Sorry, Blackie, but you know a perk of being infected? I get Battle Healing, too." There were teeth in that grin, an ugly humor Kirito had seen before. "You''ll only kill me if you really try. I'm not Morte!"

Kirito had studied Katana Skills obsessively, once upon a time. He'd had the chance to observe Klein in action a fair few times, since preparing for Nicholas the Renegade and especially since Fuurinkazan joined the clearers. He knew the pre-motion for both Zekkuu and Iai almost as well as his own skills, or Asuna's.

The angle. That's not either one—!

Guarding with the Baneblade probably saved his life. It didn't stop him from being flung back, hard, by the wave of crimson light that swept out ahead of Kuze's katana.

Kirito's back slammed into the rim of the Well of Life, and his vision went black.

With a shout, as much raw fury as battlecry, Rain drew her sword up in the final strike of a Howling Octave, crashing it directly against the haft of Schmidt's lance. This time, the lance lost, snapping clean in half.

Schmidt himself had passed out early in the fight. The AI running his avatar didn't seem to know what to do, at least for the first second or so after the weapon was destroyed. There was a moment of hesitation, the hijacked body twitching indecisively.

Rain was anything but indecisive, her boot lashing up and around in the Suigetsu's roundhouse kick to Schmidt's jaw. That sent him tumbling, crashing face-first into the obsidian floor—and whatever algorithm might've been running him, maybe disabled by his lack of the Martial Arts skill, left him to lie there, unmoving.

If it had been his inability to use unarmed skills that ended it, the kick had probably been unnecessary. Rain didn't really care. She still didn't know much of Schmidt's story, but between what he had said and the bit Fuurinkazan had gotten from a ghost, she wasn't inclined to be charitable.

Whatever you did, you betrayed her. I'm going to find out how.

"Kirito!"

Kizmel's shout dragged Rain's attention from the downed pawn back to the rest of the fight, and she spun just in time to see Kirito slam hard into the low stone wall around the Well of Life. In time to see that—and to see Kuze point his katana at him, edge-up, left hand bracing the blade in the pre-motion of a Hirazuki.

"You lose, Blackie!"

In the split second before Kuze could launch the skill, Kirito's eyes opened—and he smiled. Moving faster than Rain had ever seen, even from him, he spun the Baneblade in his hand, reversing his grip. Reached back.

And in the instant Kuze started forward, plunged the blade into the Well of Life.

Blinding light, competing with the thunderstorm still raging around the Tower. A wave of force pulsing out from the Well, knocking Rain to her knees and Asuna and Kizmel flat, even as Krueger's helmeted face smashed into the floor and Kumari was flung halfway over the railing.

When it faded, and Rain was able to push herself up again, she saw Krueger was still prone, while Kumari was dangling over the edge, crying out for help. Kuze was kneeling on the floor, propped up on the point of his corrupted katana.

Kirito was back on his feet, pointing the Baneblade right at the PKer. Behind him, the Well of Life had turned a pure silver—and the Baneblade's wing-like hilt had snapped open. "It's over, Kuze," he said softly. "Give it up. Your plan is finished."

Kuze glared at the black-clad swordsman, at the other girls regaining their feet, and then at the restored Well. "So. You had a trick up your sleeve the whole time, huh?" He smiled bitterly. "Fine. You won that bet. But y'know, Blackie? It's still not over."

Rumble. Rumble. Crack!

"Maybe I can't end the game my way," the red player went on, pushing himself to his feet. "But y'know what? This game is still teaching me what I need to learn. Just like PoH said it would, when he came to me." His lips curled in a grin, showing teeth. "We can do things here we can't do for real. But a lot of things? We can do IRL. When we get out, I can still get even. Everybody who looked down on me… they won't see me coming. They won't know how to fight." A low, not-quite-sane chuckle. "Guess what, Blackie? All you're doing now… is helping me learn to kill."

Silence. Even Kizmel seemed taken aback by the declaration, and Rain couldn't blame her. One thing for Laughing Coffin to kill in a situation where only Kayaba Akihiko was likely to take the blame. That had a twisted logic, and that they could stop, if they could get him to the Black Iron Castle's dungeons.

But he's right, she realized with a chill. Once this is over, we can't do anything. Who'd listen, even if we tried to warn anyone? The only thing we can do is…

Rain's mind shied away from that thought, even then. But a strange mix of emotions flashed across Kirito's face, before settling on an icy calm almost more disturbing than Kuze's mirth. He shifted the Baneblade to his left hand, and made two quick motions with his right.

"No, Kuze. You're not going to kill anyone."

A flash of blue light, and a sword materialized in Kirito's right hand. Long, heavy, and black as night, with an odd half-circle-and-cross hand guard. Rain had only ever seen it once, and never in use.

Crack! BOOM!

Dark eyes oddly gleaming in the light of the storm, Kirito leveled the black sword Elucidator at the red player. "Kuze. Goodbye."

Kuze's eyes widened at the sight of Dual Blades, then narrowed. "So that's how you did it… Come and try, then, Blackie!"

The two pushed off at the same time, Rain's eyes only barely catching their movement. Kuze led off with another Hirazuki, streaking across the open chamber a centimeter above the floor. Kirito pushed off the Well of Life, throwing himself into the whirl of a Corkscrew. The two skills collided at the halfway point—and Kuze was blasted back, the high-level Katana skill overwhelmed by the Dual Blades buzz saw.

Kuze recovered first, while Kirito was still gripped by post-motion. His sword blurred back into its scabbard, only to flash back out again in a crimson wave, repeating the Vorpal Strike-like attack he'd used earlier.

Kirito only leapt right over the wave, landed in a dead run, and launched into a Twin Stab. The doubled blow bit deep into Kuze's chest, flinging him further back—this time into one of the pillars supporting the roof. He hit hard, forcing out a grunt Rain could hear from across the room, and bounced.

Somehow, the PKer landed on his feet and stayed upright, and when Kirito rushed in with a yell to continue the attack, his katana flashed up in the first strike of a Hiougi. That one caught Kirito's blades together, launching him back up toward the ceiling—but even as he flew, Kirito parried the second strike in a blur of blades, and when his feet hit the ceiling he pushed off, diving at Kuze.

All three infected players were down for the count, but none of the girls moved, not even Kizmel. Rain didn't blame any of them. Getting in the middle of that blizzard of metal would've been downright suicidal.

It's beautiful, though, she thought, watching katana clash with silver and black. It's scary, and there's only one way this is going to end, but it's beautiful. Fighting like that… that's why I came here, wasn't it? That's what I wanted, when I said "Link Start"…

Beautiful, and deadly. Kuze was keeping up amazingly well, but he hadn't gotten in a single solid hit since Kirito had played his trump card. Even with the Necrosis healing, his body was increasingly covered in red. His strange, evil-looking katana was getting visibly chipped, in the bare moments it stood still long enough to be seen.

Gritting his teeth, Kuze suddenly abandoned the attack, throwing himself back. "Fine, then!" he shouted, taking one hand off his katana. "You win today, Blackie! But this isn't over!" His hand flashed to his belt. Snatched a crystal from a pouch. Held it aloft. "Teleport—l"

Kirito blurred, blades shining azure. No words, only a scream. In an instant, he was in Kuze's face. His first, backhand strike with Elucidator took the hand holding the Teleport Crystal, sending it sailing off the Tower, vanishing in another crack of lightning. A thrust buried deep in Kuze's chest. Two whirling strikes and a full spin lopped off the hand still holding the katana, then his entire forearm, and finally sliced the entire arm off just above the Necromaster Armlet.

Kuze might've started screaming during it. Rain wasn't sure, and never wanted to be. She could only watch as Kirito's blades tore into the red player, fore and backhand, uppercut and vicious cleave. Spin and whirl and thrust, black sword and silver trading off.

The final thrust catapulted the Necromaster clear over the railing, into open air. Rain caught a glimpse of his sunglasses spiraling away separately, chopped in two—and then lightning flashed one more time, blinding her.

When it faded, there was no sign of Kuze at all.

The battle with the Necrotic Colossus was still ongoing, when "Team Kirito" finally came out of the Necromancer's Tower. The storm was also still raging, with rain blowing in players' eyes, mud making footing dangerously uncertain, and occasional lightning strikes setting off blinding flashes.

Kirito reveled in it. In all the little annoyances of fighting a Field Boss with no prep under adverse conditions. It was better to throw himself into the boss raid, giving Elucidator a proper test, than to think too hard about what had just gone down in yet another Fallen Elf dungeon.

Constructed or not, I've had enough trauma for real in those places to think there really is something to the lore about the Fallen Elves. …I suppose that's how this world was meant to be.

Compared to the player-created drama on the Fifty-Seventh Floor, though, the Necrotic Colossus wasn't really that big a deal. The raid group, guided by Strea's inside information, had done considerable damage by the time Kirito and his companions joined them. With their party added to the fray, it was only another ten minutes before all the Redclaws were down, and the Colossus with them.

When the giant zombie had finally tumbled to the ground, shattering into a thousand azure shards, most of the players involved dropped with it. All of them had had a very long few days, after all, and fighting a Field Boss hadn't been part of the plan at all.

Lind was the first one to speak, two or three minutes after the battle ended. "Well," he said, a bone-deep weariness obvious in his voice. "That could've been worse… That was more or less a palate-swap of the Field Boss from the Fifth Floor, wasn't it?"

"Sure was," Argo confirmed. She was flat on her back, a dozen wounds just then closing after two doses of Holy Water and three healing potions. Her build wasn't meant for fights like that. "Darn good thing, or else even Strea's info wouldn't have been enough fer us to take it out on no notice."

Oh, yeah, that… I wondered why it felt familiar. Over fifty floors and a hundred bosses of one kind or another later, it had all started to blur together for Kirito. What was one more Field Boss, after so many? He'd fought nearly every single one, after all.

After another silence, it was Heathcliff who finally spoke again. "I see you all came out alive," he said calmly, braced upright on his tower shield. "And with extras." He nodded at the three hanging back behind Kirito's party. "I recognize Schmidt. I take it the other two were also infected and controlled?"

"They were," Kirito confirmed, glancing at the trio himself. Krueger's face was still hidden behind his helmet, but his slumped posture spoke volumes. The ninja, Kumari, had pulled down the mask that had covered the lower half of her face, and trembled visibly. He was pretty sure it wasn't from the rain. The water running down her cheeks… well. He wasn't going to try and figure out if it was rain or not.

Schmidt was on his knees, shaking enough to loudly rattle his armor. He'd regained consciousness shortly after Kirito had switched back to a single blade, but his nerve clearly hadn't returned.

Shaking his head, Kirito turned back to the raid group. "Anyway, it's over," he announced. "Kuze is… gone. The Necromaster Armlet went with him."

One good thing about cutting off the red player's arms, a part of him noted dispassionately. Those had fallen and shattered where he could see them. If Kuze had still had that arm when he died, out in open air, they'd have had to search the base of the Tower and possibly never been sure.

Sitting on the muddy ground, katana resting against his shoulder, Klein gave Kirito a sober, measuring look. "Gone," he repeated knowingly. "…What about the stuff with those Mordite fragments?"

Part of Kirito wanted to say something, to yell at Klein for just brushing over Kuze's death. Another part of him was grateful, not wanting to dwell on it—and one part, to the great unease of the rest of him… just didn't seem to care, one way or the other.

Kizmel caught his arm, then. The elf girl leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. That touch—that reminder of what had set him on the course he was following now—grounded him. Just a little. Just enough.

Asuna cleared her throat, stepping a pace in front of him. "It's all over," she said, sparing Kirito the need to speak for a little longer. "The armlet is gone, and Kirito purified the Well of Life with the Baneblade. Given the nature of the questline on this floor, Laughing Coffin won't be able to try again."

"There's probably still going to be Necro problems on this floor," Rain put in. She was wearing an expression Kirito couldn't quite interpret, but she looked confident. Right then, he was just as glad to let someone else play that part. "But with the Dead Workshop gone and everything, there shouldn't be any more Doppels. …I think."

"Unless something changes," Strea said with a cheerful nod. Unlike the players, she looked as rested and upbeat as if there hadn't just been a battle with the entire clearing effort at stake. "Which it might… but probably not soon. If you guys clear the floor fast enough, anyway."

"Oh, that's reassuring," Philia muttered. "But fast sounds good, yeah. I don't even care about treasure on this floor. I just want out." She shivered. "We all should just… move on."

"Agreed." Asuna squared her shoulders. "I know we've had our differences, our factions, in the clearing group. I don't expect that to stop today. But I think we can all agree on one thing: this floor should be avoided from here on."

"Agreed," Lind said, nodding firmly. "As soon as we've defeated the Floor Boss, we should put out a notice. As clearers, it would be a dereliction of duty not to warn the players below us what's here."

"Damn straight," Klein muttered. "Survival horror, mobs tailored to our worst nightmares… forget the zombies in Safe Havens, just what Kayaba put in on purpose was sadistic."

Kirito noticed Sachi a bit to Klein's left, hands gripping her cloak like she wanted to pull it up and vanish, and he didn't blame her. He'd managed to avoid encountering the Doppels. The Revenants had still been a nasty shock by themselves.

He was startled out of the dark thoughts by Strea suddenly clearing her throat. "Well! I do have some good news for you guys. Since every town on the floor got kinda toasted, I'm authorized to provide the information the boss quests normally would have."

Asuna brightened. "Really? That would be a big help, Strea. Thank you."

"Just doing my job," the NPC replied with a shrug. Then she grinned. "Here's one from me. A little taste of what you can look forward to when you've beaten the boss. The Fifty-Eighth Floor? Has an awesome bath house." She paused, then trotted over to Kirito's team. "Really awesome," she whispered, quietly enough for only them to hear. "Ever tried chocolate…?"

Kirito felt his face try to ignite at the sudden, vivid mental image. Rain's face started to literally steam under the raindrops; Philia reddened, but chuckled. Against his shoulder, he could feel Kizmel starting to laugh. And Asuna…

The girl they called the Flash turned bright red, even as her eyes brightened. She started to speak, then paused, eyes narrowing. "…Are those gender-segregated baths, Strea?"

Strea's grin had teeth. "Sorry. Further information is not available here."

"The Weekly Argo: March 18, 2024.

"Notice to all players: the Knights of Blood, Divine Dragons Alliance, and Fuurinkazan—and your humble information broker—advise everyone to avoid the Fifty-Seventh Floor at all costs. Please note that the following conditions are completely unique to that floor, but that makes this no less important.

"Mobs and status ailments on the floor are abnormally dangerous. All towns have been destroyed. Any quests that might still be available are not worth the risks associated with traversing the floor's mobs with only field Safe Havens for shelter.

"Access to the Fifty-Eighth Floor has been opened. If you wish further information, the clearing group—and your humble information broker—are currently staying in the main town.

"If you know any players who don't read this publication, please spread the word: Avoid the Fifty-Seventh Floor at all costs.

"There's nothing left there but nightmares."

Author's Note:

And here, after the better part of a year, we come to the end of this arc. Yes, really. The next chapter will still be dealing a bit with the aftermath, but only partly. The zombies are over, I promise. (Yes, I'm skipping the Floor Boss. It'd be an anticlimax anyway, after Laughing Coffin's scheme.)

First thing I want to address, before anyone brings it up: yes, Kirito did come to the conclusion before ever reaching the Necromancer's Tower that Kuze would probably have to die. Yes, he did still try and give the guy a chance anyway. Please remember, Kirito is a Japanese fifteen-year-old. More mature than most, yes, he's had to grow up fast—but he's still not going to jump straight to "kill on sight" so easily. Not even after Morte—who, I should note, was killed in the heat of the moment.

Kirito's attitude on the subject will be a bit different now, as will be gone into in the next chapter, but he did need that development first. Sane teenagers are not natural-born killers.

Quick note about Safe Havens: the field ones being more secure is based on my inference from canon material. Towns keep out mobs and orange-marked players via NPC guards. Since dungeons and suchlike obviously don't have such, it seems reasonable to assume safe zones in the field physically block mobs. (Though we do know, from LC's operations, that criminal players can get through.)

Minor note: Krueger and Kumari are, like Kuze, minor OCs, with names taken from the Monument of Life. So at least they have a smidgeon of a canon basis.

So. Personal retrospective on the arc? Um. Not my worst work by any means, but I'll be the first to admit it's a bit of a mess, and definitely stretched out way too long. Partly a consequence of, quite frankly, having made up a large chunk of it as I went along, and partly from getting way too ambitious with what I finally came up with. The dual plotlines of Team Kirito and Fuurinkazan were cool in theory, and I think kinda worked in practice, but definitely dragged things out. If I ever do something like that again, I'm going to plot it out more carefully ahead of time.

I will say that next three chapters, minimum, will be stand-alone. Chapter 24, in particular, is going to be a bit of an experiment on my part, intended as a kind of breather/bridge chapter. I intend for it to be a bit shorter than usual, but… well, we know that usually works out for me, don't we? So all I'm going to say for sure at this point is that I'm going to try to use it to give full closure to the events of this arc—but no more zombies, really truly—and then kind of skim along a little ways. There's a timeskip needed to reach the next major plot point, but I don't want to just jump right there; if it works out, Chapter 24 will have some vignettes to at least give an idea of what happens on the skipped floors. …We'll see how it goes in practice.

So. I realize this arc ended up a bit divisive, and it didn't really do justice to my plans for various points—and I know Chapter 22 really didn't do much. I hope this one was a bit more satisfactory, and I assure you I'll do my best to learn from the mistakes I made here. Thanks to everyone who stuck with it anyway, and let me know how it worked out in the end. -Solid