“What should we do…Kirito…”
She forced out in a voice that was close to tears.
“Something…bad has happened…”
After drinking some newly-boiled tea, life managed to return to Asuna’s face and she started explaining a bit hesitantly. Egil had moved back down to the first floor after noticing the atmosphere.
“Yesterday…after I returned to the HQ in Grandum, I reported everything that had happened to the guild leader. Then I said that I wanted to take a break from the guild and then went back home… I had thought that I would get permission during the regular morning guild meeting…”
Asuna, who was sitting opposite of me, lowered her eyes and grabbed her tea cup tightly before she continued.
“The leader…said that I could take a brief leave from the guild. But there was one condition… He said that…he wanted to have a fight…with Kirito…”
“What…?”
I couldn’t understand what she meant for a moment. Fight…did that mean a duel? What did a duel have to do with Asuna taking a break?
When I asked these questions…
“I don’t know either….”
Asuna shook her head while looking at the floor.
“I tried to persuade him that there’s no meaning in doing that…but he just wouldn’t listen to me…”
“But…this is problematic. For that guy to suddenly present a condition like this…”
I muttered as the image of the guild leader flashed through my mind.
“I know. The leader usually leaves us alone even when we’re planning our strategy for clearing floors, let alone everyday guild activities. But I don’t know why this time he…”
Although the KoB leader had overwhelming charisma, which attracted the admiration of not only all his guild members but also most of the front lines people, he never gave any instructions or orders. I fought besides him during a couple of boss fights as well and greatly admired his ability to maintain the line without a single word.
For such a guy to put forth an objection with the condition of having a duel with me, just what on earth could it be about?
Even though I was completely confused, I spoke in order to calm Asuna down.
“…well, let’s go to Grandum first. I’ll try talking to him directly.”
“Yeah… Sorry. I’m always causing you trouble…”
“I’ll gladly do anything, because you’re my…”
Asuna looked at me expectantly as I stopped in the middle of my sentence.
“…important partying partner.”
Asuna pouted with dissatisfaction, then revealed a warm smile.
The Strongest Man, The Living Legend, The Paladin, and et cetera, the leader of the Knights of the Blood had so many titles that you couldn’t count them with your hands.
His name was Heathcliff. Before my «Dual Blades» became widely known, he was renowned as the only unique skill user amongst the six thousand players of Aincrad.
His extra skill used a sword and shield combination, both of which were cross-shaped, and allowed the user to switch freely between attack and defense. It was named «Holy Sword». I had seen it myself a couple of times, and noticed that the skill’s most remarkable aspect was its overwhelming defensive strength. Rumors claim that no one had ever seen his HP go into the yellow zone. During the fiftieth floor boss fight which had inflicted heavy casualties on the players, he had managed to hold the line by himself for ten whole minutes. This achievement remained a popular topic of conversation even today.
There was no weapon that could pierce Heathcliff’s cross-shaped shield.
This was one of the most widely-accepted tenets within Aincrad.
As I arrived on the fifty-fifth floor with Asuna, I felt an indescribable nervousness. Of course, I had no intention of crossing swords with Heathcliff. I was merely going to ask him to accept Asuna’s request for a temporary break from the guild; that was my only goal.
Grandum, the living area of the fifty-fifth floor, was nicknamed «Steel City». This was because Grandum, unlike the other cities which were built with stone, was mostly comprised of huge towers that were made of shining black steel. Since the city had a large number of blacksmiths, its player population was quite high. However, there weren’t any trees or other greenery alongside the streets, which gave off a feeling that this city was harshly unforgiving in the winter winds.
We came through the gate plaza and walked along the road, which was made by locking steel plates into position with rivets. Asuna’s footsteps seemed heavy; maybe it was because she was afraid of what might happen.
We walked amongst the steel towers for about ten minutes until an even larger tower loomed before us. Silver spears protruded out above the huge gates, while white flags with red crosses swayed in the cold wind. It was the HQ of the Knights of the Blood guild.
Asuna stopped in front of me. She looked up at the tower for a while and then said:
“Before, the HQ was a small house in a countryside village on the thirty-ninth floor. Everyone always complained that it was too small and crowded. I’m not against the guild expanding…but this city is too cold, and I don’t like it…”
“Let’s just get this over with quickly; then we can go get something warm to eat.”
“You’re always talking about eating.”
Asuna smiled and moved her left hand to gently grasp the fingers of my right hand. She didn’t even look at me, who was perplexed at her behavior, and just stood there like that for a few seconds.
“Okay, charging complete!”
Then she released my hand and began to walk towards the tower in long strides. I hurried to follow behind her.
After going up the stairs, we came across two wide-open gates, although there was a heavily-armored guard equipped with a particularly long spear on each side. Asuna walked over to them, the heels of her boots clanking against the floor. As she approached them, both of the guards greeted her by raising their spears off the ground.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
With her crisp response and her confident stride, it was hard to believe that this was the same depressed girl who had been in Egil’s shop just an hour ago. Following closely behind Asuna, I passed the guards and entered the tower with her.
Like the other buildings of Grandum, this tower was also built from black steel. Its first floor was a spacious lobby, but there wasn’t a single person here right now.
Thinking that the building felt even colder than the streets outside, we walked past the mosaic floor, which had been meticulously constructed from numerous metal pieces, and came to a spiral staircase.
We went up the stairs; our footsteps echoing through the hall. The staircase climbed so high, a person with low vitality stats would have collapsed halfway up. After passing countless doors, I started to worry about how much further we would still have to go. Then Asuna finally stopped in front of a cold steel door.
“This is…?”
“Yeah…”
Asuna nodded with an expression of reluctance on her face. But she seemed to have arrived at a decision right away. She raised her right hand, knocked loudly on the door, and then opened it without waiting for a reply. I squinted as bright light poured out from the room.
Inside was a round room that took up an entire floor of the tower. The walls on all four sides were made of transparent glass windows. The light that filtered through them colored the room in a monotone gray.
A huge semi-circular table stood in the center of the room; five men sat in the chairs behind it. I had never seen the four on the sides, but I recognized the one in the middle all too well. He was the paladin Heathcliff.
He didn’t look all that imposing. His age was probably around twenty-five. His features were sharp like that of a scholar, and a strand of steel-grey hair hung over his forehead. The richly red robe draped around his tall, thin body made him seem more like a wizard that didn’t exist in this world than a swordsman.
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br /> But the most prominent features were his eyes. Those mysterious brass eyes emitted a strong magnetism that overwhelmed people. This wasn’t even my first time meeting him; but to be truthful, I was still intimidated.
Asuna walked over to the table, the sound of her boots echoing, and gave a light salute.
“I’ve come to say my farewell.”
Heathcliff gave a bitter smile in response:
“There’s no need to rush. Please allow me to talk to him for a bit first.”
He looked my way as he said that. I drew back my hood and stood next to Asuna.
“Is this the first time I’ve met you outside of a boss fight, Kirito?”
“No…we had talked for a while during the sixty-seventh floor strategy meeting.”
I answered in a formal tone without realizing it.
Heathcliff nodded slightly and clasped his hands together on top of the table.
“That was a difficult battle. We almost took some casualties within our guild. Even though they call us the top guild, we’re always short on people. Yet now you are trying to take away one of our precious top players.”
“If she’s so precious, how about putting more thought in selecting her bodyguards?”
The man on the furthest right began to stand up at my sharp retort, his expression changing. But Heathcliff stopped him with simple wave of the hand.
“I’ve ordered Cradil to return to his house and reflect upon his mistakes. I must apologize for the trouble we have caused you. But, we cannot just stand aside and allow you to take our sub-leader away. Kirito-”
He suddenly glared at me; his sharp metallic eyes showed an unwavering will behind them.
“If you want to take her—win her with your sword, with «Dual Blades». If you fight me and win, then Asuna can go with you. But if you lose, then you will have to join the Knights of the Blood.”
“…”
I feel like I could finally understand a bit of this mysterious man.
He was someone obsessed with sword duels. Furthermore, he had unshakable confidence in his own skills. He was a hopeless person who could not throw away his pride as a gamer despite being trapped in this inescapable game of death. In other words, he was the same as me.
After hearing Heathcliff’s words, Asuna, who had been silent until now, opened her mouth and spoke as if she couldn’t take any more of this.
“Leader, I didn’t say that I would quit the guild. I just wanted a temporary leave, to get away and think about some things…”
I placed my hand on Asuna’s shoulder, whose words had become more agitated, and took a step forward. I faced Heathcliff’s gaze directly, and my mouth moved almost by itself.
“Okay. If you want to talk through our swords, then I have no objections. We’ll decide this with a duel.”
“Auu—!!! Idiotidiotidiot!!!”
We were back in Algade, on the second floor of Egil’s shop. After chasing the curious shopkeeper back to the first floor, I tried to calm Asuna down.
“I was trying so hard to convince him, yet you just had to say something like that!!!”
Asuna was sitting on the armrest of the rocking chair I was on, and was using her tightly balled fists to grind against me.
“I’m sorry! I’m reaaaally sorry! I just went with the flow and…”
She finally calmed down after I gently grabbed her fists; but now she was pouting. I had to forcibly keep myself from laughing at the huge gap between her behavior at the guild HQ and that of right now.
“It’s fine. We’ve decided on using first strike rules, so there’s no danger involved. Besides, it’s not like I’m definitely going to lose…”
“Uu~~~~…”
Asuna made an angry noise and crossed her thin, long legs atop the armrest.
“…when I saw Kirito’s «Dual Blades», I thought that your skill was on a totally different level. But it’s the same for the leader’s «Holy Sword»… One could say that his power was strong enough to destroy the game’s balance. Truthfully, I really don’t know who’ll win… But what are you going to do? If you lose, it doesn’t matter if I can’t take a break, but you’ll have to join KoB, Kirito.”
“Well, you could say that I would still achieve my goal, depending on how you think about it.”
“Eh? Why?”
I had to force my mouth open to respond.
“Err, well, as…as long as Asuna is with me, I don’t mind joining the guild.”
In the past, I would never have said something like this, even if it was to save my own life. Asuna’s eyes went wide with surprise, and her face turned as red as a ripe apple. Then, for some reason, she fell quiet, got up from the armrest, and walked over to the window.
From across Asuna’s shoulders, I could hear the everyday sounds of Algade under the setting sun.
What I just said was the truth, but I still felt reluctant about becoming part of a guild. As I remembered the name of the only guild that I had ever belonged to, which no longer exists today, a sharp pain ached in my heart.
‘Well, I have no intention of losing…’
I thought to myself, then got up from the chair and walked over to Asuna.
Soon afterwards, Asuna rested her head softly against my right shoulder.
Chapter 13
The newly opened living area on the seventy-fifth floor was a city reminiscent of ancient Rome. According to the map, its name was «Collinia». The entire city was already filled with activity, thanks to the large numbers of fighters and merchants that have settled in, as well as others who took no part in clearing the game but had come to sightsee. On top of all that, a rare special event would be held here today, so guests had been pouring out of the teleport gate since this morning.
The city was mostly constructed from square bricks of white limestone. One building stood out amongst its temple-like buildings and wide waterways; that was the huge coliseum which towered in front of the gate plaza. It was perfect for holding the duel between Heathcliff and me. But…
“Fire-breathing popcorn for ten Coll a cup! Ten Coll!”
“Cold black beer for sale~!”
Numerous merchants were selling their goods in front of the coliseum entrance; they were calling out to the long line of spectators and selling them strange looking refreshments.
“…this, what on earth is this…?”
Shocked by the sight unfolding before me, I could only ask Asuna, who was standing beside me.
“I-I don’t know…”
“Hey, isn’t that a KoB member selling the tickets!? How on earth did it turn into such a large event!?”
“I-I don’t know…”
“Is this Heathcliff’s real goal…?”
“No, I think that the head of finances, Daigen-san, is the one behind this. He wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this.”
As Asuna laughed, I sagged my shoulders and felt completely powerless.
“…let’s run away Asuna. We can go live in some small village on the twentieth floor and plow fields.”
“I’m fine with that, but…”
Asuna then added teasingly:
“You’ll make a rea-lly bad name for yourself if you run away now.”
“Damn-it…”
“Well, it’s your own fault, isn’t it? Ah…Daigen-san.”
As I lifted my head, I saw a fat man who was waddling towards us; he was so wide that it was impossible to find a person less suited to wear the red-white uniform of the KoB.
With a wide smile covering his round face, he started talking to us:
“Thanks ta Kirito-san we’re makin’ lotsa money! If ya jus’ did it once every month I’d be really thankful!”
“No way!!”
“Come, come, the waitin’ room’s over here. Come on, this way please.”
I resigned myself to my fate and followed him. I didn’t even care about what would happen anymore.
The waiting room was a small place that faced the arena. After Daigen escorted
me to the entrance, he said something about adjusting the betting prices and disappeared. I didn’t even have the energy to curse him anymore. From the waiting room, I could hear countless indistinct cheers outside. It seemed that the audience seating was already filled.
When only the two of us remained, Asuna grasped my palm with both her hands and spoke with a serious expression.
“…even if it’s a First Strike match, it’ll be dangerous if you get directly hit by a strong critical strike. Especially since many of the leader’s moves aren’t even known, you should forfeit as soon as you feel something is wrong, understood? I’ll never forgive you if you do something dangerous again like last time!”
“You should be worrying about Heathcliff more.”
I smiled and tapped both of Asuna’s shoulders.
As an announcement declared the start of the duel, the crowd gave off a thunderous roar. I pulled the two swords on my back out by a bit, and then slid them back into their scabbards with a clang. After that, I began to walk towards the square light hoop on the field.
The step seating that ringed the amphitheater was fully packed with people. My guess is that there were at least a thousand spectators. I could see Cline and Egil on the front rows, screaming dangerous things like “dice him up” and “kill him.”
I walked to the center of the arena before stopping. Then, a deep red silhouette emerged from the opposite waiting room, and the cheering became even more intense.
Unlike the normal Knights of the Blood uniform, which was red on white, Heathcliff wore a red surcoat that was the complete opposite. Although he was like me and wore almost no armor, he held a huge, pure-white, cross-shaped shield in his left hand, which had immediately caught my attention. His sword seemed to be sheathed within the shield, as I could see the cross-shaped handle protruding from its top.
Heathcliff walked casually until he stood right before me. He glanced at the crowd and then spoke with a bitter smile.
“I must apologize, Kirito-kun. I really had no idea that this was going to happen.”
Sword Art Online - Volume 1 - Aincrad Page 12