20

“The recon squad was wiped out?!”

The news that awaited us upon our return to the Knights of the Blood HQ in Grandzam was shocking.

We were in the glass-encased meeting room near the top of the iron tower, the place I’d met Heathcliff before our duel. Heathcliff sat at the center of the semicircular table, sage-like in his robe, while his guild officers sat on either side. This time, Godfrey was nowhere to be seen.

Heathcliff steepled his bony hands in front of his face, deep furrows etched into his brow. “It happened yesterday. We succeeded in mapping the entire seventy-fifth-floor labyrinth without suffering any damage, though it took quite some time. We were expecting a significant challenge with the boss battle, however…”

I could imagine that. Out of all the floors we’d conquered, the twenty-fifth and fiftieth featured bosses that were easily more dangerous than what had come before or after. In both cases, we suffered major losses beating them.

On the twenty-fifth floor, the two-headed giant monster wiped out the Army’s best and brightest, one of the biggest factors in their shift away from pushing the front line. On the fiftieth floor, the many-armed metal statue boss’s onslaught was so fierce, many of the fighters teleported out to safety, devastating the strength of the remaining forces. If the backup squad had been any later to arrive, we’d likely all have been wiped out. It was the man in front of me who kept our flagging front line upright.

If all the quarter-points of the game featured such a powerful boss, we were bound to be facing a nightmare.

“So we sent a twenty-man reconnaissance team from five guilds in,” Heathcliff continued, his voice flat. I couldn’t read the expression from his half-closed brass eyes.

“They took every precaution. Ten stayed back at the entrance to the boss lair, and when the other ten reached the center of the room, right as the boss was about to appear, the door closed. What we know after that comes from the ten in the rear guard. The door stayed shut for five minutes; lock-picking skills and direct force had no effect. When it finally opened…”

Heathcliff’s mouth tightened. He closed his eyes and continued.

“…There was nothing inside the room. The ten players and boss were gone. No signs of teleportation, no return…I had someone check the monument in Blackiron Palace, just to be sure…”

He shook his head rather than say the rest. Asuna sucked in a breath next to me, then let it out in a murmur.

“Ten…people…How did that happen?”

“Was it an anti-crystal zone?”

Heathcliff nodded at my question. “That is my only conclusion. Asuna had reported that the seventy-fourth floor’s chamber was the same way. We should assume that all boss lairs will be similarly equipped from now on.”

“This is crazy.” I sighed. If emergency escape was impossible, the number of players likely to die of unforeseen accidents would skyrocket. The entire point of clearing the game was to prevent people from dying. But beating the bosses was a necessary step…

“It’s really starting to live up to that ‘game of death’ billing…”

“But that doesn’t mean we can simply abandon our attempts to conquer it.”

Heathcliff closed his eyes and spoke softly but clearly.

“It would appear that this battle will make the use of crystals impossible, as well as remove the option of a simple retreat. That means we must bring as large a party as can be effectively controlled. I hope you understand that I did not wish to summon you from your honeymoon, but the circumstances require it.”

I shrugged. “You’ll have our help. But Asuna’s safety is my very top priority. If the situation turns dangerous, I will put her well-being before the party’s.”

A slight smile played over Heathcliff’s lips.

“Those who work to protect something are strong in spirit and fiber. I look forward to your valor. The operation begins in three hours. Our planned party is thirty-two strong, including you. We meet at the seventy-fifth-floor gate. Dismissed.”

The red-clad paladin and his officers rose as one and left the room.

“Three hours. What should we do?” Asuna asked, resting on the side of the long metal table. I stared back at her, silent. Her slender limbs in that red-and-white battle outfit; her long, shining chestnut hair; her sparkling hazel eyes—she was a beautiful, priceless jewel.

I kept staring at her until finally her pale cheeks took on a shade of red.

“Wh-what is it?” She laughed shyly. I spoke hesitantly.

“…Asuna…”

“What?”

“Hear me out, and don’t be mad. I don’t want you…to participate in this boss battle. Will you wait here instead?”

She stared at me closely, then looked down sadly.

“Why would you say that…?”

“I know I gave Heathcliff my word, but you don’t know what might happen in a place where crystals won’t work. I’m scared. When I think about the possibility that something might happen to you…”

“So you’re going to venture into danger like that and expect me to wait where it’s safe?”

She stood up and briskly strode over to me, twin fires blazing within her eyes.

“If you don’t come back from this, I’ll kill myself. There won’t be any reason for me to live any longer, and I’ll hate myself for waiting around doing nothing. If you want to run, let’s do it together. If you want to do it, Kirito, so do I.”

She stopped, then jabbed a finger against my chest. Her eyes softened, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

“But…I bet everyone taking part in this battle is scared. Everyone wishes they could run away. But they still got a few dozen to come. And I think it’s because of the commander and you—the two strongest men in SAO—standing at the head of the party. I know it’s not the kind of thing you’re comfortable with. But I want you to do it for us, not for others. Let’s do this together…so we can get back to the real world and meet again.”

I reached up and held the finger Asuna was pointing at my chest. All I could feel was a terrified desire not to lose her.

“Sorry…I’m being a coward. My heart says it wants the two of us to run off together. I don’t want you to die, and I don’t want to die, either. I don’t care…”

I stared into Asuna’s eyes and continued.

“I don’t care if we never get back to reality. I want to live with you in that little cottage. Forever…just the two of us…”

With her other hand, Asuna clutched something invisible to her heart. She closed her eyes, her brows knitted, as though bearing something excruciating. When she spoke, it was a painful whisper of longing.

“I know…It sounds like a dream…Wouldn’t it be nice? Together every day…forever…”

But she stopped, then bit her lip, cutting off that frail hope. She opened her eyes and looked at me, her face serious.

“Kirito, have you ever thought…about what’s happening to our real bodies?”

I was taken aback. It was something that every player wondered at times. But with no way to contact the real world, it was pointless to worry about. It hung over all of us like a vaguely looming cloud—we just chose not to stare it down.

“Do you remember when this whole game started? When he…When Akihiko Kayaba gave his little tutorial. He said the NerveGear was designed to give you a two-hour window without power. The purpose being…”

“…to provide enough time for our bodies to be taken to a proper hospital.”

She nodded at my answer.

“So after a few days, pretty much everyone experienced an hour-long period of disconnection.”

I remembered that. I’d stared at the warning blaring in front of my eyes and wondered if my brain would be fried in just two hours’ time.

“I think that was the point that every player was transferred to a hospital. I mean, few families can support a human being in a vegetative state at home for years at a time. I think we were taken to actual hospitals and then reconnected…”

“Yeah, you might be right.”

“If our bodies are just lying in hospital beds, hooked up to various cables, forcing us to live…I can’t imagine that can last forever.”

I was suddenly hit with anxiety that my body was getting weaker and weaker. I hugged Asuna close, as though we could confirm our existence by simply touching.

“Meaning that whether we clear the game or not…there is a time limit that we’ll all reach at some point…”

“Yes, and it’ll be different for everyone…It’s taboo to talk about your old life here, so I’ve never said this to anyone, but you’re different. I want…to be with you for the rest of my life in the real world. I want to have a proper relationship, so we can really get married and grow old together. So…so…”

She couldn’t finish. Asuna buried her face in my chest, sobbing uncontrollably. I rubbed her back slowly and finished her thought.

“So…we have to fight now.”

The fear wasn’t gone. But when Asuna was fighting against our fate, trying to keep herself together, I couldn’t let fear cloud my judgment.

It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. If we fight together…

I squeezed Asuna harder, as though brushing away the chill I felt sneak into my chest.