AFTERWORD

Hello, everyone. I’m writing this afterword in an incredible rush right now. This is what happens when you completely forget that you need to write an afterword while several days trickle off the schedule!

But to get more to the point, thank you for reading Sword Art Online 15: Alicization Invading.

In the previous volume (Uniting), we beat Administrator, the big bad boss of the church, and yet, the book ended with “to be continued.” This is the result of that shift…The story has now jumped outside the bounds of the human realm and into the vast and dangerous Dark Territory. In the real world, the Ocean Turtle, where Asuna and others are located, is under attack, and most ominous of all, Kikuoka changed from a yukata into a Hawaiian shirt…

After all that, the next volume should get into the war between the Human Guardian Army and the forces of the Dark Territory. The Alicization arc started in Volume 9, and we’re rushing toward the climax, so just stick with me a bit longer!

As for personal news, I was invited to be a guest, with my illustrator abec, to the largest anime/manga convention in the United States, Anime Expo. It was my first time visiting Los Angeles (and only my second time in America), and not only is the city huge, so was the convention center! The passion from the American anime fans that filled the hall was overwhelming!

Of course, I was moved by how many SAO fans came to see me. It also made me think about how much SAO has grown, from being a simple website novel to being published by Dengeki Bunko, then being turned into an anime and video games—and it’s all because of the incredible support you’ve given it for over a decade.

By the time this book comes out, the second season of the TV series should be airing. Unlike the first season, it’s set in a world of guns, but the director, creative staff, and voice cast are working their hardest to create some awesome gunfight action and the usual SAO essence that you love, so please keep watching.

I get the feeling I’m running out of time, so I’ll keep my acknowledgments brief! To my illustrator abec, who drew wonderful illustrations for so many new characters in this volume, to my editor Miki, who visited LA with us, to my assistant editor Tsuchiya, who kept Japan safe while I was gone, and to all of you who have read this far, thank you so much!

Reki Kawahara—July 2014