Later that evening, 2130 AST.
The living room of Asuna’s house.
“Really…” Shiranami fumed cutely as she paced around Asuna’s house. “I can’t believe you, Kirito. You and the Commander get along far too well.”
“Ahaha…” Asuna chuckled nervously. “The Commander never had a male conversation partner who didn’t distance themselves while talking with him. You’re the first person to be so frank.”
“I mean… I respect the man, of course—he founded the KoB. It’s just… He just seems like your neighborhood nice uncle, you know? I dunno why people treat him like the Prime Minister.”
“I mean…” Shiranami stopped pacing as she considered his statement. Thinking against responding, she instead replied, “We really should sleep.”
“Yeah, I suppose it’d be best if we turned in early,” Kirito nodded as he stood up from the dining table and stretched. “Good night, Asuna, Sugu—er, I mean, Shiranami.”
“‘Sugu?’” Asuna and Shiranami parroted, tilting their heads.
“Uh… Forget it, it was a slip of the tongue.”
“Come on now, Kirito-kun, it’s okay to tell us,” Asuna pressed.
“Yeah, it’s not like we already know how charismatic among the girls you are,” Shiranami added.
“—Hey now, I take offense at that!” Kirito yelped. “She’s not who you think she is!”
“Then who is she?!” the two girls demanded, getting up in Kirito’s face.
Holding up his hands, Kirito leaned back into the chair he had just got out of. “She’s family!”
The two girls raised an eyebrow and stepped back. “Family, you say?” Asuna repeated.
“Yes. She’s my sister.”
“Hmm… I didn’t know you had a sister,” Shiranami nodded.
“That’s because I never felt the need to tell you two,” he reasoned. “I didn’t feel it was necessary to reveal so much about my personal life.”
“I suppose that’s fair… I can’t say much about myself as a result of my fame.”
“Still, your sister, huh? She must be a wonderful young girl.”
“Oh, she is; honestly, I sometimes think I don’t deserve her.”
“But why did you call her name with me?”
“Err… that’s…” Kirito’s gaze slowly wandered as he wondered how he should explain it.
Asuna, picking up on his trepidation, smiled. “Ah, I see. I suppose Shira-chan would remind you of a younger sister, especially if you already have one.”
“In that case… Should I call you Kiri-nii~?” Shiranami stepped forward, her hands behind her back as she gazed cutely into his eyes.
“—Please don’t,” Kirito squirmed under her heated stare, his cheeks slightly but noticeably reddening. “No, really, please don’t.”
“I think I prefer Kiri-nii. I’m going to call you that from now on.”
“… Please don’t,” Kirito pleaded again but then smiled as he ruffled Shiranami’s hair. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ll say no to being called that by the Ayanami Shiratsuyu.”
“Maybe I should be super formal and call you Nii-sama.”
“Please don’t—that doesn’t sound cute at all.”
“What do you mean, Nii-sama?” Shiranami repeated, ensuring to stress the honorific.
Kirito scratched his head as he just smiled again. He then excused himself from under the girls’ stares and retired to his bedroom. Upon laying down in bed, he stared at the ceiling. Although he was still pretty miffed, being called ‘big brother’ by Shiranami didn’t really grate on his nerves. From what little he knows of her personal life, she was the eldest child of Koutarou Shiratsuyu, a highly respected as well as a highly ranked member of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and Akagi Shiratsuyu, a retired idol and actress who is currently the owner of a Fortune 500 company dealing with women’s fashion and other things relating to women. She had a single younger sister, Kyouka Shiratsuyu, but Kirito knew nothing else aside from that.
Perhaps, he thought, she was simply lonely. After all, she had no older siblings—those people aside from her parents that she can look up to as examples. Instead, she has a younger sibling to whom she must act in a proper manner at all times as she is her role model. It should’ve just been a joke—something that wouldn’t stick—however, Kazuto Kirigaya was fine with it. If it’s as simple as being called ‘nii-sama,’ I can suck it up. As long as I can ensure her happiness—
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
Seventeenth Day of the Month of the Ash Tree, 2032.
0549 AST.
Just outside of Asuna’s house.
Standing at the entrance to her home, Suzaku was violently slamming onto the front door with his free hand, the other repeatedly spamming a message into the inbox of the Black Swordsman. If this door wasn’t declaring «Immortal Object» every time he punched, it’d probably have broken long ago. Additionally, he raised his voice. “WAKE THE HELL UP, NERD! I WILL TELL YOUR ARGO ABOUT THE TIME YOU PEED YOUR PANTS ON THE TRIP TO THE SHRINES!”
From above the Raven came a shout, “THAT NEVER HAPPENED, YOU IDIOT! If anything, maybe I should tell Argo about the time you tripped on yourself and fell flat on your face when asking Tohka to the dance!” Kirito, still looking rather lethargic, had opened the window and returned his friend’s rather rude morning greeting with a caustic jab of his own (which was, like Suzaku’s, completely untrue).
“YOU!” With that shout, Suzaku, in a one-two fashion, was suddenly on Kirito’s windowsill and forcibly grabbed his friend by the collar. “YOU PICKED A FIGHT WITH THE FREAKING PALADIN AND DIDN’T TELL ME!?”
“Dude, bro, calm down!” Kirito yelped before glancing past him. “Your girl down there really be staring at your ass right now!” Indeed as Kirito said, Tohka was silently glaring at Suzaku, a quiet pressure emanating from her that made Kirito get ready to break out in cold sweat.
Suzaku, of course, brushed it aside. “I overheard it from Agil! He told me more when I questioned him and he left me with the aside that the tickets have already sold out and you’re not getting a cut larger than 10%… ”
“Oh come on, Argo had to make a killing off of this too?” Kirito lamented.
“Apparently, the Arena is only so large even if we account for the spaces for NPC’s.”
“God, no, we already had so many people watching my duel with you.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t even Argo’s idea. It was Heathcliff, which again—I reiterate: YOU PICKED A FIGHT WITH SOMEONE STRONGER THAN ME! DO YOU EVEN HAVE A STRATEGY?!”
“Look, man, I wasn’t looking for a fight; he wanted to test my skills.” This is, of course, only a half-truth but Kirito didn’t feel the need to be wholly truthful to his friend, especially after being rudely awoken by a flood of notifications and loud incessant shouting from outside the window.
"You’re avoiding my question—you don’t have a plan of any kind, do you?"
Kirito’s gaze wandered to his left. “… No.”
Suzaku replied with an exasperated frown and a strong flick to his friend’s forehead. “Well then, let’s figure one out.”
“You had to come barging in first thing in the morning though?” Kirito shot back, rolling his eyes. He did, however, pull his friend in so he wasn’t just left hanging outside of his window.
“Yes! The match starts at 10 AM sharp and you take forever to get ready. For how basic your sense of style is, you really shouldn’t take so long.”
“Shove off, bro, I got my own business to take care of in the morning. Sleeping extra is my specialty.”
“So what’s gonna happen when you get your ass rocked by that shield so hard you’ll be missing that giant Buddha?”
“That’s an overexaggeration and you know it,” Kirito shot back. “Although… that shield definitely hits hard. Considering what I know of his fighting style, he skillfully weaves both single-hand sword arts and shielding.”
"Either he’s got some kinda max level shield mod and built his kit around maximizing the switch effect to get the most out of his attacks without losing an ounce of defense or he’s picked up a unique skill like your dual blades and can just do that with no loss. Regardless, you’re screwed unless you actually come up with a plan.”
“Honestly, I feel like it’s a unique skill. For that matter, he shouldn’t be faster than me. I’ll just strike him faster than he can switch.”
“You may not be able to. I’ve done some thinking on that unique skill of yours. It allows you to maximize the damage output by treating 2 swords equally and overwhelming the target with speed. If he is using a unique skill, it’d be the same concept, just focused on mixing offense and defense. Dude’s a tank already and he may be able to keep pace if he’s not losing any numbers to keep his sword in range of his shield or vice versa.” The number crunch of an MMORPG was and always will be what Suzaku specialized in while stuck in Aincrad. It was one of the primary reasons he was so overwhelmingly dangerous in a battle.
“Yikes, that coming from you feels more real. I do suppose that’s fair; I can handle his sword no problem but the issue will stem from his shield. I’ll need to somehow break through it.”
“Just remember, if he builds into the shield skill, he may be able to add crazy damage negation mods or some kinda buff to negate crit chances or weaken sword skills. I’m the king of stealth and even you can lose track of me if you’re not careful which allows my crit skill mods to get the most use. This dude is the lord of defense and maybe just as strong physically. He could even have mods built around increasing damage for every hit he takes by the shield or place a debuff on you.”
“Judging from what we’ve seen of him fighting, I kinda doubt he has any debuff effects to speak of. Feels out of character, you know?”
“Perhaps, although it’s not going to do you well to keep from expecting all outcomes…”
“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m well aware… In either case, I suppose the plan is to probe him in the duel and change tack as I go? I’m sure he has no one fighting style—he’s never had a fully uniform style in all of the boss raids so far.”
“Sure but if you just react, he’ll control the tempo of the battle. Try to force his hand and make your attacks count.”
“Ha, don’t worry, bro, you of all people should know how good I am at that.”
“Considering how bad you are at that, I have plenty of reasons to be concerned…” Suzaku jabbed, a smirk creeping into his countenance.
“Oh, shove off, you tryhard.”
“Regardless, I'm gonna keep an eye on the situation—it’ll all work out… unless he has some kinda special trick up his sleeve.”
“Mhm.” The two friends continued deliberating right up until it was time to prepare for what would perhaps be the most anticipated duel in the history of SAO.
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
0953 AST.
Just outside of the Coliseum of Collinia, the main settlement of the seventy-fifth floor.
“I think we did our job too well…” Nautilus stated, slack-jawed at the reception.
As was the case with the previous day’s duel with Kirito and Suzaku, people have gathered to watch the duel between the Black Swordsman and the Paladin. However, unlike the previous day’s duel, the attention received by this duel was far greater to the point that the Coliseum, the main attraction in Collinia and the largest such construction on the seventy-fifth floor, was soon to be filled to the absolute brim with player and NPC spectators alike. Asuna added, “I didn’t think that their duel would attract this much player attention…”
“Even the NPCs are coming to watch,” Yuna pointed out. “Daizen-san, are you sure that it’s a good idea to charge NPCs an entrance fee?”
“I don’t see a reason not to,” the rather fat man in full uniform replied. “Besides, they have been paying quite large sums. I have lost count of how many people have paid the fee but ‘accidentally’ gave extra.”
“The NPCs must be looking forward to this far more than we do then,” Nautilus concluded as he pondered the reason why this was so.
“Considering that this floor is mostly based off of ancient Rome,” Asuna nodded. “I can see why.”
After the last few paid their bills and walked inside, Daizen declared, “Alright, that should be the last of them. Let’s head back inside and watch this spectacular duel that is surely to go down in the history of Aincrad—surely to transcend the boundaries of the game and to be retold in the real world.”
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
0958 AST
Center Stage, the Coliseum.
The familiar voice of Yuna rang full-strength throughout the Coliseum as she shouted, dragging out her sentences, “Welcome to the Coliseum here in our wonderful city of Collinia! Here, we are in attendance to observe the most-awaited event to ever occur in the history of Aincrad! A duel between the Paladin, Heathcliff, and the Black Swordsman, Kirito!” The crowd roared enthusiastically in response. “My name is Yuna! You guys know me as the White Lily! I will be your commentator serving alongside Miss Rain!”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
The named personage, Rain, replied, “Yes, hello, I am the Gray-Haired Flash, Rain. I shall be sitting in for Shiranami-senpai who declined the role of commentator. As an idol who debuted under her, my opinion may be biased in favor of Kirito-san but nevertheless, I am extremely excited at the prospects of this duel.”
“Just yesterday, we had the first public duel between the Black Swordsman and the mysterious Shadow-Clad Raven! Having achieved a narrow victory yesterday—despite being unable to see its conclusion, Kirito today challenges the undisputed strongest player seen in SAO!”
“What do you think of the chances for Kirito’s victory, Argo-san?” Rain asked, turning to a hooded figure leisurely frolicking around.
Turning her attention to the dueling grounds below, Argo said, “Hrm… I’d give Kii-bou a twenty percent chance. What say you, Yoshi-chii?”
“—Erm.” Caught off guard by the sudden attention, Yoshiki took a moment to gather his thoughts. The resident blacksmith of the Roshigumi was also asked to be a special commentator, mainly due to his personal business relations with both the Paladin (or, more accurately, his guild) and the Black Swordsman. Chewing over his reply, Yoshiki settled with, “Mmn, I suppose it’d be an uphill battle for Kirito-kun here—he’s going up against someone who can not only… parry away damage that’d easily kill—in one strike—many of us Clearers, but also someone with a shield that actually knows how to use it… Honestly, even if we disregard past raids and the like… I don’t exactly know how he will work around Heathcliff-dono’s unbreakable shield, I suppose. Maybe… thirty percent or so? Dealing with that shield with how straightforwardly Kirito-kun tends to fight will be…mm, troublesome, mmn.”
Rain nodded, “Kirito-san does indeed have the tendency to be as imperturbable as an arrow. How exactly this duel will turn out will most certainly keep us all at the edge of our seats.”
“Without further ado, let us welcome our fighters!” Yuna excitedly declared, eliciting a massive roar from the crowds.
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
A ways away from the emperor’s box in which the commentators reside were two people hanging back in the shadows of the crowd. One was the Shadow-Clad Raven while the other was another rather famous solo player. Given the epithet of “Huntress,” she is among the very few number of Clearers who’s fighting style solely revolves around the use of the «Archery» combat skill. Recognized as the guildmaster of the Emissaries of the Shooting Star (despite not being its guildmaster whatsoever), she leads SAO’s only guild that hyper-specializes in long-distance combat. Knowing that she—a young lady by the name of Sinon—has the best eyes in SAO, Suzaku approached her previously and asked her for a favor. “Heathcliff really can draw a crowd when he wants to, huh?” Sinon asked aloud, crossing her arms for a moment as she rested on the wall before fixing her glasses to her face. “—and why did you have me wear all this gear to strengthen my intelligence stat and my «Searching» skill? It isn’t like we’re going out hunting.” A small look of annoyance formed as the brunette girl turned to Suzaku.
“Just call it insurance—you never know when something crazy can happen with this many high-level Clearers in one place. Besides, I have a feeling Heathcliff isn’t as honest as he lets on.” Suzaku looked off at the crowd from his seat in the arena, a small frown forming in the hooded boy’s brow. “I know that I specifically worked to cultivate mystique but I’m still pissed that Heathcliff managed to score a bigger crowd than me with less warning…”
“You work to cultivate mystique?” Sinon asked, sitting next to Suzaku as she tilted her head, a confused yet exasperated expression flickering across her bespectacled face.
“I’m mysterious,” Suzaku replied with a smirk, looking down towards the entrance from which his friend would emerge from. The raven muttered under his breath. “You better not be getting cold feet, Kazuto. This is important.”
“This doesn’t count as the date you owe me.” Sinon snapped back, choosing to leave his worries unfanned despite overhearing his soft whispers.
“I’m aware.”
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
“Are you sure about this, Kirito-kun?”
“… Yeah.” The man of the hour gave his curt response as he stretched his arms to his side and behind his back. “Suzaku and I already made the best game plan we could. All I have to do now is execute it.”
“Are you going to be fine?” Shiranami asked worriedly. “Like you, the Commander’s got a Unique Skill and it’s debatably stronger than yours. You were there on the fiftieth floor. Did you not witness the Commander’s solo bout with the «Six-Armed Golden Mahākāla»?”
“Yeah… that was the stuff of legend.” Kirito closed his eyes as he recalled the scramble that was the raid on the fiftieth floor. When the boss had torn through their formation, he had thought that it was all over, yet the Commander of the Knights of the Blood boldly charged forward, raising his white shield with its crimson cruciform paint, and skillfully defended against all of its blows. Ten minutes—the man versus the avatar of the divine continued for that long, buying the Clearers enough time to reorganize their ranks and not once did the Commander’s HP drop into the yellow zone. Opening his eyes, Kirito reaffirmed his resolve. “Still, I have no choice but to defeat this living legend in single combat.”
With nothing left to say, Shiranami and Asuna nodded at each other before wishing the boy luck at the same time. “Do your best, Kirito.” “Do your best, Kirito-kun.”
A silent nod of affirmation was all the girls received in reply as the boy stood up and grasped the hilts of the twin blades adorning his back. He drew them both out slightly before releasing them, letting them slide back into their sheathes with a satisfying clack. While he felt bad for his best friend for not using his Unique Skill from the get go, he knew that he could not possibly hold back against the one known as the strongest man in Aincrad—well-deserving of the epithet of Paladin.
He soon left the darkness of the corridor and appeared out in the sun and was greeted by huge cheers that threatened to achieve the resonant frequency of his skull. Sheesh, Argo wasn’t satisfied with mine and Suzaku’s bout yesterday!? She had to ensure this was a showstopper too!? Kirito cursed in his mind as he marched toward the center of the field, spotting the man he was to fight.
Heathcliff was not wearing his usual ensemble, instead opting for fully crimson raiments. The only thing that was the usual colors about him was his cape flapping freely in the wind as he walked and his white-themed shield. Kirito could even spot the Paladin’s treasured blade sheathed behind the shield—perhaps it was a two-part item with the sword placed in a hidden compartment when at rest. “I do apologize for this, Kirito. I did not realize nor expect our sacred duel to turn into such a production.”
“No biggie,” Kirito replied. “Just… I should be allowed to collect appearance fees!”
“… No. You’ll be a member of the guild at the end of this duel. I’ll treat it as a regular assignment.”
At that, Kirito immediately stiffened up before internally smiling. Switching his mind into battle mode, he returned the overwhelming force Heathcliff’s gaze directed at him in kind, eliciting widening eyes and a small smile from the man who was on the receiving end of Kirito’s animosity. The man raised his free hand and manipulated the menu to send a duel request Kirito’s way; of course, Kirito accepted and chose the first-strike victory condition. Neither Heathcliff nor Kirito were interested in having a fight that could end with one of them dying; it would be far too much of a loss for the Clearers.
Neither contestant paid any attention to the countdown clock as they both readied their blades, Kirito drawing his sibling swords while Heathcliff brandished his knightly sword around his shield, both of which were of such sizes that they should more realistically be wielded by themselves. Kirito eyed Heathcliff’s stance, noting that there were no obvious defects in it—it was a truly balanced natural stance. He immediately discarded the notion of guessing his first move which led Kirito to draw the conclusion that he must strike first.
Both contestants leaped toward each other at the exact instant the word “Duel” appear in midair between them. Kirito began with a charged down-left slash with his right blade which was caught by the shield, its dull orange glow already fading in the cacophony of sparks its collision with the shield unleashed, yet Kirito did not falter. Immediately, his hidden left blade flashing orange shot forward around the shield which Heathcliff had moved to block his first strike—this was the Dual Blades-category charging attack sword skill, «Double Circular».
Despite there being essentially no time-lag between the two attacks, Heathcliff easily swept aside the attack with his own blade, a circular visual effect bouncing off harmlessly. Kirito wasn’t even surprised that his initial attack was dealt with so easily; nevertheless, this was merely a greeting—Kirito had much more left in store. Regaining his distance, he raised his swords as Heathcliff charged forward his way, his shield raised in front of him. Clicking his tongue, Kirito moved to his left so that he would not be taken by surprise by the hand hidden behind the shield. Instead, alarm bells in Kirito’s head fired as he instinctively raised his swords into a cross to guard against the sharp jab Heathcliff sent his way using the pointed bottom end of his shield. The shield being the size that it was lent the strike great power and even with Kirito bracing himself for the impact, he was still blown back several feet. Using the inertia the shield imparted into his body, he flipped over in midair and landed on his feet, his right blade stabbed into the ground to maintain his balance.
Heathcliff was not about to let up as Kirito noticed the vibrant gray glow coming from both the shield and the sword. A sword skill…! Must be one of his personal sword skills. Noting that this game classified Heathcliff’s shield as a standalone weapon and chuckling at the irony of facing a dual-wielder so soon after revealing himself to be one, Kirito forced his reflexes into overtime, using his sibling blades to defend against the eight-part onslaught. Upon noticing the light fade, Kirito immediately braced himself, his right sword blazing crimson as he unleashed «Vorpal Strike», aiming directly into the center of the crimson crucifix of the shield. “Raah—!”
The familiar sound of a jet engine exploded from his blade as the crimson-rayed thrust crashed into Heathcliff’s shield; Kirito momentarily let his mind wander as he contemplated the brick wall he had just stabbed into yet was satisfied to see that he had returned the favor and knocked the Paladin back, which was fortunate as Kirito was able to ride out the painfully long post-motion delay of the sword skill he had just used. Unfortunately, Heathcliff’s HP bar did not really budge.
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
“Suzaku, what do you know about the Divine Blade skill?” Sinon asked aloud, her searching gaze directed into the arena as the countdown for the duel began while she waited for Suzaku to scrub through his various notes.
“It’s known as the «Holy Sword» skill, also known as the ‘Divine Blade’ and the ‘ultimate skill’ by many of the Clearers,” he clarified, sharing his handwritten observations stored within his Inventory to Sinon. “Classified as a Unique Skill, the same as Kirito’s «Dual Blades». Whilst Kirito can alternate between blades for the maximum offense and aggression, limiting the chance for his enemy to respond; Heathcliff can freely swap between his sword and shield, minimizing his enemies’ ability to get in strikes or defend themselves because his rotations are too fast to respond. Overall, I’d consider it to be a much stronger ability than Dual Blades…”
“Why do you say that?” she asked, her eyes fixed on the two swordsmen as they began their duel—Sinon resisted the urge to whistle at Kirito’s accuracy with seamlessly opening up with a charging attack. It was always a little unnerving to her, hearing Suzaku’s analytical side; such a stark departure to the Raven’s normal attitude of being so carefree and sarcastic that when he gets serious about understanding and learning, it was like he was an entirely different man.
“Functionally speaking, if you can outlast your opponent, you can win a majority of battles. I follow the same logic with my gear choices and specific build around mid-combat stealth and general survivability. My skill choices and my combat preferences are tailored to not being hit which allows me to last that much longer in combat than a majority of my enemies. During our battle against «The Gleam Eyes», I managed to spend roughly ten minutes in single combat with it while the others tried to catch up so I have proof that my tactic works. Heathcliff is both playing a tank role and DPS role all at once and isn’t bothering with hiding; this means he is capable of tanking all damage using his massive shield while additionally having instant responsive counterattacks. With this, the conclusion of ‘Heathcliff lacks an obvious weakness’ can be drawn.” He summarized his investigations while double-checking his most recent notes to ensure that what he saw transpiring in front of him matched his predictions. Nevertheless, he held unshakeable faith in his friend as he added, “However, if anyone has the chance to force Heathcliff’s hand, it’s Kirito.”
“I know everyone has a weakness, but you’re making it sound like he’s truly invincible.”
“No, I’d eventually find a way to get past that shield but Kirito uses different methods. I focus on breaking down my opponent in the most effective way possible through various tactics, mixing in both «Martial Arts» and some of those Outside System Skills to create abnormal situations that people cannot effectively respond to, ensuring I get in my hits while they cannot. By combining my high damage modifier and critical hit bonuses, I only need a few hits to end a majority of threats when those factors are accounted for. However, as I’ve previously stated, Kirito is not like me, instead relying on his god-like player skill and the overwhelming speed and force of his Dual Blades, although he only recently revealed this. At the same time, his greatest strength is also his most glaring weakness; if there is someone who can keep up with his speed and aggression, he cannot respond appropriately himself.”
“You really think you’d find a way past his unique skill?” Sinon asked, a tone of incredulity in her voice as she finally broke her gaze to look at Suzaku.
“If he were my target, yes. I would have to… or I’d die,” he admitted, glancing down for a moment.
“Hey, no talking about dying. We’ll make it out of this…” she said, her tone hushing gently before Suzaku’s expression became more confused as he felt her fingers interlocking with his.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he replied, nodding in support, setting a small kiss on her cheek before turning to face the battle. “Alright, game face on.”
A small blush formed across the girl’s face before she gave a quick nod. “Yeah!” Doubling her efforts, Sinon’s eyes focused intently on the beginning stages of the duel.
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
“This battle is intense!” Yuna exclaimed. “Kirito opens with what seems to be a sword skill, landing a perfectly timed blow. Were his opponent anyone other than the Paladin, I’m sure that would’ve ended the fight there!”
“Mmn, I suppose so. Even if you disregard how easily Heathcliff-dono deflected that strike with his blade, his shield’s still more than enough to parry any strikes, and with how Kirito-kun’s just charging at him like that…” A momentary pause came from the blacksmith as he concentrated on the fight. “Besides, if that shield’s glow’s anything to go by… if I had to venture a guess, sword skills performed with it have to be at least around the general strength you’d expect from two-handed straight sword-category sword skills or of those with similar thresholds of power.”
Rain nodded. “Safe to say that you are correct. Kirito-san choosing to perform a rapid powerful attack to regain his distance was a well-calculated choice as fighting in such close quarters for a prolonged period of time with the Paladin is certainly ill-advised… although I must complain about the noise.”
“W-Well, it’s not like we can complain to the devs now, no? To think we’d even hear it from here, ahaha…” A sigh of resignation from the lad, as he raised his eyebrow. “Still, for a First-Strike duel…I’m more surprised Kirito-kun hasn’t really backed away. For what it’s worth, wasn’t that shield parry a little too close there for Kirito-kun, there?”
“Kii-bou is excited,” Argo chimed in. “I’m sure that he ‘as been itchin’ to fight the Paladin ever since the Knights formed. After all, ain’t no one in SAO that can keep up with ‘im aside from ol’ Zaku, A-chan, and Shira-chii.”
“Despite having traded such heavy blows, neither contestant has landed a clean hit as recognized by the system,” Yuna declared. “This duel might turn out to be a long one—”
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
As for the two fighters in the arena, they merely reset their positions to where they started. “Your reaction speed is admirable,” Heathcliff complimented.
“And your defense is beyond ‘tough!’” Closing the distance again, Kirito began to swing wildly, each carrying varying levels of intent. Heathcliff has yet to stumble in his defense against Kirito’s rapid strikes yet neither fighter gained any semblance of ground. An endless solo of chirps, cries, and sparks danced between their respective weapons as they also occasionally made glancing swipes against the other. This would slowly but surely carve away at their respective HP gauges—even if neither fighter landed a decisive blow, the duel would automatically end when one of the two drops below 50% HP.
Kirito, however, was not paying attention to any of that—his undivided attention was placed on increasing the speed of his swings. Well? Think you can follow me, Heathcliff!? His thoughts raced as his mind accelerated in time with his will. The clashes continued to violently spark as both players maneuvered their equipment, both with intent to break through the other’s guard and prevent the other from breaking through their own.
Yet, in this high-speed exchange, Kirito felt a disturbance in time; Heathcliff’s tempo had fallen out of tune for just a fraction of a beat.
His eyes slightly widening, he braced himself to enter the pre-motion stance for Starburst Stream, his go-to sixteen-part combo attack. A gentle blue glow enveloped his fiercely swung blades as they crashed into Heathcliff’s defense. The Paladin started to struggle as the newfound power of the sword skill-enhanced blades threatened to pierce his defense—
The fourteenth and fifteenth attacks in the combo finally shattered Heathcliff’s guard, blowing his shield out of the way. Assured of his victory, Kirito poured a burst of speed into his final thrust, his sword approaching Heathcliff’s chestpiece… yet his attack did not strike true. “Wha—?”
Heathcliff’s shield—which Kirito was sure he had previously disabled—was suddenly directly in front of his sword, deflecting his perfectly timed strike to the side. This time, it was Kirito who was caught off balance as he unfortunately felt his body freeze up from the post-motion delay brought about by his choice to unleash a sword skill. This duel is a damn joke, Kirito cursed in his mind as he felt Heathcliff lightly tap him with his sword, enough to bring Kirito’s HP below the required 50% to finally end the duel. Kirito barely registered the purple system text that appeared to declare the duel’s end as he landed squarely on his rear end. With that collision, Kirito’s mind disengaged its battle mode and in one single rush, the clamor made by the crowd finally reached his ears.
Yet, Kirito was still confused. He only slightly recovered when his two beloveds shouted at him, “Kirito-kun!” “Kirito!”
His reply was a stilted, “Ye-Yeah… I’m alright…” As he gazed at the worried expressions the two beautiful girls were directing at him, Kirito decided to accept the reality. So… I lost. What did he use at the end there? A special ability of Holy Sword…? No, at that speed, that seemed more like an Outside System Skill. I’d love to ask but judging from that expression—
Heathcliff’s expression did not shift despite his victory. He simply fixed his metallic gaze at Kirito before snapping his robes, turning around, and returning to his waiting room, merely striding through the massive roars made by the crowd.
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
Like birds of prey, the Raven and the Huntress had their keen eyesight trained on the match in the arena; the raven in particular resisted the urge to let his excitement through upon witnessing his friend starting to overwhelm the opposition.
“C’mon, Kazuto, end it…” Suzaku mumbled as he glared at the last strikes of Kirito’s sixteen-part combo. It was only his second time seeing this skill in person, but he was beginning to understand the methods of its madness. As was from Kirito’s perspective, Suzaku too saw the fourteenth and fifteenth strikes break through Heathcliff’s impenetrable defense that has so far seemed impossible to breach.
“He’s got him!” the Huntress declared with palpable excitement before the pair felt a sudden and overwhelming shock run through them. From their vantage point, the two hunters were watching in real time and seeing the moment Heathcliff’s shield was raised at an inhuman pace—one second, Kirito had disabled it, yet the next, it was somehow blocking the deciding blow of the duel. “His shield! How—!?” Sinon asked aloud.
Suzaku didn’t have a response or any kind of comment, immediately retreating to his collection of handwritten notes. Not just about the Holy Sword skill but the entire catalog of all the Outside System Skills he had observed and collected, along with the several that he had developed himself. Suzaku was—at his core—a student and the meticulous collection of notes and observations he had made in his spare time was almost always expected of him. His eyes strained as he pored over them, trying to find some kind of justification for how Heathcliff had claimed victory from the jaws of defeat. “Has to be an Outside System of some kind; that speed should be impossible—” the Raven declared, a clear frown on his face. While everyone cheered in ecstasy of such a titanic display of raw skill and power, Suzaku simply returned to his studies and began to search for an answer. “«Phantom Step» relies on specific manipulation of cooldowns,” he read his notes aloud, trying to compare the facts to his awareness.
“Suzaku—” Sinon began, reaching out to him.
“«Skill Break» relies on Martial Arts’ essentially non-existent post-motion delay… but he is using a shield! He should have no way to perform that Outside System!” His frustration and anger were suddenly cooled down when Sinon yanked on the boy’s hood, exposing his head to the cool air.
“HEY!”
“Uhh—” Taking a moment to reorganize himself, he turned back to the huntress as he stored his notes away. “S-Sorry, what’s up?”
“We’ll compare notes and figure out how he did this later,” she declared, slapping his lowered hood and giving him a reassuring smile. “There was definitely something weird going on there but we’ll figure out how your boy got screwed over and settle it with Heathcliff himself in due time.” This statement along with Sinon’s confident smile allowed Suzaku to fully regain his composure.
“Yes ma’am. Alright, I’m gonna go check on Kirito. Wanna join?” Suzaku asked, standing as he fixed his hood back atop his head.
“Nah, reconnect with Tohka. I’ve got my own research to conduct.” The Huntress then proceeded to melt away into the crowd. Suzaku too vanished with his personal stealthy capabilities, only sending a nod in the direction the Huntress had disappeared in.
»»————- ♡♡♡♡♡♡ ————-««
“—And there it is; looks like Kirito-kun’s finally got the chance he—” Despite the hint of excitement in the lad’s voice, Yoshiki’s words were left to hang as Heathcliff, in a swift maneuver too fast for the eyes, parried that final hit of Kirito’s sword skill. Even from this distance, the blacksmith could tell—influence from Suzaku, he speculated, as the former did have a tendency to yap during his visits—that something wasn’t right. Still… A glance to the rest of the commentators and the overexcited audience was enough for him to know that this wasn’t the time to voice such suspicions. “… Hold on there, Heathcliff-dono just parried Kirito-kun’s Sword Skill like it was nothing! Yuna-san, Argo-san, you two saw that too, right--!?”
“Such immense speed!” Yuna exclaimed. “Yoshiki-san, surely you can explain in detail what just happened, right? As guildmaster of the Roshigumi, you’re one of our most celebrated Clearers.”
“I mus’ say, I figured ol’ Heathcliff was a powerhouse in his own league but this be somethin’ else,” Argo added unhelpfully.
“Not too sure, honestly…” Racking his mind for the right words, Yoshiki turned back to the scene at hand. As much as he’d like to speculate here and now…well, people talked behind others’ backs for a reason. Very good reason too, given the fact that Heathcliff of all people was involved in this. “—but I’d presume it’s something to do with his «Holy Sword» Unique Skill… Well, it’s not like it’s something I know for sure; I just make the swords for them to use, ahaha.”
“I suppose that would be true… The Commander isn’t necessarily the type to reveal all of his cards. I mean, he hardly participates in strategy meetings for Floor Boss raids! Does he expect us to create a plan that he can just wing?”
“Mmn… Either way, I suppose we’ll have to see for ourselves. Yuna-san, Rain-san…if you would? I’m, um, not too used with closing off commentary like this, ahaha.”
“Ya got some new juicy info for me concerning mysterious materials?” Argo snickered. “We oughta sit down with Toto-tan and talk.”
“W-Wait, how’s this got anything to do with the fight? If anything, aren’t you the one who knows everything here, Argo-san!?”
“Nyehehe, that depends~♪”
Rain fumbled her Amplification Crystal as she declared, “A-Anyway, with that being said, this intense six-minute duel has reached its conclusion! The challenger, the Black Swordsman, is unable to defeat the Paladin! The living legend will continue to remain Aincrad’s strongest man!”