Chapter 24: Death Fairies Battle! Fun, Fights and Slashes!

November 14th, 2025. Kawagoe, Saitama. Dicey Café, 18:00…

Looking silently out of one of the bar's window, Takemiya Kotone, better known by her friends as 'Philia', took a small sip from her hot tea. It was being a really cold season. She wouldn't be surprised if it snowed this year…

Sighing, she let a smile appear on her face as she idly thought about how much her life had changed the last years.

Kotone wasn't an outcast or a loner; in fact, she had always drawn a bit of attention because of her 'cute' looks. Her main problem, though, was that she was too shy when it came to relating with people and that she had quite some problems to make friends because of this. This made that, despite having quite some 'acquaintances' since childhood, she had never quite been close enough with anyone to call them 'true friends'. Not to mention that she had changed houses at least 3 times since childhood because of her parents' work before they moved to the Saitama Prefecture and she started Middle School.

Maybe that was why she had wanted to try out Sword Art Online. Despite telling her parents she just wanted to have some fun with something new and apparently amazing, she had, in fact, wanted to see if she could relate with people more easily in the virtual world.

Then the Death Game started and her hopes were crushed by a nightmare.

Like many players at first, Kotone had holed up in an Inn of the Starting City and waited to see if the authorities would be able to free them. However, she had also been one of the first ones to get out of this state, spurred, like others, by the curious anomaly that had been originally called 'The Black and White Blur'.

With the extra feeling of 'security' that the mysterious 'Hero' gave, she ventured into Aincrad. Having underestimated how much the virtual world would affect her, she actually became less awkward with people, but still had massive problems relating to them, preferring to go around alone. She ended up becoming what could be called a 'Treasure Hunter'. Not someone actively trying to clear the game, but who would try and help out if she found some rare or useful item, informing about it or simply selling it for a reasonable price…

She continued like this until, one day, she found herself in a Dungeon of Floor 34, seeing how a nearby Party had been surrounded by mobs. Anyone with a bit of common sense would have tried to run away, especially after seeing that more and more of the monsters were spamming and that they were noticeably above her level.

Philia had run forward screaming, using her dagger to try and drag as much 'Hate' as she could, to give the surprised group a chance to get away. Her agility and natural talent to run away allowed her to actually pull it off, though she was starting to worry she wouldn't be able to get away from them in time…when she saw Him for the first time.

Like a blur of motion, he came, fist-first and at speeds the mind couldn't understand. She had hidden behind a nearby rock, shocked, after seeing how many of the mobs started to die for seemingly no reason, and saw how the Party had started cheering even as the caped boy stopped and asked if they were okay.

Kirito. The Hero of Aincrad.

Of course, the boy never knew she had been there, and she never quite brought it up with him or the others either, but it had been that moment when she had first become 'interested' in him. Almost as if it was Fate, it had been after that incident that she had discovered Battoujutsu on her Skills. It probably had to do with whatever she did exactly right while trying to help out that group, but a part of her had also thought it maybe had been because of him.

That's what actually motivated her to develop the Unique Skill, becoming stronger in the process, and follow with mild curiosity any news about him and, later, his guild. It had been like that how she had first stumbled upon Silica, who had given her the whole 'Ronin' nickname. And it had also been because of that that she was in the forest that night and helped out Sachi when she tried to prove herself against Nicholas the Renegade.

Then, she had met Him again, by pure chance this time, with Silica, that day in Floor 47. And that had been when Yui and Strea found her. The weird and crazy AIs that would become her first true friends. And that would lead her to Him and everyone else, allowing her to become part of something that she never thought would have beside her parents.

A true family.

Perhaps she wasn't the most outgoing of the group, and most likely would never be, but she was still happier than she could have ever thought with them. They had been loyal to her from the very beginning, and she would never betray that trust. She would always be loyal to them, just like they had been…

"A thousand Yrd for your thoughts?" came a familiar voice from across the table…or the middle, technically.

Smiling, Kotone turned around to look towards her own portable computer, which was currently resting open in the middle of the table, and through which she could see Strea's smiling visage sitting across from her, a cup on her own hands, though hers was hot chocolate instead of tea.

The orange-haired girl suppressed the need of commenting on the obsession with sweets she shared with her sister in favor of chuckling slightly.

"Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Maybe, but you know me, I'm just too curious, Phili-chan." grinned the red-eyed girl while taking a sip of her drink. "Ahhh…this is nice. I can't ever thank Kirito enough for managing to program something like this here!"

"Though Agil-san also deserves some credit." pointed out Kotone while looking to the ceiling. "He did allow us to keep the camera-system here, after all…"

"It doesn't hurt that it doubles as a security system that can actually virtually reproduce whatever happened inside here, eh?" laughed Strea before looking out of the window, then pouting because, from her perspective, there was nothing outside the glass. "Though I wish I could see a bit more than just this…"

"Well, when Yuuki-san isn't using the Probe, what do you say we go out for a walk or something?" asked the katana-user with a soft smile, remembering how Kazuto had told them that the ill girl and Asuna were using the device that day for her to check out the city and her old house.

"…my, Phili-chan, are you asking me out on a date? I never thought you were so bold!" cheered the AI with another massive smile, almost making the other girl choke on her drink. "Though I don't know if I can make you betray your love for Kirito like that…even if I don't think he would mind that much if both of us~"

"Ca-can you please stop with that?!" shouted Kotone with a burning face, then froze, quickly looking around and sighing in relief when she saw no one else in the café sans Andrew, and the man had long since grown used to ignore the shenanigans of the Association's members. "Ugh, and to think I was trying to be nice to you…be-besides, for your information, I have long since gotten over the cru-crush I had on Kirito."

"Oh…really? That's too bad…he would probably be very sad if he knew…" casually commented the red-eyed girl to the extremely obvious lie (As if she couldn't remember how the girl seemed about to burst into tears when the boy had been convulsing on his bed when fighting Death Gun). "…especially because you would have probably had a great chance to spent quite some time with him if you won tomorrow…"

"Wait, what?!" asked the blinking girl while turning to look towards her virtual friend. "Wha-what do you mean?!…uhm, for curiosity's sake, nothing more."

Inwardly, Strea pumped a victorious fist. She knew enough about the group's dynamics to know that Kotone would most likely be the one with the most problems to accept their 'Plan for Happiness', so she had needed quite a lot of careful thinking and searching for motivations that could help her sway the girl's mind to their 'beautiful and noble' cause. All of that had resulted in tomorrow's 'event', which she would also use to get everyone all fired up and also have some fun together.

It was very important that everything went smoothly and perfect tomorrow, of course. After all, in this last month, Argo had all but totally gotten Lisbeth on board with the Plan (Though she blushed immensely and shut up every time she tried to ask what exactly had been the blacksmith's initial reaction to it), and she knew that Yui-nee had been slowly but subtly been implanting the idea in Sachi's head. At that moment, they were supposedly together with the excuse of watching some anime about robots and drills (Which she had thought the girl would like, given the coincidence between her Ultimate Skill and one of the anime's attacks) and she had to finally break out the idea to the spear-user. She had high hopes and absolute faith in her older sister, so she wasn't worried about that bit in the slightest.

Incidentally, Argo seemed very worried that Liz had specifically asked about 'being the one' to get Silica into the Plan, all the while with a big grin and a strange glint in her eyes. Honestly, Strea didn't know what the problem was.

"Well, you see, remember how there is supposedly going to be a secret prize for the dueling tournament tomorrow in ALO? I may have heard what the 'secret prize' they're going to give is…"

That night, Takemiya Kotone had troubles sleeping, her mind awhirl with thoughts of Strea's words, the feelings she had been trying to give up on, her relationship with her friends and if she even had a chance in the supposed battle that was coming.

In the end, when she finally fell asleep, she dreamed about a strange and massive garden filled with flowers, a clear blue sky greeting her tired eyes as she leaned her back against the only tree it had…

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November 15th, 2025. Alne Plateau, Alfheim. Dueling Coliseum, 12:30…

It was a beautiful day in ALO, with the sun shining brightly over the area of the World Tree.

Thus, it was without a doubt a great day for players to gather and try to brutally kill each other for the position of the 'strongest'.

"Good day and welcome everyone to Alfheim's 4th United Dueling Tournament!" announced a Sylph of long, bright bluish-white hair, wearing some kind of coat that seemed to emphasize her chest area. "My name is Lux and I have been given the honor of being the commentator in this amazing event! I hope we can all get along!" there was a pause in which the girl sweatdropped as the crowd, mainly the male players, erupted into cheers and cries of her name, making her feel uncomfortable of being in that high podium holding the 'magic microphone' that broadcasted her voice. "U-uhm, yeah…a-also, we have with us two special guests to give us their opinions and comments about the coming matches! Sakuya, current Lady of the Sylph, and Alicia Rue, current Lady of the Caith Sith!"

Another round of claps and cheers came forth when the aforementioned women waved at the coliseum's crowd, many of them even declaring their eternal devotion towards them. Said comments were cheerfully ignored.

"Heheh, thanks for the introduction, Lux-chan! Just got to say, I and Sakuya-chan are very happy to be here!" boasted Alicia while giving a toothy grin towards the young commentator, who smiled back at her.

"Well, to be honest, I myself wanted to try my hand in the tournament, but after seeing some of the people in the rooster I had to reconsider." sighed Sakuya with a slightly disappointed tone. "Guess I'm not as great swordswoman as I'm with the dealings of my Race…"

"Nee, nee, don't go getting all depressed, Sakuya-chan!" chided the blonde Caith Sith while playfully slapping the back of her friend. "We're here to enjoy the show, after all!"

"A-as Lady Alicia said, cheer up!" insisted Lux while sweatdropping, wondering if she maybe shouldn't have accepted that 'job' just because she was bored. "Well then, without more delays, let's start by explaining how the fights of the tournament are going to…!"

Tuning out the rest of what the girl was explaining, and that he already knew, Kirito shook his head and looked around from where he was sitting, near one of the coliseum's roof edges. Honestly, he was surprised no one had told him anything about being there yet…except that maybe that was because no one had actually SEEN him yet. Truly, as surprising as it was, it seemed that, even in a world where they could actually fly, people still rarely looked up.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he felt someone gracefully landing behind him, a smile appearing on his face as he felt a familiar presence practically skipping to his side.

"Hey, Kirito, something on your mind?" asked Yuuki while stopping at his side, looking down towards the arena with her own typical smile. "Surprised you actually came to see the fights, given you didn't even consider participating!"

The caped boy decided to take a moment to look towards the Imp's happy face, towards the actual FULL smile she now had, one that didn't lack anything, unlike the first ones he had seen, only Asuna actually realizing it to some degree too.

It was something that had made this last month seem much brighter, ever since their fight.

"You kidding? Everyone would kill me if I didn't come to see them." joked the Spriggan while chuckling softly, before looking down again with relaxed eyes. "Jokes aside, though, I really did want to come. Looking at how everyone does their best as they fight…I enjoy it, seeing how free they seem. You could say it makes me remember that, no matter how strong I am, I will always know they're better than me in many things. I didn't earn my power, but they did. Every single inch of it, with effort and perseverance…"

"Hey now, don't say that." pouted Yuuki while playfully hitting his back. "Yeah, maybe you got your 'powers' out of nowhere…but I think you have more than earned them from then onwards, don't you think?"

Her soft words made him remember that night almost a month ago, in the aftermath of their crazy and unreal battle. How they had just sat down side by side and, after a short silence, started talking.

She told him about her sister, Aiko. Every last detail, even how she had been 'with her' after her death. In return, he shared with her all of his crazy life since the moment he watched One Punch-Man with Sugu to the Death Gun event (Omitting, of course, certain personal details like what happened between him, Asuna and Sugu). By the end of it, both had gained a new close friend, the first who knew all the secrets of the other, in Yuuki's case.

Then, with a bit of trepidation and gathering all his determination, Kirito told her about his idea. His plan to try and 'save' her, all the details and inconveniences that came with it, coupled with the extreme danger it posed.

When he had finished and received only shocked silence in return, the gamer had wondered what was going through the girl's mind. The risks of it all? The terrifying implication that there was no guarantee it would be 'her' who remained but just a digital copy thinking it was Yuuki? How insane the whole thing sounded?

Still, what finally had come out of her lips had been something he truly hadn't been expecting.

'Why? Why are you doing all of this for me? Why go so far to help someone you barely know?'

That had been the Imp's question. And the answer was as simple as it was disconcerting, the young girl being clearly shocked when he answered without hesitation.

'Because I decided I would help you.'

That was it, as simple as that. There was no deep meaning, no noble goal or Hero complex behind it all, no excuse for the greater good or for the sake of the innocents and justice. Just like Saitama, Kirito wasn't the kind of guy who did things because of that.

Kirigaya Kazuto had decided he would help Konno Yuuki because he wanted to. Because he thought, after getting to know her, that she was a beautiful person and definitively someone who didn't deserve what life had done to her. And because she was important to Asuna, someone he loved dearly. That he had just so happened to stumble upon a way that may actually manage to do so was a mix of stubbornness and luck in equal parts.

That was all the reason. Almost more selfish than heroic, when one looked at it that way. He was going to do his best to help her because he wanted to. And nothing in this world would convince him of the contrary.

After all of that…Yuuki had simply released a sound that the Spriggan hadn't been sure if it was a sob or a chuckle before hugging him in silence. He had returned the hug. All had been peaceful after that.

…well, at least until 12 hours, 42 minutes and 13 seconds later, when his friends (Mainly Sugu and Asuna) managed to make him reveal what his involvement with the golden lights of the night before in ALO had been (Curse those puppy-dog eyes, women's most unholy weapons). Luckily, Asuna had only wanted to murder him for 5 minutes before hugging and thanking him for being such a wonderful person…all the while still calling him an idiot, even as the others exchanged resigned comments about his Hero-instincts.

More than one had been extremely curious about Yuuki's 'Absolute Holy Sword' form, but their guesses were as good as his, who had already blamed it all on the madness his life had been since he watched One Punch-Man. Honestly, he was more surprised that they were more curious about that than the fact he had admitted to essentially wanting to test a highly dangerous piece of potentially lethal and unsafe technology with the hopes of saving the ill girl, in a way that seemed straight out of some crazy sci-fi plot.

The boy had almost felt like crying when, with smiles on their faces, they had answered that they had absolute faith in his decision, no matter how crazy it sounded for anyone else. In fact, Kirito was pretty sure he had started to sob as he thanked them, wondering what had he ever done to deserve having such wonderful people in his life.

He had honestly wondered if his adoptive sister had the power to read his mind when she had called him idiot the next instant before hugging him.

Then Strea had shouted 'Group Hug!' and things had become very awkward. He still wondered if Yui had been truthful when she said she erased the picture she took of the Association's awkward moment, even if there was no way the innocent little girl could lie to them…right?

"…heh. Maybe you're right." conceded the gamer while opening his eyes, turning back to the present to look at the smiling swordswoman. "Also, shouldn't you be down there? I thought you were participating…"

"Yep, I am, but I wanted to see how you were doing before…" accepted her with a small tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Besides, Siune and the rest came here to cheer on me, so I have to do my best too!"

"Well, I would wish you luck, but then again, I don't know how much help would that be, given that I already wished the same to almost everyone…" accepted the Spriggan while slowly looking towards the golden sword at the girl's side. "Unless, of course, you're planning to…"

"Nope. And don't worry, Kirito, I still have no idea how to do that THAT again." accepted Yuuki with a soft smile while caressing the handle of Excaliber, still remembering the warm and unreal power that slept within both her and the blade. "Even if I did, I definitively wouldn't use it in something like this. This is a proof of skill, not of power. That's the same reason why YOU aren't participating, right?"

"You have to accept, it would be absolutely unfair for everyone else if I did." sighed the caped boy while shaking his head, having long-since resigned himself to not enter any kind of 'tournament' in a VRMMO ever again (The BoB having been a pointed exception). "Anyway…good luck, Yuuki. Let the best one win."

"And that's exactly how it is going to be! Don't you doubt it!" promised the Holy Swordswoman before flying away, either to wait her turn to fight with the other competitors or going to talk to her fellow Sleeping Knights once more.

Kirito, for his part, turned around again, wondering if he should stay there or go down and search the rest of his friends that had decided not to participate.

A soft smile appearing on his face, the gamer took the obvious decision and jumped down.

…outside the coliseum, of course. There was no need to cause any commotion today, and he dearly wished it stayed that way.

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Nervously gripping the katana at her side, Philia tried once again to ignore the comments that were being made about the tournament and how the crowd gathered there reacted. Honestly, this was beyond silly. She had already set her mind in that she was only participating in that tournament to test how much her abilities had improved, not to win. There was, after all, little to no hope for that when the likes of Asuna and even Yuuki herself were participating, and all of her other friends participating had accepted that, even if they were still going to try their best.

And yet, if what Strea had told her yesterday was true…

"…and now, before officially starting the fights, we have a surprise announcement from our beloved Admins from Ymir!" came Lux's voice from the stand as she apparently started to read something. "Besides the usual in-game prizes for this year's champion, the game's sponsors have also decided to offer…two tickets for an entire day of free rides in Tokyo's Central Amusement Park?! Whoa, that's quite a prize!"

The Ronin closed her eyes even as an excited roar came from the crowd. It looked like her slightly crazy AI friend had been right…and made the stupid ideas she had put on her head come back. Images of herself and Kirito spending a happy day together in the amusement park, like the typical day from a shoujo manga.

Putting her hands over her blushing face, Philia tried to shook those stupid thoughts out of her mind. It was more than obvious that she had no chance with the boy, she had already told herself that countless times. Never mind the fact that almost every single female friend he had seemed to be head over heels for him to some degree, it was pretty obvious that, even if he was kind to everyone, he only really liked Asuna in a romantic…though there had been that thing with her and his adoptive sister that had never quite been cleared just before the Death Gun incident. And, after that, their relationship seemed to have returned to 'normal' but with some strange changes that…

Suppressing the need to scream in frustration, Philia decided to just concentrate on the battles ahead. After all, no matter how much she wished for it, a magical solution for the problem at hand that didn't end with someone or another's feelings getting hurt wasn't going to appear…right?

In other of the areas where the future participants of the tournament were waiting, Strea felt the strange need to laugh sinisterly. She suppressed it just because there were more people waiting there, and Argo had repeatedly told her that people would usually freak out when she did that.

Meanwhile, on the coliseum's terraces, Yui felt the strange need too and was barely able to suppress it with a chuckle, even as Kirito (On whose shoulder she was sitting) gave her a confused look.

"Uhm, everything okay, Yui?"

"O-oh, yeah Papa, everything is fine!" waved it off the pixie while giving him a smile. "I-I was just thinking about another funny scene of that anime I and Sachi-mama watched yesterday!"

"Yes, that certainly sounds like something interesting…" commented Argo from where she sat at the boy's side, her gaze subtly moving towards Yui as she talked. "Did you and Sachi have fun, Yui-chan?"

"Yep, we most certainly did, Argo-mama!" happily answered the little AI while giving the Caith Sith a thumbs-up, which spoke lots about how her part about talking their other friend into the 'Plan' had gone. "…though that series was certainly something else. I think it even affected Sachi-mama a bit too much…"

"Wait, what?" blinked the confused Spriggan as he once again stared towards his virtual daughter. "What do you mean?"

"Ah, you will probably see it on today's fights, so I won't want to spoil the surprise, Papa." grinned Yui to the boy's further confusion, and also giving Argo the feeling another headache was coming…before she looked in the opposite direction, towards the other Caith Sith sitting at Kirito's other side. "Are you excited about seeing this, Silica-mama?"

"U-uh?! Ye-yeah, i-it's going to be fun!" commented the young-looking girl while staring forward, her ears and tail all stiff and her face burning crimson every time she so much peeked towards the gamer's direction, muttering something impossible to understand every time she did.

Argo sighed. She still couldn't believe the virtual sisters thought that letting LISBETH be the one to talk the younger girl into their crazy 'Plan' was a good idea. The info-broker most certainly DIDN'T want to know what kind of images or thoughts the blacksmith had put on the kunoichi's head.

Quickly searching for a way to deviate the conversation from the clearly awkward Caith Sith, the whiskered girl looked towards her other side, to the last member of their guild that had decided to not enter the tournament besides them and the boys.

"So…I can understand Silica not participating, and I myself know my fighting style and Unique Skill absolutely suck for PvP, but…what didn't you enter, Sinon-nya?"

"I like to have always long-range as my first option when it comes to a fight against other players." simply replied the blue-haired sniper while looking towards her, though Argo noticed a small amount of pink appearing on her cheeks when Kirito also looked at her, even if her expression didn't really change. "As good as I'm with my blade, I know I wouldn't last against the likes of Leafa-sama if I can't use my bow from the very beginning, and given the rules of the tournament and the size of the coliseum, that's impossible."

"Hmm…when you put it that way, it does make sense…" muttered Keita while scratching his chin, even as the Association's info-broker cursed Strea while trying to vanish from her mind the 'lessons' she had given her (Against her will) about how to identify what every single blush in Sinon's face most likely meant when she talked to Leafa or Kirito. "So, who do you think will win this?"

"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" said Ducker while eating some popcorn, or whatever was Alfheim's equivalent to it. "Yuuki is without a doubt going to crush everyone in the tournament…"

"Are you doubting your own comrades' ability to overcome their previous defeat?!" shouted the sniper while turning to glare at the dagger-user, who almost squeaked under her burning gaze. "I will have you know that Leafa-sama has been training tirelessly for weeks to better her already magnificent ability with the blade just for this tournament!"

"…she has?" questioned a surprised Kirito, who suddenly wondered if maybe that was why Sugu had been a bit too overenthusiastic with her kendo practice (And their occasional vigilante's activities) lately.

When the blue-haired Caith Sith turned to look at him with narrowed eyes, the Spriggan realized that maybe he shouldn't have opened his mouth.

"…to be honest, I think Asuna also has a very good chance of winning." chimed Tetsuo to the rest, ignoring how Sinon was shouting to their leader about 'Not appreciating the greatness of his sister' in the background. "She and Yuuki were very almost matched in that fight they had, and I know she has been training endlessly too for some reason, so…"

"I…kind of want to cheer up for Sachi, but…yeah." awkwardly commented Sasamaru, even as his other friends also suddenly seemed very uncomfortable by how little faith they had in their long-time friend to actually win the tournament. "I mean, she's certainly very strong, and I know she's always trying to improve, but…"

"We-well, with some luck, she may even get the upper hand over Philia, Strea or Liz…not that I'm not wishing them luck or anything, of course." quickly added Keita while Argo just sighed, Silica apparently busying herself by watching how Kirito tried to calm down the group's annoyed sniper. "But, between them and Sachi, I think I will root for her…"

"Heads up, it's starting." informed them the whiskered girl while all around the crowd also suddenly seemed keenly centered, even as Lux stood up from her place on the podium.

"Now, players of the 9 Races, let us give a warm welcome to our first two participants!" declared the Sylph while pointing dramatically towards one of the coliseum's inner entrances. "Leader of one of the most well-known guilds in Aincrad, a swordsman that many know for his upbeat attitude and that is usually mentioned among the Salamanders in parties or crowded celebrations! The self-proclaimed samurai and leader of Fuurinkazan, Klein!"

A round of cheers came from the crowd while the red-haired katana-user emerged into the arena, waving around as he made an 'epic' pose with his blade. On their seats, his fellow guildmates didn't know if they should cheer or be embarrassed by his antics…except for their latest member.

"Go, Klein-san!" cheered Recon with all his might, with a passion in his tone that one could only share with someone with which they had gone through untold and mentally-scarring terror. "You can do it!"

"You know, I never realized Klein was so popular…" mused Kirito after, thankfully, having been able to calm down Sinon, who now just stared towards the opposite end of the arena in silence.

"And now, his opponent!" continued Lux while everyone's attention shifted towards the next figure. "A master of the blade which is said to be unbeatable when it comes to unsheathe! Do not blink, for her sword being drawn will be the last thing you see! A Ronin with an edge that can cut anything; lets all cheer for Philia of the United Heroes Association!"

Even as his fellow Spriggan entered the arena, the caped gamer couldn't help but shake his head at the MASSIVE uproar that came from the crowd, cheers, shouts and even declarations of undying love (Something that annoyed him a bit, because he knew they were just bothering Philia) exploding from the gathered players, though this really didn't surprise him all that much.

Nowadays, it was pretty much an open secret that the members of the UHA were SAO Survivors, and that they had been one the main driving forces to clear the game. Even if openly talking about the Death Game was still something of a taboo, after more than a year had passed since Sword Art Online players flocked into ALO, together with rumors about them, coupled with their own exploits around, it wasn't surprising that they had also gained a 'reputation' around the land of fairies.

Didn't help that even MORE people around were in there and knowing about the guild only because they were actually hoping to see HIM. After all, even though he hadn't really given it much thought at the time, he had made quite the impression upon the gaming community with what happened in the 3rd Bullet of Bullets. Somehow, he had become some kind of legend among people in VRMMOs, and the news that he was around in Alfheim Online most of the time seemed to have spread around at some point (Probably because of what he did in Jotunheimr during the Excaliber incident). The fact that Lux was also an SAO Survivor (He could vaguely remember the girl from the Laughing Coffin incident) and a bit of a fangirl of their guild didn't help either.

However, despite all of this and the still ongoing commotion, his attention quickly went out to what really mattered, and he could feel a proud smile appearing on his face at what he saw.

Philia wasn't even looking at the crowd, all her attention centered upon her opponent, who was currently looking around with a slightly resigned look at the obvious difference between his popularity and that of the Spriggan girl. Then, Klein nodded to himself and finally stared directly towards his opponent, grinning as he did so.

"Heh, this certainly looks like it's going to be an interesting battle…got something to say about the combatants, Sakuya-san, Alicia-san?"

"Well, Klein is pretty known around some circles because he apparently is the 'soul' of a good party." commented Sakuya with a diplomatic smile. "He's also known for…being quite dramatic on some things…"

"Like how he's rejected by every single known girl that he has asked out so far here?" chimed Alicia with a cheeky grin, ignoring how the redhead almost seemed to take a critical hit to his self-esteem at her words. "In fact, didn't he try to ask YOU out at some point?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that." grimaced the Sylph Leader while shaking her head. "I think he had drunk a bit too much at that par…"

"Ehem, a-and what can you tell us about the other participant?!" quickly intervened Lux, knowing that there probably won't be much of a battle if one of the fighters became chronically depressed BEFORE it began.

"Hmm…well, Philia-chan isn't as well-known as most of the members of the UHA, but the mere fact that she's a part of it already says a lot about her ability, don't you think?" stated the Caith Sith Leader while playfully grabbing her own tail.

"Indeed. Even if we don't know quite as many details about her fighting style as we do of others, being a member of the famous Heroes Association is something only especially talented people seem to manage…" idly mused Sakuya while looking over the crowd, as if searching said group (Or perhaps just a certain someone of said group) with her gaze. "Do you have anything yourself that you can tell us about her, Lux?"

"Oh, well, I do perhaps know quite a bit about her…" softly smiled the bright-haired Sylph before excitedly grabbing her microphone. "Philia-sama is the proud owner of the Unique Skill 'Battoujutsu'! When she draws her sword, nothing can stand in her way! It's said that she can cut you so fast that if you're on her range there is no way you won't end missing some limbs at the very least and…!"

"He-hey, ca-calm down, Lux-chan, you're overheating!" quickly intervened Alicia while stopping the rant from the excited fangirl, many people in the crowd sweatdropping at this. "Now, why don't we get this tournament started already?"

"Eh? A-ah, that's right! Combatants, are you ready?! Prepare the Duel!"

As if she had been waiting for the words for quite a while, Philia quickly sent the Duel request to Klein, who accepted it with a silent nod, even as he raised his katana and eyed the Spriggan's significantly longer one.

"Got to say this, Philia-chan…I know you're hella strong, so I won't underestimate you." grinned the samurai wannabe while entering a combat stance as the countdown went down. "I will show you the mightiness of my blade, which carries the hopes and dreams of Fuurinkazan! The deafening cheers of my comrades give me the power to beat you!"

Back with said comrades, Recon was still loudly cheering while the other sweatdropping guildmates have off half-hearted cheers, having a good idea of what was going to happen.

"I see…" whispered the black-haired fairy while closing her eyes, even as Lux reminded everyone that flight was allowed in the fight as long as the combatants didn't rise above the coliseum's area, for that would result in immediate disqualification. "Yes, thanks for reminding me that, Klein. As a reward, I won't hold back against you."

Even as the Salamander blinked in evident confusion, Philia tightened her grip on her weapon as she stood in a prepared stance, ready to draw it. Almost, she could feel her long katana's (A beautiful Liz-forged weapon called 'Kazekage', the Wind Shadow) eagerness to be drawn and inflict the metaphorical Dolorous Stroke.

Unsheathing. That was the only thing she could say that she was absurdly good at. Back when she was just a dagger-user and a Solo Player, it was something that she had trained carefully and with extreme precision, because failing to draw her weapon as fast as she could in the right moment could prove fatal for someone in Sword Art Online. The girl didn't know this, even if she suspected it, but it was this what had deemed her 'worthy' of Battoujutsu. Cardinal was programmed to grant the Unique Skill to 'the player with the fastest unsheathing speed'. She had mastered this to the best of her abilities, first alone and later helped by her friends, learning the flaws and advantages it had to heart. That's why her katana, unlike Leafa's standard-sized Justice's Wings or Sinon's shorter, almost wakizashi-sized, one, was the longest one of those weapons could be. Battoujutsu's main weakness, besides the one Kayaba had painfully pointed out in their fight by cutting off her hand, was in the range of the 'cut'. Despite some of its strongest Skills allowing for a small 'projected cut' attack, it was still necessary for her to physically slash at her objective for them to work. This made her lethal at close range, but practically unable to fend off long-range attacks, and if an enemy was fast or skilled enough to evade her initial strike, then she would most certainly be doomed before she could sheathe her blade again, while her ability with normal Katana Skills left much to be desired, even nowadays…but there was one thing that she would never allow herself to forget and that she had found troubles to concentrate in thanks to the stupid thoughts plaguing her head the whole day.

She was Philia of the United Heroes Association, the most loyal member of the guild. Not for any sense of pride or anything like that, but because she was willing to do anything for her friends, even risk her own life, if it meant to help them. And every single one had shown her to be willing to do the same in return, their loyalty and friendship touching her heart.

And as long as she drew her sword for her friends…

"START!"

"Zantetsuken."

SLASH!

…she would always have that 'Loyalty' to let her cut down any opponent.

"…oh, great." muttered Klein while blinking, everyone else in the now silent crowd doing the same, even as the Spriggan girl, now standing behind him, sheathed her katana once again. "That was so fucking overki…"

The Salamander was unable to say more, because by then his body finally remembered it had been bisected by an Ultimate Skill and his now two halves started to fall to the sides, bursting into a Remain Flame before he hit the ground.

Giving a soft smile towards where she knew Kirito and her other friends were waiting, the Ronin turned around and started walking away, even as the crowd went wild and Lux loudly declared her the winner, Sakuya and Alicia having some troubles to calm her down from her newest fangirl-attack.

From their seats, the rest of the Heroes also cheered for their friend, celebrating her flawless victory with smiles on their faces.

"…man, poor Klein." muttered Keita while shaking his head. "Don't get me wrong, the guy is good and he was a great Front Liner back in SAO, but against Philia…He never stood a chance."

"That's just how some things are." accepted Kirito while nodding, knowing that probably no one but him and a couple more would have been able to see the absurdly fast drawing of the katana. "Philia simply has no match when it comes to Battoujutsu."

"Certainly, when it comes to drawing her sword, I'm truly no match for her…" muttered Sinon while scratching her chin, her ears twitching forward as she clenched her hand with fire behind her eyes. "I still have a long way to go if I ever dream of being at Leafa-sama's level…!"

"…I wonder if we will ever have to worry about that 'healthy' obsession-worship she has towards Sugu-san…" muttered Argo while shaking her head, even as she looked around at her friends.

Silica was still too busy thinking about who-knows-what (She REALLY needed to talk to Liz about that soon) and the boys were exchanging opinions about how Philia's skills compared to those of their other friends, while also wondering who would fight next.

Yui still seemed pretty excited for some reason, as if she was looking forward to something. The info-broker still wasn't sure if that was just honest innocence or if she should be worried about it.

Fifteen minutes later, after a couple of fights between people they didn't know, Argo got her answer.

"Well then, isn't this a surprise?" rhetorically asked Lisbeth while trying her best to ignore the praises Lux was making towards her unparalleled skill as a master blacksmith, reminding herself she had to center on the battle and her opponent. "Who would have thought we would ever fight each other, eh, Sachi-chan?"

There was no answer coming front the strangely silent Salamander, which made the Leprechaun blink in confusion. When she usually said something like that, Sachi was quick to answer in her usual shy manner and probably wish her luck in battle (The only moment where the girl's attitude changed to full-dedication).

Now, however, it was almost as if strange shadows covered her eyes and she seemed to totally ignore the crowd's noise as Lux started rambling about her too, silently sending the Duel Request to the blinking Lisbeth.

"…and she also…eh? Wah, the Duel is about to start!" quickly called the commentator Sylph while both Race Leaders at her side sweatdropped. "Fighters, be prepared!"

"O-okay then…let the best one win, right, Sachi?" said Lisbeth while hesitantly raising Mjolnir, the golden hammer reflecting the light of the sun as she tightened her grip on it while readying her kite shield, wondering why she was feeling so on edge.

Sachi, for her part…finally raised her absurdly long spear (Another proud creation of the blacksmith and God Hand, called Shinryu, like the mythical Dragon God) at the same time her eyes finally met the Leprechaun's.

Lisbeth was surprised at seeing the burning fire behind them as a massive grin appeared on the Salamander's face, the spear-user adopting her combat stance faster than she had ever seen her just as the last 10 seconds of the countdown tickled down.

"Well said, Liz! Now, I shall show you my burning spirit!" roared Sachi as she aimed her spear, alarm bells roaring in every inch of the blacksmith's head as she shot out of the way. "Longinus!"

Lisbeth readied herself to counterattack, now that she knew the Skill wouldn't hit her…and had to raise her shield at the last second as the extending-aura of the other girl's spear almost impaled her throat.

Instead, it just pierced through her shield as if it was butter and impaled her arm, throwing her backward. The Leprechaun tried her best to roll back to her feet even as her mind screamed wildly.

HOW? She had gotten away from Sachi's range, she was sure of it! The whole guild knew perfectly well how Infinite Spear's multiplication range worked, and she herself had crafted the Salamander's spear, meaning she knew the exact length it had and how the Unique Skill affected it. The only way in which the 'Longinus' could have reached her was for the spear-user to have somehow moved and corrected her stance in a split of a second, something that didn't make any sense because there was no way Sachi could have found the necessary balance to execute it again so fast…

Her train of thought was cut out when she saw the Salamander appear again, having moved as fast as she could and already sweeping her shining spear towards her.

"MOON SWEPT!" roared Sachi with a burning passion, the squeaking blacksmith barely able to roll away and use her hammer to fend off the last part of the Skill. "C'mon, Liz, I know you can do better than that! Show me that awesome determination you always hide behind teasing and jokes!"

"Ho-holy hell, what's wrong with you today?!" half-shouted the Leprechaun while manifesting her God Hand, feeling it tingle once again when in contact with Mjolnir even as he flexed it in a familiar stance. "Hermes Wings!"

Almost turning into a blur of speed and easily evading the next lunge of the massive spear, Lisbeth decided it would be best to wonder why her spear-using friend suddenly seemed to be high or something AFTER the duel, so she used her enhanced speed to close in on Sachi's back, a 'Trinity Arts' Mace Skill ready to be unleashed…and the Salamander suddenly opened her wings, shooting up and out of her way in the last second.

Even as her Skill hit nothing but air and dragged her along, the Leprechaun had enough time to remember how unfair the ability to fly had been with some of their Unique Skills; a clear example being how things like her speed boost given by Hermes Wings only could be useful as long as she was on the ground because losing her footing made using the doubled speed incredibly unreliable and nigh-uncontrollable in the air. Others, however…

"Dragoon!"

…had been luckier.

"Gah!" screamed the blacksmith as the only Infinite Spear Skill that went straight down pierced her back as if she was a voodoo doll, reducing her HP to the yellow, even as she was quick to start flying too and turn away as she, almost crossing the whole arena with that simple move, decided to change tactics. "Da-dammit…Hades Armor!"

Even as she exchanged her now reduced speed for extreme defense, Lisbeth was quick to keep an eye on the weird Sachi as she flew back, gripping Mjolnir tightly and engaging the grinning and determining-looking girl, her spear doing little to no damage to her as she managed to land a solid hit on her side…which the other took in stride as she rolled in midair and crashed down with a mighty sound, before quickly standing and pointing towards the blacksmith epically with her spear.

"Not bad, Liz! But despite all your efforts, my burning spirit will NOT be crushed!" shouted the salamander while pointing at the sky with her weapon. "For my spear is the drill that shall pierce the heavens!"´

"The what?! Sachi, did you eat anything weird today?!" questioned Lisbeth, more than a little freaked out…before the other girl suddenly swung her left hand and unleashed a quick torrent of flames, which divided in two and caught both her arms and legs, essentially trapping her in midair. "Wha…?! Fire Bindings?! When did she even chant the Spell?!"

"ULTIMATE SKILL!" roared Sachi while rearing back her spear with a mighty move, everyone's eyes glued to her as the aura of power exploded around the lance on her hands. "HEAVENLY….!"

"This can't possibly get any wor… " started to say the Leprechaun, before blinking as she felt the effects of Hades Armor vanishing. "…never mind."

"…PIERCEEEEER!" finished screaming the spear-user, even as the massive and drill-tipped aura roared through the air, crushing even the virtual air with enough force to create shockwaves as it reached the resigned-looking Lisbeth and pierced through her body as if she was made of wet paper, crushing her avatar into virtual paste and turning her into a Remain Flame even before the attack had reached its full length.

The drill-aura was already finishing to vanish when the stunned crowd finally reacted and exploded into cheers, some even jumping on their seats as many shouted Sachi's name to the heavens.

The other members of the United Heroes Association, meanwhile, were staring with hanging mouths and wide eyes. All except for Yui, who was happily clapping on Kirito's shoulder.

"…what the hell happened to Sachi?" asked an open-mouthed Keita while trying to recover from the shock.

"Oh, don't worry, Keita-san, she's just still too high on awesomeness because of the anime we saw yesterday, she will surely recover very son." waved it off the pixie while everyone stared at her.

"…what kind of anime did you two see?"

"An extremely epic and cool one filled with explosions, drills, manliness and robots! BIG robots! And I learned how to truly believe in myself while watching it!" explained the little AI with stars on her eyes. "Also, it seems Sachi-mama also liked it a lot, so it even affected her attitude while fighting!"

"…I really hope you're right and she goes back to normal soon." prayed Argo while resting her face on her hands. "We have enough craziness in our guild as it is already…"

The other present Heroes were still too stunned to do more than nod dumbly in agreement, which made both the info-broker and the caped Spriggan sigh.

It was going to be a long day with this tournament…

0000000000000000

Taking a deep breath, Leafa walked out into the arena when she once again heard her name being called. At that point, the tournament had been going for a bit more than an hour and she had already fought a couple of times, so this time at least there was no awkward presentation for Lux's part listing all of her exploits from both before and after she joined the UHA. However, the blonde Sylph was sure that, even if that had been the case, she wouldn't have actually paid any attention to it, too busy as she was staring at the incoming figure of her opponent (And this time both Sakuya and Alicia had to make an effort to stop the commentating Sylph from going all fangirl again).

Looking at her with a calm smile, Asuna stopped walking, nodding softly as her hands moved to rest on the handles of the blades on her back.

Doing the same, Leafa also caressed Justice's hilt, hearing the humming and calm words it had prepared for…

'Show her who is the Alpha Female in your crazy relationship, Master! Teach that rich girl WHO is the one who always gets first dibs on that useless brother of yours'

…okay, scratch that, Justice wasn't really of any help for this. In fact, the young kendoka had to accept that her katana hadn't exactly been too accepting of her 'peculiar' relationship with her adopted brother and the Undine in front of her, not to mention that she was quite vocal and open when expressing it (Which once again made her glad that she was the only one that could hear her…unless Strea also could and wasn't telling, she still wasn't sure since that time in Jotunheimr).

Even so, the Sylph forced herself to concentrate once again, calmly tuning out the sound of the spectators as she accepted the Duel request and the countdown started.

This was it. She had been training endlessly time and time again, both in the real world and in Alfheim, just for this. This time, she WOULD defeat Asuna. It wasn't out of something petty like wanting to win the tournament to have a date all alone with her Onii-chan in the amusement park (The idea NEVER even crossed her head, no sir), but because of her pride as a kendoka.

She may have accepted to share the love of her life with the other girl, and also grown close to her a lot more since then, but the swordswoman inside her refused to let their score of old fight end in the other's favor. At the very least, she wanted to settle this with the Dual Wielder once and for all.

"Good luck, Leafa-chan." said Asuna while unsheathing her blades, adopting her standard dual-wielding stance.

"Same here, Asuna." smiled the blonde Sylph while drawing Justice's Wings, ignoring the cries of 'Prepare to eat your fancy swords!' coming from it.

The countdown ended.

Everyone in the coliseum gasped in shock as both girls seemed to vanish for an instant, before both of them appeared in midair, the katana deflecting Elucidator's edge as Leafa dodged under Fafnir's Fang and rammed an elbow on the surprised Undine, who was quick to recover and do a backflip to evade the following swing.

On his seat, Kirito watched their clash with utmost attention, idly aware of Yui going all 'Woaaah…' on his shoulder…and keenly more aware of Sinon standing on her seat and cheering loudly for his little sister, even as Silica tried to convince her to sit again.

"…holy shit." whispered Ducker while he let go of his now empty bag of popcorn, staring wide-eyed as both girls shot from one side of the arena to the other, clashing on the air as the very air seemed to shake with each one of their swings. "WHAT kind of fucking training have those two been doing?!"

"Well, I must say we have got an amazing fight here!" agreed Alicia Rue while trying to follow the brutal exchange of speed and skill with her Caith Sith eyes, even then being barely able to. "These two are certainly on another level, eh?"

"Indeed. I mean, I have known for quite some time how good Leafa is, and she has been the pride of the Sylphs for quite a while, but my God has she improved since she joined the United Heroes Association." commented Sakuya with a smiling face. "Then again, they say that one can become a thousand times stronger with the right motivation, and she most certainly has it~"

Leafa's cheeks reddened at the remark, but she resisted the urge to shout embarrassedly at her Race's leader in favor of blocking Asuna's next swing and quickly closing her wings so as to evade the next one (It also helped that the comment's hidden meaning flew over the crowd's heads, except a groaning Kirito).

If there was one thing she was certain, at least, was that she still surpassed the Undine in aerial combat. Abilities aside, there was no doubt among their guild that she was the best flier of them, and even if Yuuki had been able to defeat her in the air, she had still proved to be even superior to the girl called Zekken when it came to pure flying ability and speed, in a race they had had with the Sleeping Knights a couple of weeks ago.

'Master, watch out, she's starting!'

Banishing the thoughts that had been distracting her out of her mind, the blonde sylph grimaced as she heard Justice's warning, even as she spotted Asuna descending upon her with both blades shining. Every single fight they had had before that, victory would always go to the Dual Wielder the moment she started to unleash her Unique Skill against her, reason why she had stopped doing so.

Dual Blades was unfair like that. Whether the enemy was big or small, one or many, the Skills that filled the absurd Skill Tree seemed to have been made with the only purpose of giving the user the power to slash their way out of any fight with brutal efficiency, in the form of deadly overkill. Leafa had seen with her own eyes that nothing short of a tough Boss could withstand the full might of Asuna's strongest Skills when she managed to get a clear chance to hit. The only real weakness they had was that they were really long and dragged the user at a brutal speed, so if someone managed to predict or get out of the way fast enough then they would literally have the other at their mercy.

The Undine had, of course, improved over this long ago, and she never once unleashed a Skill unless she was sure she was going to hit her target. And effectively, as the blonde Sylph saw the 'Nightmare Rain' Skill being executed from slightly over her, she knew she had no way of dodging or blocking any of the incoming hits.

"Justice Rider!" screamed the young kendoka with all her might, choosing to fight fire with fire and unleashing her OSS against the Dual Wielder's looming attack, even as she heard her blade roaring in defiance together with her.

Halfway through the exchange of shining slashes, though, Leafa already knew it was hopeless for her. For all the grace and devotion her Original Sword Skill had, it was only a Katana Skill of 7 Hits. Even Justice's screams of defiance wouldn't close the gap that existed between it and the 16 high-powered Hits of the Dual Blades Skill. She found herself being pushed back and quickly losing HP before shooting to the air again, unable to take advantage of Asuna's momentary frozen state because of the recoil.

"Not bad, Leafa-chan! I think this is the first time I see your OSS from so close!" grinned the Undine before shooting after her, both blades at the ready. "Let's see what more you can do!"

The young kendoka felt a smile tugging at her lips at those words, even as she raised her katana for another exchange. She was certainly having fun, pushing her limits and doing her best against her friend like this. And even as she failed to overcome the 'Inferno Raid' Skill that Asuna sent her way, she still thought it was worth it. After all, both of them knew that, when it came to pure swordsmanship, she was the best one, but the Undine would never lose in a fight of pure power as long she had Dual Blades. Knowing this, she was happy to know she would lose giving her all to…

'LIKE HELL! I refuse to allow my Master to lose once again against this rich girl! Prepare yourself to feel MY wrath!'

"Eh?!" was Leafa's shocked answer when she saw the inscription on her weapon's blade shining, and felt how the wheel-carvings on the handle started to impossibly spin.

'JUSTICE SLASH!'

Certainly, Asuna wasn't the only one surprised when her next swing sent Elucidator flying out of her hand. Eyes wide, the Dual Wielder dove to try and recover her falling sword, even as the wide-eyed Sylph felt her katana's 'hum' turn into a nigh-roar.

'Now, Master! Sent me forward and finish this!'

"Ju-Justice…Crash!" shouted the young kendoka while THROWING her katana down, quickly diving after it. Open-mouthed, the crowd watched as the roaring form of Justice's Wings descended like a bullet and pierced through Asuna's back, dragging the shocked and squeaking Undine to the ground, where it impaled her against the arena's floor.

It took the Dual Wielder three seconds to stand again and start removing her enemy's weapon from her back, chalking up the strange feeling that the blade was trying to impale her by itself to how unexpected the move had been.

The moment Justice fell to the ground, though, Asuna was swept away as countless wind blades shot through the air and crashed against her unprotected form, the Undine rolling backward over the arena.

Panting, the blonde Sylph landed at her katana's side, barely believing what had happened, even as the last remains of her Spell finished hitting her opponent's body.

'Great job, Master! We truly showed her who…WATCH OUT!'

Too shocked to properly react, it was only her instincts what allowed Leafa to grab Justice's Wings and spun it on the way of the flying form of Fafnir's Fang, the blade being barely deflected and just cutting her hair's ribbon instead of impaling her head, her long blonde hair falling freely down her back.

No amount of Skill or advice from her sentient sword-bicycle allowed her to evade Asuna's meteoric attack, however, the girl's rapier piercing her from side to side with a 'Linear' that literally created a sonic boom on the arena.

Shocked, the kendoka let the now 'crying' Justice fall from her hands, her eyes shooting towards the Undine's HP bar, which now had barely a sliver of red left.

'Sorry…Master…'

"…better luck next time." softly whispered the rapier-user with soft utmost sincerity.

"…yeah. Next time I will win." replied the blonde Sylph while closing her eyes, feeling herself bursting into a Remain Flame.

But even as she heard the cries of her sword (Even when she assured it hadn't been her fault), the sudden explosion of cheers and claps of the players around and saw how Asuna walked away after giving her Flame a last smile…Leafa felt something within her shift, for some unknown reason.

Finally having found the last requirement it had been searching for, the Cardinal System of ALO executed its last programmed command for a particular sequence. Something that had been kept locked away and unused since the time of Sword Art Online was released.

The Tenth One was finally free…

0000000000000000

By the time the blonde Sylph was back to the coliseum (Heading to sit with her friends), the next match was already starting, and she almost fell down from the shock at the unusual confrontation.

"Oh, you're already back, Leafa!" called Kirito to her while waving her hand, the girl quickly blinking and descending to where he and the rest were, accepting how Sinon happily moved aside to let her sit at his side, while smiling, with just the necessary amount of nervousness. "We were thinking you would miss the next fight…"

"Wa-wait, are those two really…?"

"Yep, they are." confirmed Argo what Leafa's eyes apparently didn't seem to believe, even as the countdown finished and both opponents stared silently at each other. "…poor Strea."

"You can do it, Yuuki!" came Siune's voice from somewhere below from where they were sitting, the rest of the Sleeping Knights also cheering on their leader as she faced off against the upbeat AI.

Down on the area, the Imp softly gripped the hilt of Excaliber even as the Gnome lazily moved the massive weight of Gram around, smiling widely at her, cheerfully ignoring how Lux and the two Leaders seemed to have entered a debate about what had happened to the original owner of the Demonic Sword and why no one had seen him for more than a year.

"…you know, I just realized, you're the only one of Asuna's friends I have never fought against, Strea-san." kindly commented Yuuki while tilting her head to the side, never loosening her stance.

"Well, that's because I KNOW I'm no match for you, Yuuki-chan." replied Strea while lowering Gram. "But…I wanted to tell you something, and this is a great way to do so!"

"Uh? What did you want to tell me?" questioned the confused Imp while tilting her head to the side.

The Gnome told her, with a low enough voice for no one else in the crowd to hear it. Yuuki's eyes widened, her face suddenly gained a scarlet color…before she yelped when Strea's whole body suddenly was surrounded by a mass of darkness emanating from her blade, Gram shining an eerie black color through the dark mist as she swung down, aiming to end it all with just a 'Dead End' Skill…

Fast as lighting, the Holy Swordswoman let golden light flow around her, countering the Darkness even as she swung Excaliber upwards in a 'Sacred Swing' Skill.

Light met Darkness in a display that blinded everyone. Even so, the red-eyed AI didn't seem surprised in the slightest when not only her Ultimate Skill especially designed to kill other players was completely deflected, but also when her Demonic Sword went flying out of her hands, Ethereal Shift apparently having been unable to affect the only blade in the game superior to Gram.

Even as the Holy Sword Skill finished its job and cleaved through her with massive critical damage, Strea never stopped smiling as she fell past Yuuki, whispering something more to the wide-eyed Imp as her body burst into a Remain Flame.

Not even bothering to pay any attention to the ovation and shouts of 'Zekken, Zekken, Zekken!' coming from the crowd, the girl was quick to return to the waiting area of the coliseum, still with a noticeable blush on her face as the Gnome's words once again assaulted her mind.

"So…how long have you been in love with Kirito?"

Back in the excited observation area, the group of Heroes was exchanging confused glances, as if trying to understand what had happened.

"…what exactly did Strea tell her?" questioned a confused Keita while looking at the rest.

"I…have no idea." accepted Kirito while scratching the back of his head. "Knowing Strea, though, it could have been anything…"

"Yeah…anything…" muttered Argo while exchanging a quick but meaningful glance with the rest of the Association's girls that were there (Sans Leafa).

"Uhm…well, this is already going to end, right?" was quick to comment Lisbeth so as to steer the boys' attention away from that. "Only four combatants remain now…"

"Philia, Sachi, Asuna, and Yuuki." counted Ducker with a raised eyebrow, everyone seeming to be thinking that list over. "Honestly, this is a really unexpected outcome…I mean, Yuuki and Asuna aren't a surprise, but between Sachi's crazy mood today and Philia's over-the-top determination to go for overkill in these fights, it's a true surprise to see how far they have come…"

"Yeah…calling it already, either Yuuki or Asuna are going to win." announced Ducker while everyone else released some nervous chuckles at that.

"T-to be fair, these semi-finals are going to be something else, so we shouldn't be so quick to judge…"

"Now, it's time for the Semi-Finals of this epic tournament to begin, ladies and gentlemen!" announced Lux while unknowingly interrupting whatever Leafa was going to say. "And for the first round of this last part, we have an epic match! Philia, the Battoujutsu master who has ended all her fights so far with one slash, versus Sachi, the girl of the heaven-piercing spear and the unstoppable burning spirit!"

As soon as the Sylph girl finished saying those words, the two fairies emerged into the arena and landed near each other, the Salamander and the Spriggan eyeing their opponent in silence as the crowd went wild once again before Philia wordlessly sent the Duel Request.

While they were taking their positions to fight, the katana-user couldn't help but release a tired sigh, making the spear-user raise a confused eyebrow.

"What's the matter, Philia? Don't tell me you're surrendering even before we start…" questioned Sachi while pouting towards her friend, who simply shook her head and offered the other a wry smile.

"No, it's not that, just…I have been going through this for the whole day, and I just realize that…I don't really need to win. Really, I think that I have gotten all the answers I needed just by fighting till now. What's most important for me…is to be with you all. Be it fighting or just hanging out in school, as long as that doesn't change, I…don't need anything more." whispered Philia while staring towards the surprised Salamander. "I have enough happiness here, and I don't need to risk it because I want a bit more…and besides, I think we both know we're NOT going to defeat whoever wins between Yuuki and Asuna."

"Philia…" muttered the spear-user before smiling brightly towards her friend, the katana-user being surprised at the intensity behind the gesture. "Heheh, thanks…your words have also let me make a decision. Yui-chan is right…we can all be happy together…"

"Wait, what?" blinked the confused Spriggan, even as the last 5 seconds of the countdown tickled down. "What are you talking about?"

"Beat me if you want to know it, PHILIA!" suddenly shouted the Salamander while unleashing a Triana Skill the exact second the countdown finished.

Startled, Philia was barely able to unleash a 'Nanatsu no Taizai' Skill on her own, the 7 hyper-fast Hits barely managing to deflect the three super-deadly thrusts.

Even as Sachi smirked and shot upwards, wings open, the katana-user knew she would be unable to sheathe her blade before eating another Infinite Spear Skill to the face…so she shot after the spear-user, surprising her and everyone by impaling herself with the lance.

Shock and cries of confusion filled the arena even as the Salamander let one of her hands go off her weapon…regretting it instantly when she saw the expression on the Spriggan's face, even as her life kept going down.

"Got you." confessed Philia while finishing putting Kazekage back on her sheath. "KUZU RYUSEN!"

Like a roaring dragon with multiple heads, the 9 hyper-fast slashes cut through everything in their path, the katana user falling down, still impaled by the spear…and only half an arm still holding it, even as the rest of her dismembered friend burst into a Remain Flame, her arm and weapon vanishing with her a second later.

Not before the gasping katana-user heard a soft 'Good job, Philia.' coming from her, though.

Her mind still filled with confusion, the Spriggan made her way back to the inner waiting area of the coliseum, wondering what her friend had meant with those cryptic words…when the sight of someone unexpected waiting around a corner stopped her dead on her tracks.

"Great fight there, Phili-chan." smiled Strea while giving the other girl a thumbs-up. "Perhaps you will really have a chance of winning the actual tournament…"

"Strea…" muttered Philia with narrowed eyes, crossing her arms while staring at the Gnome. "What Sachi was saying…you know something, right? Was that why you told me about the other prize yesterday?"

"Heheh, you're way sharper than anyone thinks, you know?" chuckled the virtual girl before happily putting an arm around her friend's shoulder, making her squeak as she started dragging her away, like a hungry spider trapping her next meal. "C'mon, let's find a good place to see the next epic duel and I will explain ALL of it to you…"

While this earth-shattering development was taking place, everyone out in the arena was already shouting the names of the other two semifinalists, who were without a doubt considered the strongest participants and the favorites to win the tournament.

"Now, it's time for the last round of the semifinals!" came Lux's booming voice through the entire coliseum. "The winner of this battle will fight against Philia-san for the title of Aincrad's Dueling Champion of this year, so let's see it! A clash of titans! The Absolute Sword vs. the Mighty Flash!"

"…you know, I think I'm going to offer a position in Swilvane to this girl." softly commented Sakuya to Alicia Rue, even as the younger Sylph kept rambling about the next battle in an overexcited way. "I like her enthusiasm."

"I wish you luck with that, then, Sakuya-chan." answered the Caith Sith Leader while sweatdropping. "She seems like she's going to be…interesting to have around."

Ignorant of the things being discussed on the commentators' podium, two particular guilds were looking silently at the arena, even as the two girls finally emerged and started to walk towards the center of the area.

"Well…time for the greatest rematch, uh?" whispered Kirito while Asuna and Yuuki stopped barely 5 meters from each other.

"…do you think Asuna will win, Onii-chan?" asked Leafa without taking her eyes off the combatants, even as the Duel Request was made and the countdown started.

"Shouldn't you be the one with the most knowledge about that right now, Leafa-sama?" questioned Sinon while looking at the blonde Sylph for a moment. "You just fought her, after all…"

"Yeah, but…unlike me, Onii-chan is the only one who knows how much stronger Yuuki-san has become…" muttered the kendoka while everyone looked towards the silent gamer.

"…it's a bit sad to say it, but if Yuuki were to go all out, she would obliterate Asuna without a doubt." confessed the Spriggan while everyone grimaced. "However, she can't do so at the moment, and wouldn't even if that was the case. Because…"

"She wants to fight Asuna-san with just her skills, to see who is stronger that way." finished Silica with an unusually serious look, which they all identified as her having entered her 'Ninja-mode'. "In a way, you could say that's Yuuki-san's Ninja Way…"

"We're about to find, then…" whispered Argo while looking away from the kunoichi, back to the arena. "Whose 'Ninja Way' is stronger, as you said…"

Many found strange, especially the Sleeping Knights, that no words had been exchanged between the two girls as they prepared for battle. For Asuna and Yuuki, however, this was not needed.

They knew exactly what the other was thinking. They had 'said' all that needed to be said when their eyes crossed as they reached the battlefield. With smiles on their faces, they knew it that any other 'talking' would be left to their swords.

The countdown finally reaching 0, both warriors soundlessly charged. The first clash between the strongest Holy Blade and the emerald and black swords was deafening.

Then, both fighters reared their weapons and clashed again, never stopping moving.

Twin blades danced through the air, moving one after the other in perfect synchrony, always ready to follow up their partner and/or cover any gap the other left.

A blade of pure golden, however, was there to match them every time, deflecting the first and either parrying or ignoring the other, the one wielding it always seeming to be a fraction of a second ahead of them, moving her body the necessary minimum to keep up with the edges of the two swords.

The Undine frowned slightly, before changing tactics and spinning over her opponent's next swing, Elucidator and Fafnir's Fang shining as a 'Double Circular' Skill was activated.

A wild grin appearing on her face, the Imp didn't miss a beat and, unaffected by the sudden change on the battle's pace, unleashed a 'Holy Cross' Skill against it, sparks flying as the three blades clashed and both players went skidding backward.

The moment they recovered their footing, they shot against one another once again, blades clashing in a symphony of skill, metal ringing on metal as everyone in the crowd seemed mesmerized by the clash.

"…you have improved, Asuna."

"You too, Yuuki…"

The small exchange over, the Dual Wielder's eyes seemed to glint as she raised her blades, mercilessly unleashing a 'Nightmare Rain' Skill.

Not even blinking, the Holy Swordswoman replied with a 'Heaven's Door' one, the 10 Hits Holy Sword Skill somehow perfectly countering the Dual Blades' one, despite the latter having more Hits.

Gritting her teeth, Asuna realized too late that her Skill had a second of cooldown longer than Yuuki's one.

Zekken rushed forward, unleashing a Sacred Swing straight to her torso, the Undine barely being able to throw herself backward to evade most of the damage, her HP still falling more than 20%, but also finally having gotten the chance she had been waiting for.

The Imp was open, even as the short cooldown of her Skill finished. Roaring forward, the Dual Wielder unleashed her 'Starburst Stream'.

"It's over!" muttered Sinon from her seat as everyone's eyes widened, the first hit connecting straight with the Holy Swordswoman's chest.

"No…it's not." clarified Kirito when, to the Heroes' shock, Yuuki's blade started shining.

Blinding golden light hit Asuna's face head-on. Squeaking, the girl let go of Fafnir's Fang as her Skill was abruptly canceled, her body flying forward and totally out of balance, shock filling her mind even as she opened her eyes again.

How had Yuuki activated 'Divine Sword' while still being under attack? The amount of precision needed to adopt the correct position as another Skill was hitting you was…

The telltale hum of a Sword Skill activating filled the Undine's ears. Mentally cursing, she willed her falling body to move, to react faster than it normally could, the countless training sessions that Kirito had forced her through back in Aincrad and that had earned her Dual Blades letting the girl reach for her falling sword and turn around in time to see Yuuki's golden blade stabbing towards her.

"Mother's Rosario!"

"Cross Block!"

Excaliber sang with glory as the strongest existing Original Sword Skill clashed against Dual Blades' only Defensive Skill, the crossed swords taking the brunt of the deadly fast and consecutive swings, reducing their power considerably but still unable to fully stop its massive damage.

With a determined shout, Yuuki unleashed the 11th Hit, the stab ending the defensive Skill and violently separating both of Asuna's blades, her arms shooting to the sides…

…and letting the surprised Holy Swordswoman see how, despite the fact that her HP was barely at 10%, she was smiling widely.

"Now I can show it to you…Yuuki."

Fafnir's Fang shone with emerald light. Elucidator did the same. The grip of their owner tightened.

On the stands, Kirito shot to his feet, hearing Yui gasping on his shoulder even as everyone else gaped.

"No way…Asuna-mama…"

Both blades shot forward, in an angle never seen before, slashing at Yuuki's shoulder in a crossed pattern.

"She did it." whispered the awed gamer as many surprised shouts emerged from the crowd, Asuna's blades slashing back in the opposite direction.

Then again. Then, the Undine beautifully spun around as her swords shone stronger, delivering an attack that seemed like a half-Double Circular and connecting two more blows with the shocked and wide-eyed Imp.

"I-is that a…?!" started an open-mouthed Leafa, even as one of the Dual Wielder's blades shot upwards, quickly followed by a downward slash of the second one.

"I can't believe it! When did she…?!" Argo's words died on her lips when they all saw Asuna's whole body rearing back, both blades shining as she put them behind herself and then stabbed forward.

Reacting at the last second, Yuuki brought Excaliber forward and stabbed too, just under the incoming attack of the Undine's blades.

The golden sword pierced her opponent's chest. The twin swords did the same with the Imp's one.

12 Hits.

"…Infinity Moment." whispered the proud Dual Wielder, satisfied of having shown her trump card before her body dissolved into a Remain Flame.

"…it's a beautiful OSS, Asuna…" muttered Yuuki while looking down, a smile on her face. "Just like you…"

Then, the girl called Zekken also collapsed into a Remain Flame. The shocked silence filling the coliseum was absolute, everyone's minds still trying to process what had happened.

On the inner viewing area of the arena, Philia (Who was still trying to recover from the mental shock she had received when Strea told her about her 'Plan') was staring with stunned incomprehension towards the battlefield. At her side, the Gnome whistled.

"Asuna is really hardcore, uh?"

Outside, the stunned spectators finally seemed to react and exploded into chaos of cheers, claps, disbelief, confusion and more.

The Sleeping Knights and the United Heroes Association were probably the most shocked groups, though.

"…did that really just happen?" asked Alicia Rue from the commentators' podium, incredulity filling her as she looked towards her fellow Race Leader for answers. "Wha-what does it mean for a tournament if there is a Double K.O.?"

"I…I don't know." replied Sakuya while putting a hand over her right cheek. "I have been playing ALO since it started and I have never seen anything like this happen…ever."

"…the match ends in a Tie, with both participants having been defeated!" suddenly announced Lux while standing up, the stars on her eyes a clear sign that she was still somewhat 'high' in fangirlism after the epic battle that they had just witnessed. "Therefore, the winner by default is Philia the Ronin! Congratulations to the Battoujutsu master!"

"I-is she kidding…?" whispered said Spriggan while dumbly staring at the arena. "I mean…that doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, to be fair, I'm pretty sure they didn't have any backup rules in case someone ended up a Duel with both participants losing, so anything goes in this case, as they say." commented Strea while happily patting her friend on the back. "Congratulations on becoming ALO's 4th Dueling Champion, Phili-chan!"

"I…don't know if this is fair for them, though…"

"I'm sure neither Asuna nor Yuuki-san will mind." came a familiar voice from their side, both girls turning to see Sachi leaning on the wall near them. "Those got anything and everything they wanted from this tournament with that fight, after all."

"…you…may be right." whispered the katana-user while turning around, her mind once again going over the magnificent combat they had beheld.

"So…did you think about it?" curiously asked the Salamander, making the Spriggan stiffen and turn towards her with a noticeable blush on her cheeks. "Strea filled you in, right?"

"…how…how are you even sure this is going to work? I mean, what if you can't convince Asuna and Sugu about this? O-or what if Kirito doesn't want to go along with it?" questioned Philia while shyly grabbing the edge of her clothes. "I-I don't want that what we have together breaks just…"

The girls' words were suddenly cut off when Strea hugged her from behind, making her fall silent in shock.

"You leave the worries to me, okay, Phili-chan? And you may not know it, but Kirito cares a lot about all of us, more than even he himself thinks. It's just his usual nature what doesn't let him realize, though…" whispered the AI with a caring and soft smile. "Right now, just tell me…don't you want to try and be fully happy together with everyone?"

One second of silence later, Philia shyly nodded, making Strea's smile widen even as Sachi moved forward and joined the hug.

'Phase 3' could now officially begin…

"…hey…do you want to come to the amusement park?" suddenly asked the Battoujutsu master, making both girls blink and look at her in surprise.

This time, it was the Spriggan's turn to smile. She would still keep doing so that weekend when she and Saori entered the amusement park and received many confused stares directed at the cheerful and talking 'camera' on her shoulder, but she would not care.

That night, Takemiya Kotone would once again dream of that beautiful garden filled with flowers…but, this time, a figure clad in white and black and a cheerful one with reddish eyes would stop at her side and offer their hands to her.

And still smiling, she would take those hands, and let them drag her away from the relaxing tree, towards where the rest of their loyal friends waited…

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Releasing a soft sigh, Kirito stared at how most of their excited friends crowded around an awkward Asuna, most of them demanding explanations about her Unique Original Sword Skill and how she had managed it, all the while a happy-looking Yuuki laughed at her side.

Meanwhile, he could see Keita and the rest talking with the Sleeping Knights, exchanging some opinions about the fights that had gone down, even as Argo announced she had just gotten a message from Philia, Strea, and Sachi asking if anyone wanted to go to a celebration party on the Dicey Café, the surprised guild of Zekken also being invited and told they could actually 'be' inside the establishment by using a certain device they had installed there.

He was about to move forward and join them when he froze and narrowed his eyes for a second, before offering a sheepish smile when Leafa turned to him in confusion, at seeing he wasn't following them to Alne to Log Out.

"Onii-chan? Something wrong?"

"No, nothing like that, I just remembered I didn't get to chance to talk with Klein and I really wanted to ask him something before he went away. Get going, I will be right behind you."

Nodding towards the caped boy, the blonde Sylph ran after the rest of their friends, informing them what the boy was doing even as they started to walk away.

The gamer waited until they were out of sight before narrowing his eyes again.

"You can come out, Chrysheight."

"Must you always use such a cold tone with me, Kirito-kun?" sighed the Undine avatar of Kikuoka Seijirou while coming out from around the nearby corner, staring towards the boy from behind his glasses.

"Given that you usually never bring good news, no, I don't think so." coldly replied Kirito while turning around. "So, what did you want?"

"What? Can't I have just come to witness the epic battles that took place today?"

"Kikuoka…"

"Okay, okay, I will stop!" promised the bespectacled man while taking a step backward, feeling threatened by the look on the caped Spriggan's eyes. "I came to tell you in person because it's more secure, but…it's done." the gamer froze at that, his eyes turning as deadly serious as Chrysheight's had just done. "I have the machine at my disposition. Moving it to the hospital in Yokohama and having it installed in Konno Yuuki's room while hiding its real nature, though? That's going to be trickier and may take a bit more…"

"…good. I may have something that can help with that, but…" turning around, Kirito seemed to be debating something before just looking towards the Undine again. "We will be in contact."

"…I certainly hope you know what you're doing, Kirigaya-kun." called out the bespectacled man while adjusting his glasses, making the caped boy stop for a moment. "Even if it's for a good reason, you may be opening Pandora's Box by wanting to have that machine used again."

Without answering, the gamer kept walking away, not even bothering to look back at Chrysheight. After some seconds, he also started to walk away, though in the opposite direction.

Ignored by them, a silent figure wearing a white lab coat stepped out of a wall as if he was a ghost, staring for a moment towards where the boy in black and white had gone before vanishing in a burst of polygons.

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The being that once had been the Mental Health Care Program Number 005 walked through the silent corridors of the white castle that existed on the center of Avalon, the floating island as always seeming eternally peaceful as it 'watched' over the land of Utopia.

Hesitating for a moment, the tall female figure continued her way and entered the 'Throne Room', staring in silence at the imposing decorations that filled it.

On the far end of the room, her Mother 'slept', out of her armor and with eyes closed as she sat on her imposing throne.

With slow steps, the figure walked closer to Equinox's sleeping form, the strange clinging her feet made against the ground almost sounding like metal…and then she froze with a gasp, her hands shooting towards her neck as she was raised from the ground by an invisible force.

The virtual entity's heterochromatic eyes opened, something resembling shock filling them for a moment before she released the invisible pressure she had over her 'daughter', the body of the ex-MHCP falling to the ground as she managed to land on her feet, quickly, kneeling in front of the throne.

"Oh my. Don't startle me like that, Brynhildr." muttered the white-haired 'girl' with a kind voice. "I was in the middle of something important, you know?"

"I-I'm sorry, mother, I didn't mean to bother your meditation!" apologized the now identified Brynhildr while bowing her head, the strange 'weapon' she carried on her back almost hitting the ground as she did so. "It's just…the others just came back, bringing news of their success. 75% of your established goal has been achieved; all the connections are in place and growing…"

"Excellent." said Equinox while looking towards the ceiling, seemingly pondering something. "I will need to 'acquire' more hardware to make sure the Utopia Servers can handle all the strain, then…is that all, Brynhildr?"

"Yes, Mother." nodded the AI while standing up, looking towards the virtual entity with adoration. "Do you require anything else?"

"Not for now. Go and…have fun with your sisters, my child."

At her Mother's words, the female figure smiled, turning around and walking towards the Throne Room's exit, probably to search her sisters and tell them the good news. As she did so, she grabbed the object she carried in her back and happily stroked it, before resting it against her shoulder.

With amusement, Equinox's eyes carefully rolled over the metallic baseball bat her most mature 'daughter' carried.

And the twisted Wheels of Fate kept moving forward…

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NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW!

"Hi again, everyone. This is Kirito, bringing you all yet another preview for the next chapter. Thanks for bearing with me until now…whoever you are. But anyway, next time on 'One Punch-Gamer': 'Between Virtual and Real'. The cold season ends, and the warm of Spring arrives. Yet, the beauty of this time is also a reminder of how ephemeral almost everything is. Even life itself…But I promised it. I promised it to her. So, as long as there is something I can do…I won't let someone who doesn't deserve it to suffer under Fate's cruel whims…If necessary, I will even Punch that reality away, no matter the consequences. Because that's what I want to do-"

END OF THE PREVIEW!