Chapter 13

The newly opened living area on the 75th floor was a city

reminiscent of ancient Rome. According to the map, its name was

«Collinia». The entire city was already filled with activity, thanks

to the large numbers of fighters and merchants that have settled

in, as well as others who took no part in clearing the game but had

come to sight-see. On top of all that, a rare special event would be

held here today, so guests had been pouring out of the teleport

gate since this morning.

The city was mostly constructed from square bricks of white

limestone. One building stood out amongst its temple-like

buildings and wide waterways; that was the huge coliseum which

towered in front of the gate plaza. It was perfect for holding the

duel between Heathcliff and me. But...

"Fire-breathing popcorn for ten Cor a cup! Ten Cor!"

"Cold black beer for sale~!"

Numerous merchants were selling their goods in front of the

coliseum entrance; they were calling out to the long line of

spectators and selling them strange looking refreshments.

"...This, what on earth is this...?"

Shocked by the sight unfolding before me, I could only ask Asuna,

who was standing beside me.

"I-I don't know..."

"Hey, isn't that a KoB member selling the tickets!? How on earth

did it turn into such a large event!?"

"I-I don't know..."

"Is this Heathcliff's real goal...?"

"No, I think that the head of finances, Daizen-san, is the one behind

this. He wouldn't miss an opportunity like this."

As Asuna laughed, I sagged my shoulders and felt completely

powerless.

"...Let's run away Asuna. We can go live in some small village on

the 20th floor and plow fields."

"I'm fine with that, but..."

Asuna then added teasingly:

"You'll make a rea~lly bad name for yourself if you run away

now."

"Damn-it..."

"Well, it's your own fault, isn't it? Ah... Daizen-san."

As I lifted my head, I saw a fat man who was waddling towards us;

he was so wide that it was impossible to find a person less suited

to wear the red-white uniform of the KoB.

With a wide smile covering his round face, he started talking to us:

"Thanks ta Kirito-san we're makin' lotsa money! If ya jus' did it

once every month I'd be really thankful!"

"No way!!"

"Come, come, the waitin' room's over here. Come on, this way

please."

I resigned myself to my fate and followed him. I didn't even care

about what would happen anymore.

The waiting room was a small place that faced the arena. After

Daizen escorted me to the entrance, he said something about

adjusting the betting prices and disappeared. I didn't even have

the energy to curse him anymore. From the waiting room, I could

hear countless indistinct cheers outside. It seemed that the

audience seating was already filled.

When only the two of us remained, Asuna grasped my palm with

both her hands and spoke with a serious expression.

"...Even if it's a First Strike match, it'll be dangerous if you get

directly hit by a strong critical strike. Especially since many of the

leader's moves aren't even known, you should forfeit as soon as

you feel something is wrong, understood? I'll never forgive you if

you do something dangerous again like last time!"

"You should be worrying about Heathcliff more."

I smiled and tapped both of Asuna's shoulders.

As an announcement declared the start of the duel, the crowd gave

off a thunderous roar. I pulled the two swords on my back out by a

bit, and then slid them back into their scabbards with a *clang*.

After that, I began to walk towards the square light hoop on the

field.

The step seating that ringed the amphitheater was fully packed

with people. My guess is that there were at least a thousand

spectators. I could see Klein and Agil on the front rows, screaming

dangerous things like "Dice him up" and "Kill him" .

I walked to the center of the arena before stopping. Then, a deep

red silhouette emerged from the opposite waiting room, and the

cheering became even more intense.

Unlike the normal Knights of the Blood uniform, which was red on

white, Heathcliff wore a red surcoat that was the complete

opposite. Although he was like me and wore almost no armor, he

held a huge, pure-white, cross-shaped shield in his left hand,

which had immediately caught my attention. His sword seemed to

be sheathed within the shield, as I could see the cross-shaped

handle protruding from its top.

Heathcliff walked casually until he stood right before me. He

glanced at the crowd and then spoke with a bitter smile.

"I must apologize, Kirito-kun. I really had no idea that this was

going to happen."

"I'm going to be asking for my share of the money."

"No... After this fight you'll be part of our guild. I'll be designating

this duel as one of the guild's missions."

Heathcliff then erased his smile, and his brass colored eyes started

giving off an overwhelming energy. Intimidated, I unconsciously

took half a step back. In reality, we were probably lying down at

places far away from each other, with only digital data being

passed between us. But, I still felt something that could only be

called killing intent.

My mind went into its battle state, and my eyes received

Heathcliff's gaze head on. The loud cheering sounded as if it was

moving further away. Before I realized it, my senses had already

begun to quicken, and it felt like even the colors of the

surroundings had changed.

Heathcliff turned his gaze and walked to a spot about ten meters

away from me. He then raised his right hand and manipulated the

menu screen that appeared without even glancing at it. A duel

message appeared in front of me. I consented and set the mode to

first strike.

The countdown started. I could barely hear the shouts around me

now.

My blood began to pump faster. I vanquished the last remaining

bits of hesitation and let loose my desire to fight. Then I drew my

two swords at the same time from behind my back. My opponent

wasn't someone I could win against unless I went all out from the

beginning.

Heathcliff drew his thin, long sword from his shield, and then held

it resolutely as he entered his combat stance.

He stood with his shield turned towards me and the right side of

his body away from me. I couldn't feel any forced strength behind

his stance. I realized that trying to predict his actions would only

confuse me further, and decided to simply charge in immediately

and attack with full power.

Even though neither of us glanced at the window, we both kicked

off as soon as the «Duel» message appeared.

I lowered my stance as I ran; my body nearly scraping the floor as

it glided in.

I twisted my body around right before reaching Heathcliff and

swung the sword in my right hand upwards to the left. It was

blocked by the cross-shaped shield and sent out a burst of sparks.

But my attack was part of a two hit combo. Point one second after

the first strike, my left sword slid in behind the shield. It was a

Dual Blades dash-type skill «Double Circular».

The strike from the left was deflected by the long sword; its

circular lighting effect stopped midway. Although it was

disappointing, this move was just a signal for beginning the fight.

Using the force of the sword skill, I widened the distance between

us and then charged at my opponent again.

This time, Heathcliff countered by charging me with his shield. His

right arm was hidden behind his huge cross-shaped shield,

making it hard to see.

"Che!"

I dashed to my right in an attempt to evade his attack. I thought

that if I stayed on Heathcliff's shield side, I would have enough

time to react to his attacks even if I couldn't see the trajectory.

But then Heathcliff lifted his shield up horizontally.

"Haa!"

With this low shout, he executed a piercing attack with his shield.

It came at me, leaving a trail of pure white light.

"Ahh!!"

I just managed to guard by crossing my two swords. The powerful

impact rattled my entire body and sent me flying back by several

meters. I dug my right sword into the ground to stop myself from

falling over and then flipped in midair before landing.

It was unexpected, but it seemed that the shield itself could also

be used as a weapon. It was similar to Dual Blades in a sense. I had

originally thought that my overwhelming attack speed would

allow me to win in a first strike duel; but it seemed that I was

wrong.

Heathcliff dashed towards me, closing the distance between us

and denying me of any time to recover. The sword with the crossshaped hilt in his right hand pierced towards me at a speed that

could rival Asuna the «Flash».

As the opponent started his combo attack, I could only use both of

my swords to defend. Before the duel, Asuna had explained as

much as she could about «Holy Sword»; but it seemed that

cramming just wasn't enough. Therefore, I could only rely on splitsecond decisions to block the incoming blows.

After using my left sword to parry the last upward slash of his

eight strike combo, I immediately attempted a one-hit sword skill,

«Vorpal Strike», with my right.

"Hya...aaa!!"

With the metallic noise of a jet engine, the sword skill left a red

trail of light before striking the center of his shield. It felt as if I

had hit a stone wall; but my hands kept going to finish the strike.

*Claang!!* The sound of the impact rang out, and this time

Heathcliff was pushed back. I couldn't completely pierce the

shield, but I felt the feeling of having «penetrated» his defense.

Heathcliff's HP had been reduced slightly, but not enough to

decide the fight.

Heathcliff landed agilely and widened the distance between us.

"...Impressive reaction time."

"More like your defense is too perfect...!!"

I charged as I said this. Heathcliff also raised his sword and closed

in on me.

We started trading blows at blinding speeds. My sword was

blocked by his shield; his sword was deflected by mine. Various

light trails of different colors appeared and faded continuously

around us, while the sounds of our weapons clashing shook the

arena floor. A minor blow made it through every once a while, and

our HP decreased bit by bit. Even if both players failed to make a

clean hit, one would win the moment their opponent's HP fell

below 50%.

But I didn't care about that anymore. I felt myself accelerating in

exhilaration, as this was the first time I had faced such a strong

opponent since being trapped in SAO. Every time my senses

sharpened, the speed of my attacks rose by another notch.

I still haven't reached my limit. I can still get faster. Follow me if

you can, Heathcliff!!!

As I released every ounce of strength at my disposal, I drowned

myself in the savage joy of swinging my swords. I was most

probably laughing. While the exchange of sword blows intensified,

the HP of both sides continued to decrease until they nearly

reached the 50% area.

At that instant, Heathcliff's stoic face finally showed a flash of

emotion.

What was it? Nervousness? I felt the speed of his blows decrease

just a little.

"Haaaa!"

In that moment, I abandoned all defenses and launched an assault

with both of my swords: «Starburst Stream». My blades rushed

towards Heathcliff like the blazing flames of a solar prominence.

"Argh...!!"

Heathcliff raised his cross-shaped shield to guard. But I just

ignored it and kept hacking away at him from the right, left, up,

and down. Meanwhile, his responses became even slower.

—I can break through!!

I was certain that the last strike would breach his defense. With

his shield overextended to the right, my attack from the left

streaked in, drawing a trajectory of light. As long as this blow

lands, his HP will definitely fall below the halfway mark, and I

would win the—

Then, at this moment, my entire world shook.

"—!?"

How should I describe it? It was as if some of my time had been

taken away from me.

For several tenths of a second, everything around me seemed to

freeze; everything except Heathcliff. The shield that should have

been on the right suddenly appeared on the left, as if I was

watching a stop motion video, and blocked my sword.

"Wha—!?"

I was stunned for a fatal moment after the strong attack was

blocked. There was no way that Heathcliff would have lost that

chance.

The long sword in his right hand launched a one-hit skill, which

came at me with a detestable accuracy that would surely decide

the match. I fell into an unsightly heap. I could see the purple

system message, which announced that the duel had ended, with

the corner of my eye.

My battle state had disappeared. I simply laid there, my mind

blank, even as the cheering registered in my head once again.

"Kirito-kun!!"

Asuna ran over and shook me back to my senses.

"Ah...yeah... I'm fine."

Asuna looked at my blank expression with worry.

I lost—?

I still couldn't believe it. Heathcliff's unearthly speed during those

final moments had gone past the limits of a player— past the

limits of any human. I even saw the polygons that made up his

avatar distort for a moment because of the impossible speed.

As I sat on the ground, I raised my head and gazed at Heathcliff's

face.

But the expression of the winner was angry for some reason. The

red paladin glared at us with his metallic eyes, then turned around

wordlessly and walked over to his waiting room amidst the

thunderous cheering.