Chapter 23

Kayaba pursed his lips and flaunted his arms dramatically.

"This is really surprising. Isn't it just like a standalone console RPG

scenario? It should have been impossible for her to recover from

the paralysis... So things like this really do happen..."

But his voice didn't even register in my mind. It felt as if all my

emotions were being burnt out, as if I was falling into a bottomless

abyss engulfed by despair.

There was no reason for me to do anything anymore.

Whether it was fighting in this world, returning to the original

world, or even continuing to live on, all of them had lost their

meaning. I should have killed myself in the past when my inability

and lack of strength led to the death of my guild mates. If I had

done that, then I wouldn't have met Asuna, nor would I have made

the same mistake again.

Prevent Asuna from committing suicide— what a stupid and

careless thing to say. I hadn't understood anything at all. Just like

this— with my heart filled with emptiness, how could I possibly

keep on living...

I stared blankly at Asuna's rapier, shining as it laid on the ground.

I reached out with my left hand and grabbed it.

I sought to find a trace of Asuna's existence on that thin and

nimble weapon, but there was nothing. There wasn't a thing left

on that expressionless shining surface that would hint at its

owner. With my own sword in my right hand and Asuna's in my

left, I slowly stood back up.

Nothing mattered anymore. I only want to go find her with the

memories of the short period we spent living together.

I thought I heard somebody call me from behind.

But I didn't stop and continued to walk towards Kayaba with my

right sword raised. I took several unsightly steps towards him and

stabbed with my sword.

Kayaba looked pitifully upon my movement, which could neither

be called a skill nor an attack— he deflected my sword easily with

his shield and sent it flying, while the long sword in his right hand

pierced straight through my chest.

I stared emotionlessly at the shining piece of metal buried deeply

within my own body. My mind no longer thought of anything. All

that was left was the blank resignation that everything had ended.

From the edge of my vision, I could see my HP bar slowly

reducing. I don't know if it was the continuation of my accelerated

senses from the battle, but it felt like I could see each dot

disappearing. I closed my eyes, hoping that the image of Asuna's

smile would resurface as my mind went blank.

But even though I closed my eyes, the HP bar still didn't disappear.

It was flashing red and getting smaller at an unrelenting pace. I

felt as if the god called the system, which had tolerated my

existence up until now, was waiting for the final moment. Only ten

dots left to go, now five dots, now—

Then, I suddenly felt an anger that I had never experienced before.

It was this bastard. It was the one who had killed Asuna. The

creator Kayaba was merely a part of it. The one who had ripped

apart Asuna's body and extinguished her spirit, it was the

presence which surrounded me right now— the will of the system

itself, the digital death god which mocked the stupidity of the

players and swept its scythe mercilessly—

What the hell are we? Are we just a bunch of idiotic puppets

controlled by the inviolable threads of the SAO system?

My HP bar vanished completely as if mocking my anger. A purple

message appeared within my vision: [You are dead]. It was the

command from the god to die.

An icy coldness permeated my body. My senses dulled. I felt the

innumerable blocks of code unraveling, severing, and destroying

my very being. The cold crept up my neck and into my head.

Touch, sound, sight, everything became hazy. My entirely body

was starting to dissolve— becoming shards of polygons— before

scattering in all directions—

You think I would let that happen?

I opened my eyes widely. I could see. I could still see. I could still

see the face of Kayaba, whose sword was dug deeply into my

chest, and the expression of surprise on him.

Perhaps my accelerated senses returned, as the death of my

avatar, which normally happened within a single moment, felt like

it was slowing down. The outline of my body was hazy, and

particles of light broke off and disappeared here and there. But I

was still existing. I was still alive.

"Hiiiiyaaaa!"

I screamed with all my strength. I screamed and resisted.

Resisting the system, the absolute god.

Just to save me, the shy and spoiled Asuna had shaken off the

incurable paralysis with her willpower and thrown herself against

an attack that was impossible to block. How could I fall now

without doing anything. I couldn't fall now, absolutely not. Even if

I couldn't avoid death— I had to— at least—

I tightened the grip on my left hand. I took back my senses as if

pulling them back with a thread. The feeling of holding something

in my left hand returned. Asuna's rapier— I could feel the

determination she had. I could hear her telling me to be strong.

My left arm slowly began to move. Its shape was distorting and

chunks of it broke off with every bit of movement. But it didn't

stop. Bit by bit, it consumed my very soul in order to raise itself.

Perhaps it was the price of my insolent resistance, as an

unbelievable pain was coursing throughout my body. But I gritted

my teeth and kept on moving. The distance of merely tens of

centimeters felt unbelievably far away. My body felt like it was

frozen. Only my left arm had any feelings left, yet the coldness was

quickly enveloping that part as well. My entire body was like an

icy statue with shards of it continuously breaking off.

But at last, the silver rapier reached the center of Kayaba's chest.

Kayaba didn't move. His expression of surprise had already

disappeared— a soft, peaceful smile had taken its place.

My arm covered the remaining distance, half propelled by my

determination, and half moving by some inexplicable force.

Kayaba closed his eyes and received the blow as the rapier

pierced his body soundlessly. His HP bar had also vanished.

For a moment, we simply stood there, with swords that

penetrated each others' bodies. I used the last of my strength to

force my head up and look at the sky.

Is this— enough...?

Although I couldn't hear her answer, I could feel a slight warmth

wrap itself around my left hand. Finally, I released my body, which

was about to shatter completely.

As my mind sank deeper into the darkness, I could feel my body

and Kayaba's body breaking into thousands of pieces at the same

time. The familiar sound of two objects being destroyed rang out

and overlapped one another. As everything pulled further and

further away at an incredible speed, I could hear faint voices

calling my name. I figured those must be the voices of Klein and

Agil. Then, at this moment, the emotionless voice of the system

announced—

『The game has been cleared — The game has been cleared —

The game...』