The Blazing General
Leafa: "H-Hey... There are monsters!" She then closed her eyes
We then dashed past them
Leafa: "AHHHHHH!!!"
Hikari: "Kirito are we near the exit?"
Kirito: "Yeah it's right there!"
Hikari: "Well hold on Leafa one last boost." We then ran faster going through the exit
We then jumped and activated our wings then Leafa activated hers and she sighs in relief
We looked back to the monsters just falling down the cliff
...
Leafa then gets mad at me
Leafa: "That shortened my lifespan!"
Hikari: "But we saved a lot of time so it's fine."
Leafa: "Sheesh."
After that, we then saw Yggdrasil
Hikari: "It's huge..."
Kirito: "Where are the leaders holding their conference?"
Leafa: "Let's see." She then checks her map
Leafa: "Um. Beyond that mountain, to the northwest."
Hikari: "So how much time do we have now?"
Leafa: "Twenty minutes."
Kirito: "Please let us make it." We then boosted our wings flying to the direction of the conference
Alfheim - Neutral Region - Butterfly Valley
After flying for some time we finally reached Butterfly Valley
Kirito: "I don't know if we can get there before the Salamanders."
Hikari: "Yeah I'm pretty sure if we make it the battle it already starting"
Leafa: "Yeah. And even we warn them in time, it's likely that only the leaders would be able to escape. Or worse, we could all die together."
Yui: "Players in range! A large group of sixty-eight directly ahead. It's most likely the Salamander assault squad."
Hikari: "Sixty-eight players?"
We then see the conference meeting up ahead not only that but we can also see the number of Salamanders heading toward the meeting
Yui: "There are fourteen other players even further away. I believe they're the Sylph and Cait Sith conference attendees. The two parties will make contact in fifty seconds."
Leafa: "Seems like we didn't make it..."
...
Leafa: "Thanks for your help, Kirito-kun, Hikari, This is far enough. You two go to Yggdrasil. I'll save Sakuya alone. While it didn't last long, I had fun. I hope we can meet again someday."
Hikari: "Leafa stop saying that we can still make it and besides..."
Kirito: "Were not the kind of persons who would give up here."
Leafa: "Huh?"
The two of us boosted one last time
When the two parties made contact the meeting was interrupted
Sylph Member 1: "Why are the Salamanders..."
One of the men then raised his hand and the rest readied their weapons
...
...
...
He was going to give the order when
*CRASH*
Everybody was surprised at the crash
When the smoke was cleared it was me and Kirito who were standing in front of the Salamander race
Hikari: 'We made it just in time.'
Kirito: "Sheathe your weapons, all of you!"
Salamander Member 1: "Who's he?"
Leafa: "Sakuya." She appeared beside the two leaders
Sakuya: "Leafa! Why are you here?"
Leafa: "It's a bit hard to explain. But what I can tell you is that our fate lies in these two."
Sakuya: "What in the world..."
Kirito: "I'd like to speak with your commander." After that Eugene came out
Hikari: "Should I go with or are you going to do it yourself?"
Kirito: "You stay here in case things go for the worst."
Hikari: "Alright good luck out there." Kirito then flew up to meet Eugene
Eugene: "What are two Spriggan like you doing here?"
Kirito just stares at him
Eugene: "Regardless of what you say, I'm still going to kill you all. But as a reward for your bravery, I'll hear what you have to say."
Kirito: "My name is Kirito, and I'm an ambassador for the Spriggan-Undine alliance. And down there is my partner Hikari."
Kirito: "Since you intend to attack this conference, can I assume that you're looking to start a full-fledged war against all four races?"
The two leaders were confused and looked at Leafa but she just waves her hands they then looked at me but I just smiled at them
Eugene: "The Undine allied with the Spriggans, you say? And you, who lacks even a proper escort, are their ambassador?"
Kirito: "I do in fact and that is my partner and yeah that's right. My purpose here is to negotiate trading between the Sylphs and Cait Siths. However, if you decide to disrupt this conference, we'll have to escalate matters. Our four races would unite against the Salamanders."
...
Eugene: "I find it hard to believe the words of a man with such humble equipment." He then unsheathes his sword
Hikari: 'Oh right maybe in the next Arc I should change my outfit to just clothes only.'
Eugene: "If you can withstand my attacks for thirty seconds, I'll believe that you're an ambassador."
Kirito does the same and flies up to Eugene
Kirito: "Why, how generous of you."
Sakuya: "This won't end well."
Leafa: "Huh?"
Sakuya: "That Salamander's two-handed sword... It's the Demon Sword Gram. Allegedly, you need a two-handed wielding skill of at least 950 to equip it."
Leafa: "A-At least 950?!"
Sakuya: "Yes. And since he's wielding it, he must be none other than General Eugene."
Sakuya: "Have you two heard of him?"
Hikari: "Nope."
Leafa: "J-Just the name."
Sakuya: "He's the younger brother of the Salamander leader, Mortimer. This seems to be the case in real life too. He has brawn to match his brother's brain. In terms of pure fighting ability, he's said to be the strongest player in the game."
Leafa: "The strongest player in the game?"
Hikari: "Ahh... So he's the strongest player here well this will be interesting."
Leafa: "Aren't you worried about him?"
Hikari: "Hm? No."
Leafa: "But why?"
Hikari: "He's Kirito I'm sure he can handle it."
Hikari: 'Not only that but because he is the strongest player in SAO after all.'
Leafa: "But..."
Hikari: "Trust me when I say this Leafa. Kirito is going to win and I wont say anything else."
She then nodded
...
...
...
Once the sun was out Eugene then rushed to Kirito
He attempted to block but for some reason
...
It went through
*SLASH*
Kirito was then smashed into a cliff
Leafa: "What was that?!"
Alicia: "The Demon Sword Gram has an extra effect called "Ethereal Shift", which allows it to phase through any swords or shields you try to block it with."
Hikari: 'So basically he's a coward because he has an extra effect that gives him the advantage... For the strongest player in this game, I expected a lot from him.'
Leafa: "That's completely overpowered!"
Kirito then rush towards him
*CLASH*
Eugene: "Oh? I'm surprised you're still alive."
Kirito: "What the hell was that last attack?"
Kirito then tries to attack him but he dodges or blocks his attack and when it's his turn to attack all Kirito can do is evade or change its directory because if he tries to block
*SLASH*
His sword will go through it
Kirito: "This is bad. Hey, hasn't it been thirty seconds already?"
Eugene: "Sorry, but I've decided to kill you. Now it's a fight to the death."
Kirito: "You bastard... I'll make it your funeral!"
*CLASH* *CLASH* *CLASH*
Sakuya: "This doesn't look good. While they appear equally matched, their weapons are on completely different levels."
Leafa: "Even so... Even so, if it's Kirito-kun...
*CLASH* *CLASH* *CLASH*
No matter how many times Kirito attacks he can't land a hit on him and in turn was getting damaged a lot
He then backed away and cast a smokescreen which covered the entire area
Leafa: "What's going on?"
Hikari: "I can't see anything."
Kirito: "I'll be borrowing this for a bit." He then took a sword from someone not before I talked to him
Hikari: "Hey Kirito knock him dead will ya?"
Kirito: "Of course."
Leafa: "K-Kirito-kun?" Leafa then tries to grab her sword to find it missing
Leafa: "Huh?!"
Eugene: "Trying to stall for time, are you?!" He then blew the smokescreen away to see nothing
Alicia: "He's gone!"
Cait Sith Member: "Did he just run away?"
Leafa: "He'd never!"
Hikari: "Leafa... We would never let anybody in our party die even if it means we'll die ourselves."
Kirito: "And that's the last thing we'd let that happen!"
Leafa: 'Kirito-kun would never run away." Leafa looks at me to see my reaction but what surprised her was
...
I was smiling and I was looking up
Eugene looked up to see Kirito himself coming towards him
Leafa: "Kirito-kun!"
Eugene: "Tch..." He then rushes toward him
Eugene's sword went through Kirito's and was going to hit him but...
Hikari: "Game over."
...
...
...
*CLASH*
Eugene: "W-What?" His sword was blocked by Leafa's own sword
He then knocked him back and does a flurry of attacks
*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*
However, his combo stopped when Eugene uses a shield to knock him back
Eugene: "Begone!"He attacks but Kirito dodge easily
*STAB* *STAB*
He then stabs his torso with the two swords and suffices to say his HP was dropping real fast
Eugene: "AGGHHHHHH!!!!" He then grabs Kirito to try and stab him however
*SLASH**SLASH**SLASH*
Kirito continues to damage him until
Kirito: "HUUAAAAGHHH!!!!!"
*SLASH*
He slashed his body in half
*BOOM*
His flame was then blasted through the area
...
...
...
Everybody was speechless and I just smirked at it
...
...
...
Sakuya: "Marvelous! Simply marvelous!"
Alicia: "Awesome! Nice fighting!" Everybody cheered and even the Salamanders recognizes his strength
Salamander Member 2: "Damn, he's good."
Salamander Member 3: "Can't top that."
Hikari: "See Leafa told you he was going to win." I smiled at her
Leafa: "Yeah..." She was smiling a lot
...
After the battle, Sakuya then revives Eugene so he doesn't have to respawn back at his place
After that Eugene was now revived and he stood up and stretched a bit
Eugene: "You have remarkable skills. You're the strongest player I've ever seen. Undoubtedly."
Kirito: "Thanks for the compliment."
Eugene: "To think the Spriggans had a fighter of your caliber... The world's larger than I thought."
Kirito: "So now do you believe what I said earlier?" Eugene then thinks for a moment
...
...
...
Kagemune: "Gene-san, mind if I interrupt?"
Eugene: "Kagemune? What is it?" We then recognized that person
Leafa: "He's the guy from..."
Hikari: "Oh him."
Kagemune: "I wouldn't want to face you one-on-one either."
Kagemune: "I'm sure you're aware by now that yesterday was wiped out yesterday."
Eugene: "Yeah."
Kagemune: "The people who were responsible were none other than these two Spriggans... I also recall that there was an Undine with him."
...
Eugene: "I see. Let's leave it at that. Certainly, neither our leader nor I wish to antagonize the Spriggans or Undines at the moment, We'll take our leave here. But we shall have another duel in the future."
Kirito: "I'll be looking forward to it." They then fist bump each other
Eugene: "Especially you." He then points at me
Hikari: "Eh me?"
Eugene: "I would also like to test your strength if your his partner then certainly you are strong."
Hikari: "Maybe in another day." He then smirks knowing that I agreed
After that Salamanders then went on their way
Kirito: "Looks like there are reasonable people even amongst the Salamanders."
Leafa: "You're really too much of a daredevil."
Hikari: "Oh he gets that a lot."
Sakuya: "Ahem." We turned to the two leaders
Sakuya: "Sorry to interrupt, but we'd like an explanation for all this."
After Leafa was done explaining it already dawned now
Sakuya: "So that's how it is. I did notice that Sigurd has been suppressing much dissatisfaction as of late."
Leafa: "Dissatisfaction? With what?"
Hikari: "I'm assuming it's related to power am I right?"
Sakuya: "Yes actually he... probably couldn't accept it. The fact that we're playing second fiddle to the Salamanders in terms of power."
Sakuya: "Sigurd is a man with a thirst for power, after all. And that's not limited to character stats or abilities. He earnestly saught after authority as a player as well."
Leafa: "But even so, why would he become a spy for the Salamanders?"
Sakuya: "Have you heard of the upcoming v5.0 update? It's rumored to include the long-absent reincarnation system."
Leafa: "Then..."
Sakuya: "Mortimer probably cut him a deal: If he offered my life to them, he'd be reincarnated as a Salamander."
Leafa: "So what will you do, Sakuya?"
Sakuya: "Hmm... Lou, you've been leveling up your dark magic skills, right?"
Alicia: "Mhm."
Sakuya: "Please link me to Sigurd via Moonlight Mirror."
Back at Swilvane
Sigurd was just sitting at his throne
When a voice surprised him
Sakuya: "Sigurd."
Sigurd: "S-Sakuya?"
Sakuya: "Yes, it's me. Unfortunately for you, I'm still alive."
Sigurd: "How- I-I mean, h-how was the conference?"
Sakuya: "It ended without incident. We've yet to sign the treaty though."
...
Sakuya: "Oh, right. We had an unexpected guest."
Sigurd: "G-Guest?"
Sakuya: "General Eugene gives you his regards."
Sigurd: "Ah..." He then inspects the mirror and finds the three of us I was smirking at him though
Sigurd: "Leafa? I see now. Those incompetent lizards... So, what are you going to do, Sakuya? Fine me? Or drive me out of the government? But you see, If I, the leader of the army, were to be dismissed, your political power would suffer too."
Sakuya: "No. Since you can't stand to remain as a Sylph, I've decided to grant your wish."
Sigurd: "Wh-What?"
Sakuya then clicks the menu and Sigurd receives a pop-up screen
Sigurd: "You! Are you out of your mind?! You're... You're banishing me?"
Sakuya: "That's right. Wander the Neutral Region as a renegade. I pray that someday you'll find a new source of entertainment there."
Sigurd: "Grr... Why you!..."
He was then banished from Swilvane and Sakuya gave the signal to Alicia to dispel the Moonlight Mirror
Leafa: "Sakuya?"
Sakuya: "You have my thanks, Leafa. I'm very glad that you came to our rescue."
Leafa: "I didn't do anything though."
Leafa: "If you want to thank someone, save it for Kirito-kun here."
Hikari: "Yeah unlike me I really didn't do anything..."
Sakuya: "That's right. Who are you two exactly?"
Alicia: "Say... The whole ambassador for the Spriggans and Undines bit... Was that true?" She smirked
Kirito: "Oh..."
Everybody was staring at him
I nudged Kirito to give them an answer already
...
Kirito: "Naturally, it was all bull! A bluff, a lie, a negotiation!"
Alicia&Sakuya: '"Huh?"
Sakuya: "You're quite the reckless man. To whip up a scheme in that situation..."
Kirito: "When I'm dealt a bad hand, I like to raise the stakes for started."
Alicia then gets close to Kirito
Alicia: "For a real fraud, you're pretty strong. Are you the Spriggans' secret weapon... or something?" I smirked
Kirito: "Course not. I'm just a humble mercenary with my partner passing by."
She then laughs
Hikari: 'Here it comes.'
She then rests his arms on her chest
Kirito: "Ah..."
Alicia: "If you're free, why don't you come work for the Cait Siths? We offer three meals, snacks, and even afternoon naps."
Leafa: "Huh?!"
Sakuya then rests her... "Assets" on his arms
Sakuya: ""Kirito-kun," was it? Why don't we have a drink in Swilvane, both as a token of my appreciation and an opportunity to become acquainted?"
She then goes closer
Leafa: "Hey-"
Alicia: "Oh, that's not fair, Sakuya-chan! Using sex appeal is against the rules."
Sakuya: "As if you're not doing the same thing! You're just all over him."
Kirito: "Ahaha..."
Leafa: "That's enough! Kirito-kun is my-" She stops for a second
She then blushes
Leafa: "I mean our... Uh." Everybody was staring at her
Hikari: "Sorry girls but he's in our party for now... Right, Leafa?"
Leafa: "Y-Yeah!" She then gives a sign of a thank you and backs away for a bit
Kirito: "While I do appreciate the offers but... Like Hikari said I'm in a party right now and I'm sorry, I asked her to show the two of us the way to Yggdrasil
Sakuya: "Oh? I see. That's a shame. You're going to Alne, Leafa? For sightseeing, maybe? Or are you..."
Leafa: "I'm abandoning our territory... or at least, that was the plan. I'll definitely come back to Swilvane, but I just don't know when."
Sakuya: "I see. I'm relieved to hear that. Be sure to do just that. And bring your two friends along especially him."
Alicia: "Stop by at our place on the way back. We'll give you a big welcome." Leafa smiles and nods
...
Sakuya: "Thank you so much for today, Leafa, Hikari-kun, Kirito-kun." The two leaders bow
Sakuya: "If we had been killed, the gap between us and the Salamanders would likely have become decisive. I'd like to thank you somehow.
Hikari: "Uh no the two of us really didn't do much at all it was all him."
Kirito: "Well yeah... But it's fine."
Leafa: "Say, Sakuya, Alicia-san, this alliance is for the sake of clearing Yggdrasil, right?"
Sakuya: "Yes, well... That's our ultimate goal."
Leafa: "We'd like to accompany you for that raid. And as soon as possible." The two leaders stare at each other and smiled
Sakuya: "We don't mind if you do. In fact, I'd be grateful for that. But why are you in such a hurry?"
Hikari: "Well it's kind of personal..."
Kirito: "Yes we came to this world in order to reach the top of Yggdrasil. So we can meet someone whom we think is there."
Sakuya: "Is that someone Fairy King Oberon?"
Hikari: "No it's someone else."
Kirito: "We can't contact that person in the real world. But we have to meet them, no matter what."
Alicia: "Still, preparing the equipment for everyone in the raid party is going to take some time. A day or two really wouldn't be enough."
Kirito: "I see. I guess that's to be expected. Well, for now, we're only planning to get to the base of the tree so we can take it from there somewhere" He had a sad look on his face but soon changed it
I then had an idea
Hikari: "Hey can I ask something? If you guys have the Yrd to buy the equipment then can you guys come early?"
Sakuya: "If we do have the Yrd then yes we may come early."
Hikari: "That's perfect." I then took out my bag of Yrd
Hikari: "You guys can have this I pretty much have too much of it really." Alicia then grabs the bag of Yrd but instantly almost dropped it to how heavy it is
She then checks inside the bag and had a surprised looked
Alicia: "S-Sakuya-chan, look!"
Sakuya: "Hm?" She then checks the bag to see a boatload of Yrd
Sakuya: "This many 200,000 Yrd mithril coins?!"
Hikari: 'In the anime, it was supposed to be 100,000 Yrd mithril coins but I doubled it since I still have a ton Yrd left.'
Sakuya: "Are you sure? It's enough to build small no a big castle anywhere you'd like."
Hikari: "Like I said I have too many Yrd already so it's fine besides I can grind for more of it."
Alicia: "With this much, we should be at the perfect amount we're aiming for!"
Sakuya: "We'll arm ourselves as fast as possible. Once we're ready, we'll be sure to let you guys know."
Hikari: "Then we'll leave it to you guys."
The Cait Siths and the Sylphs then flew up
Alicia: "Thanks! See you later!" We then waved at them
Kirito then taps my shoulder
Kirito: "Thank you Hikari for what you did."
Hikari: "No worries like I said I would help you whenever I can." We both smiled
Leafa: "It feels like everything that just happened was a dream." She was going to come closer to Kirito but
...
...
...
Yui: "Honestly... I told you not to cheat, Papa."
Leafa&Kirito: "Huh?!" Leafa then quickly goes behind me while Yui talks to Kirito
Kirito: "Wh-What are you talking about?"
Yui: "When those two were clinging onto you, your heart was pounding."
Hikari: "Oh was it now Kirito?"
Kirito: "B-But that's normal for a guy."
Yui: "Jeez."
Leafa: "H-Hey, Yui-chan. Am I not a problem?"
Yui: "It seems like you're fine."
Leafa: "Wh-Why?"
Kirito then thinks for a few seconds
Kirito: "You don't really seem like a girl, that's all."
Leafa: "Hey, wha-" Before Leafa can grip her sword I punch him in the arm
Kirito: "Ow!"
Hikari: "Seriously? That's the best reason you can come up with?
Kirito: "Wh-What I mean to say is that you're easy to get along with. In a good way! Yep."
Hikari: "Sure it is..." Before being pressured Kirito then flew off
Kirito: "Now, forget that. Let's hurry over to Alne! It's getting dark!"
Hikari: "Well you heard him Leafa let's go."
Leafa: "Yeah." We then flew off to Alne
Yggdrasil
Asuna who was tired of doing nothing decided to activate her plan
Once the coast was clear she got off her bed and went toward the gate to type the passcode in
Asuna: "8, 11, 3, 2, 3, 2, 9."
the gate then opens up
Asuna: "Kirito-kun, I'll do my best." She then goes outside her birdcage and sets off to explore Yggdrasil