"I knew that even if you didn't tell me!"

Asuna pouted, then she turned back towards Nishida with a smiling face before continuing: "From that day on...I went to sleep thinking of him, and as a result the nightmares went away. I found out where his hometown was and would set aside some time to go see him every once in a while...then I began to look forward to the coming of each day...when I realized that I was in love, I was so happy and swore to treasure this emotion. That was the first time when I thought that coming to this world was a great thing..."

Asuna lowered her head, rubbing her eyes with her gloved hands, and then took a deep breath.

"Kirito-kun is the meaning behind the two years of my life spent here. He is also the proof that I'm alive and the reason for looking forward to tomorrow. I had put on the Nerve Gear and come to this world in order to meet him. Nishida oji-san...it might not be my place to say this, but I think you've definitely achieved something within this world. There is no doubt that this is a virtual world, that everything we see and touch is an imitation created from data. But to us, our hearts do exist within this reality. If that's true, then everything we're experiencing here should also be true."

Nishida blinked continuously and nodded several times. His eyes were moist behind his gla.s.ses. I was also trying my best to hold back my tears.

"It was me", I thought. I was the one who was saved when I couldn't find the reason for being alive, whether when I was in the real world or after I came to this one.

"...yes. Yes, you're right..."

Nishida looked up at the sky again and spoke.

"What I have heard here is also a priceless experience. Having caught a five meter fish is also one... It seems that my life here hasn't been meaningless. It was not meaningless at all."

Nishida nodded once and then stood up.

"Ah, it seems that I've taken up too much of your time. I firmly believe that if people like you are fighting to free us, then we should all be able to return to the real world soon... Although there's nothing that I can do to help, I could at least encourage you and cheer you on."

Nishida held our hands and shook them.

"We'll come back. Please keep us company when we do."

As I promised with my index finger, Nishida nodded with a huge smile as tears streamed down his face.

We firmly shook hands with Nishida and then walked over to the teleport gate. As we entered the s.p.a.ce that shimmered like an illusion, Asuna and I looked at each other and then opened our mouths at the same time: "Teleport-Grandum!"

The blue light that started to cover our vision erased the image of Nishida as he kept waving at us.

Chapter 20.

"The scouting party was wiped out-!?"

We were greeted with this shocking news when we returned to the KoB headquarters in Grandum for the first time in two weeks.

We were currently on one of the higher floors of the iron tower which served as the headquarters and inside the conference room with the huge window where we had talked with Heathcliff last time. Heathcliff sat at the center of the huge semi-circular table, dressed in his usual long robes. The other leaders of the guild sat on either side of him, except this time G.o.dfree wasn't present.

Heathcliff clasped the bony fingers of his hands together in front of his face and nodded slowly with a deep frown.

"It happened yesterday. Mapping the seventy-fifth floor labyrinth took quite a long time, but we were able to finish it without any casualties. Although I had expected that we would have a hard time defeating the boss..."

I did have a feeling that something like this might happen. The reason was that, of all the labyrinth bosses, only the ones from the twenty-fifth and fiftieth floors were extraordinarily large and powerful, which resulted in heavy losses from both of those fights.

The fight against the two-headed giant on the twenty-fifth floor virtually annihilated the elite troops of "The Army", which was the main cause of their decline as an organization. When the six-armed monster, which looked like a metallic statue of Buddha, launched a fierce a.s.sault during the fiftieth floor battle, numerous players had been frightened into teleporting away without permission and nearly caused the front line to collapse. If the reinforcements had been even a little late, we would have faced another total wipeout. As a matter of fact, the person who had held the line by himself during that battle until support arrived was right in front of me.

If an exceptionally strong boss awaited at every twenty-fifth level, then it was very likely that this boss would be the same.

"...So, I sent a scouting party of twenty men consisting of members from five different guilds."

Heathcliff continued in a monotone. Since his eyes were currently half-open, it was impossible to discern his emotions behind those copper-colored eyes.

"They had scouted with utmost care. Ten of them had stayed outside the boss room as reserves...but when the first ten entered and reached the center of the room, the gates closed just as the boss appeared. According to the reports of the ten who waited outside, the doors stayed closed for over five minutes, and nothing they did, including lockpicking or bashing the door, had any effect. By the time the door had finally opened-"

The edge of Heathcliff's mouth became tense. He closed his eyes for a moment and then continued.

"There was n.o.body in the room. The boss and the ten men had all disappeared. There was no sign of teleportation. They didn't return... and I sent somebody to check the death list on the metallic monument inside Black Iron Castle for confirmation..."

He didn't say the next part aloud and simply shook his head. Next to me, Asuna held her breath and then managed to force out in a small voice: "Ten...people... How did this happen..."

"An anti-crystal field...?"

Heathcliff nodded briefly to my question.

"That's the only explanation. According to Asuna-kun's report, the seventy-fourth floor was the same, so it's highly probable that every boss room from now on would all have anti-crystal fields."

"d.a.m.n it..."

I cursed. If emergency escape was impossible, the chances of people dying due to unexpected circ.u.mstances were drastically increased. We won't produce any casualties-that was the most important guideline to follow while clearing the game. But it was impossible to clear it unless we defeated the bosses...

"It's become more and more like a true game of death..."

"However, we can't give up on clearing this game just because of this..."

Heathcliff closed his eyes and then spoke in a quiet but determined voice: "In addition to the anti-crystal field, the room also blocked the exit as soon as the boss appeared. Since this is the case, we can only attack it with the largest team of players that we can command and coordinate. I originally didn't want to call you two back since you had just gotten married, but I hope you can understand our dilemma."

I answered with a shrug.

"We'll help. But I will be putting Asuna's safety as my top priority. If a dangerous situation arises, I will be putting her before the rest of the party."

Heathcliff smiled in an almost unnoticeable manner.

"One who wishes to protect another is capable of unleashing the greatest strength. I look forward to your achievements on the battlefield. The a.s.sault will begin in three hours. Thirty-two people, including you two, are expected to partic.i.p.ate. We will meet in front of the teleport gate in Collinia on the seventy-fifth floor at one o'clock. You are dismissed."

As he finished, the red paladin and his men stood up and left the room.

"Three hours- What should we do?"

Asuna asked as she absentmindedly sat down on the steel bench. I simply watched her in silence. Her body which was covered by a white combat uniform with red decorations, her long and silky hair, her sparkling brown eyes-she was as beautiful as a priceless gem.

When she noticed that I kept looking at her without shifting my gaze, Asuna blushed and asked with an embarra.s.sed smile: "Wha...what?"

I hesitantly opened my mouth: "...Asuna..."

"What?"

"...Please don't get angry and listen to me. This boss fight today...could you not take part and wait here for my return?"

Asuna first stared at me, then she lowered her head with a melancholic expression and said: "...Why are you saying this...?"

"Despite what Heathcliff said, we simply can't predict what will happen in a place where crystals can't be used. I'm really afraid...when I think about it...that something will happen to you..."

"...You want me to wait in a safe location while you go somewhere that dangerous by yourself?"

Asuna stood up and walked towards me with confident steps. Her eyes were aflame with pa.s.sion.

"If I did that and you didn't return, then I'd commit suicide. Not only would I lose my reason to keep living, I would also never forgive myself for simply waiting here. If you want to run away, then we'll run away together. If that's what you want to do, then I'm fine with it."

She finished talking and touched the center of my chest with the fingertips of her right hand. Her eyes softened and a soft smile appeared on her face.

"But, you know...everybody taking part in today's battle is afraid, and they all want to run away. Yet, despite the fear, they still agreed to join. That's because the leader and Kirito-kun...because the two strongest people in this world are leading them...that's what I think...I know that you don't like to bear responsibility. But I hope that you'll try, just this once, not only for them, but also for us...so we can return to the real world, so we can meet again; I hope we can try our best together."

I raised my right hand and clasped Asuna's hand softly. The feeling that I didn't want to lose her flooded out from deep within my heart.

"...Sorry...I, became weak for a moment. To tell the truth, I really wish we could just run away together. I don't want you to die, and I don't want to die either. We don't have to..."

I gazed into Asuna's eyes and kept on talking: "It's fine if we can't return to the real world... I want to go on living with you in that forest lodge. The two of us...forever..."

Asuna grasped her chest with her remaining hand. She closed her eyes and frowned, as if she was trying to endure something. Then, a dejected sigh escaped her lips.

"Yeah...it really is like a dream... It would be great if we could do that...spending each day together...forever..."

She stopped here and bit her lip as if she was letting go of a hopeless wish. Then she opened her eyes and looked up to me with a serious expression on her face.

"Kirito-kun, have you ever thought about it...? About what's happening to our real bodies right now?"

I was struck speechless by this unexpected question. It was probably something that every player here wondered about. But since there was no way of contacting the outside world, it was useless to think about it. Although everyone was scared, they also avoided confronting this question.

"Do you remember? That person's...Kayaba Akihiko's introduction at the beginning of the game. He said that the Nerve Gear would permit two hours of disconnection. But the reason for that was..."

"...to move our bodies to the proper medical facilities..."

Asuna nodded as I muttered this.

"Then a few days later, everyone had been cut off for about an hour, right?"

Something like that had definitely happened. I had looked at the disconnection warning and worried about whether or not the Nerve Gear would kill me in two hours.

"I think everybody had been moved to hospitals then. It's impossible to take care of a comatose person for years in a normal household. They most likely moved us to a hospital and then linked us back up again..."

"...Yeah, I think you're right..."

"If our bodies are just lying on a bed, managing to stay alive only through the numerous cords connected to them... I don't think that they'll remain safe in that situation forever."

I was suddenly overtaken by the fear that my body was starting to fade away; I hugged Asuna to confirm our existence.

"...In other words...regardless of whether or not we can clear the game...there will always be a time limit..."

"...And this time limit will differ from person to person... Since talking about "the other side" is a taboo here, I haven't discussed this with anyone else... But you're different. I...I want to spend my whole life by your side. I want to go out with you for real, get married to you for real, and then grow old together. So...so..."

She couldn't continue. Asuna buried her face in my chest and let the tears flow. I slowly stroked her back to help her finish her words.

"So...we have no choice but to fight right now..."

My fears didn't actually go away. But how could I give up now when Asuna was doing her best to open up our future while trying so hard to keep herself from collapsing.

It's alright-it will definitely be alright. As long as we're together, it will definitely- I strengthened my arms and hugged Asuna tightly to get rid of the eerie feeling that threatened to overtake me.

Chapter 21.

There was a group of obviously high-level players waiting in the seventy-fifth level teleport gate plaza in Collinia, so I figured they must be the boss party. As Asuna and I stepped out of the gate and headed towards them, they all closed their mouths and sent a tense glance our way. Some of them even gave us a guild salute.

I stopped walking as surprise overwhelmed me. But Asuna saluted in reply and then jabbed me on the side.

"Come on, Kirito-kun, you're a leader now, so you have to greet them properly!"

"What...?"

I saluted them awkwardly. I had taken part in numerous boss parties up until now, but this was the first time I had received so much attention.

"Hey!"

Someone thumped me on the shoulder, and I turned around and saw the katana-wielder, Klein, smiling under his bandana. Surprisingly, Agil's huge build also stood beside him, fully equipped with a two-handed axe in his hands.

"What......you guys are taking part as well?"

"Why are you surprised!? Aren't you taking us a bit too lightly!?"

Agil shouted indignantly.

"I even left my shop because I heard that you guys were having a hard time. To think that you don't appreciate my selfless sacrifice...."