Sword Art Online: Fallen Angels

Chapter Two: Illfang

Sorry for taking so long, guys and gals! I'm not exactly a speedy updater, since I have like, ten stories I'm working on at the moment, but I promise I'll try to update a bit faster!

Also, for those of you who follow me, there's a poll on my profile that will decide the main three stories that I'll be working on for June of 2014. The last winners (FESR and FESRFR) will not be included as choices, since they've already got the spotlight this month. Other than that, there are seven choices, and you can vote for three of them.

All right, I guess it's time for the story now! See you at the bottom!

After a few seconds of running through the alleyways, I said, "Kazuto, stop!"

"What is it?" he asked me.

"I think…" I started, my chest tightening at what I had to say. "I think we need to split up. Leveling in SAO is more efficient that way."

"What?!" he shouted.

"You know it's true," I said sadly. "That, and I need some time to think. I never would have imagined that you're one of the only people in the real world that I didn't like. So… I'm confused. I don't know what to feel."

He looked down, tears brimming in his eyes. "… I see."

"I promise, you, though…" I started, giving a weak smile. "I'll tell you what I feel after the first boss battle, when we beat it with the new clearing party. Okay?"

"Okay," he said, looking up and smiling back. "I'll see you then, Yamiko."

"Right… I'll see you, Kazuto."

It had been a month since the death game known as «Sword Art Online» began, and in that time, two-thousand people died. That's one fifth of the population. All dead within a single month. And even after all that, no one had cleared floor one.

Was this what you wanted, Kayaba…?

I hadn't seen or heard from Kazuto since we parted ways. I had no way of knowing whether he was among the living or not. However, I knew I couldn't dwell on such things. We had promised to go up against the boss together with the new clearing party, and if I only sat in an inn, worrying over his safety, I would be breaking it. Thus, I joined with the scouts in search of the boss room about two weeks in.

There, I met a nice boy my age named Diabel. He led the scouts in their explorations, but I could easily tell that he was leading them in circles once I actually tagged along for the first time. So I pulled him aside to talk to him.

I learned that he was a beta-tester, just like Kazuto and I. He didn't want to leave the other players and go solo like the majority of the testers did, so he formed a small group of scouts to search the boss dungeon. He told me that the reason he was leading them in circles was to help them level by fighting the mobs in the dungeon, something they never would have done on their own.

When I told him of my own status as a beta-tester, he looked incredibly relieved. He asked me not to tell anyone about our status, and I agreed. Soon after, we became great friends.

Not as great as Kirito was, though.

Eventually, Diabel and I decided to stop leading the scouts in circles, feeling that they had leveled enough for the boss fight that would take place after we found the room. During the next search, we found the boss room easily, having memorized its location in the beta. Everyone in the scout group looked overjoyed to finally have found it, and so we decided to teleport to «Tolbana» and go to a fancy diner to celebrate.

Now, three days later, Diabel is hosting a meeting on how to beat the first floor boss.

"Diabel," I addressed the blue-haired boy before me, giving him a sad smile. "I have to look for someone who will be attending the meeting, so I won't be able to host it with you… I'm sorry."

He looked at me with the charismatic smile he was known for, giving me a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about it! When you find Kirito, tell him he's lucky for me, okay?"

I pouted, my cheeks dusted with an embarrassing light pink. "It's not like that!"

As I walked away, listening to him laugh in triumph, I realized something… off.

How in the hell did he know it was Kazuto?!

When I reached the meeting spot, I noticed Kazuto leaning on a tree in the middle, alone. I walked up to him, noting that his eyes were closed. It almost seemed like he was sleeping.

But I'm not that stupid.

I put my right hand up to his forehead, flicking it gently with my index finger. His eyes shot open, revealing two angry, steel-gray eyes. When he registered that I was right in front of him, his face went pale.

"Y-Yamiko!" he said, though it sounded more like a question. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates. He looked… scared.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, looking at him with a concerned face. "Why do you look so scared?"

He looked at me with a sad smile. "It's just… I thought you hated me. I mean, you did in the real world… and you said—"

Before he could continue, I put my finger to his lips. "I didn't say that I hated you here. I told you, I didn't know what I felt. But I'm sure of it now. I promise, I'll tell you after the boss fight. Okay?"

He smiled a genuine smile, giving me a thumbs-up. "All right. I'll be waiting."

"Hey, Yamiko!" one of my new friends from the scouting party shouted at us from my left. "Let's go! The meeting's about to start!"

With that, we began to walk towards where the meeting would take place.

Once we arrived at our destination, I looked around at the scenery. The place we had all arrived at looked like an ancient amphitheater built on a hill, with several rows of curved stone benches arranged in a semicircle around a smaller semicircular stage-like platform at the bottom.

Soon enough, my blue-haired friend, Diabel, walked up onto the stage. He clapped his hands a few times, then said, "Okay, it looks like everyone's here! Let's get this meeting started!

"So anyway, I want to thank everyone here for coming. It's nice to see so many people interested in helping clear the game! My name is Diabel. And in this game…

"The job I rolled is knight!"

The crowd burst into laughter, falling prey to Diabel's plan.

He wants to lighten the tension. He's pretty brilliant when it comes to manipulating the crowd.

Once the crowd had calmed down, he got straight down to business. "All right, guys. Here's the deal. Three days ago, my party found the boss room at the top of the dungeon."

All of the players save for a few gasped in shock, looking at Diabel with wide eyes. Still, he continued on, acting as if he didn't even see the shocked and scared glances he was getting.

"First, we need to beat the boss and make it to floor two. The next step is for us to come back and tell everyone waiting in the «Town of Beginnings» that it is possible to beat this game!

"As the most capable players, it is our duty! Are you with me? Or not?" he finished, leaving his question hanging.

All was silent for five seconds. Then, one of the players started clapping. Then another, and another, until almost all of us were clapping and cheering. I looked over at Kazuto, watching him smile softly at the spirit of the players.

"Amazing, isn't it?" I whispered, watching as Kazuto looked to me in confusion. "Diabel is a great motivator."

His eyes showed the faintest hint of sadness as he said, "Do you know him?"

I smiled smugly, saying, "Yeah. I was a part of his scouting party, and we're pretty good friends. You jealous?"

He did a double take, stuttering out an incomprehensible mess before finally regaining his composure. "No way!"

My smile faltered slightly, showing my disappointment at his words for the faintest of moments. I quickly regained my smug façade before saying, "Aw, that's too bad. I was hoping I could have something to tease you about."

"Pfft, whatever."

He turned back to Diabel, and I followed suit just in time to hear him start speaking again.

"Okay! Glad to hear that everyone's with me. Now, let's get down to strategy. First off, we'll divide into parties of six!"

Everyone started looking around to the people next to them, and I could already see people opening their menus. I looked around, trying to find any people who were being left out. Soon enough, as Diabel was explaining the importance of forming a raid group, I saw a lone person in a cloak about five meters to the left of Kazuto.

I got up, walking over to the player. Kirito followed suit, and a few seconds later, we reached them.

"So, I'm guessing that you're a solo player who doesn't want to intrude on the other players as they form parties, right?" I asked the player.

"Y-yeah," the cloaked player responded in a feminine voice.

So she's a girl…

"Well, why don't you party with us?" I offered, pointing to me and Kazuto. "We don't mind. Besides, Diabel said that we wouldn't stand a chance against a floor boss alone."

She looked at us through her hood, taking a moment before responding with, "Okay."

No sooner had both she and Kazuto accepted the party invites I sent than did Diabel resume talking. "All right, it looks like everyone's teamed up! Now, let's—"

"Hold on a sec!"

All eyes turned to the top of the amphitheater, where a man with orange cactus-like hair stood with his arms crossed. His expression showed his anger very well, and I could already guess as to why he was so wound up.

I sense trouble coming…

He jumped down the seats with a series of unnecessary grunts until he was on the platform with Diabel, then turned around to face the crowd. He began speaking in an annoying voice, starting to rant right away.

"My name's Kibaou, got it? Before we take on the boss, I just want to get something off my chest," he said, earning the curiosity of most of the players. "We all know about the two-thousand people who've died already, right? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!"

As I thought.

Diabel looked to him, not a trace of nervousness on his features. "Kibaou, I don't suppose you're referring to the beta-testers, are you?"

"No shit, Sherlock!" Kibaou shouted, causing me to grit my teeth in anger. "The day this damned game started, the beta-testers just up and vanished, right? They ditched everyone else! They snagged all the best hunting spots and easy quests for themselves! They were the only ones getting stronger! All this time, they've ignored us like we're the dirt they walk on!

"I'm damn sure there's some of them here! Come on out, beta-testers! You need to apologize! And you need to give up the money and the items you hoarded! You can't expect the party to trust you when you trust us! Why should we?"

I looked to Kazuto beside me, rage boiling when I saw his conflicted look.

That's enough!

I stood up slowly, faking smugness. "You know, people who accuse others of being guilty are often guilty themselves. How are we to know that you're not a beta-tester yourself who's only looking to take the other testers' stuff?"

Kibaou glared at me with the force of a thousand suns. "What'd you just say?!"

I ignored him, intent on finishing the hate put on the beta-testers off for good. "And besides, not all the beta-testers are bad guys. If there are beta-testers here, that means that they want to help clear the game for everyone, right? That doesn't sound selfish to me. Oh, and one more thing."

"W-what's that?" Kibaou said, his resolve to hate fading.

I pulled out a little item that I had been keeping for an occasion such as this, holding it up for him to see. "You see this? This is a guidebook. They're handed out for free at all the item stores. I assume you got one."

He stared at me, his anger replaced with confusion. "Yeah. What of it?"

"Every addition thus far was made from info given by the beta-testers. You know what that means, right? The testers had to pay for each edition to be freely distributed in all the stores. Publication of books in SAO isn't cheap, either. The testers paid out of their own pockets just to help out all the newbie players."

I looked around at the other players before continuing. "Listen up, people. Everyone had equal access to this info, and all of it is vital for surviving in this world. Even so, lots of players died. The beta-testers did everything they could. I, for one, didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I came to help clear this damn game and get everyone back home! Who's with me?"

Silence.

Then, a few moments later, I heard clapping coming from a couple seats below me. Then another joined in, and then another, and another, until everyone was clapping for me. I looked to Diabel, smiling when I saw him give me a grateful expression.

Once the clapping died down, I looked at Kibaou once more. "So, Kibaou, do you have anything else to say?"

All he did was give me an indignant glare, walking back to the stands and sitting down. I followed suit, waiting for Diabel to continue.

"Okay, is everyone ready to get back to the meeting?" Diabel asked the crowd, receiving nods in return. He then got another guidebook out of his pocket, saying, "Okay, good. For info on the boss, it's all here in the latest edition of the guide book you just heard about."

He opened the guidebook, turning to a page he had most probably bookmarked. Then, he began reading at a pace that told me he had memorized the contents beforehand. "According to the book, the boss's name is «Illfang the Kobold Lord». Looks like he'll also be surrounded by three minions at any given time, called the «Ruin Kobold Sentinels».

"Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four HP bars, and when the last one enters the red, he ditches his current weapons for a curved sword-type weapon called a «Tulwar». His attack patterns change to match his new weapon."

At this newest piece of information, the crowd of future clearers started to mumble amongst themselves. Before any uncertainty could arise, Diabel closed the guidebook and resumed speaking. "Well, that's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone. The EXP goes to the party that defeats the boss, and whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Any objections?"

When no one said anything against him, Diabel concluded the meeting with, "Good! We meet here and leave at ten in the morning! Meeting adjourned!"

As people left, I noticed that Kazuto and the cloaked girl were still next to me. I turned to both of them, giving a goofy smile. "Hey, what do you say the three of us meet up tonight for dinner? My treat!"

Later that night, the three of us met up at a diner. After we finished our orders, we began engaging in idle conversation. Well, more like Kazuto and I talked to each other while the other girl listened.

"So, how did you fare in the past month?" I asked Kazuto, staring at him curiously. "I'm sure you were as battle-crazed as ever, so you were probably leveling the entire time."

"Yeah, that just about sums it up," he responded. "Oh, and I met Coper at the end of the first day."

I looked up at the ceiling, smiling in reminiscence. "Oh? How's he doing?"

I remember… he stuck with us from floors two through four. He was a good guy.

"The death aspect of the game changed him. He tried to kill me for the quest item to get the «Anneal Blade». He almost died himself, but I saved him. I haven't heard from him since," Kazuto said, looking down sadly.

"Wow… and he was such a nice guy before…" I whispered, my face falling.

"Excuse me…"

Both of us turned our gazes to the girl sitting with us.

"What's up?" I asked her curiously, though I was sweating bullets on the inside.

Did she figure it out?

"Are you two from the beta?" she asked quietly yet bluntly. She didn't sound mad, but I still wasn't sure.

"What would you do if we are?" Kazuto queried, looking at her intently.

"Nothing," she replied. "You're both still trapped here, just like everyone else. You're both human, just like everyone else. And even though a lot of people hate you, you help them silently and thanklessly."

I stared at the cloaked girl before me, in complete awe of her lack of prejudice. I gaped at her for a good seven seconds before remembering that I needed to respond. "So… you're not mad? You don't hate us?"

"Should I have a reason to?" she asked.

This girl is a saint!

"No… I guess not," I said, giving her a smile.

The next morning, as we walked through the forest that led to the boss dungeon, I listened to Kazuto as he told the girl what our job was once more.

"Okay, let's go over it one last time," he said. "Our job is to take care of the boss's minions. I'll knock their pole axes up with a skill, and then you switch and go in for the kill. Yamiko is really strong, so she'll be taking care of minions on her own."

"What's a switch?"

Both Kazuto and I looked at the girl incredulously, but he was the first to speak. "Have you ever been in a party before?"

"No."

Both Kazuto and I slouched over, knowing that we had a lot to teach this girl on the long walk to the tower.

After walking up what seemed like an endless amount of stairs and floors, everyone finally found themselves staring down a large set of double doors. I looked around, trying to find the slightest hint of fear on any of the players' faces.

I found none.

Instead, I saw copious amounts of determination, which made me smile for the faintest of moments. My smile quickly dissipated, however, when Diabel walked to the front of the crowd and turned around, beginning to speak.

"All right, everyone! I've only got one thing to say to you," he said, sporting his charismatic smile. "Let's win!"

He turned around, putting his hands on the doors. They began to open slowly, revealing a large, dimly-lit room with over forty pillars lining the walls. We all walked in cautiously, waiting for the boss to appear.

With the sound of a light being turned on, the entire room lit up in a rainbow of colors, blinding me for a moment. The walls of the room looked like stained glass, only much, much brighter.

In the blink of an eye, a giant red beast appeared in the air, falling towards us with a roar of fury. The ground shook when it made contact, catching us all off balance for the faintest of moments before we regained our footing.

The red beast before us had a blue diamond pattern on its massive belly. Its clothes were akin to that of a sumo wrestler, along with leg armor and a helmet to cover its disproportionately small head. In its right hand rested a one-handed axe, a buckler shield in its left. Four health bars appeared next to its head, filling up one by one until the top bar was full and blue. Above its head, a name appeared.

«Illfang the Kobold Lord»

Then, three thin, humanoid beasts covered in armor spawned, giant two-handed pole axes resting it their grips. One health bar appeared next to each of their heads, filling up just like Illfang's did. Their names appeared over their heads, announcing that they were the minions… the «Ruin Kobold Sentinels».

They don't look so tough.

The boss and his minions began their charge. I looked around, finding that the players still held the same look of determination on their faces. I smiled, turning back to my charging opponents. Then, I a shout from Diabel pierced my thoughts.

"COMMENCE ATTACK!"

That was all it took to send the players running at the boss and his minions, meeting them in the middle and clashing in showers of sparks.

"Squads A and C! Switch in!"

Said squads closed in on the boss, giving the current attackers time to rest and heal as they withdrew.

"Here it comes!" Diabel shouted. "Squad B! Block!"

Squad B used many skills at once to deflect the axe strike made by Illfang, knocking it back several meters.

"Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch out!" Diabel commanded, pointing his sword at said squad. "Everyone else, fall back, regroup and flank the boss!"

He looked over at my party, then proceeded to shout separate orders at us. "Squads D, E and F, keep those minions off us!"

In unison, Kazuto and I shouted, "You got it!"

I watched for a few seconds as Kazuto hit one of the sentinels' pole axes up, with the girl coming from behind and decimating the minion with a skill just milliseconds after he shouted, "Switch!"

Damn, this girl is good! A lot better than I thought she'd be!

My attention was then drawn to a newly-spawned sentinel, who had just jumped into the air behind Kazuto for a strike. I rushed in with blinding speed, activating the dash-type skill, «Double Circular», midway.

As soon as the skill finished, the sentinel exploded into hundreds of polygons, returning to the «Cardinal System» from whence it came. An instant later, another sentinel spawned a few meters away.

"Thanks!" Kazuto shouted as he turned around to face me.

"No problem!" I shouted, running over to the newly-spawned minion immediately after.

I stabbed it with my right sword, then came down in an overhead strike with my left. I dragged both swords down, then came up in a double-uppercut that shattered the sentinel into hundreds of polygons. No matter how broken «Dual-Wielding» skills may be, I still preferred to use my own body to do the fighting as opposed to letting the system assist take control.

Another minion spawned right behind me, but I heard the sound, and thus, was not afraid. I spun around and hit it in the abdomen with two leftward strikes, then reversed my direction and hit it once with my right sword before stabbing it with my left.

It shattered just like the two before it, but this time, none spawned in its place.

But that means—

I looked over at the boss, and when I looked at its health bars, I froze. The last bar had just entered the red.

Illfang threw his axe and buckler into the air, and they landed on the ground several meters away with two loud clangs.

"Looks like the guide book was right," Kibaou said, his voice sounding sickeningly cocky.

Don't get too confident, Kibaou. Just because it's in the Red doesn't mean it's any less deadly, I thought, turning back to watch the boss. However, my attention was quickly drawn to another point of interest as I heard someone shout something incredibly stupid.

"Stand back! I've got this! He's mine!"

I heard the sound of someone rushing through the now-still crowd of players, and when I turned to look, I found Diabel running towards the boss.

What the hell? The plan was for everyone to surround the boss and attack! Why would he be going it alone? Wait, I get it! He's after the «Last Attack Bonus»!

I watched as Diabel charged up a mid-level skill, already doing the calculations in my head. Milliseconds later, I deduced that the skill wouldn't do nearly enough damage to kill Illfang. I looked over to the boss, watching as it drew a long, straight katana-like sword out from a sling on its back.

Crap! That's not a «Tulwar»! It's a «Nodachi»! What do I do?!

"Yamiko!"

It was the shout of Kazuto that brought me back to my senses. Just as Illfang jumped into the air, I began running as fast as I could over to Diabel. While I ran, the boss started jumping from pillar to pillar, putting its «Nodachi» in the position to unleash a deadly two-hit combo on Diabel as soon as it came back down.

Time seemed to slow down as my senses rose to new levels, allowing me to see every minute detail of the boss's and Diabel's movements. I deduced that in three more ricochets, Illfang would come down on Diabel, activating a skill that would surely end his life.

"No way in hell!"

A mere fraction of a second before Illfang finished the final ricochet and pounced on Diabel, I appeared in between them, shoving my blue-haired friend aside. I moved my swords up just in time to block the skill, though the force of Illfang's ferocious attack pushed me down onto my knees. As I desperately held the boss's «Nodachi» above my head with my swords, I eyed my health bar.

I have about three fourths left, but it's still dropping!

Then, all of the sudden, Illfang flew to my right, its «Nodachi» going with it. I looked to my left with several exhausted pants, finding Kazuto and the girl, Asuna, all of their weapons still glowing from the aftereffects of «Sword Skills».

"Thanks… you two…" I panted, my vision growing hazy.

Kazuto walked up to me, handing me a potion. "Here, drink up."

I obliged, drinking the potion like my life depended on it. After I finished, I said, "I'm still a little tired. You two start cleaning up, and I'll join you in a bit."

"Got it!" Kazuto said, turning to Asuna. "Let's go!"

As I watched Kazuto and Asuna attack the boss relentlessly, I couldn't help but notice the incredible teamwork they displayed.

Wow… they're almost as good as we were in the beta!

Then, I saw Illfang slash the air, creating a gust of wind that sent both of them flying back and destroying Asuna's cloak. I couldn't see her very well, but I could easily tell…

She's… beautiful… a lot more than I am…

Then my attention snapped back to the boss, whom had decided to target Kazuto, making my eyes widen in horror as he struggled to get up in time.

Time seemed to slow down once more, just like when I saved Diabel just minutes prior. I got up and charged at Illfang, activating «Double Circular» once I got within reach. Just before the boss hit Kazuto with a heavy-hitter skill, my blades hit its «Nodachi» one after the other, redirecting the skill to the ground right next to us.

"I'm returning the favor!" I shouted. "Now, let's finish this thing for good!"

Kazuto got up, and we charged the boss, who had backed up to activate a dash-type skill at us. Just as its skill activated, we both moved out of the way, causing it to go sailing past us. Then, we simultaneously activated «Double Circular», hitting the boss from behind.

It turned around just in time to come face-to-face with two perfectly-in-sync «Cleaves», followed by two double-thrusts. It jumped back, but we charged at it just as fast, hitting it over and over again with the same skills as the same time. We were perfectly in sync, just like in the beta.

"HAAA!"

We both screamed simultaneously, preparing to hit it with one last attack.

«Agonizing Reversal»

Four blades cut downwards into its flesh, then reversed into upward strikes, the skills' reach extending all the way up and through the boss's body. The skill dragged our bodies into a backflip, and when we landed, we both unleashed the final hit of our combo: a deadly diagonal spinning attack with extended reach.

The boss flew into the air, glowing a bright blue color, until—

«Illfang the Kobold Lord» shattered into innumerable polygons, leaving the world of «Sword Art Online» forever and allowing passage beyond his throne.

Both Kazuto and I fell to the ground, utterly exhausted. We looked over to the rest of the players, all of whom were shocked into silence. Then, a sign appeared in the air above us all.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Just like that, the room erupted into cheers. Everyone looked at the windows that appeared before them, showing the money they earned, which only made them even more joyous.

Then, a window appeared before me. It read:

Congratulations!

You got the Last Attack Bonus!

Bonus item: «Coat of Midnight»

I looked over to Kirito, who appeared to be in a similar state of shock as he looked in down at what I assumed was a window for him. Players can't see other players' menus, after all.

"Hey… Yamiko?" Kazuto said between pants.

"… Yeah?" my breathing was no better.

"Did you get the window for the LA bonus?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "But our finishing blows hit at the same time, so did you get it too?"

"Yeah."

"What's your bonus?" I asked him.

"The «Coat of Midnight»."

I smiled broadly. "It looks like we have matching coats now."

He looked into my eyes, trying to find any trace of annoyance.

Don't tell me he still thinks I don't like him, I thought sadly, trying to reassure him with my eyes. I'll have to tell him the truth once we get to floor two.

I heard two pairs of feet coming towards us over the cheering of the players. When I turned around, I found Diabel and Asuna, walking up to us with smiles on their faces.

"You guys were in perfect sync," Asuna said, looking from me to Kazuto.

"It's almost enough to make me jealous, Kirito," Diabel joked, laughing at our flustered reactions.

"Yeah, whatever," Kazuto said, turning around to hide his red face.

"But seriously, that was amazing!" Diabel shouted. "Today's victory was all thanks to you two!"

"No," Kazuto said. "It was a team effort. We all pitched in."

At this, the players all cheered once more.

Three hours later, after most of the clearers had moved back to floor one to tell everyone the news, Kazuto and I stayed behind. I told him that I would say what I felt after we reached the second floor, and I planned to make good on my word.

So there we were, sitting across from each other at a middle-class diner, looking out the window at the crowds of people exploring floor two for the first time.

"So… Yamiko?" Kazuto said, catching my attention.

"What's up?"

"You said you would tell me…"

I looked at him with a smug smile. "Getting impatient, are we?"

"I'm ever so sorry for not wanting to wait for the rest of the night to get my answer," he teased me, earning a laugh.

Just like old times.

"Well, I suppose I've made you wait long enough," I said. "Although I'm not entirely sure how much, I know that I like you a lot. You're still an amazing friend. Dare I say it… you might even be better than you were in the beta."

He looked at me with a hopeful expression, though he knew I wasn't done.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you were an ass to me in real life," I told him, watching as his hopeful expression faded, turning to one of fear. "And I can't just ignore that. So… for now, I consider you my best friend."

"Wha…?"

His expression changed once more, turning into one of disbelief. I smirked, saying, "What, were you hoping for something more?"

His incomprehensible, stuttered-out reply told me all I needed to know.

Original word count without author's notes: 5317

Word count with author's notes: 5541

Word count with FFnet word bloat: 5732

Well, this was fun!

Well, I guess I should apologize once again to my followers for taking so long to get this out. Then again, I've taken much longer with other updates, so…

Well, I wonder how things will play out after this? It's really bad when the author doesn't know where to take it. Oh well, I'll figure something out.

Well, I guess it's time for the disclaimer!

I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations!

Until we meet again!