The Black Swordsman

Chapter 34: Kirito vs. Sugou Pt. 1

"Kirito, are you sure you're ready for this?" asked Lisbeth after we had both taken the health potions that the fake Heathcliff dropped. "Once we head up those stairs, there's no guessing what's waiting for us. I get that you don't want to waste any more time, though. It's already taken us this long just to get this far...I...kind of wish the others could have made it this far with us. But they all sacrificed themselves so that the two of us could get this far. Do...you think that they're doing alright in the real world?"

"It's hard to say," I answered, honestly. "More than anything, I want to believe that Sugou was lying through his teeth when he said that the body in the real world was effected by what happens in this VR world. Although, I'd be surprised if that was actually the case. The pain that I've felt from fighting in this world...it's felt pretty damn close to the real thing. That doesn't bode well for how that kind of pain might affect our bodies in the real world. We can't dread about that, though, right now. The others wouldn't want us to be worried about that, anyways, especially when we're this close. All we can do is have hope...and keep moving forward."

I felt bad for the harshness of my response. A part of me wanted to tell Lisbeth something more hopeful but lying to her at this point just felt selfish, after everything she'd given to help me make it this far. It was funny. Lisbeth was the one, who was most against returning to the VR world when this whole thing started and she ended up being the one that made it the farthest with me in this journey. After all of the trauma she must have gone through during her time in SAO, it must have been so difficult for her to help me like this.

"Lisbeth, I don't think I ever thanked you," I said. "I know you were...kind of against all of this, at first."

"Yeah, I was...the last thing I ever wanted to do was put that stupid Nerve Gear back on but there was no way that I was going to let Asuna be the only one who never wakes up from this hell. She deserves better than that. Plus, the two of you were my biggest customers back in Aincrad. My blacksmithing business wouldn't have been nearly as popular if the two best players in the game hadn't put a good word in for me."

Lisbeth's eyes shifted to the single sword that was on my back...the same sword that she had crafted for me back in SAO. The Dark Repulser. Her eyes then motioned towards the empty sheath on my back where my Elucidator used to be.

"This is the first time that I've only seen you with one sword sheathed on your back in quite a while," Lisbeth commented, sadly. "Doesn't it feel a little weird, only having one sword and no longer being able to dual wield?"

I'd be lying to Lisbeth if I told her that it didn't bother me because it very much did. It felt very strange knowing that the only weapon I could now equip was the Dark Repulser. On top of that, the fact that the Elucidator was one of the first weapons that I received back in SAO only made the separation from the weapon even worse for me.

"You know, it sucks, to be honest," I replied, smiling. "Yet, I'm glad that the sword you made for me survived, Lisbeth. I have full confidence that the weapon will be enough to rescue Asuna. I mean, the best blacksmith in Aincrad made it, after all."

I looked up at the stairs that led to the final floor of the castle and sighed.

"I guess there's no point in wasting anymore time," Lisbeth concluded. "Let's go save, Asuna, from that asshole."

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Climbing up the stairs to the next floor had always been stressful while I had been inside of Sugou's world. It was difficult to tell what the worst part of it truly was. Was it the uncertainty of what awaited me...was it the annoyance that I had another obstacle to get through to get to Asuna...or was it the fatigue that had been building up inside of me since the first boss fight of the castle which had only gotten worse over time? While making our way up the stairs this time, though, I didn't feel any of these emotions. Instead, the only thing that was on my mind was getting to see Asuna's face, again. I hoped...no, prayed that she hadn't suffered too much while she waited for my arrival. It was hard for me to tell how much time had passed since my friends and I entered Sugou's world...but, to me, it had felt like days had gone by. Lisbeth was just as quiet as I was which caused me to wonder what was on her mind. Rather than bothering her about it, I just figured that it was similar to what was going on in my mind.