Kirito's POV
Asuna told me that she had been monitoring the map while waiting
for me in Grandum.
The moment Godfrey’s signal disappeared, she ran out of the city and
had crossed the five kilometers that took us an hour to cover in just
five minutes. When I pointed out that it was a figure which exceeded
the dexterity stat limits, she answered with a slight smile:
“It's the power of love.”
After we returned to the guild HQ, we told Heathcliff what happened
and asked him if we could temporarily leave the guild. When Asuna
explained her reason as "distrust of the guild," Heathcliff thought in
silence for a while, but gave us permission nevertheless. Then, he said
one last thing with a mysterious smile on his face:
“But you'll return to the battlefield soon enough.”
By the time we left the HQ, it was already evening. We held each
others' hands and walked together to the teleport gate plaza.
Neither of us said a word.
As we walked amongst the black shadows of the iron towers and the
orange light that came from outside the floating castle, I wondered
just where Cradil's hate had come from.
There were quite a number of people who enjoyed committing crimes
in this world. From thieves and robbers to the cold-blooded murderers
of «Laughing Coffin» like Cradil; rumors claim that the number of
criminal players already exceeded a thousand. People thought of them
as natural occurrences like monsters now.
But when I thought about it, I still felt that they were a very strange
group. It should be obvious to everyone that harming other players
was an act that would undoubtedly hurt the chances of clearing the
game. In other words, it meant that they didn't want to leave this game.
Yet after meeting Cradil, I didn't think this applied to him. He didn't
help or obstruct the clearing of the game; he had merely stopped
thinking. Neither reminiscing the past nor looking forward to the
future, he simply tried to fulfill his endless desires, which resulted in
the growth of his vile intentions—
Then what about me? I couldn't confidently say that I was seriously
focused on clearing the game. It would be more accurate to claim that
I habitually explored labyrinths only for experience points. If I fought
only to strengthen myself, to feel the pleasure of superiority, then
somewhere deep down within myself, did I also not want this world to
end—?
Suddenly, it felt as if the iron plate beneath my feet had begun to sink.
I stopped walking and tightened my grip on Asuna's right hand, which
