Sword Art Online: Faithful Hymn

Chapter 53: Sacrifice

"Eiji... it's been so long. How have you been holding up ever since... you know."

I ask of the boy, with tears of delight, as well as distress. There have been rumors going around regarding a boy who was named Eiji, rampaging on both GGO and ALO. Each and every time, he softly mentioned my name, although I never exactly knew whether I was this boy or not. It always could have been another Shoji, just like it could have been an entirely different Eiji.

"You've got a lot of gut to ask that of me."

Eiji tells me with a shady tone. I know where he was coming from. We both had to endure the aftermath of Yuuna's death, and I wouldn't have expected him to feel any better than I have. Despite my boldly interpreted question however, I had hoped he would've answered me in a relieved tone. Especially knowing we both are alive and well.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked it like that."

I tell the boy, who didn't show any sign of appreciation. In the dark night's light, it was rather dark throughout the entire parking lot we found ourselves in. What did shine however, was the exosuit that Eiji wore. It was mostly colored purple and black, and strangely, it somehow resembled Yuna's attire. Eiji's suit had the appearance of a cloak, greatly reminding me of Kirito's famous attire as The Black Swordsman back in the day.

"You understand why I must kill you, don't you?" Eiji suddenly said to me. 

I had a feeling deep down below that the rumored Eiji was in fact my friend from SAO, although I never wanted to believe that instinct. Knowing that he wants to kill me however, changed my entire view of Eiji as a whole. The rather weak, anxious and gentle Nautilus I once knew, is no more. Instead, all that's left is an Eiji that seeks revenge for what happened in the past.

I then knew, he blamed me for her death. And he had sacrificed his former self to become a hunter, seeking revenge.

"...You blame me for Yuuna's death." I hesitate to clarify to him. He didn't show a sign of whether I was right about that or not. Instead, he walked forward, approaching me little by little. The echoes of his loud footsteps get louder and louder, echoing even through my mind as I get forced to take my distance from him. "We were in love, Eiji! She would have done the exact same thing if you were me, almost dead in that boss room. She would have jumped in front of you to save your life!"

Eiji took a step back, while I gathered the courage to open up to Eiji regarding what happened those years ago. Whether he believed me or not, I couldn't tell by his facial expressions. What he sought all this time however, was revenge. And I was the only candidate that could allay that anger.

"No... we have known each other ever since childhood. SHE WOULD NEVER LOVE YOU OVER ME!"

After Eiji's yell, I could see his stance changing. He was about to do something, although I got no idea what that exactly would be. 

"Ordinal Scale... ACTIVATE!"

The moment Eiji shouted Ordinal Scale's activation command, his armor started to glow and a powerful looking sword appeared in his right hand. The enraged boy charged towards me, with me barely being able to dodge his fatal blow. I'm glad to have been doing basketball training, or otherwise I wouldn't have had the reflexes to dodge his attack anymore.

"Get a hold of yourself man!" I demand of him. Like I expected, he didn't obey, thus attempting to slash me more and more times. Although each and every time, I managed to dodge his moves. His trail of basic sword slashes became rather sluggish, and he realized that wasn't enough to strike me down.