The Seventh Case

Chapter 16

"NO! STOP!!! DON'T.... DON'T GO!!", Kazuto yelled as he hugged Asuna tightly. It seemed like a tantrum of a child unable to grasp reality, but he had the right to throw the tantrum.

"Don't leave me", he whispered finally as he let his tears flow. Breathing her last moments, Asuna smiled as she ran her hand over his cheek.

"Hey, don't blame yourself, okay? We were caught off guard and...this happened. Let me tell you this - I don't regret it at all", she said through her bleeding mouth. Her smile seemed more like a wince as she balanced herself with her rapier.

"But I...I...", he started before Asuna put an end to it with a finger to his lips.

"Live, Kazuto-kun. Live for my sake as well. I love you", she whispered weakly. She began to pale moment by moment and a few seconds later, she split into polygons.

Kazuto was in a massive dilemma. He did not know whether to break into a fit of rage or whether he should curl into a ball and cry.

Heathcliff

The older man sighed in relief as they had beaten the floor boss. He was also happy with the fitting end given to Asuna. He had done what White had asked him to do and the man should lay off his back for a decent amount of time.

At that point, his eyes widened in shock and his palms grew sweaty. Why?

The boss' drops.

The boss dropped a special item. White had specifically asked him to relocate the item to another time specific event. But he had completely forgotten about it.

Heathcliff had completely forgotten that he had programmed the boss to drop the Divine Stone of the Returning Soul. He was sure White would haunt him for this mistake.

Kazuto

There was absolutely no doubt over the fact that he was distraught. But why was the pain so excruciating? Kazuto had lost a number of friends before, more than half of them were female. Their deaths had truly pained him, but not a single one of their deaths had such a terrible effect on him. Why was her death so painful? He had known her for two years, but they had barely met in person.

She was not annoying or irritating and seemed rather similar to some of his older friends. Why was she so different to him?

Each time she got hurt, he winced. Each time she smiled, he mirrored it and each time she hugged him or told him she loved him, there was an unspoken joy that seemed to erupt from his heart.

"I love her", he realised, but he was far too late. She was stronger than him in that aspect. She did not shy away from her feelings like he did and bravely stated it in front of him.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, CHIBISUKE? HOW COULD YOU LET HER DIE, YOU CHEAP FUCK? ARE YOU A MAN? WHY DON'T YOU DITCH THOSE CLOTHES AND GO SET UP A BAR WHERE YOU DRINK AWAY TILL YOU DIE?", Kirito roared inside Kazuto's head. Kazuto could hear Kirito's tearful tirade inside his head and the emptiness came back to him and.

Kazuto noticed his menu where he had received the XP, Cor and the special item. Kazuto was about to close his menu before the corner of his eye caught the word 'Revival'.

Without a second's hesitation, Kazuto opened his menu and clicked on the item. A glowing cube materialized in his hand.

The device had a question mark on it and inquisitively, Kazuto touched thr question mark. An input field emerged and Kazuto typed in Asuna's name.

Time progressed since death: 2 minutes and 57 seconds

<<Player to be revived must be dead for no more than 3 days after which, the player's progress will be permanently deleted>>