Upon seeing this news, Kaede knew that Heathcliff was making his move on Kirito.
If Kaede didn't know that Heathcliff was the creator of the game, she might have hoped that Kirito could defeat the Commander who had never lost a battle. But knowing what she did, was that even possible?
However, even knowing the outcome, she still had to go and watch. At the very least, she wanted to see what Kirito's full strength was like right now and if he could force Heathcliff to expose himself.
Speaking of which, if he were exposed, things would get very interesting. Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on the corner of Kaede's mouth—the kind of smile one has when they've found a new toy.
And so, the family headed toward the arena. They arrived at the seats reserved for them by the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath. These could be said to be the clearest vantage points in the entire venue, and only the two of them were qualified to stand there.
Furthermore, they had gained the recognition of the vast majority of people through their strength and beauty; even those who wanted to cause trouble would be immediately drowned out by the crowd.
"Over there, that's..." At this moment, a Little Loli in a corner looked toward Kaede and Asuna with eyes full of admiration.
"That is the flower of strategy." That's right, this was the Dragon Tamer Silica, who had been becoming more famous lately; she had clearly become a little fangirl of the flower of strategy.
"So dazzling~" A girl with short pink hair looked at Asuna. She was very familiar with Asuna, but not with Kaede who was beside her.
Moreover, she faintly felt that the two of them, along with the little girl beside them, formed a perfect picture that simply had no room for anyone else.
She let out a sigh. Even though Asuna wouldn't mind, they really were from two different worlds.
In the end, she decided she would just say hello and then step aside. Putting on her usual cheerful expression, she walked up.
"Yo! Asuna! And Kaede. You're here."
"Ah, it's Liz!" Surprise showed in Asuna's eyes.
"Hello." Kaede's impression of the girl before her was quite good. Although she seemed boisterous, Kaede could sense her attentiveness; she wouldn't say anything inappropriate.
"Come, this is Auntie Liz," Kaede said, pulling Yui over to introduce her to Liz.
"Am I really that old?" A cross-shaped vein popped up on Liz's forehead. If she weren't unfamiliar with Kaede, she would definitely let Kaede taste what it felt like to be drilled.
Seeing Liz's expression, the little devil inside Kaede rose up again. She narrowed her eyes and said,
"This is the daughter of me and my husband, Yui~"
"Uh, huh!" Liz's eyes widened. Looking at Kaede's youthful appearance and then at Yui, who wasn't many years younger than Kaede, it was absolutely impossible.
"Kaede, stop it!" Asuna gave Kaede a stern look and then said to Liz, "This is the daughter Kaede and I adopted."
"Oh, oh." Liz nodded. That made more sense~
"Sense my foot!!" Liz roared inwardly. How old were they, and they already had an adopted daughter? If anything, she should be a sister!
At this moment, Yui was also a little dissatisfied and pouted her small mouth.
"I'm not adopted! Yui is Papa and Mama's daughter!"
"Right, right, our good daughter~~" Seeing Yui's expression, Kaede finally couldn't help but pick Yui up and nuzzle her.
"Haha Mama, it tickles"
"Ugh..." Liz sighed. No wonder her intuition was right; they were already a family, and she really couldn't squeeze in.
"You guys watch here, I'm going over there," Liz said.
"Eh? Not staying with us?" Asuna tried to get her to stay.
"No thanks." The smile on Liz's face was a bit forced as she complained internally, With that atmosphere between you guys, how am I supposed to stay!
"Alright then." Asuna didn't push it further. She seemed to have sensed something too—that the relationship between her, Kaede, and Yui had become a bit more harmonious.
Although Asuna felt a bit bad for Liz, this was a good thing! Asuna felt quite happy, though she faintly knew the reason why, causing her face to flush slightly.
Watching Liz's departing figure, it was clear Kaede didn't dislike her. Boisterous people were usually easily disliked by someone like Kaede, who didn't like to talk much and had strong observational skills, or at a deeper level, they might evoke envy and jealousy.
Afterward, the whole venue erupted in excitement as the protagonist of the duel slowly walked into the arena.
At this time, Kaede spotted a figure looking at the slowly walking Kirito with expectant eyes.
Kaede remembered her; this was someone she had saved before, whose name seemed to be Sachi. She saw that Sachi was now wearing the uniform of the Knights of the Blood Oath, her hands clasped in front of her chest as if praying for someone.
"I see..." Realization dawned on Kaede's face. She had wondered why Kirito would agree to this duel. Even if there was a condition involved, Kaede knew Kirito had no need for such things and wouldn't have agreed. Now it seemed the reason was Sachi.
However, Kaede shook her head. This was a battle destined to be lost. Kirito had zero chance of defeating the creator, Heathcliff—at least not while he was unaware of Heathcliff's identity.
Because Kirito didn't know, Heathcliff could use his authority to accomplish many things.
Furthermore, Kaede knew that Kirito's Dual Blades and her own Weakness Analysis were both created by Heathcliff. Heathcliff's familiarity with them was likely no less than theirs, yet Kirito was unaware of this, nor did he know the special nature of the Holy Sword.
Therefore, this battle was unequal from the very beginning!
The battle began, and Kirito's Dual Blades were already swinging with such speed that they left afterimages, making them nearly impossible for anyone to dodge.
However, Heathcliff, whom Kirito was facing, steadily protected himself with a shield. In the instant Kirito's attack paused, he struck Kirito with the sword in his right hand.
"Clang!" Kirito grit his teeth, blocking the sword that sought to strike deeper with his own, and launched another fierce assault. The two swords were like dancing spirits, one black and one white, striking against Heathcliff's shield and performing a movement unique to them.
If this continued, they wouldn't even force out the Commander's permissions. Kaede narrowed her eyes from above, feeling a slight disappointment in her heart. If Kirito couldn't do it, then she wouldn't be able to either.
Having spent a long time with Kirito, Kaede had to admit one fact: Kirito was stronger than her. She originally thought she had the advantage with Weakness Analysis, but her joy didn't last long before Kirito also gained Dual Blades...
"I can't go on like this!"
Kirito understood this too, but what could he do? Although Heathcliff's HP was dropping very slowly, it was dropping! At this point, Kirito no longer held hope of breaking through the shield.
But if this continued, he would definitely lose.
Kirito grit his teeth, determination flashing in his eyes. Time to go all out!
Kirito showed signs of fatigue, just like before.
Sure enough, Heathcliff took advantage of this moment to attack with his sword. This was where the gap lay.
The fatigue was real, but that didn't mean Kirito couldn't burst out with power again.
In fact, Heathcliff was quite experienced; would he fall for such an obvious trap? Clearly not. But was Kirito an ordinary player?
And so, Heathcliff fell for it!
At this moment, Kirito exerted his full strength. Victory or defeat rested on this one strike.
Kaede's eyes also focused. Victory or defeat would be decided by this strike!
But in the next instant, despair appeared on Kirito's face, while a smile touched the corner of Kaede's mouth. "He used it after all!"
"Boom!"
The strike slammed into the shield. The finishing blow had been blocked.
This also meant that Kirito had lost his chance for a finishing blow; conversely, this was the moment Kirito would be finished.
In the next moment, a sword slashed across Kirito's body, and Kirito's HP bar instantly dropped into the yellow...
At this moment, Kirito was defeated!
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