Faster...
Faster still...
I have to surpass him.
If one strike is not enough, then use two. If two are not enough, then use three.
Surpass him. Push right up against the limits of the system's assisted speed. Even if crossing that boundary means stepping into the realm of geniuses, a place I can never truly reach, then so be it.
When tactics and mind games no longer matter, all I can do is grit my teeth, squeeze out every last bit of strength, and meet him head-on.
The enemy before him was the Dragon King, charging straight through everything in his path.
The so-called chessboard was meaningless now.
There was no need to plan the next move. No need to read anything. He only had to pour out every ounce of power he had.
Explosive clashes rang out one after another between Satoru and Didos.
The pure-white spear shadow could no longer deflect his attacks as effortlessly as before. From this moment on, the data-driven power-leveler had thrown away calculation and transformed into a foolish, empty warrior who knew only how to unleash violence.
Satoru stepped forward fiercely, charging straight into the ring of spears without hesitation.
The Relic Blade tore through the air, carving a Sword Skill trajectory into the ancient atmosphere that no curved sword skill had ever recorded. The crimson hue had melted into a savage, blazing radiance. The jade-green glow of the curved sword could no longer be seen. It looked like a bright white edge of fire.
Clang!
Bang!
Didos swept his spear across to defend.
A long weapon should have been difficult to control so freely, yet in his hands, offense and defense flowed together without a single wasted movement.
The heavy curved sword, carrying an overwhelmingly domineering force, slammed down hard onto the spear shaft. Didos's hands sank sharply.
He showed little surprise.
Instead, he immediately chose to counterattack.
With both hands, he drove the spear shaft to the right, forcibly shifting the landing point of the Relic Blade's vertical trajectory. The spear tip inevitably touched the ground, scraping a short line across the smooth floor and triggering a purple [Indestructible] warning panel.
Then the butt of the spear shot toward Satoru's chest at nearly point-blank range.
Satoru's eyes widened.
Before it struck, Flameforged in his left hand swept across his chest to block it.
Their weapons collided violently once again, scattering sparks and star-like fragments. Both weapons had taken damage at the same time, losing a large amount of durability.
Didos's spear still carried an enormous Strength buff.
Satoru was forced back several steps by the impact, but a cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The Relic Blade in his right hand, which had failed to accomplish anything earlier, was hurled straight at Didos's head.
It could not even be called a Sword Skill. It looked as ridiculous as someone losing a fight, panicking, and throwing the brick in his hand.
The attack made Didos pause slightly.
By instinct, he used the butt of his spear to knock aside the discarded Relic Blade.
And that meant...
He had lost his chance to follow up.
With that single second of adjustment and breathing room secured, Flameforged's flowing blade was swallowed once again by a dazzling, pure light like moonlight.
It was still that bluish white, different from mainstream one-handed sword skills. Its spiraling trajectory was different as well.
This time, the circular slash seemed to surpass Didos's reaction speed, leaving an extremely thin wound across his abdomen.
It hit...!
Satoru's face tightened.
But that small success still was not enough to close the gap between them.
A cold snort came from the man before him.
Didos ignored the insignificant damage. He was just like those death fighters in an arena, men who focused only on leaving wounds on their opponents. The moment he was injured was also the moment his opponent's attack finished and entered its pause.
He slammed forward brutally.
The spear, its tip hanging close to the ground, was lifted straight upward and swept toward Satoru's side.
"Guh!"
Satoru let out a cry of pain.
The force that struck his side had gone far beyond anything virtual. It felt like real pain, spreading from the soft flesh of his flank through both body and mind.
He did not even need to look at the health bar in the upper left to know it had dropped by a chunk.
For fragile creatures like humans, pain was the simplest way to understand how deep an injury was.
It affected you.
It made you afraid.
It made you lose composure.
But it was also a stimulant that drove the body forward.
Still that heavy.
He was no longer going to predict damage based on that Strength value.
That method did not apply to this man.
Right...
Just do this.
As long as I do this, it's enough.
A sharp flash of cold light cut vertically between them.
There was no way to block it, much less dodge.
Didos's health bar visibly dropped, and he was forced into stiffness as he retreated.
"A dagger... when?"
He muttered in a low voice, looking at the assassin's blade in Satoru's hand as if it had suddenly emerged from the shadows.
This man should not have been holding that kind of weapon.
Rather, he should not have had the luxury to own one.
Satoru gave him no time to think.
After completing its counterattack, the dagger was thrown away with a twist of his hand.
The rapier's shrill hum pierced the air, sharp enough to sting the ears.
Facing it, Didos unleashed a blooming trail of stardust.
Judging only by its speed and terrifyingly dense coverage, it absolutely could not be a rapier Sword Skill.
Didos gave a muffled grunt and could only retreat again, trying to find the next opening.
But after a few seconds, he realized there was no opening.
Following that ear-piercing storm of rapier strikes came the next offensive from the curved sword that had opened the battle.
They were completely different weapons, with completely different traits.
Yet the curved sword, which leaned toward swift single strikes, connected with ease. From below to above, its blazing light cut through the stardust sword curtain the rapier had spread a second earlier.
That afterimage, like molten lava, smashed violently through the spear and burned itself into his chest.
This is...
Linked Sword Skill technique.
Didos had been retreating the entire time.
Unlike the ordinary method of optimizing skill intervals with a single weapon, this man's cleverness lay in using all kinds of weapons to complicate a single chain, extending it into something longer and so relentless that one could never let their guard down.
But clearly, this style of attack had accomplished nothing before.
Even wide-span links created with multiple weapons had not been dangerous. Since he chose quantity, quality had to fall. The power of each Sword Skill absolutely could not compare to that of players who devoted themselves to one weapon and trained it constantly.
That was supposed to be his most fatal weakness.
Then why?
From just now, he had perfectly solved even that missing piece.
This was not merely the result of stopping time and desperately raising proficiency.
These weapons no longer looked like the ones ordinary players held. The curved sword he used, the rapier, the one-handed sword, all of them seemed like shadow techniques from an entirely different design route, something that had never been revealed until now.
Didos swept his spear across, forcefully cutting off the attack, then retreated at high speed to open the distance and end this exchange.
"You're thinking."
Satoru planted the Relic Blade and Flameforged upside down into the ground, holding the dagger and rapier in his hands as he displayed the stance of someone controlling four weapons at the same time.
He paused, wiped away fake sweat, and said with self-mockery,
"That was supposed to be my job. It always has been. I'm the one who thinks through my opponents."
"So I can probably guess what you're thinking, too."
"'Does this man possess four unique skills?' That's what you're thinking, right?"
"..."
Their gazes met, each reflected deep in the other's pupils.
"When I learned about the hidden setting called unique skills, I kept thinking about the conditions for their appearance. Most likely, they're rewards from the designer for training something to its absolute limit. That's how it works, isn't it?"
Satoru spoke calmly.
"So... because you've always used multiple weapons, you also obtained multiple unique skills?"
Didos answered him, then shook his head.
"It's possible, but for you, that's impossible."
"Oh? Did your genius instincts tell you I don't qualify?"
"No. Because you're genuine. You see yourself very clearly. It's precisely because you're certain you don't have that talent that you picked up so many weapons to arm yourself."
Didos said it plainly.
"You can tell that much just by crossing blades."
The burly man seemed to arrive at an answer quickly. He spoke with certainty.
"Your unique skill is only one. Rather than saying it evolves each sword, it would be more accurate to say it elevates the way you wield them. It is a technique-type skill."
"Then your unique skill is without a doubt specialized for your spear. Pretty amazing. Just one skill's enhancement lets you ignore the gap between us in level and equipment."
"Am I amazing...?"
Didos repeated the words once, then gently shook his head.
"It isn't like that. It was only a lucky hit. I'm the same as you, just as ordinary, just as mediocre. It's only that I seem to fit this world better."
"Fit, huh... FullDive, the synchronization between the virtual world, the mind, and the body being more complete. That's also a more understandable explanation for the geniuses of this SAO."
Satoru chuckled softly.
"You may think of it that way, but..."
Didos looked at his hands and fell silent for a moment.
"The body here is only a pile of data. These false hands hold weapons and fight, but what is truly doing the fighting? Beneath the illusion, once the mind is freed from its natural limitations, what realm can it reach?"
Satoru frowned.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Is the proof of a person's existence the shell born from their mother? But before that, there must have been something. Something that came earlier and created 'you,' bringing the one and only individual called 'you' into this world."
Didos spoke slowly.
"The thing that is called by name, loved, and hated. Is it the living body that walks and moves? Is it the mind? Or perhaps the soul?"
"Wh... at?"
What did all this philosophical talk have to do with this battle?
"You should have heard of the brain in a vat idea, right?"
Didos continued.
"Remove a person's brain, place it in a life support chamber, connect it to data, and create a scene of life for the brain. We who exist in this world are not that different from that idea, are we?"
"I'm just a second-rate game player. I can't discuss lofty things like that with you."
"And what if those very things happen to be the key that determines how brightly you can burn in this real game world?"
Didos smiled.
"...What?"
"At this moment, our bodies have been freed, leaving only our hearts, leaving behind thought with infinite possibility. In terms of shackles, this virtual body is far less restrictive than living flesh and blood."
Didos lowered his eyes.
"This world is crueler. Bloodier. Because what we bite into is no longer mere flesh. It is the soul at the core."
"At the same time, the brutality has also been pushed to the extreme. Because in this world, everyone starts from the same point. We no longer compete through the weakness of the flesh. Even those with defects... can fight by relying on will."
Didos unconsciously looked toward his own legs, his voice tinged with emotion.
"That man, Kayaba Akihiko, created something astonishing and awe-inspiring. It approaches an essential truth, so real that it can only be dressed up as a fantasy world."
What strange things was this man talking about?
Satoru looked at him.
"You're genuine."
Didos repeated that evaluation again.
"And what exactly can you understand about me, someone you just met and are currently trying to kill?"
Satoru stared at him.
"I can. I said it, didn't I? The situation we're in now is one where we're biting into each other's souls. So I can feel it. I can understand it."
"But from the beginning, the only thing I've thought about you is cutting you down. If you went into multi-level marketing, I think you'd definitely succeed."
Satoru's sarcasm was sharp.
"You've already touched it. Because of your genuineness, you have touched a certain boundary of this world."
Didos remained calm.
"I saw it. Maybe you haven't noticed it yourself. Your eyes, your soul... that point from which your light cube observes the outside world. It is flickering."
The man smiled again.
It was no different from before, yet Satoru felt a wave of sorrow from it.
It was so...
Painfully familiar.
"In truth, everyone here possesses one skill. A skill that can be unlocked the moment you step into the beginner's village. The most unconditional... and also the strongest skill."
Satoru's reflection could no longer be seen in Didos's eyes.
Satoru suddenly shuddered, his mouth slightly open.
He stared at him.
The man before him had eyes that had turned golden.
That gaze pierced through his equipment. Just as he had said, all these lies created from false data were absolutely fragile before it.
"Stop... you bastard."
Satoru trembled faintly and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"From this moment on, this is a true fight to the death. Because what we attack and tear apart are our souls. What we crush and bite into are our minds."
"I told you to stop!!"
They surged up.
Those memories that had once belonged to him.
The car crashing and overturning violently.
The smell of blood filling his nose.
His blood-soaked parents before his blurred vision.
The hospital filled with the scent of disinfectant.
The old acquaintance covered with a white sheet on the cold stretcher.
The loneliness of being pushed from one relative to another and then abandoned.
Rejected by reality and society, that mediocre failure trudged back toward his cheap rental room, saw a discarded cigarette butt by the roadside, picked it up, and smoked it until he coughed so hard his face turned red.
The setting sun spilled into the ruined, decaying little room, and the pale light of the computer screen illuminated that person.
"Didos!!"
Satoru roared with all his strength.
The revulsion erupting from every part of his body drove him into a frenzied outburst.
The next second.
Two people, both with unstable golden shadows flickering in their eyes, roared and collided with each other.