At half past eight that evening, a black motorcycle swept down the street and pulled up beside a McDonald's. The woman riding behind the driver climbed off with graceful ease and removed her helmet. With a quick shake of her head, Asuna let her long chestnut hair fall loose. Kirito killed the engine, took off his own helmet, and hung it from the handlebar.
They exchanged a smile, then hurried across the crosswalk. The area ahead had already been closed to traffic, and projector drones hovered between the buildings.
"Looks like we made it, but this crowd..."
Kirito stared at the mass of young people already gathered there.
"They only announced the location thirty minutes ago."
"Ordinal Scale has gained a lot of players," Asuna said.
"Took you long enough, Kirito-chan."
The lazy voice came from the side. Just hearing it was enough to conjure the image of a worn-out middle-aged salaryman with stubble all over his face.
"Oh, Asuna-chan came too. You two really are inseparable."
Every word dripped with envy and resentment.
"Kirito wasn't interested at first, so I dragged him here," Asuna said, offering the approaching group a flawless smile.
"Hmph. Is that so?"
Klein gave what he clearly thought was a magnetic chuckle and adjusted the bandanna across his forehead, equally certain the gesture made him look cool.
"All right, men! Let's show Asuna-chan what we can do. This is AR. At last, it's time for mature, dependable working adults like us to teach the Black Swordsman how to play a game!"
The men behind him immediately cheered their guild leader on.
Kirito could only sigh.
Klein might not have had much presence these days, but Fuurinkazan had once been famous among the frontliners. The guild had fought on the front lines of Aincrad without losing a single member. Kirito himself had once admired the seemingly unreliable man, and his guildmates still saw Klein as a leader they could count on.
Asuna nudged Kirito with her elbow.
"Kirito, it's almost time."
"Oh, right."
Kirito dug the Augma he rarely used out of his bag. To be honest, he wished Asuna would call him Kazuto. After everything they had been through, though, Kirito almost felt more like his real name now.
What was he supposed to say when he met her parents someday? That it was an affectionate nickname?
Wait. He had already met her father. The man was experienced but surprisingly easy to talk to.
So the real hurdle was his future mother-in-law...
"Quit dawdling. We're going in," Klein called, waving him over.
"Coming, coming."
Kirito hurriedly put on the Augma, took Asuna's hand, and entered the play area.
Signs and warning lights sealed off the surrounding streets so no cars could blunder through. Closing an entire road for a game still felt outrageously extravagant. However briefly, it was bound to disrupt city traffic. Just how much influence did the company behind the Augma have?
People who did not play Ordinal Scale stood along the perimeter, watching curiously.
Inside, the street was packed with Augma users itching for the event to begin. Some were even stretching like athletes before a competition, and the excitement in the air was contagious.
Kirito rolled his shoulders, loosening muscles stiff from the cold.
"Kirito."
Asuna smiled at him.
"Yeah."
They drew the bladeless sword hilts used by Ordinal Scale.
"Ordinal Scale, start!"
Blue-white light washed over them, much like the glow of a teleport crystal in Aincrad. When it faded, Kirito wore a simple, close-fitting swordsman's outfit that resembled a school uniform from a fantasy world. A cold, gleaming blade now extended from the hilt in his hand.
"You're still wearing the default gear? Hold on, your rank is below one hundred thousand?"
Klein stared at the number above Kirito's head in disbelief.
"I told you, I barely play."
Kirito looked Klein over. He wore a bright red, kimono-style coat and steel greaves, with a slender katana resting across one shoulder. His face had not changed, yet compared to the man in the tacky hoodie from earlier, he now carried himself like a wandering samurai from the Warring States period.
"Jealous?"
Klein grinned.
"I spent a mountain of ranking points unlocking this Crimson Samurai outfit. It's an epic-tier cosmetic."
He puffed out his chest.
"Every member of Fuurinkazan is dressed in these blazing colors. At this rate, we'll be featured in a gaming magazine as star players before long. Then we'll start streaming outdoor events and live the good life."
"Does the outfit improve your combat stats?"
"Nope. It just looks good. This is AR. The game can't magically make you stronger or faster."
Klein shrugged.
"My maximum HP is still fifty percent higher than yours, though."
"Tch. I'll straighten you out when we're back in ALO," Kirito said, folding his arms at Klein's smug expression.
Klein laughed.
"Not happening. I'll annoy you here, then run before you can get revenge. That's how a veteran MMO player does things. Another chance to duel me? Never. You can stay mad about it!"
Asuna gave an awkward laugh from the sidelines.
After Klein spent several more minutes flaunting his outfit and weapon effects in front of a player ranked below one hundred thousand, the clock on the giant screen finally approached nine.
At the exact stroke of the hour, an electronic tone rose through the air. The projectors swept beams across the brightly lit city streets, scanning the environment, feeding it into Ordinal Scale's central system, and rendering an entirely new stage over reality.
To the players, a vast green grid spread across the city. It passed over every surface as the clear night sky darkened into a murky green. A pale moon hid behind dirty clouds, and flocks of crows beat their wings overhead.
Modern buildings became ancient fortresses ringed with iron spikes. Weathered gray stone covered everything, replacing the city block with the texture of a ruin.
Firelight flickered at the edges of Kirito's vision. Torch-like streetlamps now lined the field, their flames mixing with the moonlight. Visibility remained surprisingly good, and even the distant silhouettes of black towers could be seen beyond the arena.
"So this is what Ordinal Scale can really do," Kirito murmured as he took in the transformed city. "The technology is incredible."
It almost felt as though he had stepped into a virtual world, even though his real body was still moving through the street. Unlike the sensation of connecting to VR, activating AR felt more like being trapped inside one of the developers' Reality Marbles.
"The game doesn't normally provide a stage this elaborate," Asuna said, equally amazed.
"Tonight's boss is from old SAO," Klein replied. "Nothing wrong with the developers giving it a proper stage. They must've planned this one for a while. Just watch your footing when the fight starts. Falling down actually hurts here."
The crowd erupted as crimson fire burst into the air. From the shower of sparks, an armored humanoid monster rose to its full height. It towered over the players, nearly three adults tall, and the katana in its hands was enormous.
Kirito and the others recognized it at once.
"The boss of Aincrad's Tenth Floor," Kirito said. "Kagachi the Samurai Lord."
"A fragile boss with ridiculous attack power," Klein recalled. "The way it fought with a sword made it feel almost like another player. The Divine Dragon Alliance defeated it back then, didn't they?"
"It really is identical to the boss from SAO."
Asuna raised her rapier.
Kirito studied the unfamiliar sword in his hands.
"We can't use Sword Skills, but its attack patterns should still be the same."
The opening presentation was not over yet. Kagachi remained motionless, looking down upon the players as a slender figure floated from one of the projectors above.
Her white hair carried a faint violet tint, every strand seeming to glow. Crystal-red eyes shone above a petite body dressed in a futuristic stage costume.
"Oh!"
Excited voices rose from the crowd.
"It's Yuna-chan! My waifu!" Klein suddenly roared, his cheeks flushing in a way that made Kirito's skin crawl.
"Your waifu's an AI too?"
Kirito paused.
"Wait. Why did I say 'too'?"
The virtual idol had debuted alongside the Augma and served as Ordinal Scale's mascot. In the game's early days, she had even guided new players through the basics, though her real purpose was clearly promotional.
With her beautiful voice, angelic appearance, and a virtual body that would never age, her popularity was hardly surprising. She also appeared highly intelligent and could converse with players like a real person.
In other words, she struck straight at the vulnerable hearts of hopeless otaku.
Kirito did not suspect that a human was controlling her. After meeting Yui and Sheeta, he had plenty of faith in what artificial intelligence could already do.
Then he remembered someone else.
Kirito searched the crowd almost without thinking.
"What's wrong?" Asuna asked.
"Satoru plays Ordinal Scale too. With a major boss appearing tonight, I thought he might be here."
Kirito scanned the players once more.
"Looks like he skipped it after all."
"Good! If he were here, I'd humiliate him and the Sword Saint at the same time by showing off my rare outfit and weapon effects!"
Klein looked completely drunk on his own fantasy.
"All right, everyone! The battle is about to begin!"
From her place above the field, Yuna looked over the players. Her voice sounded far too human for an ordinary program.
"Now, let the music begin!"
"Huh?"
Kirito blinked.
"Yes! Yuna's singing!"
Klein clenched his fists.
"This game gives boss fights their own live idol soundtrack?"
"Her song gives us an extra buff! Don't reduce it to background music!"
The giant screen replaced its countdown with a new timer. The players had ten minutes to defeat the boss.
Kagachi finally stirred. Crimson light flashed behind its demon mask as it charged, the absurdly long nodachi held ready. Each heavy step seemed to shake the ground.
Several players rushed eagerly to meet it.
Steel rang two or three times before the first attackers went flying beneath Kagachi's sweeping blade. Its strikes blasted clouds of dust from the paving stones. A few shield-bearing tanks managed to stop one blow, only for the next to crash down even harder and shatter their guard.
After breaking through the first wave, Kagachi plunged into the crowd. Its nodachi dragged at its side, gouging a deep trench through the street before flashing upward again. The thunder of steel and the brilliant trails carved by its blade filled the arena while Yuna's lively song poured down from above.
Far from the battle, Satoru watched in a long black coat.
He had not entered the play area, choosing instead to stand among the spectators at its edge. He lit a cigarette, took a slow drag, and pulled the wool collar of his turtleneck higher around his neck.
"So it's begun."
The quiet words drifted away with the smoke.
Gunfire erupted from the ranged players. Tracer rounds sparked against Kagachi's shoulder armor while it swept the nearby fighters aside. Its strength was far too high to block with a sword. Anyone who could not evade every attack would need a shield, which made defeating it alone all but impossible.
Kagachi turned and extended its thick left arm. White light coiled around its hand, then lashed outward like a whip. The strike demolished a distant platform beyond the reach of its nodachi. With a savage pull, the shining serpent swept sideways across the fortress like a blade.
Explosions rolled across the arena. Nearly every gunner in the distance saw their HP drop to zero.
"It never had that attack before!" Klein shouted as he dodged the white serpent.
"There's no 'maybe' about it," Kirito called back as he and Asuna sprinted forward. "The original SAO didn't have anything like that magical light blade!"
"Then using it has to leave a recovery window!"
Klein spotted Kagachi drawing the white light back into its hand.
"Now! Let's go, men! Whether we make it big as streamers depends on how good we look in this fight!"
"Yeah!"
The former members of Fuurinkazan charged in their matching red samurai outfits. The fighters at the front raised their shields and caught Kagachi's hurried overhead slash, the impact blasting dust out to either side.
Klein and another member darted out from behind them, cutting deep into the boss's waist from opposite flanks.
Then the man carrying a massive hammer roared and brought it down. The blow smashed Kagachi into the wall, sending chunks of stone tumbling around it. For the first time since the battle began, the players had inflicted real damage.
"See that? That's teamwork!" Klein declared. "Unlike a certain loner, we know how to work together. Friendship, hard work, and victory!"
"Okay, I get it! You hate solo players, and you're trying to prove a point! You can stop rubbing it in now!" Kirito shouted.
"Kirito, it's coming your way!" Asuna warned.
"What? You were the ones attacking it! I've been standing on the sidelines and haven't even touched it. How did I draw aggro?"
Kirito could not begin to understand Ordinal Scale's bizarre aggro calculations.
Still, he showed no fear as Kagachi stumbled toward him, its serpent tongue lashing and its enormous nodachi poised to strike. He had already defeated Floor Bosses like this during the Sword Art Online beta. There was no reason to be nervous.
Kirito gripped his sword in both hands and broke into a sprint. He lowered his body, letting instinct guide the blade at his right side into the perfect attack line.
One clean thrust, then a flowing slash across the arm.
He did not consciously plan any of it.
This was simply the reflex of an experienced swordsman.
Man and monster charged straight at each other.
Two steps later, Kirito caught his foot and planted his face into the pavement. He even slid forward a short distance.
This game really isn't for me...
As his forehead burned, he desperately missed the superhuman physical abilities of his VR avatar.
"This is why you need to exercise..."
Asuna hurriedly grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him out of Kagachi's attack range. Kirito clutched his forehead, scrambled upright, and ran faster, pulling the boss after him.
"Did you see that?" Klein asked solemnly.
"I did," one of his guildmates replied.
"Then it's settled. I can crush the Black Swordsman in this game."
Klein tightened his grip on his katana, his expression grave.
"I was never bad at games. I just hadn't found the right one. I can feel the passion burning inside me. Give it time, and I'll meet a girl too. Then I'll live the same perfect life as Kirito."
His guildmates had no answer.
"That kill's mine!"
A player wearing a tiger-headed skin burst out laughing as he brushed past Kirito with a rocket launcher on his shoulder.
Kirito stared after him, oddly wounded.
Since when did people get to shout that line right in front of him?
More importantly...
"A rocket launcher is cheating!"
"Damn, that's the Tiger Hunter skin! He's a whale!" Klein exclaimed.
The launcher thundered, hurling a blazing rocket toward Kagachi as it chased Kirito.
The boss's eyes flashed. It tilted its head and slipped aside with startling grace. The rocket screamed past its face, heading straight for Yuna on the platform behind it.
The tiger-headed player froze.
"My waifu!" he wailed.
Yuna kept singing, showing no sign that she had noticed the incoming rocket. Just before impact, a man sprinted in from her left and leaped more than five meters into the air.
He placed himself between Yuna and the rocket, swung his sword in midair, and knocked the projectile away. It curved back across the arena and slammed into Kagachi's back, sending the boss staggering to the ground.
The man landed lightly and rose without a trace of pain on his face.
"He did it! My waifu's safe!" Klein and the tiger-headed player cried in relief.
A vein throbbed on Kirito's forehead.
Was that really what mattered here?
The man had just jumped from a platform more than five meters high, knocked a rocket out of the air with one slash, and landed on his hands and feet without so much as a wince. It looked impressive, but how had he not broken something?
With his own forehead still throbbing, Kirito desperately wanted to point that out.
The stranger stared straight ahead as an ice-blue crown appeared above him. A single number blazed beneath it.
Two.
His strength and rank left the crowd speechless.
Satoru gave the man who had saved the day a sidelong glance, slipped his hands into his pockets, and walked away.
The rest of the battle no longer interested him.