Looking at the "Arcadia" station from a distance, you can vaguely see the room that is still lit.
The trees outside the villa's window swayed gently, and the walkways that had become dark because of the night also had a faint glow.
When the Absolute Sword Girl went to the 75th floor to challenge Heathcliff alone, she also welcomed a familiar guest outside the room at the guild headquarters.
On this moonlit night, Yuuki was not the only one who had no intention of falling asleep.
Even if everyone behaves calmly, it's just to prevent others from worrying.
...
After lingering in front of Yuuki's room for a long time, a somewhat uneasy Aiko knocked on the door in front of her.
Because some words had not been spoken, the long-haired girl who was lying in her room tossing and turning couldn't sleep at all. After getting up, she subconsciously walked here.
She knew that her sister had hidden deep worries for a long time, but Yuuki, who had always been optimistic and mature, never mentioned her troubles. This also made Aiko feel disappointed as an older sister but could not be relied on by her younger sister.
But now, before tomorrow comes when she doesn't know what will happen, she thinks that she should at least convey her feelings to Yuuki.
After all, this can be regarded as the last reserve of a sister!
But this time, Lanzi, who had made up his mind, did not receive a response in time.
"...Xiaoyou, are you already asleep?"
Knocking on Yuuki's door again, the request for a visit was still not approved, which made Aiko's questioning voice unconsciously bring a hint of nervousness.
"...Xiaoyu?"
(...Did he really sleep too deeply?)
Despite this speculation, Lanzi not only did not slow down in knocking on the door, but instead increased the force on his hand.
According to her understanding of her sister, Yuuki would definitely not sleep like this.
Could it be that......
The bad premonition gradually lingered in my mind, and I didn't dare to think about it any more. Lanzi's voice also became anxious.
"Xiaoyu! Yui! Are you in there?!"
Lan Zi's gradually amplified calling also woke up other members on the same floor.
Diagonally across from Yuuki's room, Silica, who was wearing pajamas, poked her head out in surprise. Judging from her appearance, she must be one of the people who couldn't sleep peacefully.
"Sister Lan, what happened?"
Walking to Lan Zi with a worried look on her face, the animal trainer girl asked in a low voice.
"……I do not know either……"
A crying voice came, and she put her hands on Yuuki's door, and Aiko lowered her eyes helplessly.
The response that the application was timed out had already appeared in front of her, which also proved that the owner of the room was not inside now.
The ominous premonition came true.
Why am I always so indecisive? If I had been more decisive at that time, wouldn't I be like this now...
He had obviously noticed Yuuki's 'abnormality', but he didn't deal with it in time. He thought to himself that the girl would appear in front of him with a smile again tomorrow.
At this moment, the girl, as her elder sister, felt 'disgusted' towards herself for the first time.
Realizing that something was wrong, Silica also hurriedly woke up the other members of the guild. Fortunately, no one fell asleep, and they quickly gathered in the main hall.
Immediately afterwards, they learned part of the news from Yui, who opened the door and walked out, and the girls of "Arcadia" took action again.
They have been left behind many times, this time, they must catch up with her!
——The seventy-fifth floor, the deepest part of the obsidian maze.
After activating a certain command, the blue light of data on Yuuki's body kept rolling. When the light enveloped her body and dissipated, the girl who appeared in front of Heathcliff was no longer the thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl he had seen before.
The long golden hair hangs down among the white data fragments, the angel's wings are slightly extended, and the black skirt wraps the girl's body.
"The conditions are equal, right? Heathcliff."
He raised the flaming sword in his hand and pointed it at the man on the throne. Only the words he had just spoken and his gaze that had not shifted reminded Heathcliff who the 'angel' in front of him was.
"...Although I had already guessed that you would be the last person to stand in front of me after defeating Kirito, I really didn't expect that it would be a duel in this form."
After a brief moment of surprise, Heathcliff was able to 'kill' the players without changing his expression while sneaking into the behind-the-scenes boss among them. He quickly corrected his mentality.
After smiling bitterly for a while, the man stared at Yuuki's other posture with clear curiosity in his eyes.
"Can you tell me who this 'angel' really is?"
He knew that Yuuki had tampered with the GM management control device and at the same time stripped off a mental management support program. In other words, this form was the 'backup' she prepared?
Theoretically speaking, players' bodies in the SAO world reflect real-life data. Although simple hair color and height changes can be made, changing the 'race' like this is obviously beyond this.
Even if she wanted to modify and add to the basic settings of the world, she couldn't complete it in a day or two.
And he can be sure that this perfectly manifested 'angel' is not any NPC or boss in this world. So, if she wants to perfectly match her character in this world in a short time, unless she knew it a few years ago.
There's this game coming up and getting ready for it.
But... is this really possible?
However, this impossible 'coincidence' was now placed in front of Heathcliff, forcing him to believe in this fact.
But for girls, this is a natural result.
You know, she really did her homework in order to survive.
Yuuki never thought that she was a genius. When she found that she could not save herself by learning to promote the medical development of the world, she knew that the only chance for her to survive was in a certain 'game'.
Because she has already tried it, the "real world" cannot guide the "elves" to come. Even if she can use a small part of the elves' abilities due to the special nature of her soul, it is just a drop in the bucket.
But the "imaginary world" of this world is a place full of infinite possibilities. The "unity" state she used before that shows some elf characteristics was discovered based on this.
Because of this, she began to focus her studies on the "imaginary world". Not only did she have the skills to become a hacker, but she also started to design a program that could perfectly match the consciousness of "Manyuri" through constant attempts.
, and find the opportunity to load this world and let it appear.
The 'door' has been opened, and now the last step to the 'future' is to defeat the man in front of you!
So although Heathcliff raised his own question, the answer was the flaming sword coming towards him.
The sword pressure shattered the ruby throne behind him, and the somewhat surprised man barely defended himself with his cross shield.
"If this is the fantasy story you were looking forward to, shouldn't you be defeated by me, the 'brave', right now?"
Looking at the boss who was supporting himself under his sword with an expressionless face, 'Yuuki' said calmly.
"...Haha, this will also trouble me. After all, I am the final boss of this game. Please stay with me until the end."
Smiling calmly and unconcernedly, perhaps only at this moment could the man named 'Heathcliff' really enjoy this game.
The broken obsidian fragments continued to roll towards the surroundings with the collision of air waves.
Flying flowers scattering flames intersect with swords and shields.
The final battle representing this world has officially begun. (To be continued)