Chapter 123: The Final Finale

“Exactly. Let’s play a game.”

While everyone was still staring in astonishment at the players floating in the sky, Heathcliff—Kayaba’s other identity—stepped out from the crowd.

“Commander!” several members of the Knights of the Blood shouted.

After all, whoever stepped forward first would be the one to face Akihiko Kayaba. None of them wanted to confront the final boss, but neither did they want their commander to face the enemy everyone else dreaded.

“Are you still calling me Commander?”

Heathcliff paid no attention to his guild members. Instead, he walked step by step beneath the enormous cloak. A blinding flash followed. Even Lancer was dazzled by it. When everyone looked back toward the center of the arena, Heathcliff had vanished.

In his place stood a cloaked man. He was still wearing the uniform of the Knights of the Blood, and his weapon had not changed either. But the man known as Heathcliff was no longer there.

In his place stood the mastermind who had trapped them in this deadly game—

Akihiko Kayaba.

“Let the game begin.”

He swept his right hand backward, causing the cloak to billow. Everyone was stunned by what they were seeing.

“The strongest player, hailed as the savior of all players, has become the final boss. What an utterly ironic turn of events.”

Even Lancer had no idea what Kayaba was planning. He had originally assumed that Kayaba would not reveal his identity until Kirito exposed him. He had never expected him to disclose his identity as the final boss so calmly.

At that moment, the only person capable of speaking was the protagonist himself: Kirito.

Although Kirito had not been ostracized, he had nevertheless begun to suspect the people around him for some reason, and Kayaba had ultimately been identified. Lancer was also curious about how Kirito had reached that conclusion, especially since so many things had already changed from the original course of events.

Perhaps noticing the puzzled look in Lancer’s eyes, Kirito explained, “We had been clearing the floors together since the first one, but back then, none of the people around us had ever heard of someone named Heathcliff. Then he suddenly appeared on the fiftieth floor, as though he had come out of nowhere. I already found that suspicious, but what truly convinced me was his strange behavior during this raid.”

Kirito’s reasoning still had holes in it, but it was certainly enough to make Heathcliff a suspect.

Lancer suddenly asked in an eerie tone, “Then, according to your logic, doesn’t that make me suspicious too...?”

He had only been joking. For some reason, Kayaba also seemed unwilling to interrupt their conversation.

“Not really. I’ve never thought Kayaba had as little moral integrity as you, or that his standards could be as low as yours.”

Kirito meant that he trusted Lancer, but for some reason, Lancer could not help feeling a faint sorrow.

“All right, enough nonsense. Tell us—what exactly is this ‘game’ of yours?”

Kirito had promised Sachi that he would take her back to the outside world. Now the final boss was standing before them. If he had been strong enough, he might even have charged straight at him. But Kirito still possessed a little common sense.

In this world created by Kayaba, the only way to leave was to satisfy him and persuade him to let them go. As cruel as that reality was, Kirito was still willing to believe in that last sliver of hope.

“As expected of the first swordsman. Since you’ve asked, Kirito, I won’t waste any more time. The game is simple: defeat me. Of course, this will not be an ordinary duel where a single strike decides the outcome. You must stake your own life. A true death game. However, as the victor’s reward, I will bring this game to an end.”

After saying that, he fell silent. He knew there was no need to explain further.

“Begin! Who will go first?”

It was still the same shield and the same longsword, but he was no longer the man who had stood before them to protect everyone. He was now their greatest obstacle.

“I’ve wanted to test myself against you for a long time.”

Kirito drew both of his weapons and stared straight at his opponent. If he had ever been given the chance, he truly would have liked to exchange a few blows with Kayaba. After all, even in a death game, no one would consider the title of Number One a bad thing to have. This time, he intended to seize that title for himself—and judging from his usual performance, he was quite confident he could do it.

“No! Let me go first.”

A hand seized Kirito by the shoulder. Just as Kirito was about to demand an explanation, the other man spoke first.

“I really want to know what’s going on with my bizarre drop rate.”

Lancer had forgotten to ask during their previous encounters. But with the game nearing its end, memories of all sorts of events from the past came rushing back to him, and he finally confronted Kayaba about it.

“Drop rate? I have no idea. Everything is random. In other words—”

Kayaba showed no mercy.

“You were simply born that way.”

He had already received Renka’s ticket, and at the very end, he could not resist teasing Lancer.

“Born that way?”

Lancer took a devastating blow.

Lancer was unable to fight.

Lancer left the arena.

Second contestant: Kirito—

Everyone stared speechlessly at Lancer, who was bent forward in utter dejection, unsure how they were supposed to react. Aside from Heathcliff—or rather, Akihiko Kayaba—the two players universally recognized as the strongest were Lancer and Kirito.

Yet now, seeing the man they regarded as their savior reduced to such a pathetic pose, none of them knew how to comment.

“Then I’ll show you what I can do!”

Kirito decisively ignored the man beside him who was still slumped over in despair and challenged Akihiko Kayaba.

Why?

Because it was simply too embarrassing.

“Can’t that idiot act seriously for once?”

Asuna supported Silica, who was still trembling too badly from fear to stand properly. She looked at the man beside her, who was completely ignoring everyone else, and began to wonder whether she ought to reconsider her taste in men.

But then she remembered her father, who always put his career first and ignored her choices, as well as the disgusting man who had once been at her side.

In the end, she could only sigh helplessly.

“Never mind.”

Although Silica could barely stand, she was still able to notice what was happening around her. Seeing Asuna sigh in resignation, she immediately guessed what was on her mind. But then she seemed to think of something and could not help asking.

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking that this place is almost coming to an end, and I couldn’t help feeling a little regretful. If everyone could come to this world in their entirety, perhaps I would choose not to return.”

Most of those who had qualified to enter the game had something in the real world that left them dissatisfied. Hearing Asuna’s wistful remark, Silica could not help thinking about it herself.

In the end, she arrived at the same answer.

For the moment, setting aside the two girls sighing over their shared feelings, the battle between the two men in the center of the arena was also nearing its conclusion.

If I told you that I skipped work yesterday because I suddenly felt like catching up on an old anime—Demon Prince Enma—would you be angry?

;