"As... stunned..." Asuna and Silica stood frozen.
Everyone was struck with horror as they stared at Kibaou.
"Ah..." Asuna and Silica screamed in despair, unable to endure the shock. Both of them fainted in the flowerbed.
"Attention, all players: the game has been cleared. All players will now begin logout..." The system voice rang out, snapping everyone back to awareness.
"Kibaou!" A furious roar echoed through the field. Moemoe Tora leapt forward, delivering a flying kick straight to Kibaou's temple. His body instantly went limp, collapsing to the ground.
A strike to the temple—an illegal move even in mixed martial arts. At best, it causes instant unconsciousness; at worst, instant death.
But for Kibaou, what awaited him upon hitting the ground was hell itself. The enraged players of the Crystal Guild swarmed over him, stabbing him wildly with their blades. His body—already in the process of logging out—shattered apart. At the same time, a bright logout light appeared on every player.
"Honda-nee!" Moemoe Tora turned first toward Futayo Honda. What she saw was a face that seemed to want to feel pain, yet didn't know what pain was; to cry, yet didn't know how to shed tears.
"Honda-nee!" Moemoe Tora sprinted toward her. She knew that although Futayo was quiet and not expressive with emotions, she felt more deeply than anyone. Such a fierce emotional shock was nothing less than a catastrophe for her.
"I... once again could do nothing," Futayo whispered, gripping the Tonbokiri tightly in both hands. Her face twisted with a grief that could not find tears.
"This body exists for loyalty and righteousness... yet I am utterly useless!" She turned the spear around, the tip pressing against her own heart.
"Honda-nee, stop!" Moemoe Tora shouted desperately—but her body was already fading, dissolving in the light of logout. She could no longer reach Futayo.
"For loyalty's sake, life and death alike shall follow. Heaven above bears witness—Tonbokiri is my oath."
The spear pierced through Futayo's chest. Her HP bar dropped to zero, and her body shattered into light.
"Honda-nee!" Moemoe Tora's pupils shrank to pinpoints. A heartbeat later, she too vanished in logout light. Everyone was being logged out.
At that same moment, Tonbokiri absorbed Futayo's blood and emotions, erupting with a blinding blue radiance that illuminated the heavens and earth.
High above, Kurumi Tokisaki stood in the sky, dressed in a crimson pleated skirt, folding fan in hand, her exquisite face adorned with a look of delighted amusement.
"To die for love... Honda, you're truly romantic." She lightly tapped the fan against her nose, covering her flawless face with one hand in mock shyness, her expression one of pure intoxication.
"I really want to see Miss Honda's expression when she learns the truth," came a voice from beside her—the voice of a man courting death.
"Oh my, do you wish to be wrapped like a mummy and sunk into the Pacific Ocean?" Kurumi turned slightly, her wine-red eyes narrowing in pleasure. That scientist was asking for it again.
"Cough, cough! So, Divine One... you did all this just to make Miss Honda die for love?" Kayaba Akihiko adjusted his glasses, nervously shifting the topic.
"Of course! Only a Logismoi Óplo forged upon one's own emotions can truly suit its wielder. Honda, I went through so much trouble to forge the perfect treasure for you—how will you repay me?" Kurumi's delicate finger gently traced her lips as she smiled, dazzlingly seductive.
At that moment, the blue light shining across the heavens shattered the sky itself. The 100th floor of Aincrad began to crumble, collapsing layer by layer.
"I always believed dying for love was the most romantic thing. Honda, you've finally made me feel romance myself." Kurumi waved her hand. The Book of the World floated above Aincrad, absorbing every shard of its collapsing light.
"Divine One, if I may ask... your thoughts right now aren't something like, 'Well, it's not real death anyway, so what's the big deal?' are they?" Kayaba said, adjusting his glasses again.
Kurumi: "..."
He guessed it!
Ignoring him completely.
Clang... Tonbokiri let out a resonant cry as all the blue light was drawn into its shaft. The weapon began to grow wildly, expanding until it pierced straight through the 100th floor of Aincrad—utterly destroying it.
On the shaft of the spear, words forged from countless emotions began to form—each one representing a unique ability bestowed upon Tonbokiri.
For instance: "My heart shall not perish; loyalty shall endure forever."
As long as the one holding Tonbokiri—Futayo Honda—kept her heart unyielding, her body would not die.
Another inscription read: "Even if bones shatter and death comes ninefold, I do not regret."
These words granted Futayo two abilities. First, no matter how grievous her injuries, she could fully restore herself to perfect condition upon death—this revival could occur nine times. After the ninth resurrection, the power would cease.
Second, because her ninety-nine abnormal status effects had been shattered in the previous battle, she was now permanently immune to all abnormal statuses.
A skill of undying heart and undying body, a power of ninefold resurrection, immunity to every abnormal effect—and with Tonbokiri's original cutting power combined, the newly reforged spear was enough to make Futayo the strongest.
"For loyalty's sake, life and death alike shall follow. Heaven above bears witness—Tonbokiri is my oath." Twelve glowing characters appeared along Tonbokiri's length as the blue light surged skyward. Then the spear began to shrink—the final stage of its forging had begun.
"Little Honda, allow me to add my own emotions to Tonbokiri as well," Kurumi said, her lips curling into a sly, mischievous smile. She pointed at the Book of the World, and a streak of blue light shot forth from the book, merging into Tonbokiri.
And what emotion did Kurumi infuse it with?
Listen closely:
"Ah! Kurumi-chan is the most beautiful, the most radiant! Kurumi-chan is the most captivating of all! I love Kurumi-chan! I adore Kurumi-chan! I'm madly, hopelessly in love with Kurumi-chan!"
Yes—Kurumi infused the weapon with her own self-obsessed affection. From now on, whenever Futayo wielded Tonbokiri, such thoughts would unconsciously echo in her mind.
Of course, with Futayo's straightforward way of thinking, she would never suspect the weapon. She'd simply assume something was wrong with herself.
The words "Peerless Loyalty" appeared on Tonbokiri's shaft before the massive spear shrank to normal size and was absorbed into the Book of the World.
By this time, Aincrad had completely shattered, and nearly all players had logged out. Yet at that very moment, an anomaly occurred.
A strange system protocol suddenly began intercepting player consciousness—right before Kurumi's eyes. Even worse, it was targeting the members of the Crystal Guild.
"Oh? You're courting death? I've just died once myself, and my mood is still rather foul. And you have the misfortune to run straight into my spear's tip."
Kurumi pointed toward the Book of the World. The book immediately absorbed the invasive system rule, tracing its origin back to the real world—and devouring the one responsible.
Thus, a man named Sugou Nobuyuki vanished from existence. He had been Asuna's fiancé, and because she did not love him, he had intended to imprison her within the game. Unfortunately for him, he crossed paths with Kurumi.
Adjusting his glasses, Kayaba Akihiko spoke in the tone of a wise sage: "If you don't seek death, you won't die. Why do people never seem to understand that simple truth?"
Kurumi cast him a sidelong glance, her expression twisted with amusement. You, the biggest death-seeker of all, are the last person qualified to say that.
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