Floor 81.
"I… fought until death… and regret nothing…"
The towering knight clad in pitch-black armor propped himself up with his greatsword. As cracks spread across his body, everyone present watched in solemn silence, offering the fallen enemy their final respect. At last, his massive form shattered and vanished. A gate of light appeared behind him, and a system notification flashed before Lillian's eyes.
[You got the last attack!]
With that message, the labyrinth of Floor 81—known as The Corridor of Supreme Warriors—was finally conquered. Everyone involved let out a collective sigh of relief. These were not strangers, but Lillian's close companions, with him at their center.
"Lillian-nii, hurry and check what the drop is!" Yui called out as she ran over, shield-blade in hand. Time had passed—half a year, in fact—and she now understood many things she once hadn't.
Yes.
Six months had already gone by.
Half a year had passed since the elven quest concluded. During that time, Lillian had formed a team that included Kirito, Asuna, and more than thirty others led by Terusuke. This group had left the official Assault Team far behind, taking on the primary responsibility of clearing floors. With two boundary-breaking powerhouses—Lillian and Kizmel—progress had been smooth, with no major casualties to speak of.
Yes.
Kizmel was still with them.
After that mission, she had not departed with the other Dark Elves. Instead, she broke away from them and continued adventuring alongside Lillian.
Lillian still remembered clearly what had happened after the prophecy ended. She had told all the Dark Elves—including the Elf King—that the sea siren foretold the floating city would one day return to the land, and that the elves would eventually return to their former homeland.
That news had filled the elves with joy. They were unconcerned about lifespan—elves in this world lived extraordinarily long lives, often several centuries. Kizmel was already seventy-six years old, yet by elven standards, she was only comparable to a human in their mid-twenties.
However, amid that joy, Lillian had asked her something else.
He had asked whether she had truly asked about the floating city.
He still remembered that moment clearly.
"Did you really ask about the floating city?"
Half a year ago, Lillian had asked earnestly.
Kizmel had smiled faintly in response, but the disappointment in her eyes was impossible to hide—the kind of look that only appeared when one failed to receive an answer they truly wanted.
Facing his question, she said: "We can make a trade."
"A trade?" Lillian asked.
"What I asked wasn't that question. It was something else," Kizmel replied. "If you tell me… how you came to this place, then I'll tell you what I asked."
At that moment, Lillian understood.
By "this place," she meant SAO itself.
That was already beyond the scope of an NPC.
In fact, Lillian believed the question wasn't truly Kizmel's. It was Akihiko Kayaba's.
Even though Lillian had never sensed Kayaba's presence, as the god who controlled this world, Kayaba must have noticed him—this "anomaly." Wanting to know how Lillian had arrived here was only natural. The fact that Kayaba hadn't concluded it was through the NerveGear meant he must have discovered other abnormalities—perhaps realizing he couldn't forcibly log Lillian out or eject him from the server.
Lillian didn't know what Kayaba was thinking. Kayaba had never appeared before him or spoken to him directly. Still, Lillian understood Kizmel's question as Kayaba's attempt to ask through her.
He had fallen silent.
And then, he saw tears well up in Kizmel's eyes—two thin trails slipping down her cheeks.
"I want to know…" she said.
Lillian didn't know why she was crying, but he felt a surge of anger. Yet he couldn't give her a definite answer.
After that, Kizmel regained control of her emotions and said nothing more. The mission ended, and to everyone's surprise, she left the elven faction and became Lillian's fixed NPC companion. Neither of them brought up the question again.
And so things continued, all the way to now.
One thing worth mentioning was that from that moment on, Lillian stopped treating her as an NPC.
He treated her as a real human being.
---
Humm—
A massive black greatsword materialized in Lillian's hands. The group immediately cried out in surprise—this was the very weapon wielded by the Dark Knight boss they had just defeated.
"A demonic sword!" Kirito exclaimed excitedly. "Lillian, your luck is insane."
"Yeah…" Lillian looked at the greatsword with satisfaction. His previous weapon had dropped from a field monster around Floor 60. Even enchanted to +12, it had long since fallen behind. This was a perfect replacement.
After equipping it, his attack stats rose sharply. His appearance had also completely changed. His old assassin-like outfit had been left behind long ago. Now, he was clad in full alloy armor—including a helmet. In combat, not a single inch of skin was exposed. He looked every bit a knight.
The armor's defense was extremely high, and its weight equally so. For most players, wearing it would reduce them to slow-moving tanks. Yet Lillian, wearing the same armor, still ran faster than the most agility-focused players—something that left others utterly speechless.
With the boss defeated, he removed his helmet and swung the Dark Knight Greatsword. The weight was perfect—well-balanced and easy to handle.
"Only nineteen floors left until we clear the game!" Terusuke said excitedly. Everyone shared his enthusiasm. No matter how good this world might be, the real world still held family and friends they had to return to.
Lillian nodded. "Go ahead and activate the teleport gate."
Because he was orange-named, he couldn't open it himself. Everyone understood and moved to do so, leaving only Lillian, Kizmel, and Yui behind.
"You don't want the game to end so soon, do you?" Lillian suddenly asked Kizmel quietly.
She froze, her expression complicated.
Lillian could understand part of it now. She and Yui had likely awakened self-awareness to some degree. But unlike Yui, Kizmel possessed memories—and she was merely a quest NPC, without Yui's GM-level authority.
Lillian didn't know how she awakened, but she certainly knew that once the game was cleared, her fate would face a dramatic turning point. Whether that future would be good or bad—no one knew. In uncertainty, most people chose stability.
Kizmel was no exception.
Yet despite that, she had never held back in battle. In fact, she often fought with such intensity that she was seriously injured on multiple occasions.
"But you do want to clear it, don't you?" she said.
Lillian fell silent.
She smiled softly. They had never openly discussed identities. Everything rested on mutual understanding. But how long could such an understanding last?
"What are you talking about?" Yui asked, her big eyes darting between the two. "I don't understand at all."
"…"
"This is a conversation between adults," Lillian said. "You'll understand when you grow up."
"Oh…" Yui frowned. "That's so annoying. Why does everything require growing up first? Isn't there anything kids can do that adults can't?"
As she spoke, she grabbed Lillian's arm and shook it. "Is there? Is there?"
Lillian chuckled and patted her head. "Of course. Like what you're doing right now. Adults can't really act spoiled anymore… probably."
"Oh…"
Lillian looked at her. Thanks to his protection, Yui had never been placed in real danger. Perhaps because of that—or for other reasons—she still hadn't recovered her memories.
If regaining memories required a powerful emotional shock, then it made sense. But continuing like this wasn't an option.
He would have to take action himself.
Lillian glanced at the black greatsword in his hand. With his current stats, he was finally strong enough to make a trip beneath the Starting Town on Floor 1.
The Black Iron Palace.
Besides the prison, there was a hidden dungeon there. And at its deepest point existed something profoundly important to this world.
If he could defeat the gatekeeper there, he might be able to seize control of the game—through Yui.
Kayaba wouldn't just sit back and watch… probably.
But since Kayaba still hadn't appeared, what exactly was he doing?
Lillian shook his head, setting those thoughts aside.
For now, there was something else he needed to do first.
"Let's go. We'll leave the dungeon first."