"Immortal Object" was something that appeared on certain structures, murals, and other items protected by the system.
Yet this phrase had now appeared on a player.
For a moment, Kirito felt his mind go blank. Or rather, in that instant, the amount of information he received directly filled Kirito's head; the impact of this news directly made Kirito feel suffocated and shocked.
And all this information pointed to one thing: Heathcliff was the creator of this game, Akihiko Kayaba.
"What are you doing?!" Asuna noticed this, her face filled with shock and anger. Weren't they working together perfectly well? Why? Just because of a failure? Could it be that they had misjudged him?
Beside them, Kaede shrugged, feeling a bit regretful. She seemed to have pushed things too far; Kirito had apparently discovered Heathcliff's identity...
At this moment, almost all the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath drew their swords once again, gritting their teeth as they looked at Kirito. In their eyes, their leader definitely stood on the side of justice, and besides, Kirito had launched a sneak attack.
Klein and Agil were both a bit at a loss at this moment. As Kirito's friends, they naturally had to help him, but why?
At this moment, Heathcliff finally turned around, looking at Kirito with a complex expression, his face showing a bit of helplessness.
"I didn't expect to be exposed right here. It's a real pity."
"Akihiko Kayaba... it really is you!" Kirito gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, gritting his teeth as he spoke.
"Akihiko Kayaba!!" Suddenly, everyone present heard the name and felt it was very familiar. A moment later, their eyes widened as they realized.
"No, that's impossible!"
"Leader, how could it be..."
"It must, it must be that Kirito is lying!"
No one was willing to believe it, including Klein. None of them wanted to believe that the number one person in SAO was actually the creator of this game, Akihiko Kayaba.
Asuna was also unwilling to believe it. Kaede looked at Asuna's hand she was holding, felt the strength Asuna was using, and couldn't help but look at Asuna with some worry.
"Sigh!" Heathcliff—no, he should be called Akihiko Kayaba now—turned around at this moment, his face showing a bit of helplessness. "I didn't expect to be exposed so quickly."
And this sentence from Akihiko Kayaba swept across the entire scene like a gale.
Countless faces filled with disbelief, countless expressions of being at a loss.
"Bang!"
This was the sound of shields dropping to the ground, the sound of swords in hands falling to the ground!
"However, this is also fine; it's already enough." Akihiko Kayaba glared at Kaede. Even with his composure, he couldn't help but want to make such a gesture.
"No matter how strong the next boss is, it's impossible for it to cause any harm to me or you, plus a perverted commander. Ending it now seems not bad either." Akihiko Kayaba looked at Kaede and Asuna, and finally, his gaze rested on Kirito.
"Akihiko Kayaba!!"
At this moment, someone had already reacted, and some people's eyes had already turned red.
They picked up the swords on the ground and then charged toward Akihiko Kayaba.
"Akihiko Kayaba!"
However, he couldn't reach Akihiko Kayaba before he collapsed directly.
A paralysis status appeared on him—a status that solo players in the field feared the most.
The eyes of everyone present constricted. The next moment, they saw a status suddenly appear on their own status bars too...
"Bang!!"
This was the sound of players falling to the ground one after another, including Kaede and Asuna.
"Akihiko Kayaba!! What are you doing!" Kirito looked at the players who had all fallen to the ground except for him, his face filled with anger, and a hint of confusion in his eyes. Why leave only him? Why was he the only one who was so special?
"Kirito-kun, and Kaede, let's play one last game." Akihiko Kayaba smiled.
"What?" Kaede and Kirito, lying on the ground, were both stunned for a moment.
"Let's battle. You come at me one by one. If you can win against me, then congratulations, SAO will be cleared immediately. But, if you both lose, then..." Akihiko Kayaba narrowed his eyes.
A deep chill ran through everyone's hearts.
Then, all the players present will die, and the clearing of the 75th-floor boss will end with me as the sole survivor. However, I feel that without you, the possibility of this game being cleared seems to be gone. How about it, want to play?
What if we don't play?
Kirito asked.
You don't have the right to refuse; this is your only hope,
Akihiko Kayaba said. "I will remove the lock on my HP."
Lowering his head, no one could see Kirito's expression.
At this moment, Kirito gripped his sword tightly. Could he refuse? But, but, could he win?
The scene of his defeat back then appeared in Kirito's mind once again. Could he really do it?
Why did it have to be him?
"Kirito, do your best." Kirito was stunned and looked over.
The person speaking was none other than Kaede.
Why did she say that? Kaede knew she was no match for Kirito; if Kirito lost, then there was effectively no need for her to fight anymore.
"Now, there's only one battle left," Kaede said, her eyes filled with anticipation, hoping that Kirito could achieve victory. If Kirito could push himself further, victory might not be impossible.
"Yeah, there's only one battle left now." Kirito closed his eyes, trying hard to banish the previous crushing defeat from his mind. Kaede was right; now, he had to burn his bridges and fight with his back to the wall. There was no other choice.
At this moment, there was only fighting; it was the only path to take.
The past defeat, the past humiliation, could all be washed away by this battle.
Slowly, Kirito raised his head and gripped his sword tightly.
Watching Kirito, Akihiko Kayaba smiled and raised his shield.
The battle began at this moment.
The sound of sword clashing against shield rose again. This time, no one shouted; everyone watched Kirito with anticipation.
If anyone else were facing Kirito right now, no one would be able to survive under his brilliant sword light. But, standing opposite Kirito was Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of this game who possessed the Holy Sword.
"It's still like this," Kaede murmured with a bitter smile. "Still like this, there's absolutely no difference from that previous time."
Kaede had been watching the battle between Kirito and Akihiko Kayaba. Seeing that it was almost identical to the previous fight, she closed her eyes in despair.
"Like this, he can't win..." Kaede closed her eyes, seemingly having given up.
"Am I going to die?" Surprisingly, Kaede had always thought that when facing death, she would resist to an unbelievable degree, but now that it had actually arrived, she felt a sense of relief instead.
Why? Why was it so different from what she had imagined? Perhaps it was because she had lived too exhaustively.
Too tired. Her body, mind, and soul all wanted to rest.
Was this just a game? Kaede didn't know; she just felt that if she died here, she would truly die.
Over there, Kirito was still maintaining superhuman sword speed. The black and white sword light almost enveloped both Akihiko Kayaba's and Kirito's bodies.
And the sparks produced by the clash of sword and shield were, for a moment, strangely breathtaking.
However, no one was captivated by it; there was only anticipation and solemnity.
At this moment, Kaede opened her eyes again and, seeing the alley that exuded a familiar scent, was stunned.
"Where... is this?"
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