The main street area on the 75th floor, which was newly opened last week, was filled with ancient Roman-style buildings. The name on the map was " Colonia ". Currently, many Swordsman and Merchant players had already moved into the town. In addition, there were also many people who did not participate in the raid and only wanted to see the appearance of the streets. The entire town could be said to be filled with vitality. In addition, there was a rather rare special activity today, causing the portal to spit out many visitors since morning.
The streets were made of white limestone that was cut into four corners. Along with the temple style buildings and the wide waterway, there was a huge arena standing in front of the transfer gate. I've decided to hold my duel with Heathcliffe here. But…
[A cup of fire-breathing popcorn costs ten coals! Ten cors!"
[Cold dark beer!]
There were many merchant players 'shops lined up at the entrance of the arena. Each of them was shouting at the top of their lungs, promoting suspicious-looking food to the long line of spectators.
[... What, what's going on…]
I was shocked by the scene in front of me, so I could only ask Asuna beside me.
[I-I'm not sure either...]
"Hey, the person selling tickets over there is one of your people from KO B, right? Why did it become such a grand event?」
[This, this…]
"Is, is this really the real purpose of Heathcliffe?」
" No, I think this should be the work of the accountant, Mr. Dashan. That person is the best at calculating."
In front of Asuna, who was laughing, I felt very powerless.
"... Let's run, Asuna. He hid in the wide fields around the twentieth floor to farm.」
[I don't care...]
Asuna said with an indifferent expression.
[But if you run away now, you will definitely be scolded.」
[Damn it…]
"Aiya, this is your own sin. Ah…Mr. Kindness."
He raised his head and saw a fat man who was more unsuitable to wear the KO's red and white uniform than him. He walked over while shaking his fat belly.
" Aiyoh--Thank you, thank you!"
He said to me with a smile on his round face.
"Thanks to your help, Kirito, we've earned a lot of money! Speaking of which, it would be great if such an event could be held once a month!」
[Who has that kind of free time!]
" Come, the lounge is this way. This way, please."
I followed behind the man who started to walk slowly. At this moment, I had already decided not to care so much and just go all out.
The lounge was a small room facing the arena. After Da Shan brought us to the entrance, he said that he still had to adjust the betting odds and disappeared. I no longer had the energy to scold him. The audience seats seemed to have been filled long ago, and there were many cheers coming from the lounge.
When there were only the two of us left, Asuna grabbed my wrist with both hands with a serious expression.
"…Even if it's a one-hit victory, it's still dangerous to take a heavy attack head-on. Especially since there are still many unknowns about the captain's sword skills. If you feel that something is wrong, surrender immediately, understand? If you mess around like last time, I won't forgive you!」
"You'd better worry about Heathcliffe.」
I smiled and patted Asuna's shoulder.
The announcement of the start of the battle in the arena was mixed with thunderous cheers from afar. At the same time, I slightly drew out the two swords that were crossed on my back. After deliberately letting out a clang, I sheathed them back into their sheaths. Then, he walked toward the square light coil that seemed to have been cut off.
The terraced auditorium surrounding the Colosseum was packed with people. In my opinion, there should be at least a thousand of them. Aguirre and Klein could be seen in the front row, shouting dangerous words like " hack him to death " and " kill him."
I walked to the center of the arena and stopped. Then, a bright red figure appeared from the lounge opposite. The cheers became louder.
Normally, the uniform of the Blood Oath Knights was white with a red pattern, but now he was wearing a red coat. Although he was not wearing any protective gear like me, the huge white cross shield in his left hand was particularly eye-catching. It seemed that the sword should be hidden inside the shield, because at the top of the shield, a cross-shaped sword hilt could be seen protruding.
He casually walked up to me and looked at the surrounding audience. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and say,
[I'm really sorry, Kirito. I didn't know it would turn out like this.」
[I'm going to collect a performance fee.]
[No…after the competition, you will be a member of our guild. I will treat this match as one of the team's matters.」
After saying that, Heathcliffe stopped smiling. At the same time, his brass pupils emitted an overwhelming aura. I couldn't help but take half a step back in fear. In the real world, we should be lying very far away from each other, and the only conversation between the two of us would be digital files. Even so, I could still feel the murderous aura of the other party.
I switched my consciousness to battle mode and received Heavencliffe's gaze from the front. The deafening cheers slowly faded away from me. I don't know if it was because my sensory organs had begun to operate faster, but I even felt that the colors around me had undergone a subtle change.
After taking his eyes off me, Heathcliffe retreated about ten meters, then raised his right hand and started to manipulate the menu without looking at the window. Instantly, the battle notification appeared before my eyes, and I naturally chose to allow it. The setting was to choose the winning and losing mode of the first strike.
The countdown had already begun. The cheers around them had already weakened to the sound of small waves.
The blood flow in his body gradually increased. I used all my strength to suppress my desire to fight. After eliminating the last bit of hesitation, I pulled out the two swords I loved on my back at the same time. I'm facing an opponent who has to give it his all to have a chance of winning.
Heathcliffe drew his slender sword from his shield and got into a battle stance.
The way he faced the shield with only his upper body exposed was quite relaxed and natural. It seemed that he did not use any extra strength at all. I knew that trying to predict the enemy's first move would only increase my doubts, so I made up my mind to attack with all my might from the beginning.
Although neither of them looked at the window, they rushed out at the same time when the word " DUEL " appeared.
I lowered my body and charged forward in one breath, almost sliding on the ground.
When he was almost in front of Heathcliffe, he turned around and slashed the sword in his right hand diagonally to the left. The cross shield met my attack, and intense sparks erupted. However, I used a two-part attack. The sword in my left hand was 0.1 seconds slower than the attack on my right hand. It slid into the shield. This was the Two-Blade-Ryu's advance skill, Double Fan-shaped Slash.
The left attack was blocked by the long sword just as it was about to reach the enemy's abdomen. Only a circular light effect was left. Although it was a pity, this attack was only used to greet the beginning of this battle. I used the remaining momentum of my sword skill to gain some distance before rearranging my posture.
But this time, it was Heathcliffe who attacked me with his shield as if he wanted to return the favor. His right arm was hidden in the shadow of the huge cross shield, making it impossible to see clearly.
[Tsk!]
I was speechless as I sprinted to the right, trying to dodge the attack. This was because I believed that as long as I circled around the shield, even if I couldn't see the initial trajectory, I would still have more time to react to the enemy's attack.
But Heathcliffe raised his shield completely flat.
「呣!」
With a loud shout, the front of the shield stabbed towards me. The huge cross shield drew a white light effect towards me.
[Oh!]
I immediately crossed the swords in my hands to block the attack. This caused a strong impact to spread through my entire body, and I was sent flying several meters away. He first stabbed the sword in his right hand into the ground to prevent himself from falling, then turned in the air and landed.
He didn't expect that shield to have an attack check, just like the Two-Blade Style. I had originally thought that since the two weapons had more attacks, I would be able to gain the upper hand in a one-hit battle. However, the current situation was truly beyond my expectations.
Heathcliffe didn't give me any time to regroup and once again used a sprint to shorten the distance between us. The long sword on the hilt of the cross in his right hand stabbed at a speed that even Asuna could not catch up to.
The enemy began to attack continuously, and I could only use the swords in my hands to defend with all my might. Asuna had already explained the [Holy Sword] sword technique to me as much as possible, but this kind of last-minute knowledge was really unreliable. He could only rely on his instantaneous reaction to block the attacks coming from above and below.
After using the sword in his left hand to deflect the last upper-level slash of the eight-hit combo, he immediately used the single-shot heavy attack " Demonic Sword Attack " with his right hand.
[Wuuu!]
The spike emitted a red light, accompanied by the sound of a jet engine piercing the center of the cross shield. I ignored the heavy feeling of hitting a rock wall and used all my moves.
[Clang!] There was an explosion, and this time it was Heathcliffe who was sent flying. Although it couldn't penetrate the shield, the slight damage felt like it had " penetrated ". The opponent's HP bar decreased slightly. However, this amount of damage was not enough to determine the outcome.
Heathcliffe landed lightly and put some distance between us.
[What an amazing reaction speed…]
[Your defense is truly perfect…!]」
As I spoke, I charged out once more. Heathcliffe also regained his stance and leaned over.
Then, it was a high-speed performance. My sword skill was blocked by his shield, and his sword was deflected by mine. All kinds of colorful lights scattered around the two of them, and the sound of impact pierced through the stone floor of the entire arena. Their small attacks would occasionally hit each other, and their HP began to decrease bit by bit. Even if they were not hit by the heavy attack, as long as one side's HP bar was less than half, the other person would win.
But at this moment, I didn't even think about winning in that way. Since I was imprisoned in SAO, this was the first time I encountered an opponent that could be considered a strong enemy. It gave me an unprecedented sense of acceleration. Every time he felt his perception increase by a level, his attack speed would also increase.
He had not reached his limit yet. He could still go a little faster. Come on, Heathcliff!
At this moment, the joy of unleashing all my power to wield a sword enveloped my entire body. I think I should have a smile on my face. As the battle between Blade Flash and Sword Shadow became more and more intense, the HP bars on both sides decreased continuously. Finally, they were left with about 50%.
In the next moment, a hint of emotion suddenly flashed across the expressionless Heathcliffe's face. What was wrong with him? Are you starting to get impatient? I could feel the enemy's attack rhythm gradually slowing down.
[Waaah!]
In an instant, I abandoned all my defenses and began to attack with the swords in my hands. It was [Starburst Slash]. The sword was like a stream of fire spewing from a star as it charged towards Heavencliffe.
[Woo…!]
Heathcliffe raised his cross shield to block the attack. I didn't care about his defense and continued to slash at him from top to bottom, left to right. The other party's reaction was getting slower and slower.
He couldn't hold on any longer!
I'm sure that the last strike has broken through his defense. Taking advantage of the moment when the cross shield was swung too far to the right, my left hand's attack dragged along a ray of light as it headed towards Heathcliffe. As long as this attack was effective, his HP would definitely drop below 50%, and the duel would come to an end.
At this moment, the world began to distort.
「……!」
I don't know how to describe it. Or should it be said that time seemed to have been stolen by someone.
It felt as though everything, including my body, had stopped moving for a fraction of a second, except for Heathcliffe. His shield, which should have been on the right, instantly moved to the left like a tape recorder, repelling my sure-kill attack.
[What--]
After the great skill was blocked, I fell into a fatal time freeze. And of course, Heathcliffe wouldn't let go of this opportunity.
The single thrust from his right hand dealt me a damage that was so accurate that it was detestable and just enough to end the battle. I fell on the spot in embarrassment. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the purple system message that announced the end of the battle flashing.
The battle mode ended, and the cheers that swept through the entire arena began to reach my ears, but I still couldn't come back to my senses.
[Kirito!]
Asuna ran over and helped me up.
" Ah... ah ah... I'm fine-"
Asuna looked at my dazed face worriedly.
Did he lose?
I still can't believe this. The terrifying reflexes displayed by Heathcliffe at the last moment of his attack and defense could be said to have surpassed the limits of a player-beyond the limits of a human. The impossible speed even caused his character's shape to distort.
I sat on the ground and looked up at Heavencliff, who was standing a little further away.
For some reason, a rather sinister expression appeared on the victor's face. The bright red Paladin glanced at us with his metallic eyes, then turned around without a word and slowly disappeared from the lounge amidst the thunderous cheers.
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