The air was mixed with many smells.
I was first shocked that I was still conscious.
The air that flowed into his nostrils contained a lot of information. The first was the pungent smell of disinfectant. Then, there was the smell of the sun on the dry cloth, the sweet fragrance of fruits, and the smell of his own body.
He slowly opened his eyes. In an instant, he felt two intense white lights that seemed to pierce into the depths of his head. He could only quickly close his eyes again.
Not long after, he cautiously tried to open his eyes again. All kinds of light balls could be seen dancing in front of him. Only now did he realize that there was a large amount of liquid accumulated in his eyes.
He blinked his eyes and tried to expel them from his body. However, the liquid kept gushing out. So these were tears.
I was crying. What was it for? There was only a kind of grief caused by a fierce and deep sense of loss that remained in the depths of his chest. There seemed to be a faint cry from someone echoing in his ears.
Her eyes narrowed because of the strong light, and then she finally shook off her tears.
I seemed to be lying on something soft. He could see something that looked like a ceiling above him. There were white-gray panels arranged in a grid, and a few of them seemed to have hidden light sources that emitted a soft light. From the corner of his eyes, he could see a metal vent that should be an air-conditioning unit. A low mechanical sound was emitted from the vent as air was exhaled.
The air-conditioning unit…was also a machine. How could there be such a thing? No matter how skilled a person was in smelting, they would not be able to make a machine. If that's really a machine as I see it--then this is--
It couldn't be Ain Grand.
My eyes widened. With these thoughts, I finally regained my consciousness. Just as I was about to jump up-
However, his body did not listen to him because he could not exert any strength at all. Although his right shoulder was raised a few centimeters, it immediately sank down again.
Only his right hand could finally move. I tried to move it out of the thin cloth covering my body and raised it to my eyes.
For a moment, he could not believe that his arm had become so skinny. There was no way to swing the sword like this. Upon closer inspection of the sickly white skin, one could see that it was covered with countless hairs. There were blue blood vessels crisscrossing under the skin, and there were tiny wrinkles on the joints. Everything was so real that it made people feel terrified. It could be said that it looked too much like a living creature and made people feel quite uncomfortable. There was a metal needle attached to the inside of his elbow with tape. From the needle, one could see a relatively thin tube extending upward. Following the line of sight, he could see that it was connected to a transparent bag hanging on a silver pillar on the upper left. There was about 70% of the orange liquid left in the bag, and it was dripping down at a certain speed from the tap below.
He moved his left hand on the bed, trying to grasp the touch of his hand. It looked like I was lying naked on a bed made of high-density gel material. Because I felt a damp and cold feeling that was slightly lower than my body temperature spread to my body. At this moment, he suddenly remembered from his distant memory that he had seen a piece of news a long time ago. This kind of bed was developed for people who needed to be cared for while lying in bed. And it had the function of preventing skin inflammation, as well as decomposing and purifying the metabolism.
Then, I looked around. It was a small room. The walls and ceiling were also white-gray. There was a fairly large window on the right with white curtains. Although he couldn't see the scenery outside the window, he could see the yellow light of the sun shining through the curtains. Deep to the left of the gel bed was a four-wheeled tray with a basket made of rattan on it. There was a large bouquet of plain-colored flowers in the basket, and that seemed to be the source of the sweet fragrance. Behind the four-wheeled tray was a closed four-sided door.
From the information he gathered, he could infer that this should be a ward. I was lying alone inside.
He looked back at his right hand in the air and suddenly remembered something. I tried to raise my middle finger and index finger and wave them down.
Nothing happened. There was no sound effect, and the menu window did not appear. I waved it harder. Then, he repeated it again. The result was the same.
In that case, this really wasn't the inside of SAO. Was it another imaginary world?
However, from the information I've received from my five senses, I've been telling me loudly that there's another possibility. This was the original world. It was the real world that I left for two years and thought I would never be able to return.
The real world-it took me quite some time to understand what this word meant. For a long time, the world of swords and battles was the only reality for me. Even now, he still could not believe that that world no longer existed, and that he was no longer in that world.
So, am I back?
Even though he thought so, he didn't feel particularly touched or happy. He only felt a little confused and a little disappointed.
So this was the reward for the complete strategy game that Mao Chang had mentioned? I was already dead in that world, and my body was completely destroyed, but I accepted this fact and even felt satisfied because of it.
That's right-I'll just disappear. It disintegrated and evaporated in the scorching light, fusing with the world and becoming one with the girl.
[Ah…]
I couldn't help but cry out. This made his throat, which had not been used for two years, feel quite painful. But I didn't care about that at the moment. I opened my eyes wide and called out the name that was rising to my throat.
[Ya…Si…Na…]
Asuna. The pain that had been branded in the depths of my heart resurrected vividly. Asuna, my beloved wife, the girl who faced the end of the world with me…
Was everything just a dream…? Or was it an illusion he saw in an imaginary world? I was confused for a moment.
No, she did exist. How could the days when we laughed, cried, and slept together be a dream?
At that time, Hayaba said,"Kirito, Asuna, congratulations on completing the game." He did mention Asuna's name. If I was included in the Survival Players, then Asuna should have returned to this world as well.
When I thought of this, my heart surged with love for her and a maddening longing. I want to see her. He wanted to caress her hair. He wanted to kiss her. I want to use my voice to call her name.
She used all her strength to struggle to stand up. Only then did I notice that my head was fixed. He touched the hard seatbelt on his chin and unfastened it. There seemed to be something heavy on his head. I plucked it off with both hands.
I propped up my upper body and stared at the object in my hand. It was a streamlined helmet covered in dark blue paint. On the pad that extended from the back of his head, there was a blue cable that extended to the bed.
This was…
NERvGear。I relied on it to connect with that world for two years. The power source of NERvGear had been turned off. In his memory, it should have had a shiny exterior, but now the paint had peeled off, and the edges had peeled off, revealing the light alloy inside.
'This contains all the memories of that world.' I suddenly had this feeling in my heart, so I gently stroked the surface of the helmet.
I don't think I'll ever get the chance to wear it again. But this thing really did its job…
I muttered in my heart before placing it on the bed. The days of fighting alongside this helmet were already a distant memory. There are things that I must do in this world waiting for me.
Suddenly, he heard a commotion in the distance. I perked up my ears to listen. It was only after much difficulty that my hearing returned to normal, allowing all kinds of sounds to rush into my ears.
Indeed, he could hear many people talking and shouting, as well as the hurried footsteps and the sound of wheels turning on the other side of the door.
I don't know if Asuna is staying in this hospital. The SAO players should be scattered all over Japan, and based on the ratio, the possibility of her being in this hospital should be quite low. However, I have to start searching from here. No matter how much time it takes, I must find her.
After I pulled off the thin sheet, I could see that there were countless wires wrapped around my thin body. The ones stuck on his limbs should be the ones to prevent his muscles from weakening. It took me some time to take them down one by one. Then, he completely ignored the orange LED light on the panel under the bed and the sharp warning sound that resounded throughout the room.
After I pulled out the needle from the IV drip, I finally regained my freedom. I put my feet on the floor and slowly tried to stand up. Even though my body was lifted up bit by bit, my knees felt like they were about to break. I couldn't help but smile bitterly. The superman-like adjustment of his strength had completely disappeared.
I grabbed the drip stand to support my body and stood up with difficulty. I looked around the room and found a hospital gown under the tray with the flower basket. I picked it up and draped it over my naked body.
I was already gasping for breath after doing these few actions. The muscles in his four limbs, which he had not used for the past two years, were using the pain to protest against me. But how can I show weakness like this?
A voice urged me to hurry up. My whole body thirsted for her scent. My battle wasn't over until I hugged Asuna Asuna tightly in my arms again.
I gripped the IV drip stand that replaced my beloved sword tightly and leaned against it. I took my first step towards the door.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。