Ye Chi felt that he had become light, and the little "YouDead" appeared in his field of vision, smiling with a mocking meaning—well, he didn't even smile much now......

Anyway, he looked mockingly at Asuna's saber—a flickering light, the thin sword of Asuna's doppelganger, falling out of the neck of the Kayaki.

That's right, we're just flimsile, dancing dolls on your script.

But ah...... Doll's backlash...... How does it taste?

Mr. Shadow......

He could see that his sword had unsurprisingly stuck into the ground, forming a perfect sword cross with the silver-white rapier.

He could also see the shocked expressions of everyone present.

Finally, his eyes turned to the heavens, and at the end, he saw the girl's flower-like smile at a glance.

"Don't worry...... I...... Here it ......" was the last thought in his mind.

He had apparently forgotten that he couldn't die......

――――――――――――――――――――――――

It's a bizarre place.

There is a sunset that will set the sky on fire.

The soles of your feet are stepping on the thick crystal floor. Below the transparent floor, clouds dyed red by the setting sun slowly flowed by. Looking up, you can see the sky dyed red by the setting sun stretching infinitely into the distance. The endless sky changed from vivid vermilion to blood-red and then to purple. There was also the sound of a breeze.

Except for the clouds that shimmered with a golden-red glow, there was nothing in the sky, and a small crystal disc floated - it was actually quite large for a human, and it should be a crystal platform technically.

This shouldn't be where he is.

Normally, his consciousness should stay in a sandbox of the system, after all, he cannot be deleted if he is encrypted, and there is no place for him in the system, so the normal way to deal with it should be to establish a separate block as a sandbox to isolate him.

Apparently not here.

Because the computer is precise, the sandbox must be as large as the space it occupies.

Then he should now be trapped in a black box and cannot move, instead of such a vast space - even if the background is the same texture as the domestic online game, this waste is unforgivable for computer logic.

He stretched out his hand, trying to block out the glare of the sunset.

But he seems to have failed.

He is now like a ghost, translucent all over his body, completely unable to block the sunlight...... He was now like a fiber optic with the glow of the setting sun on the ends of his limbs.

Reach out your right hand and try to wave your fingers lightly. Familiar effects appear at the same time as the window. Well, this should still be the inside of SAO.

However, there is no equipment puppet or menu in the window. There is only a small text on the blank screen that reads, "The final stage is in progress, and the progress is now 54%". In the star, the number rises to 55% - it doesn't seem like a simple data stack......

"Levy ......"

Like an ice line flowing down the heart, the clouds see the sun......

Slowly...... Turn around......

Thief God...... Don't let me down......

With her back to the sky, which seemed to be about to burn, she stood there.

Long hair fluttering in the wind.

Her face was full of a gentle smile - within reach.

But Ye Chi couldn't move at all......

Feel...... It seems that as long as you move, you will destroy this beauty.

So he could only stare at the girl wordlessly.

The other party is also the same as himself, and his whole body is in an illusory translucent state. The figure that glows in the colors of the setting sun is more beautiful than anything in the world.

"Yo, I'm coming for you...... Stupid-" Ye Chi forcibly held back his tears, with a hint of choking in his words.

The girl laughed as tears fell from her eyes. Ye Chi opened his arms and called her name quietly.

"Asuna ......"

Familiar, heavy weight - illusory, but real......

Come what may...... Ye Chi will not let go again.

Apart from......

"Eh...... What's going on? A lazy, seemingly unawakened voice came, interrupting the peace between Ye Chi and Asuna......

Motherfuck a chicken, you're an atmosphere killer......

Ye Chi's eyes breathed fire...... At this time, it should be reserved for lovers who have passed through life and death...... What's the matter with you......

Kirito says he's innocent......

"Great view, right?"

The sudden sound broke the embarrassment, but this sound made Ye Chi want to draw his knife......

It's a pity that he didn't have a knife on his body, in fact, not only the knife, but also the bracer on his left arm was left with an empty pedestal, no blade.

That person was Akihiko Kayaba.

His face was not Heathcliff, but his original face as an SAO developer. He wears a white shirt and tie, and a white robe. On his weak, thin face, only the metallic eyes gave the same feeling. And those eyes are now full of gentleness, looking at the vanishing floating city. His whole body was also translucent like Ye Chi and the others.

Obviously, he had a life-threatening death match with this man dozens of minutes ago, but after seeing him, Ye Chi was a little fried at first, but after that, he was quite calm.

Why?

Ye Chi didn't know.

"What's that?" There was surprise in Kirito's voice, and Ye Chi's gaze was also attracted.

"Ayn Grant...... Ye Chi muttered to himself, "This is the end?" ”

"Yes." Kayaba calmly uttered the brutal truth.

Outwardly, the steel floating city formed by countless stacks of discs and cones is now crumbling.

Under their wordless gaze, part of the bottom floor had broken down into countless pieces, some scattered, some peeling downward. If you prick up your ears and listen, you can hear some heavy rumbling sounds mixed with the wind.

"Ah......h

Asuna let out a small cry. A large part of the ground floor collapsed, and countless trees and lake water continued to fall among the building materials, and finally sank into the sea of red clouds. It should be near the place where their forest home is located. Each floor of the floating city, which was imprinted with the memories of the two of them for the past two years, slowly collapsed layer by layer like peeling off a membrane. With each scattered layer, my chest was stung with the feeling of mourning.

"What's going on here?"

"It should be said that it is...... Symbolic expression. ”

The sound of the kayaba is also quite calm.

"Right now, the SAO mainframe installed on the fifth basement floor of the ARGUS head office is using all the memory to completely delete the files. In another ten minutes or so, the world will be completely wiped out. ”

"What about the people inside...... How are they?"

Asuna muttered.

"Don't worry. Just now—"

Kayaba moved his right hand and continued to look at the window that had been called out.

"All the players who are still alive, a total of 6,147 people, have all logged out."

In this way, Klein and Akyll's friends in that world, as well as the people who have survived the past two years, have all returned to the real world safely.

“…… What about the dead? The two of us are also people who have died before, but if we can stay here, can we also send the 4,000 people who died before back to the original world?"

Kayaba's expression did not change, and after removing the window, he put his hands in his pockets, and then spoke:

"Life is not something that can be restored so easily. Their consciousness never came back. The dead are destined to disappear, and this is true in all worlds. As for your words - it's because I still want to talk to you at the end that I created these times - in addition, you" he pointed at Ye Chi "Your consciousness bank seems to have a firewall, so even I can't easily delete your consciousness. ”

"If the results of the 9 institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences are cracked by you so simply, wouldn't I be very faceless?" Ye Chi said leisurely.

"Anyway...... Why would you do such a thing? You're not like a murderous person......"

Kayaba smiled wryly, "Why—I've forgotten about it for a long time." What is it for? When I learned about the development of a fully stealthy environment system - no, I should say it started much earlier, I lived to create that city, that world that transcended all the frameworks and regulations of the real world. And then, at the last moment, I saw something that transcended the laws of the world that I had created............"

Kayaba glanced at the three of them - they had all seen before, and even directly broke the existence of procedural restrictions.

The wind that began to grow stronger shook the white clothes of the Kayaba and Asuna's hair. More than half of the giant city has collapsed. Algart, a town with many memories, has also broken down and been swallowed up by clouds that connect peaks and peaks. Kayaba continued:

"We have been dreaming a lot since we were young, right? I don't remember how old I was when I was entangled in the fantasy of this floating castle in the sky...... That imaginary situation, no matter how much time has passed, remains vividly in my mind. As I get older, the images become more realistic and expanded. Fly up from the ground and go straight to that castle...... For a long time, that was my only wish. Listen to me, Kirito. I still believe that there really is a castle in some world-"

"Teenage fantasies...... In the end, you turned it into reality...... As a human being...... You are really pure......" Ye Chi said half sarcastically and half emotionally.

Several people regained silence. Looking into the distance again, he saw that even the part outside of the floating city was beginning to crumble. You can see the originally endless sea of clouds and the red sky, which are engulfed in white light and gradually disappear on the far side. The erosion of light is happening everywhere, and it seems to be slowly approaching here.

"I almost forgot to tell you...... Livingslet, Asuna, and Kirito, congratulations on completing the game. ”

Hearing this, Ye Chi raised his head violently—while he looked down at them with a steady expression.

"So—I should go too."

It was as if a gust of wind was blowing.

Then, just so suddenly, like a frame drop, he disappeared in place.

Where the hell has he gone? Is it back to the real world?

"He? He's not someone who can't afford to lose......" Ye Chi muttered to himself.

The speed of the collapse is getting faster and faster, and in the blink of an eye, even the top has disappeared.

After that, even the sunset and clouds had begun to be erased piece by piece.

Time is running out.

Kirito seemed to feel something, "I'm about to go first...... Who taught me not to die? Kiri-noya-to-, my name-"

He didn't seem to have finished speaking, but then it was erased......

"It seems that it will be a while before it will be our 'dead' turn......" Ye Chi quietly grabbed Asuna's hand.

Gently, covering her pale cherry lips.

"You should have known before, I'm Ye Chi, well, I should be 18 years old now, probably."

"Yuuki Asuna, seventeen years old."

Yuuki Asuna - Very well, these five words should be imprinted in the bottom of my heart.

"Wait until you get back there...... But you have to talk about it......" The corners of Ye Chi's eyes were a little moist.

"yes...... Be sure to ...... Okay, okay...... Let's talk about ......"

The two hugged each other tightly.

Oh, yes...... You can't talk about it here......

There is an agreement...... I will, yes, go back over there again......

The last glimmer of red in the sky vanished.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku Hospital-

in an intensive care unit.

The boy on the hospital bed had a tear flowing from the corner of his eye.

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The SAO chapter is over!

Sprinkle flowers!

The atypical ALO chapter is about to begin!