Everyone stood in place, looking around as they gradually regained their senses.
Just as they were about to smile in relief, three crimson beams of light suddenly descended from the sky, freezing their expressions.
"The battle isn't over yet! There's no notification that the Boss has been defeated!"
Lizbeth's words snapped everyone back to reality.
Realizing this, they hurriedly picked up the weapons they had discarded on the ground, using recovery items to restore their status in preparation for the next battle.
Three hundred of them had already died. How many more would fall next?
A sense of uncertainty clouded many of their minds. Their vision blurred, making it hard to focus. They no longer felt fear or hesitation—only confusion about their future.
Would they be the next to die? Or would it be their Pokémon? Or perhaps their comrades?
"Prepare."
Just as Lizbeth raised her arm, ready to command an attack on the newly appeared three Bosses, she suddenly froze in place.
"Master…?"
The moment Lizbeth's voice faltered, Kirito also stiffened in shock.
Dak, Madara, and Izuna had already descended onto the battlefield.
"Lord Madara!"
"And Izuna!"
"That 'Arceus'… isn't he the NPC who gave us the Pokémon quest?!"
"What's going on?"
"Why… why do they have red health bars?"
"Could they be… copies?"
The players initially approached in excitement upon seeing the three figures, but within seconds, their expressions grew complex and wary, causing them to retreat cautiously.
There was no helping it—the three figures before them were simply too unsettling.
Even players with red names still had green health bars, as did friendly NPCs and Pokémon. Green health bars were a universal indicator of allies.
Only wild monsters and Bosses had red health bars.
Moreover, each of the three had a Boss-title prefix before their names.
These were the very nicknames the players themselves had given them:
[Rare NPC] Arceus
[Strongest] Madara
[Sword Saint] Izuna
"What's going on, Master?"
Lizbeth instantly recognized that the figure before her was no mere copy—it was her Master, Madara, himself.
Only her Master would look at her with such a strict yet gentle gaze.
"As you can see, Lizbeth," Madara said calmly, "we are nothing more than data in this world. We are not real players, nor do we exist in your world."
His words silenced the players who had been on edge.
They wanted to refute him—what kind of game had NPCs with intelligence this high?
But when they looked at their Pokémon beside them, then at the bizarre world they had been living in, it didn't seem impossible after all.
"Are you saying… that everything we shared over the past year was fake?"
Kirito clenched his sword, staring at the ground.
He couldn't accept it.
Since the beta test last June, he had fought alongside Madara and Izuna. Now, a full year had passed.
"Do you think your time spent with your Pokémon was fake?"
Madara didn't answer Kirito directly. Nor did Izuna, his Master.
But the meaning was clear.
"Absolutely not!"
The one who shouted was Silica, the Vice President of the Trainer Association. "My Glameow is not just data from some game! Every memory she's given me, the feelings we share—they are real!"
Tears welled up in Silica's eyes as she spoke. Perhaps she was trying to convince herself, but no matter what, she refused to back down on this.
"Meow."
Glameow flicked its tail before leaping into Silica's arms, licking away her tears with its tongue.
"Then why… if you were destined to oppose us from the start, why did you help us for so long?"
Kirito's breathing grew heavier. Asuna, standing beside him, reached out and held his hand in concern.
Memories resurfaced in his mind. Pieces of the puzzle that had once felt disconnected now fit together.
But at the same time, new questions arose—ones he could not understand.
Why did Madara lead the raid group through 87 floors of Aincrad?
Why did they pass down their skills to the players?
"…" x3
The three remained silent.
Dak had not been involved in Madara and Izuna's script planning, so he chose to stay quiet, not wanting to disrupt their plan.
"…So, you are 'Cynthia,' aren't you?"
Kirito turned to look at 'Arceus.'
"That's right."
Dak nodded.
"…Heh."
Kirito let out a self-deprecating laugh. "So the final three Bosses of Aincrad's 100th floor were already here during the beta test. You were with us all along."
He shook his head. "I should've known… There's no way real humans could be that powerful. If you were this strong, there should have been traces of you in the real world. But there were none."
"That explains everything. From the beginning, you were nothing but data trapped in this world!"
Kirito's voice darkened, his emotions teetering on the edge of breaking.
Dak and Madara both turned to Izuna—after all, Kirito was his disciple. If something went wrong, it was Izuna's responsibility to handle it.
"Kirito."
Izuna's expression remained unchanged as he spoke calmly. "Say what you just said again—this time, to your Sneasel."
"…"
Kirito clenched his teeth, unable to bring himself to look at the Sneasel beside him.
If Izuna and the others were merely data imprisoned in the game, then… wasn't Sneasel the same?
Yet, no matter what, he could not say such cruel words to Sneasel.
"Lizbeth, and all of Akatsuki—attack."
Madara took two steps forward, gazing at the raid group. "You should know—if you don't defeat the three of us, you will never leave this world. You will never reach the 101st floor."
Whoosh!
As soon as Madara finished speaking, before the members of Akatsuki could fully process his words, Zack had already charged forward with the entire Avengers guild.
Zack knew that Lizbeth and Kirito would hesitate, but he wouldn't.
Slash!
However, just as Zack dashed forward a few steps, a figure with fierce red hair suddenly intercepted him.
"…Kagutsuchi."
Madara murmured as he recognized the red-haired figure.
This was one of the earliest members to follow Madara—ID: Kagutsuchi—a hot-tempered and impulsive man. Within Akatsuki, only Madara could command him. Even Lizbeth's orders depended on his mood.
"Move."
Zack raised his scythe in front of him.
He didn't want to kill a green-named player. But if this person stood in his way, he wouldn't hesitate to strike him down, at least temporarily.
"I—"
Chapter 399: The Fated Battle Between Master and Disciple (Continued)
Kagutsuchi gripped his greatsword with one hand while raising the other to wipe away the tears at the corner of his eye. Then, with a resolute expression, he looked at Zack.
"If you want to strike down Lord Madara, then you'll have to kill me first."
"Kagutsuchi, don't be reckless."
A blue-haired man with narrow eyes quickly stepped forward, trying to pull Kagutsuchi back.
"I'm not being reckless. I know exactly what I'm doing!"
Kagutsuchi gently pushed his comrade away. "Madara saved my life. Back then, I swore that as long as I remained in Aincrad, I would fight for him—until the day I died or left this world. I refuse to break my oath!"
"You…"
The blue-haired man wanted to say something else, but in the next moment, at least half of Akatsuki's members moved behind Kagutsuchi, raising their weapons against the raid group.
All of them had been saved by Madara and brought into Akatsuki.
"…"
Madara slightly parted his lips, his eyes widening.
The scene before him starkly contrasted with the one from over fifty years ago when he had left Konoha.
Back then, the entire Uchiha clan had abandoned him.
Now, these people were willing to fight for him to the bitter end—even if he was considered a 'traitor.'
"…Sigh."
Madara let out a deep sigh, gesturing to Dak beside him.
They had failed to provoke the players into attacking them with words. That meant they had to proceed with an alternative plan.
"…What a shame. I spent so long picking out a weapon."
Seeing Madara's expression, Dak shook his head in disappointment.
It seemed his Shit Mop wouldn't be put to use today.
Buzz!
As Dak manipulated the interface, a strange hum resonated through the battlefield.
The players quickly realized they had lost control over their bodies—they stood frozen in place, unable to move.
"What's happening?!"
Asuna's eyes widened in shock as she glanced around, noticing that everyone seemed to be in the same situation—completely immobilized.
"Asuna? What's wrong?"
Kirito panicked and reached out to grab her.
"I… I can't move."
"Hera!"
Beside them, Heracross struggled but found itself similarly paralyzed.
"What?!"
Kirito's gaze swept across the battlefield, and he suddenly realized—among the entire raid group, only two people and two Pokémon could still move.
Himself and Sneasel.
Lizbeth and Hariyama.
"You have two choices," Dak announced. "One—every player here dies in the next moment. Two—you and your master fight in a duel. If you win, all SAO players will be freed and return to the real world. If you lose… the result will be the same as the first option."
Seeing that Madara and Izuna had no intention of speaking, Dak took it upon himself to play the villain.
At the same time, he adjusted the settings, removing the Boss Template from both Madara and Izuna, reverting them to standard player status.
"Fight, Lizbeth. Do you really want to watch all these people who trust you die?"
Madara stepped forward toward Lizbeth.
"…"
Lizbeth turned around.
Over two thousand people had their gazes fixed on her.
Each pair of eyes was filled with hope.
They were so close—just a little more, and they could finally go home.
At that moment, Lizbeth made her decision.
She clenched her fists and looked at Madara with unwavering determination.
Then, together with Hariyama, she stepped forward.
That look in her eyes—Madara knew it all too well.
He had seen it countless times before on his greatest rival, Hashirama Senju.
It was the gaze of someone carrying the hopes and trust of countless others.
(End of Chapter)
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