Throughout her past training, Lizbeth had thrown countless punches at Madara.
But this time, it was different.
Lizbeth and Hariyama charged toward Madara side by side. She initiated the attack with a Leaf Hurricane, aiming a kick at Madara's waist while Hariyama simultaneously targeted his leg.
Madara had anticipated their moves. He braced himself and blocked the attacks with his hands while lifting his own leg to counter.
However, to his surprise, Lizbeth and Hariyama had also predicted his counterattack, raising their arms in advance to block it.
Just as Madara was familiar with their opening moves, Lizbeth and Hariyama were equally aware of how he would react after receiving their blows.
"You've improved."
Madara nodded in approval.
Despite the fact that they were supposed to be fighting with the intent to kill, the atmosphere felt surprisingly harmonious—just like their usual training sessions.
While their battle had begun, on the other side, Kirito remained motionless.
Even though Izuna was now just five meters away from him, he still couldn't bring himself to lift his sword.
He felt powerless.
He knew what he needed to do, but his body refused to obey.
He wanted to attack Izuna, but every cell in his body resisted the thought.
"Sneasel~"
Sneasel glanced at Kirito before charging toward Izuna on its own.
But neither Kirito nor Sneasel alone could stand against Izuna.
Within seconds, Sneasel's health bar had already dropped into the yellow zone from Izuna's attacks.
"Kirito, let me teach you one final lesson."
Izuna sighed as he raised his katana, preparing to strike Sneasel.
"A man must never run from battle. Every time you hesitate, you risk losing a comrade."
Clang!
Sneasel let out a breath of relief as Kirito suddenly stepped in front of it, blocking Izuna's attack.
"Sorry, Master… but I want to go home."
I still have to make it up to Suguha. I still want to marry Asuna. I can't stay here.
At that moment, Kirito's eyes lost their confusion and became focused.
"In that case—kill me."
Izuna gave him a small, knowing smile before unequipping all his gear except for his weapon.
He was different from his brother.
Madara would intentionally hold back and give Lizbeth and Hariyama a chance to strike him down together.
But Izuna would fight at full strength. He had simply removed all his defenses—allowing Kirito and Sneasel to kill him if they could land a single hit.
Kirito and Sneasel didn't hesitate.
They knew full well just how strong Izuna was. If they didn't go all out, they wouldn't even have a chance to land a blow.
"Kirito, will you go to the 101st floor?"
Izuna asked, remarkably relaxed even while fighting.
"Of course. I have to see Sneasel return home before I can leave in peace."
"Hmph. Think carefully before making your decision."
"?"
Kirito felt like there was some hidden meaning in Izuna's words, but unlike him, Izuna could afford to chat while fighting. Kirito couldn't split his focus like that.
He simply stored the words in his memory for later.
"Sneasel, use Icy Wind."
Kirito realized that if they kept fighting with pure swordplay, they would never be able to defeat Izuna. He had to change tactics.
"…"
Izuna saw Kirito and Sneasel switching strategies and nodded subtly in approval.
If Kirito ever reached the 101st floor and chose the Interdimensional Traverse option, then when he arrived in the Pokémon world, he would need to learn how to fight as a Trainer.
This was Izuna's final lesson—training Kirito in the ways of a Trainer.
Izuna swung his katana and used a skill to nullify the damage from Icy Wind.
But Kirito had anticipated this.
The move wasn't meant to deal damage—it was meant to lower Izuna's speed.
"Fury Swipes!"
Seeing that Izuna had slowed down, Kirito and Sneasel seized the opening and launched a relentless barrage of attacks.
In this digital world, Izuna couldn't exert his full strength.
Under normal circumstances, he might have been able to fend off Kirito and Sneasel's 'four blades' with just his katana.
But now, he had no choice but to rely on his evasive techniques to dodge.
And that was precisely why Kirito had used Icy Wind—to slow him down and make dodging harder.
Because of this, the battle ended far sooner than anyone had expected.
In just five minutes, Kirito's sword slashed across Izuna's arm—enough to deplete his health bar to zero.
As Izuna's form slowly disintegrated into pixels before Kirito's eyes, his strong facade finally crumbled.
Bang!
Kirito fell to his knees.
"Thank you, Master… for teaching me over the past year! I, Kirigaya Kazuto, will never forget this debt of gratitude!"
Chapter 400: Congratulations, You Have Graduated (Continued)
Kirito threw his weapon aside and dropped to his knees, bowing deeply toward Izuna. Tears streamed down his face, vanishing the moment they hit the ground.
"…Even after you return, make sure to continue practicing the Uchiha-ryu sword style."
Izuna looked at Kirito kneeling before him, feeling a sting in his nose. He was moved, but he didn't offer many parting words.
He believed—they would meet again.
By the time Kirito stood up again, Izuna had completely disappeared.
Kirito took a deep breath and turned toward the other battle, which had reached its 'final moments.'
Madara's health was nearly depleted—one more solid hit, and he would be defeated. Meanwhile, Lizbeth and Hariyama still had at least half of their health remaining.
Kirito observed for a few more seconds and suddenly realized something was off.
Madara wasn't dodging Lizbeth and Hariyama's attacks. Instead, he was deliberately moving into the path of their strikes.
On the other hand, Lizbeth and Hariyama hesitated with every punch and kick. Even when they were about to land a decisive blow, they suddenly forced themselves to stop.
This master-disciple battle was riddled with contradictions.
"…What are you doing, Lizbeth?"
Madara finally couldn't hold back his question.
"I… I can't bring myself to kill you, Master!"
Lizbeth stopped herself from attacking again and again, stubborn tears hanging at the corners of her eyes.
"…"
Madara halted, quietly watching the girl before him.
Seeing this, Lizbeth also stopped moving. She lowered her head and wiped her face with her hands.
"Liz."
Madara raised a hand and placed it on Lizbeth's head.
"I wasn't there for your birthday last month on the 18th. I hope it's not too late now—happy 16th birthday."
"…Mm."
Lizbeth nodded vigorously, then spread her arms and leaped into Madara's embrace.
"It's time to say goodbye. Your parents are waiting for you."
"…Mm."
Lizbeth stepped back, forcing herself to smile.
"When I return to that world, I'll eat properly, train every day… And I'm already 16—I'm an adult now. I won't cry so easily anymore. I'll study hard and make sure Mom and Dad live a happy life…"
"…"
Madara smiled as he watched Lizbeth ramble on, reaching out to wipe away the fresh tears streaming down her face.
"So… so you don't have to worry about me at all! Liz will live on just fine!"
"…I know."
Madara nodded, then extended two fingers and gently tapped Lizbeth on the forehead.
"Do you remember the first move I taught you? Use that to say goodbye."
With that, Madara took two steps back.
Lizbeth rubbed her face, then smiled radiantly once again.
"…Master, thank you."
She took a deep breath, then leaped forward. Her body spun, and she swung her right leg.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
Watching the girl execute the technique flawlessly, mirroring his own movements, Madara squinted his eyes and smiled.
"Liz… congratulations. You have graduated."
Boom!
As Lizbeth's final attack landed, Madara's health bar dropped to zero, shattering into countless fragments and disappearing from Aincrad.
The next moment—
"I can move again!"
"Did we… win?"
"Amazing! Lizbeth and Kirito, you were amazing!"
Players and Pokémon alike regained their freedom, standing up one after another.
As they looked at the message that appeared before them, some bid farewell to one another, while others arranged to meet in the real world.
[Congratulations! Achievement Unlocked: 'Liberator of Aincrad']
[You will be forcibly logged out in 10 minutes. Wishing you a happy life ahead.]
But not all players were celebrating.
Some rejoiced, while others felt sorrow.
For all non-'Trainers,' this was the message that appeared before their eyes.
However, for the 'Trainers' and 'Outcasts,' a different message awaited them.
Please choose:
[Continue to challenge an even stronger Boss. Failure means death, but victory will unlock the teleport gate to the 101st floor.]
Or—
[Be forcibly logged out in 10 minutes and return to the real world.]
Many trainers instinctively turned to their Pokémon.
Some choked on their words, unable to say anything, and simply pulled their Pokémon into a tight embrace.
Some promised to reunite in the next life before choosing to return to reality.
Some expressed gratitude for their Pokémon's companionship, vowing never to forget their time together.
And some remained expressionless—because they had already made their decision from the very beginning.
They would take their Pokémon to the 101st floor.
As the 10-minute countdown ended—
Beams of light shone all across Aincrad, and the number of players rapidly dwindled.
In the end—
SAO Survivors: 3,400.
These remaining players were either 'Trainers' or 'Outcasts.'
Originally, there had been 5,000 wild Pokémon in SAO. 4,800 had found their trainers, while the remaining 200 had been alone from start to finish.
This meant that 1,400 Trainers or Outcasts had either 'died' or chosen to abandon the risk of proceeding to the 101st floor.
Perhaps, in their hearts, there were more important things waiting for them in reality.
Or perhaps, deep down, they had always considered Pokémon to be nothing more than a part of the 'game.'
(End of Chapter)
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