The gang must survive the haunted house as they prepare for a challenge. Will the gang survive the night, or they'll forever lost from the headless knight, The Hallow Echo
I apologize for the wait! I'm wrapping up a really big paper this October, but I wanted to get this one done before Halloween! I hope that you enjoy! Link to AO3 version below, and Tumblr version below the cut!
“You’re fine! Just bear with it! You’re fi–aaaagh!”
Perhaps, at this moment, you’re wondering how it got to this point. All of your friends are trying their best to find one another in the pitch-black space while also keeping their guard up; this certainly wasn’t how the morning started. In fact, it had been a normal Saturday morning of just lying around in bed until a very excited text game through the group chat.
Kirito: guys! theres a horror event happening tonight!
Lis: waaah Kirito why did u wake me up for this
Kirito: we should totally do it!
Asuna: Kirito-kun, you *know* I don’t like this sort of thing…
Silica: im not scared!!!! i have pina! <3
Lis: ofc u would say that Silica
Silica: ;-;
(Y/N): ig im down. what time?
Klein: yeah, deets kiri-bro!
Sinon: wth are we all yelling about @ 10 on a Saturday???
Silica: spooky event…
Kirito: starts 10pm and runs til bout midnight. meet at the house in 22 @ thirty til?
Asuna: Kirito-kun! Come on!
Sinon: you don’t have to join, Asuna
Lis: ofc she does!!! dont wuss out Asuna heh
(Y/N): haha yeah, ill be on. see ya then.
Since Kirito had been a bit sparse with the details, you did yourself the favor of looking up what he meant. Alfheim Online was hosting a single-day event for Halloween that took place on a special map. Players could enter the space in groups to take on the challenge, giving each group their own scrambled map. There was no chance they’d run into any other groups during the challenge, so it wasn’t a fight for a single prize. Basically, it was a haunted mansion that was being disturbed by a field boss-level enemy called The Hallow Echo. No description was provided about what this mysterious boss looked like, but players would enter the house and be trapped inside of it for the duration of the event. They had two options for completion: survive the time limit without dying (flight) or defeat The Hallow Echo and escape (fight). The rewards were different for the two completion styles, with defeating the boss as having more desirable prizes.
The intensity of the quest mentioned that it was somewhere between medium to very hard depending on the overall stats of the party that entered and whether they chose fight or flight. It was designed in a way that ensured that the players who chose simply to play the evasion game could still get something out of it, even if higher level players wanted to challenge the difficult boss monster and reap the rewards of a battle well fought. You assume that the group will likely be trying to defeat the boss monster; if Kirito suggested it, then there’s definitely a cool prize he wants from the rewards. It’s an exciting event to look forward to.
At a little before 9:30 PM that evening, you log onto ALO and confirm that you’re in the log cabin. You typically log out there, but every so often, during a big quest you can’t be peeled away from, you’ll stay at an inn in the closest town over night so that you can get back to it faster. You’re relieved to find that you did, in fact, log out from within the cabin. Kirito appears to have already beat you there. He holds up his hand for a high-five. You grin and give him one.
“Glad you could make it, (y/n)!” he says.
You let him know that you’re excited to start the quest. It’s been a while since something big has happened that everyone could show up for. The others start appearing, the chatter in the little player home increasing until the last member, Agil, shows up. He had to wrap up some things at his café and bar before logging on, but the gang is finally all here. Asuna opens up a map with an uneasy look on her face and shows everyone where the haunted house appeared. Everyone checks their inventory to make sure they have enough potions, and then you’re off.
The haunted house itself it about a ten-minute flight from the cabin. It doesn’t take long for everyone to get there, and a small crowd of players has already started to gather around it. There’s a timer display in front of it, counting down to when the event will start. A few people are trying to shove their way to the front, but you know there’s no reason to do this. After all, every team will get their own map separate from the others. There’s no limit on how many people can enter at once; if that were so, they’d have to make more than one version of the house. The exterior is dark and gloomy, and the weather around it seems to have turned from a clear, moonlit night into a stormy one, with flashes of lightning cracking close enough to the top of the house that it might sound rather alarming from the inside.
“Ohhh, this is gonna be so good!” Lisbeth exclaims.
Asuna awkwardly chuckles.
“You don’t think there are any astral-type monsters in there, do you?” she mutters.
Kirito reaches down and grasps her hand, giving her a soft look.
“I’ll make sure they don’t come after you,” he says.
Sinon rolls her eyes.
“Get a room, you two,” she says.
Lisbeth laughs and smacks Asuna on the back.
“We’ll be fine!” she says.
The timer finally hits zero, and players all dash forward to enter the haunted house. Each party is sent into a separate map, so there’s no worry if some members are faster than the others. They’ll all end up in the same map as long as they’re registered in the same party. The speedier members of your party arrive first, so when you enter the space, Kirito, Asuna, and Leafa are already taking a look around the dimly lit hallways. Sinon trails in right on your tail. Lisbeth practically pushes Silica into the space, and Agil and Klein trot in behind her. Alice, for some reason, is bringing up the rear, her hand perched on the pommel of her sword as if expecting something to attack the group from behind. An NPC appears out of the shadows when there’s been about thirty seconds of no new entries to the space.
This NPC is an elderly woman with spindly grey hair sticking out of a tightly wrapped bun. She’s wearing clothing that you would expect to see the proprietress of a traditional Japanese inn wearing, which seems a bit out of place for the fairy world setting. It isn’t quite accurate, though; the cut of the fabric is wrong for a kimono or yukata, making it more of what one would imagine a quick, from-memory sketch of Japanese traditional clothing looked like from someone who’d seen it perhaps once. The designs on her dress also could be European in nature. Its coloring is either a dim blue or a grey, but it’s hard to tell in the low lighting. She bows at you all, and Kirito walks up to her. She starts to talk as soon as he initiates with a “hello.”
“Weary travelers, I’m afraid that this abode isn’t the friendly stay that it used to be,” the NPC says. “For years, I offered beds to those traveling across Alfheim, and I fed my tenants enough to fill their bellies for the road ahead they had to travel. As of late, however, there’s a disturbance in this house that keeps me from keeping adventurers overnight, so I’m afraid I can’t arrange beds for you this evening.”
It was a natural enough way to start a quest. Kirito prompts her for more.
“What kind of a disturbance?” he asks. “Is there any way we can help you out?”
The old woman scrunches up her forehead and sighs.
“There’s something haunting my home,” she laments. “It’s too much to ask of you, but if you would be willing to check it out for me, I’d be willing to pay you quite handsomely if you can get rid of it.”
A quest menu popped up in front of Kirito. He clicks the button to accept the quest, and then a darkened map appears in the corner of your vision. It seems like the map needs you to walk around in order to see the pathways. You suggest splitting the group in half. Everyone else agrees that this is a good plan, since the goal of the party is to locate The Hallow Echo and defeat him. You go with Kirito, Asuna, Silica, and Lisbeth. The other group of Sinon, Agil, Klein, Leafa, and Alice goes to the left, while you all go to the right. Along the path, there are smaller monsters that don’t take too much work to defeat as a team.
But things change when the lights all go out.
An echoing, guttural voice laughs in the halls. You can’t tell from which direction it’s coming; it’s all-encompassing. A light flickers in front of you for a moment as Kirito, you think, holds up a torch. In that moment, you lay eyes on its form—The Hallow Echo, a knight decorated in a dark armor that soaks up the blackness around it, with a sword hovering dangerously close to your own neck that is dripping with something wet and thick. A lone detail stands out in the center of the light; a gaping, dark hole sits where the knight’s head should be. As soon as you note this, Kirito’s torch is extinguished with a sizzle and a hiss, as if something licked its fingers and pressed them against the tip to put it out. The group lets out a collective scream, and they all leap backwards to avoid possibly getting hit by the knight’s weapon.
“Was that it?!” Lisbeth shouts.
Metal clangs against something solid in the dark, most likely the wall.
“That’s DEFINITELY it!” Kirito shouts back.
A yelp comes from your left. It sounded like Silica.
“Headless…why did it have to be headless?” Asuna mutters.
“How the hell are we supposed to defeat that thing in the dark?” Lisbeth asks.
Another clang slams down. It sounds like it hit the floor this time. Silica shrieks and you hear her jump up to her feet and start running. She winds up bumping into you.
“S-sorry, (y/n)!” she stammered.
You tell her it’s all right and give her a gentle pat on the head. The same echoing laugh as before greets you again, still feeling as though it’s all around you.
“Listen to the sound of its footsteps!” Asuna cries out. “When it’s close enough, attack it! If you hear it stop for too long, then it’s getting ready to use one of its attacks. Jump back if you hear no footsteps for more than six seconds!”
Despite her fear of the ghastly, Asuna takes full charge of the fight immediately. Her prowess as a leader always comes out in situations like this. Her methods work well for a bit, and as the group fights, you run into the others, who join in on Asuna’s strategy. Everything seems to be working well, up until you see The Hallow Echo’s HP fall into the last bar. Suddenly, his footsteps vanish all together, and his echoing laugh zooms around as if he’s floating through the air around you.
Suddenly the battle changes from a physical one to a true test of courage. You can feel things making grabs at your body in the dark. Touching the walls often renders a slimy, unpleasant texture. More than just the one laugh surrounds you; other voices echo in the halls, and sounds of chittering or scurrying accompany it. Now in an astral form, The Hallow Echo flies around you and sometimes through you, sending a cold chill inside of the space he passes through.
“I-I don’t know if I can do this any longer!” Asuna finally wails.
There’s a grunt from Kirito as he swings at the specter flying past him. You can hear a metal “clink!” as his sword hits the core inside of the ghastly figure.
“I-It’ll be fine! Just a b-bit longer, guys!” he reassures you all, though the words were most likely directed at Asuna more than anyone else.
“You’re fine!” Leafa cries. “Just bear with it! You’re fi–aaaagh!”
An arrow whizzes past your ear and hits The Hallow Echo’s core. The light from the arrow gives you enough space to swing at it. Your sword connects with the core inside, and this time, instead of just hitting it, it slices through it with a sound like glass shattering into hundreds of tiny pieces. White light bursts from the spot, and everyone can see The Hallow Echo in his full form once more as he dissipates into a black mist and gets swallowed up by the center of the light where the core burst. Everything is pitch black for a moment, and then the hallways light up with the same dim candles that you’d first seen when entering the haunted house. Right on cue, the elderly NPC walks up with her hands clasped together.
“Oh, thank you!” she cries. “How ever can I thank you for taking care of that monster for me?”
Kirito lets out a strained laugh.
“I-It’s our pleasure,” he says.
A few of the group members chuckle at his statement. The NPC waves her hands and points them at the group.
“Will this be enough?” she asks.
You all get a dialogue box showing you the quest rewards for beating The Hallow Echo. The prizes, as mentioned in the notice for the event, are quite handsome. A large sum of yrd is given, as well as some crystals that are useful in smithing. Everyone receives a weapon in their specific class that has quite high stats. Some rare potions are present as well. As you all leave the haunted house, high-fives are shared for a job well done.
As you log off for the night, you know you can rest well, as The Hallow Echo has been defeated, and the limited time quest didn’t escape your grasp.
Well, that is, unless he returns for revenge next year…
For anyone who wants to watch SAO but has heard about how awful it is after [x] point, I made a point to rewatch it and mark the points where there was unnecessary fan service (if it can be called that), fondling, groping, or partial nudity.
Without all that, SAO is actually a pretty okay anime with an interesting concept and a well-done main character arc (however, it does deal with heavy topics like suicide and depression at several points throughout, so watch out for that). Episode descriptions/avoid areas ahead!
Episode 1 and 2 are fantastic exposition and do a good job of introducing the world and the characters and generally setting the scene for how Kirito is going to be treated throughout the anime.
Episode 3 gives Kirito his Traumatic Backstory™, and deals with themes of guilt, depression, and suicide. Kirito blames himself for people's deaths henceforth and carries that weight with him for a Very Long Time.
I personally dislike episode 4, but it's important (at least, I think so) from a character-forming perspective. Kirito meets Silica, a childlike character who he compares to his sister. I assumed from the look in his eyes at the beginning of the episode that he was still recovering from the events of the previous episode, and hadn't smiled in quite a long time. Upon meeting Silica, however, he sees his sister in her and finds a reason to smile again. Unfortunately, from 9:40-10:00, she is shown wearing underwear in bed and, later in the episode, is practically fondled by various monsters (12:30-12:50 and 14:40-15:00). Other than these three scenes, the rest of the episode shows Kirito telling Silica about his family, fighting monsters with her, and treating her like a little sister. I would personally skip this particular episode because it squicks me out, which is why I included a description for anyone else who feels the same. This is also the episode where we're introduced to the concept of killer-players.
Episode 5 is actually a pretty cool episode! It reminded me that "real" is a subjective term, which is always interesting to me. I did count two unnecessary butt shots in this episode, but they're very quick. Oh, this is also Murder Mystery Episode Pt.1!
Episode 6 is Murder Mystery Episode Pt.2, and it is very fun because ghosts! This is also the episode where we are introduced to the main assassination guild. I counted one unnecessary butt shot in this one! Also, Grimlock is a nasty piece of shit.
Episode 7 is the Dragon Episode! I really like this one because of how it deals with Lisbet's feelings in the end, and how she decides to be happy for her friend instead of jealous like so many other awful "love triangle" situations.
Episode 8 has the Titty Squeeze Scene at 14:00-14:20, but is otherwise Very Domestic™ and cute! (Ugh, Kuradeel)
Episode 9 is important for plot reasons.
Episode 10 has a fun duel! Kuradeel is a nasty piece of shit and Asuna beats his ass for it. There is stripping at 19:20 because she misunderstood what Kirito meant by "stay in the same room" lmao
Episode 11 is 10/10 very good excellent! They are Domestic™! Asuna is a great mom and Kirito is a great dad!
Episode 12 made me laugh and then sob loudly very late at night. Watch out for themes of depression and a minor suicide scene later in the episode (nothing bloody or graphic; a minor character walks off the edge of the world).
Episode 13 is mostly very peaceful! It's very interesting to me to think about all these people trapped on lower floors because they aren't physically strong enough to level high enough to advance, and especially at the way they simply settle down somewhere and do something like fishing. Watch out for Kirito's personal trauma making another appearance later in the episode and mentions of suicide.
Episode 14 is The End. There is some self-sacrifice and sad boi hours.
It is my personal recommendation that anyone who has read up until this point should skip everything beyond episode 14. There is some nasty, nasty shit beyond this point including but not limited to imprisonment, gross verbal harassment and unwelcome sexual comments, non-consensual touching that makes me want to do something violent to a certain man's important parts, and almost-incest.
Chapters: 13/?
Fandom: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Relationships: Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna, Eugeo/Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito, Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Sachi
Characters: Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito, Yuuki Asuna | Asuna, Tsuboi Ryoutarou | Klein, Shinozaki Rika | Lisbeth, Ayano Keiko | Silica, Andrew Gilbert Mills | Agil, Kayaba Akihiko | Heathcliff, Sachi (Sword Art Online), Yui-MHCP001, Kirigaya Suguha | Leafa, Asada Shino | Sinon, Argo (Sword Art Online), Eugeo (Sword Art Online)
Additional Tags: Transgender Kirito, Bisexual Kirito, Gender Dysphoria, Canon Compliant, some canon divergence, For one Suguha doesn't want to date her brother, Nudity, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Character Death Follows Canon, Former Kirito x Sachi, Trans Male Character, Trans Character, Nonbinary Character
Summary:
The anonymous world of MMORPGs allowed Kirigaya Kazuto to express himself for who he really was without being questioned- and he thought the same would hold true in the VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online. But when the creator forces everyone to show their true face while they are trapped in the death game, he's once again trapped in the reality that people can and will change how they see him based on a glance. His safe haven now a waking nightmare, Kazuto must find the confidence to still be himself despite the removal of his mask: an unquestionably male avatar.
New Tales of the Ray's x Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag crossover outfits. Kirito = Juda from Tales of Destiny 2 Asuna = Velvet Crowe from Tales of Berseria Silica = Merida from Tales of Eternia Sinon = Alicia Diphda from Tales of Zestiria Leafa = Milla Maxwell from Tales of Xillia
The mobile game Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag has its 2nd Anniversary today, so I decided to pick up and finish off a previously unfinished sketch of a few of the cast as a few classic Namco heroes: Kirito in the armor of Gilgamesh from Tower of Druaga, Asuna as the Valkyrie of Legend of the Valkyrie, Sinon as...well, as close as could get to a Galaga-styled outfit, and Silica as the equally fluffy looking dream traveler, Klonoa!
Can you do a pov reader with SAO gang holiday special?
This was a fun challenge! I’ve only ever written ONE POV reader before, and it was an x Reader for a mutual’s birthday! I thought long and hard about how to fit the reader into this fic, and I think it turned out pretty decent! Let me know how I did!
As you’re walking home from school, your phone vibrates in your pocket. Since you’re on the train, you slip it out and check the notification, curious if it’s a friend texting or just your mom telling you what to do about dinner. To your delight, it’s a group text. You flip it open to see a few people have already responded to the initial message. It looks like Asuna’s invited everyone over to the log cabin for a small holiday party in ALO. Lisbeth spammed the chat with a bunch of excited emojis, and a few confirmations had already been sent from Sinon, Leafa, and Klein. You think about how much homework you have to do for a moment, and then, with a shrug, you decide that it’s just one day. You deserve to hang out with your friends, especially for the holidays.
With your confirmation typed up and sent, you smile and pocket your phone just in time to get off at your train stop. If you hurry and get a decent amount of homework done, you won’t have as much to worry about when you head to the ALO party later. You speed down the sidewalk at a quicker pace than usual, already feeling excited to have some much-needed break time from all of the school stress. Racing into your home, you barely stop long enough to slip into your house slippers and then you dash past the kitchen to grab a snack before you head into your room. You check the time. You have a couple of hours before the party.
In that time, you complete as much homework as you can, checking off each subject’s work as you go in your planner. You get a lot more done than you thought you would have; perhaps the motivation of the holiday party gave you more energy. When you’re finally closing the last tab on your homework readings, you breathe out a sigh of relief and turn your head to look at your Amusphere, sitting there on the headboard of your bed, waiting to be turned on. With an eager grin, you change into some more comfortable clothes for diving, crawl onto the bed after closing your door and putting a note on it for your family, and then you slip the Amusphere over your eyes. You say the two magic words that will take you to Alfheim, and before you know it, you’re materializing in the living area, receiving a smile from Asuna and Sinon, who are setting up the coffee table with little decorations.
“Oh, you’re a little early!” Asuna says. “Good! Can you take care of some of the decorations? Lisbeth was supposed to be here by now, but she’s running a little late because her mom needed her to do something.”
You’re eager to help, so you ask her what decorations need taking care of. As it turns out, they’ve purchased pretty much everything the game had to offer in the ways of holiday decorations. There were wreaths, decorative candles that burned in different colors to resemble holiday string lights, more traditional candles, lots of red and green ribbons and garlands, strings of popcorn, and candy canes. Asuna has even gone through the trouble of making everyone holiday outfits that fit with their ALO races. She gives you yours, and you equip it quickly to get in the spirit of the party.
Decorating goes fairly easy in ALO. All one has to do is hold something up to the wall and then press a button on the menu to say that it was where you wanted it. You take care of the wall decorations; Lisbeth and Silica show up a little after you and insist on putting up a tree by themselves. Sinon catches your eyes and rolls hers as Silica accidentally wrapps herself up in tree garlands. You can’t help but giggle at the sight. You’re stuck between untangling Silica and possibly taking a screenshot. In the end, Klein shows up and takes care of the issue—only to get himself stuck.
Alice and Eugeo are the next to arrive, closely followed by Agil. They get to work immediately, making sure everything is in place. By the time Kirito and Leafa arrive, most of the work was done. Sinon immediately accuses Kirito of trying to get out of sharing the work, and Asuna jumps to his defense quite calmly, saying that he wouldn’t have been much of a help anyways. Kirito looks as if he’d wilted. Eugeo pats him on the back, laughing and telling him that it was okay that he was late. Asuna shares the remainder of the holiday outfits with the latecomers, and soon, everyone is festively dressed.
The little log cabin looks splendid. You give Silica and Lisbeth a thumbs’ up for how nice the tree looks. The coffee and dinner tables both look grand, and they’d been filled with holiday-themed goodies, both traditional and ALO-specific treats. Asuna and Kirito said they’d paid for all of it. You think about how much yrd this all cost, and then you immediately put that thought out of your mind. They wouldn’t want you to think about that—they wanted everyone to have fun and spread cheer.
“Shall we propose a toast?” Agil suggests.
Lisbeth picks up a champagne glass and holds it in the air.
“Yeah, a toast!” she says. “To another year of successful questing!”
Kirito nods and picks up a glass of his own. You follow suit, and the others aren’t that far behind.
“It’s been a long year of adjusting,” he says. “But we’ve all come to appreciate this world as our own as much as the world we were born in. This holiday season, let’s just be grateful that we can be ourselves in VRMMOs freely.”
Sinon rolls her eyes.
“And cheers to the increased drop rate for the holiday event,” he throws in at the end.
Lisbeth snorts and starts laughing.
“Kiritooo,” she says. “Be serious!”
Asuna jumps in before Kirito could make things any less serious.
“Alright, everyone!” she says. “We’ve got the savory foods ready on the big table and the sweet ones are in here on the coffee table! Please, do, take as much as you like! There’s plenty for a few more rounds of completely filled plates! And drinks are in the kitchen!”
Not a word more needed to be said. Everyone hurries to grab a plate, and you find yourself trying to decide what all to try. The traditional treats could be found offline, but they were sure to be great, since Asuna most likely made them with her high cooking skill. On the other hand, the ALO holiday-themed treats were probably unique and interesting in their own right, and you’d never be able to recreate those in the real world—at least, not without some help from a decent cook friend, that is. In the end, you try to take a little bit of everything. After all, your virtual stomach doesn’t fill up the same way your real one did. You’d be safe trying as much food as possible.
You take a seat on the long futon in the living area, seated between Lisbeth and Sinon. Lisbeth, like you, has filled up her plate with everything she could fit on it, while Sinon has selected a few things and separated them evenly on her plate. You look across the room to see Kirito with an equally stuffed-looking plate in his usual place in the rocking chair, and Yui is seated on his head eagerly downing a gingerbread cookie. Asuna sits down beside them in the chair, and across from you, Leafa, Alice, and Silica take up the opposite futon. Klein and Agil have cornered Eugeo to ask him questions about life in the real world. Everyone seems excited and talkative.
“So, are you ready for the big New Year’s Eve quest?” Lisbeth asks you.
Nodding, you smile at her and tell her you’re making sure to have the whole night clear in order to come and complete it.
“It’s gonna be great!” she exclaimes.
Sinon chuckles and shakes her head.
“I think the eggnog is getting to her head, don’t you?” she asks.
You laugh and shake your head. Lisbeth is always easily excitable at these kinds of gatherings. You’ve been with this group long enough to know it’s just the spirit of being together that gets her going. You ask them if they’ve got any holiday plans with their families. Sinon is staying by herself. Lisbeth’s family is throwing a big gift exchange party, which apparently is mostly gag gifts for laughs. In turn, they ask you what you’ve got planned, and you tell them what your family plans to do and which parts you’re excited for and which you aren’t.
Asuna comes over and asks you if you’d like a refill on your drink. You nod and thank her as she pours you some more. It’s warm and smells delicious. It isn’t what you were drinking before, but you’re excited to drink it. Bringing it to your lips, you taste something spiced with a little tinge of apple. It’s a bit like a cider. Lisbeth sees the look on your face and excitedly leans over to ask Asuna for some of the drink. The drink, which Asuna calls Undine Spiced Wine, is a big hit with everyone in the group. By the end of the night, there’s not a drop left.
No one wants to leave, of course. There’s a bit of chatter—maybe on the actual date of the holiday, there’ll be a gift exchange. The rules are simple; the item has to cost two thousand yen or less. Kirito says everyone can meet at his house. Anyone who hasn’t been before should text him for the address. As your friends start to log out, you tell them to have a happy holiday as you tell each one goodbye. Finally, it’s just you, Asuna, and Kirito there. They turn to you and ask when you’re planning to log out. You tell them you don’t want the holiday party to end.
“Don’t worry, it’s not really the end,” Kirito says. “We’re just pausing to sleep before resuming at my place in a few days. You’ve got the address, right?”
You shake your head. You’ve only ever met up with them online.
“Oh, my bad!” Kirito says. “I’ll text it to you as soon as I log out. I look forward to seeing you! Bring something really fun! I know I’m hoping Klein will open the gag gift I’m bringing!”
Asuna jabs him in the ribcage.
“Kirito-kun!” she says. “You bring something nice!”
You laugh and thank him, telling them both that you’ll see them at school. You log out and return to your bedroom, hearing only the running heat. It sounds like your parents aren’t home just yet. You take off your Amusphere and roll over to see your phone lit up with the message from Kirito. It’s his address. You smile and clutch the phone to your chest.
Sword Art Online: Alicization EP#01 - Underworld: Inside an unknown VR environment, Kirito spends his days as a child with his friends Eugeo and Alice. One day the three explore a cave in the outskirts of the Human Territory and get lost, ending up at the boundary with the Dark Territory. In the occasion, Alice trips and falls with her hand touching the Dark Territory and is sentenced by the Integrity Knights to execution. Kirito attempts to stop Alice from being taken away, while Eugeo stands motionless despite Kirito's pleas. Soon after, Kirito awakens in the real world with no memory of what happened. Later in Gun Gale Online, Sinon, Kirito, Asuna, Silica, Lisbeth and Klein confront a mysterious squad that flees after one of them is taken down. After the battle, Sinon thanks the others for joining her against them and back to the real world at Agil's café, she invites Kirito and Asuna to join her in the upcoming edition of the BoB tournament to which they agree. In the occasion, Kirito reveals that he is working part-time for the Rath Company as a tester for a new Full-Dive technology known as "Soul Translator", or STL, and feels uneasy when he hears Alice's name. On their way home, Kirito and Asuna are attacked by Johnny Black, successor of Death Gun who succeeds in injecting Kirito with a poison syringe.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable EP#22 - Yoshikage Kira Just Wants to Live Quietly, Part 2: Kira uses his Killer Queen's ability to turn anything into a bomb, using a coin to deal heavy damage to Shigekiyo. Shigekiyo attempts to escape in order to reach Josuke, but Kira catches up to him, using a doorknob as a bomb to kill him. In his final moments, Shigekiyo has one of his Harvests bring Josuke a button that came off of Kira's jacket. Having seen Shigekiyo's soul pass by her realm, Reimi confirms to Josuke and the other allied Stand users that Shigekiyo was killed by the same person who murdered her, who they quickly realize is another Stand user. A few days later, Jotaro and Koichi trace the button to a shoe shop where Kira's jacket is being repaired. Just as the shop's owner attempts to reveal his customer's name, Kira kills him using his Killer Queen's second bomb, Sheer Heart Attack.
My Hero Academia: Final Exams Arc EP#36 - Stripping the Varnish: Yuga asks Ochaco if she likes Izuku, prompting an unexpected resolution to their match with Thirteen. Denki and Mina attempt to evade the buildings being toppled by Principal Nezu as he strategically cuts off their escape routes. Kyoka and Koji, who both have sound-dependent Quirks, struggle to come up with a strategy against Present Mic's overpowering noise. Mezo creates a distraction to allow Toru an opening against Snipe. Midnight takes out Hanta quickly, leaving Mineta alone against her somnambulist Quirk.
Black Clover: Witches’ Forest Arc EP#56 - The Man Named Fanzell Continued: In another flashback, Fanzell arrives at the Bulls headquarters to ask Noelle about her wand. She confirms it was crafted by Dominante proving that she is still alive. However, the headquarters are attacked by Diamond Kingdom assassins led by Mariella and Galleo, the assassin’s commander. The Black Bulls effortlessly defeat Galleo and the assassins. Fanzell, Asta and Noelle are teleported by Finral to the Black Market where they find Dominante, who punishes Fanzell for taking so long to find her. Mariella arrives and reveals that meeting Asta made her realise she also had grown tired of working for the Diamond Kingdom, so she had the assassins attack the Bulls, knowing the Bulls would defeat them. She offers to be imprisoned for her crimes, but they are interrupted by Galleo who escaped the Bulls and heard everything Mariella said. He attempts to kill her but is effortlessly defeated by Asta and Fanzell. Fanzell, Dominante and Mariella become friends again and decide to leave together, saying goodbye to the Bulls. In the present, Noelle and Finral tell Fanzell, Dominante and Mariella about Asta's arms. Dominante tells them the only magic she knows of that might help belongs to the Queen of the Witch's Forest. Elsewhere, Vanessa is seen entering the Witches’ Forest and disappearing through a door.
Hunter x Hunter: The Chimera Ant Arc EP#129 - Formidable Enemy Joy × And × Clear Objective: As Meruem approaches the palace, Pouf's clone continues searching for Komugi before finding her under Killua's guard. Claiming that he intends to rescue her, Pouf convinces her to resist against Killua to give him an opening to kill her instead, but Killua realizes this and successfully protects her from him. Meanwhile, Gon and Pitou are about to reach Kite's location.
Synopsis
One year after the SAO incident was resolved, Kirito is adjusting to a normal life once again as best he can. He thinks all that death is finally behind him, until he is approached with some startling information.
In the wildly popular pro shooter MMO Gun Gale Online, an ominous player has shot players in the game, and the same players mysteriously turned up dead in real life. Kirito feels himself being pulled in as if by the shadow of SAO and agrees to investigate. He must now tread back into the dark world of his past with the help of the troubled, ice-cold sniper Sinon as he searches for the player who only refers to himself as “Death Gun.”
Sword Art Online: Alicization War of Underworld Part 2 – Final Season: Tràn Trề Cảm Xúc Cùng Máu Lửa Bao Trùm Trận Đại Chiến
Vừa qua trang thông tin chính thức của đ���i ngũ sản xu��t Sword Art Online: Alicization – War Of Underworld phần 2 đã tung ra một trailer mới, “thách thức” sự kiên nhẫn của các fan.
Chính thức lên sóng vào tháng 7
Trang Twitter chính thức của Sword Art Online: Alicization bản anime truyền hình đã được ấn định ngày ra mắt phần 2 của War Of Underworld “Final Season” là vào ngày 11 tháng 7 năm 2020, thay vì tháng 4 năm nay như thông báo trước đó vì sự ảnh hưởng của đại dịch Covid-19 tại Nhật Bản.
Phần mới nhất của anime SAO sẽ được chuyển thể từ Arc Alicization bản gốc ở light novel, phần truyện tranh Sword Art Online: Alicization trước đó cũng đã được họa sĩ Koutarou Yamada cho ra mắt vào năm 2016.
Về phần âm nhạc thì qua trailer lần này, các fan có thể dễ dàng nhận ra giọng hát của ReoNa – người trình bày ca khúc Opening “ANIMA” và ca sĩ Eir Aoi với phần trình bày ca khúc ending “I will…”
Sau nhiều tháng trì hoãn vì sự ảnh hưởng của đại dịch Covid-19 thì không lâu nữa đây, các fan của tác phẩm đình đám Sword Art Online có thể tiếp tục cùng với Kirito, du hành vào một thế giới Underworld ly kỳ.
Mặc dù việc hiện tại Kirito vẫn chưa tỉnh là điều khiến không ít bạn bè của Kirito ruột gan cồn cào, thế nhưng với các fan có lòng tin mãnh liệt dành cho main thì việc anh tỉnh là… đương nhiên. Câu hỏi đặt ra là, vào thời điểm nào thì Kirito mới chịu tỉnh??
Trailer hơn 2 phút với những phân cảnh rực lửa
Ở các trailer trước, đội ngũ sản xuất anime đã được thông báo sẽ lên sóng Final Season của Alicization Arc vào ngày 11 tháng 7 năm nay. Anime Sword Art Online: Alicization sẽ được phát sóng ở các kênh Tokyo MX, BS11, Tochigi TV, Gunma TV, MBS và Abema TV; lên sóng ở AT-X vào ngày 12 tháng 7 và lên sóng ở Aichi TV vào ngày 14 tháng 7 năm 2020.
Đoạn trailer vỏn vẹn 2 phút 12 giây của Sword Art Online: Alicization – War Of Underworld phần 2 đã nhanh chóng thu hút đông đảo sự chú ý của các fan với những phân cảnh chiến đấu hết sức máu lửa nhưng cũng ngập tràn cảm xúc.
Trong khoảng 24 giây đầu tiên của trailer, những hình ảnh trắng đen gợi nhớ về khoảng thời gian khi Kirito, Eugeo và Alice khi còn là những đứa trẻ sống, cùng nhau trong một ngôi làng nhỏ bình yên và vui vẻ đã gợi lên nhiều ký ức tốt đẹp.
Thế nhưng những tháng ngày bình yên không kéo dài quá lâu, Alice vô tình phạm phải điều cấm của Underworld và bị bắt đi, để rồi sau đó cô trở thành một Kiếm sĩ của hội Hiệp Sĩ Hợp Nhất, trải qua nhiều đau đớn và rồi âm thầm trở về làng, bất chấp sự sỉ vả của người dân ở đây để chăm sóc cho Kirito – lúc này đã bất tỉnh.
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Khoảng thời gian bình yên với những vết thương âm ỉ trong trái tim của Alice dường như là dấu hiệu chuẩn bị cho một “cơn bão” – một cuộc Đại chiến sắp bắt đầu.
Từ giây 25 trở đi, vô vàn những gương mặt quen thuộc đã lần lượt xuất hiện, với câu nói mấu chốt của một trong các người bạn của Kirito ở bên thế giới thực – những người đang cực kỳ sốt ruột theo dõi cuộc chiến bên trong Underworld: “nếu như có ai đó tích lũy được hình ảnh tình thần mạnh mẽ của cậu ấy”…
Liệu “ai đó” rồi sẽ là ai? Người có thể khiến cho Kirito thức tỉnh là Asuna tình nguyện dâng hiến tất cả trái tim và tinh thần mình, hay là Alice với lòng tin tưởng tuyệt đối vào vị “kiếm sĩ tuyệt vời nhất”?
“Ôn tập” sơ lược nội dung của mùa trước
Trong phần Sword Art Online: Alicization, Kirito đã tình nguyện tham gia với tư cách là người hỗ trợ ở dự án phát triển giao diện FullDive thế hệ thứ 4 – Soul TransLator bằng cách thử nghiệm tính năng gia tốc thời gian.
Tuy nhiên, sau khi buổi thử nghiệm kết thúc thì anh không giữ được bất cứ ký ức gì về thế giới này vì đã bị hệ thống khóa ký ức lại. Vào một buổi tối nọ khi anh cùng Asuna cùng nhau về nhà, Kirito đã bị tấn công bởi Johnny Black ở thế giới thực, Kirito bị trúng độc khiến tim ngừng đập và não thiếu oxy nên đã ngay lập tức rơi vào trạng thái bất tỉnh.
Sau đó để cứu anh thì Asuna đã nhờ đến sự giúp đỡ của nhiều người, cuối cùng lại để “mất dấu” anh, mãi cho đến khi cô tìm được đến căn cứ Ocean Turtle, nơi mà thân thể thực của Kirito vẫn bất tỉnh và được kết nối với một hệ thống đưa ý thức của anh vào thế giới Underworld.
Thế giới của Underworld có thời gian trôi nhanh gấp 1000 lần so với thế giới thực, ở đây, anh sống ở một ngôi làng nhỏ và có hai người bạn thân thiết là Alice và Eugeo. Trải qua nhiều sự kiện, cuối cùng Kirito, Alice và Eugeo đã phải giao chiến cùng Administrator.
Sau trận chiến, Kirito cuối cùng cũng đã kết nối được với thế giới thực, nhưng bất ngờ Ocean Turtle bị tấn công, đe dọa đến nguồn điện đang duy trì thiết bị kết nối giữa thân thể thực và ý thức của Kirito, khiến cho ở Underworld, Kirito đột ngột bất tỉnh, trở thành cái xác không hồn…
Những gương mặt sẽ xuất hiện trong mùa mới
Kết thúc mùa trước, thân thể thực của Kirito thì “sập nguồn”, dẫn đến ý thức cũng không thể duy trì trạng thái tỉnh táo ở thế giới Underworld. Eugeo trong khi giao đấu với Administrator đã biến bản thân thành Kiếm và rồi tử trận, còn lại mỗi mình Alice đưa Kirito và Thanh kiếm Eugeo quay về làng.
Bất chấp sự sỉ vả của những người xung quanh, Alice vẫn hết mình chăm sóc cho Kirito. Trong khi đó ở thế giới thực, Asuna và những người bạn đang hết sức mệt mỏi vì phải chống chọi cùng lực lượng bí ẩn đột ngột tấn công vào căn cứ Ocean Turtle.
Bằng tất cả sự quan tâm, từ khi kết thúc anime mùa trước, nhiều fan đã mạnh dạn dự đoán Asuna chắc chắn sẽ tìm cách để đến Underworld để giải cứu Kirito. Ở trailer mới nhất thì đây không còn là đoán mò nữa, mà Asuna đã thực sự tiến vào Underworld và chiến đấu đến mức… tàn tạ, người đầu máu me.
Không dừng lại ở Asuna, những người bạn thân thiết của cả hai cũng lần lượt xuất hiện vô cùng kịp thời, khiến cho những giây phút căng thẳng nhất trở nên thật sự kịch tính: đó là sự xuất hiện của Leafa, Sinon vô cùng chất chơi, hào nhoáng.
Ngoài ra, sự xuất hiện của một dàn các nhân vật bá đạo như: Klein, Agil, Silica, Liz, thậm chí là Eugene, Bercouli cùng với không ít gương mặt thân quen đến từ GGO. Dee cũng xuất hiện ở đây, cô chẳng những chưa chết mà còn quay trở lại với một mái tóc galaxy cá tính thời thượng! Đặc biệt là màn đối đầu của Bercouli và Gabriel đã tạo ra không ít mưa máu gió tanh….
Với Sword Art Online: Alicization – War Of Underworld, trận đại chiến này chẳng khác gì một bữa tiệc chiêu đãi fan yêu thích thể loại action hành động với vô vàn màn đấu đối kháng căng thẳng, kịch tính và… vô cùng kích thích.
Tạm kết, trong số các anime sắp quay trở lại với một mùa mới vào tháng 7 tới đây, thì Sword Art Online: Alicization – War Of Underworld “Final Season” được xem là một trong những cái tên nổi bật nhất bởi phần này hứa hẹn sẽ tháo gỡ nhiều gút mắc mà mùa trước để lại.