"Boy, what is that? A small shield worn on the arm? Are you ready now?"
"Yeah, my preparations are complete. Asuna, give the signal."
Asuna loudly declared the start of the battle.
"Begin!!!"
With Asuna's signal, perhaps intending to test the waters, Kiyomori swung his katana down toward Hachiman's left shoulder with a motion that looked almost casual.
Hachiman attempted to block it with Acht, but in that instant, the form of Kiyomori's sword blurred. Hachiman instinctively pulled his right leg back, taking Kiyomori's attack in the space where his right shoulder had just been.
"You're doing some interesting things, geezer."
"Ho. You saw through it well, boy."
Kiyomori spoke and lightly backstepped. The moment he landed, he kicked off the ground and brought his sword down toward Hachiman's left arm again.
Hachiman stepped in to take a counter, slamming Acht into the base of the blade, and thrust the dagger in his right hand toward Kiyomori's heart. No—to be precise, he started to thrust.
In that split second, Hachiman released the dagger and immediately crouched down.
Kiyomori's blade passed over his head. Realizing there was no resistance, Kiyomori immediately backstepped again, rested his sword on his shoulder, and spoke in admiration.
"You dodged that, boy?"
Hachiman caught the dagger he had released in mid-air and retorted.
"You're the one who's surprisingly nimble, geezer. I thought I had that counter for sure."
Most of the people watching the scene had no idea what had just happened. Suddenly, an announcement echoed through the area.
"Asuna-chan, explain."
With those words, a microphone suddenly appeared in Asuna's hand. It seemed Haruno had appointed Asuna as the commentator.
Asuna proceeded to explain the exchange that had just occurred.
"Simply put: Hachiman-kun stepped in to take a counter, and the moment he deflected the sword with the equipment on his left arm, Kiyomori-san used that force to spin and attempted to take Hachiman-kun's head with a horizontal slash. However, Hachiman-kun realized this, released his weapon, and dropped to the ground. Because of that, Kiyomori-san retreated, and Hachiman-kun caught his released weapon in mid-air. That is the sequence of events."
The moment the explanation finished, a slow-motion replay of the exchange appeared on the monitors of everyone watching the battle. It was truly a comprehensive service.
"Hey, Tomomori. To be able to match Father when he's regained the strength of his youth... just who is Hachiman-kun?"
"Oh, nothing special. Just a hero, Nee-san."
Keiko, watching the battle from the Sleeping Forest, asked Tomomori, and he answered nonchalantly.
Elsewhere, Komao was glued to the monitor in excitement.
"As expected of Hachiman-san. His skills haven't rusted at all."
Yoshikata, astounded by the exchange, asked Komao:
"H-hey. Can you do something like that too?"
"Impossible for me, Dad. The only people who can do something like that are the two in that arena, and maybe one other person."
"Shozo-san's daughter is that strong too...? I see. If she can show us this level of skill, I can understand why SAO was cleared faster than predicted."
With Asuna's commentary finished, Hachiman and Kiyomori took their stances once more.
"Well then, what will you do next?"
"You aren't as tough as I thought. I'll end it with the next one."
"Well, I wonder if it will go that smoothly?"
"Of course it will."
Hachiman walked forward nonchalantly. Kiyomori was caught off guard but tensed his muscles to swing his sword up to intercept Hachiman.
In that instant, Hachiman dashed right into Kiyomori's space, sweeping his dagger from inside to out with all his might, landing a perfectly timed counter.
"You think I'll fall for that again!"
Kiyomori roared, forcefully suppressing the impact on his sword with sheer strength. He folded his arm, stepped in with his left leg, and unleashed a fierce thrust toward Hachiman's defenseless face.
"Ah."
Even Asuna's heart jumped at the sharpness of that thrust.
But just as Kiyomori's blade pierced toward Hachiman's face, Hachiman's figure suddenly vanished like a shadow.
Hachiman had kicked Kiyomori's advancing left leg with his own right leg, forcibly twisting his body to dodge the thrust.
"Not bad! But in that posture..."
CLANG!
You can do nothing—just as Kiyomori was about to say it, a silver flash streaked through the air. Accompanied by the sound of impact, Kiyomori felt a shock run through his sword.
Looking closely, Acht had slid forward, pushing Kiyomori's sword upward.
"Nu...?"
Hachiman landed on his left leg and righted himself. He pushed Acht forward to protect his front and bent his left elbow.
However, his stance was still unstable. Seeing this, Kiyomori gripped his sword firmly, put every ounce of his strength into it, and swung down toward Hachiman's exposed left side.
"Got you!"
CLANG!
In that instant, Hachiman slid Acht backward, deflecting Kiyomori's sword outward as if he had been waiting for it.
"What!?"
CLANG!
In the next moment, Acht slid forward again, smashing into Kiyomori's jaw, leaving his neck completely exposed before Hachiman.
Hachiman stepped in with his right foot and swung the dagger in his right hand horizontally with a casual motion.
"Wh-what just happened..."
Kiyomori could only perceive a silver shadow flashing like lightning. Not understanding what was going on, he desperately tried not to let go of his sword, swinging it frantically at the space in front of him where he thought he could attack. But with that final strike from Hachiman, his sword finally stopped obeying him.
After muttering those words, Kiyomori's vision spun violently vertically. Images of what seemed to be his own body and Hachiman's face flashed in and out of view.
After feeling an impact on his head, Kiyomori's vision fixed upside down. The last thing he saw was Hachiman reaching out toward his face and lifting it upwards.
(I see. I've been beheaded...)
Kiyomori's consciousness cut out for a moment.
"WOAAAAAH! The Hachiman-san and Acht combo really is the strongest!"
In the Kuninaka household, the moment Kiyomori's head was sent flying by Hachiman's hand, Komao pumped his fist and roared.
Yoshikata was surprised by this unfamiliar side of his son, but he was also stunned, unable to grasp what had just happened on the screen.
The battle between Hachiman and Kiyomori was then replayed in slow motion with Asuna's commentary. Understanding everything, Yoshikata looked up to the heavens, realizing an era had ended.
Symbolizing this, Asuna concluded the broadcast on screen:
"And so, as expected, this match has ended in our victory, quite easily as you can see. It might have looked like a cruel scene for a moment, but this is essentially a game, so look, everything is back to normal. And for those watching this broadcast who were still undecided on their position, please don't forget that if you don't contact Kuninaka-san soon, you'll be in serious trouble."
Just as she said, Kiyomori was lying there on the ground, limbs intact as if nothing had happened.
Asuna smiled and waved at the camera, then ran over to Hachiman, ending the broadcast.
For quite a while after that, the sound of incoming calls continued to ring endlessly from Yoshikata's phone.
"...!"
Kiyomori felt his consciousness rapidly awakening.
Opening his eyes, he found himself lying spread-eagle on the ground, with Hachiman and Asuna peering down at him.
"I see. I lost, huh..."
"Obviously. Who do you think I am?"
Kiyomori took the hand Hachiman offered and stood up. Looking down, he saw he was back to his aged self, and the swords and everything else had vanished.
"Kuh, I haven't lost yet."
"Oi geezer, didn't you just say 'I lost'?"
"Did I say such a thing? My memory gets terrible as I age, it's no good."
"Don't play the old man card only when it suits you."
"By the way, boy. What on earth did you do at the end?"
Kiyomori abruptly changed the subject. Since it happened in an instant, he apparently couldn't understand exactly what had occurred.
"Well, you should see for yourself. Argo, can you hear me? Play the slow motion again."
A monitor appeared in front of Kiyomori, displaying the battle from moments ago. After watching it to the end, Kiyomori stared at Acht and spoke to Hachiman with frustration.
"What is that thing? That's cheating, boy."
"Call it what you want. That's the precious partner that fought through SAO with me."
"Nu... is that so... Then I suppose it can't be helped."
Kiyomori looked Hachiman straight in the eye and said:
"Once again, this match is my loss. Boil me, bake me, do as you please."
"Boiled or baked geezer sounds inedible, but if you're offering, then play along with one thing for me."
"Play along?"
"Kaede, you can come in now."
"Okay!"
Kiyomori spun around in surprise at the voice. A door had appeared behind him without him noticing, and Kaede emerged from it. Seeing Kiyomori, Kaede ran toward him happily and hugged him tight.
"Grandpa!"
"Ka-Kaede..."
Having just refused to acquire a Medicuboid for Kaede out of stubbornness the other day, Kiyomori didn't know what to do and simply stood there, stunned.
"Oi geezer, just hug her already."
"But I... I..."
"Look, Kaede looks confused. Read the room, geezer."
True to his words, Kaede was looking at Kiyomori's face uncertainly. Seeing her like that, Kiyomori began to weep. Kaede looked surprised and hurriedly asked him:
"Grandpa, why are you crying? Did someone bully you?"
"No. I'm crying because... I'm happy to see you, Kaede."
"Really? Kaede is super happy to see Grandpa too!"
"I see, I see."
Kiyomori wiped his tears, gently hugged Kaede, and smiled at her. Seeing that smile, Kaede seemed relieved and said:
"Hey Grandpa, do you remember where this is?"
Hearing that, Kiyomori realized the scenery around them had changed. He must have recalled where it was immediately, as he stroked Kaede's head and said:
"Of course I remember. I used to play here with you all the time."
"You remembered! Then, will you play with Kaede here like you used to?"
"Of course I will."
Kiyomori gladly accepted Kaede's request. Together with Hachiman and Asuna, they played until Kaede was satisfied.
After some time had passed, Kaede seemed content and smiled at Kiyomori.
"Grandpa, thank you so much for today. Kaede was really happy!"
"Yes, yes. Grandpa had fun too, Kaede."
"Now I have no regrets, Grandpa. Even if Kaede goes away, please keep smiling forever, okay? That's Kaede's last wish to you!"
"Geezer. Don't cry. Smile."
Hachiman whispered urgently into Kiyomori's ear.
Desperately holding back his tears, Kiyomori smiled at Kaede and said:
"Yes. Of course I will keep smiling forever."
"Yep! It's a promise!"
Keiko, who must have logged in to check on them, appeared.
"Kaede, I've come to pick you up."
"Mom!"
Kaede ran happily to Keiko, turned back to them, and waved goodbye.
"Okay then, Grandpa, Big Brother, Big Sister, Kaede is going home with Mom!"
"Yeah. Kaede, take care."
"Kaede-chan, let's play again."
"Kaede. Grandpa... had a lot of fun today."
"Yep! See you later!"
Kaede was led away by Keiko, returning to their home in virtual reality.
"Alright geezer, let's head back."
"...Yeah."
"Geezer, I said don't cry."
"This is just sweat."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure."
Kiyomori gazed longingly in the direction Kaede had gone, then logged out.
After a momentary break in consciousness, Kiyomori woke up on the futon prepared for his login. Feeling someone sit up next to him, Kiyomori spoke without looking over.
"Boy. About Kaede... I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"Make sure you keep the terms of the bet too, geezer."
"Of course. I have no intention of grumbling about that now."
"Good. Then apart from that, I have a request."
"Let's hear it."
"We might be able to save Kaede. Lend me a hand for that."
Hearing those words, Kiyomori stared at Hachiman's face in shock.
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