On April 8, 2023, at the 11th Floor main town, Taft, the members of the «Moonlit Black Cats» guild were celebrating in an inn because Kirito had appeared and saved them.
The guild leader, Keita, extended an invitation to Kirito after he learned that he was a solo player. Hiding his true level, Kirito joined as a temporary member until the guild could be independent without him. Kirito was also asked to help with the stat development of another player named Sachi. A month later, Kirito and the guild were seen training in the Sunshine Forest on the 20th Floor, where Kirito assisted the guild in taking down a Killer Mantis.
To maintain his own level, Kirito kept sneaking out at night to go grind in the higher floor Labyrinths. After coming back from his self-leveling, he received a message from Keita, saying that Sachi had gone missing and that they were looking for her in the Labyrinth. He quickly found her within the drains of the city with the help of his «Tracking» skill. After learning that she was incredibly afraid of dying, Kirito tried his best to reassure her, constantly telling her that he would not let her die. Afterwards Kirito would commonly comfort Sachi whenever she was afraid, thus helping her sleep by being by her side.
Less than a month later, when the group finally collected 20,000 Cor, which was enough to purchase a guild home, Keita teleported to the Town of Beginnings to purchase a new base for the guild. While Keita was gone to buy the house, the other members decided to impress him by getting items from the labyrinths near the front lines. Kirito tried to object, but the members insisted they were strong enough. The group, excluding Keita, traveled to the 27th Floor Labyrinth, where they found a hidden door after finishing their hunting quota. Ducker, the guild's thief, picked the lock and found a treasure chest in the room. Kirito quickly recognized it as a trap, but he was too late, as the guild members had already opened the chest. The room suddenly turned red and a swarm of monsters surrounded them. The group's teleport crystals failed to activate; the trap was an Anti-Crystal Area with the only exit being sealed. Kirito tried to defend himself and reach Sachi while witnessing the other members fall one by one due to their low levels. Despite Kirito's effort to protect her, Sachi was killed as well. She had said something right before turning into polygons, but Kirito did not hear what she said due to the crisis.
Several months later, on December 24, 2023, Kirito met with the information broker Argo the Rat, questioning her about the location of the Christmas event boss. Obsessed about the possibility of a revival item said to be in possession of said boss, Kirito hoped to hear Sachi's last words. It did not matter to him whether she hated him or not, he would take all her anger. As it was nearly time for Christmas Eve, Kirito changed into better equipment while lamenting the death of his fellows. A flashback occurs where, Kirito informed Keita about the demise of the other members, and told him that he had known about the possible trap since he was at a higher level due to being a «Beater»; Keita cursed him and leaped off the Aincrad's edge into the endless sky.
Kirito then headed off to a 35th Floor dungeon, the Forest of Wandering. Along the way, Kirito was followed by Klein and his guild, Fuurinkazan. Klein initially wanted to fight alongside with Kirito against the Christmas boss, but Kirito refused. As Klein tried to convince his friend, another guild, the Divine Dragon Alliance, appeared near their location. Klein and his guild members decided to hold off the opposing guild while Kirito handled the boss, Nicholas The Renegade.
While Klein and his fellows rested from their fight, a halfhearted Kirito appeared before them. Klein asked what was wrong and Kirito handed him the the revival item, the «Divine Stone of Returning Soul». After reading the item's description, Klein found out that it could only save a player during their ten-second «End Phase». As Kirito started walking off into the distance, Klein stopped him and requested he live on till the end.
Kirito then headed back to his home and sulked in front of his desk while waiting for morning. Suddenly, Kirito was alerted by an incoming message in his inventory. To his surprise, he had received a recorded message from Sachi that was timed to appear at Christmas Day. After engaging the message record crystal, Kirito listened to the sound of Sachi's voice, telling him although she would probably be dead at that point, her death was not his fault. She mused on how her death was inevitable, and asked Kirito to fulfill her wishes. She ended the message by humming "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and thanking Kirito for all the time he had spent with her.
Rating: 8/10
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