Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online light novel volume 1 cover featuring main characters Kirito (left) and Asuna (right)
ソードアート・オンライン (Sōdo Āto Onrain)
Genre	Action, Romance, Science fantasy
Light novel
Written by	Reki Kawahara
Illustrated by	abec
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Original run	April 10, 2009 – ongoing
Volumes	12 (List of volumes)
Manga
Sword Art Online: Aincrad
Written by	Reki Kawahara
Illustrated by	Tamako Nakamura
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Seinen
Imprint	Dengeki Comics
Magazine	Dengeki Bunko Magazine
Original run	September 2010 – May 2012
Volumes	2
Manga
Sword Art Online 4-koma
Written by	Reki Kawahara
Illustrated by	Jūsei Minami
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Imprint	Dengeki Comics EX
Magazine	Dengeki Bunko Magazine
Original run	September 2010 – ongoing
Volumes	1+
Manga
Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance
Written by	Reki Kawahara
Illustrated by	Hazuki Tsubasa
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Magazine	Dengeki Bunko Magazine
Original run	May 2012 – ongoing
Anime television series
Directed by	Tomohiko Itō
Music by	Yuki Kajiura
Studio	A-1 Pictures
Licensed by	AU Madman Entertainment NA Aniplex USA
Network	Tokyo MX, tvk, TVS, TVA, RKB,HBC, MBS, AT-X, Chiba TV,BS11
Original run	July 7, 2012 –December 22, 2012
Episodes	25 (List of episodes)
Light novel
Sword Art Online: Progressive
Written by	Reki Kawahara
Illustrated by	abec
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Original run	October 10, 2012 – ongoing
Volumes	1 (List of volumes)
Game
Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment
Developer	Namco Bandai Games
Publisher	Namco Bandai Games[1]
Genre	Action RPG
Rating	CERO: C
Platform	PSP
Released	March 14, 2013[2]
Anime and Manga portal

[edit]Plot

List of Sword Art Online characters

Main characters

Kirito (キリト Kirito) / Kazuto Kirigaya (桐ヶ谷 和人 Kirigaya Kazuto)

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese)

Kazuto, who uses the portmanteau "Kirito" as his character name, is a "solo" player who has been branded a beater (a portmanteau of beta tester and cheater) by the players in Sword Art Online. When it is announced that the players of Sword Art Online can no longer log-out, he is distraught like everyone else, but quickly overcomes the shock. He power levels to improve his odds of survival in the game, and emerges as a frontline clearer of floors known as the Black Swordsman (黒の剣士 Kuro no Kenshi^?). In SAO, he is the sole possessor of a unique skill, «Dual Blades». During his time in SAO, he falls in love with a female player, Asuna, and even marries her in-game.

After the end of the Sword Art Online incident, 300 people have yet to wake up including Kirito's SAO wife Asuna. He is sent a picture from another VRMMORPG called Alfheim Online in which Asuna could be seen in a cage on the legendary World Tree, which no Alfheim player had ever reached directly, Kirito decides to take a copy of the game and rescue Asuna nonetheless. Shortly after joining Alfheim, he befriends another player called Leafa. Leafa helps Kirito grasp the game and offers to help him reach the world tree. After a long journey and many adventures, Kirito manages to reach the world tree and overcomes its obstacles to reach the top. He rescues Asuna and discovers that his companion Leafa was actually his cousin Suguha. As ALO and SAO share the same game engine among other features, a bug allows Kirito to retain most of the skills and money he obtained in SAO upon playing ALO with the same Nerve Gear, already beginning his journey with an advantage over other players, despite he ends up forced to discard all items as they were not recognized by the system except the one containing Yui, which reformats itself as a navigation pixie.

He is later asked to register in Gun Gale Online in order to investigate real life murders that are somehow linked with assassinations in-game. It is soon revealed that the murders are committed by ex-players from Sword Art Online, who were part of a player killing group known as Laughing Coffin. His actions result in the capture of two out of the three culprits. The last member escapes and is not heard of until the events of volume 9, and is responsible for an attempted murder of Kazuto.

In the Alicization Arc, he has been assisting in the development of the fourth generation full dive interface, Soul Translator, by testing its thought acceleration functions. However, he has no memory of what he has been doing as a result of his memories being suppressed, voluntarily, by the system. He is attacked and poisoned by Johnny Black (The third culprit who escapes) in the real world and wakes up in Underworld with no memory of the game or how he got there. He meets up with Eugeo and helps him out of some tough situations, during which he partially remembers his time with Eugeo and Alice during his "childhood" in Underworld. He then decides to aid Eugeo in finding Alice while he searches for a way out, back to reality.^[2]

In the real world, he lives with his mother and younger cousin/sister in a family of three. He was adopted by Minetaka and Midori Kirigaya (Suguha's parents). His mother (who is actually Midori's sister) and father passed away after an accident when he was a year old. He finds out the truth at age ten.

Asuna (アスナ Asuna) / Asuna Yūki (結城 明日奈 Yūki Asuna)

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese)

Asuna is a friend of Kirito, and a sub-leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, a medium-sized guild acknowledged as the strongest guild in Aincrad. Being one of the few girls that play SAO and extremely attractive, she receives many invitations and proposals. Asuna is a strong-willed, accomplished player known in-game as the "Flash" (閃光 Senkō^?) for her extraordinary sword skill.

Later, she falls in love with Kirito and they marry in-game. Towards the end of the SAO arc, she sacrifices herself to save Kirito from a killing blow by Heathcliff. However, her death was only in-game and she is shortly reunited with Kirito shortly after he dies defeating Heathcliff.

Despite the completion of SAO, Asuna does not wake up and is instead imprisoned in another VRMMORPG called Alfheim Online. She is forced to play the role of Titania the Queen of Fairies, with Nobuyuki Sugō, the man responsible for imprisoning her, playing as Oberon the Fairy King. This was done so that Nobuyuki Sugō could marry Asuna in the real world, while she was unconscious, and thus take over RCT Progress Inc. She constantly tries to get out of the World Tree where she is imprisoned and escape going so far as to steal a GM card which she throws out of the window when she hears Yui's voice. Upon being freed she created two avatars for Alfleim, Asuna (being the healer of the team) and Erika (a battle type avatar) and went on living with Kirito.

In the real world, Asuna lives a very stressful life, and is constantly pressured to fulfill her parents' high expectations. Prior to the SAO incident, she led her life unquestioningly according to her parents' demands. However, after living in SAO and meeting Kirito, she gains perspective and looks back on her past with disgust. She eventually becomes Kirito's girlfriend, and dreams of marrying him and having a family with him in the real world when they saw a family at the park. 

Leafa (リーファ Rīfa) / Suguha Kirigaya (桐ヶ谷 直葉 Kirigaya Suguha)

Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu (Japanese)

Suguha, alias Leafa, is Kirito's younger cousin in the real world. She is a diligent worker and has been practicing Kendo for 8 years. Kirito/Kazuto calls her "Sugu". After Kazuto gets trapped in Sword Art Online, she begins playing Alfheim Online in an attempt to understand him better. She develops feelings for Kazuto after she learns that he is not really her brother, but understands that his feelings for Asuna are too strong. Coincidentally, she meets Kazuto's avatar, Kirito, in Alfheim and aids him in his search for Asuna, unaware of Kirito's true identity. After understanding the depth of Kazuto's love for Asuna, she resolves to give up on him and instead becomes attached to Kirito in ALO, but later is heartbroken when she finds out that Kazuto and Kirito are one and the same. Nevertheless, she pulls herself together and aids Kirito in rescuing Asuna.

Yui (ユイ Yui)

Voiced by: Kanae Itō

Initially a side story character in SAO, Yui later becomes an accompanying/support character in ALO. At first thought to be a lost child in SAO, she is actually an artificial intelligence program. Her full designation is «Mental Health - Counselling Program», MHCP version 1, codename, «Yui». She was designed to monitor the emotions of players and appear at their sides to hear and help them out. However, since the moment everyone was imprisoned in Sword Art Online, she was forbidden to come in contact with the players and complete her prime directive. Unable to do anything but suffer as she monitored the emotions of the trapped players, she came upon Kirito and Asuna whose emotions stood out as a beacon of joy and peace in a sea of fear and despair. She sought them out, appearing to them as an amnesia child whom they adopted. In the end she was nearly deleted by Cardinal, the management system of SAO. But Kirito saved her by converting and storing her data into his own Nerve Gear. Yui later shows up in ALO as a Private Navigation Pixie and helps Kirito along with Leafa to find Asuna. She refers to Kirito as "Papa" and Asuna as "Mama" and gets very annoyed if any girl other than Leafa or Asuna gets close to Kirito. Kirito uses his skills and resources in the real world to construct a device for Yui to view the real world even while she is in virtual reality and gives her the ability to communicate with them.

Sinon (シノン Shinon^?) / Shino Asada (朝田 詩乃 Asada Shino)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

Shino, who goes by Sinon, is a female sniper whom Kirito first meets in Gun Gale Online. She has childhood trauma concerning guns and thus started playing Gun Gale Online in an attempt to overcome it. She is the owner of the rare gun "PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II". She originally considers Kirito an opponent, but later develops feelings for him. She later joins ALO on their recommendation as a Cait Sith archer, wielding a long bow. In Gun Gale Online she is known as 'Hecate', while in real life Asuna gives her the nickname 'Sinonon'.

Alice Schuberg (アリス・ツーベルク Arisu Tsūberuku)

A mysterious girl who was Kirito's "childhood friend", along with Eugeo, in UnderWorld. She is captured and supposedly taken away to be executed by the Integrity Knights for breaking the rule by "entering" the Dark Territory. She contacted Kirito, in spirit form, and aided in Eugeo's healing, showing that she is still alive and remembered both of them. She also implored them to come find her. It is later revealed, first in a short story, that she had became an Integrity Knight, but it is yet to be officialy confirmed in the English translations.

Eugeo (ユージオ Yūjio)

A young lad who was also Kirito's "childhood friend", along with Alice, in UnderWorld. Has his memories of Kirito purged, along with the rest of the villagers, but recovers them later on, to a certain degree. Has a strong desire to find Alice and, in order to do so, begins learning "Aincrad style" sword skills from Kirito.

[edit]Secondary characters

Klein (クライン Kurain)

Real name: Ryōtarō Tsuboi (壷井 遼太郎 Tsuboi Ryōtarō)

Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata

A friendly player that meets Kirito at the start of the game, who quickly befriends and learns from Kirito. They go their separate ways shortly after when Kirito leaves for another town to power level, while Klein remains behind to help out his less experienced friends. Klein uses a katana to fight and later becomes a leader of his own guild. He regularly meets with Kirito and his friends and occasionally joins them in quests in ALO, especially after the release of the World Seed.^[4]

Agil (エギル Egiru^?) / Andrew Gilbert Mills

Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)

A bald axe wielder who owns a shop in SAO. Agil is 180 cm tall with a muscular build. Despite his intimidating appearance, he is kind-hearted and spent most of his earnings to help players in the middle floors. Kirito is a regular in his shop and they are friends. Agil runs a shop named «Dicey Cafe» in the real world, which was run by his wife during his two-year coma. The cafe later becomes Kazuto and company's meeting place in the real world.

Heathcliff (ヒースクリフ Hīsukurifu^?) / Akihiko Kayaba (茅場 晶彦 Kayaba Akihiko^?)

Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa (Heathcliff), Kōichi Yamadera (Kayaba)

Akihiko Kayaba is the Director and creator of the Nerve Gear and Sword Art Online, as well as the main antagonist of the Sword Art Online arc. He traps all the players within Sword Art Online by using the Nerve Gear to cease sending signals to the users' body. Any in-game death or attempt at removal of the Nerve Gear would result in the real life death of the user. Later, it is discovered that he has been masquerading as Heathcliff, the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Although he has the admin powers to make his avatar immortal, he is shown to be a powerful player even without his in-game immortality due to his intimate understanding of the SAO game mechanics which he himself had designed. He is defeated by Kirito at the end of Volume 1 and, at the end of Volume 4, leaves behind a program that grants Kirito the World Seed. His death was his own doing since he had also rigged his own Nerve Gear device to fry his brain when he was defeated.^[5]

Silica (シリカ Shirika^?) / Keiko Ayano (綾野 珪子 Ayano Keiko^?)

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Japanese), Christine Marie Cabanos (English)

A side story character in SAO. One of the rare beast tamers in the game. She, very early in the game was able to tame a dragon which gave her immense fame, but she was just a mid-level player. Due to her fame and being a girl, many tried to get on her good side, causing her to get a bit of an inflated head. She usually stay away from the males, who tried to marry her despite the fact that she was only 13. After getting lost in a forest, she lost her beast and only friend in the game. Kirito rescued her, and helped her as she resembled his sister. She gained feelings for him, but once she realized his skills, she realized that they could never be together in the game. Later on it is revealed that Pina (her beast) was revived. She joins Kirito and his friends in ALO right after they meet in the real world; they often go together in quests.

Lisbeth (リズベット Rizubetto^?) / Rika Shinozaki (篠崎 里香 Shinozaki Rika^?)

Voiced by: Ayahi Takagaki (Japanese), Sarah Williams (English)

A side story character in SAO, who is a blacksmith with her own shop. Lisbeth or "Lis" is a close friend of Asuna who recommended her to Kirito. Kirito commissioned Lis to forge a custom-made sword for him and accompanies her in a quest for the special ore required for the job. During the quest, she also develops feelings for Kirito. She is devastated when she finds out that Kirito is Asuna's crush. However, she finds some solace after Kirito thanks her for giving him a renewed determination to fight on and clear the game. Liz later becomes a regular player in ALO, and frequently joins Kirito and his friends in quests and takes up the task of upgrading their equipment.

Sachi (サチ Sachi^?)

Voiced by: Saori Hayami

A side story character in SAO. She was a member of "Black Cats of the Full Moon" which was the first guild Kirito joined. Kirito was especially attached to her. However she died along with the majority of her guild members which led to Kirito wallowing in despair and self-loathing until he read the time delayed message she left for Kirito. Even after the message gave him the strength to live, he never joined another guild until the events of Volume 1.

Kuradeel (クラディール Kuradīru^?)

Voiced by: Koji Yusa

A Two-Handed Sword user. Publicly a member of "Knights of the Blood" and secretly a surviving member of the red guild "Laughing Coffin". He has a grudge against Kirito and Asuna for destroying "Laughing Coffin". He was officially assigned as Asuna's bodyguard by "Knights of the Blood" and despite his grudge develops an obsession with Asuna and begins secretly following her everywhere. When he sees that Kirito and Asuna are developing a relationship, he becomes jealous and challenges Kirito to a duel over who can protect her. Kirito wins and Kuradeel is forced to leave. He later tries to murder Kirito and then Asuna, but is instead killed by Kirito using an unarmed skill.

Oberon the Fairy King (妖精王オベイロン Yōsei-ō Obeiron^?) / Nobuyuki Sugō (須郷 伸之 Sugō Nobuyuki^?)

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu

Nobuyuki Sugō is the main antagonist of the Alfheim Online arc. He is the one responsible for keeping 300 Nerve Gear victims, including Asuna, prisoner even after SAO had ended. He did this by transferring them all into ALO for experiments on human subjugation via fulldive technology. He also attempts to take over RCT Progress Inc. by marrying Asuna while she is unconscious. He displays a perverse interest in consummating this marriage while Asuna is still comatose. In ALO, he takes on the identity of Oberon the Fairy King and makes Asuna his queen, Titania. When he and Kirito finally meet, he flaunts his GM status as well as the results of his research by causing Kirito immense amounts of pain after increasing Kirito's pain limit and impaling him. He is defeated when the "Ghost Program" of Akihiko Kayaba reminded Kirito how he was defeated by Kirito's determination, before aiding him in overcoming Nobuyuki's GM status. All 300 victims are released from ALO, but Nobuyuki makes another attempt to attack Kirito while he is making his way to Asuna in the real world. However, he is once again subdued by Kirito, who puts the unarmed combat skills he had learned in SAO to useful effect. Nobuyuki is then arrested and charged for his crimes.

Recon (レコン Rekon^?) / Shin'ichi Nagata (長田 慎一 Nagata Shin'ichi^?)

Voiced by: Ayumu Murase

Suguha's classmate in the real world. He introduced ALO to Suguha who asked him about VRMMO. In ALO, he is a Sylph dagger wielder and dark mage. He also displays an obvious romantic interest in Suguha, although the feelings are not mutual.

Death Gun (死銃 Desu Gan^?)

Registered avatar name: Sterben

Death Gun is the main villain of the GGO arc. Apparently the people he kills in GGO, with his signature gun, end up dead in the real world. It is later found out that Death Gun was made by three players, two of them former members of the red SAO guild Laughing Coffin, that killed players for fun while knowing the consequences of doing so:

Shōichi Shinkawa (新川 昌一 Shinkawa Shōichi^?)

SAO avatar name: Red-eyed XaXa.

He along with Johnny Black originally met Kirito in SAO's Inner-Area incident. His younger brother is the third member of the trio. Both XaXa and his brother are arrested after the GGO arc.

Atsushi Kanemoto

SAO avatar name: Johnny Black

He along with XaXa originally met Kirito in SAO's Inner-Area incident. In Volume 9, he returns and attempts to kill Kirito and Asuna in the real world. While Kirito was able to protect Asuna, Johnny Black was able to poison Kirito which nearly killed him and caused Kirito to suffer brain damage, which he may not recover from.

Kyōji Shinkawa (新川 恭二 Shinkawa Kyōji^?) / Spiegel (シュピーゲル Shupīgeru^?)

Shino's friend both in the real world and GGO, in fact he was the one who introduced Shino to GGO in the first place. Kyōji wasn't trapped in SAO or affiliated with Laughing Coffin, but the pressures of being the next heir to his family due to his elder brother's frail health in the real world had a great psychological effect on him. Shōichi's tales as a red player also helped set him further down the path to murder and madness. He was the one who came up with the whole idea of Death Gun and enlisted the aid of the other two.

Both the Shinkawa brothers were captured by the police at the end of the GGO/Death Gun incident, but Johnny Black escapes and later attacks Kirito, successfully injecting him with poison, in the Alicization arc.

Yūki (ユウキ Yūki^?) / Yūki Konno (紺野 木綿季 Konno Yūki^?)

The main character in Volume 7. She was an Imp in ALO, she started dueling anyone promising an 11-hit OSS if she's defeated; due to her undefeated status she's given the title 'Absolute Sword'. Eventually Asuna fights her but loses. After the fight Yūki asks her to help defeating the 27th floor boss with her guild the Sleeping Knights. After certain events, which include the defeat of the 27th floor boss it is revealed that Yūki has AIDS and the Sleeping Knights members were patients in terminal state; with the time passing Yūki's condition gets worse and after she entrusts her OSS Mother's Rosario to Asuna she dies peacefully in ALO, surrounded by over 1000 players from every tribe in the game, including her guild members, Asuna and her friends.

Selka (セルカ Seruka^?)

Younger sister of Alice and an apprentice of Sister Azariya. She is capable of wielding the Sacred Arts but dislikes being compared to her sister. Does not remember Kirito but is put in charge of him upon his "return".

[edit]Minor characters

Midori Kirigaya (桐ヶ谷 翠 Kirigaya Midori^?)

Voiced by: Aya Endō

Suguha's mother, as well as Kirito's aunt and foster mother in the real world. She cares deeply for both her children. In Volume 10, she is assured by the authorities of Kirito's safety. In reality, Kirito's comatose body was kidnapped by Kikuoka Seijirou. When Asuna and Suguha tried to tell her their suspicions, she did not believe them.

PoH

Voiced by: Tsuyoshi Koyama

Leader of the SAO red guild, Laughing Coffin. He created the guild for the sole purpose of killing other players. His catch phrase is "It's showtime". His fate after SAO is unknown, but it is assumed he is still alive since he was not listed as one of the deceased players. PoH's real name is unknown as well.

Shōzō Yūki (結城 彰三 Yūki Shōzō^?)

Voiced by: Kazuhiro Yamaji

Asuna's father and CEO of a major electronics manufacturing company, RCT Progress Inc.

Silver Crow (シルバー・クロウ Shirubā Kurou^?) / Haruyuki Arita (有田 春雪 Arita Haruyuki^?)

The main character of Accel World, another of Reki Kawahara's light novels who appears to confront Kirito in a crossover side story.

Sister Azariya (シスター・アザリヤ Shisutā Azariya^?)

A teacher at the church in Rulid Village. Taught Alice the Sacred Arts and now teaches Selka the same. She houses orphans at the church. Does not remember Kirito.

Yolko (ヨルコ Yoruko^?)

Voiced by: Nozomi Yamamoto

Part of the Golden Apple Guild, her boyfriend is Kains.

[edit]Setting

Sword Art Online (ソードアート・オンライン Sōdo Āto Onrain^?)

The first virtual game world, as well as the setting of the first arc of the story, known as SAO for short. The world takes the form of a giant floating castle called Aincrad, with 100 floors in it. Each floor has a medieval-themed setting and a dungeon with a boss, which has to be defeated before players can advance to the next higher floor. Like most RPGs, it implements a level-based system. However, the game is altered in a manner in which players are unable to log out, and if players die in-game, their real life body dies too.

Alfheim Online (アルヴヘイム・オンライン Aruvuheimu Onrain^?)

The setting for the second arc of the story, known as ALO for short. All players in the game have wings and are capable of flight. It is a large world, divided into separate 'homelands' for each of its fairy races. In Alfheim's center is a very large tree called Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and the goal of the game is to reach the top. It implements a skill-based system with players increasing their stats by developing both their combat and non-combat skills. Aincrad, the castle of the first game, is later accessible to ALO players as well.

Gun Gale Online (ガンゲイル・オンライン Gan Geiru Onrain^?)

The setting for the third arc of the story, known as GGO for short. It is a virtual game world with a main focus on guns, although melee weapons like lightsabers and knives also exist.

UnderWorld

The setting for the fourth arc of the story. According to Kirito, it is graphically the most realistic of all VRMMOs to date. The flow of time in UW is much faster than the real world's just like Accel World. Even so, it seems that even Kirito was misled as to the actual rate of UW's time flow, so it is still unknown. However, in the "There is but one ultimate way" side story, the rate is said to be 1,000 times faster than that of the real world.

[edit]Media

[edit]Light novels

[edit]Manga

[edit]Anime

List of Sword Art Online episodes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Japanese BD cover of volume 1 featuring main characters Asuna and Kirito.

Sword Art Online is a 2012 sci-fi action anime based on the light novels written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Abec. Set initially in the year 2022, a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online (SAO) has just been released. In the game, players control their avatars just as they would with their real bodies using the Nerve Gear, a VR Helmet that stimulates the user's five senses via their brain. However, on its first day out of the beta testing period, the players soon discover that they cannot log out. The creator of the game, Akihiko Kayaba, makes an appearance shortly after and issues them an ultimatum: if they die in the game so would their bodies in the real world, and if they wish to be freed from the game, they must reach the 100th floor of the game's world and defeat the final boss. As the players try to face their new deadly predicament, two skilled swordsmen, Kirito and Asuna, are determined to win and be free. The second part of the anime takes place in ALfheim Online (ALO), a spiritual successor to SAO developed by the company who took over the maintenance of SAO during the crisis, where it is discovered that Asuna is being held captive in the new virtual world, still unable to logout and hospitalized in the real world, and follows Kirito fighting alongside new allies in ALO to rescue her.

The anime is produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tomohiko Ito with music by Yuki Kajiura, character design by Shingo Adachi and art direction by Takayuki Nagashima and Yusuke Takeda and sound direction by Yoshikazu Iwanami. The anime aired in Japan between July 8 and December 22, 2012, running for 25 episodes.^[1] The series began release on DVD and Blu-ray Disc from October 24, 2012, with each volume containing a bonusSword Art Offline (ソードアート・オフライン Sōdo Āto Ofurain^?) episode.

For episodes 1-14, the opening theme song is "Crossing Field" by LiSA^[2] and the ending theme is "Yume Sekai" (ユメセカイ^?, lit. "Dream World") byHaruka Tomatsu.^[3] From episode 15-25, the opening theme song is "Innocence" by Eir Aoi. For episodes 15-24 the ending theme song is "Overfly" byLuna Haruna,^[4] while the ending theme of episode 25 is "Crossing Field".

Contents   [hide]  1 Episode list 2 Specials 3 References 4 External links

[edit]Episode list

No.	Title	Original airdate
1	"The World of Swords" "Ken no Sekai" (剣の世界)	July 7, 2012
On November 6, 2022, the VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online (SAO), is officially released, with 10,000 copies released and sold immediately. Kirito, who beta-tested the game, logs-in to the world of Aincrad and meets Klein, a new player, who asks him to teach him the basics of the game including the Sword Skill battle system. Later, after several hours in the game, Kirito and Klein discover that they cannot log out. Shortly after, the pair are teleported to the town square, where they see that all other players have also been transported to the location. A red-hooded Game Master then appears in the sky and reveals himself to the crowd as Akihiko Kayaba, the game's creator. He tells them that he intentionally removed the log-out option. He cautions that they cannot log-out by simply removing the NerveGear, the VR helmet they use to log-in the game, as it will kill them instantly. The only way to log out is for the players to beat and clear all 100 floors of the game. Should they die in the game, their real bodies will perish as well. As a parting gift, Akihiko gives them a mirror that alters their in-game avatars to resemble their real appearance. Kirito asks Klein to follow him to the next town to level up before resources are depleted, but Klein politely declines as he wishes to remain with his friends. Kirito then heads out, vowing to be free from the game. By the end of the first month, 2,000 players have died and the 1st floor has yet to be cleared.
2	"Beater" "Bītā" (ビーター)	July 14, 2012
On December 2, 2022, Kirito attends a meeting organized by an idealistic Diabel, who announces to the attendants that his party has found the boss of the 1st floor tower. He rallies everyone to team up and beat the boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord, which will open up the 2nd floor. Parties are formed and Kirito teams up with a girl name Asuna. A new player named Kibaou blames the Beta Testers of the game for running away to loot and level up while leaving the new players behind. Another player named Agil defends the Beta players, revealing it was they who gave them the free guide book that helped them survive the game. Using the guide book, Diabel devises a strategy for fighting Illfang and his minions. Later that night, Kirito shares his food with Asuna while she tells him that she joined them because she felt compelled to do something rather than nothing. The next day, Diabel's raid group arrives at the boss's room and battles Illfang and his minions. When Illfang's health becomes low, Diabel goes for the finishing blow. Kirito tries to warn him after noticing Illfang has a different type of weapon from the one described in the guide book, but Illfang strikes down Diabel. Kirito realizes that Diabel was also a Beta player as he had attempted to obtain the boss's rare item. As he dies, Diabel begs Kirito to defeat the boss and save the players. Having an epiphany on how Diabel was helping the other players while Kirito had only helped himself, Kirito experiences a renewed determination to defeat the boss. With Asuna and the raid group's help, Kirito kills Illfang, clearing the 1st floor much to everyone's joy. However, the celebration ends when Kibaou blames Kirito for Diabel's death, as his knowledge as a beta player might have saved Diabel. Fearing continued fighting between the beta and new players, Kirito mocks everyone, telling them he is unlike the beta players who were clueless about the game, as he obtained far more knowledge of the Beta test than any other player. Everyone is repulsed by Kirito, and brand him a Beater -- a Beta player who cheats. As Kirito leaves for the 2nd floor, he advises Asuna to join a guild.
3	"The Red-Nosed Reindeer" "Akahana no Tonakai" (赤鼻のトナカイ)	July 21, 2012
Four months have passed with more powerful players and guilds clearing the game's floors. After saving a guild called the Moonlit Black Cats, their leader, Keita, thanks Kirito and asks him to join their guild. Kirito accepts the invitation, but hides the fact that he is Level 40, twice the average level of the guild. Kirito bonds with his new friends, especially Sachi, who confides in Kirito that she is afraid to die. Kirito assures her that he will protect her and that they will be free one day. On June 12, 2023, while Keita goes to buy a house for the guild, the Black Cats decide to earn some money by going to the upper floor dungeons, but set off a trap, locking themselves in a room with higher level Mobs. Kirito desperately tries to save his friends but they are all killed, including Sachi. Blaming himself for his friends' deaths, including Keita's, who committed suicide upon learning what happened, Kirito displays increasingly reckless tendencies and goes on a dangerous quest to obtain an item that revives the dead. On December 24, 2023, Argo the informant tells Kirito of the existence of a special boss named Nicholas the Renegade, which drops the item. As Kirito travels to the boss, he is followed by Klein and his guild Fuurinkazan, who fear for Kirito's safety. They are then surrounded by the Holy Dragon Alliance guild who are also seeking the item. Klein and his guild hold off the Holy Dragons, while Kirito goes off to face Nicholas alone. He emerges victorious, however to his despair, Kirito discovers that the boss item can only revive the dead within ten seconds of the person's death. When Kirito returns to his room, he receives a message from Sachi which she had recorded prior to her death to be delivered on Christmas Eve. In the message, Sachi asks Kirito not to blame himself over her death and that he should continue living to the end of the game. As she ends the message by humming "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" before saying goodbye, Kirito cries.
4	"The Black Swordsman" "kuro no kenshi" (黒の剣士)	July 28, 2012
On February 23 2024, a beast tamer named Silica quits a party after arguing with their leader, Rosalia. Later, Silicia is ambushed by monsters while making her way alone through the forest, and her dragon familiar, Pina, is killed trying to protect her. Kirito appears and saves Silica, and then tells her of an item at the Hill of Memories on the 47th floor that can revive her familiar within three days of its death and offers to accompany her there. As they spend time together, Kirito warns Silicia of "orange players", players who commit crimes, and "red players", players who kill other players and then notices someone eavesdropping on them. The next day, as they make their way to the Hill of Memories, Kirito tells Silica about his younger sister, whom he was very close to and Silica reminds him of. As they finally retrieve the item, the Pneuma Flower, they are confronted by Rosalia and her men, who are actually part of the Titan's Hand, a notorious orange player guild and are after the flower. Kirito then reveals that his true motivations for escorting Silica was to draw Rosalia out and arrest her. The guild realizes Kirito is the infamous Beater, "The Black Swordsman", and are effortlessly outmatched and sent to prison. Later, Pina is revived, and as Kirito prepares to return to the front lines, he makes a promise to Silica that they would meet again in the real world.
5	"A Murder Within the Walls" "Kennai Jiken" (圏内事件)	August 4, 2012
On March 6 2024, during a meeting between guilds on the 56th floor, Asuna, who has become Vice Commander of the Knights of Blood Oath guild, proposes a plan to lure a boss they are fighting into a village and is opposed by Kirito, as the NPC villagers will be killed. A month later on the 59th floor, Kirito is taking a nap until Asuna arrives and chastises him for being lazy, but Kirito persuades her to relax as well. To repay him for guarding her while she napped, Asuna offers to buy dinner for him at a town on the 57th floor. Their meal is interrupted by a scream, and they rush out of the restaurant to find a player hanging outside a church, impaled with a spear. He dies immediately after. As they investigate the murder, Kirito wonders how the player was killed in a safezone, speculating that either the victim was dueled by another player or that someone had found a new exploit to kill players. Yoruko, a friend of Kains, mentions someone may have been spotted behind Kains as he was impaled. Asuna and Kirito travel to Agil's shop to learn more about the murder weapon. Agil tells them that the weapon (Guilty Thorn) is a custom made weapon by a blacksmith named Grimrock. After informing Yoruko of their discovery, she explains to them how she and Kains are related to Grimrock. Six months earlier, Yoruko, Kains, and Grimrock had been part of an eight-man guild called the Golden Apple, led by Griselda, Grimrock's ingame wife. One day, the guild acquired a rare ring and voted whether to use it or sell it. Three members, Yoruko, Kains and Schmit, now a member of the Holy Dragon Alliance, voted to use it, but the other five voted to sell it. Griselda went out to sell the ring and was killed. Yoruko believes Kains's killer is targeting the three of them for going against Griselda's wishes. However, Schmit fears that the identity of the killer is Griselda's ghost, who wants revenge against them. Yoruko is then abruptly killed by a dagger thrown from the window.
6	"Phantom Avenger" "Maboroshi no Fukushū-sha" (幻の復讐者)	August 11, 2012
Kirito pursues the assassin, who escapes by using a teleport crystal. Kirito wonders how it is possible to kill someone in a safezone to which a paranoid Schmit declares that the killer is Griselda's ghost. After watching a dropped sandwich vanish and talking to Asuna about the game's marriage system of inventory sharing, Kirito deduces how Yoruko and Kains "died" and who was Griselda's murderer. He explains to Asuna that Yoruko and Kains are actually alive, and that they had merely faked their deaths by using a teleport crystal when their armor broke from the damage over time weapon effect to give the appearance of a player death. Yoruko and Kains confront Schmit at Griselda's grave to investigate the identity of Griselda's killer. After Schmit explains that he had only followed instructions given to him and had not expected Griselda's death, the three are surrounded by members of the notorious player-killing guild, Laughing Coffin, who have come to kill them. Yoruko, Kains and Schmit are rescued by the timely arrival of Kirito, who intimidates the Laughing Coffin into retreating. Asuna arrives with the man who hired the Laughing Coffin and Griselda's killer, Grimrock. Grimrock reveals that he killed Griselda, who was also his wife in the real world, because he could not accept that his kind, dutiful wife he loved had become a fearless, independent leader. Asuna admonishes Grimrock for killing Griselda, telling him that he never truly loved his wife and that he was merely possessive. After Yoruko, Kains and Schmit take Grimrock into custody, Kirito and Asuna briefly discuss about marriage and Kirito states he would love his partner more after seeing a different side of her. Kirito and Asuna then see an apparition of Griselda thanking them.
7	"Warmth of the Heart" "Kokoro no Ondo" (心の温度)	August 18, 2012
On June 24, 2024 at Lindas on 48th floor, Asuna visits her friend, Lisbeth or "Liz", at her smith shop before going off adventuring, and Liz suspects that she was going away with a boy she likes. The next day, Kirito arrives at Liz's shop in search of a custom-made sword to buy. Much to Liz's shock, Kirito's sword, Elucidator, easily breaks her strongest sword. Angry and her pride hurt, Liz persuades Kirirto to let her accompany him to the Western Mountain on the 55th floor to get a rare mineral from a dragon that eats crystals, so that she can use the mineral to make a stronger sword. When they arrive at the Western Mountain, Kirito tells Liz to hide when he fights the dragon. However, she ignores his advice and emerges from hiding halfway through the battle, believing the dragon almost defeated. The dragon blasts her into a deep pit with a powerful gale, and Kirito jumps in to save her. Despite surviving the fall, the pair cannot find a way out of the pit and are forced to sleep there for the night. Liz asks Kirito to hold her hand while they sleep, which brings her to the realization that she has feelings for him. The next morning, Kirito discovers that the mineral they are seeking, a Crystallite Ingot, is under the snow as the hole is the dragon's nest. The dragon returns and Kirito grabs Liz with him as he stabs the dragon's back, forcing it to carry them out the hole before jumping out. Now safe with the mineral, Liz creates a new sword, Dark Repulsor, for Kirito and denies payment. She instead asks Kirito to make her his exclusive smith and is about to confess her feelings to him, when a worried Asuna suddenly arrives. Realizing Kirito is the boy Asuna likes all along, Liz abruptly excuses herself from them. As Liz cries over her heartbreak, Kirito finds her and tries to comfort her. Accepting that her feelings would go unrequited, Liz pledges her support to Kirito as his smith if he promises to win the game and free them all.
8	"Black & White Sword Dance" "Kuro to Shiro no Kenbu" (黒と白の剣舞)	August 25, 2012
After adventuring on the 74th floor, Kirito finds a Ragout Rabbit, a rare animal with top grade meat. Since he cannot cook well, Kirito decides to sell it to Agil, but he changes his mind when Asuna arrives and tells them she has mastered her cooking skills. Instead, Kirito requests her to cook it in exchange for a share of the meal. However, Kuradeel, Asuna's escort sent by the Knights of Blood, is against Asuna inviting Kirito to her home as he is a Beater, but Asuna ignores him. At her home in Selmburg on the 61st floor, Asuna cooks the rabbit meat for dinner. Over the meal, Asuna and Kirito discuss the two years that have passed since they were trapped in the game and how so many players have gotten accustomed to living in Aincard, with fewer than five hundred players clearing the floors. Both agree to party up and explore the dungeons in the 74th floor, and meet up the following day. However, Kuradeel appears and attempts to stop them. Kuradeel challenges Kirito to a duel, promising to leave them alone if Kirito wins. Kirito defeats Kuradeel by breaking his sword. However, Kuradeel refuses to give up, until Asuna relieves him of his duties and orders him to return to Knights of the Blood Oath headquarters. As Kirito and Asuna explore the 74th floor dungeons, they discover the boss room and its boss, Gleam Eyes.
9	"Blue-Eyed Demon" "Seigan no Akuma" (青眼の悪魔)	September 1, 2012
Kirito and Asuna flee from the boss room to another part of the dungeon, where they stop for a meal and encounter Klein and the Furinkazan guild. The Aincrad Liberation Force guild, known as "The Army", also appears, visibly exhausted from exploring the floor. As the soldiers rest, their leader Corbatz demands Kirito to give them the map he made of the floor. Despite Asuna and Klein's protests, Kirito complies with his request. Kirito, Asuna, Klein and his guild later check up on Corbatz and his men, only to learn that they are battling Gleam Eyes by themselves, despite Kirito's earlier warnings. To make matters worse, the teleport crystals do not work in the boss room. As the members of the Army are killed off one by one, Asuna, Kirito and Klein charge at the boss to protect the survivors. Not wanting to see more people die, Kirito is forced to use a unique skill, Dual Blades, he has been keeping secret that allows him to fight with two swords. Using both Elucidator and Dark Repulsor, Kirito performs Star-burst Stream, a barrage of deadly slashes to defeat Gleam Eyes, before falling unconscious as his health hits red. Upon awakening, Kirito is greeted by the sight of a distraught Asuna, who announces her intentions to take a break from her guild and continue partying with Kirito. Shortly after the boss battle, Kirito's unique skill becomes the talk of Aincard, which gets him the attention of Heathcliff, the Commander of the Knights of Blood. Not wishing to see his vice-commander leave his guild, Heathcliff challenges Kirito to a duel. If Kirito wins, Asuna is allowed to leave the guild and join his side, but if he loses, Kirito must join the Knights of Blood. Kirito agrees to the terms and accepts Heathcliff's challenge.
10	"Crimson Bloodlust" "Kurenai no Satsui" (紅の殺意)	September 8, 2012
The duel between Kirito and Heathcliff is held at an arena where a large crowd has gathered. Asuna warns Kirito to be careful about fighting Heathcliff as he has a unique skill called Divine Blade, which grants him maximum strength and defense. Heathcliff initially overpowers Kirito but the tide turns when Kirito forces Heathcliff on the defensive. Just as Kirito is about to deal the winning strike, Heathcliff mysteriously manages to dodge it and defeats Kirito. Now a member of the Knights of Blood, Kirito is questioned by Asuna about the reason for his strong aversion to joining guilds. After he confides in her about what happened to his old guild, Asuna comforts Kirito and tells him she will protect him. Later, Kirito is asked by fellow member Godfrey to follow him and a seemingly remorseful Kuradeel to the 55th floor dungeons for a skill assessment. As they stop for a break, Kirito notices too late that the water he and Godfrey drank contains a paralysis effect. Kuradeel then reveals he is a member of the Laughing Coffins and his intentions to kill both Godfrey and Kirito, while making it look like they were victims of an ambush. After finishing off Godfrey, Kuradeel attempts to kill Kirito, but the latter is saved by the arrival of Asuna who tracked them on her map. Furious, Asuna quickly whittles down Kuradeel's health until the critical stages. Kuradeel begs Asuna for forgiveness, which was a ruse to get her guard down and disarm her. Just as Kuradeel is about to strike Asuna, Kirito jumps in between them, blocking the attack with his arm before killing him. Asuna feels guilty for what had happened, but Kirito kisses her, and tells her how much he cares about her and how he wants to protect her. They stay at her home for the night. Later, as he sits next to Asuna on her bed, Kirito tells her of a place where they can be alone together and then proposes to her, which she tearfully accepts.
11	"The Morning Dew Girl" "Asatsuyu no Shōjo" (朝露の少女)	September 15, 2012
Kirito and Asuna go on vacation and stay at their new home in a secluded village in the 22nd floor. The couple later find a lost girl in the forest and see her suddenly collapse. As they approach the unconscious girl, they discover that she does not have a cursor above her, suggesting a glitch. They take the girl to their home. She wakes up the following day, but upon questioning from Asuna and Kirito, it is discovered that the girl cannot remember anything but her name, Yui. Yui, unable to pronounce Asuna and Kirito's name correctly, calls them "mama" and "papa" instead. Believing that she got separated from her family, Kirito and Asuna decide to head to the Town of Beginnings on the 1st floor to find Yui's relatives before they go back to the front lines. Instead, they find a young woman named Sasha and the children she's taking care of being extorted by the Army for taxes. Asuna attacks their leader, scaring him and the rest of the Army soldiers away. As Sasha and the children thank Asuna, Yui reaches towards the sky and repeats "Everyone's hearts..." several times. Asuna rushes over to ask Yui if she has remembered anything, and she tells Kirito and Asuna that she realizes she has never been to the Town of Beginnings before. Suddenly, Yui's eyes widen, and mysterious static sound affects everyone before Yui faints.
12	"Yui's Heart" "Yui no Kokoro" (ユイの心)	September 22, 2012
Kirito, Asuna and Yui are resting at the church where Sasha takes care of the younger children, until Yulier, a high-ranking member from the Army, suddenly arrives. Yulier explains that the Army under their leader, Thinker, had good intentions of helping players but as the Army grew bigger, unscrupulous leaders within the Army began abusing their powers. Thinker was going to expel Kibaou over the Gleam Eyes incident, but the latter trapped him in a secret dungeon on the 1st floor. Yulier then asks Kirito and Asuna for help in a rescue. The couple accept and, upon arrival at Thinker's location in the dungeon, get attacked by a boss called "the Fatal Scythe". Kirito and Asuna tell Yulier to escape together with Thinker and Yui as they fight the boss, but it is too strong. As the boss is about to strike down Kirito, Yui jumps in between them. The boss attacks, but the boss is unable to damage her due to her being an "Immortal Object". Yui then promptly defeats the boss. After the battle, Yui tells Kirito and Asuna that she has finally regained her memories. She explains that she is an AI counselor created by the game's Cardinal system, whose purpose was to monitor and counsel the players on their mental state. On the day of game's launch, Cardinal refused to allow to her interact with the players, and she was forced to watch their mental states deteriorate. Sometime after, Yui learnt about the happiness of Asuna and Kirito and thus made an appearance in the 22nd floor forest to meet them. Despite the revelation, Asuna and Kirito still accept Yui as their daughter, but Yui bids them farewell when she realises that she is to be deleted for her interference in the game. Refusing to accept her deletion, Kirito uses the GM console Yui left behind to save Yui's data by turning her into a game item. With the data saved on his NerveGear local memory, Kirito and Asuna hope to recreate her in the real world.
13	"The Depths of Hell" "Naraku no Fuchi" (奈落の淵)	September 29, 2012
While fishing near a lake, Kirito encounters Nishida, an old man and former network security manager for Argus, the company that made SAO, who oversaw the game's development. He remarks that despite honing his fisherman skill, he is unable to cook delicious dishes with what he catches. Kirito then invites him to his home for Asuna to cook the fish he just caught for them. During their meal, Nishida mentions a huge fish he tried to catch many times but failed, and he asks Kirito to help him. Later, Nishida manages to hook the fish and passes the rod to Kirito to pull it away. The fish is revealed to be a huge monster which Asuna slays. Soon after, Kirito receives a summons from Heathcliff. Kirito and Asuna leave to meet up with him at the Knights of Blood headquarters, where they learn that a scouting party had been trapped and killed in the 75th level's boss room. A team of players from several guilds, including Kirito and Asuna, is being assembled to fight the boss. Fearing for her safety, Kirito asks Asuna to stay behind, but Asuna refuses, declaring that she would rather die than live without him. She also surmises that all players' real bodies must be currently undergoing treatment in hospitals and that their condition cannot be preserved indefinitely. Therefore, simply fleeing to live by themselves in the game is not an option. Later, when the players enter the boss room, they are confronted by the Skull Reaper, a ferocious, skeletal monster capable of killing players in one blow. Kirito, Asuna and Heathcliff battle the creature head on, while the other players flank it.
14	"The End of the World" "Sekai no Shūen" (世界の終焉)	October 6, 2012
After the group defeats the Skull Reaper, suffering 14 casualties in the battle, Kirito deduces that Heathcliff is, in fact, Akihiko Kayaba himself. Akihiko paralyses everyone except Kirito, and he then offers Kirito the chance to face him in a one-on-one duel where, should Kirito win, Akihiko would log out all the remaining players. After giving his best wishes to the others, Kirito accepts the challenge but is unable to overcome Akihiko's absolute defense and intimate understanding of the game's mechanics. As Akihiko readies the finishing blow, Asuna overcomes her paralysis and takes the hit instead, losing all her HP and disappearing as a result. Distraught by Asuna's death, Kirito loses the will to fight and receives a fatal stab from Akihiko. However, at the point of death, Kirito remembers Asuna's belief in him and re-materializes to defeat Akihiko using Asuna's sword. They are both killed simultaneously and the game is declared cleared on November 7, 2024. Kirito then awakens high above the game world, where he finds both Asuna and Akihiko. Akihiko informs Kirito and Asuna that he has logged out all the other players as promised, and he also explains his motives for creating Sword Art Online before disappearing. Kirito and Asuna then tell one another their real names, Kazuto Kirigaya and Asuna Yūki, and embrace each other as the world falls apart. To his surprise, Kazuto awakens in a hospital in the real world and, despite being physically weak, he sets off to search for the real Asuna.
15	"Return" "Kikan" (帰還)	October 13, 2012
Two months after being freed from SAO, Kazuto's sister, Suguha, has been constantly worrying about him. The pair have a kendo spar, and though Kirito loses, Suguha is both shocked and curious about his unusual yet proficient sword fighting skills as a result of his time in SAO. Later, Kazuto goes to the hospital to visit Asuna who, along with 300 other players, has yet to wake up even after the SAO incident. It is there that he meets an associate of Asuna's father, Nobuyuki Sugou. Much to Kazuto's fury, Sugou tells him that he intends to be adopted into Asuna's family while she is still comatose as a precursor to marriage. Claiming that this is his right since it was his company, RECTO Progress Inc., had been keeping Asuna alive after SAO's developer Argus went bankrupt, he informs Kazuto that the ceremony will occur in a week and tells him not to see her again. Later at home, Kazuto breaks down before Suguha, who tells him not to give up, despite knowing Kazuto is actually her cousin and harboring her own feelings for him. The next morning, Kazuto receives an e-mail from Egil with a screenshot of an avatar resembling Asuna from another game.
16	"The Land of Fairies" "Yōsei-tachi no Kuni" (妖精たちの国)	October 20, 2012
Kazuto visits Agil, who explains that the screenshot he sent originated from ALfheim Online (ALO), an MMO where players take the role of fairies capable of flight. He explains that the figure resembling Asuna was spotted somewhere on the game's World Tree. Noticing that RECTO created the game, Kazuto decides to don his Nervegear once again and take up his role as Kirito in ALO. After selecting his character race as a Spriggan and diving in, he enters a strange warphole which leads him to a forest, where he finds to his surprise that his stats are identical to his SAO avatar's, with the exception of his dual wielding skill. He also discovers that he still has the SAO in-game item containing Yui's data, which he activates to bring Yui into ALfheim as a Navigation Pixie. Yui deduces that the game is made using a copy of SAO's servers, which was why all common skills and stats from SAO had been carried over to Kirito's ALO avatar. As Kirito gets used to his flight controls, two Sylph players named Leafa and Recon are being chased by Salamander players. Just as Recon is defeated and Leafa outnumbered, Kirito crash lands before her and steps in to help defeat the assailants.
17	"The Captive Queen" "Toraware no Joō" (囚われの女王)	October 27, 2012
Leafa thanks Kirito for saving her and teaches him how to fly properly. They then travel to the Sylph Territory (Sylvein) where they meet one of Leafa's party members, Recon. Leafa and Kirito go to an inn and have a conversation about how he can get to the top of the World Tree. Seeing Kirito's determination to reach the top of the tree, Leafa decides to help him and asks him to meet her at the inn the next day. When Leafa logs out, it is revealed she is actually Suguha. Meanwhile, Asuna is seen in a gigantic bird cage at the World Tree, held by the game master, Oberon the Fairy King. She recognizes Oberon as Sugou, who insists on calling her "Titania". He reveals to Asuna how he captured the minds of 300 players before they were logged out from SAO including her own, as part of his research on memory control. He threatens to alter Asuna's memories if she does not cooperate with him and then departs, leaving Asuna in despair and quietly begging for Kirito to save her.
18	"To the World Tree" "Sekaiju e" (世界樹へ)	November 3, 2012
Suguha reminisces about how she started VR gaming, and then meets up with Recon's real life persona, Shin'ichi Nagata. She informs him that she will be leaving their party to join Kirito. Later, she logs in as Leafa and accompanies Kirito to shop for new equipment, but runs into her party. The group is led by Sigurd who does not take kindly to Leafa's departure and warns them they will be consider renegades for not sticking their allegiance to their race's territories. Before Kirito and Leafa set off, Recon approaches them, saying that though he wants to join them, he will remain in the party to keep an eye on Sigurd due to some suspicions he has on him. Later during their travels, Kirito and Leafa arrive at a landing point where they take turns logging out to refresh themselves. After Kirito returns, they both set off again, unaware that they are being followed by a mysterious group. Meanwhile, Asuna learns from Oberon that Kirito is still alive and secretly obtains the keycode for her cage's lock.
19	"The Lugru Corridor" "Rugurū Kairō" (ルグルー回廊)	November 10, 2012
While passing through a cave, Leafa receives a message from Recon cautioning her to take care. She and Kirito then realize that they are being followed and try to escape, only to be cornered by a large group of Salamander players. Kirito asks Leafa to support him with her magic while he fights the group by himself. However, he is unable to break their formation until Yui comes up with a plan to have Leafa cast some protective magic on Kirito, while he conjures a spell that temporarily transforms him into a giant demon. In his new form, Kirito obliterates his enemies, but spares one whom Kirito bribes in exchange for information. The Salamander player reveals that his party was ordered to attack Kirito and Leafa by the same group which attacked them during their first encounter. After arriving at the next town, Suguha logs out for a while and answers a phone call from Shin'ichi. Shin'ichi tells her that Sigurd is in cahoots with the Salamanders, who plan on attacking the Sylph leader Sakuya and the Cait Siths during a meeting to establish an alliance. Upon returning to the game, Leafa explains the situation to Kirito and states that it would be in his best interest to continue without her, as allying with the Salamanders may be the best option for him in order to reach the top of the World Tree. Kirito instead chooses to help her and makes use of his speed to break out of the cave with her.
20	"General of the Blazing Flames" "Mōen no Shō" (猛炎の将)	November 17, 2012
Kirito and Leafa reach the meeting place just as the Salamanders prepare to attack the Sylphs and Cait Siths. Seeing that they have no chance against them in a direct confrontation, Kirito rushes forward and addresses the Salamander General Eugene. Kirito bluffs that he is an ambassador for the Spriggans-Undines alliance, and cautions him that to attack them would be tantamount to declaring war on the other four factions. Eugene does not believe him and challenges him to a duel. Though both are equally skilled, Kirito is severely disadvantaged by Eugene's superior sword, which can phase ethereally and bypass his defenses. Kirito conjures a huge smokescreen, making use of it to borrow Leafa's sword and attack from Eugene's blind spot. Drawing his second sword to block Eugene's attack at the last instant is enough to surprise him, and Kirito proceeds to win the duel. After Eugene is defeated, he is revived by Sakuya, the leader of the Sylphs, and leaves in peace with his army. Now exposed as a traitor, Sigurd is contacted by Sakuya who strips him of his title and has him banished from the Sylph territory. After learning that the now allied Sylphs and Cait Siths plan an expedition to the World Tree in a couple of days, Kirito donates a large sum of money to Alicia, leader of the Cait Siths, to aid them in their war effort and departs ahead with Leafa. Meanwhile, Asuna makes use of the code she had previously learned to open the cage and escape.
21	"The Truth about Alfheim" "Aruvuheimu no Shinjitsu" (アルヴヘイムの真実)	November 24, 2012
Kirito and Leafa reach Arun, the capital of Alfheim, located directly beneath the world tree. However a sudden announcement of an emergency shutdown for server maintenance prompt the two to find a nearby inn and log out. The next day, Suguha accompanies Kazuto to visit Asuna at the hospital. Meanwhile, in the World Tree, Asuna stumbles upon a room where experiments are being made with the brains of the other SAO players trapped in ALO. She then attempts to log out of the game by using the GM console inside the room, but is captured by two of Sugou's assistants. However, she manages to snatch a key card before being thrown back to her cell. Back in the real world, Suguha gets heartbroken upon seeing Kazuto tending to Asuna, and is comforted by Kirito after she logs back as Leafa on ALO, still unaware that both him and her brother are the same person. Later as the pair approach the World Tree, Yui suddenly detects Asuna's presence, prompting Kirito to fly ahead leaving Leafa behind.
22	"Grand Quest" "Gurando Kuesuto" (グランド・クエスト)	December 1, 2012
Kirito rushes up to the World Tree but is blocked by a barrier. Desperate, Yui calls out to Asuna, who hears her cries and throws down the administrator's key card, which Kirito catches. Resolving to get to Asuna's location, Kirito bids farewell to Leafa and embarks on the Grand Quest himself to reach the top of the tree. Upon entering the dome at the tree's base, Kirito is faced with hundreds of valiant guardians, which he angrily battles against. Despite his best efforts, Kirito is overwhelmed and runs out of HP. Shortly after, Leafa enters the dome and grabs Kirito's flame which contains his soul, before successfully escaping to revive him. Leafa tries to talk Kirito out of re-entering the dome alone, but he remains determined. Leafa then hears him speak Asuna's name, causing her to realize that Kirito is actually Kazuto. Upon discovering one another's identities, they log out. In the real world, Kirito then approaches Suguha, who reveals in great anguish that she had fallen in love with both of his identities and how she knew they were not true siblings. Heartbroken, Suguha shuts herself in her room leaving Kazuto outside her door in shock.
23	"Bonds" "Kizuna" (絆)	December 8, 2012
Kazuto thinks back to the time when he was ten and learned that he was not related with Suguha, which resulted in him becoming detached from his family and increasingly engrossed with online gaming. However, due to his extended period trapped in SAO, he decides to make amends with his family. Wanting to sort things out, Kazuto asks Suguha to meet him in ALO. As Leafa contemplates whether she should stop seeing her brother in-game anymore, she runs into Recon, whose unsuccessful attempt to confess to her cheers her up. Leafa then challenges Kirito to a one-on-one duel, during which they both end up throwing it to apologize to each other. After Kazuto explains he won't be able to say what he thinks of Suguha until Asuna is rescued, Leafa agrees to help him in his quest, dragging Recon along with her. Kirito once again takes on the guardians, this time with assistance from Leafa and Recon. As the number of guardians keep increasing, Recon uses a self-destruct spell to create a gap for Kirito to get through, but it is filled up all too soon. Just as things look dire, Sakuya and Alicia arrive with their armies to back them up. Using Leafa's sword, Kirito manages to break through the guardians and reach the top, only to find a system administrator-locked door in his way. Then, using the admin key card Asuna gave them, Yui manages to open the door, teleporting her and Kirito to a new location.
24	"Plated Hero" "Mekki no Yūsha" (鍍金の勇者)	December 15, 2012
Arriving at the top of the World Tree, Kirito and Yui finally manage to reunite with Asuna. However, they are suddenly hit by high gravity magic, which forces Yui to retreat, and are confronted by Oberon. As Oberon reveals his plans to control the human mind is almost complete, he chains Asuna up and starts to molest her in front of Kirito, who is stabbed into the ground by him. As Kirito falls into despair, he hears the voice of Akihiko, who encourages him to stand up and fight, realising the pain is nothing compared to the pain of SAO. Using Akihiko's administrative abilities, Kirito manages to strip Sugou's ID of its privileges and challenges him to a fight with no pain absorption, showing him what true pain is before finishing him off. After logging Asuna out, returning her to the real world, Kirito meets with the remnant of Akihiko's memory, who gives him an item called The Seed before leaving. After returning to the real world and giving his thanks to Suguha, Kazuto makes his way to the hospital to reunite with Asuna.
25	"The World Seed" "Sekai no Shushi" (世界の種子)	December 22, 2012
Rushing to the hospital, Kazuto is attacked by an injured Sugou with a knife at the parking area. Kazuto manages to disarm him, and after considering everything Sugou has done, Kazuto spares his life. Kazuto finally meets with Asuna where they have a tearful reunion. On May 16, 2025, Kazuto and Asuna have returned to school, attending a special school for students who were trapped in SAO. As they have lunch, Kazuto reveals Sugou was arrested by the police after their fight and the crimes he committed were exposed by one of his employees. The 300 players that were trapped by Sugou were freed but his experiments shocked the public. Due to the scandal, Asuna's father and his higher ups resigned and shut down ALO with other VRMMORPG following it. Later, Asuna, Kazuto and Suguha heads to Agil's bar along with Liz, Silica, Yoruko, Kains, Sasha, Yulier, Thinker, along with Klein and his guild where they have a party to celebrate for clearing the game SAO. Agil analyzed "The Seed" to be a program that allows anyone with a server to create their own VRMMORPG and transfer players to other VRMMORPG easily. "The Seed" is uploaded to the internet which revives the VRMMORPG genre. Later that night in Alfheim Online, Kirito meets up with Leafa where they share a dance and a heartfelt conversation in the sky. Directly afterwards the floating castle Aincrad from SAO is brought into Alfheim Online which Kirito then declares he intends to finish clearing all 100 floors of. He is met with their friends from SAO and Alfheim Online flying towards the castle.

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