As the year drew to a close, Kirito and the others were nearing the end of their final year of high school.
Their exams were only days away, yet somehow, that wasn't the only thing occupying their minds.
Something unusual was brewing within their little group.
The afternoon sun hung low over the school grounds as the friends gathered on the rooftop, the cool breeze tugging lightly at their clothes.
"Hey, there are only a few days left until our exams," Ibuki said.
"Yeah, but we can't just leave without pulling off some kind of stunt," Neji replied.
Kirito folded his arms, already suspecting where this conversation was going.
"So, what should we do?"
"Something big," Kiyorai said with a grin.
Before anyone could continue, the rooftop door opened.
Sherry stepped outside and joined them.
"By the way, Asuna isn't here."
"No, she's too straight-laced for this kind of stuff. Plus, she didn't show up on her own," Reno said.
Sherry sighed.
"Oh well, never mind that—what's the plan then?"
"Nothing right now, but we'll figure something out soon," Kirito said.
For the moment, that was enough.
None of them knew that the peaceful days they were trying to make memorable were about to become anything but peaceful.
That evening, Sam wasn't home, so the responsibility of preparing dinner fell to Kirito.
Meanwhile, Reno and Allya were lounging in the living room, their attention fixed on their phones.
The smell of dinner gradually filled the apartment.
"Kiri, how much longer? I'm starving!" Allya called from the living room.
"Yeah, just ten more minutes—it's almost done!" Kirito shouted back from the kitchen.
A little while later, dinner was finally ready.
The three of them ate together, and once the conversation had settled into its usual rhythm, Allya brought up something that had been bothering her.
"Kiri, can you help me with my studies later?"
Kirito looked over at her.
"But Sam usually helps you study, doesn't he? Why do you need my help today?"
"Yeah, but he's tied up with work today, and my exams start the day after tomorrow, so..."
Allya gave him an apologetic look.
Kirito sighed before nodding.
"Alright, fair enough. My exams are coming up too, so I might as well do some studying myself."
"Thanks, Kiri!"
However, the moment dinner was over, Kirito grabbed his bike keys.
Reno watched him put on his shoes.
"Hey, where are you off to?"
"I have some urgent business at Sherry's place. Oh, and please wash the dishes. And if possible, help Allya with her studies too."
Before Reno could ask anything else, Kirito opened the door and left.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Reno stared at it for a moment.
"...Urgent business?"
Three hours passed.
Kirito still hadn't returned.
Allya finally looked up from her books.
"Reno, where did Kiri go? He still hasn't come back. He said he'd help me today."
Reno was standing in the kitchen, washing the dishes.
"He said he was going to Sherry's place for some urgent work."
"Then call Sis and ask where the two of them are."
"Yeah."
Reno dried his hands and picked up his phone before calling Sherry.
The call connected after a few rings.
"Kiri? He didn't come here. He didn't even mention he was coming over."
Sherry was changing clothes after returning from the gym.
Reno frowned.
"Then where did he go? Allya's been asking me about him for ages."
"Hmm..."
Sherry glanced at herself in the mirror.
"Has my chest gotten bigger again? This bra doesn't fit me anymore..."
Reno blinked.
"Sherry, aren't you saying anything?"
"Oh, right—I forgot I was on a call."
Sherry quickly pulled on a T-shirt and picked up the phone from the dressing table.
"I was saying... I think I know where he might have gone."
Her expression had suddenly become serious.
She picked up her bike keys.
At the same time, far from the apartment, Kirito stood alone in a quiet graveyard.
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The night air was cold, and the silence seemed to stretch endlessly between the rows of graves.
He stood before his mother's headstone.
"Mom, there was so much I wanted to ask you. I thought I might find something at home, but there was nothing there."
His voice was quiet.
For a moment, he simply stared at the stone.
"And, oh... I've spoken to grandmother and decided to sell that house. I'll be heading back to India next year."
He paused.
"And yes, Allya is coming along too. So who knows if the two of us will ever return to Japan?"
The words lingered in the cold night.
Kirito lowered his gaze.
There were still so many unanswered questions.
So many things about his family that he didn't understand.
Eventually, he stepped away from the headstone and made his way toward an old shed nearby.
He sat down inside, resting his back against the wall.
"So now, the only thing left is to meet the man who told me over the phone that he knew Dad."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Who was this man?
And what did he know about Rudra?
Kirito didn't have the answers yet.
But he intended to get them.
Several minutes later, a motorcycle stopped near the entrance of the graveyard.
Sherry removed her helmet and looked toward the dark path ahead.
"Why did this idiot have to come here in the middle of the night?"
She stepped off her bike and started toward the graveyard.
The cold night air made her shiver. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself as she walked deeper into the darkness.
The further she went, the quieter everything became.
Sherry slowed.
For a moment, an uneasy feeling crawled up her spine.
"It's okay... there's no one behind me. I just need to keep moving forward."
She took another step.
Then another.
Her gaze eventually settled on a familiar headstone.
Hina Kaizawa.
Sherry stopped.
"Hmm... Aunty, I probably should have brought flowers on my way here, but is it really right to bring them at night?"
She stood silently for a moment before loosening her jacket.
Then—
Someone was there.
A man in a suit stood nearby.
Sherry's eyes widened.
"Hina Kaizawa... she was quite a remarkable woman, Akira."
The man's voice was calm.
Sherry's expression hardened.
"She certainly wouldn't want to hear you calling her like that."
She turned fully toward him and met his gaze without backing down.
The man smiled faintly.
"Student of Hina Kaizawa and current head of the one of twelve Dark Knight clan—Sherry Roselia."
His eyes remained fixed on her.
"Alright, so you know at least this much. Now, I'm going to ask one last time: where is Kirito, and what did you come here to do?"
The moment Kirito's name left Sherry's mouth, Akira's expression changed.
Whatever fear she had felt moments earlier disappeared.
Her attention narrowed entirely onto the man standing before her.
"To take him to that place—and I've already finished the job. he will soon come to Sol Invictus..."
Akira's sentence remained unfinished.
"Rose petals," Sherry whispered.
A burst of mana spread through the graveyard.
Tiny, razor-sharp petals surged toward Akira in a swirling storm.
They struck him from every direction.
Yet when the petals scattered, Akira remained completely unharmed.
Sherry's eyes narrowed.
She immediately followed the spell with a direct attack, using the distraction to close the distance.
But the instant she moved through her own spell—
A massive spear of ice suddenly appeared.
Sherry's body locked up as the attack struck her.
Her breath caught.
For a moment, the world seemed to go silent.
She couldn't understand what had happened.
Then Akira snapped his fingers.
The scenery around Sherry distorted.
Her eyes widened.
"So, how does it feel to see your own death right before your eyes?" Akira asked calmly.
The illusion consumed her senses.
For an instant, Sherry found herself trapped within a nightmare she couldn't escape.
Then the illusion shattered.
Sherry stumbled forward, barely managing to keep herself standing.
"What was that?"
Her breathing was ragged.
"It felt like he killed me in a single instant."
A sharp cough escaped her.
She wiped at her mouth, her vision wavering.
Akira remained completely composed.
"Driver, wait two minutes. What is this? Why is such dense mana radiating from the graveyard?"
A vehicle had stopped nearby.
Rika Yozakura stepped out and immediately sensed the enormous concentration of mana.
Without wasting another second, she headed toward the graveyard.
"You have so much potential—you could have easily become a Grandmaster."
Akira looked down at Sherry.
"Yet you let your emotions drive you to leave the Dark Knights. But I won't let your potential go to waste. The doors of Sol Invictus will always remain open for you."
His words were accompanied by another surge of dense mana.
The repeated illusions had left Sherry struggling to remain conscious.
She dropped to one knee.
Yet despite everything, she raised her head.
"Why do you think I left the Dark Knights?"
A faint smile appeared on her face.
She forced herself back onto her feet.
Akira watched her with interest.
"That very spirit is both your greatest strength and your weakness."
He raised his hand.
"Swift Ice Miracle."
Ice erupted around Sherry in an instant.
She cried out as the attack overwhelmed her and sent her crashing to the ground.
Before Akira could approach her—
"Arise, Lugia—Sea Dragon's Fang!"
A powerful torrent of water tore through the space between them.
Akira was forced back.
Rika stepped between him and Sherry, her weapon raised.
"Hey, Sherry, don't fall asleep. Stay strong."
Sherry's eyes struggled to remain open.
Rika glanced at her briefly before turning her attention back to Akira.
Akira adjusted his coat.
"Rika Yozakura—Hina's younger sister and Captain of the 3rd Division."
His expression remained calm.
"This family is really relentless in coming after me."
"Former 2nd Grandmaster Akira Kenji..."
Rika tightened her grip on her sword.
"I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but it would be best for both of us if we backed off for now."
She pointed the tip of her sword toward him.
Akira smiled.
"And you think you can actually stand against me?"
"I don't know about that..."
A bead of sweat rolled down Rika's forehead.
"But you probably don't want to stay in Tokyo much longer."
Akira's expression shifted slightly.
"So that's how it is? You've let Shinkai know I'm here."
"When did I ever say that?"
Rika's eyes narrowed.
Akira chuckled.
"Never mind. My business here is finished anyway."
He raised his hand.
"Melting Snowflakes."
Heavy snow suddenly began to fall across the graveyard.
The white flurry rapidly swallowed Akira's figure.
By the time the snow began to settle, he was gone.
"Sherry... just a little longer. We'll reach the hospital soon."
Rika crouched beside Sherry and carefully lifted her up.
Sherry's eyes were barely open.
Rika hurried toward the vehicle, carrying her away from the graveyard.
The night had become dangerously quiet.
At the hospital, Rika quickly had Sherry admitted.
For the moment, the only explanation she could give the staff was that Sherry had been involved in a motorcycle accident.
Once Sherry had been taken inside, Rika sat on a hospital bench and made a phone call.
"Hello, Intelligence Bureau? Can you give me the family contact details for Sherry Roselia—Hina's student?"
She waited.
"Yes, ma'am. There is a former Dark Knight named Sherry Roselia, but the only family contact listed is a friend's number—Kirito Kaizawa."
Rika froze.
"Kirito..."
Her nephew's name echoed in her mind.
For a moment, she couldn't bring herself to speak.
Then she took a slow breath.
"Calm down, Rika. You just need to call him like a stranger. For now, forget that he's your older sister's son."
She closed her eyes for a moment before making the call.
"Hello..."
Not long afterward, the hospital doors opened.
Kirito rushed inside, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
He had come as quickly as he could.
He headed straight for the reception desk.
"Ma'am, I'm Sherry Roselia's brother. Could you please tell me where she is?"
The receptionist looked at him.
"Yes, she's in Room 128, but sir..."
"Thank you very much."
Kirito immediately rushed away.
He ran down the corridor toward Sherry's room.
Outside Room 128, Rika stood waiting.
Kirito barely noticed her.
His mind was focused on only one thing.
Sherry.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Hey, is Sherry okay?"
Then he saw her.
She lay motionless on the hospital bed, connected to a ventilator.
The steady beeping of the medical equipment filled the room.
Kirito stopped.
His entire body went still.
For several seconds, he couldn't process what he was seeing.
Sherry had always been strong.
Someone who could stand against almost anything.
Yet now...
She looked so fragile.
Kirito's expression emptied.
Without saying another word, he quietly stepped back outside.
He walked to the nearest bench and sat down.
His eyes remained fixed on the ceiling light.
The light above him blurred.
He didn't want to lose another loved one.
Not again.
A few moments later, the doctor approached him.
"Are you Sherry's brother?"
Kirito slowly looked over.
"She is out of danger now. She just needs some time to recover."
The doctor gave him a reassuring nod before leaving.
Kirito remained seated.
His gaze returned to the ceiling.
"How did this happen?"
His voice was barely audible.
"Her getting into an accident makes absolutely no sense."
Something about it wasn't right.
And deep down, Kirito already knew one thing.
Whatever had happened to Sherry had nothing to do with an ordinary accident.