Sword Art Online II Episode 11

What it Means to be Strong (強さの意味) is the eleventh episode of the Sword Art Online II anime adaptation, as well as the eleventh episode in the Phantom Bullet Arc. It aired on September 13, 2014.

Plot
After hearing that Kirito (Kirigaya Kazuto) had killed people in Sword Art Online, Sinon asked him how he was able to overcome the memories of the people he killed, but Kirito revealed that he did not overcome the memories and instead accepted the weight of them, as it was the minimum that he could do to atone for his actions. Kirito and Sinon then began discussing about Death Gun and his victims. While thinking about how Death Gun was able to stop the heart of players by shooting them in the game, Kirito realised that Death Gun did not shoot him with the pistol, but with the sniper instead. Based on this, Kirito deduced that Death Gun had to make preparations in real life to be able to kill the players with his pistol. He then remembered that players could input their real life details in the Governor's Office and that someone could have seen the details being input, as it was an open space and the terminals did not offer much privacy. Kirito then brought up the idea that Death Gun could have used his mantle to spy on other players without being noticed. After some thinking, Kirito realised that Death Gun was actually more than one person: one shot the player in game, while the other killed the player in real life by injecting them with a lethal drug. Meanwhile, Chrysheight (Kikuoka Seijirou) came to ALO under Asuna's request and, after Yui revealed all the information on the incident that she had gathered, Chrysheight explained the situation to Asuna and the others. Asuna then requested to know of Kazuto's whereabouts and decided to go to him in real life. Back in the game, Kirito and Sinon decided on a course of action and were surprised to find out that they were being filmed by one of the cameras.

Locations

 * ISL Ragnarok
 * Desert
 * A cave
 * Yggdrasil City
 * Kirito and Asuna's rented home

Adaptation Notes

 * Adapted from Volume 6, Chapter 12 and 13


 * In the novel, after Yui finished explaining the situation based on her research, Asuna immediately reached her hand out and carried Yui in front of her chest and whispered a thanks to her, as she knew that Yui's emotion processes were not strong and the research was thus hard on her. In the anime, all of this was omitted and instead Yui flew on Asuna's shoulder when Asuna started asking Chrysheight for Kazuto's location.
 * The reference to Rath in Chrysheight's dialogue was omitted.

Navigation
SAO II - Episode 11