Sword Art Online Episode 19


 * The Legrue Corridor redirects here. You may be looking for the location

The Legrue Corridor (ルグルー回廊) is the nineteenth episode of the Sword Art Online anime adaptation, as well as the fifth episode in the Fairy Dance Arc. It aired on November 10, 2012.

Plot
Having entered the Legrue Corridor, Kirito used night vision magic to make it easier for him and Leafa to navigate the dungeon. As the two discussed spells in the game along their way, Leafa unexpectedly received a somewhat cryptic warning from Recon. Before Leafa could manage to make sense of the message, they were interrupted by Yui's warning that twelve players were approaching them, prompting Leafa to hide them with a concealment spell. While hiding, Kirito noticed a red bat, which Leafa immediately recognized as a high-leveled tracer and quickly disposed of. As the tracer was fire-attributed, Leafa deduced that the twelve players pursuing them were Salamanders and thus warned Kirito to flee to the nearby town.



Some time later, the two of them arrived at the lake surrounding Legrue. However, just before they could enter the city, a beam was fired overhead and erected a stone wall in front of them, blocking their advance. Upon failing to destroy the wall through physical force, Kirito wondered if they could bypass the wall by going into the river but was discouraged from doing so by Leafa, as the lake had powerful monsters that were virtually impossible to kill without an Undine supporter. Ordering Leafa to support him from the back, Kirito engaged the Salamander group in combat, only to be repelled by their frontline shield formation. As the Salamanders with shields were healed by their allies, another group of Salamander mages counterattacked with fireball magic. Although Leafa's healing magic allowed him to continue fighting, the enemy's shield formation supported by healers as well as offensive mages proved to be too difficult for Kirito to overcome. Seeing the futility of their situation, Leafa proposed surrendering to the Salamanders and restart their journey from Swilvane after their deaths, only to be met with Kirito's absolute refusal to allow any of his party members to die.



As Kirito continued being repelled by the Salamanders, Yui ordered Leafa to use all of her mana to block the next fireball attack, giving Kirito the opportunity to cast his own illusion spell. As the flames from the Salamander attack faded, Kirito transformed into a creature resembling The Gleam Eyes, inspiring fear among the Salamander warriors, despite reassurances from their leader that Spriggan illusory magic was not a threat. In part due to Kirito's already high stats, he easily overcame the shield formation, prompting the mages to begin casting explosive magic, only for most of them to be slaughtered by the transformed Spriggan before they could finish their spell. Kirito's rampage only left two survivors: the leader and a rank-and-file mage. Panicking, the leader dived into the lake, only to be killed by one of the monsters residing inside. As Kirito prepared to kill the sole survivor, Leafa intervened to keep the Salamander alive, in order to interrogate him.

At first, the mage refused to cooperate with the interrogation despite Leafa threatening him with her katana. It was only after Kirito managed to bribe the Salamander with the battle spoils that the Salamander revealed the leader's name and that they were gathered to hunt down two players. Although the Salamander survivor believed such a large force was overkill for such an operation at first, he changed his mind when he learnt that the two players had defeated Kagemune's party earlier. He also divulged that a large Salamander force was heading north. Although Leafa considered the possibility that the Salamander force was heading towards the World Tree, the mage argued that the Salamanders were not even remotely ready for the Grand Quest, as it was presumed that their force would need to first acquire ancient-level gear to attempt the feat. Once the Salamander finished revealing what he knew, Kirito honored their agreement by rewarding the mage with the loot Kirito had acquired from the other Salamanders.

Afterwards, Leafa asked Kirito whether the monster was him. Although Kirito admitted that he had a tendency to forget most of his battles when he lost control, he said that he remembered being the monster, and that it had been very fun slashing at the Salamanders with his claws. As Yui told him that he had also chomped on some players while being the monster, and Leafa wondered what it tasted like, he told them that it was something like yakiniku before being burnt. After that, Kirito stopped and jokingly bit Leafa's hand and in return she hit him very hard on the cheek.

They then entered the city and Leafa, after noticing that Recon was not online, logged out of the game under Kirito's advice to ask Recon in the real world what his message meant. After logging off and checking her phone, she noticed that Nagata Shinichi had been calling her for awhile now and suddenly, the phone rang again. After hearing Shinichi's complaints about her not answering his calls, she demanded to know what was happening. Shinichi informed her that Sigurd had been collaborating with the Salamanders and that he had sold out their leader, Lady Sakuya. Shinichi had caught Sigurd acting suspiciously and decided to tail him, eventually stumbling upon his meeting with the Salamanders. However, he was found out before he could escape due to hitting a stone and was shot with a poisoned arrow. Shinichi revealed that a large force of Salamanders were planning to attack the Sylph leader and the leader of the Cait Siths during the establishment of the alliance treaty between the two races.



Leafa connected to ALO once again and explained the situation to Kirito. She told him that he should work for the Salamanders, as she believed that they were the most capable race to ascend the World Tree, and thought that they would most likely kill the two leaders and get the money needed for their equipment. Since Kirito was a Spriggan, he could work for them as a mercenary. Kirito declined this option, stating that he would never use his friends for his personal benefit. Suddenly realizing that they were wasting time talking and not getting to the alliance treaty, he called Yui to lead the way. He then grabbed Leafa's arm and with his speed, they darted through the caves, bypassing large numbers of Orcs to the other end of the Corridor.

New Characters

 * Gtacs
 * Sakuya (cameo)
 * Alicia Rue (cameo)
 * Eugene (cameo)

Named Monsters

 * Orcs

Location

 * The Legrue Corridor (neutral territory)
 * Legrue
 * Kirigaya Residence

Spells

 * «Night Vision»
 * An unnamed invisibility spell
 * An unnamed fireball spell
 * An unnamed healing spell
 * An unnamed shield spell
 * An unnamed transformation spell

Adaption Notes

 * Adapted from Volume 3, Chapter 4


 * The anime omits the scene where Yui tells Kirito to read the instruction manual and tells him the chant for his Night Vision spell.
 * In the light novel, all three of the Salamander tanks held their weapons in their left hand and their shields in their right. In the anime, the tanks held their weapons in their right hand.
 * In the anime, it was not mentioned that the Illusion spell Kirito performed turned the player into a monster, the shape of which randomly depending on the player's combat skills and that the end result would usually be a weak monster with no change in stats.
 * The orcs are not seen in until the end of the anime. In the novel, Kirito and Leafa were fighting them on the way to Legrue.
 * In the novel, one of the mages who were casting explosive magic killed himself after reciting the wrong words to the spell. In the anime, this isn't shown and instead Kirito kills all of the mages (except Gtacs, who jumped off the bridge, and the leftover mage)
 * In the novel, Kirito gives the remaining Salamander mage the items of his killed partners. In the anime, the trade does occur, but it is not mentioned where exactly did Kirito get them from.
 * When Leafa hit Kirito for trying to taste her hand in the novel, the impact caused ripples in the lake. The ripples are not shown in the anime.
 * In the novel, Recon was discovered after he accidentally kicked a rock and the Salamanders then used Searching magic to discover him. In the anime, he tripped and let out a sound that gave away his position, while the Salamanders did not need to use Searching magic to find him.
 * In the anime, Leafa does not mention about what happened to the first Sylph Lord when she explains what happens when one race kills another race's lord.

Errors

 * Leafa's name was written as "Leefa" next to her health bar, even though the author has confirmed on his twitter that the official spelling is "Leafa".
 * The second half of the incantation for the transformation spell is incorrect, as the incantation in the anime guide, SAO no Subete, uses completely different words.

Quotes

 * (To Leafa) "While I'm alive, I won't let any party members die." - Kirito

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