Sword Art Online Light Novel Volume 18

Alicization Lasting (アリシゼーション・ラスティング) is the 18th book in the Sword Art Online light novel series, published on August 10, 2016. It is the fourth volume in the War of the Underworld sub-arc of the Alicization arc, as well as the final volume of the Alicization arc.

Preview
"I would definitely not leave everyone's will, blood and tears in vain. Let's go save them. Can you help me, Asuna?"

"-- It's Kirito-kun. My Kirito-kun, came back......"

On the second day of the Final Tolerance Experiment, the entire Underworld has plunged into chaos. The Dark Territory Army, led by Dark God Vector, are the users from the «real world»......

Deceiving VRMMO players from America, China and Korea, he summons tens of thousands of «Dark Knights» into the «Underworld» as reinforcements. Since Integrity Knight Bercouli, the highest commander of the «Human Empire Army» has fallen, Alice, his beloved apprentice, rushes towards the «World End Altar» on her own. Losing the Super Account «Dark God Vector», Gabriel logs in again as «Subtlizer», defeats Sinon in their duel, and pursues Alice.

Meanwhile, in the battlefield where the «Human Empire Army» is trapped by the «Dark Knights» overwhelmingly outnumbering them, the desperate fights of Asuna and the help of Lisbeth, Sakuya and others turn out to be in vain. Eventually Kirito is captured by the enemy in his state of self-loss.

As his rival since the SAO era, the enemy is «PoH», one of the remaining members of Laughing Coffin. As though releasing all the grudge accumulated for years, «PoH» is about to sink his fangs into Kirito---!! Suddenly, from Kirito's heart, a voice resonates. It belongs to his best friend whom he has lived with, fought alongside with and laughed together with. The voice of his one and only one, best friend---.

Finally, Kirito revives.

In order to save Alice, who determines the fate of the world, Asuna, who is his best love, everyone else who rush in to help, and «everything» living in the Underworld.

Part 7
Due to the damage his Fluctlight had endured, Kirito relived the worst memories from his lifetime, including the time he abandoned an old friend from the SAO beta to thugs, the death of Coper, and that of the Moonlit Black Cats. As the flow of negative memories continued, Kirito relived his moments with Eugeo, including his death. Overwhelmed by his self-reproach for the boy's death, Kirito was about crush his own heart, when Asuna's, Sinon's, and Suguha's Fluctlights, connected to his by Higa Takeru, intervened in an attempt to console him. However, at the last moment, Kirito's doubt that he could be forgiven halted the healing process.

At that moment, in the real world, the diagram on Higa Takeru's phone that indicated the state Kazuto's Fluctlight stopped on the very verge of the threshold for recovery, necessitating one more person with a deep bond to the boy to be connected for the process to be completed. Just as all hope seemed to be lost, Takeru noticed that something from the Main Visualiser, a storage area for data on objects rather than Fluctlights, was attempting to establish a connection with Kazuto's Fluctlight.

The moment that Higa Takeru granted the Main Visualiser access to Kazuto's Soul Translator in a desperate move, Eugeo's voice reached Kirito, stopping the boy just before he could crush his heart. Eugeo reminding Kirito that they would always be connected through the latter's memories, in combination with the voices of the three girls, served as the final push for Kirito's recovery.

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Volumen 18 (novela ligera)