That was a nice breather chapter! Though "breather" more because there wasn't fights, because there was some heavy talks there!
I found myself particularly touched by the declaration and story of Argo... which is funny considering you managed to do the most touching scene in my eyes in a BATH, NAKED, AGAIN xD
Heavy subjects with Klein and Griselda too.
And I'm curious to know what Kirito asked Asuna at the very end that made her this happy... I have a few wild guesses but a bit outlandish... I'll wait to see.
AND I CAUGHT UP oh my God I didn't realize till now!
Well, that was an excellent read and I'll definitely keep an eye out on my mails for future chapters!
Now I can go check your other story! :p

A nice chapter to wrap up all the mess since the Skull Reaper! I actually really hoped for a scene with the Monument of Life to see two particular names: PoH and Griselda. PoH's being burned of instead of crossed is... still a bit concerning to me? Griselda's being kinda glitched makes me hope for the best.
Klein always speaks of how Kirito is smooth with the ladies, but the guy don't realize how smooth he was himself in this chapter!
The thing with the Army and the prisonners is a BIG mess, as big as the number of players concerned. Using the Hollow Area as a prison is a good idea, but with the infighting that could happen there, the resentment against clearers and all... I kinda fear a bit for the IRL events later on...

Well, that was indeed a Finale and a spectacular one at that! Can't believe I actually saw the double PoH coming xD
The fight against them was intense and I particularly liked the way you describe how the fighting is going all over the place vertically with Philia and Tia messing with the environment.
The way the Dagger-PoH was thrwon out of the room (and by extension of Aincrad) was just so delectable to read haha! Though they DIDN'T see him actually die, and a villain like him is worse than a coakroach sooooo... Hope it was indeed the Hollow-PoH?
The way he destroyed Tia's faith in him though... it was just plain cruel. Don't know what she'll do after that but SHE could become the major threat now...
Bit of hacking at he end and the information on Kizmel obtained can only let me imagine all that you've got for us later on!

Well, amazing chapter there!
Griselda did, indeed, recover a body and Grimlock got what he deserved. The guy really tried to lie his way out of this to the end... Hope to see some healing and then maybe some Klein/Griselda blossom because GOD they deserve it after all this!
Kuradeel was ACTUALLY useful and - can't believe it still - saved some lives in the raid including Lux! And even made some snarky comments to Godfree! Man, you're raking in some points there, maybe he's tryingg for redemption? I suppose I'll see
RIP (probably not) Strea and Vanel and even Lind came to help out. What's more to ask?
Ha yes the fight against the big bad evil guy PoH... And probably Tia (?)... And probably F*CKING PoH n2, because he previously said himself he is or has a Hollow... If there is two of him it's gonna be nuts xD

Biiiiig chapter there. Took me a good while to finish but it got some really nice moment like Philia's reassurance in the bath (and Argo in the bath was just hilarious too xD her story of the second floor makes me wish for a Kirito/Argo as well written as your fiction)
Lizbeth's bit was nice too. I wondered if we wouldn't have Dark Repeler, but the way you integrated it is nice.
Can't wait for the confrontations coming, particularly Grizelda and Furinkazan against Grimlock!

Damn, went about how I imagined for the begining and so much worse for a few other things. The time dilation is quite terrible on the psyhchological point of view for Philia and Thinker.
Another point important is that Griselda finally spoke of what happened with Klein... It's so sad for her and he's so much of a good guy that somehow I'd hope for a ship. Probably not happening but I can always hope. If there's still her ghost, maybe the Nervegear actually didn't manage to kill her? Or on another point maybe she can become something close to an AI like Kizmel? Don't know, but I'd hope for her she could have a happy development...

Oooooh damn... It's gonna happen a bit like in the game for Philia huh...?
She just killed her Hollow-double, and if I have to guess PoH's ganna find her and whisper in her hears that she isn't real, that she's a Hollow that killed the real Philia huh... Probably with a few Hollows of dead players in tow? Yeah, I can see that...
Poor Philia is gonna have a really hard time in the next chapter...

Well... That was one hell of a chapter with a lot (and I mean A LOT) of information!
First reaction: I teared up at two times in this chapter, both when Sachi says that she made it "this time". Can't help but think that after all the traumatisms they went through, they'll really need to see a shrink (that's the word I saw used if I remember). Even a story form the PoV of a player shrink in SAO could be quite something xD
You mentioned 9 other Unique Skills so I'm quite curious to see what you got for us later on!
Real MVP of the chapter to me is Agil with how he tore a new one verbally to the rest of the cleaners after the raid and Kayaba! That was SO satisfying.
Kumari made quite a bad first impression when she talked about Kizmel after the raid, but damn a character that knows how to think and apologize, that's good! Expected a bit of a reference to Fuumaningun from her but ABSOLUTELY NOT that her and Krueger (RIP man) where also from Golden Apple! It's a bit sickening to realize that Fuze actually killed Griselda with Grimlock as a willing accomplice and then later on used 3 of his previous guildmates as zombie puppets...
Didn't see Rain being recruited by Asuna coming either.
And finally... Well Murphy's Law is a b*tch and everything happens at the worst timing ever.
The Hollow Area, if I remember a Let's Play I saw on Youtube, is where Kirito meet Philia in one of the games, huh? Sort of a beta test zone with doppelgagners (sort of) of the players (even dead ones) roaming in there, if I remember? Gotta be chaos again xD

Incredible descrition of a fight there again! I had my suspicions that Kizmel would be the one confronting Heathcliff/Kayaba, but hell I didn't expect the 'Father'
It's so f*cking logical now that I think of it and explains so much!

Nice breather chapter (and reading the fan service at the end actually made me laugh xD).
I knew of the thing with the golems, a nice bit of trivia to know. I think it was form a series of really great books called the "Bartimaeus Sequence". Really hidden gems those!
A nice bit of background for the girls of the team too.

I actually wondered what will happen when they leave Aincrad for Sachi and Keita... Old friends, same school, same club... Would be... complicated...

Damn, that was an amazing fight you wrote there. Much more believable than Kirito almost soling The Gleam Eyes alone.
And I totally didn't expect that Griselda could intervene like that in a fight! Amazing idea there!
By the way, reading SAO and watching the anime I often wondered one thing: at the end of the Aincrad Arc, Kayaba 'digitalize' himself and fry his brain IRL in the process. I always thought that there is no way in hell that he would do such a thing if he wasn't at least partially sure it would work. And how would a mad genius like him with litterally 10k guinea pigs trapped in his VR world would do? Well, at there death in game, their brains are fried. Coincidence? Or actually almost 4k experiences to achieve his digitalization? Would explain some things like Grizelda's ghost too, if it was actually partially successful for her.
By the way, I guess I can consider Griselda as another stray for Furinkazan? xD I actually wonder if anything would happen with the Resurrection Stone for her... They still have it at this point if I remember right.
Thanks for a great take on this battle! See ya next chapter.

Forgot to say it last chapters but : XaXa is gonna be a problem in the future right...? The description in the fight only told he lost his arms during the fight, not that he died... And I wonder what happened to Lux's friend, the bandit girl Gwen during the fight.
Now, in this chpater, it's interesting to see that Asuna took care of Kuradeel herself in the duel! Though not the end of him huh... He sure as hell gonna do something stupid and get killed like in cannon, the question is how...
And I'm curious how The Gleam Eyes is gonna change!

Well, a LOT happened in this chapter!
First, I really didn't think we'd see Grizelda's ghost again. I thought it was just a passing gimmick or something in reference to how we do see something like her shadow in anime (and LN? I don't remember).
The fight was something else! Rip Komodo, another of K players from the episode one x) Or is it tryly a RIP when we already have one person not exactly dead like Grizelda?
Now, all of Team Kirito and Furinkazan has killed. That, I expected. Asuna killing one, I wasn't sure as even in novel I think she didn't kill anyone. Makes me wonder if Lind even had the guts... The real surprise came from Argo killing Johny Black. I expected the revenge, sure, but not this so well thought revenge murder (even if she's justified there).
You said in one answer to one of my reviews that Furinkazan would pick up some other strays, well no surprise for where Lux ends up then x)
Now... I really hope Kuradeel gets what's coming for him too soon, cause I really hate the guy and I have a feeling he may be even worse than cannon if we see him in next chapters...
I wonder how the end of te Aincrad arc will play out to (duel against Heathcliff? Gleam Eyes? 75th boss?) Could be fun to see Heathcliff actually losing the duel in front of a public.
And gotta wonder how Grimlock is important to PoH's next plot... the 'Hollows' too... Maybe something to do with a 'droping Aincrad from the sky' or something?

A bit of an introspection chapter it seems? At least for Rain and Kirito, there.
Nice one reusing the "pragmatic/plastic" in an english mistake xD
So now things are going to be tense again with LC huh...

Well, those guys from "The Echo" got me curious and I wonder where this will go from there.
I liked having a good chunk of the chapter for Furinkazan. I often say it, but I think Klein is truly the best bro of SAO and should always have some more screen time :)
And with how the story went so far, same for Sachi ; and it's always nice to see Lizbeth coming in one in a while.