Sword Art Online – Progressive - Volume 8 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Thank you for reading Sword Art Online Progressive 8, “Rhapsody of Crimson Heat (Part Two).”

(The following will touch heavily upon the content of the book, so beware if you flipped to the afterword first!)

First, to address the subtitle of the seventh-floor story, “Rhapsody” is a word that refers (among other things) to a free-flowing musical composition that is unbound by most traditional forms. My initial plan was for the seventh floor to consist of a number of independent events happening in succession, but the casino plot turned out to carry most of the weight on its own. The “Heat” referred to the casino excitement that consumed Kirito, Lind, and Kibaou, and the “Crimson” looked like the blazing sun hanging over this floor of eternal summer—or so you’d think—but actually was the color of blood. Thankfully, Kirito didn’t get that absorbed in the lures of gambling (laughs).

But while Kirito might have kept his cool in the casino, he was unsurprisingly driven to extreme measures and made a very impactful choice…Will he be able to conquer the eighth floor doing a “nights-only” run? How will he stay safe during the day? Will he be able to eat any delicious, garlic-heavy dishes again? There are many questions and concerns, but you’ll have to wait for the next volume to find out the answers!

Speaking of which, I plan for that volume to get into the climactic part of the “Elf War” campaign questline. It started on the third floor, so the idea that we’re finally to the forest elf castle on the eighth floor is rather fulfilling, isn’t it? Still, there are a number of mysteries left about the Volupta Grand Casino (What’s on the locked fourth floor? What will Falhari the Founder’s judgment be? Where did the Korloys tame the Storm Lykaon? Why does it cost money to do the taming? Why were there bonfire shrooms in the hidden passage to the casino? And so on…), so I think Kirito and friends will go back to the seventh floor again. Something tells me old Bardun isn’t going to give up after this setback. Look forward to that, too!

Moving on. I wouldn’t want to take up more of your time (and this afterword) writing about COVID-19 each volume, so let’s talk about something more enjoyable.

There’s an SAO Progressive movie out! It should be out in Japan! The subtitle will be the same as the first-floor story of the series: “Aria of a Starless Night.” But there will be new characters and a greatly beefed-up narrative, so I really hope you get the chance to see it on a big theater screen. And you better believe that everyone’s favorite will be there: Diavel!

Like the sixth floor, the seventh took two books to tell, which made a lot of work for my illustrator, abec, and my editors, Miki, Adachi, and Hirai. But thanks to them, I’m very happy with how this story turned out. Thank you so much! I hope to see you all in the next volume!

Reki Kawahara—April 2021