Sword Art Online - Volume 25 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

Thank you for reading Sword Art Online 25: Unital Ring IV!

The Unital Ring arc has already reached its fourth volume (some would say it hasn’t been that fast), and it feels like the story is really moving now. Mutasina and Eolyne were just making cameos in the previous volume, but they have a much greater presence in this book, and I think I’ve probably given you a good idea of what they’re both about.

For now, events seem to be moving in parallel between UR and UW, but at some point, they are bound to approach one another and intersect. I hope you’ll stick around as the Unital Ring arc moves closer to a climax!

(Spoilers for this volume to follow.)

In addition to writing new Unital Ring characters, I got to write a bunch of very familiar old names. Even I was surprised when the salamander who struck a deal with Kirito in the Fairy Dance arc showed up again, with a name and everything. I have a feeling that other ALO players will be showing up in dribs and drabs as the story proceeds.

As for the Underworld section, we did get a little glimpse of some of the central characters of the Alicization arc, if only as passing mentions. Of course, I had to end it right as Alice was about to…! But I’m sure we’ll be finding out why the Integrity Knights were sealed next volume, along with other mysteries. Look forward to it! And maybe we’ll finally start to peel away the outer layer of that mysterious Commander Eolyne…

As for more personal circumstances, I’m writing this in October 2020, where the pandemic doesn’t look likely to end anytime soon, and we’re starting to put together a new kind of normal. While I think that the human adaptability on display is tremendous, there are many industries suffering heavily at this time (entertainment not least among them), and it seems like that’s going to continue to have major consequences. The SAO world is one where the coronavirus pandemic never happened, or came and went, but while writing I can’t help but be conscious sometimes that Kirito and everyone else aren’t wearing masks…I’m hoping that I can find an appropriate middle ground for this that isn’t overly optimistic or stressful.

And because of the pandemic…No, just kidding, because of my personal faults, I must apologize to my editor and abec for putting them through another horribly cramped schedule! I’ll do better next time and give you more time to work! Hope to see you all next volume, folks!

Reki Kawahara—October 2020