[Kirito remains silent for a long moment, mulling over those words, until finally a bitter smile crosses his lips, and he looks down at his own hands. How fitting, that they're covered with blood right now.]

Sorry... it's too late to prevent all of that. Maybe if I'd heard those words a year ago...

[He shakes his head. No, he can't bring himself to fully regret it. Not when the trade-off had been worth every bit of pain it caused him, every nightmare. He'd already done his best to deal with that guilt- now it's just a matter of time.]

In the past, I... already took the lives of three people. I already know.