A year has passed since SAO was cleared. Summoned by Kikuoka of the Virtual Division at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Kazuto learns of a series of bizarre murders linked to the popular VR game, Gun Gale Online (GGO), the only game in Japan played by pros.

Kirito decides that Death Gun and the man in the cape will be appearing in BoB. He uses the remaining time to exchange information with Sinon and find out more about the contestants. Sinon sees how strange he was acting during the qualifier and asks him what happened. She learns that he is a SAO survivor. The main BoB tournament begins and 30 players are dropped in a 10km wide field.