Grimlock/Synopsis

## Biography

### Background

Grimlock was Griselda's husband, they were happily married and never had a fight. Gridelda was a typical wife, who always made dinner for her husband and Grimlock was happy the way thing were.

### Aincrad Arc

#### Pre-Episode 6

On November 6, 2022, Grimlock and Griselda got their hands on pair of NerveGears and two copies of Sword Art Online, a VRMMO set in a multifloored castle in the sky called Aincrad. They logged into SAO and were trapped in the game along with 10,000 other players.

They eventually formed a Guild called the Golden Apple, along with Kains, Yolko, Schmitt, and three other players, with Griselda as their leader, and even though Schmitt annoyed them with his paranoia, believing his haters from his days as a YouTuber were going to kill him, all of them became great friends.

However, being the leader of the Guild drastically changed Griselda. She started becoming more independent and free-spirited, and became so focused on clearing the game that she forgot to make Grimlock dinner one night. Although Griselda promised to make up for it the next day, this shock to Grimlock's routine drove him to despair, believing that his wife had betrayed him. Grimlock then became convinced that, in order to preserve the memory of who his wife used to be, he had to "kill the thing that took her place".

One unfortunate day, around October 2023, the Guild came upon a rare and valuable item, but were unsure of what to do with it. A meeting was held to determine whether they should sell or keep the item, and it was eventually put to a vote. Kains, Yolko, and Schmitt voted to keep the item while the rest of the Guild voted to sell it. Griselda then went into town to sell the item and Grimlock took this opportunity to murder his wife while she was away from the rest of the group. It wasn't long afterwards that the Guild learned that Griselda had been murdered and the item was gone. Distraught over the loss of their friend and suspecting the killer was among them, as they were the only ones who knew about the item, the Guild placed a grave in Cross Hill on Floor 19 and soon disbanded.

However, Kains and Yolko were not satisfied with this outcome and plotted to find the killer for the next six months. They recruited Grimlock to help them in their investigation, as they believed he wanted revenge as well. Worried they would discover the truth, Grimlock pretended to help the two so he could lure them into a trap and have them killed too, in hopes of covering up his crime. Grimlock steered them to look towards Schmitt, as he was the only other person who wanted to keep the item. Kains and Yolko, blinded by vengeance, believed that he was the culprit and started brainstorming ways to get him to confess.

At some point, the two learned of the glitch on Floor 57, where if a player teleports while in freefall, the game's teleport animation would be replaced with the death animation. Yolko then came up with an idea to use this glitch to their advantage and fake their deaths, in order to convince Schmitt that Griselda's ghost was out for revenge and scare him into confessing his guilt. They then asked Grimlock to make a sword for them, named Guilty Thorn, and two other blades, to use in their plan in order to make it look more believable.

#### Episode 6

On April 12, 2024, once Kains and Yolko faked their deaths and convinced Schmitt that it was the ghost of Griselda who killed them, Grimlock paid the members of Laughing Coffin to kill all three of them once they were at Griselda's grave. But luckily for them, a player named Kirito had figured out both Kains and Yolko's deception and Grimlock's guilt. Kirito then sent another player named Asuna to track down Grimlock and bring him to Griselda's grave, while he rescued Kains, Yolko and Schmitt from Jeffrey and his goons.

However, when Asuna found Grimlock, he "wasn't very cooperative", and as a result, Asuna and Grimlock arrive later than Kirito expected. This annoys Kirito, as he planned out a grand reveal for Kains, Yolko and Schmitt. Grimlock then stood idly by with a smug look on his face as Kirito explained his guilt. However, his mood changes when Kirito incorrectly guesses that, since married players have the unique ability of sharing inventory spaces, Grimlock killed Griselda in order to keep the item in his inventory and have all the profits to himself.

Hearing Kirito's explanation, Grimlock gets offended and suddenly interjects, saying that the item had nothing to do with why he killed Griselda. Grimlock then explained his motive in a way that made *him* sound like the victim. After hearing this revelation, everyone is shocked that Griselda died for such a stupid, sexist reason, even Kirito. Grimlock tries to have Kains and Schmitt back him up, but Kains tells him not to speak to them. Kirito then goes on a passionate speech about how love is something special that most people spend their whole lives looking for, and Grimlock wasted his own love over something as simple as a meal. Kirito then states that Grimlock never truly loved Griselda, he was just being possessive, before telling Grimlock that he disgusts him. Grimlock isn't fazed by this, however, and simply states that Kirito will understand what it's like to be in love someday. Before Kirito can retaliate, Asuna takes the opportunity to tell Grimlock his hat makes him look like a hipster, which makes the widower fall to his knees in despair, much to Kirito's dismay.

With Grimlock dealt with, Kains laments on the fact that they spent six months investigating only to think Schmitt was the culprit. Kains then tries to extend an olive branch to Kirito, thanking him for saving them, but Kirito ruins the moment by reminding the three friends that Laughing Coffin made them his slaves, causing Kains to give up trying with Kirito. Now knowing who really killed Griselda, Kains, Yolko and Schmitt take Grimlock and start beating him to death behind a tree. The noise of this eventually gets so loud it almost ruins a moment between Kirito and Asuna. Schmitt then apologizes for this and promptly snaps Grimlock's neck, finally avenging Griselda's murder.

#### Legacy

Although Grimlock was a horrible human being, he helped Asuna see that Kirito had a hidden soft side, which was part of the reason why she fell in love with him.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Episode 6
2. ↑ Episode 1
3. ↑ Episode 5