Kuradeel/Synopsis

## Biography

### Background

Not much is known about Kuradeel's past, except for the fact that he had an abusive mother. She would apparently hit him so much that that he eventually got sexually aroused by it and would develop a sadistic personality as a result.

### Aincrad Arc

#### Pre-Episode 8

On November 6, 2022, Kuradeel got his hands on a NerveGear and a copy of Sword Art Online, a VRMMO set in a multifloored castle in the sky called Aincrad. He logged into SAO and was trapped in the game along with 10,000 other players.

At some point, he joined a Guild called the Knights of the Blood Oath, where he became the bodyguard of Asuna, the Guild's Vice-Commander, and got constantly annoyed by Godfree, a roleplayer who portrayed himself as an overly jolly knight.

However, even though his Guild was supposed to oppose people like them, Kuradeel secretly became a fan of the Murder Guild, Laughing Coffin, even getting a tattoo of their logo. After a while though, Kuradeel became upset when Laughing Coffin changed to their goals to be less focussed on the murder aspect and became more focused on gaining wealth and fame, believing they had been led astray. He then became even more upset when this resulted in them getting arrested, as they gave away the exact location of their secret base to every player in the game in an advert.

#### Episode 8

On October 17, 2024, while on duty in the Floor 74 city of Algade, Asuna and Kuradeel were passing by Tiffany's Shop when Asuna hears a player named Kirito saying he needed someone who's maxed out their Cooking Skill. Luckily for her, she had recently maxed out her Cooking Skill, so she enters the shop, much to Tiffany's horror, and informs Kirito of this fact. Hearing this, Kirito initially mutters something under his breath, but he quickly retracts his statement when she asks him to repeat himself. As Tiffany wonders if he needs to line his doors with salt to repel Asuna, Kirito shows her that he has some Ragout Rabbit Meat, an S-Class Ingredient, much to her shock. Kirito then offers Asuna half of the meal if she agrees to cook it for him. Asuna then asks if Kirito's offer is a date, which Kirito scoffs at, pointing out her "boyfriend" is standing right behind her, a statement that disgusts Asuna. Kuradeel is offended by how repulsed Asuna was at the thought of dating him, something Kirito makes worse by stating that Kuradeel looks like Voldemort got caught in a grease fire.

Jokes aside, Asuna asks for some clarification as to whether the meal is a date or not. Kirito is surprised with Asuna's seriousness, thinking she was only joking, until Asuna grabs him by the collar and sternly invites him to her place at 6 o'clock, promising that it will be a "magical evening". Kirito says yes to the invitation, remarking that Asuna's request was more like a mugging, which Asuna celebrates, although she almost immediately tries to downplay her excitement. With the matter settled, Kirito apologizes to Tiffany, as he won't be selling him the meat after all. Tiffany then asks if Kirito will let him have some of the rabbit too, to which Kirito says they'll save him a plate, but he'll just need to come to Asuna's house to get it, something that's beyond Tiffany's abilities.

However, Kuradeel was suspicious of Kirito, and spied on him and Asuna as they were having dinner in Asuna's house in the Floor 61 city of Selmburg. After Kirito left, Kuradeel took his spying a step even further and broke into Asuna's house and watched her as she slept. As soon as Asuna woke up and saw Kuradeel, she panicked and ran away. Kuradeel followed Asuna to the Floor 74 city of Calmdet, where he finds her cowering behind Kirito. Kirito asks why Asuna needs help dealing with the half-melted troll doll, to which Asuna reveals what Kuradeel did, much to Kirito's shock. Kuradeel tries to justify his actions by saying that, if Asuna is willing to let a "cretin" like Kirito into her home, then she can't be trusted to be out of his sights, inadvertently revealing that he was watching them eat. Kirito then stands up for Asuna, telling Kuradeel not to treat his superior like a child playing in traffic, as Asuna is more than capable of taking care of herself. Kuradeel is insulted Kirito's request, particularly because he called Kuradeel "Skeletor", but as soon as Kirito sees that he hit a nerve he proceeds to fire a barrage of increasingly harsher insults.

No longer willing to take Kirito's tomfoolery, Kuradeel challenges him to a duel, to prove whether Kirito is as tough as he acts. Kirito isn't intimidated though and tells Kuradeel to leave before he makes his face look any worse, which only makes Kuradeel want to fight him more. Though amused by how easy Kuradeel is to wind up, Kirito asks Asuna why she needs his help. Asuna then points out that this is the perfect opportunity to humiliate the bodyguard in front of an adoring audience, which convinces Kirito to accept. As Kuradeel prepares himself to have an epic showdown, the creator of the game, Kayaba Akihiko, starts playing some circus music in the background to show how much of a clown show the duel really is. Kirito gives Kuradeel one last chance to back down, but Kuradeel refuses, wanting to teach Kirito a lesson. Sure enough, as soon as the fight begins, Kirito slices Kuradeel's sword's blade off at the hilt, destroying it before Kuradeel realizes what happened.

Having already won the fight, Kirito asks if Kuradeel's done. However, Kuradeel is not finished with Kirito, and takes out a dagger. As Kuradeel charges for a second attack, Asuna disarms Kuradeel, making him throw his dagger in the air. She then tells Kuradeel to leave before he embarrasses himself and their Guild any further. This infuriates Kuradeel, however, and he refuses to let his pride be damaged. Unfortunately, as soon as he says this, his dagger lands blade first into his head. While trying to hide an immense deal of pain, Kuradeel agrees to leave, claiming it was his choice to do so, and teleports to their base in Grandzam.

#### Post-Episode 8

At some point, Kuradeel found out that Kirito was the one who inspired Laughing Coffin to make their Guild more public, which resulted in their defeat. Kuradeel became infuriated that Kirito made Laughing Coffin "sell out" and planned to take revenge.

#### Episode 9

October 23, 2024, Godfree informs Kuradeel that he had to assigned to train Kirito, who had recently joined the KOB, and asks him to accompany them. Kuradeel saw this as the perfect opportunity to kill both of the men who enraged him the most and agreed to Godfree's request. Happy to have Kuradeel on board, Godfree orders Kuradeel to make the lunches, inadvertently giving Kuradeel free rein to spike the drinks with paralysis poison.

Kirito then meets up with Godfree outside the base, to complete his training exercise, and sees that Godfree has brought Kuradeel. Godfree explains that he heard of Kirito's and Kuradeel's "petty squabble" and decided to smooth things over between the two by taking them on a team building exercise. As Kirito voices his confusion with Godfree's word choice, as Godfree seems to be unaware that Kuradeel broke into Asuna's house, Kuradeel pretends to apologize to Kirito for his previous actions, even bowing his head to Kirito and admitting he was out of line. Kirito is surprised by Kuradeel's new attitude and jokes that his dagger must've caused some brain damage when it dropped into his head. Godfree then tells Kirito that he should respect the elderly, as they have experience that makes up for their lack of good looks. However, Kuradeel reveals that he's only twenty-six, much to Godfree's awkwardness. Godfree then tries to clear the air by cheering the two onwards, but this only causes Kuradeel to voice his hatred of the game.

On the way to the Dungeon that Godfree has chosen for their training exercise, Godfree announces that they should take a lunch break before going any further. As Godfree divvies up the lunch, while making a not-so-subtle hint at what's to come, Kuradeel whispers under his breath that Godfree will die screaming. Kirito hears this, but before he can react, both he and Godfree are paralyzed by their poisoned water. At first, Godfree thinks this is a joke and asks Kuradeel for the antidote, but Kuradeel slashes Godfree with his sword. Kuradeel then proceeds to hack away at Godfree, remarking how annoying Godfree's roleplay persona is. With his life in danger, Godfree agrees to stop roleplaying and asks Kuradeel to put the sword down, which Kuradeel agrees to with a sinister tone. Thinking he's resolved the conflict, Godfree tries to turn the situation into a lesson for Kirito, saying there's nothing they can't accomplish when they talk out their differences. However, just as Godfree states they'll look back on this and laugh someday, Kuradeel plunges his sword down into Godfree's back, making him scream until he dies.

Kuradeel then turns his gaze to Kirito, stating that Godfree was right, as he's laughing already. Kirito asks Kuradeel if he's really going to kill two people because Kirito humiliated him, stating that it couldn't be the first time someone did so. But Kuradeel states that, while getting back at Kirito is an unexpected side benefit, he's motivated by a different reason, revealing his tattoo of the former Murder Guild, Laughing Coffin. This confuses Kirito, as he thought most of the Murder Guild were in prison. Kuradeel laments that this is true, and recounts how Laughing Coffin were stupid enough to give away the exact location of their secret base to every player in the game in their advert.

Despite this, however, Kuradeel blames Kirito for Laughing Coffin's defeat, as he was the one who inspired the Murder Guild to be more public, blinding them with the prospects of wealth and fame, and starts mutilating Kirito. However, during his rant, Kuradeel mentions that he wishes he could've met Laughing Coffin in their prime. This makes Kirito realize that Kuradeel wasn't a member of the Murder Guild, but a fanboy, and is mad at Kirito for not only causing Laughing Coffin's demise, but for making them "sell out". Despite repeatably getting stabbed by Kuradeel, Kirito declares that this is the greatest day of his life. Hearing this, Kuradeel asks Kirito not to ruin the moment, but he continues to laugh at the fanboy, saying that if he's going to die anyway, he'll make sure Kuradeel doesn't get to enjoy it.

Unfortunately for Kuradeel, just as Kirito's about to die, Asuna comes to the rescue, slamming Kuradeel into a wall and restoring Kirito's health with a Healing Crystal. Though thankful for the save, Kirito asks how Asuna knew he was in trouble and how she got there so fast, to which Asuna admits that she was tailing the trio ever since they've left. Hearing this, Kirito states that he's never been so happy to be dating a stalker. With Kirito now safe, Asuna focuses her sights on Kuradeel, who staggers to his feet. At first, Kuradeel isn't concerned, as he believes Asuna's nothing more than a damsel in distress, but Asuna shows him how strong she really is, striking Kuradeel across the cheek with her sword before following it up with a flurry of sword attacks. With Kuradeel's health almost depleted, he gets on his knees and begs for mercy. At first, Asuna seems to give in to his pleas, claiming that Kuradeel isn't worth killing and that she'll let their leader, Heathcliff, deal with him. However, when Kuradeel asks if she means it, she almost immediately impales him with her sword, ending the fanboy.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Episode 9
2. ↑ Episode 1
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 8