Sword Art Online Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Hill of the Cross (十字の丘, Juji no oka?) is a dungeon found on the 19th Floor of Aincrad. It is considered more of a landmark than a dungeon.

Description[]

The Hill of the Cross is a small hill located off the main path from «Ralberg» on the 19th Floor of Aincrad. Its name is taken from the stone-made tombstone on the ground, which is in the shape of a cross. The ground is a soil that is mixed with sand.

This tombstone was eroded by wind and covered with moss, and is designated as the grave of the «Golden Apple» guild member Griselda.

Notable Locations[]

  • Cross-shaped, stone tombstone
    • Griselda’s Grave

Chronology[]

Aincrad Arc[]

A Murder Case in the Area[]

Schmitt headed to this wood after transferring to «Ralberg», the settlement closest to the dungeon. Once there, he made his way to the tombstone and knelt down in order to "confess his sins to Griselda."

Once he confessed, Yolko, in Griselda's robe, revealed herself to ask whether Schmitt's confession was true. She went on imitating a ghost and pulled out the third and final "Guilty" weapon, which was of the «Estoc»[† 1] category. Schmitt was about to confess the incident regarding a ring when Caynz appeared, while wearing a robe and imitating the ghost of Grimlock, and asked who had done it. In terror, Schmitt confessed the whole situation, saying that he participated in setting a Corridor Crystal inside Griselda's room, per the directions written on a memo.

Ghosts and Schmitt

Schmitt confessing to the disguised Yolko and Caynz

After Schmitt's confession, Yolko stated, in her normal voice, that she recorded all that Scmitt had confessed. Afterward, Schmitt realized that Caynz was also alive and barely feigned loss of consciousness. He went on to say that the two really respected Griselda for doing this. However, Schmitt confessed he still did not know who wrote the memo to plant the Crystal, but he said he used the money to pass the requirements to join the «Divine Dragon Alliance».

Before the three could deduce who sent the memo, Schmitt was taken down by a paralysis-poison tipped throwing dagger by Johnny Black. Yolko and Caynz were immediately apprehended by XaXa who held an Estoc of his own to the duo's throats. He confiscated the "Guilty" estoc and said he was to add it to his collection. PoH shortly arrived and noted Schmitt's high rank within the DDA guild.

When Johnny Black suggested that they should play the "Kill each other and let the survivor live" game, PoH asked Johnny whether he was going to kill the survivor anyway, since he had done so the last time they decided on it. Johnny whined, saying that they could not play the game if PoH told them. Putting the conversation aside, PoH raised his «Mate Chopper» weapon and prepared to kill Schmitt.

However, Kirito arrived to the scene via horse and informed the Laughing Coffin members that he was only going to stall for time, as the Clearers were on their way. PoH ordered a retreat and the three left the scene, while Kirito messaged Klein that the Laughing Coffin members escaped. After a brief commendation to Caynz about fooling him with the fake death, Kirito explained about the shared storage mechanic while players were married, and that the culprit of the "stolen ring" as well as the one who called Laughing Coffin to Griselda's grave was no other than Grimlock himself.

Asuna brought Grimlock out from the trees with her rapier at his back, where Grimlock addressed his former guild members. However, he denied possessing the ring despite the shared storage, and claimed that the ring materialized as an object upon Griselda's death because she had equipped it. Yolko refuted this claim because Griselda could not have equipped the ring; Griselda's two hands were already equipped with a marriage ring and the ring that bore the guild's seal. Yolko then unearthed the Eternal Storage Trinket from the grave to prove that Griselda had carried the two rings.

When Yolko asked Grimlock why he killed Griselda to take the ring to sell for money, Grimlock angrily confessed that he had killed Griselda because the Death Game was slowly changing his wife into a more independent person. While Grimlock was afraid to step out and fight, Griselda had already started the «Golden Apple» and enlisted members before training. Grimlock finished with the statement that if the Game was cleared, the wife he loved would have disappeared. In truth, Grimlock was afraid that, upon return to the real world, Griselda was going to divorce him.

Asuna reprimanded Grimlock for regarding Griselda with possessiveness, which finally made him realize that his actions were not dictated by the love as he thought. Schmitt then took Grimlock away and told Kirito and Asuna that he would determine Grimlock's punishment. Yolko and Caynz buried the Eternal Storage Trinket and thanked Kirito and Asuna for their help in uncovering Grimlock's crime. Caynz, Grimlock, Schmitt, and Yolko then left the hill toward Ralberg.

Asuna asked Kirito about what had transpired, and what he would have thought if he found a different side to his future married partner. Kirito answered that he would think that he would love her more, given that he found a new side to love. Asuna called Kirito's answer "weird" and then dropped the discussion with suggesting on where to eat. Kirito mentioned the Algade House, which Asuna quickly rejected, but then she suddenly grabbed Kirito's shoulder.

The translucent figure of Griselda stood before Kirito and Asuna, smiling at the two of them. Griselda extended a hand at the two of them, as if handing them something. Kirito and Asuna reached out and experienced a kind of warmth. Kirito vowed to clear the Death Game for Griselda's behalf, to which Griselda smiled and vanished. Kirito and Asuna then left the hill, with Kirito saying that he wanted to clear the next front-line Floor (the 59th Floor) by the end of that week.

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  1. The novel describes the weapon as being a needle with spikes protruding in a spiral pattern.

Navigation[]

Aincrad Locations Navigation Bar
Teleport Gate
Floor Notable locations and landmarks
1 Town of Beginnings, Black Iron Palace, Hidden Dungeon, Monument of Swordsmen[Navbar 1], Monument of Life[Navbar 2], Chamber of Resurrection[Navbar 3], Tolbana, Horunka Village, Medai Village
2 Urbus, Urbus Teleport Gate Plaza, Marome Village, Taran Village
3 Forest of Wavering Mists, Zumfut, Zumfut Teleport Gate Plaza, Dessel
4 Rovia, Rovia Teleport Gate Plaza, Bear Forest, Yofel Castle, Usco Village, Caldera Lake
5 Karluin, Karluin Teleport Gate Plaza, Mananarena, Shiyaya
6 Stachion, Stachion Teleport Gate Plaza, Suribus, Ararro Town, Castle Galey, Lake Talpha, Cave City of Goskai, Murutsuki Village
7 Lexio[Navbar 4], Lexio Teleport Gate Plaza, Verdian Prairie, Volupta, Volupta Grand Casino[Navbar 5], Volupta Beach[Navbar 6], Volupta Grand Casino Monster Arena[Navbar 7], Plamio, Skeleton Prairie,[Navbar 8] Forest of the Shaky Boulders, Halin Arboreal Palace[Navbar 9], Ant-Crossing Ravine, Tribra Village
8 Frieven Village, Frieven Teleport Gate Plaza
9 Dark Elf Queen's Castle[Navbar 10]
10 Thousand Snake Castle[Navbar 11]
11 Taft, Taft Teleport Gate
19 Ralberg, Ralberg Teleport Gate, Hill of the Cross, Griselda's Tomb
20 Sunshine Forest
22 Coral Village, Coral Teleport Gate Plaza, Forest House K4, Lake Outside Coral Village
24 Panareze, Panareze Teleport Gate Plaza
25 Giltstein, Giltstein Teleport Gate Plaza, Former location of the Knights of Blood Headquarters
27 Ronbaru Town, Ronbaru Teleport Gate
28 Wolf Plains
35 Forest of Wandering, Mishe, Mishe Teleport Gate Plaza
39 Nolfret, Nolfret Teleport Gate Plaza, Former location of the Knights of Blood Headquarters
40 Jaileum, Jaileum Teleport Gate Plaza
46 Ant Hill
47 Floria, Floria Gate Plaza, Hill of Memories, Forest of Giant Flowers
48 Lindarth, Lindarth Teleport Gate Plaza
49 Myujen, Myujen Teleport Gate Plaza
50 Algade, Algade Teleport Gate Plaza
55 Granzam, Granzam Teleport Gate Plaza, Knights of Blood Headquarters, West Mountain
56 Pani, Divine Dragon Alliance Headquarters
57 Marten, Marten Teleport Gate Plaza
59 Danac, Danac Teleport Gate Plaza
61 Selmburg, Selmburg Teleport Gate Plaza
65 Old Castle Labyrinth
66 Old Castle Labyrinth
72 Ozmalt, Ozmalt Teleport Gate Plaza, Agarla Village
74 Kamdet, Kamdet Teleport Gate Plaza
75 Collinia, Collinia Teleport Gate Plaza
100 Ruby Palace
  1. Only in New ALO
  2. Only in the SAO official service
  3. Only in the SAO Beta
  4. Progressive Volume 7, Rhapsody of a Red Blaze, Part 1
  5. Progressive Volume 7, Rhapsody of a Red Blaze, Part 3
  6. Progressive Volume 7, Rhapsody of a Red Blaze, Part 2
  7. Progressive Volume 7, Rhapsody of a Red Blaze, Part 4
  8. Progressive Volume 7, Rhapsody of a Red Blaze, Part 6
  9. Progressive Volume 7, Rhapsody of a Red Blaze, Part 9
  10. According to Kizmel in Progressive Volume 3, Barcarolle of Froth, Part 7
  11. According to Kirito in Progressive Volume 1, Aria of a Starless Night, Part 14
Advertisement