Sword Art Online's 18th light novel shipped in Japan on August 10th. It's the fourth volume in the War of the Underworld sub-arc of the Alicization arc, as well as the final volume of the Alicization arc. While this could have been a place to end the series too, as spotted over the weekend, the new novel lets fans know that "Kirito will return. New, completely original Sword Art Online chapter to begin in 2017."

via sao_wikia @Takasadasan and otakomu

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.