I do not own Sword Art Online

Original post date: 8/13/14

Edited: 8/14/14

Scarlet Angels

Prologue

June 24th, 2024. Floor 63 Labyrinth: Ancient Keep.

A chill wind moaned through the ancient keep, numbing any exposed skin as the torches lining the walls flickered, desperately trying desperately to remain lit. I peered out over the edge of the ledge my guild was perched on, counting about half a dozen skeletons in ancient flanged armor, so old it had almost rusted completely away. Regardless of the state of the armor, their swords were sharp, their shields looked thick, and most importantly, they blocked our path further into the floor 63 labyrinth, arrayed as they were in a loose knot on the floor of the dining hall twenty feet below us. If they had been closer together, I would have just gone with a detonation crystal, but the blast radius wouldn't get more than two or three of them, and the element of surprise would be lost. I glanced over my team, seeing six familiar looks of determination, and I nodded, "Alright, let's get it on then. Standard attack plan against an enemy with equal numbers and unknown strength. Get ready to jump."

The Scarlet Angels arranged themselves, clad in red and gold. Rathion, equipped with Mithril Plate Mail, the Demonic Aegis - a tower shield almost as tall as he was - and a flanged flail took the point of an arrowhead formation. I stood to his right and slightly behind him, a duster flapping slightly in the wind, a gleaming red khopesh reversed in my right hand, a golden and clawed gauntlet on my left hand. To my right stood Evangelion, clad in light wyrmscale armor with a pair of black punching daggers equipped, and several slight bulges in her clothing where various weapons were kept. On Rathion's left stood Aragoth, black hair tugged by the wind along with his own trenchcoat, and a massive silver bladed scythe was slung casually over his shoulder as he waited for my signal. On his left stood Silica, with a set of armor to match Evangelion, a ebony dagger in hand and her healing dragon Pina perched on her shoulder.

Directly behind Rathion stood our friendly archer Taylaria. She held a huge 80 pound silver longbow, almost as tall as she was. An black arrow was set to the string, and her form-fitting rhino leather armor was slightly covered by the cloak she wore over one shoulder. next to her stood the key member of our party. Silmaryl, our healer, alchemist, and demolitions expert was decked out in Drakon mail armor, a thorned whip in one hand and a dull red crystal in the other. I shot him a look, "Silmaryl, put the bomb away. We shouldn't need it unless the enemy gets reinforcements."

The boy's golden eyes flicked over to me before he sighed and stashed the crystal in a pocket, "If more arrive, then do I get to blow shit up?"

"Yes." I said simply, then turned my attention to the edge of our floor area, then said one more word, "Allons-y." We charged and jumped off of the ledge without a further sound, each member leaping quietly into open space, aiming for a skeleton to fall onto. Everyone triggered a skill of some sort, and my sword turned bright white as I chose my «Pentagram Blade» skill, hoping to finish my fight quickly to help the others.

Then we landed.

Rathion and I hit our targets directly, he simply crushed his and used the spike on his shield to finish it off, while I crashed into mine with a barrage of five quick strikes. The skeleton groaned and one of its arms fell off, but it didn't die, and suddenly I was fighting for my own life instead of helping my comrades. I growled, leaning back to avoid the skeleton's sword skill, then placing the palm of my left hand onto the pommel of my khopesh, crouching and setting most of my weight onto my right leg. My sword glowed again, a deep, dark red this time, and the world turned black for me and my target. A red arc cut through the darkness, and a moment later I was standing on the other side of the skeleton, sword arm outstretched as my finishing move of choice, «Coup de Grace» ended. My target burst into blue polygons, and I stood, looking for anyone who needed help. Taylaria was crouching up on the ledge, bow ready as she looked for a skeleton that needed to be distracted. Silica and Aragoth were dueling a pair of skeletons along the western edge of the room, and Aragoth's scythe glowed brightly for a moment before he whipped it around in a fast series of slashes, neatly dismembering his opponent before removing the head of the one fighting Silica. To my right, Evangelion was using her daggers to sever the thin ligaments and bits of muscle holding her skeleton together like a surgeon, and Silmaryl had wrapped his whip around a skeleton and was proceeding to fling the monster between a wall and the floor. As I looked around, cry of warning from Rathion gave me just enough time to duck.

A sword cut the air above my head, almost trimming a few of the red hairs sticking out of my cranium. I twisted and swung my khopesh wildly, driving the skeletal knight back enough to give me some breathing room. An arrow hissed by my ear and ran into my opponent's skull, knocking its helmet clear of its head just in time for a second arrow to pierce it through the eye. The skeleton looked blankly at us for a moment, reached up with its free hand and yanked the arrow from its eye socket before tossing it to the side.

I risked a glance over my shoulder, "Damn it, Taylaria! You know piercing weapons don't work well against undead! Especially skeletons! Hit it with a «Net Shot» and pin it down! Don't waste piercing arrows when a sword works better!"

The orange haired girl threw me an angry glare, though before she could say anything she was cut off by the arrival of more skeletons. For a moment, we were fighting for our lives again, but then our pyromaniac alchemist pulled something out of his jacket, "Duck and cover!"

Taking his advice, I dove to the side. Silmaryl launched a small red crystal into the air, and our group made valiant attempts to reach cover before the crystal hit the ground. A massive explosion swept the room, and I almost choked as dust filled the air. I stood up from where I'd been laying on the ground behind an overturned table, coughing hard before grabbing and sheathing my weapon, "Report!"

"Reporting sir!" Taylaria's voice came back from above me, she'd likely just rolled back from the edge when Silmaryl pulled his bomb out.

"Still alive!" Our tank stepped out of the dust cloud, wiping ineffectually at his armor.

A softer voice made me jump as it sounded at my shoulder, "I'm here." A boy with golden eyes and hair to match gave me a wink, "And you're as handsome as ever chief."

I rolled my eyes at the other boy, "Cut the flirting until we've got everyone, Silmaryl. And put your whip away until you get a new bed buddy." My voice rose, "Eva? Aragoth? Silica? You here?"

My view was smothered in blue and sparkles as a tiny dragon flew circles around my head, and her master trotted out of an alcove, "Pina and I are fine, Krathys!"

A black haired boy seemed to materialize next to her, "Reporting for duty bossman." Aragoth slung an arm around Silica and set his scythe on his back, letting Pina flutter gently over to rest in his hair.

I nodded, "Six, so we're just missing-"

"Miss me?"

A pair of arms slid around my waist, and I set a hand on the two linked on my stomach, "Of course, Eva. Every moment when I can't see you is a moment where I die a little."

Evangelion laughed and placed a kiss on my cheek, then pulled away from me, "Such a gentleman to be sarcastic with the ladies."

I smiled, "Who said you were a lady?" Her eyes narrowed, and one of her punching daggers was at my throat before I raised my hands, "Okay, okay. I take it back. You're the picture of an elegant noblewoman."

"Boss, I know you like flirting with your wife, but if you could spare a moment?" Aragoth's voice was taut with worry, and I heard weapons being drawn.

I sighed and looked around, my eyes settling on a group of a dozen players dressed in dark robes, with masks covering the upper half of their faces as they appeared from the corridor leading out into the 63rd floor. An assortment of weaponry was displayed, and I sighed again, "What do you all want? Mapping data?"

The leader of the group smiled under his mask and held his arm slightly to the side, showing off his sword. A dark insignia was visible on his forearm, and my eyes narrowed as I recognised it, "Laughing Coffin. I thought you lot stayed away from the front lines to target weaker players."

The leader shook his head, "It's easy to get us up to the front lines. You pissed someone off, Crimson. And they want you dead. Any last words?"

My guild was looking at me steadily, waiting for orders. I shrugged and slid my khopesh back out of its scabbard, holding it reversed in my right hand. The crimson blade caught the light as I held it up, "Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you."