DEVIL HUNTERS ONLINE
by Ren Tsugami
Note: I don't own SAO or Devil May Cry.
Sorry for the long wait, but I'm glad that many enjoyed reading the kick-off of the new story. This is now where the fight scenes begin. This will be my first attempt on fight scenes, but I hope you still find it worthwhile.
Unfortunately, Dante and Vergil will not appear as the story is like an AU of sorts where Sparda never married Eva.
Lastly, the weapon parameters will be differently structured compared to SAO.
MISSION ONE
Now that everything has been revealed, the decision has been made. And it was just a matter of time before Kirito's new swords are completed.
Even though Lizbeth was near finished, it felt as if the remaining time started slowing down for Kirito and the others. To make matters worse, none of them couldn't help feeling that something was really off with the current situation.
There hasn't been a single report about irregular monster or PKer activity coming in. Not to mention that Lizbeth was able to work uninterrupted.
Though this should be a good thing, but for Kirito and the others, it wasn't.
Instead, it became a source of paranoia.
The current situation can mean either they still have the element of surprise on their side, thus giving them enough time to think of a countermeasure for the time being, OR…
…their enemies are just lying in wait for them to make the first move and show them that whatever they come up with against them will be futile.
As the situation was beginning to eat at them, they tried distracting themselves from the thought. Agil went back to the front desk, Klein was having a staring contest with the wall while his guildmates decided to return to guard duty, Silica was playing with Pina, while Asuna decided to check her inventory and see if she has enough recovery items.
As for Kirito, he was leaning on a post with eyes closed, deep in thought. During this time, he thinks back to Heathcliff's last words to him before Mundus finished him off.
*"I leave the rest to you."*
Kirito heaves a heavy sigh concerning the matter which solidifies his position as Sparda's heir.
The activities of the group were interrupted as the sound of the door slamming open catches their attention.
It was none other than Lizbeth who was tired and out of breath, but with a wide smile on her face.
"THEY'RE DONE!"
Everyone quickly drops what they were doing and proceed to Lizbeth's workshop and Lizbeth proudly presents Kirito's two new swords.
One can say that they don't look that different from their previous appearances, but one must remember that appearances can be VERY deceiving.
On the table, two swords lay before Kirito and the others.
He the looks at the sword on the left that still somewhat resembles Elucidator, but the thing is, the cutting edge was now an inch thicker and dark blue in color. The blade was now a bit longer and was now "whole", reaching all the way down to a complete cross guard. For the finishing touch, the foible had a gold-colored engraving of the knight chess piece.
Kirito was impressed by the appearance, and as he touched the blade, the information it contained made it even more impressive:
-BLACK KNIGHT-
Type: Medium
Element: Dark
"The enhanced form of the Elucidator. This dark sword possesses much greater strength and defense and can also unleash its strikes in a form of a short-ranged projectile, thus increasing its attack range."
-STATS-
Attack: +229%
Phy. Offense: +204%
Ele. Offense: +200%
Phy. Defense: +199%
Ele. Defense: +194%
Speed: +117%
Accuracy: +108%
Evasion: +103%
-SPECIALS-
-Generate Attack Wave
-Darkness Resistance +
-Overedge
The description alone was already making Kirito's hands itch to try out his new sword.
He had to say that Lizbeth really outdid herself. What they didn't know that Lizbeth's weapons was just a "sneak-peek" for the weapons they'll acquire in the higher levels.
Kirito then turns his attention to the sword on his right which used to be Dark Repulser.
The cross guard, hilt and pommel were retained, but the sword blade and color were completely different. The sword blade itself was likened to that of an arrow.
The bottom of the blade looked like vent-like edges on both sides, the sword blade is one third thinner, and the point was diamond shaped in style.
And finally, the blade had a crystal-like appearance, and gave off a bright sky-blue light.
From the way it looked, Kirito felt that the new Dark Repulser had more than just one purpose.
He then touches the sword and finds out that his hunch was right.
-HEAVEN'S EDGE-
Type: Medium
Element: Light
"The enhanced form of Dark Repulser. This sword can also function as a throwing weapon. It has a very high accuracy and once it hits a target, it will explode from the compressed magical energy stored within, and it will return to its user without fail."
-STATS-
Attack: +220%
Phy. Offense: +179%
Ele. Offense: +174%
Phy. Defense: +188%
Ele. Defense: +175%
Speed: +120%
Accuracy: +122%
Evasion: +118%
Specials:
-HP Regeneration +
-Throwing Weapon
-Light Resistance +
-Overedge
Lizbeth can notice the excitement Kirito was suppressing from his new swords which was a sure sign that he got more than what he expected. She can now practically brag to the whole SAO world that the swords Kirito now has are not just custom-made, but they are also one of a kind and made with the best materials and possessing the most unique of abilities.
Not to mention that the swords she made were of the best of her abilities in order to protect Kirito and ensure his survival against Mundus's minions.
Lizbeth wipes the huge mental grin from her head and clears her throat, which makes everyone turn around and look at her.
She then enters "lecturing mode" and says "I know you're pretty excited in wanting to use them, but before you do, I need to clarify a couple of things for safety measures. Let me start with the "Specials". Pretty much as it says, the "Specials" are the unique features of the sword. For example, Black Knight's attack wave ability allows you to still damage an opponent within a short distance even if he is outside your weapon's attack range.
Heaven's Edge can also function as a throwing weapon that you can use to hit distant targets, whether it be objects or enemies. The sword damages enemies by detonating a powerful explosion of compressed magic when it hits them.
However, the magical energy used by the sword when it explodes takes a couple of seconds of recharging before you can throw it again.
When the sword blade is shining brightly, it can be thrown, but when it's not, you can only use it like a standard sword.
But the good news is that it's still able to build-up magical power as it's still considered as a standby-mode.
The sword has a very high accuracy level and will return to you without fail. What makes it even better is that it's not limited to being thrown straight.
And finally, the "Overedge" is a very unique ability which will boost ALL your stats to maximum and not only does it power up ordinary attacks, but also your signature movesets as well."
Everyone in the room was amazed with Lizbeth's accomplishment with Kirito's swords, and along with it, they could finally see light beginning to form at the end of the dark tunnel.
"But it has one VERY serious drawback." Lizbeth adds.
Their minds go "WHAT?!" with that single sentence.
Lizbeth sighs in defeat as this was one problem she was unable to find a solution for and says "Overedge maybe powerful, but the stress it can put on you is very great. Kirito can probably only last 10 seconds flat when using it. Not only that, it has a very long cool down time, leaving you wide open to be attacked after usage. That's why I'm warning you to use it ONLY as a final option."
Despite that downside, it doesn't change the fact that they now have a sign of hope for their grim situation.
Kirito smiles as he slings Black Knight and Heaven's Edge on his back, wondering what would have happened if these were the swords he used when he faced Heathcliff.
Kirito looks at Lizbeth with a warm expression and says "Thanks, Lizbeth. You really outdid yourself. I'm really glad to have you with us at a time like this."
Steam comes out of Lizbeth's head as her face becomes bright red from Kirito's compliment. Lizbeth's flustered actions make everyone laugh.
All but one.
As Asuna stares at the Black Swordsman, she couldn't help but think back to the time Heathcliff asked Kirito to fight him one on one, there and then.
Asuna then steps forward and calls out to him.
"Kirito-kun."
The laughter stops instantly and all eyes turn to Asuna.
Asuna steeled herself for the answer she'll receive and asks him "Back at the Skull Reaper Dungeon when Kayaba Akihiko challenged you to a one on one duel…would you have accepted it, or would you have turned it down?"
This question made everyone turn to Kirito and Kirito only closed his eyes for a moment and sighed heavily. A few moments of silence prevailed in the room, and after those few moments have passed, Kirito opens his eyes and looks Asuna straight in the eyes and answers.
"To put it simply, if it were the "me" from back then, I would have just accepted it without even stopping to think of what happens after. If it weren't for you, I would have been on my merry way to the other side. So the answer is, I would have turned it down."
The answer slowly makes Asuna's eyes well up with tears and a smile began to form on her face. Kirito looks away with an embarrassed expression and suddenly, Asuna launches herself at Kirito and falls flat on his back.
As the cheering and fuming was already in session, the door is thrown wide open by Agil. All look at him and see that he was out of breath with eyes wide open.
Not good.
"We received a report that the irregular monsters have started attacking near the warp gate. All of them were confirmed to be reaper-types!" Agil shouted to everyone present.
*Looks like they were waiting for us.* Kirito thought.
Kirito gets back on his feet and stands in front of everyone and says without looking back at them "Lock and load, everyone. WE'RE HEADING OUT!"
Everyone gets their weapons and double checks their recovery items and when that was done, the door of Agil's shop blows open and the brave warriors dash out to meet the devils.
As they ran, all of them prayed that they weren't too late. Upon getting closer to the source, they could all hear screams and pass by people running away in fear.
As they arrived at the plaza, one remaining player was cut down and as he dissolved, what was revealed to them was indeed a figure resembling the grim reaper. It had red glowing eyes, wore a dark cloak, and had bandages wrapped around its legs. It was wielding a huge sickle and it also seemed to have several blades impaled on its back.
However, the most troubling aspect of it was that when it registered its name -HELL PRIDE-, the life bar which is supposed to be located below only showed "?"
And there were many more accompanying it. Another reaper-type they saw with it was a little different, as it wore a red, jester-like outfit with torn sleeves. The name registers -HELL LUST-, and just like the HELL PRIDE, only a "?" appeared below its name.
As the group look on, three taller and a more different reaper-type materializes. They have dark brownish skin, whereas the two others had a grayish tone. They wore long white, sleeveless cloaks and had bandages not just around the limbs, but also around their eyes. And finally, their sickles sported a different blade, akin to that of a razor blade.
Its name registers -HELL SLOTH-, and much like the other two it only had "?" instead of a life bar.
*This is going to be one heck of a fight.* Kirito thought as he slowly draws Black Knight.
The sound of a drawing sword catches the attention of the devils present and readied to kill.
As Asuna and Kirito take the front, Asuna tells them "Everyone, cover each other's backs. Remember that these monsters are different from all that we've faced in the past, and not to mention that we don't know what they are capable of. All of you, stay alert."
The rest of the group smirks and mentally says altogether *That's the sub-commander of the Knights of Blood for you.*
And with that, the battle between good and evil officially begins.
Kirito charges head-on in front with Asuna not far behind him towards the demons.
The two Hell Prides at the front attempts to cut Kirito down, but quickly ducks beneath the incoming scythes. Asuna for her part, leaps above Kirito and unleashes a heavy rain of powerful thrusts on the Hell Prides.
The two Hell Prides stagger from the attack and Kirito quickly sweeps them off their feet with Black Knight. During the moment they were off the ground and off-balance, he quickly spins again and strikes them with greater damage due to the attack wave and dissolves not into light, but into sand.
As Asuna lands, a Hell Lust quickly dashes in for the attack, but is blocked by Lizbeth's mace. Silica sees an opening and rushes in with an attack.
Asuna quickly takes the opportunity to charge her weapon and delivers a powerful sword thrust. After the girls' joint assault, it dissolves into sand as well.
The girls succeed taking it down and decide to engage with the remaining Hell Lusts.
Klein and his guild were engaging the other Hell Prides, and were holding their own with Agil supporting them.
Kirito, for his part, draws Heaven's Edge and turns his attention towards the Hell Sloths. As Kirito charged in for the attack, it quickly disappears before him. And in the next second it reappears in front of him and brings down its weapon.
Kirito manages to block the Hell Sloth's weapon with Black Knight, only a few inches away from his face. Another Hell Sloth attempts to attack him while the other is holding him down.
Kirito notices this and waits for it to appear next to him. As the second Hell Sloth appears and as it was going to bring down its scythe, Kirito quickly throws Heaven's Edge and hits the attacking Hell Sloth.
The force of the thrown sword sends it a fair distance away and quickly detonates with a powerful force. During this time, Klein and Silica take the opportunity to deliver some quick blows and Agil finishes it.
The sword then makes its way back to Kirito's hand, and this move catches the Hell Sloth by surprise and Kirito quickly slashes it and causes the Hell Sloth to back away. Not wanting it to give a chance to mount another surprise attack, Kirito steps forward and holds both his swords in reverse and quickly launches a spinning attack and forces the Hell Sloth into a wall. Kirito quickly stops after his attack and jumps away, while at the same time, Heaven's Edge finished charging its magical power and quickly throws it at the cornered Hell Sloth.
As Kirito's feet hit the ground, the sword detonates and the Hell Sloth that was once there dissolves into sand. Kirito quickly catches Heaven's Edge in time to block the last remaining Hell Sloth.
As Kirito blocked the Hell Sloth's attack, Asuna attacks its back and the Hell Sloth disengages from Kirito. Kirito quickly sees this and sweeps it of its feet. As it hits the ground, Kirito stabs it with Black Knight and runs, dragging the Hell Sloth that was caught in between the ground and the sword.
Kirito stops and launches the Hell Sloth at the wall, and out of nowhere Lizbeth and Agil smash it together with their weapons and dissolves into sand.
Kirito looks around and sees the rest of his party succeeded in clearing out the attacking demons. They all look tired, but they were smiling, acknowledging their joint effort and success in being able to hold their own.
Some took this opportunity to catch their breath, while some used their recovery items.
When it seemed that they have won, they hear a fiendish cry in the air not far from where they were. The group gathers together in a defensive stance and brace themselves for what was coming.
Silica points up at the roofs and screams "OVER THERE!"
The party then sees a black cloaked figure teleporting from one roof to another. As it lands before them, the demon rises to its full height.
It was a reaper-type as well, but one can say that this was the "big boss". Its height alone already surpasses that of the Hell Sloth's, and its complexion is much paler compared to the Hell Pride and Hell Lust. It was garbed in a much more "complete" black cloak and it brandished a large scythe with a glowing purple crystal-like blade.
Its name registers –HELL VANGUARD- and much like the smaller reaper-types, only a "?" appears underneath its name. But Kirito and Asuna's senses were blaring loudly at the possibility of it being a boss character.
"This…can't be real!" Asuna exclaimed with eyes wide open as the enemy before them made her and Kirito recall of their encounter with the Fatal Scythe boss, but this was worse.
It was common knowledge that bosses can only be faced either in end level dungeons, or during special quests.
The situation right now didn't fit into either category.
"Forget common sense! Here it comes!" Kirito shouts as it swings its scythe.
As the party fans out to evade the attack, Klein yells "Be careful, guys! This thing might also have a one-hit kill ability like the Skull Reaper!"
As the party splits up to evade being hit by the Hell Vangauard's attack, Kirito then thought *Klein's right. With the situation were all in with right now, we can no longer exactly say if what we're dealing with is a lesser enemy, a sub-boss or a boss character. To make matters worse, a life bar doesn't show and that means we can't say which side the battle favors. All we can do right now is fight and hold out until the battle is over.*
Kirito decides to charge in first and attacks with Black Knight. As the weapons collide, they deflect one another. Kirito tries to counter with Heaven's Edge and the same thing happens again. But on the third strike, Kirito attacks with both swords and the weapons don't deflect.
He manages to deal damage to the Hell Vanguard, but on the downside, Kirito was also damaged by the Hell Vanguard's weapon. This moment shocks the entire party, as Kirito skids backwards while still standing by the attack. He looks at his lifebar to see the damage and sees around 10% of his HP was lost. Klein and his guildmates see an opening and then attack in retaliation.
The Hell Vanguard staggers from the combined attack, but suddenly it disappears and leaves the party confused. Taking advantage of the moment, the Hell Vanguard without warning appears with a spinning scythe attack near Silica and Lizbeth and damages both of them and disappears seconds after appearing.
Asuna quickly yells to the others "Everyone! Cover Silica and Lizbeth!"
Agil and some of Klein's guild members were nearby and quickly guard their front. Pina races towards them and uses her healing breath on both of them, restoring their HP back to a certain degree.
The Hell Vanguard then appears in front of Asuna and it brings down its scythe. Asuna dodges to the left and runs on top of the snath and quickly launches a charged thrust move.
The Hell Vanguard once again vanishes and Asuna quickly looks around for a sign where it will appear to attack. Asuna fails to notice the ground underneath her rippling. By the time she notices it, the Hell Vanguard shoots upward with its weapon. Kirito's eyes widen in horror as the attack shoots Asuna upward. Kirito dashes in to catch her in his arms. Kirito looks at her HP and the attack leaves her losing 15% of her HP.
*This isn't getting us anywhere. If this keeps up, we're all going to die.* Kirito thought. The party then regroups in front of Kirito and Asuna.
"Kirito-san. How's Asuna-san?" Silica asks without taking her eyes of from the Hell Vanguard.
"I'm okay…" Asuna answers as she slowly gets back on her feet.
"Any ideas, anyone?" Lizbeth asks as she tightens her grip on her mace.
She then feels a hand on her shoulder, which makes Lizbeth turn and sees Kirito with a determined look on his face. He then says "Lizbeth, mind if I try the "Overedge" skill on this guy?"
Lizbeth was silent for a moment, and nods once. She then steps forward and says "Everyone, listen up. Let's try to make an opening for Kirito to attack. Asuna, please stay in the rear and guard Kirito."
The party then does whatever it can to keep the Hell Vanguard distracted, while Kirito, for his part, quickly activates the Overedge skill.
In the next couple of attacks, the party manages to do the weapon collision/recoil and on the third time, Kirito then screams "SWITCH!" and the attacking party members steer clear.
Kirito then charges in with blinding speed with swords in both hands, and blades coated with magical energy of their elemental attributes which made them look like beam swords on full burst.
10…
The world suddenly slows down as Kirito leaps in the air and brings down both weapons on the Hell Vanguard.
9…
The Hell Vanguard staggers from the blow and attempts to phase out.
8…
As it disappears, Kirito notices a faint blue blur with his enhanced vision and now knows where it will appear.
7…
It then appears in front of him and Kirito succeeds in blocking the attack with both weapons.
6…
Kirito then destroys the Hell Vanguard's scythe with his swords, leaving it weaponless.
5…
He then quickly takes a stance where puts his left arm holding Black Knight in front of him and his right arm holding Heaven's Edge over his head.
4…
He then launches himself at the weaponless Hell Vanguard and unleashes an Overedged version of Starburst Stream.
3…
He then delivers a blinding flurry of sword slashes coming from random directions at the Hell Vanguard.
2…
He then charges the blades for one last strike and unleashes a powerful "issen" with both swords.
1…
The Hell Vanguard let out a death shriek and then shows a thick right diagonal cut and falls to its knees and quickly dissolves into white sand.
0…TIME OVER.
As Kirito witnesses the end of the enemy before him, he could feel his hands shake and pain assault his body all at once in the next few seconds. The swords then return to their solid-bladed state and Kirito's hands let go of his weapons.
The thought that ran into his mind was *Lizbeth wasn't kidding about the Overedge's drawback.*
Without him even realizing, his legs give way and was about to hit the ground headfirst, but Asuna catches him and breaks his fall. The rest gather around him and ask if he's okay, and all Kirito manages to say in his agonizing state is "Lizbeth…you're a genius."
The worrisome atmosphere was broken, even just a little, by a sentence of praise and all just smiled that they survived the ordeal together. As Agil and Klein help Kirito on his feet, they notice people slowly began coming out of hiding and after witnessing their battle, the people suddenly began cheering as they felt that their long awaited saviors have finally arrived.
The party couldn't help but smile and celebrate along with them as this battle had become a light at the end of the dark tunnel.
As the group's attention was occupied, unknown to them, from one of the rooftops near them, a tall, horned figure clad in dark armor sporting a violet cape and on his left hip rested a large-bladed black sword was observing them.
After witnessing their battle with the Hell Vanguard, the armored figure leaves with a deep hollow "hmph", and disappears in a form of blue flame.
Kirito senses something and looks up to where the source was, only to find nothing.
"Kirito, you okay?" Klein asks while assisting Kirito on their way back.
"Yeah…it's nothing." Kirito answered, but with a hint of doubt in it.
Later that night back at Agil's place, Kirito was recovering from the side-effect of the Overedge move and the rest of the group discusses what to do from that point onwards.
But since Kirito was down for the count, they all decided to hold the meeting in the room where he was resting.
"What now, guys? I'm sure that news about our battle against those irregular monsters has already spread throughout SAO. If anyone starts asking information about it, what do we do?" Klein asks.
No one was sure how to address the issue, but the bedridden Beater decided to answer and says "I think its best that we withhold whatever information we have for now. Due to the sensitivity of what we know, I think it's best if we gather more information until we can be sure of what lies ahead of us."
The answer was replied by Lizbeth and says "Investigate? You don't mean-"
Kirito nods and says "We'll have to explore floor 76 onwards to learn more if we want to increase the chances of survival of the remaining SAO players. Don't forget that the clock's ticking and the countdown's already started after what I told you."
The room fell silent for a while but Silica quickly asks "Going off-topic for a while, hasn't it occurred to any of you guys that our guild still doesn't have a leader?"
Everyone looks at one another with now-that-you've-mentioned-it written on their faces. Kirito smiles at the issue and says "I already have someone in mind."
Asuna then notices Kirito look at her and he was still smiling and soon, Asuna felt something in her shrink and until, one by one did her guild mates start looking at her with mischievous grins.
Asuna asks weakly and says "You guys…don't mean…"
Lizbeth takes the lead and yells "I nominate Asuna to be this guild's leader!"
Unfortunately for Asuna, her protests fell into deaf ears as the guild merrily followed Lizbeth's lead.
Kirito then gives voice to his choice and says "Uh, Asuna, if you're thinking of making me guild leader, it's best that you didn't. Did you forget? I'm SAO's notorious Beater. I played solo for the most part here in SAO. Also, you have more leadership material than me. I mean, you're the Knights of Blood's second-in-command! You already know everyone in this room and what they can do, and they all recognize your ability as a leader as well."
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Asuna just sighed in defeat, but still nonetheless asks again "Are you all sure about this?"
The smiles her guild mates were showing her was their answer to her question and their sign of trust.
Asuna then says "I understand. I'll accept the role of being guild leader…" Everybody was all smiles upon Asuna's answer, but Asuna knew that she being called "leader" was something she'll need to get used to from now on.
After the railroaded guild leader selection, Asuna continues the discussion and asks "Going back to the topic at hand, who are we going to send to investigate floor 76?"
"I'll go." Kirito answers.
Asuna then says "If you're going, I'm coming with you."
Kirito shakes his head and says "I'm going by myself. You stay here with everyone else."
Asuna was about to object to the suggestion, but Kirito reasons out "You're now the guild leader, Asuna. Not to mention that you're the second highest level player this guild has. If those irregular monsters appear again, who do you think is going to keep those of us to fight together? The Knights of Blood may be gone, but you're still "The Flash" many SAO players still look up to."
Although Kirito did have a valid reason, it was plain suicide to venture alone floor 76 onwards, even if he is the heir of Sparda.
Asuna, feeling conflicted, doesn't know what to answer. Kirito then says "I know it's dangerous, but this isn't the time to be thinking of ourselves. We have to act now because if we don't make a move, Mundus will. And when he does move, it's over for all of us, both SAO players AND the human race."
After a hard inner struggle, Asuna gives in to Kirito's decision to investigate floor 76 alone while she and the rest of the guild hold down to fort until he comes back.
Morning the following day, Kirito makes a complete recovery and sets out towards the warp gate at Algade. As Asuna watches him leave, she knows there is an unspoken reason why he refused the position of guild leader.
It was because he is still haunted by what happened to his first guild.
Kirito knew that she wouldn't make the same mistakes he did, and even if she did, the possibility of it was much lower and trust was not that big of an issue. In his absence, all she could was pray that he returns safely and watch over what Kirito left behind for her to look after.
A few minutes later, he arrives at floor 75, better known as Collinia. As Kirito makes his way to the Skull Reaper dungeon, he notices that the town was deserted.
Not wanting to risk encountering irregular monsters, Kirito quickly makes a run for the dungeon. Fortunately for him, the dungeon was nearby the warp gate.
No one could access floor 76 because even after the dungeon was cleared, the path leading to the next floor remained unopened. As Kirito stood before the dungeon entrance, he holds his breath and hopes that no nasty surprises were waiting for him.
As he opens the door, he allows the light to illuminate the area. With his swords in both hands, he cautiously makes his way to the door leading to floor 76.
As he reaches the door on the other side, he looks back and sees the door of the boss room still hasn't shut and observes every inch of the dungeon to make sure no irregular monster was hiding in the shadows. After a few minutes of confirmation, he then sheaths both blades and makes his way towards the door leading to floor 76.
As he begins to access it, a round seal with strange glyphs suddenly appeared and barred the door.
After careful examination, Kirito finds out it was a seal created by Mundus.
*Great, just how the heck am I supposed to get rid of this?* Kirito thought as he was unprepared for this kind of situation.
Suddenly, the Silver Amulet begins to shine, and Kirito quickly notices this and takes the Silver Amulet out of his pocket and looks at it.
Trying his luck, Kirito then points the light emitted by the Silver Amulet at Mundus' seal. Kirito then notices the light was affecting the seal and continued aiming the amulet's light at the seal. After a few seconds, the seal disappeared.
Kirito cracks a smile and returns the amulet in his pocket and proceeds to level 76.
SCENE: FLOOR 76, DUMMARY
As Kirito arrives at floor 76, he notices that the day was nearly coming to a close in this level, whereas the sun was shining brightly back in Algade and Collinia.
*This is how strong the evil influence is?!* Kirito thought and if this was just the beginning, he dreads what other horrors lay ahead of him.
Kirito was standing not far from a large, heavy, wooden castle-style gate and tries to push it open, but to no avail. He then draws Black Knight and strikes the door open. The sword breaks the lock behind the gate and slowly opens with a low groaning sound…
-KIRITO POV-
A cold wind greets me with uneasiness as the gate presents before me Level 76.
The place looks like a semi-medieval style European village, but the most noticeable structure as far as I can see was an old immense clock tower.
From the way I see it, what I'm seeing so far up to the clock tower seems to be only half this level.
The howling wind passing through the uninhabited structures, and adding the fact that this level onwards was now under evil influence, only amplified the already unsettling atmosphere it presented.
I cautiously walked and explored the village and I haven't gone that far and I find the pathways are greatly uneven and I come across signs of damage in some areas, which shouldn't be possible.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's a sure sign that they're here, hiding in the shadows of this village.
If that's the case, I hope I can get something useful out of this.
Or better yet, come back alive to tell them I can find.
Kirito continues investigating and after a few more minutes of walking, he comes upon a signpost and approaches it to see where it leads, only to find nothing written on the signs. As Kirito touches the signpost, he hears a beep and quickly opens his menu screen.
After opening his menu screen, there was a "new" written next to the quest.
*A quest update? Here?!* Kirito thought. Kirito was shocked as it was too odd. But the quest objective itself was even odder, as it says:
-The hunter's journey shall begin in a house of sacred remains.-
This left Kirito completely dumbfounded.
It was already weird enough that quests were still possible, but for quest objectives to be written like riddles was even weirder.
Kirito exhales sharply, knowing that thinking about it won't get him anywhere. He decides to calm down and study the mission objective closely.
Kirito ponders at the "house of sacred remains" part and after some critical thinking, he narrowed it to two possibilities: It could refer to either a mausoleum in a cemetery or a museum.
As Kirito came to that conclusion, he continued on investigating Dummary Village. Sometime later, he arrives at a bridge, but what he finds there makes him wary of progressing.
Aside from the structural damage, three gibbets containing decaying skeletons swinging gently in the breeze, were hanging above the ropes tied around the lampposts in front of the bridge's entrance.
Not wanting to spring a trap, Kirito didn't want to take any chances being caught off-guard. With Black Knight still in hand, he slowly closes in towards the entrance of the bridge.
The sound of the screech of rusted metal and clinking chains continued for a while, but suddenly, the sounds of the swinging gibbets come to sharp halt and Kirito takes notice to this and stops as well.
He doesn't take his eyes off from the gibbets and he could hear a faint, low growl coming from them. Without warning, they ignite with a roar of blue flame and after a few seconds, fall from their suspension and slowly rise up to attack the intruder before them.
Large rusted cleaver-bladed axes materialize in their hands and their names register –AGONOFINIS-, but just like the reaper-types, only a "?" appears beneath their names.
Both sides made their way towards one another and greet each other with a clash of weapons. As Kirito locked weapons with the Agonofinis at the front, Kirito quickly shoots out a straight right at its face. The blow sends the Agonofinis two meters away and collides with the two at the rear. It then clumsily gets back up on its feet and once again moves forward to attack Kirito.
*Since they're just re-animated by magic, they only have a one-track mind and they don't feel pain.* Kirito thought as he observed the Agonofinis before making his next move and trying to see if he can use it to his advantage.
Suddenly, an Agonofinis from the rear launches itself in a form of a full-body spinning axe move. Kirito barely evades the attack speeding towards him and quickly draws Heaven's Edge and throws it the Agonofinis. The sword then explode upon impact and as the sword returns, the Agonofinis hits the ground and the goes up in pieces as it lands on the ground.
Kirito quickly runs at the remaining 2 Agonifinis and strikes them in one pass. He then runs back for another pass and strikes them again, but stops short in the middle.
Heaven's Edge finished charging and Kirito then throws it aside. Staying true to Lizbeth's words, the vents on the right side fire, and the sword spins around Kirito full-circle. Both Agonofinis are hit by Heaven's Edge's attack and both thrown backwards and shatter to pieces upon hitting the ground.
Kirito then doesn't move from his position as more might come out after disposing of the three. When the next few moments passed without incident, Kirito sighs in relief and sheaths Heaven's Edge.
After disposing of the Agonofinis, Kirito crosses the bridge and continues on to the other side. Not far from the bridge were a large metal gate and a split path, one straight path and the other going to the left.
*If I go straight, it'll probably lead me to the clock tower. Guess I better take the left path.* Kirito thought as he started deciding which path to take. Just a few seconds after reaching the split, Kirito hears bird-like screeches and his head shoots upwards.
On top of one of the posts in front of the gate, a large bird materializes. Another then materializes in mid-air not far from where the first one appeared. The names register –PUIA- and much like the enemies Kirito encountered, only a "?" appeared beneath its name.
Kirito was then beginning to see a pattern. All the enemies he faced so far only displayed a "?" and their strength is only on a level of common enemies…
*Which means I can safely assume that what we've been fighting against so far are only lesser demons.* Kirito thought as he prepared to face the next wave of enemies.
One puia flaps its wings hard and fires 4 feather blades at Kirito. Kirito quickly evades to the side to avoid the attack and places one hand on Heaven'e Edge. It was then that Kirito decides to try something.
Kirito turns away from his enemies and does a wall run on the wall him. As he reaches the limit, he jumps off and at the same time, a puia was about to greet him with an attack. Kirito quickly draws Heaven's Edge, but rather than throwing it, he stabs the puia on the chest and both land hard on the ground and the sword explodes when both hit the ground. As smoke envelopes the spot, the other puia takes the opportunity to divebomb Kirito. As it dives in for the attack, Kirito quickly emerges from the smoke with Black Knight in hand runs through it from the mouth onwards.
For the finishing touch, Kirito raises and spins his sword and the skewered puia once. The attack wave generated by the sword spin produced more than one wave, but multiple waves. The puia that was once impaled on the sword was then ripped apart by the force of the attack wave.
As he moved on, a wooden door not far from the split prevents him from continuing. Kirito tries to open it, but to no avail. He then tries to break it open with his sword, thinking that it could open much like how he opened the gate to Dummary Village.
Unfortunately, as the blade struck the gate, the message: IMMORTAL OBJECT appears.
*WHAT?! Oh, come on!*
If opening it manually and breaking it open didn't work, then that leaves-
*You can't possibly mean-*
Kirito then looks up at the wall housing the door and says "You can't be serious!"
Kirito knew it was an insane guess, but it was the only possible choice left. Kirito backs away a little and measures the height of the wall.
He measures it possibly a little more twice his height.
Kirito then steels himself for what he was going to do because if he fails, he's going to have one major splitting headache afterwards.
He takes a deep breath and quickly runs and as soon as his foot makes contact with the door, he dashes upward and upon reaching the top, he jumps a height he estimates around one and a half meter high. As he lands on top, Kirito looks back, stunned by the feat he just pulled off.
*SAO didn't have ANYTHING like this!* Kirito thought as he was caught in the moment. He didn't feel that heavy or the force of being pulled down as he executed the wall run. He then jumps down and finds out that the height he can jump is of a fixed height. As he lands on the path, he continues onward.
The path soon goes upwards, and for a while, Kirito doesn't encounter any nasty surprises.
As he reaches the top, it ends with a narrow-spaced straight path and a stairway leading downwards at the end. But what caught his attention the most was a golden stone just lying in the middle of the street.
From the setting alone, Kirito knew it was obviously screaming "trap" at the top its lungs. He knows that after picking that item up, it will trigger a trap of some kind, which brings him back to how he led the Black Cats of the Full Moon straight to their graves.
Kirito shook his head at the thought and narrowed down two choices: pick up the item and risk an enemy encounter OR just don't pick it up and move on.
He could easily just go for the second choice, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of having items that can help them survive.
*This isn't SAO anymore, and majority of the rules of the game have changed.* Kirito thought as he decides to risk the first option and braces himself for what will happen next.
He tightens his grip on Black Knight and proceeds towards the object.
Kirito then kneels down and touches the golden stone.
The display window then appears and says:
ITEM acquired:
-GOLD ORB-
"A crystal generated by immortals with the power of resurrection."
*A resurrection item!?* Kirito was shocked to find such a highly valuable item was just lying on the street. A second after Kirito picks it up, a magical wall appears on both sides, boxing him in. And in the next instant, 3 AGONOFINIS materialize, but this time, they were wielding a pair of swords or a pair of round saw-edged shields.
Kirito smiles and says to himself as he readies himself for combat "It was worth the risk."
A sword wielding Agonofinis greets Kirito and counters with his sword. In the next moment, something hits him at the back. Kirito quickly disengages and turns to the source and finds that the Agonofinis with saw-edged shields are not defenders, but are as much as attackers as they can throw their shields like projectiles.
Kirito frowns for being careless, but this quickly gives him an idea.
He targets the sword-wielding Agonofinis and locks weapons with it once again. Thinking that Kirito was pinned, it throws its shield at him. Kirito quickly disengages with the sword-wielding Agonofinis. Losing its balance from Kirito's sudden retreat, the attack meant for Kirito hits it instead.
The saw shield-wielding Agonofinis then "pulls-back" and Kirito's eyes widen as it compressed its form to that of a spiked wheel. As it speeds towards him, Kirito quickly blocks it with Black Knight. Kirito quickly draws Heaven's Edge and stabs the attacking Agonofinis. The blade's magic then detonates while still being held by Kirito, while the attacking Agonofinis shatters to pieces.
Kirito quickly runs towards the sword-wielding Agonofinis with both swords in hand. As Kirito was close enough, it brings down one of its swords, but is blocked by Black Knight.
As another saw shield-wielding Agonofinis appeared and attempts to attack Kirito, Kirito quickly uses his sword to throw the sword-wielding Agonofinis into the path of the saw shield which successfully hits it.
As it lands, Kirito spins Black Knight and stabs the sword-wielding Agonofinis. Kirito then launches the Agonofinis he pinned down at the saw shield-wielding Agonofinis. The saw shields hit the sword-wielding Agonofinis twice and then shatters to pieces.
Kirito then runs towards the last Agonofinis and before it could launch its saw shields, Kirito does a High Time (an attack that launches the enemy skyward) and throws Heaven's Edge while it was still in mid-air. The sword detonates and pieces of the Agonofinis and its saw shields fall to the ground. Kirito then catches Heaven's Edge and sheaths it along with Black Knight.
Kirito then moves on, not wanting to entertain bad memories at the moment. As he reaches the end, around the corner he sees a high wall with an opening at the top. The lower entrance on the left was blocked by rusty iron bars with pointed ends at the bottom.
Kirito looks up at the opening above him and notices that it also had, but raised for the moment, rusty iron bars with pointed ends at the bottom.
There was another possibility of it being a trap. Even with the newly acquired GOLD ORB, Kirito didn't want to risk and sacrifice a very rare item as he doesn't know if he'll acquire another one of it in the future.
Hoping that whatever is waiting for him on the other side is not a boss battle, Kirito then executes a wall run and times his jump and enters the opening.
As he lands inside, he hears the heavy sound of falling rusted metal, and sees both entrance and exit are now blocked.
Kirito looks up and finds himself surrounded by black, simian-like demons emitting black smoke from their bodies. He then quickly counts that he had to face 27 of them all at once!
Quickly taking a moment to look at the place, he sees that there was a lot of room to fight and evade attacks as he also took into account his new wall run and high jumping abilities.
He then looks back his enemies and one of them roars angrily at him and the name registers –MSIRA- and a "?" appears underneath their names.
Kirito heaves a sigh of relief as it was not a boss fight that he feared, but still, the large number of lesser demons he had to face all at once still presented a serious threat. He quickly draws out both swords from his back and readies himself for the onslaught coming straight at him.
A pack of 5 msira quickly made their way towards Kirito, but manages to stop their attack with Black Knight's spinning attack wave. Kirito quickly runs the opposite direction and does a wall run. After reaching the limit, he leaps into the air and throws Heaven's Edge at a random group.
The group is blown away and dispersed by the force of the explosion, but as Kirito lands, but successive number of blows input by the other msira shaves 10% of his HP upon landing.
Some msira somersault in the air, hoping to damage Kirito, but Kirito manages to evade only to be hit by a claw swipe of a msira nearby.
Kirito quickly made his way towards the walls and ran sideways and jumped when reaching the limit. After doing it twice did Heaven's Edge finish charging and he once again fired at a random group.
Not wanting to be caught in between attacking enemies, Kirito once again opted for the walls and waited for Heaven's Edge to recharge. Kirito repeated the process over and over for a certain time as his plan was to wear down his enemies' HP with Heaven's Edge until he was sure that they can be killed by 1 or 2 normal sword blows.
As soon as Kirito felt he had inflicted enough damage, he moves to the center and waited for the msiras to attack him. Even if the first half of the plan succeeded, the next half was risky. As he paid attention to one or two attacking enemies, he was wide open to be hit by the attack coming from the other msira.
In other words, the plan called for him "to hit and be hit".
After a while, Kirito managed to succeed, but lost 30% of his HP in the ordeal.
After the battle, Kirito falls on the ground, exhausted from fighting so many lesser enemies all at once. He then hears a small clink, and just within arm's reach, he finds another item.
ITEMS acquired:
KEY
"A key to unlock an iron-barred door."
GREEN ORB
""A crystal with condensed demon fluid. It will instantly recover your vitality."
Kirito's health then automatically recharges to a certain degree and lets his auto-healing do the rest.
Kirito hears the sound of rusty metal seemingly being raised and as he looks up, he sees the wall entrance was now open. He then looks to his left and sees the gate on the side was still closed, but had a small keyhole.
*So that's where I use it on.* Kirito thought as he decided to lie a little while longer before progressing.
After some minutes of rest and one green orb later, Kirito gets back up and continues on. As he exits from the arena-like area, he arrives at the near-end of Dummary Village. He looks up and searches for the clock tower and sees that it was now a bit behind his present location.
As he moves on, he comes across a large building which lacked the medieval-style feeling. Its structure was something similar to modern architecture found in the real world. In front of the building was a short stairway, but the width of the steps were nearly as wide as the building itself.
Kirito looks at the building for a moment and then looks away and beyond and sees a lone castle outside the village boundaries.
He then looks back at the building and climbs the stairs. As he stood outside the building entrance with his sword, Kirito takes a deep breath and opens it.
Although the light was dimming, he could still see the interior clearly.
The interior was large and spacious. Even though it was only a single floor, it housed a sizable number of exhibits and was divided into sections.
*Okay, quest objective aside, what is it that I'm supposed to do now that I'm here?* Kirito thought. Even though he had arrived, no "congratulations" or "quest complete" message appeared.
Kirito then wandered in the museum, looking for anything else that could be of use to him and his guild.
Taking into account the possibility of the Golden Amulet could be hidden somewhere within the museum. Kirito thoroughly searched the entire place and at the same time paid attention to the Silver Amulet for a reaction.
Unfortunately, it wasn't there, though at the same time, it somewhat a relief as they still had an upper-hand on Mundus.
As night was starting to fall, Kirito knew it was risky to light the place up as it was a sure invitation for irregular monsters to attack. This then gives Kirito an idea, although it was going to be very risky on both ends.
He plans to lure the irregular monsters and make them look for what needed to be found. Problem is he'll need to act fast once they find it for him. Another is that he hopes that he doesn't lure in a large lesser demon, much like the Hell Vanguard.
Putting his plan into action once night fell, Kirito lights the place up bright enough to attract attention. He then takes position at the center and then looks at the doors and any possible place they can enter the premises.
*Anytime now…* Kirito thought as he eagerly waits for his enemies.
In the next few seconds, the upper stained glass portion at the west wing shatters and 3 puias fly in.
Kirito carefully observes where they'll go, and then another group enters and as the first group keeps Kirito occupied, one puia goes for a glass case and breaks it to steal its contents.
Kirito quickly takes notice of this and chases after it. The other puias do whatever they can to delay him, and his intended target was about to escape.
Kirito jumps and then uses the puias as stepping platforms to reach the escaping puia. After a few well-executed maneuvers in mid-air, Kirito gets a clear shot and throws Heaven's Edge. The sword detonates upon impact with the target and drops the stolen item, which appeared to be a coin.
And by a stroke of good timing, a puia was going to attack him. As it was about to close in on him, Kirito times his kick at the attacking puia's chest and springboards towards the falling item.
He then rockets towards the coin and succeeds retrieving it, but fails to plan his landing and collides with one of the stone pillars of the museum.
He hits and lands hard on the floor, but the sound of a diving enemy forces him to roll away from danger.
Kirito attempts to get some distance between him and the puias and manages to place the coin in his inventory. After securing the item in his inventory, Kirito draws both his swords. He then counts how many puias he was now facing and counts 9 in total.
One puia charges straight at him but inches before hitting him, Kirito delivers a roundhouse kick. The force sends the puia crashing into the wall and was shortly followed by the detonation of Heaven's Edge and its disintegration.
A pair then attempts to attack him from both sides but they are greeted by sword blades and end up being impaled on Kirito's swords. Kirito then bashes them at one other and launches both of them at one of the building's central pillars. The damage from both swords and from the impact resulted in their defeat.
One attempts to charge at him head-on, but Kirito counters with a blow right in the head with Black Knight's pommel. Stunned by the attack, he quickly follows up with a backhand sword strike. The attack causes it to split sideways and disintegrates even before hitting the ground.
Kirito then notices that even after taking down half of his enemies, he hasn't moved an inch from where he stood since the start of their attack.
The final 5 then surround him in an attempt to finish him off, but Kirito launches Heaven's Edge full circle and spins Black Knight overhead as fast as he could, quickly launching multiple attack waves. The combination attack of both swords was more than enough to quickly finish off the remaining puias.
As they all disintegrate, a "congratulations" message finally appears.
Kirito huffs angrily and says "About time you showed up." He then checks to see his rewards and see the items he acquired:
ITEMS acquired:
-RED ORB-
"A crystal with condensed demon blood. Use it to gain new power."
Kirito clicks it and he acquires a large number of it. *Probably what's going to be used for upgrades.*
Another item appears and it displays:
-ARCANA MEDAGLIA-
"One of the sacred treasures of the Vie de Marli. This will allow access to magical and alchemy forged items."
He clicks the Arcana Medaglia, and a message appears saying:
"SHOP is now open and can now be accessed."
In the next few seconds, Kirito receives an e-mail from Asuna and it reads –A golden statue of some kind holding a large hourglass suddenly appeared inside the guild house. Come back quickly.-
"Wow. That was fast." Kirito smiled as they can now acquire more supplies in the comfort of their own home.
Before going back to the guild house, he decides to look around more and proceeds to the weapons section.
As Kirito slowly walked around the section, most of the weapons displayed were either old or common in SAO.
He then sees a pair of swords that had blades shaped like elephant tusks curved in opposite directions, but it was small enough for Silica to use. Kirito then takes it and adds it to his inventory. The display then shows:
WEAPON acquired:
-CUTLASEER-
"A pair of curved swords that have standard speed, range, and striking power."
Not going far, he then sees a large sword. It had a long, thick grip and lacked a guard and had very thick cutting edges. The design of the sword bore a skeletal design and was notched on both sides near the tip and had a half-oval shaped point.
*Putting the macabre-like design of the sword aside, this sword is a good fit for tank players. I think Agil would appreciate this more than Lizbeth.* Kirito thought with a weak smile while taking the sword and putting it in his inventory. The display then appears and says:
WEAPON acquired:
-VENDETTA-
"A decorative sword which is designed to resemble Death's scythe. It has short range, but it deals the most raw damage."
As Kirito looked around further into the section, he comes across a black, long, but thin-bladed sword. Though the blade itself made the sword ideal for thrusting and reaching long distances, it was still capable of being used like a standard sword.
The most notable features however, were the blue green snake engravings staring from the cross guard to the grip, and the pommel had back-to-back hissing snake heads facing in opposite directions.
*Looks better than the last one. I think this might be a good fit for Klein.* Kirito thought and approaches the weapon and adds it to his inventory. It then displays:
WEAPON acquired:
-MERCILESS-
"A sword with snakes engraved. It's not powerful, but it has wide attack range."
As he was near the end of the section, a certain display catches his attention. In a glass case, it displayed a beautiful o-katana. It had a bronze oval guard and the handle was braided with a black and white material. The blade was broken in two pieces, but when one looks closer, the sharpness it possessed was extraordinary. One can say that this was no ordinary o-katana.
Above it was a black scabbard with some metallic features at the end, and the finishing touch, it had a yellow sageo tied near the end where the sword is sheathed.
Kirito couldn't help but be stunned by the beauty of the blade. *This weapon would be perfect for Asuna.* he thought as he admired the sword's craftsmanship.
He then carefully removes the glass case and adds the broken sword to his inventory. The display then appears and reads:
WEAPON acquired:
-YAMATO-
?
*Probably because of the fact that it's broken, no information could be displayed.* Kirito thought and then quickly decides that one of the first things he'll do when he gets back is bring it to Lizbeth for repair.
Kirito then does a second check on all the info and items he acquired and then teleports back to Algade.
-END OF MISSION 1-