The three friends made their way to the gate.
"Looks like, still no one has found the key." Kirito observed the gate, that was still shut tight. "I wonder what kind of grand quest, we are even looking for."
"I have no idea… but we have completely searched all of the first 4 floors… if we are going to find anything, it will be on the floors lower than that." Alice surmised.
"Then let's continue searching through level 5. If there is any way to find it, it'll be through the process of elimination." Eugeo suggested, as he started to head back the way they came.
"Yeah, okay. It's not like it will open, with us just staring at it." Kirito agreed.
"Well! What are you waiting for?!" Eugeo called out, nearing the other side of the creekbed.
Alice and Kirito immediately followed behind.
"Race ya to the top!" Eugeo challenged.
"Your on!" Kirito broke into an extreme speed.
"Wait! Boys, there's no… hurry…"Alice quickly sighed, before mumbling to herself. "I will just have to use a teleport crystal as always…"
The two boys finally made it to floor 5, taking the scenic route. AKA. Longest route ever! They came to a stop and started panting.
"I can't believe you! It's like… pant... you were shot from a bow!" Eugeo complemented Kirito in his Eugeo kind of way.
"You were pretty fast too! Pant… you had me running… pant... on a higher setting." Kirito admitted.
Their attention suddenly was drawn to a person standing there in front of them.
"How could you both just leave me behind, like that!" Alice scolded. "What took you so long, anyway?! There is no daylight left to explore level 5!"
"What's the hurry? Eager to get through the gate, are we?" Eugeo teased, knowing full well that it is always Alice, reminding them, there is no rush.
"Not really… I just spent the rest of the day, waiting here for you!" Alice was ready the blow a fuse.
"So why didn't you go shopping?" Kirito retorted.
"I didn't know when you would get here, so I needed to be ready when you did." She was becoming a little more agitated, but decided to drop it. "We should find an inn. We will search tomorrow."
"Or we could search right now." Kirito smirked mischievously.
"No way!" Alice panicked.
"Don't tell me, you're afraid of the dark?" Eugeo teased.
"That isn't the reason!" She quickly defended. "It is unwise to be out there at night!"
"She is in denial." Kirito smirked even wider.
"I am NOT!"
The boys laughed.
"Then you can stay where it is safe, we will go and check things out." Eugeo playfully announced, as they were getting ready to turn around to head back towards the field.
"No way, am I letting you go out there on your own. You guys are way too irresponsible! You would be completely lost without me!" She defended.
Kirito raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean, you're coming with us?"
"Fine!"
The three of them headed out to the main dungeon, on the current floor.
A few more monsters met their demise.
"We have been pressing through, but we still haven't found them, anywhere!" Liz remarked after she slammed her mace into the side of another monster's face.
"I have school in the morning and I haven't even done my homework yet." Silica was worried about what her parents would do, if they found out she decided to skip school.
"We all have school! But…" Asuna smashed her opponent in the heart and watched it disappear. "... we can't leave now! If they find the key to the gate, we may not catch up with them for a long time. Right now we still have a shot."
"I could take a few sick days." Klein interjected. He cleared the last monster from their sight. "But I might have to resign, if I stay with this game for too much longer…"
"Maybe your friend, Chrysheight, could give us notices to give to our teachers, that we are assisting on a missing persons case?" Sinon suggested.
"We aren't with the government, so I doubt it…" Leafa sunk to a sitting position on the ground.
"It would, at least be worth a try, right?" Liz remained optimistic.
"It doesn't matter! I am going to find Kirito! I have to." Asuna's resolve only grew stronger. She felt like she would lose her mind, if she stopped her quest, for finding Kirito, to do other things.
"We all feel that way. But what can we do? His levels are so much higher than ours. How can we compete with that?" Silica joined Leafa on the grass. Pina landed on her lap, taking a deep rest.
"Kirito has put his life on the line more than a few times for us, so we can't abandon him when he needs us the most!" Klein balled up his fists. "I will not give up, until he is back in ALO with us!"
"Agreed!"They all shouted at once.
Leafa looked up at Asuna with a sudden realization. "Asuna! Do you have Yui available? I haven't seen you bring her out yet."
Asuna hugged herself tightly. "No. She was saved to Kirito's nerve gear in SAO, so I would assume that he has her."
"That is assuming, she is compatiable." Sinon pointed out.
"Everything here is the same as SAO. Yui must be in this game." Silica deducted.
"I still don't get why that is, though." Klein looked thoughtful for a moment.
"It isn't important right now." Asuna returned their attention back to the real focus. "We just need to get Kirito to log out. As far as I am concerned, that is all that matters, right now."
"If we are really doing this, I am going to need a bow. I can't keep fighting like this. It's no good." Sinon turned her attention towards the town.
"And some new armor? I really appreciated you giving me your armor, Liz. But I don't think it will last me much longer. It's durability isn't strong enough. I could use a new weapon too." Leafa joined Sinon, getting ready to make way to town.
"Let's get our gear and then logout. In the morning, we will meet back at the center of town and prepare for the final boss on this floor." Asuna announced.
They were able to find a bow in town, but it wasn't anything that Sinon really appreciated, too much. The stats weren't very strong and distance would barely suffice. For now, she would have to make due with it. They got everything they needed and logged out.
Asuna rushed to the computer and sent a message to Agil. 'Any more talk about Kirito?' She waited withholding her breath. She found herself staring at the clock and watching it tick. She heard an alert and her attention returned to the computer with haste. She read it to herself.
'Not much. Kirito discovered a gate. He is looking for a key. That is all I was able to find.'
'Thank you, but we figured that out already. Please keep your eyes open!'
She didn't have to wait long before she got her response from him.
'Sure will. Be careful out there!'
'I will.' She turned away from her computer and made her way to her bed. She never thought this would ever happen. She and Kazuto had been so close. She practically saw him every day. They were going to spend their life together. It seemed like forever since she heard his voice. What would become of him? He is missing IRL. When he logs out, he will be faced with another challenge... to escape from his captors. Asuna was so frustrated. She wish she could do more IRL, but there was nothing to go on. She had this feeling like Kazuto was being ripped away from her. That is ridiculous, he has only been missing for a little while and there is nothing to say that things won't work out. Her head played games with her all night. She could barely sleep. As long as Kazuto was missing, she wasn't sure she would get another decent sleep. Things will be better, when she can finally reach him in game. It will put her mind at ease, even a little.
"I-i-ss t-tha-t aaaa GHOST!" Alice froze at the sight of a new monster in the moonlit dungeon.
"Look! New monsters! It's like a whole new dungeon at night." Eugeo mused, staring up at the faceless moonlit glowing skeleten.
Kirito looked thoughtful. "Maybe there are new passages at night too."
"Maybe you're right!" Eugeo watched as the monster drew near.
"We should go back!" Alice cowered behind her sword.
"Go if you want, but there is no way, I am turning back now! Kirito?"
Kirito gave a nod in agreement.
They both ran towards the first set of monsters.
Alice cringed, but finally gathered her nerves. "Alright! Fine! Just wait up!" She commenced her attack too. There was something about these creatures, that haunted her. The creepy setting, didn't help in the least.
They attacked the ghost like monsters and struck them down with ease. They maybe different, but still no tougher than the daytime beasts.
Kirito's attention was drawn to a particular glow. "Guys look! Over there!" He pointed. "That might be a moonlit passage. We should take a look."
They headed towards the new entrance that was revealed. The cave was littered with crystal like formations, that look like they contained moonlight in them.
"This wasn't here before, for sure! I know I would have recognized it, if it was!" Eugeo ran into the cave, not wanting to wait any longer, or the excitement was going to kill him.
The others followed close behind. They finally managed to get to a small dome. There they ran into a very large…
"RAT! WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SO…!" Alice screamed.
"Stop gawking at it and let's attack it already!" Eugeo ordered.
They advanced on the rat, but it suddenly stood up and they noticed it towered over them. It had demon red eyes and black pixie dusted fur, with a large rat skull bone on it's head.
"I can't get a read on it's level!" Kirito shrieked as the rat tried to bite him, with it's massive jaws. "Be careful guys! It could be anything!"
The rat's razor bladed tail whipped around and knocked Eugeo and Alice hard against the cave walls, lowering their hp to the red zone on impact. "No Way! These monsters are leveled higher than anything on floor 10!" Eugeo realized based on damage dealt.
Alice grabbed out a healing crystal, but she wasn't able to use it. "We can't heal ourselves! What kind of dungeon is this?!" She shrieked.
"A crystal free zone! No Way!" Eugeo tried to get up, but found it difficult.
Kirito swung his sword around and deflected it's tail. "Just sit there and rest! I will distract it." Kirito had to skillfully dodge both the teeth and tail that were coming from all directions. He managed to finally get a hit on its head. Based on the sound it made and lack of cut lines, he knew there was no penetration possibilities on its skull. "The heads no good! Try and flank him! I will keep him trained on me. Hurry!"
They did, but the rat whipped its tail again.
Kirito couldn't stand and watch. He jumped towards them knocking them out of the way, just in time to take the blow. Kirito slammed against the crystals on the roof of the dome hard and hit the ground. He felt extreme pain shoot up his body and cringed. He looked up to see his health gauge was still in the green, but barely. He suddenly noticed the moonlit crystals on the roof shaking. Kirito stood up and ran towards the rat. The rat's tail came at him and he launched himself onto the tail. It whipped him up and Kirito used it like a springboard and slammed his swords both against the crystals hanging from the roof. They came loose and fell like giant daggers into the rat's main torso. As Kirito descended towards the rat, he held out his two swords and he cut off its neck. Kirito fell through the dissolving mess of the rat's remaining codes.
"That was AWESOME! How did you do that?!" Eugeo jumped up and ran over to Kirito, completely amazed by his performance.
"Did you get the last attack bonus?" Alice would bet a beast like that, would give an incredibly rare drop.
"Yeah." Kirito answered.
"What is it?!" Eugeo couldn't contain himself, for his curiosity burned in his mind.
"It's a new sword." Kirito pulled it out. It was a thick, heavy black sword. Its edges glowed bright red. He switched it for his dark repulsor.
"That is the best sword, I have ever seen!"
"Why does it glow like that?" Alice examined it.
"I don't know. It sure looks cool, though." Kirito gazed at it. "And it's really heavy."
"We should go back. I am hungry and tired." Alice complained.
"Okay."
They all headed towards the… exit? There was nothing but a cave wall, where they had originally entered.
"The exit's gone! Where is it?! It was right here!" Alice started banging on the cave wall.
"Maybe, we just made a wrong turn?" Eugeo responded.
"No, it was here! I know it was."
Kirito sighed. "It's daylight." He deducted. "The entrance only appears at night."
"You mean, we are stuck here?!" Alice panicked some more.
"If that's the case, let's allow our hp to regenerate and then let's explore for a while." Eugeo wasn't even slightly worried. It did give them a perfectly good excuse for continuing their expedition.
"I agree. But that monster was pretty tough. It makes me wonder what else is out there."
"I think Kirito makes an excellent point. I think we should stay here till nightfall."
"Ah come on. That's so boring. Who knows when we'll get another opportunity to be here. And what if the key is down here?"
"I'm with Eugeo. The key might be here. Can't turn back now."
"Fine…" She hesitated for a moment before following them back down the cave tunnels. She was afraid they would get lost, so she kept a steady eye on the map, just incase.
"That should do it! I have leveled up quickly. I am ready to take on the boss. You should be there too, right Sinon?" Leafa asked.
"I'm good to go." Sinon agreed.
Klein sighed. "We still have to find it. Too bad it doesn't work like Aincrad. We could just teleport to any cleared floor. Now we have to clear it ourselves." He complained.
"We still haven't seen Kazuto… I hope he hasn't found the key yet." Leafa was very depressed by everything going on, but didn't want people worrying about her, so she tried to act like Asuna. Who was she kidding though. Asuna was standing stronger than any of them, despite everything going on with Kirito. 'She really is strong.'
"He hasn't. Not that anyone knows of, anyway. Agil has been keeping us up to date on the UW Forum." Asuna informed them.
"I say we head back for more supplies and repair our gear, after we take care of these monsters up ahead." Liz suggested.
They all agreed and advanced on the monsters, taking them out with ease. After continuing on their current path, they found themselves overlooking a deep crevice, with a little stone bridge to take them across it, to a cave like entrance.
"Is that what I think it is?" Sinon enquired.
"We found the boss room… well, sort of." Leafa answered.
"No. I don't think so. It looks like a passage." Liz observed.
They started to investigate. It was a very large cave, but there wasn't anyway to be sure, where it lead to.
"What happened to getting our gear repaired?" Silica asked nervously, not wanting to go towards a trap, with everything at low durability.
The others just ignored her and kept going. The next thing they knew, they travelled down a steep, rocky slope that lead to a town. They walked through a portal like wall.
"That's it? What about a boss? We are already on the next level?" Liz pointed out.
"Doesn't anyone think that was a little too easy?" Sinon added.
Silica chimed in. "I can't believe we have made it to floor 6, already."
Asuna smiled. "What are we waiting for? Let's ask around for Kirito!"
They continued walking aimlessly through the caves. Everyone was exhausted and hungry.
"I can't believe we're lost…" Eugeo whined.
"If you had listened to me, we wouldn't have been here in the first place." Alice was too annoyed to deal with their complaints.
"Wait… There was a passage this way, but it's gone now." Kirito's eyes widened upon sudden realization. "Now I get it!"
"Huh? Get what?"
Kirito thought it through. "It all makes sense. We aren't lost!"
"You know how to get back?"
"No. But I now know why."
"Enlighten us, would you?" Alice wasn't very thrilled to hear it, after he said he still didn't know where they are.
"I have been watching the crystals. Some glow and some don't." Kirito explained.
"Ya. so?"
"It isn't just random. They are glowing in the presence of moonlight. When they glow, new sections open up and old ones close." Kirito continued.
"What? But that means… How are we ever going to find our way out?" Eugeo shrieked.
"Lucky for you, I have been mapping this whole time." Alice gave a matter of fact response. "It didn't make any sense, till you pointed that out, however."
"Does that mean, we can get out of here?" Eugeo felt like hope might be restored.
"I think I might be able to figure it out."
"Not yet. This dungeon is a huge labyrinth. Think about it. Where else would you find a key?" Kirito did have a very good point that the others couldn't deny, so they kept trekking.
They were still tired and found themselves looking for a safe place to rest from the monsters. There was still the issue of getting food. Their health bars would start to deplete, if they didn't get food soon, not to mention a decrease in their reaction times.
Asuna took a seat on a stool at the town cafe. The others joined her. She leaned her head on her palm and sighed. "Still nothing."
"Can I help you?" The cafe tender asked.
"Not unless you can tell me where Kirito is." Asuna was exasperated.
"Excuse me. Did I hear you say, 'Kirito'?" A small girl with blue hair and blue eyes asked.
Everyone turned their attention to her.
"Yes. Have you seen him?" Asuna responded quickly.
"No, but I knew him. I didn't know he was in this game." She smiled like she was talking to herself.
"You arrree?" Liz pressed.
"Sachi. I am from the guild called the-"
"Moonlit Black Cats!" Asuna suddenly clued in.
"Right…" Sachi's gaze met Asuna's in confusion.
Asuna felt she needed to explain things further. "Kirito told me about you! He will be so glad to see you again!"
"Hey Sachi? Who are these people you're talking to?" A group of guys, came from behind her.
"I don't know. They said they know Kirito." Sachi answered.
"YOU KNOW KIRITO?!" They stood in utter shock in front of the gang.
"I wondered if he died… I guess this confirms it." Keita's smile slid to a sad one.
"No. He is alive!" Asuna blurted.
"He was the one who beat the game!" Klein announced with pride and a strong arm held across his chest.
"He did!" Sachi smiled. "He kept his promise. I'm glad."
"I know it will mean a lot to him, if you see him again." Asuna thought about what Kirito had told her. His guilt had kept him from people and joining any guilds or parties. She smiled, thinking about how relieved he will be when he sees them.
"Why don't we friend them. We could keep in touch." Silica suggested.
"That's a great idea." Tetsuo pulled up his window and sent a friend request to them.
They accepted.
"We have to get going, but if you plan to take on the boss on this floor, message us. We could form a party and take it on together." Keita suggested.
"We will. But I was wondering about something… Why wasn't there a boss on the last level?" Sinon asked.
"Who can say. Nobody knows anything really." Ducker responded.
"We thought we were dead and then suddenly we were here. I know this isn't heaven. Skills… stats...levels… health bars… pretty obvious we are in another game." Tetsuo rambled on.
"I wonder if we can return to the real world. We are alive here, so maybe we are there too." Sachi was too hopeful. No one wanted to destroy her hopes. So everyone simply avoided her question.
"We have more dungeons to explore, before we are ready to take on the boss. We know where the cave to the next floor is. I can send you the mapping data, if you want?" Keita offered.
"Yes. We would appreciate it!" Leafa exclaimed.
The window popped up and they were able to accept it.
Things went a lot smoother when others helped.
"Look! Over there! It's a huge glowing chest! I bet that contains the key!" Eugeo exclaimed, running towards it.
A chest in a enclosed room? "Wait! It's a trap!" Kirito called out to Eugeo.
Eugeo didn't hear him in time and opened the chest.
The door closed behind them.
The chest sparkled and opened up, revealing a very large key.
"It wasn't a trap…?" Kirito was astounded. He thought for sure, they would be overrun by monsters.
The three of them gathered around the key and suddenly disappeared.
They appeared on the floor below the one they entered. The key was gone, but it had been added in a window that popped up, in front of them.
"Glad that's over. I'm hungry!" Eugeo flopped to the ground.
"I will make something when we get to town." Alice sighed in relief.
Kirito stood up and headed towards the closest town. He was stopped by Eugeo's next comment.
"Hey, Kirito! Your sword! It's not glowing red anymore." Eugeo sounded quite disappointed.
"What?!" Kirito pulled out the sword hastily and examined it. "Maybe it only glows in the dark…" Before he could put it away, he heard something coming their way. He turned around to warn his friends, but it was too late. They were surrounded by some rather shady, ravaged cloaked figures.
"What do you want?!" Alice yelled at the mysteriously creepy, cloaked men.
"I have a score to settle with that punk!" One of the men pointed at Kirito aggressively.
"We want you to hand over all your items, or we will kill you!" The reapers drew their weapons.
"Who are you?!" Kirito demanded. He hadn't seen any of them before, so why would there be a score to settle?
"We are 'Laughing Coffin'. We are going to make you pay for what you did!"
"What I did?! I don't know what game you are trying to pull, but I won't stand for it. If I have to fight you, I will!" Kirito challenged.
"Always the hero. I will kill you this time!" The one in particular was giving a malevolent look. "There is no one to save you now!"
"Who says, I need saving?!" Kirito contiued in the pre-battle banter.
The men commenced their attack. In the heat of the battle, a throwing knife slit Kirito's arm and another into Eugeo's leg. They fell to the ground. They both looked at their health bars and noticed the paralysis symbol next to it.
"We've been poisoned!" Kirito warned Alice, who was the only one left to defend them.
The one man started laughing hysterically.
"They aren't finished yet, Kuradeel."
"No one kill the black swordsman! He's mine!" Kuradeel threatened.
They advanced on Alice.
The boys pulled out their teleport crystals and quickly shouted out the town.
The men ran towards them, but the boys vanished from their eyes.
They turned their attention to Alice. She had one out too. The man threw the knife at her, but she still managed to teleport.
They appeared on the center square of the town, on floor 6. They were still paralyzed and couldn't move, but at least they got away from their attackers. No matter how temperary it might be, they were glad to have a break for now. They really needed it.
"WHA… t happend… there…? It looked like they knew you, Kirito." Alice studied Kirito's face.
"I don't know them. I have never seen them before." Kirito explained as he was still trying to move.
"Will they be back? I am so glad we had our crystals close by. Otherwise, we would be dead for sure."
"We have to be more careful. They are still out there." Alice warned.
The effects slowly wore off, but before it did, they received a decent sized crowd. They offered them antidote crystals.
Kirito and the others stood up and thanked them.
"Kirito? You should know that someone has been looking around town for you." One of the town's folk informed him.
"They have…? They found us… They tried to kill us!" Kirito was still pretty tired and disturbed. So he and his friends turned and headed towards an inn. They were convinced that they had not seen the last of them. What would they do the next time they meet? Things have gotten a whole lot more complicated.
The crowd watched and decided to keep them from being discovered by the other party again.
The group returned from the dungeons.
"Man… I'm tired…" Klein complained.
"Still nothing… guess we need to get to the next floor." Leafa whined.
"Does anyone notice, the weird looks we are getting?" Sinon pointed to the disgruntled looks from the other players.
"What's up with them?" Klein grumbled.
"Does anyone get the feeling, something happened while we were gone?" Liz suspected.
Asuna stood in front of everyone in the center square. "Do you have a problem?!"
"Yes we do! You aren't welcome here!" The crowd drew their swords.
"Not welcome?! You've got to be kidding!" Klein retorted.
Everyone in the town center surrounded them in a hostile manner.
Suddenly a message popped up and broke everyone from their hostilities.
Asuna and the gang read the message that was sent to everyone. 'The key has been found. Anyone who is ready to take on the boss on the other side of the gate, meet us there at 10am sharp.'
The people grumbled. "We have to work. What is he thinking? I've got school."
Klein ushered his friends to slip away in the middle of the distraction. They headed back into the dungeon. They planted their tired bodies on the grass and looked up towards the sky.
"What is going on? Why did everyone turn on us?" Silica felt the pressure of their personal quest getting that much more difficult.
Asuna heard a laugh that made her cringe. She recognized it from somewhere and she was alerted to a presence in the growing shadows. She jerked her head this way and that, in complete distress.
"You alright?" Sinon grew concerned.
"It's nothing…" Asuna tried to relax.
"That didn't look like nothing!" Klein pried.
"Just now, I thought I heard a familiar laugh… Did anyone else hear that?" Asuna finally admitted. "I think someone is watching us."
Silica latched onto Sinon's arm. "A-are y-you sure?" Pina whined and took shelter in Silica's lap..
"I can't be certain." Asuna didn't want to give them false hope, but she would stay alert just in case.
"SHOW YOURSELVES!" Klein stood up and drew his sword. "You cowards!"
A moment of silence.
"Whoever they were, they are gone now." Asuna relaxed, trying to calm her friends.
Klein sat back down.
"I think we should go back to town." Liz suggested.
"We would have to sneak into an inn." Leafa pointed out.
"It would be better than staying here." Silica stood up quickly. She didn't want to stay here where they were being stocked, any more than the rest of them did.
"That message… Kirito and the others found the key. If we don't get to level 10 by tomorrow… Kirito will be out of reach… again…" Asuna was even more distressed just thinking about it.
"We can't… it's impossible. We just barely made it to floor 6. That would be four more floors in just a few hours. We will never make it." Leafa didn't mean to be pessimistic. But the fear of losing her brother, was starting to wear on her. She curled up on the grass, with her face planted on her knees.
"Let's message the Moonlit Black Cats. We can see if they will join us for a midnight boss raid."
"Our levels should be high enough to make it to the next floor." Sinon clicked up her window and prepared a message. "Is everyone up for this?"
They nodded in unison. Sinon took her cue and sent the message.
"If we get to floor 7, we might get another chance to intercept Kirito, before he heads to the gate."
"He could already be on floor 10!" Leafa shrieked.
"Maybe not. We can at least try." Liz assured her.
"We are going to find him, so don't worry, Leafa."
Leafa couldn't believe how Asuna could be so confident in this situation. She knew how much Asuna cared about her brother and yet she could still keep a level head.
A message was received.
"What did they say?"
Sinon answered. "They are concerned about it, but have agreed to it anyways. We are supposed to meet them at the dungeon entrance in a half hour."
"Alright! Let's do this!" Klein cheered.
The two parties trekked through the floor dungeons. They came across unfamiliar monsters.
"This is weird. The monsters are completely different at night." Sachi had become a lot more confident in her fighting, now that she didn't have to worry about dying. She stood out front boldly and defended with her shield. After one monster was defeated, another came out, but that one met it's demise too.
"These monsters look the same as the monsters during the day, only they are like their shadow versions." Tetsuo added.
"Look!" Silica pointed her finger in the direction of a magical sight. There were giant flowers that were encapsulated with bright moonlight. There were some that shimmered of pure starlight and others radiated in gold dust. Their dazzling pollen graced the grasslands and made it look like what you might only see in a dream. "They're so pretty."
"I had no idea, that everything changes at night." Liz stared in awe.
They continued through the forests of sparkling flowers and made their way towards the 'boss room'. When they were nearing the other end, something cut them off. It whipped through the grass undetected and knock four of the members of MBCats off their feet. Asuna and her friends poised to strike.
"Where did it go?!" Klein scanned the grass.
Asuna engaged her tracking skill. She spotted two red eyes, gleaming in her direction. "There!"
They spotted a very large snake like beast. It's tails were used like whips. Sometimes, it would wrangle their feet and drag them under the grass.
Asuna leaped into action, driving her sword into it's side tail, but its other tail, swiftly wrapped around her waist and dragged her down into it's hole.
"ASUNA!" They called out in horror, upon seeing their friend get pulled under ground.
Suddenly, another one of its tails surfaced from another hole in the ground and tried for another victim. Leafa jumped out of the way as fast as possible.
Klein jumped at the creature and struck it hard cutting off its tip.
They saw the tail that held Asuna captive, fling her sky high into the air, after surfacing from another hole. Asuna slammed against a cliff and landed hard on the ground. Her health gauge showed her to be in the red.
"We can't let it get another strike." Liz's resolve got much stronger as she instigated her next series of attacks.
"Hurry! Use your healing crystals!" Silica jumped in front of Asuna and blocked the next strike from its tail, directed towards Asuna.
Asuna quickly raised her hp bar level back to green, with her crystal.
Keita struck the monster hard, cutting off another of its tails. "Guys! We have a problem! The tails grow back!"
"What?! No way! Then how do we kill this thing?" Klein blocked another whipping motion.
Sachi jumped towards the big hole on the other side. "I think we need to cut the snake off, by the head." She scanned the several holes.
"It's head is in the holes. We need to get down there." Sinon jumped down into a hole. She ran through as fast as she could, drawing her sword, realizing that a bow wouldn't do any good in this particular situation.
"Let's distract it, so Sinon can find its head." Asuna renewed her attacks.
Sinon scoured the holes and finally found its head.
The parties that formed the next morning, gathered around Kirito and his friends, waiting for them to unlock the gate. When they advanced from the gate. they came across a three headed dog monster, assumed to be the most powerful boss, they came across, thus far. The other parties didn't wait for Kirito and his group, before taking on the monster themselves. They were getting creamed out there. Alice and the two boys caught up with them, but it was getting to be almost too late.
"Get out of there! It's no good! Your levels aren't high enough!" Eugeo yelled out to the players, who were taking on the three headed dog like monster.
"They can't get away! Help them! I will distract it!" Kirito ran at the giant beast and struck it in the face, gliding past its jaws. As Kirito landed onto his feet and swung his sword again, striking it's paws. One of its heads managed to grab Kirito swiftly in its jaws, biting down hard and spat him at the other players. He stood up and checked the other players health bars. They were all dipped into the red.
"I got this!" Eugeo ran in and sliced the dogs back with his sword and the other dog's head caught him in his mouth, like a dog would catch a Frisbee. It whipped its head back and forth, dwindling down Eugeo's health bar.
"Let him go!" Alice ran in angrily. She darted through, barely being missed by its paw. She jabbed her sword into its torso and the other paw beat her away.
Kirito grew in ferocity. He couldn't let a single person die. "Alice! Get the other people out of here! Eugeo and I will distract it! Hurry!" Kirito landed another set of skillful strikes. His dual wielding skills were coming in handy.
The dog finally dropped Eugeo. Eugeo could barely get to his feet. His health bar was dipping into the red. He felt his energy drain. He staggered towards the monster, refusing to give up. The pain shot through his body and he grew light headed. He fell to his knees. He pulled out his healing crystal and felt the energy return quickly. It was their party's last one.
Alice tried to assist the other players the best she could, but the dog launched itself over Kirito and Eugeo, landing just in front of the others. The dog landed on several people, who died on impact.
Kirito and Eugeo were painted with great horror. "No! You BASTARD!" They attacked with extreme aggression and their fierceness blew out of control. Especially for Kirito.
Kirito's attacks came so fast, that the monster couldn't get a lock on him. The dog chased him around, but finally Kirito launched himself from a post and slammed his two swords into two of the dog's heads. Suddenly, this monstrous hellhound shrunk a little and had a single head, making it look a little more like a normal dog. It's attacks became more aggressive and unruly. It tackled Kirito and tried for a death blowing crunch, but Eugeo flanked it. Instead, it grabbed Kirito by the neck and swung him against Eugeo.
Kirito and Eugeo tried to stand up and saw that blood was dripping from its mouth. Kirito noticed his health bar was nearly depleted to nothing. He staggered towards the monster growing very lightheaded. The pain in his neck, was becoming unbearable.
Eugeo jumped in front of Kirito. "Don't worry! I got this!"
The beast managed to chomp on a few more people, after getting a bite on Alice, who was lowered to nearly red on her health bar.
Eugeo flanked the beast, before it was able to get Alice again. The monster swiftly jumped back, slamming against Eugeo.
Kirito could not allow himself to stand and watch and went for another blow, as soon as he could gather enough strength. He watched as the beast whimpered and whined and hobbled. It was almost defeated. Now was their chance. "We can do this! Just a couple more attacks!"
They attacked it all at once and the dog disappeared into vanishing codes.
They all allowed gravity to pull them to the ground after it was all over. The pain took over them and they felt every inch of their bodies screaming out at once.
"How many died?" Eugeo asked in the middle of his panting.
Alice checked the status. "24…"
Their eyes grew wide. "No way…"
"I don't think that monster was supposed to be defeated by normal leveling. We should have raised our levels much higher than this." Kirito looked at his level, as did everyone else at their own. Their levels grew exponentially. Kirito noticed that he got the last attack bonus... again. He cringed, when he tried to sit up. The pain pulsed again. Looks like they were going to be there for a while.
"What are we even doing this for?" Alice asked no one in particular.
"You heard the prophecy… if we don't, this world will be ravaged by flames of Hades… We need to protect the people, so we need to destroy him, once and for all!" Kirito balled his fists tightly. "He is going to pay for all that he's done! All the lives that have been taken and our village, that he destroyed."
"Maybe then, our people might allow us to return." Eugeo longed to return to the peace, that they once had on floor 1.
"We should get to floor 11, before new monsters approach us." Alice tried to stand up, but she felt her blood rush and she fainted.
"Alice!"
They had made it to floor 7. They received a message. 'Gate 1 has been cleared.'
"That's it… He is out of reach." Silica looked down depressed. "How can we keep this up? We'll never catch him now."
Everyone felt the same way, but they didn't want to give into despair. This was their only chance to help Kirito.
"We can't give up. We will make it!" Asuna stood up firmly. "We have to."
