Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online.

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3:37 p.m., October 2, 2024, Floor 73: Floor Dungeon

Asuna wiped a hand across her brow, dabbing away beads of simulated sweat.

"How much further do you think, Godfree?" she asked, wearily pulling up her menu to check the durability of her gear.

Not far away, the large but easy-going warrior belted out a cheery laugh. "I expect we'll find our way shortly, ma'am! We keep circling explored areas of our maps, so we're sure to stumble on a passageway in no time!"

Asuna suppressed a groan, and settled for sheathing her rapier with a little more force than necessary.

She, Godfree, and several other Knights of the Blood Oath guild members were scouting the 73rd Floor Dungeon, but a false set of tiles had earlier sent them tumbling into an unexplored section without any visible way back to their starting point. As a result, this particular dungeon crawl had gone on for several hours longer than she'd expected, and it was beginning to fatigue her.

Another of her companions, an optimistic swordsman named Takeru, offered a grin even as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. "Anyway…we've gotten a lot of map data! Even if it's not today, I expect we'll be able to pinpoint the Boss Room location soon," he said before lifting a waterskin to his lips.

Godfree let loose another booming laugh. "I couldn't have said it better myself!"

The fourth member of the party flapped a hand indignantly. "More quietly, would ya?" he hissed, eyes darting down the way. "This is our first combat break in ten minutes, and I don't want some roaming mobs to cut it short!"

As Godfree shook his head in mock disappointment, but still wearing a smile, Takeru gave a thumbs-up. "I'm with you, Grendel," the younger man said. "I'm bushed."

Before Godfree could say anything, Asuna quickly spoke up. "You're right, we've been exploring for the last five hours, and we haven't stopped since about…two o'clock, at this point," she stated, glancing at the clock in the corner of her field of vision. "Let's take a good breather. This room's clear, so we'll rest here for a few minutes."

As Takeru and Grendel sighed in relief and sank to the floor, Godfree shrugged. "As you say, Sub-Commander!" Rolling his shoulders to work out the knots, the large man strolled over to what appeared to be a faded mosaic on the wall and began studying it with a casual air.

With her decision announced, Asuna took a moment to study their surroundings more closely.

The room they currently occupied wasn't particularly large, but it felt rather more spacious now that its former residents—a band of Deepling Gremlins—had been dispatched. Moreover, the space even seemed somewhat peaceful now. Much of this floor's dungeon had an unexpectedly artistic aesthetic lurking in the contours of swirling pillars, the gentle curves of archways, and understated smatterings of color in the stonework, but this room in particular seemed oddly…expressive.

The wall Godfree was examining, for instance, had a recurring vine and leaf motif in its faint tiling, but it took a moment of intentional scrutiny to pick it out as a distinct pattern. The twirling images of slender green life captured in cool ceramic seemed to meld with the wall such that only seeing the whole at once could highlight its parts.

In alcoves along the other walls, empty plinths and some marble fragments suggested this room had once held statuary of some sort. It looked like the foyer or entrance hall of some mansion, like one belonging to the business friends of Asuna's parents.

"You ever stop to think about the level of detail you can find even here in the dungeons?" Takeru said softly, breaking back into Asuna's awareness. "I mean…this is just some little room in the middle of nowhere, where we're supposed to be fighting for our lives. But someone took the time to give it…art." The young man gazed about slowly, taking in the scene with a pensive air.

Grendel grunted nearby, carelessly scattering crumbs from a dry loaf he'd produced from his inventory. Still, the mace-wielder acknowledged, "It comes with the VR world. If you don't have a baseline level of visual or design quality in every area, players are gonna complain about the boring patches. Then you hafta throw in a little extra sugar and spice where people don't expect it. Tough as balls to keep it up everywhere, but that's the ideal. I'll admit, I wanna nail Kayaba to the wall…but you've gotta appreciate the craftsmanship," he concluded grudgingly.

Asuna smiled lightly. "You sound like you're speaking from experience, Grendel. Like a professional." As a total newcomer to the world of gaming before SAO, Asuna had never had much exposure to what came second-nature to many of her companions in this kind of world, but her experiences in Aincrad had unexpectedly sparked an interest in such matters.

"Hmph." Grendel sucked his teeth for a moment. "You know it goes against the culture to talk about IRL-stuff…but yeah," he relented, "I did some design work on the other side. Not on this, you understand," he said, waving a hand vaguely. "A couple of indie projects, ya know? Still. I guess there's something familiar about how it's all put together." The man paused before sighing. "Like a labor of love, somehow. It's twisted as hell, and it'll cut you without a second thought…but somebody cared about it."

Grendel fell silent, looking across the room at the faded mosaic.

"That was kind of beautiful, buddy," Takeru said with a slight grin. "Sounded like poetry."

"Hmph," Grendel repeated. The mace-wielder returned to his bread without another word.

Asuna turned to Takeru. "What's your favorite place to be when you're not raiding or scouting?" she asked, settling against the wall and crossing her arms.

The young man leaned back, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "…Floor 47. Floria." He flushed in embarrassment. "I know, it's a little cliché. But it's peaceful there, and it feels alive. Closest thing to it, anyway. I like to walk there when I have the time."

"Have you a lady friend awaiting your return?" Godfree questioned. The larger man had stridden over in time for Asuna's question.

"This afternoon? Nah," Takeru said with a chuckle. The cheer in his eyes faded a little as he added hesitantly, "On the other side? Yeah. At least…I hope so." His brow furrowed. "It's been almost two years now. I guess…she could have moved on."

Grendel shook his head and chewed silently as Godfree sighed. "My apologies, Takeru," the vanguard commander said, placing a hand on his chest penitently. "I didn't intend to bring up old memories."

Takeru waved him off, pulling on another, sadder smile. "No, it's alright. We just have to keep pushing forward. And one way or another, I'll see her again. After that…who knows?"

The party fell silent for another few minutes, each member lost to his own thoughts for a time.

At a quarter to the hour, Asuna straightened and dusted off her skirt. "Well, let's keep going. If we don't find the way out by five o'clock, we can use teleport crystals, but I want to save them for now."

"Yes, ma'am," the other three chorused as each stood and readied his weapon.

The group began again, walking carefully down another hallway while looking for traps or a way out. Every now and then, Grendel would hold up a hand to signal a halt as he listened intently for mobs, but they encountered no enemies. Each minute became an extended balancing act between tension and attentive calmness.

When at last the passage opened up to a broader chamber covered in bright mosaics and tiled patterns, it was almost a relief to see a squad of Greater Deepling Gremlins waiting for them.

Behind them stood the 73rd Floor Boss Room.

With the Gremlins aggroed on sight, the two sides joined battle almost immediately, and Asuna's world quickly contracted to a rapidly shifting flurry of color and steel.

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There were nine Gremlins, which didn't necessarily present too great a challenge on the face of it. Greater Gremlins stood a full head taller than Godfree, so any more than two would quickly crowd each other out unless they could flank the players. As the strongest guild in SAO, the Knights of the Blood Oath were too well trained to let that happen.

Standing almost back to back, but with enough room to maneuver freely, the four humans formed a loose box and held the mobs at bay with the skill that Clearers were renowned for on the lower levels. Asuna the Flash especially took little time to parry and dismantle her foes' attacks.

With her rapier singing in exultation, Asuna darted and thrust with a furious speed, slaying two Gremlins in the space of a minute. On her sides, the other players likewise made good progress on the monsters' health bars, while taking an otherwise acceptable degree of damage in return.

Still, something niggled at the back of Asuna's mind as she fought her third mob. It wasn't until Godfree sliced another Gremlin to polygons on her right that she caught it.

One of the mobs was hanging back a further distance from the others, well outside her range and the reach of its fellows. This Gremlin also had its weapon drawn—a simple, but wicked looking barbed poker—but its stance was solid, coiled like a spring. In contrast, its fellows bounced on the balls of their feet even as they elbowed each other in order to swing at the players.

Asuna brushed the short observation from her mind as her current Gremlin leapt forward with an animalistic shriek. Backpedaling a single step, the girl smirked as she brought up Lambent Light. The rapier's blade gleamed with cold light as Asuna held and thrust.

One-two-three-four!

Quadruple Pain: a four-hit Sword Art meant to immobilize its target. The move sacrificed a short set of frozen frames for this effect, but it allowed several quick follow-up attacks and freed the player up for defensive movement to boot. Penetrating the Gremlin's weak points in rapid succession and stunning the mob was like child's play, and the skill's debuff took effect immediately.

Temporarily frozen in place by the Sword Art's post-action phase, Asuna cast her gaze about instinctively even as she planned her next move.

I can hamstring it while it's still immobilized, then sidestep its counterattack. After that, I'll—

Asuna's internal monologue cut off abruptly.

The furthest Gremlin was watching her intently, yellow eyes narrowed and unwavering. If the other mobs were slavering berserkers, this one looked uncharacteristically shrewd.

Their gazes locked and Asuna felt a chill run down her spine.

"Hrrrraaagh!"

Asuna barely ducked in time. The other Greater Gremlin had waited out its immobilized status, and promptly swung at her head with its cleaver. Cursing under her breath, Asuna leapt forward, carrying through with her previous plan. Swinging her rapier in precise arcs, the girl sliced and diced, cutting through the back of the mob's knees like a frenzied surgeon. With a cry, the beast fell forward awkwardly, only to catch the edge of Takeru's blade as the swordsman spun around to meet it. With its head cleaved neatly from its shoulders, the Gremlin burst into particles.

Panting slightly, Asuna turned—

—and only just parried an overheard blow.

The last Greater Gremlin had appeared as if out of nowhere. It must have moved at the same moment as its fellow, closing the distance while Asuna had her back turned. Hissing softly through needle-like teeth, the mob towered over Asuna with a calculating glare.

From the sounds of clashing arms on every other side, the girl could guess that Godfree, Takeru, and Grendel were each working on their final opponents. With a sharp smile to cover her sudden unease, Asuna muttered, "Well, this has been fun, but I'm ready to call it a day. How about you?"

The Greater Gremlin's lip curled as it snarled without words.

"I thought so."

Shifting her weight, Asuna broke the parry, redirecting the barbed poker downward as she spun and stepped back. Lifting her rapier, Asuna held and thrust.

Clang-clang-snick-snick!

The post-action phase did not keep Asuna's jaw from dropping even as the rest of her body stiffened for precious moments.

The Gremlin had blocked her first attacks with its poker. The last two had still penetrated the mob's defense and shaved away its HP, but the Immobilized debuff had failed to take hold as a result.

That…couldn't be right.

Asuna had never seen a mob deflect more than the first attack of a multi-hit Sword Art. The necessary speed and dexterity alone was beyond even many human players unaccustomed to PvP—but for a randomly generated monster to do so in so precise a manner, as though it knew exactly where each blow would land—?

She went cold.

It had been watching her fight.

Asuna had just used the same skill, Quadruple Pain, on the previous Gremlin. It was, after all, a standard rapier opening. But having seen the skill in action, this mob had predicted and defended against it.

This realization and a trickle of fear shot through Asuna's mind in an instant.

That fear turned to shock in another moment as she watched the Gremlin slowly take a step back…and raise its weapon in a familiar stance.

The poker began to gleam faintly.

"Hyyaaaah!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Asuna saw Godfree leap forward, axe already more than halfway through its arc.

The Gremlin turned its head, eyes narrowed to slits—but it could do nothing more before the large blade caught it in the side. Lifted from the ground with its force, the mob shrieked in fury and pain before it landed in a heap, sprawling some feet away.

Blithely striding forward, Godfree raised his axe high overhead as its edge turned scarlet.

In the moment before that curved blade came down, Asuna's gaze once again met that of the Greater Gremlin.

Its yellow eyes were cold and hard…but a grim light danced behind them, hinting at something.

It felt like resolve.

Thwack.

"You alright, ma'am?" Takeru asked, sounding concerned. Next to him, Grendel raised an eyebrow even as he scanned the rest of the room alertly.

Asuna had fallen to one knee, and could only stare at the dissipating polygons even as Godfree slung his axe over his shoulder.

…what is about to happen here in Aincrad? she thought dazedly, filled with a sense of inexplicable foreboding.

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A/N: Perhaps one more chapter. There's another character we need to visit before all's said and done.