{A/N} Hey, welcome back. I just wanted to let you guys know real quick that this chapter WILL be fairly long... and a lot of it consists of battling.
So, if you really want, you can just skim through it if you're not a fan of action, but I don't suggest it. Even battling in this story consists character development and relationships, and I don't want you guys to miss it, heheh...
Anyways, that's really all I have to say. So enjoy the next chapter!
-KtD
Chapter 4: Blade For A Beta
…
Floor 51 - Nodosai (Shortened ver. of "Throat of Fire"); June 25, 2024
…
Asuna let out a loud yell as she pulled back her blade and lunged forward in a powerful thrust.
The large Gargoyle beast in front of her screamed loudly into the air, only to be quickly interrupted by Asuna's rapier slamming into its gut and sending it stumbling backwards.
Once it caught its balance, it stopped and glared down at Asuna.
She lightly gasped for breath and turned to the health bar of the boss…
"It's in the red-zone… it's only a matter of time now before this thing gives in," she whispered to herself.
She turned to Xathe to see that he was still staring down the new Gargoyle.
"The lava pit became active at the time that the first Gargoyle's health bar was cut half-way. But now that it's in the red-zone of its health bar… I wonder if it has any other surprises in store now that its health is this low…" Asuna trailed off, turning back to the axe-wielding Gargoyle.
Suddenly it stood from its hunched, animal-like position and straightened its back so it had a more human-like posture, before it extended its axe in Asuna's direction, an angry glare engraved on its expression. It held a more disciplined and controlled look about it now, less animal like in nature.
Her eyes widened, "Yeah… I should probably just stop talking now…"
The Gargoyle let out a loud screech again in challenge and Asuna pulled her sword into fighting position, before charging back at the huge boss.
…
Xathe aimed his sword in one hand at the glowing Gargoyle.
The Gargoyle simply stayed afloat in the air with a slow flap of its wings and it waited patiently for Xathe's first move…
The issue with the Gargoyle doing this was that Xathe was doing the same thing. So both stared at each other in silence.
A drop of sweat rolled down Xathe's cheek, but his look of determination didn't waver.
"Come on, you big-ugly brute… do something I can react to…" Xathe hissed quietly to himself.
Finally it seemed that they'd both ran out of patience at the same time, and they rushed at each other, the Gargoyle gliding with its sword held high over its head and Xathe dashing forward with his sword held down in both hands.
They came within yards of each other, when Xathe lunged forward in a powerful thrust of his blade. The Gargoyle screeched before bringing down its blade with lightning-fast precision.
The loud sound of metal clashing together echoed off the walls as Xathe dashed straight past the Gargoyle, and his sword bounced back from the collision of his blade and the Gargoyle's.
With that, Xathe used the weight of his blade to spin himself around and dash at the Gargoyle from behind.
But the Gargoyle was already turned by the time Xathe reached it, and it quickly reacted against Xathe's movements by slashing downwards upon him again.
Xathe swung his sword against the Gargoyle's and they bounced back from the impact, once again.
But neither wavered from this collision, and in a display of sparks, they clashed against each other over and over again in lightning-fast strikes and slashes.
Pixels blasted from both of their limbs at the times where a strike would hit its target, and sparks erupted from their blades in the times where they countered against one hit or another.
Xathe growled and hissed as he met the Gargoyle's every move, blow for blow.
Suddenly the Gargoyle's blade began to shine as they clashed and countered each other and Xathe could tell that this clash was about to end.
In a flash, The Gargoyle did a horizontal slash into Xathe's blade that caused him to stumble back right before the boss brought down its massive glowing blade in a fierce power-slam.
With lightning-quick reflexes and a determined expression, Xathe side-stepped away from the attack and his eyes gleamed from the blue fire that burst forth from the Gargoyle's blade connecting with the floor.
Rushing in with his side-step, he lunged forward in a quick thrust that slashed through the Gargoyle's arm. The large beast screeched in pain, but Xathe rolled with the thrust and spun around, his blade shining a bright blue, before he slashed into the Gargoyle's ribs.
Once his attack was finished, Xathe leaped back and stood about a dozen yards away from the wounded Gargoyle.
Xathe held back his blade and let it charge up again in a bright glow, "Now it's time I gave you a taste of what I'm REALLY made of! Take this—!"
He was interrupted by the sound of another voice behind him, "Don't worry, sir, I'll finish him off!"
Xathe spun around with eyes full of shock to see the blonde teen, Chikaru, dashing past him with a war-hammer in his right hand and a wide grin of confidence spread across his face.
The ravenette turned to the blonde and his eyes widened even further as the boy charged up an attack with his hammer and screamed, "Now, try this on for size!"
Xathe spun back around and rushed after the boy, "Chikaru, don't!"
Chikaru made an incredible leap as he threw his hammer back with both arms and prepared to make a grand-slam swing into the Gargoyle.
But the Gargoyle quickly turned to the teen and it quickly dropped to the ground and did a double-jointed spin against the floor, dodging underneath the swing of Chikaru's hammer.
The blonde's eyes widened in horror as the Gargoyle spun back around onto its feet and threw out its sword in reverse grip, performing a super-charged uppercut that was aimed to slash Chikaru in half.
Tears filled the boy's eyes before he shut them tightly and prepared for his imminent death…
"No…" a voice suddenly broke the silence that filled the air, "… you DON'T!"
With that, a flash of black and blue jumped up in front of Chikaru and it screamed at the top of its lungs as it slashed downwards in a Parry against the Gargoyle's powerful uppercut. The object clashed against the Gargoyle's blade with all the strength it could muster…
Instantly, the sound of metal shattering echoed into Chikaru's ears as he realized the figure that flashed in front of him was none other than Xathe.
Chikaru's eyes widened in shock at seeing what Xathe had just done…
His Parry shattered the Gargoyle's sword into a million pieces.
The Gargoyle stumbled back in slow motion as its shattered sword vanished into shards of polygon-shaped pixels.
Everything returned to normal speed as Xathe turned to Chikaru while they were in mid-air and he glared sharply, "What are you doing here?!"
They began to descend towards the ground and Chikaru started to stammer, "I-I was only trying to help!"
"If you're going to help us at all, then do yourself a favor…" he turned to face Chikaru fully, "Stay out of the way!" and he quickly slammed his palm into Chikaru's chest, causing the young teen to launch backwards in the direction of the entrance.
Xathe landed on his feet, while Chikaru crashed against the ground, far away from Xathe and the Gargoyle.
Chikaru quickly sat up and rubbed the back of his head, "… He's right. All I did was make his job harder for him…"
The raven-haired teen turned from Chikaru to the Gargoyle, which was still trying to comprehend what Xathe just did to its sword.
He shot a cold glare at the Gargoyle, "You know… threatening me is one thing. But when you try to harm an innocent kid like you just did… that's when you really make me angry. Now I'm going to make you pay… and without a weapon, there's not a thing you can do to stop me."
Xathe pulled back his sword and prepared to do one, last, powerful strike… aimed directly for the heart of the Gargoyle.
But suddenly the Gargoyle took a huge breath inwards, causing Xathe to stop and stare at it in confusion.
All became silent… right before the Gargoyle opened its gaping mouth and launched out a massive column of fire in Xathe's direction.
Xathe's pupils shrunk at the sight of the inferno that was about to eat him whole.
"Son of a bit—!"
With that, Xathe vanished into the intense flames.
The flames continued to spew forth from the Gargoyle's mouth for several seconds, before it finally died down and the Gargoyle closed its mouth and glared forward at where Xathe once stood.
It looked down at the ground to see Xathe lying on his back with his arms spread wide. His clothes and skin were marked-up and singed from the heat… but his body did not move.
Chikaru gasped, "Xathe…? Xathe!"
The Gargoyle screeched victoriously into the air and its wings spread out completely.
"Not… just… yet."
The Gargoyle turned back to Xathe, to see he was now standing up and still grasping onto his sword. He gasped for breath, seeing his health bar diminish to well-below the half way mark. The red zone was only centimeters away on the bar.
A confident smirk spread across his lips, "You're not taking me down that easily…" he chuckled, doing his best to bluff how much fight he still had in him.
The Gargoyle turned to its axe-wielding twin across the room and hissed in frustration.
…
The axe-wielding Gargoyle dashed around Asuna in an attempt to confuse her, but she quickly caught on by spinning on one heel and slashing against a speedy attack from the Gargoyle.
She grunted and growled as the Gargoyle clashed against her in a flurry of strikes and counters.
'This can't be right… its using its axe to perform fast, speed-based attacks, when it should be specializing in strong, power-based attacks. It might be running on empty at this point, and speed is all it has left…' she contemplated as she fought bravely against the stone creature.
The Gargoyle jumped back, before lunging in once more and bringing down its axe, executioner style.
Asuna side-stepped, allowing the axe to slam against the ground and bounce back up above the Gargoyle's head. The missed attack left the Gargoyle's abdomen open to attack and Asuna quickly exploited on the opportunity.
In a flash, she dashed in and powered up an attack, causing her sword to glow a bright green.
Her sword became a blur as she plowed the tip of her blade into its stomach several times, sending it flying back from her.
The creature barely managed to land on its feet again and it let out an agonized cry, as it stumbled backwards. Its health was already depleting through the red zone. Both Asuna and the Gargoyle knew the battle was coming to a close...
…
Xathe slowly walked over to the frustrated Gargoyle in front of him and he rotated the joint in his shoulder as he recovered from the impact of the Gargoyle's earlier attack.
Then he realized the Gargoyle wasn't even paying attention to him…
"What are you looking at…?" asked Xathe, quietly as he turned to where the Gargoyle was looking. The Gargoyle was watching the fight between Asuna and the other Gargoyle.
Asuna was dodging around the attacks of the badly-wounded Gargoyle, occasionally lunging in with a quick strike of which the Gargoyle would avoid.
Suddenly the Gargoyle in front of Xathe let out a loud and desperate screech that caught both Asuna and the Gargoyle's twin's attention. The Gargoyle Asuna was fighting let out a long screech in reply, before spinning around to face Asuna and slamming its axe into her.
The chestnut-haired girl barely managed to block the attack as she stumbled back from the sudden strike.
The Gargoyle took advantage of this by sliding around to stand behind her and striking her with the broad end of its axe. She let out a loud yelp as the powerful hit launched Asuna towards the fire-breathing Gargoyle.
Xathe turned back to the fire-breathing Gargoyle and his eyes widened as he now caught on to what their plan was…
"Chikaru! Take out the Gargoyle with the axe; I have to get to Asuna!" Xathe yelled, dashing towards the air-borne girl at the same time as the fire-breathing Gargoyle.
Chikaru nodded and pulled his hammer into fighting position before rushing at the Gargoyle that knocked Asuna into the air.
Xathe ran towards Asuna as fast as he could, but the Gargoyle quickly spread its wings and glided past him with incredible speed.
As Xathe heard the Gargoyle take in a deep breath, he knew that by the time he reached her it'd be too late…
Asuna spun around in the air, still dazed by the Gargoyle's attack-from-behind. She had no idea of the fire that was about to consume her…
Everything seemed to go in slow motion again as Xathe thought quickly over what to do.
'This is no time to be holding back my unique skill like this… I'm gonna have to try to give it everything I've got, if I plan to save Asuna…' he thought to himself quickly.
His body suddenly glowed a light violet color as his feet began to blur with his sprint.
"I gotta go full-speed on this one… Shadow-Form now activated… Sprint!" he shouted, rushing forward at lightning fast speeds as time began to flow at its normal pace.
He rushed off to the left and ran in a circular motion to catch Asuna from the side.
But suddenly, the Gargoyle dropped its jaw and in a flash, fire shot forth in a spiraling column towards the airborne girl.
"No... Not again... Not today..." Xathe whispered to himself. He already made the mistake losing his friends once... he wasn't going to lose anyone else, ever again. He was about to break the chain of losses... starting with Asuna.
Asuna opened her eyes to the fire that was already upon her. Shock overcame her expression at the fate that prepared to take her from the world...
... But suddenly her view of the fire was blocked by a body jumping in front of her.
Her eyes widened as the silhouette wrapped its arms around her and instantly fire swarmed around them.
She quickly realized that it was Xathe who'd grabbed onto her and he cried out in pain as the inferno plowed straight into his back. The power of the attack caused his hooded cape to be destroyed and it exploded into pixels.
But slowly Xathe dragged both of them to the side and they plunged out of the column of fire. Xathe spun them around as they descended from the air and made sure he was the one who slammed back-first into the ground.
Asuna pulled herself off of him and stared down at his face, "Xathe?! Are you okay...? Say something!"
"Asuna... you're... crushing my ribs..." he choked quietly.
Slowly, Xathe's eyes opened again and he let out a low groan. He could hear his health bar beeping as it made its slow descent to the bottom of the red zone. Had he not managed to pull them out of the fire, he would have been dead before they even hit the ground.
Asuna looked down to see her knees were pressing down into his chest, "Oh! I'm sorry...!" she exclaimed, getting off his chest and helping him sit up.
He let out a quiet hiss as she gently pulled him into sitting position.
His eyelids felt extremely heavy and he even felt a bit nauseous at his still-depleting health. It seemed that the Gargoyle's Fire-Breath was causing continuous damage, even after the attack was over, because his health was coming closer and closer to the end of the bar.
"Asuna… I'm… I can't…" he grunted.
She checked his health bar and gasped at seeing that he was only seconds away from dying.
Asuna reacted accordingly, summoning her menu and opening up her inventory screen to find a healing potion.
She scrolled through the list of items as she searched frantically for the potion.
As soon as she found one, she pressed on it and it instantly pixilated into her palm.
"Don't worry, Xathe… I'll fix you up," she whispered, opening the lid of the potion and bringing the small bottle to his lips.
Xathe stared down at it for a moment, before taking it from her hand and downing the entire bottle in one gulp. As soon as it was empty, the bottle shattered into pixels in his hand.
He let out a sigh of relief as his health began to replenish and his wounds began to heal. Unfortunately his outfit was still in tatters from the two powerful blasts that he took, and his cape was already destroyed.
Asuna stood and smiled, "There. All better now," she said, holding out a hand to help him up.
As he came back to his senses, he looked up at her and blinked, before taking her hand and allowing her to pull him back up to his feet.
"I guess I owe you one, again. Because I get the feeling that blast would have hurt really bad if you didn't take the hit for me…" Asuna chuckled.
Xathe brushed himself off, "I think I should be the one thanking you. If you hadn't gotten me healed, I would have been a goner, regardless of the fact that I saved you."
"Well then, debt repaid, I suppose?"
Xathe rolled his eyes sarcastically, "I already told you, I don't believe in 'debt.' It's the least I could do, and it's the least you could do."
Asuna nodded with a light smile, "Alright, fair enough then."
They stood in silence for a moment, before Xathe suddenly looked up and gasped at what he saw behind her. "Asuna, look out!" He exclaimed, shoving her to the side as the fire-breathing Gargoyle glided back through and snatched up Xathe in both of its large hands, before flying straight up towards the top of the massive chamber.
Asuna fell onto her tail bone with a yelp. She quickly stood back up and gazed up at where the Gargoyle was carrying the raven-haired teen, "Xathe!"
As he was carried to the mountainous roof of the chamber he shouted back, "I'm fine! Go help Chikaru-!" but he was interrupted by the sound of Chikaru letting out a loud battle-cry behind her.
She spun around to see the blonde teen clashing against the Gargoyle, swinging his hammer back and forth against the creature's axe.
Her eyes widened, before she dashed towards them with her sword pulled back behind her, "Right, I've got him!"
…
Xathe struggled to pull his arms out of the grip that the Gargoyle had on his entire torso. He made sure to keep his sword in his grasp, but he squirmed and twisted around to get out of its tight grip.
But then the Gargoyle suddenly pulled Xathe close to its stomach and he quickly saw his chance to break free. Xathe pulled back his right leg and it began to glow a faint purple color.
Then he quickly kicked it out and slammed his glowing foot into the creature's gut.
With a screech, it released its death-grip on Xathe and he launched back towards a nearby pillar. Knowing he was about to collide into it, he flipped back and felt his feet press against the pillar and he kneeled towards the solid surface…
Suddenly his eyes widened with a gasp as a flashback of an earlier event in the fight came to mind:
…
"Not bad… but now it's my turn to take the upper-hand," he growled quietly to the Gargoyle.
He waited for the Gargoyle to be right on top of him before he kicked back his feet against the pillar behind him, spring-boarding off of it and rolling downwards to dodge under the Gargoyle as it slammed its axe straight into the pillar.
…
His eyes became full of realization, "The pillar!"
He turned back to where his feet were pressed against the surface of the pillar and then quickly turned back to the Gargoyle.
Xathe grew a very serious expression as he realized what he had to do.
With a loud cry, he spring-boarded off the pillar and lunged towards the airborne Gargoyle. He pulled back his sword and the Gargoyle opened its eyes in Xathe's direction…
It almost looked as if the corners of its mouth turned up into a grin, as it threw back its left arm and summoned a new weapon into its grip. The weapon was a gigantic katana that extended beyond the Gargoyle's own height.
A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Xathe's face as the Gargoyle swung back the oversized katana and slashed down onto Xathe.
"Damn you!" Xathe yelled as he swung out his blade at the Gargoyle right as its katana slashed into him…
…
Asuna rushed at the Gargoyle from behind as Chikaru continued to push it backwards.
"Chikaru, don't let it hit you, its attacks will shatter your defenses!" Asuna yelled.
Chikaru was suddenly forced on the defensive as the Gargoyle lashed out against him, "Yeah, I got it!"
He dodged around the Gargoyle's attacks for a bit, until one attack came right down on top of him.
"Crap—!" Chikaru shouted, throwing his hammer out in both hands to block the attack. But the Gargoyle's strike crushed his defenses and caused Chikaru to kneel and his hammer dropped to the ground with a thud.
The Gargoyle hissed and slowly brought the axe back in one hand, causing it to shine in a bright red aura.
Chikaru grasped onto the handle of his hammer, "Come on… just… a few more seconds…"
The Gargoyle let out a short screech before stepping forward to finish the job…
Chikaru cringed and waited for his demise, "It's no good…!"
"Chikaru, watch out!" a girl's voice shouted desperately.
Suddenly, Lisbeth came sprinting in as fast as she could, before lunging at Chikaru and tackling him to the ground to get him out of the way.
The Gargoyle paused and turned to the right a bit, causing its shoulder blade to be exposed in the direction of Asuna who was only yards away.
Asuna jumped into the air and dashed forward in a lightning-fast slash with a cry of determination. A loud slice echoed through the air as Asuna landed on the ground in front of the Gargoyle and slid until she came to a halt.
The Gargoyle froze for a second, before its arm suddenly detached from its torso and exploded into a million glass-like pixels. The axe dropped to the ground and exploded into pixels along with the arm.
The Gargoyle slowly looked down at where its arm used to be and it dropped to its knees, letting out an agonizing scream into the air
"Chikaru, finish the job!" Asuna shouted.
Chikaru and Lisbeth quickly got up, Lisbeth backing up again and Chikaru charging in with a victorious smirk, "Way ahead of ya!"
The blonde teen shot up into the air, with his hammer thrown back behind him.
The Gargoyle's eyes widened in horror as Chikaru swung down his hammer with all his strength, and slammed it down onto the beast's head.
Instantly, the Gargoyle's health bar hit zero… and the huge creature exploded into pixels and disappeared forever.
Chikaru, Lisbeth, and Asuna all sighed in relief at the creature's destruction.
"Well, at least that's over with…" Lisbeth chuckled.
But Asuna was quickly dragged back to the situation at hand by the faint sound of beeping…
She blinked confusedly before bringing up her party menu and looking at the health bars at the top-left of the screen.
She gasped when seeing Xathe's health bar blinking and fast approaching the red zone once again.
She quickly sent away the menu and turned her gaze up to where Xathe and the Gargoyle were… but the only figure she could make out was the Gargoyle's…
…
The Gargoyle still had its sword extended from where it slashed through Xathe's body.
Its evil grin was still spread across its face at seeing Xathe was no longer there.
"Down here…" a voice whispered gruffly.
The Gargoyle turned down with an infuriated expression. There Xathe was, still in the air with the Gargoyle by hanging onto the handle of his sword… which was lodged in the creature's chest.
The huge beast hissed in pain when seeing the sword that was impaling it.
Xathe slowly pulled himself up and yanked the sword out of the Gargoyle's chest, placing one foot on its shoulder and the other against its chest.
As he stood over the stone-beast, he leered down on it.
"Looks like I'm higher leveled than you, bitch." he spat roughly. "… now die."
With that, he kneeled down against it and kicked off of the Gargoyle, launching the beast towards the ground and causing him to back-spin into the air.
Finally his spin slowed and he threw back his sword in preparation for the finishing blow. Immediately, Xathe dashed down towards the Gargoyle in a dive.
The Gargoyle took a deep breath in and turned towards Xathe, using every bit of its power to launch out one, last breath of fire.
Xathe's eyes widened at the column of fire that he was diving straight into. But then his eyebrows furrowed in anger, "I may not have a shield to block this, but I sure as hell still have my sword!"
His blade began to shine in a bright blue aura once again, before he thrusted it straight into the inferno.
The two attacks collided in a fury of sparks, as Xathe continued to dive straight through the center of the flame.
The fire began to turn blue as Xathe's glowing attack mixed with its fiery breath.
Xathe let out one last, powerful cry and he boosted directly through the flames and his blade impaled through its mouth and planted into the back of the beast's throat, at the heart of the fire.
The Gargoyle let out an ear-piercing scream as its body expanded and exploded in a burst of fire, smoke, and shattered pixels.
The cloud of smoke stayed in the air for a few seconds… and then suddenly, Xathe fell out of the dark cloud and descended to the ground.
…
Chikaru looked up as Xathe fell out of the cloud of smoke and a wide smile spread across his face, "It's Xathe! He's okay!"
Asuna smiled as well, "I'll go take care of him. Just stay here, in case anything else comes out, okay?"
Chikaru stood straight and gave a short nod.
Asuna nodded in return and ran over to where Xathe was about to land.
…
Xathe fell towards the ground in a daze.
In a matter of seconds, his body was about to crash into the ground… hard.
"Oh, damn!" he exclaimed, spinning backwards in the air and aiming his feet towards the ground. With a loud thud, his feet connected with the floor and he instantly fell to his hands and knees. His health was once again near the end of the red zone.
He let out a painful chuckle as his virtual body shook in a light way, "Thank God for my Acrobatics skill…"
Asuna rushed over and leaned down on one knee beside him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and examined him, "You alright?"
Xathe forced another chuckle, "Not gonna lie, I've seen better days…"
"I'll say! Your clothes are a mess! You must have been pulling some VERY reckless maneuvers to get them in the awful condition they're in now… but either way we definitely need to buy you a new set of clothes," Asuna scolded with a disappointed sigh.
Xathe scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Err… sorry… about that…"
She shot him a teasing smile, "Well, if you hadn't gone and played Mr. Big-Shot-Hero, then I'm sure you wouldn't have had such a rough time in the first place…"
Slowly, he stood up and turned to the entrance where Lisbeth and Chikaru were chatting about the fight.
He gave a quiet chuckle in response to her comment, "I'll be fine… but how's Chikaru?"
She turned to the two players across the chamber as well, "He fought like a champ. Finished the first Gargoyle, too. I don't think he'll be afraid of monsters like these anymore…"
A smile slowly crossed his lips, "Awesome… so the kid does have potential…"
Asuna turned to him and suddenly grew a suspicious expression, "How come you never seem to do that, like you're doing now…?"
He turned to her and blinked confusedly, "Do what?"
She giggled to herself, "Smile, dummy."
"Why don't I smile…?" he asked.
She nodded slowly.
He turned back to Chikaru and saw he was rushing over to where they were, with Lisbeth not far behind.
"I dunno… it's not like I hate smiling. It's just a matter of finding something to smile about, I think." Xathe explained.
Asuna looked down for a moment, "You don't have anything worth smiling about…?"
Xathe turned to her and was almost taken aback by the question, "S-Sure I do… I guess I just don't try that often…"
She looked back up at him and smiled reassuringly, "Well, you should."
The raven-haired teen stared at her with a puzzled expression.
He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Chikaru rushing in and sliding to a halt in front of Xathe.
"That was amazing! I've never seen a player fight like that in my life!" He exclaimed excitedly.
Xathe stepped back and chuckled awkwardly at Chikaru's ecstatic attitude, "Heh, yeah… from what I heard, you didn't do too bad yourself either."
Chikaru nodded with a smile, "What you told me really opened my eyes to the bigger picture here… ever since I joined this game; all I've done is get in everyone's way. I've even gotten teammates killed before… all because I wanted to become the strongest player there was…"
He pulled up his hammer and let the heavy end of it slam against the ground, "I mean… even when I started this game, the first weapon I went for was the biggest and most powerful weapon-type in the game… the war-hammer."
Xathe, Asuna, and Lisbeth listened to him quietly.
"But seeing you fight… and hearing what you told me… it really made me realize that I'm not the strongest player. And seeing how you fought back there, I doubt I ever will be…" he sighed.
Xathe walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Listen, kid… fighting isn't what it's all about."
Chikaru was a bit taken aback by this.
"There's more to strength than just fighting… it's all about character. With a good character… you can make it through just about any hardship. And that's what makes a true warrior."
The blonde teen listened intently.
"And believe me… you've got real character. It tells me that you have potential… potential to be something great. With a little bit of patience and some training… I really have no doubt you could be an even better fighter than me," Xathe chuckled.
Chikaru's eyes gleamed in a hopeful gaze, "You really mean that…?"
Xathe grew a dumbfounded expression, "Of course I do. In fact…"
He paused and took his hand off the boy's shoulder, pulling up his large sword and holding it out to Chikaru.
"I… want you to take this. It's faster and stronger than your war-hammer and besides that…" he turned to Asuna, "…I don't think she's going to let me wield it anymore…"
Asuna chuckled mischievously in response.
He turned back to Chikaru, "Put your strength to good use. Keep your spirits high and remember… I'm counting on you to best even me someday," he finished with a wink.
Chikaru smiled widely, as Xathe handed him the over-sized sword.
The blonde boy took it in both hands and looked over every detail of it, "Wow… I'm honored, sir…"
Xathe scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Err… just take good care of it, would you? That thing costs a lot of money and I'll be expecting you to message me often and update me on your progress… and the sword's condition. Especially the sword's condition," he paused. "Oh… and there's no need to be formal. Just calling me Xathe is fine."
Chikaru nodded and leaned the sword against his right shoulder, "Alright… Xathe… I'll strive to be the very best I can be! You won't be disappointed."
Xathe chuckled and patted the blonde's head, before turning to Lisbeth, "You'll keep an eye on him and the sword for me, won't you…?"
Lisbeth giggled, "Don't worry. I'll keep him out of trouble…"
The raven-haired teen nodded in response. He then turned to Asuna and scratched his head, "Though I can't help but feel like we're forgetting something…"
Asuna's eye twitched angrily, "Your weapon that the Gargoyle was supposed to drop…?"
Xathe snapped his fingers, "Ah, that's right… where is the weapon anyways…?"
Lisbeth suddenly gasped, "Up there!"
They all looked up at where the smoke had cleared and a single, glowing sword slowly descended down towards them.
Xathe smirked as the blade approached them and he held out his hands for the sword to land in.
Slowly but surely, the sword rested in his palms and he gazed down onto it, "So this is my ideal weapon…"
He held it in one hand and spun it around in his grip before thrusting it out, which caused the glow to fade from it.
The blade looked to be made of pure-silver, but the color was a bright, sky blue and it extended out about four feet long and had a symbol of fire engraved at the end of the sword on both sides of the blade. The handle was midnight black, outlined in white, and looked very well-polished.
"It's perfect," Xathe nodded with a light smile.
Lisbeth faked a cough, "Not to rain on your parade or anything… but your weapon isn't necessarily perfect YET. I mean, there isn't a weapon that can't be improved. So if you ever feel the need to improve your weapon, swing on by my shop and I'd be happy to upgrade it for you."
Xathe turned to Asuna, "I don't think there's any harm in visiting again sometime, right?"
Asuna shrugged in response.
"Then sure, I'll stop by soon if I decide my sword just isn't making the cut for me…" Xathe nodded.
Suddenly Chikaru burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, causing everybody to stare at him in confusion.
Chikaru's laughter slowed down and he wiped a tear from his eyes as he explained, "Oh, I see what ya did there… if the sword just isn't making the CUT!" and he burst into another fit of laughter.
Asuna covered her mouth to keep from laughing at Chikaru's childish humor, Lisbeth was still trying to understand the joke, and meanwhile Xathe was shaking Chikaru back and forth and trying to convince him that he didn't mean it to be a joke and that Chikaru shouldn't laugh at nonsense such as that.
Though once all four of the players got everything straightened out, they all took their leave from the now-quiet dungeon.
…
…
Xathe and Asuna stood side by side in front of Lisbeth and Chikaru outside of the dungeon's cave. The sky was a deep orange color from the distant sunset, and a light breeze blew around them.
"So… you're really going to work for Lisbeth from now on, huh?" Asuna asked Chikaru suspiciously
The blonde teen gave a quick nod, "I'm gonna be her delivery boy and I'm gonna help advertise her shop. With my good looks and natural charm, she'll have people swarming for weapons in no time…" he snickered.
Lisbeth glared and smacked the back of his head, "Ignore him. Xathe, I'm glad I got to meet you and would like to congratulate you on retrieving your own ideal weapon."
Xathe nodded, "Thanks. It will be nice to actually have my sword attached to me for once, instead of in my storage…" he replied, motioning to the sheathed sword attached, diagonally, to his back.
"Well, I look forward to future business with it, then," she smiled.
Asuna intertwined her hands behind her back, "I guess this is goodbye, then. Seeya guys soon!"
Chikaru nodded and then waved as he took his leave, but Lisbeth stayed and gazed in Xathe's direction.
She stood in silence for a moment, her eyes becoming filled with sadness as she turned around and followed Chikaru.
"Until next time… Kirito…" she whispered to the ground as she walked away.
Once they were gone, Asuna turned to Xathe and crossed her arms, "Alright, now according to that thug you dueled the other day, we still have two more days until you have to meet The Twilight League's leader…"
Xathe quirked an eyebrow, "Okay… so what are you saying exactly?"
She smirked, "I'm saying… we're going to go pick up some new clothes for you tomorrow!"
Xathe's eyes widened in horror, "Oh no… anything but that… I despise shopping for clothes. Can blame my mother for that…"
Asuna giggled, "Well if your mother made you hate it as much as I'm going to make you hate it, then she must have had a very good sense of style."
Xathe crossed his arms and scowled, "Hold up… why can't we just fix the armor and call it a day?"
She shook her head, "This is your chance to make some improvements on yourself. You already got a new sword… so why not some new clothes?"
He let out a rough sigh, "Fine… but what do I get out of this?"
She glared, but was inwardly trying not laugh at his dumb question, "A new set of clothes…"
He grumbled, "But I don't even want a new pair of clothes, you're just making me get them so I can look more presentable…"
She wanted so badly to argue, but instead decided to comply with his demands, "Ugh… fine. What would you like to get in return for me making you buy new clothes?"
He thought about it for a minute before smirking at an idea he'd gotten, "I know! You promised you'd make me a meal, when we were eating at that one food-place."
"Yeah… but that was only for if you got on my good side," she added.
He frowned and gave the most sorrowful expression he could muster, "Please? I really like food… and yours sounds pretty good…"
She sighed in defeat, "Alright… I'll fix you one meal."
He smiled victoriously, "Then it's settled. Now let's get back to the inn on Floor 57, I'm bushed" Xathe yawned, turning and walking in the direction of the teleport gate.
Asuna's eye twitched, "And he calls ME demanding…"
With that, the two sword-wielders went back to the safe zone. For tomorrow… new challenges would arise…
… One of which would be learning to live with each other.
…
…
{A/N} Wow, that was a long chapter... in my definition of long anyways.
Regardless, hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll be posting the next ASAP. So far, it seems that I've added at least one fight scene in every chapter so far... I might try to keep that going, even if the fights are really short.
Anyways the next chapter will really kick off the main plot for this story. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to let me know in a review because I reply to all the reviews I get.
Thanks for reading!
-KtD
