Sword Art Online: Sealed Sentiment
I don't own Sword Art Online or any of its characters. The series is solely the property of Reki Kawahara and his publishers.
Author's Note: First of all, I would like to apologize for this chapter arriving a few days later than the intended three week deadline. I hope to get out the next chapter more quickly, meaning I'll try to get it out before another three weeks.
Also a lot of Sword Art Online news came out during this wait. A movie was announced that includes new material created by Kawahara-sensei to take place after Mother's Rosario and before Alicization. Since this fanfiction takes place directly after Mother's Rosario as well, I want to finish this before the the movie comes out so fans won't get confused.
Another SAO thing that came to my attention is the current Girls Ops manga chapter that came out in the most recent Dengeki Bunko Magazine. I imported the most recent copy because of the extra goodies but stumbled upon some interesting material as I looked through the panels of the manga even though I can't read Japanese. Spoilers for the Girls Ops manga are ahead if you don't want to read. So apparently the new main character for the manga is assaulted by PoH and Laughing Coffin in ALO! She has some relation to the guild, but I'm unsure as to what. She does have a faded tattoo that resembles the Laughing Coffin logo. I thought this was fascinating because PoH and Laughing Coffin are tormenting people in ALO in my fanfiction. It's interesting to see that Kawahara-sensei thinks similarly to me in the way his characters can be used. Or maybe its me that's similar to him?
Anyway, please enjoy reading Chapter 7!
Wagnaria Family Restaurant
April 17, 2026
Chapter 7
"What did you think about the movie I lent you?" Kazuto asked Shino while they were finishing up the remainders of their meals in one of the booths of a family restaurant.
The establishment was not extremely busy but it was still decently populated yet provided a cozy atmosphere. Kazuto hoped that he would not run into anyone he knew, especially schoolmates. Not everyone from his school knew that he was one who cleared SAO, but they recognized Asuna as a sort of role-model due to her intelligence and beauty. He would never hear the end of it if someone caught him eating out alone with another girl.
"The effects weren't that great, but the story and the fight choreography were amazing," Shino commented.
"Oh you mean that battle between Kirei and Saitama? That was my favorite part. The way that Kirei was so quick and nimble, but his strikes were always solid. I thought that it resembled the way that you fight." Kazuto remarked.
"You really think so?!" exclaimed Shino, attracting the attention of surrounding patrons.
"Yeah," Kazuto started, surprised to see Shino so thrilled at a simple comparison. "Yesterday, when you were thinking of an Original Sword Skill, some of the moves you wanted to incorporate were similar to Kirei's."
Shino's gaze turned into that of one that harbored suspicion.
"Kazuto," Shino began like a threat causing Kazuto to shiver, "you weren't perhaps spying on me making my Original Sword Skill even though you said you were logging off for the night?"
It was true that Kazuto stayed hidden in a tree and casted the Illusion-type magic he rarely used to take a peek at Shino's Original Sword Skill, but before Shino finished the development of the Skill, Sugu messaged him from the Log House asking for assistance on her homework. He had to leave before Shino completed the repetitions of the intended Skill along with the selection of the elemental attributes. Shino's Original Sword Skill was an unknown to him.
"I may have stayed behind a little to take a peek, but I never got to see you complete the Skill. Sugu called me back to the Log House to help her on her class work," Kazuto defended.
"Is that so?" Shino expressed. "Well, as long as you didn't see it."
She drank the last of her iced tea, her defensive mood fading away. Kazuto was in slight disbelief that Shino let him off the hook so easily. He took a deep breath, relieved that he was in the clear.
Bzzt.
Kazuto's phone vibrated, notifying him of a new message.
Kirito-kun, where are you right now? - Asuna
"Is it Asuna?" Shino asked.
"Yeah, since we're usually on ALO around this time, she's wondering where I am. We are tackling a legendary dungeon tomorrow," Kazuto remarked.
"We did leave the facility later than normal too," Shino commented.
Eating out with Shino after work.
Kazuto sent his text to Asuna not waiting more than thirty seconds before he received a reply.
I see. Well, log on when you get back home. Yui's been waiting to see you. - Asuna
Okay, I'll be back to see both of you soon.
Don't rush it. Make sure you take Sinonon back home safely! See you later. - Asuna
Kazuto thought that Asuna would show more displeasure knowing that he was with Shino so late, but it seemed as if Asuna was encouraging them. He put away his phone and looked back at a blushing Shino.
Huh?
"Shino?" he slipped out as he himself felt of a tinge of warmth in his cheeks in response to Shino's innocent poise.
She recovered by closing her eyes before giving Kazuto a look of sincerity.
"Kazuto, if we do beat the dungeon tomorrow and get Shekhinah, I have something I want to tell you," Shino managed to let out.
She needed to tell Kazuto her feelings at some point. After spending so much time together, she was sure that she understood him enough to confirm her hopes that he may harbor similar sentiments towards her. However, she didn't want to disrupt the group's camaraderie before they attempt the dungeon.
"Why not just tell me now?" Kazuto asked.
"Nope, you'll have to wait," Shino refused as she shook her head, ending with a wink.
Kazuto had his speculations of what she wanted to say, but a part of him refused to believe that his suspicions were legitimate.
Their server, a young male named Takanashi, came back to their booth and asked if they were paying separately.
"No, it's my treat," Kazuto replied.
"Okay, so just the one ticket for the gentleman. Did any of you want dessert?" the server questioned.
"I'd like a strawberry parfait," requested Shino, smiling at Kazuto.
"Eh, you can still eat?" Kazuto protested.
"Of course. A girl always has room for dessert," Shino explained.
"Besides, it's your treat. Right, Kazuto-kun?" she mocked, using her cutest voice.
"Of course."
Kazuto managed to smile half-heartedly while lamenting the loss of his precious funds.
April 18, 2026
Dungeon Entrance
The group composing of Kirito, Asuna, Yui, Sinon, Leafa, Klein, Lizbeth, Silica and Pina passed through the tall, marble double doors of the entrance. They were greeted by a cavernous environment that was illuminated by violet crystals embedded along the walls and ceiling.
"Whoa, this is surprisingly beautiful for a dungeon that is supposedly Fenrir's Lair," commented Leafa, taking in the scenery as she studied a side of the cave.
"Take a look at these crystals!" started Lizbeth, "I wonder if..."
The pink haired leprechaun touched one of the crystals with her index finger, displaying an object name and its category.
"Oh, I really can use it for upgrade materials! Let's see. It looks like these crystals can be used on weapons to amplify the elemental damage of a Sword Skill," she observed, moving the material into her inventory.
As a result, the area it occupied became darker, its source of light no longer shining brilliantly in the wall.
"Liz, don't take all the crystals! We still have to see where we're going!" Asuna warned, knowing how obsessive her friend can be when it came to acquiring materials for her shop.
"I wasn't going to take all of them!" Lizbeth pouted, crossing her arms. "Well, maybe everything but one."
"Liz! We're here to help Sinon-san get the legendary bow!" reminded Silica, pulling Lizbeth by the arm away from the walls adorned with the crystals.
"Hey, wait! Just a little more!" Lizbeth cried out, sticking out her hand towards her beloved new materials.
"You'll have more time after we clear the dungeon, Liz," affirmed Kirito. "Right now, helping Sinon is our priority."
"You say that, but I hope you make using your legendary a priority. You almost never use it," said Sinon.
Sinon turned towards Kirito who was walking beside her and gently smiled.
"Of course, it wouldn't be right for me to not use Excaliber after you retrieved it for me," Kirito declared, gripping the golden sword's handle on his back.
"Uoh," Lizbeth let out with a smug look on her face, spotting the chemistry between Kirito and Sinon.
Klein who walked on the other side of Kirito put on a speculative face as the rest of the group continued forward into the depths of the cavernous dungeon.
"A door already?! We haven't even come across any monsters or damsels in distress!" observed Klein.
The party made their way to the end of the cave without any enemy encounters, a dark granite door in their midst. Kirito had an odd feeling about the atmosphere because of the lack of monsters or events appearing since their arrival ten minutes prior. If the current absence of opposition was to establish a false sense of security in the group, they would have to be prepared for whatever would appear as soon as they opened the door before them.
"I don't know how I feel about your damsels in distress, but we haven't encountered anything so far, so we should take caution as we open this door," Kirito mentioned, unsheathing his black sword with his right hand as he prepared to push the door with his left.
"Everyone, brace yourselves for anything. We'll walk into the room in a circle with those in the rear covering our backs," he directed.
Sinon, Lizbeth, and Silica took their positions, weapons drawn, in the back of the group while the rest of the party looked towards the front with Kirito.
"All right," started Kirito, "Here we go." He slowly pushed the door open with his unarmed hand, revealing a torrent of colorful lights coming from the next room.
With the doorway now free, they spotted the room ahead filled with crystal formations emitting hues of azure, gold, and viridian, a clear contrast to the lone violet gems from earlier. Other than the gems that decorated the floor, ceiling, and walls, a plain, small granite door could be seen at the end of the room. No monsters were in sight.
"Strange. We still haven't encountered anything when we're this deep in the dungeon," Kirito thought out loud.
"Strange? This is jackpot!" yelled out an excited Lizbeth, prancing all over the room, adding the various crystal materials into her inventory.
"Come on, help me out with gathering these!" the pink-haired Leprechaun beckoned to the others.
"Liz, aren't you forgetting what we're here for again?" commented Asuna while she and the rest of the group started collecting the other crystals.
"Kirito," Sinon started, walking up to him as he added a bright jade material to his inventory, "doesn't this seem unusual for a dungeon? In the other dungeons we've cleared together, the hallways and rooms would always be littered with monsters, but we've been in here for twenty minutes without running into anything," stated Sinon.
"Yeah," Kirito nodded, turning his face towards her, "I'm a bit uneasy about the situation as well. For a legendary level dungeon, this seems rather lackluster."
He glanced at the rest of the party collecting gems together and thought the scene was comparable to being in the treasure room of a dungeon after defeating the final boss. However, the party had yet to come across any form of resistance with no sign of the legendary bow or the captive gods that the NPC, «Ratatoskr», mentioned.
"Ooh, look at that crystal! It's huge! I bet it could upgrade a weapon's quality, rather than just a single stat," exclaimed a hopeful Lizbeth who was pointing at the large amber gem about a meter in diameter protruding from the ceiling.
"Silica, do you think that Pina could carry you up there long enough to add the crystal to your inventory?" Lizbeth suggested.
"Yup, I think so!" Silica proudly expressed, happy that she could be of use.
"All right, Pina!" she allowed the small blue dragon to grab the hem of her armor.
"Let's go!" Pina flapped its wings vigorously, slowly lifting the small Cait Sith to the level of the crystal, six meters high.
"Be careful, Silica!" yelled out Leafa, watching her along with Lizbeth.
"It's okay! Pina and I can do this!" Silica shouted, reaching out towards the gemstone.
Kirito and Sinon viewed the scene while Kirito recollected a similar scene from a painful memory in SAO. The fact that they would stumble into a room filled with treasure in a legendary dungeon without any struggle was questionable. This was a scenario that was too good to be true. It was if they were in one of the trap rooms that the labyrinths in Sword Art Online contained…
"Silica! Wait!" Kirito warned, but he was too late.
"Huh? Woah?!" Silica was startled at Kirito's sudden yell, causing her to tip Pina off-balance and struggle to hold Silica.
"Silica!" Lizbeth and Leafa called out in worry.
Silica swung back and forth towards the crystal as Pina tried to regain balance, but the dragon's claws could not hold the Cait Sith any longer. Pina let Silica loose, her body traveling forward as she reached out, managing to hug the huge gemstone to prevent her fall.
As she struggled to hold onto the glowing amber crystal, it started to crack, slowly detaching itself from the ceiling.
"Don't worry, Silica, I'll float you down with a wind spell!" shouted Leafa, before starting her chant.
Currents of wind started to appear below Silica, soon enabling her to let go and float harmlessly back to the ground. The Cait Sith let go of the crystal and started her descent, Leafa's winds escorting her down.
"Thanks, Leafa!" exclaimed Silica.
"Look out!" warned Lizbeth, pointing towards the crystal, still separating from the ceiling. The weight of the gem finally caused it to fall, plunging straight down towards Silica, Leafa, and Lizbeth.
As the crystal was a mere meter away from Silica's head, an explosion caused the crystal to shatter into several pieces, too small to cause any significant harm to anyone.
"Nice one, Sinon!" remarked Kirito.
"No problem," Sinon expressed, putting her bow away after using the «Explode Arrow»
Skill.
Silica finally reached the ground again and upon landing she let out a deep breath of relief, her cat-like ears lowering with her exhalation.
"Thank god, you're fine, Silica," said Leafa.
"But Onii-chan, why did you scare her like that?" the Sylph questioned her Spriggan brother.
Kirito and Sinon started to walk towards the group of three while Kirito started to explain.
"Well, you see, I was starting to think that this whole room might be a—"
He cut himself off due to a blinding, piercing light entering everyone's gazes. The shattered fragments of the big crystals all glowed with an intense glare as they dissipated into the ground.
The bright light ceased, but the room started to shake as if an earthquake was taking place inside the cave.
"— trap," Kirito managed to complete.
The room began to jolt violently, rocks and crystals falling from the ceiling and striking the ground beside the party.
"Here, Asuna hold onto my hand!" Klein, who was next to her, shouted, bracing himself by embedding his katana into the ground.
"Sinon! Take mine!" Kirito extended his hand towards Sinon who took it without delay as he stuck his black sword into the ground.
"Silica, Liz, hold onto me!" Leafa exclaimed, using her sword.
Cracks started to form through the floor, expanding and creating large fissures, deep enough to fall through.
"Kirito, the door we came through is blocked by the fallen boulders!" observed Sinon.
"Tch!" Kirito let out in frustration.
"Everyone just hold on!" he shouted.
The fissures continued to expand more and more, the room broadening in overall size. The party became divided into three groups, isolated into sections caused by the collapsing room.
As if the situation could not get any more dire, the sections started to slant steeper and steeper, until the three groups were clinging onto their respective partners who held themselves in place with their swords, protecting everyone from falling into the unknown below. Beneath every group's feet was a pitch-black darkness that swallowed the light of the crystals that the group had yet to collect.
"Yui! Can you fly up and see if there's any stable ground?" Kirito beckoned, grasping at straws to remedy the situation.
The navigation pixie flew up the crumbling room while dodging the rocks that continued to descend from the ceiling and walls.
"Papa! The areas around the doors are gone! The entire room is slowly becoming a giant hole!" warned Yui.
"What are we going to do now?" cried out Klein.
"Should we use our crystals?" questioned Leafa.
At this rate, the entire party would fall into whatever was waiting below them. However, Kirito could not think of any way out of the situation besides using a teleport crystal. There was no point in wasting their teleports because of uncertainty in a dungeon. He was no longer in SAO. Death was typical when tackling the dungeons and raids of an MMO. Plus, as far as he could tell, there was no alternate path aside from the room the group entered. Because he was in the position to take risks, he would challenge the current situation head on.
"Everyone, we're not using our crystals," Kirito called out. "Since we can't fly and there's no point in teleporting, we're going to drop down. Use whatever abilities you can to cushion the fall."
"You serious? I don't have any magic that I can use!" complained Klein.
"That's your fault for insisting that you don't need to learn it!" Lizbeth teased.
"Don't worry Klein, before we touch the ground I can cast out a pool of water to absorb our fall," comforted Asuna, still holding onto Klein.
"Mama! I'm sticking with you!" Yui flew down onto Asuna's shoulder, claiming her group.
"I got our group covered, Onii-chan!" confirmed Leafa, who would undoubtedly use the same wind magic she casted on Silica earlier.
The only magic that Kirito could use was illusion based so he had to depend on Sinon's talents. It was a bit of a blow to his pride, but he had no other option.
"Sinon," started Kirito nervously, looking down at the blue-haired girl clutching his hand to prevent herself from falling.
"No need to ask, I know that I have to come up with a way to stop our fall since you don't possess any tangible magic," Sinon put bluntly.
Sinon, that kinda hurts.
"I'll leave it to you then," Kirito put his trust in his partner.
"Let's all make it out of this safely! I'm letting go!" Kirito swung his body to loosen his sword from the cliff that used to be the floor of the room and started to fall into free fall alongside Sinon who still held his left hand. As the two began their descent, the other groups fell out of site.
"Kirito, hold onto my waist so I can use my bow!" ordered Sinon.
At first hesitant due to the intimacy of her prospect, Kirito complied and put away his sword before letting go of Sinon's hand and held onto her waist from her back.
My face is right by her butt.
Kirito discarded his lewd thoughts, thankful that Sinon couldn't see his unbelievably red face.
Sinon held out her bow and prepared a special Bow Skill, both her bow and arrow glowing a bright gold, illuminating the area around her and Kirito. The hue of gold reflected onto Sinon's face, displaying a radiant elegance, leaving Kirito in awe. He was so captivated that he barely noticed a long shining rope beginning from the end of the arrow.
So that's her plan.
Sinon continued to hold back her arrow, waiting for the time she would sense their bodies approaching the bottom of what seemed to be a bottomless pit.
The two continued to fall, but they could finally make out the glow of the crystals that fell to the bottom before them. As they approached the end of their fall, Sinon spotted a wall from the light of a crystal. Her target point was decided.
She let her arrow loose in the direction of the wall and waited for an impact while she kept the thin golden rope coiled around her arm wrap. The arrow made contact with the rocky exterior of the pit, causing Sinon and Kirito to start swinging towards the wall.
"All right, Kirito," started Sinon as she let uncoiled the rope around her wrist, "grab onto this now."
"Right." Kirito carefully switched his hold from Sinon's waist to the rope. The two of them were now on a collision course towards the wall of the pit. As they swung towards the wall, the pair both kicked out their feet and caught themselves on the wall, running along the wall to break their momentum. Their swinging force now dispersed, they dangled from the arrow and rope that held them in place, only a few meters from the bottom of the hole.
"So there really is a bottom," Kirito sighed in relief.
"Saved again by your quick thinking. Thanks, Sinon."
"It was nothing. I'm just ready to touch solid ground again," responded Sinon.
"You said it," acknowledged Kirito as the two of them let go of the rope and dropped to the bottom.
"Well, it seems we're all still separated into those three groups we fell down in, but everyone landed safely," Kirito explained to Sinon after messaging everyone. The three groups all landed in similar rooms, but in different locations. The only direction that Kirito and Sinon could go was forward. It was impossible to climb back up from such a huge drop off.
"That's good," said Sinon, "It looks like the only thing we can do now is move ahead in the dungeon and hope that we run into everyone."
"Yeah, we have no other choice," agreed Kirito.
"Well, I look forward to your cooperation, partner," Kirito extended his hand in a fist towards Sinon.
"Why are you saying strange things?" Sinon mocked him and ran forward. "Let's go, slowpoke!"
"Oh, come on," Kirito rushed after her, "it's not like we're racing at the gym or anything!"
Sinon turned around and laughed, secretly happy that she and Kirito split from the rest of the group.
"Finally, a sign that we're making some progress," said Kirito, the two of them coming across a door, much in the same pattern as the previous dark granite ones.
Sinon and Kirito did manage to run into some enemies along the way, but they were lesser forms of the wolf monsters that they fought during the escort quest and easily dealt with. It seemed as if the dungeon intended for their party to be split and accommodated appropriate monsters for their current group size.
Kirito opened the door and they were greeted by a wide open cavernous area. Two stone catwalk structures were on the left and right sides of the area, housing two large violet crystals that gave off an ominous glow. Bright aquamarine gemstones dotted the entirety of the room, attributing to its well-lit atmosphere.
However, the one detail in the room was as apparent as an elephant in a playground was the sole six meter giant in the middle of the room wearing a violet crystal helmet, masking his face. The NPC's name was «Vidarr», who in Norse mythology was a son of Odin, the god that «Ratatoskr» begged Kirito and his group to save in the dungeon.
"Vidarr," muttered Sinon who broadened her knowledge of Norse myths with Leafa after the escort quest.
"He must be related to the dungeon quest, he's one of Odin's kin," she explained.
After the two completely stepped inside the room, the door behind them closed and «Vidarr» let out a deep roar that reverberated across the inside of the cave. Three health bars appeared to the right of his name tag which started to glow red, indicating that he was an enemy. A light momentarily flared out from its violet helmet right before it spotted the duo, Vidarr now falling into a state of fury. The giant drew his spear and shifted into a combat stance, calling out to the duo with a battle cry, eager to clash.
"Despite him being a captive, it looks like we'll have to fight him," stated Kirito who readied his swords.
"I'm ready when you are," acknowledged Sinon who drew out her bow while scanning the area for monster spawns that could be problematic during a boss fight.
"I'll start off and grab his attention so his focus is on me," the Spriggan explained while dashing towards his armed adversary. Since Kirito had two swords while Sinon was mainly a ranged damage dealer, tanking was a role that currently suited him best.
As the black swordsman approached the giant, the boss swung its gold-embroidered spear horizontally across the ground. Just before the blade of the spear could slice through his torso, Kirito jumped in the air and slashed his swords in the shape of an "X" across Vidarr's chest, reducing its first HP bar to ninety percent.
About ten percent from a regular attack? I guess using a legendary weapon really does make a big difference.
The high damage output from Excaliber would definitely make up for the small size of the duo's group. Kirito landed softly onto the ground underneath the giant's legs and proceeded to start striking at the giant's legs.
However, the giant had already recovered from its miss and already started to stomp its right foot directly onto Kirito.
The swordsman attempted to jump to the side, but he doubted that he would escape the blow unscathed. Right before the impact of Vidarr's metallic boot, a flash of light briefly blinded the giant, the edge of its boot brushing across the fabric of Kirito's jacket.
"Don't squish into a black puddle on me already!" yelled Sinon who used one of her Blinding Arrows. The Cait Sith followed up her attack with «Explode Arrow», a volley of explosive shots blasting across the helmeted face of the giant.
Seventy-nine percent HP.
"Thanks for the assist, Sinon!" shouted Kirito.
The black swordsman persisted forward with his attack, not allowing his chance to attack the bewildered giant slip by.
Kirito's black sword glowed a deep violet as he activated the «Phantom Flurry» Skill, striking his foe five times with a blade of darkness across his foe's right leg. As soon as his attack animation concluded he immediately triggered a Sword Skill with Excaliber, the blade glowing a pale white.
To imitate the «Dual Blades» Skill in SAO, Kirito created a method known as «Skill Connect» to chain Sword Skills in order to bypass the temporary stun after the use of a Skill. However, using this method required careful timing and the most he could pull off was three consecutive Skills.
He continued onward, unleashing «Light's Judgement» and guided Excaliber through the giant's right leg with the first two slashes before turning and releasing two upward blows at the boss's right arm, loosening its grip on its spear. Kirito's body turned once more, facing the boss and he leapt up from the Vidarr's lowered kneecap and struck the final two thrusts into the boss's chest. As the Spriggan landed, his Skill ended before he could chain another attack, his body at the mercy of the Skill delay.
"Got you covered!" Sinon acknowledged.
Before Vidarr had to chance to recover from Kirito's chain of abilities, Sinon continued her arrowed assault upon the boss, ending it with an «Ice Volley», freezing the enemy long enough for Kirito to recover.
The boss's first HP bar was now at one percent.
"Nice one!" thanked Kirito.
He continued his offensive against the boss with normal slashes using his two swords while Sinon persisted with her round of fire.
Even though the duo stopped using Skills for a short while, the boss's first health bar remained unmoving at one percent.
Is there some mechanic that we have to figure out before he moves into the next phase?
Kirito pondered on the situation as he nimbly dodged the spear of the boss while keeping up his own onslaught of strikes.
"Kirito! Behind you!" Sinon yelled out as Kirito held back a spear blow, blocking it by crossing his swords. He glanced at his back as a «Wargen Gem Controller» wielding a purple crystalline dagger lunged toward him. Kirito hastily pushed off the boss's weapon with his swords and turned to his left, swinging Excaliber with his movement. The golden blade came into contact with the Wargen's armed hand, severing it, the crystal dagger falling onto the floor of the cave.
The monster cried out in pain only to be silenced with an arrow to the back of its head, the arrow tip protruding out from its forehead before the monster illuminated and shattered into glasslike polygons, signifying its defeat.
"Thanks, Sinon!" voiced Kirito, focusing his attention back to the boss.
"At this rate, we'll never be able to beat this guy unless we figure out the mechanic that's preventing us from lowering his health to the next bar," he explained, parrying yet another strike from the giant.
Sinon, who continued to shoot at the boss with her bow, scanned the area once more and focused on the dagger the Wargen dropped earlier. It was the same color of crystal as the formations on top of the catwalks and boss's helmet.
Gem Controller? Could the helmet be some kind of mind-control device?
Sinon voiced her findings to the Spriggan, still weaving and spinning his away around the giant's attacks.
"It's a good lead! Cover me while I try to get to his helmet!" shouted Kirito.
A Blinding Arrow shot out from Sinon's bow, causing the boss to cover its eyes, giving Kirito the chance to climb up the giant and jump to its helmet. He activated the «Vorpal Strike» Sword Skill, directing his black sword at the boss's headpiece, but his blade bounced off.
His move unsuccessful, Kirito landed on the ground and re-engaged the rehabilitated giant.
"No dice. Sinon, try shooting at one of the crystals up above!" directed Kirito.
The archer quickly carried out his request, but her arrows were also rejected by the crystal on the catwalk. The light from the large gem blinked in sync with Vidarr's helmet. Clearly, their current weapons weren't having any effect on the crystals or the boss.
"The dagger! If our weapons won't work, then maybe something of the same material will!" Sinon concluded. "Kirito, I'm going to see if the dagger drop from the monster does anything to the crystals! Just stay on the defensive,"
"Don't worry about me. My attacks won't do anything anyway. I'm better off running around in circles," joked the Spriggan.
"Then maybe I'll just watch you for a little bit!" teased back Sinon, putting away her bow and darting towards location of the dagger.
She retrieved the crystal weapon and slipped it into her belt and made her way to the catwalk on the right side of the room. As she ascended the rocky slope on course for the higher level of ground, two «Wargen Gem Defenders» spawned within three meters of her, brandishing their curved swords as they rushed towards her.
There was not enough distance nor time to pull out her bow, leaving Sinon to «Quick-Switch» her sword, «Soul's Embrace», to her right hand. The two monsters slashed their weapons at her simultaneously only to be overpowered by the superior quality of Sinon's pale green blade. She brushed the two Wargens' weapons to the side and activated «Vertical Square», dealing two blows to each of her foes, decimating them with strikes filled with the power of ice dissipating her enemies into glasslike shards.
Having taken care of her opponents, Sinon proceeded to the first large purple crystal formation and took out the dagger made of the same elements. She struck at the crystal, shattering the translucent outcrop into mere fragments, the dagger still intact. As she looked outward towards Kirito and the boss, she caught sight of the violet crystal helmet fading in color.
"It worked, Sinon!" shouted Kirito in the middle of swinging Excaliber at Vidarr's right hand after side-stepping an earlier attack. The giant's health finally lowered into the second bar.
"Let's continue in the same way with the crystal on the other side!" ordered the Spriggan.
"I'm on it!" responded Sinon.
Sinon arrived at the second crystal outcrop in a similar fashion, taking care of the two monsters that spawned to defend it. Again, she smashed the crystal into mere pieces of its previous brilliant shine. The boss's health reached into the final health bar while its helmet dulled into a shade of gray.
"One more bar left! Sinon, come down and give me a hand!" called out Kirito.
"I wasn't going to leave the pleasure of ending the fight to you alone," responded Sinon, jumping from the catwalk onto the ground level, running towards Kirito and the boss.
Upon a reaching the final third of its health, the giant took hold of its spear and split it in half, wielding the remaining pieces with seperate hands, mimicking Kirito's dual-wielding style. Even though one of the poles was without a blade tip, a blow from it would still deal substantial damage.
"A challenge between dual-weapon users then?" Kirito smirked, ready to prove his strength.
"I trust you'll continue to keep his attention?" inquired Sinon, holding her sword instead of her bow because of the higher damage output and having no need for a precision weapon.
"Even though he's changed weapons for this final phase, dealing with two weapons will be easier for me because of the similar combat styles. Feel free to mess up his back," invited Kirito.
"Then I'll leave it to you," said Sinon while she ran to the boss's backside, leaving Kirito to trade blows with the boss.
Sinon struck the back of Vidarr's legs with her green sword while Kirito expertly dodged and parried the boss's blows, sneaking in attacks with mainly Excaliber due to the superior attack power. The boss's health eventually lowered to the final twenty percent of the its third HP bar.
"All right, let's end this!" shouted Kirito while he interlocked Vidarr's weapons with his own, preventing the boss from moving.
"You're up, Sinon!"
"On it!"
Sinon climbed up the giant's back and activated «Vertical Square», her four slashes ripping away at the boss's neck while temporarily freezing him in place. Sinon thrust her blade inside of the monster's back in order to remain on top of the giant. Kirito was ready to make his move.
"Take this!"
The Spriggan first used «Deadly Sins» with his black sword, dealing seven consecutive blows across its chest. He then reached out with Excaliber and chained «Hope's Descent», an eight-hit-combo. The eight strikes continued to decorate the boss's chest with a series of red after marks, leaving an array of cuts and scratches across its torso. The final thrust struck inside of the giant's chest, but its HP would not lower from its final one percent. However, Kirito and Sinon were expecting this kind of resistance.
"Now!" screamed Kirito.
Still on top of the giant, Sinon knelt on the space between the boss's back and neck and stabbed the crystalline dagger using both hands into its helmet, shattering the head piece into fragments of gray stone. The battle was won.
"Phew, a tough job for two people, but we managed," Kirito stuck out his fist.
"Yeah, good work," Sinon returned the invitation with her own, their fists coming into contact. "Oh, the giant's coming to."
"Fairy warriors," started the giant now out of his mind controlled trance, "thank you for releasing me from my captivity. I was aware of my actions, but unable to control my body. I am deeply ashamed to have been caught by Fenrir's schemes. My two fellow brothers in arms entered this lair ready to rescue our lord, Odin, but were swept into a trap. I can only hope that they are unharmed."
"If you arrived with two others, then chances are that the rest of our friends will encounter them soon," Kirito theorized.
"Maybe we should message them to see if they've encountered anything like this," suggested Sinon.
"Good idea." Kirito sent notices to both Leafa and Asuna to report on their situations.
Several minutes passed before the duo received replies from both groups.
"It seems that our allies were able to locate and release both Hodr and Baldr," Kirito disclosed to the giant.
"That is most excellent news indeed," the giant replied, his grim expression having changed into a grin. "I must make haste to meet with them and rescue my lord."
The giant pointed to an opening in the room after reassembling his spear.
"Beyond this point is the hallway where we will be able to meet up with my fellow warriors if they were indeed held in similar cells to mine. From there we will have to ascend upon a spiraling staircase to where my lord is being held by that bastard wolf god, Fenrir. I must ask that you kind, mighty fairy warriors help us in our plight."
A burning intensity flared within Vidarr's eyes, but rather than ones of blind-hate that the mind control forged into him, his gaze was filled with a resolve to avenge and rescue the lord that he so admired.
Kirito and Sinon glanced at each other and smiled in turn, responding in unison.
"Of course!"
The Spriggan and Cait Sith pair set off deeper into the dungeon with the giant, Vidarr, to reunite with their comrades and challenge the final boss, Fenrir, and save the lord of gods, Odin.
Ending Note: I hope you enjoyed this week's read! I was unsure how long this dungeon would be before I started writing, but it will be concluded in the next chapter. Also, I won't immediately be starting with Kirito and Sinon facing the final boss with the group. I'll be detailing Asuna and Klein's boss encounter along with touching upon the group of Liz, Leafa, and Silica. But I am most excited to write the chapter that comes after the concluding dungeon chapter. I won't say anymore than that though. As always, thank you for all the kind reviews and your eagerness to keep reading my story. You guys bring a smile to my face every time I get a notice on my e-mail about my story. Until next chapter!