Chapter Seven – Raid Party
It was almost sickening how similar the forest was to how it appeared two years ago. As Kirito and the others marched through the woods together at the tail end of Diabel's group, Agil and Asuna spoke in hushed tones to get the others up to speed. Just like last time, Diabel requested that each party contain six players. Adding Klein, Leafa, and Silica allowed Kirito's group to meet that requirement without having to join another party.
"Why would someone impersonate a dead player?" Silica asked, troubled by the concept. "Who would be that twisted?"
"Perhaps someone from the game truly cared about Diabel," Asuna responded quietly. "He was very charismatic, and many people from the party adored him. Even after his death, people claimed that he was the one who enabled us to clear the game. He was the first one who set up an organized team to get out of SAO. It's possible that someone idolized him enough to take on his likeness."
"And that would explain why they're following in his footsteps," Agil added. "If someone truly idolized him, they may be trying to memorialize him by keeping his persona alive in the virtual world. It's sick," he admitted, glancing at the others' grim expressions. "But PTSD does some messed-up stuff to people. If someone's going through that kind of trauma, it makes sense that they would do something like this."
"That doesn't mean they should continue, though," Kirito growled. "And I'm not entirely convinced it's just a former devotee of Diabel's. I can't explain it… but there's something in the way he talks and acts that gives me this twisted feeling in the pit of my stomach."
As the group marched behind Diabel's team of almost seventy players, Asuna glanced at Kirito. "Should we just leave it alone? If someone's got personal issues they're working out this way, is it really our place to interfere?"
Kirito didn't respond as he kept marching forward. He didn't want to admit it, but he had wondered the same thing. Regardless of his curiosity and desire to make the Diabel impersonator end their antics, he couldn't blame an SAO survivor for trying to work out their trauma. They had all been through hell. He of all people understood that.
"I have to admit that my reasons for following this group aren't entirely pure," Agil stated, attracting everyone's attention. "The truth is… I kind of want to see this Diabel make it through the battle. Call it wish fulfillment. Call it morbid curiosity. But I saw a good man die two years ago. I want to know what it would look like to see him come out of this victorious."
Klein shrugged. "I just want to kill Illfang. I didn't think I'd be doing it this early into the game," he admitted with a frown. "And I was hoping that Lizbeth would join us. It's too bad she had to go out of town this weekend. Hey, Kirito… you said she doesn't have a boyfriend, right?"
Leafa scowled at him. "Pervert! You're seven years older than her, and she's still in high school! Get a grip already…"
Klein laughed, embarrassed by her calling him out like this. "I can't help it! I've got a thing for gamer chicks!"
The blonde girl looked away from him in disgust. No one was too surprised by her reaction, though, due to the fact that Klein had already expressed interest in her prior to finding out that she was even younger than Kirito. It was difficult, of course, for him to realize that with how she was dressed. The girl had taken on an archer's role in Aincrad, having donned on tight leather gear atop her dark green tunic and high boots. With her avatar's hair colored blonde and pulled up into a loose pony tail that fell to the middle of her back, she had attracted the eyes of many male and female players alike.
"Let's go over our game plan again," Kirito suggested, trying to bring the focus back to the task at hand. "We're in charge of holding off the Kobold sentinels while the front lines focus on Illfang. There will be three sentinels at the beginning, plus three more for every health bar Illfang loses during the battle. We'll be on fairly solid ground at first, but we'll have to deal with twelve sentinels at the very end."
"Do we think we can handle this?" Silica asked, her brow puckered in worry. "Our levels are so low…"
"We've got strategy and experience on our side," Kirito responded confidently, despite having the same concern as the young girl. "Besides. Even if we do lose this battle, the worst that will happen is that we return to Tolbana with half our Col and items removed. So don't worry."
Silica smiled up at him. Beside her, Pina chirruped happily and nuzzled the girl's cheek. "Alright. This really will be okay, won't it?"
Kirito nodded reassuringly as the group continued marching towards the tall tower that housed the first level's boss. As the tower drew closer, Asuna slipped her hand inside Kirito's and held it tight. He turned to look at her, surprised by how much she appeared to be shaking. She glanced at him, a slightly ashamed smile on her face. He didn't need to ask. He remembered this look from the way she glanced at him before many of the battles they faced together. It was a look she had only shared with him. To everyone else, she was confident, strong, and fearless. But she allowed Kirito to peek behind the mask, just so he could see how secretly terrified she was.
He leaned in and kissed her atop her head. Playfully, he tugged at the honey-brown braids tied together at the base of her neck. "Don't you start worrying now, too."
"I'm not," she murmured, though her troubled eyes danced around the woods. "I… I just don't know if I'm ready for this. Emotionally, I mean." Her eyes flashed to Kirito. "I don't know if I can watch Diabel die again. I don't think I'm mentally prepared for something like that. Though I know it's not really Diabel and that he won't really die… I just can't take watching it again."
Kirito frowned and ran a hand through his scruffy, dark hair. With a sigh, he closed his eyes. "I know what you mean. I don't think I'm ready for that, either. Maybe… maybe this can act as a type of therapy. Maybe seeing Diabel survive this time around will help us get over what happened to us here. You know?"
Asuna thought about this silently, her expression drawn and serious. "Then our mission is simple," she stated firmly. She locked eyes with Kirito, as though making a solemn pact. "We protect him. We see to it that Diabel makes it to the second level this time. We keep him alive, no matter what it takes."
Though this hadn't been Kirito's original plan and he would have much rather questioned the man imitating Diabel than to help him reach the next level, he couldn't argue with Asuna's conviction. Despite his own desires, the young swordsman found himself nodding along with her declaration. "Yes. We will see to it that he lives."
"Then you two might want to start readjusting your strategy," Agil suggested as he gestured ahead of them. Without even realizing it, the group had made it to the door leading to the massive dungeon that protected the first floor boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. It towered over them, stretching miles into the sky before connecting to the bottom of the level above them. As they broke through the final row of trees, Kirito and Asuna tilted their heads back to gaze upon the entrance to the stronghold.
"Something tells me that, once we're inside that place, we won't have much time for talk," Agil added as he, too, fixed his gaze on the dungeon.
Taking his cue from the older, more intimidating axe-wielder, Kirito leveled a serious gaze at his companions. "Alright, guys. This is it. We all remember how this goes down. We've got tons of floors to get through before we can make it to Illfang's throne room. If Diabel was telling the truth, he and his team should have already mapped out the labyrinth and can lead us straight to Illfang. Our main task for now is to fight off any attacking creatures and protect our path to the boss's lair. Once we get to Illfang… wait for my word."
All around him, his teammates listened intently to his instructions as they glanced furtively at the giant, looming tower. Kirito noted with some chagrin just how different his role was from two years ago. There was no way he'd think of leading a team like this before. But he supposed being trapped in a death game for two years, getting married, and having a child (so to speak) instilled some small bit of leadership in him that he didn't possess before.
"If something goes wrong," Asuna stated, "remember that you'll end up in Tolbana. Send us messages to let you know where you are and where we can meet you. After we've cleared the level, we will come find you." Her tone, steely face expression, and rigid stature caused Kirito to flash back to how Asuna was when she stood as second-in-command for the Knights of the Blood Oath. She was comfortable giving orders. She reveled in captivating an audience. She was far more suited for this than Kirito was. And he couldn't complain—he was just as mystified by her as the others were.
Yards ahead of them, Diabel pushed open the door to the dungeon and ushered everybody inside. "Alright, everyone! Let's come out of this victorious! This is the day our liberation begins!"
Everyone must have been too excited about entering their first labyrinth to wonder what he meant by that last statement. Excited conversation buzzed as over seventy players poured past the tower's double doors. As Kirito passed Diabel, he glanced at the blue-haired swordsman. When their eyes met, Kirito felt a chill run down his spine, and he briefly felt the same crippling terror that shot through him when he entered the tower two years ago. Stepping into the dark maze, Kirito wondered silently if he had only imagined the dark smirk etched across Diabel's face.
