Floor 61: October 23rd, 2024


Some times, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

Of course, when you get a message from someone you thought you had left far behind telling you they had information for you, you kinda have to get out of bed.

But it still sucked.

So there I was, just sitting down and resting my eyes - no, really, I wasn't asleep. Okay, so maybe I was taking a morning nap. I had stayed up the night before taking extra watch shifts because I wasn't tired enough, alright? C'mon, is that too much to believe?

Anyway, I was roused from my rest by someone shaking my left shoulder. Left... that meant we were safe and there was no rush. So I rolled onto my side and grumbled under my breath. "Nng... Five more minutes..." I was tired enough that I wasn't dreaming - or I wasn't remembering my dreams, at the very least - and I wanted to get as much sleep as possible.

I heard a chuckle. "C'mon, get up." It was Mao. "Raph's got news for you."

I sighed. "It can wait five minutes." I wanted to rest some more.

"Actually..." Mao's voice was serious, and I rolled over to look at him. His face was dark; he was thinking about something. "It can't."

Heaving a theatrical sigh, I sat up. "All right, then." I pushed myself to my feet and brushed myself off. I looked around until I spotted Raph; he was sitting on a rock, tapping away in his menu. "Raph, what's up?"

Raph looked up from his menu. "Big news, Boss." He grinned tightly. "We have an appointment in two hours, so we better get going."

I stared at him in shock. "We have a what?" He just grinned at me - damn that poker face of his - and didn't say anything. "Who the hell would want to meet with the five of us?"

"Actually, it's just you and me," Raph said, shaking his head. "The other Horsemen won't be joining us." I raised an eyebrow, and he noticed. "Trust me, Boss, we'll be fine." He smiled. "There's nothing to worry about."

I sighed and looked around; the other three Horsemen were watching us. "Are you three okay with this?" With luck, they'd throw a fit and then Raph would have no choice but to renegotiate with whoever we were meeting. In the meantime, I'd be able to get some more sleep.

Gain shrugged good-naturedly, and Mao nodded. I looked at Uri, and she sighed. "I trust Raph, and you're good enough at hiding to escape if things get rough." My face fell; so much for my extra five minutes.

I stood up. "Well, looks like I'm outvoted." Raph stood up as well with a small smile and I waved him over. "Lead the way."

He grinned. "I'm glad you saw reason, Boss." I mimed taking a swing at him and he ducked away, laughing. "I mean, I could have just dragged you there kicking and screaming, but what kind of example would that set?"

I laughed. "The noble Fallen Angel, being dragged along like a stubborn child." What an image, right? Even though I'm nothing even close to noble.

We walked for a while, slowly making our way toward the nearest town. We didn't get attacked by any monsters or players, so it was a fairly relaxed trip. Fortunately, the floor we were on - the 61st Floor - was based on a fairly flat area, with only a few trees here and there. It even had a few NPCs farming in the distance, and I knew that if we went up to them they'd have a few quests for us. Of course, we were far beyond the level where we could trigger them; we were all level 80-something, and the quests were locked to anybody above level 70. I had actually hit level 90 just a little bit ago, so I was feeling on top of the world.

As we got close to the town, Raph glanced at me. "Well, we're almost there. Ready, Boss?"

I nodded. "We should be okay. Since the person contacted you, they know who we are." Suddenly, I frowned. "Hey, wait a second. Who are we-"

"Heyyyy!"

I glared at Raph. "You set me up you piece of -" But we were there, and I couldn't really continue ranting without losing face. "...hey, Serra."

Serra grinned at the two of us. "Nice to see you again, guys. How're things?"

I just folded my arms and watched Raph, forcing him to take the lead in the conversation.

Me, petty? Nah, couldn't be.

Raph just chuckled. "We're doing well, Serra. I must say, I was surprised when I got your message. You seem to be doing excellent in your new guild."

She grinned. "The Knights of the Blood are super nice!" So she managed to get in. I guess I shouldn't be surprised; Heathcliff was the type of person that looked for skill rather than personality, after all. It wasn't a stretch to think that my name still held weight with him. I took a closer look at Serra and realized the clues had been right in front of me.

She was wearing a new uniform; that weird green armor was gone. She had a new breastplate in the crimson color typical of the Knights of the Blood, along with some new greaves and gauntlets. All of them were in the same red color, meaning they were from the same set. Her outfit wasn't all red, though, thanks to some white trim on the shoulders and gauntlets. She also had these two things - I don't know what they were called, but they looked like leg capes, almost like a skirt that had been sliced in half. They had some pockets on the side, probably for holding crystals or throwing picks. It was actually kinda intimidating. The crimson and white really suited her.

She had some new weapons, too - I saw the hilt of a new sword on her back as well as a shield on her arm. It had some jewels inlaid in a pattern, but from where I was standing I couldn't make it out.

I snorted. "What did you want, Serra? You're very pretty in your new clothes" - What? She was! - "but I don't think that's why you're here." It's not like I could get her into another guild or anything.

Serra glared at me. "No need to be an ass. I just wanted to tell you something." She folded her arms. "But maybe I won't, since you don't seem to want to listen."

I had opened my mouth to say something I probably would have regretted when Raph dug his elbow into my side. I winced automatically despite the lack of pain. "Again with the ribs? C'mon, Raph, I thought we were friends," I hissed.

"Apologize," he whispered back. "I think this is important."

Come to think about it, a player in a big-time guild was taking a huge risk meeting with an orange player, no matter the reason. I turned to Serra. "...Sorry," I grudgingly apologized. "I'm tired." Serra glared at me for a few more seconds before sighing and waving away my apology. "So what is it you wanted to tell me?"

Serra looked around furtively before leaning in slightly. "You're hunting player killers, right?" I nodded; that was correct. "I think someone from my guild was talking to a guy like that." My eyes widened; we hadn't had a lead on any player killers for a long time. They had died down after the brutal attack on Laughing Coffin had shown that the guilds meant business about stopping PKers. My brutal murder of the six or seven Laughing Coffin members I got my hands on hadn't hurt, either, once the story got out.

"Where did you see this?" Raph demanded.

"I was out training with some of the others," Serra said. "I got a little separated from them while we were fighting some monsters - they broke and ran while I stayed back and killed what I could." Impressive; she was a better fighter than I thought if she could handle multiple enemies. "After I cleared out the mobs, I was wandering around a bit, looking for the rest of my group, when I stumbled into a private meeting."

I frowned. "So who are we dealing with?"

"I'm getting to that," Serra said. "Anyway, I hid behind a tree and listened in on their conversation. It basically went like, 'Do you want revenge on that Beater?', 'Yes I do! Show me how, master!' 'Poison him, then stab repeatedly in the chest. Make sure to laugh like a crazy while doing it.'" She really used different voices there, too; one was higher, one was lower. I couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway, I recognized one voice. His name is Kuradeel, and he's a player in the Knights of the Blood." Kuradeel? Name didn't ring a bell. Serra described him to me and Raph, but I still didn't recognize him. He probably joined after I left.

Raph hummed in thought. "Haven't heard of him. Do you know anything about the guy he was talking to?"

Serra shook her head. "I didn't manage to get a glimpse of his face. I only managed to see him for a brief second before I hid, and he left almost immediately after he finished talking to Kuradeel."

"Think," Raph urged her. "Any information could be useful. What he wore, any unusual marks, his weapon, anything."

Serra tilted her head and gazed off into space for a bit. "Hm... he had a green cloak on, so I didn't see his face or his equipment."

I sighed. "Damn. Nothing. It might not even be a player killer, just some thief."

"Oh!" Serra exclaimed. Her face suddenly lit up; she must have remembered something. "He had this weird tattoo on his hand. I couldn't make it out, but it was definitely black and white. Almost like the Laughing Coffin tattoo." My heart stopped beating.

Okay, not literally, but it felt like it.

"Are you sure?!" I grabbed Serra by the shoulders and shook her. "You're certain it was the Laughing Coffin logo?"

"N-no," Serra stammered out. "But it was really similar."

I let her go and started pacing. "If it was the Laughing Coffin logo, then it has to be a player killer." So we were on the job. "But I think they were all rounded up in that raid..." My head snapped up and I stared at Raph. "Except one!"

PoH. That bastard. We had found him.

Thinking back on it now, I got really lucky – I jumped to a conclusion with almost nothing to back it up, and somehow I was right.

I turned back to Serra; she shuddered slightly, and I realized my expression was probably manic. "So, Serra, where is this Kuradeel?" My voice was extremely calm - it probably sounded like I was bordering insanity. I mean, I kinda was, but that's besides the point.

She thought for a second. "I think he's going on a mission on the 55th Floor later today. Something about training and burying the hatchet, from what I heard Godfree ranting about."

A small grin tugged at my lips. "I remember Godfree. Is he still doing that fist pump thing?" He would always shout 'hoorah' or something like that when he got excited.

She giggled. "Yep." Good to know that my absence wasn't affecting anybody's life or anything. God forbid I made a difference, right? Heh.

"Neat." I turned away. "Alright, Raph, we've gotta get going." I needed to grab the extra Corridor Crystal from Uri so that we could all get to the 55th Floor in time. "Bye, Serra."

"Bye! I'd come along but I have a guild thing," she called out; I glanced back to see her waving for a bit before leaving. The second she was out of sight, Raph and I exchanged glances and then burst into a dead sprint. We needed to get to the 55th Floor as soon as possible.

We sprinted into the camp. While I was busy pulling Uri aside and getting the Corridor Crystal from her, Raph was explaining everything to Gain and Mao. When I returned to the rest of the group, I took in their appearances and grinned to myself. They were all ready for battle, preparing themselves for the hunt; we weren't going to be hunting PoH down today, but it was only a matter of time. Kuradeel talked to him; he would know where PoH was hiding and he'd tell me.

He'd tell me or I'd kill him.

I held the crystal up in the air. "Corridor open!" I shouted. Uri had programmed it with the coordinates to the main settlement of Floor 55, Granzam; it doubled as the Knights of the Blood headquarters, so Kuradeel and his party would be leaving from there. The crystal shattered and a portal appeared in front of us, shimmering in the air. "Let's go," I growled. I was impatient to get to Kuradeel, to find him, to ask him oh so politely where to find PoH.

Yes, I was obsessed. No, I didn't care.


Floor 55: October 23rd, 2024

We exited the portal by the south entrance to Granzam, a large foreboding iron gate; just looking at the damn thing made me shudder. But we didn't have time for sightseeing. As soon as they were out of the gate, the Horsemen were off, scattering to the four entrances of Granzam. Once one of them spotted Kuradeel, they'd blend into the crowd and message me; from there, I'd bounce the message and we'd all make our way to the Horseman that spotted Kuradeel. We'd used this trick before, covering all the exits with sheer manpower. Of course, that only worked in places with defined exits; on a floor like Floor 61, the main town was super open and only had a fence to mark the end of the safe zone.

So it was time to wait. I just stayed where I was, playing a quiet game of solitaire, trying to ignore the passing time. If I thought about it, or checked the time, it would pass slower. I was on my fifth game when I received a message from Gain. I scooped up my cards and triggered my «Hiding» skill, making my way to the west. As I went, I messaged the rest of the Horsemen - the only thing in the message was Gain's name. They knew that meant the west exit; if it had been Uri, Mao, or Raph they would have headed to the north, south, or east respectively.

I was the second person to arrive - Mao was already standing next to Gain, just inside the safe zone. They were chatting animatedly, looking for the world like two friends waiting for the rest of their party to show up before they set off on a dungeon run.

I mean, that's what they were, so I guess it makes sense they looked like that. But I don't think normal people watched other parties out of the corner of their eyes; Mao and Gain had Kuradeel and whomever he was with under constant supervision. I glanced at the two white-clad figures by the gate - one I recognized, Godfree, and the other I didn't. By studying various minute movements of the second player, coupled with several impressive deductions, clues, and use of higher-level mathematics - and, you know, remembering what Serra had told me, as well as using the process of elimination - I guessed that the second player was Kuradeel.

I'm a super genius, I know.

Anyway, Raph was the last one to show up. It made sense - he had to travel through the entirety of Granzam. Anyway, by the time he showed up we had all been waiting for a few minutes. He joined the other Horsemen in their conversation, all of them subtly watching Godfree and Kuradeel. It was almost impressive, in a way; they were all watching their target without being obvious about it.

I was so proud of my team. They'd learned so well.

Suddenly, Gain froze; speaking urgently, he leaned in to the Horsemen and said something. The others all blanched and did their best to not look behind them - I had no idea what had spooked them, but it was definitely something bad. The Horsemen walked outside of the safe zone, still pretending to be this small group of friends on a dungeon run until they were out of eyeshot. I followed them, naturally, and the second they were out of sight of Granzam's entrance they all heaved a huge sigh. "What happened?" I asked.

They weren't even surprised by my phantom voice anymore. Shame; I used to terrify Uri with that trick. "Gain saw Kirito," Mao reported. My eyes widened and I swore. What was he doing? I had heard about the duel with Heathcliff and its aftermath - everyone had - but why was he going on a training run with two guild members? He killed a boss alone! Well, mostly alone, but it's not like I did anything to help out.

I shook my head. I could worry about that later. "It doesn't change anything. We stick to the plan - shadow Kuradeel until he's alone, then grab him." Hadn't Serra said something about why Kuradeel was talking with PoH? It was just out of reach, but I figured I'd remember it later if it was important.

Raph looked worried. "Are you sure, Boss? I mean, this is Kirito we're talking about. The Black Swordsman, the Dual Wielder..."

I snorted. "He could be a god of death for all I give a damn. All that matters is getting to PoH." See my previous comment regarding obsession and my lack of giving a fuck. "If Kirito gets in our way, just take him down like you would any other obstacle." Which, to them, meant paralyzing or neutralizing him; that was, of course, after he attacked them first. I was the only one that attacked green players and killed. I looked around and noticed the Horsemen still looking kinda dubious; with a sigh, I tried to think quickly. "Look, Kirito's not a god, alright? He's human, just like us - the duel with Heathcliff showed us that - and he'll be just as susceptible to a poisoned throwing pick in the neck as the next guy." After they chuckled uneasily, the Horsemen all murmured some sort of agreement - Raph's being the most reluctant, Gain's being the least - and I grinned. Not that they'd see it, but hey, whatever. "Alright, let's get going. I want you guys masked and hidden the whole time."

"We know," Uri moaned. "It's not like we haven't done this before or anything, right?"

I flushed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to repeat myself." Maybe I was a little worried. Huh. "Well, you all know the drill. If necessary, take down Godfree and Kirito." My voice dropped slightly in pitch; I wanted to impress the seriousness of my orders on them. "Kuradeel is mine." I didn't want them to have to get their hands dirty. "On the move!"

We all triggered our «Hiding» skills, disappearing one by one. Eventually, the only way to see them at all was by having «Searching» active, not that it was pleasant to do that by any means - that green filter was gross. But it was necessary. Moving as quietly as we could - which was in Uri's case silent and in ours relatively quietly - we followed Godfree, Kuradeel, and Kirito.

It wasn't a fun way to spend a morning, of course; shadowing a regular player had none of the thrill of hunting a murdering bastard and all of the danger of getting caught. Fortunately, though, the monsters in this area hunted by sight and so we were pretty much safe from them. Eventually, the three players entered a dusty stone ravine, and we followed them in; I glanced at the clock on my screen to see that it was almost lunchtime. I was hungry, but there wasn't going to be any rest for us until Kuradeel was in our hands. Of course, if they stopped for lunch we could probably spring our trap then and be done with it - their guards would be down and we'd have the added bonus of surprise.

At least, that's what Mao said the last time we were trying to ambush someone. He was the strategist here, not me.

"This looks like a good place to take a break," I heard Godfree announce. The Horsemen and I exchanged a round of glances, and we picked up the pace slightly. We had been hanging back before, partially to maintain a safe distance and partially to make sure we didn't grab any of the monsters' aggro, but if they were taking their lunch break it was time to strike. "Chow time, ladies."

I couldn't help but grin. "Same old Godfree," I murmured. He always was energetic; even when he had been about to face a bonus boss with me, he never lost that grin.

We rounded the corner of the ravine to see the three Knights of the Blood members sitting around on flat bits of stone. Kirito was on the left, while Kuradeel was just to his right. I could see Godfree on a different stone from the two, facing them. I pointed at Gain and Uri, and they nodded; carefully picking their way over to Godfree, they silently stood beside him. He had no clue, the poor guy. Raph was crouched beside Kirito, ready to stop him from interfering, and Mao was standing by to make sure Kuradeel wouldn't run. I would appear in the center, out of nowhere, and then we'd see what happened. It was a great plan.

So of course it all went to hell.

Kirito pulled something out of a bag Godfree had tossed him while we were getting into position - it looked like a water bottle. I noticed that Kuradeel and Godfree each had a similar bag - it was probably a lunch they had all packed. I wondered who packed it. Godfree and Kirito took a swig from their bottles, but for some reason Kuradeel just sat there, watching them. He had this small smirk on his face.

Hey, wait a second. I suddenly remembered - didn't Serra say Kuradeel wanted revenge on 'that Beater'?

...oh, shit!

Kirito suddenly threw the water away, letting it shatter on the ground. Godfree just slumped forward and toppled off of the rock, the water suddenly falling from his limp hands, while Kirito fell back onto the stone; they had all been poisoned. Kuradeel stood up - he was only chuckling at first, but soon he was in a full-blown fit of hysteria, giggling and laughing maniacally. Oh, good. He was loving this shit.

Godfree looked up at him. "The hell's going on? You packed the water, Kuradeel..." So it really was poison. I looked left and right at the Four Horsemen; they were watching me, waiting for me to make a move. But I couldn't make a move yet - Kuradeel was still just a green player, and I refused to kill. My damn morals. "What'd you do? You bastard!" Kirito gasped something about antidote crystals, and Godfree started trying to reach into his pockets.

Kuradeel leaped into the air and kicked out, knocking the shining green crystal from Godfree's hand. "Poor, sad old Godfree. I always knew you were a colossal idiot." That's not... well, he was... okay, yeah, he was an idiot. "But this proves you're even dumber than I thought." He chuckled and drew his sword, the metal scraping on the sheath.

Godfree's eyes widened. "Don't do this!" he managed to gasp out. Suddenly, Kuradeel raised his sword and slashed forward, cutting into Godfree's back. As Godfree's health drained, Kuradeel's cursor color changed from a bright green to a sullen orange.

My lips parted in a fierce grin; he'd shown his true intentions, and he meant to kill. Those who tried to kill couldn't complain when they were killed, after all.

As he continued to hack away at Godfree, Kuradeel grinned like a madman and rambled on about how he was going to play the hero after killing the other two. I waved Gain and Uri back to make sure that Godfree wouldn't be caught in the crossfire, and then turned off my «Hiding» skill. "Hello, Kuradeel," I said. My voice was dark and dangerous, though my expression was calm and a small grin was on my face.

He whipped around in shock; I'm sure that to him, I just appeared out of nowhere. "What the?"

Kirito's eyes widened. "Asmodeus? What are you doing here?"

I ignored Kirito's question for the time being. "Kuradeel, you've been busy. Talking to orange players, learning how to poison water..." I chuckled. "And now you're trying to complete the trifecta and murder another player." My eyes narrowed, though I didn't lose my small grin. "I'm sure you've heard of me. I am the Fallen Angel."

Kuradeel laughed. "Oh, yes, I've heard of you. He told me to expect you." I clenched my fist; PoH knew about me? All to the better. "But you're too late!" He thrust forward with his sword, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. The sword slid deep into Godfree's back, and his cries of agony ceased suddenly. His form shimmered and shattered into blue polygons.

Again.

Again, I couldn't save anybody. Even when I was only a foot away I couldn't do anything.

Kuradeel turned back to me. "Oh, what's the matter? Sad you couldn't save your friend?" He was clearly insane, his eyes burning with madness. "I've just killed an innocent bystander. What will you do, mister Angel?" He called me an Angel? I'd be his goddamn Angel of Death.

I stared at the spot where Godfree had been just seconds before, motionless. Then, slowly, I started to chuckle. The chuckles turned into full laughter, which quickly transitioned to an insane laugh that shook my body. Kuradeel took a step back, and I looked at him, smiling wildly. "You are a fool, Kuradeel. Before, I would have simply asked you a few questions, healed the other two, and been on my way." My shoulders shook with laughter and my words were broken by the occasional hysterical giggle. "But now? Now, you're a murderer." I stopped laughing. "And now you're going to die!" I roared.

In an instant, I drew my trident and lashed out at him. Kuradeel parried the blow hurriedly, but he wasn't ready for my attack; his sword was knocked far away from being able to counter. I just spun on my heel and slammed the butt of my trident into his stomach. The blow threw Kuradeel back, and he slammed into the wall of the ravine. I stood up and snapped my fingers; the Horsemen appeared and closed in on Kuradeel. "Make sure he can't do anything," I said. "I need to ask him a few questions."

I stalked close to him and Kuradeel spat in my face. "Like hell I'm going to tell you anything."

"Really?" I said almost absently. "That's interesting." I drew my knife and stabbed him in the gut. "I can kill you right now, if you want. If you answer my questions, I might just let you live." I stabbed him again, in the arm this time. "So, do you want to die, Kuradeel?" He whimpered slightly and I laughed. "Oh, come on. You can't tell me you didn't see this coming. Killers run the risk of being killed in turn - it's how the world works." I cut his cheek with the knife, leaving a red gash across his face; his health was dropping rapidly, but it was still in the yellow zone. "So tell me, where can I find PoH?"

"I don't know!" he babbled. "I don't know, I swear I don't!" I pressed the knife just over his heart, and I think he started sobbing. "He told me where to meet him and that's all I did! He just showed me how to poison the water! I swear I'm telling the truth!"

I sighed; another potential lead gone. PoH was clever. "Damn it... watch him for me, Gain. Everyone else, stand easy. We're leaving soon."

I grabbed the green crystal Kuradeel had knocked from Godfree's hand and picked it up. Where he was slumped, Kirito watched Kuradeel sobbing against the wall. "Someone like you belongs in a murder guild," he spat.

I chuckled as I walked over. "You're not far off. If we look hard enough, it's a good bet we'll find a Laughing Coffin mark." I knelt down, using my trident as a crutch. "Are you all right?"

He grinned. "For a killer, you seem to make a habit of saving my life. This is the third time now, I think."

I laughed. "But you saved me from Asuna and the Army what, a week ago? I think that means you only owe me two, now." I was about to raise the crystal and heal him when I heard something in the distance. I straightened up and looked around. "The hell is that?" The sound got closer and closer; it was moving extremely quickly. Suddenly, a figure rounded the corner and closed in on me in a heartbeat. "Oh, mother of shi-"

My curse was cut off as Asuna's rapier slammed into my stomach and I was sent flying. I was actually airborne until I slammed into the ravine wall, several yards from Kirito, and cried out in pain. I slumped to the ground, the wind knocked out of me - the Horsemen came running over to check on me, with the exception of Gain; he stayed next to Kuradeel and kept his sword at the ready. I heard a crystal shatter and I realized Asuna had used the healing crystal on Kirito. Well, that was good; he was safe. One less thing to worry about.

I staggered to my feet to see Asuna holding Gain at rapier point. "Step away from Kuradeel," she said. Her voice was level and deadly; Gain glanced at me, and I hesitated. If I pulled Gain back, nothing would stop Kuradeel from attacking Asuna and Kirito. But if I left him there, Asuna would kill him... "Call Conquest back, Asmodeus. Now!" she snapped.

I gritted my teeth; I wasn't going to let her do this. "I know this looks bad, Asuna, but I'm saving Kirito's life!" I shouted. I needed to use my trident to support myself - my legs were still trembling from the force of Asuna's attack, and my health was in the yellow zone. "Kuradeel poisoned them both and- and-"I coughed, clearing my throat. "And he was going to kill them!" Of course I was stuttering a little bit – I was still reeling from getting stabbed in the stomach.

She didn't listen to a word I had said – between the word of an orange player and what she saw, her observations overruled anything I tried to tell her. "I thought you had changed..." she said. "When you helped us on the 74th Floor, I thought you were back to your old self." So that's why she didn't kill me. Because she had promised to kill the Fallen Angel, not the Knight's Angel. "But I guess I was wrong." She pressed the rapier to Gain's throat. "Pull him back, or I will kill him right here and now."

I swore. Asuna was hell-bent on killing me because she thought I was attacking her guild. "Damn it... Conquest, get back here."

"Are you sure, Boss?" he asked. He glanced at Kuradeel, who was doing a remarkably good imitation of some poor victim. "If I go now, then -"

"Do as I say!" I shouted, cutting him off. He jerked back in shock, then reluctantly sheathed his sword. He walked over to me and joined the other Horsemen by my side. I stepped forward to confront Asuna. "So, you're determined to kill me?"

"You remember what I said, don't you?" She slashed the air with her rapier and dropped into a fighting stance. "The next time I saw you, I'd kill you."

I sighed. "Fine. Just promise me one thing." I stepped forward and spread my arms wide, dropping my trident and leaving myself wide open with no way to dodge or defend myself. "Let the Horsemen go. They're only in this to help me. Once I'm gone, they'll go back to their normal life."

"Asmodeus, what are you doing?!" Uri shouted. "Are you just going to let her kill you?"

I glanced back and grinned at her. "I'm just an orange player. Compared to you four, my life is pretty useless." If I could just save them, that would be enough. I wouldn't be able to find PoH, but at least nobody else would die because of me.

Those who kill run the risk of being killed, after all.

I turned back to see Asuna watching me with a strange look. "What are you waiting for? Kill me!" I shouted. "Damn you, Asuna, don't lose your nerve and fucking kill me!"

Asuna gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry, Asmodeus. You were a good teammate." She drew back to lunge toward me, and I closed my eyes in anticipation of the killing blow.

"Stop it, Asuna!"

My eyes snapped open, and I saw Kirito grabbing Asuna's arm. "He's telling the truth. Kuradeel is the one who killed Godfree."

Asuna blinked. "What?" She took a closer look at Kuradeel and gasped. "His cursor, it's orange!" Kirito stepped back and started going through his menu. I didn't know what he was looking for; he was probably going for a warp crystal or something.

I sagged back and grabbed my trident. I probably wasn't going to die today. "I couldn't stop him from killing Godfree, but I got what I needed out of him. I was about to heal Kirito when you showed up."

Asuna turned around. "Kirito, is this true?"

Unfortunately, at that moment all eyes were off Kuradeel. He grabbed his sword and attacked Asuna instantly, knocking her rapier away and dropping her HP to low in the red zone. My eyes widened. "Die, bitch!" He raised his sword high and swung.

I was too far away to do anything; the Horsemen were even further.

But Kirito made it in time.

Just before Kuradeel's sword cut through Asuna, Kirito dashed in front of her, his arm raised. Instead of killing Asuna, the only damage done was to Kirito; his hand was sliced off just above the wrist. We all stood frozen for a second, gaping at the incredible action that had just taken place - all of us, except Kirito. With a scream of rage, he drew back his right hand and thrust forward, stabbing deep into Kuradeel's body with the glowing hand. Kuradeel jerked back as his health dropped to zero, and sank to his knees. "Damn you... you murdered me..." he whispered. His form shuddered and burst apart; Kirito collapsed to his knees.

I turned and sheathed my trident, waving to the Four Horsemen. They started walking away; I started to follow them, but stopped. "Kirito." I turned to look at him. "I'm sorry you had to get your hands dirty. I never intended you to get involved in this." With that said, I turned and walked away.


Lost in my own thoughts, I mindlessly followed the Four Horsemen without paying much attention; I trusted them to keep watch, naturally. I was pathetic, useless. No matter what I did, people kept dying around me. Godfree, Corbatz, everyone... I couldn't save them. But I had to keep trying, right? What use was I if I couldn't save everyone I could? That's why I existed, after all; to take all the pain and suffering of killing another person and prevent others from having to deal with it. Because that's what I needed to do to help people now that I couldn't help in the sun. Shadows were where I belonged.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I looked over to see Uri walking next to me. "Hey, Uri," I mumbled. "What's up?"

"You doing alright, Boss?" she asked. "I know it bugs you when people die."

I smiled wanly. "I'll live." I looked away. "Which is more than for you can say for Godfree." Kuradeel deserved it, though. Bastard. "Really, Uri, I'm fine," I said when I noticed her frown. I'd be okay after I slept it off. Probably. Maybe. Pretty sure I'd be fine.

"All right..." She didn't seem convinced, but let the matter drop anyway. For the rest of the trip back to Granzam - we needed to pick up another Corridor Crystal for quick travel - I walked alone and was left alone with my thoughts. Of course, the thing was, those thoughts were a little happier than they were before; I was planning out what would happen when I finally found PoH. Good times.

Suddenly, the Four Horsemen stopped. Startled, I looked up and frowned in confusion. "Hey, what's... oh." So much for happy thoughts. "Hi, Serra."

She looked up and waved. "Hi, everyone." She looked at our faces and frowned. "I guess something didn't go too well..."

Mao shook his head and sighed. "We got what we wanted, but it wasn't really anything. Kuradeel didn't know anything at all."

She sighed. "So what happened?"

"Do you really want to know?" I asked. She nodded, and I sighed. "He killed Godfree, Kirito killed him." She gasped, and I shrugged. "You wanted to know."

Serra watched us for a bit. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask. What's your origin story?"

I blinked in surprise. "Wait, you know comic books but not kid's movies? Your childhood was fucked up." Serra glared at me. "But I totally know what you mean. Well..." I crossed my arms. "I suppose it's not a big deal if you know about the Horsemen. Let's find a place to sit down." Once we had found a small clearing off the main road, I waved at Gain, giving him the go-ahead.

Gain nodded and turned to Serra. "We were in a party with a couple of our friends - there were seven of us in total. Me, the other three Horsemen, and our friends. We were all pretty close. Anyway, we were all adventuring one day when we heard a scream. Because we were such great people," he said with bitterness coating his voice, "we didn't hesitate at all but rushed right over to help them out. We were stupid enough to rush in blindly, trying to help. We thought we were defending a helpless player, but we were ambushed by a large group of orange players. All of us were paralyzed, and there was nothing we could do. One by one, my friends died."

I sighed. "That's when I showed up. I'd been tracking the group of PKers for a while, and I did my best to save the Horsemen and their friends. Of course, I'm only one person, so I couldn't act recklessly." I grimaced. "I used poisoned throwing darts to stun all of the player killers, and then started slaughtering. I managed to kill them all, but the only ones I managed to save were the Horsemen."

"Oh..." Serra said. "So you guys are just like me, huh?"

Mao nodded. "More or less. Eventually, the only one left was the green player that had lured us there. Boss was about to kill her when another player showed up. Asuna."

I chuckled darkly. "She and I had worked together occasionally while I was still in the Knights of the Blood. We got along well enough, I guess. But when she showed up, that Lure begged her for help. Asuna told me not to kill the Lure, that she'd go to jail and never hurt anyone again. I didn't listen." I paused, remembering the way it felt to kill a green player. It didn't really feel like anything, just another death to weigh against my debts. "Asuna was absolutely furious, but we had both been in the same guild once; that counted for enough, I guess. She said that if she ever saw me again, she'd kill me without hesitation. Something about the sanctity of life, how everyone deserved to live. In her eyes, I was finally that cold-blooded murderer the rumors made me out to be."

Uri continued the story. "After that, Boss ran off into the forest. The four of us that were left from that group talked amongst ourselves and eventually followed him. We told him that we'd help him out with whatever he needed us to do, that it was the least we could do to pay him back for saving us. The only thing he asked us to do was to get him some more supplies from the next town, as well as track down some more PKers for him." She smiled. "We figured that we'd join up with him and hunt PKers too. So far, it's been pretty fun."

Serra looked at her. "But why would Asuna kill you?"

Uri shrugged. "Jealousy, maybe?" She shot a look at me, and I flushed. "Kidding, Boss. Besides, I don't think those three swing that way." I think my face was burning. "In all seriousness, it's probably because we were aiding and abetting a known criminal or something like that." Uri noticed our sudden stares. "Hey, try reading a law-book some time. You might improve your vocab."

"Uri's sudden transform into a lawyer aside," I said, "that's pretty much everything about it. I showed up like a big damn hero, saved the day, and got myself in deeper shit." I laughed. "So, basically a normal day."

"What about you?" Serra asked me suddenly.

"What about me?"

Serra glared at me. "You. Asmodeus. What's your story? I get these guys, but you're still the unknown here."

I raised an eyebrow. "And if I choose not to tell you?" Serra rolled her shoulders, and her sword clattered in its scabbard threateningly. "Okay, I get the picture. God damn you're stubborn, aren't you?"

"One of my many traits," Serra replied with a grin. "I'm cute, too."

Raph coughed. "Not that watching this flirting isn't amusing, but I'd rather not be here all day waiting for Asuna and Kirito to catch up with us."

"We aren't flirting!" Serra and I shouted at him simultaneously.

No, really, I'm not kidding. Look, believe it or not, but it really happened. It's not just a TV joke.

I sighed. "Fine, whatever. Rather not get stabbed today." I grumbled under my breath for a few seconds, muttering about swords and people too quick to use them. "Well, I guess like everything else it all started at one when the SAO servers started up..."


You wanted backstory, you're getting it. Eventually.

Many thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed. Special thanks goes to Alicornation and skyrumen818 for being dedicated reviewers.