Author's Notes
Hey guys, this is ChristmasForJuan.
Before I start this chapter, I want to (once again) put up a Spoiler Warning, since I will now start to cover content further into the Alicization Arc. To be fair, if you've read this much of this story already, I don't think you have much to worry about, but I guess I just wanted to drop the Spoiler Warning once again, since I am technically using content featured not only in SAO but also in "Accel World", another work by Reki Kawahara.
What I am referring to is the "Incarnate System", as system that allows the user's imagination to have an effect on the virtually constructed world around them. As the methodology, use, and function of the "Incarnate System" of both works is identical, I simply borrowed the term from SAO's sister-series (can you call it that?) to make things easier for myself. Hope you don't mind.
And also, before I forget, I started using more and more sword skills of my own creation, since I have become more and more familiar with writing about them, and have therefore taken the liberty of creating them myself. It should be pretty obvious which ones are my creation, as they tend to be incredibly fancy and over the top, but I hope that won't bother you too. Please tell me if I should stop making up sword skills (like I have in my Kirito vs. Yuuki one-shot before), since they might start getting way out of proportion after a while. xD
In any case, here's the chapter.
3rd Month of the Human World Calendar, 379
The Holy Axiom Church.
Originally a mere temple erected for the worship of the 4 gods and their blessings, the Axiom Church had become the absolute governing force of the Human Realm. Marking the center of the world, the sky-piercing structure separated the 4 kingdoms equally by standing at the crossing of the 4 immortal walls that extended all the way to the mountain range at the edge.
However, the holy tower was far more than a symbolic monument of the gods. Residing in the topmost floor, the Esteemed Administrator acted as the messenger of the gods as well as ruler of mankind. Her word was the word of the gods. Her word was law. Her word was truth.
Her omnipotent sight observed all of mankind equally and fairly, constantly seeking out sinners hiding under Solus' blessing. If one were to reveal himself to her, the esteemed prophet would send out her divine knights to bring the sinners to her so that she might cleanse them of their evil and return them to Stacia. After all, the champions of justice under her command, the "Integrity Knights", were summoned to this mortal world for a single reason; to vanquish evil and cleanse the world of Vector's corruption.
Receiving orders from the Esteemed Administrator to apprehend two Knights of Darkness spotted near the Northern Cave and annihilate the large platoon of goblins under their control, Barbossa Synthesis Five thought nothing of this ordinary mission.
However, even the veteran knight was surprised to see that the two Knights of Darkness he was supposed to apprehend were …
"… just kids?"
While their semblance matched the general description given to him, their actual appearance was unlike that of any other Darkness Knight he had encountered before.
To begin with the usual obsidian plated armor was nonexistent, and the little clothing they did garb themselves with was tattered and dirty. While their equipment was undeniably unique and of high grade, it seemed relatively unconventional in a fight against an Integrity Knight.
"Answer me, have your despicable leaders finally decided to send children into battle too? If so, then I offer you a chance to redeem yourself and be blessed by the Esteemed Administrators judgement. You seem to be of human origin, so it may still be possible to return yourselves into Stacia's hands."
In response to being accused of something they are not, Kirito tried to reason with the fanatic knight before it was too late.
"Ahhhh … yeah … I think you are mistaking us for someone else. I don't know anything about these 'Darkness Knights' you are talking about, and I really don't feel like fighting someone like you right now."
"You mean you weren't planning on fighting anyone at all, right Kirito?", Sinon confirmed in a sinister voice, the suspicious gaze of the Integrity Knight not letting up in the slightest.
"Hahaha … of course …", was the half hearted response Kirito was able to muster.
Still not convinced, or more accurately, even more skeptical of the unusual pair in front of him now, Barbossa continued his interrogation.
"If what you are saying is true, then why is it that you are in possession of such high grade swords? The only weapons allowed for the village guard in this region are simple swords made by the local craftsmen. Even without the Stacia window, it is apparent that your weapons far exceed that limit. And you…"
Shifting his attention to the strange contraption strapped to Sinon's back, the gallant Knight continued.
"Your sacred instrument. Hand it over. Even in the case that you misguided children are not affiliated with the forces of darkness, I cannot allow you to carry a weapon whose function I am not aware of.
"Put away your own weapons first before asking me to do the same.", demanded Sinon with a powerful demeanor.
Feeling the atmosphere becoming more tense, Kirito took a step back and slowly moved his right hand under his coat.
"You would defy me? The holy knight chosen by the esteemed Administrator herself? It would seem that the 'Taboo Index' means nothing to you, which undoubtedly makes you pawns of the dark forces."
Moving forward a step, Barbossa settled into his combat stance.
"I have the right to injure you if I deem necessary, and as such I will not go easy on you if you refuse to give yourself to Stacia. I will ask you for the last time. Will you give up your weapons and be judged by the Esteemed Administrator?"
While keeping her eyes on the mountain of metal ahead of them, Sinon turned to Kirito and asked in a low voice.
"I only have two bullets left in my Hecate. Can we take him?"
"… I am not so sure, but it doesn't seem like he would just let us go either. Plus, I am not particularly keen on being brought to that 'Esteemed Administrator' of his as a prisoner."
"For how long can you stall him?"
"Not too long."
Ending their short conversation with a nod, Sinon darted past Kirito to the left, aiming for a small hill that would give her a decent view of the battlefield. Even though she understood that a sniper was useless once her position was revealed, she had no other means of attacking due to having used up all the bullets of her side-arm in the battle against the goblins. Therefore, even though she had no time to hide herself, the least she could do was secure a good position from which she would be able to snipe the enemy without putting Kirito into her line of sight.
However, this also meant that Kirito would be facing that adversary alone, forced to buy time for Sinon until she finished her preparations.
"A sacred arts user, huh?", the holy knight whispered in the darkness that was his helmet.
While sacred arts users were generally feared, even the Chief Elder Chudelkin had a hard time denting his armor with his extravagant magic. Therefore, while the sacred tool strapped to the girl's back might be a mystery, the bigger threat was by far the dual wielding boy opposing him with a fierce glare.
While one of his swords seemed to be made out of cheap unrefined metal, and the other out of brittle glass, it was hard to deny the pressure these blades exerted when together.
Yes. He would take out that boy first before proceeding to capture the girl.
"I'll take that as a no."
Ramming his sword and shield into the ground, Barbossa freed his hands of his holy instruments and saluted his opposing foe.
"My name is Barbossa Synthesis Five, Integrity Knight of the Holy Axiom Church. In my servitude under the Esteemed Administrator the blood my armor tasted has never been my own; today will be no exception. Accept my challenge, and I shall remember your courage until my life's end."
Pleasantly surprised by the knight's chivalry, Kirito's tense expression turned into a delighted (mischievous) smirk.
"My name is Kirito the black swordsman, and I am pretty good myself."
Grabbing hold of the small throwing pick lodged in his belt pocket, Kirito flicked his hand forward from behind his back and aimed the sharp projectile at his enemy's head. Without wasting a single breath, he kicked off the ground and darted towards Barbossa while unsheathing 'Dark Repulser' with his right.
Showing no signs of dodging the sharp needle, the mighty knight retrieved his weapons from the ground and started a slow jog into Kirito's direction; Kirito's thrown pick simply bounced off his armor without any effect.
"He didn't even flinch, huh? It seems like he wasn't kidding when he said that nothing ever got past that armor. In that case…"
Eying his armor with calm demeanor, Kirito tightened his grip on the blue sword in his right as he jumped hard on a small sized boulder to propel himself into the air. No matter how finely crafted the equipment or how rare it's components, everything had a weak spot. All Kirito had to do was find it.
Performing a mid-air summersault while simultaneously switching to a back handed grip, Kirito used the force of the spin to drive 'Dark Repulsers' edge towards the approaching knight. If a thin throwing pick wasn't enough to make someone like him flinch, then the thunderous descent of a blueish purple colored blade should at least reveal a tiny opening for Kirito to exploit. Needless to say, this was the long-ranged one-handed sword skill "Lightning Fall". Even though sword skills in this world didn't retain their elemental properties they had in ALO, the attack itself was undeniably lethal.
Yet…
"Huh?!"
… the armored knight ignored even this attack.
While 'Dark Repulsers' very tip perfectly struck the shoulder plate of it's target head on, the radiant armor remained unscratched. The sword skill was immediately cancelled due to an effect akin to striking an "Immortal Object" and Kirito helplessly plummeted to the ground, paralyzed by the sword skill's interruption penalty.
Towering above Kirito like a mountain, the gallant knight fluidly swung down his enormous broadsword with a degree of swiftness that Kirito thought to be impossible with his build. Nevertheless, even as he was denied the movement of his own body, Kirito followed the blade's descent with his peerless gaze.
There was no time to think about death. Fear and hesitation would only get him killed. Focusing his mind on the approaching edge, Kirito forced his right arm into motion the instant the frozen stasis left his body. A light green membrane barely tinted his azure sword when it collided with the Integrity Knight's broadsword; Kirito being at a major disadvantage due to the fact that he was still positioned directly underneath his enemies body.
Releasing a desperate roar, Kirito forced the one-handed defensive sword skill "Spinning Shield" into an early activation.
Under normal circumstances, "Spinning Shield" only reached it's maximum potential once it spun for around one to two seconds, at which point it's rotation speed surpassed human cognition and took the form of a semi-transparent shield in the hands of it's wielder. However, due to the special circumstances of this situation, Kirito forced his sword skill to collide with the enemy's sword while it was still gathering momentum, since allowing the sword to charge up any longer would have spelled certain death. While impossible to meet frontal attacks like this, Kirito's aim wasn't to completely cancel out the enemies attack in the first place.
The sword skill "Spinning Shield" was obviously meant to be used as a shield against incoming attacks, though at it's core it was a spinning sword rather than an actual shield. With that in mind, even though the sword skill had not fully activated yet, it was already spinning at an abnormally fast rate due to the system's assistance. By aiming at the side of the enemy's weapon, Kirito was barely able to divert it fast enough to change it's trajectory from the center of his chest to his left shoulder.
In spite of that, there was no way to completely prevent the attack. Crashing down with weight and speed on it's side, the broadsword crushed the metal plating on Kirito's left shoulder as it were made out of cardboard. Fortunately for Kirito, while this meant that he would keep his arm for yet another day, the impact damage of the blow fractured his humerus and rendered his left arm completely unusable for the time being. While Kirito didn't intend on using his injured left arm in the first place, the pain that accompanied the injury was still unfavorable.
Still, he judged the situation to be rather fortunate since at least his dominant right arm survived the exchange unscathed.
Taking advantage of Barbossa's briefly halted movements due to his sword's painful crash into rocky ground, Kirito hurled himself backwards and put several paces between him and his adversary. It was only then that Kirito released the breath he held captive in his lungs and eased his tense muscles.
"Those 'Secret Moves'… There is no doubt about it now. You are indeed a Knight serving under the dark legion, and a capable one at that. I have battled the dark forces for a long time now, but this is the first time I have seen anything quite like it… Tell me, where have you learned those 'Secret Moves'!"
With pearls of sweat dampening his hair and clothes, Kirito answered in between heavy breaths.
"For the last time, we aren't 'Darkness Knights', or whatever you call them. And aren't you forgetting that you started this fight?!"
Groaning in displeasure, the Integrity Knight replied, "Fine. It seems that you won't talk unless I beat you. Let us see which one is superior, your 'Secret Moves' or my Armor."
Positioning his shield, or rather, his iron wall in front of himself, Barbossa charged at Kirito with the might of an enraged bull.
Ignoring the stinging numbness of his left arm, Kirito returned to his original objective. No matter how tough the armor, as long as he could aim for the gaps between the numerous armor pieces he should at least be able to pile up some serious damage if he avoided being hit by the knight's attacks.
Responding to the enemy's charge by sprinting towards him as well, the two combatants covered the remaining distance in a matter of seconds. The moment he entered Barbossa's range, Kirito pulled back his right sword arm and stomped hard onto the ground, propelling himself high into the air once again. Effectively dodging the shield bash that his opponent chained at the end of his charge, Kirito, who was now just above his Barbossa's head, spun in a sideways fashion and used the momentum of the spin to smash his blade directly into the center of his enemy's helmet.
However, other than the faded yellow trajectory of the one-handed counter sword skill "Crescent Divide" that glistered on the polished steel, the seemingly unbreakable armor remained unscathed once more.
"Tch!"
Visibly displeased, Kirito didn't expect this attack to have any effect in the first place, but couldn't deny the sense of disappointment that built up in his heart. After all, it was a high leveled sword skill especially effective against armored units that players had affectionately nicknamed "Helm-splitter". Seeing how this sword skill was practically useless against his current foe, it was only reasonable for Kirito to be disappointed.
Regardless, as soon as his feet made contact with the hard ground the black swordsman struck at his opponents sword arm in quick succession, placing heavy emphasis on joints and gaps between the overlapping armor pieces. Again, each time Kirito's sword made contact with the plated armor his sword merely bounced and scraped against the metal with no effect.
Ducking under Barbossa's left arm as he performed a wide horizontal sweep attack, Kirito seemingly sheathed his blade on his left hip, causing the blazing blue flames of the one-handed sword skill "Slant" to lick his azure blade. Striking the shoulder joints with an empowered strike, Kirito finally felt a positive response, as his sword actually managed to slightly sink into the hidden chainmail underneath the armor instead of bouncing off like it usually did. While not dealing any actual damage, Kirito was content with this level of progress.
Reactivating "Slant" at the top of his right shoulder, Kirito brought the blade down the same trajectory in order to meet the incoming shield-bash that was executed by the knight's right shield-arm.
Though easy to read and relatively slow, even with the aid of the system assist Kirito's attack did little to stop the giant's powerful attack, causing him to easily be blown into a large boulder before he could recover his footing.
Refusing to allow Kirito a moment of rest, Barbossa rammed his enormous shield into the space right next to Kirito, literally placing an impassable wall next to him and cutting off his escape route.
Glancing to his right, Kirito could see how Barbossa's broadsword was already closing in at frightening speed. With the boulder at his back, the shield to his left, and the enemies weapon closing in from his right, Kirito moved into the only direction left to him.
Forward.
The burning orange arc left by his opponents sword was the last thing Barbossa saw before Kirito completely vanished from his sight.
"How did he-?!"
Before the bulky knight could finish his thought, he felt two heavy impacts detonate against his right shoulder. Only then did he catch a glimpse of the flattering black long-coat again; barely in range of his limited vision.
While it was true that his armor was perfect in terms of absolute defense, it was inevitable that one would have to sacrifice a certain degree of mobility. Even though the heavy knight was still surprisingly nimble for his size, which had caught Kirito off-guard already, the was no possible way to compensate for the limited field of vision that was a natural result of wearing such a monstrous helmet. In other words, the tides turned into Kirito's favor the moment Barbossa decided to engage him at ultra close range.
Activating "Meteor Break", Kirito aimed the first two vertical slashes at the soft spot he had discovered just before, narrowly dislocating the heavy armor plates just enough to reveal a glimpse of the chainmail underneath.
With his sword now seemingly stationary high up in midair, Kirito was mere instants away from having a large broadsword lodge itself into his right abdomen, until the raging orange aura of his sword slowly spread to his left shoulder like hungry forest fire.
Performing a brutish tackle with his entire body, Kirito was miraculously able to evade the lethal trap laid to by his opposing foe by effectively dodging straight into his sword's attack range, to the point where even if his opponent altered the trajectory of his swing, he would only be able to hit Kirito with his hilt and pommel. With nothing left to cut but empty air, Barbossa's sword continued on to smash against his own shield, sending a jolt of paralyzing numbness through his palm.
Not letting this chance simply pass by, Kirito continued on with his ongoing sword skill and delivered a powerful downward slash at the identical spot his previous attacks had been targeted at. With no trace of hesitation upsetting the fluidity and swiftness of his actions, Kirito once again rammed his body into that of the bulky knight's, this time causing him to stagger backwards by a single step.
It was now or never.
With balance and stance broken, Kirito spotted his only chance to deliver a fatal blow against the holy knight.
For the first time in this battle, Barbossa let doubt taint his mind. Just how powerful was that soldier he had previously underestimated. While definitely a part to it, his true strength was by no means limited to his abundant variety of secret moves. No. This boy himself was a born swordsman, tempered by unimaginably dreadful events into the demonic blade he is now.
But even so…
"… that's not enough to break through my Armor!"
The echoes of his roaring howl reverberated inside his sturdy helm and hit Kirito almost like a physical force. Abandoning his shield and sword, Barbossa didn't even try to pull them back to block Kirito's relentless attacks, and instead focused his entire willpower on the immortality that was his armor.
Momentarily flinching due to the intensity of his opponents roar, Kirito seriously considered whether or not that was an actual physical attack. Convincing himself that it was all in his mind, Kirito prepared for his final assault.
Unleashing the final horizontal hit of "Meteor Break" unto his opponent's supposed weak spot, the minuscule gap he had aimed for now widened for the briefest of moments. Intuitively folding up his arm that had just performed a left-to-right horizontal slash with the help of the residual motion left over from the powerful attack, the flickering orange flames that engulfed his 'Dark Repulser' never had a chance to extinguish before the violent and erratic inferno of dark crimson burst forth.
The most formidable defense could only be matched by the deadliest offense.
The sword skill he associated most to his self image of "The Black Swordsman".
Preparing to unleash the flames of hell unto the unprotected chainmail of his foe, Kirito clad his transparent sword with the iconic particle effect of "Vorpal Strike".
The earsplitting sound of jet engines accompanied the instantaneous forward propulsion of his sword. Ramming his sword straight into the small gap he had tirelessly worked on to reveal, Kirito's "Vorpal Strike" should have easily been able to rip through the chainmail, loosening the armor's fortitude from the inside. Once that had been accomplished, Kirito should have been able to strip the Integrity Knight of his armor piece by piece until he was vulnerable enough to be dealt the final blow.
With that in mind, Kirito pushed forth his blade with everything he got, but was instantly denied of his wishful thinking.
"Wha-?!"
Even though he had clearly felt a soft response previously when hitting the chainmail with "Slant", Kirito's current "Vorpal Strike" was unable to even budge as single metal piece.
At this point, the chainmail Kirito struck at couldn't even be called armor anymore. What Kirito was struggling against should already be considered an Immortal Object!
"How is this even possible?!"
Shocked to his very core, Kirito was unable to collect his scattered thoughts. It simply made no sense. Even though his sword's tip was clearly making contact with the chainmail underneath the armor, the response fighting against his palm was several times more intense and painful than the sensation of hitting the heavy plated metal.
"Is it an armor buff?! No, it can't be, that guy didn't even chant magic or anything like that. In the first place, magic probably doesn't even exist in this world. Did I hit the wrong spot?! That can't be it either! Why then?! Why?! If I don't think of something fast-"
Just when Kirito arrived at that thought, the erratic particle affect covering his sword started to flicker at irregular intervals. Even if his sword skill wasn't interrupted or broken, if Kirito would remain in the same position for an extended period of time, the sword skill would deactivate automatically, leaving him completely vulnerable to any counter-attack his enemy had in store.
However, at the height of his panic, just when his sword's light flickered for the fourth time, he noticed something strange.
Maybe it was just an illusion or a side effect of the sword skill's intense shine, but just above the chainmail surface, thinner than a silky veil, a microscopic membrane covered each and every metal ring. Now that Kirito noticed, it wasn't just the chainmail that was covered in that bizarre light, but the entirety of his opponent's armor.
"A sword skill?! No that can't be, I don't remember a sword skill with the ability of buffing someone's armor. In the first place, that wouldn't even be a sword skill anymore… Then what is it?"
"Confused boy?", the divine knight asked his perplexed adversary.
"This is why the forces of darkness will never triumph over the light. We are all that is good in this world. We are justice itself. As if the trickery of Vector could ever harm us. You must be joking if you seriously thought you had a chance to pierce my immortal armor. While I do commend you for your spirit and courage, I will now show you the true difference between me and you. Behold. This is the extent of my willpower!"
As soon as he finished his small speech, Barbossa stomped hard on the ground and pressed his body against Kirito's blade. If anything, this was the perfect display of his unwavering confidence his in armor. Seemingly transforming that confidence into a physical shield, the holy Integrity Knight pressed forward once more and accomplished the unthinkable.
"That … that is impossible …", muttered Kirito.
His eyes widened, and his body frozen due to the shock, Kirito fell backwards on his back … holding "Dark Repulsers" shattered remains in his palm.
Pulling out the other half of the sword that had now shattered into two pieces from his right shoulder, Barbossa walked over to his shield he had dropped in the previous struggle.
"I don't blame you boy. On the contrary, I am in awe. You fought me, Barbossa Synthesis Five, in a fair battle and survived for this long. If you weren't a pawn of evil, you would be revered as a hero."
After re-equipping it on his right arm, the knight walked over to Kirito who had seemingly collected himself, the hilt of 'Dark Repulser' seen sheathed on his back.
"If it weren't for that fire in your eyes, I'd reckon you gave up. Tell me boy, what else can you do in this state. Your left arm is injured and one of your swords is broken. Do yourself a favor and surrender."
He was right.
There was nothing Kirito could do right now.
He was tired, injured, and completely unprepared for battle. If it had been anyone else, they'd already be dead by now.
Still, there was one thing the foolish knight had already long forgotten.
He wasn't alone.
Having become careless due to the heat of his previous bout, Barbossa had naively forgotten about the black swordsman's silent ally, until the firing hammer's echo registered in his mind.
"The girl!?"
Turning around just in time for the explosive auditory impact to strike his ears, Barbosa was able to spot a bright flash being emitted by the mysterious weapon that the girl was now handling with both hands. While she was seemingly casually lying on the ground in a harmless posture, the courageous knight suddenly felt arctic fear carve itself into his heart for the first time.
There was no way of telling what she had just done.
Was it a sacred art? Was it a curse? Some sort of black magic?
He didn't know.
All he knew was that the instant he spotted her ice cold, machine-like eyes through the unfamiliar tube attached to the top of the strange contraption, he knew that he had to do something, anything, to guard himself from the unknown threat.
Following the girl's line of sight that aimed directly at his heart, the Integrity Knight instinctively pulled up his massive shield with frightened haste. Whether it was due to his gods' blessings or simply stroke of luck, Barbossa barely managed to contort his body enough to hide it in his shields shadow; the mysterious glow that previously radiated from his armor now completely gone.
Nevertheless, a shield mattered little when faced with an anti-tank rifle.
Completely shattering the top right quadrant of his shield, the bullet, albeit missing it's original target, easily breached the knight's absolute defense and viciously connected with his heavy armored left shoulder. Blowing away any sort of worn armament in an instant, Barbossa hardly survived with his left shoulder intact. With metal and chains now gone, the knight's final defense seemed to be a thick leather tunic worn underneath his armor, a tunic stained in dark red from the bleeding skin it aimed to protect.
While marveling at her target's outstanding ability to deflect a certain deathblow from what could be considered point blank range, it was an undeniable fact that Sinon missed. Cursing herself for an outcome she had no influence over, she hurriedly reached for her last bullet in her pouch, determined not to miss a second time.
Meanwhile, Barbossa forcefully shut out the distracting throbs of his left shoulder and shifted his immediate focus to the unfathomable threat that had just easily pierced his defenses.
"System Call!"
Merely by uttering this single phrase, the air seemed to change around him.
"Generate Thermal Element!"
On his outstretched left palm, his broadsword already discarded onto the nearby ground, five flickering flames burst into existence on each of his fingers, awaiting their master's next command.
"Is that … magic?!", Kirito observed, astounded more by the fact that the knight chanted the ritual in english than by the actual existence of mage-craft in this world.
Sinon too was taken aback by the sudden development, her surprise slowing down her reload process by the briefest of moments.
"Form Element, Bird Shape! Target Enemy Unit!"
The Integrity Knight swiftly continued his short chant, the intention of it now crystal clear to his two opponents. The five miniature phoenixes danced around Barbossa's fingers, eager to descend upon their target with fiery vigor. Just as Sinon pulled back the heavy bolt to load her last bullet into the chamber, Barbossa shouted the order.
"Discharge!"
Though not as fast as a bullet, the bird shaped creatures quickly shot forward like arrows released from a groaning bowstring.
"Sinon! Get out of the way!", Kirito impulsively screamed as he catapulted himself forward, using "Rage Spike" to chase after the five magical projectiles.
Catching up the fast moving threats in an instant due to "Rage Spike's" focus on speed and range, Kirito aimed to take advantage of their linear flight path to hit at least four of them with the single iconic upward slash of his sword skill. Aware of the fact that the original "Rage Spike" he used did not retain the 20% Lightning attribute it possessed in ALO, essentially making his OSS "Spell Blast" impossible, Kirito bet on the slim chance that the structural design of magic in this world differed from that of ALO. What gave Kirito this idea was no more than a hunch, instinct even. Since this world was entirely made out of mnemonic data instead of virtual polygons, with even it's inhabitants seemingly "living" compared to simply "existing", the composition of magic must have undergone a significant change as well.
And he was correct.
With magic in this world not just existing of a virtual core surrounded by visual effects, the flying birds were almost like actual manifested phenomena. Kirito felt bizarre feedback transmitted to him by "Elucidator" as he sliced through the first bird as if slicing a tough flame with physical body. However, just as he chipped the wing of the second bird, the first one's death caused a small sized explosion at the side of Kirito's sword and lead to a chain reaction that detonated the two other adjacent birds. While the force of the blast was mainly absorbed by "Elucidator", the impact was strong enough to knock Kirito off his feet and slam him harshly onto the rocky ground.
Yet his sacrifice was not in vain. Due to the powerful blast, the remaining two birds were pushed aside of their original trajectory and halted their flight temporarily as they frantically flapped their wings to regain their balance. That was all the time Sinon needed. Before the spring feather could push the horizontal iron bolt back into place, Sinon's fingers already found their place on the trigger.
Neither rushing nor panicking, she took a single glance through the scope.
Two flaming birds cut through the air as she fixed her muzzle on her target's heart.
Under Sinon's command her Hecate sang the song of death.
Immediately after pulling down on the trigger, Sinon pushed the ground hard with her left arm and leg, throwing her body out of the birds' explosive radius. However, she couldn't completely dodge the attacks and was burnt by violent blasts near her waist and abdomen, unable to stifle a breathless moan as her nervous system lit up in pain.
But the bullet was fired.
Barbossa was aware that there was no way of dodging this attack as he previously had. He had just finished chanting and his body was nowhere near ready to vault out of the way. There was no more time to recite the "Armament Full Control Art", though even if he had the chance to prepare it, he doubted it could take that unfathomably powerful attack head-on without receiving irreparable damage.
Despite that, he had no intention of going down without a fight.
Positioning the very center of his shield in front of his heart, Barbossa leaned forward while lowering his center of gravity in order to root himself into the ground like a medieval castle's iron gate. As he consciously poured all of his remaining pride and willpower into his invincible armor the faint white glow resurfaced, only this time shining more brightly and erratically. The pulsing light gathered at his shield's center to the extent that it seemed as if a separate convex layer formed on top of it, acting like an additional defensive layer.
Bulging out to meet Sinon's bullet head on, the two forces' collision was accompanied by the mind-shattering noise of metal being torn apart.
Barbossa's embodied willpower was nearly perfect in every way. Against any other opponent or weapon, this kind of shield would have thwarted any attack or scheme the enemy would have been able to come up with. However, his opponents wasn't just anybody.
Not only did the mystery surrounding the two unknown warriors plant seeds of unrest and doubt deep inside his mind, Sinon's first breech also shook the indomitable foundation that made up his belief to it's core; his trust in his invincible armor. With those cracks weakening his incarnate ability's power from the inside, the best his shield could do was weaken the blow.
Though slowing the bullet down by an admittedly significant amount, it was not enough to stop it completely. After chewing through the white film as if in slow motion, the bullet sped up once penetrating it and mercilessly plunged itself into the shield's core.
Over the period of short instants, cracking and tearing noises joined the already unbearable pandemonium of scraping metal as the cracks in the shield formed a star shaped pattern, the point of impact it's center. After a final auditory outburst, Hecate's bullet shattered the armament and any other worn equipment into countless pieces, pieces of seared bone and flesh clinging to any debris wildly scattered into the air.
Barbossa's forearm had now vanished into beet red mist and the little that remained of his arm was nothing but a torn up bloody stump. Nothing could stop or divert the bullet now. Edging closer and closer to his sternum, the weakened bullet deeply buried itself far into his armor as if shying away from the sun's light and hiding itself in the metal confinement. It was only then that it's movements halted.
However, the body that absorbed the impact was abruptly lifted into the air and ruthlessly propelled backwards by several meters, the entire armor plating covering his chest now scattered like dust.
Drawing geysers of dirt into the placid air as he slid across the ground, Barbossa's limp body finally came to a halt near the river exiting from the cave's mouth. His right arm dipped into the freezing water and his blood stained the tranquil river like a ruby serpent slithering across it's surface.
Then … silence.
The combatants motionlessly lay on the ground waiting for the dust to clear, the reverberating echoes to dissipate, and warmth to return to their worn out muscles.
For what seemed to be an eternity, an intolerable nothingness descended upon the battlefield.
Author's Note
Sorry about that abrupt end, but this chapter was actually supposed to continue on for around 2,000 words, which explains why the end just doesn't really seem to fit. The reason why I ended it so suddenly is simply because the chapter got way too long. Even though I have posted a 10,000 word chapter before, I realized that that might be tough to read in one go, and that you guys might prefer reading such a huge block of text when separated into different segments. Even so, this chapter already surpassed 5,000 words, which is my current upper limit of acceptable chapter length that won't bore a reader...
So yeah, since I am still learning the ropes I hope you guys understand, but just tell me whether or not you are fine with longer chapters, because then I won't have to artificially split them up anymore.
