Chapter Fourteen:
The Halls of the Departed
Part Three: Argonauts
4
Moments after Damian had disappeared into the tunnel beyond the invisible wall which blocked their entry to the Halls of the Departed, a worried Marigan sent Hisako to gather both battalions currently resting outside of town. She then messaged the other five regiments in the field to start making their way back towards the Town of Beginnings for additional support.
Meanwhile, the observant Argo had begun examining every crack and crevice of the surrounding wall, desperately searching for any secret switch or hidden latch. After thirty minutes of intense investigation, she'd only managed to find a small opening set into the right-hand side of the unseen barrier which she could poke her finger into...
It reminded her of a keyhole.
By that time, with all remaining sixty-seven players of the two battalions of the Legion guild gathered around her, Commander Marigan had formulated a six-shield, six-spear assault unit which would fit very nicely into the narrow hallway of the Halls of the Departed…
Should they ever gain access to it.
The first three shield-bearers would kneel down and cover the bottom three feet from the floor while the next three shields-bearers would crouch just behind them, angling their shields to protect the next two-and-a-half feet. The remaining six Phalanx members would then bring up the rear in two rows of three, using both hands on their spears, employing a 'Forward Thrust' attack over the first six shield-bearers while remaining completely protected.
It was a smaller variation of a dungeon formation codenamed 'Protect and Poke' they had designed earlier.
While Marigan had no idea if a threat actually existed within the curving hallway that had swallowed up young Damian like some giant stone serpent, she had a feeling that there was something in there…
Something bad.
As the exasperated Argo finally succumbed to the challenge of the invisible wall and slid her back down against its unbreakable force field in mounting frustration, she attempted to distract her agitated mind by watching Marigan put the soldiers through their paces in a new attack formation; six shields protecting six spears.
She couldn't help but smile as the tall woman made small adjustments to the position of each shield before backing up and charging at the wall at a full sprint, tackling the six shields to ensure it would hold against her assault.
Argo quietly wondered though if Marigan was feeling just as useless as she was regarding the current situation with Damian...
More than an hour had passed since the time Damian had become separated from the group when Argo suddenly received a transfer request pop-up screen from him...
"MARIGAN!"
As the tall blonde warrior quickly made her way towards the entrance, the nervous Argo accepted the request and found that Damian was transferring the princely sum of 49,016 Col and an item named 'Keys to the Black Iron Palace' to her.
As the wide-eyed Marigan peered down at the younger player's transfer screen, the guild's Commander quickly began to surmise what this new information meant…
"This tunnel must have been a hidden single-player quest to open up the Black Iron Palace."
"But where did he get forty-nine thousand Col from?!"
"A really big treasure chest?"
Argo instinctively transferred the over forty-nine thousand Col into the Legion guild's treasury and then tapped the newly acquired item's cursor, instantly feeling the weight of large iron keys materialize in her right hand.
Keys…
The revelation struck Argo like a bolt from the blue as she immediately spun towards the entryway. Carefully running her fingers along the invisible barrier, the young woman discovered the unseen gap she had only recently uncovered before frantically manoeuvring one of the iron keys into its hole...
A perfect fit!
There was a high-pitched sound like fine crystal shattering as the tunnel's location cursor suddenly reappeared just inside the entranceway before them…
The Halls of the Departed
Cautiously extending her hand further through the doorway's opening, Argo soon discovered that the unseen barrier was no longer preventing them from going after Damian.
A firm hand clapped her on the shoulder as the much taller Marigan smiled.
"Good work, little cat-girl. I'll get the first assault team ready!"
As they turned to prepare their rescue mission, the two women watched in disbelief as the speeding Hisako Li Shun tore past them both at a full sprint, her recently acquired rapier still dangling from her side as nothing more than mere decoration. As a Phalanx runner, Hisako was one of a very few players to actually select the 'Sprint' skill and most likely one of the fastest players in the game…
But it had cost her dearly.
As her character had been intended as nothing more than a lure by Shouichi and his criminal cronies, Hisako's first two skills had been 'Sprint' and 'Fighting Spirit', the same skills which made her an ideal lure.
The sword she carried at her side was practically useless as she had no 'Rapier' skill to utilize it.
The two surprised women watched as Hisako disappeared like a blur into the hall's blue-tinged darkness until Marigan quickly recovered, turning in shock and staring down at the smaller Argo with concern written across her wide green eyes. Without a single word being spoken, the girl knew exactly what those eyes were imploring her to do, even without Marigan having to utter a single word.
"Alright, alright, fine… I'll go after her."
Although Argo was her battalion's runner along with Damian, neither of them were as fast as Hisako by any stretch of the imagination. Still, Argo knew she'd be a lot faster than the soldiers Marigan was currently organizing behind her. Her only hope was that if Hisako did encounter anything dangerous that she'd at least have the good sense to turn around and not engage it.
As Argo ran into the darkness towards blue light, the ever-present nightmare flashed before her eyes yet again, causing the former Beta-tester to attempt to purge it from her mind. That constantly looping memory of her father crossing a busy intersection in the Koto ward of Tokyo, suddenly looking up to wave to his awaiting daughter a split second before the screeching tires of a distracted driver sent his body careening forward like a tumbling weed into the path of an oncoming truck...
Where he was killed instantly.
That scene unfolded again like a slow-motion nightmare, those three seconds of her life which had haunted her waking memories ever since…
And in some cruel twist of fate, the reserved copy of Sword Art Online which he had picked up from the office that morning had remained unscathed, tumbling along the street towards her as the truck pinned her father under its wide wheels…
Takahiro Aoi had been a senior programming engineer for Sword Art Online and by sheer coincidence, on the date of the game's launch a week ago, her father would have also turned forty-years-old. They'd planned to celebrate that milestone by participating in the game's official launch together…
Father and daughter.
After his tragic death, Argo's reluctant participation in the game's launch had only been to honour that commitment, to once again gaze upon the virtual world which her father had helped create, secretly hoping that a part of him was still left here for her to find, some last gift which he'd hidden for her alone…
It had actually been her father who had urged her to become a Beta-tester. He'd also suggested that she become an Information Broker in order to help steer players towards certain areas to aid with game development. Besides, with her inside knowledge of Sword Art Online, it would've been unfair for her character to join a party or to fight on the front lines, so Argo had portrayed herself as money-hungry Information Broker to aid in SAO's development.
Her father had also reasoned (correctly) that other players would reveal their true feelings about the game's unique challenges much more candidly to a fellow player rather than the official feedback forms required by the Argus Corporation for its Beta-testers.
It always made her feel like she'd been a spy for Argus.
Even her character name 'Argo' had been chosen by her father, taken from the fabled ship which had carried the heroic Jason and his legendary Argonauts on their various quests across the seas of ancient lands, constructed by the master shipwright for which it had been named…
Argus.
But now, Akihiko Kayaba had stolen her precious dream of finding any last remnants of her father's late genius in this world he'd helped create...
This beautiful world of imagination had been corrupted into nothing more than killing fields flowing with the blood of the players…
As she ran along a twisting tunnel, Argo forced her mind back to the present, pushing herself past the empty alcoves which listed Sword Art Online player names alphabetically in an endless blur...
Where was Hisako?!
5
Hisako Li Shun had never intended to play the hero and run off by herself down the twisting corridor in search of the missing Damian, but there had been one word spoken in her mind after the shattering sound of the invisible barrier being broken as Marigan and Argo stood by its sides…
Run!
The long-haired girl now sprinted along the bending hallway while empty alcoves blurred past her, the perception of their flickering blue torches soon transformed into nothing more than cerulean speed lines. Although she was a fast runner in the real world, it was nothing compared to the speed she could attain in Sword Art Online.
She was the fastest runner in the game. And why shouldn't she should be?…
Hisako Li Shun had been running like this for half her life.
She'd only been eight years old when the Chinese government had made her father simply disappear, taken away by the dreaded secret police only hours before her family had intended to flee to Japan to avoid possible detainment after his latest published story.
It was the last time she'd ever seen him.
Her father, Jié Li Shun, was an outspoken critic of China's human rights abuses and a noted web journalist, a dangerous combination in light of that country's totalitarian regime. It hadn't been the first time he had been brought in for 'questioning', but this time, he would never be heard from again.
In the eight years since they had fled from China to her mother's homeland of Japan, both Hisako and her distraught mother had been constantly fearful of extradition, continually maintaining a low profile in the country where her mother still held citizenship. Cryptic notes to their remaining family members in China confirmed that both their names had appeared on the Chinese Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's list.
Soon after their arrival, even the Japanese authorities had visited her grandparents' home inquiring about their current whereabouts.
Her mother had been able to take an unreported position as a maid within the expansive Shinkawa residence which provided room, board and a meagre income for the pair. Once her own Japanese citizenship had been obtained, the young Hisako had begrudgingly attended a local school, always looking over her shoulder for any spies or secret agents who might be lurking in the shadows, patiently waiting for her…
This was the reason why she had continuously run along the busy streets of Tokyo.
It had been silly and perhaps unnecessary, but it made her feel safe. If she was running, it meant no one could catch her. But her reassuring speed soon became only one more reason for the sickly Shouichi Shinkawa to hate her, contemptuously watching from his bedroom window in the real world as she ran to school without stopping, a frightened little rabbit he could catch in a snare.
She secretly feared that Shouichi or even his brother Kyouji might one day discover her dangerous secret along with its dire consequences. If the Shinkawa children caused her mother to lose her position with their wealthy family, what would happen to them then?
For Hisako Li Shun, the week she had spent within the world of Aincrad had been a welcome relief. Here, the monsters all had red cursors floating above their heads and criminal players had orange ones. And she'd made friends that didn't care about her past.
Things were simple.
But even in this strange new world, she still felt safest when she was running. Speed had become like a child's security blanket to her, keeping her safe from harm. Her 'Sprint' skill was already above 300, higher than most frontline players' weapon skills, her speed far faster than any monster they'd encountered.
She could always run away.
But now, she was running towards something.
As Hisako ran through the twisting corridor, she almost streaked past Damian as he clung to the side of the wall, weakly steadying himself to keep from falling over. Quickly stopping to join the eleven-year-old, Hisako immediately noticed that the boy was in dire peril...
Damian's health bar was deep into the red zone and there was also a 'Poison' icon beside it.
Opening her own menu, the young woman quickly retrieved her single Healing Potion and held it out for him.
Damian declined it in a rasping voice, waving her gift aside, watching his health take the last fatal tick downwards, that last instant where his slim red line of six Hit Points would vanish due to the poison coursing through his digital veins and finally kill him…
It stopped at 1 Hit Point.
Somehow, he was still alive.
As his fevered mind attempted to comprehend why he wasn't dead, Hisako stubbornly held the potion in front of him, unwavering in her conviction as she popped its glass cork off with her thumb.
"Drink."
Unable to argue further, Damian reluctantly took the potion from her and managed to drink it as instructed, instantly adding 250 Hit Points to the single point he had remaining...
But even with the additional health, the Poison status remained. He would still be losing Hit Points every turn, giving him perhaps twenty minutes to escape the Halls of the Departed and find an antidote crystal.
He groaned as he attempted to stagger forward…
Although his Hit Points may have recovered, he was now feeling worse than ever, his body almost crumpling over in pure agony.
"Hisako, leave me here… I need an antidote crystal… I'll just slow you down… There's over four hundred… player-zombies just behind me… Go… Save yourself!"
In spite of his request, Hisako Li Shun grabbed his arm around and slung it around her slender shoulder to support the smaller Damian as the two of them began staggering towards the exit together. While she didn't have the Strength stat to actually carry him, she was able to support his wobbly legs.
"Help is on the way, Damian-san… There's two battalions in front of us."
"Won't be… enough."
"There's also Marigan."
Damian made a sound somewhere between a cough and a chuckle, repressing the urge to be violently ill as they slowly stepped ahead while a horde of undead players crested the curve behind them…
In desperation, they continued this slow and unsteady pace with the Undead persistently gaining ground until they came upon an unexpected sight...
Standing in the middle of the hallway was the cloaked and breathless Argo staring back at the both of them in shared surprise, as though she hadn't expected to find them here either.
"Are you… alright… Dami-chan?"
He answered with more of a groan than a word.
"… no."
As the whisker-painted Argo stole a quick glance at Damian's status, the younger girl opened her inventory menu and tapped the 'Antidote Crystal' icon she had only just acquired from a costly trade with a frontline player. She knew from experience that it would come in handy on the second floor, even if the other player didn't.
Lifting the green crystal and pointing it directly at Damian, she spoke the words to activate it…
"Cure: Damian!"
In a flash of green light, Damian's 'Poison' status was instantly replaced by the word 'Sick' while Argo scratched her head and stared at him curiously before turning her attention back to the expired emerald crystal in her hand, quickly tapping it with her fingers as though it had been defective when it burst into sparkly green polygons.
"That's weird… What's Sick?... I've never heard of it before."
"We've got… to move… There's an army… of the Undead… just behind me."
As though in response to his gasping words, Argo's pale brown eyes suddenly went wide with fear as she looked up and spotted the first of the glowing blue dead players only forty feet behind them, with even more of these gruesome creatures were continuously spilling into view, lumbering towards them like a scene from a late night horror movie.
Without another word, the diminutive Argo quickly slipped under Damian's other shoulder as the three of them began to stumble forward like some mismatched team in a bizarre three-legged race, two girls practically dragging the struggling Damian between them.
Both women now understood that a stumble at this point could end their lives as they engaged in a horrific race against death.
Author's Note: Ah, the power of FanFic... I've drastically altered Argo's origin from the source material where she's simply a player who will sell any tidbit of information for money. At the time of this writing, Argo's true origin (including her real name) has yet to be divulged in SAO canon.