Sword Art Online: Black Ranger
Chapter 21: Azure Islands Part 6
A/N: Welcome back all, thanks for the reviews and follows :) there is a poll up please see bottom of chapter for more info anyway firstly a warning:
Warning minor coarse language and scenes are within this chapter reader discretion is advised, by reading this chapter you agree that I am not responsible for anything you do not like and that you chose to read this on your own free will.
Ok so now that we have that out of the way Sword Art Online is not owned by me.
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As the breeze settled down Kirito continued to stare at the monstrous field boss. Staring at King Pikey was not a pleasant experience for Kirito but he could take his eyes away, out of fear that the giant monster would attack, beside him Midnight was growling at the giant monster unaware of its giant size. Taking a step backwards Kirito began to assess the situation he was currently in the bow in his hand felt loose and cold, the air around him began to get colder and colder as King Pikey released a powerful aura.
Slowly King Pikey's other hand rose up gripping to a gigantic trike and as the monster continued to rise from the depths of the sixth floor the size of it would have made the average player scream out in terror. But as Kirito studied his surroundings, he noticed the exit to the third island could be seen at the far side of the chasm, looking to his right he could make out the shape of a bridge but his main problem was if he even attempted to cross the bridge this field boss would attack, in fact Kirito was sure that if he moved in any shape or form the boss would attack this was an extremely dangerous situation.
He wasn't prepared to fight it head on if he did that the boss would most likely kill him, a different option was to run and fire arrows from different positions but without knowing its reflex times it was unpredictable to know how the fight would proceed.
Time seemed to slow down as Kirito thought about it more and more but still no solution could be found, until Kirito remembered something, the scrolls on the table back in Crowtis Cave, there had to be something there written on them about how to defeat King Pikey.
Trying to remember, Kirito went through the information he got from looking at the scrolls, from the information he gathered the current floor boss was rumoured to be god like but this was simply a legend within the game and whether the information was true was another story but sometimes there is always a small amount of truth in legends but that information didn't help here Kirito was facing a field boss that nearly rivalled the floor boss.
Thinking long and hard Kirito suddenly remembered and gave a smirk, King Pikey was a field boss because there was a major problem within its defence, the one problem had in its defence was that attacks did more damage on the back of the neck…
Placing Midnight in taunt mode, Kirito move slightly rightward towards the bridge, his plan was to jump onto the back of the field boss and attack its neck, while the field boss was distracted by Midnight who was barking and dodging attacks that King Pikey sent at it Kirito crouched slowly onto the bridge and as he reached the centre he prepared himself, he jump from the bridge to the field boss was around ten metres, this proved to be a problem as if Kirito jumped he would most likely be able to jump around three metres this put seven metres between them but there had to be another way.
There was only one way to get the field boss close to him, Kirito had to attack the field boss, if things played out as he had planned the field boss would move closer to him, but on the other hand the field boss could simply twist and stab its trike at Kirito it could go either way.
Selecting passive mode for Midnight's behaviour, Kirito took aim and shot an arrow at the torso of the field boss, as the arrow hit King Pikey turned its head to Kirito and started to move towards him. It was here fate would decide whether the field boss would attack using its trike or move closer to him.
As if fate had a hand in the decision, King Pikey moved closer to Kirito shortening the distance between Kirito and the boss. As the boss got closer and closer, Kirito leaned backwards and leapt towards the boss. As Kirito jumped over the gap between the boss and himself he felt himself starting to fall.
Reaching out his hand Kirito just caught the end of the trike and as he hanged over the chasm king pikey started to shake the trike. As the motion of the field boss increased Kirito reached up to hold onto the trike with two hands. King pikey was practically slamming the trike but Kirito remained calm and held tight to the trike and as the trike slowed for a second Kirito rocked his body and swung himself over the field boss and onto his head.
Without a moment's hesitation Kirito readied his bow and unleashed Shock Arrow into the flesh of the field boss's neck. The boss roared in agony as it shook around trying to get its attacker off its back. Gritting his teeth as he experienced severe shakes Kirito unleashed four more shock arrows into the flesh of the boss causing more pain and agony to the field boss.
As the boss withered and shook about, Kirito stored his bow back in the inventory and brought out one of his swords, readying his blade, Kirito waited for a moment before stabbing downwards and the blade made contact the boss gave out a gasp of some kind before Kirito performed Spin Slash to cause internal bleeding.
As the boss's health dropped down to one and a half bars, the field boss reached a hand up and grabbed Kirito causing the blade to remain wedged within the monster and as Kirito struggled trying to get free, fear started to settle again as the boss rose the hand higher and higher as if getting ready to slam Kirito into the cold rock of the chasm.
Kirito's blade was still causing bleeding damaged and would remain there until the sword was pulled out of the blue skin but the damage it was doing wasn't enough and Kirito would surely be killed before the health bar dropped to zero.
Was this it? Was this the end of the road for him? Surely the adventure and his life wouldn't end here? But Kirito couldn't see a way out thinking fast, Kirito went over several solutions he had Midnight but he was in passive mode if only he could get one hand free he could use him as bait to attack the boss. Another solution was to trying and get his hand free and reach for the sword but required the use of his arm getting free but he had to act now which plan would he try?
Frowning, Kirito gritted his teeth as he struggled to move his right arm out of the grip of the field boss, the grip was tight but as Kirito forced his arm up and out of King Pikey's grip strained started to affect him, keeping a strong mind, Kirito gave a cry as he forced his arm out of the grip.
Opening his menu, Kirito went to the pet section and set Midnight into attack mode, the wolf growled and attacked the monster holding its master by leaping at its face, as Midnights jaws came into contact with the face of King Pikey, the field boss gave cried in agony and released its grip on Kirito sending him flying into the air.
Repositioning himself Kirito grabbed the hilt of the sword wedged into the neck of King Pikey and pulled the sword out causing another round of cries which were muffled thank to Midnight gripping its jaws to King Pikey's face.
Climbing up to on top of the field boss's head Kirito stood up and opened his menu and set Midnight into Guard mode it was time to finish this fight. Feeling the weight of the second blade Kirito drew the blue bladed sword and began to spin the sword before unleashing Moonlit Burst. As King Pikey was knocked forward Kirito back flipped onto the exit side of the chasm and took several steps backwards and watched as king Pikey stumbled for a few seconds before falling down into the dark depths of the Chasm.
Storing his blades onto his back Kirito turned his back away from the chasm and began to walk away he was nearly out when King Pikey's hand grabbed Kirito by the legs and started to drag him back towards the chasm.
Hitting the surface Kirito desperately tried to hold onto something, he was currently dangling over the chasm and he was started to lose his grip. Seeing it's master in danger Midnight leapt and bit the arm of King Pikey and allowed Kirito to be free of the monstering grip. Looking down Kirito saw Midnight and King Pikey fall further into the depths of the chasm.
"No!" Shouted Kirito as he reached a hand out towards the falling companion. "Midnight!"
The sound of particles could be heard as Kirito hanged on the edge, dragging himself up onto the ledge Kirito panted heavily the battle had been won but at a great cost. Grief started to settle in as the everything began to settle down. Midnight was gone and Kirito didn't have the remains as they lay at the bottom of the chasm, opening his menu Kirito scrolled to the pet section and hoped that Midnight was still there.
Nothing, the section was empty, there was no sign of Midnight in the menu and now Kirito felt slightly empty inside but he had to get a grip of himself he couldn't change the past and midnight had done as its programming had asked to. It had protected Kirito.
Wiping away the tears that had formed on his face, Kirito gave a deep breath and pressed ok on the rewards window. This was why you should never fight a boss alone the risks were extremely high and in a death game like this nothing could be taken for granted.
Removing Blue Crystal from his back and back into his inventory, Kirito turned and walked out of the chasm and into the tunnel which would lead him to the third island of the Azure archipelago things were now different.
As Kirito walked down the cold and dark cave corridor, he struggled to keep a hold on himself memories of midnight of when they first met flooded his mind. Sighing slightly Kirito pressed on and squinted as the exit of the cave shone with a bright sun ray. And as Kirito stepped out of the cave a clear blue sky and sunny spells greeted him, Midnights sacrifice would not be in vain Kirito would continue to try and be strong and keep moving forward.
The land before him was filled within golden sand and the sound of the Azure ocean was soft and welcoming and there was no sign that a storm had been present seagulls could be heard squawking in the distance, the cave had come out on the third island. Now the next question was had Captain Fishcakes survive the voyage? Hopefully Captain Fishcakes had already reached the island.
Stepping onto the golden sand Kirito looked around once again, to his left palm trees lay swaying side to side gently as the soft wind hit the leaves, to the right lay the Azure ocean blue and clear as a diamond and in the distance a small town with a dock lay quietly.
Walking down the golden sandy shoreline, everything felt warm unlike the damp and cold cave he had been in moments ago. The journey to the town was a quiet affair there was no monsters, no NPC's just the sound of the ocean and seagulls.
There was something very relaxing about this island, but even the most peaceful of places hold the darkest of secrets. The sooner he reached the local inn in the town ahead the sooner he could understand where he was and what the situation was on the island.
All he knew was the Vampire Queen was on the island, which in turn meant a confrontation was most likely going to happen, whether he'd kill her or only drive her off the floor remained to be seen but either way this floor would be free of her grasp.
Reaching the gate of the town, Kirito looked up above the gate and read the sign. Welcome to the town of Palm Spring the main port of Dream island. The island where dreams come true.
Something bothered Kirito, the name of town didn't bother him but the name of the island did. Something felt off and Kirito was sure it had to do with the vampire queen. He needed to act fast but first he needed to find the inn.
Walking through the gates, Kirito felt a sudden chilling wind go up his back, looking backwards Kirito could see no sign of anyone behind him. Turning back to the town Kirito walked in and up to a large fountain that stood in the centre of the town, around it lay stalls where adventurers could buy and sell wares.
Looking around Kirito saw to his right the dock he saw from the exit of the cave yet no ships were harboured at the moment. To his left and north of the town, the town hall lay next to the local inn and on the opposite side of the fountain lay a path out of the town and a teleport gate.
Walking around the fountain Kirito walked over to the gate and knelt down to put his hand on it the gate started to light up and a menu appeared in front of him asking if he would like reactivate the gate.
Pushing yes, Kirito stood up and turned to walk towards the inn, there was still no sign of Captain Fishcakes maybe the storm had taken his life, no he couldn't think negatively he had to stay positive. Entering the inn, Kirito walked up to the bar and sat on one of the bar stools.
"What will you be having mate?"
"Bourbon on the rocks"
The barman slid the drink to Kirito, who picked it up and chugged it down. Putting a hand on his head, Kirito began to think about his next plan of action he first needed to find information on the vampire queen and her location.
The Vampire Queen could possibly be in the Tower but he needed more information before reaching a conclusion. He was interrupted from his thoughts by the inn door opening. Turning his head slightly Kirito came face to face with Asuna.
"Kirito-kun" whispered Asuna as her eyes landed on him.
"Asuna I thought you were staying with Megu" questioned Kirito in a monotone voice.
"She's going to be taken to the lower floors" responded Asuna. "She still hasn't regained consciousness"
"Right…." Sighed Kirito. "How'd you know I reached the third island?"
"Someone said the third island had appeared on the teleport gate so I presumed you had gotten here safe and sound" smiled Asuna. But her smile didn't last long as she looked at Kirito face, the sense of sadness and loss came from Kirito.
"Kirito what happened?"
"Rather not talk about it…" responded Kirito sharply as he turned back to the bar and ordered another drink.
Frowning, Asuna stormed over and forcefully turned his head to face her. She looked deep into his eyes and spoke in a sharp tone which left no room for argument.
"Tell me"
Diverting his eyes away, Kirito took hold Asuna's hands and moved them away from his face before releasing the hand and looking down at his drink.
"Midnight's gone"
"You mean your pet?" upon seeing Kirito nod, Asuna thought for a moment before realisation hit her. "What happened?"
"During my journey to this island, I fell overboard on Captain Fishcakes ship and landed on the Rocky Islands" recounted Kirito as he remembered the trip. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I summoned midnight and we began to walk through the cave, the trip through should have been simple but we became overran by mobs of Fishmen and cornered by a field boss."
"A field boss!?" exclaimed Asuna. "And you took it on!"
Kirito winced at her tone as he realised what had been said, when you thought about it sounded insane to tackle a field boss solo.
"I had to otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get to the third island"
"You could have gone around it!" snapped Asuna. "Field bosses only attack if someone attacks them first or did you forget this?!"
Kirito remained silent as he realised the stupidity of his actions he could have avoided the fight but he made the decision to fight it, it his fault for letting midnight died.
"let me guess Kirito you almost died correct…"
Kirito could only nod his head as he continued to be berated for his stupidity of taking on a boss fight and the more Asuna ripped into him, the more the death of midnight became his fault.
"You're lucky that Midnight saved your sorry behind" shouted Asuna. "god this is why I don't want you to travel solo anymore"
It was then the feeling Asuna's head on his back and a welcoming silence could be heard in the room as Asuna finished her rant.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault" was all that Kirito could say.
"You're an idiot, I should have gone with you." uttered Asuna. "I'm strong but when it comes to you I lose all sense of what to do, I know Midnights death must be affecting you worse but he was such a loyal pet…"
"Yeah, he was…." Whispered Kirito. "I didn't want him to die, but I didn't expect the boss to grab me so his programming kicked in"
As silence settled over the two once again, Asuna moved away from Kirito and sitting on the stool next to him.
"So what now?" whispered Asuna.
"I'm going to find information on the Vampire Queen"
"No you're not because we're going to do it together"
Raising an eyebrow, Kirito looked to his left and gave her a questioning look. Asuna closed her eyes before responding to her unspoken question.
"Because I'm tired of always being on the side, I want to help you Kirito"
"Ok fine, but we can't always be together just until we get to the next floor"
Asuna only nodded her head in response while her mind thought: we can be, if you'll let me. Seeing Asuna nod her head Kirito stood up and adjusted his jacket.
"Come on let's go we need to get more information on the location of this witch the islands keep talking about"
"Right" standing up to follow Kirito. "So where do we go first?"
"The town hall, would be a good place to start besides I can also get information on the whereabouts of Captain Fishcakes..."
As the duo were about to leave the inn, the door opened and walked in Klein with his friends. Kirito hadn't seen Klein in a few weeks ever since he left without saying goodbye. Upon Seeing Kirito, Klein's face took on a shocked look.
"Kirito?" questioned Klein rhetorically. Silence fell between the two groups as an awkward silence filled the air someone had to speak.
"Klein, it's been what two weeks?" spoke Kirito in a monotone.
"Around that, so what you doing?"
"Me and Asuna are just about to search for some information, I'd usually do this solo but…"
Kirito's words were cut off by Asuna smacking the back of his head, turning around towards her he gave her a questioning look before she spoke.
"No more talk of solo, not for now anyway."
The air was then filled with Klein's laughter as he realised what had happened and as to why Kirito wasn't roaming the lands at this moment. Sighing a happy breath of relief Klein looked at Asuna and bowed before speaking.
"Well we better get a move on, we don't want to disturb your little date…" teased Klein.
Upon hearing the word date, Kirito went beetroot red and looked at Asuna and then back at Klein before waving his arms around and shouting.
"IT'S NOT A DATE!"
With that Kirito ran out of the inn before anyone could respond, leaving a giggling Asuna and a bemused Klein in his wake.
"You sure have your hands full don't you Asuna?" smiled Klein.
"I sure do" giggled Asuna. Before bidding Klein goodbye and running after Kirito.
Turning to his own group Klein grinned before speaking in an excited voice.
"Well let's start drinking!"
A mighty cheer could be heard from outside the inn as Asuna caught up to Kirito who still looked red, making Asuna smile even more. It was cute to see Kirito act this way, I must have meant that he had never had a girlfriend before.
"You ok?" asked Asuna.
"Yeah, just give me a minute" responded Kirito as he took deep breaths. "Damn Klein and his remarks…."
"Oh lighten up Kirito, he's just teasing us." Responded Asuna before she looked down and shyly spoke. "Or is going on a date with me that bad?"
Kirito did not respond to her question and remained quiet and walked towards the town hall, even though the distance between the inn and the town hall was short the atmosphere around the two had become slightly awkward.
"Right moving on, we'll need to speak to the major of the town hopefully they'll be able to shed some light on the whereabouts of this witch"
Nodding her head, Asuna followed Kirito into the town hall, awkward conversations like dates and relationships could be discussed at another time, for now they needed to focus of the finding information on the witch and on the whereabouts of captain fishcakes.
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Meanwhile deep in a dark dungeon, an elderly man woke up in a cold and dark cell, water dripped from the moss covered walls and as he groggily woke up he found himself tied to a chair and as he looked around everything as blurry, but he could make out the shape of a table just by the door. Suddenly a door opened and a bright light, causing the man to wince.
"I see you awake; I take it you're ready to answer my questions" spoke a female voice. The sound of a casing of some sort could be heard being placed down.
"I know who you are" spat the man. "I won't tell you anything Witch or should I call you the Vampire Queen"
The Vampire Queen gave a smile, before adjusting her clothing and crouching down to the man.
"I know you've been travelling with the swordsman, it's a shame we couldn't have captured him at the same time as we captured you"
The man gave a huff before looking up at the Vampire Queen. He gave her a sneer before talking.
"Like I told you before, you'll get nothing from me" sneered the man.
"Oh you will tell me and then you will die"
"Fuck you!" spat the man.
The Vampire Queen gave a menacing laugh as she stood back up and started to pace around him. As she came to a stop behind him, she gave a sickly giggle before kicking the man in the back forcing him to fall forward.
Walking to the table, the vampire queen picked up a fire poke and started to warm it up using the lantern she brought with her to heat up the fire poke.
"Where is the boy?" questioned the Vampire Queen. "tell me and I'll end the suffering quickly"
"Go to fucking hell!"
"So be it" Remarked the Vampire Queen as she started to hit man with the fire poke.
After several minutes, the Vampire Queen backed away huffing heavily, the old man still hadn't given the information she wanted.
"I'll never tell you"
"We will see Captain Fishcakes; we… will… see" stated the Vampire Queen.
The cell was once again filled with screams as the Vampire Queen began to torture Captain Fishcakes again. Captain Fishcakes withered in pain as he resisted telling the Vampire Queen what she wanted to know. Slowly the Captain lost consciousness and the Vampire Queen stormed out of the cell.
"I'm not done with him yet; ensure he doesn't die" sneered the Queen as she spoke to the guard.
"Yes my queen!"
The Vampire Queen laughed Menacingly as she left the dungeons it was only a matter of time till she got the location of the swordsman.
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Meanwhile back at the town hall, Kirito and Asuna were just about to enter a chamber to speak to the local mayor about the rumours about the witch of the Azure Islands
"Mr. Mayor it's a pleasure to meet you" spoke Kirito as he entered the room.
The mayor who was standing at the window, slowly turned around to face Kirito and Asuna. He wore a serious look, he indicated for them to take a seat.
"You know, things were peaceful, before that witch turned up"
"So she is real" stated Asuna as she and Kirito sat down. "She goes by another name doesn't she?"
The mayor remained quiet for a second before nodding his head and stating in a firm voice.
"Yes, The Vampire Queen."
Clenching his fist Kirito frowned, so his assumption was correct, she was the witch they spoke of. Giving Asuna a look of confirmation Kirito sighed before asking.
"You know where she is don't you?"
"She lives in the tower just north of the town, the entrance to the tower has been locked down and all civilians have been banned from approaching the tower"
"Then how do we get in?"
"To the east of the town is a tunnel that leads to the tower's dungeons, you'll need a silver key though and I don't know where it is"
"We have the key sir; but before we go I need to ask have you seen a sea captain who goes by the name of Fishcakes?"
The mayor thought hard for a moment before shaking his head in a negative response, the mayor gave an apologetic look as he saw Kirito's face fall.
"I'm sorry we have not heard of a captain who goes by that name, it is possible the witch might have him as she does control the storms in this region"
"Wait you're telling me that she's controlling the weather?"
"Yes..." stated the mayor in a matter of fact tone. "we've sent our best fighters to them but they've all buckled to the will that she possesses."
"I know, but I can defeat her or at least force her away from this floor."
Standing up, Kirito and Asuna bowed their heads to the mayor before leaving the chamber and as Kirito and Asuna left, the mayor sighed and looked out of the window before whispering.
"Good Luck, Swordsman"
As Asuna and Kirito left the town hall, the sun shone brightly as they walked through the thriving streets of this small town, ever since they had left the town hall Kirito had been in a solemn mood and had remained silent.
"Asuna, when I face her you're not coming in" spoke Kirito breaking the silence between the two.
"What?" asked Asuna Rhetorically.
"You're not coming in, you'll fall under her control and I can't lose you like I lost Emily to her"
Asuna just stared at him as Kirito continued to walk away from her, was he actually concerned about her safety or was he just trying to find a way to go solo again.
"Kirito, it'll be ok after all you're here"
Sighing a deep breath, Kirito did not respond and just continued to walk towards the eastern gate. Just before he and Asuna we're about to step into the wild, Kirito opened his menu and looked at his gear.
His equipment was severely damaged most likely thanks to the fight with the field boss and encounters he had while travelling the islands in general. Closing his menu, Kirito put a hand though his hair before turning back towards the fountain and towards a small blacksmith NPC.
Ever since the incident with Nezha back on the second floor, Kirito hadn't found a trustworthy blacksmith who he could rely on, working with NPC's had its benefits though you were guaranteed not to be screwed over, but on the other hand weapons weren't as good. Hopefully he'd be able to find a good blacksmith sooner or later.
Turning back to Asuna, Kirito nodded his head the duo set off for the tunnel that would lead them to the tower's dungeons, hopefully they'd be able to find Captain Fishcakes and destroy the Vampire Queen or at least force her off the current floor.
The walk down the eastern path was quiet and silent affair and no monsters appeared as they travelled to their destination.
"So Kirito where do you think this tunnel is?" asked Asuna as they walked down the cobble path.
"Hard to say should be to fa…." His words were cut off as he tumbled over a wall of a well landing face first into a puddle of mud at the bottom of the well.
Picking himself up Kirito wiped the mud off his face and looked around, it seemed he had fallen into a well of some kind as running water could be heard around him, feeling around Kirito's hand found a latch and slowly a stone door opened leaving a lightly lit tunnel, looking upwards Kirito could see the blue sky of the surface and a rope dangled from over the side of the well.
"Kirito you ok?" shouted Asuna from the surface.
"Yeah, come on down its safe" shouted Kirito. "I think I've found our tunnel"
"Ok I'm coming down you better not look up"
"Wh…" shouted Kirito. It was at that moment Kirito looked up and quickly went red before moving his eyesight away from. White that's what he saw white. Shaking himself free of "those" thoughts Kirito walked slightly into the tunnel.
And as he stared into the tunnel, something felt off the whole thing screamed trap and it most likely was but there was no other way. They would need to approach this slowly and carefully and take things one at a time.
Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Kirito looked to see Asuna smiling at him, unaware of what he had seen. Perhaps it best left that didn't know she'd most likely beat him for looking at her.
"Come on let's go" smiled Kirito as he walked further into the tunnel. And as they both entered the cobblestone door closed leaving the only option of pressing ahead. The Azure Islands were reaching its conclusion, the last thing to do was find the vampire queen, defeat the floor boss and rescue Captain Fishcakes.
Either way things were about to get busy.
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A/N: So chapter completed and hopefully you can see why I put a warning up for this chapter, I think I'm boarder line T possibly minor M rating. But I had fun writing this chapter it was challenging and I was thinking of ending the Azure islands this chapter but I decided to cut down words to around 5000, I am writing the new chapter right now.
As mentioned in the first A/N there is a poll that relates to the future of this story I'm thinking of splitting the story into four parts and also doing a side story with a new character please see the polls and make a vote.
Thanks for reading guys, Sword Art Online Black Ranger is only popular because of you guys taking the time to read it.
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