CH 33 - Schism

"So, how's the upgrade been treating you?" Kirito asked.

"I didn't really feel anything change. Which is a good thing." I replied. It's not exactly related to the show, but you won't hear any complaints from me.

We were chilling out in the Administration Area. About two hours had passed since we returned from our...bizarre excursion.

Philia was looking a little better, but she was still silent and looking to the side.

Silica was nearby. She twirled around once, her new cape billowing in with her motion. She nodded in satisfaction.

Asuna and Kirito were beside Yui and tending to her. Yui was very happy when she got her gift, but she said that something was bothering her and she kept on researching what she could.

I approached the three and gave Kirito a bit of a nudge. "Hey. I know you two are okay with what you got, but I'll let you call dibs if we find more items that are functional in the field." I said to him.

"You know you don't have to, but thanks." He replied.

"Don't mention it...so, what about yours?"

Kirito looked back. "It surprisingly matches the defense stats on my current armor despite how flimsy-looking it was."

"Seriously? Wow." I noticed the girls were silently staring at us. "What's up?" I asked them.

"...Kirito-kun...you...tried it on…?" Asuna sighed and squeezed the bridge of her of her nose with her finger. I'd assume she was sighing out of the audacity of actually wearing it, instead of disappointment of not being able to see it.

Kirito nodded. "Yeah. It doesn't have a male configuration, and it's a little form fitting, but it's a good piece of armor."

"...I have no words…"

"Why are you sighing?" I asked. "Remember when he wore that 'chest armor' that he got from those Minotaurs just because it's got better stats than what he had back then?"

She squeezed her temples harder. "I'd appreciate it if you don't remind me of that."

"Wait, that armor?" Silica spoke up.

"Yeah, that one." I replied.

For reference, the Minotaur armor was a pair of thick, wide belts that crossed over the center of the body.

And that was it.

The female version had two smaller belts strategically position to conceal their naughty bits.

It was quite a while ago - during the clearing of the 2nd Floor. Around that time, players with builds focused on damage didn't have many options, and that armor provided the best stats. Many players opted for something else regardless of it having inferior stats, but others *cough* Kirito *cough* needed someone sensible *cough* Asuna *cough* to dissuade them.

"Hey! You gotta do what you gotta do for stats, alright?!" Kirito said indignantly.

"Yeah. But you gotta agree, there are lines you have to set." I chimed in.

"Yeah, yeah…"

We rested and made small talk for a couple of minutes more before Kirito stood up and stretched his limbs. "So, should we go and get a move on? Knock two out on the same day?"

"I'm game." I replied.

"Let's go." Asuna said. Silica also nodded at me.

"..." Philia, who was silent since ever since we found her, silently looked down.

Asuna approached her. "If you're still feeling bad, then it's okay. You can rest for now. Don't worry."

"..." Philia took a deep breath before she shook her head and looked at her. "No...I'll come with you."

"...alright." Asuna reached her hand out. Philia nodded and took it, and Asuna helped her up.

"Are you all going?" Yui asked, her voice marred with worry.

"What is it, Yui-chan?" Silica asked.

"It's…" She pulled away from the Main Console and turned around to look towards our direction. "I...I've got a bad feeling about this."

A pause. Then I just started chuckling while Asuna pressed her fingers between the bridge of her nose.

"What? What's happening?" Kirito asked. "Why are you two doing that?"

"Heh...she got that from you." I replied.

"She totally got that from you." Asuna added.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said before he turned back knelt in front of Yui. "You should get some rest, Yui. Whatever is out there, we can handle it."

"I will...just a bit more…" Yui muttered.

Kirito nodded before he turned around and walked to us with an uneasy expression. "The little one doesn't want bedtime?" I asked.

"Yeah…" He looked back at her. "I feel like she won't rest and just keep on working."

"Just give her a stern talking to, or something."

"Wait. That wasn't stern enough?" The two of them said simultaneously.

I sighed. "Alright. I'll handle this."

"Hey! What are you-"

"Just, trust me, okay?" I said to them before I approached Yui and the Main Console. "Hey, Yui."

"Do you need something, onii-chan?"

I pointed at one of the buttons. "What does that do?"

"Oh, it displays some options that I could do in the Hollow Are-"

"Cool, what about that one?" I pointed to another button.

"That's one displays the-"

"Cool, and that one?"

"That one-

"Cool, and that?"

"..."

"What's up?"

"Please let me finish explaining before you reply."

"Okay. Sure."

"Now, where were we…? Oh, that's right, that button-"

"Cool. What about that one?" I replied immediately.

"...hmph." Yui pouted and looked away. "I'm not talking to you anymore. You're not even listening!"

I shrugged. "Okay." I reached in and pressed a couple of buttons.

Multiple beeps and windows came out of the Main Console. "Onii-chan! What are you doing?!" Yui yelled at me and tried to grab my fingers away from the Main Console.

"It's buttons! What else am I gonna do other than push them? Also, you're not explaining what they do!"

"It's because you kept interrupt-no, stop! Onii-chan, stop!" She darted in between me and the console.

I lifted her by the waist and set her aside. "Just hold your horses, alright. I just need to know where the self-destruct button is."

"There's no such thing!"

I sighed and looked at her. "Why did you ruin it? Call spoiler alert next time, yeah?"

Yui tilted her head. "I'm...sorry?"

I smiled back and went back to pressing buttons. "That's okay, there's still tons of buttons to find. We've got the Big Head Mode, Infinite Health Mode…"

"Onii-chan! Stop!" Yui went back to trying to stop me.

I ignored Yui, fully knowing that I was both literally pushing the Main Console's weapons as well as metaphorically pushing hers.

Eventually, She had enough. "ARRGGGGHHHH! ONII-CHAN, YOU IDIOT!" She shouted.

Everyone except for Yui and I was taken aback. I faked out a hurt expression.

Yui realized what she had just said. "N-no...onii-chan...I didn't mean it-" She reached out to me, her eyes wide with horror.

I just burst out into a hearty chuckle. Ah...this brings some memories back. Nee-san was really protective of her toys back when we were kids.

In a span of a minute, Yui went from happy, to annoyed, to confused, to angry, to apologetic, and then back to angry. When I thought that she was about to snap again, she just took a long, exasperated breath, and her shoulders slumped slightly. "Haa...I'm tired…" She sighed.

"Perfect time for a nap, don't you think?" I said with a smile on my face. I knew that doing this would put some stress into her, but this level of stress was nowhere near what she had experienced before. My objective was to tire her out, and I succeeded.

"Onii-chan…I'm not tired."

"Okay." I reached for the buttons again.

Yui pushed my hand away. "Okay! Okay! Haahh….I'll rest….j-just don't touch anything!"

"Good." I nodded before I gave Kirito and Asuna a thumbs up. They just both sighed and squeezed her temples. "Alright, let's get a move on."

***
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"Really, though...you two should be a bit more stern with her." I said to Kirito and Asuna.

"But you shouldn't have done that! You could've hurt her!" Asuna said to me.

I looked at her incredulously. "She survived the negative emotions of the whole player population of SAO. My little stunt would just tire her out, and it did. Nothing more, nothing less."

"But…"

"I know that you can't help but be nice to your daughter, but you should teach her discipline and bedtime and stuff."

"I know…" Asuna muttered.

We spent quite a bit of time walking. After about an hour, we reached the location - the ruins of a large stronghold-like structure. We tried to look for a nearby Transport Console, but no luck. The closest was about an hour away. Ugh.

"How are you holding up?" Asuna asked Philia.

"I'm alright…" She quietly replied.

We continued our journey and was met with skeleton soldier-type enemies that we dispatched with little to no issue. However, as we trudged deeper and deeper into the area, enemies started to become more and more scarce, until we hit an area where we couldn't detect any more enemies.

"Kyururu…" Pina muttered in a hushed tone.

"..." Silica turned to face us. "Pina senses something. She's not quite sure what, but she senses something."

We nodded at her and kept vigil on the surroundings. I didn't even need to activate Scanning to tell that the area was chock-full of traps.

Philia took a deep breath. "I'll scout ahead."

Asuna looked at her. "Be careful."

Philia nodded back. She pulled her hood up and slowly made her way forward.

Out of all of us, she was the one most practiced with Stealth and Trap Detection, and it showed. Despite wearing something with a color that stuck out like a sore thumb, Philia blended into the surrounding area. Her footfalls suddenly made no sound, and she moved slowly, like the flowing wind. Had my eyes not tracked her beforehand, it would've been really difficult to find her. We didn't detect any monsters nearby, but better to be safe and not risk attracting monsters in the middle of a minefield.

She scouted ahead, motioning us to follow. When she found a trap, she would point at it us and lead us around to avoid triggering it.

We made slow progress. The traps were well-hidden and also placed in a way where it wouldn't be too hard to trigger if we were to accidentally set one, and it'll just snowball into shit.

Eventually, Philia straightened up and turned back to us. "I don't detect any more traps. We should be fine."

"Alright. Usual marching order then. Good work." Kirito replied and past her. I nodded and followed him to the front. Silica and Asuna followed suit, and Philia was at the rear.

We were halfway across the area when we heard a high-pitched sound. We stopped and lowered our posture instinctually, trying to discern where the hell that sound came from.

However, before we could react further, a beam of transparent light shot up from the ground. We darted away from the impact and realized that Philia was stuck in the other side.

"Philia! Are you alright?!" Asuna asked her.

"..." Instead of replying to her question, Philia slowly placed her hand on the barrier. "...I'm sorry."

"What?"

Another high pitched sound rang through the room, and we realized that another barrier appeared on our side, trapping us in between them.

I walked closer to the barrier and knocked on it. It seemed pretty sturdy. I looked at Philia. "Didn't detect any more traps, eh?" I said. Based on her reaction, she expected this to happen.

Philia looked away. "I'm sorry...I really am…"

I backed up and turned around, and inspected the other wall that trapped us. It was durable, but can be eventually worn down. I started slashing the wall with Caerulus.

"...why?" Asuna asked weakly.

"You know that I have this cursor because I did what I had to do to survive, right? Well, there's more to that story…" Philia took a deep breath. "...shortly after I got here, I was just wandering around in the forest when someone suddenly appeared in front of me…it was...me…"

"Philia…"

"...ever since that time, I spent convincing myself that I'm the real thing...but I can't…" A stream of tears rolled from her eyes. "And every time we came closer to repairing the way back to Aincrad...I started to dream...that when all of you go through the portal...that I would be left behind again...alone…"

We felt faint rumbling, and the ground beneath us started to crack.

"I'm sorry, everyone…this won't hurt a bit. I promise you. Just hang in there, alright? We'll be together, forever..."

As soon as she said that, the cracks tore through the ground, and we all fell to the abyss below.

And then...darkness...

…

…

I slowly blinked my eyes open. My vision was still blurry and I tried to move around, but I couldn't. I looked around and I realized that my arms were shackled together, as were my legs. A single link of chain looped in between the chain that linked my hands, suspending me from the ground.

"So, finally awake, are we?" A haughty voice rang through the room. I tried to turn my head from the direction of the voice. "Oh, you don't have to trouble yourself. Here. Let me help you."

The chains that held me suspended broke, and I started to fall. A gauntleted hand caught me by the throat and slammed me back against the wall. Before I could react, I felt something pierce my stomach and my body immediately went numb.

The sudden action immediately cleared my vision, and I glared at the player in front of me. He wore tight-fitting black clothing, and a black mask resembling a sack with holes cut for eyes. He wore a dark-colored hooded cloak and a mask. His hands were armored, and he also appeared to be very thin. His left hand grasped my throat, and his right hand holding the handle of a poisoned dagger that was plunged halfway through my stomach.

"Johnny...Black." I muttered.

"Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner!" He let go of me and I slowly slid down, my body unresponsive. "Congratulations! You have been chosen to be my test subject!"

He grinned and pulled out a few vials filled with liquids of various colours.

I took a look around me. We were inside what looked like a prison cell, but larger. Kirito, Silica, and Asuna were chained up at the side. A table, filled with various knives, sat opposite them.

Johnny Black set the vials to the table before he approached me again. "So, what did you think of serum number 1? It's an oldie, but a goodie."

I looked down at the dagger that was embedded in my abdomen. Considering that I have a couple of those in my inventory, he was right. It was a high-level poisoned dagger, the best poisoned dagger that a player could use without investing in the Poisoned Weapon Mastery Skill. While it did very little damage, phials installed inside the blade would open under the impact and oozed a very potent poison.

"Nnggg…" I heard someone stir. I looked up and saw that Kirito had woken up. "What…?"He snapped out of his stupor and glared at the red player. "What are you doing to him?!" He shouted at us. The others were also starting to regain consciousness.

Johnny Black immediately turned to his head to them. "Would ya look at that. We have an audience!" He immediately drew out another knife, coated it using the liquid from one of the vials, and held it to my throat. "And now, I would like to ask the audience to keep silent. No hollering, no cellphones-"

I glanced at the knife in front of me, and I glanced back at the others. They were horrified of what was going to happen to me.

Laughing Coffin doesn't release any prisoners. One way or another, I'll be dead.

Might as well take the shot.

In spite of my situation, a grin found itself on my lips as I darted forward and slammed my forehead into the side of his head. "Gh!" he got knocked back and actually whimpered a bit.

Unfortunately, the moment I darted my head in, I had to move my neck into the blade. Sure enough, it pierced my neck and extended the poison's duration.

Welp. That's it. I'm dead.

Still, I chuckled because the noise he made was so pathetic. "Get a load of this fucking comedian. Piece of advice for you, stick to quipping your lines, yeah? You can just ask PoH to intimidate people for you."

Johnny Black glanced at me. Even though he had a sack mask on, I could tell that he was pissed. "Do you have a fucking death wish?"

"I dunno about that, but you are boring me to death."

Johnny black clicked his teeth and raised his hand to stab me.

"Riwet!" "Riwet-kun!" Riwet, no!" The three of them screamed.

All sense of bravado left me, and all I could do was close my eyes.

However, the blow never came.

"Everything going great here, JB?" A voice rang through as another red player entered our room. He was covered by a hooded coat, and his hood was up. His mouth was covered by a black cloth mask.

"Kyururu! Kyururu!" and in his hand was a cage that held Pina.

"Shut up." The murderer banged the cage against the wall.

"No! Pina!" Silica screamed. "Stop!"

The red player shrugged and lobbed the cage to where Silica was. It bounced and rolled over to her.

"Pina!" She screamed again.

"Kyururu…." Pina muttered back. She was alive but hurt and very disoriented.

Johnny Black turned to look at the new arrival as he got off me. "Howdy. Here's all yours, as promised. Just wanna give 'em a bit of a scare, you know?"

The other red player chuckled. "Yeah. Busted your balls a bit, huh?"

"...are you fucking with me?"

"No. I'm letting you have permission to indulge yourself with him. Just make a show of it, yeah?"

Johnny Black stared at him for a moment. "Well then, enjoy the show."

For the next half-hour, Johnny Black did his experiments on me. One coating blurred my vision, while another coating made me deaf. After every testing, he would heal my HP back. I didn't feel any pain, but it felt like I was being tortured for an eternity.

"Now then." He coated his knife again, this time with a vibrant purple liquid. "this...this is the good stuff right here. It's an experimental brew, and I'm so excited to try it out."

He held his knife high. Some of the liquid splattered to my face, and I felt it burn through my skin.

"Open wide~" He said as he drove his knife down, the blade trained to my throat.

He heaved his arm down, and I closed my eyes.

And once again, the attack didn't connect.

I heard a sickening crunch and opened my eyes just in time to see the blade of a battleaxe sink into Johnny Black. The impact knocked him to the side. His dagger flew from his grip and landed nearby. "Ghhkk...you…!" He let out a strained voice. "What are you…?" His words were slurred since he was missing part of his neck.

I looked to the side. The red player held a one-handed axe on his left hand. The shaft was metal and extended to about 4 feet, and on its head laid a blade that spanned a foot. The blade was dark, but when the light from the torch reflected on it, it gleamed with a subtle hint of purple. "I mean, 'open wide'? Seriously?" He sighed and walked to Johnny Black. "You know, he's got a point. You really are boring me to death."

Johnny Black raised his arm. "Stop!"

The red player responded by cleaving his head in half with an overhead slash. Johnny Black promptly disintegrated.

"Heh…" He gave out a chuckle before he turned towards me. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?"

I was tempted to say yes, but I stayed silent.

"What are you doing?!" Kirito shouted.

The hooded player shrugged. "Making things interesting. Besides, he was a dick, and he deserved every single one of those."

"What…? You're part of the same guild!" Kirito shouted. "You're worse than him, you backstabbing-"

A resounding metallic clanging as the murderer's axe was slammed on the ground near me. "Anyways, I don't care about them, so you shouldn't, either." He said to him before he loomed above me.

"Isn't that right...Lynn?" He said to me in English.

My eyes widened "What…? How did you…"

He took out a tinted bottle filled with some liquid and held it above me.

"Stop!" I heard Silica let out a pained scream.

The red player didn't stop. His other hand closed into a fist and slammed into the bottle.

The bottle shattered. The liquid poured on the back of my head, as well as shards of broken glass.

I expected a powerful poison debuff to appear on my HUD. Instead, all of my debuffs were shortened significantly. I crawled away from him before I slowly picked myself up to my knees. "Who are you?"

The hooded player backed away from me and chuckled. "The name's Excello. I've got plans for you...If you're strong enough to live past this, that is." He replied back in Japanese. His face froze slightly as if he heard something.

"Kyururu!" Pina crooned. I recognized the tone - she was warning us of approaching enemies.

"Well, that's enough for me today. Enjoy." Excello said as he ran away.

I quickly went to the others and helped them out of the chains, starting with Silica. "Are you alright?" I asked her.

"...!" As soon as she was free, she wrapped her arms around me. "...*sniff*...*sniff*.."

I reciprocated for a second. "We need to help them, so…" I patted her back. She nodded and released me. I worked on helping Kirito while Silica helped Asuna.

"Riwet…do you know who that was?" Kirito asked.

"...no…"

"He knows your name...more than that...your other name…" Silica muttered. Kirito and Asuna were stunned.

I racked my brain and tried to remember if I met someone who acted similarly to him. "...he still doesn't ring a bell..." I shook my head. "But we've got bigger things to deal with right now." We eventually got everyone freed and we headed out of where we were confined.

The interior of the dungeon was big, with spacious areas separated by narrow hallways. We dashed through, avoiding the hallways when we could sense people beyond them.

Unfortunately, we were essentially lost. All of us were knocked unconscious and then later woke up deep inside this shithole, so all the map data that we had was the areas that we were just in. It helped that we would avoid running in circles, but we didn't have a clue of where the exit was.

And since we had no way to quickly discern where the exit was, the red players eventually caught up.

We were outnumbered, with a dozen red players and slowly closing in on us. We were slowly herded into a direction. The corner of the dungeon walls was getting closer and closer.

As if sensing the fear and worry in our minds, one of the meat bags raised his jagged dagger in the air before they all charged forward.

At that moment, everything felt like it was going in slow motion. The sounds just faded in the background, but I was aware of every booming footstep, every gleaming blade...

And then...something clicked. Everything was back to normal.

And all of a sudden, I felt that I knew exactly what I should do.

I looked at the Laughing Coffin members and searched for a target….there, that one. The speedster whose hood was blown back as she made a beeline toward us, revealing a beautiful face and a malicious grin.

She was speedy, but only had light-studded leather as armor. Also, her bloodlust got the better of her, so she was a bit ahead of her allies.

Perfect.

Charging forward, I drew out a Flash Phial and threw it at the group, then I charged forward and kicked my target between the legs. She grunted in pain and doubled over. I took this opportunity to grab her and place her in a chokehold.

The other murderers stopped in their tracks, their eyes trained toward me. My Flash Phial was standard issue, so it didn't have much of an effect. However, that, plus my demonstration, was enough to halt their charge.

There was no talking out of this. These bags of meat only listened to power.

Coincidentally, I wasn't in the mood for a speech, anyways.

I just only hoped that they wouldn't hate me for this.

I took out my knife and stabbed it into her throat. The red player shouted, her scream turning into a gurgle halfway. I pulled the knife across her neck, and she disintegrated.

Everyone turned still. I turned and looked at the rest of the red players, my heartbeat pounding against my temples. "If you value your lives, then leave us alone." I warned.

For a moment, nobody moved. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that the players were going to let us go.

Bags of meat everywhere.

I took out a glass vial, tore the cork off with my teeth, and started gulping. The vial contained Warlord's Brew, an expensive and potent potion that gave very high resistance to all debuffs, as well as raising attack damage for a short time. I finished drinking and smashed the bottle to the ground.

"Heh...heheheh…as you wish." I couldn't help but grin and chuckle as I charged headlong into the fray.

I knew deep in my heart that what I was doing was wrong.

But I couldn't find it in me to care much.

And oh, did it feel so very right.

Everytime I swung, metallic sparks, weapons, and eventually, limbs and heads started flying off. Huh...it was easier than I thought it would be. Yui said that Hollows were scaled up to be about as strong as the average Clearer, but they didn't seem to be that tough. They probably didn't expect to fight someone who was just as bloodthirsty as them.

Despite being knee deep in battle, I took a moment to see how the others were faring. Kirito roared and kicked a red player away, his dual blades on the defensive. Asuna and Silica were Beside him but a little further back. Most of the Laughing Coffin members were now focused on me, so that was good.

The carnage continued. I was stabbed, slashed, and smashed at, but I endured. At one point, I picked up another scrawny meatbag and used him as a meat shield. I was able to kill two red players and injure more of them before they decided that it was easier to slash through him other than around him. Very nice.

And yet, despite all the chaos, my eyes met with Silica. She had a frightened look on her face as she looked at me. I felt a sense of immediate shame washed over me. I looked away, distracted. Was she frightened because of the circumstances that she found herself into...or was she afraid of me…?

At that moment, a red player roared and raised his dagger high before he leaped and drove it down towards me. In reflex, I raised my right arm to block. The blade tore through my armor and embed itself deep in my arm.

I felt a slight pain course through, but at the same time, I felt my bloodlust well back.

Just what I needed to get back into it.

I braced Caerulus toward my right arm and pushed, swinging it in a way that I cut through my right arm and both of the fucking meatbag's arm in one fell swoop. He fell back with a yelp, or at least tried to before I skewered his torso with Caerulus.

Another couple of minutes of combat passed. My HP was at half, but there were only four red players left. However, I was starting to feel winded.

Two red players broke off and went after the others. I tried to stop them, but the other two charged at me so I couldn't chase after them.

I ducked low when one of them - a warhammer and shield wielder - swung their weapon. I dodged the attack, but I got nicked in the shoulder by the other guy who was wielding a greatsword.

I gritted my teeth and kicked the greatsword user in his midsection. I then threw out a Throwing Knife coated with Paralysing poison at him. He was blown back and knocked to the ground. The poison didn't do much, but by the looks of it, he'll be moving sluggishly for a while.

Good.

I turned my attention back to the other one and attacked him, angling Caerulus around the shield. Easy enough since he didn't seem to know how to deal with a left-handed player.

My strikes ran true, whittling his HP down until eventually, I depleted his HP by a well-placed and well-timed Deadly Rhapsody.

In his final moments, he gave a crazed roar and swung his hammer before he fully disintegrated. And since I was frozen still after my Weapon Skill, I couldn't dodge and it hit me straight in the face.

I was blown back and managed to keep my footing, but my vision turned blurred and spun, and my body felt like it was made out of putty.

At that time, the other red player was able to scramble up to his feet. I staggered and attempted to move, but my feet were already struggling to keep me standing.

And even worse, the Warlord's Brew buff expired. Despite how effective it was, it also had a severe side effect - namely, it reduced maximum HP by half for an hour. So I went from having a bit under quarter health to a couple of attacks away from death.

The murderer swung out. I did my damndest to dodge, but my right-hand side vision immediately turned dark as his blade slashed my face. The attack also knocked me on my back.

The murderer loomed over me. He had a glint of hope on his face, his earlier frightened expression melting into ecstasy. He raised his greatsword high with a loud roar.

But before he could bring down his weapon down, he froze. His greatsword slipped from his fingers, and I rolled away just enough to him as he fell to the ground face-first. I glanced at him, and I noticed that a knife was impaled deep in his back.

The hilt...I recognize the hilt.

The Ebon Dagger.

Oh no.

I looked up. Silica was there, shaking and panting heavily. Her eyes were wide and still. She looked down at her hands. Her legs gave away and she fell on her legs..

"Silica...!" I slowly staggered closer to her. "Silica, are you alright?" I picked myself off the ground and slowly grabbed her shoulder.

She darted back and glared at me like a cornered animal. It took a second for her to recognize who just touched her. "Riwet...I...I…"

I wrapped my arms around her. "It's alright...it's okay...it's alright…I'm right here..." I repeated as I traced circles on her back with my remaining hand.

"Riwet-kun! Silica-chan!" Asuna approached us. "Are you two alright?!"

I broke away from the hug and looked at myself. "...I've been better, but I'll live." I replied while I drank a potion and pulled out a dagger that was sticking in my hip.

Asuna nodded and lent a shoulder to the two of us. She gritted slightly and lifted us to our feet.

I looked over to Kirito. He had his sword pointed at another red player. The red player had dropped his weapon and raised his hands.

"Don't move." Kirito ordered. "Hands behind your head."

"Alright. Alright." The red player obeyed. The player had a feminine voice.

I handed Silica over to Asuna. "Take care of her for a bit." I said to her. Asuna nodded. I nodded back and walked to Kirito and the murderer.

As soon as I moved closer, the red player took a step back. I titled my head. "Didn't my friend over here tell you to not move?"

The murderer audibly gulped and stayed as still as possible.

I chuckled "Pull your hood up. Let's see your face."

The player nodded and started to reach for his hood.

I waggled my finger. "Slowly, please."

"O-okay...shit...okay." The player slowly pulled their hood up. As I thought, the player was female.

Kirito turned his head slightly and approached me. "She was one of the murderers that rushed the three of us when you were doing your thing."

I nodded and turned back to the murderer. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Weyland. M-my name is Weyland." She replied.

"Okay then, Weyland-san," I nodded. "I'm gonna have to ask you to lie down with your hands behind your head. We'll ask a few questions and we're gonna take it from there. Sounds good?"

"A-alright…just..."

"What?"

"..." She sighed. "I need to disband from the Laughing Coffin. I've failed them, and I'm good as dead to PoH."

"...Alright. Once you're done, roll over. Face the ground. Hands behind your head." I replied before I shot a meaningful look at Kirito. PoH's Hollow is here.

A few seconds later, she closed his Player Menu and laid on her front. She slowly raised her hands and clasped them together behind her.

"Good. Alright. First off, are there more of you coming?"

"...no. We were asked to 'clean things up'. Get you away so PoH can finish his plans undisturbed."

"Plan? What plan?"

"I don't know...PoH didn't tell. He never does."

I exchanged glanced with Kirito. Sounds about right. I looked back at Weyland. "How many more of you are out there?"

She looked to his right and looked like she was recalling something. "...well, they can't be more than 20, including PoH, and that lavender-haired girl."

"...what?" Kirito gasped. "What did you just say?"

"There was a lavender-haired greatsword-user who joined us not too long ago. She killed her way in and wouldn't take no for an answer."

I nodded. We're going to have to figure that out. "Do you know of someone named Excello?" I asked.

Weyland frowned. "Where have you heard of that name?"

"We had a little moment when we were in our cell."

She made a confused expression. "Huh...he's not supposed to be here…" I heard her mutter before she straightened up. "He was already with Laughing Coffin before I joined. Friendly and powerful, but keeps to himself most of the time…" Weyland grabbed her shoulder. "...to be honest, he creeps me out. He's so nice considering how easily and willing he can kill someone. He doesn't really give a lot away, so there's nothing much I can tell you."

"What about you?" Kirito asked. "I saw you hanging back, taking action at us only when you think others were watching you. And even when you did, it was an act. There was no real weight to your swings."

"He did?" I asked Kirito. Kirito nodded. I frowned and looked back at Weyland. "Based on that, as well as our conversation, you seem like a nice person. And if you're not aiming to kill, then why are you with these murderers?"

Weyland sighed and looked away, hesitant to answer. "I don't remember much before, but...I was in a two-man party with someone important to me, and we got ambushed. We tried to fight them off. Some of them were green, but I didn't care..." She gritted her teeth. "We were fending them off, so I focused on fighting...I took one second to look away from her...and when I looked back...she was gone...and eventually, so was everyone else." She took a deep breath and relaxed. "After I was done with them, those bastards from Laughing Coffin came and 'congratulated me' by forcing me to join this godforsaken guild. I had thought of leaving, but I had unfinished business."

"What kind of business?"

"I did my best in trying to study their tactics, as well as indirectly trying to save as many of their would-be victims as I can..." She shook her head. "I sucked at the second part, but I can't stop trying. It's what she would've wanted..."

I observed her intently. I felt like there was more to her story than what she was saying, but I still felt that what she had said was true. "...Alright. Stand up." I sighed. "I want to believe you. I really do. But we've been screwed over once right now, as you know, so I'm not too keen on trusting you...or any other else for that matter."

"That's perfectly understandable if you don't trust me."

"Final question is, how do we really know that you're really telling the truth? How can you prove that you're not bullshitting us?"

"...beyond what I've said, I don't know what else that could convince you." She then flashed me a slight smile. "Though, I have a clear image of what you'd do to me if I'd betray you."

"..." I kept silent.

"Kyururu?" Pina came by and stared at Weyland. She drifted a bit closer and smelled him.

That was surprising. "...seems like she likes you." I said. Huh...now that I think about it, this is the perfect opportunity for us. I could turn this to my advantage. "Pina knows your scent now. Alright. Lemme tell you this. You give us the map data for this place, and you will guide us away from this place. After we reach the exit, we'll give you 15 minutes to get out of our sight, after which I'll tell her to track you. If she found you, then it means that you're staying close, and you're spying on us."

Weyland nodded slowly. "Sounds good." Again, I didn't find any trace of deception on her. She didn't even question Pina's detection range.

For the next tense moments following Weyland walked in front of us. Silica was silent, and Asuna carried her by piggyback. As the adrenaline wore off, my vision - as well as my knees - started to shake. I drank enough potions to restore me to max health, but being at the center of a clusterfuck and having been mauled and slashed in the face was getting to me.

Eventually, we reached the entrance. "And we're outside…" Weyland sighed. "I should go."

"Hang on." I stopped her and sent a friend request to her. "But you did get us out, so I'll do you a solid and leave you alone if you're in the way. Besides, another way of saving someone is lashing back at the ones who will hurt them. If PoH stands in our way, then we'll give you a call."

"...and if I refuse?"

I shrugged. "No harm, no foul. Just letting you know, your 15-minute timer starts as soon as you choose. Just don't use it to stall."

She shot a confused look at me, probably wondering what I was planning. She took a minute to think, then she nodded. "To be honest, even if I saw what you did and what you are capable of, I'd rather be stuck with you than those Laughing Coffin bastards." She accepted my friend request. "I hope the circumstances would be better if we meet next time." With that, she turned around and bolted off into the woods.

Once Weyland was out of sight, I sighed and slumped my shoulders. Kirito slung a shoulder under my armpit. I meekly said my thanks, and we walked back.

The pace was slow because of my injury, and because we had to sneak around enemies. I insisted that I was capable enough to clear a path, but Asuna wasn't having any of it. Fortunately, we found a nearby hidden cave. We decided to take shelter and rest up for a bit.

Asuna slowly set Silica down and leaned her against the wall. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"..." She absently nodded, still in shock of what she had done.

I held her close.

We spent a few minutes collecting ourselves. Kirito volunteered to keep watch, so the rest of us focused on resting.

...

I can't believe that Silica had to do that…what's the point of getting used to it if the person I care about the most was gonna dirty her hands to save me, instead?

I should've been stronger...and I should've known better to let my guard down around that traitorous bitch.

"Why...why would she do that…." Asuna whispered worriedly. "Why…"

"She's been through some rough stuff." Kirito said. "It wouldn't take much to take advantage of her in her state. You know how PoH works."

Asuna shook her head and sighed. "So, what's our plan?"

"We go back to the Administration Area and ask Yui if she knows something." I suggested.

"That's a good place to start. Our best lead is Philia so we should find her first and foremost."

At the mention of her name, I couldn't keep a small, malicious smile from forming in my face. "Yes...we should."

"Riwet." Kirito approached me from the side and grabbed my shoulder, staring intently at me.

Oh, here he goes. He's on hero mode right now.

"What's up?"

"We just need to talk to her, alright?"

"Yeah."

"I'm serious here, Riwet. She will not be hurt in any way."

I looked to the side. Silica and Asuna were worriedly staring at us.

I shrugged his shoulder off and stepped towards him, my face relatively close to his. "So you'd let someone off scott-free from trying to hurt the one you love the most just because they befriended you a bit and said sorry."

"Yes." He replied matter of factly. "She's been through a lot-"

"ALL. OF. US. HAVE. BEEN. THROUGH. A. FUCKING. LOT!" I poked my finger into his chest for every emphasis before I grabbed his collar. "She doesn't deserve any special treatment, especially after what she did to us."

He grabbed my collar back. "Maybe so. But hey, I'm not the one using the fact the one I love being hurt as an excuse to be judge, jury, and executioner."

I really admired Kirito's rebuttals. He had a sort of morbidly comedic way on how he dealt with people that annoyed him. Despite him being a loner, he knew the words that really got into their nerves.

From the outside looking in, it was a class act. A constant source of entertainment.

Right now, though, it just made me really want to break off his jaw and shove it into his mouth.

"You know I'll do the same thing if it was you or Asuna who had to deal with this shit." I snarled. "I guess it's too much to ask you the same thing, eh?"

That hit the spot. Kirito's face twitched, and he gritted his teeth. He would have shot back at me had Asuna not darted in and pushed the two of us away. "Enough! Calm down, the both of you! We've just got out of an unpleasant situation. The last thing that we need is the two of you on each other's throats!"

"..." I held my gaze for one last second before I looked away. "You know, it could just be me exaggerating. Getting screwed over by people that I thought I trust doesn't quite bring out the best of me…" I took a deep breath. "I'll promise not to do anything rash...until we find her. After that, it's up to her." I paused and clenched my teeth. "...the next time we see her, if she does any fucking thing other than surrendering and apologising, the only promise I'll make is that she'll be alive by the time I'm done with her. End of discussion."

***
Loading...Complete
Changing Perspective: Third Person
***

Fortunately for the party, they didn't encounter any other enemies on the way back to the Administration Area. Yui greeted them happily, but her demeanor quickly changed once she sensed the atmosphere that surrounded the body. She determined that Silica needed to rest first and foremost.

"..." Silica slowly opened her eyes. She had tried her best to relax and rest, but sleep eluded her and she still felt a bit exhausted. She was tempted to ask Riwet for headpats, but she understood that he also needed a bit of time away, to rest and compose himself.

"Kyururu…" Sitting at her shoulder, Pina crooned softly and rubbed her face into her cheek. Silica closed her eyes and tried to find some comfort from her familiar's action.

"Are you alright?" She heard Riwet's voice. She opened her eyes and looked up, and saw him kneeling in front of her. He reached out and handed her a cup of hot chocolate.

She took the cup. "I could be worse…" She shook her head. "How about you?"

He took a seat beside her. "I was able to rest a bit, so I'm fine for the most part."

Silica took a sip, and a mirthless smile found its way onto her face. "It's pathetic, isn't it? Hollows...they're not even real people...but after all that…after what I did...I feel sick…" She sighed. "I've faced countless types of monsters before, but when it comes to that…'

Riwet shook his head. "It just means that you're not used to killing things that look human. Which is a good thing. There's a lot of human-shaped monsters in this game, but there's nothing quite like what you've experienced."

She looked down at the cup and stared at her reflection. She pondered his words for a moment before she looked at him expectantly. "How did you deal with it when you…" She trailed off.

Riwet sighed and looked in the distance. "...as you know, my first player kill was during the coalition against Laughing Coffin. Fortunately, you were there for me, so I didn't have to deal with it alone."

"But after that? When you're alone with your thoughts and nothing distracted you?"

"...I close my emotions off and convince myself that I did the right thing. Aside from that, it just kinda went away with time. I've had nights when I couldn't sleep, but it eventually just stopped bothering me...I guess I just got used to it." He sighed and looked at her. "I'm sorry. Even if I've done this thing before, I don't really know the words to say to you." He reached his hand out and cupped her cheek."...I can't promise that it'll be easier, or it'll go away entirely. We all have our own different ways to cope. But know that I'm here for you, for as much you need me."

"No..." Silica rested her head on his hand and closed her eyes for a second. "Stay with me...even if I don't need you."

In response, Riwet wrapped his arms around her and patted the back of her head.

A few moments passed before they broke away. "So...where to, next?" Silica asked.

"...eh?" Riwet was taken aback.

"You're going after Philia-san, right? Then I'm coming with you."

"Even after all of that? Don't you want to rest up?"

"Will you be here, taking care of me?" She asked. "I don't want you to choose between staying here to care for me and going with to help Kirito and Asuna."

"...can you do this? We're probably gonna face some more Hollows."

"...I…I'll try to protect myself. I don't think I can kill them, but I'll try and wound them. Make them run away and not be able to fight back. I...won't get in your way. I promise."

"..." Riwet started at her with a worried and uncertain look.

"..." Silica stared back with a determined look.

"...let's check up what Yui has to say first, and then we'll talk from there, okay?"

"...okay…"

A smile found its way into Riwet's face. "Remember the time when I first met you, just before you revived Pina?" I asked. She nodded. "You're strong. Stronger than a lot of people I know. Did you know that?"

Silica shook her head. "That's not true. If I was, then I wouldn't be like...this. I'd be more like you."

"No. You're strong in your own way. The Moonlit Black Cats, Kirito, Asuna, the rest of the damn Clearers….and especially me...we're all grateful that you're here with us."

"Riwet…" Silica muttered. Her hands instinctively reached up, and she started patting his head.

"..." Riwet scratched his cheek and looked away.

"What is it?"

"It's a little...you know...embarrassing…"

"You'll get used to it." She paused for a bit, and a smile found its way on her lips. "You know, that's funny, coming from you."

"I have no excuse." He admitted. "...should I stop?"

"No, you shall not." She said matter of factly and crossed her arms. "In fact, you should pat my head right now for even considering the idea."

"Yes, ma'am." Riwet gleefully obliged.

Silica tried with all her might to keep her pouty face, and she was proud that she broke her previous record and made it for 10 seconds before her expression melted into a contented smile.

Riwet took a deep breath. "In all seriousness, though, you have your own strength, and you can work on that. If you want to pursue the other kind of strength, the kind that I have, then I won't stop you. I just want you to consider what you might lose in exchange for it."

Silica nodded. "...you should make up with Kirito-san. You two usually get along, so it doesn't feel right when you're at each other's throats."

Riwet sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah...but not right now. I know I said some choice words and I know that I could have worded it differently, but I meant what I said. I can tolerate a lot of things, but I don't like it when people betray me, and I especially don't like it when I don't realize the betrayal too late, especially since it led to people that I know being hurt."

Silica sighed. "Philia-san has been here for a while. She's been through a lot."

"And like I said before, that doesn't excuse her from what she did."

"Riwet…"

Riwet shook his head and smiled. "Anyways, that's a discussion that we'll have...after you get some rest." He reached over and started patting her head. "For now, focus on trying to rest, and don't think about anything else."

Silica held his hand. "Alright...just...don't overdo it, okay?"

And with that, Silica eyelids began to become heavier and heavier. She closed her eyes, and her consciousness drifted off.

On the side, Asuna observed the two. Her hazel eyes intent on observing Silica.

Kirito walked to her side. "Something on your mind?"

She sighed and leaned her head towards her lover's shoulder. "It's a little..."

"Hey. I may not be much, but you know that I'll help you in any way that I can."

"And I don't doubt that for a minute. It's just that…" She took a deep breath. "I'm just a bit jealous of Silica-chan, I guess…"

"Why? Why are you jealous of her?"

"She was able to take a life to protect the one that she loves. When I was placed in her situation, I screwed it all up." She sighed. For Asuna, that moment was the single most humiliating moment of her life. It was one thing to be tricked by someone who she thought she could trust. It was another thing to be saved by the very person set out to save.

Kirito gently held her hand. "That was just one thing. You've done more than enough for me. I wouldn't be the person that I am right now if not for you. Don't forget that."

She opted not to say anything.

"So, just quick question, Asuna...what would've happened if the same thing happened but I was seriously hurt or traumatized."

"Then the consequences would have been dire." Asuna admitted. "Philia might be a friend, and I will be able to forgive her, but if she did that to you, then I'd be a little more...uncooperative."

"I see…" Kirito looked to the side.

"And speaking of uncooperative, what was that with you and Riwet-kun? You two would have torn each other apart if I wasn't there."

"Well…"

"It was kinda mean what you said to him. I know he said some mean things too, but still...also, Riwet-kun may be able to do a lot of things, but everyone in this room knows that he wouldn't go so far as to torture people."

Kirito shook his head and sighed. "I don't know...but I guess it's my own ego."

"What do you mean?"

"...Riwet is among the handful of people that I can call a true friend. Some people might call him two-faced for how polite he is when socializing compared to how bloodthirsty and vicious he could be, and he is perfectly capable of doing acts that cross my lines, but I could only think of one other person that I'd like to protect my back more than him." He gave Asuna a meaningful smile. She returned it.

After a second, Kirito looked away and sighed before he stared at Riwet. "It's gonna sound stupid, but... it's just that, when we're just having fun together...even though he spent two years out in front of this death game, I could feel that...he still has this spark of innocence in him. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Asuna nodded slightly. "I do." Her mind flashed back to the times when she bantered and had fun with Riwet.

"That's why...everytime I see him do something...unpleasant…I'm afraid that he'll lose that innocence. And he just seems so willing to do it." He took a deep breath.

"Kirito-kun…"

"So yeah, this is my ego talking. I'm trying to save a close friend of mine who doesn't necessarily need or even want my help, just because I built it in my mind that since they don't think or act like me, that there's something wrong with them. I know that it doesn't make a hell lot of sense, but...dammit…"

"Then you should make up with Riwet-kun. Tell him how you feel. Tell him why you're doing this. I know that he'll listen to you."

Kirito sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah...but not right now. We just had a little scuffle there, and…I need to find the right way to apologize."

"...apologize? I know you've said some choice words, but so did he."

"I know. I just need to be a bit careful about my words. You know about my sense of humor, right? I'm not gonna screw up one of my few friendly relationships because I just had to put my foot in my mouth."

Asuna came closer and hugged him. "Just do it soon. It doesn't feel right when you two don't get along.

Kirito returned the gesture. "I will. I promise."

***
Chapter End
***

A/N: Thank you for your review, Bergholt Stuttley Johnson. I'm glad you continued reading despite not liking my earlier chapters, and I am glad that you came to like it.

Now, Bergholt's review raises an interesting point: Now, here's the thing - I know it's just one person, but they read 15 chapters and commented that they may have had enough, and I was lucky enough that they stuck with it and came to like it. I think that Chapter 19 is what fully set Riwet apart from Kirito. Do you guys think that it should be earlier?

I wanted to show how similar Kirito and Riwet was at the beginning and make them diverge as the chapters went on. As you can see, Riwet and Kirito have pretty distinct differences as of this chapter. And even then, I can argue that the similarities turn them into foils of each other, like how I explained it in 16, and like how I exhibited it in this chapter.

Regardless, let me know in the reviews if you think I should make that distinction earlier.

Speaking of chapter 19, thanks for the review, Lirg123. I'd almost say watch the language, but hey, who the fuck am I kidding, right?

Regarding your expected outcome, I felt that Riwet's had his fill, and he's already done enough that the wouldn't 'send a barrow of poison through the portal made by the Corridor Crystal. Also, he can't do that accidentally because he'd have to consciously get a barrow from his inventory, fill that with poison, and send it through the portal. And even then, there are other people present to stop him. Finally, there's nobody in Laughing Coffin he personally hates enough that he'll do that and if there is, then Riwet would have killed him during the fight.

Hmm...let's say for the sake of argument that he was able to do that. Then I'm guessing that he'd be sharing a cell in prison because there are other players waiting on the other side of the portal. Granted, they're members of the Army and they haven't been liberated at that time, but I digress.

Admittedly, it'll make for an interesting situation, but it would need a very out-of-character moment from Riwet to do that, and a very out of character moment from the others since they should have been more than capable of preventing something like that. And furthermore, it's not compatible with the plans I have in the future.

Still...your statement has some interesting ideas to it. Of course, the moment has passed and retconning that it won't be possible, but it's interesting nonetheless. I'll consider that in mind and (big maybe) make space for something like that in the future.

That's all for now. Thank you very much, and have a good one.