Chapter 35- Enter Siren
Marth and Kirito were clashing with Zarc while their friends were dealing with the two Gleam Eyes monsters.
"Is that the best you can do, Darkness Duo?!" Zarc goaded as he parried the Spriggans' attacks.
"Not even close!" Kirito grunted as he activated «Vorpal Strike» with his black sword. He lunged at the demon's stomach but was knocked back when Zarc deflected his attack.
Zarc then felt a cold sensation run down his spine, prompting him to look up. He saw a purple lightning bolt come down from the sky, prompting him to defend with a black barrier. Zarc grunted as he felt himself pushed down from the spell, but easily shrugged it off before eyeing Marth.
"You'll need to do better than that," the Demon King boasted.
Marth simply glared at the demon. "You asked for it."
The Spriggans then charged at the demon with their dual swords. Meanwhile, Yuuki, Asuna and the others were battling the Gleam Eyes monsters. Both bosses were powerful, but the group was somehow managing to hang on. One Gleam Eyes was even knocked back when Thorrnn blasted it with a fire spell, burning its sword arm.
"I just realized something," Thorrnn said suddenly. "Gleam Eyes is a boss from Sword Art Online so it has countermeasures to deal with things from SAO, like Sword Skills. But magic didn't exist in SAO, so Gleam Eyes can't protect itself from it."
"We did manage to trap a Gleam Eyes and a Skull Reaper by using magic. Not to mention Marth and Asuna took out four SAO bosses at once with Stormsurge," Leafa added. "Maybe that's how we can take these things out."
"Sounds like a plan," Asuna replied. "You and Thorrnn should start casting a spell strong enough to kill these things. We'll cover you."
The blonde Sylph nodded in confirmation. "You got it."
Asuna and the others, minus Sinon, then charged at the bosses head-on. Meanwhile the Sylphs stood back-to-back.
"Should we do a Unison Spell?" Thorrnn questioned.
"We might have to," Leafa replied. "There's no other way we can end this quickly."
"Then let's do it."
The Sylphs then closed their eyes as they began chanting the Fire Unison Spell, causing them to be surrounded by crimson flames. Asuna and Yuuki were holding off the first Gleam Eyes, with occasional support from Sinon, while Agil, Klein and Silica were fighting the second boss.
The Lightning Flash and Absolute Sword kept Switching to slowly wear the boss down, which seemed to be working as the boss's attacks were getting slower, though only slightly. Sinon fired a barrage of lightning arrows at the first Gleam Eyes, injuring its arms and legs and stunning it long enough for Asuna to strike its chest with «Linear», injuring it even further.
As for the second Gleam Eyes, Agil managed to keep its attention on him while Klein and Silica flanked it. The boss tried to strike at the Cait Sith with its snake tail, but Klein blocked it with his katana. Silica then used her dagger to sever the snake's head, rendering the tail worthless.
The boss roared in outrage and swung its sword down at Agil, who barely managed to block it with his axe.
"A little help here," Agil strained to say.
"I've got your back!" Klein shouted as he activated a Sword Skill with his katana, causing the blade to ignite in flames. The samurai then jumped into the air and slashed the Gleam Eyes's left shoulder, leaving a deep cut and burn behind.
The second Gleam Eyes changed its focus to the samurai and prepared to counter while he was frozen, only for Agil to stop it with an axe Sword Skill.
Suddenly Sinon noticed the flames around the Sylphs, who were right next to her, to intensify.
"Everyone, get back!" Sinon shouted in warning.
The Alfheim Warriors, at least the ones engaging the boss monsters, saw the Sylphs and immediately jumped away from the monsters.
"Ragnarök!" Thorrnn and Leafa shouted in sync.
Suddenly the sky lit up as several meteors descended and struck the boss monsters, consuming them both in a fiery explosion that shook the whole fortress. Everyone was in awe of the spell's power, even Marth, Kirito, and Zarc.
"Whoa," Marth said simply.
"So that's what Leafa and Thorrnn were busy with the last few days," Kirito replied before smirking. "Awesome."
Thorrnn and Leafa then collapsed to their knees as exhaustion overtook them.
"Are you guys okay?" Sinon asked the Sylphs in concern.
"Yeah," Leafa said slowly as she tried to catch her breath. "We'll be… fine… after… a few minutes."
"Focus on… stopping Zarc," Thorrnn added.
Asuna and the others complied and turned their focus to Zarc, who was busy fighting Marth and Kirito. Silica then noticed dark clouds making their way to the city.
"What are those?" the Cait Sith asked nervously.
Zarc, who was locking swords with Kirito, knocked the Spriggan back before sneering as monsters appeared from the clouds and flew towards the city.
"That would be my reinforcements," the Demon King declared. "And they're just in time
"What?" Kirito said in disbelief.
Marth grunted in frustration before firing a lightning blast from Lunara at Zarc, who easily blocked it with a swing of his sword as he charged at the Dark Swordsman. Zarc then unleashed a flurry of slashes on the Spriggan, who proceeded to block them all with his dual swords.
"Come on!" Zarc goaded as Marth blocked his attack with a cross-block. "Is that all the Silver Aegis is capable of?!"
Marth then forced Zarc's sword away before back flipping away, while also kicking the demon in the face. "Haha," Marth said confidently. "You're gonna regret that. I think its time to end your army."
Zarc's eyes widened in shock. "Huh?"
Marth's Core Crystal lit up as purple-electric aura surrounded him. "Thunder Javelin!" the Silver Aegis shouted.
Suddenly several large spears of purple lightning shot down from the sky and flew towards the army of flying monsters, annihilating a majority of them.
"Don't you know preparation is everything, Zarc?" Marth said confidently as his hair and coat rustled from the wind that blew.
Zarc turned towards his aerial forces and smirked. "Very impressive," he said smugly before eyeing the Aegis. "But it won't be enough."
Suddenly more aerial monsters appeared from the clouds, practically filling in the gaps that Marth made with his spell.
"What?" Marth said in shock.
"Preparation is everything," Zarc replied as he pointed his sword at the blue-eyed Spriggan. "Isn't that what you said, Dark Swordsman?"
Marth gritted his teeth in anger. "If that's how he wants to play it, then no more holding back," he thought. The Dark Swordsman began changing into his SAO avatar. His overcoat briefly changed into his blackwyrm coat before it quickly reverted back into his ALO attire, much to Marth's shock.
"What the? Why didn't it work?" Marth asked himself. He tried to change into his SAO avatar again, but the same thing just happened again.
Everyone else was just as confused, though Zarc looked more amused.
"Looks like someone's having a little trouble with their powers," Zarc mocked.
Marth was too in shock to notice Zarc charging at him, prompting Yuuki to cry out, "Snap out of it, Marth!"
The Dark Swordsman snapped out of his thoughts and saw Yuuki intercept the Demon King and lock swords with him, causing sparks to dance into the air.
"Hello again," Zarc said arrogantly. "Do you have something to say?"
Yuuki pushed the Demon King back and readied a «Vorpal Strike». "Why are you so intent on getting revenge on Marth?" she asked before charging at the demon while lunging her sword at him.
Zarc easily side-stepped out of the way before he noticed Kirito fire a few dark projectiles at him, prompting Zarc to block them with a dark barrier.
"I've already told you why," the Demon King replied. "He killed my master and ended my life two times. The punishment for that is total annihilation."
"Not on my watch!" Kirito shouted as he clashed swords with Zarc before they both backed off and began circling each other.
"Oh yeah?" Zarc questioned as he pushed against the Spriggan's swords. "Answer me this. Marth is an Aegis, yet he hasn't let loose even once during this whole war. I bet you're the one holding him back. This whole war might've ended sooner if Marth didn't have you for a Driver."
Kirito reeled back in surprise. "No, I haven't…" The Spriggan then turned towards his partner, who looked just as confused as him. Kirito then realized his mistake as he barely managed to block Zarc's slash aimed at his head, but Kirito was still knocked to the ground from the impact.
"Kirito!" Asuna shouted in worry as she hurried to her boyfriend and helped him up.
"Zarc!" Marth exclaimed in rage as his Core Crystal lit up with silver light.
Suddenly a silver and black Siren with black wings and a silver Aegis core on its chest descended from the sky before hovering behind the blue-eyed Spriggan.
"So you finally summoned Siren!" Zarc said in glee. "Good. Now the real fun begins!"
Marth's rage was replaced with confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"I'll just show you!" Zarc then snapped his fingers, causing the Shadow Crystal to begin glowing. The crystal then fired a dark beam at Marth's Artifice, forcing it to the ground.
"Siren!" Marth shouted in worry.
Strangely, the beam didn't seem to harm the Artifice after it ended, allowing Siren to pick itself back up, but everyone then noticed a large shadow looming behind Zarc. Everyone then gasped as they saw a pure black demon-like version of Siren rise up from the shadow and hovered behind Zarc. The Shadow Siren also had black Aegis core as well.
"How did he do that?" Silica asked in fear.
"This is really bad, guys!" Agil shouted. "Now Zarc has an Artifice of his own!"
"Indeed!" Zarc exclaimed. "And its all thanks to the Shadow Crystal. It can scan whatever weaponry my enemies use and create shadow versions of them that I can control. That includes Artifices like Siren."
Marth's eyes filled with rage as his core's light grew brighter. "Your Artifice is nothing but a cheap knock-off! My Siren won't lose to something like that!"
"We'll see about that! Shadow Siren, attack!"
"Take that imposter down, Siren!"
The two Sirens then rammed at each other with their barriers activated, creating a shockwave that rocked the whole fortress.
"Take it easy, Marth!" Kirito shouted desperately. "If you're not careful, you could destroy this whole place!"
The Silver Aegis calmed down slightly, with his core's light dying down. "Sorry," Marth said apologetically. "Lost my cool for a second there."
The two Sirens then took their battle to the sky, though they stayed close to the Shadow Fortress. Meanwhile Thorrnn and Leafa had recovered enough strength to rejoin the fight.
"Sorry we're late," Thorrnn said as she and her fellow Sylph hurried to their friends.
"You're just in time," Yuuki replied. "Now let's finish this!"
The Alfheim Warriors charged at the Demon King, who merely sneered at the sight. Zarc easily parried Klein and Agil's attacks with his sword before blocking Marth and Kirito's spells with his dark barrier. Zarc then summoned a pillar of dark magic from the ground, injuring Silica and Yuuki, who were caught in its blast. Thankfully Asuna switched to her ALO form and healed them with her magic.
"Thanks, Asuna," Yuuki said with a smile.
"You're welcome," the Undine replied.
Meanwhile Marth's Siren fired a barrage of silver energy projectiles, prompting Shadow Siren to block with its defense barrier. The Silver Siren then drew one of its swords and struck the barrier, pushing Shadow Siren back.
"So this is what a battle between Artifices is like," Zarc said. "I love it. With this fortress and Shadow Siren at my side, my victory is assured!"
"Don't count on it!" Marth and Kirito shouted as they charged at the Demon King.
The Darkness Duo unleashed a flurry of slashes but Zarc managed to repel them all, though a few attacks did slip past him, but they barely injured him. Zarc then summoned a giant sphere of dark magic and hurled it towards the Alfheim Warriors, only for Marth to block it with «Stormveil». The collision of the two spells created a powerful explosion that knocked everyone back.
"That was way too close," Klein said. "If that attack had hit, we'd be finished."
"Not on my watch," Marth said with certainty.
Asuna and Yuuki then clashed with Zarc by constantly Switching, but they were hardly leaving an impact on the demon.
"Boring," Zarc said as he forced the girls away with a shockwave of dark magic. He then raised his dark barrier to block a barrage of fire arrows from Sinon, much to the archer's frustration.
"This is getting annoying!" Thorrnn exclaimed as she fired a volley of fireballs at the demon, only for Zarc to counter with his own magic, cancelling the two out.
"No kidding," Leafa replied.
Suddenly Marth tossed his swords to Kirito, who quickly sheathed his own and caught the twin swords with ease.
"Let's do this, Marth!" Kirito shouted as Lunara and Solaris flared with auras of their respective elements.
"Yeah!" the Silver Aegis agreed.
A silver aura then surrounded the Spriggans as Kirito charged at Zarc at high-speed. The Demon King was barely able to block the Black Swordsman's first attack, which was a horizontal slash with Lunara, but it left him open to getting stabbed in the stomach by Solaris.
"Insolent punk," Zarc said in anger as he healed his injury. "You'll pay for that!"
"We'll see," Kirito said simply.
The two then unleashed a flurry of attacks on each other, with Kirito chaining Sword Skills by using Skill Connect. While both opponents were injured from their attacks, Zarc's were more serious than Kirito's.
The Black Swordsman wasn't done yet as he then shouted, "Starburst Stream!"
Lunara and Solaris's blades began glowing blue as Kirito activated his OSS. The Black Swordsman unleashed the Sword Skill on the Demon King, greatly damaging his armor and also forcing him back. After Starburst Stream concluded, Marth and Kirito's aura faded.
"Impressive," Zarc said as his armor began repairing itself. "But you could do so much more." He then eyed the Silver Aegis. "C'mon, Marth. Stop holding back!"
Suddenly Shadow Siren drew twin swords and charged at Marth's Siren, prompting the Artifice to draw its own. The two Siren clashed fiercely in the air before Shadow Siren managed to overpower Marth's Siren and knocked it into the Shadow Fortress.
Marth grunted in frustration. "Nothing I do works. Critias said that only the Dark Swordsman can kill Zarc, but none of my attacks have a lasting impact on him. What should I do?"
Zarc simply sneered. "Can't do it?" he questioned. "Then I'll force it out of you!"
Suddenly Shadow Siren turned towards Tokyo and readied its particle cannon. It promptly fired several black particle beams at the city, destroying a few buildings and killing dozens of people in the explosions that followed. One explosion was heading towards Lisbeth, who was fighting a golem.
"Liz, look out!" Celina cried out in warning before she got in front of her friend as the blast reached them.
Meanwhile, back at the Shadow Fortress, the Alfheim Warriors were speechless. They could even picture the screams of the people as they fled for their lives.
"No!" Yuuki said in shock.
"This can't be real," Silica added.
Kirito gritted his teeth in anger. "You bastard!" he shouted. "Your fight's with us, not them!" He then faced his partner. "Let's take him down, Marth!"
Sadly, the Dark Swordsman was too lost in his own thoughts to hear. "No," Marth said in grief as he thought about the two guildmates that were in the city. "This can't be… Celina! Liz!"
Suddenly Marth was overcome with a range of different emotions. He felt worry and grief over his friends and family that were still in Tokyo, shock from the horror he just witnessed, to rage for the man who caused it.
"He must pay for this atrocity!" a voice called out in Marth's head. The voice's tone was male and full of anger.
"Who said that?" Marth questioned in fear, confusing his friends.
"Are you okay, Marth?" Yuuki asked in concern.
Marth didn't answer as he held his head with his hands while his Core Crystal lit up while his emotions became chaotic. He let out a scream as a strange power overwhelmed him, like something deep inside him was trying to take control of his body, surrounding him in a pillar of silver light. At the same time, the dragon-like Artifice, which was hiding somewhere near Tokyo, stirred ever so slightly. Soon the pillar of light faded, but Marth had a silver aura around him and his core was glowing. His eyes were now silver instead of blue too.
At the same time, Kirito suddenly felt an immense power from Lunara and Solaris flowing into him, making it difficult for him to even stand.
"M-Marth? What's going on?" Kirito questioned before looking down. "What the…?" Suddenly Lunara and Solaris became silver with white energy emitting from the blades. The power coming from the twin swords was too much for the Black Swordsman to handle, prompting him to fall to his knees as silver energy radiated off his body.
"Kirito!" Asuna shouted in worry. The Undine tried to help her boyfriend, but the aura around him forced her away.
"Stay…back…Asuna," Kirito struggled to say before facing his partner. "Marth…help!"
The Silver Aegis turned towards his Driver, but his eyes seemed lost and lacked sort of any recognition in them.
"Marth…what's…wrong?" Kirito asked with difficulty.
Marth didn't answer him as he approached his Driver and took his swords back, lessening the burden on Kirito, but he was still unable to move. The Silver Aegis then turned his attention to Zarc.
"Marth?" Thorrnn questioned. "What's going on? You're kinda freaking me out."
"Answer us, please!" Yuuki pleaded, but her cries fell on deaf ears.
Zarc, on the other hand, looked amused at the sight. "So this is what you're fully capable of," the Demon King replied as a dark aura surrounded him. "Now the real battle can begin. Show me what you've got, Marth!"
Marth and Zarc then charged at each other at high-speed and locked swords, creating a shockwave that knocked the others back. As they tried to overpower each other, Zarc looked Marth in the eye and was shocked at the emptiness in them.
"Looks like someone can't control his own power," Zarc goaded.
"We'll…see about…that," Marth said slowly, but his voice sounded mixed with someone else's.
The two opponents then backed off of each other before they both summoned wings and took their battle to the sky, constantly clashing at high speeds.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Klein shouted. "Why's Marth acting so weird?!"
"I…don't know," Kirito answered as he tried to stand up but couldn't. "Something's… wrong with him. It's like I…don't even recognize him."
"Are you serious?" Sinon asked in disbelief as Yuuki and Thorrnn watched the duel in the sky in shock.
The clashing of swords echoed in the air as Marth and Zarc fought each other. The Dark Swordsman slashed at the demon's legs with his dual swords, only for Zarc to deflect his attack. Suddenly Marth's Siren appeared behind him, prompting Marth to dismiss his swords before merging with Siren's Aegis core.
"Two can play at that game!" Zarc declared as Shadow Siren appeared behind him before he did the same as Marth.
Both opponents then took direct control over their Artifices before Shadow Siren took off high into the air, with Silver Siren in hot pursuit. The two Artifices then rammed into each other with their defense barriers on, creating powerful shockwaves that shook the Shadow Fortress.
"Marth! Stop!" Kirito pleaded.
"This is insane!" Agil exclaimed. "What does Marth think he's doing?!"
"I don't think he cares," Yuuki said grimly as she felt completely helpless.
The two Sirens began their battle over Tokyo, with Shadow Siren firing a black particle beam at Marth, who was just staying out of its way, but the city wasn't so lucky as the beam leveled buildings and caused both humans and monsters to scatter in fear. Silver Siren then retaliated by firing several particle blasts at Shadow Siren, who blocked them with its defense barrier as it made its way towards its fellow Artifice.
"What are those things?" Eugene questioned as he and the other leaders watched the fight in disbelief.
"I don't know," Chrysheight said. "But I've got a bad feeling about this."
Shadow Siren managed to deliver a solid kick on Silver Siren, but the latter managed to grab onto its leg and threw it into the city. Zarc yelped as the cockpit he was in shook when he crashed. Marth then let out a terrifying scream as Silver Siren began charging its particle cannon.
"No, Marth!" Kirito shouted desperately. "Don't do it!"
Even Zarc was shocked at Marth's actions. He was barely able to get Shadow Siren up to avoid the silver particle beam that Marth's Siren shot at him, though the beam followed him while also damaging Tokyo even further. Marth wasn't done yet as he recklessly had his Siren fire even more particle beams, not caring if they hit their mark or not.
Eventually Zarc's Siren managed to land a particle beam on Marth's Siren, disabling its particle cannon. Silver Siren responded by drawing its twin swords and flew at Shadow Siren. Marth's Artifice managed to sever Zarc's particle cannon from his Artifice, prompting Shadow Siren to move to safety while Silver Siren moved near the Shadow Fortress.
"Why you," Zarc said in anger. "Destroy him!"
Suddenly all of Zarc's aerial monsters flew towards Marth's Siren, eager to kill its pilot. However, Marth's Core Crystal began glowing, prompting Siren's core to do the same. Soon a large mysterious silver aura appeared around Siren, vaporizing any monsters that dared to enter it.
"What the?!" Zarc exclaimed in shock.
Meanwhile Kirito could only watch as his best friend continued to lose himself to his own power. "M-Marth," he muttered in desperation. "This isn't you. Please… snap out of it."
Zarc then found himself chuckling. "You never cease to surprise me, Marth," the Demon King said through Shadow Siren's speakers. "So that's the power you've got hidden inside you! With that power, nothing this world has can stop you! You can make this world your bitch if you choose to!"
"N-no," Marth replied. "I-I'm not…like that. That's… not who…I am!"
Zarc shook his head in disappointment. "What a shame. Then I guess I'll just wrap this up and get back to destroying your city!"
Shadow Siren rapidly flew towards Silver Siren and readied a punch, only for Silver Siren to block it with its defense barrier. However, Shadow Siren didn't give in and was pushing back to overcome the barrier.
Marth groaned as he tried to maintain Siren's defense barrier when suddenly memories of his past began flooding through him. He remembered the first day of SAO, the fight with Gleam Eyes and the fight with Kayaba and Brandon, his and Kirito's battle with Death Gun, and Temporal Island.
"I just…wanted…to save…" Marth said in pain as a single tear leaked from his right eye.
Suddenly Marth began having visions of things he's never seen before. First, he saw himself walking with a girl with long black hair and amber eyes down a sidewalk. They were both wearing a black school uniform and seemed to be chatting about something. Next was Marth in some strange VRMMO where his avatar was wearing some kind of black futuristic armor and he had a black visor covering his eyes. He was wielding Lunara and Solaris and seemed to be battling a player with a strange blue avatar. And finally, Marth saw himself, in his SAO avatar, standing beside the girl from the first vision as they stood before an unknown foe.
"Someone…help…me," Marth pleaded as his tear ran down his cheek before touching his Core Crystal, causing its light to intensify.
Suddenly Siren's core unleashed a blinding silver light, prompting Zarc to shield his eyes as his Artifice was forced away by powerful shockwave that followed. He then watched in horror as Marth's Siren unleashed a barrage of silver blasts everywhere, wrecking most of Tokyo, killing the monsters, and inflicting massive damage to Shadow Siren, which began deteriorating from all the attacks.
Zarc howled in pain as the attacks nearly destroyed his armor and badly damaged his body. "Maaaarth!" Zarc shouted in anger as Shadow Siren plunged into the ocean.
Marth's attacks even reached the Shadow Fortress, destroying the Shadow Crystal and most of the structure.
"Kirito! Look out!" Yuuki shouted.
The Black Swordsman noticed one beam heading towards him, but he couldn't move to avoid it because of Marth's volatile power affecting him. Suddenly Yuuki jumped in front of him and took the attack instead, causing her to cry out in pain as the beam pierced her stomach and left a nasty wound behind.
"Yuuki!" Kirito shouted in worry.
The Absolute Sword collapsed on the ground as blood began pouring from the wound. Somehow, Kirito managed to move towards the Imp and cradled her in his arms.
Yuuki let out a sickly cough as she eyed the Black Swordsman. "Are you…okay, Kirito?" she asked weakly.
"Why?" Kirito asked as tears leaked from his eyes. "Why did you do that?"
"I couldn't…let you die," Yuuki answered simply. "If you died…then Marth would've returned to his Core Crystal. He doesn't…know how to…live without a Driver. Plus, he would never forgive himself… if he caused your death."
"But," Kirito said in sorrow as Asuna and the others hurried to them.
"Try not to talk, Yuuki," the Undine said as she knelt beside the Imp and tried to heal her stomach wound, however, the wound refused to close. "What's going on? Why won't this heal?" Asuna tried to use healing magic on Yuuki's wound several times, but nothing happened.
The Lightning Flash was stopped when Yuuki took her hand. "Enough…Asuna," the Imp said slowly. "That attack…was different from the others. This wound can't be healed, no matter what."
The others gasped in shock. "That can't be true," Leafa pleaded desperately. "Maybe it takes more than one healer. If me, Thorrnn and Asuna work together, I'm sure we can heal it."
The Sylphs and the Undine tried combining their healing magic, but the wound refused to close as blood continued to soak Yuuki's clothes and the ground below her.
"I told you that this wound can't be healed," Yuuki said gravely.
"But there has to be something we can do!" Asuna pleaded as tears stained her eyes. "Marth may not forgive himself if Kirito died, but the same applies to you too! You just can't die, Yuuki!"
Despite the situation, the Absolute Sword gave her friend a reassuring smile. "Asuna, I want you to promise me something," Yuuki said firmly. "Look after my OSS and pass it on when you find someone worthy of it. Make sure…that my sword lives forever."
Even with her tears running down her face, Asuna slowly nodded. "Okay. When my time ends, I'll pass Mother's Rosario onto a person that's worthy of it. I'll make sure your sword is never forgotten."
"Thank you." Yuuki then eyed Kirito with her red eyes. "As for you, Kirito, look after Marth for me. Like it or not, he needs you more than he needs me. Make him understand…that he doesn't have to go at it alone."
Kirito slowly nodded his head. "Alright," he said slowly. "You can count on me. I won't let you down, Yuuki."
The Imp then let out a series of weak coughs as her vision became blurry from the blood loss. "One more thing," she said. "Tell Marth to let me go. Don't let me be the one holding him back from finding someone special. Someone who could be something I couldn't for him."
The Black Swordsman was silent for a moment before saying, "Okay. I'll tell him."
"Thank...you," Yuuki said with a one final smile before closing her eyes. Her body became limp as she succumbed to her wound.
Everyone was overcome with grief, with Kirito, Silica, and Asuna bursting into tears.
"I can't believe Yuuki's dead," Klein said in remorse. "How are we gonna tell Marth?"
"We could just not tell him," Sinon offered before shaking her head. "On second thought, that's a bad idea. He doesn't deserve that."
Suddenly the silver aura around Kirito faded and he found himself able to move properly again. He and the others then saw Siren land behind them before an unconscious Marth fell out of its core. Siren then ascended, heading back into space.
"Marth!" Kirito exclaimed in worry. The Spriggan managed to catch his partner before he hit the ground. Kirito sighed in relief when he felt Marth's breathing. He also noticed Lunara and Solaris were back in their scabbards and were in their original colors again.
Suddenly the Shadow Fortress began shaking as it started falling apart.
"We have to get out of here!" Klein shouted fearfully. "This place is coming down!"
Kirito made sure he had a firm grip on Marth and faced his guildmates. "Agil, take Yuuki's body," the Black Swordsman said.
"You got it, brother," Agil said before picking up the Imp's body with both arms.
The Alfheim Warriors then summoned their wings and took off as the Shadow Fortress crashed into the ocean.
To be continued
Sorry if this was really long. I just couldn't split this up. So yeah, Yuuki's dead. That's not gonna go well with Marth when he finds out. Also take a guess who the black-haired girl from Marth's visions were. Although since I have the title on the sequel for Dark Swordsman 2 on my profile and what it is, I doubt it will be really hard to figure out. Anyway, the next chapter will be the last chapter for this story. I'll see you guys next time!