Had they really managed to make it at least 55 floors since he shut himself off from the world?
The Knights of the Blood Oath base was stationed on the geographically varied floor. Their base of operations was in what they called, the "Steel City". Their headquarters is a huge steel tower with silver spears above the gate and red flags with silver crosses swaying in the wind.
"Wow." Was all he said while looking up at the building.
"Pretty impressive, huh?" Asuna said while standing next to him with her arms crossedd over her chest. "We started out on the 29th floor, then we moved it up to the 39th floor before we finally settled on the 55th floor. It's amazing that we managed to make it a little more than halfway through the game so far. We're close to getting through this game."
Asuna said all of this with that radiant smile that made Higuchi anxious. He gave a small smile in return before a realization came over him.
"Well, the floors get more difficult as we go on so it's probably not saying much." Higuchi said. Asuna frowned at this and smacked his arm. "Ow, what was that for?"
"Would it kill you to be optimistic every now and again?" She asked.
"S-Sorry." He said, rubbing his arm while looking down.
"I already told you that you don't need to apologize for everything." She said. Higuchi could tell he was making her frustrated and was about to apologize again before going silent.
He finally said, "Yeah, okay."
Asuna sighed a little before saying, "You know what? We're wasting time, let's head inside. I'll get you in a meeting with the guild leader."
"You can… do that?" Higuchi asked.
Asuna turned, looked at him and gave him a confident smile. "Oh, did I forget to mention? I'm the second in command. I can easily get you a meeting."
Higuchi was taken aback and felt worse for not acknowledging it sooner. He had been speaking to the second in command of one of the strongest guilds out there as if he were talking to an equal. He was going to apologize again before he remembered what she said and just said. "Wow, you must be a really amazing player."
Asuna gave him a warm, friendly smile and said, "Not really. I've just gotten a lot of practice. I think I'm a little bit stronger than I was at the beginning."
Higuchi followed close behind her as she led him to the building. He couldn't help but admire her humility. He had yet to see this in a whole lot of people around him. He continued to follow her as she guided him through the guild hall. Unsurprisingly, the silver room was decorated with red triangular flags hanging from nails that were hammered into pillars. A white cross was in the center of the crimson triangles and the flags made it seem large enough so someone could lie in the center of the cross and mimic a crucifixion.
"This is nice and all, but don't you worry about attacks from rival guilds?" Higuchi asked, "I mean, with you guys being the strongest guild you have a pretty big target on your back. Not to mention the size of your guild hall isn't doing you too many favors in that department."
Asuna kept walking but turned her head slightly to him so he could hear her speak. "People tend to stay away unless they want to join. Our reputation precedes us." She explained, "Guilds don't normally attack each other anyways. Unless they're stupid and want to prolong our stay in this game."
Higuchi nodded at her statement. She did have a point. It would be more beneficial for guilds to work together rather than against one another. Of course, there were a few glaring exceptions but those were few and far between. If there is one thing Higuchi learned it was that you couldn't negotiate with idiots.
They continued walking and Higuchi noticed how everyone was dressed. They all wore the same thing, red and white clothes, armor, capes and the occasional helmet. The only things that weren't white or red were the brown gauntlets and boots. They reminded Higuchi very much of Crusaders. Maybe this was the idea they were going for. A group of knights fighting for a holy cause. Only this time they didn't face Allah or any real god. They were preparing to go face to face with a man who perceived himself to be a god.
"Asuna." An unfamiliar voice called out to them.
The voice belonged to an older gentleman who was dressed in the Knights of the Blood Oath armor. He could have been in his mid to late twenties but the wrinkles on his face indicated otherwise. His black hair was tied back in a ponytail with two long strands framing his face. Higuchi looked at his ID and saw his gamer name "Kuradeel."
"Asuna, how many times have I told you that you can't go off on your own. It's too dangerous." He said.
Asuna closed her eyes and put her hand up to her forehead. She let out a heavy sigh of embarrassment like a child being lectured by her parents in front of their friend.
"Wow, Asuna must be pretty important to warrant a bodyguard." Higuchi thought as his lecture went on.
"Who the hell is this?" The older man said, looking in Higuchi's direction.
"Uh… I'm…" Higuchi was about to speak before he was interrupted by the bodyguard.
"I wasn't talking to you." He said harshly, "I was speaking to Miss Asuna."
Higuchi felt his heart fall to his stomach before anger slowly began to overtake him again. Familiar fantasies began to develop of violently snapping Kuradeel's bones and cracking his skull on the pavement. Forcing him to bite the sidewalk and stomping on his skull with enough force to shatter his teeth and break his neck.
These thoughts were interrupted when Asuna said, "Kuradeel, there's no need to be rude. He's with me."
"Ma'am you cannot just bring outsiders into our guild hall." Kuradeel said before leaning down to her level and whispering, "What if he's a spy?"
"I can hear you." Higuchi said and Kuradeel scowled at him.
"He's not a spy." Asuna said, "You're too paranoid for your own good. And he won't be an outsider for long. I was just on my way to get him indoctrinated into the guild. He's expressed interest in joining."
"Then he'll have to sign up at the booth like everyone else." Kuradeel insisted with impatience in his voice. "Not everyone can see the guild master and we can't just make exceptions."
"I'm going to vouch for him personally." Asuna said, "Heathcliff is sure to back me up. Besides, we need new members. Maybe we should lower our standards if we want to progress further and get out of this game."
Higuchi looked at Asuna and felt something in his heart. He wasn't sure what it was but it felt warm and it flooded the rest of his body. He was confused as to why she was defending him. He appreciated it but he was not sure what she stood to gain out of it. Normally, when people are nice to you they usually want something out of you.
They had finally reached the guild master's office door after Kuradeel had insisted on being present in the event that Higuchi was a spy. He kept looking at Higuchi out of the corner of his eye but immediately looked ahead once Higuchi turned to look at him.
The name Heathcliff was embedded onto a plaque that hung upon the door. Asuna's knuckles tapped lightly on the wood three times and a deep voice said, "Come in."
The door opened to reveal a room largely cloaked in shadow apart from a few long rectangles of floor that weren't concealed by the windows. Heathcliff himself was also consumed by shadows so there was no clear view of his face. He sat behind his desk with his elbows on his desk and his fingers interlocked.
The walk to his desk seemed to drag on with the intensity Higuchi felt while walking to him. Heathcliff rose from his desk and Higuchi felt his heart pound in his chest as he felt himself be swallowed by the man's shadow. He was tall, so much taller than him so he towered over him. He was also muscular under his crimson red armor, which made him seem bigger than he actually was. He had a sharp jawline, scholarly features and had steel grey hair that was slicked back with the exception of a collection of strands hanging down one side of his face from his hairline. His appearance was that of the ideal fantasy hero. He resembled a Chaucer character.
Higuchi couldn't help but remember his father's fondness for Chaucer and "The Knight's Tale." This might have provided a big inspiration for the setting of the game. Akihiko Kayaba was partial to mathematics and sciences, but the occasional work of literature would capture his attention. Higuchi knew that he would not think of Chaucer the same way that his father… no… that Akihiko Kayaba had twisted it in such a way that destroyed various lives for the sake of feeding his power fantasy.
He knew he couldn't blame Heathcliff for this; it was not his fault. All he did was trigger a memory of one of the few interactions they'd had together.
Heathcliff stepped out from behind his desk and sized Higuchi up. His eyes narrowed at the white-haired boy as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And who is this?" He asked in a deep, imposing voice. He had asserted his dominance with only a simple question.
"This is Higuchi." Asuna said, "He's an old friend of mine that I met back on level one. He's interested in joining the guild and I'm here to vouch for him."
"I see." Heathcliff said with his eyes scanning him almost robotically.
"What could he be thinking?" Higuchi thought, "Does he think I wouldn't be strong enough based on my muscle mass? …Okay, lack thereof. Regardless, he underestimates me."
"He doesn't look like much, but he's pretty quick on his feet. He was a primary factor is defeating the boss on the first floor." Asuna says, "He's someone who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty."
Heathcliff grunted at Asuna's statement. He would have to take the word of his second in command. She had proven herself a very trustworthy person who had no reason to let personal bias influence her decision. She was far too serious to allow that to happen.
"I would like to ask him some questions in private if you don't mind." Heathcliff said.
Higuchi had not expected that and looked to Asuna. She in turn looked to him for a moment and she saw a small bit of anxiety in his eyes. He looked back to Heathcliff, who was staring at him as if waiting for an answer.
"Alright, if you think that's necessary then…" He shrugged a bit before saying, "…I wouldn't mind."
Asuna and Kuradeel turned and left the office. Asuna gave him a small smile as if to say, "Good luck" and she exited. The door closed gently but it still echoed loudly as if it were slammed shut.
Without Asuna the tension seemed to escalate. This severity and sense of emergency seemed eerily familiar to Higuchi as something crawled up the back of his neck and he fought the urge to twitch or tick in such a way that would make it awkward.
Heathcliff took a step closer to Higuchi and looked down at him. His dark, soulless eyes stared into Higuchi's white eyes as if trying to find something in them. What he could have been looking for remained a mystery to Higuchi.
The silence was deafening and Higuchi felt something inside his stomach jump when it was finally broken.
"What made you want to join the Knights of the Blood Oath?" He asked.
"I guess… I just figured… I could only make so much progress on my own… so I decided to join a guild." He answered.
"Why this one? The standards are quite high for joining."
"It was recommended by Asuna… my… friend."
He hesitated to call Asuna his friend for at least two reasons. The first being that they had only had two encounters and barely knew each other. She had likely only gotten him this far out of pity. The second being that he knew that she would not want him as a friend. He wasn't… "friend material." He didn't know what else to call her and he felt guilty but there was nothing that could be done about it.
"My sub leader is your friend?"
"…Yes."
"And you met on the first floor?"
"Yes."
"You're the accused beater, yes?"
"How do you know about that?"
"Word travels fast."
Higuchi felt his face heat up. He was unsure as to whether to confirm or deny it. On one hand, Heathcliff might be able to tell if he was lying. Heathcliff was likely looking for signs like that. On the other hand, he wouldn't want to hire a beater for his guild.
What is one to do?
"I'm not a beater… what happened was…" Higuchi tried to explain but was interrupted.
"I know you're not a beater." Heathcliff said. "It's very clear to me."
"Oh… Well, that's good." Higuchi said, "That saves me the trouble of an explanation."
"And it saves me the trouble of having to hear it." He said.
Higuchi went silent and nodded slowly. Of course he wouldn't want to hear about his problems.
"Now, let me ask you something else." Heathcliff said.
"Of course." Higuchi said.
"Have you been seeing things lately, son?"
The silence consumed all again. Tension once again followed it. Time dragged on slowly and painfully with each agonizing second.
"I-I'm sorry. I think I misheard you."
"I asked you, have you been seeing things lately, son?"
Another long pause.
"Perhaps violent and dangerous fantasies of maiming and killing people? Perhaps whenever they make you angry? You seem to have targeted two idiots in particular. Each time you have… "unsettled" everyone around you to put it lightly. You just can't seem to make any friends, can you? I can't say I'm surprised." He says calmly.
How could he possibly know about that? There's no way. They had just met but he was reading Higuchi like an open book.
"I know all of this because that's how you've been your entire life… 'Kyousuke'."
Realization pierced through his heart like a bullet. All anxiety fled as he felt numb now. The numbness was only temporary, to be replaced by a familiar feeling of anger and hatred.
Horrid images of violently killing Akihiko Kayaba. He had a blade to slice open his throat but that would be no fun. He would rip him open with his bare hands and blood would explode forth. He wouldn't enjoy that as much as he would watching the fear in his eyes as he was whisked away to hell.
"That would be fun." Something in his head commented.
This woke him from his fantasy. He did not have time to think about what could have made him think it was fun when he was snapped back to reality where he was lying on the ground with Heathcliff's foot on his chest. When the hell did this happen? He had no memory of how it occurred. It was like when he forced his fantasies of killing someone during his last encounter with Liz.
"Did you really think you could attack me?" Heathcliff asked him, looking down on him with the look of perpetual disgust that one has when they catch a whiff of a foul smell.
When did Higuchi try to attack him? When did he get onto the ground and when did Heathcliff step on him? Higuchi's white eyes darted about the room in panic as anxiety quickly took over again. He noticed that there were papers strewn about and the chair was knocked over. He also noticed they were on the other side of the desk.
"I know everything about you, Kyousuke. You can't do anything to hurt me." Heathcliff said calmly, "I created you after all. It seems I've made a mistake… but nothing can be done about it now."
Heathcliff said this with no expression at all. He was eerily calm despite having his son under his boot. He squirmed a little, trying to get out, only for the boot to lift from his chest and ram into his side.
"There's no point in trying to fight it here." Heathcliff said, "You'll only just get hurt."
He kicked Higuchi's side again and he rolled over. Heathcliff gripped his son's white hair firmly and lifted him up, causing his head to whip back and his neck to crack loudly when the older man's fist rammed into the side of his face. Higuchi stumbled a little before getting punched again. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth, his vision blurred and for some reason his brain could not send messages to the rest of his body to fight back. It was just too overwhelming. The same fist rammed into his stomach and as he bent over and groaned, Heathcliff flipped Higuchi through the air and he was slammed on his back again.
He went to stomp on Higuchi again, but he finally worked up the will to move and he caught his father's boot. Using his strength, Higuchi tried to lift Heathcliff's foot away from him or maybe twist his ankle to force him into his desk or out the window to their left side.
This plan was denied when Heathcliff broke his foot free from Higuchi's grip and it rammed into his shoulder brutally with a swift and merciless kick.
"I told you," Heathcliff said with his deep and imposing voice, "There's no point in fighting."
Higuchi rolled onto his side and the blood from his nose and mouth dripped onto the floor.
"Have you noticed that you can feel pain?" Heathcliff asked as Higuchi squirmed in pain. "Players in VRMMORPGs can't feel pain in this game but NPC's can. You feeling pain was part of my absolute control over this game. Does it really surprise you that I can make you feel pain? I created this game; I built this world and I created you. That seems to be the one thing I regret."
Heathcliff… No… Akihiko said this, and he did not even blink or hesitate to tell this to his child. It's safe to say that he did not even consider Higuchi his child. As he said these things he did so calmly, coolly and with a distinct lack of humanity that Higuchi was familiar with.
"Then… Why did… you make me?" Higuchi grunted as he tried forcing himself up.
"Why?" Akihiko repeated, "Why indeed? I suppose I wanted a Lucifer to my God. A rebel to my empire. Your whole purpose was to be a special symbol to those that would think to rebel against my rule."
"What the hell are you talking about? Telling people to fight the bosses and reach the 100th floor is an active rebellion! Why even tell people how to escape if you wanted to rule them?" Higuchi said as he ignored his pain.
"Because there is no way they can defeat the final boss." Heathcliff says, "When they realize that them coming so close to freedom only leads to failure, they'll have no choice but to bow to one and only god. Me and me alone."
"You're insane!"
"And you're doomed to fail if you choose to fight me." Heathcliff said.
"A choice… from a tyrant..." Higuchi said as he got to his feet, "…Is as useless… as the tyrant himself."
Higuchi's body was flung across the room and his face was scraped on the rug. He was on his stomach this time, so Heathcliff placed the sole of his boot on Higuchi yet again, but this time it was on his back. He dug the sole into his back.
"It seems you failed to recall that you can't fight me." Heathcliff said, "So if you remember nothing else from our 'little talk' remember this."
Higuchi struggled to get up but failed.
"I own you."
Heathcliff finally lifted his boot off of Higuchi's back and walked back to his desk.
"It seems my greatest error was not watching over you in this game. I left you alone for a few months and look what happened. You're confused and scared. You clearly need a firm hand to guide you now. I did not do it in real life, but I will have to do that now."
Akihiko returned to Higuchi on the floor with a handful of tissues. He threw them onto Higuchi while still looking down on him.
"It starts today, you'll be working with Asuna on her missions but keep in mind if you tell her or speak to anyone of my identity… let's just say that I created you… I can delete you." He crossed his arms over his chest, "Welcome to the guild… Higuchi."
