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"Asuna" - Regular Speech
'Kirito-kun' – Thoughts
[Congratulation!] – System Announcement
Beta'd by BigCC
Chapter 21: Kibaou's Last Scheme
Two Days Later
Transport Gate, Starting City, 1st Floor, Floating Castle of Aincrad
In a flash of blue light, four figures emerged in the middle of the [Starting City]'s central plaza. All four were dressed in casual clothing, not even having their weapons equipped at the moment, meant the only figure instantly recognizable was Joan, thanks to her long silver hair and mixed features.
While Kirito and Asuna were both well-known and popular figures in their respective circles, without their almost signature combat attire both could pass as typical Japanese teenagers at a glance. Joan on the other hand, with her almost-unique silver hair and striking features, was far more recognizable.
"Wow, it's the Silver Knight!"
"What's she doing down here?"
"She's here for a meeting with Thinker, obviously."
"You think, I heard those two were close but…?"
Joan sighed in irritation as the whispers and rumours started swirling around them. While it was far better than the half-muttered 'dirty gaijin' insults that she was used to in the real world, it was still an irritant.
Honestly, didn't these people have anything better to do?
"At least they haven't recognized us yet." Kirito remarked wryly, one hand holding one of Yui's, with Asuna holding the little girl's other hand.
"It must make for such a pleasant change." Joan deadpanned over her shoulder at her friends. She was currently dressed simply in a pair of silver jeans and a light blue t-shirt; although the jeans weren't actually 'jeans' but instead a very weak form of armour that looked like jeans. They were made from a crafting material called [Silver Wyvern Hide], a rare drop item that was rarely left behind by an annoying mob-monster up on the 40th Floor called the [Silver Wyvern]. The roughly dog-sized dragonoids were actually fairly frail, had a relatively weak attack, and didn't even possess a breath weapon, but were damnably fast and agile and often worked in packs. They were a pain to kill off, but Joan had hunted down over a hundred of the winged lizards to gather enough of the material to get a few pairs of 'jeans' made for her by Ashley.
Silver crafting materials and dyes were fairly rare in Aincrad (unlike more common colours like reds, greens, and black), so Joan had decided that the hassle of a few days of grind hunting was worth having some 'casual' clothing in her favourite colour.
"It is nice to not be the centre of attention for once." Asuna giggled at her friend's misfortune.
"Laugh it up while you can, lovebirds." Joan rolled her eyes good-naturedly at the teasing she was being subjected to by her friends. It was a new and strangely pleasant experience for her. "Just wait until you need me to run interference again with some overly persistent net gamers and we'll see what happens then."
Yui looked up at the smiles on the faces of her Mama, Papa and Auntie and smiled happily.
It had been a while since Joan, Kirito and Asuna had been in the [Starting City], mostly because they had little to no reason to come here. All three were strong enough that they could shatter almost any weapon made on this floor with a single attack, and the same went for the armour as well. The only real reason any of the front- or mid-liners had to stop at the [Starting City] these days was to stop and pay their respects at the [Monument of Life], where all the those who died since Aincrad began were listed.
"You know, the atmosphere's a lot better than it was the last time I passed through." Asuna remarked as she glanced around. "The air just feels…lighter, I suppose."
"Its because the people here are actually starting to believe we can get out of this Death Game." Joan replied seriously. "We've been making solid progress. The Front Lines have steadily been climbing the tower and we're getting closer to the top with each day. Thinker's been doing a good job keeping the morale up for the Rear Liners as well and keeping everyone focused and working, so that helps too."
Thinker, the head of the [MMO Today] Guild was the man who had almost single-handedly brought together and organized the rear-liners over the past two years, ever since the 6th Floor and Guild Registrar had been unlocked. Along with his second-in-command Yulier, the man had built up the Guild until it managed the resources for the entirety of the lower twenty-five Floors of Aincrad, ensuring the protecting and development of all the players who resided on those floors and offering what assistance and support they could for the Front Lines.
[MMO Today] also published a newspaper of the same name in order to keep everyone in the know about the latest news and important goings-on on the front-lines. Luckily, Thinker made sure that his information was always 100% percent accurate (mostly by employing Argo the Rat to provide and verify most of it. The information broker was not a member of the ZERG Guild, but she did have a standard commission with them) so there was little chance of it devolving into a propaganda piece or, even worse, a gossip rag.
The newspaper also provided helpful tips for Players, such as latest rumours on PK methods or dangerous monsters, so it was popular among most of the Players.
"Thinker's been a real help, we wouldn't be able to fight as hard as we do if it wasn't for [MMO Today] keeping the Rear Line so organized." Kirito summed things up nicely.
As the group of four headed towards the church, where a Player named Sasha ran an orphanage for those younger players who'd been logged in on [The First Day]. Despite the fact that SAO had been marked as 13+, there had been dozens of kids under the age of ten who'd logged in for some fun, only to end up trapped in the Death Game. Sasha had personally taken it upon herself to care for them, with a lot of other Players chipping in to help support them when they could.
Joan suddenly frowned as they approached the church. "What's that sound?" she muttered. "Sounds like people shouting about something…"
Realizing the sounds were coming from the direction of the church, the three Players quickly picked up the pace, with Kirito and Asuna dragging Yui along. As they rounded the final corner, the source of the furore became quite obvious. A bespectacled lady dressed in a nun's habit was shielding a group of kids from a group of four angry-looking men in green armour.
"Aren't those members of the [ALF]?" Asuna asked, her eyes narrowing in distaste.
"No, look at their sashes." Kirito noted, frowning. "They're wearing red sashes; the [ALF] changed their uniform sashes from red to blue to try and distance themselves from Kobatz and his stupidity. Looks like the idiot still has some followers of his own."
"I can see their guild affiliation…they're apparently members of the [Aincrad Freedom Army]." Joan noted grimly. "I've never even heard of these guys. If I had to guess, it looks like Kobatz managed to scrape together enough followers to form his own Guild after he was booted out of the [ALF]."
"I can't believe anyone would willingly follow him." Asuna muttered indignantly. "Especially after what he did against [The Gleam-Eyes]."
"To be fair, these guys look to be the bottom of the barrel." Kirito stated offhandedly, before frowning angrily as one of the small band stepped forward to loom threateningly over Sasha.
"Now that just isn't right." the Black Swordsman growled out, moving to step forward, only for Joan's arm to cut him off.
"I'll deal with them. Keep an eye on Sasha and the kids in case one of the idiots try to do something stupid." Joan stated grimly. "Asuna, keep an eye on Yui and keep her away from this."
Kirito frowned, but nodded and started moving to the side to keep a better eye on the group. Asuna merely nodded, taking Yui's hand again and gently pulling her back.
Joan grinned ferally as she stepped forward, one hand flying through her menu to equip [Meikyō Shisui] to her side before raising her voice. "And just what do you cretins think you're doing to her?"
The group quickly turned, looking ready to shout her down, before they seemed to recognize who she was as one.
"Shit! It's Joan, the PKK!"
"What's the Silver Knight doing down here on the First Floor?!"
"That is irrelevant at the moment; what is important is what you four morons think you're trying to do." Joan responded disdainfully; her voice sharpened with an edge of anger. She hated bullies with a passion, particularly since she had to deal with so many before [SAO].
The one who'd been menacing Sasha seemed to regain his bluster quicker than the others. "Front Liner or not, you're alone and not even wearing armour.!" he snarled out, steeping to the fore of the group. "What do you think you can do to scare us?"
Raising a single eyebrow at the man's evident stupidity, Joan simply reached to her side and slowly drew out her katana. Her grin sharpened as the blade dragged against the sheathe, producing that telltale rasp of metal on metal that was so good at reminding idiots just how dangerous she was. It worked here, the four morons shuffling backwards as they stumbled to draw their own weapons.
"'What can I do?' Why don't I give you a very visceral demonstration of just what I can do." the Swordsaint whispered softly, her voice carrying across the suddenly still air and making all four men sweat.
Darting in before the four could even think to move, Joan charged and launched a basic single-action Katana Sword Skill, [Tsuke], before slamming the glowing yellow tip of her blade into the leader's sternum, sending him flying backwards with a yell.
"Allow me to offer you boys a remedial lesson." Joan's voice was as cold and sharp as her blade as she spoke up. "As long as you are inside a Safe Zone and a Duel hasn't been declared, you will not lose a single drop of HP if attacked. Instead, all that you get is a little light show and a knock-back effect that sends you stumbling back a few paces or falling onto your rear, depending on how well you can catch yourself. However, just because you receive no damage, does not mean no harm can be done. A Safe Zone fight can engrave a far different sort of fear into your very bones."
The blatant threat radiating from Joan's voice and stance caused chills to race down the spines of the men. It took less than a moment for one to break and run, quickly causing a domino effect on the other men as they followed suit.
Joan sniffed in disdain as she sheathed her blade. "Cowards and bullies are always the same, give them a push and they fold like wet paper." She spat out in disgust as Kirito, Asuna, and Yui moved forward to rejoin her.
"Thank you for your help, Joan-san." Sasha said as she came up to greet them.
"What were those...idiots...bothering you about?" Asuna asked, censoring herself as several of the kids followed their caretaker, as well as for Yui's presence at her side.
"They were claiming to be here collecting some form of 'Front Liner Support Tax' or some other such nonsense." the brunette shook her head in disdain. "This [AFA], as they call themselves, just showed up yesterday at around midday and have been trying all sorts of tricks to try and shake down the Rear Liners. There's only a dozen of them altogether at the moment, led by that Kobatz fellow from the [ALF], but a lot of the less-scrupulous Players that make their base here are starting to flock towards them."
"I thought the average level of the Players down here was fairly low…less than thirty on average." Kirito blinked. "It'll take Kobatz and this [AFA] of his quite some time to get their levels up to anything that would be remotely useful on the Front Lines…"
"That's only if he's planning on rejoining the Front Lines and not planning some other bullheaded stupidity." Joan pointed out, frowning in distaste. With men like Kobatz, you could never know what was going through their head.
"What's really worrying is that Thinker-san hasn't put a stop to it already." Asuna put in, frowning as well. "He's usually very quick on the uptake, especially when it comes to people trying to abuse the Rear Liners like this."
The three continued to discuss Thinker's mysterious inaction for a brief while, giving Sasha a chance to have a look at Yui.
"She's a cutie." the caretaker offered while smiling at the shy little girl. "The thing is, I go on a walk around the [Starting City] on a daily basis, and I like to think I have a fairly good memory, but I can't recall ever seeing Yui-chan here since I started the orphanage shortly after this nightmare started."
"I see…Well then, congratulations it looks as if you two can adopt her then, Asuna." Joan smirked as her friend blushed bright red.
"Joan...!" the hazel-haired girl moaned in embarrassment.
"Excuse me, but have you...ah, Joan-san!" a voice sounded out from behind them. Joan looked around to see a woman with silver hair tied back into a ponytail approaching them. She wore the dark-green officer's uniform of [MMO Today], with an iron-grey cape over it, a shortsword sheathed on one hip, with a whip hanging from the other.
"Yulier?" Sasha blinked in surprise. "What's the matter?"
Joan blinked. 'This is the Vice-Guildmaster of [MMO Today]?' she thought in surprise. She'd never met the other woman before, having only interacted with Thinker on a few occasions. She was the only other person in all of the Floating Castle to dye her hair silver, so they were compared sometimes.
"Sasha, good to see you're alright." the woman nodded in greeting. "I heard the commotion from earlier and arrived just in time to see you put the fear of god into those miscreants. Took me a minute to recognize you though. Anyway, you have my thanks for stepping in. [MMO Today]'s been a bit…distracted…by some rather unusual events recently and we haven't been able to give these [AFA] people the treatment they deserve. I'll have a couple members keep guard here for a few days in case they get the smart idea to try and make a second attempt on the orphanage."
"Thank you." Sasha agreed, bowing deeply in thanks.
Yulier waved it off. "We should have taken care of this when the [AFA] started causing trouble…unfortunately we couldn't." Yulier looked frustrated, but it wasn't directed at Sasha. Instead, as Sasha returned her attention back to her charges, the woman turned to Joan and her companions, stepping closer and speaking quietly so Sasha couldn't overhear. "Joan-san, I must ask for your help. Thinker has been missing since early yesterday morning, and our Guild hasn't been able to find him."
"What!?" Joan, Asuna, and Kirito exclaimed in shock.
"But...Thinker's the leader of the largest guild in Aincrad! How could he just go missing!?" Asuna whispered back with wide eyes.
"Let's change locations to somewhere a bit more private. I'll tell you everything I know there." Yulier replied and beckoned them to follow her.
After bidding a hasty farewell to Sasha and the children, the three Front Liners, plus Yui, followed Yulier to a small NPC operated cafe. Once they were all seated near the back and had ordered something to drink and/or eat, the older woman got straight to business.
"Thinker spoke to me the night before he disappeared. He told me that he'd received a message from someone with information on the location of members of [Laughing Coffin] that had managed to escape the purge." Yulier explained with a frown. "The informant, whoever they were, wished to meet with Thinker in person to pass the information, something he agreed to immediately. I haven't seen him since."
"That was a trap, a very obvious trap!" Joan groaned, head in her hands. "Why did he charge into such an obvious trap!? I thought Thinker was smart!?"
"Thinker has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to [Laughing Coffin]." Yulier offered sadly. "He lost a few good friends to them and has been a bit bitter that he couldn't help more with seeing them ended. Now just mentioning [Laughing Coffin] around him makes him see red."
Joan groaned again; revenge could turn even a smart man into an idiot, it seems. "Worse of all, the only ones that could be involved with this kind of thing are either that psycho PoH or that louse Kibaou. They're the only prominent members of the Red Guild who managed to escape. The rest were just Green rear-line supporters, suppliers, and lures. Has there been any sign of Thinker whatsoever? A ransom note, or some claim of responsibility?"
"Nothing." Yulier denied, shaking her head sharply. "I've had the entire membership of [MMO Today] searching the 1st to 25th Floors for any sign of Thinker, including any of [Laughing Coffin's] old hideouts, but there's been no sign of him! I'm just about out of ideas on where he could be!"
"Did Thinker say where he was going to meet up with his contact?" Kirito asked. "Anything at all?"
"Just that it was in a dungeon inside our area of influence." the Vice-Guildmaster replied, looking distraught. "And that's what puzzles me, because we've scoured the dungeons on those floors extensively, and even now, I'm receiving reports from squads dispatched to the floors in the twenties, and there's no sign of him."
Asuna was about to speak when a black octahedron sprang out of the air in front of Joan, who frowned at it. A timed delivery message was a rare thing, mostly used as last wills or as threats.
"Hey, bitch!" a familiar, unpleasant voice sneered out of the cube when Joan pressed play on it.
"Kibaou!" she hissed.
"I got a friend o' yours here...say hello, idiot." Kibaou's voice said before someone different started speaking.
"Don't listen to-!" a man's voice said before being cut off abruptly.
"That was Thinker!" Yulier cried in horror.
"Aw, shaddap, ya drip." Kibaou scoffed on the recording. "Now listen here, Beater Bitch. I have Thinker here, and I ain't afraid ta put the fucker out of his misery if ya don't do as I say. Underneath the [Black Iron Palace] is a dungeon that opened up when the 50th Floor Boss was defeated. Head there, alone, and ya'll find me waiting for ya near a Safe Zone at the bottom of the dungeon. I got people watchin' the entrance, so if I see that Black Beater-boy and his bitch, or if my men don't report back to me on th' regular, I'll gut Thinker without worryin' about it and leave. Up to you what happens, bitch."
With that, the prism clattered to the table, spent.
"Well...that simplifies things." Joan said into the silence that followed. "Now we know where he and Thinker are, or will, be."
"It's a trap!" Asuna exclaimed. "You can't be thinking of actually going in there, are you?!"
"It is, and I am." the katana-wielder retorted calmly. "We cannot allow Thinker to be killed like this; his death would start a wave of panic amongst the Rear, Mid and Front Liners unlike anything seen since [Day One] and the first rise of [Laughing Coffin] itself. He is a keystone for peace, so we have to do something."
"That doesn't mean you have to walk into a trap, Joan." Kirito countered.
"This is the man who is best described as 'mundane incompetency incarnate', Kibaou, we're talking about here." Joan pointed out. This wasn't even her looking down on him, but rather a simple, straightforward truth. While he was a modestly capable leader and fighter, the cactus-haired bastard was also too emotional, easily distracted, and painfully short-sighted for her to call him a truly competent leader by any stretch of the definition. The 25th Floor Boss battle had been proof enough of that.
"It would still be a bad idea to let Kibaou succeed in isolating you, Joan." Yulier stated with a frown, grimacing. She wanted to save Thinker very badly, but losing Joan the Silver Knight to the machinations of the remnants of the Murder Guild would be just as bad, if not worse, than Thinker dying.
"Do you think I'm daft? That's not my plan to begin with." Joan snorted. "Kibaou's plan is just like the bastard himself. Mildly threatening at first glance, but with a little thought and cunning it's easily bested. Now, here's my plan…"
Leaning forwards, the others heard out her plan.
Later
The Hidden Dungeon, Under the Black Iron Palace, Starting City, 1st Floor, Floating Castle of Aincrad
The grey walls of the dungeon loomed around Joan as she walked along, alone so far as anyone could see. Clad in her usual armour and her sword sheathed at her side, she moved through the dungeon with ease, in spite of the numerous monsters that impeded her path.
The [Scavenge Toads] that had infested the 1st Floor of the Dungeon were as strong as any monster from the 60th Floor of Aincrad, maybe slightly stronger. Joan didn't doubt that any ordinary Player from the [Starting City] who wound up wandering into this place would die in short order; only the members of [MMO Today] had anything close to the levels needed to survive here.
Well, they were the only ones who were regularly on the 1st Floor who could. Any decent-sized party of competent Clearers could do the same. Someone with a high level [Hiding] skill could likely sneak by them as well…such as a former member of [Laughing Coffin], whose Red Members relied on the [Hiding] skill to move about without being noticed.
Explains how someone like Kibaou made his way through on his own.
'We should have hunted that louse of a man down long before now!' Joan thought bitterly. 'I should have gone after the useless bastard before now, but I thought the louse too much of a coward to act alone without a Guild to back him up! Now, all of this is happening because we let that cactus-haired idiot run free for this whole time!'
Kibaou'd had it out for her from almost the moment they'd met, and she was sick and tired of dealing with him and his bullshit. One way or another, Kibaou wasn't going to cause any more problems for anyone else by the time the sun set on this day.
Rounding the corner, Joan's sharp eyes locked onto an illuminated area at the end of the corridor, a doorway of light was set into the wall. Lying on the ground in front of it, arms and legs bound and mouth gagged with a length of cloth, was Thinker, the missing Guildmaster of [MMO Today].
Joan opened her menu and pressed a button there before closing it and proceeding down the corridor, stopping a couple of meters short of the Safe Zone.
"Alright, Kibaou. I'm here." she called. "Now stop cowering and show yourself, you short, immature, childish moron!"
Despite any attempts at stealth he might have made, and in spite of his intentions, the short, angry man immediately fell for the very simple taunt that Joan used.
"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' SHORT, YA BEATER BITCH!?" Kibaou bellowed as he appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, the effect of his [Hiding] skill dispelled by his outburst, which he realised seconds later.
"Aw shit." he muttered, face paling dramatically.
"'Aw shit' indeed, you contemptuous little louse!" Joan growled, striding forwards a pace, her eyes pinning him in place like a mouse before the gaze of a snake. "You slander me, try to MPK me, hire Orange Players to kill me, join the Red Guild to kill me and now you've kidnapped an innocent man, who has done nothing but help his fellow players over the past two years of our imprisonment, in an attempt to kill me. I am sick and tired of your very existence, Kibaou!"
"Shut the fuck up, you bitch!" the cactus-haired man roared back, regaining some spine because of his outrage. "You've been undercuttin' me since Tolbana! Always challengin' my authority at Clearer Meetin's, always framing it as 'due concern for yer fellow Players', but I've got your card! Yer nothin' but an attention seeking little gaijin whore! You wanna be a hero when ya get outta this game, dontcha?!"
"I'm sorry, what?" the female Player blinked in actual astonishment. She'd expected a lot of things, but being accused of being a glory hound wasn't one of them.
"Don't fuckin' play innocent with me!" Kibaou growled. "You've embarrassed me at every damned turn! Every time I turned around, you were there, smirkin' like you're oh-so superior to me! Then you showed up at the 25th Floor Boss Battle and made me look like a fool in front of all my men!"
"You did that all by yourself; I had nothing to do with it." Joan deadpanned. "You're the one who rushed off half-cocked on the basis of bad information that everyone else agreed was a crock of shit that only the most gullible would believe, and you got members of the [ALS] killed into the bargain. Then you tried to use [Ymir] to kill me. Stop trying to blame me for your ineptitude, incompetence and stupidity!"
The look of pure rage on his face at being called out was quite impressive. She hadn't know it was possible for someone to turn that shade of puce outside of anime.
"Y-y-youuuu...!" he snarled.
"Enough. Just...enough." Joan shook her head slowly, suddenly feeling very, very tired. "I'll give you one, final, chance to do the right thing, Kibaou. Let yourself be sent to the jail under the [Black Iron Palace] for the remaining duration of [Sword Art Online]. You are a jerk and a fool, but you aren't a real Red Player; your cursor's still just Orange. Do it for your own sake. If you don't..."
"If I don't, you'll do what?" Kibaou sneered. "PK me? Oh please, I have your number now, girlie; you only kill in self-defence or if your life is threatened. You're just like that fencer bitch and that so-called 'Black Swordsman', a coward who can't do what needs doin'."
"Ordinarily, what you say about me would be true." the Ginkishi stated softly, her eyes growing cold and distant. "However...you are someone who has made themselves far too much of a nuisance to me, and to the efforts to escape from Aincrad. You have hurt many people, and enabled others to be harmed by your actions. In your case...if you refuse to be taken alive..."
She opened her menu and sent a duel request to Kibaou, one that specifically designated the match to be in [Full Loss Mode]. That mode meant the duel would only end when one of the HP gauges of the participants was fully depleted. In other words, she had just asked Kibaou for a duel to the death.
"Wha-wha...?!" the cactus-haired man stammered in shock.
"Oh come now, surely you didn't expect me to simply fall for your plan so easily." Joan smirked slightly. "What was your plan by the way? Wait until I went to free Thinker before stabbing me in the back with a poisoned weapon before throwing me outside of the Safe Zone and watching as monsters attack my helpless body?"
"Geh-!"
"That...you were seriously planning on doing something so utterly banal?" Joan looked at him in disbelief. "C'mon, even a kid wouldn't fall for that when they know that they're walking into a trap! Especially if they know who the trap-setter is and how to draw him out! Have some damn shame for hatching such a piss-poor plan!"
"Grrr...!" Kibaou looked furious. He yanked his shield off his back and drew his sword. Both were just as ostentatious and gaudy as the last time Joan had seen them, and she absently wondered who had been maintaining them, since Kibaou had an unofficial bounty on his head.
"No way am I gonna accept that!" he spat, jerking his head at the duel request. "If you kill me, you get some of my stuff! Screw that!"
SAO had a pretty unusual system when it came to PVP and loot. In [Full Loss Mode] duels, the victor took a third of the loser's total Col, as well as a random selection of their inventory. Non-duel PKing wasn't profitable though; no Col, few item drops...the only way it would be profitable was if you forced the target to strip out of their armour and empty their inventories like [Titan's Hand] had done.
"Ha...so you aren't quite as stupid as I had imagined." Joan smirked as she withdrew her duel request. "Then again...perhaps you are."
"Haaaah?! The fuck does that mean, you Beater Bitch?!" Kibaou snapped in anger.
"I mean, you completely fell for both my bluff and my distraction." the Silver Knight replied easily, the tension in the air dropping to zero as she relaxed. "Look at Thinker and you'll see why."
Whipping his head around so fast that if it had been the real world, Joan was reasonably certain he'd have given himself a case of whiplash, Kibaou gaped at the sight before him. Thinker was unbound and free, with Yulier standing in front of him protectively, her whip out and her glaring scowl locked onto Kibaou. Flanking her were Kirito and Asuna, back in their usual combat equipment, with Yui peering out from behind her Mama.
"Wha-?! How?!" the cactus-haired man bellowed.
"It's quite simple." Joan informed him. "I sent Kirito my map data of the Hidden Dungeon when I saw the Safe Zone. He was waiting at the Crystal Shop, where he bought a [Corridor Crystal] to take him and the others into this dungeon without having to go past whoever you'd assigned to watch the sewer entrance. They then used their [Hiding] skill to sneak past you and free Thinker while I distracted you with my bluff."
"No freakin' way...!" Kibaou breathed in disbelief.
"Now all that needs to happen is for you to surrender and this whole mess will be resolved." the silver-haired girl said in satisfaction. "You may have been delusional enough to think you had a chance of beating me on your own, but add in the Black Swordsman and the Flash to the Silver Knight and even you have to see that this is hopeless."
"Ngh...!" The trapped Orange player grunted as his eyes darted around frantically, desperate to find a way out of this situation that he found himself in. Then he saw an opening, and promptly took it. "Screw this!"
With that, he darted towards where the corridor led deeper into the dungeon, something that Joan had not counted on him doing.
"Get back here!" she shouted and pursued him.
"NO! Stop!" Thinker shouted, a note of fear in his voice. "If you go down there...!"
As soon as both Kibaou and Joan set foot in the passage past the Safe Zone, the stone walls of the passage turned violet-blue as a bundle of shadows gathered in front of Kibaou, who had frozen in fear as the Boss Monster appeared.
Floating above the stone floor, the boss was massive, clad in a raggedy black hooded robe, with red lining on the inside. It was a skeleton with no legs and four red eyes that glared out at the watching Players. Clutched in one bony hand was a massive scythe, as tall as the Boss itself, with a wickedly curved and sharp silver crescent blade mounted atop it.
[The Fatal Scythe] - {UNKNOWN}
Joan's heart froze at the lack of information about how many Health Bars it had. That, plus the blood red cursor above of its head, meant that it was very much two-dozen or more levels above them, so powerful that it could obscure such information from weaker enemies.
"KIBAOU! RUN!" she shouted.
"Eh?" was all Kibaou was able to get out before he was decapitated by a single strike of the supremely powerful boss, his body and head shattering into blue polygons as his HP Gauge instantly hit zero.
Then [The Fatal Scythe] turned to face Joan.
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Next Chapter: Yui's Heart and Erato's Seedling
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