She was tired.

Tired of everything.

The game, grinding, fighting, mapping out new areas, being on guard constantly.

The mental fatigue felt overwhelming, a thick fog of black creeping over her psyche.

Kirito was exhausted.

But her body continued to fight.

Her body moved on her own.

Those stupid horrible idiotic players who thought they could take on a boss alone. The greedy rats who thought they could band together to form something more than the sum of their parts.

They were swatted away like flies. Like little tiny nuisances that had done nothing more than nip at the tough hide of the boss. Their health bars dipping into red, outlining their bodies in a faint crimson hue.

The signal of someone about to meet their demise.

The boss raised its blade high, muscles tensing and bulging as it prepared to bring its full might down upon an unlucky player.

It bellowed in a ear shattering volume, penetrating through even the game's mechanics, leaving a sharp ringing in everyone's ears. Spittle flew from it's mouth, flashing it's disgusting teeth and horribly sharp fangs.

The boss swung down, and she was too late to stop it.

Kirito hardened herself, cutting off her emotions before the unlucky player could meet his demise. She averted her gaze off to the side, still unwilling to see a human die.

For even a sinner like her still holds remorse for those who deserve it.

Kirito heard the block before she saw it.

The loud clang of metal upon metal, reverberating throughout the room loudly.

She focused everything back onto the boss. And yet she almost didn't believe what she saw.

«Furuinzakan» was there.

Impossibly.

Unbelievably.

And yet there nonetheless.

Their lead tank with their sturdy shield held in front, teeth grit and slowly being pushed back from the pure strength of the boss.

Klein was off to the side, dashing in and yelling commands as his guildmates focused attacks on the boss. Provoking the monster's rage and giving the tank some breathing room to pop potions.

It was a good strategy, one that showed the experience and skill of the small guild. But it wasn't something that could hold up to a raid boss. Sooner or later the tanks would start sustaining too much damage and would need to break for potions and health.

When that happened, it would be over.

Crystals would fly and people would be dead once again.

She wouldn't let that happen, not after how the raid on «Laughing Coffin» went.

Kirito had time, but she needed to be quick, getting everyone to safety would be the first priority. She glanced over to the side, gritting her teeth in annoyance as she saw the scattered group of players still scrambling to pick themselves back up together.

She scowled. Mouth opening to shout for the idiots to hurry and teleport. Yet the sound that came out was nothing more than a soft whisper.

Electricity ran through her body. Shock filling her system.

How long had it been since she had talked?

How long had it been since she communicated with someone. Since she had taken command of other players?

Since the raid on the PK guild at least. Where she had gone berserk. Killed three of their members.

Self defense was what the Frontline guilds had claimed, for she wasn't the only that had killed. For some it worked, the knowledge that it couldn't be helped and it was pure self defense eased their minds. For others they couldn't bear with the guilt of taking another life, where they had retired from the frontlines and that was where Kirito's knowledge of those players ended.

She was different. She felt shame.

Not because she felt guilty for taking the lives of other players, but because she felt none.

She felt shame because she recognized that she should feel guilt over it. But her conviction and ideals still stood above all else. Those who joined the player killing guild knew the consequences. They chose their destiny and dug their own grave in the process.

And after it was all done and over. After the raid was finished and the losses were tallied up, all Kirito felt was disdain for those who actively sought to get in the way of clearing the game.

But this was different than those horrible murderers. This was a group of people who wanted to help, despite how idiotic and greedy they were.

Despite how selfish they were to put others in danger for their selfish actions. They had a similar goal.

To clear this hell forsaken game.

And that's why she would fight for them.

Kirito grit her teeth.

Fight.

Fight.

FIGHT.

"GET UP AND RUN YOU IDIOTS" She screamed.

It was as if someone had paused a film for a good few seconds. The sounds of fighting drowned out to the point of being inaudible, the blank looks of confusion on the scattered players, and the numb ringing of her own voice reverberating in her own head.

And just as quickly, the play button was hit and everyone scrambled towards the still open door. Rushing out as they popped potions of various kinds. Swears and other various kinds of colorful language being spewed from the retreating players mouth.

A small notification popped up in the edge of her vision, displaying the total number of players in the raid being reduced to a measly seven.

Her job was half done, now it was time for the other half.

She manipulated her menu for a second, equipping her second sword before dashing forward, coming in contact with the boss in an instant.

Twin swords dragging across the monster's thick hide. Red streaks crystalizing as she her blades ran across the back of the beast. Slicing off chunks of it's virtual flesh and finishing her attack with a violent twirl from the momentum.

The boss bellowed in pain, it's second to last HP bar visibly decreasing by a good fifth.

Kirito's thoughts briefly flickered.

Was it possible? She thought, glancing at the remaining party's status.

They were exhausted, the tanks using the brief moment of relief to heal up slowly. The damage dealers weren't faring much better, all their players were sitting or recovering from yellow territory, with the exception of Klein himself, who sat in orange.

It wasn't. Too dangerous. She deduced, eyes glancing back to the boss, only to widen at the sword coming directly for her.

Pure reflex saved her, bringing her swords up and blocking most of the attack. The pure strength behind the blow sent her flying into the wall despite her efforts.

Debris and dust littered her vision, the sound of her hp rapidly falling drowned out all other noises.

"RUN!" She screamed. The boss's hulking body starting to move towards her in a surprising display of agility.

"But…" Klein hesitated.

The gap created from the previous attack was closed in seconds as Kirito ducked under a blade. It collided with the wall, embedding itself deep into the stone as the beast struggled to pull it free. Had it been any other situation, the boss would be in serious trouble.

And yet. All she did was heal up with a potion and readied her blades for another assault.

"Go. Now. This is not the time to play hero." Kirito said. Her voice carrying over the mostly empty stone room.

The boss roared once more, dislodging its sword from its confines. It seemed to be the final thing that broke Klein out of his indecisiveness.

"Tch." He scowled, before turning to Kirito. "You better not die."

Kirito nodded, focusing her full attention on the raging boss. The sound of shoes on stone echoed lightly throughout the chamber.

«Players in raid. 1/48»

She exhaled, releasing a breath that she didn't even realize she had taken. Her eyes focused back towards the boss, a familiar chill settling into her body as she relaxed into her usual form. She didn't need to do this.

Yet she wanted to.

Her body ached to feel the thrill of battle once more.

Just a few solid hits and she could wipe out the boss's entire last HP bar.

It was simple. Thrilling. Death defying.

But…

She didn't have to fight here. There was no need. No reason. Nothing but her own personal desires.

So she didn't.

Kirito turned and disappeared through the raid doors.

Gleam Eyes would live another day.

And for the first time in a long while, Kazuto felt lucid and awake.

Words: 1409

Start: October 2nd. 2020.

Finish: October 2nd. 2020.

Flandre here. I bet everyone thought I was dead. Heh. Oh well. I'm honestly not sure why I updated this. I'm not sure why people read it. It's edgy. It's dark. It's some weird fantasy that really only fully makes sense to me because all the other chapters have minimal description on purpose.

It's been so long since I've touched any sort of writing. So many times have I written a thousand or two words and then just abandoned a project. Oh well.

I wrote this all at 2am. Finished at about 4am. I have no idea what to make of it but figured I might as well post it.

Might make another chapter. Might not. Don't know what I would even write about for the next one. Maybe I'll just skip to the end of Aincrad.

I'm rambling. I hate long authors notes. I think they're a cheap way to increase word count.

Oh well.

-FN