A/N:
Not much to say here, but before we get started, let's get to those reviews!
- Ducelet: A lot of you thought Kuroi was actually going to die! I won't lie, that gives me a little bit of morbid satisfaction in that I was able to fake you all out like that.
- felipe potter medrado: Last chapter was actually one of my longer ones, but I imagine it seemed to go by quicker because of the action! We'll delve more into Kuroi in due time, rest assured. I won't say what happens on the rest of this floor… guess you'll have to read and find out!
- Reaping Shadow: Thanks for the glowing review! Just to clear things up, I'm a Mr. Author man. Yeah, I enjoy throwing in little cameos and easter eggs every so often.
- tom476ty18: Things will definitely get more difficult from here, and they'll definitely get worse before they get better. I'm sure you don't want spoilers, so I won't say whether or not Kirito will ever duel with Heathcliff.
- Lord Destroyer: As you'll soon see, Kuroi holds a deep respect for Kirito, but there's no romantic feelings there. Asuna won't have any competition here.
- Otaku of Anime: As much as we might want everyone to escape unscathed, they are trapped in a game of life and death.
- RandomDSdevel: The similarities between Liten and Maple are pure coincidence; to be honest it didn't even occur to me until you pointed it out!
…What just happened?
To be completely honest, Kirito was pretty sure his brain was suffering some serious lag issues right now. Maybe his NerveGear was defective, or maybe he'd developed a late case of FullDive Nonconformity. There was no other way to explain what just happened.
One moment, he was having a serious conversation with Argo and Asuna, and the next Kuroi - a vigilante he hardly knew - was pledging her undying loyalty to him. Sure, he'd saved her in that hellhole of a maze, but this was not what he expected to come of that. He expected maybe a polite thank you, or even the beginning of a friendship.
And now, in his infinite wisdom, he'd just accepted her service as his ninja and personal bodyguard.
…What?
"Thank you, Milord." Kuroi said, standing up again to her full height, which was not that tall actually. She was just under his own height, but he could tell she was older than he was. Probably around Klein's age, actually, if he had to guess. Not that he would ever ask a woman's age. She offered another bow. "You won't regret this."
"Uhh… "Milord?"" Kirito stammered out, caught off guard by the formal title.
Kuroi tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Is something the matter?"
"Y-you don't need to call me that, you know." Kirito said, awkwardly waving his hands dismissively. "We're happy to have you, but you can just call me Kirito."
"I cannot allow that." Kuroi quickly refuted. "I must address you properly, as befits a kunoichi such as myself. It would bring great dishonor to my family were I to address you so casually."
Kirito looked at his guild, his wide eyes and panicked expression silently begging for help. He was willing to let her indulge her roleplaying tendencies, but this was ridiculous. He was not anyone's "Lord." Sure, he was the guild master, but that was a formality! He was not nobility!
Not that he would get any help from them, the traitors. Every single one of them were either maintaining a neutral facade or trying to hide their shit-eating grins. Nautilus looked like he was going to have an aneurism just trying not to laugh.
"Technically speak, you are a lord." Kizmel pointed out.
Kirito, as well as every other person in attendance, whipped their heads to the Dark Elf in question. "...Come again?"
"Nelluon Arael is a sizable piece of property, and while it is a site of cultural importance for the elven peoples, you are its owner and steward." Kizmel continued.
"I don't own it, the guild does!" Kirito countered.
"No, no. She's got a point." Asuna said. Kirito's head spun on a swivel as he stared at his equally traitorous girlfriend. "As Guild Master, you have absolute authority over anything pertaining to the guild, including its property. That makes you a Lord."
"An astute conclusion, Milady." Kuroi said, offering the fencer a polite bow of the head. "And all the more reason I should address you as such, Milord."
Asuna went rigid at the new title she'd received, all the while Kirito gave her a devious grin of his own. The shoe was on the other foot now, and he was going to milk this for all it was worth.
"W-wait, M-milady?!" She stumbled. "I don't own any property!"
"But are you and Lord Kirito not courting one another?" Kuroi asked while Asuna went beet red out of sheer embarrassment. "I recognize that you and Lord Kirito are not betrothed or wed, but I should address you with similar respect, especially in light of your status as second-in-command."
"Yeah, Lady Asuna…" Kirito said, placing special emphasis on the formal title and ignoring the snickering going on in the background from the others around the table. "I can see your point now, my mistake. I suppose it's only right that she addresses you and I as such."
She glared at him, but there was no heat or vitriol in her gaze. If anything, it was a playful challenge, an unspoken declaration that this wasn't over. He was going to have fun toying with her like this, just as much as she would undoubtedly have fun teasing him about it.
With that out of the way, he sent Kuroi an invitation to the guild. Surprisingly - or perhaps unsurprisingly, given that she was evidently a master roleplayer - she disguised the necessary button press to accept the invitation with a formal ninja bow.
Oh, she was good.
"In any case, welcome to the Resolute Renegades, Kuroi."
The next few days on this floor were treacherous, despite their recent addition to their guild.
Kirito nervously gripped both blades in his hands. Yet another ambush fought off in this maze. That made three in the past half hour alone. A quick look around confirmed that everyone was starting to feel a bit winded. The only good news to come out of this expedition was the map data. The Assault Team had yet to find the labyrinth, let alone the boss room, but at least progress was being made.
God, he hated being right sometimes. He wished he'd been wrong in his suspicions regarding the difficulty of this floor, but it seemed Kayaba was intent on making this milestone downright deadly. Even knowing what to expect, the 25th Floor maze was still treacherous to navigate.
It'd been a few days since their tragic first day on this floor, and since that devastating first day much had changed among the Assault Team. For one, all of the major guilds got together to establish some ground rules concerning this floor. They'd learned the hard way not to underestimate this floor, and they'd be damned if they let anyone, Clearer or otherwise, fall prey to the dangers that littered this floor.
The first rule - which was not so much enforced as it was heavily advertised and warned to anyone visiting this floor - was that no one should venture outside of town without a group. Furthermore, groups were recommended to be at least a dozen players strong. The second rule - again, not enforced but strongly recommended - was that everyone have a teleport crystal on hand for emergency evacuation teleports. Some of the more financially inclined players were even handing out the damn things to anyone who needed one.
No one was taking any chances.
Then there was the political shift in atmosphere. Kibaou had taken that first day the hardest. The ALS leader had a bit of an ego and more than enough pride, so he was understandably shaken by the experience. After all, his group had sustained the most casualties out of all the frontline guilds. Argo mentioned that inside sources were reporting that Kibaou was eager to prove that his guild still belonged on the frontlines. That's not to say he wasn't taking the dangers seriously, but that urge to prove himself was apparently making itself known.
With the ALS taking a blow in morale, the KoB had taken a leading role in clearing efforts on this floor. While Heathcliff's guild didn't boast the numbers that the ALS had, they were still formidable players. They were making significant progress where other guilds were struggling.
"Milord."
Kirito jumped about a foot in the air as Kuroi popped into existence in front of him. After steadying his heart rate and calming down, he shot her a disapproving look. One of the first things they learned about Kuroi was that her ((Hiding)) skill was incredibly high. Probably capped, now that he thought about it. Not only that, but Kuroi also wore equipment that bolstered her stealth capabilities. All of this led to one sobering conclusion.
If Kuroi didn't want to be seen, she was not going to be seen.
So naturally, when she did decide to make her presence known, her appearance was always sudden, abrupt, and liable to give anyone nearby a heart attack. They'd spent a few days with her at this point and they still hadn't gotten used to her ability to suddenly pop into existence.
"I did it again, didn't I?" Kuroi said, giving an apologetic bow. "...My apologies, Milord."
Kirito sighed, relaxing his posture somewhat. "Yep. Don't worry about it, though. We're just going to have to get used to it. What did you find?"
Kuroi pulled up her map and motioned towards some of the upcoming intersections in the maze. Part of Kirito was tempted to scoff at the fact that Kuroi was forced to use her menu - something that should not be possible under the guise of roleplay - to be able to accurately convey what she'd seen, but that amusement faded when he reminded himself that she was doing them all a service. What she was doing was important, damn it, and he wasn't about to make fun of the discrepancy.
"The next few intersections have been disarmed of traps, Milord." Kuroi explained, pointing to a few areas on her map. "I took the liberty of exploring some of the side paths. There is a distressed citizen from Mourningmore not far away from here who has found themselves lost in the maze. They seek an escort back to town, as they fear they will not survive the journey back."
Great. An escort quest. The bane of players since the advent of MMORPGs. The promise of extra experience and potential loot would be worth it, though. Kirito motioned for everyone nearby to huddle around to view Kuroi's map, including Fuurinkazan, who didn't have the numbers to venture out alone and thus had been teaming up with the Renegades or the Braves at every opportunity when exploring this floor.
"Kuroi says there's an escort quest up ahead." Kirito explained, giving a thankful nod towards the ninja. "If we take it, it'll lead us back to town, and by then it'll be too late in the day to go exploring again. It'll probably give us a decent amount of exp and maybe some loot, so we have two options. Either we keep exploring or we take the quest and finish for the day afterward."
"For what it's worth, I say we take the escort quest and GTFO." Klein said, prompting many in the group of 18 to nod in agreement. It would have been 21, but those less inclined for intense combat, like Lokuss, Wolfgang, and Mako were urged to stay in town and help the Clearing efforts however they could from the safety of Mourningmore. "I don't want to spend any longer than necessary in this maze."
"I second that." Agil agreed. When many looked to the recently-appointed guild quartermaster, he shrugged. "This place gives me the creeps, man. You can't tell me I'm the only one who feels that way."
No one disagreed.
With everyone in agreement, the Renegades and Fuurinkazan made their way to the quest NPC and began the escort mission. The NPC in question was a young woman named Euryale, and was incredibly eager to be escorted by "brave strong heroes." Klein, as he was wont to do, started raving about her good looks, much to the chagrin of the members of the fairer sex present. Many of the girls looked towards Dale expectantly.
"...What?" Dale asked, arching an eyebrow. "What are you all looking at me for?"
"Aren't you going to knock some sense into him?" Liz asked pointedly. "You usually do."
"Oh that'll come later." He assured them. "The guys and I decided that any time he hits on a girl, he starts adding to what we call his "slap counter." Rather than smack him now, I'll smack him later at a time of my choosing, without warning."
"Wait, when was this decided?!" Klein cried out. "I never agreed to this!"
"Yes you did." Kunimittz disagreed. "It was during the celebration dinner we had at the Renegades' hall a few weeks back."
"I don't remember that!" Klein denied.
"That's because you were punch drunk." Issin said, fighting back a laugh. He pulled out a sheet of paper from his inventory and waved it around. "We've even got it in writing."
"Are you kiddin' me?!" Klein lamented as a multitude of giggles, chuckles, and snickers erupted all around. "That's even worse than getting hit right afterwards!"
"That's the point!" Dale laughed. "We gotta break you of that habit somehow, boss. Clearly Pavlov wasn't cutting it, so paranoia should do the trick."
"Whose idea was this?!" Klein asked, looking pointedly around the group.
The members of Fuurinkazan all looked towards one man in particular, who was doing his absolute best to avoid eye contact. Instead, he focused his attention forward.
"Et tu, Nautilus?" Klein muttered.
Nautilus just shrugged. "You were so drunk, you started getting handsy and kept hitting on people. I had to do something."
"Yeah, Klein kept hitting on his girl." Silica giggled, much to Nautilus's horror and everyone else's amusement. Yuna looked away in clear embarrassment.
"That's it! C'mere!" Nautilus cried out, making a lunge for the dragon tamer as she ran circles around the group to evade him.
"Hey!" Asuna scolded, causing the two to stop in their tracks. "Time and a place! We're in the most dangerous place in Aincrad right now. Need I remind you that this place is riddled with traps?"
"Sorry." Both said shamefully.
"Good. Naut, you can kill Silica later." Asuna said with a satisfied nod, ignoring the betrayed look Silica was giving her. She motioned forward with her rapier. "For now, look alive. We have incoming."
Slowly walking down the length of the corridor was a minotaur, a cyclops, and a pack of harpies. It didn't take long for the group of monsters to spot the players and begin their charge. Everyone who didn't already have their weapons out drew them and readied themselves for the fight.
"Leonn, take the minotaur! Liz and Kizmel, the cyclops!" Kirito commanded.
"We'll take the harpies, Kirito!" Klein shouted.
"Agil, can you back them up?" Kirito asked as he charged forward with his blades drawn. "Kuroi, Asuna, you're fast enough to hit them. Can you both focus on the harpies? We'll take care of the minotaur and cyclops."
"You got it!" Asuna answered as she charged up a ((Linear)).
"It will be done, Milord!" Kuroi shouted, drawing shurikens in both hands.
"Let's go!" Kirito shouted, zeroing in on the minotaur. He was joined by Silica with Pina in tow. Meanwhile, Nautilus and Geeou went to reinforce the others taking on the cyclops.
Kirito, noticeably faster than Leonn, reached the minotaur first. Ducking under a swing of its hammer, Kirito abandoned the sword skill he had planned in favor of a simple, yet effective, lateral swipe of his swords across the monster's left ankle. It let out a pained roar and staggered, which was enough for Leonn to catch up and come in with a fierce uppercut with his maul. The sound of virtual bone shattering accompanied the minotaur's abrupt lurch backward from the blow, and Silica swooped in with a sword skill of her own, leaping onto the creature's torso and rending two gashes across its chest before pushing off to gain some distance. The minotaur caught its footing before it could fall on its back, staggering a step or two.
Kirito immediately shot forward, executing two sword skills almost back-to-back, bringing the monster's health down considerably. The minotaur rounded, swinging its hammer to parry Kirito's attempted third sword skill. Both player and monster rebounded from the impact.
"Silica, switch!" He shouted, still suffering from the recoil.
The dragon tamer shot forward, plunging her dagger into the minotaur before leaping off safe and out of its range. Pina swooped down to give Kirito a brief spritz of her healing mist as he skidded to a halt. The minotaur roared in fury before charging forward towards Silica, who had just landed and had a startled look in her eyes, clearly not expecting the monster to recover so quickly. She squinted her eyes, brought her dagger up, and braced for the impact…
…only for Leonn to step in the way and meet the minotaur head-on with a ((Blockade)), slamming his shoulder into the rampaging bull-man. Both the Renegade tank and minotaur slid off each other as the two seemingly unstoppable forces collided. The minotaur lost its balance from the collision, careening into the stone wall nearby while Leonn had only a series of golden scrapes to show for it. Just as the minotaur was pushing itself off the wall, an arrow struck it in the chest and killed it.
"Nice shot!" Silica cheered.
Sinon, hanging back by Yuna, simply gave a smirk and a nod before nocking another arrow and loosing it at the cyclops. With remarkable aim, the archer's arrow struck the cyclops right in the eye. The now-blinded cyclops screeched in pain and staggered backward before swiping wildly with its massive club.
"So that's why everyone calls you Deadeye!" Leonn quipped, wearing a shit-eating grin that would have put Argo to shame.
A chorus of groans rang out.
"Ugh! Leonn!"
"Seriously?!"
"That was your worst one by far!"
"I thought it was pretty good, actually."
Kirito groaned at the pun before charging at the cyclops as an interesting thought occurred to him. He hadn't tried this skill while dual wielding. Would it even work?
Only one way to find out.
Placing his swords in the proper position to trigger the skill, Kirito felt the system take over in what he hoped would be the dual wielding equivalent of ((Meteor Fall)). There was a brief spasm in his hands - likely the system trying to adjust - before they launched both blades skyward. His now freed hands immediately shot forward with a fast one-two punch combo, staggering the blinded cyclops back. Leaping upward, Kirito's hands immediately found the airbound blades, and his body shifted slightly horizontally to the side. Before he knew it, both arms were outstretched on opposite sides and then he began to spin. Like an anthropomorphic saw blade, he began to cut through the monster on his way down. The cyclops shattered under the onslaught as Kirito landed dramatically in a crouch, both arms still outstretched as the skill finally finished.
"Show off." Geeou and Nautilus said at once.
Kirito chuckled. Oh, he was definitely going to use that skill more often if he could get away with it. ((Meteor Fall)) was best used when an opponent was too close to accurately swing your blades, but that felt good. Sure, he was a little dizzy from all the spinning but it was worth it.
"All clear here!" Klein's voice rang out.
A quick glance confirmed that the other half of the group finished off the flock of harpies. Everyone seemed to be in one piece, no one had taken much damage, and what damage they had sustained was steadily being healed by Pina and Yuna. Part of him felt guilty that the only two players in Aincrad capable of healing without potions were in his guild, but that just went to show how special his guild was.
"How's the NPC?" Geeou asked.
"She's fine!" Sinon shouted from the back. Much like other escort quests in other games, the NPC seemed blissfully unaware of just how close to death she'd been. Annoying, but at least they didn't have to worry about her getting in the way.
With the monsters out of the way, everyone retook their normal positions. Kuroi scouted ahead as usual, the tanks took the perimeter of the formation, and everyone else stayed within the middle surrounding the NPC. It was a simple formation that allowed the beefier players to quickly respond to any dangers that would approach from the front, behind, or - as the first day showed was necessary - from the sides. They continued on like that for the better part of an hour, occasionally running into the odd group of patrolling monsters, but for the most part were able to navigate in relative safety. Having a dedicated scout did wonders in avoiding traps.
It wasn't until the end of that first hour that Kirito noticed something. He pulled up his map and noted that they weren't actually heading towards town. Not directly, at least. If they were, they were taking the scenic route.
"Hey Kirito…?" Klein asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, I noticed it too." Kirito replied, looking around warily.
"Think it's a glitched quest or something?" The samurai guessed.
"Could be…" Kirito murmured, closing his map. "Guess we'll find out."
A short while later, after navigating the stone corridors, they eventually found themselves in a larger open area. Based on the ruined stone buildings - which were reminiscent of ancient Greek architecture, as Asuna pointed out - this looked like an area of some importance. Whether it was important for this quest or a different one, Kirito didn't know. For all they knew, the quest glitched out and led them to this location, which many were now pointing out was decidedly not town.
"This isn't town." Harry One said, looking around at the ruins.
"Thanks for that, Captain Obvious." Issin jabbed.
"Doesn't make it any less true!" Harry One shot back. "The heck is goin' on?"
Kirito started walking towards the NPC. Maybe a quick, carefully phrased set of questions might determine if the quest was bugged or not. If they could figure out that much, they could report it to Argo so that no one else took the quest. That task became so much harder when he was joined by Kizmel.
"What is it, Kirito?" The Dark Elf asked, blissfully unaware of the intricacies of NPC behavior. Well, usual NPC behavior, that is. "You look contemplative."
"Just a little confused as to why we're not in town." He explained. "Usually quests like this are accurate, but every so often they glitch out."
"Glitch?" Kizmel inquired.
"Uh…" Kirito drawled, frantically looking for a good way to explain this. "Sometimes NPCs will become confused, or sometimes oddities will occur here in Aincrad. Players like us often use the word "glitch" to describe these instances."
"I see…" Kizmel murmured, looking deep in thought. "And you suspect Euryale here is one such NPC?"
"I think so." Kirito answered, pulling up his map to show. "We're nowhere close to town, but the quest says we need to escort her back to Mourningmore. The fact that we've stopped here means that this quest could be glitched."
"Perhaps we should speak with her, then." Kizmel concluded. "If we can jog her memory, perhaps we can resume our journey back to town properly."
"Good idea." Kirito said hesitantly. Not that he wasn't going to do that, anyway. The duo calmly walked up to Euryale. She met their gaze and smiled. Kirito cleared his throat and felt her attention shift towards him. "Excuse me, but did you want us to take the lead and bring you back to town? We appear to be lost."
Euryale shook her head. "No, that's perfectly fine. We've arrived."
"I'm… afraid I don't understand." Kirito said. "We were supposed to escort you back to town, right?"
She shook her head again. "I'm afraid you must have misunderstood. I asked you to escort me home, and we're here!"
Kirito quirked an eyebrow as he felt an uneasy sensation in his stomach. Something was wrong, and he was pretty sure it wasn't the quest anymore. "Mourningmore isn't your home?"
"No no no." Euryale said, her smile unwavering. "I don't live with the humans…"
Kirito and Kizmel each took a step back as Euryale's eyes suddenly became noticeably reptilian in appearance, taking on a yellow hue. Her pupils became vertical slits, and her hair started to move as if it was alive. Her appearance shimmered as she grew in size, her legs fading away to reveal a serpentine tail in their place. Her arms became longer, her fingernails sharper, and her skin more scaly in appearance. Last, and certainly not least, her mouth opened to reveal rows of sharp fangs. Not human teeth. Fangs.
"... I hunt them!"
A quick glance at his HUD confirmed what he feared.
[Objective: Kill ((Euryale the Gorgon))]
"Shit!" He cursed as he and Kizmel dived out of the way of Euryale's swiping claws.
The rest of the Renegades and Fuurinkazan leapt into action, simultaneously engaging the monster while providing Kirito and Kizmel a chance to disengage and enter the battle on their own terms.
"Is this usual for glitched quests?" Kizmel asked, drawing her saber.
Kirito laughed sardonically, even as he drew his blades. "Nope! Not glitched at all, just a trap!"
"You two gonna help here, or what?!" Nautilus scolded as he parried the gorgon's claw with his longsword. "She's faster than she seems!"
Kirito charged forward, blades held at his sides. So far, their tanks were doing a decent enough job keeping Euryale in place and away from the others. Leonn, Liz, Harry One, and Issin all had the gorgon surrounded, effectively boxing her in. Like a well-oiled machine, the others would poke in to deal damage and then retreat to safety.
Getting into a comfortable stance, Kirito waited for an opening. He slowly circled around, looking for the opportune moment to pounce. All he would need to do is lunge in just after the boss had been parried or blocked, and unleash a quick sword skill to take advantage of the knockback.
Finally, an opening appeared.
Liz had just swatted the gorgon's hand away, causing the monster to spin from the impact. Eager to use the opening, Kirito leapt overhead, charging up a sword skill and preparing to bring it down on Euryale's head. The gorgon, still recovering from the spin, looked up at Kirito.
And then her eyes flashed.
Kirito felt his body seize up, the effects of paralysis taking hold. Helpless and unable to correct his trajectory, he fell towards her waiting claws. With a careless swipe, Euryale swatted the dual blader to the side and right into Issin.
"Oof!" Issin grunted out. He shifted Kirito's body to the side. "You alright there, Kirito?"
All Kirito could do to answer was mumble through closed lips incoherently. His eyes looked around frantically while the rest of his body was still frozen in the pose he had while falling towards the gorgon.
"Paralysis!" Someone called out. Sounded like Yuna. Kirito couldn't very well verify right now, given that he was frozen and forced to stare at the dirt. He glanced up at his HUD and inwardly groaned. Outwardly, too. He was paralyzed for the next minute. Definitely one of the stronger paralysis effects he'd ever seen.
"Did anyone see what happened?!" Asuna shouted.
Kirito heard a series of footsteps come from behind. They were getting closer. Suddenly his vision shifted on its axis and Asuna's face entered his view. Framed by a foggy backdrop of the sky overhead, she looked concerned and looked intently over his frozen features.
"Kirito, are you okay?" She asked. When she didn't receive an answer, she shook her head. "Of course, you can't answer. I'm going to ask some questions. Blink once for yes, blink twice for no."
Seriously?
"Did you see what paralyzed you?"
One blink.
"Was it when she hit you?"
Two blinks.
"Okay. Now, did - "
Asuna suddenly stopped, picked up Kirito, and jumped backward. He could feel the wind pass by and what he assumed was the gorgon's claws scream by his ear. A shadow passed over him and the sound of something scraping against steel met his ears. He assumed one of the tanks intervened to give Asuna some cover.
"Keep her off us! Naut, grab Leonn and put him to the side and away from the battle!" Asuna commanded. She looked down at Kirito. "Whatever she did, she just did to Leonn too. Is it her eyes?"
One blink.
"I had a feeling. She's a gorgon, so she's looking people in the eyes and paralyzing them." She looked up and shouted at the group. "She's paralyzing through her eyes, try not to make eye contact! Kirito, is your paralysis almost done?"
One blink.
"Good." A pause. "We're teleporting back to town after this and then reporting this to Argo."
One blink.
She smiled. "Then we're going home and getting some rest."
One very enthusiastic blink.
Asuna giggled before setting her eyes on the fight just outside his vision. Based on what he could hear, several more of their number were falling prey to the paralysis, which was far from optimal. Slowly, he could feel sensation in his limbs, and he sat up in Asuna's arms.
"I'm good. Thanks." He said, offering her a smile. He looked towards the field. "How bad is…?"
It was worse than he thought.
The group was in shambles, at least three of their party paralyzed and sitting off to the side. Leonn was just shaking off the effects of his paralysis while Silica, Geeou, and Kunimittz were still suffering from its effects. The others who were still up were either guarding those that were incapacitated or fighting with a self-imposed handicap, none of them daring to make eye contact with the gorgon. Meanwhile, with only Liz and Kizmel available to tank, Euryale was running free, causing wanton damage to those unfortunate enough to cross her.
"Does it look like she has a cooldown on that ability?" He asked. "Maybe we can take advantage of that."
"I'm not sure, I was too busy pulling you to the side." Asuna answered, shaking her head.
He spotted Sinon taking cover behind a downed pillar. If anyone would be able to spot that kind of pattern, she would.
"Be careful." He warned Asuna. She gave a nod before sprinting back into the fray.
Making sure not to look directly at the gorgon, Kirito ran over and slid right next to Sinon. She gave him a startled look before a nod of silent greeting. She nocked an arrow onto her bowstring.
"Hold on a second." He said, laying a hand on her bow.
Sinon stopped, giving him a curious look. "What is it?"
"Have you noticed a pattern with her ability? A cooldown maybe?" He asked, glancing past the pillar to monitor the situation.
He saw Asuna shoot forward, landing a series of thrusts into the gorgon's backside. Euryale hissed in pain before rounding on her, a sickening gleam twinkling in her eyes. Asuna was mid-thrust once more before she, too, froze up. Before the gorgon could land a devastating claw swipe on the downed fencer, Kizmel interposed herself, blocking the strike with her shield. Kirito spotted Kuroi dash in, grab Asuna, and run towards a more remote part of the battlefield. He let out a sigh of relief and turned back to Sinon.
"As far as I can tell, she's been paralyzing people every 30 seconds or so." Sinon said.
"Okay, she just paralyzed Asuna." Kirito informed her. "Can you blind her like you did that cyclops earlier? You've probably got about 20 seconds before she can blind anybody else."
Sinon smirked. "Consider it done."
The archer broke cover, charging up a skill with her bow. After a few tense seconds of waiting, she let the bolt fly. A screeching hiss erupted from the gorgon as the arrow found its target, sinking right into her right eye.
"See if you can do that again!" Kirito shouted, running out from behind the pillar and charging at the gorgon. "I'll keep her occupied!"
Drawing close to what was undoubtedly a field boss - he'd have to check with Argo though to be sure - Kirito dove underneath a claw and struck out with his left blade, carving a red line along the base of her tail. He rolled out of the way of her follow up strike, but was immediately met with a tail in his face. Quickly crossing both blades in front of his face, he blocked the strike with a grunt and slid backward from the impact. He glanced upward and saw Euryale looking intently down at him, grinning maliciously.
So he closed his eyes.
Probably the second worst thing he could do in this situation, but he acted on reflex.
The next thing he knew, he was sent tumbling to the side after he felt a claw rake across his arm and torso. Fairly confident he was clear of any petrifying gaze, he opened his eyes and rolled as he landed. Glancing up, he saw the gorgon switching targets, now going after Leonn. To his credit, rather than chance looking up at the monster to time his attacks, he was using a series of shorter attacks to maximize his absorb frames. The downside to that was he wasn't dealing much damage and he was missing half of his attacks.
He was trying, at least.
Kirito leapt forward just as Leonn missed his timing and was knocked back, his scars flaring red. In a desperate bid to take attention off of the ailing and now vulnerable tank, Kirito unleashed a flurry of strikes, using both sword skills and techniques of his own design.
Kirito would never call himself a battle junkie, but there was little doubt in his mind that he'd gotten good at fighting. Asuna had once called his style of combat efficient, and as he squared off against a creature that could literally render him immobile with just a glance, he found himself agreeing with that sentiment. Rather than use flashy sword skills - not counting his liberal use of ((Meteor Fall)) earlier, that was an exception rather than the norm - Kirito preferred to use short skills that supplemented his own manual strikes. He didn't always block strikes, but he wasn't always evasive either. It was simple, really. He dodged when he could and blocked when he couldn't. He'd long since fallen into a rhythm, letting each sword swing independently but always mindful of where the other was at all times. He didn't think he was ambidextrous, but he knew he could multitask. That was the crucial part. Keeping track of where multiple things were at any given time was necessary when dual wielding longswords.
It was also necessary when managing a battle as a leader.
That was why, when he saw the gorgon leer down at him, undoubtedly ready to paralyze him once again, Kirito didn't panic like he did last time. This time, help came in the form of an arrow of light streaking in from behind him, slamming directly into the monster's left eye. Euryale screeched in pain and abandoned her attack, clawing at her now useless eyes. A blind gorgon was a gorgon that was disarmed of its best weapon.
It was also a gorgon that was liable to lash out in blind fury.
"She's blinded!" Kirito shouted, side-stepping a frantic claw swipe. "She can't paralyze anymore but be careful!"
Kizmel came lunging in with a shield bash, knocking the monster off balance. Leonn had since recovered and swung low with his maul, a move that normally would have swept the feet out from under an opponent. Alas, given that the gorgon had no legs to speak of and moved via its serpentine tail, it didn't quite have the same effect, but it did exacerbate its lack of balance at the moment. Asuna and Kirito capitalized on that, unleashed a flurry of tag-team blows as they danced around the disoriented gorgon.
At that point, the fight devolved into a more chaotic mess. Since Euryale couldn't see her opponents, she often lashed out at even the faintest hint of movement. The gorgon more resembled a cornered animal now with how random and frantic the attacks were, and many in his group had to fight defensively or risk a quick retaliatory claw or tail swipe. The only members who could safely engage, ironically enough, were the tanks. Liz, Kizmel, and Dynamm were among the few who were able to use their shield to cover their attacks. Agil was markedly more hesitant in his attacks, given his lack of a shield, while Leonn went on a full offensive, much more safe using his Unique Skill.
At least they didn't have to worry about paralysis anymore.
Liz, surprisingly, got the last blow on the monster a few minutes later with a mighty swing of her warhammer to the gorgon's face. The sound of shattering glass echoed through the ruined area, and everyone tensed, ready for whatever Aincrad was going to throw at them next. That was one thing they'd never grow out of, really. After all, you weren't truly safe unless you were in a safe zone, and even that was spotty given the rumors of sleep PKs going around.
"I frickin' hate this place." Nautilus huffed. "Kirito, please tell me we're going home now."
Klein chuckled awkwardly as he hunched over, hands resting on his knees. "Gonna have to agree on that. If I never see another snake-lady again, it'll be too soon."
Everyone looked exhausted. The only person who didn't look it was Liz, but he chalked that up to the fact that she'd received a new shield from the last attack bonus, a circular shield whose front face was effectively a mirror. That would have been nice to have during the fight, if only to reflect that paralyzing glare back at the boss. The existence of her last attack bonus shield also told him that they'd accidentally triggered and defeated the field boss. Kirito simply nodded as he sheathed both blades, before bringing out a teleport crystal. Everyone else immediately followed suit.
Yeah, it was time to go home.