Fractured – Chapter 5

A silent communication passed between Leina and I. Disable Renly, then attack the giant spider controlling him. Sounded simple enough, but it was difficult to strategize a plan when neither of us knew how Renly actually attacked.

Renly stood motionless as the spider leaned in, whispering something in his ear. His eyes narrowed, then he crouched down into an attack position. He took one of his twin winged blades and threw it directly towards us. Leina and I dodged, leaping right and left respectively. We both hit the ground as the second winged blade went whizzing over our heads. They soon returned to Renly, locking between his fingers. He wasted no time, settling into a lunge where he pulled his arms back, then thrust his weapons at us again in quick succession.

Leina stepped up, swinging her sword against one of his blades. A loud 'clang' was heard as the weapons connected.

I held up my sword defensively, effectively blocking the second whirring blade. They both ground into our weapons, sparks flying, then returned back to their owner. It was like battling an extremely dangerous boomerang, multiplied by two.

"I'm not going to just sit here and take his attacks," Leina growled. "High- Norkia Style!" she shouted, rushing up to Renly.

"No, wait!" I called after her.

She didn't get far as the twin winged blades attacked again.

"Gah!" Leina ground out, barely bringing her sword up in time to block.

"He's not going to let us get close," I sidled up next to her, my blade slashing at the second flying blade. "He seems to be a distance fighter." My eyes followed the blades back to Renly. He caught them deftly, the sharp edges of his blades glinting in the fire light of the tunnel. "This is going to be tough seeing as you and I are both close ranged fighters."

Once again, the blades came flying at both Leina and I. I leapt over one, then evaded it again as it returned to Renly. Leina sidestepped the other aimed at her, then twisted around as it flew by her on the return.

"At this rate, he's going to wear us down, then kill us directly," I panted.

"How about sacred arts then?" Leina said.

"Eugeo was always better than me at that kind of stuff," I mumbled.

"System Call, Flame Arrow!" Leina called out.

"System Call, Icy Thorns!" I added.

Renly spun his blades in front of him, successfully snuffing out the fiery arrows and snapping the ice.

"System Call," we both began again. This time, we didn't have time to finish the incantation as Renly's blades were sent flying at us again. I pressed up against the side wall, Leina did the same on the other. The blade headed for me cut across my back, along my shoulders. I hissed, the cut sharp, but not deep. Leina gasped as the blade aimed for her cut across her lower back.

"He's not giving us time to call out any sacred arts," I ground out. The blades were coming closer and closer to us, and it was only a matter of time before they cut through us completely. I was quick on my feet, but the tunnel only gave us so much room to maneuver. Renly was a formidable opponent, and we were running out of options.

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Eugeo sat in the bath awhile longer, the haze growing thicker in the bath from the steam. Finding out his family sold him for backpay wasn't too surprising. He'd been a disappointment ever since he got his calling to cut down the Gigas Cedar. It hurt, sure, but that wasn't the worse of things. In the brief encounter he had with Alice on both the 80th floor and in the battle with Pontifex, he knew she was no longer the Alice from his childhood. True, he'd continue to strive to get her memories back, but the reality was, things would never be as they once were. The Integrity Knight she was now left little room for someone like him.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in the tub. As for Kirito, was it really all lies? He'd never had someone like Kirito, and it crushed him thinking it was nothing but an act. Everything they did and experienced together felt too real, honest and true. Surely, Kirito couldn't have faked all of it. Could he? Or maybe he was just holding onto another impossible hope? Eugeo was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't hear anyone enter the bath chamber.

"Thirty-two! Thirty-two!" Fizel began poking his back with her dagger. "Aren't you done yet?"

"That's not my name," Eugeo's eyes narrowed. He felt his head begin to pound. Eyes flashing blue, three icy vines shot up from the floor. One wrapped around the young girl's wrist that held her dagger. It constricted immediately; the audible snap of her wrist easily heard. The second went for her neck, the third wrapping around her waist, raising her up from the floor. They all began to constrict again, the girl's breathing becoming labored.

"You better let her go," Linel commanded softly. Her blade was up against the tender flesh of Eugeo's throat.

"I can't…control it," Eugeo ground out.

"Try," Linel bit back, her dagger drawing a dot of blood.

Eugeo took a deep breath and concentrated on the vines. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but mental strength and power in the Underworld could manipulate things. Kirito had shown him that with the Zephilia flowers. He was surprised when he felt a resistance from the vines. They seemed to press back, but soon, relented. They loosened, dropping Fizel hard on the ground.

"Bastard, you did that on purpose," she snapped, cradling her broken wrist.

"You've had worse. Let's get yourself healed," said Linel.

Grumbling, Fizel rose to her feet, and the two girls headed for the door. Speaking over her shoulder, she called, "You better get your ass in gear. Sheyta will be here any minute."

Eugeo rose quickly from the bath, hoping to catch how the girls opened the door from the inside without a knob. He reached for the plush towel that was hanging nearby. Wrapping it around his waist, he glanced at his scar. It was pulsing, and tendrils of blue had begun to wind themselves up his stomach and chest. He turned, seeing the same tendrils slither up along his back. Confusion etched across his face. "This is new," he frowned.

He heard the door to the main room open again, and Sheyta stepping inside. He quickly pulled on his clothes as he didn't want her to see the strange markings on his body.

"Pontifex wants to see you," Sheyta said flatly, entering the bath chamber. She leveled her sword at Eugeo. "Let's go."

They left the room, Eugeo leading as Sheyta told him where to turn and which hallway to go down. They headed to the first floor, then into a library. One of the book shelves had opened inward, and they went inside, heading down narrow stairs. Once at the bottom, they took a sharp turn, proceeding down a narrow tunnel. They followed it, exiting through a heavy wooden door, and entered into a large, empty chamber. A few fires burned in sconces along the walls of the circular room, casting elongated shadows. The ground was covered in sand, the walls made of stone, the ceiling was domed. At one end was a large gate, and loud growling sounds could be heard coming from it. Whatever it was, it sounded very big and very angry.

"Leave us, Sheyta," Pontifex commanded as she floated down from above them.

The swordswoman in gray bowed, then turn and left the chamber, closing the heavy wooden door behind her.

Pontifex brought her hand up onto Eugeo's chest. "I can feel your heartbeat. How it races." He flinched back from her. "Don't be like that," she tsked. "Especially after all the trouble I've gone through."

"What are you talking about?" Eugeo eyed her warily.

"Why talk when I can see a demonstration," she answered smugly. She looked over her shoulder, and watched as the gate across from them was slowly raised. It was barely open before a large shrew beast wiggled out from under it. It had sharp quills covering its back. It roared in anger, baring sharp teeth. Its eyes were pale yellow. "Cute, isn't it?"

Eugeo took a step back.

"Go ahead," Pontifex said. "Kill it."

"With what?" Eugeo snapped. "I don't have any weapons. And thanks to your windowless rooms and tunnels, I have no sacred arts power to draw on."

Pontifex leaned in close. "I'm sure you'll think of something." She pulled back, then floated up into the air. "I expect a good show."

Eugeo narrowed his eyes. What was she thinking? The beast wasted no time as it charged towards him, the ground rumbling. He rolled to the right, the beast rushing by. Its claws scrabbled in the sand, trying to regain its footing and turn around. The beast swung its large tail. Eugeo deftly rolled to the left, barely avoiding dangerously sharp spikes.

"You can do better than that," Pontifex taunted from above him.

"Yeah, if I had my sword," Eugeo muttered under his breath.

The beast snarled at him, then shot quills from its back. They whizzed through the air, Eugeo nimbly dodging all but two. The shrew came at him again, head lowered, barreling into Eugeo. He was flung backwards, hitting the stone wall like a ton of bricks. He dropped to the ground, rocks tumbling on top of him. Coughing from the dust in the air, Eugeo shoved aside the rocks, and pulled out the quills from his shoulder. Tossing one to the side, he took the other one and leveled it at the shrew beast. The beast shook itself, sending more quills towards Eugeo. He deflected them with his makeshift weapon, using it like a sword. Rolling his shoulder and ignoring the pain there, he took off towards the beast.

The beast saw him coming and curled into a ball, sharp spikes protruding from its body. Eugeo stopped short, then cautiously began to circle it, looking for a weak spot. "What the heck?" he muttered. He glanced up at the Pontifex who merely smiled. In that moment, the beast's head extended from its body, its teeth sinking into Eugeo's leg. It was soon followed by the swipe of a taloned claw, tearing into Eugeo's upper thigh. His leg buckled and he fell into the sand.

The shrew unfurled itself from its ball completely, then rose to its feet. It came to stand over Eugeo, caging the swordmen underneath its massive body. Saliva dripped from its jaws onto Eugeo's face, and he could feel its wretched breath as it snorted and snarled. Eugeo kept his eyes on the beast as his hand searched for his makeshift weapon in the nearby sand. His hand found purchase as his fingers closed around the precious quill. He grabbed it, swinging it up and into the shrew's glowing yellow eye. It howled in fury, shaking its massive head back and forth to dislodge the intruding quill. Eugeo then hit it in the throat with the palm of his hand, and scrambled out from under it. His leg was torn up, and a sharp stabbing pain began to burn in his shoulder. Poison?

The beast came at Eugeo again, clearly adept at maneuvering in the sand. It was pissed as it rammed him, tossing him like a ragdoll into the opposite wall. Eugeo gasped at the impact. This thing's strength was incredible. Where did she even find such a beast? Drawing quick breaths, he slowly rose to his feet, but his vision was getting blurry and everything seemed to slow down. The poison was circulating in his body quickly, making it extremely difficult to breathe. The last thing he needed was his head to start pounding. "Gah!" One hand went to his head while the other went back to steady himself against the wall.

Pontifex's brow furred as she watched from above. Was her theory wrong?

Suddenly, Eugeo looked up, his eyes blazing icy blue. "Enough of this," he growled.

"Ahh…that's better," Pontifex smiled to herself.

The ground around Eugeo rumbled as shards of ice erupted from it. They shot up from the ground, angling themselves right into the shrew beast. The beast roared, taking several deep slash wounds. It tried to back away, but icy vines rose from the ground, enveloping it and pulling it closer onto the wickedly sharp shards. Blood sprayed everywhere, the giant beast howling in pain as it was impaled. It wiggled and snarled, until its life was drained and it hung limply on the shards.

Eugeo was panting heavily. Where was this power coming from and why did it keep happening? On one hand, it scared him, on the other, he seemed to find a familiarity with it. Pontifex drifted down slowly, to land right in front of Eugeo. He looked up at her, eyes still icy blue. She could see tendrils of blue pulsing across his face and down his neck. She reached out with one hand and ran a finger across one of the them, tracing its intricate pattern. The power emanating from it was incredible.

Fresh vines erupted from the ground, thorns rising to sharp points as they sought the Pontifex from behind. Without even looking, she said, "You don't want to kill the only person who loves you, do you?"

The vines faltered, and hesitated. "I…" Eugeo began, clearly conflicted.

"That was quite a performance," Pontifex purred. "But I'm still curious. Sheyta," she called upwards. "Send in the next one."

Eugeo paled as another roar echoed into the chamber.

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I felt my head began to pound. "I don't need this right now," I growled. I barely dodged as another of Renly's blades shot over me. My eyes flashed gold, narrowing them at our opponent. He paced back and forth in front of the spider; his blades held deftly between his fingers. Their sharp silver edges turning red with our blood. I wanted to shed a little of his blood to even the score.

"Kirito? Are you still with me?" Leina's blue eyes were wide with worry.

"I'm fine," I snapped.

Leina dropped back, she'd let it go, but just for now.

I shook my head, trying to get my headache to stop and to refocus. "Should we try to divide and conquer?"

"Fine, I'll take Renly," Leina rose to her feet. "You take the spider."

"It's because I'm a guy, isn't it?"

"Guys are better with bugs," Leina shrugged.

I rolled my eyes.

"Hey! Have you just been toying with me?" Leina called out to Renly. "Why don't you fight me properly."

Renly's eye twitched.

"Such insolence," the spider spoke into Renly's ear. "She must die. Now."

Renly crossed his blades in front of his body, symbols and circles appearing in front of them. "Release Recollection," he called out, snapping the blades at Leina.

"Oh, crap," she slipped into a block position.

The blades spun wickedly as two, but then joined as one. This new weapon was huge, spinning wildly as it rotated at an insane speed against her sword. Sparks flew as the two weapons fought each other.

"Leina!" I called.

"Worry about yourself," she gritted out, holding her own against the attack.

I started, but I had to trust her. I readied my sword and went in for a Sonic Leap attack. The spider chittered and chirped, sounding nonsense to me, but Renly stopped in his tracks. Was it talking to him somehow? I was already in motion as I swung my sword high back behind my body and brought it down, hard, into Renly. His armor absorbed most of the impact, thankfully, but he'd definitely feel it later down the road. Renly gritted his teeth, then reached out to grab my blade between his hands. He held it firm, though his gloves were growing wet with blood from the sharpened edges. I pulled back, sliding to the side, attempting to go around the boy knight, when he deflected me again, this time using a sword?

Just who was this guy and how many attack techniques did he have? My sword clanged against his. We were head-to-head, our swords pressing against each other. I couldn't believe how strong this kid was. So focused we were on each other, that neither of us saw Leina approach, delivering a round house kick to Renly, sending him flying into the tunnel wall.

"Now!" Leina shouted.

I didn't need to be told twice. I went in for a horizontal attack, slicing into the spider's front legs. The beast screamed in pain. I figured it had low defensive stats, using Renly as a shield like that. Switching to a vertical attack, I raised my sword up to my right, bringing it down to my left, leaving a gash across its body. It hobbled, then collapsed onto its side. It tried to chirp out commands to Renly, but I went for its throat, silencing it. I continued to slash away at the beast, feeling a surge of power as I did so. Blood kept spraying onto me, sticky and hot. Suddenly, my arms were locked and held up behind my head.

"I think it's dead," Renly gritted out. He had twisted my arm so that I'd dropped my sword. It clattered to the ground. "Stop wiggling," he commanded. He turned golden eyes to Leina. "Is he always like this?"

I strained and struggled against his hold. "Let me go!" I snarled.

Leina kneeled down next to me, her hands reaching up to cup my face between them. Her blue gaze met my golden one. "It's not your fault," she whispered.

"I have a responsibility to the people of this world and I failed them," I said bitterly.

"It's not just yours," Leina replied softly. "We all do."

Hot, angry tears trickled down my cheeks. "Those people deserved better…"

Leina's eyes searched mine, she could see I was headed to a dark place. Rubbing gently at the blood and tears on my cheek, she did something I'd never expected. Leaning in close, she pressed her lips against mine, and kissed me. Surprisingly, I found myself kissing her back.

Renly raised a brow, slowly letting my arms go, then stepped back. "I'll give you two some time and keep watch," he said, a blush going across his cheeks. "We can talk later."

Leina and I continued to kiss each other, all the fear, worry, and anxiety of what we'd seen and been through so far connecting us in a way unlike before. Her arms went around my neck, her hold on me desperate. She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. I brought my hands around her slender waist, pulling her close.

"I want to feel you," she murmured. Her hands dropped from my shoulders and went to the hem of my shirt. Her fingers trailed underneath the fabric, soft against my skin, and traveled up my chest.

I was suddenly hot, and went to pull my shirt over my head. Blood had seeped from my clothes onto my skin, but she didn't seem to care. She leaned in, kissing my chest, her lips moving across my pectoral muscles. Her teeth clamped down on one of my nipples, causing me to gasp. Her hands continued to explore my chest and stomach, her fingers gliding across my skin, drifting ever lower. She found the waistband of my pants, but I grabbed her hand with my own. She looked up at me, a small crease forming in her brow.

"Fine," she stepped back, her eyes never leaving mine. She brought her hands up to the collar of her uniform and slowly started unbuttoning it. Shrugging out of her coat, it dropped to her waist, held by her belt. She wore a white lacy bra underneath. Entwining her fingers with mine, she brought both our hands up to her chest.

"Touch me then," she said breathlessly, dropping her hand.

My fingers went to grasp lightly at one of her breasts. It wasn't too big or too small, in fact, my hand cupped it perfectly. She moaned softly. My other hand came up to slide the strap of her bra down her shoulder, exposing the naked flesh of her other breast. I leaned in, my mouth going to suckle on the dusty tip of her breast, while my hand continued to massage the other one. She threw her head back and shuddered. Goddesses, she tasted good. Her arms went around my exposed back, her nails digging into it. Tearing at her bra completely, I relieved her of it, my hands and mouth seeking desperately at her. I was scared, angry, and terrified of what's been happening and what was to come. I needed this release. My lips traveled down her narrow waist, my tongue swirling around her naval. My hands followed soon after, gripping her waist, hard but gentle. She ran her hands through my dark hair, mussing it further. Speaking of hair, sometime during all of this, she'd taken out her hair tie, her long brown hair billowing about her shoulders. I looked up at her, my eyes half-lidded. She looked down at me, a smile playing at her lips.

"Say my name," she cooed at me.

"Leina," I said, so softly I could barely hear it.

"I want you inside me."

"What?" I blinked. My lust from the moment coming to a grinding halt. "We can't."

"Why not?" Leina looked hurt.

"I have a girlfriend," I deadpanned.

I suppose I earned the slap across my face.

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"So, you two have a fight?" Renly asked innocently as we headed back to the tunnel, the one I had originally started in. I was rubbing my cheek, it stung badly, the hand mark clearly visible.

"Something like that," I grumbled. What was I thinking? To do all of that with Leina when I had Asuna to think about? If she ever found out she'd kill me, twice. I quickly changed topics. "What did that spider say to you back there?" I asked Renly.

"Yeah, about that," Renly slowed his pace. "That thing…it got into my head. As a knight, it's an embarrassment to fall for such a ploy."

"Well, we're only human," I mumbled, thinking I wasn't perfect either.

"There's something up ahead," Leina called from out in front of us. She hadn't spoken to me since we started moving again. I could see the hurt in her eyes, and she was very, very angry. I had to make it up to her. She was important to me.

"Is someone there?" a weak voice cried out.

It was one I recognized. "Ronye?" Our trio hurried forward, entering another chamber, this one featuring dozens of cages, illuminated by small torches in-between them. Leina raised her own torch, gasping at all the people who were trapped inside them. They were dirty and scared.

"At least these are still alive," Leina said, relieved.

"Kirito-sempai?" Ronye called.

"I'm here," I approached her cage. She reached out to me, tears sliding down her face.

"Are you alright? What happened?" I asked her.

"I'm fine, just scared," she began. "The spiders…they took us, wrapped us in cocoons so we couldn't move or call out," Ronye began. "They brought us here, dropped us off their backs, then formed cages around us, trapping us inside."

"Is that the Star King?" someone called out.

"Please help us!" another voice pleaded.

The chorus of voices from the prisoners began to build as more voices chimed in.

"Everyone, please, stay quiet. We don't want to alert whoever is the ring leader here." I hissed.

The people were shocked by my response, then sulked into silence.

"What kind of cages are these?" Renly asked, slicing at one with his blade. His sword just clanged off it, barely chipping it or doing any damage. He scowled.

"It's made from their thread," Ronye explained. "It's harder than any steel. That's why there are no locks or doors. We simply wait until they come back to take us down that corridor." She pointed back the way we came. "However, when they take someone, they never return," she shivered. "I'm not sure what happens after that," her voice dropped to barely above a whisper.

I had a pretty good idea. It didn't seem like a good idea to frighten her more. I gulped down the truth, and pressed up against the bars.

"Ronye, have you seen Eugeo?" I asked her quietly.

Ronye blinked her eyes, then cast them downwards. "I'm sorry, but no."

Part of me was disappointed while the other part was relieved. I tugged on the cage bars.

"Only they can break it. The darkness spiders, I mean," Ronye said glumly.

"Damn," I muttered. "So, what's that way?" I nodded my head in the opposite direction.

"I'm not sure," Ronye replied.

"Looks like we have no choice but to keep moving forward and see what we're up against next," Renly grunted.

"You're leaving already?" Ronye panicked. She gripped my hands hard.

"Not for long," I reassured her. "We'll be back, I promise."

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"Incredible," Pontifex smiled, "Better than I could have imagined."

Eugeo was exhausted. One beast after another had emerged from the iron gate, their attack power steadily increasing. He'd had no choice but to keep battling them without any recovery time in between. He'd been slashed, poisoned, bitten, burned, blinded, paralyzed, and everything in between, and still he was standing. Blood caked his body, that of both the beasts and his own. He didn't have to look at the carnage that surrounded him. Frozen dead bodies covered the ground, ice shards scattered everywhere. The temperature was below freezing.

He bent over, hands on his knees to try and catch his breath, which was coming out in tiny puffs. He could see tendrils of blue swirling across his hands. It was getting hard to stay in control of all of this, and sometimes he wondered if he actually was.

End Chapter 5