A/N:
Glad to see last chapter was received so well! The real life chapters are always fun to write, since I get to write completely original side stories for Suguha and co.
And now, time to respond to your reviews!
- felipe potter medrado; When we move on to ALO eventually, I can guarantee it will not be the same as what we see in canon. This iteration of Kirito has the backing of an entire guild who would go through hell or highwater for their own, so you can bet that rescuing people will be a group effort. I won't say any more than that so as to avoid spoilers.
- Guest; Noted! I'll try to keep that in mind going forward when it comes to weapon weights.
- Lord Destroyer; Given enough dedication and resources, anyone can dig and find information that would otherwise be difficult to unearth. A boy seeking to avenge his fallen brother fits that criteria pretty well. Yes, now that her identity in relation to Kirito is out in the open, we're going to start to see the repercussions of that. For ALO, I think I will have Suguha use a katana; I agree with you in that her style seems to align more with using a katana instead of a standard one-handed sword.
- Otaku of Anime; I suppose we'll have to see how Ren will fit in with the watch parties.
- RandomDSdevel-WCFaWF; Fuurinkazan, TLB, and the MBC already have a standing invitation to hang out and use the resources available at Nelluon Arael; we'll just have to see how their informal alliance develops, hmm?
And now… on with the show!
The 25th Floor was drastically different from every floor that preceded it.
To start with, the entire floor was laden with a heavy fog that made visibility incredibly difficult if one didn't have the necessary elevation. From on top of the hill, Asuna could see a vast maze-like labyrinth that stretched throughout most of the floor. There were pockets here and there that seemed to be the "end points" of the maze, where there was undoubtedly good loot or points of interest. Even as she looked down at the bottom of the hill, she could see the beginning of the maze practically beckoning them to enter. There was even an ominous mist that seemed to billow out from its entrance, which only added to the overall creep factor that pervaded the entire floor. And the worst part about this floor?
They hadn't even reached the main town yet.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Klein muttered. Asuna saw him nervously grip his katana, the sound of the leather creaking echoing slightly in the fogged area.
"You and me both." Nezha commented as he brought out his chakram.
Kibaou stepped forward at the forefront of the raid group, trying to look as inspiring as possible. However, a quick glance around and Asuna could tell that the raid party was still exhausted from the 24th Floor boss fight not 30 minutes ago. Who was he kidding?
"Alright people!" Kibaou shouted, his commanding voice sounding empty in the dense fog. "I know we're all tired but we've got to get to the next town and unlock that teleporter!"
Lind was the next to step forward. "Kibaou, we might want to consider taking a brief rest before charging in. Maybe give everyone a chance to recoup their energy and heal up. That maze does not look inviting in the slightest and something tells me we're in for a rough time inside."
"I understand that, but the people on the lower floors are waiting on us!" Kibaou declared, much to most of the raid group's chagrin.
Heathcliff stepped forward next. "That may be true, but perhaps we should err on the side of caution here."
"They're right, Kibaou." Kirito spoke up from his position on Asuna's left. "A quick breather isn't going to hurt anyone. We can message Argo so that everyone down below understands the delay."
Kibaou let out an irritated huff but ultimately relented. With that issue sorted, everyone found a spot on the hill to set up a temporary camp. Yuna began playing one of her Ballads, providing the raid group with a source of entertainment and a mild healing effect. Those who had brought food or rations with them were idly munching on them to pass the time. Asuna spotted Silica sitting nearby, her wyvern egg resting in her lap. The fencer made her way over.
"How's it looking?" Asuna asked, taking a seat next to the young dragon tamer.
Silica looked up, breaking her gaze on the egg. "So far so good. The tooltip doesn't give me a timer, just vague descriptions on how its progress is."
Silica tapped on the egg, bringing up a window that displayed a general description.
[Egg: Wonder what's inside? It needs more time, though.]
"I see what you mean." Asuna commented. "I don't see why it's asking what's inside though. We already know it came from a wyvern nest."
Silica shrugged. "I don't know, but Argo says the description reminds her of something from another game. She says I should keep the egg outside of my inventory as much as possible to speed up the hatching process."
"I guess that makes sense?" Asuna said. "Better put it back in your inventory when you're not in a safe area."
"Oh I know." Silica assured her. "I figured since we were taking a break now that I could get some extra time in."
Pina landed nearby and crawled over to the egg, gazing at it curiously before crawling into Silica's lap right alongside it. It made for an adorable sight, if Asuna was being honest. Silica was cute in her own right, but watching her cradle an egg and her adorable feathered dragon at the same time?
Cuteness overload.
To avoid squealing from the cuteness, she looked over at her boyfriend and noted the surprised expressions he and Leonn were making. Both had their menus open and seemed to be reading something off to each other. Geeou and Sinon were nearby, looking over their shoulders. Curious, but unwilling to leave Silica on her own right now, Asuna strained a little to hear what she could from that conversation.
"... new. It must have unlocked after the last boss?" Leonn guessed.
"Maybe. One of my grayed out skills opened up too." Kirito said, tapping on something in his menu. A smaller window seemed to pop up. "Whoa."
Geeou's eyes bugged out as he read over Kirito's shoulder. "That's… a lot. You going to use it?"
"It definitely looks strong, but I can only imagine the lock-up period afterward. I'll need to practice it to get a better feel for it." Kirito answered.
"... same here." Leonn added. "Mine is definitely going to need practice. Hell, I might borrow Yuna if that's alright with her."
"You think you'll need healing?" Sinon asked.
Leonn nodded. "Just like the rest of this damn skill, if I screw this up I'll definitely need healing. I'll practice on the lower levels, though."
"You'd better or Liz will have your hide." Sinon quipped.
Asuna giggled as she saw Leonn visibly shiver in place. Geeou laid a consoling hand on the tank's shoulder before walking away. Kirito seemed to notice Asuna watching him, as he broke away from the group and went to sit next to her.
"Did something happen?" She asked as Kirito plopped down on the wet grass next to her.
"Yeah." He answered succinctly. "Leonn and I unlocked sub-skills for our Unique Skills, but we're going to have to practice them before we use them in a real fight. Even then, both of our skills are situational. I'll have to check with Liz and Yuna to see if they unlocked anything new too. Did you get anything, Silica?"
Silica shook her head. "Nope. Maybe once this little one hatches, I'll get something, but until then I'm just as ordinary as the rest of you."
"You're far from ordinary, Silica." Asuna smiled, giving the dragon tamer a head ruffle and eliciting a giggle from its recipient. Her older sister act finished, Asuna turned back to Kirito. "So what does your skill do, then?"
Kirito pulled up his menu and began to show her his skill list. "See here? The skill labeled Sta - "
"Alright people, time to get a move on!" Kibaou shouted. The ALS were the quickest on their feet, while the rest of the players were slower to respond. Everyone began to sort and clump themselves back with their respective guilds by this point. The solo players were either grouping together on their own or lumping themselves in with guilds they were familiar with. Kuroi was among the latter group, the ninja stealthily inching closer to some of the Renegades, oddly enough.
"I'll show you later." Kirito said as he stood up. Ever the awkward gentleman, he offered his hand to help her up, and acting the part of a proper lady, Asuna accepted. Silica stood up of her own volition, ejecting Pina from her lap as she stowed the wyvern egg in her inventory.
Asuna took a deep breath as she joined her guild, descending the slope of the hill and heading towards the mouth of the 25th Floor maze.
She was not looking forward to this.
Asuna ducked underneath the swipe of yet another cyclops, the ax head screaming overhead before embedding itself into the stone wall of the maze. She leapt backward to create some distance; despite her speed she was unwilling to gamble on such a dangerous monster when another of its kind had already demonstrated its ability to punch with its off-hand.
Things were not going well.
Not even five minutes into the maze and it had become painfully apparent that this was not your typical floor survival plan. The monsters were large and in charge, so to speak. They ambushed the raid group in droves as they navigated the maze, and with how winding the paths were, everyone was on edge.
Tearing herself away from her inner musings, she lunged forward while the cyclops went to yank its ax out of the wall. Unleashing a flurry of stabs with her rapier, she then jumped back as the monster staggered back from the attack.
"Switch!" She called out, but Kirito was already closing in. At this point, saying the word was a mere formality and a way to communicate to others around them of their plan of attack. Were it not for the fact that she took comfort in that unspoken synchronicity she had with Kirito, she might have been tempted to call it uncanny or creepy.
With a battle cry, Kirito lashed out with both blades, swiping them from left to right and dragging the swords across the cyclops' flank. The monster attempted to stomp at the swordsman, but Kirito fluidly transitioned to a roll, positioning himself behind the mob. Charging up a sword skill with both of his blades, he unleashed hell on the monster's exposed backside. The cyclops shattered under the unrelenting assault of her boyfriend, and after a moment of tense silence, only then did she lower her blade. The others around them, having finished off their own foes, relaxed but did not fully drop their guard.
"So… does anyone know how close we are?" Nautilus asked pointedly. Everyone in the near vicinity shook their heads.
"So long as we tread carefully, we should reach the town sooner or later." Heathcliff said from nearby. The man who had earned the nickname of the Paladin gave a sigh as he lowered his blade and relaxed his stance.
"That's awfully optimistic." Someone in the ALS crowd commented.
Heathcliff only nodded. "We are gathering map data as we explore the maze. So long as we tread carefully and explore every avenue, we're bound to find the town. It's only a matter of time."
"Makes sense." Kibaou admitted. He turned to one of his subordinates who was further up ahead near the upcoming T-intersection. Jiro, if she recalled. Not one of the higher-ups in the ALS hierarchy, but Asuna always made it a point to try to memorize everyones' names. "Jiro, anything up ahead?"
"One second, sir." Jiro said, inching closer to the intersection, yet staying as close to the southern wall as possible to avoid detection. Asuna could see his image flicker for a moment, undoubtedly the ((Hiding)) skill coming into effect. A second later, he was out of sight, having blended into the shadows.
Taking advantage of the minor lull as Jiro scouted ahead, Asuna opened her menu and took stock of her supplies. She'd only exhausted one potion thus far, fortunately enough, and she had three more to her name. There was also the one healing crystal in reserve, but given the amount of health healing crystals restored, using one was a last-ditch survival effort. She also had her obligatory teleport crystal on hand, though its use outside of a rapid escape was limited at the moment. There was no use in teleporting to another town when she and the rest of the Assault Team - she still liked that name - were trying to reach the next town, not run away from it. She idly noted Jiro confirming the immediate lack of enemies ahead and went about closing her menus. She hoped they wouldn't be here too long; she had hoped to relax back at the guild base for a while before calling it a night. In fact, she was pretty sure there was still some -
*CLICK.*
Tilting her head in slight confusion, she looked down the corridor to where Jiro had disappeared off to.
"What was that, Jiro?" Kibaou called out. Jiro came out of ((Hiding)), having stopped in his tracks.
Before the ALS scout could answer, the ground opened up and poor Jiro disappeared from sight, but for an entirely different reason. A panicked shout echoed out as Jiro fell into the hole. Then Asuna heard something that sent a chill through her virtual body.
The sound of glass shattering.
"JIRO!" Kibaou shouted, running over to the hole frantically.
Many in the raid group, not just those who were members of the ALS, were quick to follow. Asuna sped over, just as curious as she was certain what had happened. A wary look into the chasm confirmed that Jiro had perished, the only evidence of his existence and passing being the faint remnants of polygons drifting upward.
"He… he…" A voice nearby stammered.
"Now we gotta deal with pitfall traps?!" Kibaou exploded, looking irate.
Not that Asuna could blame him. After all, one of his men just died without much warning, save for a foreboding click. Sure, they'd all encountered traps of varying degrees of danger and lethality before, but those had been in dungeons, not out in the open like this.
The 25th Floor pulled no punches.
"My condolences for your loss, Kibaou." Heathcliff said with startling calm and clarity. Or perhaps it was apathy? That man was a difficult read on the best of days, stoic to a fault. Perhaps that unflinching attitude of his was what drew so many to the KoB's ranks. "If we have any here adept at spotting traps, perhaps they should take point."
Asuna's mind immediately shot to the one person her guild knew who would be of immense help here. Ducker's skills as a treasure hunter were impressive, and his keen eye would undoubtedly come in handy here, but she would never willingly subject him to the hell of the frontline.
"Bokkuzu." Lind said, waving one of his subordinates over. "Can you help?"
The DKB member, who was dressed in form-fitting armor, nodded his assent before taking point. The KoB sent one of their own as well and, much to Asuna's surprise, Kuroi was suddenly among their number and assisting with trap detection.
"Three pairs of trained eyes should suffice." Heathcliff commented. "We can grieve later, Kibaou. For now, we need to move on. We cannot stay."
Kibaou seemed to muster up his nerve and nodded solemnly. "You're right. We'll raise a drink in Jiro's honor when we get to town, but first we need to get there. Onward!"
Sharing an uneasy look with some of the other Renegades, Asuna followed along, senses on high alert not only for monster ambushes, but now apparently for any pitfalls or traps. The progress of the raid group now slowed to a crawl, none wishing to pass by the trap finders. Many drew paranoid glances around them at even the slightest of movements. When they came to a spot where there was a noticeable split with three pathways, they sent one trap finder and a group of at least a dozen to explore the new avenue. A second group would explore the second avenue while a third was dispatched along the last path. The rest of the raid stayed put and waited for word on which path was the true path to take. Having to wait for their exploratory groups to report back made progress even slower.
The waiting was the worst part, honestly.
Some time later, much of the raid was waiting at a fork in the paths when Asuna heard someone in the back of the raid raise an alarm.
"Behind us!"
"Tanks to the backline, quick!" Heathcliff commanded, and the raid obeyed. Asuna saw Liz and Kizmel, being the more nimble tanks among the Renegades, quickly weave their way back to cover the raid's flank. With so many people consolidated into one corridor, not everyone could participate in an ambush on one side like this. She spotted Leonn and Agil hoist Sinon and Nezha, respectively, onto their shoulders so the ranged attackers could get better shots on the ambush.
"I'm going back there, Kirito." Asuna said even as she ran past.
Charging up a ((Linear)), Asuna shot forward with all of the speed of her title, rocketing into the first monster she saw like a bolt of lightning. The monster, which she was now able to identify as one of many ((Harpy)) creatures, gave a shriek of pain as it lashed out with its talons. Realizing she was dealing with a monster just as quick and nimble as herself, Asuna parried the blow with her rapier before stepping back. While she was confident she could kill the creature by herself, it was better to play it safe with backup. There was no telling how long it would take them to reach the next town, and she did not want to overextend and burn through her potions.
"Asuna, switch!" Liz cried out. Immediately, the fencer obeyed, stepping back and to the side as the Renegade blacksmith came in swinging, cracking the harpy over the head with her warhammer. While Liz's attacks didn't have the weight to them that Leonn's or even Agil's did, her weapon of choice still hit hard, especially on softer targets like this harpy.
Silica pounced on the now-downed harpy, slicing across its back with almost brutal efficiency, ending that fight quickly. Asuna turned her attention to the other harpies nearby, which were being held at bay by the few tanks that were able to reposition and guard the flank.
"Minotaurs up front!" Someone behind her cried.
Great. They were being flanked now. The few minotaurs they'd tangled with so far were smaller versions of the 2nd Floor bosses, using giant hammers and paralyzing breath attacks. While she could double back and help with that fight, she knew better than to overextend herself. She'd have to trust the front of the raid to take care of that issue.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Kizmel squaring off against two harpies at once, the elf's defensive playstyle giving her an edge in survivability but not allowing her much in the way of counterattacking against two foes at once. Asuna sprinted forward, eager to change that. Spotting her approach, Kizmel shield slammed one harpy right into Asuna's path. Asuna jumped and came down on the harpy, using her own momentum and surprise attack to send the feathered monster to the ground.
"Well struck!" Kizmel complimented her. She swung her longsword, striking the remaining harpy.
Finishing off the downed harpy with a quick slash, Asuna positioned herself on the other harpy's flank. She placed herself in a stance that was just shy of initiating a sword skill; just close enough to trigger it at a moment's notice but not so close as to have the system take over. It was a trick many had learned on the front line; sword skills were powerful but could trap you in the animation, which could spell danger if not properly controlled. Preparing a close stance beforehand was like loading a gun, in a sense; ready to fire but only when prompted to.
Kizmel slammed her sword into her own shield, grabbing the harpy's attention. The harpy took the bait, charging forward. Asuna was right behind it, shifting her stance just enough to trigger a ((Linear)) and strike the harpy's exposed flank. The monster shattered and Asuna landed next to the Dark Elf with a smile.
"You're taking well to the tank role." Asuna said, offering a forearm towards the elf.
Kizmel, having been introduced to human displays of camaraderie, met the gesture with her own forearm, an improvised high five given how both her hands were occupied. "A Pagoda Knight lives to protect others. I find it suits my fighting style, though I will admit I could never tank like Liten, Heathcliff, or Leonn."
Asuna shrugged, noticing that the harpy ambush had been fought off. "I don't think anyone could tank like they do. Everyone has their own style."
"Indeed." Kizmel agreed, looking towards the front of the raid group. "I do hope we reach town soon. Now I understand Kirito's trepidation about this floor. Your beloved is truly knowledgeable when it comes to survival here."
"He definitely is." Asuna sighed, before motioning towards the front of the group. "I'm going to go check with the other leaders. Can you protect the backline? I get the feeling that this won't be the only ambush we have to fight off."
Kizmel offered a salute. "Of course. Leave it to me."
Asuna nodded before weaving her way between players, using her nimble frame - and her reputation, not that she would ever admit it - to part the crowd until she reached the front. Kirito noted her approach with a smile before turning his attention back to Kibaou.
"I don't like it either, Kibaou, but I don't see another option." Kirito sighed.
"Damn." Kibaou grumbled, crossing his arms in deep thought. "Sure you don't have any crazy ideas running around in your head, Beater?"
Kirito gave a bitter smile. "Afraid not."
"What's going on?" Asuna asked Kirito as Kibaou walked off.
"The three paths ahead don't dead-end like the others have so far." Kirito informed her, grimacing. "As it stands, any of the paths could lead to town."
"We're going to have to split up, aren't we?" Asuna realized. Based on the displeased faces of the other leaders present, she guessed she was right on the money. Kirito nodded and looked like he was about to explain when Heathcliff rattled his shield with his sword, demanding everyone's attention.
"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Heathcliff projected. When all side conversations died down, he continued. "As some of you may already know, it appears none of the three avenues up ahead are the obvious path to town. Our scouts went ahead but did not come to an end; as a result, any of the paths could be the correct one."
A cacophony of groans sounded out.
"We're not happy about it either." Lind said, shifting attention to himself. He sighed. "In order to maximize our chances of reaching town, we're going to split up into three groups. The first group to reach town will activate the teleport gate and message the other two groups. Once the other groups receive confirmation, they will use a teleport crystal, return to a previous floor, and use the teleport gate there to reach the town here. The sad reality right now is that we don't have the proper supplies to properly explore between here and town, so we're going to play it safe. This plan gets us to town and hopefully prevents further casualties. We already saw Jiro fall into a trap here and we will assume there are more just like it."
"In order to make sure all groups are equal, here's how we're splitting up." Kibaou began. "The KoB, along with their scout, will take the northern route. The Legend Braves will back them up. The DKB will take the eastern path, backed up by their own scout and Fuurinkazan. I'll be taking the ALS along the southern path, backed up by Kuroi and the Renegades."
Asuna blinked. Maybe she misheard. Did Kibaou say…?
"No, you heard right." Kirito chuckled, seeing the perplexed look on her face. "We're teaming up with the ALS for this one. Kuroi's going to be our scout."
"Whose idea was this?" Asuna asked, still dumbfounded.
"Kibaou's, actually." Kirito admitted. "It was decided based on the relative strengths of each of the guilds. Heathcliff is a solid tank and a Unique Skill user, and the KoB is already proving to be strong fighters, so sticking the Braves with them as backup works. The DKB has no Unique Skill users of their own, but they're fairly well balanced. Sticking Klein and his guild with them made sense. As much as Kibaou hates to admit it, his guild isn't as strong individually as the DKB and KoB. They've got numbers on their side, but that's about it, so we're going with them since we have stronger individual members than the other guilds."
"And we have five Unique Skill wielders among us, even if two aren't relevant right now." Asuna guessed.
Kirito hummed in confirmation while everyone started to separate into their own teams. "Exactly. Not the best configuration, but the most balanced."
Asuna sighed as she fell into line with everyone else, rapier at the ready. This was going to be… interesting.
You could cut the tension in the air with a butter knife.
It was no secret among anyone in Aincrad that if there were two guilds who mutually did not like one another, it was the Resolute Renegades and the Aincrad Liberation Squad. Oil and water, fire and ice, nothing held a candle to how disagreeable both groups could be to one another. There were a handful of ALS members who were on good terms with the Renegades, like Liten, but the vast majority of the ALS were paranoid jerkwads who had a bad habit of looking gift horses in the mouth, in Asuna's humble opinion.
Scratch that. Asuna could admit she held a pretty clear bias on the matter.
Tactically speaking, the group was well-equipped. Kuroi scouted ahead carefully and methodically, while the heavy tanks of the groups took point just behind the ninja. Liz, Leonn, and Liten took the lead of the tank formation in front, being the best equipped to handle anything that they encountered. Kizmel, Agil, and some of the off tanks of the ALS took up the rearguard. Noticing an actual friendly conversation up ahead between the three main tanks, Asuna gravitated forward to listen in. Maybe some positivity would help keep her mind off the nagging need to rip Kibaou's head off.
"No way, your guild base has a mine?!" Liten asked, slack-jawed.
Liz chuckled. "Yep! It's not super rare ore, mind you, but it helps offset our material costs and time spent mining in the field."
"Do you think you'll find better ores as we climb higher? Maybe as your guild grows? Maybe if the base itself develops more…" Liten started mumbling, clearly interested.
Liz chuckled awkwardly. "Whoa, easy there Liten. We're not sure, but the ore in the mine does respawn after some time, so we don't have to worry about running out."
"That's super convenient." Liten said. "I'll bet it takes a while to haul that ore out, though."
"You have no idea…" Leonn intoned.
Liz playfully smacked Leonn's arm. "Don't listen to him. We set up a rail system so we can use minecarts."
"You had me carrying ore by the crateful during the first two days!" Leonn retorted.
"Hush, you." Liz casually snarked, sending a playful wink towards her fellow tank. "You're a strapping young man. You've got the muscle for it."
Leonn started sputtering, looking a little red in the face, much to Liten's amusement. Asuna had to stifle a giggle; she didn't want it obvious she was eavesdropping on their conversation. A quick glance around saw those nearby similarly amused, even among the ALS players.
"Hold." Kuroi commanded. Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks. "There is a trap here I cannot disarm. We may have no choice but to trigger it."
"What kind of trap is it?" Kibaou asked. "It's not a pitfall trap, is it?"
Kuroi looked back and shook her head. "Thankfully, no. I suspect this trap may be some sort of alarm. It may summon monsters."
Kibaou nodded determinedly. He shared a look with Kirito before turning to the group. "Tanks to the front and back! Prepare for an ambush! If we're going to spring a trap, let's do it right."
Within a matter of seconds, the group reconfigured itself. All of the tanks were either at the front or rear of the group. Covered behind their beefier players, the middle consisted of the squishier DPS and ranged players. Once everyone was situated and had their weapons drawn, Kibaou gave a nod to Kuroi.
"Spring it." The ALS leader commanded.
Kuroi gave a silent nod before she reached forward and pressed down on a section of the path. After a moment, she dashed backward to take her place between the tank walls. The tanks on either end tensed up, preparing for the oncoming ambush. The DPS in the middle were slightly more relaxed, but still ready to attack at a moment's notice. And so they waited.
And waited.
Many visibly relaxed and looked around confusedly. Kibaou looked back at Kuroi, who was still tense.
"False alarm?" Kibaou asked. "Are you sure that was a - "
"What the?!"
A flurry of panicked shouts and screams cried out just then. Asuna whipped her head around and paled when she saw the ambush. Then her heart sank when she heard the sound of glass shattering.
They were coming out of the walls.
"Shit!" Kirito hissed as he rushed forward to meet the golems that were coming out of the stone walls. "Tanks, reposition! Quick!"
Chaos ensued as everyone frantically tried to reposition themselves. Ranged players like Sinon quickly leapt away, forsaking any sort of offense for the promise of distance. Melee players did their best to deflect the attacks while the tanks pushed their way through the crowd. Soon enough, Asuna found herself taking on a golem alongside Kibaou and Kuroi. The tanks were occupied with other monsters, so she and her impromptu teammates would have to do.
"I'll keep it occupied!" Kibaou declared, brandishing his longsword with both hands. He leapt forward, scoring two consecutive hits on the golem's chest. "Flank it!"
"Roger!" Asuna replied, discarding any spite she had for the man right now. Her displeasure with the man's antics would do no one any favors at the moment. Asuna, girlfriend of Kirito, melted away as Asuna, sub-leader of the Resolute Renegades, came to the forefront.
She circled around to the golem's right flank while Kuroi took the left. She charged up a ((Oblique)) and leapt forward, striking the golem. She immediately ducked as the golem swept its massive arm over the space where her head had been. Shuffling to the side as the golem swept out its arm in the opposite direction, it was impacted by a trio of shurikens and roared out, its defenses meaningless in the face of the ninja's Unique Skill.
Kuroi leapt forward, landing on the golem's shoulder and stabbing twice with her dagger. The golem spun, reaching up and grabbing the ninja before tossing her unceremoniously to the side like a sack of potatoes. Asuna used a ((Linear)) and shot forward, impacting the golem's now exposed back, causing it to stagger forward. Kibaou took advantage of the distraction and jumped up, stabbing the monster through its chest and finishing it off.
"Good job." Asuna said, locking eyes with Kibaou and giving him a curt nod. She then looked to where Kuroi had been thrown. "Same goes for you, Ku - "
She froze as she saw the ninja caught in the grasp of another golem, its massive earthen hand squeezing the life out of the vigilante. Kuroi gave a sharp gasp, her arms pinned and otherwise useless. Her scarf obscured her face for the most part, but Asuna could clearly see the fear in those amethyst eyes. After a moment, her legs stopped kicking and Kuroi closed her eyes in resignation.
She was going to die, and she knew it.
Asuna averted her gaze for a moment, unwilling to watch, and then she heard the glass shatter. Her heart sunk yet again. Another casualty. What did that make it, three deaths so far? Who knows how the other groups were faring, and if they had any casualties of their own. She felt a fire ignite inside, furious at how someone she knew, however casually, had died in so brutal and ugly a manner. Squeezed to death.
She wished she'd gotten to know the secretive ninja better, somehow. No one really knew her, except maybe Argo, but the info broker didn't give out personal information unnecessarily. What kind of person was Kuroi? Had she left anyone behind to mourn her? What was her story?
Now no one would know.
"You alright?" A familiar voice asked.
Asuna's head whipped around to see Kirito standing over the now prone Kuroi, his back facing her with both swords drawn. The offending golem was clutching its stub of an arm, a small mist of pixels dissipating where its hand used to be. Asuna couldn't feel any prouder at that moment. Kirito - bless his heart - just saved Kuroi from a gruesome end.
"I… I am fine, thank you." Kuroi muttered, looking uncharacteristically shocked at the fact that she was still alive. "Y-you saved me."
"I'm not letting anyone die if I can help it." Kirito declared as if it was the most normal thing to say. Asuna let out a quiet, amused chuckle as she stepped up alongside her leader.
"Less gawking, more fighting!" Kibaou shouted, shooting past the trio and engaging the disarmed golem. Wait, that wasn't the right word; "maimed" was. Asuna chastised herself at the accidental pun. God, Leonn was rubbing off on her.
"Right!" Asuna said, drawing her rapier and joining Kibaou.
Kirito was soon to follow and, after a few moments, Asuna saw the flash of a flurry of shurikens sink into the golem's head. It let out a grumbling roar before shattering. Asuna looked around, still on high alert before noting that the other golems had been dispatched. She let out a sigh of relief and lowered her rapier.
That was ugly.
"Damage report!" Kibaou roared, his voice pained.
"We lost Segon and Ivira, sir!" A voice shouted out.
"Hova and Bei too!" Another voice called out, its owner clearly trying to remain composed.
Four people. They'd lost four people to that ambush alone. Five if you counted Jiro earlier. It could have been six had Kirito not intervened and saved Kuroi. A small part of her felt relief that none of the Renegades had fallen to that ambush, but a quick glance at the HUD confirmed that Nautilus had almost joined them. Even now, Yuna and Pina were trying their best to heal everyone to full health. A solemn silence settled over the crowd, an unspoken agreement to take a moment to honor the dead.
"Damn it all." Kibaou spat out, gritting his teeth. "What the hell is this floor? We haven't lost anyone since the 4th floor, and now we're dropping like flies."
"We need to warn the other groups." Kirito said. "Sinon, can you - "
"Already done." The archer interrupted. "They say thank you for the heads up. Neither of the other groups ran into a trap like that yet, but they're on alert for it now."
"Good." Kirito sighed. He had a pained expression on his face; if she had to guess - and she knew her boyfriend pretty well at this point - he was punishing himself for not saving more people.
"Hey." Asuna said, resting a hand on his shoulder and snapping him out of his stupor. "You did all you could. It could have been much worse."
"I know, but - "
"Stop." Asuna pressed. "Stop blaming yourself. I mean it, Kirito. You may be the strongest player in SAO but even you have your limits."
"I'm not - "
She put a finger to his lips, and after a moment his shoulders slumped and he nodded in understanding. She glanced over at Kuroi and noted that the normally stoic ninja was now staring at Kirito, almost in awe. In a movement that Asuna would swear wasn't petty or possessive in the slightest, the fencer swept Kirito up in a comforting hug. After a moment, he hugged her back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the ninja still staring at Kirito before shaking herself out of her own stupor. Kuroi seemed to compose herself, giving a nod and refocusing on the task at hand.
"Come on." Asuna said, breaking the hug and looking Kirito in the eyes. "Let's get everyone to safety."
Kirito nodded, and Asuna could see his resolve restored. She looked towards Kibaou and gave a nod, signaling that they were set to resume.
She couldn't wait to get out of this hellhole.
"That bad, Aa-chan?"
Asuna nodded, glumly looking at Argo.
They'd eventually reached the exit of the maze and reached the town of Mourningmore, a fitting name and further proof that Kayaba was a sadistic bastard. Strangely enough, all three groups had arrived around the same time, each with its own sad news to bear. Each group had casualties to report, and it wasn't pretty.
After the first initial ambush, the ALS had lost two more of their number, bringing their total number of casualties to seven. The DKB had lost three of their own, one being their scout, while the KoB had only lost one of their crew to an ambush similar to the one her own group had fended off.
The Legend Braves lost Enkidu to a pitfall trap. That loss hit the Renegades particularly hard. Not as hard as losing one of their own, but every member of the Legend Braves was a valued friend. Just a few weeks ago, they were enjoying a nice celebratory dinner with Enkidu after completing the guild base. Just a few weeks ago, Geeou had lost to Enkidu in an arm wrestling contest. Just a few weeks ago, Enkidu was sharing stories and joking around with Keita and the Black Cats.
Now Enkidu was dead.
That brought the overall death toll to twelve people. Twelve people who died in service to the thousands below. Twelve people who would never see their families again. Asuna wanted to scream to the heavens right now.
"Yeah, that bad." Asuna finally said, breaking the silence in the tavern they now found themselves in. "We didn't lose anybody, but still…"
"I know, Aa-chan." Argo said, resting a comforting hand on the fencer's arm. "I know."
Asuna sighed, looking over the other Renegades who were seated around the table. Sinon looked pensive, while Liz was fighting back tears. Leonn looked somber, but was looking over at Liz as if he wanted to console her, but didn't. Yuna, much to Asuna's surprise, was resting her head on Nautilus's shoulder while the swordsman had an arm draped around her in a comforting embrace. Agil's fists were clenched, and while Kizmel looked the calmest out of them all, Asuna knew she was affected too. Poor Silica was clutching her wyvern egg so tightly, she feared it might break. Geeou wasn't among them at the moment, having chosen to see Alice and offer his condolences for the one member the KoB lost.
"If it's any consolation…" Argo hesitantly began, obviously choosing her words carefully. "I've passed along all the information you all gathered to my network. Some of 'em are posted around the exits to town and are warnin' people who are even darin' to go out into the fields."
"Thanks, Argo." Kirito said, breaking his silence. "That does help some. Hopefully they'll learn from our mistakes."
"Kii-bou, it's not yer fault." Argo asserted, echoing Asuna's own thoughts. "I know ya like to beat yerself up, but you can't beat yerself up over this. Anyone in yer shoes would have had the same thing happen to 'em. There was no way of knowin'."
"I…" Kirito sighed. "... I know, Argo. It's just a lot to process right now. It's hard not to think I could have done more."
"We're all in the same boat, Kirito." Agil said. "You're not alone, man."
Kirito gave a pained smile. Asuna reached over and held his hand, rubbing small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. His mood brightened some, but she could tell he was still assigning some blame to himself. She'd break him of that in time.
"Excuse me."
Kuroi - where the hell did she come from? - stood just off to the side, near Kirito and Asuna's seats. Her gaze, like before in the maze, was locked onto Kirito. Now that she had a closer look, Asuna breathed a sigh of relief. The ninja was not staring at Kirito longingly, but rather with determination and surety.
"Kuro-chan." Argo addressed the ninja. "What brings you by? Yer not usually one to hang around in taverns. Yer even less likely to be spotted out in the open like this."
Kuroi's head turned address the Rat. "Argo. Do you remember what I told you when we first met?"
"I remember a lot of things, Kuro-chan." Argo said, slowly easing into her snark. "Yer gonna have to be more specific."
Kuroi, surprisingly, just nodded. "When we first met, you asked me why I venture alone. Do you remember what I said?"
Argo placed a finger to her chin. "If I remember correctly, ya said that ya hadn't found anyone worthy to be called yer lord yet."
Kuroi nodded. "That is correct."
"What does she mean?" Asuna asked no one in particular. None of the Renegades seemed to have any idea what was going on, so she looked over at Argo.
"She means she hasn't joined another guild after… uhh…" Argo trailed, looking at Kuroi.
"You may speak, Argo." Kuroi said. "I have come to accept it for what it is."
Argo turned back to Asuna. "She's the last survivor of her old guild, Fuumaningun. You might remember our little run-in with them on the 2nd Floor."
"Oh!" Asuna almost shouted before catching herself. Sheepishly, she looked over at Kuroi. "Sorry. I'm sorry to hear about your friends. They were… memorable."
Kuroi gave an amused nod. At least, Asuna was pretty sure it was amused. All she could see on the ninja was her eyes and cheekbones due to her scarf. "They could be abrasive, I will be the first to admit, but I appreciate your polite words nonetheless."
"Back on topic…" Argo raised an eyebrow. "Did that change? You found someone?"
Kuroi nodded again. "I have."
"Well then, who's the lucky bastard who has yer attention then?" Argo quipped.
Kuroi didn't immediately answer. After a moment, she kneeled before Kirito in a manner reminiscent of something out of a fantasy movie. Then again, they were basically living a fantasy movie, so who was she to judge? Kirito was clearly caught off guard and started looking around, embarrassed by the gesture and the amount of attention he was receiving.
Kuroi dipped her head in reverence. "Kirito the Black Swordsman. I have watched you for some time now and have come to realize that you are a man of honor. You bear the mantle of leadership not because you seek power, but because you are called to lead. You bear the sins of others and have chosen the more treacherous path so that others may not suffer as you do. Today, when I thought all was lost, you rescued me from death. I owe you my life."
Asuna's eyebrows were raised in interest, as were the brows of everyone else present, save Kirito. Her boyfriend looked flustered, which was absolutely adorable if she was being honest.
"From this moment on, I shall revere you as my lord. As kunoichi, my code of honor demands that I pay back the debt I have incurred. You saved my life, so my life is yours. If you will have me, from this day forward I will be your ninja. I will serve as your bodyguard. Your shadow."
A pin drop would have been the equivalent of a bullhorn right about now. The tavern in its entirety stood stock still, many faces looking back and forth between Kirito and Kuroi. Even Argo was in rare form, her mouth hanging open at the scene playing out before them. Kuroi was still kneeling on the ground in reverence while Kirito looked absolutely flabbergasted at the turn of events.
Feeling the silence stretch on entirely too long, Asuna elbowed Kirito. "Say something."
Kirito lurched, coming back to reality as he stared at the ninja kneeling before him. He swallowed, a sound that seemed to echo through the tavern.
"Uh, sure?"