A/N:
Before we start, let's address a few of the reviews from last week…
HyperPanda101: I frickin' love the Wellerman, but I needed a song that the Renegades could actively react to. Drunken Sailor is far more recognizable and it also opened up that little bit with Kirito and the captain's daughter.
Otaku of Anime: Glad you liked my (partial) parody of "Toss a Coin to your Witcher - SAO style"! I'll find a way to incorporate the entire parodied song someday. Maybe in another omake.
alynnasacdalan: An interesting ship I'd never thought of. Bold of you to assume Renly will make an appearance, though…
Kirito did not like this.
Not one bit.
The frontline was an exhausted mess from having to defend Wintertide for almost a week straight. Lind's scouting group eventually found the labyrinth, and now they were ready to take on the boss. Well, as ready as a sleep-deprived Assault Team could be. There was just one other problem.
The waves of Wights still kept coming.
During the scout broadcast, the Clearers had been blindsided by a Wight attack, so rather than sit and analyze the scouting effort, they had to rush over to Wintertide to fight off another wave of the icy bastards. The only reason they even had information to take from the scouting fight was because of the info brokers and hobby analysts on the 1st Floor - that is to say, those who weren't high enough level to help with clearing efforts but applied their strategic minds to helping plan out boss fights.
The fact that even those safe on the homefront wanted to help however they could did bring a smile to his face. The playerbase of SAO truly had become a tight-knit community. Hard not to, over a year later.
Regardless, the fact that Wintertide was not safe during the boss battle meant that the Assault Team had to split its forces. Lind, at the time, argued that the town should just be left barren so that the entire Assault Team could focus on the boss battle, which meant that the NPCs within would be left defenseless.
Asuna and Kizmel shot that idea down real quick.
Biases aside, Heathcliff did bring up a good point. If Wintertide fell, it could have lasting repercussions for this floor. Who knows what could happen to the teleport platform? Would Wintertide falling increase the difficulty of the boss battle? Would it lock the boss room?
Thus, an abundance of caution was needed and, unfortunately, that meant that a third of the Assault Team was camped out in Wintertide in preparation for another wave of Wights.
"Is everyone ready?" Heathcliff called out at the head of the raid group. The floor boss doors loomed behind him ominously. A frosty haze wafted out from under the doors.
Lind sighed, clearly just as displeased as Kirito was, but still answered with resolve. "We're ready. Kirito?"
Kirito looked back and did a mental headcount of those present.
A third of his own guild was missing, having been delegated to the defense of Wintertide. Since the monsters that assault the town were generic mobs, more or less, all of the frontline guilds sent their most well-rounded players to Wintertide. Asuna, being his vice-leader, stayed in town to coordinate the defense. Joining her were Liz, Geeou, Lokuss, Silica, Nautilus, Dale, Beowulf, and Keita.
The more specialized players, who were better utilized in a boss fight, were those in attendance presently. The key players here – in Kirito's opinion – were Yuna, Leonn, and Liten. The songstress was an obvious choice because of her raid-wide healing, while Leonn and Liten would be needed as dedicated tanks during this fight. That wasn't to say that the others assembled wouldn't be vital to the raid effort, as they would provide much-needed DPS.
The only Renegade Assault Team member that was neither here nor back in town was Kuroi. She and Argo were being tight-lipped about whatever it was they were up to. When Kirito first asked, the answer he received was a concerning one.
Player Killers.
He sincerely hoped Kuroi wasn't relapsing into her old vigilante habits. He knew she had killed before, but the last thing he wanted was to add more red to her ledger. Hopefully they would say something soon, because -
"Kirito?"
He snapped back to reality, only now realizing that he'd zoned out. "Sorry, yes. We're ready."
As the other leaders turned back towards the door, Klein came up alongside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You good, man? Kinda spaced out for a minute there."
"I'm fine, sorry." Kirito assured him. "Just thinking about… everything. I don't like this."
"Neither do I, dude." Klein sighed, his gaze refocusing back on the enormous doors in front of them. "Gotta get your head back in the game, though. The sooner we whup this guy's ass, the sooner things go back to normal, right?"
"Right. Let's do this."
On cue, Heathcliff pushed open the doors, and that creeping mist billowed out, blanketing the ground around their ankles.
"Damn, Kayaba." Ducker commented. "I get that you're trying to make this floor spooky, but did you have it go and make it so cold? It's like my goosebumps have goosebumps."
That caused a murmur of laughs and chuckles, and did help to assuage the mounting tension in the air. With some trepidation and an abundance of caution, the Assault Team - or what was left of it - stepped into the boss chamber.
The first thing Kirito noticed was that, like many bosses before it, the arena was largely circular. What was different about this chamber was that there were several large alcoves that bordered the edge of the circle, within each of which was a pile of… something.
"Oh gods, seriously?" Lind gasped out.
"I think I'm gonna be sick." Someone muttered.
"I told you it was this bad, but no one believed me!" A DDA player shouted in exasperation.
As it turned out, the piles were of bodies. A hideous mass of gangly limbs, frostbitten flesh, and decrepit bone sagged in each alcove. Despite the cold, Kirito could still smell the odor of rotting flesh and musty bone. More than a few members of the raid audibly gagged.
"Stay strong!" Heathcliff shouted. "Remember, it's not real!"
"That smell is, though." Kirito heard Sinon grumble.
"Alright, let's move in!" Heathcliff said as he moved forward. With Alice helping to coordinate the defense of Wintertide, it fell to the Paladin himself to help lead the raid. A welcome change of pace, if Kirito was being honest. The man was becoming far too comfortable sitting to the side, in Kirito's opinion.
The raid group assembled in an inward-facing circle in the center of the room. As if on cue, a swirling arctic wind ripped through the chamber, focusing into a dense blizzard in the hole created by the raid group. Kirito shielded his eyes from the frost and slush whipping through the air until the vortex dissipated, revealing a tall skeletal figure dressed in ornate robes. Standing at least 15 feet tall, ((Strakviz the Undying)) was uncharacteristically tall for what the lore suggested he'd be. According to what Lokuss dug up, the lich was once a noble of Wintertide but was tempted by power. Naturally, he delved into necromancy - as all villains seem to do in other stories - and became the scourge of the area.
"YOU DARE ENTER MY DOMAIN?!" Strakviz bellowed, a wave of frigid air blasting forth as if to emphasize his power. "FILTHY PEASANTS, I WILL FREEZE YOU UNTIL YOU ARE NAUGHT BUT ICY HUSKS!"
"Not often we get chatty bosses." Agil remarked.
The winds suddenly intensified, shoving everyone back and away from the boss. Heathcliff was the first to recover, having interposed his shield to withstand the blast, and ran forward to meet the lich in melee combat. Any preconceived notions that the lich - usually wizard type monsters in other media - would be hampered in melee combat, however, were dashed when Strakviz began lashing out with his two jagged swords conjured out of ice.
"Group A and B, move in!" Heathcliff roared before raising his shield and slamming into the boss. "I'll keep its attention!"
Kirito, as the leader of group B, raced in, swords at the ready. Wanting to avoid those long, sweeping strikes, he circled around to the boss's backside. He might be able to dodge or parry some of those attacks, but why bother when Heathcliff was tanking them just fine? He opened with a ((Double Circular)), carving long slashes across the lich's robed leg. He leapt backward just in time for Klein to engage with an opening strike from his katana. Klein leapt backward and sheathed his katana; a second later, an angry gash split open next to Kirito's.
"I'll never get used to that." Klein chuckled as he backed away to let others move in and attack.
"Badass." Dynamm grinned just before he moved in to attack.
"RISE, MINIONS!" Strakviz roared, raising his left sword into the air. A pulse of arctic energy blasted out, staggering everyone. Immediately the piles of bone and flesh began to rustle, and a steady line of ((Wights)) and ((Abominations)) - a larger conglomerate of flesh and bone - began to stumble out towards the raid group. "PROTECT YOUR MASTER AND CRUSH THESE INSECTS!"
"Adds!" Kirito shouted. "Just like we planned! Groups C & D, keep those off of us! Groups E & F, rotate in as needed!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Kirito spotted Kizmel engage a ((Wight)) alongside Ducker, while Leonn collided with an ((Abomination)). A flurry of arrows from Sinon sped forth, each one sinking into its intended target. Kunimittz and Sachi engaged an ((Abomination)) of their own, with the latter acting as an off-tank due to the noticeable absence of a dedicated one. All the while, Yuna was strumming away on her lute, proving the raid with a steady, if minor, source of healing.
So far, so good.
Spotting an opening, Kirito weaved past Klein and unleashed a series of unassisted slashes on Strakviz's other leg, this time warranting an annoyed hiss from the lich.
"INSECT!" Strakviz barked, spinning in place with both icy blades. Kirito ducked under the first one and managed to jump over the second. Dynamm was less fortunate, and went skidding back from a haphazard block. Coming out of the spin, the lich lunged towards Kirito with an icy blade, only for a chakram to impact his head and throw off his aim. The boss whirled and eyed Nezha, who wore a shit-eating grin as the chakram reappeared in his hand. "GRRRAH!"
"Keep it up!" Lind shouted. "We've got this!"
For the next few minutes, Kirito did his best to take advantage of any openings Heathcliff - and later Liten, once they rotated - provided, making sure never to draw the lich's attention like he did previously. It limited his damage output considerably, but the tradeoff of not triggering an AoE skill was worth it. The groups who were focusing on the adds had their hands full, though. The stream of monsters from the meat and bone piles was unending. While each monster wasn't difficult to dispatch in and of themselves, it was a battle of attrition. The groups on monster duty were already starting to show signs of fatigue.
They needed to end this sooner rather than later.
"Watch out! Above!"
Kirito looked up to see several hunks of ice falling from the ceiling. It was a mad scramble as everyone dodged to the side, eager to get out of the way of the frozen debris. Yes, they'd been expecting the fight to go like this, but it was one thing to see and read about it. It was another entirely to have to experience a block of ice that probably weighed a ton careening towards your skull. He stepped to the side, only for the force of the impact to launch him towards the ((Abomination)) Leonn was fighting.
Kirito hoped his wife was having an easier time.
"Why does this seem harder than usual?!" Asuna cried out, backstepping out of the way of two ((Wights)) that lunged forward.
Catching a glimpse of movement to her right, she spun and slashed out, killing an injured ((Wight)) that had escaped from Dale's onslaught some distance away. She grimaced; the defenders here in Wintertide were outnumbered two to one, and they were barely hanging on. Asuna could only assume Kirito and the others had engaged the boss at this point; why else would the attack be this intense? She eyed the two ((Wights)) she'd previously dodged and readied her rapier.
Geeou leapt in, dispatching one of the two and kicking the second over onto its back. "Probably because it is? There are less of us here now compared to the last time we defended."
He was right. They were fighting at a third of their normal power. What's more was that their dedicated tanks were busy with the raid group. That meant no real formation and rotations.
It was a chaotic melee.
Sure, she and Alice had managed to allocate people where they could best be utilized. Sure, there were some players who naturally had higher defenses than others, such as Liz and Beowulf, but they just didn't have the longevity in a fight that powerhouses like Heathcliff, Leonn, and Liten had.
Lind's words echoed in her mind.
We should pull back and just let the NPCs take care of it.
She shook those thoughts away. If that were suggested to her a year ago, Asuna might have been tempted to latch onto that idea, but not ever since meeting Kizmel. Who knew how many other sentient AI's were hiding out there? There was no way in hell she was going to betray Kizmel like that. They'd find a way to last long enough for the raid group to finish.
"Big boy!" Lokuss's voice rang out, and Asuna's head whipped in his direction.
The loremaster was facing down an ((Abomination)), but it was easy to see he wasn't confident he could take on the thing by himself. Even his own familiar was backing up out of fear. The grotesque amalgamation of limbs and flesh staggered forward and grinned menacingly.
"I could use a little help here, guys…" Lokuss intoned. "...Please?"
"Geeou, cover me!" Asuna said before shooting off towards Lokuss.
"Got it!"
Asuna closed the distance in a flash, jamming her rapier into the ((Abomination's)) shoulder. It roared - more of a screech, actually - before swatting at her. She ducked the sloppy backhand before she saw it leaning down to bite her. She scrambled back before she realized it had stopped in place, jaw still snapping futilely.
She looked just over its shoulder to see that Lokuss had lodged his grappling hook into its skull - eww, by the way - and was pulling back to keep it from biting her. The loremaster grimaced as he strained to keep it held back. Asuna pulled her rapier back, keeping it parallel to the ground and positioned near her head in the starting motion for a sword skill. While it was restrained, she could probably get away with chaining into -
A blur of spinning purple streaked past, lopping off the ((Abomination's)) head in one blow. It fell to its knees before shattering. Asuna looked over and immediately broke out into a stupid grin.
"Yuuki!"
"Sorry we're late, Asuna!" The dual wielder said with a smile.
The purplette whipped both swords outward in a flourish before sprinting forward towards a cluster of ((Wights)). She slashed as she weaved in between the icy zombies; she was turning and spinning so much she was like a little purple tornado crashing through the horde of undead. It would have been frightening were it not for one thing that was so Yuuki.
She was giggling, laughing even.
"Yuuki, wait up!" Jun cried out, swinging his greatsword as he struggled to follow his enthusiastic guild leader.
Nori came up from the side, swinging her quarterstaff low to trip another ((Wight)) before using that momentum to swing her weapon downward to finish it off with a devastating blow to the head. "You know she's incapable of slowing down, Jun."
The redhead sighed. "Figured I'd at least try. How are you guys doing over here, Asuna?"
Asuna chuckled under her breath as she saw Yuuki continue to tear through the battlefield. "Better now that you guys are here. We really needed the reinforcements. Is it just you three?"
"Nah, the others went to go reinforce Alice's group." Nori waved her off. "Figured it might be unfair to have all six of us on one side."
"I'm sure Alice appreciates it, though!" Geeou said as he ran past towards another ((Wight)). "She's been pretty stressed lately!"
"Gee, I wonder why." Asuna deadpanned. It was a good thing fatigue didn't actually translate to bags under the eyes in SAO. Otherwise, she was pretty sure her bags would have bags.
"Duck!"
Asuna instinctively hit the dirt - err, snow - and noted the ((Wight)) that flew over her head. The same ((Wight)) that had a rope around its neck. She could only stare as she saw Lokuss and Dale swinging around the zombie like an improvised flail via grappling hook, crashing the monster into several of its kin.
"Come on, Asuna!" Yuuki giggled as she ran past. "I'm gonna kill more than you at this rate!"
Asuna's competitive side flared up at the challenge. She smirked and took off, hot on the purplette's heels. Noting several ((Wights)) lined up in a zigzag pattern, Asuna paused and took a stance, ready to zip and thunder through them like a lightning bolt. If Yuuki wanted a challenge…
*C-c-CRACK-OOM!*
…then a challenge was what she was going to get!
Taking care of the adds wasn't normally this much of a challenge, Kirito realized.
"They just keep coming!" Klein complained, fending off yet another ((Wight)). "There's too many! We need backup!"
Kirito thrust his left sword through the zombie Klein was fighting, much to his friend's relief. The redhead was right; the number of zombies stumbling out of the bone piles was increasing. Either that, or the raid team was starting to falter with the constant fighting. The support teams could hardly keep up with the rotations. Outside of the group currently engaged with the boss itself, it was every man – or woman – for themselves.
"We can't spare anyone!" Lind barked, even as he hacked away at the lich's backside with his sword. "Unless a tank can hold him off? Heathcliff?"
The Paladin shook his head as he drank a potion. "I'm afraid I'm still healing from my last bout with the boss. It'll be some time before I'm ready to duel him again."
Kirito glanced over at the KoB leader, noting that while he was still in the green, his health was slowly increasing and it would be some time before he was at full health again. Just how much health did this guy have?!
"Liten?" Kirito asked, ducking under a frosty axehead as it screamed overhead.
"I need to heal too!"
"I can give you ten seconds!" Leonn shouted, grabbing a ((Wight)) with his free hand and lobbing it over towards Agil, who bisected the animated cadaver mid-air. "Someone cover me!"
Kirito nodded at Klein, an unspoken agreement exchanged between the two. Klein could hold out on his own for 10 seconds while Kirito covered Leonn. As the Juggernaut backed away, Kirito moved in, his blades a whirlwind of sharpened steel and scattered pixels; there were zombies on the way to his quarry, so why not take a few pot shots while he was in the area?
He skidded to a halt in front of the ((Abomination)) Leonn was previously engaged with. A gargantuan claymore came screaming down as the behemoth switched targets, and Kirito had to perform a ((Cross Block)) with his swords to keep from getting squashed by the blow. His elbows buckled a little under the unwieldy weight of the slab of frosted iron. A sudden arrow lodged in the creature's temple – seriously, Sinon's timing was impeccable – was enough of a distraction for Kirito to shift the weight of the monster's sword to the side and retaliate with a ((Double Circular)).
He ignored the sudden blast of air from behind and the grunt of effort that came with it to dodge another wide swing. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Leonn and Strakviz locked in a contest of strength; the former was pushing up against the latter's fists, having caught a dual-overhead slash before the rime-covered blades could find purchase. That meant the raid could take ten seconds to recover. Ten seconds to heal. Ten seconds to shift focus over to the increasing number of adds.
Ten seconds was more than enough time.
With renewed vigor, the rest of the raid cut down at least a dozen adds, lessening the load on the damage control teams. The main offensive force on the boss healed up and moved in to attack the boss freely, even before the ten seconds were up. Kirito himself focused on the ((Abomination)) he'd been contending with. Klein ran up to join him, and together the Crimson Samurai and the Black Swordsman easily dispatched the hideous amalgamation of icy bone and frosted sinew. With a determined nod, Kirito and Klein ran forward to meet the boss, ready to continue their assault.
"Phase change!"
Kirito skidded to a stop just as Strakviz bellowed out a ghastly roar of rage. A blast of arctic air accompanied the rather obvious change in tactics. Everyone expected it; it was standard fare for boss battles. Hell, part of their typical strategy involved using the few seconds afforded during a phase change to regroup, reheal, and prepare for the last stretch.
What they didn't expect were the chains.
Frost-covered chains erupted from the ground, ensnaring several members of the raid group. Kirito found himself among the unlucky few. At least he was a distance away from the boss. Lind, Liten, and Kizmel, however, were unfortunately right next to the boss.
"I got you, man!" Klein exclaimed, rushing over to start hacking away at Kirito's chains.
"No!" Kirito protested, shocking Klein into a confused stupor. Kirito nodded towards those stuck in melee range of the boss. "Free them first!"
Klein, surprisingly and much to Kirito's relief, didn't object. "Right! You keep out of trouble until I get back, got it?"
The samurai didn't wait for a response, instead rushing towards those ensnared next to the lich. Kirito strained against his chains, futilely he would soon come to realize. His eyes darted up to his HUD and saw that not only were the chains restraining him, they were slowly draining his health. All he could do was sit and watch helplessly as the raid fought on without him.
Maybe it was a good thing Asuna wasn't here. If she were here, she would probably prioritize freeing him at the unintended expense of those who were in more danger. On top of that, her rapier just wouldn't be suited for dealing damage to chains like this. Those with heavy bladed or blunt weapons like heavy axes and maces would be better at damaging these.
"He's loose, watch out!"
True to form, Strakviz hadn't really broken free like that panicked warning would suggest; rather he'd slipped away from the main tanks and was now rampaging through the raid. Heathcliff and Liten chased the lich to no avail, and people who were waiting in the back lines recovering had to leap out of the way to avoid Strakviz's dual-bladed wrath. Kirito, spotting that the lich was making his way over towards him, leapt to the side…
…only to reach the end of his leash and face plant onto the hard, icy floor. He hurriedly stood up just in time for Strakviz to swing down with his left blade, the other blade preoccupied swinging at Klein. If it wasn't for these damn chains…
Wait. That was it!
In a split-second calculation, Kirito predicted the trajectory of the falling blade and jumped to his left. The lich's sword came crashing down, and Kirito felt the tension on his right arm fall away. At the same time, Agil came through and cleaved the other chain holding him down in one mighty stroke of his axe. The burly man then wrapped up Kirito in an underarm carry and ran to the side.
"Thanks, Agil." Kirito sighed. "That was close. I can't believe that worked… why are you shoving a potion in my face?"
"Trust me, you need it."
Kirito reached for the potion and was presented with an unfortunate turn of events. He looked down and saw that his arm had been severed about halfway up his forearm. His eyes then darted over to where he'd been standing, only to spot his Elucidator being clutched by a severed hand. Fortunately, pain wasn't something he needed to worry about and Elucidator would still belong to him once this was all over. A good night's rest would regenerate the lost appendage, after all. No, he had something else to worry about when this was all over.
Asuna was going to kill him.
"Shit."
Agil eyed the stump. "You okay to keep goin'? I don't think anyone'll blame you for taking a back seat right now."
"I can still fight with one hand." Kirito retorted as he snatched the potion with his (only) hand. "That's how I fought before ((Dual Blades)) anyway."
Agil looked uncertain, but shrugged nonetheless. "Alright, just don't go dyin' in there, got it?"
"Wasn't planning on it." Kirito said as he ran in to rejoin the fight. Readying a ((Vertical)) with his left hand, he jumped up to get a better hit on the lich's head. His blade whistled through the cold air as it flew towards Strakviz's head.
Then the lich shattered.
His lone blade now swinging through empty air, Kirito fell through a mist of polygons and crashed unceremoniously into the stone floor. He couldn't help but purse his lips in frustration; it was probably selfish but he was hoping to get that last attack bonus. It certainly would have made for a great story, to finish off a boss after it literally disarmed him. Alas, the honor of killing that boss belonged to Lind, who was even now being crowded around by the DDA.
He supposed he couldn't hog all of the LA bonuses.
"What the hell is this?" Lind's voice could be heard over the excited hubbub of his guildmates. He held up a segment of ice-covered chains. "((Shackles of the Damned))? Soulbound? It's not even a piece of equipment!"
"Another soulbound item…?" Kirito mumbled to himself.
These soulbound items were popping up more and more as they climbed the castle, but aside from the vague and ambiguous note that they were an ingredient for something, no one knew what they were for. Kirito had his ((Branch of the Demon Tree)), Geeou had his ((Permafrost Shard)), Yuna had her ((Muse's String)), and Sachi had her ((Remnant of the Deeps)). At least they knew Liz would eventually be able to use them, so that suggested they were ingredients for weapons.
Kirito hated not knowing, and they had just over 40 more floors to go. That was a lot of time and a lot of content to cover, and he had no doubt more of these mysterious soulbound items would show up.
"Alright, everyone!" Heathcliff shouted. "We need to hurry and unlock the next floor! There's no telling what the situation's like back in Wintertide; they may need reinforcements and it'll be faster if we teleport in from the next floor!"
Scooping up his Elucidator – and the attached hand, much to his morbid amusement – Kirito followed along as the raid group jogged up the stairs.
Hopefully the defense group wasn't in too bad of shape.
Asuna scanned over the battlefield that was the town of Wintertide.
They won.
It was rather sudden, too, if she was being honest. One moment, the defenders were fighting with everything they had to repel the undead invaders, and during the next, every single ((Wight)), ((Abomination)), and everything in between fell over dead and exploded in motes of pixels and light.
Or… re-dead, she supposed. Dead again…? How does one describe the process of dying for an undead?
"Well, that was anticlimactic." Lokuss scoffed from a short distance away.
"Still fun, though!" Yuuki grinned, practically skipping up alongside Asuna. She glomped Asuna, hugging the fencer's side. "I think this was the first time we fought together, wasn't it?"
Asuna smiled and hugged her back with her free arm. "I think so. Are the Sleeping Knights joining the front line?"
"Yup!" The dual blader answered, letting go of Asuna. "Well, half of us at least if you're talking about the Assault Team. Siune, Talken, and Tecchi are going to help as Clearers, but they don't want to fight the bosses. Which is fine! It does also mean that our party will be three short when it comes to boss fights, though…"
Asuna shrugged. "We'll take you, Nori, and Jun in one of our groups. I'm sure Sachi, Ducker, and Keita would be happy to group with you."
"Ooh, that works!" Yuuki exclaimed. She looked over the exhausted defenders of the town. "Guess they probably won, huh?"
"Probably." Geeou said, wandering over with Alice and the KoB defenders. "How's everyone doing?"
"We're alive." Asuna sighed. "That's what matters. We might need a long rest now that this is all over."
Alice nodded. "We've been running everyone ragged trying to defend this floor; I think the commander will be on board for a brief hiatus. Bad for morale, he'd probably say."
"Speaking of…" Liz said as she, too, joined the assembling group. "Seems like he's been taking more of a back seat lately."
"Who?"
"Heathcliff." Liz clarified, and Asuna watched several in the KoB bristle at the insinuation. Liz was quick to recover, thankfully, and waved her hands placatingly as she continued. "Don't get me wrong, the guy's a good leader. I'm not saying he's a slacker or lazy or anything. I guess what I'm trying to ask is… is he training you or something? Seems like most ideas nowadays are yours instead of his."
Alice seemed to take a moment to consider. "I suppose so? We in the Knights of Blood try to prepare for any contingency, which unfortunately does include the possibility that the commander may fall in battle one day. If that happens, then it falls to me to lead the KoB."
"Well, let's hope it never comes to that." Asuna said in an effort to play mediator. Liz had a tendency to speak her mind, which had its pros and cons. Leonn wasn't here to censor his girlfriend, so it fell to Asuna to keep Liz from sticking her foot in her mouth.
"Has anyone heard from the others?" Nautilus asked.
Asuna glanced up at her HUD and saw a message waiting in her inbox. Much to her surprise, it was from Klein, not Kirito. Her heart sank for a moment at the passing fear that her husband may have perished in the fight. That fear lasted for all of two seconds before she read Klein's message in its entirety.
Then it gave way to anger.
"HE WHAT?!"
Lux hated this.
Every second that passed of her captivity was another second where she couldn't live with herself. Sure, she had the freedom to move as she pleased, conduct her day-to-day life in a seemingly normal manner, but make no mistake. She was a prisoner to Laughing Coffin.
Which was ironic, because everyone she knew was technically already a captive of a technological madman.
The only solace Lux took was that she was in a prime position to help take down her captors, and help put an end to the mass murder.
"You're awfully quiet over there, kitten."
Lux snapped to attention as Rosalia looked over her shoulder with a smirk. Much to her own surprise, Lux was being escorted into the Laughing Coffin headquarters. Since Laughing Coffin wasn't technically a guild registered in the system – which allowed for spies and moles to operate safely within other guilds – the murder guild chose to set up shop in a safe zone within the 26th floor labyrinth. It was one of a few labyrinths she knew of that was multi-tiered, that was to say that there were multiple levels that overlooked each other. Clear lines of sight on most approaches and easy to find hiding spots.
The perfect spot for ambushes.
The vast majority of Laughing Coffin ambushes, to her knowledge, didn't actually occur here, though. Her brief time amongst the murder guild had given her insight into their ambushing tactics. Between Rosalia and PoH, the two heads of this… Laughing Coffin and Titan's Hand alliance, ambushes were premeditated and organized. They struck with precision.
Specifically, they often struck during boss broadcasts.
She hated to admit that it made sense. Anyone capable of fighting back was too busy fighting the boss, and everyone's attention was too focused on the spectacle to do much of anything else. Those unlucky few who decided to opt out of watching the broadcast to get some leveling in were those unfortunate enough to find themselves in Laughing Coffin's crosshairs. By the time the survivor – and there was only ever one that they let escape at a time – spread word about the deaths of their comrades, Laughing Coffin and Titan's Hand were long gone, having slunk back into the shadows.
There was still one thing that eluded Lux, though.
"Why are you showing me this?" She asked. "Aren't you afraid… err, concerned that your location might get leaked?"
Rosalia stopped abruptly. "Are you going to leak our position, kitten?"
Lux gulped. "N-no, Miss Rosalia."
Rosalia resumed walking, her posture noticeably more relaxed. "Then we have nothing to worry about. Anyway, like I was saying… our magnanimous host has decided to allow you into our sacred halls. He wants to meet you himself."
"You mean…"
"PoH, yes. Do try to keep up."
"W-why does he want to see me?"
Rosalia, surprisingly, shrugged. "It's probably just an intimidation play. He wants to ensure your loyalty through fear. Personally, I prefer a balance of fear and incentive, but sadly it doesn't appear that my incentives would work for you."
"Your incentives?"
Rosalia added a bit more sway to her walk. As if on cue, many pairs of eyes whipped over towards the Titan's Hand leader. "Sex sells, kitten. Half of these jackals are hoping I'll jump into bed with them at some point, so they place nice. The other half recognize that I'm the easiest way they'll get rich and live comfortably. PoH's men just want to spill blood, but at least they're predictable."
"Have you ever…?" Lux tentatively asked, her face burning hot as she did so.
Rosalia cackled. "Hah! You know what they say about curiosity and the cat, don't you?"
Lux mentally retracted that question, turning her gaze downward in simultaneous fear and embarrassment.
"Good. A lady never tells. Anyway, we're here."
The two stepped around a corner and entered a decent-sized cavern. It happened to overlook the rest of the Laughing Coffin safe zone, which meant that PoH likely had eyes on everyone all at once. Fitting of a homicidal leader, Lux supposed. Sitting casually on a rock, with his feet propped up was the man she presumed to be PoH. The leader of Laughing Coffin, and the most dangerous man in Aincrad outside of the Assault Team leaders themselves.
Dressed in only a dark, hooded poncho that covered most of his body, the man seemed to be shrouded in as much darkness as mystery. Strapped to his waist was an enormous blade that more resembled a butcher's cleaver than an actual weapon of war. What little she could see of his face revealed that he actually had handsome features – or a handsome chin, at least – and a tattoo that seemed to stretch down and around his right eye.
Standing in his presence was downright terrifying.
"Alright, I brought her here for you, PoH." Rosalia drawled.
PoH merely smiled, and the act sent shivers down Lux's spine. Gods, she wanted nothing more than to be as far away from this man as possible.
"How did it go?" He asked.
"Oh, the ambush?" Rosalia smirked. "Another guild bites the dust. Had some pretty good loot on them, too. And yes, we left one alive. You and your obsession with fame."
"How else are the masses supposed to fear us?" PoH retorted. "I can't relish the look on their faces if they don't know who we are."
"Fuckin' psychopath…" Rosalia muttered under her breath, low enough where Lux had to strain to hear it. The redhead cleared her throat before continuing. "Still didn't answer my question, PoH. She's here. What now?"
"I just wanted to meet our newest little spy, that's all." PoH said. "I understand she's been giving helpful information as of late?"
"Yes, my little kitten's finally fallen into her role." Rosalia purred. "Thanks to her, we were able to scout out our next target."
"Oh? And who might that be?" PoH asked.
"Little guild called Golden Apple." Rosalia answered, and Lux's blood ran cold. She met Grimlock all of one time, and suddenly they were the next target? She spoke with the guy for all of a half hour!
"What makes them so special?" PoH inquired; Lux could practically hear the eyebrow arch in his voice.
Rosalia sauntered over to a rock of her own to sit on, crossing her legs sultrily. "As it turns out, they recently came into possession of a rather valuable item. I want it, and they happen to be the kind of guild that's likely to ignore a boss broadcast."
PoH smiled again. "Good. Set it up. I suppose I have you to thank for this, right… kitten?"
Oh gods above, she wanted to puke. Hearing that word come out of Rosalia's mouth was one thing. Hearing it come out of PoH's was repulsive.
"Fuck no, that just sounds creepy coming out of your mouth, PoH." Rosalia echoed Lux's thoughts. "Find another nickname for yourself, ya creep."
"I'm sure I'll find one." PoH chuckled. "That's all. Leave us."
She was all too happy to comply, offering a polite – if subservient – bow to both as she scurried out. This whole experience was unpleasant overall, but at least she now had something to work with. Something she could report back to Argo on.
The location of Laughing Coffin.
"You really think she'll leak the location, PoH?"
"I don't think so. I know so, Rose. She may be playing nice for you, but she wants out."
"And… you're okay with this? Once this gets out, there's going to be a witch hunt."
"Oh, I'm counting on it. We not only hold the home field advantage, Rose, but we also have the high ground. Literally."
"Okay, Obi-Wan. We're still going to lose some men to this."
"Oh, they won't kill us. If there's one thing I've learned from Morte, it's that the Clearers are cowards, unwilling to do what's necessary. They think themselves heroes, and heroes don't kill."
"Assuming they arrest us instead… as much as I hate to admit it, PoH, we've got a good thing going on. You want to throw that away?"
"I'm not throwing it away. I'm… culling the weak. Some of our members are sloppy. Morte, for example, played his hand too early when he tried to start a fight on the 25th. He should've waited, stoked the fires of conflict longer. No, those who survive and escape are the ones we want. Plus, we're bound to kill a few Clearers before all is said and done. Less Clearers means we stay here longer, which then means we have more time to enjoy ourselves."
"Hard to argue with that logic. Means more loot to share with less people."
"Exactly. Tell Johnny and Xaxa to begin preparations. The three of you are the only ones I know for certain who could survive this."
"Fine, I'll be your messenger girl again. Just remember we're equals, PoH."
"I'm well aware, just get them ready. Soon… very soon…"
"Please don't say it."
"...It'll be showtime!"