Chapter 6: Death and Rebirth
December 3rd, 2022
Aincrad Floor 2: Urbus
Altinator had caught up to Kirito who had just branded himself an outcast to the SAO society. He hid himself in a small house away from all those that wanted his hide. Although his coat gave him a hiding skill bonus, Altinator's searching skill easily located him.
"Kirito, we need to talk," Altinator said softly. "Please come out."
Kirito came out slowly from the shadows of the room. "Oh, it's you, Altinator. Is there something you want?"
"I'm worried about you Kirito," Altinator stated as he stared deep into his eyes. "Are you sure you're ok about what just happened? If anyone should be branded a beater, it should be me, not you."
Kirito gave Altinator a surprised look but smiled as he answered back. "Altinator, I do appreciate your concern, but I'll be alright. Besides, somebody had to stop all that fighting. It might as well be me."
Altinator tried to protest. "But still, we both went to the top floors together during the beta test..."
"True, but it's better that one person should be the scapegoat right now," Kirito interrupted. "I want to level up as fast as I can so I can one day clear the 100th floor and break free from this death game. If branding me a beater can help me clear this game in peace, it's a price I'm willing to pay."
Altinator, realizing that fighting Kirito will no longer help him, nodded slowly and smiled. "I understand. You know, I really feel sorry for those other beta testers. They don't deserve to be singled out as a group like that."
Kirito smiled back. "I'm glad you feel the same way too." He stood up to leave for more quests, but Altinator stopped him before he could go anywhere.
"Kirito listen," Altinator started. "I know how much you want to clear this game solo, but if there are guilds out there that make you feel at home, please don't feel bad about joining them. Besides, you have me and my siblings too. If you feel like talking to someone, we're always here for you, man."
"You're a true friend, you know that?" Kirito said as he turned away. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, but if I do want some company, I'll be sure to let you know."
Kirito walked out, continuing his lonely solo quest to beat the 100th floor. Meanwhile, Altinator and his siblings also continued on with the path to the 100th floor to hopefully bring his trusted mentor, Mr. Kayaba, to justice.
March 31st, 2023
Aincrad Floor 25 Labyrinth
Altinator and his newly formed guild, Knights of the Round Table, were the first to the scene after the Assault Team guild, the Aincrad Liberation Squad, led by Kibaou received false information concerning the boss. The guild foolishly brought in around 40 members in a failed attempt to defeat the boss all by themselves. By the time Altinator and his guild made it to the boss room, nearly half the ALS were gone. Kibaou looked terrified as he tried his best to calm down and command what little troops he had left. Fortunately for them, Kirito and the newly emerged guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath, led by Commander Heathcliff along with Altinator and the Knights of the Round Table rushed over to the boss room as reinforcements.
The boss was about to slash at a frightened Assault Team member when Altinator dove in front of the player with his sword to parry the attack.
"Ken, defensive position!" Altinator ordered. "Keep the boss's attacks away from ALS!"
"Roger that bro!" Ken responded as he deflected the boss's attacks with his gigantic shield.
"Are you alright, miss?" Altinator asked softly as he held the person close noticing that she was a girl.
"Thank God I'm still alive!" the girl answered. She held onto him and buried her face into his chest.
Altinator gave her a healing potion as he continued. "Here, drink this. You can still fight right?"
She nodded as she took the potion. As Altinator turned to fight the boss, the girl called out. "Sir, will you please tell me your name?"
"Ask me again once this beast is nothing but dust!" Altinator replied facing her with a subtle wink.
He returned to the boss fight as the girl watched him closely. She stares at him with a deep red blush but shakes it off as she grabs her weapon to continue the fight. The boss fight took longer than expected. Several more players were killed by the creature making the fight that much more dangerous. Altinator did everything he could to fend off the boss's relentless attacks as the other members of the Assault Team whittled down its HP. Finally, the boss's last HP gauge went to red.
"All units, ATTACK!" Altinator shouted out as the rest of the Assault Team charged in to take out the boss. "Show that fiend no mercy!" Several swords, spears, and axes discharged all at once, overwhelming the boss completely. Altinator delivered the final blow and the boss disintegrated into millions of pieces. The Congratulations banner hung above the boss room signifying the victory of the boss's demise. Sadly, nobody was celebrating this time. The wretched boss of the 25th floor had taken the most lives out of all the floors the Assault Team had faced.
"Well, that does it!" Kibaou sneered as he threw down his sword. "As leader of the Aincrad Liberation Squad, I take full responsibility for having this many casualties and will pull away from the Assault Team! We're outta here!"
The other members all gasped. All except Altinator, Kirito, and Heathcliff. It was as if the three expected such a turn of events.
One of the members of the Dragon Knights Brigade mocked Kibaou by asking: "So you're giving the DKB the title of top guild isn't that right?"
"Shut up!" Kibaou snapped back. "We know when to quit and our time is up! Guys, pull out!"
The rest of ALS retreated from the 25th floor and made their way back to the Town of Beginnings on the 1st floor where they spent the rest of the game "protecting" the SAO population. Meanwhile, Heathcliff and the others worked hard to boost the morale of the Assault Team by bolstering their confidence of beating the game. The girl that Altinator saved came over to him once again.
"Excuse me, you're the one who saved my life right?" the girl asked timidly.
Altinator turned around and smiled as he saw who approached him. It was that same girl he saved in the boss fight moments ago. "It looks like we meet again, my friend. The name's Altinator. What's your name?"
The girl blushed as she answered. "Lily."
She went and reached for his hand but stopped short. Altinator beamed at her and gently held her hand to which her blush deepened. Ivy and Ken found Altinator and pulled the two into a big group hug. Considering how many players they lost during that battle, the two were happy that Altinator was still alive. Altinator hugged them all back hard. Lily's face turned even redder.
"Altinator, Are you three very close?" Lily asked softly.
"We're siblings," Ken answered as he held out his hand for Lily. "My name's Ken. This is my older sister, Ivy, and of course you met our oldest brother, Altinator."
Lily shook Ken's hand gently and responded. "It's really nice to meet all of you. My name's Lily." She then gave Ivy a hug.
"Lily, would you like to join our guild?" Ivy asked. "You seem like you can handle a dagger very well." She then whispered into her ear. "And I can also help you get closer to my big bro."
Ivy laughed sweetly as Lily's blush returned. Altinator gave the two a confused look and looked over at Ken who shrugged. Ivy brought Lily with her to him for an important question.
"Big bro, do you mind if you let Lily into our guild?" Ivy asked with a big smile.
Altinator gave the two a big smile. "Of course, she can join. In fact, I was gonna ask her myself."
Lily gasped at that comment and then smiled with tears welling in her eyes. "Oh, thank you so much!" She ran over to him and hugged him tight.
As the four celebrated, Heathcliff approached the party. "Excuse me, may I speak to Altinator for a moment?"
Altinator turned around and saw him. Surprised, he nodded quickly. Heathcliff walked away over to a quiet corner and waited for Altinator.
"I'll catch up. Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable upstairs." Altinator said with a smile. "We have a lot to discuss for our guild."
The others nodded as Altinator left to go meet up with Heathcliff. He offered an invitation to his guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath, to which Altinator politely refused. Disappointed but still respecting his decision, Heathcliff wished Altinator well and made a friend request before he left. Altinator caught up with the rest of his guild and hosted a celebration for the clearing of the 25th floor boss and the addition of new members including Lily. The party went on for a couple of hours and Altinator was worn out and tired. He retired to his room inside the Knights of the Round Table Headquarters. A while later, there was a knock on Altinator's door. It was Lily.
"Is everything alright Lily?" Altinator asked.
Lily nodded as she approached him. "I left the party early, but I wasn't able to sleep. Do you mind if I stay with you for the night?"
Altinator shook his head quickly. "Oh, not at all. Please make yourself comfortable."
Lily spent the rest of the night with Altinator who was already making plans for the next assault. Lily had thousands of questions she wanted to ask him. Most of them were about his personal life considering how she felt about him, but she kept them to herself. She decided that Altinator had already gone through so much that day. The following days quickly turned into weeks and more floors were cleared. At the same time, Lily's heart grew more towards Altinator. Lily became a prominent member of the Knights of the Round Table, being Altinator's right hand people along with Ivy and Ken. That is, until everything changed on that one fateful day.
August 9th, 2023
Aincrad Floor 35: Mishe
Altinator had beaten the 35th floor boss with the rest of the Assault team like he usually does. It was a long battle, and it took its toll on him. Feeling tired, Altinator decided to remain on the 35th floor in a town called Mishe to rest and stock up on his inventory before moving forward to the next floor. It was a few hours later when it happened. Altinator had just finished with his inventory check when received an urgent message from Lily.
Altinator, I need help! I'm being attacked by a group of Orange Players on Floor-
The message was cut off. Fearing the worst, Altinator turned on his searching skill and managed to track down Lily to a secluded forest over on the 36th floor. There was Lily with her HP nearing the red along with paralysis while 3 other players surrounded her with knives and cleavers. All three of them had orange cursors.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Altinator sneered as he stomped towards the orange group.
"Well, well, if it isn't the knight in shining armor," the leader of the group mocked. "Altinator isn't it. I must say your reputation precedes you."
"Enough with the pleasantries!" Altinator snapped still glaring at the leader. "Release her or you'll have to deal with me! Got it?!"
"Of course, whatever you say Commander," the leader said softly. He then nodded at the other two. One of two made a quick slash to Lily's figure depleting her HP.
"Lily NO!" Altinator cried out but it was too late. Lily's figure shattered into a million pieces. Devastated by Lily's murder, Altinator drew his sword. "All right, you bastards are going to pay dearly for what you've done! Anything else to say before I put you all out of your misery?"
The leader laughed in his face. "Surely you know that killing us won't bring your precious girlfriend back to you, right?" The leader slowly approached him, but Altinator had something else in mind.
"I can still avenge her death, you know!" Altinator growled angling his sword at his throat.
The leader laughed again. "You kill me, and the rest of the world will know your part of the death game conspiracy."
Altinator froze. He glares directly into the leader's eyes with a vengeance. His hand was sweating as he gripped his sword as hard as he could. "You wouldn't dare!" He growled again.
Before Altinator could say another word, the leader butted in. "Oh, wouldn't I? The name's PoH and these are my associates, XaXa and Johnny Black. I have a proposal that even you couldn't refuse."
Altinator stared at him for a little longer before sheathing his sword. "Start talking," Altinator sneered. "But one false move and you're all dead!"
PoH grinned as he started his proposal. "Ever since this game started, you wanted to make Kayaba pay for his treachery, right? There is a way to get back at him. It's true that when someone dies in this game, they also die in real life. Here's the catch: whatever murder you cause in this game is not your fault at all. Kayaba personally made this twist a reality. That will make him responsible for all the deaths in the game. All we're doing is playing the game based on how it was meant to be played: we can be whoever we want and if we want to be the villain and kill people, we can do so with no strings attached… for us that is."
Altinator's eyes narrowed. "What do you think I am? A mindless murderer?!" He yelled as he continued. "We need every competent player possible to break free from this game and the more people you kill, the less successful we'll be!"
PoH and the others kept their grins. "Well, suit yourself. Just remember that the moment you go after me, you will be exposed as an accomplice to the crime. You've been warned."
PoH and the two turned around and walked away as Altinator called out. "Your other lackeys may not be so lucky PoH! I will execute any criminals that get in the way of clearing the game, so you better keep your distance from me if you wanna stay alive!"
As the day ended, Altinator embraced his new way of life. Gone are the days of his happy and supportive nature. From that day, there was nothing but his cold, unforgiving, and ruthless demeanor as he shouldered the responsibilities of being a frontliner in the Assault Team. The color red that he chose to wear along with his new personality had earned him the title and reputation known as the Red Baron. The name struck fear into the hearts of many, but to others, an inspiration to finish the death game and to escape back into the real world once and for all. For Altinator, the game has really begun.