So... After yet another month, here's yet another chapter, this time bringing the battle to a close - and not just the battle, but more on that at the end.
Last time, the battle against the Desert Demon just reached the half-time, so to speak. Things have certainly gone out of hand at this point, with Kirito vanishing, Asuna's composure subsequently jumping out the window, and now with Sinon in peril, too. Now it's time to see how exactly this plays out.
After spending months in SAO and weeks in the Assault Team, Sinon was no stranger to life-or-death situations, but a sand tornado caused by a worm? That was new.
Yet here she was, the raging wind and swirling sand whipping her relentlessly, and the fierce vortex the Desert Demon created around itself sucked her in far too strongly for Sinon to even fight back. Because of the blusterous dust cloud around her, Sinon couldn't even see what the rest of the raid party was doing, although that hardly mattered. Even though Sinon couldn't see anything on the other side of the sandstorm, she still knew that no help would come.
This left Sinon with only one desperate choice: to fight against the raging storm so that it would at least not blow her away. She braced herself against the powerful air current, struggling to keep her feet on the ground, or she tried to crouch down so that she'd be less exposed to the wind. Alas, said wind was so incredibly strong that it rendered her effectively unable to move – or at least unable to move against it.
In the end, Sinon struggled in vain. The tornado kept pulling her in more and more by the second. Eventually, she was lifted off the ground, but luckily, she slammed into the large rock behind her, and she managed to hold on to it… for now. Her luck seemed to run out quickly, given that she could feel her hands slip after just another few seconds.
And in that moment, Sinon suddenly felt someone grabbing her and pulling her down. Moreover, the strong gusts that had been squeezing her suddenly seemed to disappear. She could clearly feel the presence of another person shielding her from the storm. Taken by surprise, Sinon swiftly opened her eyes, which she'd kept close because of all the sand that had been blown into her face. For a split second, she expected Akinym to be there, although she'd later come to find that thought silly. Naturally, Akinym was nowhere near this battleground. In her defense, though, she really hadn't expected her actual saviour, either.
Sinon: K-kirito?! W-what are you…? Where did you...
Yes, there he was, certainly alive, certainly shoving one of his two spare swords into a cavity inside the rock to use the weapon as a makeshift anchor, certainly doing anything he could to keep Sinon and himself from being swept away by the storm… and certainly not in the mood for talking.
Kirito: Not now! We have to make it through this attack! Can you hold on to the rock face behind you? I need my other hand, or I'll slip!
That was true. No matter how surprised Sinon was to see Kirito, any questions as to what had actually happened to him had to wait until later. For now, she placed her hands and feet steadily on some wedge-like formations that protruded from the rock surface.
Now, Kirito didn't have to hold Sinon with his right arm anymore, so he could use it to… do what, actually? His first idea was to use his second spare sword like the first one, but there was no other suitable hole to insert the blade into. However, there was one at a somewhat lower position, so Kirito thrust the sword into that cavity and put his right foot into the space between the blade and the surface of the rock. Then, he placed his now free right hand on a nearby ledge, completing his "preparations".
Thus, a brief period of endurance began. All Kirito and Sinon had to (or simply could) do was to hold out until the Desert Demon's immense AOE attack was over, which, as they knew from the last time the boss had used it, would fortunately not take very long. Sinon even had it comparatively easy since Kirito kept shielding her from the intense storm that was hammering at his back, at least to the best of his abilities.
The sandstorm eventually subsided (with neither of them being blown away), and Kirito and Sinon were both about to heave a heavy sigh of relief… but they held their breath for a moment longer. Their health bars went down as the damage they'd suffered due to the storm was applied. Sinon, who hadn't sustained even a scratch in this battle up until that point, had less than thirty percent of her max HP left. Kirito's HP gauge, on the other hand, was still a bit above forty percent – he may have taken more damage, but he also had built his character much sturdier than Sinon's.
Either way, the two of them had made it out alive.
From Kirito and Sinon's perspective, the Desert Demon slumped down and disappeared behind the large rock, certainly digging into the ground again. This "officially" marked the end of the messiest part of this boss battle so far… and allowed to ask some due questions.
Sinon [shaken]: Thanks… That… was really close. [confusedly] But what are you… [slightly exasperatedly] God, I don't even know where to start.
Kirito [confusedly]: You don't know where to… Am I missing something?
Sinon replied with an annoyed glare, wondering if Kirito was playing dumb. However, before she could even open her mouth to ask that, she was interrupted by someone who came around the rock next to them.
Let's go back a few seconds: The Desert Demon's sand tornado came and went without any sign of Sinon being flung around by the storm. That made a selected few bystanders, especially Asuna, wonder if Sinon might've somehow survived. Thus, Asuna went to Sinon's last known location to check that as soon as the Desert Demon returned underground again.
Her hope really flared up when, after she'd got fairly close to the other side of the rock where she'd seen Sinon last, Asuna could here a voice from around the corner.
Unknown: …where to… Am I missing something?
In that moment, Asuna's mind couldn't – or rather didn't want to – come up with any explanation other than this was Sinon speaking to… someone, apparently. Asuna didn't even notice that this was a male voice. As far as she was concerned, the essential part was that Sinon was (according to her "perception") alive, and that thought accelerated her steps even more.
Asuna: Sinonon, are you still…
Asuna stopped as soon as she laid eyes on the scene that awaited her. Yes, there was Sinon, indeed alive and well, which was, without a doubt, a great relief. That, however, was nothing in comparison to what she felt about the sight of the person standing next to her.
Sinon: Asuna?
Kirito: Asuna… Sorry for dis… [seriously, worriedly] Hey, what's wrong?!
Upon seeing Kirito, Asuna had more or less become frozen. She dropped her arms, and it generally seemed as if barely enough tension to keep standing remained in her body. Well, and there was also her blank stare of utter disbelief. Because of all of that, Kirito hastily walked over to Asuna and put his hands on her upper arms while looking her straight in the eyes with a very concerned, but also somewhat confused expression.
Asuna, in turn, raised her right arm and lightly touched Kirito's cheek as if to check if what she saw was truly real. Once that was confirmed, her eyes wandered to the upper left corner of her field of vision. There it was: the display of her party members' status, showing clearly that Kirito was alive. Looking at that, she wondered why she hadn't checked that at all.
Then, the next person arrived at the scene.
Lisbeth: Geez, Asuna… Why must you always ru…
Just as Asuna had done before, Lisbeth stopped in her tracks the instant she spotted Kirito. Unlike Asuna, however, Lisbeth freaked out, screaming and pointing at Kirito.
Lisbeth: Wait, where did you… Why are you still alive?!
Kirito: Huh?
To top it off, two more familiar faces showed up… letting an equally familiar scene unfold.
Leafa: Is something wrong over there?
Philia: Yeah, you all came running he… [very surprised] WHAAA… Kirito?!
Leafa: Phil… Huh, you're right!
After coming around the corner, these two may have merely joined the general chorus at first, but Leafa… added a little bit of variety: She swiftly walked around the others and directly towards Kirito, whose jacket she grabbed tightly around his shoulders.
Leafa: Th-this… is really you, isn't it?!
Kirito: Okay, you guys have totally lost me here. What's going on?!
Philia: Well, that's…
Sinon [thinks, slightly incredulously]: You really are that clueless as to what was going on here? On the impression you…
Lisbeth: That's what I wanna know! I mean, we saw you…
These immediate, synchronous responses (one which was left unspoken, though) were quickly cut short by the by far most intense one.
Leafa: WE THOUGHT YOU DIED, for crying out loud, you idiot!
Kirito: Hold on a second! How did you get that idea?! I only used a Teleport Crystal to escape, that's all!
Philia: Tele…
Lisbeth: ...port Crystal? That's… what happened?
Kirito: Yeah! There was no hint that this location is an anti-crystal area – the sites of field boss battles haven't been so far – so I thought it was worth a try. Didn't you notice that I…
Kirito stopped abruptly when a thought occurred to him: Would they have noticed how he teleported back to Celes? Sure, they may have stood right next to him, but keeping aside that this apparently hadn't been enough, Kirito could also kind of see why: In SAO, it was difficult enough to catch on to anything other than what you were focusing on at the moment, and in the middle of a sandstorm, on top of that… Yeah, now that he thought about it, Lisbeth, Leafa and Philia probably had simply not heard him, and when they saw the blue flash of light, only for him to vanish without a trace…
Regardless of such thoughts, the general reaction was nothing but relief… in various shapes. For instance, in Leafa's case, she began to tear up, tightening her grip on Kirito's jacket at first before she went over to hugging him.
Leafa: Thank God! I… [sobs] wouldn't have known… what to do… if you… If I had come all this way, just to…
Lisbeth: You tell me! [softly, slightly exhaustedly] Don't scare us like that, you big dumbass…
Sinon: Well, leave it to you to wriggle yourself out of trouble like this… [slightly annoyed] But honestly, if I think about how Asuna…
When she wanted to comment on Asuna's initial reaction to Kirito's "pseudo death", Sinon turned slightly towards the girl in question… just in time to see Asuna's legs giving out. She quickly reached out to her, grabbing Asuna's arm to catch her before she would've fallen to the ground. Lisbeth joined her right away, taking the other arm so that the two girls could support Asuna. Kirito and Philia also called out to her – the former would've actually tried to catch her, too, if it hadn't been for Leafa holding him firmly "in her clutches".
Kirito: Hey, Asuna! What's wrong?! Are you okay?!
To everyone's relief, Asuna had an actually surprisingly soft smile on her face.
Asuna: It's alright… I'm just… really glad, that's all. Kind of like after waking up from a horrible nightmare, you know?
Needless to say, the Desert Demon didn't interrupt its battle with the Assault Team, even though many of the important fighters were… temporarily unavailable. The absence of one key figure in particular proved to be quite the problem, now that the players had basically fallen into complete chaos after the Desert Demon's last few attacks… and half of the raid party leaving their assigned positions in the aftermath.
Assault Team Member 1: Hey, what are you guys doing here?! This is our spot, you go back to yours!
Assault Team Member 2: Well, if you can tell us where that is! I only know what team was next to us. [searches the area] Where could they… [slightly excitedly] Oh, over there! Hey, where are you guys going? You over there! [slightly frustratedly] Argh, let's just follow them!
Assault Team Member 3: It's no use, pal! They're just running around wherever the boss shows up, kinda like us!
Assault Team Member 2 [irritatedly]: Great! Then what are we supposed to do?!
Assault Team Member 1: Not standing around here, for starters!
Somewhere else, the Desert Demon was attacking a different group of players, one that hadn't moved from their spot during the commotion earlier. The players dodged relatively easily, and they proceeded to counterattack right away…
...or they at least tried to. One of these players readied his glaive and charged up a Sword Skill, but when he was about to start attacking, another player from a completely different party burst into his field of vision. Said other player was charging at the boss with his rapier at the ready, and the glaive-wielder had to cancel his Sword Skill, or else he would've hit his comrade instead.
Assault Team Member 4: What the hell, dude!? What are you doing here?! This is our turn!
Assault Team Member 5: Huh? What about it? Just chill! Doesn't harm to have more of us attacking that thing, does it?
Assault Team Member 4: You bet it does if I might've clobbered you just now!
The members of both involved parties, most of whom had got tangled up in similar almost-accidents, were all bickering like that. The party leaders, in particular, began a rather heated argument about this… one that might need a mediator, so…
Schneider: Hey, you guys, this battle isn't over, so stay focused! This isn't the time to argue, [to the second party] so you better go back and take your position in the formation again! [slightly contemplatively, looks around] That would be… [at a loss] where again?
KoB Member: Judging from the commotion all around us, I doubt anyone here remembers that! Geez, where did the Vice-commander run off to?
Schneider [slightly annoyed]: What do you mean, "Where did she"… [surprised] Wait, you're right! Where is she?!
DDA Member: Who cares about that?! We can defeat this boss even without her!
Schneider: Well, I care! She's the raid commander!
With more and more arguments such as this one breaking out everywhere, and the number of people calling for Asuna to do something about this chaos rising as well, it was no exaggeration to say that someone had to step in or the raid party would've broken down then and there.
Klein: KNOCK IT OFF, GUYS! Geez, stop your ego trips! You know that Asuna's strategy works, so just stick with it! Beating this boss is what's important here! You don't have to stand exactly where you were before, just make sure to spread across the battlefield! You should just make sure that none of you stands in the area between two others, and you should still remember how far away from others you should position yourselves! You can do that much without Asuna holding your hand, can't you!? If you want to show off your skills, do it that way!
Little by little, the players took Klein's words to heart. In some cases, these words needed to be passed on from party to party, and many combatants were more reluctant than others to follow them. It also took remarkable effort to keep the players from squabbling and to direct them until they had adopted their previous battle formation again. More than once, Klein wished that this would've been as easy as getting the NPCs to cooperate (which only required one command from Kem'Pal).
Alas, he still brought the raid party back on track.
Dynamm: I gotta give it to you, Leader: You sure made them get their act together. Wanna impress someone, or…?
Klein: Zip it! [seriously] I just couldn't watch this any longer! I guess this isn't much different from yesterday's battle… No, actually, it is. This is much easier! This time, Asuna already came up with the plan, and I only have to watch out that these troublemakers follow it through. [slightly exasperatedly] Honestly, the girl gotta have it rough enough after what just happened, so she really doesn't have to deal with this ordeal, too!
Kem'Pal [seriously, slightly contemplatively]: Watching a comrade die is certainly not easy… [shakes its head dismissively] although losing one's composure over that is disgraceful for a commander! How can someone lead troops into war like this?
Klein [slightly sternly]: Go easy on her, Kem, you have no idea how close those two are!
Issin: That's actually something I've been wondering about, Leader: Why are you so relaxed? [uneasily] I mean, after what… just happened to Kirito…
Klein: What, you think Kirinoji would kick the bucket like that? I'm telling you, that guy is like a weed: If you think you got rid of it, it'll sprout again in no time because you only cut it off at the surface! I'm not buying that he'd get himself killed by a freaking worm, and I'm not gonna give him the satisfaction of getting worked up only for him to come around the corner and act as if nothing's happened!
Kem'Pal: Haha, so that's how it is! You have that much trust in your comrades, don't you, Klein-dono? Not that I mind! [determinedly] However, that's not what matters right now. There's a battle to be fought, so let us enter the fray, warriors of Fuurinkazan!
Klein: Nicely said, Kem! Let's go, guys! Let's finish this boss by the time Kirinoji shows up, and let's rub it in his face how we beat it without him!
With a small shout of determination, the rest of Fuurinkazan and the lizardmen took their respective positions and awaited the next attack of the Desert Demon. Only Klein himself remained standing still for a moment longer. He furrowed his brow, and the corners of his mouth went down – thus, his confident smile gave way to an expression of remarkable concern.
Klein [mutters]: Hopefully… Dammit, Kirito, I swear: If you really…
Klein shook his head and dismissed this thought. His focus shifted fully towards the boss battle, and he joined the rest of his guild.
At first, the battle continued just as it had gone down prior to the commotion earlier. Among other things, this meant that the Assault Team made slow but steady progress. After just a few minutes, however, the next major change occurred, and this time, the development was – at its root – purely coincidental.
It began when the Desert Demon aimed one of its sneak attacks at one of the lizardmen instead of a player for a change. Unlike the players, this NPC didn't manage to dodge. The Desert Demon caught it between its jaws and proceeded to slam its immobilised body into the ground.
Since this "victim" was only an NPC, none of the surrounding players bothered to help the lizardman. Instead, they focused on scoring as many hits as they could from the get-go. The remarkable difference this time was – given that the field boss remained above the surface while squishing the lizardman warrior – that the attackers had considerably more time to do so. The boss slowly dug into the ground again only after it'd killed the lizardman, and by the time it had disappeared, the Desert Demon had suffered a noteworthy deal of damage.
Well, and there were, of course, plenty of players who'd noticed and understood what had just happened.
Yamata: Hah, that's it! Guys, we did it wrong the whole time! We should've used the NPCs as bait! Let that worm thing attack them, and while it is busy gnawing at them, give it hell! That way, we'll defeat the boss in no time!
The vast majority of the players had had the same idea, and it hardly came as a surprise that they were quick to agree with Yamata's suggestion. Needless to say, there were, however, exceptions… with one particular player at their centre speaking up.
Klein: Oi, what do you think you're saying!? Guys, forget about that idea! We don't go around and throw our allies under the bus – NPCs or not! Just ask yourself what they'll think! Isn't that right, Kem?!
Thus, Klein turned towards Kem'Pal, expecting the general of the lizardmen to take offense at the very idea Yamata had proposed.
Kem'Pal: No, don't worry about us, Klein-dono! We shall play whatever role you see fit for us to take!
Klein [very shocked]: H-huh? Kem, wha… What are you…
Kem'Pal: Listen, men! Do whatever it takes to grant our scaleless allies the victory they need! Today, we'll…
Klein [upset]: HOLD IT, KEM! What are you saying?! These are your men! You've been fighting for them all this time! For crying out loud, just yesterday you were offended when people thought about using them as meat shields or whatever! [very angrily] How can you say that you're gonna to sacrifice them now!?
Klein's admonishing scream seemed to make Kem'Pal hesitant. The lizardman lowered both its hand and its eyes, and it began to mutter.
Kem'Pal: My men… Yes, I never would've… So why am I…
This shift in attitude was short-lived, though. An exclamation mark, a sight any player would recognise as a quest marker, flared up above Kem'Pal's head, and immediately thereafter, the lizardman general raised its hand again and spoke once more in a loud, firm voice.
Kem'Pal: No, don't worry about such things! We'll have to repay you for your help! Men, offer up your lives like true warriors to lead us to victory! Choose death over defeat!
At this point. Klein's eyes widened in sheer, unbridled anger. The quest marker had told him everything he needed in order to understand what was going on.
Klein [thinks]: Damn you, Kayaba! Or Cardinal, or whoever came up with this! How dare you twist Kem like this?! What sick game are you playing on this floor, anyway?! First, we need to play God, pick a race and exterminate the other, and now we're supposed to trample on the race we fought so hard to rescue? What's next? Will you expect a blood sacrifice from us to open the gate to the hundredth floor?!
Alas, regardless of Klein's objections (be it voiced or unvoiced), regardless of any ill feelings about this, the players put the new plan into motion.
Granted, they immediately faced the problem that they absolutely couldn't control whom the Desert Demon would attack – even though they needed the field boss to attack an NPC. After two "failed" turns, lady luck finally smiled at them when one lizardman soldier, following Kem'Pal's orders to the utmost extreme, threw itself into the Desert Demon's gaping maw.
While the Desert Demon was crunching the lizardman, the nearby players came rushing towards the boss, which, just as everyone had hoped, stayed at the surface and exposed to their attacks. The players had three times as much time to launch their offensive, and many of them used the opportunity to switch from their swift but less effective Sword Skills to their slower but immensely more powerful ones. Some even used Sword Skills that had a chance to inflict stat-decreasing debuffs, although bosses always had a high resistance towards those, which was why such a tactic would only be used if the players had either enough leeway or a desperate need to do so – guess which was the case this time.
Regardless of such details, by the time the Desert Demon had fled below the ground, and the players were returning to their respective positions, the boss had suffered damage amounting to twenty percent of its third health bar. For comparison: Before, the players had been chipping away at the boss' HP, reducing it by two or maybe three percent of one HP bar at a time – that is, at best.
Since their current tactic depended heavily on certain conditions that needed to be met, it was hard for the players to keep up that pace, but despite such difficulties, it was clear that they could make progress much easier and faster than before. That development came just in time, too: The sun (and the temperature) kept rising, and before long, the harsh desert conditions would start to take their toll on the raid party.
After pulling off the same tactic two more times, the boss' third HP bar was almost depleted, and the third iteration would tip it over the edge. The time for that came when a small group of players took matters in their own hands and pushed the lizardman that was with them in front of the Desert Demon. While the boss was subsequently catching and crushing that NPC between its jaws, it was said small group that would – with some assistance from the surrounding parties – clear this stage of the boss battle.
As expected, the Desert Demon's body shot straight up at that point. This time, the players were mentally fully prepared, and every single one of them bolted away from the boss before it could trap them in its wind vortex and kill them with its sandstorm. Naturally, the players who'd dealt the last attack were among those who were fleeing.
Ironically, it was that exact group of three, who belonged to a guild of six players, some of whom simply didn't fulfil the requirements for the battle against the Desert Demon, that had encountered a certain quest mere days prior: It had been a request from a lizardman storyteller that – along with the expected quest reward – had given them a tale about the "curse of Charybdis that lay upon the ground in front of the Celestial Tower".
Those players had suspected that this had something to do with the Desert Demon, and they had wondered if they should've reported this at the strategy meeting or maybe even before. However, since the quest NPC hadn't mentioned anything that sounded tactically relevant, and none of them had any idea what Charybdis was, or what it might refer to, they'd kept quiet about it. For all they knew, this "legend" may have been mere flavour text with no actual relevance – it wouldn't have been the first time apparent intel on a major boss turned out to be only background lore. They'd ultimately just waived the idea and forgotten about it.
It was too bad, though. Had they brought it up earlier, someone would've recognised the name "Charybdis" (if no one else, Sinon would've), and they might've saved themselves at least some of the trouble they were about to get into.
As they were running, the ground beneath their feet suddenly caved in. This happened at exactly the same time as the Desert Demon abruptly sinking into the sand again. It didn't began to spin, and it didn't create a sand tornado like the last two times. No, it instead somehow formed a funnel-like sinkhole with a radius of ten metres. The Desert Demon was right at its centre, just barely at the surface. The boss had opened its mouth to its full extent, and now it basically became a wide, deadly hole in the middle of this pit.
However, there was no immediate danger yet. The slope that led towards the Desert Demon wasn't very steep, and the players could keep their footing on it. Climbing to the top would be somewhat physically demanding, but nothing anybody couldn't handle.
Unfortunately, this situation suddenly changed. The sand inside the pit began to flow rapidly towards the monster at its centre. From the looks of it, the Desert Demon sucked it directly into its mouth... and anyone within reach would soon follow. In fact, the aforementioned group of three that had dealt the last attack on the boss was the closest to its body now, and they were swept towards within seconds. As a last-ditch effort to keep themselves from tumbling straight into the Desert Demon's stomach, the three of them dug their feet into the ground and pressed them against the side of the boss' mouth – its lips, so to speak. Even so, keeping their balance proved to be incredibly difficult.
It was in that situation that something flew past them at remarkable speed, hitting the Desert Demon square in the mouth and causing it to howl in anguish. One of those three players looked over his shoulder to see where this object had come from. There didn't seem to be anyone behind them – that is, not directly behind them – but when his eyes wandered to the top of the pit, he could see Sinon standing there with her bow at the ready.
And she wasn't alone: Kirito, Asuna, Leafa and Philia stood around her. By now, they had all regained both their composure and their weapons (which they had to collect after dropping/losing them in the chaos earlier), and they were ready to continue the battle. The sight of them elicited reactions ranging from relieved sighs to unimpressed grunts.
Asuna: Use your Teleport Crystals to get out! You can use crystals here, so just use them to escape now!
Assault Team Member: Teleport Crystals? Argh, we can't! We don't have any with us!
Leafa: WHAT?! Why?!
Assault Team Member: Our guild only has one, that's why! We just don't have enough! [almost slips, panicking] So just think of something else! And hurry!
Philia: Only one Teleport Crystal for one guild? What are these people thinking?!
Kirito: I doubt that this is a case of negligence…
Asuna: Yes, it's been becoming harder and harder to stock up on crystals and many other items, but that's not important now. [mutters, slightly contemplatively] Another idea… [says aloud] I guess we can only try to get to the next stage of the boss battle, only that we don't know how…
Kirito: I'd say it's either time, in which case we can't really do anything, or we have to hit the boss at a certain spot, or maybe it's just about dealing enough damage. Either way, our best bet would be to keep dealing damage.
Asuna: Hm… I suppose you're right. Sinon!
Sinon: I'm on it!
She'd already nocked the next arrow, and as Asuna gave her the signal to continue attacking, she raised her bow and aimed at the Desert Demon. Once fired, the arrow flew straight towards the open mouth of the boss at first, but it was knocked off course by a gust of wind that the boss seemed to blow out of its body.
To make things worse, that gust also hit one of the players who were struggling to stay on their feet at the edge of the Desert Demon's mouth. This "wind" caught said player on the wrong foot: He was knocked back only slightly, but failed to keep his balance afterwards, so he tumbled over – forward and directly into the death trap in front of him. Fortunately, his two comrades managed to grab one of his arms each, so nothing too bad had happened yet. Alas, it instantly became clear that it was only a matter of (short) time until the player in this precarious situation would fall down the boss' gullet.
Kirito: It blew the arrow away?! Dammit… Is there anything you can do to prevent that, Sinon?
Asuna: That's right, can you… Ah, wait, your arrows aren't affected by the wind if you shoot them using Sword Skills, are they? In that case, just use one of them!
Sinon [mutters]: A Sword Skill, huh? [doubtfully, worriedly] But…
For some reason, Sinon's fingers cramped up around her bow and the fletching of the arrow she was holding. However, that was rather subtle, and Asuna (let alone anyone else) didn't notice that anything was wrong until several seconds had passed without Sinon firing that arrow, not even after Asuna had told her once more to use one of her Sword Skills, this time even emphasising to hurry. Once Asuna looked at Sinon, the first thing she noticed was actually the strained look in Sinon's eyes.
Asuna [thinks]: Is something the matter? If so, what could it be? [turns towards the Desert Demon and the players around it] Could it be that Sinon doesn't have a free field of fire? No… Looking at it from our position, these players stand slightly to the left, so they shouldn't block the line of fire. Although… Sinon can't fully control where she aims when using her Sword Skills, can she?
It was true… Unfortunately, Sinon had already used Milion Howling, the one Sword Skill that still allowed her to aim arbitrarily rather than leaving it to the system. If she used another Sword Skill – Quintuple Shot, for instance – and the system assistant changed her aim a bit to the left, she might hit the players.
Frankly, Asuna doubted that Sinon had much to worry about, but she also immediately reckoned that this wasn't important. Orange players were frowned upon (at best), and so was becoming one oneself, even if it was on accident. Not to mention that things could go south rapidly if Sinon was to accidentally hit one of the three players who were on the verge of stumbling into the boss' mouth. Asuna was sure that Sinon simply worried about that the same way every sane person might, so she figured that she should do what little she could to ease these concerns.
Asuna: It's okay, Sinon. I'm sure you won't hit them, so just do what you need to! Even if something goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility since I've proposed this plan, so don't worry! I won't let anyone blame you for whatever could happen.
Asuna's strategy to dispel whatever was on Sinon's mind didn't bear any fruit. If anything, Sinon cramped up even more when Asuna had spoken about what she "needed to do" and "whatever could happen".
At the same time, the situation around the Desert Demon got even worse. The two players who'd caught their comrade and were still holding his wrists so that he wouldn't fall forward… They began to slip, and it seemed that all three of them were about to be gobbled up by the field boss.
In the end, help arrived from somewhere else: Two lizardmen suddenly showed up, running straight towards the Desert Demon and throwing themselves into its mouth. While they were doing that, they were thrusting their halberds at the boss monster, and they continued to attack it for as long as they could… which wasn't very long, to be honest. The Desert Demon closed its mouth again, and one of the lizardmen disappeared inside, while the other one was only "swallowed" half, with its upper body still sticking out. That NPC even kept swiping at the outside of the Desert Demon's body. It wasn't a particularly effective way of attacking, but the lizardmen's sacrifice worked nonetheless: The three players were safe for now, especially since the flow of sand that had been pulling them towards the Desert Demon had stopped for the time being.
Leafa: Did these lizardmen… just sacrifice themselves?!
Asuna [troubled]: It… seems that way. [seriously] But we have more important concerns right now! [yells] You three, get out of there while you can!
Actually, the three players Asuna had just addressed didn't hear her – they were too focused on doing what she wanted them to, anyway. Well, nothing lost, I guess. Granted, their earlier tactic of shoving their feet into the ground in order to act as some sort of anchor kind of backfired now since it took them a moment just to move from the spot, but that didn't change the fact that they moved – namely out of the way.
Asuna: Alright, Sinon, now it's your turn!
Sinon, visibly calming down, took a deep breath and nodded.
Sinon: Yeah… Sorry about that just now, I guess I just… Never mind. For now, I have to…
Leaving that sentence unfinished, Sinon shifted gears and got ready once more. She didn't charge her Sword Skill just yet, though. Sinon's apparent hesitation caused some of those around her to wonder what she was waiting for, but what that was became clear before anyone could ask that question: Sinon altered her stance slightly to start the Sword Skill the instant the Desert Demon killed the lizardmen. At that moment, it opened its mouth again and was taking its position as an ambush predator… and just as it was about to get its trap going again, the boss was hit on the inside of its mouth with a Quintuple Shot.
The five arrows, all hitting more or less the same, vulnerable spot, dealt as much damage as this Sword Skill could do to the Desert Demon, and that certainly sent its HP plummeting. Frankly, only Asuna's suicidal onslaught earlier had caused a greater HP loss in one fell swoop so far. And that certainly paid off: Before Sinon even had the chance to get another batch of arrows for another strike, the Desert Demon sunk into the ground. The trap it had set up lay dormant now.
Philia: Wh-what now?
Kirito: I guess we've cleared that stage. No idea how exactly – maybe we just needed to hold out this long, or it could be that we had to reduce the boss' HP to a certain level – but it seems that this part of the battle is over.
Asuna: I think that's right. Now then… [yells] Everyone, the boss has retreated, so we've made it through its hopefully final surprise for us! Under ideal circumstances, we can just finish it off now without further big problems, but stay vigilant as always! To everyone in this crater: Get out as fast as you can! And this goes to absolutely everybody: We'll have to reposition ourselves on the unaffected section of the battlefield. As you can certainly tell, this slope is ill-suited for fighting!
That wasn't something Asuna had to tell them twice… or even once. As Asuna had suspected, pretty much the whole raid party had already come to the same conclusion. All of them were already busy figuring out how to apply their previous strategy while being limited to only one side of the battlefield.
That is, with one exception: Fuurinkazan walked over to Asuna first, accompanied by Kem'Pal.
Klein: Man, Kirinoji, you gotta get rid of that nasty habit of worrying everyone! If you just wanna show up without a scratch afterwards, just don't scare people in the first place!
Kirito [flatly, slightly annoyed]: Thanks for your concern, Klein! I'll try to remember to tell monsters to not kill me from now on, let's see if it works!
Leafa: Geez, will you cut it out, you two?! Take this seriously!
Philia [mutters]: Yeah, this is kinda tactless…
Asuna: I have to agree! What happened isn't funny, so treat this matter accordingly! Got that?
Both Kirito and Klein ruefully remained quiet after that, and judging from the looks on their faces, the message had come across, so Asuna huffed and ultimately decided to leave it at that.
Asuna [thinks]: Honestly, these guys are just hopeless sometimes…
With that done, there was something else Asuna wanted to address, and with that in mind, she turned towards Kem'Pal, who was currently patting Klein on the back as some kind of consolation.
Asuna: General Kem'Pal, I presume you sent these two… soldiers earlier to save the three members of the Assault Team, is that correct? You have my thanks for that, and I'm sorry that it's come to this.
While returning Asuna's attention, Kem'Pal's expression became strangely… troubled. Not outright sad or anything like that, but rather conflicted.
Kem'Pal: My men… Yes, I suppose I've sent them to sacrifice themselves. To go that far…
Suddenly, an exclamation mark popped up above Kem'Pal's head. In the same moment, Kem'Pal froze, only to put on a much more determined, content expression after that.
Kem'Pal: Thank you for your concern, Asuna-dono, but that sacrifice was only natural! As I've said earlier, this is our turn to help you, and we lizardmen will do anything to return the favour!
Leafa: Hey, what are you saying?! You don't have to do something so extreme!
Philia [taken aback]: Yeah, that's… Calling this "natural" goes too far, doesn't it?
Unlike Leafa and Philia, Kirito and Asuna understood the situation much better. That is, they understood the quest marker that had appeared above Kem'Pal. While Asuna raised a hand to signal Leafa and Philia to stop, Kirito briskly walked over to Klein.
Kirito [whispers]: What's going on here? Is this the quest Kem mentioned before the battle?
Klein: I bet it is! He's already begun to order his soldiers to sacrifice themselves while you were gone.
Kirito: That's ridiculous! We can't go on like this! I guess if we talk Kem out of it…
Klein: Forget it, Kirito! I… I tried… already… More than once.
Even more than Klein's words or his tone, the look of resignation on the man's face gave Kirito a fairly clear picture. It still made him wonder how it had come to this. They had made it through the first half of the boss battle without such tricks, so why now?
Ironically, he received his answer directly from the rest of the raid party, who continued the battle against the Desert Demon. When the boss attacked again, the players pushed one of the lizardmen in front of the huge monster. There was no sign of resistance coming from the lizardman – if anything, after being shoved towards its death, it looked as if it was willingly offering itself up, allowing the Desert Demon to bury its fangs into its body, only to slow the boss down a little. Meanwhile, the players wasted no time to attack the Desert Demon with everything they got.
Naturally, Asuna noticed that, too.
Asuna: Hey, what are you doing to the lizardmen? They're our allies, and this is NOT how you treat an ally! They're not our cannon fodder, so cease that and go on to…
Assault Team Member 1: Ugh, so what about them?!
Assault Team Member 2: Yeah, it's so much easier this way! Just let us handle this already!
Asuna: Excuse me?!
Yamata: Spare us the offended attitude! You had your chance, but ran off, playing crazy, and we had to take care of this battle by ourselves! We came up with this tactic then and there, so what's wrong with us sticking to it now, even if you don't like it?!
Assault Team Member 3: He's got a point: If you wanna stay in command, take it seriously! I don't wanna be called out on our choices in hindsight like this! [mutters] Can't believe that Yamata is the voice of reason here, though…
Assault Team Member 4: Ugh, can we stop this bickering?! It's getting kinda hot here, and I just wanna finish this darn battle, especially before we get grilled!
Kirito: Hey, Asuna was just…
Kirito stopped yelling in his furry when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He immediately had a hunch that someone wanted him to leave this be, although he wasn't really in the mood. However, his attitude towards the issue changed drastically when he saw that the person in question was none other than Asuna herself. She opened her mouth and forced out a "calm, serious voice"… as well as she could in that manner.
Asuna: Let them do it their way!
Kirito [worriedly]: Asuna, what are you… Why are you letting this slide so easily?
Asuna: Because they're right: Where was I when they started enacting this idea? Honestly, how could I come back and chastise them for it afterwards?!
Kirito: This isn't about "chastising them afterwards"! No matter what they decided while you were gone, now that you're here, you can still…
Asuna's grip around his shoulder tightened all of a sudden, and that prompted Kirito to stop… and if that hadn't hushed him, the shift in Asuna's tone would've.
Asuna [sternly]: No, Kirito! I can't! The point is that I lost my composure earlier and left them to their own devices. That's something a commander simply mustn't do, so I can't demand that they follow my orders without questions now! [frustratedly, shakily] I just… can't. [seriously, slightly frustratedly] Especially since they're making a good point…
Asuna looked up at the sky – at the artificial sun, to be more precise. It was undeniable that the temperature and the environmental conditions in general had been gradually becoming harsher, and it would only get worse. The heat was still bearable, no doubt about that, but due to their… initial difficulties, the battle had been dragging on significantly during its early stages, so it had taken them over an hour just to cut the Desert Demon's HP in half. If they couldn't pick up the pace, who knew how long it might take to finish this battle. At this rate, the players would definitely become tired, and if, God forbid, the boss had any – absolutely any – surprises left for them, it would probably hit the Assault Team in a weakened state.
Kirito could guess the most important points of Asuna's thought process, and he didn't have any arguments against that. Regardless, it troubled him that she blamed herself for the decision to use the lizardmen as bait in this battle – a decision others made on their own.
That didn't mean that he knew what to say in this situation, though. With him merely wracking his brain for a solution to that problem, it was Asuna who was calling the shots in the end.
Asuna: But enough of that! At this point, the best I… we can do is to end this battle as quickly and… efficiently as possible to cut our losses. Yes… that's the best we can do for the lizardmen.
A part of Asuna's usual determination seemed to have returned, at least to the expression on her face and to her posture. Upon seeing that, Kirito hesitated only for a moment longer before he accepted the simple truth: Asuna had made her decision.
Kirito [nods, reassuringly]: Alright, in that case, let's do this!
After that, the battle against the Desert Demon proceeded about as smoothly as they had hoped.
Since the basic tactic was to sacrifice the lizardman in order to slow the boss down before it could retreat to safety after an attack, Asuna focused her efforts on making every employment of that plan as effective as possible. To that end, she directed the players to form clusters around the remaining lizardmen, an act of fine-tuning that was quite important because only a handful of their allied NPCs were left. There were a few times when players wanted to rush their "lizardman bait tactic", and Asuna had to rein them in, but as long as she gave orders which apparently served no purpose other than winning this battle quickly, the players ultimately stayed in line.
Alas, despite the relatively large groups that were ready to attack the boss every time it was busy "snacking" on the NPCs, it wasn't enough to finish the Desert Demon off. As the giant worm fell upon the last lizardman soldier (except for Kem'Pal, that is), many players closed in and struck the boss with their most powerful Sword Skills. One player in particular followed a Needle Rain up with Deadly Road. The upward slash this combo began with happened to be the strike that reduced the boss' HP below the ten-percent-mark of its last health bar… and just as Asuna had feared, there was one more gimmick to take care of.
When said player finished Deadly Road, and before he could even pull his spear out of the Desert Demon's body after the third and final thrust, the boss suddenly yanked its massive body upwards. Several others got caught off-guard as well, and all these players (along with their weapons that were stuck inside the Desert Demon's thick hide) were lifted into the air, followed by a rather rough landing. Even so, none of them were in grave danger… yet.
Next up, the Desert Demon roared loudly. This cry, however, was quite different from those it had let out so far. It was much deeper, almost like the song of a whale, although it also had an ominous pitch to it – all in all, it might be accurate to call this noise the unholy fusion between a whale song and a demonic howl. That was undoubtedly bad news, and every single player could tell. Asuna, in particular, had a premonition that the difficulty of this battle might shoot up on the final stretch – it would be the second boss battle within two days that would go like that.
This bad feeling made her keep her guard up to the fullest, though, and that was a good thing: When the Desert Demon's body curved downwards, she reacted immediately.
Asuna: Don't stand in its line of movement! Move aside!
She barely got to finish this command before the Desert Demon rushed forward. Naturally, the players directly in front of the boss had already moved to the side, but there were still some people whom the Desert Demon was facing, even if they stood several metres away. Those player bolted now – half due to Asuna's warning, half because the boss' incredible acceleration freaked them out. Anyhow, they'd moved from the spot just in time for the Desert Demon to rush past them.
The Desert Demon didn't dig into the ground again after that. Instead, it kept slithering around at high speed. Once it had ploughed through the Assault Team's formation, it turned around for another attack. Fortunately, the Desert Demon needed to turn in a wide arc, which took a moment and gave the players at least some time to react.
The good news ended there, though. During the next onrush, the Desert Demon's body began to coil, moving even more like a snake than before. When it took a turn to the right, a part of its body slid to the left, and it swept away a few players in its way – "hitting them like a truck" was a fairly accurate description.
At least the Desert Demon slowed down a little while it was turning… although that wasn't entirely good news. Some players got ideas about counterattacking the boss during such moments. In some cases, they merely tried to swipe at it while dodging, and the worst that happened to those people was that they tripped and fell. Well, there was one guy who got partially run over, but aside from that, that group was fine. Others, however, attacked the Desert Demon from the side, only for the boss to swing its body around and swat them away with great force.
Asuna: Stop attacking! We at least need a plan for that! For now, only play it save! If you want to do more, restrict yourselves to observing how exactly the boss acts!
While chastising the players for their aggressive actions, Asuna couldn't help but think that their notion wasn't entirely wrong either. They needed to attack the Desert Demon eventually in order to bring it down. For now, she was hoping that the boss' current rampage was a time-limited phase of this battle, but there was no telling if that was actually the case, or – even if it was – how long it would last.
In other words, she had to come up with a back-up plan. How could they attack it safely… well, as safely as possible? It was clear that it'd be necessary to attack in short bursts from the flanks, but there was still the problem that the Desert Demon could coil its massive body and let it sway to either side in response to their attacks, exactly as it had just now. What to do about that? Maybe a single player had to feint an attack to provoke a reaction, and then an actual assault party had to close in on the area it'd expose? That was certainly an idea…
...but one she couldn't really ponder over in the heat of the battle, and the Desert Demon was about to remind her of that. The boss had already begun to make tighter turns, and right now, it was making one to the left – straight towards Asuna's position. The first one to react was Kirito next to her, and after he shouted a quick warning, Asuna snapped back into "action mode", barely in time to jump out of the boss' way (and even that only by using Acrobatics).
The next group the Desert Demon reached was Fuurinkazan. Most of the members heeded Kirito's warning right away, and they were fine. There was one problem, though: They were standing at the edge of the large pit the Desert Demon had created earlier, and when Klein tried to dash away, he didn't watch his step, and he accidentally stepped onto the slope that led down that pit, slipped and found himself in an involuntary split at the end. Klein could immediately tell that he wouldn't be able to get up again in time, and when he threw a look over his shoulder, he could already see the Desert Demon's wide-open jaws closing in.
Klein: Shit!
The next thing Klein felt… was neither a giant worm biting his body in two nor the dreadful embrace of death in general. No, it was Kem'Pal's hand that pushed him back. That way, the Desert Demon closed its fangs around this substitute, which, however, stabbed the inside of the boss monster's mouth in retaliation. With Kem'Pal ramming its longsword into the Desert Demon's flesh, and with the lizardman general holding back one of the boss' fangs with its free hand, the worm monster couldn't close its jaws completely, although it still held the lizardman firmly in its grasp.
Klein wasn't out of the woods, either. Kem'Pal may have "blocked" the Desert Demon's bite attack, but the enormous monster kept rushing forward, and it hit Klein frontally. He was sent flying down the pit, and he didn't come to a halt before he'd rolled down the slope more than halfway to the bottom.
As for the Desert Demon and Kem'Pal, the boss lifted the lizardman in its mouth into the air, and for a moment, it appeared that the boss tried to get a firmer hold on the NPC, while the latter tried to struggle free. After only a few seconds, the Desert Demon seemed to have enough, and it hurled Kem'Pal into the pit, too, almost as if it was throwing the lizardman at Klein. Even that, however, was merely in preparation for its next move: The Desert Demon lunged after its prey, rapidly slithering down the slope, straight towards Kem'Pal.
Just a bit further down the slope, Klein was getting up, and he noticed Kem'Pal landing nearby, of course. Naturally, the same went for the boss approaching them.
Klein: Damn monster! Stay down, Kem, it's my turn!
With that declaration on his lips, Klein bent forward and held his katana at his side, roughly at the height of his hips and pointing it backwards. He began charging the Sword Skill Tsujikaze, planning to intercept the Desert Demon with this heavy blow. However, it was nothing but a hasty course of action: Keeping aside that even Klein's most powerful Sword Skills simply weren't enough to repel a head-on charge of a field boss like this, he'd also severely underestimated how fast the Desert Demon was. It would reach them before Klein was ready to unleash his Sword Skill.
Kem'Pal: No, that's too dangerous!
Once more, Kem'Pal had to save him, this time by jumping to its feet and tackling Klein out of the way to the best of its ability. Then, the Desert Demon caught up to them, and Kem'Pal sloppily swung its longsword at the boss' mouth again. At the same time, the lizardman tried to twist its body while holding onto Klein, attempting to at least move the player out of the way of the attack. Kem'Pal was actually fairly successful: The Desert Demon may have rammed them, but it didn't hit them frontally this time.
That said, it did indeed hit them, and the sheer force of the impact was still enough to send the two of them flying above the centre of the pit, and they crashed onto the slope on the other side.
Meanwhile, the rest of the raid party was taking action… or at least the part that was within range to do so. Seeing that Klein and Kem'Pal were in trouble, and that the Desert Demon was going after them specifically, Asuna gave the signal for everyone to attack the boss now. At the same time, she started that assault herself by lunging at the boss with Linear. The rest of Fuurinkazan was quick to follow, and a few other players joined in, too.
However, in that very moment, the Desert Demon continued its pursuit of Klein and Kem'Pal. It basically jumped across the pit. Even before that, it coiled up the rest of its body and pulled it down into the pit. In an instant, the large worm "disappeared" behind the edge of said pit, and even the faster attackers such as Asuna could barely graze it. A Milion Howling from Sinon was the best hit they got in.
Kirito took part in this desperate attack, although he couldn't even catch up to the Desert Demon before it moved away. With all of his long-reached Sword Skills taking too long to charge, his best chance was to grab a few throwing picks from his belt and charge one of his Throwing Weapon Sword Skills to fling the projectiles at the rear of the boss. Well, they did fly fast and close the distance, but when they hit, they barely pierced the surface of the Desert Demon's skin – as to be expected. In the end, Kirito could only stand at the top of the pit and look after the boss as it moved farther away.
Kirito: Dammit, it's too fast. We'll need ranged attacks, and really strong ones! Guess there's only one of us who can provide…
Asuna: Indeed. Sinon!
With a look at the archer, who stood a few metres away, Asuna signalled that their hopes rested on her. Sinon's attack had been the most effective, and in this situation, she was about the only one of them who could still reach the Desert Demon with her attacks. That said, Asuna wouldn't have had to say anything: Sinon already nocked the next arrow. Well, with Arrow Generation on cooldown, she had to do with her current batch of arrows, and since she'd already used one, Triple Shot was the best Sword Skill she could use. Still better than nothing, though.
Sinon: Already on it!
On the other side of the pit, Klein and Kem'Pal could barely get back to their feet before the Desert Demon launched its next attack.
Kem'Pal: Klein-dono, you must retreat! I'll distract the enemy!
Klein: Forget it, Kem!
Klein turned his look of defiance towards the Desert Demon. It was flying directly towards Kem'Pal. There was no time to do anything before the massive monster crashed straight into the lizardman. After the last attack, Kem'Pal had lost its weapon, so at this point, the general couldn't even fight back at all.
That, however, only meant that Klein had to do that for his comrade. Through the kicked-up sand, he yelled at the boss.
Klein: Damn you, for the last time: I won't let you kill any of my comrades, and that includes Kem! So how about you develop a taste for humans for a change and try me?!
While shouting at the top of his lungs, Klein took the starting stance of another Sword Skill, Kuroarashi (or "Black Tempest") this time. It was Klein's strongest Sword Skill in terms of damage output, but just like Tsujikaze, it took a moment for the Sword Skill to be charged… and that caused a serious problem… because the Desert Demon suddenly let Kem'Pal be and turned towards Klein instead. With a roar, its head snapped forward, ready to swallow Klein whole…
...and in that moment, Sinon's Triple Shot hit the boss. For a second, the boss paused, registering the blow it had just sustained and calculating its response. It quickly resumed its attack on Klein, but that brief moment of hesitation was all he needed to get ready. He leapt forward while unleashing Kuroarashi just as the Desert Demon fell upon him, and he jumped directly into the boss' mouth, but for now, he wasn't just a snack for the giant worm. Empowered by the system assistant, he sliced through the Desert Demon's mucosa, swinging his katana above his head from right to left.
After that, Klein swiftly spun the blade around and swung it to the right, cutting through a spot at the upper right. He kept swinging his sword until its tip pointed directly downwards and then, he turned his weapon around once more and followed up with an upward diagonal slash to the right.
This was how Kuroarashi worked. It was a chain of six slashes, each going from one side to the other, followed by turning the blade around and swinging it even farther in the opposite direction to deliver the next strike. After every other sword stroke, the user had to keep swinging their weapon a bit farther in order to get into position for the next attack. These moves added up to a combo that formed a hexagon with its six strikes.
While every blow (and, by extension, the combo as a whole) was incredibly powerful, it came not just at the price of a long charging time, but also with over-the-top movements that weren't very precise and, on top of that, left the user wide open for counterattacks. Not only was Kuroarashi easy to dodge if you knew how to, it could also be countered easily by attacking the user (from their perspective) from the left at the start and from the right towards the end.
Fortunately, Klein was essentially standing inside his target, and neither of these disadvantages was any cause for concern in that situation. The only thing the Desert Demon could've done is to crush Klein as if it was a car compactor. Every time it tried to, however, Klein dealt the next blow, and that caused the boss to flinch every single time. That way, the Desert Demon merely writhed and slammed its body onto the ground.
The last part almost caused Klein to slip, but the automatic movements during the fourth strike also allowed him to steady his stance. He continued the Sword Skill with the fifth strike – nothing out of the ordinary. When Klein finished the attack with the sixth one, he raised his voice to its limit, and his following battle cry was drawn out beyond the point when his katana stopped moving. The blade was still stuck inside the Desert Demon's flesh, and with every bit of determination to fight still left within him, Klein tried to force his sword deeper into his enemy. Alas, his body was frozen, so he wasn't able to.
In this brief moment until he became able to move again, the adrenaline rush that had been pushing Klein forward subsided to some extent, and that allowed the situation to really dawn on him. He was basically defenseless and in the middle of a death trap. Looking at the membrane of the Desert Demon's interior, he expected it to contract and close in on him – yeah, he fully expected to be squished.
Contrary to this expectation, however, the body of the boss turned bright blue while it let out another howl – a rather miserable one this time, more like a whimper than a growl. Then, it broke apart, bursting into a thousand polygonal shards that scattered through the air.
Klein, on the other hand, landed on the ground quite smoothly, although he still almost tripped on the slope, but he managed to keep his balance in the end.
Klein [out of breath]: I… did it… right? Hehe… That was… one hell of a ride… right, Kem?
In that moment, Klein realised that he wasn't in the clear just yet. He turned towards Kem'Pal, who was still lying on the ground.
Klein [worriedly]: Kem!? Are you…?
He stopped when he saw the state Kem'Pal was in. The lizardman's body seemed to glitch out as flashes of blue light surged through it. The sight looked familiar… worryingly so. At first, Klein had a glimmer of hope that this was just a strange bug that occurred after the last hit Kem'Pal had suffered, but then, Klein noticed that the NPC's health bar was gone.
Klein [mutters, shocked]: God, no…
Kem'Pal [groggily]: A-ah, Klein-dono… I see you've brought us victory… [chuckles] You never disappoint, do you?
Without hesitation, Klein rushed to Kem'Pal's side and knelt down next to his lizardman comrade.
Klein: Yeah, sure, but that's not important right now! What about you?! Are you…
Kem'Pal: I'm a goner, that's for sure. I can feel it: I'm not long for this world.
Klein [desperately]: Shut it! I'm not having any of this! Ugh, let's see… What to do? [browses his inventory] Any potions there that could… No, forget it, they don't even work on NPCs. Would that revival item have worked here? Who knows, used it on the fiftieth floor anyway. Dammit, why can't I have FUCKING ANYTHING to revive an NPC!?
Kem'Pal: Klein-dono… you're losing… your cool. That's not like you, so just stop, will you?
Klein [yells]: If you want me to, than don't just die, dammit! How can you… [quietly] How can you be so calm about this, after everything? We've just won! It's over, your race is saved, and we, the Assault Team, can proceed to the labyrinth. Now, you could… you could've enjoyed the fruits of all of your hard battles and lived with your race in peace… DON'T YOU WANT THAT?! Don't you… want to live to see your people thrive?
Kem'Pal: Klein-dono, you've got it all wrong. I don't need to see any of that, I already know it. For all my life, I feared nothing other than defeat. I thought that if I saw the day of my death, it would be the doom of us lizardmen. But thanks to you and the other scaleless ones, we are already saved. I've already reached the goal of my life, of my whole existence, so I don't need anything more. [slightly ecstatically] Moreover, you won the battle I fell in, so I can die knowing that we've still won. What more can a warrior ever ask for?! I have no regrets, so don't have any either, Klein-dono!
After finishing this sentence, Kem'Pal limply raised its arm, reaching for Klein with its clenched fist.
Kem'Pal: Now, I want you to go on and fight your battles, Klein-dono! Your men… Lead them home, just as you've always told me! That ought to be your goal now. Save them… just as you've saved us!
Klein: Damn right I will! That's for sure… [sobs] As if I'd… ever allow one of them to… to…
Klein took Kem'Pal's hand, thinking that this was supposed to be some kind of last handshake. Then, however, he felt how Kem'Pal put something – whatever the lizardman general had held in its clenched hand – into his.
Kem'Pal [smiles]: That's… relieving to hear. For your journey… you will need this. Now, go ahead… and fulfil that promise. Knowing you… I know that you… can do it… Klein-dono!
The blue light finally took complete hold of Kem'Pal's body, and in the next moment, the leader of the lizardmen shattered into tiny remains. When those remains vanished after a few seconds, all that was left was Klein, kneeling on the ground and holding Kem'Pal's last gift in his tightly clenched hand. Well, and a few droplets of water that fell upon the sand, every single one of them vanishing in an instant on the dry surface.
Behind Klein, a small group, all of whom had seen Kem'Pal's death, walked up to him. First of all, there was the rest of Fuurinkazan. All of them hung their heads in grieve, and as much as they wanted to say something to their leader, they didn't find the words to offer any consolation. The one who at least tried to was the next person to step up.
Asuna: Klein-san… First of all, good job on that final attack. I guess that goes to you and Kem'Pal-san. [slightly sadly] And speaking of him… [apologetically] I'm sorry. I… couldn't come up with a good plan in time that would've allowed us to win without… losses.
Klein quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before glancing at Asuna.
Klein: Don't sweat it! As Kem said, he didn't have any regrets, so let's not have any either.
After saying that, no matter how half-heartedly, Klein remembered the object he still held in his hand, so he opened it and took a look at what Kem'Pal had actually given him. His eyes widened after a second which realisation needed to kick in.
Asuna: Klein-san? Is something the matter? What do you have there?
Klein [smiles melancholically]: Dammit, Kem, what did you come up with… Well, you said we'd need it, and you sure were right about that.
Without a word to answer Asuna's questions, he simply handed her the object of her curiosity. After taking it from him, she took a look herself, only to react in the exact same way Klein had. This caused the next person in line to continue this chain.
Schneider: Vice-commander? You don't plan to keep quiet, too, do you? What exactly is this you're holding?
Asuna turned towards the rest of the present group, and she held the item in question out to them. Well, the items. They could see right away that those were two keys, which bore a striking resemblance to one another. The only clearly visible difference was between their bows, which were shaped like the head of a goblin and a lizardman respectively.
Kirito: Wait! These are the keys to the labyrinth, aren't they?
Schneider: Well, that's good news if it's true! It would've been bad if we'd lost the key of the lizardmen, too, but to think that we'd even get the one from the goblins this way! Now we don't have to look for it!
Philia: Yeah, but isn't this strange? I've heard that Kem'Pal had said that he didn't get the goblin key yesterday, so why did he have it?!
Kirito: Hm, my best guess would be that this is how Cardinal solved the issue of granting us access to the labyrinth. It had to give us an opportunity to get the key somehow, and I suppose this is what the system came up with. Well, it handed us the key as a dramatic last gift from the lizardmen.
Leafa [annoyed]: Geez, do you have to be so unromantic?! Can't we just say that this was Kem'Pal's parting gift for Klein after everything they've been through, and leave it at that?! [exasperatedly] No need to go full nerd on us! [sadly] It's bad enough that he had to die, so can't it at least be… bittersweet?
Schneider: Well, no idea how I should feel about that, but I guess the lizardmen met a devastating end in this battle. Every single one of them sacrificed themselves, even their general. Well, at least we didn't sustain any casualties thanks to that. Still strange that a quest to save lizardmen ended with so many of them dying in battle, and that after the war campaign has already ended…
Leafa: Ugh, and here goes the next one! Does everything here have to be put into gamer babble?!
Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: Well, I guess it is how it is… [slightly worriedly] Although… Kirito, what exactly are you about to come up with? Given how deep in thought you seem to be, I get a bad feeling about this…
Leafa [slightly upset, grunts]: You're coming up with more nerd gibberish, aren't you?
Kirito [defensively, slightly annoyed]: No, not this time! It's just… [slightly contemplatively] I'm actually disagreeing on this topic. That is, regarding the quest that made the lizardmen sacrifice themselves. To be honest, it might be true that most of them did so purely because we cleared that quest, but I don't think that goes for Kem'Pal, too.
Schneider: Hm? And why?
Kirito: Because every time I saw Kem'Pal giving a lizardman the order to sacrifice themself, there was a quest marker above his head. If I understand what Klein said correctly, the system had to force him the whole time to give these commands, and I guess that makes sense, given that Kem'Pal's actual personality probably wouldn't have allowed such orders to be given. However, I could catch a glimpse of Kem'Pal at the end, and there definitely was no quest marker. That means he shielded Klein of his own volition.
Schneider: Well, nothing against your or the Vice-commander's belief in the NPCs, but is that even such a big difference? That lizardman would've saved Klein-san either way, even if it had been only because of the quest.
Kirito: Maybe, but my point is that the way things are, Kem'Pal didn't do it because of the quest, so even if the Assault Team had failed to clear that quest, Kem'Pal wouldn't have acted differently. In the end, his actions were the result of the bond Klein had formed with him, not of any quest or any scenario the system played out.
For a moment, Schneider seemed to think about what Kirito had just said. When that moment was over, he just shrugged.
Schneider: I guess you're right.
While this conversation was taking place, Asuna was busy with her own thoughts. She turned towards Klein again and offered him the two keys again.
Asuna: I suppose we still have to open the gate to the labyrinth. Klein-san, since the General entrusted these keys to you, do you want to do the honours and unlock it? I'm sure Kem'Pal-san would wish for you to take this step.
Klein was dumbfounded for a second. He chuckled weakly, but instead of taking the keys, he turned away.
Klein: Yeah, I bet he would've, but sorry, Asuna. Right now, I'm kinda mad at the guy for dying on me like that, so I'm not in the mood for granting him a second last wish. Could you take care of the gate? I'd appreciate it.
Asuna was a bit disappointed to see Klein reacting this way… not to mention that a part of her wanted to roll her eyes at his attempt to play the situation off. Nonetheless, she could somehow understand him.
Asuna: Very well, I shall do just that.
With that, Asuna headed for the entrance to the labyrinth. The KoB party, led by Schneider, and a few others followed her.
But there were also a few people who decided not to do so.
Philia: Say, Leafa, should we go check on the others?
Leafa [slightly confusedly]: The others? Ah, you mean Liz-san and Silica-san, don't you? [seriously] Oh, and Strea-san, of course! Especially Strea-san!
Hearing that name, Kirito stopped dead in his tracks. He'd intended to follow Asuna, too, but now, Leafa had unintentionally reminded him of a much more important issue. Even before Leafa and Philia could start their way back to the rest of their party, he dashed into the direction of the players who'd sat out this battle on the sidelines. The terrain forced him to slow down a little, but thanks to his experience in traversing all kinds of environments, he still had an easier time than the two girls, for instance.
Within a minute or two, he arrived at the place where the small group that had left the battle earlier had gathered. Aside from the Blunt weapon users who had retreated, there were Strea squatting on the ground with Silica kneeling and Lisbeth standing next to her. Silica had brought Strea there, and Lisbeth had returned earlier.
As for the state Kirito found them in…
Strea [mutters]: Ugh, it's still… anging secondary safety par… so cold… How much longer can I…
Kirito: Strea! How is she?
Silica [slightly surprised]: Kirito-san? She… [worriedly] Not good, I'm afraid.
Lisbeth: Well, see for yourself! She's been like this the whole time, mumbling incoherent stuff non-stop. I have no idea what's happening!
Kirito: I see, so it's still not better… Dammit! So far, she's never suffered these fits for more than a few minutes. [kneels down in front of Strea] Strea, how are you feeling?
Strea: K-kiri… I-it's… worse than… The voices… I don't know… if I can fight th… this time…
Kirito: It's alright! I bet you'll get better in no time. Let's see… [thinks] Is there anything we might do to help? Think, self, think!
Strea: I… don't know… how much longer… I can… verride succe…
At that point, Strea's eyes suddenly widened in sheer panic.
Strea: Ki… you mustn't… stay he…
Strea's broken line abruptly turned into a loud, pained scream. Naturally, that worried everyone around her even more. Kirito even grabbed her shoulders firmly.
Kirito: Strea, what's wrong?! Did the pain get worse? Or…
Then, the really concerning part began. Strea's scream was… cut off. Yeah, it simply ended in such an unnatural manner that it seemed as if someone had pressed her mute switch. It wasn't just that, though: Every shred of tension left her body, and from one second to the next, she was just sitting there, facing forward with a completely blank look on her face. At first, Kirito thought that she was looking at him, probably wanting to say something, but then, she just stood up, shaking off his hands downright indifferently in the process. The whole time, she kept that blank expression.
At this point, it became clear that Strea was merely staring off into space. Wondering what might be up, Kirito jumped to his feet. The worry in his eyes didn't vanish for a second, and now he was turning these eyes towards Strea's, as if he was seeking any kind of answer in them.
Kirito: Strea, just what is wrong? Please tell me!
Strea opened her mouth, but what came out was nothing but hollow words, none of which being what anybody had hoped for.
Strea: Teleport to Restricted Area oh-three-seven.
As soon as she'd finished that line, Strea disappeared, clearly using a teleport… somewhere. She didn't use a Teleport Crystal or any of the teleport stones that could be used, though. That way, she left everyone else behind with nothing but confusion… and one question: Just what in the world was going on?
What is going on, indeed. Anyone who played Hollow Fragment or simply knows its plot should already know. I've already mentioned this in the first part of "The Guardian Demon of the Celestial Tower" a few chapters ago, but this scene, which "canonically" takes place at the floor boss battle on the 95th floor was preponed in this story because I won't cover said battle. Incidentally, the next major battle will be against the floor boss on the 96th floor, and once more, knowledge of Hollow Fragment's plot should give you a good idea as to what's going to go down.
Speaking of what's next, the bulk of the story of the 95th floor is finally over. The next chapter will be kind of like an epilogue to that section of the story, and there will be two/three chapters taking place on this floor (or at least being closely connected to it). In between these chapters, I'll drop two more side stories.
I had to get a bit creative with the Sword Skill Klein used at the end. None of the katana Sword Skills I've found, be it canon or from the games, really were what I pictured for this scene, so I had to create an original one... and immediately faced the next problem: naming that combo. Katana Sword Skills are particularly tricky in that regard since the names are Japanese even in the translation. "Black Tempest" was about the best I could come up with while still being somewhat confident in my translation, although I can't say for sure if "kuro arashi" is correct.
Canonically, the state of the revival item Klein had at some point is kept unclear, but for this story, I'll assume one of his guild members died on the 50th floor, and he used the item there and then - just as it was stated in this chapter.