Chapter 17: War of the Worlds
It didn't take long for the army to get rolling again, but those of us from the real world walked to the supply wagon Tiese and Ronie had been riding in. It was the same one that I'd been traveling in, before Argo woke me up, and it was almost nostalgic to see it again. The two Primary Trainees opened the wagon door for us and we all filed into the... kinda cramped wagon, now that I think about it. Without my wheelchair taking up half of the back, we all fit - but it was still a little bit of a squeeze.
As soon as the door closed behind us, though, Kirito turned around and wrapped Sinon in a big hug. Sinon sighed and just returned it, wrapping her arm around his waist like she had with Asuna. Not like she could do much else.
"That was a heck of an entrance back there, Shinonon," Argo said with a grin. "Nice job."
"Thanks, Argo," Sinon said.
The blue-haired girl glanced at Kirito and let out a quick breath like she was trying to convince herself to do something - and leaned up on the toes of her fancy boots to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "That's for worrying me," she said as Kirito's cheek went red and Asuna sighed.
This girl loves teasing Kirito...
Then, as Kirito released the quick hug, her eyes turned on me. Her usual grin cracked, and I gave her a weak smile. "Seriously, Shino," I murmured. "It's good to see you again."
"Nick..." she whispered, voice quiet.
I just tilted my head slightly, smiling at her.
A second later, her body slammed into my chest as she embraced me tightly. Even with just one hand around my back, she was doing an admirable job of trying to crush my ribs.
"Oof," I grunted. "I missed you too. So, tell me, Sinon, do I get a punishment kiss too?"
It was supposed to be just a joke, until Sinon smirked and grabbed my shoulders to press a kiss on my cheek.
She smiled smugly as my cheeks burned, and Argo laughed hysterically at the look on my face. "Nya hah hah! Ya looked so shocked she actually did it, Ry! Nyahahaha!"
"Shinonon..." Asuna sighed.
Oh. Right. There are other people here. ...Right. If everyone will excuse me, I think I'm going to curl up into a big ball of embarrassment and hide until the war is over, thanks.
"L-Lady Solus...?" Ronie stammered. Both of the Primary Trainees had huge blushes on their faces, and Eugeo was staring with wide, confused eyes as the blue-haired girl kissed both Kirito and myself. I'd ask the gods to smite me where I stood, but three of said gods were standing around, and one of them had directly caused this whole issue.
I glared halfheartedly at Sinon, but she just kept grinning at me. Smug little thing...
"I'm sorry, but... are you really Lady Solus?" Tiese asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"She may look like Solus, but it's the same as with Asuna. This is one of my friends from the real world. Her name's Sinon." Kirito answered Tiese's question.
Eugeo smiled at the blue-haired girl. "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Sinon," he said. "It's a shame that we had to meet under the circumstances like this."
"Not at all," Sinon said, and shook her head. "...A boy, huh?"
She glanced at Kirito out of the corner of her eye, and he blushed. "Whatever you're thinking, it's not that!" he yelped. "Eugeo, I'll make sure to introduce you guys properly when we all go to the real world, along with everyone else. I bet Liz and Silica will love to meet you all."
Ronie blinked and looked down. I bet I know what's going through her head. 'They're all girls', right? That's the curse of Kirito's pheromones, Ronie! I'm sure you've already succumbed by now, considering you were his trainee for a few months...
It's a good thing I don't have to deal with that.
I sneezed, and then rubbed my nose. "Bweh," I muttered. "Being on Angelus's back is nice but it keeps making my nose itchy..."
Lady Fanatio looked over at me. "Are you alright, Ritsu?"
"I'm fine! I think someone's talking about me, that's all."
"Now that Shinonon had her fun with Ry, we can move on," I said. "A-chan, Shinonon, what's the plan?"
Sinon straightened up, and I noticed Rythin shift just a little as he shifted into the super-cool tactician mode. "As I was landing, I saw some old ruins. They're down the road, about five klicks south. Looked like a good place to make a stand and not get surrounded. "
"We'll hole up there, then," Asuna said. "The VRMMO in the States is huge, but I think this is all that were available now. If we beat them, maybe whoever's behind this will think twice about sending more."
Sinon nodded. "All right then. I'll be back in a bit. I wanna check those ruins out, make sure they're really safe. I'll fly right back and let you know if they are. "
Eh? Wait, hang on a second. 'Fly'?
"Back that up a second, please?" Rythin asked her. "You can fly? As in, through the air?"
Sinon blinked and looked down at her hand. "Ah... Mm hm. They said the Solus account had the power too. And there's no time limit on it or anything. "
"...Ah," Rythin said slowly, and blinked once. I could practically hear the processing chip in his mind whir as he recalculated everything during that slow blink.
"Shinonon!" Asuna reached out and grasped Sinon's shoulder. "Don't worry about us, then! You have to get Alice back. The emperor's got her now! If you hurry, you can catch them! "
Sinon blinked in shock. "Alice...?"
"One of the Integrity Knights we've been working with," I said. "She's the special gal Kikuoka was lookin' for. We need ta save her. Especially since she's Kii-boy an' Eugeo's childhood friend, an' Ry's big sis."
"His..."
Rythin sighed when Sinon looked at him. "It's a long story," he said. "One that I'd love to go into detail about, later. For right now, let me catch you up."
Sinon listened patiently to Rythin's quick and dirty explanation about everything - about how Alice broke the Seal of the Right Eye and how the guy using Vecta's Super Account had captured her - and then sighed. "You always get in the weirdest problems, all by yourselves," she sighed.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Kirito said.
Rythin shrugged. "Well then, I'll happily rely on you now, Sinon," he said. Wow, what a shameless guy.
"I didn't mean it like that," Sinon grumbled.
"Too bad, that's how I'm taking it."
"Miss Sinon." Eugeo stepped forward. "If you really can make it in time... Please, you have to save Alice!"
"...Don't worry," she said with a gentle smile. "I'll definitely save her." Eugeo's relieved smile was so bright that I couldn't help but smile too. His excitement was infectious, because the rest of us started to smile and grin too. Tiese reached out and hugged him happily.
After that, they broke off to get mounted on their horses again. Rythin and I had to get going, but he hesitated when Sinon turned to him. "When... Din told me that you were asleep and that you couldn't wake up, I was worried," she said. "Next time, try not to scare me half to death, okay?"
Rythin opened his mouth, then closed it and smiled. Guess he thought better of being flippant. "Don't worry," he said. "I won't get myself in trouble alone again." Then, he reached out and gently patted her head, ruffling her hair just a little.
Sinon put up with it, surprisingly enough. Heh, she does love him~. "Well, I guess that's good enough," she said. "I should get going. Alice is in trouble, right? I'll see you later."
Once the archer took flight and soared off into the sky, I walked up and hugged Rythin. My arms wrapped around his waist and I hugged - okay, hugging Rythin is rough when he's wearing that fancy armor. But there's still something nice about hugging him anyway.
"Argo?"
I closed my eyes. "Lemme jus' hug ya fer a bit. Shinonon had the right idea."
"Well, I get an Argo hug, so I'm not complaining," he said. "But... I'm surprised you're not saying anything, Catling."
"I'm only irritated 'cause she didn't ask first," I said, and then grinned. "Besides! Have you seen her butt? I wanna get a kiss from Shinonon too! Have ya seen that ass?"
Rythin cough-snorted, like my comment was a surprise or something. Seriously, Sinon's butt was amazing. Like, holy shit, I want her secret. "Argo... Sorry to break it to you, but I think Shinonon is straight. Like 95 percent sure."
"I know, but tell that to my useless polyam heart, nya hah hah! And... 95 percent, eh? What's the last five percent?"
He shrugged. "She has a little bit too much fun dressing me up as a girl."
I grinned. "Pretty sure that's the person she's dolling up more than the girl part. But ya gotta admit, ya look cute in a skirt and makeup."
"We can talk about that later, catling. Let's go already, we're gonna be left behind if we don't hurry up."
"Comin~!"
Dark Territory, Skies above the Eastern Gate
Lady Fanatio had gotten the Integrity Knights moving right away, which was great news. Fizel and Linel had puffed their cheeks out in irritation at being told to stay with the rest of the army, but they had accepted the orders anyway. It probably helped that as trainees they still didn't have Divine Objects or proper armor.
Angelus soared through the air, flapping her wings once in a while to stay level. Beside me, Fanatio and her Oscillation Blades flew on their own dragons, and Deusolbert brought up the rear. Dakira and Eldrie were still too injured to join us, but with five more Integrity Knights, we'd definitely be able to save everyone!
I patted Angelus's neck. "Thank you for carrying me," I said. "Together we'll finish this up, and then go save your master."
"Kyuuu."
I smiled when Angelus let out a low rumble. I really would have preferred to fly back to Rythin right away, but Lady Fanatio asked. Besides, with Angelus's power, we would be able to take care of the enemies right away!
A bright green light in the distance caught my eye, and I focused on it. The green star had appeared in the sky, but rapidly descended, and I realized that it must be someone Diving in from the outside! I pulled on Angelus's reins and angled her so that I could call over to the Integrity Knights flying alongside me.
"Lady Fanatio! Did you see that?"
"The green light?" the purple-haired woman replied.
I nodded. "Yes! I can't say for certain... but it looks like it's an ally! When the other two showed up, they appeared from the sky just like that." And if that's the case, then it must be someone from the Real World! I don't know why they were appearing instead of where Kirito and Rythin are, but that's great news. I'm sure they'll help.
"An ally... from the sky?" Deusolbert asked. "How is that possible?"
"Well..." I remembered what Bercouli said a few months earlier, about the existence of Heaven being a pillar for the Integrity Knights. Lady Fanatio knew about the Real World by now, but I couldn't be certain that they didn't. Still... "They're coming from a separate realm to help us. Lady Fanatio, I'll fly ahead and make sure they're okay!"
Lady Fanatio nodded, and I smiled at her gratefully. Then, I leaned forward. "Let's go, Angelus!"
Angelus roared loudly and flapped her wings once. She rocketed forward towards the end of the gorge, where the green light had descended. For my part, I clutched the gun that I'd created and loaded back at the camp. This deep into the Dark Territory, there wouldn't be much Sacred Power left; the sun was out so there would be a small amount, but not anywhere near enough to quickly summon and fire a gun. I wasn't going to be caught unarmed in hostile territory.
As we flew out of the canyon, I looked down. Two figures stood at the exit directly below - one was short and squat, and the other was taller. The taller person was wearing green clothes, and I realized that was the person from the Real World! Angelus banked and plunged, spiraling towards the ground.
When I got closer, though, my eyes narrowed. The blonde person wearing the green clothes had her arms extended in front of her, and the short figure was holding a rope that reached out towards her wrist. I'd arrived too late! She'd already been captured by someone from the Dark Territory. If that's the case, then that must be one of the orcs! D.I.L sacrificed so many of them to cast her awful ritual that maimed Eldrie, but some of them must have survived. The orc was carrying a long sword on his hip, and the cloak and armor he was wearing marked him as one of the important members of the army.
I'll have to rescue her first, and then we can figure out what to do from there.
I jumped off of Angelus's back when she reached the ground. I swept my gun out and took aim as I ran towards the orc and the girl. "Let her go!" I shouted.
The orc whirled around, his eyes wide -
Black smoke swirled from the ground like dust kicked up in the wind. But, there wasn't any wind around, and it gave me a nauseous feeling as I stared at it. The intentions behind the art were disgusting... The thick black haze rose up and surrounded the girl and the orc, blinding them from me. A disgusting smell reached me, and I had to stop myself from retching.
"What's going on?" the orc gasped.
"Ah...!"
A short girlish cry rang out and I gasped. A long hand made up of swirling umbra elements had reached out from the darkness. I couldn't see where it came from, but it raised into the air, lifting the blonde girl by her hair.
As the dark haze coalesced, gathering in a pool by the girl's feet, I got a good look at the person from the Real World. She was wearing shining white armor across her chest and long white stockings, with fancy heeled boots. Other than that, her equipment was a rich, deep green the color of healthy grass. She had a long ponytail down to her back, held in place by a white tiara.
The pool of umbra elements rose up and the owner of the hand pulling violently at the blonde girl's hair appeared. My blood burned as I stared at the face of D.I.L, her lips curved in a cruel smile.
"Why aren't you dead...!" I hissed through gritted teeth.
The woman cackled, even as blood gushed from slashes on her face. She had survived Alice's attack, but not unscathed. Her dark skin was covered in wounds gushing blood, and as she laughed a few wounds split open again. It didn't open for long as the black haze gathered around the wound and sealed the wound again. As I approached, the awful smell got even worse.
"I-I-It's D.I.L!" the orc gasped.
"The smell... Oh, the smell! The scent of life is strong in this one!" She smirked at the orc. He'd pinched his nose to not deal with the smell coming from the black smoke. "Yes, you've captured a wonderful specimen indeed. Well done, pig person, well done. To celebrate, I shall reward you with some entertainment!"
D.I.L. reached out with her other hand to grip the girl's collar. Then, she pulled. The girl's pained expression twisted as her hair was tugged. Then, with a cracking sound, the silver armor and her shirt were torn apart. The metal clattered to the ground.
I glared as the dark-skinned witch exposed the girl. I raised my hand and took aim, but... D.I.L's body was strange. It twisted inhumanely, and if I launched my only shot and missed...
The girl's face twisted more and D.I.L grinned widely.
"Oh ho ho… I assume you've never seen a human woman's body before. This must be quite the treat for your piggy eyes." Ugh, what a condescending bitch she is. "But the fun is only starting. Keep watching."
D.I.L raised her left hand, and the fingers began to wriggle and undulate like Korosensei's tentacles. Instead of being tentacles, though, they transformed into ugly, dark worm-like creatures. Tiny mouths opened at the end.
The five leeches stretched out and wrapped around the girl's upper body and stabbed into her white skin.
"AH...!"
The girl screamed as blood spurted in all directions. She tried to pull them off of her, but they had tangled around her entire upper body and her wrists were already tied by the rope.
Abruptly, the flowing blood seemed to stop - but then I watched the leeches start pulsing as large lumps seemed to flow through them. They were drinking the girl's blood.
"System call! Transfer Human Unit Durability, Left to Self!"
The leeches on D.I.L's left hand glowed a pale blue light as it matched up with the flow of blood. The girl screamed and her back arched, as though she was about to snap in half.
D.I.L threw her head back in disgusting pleasure. "Ah... Oh, delicious! Her life is so thick and sweet!"
"Hey, you let her go! That Ium is my prisoner! I-I was gonna take her to the emperor!"
As the Sacred Art drained the girl's life, D.I.L's body reformed itself from the black haze. She glared at the orc that had just protested. "Silence, filthy wretch! Have you forgotten that His Majesty put all of his forces under my -"
That's enough. There are certain things a girl shouldn't be put through! And this was starting to look a lot like certain situations I'd found on the internet – by accident! Totally by accident! It was while I was experimenting with some different outfit and color combinations, and I was looking for a reference, and I found – n-never mind!
"Execute."
The bullet loaded in my gun blasted forward. It whistled past the orc's head and struck exactly where I'd aimed - the center of D.I.L's left hand. It blew the extremity apart, severing the leeches that had entangled the blonde girl. Blood poured from the ends of the worm-like things, splattering on the ground.
"What?!" D.I.L shrieked, her voice shrill. "How dare you! Wait, you... You're the one who tried to assassinate the emperor!"
"Let her go. Now." I raised my hand and the gun swirled around to point at D.I.L's head. It wasn't loaded, but this woman was a coward - if I could convince her she was going to die, then she might run.
"I'm going to kill you for this!" she shrieked. "System call! Transfer Human Durability -"
Green light bloomed on the ground where the girl's blood had been spilled. Suddenly, the blood vanished, and in its place...
Beautiful flowers of all colors bloomed in every direction. New plant life bloomed from everywhere the blood had spilled. A fresh wind blew their fragrance towards me, and even the ugly red sunlight changed to a peaceful, warm color.
In that instant, the appearance of the plant life - of the flowers - meant one thing.
"User macro! Reload and fire! Execute!"
Sacred power rose from the flowers and gathered in the barrel of my gun, even as D.I.L finished the chant to transfer more durability from her right hand. The aerial element appeared in the barrel in a wink before it detonated again, launching the next bullet forward. D.I.L's other hand, the one that was made from umbra elements, wasn't going to be severed by just that - the bullet passed through, tearing a hole, but it swiftly started to close up and became a perfectly normal arm instead.
"AHAHAHAH! What good will your toys do you!?" D.I.L flung the girl's body behind her and raised her hand. Her nails transformed into sharp, gleaming blades, and the sorceress lunged at me.
"User macro," I said instead of replying to her taunt.
I could create any number of guns. The only restriction was the amount of sacred power I had available. And with the miracle caused by the girl in front of me... I had all I ever needed.
The first bullet shattered the right elbow, and the second severed her right arm at the shoulder. The arm fell to the ground with a dull thud, and D.I.L stumbled to a halt as blood gushed from her right shoulder and left wrist.
D.I.L's expression turned from sadistic glee to shock. "What-"
I didn't let her speak. Instead, the guns surrounding me like a halo barked. My aim was perfect.
D.I.L died instantly, with a trio of bullets in her brain and four through center mass, clustered around her heart. I wasn't taking any more chances.
As the dark sorceress fell over, landing among the flowers and staining them with her blood, I saw the girl from earlier already standing. Her hands were still bound, but she held a long sword in her hands. I had a feeling that despite how awkward that stance looked, she had been instants away from cutting D.I.L in half.
"Hello!" I said with a smile as my guns vanished. "It's very nice to meet you."
"Oh, um... hello," the girl said.
Hmmm... Hang on. Long, blonde hair in a ponytail, a long sword like a katana, and... "Oh! You must be Leafa," I said, pulling my eyes back up to her face. "Kirito's little sister!"
I'd thought Rythin had been exaggerating!
Leafa's eyes lit up the instant I mentioned her brother. "Wait, you know Kirito?" she asked. "Where is he?"
"Wh-Who are you?!"
...That's embarrassing. I'd been so excited to say hello to Leafa that I'd almost forgotten about the orc behind me. I would have sensed his killing intent if he'd attempted to do anything, but that was no excuse for being lazy.
I turned around and leveled a gun at his forehead. The orc's eyes widened, and he grabbed at his sword.
"Exe-"
"Wait!"
I stopped myself mid-word at Leafa's shout. She ran in front of me and spread her arms out, blocking my shot at the orc. I hesitated, then lowered my hand and the gun with it. Leafa smiled at me gratefully, and then turned to the orc.
"You were going to ask her to stop, weren't you?" she asked. "Thank you for that."
The orc looked away. "I-It's only because you were my prisoner," he said. "Which you still are! D-Don't go getting ideas!"
Leafa blinked and then looked at the rope still tied around her wrists. "Oh, right..." She looked at me. "Um, how do you know my brother?"
"My name is Ritsu," I said. "I'm one of Rythin's classmates."
Her eyes widened. "So you're from the Real World," she said.
"Well, more or less. I'm not from the Underworld, if that's what you're asking." Then I shook my head. I needed to focus! "Leafa, I need your help! The Underworld... It's under attack by enemies from the Real World."
Leafa nodded. "I know! Din and Yui told me everything. The Americans are logging in, and killing everyone. Is my brother in danger?"
"Yes... Rythin woke up with the help of Argo, but we're still outnumbered. There's just too many of them!"
Some invisible amount of tension drained from her shoulders. "So Rythin's awake... Thank goodness. I was so worried..."
"What are you talking about?"
Leafa turned back to the orc when he asked the question. "Lilpilin," she said. "It's hard to explain. But, our enemies... It's not just us against you, now. They're killing everyone no matter what. So... Please, help me!"
Lilpilin's eyes widened. "Help you!? But... But you're the enemy! Why do you care if us orcs die?"
"Right now, that doesn't matter!" Leafa exclaimed. "No matter what side we're on, we're all human! I don't want anyone to die today. Please, Lilpilin."
"But... the emperor's orders..."
Suddenly, Lilpilin's right eye bulged, and a crimson glow surrounded it. I gasped as I saw the Code 871 take effect; it was reversed from my point of view, but that was the Seal of the Right Eye! "Lilpilin!" I exclaimed. "Whatever you're thinking, stop! If you don't, your eye will..!"
"D.I.L, the emperor..." Lilpilin grunted. "They looked down on me... Called me a pig. But... the first one to say I was human is..."
"Lilpilin, stop!" I yelled.
"I'm... I'm... I'm a human!" he shouted.
His right eye burst in a spray of blood, and Leafa gasped at the sight. With blood trickling down his cheek, Lilpilin panted heavily. I swallowed and chanted a Healing Art to stop the bleeding. I wasn't practiced enough to regenerate the eye, but I could at least stop his suffering.
"You... You need my help, right?" Lilpilin said, as he raised his head to look at Leafa. "The emperor... He had commanded the orcs to remain on standby. But..."
Leafa smiled. "Then you'll help? Thank you so much!"
That's amazing. Just like that, she'd managed to convert the orc squads to our allies.
Roars came from the Eastern Corridor, and Angelus lifted her head and roared in reply. The other Integrity Knights soared from the canyon and landed heavily nearby. Lilpilin gripped his sword, but Leafa reached out and shook her head with a gentle smile.
"Ritsu!" Lady Fanatio shouted as she jumped off of her dragon. The other Knights stayed mounted. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," I said. "Lady Fanatio, this is-"
Lady Fanatio gasped and dropped to one knee. "Goddess Terraria!"
Leafa looked around, and then blinked when she realized that Lady Fanatio was staring at her. "Um... No, it's not like that," Leafa said awkwardly. "Though, this is the Terraria account..."
I smiled. "This is Leafa. She's the one I mentioned before - someone from the Real World. She may look like a goddess, but she's human, just like all of us. And this is Lilpilin. The... leader of the orcs?" Lilpilin nodded. "Leafa convinced him to help us fight the invaders."
"I see," Lady Fanatio said. She didn't look like she understood, but at least she stood up. "Very well. You said they slaughtered without discretion... More allies will be welcome."
Lilpilin nodded once, but I saw him relax and try to hide a sigh of relief. I guess Integrity Knights really were scary... Of course, I could understand that, after watching all of them fight earlier.
"Lady Fanatio," I said. "With Leafa here… we should have enough power to save everyone. We have to hurry!"
Lady Fanatio nodded. "The other Integrity Knights are standing by. I will signal them, and then we will fly!"
She raised her sword and a beam of light shot into the air, reflected by the shining blade. The others signaled, Lady Fanatio mounted her dragon again. Her dragon was a little bit smaller than Angelus and the saddle wasn't designed for more than one person, so I turned to Leafa and smiled. "Have you ever ridden a dragon before?"
I knew for certain she was Kirito's sister when her eyes sparkled with excitement.
Dark Territory, Southern Ruins
Sinon's account really was well-named - as she flew across the sky, she left a blazing trail of light that the Human Empire's army followed in our rush south to the ruins that she'd mentioned.
Despite being able to get away from the thousands of Americans we'd left behind with only Sheyta and the pugilists, the soldiers and the horses weren't going to be able to keep going forever. I could see the soldiers gasping with exertion, and the horses were all but literally dead on their feet. The ruins were absolutely going to be our last stand.
Argo and I had been on our horses for a bit, but my girlfriend had ridden up to me and asked me to go to the supply wagon - she had something to show me. So, while the wagons rumbled south, the two of us were holed up in the carriage.
"And I just... focus?"
Argo nodded. "That's what Higa said. I'm not really sure how it works, though."
I sighed. "We really need to yell at them to get documentation for this sort of thing." Argo snickered at my grumbling, but I guess they kind of have a point. Lunaria wasn't really meant to be a Creation Goddess like Stacia. My best guess is that they used her to generate items they needed to set up the world in the first place.
Otherwise, what kind of special ability would be the ability to enhance Incarnation to the point that the items created were able to persist? Still, it was pretty useful for this situation. My weapon... the Starry Night Dagger was useful. Incredibly so. But against an army like that, I needed better equipment. A backup weapon, just in case.
The two of us were so focused on what we were doing that it came as a surprise when the wagon came to a halt and someone knocked on the door. I opened it to see the two trainees. "Excuse me, Sir Rythin? Miss Argo?"
"You asked us to let you know when we stopped," Tiese continued after Ronie slowed down.
"Great. Thanks, you two," I said, and grinned at them. "And c'mon, you know better than that. None of this Sir stuff. I'm Kirito's friend, so you can act naturally around me too."
Especially if I noticed the way Ronie was looking at him from time to time when she thought nobody was looking. And that little sigh when she found out that Kirito was friends with lots of girls in the Real World... Yeah, those are the hallmark signs of a Kirito Gal, alright.
It took a little bit longer for me to get all of my new equipment settled, and Ronie and Tiese had disappeared by the time I got everything adjusted properly. "Let's go find the others," I said.
"Jus' gotta find where all th' gals are..." Argo muttered. "Then we found Kii-boy." I chuckled at her eye-roll. Some things never change, huh?
The ruins that we were standing in were the remains of two massive temple-looking structures. Something like a single-story ziggurat, more or less. They were pretty wide, and the paved path kept running south between them. Not that it really mattered. We were either going to stop the Americans here, or we were probably going to die.
As we searched for Kirito, Eugeo, and the girls, Argo looked around and gave a low whistle. "Recognize any 'a these things?" she asked.
I looked up at the huge statues on either side of the road that ran down its length. They were square carvings of monsters with big eyes and bigger mouths, small arms wrapped around their chests.
I shook my head. "Nope. The closest thing were the minions that the dark territory used, but those things are closer to... flying lampreys or something like that. Not sure where these imp things came from."
"Maybe a random generator created it," Argo suggested.
"Good an idea as any."
It didn't take long for the two of us to come across Kirito and the others; they were standing near the front lines. Asuna and Kirito were talking about something or other, while Eugeo hugged Tiese. As Argo and I approached, though, Liena approached Kirito and rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Kirito," she said. "Now that we are fighting side by side, I'm not your upperclassman here. But… forgive me this one last order as your mentor – you are absolutely forbidden from dying during this next battle. Do you understand?"
Kirito smiled. "I've got it, Liena. You don't have to worry about me."
The woman shook her head. "I understand. When you showed me the secrets of your Aincrad Style, I could feel the strength and conviction behind your sword. Even still… you'll understand if I worry anyway. Maybe there's still some part of me that sees you as an adorable underclassman."
"Eheheh…"
"Maybe, after this battle, we can start over," she said. "Create a new relationship between us, without any walls."
Kirito blinked. "Um… Er…"
"What's this about a new relationship, Ki-ri-to?" Asuna asked, smiling gently. The aura of bloodlust around her didn't match the smile at all, though.
Kirito blanched. "U-Um... Sorry, Liena! But you'll always be an upperclassman to me! I can't just be informal, eheheh..."
"I see," Liena said with a sigh as she pressed a hand to her cheek. "That's too bad. Still, I hope we can deepen our bond."
"Kirito, we should talk after this," Asuna said, still smiling like that. I shivered. It's a good thing it was directed at him like that.
"But I didn't do anything!"
"Oh really...?"
As Asuna and Kirito bickered, Liena watched the boy with a smile. "He truly is loved, to have friends come all this way to help him."
"Nya hah hah!" Argo snickered. "Bet ya feel th' same way, though, right? That's why yer here, after all."
"You are correct," Liena said.
Argo blinked in surprise, thrown off her stride by the immediate agreement. Beside us, Ronie sighed again and Tiese rubbed her back. "We got a contender over here," my girlfriend muttered.
I decided to... ignore most of that exchange. From what I'd seen, Liena was a good person. Besides, she took care of Kirito for a while, so I'm definitely going to be grateful to her. And maybe find an apology gift? 'Sorry you had to look after our dumbass and keep him out of trouble'? "Thank you again for fighting with us, Liena," I said.
A loud roar came from the north, and I glanced at the horizon. I couldn't see it this far away, but that had to be from the Americans that were chasing us. How many were left? Still too many to count, and more than our forces.
"Guess it's time," Argo said.
I nodded. "Ronie, Tiese, you should get to the supply wagons," I told the trainees. Both girls pressed a fist to their chests in salute.
"Don't worry," Asuna said with a smile. "We won't let the enemy get this far."
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. My lips curved into a confident grin and when Kirito raised his fist, I knocked my knuckles against his. Then, he turned and went through the same ritual with Eugeo. "Ready to do this?" Kirito asked.
"Of course!" Eugeo said.
"Let's rock," I said.
It didn't take long for the approaching wave of red knights to approach. They charged forward in no real formation - it was all about who got there first. The ruins acted as a natural chokepoint, to some extent. The road was still wide, but it prevented us from being totally surrounded.
As the first Americans charged into the ruins, Renly raised his hand. "Attack!" the green-haired Integrity Knight shouted, his boyish voice carrying authority.
Our forces charged forward to meet them. Screams and shouts filled the air, and I gritted my teeth. This wasn't a good thing. This sort of strategy, desperately trying to hold them off by trading as many of their lives for as few of ours as possible, was a losing gambit. But it was the best one we had. Yes, we could theoretically stop them with something like a wide-scale Sacred Art, but doing something like that was an all-or-nothing strategy. It would wipe out the rest of the sacred power in the area, and that meant nobody could heal.
Our biggest advantage over the enemy was the fact that we had healers. One of our soldiers that got injured could be healed. If we took that away, even if we slaughtered half of their forces with a single Sacred Art, we'd still be outnumbered one hundred to one.
Damn it. Damn it all.
In the back, I drew my weapon. Kirito glanced over, and he blinked. "Did you…"
I grinned. "Argo hooked me up." My girlfriend flashed a peace sign, though it was a little awkward with the claws on her hands.
The Starry Night Dagger now had a slight tint to the blade, like the one on Fizel and Linel's weapons. This dagger had served me well, but I needed a little bit more of an edge to it. Pun not strictly intended. So, with Argo's help, I'd created a few things. First, a backup weapon; and second, a long-lasting venomous poison I applied to the edge of my blade.
But I couldn't waste any time to explain what was going on, because it was time to fight.
I plunged into the thick of the battle. As the Americans fought, deaths mounted on every side. One red swordsman had a sword shoved through the slits of their helmet. Another cut off the head of one of the human empire soldiers.
Wherever I went, though, the red soldiers had no chance. With my blade swept out to the side, I cut through them like they were training dummies. I leapt forward and severed the neck of one crimson-armored warrior, only to duck under the clumsy swing of an axe-wielder. I swept his legs out from under him and buried my dagger in his eye as he fell.
Beside me, Argo fought seamlessly, covering my back when I was looking away and pressing forward when I could watch her back. Her claws were savage, cutting the knights to shreds. Argo would move fluidly, her natural agility complementing her fighting style as she darted around, inflicting debilitating wounds on enemies that weren't watching or were busy with other things.
Between the two of us, we were holding the line practically by ourselves. With the others...
Asuna lived up to her name from the days of SAO with the speed of her rapier. She practically flew across the battlefield like a streak of light, slamming the point of her rapier through the red knights. Just by watching her sword, I knew she was mad. There was no mercy in her strokes as she killed the enemies. Just like back in SAO.
Beside her, Kirito and Eugeo fought like mirrors of each other; the blond boy's pragmatic sword strokes were clearly learned from Kirito's style, with no flourishes or wasted movement. I was almost worried about them when they were briefly surrounded, but colored lights flashed as they both executed the Horizontal Square Sword Skill at the same time and blew the red soldiers away.
I could see Liena in the distance, holding the line with more of her soldiers. Her blade flowed around the red knights like water, but what was even more impressive was the way she shifted her style seamlessly depending on her opponent. Knights using spears were dealt with using the whip on her waist to rip the weapon from their hands, but knights with axes she waited for them to commit to a swing that was effortlessly parried before she cut them down.
Heh... I can see why Kirito admires her so much.
But I couldn't pay too much attention. I needed to destroy the enemies in front of me!
...
A massive greatsword finally broke through my guard. I reeled backwards, staggering a few steps, and managed to duck just in time. The heavy swipe only split open my forehead and blood spilled down my cheek. In return, though, I swayed on my heel and plunged the Starry Night Dagger into the red knight's side. Then, I ripped upwards and the knight died.
How many was that? Five hundred? Six hundred? I've lost count of how many of these Americans I've sent straight to hell.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
I raised my hand and wiped at the sweat and blood on my forehead after chanting a quick Sacred Art to stem the bleeding. We'd started fighting at noon, and it had already been what felt like hours. I knew better than that, though. Adrenaline made my sense of time dilate, so it couldn't have been... THAT long.
«Shit! He's tired!»
«Kick his ass!»
My dagger flashed out as I gasped for breath and cut off their arms first, and then swept my other hand forward. The heavy punch caved in their chest armor and sent them flying, buying me a little space. I felt a little bad about not killing them right away - they had no pain absorber in here, so they would suffer until their Life drained to zero from the blood loss and the poison coursing through their veins - but I was too exhausted to do anything about it.
One of the downsides to my fighting style was the amount of energy it burned. Thanks to being an Integrity Knight, I was stronger than most, with higher amounts of Life. Plus, my armor was strong, so I could use it to deflect some attacks instead of dodging everything.
But I was still exhausted. No amount of Sacred Arts could restore my stamina, even if it would heal the wounds I got after I was injured. The closest I could get was a brief rush of relief that could fake a burst of energy.
Even through all this, though, it wasn't going to stop me. In SAO, boss fights took three or four hours. I was always moving during those, too.
"System call, generate aerial element." I chanted an elaborate Sacred Art as red knights surrounded me and got closer. I'd gotten separated from the others as I drifted off to the side - Argo was with Kirito and Asuna, so I knew she'd be safe - but really... that just meant there were more enemies for me to kill.
The amount of human empire death in this area had provided me with more than enough free-floating sacred power to manipulate. "Discharge," I intoned.
Now, fall.
A tornado roared into existence around me, throwing the crimson soldiers into the air as the razor winds tore them to shreds. Some of the braver red knights that made it to the eye of the storm were spared from the Art, but they couldn't get away from me. They were trapped in the walls of swirling wind.
When the tornado finally ended, the corpses of the red knights died and disappeared before they hit the ground. I swayed in place, blood dripping from the wounds on my body. There weren't many places for weapons to pierce through my armor - but by this point, my armor had started to run out of Life. Chunks of it had started to be destroyed, and cracks ran through the rest of the pieces that were still mostly intact.
For the moment, though, it seemed that I'd managed to buy myself a few precious seconds to scan the battlefield. Argo and I tended to bounce around the battlefield to shore up the weaker spots; Eugeo and Asuna were in the exact center, while Kirito had shifted to the left flank to support Liena. Renly was holding the right flank perfectly fine with his throwing blades as the red bodies fell in piles in front of him.
I exhaled slowly, and then ran to the left flank. Thanks to Kirito, they were holding - but the real problem was Liena and some of the other swordsmen. As I approached, I saw Liena unleash a Cyclone Sword Skill. She spun around and her heavy sword glowed green as she slashed three of the crimson soldiers, throwing them backwards. When the movement ended, though, she dropped to one knee. If I remembered the stories I'd heard as an Integrity Knight correctly, most nobles only fought in one-on-one duels, and this sort of extended war campaign would be exhausting for her.
Plus, I'd caught glimpses of her fighting; while she did very well against any one single enemy, her Sword Skills were definitely too rigid. Too polite and honest. She'd execute a move beautifully and then be locked into place, and because Liena never used trips or feints the enemy would be able to leave small scratches. They were only small wounds, but they added up to the point that her uniform was stained with blood.
"I'll take over for a bit," I said as I approached Kirito and Liena. "Head back and get healed up, Liena."
Liena hesitated. "I can still fight," she said slowly.
"Liena, it's fine," Kirito said. "You can trust us to handle things."
The tall woman bit her lip, and then smiled. "That's true. I'll leave things in your hands, then."
I fit into the gap she left seamlessly and took another second to relax. The enemies were starting to be a little wary, so we had some breathing room. Not much, but some. "How's it looking?" Kirito asked.
I sighed. "We're all exhausted," I said bluntly. "And what's worrying me more than anything is that they haven't tried anything new, yet."
If it were just NPCs in a game, I might be okay with the rush of bodies being thrown against defenders. But these were Americans, and VRMMORPG players besides. They had to be smart about their moves. That meant that they should have realized their simple frontal assault wasn't going to be enough and that they needed to come up with something else.
If the situation were reversed and I considered their equipment, there were a few weaknesses in our defensive formation that I could exploit. Obviously, the bulk of our forces were melee fighters, with a few healers in the back. The weakest points were... our ranged capabilities, and an assault from the sides or behind.
The one bright side was that the enemy probably couldn't take advantage of the ranged capabilities either. Every Red Knight I'd seen had been equipped with a spear, sword, or axe; in other words, no bows. And none of them would be able to cast Sacred Arts, and they definitely weren't working with the Dark Mages that Alice had eradicated.
What else...? They couldn't just be willing to flood in and die, right? So think. Think! What else did they have that we didn't, that could be used as an advantage?
Kirito swung his sword and the black blade shattered the arm of a red knight before the edge of the sword cut apart the red chest plate. The man fell with a scream, and I gritted my teeth at the annoying sound. There was something I was overlooking, but what!?
As I racked my brain, trying to figure it out, the entrance to the ruins darkened. My eyes snapped up to the front where I saw the sun blocked out by huge tower shields, and a row of upright lances.
My eyes widened. Heavy armor and lances!
Shit, that's what I'd forgotten. They had better defensive equipment than us! And more numbers. If they could smash our lines open, then our tenuous grasp on the situation would vanish. A full charge from rows of heavy lances would do exactly that.
"Prepare to stand your ground!" Asuna shouted. "Avoid the lance tips, and knock them down when they get close!"
I twirled my dagger and thought hard. I could maybe use a metallic element to block the path, but the sacred power... No, there wasn't any choice but to take their charge head on. I will. Not. Break!
«Chaaaaaarge!»
The lancers let out a loud shout and charged towards us. I counted twenty players, enough to fill the entire road, in the single line. The one saving grace I could see was that they didn't have any more behind them. We just needed to survive this one attack.
The soldiers around me shifted nervously, but Asuna's order seemed to be keeping them in place. I swayed back and forth, barely managing to stay up on my feet, but I needed to be strong for the left flank. I was an Integrity Knight, and while I may not have been a good one, I was still a symbol of strength for these soldiers.
So, naturally, I stepped forward to meet the charge.
These black lances were massive and the enemies were rushing towards us fast, but they still weren't as scary as Mr. Karasuma. I'd trained against way more terrifying opponents than these.
It looked like the nearest lance was about to skewer me, until I suddenly swayed out of the way. In return, though, I dropped my elbow down on the tip. The force of the blow wasn't much, but it knocked the lance down directly into the cobblestone road. Naturally, the red knight came to an abrupt halt as his lance jerked out of his grasp and clattered to the ground.
I used the momentum from my abrupt movement to flow into a kick that crashed into the side of the lancer beside me. It struck his shield but that was enough to break his guard, and Kirito took advantage. We didn't even need to call for a switch before he cut upwards with a Slant.
I exchanged a tired smile with him even as I took a step backwards and twisted my body in a spin again to put momentum behind my upwards slash that took off the arms of another lancer. At this point, I was so tired that I couldn't manage to put enough force into a single slash - so I just used momentum to add even more power.
Screams still rang out, though. And they weren't just from the soldiers Kirito and I were killing. They came from our side, too.
A few of the soldiers in the left and center had been skewered by the lances.
Argo pounced from the center, then - she jumped into the air and twisted over a lance thrust. Instead, she landed lightly on the lance and grinned mockingly at the soldier before she drove her claws into the helmet's eye slats. They pierced through the back, and the knight toppled over.
Bodies and blood littered the ground. I knew it wasn't as bad as it seemed - the Red Knights that we killed all disappeared, and never spilled any of their blood - but the pools of blood around the corpses of the Human Empire soldiers made the cobblestone road look like it came out of a bad horror B movie.
A single red knight stood among some of the corpses, staring at the carnage. «God… This game sucks so much ass!»
I crouched, taking a deep breath to prepare for a lunge, but –
«Might as well log out and go back to plURK-»
A rapier slid through his brain from behind. The red knight went limp, his sword clattering from his hand. Asuna pulled her weapon free and the corpse fell to the ground with a thud before disappearing. Before she could fall over, though, Asuna slammed the point of her rapier into the ground and used it to support her body weight.
"Bring the wounded to the back!" Asuna shouted. "Heal them immediately!"
Honestly... It wasn't the worst we could have done. We'd only take three injuries, though one of the soldiers seemed to be beyond help. But...
This was still enough to destroy us. If it kept happening, we'd have to retreat.
When the ground shook again and I looked up to see more lancers charging at us, my heart sank. We can't take another one of these...!
Among their footsteps, a sharp sound rang out from nowhere. A single line descended from the red sky; like before, it was a thin line of code with series of characters.
"Fuck... you..." I groaned. I felt like I could be forgiven this small bit of exhausted irritation. "You know what, sure. Fine. Whatever. I'm too tired to give a damn. Get down here. I'll kill you bastards too."
My words were totally exhausted, though. I was mostly just saying them to keep myself from despairing.
But after a second, I realized it wasn't more enemy reinforcements. This line was a brilliant, shining blue instead of the scarlet that heralded another American. So, I had no idea what to expect.
About ten meters above the ground, the line of code formed into first an orb, and then became a human shape in a flash of light. A roar filled the air as the figure spun, and descended again like a twister. Everyone had stopped to stare dumbly at the events that were unfolding at this point.
So, when the blue tornado landed in the middle of the twenty soldiers that were advancing, none of them were able to react.
Crimson filled the air as the lancers were torn apart and shredded into tiny pieces. They were flung in the air in every direction. One of the severed heads bounced and rolled up to my foot, and I stomped down on the head as it shattered and disintegrated.
"A Sword Skill...?" Argo mumbled.
The tornado formed back into a human shape again. It was a man, with his back towards us; he wore samurai-style armor in a bright red color. A sheath was on his left hip, and his right hand held a long, thin blade stretched outwards.
"That was... a katana Sword Skill," Kirito said.
I recognized it, too. It was one of the katana's heavy, ranged attacks.
The man in front of us slowly stood up and rested his katana on his shoulders. Then, he turned back and grinned at us, and...
"Hey there. Sorry for the wait," Klein said. "You okay?"
...I suppose I'll let him have this one. I don't know how he pulled this off, but he's earned it.
"Klein? How…?" Kirito and Asuna exclaimed at the same time.
More rumbling echoed across the battlefield, and it was music to my ears. When I looked up, blue light washed over all of us as hundreds, thousands of blue lines plunged from the sky.
"Ah," I said, and I could barely hear my own voice it was so hoarse. "I see. Now it's our turn."
Time for the big damn heroes!
I considered letting Sinon's kiss develop into something more, but honestly (after writing it out) their dynamic works better as brother and sister. She teases him, he gets embarrassed, Argo laughs at him... All very nice. (Plus a quick cut-in that totally isn't suspicious at all.)
Also making an appearance: Lycoris-characterization Liena, who is the best mentor Kirito could ask for (and given her characterization in Lycoris, hooooo boy), and a very depressed trainee. More importantly, Sinon is off to help rescue Alice, and Leafa has arrived.
I based the Leafa scene off of the light novel more than the anime. You are welcome. Let's not talk about the anime bit, it's pretty gross.
And then the fight in the ruins! With Rythin here, adding on the power of an Integrity Knight and, well, Rythin. Things go a little bit better than in canon, but he's not perfect and gets very exhausted. Good news is - reinforcements have arrived!
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.
