Okay, it's time for a new chapter... and a duel. There... isn't really anything else I have to say. There was an argument about how Akinym handled the whole "Arboreal Fear situation", and now it's getting physical... so to speak.
Well, you'll see what will happen.
Also, one little reminder: Akinym uses a katagama yari as a weapon, which means that the spearhead consists of one straight blade and one curved blade. It's important at one point.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.
Akinym looked at Kirito quizzically. Did he… seriously just suggest a duel?
Kirito: It's easy. If you win, we'll accept what you did and the matter is settled. However, if you lose, you will have to accept how the Assault Team handles this from now on!
Akinym [exasperatedly]: You can't be serious! A duel?! What would the outcome of this duel even prove? It has nothing to do with the soundness of arguments. [slightly annoyed] Although I probably shouldn't be surprised that you'd prefer a solution by brute force…
Kirito decided to ignore the apparent taunt and remained calm.
Kirito: It's how we settled the dispute about our strategy for fighting GeoCrawler. I'd say that makes it fitting, doesn't it? I mean, isn't this a dispute about the exact same kind of strategy?
Akinym [exasperatedly] Yeah, I've heard that the decision had been made by fighting a duel, [annoyed] but it was as ridiculous back then as it is now. Whoever decided to settle this with a duel has to be an utterly irrational person… I'm not, though, so you can forget about that idea!
Asuna came up to Kirito and stopped him from saying something in response.
Asuna [slightly determinedly]: Kirito-kun, I don't think that's a good idea. Why are you even suggesting that? I'd like you to let me handle this!
Asuna was quite taken aback when Kirito looked at her calmly and shook his head.
Kirito [slightly apologetically]: Sorry, Asuna, but that's something I have to do. I wanted to do it for a while. [looks at Akinym, determinedly] I have to find out who I'm actually up against, and I don't think that words will tell me what I need to know. The way someone fights, however, should say more than enough.
Akinym stared at Kirito, quizzically at first, but that changed to exasperation before long.
Akinym: You continue to be an inexhaustible fountain of irrationality. Learning something about somebody through a duel? Seriously?! [mutters] And what's with the shonen line?
Akinym took another look at Kirito, and he could easily tell that Kirito wouldn't drop this idea just like that. He began to think about the idea seriously.
At first, it seemed ridiculous. Akinym had trained and leveled a bit since he had come to the upper floors, but he had been so busy with his students that he had barely reached level 78. Kirito, on the other hand, was – according to Akinym's rough guess – probably above level 100. Stat-wise, it was more than obvious who would have the upper hand.
This fact made Akinym think that Kirito had just proposed a rigged game. Or was that supposed to be some kind of self-affirmation, showcasing superior "strength" so that he could think better of himself? Honestly, the more Akinym observed Kirito, the less he understood what anyone saw in him.
Once he continued thinking about the duel, Akinym realised that there would still be a chance if it was a First Strike duel. A critical hit would score a win, no matter how much damage it did, so Akinym figured that it was at least possible for him to win if he'd fight with the necessary caution and wits. It was a small chance, of course, since Akinym knew that Kirito had the technique to back up his stats.
Regardless, there was nothing for him to lose. He wouldn't agree to Kirito's conditions, there was just no way that he'd accept such an illogical agreement.
On the other hand, there was something he could gain from this duel. If he actually won, it might knock Kirito off his perch, and he might stop the pointless rambling. Speaking of which, at the very least, the issue of the duel would be off the table, so he might be able to talk about this with Asuna in a reasonable manner.
Nothing would be lost, but something would be gained for sure… The decision was obvious after all.
Akinym [sighs]: Fine, I'll humour you! You get your duel, as long as it's First Strike mode.
Kirito [nods]: Fine with me, I'd prefer it that way!
Kirito wanted to get in position for the duel, but Asuna stopped him for a moment.
Asuna [whispers, slightly worriedly]: Are you sure that's a good idea, Kirito-kun? Not that I don't trust you, but what do you even have in mind?
Kirito [whispers, reassuringly]: Don't worry, Asuna! When I said I want to learn something about my opponent in that duel, I meant it! There is something I have to see with my own eyes… Don't worry, everything will be okay!
Akinym and Kirito took position opposite of each other and got ready. The timer for their duel counted down, so the fight was about to begin.
Fortunately, they were in a relatively large clearing, and Arboreal Fear was the only monster that would spawn here, so they wouldn't have to worry about a lack of space or interruption by monsters. Nevertheless, Akinym had told the bystanders to back away as far as possible.
While Kirito waited for the duel to start, he wondered how he should go about it. Given Akinym's focus on agility-based defense, Kirito figured that he only had to worry about sustaining a critical hit. Akinym probably planned to dodge attacks and wait for an opening to get one decisive clean hit. It would also explain why Akinym insisted on First Strike mode so clearly.
Well, with that in mind, Kirito figured that he'd only have to balance offense and defense properly. As long as he kept that in mind, there shouldn't be a problem.
Just as the "strategising" was finished, the duel started. Akinym instantly switched to the starting stance of a thrust skill. When the spearhead began to glow, Kirito was sure that he was about to lunge at him. This unforeseen aggressive action caught Kirito a bit off-guard, and he instinctively wanted to jump out of the way of the attack.
However, Kirito took a quick glance at Akinym's overall stance. When he saw his foot position, Kirito noticed that Akinym hadn't prepared for dashing forward but turning or jumping to the side.
It took Kirito just a second to get a rough idea of what was going on. The Sword Skill was just a feint, which was supposed to trick Kirito into dodging an attack that would never come, so he would leave the opening he actually tried to avoid.
Kirito knew this little PvP trick. You charge a Sword Skill without releasing it, and when the opponent takes countermeasures, you cancel it completely and go for a different attack. Five seconds in and Akinym already tried to outwit him…
Kirito kept calm and prepared to either parry the Sword Skill if Akinym would go for it or to attack if it would be automatically canceled after a few seconds.
Akinym seemed to notice that his trick wouldn't work, so he canceled the Sword Skill and quickly went for a normal attack. Kirito was the one who had to react here, and even though his reaction was fast, it wasn't fast enough to use the split second Akinym had been vulnerable for an attack. Akinym prevented that by using his Acrobatics skill to dash forward extremely fast and thrust his spear at Kirito without using a Sword Skill.
Kirito parried the attack and pushed Akinym back relatively easily afterwards. Before Akinym would get a chance to take the initiative again, Kirito attacked him with a simple vertical swing of his right sword. Akinym had to use the system-assisted parry to block the attack.
In order to further increase the pressure, Kirito used the same kind of attack with his other sword, too. The two consecutive strikes were already a bit too much for Akinym's parry. The strain of upholding it was visible on Akinym's face, and his HP were decreasing a little.
At first, Akinym tried to push Kirito back to get out of this situation, but that was pointless against an opponent with higher Strength in a situation like this. Therefore, Akinym retreated backwards instead. As soon as the cooldown on his Acrobatics skill was over, he leapt backwards.
Thanks to the system assistant, he landed perfectly. Kirito, on the other hand, almost tumbled over. When Akinym saw that, he was about to counterattack, but he hesitated a bit and stopped when Kirito reacted fast and managed to regain his balance. Both of them returned to their standby stances for now.
Kirito figured that it might be a good time to use a Sword Skill. As preparation, he launched a normal attack at Akinym first. Akinym deflected the blow rather easily and used the movement to take a swing as a counterattack. This time, Kirito was the one to deflect the attack.
Now Kirito thought that there was an opening, so he quickly took the starting stance of Crimson Splash. The Sword Skill started with a series of quick, consecutive thrusts with his swords.
Akinym just tried to dodge the first thrust normally, but even though he had a small advantage at Agility and Dexterity, it wasn't enough to dodge the system-assisted attack completely, so it still grazed his side.
He used that time to pull his spear back, though. He held it in front of him and deflected the next attacks as far as possible. That wasn't enough, but combined with quick sidesteps to dodge, it was enough to avoid getting hit.
It was an impressive defensive manoeuvre. Pulling this off required fast, short and precise movements. If Akinym had moved to vigorously, he wouldn't have been able to get back to his standby position in time for the next attack. Crimson Splash was a really fast attack after all.
Akinym's defense against the final thrust was a bit different, though. After he deflected the attack slightly, he just dropped his spear and grabbed Kirito's arm around the wrist. Kirito was caught completely off-guard when Akinym suddenly used a judo throw.
The momentum of the final thrust was particularly strong, so Akinym had no problem throwing Kirito over his back and onto the ground. This action also canceled the rest of the Sword Skill, namely two simultaneous vertical strikes with the swords in opposite directions.
Akinym didn't let go of Kirito's wrist. He bent his arm slightly backwards and put his foot on Kirito's "free" shoulder to pin his opponent to the ground. He acted fast, so he managed to do this during the one second Kirito was dizzy because of the surprising countermeasure against his Sword Skill.
In order to grab his spear, Akinym took one hand away from Kirito's arm while the other one held it in place. After picking up the spear, he aimed it at Kirito's chest. The action took a few seconds since Akinym was – comparatively – not that good at aiming attacks quickly, and he had to make sure that Kirito stayed on the ground.
Kirito had to react fast. His first idea was to push Akinym off, of course. However, with his arm bent backwards and his shoulder pinned to the ground, that wasn't an option. Bodies in SAO exerted physical strength mainly through the limbs, especially arms, and they had to be in a normal position to use their full "capacity". In this situation, Kirito couldn't easily overpower Akinym despite having higher stats, and he figured that he had to think of something else to defend himself in time.
Fortunately, the right idea came to his mind quickly. He'd only need to use a Sword Skill. That wasn't easy since he had to take the starting stance, though. The fact that he was lying on the ground wasn't a problem, what mattered was the relative position of limbs and body.
Kirito went through all the Sword Skills he could use to find one that he might still use in this position. Thankfully, he found the right one when he considered Sword Skills for one-handed swords as well. He got ready and activated the Sword Skill Vertical.
He unleashed the skill just in time. Akinym already thrust his spear at Kirito. Kirito didn't aim at Akinym, though. That probably wouldn't have worked. Kirito had reset the target, so the system-assisted attack "went wild" and hit the ground.
The grass and dirt on the ground may have been ordinary objects, but the solid foundation underneath them was an immortal object. When Kirito hit it, the feedback was strong enough to push him upward – and to throw Akinym off him.
Akinym fell to the ground, and now he was the one who needed a second to regain his composure. In the meantime, Kirito could stand up again. Akinym used his Acrobatics skill to leap back to his feet and was ready to continue the duel again. This way, the duel came to another short standstill.
Kirito didn't take his eyes off Akinym even for a second, but he took a moment to think about what had just happened. He hadn't thought about it in the heat of the moment, but how could Akinym fend off his Sword Skill like that? It seemed as if Akinym knew Kirito's Dual Wielding Sword Skills.
Sure, Kirito knew that Akinym had gathered information on various Sword Skills, but he shouldn't know the exact movements of the Dual Wielding Sword Skills. It took him a moment, but Kirito figured out what might've happened.
In one word: Klein. Kirito knew that Akinym and Klein had talked about the Dual Wielding skill at the inn not too long ago. Klein had proudly told stories about the "greatness" and "splendor" of the "mightiest skill in SAO", and he had probably given detailed descriptions of all the Sword Skills he had seen… also known as all Dual Wielding Sword Skills.
Kirito [thinks, exasperatedly]: Great, Klein, you've made this harder for me…
Akinym had probably remembered the information on Dual Wielding. The odd thing was that he had apparently prepared for a duel like this, since his defense seemed to be planned in advance. It was just too good to be thought of on the spot.
This wasn't good. Akinym had probably engaged Klein in that conversation on purpose. It seemed that he had predicted a confrontation like this, so he was much better prepared. Kirito figured that Akinym probably had more tricks up his sleeve. He probably had prepared countermeasures against all of Kirito's Sword Skills… At the very least, using them would be too risky.
Kirito decided not to use Sword Skills anymore and just use his own technique instead. He began to attack Akinym vigorously with an admittedly well-conceived tactic. Basically, he used one sword for attacks while he kept his other sword ready to fend off counterattacks. It was a different way to use his ability to fight with two one-handed weapons, and it was certainly the right call.
Actually hitting Akinym was the hardest part of it. Akinym's precision and speed when it came to dodging was easily on par with the precision and speed of Kirito's attacks. At first pretty much all of Kirito's attacks missed. Fortunately, he could at least avoid counterattacks.
However, it didn't take Kirito long to make a certain observation. Akinym began to evade attacks relatively late. Kirito wasn't sure if Akinym's reactions were just rather slow or if he wanted to make sure that he got the trajectory of the attack right before dodging. Probably a mixture of both.
Kirito took a short break from attacking to think about this. Well, and to catch his breath. Both he and Akinym had to go to their limits at this point.
Kirito's idea was to use curved swings, which would make it a bit easier for him to change the trajectory at the last second so he could adapt to Akinym's dodging. Given his better reaction time, this should give him a chance to hit.
His idea paid off. Just as intended, Kirito's arbitrary adaptions to his strikes were unpredictable, and not even Akinym could do something about it, hence he couldn't dodge completely. Kirito dealt several minor blows. Those weren't deep, effective hits, rather grazes at the arms and shoulders, but he manged to whittle Akinym's HP down slowly but steadily.
Akinym tried to strike back a few times, but Kirito managed to fend off all blows with his other sword as planned. Kirito also made sure that he didn't get near Akinym's hands to prevent Akinym from using his martial arts techniques again.
This went on for more than a minute, and Akinym's HP bar got dangerously close to the yellow zone. It was time for a last resort.
Akinym deflected one blow with his spear, but this time, he slammed it into the ground, pushing Kirito's sword (and arm) down as well. He had hoped that Kirito would lose his grip on the weapon, but the weapon was now stuck between the primary and the secondary blade of Akinym's spear.
Kirito tried to pull his weapon back, but he could hardly use his full strength, and Akinym utilised the leverage effect with his spear, so that didn't work. His next idea was to swing his other sword at Akinym, and Akinym had to block the attack with the shaft of his spear. It worked to some extent, he merely sustained a small cut on his lower arm.
As a next step, Akinym pretty much stomped on Kirito's wrist, and the shock caused him to let go of his weapon for a moment. Akinym used that moment and pushed the sword, which was lying on the ground now, behind himself.
Kirito was lucky to recover from the shock quickly and to react even more quickly when Akinym swung his spear at him. He jumped out of the way of the attack.
Both of them were panting at this point, although Kirito had the impression that Akinym was coping better with the exhaustion effect. He had learnt what he wanted to know at this point, so he thought that he should finish the duel. Kirito had an idea as to how to do that, but he'd need his second sword for it to work for sure.
Kirito tried to circle around Akinym to retrieve it, but Akinym was keeping up with the movement and made sure to stay between Kirito and the sword.
Kirito came up with another idea when he spotted a boulder around two metres away from Akinym. Kirito ran to it to step on it and jump from it. While jumping, he activated the Sword Skill Vertical.
As Kirito had anticipated, Akinym focused on defense and parried the attack. However, given the angle the strike was coming from, Kirito didn't fall to the ground after his sword bounced off Akinym's spear. Rather than that, the momentum carried him over Akinym's head. Kirito landed near his sword and could pick it put again.
Before he could get up, Akinym got ready for an attack. He lifted his spear over his head, taking a bit swing. When Kirito saw Akinym standing next to him, he saw that he apparently aimed at his chest. Figures, that would be a critical hit. Kirito shielded himself with his swords.
However, when Kirito took a closer look, he realised that Akinym wasn't looking at his upper body. He was looking at his legs. Realising what was really going on, Kirito bend his legs to get them out of the way of the imminent attack.
That reaction came just in time. Akinym turned slightly to the side and swung his spear at Kirito's legs just as anticipated. The attack merely grazed Kirito's legs. If Kirito hadn't evaded the attack, it would've been strong enough to cut at least one foot off. In such a battle at high speed, Kirito couldn't afford the Lost Limb debuff.
Kirito rolled away to the side to avoid further attacks. Once he was about five metres away from Akinym, he quickly got up.
After catching his breath, Kirito started his – as far as he planned – final attack. He figured that he didn't have to worry about normal hits, so he went for an all-out attack while only protecting his vital areas to avoid a critical hit. He dashed at Akinym, planning to tackle him to interfere with his movements and to break through his defense.
Akinym seemed to… sense Kirito's intention. He resorted to using his Sword Skill Needle Rain. It was the last thing he could do.
The first thrust of the combo was already enough to stop Kirito. He had to focus on defense for now. The Sword Skill was fast and precise, but so were Kirito's defensive measures. Kirito didn't even bother with the thrusts that hit his arms and shoulders and only parried the blows that were aimed at his chest and neck. He barely managed to fend off all blows, but he made it.
With the delay after using a Sword Skill, Akinym was wide open. Kirito took a big swing, and with a determined outcry leaving his mouth, he delivered the final blow, a slash across Akinym's torso.
Both opponents panted as the display showcased the name of the winner: Kirito.
Kirito stumbled a bit backwards to get some distance. Akinym had to lean onto his spear. He took a look at his HP bar after that hit and was a bit shocked to see that it was in the red zone, so he quickly fetched a potion from his inventory to gulp it down as fast as possible.
Akinym [slightly exasperatedly]: That was crazy! Ugh, at least this is done now… If you've blown off enough steam, we can finally get to the relevant part and go back to town to get the intel.
Kirito [slightly upset]: What the hell are you talking about?! Don't you remember the conditions of the duel?
Akinym: Your conditions! I've never agreed to them, and I don't see why I should accept whatever terms you state for a duel you wanted in the first place. [calmly] Asuna-san, can we…
Kirito [interrupting, upset]: Enough already with your "Asuna-san"! Stop turning to her every time you have a problem with me! I am the one you're talking to, and you're not her number one adviser anyway, so stop acting like it or as if you even know her!
Akinym [annoyed]: The one I'm talking to?! More like we say words into each other's general direction, but I wouldn't call these fruitless exchanges "talking". [slightly annoyed] I prefer talking to Asuna-san just because I trust her judgment more. Besides… [sternly] I'd like to remind you that you are not her number one adviser either as far as I can see, nor should you be that or the one who speaks for the Assault Team! Being the best player doesn't qualify you for that! [mutters, slightly annoyed] Not that I expect someone who tries to solve problems with a duel to understand that.
Kirito didn't know how to reply, at least not right away. He gave up on that when he felt a hand on his shoulder and noticed that it was Asuna.
Asuna [whispers, calmly]: It's okay, Kirito-kun. Please let me do this!
Kirito nodded and took a step back, and Asuna turned towards Akinym, who was actually pleased to see that.
Asuna took a deep breath before looking at Akinym. Her expression showed determination, but it was overall calm, just as her voice.
Asuna: Akinym-san, I can understand your motives, at least to some extent, so I don't intend to reproach you for this, but as the current acting commander of the Assault Team, I decide that we won't use intel gained through such methods!
Akinym's face fell… or rather twisted into an expression of shock and utter disbelief.
Akinym: W-what?!
Asuna: I need you to understand that I can't allow people to break several rules and try to play a lone hand behind my back.
Akinym [slightly determinedly]: If this is about disrespecting your authority, I'm sorry about that. I merely wanted to take the initiative here, and I was afraid [glances over at Kirito] that certain people would argue unnecessarily. [turns back towards Asuna] As for these rules, I don't even see why they are there in the first place. As I said…
Asuna [interrupting, slightly sternly]: I've understood your arguments perfectly before. However, although I'm not going to blame you if you truly didn't know these rules, they are there for a reason, and I agree with Kirito-kun: The Assault Team will not sacrifice its integrity just to make our job a bit easier. Both the NPCs that live in this world and the victims of all the player killers mean something to the members of the Assault Team as well as countless other SAO players, and using your methods disgraces that and the remembrance of all those who died trying to clear SAO without using them!
Akinym [slightly shakily]: S-so what? You… You're making this decision out of… morality?!
Asuna [calmly]: Precisely.
Akinym's expression and his voice gradually became more desperate.
Akinym: You're prioritising the dead over the living, are you aware of that? What are you even trying to achieve? "The remembrance of those who died"? What, do you want to send them company while honouring their memories?!
Asuna: I don't have to protect just the lives of the Assault Team members, but also their morale, Akinym-san!
Akinym: Then what will their morale be like when they see people dying in front of them?!
Akinym started moving towards Asuna. She was startled for a second, but she tried her best to maintain her composure. Besides, she doubted that Akinym was actually going to attack her.
Akinym: As the leader, you should make sure that everyone falls in line with rational decisions, and I don't believe that you wouldn't be able to! You… You… [yells] You have to make that decision, can't you see?!
Akinym's expression distorted into one of desperation and anger. It was downright scary, so much that Kirito instinctively jumped in and stepped between Akinym and Asuna.
Akinym stopped, and he and Kirito glared at each other for a moment. Well, Akinym glared, Kirito looked much calmer in comparison.
Kirito: You've heard her! Or are you forgetting now who speaks for the Assault Team? If you want to blame anyone for the Assault Team going into the boss battle without that information, blame yourself, as it were your actions that have led to this decision! If you had waited for us to find a better way, we wouldn't have that problem now!
Akinym clenched his teeth. At this moment, he couldn't see Kirito as anything other than a self-righteous wannabe hero. Akinym thought that this duel earlier was probably his way of "proving himself right" as he knew no other way of doing that. God, he really didn't have anything going for him except his prowess as a player, a strength that only existed in this world…
Now that Akinym thought about it, could it be that Kirito…?
Akinym [with suppressed anger]: Do you actually enjoy that "strength", Black Swordsman?
Kirito didn't bother to reply, at least not with words.
Akinym turned around to face his students. He had only brought them into this because he couldn't trust anyone else to go along with the plan without asking too many questions. The only other candidates had been members of the Assault Team, but they would've wanted to discuss this, and the plan might've been thwarted just like the strategy against the GeoCrawler.
The students had been reliable, and Akinym was glad to see how well they had done. He had hoped that the execution of this plan would've been something that would go in their favour when they would join the Assault Team. Now he could only be glad that Asuna was at least not blaming them for helping. She still seemed to be capable of making rational decisions after all.
Now that he thought about it, maybe that was his best call.
Akinym: You guys go back to town and hand in that quest! Don't do anything rash, just wait until you're contacted!
Akinym turned back to Asuna one more time before he passed by her, Kirito and the other KoB members to walk back to town.
Akinym: I trust that you'll make the right decision!
They all gazed after Akinym for a moment. Asuna even breathed a sigh of relief. She was a bit shaken, and even though she hadn't shown it, she had been quite nervous.
Asuna: I'm glad that we could settle this. I wasn't sure if I could really handle this situation. He was awfully determined…
Kirito [reassuringly, slightly determinedly]: You made the right decision, Asuna. If nothing else, please don't doubt that!
Asuna [slightly happily]: Thanks.
Asuna looked around the clearing for a bit.
Asuna [slightly worriedly]: What do you think, will Arboreal Fear respawn so that we can try the quest again?
Kirito [crosses arms]: Hm, it's hard to say. We've never had to deal with a situation like this before. We could ask Yui if she knows something about the way bosses of intel quests work. [slightly worriedly] However, I have a bad feeling about this. I mean, this boss would only have to be killed once normally, wouldn't it? In that case, why would it even respawn?
Asuna: Yes, you're right… I guess we… We just have to fight the boss without the last piece of intel, and we have to make up for it by being very careful.
So, that's all for today. I guess it comes as no surprise that the boss battle where the Assault Team has to be "very careful" will be next on the list. By the way, no "Little Preview" today. ;)
I actually had two or three more ideas for the duel, but it already turned out to be longer than I had anticipated, so I excluded them - for now. I already have a different duel in mind where I can include the "missing" ideas.
The ideas that are included here are mostly about Kirito being relatively flexible, having quick thinking and reflexes as well as good battle instincts and using the system both in conventional and creative ways, while Akinym mostly uses superior defensive technique, careful planning and psychological tricks.
For instance, I took inspiration from a general idea of aikido strategies that I've researched. Apparently, one general idea there is to provoke the opponent to take certain actions while preparing to react to those actions. The trick at the very beginning would be an example. Speaking of which, the idea of charging a Sword Skill without unleashing it to trick the opponent into taking disadvantageous defense measures is taken from Integral Factor. If I remember correctly, it appears in the story of floor 35.