And now, just as promised, the final part of the boss battle against Leodas the Goblin General.
Last time, Yamata had just failed to finish off the boss on his own, and Schmitt had to save him. Now, as the latter is desperately trying to buy enough time, Asuna is heading to the boss room, and so is Kirito. Can she - as Klein, Schmitt and many others hope - devise a plan to turn this battle around and win? Let's find out!
While the raid party – or rather Schmitt – was giving their everything to hold out, Asuna rushed up the staircase to the top of the castle keep, where the boss room was located. After receiving Klein's "distress signal", she'd quickly given the KoB party that had been accompanying her some orders, basically just telling them to keep guarding the stairs, and afterwards, she'd left for the boss room together with Kirito.
Asuna was running ahead simply because of her considerably higher movement speed. In the end, the most important thing was for her to get to the boss room as soon as possible, so that she could get an overview of the battle and come up with a strategy.
When the wide open entrance to the boss room came into view, Asuna could hear some noises from inside. The only clearly audible ones were clanking sounds of clashing steel and someone's furious yelling. Asuna recognised the voice as Yamata's.
Asuna [yells, to Kirito]: We're there, and the battle is still ongoing!
Kirito: That's expected. Go on ahead, I'm right behind you!
Asuna entered the boss room. Pretty much the whole raid party had gathered near the entrance.
The first thing Asuna noticed was Yamata, who was still complaining. He shook off the players who'd dragged him away from Leodas. Fortunately, he'd calmed down at least to the point that he wasn't rushing into the battle again right away. At the very least, he drank a potion… first. Well, not that Asuna had any clue as to what had happened to him…
...or that she even cared all that much. For now, she'd rather take a look at the boss battle. Unfortunately, the other players were blocking her view. It wasn't too bad, though, because Asuna was looking for a certain member of the raid party anyway. Within seconds, she spotted Klein standing nearby, and she quickly went over to him.
Klein was following the battle with particularly bated breath, and the anxiety in his eyes – in his whole expression – was clearly visibly even when looking at him from the side. Needless to say, he didn't notice that Asuna had arrived. Kem'Pal was the first one to take notice of her.
Kem'Pal: Oh, it's Asuna-dono! Klein-dono, it seems your leader has come, just as you asked her to.
Klein [looks over his shoulder at Kem'Pal]: Huh? [turns towards Asuna] Oh, you're right! Asuna, thank God you're here! [seriously, slightly dejectedly] It's not looking too good right now…
Asuna reached Klein's position, and from there, she could finally take a peek at the boss. Her first thoughts revolved around the fact that Leodas looked about as they'd expected. She noticed details such as the kind of weapon it used, and how fast the boss moved around and attacked.
She also didn't fail to notice that Schmitt was the one "fighting" it… or that – although Leodas could apparently not fully pierce Schmitt's armour, which was why his individual attacks must've dealt very little damage – his HP were dropping steadily.
Asuna: Let's not waste any time! Tell me everything you've learnt about the boss so far!
Thus, Klein began to hastily explain what had happened so far. He mentioned how the boss dodged attacks, that it was downright insane how Leodas could jump around, and that its armour protected the goblin general from severe hits. At some point during this explanation, Kirito arrived, so he caught most of what Klein was saying.
Before Klein could even finish his report, Asuna gathered her first thoughts.
Asuna: So it is indeed a Dexterity-based opponent. We've figured that much... If it is as you say, the best approach would normally be to surround and corner the boss to limit its ability to move around – let the defense-oriented players set up a perimeter, and the more agile team members will have it easier to fight the boss within the area that has been blocked off.
Klein [taken aback]: Um, yeah… sure. That's… what we did, but…
Asuna: I did not mean to imply that you haven't. Rather than that, I can see why this strategy has failed. If the boss can jump around as you said, it will escape any encirclement. That is troublesome… [seriously, slightly irritatedly] It will likely get past or flee from any battle formation we might try… This armour also sounds like trouble. If hits at the chest are ineffective… [contemplatively] Hm, its arms might be the easiest to hit, and they're mostly unprotected… [slightly worriedly] but not that vulnerable, either.
Klein wasn't sure if he should be amazed or sad because Asuna could essentially derive the exact course of the boss battle and all decisions he had made just from the overall mechanics, and so fast at that. After all, Klein had needed a considerable amount of time (and thought put into his strategies) in order to come up with the (more or less) same plans.
Kirito: There's something else: Isn't the boss… unnaturally fast? I mean, I've expected him to be far stronger than any goblin monster we've encountered so far, but… this is downright ridiculous.
Asuna: I've been thinking the same. How could you even get this far if the boss is that strong? I reckon there are only a handful of players who could keep up with an opponent like this, and only a few of them have been here.
Kirito: Actually, for that reason, I doubt it's been like this from the start. The boss probably just got buffed over time to the point that it's that fast now.
Asuna: But I don't see a buff icon. Wouldn't that mean that the boss' basic parameters have been raised during the fight? We've never seen anything like this before.
Kirito: Well, there's always a first time.
Klein: Yeah, actually, I was getting to that part. It's exactly as he said. The longer we fought him, the stronger the boss became – slowly but steadily.
Dynamm: Although it's gotten pretty ridiculous by now. Just look at him go! Geez, what are we supposed to do about that?!
Kem'Pal: Well, he's told us that he wouldn't go down without a fight! I bet he's getting desperate now that we've brought him to the brink of defeat. When that boy was fighting him earlier and gave him quite the beating, he began to go all out.
Kem'Pal had just said something that caught Kirito's attention. He'd been wondering if Leodas' speed had been getting boosted continuously over time (for example from the very start of this battle, or maybe starting from a certain point in time). Another possibility was that Leodas picked up pace as the boss lost HP, which created the same impression, namely that the battle was getting more and more difficult, although the mechanic behind that was different… and that might also apply to the way they should approach this fight.
Well, and after hearing what Kem'Pal had said, Kirito thought that the NPC might've just given them a subtle hint about the true nature of Leodas' power-up.
Kirito: About that, couldn't it be that the boss' speed goes up as its HP go down? And maybe this effect intensifies now that the boss' HP are so low?
Asuna [mutters]: It's not out of the question… [speaks aloud] Klein-san, could that be the case?
That was a question Klein couldn't answer easily. If Kirito was right, the boss would've become faster only a little bit at a time (and only after sustaining damage) at first, but gradually more as the battle was progressing. Frankly, that seemed to be the case, but Klein couldn't tell if that might only seem that way because the pacing of the battle had been quite uneven. Then again, wouldn't that support Kirito's point even further, given that Leodas had become notably faster upon losing a considerable amount of HP within a rather short period of time?
While Klein was racking his brain over such questions without arriving at any conclusion, Kem'Pal was much more certain what was going on.
Kem'Pel: I think it is. If these "HP" you scaleless ones are talking about refer to how grave our enemy's wounds are, I can tell that he's been mustering more and more power the more injuries he suffered, especially when he went against one of your comrades in a direct duel just a minute or two ago.
Asuna considered this valuable information.
If Leodas had got this powerful only mere moments before she and Kirito got here, it was believable that the raid party had made it this far. Furthermore, she figured that the "comrade" Kem'Pal was talking about was Yamata. It would explain his rant when she'd arrived, and if there was any player within the initial raid party for this boss battle who could've matched up to Leodas up until this point, it'd probably be Yamata. Therefore, Asuna believed that Kirito's theory was correct.
It also told her something about how she should approach this battle. She didn't know exactly how much damage Yamata had dealt to Leodas or how much stronger the boss had become as a result, but if Kem'Pal emphasised that it'd been more than before, the goblin general's latest increase in speed had probably been immense. If the gradient of its speed boost would only get even greater, there was no telling how insanely fast Leodas would get when it was close to death. Asuna pictured a scene where its movement speed went completely through the roof… and she didn't like it one bit.
In order to prevent this battle from getting completely out of hand, they needed to finish Leodas off in one go. However, it still had almost one half of its last HP bar left, so it would take an incredibly powerful attack to do that… and there was only one player among the Assault Team who was capable of that.
Asuna: Kirito-kun, you'll have to take it from here personally. You need to kill the boss with a single attack. Can you do that?
Kirito took another look at Leodas, evaluating the situation himself. He considered it possible, but difficult. It would take a strong attack – certainly one of his best Sword Skills. The problem was that he'd have to get many hits off in order to succeed. He thought that The Eclipse would take too long to finish, but Starburst Stream might work.
Kirito: I think so. I'll try! [slightly contemplatively] But… [seriously] I need a moment to get ready!
Asuna nodded, and Kirito opened his menu to switch some of his equipment.
Meanwhile, Asuna was worried that Schmitt wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Leodas had already brought his HP bar down into the red zone, and he might've not made it longer than another twenty seconds. Well, any other player would've been dead already.
Asuna: Some of our tanks: Switch with Schmitt-san! Focus on defense and just buy us some time!
This command, whether it came from Asuna or anyone else, wasn't one any of the present players would follow easily. After witnessing not only the draining, difficult boss battle so far, but also how the two strongest players who'd been fighting alongside them in said battle had been completely and utterly overpowered by Leodas, nobody wanted to go up against this monstrosity of a boss.
In the end, it was Kem'Pal and its escort who took action and stopped Leodas from attacking Schmitt any further. They drew the boss' attention, allowing Schmitt to retreat, which he did in a remarkable hurry, gulping down the best potion he had as soon as he could.
With that out of the way, Asuna could take care of some other… preparations.
Asuna: Okay, everyone else: Don't interfere in the battle from here! All players with strong defense will take position around the entrance! We have a plan, but if that doesn't work, we'll have to retreat and come up with a completely new strategy! Therefore, if we can't defeat the boss with the next attack, all other players will leave the boss room immediately. Defenders, cover their retreat, then escape yourselves! It's unlikely that the boss will leave this room, but if that happens, keep running, even if you have to leave the castle, and use your Teleport Crystals to get away once you can, if you have to! Nobody must die today!
This time, the other members of the raid party were more willing to listen, and they followed Asuna's instructions.
By the time they had finished that, Kirito had taken care of his own preparations. He had changed three pieces of equipment: his two rings and one sword.
Let's go over the sword first: He'd equipped Downfall of the Knight, a halfway decent, but (for the 95th floor) all in all unremarkable one-handed sword… with one major advantage. It had the special effect Armor's Bane, which gave each hit dealt with this weapon a ninety percent chance to phase through any armour, shields, shells or the like, although it should be pointed out that this didn't apply to weapons or random objects (such as rocks) that could be used as improvised shields. Moreover, Armor's Bane didn't ignore the target's Defense completely as it still affected the amount of damage dealt. This special feature of Downfall of the Knight merely made it possible to deal normal Slash or Thrust damage against armoured foes – and it would enable Kirito to deal critical hits to Leodas' well-protected upper body.
Regardless, Downfall of the Knight was by far not the best sword at Kirito's disposal, maybe not even for a battle against Leodas. What made it shine, however, were the two rings Kirito had equipped. It was a pair called "Two Stars Shining as One", and the "two stars" weren't the rings – those were the items in the user's Left Hand and Right Hand equipment slots. The only effect of these rings was to copy all stats (except for Durability and not directly combat-related properties such as Weight) of the object in the player's right hand to the object in the left hand and vice versa. Should both items share one kind of attribute (for example Base Damage in case of two weapons), the lower value would be overwritten with the higher one.
Two Stars Shining as One were items Kirito had found in the Hollow Area, and the pair of rings had probably been designed for players who used shields in addition to their main weapons. The two rings would essentially double all defensive bonuses of the shield and the offensive bonuses of the weapon.
For Kirito, on the other hand, it would just even out any differences between the two weapons he used… which usually made Two Stars Shining as One quite useless. Frankly, in any average battle, it would've been better to equip two equally good swords and use a different pair of rings that would give him additional stat boosts – the ring he got from the marriage restoration quest with Asuna, for instance, since that ring (among other things) gave him a slight percental bonus on all attributes whenever he was in a party with Asuna, the wearer of the other ring of the pair. Admittedly, losing such (usually rather small) rises in his stats wasn't a tremendous disadvantage for Kirito, but it was still a loss that should be taken notice of.
However, Two Stars Shining as One also copied all special effects… such as Armor's Bane, thus allowing Kirito to use this feature, which he only had on Downfall of the Knight, on both swords while simultaneously solving the issue of the rather low attributes of Downfall of the Knight by overwriting them with the much better parameters of his other sword, which happened to be the top-tier player-made sword he'd got from a blacksmithing-themed quest chain he'd completed with Lisbeth.
Kirito: Okay, Asuna, I'm ready. Do you have a plan?
He didn't ask without a reason. Simply attacking the boss head-on seemed unlikely to work, and since Asuna had told Kirito to finish Leodas with a single combo, he figured that she might've thought this through already.
He was neither completely wrong nor right.
Asuna: We'll do it as usual: I'll go in first and create an opening. This time – just to be safe – wait for my signal to switch!
It was only natural to go about it this way. They'd only stand a chance at killing Leodas with a single powerful Sword Skill under perfect conditions, so – as Asuna suggested – someone had to create an opportunity for Kirito to strike, and that person would need to be able to throw the boss off its game, even if it was just a moment. Asuna was probably the only (or at least the most reliable) player who could do that at this point.
There was one more issue that had to be resolved, though.
Asuna: Klein-san, what can you tell me about the boss' aggro patterns?
Klein: Hm? Ah… its aggro mechanics. Let's see… It started off pretty wild, but I think it's just that he reacts to anything around him. You can't sneak up on him or flank him… or anything like that because he'll shift his attention to the other attacker right away. Switching is also pretty difficult because of that. [contemplatively] But now that I think about it… After seeing Yamata and Schmitt battling the boss by themselves, I'm pretty sure the boss will focus on a single player if you go against him alone.
Asuna: Okay, [to Kirito] in that case, get into position far away enough from the boss to not draw its attention, and wait there. I'll try to lure him to you as close as possible.
Kirito nodded in agreement. After that, he and Asuna faced forward, their eyes on Leodas, and they set out to start their own battle.
Meanwhile, Leodas struck down the last of Kem'Pal's personal soldiers. The goblin general had made short work of all the Lizardman Elite Soldiers, much to Kem'Pal's chagrin. The lizardman general charged at its arch enemy. All of Kem'Pal's vengeful blows were far too slow to hit the mark, though, as Leodas quite easily either dodged or parried them.
Asuna: Switch!
Hearing the familiar signal from one of its "scaleless allies", Kem'Pal understood what it had to do. Although it irked the lizardman that it had to pass the baton to someone else instead of bringing its nemesis down itself, Kem'Pal was essentially a team player, so the NPC dashed to the side to leave the stage to the players.
Immediately after that, Asuna charged forward while using Linear against Leodas. She'd made sure to position herself so that Kem'Pal's body had blocked Leodas' field of vision, so she hadn't been detected until then, but Leodas, too, was familiar with the word "switch", and the boss had realised that it was about to be attacked. Therefore, the goblin was jumping out of the way of an expected attack, but since it hadn't caught on to any threatening presence, it had hesitated for a moment after Asuna's request to switch with Kem'Pal. For that reason, Asuna's Linear still hit Leodas' at the side of its stomach.
Asuna herself came to a halt one metre further ahead. Once the fairly short post-motion delay of her Sword Skill was over, she used Acrobatics to spin around on the spot as fast as possible. Using system assistance for that may have seemed downright paranoid, but she'd done it on instinct… and rightfully so. Leodas had already recovered from the (in all honesty fairly weak) hit, and it was lunging at her. Thanks to her quick thinking, Asuna could deflect a rapier thrust just in time.
The next blow came so quickly that Asuna had no chance to counter offensively, which she had anticipated to some extent, though. Focusing on defense, she could parry the next strike, too. After that, however, Leodas suddenly yanked its rapier around to the side, and the goblin managed to inflict a minor cut on Asuna's left shoulder.
When Leodas attacked again after that, Asuna kept the previous blow in mind, so while she was trying to deflect the next thrust, she also jerked her head, which Leodas was aiming at, the side to dodge. Even these two defensive actions combined were not completely enough, though: Leodas' rapier still grazed her right cheek.
The duel continued, and given that both adversaries used rapiers, it looked like a good old fencing match… at superhuman speed. Frankly, Asuna had never been more grateful for her regular training matches with Akinym. It had been quite a while since the last time she'd fought a monster at such a pace, and she might've not been able to keep up with it if she'd been too rusty.
That said, she still fell short by a small margin even with her experience from these training sessions. Asuna sustained more and more small cuts at her arms, her shoulders and her neck. Granted, she could trick Leodas into coming closer to Kirito, who was waiting nearby, ready to assume the starting stance of Starburst Stream at a moment's notice, by backing away and walking towards her party member. Since Kirito stood perfectly still for the time being, and because Asuna's movements looked like the normal reaction of an outmatched foe, Leodas didn't pay him any mind, so that worked fairly well.
However, it soon became crystal clear that Asuna wouldn't be able to corner Leodas like this. She'd need to pick up speed in order to do so, but the pace they were going at was already the far limit of what she could handle with her own skill. Asuna knew that she'd need the system assistant – in other words: a Sword Skill.
Getting the brief reprieve she'd need in order to start one was… difficult, though. If she let her guard down to assume the starting stance of any Sword Skill, Leodas would interfere and stop her. Therefore, she'd have to wait for a chance…
...which came when Leodas suddenly interrupted its chain of attacks, only to bend its knees, lower its torso and draw back its right arm. Asuna vaguely recognised this stance from what Klein had told her: This had to be the special attack he'd mentioned. With that in mind, Asuna wasted no time to leap to the side. Leodas missed, striking at nothing but the air, and with the momentum of its own vigorous blow carrying the boss forward, it stumbled for a moment.
That was Asuna's chance. She swiftly charged the Sword Skill Star Splash, one of the strongest combos at her disposal, and a well-tested tool to create an opening for Kirito as it could easily confuse or overwhelm an AI.
Leodas could only get ready to fend off the attack before Asuna was starting her offensive. The boss managed to parry all of the first three thrusts of the combo, though, which was incredibly impressive given their speed.
After that, however, it expected another thrust and jerked its rapier around to deflect that blow, too. Thus, it was caught off-guard when Asuna suddenly got down and dealt two slashing strikes at its legs. In response, the boss jumped up, expecting more blows aimed at its legs, but Asuna got up again and continued the combo with two jabs as the boss was falling down again. The first one hit it at the stomach on its way down, the second one hit its chest upon landing on the ground.
Next up, Asuna got ready for the final strike of the combo, a powerful thrust to the chest.
Asuna: Switch!
On Asuna's signal, which Kirito had been expecting to come at any second since Asuna had started her Sword Skill, he began charging Starburst Stream, preparing to unleash it as soon as Asuna would finish her final attack.
At the same time, Leodas tried to leap to the side to dodge after recovering from the previous two blows, but it reacted at the last second – not really in time to escape. Asuna's rapier still crashed into Leodas' shoulder, even if it couldn't penetrate its armour, and the impact knocked the boss back, not to mention that it caused it to fall.
When Leodas jumped to its feet again, it was immediately greeted with a powerful sword stroke that slashed through its chest. Kirito's first blow as he made a dash at the boss was throwing it for a loop that it hadn't experienced so far. How could any attack break through its armour? That wasn't supposed to happen, at least as far as Leodas' AI was concerned, and it was too busy making any sense of that to defend itself against the next three attacks.
After the fourth strike, a spinning slash from left to right, Kirito continued the Sword Skill unimpededly with two downward slashes forming a cross, but these attacks didn't penetrate Leodas armour. The was no time to worry about that anyway, and Kirito followed up with the next step of Starburst Stream, reversing the previous motion and performing two upward slashes, this time cutting through Leodas' armour.
So far, so good. Kirito continued with the seventh and eight strike, and it seemed to go well. When he reversed his grip on his swords for the ninth blow, it gave Leodas a brief moment to react, and for a split second, the worry that the boss might run away crept up in Kirito's subconscious mind. Thankfully, that didn't happen, and Leodas only tried to parry the next downward X-slash. It was a futile attempt since Kirito broke through Leodas' parry easily, and he had no trouble getting the tenth blow off, too.
The attacks #11 and #12 followed, and Kirito caught a brief glimpse at Leodas' HP bar. It was plummeting. Strike #13 and then #14 – everything seemed fine. Kirito silently prayed that he could finish the Sword Skill like this.
The fifteenth attack, an uppercut with his right sword, followed. Leodas' HP bar shrank down to a tiny shred. That was it: The final, sixteenth blow would certainly finish the boss off. All that Kirito had to do was to swing his left sword upwards, too… and a flash of steel bolted through the space between Kirito and Leodas.
It wasn't the steel of Kirito's sword, though.
No, that sword (and the other one, too) clattered to the floor. In a sudden twist of fate, Leodas had stopped Kirito's final attack, and to top that off, it had managed to cut off both of his hands, rendering him more or less unable to fight.
This turn of events had been so sudden that Kirito needed a moment to register that his Sword Skill had been disrupted at the last second. When his mind returned to the battle, he noticed that Leodas was seemingly gone, only to spot the boss a few metres away. It had jumped to a safe distance after stopping Kirito's attack – just to be safe.
Now that the boss had had a moment to process the new circumstances, it dashed at Kirito to answer with its own attack… but to Kirito, it looked as if Leodas teleported right in front of him. He instinctively backed away, but he had no chance to get away in time. Leodas almost immediately shot – there was no more fitting term – its rapier forward, and it chained ten thrusts within one mere second, all of them piercing Kirito's chest.
Facing such an onslaught without any means of defense, Kirito lost his balance and toppled down. He had the feeling that he'd just been hit by a machine gun. In fact, by the time he'd fathomed the first hit, Leodas' sequence of attacks had already been over.
In this state, Kirito stood no chance against the boss monster, and it was about to continue the barrage of its attacks… when it suddenly paused. Leodas had spotted something out of the corner of its eyes, and a fierce battle cry confirmed it: Asuna was rushing up towards the boss using Linear. Once she'd fully grasped Kirito's predicament, she'd opted to use the quickest Sword Skill she could think of.
Actually, that had been a good idea. Leodas' health was so low that even a rather weak 1-hit Sword Skill should've been enough to end this fight with the Assault Team's victory. Asuna had stood on stand-by relatively far away so that she wouldn't get in the way of Kirito's Starburst Stream, but Linear was an excellent choice to close the resulting gap between her and the boss instantly. By the time Leodas realised what was going on, she was only one metre away from it – and (literally) going in for the kill. With her rapier pointed forward, she charged straight at Leodas…
...when it suddenly vanished from the spot. To be more precise, just as before, it had jumped out of the way of the attack so fast that it looked as if the boss was teleporting away. Thus, Asuna's Sword Skill missed by a hair's breadth.
When Asuna came to a halt after finishing Linear, she was almost immediately struck at the head by Leodas' rapier. The boss was going after her now, and it scored hit after hit against her, much as it had against Kirito before. Asuna wasn't even in the state of mind to try to dodge, but she tried to counter the boss' attacks. Only one clean hit – that's all it would've taken to turn the tables on her opponent, but Leodas effortlessly parried each and every single one of Asuna's attempts at a counterattack, and its movements flowed into more rapier thrusts right thereafter.
Leodas' speed was at a level that not even Asuna could hope to keep up with. No matter how nimble they were, how fast, how persevering – it wouldn't be enough. Leodas' movements didn't go just beyond the human capability – they went beyond the human perception. This was exactly the kind of situation Asuna had desperately wanted to avoid.
At this point, however, it was a matter of survival to deal with it. Asuna knew that she couldn't even hope to keep up with Leodas using her own manual control, she needed to rely on the system assistant. For starters, she used Acrobatics for a backflip, and while she was jumping up and spinning her body around backwards, she also delivered a kick to Leodas' chin. This caught the boss completely off-guard, and even though the manoeuvre didn't deal any damage, Leodas' subsequent hesitation to continue its attack granted Asuna a much-needed breather.
She used the opportunity swiftly and used the Sword Skill Crucifixion, a 6-hit Thrust-type combo which just happened to be the first Sword Skill that had come to her mind. However, Leodas managed to deflect even the first two superhumanly-fast blows of that Sword Skill, and it stopped the third blow by thrusting its rapier at Asuna's right thumb, and the impact knocked her weapon out of her hand.
Now she, too, was unarmed and ultimately defenseless… and it was Kirito's turn to jump in and defend her. Naturally, he still suffered from the Lost Limb debuffs, but he aimed a punch with his non-existent right hand, imitating the Martial Arts Sword Skill Embracer. He couldn't use the actual Sword Skill due to the Lost Limb debuff, but this had been his last resort in similar situations so many times that he performed the corresponding movements purely on instinct, even if it was fundamentally pointless.
Or maybe it wasn't… Kirito's presence still spooked Leodas' AI to the point that the boss jumped away. After that, it jumped across the boss room rampantly. Leodas was so fast that the graphics system didn't manage to render all of its movements, so the boss seemed to appear only once every second when it landed after a jump and got read for the next one, being in one spot for at least a split second. That way, it looked as if Leodas shifted in and out of space as it appeared all over the place, seemingly at random.
Frankly, the boss was indeed romping around without a specific pattern, which was supposed to make its movements unpredictable. Before long, it appeared next to Kirito again, and even though he noticed the boss' presence instantly, his body couldn't react as quickly as his mind, so Leodas had no trouble unleashing the next wave of attacks against him.
Leodas' rapid thrusts pushed Kirito backwards. Since Asuna was standing behind him, she was swept away with him, but she tried her best to catch his fall and to keep herself and him standing. Ironically, that came in useful to Leodas. It made it easy for the boss to hit both of them with its powered-up thrust, which tore through Kirito's chest and still hit Asuna behind him, too. The following shockwave knocked them down like a storm would fell a decaying tree.
When they fell onto the ground, Kirito landed on top of Asuna, and neither of them could muster the strength to stand up right after that. Both of their HP bars were in the red zone… and Leodas towered over them with an incredibly threatening aura around it.
Meanwhile, the remaining players stood there, frozen in place, unable to do anything but watch in shock, fear or disbelief.
Assault Team Player 1 [shakily]: H-hey… This… This isn't happening, is it?
Assault Team Player 2: Hey, what's… Damn, you're pale! What's gotten into…
Assault Team Player 1 [panicking]: Tell me that this isn't really happening!
As if that guy's yelling had startled it, Leodas looked up, its gaze directed straight at this "noisy" player. He felt an immense shiver running down his spine as a premonition crept up in his mind… only to be proven correct in the next moment. Leodas leapt towards him at its incredibly speed, appearing in front of the utterly unprepared player from one moment to the next.
The scared player let out a scream and tried to run away hastily, but it was too late. Leodas beat him down with a barrage of rapier thrusts, which caused the player's full health bar to plummet deep into the yellow zone.
His concerned comrade next to the poor guy wanted to help, and he lifted his sword above his head, getting ready to bring it down on Leodas, but it goes without saying that the boss caught on to that… and that it immediately took countermeasures. It dashed at the other player and slashed through his stomach, causing him to flinch. After that, Leodas followed up with several thrusts to its target's chest, knocking down the next player.
A nearby spear-user tried to help, coming closer and drawing his weapon back to thrust it at Leodas, but Leodas lunged at that player, too. In an instant, the boss got too close for the player to hit it with his long-reached weapon, so the goblin general could floor its next enemy without difficulty when it rained down the same furry of attacks on him as it had when fighting ("slaughtering" may be the better word) the previous two.
After that, Leodas looked at the nearest players who were still standing, and they all cowered in fear, hiding behind their shields or brandishing their weapons in an attempt to keep the boss from getting any ideas about attacking them – or at least to defend themselves a little bit against it.
The only one to take action was Yamata. He leapt at Leodas with a loud battle cry, swinging his sabre at the boss vertically as he was descending upon the goblin general. Whether it was because of the noise Yamata made or because of something else, Leodas noticed the incoming attack, and it jumped away to dodge, so Yamata merely slammed his weapon onto the ground. Meanwhile, Leodas began to jump across the boss room vividly, searching for another opening to strike while the Assault Team was unable to do anything against the boss monster.
Yamata: Only one blow, right? That's all it'll take to win! It'd be laughable for me to not manage that, so get a grip, you guys! [yells] Hey, Schmitt! Let's… [in disbelief] Huh?
Yamata's tone shifted immensely when he caught a glimpse at Schmitt. The other DDA sub-leader wore an expression of utter terror unlike anything Yamata had ever seen on Schmitt's face.
Schmitt: It's not possible. It's too strong, [yells, panicking] way too strong! We can't win this!
Suddenly, Schmitt turned on his heel and made a bolt for the exit.
Schmitt: You've heard Asuna! We have to get out of here, it's our only chance!
Yamata: What the fuck?! You're running from the battle!? DAMN COWARD!
While they were arguing about the situation, Klein focused completely on finding any way out of it. However, he, too, had the feeling that they should stick to Asuna's initial back-up plan: They should retreat, let the boss reset and restart the battle knowing what they'd be up against.
In light of that, Klein's biggest worry was what would happen to Kirito and Asuna. The two of them were still dazed after what had happened mere moments ago, and they'd be an easy target if they tried to retreat without anyone covering them. Currently, they were trying to get back on their feet slowly and rather groggily. Asuna was trying to say something, probably commands to maintain the order among the raid party, but after suffering a shock, she was unable to utter anything she wanted to convey.
Klein [to his guildmates]: Guys, lend Kirito and Asuna a hand! Just keep the boss busy long enough for them to get to safety, that's all you have to do!
Kunimittz: Alright, you've heard our leader, guys! Let's rock!
The other members of Fuurinkazan joined this battle cry, and they entered the battlefield full of vigour. Needless to say, Leodas noticed this immediately, and it took them on right away.
Well, and Klein stayed behind with a pensive, troubled look on his face… and that was when Kem'Pal approached him.
Kem'Pal: Klein-dono, do you have a plan to turn the tides of this battle in our favour?
Klein: Kem… [insecurely] Yeah, that's not… It's not really a…
Kem'Pal: So you have…
Klein: Hey, I've never said…
Kem'Pal: You didn't lead your men into battle. That alone is proof enough that there's something else on your mind. I can also tell from the expression on the face of a fellow commander. But why is it that you lack confidence in the idea you're obviously having?
Klein [in resignation, slightly frustratedly]: Because it's a crazy plan… the craziest thing ever.
Kem'Pal: Such have been many great plans throughout the history of war. You were chosen to lead us, and I've put my faith in you in this battle that determines the fate of my race. Klein-dono, say the word, and I'll follow you! Isn't that enough: the trust of your comrades, and the fate of your men?
Klein took another look at the other members of his guild. Unsurprisingly, they were no match for Leodas. The boss jumped in circles around them, suddenly approaching them when they least expected it, and it utterly crushed their meagre resistance within the blink of an eye. At this very moment, it struck down Dale.
Klein: You're right. This might be our only chance, or they might not make it out of here alive… [determinedly] Kem, I don't have time to explain it, so will you trust me?
Kem'Pal answered with a satisfied, confident grin.
Kem'Pal: What warrior doesn't have trust in his comrades?
Moments later, Issin was the last member of Fuurinkazan who was still standing, but Leodas made sure to change that, bringing him, too, down to his knees with a brisk wave of rapier thrusts. Afterwards, the boss turned its attention to the various Fuurinkazan fighters lying on the ground, who were groaning, trying to get up again or to scurry away. Just as the goblin general contemplated whom it should finish off first, its next challenger appeared.
Klein: What do you think you're doing, you Scaleless Turnip?! I'll bring you down!
Klein was charging at Leodas in an arc. He was holding his katana in front of his body and with both hands to keep it steady, and he kept pointing the tip of the blade at Leodas the whole time. This apparently seemed threatening enough to the boss, and it turned its undivided attention to Klein.
Leodas seemingly vanished from the spot as it had done plenty of times by now, jumping to a yet unknown spot. However, Klein had taken a guess what it might do if he'd approach the boss as he did. He slammed on the brakes and came to a pretty unsteady halt two steps further ahead. Leodas, on the other hand, appeared just out of reach in front of him. The goblin had based its plan on the expectation that Klein would've kept running, so it had jumped to a position where it could've struck Klein's unprotected left side, but since he'd stopped, it stood too far away from him to attack right away.
Leodas had to take one more wide step towards Klein, and while it could bridge that gap within a split second, this still gave Klein just a tiny bit more time to react… and to carry out his plan. He turned his body around to face Leodas, but it would've taken too long to swing his weapon around… which wasn't the plan anyway, though. Klein suddenly dropped his weapon and threw his arms forward.
Leodas couldn't even react to Klein's actions: It had already taken the stance for its strongest attacks. The boss' increased speed also applied to the preparation time it needed for this skill, and it thrust its rapier forward within the blink of an eye, but the slightest hesitation on Leodas' side was precious time gained for Klein. Leodas' rapier tore through Klein's throat, but Klein managed to fulfil his objective and to grab hold of Leodas' right arm before the shockwave of the goblin general's attack hit him and swept him away.
Klein could carry Leodas with him, and the two of them flew a metre or two through the air before crashing onto the ground and rolling across the floor together. Klein almost lost his grip on Leodas' arm, but when the goblin hastily got up again, he managed to hold on to its right wrist. Klein, too, stood up and firmly grasped Leodas' right shoulder.
Leodas: Are you out of your mind?! Or have you forsaken yourself already, and wish for a swift end? I shall comply!
Leodas' rapier was still stuck in Klein's throat, and the goblin general pushed it in as deeply as possible. It was basically skewering Klein's neck, and the continuous damage this dealt – even despite Leodas' relatively low damage output – caused the player's HP to plummet.
That, however, was within the calculations… and Klein showed it when he raised his head with a downright crazed expression in his eyes and started yelling.
Klein: Now, Kem!
A sudden battle cry made Leodas look over its shoulder. Kem'Pal was charging at it fiercely. The lizardman general brandished its longsword, drawing it back until the blade faced backwards.
Leodas knew what was coming, and the goblin general tried to get away as usual, but when it wanted to jump to safety, it only felt a jolt on its shoulder without moving from the spot. It turned towards Klein again, being startled for the briefest of moments before it began struggling against the player's grip with all of its might.
Alas, that "might" was little to be concerned about. For all of its speed, Leodas' raw physical strength hadn't been increased at all, so it was still at a level the average player could handle. Well, Leodas' fidgeting might've made it hard for Kem'Pal to hit the boss, so Klein grabbed Leodas' left shoulder, too, and put it into a firm hold the goblin wouldn't be able to get out of easily – let alone in time.
Leodas: No, I cannot… I must not fail! My brethren are...
When Kem'Pal was within reach, the lizardman swung its sword around at full force, and when it hit and cut deeply into Leodas' neck, it instantly reduced what little HP the boss had left to zero. Kem'Pal's blade silenced the goblin general before it could even get its final words out, making its suffocated death scream the last noise to be heard from a goblin of the 95th floor.
While Leodas' HP gauge disappeared, Kem'Pal kept jerking around its sword until it severed Leodas' head. The death animation kicked in afterwards, creating the impression that Leodas had died because Kem'Pal had beheaded the lizardmen's adversary.
The boss room fell strangely silent after that. Even after the goblin general had been literally broken apart, every trace of it vanishing into nothingness, the players had yet to register the fact that this nerve-wracking battle had indeed ended. Not even the usual congratulatory message that was displayed above their heads was enough.
It wasn't until a system announcement resounded – not just within the boss room or even the goblin HQ, but everywhere on the 95th floor – that the players fully comprehended that they had won.
System Voice: This is a system announcement for the "Lizardmen versus Goblins" campaign. The quest "Side with the Lizardmen" has been cleared.
A wave of relief seemed to run through the players, and it didn't take long for the first one to raise their voice.
Assault Team Member: We did it! We've won!
Similar cheers resounded everywhere… or at least almost everywhere. Yamata looked at Klein and Kem'Pal with disdain, and he clicked his tongue before sheathing his sabre.
Yamata [mutters]: Can't be helped… But damn! Why does even the samurai nutjob get to be the hero?!
DDA Member 1: Yamata?
Hearing his name, Yamata turned towards the source, only to see the rest of the DDA contingent (at least as far as they were still inside the boss room), all of them looking pretty concerned. Now that he thought about it, Yamata figured that he'd been acting really out of it towards the end. Figures that the others were perplexed…
That wouldn't do. He had an image to uphold, so he turned around for a moment, took a deep breath, and faced his guildmates again, this time with his usual cocky grin.
Yamata: What are the long faces for, guys? We've done a great job today, so cheer up!
The other DDA members didn't seem quite as enthusiastic. They exchanged a few worried or puzzled glances.
DDA Member 2: I don't know about that. Wasn't it mostly those guys from Fuurinkazan – especially their leader – and others like Asuna-san who did the most important work?
Yamata [hides his irritation, thinks]: Dammit, why do you have to bring that up?! [says aloud, boastfully, slightly reassuringly] Don't sell yourselves short! It's only thanks to the work of everyone that we've made it! They only cleaned up the rest afterwards! Besides…
Yamata pointed his left thumb backwards over his shoulder at Klein.
Yamata: ...that samurai fanatic didn't do such a great job at "commanding" us anyway! Seriously, not even the Black Swordsman and the Flash did so great. They only got this far because of our groundwork! Heck, I did more damage than them! And in the end, they got totally wrecked! "Top players", my ass! I could've easily finished that job if it wasn't for the fact that someone else just beat me to it!
Yamata's words didn't seem too convincing, but he had a few other ideas.
Yamata: That's why I keep saying: Cheer up! Without our groundwork, these guys over there wouldn't have gotten even close to winning this fight, so we're basically the MVPs anyway – let's focus on that! And what better way to do so than to celebrate our well-earnt victory, but not at that lame party the lizardmen are throwing. Let's head back to Triberia, and we can have a real victory party at the usual place! Drinks are on me!
The other DDA members didn't react with the enthusiasm Yamata had expected – much to his dismay – but he hadn't run out of options yet.
Yamata: Or haven't you had enough yet? I get it: Now that the hard part is done, you're after the treasure that's hidden somewhere around here!
With greed prevailing over concern, the mention of treasure proved somewhat effective. The eyes of the rather gloomy DDA members lit up a little as they became aware that – now that the boss battle and the conquest of the goblin HQ was finished – they were free to get to looting this place. That's what had been decided towards the end of the strategy meeting, and nobody wanted to miss the chance to claim a nice prize for all of their hard work.
Yamata: Yeah… That's more like it! So, let's make sure to dig up all the good stuff the goblins had stowed away! I'm sure Lind and Sunny would never stop nagging us if we don't bring back some nice souvenirs, and we can't have a party like that, can we? So let's get going, guys!
This had indeed given the DDA units as much energy as they could've possibly mustered after the battle against Leodas. Naturally, they were still beat, and they didn't set out with the vigour Yamata had wished for, but it would do nonetheless.
Yamata [thinks, boastfully]: That worked out in the end! [upset, slightly frustratedly] But now that I think about it, I gotta rip Schmitt a new one when I'll find him! The hell was he thinking?! We could've killed that boss ourselves if he had helped!
While all of that was happening, Klein was simply relieved that his plan had worked out.
He'd doubted that he – or anyone, for that matter – could've dealt the finishing blow once the boss had become so freakishly fast. Trying to capture it and to put it into a submission hold of sorts was a different matter, though. For a moment, Klein had remembered how Akinym had dealt with Amycus the Goblin Champion that way three days prior when they'd cleared the dungeon that connected the central part of the 95th floor to the labyrinth, and it had inspired him to solve the "Leodas crisis" similarly. Alas, he had had to rely on a dangerous gamble since he couldn't give any priority to anything other than restraining Leodas, the vastly superior combatant. In Klein's opinion, it had been the only way to success.
And he had succeeded. He may have had only about twenty per cent of his HP left, and he could be thankful that Leodas' rapier had vanished together with its wielder, or else the weapon would've kept dealing damage, maybe until it would've killed him… but it had worked. When the battle was over, all the tension left Klein's body, and he slumped down onto the ground.
Klein: Man, it's finally over! This… This was intense!
Klein looked up when an outstretched hand appeared in front of him. It was Kem'Pal, who offered its comrade-in-arms some help to get up.
Kem'Pal: Let me be the one to congratulate you for the success of your tactical move! It seems that "the craziest thing ever" has worked, Klein-dono!
Klein took Kem'Pal's hand with a smile, and the lizardman pulled him back to his feet.
Klein: It sure did, Kem! We've won!
The lizardman general closed its eyes and took a deep breath. It looked as if Kem'Pal was savouring Klein's words… which wasn't so far off the mark.
Kem'Pal: We've won… Yes, we have. My brethren, it's finally over… We've succeeded. Now, our race can live on. You haven't died in vain, my loyal soldiers…
Klein [worriedly]: Kem…
Any potential expression of consideration for Kem'Pal's feelings was cut short when Asuna approached the duo of the player and the NPC. Kirito followed closely behind. The two of them had somewhat recovered from the beating they had taken earlier, although both of them still looked the worse for wear.
Asuna: Klein-san… Thank you for jumping in like that. I think I can fairly say that you've saved the day. [slightly worriedly] Although I wish you wouldn't have done something so reckless. I mean, you've let the boss hit you on purpose, just so that you could keep it from running afterwards, didn't you? [slightly sternly] Do you have any idea how badly this could've gone?
Klein [slightly defensively]: I do, Asuna! Frankly, I, too, think that my luck has been insane, [confidently] but a man gotta do what it takes, right?
Asuna couldn't help but sigh, and Kirito actually shared that sentiment to some degree. He wasn't sure if Klein truly treated what had happened as lightly as it seemed, but it didn't really matter anyway. His biggest regret right now was that Klein had had to risk his life to win this battle, which wouldn't have been necessary if he had finished the battle with Starburst Stream as planned. Sure, nobody had predicted that Leodas would stop Kirito's attack literally at the last second, but Kirito still wondered if there had been anything he could've done to avoid this blunder, which might've cost Klein's life, Asuna's or his own…
Kirito: You're saying this awfully casually for someone who almost died. Are you, like, proud of risking your life?
Klein [teasingly]: Oh? What's the matter, Kirinoji? Were you worried about your old pal Klein?
Kirito [irritatedly]: Give me a break. [feignedly indignantly] As if! You know what they say about a cockroach you're trying to crush underfoot, don't you? So I don't think there was much reason to worry!
Klein [feignedly upset]: Pah, mock me all you want, [teasingly] Kirito the Tsundere! [casually] If you think everything's cool the way the battle turned out, why don't you just congratulate me on a job well done? [holds up his hand] High five!
Kirito: Sure, if that's what you want.
Kirito decided to humour Klein on the spur of the moment. He raised his arm and was about to give Klein the requested high five… when he took another look at his "hand" – or rather, at his stump – and his face fell. At that point, Klein burst into laughter.
Klein: Got you, Kirinoji!
Kirito [irritatedly]: Very funny, Klein!
As for the reaction of the remaining "audience"… While Kem'Pal was wondering what the number five had to do with anything that was happening, Asuna couldn't suppress her exasperated sigh any longer.
Asuna [thinks]: Why do guys have to be so immature in situations like this? [says aloud, sternly] Ahem, I "hate" to interrupt your banter, [seriously] but there's another important matter we need to discuss! What about the key, Klein-san?
Klein: Huh? "The key"?
Klein had to think about what Asuna might mean for a moment, but it dawned on him: There was still the issue of the key to the labyrinth, which was blocked by a gate with two locks. The Assault Team would get one key from the lizardmen as a reward for their help, and the other one had to be taken from the goblins.
Frankly, the players didn't know how exactly that would work. Their only clue was Kem'Pal mentioning that Leodas had guarded the key personally, and that they'd have to "rip it out of his cold hands". According the Kem'Pal, Leodas should've held onto that key until its last breath… and to Asuna and many others, this had sounded as if the goblins' key was the Last Attack bonus of this boss battle.
Klein [takes a look at his reward window]: Well, it didn't drop for me, that's for sure, but I didn't deal the last attack anyway. That'd be…
Klein turned towards Kem'Pal. Right… Now that he mentioned it, Asuna could see the situation more clearly… but she had a bad feeling about this.
Asuna: That's true… General Kem'Pal, could you retrieve the key to the laby… to the Celestial Tower from the general of the goblins?
Kem'Pal: Hm? No, I didn't take anything from him.
Asuna had feared that Kem'Pal would say that. The reward system didn't work for NPCs, after all. She turned to Kirito, the last player who'd hit Leodas. Kirito checked his drops once more, but he could only shake his head with a concerned expression.
Figures… The players knew from experience that their last attacks "didn't count" when an NPC dealt the finishing blow to a monster. For example, the various member of the small clearing guilds had reported that their kills for the large-scale goblin-hunting quest on the 95th floor didn't count when a lizardman NPC was the one to finish off the goblin monster in question. This issue had been haunting them for a while… and now, it had become all the more severe.
It couldn't be helped, though. For now, Asuna had to put her hopes in the possibility that this key item (pun not intended) wasn't the missing Last Attack bonus. To that end, she walked closer towards the rest of the raid party so that she could address them.
Asuna: Everyone, please listen to me for a moment! I know you're happy and excited because we've just finished the war campaign – and rightfully so – but there are still important matters to take care of. As you know, we need the goblins' key to the gate at the labyrinth. Please check your drops for that key, and report to me if you've got it!
Even though it wasn't her intention, Asuna had easily crushed the enthusiasm that had welled up within the players. They looked for the key frantically – in fact, Asuna decided to search the key everywhere in the boss room. They considered anything, even that the key might be hidden behind a loose stone in the wall…
...but they couldn't find any trace of it. There might've been a chance that the DDA had unintentionally run off with the key, but at this point, nobody believed that… especially not the bunch of agitated players at the boss room.
Assault Team Member 1: Are you telling me that the key isn't there?!
Assault Team Member 2: That can't be right!
Assault Team Member 3: Where is it then?! Where the hell is that stupid key! We need that thing!
Asuna: Please calm down! I understand that…
Assault Team Member 4: Shouldn't the NPC have got it?
Assault Team Member 1: Yeah, right! If it attacked last, it should've at least gotten that important item!
Kem'Pal: If you're referring to me, I've already told your commander that I couldn't find that key, either!
Assault Team Member 5: You've gotta be kidding me!
Assault Team Member 1: Ugh, why did you even let the NPC deal the last attack?! You should've known that this would happen!
Dynamm: Hey, nobody could predict this turn of events!
Klein: Yeah, I had to act on the spur of the moment to, you know, end this battle before everything would've gone down the drain! I had no idea this would happen!
Assault Team Member 1: Yeah, sure! That's just dumb!
Assault Team Member 3: Having won that battle won't help us if we can't get to the labyrinth! What are we supposed to do now?!
The fruitless bickering continued for a moment. Everyone was either throwing around accusations, blaming their predicament on others (mostly Klein and Kem'Pal), or they were panicking.
Asuna: That's enough! Everyone, stop this RIGHT NOW!
At the very least, Asuna caught everyone's attention, and they fell silent for the time being.
Asuna: I know that this is a troubling situation, but we're not facing completely unexpected circumstances for the first time. We know from experience that there should be a way out of this mess, so instead of fighting each other, at least let us figure something out! I'll call an emergency council meeting, and we'll devise a plan what to do about this problem! For now, go back to town and get some rest, you've earnt it, and you'll need it! Right now, we can only proceed as planned until we know what to do about the entrance to the labyrinth. That means that we'll fight the field boss, the Desert Demon, tomorrow. Many of you are supposed to fight, so save your energy for that!
Nobody could argue against Asuna's words. Nobody could shed their worries, but they ultimately decided to leave this matter to Asuna and the Council. For now, they just left the goblin HQ with an uneasy feeling.
Asuna was no exception. When they were walking to the exit, Kirito noticed the pensive, deeply concerned look on her face immediately. Before long, it worried him way too much to remain silent.
Kirito: So… Do you have anything specific in mind to "plan" with Akinym and Shivata?
Asuna: I'm… [exhaustedly, slightly dejectedly] Not really. But one thing is true: There should be a way out of this. There's no way the system will keep us trapped like this.
Kirito [seriously, slightly reassuringly]: I agree. The key was probably the Last Attack bonus, just as we thought. It just wasn't predictable that an NPC would "get" that bonus. I'm sure Cardinal will give us some kind of workaround – we'll only have to find it.
Asuna [nods]: You're right. [mutters] I hope you are…
Whether Kirito actually is right about this will be a revealed during the next chapters, which will essentially wrap up the "95th floor arc" of "The Hollow Instructor", but you'll see. ;)
I probably could've cut some sections of the boss battle. In particular, the whole description of the equipment Kirito changed at some point might easily seem like an info dump, but there's actually a purpose to it: I've wanted to use these few paragraphs to showcase that Kirito's means for this battle weren't actually overpowered, but simply well-suited for the specific battle he was about to fight, illustrating that this is a guy who's been through an insurmountable amount of odds, and he's learnt to be prepared for many situations (for instance by having the right items at hand) so that he can adapt quickly to (almost) any challenge SAO might throw at him - rather than portraying Kirito as a player with downright game-breaking abilities (almost) everyone else lacks for whatever reasons.
The description of Starburst Stream in this chapter is based on its SAO Wikia article, which describes the 21-hit version of the Sword Skill from the anime, although Starburst Stream is supposed to be a 16-hit combo. Well, I simply reduced the anime version to the first 16 strikes.
Little Preview: The Assault Team may have defeated the goblins, but their challenges continue without a break. The next hurdle to overcome is the Desert Demon, who's guarding the entrance to the labyrinth.