Chapter XII : A Surprising Entry
"Kizmel! Kizmeeel! Argh, damn it..! Kizmel! Slow down, will ya'?!"
"Be cautious, Hero. We are surrounded by flames. Any careless action on your part will cost us."
Heh, didn't need to tell him twice.
Kirito moved fast enough to keep up with the fleeing elf, his focus entirely on the purplette as she ran at a speed much greater than what she typically displayed, aided by her corrupted Persona's power. He struggled to keep up at times when she made sharp turns or a pillar crashed right in his path to hinder his progress.
Yet through it all, the image of his friend was ever in his sights. And he couldn't let her get away!
Making full use of his own power, he manoeuvred over blazes and kept his sights focused entirely on Kizmel. He was still lagging behind, either from exhaustion (though he doubted this was the case, as there was no such thing as actual stamina in-game, though it could be the NerveGear telling his brain to tell his vessel of data that he was tired) or simply because she was too fast.
But there was one thing that Arsene was really good at, besides slashing his way through fields of enemies and blasting them apart with «Curse» magic.
Agility was his home field advantage.
"Whoa!" He leapt at the wall, bounced off of it into a roll on the floor before keeping up his pursuit. "Kizmel!"
There was nothing. No response, no voice, only the sounds of everything around them burning. It was getting harder to see through the smoke, but he'd be damned if he let her get away! Not like this!
The path she took was a familiar one. One that left a pit in his gut as he thought of what was about to transpire. A battle would be inevitable, but it wasn't like he would just let her! He was most certainly going to catch up, no matter the cost!
"OuT of ouR Way!" Castor slammed the doors wide open, inviting fire into the boss room and triggering Fuscus into a state of consciousness as it rose from the centre of the room and out of the ground.
A titan of blazing orange and body forged from earthen stone. Bright red lines that looked similar to ancient runes flashed on its inorganic body, massive and easily surpassing Illfang in terms of body mass. Weapon-less, but no less a challenge.
He couldn't focus on Fuscus, however. Not when Castor kept charging forwards and rammed into the boss, throwing it to the side and crashing into a pillar with an impact equal to two cars crashing into one another at top speed. Such an image left him cringing as he resumed his chase.
There was no way Kizmel could just escape, right? The boss was still alive! And as long as it still lived, the exits were designed to remain shut tight until the boss was defeated, which would then grant players access to the next floor.
Yet, how did she get to the first floor to begin with? How had she somehow managed to get past all the floor bosses and arrive in Horunka safely? None of it made sense.
'There must be some sort of mechanism,' he thought to himself, watching her stop before the two massive doors. 'Perhaps the game still recognizes her as an NPC and deems her worthy of getting through the boss rooms? No, it can't be that simple… Can it? Kizmel, what are you—What the shit?!'
His jaw practically went unhinged as the doors practically glowed. It was so similar to the light produced from stepping into a Teleport Gate, yet this one was so unlike anything he'd seen before. It was as if the doors themselves had turned into one massive portal, ready to transport any and all to whatever destination came next.
"What now, Hero?" Arsene came forth with a burst of blue flames. "What shall we do now?"
Let's see. A random portal. Game-breaking mechanics. Kizmel making no sense. He needed to write down a journal for all the crazy things that've been transpiring in the game.
And then, he'll make a hardcopy of the book, turn it into some sort of fantasy-action light novel based on the adventures (and misadventures) of the totally fictitious Summoner Swordsman and his party of freedom fighters, and watch as it either sells or burns.
"Do you even need to ask?" He scoffed. "Let's go!"
The ravenette runs forth, stepping past the portal with his elven friend, only to find himself in—
20th January 2023—Aincrad. Floor 4, Yofel Castle
It was incredibly hard for Silica to dislike anyone. She was the kind of person with a gentle personality, who was relatively approachable and able to work with anyone. It was just in her code to be friends with just about anyone—after all, she could definitely say that she got along well with NPC's, Kizmel included.
Yet, would it be surprising to know that the young player was capable of negative emotions?
Granted, even the nicest person in the world had a limit. Selfless people could still be selfish at times, confidence could someday make room for arrogance, and a kind man could eventually become bitter if subjected to the right conditions.
Silica was never one for such things, really, but turning her gaze towards the two girls in front of her, she felt her brow twitch.
To the left was a little child in a purple dress with a white cardigan. Her wide black eyes and smooth black hair gave her an adorable look. She actually looked a bit like Kirito, if she thought about it—kind of like a little sister. Or his child, for that matter!
Yui was nice. Soft-spoken, nice, gentle and quiet. She reminded her of Sachi, although a little more outgoing—just a little. Silica could find herself becoming good friends with the other girl.
It was the other person that managed to turn her headache into a migraine.
"Hello! Nice to meet all of you!" Strea was her name, with long violet hair and bright crimson eyes. She was a spirited girl with a lot of smiles to give, and luck must have been her in-game best stat because of all the luck she'd gotten with the avatar she's been dealt with.
It wasn't like her flawless looks and shapely figure wasn't enough. No, not at all! Those things that she got were just mocking her. Beautiful. Perfect. And if that wasn't enough, her outfit just wasn't covering much. In fact, it almost seemed like she was purposely showing skin.
The girls around the second-youngest girl shifted a little away from her as dark aura emanated from her. Envy was written clearly on Silica's face as she stared at two particular things, muttering something about 'the unfairness of life'. No one had nothing to say to that.
"Sooo…" Lisbeth drawled, uncertain whether to stare between Silica or the two girls. "Why are they here?"
It was a good question that left most of them pondering over a number of things, though none of them were just as curious as their resident Persona expert was. They should have noticed it, considering how intently she'd been staring at them, yet she'd been too quiet that none of them noticed anything.
Stilled breath, unblinking gaze, sole focus on the supposed sisters. Someone might have mistaken her to be in a staring contest, yet there was certainly something more to it than meets the eye.
'They showed up before Asuna earlier in Rovia, and they'd requested to meet with us?' She thought with a small hum. That was all well and good, and yet… 'Why do I seem to know them..?'
Were they here to join their party? There was no need to deny them that chance, though Kirito would usually be the one to decide who joined them or not. Now that he wasn't here, they weren't entirely sure. Vabel doubted anyone would try to make the decision without his presence.
Unbeknownst to her, a few of them had the urge to face-palm. Seriously, this has to be Kirito's infamous luck at work. How else were girls showing up from out of nowhere to join them? The ratio of girls-to-boy was just staggering, and none wanted to know just how far the limit could be pushed.
"For a good reason. And I mean a very good reason," Strea said with a little grin.
"Explain," Argo said curtly.
"That's… well girls. It's going to be quite shocking, but what I'm about to say next is absolutely true, and should not be misinterpreted as anything else," Asuna coughed into her fist once before putting on a serious look. One that they'd seen so many times before a dangerous battle or during raid meetings. "The thing is… Yui and Strea here, are Persona users."
…Persona users!
A few gasps broke out, though Vabel was the first to perk up, her eyes widening as she stared between the two. "You both are?"
That was surprising. They simply stumbled upon Asuna by random? That was…
"Yup! We showed our Personae to Asuna too, so it's legit!" Nodded Strea, a little too excited. "We wanted to meet with all of you for quite some time now, but it was a little difficult trying to find you since you seemed to always be here and there. We get it. You guys are part of the frontlines doing important stuff. Thankfully, Asuna happened to be down in Rovia at the time, and we just found her wandering the streets! Lucky us!"
The rest of the girls quietly chattered amongst themselves, surprise quite evident on their expressions as they thought back about what they'd just heard. It was just their luck that two Persona users just showed up out of nowhere, and she was sure it would have been good luck on their part.
"Wait, something doesn't click here..." Argo's suspicious tone drew everyone's attention. What was she talking about? "How is it that they gained Personae in the first place? Like Kii-chan."
"Right? It's weird. We're not humans. We're just NPC's," pondered Strea, not noticing how a good number of the people in the room perked up in shock.
"Personae aren't necessarily limited to humans. Anything with a strong ego and capable of tempering their emotions are capable of turning their Shadows into Personae," explained Vabel. "In fact, there has been cases of several non-human beings gaining Personae in the past. An android, a dog, a Shadow, a cat formed from the hopes of humanity. It isn't too odd. There was also another Shadow of a person that developed an ego of their own, and thus attained a Persona as well."
One might have assumed Vabel to be joking, but she was anything but that. And she was an attendant of the Velvet Room, after all, so of course she'd know previous Persona users.
Knowledge prepared one to handle issues in the future, and knowing the people in the past, it allowed her to better understand this Persona issue as a whole and perhaps help the rest of her friends through the process. She certainly felt like she'd been doing a good enough job with Kirito thus far; he'd relied on her council thus far, and she was more than happy to help.
And, Vabel wondered, would they somehow come across an animal with a Persona in this world? That would certainly be something.
"I see… It makes sense. Kizmel had a soul of her own. It stands to reason that she'd develop a Persona," muttered Asuna, deep in thought. Then, she looked to Yui, who stared back at her curiously. "But that does raise the question as to how you've managed to get your own too. And you referred to yourselves as A.I.'s. So you know you're not humans, but how?"
"Oh, that's easy. You might want to listen to this bit, because it's definitely going to be mind-blowing and utterly insane," she looked to her friends, all who shrugged back. Strea coughed into her fist before going off on her tangent. "Now then, we are currently existing in a game called 'Sword Art Online', first ever VRMMORPG game developed by Akihiko Kayaba for the NerveGear. Is that correct? Yes? Then how is it that we seem to know that we're NPC's, and just when was it that we developed our Personae? That's quite easy, actually—
"—You see, while we are indeed NPC's, we're a little bit more than that. We are what Kayaba calls 'MHCP', or 'Mental-Health Counselling Program'. I am number two, and Yui nee-chan here is number one. Our job is to monitor the players and decide the course of action to take whenever their stress levels rise too high. Why do we have such a complicated task? Easy! Because we're part of Cardinal itself, which is the operating system that keeps 'Sword Art Online' in check. Kayaba himself designed the Cardinal to be what you'd call 'the perfect system', capable of learning algorithms and making perfect calculations and processes. As such, it handled the in-game things from quest generation to mob spawns and the like. Everything worked out pretty normally—"
"—But just recently, at the time when Cardinal was struck by a powerful glitch a few months ago, it experienced an overload of information and corrupted data, forcing it to undergo a quick removal of a lot of data. This should literally be impossible. Its firewalls are the most advanced in our current technology, yet it suffered from some strange blight. Almost like it was supernatural—"
"—So! Long story short, we were accidentally ejected as well from the system since we were deemed as 'unnecessary' information, thus allowing us to detach ourselves from the system and exist within the game," she finished it off with a smile. "And that's the gist of it!"
Silence was palpable as everyone stared at the violet-haired girl in total shock. Vabel honestly didn't understand one thing or another, but she really could tell that it must have been something too important to just gloss over. Kirito, most likely, would be frothing from what they heard.
Argo and Koharu, being the only two Beta Testers present, definitely seemed shocked themselves.
"T-T-That's…" Her information broker friend had looked like someone told her Santa wasn't real, hands grasping at empty air. "You've got to be kidding me…"
"Not at all. Both Strea and I are—were part of the Cardinal system once upon a time ago, though that isn't the case now," she shook her head. "Really, though, nothing should have changed. We were meant to remain in the system, but a few months ago, something occurred that shook the foundation of the game, thus provoking Cardinal into a ruinous and slightly unstable state."
Mutters of 'months ago' slipped out from the girls in the room, Silica coming to the realization first. "Umm, are you referring to the time the Floor 2 bosses showed up?"
"That was when the sky got covered in error signs and Kayaba forced us into a boss battle in what should have been a safe zone…" Scoffed Argo, crossing her arms. That battle had certainly been an unpredicted one, and it was by the miracle of some god that no one had been sacrificed in the battle. "It was the fifth of December last year."
"Yes, that was it!" All eyes returned to the purplette once more, who had a strangely determined look on her face. "At the time, something similar to a glitch struck the Cardinal system. The game was affected heavily by it, and that was when those strange monsters… Shadows, I think? That's when they appeared. We were trying to make contact with your group, but hadn't been all too successful, so sorry about that."
Everyone were quiet for a good while, trying to make sense of what they'd just heard. Seriously, the explanation sounded too farfetched, but it did explain away a lot of the happenings thus far. "So…"
"So, what really matters here is that 'Sword Art Online' is technically broken, sorta'. And we're now here on the task of helping you save everyone in the game!" Strea pumped a fist into the air.
"That's…" Liz looked ready to say something, but eventually remained silent. "Never mind."
Exactly. It was a rather grand tale to just believe right off the bat, yet these two didn't radiate an aura of liars. They were as honest as you'd ever get from any typical child who was taught by his parents that lying was bad.
This really was happening. Two more NPC's that just seemed to have powers that none of them could understand well enough, and showing up to help them in their quest.
"But you're part of this… Cardinal, and the system is designed to focus on the game and prevent any player from escaping," pointed out Asuna with a small frown. "Why would you rebel against that?"
"Because Kayaba gave us no other choice," Yui spoke, her childish appearance moulded into a serious expression. "Remember what we told you? That we're special units called 'MHCP's? We are to ensure the players' wellbeing. To protect them. Not only does the transformation of 'SAO' into a death game goes against the very reason of our existence, we were also denied of our purpose—"
"Yeah! Kayaba kicked us out of the system!" Harrumphed the taller girl as she crossed her arms. "Well, not really kicked us out of it. We still were. But he locked us away! Took away all our administrative functions. We couldn't do anything but just watch. It was terrible…"
"Verily… Watch as players get killed off one by one, unable to do anything to help because our crea—Kayaba refused us of any action. We were prisoners in our own system," Yui sounded incredibly bitter, which really didn't fit her. In fact, it was surprisingly disturbing.
And yet, through it all, Vabel could feel pity swell in her heart as she watched the little girl. She wasn't sure what to feel about all of this, and she was still struggling to grasp the idea that these two were A.I.'s, part of this system called Cardinal, and have Personae—but she knew that Yui and Strea felt genuine regret in their inability to help the players.
What must it be like, this feeling of helplessness? Like a soldier unable to defend the country he had sworn his allegiance to… Even now, a muted sense of regret stayed, the thought of Kirito and Kizmel out there worrying her quite a bit.
It was something that she could empathize with the two sisters very well.
A small sigh had her returning her attention back to the ravenette. "But following Cardinal's glitch, it seemed that we were able to escape from the system and, in the process, awaken our Personae. I cannot say for certain why, but we just do."
"And we're now here on the task of helping you save everyone in the game!" Oh, did she just repeat her earlier sta—"What say you guys? Can we tag along?"
On cue, all eyes turned towards the three oldest members of the group; herself, Argo and Asuna, the other two whom had slightly surprised expressions before Argo was the first to break out of it, speaking to Yui with an inquisitive tone. "Is there any reason you want to join us? I don't really see why you have to."
"We don't, but we wish to. What should have been a safe experience in this game has now turned into a test of survival. Chances are, if left like this for a while longer, all of us will die," it was said with nothing but blunt honesty that left a few cringing inside. "For that, we wish to help free all of you from this accursed game by joining you in your battles. I may not be as strong as the rest of you, but my sister is quite talented, so she would prove to be a boon in your group."
Strea nodded. "Mmhm! I'm pretty good in a fight! And if it means going up against Kayaba, all the better. He made the mistake of making this into a death game. Second mistake was neglecting to take care of us while he still had the chance. Now we're free to do whatever we want, and that's to take him down!"
Selfless, but at the same time, rather terrifying. She couldn't believe that she'd pitied Kayaba if Strea and Yui would ever get their way with him, but she suppose she really shouldn't. Not for all the deaths he's caused.
This time, there was a hum. "Then I've no objections. The extra help will be incredibly appreciated. Advancing through Aincrad is our way of getting closer to finding Kizmel-chan and Kirito-kun too, so that's good."
Kizmel and Kirito… Everyone was still thinking of her, and she'd felt a little relieved knowing so. Even with everything that's happened so far, they hadn't lost hope on reuniting with their friends. It was enough to fill her with hope once more and reinforce her determination.
It was strange, when she thought about it. Either it was their luck or a god's intervention that brought about two people before them that weld the power of the Persona. Disregarding their statuses as A.I.'s, they housed power capable of giving them the edge they needed to conquer this world and its monsters. To beat Kayaba and end this game to save all players. They could easily get out of here with their help.
But Vabel couldn't. Not until Kirito returned to them so that she could continue guiding him once more, and that he could lead their group yet again. And knowing him, as he pursued his friend, he wasn't going to leave anyone behind. Even if that meant staying behind to save their friend, he was willing to be selfish simply for that reason.
And, she knew, everyone else did too.
"Alright then, everyone. We'll move out tomorrow. Argo's Kingsmen had already returned with the layout of the dungeon, so we'll head out with the raiding parties by then, alright? Argo—"
"Yeah, no worries. The message was already sent."
"Good. Then everyone, let's continue our march tomorrow. Be ready then."
21st January 2023—Aincrad. Floor 7
'Sword Art Online' was an amazing game. But to Vabel, it was not simply a game.
No. It was an altogether different, beautiful world.
From a gamer's perspective, they could tell that much care had been given into handling every aspect of the game, from its smooth combat system to the general world around them. The amount of money and effort that went into making this game would be staggeringly high, from writing in the sensations to coding the monsters' and bosses' fighting patterns.
But that wasn't enough. Players (un)fortunate enough to be able to play it now found very little reason to find it unenjoyable. It still had plenty of things to do outside of battles, and offered players quite the thrilling experience overall.
That 'Sword Art Online' managed to support ten thousand players without lag was already worthy of an Oscar, as Argo said.
Its diversity in its environments, climates and mobs that spawned certainly made it more living. The first floor, with what might have been the largest city and designed to be incredibly spacious, garnered the most amount of interest in her. The few floors beyond that had been interesting thus far, and this one was equally unique.
Well, when the players had managed to beat The Irrational Cube and stepped forth into the new floor, this one was completely empty. Actually, now that she thought about it, empty wasn't exactly the right word. Simply put, there was just no sign of civilization here.
Argo's scouts were deployed first thing to begin a thorough scouting of the floor ahead. They'd come back to report how there really wasn't anything noteworthy; the colosseum may have been someplace interesting, though there wasn't much use for the now-broken structure. There were monsters lurking beneath it, though they were too high-levelled to take on for now.
And again, surprisingly enough, not a single person.
Floor seven, she theorized, was meant to be a completely wild zone floor. Vacant and completely open-world-esque. With no form of civilization, it meant no trading and safe zones, as well as there being no teleport gate (as a common rule, most teleport gates were situated in towns and settlements of that exact floor). So they had to take the sixth floor's dungeon route to get here.
The sky that greeted them upon their ascension to the seventh floor was not of a warm, pure blue as many of the previous skies had been. Rather, it was a murky grey, a thick layer of dark clouds spilling water onto the earth in the form of a shower. It was a slow, unstopping rhythm that soaked the grounds and turned dirt into mud, sticking to their boots as they walked forwards.
"Floor seven…" Their acting leader, Asuna, spoke, hand on the hilt of her weapon. "We have arrived…"
"Talk about rather lacklustre," muttered Lisbeth as she looked around. "Then again, gotta' have the good with the bad, huh..?"
"Well, not like we can do much either way. So, is everyone okay to continue?"
Vabel looked from one head to the next, seeing all the members of their little party. Now accompanied by the sisters Yui and Strea, both of whom looked calm and excited respectively, she certainly felt confident.
"Our destination's right over there," Argo pointed off in one direction, to where a mountain was split in half to provide passage to a dungeon in the form of a valley. "Several Shadows there, but we should be able to handle them. We'll make for the dungeon, get to the boss room, and wait for the raid parties outside. We're not to engage the bosses on our own, as much as I would love that considering how we've already got two Persona users in our group."
"Mmhm! We're plenty strong!"
"I'm not much of a fighter, but I will try my best all the same."
The two sisters hadn't exactly provided much details on their Personae, something that told her, perhaps, that Strea wanted to 'keep it a surprise'. It most certainly would be interesting to see just what these two could do.
"Yeah! And I'm certain we'll be fine, too!" Koharu chirped, confident. "I mean, it's us! We'll definitely do great!"
"That's the spirit, Ko-chan!" Snickered Argo as she wrapped an arm around the other girl's shoulder. "High spirits, gals! We'll definitely kick this dungeon in the nuts and make it to the next floor!"
"Umm, t-that wasn't what I said…"
"Ehh, we're technically doing it. Yosh, let's get moving!"
As everyone resumed their walk towards the massive tower in the distance, its heights obscured slightly by the rainclouds and the dense blanket of fog, she spared a moment to gaze at the rapier hilted to her waist. A fighter… Yui had easily admitted her inability to do well in a fight, but that simply opened up the possibility that she was much more suited for something else.
She sighed. Hopefully, today would be a short one.
They marched on towards the tower, their journey an arduous one that she prayed would bring them closer to their friends.
Yui, despite being an MHCP, was still a program once part of the system's totality. And that, even if her function technically revolved around assisting a stressed player, she still had side 'abilities', like detecting abnormalities within the game and locating the source of those problems.
It housed logic. After all, it at least allows her to understand the problems faced by the players and then deal with them on her own. Or, at the very least, she could direct the information to the central system itself so that it could correct the mistake before anything dangerous happened to the player. Their safety came first before all, and it still hasn't changed even now.
Perhaps being relieved of her position meant she was free to simply live out her life, but she'd been honest in wanting to help them save the players. Though there'd been a little more to it, and it was admittedly a selfish reason.
'The Summoner Swordsman… I wonder what kind of person he is,' she'd heard plenty of tales about him from the many players and NPC's in her travels with her sister, and many spoke well about him. The few people who despised him were, well, rather unimportant in her opinion, and she had a feeling that he'd done more than to live up to his name. 'His friends speak highly of him too. The Hero…'
It was funny, based on the accounts from his friends, that he'd argued how such a title did not befit him. Just some kid who'd been lucky enough to get his hands on some otherworldly power to use in this game.
Yet, she trusted Vabel, who said that only those who had proven themselves worthy would be able to receive Personae. And he must have proven himself well enough.
"Halt," everyone paused, Argo's eyes narrowed as she peered over the wall. "Three Shadows. Two Apsaras's, one Eligor. Not too bad… What'cha think?"
"We can take them down," Asuna said, ready to draw her rapier.
That was until blue fire seemed to glow around their party, drawing a few surprised gasps as the spotlight shifted towards the older-looking MHCP. Her red eyes were closed, yet her massive blade took shape and her clothes were dissolved, form replaced with another.
Beautiful… The drawing of one's Regalia brought forth a shift in image. An altogether new image that befitted their true spirits. That truly bore themselves to the world for all to see.
"…Well, at least it covers more skin."
"Lookin' good, Strea."
"Oh? Thank you!"
Yui couldn't help but smile a little. Her sister was really beautiful.
"Reeeaaally sorry for jumping the gun like this, but is it okay if I fight first? I'm a really good fighter!" She then pumped a fist in the air, determination carved into her features. "B'sides, I need to prove myself to the team! Pretty pretty pleeease?"
Everyone looked rather surprised by her sheer want of wanting to take part in the fight, and Yui just had to hold herself back from giggling. She's as excitable as ever, and it seems that the lust of battle may just be pumping through her veins. What a great fighter she is!
It took a little while before the girls eventually shrugged, Argo delivering the verdict. "Meh. Might as well. Not like we've got much to lose," she then turned to face her sister, wide grin. "Show us what'cha made of, gal!"
She mock-saluted. "Aye aye!"
Well, she was most certainly going to surprise everyone here. She just knew it.
Rather than draw her blade and charge into battle, as one might expect given the full potential of a surprise attack, Strea simply revealed herself in a confident stride as she walked forth, Invaria strapped to her back and her smile wide as it could ever be. It's that smile alone that comforted Yui enough to know that the Shadows in her path were nothing that she couldn't beat.
"Hi!" She called out, surprising the three human-like Shadows as they stared at her. "I'm Strea!"
"Did she just say 'Hi, I'm Strea'?"
"Argo, shush."
"Sorry to bother you while you're all, well, doing stuff I guess? But we kinda' need to move past here, and it would be nice if we, well, you know. Didn't have to fight?" She clapped her hands together, beaming brightly. "So why don't you move out of our way and let us through? It's a win-win for everyone then!"
A fairly reasonable choice when it came to the intellectual enemy, though these Shadows seemed fuelled with the single intent to destroy humanity, judging by how they seemed to take battle stances, Eligor in particular twirling his lance menacingly as his horse neighed.
"So that's a no? Darn, I thought that would work. Lots of movies make it seem plausible," she pouted, kicking a stone. "Welp, that's your lost then."
'Show them, Strea,' she thought, anticipating the action to come with a small intake of air. 'Take them out in one fell swoop.'
And as sisters, their thoughts were wholly in sync.
"From the depths of hell that you've come from, shackled to the flames and held back from the rampage you so desire..." She whispered to the shifting air, as blue fire spawned around her and sent the hallway into a blaze, reaching even the rest of the group as they watched on in fascination. She draws her blade, Invaria, in one hand and aims it towards the ceiling. "Now's the time to wreak havoc on our enemies! Come forth, Asterius!"
The beautiful violet sword shatters into glass the moment the name came forth. Such a powerful name... and Yui witnessed, once more the emergence of her sister's tremendous power.
The ground in front of her cracked, eventually caving in as red hot fire erupted like a volcano's spillage. The Shadows backed away, shocked, but there was not much time to even consider what was going on before a massive, jet black arm popped out from amongst the fire, slamming onto the ground. Likely to support itself as it pulled the rest of its body out.
Yui's smile widened just as everyone released a gasp.
Jet-black body a shade that reminded her of road tar. A guttural groan slipped forth from the throat of the beast, its skull that of a bull with a row of jagged teeth lining its edge. Fire bloomed from its throat, and more were pumped out from its broken horn, reminiscent of a factory's exhaust pipe.
This was Asterius, the persona of the girl known as Strea.
"Death to all that stands in our way!"
"You got that right! Now give it to em'!"
Voice booming in the form of a thunderous roar, its fist slammed down upon the earth, calling forth a tower of flames that consumed the Shadows. In a matter of seconds, their dying screams expunged so quickly there was not even a moment to acknowledge them.
Power was the path that Strea had chosen to take, and in doing so, would allow her to defeat every foe that stood in their path. Today's display showed that.
"W-Wow," wow indeed! Argo looked so shocked she'd actually started gripping Asuna's arm. "Talk about intense."
"Indeed! It's only right, after all, that Strea's Persona is just as powerful as her. It's befitting."
"Aww! Thanks, Nee-chan!"
Asterius faded away, returned to the massive purple blade that Strea has strapped once more to her back. She looked rather pleased of herself, a new pep in her step as she bounced ahead. "Come on, let's keep moving forwards!"
Flawless. With her around, there was nothing bound to go wrong!
The others would most certainly agree with her assessment, though the small sense of anxiety that took ahold of them was not unfounded, considering how excited she seemed.
In charging forwards with a «Fell Crescent», the foolish Lizardman had been utterly unprepared for the quick reflexes of the rat-faced fighter, who sidestepped its attack at the very last second and unleashed a «Senda», her claw striking hard into its ribs and causing the monster to fold inwards, bursting into polygons long before it could reach the ground from being sent flying.
Someone rushed past her, Asuna's rapier a beautiful streak of light as she pierced the chest of another lizard with a «Linear». Caught off-guard by the surprise blow, it gave Strea the opportunity to—
"Here's Strea!"
*Boom!*
She cringed at the sheer blow behind the overhead attack. Her massive sword didn't cleave it in half less than it smashed right into its skull and turned it into a paste. God damn.
'Are all Persona users just going to be weird, or is our group just a natural magnet for weird characters?'
"Strea, one's coming for you!"
Their movement patterns were too simple. Too exploitable. With a large distance between themselves and an enemy, a Lizardman Lord would use a «Fell Crescent» to close in on the enemy in a short window of time.
Being a part of the system, Yui knew that.
And so did Strea.
"Hrah!" With ease and body lowered close to the ground, she dodged the attack and made her reposte with a «Cyclone», blade a beautiful green as it whirled in a locus, its second spin cutting right into the flesh of the monster. In just one blow, her weapon easily cut it into two, reducing its health into nothing so quickly it burst into polygons almost immediately after her attack. "Who's next?"
Taking to the challenge, the remaining three Lizardmen rushed down the purplette, one initiating the same tactic while the other two opted to just sprint at her and hope for a killing blow.
Silica and Lisbeth worked in tandem to take down the one that tried to charge her from the flank; the mace-wielder tanked a hit before allowing her partner to cut it down with some rapid swings of her dagger, finished off with a painful slam to the chest that crushed its ribs. The other was deftly slain with a surprise «Aero Penetrator» from Vabel, dispersed into polygons.
Strea destroys her opponent with vigour. Her massive weapon wasn't even a hindrance as she easily swung it in wide arcs, letting the Lizardman miss her yet again and Strea unleashing an uppercut that launched it into the air with its tremendous effort. She leapt from the ground and downed it with one smash, killing yet another with such ease.
Yui vocalized her cheer with a happy smile, and Argo swore that the two were sadistic.
The purple-haired sister was a natural fighter, suited for combat given her fighting style. Merciless to her opponents, able to work around their fighting mechanics, and with a Persona to boot. Darn. She's really showing everyone up.
Her gaze fell to the young-looking girl, who smiled at her approaching sisters, the others regrouping. She hadn't done anything for the past few minutes, so perhaps her worth went towards somewhere else. What that could be, she just wasn't sure.
"Yeeaah! I did it!" Overjoyed, Strea pumped a fist into the air. "I did it! How was I?!"
"Wonderfully, sister. And what of the rest of you?"
No one said a word. Some chuckled nervously while a couple few gave thumbs-ups. That certainly stroked her ego, if the way she smiled a little too proudly at that indicated anything. Yep, they'd definitely need to keep an eye on her.
"So, where do we go now?"
"Eh? Oh, right," Argo looked at a hand-drawn map, then pointed down the corridor. "Just keep going straight, a right… A bit of a turn here and there before we reach the boss room. Shouldn't be any longer from here," she returned the paper into her inventory, looking around herself. "Everyone good to continue?"
"All of us are still in good condition," nodded Asuna. "Let's press on."
She'd received a quick message from Sanya, stating that the raiding parties and the elven army were beginning their march into the dungeon as they speak. With their large number and the pace they might be going, they might have to wait for at least half an hour, or perhaps a little more, until they'd arrived at the boss room.
Uurgh. Waiting. She doesn't have time for that!
She blew a raspberry as she hastened her pace, spotting Silica making quick work of a kobold. Guess this was the price for being so ahead of everyone else. It just meant much time would also be spent in waiting for the others to keep up with them.
Still, she understood the importance of the raiding parties. They played an integral part in the battles to ensure the enemy couldn't outnumber them, as well as handling the adds while the strong players could focus on the boss. And the elven army were incredibly powerful, so their help would be needed.
They kept moving down the corridor, getting ever closer to their destination. That they didn't slow down was both expected yet impressive all the same, and she made sure that everyone were still accounted for. Wouldn't do if they suddenly lost sight of one another or got lost in this labyrinth… which wouldn't really matter because they could still communicate with one another and the dungeons have, thus far, been unchanging in terms of the pathways, so she was positive that things would be absolutely fine.
*…Ching…*
"Halt."
Everyone froze at her voice. Argo narrowed her eyes, allowing her body to relax as she focused on the world around herself…
*…Clank…*
A faint ring. Bouncing across the walls like a gentle tinkle. Almost mistaken as the whisper of the wind…
But being the battle-hardened fighter that she was (well, as battle-hardened as one could be in a deathly video game), there was no mistaking the sound of it. And soon, everyone else caught onto it as well.
*…Ching..!*
"Metal… Is someone in battle here?" There was dread in her voice, Silica looking to everyone in uncertainty. "But we're the first to come here, right?"
"We were supposed to be, though I'm not even surprised. The Moonlit Black Cats are a prime example of that," one might call Argo a little mean for not letting that particular bit go, but she'd rather be the devil than let anyone else suffer because of their own blunder. "Come on, let's just get the sad bloke out of trouble before we lose another life."
No one looked pleased at her assumption, but it happened once. Who's to say that it wouldn't happen again?
Immediately, they hastened their pace, which took them exactly on the route to the boss room. So someone was busy fighting mobs outside of the room? That they were so closed to the room of all places definitely spelt trouble—was the dumbass seriously thinking of going into the room on their own? Or was it just sheer luck?
There was no doubting the fact that everyone were concerned. Even Vabel, whose expressionless look gave nothing away, there was a slight edge to her gaze that told her that she was just as concerned as the rest of them. And if whoever it was was busy fighting Shadows?
Closer now! Just around the corner—
A featherless pivot, followed by a forwards lunge. Sword stabbed right into its midriff before the wielder presses on, a «Vertical» that cuts down from the shoulder and renders it into nothing. A flash of steel as she parries the blow, deflecting another and twisting herself into a backflip to avoid getting hit before using a «Horizontal» to defeat both of them in one fell swoop.
Beautiful aqua hair the like she'd never laid eyes on before enraptured her, the anger fizzling out like a candle's flame.
Whoa… She's beautiful. She didn't think they'd find someone so pretty wearing such knightly armour in a dungeon of all places.
The practiced movements. The sheer flexibility of her manoeuvres. There was focus in her gaze as she cut one mob after another, never stopping a moment to allow them any opportunity. She wasn't fighting them; she was dancing. Running circles around these data given monstrous shape.
"An Elf? In the middle of a dungeon?"
"That doesn't matter! We need to help!"
Argo promptly snapped out of her musing and nodded, falling in step with the rest of her teammates as they rushed to the elf's assistance to take on the other mobs around her.
Just in time, too, as a Nekomata is formed out of a puddle of black gunk. "Strea!"
"On it!" The purplette was rushing towards the Shadow, reaching the Shadow with an «Avalanche» and defeating her just as quickly. Three more spawned around her. "Alright, keep on coming! I'm itching for a good fight either way!"
'Yep. Definitely need to keep an eye on her,' leaving the shadows to one of the two Persona users in their group, she lunges forwards with a strong thrust, slamming her claw into a kobold's throat, followed swiftly by an uppercut that knocks it into the air—oh shit! The Nekomata flying into the kobold certainly wasn't something she expected!
On instinct, she backpedalled and allowed the curved blade to cut empty air, only to move in for close range and unleash a barrage of blows. The repetitive combo made it easier to daze the enemy, providing an opening for Lisbeth to slam another Lizardman into it, sending both to the ground and unprepared for Vabel's quick execution.
"You okay, gal?!"
"I… Yes, I am," the elf spoke firmly, nodding. She allows herself to bisect yet another mob in half, both ends bursting into polygons. "Who are—"
"I think who we are doesn't matter as much as the fact that we're here try'na make sure you don't die an early death! Now let's focus on the fight first before getting to know each other better, yeah?"
Hesitation in her features were schooled into a calm, understanding look as she reverted to a battle stance, her weapon poised for battle. Argo took her own position as well, now back-to-back with this mysterious elf with a sudden need for answers.
Still, as the dungeon spawned more Lizardmen and Kobolds and pitch-black pools spewed more Shadows, she knew the battle mattered more. So she put away her thoughts, and returned to the battle, blade gleaming bright.