Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

The Pale Wraith and the Black Swordsman

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Boss Fight

(December 2nd, 2022 AD, Tolbana Village Amphitheater)

Kirito and Sinon took in their surroundings. There were about forty people composing this raid group, all equipped with a wide variety of weapons, swords, spears, daggers, and everything else in between. They took a seat on one of the top tiers of the concrete bleachers. "It looks like there's a pretty good turn out here." Kirito remarked.

"I hope these people know what they're doing." Sinon muttered. "I don't intend to die just when we're finally getting started."

It wasn't long before Diabel walked onto the stage, flanked by Weiss and Ronan. "All right, are we all here?" Weiss asked. "My name is Weiss, and the chucklehead next to me is Ronan. We want to thank everyone here for coming to this little get together. Then if that's the case, we can get down to business. My associate here will give you the details." He gestured to the blue clad swordsman. "Diabel, The stage is all yours."

"Greetings everyone. I am Diabel, and in the context of the game, the job I rolled is a knight!" He puffed out his chest a little bit, ignoring the comment that there were no specific job classes in Sword Art Online. His face suddenly became all business. "Here's the deal, our party found the boss room at the top of the labyrinth tower earlier today."

This got everyone talking. "That's right, boys and girls, we can finally take our first step to getting out of here." Weiss said. "Now it won't be an easy thing, but if we can accomplish this, and make it to Floor Two, then we can prove to everyone that we can beat this game, and show Kayaba Akihiko just what we really think of him!"

"It's our responsibility as the most capable players in the game to lead the charge and set everyone free from this nightmare world. I know everyone here agrees with me. When I say this." Diabel's gaze swept across the entire auditorium as he said these words, as if to drive the point home. Everyone started clapping and a few even whistled. Weiss and Ronan nodded in silent approval. They had made their case, and everyone was rallying behind them.

"Okay, now that we're all on the same page, our first order of business is to group up into parties of six. A normal party doesn't have a chance against the Boss, we'll need a raiding group consisting of multiple parties." Kirito and Sinon began looking around, and found themselves at a disadvantage. Most of the players were already beginning to party up, and the duo hadn't really taken much time to make friends.

They saw Kou sitting across the way, a young woman with black hair tied up in a ponytail sitting next to him. Kirito gently nudged Sinon in the side. "Hey, they don't look like they're partying up with anybody yet. How about we see if they're willing to join up? It's just for the raid." Sinon nodded, and the two slid down the bench.

"I take it you two are looking to party up?" Kouichirou asked, giving an inviting smile. "Come on, we're not with anybody yet either. The name's Kouichirou, this lovely lady right here is my wife, Ayami."

The woman named Ayami gave a slight nod, before going back to checking her halberd.

"Don't mind her, she's just getting focused for the mission to come." Kouichirou said, hand going to the spear and shield at his side.

"Thanks for welcoming us, I'm Kirito." The young sword wielder felt at ease around the spear user.

"Sinon." Was the dual dagger user's curt response. "So I guess we're partying up for right now?" Kou activated his menu, sending a party invite for both her and Kirito, both pushed the accept button and now four names and HP bars were at the top of everyone's screens. Diabel was about to give his next instruction when he was interrupted.

"Wait just a minute!" All of a sudden a figure appeared at the top of the amphitheater, leaping down the bleachers all the way to the stage. A man with orange hair wearing a light armor vest over a crème colored tunic and brown pants with a sword strapped on his back looked around with a disapproving sneer on his face. "The name's Kibaou! And before we get started, I have to get something off my chest!"

Everyone wasn't sure what to make of this new arrival, although Ayami did. "Hey Kou…look at the way that bozo down there has his hair styled." She held up a hand to muffle her laughter. "It makes him look like a porcupine or a hedgehog!" She wasn't wrong, Kibaou had styled his hair with lots of points.

Sinon did her best to cover her own snickering while Kirito and Kouichirou settled for just making smug faces while Kibaou launched into his rant. "We all known about the 2000 people who died, some of you need to apologize for them right now!" He pointed at the audience. "I know there are Beta Testers here! Why don't you step forward right now and admit it! Those people are dead because the Beta Testers took off and left us in the lurch! They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests!"

Kirito winced a little while Kouichirou just glared at Kibaou's words. "I say they apologize right now give up all the money and items they have! It's only fair that they pay us back!" Ronan and Weiss finally had enough of listening to him run his mouth.

"Why don't you get lost, Porcupine Head?" Ronan sneered. "Apparently you've had your head up your ass for the past month." He produced a small brown book. "See this, everyone? It's a strategy guide, and it happens to include tactics for taking down the floor boss. And do you want to know who helped create it?" Kibaou faltered under Ronan's hard glare. "That's right! The Beta Testers! It's made available to all players at every store in every town. Tell me…do you have happen to have one of these?"

"Uh…no!" Kibaou stuttered out. Ronan looked to Yukimasa, then back to the loudmouth, before winding up. The book flew across the stage, connecting square in the middle of his forehead. "Ow!" He screamed, grabbing at the sore spot, "What the hell was that for?"

"There, you can have that one free of charge!" Ronan stalked up, getting right in Kibaou's face while grabbing a fistful of his shirt. "It's clear you don't know what the fuck you're talking about, you walking hedgehog! So why don't you quit flapping your gums and let the people who actually know what they're doing take charge?" He tossed Kibaou to a tall black man with a shaved head and a large battle axe on his back. "Agil, kindly escort this asshole out of here! We don't need the likes of him cramping our style!"

Agil nodded, grabbing Kibaou out by the collar. But before he could take a step, Diabel grabbed onto his arm. "Please…there's no need for such hostility." He spoke in a diplomatic manner. "This kind of infighting will only hamper any attempts to clear the game. We need to make a unified front; otherwise we'll never get anywhere. I'm certain Kibaou here is the same as everyone else. He simply wishes to go home. We all do."

Everyone began talking amongst themselves. Ronan and Weiss exchanged a look, Diabel wasn't supposed to do something like this. The self-proclaimed knight held his hand out. "This isn't the time for a witch hunt. Please Kibaou, we need every able body for this. Will you help us out?"

Kibaou snorted, before taking Diabel's hand. "Fine…but only because you asked." He then stalked over to the closest bench and sat down, glowering. Diabel sighed and resumed speaking.

"With that out of the way, we'll get back to more pressing matters. Now that everyone is partied up, we'll get ready to face the boss." He opened the book. "According to the guide, the floor boss is named Illfang the Kobold Lord, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He has four HP bars, and is armed with an axe and buckler shield. When the last bar goes into the red, he'll switch over to a curved sword called a talwar. He can change his attack patterns as well."

"That's it for the briefing." Weiss said calmly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "As for loot, all money will be distributed equally. The party that defeats the boss gets the XP, and if you get an item, you get to keep it. If you need to get any last minute potions and crystals, please do so now." His eyes flashing back to Diabel. "We'll reconvene at the door to the boss room in two hours. Good luck everyone!"

"Can we get a lunch break while we're at it?" Somebody shouted.

"Eat your Cheetos on your own fucking time!" Ronan grunted. "Class dismissed!" And with that the meeting broke up. Diabel was about to head out when he was grabbed by both arms. "And for you Mr. Knight. We need to talk!" And with that Ronan and Weiss dragged him behind one of the stores. "You have a lot to answer for pal!"

"What are you talking about?" Diabel was taken aback.

"Don't play innocent with us! We heard about your little scam to rip off one of the players to get his sword!" Weiss said, the shock was evident on the front man's face. "Did you think I don't know what goes on in my own organization? Argo told me everything. She may be known as the Rat, but she knows the value of trust…not to mention she likes me a whole lot more than you."

Diabel sputtered, unable to form words in his mouth, Weiss put his arm around his shoulder. He smiled slightly. There was plainly nothing happy in it. His voice, and his eyes were piercingly chilled like a Hokkaido winter. "Frankly, Diabel, you must be stupid to think I wouldn't get wind of this. Don't speak. Just listen. If you want the LA bonus, that's fine. Going behind my back isn't the way to do it. Neither is dragging your little friend in to discredit us. If you're work against us, you're working against yourself. I didn't bring you into this just to have you play the game against me. Diabel, if you wanna play the game with me. You'll lose. And you won't have anyone to appeal to dreams of grandeur after that. I'll make certain of that, trust me."

Diabel stood there frozen. The fear was clearly written on his face. His defeat was visible to everyone. Weiss simply clapped him on the shoulder, left him to stew over it. Weiss walked off with Ronan. A pleased smile was on both of their faces. That's simply how business was done.

(The Same Time)

Unbeknownst to Weiss and his cohorts, their conversation had been overheard. Argo and Asuna were both hiding around the corner. The rapier user had been surprised when the info broker had almost popped out of nowhere, grabbing onto her wrist. "Sorry about the rough treatment, princess, but there's something you need to see and hear."

Argo dragged Asuna back to the area where the boys had gone to speak. The Rat held a finger to her lips. "Don't say anything, just listen." Her voice dropped low as both Weiss and Ronan continued to tear into Diabel. "You've never seen this side of your man, have you?" Argo whispered, to which Asuna shook her head, a look of disproval in her eyes. "Judging from your reaction, it's nothing you're new to."

"My mother, she wasn't afraid to intimidate people when she had to." Asuna's eyes narrowed, recalling quite a few of Kyoko's shadier business deals, the total lack of empathy. "Why are you doing this?" She asked Argo.

"I'm doing this because you deserve to know." Argo put her hands behind her head. "Not going to lie, sweetie, but you're pretty much the first lady of this group. You don't strike me as the type to like being left in the dark. All of this…Weiss is doing it for you, Asuna. Because he genuinely wants to get you home alive." She smirked. "Not to mention he doesn't want to incur the wrath of your brother and his wife."

"Now you have a choice to make." She leaned in close, the shadows dancing on her brown eyes. "You can either ignore what you just heard…or stand by his side." Argo sauntered off. "Until next time, 'Suna. Keep those chuckleheads out of danger for me, will ya?" Asuna watched as the Rat disappeared around a corner.

With Argo gone, Asuna knew she had work of her own to do. She took a deep breath, going to where she knew Weiss was.

Weiss saw Asuna marching up. "What's up, sweetheart?" He asked.

"We need to talk…in private. Can we go back to the hotel?" Weiss felt uneasy at the neutral tone in Asuna's voice. He could tell straight away she was upset about something.

They arrived at the inn, going straight to Weiss's bedroom. "Is something wrong, dear? You've been rather tense lately."

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that." Asuna put her hand on her hips, and Weiss couldn't help but feel a chill going down his spine at the hard glare, making him think that maybe Asuna had more of Kyoko in her than she thought. "Argo and I overheard your little chat with Diabel. I didn't you could be so underhanded! I expected that from my mother, but never from the likes of you!"

"I can lie to a lot of people…" Weiss slumped a little. "But I can't lie to you, Asuna. Yeah, I've made some dirty deals." With that he put his hands on her shoulders. "But it's only because I love you so much…that day when we took a bath together? It's stuck with me. I can't stop thinking about it. That night of passion made me realize just how much you really mean to me, Asuna."

"I don't want to lose to my uncle. I can't fathom what drove him to these levels, but I'm not going to let him take away what I hold most dear." He ran fingers along her cheek, eliciting a very cute blush. "I want to see your face in the real world again, but until then we have to fight. I'll be your strength if you be mine…will you stand by my side, Asuna?"

Asuna smiled warmly, putting her arms around his neck. "Yes…I will." She said, and the two pulled together for a tender kiss. Even on the eve of a huge moment in Aincrad, when the threat of death was still so very real, the love of two people blossomed.

(December 3rd, 2022 AD, First Floor Labyrinth)

The atmosphere was tense as the raid group stood outside the door to the boss room. Weiss, Ronan, Asuna, and Diabel all stood in front of the gathered players. Weiss took his weapon, a massive two-handed sword, positioning it in front of him, resting his hands on the pommel. "All right, boys and girls. This is where our trip home begins." He looked across everyone. "Remember your jobs, and we can get through this alive."

"Let's wreck Illfang's shit bad, people!" Ronan declared. A cheer went up among the players. Kirito came up putting a hand on the heavy stone door, he looked to Ronan who nodded thusly, and with a strong push, the doors began to give, light from outside pooled inside, and everyone could see Illfang the Kobold Lord sitting at the opposite end of the room on a massive stone throne.

The raid party entered through the pillars. A ring of torches sprung to life with blue flames burning their light through the boss room, and an ethereal purple gleam flashed over the walls. Illfang let out a massive roar, raising his axe and shield, before leaping off the raised dais to the floor, leaving a generous sized dent in the floor.

Multiple flashes of light heralded the appearance of the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, looking like twisted parodies of knights. There was no more need for words; all that was needed was to fight. Diabel pointed his sword forward. "All warriors…ADVANCE!" With a final yell, the two sides charged, and the battle was joined.

Kouichirou, Ayami, and Kirito led the charge. The tip of Kou's spear began glowing an angry blood red as he buried his spear into the side of one of the sentinels before raising his shield to block its sword. Ayami was right behind him, spinning her halberd, slashing in a horizontal motion to chop the head of the sentinel clean off. Kou looked to his wife, giving a deft nod.

Kirito charged up a Slant attack, meeting the first Sentinel he happened upon, only for the monster to block his attack, he went for a Vertical, knocking it away. He was about to make his next attack when a red blur streaked by him, he caught a glimpse of a rapier with a light green sheen on the blade, stabbing multiple times into the Sentinel, causing it to shatter in blue-green light.

"You all right?" a feminine voice asked.

"Yeah, thanks for the assist." Kirito said, not able to see the girl's face, hidden by the hood of the dark red cloak she had on.

Sinon brought her daggers up, slashing another Sentinel repeatedly, even going for a kick, before burying both knives into the monster's skull, only to be knocked away by the Sentinel's mace, Kirito swept in, both he and Sinon double teamed the monster knight, sword and dagger interchanging in a mad fury.

It was then Weiss leapt into the fight, wielding a massive bastard sword. "Sorry for cutting in, but I couldn't let you have all the fun now, could I?" He quipped, whipping around in a wide slash, sending the Sentinel back. He pointed at Illfang. "You two go and help the others with the big guy. Asuna and I can handle the small fish." He indicated to the cloaked girl. Kirito and Sinon both exchanged glances before going to join the bulk of the raiding party.

They arrived just in time to see Agil and Kibaou slam their respective weapons into Illfang's side, leaving long, glowing red wounds across his body. Both Kirito and Sinon were quick to join in, Sinon going for a furious barrage of wild slashes, while Kirito went in aiming to use his newly learned Horizontal Square, tracing a rhombus across the boss monster's hide, knocking a moderate amount off the first HP bar.

It continued on for the better part of thirty minutes, slowly but deliberately knocking away at each HP bar. They were soon down to the final bar, everyone watching intently as the bar turned to yellow. Illfang's axe swept across Asuna, who barely avoided being decapitated, although her cloak was destroyed. She glared at the beast. "You asshole! I liked that cloak!"

She responded with a massive chain of Linear, within the past month she had made it look like a fine art, jabbing and thrusting with her trusty Wind Fleuret at such speeds, the human eye couldn't follow. She gracefully flipped over Illfang's clumsy swing, meeting up with Weiss. "Having a good day, dear?" He quipped, shouldering his heavy blade.

"He trashed the cloak you gave me!" Asuna huffed.

"Oh did he?" Weiss smirked. "If that's the case, our friend here is going to have pay for that." The couple brought their weapons up, charging at Illfang, their fellow warriors parting ways to let them through, even Diabel gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. The Kobold Master swung its axe, only to be deflected by Weiss's sword, giving Asuna an opening to use her newly learned Quadruple Pain, knocking the beast back.

This was Weiss's cue to pull out a Cyclone move, leaping up as he began his spin, managing to leave a nasty gash across the monster's wide belly, knocking the HP bar to red. Illfang snarled, tossing his weapons aside. "This is you guys! He's going for his…" His eyes widened when he saw the weapon the boss monster had pulled out. Instead of the curved blade they were expecting, it was long and straight. "Not a talwar!"

Before he could shout out a warning, Diabel and his party charged in, ready to strike a decisive blow, when Illfang swung his massive blade, causing all seven to be knocked back. The Kobold roared, bringing his weapon down to hit Diabel with a brutal, four hit combination attack. "Diabel!" Kibaou yelled.

"Group E and F, get the other members of Group C out of there!" Ronan ordered. "Damn, they all got stunned!"

Kirito noticed the prone figure of Diabel, currently resting in Asuna's lap as Ronan and Weiss stood over him. He ran over. "Is he going to be all right?" He asked, watching as his HP bar slowly inched toward empty. Kirito pulled out a recovery potion, passing it onto Weiss. "Here, give him this!"

Weiss was about to pour it on Diabel, but the blue clad swordsman weakly bushed the bottle away. "No…I don't deserve it." He whispered. "Weiss, Ronan I'm sorry…just promise me…that you get them all home safe. I really did…want that." With that his eyes closed, and he shattered into blue light.

"Damn it!" Ronan stamped the ground in frustration. "Even if he was a prick, he didn't deserve to die like that!" He glared at Illfang. "Okay, time to put that thing down!"

"Everyone retreat back ten steps!" Weiss ordered, looking to Asuna, Sinon, and Kirito. "You guys…we're going to lay the hurt on that bastard, and make him squeal like the oversized dog that he is!" The four man team didn't hesitate to leap into the fight. The white haired swordsman began barking orders. "All right, Sword Boy and I will offset Illfang's strikes. Asuna, you and Dagger Girl will deal the actual damage to them. We have to strike fast and hard, and watch out for that AoE swing."

Illfang swung the blade again, all four of them scattered. Kirito and Weiss's blades caught the massive nodachi. Asuna and Sinon both took their attack, Asuna going for an Oblique while Sinon went for a quick double slash. They leaped out of the way, allowing their respective men to once again block the giant sword. Twin daggers and rapier cut through Illfang.

Weiss took note of the HP bar, the barest sliver of red showing. "Let's take this beast down!" He looked to Kirito, who nodded, charging up what would be the final attack of this fight. His Anneal Blade glowing bright blue, he slashed from the upward left to the middle near the bottom, in mid swing, Kirito adjusted his grip going for an other diagonal slash to the top on the right side, creating a "V" shape.

"You're done!" Kirito smirked, watching as Illfang the Kobold Lord let out a final roar of agony before glowing blue, vanishing in a shattering of glass. It took a few minutes for everything to sink in. It was then the word "Congratulations" flashed into view, hovering over everyone's heads. Windows came up in front of all the players, indicating what they had earned from the battle.

The entire raid party let out a large cheer of victory. It hadn't been easy, but they had finally beaten the floor boss, and could now move on through Aincrad. Kirito panted, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the message. "Congratulations, You have won the Last Attack bonus!" Another window opened showing he had won a piece of armor called "The Coat of Midnight."

"Hey!" Kirito turned to see Sinon, with an uncharacteristically big grin on her face. "That was incredible! You kicked that thing's ugly ass!" She helped him up, giving him a huge hug. They were soon joined by Weiss, Ronan, Asuna, and Agil.

"That was some pretty good swordsmanship. Our victory was made possible because of you." Agil noted. The others began voicing their own acknowledgement, starting to clap for Kirito. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was dry after the intense fight.

"Not bad, pal. I don't think Illfang knew what hit him once you guys started whaling on him!" Ronan smirked, thumping Kirito on the back. Weiss took Kirito by the shoulder, the three boys walking a distance away where few could hear him.

"Hey…that was some fine blade work back there." Weiss said. "Listen man, I'll cut right to the chase. It was in large part to you that we managed to take down that oversized…whatever the hell it is. Think you would be willing to become the public face for our crew?" He gazed to the still cheering crowd. "Diabel was our rallying point, and even though he's gone, we still need someone who the others can look to."

Kirito wasn't sure what to make of this. He was just doing what he had thought was right, and never really saw himself in any kind of position of authority. "Uh…can I have some time to think about this?" Weiss nodded before looking to Ronan, he inclined his head, and the two ringleaders headed off to give Kirito his space.

"What do you think of him?" Weiss spoke to his cohort in a hushed tone. "I mean, he clearly knew what he was doing when we took down that oversized gerbil. Not to mention he doesn't look like someone who's overly shifty."

Ronan nodded. "Yeah, this guy strikes me as being the fairly honest type." He looked to where the other players were crowding around Kirito. "He certainly seems to have won over everyone else. I think we have a winner on our hands."

"Stop cheering for him!" Kibaou's voice cut down the good mood. He glared at Kirito. "It was because of you Diabel died! Don't try to deny it! You knew the technique he was going to use! I saw how you two looked at each other! The boss killed Diabel because you didn't warn him in time!"

"That's right!" Another player angrily shouted out. "He knew the boss's weapon was different, and that would it change the attack patterns. Those lousy beta testers really did screw us over!" the entire crowd that had just been cheering for Kirito's victory was now becoming increasingly more and more hostile.

Kouichirou's hands gripped tightly around his spear, contemplating going for Kibaou from behind, but Ayami's hand on his wrist, and a subtle shake of the head dissuaded him. Ronan and Weiss looked to each other with growing alarm, they had hoped that by taking down the boss it would bring the team together, but now one man threatened everything. The entire witch hunt was about to start up again, this time even worse.

Weiss was about to open his mouth when a faint laughter permeated the room; it was a cold laughter, completely devoid of any compassion or merriment. Everyone turned to see Kirito with a disgusted view on his face. "So you think I'm a beta tester? You really think I'm so pathetic?" The entire crowd parted, letting him walk through as he headed for the stairs leading up to the next floor.

"Kirito, what are you talking about?" Sinon couldn't understand what her partner was up to. Her only response was a raised finger. She then saw Kirito's eyes, and she put it together. "Oh you…stupid, noble moron!" She muttered, as he walked by, sweeping the entire crowd with an unforgiving glare.

"Don't even think of lumping me in with those pathetic noobs. Most of the thousand players who got a slot in the beta were so green it wasn't even funny. They didn't even know how to use the menu…much less level up." He put his hands in his pockets. "You guys are better than they ever were." Kouichirou wasn't sure if he should be insulted by the younger player's words.

Kirito turned to face everyone. "Me…I'm nothing like those guys. During the beta, I made it higher than anyone else." Everyone took a subconscious step back at the sinister smirk on his face. "Yeah…I knew all about the boss's attack patterns because I faced monsters with similar moves on the upper floors." He chuckled ominously. "I know other things too, more than any info broker. Hell…I make the legendary Rat look clueless. So tell me…does anyone want to mess with me? Go right ahead. I'll beat you down so fast you won't even have time to blink."

"You're worse than a beta tester, you're a fucking cheater!" Kibaou snarled. Everyone started chattering again. They had thought it was bad enough to be shown up by a beta tester, but now this was something a hundred times worse, infinitely worse!

"He's a beta tester and a cheater! He's a Beater!" Another one said. Asuna looked to Weiss, wondering if he knew anything about this. He just gave a slight shake of the head. This was something even he wasn't expecting.

Kirito's lips twisted into a sinister grin, and everyone immediately shut up, there was an almost maniac glee in his eyes. "A Beater, huh?" He opened his menu. "Yeah…I like that sound of that a lot. Just don't confuse me with those pathetic beta testers anymore." He scrolled down to his newly won prize and equipped it. A long, dark coat materialized on his body.

He looked over his shoulder. "Come on, Sinon. We're leaving."

She looked to the others, giving them all a brief glare of disgust. "Pray none of you losers ever run into us. I can't guarantee I'll be so nice then!" Sinon hissed, before taking off after her partner.

"Ronan, stay here and tend to the injured, I've got something I need to do." Weiss said, running for the stairs himself.

(Floor Two)

The warm sun was the first thing Kirito felt when he stepped out onto the second floor of the floating Black Steel Castle of Aincrad. A slight breeze brushed up against him, causing the Coat of Midnight to blow around him. He sighed, wanting to just collapse right there. "Well…that was really hard to do."

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" He turned to see Sinon standing there. She stalked up, whapping him upside the back of the head. "That was the most reckless thing I think I've ever seen you do! You just painted a colossal bullseye on your back! Not to mention mine! No one will want anything to do with you now!" She wasn't expecting him to give a wan smile.

"That was the entire point, Sinon. Now that the heat is on me…it won't be on the other beta testers. That guy, Kibaou, He was about to incite a riot. They would have kept putting all the blame on the beta testers until they actively started hunting them down. I just gave them an outlet for all their hostility." He sighed. "With any luck, they'll forget all about the remaining beta testers. If that's the burden I have to shoulder…then so be it."

Sinon put her hands on her hips. "Okay, but it's still reckless."

"I couldn't agree more." They turned to see Weiss coming up the stairs. "But reckless or not…his plan worked. Although I can't say I'm too happy about this turn of events." He walked up to Kirito, red eyes meeting grey. "That wasn't your call to make, dude. I mean seriously, anyone with two brain cells to rub together would see you were fronting. Kibaou is a special kind of stupid to fall for that ridiculous melodrama you put on."

"It's not like I can take it back now." Kirito pointed out. "If I hadn't said anything, it could have gotten ugly real fast, and we both know it."

Weiss folded his arms, letting out a resigned sigh. "No…you aren't wrong. I was honestly ready to go straight for Kibaou after he opened that big fat mouth of his. It would have started a full-blown civil war, which you may have neatly prevented, and for that I will say thank you." He held his hand out. "My name is Weiss. Thanks for taking one for the team. Just don't make it a habit all right?"

Kirito smiled, taking Weiss's hand in a firm handshake. "Sure, the name's Kirito, and this is Sinon." The dagger user idly waved.

"Well…despite what the cactus head thinks, you will always be welcome in our raid party. You can count on that." Weiss said. "I have a feeling we'll need all the help we can get."

Their handshake was a firm already. It tightened further. It was a sign of the mutual respect. This was the start of the legend nobody besides three of them knew of.