Chapter 7 - Stopping the Advance

"Damage is calculated with these factors in mind. First it is split into two arch-categories. The first arch-category is WEAPON which consist of Sharpness and Hardness of the weapon. From the PLAYER side damage is calculated using the factors of Speed at which the melee weapon was swung and Strength behind the swing; this creates the overall factor of Power. However lastly is the Location factor which is where the opponent is struck. These few factors are what are used to calculate damage within Seven Kingdoms Online for Melee Weapons." ~ Seven Kingdoms Online: Combat

It had been three months since that night of sleep with Argo. They had occasionally gone back and snuggled, holding each other close to one another; on the few rare nights. They had yet to define their relationship in any manner, instead choosing to act as though the kissing had not really happened and only when they were holding one another during sleep did they allow themselves the slip to dip into kissing out, with a few times Argo's hands wandering underneath his shirt. But besides that Kirito had been at hard work with exploring and mapping out the surrounding areas around their capital city.

The one advantage that [Seido] had over the other nations was that they could only be accessed by either boat through the sea with very few beach points where they would actually be able to beach and unload, or by flight. With Argo as Empress she had been unable to continue on her gathering information, however she had overcome this by choosing a hand few picked people to be her ears and eyes which would then constantly stream in a large amount of information to her; which she would then in turn create into a library. True, their Kingdom did have its own library; however Argo had that demolished before being rebuilt with large rooms that spanned far as it was wide. Kirito provided her with maps of the surrounding areas at astounding speeds, recreating the entire map of [Seido] which had been lost at the end of the beta season. Because of this library with its various tomes of information and knowledge, including tactics on how to fight certain respawning field bosses, how to do certain quest and where they were; many rushed to these libraries to gain as much as they could. Yet Argo being the sly dealer that she was made a 10,000 Col fee that was required to be paid upon entree and that would give any who entered access to the [Outer Sanctuary] of the [Great Library of Seido]. However if one wanted to access further information and more detailed maps and the such it would require them to enter the [Inner Sanctuary] of the library, which would cost anyone seeking to enter 50,000 Col. Finally there was the [Center Sanctuary] which at the center most part of the library; this had the most secret of secrets and information that one would normally pay hundred of thousands of Col for. To enter this one must have permission from Argo herself and pay the cost of 100,000 Col.

Yet whilst Kirito had explored the lands around the capital city, mapping both generic maps as well as more detailed ones with the proper spawning spots of monsters, quest locations, field bosses and dropped items; he stumbled across something that caused both a mixture of fear and excitement for the Kingdom of [Seido]. With their land split into five main islands, and their Kingdom being in the southern most island, they could not really pass over to any other land due to the lack of information and technology required to build a boat. However that did not mean that other land masses could not do the same. True that people could probably fly between the islands, but that required one to be level 150 or more to do so and currently most players were only around the 50 mark.

On the other three major islands were NPC's that were vicious, they were programmed to become events to force the players to level up quickly to overcome them. If they did not they would be wiped out and destroyed. The fourth island did not have any inhabitants that were known of as a huge raging storm circled it like a dragon circling its hoarded gold. When the time was right the other three islands would suddenly become active, meaning they would reach out and try to capture land of the other islands to expand their empire. It would not all be at once, but they would closely follow each other; to make things harder each of the other three Kingdoms would have higher technology based functions making them more powerful in terms of weaponry, transportation and defensive capabilities. Upon beating these other three nations the players would then be able to set up one main capital city on each island before venturing to the center island and beating the boss that hid there. Once defeated they would be able to intermingle with the other nations.

There bonuses and rewards for all players at the end of this event with certain side missions that could be completed for extra rewards. During the beta this was a massive shock to many of the players and it resulted in almost every single one of the Seven Major Kingdoms collapsing and needing the Game Masters to restart the entire game. But now this was not just a game, this was life or death and this war could potentially mean the death of many players. Battle lines would be drawn, ambushes would happen; these invading NPC's could use Sword Skills just like any other mob, had their own names and health; some could use wings and they had tactics that adapted to the battlefield. It was not as straightforward as just hack and slash, there were intricate plans. They had their own champions, equipped with powerful armor and specialized attacks; powerful in their own right and more dangerous than field bosses. Kirito even remembered that one time when an invading force had managed to capture and force a [Wind Wyvern] to assist them in battle; it had caused havoc amongst the lines of players in the beta.

It was on this one peaceful day where it was discovered this event had begun.

An outpost about five hour flight from their capital Kingdom of [Seido] was ransacked and killed. Nothing left but smoking piles of wood and the empty silence of dead NPC's. It was small and generally seen as insignificant, no real specialized quest there nor any rewards that would have been worth the five hour journey. The only people that ventured into that area were players who wanted the privilege of solitude and untouched grinding grounds. Three players had rushed back one day, their wings buzzing like the fluttering of insects and health bars dangerously low, they crash landed into the floor just before the palace gates. They caused quite the commotion with many trying to get information out of them, until Empress Argo appeared and called them into the palace, closing the gates to anyone else until she had the full story; controlling information was second nature to her after all. With the players bandaged up and healed they explained what had happened to them as they stood before the Throne of the Empress.

There had been twenty-five players in that area, most already in parties preset before venturing out towards the edges of the Kingdom. All of them had gathered back into the small outpost village due to there being hints and clues by the NPC that rumours was that an army was coming to invade. All the quest that people were doing had eventually forced them back into the village before locking them there by having a quest that stated for them to defend the village. Suddenly during the high afternoon an attack was launched, one moment there was peace amongst the trees with the soft sound of water lapping against the shores in a nearby pond; the next a house was on fire and arrows were raining down from the sky into the village. The players had reacted quickly, many ducking to hide or defending themselves with shields, only a few were injured during the first arrow hail. However that could not be said for the NPC's in the village, the guards that normally took watch over the small village had been essentially entirely wiped out; only five guards remained out of the ten. Then came the screaming warriors rushing out from the bushes, seeing a humanoid figure rushing at them the players had frozen up, caught unaware of the new switch of enemies. It had proven to be fatal as three fell in quick succession of the spear wielding enemies.

Eventually they had retaliated, the color of Sword Skills bathing the land as they sliced into the enemy, parties sticking together as they held their own against the invading horde. However it wasn't soon till numbers overtook their strength, it seemed that for every enemy struck down and that disappeared into blue fluttering light, another would just as quickly take their place. Another four players died due to mental fatigue. The remaining eighteen players had quickly attempted to leave, decided that dying here was not worth whatever reward came from the quest. By that point all the NPC's of the outpost village were already dead, houses were ablaze and it was only the players that stopped them from overspilling their land. Yet out of the eighteen that remained and were fleeing, three could not fly and five had wings that only supported quick burst of agility and speed. Those on the ground had been quickly swarmed, slain where they fell on the ground as they disappeared into the fading blue shards of light; Final Stand incapable of helping them when they were just stabbed again before they got any chance to retaliate. Those other five that could not fly long distances had been shot down from the sky by arrows that pierced their thighs, arms, bodies, heads. When they fell from the sky they looked like porcupines with the amount of arrows sticking out of them; most never even survived the fall.

The surviving ten had flown as hard as they could but then they were ambushed by some mobs along the way; mobs that normally would have been no problem but with their already damaged bodies and then damaged minds wrecked by death staring them in the face as well as anxiety and shock of their friends death, they were easy pickings. Only three had managed to escape the sudden entanglement of spider webs, the other seven pulled into the underground caverns very much alive; their screams heard travelling through the winds like wraiths of the dead.

Hearing this report Argo had immediately called for the gathering of the [Courts of Seido], this meant most of the highest skilled blacksmiths, warriors, merchants, information gatherers and guild masters were there. The discussion wore on for weeks, in that time four other outpost from the Western front were crushed, each getting closer and closer towards the Kingdom. The invading force were recognized as NPC's from the Kingdom of [Seiyari]; vicious warriors who wielded the spear as their primary melee weapon. They had established a home base upon the Western Beach, one of the three ways to enter their island by boat. From there a steady supply line of soldiers and supplies were being given to the base, raid teams seeking out where the capital city was and seeking ways to overcome it. Each fallen outpost of their Kingdom resulted in the [Seiyari] turning it into their outpost. The debates of the court resulted in anger from the players, they were talking about strategy yet nothing was being done, they were talking about ideas but yet nothing was implemented.

Argo finally had enough, she demanded with the authority of the title Empress that an army would be assembled and be sent out alongside some NPC soldiers with a selected few battleworn worthy soldiers who would act as generals to take charge of on the ground fighting. There would be a selection process that would take place immediately on the morrow and that all players were to go gather materials for weapons. When she addressed the entire player based nation there was a promise that she would ensure later roles were given out to their Kingdom; she said how they had fallen lax and that due to this a war against computers was seen as something hard. This was pathetic; and all agreed with her. Her words, her actions, her charisma which she had always hid behind a little shyness burst forward and captured the attention of everyone within their Kingdom. It was amazing actually how it happened, one would think that many people would clash; and clashes there were in the lower ranks, but unity stayed strong in the higher ranks. The selection process for warriors and generals did two things, one it cut down discrimination against beta players because individuals were recognized by skill and not title and two it only allowed the skilled to enter into their ranks. All were given standardised gear, no accessories were allowed.

Of course Kirito entered, easily overcoming every adversary placed against him with nothing more than a few moves, his speed, strength, agility, accuracy and tactical mind placed him far above the other players. It came to no surprise for anyone competing that he easily swooped into the grand finals of the competition; a competition that took the span of a few days whilst NPC soldiers were sent out to stop the advancing enemy army with a few high level information gathering players. However, upon the advice of Argo, Kirito cleared the entire competition wearing a mask. Before that competition he had gone unnoticed by everyone, he did not want that to change whilst helping to push back the gathering powerful force that could potentially kill all of them. If they were the same, or more powerful, than in the beta then their Kingdom was about to face a crisis that perhaps only the [First Invasion] could top. Yet only the few beta players knew what was to come, no one else did; they were laughing, smiling and cracking jokes, few were solemn. Either those were the ones who had lost friends already to the outpost raids, or those who knew what was about to happen.

They prepared as much as they could for a week before scouts that had been stationed upon the hills surrounding their Kingdom came rushing back with word that the first army of the [Seiyari] was approaching. It had certainly been a battle.

-Flash Back-

The sky was crystal baby blue, the few small clouds lolling about slowly as they were pushed by the winds high above as though they were pulled by the chariots. Kirito looked around him, he had chosen to wear the full Teldazikim armor set, the cloak hugged him well and so very few could even see the quality of his armor. He had found a new feature of his mask, that was that it distorted his voice at will making it sound much deeper than it actually was. In both of his hands he held normal steel weapons, forged for them by the blacksmiths of [Seido]. He spun them unconsciously, letting the weight of the blade roll with his wrist as he prepared his mind for the battle that was about to begin. He could feel the nervousness in the air, it seemed that those chosen to step forward finally realized that this was not some game event, this was a place where they could die and never be found again. There would be no body for burial, no ground that would be dug and tombstone above their name. No this was a place where if one died they died without a trace.

Kirito looked up, his eyes staring through the twin eye sockets in his mask that blazed with green fire. His eyes catching Argo's, she had refused to sit back and let people do things without her. She was dressed in her purple armor, wings hidden like him, her bow drawn with an arrow fletched between her fingers and resting against the body of the longbow. The customary Palace Guards surrounding her in their famous red armor, scaled like shoulder guards that flowed into a breastplate covering their entire torso. Overlapping layers of armor sealing around their bodies making them large and an easy target that could quickly cover the Empress. In their hands they held their swords, in the other shields as they surrounded the leader of their nation. He could see Shojin standing close to Argo, much too close for his personal liking. His grip on the leather hilt in his hands creaked as his knuckles whitened underneath the gauntlets.

He looked forward, missing the purple burning eyes that had turn to stare at him, missing the slight down turn of her lips behind that mask. They hadn't had any time to themselves in the last few weeks, with all the preparation going on and with him always out on recon to give her something they hardly had time to even sit down and talk like they use to. She realized that despite everything he had given her, surrendering to his emotions whenever he was with which was a strange thing for him; giving her his life when he constantly tried to save her whilst they had fought that shadow beast. She had given him nothing more than a few kisses and allowed him to hug her. She promised to herself that the moment this issue was over, the moment they got some time alone she would make up for it. She would not be someone who just took, yes she was vicious when it came down to information haggling and the controlling of the political courts, but for him she would give up anything for free.

Of course she would tease him about it, dangling him and whatever he wanted just barely out of reach of one another to make him squirm; but if he wanted something, anything whether it be information or her, she would give it to him. Her first true friend, the first person that actually sat down and talked to her of simply everything and anything. She hadn't made it easy, did not make it fun for him in anyway when they first started. She had constantly pushed him away, refusing to let anyone through the walls she had surrounded herself with, but then one day she realized that he had simply appeared past the walls and inside of her heart; and she gave up fighting. It was pointless to fight the way he made her smile by simply being around, pointless to struggle against the fact that when he talked to her it made her feel alive, pointless to deny that she loved kissing him, that she loved it when his arms circled around her or when his hands dug into her hips. Pointless. Argo turned away, decided to stare into the distant land, waiting for the [Seiyari] to appear over the ridge of the hill; ignoring everything Shojin had said. She didn't need to look at the oaf to know that he was steaming at her flippant dismissal. He walked back to the guards, heavy thumping of his feet as they slammed on the ground repeatedly.

"A real issue that one." a voice said behind her, she jumped, turning around with a mock glare aimed right at the boy who had done so. Slightly long but neat black hair pulled across his head, black eyes staring at her with mirth in them. His delicate face showed no trace of masculinity and it was something that seriously, and really, drew her to him; just the way that he knew he didn't need to prove himself, did not need to act big because he simply was what he was.

"That wasn't very nice Kii-bou." she feraly grinned as her helmet pulled back like his, "Or should I say General Kenta?"

"Hey! No using that name." he playfully growled, "It's a stupid name."

"I think it fits you quite nicely Kii-bou." Argo smirked, "You know there are whispers of people asking what do you actually look like behind your mask."

"Good thing we're a little bit more front than everyone else, I don't really want them to see my face." Kirito replied with a small smile, "Don't want that attention."

"Well you already have quite a number of girls chasing after you." she looked at him with dangerously innocent eyes, "Should I be worried?" She internally smiled shyly at the scoff he gave.

"Those dunderheads can't even count to five. Please if there was a competition she should be at least of worth." the so called General Kenta replied.

"Are you saying I'm not worth anything?" Argo asked, hands going to rest on her hips as she cocked them to one side. Eyebrows furrowing into a playful frown whilst she did her best to death glare him. She let it break, laughter escaping her lips easily when he gulped audibly and visibly.

"Argo stop twisting my words." he sighed exasperatedly.

"I'm not twisting them, merely making them say what you did not say." the playful minx laughed at him as he placed one hand over his face.

"How am I supposed to survive this?" he asked no one.

"What is the report Shojin?" Argo asked, her mask sliding into place just in time to cover her annoyed reaction at the arrival of her oaf of a guard. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Kirito's mask covered his face once more as he too turned to look at the arriving male chauvinist pig. She sighed, one day they would get some uninterrupted time to themselves.

"They will be here within minutes your highness." he said, giving a low bow, "We must rally the troops and ready ourselves to fight."

Argo sighed, "Let's get to it, drive this event back from the borders of my Kingdom." She began to walk away, going to address the army that stood behind her.

"You. I do not know who you are but know this, you address her with the highest of honors; understood?" Shinjo snarled at Kirito who rolled his eyes behind his mask, "I don't care if you are the strongest swordmaster in the Kingdom of [Seido] but you, General Kenta, will not talk to her as if she was your friend. She is the Empress and thus must be treated as such."

"If you say so … Shojin." Kirito deadpanned, before turning around and walking away, following Argo as she stood up on a stone to thunder across the army. As soon as they saw the Empress everyone quietened down.

"Warriors!" the lithe girl thundered with incredible volume, all eyes focused on her, "Today we stand to defend our homes! Today we stand to protect those we care for! Today we avenge those who have fallen! No more deaths! We clear this and we are one step closer to returning back! We will wipe the [Seiyari] from the face of this world, we will show them what happens when they mess with the Kingdom of [Seido]! We are warriors! We do not back down! We are gamers! We! Will! Win!" the final word was roared and immediately everyone reacted, hands and weapons being thrown up as they thundered an equally loud roar that seemed to shake the very earth that was underneath their feet.

A chant started, one that resonated into the very air around them and that swirled up into the sky; as though mortals were trying to reach the immortal divines by simply shouting at them.

"Empress! Empress! Empress!" they roared, a chant so loud that she was sure that the [Seiyari] could hear them from the opposite side.

She leapt down from the rock and found herself a simply arm's length away from Kirito who stood there. She could feel him grinning from behind his mask, could practically see the struggle he was having to keep his laughter down.

"What happened to all that normal shyness eh?" he teased her, grateful the tables had turned.

"I can be loud when I want to be." she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Such inspiration was driven through right then." he said with a fake breathy voice.

"If you don't stop with that I will make you breathless." she threatened him.

"Oh? And how exactly will you do that?" Kirito asked with arms crossed on his chest, "We are in public."

"There is always the after party." she whispered quietly after taking a step closer to him, "And I know quite a few … things that could make you lose your mind." she breathed lightly, grinning when she saw him shiver slightly.

"This is cheating Argo. You can't distract me before the battle." the so called General Kenta chided.

Before she could reply with an equally scalding reply a sudden shout caught her attention.

"They're here!" a yell caught all of their attention, every single person turning to look at the sudden darkness that had crept over the hill. The jingling of metal and armor harnesses could be heard as the enemy battle line drew up against theirs.

"Don't die Kii-bou." Argo commanded him, "Or I'll hunt you down."

"I'll try not to Empress." he said with a heavy emphasis on the word 'Empress' as he got into his battle stance.

The battle started very quickly in a way that no one expected. Firstly Kirito looked at his blades and sighed before dropping them, tired of the metal feel. The people around him looked at him confused only for their eyes to widen when he activated both of his gifted blades. [Taldariq, Blade of the Earth] and [Void Blade from the Essence Crystal of Nothing] activating, bathing the area around him in green and orange hues. Some stared jealously, others confused as to how he got those blades, whilst others seethed at the obvious sign of a beater.

A few steps away from him Argo had activated her bow, allowing it to glow a perfect purple that seem to have become a solid color substance; the fletching of the arrow pulled back against her lip. She released, a single arrow that flew across the air with such speed that it seemed to almost be like a lightning bolt. However halfway through its flight the arrow split up into many other arrows, each glowing purple just like the original. When the arrows fell amongst the soldiers many fell, impaled in vital areas that caused various swirls of blue pixelated light to reach into the sky. They had screamed at outrage after that, before then rushing forward with spears in their hands whilst archers rained down from the back.

"Flyers go! Go! Go!" a thunderous roar from one of the other Generals called forth the armies of warriors that were specified for aerial combat against the other flying warriors, to ensure that nothing could hit their back lines.

Kirito lost himself in the battle, while true that he did not allow himself to use any of the [UNIQUE ACTIVES] that his armor gifted him, even without them he was already much too strong for this battle. He cut through the flashing spear head of an enemy, removing the dangerous part of the stick, before spinning around and slicing through the body of another enemy; following up with a beheading move to the first foe. He punched [Taldariq] through the chest of a charging enemy and cut the hand off a charging [Seiyari] spearman with [Void Blade], spinning in a full circle Kirito dismembered the opponent with a quick swipe across his waist. He was an arch of destruction, with his weapons being so high leveled he did not need to fear the repercussion of needing multiple hits to kill his enemies. He simply kept on using One-Strike Sword Skills. Out from the corner of his eye he noticed other players engaged in battle having to use their agility and Sword Skills to overcome the odd number of attackers. The flashes all around him could very easily distract him away from the actual fight at hand, and true they probably wouldn't damage him, he wanted to stay focused.

A sudden burst of light from their side signalled the first loss the army of the [Seido] Kingdom would feel, thankfully it was only an NPC. However it went downhill from there. Fifteen minute in the battle the first player died, stabbed seven times with a spear; after that the death toll only increased. Mental fatigue was beginning to take its place and it was causing a serious amount of death. The enemy was faster, stronger and more agile than their average warriors, definitely stronger than their NPC army. Their weapons sharper and harder, alongside the fact that their armor was also more advanced this entire battle felt like trying to push a giant boulder up a steep hill. They were not used to the drawn out battle, players were not used to having to chain their skills and to conserve energy for the long fight. He shook his head ruefully, no matter how much the players hated the beta-players it was a simple fact that they did have more skill in information and playing than most of the general population. He kept on swinging, pushing back and holding their crumbling front line. In the distant he suddenly heard the hum and buzz of another Essence Blade being activated, immediately knowing that it was Argo who activated her bladed gauntlets. With the two of them they carved a swathe through the enemy ranks, constantly clearing back any close breaches through their lines with their incredibly over powered weapons.

Then the air around the battle changed, a tide that suddenly swept over them and caused the already tired players to lose all morale. They ran, turning their backs to the enemy and sprinted away. Kirito turned to find what could the cause be of such large AoE debuffs of fear and terror only to figure it out relatively quickly. A single man was rushing down the hill, dressed in red iron steel armor that covered his body, lapping and overlapping like the typical Japanese samurai armor. Purple underneath cloth easily visible between the folds of his crimson armor, a band with four golden circles intertwining amongst each other sat around his forehead; a half cape around his shoulders as he bounded forward, arm drawn back. A spear sat in his hands, crafted into three sections with three distinct colors. Most of the handle was crimson, just like his armor, but the section joining the body to the head was made from gold and purple. It was not a normal spearhead that sat in the front, but rather one piece of metal that faced forward whilst two of branching sheets of metal, that had been folded upon themselves to add weight, width and girth, hung out from either side.

The boy known as General Kenta leapt forward, activating [Speed of Nothing] from his [Void Boots]. He targeted five enemies in between him and what he presumed as the charging elite warrior of the [Seiyari] people. He sliced through each of the five, leaving nothing but blue pixels and the sound of shattering glass in his wake; the soldiers of [Seido] had gathered a few meters away from the advancing enemy, an attempt to hold off their line once more. Just as his burst of speed accelerated forward forth from the fifth target he had selected prior, he swung his blades in a Two-Hit Sword Skill. The first strike would have cleaved through the man spear and the second lobbed the man's head off from his body. However this was stopped right in its tracks by the warrior who had manage to block Kirito's right handed blade with his own whilst at the same time leaning backwards and letting his green glowing blade pass by his throat with only a centimeter to spare.

A sharp blow to his jaw forced Kirito to disengage, jumping backwards away from the warrior whilst twirling out and striking two of his allies down. The swirling particles partially blinding him, almost allowing an opening for the AI to strike out; he leaned back barely missing a straight out jab that could have easily taken him through the heart. Spinning he brought his blade up again, shocked that whoever this stranger was they could stop an attack from his Essence Blades for more than a single blow. Grinning at the sudden reappearance of an enemy that could meet him blow for blow, the thrill of fighting and not just slaughtering; a challenge. He ducked underneath another blow, twirling his blades once before unleashing an attack that would have left most enemies breathless as they attempted to block his slaughtering advance. Yet this warrior could match, barely match but still match, each blow with a block. It was more surprising than anything that a weapon could hold out against his own.

"You are strong warrior." the man across him replied. His spiky and bushy black hair lying limp against his forehead as a grin split his face. He had very sharp and angular features that made him almost seem gaunt, the defined jawline certainly gave him a look of strength. The spear that was causing Kirito such problems, and yet so much fun, was held in a ready position with the tip facing the ground whilst the shaft of the spear held against his inner arm gently, "A worthy foe against my blade."

Kirito was definitely not prepared for this, a mob that spoke halfway during battle. He could feel the dialogue setting starting up, settling around them like a blanket and it was really unnerving.

"You are strong, much more stronger than I had not our gods blessed me with strength." the spear began to spin quickly till it became a blur to all spectators, "Come warrior, let us test our blade against one another." with that he dashed forward, a wordless battle cry ripping forth from his mouth as he brought the spear down with such strength that it cracked the earth when the strike connected, missing the target as Kirito had maneuvered himself out of the way of the attack. His right blade coming up, cutting the warrior across the chest and nicking his chin with a small cut.

The warrior jumped back, his spear sweeping around to keep Kirito at a distance, only to fail as the swordsman stepped in, both his blades connecting against the spear to knock it back as he jumped forward, twin swords arcing with the trailing of orange and green light respectively. The two blades sliced through the man's armor but missed doing any severe damage; he had dropped his spear and jumped back to avoid death. Kirito did not let up, dashing forward and delivering quick executing moves that sliced the opponent over and over again in various places; yet each time the man seem to elude the final hit by the smallest amounts.

Growling Kirito yelled, "Ketto!" and immediately a white line burned through the ground around them with the diameter of five meters, it singed the grass and quickly completed itself. When the circle was completed the ringing sound of what sounded like a gong echoed through the field; the man found that within the field he could not move outside of the white lines.

Narrowing his eyes the [Seiyari] elite warrior fisted his hands and got ready to fight the warrior in hand to hand combat. Kirito deactivated his two blades, the crystals falling back in as the hilts were clipped back to his waist; his own armoured hands coming up. The dash forward by the cornered man was fast, much faster than he had been with a spear; the golden glowing fist nearly caught Kirito in the ribs, it was only his extremely response time that allowed him to jump back and miss it all together. Stepping in the young boy swung his right arm in a full swing, and as the Spear Master moved to block it, Kirito grabbed his arm, wrenched his entire body forward and followed up with a powerful punch to the face with a green fist that glowed green. It sent the man flying backwards and bouncing forth from the boundary line of the [Honor Duel], only for a knee to collide with his face and once again forcing him against the boundary line. As his head lolled forward again 'General Kenta' snapped out his right hand, watching as the glowing crimson fist slammed into the man's head and blowing it to the side; a sickening crunch audible to only him. The white boundary line disappeared as the Spear Master fell to the ground with a dull thud that caused many to fall silent as one of the strongest warriors on the battlefield fell to a mere boy. A bright white light began to emit forth from the fallen body before it exploded into the shattering of white and blue pixels accompanied with the sound of shattering glass.

"Sutaffu!" the man in front of him yelled, a staff in his hand and rage visible in his eyes as he leaped forward. Kirito quickly activated both his blades, bringing them up with a reverse hand grip as he blocked the downward staff strike that would have no doubt collided with his head. He struggled to push up against the young man. The face of what looked like a twenty year old covered mostly by a wide brim straw hat looked extremely disconcerting with such an angry and wrathful look. He was dressed in white garments without any armor, the only sign that he was a warrior was the staff in his hand and the band around his head with the four interlinked golden circles. Then the face changed from one of wrath to one of shock as a purple arrow pierced through the temple of his skull and came out the otherside. Before he could even fall down dead another four more arrows slammed into him, knocking him off Kirito. The young man rolled a few meters before laying face down as his body began to glow white and then finally blue as he exploded into a thousand particles.

Kirito looked over to Argo as she was retreating underneath the hailing attack of another Spear Master; she had taken a pause from her battle to unleash a four arrow barrage on his attacker, just to help him. Shaking his head Kirito let a smirk form underneath his mask as he deactivated his green blade and reached out till his left palm was facing her opponent. A sudden darkness has swept over his palm, and many watched as from the ground chains formed from what looked like solid darkness wrapped around the opponent. Snaking their way across his arms, his torso, his neck, his legs; all like the soft caress of a lovers embrace. Except for the fact that as those cold chains touched any material a hiss began to fill the air, soft bluish tinged smokes steaming off his slowly corroding armor. Argo wasted no time as she dashed forward quickly, cutting each chain in rapid succession and resulting in the amplified damage stacking on top of one another. Each slice eliciting a scream from the warrior as pain began to stack like thorns. As the last chain was cut from around his chest the man flew back as though he had been hit by a giant invisible fist and as he crashed into the floor he exploded into a thousand small lights.

However Kirito never saw the end of that fight, only felt the last chain disappear as the shadows from his palm left and he quickly pulled out his second green hued crystal blade as he fought off the next attacking soldier. He was probably the most powerful warrior out of even the elite, in each hand he held a spear and wielded them like as though he had been doing it since he was young. The clashing hues of green, gold, red and blue fell upon the colors of orange and green like waves crashing into rocks, washing over them but never damaging them. Kirito blocked another swing from the spear, catching it with [Taldariq] before nipping the elite warrior in the chest with his [Void Blade]. He smirked at the face of the warrior as a sudden silence descended around him, his face struggling to not allow the shock and fear to breach through his own walls as he felt the connection he had with his weapons disappear and mute. [Silence of the Void] an active skill that allowed him to cut the opponent's connection to Sword Skills or Elemental Arts and even their own [UNIQUE PASSIVES], [UNIQUE ACTIVES] and [Set Bonuses]. It truly was a terrifying experience in a world like this. It even cut off their ability to fly. The following onslaught of skills crashed against the warriors double spears like an avalanche of stone, easily cracking through his defence it was not soon after that the elite Spear Master fell to the ground dead before exploding into the lights of death in this fantasy world.

Seeing their leading generals dead a cry for retreat rang throughout the battlefield for the [Seiyari] people. The warriors of the Kingdom of [Seido] roared their victory cry as they watch them flee, many pursuing the retreating enemies to slay them where they ran. Argo and Kirito looked at one another before nodding, their unique wings exploding forth from their backs causing more than just one soldier to reel back in shock, awe and wonder; before the two disappeared into the air like streaks of black and purple lightning.

After almost an hour of battling the war was over, it would go down in the annals of [Seido] history as the [Battle of Sueokano]; Battle of the Blood Hills. They chased down the fleeing warriors for a greater part of the day, driving them back all the way till the Western Shore before stopping their advancements and seeing the fortress that had been set up against them. They had descended on the weakly manned outpost of the [Seiyari] and as such had burnt them to the ground, leaving none alive as they surged forward in righteous anger. Blood fueled their minds as they remembered the comrades they had lost; but yet for others the thrill of fighting and flying had entered their minds as they remembered that this was a game, and yet real life at the same time. Their roars of victory could be heard vibrating through the sky as they burnt outpost after outpost to nothing but ashes that were quickly scattered in the presence of hundred beating wings. They set up a boundary of warriors around the final fortress, decided to rest and stop for the day before attempting to breach the defensive last front.

Kirito sighed as he leaned against a tree, letting his mind relax as fatigue crept up to him like a stalking cat just as his eyes shut to the darkness of rest.

-End Flashback-

Kirito sighed once more as he remembered what had happened that day; those five days ago. Argo had mobilized half of the remaining NPC soldiers and all attacking warriors to set up a camp around the enemies last headquarters. They had fliers stationed around the cliffs edge to ensure that none of the invading force would leave simply by boat in the dead of night. Everyone broke off into smaller parties, keeping a selected rotation of sentries to keep things posted and aware of what was going on. Argo and Kirito, alongside one of the Generals named Rakurai, stationed themselves just before one of the two gates of entry into the battle encampment.

They had had an interesting conversation one of the evenings as Kirito kept first watch, Rakurai had already disappeared to get some privacy for his rest. Argo had looked up at Kirito who sat on a tree branch, his eyes never leaving the battlement camp as he ensured that his post was kept secure. Suddenly he jerked forward, the world tilting as it went from studying the details of many wooden logs placed together, to studying the dirt on the floor as someone hugged him from behind. He could hardly see any patterns or details as the light casted forth from flickering torches disappeared to the moonlit night forest ground.

"Argo …" Kirito trailed off, giving a mock sense of annoyance at being tackled into a hug; however knowing Kirito he probably was not that comfortable with it either. Yet he stopped when he heard no audible reply from Argo, instead he stood up slowly and gently, turning around to hug Argo as she simply stayed against his body.

"Thank you Kii-bou." she finally whispered after five minutes of comfortable silence. He would never admit it to her in fear of endless teasing, but he loved the way she seem to fit into his body. Her height just perfect for him to place his lips against her head whilst simultaneously feel her wrapped around himself. He pulled back his head, looking at the curly auburn hair that flowed beautifully down her, a confused look on his face as the mask that both had used were at the moment pulled back.

"For what Argo?" he asked, confused, his eyes dancing across as he tried to gazed into her eyes.

"Always being here." came the mumbled reply as her face was pressed up against his shirt.

Silence hung around them for awhile as they just drank in the presence of the other, comfort in being in one another's arms quickly filled their minds and thoughts as they leaned on each other. He knew what she was talking about; both had no real friends in the real world, both clung on to this virtual reality as a form of escapism, a way to truly live. But even in this world, not many people wanted to befriend Argo for simply being Argo, they wanted cheaper discounts on the information she could sell, so she always had a mask on, to keep others at a distance she kept this facade of a cold and sarcastic information dealer. Yet Kirito pushed through those walls, he pushed hard and eventually got in, worming his way through all those defences and settling down inside her heart.

For him she was one of the few people who actually understood what it felt like to be alive within the game. How it was like to swing a weapon like never before, to use your entire body into an extension of the blade and to fight. He had come to know her as Argo, his friend; not Argo the information dealer. They had gotten into many witty battles over the beta, a lot of talking that spanned many nights as they either simply lazed around underneath the star filled sky or grinned low level mobs. He had seen someone so lonely, so lost with such a cold hard mask; that his heart reached out and grabbed hold of it. He remembered what it felt like to be lonely, the feeling of being trapped in endless darkness by himself with no one to talk to, no one to convey his feelings to, no one that could actually understand nor anyone that stood beside him. So he vowed that seeing her walking down a similar road he would make sure she did not feel as he did; not for long.

But now they simply hovered in the air, wings out as both floated in their embrace.

"Go back to sleep Argo, your watch comes after mine." he whispered, watching as she turned to stare up at him; the soft joyful smile contradicted by the little heartfelt pain in her eyes.

"Okay." she whispered, before tiptoeing and lightly pressing her lips against his; mouth parting slightly as they met in a kiss. Their eyes slowly fluttered open as he stared into her hazel brown pools that immersed so entirely that before he knew it he had dipped down to kiss her again.

She had parted later, brown pixels following the trail which she flew; he shook his head before turning back to look at the fortress they were to invade.

The following four days till the present were four brutal days which somehow miraculously enabled them no deaths on their sides from players. Each day they had rushed the fortress, only to be pushed back by a tide of defenders that were very insistent on keeping the last piece of ground they had first gained. He had flown with the other flyers, engaging in aerial combat with the flashing of his twin blades slicing through the remaining warriors; only to be forced to disengage when a hailstorm rain of arrows fell upon the entire army. Not wanting to expose how powerful he truly was Kirito would fall back alongside the rest of the army as to ensure that none knew of his true strength at that time to take on the entire garrison by himself and win. However now, on the fifth day of their siege Argo had enough.

"Kirito." Argo said, breaking him out of his thoughts over the last few days.

"Yes?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the wall edge; waiting for the time when the defenders would unleash a barrage of arrows upon them; Argo hadn't mastered her bow yet which was unsurprising considering he hadn't mastered his blades either.

"Go break down that gate, we're storming in today." she said with seriousness laced between her words; this caused him to turn around and look at her with one eyebrow raised. They were slightly apart from everyone else allowing his mask to be pulled back, "What?" her question vibrated through the air as she saw his facial expression.

"Why the sudden change of plans?" Kirito asked her, the general strategy had been to lay siege till this battlement came falling down like a house of cards, "I thought you didn't want us to reveal our hand just quite yet?"

The Empress sighed, running one hand through her hair as she answered, "Reports flown in from the Eastern Shores say that there are sights of another army coming in." the grumble in her attitude was obvious as though she herself wasn't happy with what was happening, "We need to destroy this place and rush back to set up defences again." He roughly heard the mumbled curse that followed afterwards.

"Alright. Sound the engage, I'll lead the land charge." 'General Kenta' confirmed as he turned around back to the encampment, drawing his twin blades and igniting them, "Get General Arashi to lead the aerial attack." he said to her, commanding the strategy of the battlefield; watching her back turn as she flew towards the other generals to inform them of the decision.

Today was not a sunny day, it was a rather wet day instead. Dark thunder clouds hung over head with flashes of lightning illuminating the sky. The rumbling of thunder set nerves on edge for many as the pattering of rain descended around them, the ground slick as dirt was turned into mud; dark brown gooey texture that was inhibiting the agility of many on the ground. Kirito looked around him, taking note of the faces surrounding him as their frontline troops got ready to storm the gates and reclaim their land. A bludgeoning sound echoed through the air as a trumpet was blown in the backlines; immediately Kirito dashed forward with a single word roaring forth that was only copied by those around him.

"Charge!"

The thudding of feet against the ground, accompanied by the sickening squishing sound of mud as it tried to drag them into the ground, the wordless cry of a charging army; that was the only sound that filled most of their minds when they crashed against the wooden wall. As they neared the door Kirito flung out his left hand, in his right [Teldariq] held its orange hue that bathed the surrounding area despite the dull colors of grey. The moment his palm faced the large wooden gates they blew inwards as though a bomb had detonated right in front of it. The large wooden splinters flew inwards at incredible speeds, incapacitating many of the [Seiyari] warriors, and even killing some. Above in the air he could already hear the clashing of steel against steel, the various glowing colors of Sword Skills as they trailed the air; they made it seem like a light show was occurring in the air.

Kirito refocused on the battle at the ground after watching a spearhead that bounced off his invisible shield, blue hexagons briefly appearing before disappearing once more as they protected the wearer. The warrior who had swung that weapon flew backwards into a wooden structure as the force was redirected at him. He sighed before dashing underneath the swing of a spear, spinning and coming back up only to drive his now ignited [Void Blade] through the man's chin before the blade exploded through the top of his head. Before the body could even explode into its death animation Kirito was already moving on, having killed another two more warriors. In his trailing wake all that was left was the sound of shattering glass, the bodies glowing white as they begun their death and those who shattered with the blue pixels swirling away in the wind.

He blocked a swipe from a spear, this man looked to be roughly in his mid-thirties with a gruff beard growing from the blackened stubs around his chin; it was a shame that he would never get the chance to grow it. Kirito used his wings to suddenly spin past the man, and as he did so both his blades flashed in an arc, slicing through the man's chest and waist before moving to block the downward attack of another warrior. Using the smallest amount of pressure on his blades resulted in the spear being diced into pieces, the blade too sharp to stand against normal wood. This of course resulted in the death of another warrior, both blades imbedded into his chest before being pulled out viciously for Kirito to execute another charging soldier; this time cutting through his throat. Flipping over the head of a man who had over extended his spear strike using the wings that he now had, Kirito sliced the man's head in half with a flick of his wrist as he passed by; taking to the sky for a short while before falling back to the ground and killing three men alone from his descent.

Flying along the ground till he reached the other wooden gate, Kirito deactivated his green blade and pushed his arm out till his palm faced the barrier. A black orb about fifty centimeters in diameter appeared a few meters away from the gate, sparking to life as though someone had injected energy into the very air itself. He then yanked his left arm back and watched in satisfaction as the gate was ripped apart as they flew towards the minisize portal that was sucking everything around it inwards. Once the gate had been mostly demolished alongside most of the wall surrounding it and wooden constructs within the walls, he turned back and jumped into the fray; ignoring the dying screams of warriors as they fell to the ground. The Void Arts granted to him by his equipped gauntlets was strong. For now there was a selection of skills to choose from however he knew in the future once he became a master for this new skill it would only be limited by his imagination.

Within an hour the massacre was finished, the rain was now pouring down like cats and dogs whilst the yelling of the Empress could be barely heard; however everyone knew what they were supposed to do. A selected group of players, under the charge of one of the seven Generals, would be remaining at this garrison whilst a chosen few NPC crafters from the surviving region would rebuild this outpost. It would enable them a defence against anymore invading force and safeguard their Kingdom. Furthermore a group of player crafters were studying the boats which were left behind by the [Seiyari] people, it would soon be deconstructed and plans would be made to enable the [Seido] Kingdom access to some new technology. Blacksmiths were inspecting armor and spears that had remained after the battle as loot; Kirito observed one as he turned it, twisted it, before simply summoning the information screen with his hand and studying the weapon. A quick murmur to other similar looking people caused great nodding of heads before they reported to the Empress and left with the returning soldiers.

Kirito closed his eyes, hands behind his head, as he breathed out and relaxed. He watched as the water droplets fell and arc around his activated shield; it certainly kept him dry from the rain.

"Cheater." a voice said behind him, to which he turned around and grinned at the sight of a soaked Argo.

Yes they had another battle to prepare for, yes there would be a continuation of the war from this game event; but they would make it. They would drive back the new foe and slowly strengthen themselves before overrunning the other islands and eventually, clear the game. That was all of their goals, that was all of their lives. They were gamers. They would make it.

AUTHORS NOTE: Thanks to FlawlessMirage for pointing out some major points that I will be addressing here.

The relationship between Argo and Kirito seems rushed because in Chapter 6 they nearly died and this resulted in them seeking emotional comfort in one another. This happens in real life after trauma and it is no surprise it happens here. I will be fleshing out the relationship more as the story goes along.

The stats and information of gear is indeed boring and I apologize for that, however it is mainly for the reference of readers who later want to know how the heck did Kirito do something (eg. Him absolutely destroying the two gates in this chapter). It is a reference so that people do not nail me to a cross later due to lack of information.

The overpowered characters of Argo and Kirito are done on purpose simply because when the Nephilim Angelic Beings come they will be the only ones who are really capable of going up against them; well mainly anyway there will be others.

NOTE OF WARNING: I will be introducing General Arashi (AKA Rakurai) as an OC character that will be joining Kirito's group that is formed later on.