Chapter 10 - Centipede Swarm
"Critical Strikes are only capable of being landed when a strike lands upon the neck, the head or the upper chest; other areas that may deal a Critical Strike but not much are the achilles tendon, back of the knees or inside of the elbow. For non-humanoid opponents they generally have a few Shatter Points otherwise known as weak points by the majority player base, striking in these areas will result in Critical Strikes. Furthermore whenever a stab motioned is done for the damage, the Critical Damage increases. As such there is no such thing as critical chance within this game, it is entirely based off skill and location struck." ~ Seven Kingdoms Online: Combat
It was a peaceful sunrise, few clouds loitering around like lost puppies that cried out for their mother. The forest surrounding the [Academy] swayed slowly in the breeze, the slight mountainous section of the [General's Sanctuary] rang with the sound of steel against steel that loudly toiled through the training grounds of the army of [Seido]. The sun had barely risen, just peaking over the horizon with the sky being various shades of purple and dark navy blue, the barest amount of light piercing through the fog of night. The entire [Academy] wasn't built on a flat surface but had various sections of the ground being elevated and others sinking into the earth. It created an interesting learning ground for many.
It had only been a single day and already Generals and their chosen apprentices were waging a sparring war against each other, a test to see how they fared in one on one battle. The higher mountainous section with the flashing of various lights as they flickered through the air, figures spinning and twirling as the Generals and their [Legacy] sliced at one another in hopes of causing some sort of damage. Most notably was Kirito and Yuuki. The former was in his typical gear, the equipment gained from entering the [Hell Zone] early; the black and burning green leaving traces of light as he moved around in an elaborate dance with agility and flexibility on unnatural levels. Yuuki was dressed in her obsidian half-armor and blue bottle neck violet blouse and a windswept dress of the same color.
She twirled underneath a slash from his wisping orange blade, the light bright, and flicking her blade against it pushing it even further away when she turned around and delivered a lightning fast roundhouse kick straight toward his face. He leaned back before allowing her to go on the offensive as her blade carved out attacks elegantly as they collided with his own blade; she was Sword Chaining very nicely. Then suddenly as quick as a striking viper Kirito parried her blade away from her body, stamped his left foot down and allowed a quick stab of the [Void Blade] to slice past her armor and nailing her straight in her right shoulder. Quickly he pulled it out, spinning around and unleashing a devastating double slice that would have decapitated had she remained in that same location. She ducked back, barely missing the blade as it soared by her neck by centimeters. Quickly she took advantage of his off balance stance in a split of a second, and swung her blade down at him; only to have the situation reversed on her when his left blade came up, stopping her strike in its tracks whilst his right blade was suddenly placed against her neck. She gulped, feeling her skin scraping across the razor sharp edge of the [Essence Blade].
"You're a good fighter Yuuki. A bit more practice and you'll easily be able to stand up against a General soon." Kirito said as he took away his blades, deactivating them. Yuuki watched in awe as the crystals just seemed to fall apart and disappeared into the wind as each crystallized piece was gather up by the air and flown away into some other place. She definitely wanted to know where he had gotten gear like that.
"Alright, let's go again." Kirito said as he took a few steps back and readied his blade. Yuuki followed suit, taking a few steps back and holding her blade in her right arm back a little whilst having two fingers splayed near the front of the blade and holding up the tip. Her wound already healed and any negative debuffs gone; a special unique thanks to the safe zone around them. Her blade begun to glow a deep purple, colors swirling around her sword, and just before she was about to launch off a voice stopped their fifth spar before it even began.
"Executor Kenta!" a voice cried out, both of them turning to see who was coming to bother them. Some of the other Generals looked up to; most notably General Arashi as his [Legacy], a girl by the nickname of Raikiri whose real name was actually Aris, tried to swing her weapon at his head only to realize at the last second that her Master was looking to the sky, tried to pull back the weapon, only to trip and fall on top of him. She had groaned and rubbed her head whist getting up only to get a sad shake of her Masters head at her own clumsiness.
"Yes?" Kirito asked, looking up as the messenger finally touched down on the ground, green translucent bug wings fluttering a little as the message to stop the need of use of them finally got through the muscles.
"Empress Argo ask for your immediate presence." the boy, who looked about thirteen and was short whilst small and no doubt fast, transfered weight from foot to foot as he waited for Kirito's response.
"Well I have no other plans for this afternoon. Did she say what she wanted?" he asked, eyes glancing quickly over to his [Legacy] before flicking back to the messenger kid.
"Erm … yes. She stated that she wants you to meet her in the [Council Room]." the kid shuffled his feet and Kirito's eyes brightened.
"Alright, thanks." Kirito nodded before turning around to face his [Legacy], the messenger already gone, "Yuuki stay here, I'll be back later."
"Okay." she replied to him, bobbing her head in acknowledgement.
"While you're waiting study up on the lore of this world." he spoke whilst checking he had everything needed before turning back to glance at her once, "Whilst most people don't find it important most NPCs will actually drop hints of quest or other upcoming events or disasters through the use of lore. I'll test you on what you know when I get back. Dismissed." was all he said before disappearing in a flash of black darkness, splitting across the sky and disappearing as quick flash.
Turning around Yuuki left the open training ground and headed back to the house that she now lived in. Her booted feet crunching against the gravel ground as she took steps, each crunching the small stones and sending off the sound of rock grinding against rock. However when she passed by a childish like voice stopped her.
"Yuuki right? The Executors [Legacy] correct?" She turned to look at where the voice originated from and looked at a kid her age. She struggled to remember his name and if she wasn't mistaken his name should be …
"That is correct General Ko." she said dipping her head shortly in a respectful bow.
"Are you headed back to the accommodation now?" he asked, rocking back and forth on his feet like a little kid riding a see-saw.
"Yes General Ko." again she answered with short and concise words, eyes bowed in fear of angering the child. It was strange what a life of abuse could do to an individual who looked at a person in authority as a person in authority regardless of age or gender.
"Why don't you stop by for a moment, let's spar!" he said grinning, "After all it's not everyday I get to meet the individual hailed as a prodigy in the Sword Arts." his enthusiasm caught her off guard before she tried to reply.
"But Master Kenta said he wanted me to study the lore." she replied, her answer wavering as uncertainty washed over her. Would it be okay if she sparred for a little while and then studied later? Would Kirito hurt her if she disobeyed his orders? Or would he be understanding? This death game had helped her slowly get over her fears, slowly working her way through the various issues in her life; but it was still a struggle.
"Don't worry. If you tell Executor Kenta that it was me who asked you he'll say it's fine." again the little child grinned at her, "Come on; it's not everyday I find someone who can fight who is as young as I am."
That last line sold her, with a grin she placed a hand on her sword hilt, the uncertainty fading to the back of her mind and the back of her chest despite the strange grip of fear over her heart.
"Alright." she said before they both jogged over to the remaining free space; the place where she had just sparred with Kirito before he left.
"Show me what you got Executor's [Legacy]." General Ko said with a lopsided grin, unsheathing the a single wakizashi from his belt. He stood at about Yuuki's eye height, meaning he was a short short kid.
She unsheathed her own obsidian longsword like blade, the darkness gleaming underneath the sunlight before General Ko suddenly moved. To her eyes he moved so fast that he appeared to simply blur before his short katana moved towards her head at such speeds as blue lights trailed by. Leaning back her blade came up with the white light of a parry, knocking the blade away before she spun to her left letting Viper Strike flash in its two hit sequence, chaining a three-hit combo just at the right time whilst rotating once more to his left. Her blades slashing diagonally right before being swung horizontally from right to left with the final blow being a curved slice aimed for the back of his neck.
Then she felt a sharp sting of pain echoing itself from her thigh, a gash had appeared from the slice of the wakizashi as it trailed by, the defence turning perfectly into offence within a second. She stepped back, allowing her wings to explode into action as she fluttered back, only to see the charging figure of the miniature sword wielding maniacal kid. Soon she found that all she could do was defend herself with the white and purple lights of parries whilst trying to dodge the slashing variance of colors all around her. Finally it ended with the wakizashi at her neck in a reverse hand grip, she met his eyes and shivered a little at the cold and ruthless look that had entered into it, his face set into the face of a hard cold born warrior before it suddenly turned back into the innocent face of a kid who loved sunshines and rainbows.
"Good fight." he said grinning as he stepped back, sheathing his sword.
"Yeah …" Yuuki trailed off, her body healing from the small slices that had been thrown at her, the thin lines of red and white crisscrosses slowly disappearing and fading into nothing.
"Don't worry about it." General Ko said with a grin, "Most people underestimate us because we're small but in true fact the smaller you are the faster you are. The only person who is faster than me amongst us here is the Executor." he linked his arms behind his head, resting the back of his skull against the combined cupped palm of his linked hands.
"How did you move that fast?" she asked him, a confused expression on her face. The bonus stats gained from the title as well as her opened wings should have covered for most stats difference in speed even if there was a level gap between the two of them. The kid laughed a joyous laugh, mirth dancing within his eyes and displayed on the smile on his lips.
"I used my wings as well as partial Sonic Leap. Those two were enough to get close to you without you realizing it." he said as he twirled around with such a carefree attitude.
"But I never saw your wings there, how did you do that?" she asked, absolutely confused and wondering how to improve herself to be stronger, to be able to change the battle in a split second.
"Ask your Master when he gets back, after all he is your teacher; not me." General Ko said grinning a toothy grin, "Now didn't you have some lore studying to do?" he asked.
"Yeah, I do. Thank you for the fight." Yuuki replied before turning around and running to her house.
"Come by some time again! I would love to spar!" the kid yelled after her, waving despite the fact she couldn't see him.
She didn't stop running until she reached the house, letting the cold chains of anxiety and fear unwound from around her heart as she stepped into the doorway, sliding her shoes off at the entrance before turning and walking into her own room. Kirito had allowed her access into the library that morning and she was in full intentions of using it.
Line Break -
The library was a certainly most interesting area. There were two tables on either side of the room, both were placed within an indent of the wall. The floor was dark oak wood, as was the walls and the shelves; but the ceiling was made entirely from marble that shone white as the light of lamps bounced off them into the room. On the far end of the Library there was a glass panel that showed the outside gardens around the house of Kirito. Sunlight beamed through the glass, particles of dust floating visible in those shafts of light that pierced the glass panel. But other than that the entire room was filled with books, multitudes of shelves with variety of books on a variety of subjects.
She had walked through the elongated room, looking at the various books that were collected here. Some books were about Sword Skills and the theory of battles, others strategy, some on herbology of this gaming reality, others on crafting and on the far end of the right wall was the section titled 'Lore'. She plucked the book with the furthest backing date for it, an old tome with a worn out leather cover. Each page stained yellow with age and wrinkled from moisture. She tucked it under her arm as each step she took vibrated through the room like an intruder.
Sitting down at one of the tables, and with the necessary reading lamp on she began her study. Placing the book gently on the table she turned the first page, the crumpling and rustling of the page evident in the all too silent room. It was, if she was being honest with herself, an intoxicating sound; one that she would hear much more as she began to read. Her eyes glittering over the strangely curved words that adorned the page.
Chapter 1
ORIGIN
Long before any man walked the face of this world there were only four races that lived across the globe. Creatures of immense power they shaped the territories that they lived in however they saw fit, their Empires grew and spread across many continents; they became even more powerful. These four Empires were known as: Nation of the High Dark Archons also known as the Empire of the Teldazikim, the Forgotten Race of the Nation of the Nephilim, the Water Dwellers from myth called the Atlantean Empire and finally the Divine Immortals that resided within the Kingdom of the Alakvi. They had an understanding and affiliation with magic that very few can ever hope to understand or know; yet they also faced demons and monsters that could shake mountains in a single blow, creatures that could cause the sky to tremble by merely roaring into it or spawns that could call up an everlasting inferno to burn away the world. They held the darkness at bay, but once they vanished so did the great darkness. All that was left was for the more primitive, the more savage, beings to learn to grow and adapt to their situation.
Not much is known about any of those four nations, for history has recorded little of what was to come and what will come. Legend has it that after the eons have passed the four great first nations will arise and attempt to reclaim what has been long theirs. Before this time their old enemies shall arise first and against them shall stand warriors who will fight the darkness off and hold them at bay. But when they rise, they shall claim what has always been theirs and care not between those who are the beast that they have known for millennia, or mortal kind who stand below their feet. They will trample all and the world will perish beneath their power. It will be the end of one time, and the beginning of another.
The Nation of the High Dark Archons, Empire of the Teldazikim
It was whispered that these were a people not even from our own world, our own universe. Legend has it written that they travelled across between the planes of existence, crossing from dimension through dimension till they found the one they settled in. They called the realm between places the Dreamscape. A place where thought of mind creates reality, and the only thing to stop anything or everything, the only way to survive, is to embrace insanity as sanity. Their magic links directly to the Dreamscape, a magic that stated where nothing is everything and everything is nothing. The ability to render reality into nothingness was the height of their power. They could simply vanish enemies, wiping them from existence or create orbs that would simply take a chunk out of reality leaving a gateway into the dimension of nightmares.
Now, in the modern era, the leftover of these gateways are what known commonly as Hell Zones. An area deep within the lost roots of the world where creatures of the Void can come from, nightmares straight from the deepest pits of death and decay; straight from the nothingness. Indeed they were surely powerful for they not only knew how to repair these gateways, they harvested the creatures that came through without any problems; easily overpowering what would be considered a god monster in the current era of life.
Yet whilst they lived and walked on this plane of existence there were other creatures from where they resided that became pest to their Empire. One of such pest was known as the Great Centipede; a behemoth of a monster that can easily encircle mountains various times over. It spanned the width of entire mountain ranges with claws large enough they may as well have been mountains themselves. Legend and myths have it said that this beast was never slain, but instead now carefully resides and waits in slumber and that the moment it awakens it will consume the world. For it does not just live, march nor eat by itself; it spawns children that whilst smaller than it were large enough that whole cities have been known to be destroyed to nothing but rubble. Mandibles capable of destroying stone fortresses in one swipe, drops of poison that cursed the land for generations.
They could curl themselves underneath a lake, silent and ever watchful underneath the water, or perhaps hide themselves in the highest mountains where man not venture; tunneling through the earth at lightning pace till they reach far underground to hibernate and to give birth. Even more frightening yet, they could hide within the large forest where only hints and whispers of a great beast reside within. Whenever they awoke from these places only death, destruction and weeping and gnashing of teeth could be heard like a trail of broken souls. Pray that these are only whispers of legends and myths and not a reality that must be faced.
Another was
Yuuki jumped as the sound of rumbling thunder echoed across the sky like the gong of the heavens that vibrated throughout reality. She looked up, her eyes wide as she captured late afternoon sun. She had been cooped up inside all day simply reading. This was unacceptable. She had paused a great deal after coming across the mythed Giant Centipede and had tried to cross reference it with various other lore books; but found absolutely nothing. Sighing she was about to return her gaze to the book and its words; unwilling to step out of line for even the smallest reason.
What if Kirito caught Yuuki walking out of the house? Would he beat her till she cried out and begged for mercy? What if Kirito caught her dozing off on her books or unable to answer what he questioned her; would he resort to torture till she understood her role. Would he defile her mentally and emotionally like so many others had before him with their mask of kindness, only for their black hearts to show when they were alone.
She shook her head, clearing her mind of such thoughts. That was the past, she had dealt with those ghost and now many had paid for their crimes; many placed into jail for lifetimes whilst she now slowly healed from the trauma. The past would not rule her, she would rule her past; to learn from her mistakes and grow, to live life to its fullest; not some half baked attempt at it but with everything she had. Even if her life was just a game.
A sigh escaped her lips as she felt her chest rest with the expulsion of air as she begun to stand up. Her fingers curling around the edge of the book and bringing it with her, each step echoing through the empty room. She softly, gently, pushed the book back into its place and then stepped back, eyes scanning the shelves for another book. Her right hand reached out to a book on the higher shelves, one with a hard cover wrapped in leather and bonded together with strands of iron. The title was curviant gold letters, beautiful piece of artistic writing and seemed almost a shame to have such a bland background.
Just as she was about to sit down and open the book a huge tremor shook the world. Books fell out of their places, the cair tumbled over whilst Yuuki fell to her knees. Her hands lost grip on the waxed floor and her face became very intimate with the dark oak wood. She could feel her body shaking, even going airborne for a while when the earth bulged underneath her. It was never specified nor forewarned that natural disasters could occur in Seven Kingdoms Online, this was a shock for every person in the [Academy]. Eventually the the shaking stopped and she attempted to push herself up using the hands in front of her, yet another tremor slammed through the house, the crashing of books and the shattering of glass filling her world. This was more violent than the last and the earth underneath, despite it being hard oak wood, shifted and ducked like the waves of a sea. She was flung backwards by the whiplashing ground underneath her and collided with a bookshelf; causing whatever remaining books to fall down on her, burying her underneath paper and leather. If this had not been a safe zone that would've taken a chunk out of her life.
Yuuki pushed away the books, and got herself free from underneath the embrace of a hundred leather cases. She looked around the room and felt her blood grow cold, it had been totally and entirely destroyed. Lamps had been snuffed out and shattered against the walls whilst books lay strewed like the bodies on a battlefield. A quick look to the large glass window confirmed that the entire panel had been shattered, no doubt by the violent tremors. Her wings came to life, dark purple and black intermixed whilst they fluttered a little, allowing her to hover as she slowly glided outside. She saw just the dark black night sky, thousands upon thousands of twinkling stars hanging above them so high; their patterns waving and absolutely breathtaking.
That was when the first screams hit her, immediately she galvanized into action. Pushing off the floor she was standing on her body bursted out from the room in speed, wings buzzing behind her, but what she saw faltered her rush. Before her was a sight that she would never forget, and would probably hunt her down in terror for many nights to come.
A sea of giant centipedes were crawling upon the earth around the [Academy] and also over it. She could see many buildings having been crushed underneath their sharp scythe like legs; then the darkened skies suddenly got a lot darker over her. Yuuki turned to look up, let out a yelp. Above her was the mouth of a giant centipede, its antennas long before it, slamming into the various houses and walls as it attempted to migrate between them. Twin black and large pincers framing the two smaller yellow ones, their black tips shining with some kind of glossy substance. The vertically split mouth underneath its head, gnashing with the sound of teeth slashing against teeth. Its dark underbelly nearly invisible against the black night sky. She dashed forward, her arms tucked to her side as she pushed her wings as hard as she could. A twirl to miss the large leg, each of these centipedes were easily the size of the entire [Academy] if not longer, standing high into the mountains and large enough that no doubt they could be seen from the capital. Spinning with purple pixels trailing behind her she landed for a split second on a piece of rubble, before blasting off with Sonic Leap and the assistance of her wings, buzzing away as quickly as she could, trying to gain altitude as she zoomed past the large body of the monster above her.
She slowed her speed when she finally reached the air alongside hundreds of others, the color of open wings and their slight trail of light evident in the night sky, like thousands of different colored stars. She spun around, noticing the various other players who were hovering beside her in their various nightwear; her eyes trying to find the Generals who were in charge.
"[Legacy] Yuuki, I am glad to see you are unharmed." a gentle voice said from behind her. The girl in question spun a hundred and 180 degrees to see the long flowing blonde hair of General Shukaku, her warm eyes comforting her even from the distance without any touch.
"General Shukaku." Yuuki replied, dipping her head in an honoring bow, "Do you know what is going on here?" her curious question bearing straight into the face of the kind General.
"It seems that the myths of lore or not so mythical after all." she mused, her eyes twinkling as she relaxingly drifted in the breeze, "These are a migrating swarm of [Centipede Spawn], as you can see they care little about what stands in their way."
"Where are they going Master?" the [Legacy] of what was known as the Peaceful General asked. If Yuuki remembered correctly, which she often did, the small girl's name was Silica.
She was rumoured to be among one of the youngest players who actively participated in the front lines at the mere age of twelve, a superb knife wielding player who had also managed to tame a small dragon as a pet; giving her the title [Beast Tamer]. It was an extremely rare achievement that was gifted to supposedly only seven people throughout the entire game; one for each Kingdom. Her hair was the color of creamed milky chocolate and looked extremely soft, tied into twin ponytails that hung off the side of her head she made for an extremely adorable sight. She had an innocent face with wide purple colored eyes, an easy childish smile adorned the face of her lips. Wrapped around her, as she had undoubtedly equipped so, was a red shoulderless coat with golden outlines. Underneath it was a black bottleneck top that was comforted by a circle of red and gold whilst a black skirt, with the barest of gold, hid her modesty. Black and gold stockings flowed down from her mid thigh before flowing perfectly into a pair of black and golden boots.
"They are probably moving towards the mountain ranges in the West." the General seemed to muse more to herself than anyone else, "I want ten volunteers for a message mission!" she suddenly yelled, gaining the attention of many and the raised hands of ten. Selecting a few she told them to draw close to her so she could tell them the mission.
"You are to fly hard and fly fast, reach each of the outpost stations, including NPC villages, until you reach the western mountain range. Tell them that a swarm of [Centipede Spawn] are headed their way." she sternly and firmly informed them, hovering at the in front of ten gathered players, "If anyone poses a problem tell them it is under my orders. Be mindful of other monsters, I want you all back here safe and sound by tomorrow; and you are each to report to me when you return. Dismissed."Shukaku finished, watching with eyes filled with calmness and serenity as she watched the ten figures zoom across the sky like ten different lights racing for a singular goal.
"Master. How did they get through the safe zone?" Silica asked softly, looking up at the tall women who hovered in front of her.
Only silence met her question as it was simply unknown how a safe zone could suddenly fail to function or cease to exist. Wouldn't that said safe zone made all buildings with the durability of Unbreakable? How then did all those buildings and walls shatter into rubble? But yet, Yuuki was not hurt from the books falling on her, which should have taken out a huge chunk of her health if she truly had been outside of a safe zone where damage was the allowed.
What is going on? Yuuki asked herself, her eyes scanning the land below her as if it could suddenly speak and give an answer to her.
"General Shukaku, our wings have a set limit on how long they can go for. What do we do when that time runs out?" came the questions of someone around them, an unidentified face amongst the host of many and it sliced through her own self musing, making her turn to see the response.
"We -" was all she got to before a scream and a shout pierced the silence of the upper heavens with only the sound of the centipedes low clicking and groans audible over the rumbling crashes of the world underneath them.
"General! The centipede!" a boy screamed at her, all eyes snapping over to see the large half form of a giant centipede reaching into the sky; its maw open wide with teeth in rows visible to all. A single person paralyzed before the great beast, its head slowly moving towards the frozen student, maw agape as a hunger deep within the monster changed the very atmosphere that was around them; starvation, thirst, hunger, all words that fluttered through their mind.
A sudden blaze of red slammed into the side of the monsters head, a single figure with a broadsword embedded into the monster's head, pushed it back with a huge blow that left shockwaves in the air. It was General Kyojin, and he did not look happy. As ordered by Executor Kenta, all Generals had to have their main gear within their Inventory at all times. Whilst true that normally you needed a pouch, bag, satchel or otherwise carrying device to pull things out of your Inventory, the one exception was equipping armor and weapons. Of course to place an item into one's Inventory it still required a carrying equipment. This was not standard procedure for students and it came to no surprise that very few had any gear equipped at the moment. But no matter so, all the Generals were already in their battle gear, ready for a fight; or at least they were now if they had not done so earlier.
General Kyojin was dressed in a red tunic and breeches made from a silky material. The velvet undergarments were worn over by a full heavy body armor. Large shoulder guards that covered down to his mid bicep hung forth from his shoulders, their silver and gold design evident despite the dark evening. A full body armor of the same intricate silver chainmail and golden bronze armor plating adorned around his body whilst an armored skirt covered his waist to legs, brown boots over his feet. His blade, which was glowing red and being pulled back from the monster, was huge. Its hilt was crafted from bronze, overlapped by leather; the blade itself was gigantic with the carvings of an ancient empire scribbled across it, a dark grey metal that only that giant of a man could swing with one arm without fear. A crude weapon that only that man could swing like nothing.
A roundhouse kick to the frozen student's body blew him back into the midst of the other students.
"What do you think you're doing? Get moving!" the giant man bellowed with a roar that thundered through the open skies; before he turned around and slammed his giant sword into the centipede's head, forcing it away from the remaining students.
General Shukaku was surprised he wasn't using the two handed broadsword technique that he alone could pull off; he was certainly a dangerous foe to face in battle.
"Everyone head back to the capital!" she bellowed, watching as the students fled in earnest panick, screams and yells echoing in the night sky, "Shiage, Kyojin and Shizu; accompany the students leaving, make sure they get to the capital in one piece. The night is a dangerous time for anyone to be venturing about." Internally she sighed, they called themselves gamers yet at the sight of giant bugs they ran screaming like little children. Children.
"You can count on us." the tall and lean General with chocolate brown hair blowing in the wind replied to her before turning around and disappearing; followed by the two other Generals. Kyojin disengaging from the beast immediately to follow orders, whilst he was strong he was nowhere near the level of Shukaku.
The remaining Generals and their apprentices hovered in the air as the beast rose its head into the sky, twisting and turning like a monster, displaying to the world its horrendous maw and dark underbelly. It unleashed a screech that actually blew the remaining players back, fury at losing its prey as the clicking of its mandibles slashed at empty air, a ferocious hunger ready to devour the world; and at its size it probably could after a few hundred years.
"Guess we're going monster hunting." General Ko said, the childish grin appearing on his face as the wakizashi appeared in his hand. A light grey tunic adorned over his small body, the hintings of brown breeches visible underneath the long tunic. Strange armor, no visible physical defence properties in all honesty. The silver outlining of his blade flashing all around him before settling down at a grip; Yuuki's eyes widened when all of that was done without the use of Sword Skills and yet was certainly faster than most.
"Time to get some loot." General Arashi said, nothing of his was visible except a tattered old black cloak surrounding his body, a cowl up that hid his entire view whilst a blade was held in his hand. Ornament with the silver and golden outlinings against the metal body; looked like a very extravagant blade. His body was already angled forward into a dive before he said his parting words and left, "They're all mine!" he roared with laughter, a joy at the fight whilst he twirled and spiral down against the beast around him.
The laughter echoed on behind him, they watched for a few seconds as all that could be seen was the blurred movements of his dark stormy grey wing lights, the carving of Sword Skills in a Sword Chain whilst on the fly was extremely impressive. They watched as after a few seconds, with him somehow finding all the weakspots and critically striking all of them; the [Centipede Spawn] finally exploded into a bright white and brilliant blue light, shining like a star in the darkness before it faded in an explosion that rang with shattering glass.
A chuckle could be heard, resulting in the [Legacies] still around to stare with confusion at the Generals who were finding this amusing.
"Well, I guess we better get moving eh?" General Mizumi, one of the two mysterious Generals. His deep navy blue colored army-styled hair nearly invisible against the deep dark night sky as he disappeared down; a relaxed and loose grin upon his face as a scythe was held within his hands.
"Wait up!" General Exota cried out, dashing after the rushing spear wielding General.
"Those two. I swear." General Nagawa sighed, a contented smile upon her face before she flew after them; and after her each and every General along with their [Legacies]. Yuuki shook her head before turning down on a proper angle, seeing the mass dark brown and black bodies of the huge centipedes crashing over what had become a home to many, and launched herself forward; a single obsidian blade glowing purple behind her as she spun down to the earth with vengeance.
Line Break -
It had been two hours since they started their battles with the [Centipede Spawn] and if Yuuki was being honest with herself she was already tired and worn out. The initial excitement had turned into tiredness and horror as she found herself able to kill one centipede solo, but just barely. Her variety of colors raining down upon them around her had drained the mental capacities of her mind like water running out from a broken cup.
Yuuki had been saved several times by several different Generals using different weapons, as each knocked either the beast out of the way or her out of the way. She had teamed up with some of the [Legacies] and taken down a few more [Centipede Spawn] but had in reality not done much to dent the oncoming tide. However she wasn't the only one being saved, other [Legacies] had to be also constantly pulled out of danger until they were all told by the Generals to leave the battlezone and protect each other away from this main fight. So they rested within the tree tops, letting their wings rest and recharge whilst their eyes feasted on the amazing performance of the Generals before them. Without fear of having to watch out for he [Legacies] the Generals were absolutely dominating the [Centipede Spawn]. They watched as beast after beast went bright white and blue, the various polygons disappearing into the night sky as shattering glass sounded through the air.
Yuuki gripped the tree branch that she was leaning on, frustration and yearning pooling within her heart as she wondered what made the difference between her and the Generals? What made them so strong that they could overcome such powerful odds without even trying. She wasn't even sure why the army was hesitant to charge into battle if they had Generals like these. Was it the level difference or perhaps something they had learnt? She simply just did not know at all. Glancing around her out of her peripherals made her notice that she was not the only one feeling that way. The other [Legacies] felt the same way, yearning to be stronger and to clear the game; all of them just wanted to return home and live life as they were supposed to be, not just drawn to the game.
The defeat from General Ko earlier that day still fresh in her mind; defeated by a young teenager her age when previously no one in her age bracket or above could take on her blade. This was truly a humbling experience.
"Woah." a voice behind her said; sounded like a teenager, "They're amazing."
"Yeah. I wonder what makes them that different from us? I can't do something like that with my Sword Skills." another spoke up beside her, a girl this time.
The light rustling of wind through the leaves around them gave a soft calming sense despite the flashing colors crashing like lightning against the dark brown and black shells of the swarm of [Centipede Swarm]. Their attention snapped back to the fighting scene as all stood, or rather sat, in awe of their teachers in action. It was now evidently clear why these ten were chosen to lead the army; whenever those Elite monsters appeared these would be their hope against them; and hopefully soon so would the [Legacies] be as well, after all that was the whole reason why they were being trained.
"What are you all doing here resting on your butts?" a familiar voice said from above them.
"Executor Kenta!" a young adult cried out in recognition, bowing as the others did so in respect.
Yuuki turned and looked up, seeing the sight of what looked like death itself finding its way into the world. The dark cloak that was always around him fluttering in the wind whilst his wisp like wings flapped slowly. The black mask with burning flaming green eyes stared down at them in confusion, his athletically lean frame different from the others who were more bulky in their armor. The green rune inscribed unto his belt pulsing a deep black green whilst his armored arms were crossed over his chest. All in all, he made for an intimidating sight for all that looked up at him right now.
"Master." Yuuki said, allowing her wings to come alive for the first time in an hour.
"Are you okay Yuuki?" he asked her, unreadable emotions through the eye slots with burning green fire in them; although his voice betrayed concern, his arms now by his side.
"I'm fine." she replied softly, "Just …" she trailed off unable to put into words the feeling of both helplessness, frustration, yearn and anger that was just flooding through her; and yet the paradoxical excitement, want and liveliness coursing through her body.
"Don't worry." Kirito said, his voice gentle and soothing, "You'll get stronger over time. The [Legacy] program, with you all as the first lot, are being trained personally by us to be able to do that." he said, gesturing over to the flashing lights of Generals running a rampage through the swarming monsters over their home for the last months.
She simply looked back at him with a questioning expression, wondering how the heck was she supposed to be able to do that when she couldn't even barely do anything against the beast there.
"We'll be going on a hunt for the [Great Centipede] when all of this is dealt with; undoubtedly that's where the spawning point is." he informed her, his gaze suddenly seeming a little bit more inquisitive, "You did study about the ancient lore before this happened right?" His face suddenly nearing hers whilst the eye slits narrowing a little like a suspicious glance. She was paralyzed by how close he was, she could feel the power around him itching her skin; the flickering green flames a mesmerizing call to simply just stare into them. A sudden poke on her nose caused her to blink and pull her head back whilst shaking it a little. The instrument of guilt pointed crookedly at her.
"Yes!" she yelled, pushing off from him whilst the Executor suddenly had the audacity to look sheepish whilst she took a half step back.
"Sorry." he apologized, an almost audible grin underneath that mask of his carried out through his words whilst she glared at him with the faintest blush coloring her pale purplish cheeks, "Anyway don't worry, I'll train you as I trained the Generals." was all he said before slowly moving forward.
His wings hardly even moving, more as if they acted as a propulsion to him than wings. Even in the air he seemed unnaturally graceful, an otherworldly slow, yet fast, movement that screamed difference. Kirito stopped after about twenty meters away from the forest edge, where the [Legacies] were gathered, he raised one hand up, facing it against the centipedes before turning his head slightly to the apprentices behind him.
"I would recommend moving coming underneath me if you do not wish to die." he said simply as he turned back to face the monster host. It wasn't until the last [Legacy] hovered underneath him that Kirito allowed the Void Skill to activate.
A sudden wail screamed forth through the air, yet it seemed to originate from nothing. The already black sky darkened even more, if that was possible, and soon the various [Legacies] underneath him could feel the drop in temperature. Ripping through the silence was an echoing sound of leaves rustling through a violent wind. Yuuki turned around and her eyes widened. The area behind her was beginning to die. What had been lucious trees mere seconds before were now dead and empty hunks of wood, cracks running down their bodies like the splintering of a clay jar. Blackened leaves slowly falling to the ground, some even disintegrating whilst in mid-air, leaving the ground with nothing but dark ashes and dead material. A slight grey smoke seemed to be being pulled out of the forest, a trail as though the very life force of the place was being drained out of it. She turned, following the smoke trail as it went over her head and into Kirito's outstretched hand. It was forming into an orb made from the grey smoke like substance, swirling and whirling within an invisible containment like the writhing of a sentient beast.
From the five months since the start of the [Academy] Kirito had finally gotten to [Master] tier in regards to the Void Arts. He was currently using one of the pre set skills, a rarity amongst his imagination now, which was known as Enhancing Nothing. It drained the life of any 'living' object behind the caster and would suck their life force into his main hand. However to ensure a balance for such a power this ability could not be used to drain the life of humanoid opponents. The life force in his hand would then be used, instead of a mental cost, and empower a Void Skill with a direct correlation of increase in power with an increase of life force drained. When Kirito clenched his hand into a fist the amount of life force drained enabled his next skill to deal a damage multiplied by five. The [Legacies] watched in amazement as suddenly all the [Centipede Spawn] stopped moving, frozen in their place. They then simply fell to the ground, motionless before glowing and expanding with the white and blue glow of death; the thousand shattering glasses reaching the group like a thunderous roar of a dying animal.
Over the last five months Kirito and Argo had also revisited the [Hell Zone] area; the [Silent Forest] had continued to give them great drops and with the ability to merge equipment into his already unique set, alongside the entire weapons set that scaled along with him, he had a lot of new powers and toys to play with. He was a lot stronger now, and the constant farming in the [Hell Zone] meant that his level had increased tremendously as well, it was almost ridiculous how broken and overpowered he had gotten. Yet if he remembered correctly, the [Nephilim] that would come later were certainly going to be a hassle to fight; they were well into the thousand level range on average. With that in mind Kirito had a plan that he was going to set into motion after looking at this sight with disappointed eyes; Argo and him would be bringing the Generals alone for a full week of [Hell Zone] farming. The [Legacies] would be left behind in order to keep training and keep order, none were strong enough to face off the [Hell Zone] yet. But now it was time for his mind to return to the present.
"Executor. Did you do that?" Arashi asked, his eyes narrowed at the leader of the army of [Seido].
"Yes. You guys seem to be having a little trouble, so I decided to lend a hand." Kirito replied with a grin, a casual smile as though their [Academy] hadn't been just reduced to rubble and they weren't hovering in the air at early hours of the morning.
"We had it perfectly covered." General Ko said, a scoff and a huff coming out of his mouth as if their esteemed leader didn't believe them strong enough to handle a few bugs.
"So I didn't see you lose your wakizashi again?" he asked with one eyebrow raised in a sign of questioning the authenticity of that claim; but that was hidden behind his mask. Although his mask did display a little facial expression as if it had molded into his face and moved as he moved.
"Well …" the kid said, starting to squirm whilst a burst of laughter rounded off from the Generals, the patting of backs and ruffling of his hair occurred soon after, "Hey! Stop it!" he cried out before realizing the hopelessness in his demands. Eventually General Ko simply resigned to crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders with a huff whilst everyone ruffled his hair.
"That's like the fourth blade this week Ko, come on man." Arashi laughed whilst a grin split his face, notifying the kid they were simply messing with him.
"It wasn't my fault! Did you see how big that thing was? It ate my sword!" he cried out before stamping his foot like an eight year old in a tantrum; laughter doubling in volume whilst the [Legacies] hovered there confused at how relaxed the Generals were.
"It ate your sword?" Mizumi asked him, a navy blue eyebrow arched in questioning.
"Yeah!" the fourteen year old kid took that chance, "It opened its mouth and went GNOM!" he emphasized with hand gestures.
Yuuki watched their eased conversations and relaxed nature; they acted as if they hadn't fought anything hard, as if the battleground they just walked off was an eased everyday occurrence that held no major significance. She shook her head, not understanding what was going on and how they could be so laid back whilst their [Academy] laid in ruins; and yet she could also understand. The thrill of battle certainly overtook her whenever she entered the fray, and when such comrades had been built amongst peers it was no wonder they found this enjoyable. She looked up to the sky and smiled, they could get out of this game; she could save everyone.