Chapter 11 - Guards of the Archons

"Items have various tiers which they fit into, and depending on which tier they are in, it effects the stats and abilities of the item. They all start with [Normal] then [Enhanced] which just means that the item has increased stats. [Rare] is the tier where an item which will have very high stats without any abilities. [Magical] is the tier which items will have the total of one [UNIQUE PASSIVE] or one [UNIQUE ACTIVE]. Every tier after that increases the total by two, allowing for a mixture of both passives and actives to occur. The stats in these items also exponentially increase. The last few teirs are known as [Legendary], [Exotic], [Ancient] and [Divine]." ~ Seven Kingdoms Online: Item Tiers

"There are a number of different Forms of combat that I have trained the Generals in." Kirito said as he began his lecture with Yuuki; he was teaching her one of the secrets that allowed the Generals to be so strong, so much better and more powerful than the rest of the army. The reason being this was not widely spread common knowledge was simply because Kirito was the only one capable of teaching these Forms, it wouldn't do to have over a hundred thousand people trying to learn it by themselves. When one of the Generals had questioned who he was to be teaching them such things, he had merely smiled at them abashed and scratch his head; that is until Argo spilled the secret to them with a hint of satisfaction in her voice. Then again that was understandable considering she was boasting about her boyfriend.

Afterall Kirito had been considered The Prodigy in the International Medieval League. A championship series with various people from around the globe wielding a variety of weapons to wage combat against one another; the death toll was known to be significantly low but quite a few had left the arenas crippled for life. However within his age bracket Kirito had been known as the foremost swordmaster that could even topple some of the Senior Divisions. Considering the fact that Seven Kingdoms Online was a world mostly focus on actual skill with a blade, was it any wonder Kirito could so easily slide into the world.

"The first Form is known as Kihon. It is the most basic out of all the forms and essentially branches into all other Forms, but yet can also be retained as an individual form if is a form that focuses on disarming and maiming with executing precision against both body and weapon of the opponent." he started, chopping the sword into very exact locations of the straw dummy, one to the neck whilst another to the thigh, a third to the stomach before finishing with one straight down into the head, "The use of broad sweeping strokes are great for defeating multiple opponents at once but can be hindered greatly within narrowly confined spaces as well as when facing off a singular opponent as they can quickly and easily get within your guard."

Yuuki was standing a little distance away from the straw dummy that was facing her Master off in a mock combat. A crude device that was perfectly good for this type of training, merely two sticks with a bunch of hay and straw tied to the post. It had been two weeks since the [Centipede Spawn] swarm had come crushing through their land, the safe zone was already back up despite no one understanding how it had gone down in the first place. A week ago the repairs were finished, amazingly quick with the help of Argo and Kirito, and now for the last week everything had returned back to normal.

She was honestly enjoying and loving the life of a [Legacy], her eyes had a sparking joy and passion now that could never be quenched after a mere week; and whilst Kirito made her work hard she could see the improvements in her already. But she did more than just learn how to fight with a sword. Kirito taught her how to lead a [Party], how to command in the midst of battle, he tested her on her knowledge of the ancient lore always insisting that they were actually vitally important; and after seeing those monstrosities she realized just how important. Lucky thanks to General Shukaku's quick actions of sending out the messengers no player or NPC got hurt; some outpost were destroyed but they were quickly rebuilt with the help of the capital city. No real damage had been dealt to the Kingdom.

"Form Two is known as Ketto. It is specialized strictly for like weapon to like weapon combat; or in a scenario where you hold a weapon with longer reach than your opponent. It requires sharp uses of precision and calculated defences against your enemy with minimal effort with a strong emphasis on being not disarmed." He instructed, jabbing the blade a few times towards the straw dummy as though he had a personal vendetta against it, "This Form uses quick jabs and light cuts. It is based on balance and footwork to outmaneuver opponents with the fluidity, precision and calculations of motions instead of reliance on strength. The weakness in this Form is the lack of any high raw damage, but you have a higher chance of scoring critical and crippling blows."

She had seen the other Generals training their own [Legacies] in this area of combat art, each training them in the specific way they knew how and the Forms that they had mastered. Each of the Generals seemed to have mastered at least three Forms each, no two ever sharing the same three Forms and as such created a devastating variety of different fighting styles as well as different weapons being used. Kirito had finally decided to teach her these Forms when she remembered to ask him how did General Ko move so fast with a blade that blurred so quickly; faster than any other Sword Skill she had ever seen.

"Mamoru is the third Form and is so far the only Form that no other General has mastered fully. It requires extremely tight bladework and flexibility to execute subtle dodges. It is a defensive form against archers or other ballistic weapons." his sword moved quickly and sharply into four different movements which would have indefinitely swept aside some attacking arrow blades, "There is a reliance of calculation of motion and energy expenditure to ensure efficiency. In blade to blade combat the idea is to outlast your opponent till they make a mistake and to then take them out. There needs to be quick reflexes and fast positional transition to even become adequate in this Form."

It almost sounded like as if Kirito was parroting these words back to them, as if he had learnt it from somewhere else. Although if he really had been part of an International Medieval League that would explain a lot. To fight against various different techniques he would have had to learn how to adapt to many fighting styles, even learning those different styles and incorporating them into his own. It wouldn't be an illogical deduction then that these styles had been taught to Kirito with these words from a mentor of sorts; which would explain why he seemed to be parroting some parts but explaining others in his own understanding.

Yuuki watched as Kirito suddenly flipped over the head of the dummy before him, black wispy wings awaken, before delivering a devastating backhanded stab through the back of the poor straw man.

"Akuro. It is a fast paced and aggressive fighting Form that whilst weaker in prolonged combat and confined space, is incredibly effective in one on one situations. The idea is to overwhelm the enemy from every angle and side with raw speed and to cripple them with devastating strikes." he slowly got up from his crouched landing position, turning and holding the blade in front of him with both hands, "It relies on a combination of strength, speed and agility whilst utilizing wide controlled and fast powerful swings to incapacitate the enemy. One action must flow into another, the kinetic energy generated should only ever increase and you should only ever get faster; this is key for this style. This is the fourth Form. A Form that would hardly be feasible in reality, but because of this game world; its ripe for the picking."

Then suddenly Kirito raised his blade up into the sky, the glowing orange wisping hue blade shining brightly before suddenly being brought down with such speed and power that it sliced down to where the stomach of the straw dummy was. Yuuki's eyes widened, she did not expect Kirito to have such power when doing something so casually; he didn't even look like he had raw strength in all honesty. He was lean, yes, but he wasn't big and bulky like General Kyojin who wielded a broadsword like a single handed longsword.

"Form Five is Hangeki. A power based form that follows a simple pattern. Strong attack into a solid defense that flows fluidly into a powerful counterattack. It is specifically used for overpowering, overwhelming and killing opponents. It uses your opponent's attack back against them and is best utilized in like weapon to like weapon combat as well." he slided the blade out, ignoring the few strands of straw and hay that fell out along with his blade, "The one key of this Form is something called Fluid Riposte which involves the transition from parrying attacks into counterattacks; if this cannot be done then do not attempt this Form. The weakness here is the lack of mobility as you require stable ground to attack. Only use this in aerial combat if you understand how to transition power from momentum; otherwise it will just result in your defeat."

Yuuki remembered how the [Legacies] had doubted the authenticity of these Forms when Kirito first informed the entire group of apprentices that they existed and it was these that enabled the Generals to be so strong. It seemed so made up when they already had an entire selection of Sword Skills to choose from; why work with only a selected few when you could use all? Seeing the disbelief Kirito had called all eleven of the [Legacies] to fight against him, he would only fight using one Form and if they could land even a single blow on him he would state that his Forms were useless. Immediately someone called him out on his equipment [UNIQUE ACTIVES] and he promised not to use them, charging General Shukaku with referring the fight. It had been an absolute embarrassment for the [Legacies] as he wiped the floor with them, multiple times. No amount of strategizing, teamwork or surprise attacks seem to even get close to him before they were all laying on the ground with slices across their throats, faces or torsos. Needless to say after that they were more than willing to learn how he had done those moves.

"The Mediators Form; Zentai. This is the most balanced form out of every other Form and focuses on overall moderation. It lacks any significant drawbacks but at the same time lacks any significant advantages. It is not as strong as Hangeki nor as fast as Akuro or defensive as Mamoru." he said, before suddenly flinging out his left hand and allowing chains of darkness to wrap themselves around the straw dummy, crushing it before he leapt forward with enhanced speed and decapitated the testing straw man, "But it compensates for this by allowing the user to tap into any other unnatural powers to be used in sync with the blade; and as such provides the basis for dual-wielding weapons as well as other more exotic weapon choices. It is heavily based on the user's intuition and creativity in combat rather than rote responses common to the other Forms; it is the Form with the most personal variances."

A few nights ago Kirito had showed her his Sword Skill grimoire that he gained, not from being the Executor, but by being a beta tester. He had stared into her eyes that night, waiting for some sort of response of disgust or fear; but found only a smirk to her face as she stated that was why he was so good. He had then handed her one of her own, stating that as he was the [Executor Primarch] he could create and hand these out as he wished. He would teach her out of his own of course, but once she had learnt sufficient from him he would expect her to make up her own style. Afterall everything that he would be teaching her was just equipping her with the basics so that she would later learn even more and become unique in the fighting style she would use.

"The seventh Form is the hardest form to learn, it is the most mentally demanding and there are only two out of the eleven of us who have mastered it. Daitain is a Form that requires bold direct movements with the goal of beating an enemy into defence and then overwhelming them with powerful, precise and quick strikes till they tire out or make a mistake." he said, performing each attack from the form with such quick attacks that all Yuuki saw were blurs till the straw man was left with no arms, "Each attack must flow into the other whilst using leaping and quick short dashes to reposition into an enemy's blind spot. It can only be mastered by those who have mastered other Forms. The one weakness of this is that whilst it excels at overwhelming a single opponent quickly, it can leave the user open to other attackers; especially from the form of the elements."

Suddenly Kirito slashed towards the left, only to quickly spin to the right and deliver a devastating cut that removed most of the straw man's torso. He moved again to the right, taking a backhanded cut only for it to fluidly transform into an overhand downward stroke before ever reaching the original intended target.

"Azak, the last Form of feints and slashes is one that revolves around pivoting or spinning around an enemy whilst moving in a circular motion around them. The goal is the ensure that your opponent never knows where you're going to strike, you may seem to be coming from the left but you're actually coming from the right." Kirito stated before doing a few more spins that resulted in such lightning quick attacks that all left of the straw man were the stumps of his wooden anchor, "It utilizes hacks and slashes as the primary attacks and requires heavy body burst of speed to suddenly catch opponents unaware. It is a very deceiving fighting Form that makes your enemy think you're attacking from one angle when in actuality that's the feint, drawing their defense before spinning around and killing them."

"Now let's spar and let's find you a Form to learn eh?" Kirito said to Yuuki, the underlying tone of amusement evident to her.

"Alright Master." she said grinning back at him when she saw the winch that occurred; he really did not like being called Master, seemed very awkward for him.

"I'm going to make you hurt just for that." he said with mock anger, his orange sword held out behind him with his wrist slightly cocked forward. The orange glow of the weapon not loss underneath the bright sunlight as wisp of it curled and flickered like a living being.

Yuuki dashed forward with her own obsidian colored blade, her light armor allowing quick movements whilst her opened wings only bolstered those movements. When she was about three more steps from Kirito she launched herself up before using her wings to drive herself down, the inertia following the glowing purple blade sparked against the flat side of the [Essence Blade]. Afterall, Kirito did not want to destroy her blade whilst they were practicing. From her halted position in mid air she flipped herself over his head, unleashing a barrage of Sword Skills, watching as the variety of purple, blue, green, red and golden glow attacks all stopped at the orange hue of Kirito's blade. A sudden shove from his blade caused her to stumble back, an orange arc sliced right in front of her eyes as she leaned backwards, spinning whilst she did so; her black blade with purple lights dancing off in trails knocking the blade away.

She returned with a vicious slash aimed at his neck before being followed up by a disarming knock up blow, a Two-Hit Sword Skill. Or well at least it would've been if her blade hadn't been stopped by an unmovable force from Kirito's side. Then he unleashed his own attacks, always striking her blade with the flat of his as well as near the hilt of his sword, quick short strokes that bounced from right to left to right to left again; simple and yet the speed made it anything but simple. Yuuki was forced unto the defensive, her own blade trying desperately to keep that flat edge away from slamming into her. She took the risk to suddenly flipped backwards, disengaging from the close quarter combat, before lowering her blade and shaking her head. He had let her go, a quick slice would've all been needed to cut off her wings and slice through her back and spine.

"This fight is over." she said with a smirk, "You've won already."

Kirito laughed, it echoed out past his mask and vibrated through his body.

"Well at least you don't fight unnecessarily." Kirito commended her despite the fight lasting only a mere few seconds, "I believe I know the Form you will study during the one week expedition the Generals and I are taking."

He beckoned her to come closer to him as she watched him pull something out from the shadow in his palm; a Shadow Inventory, just another thing that made him different from everyone else. As if he wasn't different enough already.

A black square based pyramid was held in his hands. It was carved from the darkest metal she had ever seen, seemingly drawing in light from the atmosphere around it. A groove cut through the metal forming an upside down 'Y' that displayed another layer of greyish metal underneath. The ever slight grey glow pulsing and slowly moving like a beast trapped within a cage. Runes of an ancient unknown language were engraved carefully into the metal in strips that no one could understand. However the top bit of it was missing, an empty gaping gap showing various glowing runes within; the missing piece was as if someone had carved out a 3D diamond kite shape from the tip of the device. When Kirito placed it into her hand she was amazed at how light it seem; of course there was weight to it but far less than what she had expected; and was equally surprised to find the missing piece being handed to her as well. It was made of the same black metal with runes carved into the surface, dead black.

"What is this?" she asked with the barest of whispers, fearful that perhaps a loud noise would awaken the beast into fury, or silence it for eternity in fear of its capturers. Yuuki could feel knowledge and power rolling off this object in waves, a cold grasp over her chest like the chills of space whilst the air continued to darken around it.

"It's a [Ruikodai]." he said as if that would explain everything, smirking underneath his mask at her confused and annoyed glance at him, "It is a recording device from what lore would suggest originates from the -"

"Teldazikim Empire." Yuuki breathed out, looking at the object she had in her hands with awe and wonder to be holding something so rare and so powerful. She now knew why she had found the design so familiar, she had it seen it sketched in all those ancient lore books.

"Yes." Kirito said, pleased by her grasp of the ancient lore of this game world; it could very well mean knowing a disaster before it happened or being completely blind to it, "I have placed a recording of lessons about what you need to know about Akuro and Zentai. I'm hoping for you to have learnt quite a bit by the time we return." he said with an unseen eyebrow arched. He had no doubt she would pour herself into learning the Forms of combat that he had learnt from the various championships. She enjoyed the thrill of the fight as much as he did.

"Thank you Master!" she said, glancing up at his face with a beaming grin on hers, a quick bow from her waist allowed him to know that she really found this an amazing gift. Her eyes quickly flickered back down to it before sheepishly smiling at him, "Would you mind if I … you know …"

"Go ahead Yuuki." he said with a chuckle at her eagerness, watching as she simply sat down on the ground and activated the recording device by placing the diamond shaped piece into the pyramid. The runes suddenly pulsed grey and a shape began to form a little above the device. Formed by the shadows there were no real visible features that could be seen, but the voice was sharp and clear as day.

"The fourth Form, Akuro, is entirely based around understand the limits of ones body, and then exceeding it."

There was no denying it, the voice belong to none other than Kirito himself, and he watched with amusement as she was entirely engrossed with the lessons possibly given to her. He didn't even bother breaking her out of her trance to say goodbye, his wings silently appeared as they formed forth from the shadows of his back. A mere thought and he was off to meet the other Generals and the Empress at their meeting point. Today was the day they would begin their [Hell Zone] expedition.

He simply smiled at the thought of Yuuki simply sitting there completely oblivious to everything else, glad that someone else within this death game could be happy as he disappeared in the speed of a black lightning bolt.

Line Break

Kirito slowed down as he got to the barrier of perfectly aligned trees that seemed to disappear into a never ending darkened forest. The shadows seemed to cling to the tree trunks, promising a painful death if one were to venture within. In front of the [Silent Forest] was the gathering of Argo and the other Generals, he had decided to stay back a little to talk to Yuuki more; but now as he saw them he grinned, a smile forming over his face and under his mask. Gliding over with unnatural grace Kirito joined the group with their conversation, his right hand easily dipping to lightly place itself against Argo's back. He heard the little sigh escape from her mouth as she moved in closer to him; an action that went unnoticed by everyone.

"Executor." Shiage stated, bowing a little.

"Is everyone ready?" Kirito asked, his eyes scanning over the group as they all nodded, "Remember what we are entering is essentially a place for [Raid Parties]. We'll be going only into the [Outer Ring] and potentially the [Middle Ring]. Take no risk and protect each other. This will be a time for us to grab you new stronger gear as well as building your teamwork; Empress Argo and I will be overwatching this expedition. Let's go." he said when no one else said anything, turning and letting his wings propel him past the first tree line.

His eyes accustomed to the dim, and with his gear, saw it as clear as daylight. The entire group stayed close to one another, eyes flickering from left to right as they attempted to see what laid beyond the darkness surrounding them. Various trails of pixelated color glowed and shimmered behind them before fading away and disappearing as sparkles, consumed by what seemed like neverending darkness. A quick open palm up by Kirito caused everyone to pause, their weapons readied whilst they slowly turned, looking for what had caused their leader to pause.

"Can you hear it?" he asked, only Argo nodded a confirm whilst the others either shook their head or looked at him confused, "Follow me." was all Kirito said before turning and flying off, black streaks trailing behind his wings whilst the others sped to keep up with his superior speed.

As they followed Kirito the darkness receded in front of them, only to accumulate behind them and covering up wherever they had first come from. Darkness above, darkness below, darkness behind, darkness all around. Eventually everyone heard it, the dins of battle as metal clashed against metal.

"There!" Heigun called out as they saw the faint flickering of different colors slashing into one another. They dipped down towards the left, getting closer towards the source of fighting. As they flew by they noticed scorch marks against the base of tree roots and the ground, like as though fire had been thrown there before dying out. Finally rounding past a tree they saw the sight that had drew them here in the first place.

There were two forces that met in battle. One were dressed in white and gold, light shining off their clothing duly as if they were a light source themselves. They wore face mask that were completely white except for the golden symmetrical swirls in the middle of their mask; four black slits adorned perfectly on either side of the mask. White, with light gold designs woven on, and brown layers of garments adorned over their body like tunics made for a specific order. In their hands were single handed swords, these blades made from the purest white metal their expedition group had ever seen, golden swirls once again drawn across with a perfect artist hand. The strangest part was that from the tip of their blade till about the middle was a small slit, purposefully made, with most of the golden art originating from that area. However in their left hands they held an orb, white with intricate swirls of gold on them whilst thick and deep grooves cut through its body. A glowing core could be seen from within of molten gold like the color of a burning star.

Fighting against them were a force of black skinned beings with a purplish hue to their skin. They had scarlet red eyes that screamed blood lust whilst tattoos of grey were inscribed onto their flesh. They wore no mask and had visible sharp teeth flashing as they snarled in battle. Their armor made from overlapping black steel whilst grey runes were written all over them. The very shadows seemed to cling unto their being making them hard to see to most as their figures always seemed to be in one place, then another. Their flowing dark silver hair a contrast that stood out, marking them as different amongst the darkness as it flowed behind them in long waves. In their hands an assortment of weapons; swords, daggers, spears and axes. Each with the same design, dark stone like looking material wrapped around with leather bindings near the hilt. Their darkness clashing with the light which the other brought.

Kirito noticed that there were dead bodies lying around the battlefield; meaning that this wasn't a random meeting but the setting up of either a [Quest] or [Event]; that was the only time a dead body did not decompose into pixels. Yet what had killed them weren't strike marks, some did have weapons sticking them to a tree or the ground but most had what looked like scorch marks; then again most of the dead were those of the dark skin and the few dead ones were from creatures no doubt native to the [Hell Zone]. Not a single one crafted from light could be seen amongst the dead.

"Attack the dark ones." Kirito commanded as they swooped in, the flashing colors of Sword Skills lashing out like whips of light in the darkness, silencing many. The fact that these bodies did not explode into polygons of light meant that this was most certainly a [Quest].

Quickly they were engaged in battle, the ones dressed in white and gold did not hesitate to back them up; glad for any help they could get as what seemed like even more dark ones were appearing. Kirito activated his [Essence Blade] and [Void Blade], falling into the easy and familiar dual-wielding. He spotted one of the dark ones rushing at him, elegance and grace of an entirely different field as they seemed to almost glide over. It came rushing at him, spinning arcs of purple and grey lights swooping like the striking teeth of a viper. Kirito caught the short sword upon his orange glowing blade, whatever metal they had easily standing on par with his sword' although he did notice the little knick in the blade. A quick lunge with his left hand aimed to run the opponent through the chest, but missed as it backed away with a single leap and spin.

Kirito rushed forward, black wings out as he flew the last meter, spinning to allow his blade maximum kinetic power. His green and orange hued blades slammed repeatedly over and over again against the short sword, upon the third rotation his green blade knocked it out of the way before the quick descent of his fourth rotation severed the mobs head from its body. The smoking headless torso slumped to its knees before keeling over to the ground chest first; the head rolling and bouncing away.

Leaping over the fallen body he allows the mid air spin to flow into another slash, one that flew with the strength and speed far surpassing most users. He watched in satisfaction as his next opponent caught it on his staff. Kirito spun a little, his orange blade spinning around him, before his entire vision was engulfed by the shadows only to reappear behind the opponent and allowing his blade to complete its circle; beheading another opponent.

That was the trick with humanoid targets; if your blade was strong enough, and if you swung hard enough, fast enough and at the right locations you could very easily instantly one shot a target. It had little to do with stats of a player over the levels and more to do with a user's skill of the blade in their hands. Whilst true that could be considered a broken function, a bug even, but the real question is how many people could actually perform a feat like that? Not many, considering that most of his Generals still went for slices and slashes, and true that with their strength some could decapitate an enemy with a single strike; but not many had the same accuracy he had. Afterall even a slice to the neck would simply cause a critical hit to the health of an opponent, not instant death. To instantly kill someone it required a direct hit to the heart, through the brain or decapitation.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched as one of those dressed in white and gold raised their left hand at an incoming attacker and suddenly a shield made from what looked like swirls of translucent gold created a barrier to protect themselves. The previous orb in the warriors left hand was now floating a few centimeters off from his open palm that faced his advisory. Those swirls that had been previously thought of as mere decorations were in fact a language none knew. The metal case floating away from a glowing molten golden core that shone brightly, floating like jigsaw pieces.

The barrier turned the attacking blade away, knocking it to the side upon contact as if the blade had been dipped into fast churning waters. It left the dark one wide open and the other warrior suddenly stamped forward and did a stabbing motion with his blade, despite the fact that it would come short. Kirito watched in amazement, and so did a few other Generals, when the golden intricate swirls blazed bright golden light and from that little slit a beam of molten golden white light shot forth, arching like lightning as it struck down the dark one. It blew him back against a tree leaving nothing but a scorch mark that had burnt through the man's body leaving him for dead. The pulsing lights disappeared from the sword as the warrior joined back into the battle.

As he turned back to focus on his own battle he watched as a dark one barrelled towards him with such grace and speed that Kirito actually jumped back, dodging an incredibly fast slash that sliced right in front of him, the dark purple trails of light eerie in the extended darkness. The creature jumped back, before a vicious smirk spread across its face. Lunging forward once more Kirito went to block the attack, only to meet thin air as the monster disappeared into a burst of shadows. Eyes narrowed Kirito activated his [Shield of the Kahala], feeling the hum of energy filling the air around him. He watched as a sudden dark green light trail collided against the shield, blowing whoever was wielding the blade and making them visible. Wasting no time Kirito dashed forward, his blade easily sinking through the head of his opponent before a swift flick from his wrist resulted in the head being split in half.

A screech cut across the clearing and immediately all the dark ones disengaged before disappearing into the shadows in incredible ways. Some vanishing in explosions of darkness whilst others simply turned invisible, the rare few slipped into the darkness behind trees and simply disappearing with the shadows. The moment these dark skinned ones disappeared the golden and white blades were raised against the Generals, swirls pulsating with bright glows readying for those golden light arc blast.

"Who are you?" one of the golden warriors asked, Kirito watched that blade very closely as it was aimed right at him, "Are you a [Nigrum Tenebris]?"

"Custos Jak-Orr." another muffled voice stated, "Stand down." as another warrior placed a hand on the current threatening soldier.

"I can sense darkness within this person." the person identified as Jak-Orr stubbornly stated, "He has to be a [Tenebris]."

"My name is Kirito." he answered a little delayed, "I am the [Executor Primarch] of the Kingdom of [Seido]. These are the Generals of the army of [Seido]." he said gesturing to those behind him with their various weapons.

"The Kingdom of [Seido] is new to this world. Stand down Jak-Orr." the same commanding officer sternly stated once more.

"He wears the armor of a [Teldazikim]. He must be in league with the [Tenebris]." Jak-Orr snarled behind his mask, "I would know the armor of a [Dark Templar] anywhere."

"That is true, yet he is not in fits of rage nor insanity. I do not see an deformity nor mutation. Perhaps we can resolve this peacefully." the leader spoke again, the last bit more of a musing to himself than anyone.

"I got this armor set from killing a beast that resided within the [Silent Forest]." Kirito answered calmly despite the glowing sword pointed at him.

"They do not even understand what is going on!" a hand forced the blade down as a warrior stood in front of another, "You will stand down now or I will force you to stand down. Do I make myself clear Custos Jak-Orr?"

"Yes Venator Val-Shor." he stated, taking a step back with head hung in shame at being told off in front of everyone.

"Finish getting the camp set up now!" Val-Shor said after addressing his group with the other and then turning to face them with his mask still on place, "Please forgive Jak-Orr. His family were slain by the [Tenebris] and he has had always a deep hatred for them despite that not being our way."

"That is alright." General Heigun spoke up, coming to stand near Kirito, "There was no harm done and that is all that matters."

The warrior in front of them, who was obviously the group's leader, laughed with mirth.

"Well said young one. Come, all of you. Sit with me." he said, leading them to an already set up campfire with large logs placed around it, the dead leaves crunching underneath each footstep whilst cold damp wood pressed against them as they sat down, "So what are your names? And I mean names, not titles." he asked them.

Glances within the twelve people communicated their choices quickly before a nod by Kirito allowed them access to answer a question like that.

"Kirito." the Executor stated first as he was the one sitting on the immediate right beside him. His armor drawing the darkness into himself, making him darker but majority of the surrounding around everyone else lighter. Ironic that such a natural response by the armor represented who Kirito was the most, he would take the blame for everything and turn himself into a scapegoat to save and to help others.

"Argo." the Empress followed up smoothly as she sat on one of the logs with her chosen one. Her armor had lost the purple neon glow it had once. During one of their duo [Hell Zone] expedition Kirito and Argo had managed to kill a moon beast and Argo's armor had absorbed it up perfectly turning every previous purple line into a lunar silver that shone beautifully; it repulsed the darkness around them.

"Rakurai." was the response General Arashi replied. Each of the other Generals knowing their in game name as well as their chosen title name; they only chose to continue with the nicknames because it made life easier, and because they were generally shorter than their real in game names. He sat relaxed, twin hands intertwined behind his head whilst he leaned against a tree trunk behind him.

"Akaryoku." General Nagawa answered him casually, her long black hair almost invisible against the darkness that surrounded them.

"Shukagami." the goddess like General Shukaku calmly, and very composed, informed the leader of her name. She sat close to Arashi, both forced to share a single smaller wooden log seat that was next to Kirito and Argo.

"Kanpeki." General Shiage stated, her double sided katana sheathed at the moment as the blades somehow could withdraw into the hilt of the blade.

"Buyokusa." little Ko said, the official in game name of the speed demon that stood as rank three in terms of combative strength amongst the ten Generals.

"Taijin." General Kyojin said, his large frame casting devilish looking shadows that ducked and weave upon the wooden trunks behind him. They curled and weaved like monstrosities from the very depths of darkness.

"Chie." the Athena like General Shizu said, her stormy grey eyes cold and unyielding even in the warmth of a singular flame whilst they were surrounded by darkness.

"Heigun." interestingly enough General Heigun had used his same in game name as his title nickname whilst in the army of [Seido]. He was the only one who did it, then again his peaceful demeanor meant that many loved him and adored him; there was no danger in it.

"Nukami." was the gruff response of General Mizumi, his large scythe resting against his shoulder whilst the butt of the weapon dug into the ground below them. His feet spread wide enough that he could lean forward on his elbows whilst looking at the warrior.

"Yuniku." General Exota stated simply, her marble white eyes standing out brightly against the darkness that surrounded them.

"Nice to meet your acquaintances. My name is Val-Shor and I am the leader of this group." the man in his golden armor finally spoke, "And now, let me explain to you the history that you do not know."

Line Break -

They were known as the [Guards of the Archons], or in the ancient language [Veterum Vakza]. They hailed from an ancient civilization, not as old as the original four, but one that came after the fall of three. They were a nation that arose during the fall of [Atlantis] when the [Teldazikim] waged war against the entire world. The Nation of High Dark Archons had found a gap, a crack within their dimension into another world. One without light nor substance, one of nothingness that when came into contact with something turned them all into beast. What started as a war ended in the slaughter of four civilizations. [Atlantis], the [Nephilim] and the [Divine Immortals] were all torn down by the nation which had been mutated into monsters, the stuff of nightmares. They were what had created such breaches as [Hell Zones].

The [Guards of the Archons] came from a fallen away sect of the [Teldazikim] empire that called itself the [Daelaam]. Their entire aim, entire existence and goal was to tear down what once had been the [Teldazikim], what once had been their brethren and were now beast, literal abominations of flesh, blood, energy and life that had come from nothing meeting something. Eventually they had succeeded, but by then nothing was left but the ashes of what once had been their world. They had gone into hiding, allowing the survivors to establish a new world whilst they withdrew away from any dealings of the globe; their empire had had their chance once and completely ruined it, it was now time for the next generations of nations to have their turn. However unknown to them were two things, one being that relics had been left behind by the [Teldazikim] and two that due to them actually closing off the ripped open portal, they had in a sense become immortal.

Over time their physical bodies decayed away leaving nothing within their armor but swirling golden lights of energy. Those unique arcs of golden light and golden shields used during the battle were actually the [Guards of the Archons] last resort as it drained their very life essence. If not used sparingly, calculatedly or carefully; it would result in their death and release into whatever world existed after this. They could use this life energy to empower themselves making them faster, stronger, more flexible, more enduring or more powerful if they needed to; but again too much would result in their demise and as such all were kept as last backups. What happened instead was that they training with the blade for millenias resulted in an order, that whilst never gained new members, of highly skilled swordsmen. Their armor was crafted with ancient techniques and actually acted like a mechanical suit in a sense that could be upgraded to be faster or stronger or more enduring even without the use of their life force. Upon taking off his mask, Val-Shor showed them that what laid beneath was not flesh, but a swirling mass of golden molten light.

But throughout their history there were moments where the Guards themselves had turned dark. They learned that they could siphon the life force of another being into themselves and thus gain more life force to use making them a lot more powerful. Those that agreed, numbering only in the thirties, ravaged five nations and their various outpost, cities and even each capital. They left nothing but husk in their wake, reminding the world long ago that the reason why the Nation of the Dark High Archons should be feared and revered. In other times of history outsiders from the new infant kingdoms found the old relics, unleashing monstrosities upon the world or turning themselves into conduits of what the Guards came to call as [Void] energy. Each and every time the Guards rose back to their challenge and slayed the darkness. Now they were hunting for the relic in this [Hell Zone] when they stumbled across some native creatures as well as those corrupted by the [Void].

The next question that then piqued everyone's interest was if Kirito was using [Teldazikim] equipment, alongside a [Void Essence Blade], then how was it that the darkness had not yet crept over him and taken his sanity as well as formity.

"I don't know."

Was all he could answer with, a sheepish hand scratching the back of his head like a kid caught stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar. He had kept eye contact with Val-Shor the entire time; their group had been so engrossed with their work that they did not notice that the afternoon had descended long before and now lay only the dark night that empowered and strengthened those of the darkness. He honestly did not know, there was never a tug towards the darkness nor any sense of his sanity slipping; in fact if anything it had made him more accurate and more thoughtful of his action sequences and plans. Just because he was extremely powerful did not mean there would be no one left to face him in combat. He had continued to push himself, training everyday to become stronger, faster, better. The only reason, the only inkling of an idea, he had towards why it never affected him was simply because he was a player and not an actual denizen of this world.

"Well either way I can't let someone who is wearing the armor of a [Dark Templar], whilst imbued with the presence of [Shadows] and the [Void] simply walk away." Val-Shor said as he stood up, looking down upon the gathered through the white and golden mask, "Wait here, I shall return shortly." His white armor disappearing in the darkness as he walked towards one of the set up tents, the flaps flinging in the air as he let himself in.

Kirito looked over to Argo after turning away from the leader walking into his own private territory, the rest of the Generals staring at each other; some bored whilst others none caring, very few interested towards what was going on. She merely smiled at him, a content and happy smile amidst the crackling snaps of the flame and the soft dim roar of the fire.

"I think this is some sort of pre-quest dialogue." Kirito began to the group, "None of the dead bodies slain in that short battle have disappeared into the death animation yet. This will probably turn out into a quest."

"What sort of quest though?" General Shiage asked him back, her dark brown eyes essentially black in the night's air.

"From logical deductioning I believe it will either be a hunting quest where we will have to kill one who is corrupted; or to find one of the relics left by the [Teldazikim] empire and destroy them." was the reply of General Shizu, her grey eyes sparkling against the orange licks of fire that flickered before her, "It is also likely possible that we will have to shut down a gate into the [Void]. All are possible."

"You just jinxed it!" General Ko exclaimed, the little kid whining and sighing, "Now it is probably going to be all three!"

"No … you just jinxed us. Idiot." General Arashi sighed as a solid loud thump could be heard, the giant fist of General Kyojin upon the little head of General Ko. The big man merely shook his head before giving a semi-warm smile towards the little child.

"It'll be a piece of cake. Don't you worry." the big General easily stated, confidence rolling off him in waves as he removed his hand and sat relaxedly.

They all fell to silence as Venator Val-Shor returned, each step measured and calculated, in his arms a large softly pulsing golden crystal snuggled comfortably into his chest. He looked at them once more, before lowering the crystal down on to the ground in front of where he sat. The pulsing golden diamond shaped crystal was large, easily the size of a grown mans torso. They watched as Val-Shor stretched out his hand over the crystal, his open left palm facing the pulsating crystal before arcs of golden molten light snapped between them. Crackling and jerking like electricity that touched various locations before arching to a new one. Just as quickly as they came they disappeared.

"This is a [Life Force Cyrstal]. It is something that [Guard of the Archons] strike teams are required to have. Within here holds the charge of substantial [Life Force]." Val-Shor looked down at that piece with an old smile, a knowing look within his eyes, "These have saved many of our kind. When something did manage to wound us these would supply us with the strength we need. Now Kirito, we need you to absorb this into yourself." those were the words that he said before his mask snapped up to look at him.

"Why?" came back the simple response from the Executor. His twin green flaming eyes peering through the blackslits of the leader's mask.

"My brothers yearn to have your blood spilt upon their blade. We have vowed to never allow someone who accesses the [Void] to live." the cold reality washed over the entire group; from watching their fighting skills and prowess in battle if these people decided to kill them there would be no hope of stopping their blades. Each were as strong, if not stronger, than Kirito at that moment, "However you have not slipped into insanity, a trait common amongst those touched by the darkness. Therefore I believe you can be changed for the light. Will you take it?"

"If I deny?" he asked, the question carrying across the clearing with a mere wave of wind.

"We will kill you all." How something so cold could be said from someone who claimed to be of the light shocked them greatly. Kirito sighed, this would be nothing but a simple skill change; he didn't need to be so caught up in decided an answer, it was simply especially if a denying of this request would lead into battle.

"Alright, I'll do it." Kirito stated simply, answering his demand and question. No point in fighting NPC's that were incredibly much more stronger than them, it was just a skill anyway.

They watched as Kirito faced his right palm outwards to the fallen crystal, fingers clawed sightly. Immediately golden sparking lights arched into his open palm, it pooled within the middle of his hand, glowing and pulsing like the beating of his heart. The light shot through his body, visible lines of it swirling around his arm before traveling up into his chest. He could actually feel the darkness being pushed back, feeling a warmth fill his entire being that seeped into the very center of his bones; enveloping his entire being with light. Slowly his armor green flickering lights disappeared, extinguished as though the powerline had been cut out from under it. The empty grooves haunting the sight of everyone within the clearing as Kirito slumped forward as though dead and defeated. But then they watched as from his gauntlets the lines began to be filled by golden molten light that pulsed and weaved like a living sentient being. They snaked through the hollowed out grooves, sloshing like water and only to eventually settle into a steady streaming impulse of life force.

"This will replace your connection with the [Void] with the ability to wield [Life Force]. Use this new found gift wisely, we will monitor your progression even if you do not know we are watching." the Venator stated calmly as though he did this everyday, the finally subsiding glow from around Kirito left him with a whole new look.

From what once had been green and black nor changed into black and gold. His eyes were like molten gold, swirling whilst every line on his armor that had previously been filled with energies of the [Void] were now filled with the powers of the [Life Force] of this world. He could now wield the energy that resided within all living beings. In his new form Kirito looked even more intimidating than before; the black and green had made him look like a feared monster straight out of the depths of hell, but this new look made him look like a powerful and terrifying warrior who would not hesitate to slay anyone that happen to cross his path in succeeding the destruction of an old enemy.

Where the golden crystal had once laid was now an empty spot with only the slightest black char on the ground hinting towards its existence mere moments ago.

"You do not have the same curse as us, for you are still of physical flesh." Val-Shor informed him with his deep voice, "You can sacrifice your own life force to channel your abilities, making them stronger, but I would highly advise against that. You are mortal and of the physical realm, such a feat would most likely kill you. Do not attempt it unless you have gained new backings of life force."

"Thank you Venator Val-Shor for your gift. I appreciate it." Kirito said, but now it was no longer words that echoed forth from his mask but a deep sound that seem to simply come from nowhere, speaking to each within their own mind.

"What was that?" Argo asked the confused group, her eyes finally landing on the Guard, "What did you do to him?"

"It is merely a side effect of the mask he is wearing coupled with the life force coursing through his body. Nothing more than aesthetics really." the leader replied back to her snappish question, her concern slowly bleeding away, "Now if you would excuse me. My team and I need to find the relic holding this abomination of a place together before destroying it."

"Do you need any help?" Kirito immediately asked, activating the quest question and dialogue to appear as each of them had a pop up window appear in front of them.

[Return of the Void]

[Venator Val-Shor of an ancient order is leading a team into the destroying the relics of a civilization eons past. You are invited into this expedition.]

[Do you accept?]

[YES] [NO]

This screen appeared just before Venator Val-Shor said even a word and each pressed [YES] moments before he spoke.

"We are going to hunt down some relics of the [Void]." he said, speaking to them, "I guess we could use some help, it would certainly assist in matters of others seeing you as a Redeemed." he nodded before turning around and walking away, a single hand behind his back beckoning them to follow his steps and come with him.

"That talk was almost too easy, I expected more of a challenging dialogue." Kirito murmured to the group behind his new black face mask with golden swirling eyes that glowed with power.

"Well, you can't always have an interesting conversation can you?" Argo teased back.

Their figures slowly disappeared into the darkness as the entire camp of Guards packed up at the shouted orders of their captain and moved out, trailing the grounds in search of the [Void] relics that would most likely end up with the destruction of the [Hell Zone]. That means that another [Hell Zone] would form later on somewhere else and they would have to swap farming grounds. Kirito sighed, after all the mobs from the [Hell Zone] would not despawn after the field was destroyed, there simply just wouldn't be any new mobs spawning or respawning; this meant that if they killed something that was it, it died. That is until they found a new place to grind for gear, level and Col. But all of this was shoved to the back of their minds as darkness seeped around them, each step taking them closer to the heart of corruption and vile evil.