Chapter 12 - Temple of the Forest
"[Dungeons] in this world do not contain an endless amount of monsters. Instead they hold a few key Elite or Boss level mobs that have to be faced before reaching the treasure. Each of these rooms are connected with hallways or tunnels that are filled with traps designed to immediately kill an unfortunate victim. Most of the other mobs would be found outside of the [Dungeon]." ~ Seven Kingdoms Online: Dungeons
Before them was a small door frame cloaked by the fallen vegetation around it like the veil before a mystic. It was a dark maw surrounded by moss covered darkened white stone, strange symbols carved into the crumbling shell. The wall of wood coupled with a rising body of stone, a literal mountain covered with the living bodies of trees and vegetation. All of them could feel the echoing tendrils of darkness reaching out to their minds, attempting to corrupt and change them into something out of the darkness. The crunching of dry dead leaves stopped as the large party themselve stopped, each of their weapons held loosely within their hands as the soft whistling moan of a haunting wind could be heard moving through the [Silent Forest]; this was definitely a sign of danger when sound was made from silence.
Together, almost as if they shared the same mind, they began to walk forward, each step tentative as they stared down the mouth of endless darkness. But just as they reached a mere step away from the darkened hallway, limited light showing an old hallway with ancient carvings throughout the walls whilst the forest roots spanned against the ground and walls, a single sound pulled them out of their walk. All turned around, and all got into their various ready positions.
Before them appeared a gathering of beings from the shadows, darkness flowing off them like oil off a ducks back. Each were about two to three meters tall with long stringy limbs that gracefully moved like the slow fluid movements of water. Their entire body, skin and armor alike, seemed to be made from grey wood that smoothly blended when they moved. Long fingers that ended in sharp points, webs between their fingers, that curled and uncurled whilst they advanced against them. Their faces were sharp, harsh and angular, pitch black eye holes staring at the venturing party with mask made from the grey wood with thin black lip lines meeting many grooves of their mask.
"Caeduces." Val-Shor whispered under his breath, easily heard by the gathered warriors. The entire player and Guard party numbered thirty, with the twelve from [Seido], whilst they stood against gathered beings, that when counted, came to a total of twenty five, "Be very careful, they are the examples of what happens when the [Void] corrupts sentient beings."
"Guardians." a snarling echoing voice rolled through the two parties, a single Caeduce walked forward. Each step silent, almost as if he were more gliding than walking, "To what do we owe the pleasure?" it was only then that the players realized that the being before them had not even opened his mouth, the echoing deep of his voice was either a change due to his mask or his thoughts being projected like words.
"Vlak dash gan ka." the Venator replied, his own words echoing like the corrupted being before him, "Why are you here?"
"Why … to FEAST ON YOU!" it said before its previously looking glued shut mouth split open with a scream. A bloodcurdling scream that interwove pain and terror into the very hearts of the party, a scream that was copied by every other Caeduce with rows upon rows of jagged teeth flashing from their demand for blood. It dashed forward, a black gangly clawed hand rushing toward Val-Shor at such speeds that the entire motion appeared as nothing more than a black blur. Only to be met with a golden shield of pure [Life Force], the orb levitating and seperated in the hand of the Venator like Kirito had seen before. The corrupted one stumbled back, an agonizing high pitched scream ripped forth from its teeth filled mouth as smoke could be seen curling off its body where it had met the shield.
"You who are made from nothing cannot stand the contact of everything." the Guard captain thundered righteously, "For the Archons!" was the war cry the captain yelled before dashing into battle, his blade blazing gold as he did so. The other Guards roaring the same cry as they too charged up their blades and ran forward, engaging in combat with the corrupted ones.
"Shukaku! Heigun! Get into the [Dungeon]! This will be your place!" Kirito thundered as he himself charged forward, igniting his [Taldariq] which now turned golden, imbued with the [Life Force] obtained earlier. But yet it was still the same except now golden wisp of light curled and flickered around the blade, the brightly shining molten golden crystals underneath pulsing with power. In his other hand, what once had been the [Void Essence Blade] was now known as the [Archon's Blade] and it too, like its counterpart partner, glowed with the molten golden light of life's energy swirling around it, wisp like smoke curling. Both now looked identical, now in combat it would be impossible to tell them apart. Out from his back where there had previously been black smoke like wings were now golden ones that pulsed and flourished like that of an angel. In his mind Kirito was a little annoyed at what had happened, he liked the color black, it was darker than this foolish golden light. But all that stopped the moment he came into combat with a Caeduce.
With changing his alignment from [Void] to [Life Force] it had changed a number of his skill names and flavor text, but there was one new skill added to the gigantic list that were already at his disposal; one that indefinitely made up for the lost of his hard earned months of mastering the Void Arts from earlier. This new skill was called [Freedom in the Life Force] and granted Kirito this one unique toggle ability and it was that Kirito could now empower his blades with the speed and strength of Sword Skills, but did not need to follow the preset skills that were used by the majority. Instead he could swing his blade in any direction, pattern or method that he wanted to and it would still strike as fast and as strong as Sword Skill. Now he got to put this, as well as his remembrance of real sword fighting to the test.
He easily sidestepped the Caeduce fast swipe, a quick flick of his wrist sending a blade streaking up that amputated its arm. He made to stab his left blade through the chest of the beast but it jumped out of range quickly. It screamed at him, mouth wide whilst the terror of death tried to creep into his mind; thank RNG that his helm still provided the mental barriers against such attempts. He watched as monster bounded forward once more, leaping at the last second as it swung out with its left arm, Kirito immediately activated his shield into that one point, a translucent golden hexagon appearing and stopping the strike of the Caeduce. Yet it kicked out with its right leg, slamming into Kirito's torso and blowing him back into a tree, his body slid three meters down to the ground with a resounding thump. He activated a full body shield, feeling the starting of mental strain taking place within his mind; he normally only did one hexagon to protect him in that specific area as it drained him less. Within a flash of a split second the corrupted monster was on him, teeth trying to gnash through the shield, left arm slamming over and over again.
The beast flew back after its initial movement surged died down, the rebutting power of the shield sending it flying back as Kirito willed the kinetic strength behind all of its previous strikes to be flung back at it. Getting up the Executor dashed forward and stabbed both of his blades through the chest of the Caeduce, the creature screamed in defiance of death, screamed a primal screech of pain as the [Life Force] burned it; but then it lifted its head towards its assailant and and then roared. A wall of green energy sizzled as it was unravelled and unleashed from around the Caeduce, forcing the swordsman to release his blades in an attempt to move away; only to fail.
The blast flung Kirito back with such force that it chipped away a fifth of his health, skidding as he dug his feet into the ground along with his hands he winched at the strength behind that attack. He looked up, only to dodge to the side as a bolt of [Void] energy passed by him in a blur of dark green color. Flinging out his left hand Kirito utilized his first Essence Skill, that is the list of abilities gifted to him by the [Life Force], and watched as arcs of golden molten light smashed into the corrupted beings torso, lifting it into the air before blowing it back as if it had been punched. Sparks of golden like lightning arched around it as it collided into another tree trunk. It fell to the ground, smoking and unmoving with twin golden blades sticking out from its back as Kirito looked at his own hand in wonder.
Pushing off the ground he flew towards the monster controlling the residue [Life Force] that was sparking around it as a result of the Golden Life Strike and lifted it up against the tree, holding it there. However he could already feel his control slipping almost immediately, a consequence that saw an arm fall limply to its side, as the [Void] nature within the creature sucked up the [Life Force]. He jerked out the blades from his stunned enemy that caused the body to jerk, spinning around in a full circle he decapitated the beast as his hold over it disappeared entirely. Kirito watched with satisfaction as it finally hit the ground whilst starting to glow white and baby blue, the throes of death animation taking over its body.
It was the first sound of death that echoed through the [Silent Forest], and it certainly would not be the last.
LINE BREAK
General Heigun and General Shukaku were racing down the darkened hallway, only the soft ambient light necessary in all [Dungeons] was what kept them from not knowing where they were going. Around them the carvings of ancient creatures, images of battles long ago fought, or struggles waged within families, flashed by them as they sprinted down the hallway, desperate to clear it. They had a mission, a [Quest], and they would not fail it.
"We must be careful of any traps this place holds." Shukaku softly said to him as they ran, "[Dungeons] are known to be notoriously deadly." the only confirm she got of him hearing her was the brief sharp nod she viewed out of the corner of her eye.
The two of them slowed as they entered into a large wide opened room, faded white pillars dotted the room, some completely broken as moss had overgrown the marble surface. Dotted around them were scattered remains of what looked like a deadly battle, the bodies of various wooden people scattered and shattered all around them. The brutality saturated the air, making it cold and darker than it was before; both Generals head snapping up at the slight shift in the atmosphere.
There were no words passed between the two of them as they stared at the new comer. The being was entirely made of darkness with twin large circular white eyes that stared coldly at them. Long gangly limbs dangled from its torso, legs bent slightly at the knee as if ready to charge whilst spike like spikes hung down from its head like a replacement for hair. Yet no detail beyond this could be seen, an entire body cloaked in darkness suddenly rushed forward at them, streaks of black following its movements.
Heigun immediately responded by whipping out his staff, spinning it with the flashing blue colors of a defensive skill known as Bell's Defence. His staff was spinning at such speeds that the clawed hand of the unknown creature would be jerked away, any other player would have had their wrist broken or forearm snapped, a feeling that is most uncomfortable. Meanwhile Shukaku unleashed her twin golden scimitars, they flashed with yellow trails of light as she spun towards the target. The being cloaked in shadows hissed at them without any visible mouth, its wide white eyes creepy as if it were analyzing them situationally. It lunged forward again, only this time at General Shukaku, she brought both her blades up as a defence whilst Heigun blasted the monster back with a nicely placed staff strike, sending it skidding against the wall whilst it screeched at them.
"[Marvok]." Heigun whispered reading the name of their opponent through his higher level analysis skill, "Level 780." he sighed.
"We're nearly 200 levels below that." Shukaku whispered out, her hands tightening over the hilts of her blade as she readied herself.
Bracing for impact as the beast rushed at her with a mere blur, her swords catching both arms as it attempted to claw down into her body. The staff of Heigun lashed out, knocking it off balance with a Five Hit Combo that left a small golden circle, marking a weak point. General Shukaku immediately took advantage of that as she became a hurricane of golden lights flashing around her, the occasional blue lashing out as she struck the weak point over and over again; offsetting the beast, only to lash out when it gave an opportunity. A quick backflip placed her outside of its range as it let out an ear piercing screech at them once again, pure white eyes being slowly taken over by tendrils of darkness.
"Weakness is light." Heigun continued as he stared intently at the [Marvok], "We've dealt about a fifth of its total health." this time it was him who leapt forward, whilst true that his nickname was Peacekeeper amongst the ranks of the army of [Seido] he was an absolute brutal warrior in the face of his enemies. His staff spun in a dizzying display of control and skill with it, the spins hiding many feints and fakes, until the last moment when it struck out, catching the beast throat with his staff and flinging it back. He pressed his advantage, landing heavy blow after heavy blow against the retreating form of the [Marvok] before finally holding it down with his staff pressed heavily into its chest.
"This wasn't so bad." Shukaku said as she sank to her knees, driving both blades into the skull of the mob and then spinning in a full circle, ripping apart the head within a matter of seconds.
They both watched as the beast slowly dissolved into the typical death animation, what was once the darkest black suddenly turning into the brightest white as sky blue polygons floated off it like lost pieces to a puzzle. Shattering, that was the sound that always followed after, a sound many of them had gotten use to already; a sound that echoed through their world when death had gone by. A byproduct of the death game they were trapped within.
"We still have quite the walk to go." the Peacekeeper said, walking towards the exiting door, walking slowly as both of them advanced past the room. Before them was another hallway, yet this time there were other door frames on either side, darkness seemed to ooze out of these rooms like the fingering claws of the damned, "This does not feel safe." he murmured to himself as he took stock of the hallway.
General Shukaku merely walked forward, taking a tentative step in front of him whilst her eyes darted around, looking for any clues that might give away a trap; seeing as much as she could potentially see in such darkness and dim light. She could feel apprehension settle a tight chain around her chest, anxiety creeping up its head and whispering into her ear. There was no way they could get through this hallway without dying, there were certainly too many traps, hidden from plain sight. Shaking her head Shukaku cleared her thoughts, narrowing her eyes as she stared.
"Heigun …" she trailed off, he knew perfectly what she was going to say.
He sighed, sitting down on the damp ground with both his hands resting on his knees. His eyes closed as he wondered, as he thought, as he planned and strategized within his mind. An idea passed through his mind, a crazy one that would possibly get them through this hallway, possibly a path that could provide them safety. He stood, looking her in the eye as he rose gracefully, right hand holding his staff as a support.
"I have an idea." he said looking at her, their eyes meeting one another with tentative touches, "Use full body parries just the way Kirito showed us, we might be able to get through with that."
Shukaku let out a soft short laugh, "I did not even think about that." she said with a toyful smile aimed at him, her eyes warm as she glanced at him, not noticing the faint blush that flashed across his cheeks.
"Well. Let's get to it." Heigun said giving a short laugh bark back, readying his staff as he moved forward, colors of white, light blue and green flashing around him like an orb of color that repelled all attack. General Shukaku beside him covered in her own rippling orb shell of golden and red lights as she walked a mere step behind Heigun, protecting herself from any potential danger.
The first trap sprung was a typical cliched, one seen in many previous movies; a barrage of arrows flew at them from the darkness. They were fired out from the dark door ways, speeding towards them in streaks of wood and iron; sparks flying as some were brushed aside. However quite a few got through their defences with those arrowheads barely missing them or hitting them somewhere non-vital. Both gritted their teeth, the only one amongst them who could easily deflect arrows with nothing but blades was Kirito, Shukaku was not terrible at it, yet glancing over at her Heigun could see a number of arrows sticking out of her; they were slowly being turned into pin cushions. The only blessing in this scenario was that due to time and age these arrows did nothing more than slowly chip away at their health, no poison effect taking place, no debuffs blinked in their HUD sights; a small blessing amidst a hailstorm of misfortune.
Suddenly two spears were flung out at them from near the opposite doorway, streaking with the orange colors of a skill being used. The first struck Heiguns staff, knocking it off course with its kinetic force and immediately seven arrows found themselves slamming into his body, staggering him and allowing even more. The second skidded against the wall, leaving sparks behind it, before falling to the ground with a clank.
"Heigun!" Shukaku yelled, jumping closer to him as she protected him more at the cost of allowing arrows to slam into her. But that brief few seconds was all that he needed, immediately his staff was back up, the spinning orb of color there. Then both of them blasted forward with Sonic Leap, continually blocking away arrows as they ever got closer to the next door frame. Yet when they finally did reach it both were blown back by heavy axe cleaves that had descended from the ceiling, blowing them right back into the path of an endless infinite hail of arrows. Once more they pushed forward, staff and blades flashing as they carved protective circles around themselves, a quick glance of his [Health] confirmed to Heigun that he was well into the yellow, a dangerous place to be.
"Finally." he gasped, leaning on his staff for support as they brushed by the twin dangling axes, their form simply hanging there like puppets with their strings cut. His left hand digging into his hip pouch and pulling out a square cube with a crimson liquid swirling within. Lifting the lid he tilted his head back, pressing the cool glass against his lips and drank the thick, slimy substance; a bittersweet taste lingering afterwards. A grimace flashed across his face as he brought his head upright once more, catching the quick look of disgust that Shukaku had; those flask were detrimental for survival but it did not mean he had to like them in any manner. They were absolutely putrid.
The new room they were in was a little bit creepy, just a little. It looked like as if they had just stepped into a cube with liquid like shadows, it oozed from the walls, slowly trickling down like blood coming forth from the walls. The ground covered with slick slime of darkness so dark and so deceiving that it almost seemed solid, that is until Heigun took a tentative step in and it clung to his shoes like the hands of those damned to eternal darkness. Then a strange thing began to happen, both players watched as the darkness slowly receded, revealing steps that travelled downward. The room descended past the floor they were standing on now for at least five meters, displayed as the darkness pulled back with the sound of a horrendous sucking, to show grey dulled stone, cracked in places with tree roots bulging out like vicious fingers.
A cackling of some demented being raked across their senses, behind them the grating sound of stone grinding against stone echoed past the ominous dark hallway. Heigun turned only to see a stone door firmly shut where they had stood mere moments ago, the dangling axes long gone. He turned around, taking a slow step forward, bending his knees slightly as he stepped down the short small staircase, stone crumbling away from its weak form and rattling down. He jumped the last few steps, heavy quarterstaff in his hands as he slowly looked around the room, General Shukaku mere steps behind him, attempting to locate and pinpoint the witch like cackling that bounced through the room; black shadows still pooling towards the back of the room like a gateway into another world.
They watched as another form, just like the one before, appeared; except this had one small difference. It was completely dark as the last one, made from darkness instead of skin, no detail seen except for the black body. Large circle white holes acting as eyes slowly appeared, growing from mere the size of a pin to an entire dinner plate. It stared unceasingly at them, a slight tilt of its head as it appraised them. A mouth formed slowly, the splitting of darkness as a clown like smile appeared, white light shining brightly from what seemed like parting lips. It walked towards them, slowly with jerking steps as if it were a robot, the darkness still trying to completely merge with this being. A hand reached out towards Heigun from the massing shadows behind the lone head that hung like a skull, he stared wide eyed at the monster that loomed above him. But a quick flick of his staff, an unconscious movement drilled into him after hours upon hours of practice, knocked the hand away before his body followed through with a single strike upwards, blowing the creature back. It merely stumbled, the damned grin growing ever larger as it suddenly flung its head back, letting out a maddening cackle.
"That is no [Marvok]." Shukaku breathed out, "This is more like a demon straight from the depths of hell." she whispered, hands tightening around her blades as the head snapped back before a screech, a mere traveling of sound, flung both of them back into the wall; and darkness descended upon them like night itself.
Heigun gritted his teeth as he started his defence, the staff spinning around him faster than ever before as he allowed training to over take his mind. Each slash of the creature's hand was kept at bay by the flashing arcs of orange, white and bright sky blue; colors that he started to think he would never see again in the endless black. A quick blow to his stomach that had slipped past his guard blew Heigun back as the breath was knocked out of him, out from the darkness in a puff of black and slamming into the wall. He groaned as he glanced at how much life he had remaining, taking a quick chug out of another [Health Flask], healing as the vile taste assaulted his senses. This almost tasted like the medicine he had to take everyday back in the real world.
"Shukaku!" he screamed, watching as the shadows turned inwards with brief flashes of gold bulging the black mass that whirled like a thunderous hurricane around the lone General. He heard her scream in pain and immediately saw the shadows stop bulging, instead they whirled even faster.
He rushed forward, spinning his quarter staff in the fastest method he knew as he slammed through the pulsating whirlwind of shadows before him; his face set grim as he battled against the endless darkness. Flashes of bright blue forcing the darkness back with heavy strikes that chipped away at its immense [Health], each step felt like he was stepping against the wind as it battered on around him, but instead of wind it was the whispers of horror and the darkness that plagued every child's mind. Heigun could feel his willpower fading, wavering, but the cutting scream of his friend knocked him out of his reverie; with gritted teeth he leapt forward breaking past the last wall and entering the eye of the storm.
He finally found her with five shadow spikes driven through her body, countless flashing hands ripping at her, slashing away skin and invoking even more screams of pain as the red and white crisscrosses underneath reminded them of this fake reality. His eyes hardened and for the first time Heigun, the Peacekeeper, let go of his reservations of anger, hatred, frustration; a primal rage so powerful that when he roared the darkness withdrew for a millisecond. It leaked away like water flowing from a broken glass as it slipped out of her body; she was unconscious, blissfully unaware of the pain that would have racked her body had she stayed awake.
Heigun always kept his anger in check because of what had happened earlier during the game. It had been fresh out of the announcement that they would live this game out as if it were their lives. He had snapped that day, rushing out into the fields with his freshly bought staff that he had hoped to store, hoped to see after he logged out and met with his family for their dinner. He had been a good child, never rebelling against his parents, always getting the highest marks, getting a good degree and eventually a nice home to call his own. But yet now, just after his younger sister finally graduated high school, just when they were going to celebrate; they were pulled away. On that first day of this death game he had gotten into a scuffle with another player over farming grounds, both not in their right minds.
They had shoved, swore, roughened each other up a little; but then it got driven too far. The other player had pulled his sword on him, using Sword Skills that cut into him, skills that left him screaming even if the pain simulation had only be left at 50% after the start. In his rage, and fear for his own life, he had struck out with his own staff, not knowing that as the head was one of the vital areas the damage would critically strike, instantly knocking the player unconscious with only a sliver of life left in him. He had ran, only to later hear the screams of a dying player echo out in the empty plain behind them. From that day on he had sworn to be the grown up he was supposed to be, sworn to keep control of his temper like never before; sworn out of guilt which left him bedridden for two weeks. That is until he heard the army being drawn up for the [Battle of Sueokano].
But now, he would ravage this obvious boss by himself, he would strike it down for harming Shukaku. They, as few of the older players, had gotten along well and had spent some nights talking whilst staring into the sky. He had found a connection with the group of Generals despite some being so much younger and more immature, he had found a connection with a people that shared the same reality as him; a death game. Yet now the person he had undoubtedly gotten the closest to laid on the ground because one attack had slipped past his guard. His light chestnut colored hair clung to his head whilst his crystal blue eyes hardened like diamonds, impossible to break and extremely sharp. A thunderous wordless battle cry erupted from his lips as he dashed forward into the shadows, a quick long swipe of his staff connected with something, physical force flowed through the staff and quivered through his body. He snarled before pulling it forward and followed up with a terrible Four Hit Combo that connected with the head of what looked like an empowered [Marvok]. It was blown back, shoved against the wall whilst the shadows receded into it finally, leaving nothing but a huge behemoth of darkness that laid stunned against the cold stone wall.
In this final form it looked like the [Marvok] with its body being gangly and thin, long limbs spread out like vines from a tree. The white cold circles forever open whilst it's damned smile kept upon its face like that of a psychotic clown. Three arms hung loosely on either side of his torso, each ending with sharp razor fingers, each long and gaunt like skin pulled over bone. Wisp of shadows smoked off its body constantly, giving it a hazy look; one that was hard to pinpoint. Heigun narrowed his eyes, scanning the body with a high level [Observe] and froze as the information settled in.
It's name was a [Valmasohk], and it had four [Health Circles] that slowly rotated on its back, the outermost already empty and cracking whilst the other inner three hovered just off its spine and pulsed the land crimson behind it. It started to get up, stone cracking underneath the pressure the [Valmasohk] placed behind getting up, six arms pushing its body into a position where it stood at least three meters tall. Heigun glared at it, unintimidated by such a mere size difference as rage and anger flowed through him, his hatred for this creature overflowing his normally calm reserves as he let out another thunderous roar and jumped at it.
Six arms descended from the sky like bolts of terrible black lightning, each barely turned aside by the smallest of amounts by Heigun as his attempt at offence was immediately turned into his normal stonewall defence. He brushed aside another three more clawed slashes, only to respond by slamming one end of his staff into the chest of the boss, twisting it as the monster let out a screech of pain, before he jumped back with staff in a defensive ready position. The beast screeched at him before jumping forward again, ignoring the pulsing golden light upon the center of its chest. Once more the hail of six black fist rained down upon him, and he struggled back against the endless attack. But even as that last hit fell he knew he wouldn't be able to beat this monster, even through his rage he knew that there would be little to no hope for his victory. Death was waiting for him. If the armies second ranking General had no chance against this, what did he?
At that moment Heigun realized that he had never felt more alone, never felt more isolated and weak as he failed to even be able to hold up against a single boss. He couldn't even save Shukaku, couldn't even help her now that she was out, and once he fell so would she. Where were the other Generals? Where was Kirito or Argo? Where was the face of his younger sister, the one who just graduated, the one he cherished and wanted to hold one last time; where were they? He could see the darkness surrounding the walls, creeping like corrupting veins through the walls, interweaving through the cracks and slips of stones. He stumbled back as he held the boss at bay, each swing of his staff knocking one limb off course by the smallest fraction. The back of his foot touched the body of a knocked out Shukaku, and he let a sad smile adorn his face whilst he stared directly at [Valmasohk] that attacked with the fury of hell itself upon the unrelenting General. He lunged forward through an opening, knocking back the middle hand of its right side before sending a thunderous blow against its jaw, actually knocking it a meter off the ground. A quick leap and the forceful downstroke of his staff that carried all his shame and guilt of the murder on the first day, that carried his sorrow for not getting to know Shukaku more, pain for never seeing his sister again, all carried with the point of his staff as it slammed against the length of the creature's body.
The first contact was against the simply small golden point in the center of its chest, inflicted by Heigun, before the rest of the staff met with the rest of the monsters body and slammed it into the ground with enough force that the stone underneath them shattered. The Heavy Critical Strike decimated the monsters health, especially considering that his staff landed on its head, neck and torso, as well as the amplified damage point. It should also be taken into consideration that when the creature's head crashed into the stone ground another set of Critical Strikes echoed through the monster's body. It laid there, dazed and stun as half of the next [Health Circle] had disappeared, revealing the grey patterned artwork underneath. Not missing this opportunity Heigun stood up, his eyes blazing with cold fury as he reminded himself of what it had done to Shukaku despite the fact she had been disarmed.
With rage that could have rivaled a vikings the Peacekeeper unleashed butt strike after butt strike against the single golden point, each amplified hit also Critically Striking and chipped away at the small room boss's life. On his last strike the sound of a chain snapping could be heard echoing through the small cube like room, a quick glance at the rotating circles behind the monsters back revealed that two out of the four [Health Rings] were still glowing crimson; however a bad news was that his amplified strike point had timed out, and that the monster was no longer dazed. It whipped its feet around, knocking Heigun off his, before a single barreling fist blew him into the wall, cracking it and causing him to scream in pain as he slided off the cracked stone wall. But the creature wasn't done with him, it took two quick strides before simply punching two clawed hands through his chest, puncturing it with his entire palm appearing on the other side of his back.
Heigun let out a scream of pain, fire flooding through his nervous system as it pulsed around the two holes in his chest. He cried out in absolute agony as he felt the creature slowly pulling its hands out, the other four grabbing him and flinging him into another side of the room, slamming against another wall and allowing him to fall to the ground after. He moaned, eyes squint tight as pain stabbed him over and over again in his chest, a strange cold emptiness moaning as it passed through the holes of his chest. He gingerly raised his right hand, touching the edge of his wound and let out a moan as pain flooded him in even stronger means than before.
He turned on to his back, groaning at the pain flooding his systems at even that, his left arm fumbling with his pouch button, fingers trying to find the flask cap before pulling it out, and slowly, shakingly, raised it to his mouth. The cold, slimy liquid burned like hot fire down his throat, he finished it, allowing his left hand to fall with no strength remaining. Only to feel the cold darkness reaching around him, lifting him up and throwing him into the air, for a few seconds he could feel the weightlessness, the same sensation that flooded their systems when they flew; euphoria. This ended when the beast punched all six hands through his body, clawed fingertips ripping through artificial skin and muscle.
He screamed, agony coursing through his body like as if acid had replaced his blood, he screamed again as tears poured down his face, the pain overwhelming him. Suddenly he felt a strange sensation, like as if he couldn't feel his right leg; then a new source of pain raced through his body as if the pain sensors were fighting over which could hurt more. He ripped out a scream from his mouth with newfound energy, screaming and crying as the beast tore off his leg with its mouth; the sound of bone crunching and the slurping of blood and flesh loud in the room with nothing but screams vibrating everywhere. He couldn't think anymore, all his mind could feel was pain and to cope with it he retreated into himself, away from it; detaching himself as much as he could from the overwhelming agony ripping through his body like the claws of monsters.
LINE BREAK
He was falling, disappearing into a world of complete darkness. It surrounded his every thought, every motion, it rolled over his skin like a second layer and caressed him like some demented being. He recoiled, attempting to go through his meditative trance for peace to flow into his mind; a normal act that he did everyday and an act that allowed him to be known as the Peacekeeper. But nothing stopped it, nothing stopped the coldness from seeping into his bones, circling like ants into his very being. He gritted his teeth, trying to trash and twist away, yet only to find he could not move; he could feel his body, he could sense his limbs, but there was no movement. Then in certain points the coldness became even colder as darkness pooled around them, circling his skin like sharks circling a prey.
Pain.
Pain ripped through his senses and he tried, oh how he tried, to keep it in. Tears leaked from the corner of his eyes as he tried to fight it back, tried to withstand the devastating pain that was slowly consuming him like the darkness.
"Help. Please." he whispered out, the quiet voice sounding like thunder to his ears when they travelled out through the darkness that was around him, "Please. Help me." he cried, the sob cutting past his attempted mouth dam and a cry bubbled forth from his mouth. It was a cry to anyone, the person who saved him was irrelevant; he just wanted to leave this darkness, wanted to leave this pain.
But then he was falling past the darkness, slowly it lost its grip on him. It reached out of course, trying to latch on and hold him as he fell past it; but they failed. He continued falling, dim grey light slowly coming into being against the darkness, so slowly did it change that one would almost not know the different if they did not pay attention. The air around him was still cold though, and it wrapped around him like a snowstorm, nipping away at his flesh and causing him to shiver. Then he stopped. A spongy and soft feeling holding his neck and underneath his held him firmly, he could feel the warmth from them as it slowly bleed away the coldness from those areas. The wind whipped around him as the carrier rushed away from the beast before settling him down on the ground softly. A distant boom echoing through the cubed room as the boss collided against the wall.
"Heigun." he heard the tender whisper calling out his name and he struggled to focus through the pain that once more reared its head like the ugly monster they were fighting, another scream unleashed from his mouth as he cried out, sobs racking his body as he tried, and failed, to keep himself together after such an event.
"Heigun." the voice whispered again, this time he succeeded in pulling back his sobs, muffling it by biting his own tongue and lips; and briefly through the pain he could feel himself resting on something firm but yet soft. He could feel hands gently brushing through his hair whilst the other held something that tasted so vile against his lips. He tried to shake it away, not wanting anymore discomfort. But yet the person who held him held him true, prying his weakened mouth opened and pouring the drink down his throat, the feeling of goo and slime slowly inching its way down his throat appalled him. Then the soft firmness underneath his head was replaced with the cold, hard and mossy floor of the dark room. The warm hands which had stroked his hair gone, replaced with the cool air of the [Dungeon]; then the voice whispered to him again, "Rest. It's my turn."
Shukaku slowly rose from her kneeling position, wounds healing and life being restored due to a flask she had drank earlier. In her hands were the twin golden scimitars that now spun dangerously like arcs of yellow bright lights. She was silent, unlike the raging General Heigun her attacks were cold, calculated and precise. Her blades swung around her in slashes that ripped into the creature as it lunged forward, yearning for blood against the Peacekeeper. A bright white light speared through her blade, the light of a Parry Skill as it immediately unleashed a devastating counterattack afterwards; the glowing blade sliding across its chest and shredding the darkness. She leaned back, dodging a swipe that came dangerously close to her face, the whisking darkness barely missing clawing out her eyes. A single leap back lost her all the ground she had fought for as the beast pushed its advantage, six flaring dark arms rushing around her like the whirlwind of darkness.
Suddenly [Valmasohk] took a step back, slowly fading into the darkness that surrounded it. A maddening cackle bouncing through the darkened room.
"Show yourself!" Shukaku demanded, yelling into the endless black that was starting to surround her.
The only reply she got in return was a witch like laughter that sent chills down the back of her spine. Her loud yell awakening the other General as Heigun slowly returned to the land of the living, his eyes fluttering as he tried to open them, winching as soreness coursed through his body like that of after a torn muscle. He groaned, one arm pushing off the ground as he leaned up, soreness and pain exploding from his core muscles.
Heigun glanced around, sight a little blurry as he tried to get the swimming feeling in his head to stop. His hands grasping against the floor as he tried to find his staff, another moan escaping his mouth.
"Heigun." he heard the warm soothing voice speak to him, different than the harsh one that had been ripping away around them. Soft skin covered his hands, the cold wood pressed into his palm. He looked up and saw the golden blonde hair hanging around an angel like face as though the golden curtains of heaven were coming down themselves. Warm comforting brown eyes met his as she pressed the cold staff, after such extensive exposure to darkness it was bound to be freezing, into his hand all the while speaking comfort and strength to him through the ways their eyes met. A soft gentle smile lit her face as she help him stand slowly; the monster waiting in the swirling darkness as if it had some sort of honor to it, "We'll beat it. Together." she said firmly, staring at him with powerful eyes as she broke eye contact and scanned the surrounding ground for the boss monster; barely catching the affirmative nod and set determined mouth line that shot across his face, out from the corner of her eye.
"You take three arms and I'll take the other three." Heigun joked, a cracked smile bouncing between the two of them as she snorted. Then they stopped as the air changed from the mere waiting of a beast to the tense approach as one instinctively knows something horrible is about to happen.
The only warning they got for its approaching attack was a sudden slowing down of the shadows and a bulge in that specific location.
Grappling arms that rushed out were like a tidal wave of darkness, one that could rival the power and strength of a tsunami. Shukaku breathed in and then breathed out, sinking herself into the fighting form that Kirito had devised for them. She allowed her mind to wander amongst the fluidity of Form 2, going over motion after motion. She walked along the mind isles of Form 3, the constant motions swirling and whirling like protecting tree roots. She bounced on the balls of her feet as her mind recalled the principles of Form 8, letting each bounce synchronize with the rushing darkness. When the darkness was a mere meter away her eyes snapped open and her twin golden scimitars blazed into motion just like the last time. However this time, she had a reason to fight, a partner to protect, a person whom she called friend; and this time she would not let him get hurt.
The first hand was headed right at her face and with a deft white flick of her left blade she nudge it out of the way; the force behind it blowing wind past her. At the same time her right hand subtly pushed a second black rushing shadow away from impaling her through the stomach. The creature screeched in anticipation as its third hand lanced towards her face, hand wide open as it readied itself to grab her head. She smirked. Due to the kinetic force behind the last two blows each small nudge caused her blade to actually bounce off the rushing past arms. Shukaku used the rebound of her blades to suddenly flash her attacks in right in front of her face, each metal blade slicing through the darkness and cutting the arm off in two separate pieces. The anticipating screech transformed into one of pain as it wailed about the lost of one of its limbs.
Not waiting for it to finish roaring she whipped out her right hand like a whip, the blade flashing across the short distance towards the creepy face of the [Valmasohk]. It raised the last two remaining hands on that side towards protecting its face, Heigun's staff lashing with the power of a falling mountain, each strike definitely damaging the creature as it failed to break through the Peacekeepers defence. Yet her attack at its face had been merely a ruse, a feint, and in a flash as quick as lightning Shukaku lowered her body into a slight crouch, spinning around in a complete circle as she rose, bringing her twin blades up; each trailed by sky blue light that reminded them of a hope that they fought for. The metal blade sliced cleanly through solid shadows, darkness parting as bright baby blue light travelled through it; it wasn't so much a cut as it was the darkness fleeing from light. Form 8, a fighting style that relied on feints to distract and then speed to strike like a viper without mercy or remorse.
[Valmasohk] reared back, arching its head back and exposing its neck with a scream of rage and pain as the [Health Circle] behind it dropped down into its last innermost one. In a quick, bold, and very stupid move, Shukaku flung out her sword, the blood red trail mirroring the blood that had begun to slowly overtake the boss's eyes, turning them from large white circles to blood moons. The sword spun like a windmill, light trailing it like the tail of a comet as it sped towards the monster, it had started to bring its head back down to cover its exposed vitals but did so too late. The blade struck its neck and stayed, blowing the head to the right from the sheer might of the thrown blow and immediately cut down a large amount of its life. Whilst it screamed even louder, the remaining three arms quickly reaching up to try and rip out the embedded blade that had stuck like a cleaver to pork fat.
Out of the corner of her eye Shukaku viewed Heigun jump into the air, his staff still spinning as he allowed the power and speed of each spin to build up. It was a dazzling display of shining light that displayed a mastery over Form 7 with his target being the air in front of him. His heavy staff spun like a mill of light that changed, swirling and switching through the various colors of the rainbow. Red. Green. Orange. Yellow. Blue. Violet. Indigo. They flashed by in sequence so quickly that all of this was filtered subconsciously within the space of mere seconds before Heigun unleashed his attack. It was like watching the fall of a great old oak tree, year's amounts worth of power, life, strength, fortitude, endurance and now death all rolled into a single black strike. It struck the head of [Valmasohk] with the falling crash of falling timber, the blow so powerful that it actually floored their opponent. The ground shattered underneath them from the might of his blow, his left hand further along the body as he held it pressed against the monsters head; pinning it to the floor like a criminal under the weight of the law.
Shukaku walked up towards it with her single golden scimitar held loosely in her left hand. The creature screeched, attempting with weak jerks to rise from the floor. But the lost of three limbs on one hand, broken three on the other as well as the dazed status from a direct blow to its head, made it impossible. It was unbalanced, out numbered and now weakened with a mere pulse left within its [Health Circle]; the last drop of life in what previously had been an ocean.
The ending slash came so quickly that if any observer had been there they would have not noticed anything. Shukaku had gone from stock still into an after slash attack position with her right leg forward after she had brought it down whilst both arms diagonally crossed her stomach, the blade held tightly in her hands. The decapitated head of the [Valmasohk] slumped against the ground before the bright white glow crept along its body like vines; cracks of lights that pierced through the darkness and made both Generals squint at the sudden glare. They had been in darkness for so long. The sound of loud shattering glass exploded outwards like the exploded body of their adversary, sparkling polygons dashed in the wind as they were blown away by an invisible force, shattering upon contact with the walls around them. They merely stood in silence for awhile, tiredness suddenly swirling around them in the aftermath of what had been a typhoon of darkness.
"It's over." Heigun breathed out slowly, leaning on his staff as if he had suddenly aged into an old man; weariness evident in the tensed tired body of his, each like the wrinkles of old age.
There was now a broken hole on the top of their cube like room, soft filtering light entered whilst a thick wall of trees mainly covered the hole. A roof made from leaves that allowed soft sunlight to filter in, casting the corners of the room in further darkness from the contrast whilst the two stood within the circle of light. Both looked up as leaves fell down around them like the confetti of victory. Pings echoed in each of their minds as a reward screen popped up in front of them; ignored instead as they stood close together, basking in the presence of another. The brush with death having shaken them.
"It is." Shukaku whispered, afraid that any loud noise would suddenly break the temporary peace they had. She glanced over to the man standing beside her, they were both in their mid twenties and he had proven to be called more than just a man, "Are you okay?" it was a silly question of course, he was obviously not, but yet the amount of authentic warmth that flowed through her words seemed to calm them both. A bond had been forged here, a bond that would not be easily broken; a bond of camaraderie. A friendship tested by the brink of death and the flames of a cruel reality; one for life and perhaps, just perhaps, something more.
"I am now." came the reply, he tilted his head slightly to see hers, a weak smile painting itself across his face. Crystal sky blue eyes meeting warm luscious earth brown that danced beside each other like that of the wind and the trees. She could feel herself slowly disappearing into his gaze and feeling a lightness, like as if she was flying, spreading throughout her body, "You saved me Shukaku. You saved me."
There was more than what he was just saying, she could tell. A hidden depth and darkness behind those words that she had not experienced, that she had only seen and felt her heart break at the sight. But he would not stand alone, not now nor ever. And somehow she knew that he had gotten that message, their silent eyes speaking in manners that words nor mouth could ever rival. She smiled at him, reassuring him and he smiled back.
"Let's see what we got." she murmured, turning away and immediately feeling a pang in her chest, those eyes were absolutely beautiful and if she wanted to she could probably stare at them for days upon days.
The bright light of equipping new gear filled the room and once that had died down both looked at each other in awe. The drops from this [Dungeon] had certainly proven worthwhile, although that was debatable considering the emotional and psychological scarring that Heigun had now.
Heigun was dressed in what could only be described as forest armor. It was most definitely made out of some sort of ironwood that was a forest green in color. Thicker shoulder guards made from a grey version of the same material protruded slightly off his shoulder. A wooden shield with two antler horns on either side, hung from his back like a backpack; the symbol of twin arched trees circling a circle painted on. It covered his entire back, hugging his shoulders and ribs like the embrace of a lover. Around his waist a red cloth hung like a half skirt that came around to the side of his hips, faded colors screaming ancient armor. Dressed across his legs were firstly an wooden armor belt, stripes of wood hanging from it and covered his upper thigh whilst dark brown breeches disappeared into twin black boots. Leather straps criss crossing like the age lines of an ancient tree. He had adorned upon his head an open faced helmet, straight lines decorated the cheek guards and curved behind his head and carried a faded green pulse through them. These lines appeared all over his armor, like valleys of nature that were filled with the life of the forest, pulsing like the ancient valleys and dips of the earth. Heigun hesitantly touched his armored chest, skin tight gauntlets with hardened armor covering his forearms, and gave out a soft 'woah', his gloves ended with tipped claws. Replacing his previous staff Heigun now carried a thick dark brown staff, each end was slightly rounded with the same lines as on his mask running down the body of the staff. The same faded green light flowing through the weapon.
To Shukaku he looked like an ancient guardian of the forest. But when he looked up at her and gaped she blushed and immediately felt self conscious.
She was dressed in a relatively tight outfit with an inner clothing of faded indigo, a beautiful complementing color to the rest of her gear. It looked like leather but had the qualities of silk, providing some form of protection whilst also providing comfort. It was extremely comfortable on her, hugging the right places and never pinching her in any manner; almost as if it had been molded for her perfectly. Over this was a light brown leather like material that curved around her body like the hands of a charming man, snuggling against her hips, her thighs, her arms and her chest. Bronze lines tracing the dirt brown leather in intricate patterns that all resembled leaves, they flowed perfectly along her armor and only served to aesthetically make her look beautiful. On her right thigh, around her ribs and over her chest as well as on both forearms and on either shoulder were light green metal armor that formed the third layer. Upon them were once more the swirls and curves of an expert hand, each pattern forming leaf upon leaf, giving the armor a look of one sown straight from leaves; the only contrast were that these lines were white. She wore no helm but instead had a circlet around her head, thin branches with few leaves intertwined with the most amazing silver. Sitting against her forehead was a symbol made from the same indigo as her undergarments. It looked like crescent moon lying horizontally with three lines within the concave shape. In her hands she held twin khopeshes, the blades made from golden hued bronze whilst a dark brown line ran along the middle of the curved blade. Brown hilt acutely held within her palm like one forged personally for her.
"Woah." Heigun said in awe, his eyes locked on her as he stuttered for words, mouth opening and closing like a beached fish. The sight bringing a slight giggle to Shukaku's as she shrunk a little, very aware of how tightly her undergarments were wrapped around her, and despite the outer layering of armor which covered her modestly she still felt a little shy. Especially with Heigun staring at her like she was some long forgotten goddess who had just stepped down onto the earth.
"Come on Heigun. We need to get back to the others." she said exasperatedly, a silly smile adorned on her face when the stumbling block of a man tried to follow her. Each step taken staggeredly and with a loud thumping force that resounded through the ground, vibrations felt underneath her feet. She let out a laugh when he couldn't even get up the staircase, falling and tripping over his own feet as he continued to just repeat the same on word over and over again.
She turned to look at him, holding her arms behind her and slightly bending down as he was still two steps from the top. A small unconscious pout forming over her lips as she teased him.
"Am I really that pretty?" she asked him, not really believing that he was so tongue twisted just because of how she looked.
She had never really considered herself beautiful in any means, never really thought herself to be mouth dropping as Heigun was right now; but apparently the man behind her did. She laughed when he blushed furiously, finally closing his mouth with a clop before ducking his head to try and avoid embarrassment; breaking eye contact for the first time. He sighed, the heavy drop in his shoulders telltaling his evident defeat before he trudged up the remaining stairs. Shukaku merely laughed at this, waiting right in the middle of the staircase till he reached the last step. When he had finally gotten over it and stood before her she gently placed a hand on his chest, meeting his eyes with hers as he suddenly got all flustered up again, the red blush spreading across his face like a pandemic.
"I'm flattered." she said with a wicked grin before twirling away and gracefully walking down the hallway back, her beautiful laugh almost lightning up the dark areas.
Heigun sighed, shaking his head before following her; only one thought plagued his mind the entire way.
I'm so dead.