December 15, 2024
Floor 76 - Twill
After a brief discussion regarding the events of the prior evening with Lisbeth - and begging the blacksmith to take care of Yui for them - Asuna and Kirito had teleported to the central plaza of Floor 76. Named Twill, the town was famous for its jewellery and fine silks, or so the NPC standing near the teleport gate kept repeating to everybody arriving. Now they were waiting for everyone who was involved in the assault on the Field Boss to arrive. It was only a little after eleven and they had time to spare. Reckoning everyone would gather regardless of whether they were there or not, the married couple decided to stroll along the Twill main street.
Everywhere they looked were signs in shop windows proclaiming themselves to be purveyors of the finest precious gems. "They all have confidence in their wares," commented Kirito, idly looking in the window of the nearest shop.
"I'd imagine that's a prerequisite to be a shopkeeper," laughed Asuna brightly. "Whether your goods are any good or not, you have to be able to convince yourself before you can convince others that they're the best they've ever seen."
"Is that so?" commented Kirito, already moving towards the next shop when Asuna's cry of wondrous delight burst through his thoughts. Walking to her side, she excitedly pointed out an item in the window of a store.
"Kirito-kun! Isn't it perfect?" she asked, wide-eyed with wonder.
Looking at the item, he could see why she would want it. "It's a perfect likeness," he said, somewhat amazed by the uncanny resemblance.
"Let's get it."
Kirito stood in a pose of mock thought for a span before sighing dramatically. "It'll cost a small fortune, no doubt, but let's buy it before someone else does."
With a sharp nod of agreement, Asuna hooked her arm around his and, together, they entered the shop.
xOxOx
Twenty minutes later, Asuna stood before a group of thirty-three men. She looked around them, making sure that all were ready and prepared. Klein was there with his guild, his bandana and bright hair visible amidst the more monotone men from other smaller guilds, though they were all looking menacing, equipped with broadswords, two-handed claymores and a variety of blunt, clubbing weapons.
Checking that everybody requested had indeed arrived, Asuna figured the time was right to begin. "Everybody, a moment of your time." The talking died down, all eyes turned to her. "Today we will defeat the Field Boss blocking our entry into the Dungeon. You are all the very best players, so I have no doubt as to the success of our endeavour, however, I would advise everybody to be careful. We don't need to be overconfident and, thusly, careless because of it. Analyse the Boss, discover its attack patterns and exploit its weaknesses. To battle!" The men let loose a confident cheer, their voices loud and proud.
Stepping down from her makeshift dais, Asuna looked to Kirito, his approving nod letting her know that she had done well. Now was time for her to oversee the placement of the members of the Seekers of Justice, and the strategy they would follow. Calanon walked along with her, the two of them talking in low voices.
Kirito walked over to Klein and his guild. They were laughing with one another, looking to an outsider like they didn't have a care, but Kirito could see the faint line of worry forming on Klein's forehead. Having been involved in more than a few of these Boss raids, Klein was well versed in how unpredictable they could become. Even though it was a Field Boss - and they were usually quite a lot weaker than the Floor Boss - the roaming monsters of Twill had proven themselves to be formidable, both offensively and defensively. There was simply no telling just how strong this creature would be, hence the need for thirty-five people to be involved.
"Hey, Kirito, you psyched for this?" Klein asked.
"I'm looking forward to beating it and getting to fight the monsters inside."
"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" Klein asked rhetorically, a grin on his face.
"I'll have you know I've changed quite a lot," said Kirito, giving off an offended air while rolling his shoulders.
"Only where your single status is concerned," continued Klein irritably. "I still don't know why someone like Asuna-san would choose a total battle-maniac like you." He didn't truly mean the words, but there were certain conventions between the two that absolutely had to be observed.
Kirito wasn't going to take that lying down. "Maybe because some of us are roguishly handsome, unlike a certain samurai I won't mention," he said airily.
"Shut up!"
They started laughing at the same instant, when they couldn't maintain the angry glares at one another any longer. "Stay safe, Kirito," said Klein, shaking the Black Swordsman's hand.
"You as well, Klein," agreed Kirito, enjoying the camaraderie they shared. "Don't go dying on me now."
"Hmph! Never going to happen," dismissed Klein, already headed towards the rest of the raiding party. His guild-mates followed quickly after, talking amongst themselves in quick sentences.
"That Klein," groaned Kirito, though he meant his words fondly, as he began a search for Asuna.
xOxOX
The march was steady, the heavy footfalls of those in burnished steelplate breaking through the birdsong that seemed ever-present on this Field. The monsters they had seen were ruthlessly dispatched with great efficiency - the extra EXP was always welcome - and they even met an NPC who gave them a Fetch Quest that coincided with their goals.
Kirito walked alongside Asuna, her hand tightly held in his. "I'm ready for this to be over," he said.
"With this many players, it shouldn't take too long," answered Asuna, though she shared his sentiment. Even though she was now in command of the strongest guild in Aincrad, and responsible for the lives of all contained within, a large part of her wanted to ignore the frontlines and stay with her family in their log house by the lake.
"Still, stay close to me," he said, squeezing her hand firmly. "We'll go with our usual pattern of attack."
"Break its guard, switch and counter," confirmed Asuna.
"Asuna-taichou, we're here," said Calanon, stepping up to them, a grim expression on his face. He already held his longsword ready, with a thick plate shield attached to his left arm.
"Thank you, Calanon-san," she said, pulling her hand free of Kirito's. Raising her voice, she addressed everybody. "The Field Boss will be before us soon. As usual, money and experience will be automatically distributed. Any item drops will be the property of the person who gets them, no questions asked." The men around her gained grim expressions and began to draw their weapons, some hefting mighty maces while some swung their blades experimentally.
Kirito drew his twin swords while Asuna unsheathed her rapier. "Onwards into battle!" A rousing chorus of gruff shouts echoed after her words as the clearers advanced. Giving each other one last look of fierce devotion, Asuna and Kirito joined the swell, moving towards the Field Boss' lair.
The dungeon entrance stood before them, tall and impregnable, dragons writhing in murals across its breadth. Surrounding them were impassable mountains, jagged rocks that would skewer any who dared try to traverse them. It was very similar to other Field Boss rooms they had previously encountered although there was a much higher air of caution than usual. Since the revelations regarding Kayaba, the game seemed a much more imposing place.
Asuna and Kirito were side by side, weapons held tightly in their hands as their eyes darted every which way, trying to spot the Boss before it spotted them. The men moved about with slow steps, the only sound being from their ragged breathing and the scraping of metal from their armour.
Suddenly, with a resounding boom, the dungeon entrance doors began to slowly creep open. "Did this happen before?" asked Asuna, getting over the shock quickly.
"No, Asuna-taichou," answered Calanon, stepping to her side swiftly. "The Field Boss was already waiting when the scouts arrived."
"What is going on?"
Kirito didn't have time to wonder as the doors came to a halt and a murky shadow could be seen from within. "Here it comes!"
Slow, deliberate crashes were heard as the Boss appeared from within the shroud of gloom. The Boss came out from within the confines of the dungeon, a spear of blackest shadow cutting across the clearers, filling them with a tangible dread, a feeling of terror that saturated the very air they breathed.
"What in the...!?"
"We have to beat that!?"
The Boss stood at least fifteen feet tall, bulky, but with muscles that bulged with each powerful step. Its basic shape was human, though there were a couple of things that disproved such a notion - six rippled arms sprang from its sides, three either side of its enormous torso. In four of its hands were cruel bladed weapons, seemingly of Japanese design - katana, nodachi, uchigatana and naginata; each of which was tainted red as blood - with its final two hands clasped tightly together in what looked like a prayer held high above its head, which led to the second difference - where a face should have been was nothing but smooth emptiness. Even though it shouldn't have been possible, a keening wail emanated from the Boss, leading to a shiver crawling down many a spine.
One of the clearers fell to his knees in abject horror. "We're all going to die!"
"Hey! On your feet! Don't give in to your fear!" Klein shouted, though he felt panicked himself.
Kirito narrowed his eyes in concentration, every ounce of his focus trained on the hulking monstrosity before them. Its name finally appeared in his view. "The False Innocence," he read, noting that it only had two health bars. Low health...it must have some sort of trick behind it. Perhaps a maximised attack stat...
"Everyone!" Kirito was drawn out of his thought at Asuna's commanding voice. "It's no worse than many of the monsters we've faced before. Master your fear! Stand tall!" Hesitantly, they swallowed back their terror and stood to face the boss, though there was still some visible shaking. "Tanks upfront! Bear its attacks while we figure out its plan of attack. After that, switch with the damage dealers. Let's laugh about this on the other side, all of us. Attack!"
With a cry fueled by emotion, the battle began.
The False Innocence's assault was terrible to behold, its blades screeching as they keened the very air causing sharp gusts that buffeted the tanks, making them struggle to maintain their guard. Once the blades connected, their cries of anguish were plain to hear. The Boss chose to, rather than target multiple individuals with its four blades, focus its offence on a single player. One, two, three, four strikes slammed into the tank, his shield appearing little more than paper in front of a hurricane as it was ruthlessly ripped to shreds, the tank behind screaming in fear as his body was rent, shards of splintered data shrapnel sheered from him before he exploded into crystalline fragments, floating through the air, the tranquillity of the action mocking the murder of yet another soul, and the very real threat the remaining clearers faced.
Asuna grit her teeth and kept her emotions in check as she witnessed his demise. It would not do for the leader of the assault to lose sight of the goal and give in to her very real desire to cry. Instead, she focused those emotions towards making rapid deductions about The False Innocence, striving to prevent more needless death.
Kirito had been doing much the same, his mind working through the Boss' actions. As I thought, its attack is probably as high as SAO allows. For all that strength, it actually moves quite slowly, though once it begins its attack phase it seems invulnerable due to the winds whipped up by the speed and strength of its strike. Also, those final two hands...why haven't they opened? Is it a special attack? Well, regardless, if we can knock it down, it won't matter.
"Asuna!" he cried, drawing her attention. "Its attack is off the charts, but its speed and health are low to balance it out. Once we counter it, it'll be a case of maintaining a continuous assault. Don't give it a chance to recover. Remember what happened to the Skull Reaper? Once we concentrated our attacks on it, it couldn't counter and, in the end, collapsed under its own weight."
Listening to his analysis, she found she agreed with it. "We'll lead the charge. Be ready to switch with me," she said before shouting out, "Everyone! We will counter the Boss and knock it down before it can recover. Once you see it fall, back us up with everything you have. Don't hold anything back!"
A shout of agreement met her ears as she got into her stance and took a deep breath. It would all come down to herself and Kirito being faster than the Boss. She could only hope for the best.
All the time she and Kirito had been thinking of a strategy to counter, The False Innocence had continued its attack. Two more had fallen before the six-armed giant, shattering into the ether. Although Kirito felt terrible for the lost, he also had to thank them. Their brave and selfless acts of sacrifice had given him the opportunity to see just how long it took between attacks, leading to him making a relatively certain conclusion. "We have a window of fifteen seconds between the last attack hitting and the next. We have to aim for then. If we get caught up in the shockwave from the build-up of its swing, we'll be done for."
Readying herself, she felt the familiar weight of Lambent Light in her hand, the rapid throbbing of her heart and the sweat rolling down her back. Taking one final deep breath, the time was upon them. "Let's go, Kirito-kun."
Almost like they were weightless, Asuna and Kirito sped at The False Innocence, their swords singing as they came upon its monstrous form. Kirito's Elucidator and Dark Repulser glowed blue as they carved into the Boss, leaving angry red data wounds. Asuna followed up, Lambent Light shining bright yellow as she struck again and again, faster than any observer could see, peppering The False Innocence with multiple gashes. Its health gauge began to steadily decrease as its mouthless screech of pain pierced them, but it refused to surrender its balance and fall.
Instead, it seemed to grow taller, its shadow blotting out the sun itself until all were cast in darkness, so great was the menace it inspired. "Damn!" cursed Kirito, hating the resilience the Boss possessed. He had been certain their first assault would be sufficient, but it was not to be as The False Innocence drew itself to its impressive full height and slashed with its four blades, all aiming for Asuna, the force of the winds created by its swing whipping her hair all over her face, making her subconsciously close her eyes.
"Asuna!" Time seemed to slow for Kirito as he saw those swords slicing their way towards his wife. In a matter of seconds, she would be cut to ribbons and that would be the end of her. No! This cannot happen...Not again! I'm weak...so very weak...but let me do this one thing...let me save her. Whether I live is inconsequential...just...just let Asuna live...
Suddenly, as though answering his silent plea, a burst of inspiration flashed through his mind and everything became clear. Of course! So obvious...please...let me make it in time...
With every part of his soul crying out for her, he raced, faster than ever before, aiming for the Boss - more specifically, its closed hands. Why have them closed? Why not use six swords? Why purposely put another two arms and do nothing with them? That doesn't fit the MO of Kayaba Akihiko.
Like lightning, his twin swords burning brighter than ever with what looked like blue flames, he leapt at The False Innocence and screamed as he whirled fast as a tornado, the swords carving through the wrists supporting the closed hands. Kirito watched with satisfaction as the faceless beast roared and writhed in apparent pain, the trauma of its hands being dismembered leading to its strikes missing their mark, gauging the ground mere feet from Asuna, whose eyes were widened as she saw just how close it had been. "Attack the weak-point for massive damage," he quipped, remembering the old meme from the turn of the millennium. Kirito could only think how glad he was that the Boss hadn't turned out to be a giant enemy crab, before deciding that the adrenaline was addling his mind and allowing his thoughts to run rampant. Now that the Boss was staggered and distracted, it was time to finish it.
"Asuna! Switch!" he cried as he ran forward and sank Elucidator into its ribcage to the hilt before using a sword skill with Dark Repulser, slashing deep into the beast, then, both swords flashing, ripped them across its torso and out the other side. It screeched again as Asuna, recovered from her brush with defeat, raced forward, Lambent Light glowing as she rapidly thrusted, stabbed, slashed and pierced the Boss, speedily depleting its health. "Star Splash," she muttered as she concluded the sword skill, watching with satisfaction as the rest of the clearers hewed, smashed, sliced and chopped at the now prone Boss, whose health reached red, then filtered away to nothing before, with one final cry of rage, it fragmented to nothing.
The room was silent for a span as they came to grips with what had happened before a whoop of joy from Klein broke the tension and the clearers began to celebrate their victory. "We did it!" they cheered, forearms gripped in comradery, before a single command from Asuna changed everything.
"Stop!" Her tone of voice demanded obedience. As the clearers looked at her in puzzlement, they noticed Kirito bore an expression of grim resignation.
"It isn't over."
The clasped hands that Kirito had cleaved remained, only now they were twitching irritably. Slowly, a finger at a time, the hands opened before splintering, cracking and ultimately disappearing.
In their place stood what appeared to be a doll, the face painted to resemble a geisha. Wearing a beautiful embroidered kimono designed with cherry blossoms as its motif, it stood at around four feet tall, and though it seemed to not carry any weapons, the ruby lips parted and an ominous cackle sounded. "What madness is this!?" fretted Klein, anxiously twisting Karakurenai in his sweaty palms.
"Remember the old RPGs from twenty to thirty years ago? How the boss could, and was expected to, go through form changes? It seems as though Kayaba is a fan of that tactic." explained Kirito, his body feeling leaden. Looking to The False Innocence's almost angelic form, he cursed Kayaba.
"It has only one health bar and no weapons," noted Asuna, feeling an inexplicable tension. "Let's finish this before there are any more surprises." That said, she charged and cried out as her rapier cleanly hit the Boss, sending its health bar tumbling towards zero, but her own health bar followed swiftly, leaving her a shaky yellow. Throughout, The False Innocence maintained that sickly smile and eerie cackle.
Kirito looked on with narrowed eyes. Impossible! Unless...
"Stand back!" he shouted, rushing the Boss himself, twin swords blazing. Here we go...
As soon as the first strike hit, he felt the cold bite of a weapon pierce his stomach and his health decreased. That damn Kayaba!
He backed away, The False Innocence tilting its head as though to show puzzlement, though the grin never left its face. "It's a counter," grimaced Kirito, feeling his heart racing. "All damage inflicted is reflected to the damager."
"What's the point of that?" shouted Klein, preparing himself for a taste of the enemy.
"It's a case of simple numbers. You first have to defeat the six-armed giant. That takes no small amount of effort. Once that is defeated, this doll appears. If you have enough players, you can each take a chunk of the damage and whittle it down. If you don't..."
"You would be left with no choice but to retreat. Of course, once everybody has left the room, the Boss would simply regenerate its outer shell, leaving you back at square one," summarised Asuna.
"Exactly."
"What do you think? Are there enough of us?" asked Klein worriedly.
"Only one way to find out," stated Kirito, looking around at the clearers remaining. Most seemed intact, though a few were on the cusp of yellow, and others were firmly entrenched, Asuna included. "I'll lead the charge. When my HP goes to red, someone switch with me. The next will hit till they go to red and switch, and so on. Hopefully, there should be enough of us here." And I hope that it doesn't reveal any hidden weapons while we do this...
Giving Asuna a look filled with his love for her, he turned grimly and began to hew at the Boss, letting his rage fill his blades. "Just die already!" he cried as, for the final time, his blades glowed and sang as they sank deep into the enemy, creating angry wounds. His health and the Boss' fell to low red as The False Innocence's grin turned into a scorn-filled grimace, promising great pain and a brutal death to all. From within the folds of its kimono, the enemy withdrew a wakizashi, the blade coated a crimson hue and moved with tremendous speed, the short sword aimed at Kirito's heart. Damn it all! Is this the end? Asuna...Yui...forgive me...in the end, I was too weak after all...I love you both...
"Kirito-kun, switch!" Asuna's ragged cry broke through his thoughts as he witnessed her dash past him at what seemed like lightspeed, her rapier nothing but a flash of light and a peal of thunder. "Die! Linear!" she spat as she pierced deep and, twisting Lambent Light as hard as she could, shredded The False Innocence's innards.
That seemed to do it as the Boss came to a standstill, its eyes showing a quiet strength and resolution. Even though it held a sliver of HP, it knelt to the ground and, taking its wakizashi in hand, turned it upon itself, stabbing into its stomach. Red data seemed to exude from the wound as the Boss ripped the short sword across its stomach. No sound was uttered by it as the last of its HP disappeared and the Boss, with a look of relief on its painted face, broke apart, crystal fragments scattering to the four winds while the huge 'Congratulations!' screen appeared.
As the results screens appeared before the players, there was no holding back the cheer of relief as they realised they had survived the fight. Kirito walked gingerly to his wife, noting that she was looking intently at her screen. "Asuna?"
With rapid fingers, Asuna closed her screen and smiled brightly. "We did it, Kirito-kun!"
"No, you did it," he said, reaching out and taking her hand in his.
Though she smiled at him, her heart felt troubled and Kirito could understand why. It was a sobering thought when considered.
That was only a Field Boss and three players - three men - had been cut down.
What in the name of goodness was the Floor Boss going to be like?
xOxOx
Author's Note: The idea of The False Innocence comes from reviewer OppositesExist, though I took the liberty of changing the forms around.