1
The front: Floor 70.
August 2024.
Majiku and I were still fighting on the front lines. We were each level 90. We were really hitting the leveling hard. Mostly because we could feel the tension among the front rising. The boss fights were getting harder and deadlier. Even the mobs on the floor were troublesome for longer. But somehow, either by skill or sheer dumb luck, the assault team was still retaining a streak of no deaths in a boss fight.
Willow had gone her own way after she trained more and joined us in some boss fights as a main fighter. She was doing really well in her duels with Maj. Once she finally landed a clean blow on him we decided she was ready to get back out there.
She made a vow that she would be at the next boss fight. I looked forward to seeing how she would progress now that she had the proper knowledge to run with the top players.
Argo had gone back to gathering Intel. Trying to stay out of trouble, and failing miserably. Her worst pickle was when she took a quest that required you to take care of a dog that you saved from the woods. When she accepted it, the dog appeared next to her. She freaked out and started running, the dog hot on her heels.
She found us and jumped onto my shoulders.
"For the love of God, get that hellhound away from me!" Argo squealed, trying to get high enough away from the dog.
"Oh come on, look at him! He's adorable!" I said, holding the dog up in front of her.
Argo squirmed and shrieked. "I swear to God! KILL IT WITH FIRE!" She threw her arms up and jumped off of me. She ran away as fast as she could. I tried to keep up with her while shouting dog related comments, but damn she was fast.
It was later that we found out that she got trapped in a flying house caught in a tornado because she left the dog behind (the dog's name was 'Toto'. I'm to this day ashamed that I didn't see that coming.) She scared the hell out of me by going off the radar for 2 days. Good thing Kirito and Asuna found her and helped get the quest back on track.
Other than that we weren't dealing with a lot of abnormalities. Boss fights, quests, buying cake for Argo... Oh, yea... That.
Yeah, in her words: 'It was my punishment for scaring the beJesus out of her when I left after the Monster PK crap.' Some punishment... Once a week I owed her a full cake of her choosing. So that was a thing. But I suppose I did ask for it. Especially after chasing her with the 'hellhound'.
Other than THAT, there wasn't much to tell. Majiku was still on the hunt for a girl.
"Man, it's not fair. You get Argo, Asuna and Kirito are clearly drifting together." They did spend a lot more time together now that I thought about it. He continued to rant. "And Sam and Kira already have each other. Where's my damsel in distress?"
I patted his shoulder in fake concern. "Your pain in the ass will come," I said. "Also if you call Argo or Asuna a 'damsel in distress' to their face, I don't see you surviving."
As if her ears were burning, I got a message from Argo. I opened my message and read it.
"Heya, Flastii! Time for my cake! We gonna meet on floor 47 today. They got a special on strawberry cream cakes that I ain't gonna miss. See ya soon! ^_^."
Majiku must have read my face.
"Now is time for cake?" He asked, referencing a video from the real world.
"Now is time for cake..." I sighed.
"Seriously Bruh. Don't screw this up. She's nice, fiery, and strong." It was rare to hear him get so emotionally attached. He never liked to admit it, but he was always looking out for me. I spaced out thinking about what he said. The more I thought, the more he was right, and the more I panicked.
"Yea, I suppose she is huh?" I wanted to stop thinking about it. Not because I didn't like her... But because I think I did... ALOT. I didn't want anything to happen to her. It would tear me apart. It drove me nuts when she told me about the dangerous stuff she was doing to get Intel for others. But I knew it had to be done... Doesn't mean I have to like it... As I was drifting off into my own world, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Aincrad to Flastor. Come in Flastor. You're gonna be late bro. She will murder you dead," Majiku said. I shook my head to focus my thoughts.
"Uh, right. No murdering today," I said, turning to him. He smiled and held up his fist. I fist bumped him and walked to the center of Floor 70 to teleport.
2
The Flower Garden.
That is what the 47th floor was called. The entire floor was a bed of flowers, ranging in different colors. When the wind blew, it almost looked like a flowing sea of endless colors. It also had a reputation for drawing couples. It was, after all, the most romantic spot you could find in Aincrad... Or so I'm told.
I weaved through the crowd, trying to find the brown cloak I had grown familiar with. I passed a Bard a few times while looking for Argo. She had short brown hair and was playing some nice music. She wore a blue tunic with a white coat and wide-brimmed hat. I offered 200 Col for her to play Argo's favorite in-game song.
"I'll wave the fee if you teach me how to fight?" I was shocked at the random request.
"Um... Sorry, I'm not a great teacher. But I'll think about it, though." I produced the 200 col fee anyway since I knew I probably wasn't going to. She smiled and nodded, then played the song. Not gonna lie, she had a great voice. I continued my search for the missing Argo.
After about 2 more laps around the plaza, I gave up and sent a message to her.
"Um... Are you late?"
Almost immediately, I got a response. "Turn around you blind dummy." I did as the message commanded. What I saw nearly made me fall over. Sitting at a table, maybe 5 feet from me, was Argo.
But... She was different.
Instead of her usual brown cloak and matching brown leather armor. She wore a black short sleeved shirt, with thick gold stripes going down diagonally. She had on a pair of white pants that fit snugly. Where her hood should have been, was golden blonde hair that came down to her shoulders unevenly. It hit me why I didn't see her. This may have been the first time I laid eyes on Argo without her hood or cloak on. I feel so underdressed.
She smiled at me, the painted whiskers on her cheeks curling with her smile. The flowers around her in the background seemed to glow slightly brighter than the rest.
"You're gonna catch flies at this rate, boy," Argo said while turning rosy. That was seriously not helping the glow much. I realized my mouth was hanging open and I regained my composure.
"You... Uh... You look great!" I stammered. I sat down across from Argo.
"You think so? I had Asu make me up these threads," she said looking down at her outfit.
"It really looks good on you, Argo." I realized I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Argo leaned forward and put her head on her hand.
"So... My cake?" She asked, smiling slyly.
"Yes! Cake... Right." I tore my eyes from Argo to flag down a waiter. I ordered the full Strawberry Delight, and the drinks that were supposed to go with them.
"Coming right up!" The waiter said as she walked away. I sat back and looked at Argo.
"So, how have you been doing this week? Any good tips?" Argo shrugged, keeping her head on her hand.
"Not much. Huntin' spots that ya already know about. Quests that you've already completed, that others have failed spectacularly. Get this, there was one quest where someone had to wear a chicken costume as an advertisement for an NPC shop."
Argo pulled out a picture from her pocket and held it up to me. Sure enough, there was a dude, in a chicken suit... His head was sticking out where the beak was.
"That.. Is hilarious. How did you not post this in the paper?" I asked, holding back my laughter.
"The guy paid me 3000 Col to keep quiet," Argo said, smiling like crazy.
"I'll pay you 4000 to post it," I said jokingly.
We both laughed. We tossed stories back and forth. Her getting wrapped up in crazy situations. Majiku and me causing all kinds of fights, even though we didn't really do anything. Our waiter came up with Argo's cake. It was the size of a dinner platter with pink frosting and strawberries all around the top.
"Oooohhhhh! Yummy cake!" Argo cheered, her eyes growing wide with anticipation, and face turning rosy again in excitement.
I noticed that the waiter only had one glass on her tray. Which was weird because the NPC waiters never got an order wrong. She placed the large glass in-between Argo and me.
"It's complimentary for couples during the cake special!" The waiter said happily. I was still confused... Extremely confused... Then I saw that there were two straws sticking out of the top. I looked at Argo, thinking she would say: "Oh no, it's not like that." But she just stared at me, smiling.
You sly Rat... You freakin' planned this. She wasn't turning red from excitement... At least not entirely. Was she waiting to see what I was going to say? I caught myself just staring at her again. Seeing her in somewhat normal clothes sitting at a table really made me feel like we were back in the real world, meeting at a normal restaurant...
This may be the first time that I thought about this... But she's freakin' beautiful.
"Ya just gonna look at me or are ya gonna help me with this cake and drink?" Argo asked.
Argo picked up her fork and dug in. As she ate I still couldn't get my mind to think straight. Why now, all of the sudden, is Argo making me think like this, damnit? Argo opened her eyes and smiled again. I was getting lost in her golden brown eyes. She picked up a piece of cake with her fork and stuffed it in my mouth. That was one way to snap me out of it.
She giggled and retreated her fork.
I finally got control of my head and started eating my half of the cake. I'm personally not much of a desert guy, but this cake was really good. It made me think of something my mom would make... We took turns drinking. But one time we must have been in sync cause we simultaneously reached for the cup. She grabbed the cup first, and I wrapped my hand around hers.
In shock, we both retreated our hands, my face burning as I brought my hand back. But we both laughed at it too. Argo reached for the glass this time, but held it up between us with one straw directed to her and the other directed to me.
"Why not?" She asked while smiling...
I realized she wanted to drink at the same time. I chuckled slightly, but leaned forward to drink. Argo did the same. Our foreheads were damn near touching and I don't think either of us wanted to move. My attention was rudely broken when I thought I heard the sound of a picture being taken. I ignored it, thinking it was nothing.
We ate until the cake was gone. After we were stuffed with cake, we leaned back and just sat for a while and enjoyed each other's company.
Then a sound like a message notification played from Argo. She looked annoyed.
"Ya couldn't have waited like.. 10 more minutes?" She cursed the sender.
"It's fine, but tell them to hush after," I said. She still had her work to do after all.
Argo smiled and opened her menu. As she read her message her face grew more worried, then it grew to sheer terror.
"Oh my God... This can't be happening..." Before she could freak out I placed my hand over hers to remind her I was still here.
"What's wrong?" I asked. She looked like she was having trouble finding her voice. After a second she spoke.
"Laughing Coffin..." She said shakily. "Someone leaked their HQ..."
3
Laughing Coffin.
The most infamous guild of PKers in Aincrad.
Last I heard, their group had grown to about 100 strong or so. They operated completely in the shadows. Always in and out without a trace... Aside from their 'handiwork' which usually consisted of someone grieving over a lost partner... The Assault Team was always on the lookout for signs of a Laughing Coffin camp that we could shut down but we rarely found anything. So for someone to find their HQ was surprising, I almost didn't believe it. In fact, I didn't.
"I call shenanigans. Who leaked it?" I asked, trying to stay calm.
"Says a member of LC came to the KoB. The KoB sent a scouting party to confirm it. Even gave me a list of the Scouters." Argo beckoned me to scoot next to her while she revealed her menu screen to me. The message read like this:
"Laughing Coffin HQ location confirmed by KoB members Rena, Kyjo, and Tensha. Along with solo player, Willow." I froze at Willow's name. I hadn't been keeping good enough tabs on her. I kept reading the message. "You have received this message from the KoB to either participate in or recruit powerful players for a raid to eradicate Laughing Coffin. This message and all of its contents are restricted to recruiters and recruits for the raid."
Eradicate? Are they serious? Do they want to take on Laughing Coffin? Do they want to kill them? Or just disarm them?
Thoughts were flying in my head. Raid formations. Strategies. I had never been a part of a raid on other players. There were so many unknowns that I almost wanted to protest the raid. Then I stupidly thought out loud.
"Wait... why didn't they message me?" I leaned back. "Not to toot my own horn-"
I looked at Argo's face and it was full of worry and dread. Did she think they expected her to fight? I'll give Argo all the props for any PVE fight. She mops the floor with any monster. But she's definitely not a PVP type. Especially in this world.
I was about to assure her that they would not expect her to fight. I looked to see who had sent her the message.. The name hit me like a brick wall.
From: Asuna
Argo was the only person that had connections to both the KoB, through Asuna; and us. Asuna sent it to Argo to round up Majiku and me for the raid. Asuna knew I wouldn't tell Argo we were going if she only sent it to me and Maj, so she did it this way in case...
I put my hand on Argo's shoulder. She was shaking slightly.
"We have to at least hear them out. I promise though, if I don't like the situation, we won't go," I said. Argo's face wavered like she was fighting herself on what to say.
"Yeah, well you should go anyway. The more people they have going, the better off their chances are." She forced the words out like she was throwing them up. "Plus... I bet you Asuna is specifically looking for you two. Which means she's part of the raid."
"And considering how close they've gotten... I doubt Kirito will be sitting this out too. He'll go to help Asuna..." I added.
"We gotta watch out for those two." Argo continued. "I see Asu as my younger sister, and Kii-boy my little brother." She locked eyes with me. Worry plastered on her face. "I'd rather you and Maj be there to watch them. I don't trust anyone else right now."
I couldn't blame her for being so worried. Laughing Coffin was full of high-level players. And unlike most players, they specialize in killing other players. This raid will need to have all of the top-tier players they could get. And I still smelled a rat because of how convenient all of this is. I stood up and opened my menu to send a message to Maj.
"Meet me in Granzam. They're going after Laughing Coffin and they want us there. Keep on the DL. There's something wrong."
It took him a few minutes to respond.
"I'll be there if we're going to tell them how stupid of an idea that is... Ah hell, I'll be there anyway..."
I offered my hand to Argo to help her up. She didn't let go when she got to her feet... Instead, she held it tighter like I would vanish if she let go...
"Well, this is a crappy way to end the day, huh?" I said. Trying to lighten the mood. For once, it didn't work.
"I'm going too," Argo said, with a sunken, worried expression. My mind went blank trying to understand what she said. "I have to be there... To take shots for the paper..."
"No way Argo," I said, stern but soft. I locked eyes with her to drive the point home. "I know full well you can handle yourself in any fight with a monster. But this is nothing like that..."
"To hell with that! I..." She wavered, trying to find a believable excuse. She really didn't want to be part of this fight. And plus if it turns sour, I wouldn't want her in the middle of it. She's strong... But this is nothing like we've ever faced. People against people. It's basically war. I brought my other hand over to cover hers, still in mine.
"Argo, you have my word... I'm coming back." I forced any doubt I had out of my mind to convince her. "There's no way in hell I'll let these scumbags take me down." I put my hand on her head. "We will take them down, Cannon Bro style, then we'll come back here and have another cake." I said, smiling. This seemed to cheer her up. "Do me a favor, could you let Sam and Kira know what's happening?" I was worried I blew it, but she understood.
She nodded. "I will only if you promise to come back..."
"The day I don't come back is when Hell freezes over." Before I could turn to walk away, Argo got on her toes and planted a kiss on my cheek. As soon as she did, I thought I was gonna float off the ground.
"Consider that good luck..." All I could do was smile.
"Well with that, losing isn't an option, is it?" I made my way to the Teleport Gate in the center of the plaza. I gave the command, "Teleport: Granzam." As light enveloped my body, my last look of Argo was her smiling. A tear streaming down her face.
When I got to Granzam, I saw Majiku sitting at a table with a girl.
Wait... What the hell?
Upon further inspection, I realized he was trying to console her. She was calm, but tears were streaming down her face like a river.
She had long red hair, and was wearing a white and red tunic, the uniform of the KoB. Sitting at a table behind her, were 3 other girls wearing a similar outfit. They must be other KoB members.
Maj saw me and motioned to wait a second. I nodded and leaned on one of the pillars of the Teleport Gate. After a minute she seemed to calm down. She smiled and nodded. With that, Majiku got up and walked over to me.
"What happened to her?" I asked. Maj seemed irritated, which was off considering the situation.
"She's one of the ones who scouted the HQ. Rena. She's stupidly shaken up. She caught me and asked to hang out while I waited for you."
"That's kinda random, though," I said. "Have you two talked before?"
Majiku nodded. "We've made small talk before raids and we've hung out when we take our days off." Majiku's tone turned dark. "After talking to her, I'm kinda worried, dude." He explained that the HQ was in a dungeon on the front of floor 70. They are so backed in there they may be impossible to get to with a full bar of health.
"Jesus, this is actually starting to sound impossible," I said. I looked at the girl, Rena. She was smiling at us, trying to hide her fear. She held her hand up and pointed to her eyes, then pointed to Majiku who wasn't looking. Her message was clear.
"Watch him..."
I smiled and winked. It was all I could do to avoid arousing suspicion. I wonder if Maj and her had a plan similar to Argo and me today? He keeps his personal stuff close to the vest, probably because he knows I'll never leave him alone like he does to me.
"We should still hear the plan, so the ones that scouted don't feel they did it for nothing." As if on cue, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Hey..."
I turned to see Willow, sporting updated leather armor over a purple and black tunic. Her scimitar, MoonStruck Sabre, strapped to her waist.
"Willow! How... Uh... How are you?" I said, trying to watch my words.
"Well, I just scouted the biggest group of PKers that could have easily killed me because we thought the tip was bogus. Other than that, I'm great," she said.
"Right... Sorry," I said, scratching my face.
We walked together to the HQ of the Knights of the Blood Oath. A large, metal, gray castle. It sits outside of the first town of Granzam. When we got there, there were about 50 players milling around the outside of the castle. Before we could join them, 2 guards stopped us.
"This meeting is restricted to invited guests only." The guard said, sternly.
"Then I'll just piss off and go back to hanging out with my friend..." I growled.
"He means his Girlfriend..." Majiku and I turned to make our faces fully visible to the guard.
It took me a minute to register what Maj said. I turned my head to look at him. "Hey... Shut up..." Was the best I had. I faced the guard again. "Trust me, pal, this is the last place we want to be right now..."
"Oh... Sorry, I can't see anything out of this stupid helmet." The guard tapped his helmet that had narrow slits cut out for the eyes. "Go ahead. I think the vice commander is waiting for you."
"Of course she is..." I groaned. They let all three of us pass.
I recognized a few faces in the crowd. The entire Fuurinkazan guild, and their leader, Klein, were here. Some members of the Holy Dragon Alliance were here too, all of them were the front liners in every boss fight.
Then I saw Kirito, standing with Asuna around a table. He saw us and held his hand up in greeting. Asuna shot him a dirty look for not paying attention. Kirito panicked, said a quick word of apology, then pointed to us. Asuna looked toward us, lightened up, and beckoned us forward. As we approached the table I saw a couple of guys that looked shattered. They must have been the other ones that found the HQ. Asuna leaned up and regarded us.
"Good to see you guys. With you here, we should have no problems," Asuna said in her best commander's voice. She continued to explain the plan. "We need to move as one, looking out in all directions. These guys are masters of stealth. We should assume an attack from either the flanks or behind after we engage." She really has improved since the beginning. "We should have the element of surprise since this meeting is still a secret. Even so, we need to be ready for everything and anything." She finished. "Report to your squads, we move out in half an hour. Dismissed."
The KoB guys saluted Asuna and walked off. Klein, looking seriously concerned, walked to address his guild. The rest just nodded and walked back to their respective groups. Kirito, Majiku, and myself formed a wall between the raid party and Asuna.
Majiku spoke up. "Be honest with me, how bad are we looking?" After Asuna was sure no one was looking, the tension in her body subsided, and her face grew slack with worry. Recently, she's dropped the 'Vice Commander' act around us. We all treated each other as equals, and that meant she didn't have to hide her emotions and always put on a stern, brave face like she did with her guild.
"We can't think about the bad. It'll only gonna make us slower," Kirito said, keeping Asuna from revealing her true worry. This gave Asuna the chance to re-motivate herself.
"We'll be fine," Asuna regained her composure and smiled at us. "We have the top 4 players in the game here now." This made me feel awkward. Praise never came easily to me. Especially when the praise was saying I was one of the best. Majiku slapped the back of my head.
"You heard the lady, we'll be fine. The Cannon Bros are on the case."
Everyone laughed, trying to shake the uneasiness out of our bodies.
We hung out for a bit, talking strategies, and just swapping stories. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Like I was being watched by a pair of hunter's eyes, and I was the prey.
Willow must have read my face. She elbowed me softly. "What's wrong?" Everyone looked at me and grew worried. I must not have been doing a good job of hiding my seriousness. I recovered and grinned.
"It's nothing. I was with Argo when we got called. Guess I'm just annoyed that I'm here now." I knew I walked into a minefield, but I accepted it for the sake of lightening the mood.
I was met by a round of chiding and poking fun at the fact. I didn't let that bad feeling form on my face again, but it was still poking in the back of my head. After about 45 minutes (Asuna decided to wait a bit to let all the jitters out) Asuna stood on a podium so everyone could see her.
"Alright, it's time to go. Watch each other's backs! And remember, absolutely no killing! The goal is to disarm and break their spirit. Then send them to BlackIron Palace." A cheer went up from everyone. Secretly we were all looking forward to not having to worry about Laughing Coffin while trying to clear the rest of the game. If we can cleanly pull this off it's gonna really ease the tension as the only thing we'll have to worry about is boss raids.
As the formation came to be, Asuna and the Knights were up front, The Holy Dragon Alliance to the left, Fuurinkazan to the right, Majiku, me, Willow, and Kirito brought up the rear with a space in the middle for us to get to the front if needed.
As the raiding party left, a different feeling washed over me. Still being watched, but it was more kind, and concerned. Like a protective hawk was flying overhead.
As we marched I couldn't shake the feeling that two forces were fighting here now. A set of eyes were bearing down in front of me, waiting to strike, and another behind me, in the trees, trying to protect me.
4
After a while, the entrance to the dungeon appeared on a mountainside in front of us. As soon as we stepped through the air grew thick.
"You feel that?" Majiku asked, walking next to me.
"It's like the air itself wants to suffocate me." I shuttered, rubbing my throat. Asuna looked back and I motioned with my other hand, asking to send a message. She nodded, knowing who it was going to.
I opened my menu and wrote a quick message to Argo, and Sam. She must have told them by now.
"We just got to the dungeon. I'll message when we are on the way back."
After I sent it I could have sworn I heard the notification sound come from somewhere in the bushes. I scanned the tree line, with my Detection Skill on full blast.
Nothing.
Not a monster, NPC, or player within a mile of us. Must have just been my imagination going crazy. Majiku grabbed my shoulder and shook slightly.
"Bro, come on. We're falling behind." I realized that the group had moved forward into the dungeon without us. Willow stood next to Maj, looking at me with a concerned gaze.
"Yeah, let's go..." I glanced over my shoulder one more time, then turned to walk into the cave.
We ran to catch up with the group. As we went further in, the air got heavier.
I wasn't keeping track of time, but we must have walked for at least 4 minutes. We encountered no monsters, and the only footsteps were the metallic ones that the group was making. I looked at Willow and she seemed determined. More composed than the girl that was run down by skeletons about a month ago.
"So how goes the leveling?" I asked. Trying to make small talk to ease the tension.
Without breaking her gaze forward Willow spoke. "Yesterday I got to 85. Leveled up my AGI. I'm probably twice as fast as the last time you saw me fight."
She must have thought that I was concerned about her being here. But that wasn't the case. I saw first hand when she dueled Maj how fast she was. If she was twice as fast now, then there was no topping her speed as a Scimitar user.
"Cool. Find any good drops lately?" I asked.
"We should stay focused. We'll be there soon." So much for small talk.
But she was right. The corridors were changing.
As we got closer I could see scratch marks on the floor and walls. I tried to not think about how they could have formed. But still, I got the feeling that we weren't in the right place. I had my Detection Skill on full. I assumed Majiku and Kirito did as well.
The weird thing was, with 3 high-level Detection Skills looking, some of the 100 or so members of LC were bound to show up for one of us. But there was nothing, not a single ping anywhere near us. Willow started to look worried.
"It should be right up here," Willow said. I drew my sword. As we walked, the cave opened into a wide open room. It was the size of a coliseum. All around, tents were pitched and banners flowed in the slight breeze that reached all the way back here from the cave opening, the symbol of Laughing Coffin stitched in every one.
But all around, there was nothing. No players. No weapons. Nothing. The camp was completely deserted.
I looked at Willow, her face was a mix of confusion and annoyance.
"They were here, all of them. They were here no more than a day ago." She wasn't wrong.
The signs clearly pointed that they were here. But to have the entire guild moved at once, there was something wrong. The group started whispering to each other. Trying to figure out what happened. But I already knew.
Kirito walked up next to me and spoke softly, Maj leaned in so he could hear.
"You know what happened, right?" He asked, I didn't want to say it out loud, but it was plainly obvious.
"We've been played. This whole damn time, someone's been reporting back to Laughing Coffin. They probably bailed as soon as we left the KoB HQ... Or worse." I couldn't finish the thought.
I realized we were hopelessly outmatched. This is their territory now.
I sheathed my sword and looked at Kirito. "We can't stay here anymore. With the element of surprise gone they have the upper hand. I'm not playing ball with these guys in their home field without the advantage."
He nodded. "Right, I'll talk to Asuna. We need to regroup and come up with a different plan."
"I vote we don't come back at all..." I groaned. Kirito turned and walked to Asuna. Willow looked furious.
"You're not thinking we lied, do you?" She asked. Her eyes flared with anger.
"No, that's not it." I waved to the cave. "Obviously they were here. None of the people that discovered the HQ have been left out of sight. So no messages from you, or them, could have caused it." I started to think out loud just to be sure I wasn't missing anything. "You and the two guys are here in the group, we were all ordered to keep our menus closed unless given permission. And the girl who stayed back..."
"Rena. She's with trusted friends, they are also part of Asuna's personal guard." Maj said, with a hint of pride. "So the odds of them betraying us are very close to none, as they would face the unholy wrath of Asuna."
"Honestly right now, there's no point in finding out who did what. It's like a game of chess. We're in check right now with our backs to the wall. We just need to get out of here now or we're screwed." Right as I said that, Asuna gave the order to fall back to the KoB HQ as fast and cautiously as possible.
The party flipped so the KoB members were still out front and we brought up the rear.
Instead of a slow steady march, we all picked up the pace for a slight jog. Slow enough to make sure the heavy armor users didn't get tired, but fast enough to make decent progress. The 10 minutes it took to get back to the beginning turned into 8.
As we rounded the last corner daylight started to shine. The exit was just up ahead. Were they really gonna let us walk out? As if he was reading my mind, Majiku spoke up.
"Don't think about it, just go!"
But our luck ran out. Behind us, I heard a whistling sound, like metal flying through the air. Before I could even react Maj drew his massive sword and blocked 5 throwing knives. At the same time, my Detection Skill went off. I looked, and we were surrounded by a sea of orange, indicating criminal players.
"Ambush! Brace!" I yelled. A bloodthirsty yell echoed through the cavern. The entire Laughing Coffin guild surrounded us and charged.
The leader of the charge let out a blood-curdling wail.
"CHECKMATE!"
5
Chaos... Anarchy... Howls of haunting laughter all around me.
Laughing Coffin caught us like a bear in a trap. 20 people rushed us from behind. Majiku roared in defiance and swung his blade in front of us, slashing a few of them good. He even broke a couple of their knives.
One guy charged at me low. I deflected his blade up and went to swipe down. But he rolled to his right and we locked blades. He had an evil look in his eyes and a wicked smile like he was having a blast.
"You didn't think we were gonna let ya walk out of here alive, did ya?" He wailed and tried to slash me again.
He was all talk, stupid slow, and clumsy. Instead of meeting his blade, I spun to the left, swung upwards, and cut his hands off. It wouldn't kill, just keep him disarmed for the fight. They wouldn't come back without time or a special potion. "We aren't out yet," I said, hiking my leg up and kicking him away from me.
The battle raged on. Our group was successful in disarming most of them.
Then the first casualty happened on our side. One of The Holy Dragon Alliance was cut down from behind. This sent the whole guild into a rage. They forgot all about no killing and went on a spree. This seemed to fire up Laughing Coffin that much more.
The formation was shattered. I realized every few minutes I was standing next to a different person. At one time, I was fighting with Maj, flipping over him to cover his back while he tried to get multiple hits and keep a majority of the players at bay while trying his best to hold our rear line.
After a few more rounds, and incapacitating a few more people, I found I was fighting with Willow.
She was fighting like a whirlwind. Her sword would catch the light every so often and blind her opponent. She had amazing acrobatic skills, so I just stood in place, taking on anyone that broke through her onslaught. Even going at full speed she didn't kill anyone.
After that was the craziest match-up. Kirito and myself, fighting back to back.
I was later told that we looked like 2 sword demons dancing around each other, cutting down anyone that dared step close. Then came the moment when Kirito panicked. He lost his composure and slashed one of his foes almost cleanly in half.
He almost lost it until I smacked the back of his head. Not to punish him, he did what he had to do. But mostly to bring him back to reality.
"Focus man, we aren't done yet," I said, as another dude rushed me and we locked swords. He almost overpowered me but Kirito swept from behind and got his hands. Kirito looked at me, determination filling his face again.
"Sorry. I'm good."
We continued on, fighting like crazy. It seemed like the enemy's numbers just weren't going anywhere fast, even though we were tearing through them.
Then I got careless. For a second I saw a ray of hope and lost focus. As I did, someone knocked my sword out of my hand.
"Gotcha now, Blue Boy!" The guy said as he started to bring his sword down on me.
Weaponless, my instincts took over and I crossed my arms to defend my vital parts. Right before he connected there was a flash of brown, and something stopped his sword. I looked up and in front of me was a small person with brown leather armor. There was a cloak that was flowing to the ground, and she was wielding a pair of claws.
"Back off! That's MY Blue Boy!" Argo brought her other set of claws in her left hand up and swiped at his wrist, fileting his hands off.
The only thing I could think of to say was: "God I love you but I hate you, woman."
"No time for that. Heads up!"
I leaned to the left as a knife and arm shot past my head. I grabbed it and flipped the owner over me and onto his back. I held him down as Argo cleanly took care of his hands.
"You might need this!" I heard someone yell to my right. Klein, from the Fuurinkazan guild, had my sword. I saw someone approach Argo from behind. Klein saw it too and he threw my sword in a way that made the handle fly to me first. I started to turn
"Duck!" I yelled. Argo got it and rolled down. As my sword got to me, I grabbed it and slashed the guy in the chest.
"Yea! How you like me now, punk?" I said, feeling energized.
"Come on, show off. We're close to being done," Argo said.
As she walked up to me, a blade materialized in her chest. Argo's eyes grew wide with terror.
Behind her, an ugly dude was grinning like a madman. Staring at me with bloodthirsty eyes.
"Argo?..." She looked at me as a tear streamed down her face. The color in her eyes was fading. Then the guy shoved the knife further into her body... Argo let out a slight squeak as she literally was lifted off her feet...
I could feel my face burn in anger. "No... NOOOO!"
I spun behind Argo, moved her away from the guy, sliced up to get his hands... Then, before I could stop myself... I spun and lobbed his head off. Argo fell to the ground.
I dropped to my knees next to Argo without thinking. I rolled her onto her back and held my hand behind her head.
She was pale... Her eyes were still wide with terror.
"Argo?" I croaked. She slowly moved her head to look at me. She wasn't talking... "It's gonna be O.K... You're alright." I pleaded with the system to keep just a sliver of health.
Argo took a deep breath... Then she spoke in a weak tone...
"I love you, too..."
Argo's eyes rolled and closed. Her body went limp... I could hear a rush of footsteps rapidly approaching me.
All I remember after that was screaming a guttural, inhuman scream...
6
I had to be filled in with the details of my blackout. My scream got the attention of everyone in the immediate area. Thus got the attention of a bunch of LC members that saw an easy kill with Argo. The main battle was winding down and I was on a rampage. It didn't matter if I struck to kill or not, I just flowed through the enemy like they were stationary. I was apparently doing all kinds of flips and slicing in ways that were not possible. I had kicked a few people so hard that their health was drained to the yellow.
After the fight had ended, I kicked the last guy in front of me to the ground. He laid on his back and tried to move away.
I walked towards him and raised my sword to bring it down on him. Suddenly, I felt 2 people grab me and hold me back. My sword clashed with another.
That was when I regained control of myself and my mind started to clear. Maj was holding my arms back, Klein held my body back, and Kirito blocked my sword with his.
After that, my mind became fully clear. I lowered my sword and sank to my knees. My first concern surfaced... Maj walked up next to me, knelt, and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Argo... Argo got..."
"She's fine," Maj said, softly. "Surprisingly, she got the only blade that wasn't poisoned in the bunch... It must have been overwhelming for her and she passed out." The guy in front of me sneered, picking up that I was panicking.
"Was that your first time killing someone? Feels good being a Demon, doesn't it? Why don't you keep going you wim-"
He was cut off by Majiku driving his massive sword inches from his face. I didn't even feel his hand leave my shoulder, let alone realize he got up and drew his sword.
"Shut your hole you nasty bastard or I'll lob your head off, guillotine style," Majiku growled in a dark tone.
I had never heard Majiku sound so intense in my life. He wasn't bluffing at all... The guy whimpered, got up, and tried to run. Only to get cut off by two KoB guys. They drug him to the others who surrendered and would be sent to jail. Then the reality of what happened sunk in.
"How many?" I asked. I could hear Maj shuffle in place.
"It doesn't matter. You did what you had to-"
"Don't bullshit me, Alex. How many did I kill?" Kirito and Klein looked confused on top of worried when I used Majiku's real name. Even Maj was surprised.
Majiku sighed... "5... You took down 5 after the guy that got Argo."
My head went numb.
I killed 6 people.
I don't even remember their faces. They were people too. Assholes or not, I was still fighting to free them from this world. Instead... I killed them. I never wanted to kill anyone... I was open to beating the snot out of assholes... But no matter what, I knew I had to control myself.
"Son of a bitch!" I drove my fist into the ground in front of me, creating a crater the size of a plate. I couldn't find any words. No emotion could describe what was going on in my head.
Klein kneeled next to me. This was the first time I had any kind of interaction with him.
"Listen, man, you fought bravely out there. Even better, you fought for your girl. No one can hold that against you," he said. "You can not let yourself feel anything like this for scum like them. They killed for fun."
I looked at Kirito, he had a similarly dark look to him. Did he kill more than the one guy? Honestly, it didn't matter. I wanted to put this nightmare behind me.
Klein got up and offered his hand, I grabbed it and pulled myself to my feet. As we were walking out I stopped next to Argo, who was sitting with Asuna and Willow.
I kneeled next to her, not meeting her eyes.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep myself under control..." I couldn't tell how she was reacting. "I thought I could keep myself in check no matter the situation... But this world is changing me even more than I realized... My promise still stands. I will get you out of here. But I can't guarantee you'll be safe with me... I think it's best that we part ways..."
I left it at that and waited for an answer. I waited for her to become enraged with me. To tell me to leave and never so much as look at her ever again.
But nothing. She didn't say a word.
Without looking at her, I stood up and walked away.
"Flastor!" Majiku shot. I could tell he was pissed at me. "Flastor, get back here!"
I didn't stop. Without looking back, I walked out of the cave.
I walked back to the main town of floor 70. The entire raiding party was about 10 feet behind me. The only one that would walk near me was my brother. But he didn't say a word to me.
When we got back to town, Sam and Kira were waiting for us to get back. When they saw us, they smiled. Happy that we came back from what was sure to be a death trap. When I got close, Sam stepped up to me.
"Hey, man! Good to see you got out of that." He held out his hand for a handshake. I just walked by him, not even looking at him.
Kira held her hand out to stop me. "Flas. What's wrong?"
"Don't touch me..."
I moved her hand off of me and kept walking. Sam started to walk to me to smack my head, but Maj caught him.
"What the hell is his deal?" Sam asked, looking at Majiku.
"I'll tell you about it later. Just leave him be for now," Maj said.
I walked to the other entrance to town to keep leveling. When I got out of earshot of everyone I spoke to myself.
"I'm sorry... Please. Just stay away from me." I looked up to the horizon. "I'll beat this Hell... And get you all out..."
End of Part Four.