The Captive Swordsman

Chapter 7— The First Taste

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Original Title: Sword Art Online(ソードアート・オンライン)

Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki

written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: Writing battles is too hard. So hard... so I take full responsibility for any errors even if my beta has gone through it before.

Thank you, bowpurity for the beta!

..

'This is amazing!'

Asuna declared to Leafa and Yui happily as the two of them flew in the night sky together. It was a very novel and exciting experience for Asuna. The feeling of the wind brushing against her cheek, the sound of the wind rushing past her, as well as the sight that she was able to see, it was really amazing!

'Desho neh? That's why everyone wishes to get to the top of Yggdrasil. Those who those, will be able to seek an audience with Oberon, the King of the Fairies. They'll be able to make the entire race into Astrals, beings who could fly infinitely in this world.'

Leafa explained, but she noticed Asuna muttering to herself in confusion.

'Oberon? Neh, Leafa-chan... what was Oberon's wife? Wasn't it..Titania?'

'Eh? Well... I guess? I don't know... why the sudden question, Asuna-san?'

Leafa was confused at the way Asuna frowned and then winced at the thought. So the other account was for the Queen of the Fairies, Titania? Did that mean that Sugou could be Oberon? What... arrogance. It was lucky that she remembered the research of the lore of ALO during the meeting with her fellow comrades in the day.

'Asuna-san? Is something wrong?'

Leafa had began to notice that there were many things that were troubling Asuna about the game, and even if she was filled in on the situation and what she could expect to see and what Asuna planned to do, she had the feeling that the situation was much more complex than she had imagined at first.

Well, it was something to be expected, there were many things that she didn't know after all.

'Neh, Asuna-san.'

'Yes, Leafa-chan?'

After a while, Leafa tried to strike a conversation again, this time she lowered herself so she was flying beside Asuna. The two of them were making a great pace towards Sylvian, and they would be there in a quarter of an hour. Leafa had to give it to Asuna, her phenomenal stats had made it possible for her to match and perhaps surpass her own flying speed. It was both heartening, as well as demoralizing. Even in game, she couldn't match up to Asuna after all.

'How... did you meet with Onii-chan? How did you know Onii-chan?'

Leafa's question made Asuna stutter a little as she recalled what had happened then. She supposed that it was inevitable, since Silica and Lizbeth had told their story to her, her curiosity was sated too. But to Suguha, who haven't learnt or heard of anything about Kirito-kun's life in SAO was probably curious too.

'Ah... well, he saved me... from losing to SAO.'

'Losing... to SAO?'

Out of the corner of her eye, Asuna saw Yui wriggle out of her pocket, and she knew that she had no choice but to spill the beans. Her daughter would allow her nothing less.

'Yes, you know... that in SAO, if we die in game, we die as well. I... After the first week, when I saw so many people take their lives...'

Asuna paused when she saw Yui's face pale as well, and she took the time to keep her hand off her weapon to stroke her hair to try and reassure her.

'Now Yui-chan, you don't have to listen to this.'

Yui was the AI who was created to help the players after all, but she had been barred from helping the players who were obviously in shock, or perhaps had their minds collapse under the stress.

'But... that first month, was also the time I almost lost to SAO... I didn't care that I lived, no, I didn't care at all about what was happening to me... I told myself that I didn't want to lose to SAO, to lose to myself... when I had actually lost... I didn't care whether I lived, or I died, all I wanted to was to die on my own terms... So I fought, and I fought.. and I fought...'

Asuna had a bittersweet smile on her face as she told Leafa her story, it was not a happy one, but despite her misgivings about her past weaker self, she couldn't be mad at her older self for thinking that way.

It seemed impossible, no one could clear the game and she had been prepared to die if she had failed to survive the first floor dungeon. But Kirito had saved her, and had given her hope that they could clear the game.

'I... I liked my life in Aincrad, because Kirito-kun was there... and I told him that we could run away and be together... but in the end, we decided that we have to clear the game, to be lovers... in the real world. It's... ironic, isn't it, Leafa-chan? I... was one of the top clearers, I had a reason to keep fighting to beat the game... and in the end, all I wanted to do was to be with Kirito-kun. I think... at that time, when he saved me from myself in the first level, he gave me hope that we could win and I just went on with that, I was fighting to leave... when I didn't have anything to return to.. I just... I guessed I just wanted to believe that I would... have something. It's odd, isn't it? ... And when we met again, a long time later, he gave me the reason why I tried so hard, it's because... I wanted to return with him, to be with him... But now, that I did...I know I definitely felt that way then, but now... now I just... I... rather we didn't leave, not when he...'

Asuna stopped speaking, for she couldn't, not with the tears that was falling down her face, nor how Leafa had hugged her from behind despite being in mid-air. She couldn't because Yui was hugging her face as best as she could as well, trying to comfort her.

'Leafa-chan... Yui-chan...'

'… Asuna-san... you're being too hard on yourself. Onii-chan he, you said it yourself. Onii-chan he is fighting as well, he's fighting to come back to you, Asuna... so, you can't lose again. Not this time, when you promised me, and you promised him that you would save him.'

'Aunt Leafa is right, Mama! You promised! And you always keep your promises! Papa too!'

With their support, Asuna found herself smiling again, and she wiped her tears away before she nodded to them.

'Gomen neh, Leafa-chan, Yui-chan... I wanted to talk about happier things... but I ju-'

Asuna suddenly stopped, this time not because she wanted to cry, but because she heard something coming towards the two of them. She might not have sank in as many skill points as Kirito-kun did with his detecting skills, but she was a veteran in the front-line, and she heard something being fired towards the three of them and she reacted accordingly, grabbing Leafa before dashing into the forest below for cover.

'W-Wha-'

In front of Leafa's wide eyes, a fireball blew past the three of them, missing them due to Asuna's quick evasive actions. Looking around, Leafa caught sight of a small group of Salamanders that was advancing towards them. They had only one dedicated mage amongst the party, but Leafa could make out that the bulk of the party was wearing armour, that meant that they were quite skilled and used to combat.

'T-This is bad-.'

Leafa managed to reply even as she readied herself for the upcoming conflict. It wasn't that uncommon to see small groups of Salamanders patrol the neutral area of the Sylphs. Since the two races had traditionally been rivals, the neutral areas were always filled with skirmishes between the two races. It just didn't help that it happen at a bad timefor them. Leafa had planned to teach Asuna about combat when they reach the neutral town, where they could actually engage in duels with some of the players there. It would give Asuna more experience with dealing with other races. But it seems that Asuna would have to learn from a very steep learning curve.

At least, that was what Leafa thought, but she wasn't so sure when Asuna smiled grimly, almost looking like she was anticipating the fight as she rested one hand on the pommel of her rapier.

'… Whew... it has been a while, hopefully I'm not too rusty.'

Asuna gave Leafa a confident smile even as she readied herself as well. This was a battle they could afford to lose, but she didn't like to lose and was stubborn on that point. If she had to go down, she'll take down one of them with her.

..

Asuna took a deep breath even as she readied herself, steadying herself and trying to get used to the significantly lighter weapon that she was now welding. This particular weapon was so much lighter, but it was also so much weaker than her own past weapon. She couldn't wait for Lisbeth to start playing so she could start getting her old equipment back.

That said, she was eager for battle, not because she loved to battle, but she wanted to know whether she could match up with the game's players. There will definitely be a time where she would have to clash with them, and if Sugou had a hand in this, it would be best for her to be prepared for anything.

Besides, player killing was accepted here and with those conditions, it's best to see if she was able to deal the final blow and not flinch away like she did with Kuradeel.

As the group of five Salamanders descended from above, in quite an orderly as well as close knit formation, Asuna took note of how all of them seemed to shield one member behind them, not even breaking formation while in the air.

'Now then, it's five to two odds. Why don't you just surrender your money and items, and we would let you off? You wouldn't want a death penalty now, do you?'

One of the Salamanders offered even as Asuna turned to look at Leafa for her reply. She had confidence in Leafa's abilities, she had played ALO for quite a while, and honestly, Asuna was impressed with the way she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

A katana was primarily focused on the draw, the more perfect the draw was, the more likely that the blade won't be damaged when it was actually used in combat. It was said that a true master was able to draw their swords, and sheath it in one movement, while cutting their target of course.

Leafa however, learnt Kendo, and Kendo never focused on how one draws one sword. But rather, focuses on how one should attack the enemy with their rapid and precise strikes to the opponent, not letting them have any ground to counter attack. Judging from the focused expression and how she held her weapon, Asuna was sure that Leafa was good at battles too. Especially since ALO thrived on PK, like what her research and her discussions with her friends had uncovered.

'There's no way that we are doing that.'

Leafa answered even as she prepared her weapon. The Salamanders themselves must have spotted them by sheer luck, well, too bad for them, for Asuna nodded even as she drew her weapon as well. Time to see how her combat skills and experience matched up with the players in ALO.

..

'I-Impossible...'

Yuuki Asuna, also known as Asuna, was called the Flash by players who saw her in battle. This was due to her speed as well as her skill with her rapier in executing the rapier skill, [Linear]. [Linear], like it's name is a horizontal and straight stabbing move that was performed with a rapier. It was her speed, as well as unerring accuracy that gave her that name sake.

But even Asuna was surprised when she was able to kill the mage that the Salamanders were guarding with that final strike to his chest. Experimentation had shown that although she was able to sprint and move as fast as she used to on land, she couldn't meet that same speed in the air. That she chalked up to inexperience, but she was still surprised, not that she was able to move as fast as she could in that short burst, but that she still had it, she still could aim for that one single gap between the four player's to strike the last player even as they tried to defend him, and that single strike could be strong enough to defeat and 'kill' him instantly without her even activating a skill.

..

Yes, well, Asuna supposed that the four of them had valid reasons as to why they were trying to defend the person at the back. Leafa had explained to her about how combat worked in ALO. For the Salamanders, they prefer to defeat their enemies with their long ranged fire attacks even as their knights, or tanks, hampered their foes ability to strike at the mages from close combat. Mages were apparently very fragile, and were easily dispatched by fighters in close range. It was a strange concept for Asuna to understand, as in SAO, if one wasn't prepared for combat at all times, they would die. Sure, there were different play styles. For example, her own play style was based on extremely fast, and accurate attacks on her enemies. She relied on her own speed and ability to dodge the enemies attacks and not to face them head on, even if she had a significant amount of skill points allocated to parry, it was hard for her to do so repeatedly. Kirito-kun was more aggressive with his double sword style, and even if she felt that it was a waste for him to still have his one-handed sword mastery mastered, Kirito-kun was still at least better in parrying due to the nature of his weapon.

Even Lisbeth, who was a blacksmith by profession, was reasonably adept in fighting and battling as well. The last she checked, Lisbeth was level 79, a pretty high level for a blacksmith, indeed she was one of the highest level blacksmith in Aincrad, probably due to Lisbeth partying with her quite often during the two years together.

If even a blacksmith, who was not in the front-line could defend herself in battle, there's no way why someone in ALO would create a character that would actually needed to be defended and couldn't defend themselves easily.

At least, that was Asuna's thoughts, until the final member of the Salamander group finished casting magic, and hurled a gigantic fireball in their way. If they compensated for their weaknesses with overwhelming power, she could buy that.

'So... that's magic.'

..

Asuna stared at the impending danger for a moment before she started moving instead. Yui's warning was not left on deaf ears as instead of running straight into a lance thrust by one of the guards. Asuna had instead took off by running away from the fireball instead of dodging it. The speed in which she did so was astounding, she had not pushed herself in the city for she didn't want to give herself away, but out in the woods, where only her enemies could see, she had no problems using the most out of her abilities. Moving so fast that she was simply a blur, Asuna dug her shoes into the bark of a tree, before back-flipping over the fireball with the help of her wings. It was much easier than she thought, what with her high levelled acrobatics skill level, and then she was off again, this time spinning as she delivered several slashes to the legs of the remaining guards for the mage. Asuna's first target was logically the mage behind the remaining three knights that was trying to stop her advance. But to Asuna, the Flash, they were akin to moving in slow motion as she delivered two vertical slashes at their legs and two straight thrusts straight into their sword holding arms before she jumped again, this time taking into the air briefly before landing in front of the startled mage.

Even if ALO was a game that encouraged player-kills, as well as combat that took place while flying, Asuna's speed rendered the difference moot. Due to her own skills, as well as her experience, Asuna was able to make use of ALO's flight mechanics to 'jump' and 'land' much easier than before. Since they invited themselves to combat so near the ground, where Asuna was very used to fighting in, they had to pay for it.

Her rapier flashing, Asuna delivered multiple thrusting strikes at the startled mage, drawing orange points on the person's body as her strikes registered their damage on him. Unlike Kirito-kun, Asuna's attacks didn't deal as much damage as his, and even when compared to Lisbeth, who was lower level than her, Asuna's maximum damage output per hit was quite low. Asuna compensated for that with her DPS (Damage per second), with her speed and accuracy, Asuna was able to pick out critical weak points in her enemies, or simply dealing extra damage by focusing on the same points all the time.

The rapier was designed as a thrust and slash weapon, build for close range combat and fencers used both their speed as well as their accuracy to deal pinpoint and deadly attacks to their enemies.

Asuna was the same, she attacked the mage's arms relentlessly and by the end of her first few attacks, had managed to make him drop his staff in panic at the numbness that he felt from her unrelenting attacks. Unlike SAO, where only a tingling was felt, damage done in ALO would cause numbness. Asuna knew that her attacks would surely make him feel, something, and that by itself was enough to cause him to drop his staff. Surprisingly however, she had not killed him, for she actually had made quite a crucial mistake despite her stellar performance earlier. That was, there was no sword skills in ALO like in SAO. Asuna had gotten so used to using her sword skills in battle that she had not realized that the system was not aiding her in dealing extra hits, as well as damage that she had actually failed to deal as many hits as she used to, seeing how she was so used to the system linking her skills together in SAO. Even so, without the system aiding her with the extra hits and damage, Asuna had actually followed through her normal combination without even realizing her mistake.

..

Unfortunately for Asuna, that was enough for the other salamander guards to try and retaliate to her attack on the mage. Perhaps it was Asuna's own hesitation about attacking another person that made her unable to deal the killing blow? After all, in SAO, when players duelled, they would normally select the 'first-blow' mode, where the two duellists would strive to be the first person to inflict damage equal to half the opponent's HP. It was a totally safe way of duelling, for it won't result in deaths, deaths were permanent in SAO after all. Asuna had taken part in a few duels in her time, and the only lost she had was to Kirito, something which did bother her a little.

Even so, she had not lost to her other challengers, and perhaps that's why Asuna had hesitated, or perhaps unconsciously decided that the 'duel' was over when she dealt so many crucial hits to her foe's arm. In SAO, targeting limbs was a valid strategy in duels, for it would deal extra damage if they were either severed, or perhaps disabled due to her attacks. Since she was a rapier user, Asuna could use that to her advantage, if she managed to disarm her opponent, the duel was more or less over.

Perhaps that's why Asuna hadn't continued with her assault and allowed the other Salamanders to regroup even as she leapt backwards to rejoin Leafa.

'How did I do?

'Ahaha... Asuna-san, you are amazing...'

Leafa gave her honest opinion even as she continue holding her sword in her ready position. Asuna had been faster than she had imagined, she had never thought that anyone could run that fast and Asuna had simply left the other Salamanders in the dust before attacking the mage of the party. Even with her experience in Kendo, as well as her own experience in the game, she was unable to count how many attacks that Asuna had landed on the Salamander mage before she had been forced to retreat again. Still, this proves her point earlier about the weak weapons, it was probably due to the low-levelled weapons that she had obtained that saved the Salamander from certain death. If she had dealt those blows with her sword and her stats, which were still lower than Asuna's, the Salamander would no doubt be dead now.

'Well, time to end this.'

Asuna remarked cheerfully before she dashed forward, her rapier flashing as she pierced through the four guards, cleanly killing the Salamander mage in a single strike.

..

When it became apparent that it was not going to be as easy as they thought it would be, the Salamanders broke formation and instead swung their weapons at Asuna almost clumsily, much to her dismay.

As she had noticed in her time with her guild, it was almost never a good idea to pack people together when they were attacking. It was a different thing when they were meat tanks, shield users whose role was to absorb the damage that would be dealt to the weaker, but bigger damage dealing party members in a raid. But when it came to the offensive, it was a bad idea to come at an enemy with more than two individuals at one time.

This was highlighted sadly as the four of them got in each other's way more than they were attacking Asuna. The Flash was simply too used to dodging attacks for any of their slow lance thrusts able to even hit her. An important thing to note about lances was that they were only effective up to a certain range, they had to place themselves a certain distance from their enemy for their weapons to be effective. Any further and their thrusts would not have as much power as they were supposed to have, any closer and their enemy might actually slip so close within their guards that they could only retreat in order to try and attack again. Of course, the alternative was to simply try to swing their lances to clip the enemy with the edge of the lance but due to how lance users usually has to brace the handle of their spears against their body when attack, it was difficult for them to build up any momentum to even hurt their enemy by swinging at them.

A fact that Asuna abused quite liberally as she side-stepped and subsequently dealt several punishing stabs to the chest of the knight on the left, leaving him wheezing a little even as Asuna ducked low to slash at the legs of the other two knights as well.

Just as suddenly as she had taken the mage down, Asuna was facing two to one odds as Leafa had engaged the last knight by herself. Even in the middle of combat, Asuna was able to catch glimpses of Leafa's own battle.

..

Leafa was as aggressive as her brother in combat, perhaps it runs in the family, but Leafa quickly closed in on her chosen foe, whose eyes widened when he saw her approaching as well. Perhaps it was seeing how Asuna was skilled when battling on firm land did the Salamanders took to the air to try and neutralize the advantage. Sadly for them, Leafa was quite used to melee combat in the air. Once she closed the distance between them, Leafa launched her attack without any hesitation whatsoever. Her own sword flashing in the moonlight, Leafa slashed at her foe, first aiming at the shoulder, which was hastily blocked by the startled Salamander's lance. For all purposes, Leafa knew that this battle between the two of them was already won. A lance user should always be aware of their weak points, and one of them was that once they allowed their foe to close in within their guard, they had lost all possible advantage they had.

Leafa's weapon was a standard one-handed sword, but she prefers to hold it with two hands, due to her kendo experience. This weird habit was due to how two-handed swords were commonly much heavier as compared to their one-handed sword counterparts. And since Kendo focused more on speed than strength, especially since she was lighter, Leafa had decided to train exclusively on one-handed swords, but chosen to hold her weapon like a two-handed one.

This was also an advantage for her, for most players would not expect a two-handed sword user to be able to attack as fast as Leafa does.

Even as she swung at her foe, Leafa kept her focus on the surroundings. Unlike Kendo, where she would always be sure of her footing, anything could happen while in the air. She remembered how once Recon had been defeated by an enemy mere moments after he had defeated one himself. There was however one disadvantage in wielding a one-handed sword with her two hands, and that was she lost all the advantages of a two-handed sword, the higher attack power, the heavier crushing weight, and the ability to parry and defend better with a heavier sword.

Also, if they were on the ground, the advantages were all Leafa's if she closed in. But in the air, it was never quite that clear cut. For they were flying, and that meant that in order to keep herself within the guard of her foe, Leafa would have to fly at the same pace as her foe did if he was retreating, which he was doing right now even as he faltered under the vicious combos unleashed by Leafa. Her strikes were merciless, and it was testament to the skill that the Salamander had in his lance, or perhaps in his heavy armour skills that he could withstand being struck by Leafa so many times.

Eventually however, there came a time when Leafa had to end it and perhaps rather foolishly perhaps, raised her sword higher than normal to bring it down for possibly the final time on her helpless foe.

However, her attack failed for the retreating foe, in that split second charged forward instead, getting into Leafa's guard instead and knocking her back a few feet due to her much heavier weight and mass.

'U-Ugh...'

Leafa winced as she felt annoyed at being knocked backwards at that. Judging from the way the knight was eyeing her warily, Leafa wouldn't be able to get in his guard that easily again. That was fine, she had dealt enough damage to end the battle anyway.

'Prepare yourself!'

Leafa stated even as she readied her sword again.

..

Asuna decided that it was actually quite boring dealing with the remaining two knights, who was desperately trying to attack her in the air even as she fended them off from the ground, dodging and leaping backwards as she could read their moves quite easily. Perhaps she had to give them credit for being disciplined and focused on their repetitive attacks instead?

Asuna had dispatched of the knight that had foolishly tried to attack her alone, and that was a huge mistake to make. After the first screw up, Asuna had not hesitated this time, they were players who wanted her head, and since they were prepared to kill, they better be prepared to die as well.

It had all taken barely a minute before Asuna had dealt the final blow to the knight after disarming him with several accurate slashes on the wrist of his right arm. With him disarmed, Asuna had made short work of the knight, her rapier nothing but a blinding, stabbing silver light as she struck him mercilessly in the vital areas like his joints, his chest, neck, and repeatedly too till the Salamander Knight fell back and died. It was like being killed by a thousand paper cuts. Each doing minor damage, but together was enough to kill.

The final knight had rushed in to take his place, and it was here that Asuna showed once again her title as the Flash, for she lashed forward, stabbing one of the knights in his neck, causing him to stop his charge. Allowing Asuna to deliver a vertical slash right in his chest, terribly scaring him at how fast she had moved even on land, and the battle commenced again.

With a single step, Asuna had lunged forward like a rattlesnake, dealing another stab and in the next, she had struck again, this time stabbed at her foe's legs instead. Before, in SAO, Asuna had relied on the system to help her deal damage, but due to her tailoring her own battle style, Asuna had developed a kind of muscle memory that allowed her to use her sword skills in a similar manner, even if the damage input was never the same.

'Time to end this then.'

Asuna nodded to herself before jumping, and taking flight, but only for a brief second as she somersaulted in the air above the cornered Salamander Knight. With her speed, dexterity, and unerring accuracy, Asuna's rapier flashed multiple times, striking the knight at the back of his neck, the only exposed area where the armor separated from the helm. Before she landed on the ground again, the Salamander Knight had died as well, leaving behind a red fireball behind.

..

Looking back, Asuna saw the final moments of Leafa's battle as well, the younger girl had charged her foe in the air again, raising her sword in the air, the Salander's lance being pulled back to counter before she suddenly changed stance, skilfully drawing her sword back like a lance as she increased her speed as well. Asuna's eyes widened when she realized what she was doing, she was doing an aerial [Linear], and with her speed in the air being faster than Asuna, she could barely keep up when Leafa struck the Salamander a devastating uppercut to the chin with her sword mercilessly.

The damage done was more than enough to defeat the Salamander, and a moment later, Asuna was exchanging hugs with Leafa even as the two of them floated down to the floor for a small breather.

'We won!'

'Yes, we definitely did!'

Leafa smiled at Asuna even as the older girl stretched a little.

'I never had any doubt, I knew that Leafa-chan would be able to help me! You're amazing, Leafa-chan!'

'A-Ah... No, you're the one that's amazing! You were so fast, I could barely see you!'

'You're the same, Leafa-chan, with your speed in the air... I'm jealous...'

The atmosphere was totally unlike SAO, there was no mourning, no feeling of lost. This... was a game, a game that they were playing due to the whims of yet another cruel person. In essence, didn't they escape from one, only to run into another?

Author's Notes: Thank you for your support, reviews are appeciated as always