November 1st (Floor 1: Town of Beginnings)
"They said to meet them at the church, right? Well, Silica, lead the way!" I said cheerfully. The fourteen year old nodded her head and started walking, pointing out little nooks and crannies of the town where she used to play or find fruit.
Shortly into their honeymoon, Asuna and Kirito had stumbled upon this tiny girl in the middle of the field on floor 22. They messaged us to try and see if we could help find where the little girl belonged.
"Kids always come and go at Sasha's. Just look at me. I left one day and just never came back. Sasha would know if she was there, though. She's good with people," Silica was saying. "It's been a while since I've been here."
It was easy to see the Army's influence on the place. They were choking the life out of the city and no one was able to stop them. According to the stories we'd heard from the Army boys sent up to fight the Gleam Eyes, there was a lot of infighting in the guild that was leading to instability in the streets. They pretended to keep the peace on the first floor but they couldn't even police themselves.
The church soon came into view and Silica led us inside. Just inside the main door, there was a collection box and Silica withdrew some col from her inventory and dropped it in without a word. The rest of us followed suit before wandering down the halls of the church, following the small fighter to a room full to burst with kids eating and talking. Sasha sat, watching it all from her own table with a worried smile. Kirito, Asuna, and a small girl were sitting with her at the table and it was clear they were in the middle of a conversation. Sasha looked up, however, and the conversation was put on hold.
"Hello, Sasha," I greeted, bowing my head. "How have things been?"
"Riva! This is a surprise!" Her smile brightened and she got up from her seat. "Come on in! Would any of you like something to eat?"
"No, we ate before we left," I assured her.
"Hi," Silica said a little shyly, stepping forward. Sasha's eyes widened and she studied the girl, taking in everything from her new armor to Pina, who was sleeping on her head.
"Silica," she gasped. "You've grown so much! I didn't know you joined the Hunters."
"Yeah. They sort of saved me after I got cornered on floor 35," Silica said with a chuckle.
Before Sasha could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. We accompanied Sasha to the door and a woman in higher-up Army gear was waiting. She introduced herself as Yuriel and, after thanking Asuna for something she'd done yesterday, she looked around us and asked for our help.
What was a day off without a damsel in distress, eh?
"When the guild was first formed we- or, I should say, our leader Thinker- never wanted it to become the dictatorial organization it's become," Yuriel said sadly. I nodded, as did several other Hunters. "Our mission was to share information and food equally among as many players as possible."
"We were there when Corvatz and his men tried taking on the 74th boss," Heidan murmured, shaking his head. "Nasty business. I remember Kibaou from the first floor strategy meeting. He got up and tried to turn everyone against betas."
"Until Riva put him in his place, of course," Maisie chuckled. I rolled my eyes before looking to Yuriel for her to continue.
"The guild got too large. Kibaou led a faction of players that didn't want to follow Thinker's ideals and, as his faction gained power, they started monopolizing the best hunting grounds and extorting money from players by calling them taxes... People started criticizing Kibaou for his behavior and his inaction towards helping the clearers end the game and, to try and save face, Kibaou ordered the strongest players in his command to the front lines."
"Corvatz," Heidan repeated, shaking his head angrily. Yuriel nodded.
"After that, Kibaou was denounced. We were considering dismissing him from the guild. Angry and desperate, he turned to a new strategy and he targeted Thinker, trapping him deep inside a dungeon. He's unarmed, without teleport crystals... Kibaou told him he only wanted to talk... That was three days ago."
"So long?"
"Can't he find his way out?"
"He's in the highest-level dungeon we've seen so far. I'm his second in command- this is my responsibility- but my level just isn't high enough for me to reach him and Kibaou is using his influence to prevent anyone in the Army from helping me. But then I heard that you two were in town, and the Hunters... You guys are the most powerful players anyone around here has ever seen! So I came here to beg you: for Thinker's sake, please help me save him!"
"The facts fit what we've seen," I said, glancing around the table to see the other Hunters' reactions. "We'll help you. Kirito, Asuna, I understand if you'd rather stay here with Yui."
"I think we should help. If this dungeon is that dangerous, you'll need all hands on deck," Kirito decided. Asuna nodded and looked to Yui.
"Yui, you'll stay here with Sasha, okay? Daddy and I will be back soon."
"No! I want to come!" the little spitfire decided.
"Great, now we get to see her rebellious phase," Kirito groaned quietly.
"Yui, this is serious. It's too dangerous for you to go along with us this time."
"No! I'm going too!"
"Blake and I can watch her," Silica offered. "We don't do much of the front-line work anyway, right? Or you can summon Nymer to keep an eye on her."
"That's true," I acknowledged, looking at Yui. "Do you want to meet my puppies?"
"Ri, they're hardly puppies. I've seen Nymer take down monsters twice his size without any help," Kirito drawled. I rolled my eyes.
"They're still puppies! They just happened to be big and ferocious puppies..."
Once we were outside the dungeon, I put my hand to my mouth and hesitated, looking to the non-Hunters.
"You might want to hold your ears," I warned. Yuriel and Yui cautiously obeyed. Satisfied, my fingers started to glow and I whistled. A high pitched shriek flew out from between my fingers and echoed off of the walls. After a couple seconds, I stopped whistling and clapped my hands together. "They should be here soon!"
There were a few odd tricks with familiar communication. Even if we were apart, be it a few yards or dozens of floors, the wolves could always find me if I called for them. If they desired, I was sure they could find me even if I didn't.
A minute passed before a great howl echoed, coming from deeper in town, and I grinned. Mere seconds later, the wolves appeared on the far end of the plaza, running in two v formations with Nymer leading one group and Scath leading the other.
"Puppies!" Yui cheered, reaching her hands out as if to touch the ferocious snarling beasts that were approaching at a sprint. The wolves all slowed and, by the time they reached us, they were acting less like vicious predators and more like, as Yui and I agreed, puppies. Kirito put Yui down and she immediately waded into the pack, petting and touching all of the wolves as if she'd never seen a dog before. It was sweet to watch and I smiled at the scene.
"We should go," Yuriel murmured, tearing her eyes back towards the Iron Palace.
She led us through the structure until we reached a staircase hidden behind a wall. As we descended, I could feel my detection skill start to work as we entered the dungeon.
"There wasn't anything like this during the beta test," Heidan said, whistling lowly he examined the dungeon's massive pillars.
"It seems that the more floors are unlocked above, the more are unlocked below," Yuriel replied. "Kibaou had plans to restrict this area to a private training area, but the monsters that spawn here are usually level 60 or above. This area isn't very good for hunting in that regard."
We continued moving deeper and deeper down, letting Kirito take point on the fighting. Yuriel seemed uncertain at first but, after the second or third swarm of mutant frogs, she cracked a smile and let the Hunters take care of her.
Eventually, a glowing doorway appeared at the end of the tunnel. Kirito examined it and, upon announcing that a player was inside, Yuriel started running for it. We jogged after her, not seeing any harm in her getting there a little faster.
"Yuriel!" a male voice shouted, emanating from the safe room.
"Thinker!"
"Stay back! The corridor is rigged!" he warned desperately. I opened my mouth to issue a command but Kirito was already on it, sprinting forward and tackling Yuriel to the ground just as massive scythe appeared out of nowhere, trashing the ground where the female player had just been.
The walls began to glow blue and I drew my sword.
"Silica, Blake, take Yui and Yuriel to the safe zone now," I ordered. "Wolves, the same. Don't interfere unless I call you."
Nymer growled at the order but I wasn't changing my mind. I looked up at the monster, which was certainly a boss. I couldn't see its identification or its HP bars- there was no way to know how strong this thing was and I was not risking the wolves. If anything, they might be more of a hinderance than a help in this fight.
"Go!" I ordered. "Can anyone see its HP?"
"No," Kirito said, his voice tense. "It could be as strong as something from floor 90. We can buy the others time, but I don't know if we can fight this one."
"Thinker's shown that we can escape into the safe room. If I give the order, we pull out. We cut and run. Understood?" I didn't wait for a response. "Kirito, with Asuna. Maisie with Heidan. Taka with me. Switch as often as possible until we know its attacks better. Don't let it focus on you. Scatter!"
The Fatal Scythe moved, disappearing in a flash and reappearing in front of Asuna and Kirito. The two crossed their three swords as a shield but they were flung back. I watched in the corner of my eyes as their HP bars dropped instantly to the yellow.
I moved to attack but a very small figure was suddenly blocking my way.
"Yui! Get out of here!" I looked desperately towards the safe room, trying to figure out what was happening, and saw the wolves desperately clawing at the doorway as if something was preventing them from leaving. The Fatal Scythe drew its blade up and I didn't have to do anything but run. I ran in front of the little girl, throwing myself in front of here and hugging her tightly.
Distantly, I realized that Maisie was never going to forgive me. Ah, shit. Lis too... I was making a lot of people mad... But if I shielded Yui, it'd be worth it.
A concussive wave struck us and my hair was blown forward. I looked up at Yui and saw that the two of us were covered in purple light. I turned my head to look behind us, where the Fatal Scythe's attack should have killed us, and saw a system message. Immortal Object.
Shocked, I loosened my grip on Yui and she started to float. I backed away, not sure what was happening in front of me as Yui raised her hand and a fiery yellow light started to blaze at her fingertips. The fire danced around her before coming together as an ornate and massive sword. Her clothes were changed too- now she wore a basic white dress, with a bow tied across the front.
Yui waved her sword arm in a circle once before leaping forward and striking the boss fearlessly. The fiery sword struck and melted through first the boss's scythe and then his bone-like mask. Yui jumped away as the sword encompassed the boss in a fiery inferno, leaving nothing behind.
The wolves rushed forward, no longer stopped by whatever barrier had kept them at bay. They rushed Yui, probably so that they could reassure themselves that she was actually there, but they stopped abruptly a yard away. Nymer sniffed in her direction before releasing a low keening plea.
"Yui?" Asuna and Kirito were back on their feet and they staggered towards the little girl. She turned to face them with a smile.
"Mommy. Daddy. It's okay. I remember everything now..."
The entire time Yui was speaking to Kirito and Asuna, I tried to not listen. I felt like I was intruding on their last moments as a family but there were some facts that I couldn't ignore.
Cardinal was completely self-sustaining. It had the power and the command to deny Yui's primary directive which ultimately led to her corruption. If it could destroy one of its own programs so easily- one that was designed to help players- what did that mean for us? Could it keep adapting to become stronger and stronger, so that the players couldn't keep up? Was Kayaba even pulling the strings anymore or was he out of the picture?
I had a long list of questions but, at the end of the day, none of them were answered.
Updated 22:19, 1.27.2022