Chapter 7: The Red Guild and Blademake!

Level so far:

Koyero: Lvl 84

Silica: Lvl 70

Kirito's P.O.V

These guys… I feel a bad omen… There really is a new red guild… I must get information about this guild for the sake of other players. As I was saying my blades were pointed at their neck so they wouldn't run. They didn't answer me yet…

"I will ask again… What guild?" I demanded even more. "Scarlet Temptation, that's our guild, got a problem?" One guy smirked. "You're so slow… even if you're part of the leading group." The other tried to aggravate me but he failed. "So I see… in the latest news it says that your guild killed a hundred players already…" I had a dark aura around me. "Correct! Impressive right? We killed so many in no time." The guy smirked. "You're coming with me to the jail here then." I grabbed them but they swatted my dual blades away and backed away. "Good luck with that then!" They used a teleport crystal and disappeared. "We definitely need to talk about this red guild in our meeting tomorrow… and prepare for that boss fight two days from now…" I mumbled as I walked away. "See you at Floor 77… Kirito-san…" I heard a voice and I turned towards it but no one was there. "Just my imagination…" I teleported back to Floor 22.

The Next Day…

We were now in the meeting place, the headquarters. If you're asking why we were here it is because this is a very urgent meeting that some other people and some other guilds were in. Asuna was there doing some advanced planning, Koyero was lounging around, Silica joined because of the letter of Recommendation from Koyero, Klein was there talking to some people about the necessary supplies then eventually leaving and Agil was nowhere to be seen, maybe he's busy today…

"As you know there is this new red guild so be careful everyone." Asuna announced after getting some planning done. "Hai… I know Asuna." I was at her right holding her hand. "Just be careful, Kirito-kun…" Asuna kissed me making Koyero clap his hands. "Bravo!" He continued. "What is it now, Koyero?" I questioned him. "That would be the same question that I would be asking you!" He glared at me. "3…2…1…" I counted. "So what's up?" He got a mood swing and went back to Silica. "At least those mood swings of him are getting a bit more predictable now…" I mumbled sighing. "Sorry I'm late… I had a last minute negotiation with someone…" Agil panted like he just sprinted all that time. "It's alright Agil, we haven't really started the meeting yet." I patted his back so he patted back hard…accidentally.

"Koyero said that he go some weird dreams last night should we make him tell us about it?" Silica questioned us and we all nodded. "Hello people!" He appeared out of nowhere. "Well let's see… In my dream… I was dreaming about when I was younger…" He shivered and looked like he was about to tear up. 'It seems he had a bad past… no wonder he had mood swings…' I thought to myself and saw Silica dragging Koyero who was too weak to speak right now. "Asuna, do you think we should all be in a group of at least two?" I looked at her. "Hmm… seems so… I'll go with you, Koyero with Silica, Agil with Klein, and all the others decides the rest…" Asuna answered me looking tense right now.

The news of this new guild has made her tensed up today but as she said we are still going to Floor 77 tomorrow. Koyero was still shivering in the corner with Silica trying to comfort him. What could've happened to him? My thought was cut short by Klein who went to me sighing, out of stress maybe.

"Kirito, we finally have the supplies ready…" Klein gave a saddened look. "Oh no…" I mumbled. "What happened?" I turned to him quickly. "We had 1 casualty… we lost him to the red guild while we were going back from the town with the supplies that were needed. He defended against an ambush from behind but in the process he was hack-and-slashed by one of those red guild members…" Klein shuddered as he remembered the scene. "I'll just be asking… why didn't you use that item I got from that boss… that can revive players that died within ten seconds?" I walked around. "We couldn't since two people were blocking our way… one was a man who was level 92 and the other was a woman that was level 89… we had no choice but to retreat… they made my HP bar red in no time and so did the other people with me including Agil… his last words were retreat…" Klein fell on his knees and punched the ground. "Kuso…!" He punched the ground again.

"Klein calm down!" I grabbed his fist so he could stop hurting himself but instead he punched my gut of anger. "Oww…" I groaned in pain. "Kirito! Gomenosai… I couldn't control myself…" Klein tried to stay still so he wouldn't cause any more damage. "It's fine… at least you're in your old self again." I gave a small smirk then walked away. "Father…" I heard someone mutter. It wasn't Yui's voice… but I couldn't help feel bad in the inside… Asuna and I miss Yui so much… If we hear even a father or mostly Papa we immediately turn to the source… Too bad it wasn't Yui… It was just Koyero.

"Father… why…?" He looked at Klein with an evil glare after he hit me. "Why?!" He charged at Klein. "Nani?!" Klein finally knew the situation he was in so he blocked his hit with his katana. "Koyero what are you doing?!" Asuna rushed in after hearing some clashes. "Father shall die…" Koyero gave a bloody smirk and continued clashing then he used embracer to make Klein hit a wall hard on his back. "Koyero stop this!" Silica shook Koyero's arm. "Y-Yumi-chan?!" He looked at Silica. "Ow, Ow, Ow…" Klein rubbed his sore back from that hit. "Yumi-chan?" I looked confused. "Don't worry Hozume-san, I didn't forget about you…" He glomped me making everyone stare in confusion. "What do you think happened to him?" Asuna sheathed her rapier since she was going to give a warning hit to Koyero until Silica came.

"We will be… gomen…" He passed out on the floor. "Is his HP low?" I asked Silica. "No… it's full… this was the first time he acted like this in front of me…" She was at the side of Koyero. "Kirito-kun… do you think the cause of this is…" Asuna muttered. "Yes… it was either because of his dreams or someone messed him up while he was asleep." I nodded and we both sighed. "He's not breathing!" Klein panicked and warned. "Koyero!" I heard Silica scream. "Asuna?" I looked at her. "Hai…" We both went in the room. "What should we do?!" Silica was panicking the most. "CPR?" Klein recommended and we all looked at Silica. "W-Why me?" She became flustered by the thought of doing that to Koyero. "Well you 'are' the closest to him, I guess…" I said to her. "Kirito-kun's right…" Asuna agreed. "You did hug at Floor 76 so why don't you two kiss?" Klein smiled and immediately became concerned for Koyero again. "His life is slowly depleting now because of the lack of oxygen… better be quick…" We heard a voice from outside but when we went there, no one was there.

Silica's P.O.V

We were in an open room together, just the two of us so he may get some air. I was directly above the face of Koyero, still doubtful if I should do CPR like what Klein said but I have to do it… his HP was dropping in a slow rate already. I went on him. Our lips were just inches apart that became centimeters… My heart beat was hastening… The next think I knew was that I was kissing Koyero… but nothing was happening… I did the CPR on him but his HP was still dropping… I felt broken… nothing that I could do was going to help him… I made Pina heal him but nothing was happening…

"S-Silica-chan…" He muttered weakly with his eyes barely open. "What is it?" A tear fell down my face. "I'm sorry that I was unable to entertain you with my plans for a belated birthday…" He continued breathing heavily. "All I want is that you'll be okay… Now please…" I shed more tears. "Silica-chan… I will remember all the things we did together… even if most of them were misunderstandings…" He was in the red zone now in HP. "Koyero… I lo…" My sentence was cut short by a blinding light. "Koyero?" After the light vanished, Koyero was nowhere to be found. I went out of the room with Pina while crying and believing that he just died…

"Don't tell me he…" Asuna gulped a bit. "This can't be serious…" Kirito clenched his fist saddened. "The kid's dead?!" Klein paused. "H-Hai…" I nodded crying. "No… he's not dead…" Kirito was opening the menu, I think. "I-It can't be…" Kirito looked shocked. "Why? What happened?" I was desperate. "He's at Floor 77… and it says that he's currently fighting… the boss…" Kirito was in disbelief. "How did he?" Asuna tried to think of an answer. "I bet those members of Scarlet Temptation has something to do with it!" Klein accused them immediately. "Klein's right… who else could have done it…" Kirito was convinced immediately. "We have to rescue him! Let's go!" I went out first.

We rushed to the teleportation area and said 'Floor 77'. The next thing we saw were a few torches hanging on the wall and the room was almost pitch black but wasn't thanks to the torches. After observing the area, we knew that we were in a Dungeon… We checked some of the information and it showed that we were in the Floor's boss dungeon. We were navigating throughout it but we couldn't seem to find Koyero until we heard a voice.

"Please… don't… AHH!" We heard someone scream and we also heard a slash. "There!" Kirito opened the door and we all went in. "Seems like the party has started without me, hmm?" A voice was heard and we were separated via movement of the rooms. "It seems we're in a bad situation here…" Klein looked tensed up now. "As long as Pina's here… I think I'll be alright… I hope…" I mumbled and two people jumped in. "Glad you can join us… My name is… Ze, my player name." A man in red-like armour and messy blonde hair announced. "My name on the other hand is Ku... my player name as well…" A gentleman like man with formal silvery hair that is probably dyed bowed with his cape moving. "We are part of Scarlet Temptation and we are known as The Zeku!" Ze pointed to the sky. "I'd prefer Kuze more…" Ku said and both of them looked at us. "I apologize for I have to do this… I beg for your forgiveness…" Ku looked down and lunged at our left with incredible speed. "It can't be helped I guess! Orders are orders!" Ze lunged at our right. "You go left and I go right!" Klein clashed with Ze.

"Pina!" I called and I went on its back. "I see that you are that maiden who was the first to tame a dragon? Quite impressive…" Ku dodged the now deadly sharp fangs of Pina. "You even evolved/grew it to an improved version… You could be a worthy opponent if you weren't just level 70…" Ku placed his fingers on his chin. "Don't underestimate me…" I managed to stab him with my dagger giving him only a few damaged followed by a swipe from Pina's sharp wing. "I am Level 83, don't underestimate me either, ma'am…" Ku sighed and took some cautious steps. 'He's right… I have no chance… I have to be careful and fight in sync with Pina against him…' I thought to myself and I saw Klein currently clashing with Ze. "After you… you may take the first move… as a gentleman says… Ladies first…" Ku waved his hand.

I bet he had a trick up his sleeve… he may look like a gentleman but I can see that he's tricking me… or not… Pina was waiting for my orders and put it on hold for now. Ku gave a sigh and unsheathed his katana like he didn't want it to come this way. My dagger was in my hand and Pina began hovering cautiously towards Ku. I noticed that Klein and Ze's level were the same. Level 88. I am fighting a level 83 while I was just level 70 on the other hand… but at least Pina is level 80 already… Yes the pet levels up faster than the master.

"I shall make the first attack then… I am deeply sorry… I have a tight schedule so I can't wait any longer…" Ku lunged at me "Woah!" He smashed the floor after I evaded while riding on Pina leaving a crater. "We cannot allow you to rescue Koyero-san, gomen…" He jumped about to slash me until Pina blew out a small bubble. "A-A bubble?!" He looked at it with a confused expression and poked it out of being too curious. "BOOM!" The bubble exploded blowing him away to a nearby wall. It seems like Pina's bubbles are like bombs, huh?

"I let my guard down… but no matter… our role has been fulfilled… Ze! Shall we go?" He asked the other guy. "Hehe… you're lucky that we didn't go all-out on you two…" Ze smirked and they both disappeared from sight. "Koyero!" I went out of the room along with the others. "So what happened in your battle, Kirito?" I asked while we were sprinting. "It was good… both of us were not injured in any way." He answered. "None of us were injured to be exact." Asuna observed. "They were somehow stalling some time… but for what…" Klein bit his lip like he thought of something. "We're here…" Kirito sighed as there were no doors towards the boss room. "We can't help…" Asuna sighed as well. "We have to rely on his swordsmanship I suppose…" Klein sat down. "T-This…" I fell to my knees. "Please be okay…" I muttered.

Koyero's P.O.V

The next thing I knew was that I was in some dark room… I could breathe properly again but… I had this bad omen that I felt from the far corner. I saw something in another corner… it had a more vicious look… it was… like a dragon… it was like 15 times bigger than how big Pina was right now… when I looked at another corner I saw a dark figure giving a smirk… before it was an angel… and now it's a demon… My hunch says that he'll be riding that dragon… I'm dead… until I saw another group with me… it was Scarlet Temptation members… They were the ones fighting these dual bosses right now… after they made both of them with two life bars left, they disappeared… what the hell is going on? All I know is that I'll be battling by myself today… Silica-chan… I'm sorry if I can't plan those things I promised… but I will never die so easily without a fight! I unsheathed my Zweihander and engaged into a hopeless battle.

I went for different directions looking for at least one weak spot for this dragon but every time I do the demon riding on it makes the dragon hit me with its tail… All my skills proved useless… My Phantom Charge isn't strong enough to get through those hard scales… my Embracer can't even earn a pained roar, and my Blademake… I don't know how to use it… Darn it… am I really going to die against something which I didn't even hurt?!

After a long time of battling a hopeless battle…

"Oi… I feel disappointed… is this really who you are?" I heard a voice from somewhere in this vast room. "Nani? Who's there?" I blocked a claw swipe barely. "Mehehe… The leader of Scarlet Temptation of course!" A laugh echoed throughout the room as I was barely dodging the hits. "Kuso…" I backed away to recover from my damages. "I guess I have to teach you a thing or two…" The leader stepped forward. "Hehe…" I heard a faint chuckle from the boss demon and the two bosses charged at him. "Useless…" He easily dodged and unsheathed his katana. "Blade…make…" He muttered and about 10 dozens of swords pierced the dragon repeatedly and mercilessly. "He…" I had a shocked expression but at the same time I looked in awe. "Blademake is just a secret move… you know… so people that know about it can train for it… however… we are the only two that can have it…" The leader said while watching the dragon being berserk. "One HP bar left? I'll finish this one… but you better finish the other…" The leader gave a final blow or to be exact final blows or overkill then he disappeared.

"Prepare…" The demon said… finally a boss that can speak! "I will enjoy seeing you die with all the digital blood that will be splattered… I will vanquish thee!" I turned to Chaotic Mode, my only trump card left. "Hmph… This may be interesting…" He instantly went behind me and tried slashing but I dodged. "The unique skill, Chaos I see…" He lunged at me and we clashed numerous times. "Not bad for a level 84…" The leader mumbled from the side lines. "You think you can actually beat me, boy?" The demon laughed maniacally. "I don't… but this thing says so…" I lunged at him with incredible speed. "Chaotic Phantom Charge…" I went through the demon's thick armour breaking it and giving a life bar worth of damage but I turned back to normal Koyero again. "I see you're at your limit… the other two unique skills are still stronger than yours but just keep at it… even if it's the weakest among the unique skills… Chaos… Finish him with Blademake" The leader went away satisfied.

"I can't, might as well give him some damage while he's still dazed… and I might probably learn how to use it…" I mumbled and kept doing Embracer. "Gaah…" He gasped and fell on the floor. "Silica-chan… I'm going to see you!" I smiled… until… "Sloppy excuse…" The demon muttered. "You go down with me…" He stabbed me as he was disintegrating to Digital particles. "H-How…?" I fell down the floor and my eyes rolled shut. "Koyero! Kid! Hey! Wake up!" These are the words I heard as I regained consciousness. "I thought you were dead! But apparently since you didn't disappear… then you didn't!" Klein looked hyper out of relief. "It seems at the last moment someone healed you… I wonder who…" Asuna observed and was sitting down with Kirito. "Oi, Silica-chan, we'll do something tomorrow, don't forget!" I smirked. "H-Hai…" She blushed as Pina was there as big as an average dragon that can be ridden. To be exact, enough to make Silica-chan ride on.

"Yeah…" She looked flustered, a sight to see, I suppose… "This time, would you wait for us, in Floor 78?" Asuna sighed. "You could have gotten yourself killed." Kirito nodded. "I couldn't go out of there so what did you expect?" I protested. "Hey, it's already night… let all get some shut-eye! I'm so tired that I could sleep anywhere already…" Klein yawned. "Even lava?!" I shouted. "Not literally…" Klein scratched his head and left. "Sayonara!" I held Silica-chan's hand and left.

Extra Scene:

3rd Person's P.O.V

"I see that he hasn't discovered how to use it?" A person smirked. "Hai…" Another spoke. "Us as the red guild should take them out…" Someone kicked the table. "I know, I know but we have to keep low for now…" The leader crossed his arms. "Hai…" A person who was probably second in command nodded. "Then let's end this meeting, shall we?" The leader said. "Ok scatter…" They all disappeared.

End of Chapter 7

Next Chapter: The Plans!