Chapter 12

Lure.

Probably just the thing HE wanted to do. A seemingly random event to lure us into a trap; but the question was if it really was a one and just exactly why.

"It's a trap. It has to be; what else could it be? It's the first time we hear about murder in the game, so why would they just pull it off right now? …simple, it's designed to lure us in"

"Yes, maybe, but I don't want to sit around and do nothing! I mean, how long have you been doing this!?"

"That doesn't matter now…all I'm saying is that they want to lure us out. It is possible that HE joined that murder guild in order to keep killing, because his numbers were decreasing. I mean, why announce your murders like some kind of inauguration? They could keep killing without anyone knowing, so that's why I feel it's a trap"

Yes, the supposed "first murders" in SAO had happened a few days ago by some organization wanting everyone to know of their existence: the self-proclaimed [Laughing Coffin]; yet it wasn't entirely true. Witnessed by me and many others, player killers went back almost to the beginning of this nightmare of a game. But the majority didn't know about them because of one simple reason: we kept quiet. Our loses had gone unrecorded, and thus, everyone believes that the New Year's Eves murders were the first.

"So what do you propose we do?"

"We wait…we've been doing it for some time now, it doesn't hurt to keep on with the strategy. In the meanwhile, we search like always. We need to confirm that HE is in fact in that guild"

"Bastard...! Alright! We wait and find out what we can…and just so you know, I gave the order, not you…"

My newly found ally ranted out her discomfort with the situation, and it was justified; but we couldn't take any risks. With and energetic hate for men, it was hard to get along with her, yet I had managed to earn at least some of her trust; after all, we were after the same thing. Scythia and her guild had helped me out plentiful in searching for Erebus, but not matter our efforts, we just couldn't seem to find him. With every passing day, it felt we were further ways from the truth; and despite our newly acquired information, it seemed we would have to keep doing the same whether we wanted to or not.

"Whatever you say…anyways, I'll continue to dig up more info, if I find anything, I'll let you know. Same goes for you right?"

"Of course! I've kept my part of the deal! …."

"Good…"

February 24, 2024

[I have news. This might be our chance to fulfill our purpose, so hurry and meet me at [Rosa] town's main plaza. Be prepared.]

Sending Scythia a message, I headed for the forty-seventh floors second biggest town. Readying myself for a possible battle, I hurried and equipped my usual disguise. And as soon as everything had materialized, I looked once more to my interface on my upper left hand side, reassuring myself that I was ready for anything.

[Cuautzin-13000/13000-LV: 76]

Ok…everything's good…but still…thinking about it, that info was a bit too easy to get…

The new info I had gathered came from where I least expect it. Yesterday, and for some reason, I had sent Silica a message; wanting to talk to someone, she came into mind. It had been long since I actually felt I wanted to have a conversation with someone else; yet it wasn't all just about a simple chat, no, I also needed tips on how to deal with familiars on various occasions and more importantly, to get any information she had about various topics, mainly on the new murder guild. However, I was shocked to find that her pet Pina had died the other night; and it wasn't all, she was also going to search for a revival item called the [Pneuma Flower].

It was an obvious move, yet as always, there was more to it. She would be accompanied by none other than the [Black Swordsman]; the Beater from the front lines himself. And that was just THE sign for trouble; and just the time that the pieces fitted together.

It had been ten days since a new murder guild also wanted to show off their killing motives; they had attacked a smaller guild called the [Silver Flags] and killed them all, but not their leader. It was then that he took off to find someone to avenge his friends and met the Black Swordsman, who offered his help. Scythia had followed that player all the way into the front lines as he begged for help, and reported the strange scene to me. It was now obvious that he wasn't there to help Silica, but to recklessly take down the murder guild by himself.

But that didn't bother me. In fact, it would make my task even easier, as it wasn't that information that concerned me, no; I had also heard a rumor that a mysterious new member had recently joined that murder guild, [Titan's Hand], and was characterized by being clad in black.

It was this info that had my full attention. If there was a possibility that HE would be there, I HAD to take it. But I just couldn't teleport straight into [Floria], the main town; so I had to take a detour and traverse the forty-seventh floor from Rosa to the [Hill of Memories], where they most certainly would make their ambush.

Alright! Let's go…

"Ok, what's the plan?"

"We need to observe, get some recon. You said that a mysterious young kid clad in black and equipped with a one handed sword took the job to capture Titan's Hand…So it has to be him, that bastard, the Black Swordsman…And if I know him correctly, he will attempt to grab them all when they ambush him…So we can't just barge in, we must first confirm that Erebus is truly in that guild"

"Fine…And if he's really is there, what then? Are we just gonna let some other player take off with our guy!?"

"Of course not! If someone is gonna take him out its us! Besides, HE can't just be punished directly, he has to suffer…"

Taking over me, the hatred accumulated for months came out from my mouth, sounding words full of thirst for vengeance.

"Ha! That's more like it! But if someone is taking the first hit, it's me! …hey, wait, what if that Black Swordsman gets in our way? I figure he wants to finish his job without loose ends, but I mean, he's just one guy…"

"…You're wrong! Don't underestimate the enemy, he might look like a regular low-leveled player, but he is indeed on the top three strongest players in the game…maybe higher"

"Wow looks like you're real friends…you seem to know much about him…so, did something happen between you and him?"

Me…and him? Ha! You gotta be kidding!

"Yeah, no! We would never get along! …we did fight once, side by side on the front lines, but he was just too reckless…you see, he works alone, so when fighting that day, I gave an order but he didn't follow and my men almost died because of that…and besides, to me, he's the type of person that you just don't like…"

"I see…So if it comes to it, I'll leave him to you…"

"Ha! That's the first smart thing I hear you say! …Alright, so we have a plan!"

Our conversation had been dragged out thru out the vast space of the forty-seventh floor; and with my signal, we had finally reached the [Forest of Giant Flowers]. But out true objective was the Hill of memories, as it was there where the Pneuma Flower was located, and where our besieger would most likely be. But aside from everything, the place was a beautiful sight; filled with millions of multi-colored and excessive amounts of flowers. However, we weren't here to sightsee, so my admiration for the scene had been suppressed.

"Halt!"

Raising her fist, Scythia stopped her force of five female warriors, feeling danger approaching.

"What is it!?"

"I think there are some players up ahead"

"Altair! Go!"

Sending Altair in to confirm, its wings spread out and with a single thrust, it was in the air. Quite the massive animal, it was easily bigger than Silica's pet dragon. And with the huge advantage of having extremely tuned eyesight, I would often send it in, as it wouldn't arouse suspicion and could easily alert me of any potential threat. Taking its time to stealthy fly past the few tree lines and scan the other potential blind spots, it soon responded.

Scree!

With a somewhat high pitched cry that alerted only me, it was confirmed that eight players where in wait, close to a stone bridge leading to the path of the Pneuma Flower.

"There are eight of them out there. Looks like they'll play their ambush by that small bridge, so I would say that this is a good spot to observe"

"Wait, how do you know how many there are?"

With a sudden question filled with curiosity, it was a rare sight to see Scythia actually take interest in something.

"Oh, right! I have what is called Familiar Communication, so Altair and I can sort of "speak" to each other. It basically has a distinct cry for different situations…"

"…Yeah, whatever you say…now how do we know HE's there?"

"We have to wait for them to take the bait. Once they attack the Black Swordsman, they would've revealed themselves, and that's where we come in"

"Can't we get closer!? They haven't spotted us yet…"

"Altair! Return!"

With small shout, I ordered Altair to return, as we had enough information; and with low sounding flaps, it descended slowly as its sharp claws grabbed the leather [Falconry Glove] I had to order to be player made. And with a swift but soft landing, it looked at me, as if asking for food. Petting my loyal companion, its soft yet rough golden feathers became more detailed as I focused on them; and taking out some [Dried Ox Cut], its new favorite food, I gave it its usual meal.

"Sorry, I had to retrieve him…now back on topic, how high is your [Hiding] skill?"

"It's probably higher than yours…"

"Yeah, probably due to the fact that I don't equip it…So I suppose your guild members also have it? Well, I suppose you can go to the next tree line, but I can't…"

"Fine by me…"

Taking off with her teammates, they carefully advanced towards the trunks of the few trees growing from the flower filled hill. All of them equipping similar outfits, it came to mind why I hadn't differentiated them or even asked for their names; they were after all in the guild that Scythia led.

They all look the same, but they must have something different…

Looking closer, something caught my eye; aside from their similar black clothing and equipment, their armor had a distinct gem in the middle of their chest plates. It was then that I realized that it was used to distinguish them. But it was still difficult, as they all had similar height and avatars, and with the added feature of them all carrying the same one-handed sword; it became impossible for me.

Like an extremely well-trained military squad…but still, I wonder why they follow her…and why they never talk? …

"Someone is coming…no, two players…"

Alerting me of the incoming persons, Scythia seemed too impatient; wanting to go out and confirm for herself. It was simply because she wasn't the calm and patient type.

"Ok…it seems…Yes, it's the Black Swordsman and Silica…"

Looking from afar, it wasn't too difficult to spot and distinguish faces; yet it would be once the Titan's Hand members reveal themselves.

He better be there…

Stopping more than midway of the bridge, the Black Swordsman spotted the ambush; and just like any other front line player, he was too confident. But not worrying about that, the murder guild finally revealed itself.

No, no, no, no!…Shit! He's not there! …

"Damn it! He's not with them…!"

Hearing Scythia's anger filled discomfort; I approached in order to get a better look.

"It seems we were wrong…"

"Yeah not shit! …Now what do we do?"

Keeping myself calm, and hiding my anger from our sudden surprise, an idea came to mind.

"Hrmm…How about we witness hat kind of power the kid has…if you wish to leave, fine by me. I'll stay…"

"If you want us to leave, I guess we'll have to stay then…well fine, let's see what your little boyfriend had to offer…"

Boyfriend!? …Ha! Right…So she does have a sense of humor…

"…He's dead now!"

Bursting out, Scythia really thought that he was really dead, as all of the seven Titan's Hand's members now took the offensive, ready to kill. But from our distance, it was hard to tell just what kind of equipment or weaponry they had.

"Just watch…"

Being a witness to his strength, I knew what he was capable of. And sure enough, and after a hail storm of blows where thrown at him, he was still standing, without a single scratch on him.

"No way! That's…"

"I told you…his looks truly deceive…I once put a nickname on him, calling him Blackhawk, like the Sauk warrior from native US…but now…I think…[Black Death] would fit him better…"

"So…so are the front line players all like that? …Are you like that?"

"Well, more or so…but like I said, he IS one of the top three…"

And within seconds, the Black Swordsman single-handedly "arrested" the full Titan's Hand guild.

Wait! Is that a woman! …Oh! I see…it must be Rosalia…the female that led a guild, the one Silica told me about…

"So what happens to them? …"

"He's probably gonna take them to the prison in the Black Iron Castle…look, there it is…I think it's a corridor crystal…yes, you see…straight to jail…"

Speechless by the immense power of the small player clad in black, the only thing we could do was watch as the murder guild took off to their confinement.

It should be more than simply taking them to jail…They must suffer…suffer the same pain of their victims…

"S-so what now?"

"…Well…we keep on searching…searching until we can lure that bastard Erebus and take him out…take him out for good…"