My co-writer has decided to hand me the reigns for this chapter and simply go wild. Yay! Y'all know what that means? Muahahahaha...
"Oh god! Oh god we are gonna die!" I looked over my shoulder and saw the young man, who had been partnered with the other, panicking after his eyes stared up in horror at the beast emerging from the enclave the statue left. "Please," he began to beat upon the door, "let me out! This isn't funny! Please! Oh god, I don't want to die! PLEASE!"
"Son!" We both turned to see Agil standing firm, his expression neutral and his mind visually shifted into battle mode. "He ain't coming back! Focus on what you can do right now," he encouraged. But it fell on deaf ears.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was just supposed to be a normal scouting mission! It wasn't supposed to be end like this! PLEASE LET ME OUT!" The poor sap was frantically clawing at the door now, tears in his eyes as he begged for the safety of the other side it. I checked back to the progress the boss was making.
The stone had started crumbling steadily, though slowly, from the top of his head. It's progress had made its way to the center of the chest. Frustrated, I yanked the sobbing adolescent from the door and threw him down in front of me. I crouched down and placed a hefty hand on his shoulder. "Listen. You are not going to die. You are going to fight and then you are going to see the light of day. Do you understand?" The boy nodded, the frantic stare remaining regardless;
the kid basically looked like a deer in the headlights. "Now I need you to pay attention. Can you do that for me?" Another nod. "Good. Now listen up," I hesitated with what I was about to say next. "I need you to keep its attention on you. You are going to play bait-" the kid went wild again, throwing up his hands and screaming again.
"No! I can't do it! Please not me! I want to live! Please no!"
"Shush! You need to do this. You need to pick your sorry ass off the ground and be brave for once!" I was getting real tired of this squabbling child. "As he is aggro'd on you, you are going to monitor its move-sets. You will tell us what to look out for, understand? We are going to protect you. We will deflect the hits, you just have to tell us which ones are coming, got it?" The young man regained his composure and once again nodded. Just in time, too. The crumbling stone had just surpassed the ankles of the beast. Where it had been motionless before, the thing now made large and grandiose sweeps with a giant, double bladed staff.
We all stood up and took fighting positions, ready to dart in and attack any available weak spot. Each person waiting in agonizing silence, we watched as stone by falling stone, the creature was released from its crumbling prison. Each stone was a second of breath held, up until the final one fell, disappeared, and the boss stepped forth.
(X)
A large roar from the beast shook the statues loose, and several miniature goblin-esque creatures popped into existence. Instantly we were rushed on all sides by a wave of dagger strikes and jabs. Agil cleaved his axe down, the AOE skill splitting the tide and throwing the mobs backwards, some dying upon impact with the ground. A few jumped into the air, but were cut down instantly by the helicopter blade of the boy's spear. With Agil and the boy forming the front line defense, I swept out to the sides with both swords, jabbing left and right with the pale rapier. I looked up one moment to see the boss standing still, his sweeping motions continuing, but his feet rooted in place.
This means that once we finish these lower mobs off, it will be his turn to attack I thought. This gave me an idea. These mobs are weak, and while the dagger thrusts hurt, we did not sustain any damage from one single strike. It was the tidal wave of multiple stabs that brought us down. If we left one alive, one could keep it at bay while the other two took the time to heal and reorganize. It may also buy us precious time. I quickly relayed the instructions to Agil and the kid, and they nodded their approval. Agil activated another AOE skill, collapsing the relentless foes' numbers by three fourths. I took care of the rest, save one. I simply parried the dagger of the approaching goblin lackadaisically, allowing Agil and the young man to rest. Seeing Agil already prepared, I call switch and I leapt back, his fists taking the place of the rapier's point. After a few seconds, we were ready to go. Agil nodded, took the imp by it's head, and flung it against the ground, it's body erupting into shattered fractals.
At the precise moment of destruction, the demonic boss' eyes flared and its name, Bulwark the Scavenger, displayed above its head. When it finally began its approach towards us, the boy ran to the side, and as predicted, the beast was instantly aggro'd to him. We rushed up beside him and caught the first blow, an overhead sweep, with crossed blades. The boy, as was his appointed duty, marked the action verbally and committed it to memory. He did so twice more with a staggering vertical strike and an underhand stab. Three more random slashes were added until the set finally started over again. With each hit, the kid would relay the attack to prepare for next. We would dutifully comply, and the second we parried the boss' blade, he would rush in and let off a few combos before retreating once more.
It was fairly smooth going. Soon, we all had the pattern memorized. Overhead sweep, vertical strike, underhand stab, horizontal slash, double backhand, rinse and repeat. Occasionally, the boss would leap back and summon his goblin minions once again, but they were cleared out without much difficulty. It was during one of these goblin skirmishes that everything went wrong.
(X)
"Guys, look! It's a door!" I looked over my shoulder and saw the kid pointing to a small, wooden door at the end of the room, hidden inside the enclosure that once held the boss. Obviously it would not open until the boss was dispatched, but the ignorant young man was already halfway across the room before I could catch him, breaking our formation. Everything went into slow motion.
I could see hope swelling up in his eyes as he turned away, thoughts of a quick escape evident. I could see Agil turning for an attempt to grab him. Then I saw the boss turn as well. I watched in petrification as the monster leapt into the air, cutting the man's path short, and driving the pole's blade straight down through the top of the boy's skull, it's tip passing all the way through his body and coming out the bottom of his pelvis. Bulwark the Scavenger claimed his first victim, who shattered into millions of polygons before the disbelief could fade from his eyes.
(X)
Mie University Hospital. 12:27 pm.
Within the first day of the SAO launch, Mie University Hospital had a record of 12 individuals checked in, each with the infamous grey helmet securely fastened to their heads. Since then, 8 of those victims were officially released from the hospital, their care and treatment no longer of any use.
Now, as of this date, the nurses were met with an all too familiar, yet all the more tragic, dull whining of a heart monitor, whose purpose was now redundant as well. Nurses and doctors alike rushed into the room of a young Kayo Morubishi, checking vital signs before declaring the time of death. The blood red glimmer of the head gear seemed to laugh maniacally at the expense of the parents who wept and pleaded for their only son to wake up, until the machine was unplugged and the light faded forever. An hour later, the family signed the consent form and the body was freed from the care of the doctors. With his death, the boy only bought concern for the other remaining 3 children's parents and family.
(X)
Author's Note: just for future reference, you should come to rue the days I get to write a chapter on my own. Muahahaha, killing characters is fun, and the feels that come after are delightful. Anyway, I think this "hospital death scene" is going to become a thing. I like the additional background, that these players really do die once you see them disappear from the game. Then again, I don't want it to get old, so I'll let you guys decide. Hospital scene or no hospital scene. Leave your answers in a review. Thanks!