Author's Note: I apologize for the long delay so close to the climax of this story. Part of the reason for the delay is because I had decided to try launching the next story in my series of Digimon fanfics now called the Radiance Mythos, not that it's been getting too many readers. The other part of the reason for the delay is that I've had kind of a rough few days since the last update. I seem to be feeling better now though, so I'm going to try and use whatever free time I can get during the next week or so to get this story finished.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online (or the works of H.P. Lovecraft).
Chapter 18: The Crawling Chaos
Kirito and the others followed the Traveler across Leng to where the Crawling Chaos was supposedly waiting. The trek across the plateau had been relatively peaceful, though the occasional musical piping noise of the wind blowing across the haunted landscape had unsettled the team slightly. Eventually the team's elderly guide brought them to the little hot tub that Donis had created, and when they arrived they found the gold swordsman himself standing at the edge to the bubbling pool. Leafa was standing next to him, and at the exact moment of their arrival much of her body was giving off a flash of blue light, indicating that she was just putting her clothes back on. The mere sight caused Kirito's hands to ball into fists at his sides.
"Donis!" Kirito shouted from where he stood, causing the couple to look.
"K-Kazuto?" a stunned Leafa responded. "What… what are all of you doing here?"
"Indeed. Your arrival here is quite unexpected." Donis agreed as a scowl came to his face. "Not to mention unwanted. I don't know what sort of trick you used to get here Kirito, but I'm afraid you and your friends aren't wanted. I ask that you leave now."
"Does that go for me and Sinon too Donis?" Lisbeth asked. "If I were you, I'd be a lot more nervous."
"It doesn't matter if we're welcome here or not." Sinon pointed out as she aimed an arrow at Donis's face. "We're kicking his ass right now!"
With that, Sinon let go of her bowstring and fired the arrow. Just as the projectile zoomed towards Donis's face, he quickly drew the sword for his right hand and knocked the arrow away, much to the surprise of Kirito and the others.
"He's fast!" Siune observed.
"Liz! Sinon! What's this all about?" Leafa demanded to know. "Why'd you just attack Donis like that?"
"Leafa, Donis isn't who we all thought he was." Sinon told him.
"What're you talking about?" Leafa asked.
"Sugu, get away him!" Kirito ordered as he drew his swords. "I'm gonna cut this bastard to shreds right now!"
"You're welcome to try!" Donis dared as he drew his other sword.
Kirito charged at Donis and attempted to slash him across the chest with the Master's Blade. Donis blocked the attack and managed to stab Kirito in the stomach with his other sword. The black swordsman quickly recovered and managed to get Donis in the side with Excalibur. Suddenly Leafa charged in with her Tempest Sword drawn and swung it at Kirito, prompting Donis to fall back. Kirito managed to block Leafa's first attack with his swords, but her second attack managed to slash him across the stomach.
"Sugu! What're you doing?" a shocked Kirito asked.
"What the hell does it look like?" Leafa responded as she took another swing, which he managed to dodge. "If you wanna get to Donis, you're going to have to go through me first!"
"Donis isn't who you think he is, Sugu!" Kirito told her. "I don't know what he told you, but everything about him is a lie."
"Why? Because he happens to have the same face as you in this game?" Leafa asked. "That's what all this is about, isn't it?"
"Sugu, Donis's avatar and mine look too much alike for it to be just a coincidence!" Kirito told her. "And it's not just that we look alike. There's other stuff you need to know about too."
"You just can't let me be happy, can you?" Leafa assumed. "First when we met in this game I moved on from you only to fall for you all over again. Then when I finally move on from you again and meet someone else, you say there's a problem with him! Well I've had enough!"
"Oh man. This is nuts!" Klein declared as Kirito fended off another attack from his sister. "I did not see this coming!"
"Leafa's really fallen hard for that asshole." Lisbeth observed. "Probably a lot harder than Sinon and I ever did."
"So what do we do then?" Siune asked. "Are we just supposed to fight Leafa too?"
"Yui, wait here with Siune." Asuna requested as she put her hand on her sword. "I'll take care of this."
Once Yui flew over to sit on Siune's shoulder, Asuna dashed in and blocked Leafa's attack on Kirito. Before the blonde could launch a proper counter attack, Asuna struck her several times with her rapier. Leafa took several hits to the torso and shoulders and was on her knee in a matter of seconds. Her HP gauge had fallen into the low yellow.
"That's enough, Leafa!" Asuna told her. "Just back off! None of us want to fight, especially not Kirito."
"I'm not backing down!" Leafa declared as she rose back to her feet. "What is with the two of you, anyway? Why are you trying to tear down my happiness like this?"
"We're not trying to tear down anything." Asuna told her. "Kirito and I are just trying to protect you."
"That's total crap, and you know it!" Leafa insisted as tears came to her eyes. "Can't you just be happy for me? I finally found the kind of happiness that you and Kazuto, and all the two of you want to do is destroy it!"
"But that's just it Leafa. You and Donis don't have what Kirito and I have." Asuna told her. "He may look like Kirito and be as charming as a prince from a fairytale, but every single thing about Donis is a lie."
"You don't know that!" Leafa told her. "Maybe Donis and I have never met in the real world, but I know exactly the kind of man he is."
"No. You don't, Leafa." Sinon told her as she stepped forward. "There's something you need to know. Donis and I… we've been seeing each other in this game. He and I have slept together several times."
All the color drained from Leafa's face. "You… you what?"
"It's not just Sinon. I've been seeing Donis on the side too." Lisbeth admitted as she stepped up. "Why do you think I've been closing the shop early so many times this past month."
"From what little we've learned, Donis has been sleeping with practically every member of his guild." Asuna informed the blonde. "Liz and Sinon only found this out today."
"You're… you're lying." A horrified Leafa spoke. "You're all lying! Donis, this isn't… tell them that what they're saying isn't true!"
Donis sighed and shook his head. "I suppose this little revelation was inevitable. It's a pity, really. I was hoping I could carry on with all of you for a bit longer, but I see that's impossible now. Of course in the end it doesn't really matter, as all of you have served your purpose."
"So you actually had the guts to admit it, huh?" Lisbeth asked. "Just what were all of us to you, anyway? Were you trying to win pervert of the year or something?"
"My…'associations' with all of you wasn't merely recreational." Donis answered. "Each of you had a specific purpose in my grand design. For instance you, my dear Lisbeth, were needed in order to forge the proper equipment to safely delve into the mound so that I may get here to Leng. As for you Sinon, I simply needed you, as well as Selene and a few others to act as soldiers to fight all the creatures standing in my way. The little rites we performed during the night were done to make you more effective in that capacity."
"You slimy son of a bitch." Sinon cursed as she aimed an arrow at Donis's crotch. "I may not be able to actually kill you in this game, but I'm gonna make your death hurt like hell."
"Make sure to save a piece of him for me, Sinon." Lisbeth told her. "I wanna make him suffer just as much as you do."
"Mind if I help you ladies out?" Klein requested as he stepped forward and drew his sword. "I know you and Kirito have more of a right to this asshole than I do, but guys like him give guys like me a bad name."
As Sinon and the others prepared to attack, Yui flew over to where the Traveler was standing. "Excuse me Mr. Traveler, but why are you no longer taking us to where this Crawling Chaos is supposed to be waiting?"
"I would think the answer to that would be clear to a child like you." The old man answered. "The battle I have called you here for is already at hand."
Meanwhile, just as Lisbeth was about to charge at Donis with Klein and Asuna, Donis chanted a spell that caused four bolts of green lightning to rain down from the sky. The lightning blasts came down and struck Asuna, Klein, Lisbeth and Sinon, causing the paralysis icon to appear by each of their HP gauges. As the four of them started to fall to the ground, Donis charged forward and slashed Asuna several times with his blades. Asuna's HP gauge had fallen to a red sliver.
"All of you have become more trouble than you're worth." Donis declared as he held the blade of his right hand sword to Asuna's throat. "I'm going to finish all of you off right now."
As Donis raised his sword to take off Asuna's head, Kirito charged in and slashed his doppelgänger across the back with the Master's Blade. Donis cried out in pain and his body flashed in negative colored. Kirito quickly hit Donis again with Excalibur, followed up by another strike from his other sword. Before Kirito could score a fifth hit, Donis managed to quickly turn around and block the attack. Donis fell back and Kirito got between him and Asuna.
"Looks like you forgot about me." Kirito noted as Siune rushed over to tend to their fallen comrades. "Big mistake."
"Indeed. You're quite the threat with that accursed sword of yours." Donis admitted. "The metal it was forged from must have been created by the Elder Gods. Otherwise you'd be as weak as those pathetic friends of yours."
"Just what the hell is your deal, anyway?" Kirito asked. "I'm guessing those spells of yours like the ones you just used here and the one you used against Tsathoggua are some kind of illegal moves you put into the game, but what's the point of all of this?"
"Are you asking why I went to all the trouble of getting here to Leng?" Donis asked. "It is so that the age of chaos can finally begin! That crystal you see in the center of that little pool over there is the key to opening a door that will allow the great Azathoth to come to this plain! As much as I loathe my blind moronic progenitor, the age of madness he will bring forth is my ultimate dream!"
"The key?" Kirito spoke. "So you're the reason why that countdown clock appeared in ALO!"
"Your dear Leafa was the one who helped me turn it on." Donis revealed. "Her willingness to give her very being to me was the catalyst the key needed to activate it. It's a pity you and your friends had to arrive and spoil my fun. She would've enjoyed a life of unbridled ecstasy in the new age as my personal consort, but now she will simply have to be wiped away with you and all the others."
"You've been connected to that Azathoth virus this whole time!" Kirito realized. "Just who the hell are you anyway?"
"Daddy! Donis is an NPC!" Yui called. "He's the Crawling Chaos that the Traveler was taking us to!"
"He's… what?" a stunned Kirito responded. "But Yui, how's that even possible?"
"He's an A.I. The most sophisticated one I've ever seen." Yui answered. "It's like the Cardinal System designed him to fool others into thinking he was a player."
Asuna finally got back to her feet. "So… he's not real at all? Donis is just something created by that virus like this whole landscape?"
"I've had enough of this!" Kirito told Donis. "It's time you showed us your true face!"
"My true face, eh?" Donis chuckled. "I have over a thousand faces to choose from. But since you asked for it, I'll change to a face that's an old favorite of mine."
With that, Donis sheathed his two swords and began to glow with a green light. As Lisbeth and Sinon finally got back to their feet, they watched with the others as the glowing silhouette began to change shape. It was only a few seconds before the light faded to reveal the gold swordsman's new form. He had become a man who appeared to be in his late thirties with handsome Middle Eastern features. On his head was the cobra hood headdress worn originally by the pharaoh's of ancient Egypt. Ornate gold armor covered his torso, and a pair of swords hung at his waist. Gold sandals covered the man's feet, and on his upper arms was a pair of gold rings.
A red cursor appeared above the man's head along with a full HP gauge. Right above the cursor in white letters was the name, "Nyarlathotep the Pharaoh".
All of the color drained from Sinon's face upon seeing the name. "No… no way! All this time, Donis was… oh god!"
"What is it?" Lisbeth asked. "Do you know who the guy Donis turned into is supposed to be?"
"That's Nyralathotep. One of the most powerful gods in Lovecraft's stories." Sinon explained. "He's sort of a shape shifter who goes around spreading madness. To think that he and I… oh god!"
"I am the Crawling Chaos! Nyarlathotep!" the pharaoh declared. "This world now belongs to me and my fellow gods of madness, and there's nothing that you pathetic fairy folk can do about it! The age of madness begins now!"
Author's Note: I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. It's kind of the best I'm able to do at the moment, and it's kind of hard to right long chapters at the moment of a story's climax. To my guest reviewer, SuperSaiyanGod53, I believe that in one of your recent reviews you remarked on how Donis would have to have one heck of a stamina stat to go so many rounds with all those women. Considering that Donis is in fact a sort of alien god in the world of ALO, I would think it goes without saying that such a being would have practically unlimited stamina.
Please review and let me know what you think.