I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.
Monster
Michael sat against the tree and sighed. It had been a couple of weeks since the incident with the reaper. He had already gotten extremely good at using his newest item, though, he had no intention of unveiling it until they met the final boss, unless he had no other choice. He was tired of training with it and had just decided to sleep for a bit when a group of Knights of the Blood Oath arrived, stopping around him.
"Well, I see two possibilities," Michael sighed. "First, you want my shit, or two, you want my help."
"A group of our best fighters went to scout the Seventy Fifth Floor boss and were eliminated," one of them stated. "They could have easily used a teleport crystal to escape. We have no intel whatsoever on the boss, but we're preparing a full-scale assault on him. We would prefer that you be present, as you have built up a reputation for being extremely strong."
"I see," Michael nodded grinning. "I do love reputations. Sure. I'll tag along."
He stood, equipping his Queen's Knightsword and his shield and followed them. They went to the nearest teleport gate and headed to the Seventy Fifth floor, to the city of Corinea. There were already dozens of players present, including the entirety of smaller guilds. In fact, so far, Michael was the only one not part of a guild.
"Well look who decided to show up," a familiar voice behind him spoke up.
"Klein!" Michael grinned turning to his friend. "Long time no see. Is the rest of your guild here?"
"No," Klein sighed. "I left them out of this one because they're not ready. Whatever this is, I doubt we're going to be ready for it even with what we have."
"I'm not sure you're wrong," Michael sighed. "But, if nothing else, it'll be one hell of a fight."
"You're one of a kind," Klein grinned just as Asuna and Kirito arrived.
Klein went to greet them with another player, who Michael assumed was another friend of theirs, and Michael walked over to Heathcliff.
"Excuse me, Sir," Michael greeted, getting the most famous player's attention.
"Yes?" Heathcliff asked. "What is it?"
"I was wondering, what are our chances of winning this fight?" Michael asked. "Why so many?"
"We don't like not knowing what we're up against," Heathcliff stated. "So we're going in prepared."
"And what if the best strategy calls for only a small group?" Michael asked.
"We tried that," Heathcliff stated. "Our scouting party was wiped out within five minutes."
Michael sighed and nodded, though, he still didn't like risking so many lives. However, it wasn't his call. And Heathcliff had decided it was time to go. He pulled out an oversized teleportation crystal and walked a short distance away.
"Corridor open," Heathcliff spoke, and the crystal shattered, a massive circle of translucent light forming in front of him. "Well, here we go."
He stepped through and one by one the others all followed. Michael went through last, just behind Kirito and Asuna. The moment he stepped through he felt like he was choking on the nervousness and fear of everyone around him. Everyone began to check their gear and equip their best items. Michael gave his own gear one last scan before closing the menu and swallowing hard. It would be his first real boss fight. It was just his luck that the boss was strong enough to have everyone so scared that they threw everyone they had at it.
"Everyone ready?" Heathcliff asked stepping in front of the door and facing everyone. "The Knights of the Blood Oath will be out in front, distracting the boss. Meanwhile the rest of you have to pay attention and figure out its attack patterns. I won't lie. This battle will be hard. But I have faith that we can an will prevail. For our day of liberation!"
Everyone cheered and Heathcliff turned toward the door. Michael drew his sword and shield but despite his best effort, both shook.
"Don't worry man," Klein said resting a hand on his shoulder. "We're all in this together. Besides, almost no one knows about it but Kirito gave me an item a while back on a christmas event. It can revive someone up to ten seconds after they die. If, by some miracle, things go south for one of us, I'll be pulling that beauty out. No way am I letting a friend die."
Michael stared at Klein then smirked and nodded. He wasn't sure why he was so worried, he had been on floor fifteen while only a high enough level for floor eight. He could handle one boss. As long as it wasn't the same reaper thing as Yui had deleted, or the Skull Reaper, which was supposedly as strong as the next floor up's boss.
The door groaned as it slowly swung open, revealing a near pitch black room beyond. Everyone drew their weapons and readied themselves. Then, they waited.
"Forward to battle!" Heathcliff shouted.
The mass of players charged in, a battle cry echoing from nearly all of them. They filled the room, then stopped. It was empty. The battle arena for the fight was a massive circular platform with a clearly fatal fall around it. The room itself was enormous, even compared to the floor. There were other, smaller platforms around the room at different heights but no way to reach them. Off to one side, a set of stairs reached up to the door to the next floor, which was sealed tight. The door closed behind them and they all looked around, confused.
"Where is it?" Someone asked.
"Hopefully it fell and we can go open that door," Michael stated.
A series of scrapes and "tacks" reached their ears, making everyone tense and a few jump. Then, it happened again. Michael looked around then froze, eyes rising to the ceiling as Asuna shouted the same thing.
"Up there!" Asuna warned, just as a strange sucking noise reached them at the same time as more tacks.
Michael's heart sank.
"It's the Skull..." Klein began.
"...Reaper," Kirito finished.
It roared, five health bars filling beside its name, though that was only a general indication. Five was the max health bars displayed. The tenth floor boss had had five, according to the beta's handbook.
"Why him?" Michael groaned.
"Stay away from it!" Heathcliff shouted. "Spread out!"
It dropped, heading straight for a group of terrified players too scared to move.
"This way!" Kirito shouted at them. "Hurry run!"
Both took off running but stumbled as it landed, the world around it turning red in a wave effect. Then, it slashed both at once. Both flew through the air, shattering just before landing and the rest of the room was died with a bloody hue.
"That was one hit!" Klein gaped.
"Man we are so dead!" the player that had greeted Kirito with Klein stated.
Michael raised his shield, not bothering to switch to defense. It wouldn't help. The Skull Reaper charged at another player and everyone around him fled, except Heathcliff who rushed forward, stopping its scythe with his signature shield, Liberator. The Skull Reaper stopped for less than half a second before shooting past Heathcliff, killing the player with his other scythe instead. It scurried around, attacking another player and this time Kirito rushed to his aid, blocking the scythe with both swords. However, it was so strong that it forced the swords down, slowly cutting down through Kirito's shoulder. It slashed at him from the other side and Heathcliff appeared, blocking it with his shield. Then, Asuna and Michael's swords crashed into the Skull Reaper's face, launching it back.
"If we block it together we have a chance," Asuna stated. "Come on, we can do this."
"Okay," Kirito nodded, standing. "Besides, my swords are fine with this one."
Heathcliff glanced at him for a moment before turning back to the problem at hand.
"Me and Asuna will deal with the scythes!" Kirito shouted. "Everyone else, flank it and attack!"
It charged forward and attacked Heathcliff, only for its scythe to again stop against his shield. Its other scythe was smashed into the ground by Kirito before Asuna attacked it again. As it reared up, Michael leapt at it, spinning and blasting into its underside. It was launched away, crashing down on the far side of the platform, giving them some room to breathe.
"Good," Michael sighed. "It worked. Put it over the edge!"
"I doubt it'll be so easy but, you got it," Kirito nodded as he, Asuna, Michael, and Heathcliff charged.
The Skull Reaper rushed to meet them but Heathcliff and Michael blocked its scythes and Asuna and Kirito blasted it, knocking it back to the edge again. Then, just as it began to recover, Michael and Heathcliff both crashed into it, launching it out into open air. It shrieked, falling into the chasm below them and disappearing.
"That was...shockingly easy," Kirito blinked. "Is it over?"
They heard it moving, that same chattering ticking noise as before. Then, suddenly, giant chunks of the ceiling began to fall.
"What...is...that?" Kirito gaped.
The players began to scramble around trying to avoid the debris, most succeeding, but a few were crushed. Then, the skull reaper landed, slashing a large group of the players. Heathcliff blocked its second attack and a moment later, Kirito blocked its other scythe. Instantly, every other player present slammed it with their strongest ability. They all backed away and looked to its health bar, barely a dent.
"You're kidding," Kirito breathed.
"We barely made a mark," Michael breathed, hand itching to equip his new item. "This is going to take forever."
"You're not helping with that pathetic piece of tin you're using," Kirito snapped, charging with Michael beside him.
"It can't be broken though," Michael pointed out.
Heathcliff and Asuna blocked its scythes and Kirito and Michael both charged, swords glowing red as they blasted the Skull Reaper, shoving it back. Several other players attacked it, and it roared in anger, tail whipping around and blasting a group along one side.
"He attacks with his tail too?" Michael gaped. "Terrific!"
Michael sprinted forward, leaping over its scythe, allowing it to crash into the ground then landed on its back spinning, sword glowing red. His ability dragged him around and around, all eight revolutions tearing through the Skull Reaper's head because he wasn't the only one attacking, keeping it from being thrown. When his ability ended, he leapt into the air and Asuna and Kirito blasted it again throwing it at Heathcliff. He raised his sword which glowed red. Then, he slashed downward, the blade slicing through a relatively small section of the Skull Reaper but still slammed it into the ground. Michael glanced at its health and sighed. Barely half a health bar was gone.
"This fight's going to suck," Michael growled.
He sprinted forward with Klein, both of them aiming to target the eyes, hoping for a weak point. It slashed at them but before it could hit them, Heathcliff blocked one scythe and the other of Kirito's friends, Agil, Michael believed, blocked the scythes. Klein and Michael both leapt into the air, stabbing the Skull Reaper in the eyes and using an ability to wrench their blades down and out. The Skull Reaper suddenly was gone, scuttling through the rest of the army, slashing right and left. Michael sprinted forward, stopping in front of it and spinning. After three hits, the Skull Reaper flew backward, Kirito slamming into its back with Starburst Stream. The Skull Reaper shrieked in pain, spinning to attack him only to have dozens of abilities slam its sides and have Asuna and Heathcliff blast it in the face. Michael leapt onto its back, activating a running slash ability and dragging his sword the length of its body before slashing its head and landing beside Heathcliff.
"How long you think this will take?" Michael asked.
"A long while," Heathcliff stated. "You should stay focused."
The battle continued, a constant stream of abilities blasting the Skull Reaper and the Skull reaper barely seeming to take damage. Finally, after what had to have been at least three hours, they reached the final health bar. Unfortunately, compared to what they started with, they now had only a skeleton crew.
"Everyone hit it!" Michael shouted as the Skull Reaper attacked him and Heathcliff.
Both avoided the scythes then trapped them against the ground. At the same time, Kirito used a double stab to pin the tail and everyone left began to blast the monster. It shrieked and after a moment, it ripped its scythes up, launching Heathcliff and Michael into the air. Michael watched his life drop to half from that alone and glanced at Heathcliff, watching a nearly full bar disappear as Heathcliff rolled in mid air, falling back toward it while activating an ability. Michael activated one of his own, blasting down on the Skull Reaper's back before quickly leaping away, not bothering to try and heal himself, since he wouldn't live long enough if he stopped moving.
The Skull Reaper spun toward him, shrieking and scurrying forward. It was moving faster than before, however, leaving Kirito and the others in the dust. It slashed at Michael and he rolled aside, standing just in time to turn sideways and avoid a second vertical slash. A blade whipped around at him and he leapt over it, slashing it to give it more momentum and it crashed into the Skull Reaper's side, taking a fair chunk of its remaining health. the other scythe flew at him and he ducked, stepping under it then leaping back from the other scythe. The Skull Reaper pursued him, more than happy to attempt to kill him as no other players were within range. It began to slash at him rapidly and Michael became ecstatic that his playing style revolved around speed before anything else. He was able to avoid every attack it sent at him but was continually backing away, leading to them nearing the edge. Finally he went forward, ducking under the scythe and standing beside the Skull Reaper. He spun, raising his sword to block the scythe that followed him and saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He instinctively raised his shield and a dozen spiked legs crashed into the shield, hurling him away and heavily denting the shield. He flipped, landing on his feet as the shield shattered. The Skull Reaper charged again but this time, Heathcliff appeared, blocking the first Scythe, allowing Michael to block the second as Kirito and Asuna stepped between them, their swords glowing before they blasted the Skull Reaper together. The rest of the Players descended on the Skull Reaper like a horde, tearing into the thing, desperate to whittle its health away to nothing.
Suddenly, Agil crashed down on the creature's back with his battleaxe and the creature shrieked in rage. They all looked and saw that it finally had only a sliver of health left.
"Everyone, attack!" Heathcliff ordered and they all charged.
They began to hack at the Skull Reaper both with abilities and without. The Skull Reaper sank to the ground, unable to do anything, it seemed, due to low health. However, at the last possible second, its tail whipped around, crashing into the ground and launching everyone, miraculously not killing anyone, though. Then, it charged, slashing at Michael. Michael managed to get to his feet, turning and sprinting away, the scythe crashing down behind him.
"Why the fuck is it after me!?" Michael demanded as the Skull Reaper chased him.
"Just keep running!" Heathcliff shouted standing. "Bring it this way!"
He glanced back and instantly dove, rolling under a scythe then spinning as he stood, facing the Skull Reaper. It had stopped after its last attack and was glaring at him.
"Alright fine then," Michael snarled, seeing that its health looked to be completely gone, meaning that it should die within one or two attacks. "Come on!"
The Skull Reaper shrieked and charged. Michael could hear the others screaming in the background, thinking the exact same thing as Michael. He was going to die. It slashed at him and he rolled under it, stabbing it as he stood. Then, he ripped his sword out and leapt back, narrowly avoiding an attack. He stood, growling in frustration as the Skull Reaper roared.
"You annoying prick," Michael growled holding his sword at his side as the blade began to glow blue. "Just die already!"
He lunged forward as the Skull Reaper leapt at him, mouth open wide. His sword flashed around, carving into the inside of the Reaper's mouth. Then, it's mouth slammed shut, severing his arm. He staggered back and fell, his health dropping rapidly. As everyone watched, however, the Skull Reaper reared up, exploding and shattering. Michael's Queen's Knightsword stabbed into the ground beside him just as his health stopped, just short of empty. The anti-crystal zone cleared and Michael healed himself with a healing crystal, his arm being restored as well. As he stood, he he sorted through his one level alert and his final hit bonus. The Skull Reaper had given him a chest plate that would greatly increase his health and endurance, and a new shield. He equipped both just as Kirito, Asuna, Klein, and Agil reached him.
"That was close," Kirito stated. "What the hell were you thinking taking that thing alone like that?"
"I was thinking that even if I died, it was after me and I was going to take the chance of making sure no one else died," Michael stated. "Besides, even if I had failed, it would have been easy for you and Heathcliff to block its scythes one last time."
Kirito pulled his hand back but stopped. Michael was right.
"Don't do something like that again," Asuna said.
Michael nodded, looking around. Everyone was resting and letting their health refill, all having lost most of it at one time or another. All except Heathcliff. Heathcliff had more than half of his health left. Kirito noticed it as well, however, Kirito did something Michael didn't. Kirito charged at Heathcliff, activating an ability and stabbing at a surprised Heathcliff. The sword slipped past the shield, several people shouting in surprise and anger that someone would attack Heathcliff, until they realized the blade had stopped short and the words, "IMMORTAL OBJECT" were floating in front of Heathcliff.
"An immortal object?" Asuna gasped. "Commander Heathcliff, what's going on?"
"I think I got the answer to that," Kirito stated. "The reason why the Commander's HP never hits yellow, is cause he's protected by the system. Ya know, ever since day one, something's always bugged me about this whole thing. I was always wondering, where is he hiding while he watches us and controls everything in this world. Well, the answer's pretty simple. It's basic psychology. In fact, it's so simple every kid knows it. There's nothing more boring than watching someone else play an RPG. Is there, Akihiko Kayaba?"
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