Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, nor do I own the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
Chapter 17: Unresolved Feelings
"It's going to take more than a new mace to take me down, Liz." Asuna declared.
"Oh yeah? Then put up or shut up!" Lisbeth shot back.
With that, Asuna charged at Lisbeth with her sword raised. When Asuna came in range, Lisbeth swung her black mace to slam it into Asuna's side, but at the last second Asuna's wings appeared and the blunette took off straight up into the sky. The head of the black mace tried to stretch forward to strike Asuna, but ended up missing its target. Lisbeth quickly looked up to catch where Asuna had gone, but the blunette was nowhere in the sky to be seen. As the pinkette continued to look around, Asuna landed on the ground a few feet behind Lisbeth and charged in.
Asuna struck several times in the back with her rapier, taking the pink-haired blacksmith's HP down to just a little less than half its original amount. Lisbeth recovered and turned around to swing her mace into Asuna, but at the last moment Asuna's wings reappeared and the blunette flew up and back several feet away. The head of Lisbeth's black mace stretched to try and hit Asuna, but the neck of the weapon was only able to extend so far.
"Looks like my hunch was right." Asuna spoke. "That mace of yours only has a limited range as to how far it can stretch. Now that I know that, beating you shouldn't be that hard."
"Damn you!" Lisbeth shouted as her mechanical wings appeared on her back.
The pinkette flew over the ground across the battlefield at Asuna and attempted to bludgeon the blunette with her mace. Asuna took back off straight up into the air and managed to dodge another strike, but Lisbeth followed her closely into the skies above Innsmouth. Once high into the air, Lisbeth swung the shape shifting mace down towards Asuna's skull, but the blue-haired fencer easily moved to the side of the attack and struck Lisbeth several more times, taking the pinkette's HP close to the red zone. Lisbeth quickly recovered from the attack and suddenly kneed Asuna in the stomach, catching the fencer off guard. Before Asuna could recover, Lisbeth slammed her back mace into the side of Asuna's head.
The impact of Lisbeth's weapon knocked Asuna out of the air and caused her to crash into the roof of one of the dilapidated houses making up the decaying city of Innsmouth. The material of the roof was so weak that Asuna had fallen through it and crashed into the abandoned house's attic. Asuna managed to get back to her feet, but the critical hit from Lisbeth's mace had caused her HP to fall into the red zone.
"Don't think you're so hot just because you fought on the frontlines in SAO!" Lisbeth told her. "I may have been just a supporting player back then, but I'm more than strong enough to take you down, little Ms. Perfect!"
Asuna took back off into the sky and took a swing at Lisbeth with her sword. Lisbeth easily managed to dodge the attack and swung her mace towards the back of Asuna's head. The blunette quickly flew back far enough to avoid getting clobbered again and circled around to attack Lisbeth from behind. As Asuna flew in the deliver another deadly blow though, Lisbeth flew around and blocked the attack with her mace. Asuna was forced to quickly fall back again in order to avoid taking another hit. The fencer knew that if she were hit again even once, her HP would likely go to zero. Meanwhile, Lisbeth's HP was still high enough above Asuna's that if the timer for the battle were to run out, Lisbeth would automatically win. Before Asuna could figure out a solid plan, Lisbeth flew in again and attempted to take off Asuna's head with her mace, only for the blue-haired fencer to fly downward to avoid the attack.
"This match is only going to end one way, Asuna!" Lisbeth declared. "With me PK'ing you!"
Leafa was teleported back to the crystal stadium after her match. Her battle with Corona the Blue Flame had been a very difficult one, but somehow Leafa had been able to win and advance to the next round. As Leafa arrived in the stadium hall, she saw a large holographic screen showing Asuna's battle with Lisbeth. Leafa could see that the battle between the two of them had become very intense. In fact, it seemed to Leafa as though Asuna and Leafa were actually trying to kill each other.
"They're really going all out, huh?" a familiar voice spoke. Leafa looked and saw Nytokris standing next to her. "It really is amusing to watch those two trying to tear each other apart."
"You're an evil woman, you know that?" Leafa told her.
"Evil?" Nytokris chuckled. "Evil and good are just labels people came up with to describe what they believe to be wrong or right. What a person believes to be good or evil is all just a matter of perception. Think of me what you will, dear Leafa. It really makes no difference to me. Though I had hoped you're opinion of me would be a little higher."
"Is there something you actually want, or did you just come over here to talk crap?" Leafa asked.
"I merely wanted to wish you luck in the next round." Nytokris answered. "One way or another, you're going to be up against some tough competition. Plus I'm sure you have reasons for wanting both Asuna and Lisbeth taken out… especially Asuna."
"What're you talking about?" Leafa asked.
"I happen to know that Asuna took something very special to you long ago." Nytokris told her. "This will be your chance to make her pay for it."
With that, Nytokris said her farewells and walked off. As Leafa turned her attention back to the fight, she couldn't help but wonder about how Nytokris could've known about her old feelings for Kirito. Leafa somehow pushed the question out of her mind and tried to focus on the battle. The blonde hoped that no matter whether it was Asuna or Lisbeth who won, their battle wouldn't get too out of hand.
The timer for Asuna and Lisbeth's battle continued to tick away as the two fighters continued to clash in the air. Neither of them had been able to land a blow on the other since Lisbeth's declaration to end the battle by PK. Eventually Lisbeth and Asuna took their battle back down to the ground. The two of them stood several feet apart as a rain suddenly started to come down over the battlefield. Asuna prepared to charge at Lisbeth head on to try and deliver the killing blow when a realization suddenly hit her. Looking across the battlefield, it occurred to Asuna that she wasn't fighting some NPC monster or a member of the murder guild known as Laughing Coffin in SAO. She was fighting a friend in what was supposed to be a friendly competition, and yet their fight had become anything but friendly. Asuna finally realized just how wrong the whole situation was.
"Liz, wait!" Asuna called as she lowered her sword. "What the hell are we doing? We shouldn't be fighting each other like this!"
"If you don't like it, then quit!" Lisbeth told her. "It's not like you have a chance at winning at this point anyway!"
"I don't get it! Why are you coming at me so hard like this?" Asuna asked. "Why are you trying to take me down like I'm your worst enemy?"
"Why? Because Kirito picked you over me!" Lisbeth answered. "Because that bastard, Donis seemed to prefer Leafa, Sinon and even that bitch, Selene over me!"
"Is that what this is all about? Are you trying to prove that you're better than me?" Asuna realized.
"I'm tired of everyone thinking that I'm nothing special!" Lisbeth decalred. "After this fight, I'm going to prove that I'm just as good as you, Sinon and all the others! And I'm going to prove that right now!"
With that, Lisbeth charged towards Asuna at full speed with her mace raised high. Asuna remained where she was and prepared for the attack. Just as Lisbeth came in range, Asuna took off with her wings and hovered around to Lisbeth's left side with incredible as the pinkette swung down the head of her weapon. Asuna then stabbed Lisbeth in the side twice with her rapier, reducing the blacksmith's HP to a red sliver. At that moment, the timer beeped to signal the end of the match and vanished. Taking the timer's place was a holographic message declaring Asuna the winner of the battle. With the battle at an end, Lisbeth fell to her knees and two beams of blue light shot up from the ground around Asuna and Lisbeth to teleport them back to the stadium.
Asuna rematerialized back in the crystal stadium on the very same teleport pad that she had left on. When the blunette stepped off, she saw Lisbeth still on her knees facing the wall behind her pad. Asuna went over to see if Lisbeth was okay and noticed a few fresh teardrops on the teleport pad beneath the pinkette.
"…I'm totally worthless." Lisbeth spoke.
"Liz, that just isn't true." Asuna told her.
"It is. Compared to you, I'm nothing." Lisbeth insisted. "You're not just a good VRMMO player… you've got everything. It's no wonder Kirito fell for you. You've probably got dozens of other guys who want to be with you too. Me… I'll always be average."
"C'mon, Liz." Asuna spoke as she put a hand on the blacksmith's shoulder. "You're more than just average. You're an incredible person, someone I'm proud to have as a friend."
"Yeah?" Lisbeth spoke as she looked back up at Asuna. "Then how come every great guy I've met recently seems to just toss me aside for someone else?"
"This mood you've been hasn't been about Donis, has it?" Asuna realized.
"…It's been partly about him." Lisbeth answered. "When Kirito picked you over me… yeah, I was crushed but I got over it. Or at least I thought I did. There was once a time where I thought I could win him away from you. Anyway, then I met Donis and thought that I had found the perfect guy of my own. Then we all found out what kind of scum Donis really was. After we beat him, at first it seemed like I thought I could get over him. But then… I thought about how Leafa seemed to be Donis's favorite and how Sinon was at least his favorite soldier. All I seemed to be good for was making equipment to arm his little girl of fangirls. I guess that's when I started comparing myself to you and the others and thought maybe… maybe all of you really are all better than me. Because of that, I started to envy you and the others, I guess."
Asuna kneeled down to get closer. "Liz… you shouldn't worry about being better or worse than me or any of the others. It doesn't matter why Donis used you or anyone else in that guild of his because he didn't love or even really care about any of you. And as for Kirito and me… he didn't fall for me because I was an elite warrior in SAO or because I was rich IRL or because of anything else like that. The love Kirito and I have for one another goes much deeper than that, because we found a connection with each other that we can't have with anyone else. I'm sure you'll find that kind of connection with someone too."
"…Thanks." Lisbeth replied with a tearful smile.
"Now c'mon. Let's get you off this thing." Asuna told her.
With that, Asuna helped Lisbeth to her feet and the two of them stepped off the pad. As the pair went over to a bench in the corner of the large chamber to relax, Leafa went over to meet with them.
"Hey there, you two." Leafa spoke. "That was a pretty intense fight. Are you both okay?"
"We're fine." Asuna assured her. "How'd things go for you?"
"I made it to the next round." Leafa answered. "So… I guess that means you and I will be facing each other in the semifinals."
"Oh… yeah. I guess it does." Asuna realized.
"That will be one show that I look forward to seeing." A familiar voice interrupted. The three looked to see Nytokris standing a few feet away. "I was actually hoping that it would be the two of you in the end."
"Looking forward to facing one of us, huh?" Leafa assumed.
"Oh, I don't care which one of you I end up facing in the final round." Nytokris told them. "I'm just eager to see you both go after each other."
Suddenly a beam of blue light shot up on the stage inside the large chamber and quickly vanished to reveal Lydia. "Congratulations to Asuna and Leafa for making it to the semifinal round! Now, onto the two quarterfinal matches for our Bracket B players! In one of our matches, we have the imp terror Nytokris facing the famous Alicia Rue, leader of the cait sithes! Meanwhile in our other battle, we have Venus of the undines facing Esmeralda of the leprechauns! Both matches will begin in five minutes, so you four better get ready!"
"Well, it looks like I have another opponent to slay." Nytokris observed. "We'll continue this another time."
"Um… I think I'm going to hang back somewhere else, you guys." Leafa decided as Nytokris left. "I kind of want to use this time to prepare for the next round, you know?"
"We totally understand." Asuna replied.
With that, Leafa walked off towards the other side of the room. As the blonde fairy left, Asuna let out a heavy sigh.
"You okay?" Lisbeth asked.
"I think so." Asuna answered. "I just get the feeling that my battle with Leafa is going to be a lot worse than the one that you and I had."
Author's Note: I apologize if this chapter was a bit short and not my best work. To be honest, I had kind of a hard time writing it. Hopefully the following chapters will be much better.
Please review and let me know what you think.