A/N: Okay guys, the part you've all been waiting for! The Black Swordsman vs. the Conqueror! Also, a non-cliffhanger chapter! Enjoy and please leave a review!
Taking the Capital, Part the Fifth
Walhart was the single most powerful opponent Kirito had ever faced, bar none. Not even Heathcliff, when at his prime in Aincrad, would have been able to claim dominance over the Conqueror. Kirito had obviously grown in power and skill since his duel with the tyrant of Sword Art Online, but this man was on another level entirely.
He had tried three blows thus far. The first one had resulted in him nearly being cut in half when he underestimated Walhart's speed, and the second attack ended with him being swatted aside like a bug. The third attempt nearly tore his blades from his hands.
"I am impressed, Black Swordsman," Walhart said sincerely. "You are the first of any man to survive beyond two strokes of my axe. And none have ever evaded my attacks like you have before."
"Shut up!" Kirito roared, wings flaring as he shot up towards the ceiling to gain altitude. Aiming his blades at Walhart, he cried, "Mire!" A small cloud of greenish-yellow-black energy erupted around the Conqueror, wounding him.
He glared up at Kirito and shouted, "Come down and face me like a man! We both know that neither of us needs magic to settle this fight! You may be skilled, but sorcery or not, I will claim victory over you in the end!"
"Then what's the problem?" Kirito taunted. "Why should it matter to you whether or not I use magic?!"
Walhart glowered at him, his red armor adding to his ominous presence. Then, without a word, he hurled his axe at Kirito with frightening speed, fast enough that Kirito actually only dodged just in time.
But that wasn't the end of the attack. Walhart left his hand outstretched, and the axe flew back to rest in his mighty hand. "Wolf Berg is no ordinary axe, Black Swordsman!" he called up. "I forged it myself as a man in my youth! Into it went all of my vision and passion, and thus it shares my desire to unite all people! It shall only rest when I do!"
"What people?!" Kirito shot back. "Everyone that doesn't bend the knee dies because of you! Where's the unity in that?!"
"If nothing else, the unity of silence!" Walhart roared. "Bah! It matters not what you think, swordsman! You will not live to see the world united by my hand!"
"You're right!" a new voice interjected. "Because you won't be the one to unite the people!" Robin approached the two fighters with his sword in hand, followed by Lucina and Chrom. Asuna also shot into the fray to float alongside her husband.
Once they were gathered, Lucina declared, "I was raised on the tales of the Shepherds' bravery and unity. And as I have travelled with them, I have seen that no legend could do their legacy justice! Your legacy will be nothing but a stepping-stone in their tale, Conqueror!"
"Chrom and his Shepherds have the strength of will to do what you can't, Walhart," Asuna called down. "Unite the people with an era of peace and kindness!"
"Insects, all of you!" the red-armored man bellowed. "You cannot comprehend my goals because you are too blinded by your own petty desires to see what must be done!"
"Walhart!" Chrom thundered. "You are the one that needs to open your eyes. If you were truly as great as you claim, why do the people not follow you willingly, as they did my sister?!"
"Your sister?" Walhart's eyes burned at Chrom. "She was nothing, boy! Her words were nothing! Her actions were nothing! It all amounted to her leaping off of a cliff after spouting some poetry, and then she died, leaving behind two nations at war!"
"If that's all you saw…" Robin growled. "Then you don't know a thing about Exalt Emmeryn, or her people! How the pain of her loss made us grow- So we will show you!"
Kirito let out a wordless roar, going in for a power dive right at the Conqueror, who smirked, knowing exactly how to time his attack against the young winged warrior. But Kirito wasn't alone this time. As he dove down, Robin unleashed lightning at Walhart from his Levin Sword, striking him squarely on the shoulder, and slowing his attack just a bit. Lucina and Chrom rushed forward, slashing at the horse to throw the Conqueror off-balance even further. Asuna unleashed Arcthunder to slam into Wolf Berg and shocking Walhart's arm in addition to Robin's magic.
And so when Kirito bore down on Walhart in full force, all of it added up enough to let him lay into the Conqueror with an attack combo that Asuna had seen but once- the Eclipse. The string of blows added up to make twenty-seven consecutive hits, and if the onlookers were being honest, they were surprised that Walhart's injuries did not prevent him from being overwhelmed by the powerful blows instantly. But it all ended when Kirito skewered Walhart in two places.
The first wound was given to him by the dark repulser in the arm that he had used to wield his axe and fell Klein. The second blow, dealt by the elucidator, took him in the heart.
His eyes were wide as they looked into the abyss of Kirito's obsidian orbs. His first thought was that he had been defeated by a mere child. Then his second was that the eyes delivering his death did not belong to a child. Then he thought of nothing, and the void claimed him.
Kirito leapt off and landed lightly on his feet, eyes distant as the others moved to congratulate him on felling the Conqueror. But his only thought was, Rest in peace, Klein… I did it. I won…
Suddenly the group fell silent as Cordelia walked in the room, limping and using her spear as a walking stick after a sword had gotten her in the leg, and her pegasus had been injured. She walked over to the group with hard, fiery eyes, and they all stepped out of the way for her to see the body of Walhart.
She looked over at Kirito, who nodded once. Without a sound, she whirled her spear into position and stabbed the body in the heart right next to where Kirito had delivered the fatal blow. "For Klein," she said simply before walking away.
Marth was about to leave the camp with Yui safe in a bed when he saw the fireworks erupting over the capital. He smiled at the sight and said, "They won without me- must mean Father is sharper than ever. Though I imagine I'll hear tales of Morgan's exploits as well…" Chuckling to himself, he went back into the tent, figuring he might as well keep Yui company until she awoke.
Looking at the sleeping child, he placed a hand on her cold, small palm as she slept. "I hope that this does not warp your nature, Yui," he sighed. "You seem like a very gentle spirit… But I know that even the kindest of spirits can become as bitter as ash if exposed to the flames of hatred." He closed his eyes and breathed a quiet prayer to Naga for the young Kirigaya.
"Kirito!" Sachi said as the heroes emerged from the throne room. Sachi and some of the others had been left behind to deal with a group of remaining soldiers while the others went to fight Walhart and his elite guards.
Now that they were all back together, Sachi felt relieved to see her best friend safe and sound. She ran up and hugged him, somewhat to Asuna's annoyance, but she let it pass this time. The Shepherds and their fairies were going to be in high spirits, she knew, so there was going to be a lot of revelry going around soon enough. She would have to resign herself to the fact that there would be a lot of embraces to go with it.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" she said as she pulled back. Then she looked over at Asuna and added, "Both of you. Yui will be glad to know that you won against Walhart."
"Thanks, but it wasn't just me, you know," Kirito grinned as he looked over at Robin with Lucina's family. "I never would have been able to beat him without the help of our friends."
"Kirito, the solo front-liner, just admitted that he couldn't have done this by himself?" Asuna teased him.
"Hey!" he objected. "I never tried to solo a boss!"
"Heathcliff?" Asuna reminded him.
"That doesn't count!"
"He was the final boss!"
"Um, Kirito?" Sinon's voice cut into the argument as she floated down to land beside them.
"Huh?" he said, taken by surprise.
"I just got back from taking one of our lancers to the medics," she said. "And I happened to notice that Yui was in the tent, asleep. Marth was watching after her, so she should be fine, but I thought I'd let you know."
"Oh yeah, we heard about that before we went to fight Walhart," Kirito frowned. "What happened to her exactly?"
"I can tell you the answer to that," Sachi said quietly, looking uncomfortable. "But you probably won't like what I have to say."
"Please, just tell us what happened to our daughter," Asuna requested.
"Well…" Sachi began. "Morgan and Marth were ambushed, so she went down to assist them. Between the three of them, they had the situation pretty much taken care of when one of the men we thought she had stunned got up and wounded Marth really badly. Morgan retaliated, but so did Yui."
"Don't tell me…" Kirito said, paling.
"The man did not survive her divine magic," Sachi said with a slow shake of her head. "Yui managed to pull herself together long enough to heal Marth alongside me, but she collapsed almost right after that."
"Oh no…" Asuna gasped.
"Sounds like the battle isn't over yet," Kirito said, his voice and face grim. "Come on." And he took off on black wings, followed quickly by his wife.
Robin was alone in the throne room of the now-dead Walhart when Lucina approached him quietly. When she drew close enough, he said, "I'm glad that Say'ri gave us Vert so willingly. With it, we are but one step away from averting your nightmare."
"It hardly seems real," she murmured as she stood beside him.
"The fact that we won?" He phrased the question as a joke, but she looked at him with serious eyes as she replied.
"That, and the fairies of Alfheim, and the adventures we've all had together…" she said quietly. "I had many adventures in my timeline, but none of them ever held so much light and laughter as the times I've shared with you and my Father. Sometimes, in the few instances where I was able to truly rest, which were seldom, I would dream of having Father back, and going home to a castle that was whole, unbroken, bustling with liveliness." Her eyes glistened, and she dashed her eyes before tears could fall. "Sorry, Robin. I didn't mean to go on like that."
"Lucina, you may go on all you need to," Robin said with a comforting smile. "The battle against Grima may loom, but for now, we have won. The Shepherds are victorious! We have nothing to fear right now, so let us make the most of this time however we please. And if that means getting things off of your chest, or going and doing things that you never could before, then by all means, let us."
"The Shepherds are victorious…" she breathed, her eyes widening a bit. She looked up at him in the eye and said, "In all of my days, I have never heard those words…Not once."
"Never?" Robin repeated.
"No," Lucina shook her head. "I have never known what it was to be victorious, only to be informed that we would be able to rest for the night because we had put enough distance between us and the enemy."
Robin's face bore an expression that surprised Lucina when she finished speaking. There was shock, which she had expected. But he also looked heartbroken, which surprised her a great deal. Never before had anyone shown such an ability to hurt with her as though they had been through the same hell as she. It amazed her that, without a word, Robin could show that he understood her so well.
Letting instinct guide her, she put her arms around the man and kissed him softly, feeling his slim yet powerful arms go around her back. When she broke the contact, she leaned into his chest, feeling the soft fabric of his ever-present Grandmaster's robe and taking in the scent of the man she loved.
"I've been thinking…" Robin said quietly.
"Isn't that your job?" Lucina teased him, a bit to his surprise.
"Did you just crack a joke, lady of mine?" he asked.
"I think so," she giggled. "But you were saying?"
"Eh? Ah yes, I remember," he grinned. "When we return home, I know Chrom is planning on legally adopting you as his daughter. I was thinking of doing the same with Marth and Morgan."
"Oh?" she said quietly.
"Yes, but there's a slight hiccup," he said, and she felt his heartrate accelerate. "Ylissean law does not allow adoption unless the child can be adopted into a family with a mother and a father already present." Lucina felt her own heartrate accelerate greatly as she started to see what he was getting at.
"I'm sure my father could make an exception for you," she said, deliberately misunderstanding the blond tactician as a wide smile broke out on her face. "You'd make an excellent father, Robin."
"A father is only as good as the mother that helps him in raising his children," Robin replied, his heartbeat thundering in her ears. "So for once, I will cease to engage in subterfuge and get straight to the point." His heartbeat left her ears, and he lowered himself to one knee.
"Lucina, I am far from perfect, but I would ask for the hand of the most perfect princess in all the world in marriage, if she would grant it to me," he said, his voice a little unsteady, though his hazel eyes remained rock-solid. "Will you be my wife, and a mother to Marth and Morgan, whom we both love dearly?"
The answer was not long in coming: "Yes, I will."
Mataras: Eh? Eh...? See? No cliffhangers! Everyone is alive, Robin popped the question...
Robin: What do you want, a medal?
Mataras: Yes.
Kirito: Was it really that hard to leave out a cliffhanger?
Mataras: Yes it was!
Asuna: Wow, you really are proud of yourself for this one, aren't you?
Mataras: And why shouldn't I be? I thought it was pretty good!
Lucina: It was, but I think we'll have to wait and see what the readers have to say.
Robin: Agreed. So to the readers, please be sure to leave a review, and Mataras will get back to you if have any questions!