Chapter 17: Let the Dragon Consume You!
Chrystheight walked through the streets of ALO. NPCs were bustling about, and any the music of the game seem to make things smooth for him.
And on the contrary for him, he was actually there for to cool off.
'This feels nice.' He thought to himself. 'It's good to take some time off.'
But, he was cut off by a figure. His face turned serious. The figure was none other than Graphite.
"So you're Chrystheight?" He said. "Or should I say… Seijiro Kikuoka?"
"How do you know my real name?" Chrystheight asked.
Graphite scoffed and pulled out an object. It looked like a Gashat. But it was black and gray. He pressed it, and black aura spread to Chrystheight's body. He felt a sharp pain within his body as he slowly began to collapse.
"Wha-, what is this?!" He demanded. "Why do I feel… so weak…?"
Graphite smirked, and then kicked him square in the face. He then turned around and walked away as other players began to go over to Chrystheight.
"This is only the beginning…" He cackled quietly.
I've gotta believe!
(A circle camera shot of Kirito and Asuna, back to back, looking around, as the world pixelates and revealing the title)
I don't wanna know heta na shinjitsu nara I don't wanna know shiranai kurai ga ii noni
(The SAO gang talking together)
Why? Why? Why? Why?
(The floor suddenly crash and all of them fall, their bodies pixelating into their SAO avatars)
Kizukeba I came too far
(They slowly get up, looking around the pitch blackness)
Tomaranai kanjiru kono yokan wa
(The world shatters into color with the Riders walking behind them)
The new beginning
(Each Rider show their Gashats)
Michi no ryuoiki ima wo kirihirakunda
(The SAO gang prepare to fight)
I've gotta believe!
(The Riders go Level 2)
(Turn it on!) soutou
(The Gamer Driver lever turns)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Takanaru
(Ex-Aid VS Kirito and Asuna)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kokoro ga
(Brave VS Silica and Lisbeth, Snipe VS Sinon and Leafa)
Michibiku ano basho e kakenukete ikudake
(In an explosion, Lazer tears by with Ex-Aid riding)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(Brave, Snipe, and Lazer go into Level 3)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(Ex-Aid also goes into Level 3, and does a rocket punch)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(Graphite VS the SAO gang)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(Ex-Aid VS Genmu)
(One!) kono te no naka
(Sinon (GGO) and Snipe raising their guns to their faces)
(Two!) susumubeki Life
(Asuna and Brave clashing swords)
(Three!) ikitekudake
(Kirito & Ex-Aid run towards each other as the title appears)
Kirito and Asuna were back in their log cabin. Leafa and Lisbeth were doing their best to comfort them. Silica and Klein were just sitting around.
Sinon was a different story. She banged her fist onto the counter in frustration.
"That bastard…" She muttered.
JET CRITICAL STRIKE!
The attack seriously injured those involved. But for Sinon, it was also an emotional damage.
"I'll destroy him next time…!" She said.
"Now, now, take it easy over there." Klein reminded.
"Sinon." Kirito reminded. "We were all overwhelmed by that. Don't feel bad."
Sinon scoffed and just looked away. Kirito just shook his head and got up to get something. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a cup, but then he dropped it suddenly. The cup smashed on the ground, and Kirito held his hand.
"Kirito?" Silica asked.
"You okay?" Leafa asked too.
"Yeah. I guess my hand wasn't there yet, I guess." Kirito chuckled.
Just then, a message alert appeared in front of him. He read it, and he got serious.
"What is it?" Asuna asked.
"It's Chrystheight." Kirito replied. "He sent us a location. Probably where he is."
The room turned silent. It was a rare occurrence that Chrystheight would contact them via message, but rare doesn't mean never.
"Why would he sent us a location?" Silica asked.
"Who knows?" Liz replied.
Kirito walked to the door, but Asuna stopped him in his tracks.
"You know he's an ambiguous man." She reminded.
"If he weren't, why would I go?" Kirito retorted.
He then moved past Asuna and took to the air. Asuna sighed, and then followed by everyone else, she followed him.
Chrystheight struggled to get to a chair. He was panting heavily. Some players would often look at him with a confused look, but paid no attention to him.
It was only until Kirito and his friends arrived on the scene.
"So… you did come…" He groaned with some coughing.
"Alright, out with it." Kirito said with a cold look. "What's going on?"
Yui popped out of his pocket. She looked at Chrytheight, and realized something.
"He's infected!" She stated.
"'Infected'?" Chrystheight replied. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you have the Bugster." Said a voice.
Everyone turned and saw Brave and Ex-Aid walking in. Poppy was flying beside Ex-Aid.
"And you are…?" Chrystheight asked.
"We're here to cure you." Brave replied, pulling out his Gashat. "You should just stay put."
He pressed his Gashat.
TADDLE QUEST!
"Don't worry, sir." Ex-Aid reminded, pulling out his Gashat. "This won't be able a painful procedure."
He pressed it as well.
MIGHTY ACTION X!
Both game fields spread over the area. This enacted something. Chrystheight began to scream in pain, and orange blobs began to form on his body. However, the blobs just accumulated into his stomach, and began to swell up like a bubble.
"This is different!" Sinon shouted.
Just as she said, the blob raised itself into the air, and flashed brightly. The blob now became a dragon. It roared loudly.
"A Dragon?!" Klein yelled. "We're fighting a freaking DRAGON NOW?!"
"Don't act surprised!" Brave ordered.
Then, both he and Ex-Aid inserted their Gashats into their Drivers.
"Henshin!" Ex-Aid announced.
"Henshin." Brave said.
GASHATTO!
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
Both figures were replaced by their chibi forms. But neither of them stayed this way, as per usual these days.
"Dai Henshin!" Ex-Aid shouted.
"Proceeding to Level 2." Brave stated.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!
TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!
Ex-Aid and Brave turned into their Level 2 forms. Brave got his sword, and Ex-Aid just pressed the button on his side.
STAGE SELECT!
The area was now a waterfall. There was a small riverbank with some rocks and as well as a forest surrounding the area.
"Huh?" Leafa muttered. "Where is it?"
"Closer than you think!" Laughed a voice.
Everyone turned around and saw the source of the voice. Graphite was sitting on a tree branch. He jumped down and landed in front of them.
"Graphite…" Brave growled.
"What are you trying to get at, man?" Liz shouted.
"It's a simple goal actually." Graphite mocked. "I wish to raise an army of my kind. That way, we will be able to take over the world!"
"The world, eh?" Kirito remarked. "Setting the bar pretty high, aren't you?"
Graphite smirked and showed his opponents something. It was the black Gashat he used to infect Chrystheight.
"A Gashat?" Leafa asked. "Wait, it looks different."
"Now, you shall witness my true power!" Graphite bellowed.
He pressed the Gashat, and then he stabbed it into his chest. It pixelated into him and then he began to change form.
"BAIOU!" He shouted.
He changed into his monster look. It looked the same, but the color was different. The basic color was black as well as a shade of really really dark gray. Only his right arm deviated from this. In contrast to the shadow-like colors, that arm had a golden color vibe to it.
"Now…" He groaned. "Bear witness to the birth of my new power, along with my friend!"
As if on cue, the dragon that flew out of Chrystheight flew in from the sky.
"You guys can handle the dragon, right?" Ex-Aid asked.
"Sure!" Kirito replied.
"We'll handle the Bugster!" Brave stated.
Then, Kirito and his friends charged at the dragon while the Riders took aim at Graphite.
Ex-Aid was the first to reach Graphite. He swung his hammer all over, but Graphite just punched the hammer strikes away from him. Then, he kicked Ex-Aid off of him. He grabbed the blade on his back. He turned around and blocked a sneaky sword slash from Brave.
"I'll make you pay for Yuko!" He demanded.
"I'd like to see you try!" Graphite taunted.
Brave roared and continued slashing for Graphite's head.
Meanwhile, Kirito and his friends were dealing with the dragon. Somehow, Silica was already on top of it, slashing its back. Liz followed up with a mace swing to the side, but the dragon shoved it off with one of the talons that seemed to look like a sword.
"I'll go for the mouth!" Asuna said.
"We'll make you a path!" Sinon called.
She fired an arrow to the side of the dragon's face. It groaned from the pain, but that gave Asuna the opening to jumped into the mouth. With one arm keeping the mouth open, she began to slash the innards of the dragon. The dragon flew into various trees and the waterfall to shake her off.
Graphite saw this, and responded appropriately. But first he had to get Brave out of his face.
"Still not fully evolved by the looks of things…" He wondered.
He whistled to the dragon. The dragon looked at Graphite and responded. First, it spitted out Asuna. Coincidently, she fell in the vicinity of Graphite. He saw his chance. He grabbed Asuna and jumped.
"Asuna!" Kirito yelled.
Graphite jumped onto the back of the dragon and flew away. With him gone, the Stage disappeared and they were back in the place where Chrystheight was. Brave and Ex-Aid cancelled out of their transformations.
GACHANN! GASHUNN!
Ex-Aid then turned his attention to Chrystheight. Poppy flew out of his pocket to assist. She turned bigger, about the size of Asuna. She slowly lifted Chrystheight with Ex-Aid.
"Is there any place where he can stay for a bit?" Brave asked Klein.
"We'll go to Kirito's place." Klein suggested. "It's the closest."
Brave nodded and with Ex-Aid and Poppy behind him, walked towards the direction. Everyone else slowly followed, with Kirito dead last.
Dan was sitting in his office. He was looking at the case he left open.
"All according to plan." He smiled. "Graphite taking the Proto-Gashat was just like giving candy to a baby."
"Wow!" Pallad cheered, going up to him. "I said this before, and I'll keep saying it: You. Are. Scary."
"Thank you." Dan replied. "All that's left is to get the combat data for this."
He opened up his drawer and grabbed a box. He opened it and saw a golden USB.
"Ah… the new generation of gaming?" Pallad asked.
After that, Pallad left the office. Dan sighed, and put the USB back in. Just then, Taiga entered his office.
"I thought I warned you not to trespass without proper authorization." He said.
"Was that the tenth Gashat?" Taiga asked.
"Well, yes." Dan replied.
"So, counting all of the Gashats that we have out there, including that black Ex-Aid's Shakariki Sports…." Taiga explained. "We have ten."
"The question is." He continued. "Who will you give it to?"
"Well, anyone that is not you." Dan answered.
Taiga winced, and then stormed out. Dan shook his head, only pulling out the USB again. He plugged it in, and then made preparations to dive in.
Chrystheight was now lying on the bed of the Asuna-Kirito log cabin.
"So… what you're saying is…" He reiterated. "These Bugster things can infect me, and then take over my mind and body?"
"That is the usual case, yes." Ex-Aid replied.
"And you are working with the GENM Corporation?" Chrystheight asked again.
"Well… yes." Brave answered. "But not just them."
"Who else is there?" Chrystheight asked, slowly getting up.
"The Ministry of Defense is funding us." Brave explained. "I won't say much here for precautions."
"The Ministry of Defense?" Chrystheight asked. "I'm in the Ministry of Internal Affairs! Why wasn't I informed of this?"
"The minister wanted it so." Ex-Aid explained. "If word about this got out, there would be chaos."
"As such is the case, only the people under this roof know about it; you included." Brave concluded.
"I can understand the sentiment." Chrystheight said. "But I could help!"
"In your condition, you're in no position to do anything." Brave retorted.
"He's right, sir." Ex-Aid said, putting Chrystheight back on his back. "You need rest. We'll handle the Bugster."
Chrystheight sighed.
"To think this is how I was going to spend my weekend…" He sighed.
"Happens to the best of us." Ex-Aid answered.
With that, Ex-Aid and Brave exited the room. They began to walk downstairs when they heard a glass smashing. They bolted down. They saw Kirito with shards of glass in his hands.
"Kirito…" Leafa whispered.
"Graphite took Asuna…" Kirito growled. "I'll rip that guy to pieces!"
"That is not your role, kid." Brave retorted. "You can't let emotions get the better of you."
"You're the one to talk!" Kirito shouted back. "You were fighting for revenge!"
"Care to say that again, punk?" Brave growled back.
Kirito and Brave were now at death stares. No one spoke a word at this intensity.
"Now, now!" Poppy said, getting in between them. "Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere!"
"She's right." Said a calm voice.
Everyone turned and saw an Undine standing before them. The door was ajar, and the Undine closed it back up, as per good manners. Above the player, was the name Genmu.
"Dan Kuroto…?" Kirito whispered.
"Well." Genmu chuckled. "You certainly have an eye, Kirito."
"Why are you here?" Brave asked.
Genmu scrolled down his item menu. He pressed one of them, and a Gashat materialized into his hand.
"I have come to give you this." He explained.
"Is that the finished Gashat?" Ex-Aid asked.
"Yes." Genmu answered. "It is the new stage. Level 5!"
"Level 5?" Silica asked.
"Yes." Genmu replied. "However, this game is a bit different from the others."
"Dragon Knight Hunter Z, is it?" Ex-Aid commented. "That's a four-payer co-op game!"
"Yes." Genmu responded. "However, it is still not complete. If you could defeat the Bugster and absorb its data, the Gashat will be ready for use."
Brave and Ex-Aid walked up to Genmu.
"We'll do it." Ex-Aid said, holding his hand up. "Just give us the Gashat."
"Of course." Genmu replied.
He dropped the Gashat, but then, Kirito bolted. Grabbing the Gashat in midair, he held it tightly in his hands.
"Kirito?" Klein asked.
"What is the meaning of this?" Brave demanded.
"If this Gashat helps me save Asuna…" Kirito explained. "I have to take the chance."
"Just what are you going to do with it, then?" Brave demanded again. "It's not like you can use it!"
"No one said I can't bother trying." Kirito retorted.
Then, he sprouted wings and flew off.
"Hey! Kirito!" Leafa shouted.
Lisbeth groaned and just followed after him. Everyone else followed suit.
"He does lead by example, huh?" Poppy commented, reverting back to her pixie form and cozily placing herself inside Ex-Aid's pocket.
"What good would that do if he gets himself killed?" Ex-Aid added, flying into the sky with his wings out.
Brave rolled his eyes. Then he followed them out as well.
Genmu was now left alone. He walked upstairs and into the room where Chrystheight was sleeping. The sound of him woke the latter up though.
"Who are you?" Chrystheight asked.
"I'm the GENM CEO." Genmu replied. "I would like to talk to you."
Graphite was on top of one of the tallest buildings in ALO. He held his Gashat in front of him. He pressed it, and then the same black aura he had infected Chrystheight with spread across the area.
Down below, players were just minding their own businesses. Amongst the crowd, Kirito ran straight through them, bumping people out of the way. His friends and the Riders are just barely keeping up with him.
Suddenly, a player fell over unconscientious. Leafa and Sinon walked over to him.
"Hey!" Leafa shouted. "Are you okay?"
Poppy scanned the player.
"He's infected!" She said once she was done.
That's when another player fell.
"Her too?" Silica asked.
That's when several others began to fall over. Poppy looked around. Everyone was getting infected left and right.
"This is crazy!" She whined. "Pi pu pe po Panic~!"
Ex-Aid tried to reassure her, while Kirito looked up. There was an ominous black mist surrounding one of the buildings. Without uttering a word, he darted towards it.
"Kirito?" Liz asked.
But Kirito was gone. Ex-Aid knew what he was going to do.
"Can you guys handle things over here?" He asked.
"Go. We'll handle this somehow!" Brave replied.
Ex-Aid then slowly followed after Kirito. And the rest got those that were infected over to a hospitable area.
Back above, Graphite was smiling away. He could hear it all. The players falling, and the Bugsters within them growing.
"Now, suffer as unknown virus eats away your existence…!" He scowled.
"GRAPHITE!" Kirito's voice shouted.
Graphite turned around and saw Kirito, swords in hand. Ex-Aid slowly got up behind him.
"To think you would show up before them…" He commented.
"Where's Asuna?" Kirito demanded.
"Oh, she's around…" Graphite smiled.
Kirito began to step forward, but Ex-Aid grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
"We can't fight Graphite here." He stated.
He pulled Kirito behind him, and pulled out his Gashat, pressing it as well.
MIGHTY ACTION X!
Then, with a second of posing, Ex-Aid transformed.
"Henshin!" He shouted.
GASHATTO!
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHATCHA NAME?!
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
Ex-Aid quickly turned into his Level 1 form, but like always, he didn't stay like that.
"Dai Henshin!" He announced.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!
Ex-Aid leveled up into Level 2. Then, he reached for the side of his belt. Pressing it, the area changed.
STAGE SELECT!
The area now became the same forest they fought in earlier. The only differences were that there was only a metal bridge crossing between two mountainsides and a small river stream flowing next to them.
Kirito raised his swords.
"Let's do this." He said.
"Sure." Graphite answered.
He pressed his Gashat, and then jabbed it into his chest. He turned into his monster form.
"But, you won't be fighting me." He added. He looked above him.
Kirito and Ex-Aid looked up and saw the dragon from before fly in. It looked larger and more powerful.
"Looks like it finished evolving…" Ex-Aid commented.
That's when the dragon grabbed Kirito by his arm and flew away.
"Ex-Aid…" Graphite said, pulling out his blade. "You'll be a fight worth fighting!"
Ex-Aid grabbed the Gashacon Breaker and began his attack. But he was intercepted. Brave, in Level 2, with the Gashacon Sword out, now stood in between them.
"I'll eliminate you!" He said.
Brave then charged. Ex-Aid just shrugged and attacked with him.
Meanwhile, Kirito was still being hung by the dragon's mouth. It flew around the fight of Ex-Aid, Brave, and Graphite before dropping him just shy of the river stream. The dragon then shot a fire breath attack. Kirito dodged it with a corkscrew, and then slashed the stomach of the dragon. The dragon retaliated by slashing him. The impact sent him flying, dropping the new Gashat in the process. But the Gashat was caught by Sinon.
"I got it!" She called.
That's when Silica, Leafa, Lisbeth, and Klein jumped in. First, Silica and Liz cut its sword arm, and the dragon just whacked them back with its tail. Klein and Leafa both jumped into the air, but the dragon just shot them with its gun arm. They landed back on the ground with a thud. The dragon roared, and then took to the air.
"Look out!" Sinon shouted. "It's coming in for another pass!"
The dragon roared, but then its face was met with little sparks and explosions. The gang looked up and saw Snipe, in Level 3, shooting at the dragon. It flew around, trying to dodge the attacks. Klein and Leafa took this opening to attack. And while they kept that dragon busy, Snipe landed in front of Sinon.
"I don't know why and how you have that Gashat, but I'll be taking it now." He said bluntly.
"Here." Sinon said, sticking the Gashat to him.
But she quickly pulled it back, and then ran past him.
"Yeah, right. Like I'd just give it to you after what you did?!" She said.
Snipe scoffed, and only got the Gashacon Magnum in his hand. He shot the back of Sinon, causing her to fall.
"Children should only be seen, not heard." He said, grabbing the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat.
He inserted the Gashat into the Magnum.
GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
He pulled the trigger, and at the same time, Sinon drew her bow and fired and arrow.
GEKITOTSU CRITICAL FINISH!
An energy fist fired from the gun, and it met the arrow in a huge explosion. But the fist kept on going and landed a hit on Sinon. She lost grip of the new Gashat and it sent it flying into Snipe's hand. Snipe sniggered at it.
"I don't have time to waste on this guy…" She groaned.
Just then, Kirito dropped in from nowhere and then threw his sword at Snipe. The sword landed on his shoulder, sending him back a bit. He looked around. The 2 by 2 by 2 blocks from the game area of Mighty Action X was around.
"Help the others with the dragon." He whispered to Sinon. "I'll make this quick."
Sinon nodded, and then ran to the fight with the dragon. Kirito then jumped into Snipe's line of vision. The latter just finished getting that sword out of his shoulder. He began firing, but Kirito was agile enough to dodge them all. Kirito landed on a block. He grabbed his other sword and then burst it open. A coin appeared, and it landed on him, giving him a power up of some kind.
MUSCLE UP!
Kirito jumped back down to the ground. He landed with an action roll, grabbing his other sword in the process. Snipe kept on shooting, but Kirito just slashed his torso. That sent him back, giving the Gashat back into Kirito's grasp.
But that victory was short lived. The dragon came back with a vengeance. It shot a fire breath at both of them. Kirito rolled out of the way, while Snipe only took back into the air. The dragon then tail-whipped Kirito. That sent him flying.
Meanwhile, Graphite was doing just fine. Ex-Aid and Brave were putting up a decent fight, but their current lack of coordination was giving him the better chances.
He arm-thrusted both Ex-Aid and Brave in the stomach, which sent them flying.
"Is that the best you could do?" He taunted.
Ex-Aid and Brave both stood back up. The two looked at each other, and knew what to do. They both inserted their Gashats into their respective weapons.
GASHUNN! GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
Then, with their weapons in position, they began to dart towards Graphite. But that's when Kirito fell in between them.
"Hey! Watch it, dude!" Ex-Aid shouted.
Kirito shook his head and saw both of the Riders' weapons. He just then grabbed them right out of their hands.
"I'm borrowing these." He said, darting back towards the dragon.
"He-hey!" Brave yelled.
But he didn't have time for that, as all they could now is dodge all of Graphite's attacks.
"Pay attention!" He bellowed.
Kirito looked up at the dragon. It was kept very busy. Snipe was giving it a constant stream of bullets, and the others were doing their best to damage it. He flipped the Gashacon Sword around, thus he is now holding it backhanded. He then slashed upward. That created an ice path that shot up to the dragon, with the ice encompassing most of its torso. He then ran up the ice path. He positioned both weapons beside him as he got closer and closer.
MIGHTY TADDLE CRITICAL FINISH!
Kirito slashed first with the Gashacon Breaker, then second with the Gashacon Sword, and finally, using both in an X-Shaped slash attack, the dragon roared as it was blown up. Kirito landed back on the ground. He raised the new Gashat into the air, as the dragon was dissolved back into orange blobs and absorbed into the Gashat. Kirito looked at the new Gashat, and a picture of the dragon appeared on the Gashat art.
Graphite saw it all happen. He just had Ex-Aid at his final strength, and once he saw the dragon defeated, he just threw Ex-Aid into a tree, while Brave was only sent back a bit. Ex-Aid was sent out of his transformation.
GASHUNN!
"No…!" He whispered.
He then began to run towards that vicinity. Brave lifted Ex-Aid by his shoulder, and helped him followed Graphite.
While all of this was happening, real life had another story. Kiriya was busy researching everything he could about Emu. He had looked into medical reports, past jobs, he even asked his family about certain things.
A little while later, he was in a hospital. He asked a nurse for something, and he was waiting for something.
As far as the information he got, he only got the information about how Emu had a surgery due to a severe car accident. Furthermore, that was 16 years ago.
"Here you go." The nurse said. "All of the paperwork involving Emu Hojo."
"Thank you." Kiriya replied.
"May I ask what do you need this for?" The nurse asked.
"We have a body coming into the examiner's office in a few days." Kiriya explained. "We have reason to believe that the cause of death may be in Emu's files."
"But his surgery was almost 16 years ago…" The nurse commented.
Kiriya looked up. That got him another question.
"If you don't mind me asking." He began. "Who did the surgery?"
"Huh…" The nurse wondered. "I think he works in the Ministry of Defense… or was it the Ministry of Internal Affairs…?"
"All I could think of right now is the name." The nurse answered. "Two doctors worked on him. Hinata Kyotarou and Seijiro Kikuoka, I think…"
Kiriya got wind of the first name, but the second name was new to him. But, he remembered.
'I got a text from Emu earlier…' He thought. 'Seijiro Kikuoka is the infected…'
"Thank you for your assistance." He replied shortly. He then left the hospital.
Sometime later, as Lazer, he was flying in the skies of ALO. He found Kirito and Asuna's log cabin quickly, and then he made his way to the bed room.
"Who's there?" Chrystheight asked.
"Relax, man." Lazer assured. "Just don't die on me yet, bro."
Chrystheight studied Lazer carefully.
"Are you another one of those… Kamen Riders?" He asked.
"Yep." Lazer replied. "And I have some questions for ya."
Chrystheight lied back down.
"So… apparently." He began. "You have done an operation with the Minister of Defense on Emu Hojo about 16 years ago."
Chrystheight looked at Lazer with a shocked look.
"Now the question is…" Lazer smiled. "What did you do to him?"
Graphite stormed in front of Kirito.
"You will regret this!" He shouted.
Kirito looked at Graphite. He had a scornful expression on his face. His friends walked up behind him.
"You're not actually going to fight him, are you?" Liz asked.
Ex-Aid and Brave then stepped beside him.
"You should let us handle this." Brave stated.
Kirito wasn't having any of that. He looked at Ex-Aid. He was out of his transformation, but the Gashat was still in the Gamer Driver, which was still on him. He just grabbed the Gamer Driver off of Ex-Aid.
"Hey!" He shouted.
But then, Kirito put the Driver on himself. It was rather off putting, as the bright colors of the Driver clashed with his blackness appearance.
"Are you actually going to do it?" Leafa asked.
"You can't risk it!" Silica called.
"I know." Kirito said. "But…"
He tightened the grip on the new, recently completed, Gashat.
"That thing has Asuna…" He said. "And I'm going to save her. It has to be me!"
With that proclamation, he raised the new Gashat in the air. Then, he pressed it.
DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!
A gold game area spread itself out. Then, the dragon they had beaten earlier appeared on top of them. The dragon roared and bellowed its cry as it flew around in the sky.
"Don't do it!" Ex-Aid shouted.
"You'll kill yourself!" Brave called.
"Kirito! Stop this!" Lisbeth shouted.
"Don't!" Silica yelled.
"Let us help!" Leafa shouted.
"You can't do this alone!" Klein yelled as well.
And despite all of the protesting, Kirito pretended like he can't hear a thing. He just inserted the Gashat into the Driver.
GASHATTO!
Snipe, who had just walked up, saw what was going on. While Graphite was seething with fury, Snipe found this rather amusing.
'Heh.' He thought. 'That idiot's actually doing it…'
Kirito grabbed the Driver's lever. He gripped it tightly, and breathed, closing his eyes.
"Asuna…" He whispered. "Just hold on a bit longer… I'll save you."
Then, shooting his eyes open, he opened the Driver.
"Henshin." He said.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION! X!
A GACCHA!
D-D-DRAGO! KNI-KNI-KNI-KNI~GHT! DRA! DRA! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!
The dragon roared as its split apart. Its sword arm attached onto Kirito's right arm, while the gun arm attached onto his left arm. The dragon's hind legs formed themselves into a leg armor, as they attached themselves onto his lower legs. And finally, with one final roar, the dragon torso landed on Kirito's torso, giving him armor with the dragon's head serving as the helmet. However, the Ex-Aid form did not appear.
Kirito took one step, but he stopped immediately. Energy begin to crackle all over his body. He grunted and groaned, and with one final roar from the dragon, he went berserk.
Not by his own ambition however, he began spewing out vortexes of fire and laser blasts. All of those attacks are landing all over the place, causing explosions. Everyone had to get to cover just to avoid them.
"That idiot…" Brave groaned.
"What's going on?" Ex-Aid asked.
"Just like I thought." Snipe stated. "That was too much for him to handle. He's gone berserk."
Kirito began to flail around with the dragon armor on him. In fact, he even attacked his own friends.
"Hey! Watch it!" Liz shouted.
But Kirito couldn't respond. After knocking Klein around for a bit, he then unknowingly began to run towards Graphite.
"Befitting of you to meet your demise like this…" He smiled.
He reached for his blade, and after twirling it around, he placed the blade in front of him.
"Blackest Dragon Slash!" He chanted.
And with one strike, the attack landed on Kirito. Kirito tried to take it, but he couldn't handle the power of both the Drago Knight Hunter and the attack from the Graphite. He was knocked away. Kirito tumbled back, the armor disappearing in the process.
GASHUNN!
Suddenly, Kirito found himself back on the same rooftop he found Graphite at. He looked up and only saw Ex-Aid's Gamer Driver and the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat sitting idly by.
Kirito struggled up, but the only strength he could muster up was enough to just punch the ground in frustration.