Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Sword Art Online.
Chapter 3: Flight
"Quick, Naruto! Secure the bridge!" Stamford gleefully exclaimed, his hand reaching behind his back. Bemused, Naruto could only watch as the great battleaxe shimmered into existence.
Naruto's stare was broken by a loud screech. Turning his attention to the bridge, Naruto got his first sight of a kobold.
The thing was about as tall as Naruto himself, its skin a bright cardinal red. One clawed foot stepped forward onto the bridge, clattering as the kobold tested its weight on the wooden planks. Chittering to itself, the kobold looked back, motioning the band onward. Naruto could see the horde began to shuffle onto the bridge, each kobold gripping jagged blades in their gnarled talons.
"Naruto! With Me!" Stamford cried, racing onto the bridge.
"Right!" But as he ran, Naruto's mind went back to his conversation with Stamford, sitting around their roaring campfire. Could he really use his greatsword?
Oh well, only one way to find out! Reaching Stamford's position halfway across the bridge, Naruto drew his greatsword from his inventory, turning it around in his hand. Finding his grip, he held the sword out in front of him, marveling at the way the pixels shimmered like light across steel. Is this really a video game? Am I really… here?
An abrupt sword slash cut Naruto from his musings. The horde was upon them.
Grimacing, Naruto blocked the slash, jumping back as he maneuvered his sword above his head. He brought it down with force igniting a red pixelated slash from the kobold's temple down to its mandible. Naruto heard a chime and noticed for the first time the green health bars above each of the enemy mobs. The kobold in front of him shuttered, its own bar greying out. Suddenly, it shattered into millions of tiny pieces.
"Great shot kid, keep it up!"
Naruto turned to thank Stamford, only to gape in awe. The man was alight with blue energy, surrounded by three kobolds. In a flash, Naruto watched as the blue aura seized suddenly, and Stamford unleashed a flurry of blows against the small kobold squad. Four dropped dead, their corpses dissipating before they could touch the planks.
"Great shot yourself! That was amazing Stamford!" Naruto cried, dodging another cut. He threw his blade in reverse, slicing into this kobold as well. Maybe this won't be so bad after all! Naruto thought to himself. His worries were for nothing!
A great baritone call struck the bridge, and its occupants ceased fighting. An eerie silence blanketed the battlefield, as each kobold in turn arched their head to the sky. One by one, they made their way off the bridge, standing idly by the entrance.
"What's all that about?" Naruto asked Stamford, breathless from the exertion.
"I dunno," Stamford drawled, absentmindedly swinging his axe up to rest on his shoulder. "I'm going to guess… hmm. Maybe a second wave?"
That would make sense. Naruto looked back at the town of Medali, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow. He would take a few seconds of reprieve before the kobolds inevitably attacked their position again. He could see smoke in the distance, curling lazily into the sky. He wondered briefly whether Kibaou and the others were alright.
Once more that great trumpet call echoed over the clearing. Across the water, Naruto could see the forest light up with glowing red eyes.
"Here they come!" Stamford brandished his axe. "Come and get me, you damn lizards!"
Waves of kobolds streamed onto the bridge, flooding the narrow path over the rushing river below. The bridge itself was only about 6 feet wide, with old wooden planks fastened across a lower arch. There was spacing between the planks, enough to see through, and Naruto caught a glimpse of the black, swirling water.
"Crahhkaww!" The kobolds screamed, a steady line of chaos forming at the head of the bridge. Hearing shuffling along the bank, Naruto looked over to the side of the bridge to see a small party of kobolds dipping slowly into the river.
"Stamford! They're in the river!" Naruto cried.
"See if you can head them off, I've got the ones on the bridge covered!" Stamford shot back. Naruto, too engrossed in his own fight with the pair of kobolds that had engaged him, looked over at Stamford.
His armor sheened, the dying light of the day sending beams of reflected sunlight from his shoulders as he hammered blow after blow into the kobolds. "Go! I'll be fine!"
Naruto took a breath, and leapt over the railing into the racing river below. He greeted the party of four with a grimace. "I'll be your opponent!" Naruto snarled, racing through the waist-high water to meet them.
He raised his sword high above his head and brought it down on the first one, striking blow after blow. It flailed wildly, its squadmates moving to surround Naruto as the besieged kobold shuddered, and disappeared in a puff of pixels. Suddenly, each kobold launched strikes at Naruto. One after the other they went, like clockwork. Down came a sword, and then another. A front slash, followed by a sideways cut. Naruto did all that he could to avoid the strikes as they came, blocking and weaving in between blows, but he began to sport red cuts up and down his body. The greatsword was too big for him to do anything but clumsily block. I need some space, Naruto thought to himself.
Pushing back yet another blow, Naruto began to slowly backpedal toward the riverbank, facing the advancing kobolds. He feinted left with his blade, catching a kobold off-guard, before smashing the sword home through its torso. One more down!
Naruto stumbled, his back foot hitting the slippery pebbles dotting the bank. The kobolds, sensing weakness, sprang on him, slashing wildly. Naruto clambered to his feet as he watched his health bar rapidly drain. Swinging wildly, he pushed the two kobolds back, sending his broadsword into one's chest and second through the other's neck. He fell on his back, gasping as the reality of his scrape with death hit him.
"I'm… alive," Naruto mumbled to himself, his broadsword laying next to him. He put his hands out in front of his face and spread his fingers, looking at his wet, muddied hands in wonder. "I'm alive!"
"Hey kid! If you're done down there, I really could use some more help here!" Naruto looked up at Stamford. The behemoth of a man was holding back the bridge full of kobolds, swiping left and right with his battleaxe. Naruto nodded, running to assist him.
As he ran, Naruto caught a glimpse of that same crack in between the planks. A flash of red, a glint of steel.
"Stamford! Watch out!" Naruto screamed. But it was too late.
"Naruto, what -" Stamford started, before he was abruptly cut off.
A large polearm stuck through the bend in the bridge, piercing Stamford's lower abdomen. It sliced through his small padding. Stamford grimaced, and shuddered, turning around slightly. The kobolds around him seemed to grin, as Stamford's whole body racked. Naruto's eyes widened in horror. Stamford's health bar dropped, its bright green becoming a golden yellow, a sickly amber, a morose crimson, and finally a deathly grey.
"Well, I guess this is it," Stamford chuckled quietly, grinning at Naruto. "It was nice meeting y-"
He shattered into pieces. And just like before, a silence hit the bridge. The kobolds stared at Naruto, sat on his backside staring back in abject terror. One took a step forward, and then another. And like that, the scarlet wave descended once more on the bridge.
Naruto met the first kobold's raised blade with his greatsword in a sweeping block, but his blade faltered. On his next swing, the blade broke. Dumbfounded, Naruto scurried back.
What do I do? What do I do? Naruto screamed internally. He looked back at the kobolds, their onslaught, imminent. His only friend in this screwed up world dead, his one weapon broken, Naruto could see only one way out.
He turned around and ran.
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"Death is nothing to us. When we exist, death is not; and when death exists, we are not."-Epicurus
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