Phew! I am amazed at how far this story is coming. We've gone from Underworld to Aincrad, and there is more to enjoy.
I do want to address a couple of reviewers for both this and my other fic, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Duo. I know you guys really enjoy this story and have your own ideas about things, but I request you respect what I write. I actually have several chapters in the wings awaiting posting. So a lot of this story is set.
Beyond that, I do want to thank you guys for everything. Especially ones like cosmicblader12 and DaManWOFear. Lots of amazing insight, and even keep me on my toes with what I write and what to watch out for. Thanks a bunch guys.
Once more, disclaimer: Reki Kawahara owns and is the creator of SAO, not me. All credit and rights go to him.
Now then,
LINK START!
Chapter 9:
Reason for Living
The Dungeon Master's wings buzzed as it hovered in the air, giving an air of intimidation to the three that were found in its room. Nothing could have prepared any of them for a foe such as this. Kirito and Eugeo had never trained to face such a monster themselves, and Alice never in her life encountered something as gigantic or threatening as this. But based on what it did to that boar, they knew they wouldn't stand a chance if it got them in its grasp.
Shaking out of her horror, Alice called out, "We need to leave and regroup with Uncle!" No argument came from the boys. But before any of them could reach the exit, several other creatures that looked like miniature versions of the Dungeon Master barred their way, each carrying small spears. They surrounded the group, their spears pointed to keep them contained.
Gritting his teeth, Kirito told the others, "We have to fight back. At least enough to wound these things and make an opening."
"We can't fight these things Kirito," Eugeo argued.
"Well we're going to have to if we ever want to see Rulid again," Kirito returned. He then suggested, "I'll use a Sacred Art to disorient them, then we scatter and attack the Dungeon Master. Don't get caught off guard by these drones." With the plan settled, Kirito held out his free hand and recited, "System Call. Generate Luminous Element." Once three balls of light formed on his fingertips, he called out, "Expand." The orbs grew as he raised them over his head. Then he shouted, "Discharge!" The orbs flashed to create a blinding light. This caused the drones and Dungeon Master to recoil at the light and gave the three an opening to disperse.
Alice, being the closest to the Dungeon Master, charged at it without hesitation. But she was met by two drones barring the way and was forced to cut them down before they could spear her. But she had to roll out of the way when the Dungeon Master tried to spear her with its excessively large spear. More drones pounced on her, and she parried a few quick jabs before unleashing a Horizontal to clear the way.
Just as another was about to get the drop on her from behind, Eugeo jumped in using Sonic Leap to close the distance and slay it before it even had the chance. The two then stood back to back as they fended off the other drones coming at them. But there seemed to be an endless stream of them coming at them. The Dungeon Master itself turned its focus onto the two of them as it slowly began to approach the duo. Eugeo noticed it quickly, hastily thinking of a way out of their predicament.
That is until Kirito came at it from the side, taking a huge chunk out of its exposed side with his blade. As he descended, he also spun to slash at its lower body. This created two large gashes that oozed a green liquid, most likely its blood. Seeing it injured, Kirito smirked at his achievement. Then, the Dungeon Master let out a shriek that summoned a pair of drones before it. And before anyone could figure out what was going on, the monster impaled the drones summoned. It then drained them of Life just like it did the boar, reducing them to husks within a matter of seconds.
"What the hell?" Kirito gasped.
"How can it use its own species like that?" Eugeo questioned incredulously. "They seem to serve it like a queen, and it just discards them?"
As its wounds sealed up, Alice pointed out, "The drones serve its purposes, whatever those may be. They are expendable in its eyes." That seemed to make something snap in Kirito. Such disregard for Life like that infuriated him to no end. Letting out a battle cry, he charged the Dungeon Master as it finished draining energy. He then summoned fire bolts to fire at it to both injure it and disorient. He then drew his sword back as it glowed blue before swinging down from the left, then drawing it up to the right for the Vertical Arc skill. Such a blow cut through its carapace and issued out more green blood. But it once again drew drones to heal itself, though the effect was less this time since Kirito's cut did more damage than before.
Noticing this, Eugeo urged, "Kirito, keep forcing it to heal. It might run out of these drones draining their Life like that." Kirito nodded and jumped up to slash at it again. And the Dungeon Master once more summoned a drone to heal itself, only this one came from those attacking Eugeo and Alice. This gave the two an opening to escape and go for it. Eugeo went up a nearby ledge and sliced down on its left for further damage. While Alice summoned more fire bolts to strike at its head with. These attacks instigated it to react by sweeping its lance in front to knock anyone close enough back, which Kirito and Eugeo were fortunate to block before being blown back a good distance. It then summoned more drones to drain, enabling Alice to go up and strike with another blow mid-drain. They figured it had to be getting weaker by now, seeing as how draining the drones wasn't healing it as much as it had at the start.
And while that might have been true, the Dungeon Master seemed to have taken notice to its thinned numbers. Rather than let the drones continue fighting the three, it darted out and raised its spear to strike them. Its thrust missed Eugeo when it attacked, but then it swept again and knocked him into a wall. The other two called out to him, only they were not given much reprieve when it went up to Alice and attacked. She was able to parry its first few strikes, but its last one used the shaft to deal a head blow to her and knock her to the ground. Now emboldened and enraged, Kirito rushed at it and went for another Sonic Leap. But his attack was met with the shaft as the Dungeon Master blocked the attack. His sword skill nullified, Kirito was forced to watch as the monster spun its lance and hit him halfway back to where it had rested. With effort, Kirito raised himself up to see the Dungeon Master rear its lower end up and point its stinger right at him, the very same one that drained so many beings of Life already. He tried to get up, but the blow he suffered from seemed to have weakened him quite a bit. He could only watch as the monster charged at him.
As he braced for what would be his end, he thought, I guess this is it. Done in by getting in over my head. Even though he accepted this might be over, he still tried to recover before the blow was given.
But then, behind the Dungeon Master, a light like a shooting star zoomed in from behind the monster and made contact with its back. The blow pushed it over him, causing it to crash on the hill behind him. Kirito looked up once it was gone, and saw Asuna, rapier in hand, descending after her attack finished. The sight of her having saved him left him a little breathless, as did it for Eugeo and Alice. Though he didn't get long to marvel as Asuna came over to him and dragged him off the ground.
"I can't believe you would be so idiotic as to attack a Dungeon Master on your own like that," she chided harshly. "What were you even thinking?"
Dumbfounded, Kirito replied, "I… wasn't?"
"Clearly, since you just left yourself open like that," she admonished. She then summoned light orbs to help heal Kirito's wounds. As she did, Bercouli and the other Integrity Knights finally came up to the chamber and went to help Eugeo and Alice. It was then the Dungeon Master rose from the rubble, looking furious and ready to kill.
"So this is the Dungeon Master of floor 61," Bercouli remarked.
Out of nowhere, Asuna stated, "The Queen Wasp, ruler of the insects in this land. Its power is so terrifying, no other insect has dared challenge it since it claimed the throne. But it cares not for its subjects, seeing them as nothing more than pawns."
Readying himself for the next bout, Kirito quipped, "I could have told you that after it drained the Life from some of its drones."
Hearing this, Renly exclaimed, "It did WHAT?!" But he was given no answer as the Queen Wasp struck where Kirito and Asuna stood, forcing them to jump out of the way.
Asuna then ordered, "Parry its spear when it next attacks, then I'll attack and whittle its Life down."
Shocked by the suggestion, Kirito demanded, "How am I supposed to do that? Its spear is too big to block."
"Have you learned nothing from where you are from?" Asuna retorted viciously. "If you redirect its blow out of the way with a parry, it is left open for an attack. Even large foes like this can be thrown off by a simple technique like that." As she told him this, Kirito had to bite back a self-insult. Sortiliena had taught him about the benefit of parrying an opponent's attack before. He couldn't believe he had forgotten something so important. He complied to the order, even as the others joined in for an attack.
Sheyta slipped under its strikes and quickly slashed at parts of its armor to reduce its defenses. Renly soared in after by jumping off an outcropping and digging his daggers into its sides. Eugeo and Alice tag teamed using Sacred Arts to burn its head once more. This riled it up and forced it to stab down at whoever it could. Deciding to trust in Asuna's judgement, Kirito got under the stab and swung upward to parry. The result was immediate. Despite its sheer size and power, disrupting its motion and thrusting it upward left it wide open for an attack. Asuna and Bercouli took immediate action as they charged in. Bercouli went in first and cleaved its lower half off with his great sword. Asuna rose to meet the remainder, her rapier glowing blue as she rapidly thrust into its body three times, followed by two slashes, and three final strikes for the skill Star Splash. Not wanting to be left out, Kirito bellowed as he thrust his sword cloaked in purple for the Vorpal Strike, impaling his sword in its chest. The Dungeon Master gave a mighty shriek as it endured these attacks. But its wings slowed to a halt as its Life ebbed to oblivion before it turned ash-grey and dissolved into nothing. With nothing to hold him up, Kirito began to fall back to the ground. Fortunately, Bercouli was underneath him to catch him as he fell. With the Queen Wasp finished, the room seemed to dissolve until it was nothing more than a stone chamber rather than a hive.
Setting the boy down, Bercouli commended, "Nice work kid. You sure are a fast learner." Kirito merely chuckled in reply, not sure how to respond to this.
Asuna, after sheathing her rapier, went over to the black-haired boy and scolded, "What the hell were you thinking charging in like that? What good will it do us if you were to die from the Dungeon Master like that?"
Taken aback, Kirito returned, "It's not like we wanted to fight it right away. It had its drones trap us by blocking the exit. So we had to fight."
"And you fought it even when it was a losing battle?" she reiterated. "If I hadn't come here to save your skin, you would be another casualty of this castle. And I have enough deaths on my conscience as it is."
"You're not the only one who has an issue with this castle," Kirito said snippily. "Besides, why should it matter to you what happens to us? You didn't exactly seem interested when we first met."
Growing steadily angrier by his remark, Asuna shot back, "I had more pressing issues than meeting pointless strangers."
"Pointless strangers?" Kirito questioned, then argued, "If we're so pointless, why did you come bail us out anyway?"
"Because the Commander told me to come," Asuna told him. Then she elaborated to everyone, "The Commander informed me that four Integrity Knights and two Swordsmen were attempting to raid the Dungeon Master on their own. What were you even thinking in the first place?!"
This time, Bercouli stepped in and explained, "We were simply trying to map this place out for the Assault Team. We had no original intention of fighting the Dungeon Master, even if we did find their room. You can rest assured I'll work to get these three acquainted with how things work around here." Asuna looked at the Integrity Knight Commander with a harsh gaze, but it faltered against Bercouli's calm demeanor.
Deflating, Asuna instructed, "Just make sure not to go and do something like that again. While most people here have their issues with Integrity Knights, they are a force we cannot afford to lose."
To that, Kirito replied, "We'll make sure not to rush into battle before coordinating with the Assault Team first. And we'll retreat if we get into these fights by accident as well Asuna." With the matter settled, the group went to the end of the chamber to find another set of doors. These opened without any prompting, leading to a stairway going further up.
"Up ahead is the Teleport Gate leading to the next floor," Bercouli informed the three newcomers. Turning to them, he instructed, "We'll go ahead and activate the one in the next town. You four better get back to Selmburg and let everyone know we can go to the next floor now." With that, the three Integrity Knights went on ahead while the remaining four members made the trek back to the ships.
As they walked back through the forest, a tense silence descended upon the boys while in the company of Asuna. Eugeo was shifting nervously around her, while Kirito simply stared ahead on their path back. Alice looked among the other three, fussing about how she was going to resolve this issue. They hadn't expected to run into this kind of problem once they found Asuna. Especially if they needed to remind Asuna about her life prior to being an Integrity Knight. But at present, it seemed like that notion was impossible.
Without warning, Asuna stopped in the middle of the path, causing the others to stop with her. Turning to Kirito and Eugeo, she asked, "You two, I have a question for you. What is your purpose for coming to Aincrad? Were you sentenced by the Pontifex?"
"No, that's not it," Eugeo answered. "We came of our own volition. Alice helped us get here so we could find someone important to us."
Raising an eyebrow, Asuna inquired further, "Why would you come all this way just to find someone? Coming here dooms you to a terrible fate."
"It was worth the risk," Kirito picked up. "Like Eugeo said, this person is important to us. The simple reason being an oath we all made when we were children. One in the sacred tongue."
"You mean oaths that, when spoken in the sacred tongue, are always fulfilled," Asuna said as she pieced together what they meant. The two boys nodded at this, prompting Asuna to request, "Can you tell me what this oath is that you will risk damnation in this infernal place for."
"Sure. It's not something super sacred or anything," Kirito replied. He then recited, "We were born together on the same year, and we would be together—"
"To our last," Asuna finished for them. This surprised the group quite a bit, and even Asuna was confused on how she knew the oath. "Wait, that can't be. I shouldn't know any oaths except the one I made to serve the Pontifex. Why do I know your oath?"
Stepping up to her, Kirito revealed, "Because you are that friend we set out to find. You weren't summoned from heaven or whatever the thing the Pontifex said was the truth. You are like Alice, brought here against your will and changed into someone else." At that, Asuna's expression became firm and she backed away from him.
"You lie," she said coldly. "I am nothing like the failure Alice Synthesis Thirty is. I am a true Integrity Knight born from the heavens and summoned to serve the Human Empire."
Kirito shook his head, reasoning, "If that were true, you wouldn't know about an oath made by four kids from a village in Rulid years ago. The only people who know our oath and hold true to it are the four people gathered here."
"And Alice isn't a failure," Eugeo said, partly in defense of his friend. "The reason she isn't like you is because you pleaded with Pontifex to spare her. To keep her from becoming what you are now. You wanted to protect Alice, just like you wanted to protect us." Asuna's scowl didn't fall from her face, her eyes glaring daggers at the two.
Before this could continue, Alice intervened, "We'll talk about this another day. For now Asuna, just know that we came here because we wanted to find someone important to us. That someone is you. Let that be enough." That seemed to calm her down, albeit not by much. But she agreed with that info before turning around to continue.
But after taking a few steps, she stopped and addressed, "You two. Kirito and Eugeo." The boys perked up at this, wondering what she wanted to say. Then she mentioned, "I won't believe what you have told me right now. Not until I understand something like your oath. But I do recall some things about you, though I do not know why. So I will only say this once: if you are in any way trying to deceive me about who you say I am, I will kill you."
Not even bothered, Kirito calmly replied, "Fine with us. But I'm not worried. 'Cause I know what's true. And I have nothing to gain by lying to you anyway. It's just not my style." Asuna didn't give any reaction to his words, only continuing the trek back to Selmburg. The three looked between each other before following behind her. Perhaps there was hope after all.
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Following these events, four months passed by. Thanks to the addition of Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice, the Assault Team made rapid progress through the next four floors. Their unorthodox fighting prowess and cooperation among each other helped spur many members to surge forward. It was even noted that the pace being set was faster than it had ever been in the last 300 years. Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice met with Asuna on random instances to meet and talk. In the beginning, Asuna was resistant to learn anything about another part of her prior to being an Integrity Knight. But hope remained whenever she recalled their oath on a random whim. But the three knew that there was still a chance as they forged onward through Aincrad to free everyone from this terrible prison.
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On Floor 59 in the town of Danac, Kirito was laying underneath a tree as the bright sun shined down around him. The season was just perfect for a nap to unwind and settle. His companions were inside the town shopping for things they would need before they returned to Lyndis, the town they took up residence in. While Bercouli offered to house the three up in Selmburg while they helped clear floors, his companions didn't want to abuse his hospitality. Not to mention they wanted to try living with just them for a change. Eugeo was the one to suggest they live on their own to get used to how they would live once they grew up. Kirito smiled at the memory of when his and Alice's faces went red at the idea, and it took Kirito a little bit to catch on. But it wasn't like he hadn't seen it himself. Alice always seemed to favor being around Eugeo more than Kirito, even back then. During a few exploration missions here, he had even caught Alice creeping ever closer to the flaxen-haired boy that was with them.
Though that still reminded him of their bigger problem. They had gotten a handle about fighting in Aincrad and battling Dungeon Masters after the raid following their victory against the Queen Wasp. Seeing how the swordsmen and knights held off the monster's attacks and how they were able to do significant damage to its Life began to make it clear these monsters, while mammoth in size and strength, were no less susceptible to being killed than a normal human. It gave Kirito and his friends hope for escape. But that wasn't the major issue.
In the last four months, the three had met with Asuna maybe ten more times. They tried to jog her memory with recollections and events from their past, but to no avail. Asuna just couldn't remember anything beyond their oath. It seemed to infuriate the Integrity Knight each time they kept suggesting she had a life with them outside of heaven. Alice had told the boys often not to overdo it because of what the Pontifex did to Asuna, but Kirito wouldn't listen. He was getting his friend back however he could. Of course, his bold-headed approach was a bigger reason why Asuna was resistant to their efforts. And after their last attempt a week prior, Kirito really wanted some time to himself.
As he tried going back to resting, a shadow came in over the tree's, darkening his vision further. He looked up to see the Vice Commander herself, hands on her hips and a scowl plastered on her face as she looked down at him.
"I don't believe you," she admonished once more. "Everyone is out in the fields looking for a way to clear this castle and get to the next floor, and here I find you taking a nap like some lazy child."
"You know we have days of rest even in Aincrad," Kirito pointed out. "I'm taking advantage of today's and enjoying the weather here."
Seeming affronted, Asuna argued back, "The weather on each of the floors is the same no matter what the season outside. This one is no different."
"No one has the ability to manipulate weather," Kirito reasoned, recalling something from when he was little. "Not even the high priests at the Axiom Church have that kind of power. Besides, it's against the Taboo Index. No one's dumb enough to disobey that."
"You did," Asuna reminded. "I had Alice tell me everything about what you boys did. You killed two students, fellow Elite Disciples no less, at the Imperial Swordcraft Academy. Seems someone didn't have an issue there."
"That was different," Kirito replied, remaining as calm as ever. "I broke the Taboo Index not because I wanted to, but because I was forced to."
"No one can be forced to break the Taboo Index,they can only choose to do so," Asuna continued with her argument.
Not wanting this to escalate, Kirito offered, "Look, why don't you just lie down here and see what I meant when I said this is the best season right now." This caught Asuna off-guard, as she was expecting him to continue defending himself and his actions against the church. In her bewilderment, a nice breeze coasted by, causing the grass to bend and shake. "Feel that? This is perfect weather to relax to," Kirito told her. "It's important to unwind and rest. That's why we have days of rest. If we worked all week, our Life would begin to drop much faster during our Callings. These moments help us to embrace the blessings of Terraria and Solus. And it's those blessings that allow us to do such difficult work like chopping down a demon tree."
At his words, Asuna had a start. She then asked, "Wait, what did you just say?"
Opening his eyes and looking up at her, Kirito repeated, "That days of rest help us soak up—"
"Not that!" Asuna interrupted, before clarifying, "The other thing."
"What? About doing difficult tasks like cutting down a tree?" Kirito quizzed.
Asuna then knelt down beside him, and brought up, "You called it a 'demon tree.' That name sounds familiar for some reason. I can almost… remember something?" Another breeze blew past during the lull as Asuna struggled to make sense of Kirito's term. Out of nowhere, a thud rang out in her mind like an axe cutting into wood. "The Gigas Cedar. That was what was called the Demon Tree." This sparked Kirito's interest, even as Asuna tried to refute this fact. "That's impossible. I've never heard of such a thing. But, why do I remember it so clearly now?" She pressed on, describing it: "A tree towering into the sky, soaking up all of Solus and Terreria's blessing. The people wanted it cut down to expand their farmland. But it was taking too long. Over 300 years had passed since they started."
Before she went further, Kirito advised, "Don't force the memory to come back right away. Give it some time. You'll remember on your own. Fighting to remember won't help you." Then he went back to his nap. As he did, Asuna was left to contemplate. Instead of wrestling with the memory she was having, she tried to recall it as it came to her. She remembered the tree and the Calling associated with it, but then other memories came back with it. She remembered two boys using an axe to chip away at an indent in its trunk. Their faces were shadowed, but she felt like she knew them. What's more, she felt like she was rather close to them. One in particular; the boy with black hair with an easy-going smile. And flowers, a whole field of them in a grotto.
As she remembered this, she tried to deny it as real. She was an Integrity Knight summoned from heaven to help protect the Human Empire by order of the Pontifex. She had never been anywhere in the human realm. Yet the feelings related to these memories were too strong to be fake. She remembered feeling happy, excited, upset, and something else. Something that had threatened to rip her heart out when she had last seen this boy, that day she cannot remember. She had seen him, and the other boy, talking with two individuals at a celebration of sorts. He had given a woman a bouquet of strange blue flowers. The feeling she had then returned as she recalled these other memories.
In her thought's wanderings, a group of warriors were walking by and commented on them relaxing and saying how they had it lucky. Halting her progress, Asuna took in the environment around her and noted it did feel nice. Even familiar, if she wanted to believe it. She looked down at the snoozing boy before deciding it might not be such a bad idea to at least see his reasons.
"Hey Kirito, wake up," came Eugeo's urgent voice as the black-haired boy groggily awoke from his nap. He found his friend hovering over him while shaking him awake. Disturbed from his rest, Kirito begrudgingly got up and immediately spotted Alice kneeling next to the resting form of Asuna right next to him.
"I didn't think she would actually knock out like that," Kirito mumbled as he rubbed sleep out of his eye.
At his words, Alice questioned, "Wait, what? What are you talking about Kirito?"
"I told Asuna about the weather and season being perfect for relaxing, but she didn't seem interested in it herself," Kirito explained. "I would have thought she would just take off."
"Well apparently she didn't," Eugeo pointed out. Then he asked, "What exactly did you say or do anyway?"
"I already told you, I just talked about the weather. That's all," Kirito said, slightly defensive.
Alice wasn't buying it, and pressed, "What else Kirito? You know Asuna still doubts our story about her being from our village."
Struggling to recall exactly what he said, Kirito just told them, "Maybe we talked about the Gigas Cedar or something. She had vague memories of stuff from the village, but that was it. I told her not to force it and let them come on their own." At that, Alice seemed to sigh with suppressed frustration. But rather than get angry at Kirito, she paused and thought it over. If the Gigas Cedar was enough to spark memories, maybe they needed to approach this in another way.
Having settled on that, she stood up and ordered, "Eugeo, let's go check on a few things with the Assault Team."
Confused, Eugeo protested, "What? Alice, we were just in town. We should be getting to Lyndis and dropping our stuff off at our home there."
Grabbing his hand and dragging him away, Alice replied, "And we will. But we should get moving if we want to finish it all before Solus descends." Kirito was a little baffled by Alice's assertiveness. Not that it hadn't happened before, he just thought she might get on his case. Still, he looked back at the sleeping Asuna and decided to linger a bit to watch over her.
That afternoon, as Solus hung low in the sky, Kirito was on a brick wall practicing his Sacred Art incantations. He was merely mumbling the words and not actually summoning sacred power. He knew that he needed to get better at using Sacred Arts to formulate new attack strategies and use more advanced techniques. During his practice, he heard a sneeze from behind him and turned. Rising up, looking groggy and having a grass blade sticking on her face, Asuna gazed around to recall what had happened. It wasn't long before she spotted the boy in black on the nearby wall.
Smiling, he greeted, "Hey, good morning." Rather than return the greeting, her eyes shot open and scrunched into a fierce gaze as she moved to draw her rapier. On instinct, Kirito ducked behind the wall for protection. A few tense seconds passed before, rather begrudgingly, Asuna pushed her sword back in all the way.
Then, "One meal." Kirito wasn't sure he heard her right, until Asuna repeated while looking away, "You get one meal. All you can eat. My treat. Then we're even." He didn't catch on to what she meant, but it was too sweet of an offer to refuse. So he agreed to go with her.
They went into town to a restaurant that had been established by a family that had made this their Calling for who knew how long in Aincrad. The two sat opposite at one table, with one sitting cross-armed and cross herself while the other seemed to scratch at his cheek lightly. They ordered their food relatively quickly, but the atmosphere was so thick even Bercouli's greatsword couldn't cut it without difficulty. Kirito wasn't even sure what to say in this situation. Things had become troublesome when talking to Asuna as she only ever seemed to focus on clearing the castle and upholding her duties as an Integrity Knight.
He was about to break the ice when Asuna requested, "I want to ask you some things. About what you and your friends have said about me. I won't believe everything you say right away, but I will think it over when I have the time." Kirito was a little taken aback by this. It seemed some things did trigger her memory from before the ritual the Pontifex forced her through that made her an Integrity Knight.
Not wanting to make this one-sided, Kirito made a counteroffer: "Sure. But I want to ask you a few things about stuff in Aincrad first. Just so I can get my friends and I up to speed about how things work here."
Loosening up a bit, Asuna replied, "I guess that's fair. You three do still seem to have difficulties with the dealings here anyway." Kirito didn't know whether that was meant as an insult or just an observation, but he let it slide.
So he asked first, "Well, maybe the whole notion of these guilds. Maybe you could tell me more about them, and the ones we know of right now."
"That's a bit too easy to answer, but alright," Asuna replied, uncrossing her arms as she began. "Guilds are basically groups of people with a shared interest and goals. They can range from fighting the monsters to handling requests from the citizens here in Aincrad. It differs from guild to guild. The Knights of the Blood Oath rally the strongest warriors to clear the castle and reach the 100th floor as quickly as possible, dating back as far as 250 years ago." Kirito choked on his water when she mentioned how long the guild had been around, but quickly recovered. Unperturbed, Asuna continued, "As far as known guilds, there is the KoB, the Fuurinkazan guild led by Klein, the Aincrad Liberation Army on floor 1, and one that calls itself the Holy Dragon Alliance. That last one tends to be more troublesome, as its members can be sinister in its dealings."
Suddenly, her scowl intensified as she described, "But there is one guild that everyone stays away from. One that thrives off breaking the Taboo Index and making it harder for us to leave this place. They've been around for about 150 years. They thrive off murder, even treat it as a game sometimes. They're the worst people imaginable. We still haven't been united in how to deal with them."
Turning serious himself, Kirito asked, "What are they called?" Asuna took a moment to answer, her hands tightening around her water glass.
But at last, she told him, "Laughing Coffin. They are a murder guild. We don't know who the members are because they always keep their faces hooded or wear masks. But they are the worst. This place is even more horrible with them still around." Kirito couldn't deny it. He had heard whispers about a guild that killed off individuals in other guilds. Renly even mentioned the three of them had been targeted by their members on more than one occasion, but always scared off by the Commander's weapon. Whatever power it had, it was enough to make the murder guild back off.
But from how they were described, Kirito agreed with Asuna's assessment. Laughing Coffin were not human if they killed as freely as they please. He may have killed Raios, but he had also tried to save him until Humbert interfered. He couldn't find anything redeeming about Laughing Coffin and its members. He knew Alice and Eugeo would be of a similar mindset.
Breaking out of her silent fury, Asuna said, "Before I ask more about what you told me, I want to ask about something else first." Gaining his attention, she asked, "Why are you three so insistent that I am your friend because of some oath you made in the sacred tongue? I know the legend about such oaths, don't get me wrong. But why break the Taboo Index and come here to Aincrad for someone like me?"
Kirito didn't need to think as he answered, "You may not understand it now, but there's something I learned the day the Integrity Knight took you and Alice away eight years ago. When Eugeo and I were left behind, our world was a mess. People avoided us and sometimes put us down. Some people even tried to make us doubt about being able to see you two again. Not to mention our Calling would have normally taken all our lives to do, and we would have been stuck in our village until we returned to Stacia. But we had something they never understood: a reason for living."
"A reason for living?" Asuna questioned.
"Yeah. It's the reason we've gotten this far," Kirito said, gaze fixed on Asuna. "It's what drives our blades to fight. Whether it be a simple spar or a fight to the death, we have a reason for what we do. Not many people do. That's what separates people like me, Eugeo, and even Alice from everyone else. And it's why we still go after impossible things. Because we have a reason to." Thinking back on it, he brought up, "Maybe that's why we hold to that oath so strongly. Because it's our reason for everything we do." Asuna took in what he told her, where a realization dawned on her.
"I think that's what sets you up as a stronger swordsman than I," she stated. "I've always used my sword for reasons everyone else has. The need to escape this place. But it is not what it used to be. I am finding myself falling behind everyone with the raids. Maybe because, I don't feel as strongly about this reason as I once did."
Softening his gaze, Kirito smiled and suggested, "Maybe you just need to find a new reason. Something that is more for you to live. Something special."
"Something special…" Asuna muttered. It was then their food arrived. But before Kirito could dig in, Asuna requested once more, "Kirito, after our next boss raid, I want you to take me somewhere." Kirito raised an eyebrow at this, so she elaborated, "I want you to take me to someplace with a lot of flowers. A whole field of them. There's something there I want to remember. Something special." Kirito agreed, not thinking much of it. And the two had their meal while exchanging information about each other. The world outside Aincrad, the world in it, adventures, misadventures, and more were shared between two people who couldn't be more worlds apart.