Mito

The next two days passed quickly as Mito and her group undertook the "Lapis Key" questline. They weren't easy, but their numbers, recently increased level, and Kizmel made up for any difficulty that came their way. The series of quests just ended after the team of six found an underwater dungeon, defeated a dullahan boss, and gained the second of six keys. They were back at Yofel Castle in time for dinner and to report their success to Viscount Yofilis.

"Mmmm...Well, we managed to get the second key right as planned. The viscount put it away in that little chamber behind his desk. I wonder if the first one's in there, too," Kirito murmurs while stretching his arms.

Kizmel answers him. "That's right. That means if the Forest Elves managed to reach the fifth floor of the castle, it's quite likely they might make off with the keys. Viscount Yofilis might be excellent with the rapier, but he cannot be forced to fight in his sickly state..."

"Don't worry, Kizmel. They won't even step onto the dock, much less reach the fifth floor," Asuna confidently states. She's been in high spirits since they met with Kizmel, even more so during their questing. "Whether they come with ten or twenty ships, we'll sink them all!"

"You're too confident about that," Jaymes says while stuffing his hands in his pockets. "We don't know anything about the enemy besides they're building ships. Their numbers, true strength, strategies, we have no-" A slender finger silences him from Koharu on his lips.

She lowers it once he gets the message. "That's for you to figure out later then. For now, we've done all we can, right? Don't worry, Kizmel, we'll succeed in driving the Forest Elves back."

"Ha-ha, I am glad to hear it... Kirito, Asuna, everyone, the fact that we have recovered the Lapis Key in just two days is a sign of not just your own strength, but that of your ship. And what makes me happiest of all is that you chose to give such a beautiful craft my sister's name..." Kizmel strides over to the large window nearby and gazes down to the lake surrounding the castle. It faces north, so the setting sun is to the left, and the front of the castle, including the gate and the garden behind it, and the dock with nine gondolas are visible. One of those gondolas is not painted black but white-that of the Tilnel. "My sister loved to swim, ever since she was young. She and I often rode on a little pleasure boat in a city on the ninth floor. Looking at the Tilnel brings back old memories..."

Asuna and Koharu step up to opposite sides of Kizmel, joining her at the window, while Mito, Jaymes, and Kirito hang back. Mito looks away from the other women to Kirito with a slight expression. She whispers to him, "You're thinking too hard."

"H-Huh?"

"Right now, you're thinking about how everything Kizmel says, including her sister, is just flavor text to beef up her character. I know it because you, me, and Mister Tough Guy back there are longtime gamers. We follow whatever an NPC says, picking up on important cues to the quest. But for those two," she gestures to the black-haired and light-browned-haired girls in front of them, "this world is just another world. It is a game, yet at the same time, another reality. To Asuna and Koharu, Kizmel is...a person."

"A person, huh?" Jaymes remarks though it isn't a biting remark for the first time. His tone doesn't sound convinced, but it isn't arguing the matter either. "Calling an NPC a person is saying they're to be held in the same regard as one of us."

"Is that wrong?"

"There is a law that gives some human rights to AIs, but that begets the question of what makes them human. Some people argue that, while they don't have human DNA, it is their soul."

"The soul..." Kirito repeats those words, then clears his throat. "Um, Kizmel. We have a request."

"As long as I can help."

"Yes, well...our books of Mystic Scribing cannot hold large objects like ships, but we also cannot pick ours up and climb the Pillar of the Heavens with it. When we move up to the fifth floor, we will need to keep the Tilnel somewhere here on this floor."

"You see, Kizmel, before we leave for the fifth floor, Kirito and us want to leave the Tilnel with you. Even if you just leave her here on the dock at Yofel Castle..." In truth, the five of them were trying to pass on the gondola to Kizmel, despite the fact that giving items to NPCs seems impossible. For example, Kizmel returned the swimsuit Asuna made her. So if they can't give it to her in ownership, why not in spirit? As it just occurred, the boat's name invoked the "flavor text" of Kizmel's sister. In human terms, it provided her memories of Tilnel, the herbalist sister to Kizmel.

After a few moments of silence, while Kizmel thinks about the matter, her voice emits a degree of emotion that doesn't come from a normal NPC. "...Of course. Of course you can. I will take responsibility for your precious boat. But promise me one thing."

"What is it, Kizmel?"

"Come back to this castle sometime, and give me a ride on her."

"Of course!"

xxxxxxxxxxx

"From the left, Kirito!" Kirito steers their speedy gondola towards the left at Asuna's command. Given how many days he's been the oarsman for the Tilnel and how precise he has to be in turning the gondola at the speed they're going (the radius is about fifty feet, twice the length of the boat) and all five passengers are fighting and watching out for him.

Like now, as he turns port (left), a Forest Elf ship tries to hit their boat with a giant ram equipped to the front of their boats. At the brow stands a spearman who tries to impale Kirito, but Kizmel arrives at the back of the boat and severs the blade. The Tilnel manages to evade the ram and slip past the left side of the large Forest Elf boat. By the time the enemy ship tries to counter, the smaller, swifter Tilnel is already behind them and aiming the fiery horn of the Magnatherium for the ship's weak point-the stern,

The self-proclaimed captain of the Tilnel clutches the boat's sides and the others as he yells, "Ram 'em, Kirito!"

"On it!" Kirito pushes the boat at full speed, and the Fire-Bear's Horn crunches into the back of the Forest Elf ship, causing a small explosion that rocks the water. The Tilnel retreats from the sinking enemy boat, and the onboard Forest Elves jump into the water and swim for their lives. "That's two!"

"Enemy ship to the rear left," Asuna shouts. "They're facing away from us, so this is our chance!"

"Roger!"

The Forest Elves showed up in their boats just a little after noon, totaling sixteen boats. That's twice the Dark Elf ships, and the naval battle proceeded as formally one could think of as the two factions lined their boats up and fought. Two Forest Elf ships and one Dark Elf boat sank in the first bout. However, the Tilnel took a different approach, using the Argyro's Sheet to cloak their approach from the east, then snuck up and sank their first boat perfectly when both sides realigned.

"Kizmel, count the number of surviving ships!" Kirito shouts.

"Six on our side, twelve for the enemy!"

Jaymes groans from the front of the gondola. "It wouldn't be this way if the Dark Elves weren't undisciplined. The Forest Elves, even with numbers and sturdier ships, strategically shouldn't be as capable as the Dark Elves on water."

"Should we try boarding one of their ships and help out?" Koharu asks.

"No," Mito answers. "We stick to our plan. Even if we must retreat to land, our priority to protect the fifth floor is not solely dependent on this battle phase."

"Valiant warriors of Kales'Oh!" That call comes from a beefy-looking Forest Elf who must be the enemy commander. He holds up a green flag that has a golden sword and shield on it. "Send these cowardly Dark Elves to sleep at the bottom of this lake! They have allied with humankind and built ships to bring down our castle! Fortunately, their plot was foiled, and we claimed their ships for ourselves! We must not miss this opportunity!"

"Huh?"

"That's not true at all."

"Worry about that later, girls. Kirito, they've spotted us." Mito, keeping her head, points to the boat they're approaching. The oarsman, having seen the Tilnel's approach, begins to make a right turn. Kirito directs their boat to the left before making a sudden right. As he rows madly, Asuna and Mito defend the starboard side of the side. Then the fiery horn ruptures the enemy boat. Mito has to hold Asuna back just as the impact rocks the water.

"Three!"

Jaymes nods and looks to the north side of the lake, where the main fighting is. "Nice work. Let's see...we're still six strong, right? And they got...eight ships left. It seems we're catching up."

"No, we're not." Kirito points to the west, where three ships can be seen making a beeline for the castle dock.

"That's not good," Kizmel murmurs.

"You there, the little boat!" That call comes from the Dark Elf commander, who waves his scimitar at them. "Stop wasting time and stop the enemy swing force!"

"How can he speak to us like that?" an outraged Asuna declares.

"Didn't he say he wanted us to stay out of the navy's way?" Koharu speaks with an annoyed tone.

"Damn! We'll just have to do it!" Kirito growls as he rows furiously. Mito twirls her scythe up on her shoulder and kneels behind Jaymes and Koharu at the front of the boat. After some instruction from Kizmel to charge the central boat, Kirito adjusts his course and aims for the middle boat. It leaves a problem, but it can be figured out later.

The trio of ships presses onward despite the Tilnel already being detected. With a final push and defense from his crewmates, Kirito plunges the fiery ram into the central ship. With four ships finished, Kirito starts to back up the small white gondola, but their escape is cut off by the remaining two ships.

Mito joins Asuna in defending the Tilnel, but the spears from both enemy boats keep coming to the point that Kirito has to defend himself. Furthermore, the Tilnel was taking damage as the enemy oarsmen tried to crush the boat with their larger ones.

"Kirito, Asuna, Mito, leap onto the right ship and strike down the oarsman!" Kizmel suggests. "Koharu, Jaymes, we'll handle the left!"

"Whuh?"

"Let's do this!" The dark-skinned swordsman, not hesitant like the other male, recklessly leaps to the left boat and strikes the closest enemy with the two-part sword skill, Horizontal Arc. That elf stumbles backward, creating enough room for Jaymes to advance and allow Kizmel and Koharu to board.

Mito follows Kirito and Asuna as commanded and lands with them in the middle of the right boat. Deciding to play defense and let them get to the oarsman at the rear of the boat, Mito faces the soldiers at the front. Due to the spacing, despite the larger amount of seats, the enemies create a wall that's two people long, shoulder to shoulder. For the two behind her, it works to equalize the numbers. For Mito, it works well for her scythe against the disadvantage the spears now have and the swordsmen.

She smirks and gets into a stance. Based on the basic red cursors above the first Forest Elven Spearman, these guys are on par level-wise with the average monster. Mito's level is above that, but no need to be too cocky. One mistake, her life can be in peril...and swimming is not a viable survival option. "Ready to party, pointy-ears?"

"Disgusting human!" The spearman to her right tries jabbing at her, but Mito dodges and swings the back end of her curved blade at the face of the elf, knocking him into the water. In the same motion, she pivots entirely on her toes, coming for another swing to parry the swordsman lined up with the spearman and another swordsman who took the latter's place. As for the elf who fell, he doesn't try returning to the boat but begins to swim away as she has noticed other Forest Elves do. It must be the system controlling that to prevent them from returning to battle.

She maintains a defensive strategy as Kirito would speak off seconds later. Of course, Mito could slay the elves. She has no qualms about keeping their digital lives ongoing if it threatens her very real life or anyone in her party. She may abandon Asuna once in a bid to preserve her own, but before that, Mito fought like crazy despite it to attempt to save her friend. Besides, the insults the elves are throwing aren't helping. Yet, since she has enough advantage with her scythe, she remains on defense for a while longer until her companions beat the oarsman.

"Let's go back! Mito!"

"Aye!" Spinning her weapon and body horizontally, Mito pushes the elves back and uses the momentum to return to the Tilnel. She looks at Kirito and Asuna, nodding to them, then to the boat the other half of their party attacked. Jaymes, Koharu, and Kizmel return from an empty boat.

Kizmel notices the quiet stares the three are getting and says, "We knocked them all into the lake and broke their oars."

"Most of them, but some...had other fates," Jaymes adds with shrugs. "But that doesn't matter. We need to join our allies in that battle."

"Right," Koharu says. With no one to chase them, Kirito backs up their boat and turns starboard towards the main fighting. Besides the three ships Mito and her party took care of, there's been no change in the number of ships where the defensive line is. It's six on six between both factions, with the remaining two Forest Elf boats hanging back. So far, there's been no retaliation for the intercepted flank attack.

"Good... Let's sink the enemy flagship before we get into another battering ram battle! Let's do the usual." Kirito grabs the Argyro's Sheet from behind in at the stern and, while Mito and the others kneel, covers the boat. On the inside, it's dark, but the outside world is visible through the sheet.

"Nice and slow, Kirito."

"Got it, Jaymes. You guys remain ready to remove the sheet." Mito bites her lip and counts the yards in decreasing order as they come closer to the enemy flagship. Once they're at a certain distance, they'll rip off the sheet, and Kirito will row at his full strength.

But right when they're close to that distance, Kirito says, "Crap!" They watched as the commander pulled out his longsword just the moment before Kirito begins the charge. Yet, as Kirito notices, he's not pointing it at them.

"Now! Ships one and two, begin the charge! Ships five and six, clear a path!" On command, the two middle ships on the Forest Elf side split, exposing two sides on the Dark Elf side. One of those ships is the ally flagship. As that happens, the enemy flagship and its companion start rowing towards the gap.

"Oh no!" Kirito removes the sheet and starts to row madly. Mito, feeling tense, crawls back to the front of the boat again with Koharu and Jaymes. The enemy ships are far ahead, and it doesn't seem like their white boat can close the distance. Jaymes and Koharu watch with silent tension while the two women behind Mito comment on the situation.

"Stop that at once!"

"We're not going to make it in time." Kizmel deduces correctly as the enemy flagship's ram crashes into the ally flagship, the other Forest Elf ship doing the same to the adjacent Dark Elf boat. At the same time, the two crushed ships begin to sink, their crew diving and swimming in place. That keeps the Dark Elves from reentering the fight.

In the meantime, the enemy commander doesn't stop there. "Ships one and two, forward! All soldiers, prepare for landfall!" The flagship and its companion continue forward, their destination the unblocked pier. As they pass, the two boats that moved to create the gap now move to close it.

"Kirito!" Jaymes shouts. "Get us through that gap now!" Kirito answers back with another full-powered row, the Tilnel making its mad dash to the closing gap. It barely makes it into the gap, and Mito has to hold herself as the white boat makes an unhealthy scrapping sound on both sides as it comes in contact with the enemy ships.

"We're through!"

"You can do it, Kirito!"

"Good work!"

"Row, Kirito, row!"

"..." Jaymes offers no words of encouragement, whether because he has no to say or because he feels it's pointless. It may be the latter, for Mito judges they're still fifty yards away from the two ships, and not a moment later, the two ten-seaters are unloading twenty Forest Elves on the pier. That's more than three times the number of guards at the gate. Unless something is done, the Forest Elves will bypass the gate.

"Can't the priests help, Kizmel?! Don't they have magic…er, charms they can cast?!" a panicking Asuna asks.

"I'm afraid the priests stationed in the castle are merely officials with no combat experience. They must be locked up in secret rooms underground, trembling with fear by now."

"No…"

"What about the viscount and children?! Are they in hiding with the priests?!" the rower of the Tilnel inquires.

"…I do not know…After all, Yofel Castle has never fallen since ancient times. I cannot guess what decisions the viscount will make."

"So then the battle...is over?" Koharu says that timidly, and for a moment, Mito believes the same. Yet, the silence of Jaymes, who'd usually say something to comfort his partner but keeps his eyes on the two ships, makes her feel...at ease. She looks at Kirito, who has his eyes on the castle. Somewhere high up on the castle. Neither one has said "the quest is over," and Mito, the other experienced player, should be doing the same.

"No, Koharu, it is not over. We haven't been notified that it is. There's still a chance we can finish this quest. I don't know what that'll entail, but... If anything, we cannot let them past the gate." Mito holds the dark-haired dagger user and faces the swordsman rowing the boat. "Kirito, drop us off as close to the gate as possible."

"Huh... Oh, right, yeah... We will cut the Forest Elves off!" The white ship sails past the advancing Forest Elves and slides into place at the pier close to the gate. They all hop out, not thinking about anchoring the boat. They line up with the single line of ally spearmen, the entire line spanning the width of the pier. The enemy is assembled in three rows of six, the commander in silver armor and a caped swordsman at the rear.

Mito stares long enough for an enemy cursor to appear over a spearman's head. It's a slightly darker shade of red than the one she faced earlier. They'll be harder to fight, but as long as they keep their wits about them, the party of six should be fine...for now. Twelve versus twenty is better than twenty versus six, but if either side stalemates, the deciding factor will be which side is reinforced by the warriors still battling on the lake. Four Dark Elf ships versus six Forest Elf ships... Unfortunately, history has favored the Forest Elves.

"Alright, you five, we'll hold out here." Five? Mito ignores Jaymes for now, counting her companions to see that Kirito is absent. She then hears the closing of the gates behind her. Is he heading for the castle?

"What's Kirito doing?"

"Hero-ing."

"Wh...What?"

"It's what we do at this party. Someone does the dumbest things while the others hold out. Like when Asuna and I fought King Asterius momentarily. Or it's just something dumb, like when Koharu and Kirito got to the Forest Elf camp to stop the DKB and ALS fighting over it. Kirito is doing that right now, so the eleven of us will hold this line."

Mito understands that, but the numbers are overwhelming. Right now, there's a maximum of eighty Forest Elves. If the six ships dock at the pier, can they hold off against that? Mito has no problem fighting the odds to try to save the day, she did once before to save Asuna from the Little Nepenthes horde, but she also ran for her life at the unfortunate expense of the other. But they're not fighting monsters this time, but humanoids who think as they do. "But..."

"Mito," Asuna calls out, gazing at her friend out the corner of her eye. "We're going to beat this game together, right?"

"R-right, but..."

"I trust Kirito, I trust Koharu, I trust Jaymes, and they trust me. I've decided how I want to live in this world, wherever they go. I'm sure Jaymes knows what Kirito is doing, so all we have to do is trust that Kirito will pull through. We just have to do our part. Trust them too."

Mito partially opens her mouth, then promptly shuts it. Asuna's right. If they're going to beat this, she'll have to trust those around her with their ridiculousness. That's how they got this far, after all. Even in the face of overwhelming enemies...they have to believe in each other. "Okay, I'm with you. What's your plan, Jaymes?"

He chuckles and faces the incoming enemy. With an engaged smirk, he draws the Azure Sky Blade from its sheath and holds it perpendicular to the Shining Buckler on his left arm. "Plan? Easy. I plan on kicking elven ass for five minutes, then passing the spotlight to the Black Swordsman. You girls with me?"

"I am, always!" Koharu shouts as her Bullstar Dagger.

Asuna twirls her Chivalric Rapier and gets into a stance. "Don't get too cocky, jerk."

"You stay out of my way, princess."

Koharu sighs and glances at Mito. "Both of them almost sounded super cool. Anyway, ready, Mito?"

She nods and gives her scythe a twirl. "Yeah. Everyone, defend this castle! Let no one through!"