|Jan. 19th, 12:13|
|Sword Art Online, Floor 10, Town of Brightburn|
In the space of fifteen days, the frontlines had cleared every floor up to the tenth in record time, although, for the last four days, the most recorded deaths since the first month of Sword Art Online's death game began to creep up. Floor Ten was anything but the same.
Brightburn, the main town of Floor Ten, was lined with dark cobblestone roads with traditional Japanese housing with red-tiled rooftops and white walls lining the perimeter toward the very source of the deaths. Anything outside the town and its smaller villages was a thick shroud of mist, making detection of dangerous monsters like 'Extinguished Soldiers' impossible to see until they were surrounding you, or their 'Embered Hounds'.
Within the locale inn, steam clouded a bathroom as Nagi soaked in the hot water for an extended period of time. He had come back from questing on the Ninth Floor with a little bit on the Tenth before getting too carried away. The light music with an air of mystery within Brightburn only made it harder to leave the shower.
Finding the will to turn it off, he quickly dried and put on just a pair of black shorts, keeping the towel around his neck to catch the droplets clinging to his bangs. When he shut the bathroom door, he noted the window was wide open, and sitting on the windowsill was a blonde girl in a hood.
"Sup, Hero? Someone's lookin' gooD," She purred, eyeing up his bare chest up to his face that went from surprised to calm.
"Hey, Argo, you need something?" His kindness continued to throw her through a loop, ultimately sighing as she stared out the window with her arms crossed.
"Nothin' much, but I think our crossdressin' friend's found somethin' about this misT," Argo pointed out, drawing the half-naked boy closer with excitement.
"Really!? Where?" He quietened down to focus on Argo whose whiskers twitched with amusement.
"Willin' to pay to knoW?"
Outside of town on a small hill that escaped the mist, giving all players an ample view of distant structures, ruins, and treetops, the surface shrouded in a thick haze. Nagi and Argo arrived to find Artorias sitting on a cobblestone wall that forked the road.
"Yo, Boss, Rat, ready to see what I've got?" Artorias greeted casually, holding out the time in her possession. Both leaned forward, inspecting the small, pale candle in her hand. Despite being on its side, a small blue flame lingered on the wick. "Pretty neat, right? Can't even extinguish it."
Nagi blinked widely, "Woah... anything in your intel?" He asked their broker who shook her head.
"Nothin' but others sayin' they picked these up from small ruined shrines here and there, even A-Chan got onE," Argo explained, smirking knowingly. "But Red here found somethiN'."
Artorias stood up, holding out the candle toward the black-tinted tree behind her, the red leaves bristling in an eerie wind. To the naked eye, it was just a blue flame that refused to ignite the bark, upon closer inspection with the 'Search' skill, it revealed a small Kanji for 'Left'.
"It's a hidden pathway?" Nagi realized in awe.
"So my guess is, 'cause our 'Search' skills are high enough, we can use this candle to locate other trees that'll lead us straight to the source of this mist, probably," She shrugged. "Or it could be our deathbed but I'm itching for a risk, you two in?"
"Gotta find a solution to the labyrinth, I can't conduct my Boss Guide with all the misT," Argo huffed distastefully.
"Let's find the source then," Nagi concurred, allowing Artorias to lead the way through the thick layer of mist.
Their journey was a simple one, as they traversed the floor outside of town, they inspected the trees one by one while Argo and Nagi ran defense from any mobs that aggroed from the mist. Since 'Detect' wasn't going to work until the monsters were right on top of them, they had to keep very close less they be separated by the mist, luckily, the Candlelight rings from Floor Five could pierce the white veil slightly.
Each discovered marking twisting their path, they inevitably ran into trouble, forcing Nagi into action to draw Hate while Argo slipped in to ambush the monsters from above. They were one of the common enemy types, a hollow soldier in samurai armour that was charred, leaving small embers with every motion, part of House Flame that Shirayuki described.
With ember eyes, the beast lunged with a double slash above the shoulders, Nagi deflected both, impaling it with 'Ripple Thrust', as the water particles cleared, Argo sliced its back to ribbons with 'Panther Cross', the combined effort dropping the arranged soldier into the dry dirt.
The autumn trees swayed through the mist, their map's remained shrouded in mystery until the way ahead lightened, the trees went from grey blobs to visible structures. The ground was no longer hazy, their feet clearly stepping onto a pathway. The last symbol Artorias checked had changed, saying a single phrase. "The Hiro Estate? I think we've found our target-"
Peering ahead, the mist cleared away in time for someone to crash into Artorias, frightening the pair against opposite trees. Artorias slumped as a player in black hit his head on the trunk, groaning at the injury. "Kirito?" Nagi blinked as another figure ran through the fog, jumping once they caught sight of the rest.
"This is why I told you not to run ahead, what if had been a monster?" Asuna berated the Beater, bowing her head to Artorias. "I am so sorry for him,"
"Nah, it's all good, 'least that stupid trope with guys groping girls didn't happen, that'd be awkward as hell," Artorias dismissed, dusting off her coat. "So, you two figured it out, huh?"
Kirito recovered, nodding his head. "We were going to ask Argo but she was already out in the mist so we went off of a hunch of mine," He explained, pointing through the thinning mist. "Have you guys seen what's ahead?"
"Not yet, just got here, Kii-boU," Argo shrugged. "Place says it's an' estate, must be the sourcE,"
Asuna pipped up, "Then let's work together, considering we have almost all frontline players present it should be a cakewalk, right?" Her partner shook his head slowly with a frown.
"Not necessarily, even before the floor's layout changed with this fog, the enemies closer to the labyrinth or in hidden spots were much tougher, it took us the last days of the Beta to find the Boss Room let alone beat it, even beforehand, just fighting mobs on this floor was tricky," He hated to be the wet blanket, but this was a terrifying new revelation.
"All the players that have died on this floor too, the fog basically swallowed them whole," Artorias' eerie remark made them all nervous, but since their candleholders were Asuna and Artorias, they led the teams forward. "Stay close,"
"Mmhm," Asuna nodded timidly, drawing her rapier.
True to its name, an old wall roughly eight feet tall with a small, dark grey tiled roof lined the perimeter. The rounded doorframe missing its doors, left with swaying, creaking hinges. Above them, the orange sky became visible again, what was strange about the fog was that it bundled in a circular pattern around the area as if it refused to cover the estate.
The building ahead was impressive for its size, though it appeared abandoned like the rest of the empty estate. Smaller buildings dotted the interior but were rundown or practically falling apart. Nagi sniffed the air, grimacing. "Nothing, not even ash..."
"And why's the main building still intact?" Kirito questioned further until Argo's whiskers twitched, drawing her gaze toward the mysterious abode.
"There's someone herE," She pointed past the boys. "SeE?"
They leaned forward, true to the Rat's notion, a shadow was by a crisscrossing panel beside the entrance. The group was hesitant, unable to tell if they were hostile or not. Asuna paled, the sights reminding her an awful lot of Floor Five's haunted Catacombs. "...is it an astral type?"
"No, definitely physical," Artorias snorted, approaching with a squint. "Hold on... is that...?"
"Ah, hello, is someone there?" Two pearl-white eyes stared through the gaps before their head bounced in surprise. "...I recognize those looks... the young Shinobi and his friend!"
"Shirayuki?" Nagi blinked, seeing the odd looks on Kirito and Asuna's faces. "Oh, right, she's from a questline me and Klein have been doing, Argo and Artorias have helped us in the past with her quest,"
"A new questline?" Kirito murmured, rubbing his chin. "...wonder if I can start it myself...?"
"Ahem, we have our own, Mr. Greedy," Asuna gave him a sharp look, forcing the swordsman to hold his hand up.
"A valid point, Miss Fencer," He grinned.
"Well, while it is great to hear your voices I hate to admit this but I've been bamboozled," The Shinobi proclaimed, waving an unseen hand at the estate building. "I came here to see about this infernal mist but have fallen victim to its ploy,"
"What's causing this mist exactly?" Artorias inquired, arms crossed. "People keep dying left, right, and center because of it,"
Shirayuki seemed to deflate, sighing with her head down for a moment. "A cowardly trick, a spirit of House Flame's Heir; This monster has bathed this realm in its myriad of mirrors, and has done so to this very house, if you enter through one door, you may find yourself in another room entirely, if we can find where it is this troublesome foe lies, we may indeed lift this mirage,"
Quest Updated!
-Of Ash and Flame: Estate of Misdirection-
Shirayuki has found the source of the mist, it continues to weave tricks into its attackers' minds. Undermine its smoke and mirrors and slay the cursed spirit.
*Defeat Heckla the Honhoki
Hiro Estate of Floor 10 | Reward 2500 Col | Crest of Flame
"A Boss Quest..." Kirito muttered under his breath as everyone accepted the quest with Nagi smiling confidently.
"We'll do what we can, try to be safe too, Shirayuki." Her gaze lightened a bit at that, nodding.
"Your kindness is truly a blessing in this dark quest, here-" She poked a long, brass key through one of the wall's gaps. "-once you enter, try not to become isolated, only then will its phantoms come out, and those with candles like the young lady beside Miss Argo-" Asuna perked up at the notion. "-yourself and the Red Warrioress carry an 'Eternal Wick', they will ward off these phantoms."
"So that's they're gimmicK," Argo jotted that down with Kirito nudging her side.
"You have any others...?" He whispered, the girl rubbing her fingers together.
"A thousand CoL," She grinned.
"Are you kidding me!?" Kirito fumed between his teeth as she chuckled at the reaction, tossing out an extra from her inventory as the ravenette stumbled to catch it.
"Ya gonna need iT," She did the same with Nagi.
"Thanks, Argo," She put a peace sign up to her cheek.
"Anything for my best customers, nyahahA!"
"Everyone ready?" Artorias declared, standing on the porch of the massive house of mystery with the key in hand. "Once we're in try to stick in pairs. Blackie and Fencer are a match, then the Boss and Rat,"
"What about you?" Asuna raised her hand politely with a serious tone. "You heard what Shirayuki said, we shouldn't wander here alone,"
"That's why I'm gonna go find our resident Shinobi, shouldn't be too tricky," Artorias confirmed, sharing up at the balcony through a gap in the porch's roof. "I dunno what kind of 'phantoms' it summons so best keep to a candleholder, right?" The group nodded in agreement as the redhead spun around to open the door. "Now then! With the threat of death lurking over our shoulders, Asuna looks ready to faint, and I want a new sword, let's do this..."
She twisted the key, popping the door open as it let out an audible creak, the dimly lit hallway vacant of life. Artorias stepped through, looking both ways before she shrugged, staring back at the others standing... several feet away. Artorias deadpanned. "You guys were gonna ditch me, weren't you?"
"Perish the thoughT!" Argo zipped up to the front door, dragging Nagi with her as they entered next, then Kirito and Asuna. Once indoors, the front door slammed shut, making Asuna yelp in fright, almost hiding behind Kirito who smiled awkwardly ahead with his candle out.
"I... guess we split up?" He suggested, the group drawing their weapons, aside from Nagi.
Nagi and Argo went with Artorias in the direction Shirayuki was in while Kirito and Asuna went left. With them all in the same party, they could track their health bars without issue. The whole building creaked and groaned, not to mention a strange, damp smell that made it impossible for Nagi to tell where a monster may attack from.
He rubbed his nose, opening a door to his right as it slid back to reveal a bedroom, though no furniture was present in the middle of the floor. Artorias did the same with one to his left which didn't make much sense considering it was the wall facing the outside. What made his brain hurt was how there was now a small kitchen through a magical doorway.
"What kinda freaky house of horrors is this?" She frowned, turning to the broker. "You see anything?"
"Nothin' that stands ouT," Argo tossed a jar over their heads. Even with her impressive skills in this field, the place was simply empty bar a few bits of Col, and tradeable items that you could find anywhere. "'Bout as useful as any ol' ruiN,"
As Nagi shut the door to the bedroom, he spun around to walk the rest of the hallway until it bent right, Argo was inspecting a few odd treasures she found with Artorias poking her head through another doorway, only for a bucket to clatter atop her head, echoing her displeased tone.
Nagi smiled a bit, reaching to pluck the bucket off for her friend as a strong, copper scent flooded the hallway. "A phantom?" His tone threw the others into action, even with a bucket on her head, Artorias drew her shield up close. Nothing could be seen but the scent was strong, coming from all directions. "It's everywhere, I can't see it,"
"It's messin' with yer nosE?" Argo realized, brandishing her claws toward the two hallways.
Above them, a pair of black claws descended like cobras, widening above Argo's head toward the two taller players. The odd ambient noise made it impossible to tell what was natural or forced, only when Argo saw the shadow over their bodies did she gasp, spinning herself onto her back to toss throwing picks upward.
They phased through the shade that grabbed the others by the backs of their heads, tossing Nagi through one door and Artorias the other before screaming so loud it made Argo's head spin. She rolled away, trying to reach Nagi who was cut off by a door slamming shut. When she threw it open and dived in after him, she gasped.
"Cra - Ack!" Her body crashed into Asuna who was sprinting up a flight of stairs, knocking the girls down to the bottom floor. Argo landed with her face in Asuna's breast, staring up at the phantom that shut the door behind them sharply. "Grwt," She huffed, moving off of Asuna. "Sorry 'bout that A-Chan,"
"Argo!" To the Rat's surprise, Asuna quickly hugged the broker tightly, shaking a bit. "I'm so glad I found someone, t-these stupid ghosts kept chasing me!"
Argo, while understanding this was the boss's doing, was relieved she ran straight into someone herself. "There-there, big sis gotchA," She patted the fencer's back, the two still laying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. Leaning her head back with one of her eyes covered by her bangs, Argo lost her smirk. "Be carefuL..."
"What the heeeell!?" Nagi dove through another doorway, slamming it shut before several pale-purple swords pierced the thin sheet of material that covered the door, the shadows seeping through the cracks. "The candle!" Scrambling around his quick-select bar, he held the Eternal Wick in his off-hand, causing the 'Phantom Soldiers' to recoil in fear of the blue ember, retreating through the doorway as the hall turned darker than nightfall.
Every door he travelled through gave off the same, dark hue, indicating the layout of the house had changed again, an ever-evolving instance that they were trapped in. Nagi sighed, knowing he'd have to keep moving until he found a boss he couldn't even hit.
Flinging the door back he immediately ducked as Kirito dove over his head, swinging an arm back in a cold sweat. "Close the door, close the door!" Looking back, Nagi paled and did so, throwing himself back atop Kirito before several arrows pierced the door's face.
The pair sighed, flopping down next to each other gasping. "So... you too, huh?"
"Pretty much," Nagi wheezed, sitting upright to view the room. "Give it five seconds then it'll change,"
Kirito mimicked the motion, putting his candle away now that he had one next to him. "Sword skills won't affect them, but they hate the flame, why?"
Both gave it a lot of thought as they inspected the room for valuables to sell. Nagi gave it some thought based on his experiences with Shirayuki. "Shirayuki explained there were three houses, she was under House Winter, then there was Dusk, and this floor, which holds House Flame," He turned to Kirito who was leaning against a wall. "Think of the name of the boss, does it have a correlation to its powers or a weakness?"
Kirito looked at some of the torn tapestries of flames and related symbolism, all of which were shredded to a degree, whereas the other works of art remained unscathed. "The title, the last part 'Hoki' means 'abandoned'."
"So a person who's abandoned something, the first name means 'Cloak of Mist' in English," Nagi nodded along, opening a door to find it led back to the starting point of the house so he closed it again and travelled across the room to the next doorway. "So someone who uses mist to mess with people, creating phantoms to attack us, and who abandoned something..."
"The House of Flame!" Kirito gasped, pointing at the torn tapestries. "What if they were part of the House as you said, but they abandoned it for whatever it's using now?"
"That could be it," Nagi grinned happily, "Well, let's find the others and tell them, maybe that's why the monsters fear the candles, because their creator hates flames and fire,"
"That must be it!" Kirito agreed, running to draw his sword in case something jumped them. "On three."
"One," Nagi curled his fingers around the handle.
"Two..." Kirito held his sword forward.
"Three!" The door swung to the side, revealing a hallway, and a dark room across the gap between them. Someone was present, their bare back to the testers.
Neither moved, the figure craning their neck to see who had yelled. They wore a baffling Dire Wolf Head as a helmet, exhaling sharply through the nose. He was extremely toned and muscular, possessing large, defined muscles most notably over his stomach and arms.
The person wore baggy hakama pants tinted a dark gray-blue, which was fastened around his hips with a thick belt of Dire Wolf fur. A pair of knee-high socks of Dire Wolf hide, which also appear to be what fastens the sandal-bases he wears on his feet. In his right hand, he held a single-handed battle-ax, the heads like curved horns with a skull fixture at the top of the shaft.
/Kushla Daora\
Plus side, he wasn't an orange player, downside, he immediately lunged at the pair, making them scream in a panic as he used their chests to vault down the hallway in a split second, headbutting his way through the nearest wall, effectively bypassing all the rooms that would've trapped him further.
"What the hell is that guy!?" Kirito blurted out, rubbing his chest as Nagi scrambled to follow him. "Hey, where are you going!"
"He's making a shortcut, regardless, we should follow him, maybe he knows where the boss is!" Nagi waved, popping through the gap to see that the boss's warping effect never occurred.
Kirito, still frazzled by the encounter, stumbled after his friend, motivated by the gloomy moans of the phantoms crawling out from the woodwork behind him.
"Hey, Argo?" The girl perked up, turning around to where Asuna was pointing. "I think I found it..."
"Didcha noW?" Peeking around the corner, the brunette, indeed, found it. A short hallway lit by various candles and murals of three distinct symbols. Torn deep orange banners with a golden flame held between a dragon's claws by its heart. An ice-blue banner depicting a wolf with a crystal above its head in white. And a purple banner with a single, black crescent moon between the talons of a bat.
Without any real way out but forward, the two approached the door left ajar, feeling a chilling wind just from the contact, and a thin layer of mist at their boots. It had to be the boss chamber, the same ghostly entity that split them all up once they triggered a doorway.
"Ready?" Asuna said with a timid voice, if she were honest, it might've been better outside but at least Argo was with her to keep her nerves steady.
"Dunno, yoU?" Argo replied, wiggling a brow the fencer's way, the girl shook her head. "Nah, me neitheR,"
*Creeeeeak*
Pushing the door open, they stepped inside to a large, dojo-like chamber with rafters above them, probably for the stairwell they passed prior to the doorway, rays of sunlight peeking through the windows on the second floor. At the end of the room was a shrine, an altar decorated with a single, amethyst that bled black ink.
The phantasm was present, claws together in pray as the mist was funnelled up through the gaps in the roof, probably to prolong the fog across the Tenth Floor. The girls drew their weapons, triggering the monster to turn and display its entire being to them, the sheer sight made Asuna's knees buckle.
Black smoke wrapped around its waist, converting the legs into a wispy tail, almost like cloth from the robes it once wore. The body was severely malnourished, the ribcage visible in its black astral tint. The forearms bulked up with large claws and shredded fabric billowing in its aura. The face was horribly disfigured, missing its lower jaw with long, flowing hair that hung similar to tendrils. The sunken eyes filled with a piercing red glow.
/Heckla the Honhoki Lv. 28\
It sat two levels above Asuna, and four above Argo. With a piercing scream that shook the whole house, it lunged with a moan. Asuna on instinct, used 'Linear' as the skill passed through it, however, both its claws slashed the girl, missing Argo who moved much faster. An icy sensation flooded Asuna as it seeped away into the wall.
"I'm okay... I'm okay!" She panted, seeing that her health didn't decrease by much, but something had appeared, a small bar that was a third of the way filled with something called 'Corruption'. "A-Argo, it d-did something t-t-to me!" Asuna stuttered, moving away from the wall shakily.
"Look like a skull with a black backdroP?" Upon her inquiry, the fencer nodded and Argo grimaced worryingly. "I think we're in too deep, A-ChaN,"
"W-what!?" Asuna hadn't the time to ask again before Argo shoved her into a pillar, avoiding the ghost rising from the floor, swiping at the open air as it hovered above the girls.
"If it builds up too much, we'll suffer a severe loss of healtH!" Argo yelled, ducking and diving between the pillars as the specter chased her through the objects. "And since it's already done damage, if it builds-!"
Asuna gasped, eyes dilated. "...we'll die..."
"AsunA!" Because of a brief lapse of panic, Heckla sliced through Asuna's stomach again, making her scream as she stumbled away from its claws. But it wasn't human, it didn't care for her emotional fear as it flew to slash her again had Asuna not kicked herself into rolling away.
Behind her, the boss let out a hissing wail, retreating into the floor again as Argo ran to help Asuna stand, pointing at the floor. "See that, it raN!"
"A-a-and!?" Asuna snapped, a little shaken by the attack as the Corruption meter went up again.
"It ran once it hit that ray of sunlight, seE!?" Argo pointed to where Asuna previously sat, a beam of golden light had saved her by warding the phantom away.
It didn't last as Argo grunted, feeling a pair of claws drag up her spine, the tail of the ghost whipping through both their heads as it flew toward the balconies above. Again, little HP was lost but the Corruption meter was growing.
Heckla nosedived, sinking through the floor as it gave chase, it ebbed and flowed through the floorboards like a shark after its prey, flanking the girls who split off in two directions, struck by a single hand each across their hips. Its aggro targetted Argo first, cornering the Rat who grinned under her hood, running parallel to the wall as she dove backward over the boss's slashes, rolling once to stick the landing.
"Kii-bou's not the only acrobatiC," She remarked as the spirit disappeared into the walls again. Instead of appearing by one of the girls, it placed its ghostly hands by the alter crystal as it manifested. The arms gathered a blackish-purple smog. "A-Chan, get ready to jumP!"
"Okay!" She yelled.
A second later, an expanding ring of smoke erupted from the boss, forcing them to jump over the Terror aoe. However, Asuna gasped, feeling its arm impale her, inflicting a constant rise of Terror that made her face break out into a cold sweat before Argo spun through the air, bringing her claws through the arm to dispel the smoke, freeing Asuna.
"Thank you, A-Argo!" Asuna croaked, coughing from how cold her lungs felt. They evaded the aoe but there was a follow-up charge they weren't aware of, and now, Asuna was only two strikes away from succumbing to her Corruption debuff, if that happened, regardless of her HP, that was it, her life in SAO and the real world would be stolen. "What do we do!? How can we fight a boss we can't touch!?"
As it lumbered toward her, Asuna couldn't find the strength to move, even with Argo shouting at her. She felt completely powerless, even after every floor and trial she's been through. Was that it? Her fear was what held her back, is that why she could never be as strong as Kirito? She wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn't look away from Heckla's hateful gaze. "Kirito... I'm sorry, please... hel-"
*Bam-Shiiing!*
"Rising Sun!" A familiar voice called out, and a warm breath of air struck Asuna's cheeks. Descending from a doorway in the floor above, the shinobi of House Winter, Shirayuki, struck the spot between Asuna and the phantom, a gust of wind forcing the astral type back into the floor. "It appears we arrived in time!"
"Yo, Asuna, Argo, catch!" From the same doorway, Artorias dove over the balcony, tossing two tiny pouches at their feet. "Use it, it'll remove the Corruption and provide an immunity!"
Without a second left to lose, both girls dusted their armour in the pale lilac powder, the skull disappearing, turning into a white lotus as a relieved breath passed Asuna's lips, her thankful smile a little misty. "Thank you..."
"Thank me by getting me out of this hell," Artorias helped her up with a scowl. "I bloody hated that puzzle floor, and now I'm stuck in another puzzle, are you kidding me!? This sexy-ass body is already a puzzle I can't solve, I don't need more baggage!"
That outburst made Asuna giggle, raising her rapier, even though wasn't effective. "Sure, you have a deal!"
Heckla appeared again, screaming at the newcomers as her claws brandished toward them.
To Be Continued...
Part One of this mysterious battle with a ghost, what will our team do? And a new player appears, but whose side is he on? I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!
021 - Rip You Apart
Heckla the Honhoki is the only way to remove the endless fog from Floor 10, but how do you beat something you can't touch...?