A/N: Time for this arc's conclusion, what a battle I have in store so I hope you like it, think it's by far my best in Misfits so far. Review Time.
To Isshion: 'Crest of Frost', well, Crest of Winter to fit the House but hey, I'm not saying no to free content, thanks, I'm thinkin'... Floor 55, where House Winter resides but more on that in the future with you.
[Argo]: Nyahaha, nothin' like some paddin' for later arcs, appreciate iT
Enjoy.
|Feb. 4th, 20:25|
|Sword Art Online, Floor 16, Darkdrinker Keep|
"Lay down and die for me!" Harriet screamed over the hail of arrows flying overhead, knocking them aside with her whip as it hardened into a solid staff of piercing orange that slid against Nagi's Nevermore, the edges of his arm burning from the extreme heat before her wide spin using Hellical Twice threw him to the left-hand side of the chapel.
Amethyst resounded off the edges of her spear like a shotgun blast, three arrows splintering to slice across her bare biceps. Twirling her spear, Harriet rushed Evet who shuffled backward, leaping as he fired three arrows in rapid succession, charging one powerful shot as the skill connected to the tip of the spearhead, causing an explosion to ring out.
Landing, Evet quick-changed to his katana, drawing it in front of his chest as it was ensnared by the whip, flicking the man left and right in an effort to knock him down. The thorns jittered, and the length of the trick weapon whipped upright. Harriet threw herself forward, using Evet's own sturdy stance to swing herself wide and strike his side with an orange Crescent Moon to the jaw.
Unraveling her whip, Harrient lashed out to beat it against every defensive pose Evet made, knocking him back inch by inch as he backflipped, changing to his great bow to charge another purple arrowhead. Flicking her wrist upward, a solid wave of metal and thread split the Thundercrash arrow in two, exploding behind her with a flash of lightning.
That made the stoic archer huff humorously, and her brow twitched. Through the smokescreen the bow skill created, a rapid tide slashed against her lower back, Iai leaving a wide red gash through her skin. "Ngh!" Harriet sprinted away before either could land a connecting blow. Whipping the ground, she charged with the spear form, Fatal Thrust's glaring light honing in on Nagi's stomach.
Sliding to the right of the spear's intended path, Nagi slammed Nevermore against the molten polearm, the skill canceled by the redhead's own volition. The staff curled, and the upside of the spear threshed to smack him across the face. Rolling from the recoil, Nagi's whole world spun when she snatched his left ankle, ignoring the arrows that whizzed by her face.
"Keep calm, strike the joints!" Nagi mentally slapped himself, time slowed to a crawl for a split-second decision. Drawing Nevermore behind his left arm, he slashed once across the seam line, disrupting the trick weapon's impressive spring locks into releasing him. Flung over the woman's head, he dug his blade through a stone column, whipping around to strike her right shoulder with a solid kick with Embracer, sending her flying with a cry toward the back of the chapel with a watery halo.
"Blast Scale," The string of Evet's bow plucked, and the wailing arrow connected to the floorboards directly in front of Harriet, erupting into a shrapnel blast that tore a portion of her health off, now in the yellow. "Pursue her, do not relent," Evet commanded.
"On it!" Nagi chased after the woman, herself escaping out the doorway. Sucking on a health pot, Nagi's health began to climb back into the green. He couldn't afford her doing the same. Sliding his hand against the slabs, Nagi leapt up onto the altar and ran past the stage where the doors lay ajar.
Outside, the foul wind struck his face. The rectangular balcony is lined with a blackstone merlon overlooking the staggering drop to the mire below, vines and moss overgrowing along the edges and the length of the bridge. The pathway ahead was wide enough for four people to cross shoulder to shoulder with some breathing room. And the ghostly spire behind Harriet cast a dark shadow onto the bridge.
Moving to the bridge, his nose twitched after hearing an audible 'click' that his right foot pushed against. Stumbling forward, Nagi rolled forward when a great wall of burning furniture cascaded down from the roofs' extended overhang, blocking Evet's way as the flames quickly engulfed the doors and windows, but Nagi saw him signal for the young shinobi to focus.
"Hahahahaha!" Harriet grinned, a faint blush stitched to her cheeks, basking in the newfound heat as it spread across the overgrowth on either side of the bridge walls. "I'm starting to enjoy this!" To her, this was everything she could've asked for. A strong enemy, a dangerous environment, and most of all, the chance to take a life again with her own two hands. "This ends now!"
"Yeah," Nagi combated the roaring flames with a helix of water, glowering at the deranged woman.
Her whip snapped into a spear, tearing up the stone brick with deadly precision. Nagi leapt with Kick-Step, slashing at the curving weapon that parried his Serpent Slash. Spun on his heel, Nagi blocked two cracks of the whip, seeing her twirling the weapon into a treacherous whirlwind of tiger orange over her head.
"Dance for me!" She cooed, drawing her arm down as the vortex surrounded Nagi, shredding his haori as four gashes flashed across his body, ending with a solid kick to his abdomen. Catching himself with his sword embedded in the bridge, he swung upright with Rising Tide, countering her secondary strike, blocking another two swipes before his sword rang loudly, countering a final, powerful lunge of Fatal Thrust, his sword vibrating despite being unable to block the true damage that followed the first attack. "Try to keep up now!"
It was hard to tell what was a sword skill or the expanding flames, but there was that distinct wind-up that kept Nagi on his toes. His cooldown was complete some time ago, so in bending down, the length of the water dragon came erupting forth from his haori. Harriet slammed her spear into the ground, her right foot cracked in a snap kick against Nevermore.
Landing, she drew her weapon behind her back from the left, connecting a horizontal to his vertical slash. Nagi dove onto the merlon to evade her sweeping leg, meeting her secondary slant head-on, then drove off her thrust to the side. "Three times, Water Dragon!" Nagi flicked his grip to hone in for the kill but recoiled when her whip glowed in a chain prison around them.
Drawing Nevermore high, he blocked the first row of thorns, then spun to cut off the second that nearly grazed his back, over and over he defended against the serpent patterns of the trick weapon, all while the woman cackled at his desperate act to stay alive, gradually whittling his health away.
"I need to break this ensnare of hers!" What happened next didn't even register in the boy's head, a sensation driving him against the system that unexpectedly widened the gap he needed. His breath hitched, and his grip on Nevermore drew the flat side against his left bicep, the water's flow changing to match.
Two wide, blue arcs of seawater rippled and expanded from his blade, crisscrossing his skill as the two aqua rings deflecting every arch of the whip, stupifying Harriet as her while curled back toward her hands. "His sword stance changed?"
"What was that? I don't remember this skill, but..." Looking down at his firm grip, the way his body struck with that intense force was vaguely familiar. "It reminds me of Rising Sun, but that skill is a single strike, not two?" Shaking his head, he saw the perplexed frown on Harriet's face. "No, just accept it happened and move forward, you can still move, there's no post-motion, use it!"
"Well, it was nothing to write home about," Harriet assumed, catching her spear in both hands, charging the head into a molten glare. "He'll still be a shredded corpse by the end of this!"
Improvising her skill motion, Harriet clutched the weapon at her lower back with both hands, spinning into a wide, fiery sawblade that tore down the length of the bridge. It was an unavoidable skill, so Nagi drew his sword to guard at exactly the right moment, his arms buckled, but her second spin didn't do any damage.
She doubled back, repeating this constant whirlwind of a sword skill, and the next three times, Nagi blocked the attack a second before contact, his arms shook but he wasn't paralyzed or reeling in pain. But when the redhead stopped, her body was trembling, a stun icon appeared as her face twisted in anger.
"W-what the hell is this!?"
"A katana has a hidden trait, while rapiers can break posture, katanas have increased posture," To dumb it down, it meant so long as Nagi could block her attacks at the exact moment of impact, he could effectively survive any sword skill aside from perilous attacks. "It took me and Evet a while to figure it out, but her agility isn't as insane as say Argo's or Artorias', I can read her movements, I can win!"
His health was in the yellow, but so was Harriet's, and lower too. She slowly turned to him, eyes obscured by the mask but hatred bleeding from her red lips. "You little dog!" Spinning alongside her whip, the trick weapon expanded its radius, slicing apart portions of the stone barriers, the fiery whip digging into Nagi's leg again, attempting to throw him to his death instead.
Dealing with this situation prior, Nagi twisted his waist to pivot the angle where he would arch during the climb, then, with two crossing slants, the hold on his leg broke, and he was thrown toward the tower. Digging his soles against the wall caused some damage but he could still move, wall-running toward the bridge while several throwing picks either missed or were deflected by his brandished blade.
Rapids unfolded from his clothing, twisting into a whirlpool around Nevermore as he dived into a helix spin, deflecting picks and the arcing crack of Harriet's whip, a whistling sound escaping between his teeth. "Hidden Skill-" A flash of sky blue, and the ring of water expanded against the length of her spear. "-Rising Sun!" The colorful aroura of blues shifted the bridge below, scarring her forearms after sliding back several feet.
*Snap!*
Nagi gasped, his weapon locked around the brambles that curled up his right arm, shredding his sleeve and down his hand, disarming him before the weapon froze, plunged down from the sky with Sonic Charge. Nagi dove back from the blast, stomping the follow-up thrust to crack his right elbow against Harriet's cheekbone, quickly applying a palm-heel strike with his left, then bending that same elbow to smack her nose. "Mantis Strike."
Vaulting onto her shoulders, escaping the range of her frantic whipping, Nagi rolled and tossed his sword back into his hands in time to catch the length of the whip around the edge. Both tugging back and forth, hopping left and right to win a battle of strength. But her smile curled tighter, grasping the trick weapon with both hands.
It started to glow again, she was preparing to throw him. Bracing, Nagi narrowed his gaze, the white splits along her whip were beginning to show, its durability was suffering too much strain. So, Nagi rolled the dice, and slipped off the edge of the bridge, feeling Harriet struggle to anchor herself, but she gave him the right amount of leverage under the flaming waterfall, embers falling toward the great mire below.
Swinging with as much force as he could muster, Nagi threw himself to arch under and over the bridge, the whip releasing him a second later to sheath his blade. Water pressure spat from the scabbard, rumbling between his fingertips. Harriet spun round with a gasp, unraveling the trick weapon to form a hardened spear, but the process was incomplete, it was a precious few seconds.
"Rushing Water Undulation!" He screamed without meaning to, his roar combined with the western dragon emerging from his scabbard, following the motion of his blade for a single slash. It didn't come close to connecting with the red player's spear, however, the several dragon claws that swept in from all sides did, tearing chunks from her health and the durability of her weapon.
Upon his safe landing on the walkway, he threw out his right leg, striking Harriet to put distance between them. But her health had fallen into the deep red, she was done. "You can't keep going like this, give up," Nagi breathed harshly.
Her raven hat obscured her expression, but by her body's trembling posture, she clearly felt otherwise, a giddy laugh escaping her lips when she sat up, pushing against her spear to stand. "'Give up'? You really are so sweet, even to a murderer, this is a really cruel joke," She swung her spear forward, and her mask had split in two, dissolving into particles to reveal two resentful eyes, only the right was clearly blind, rubbery skin where a large burn covered the area around the eye. "This is all I've ever wanted, so don't disappoint me! Only way this ends now is with one of us dead at the other's hand!"
*Schwaff-Boom!*
A single, violet arrow struck the tip of the spear, exploding to shatter the deadly weapon into dozens of tiny pieces, reducing it to broken fragments in her hands. Growling, Harriet attempted to lunge for Nagi, his eyes quickly spotting Evet from the rooftops above the burning chapel.
Turning back, he watched as Harriet stumbled a few feet from his position, her vision blurring before she smacked her face off the cold hard ground. She tried to move, but her arms were twitching, and she fell onto her ass, slumped like all motor functions were stripped from her. Then her pinprick eye caught it, the Spine of Shmargor dug through her thigh leaking red particles.
"When did he get that?" Shakily, her eyelids narrowed. "I get it, back in the chapel, those arrows pinned them down but didn't destroy them, he picked one up after using that archer's attack as a distraction." It was over, she couldn't even mouth a complaint, her whole body was at the mercy of her enemies.
The crackling roar of the burning Keep behind him, Nagi approached Harriet, and, to her disappointment, he sheathed his katana, kneeling down to stare at her with... remorse? His eyes didn't lose that anger, a dead-set determination that had been her downfall, but there was remorse for the enemy too. With a tight frown, he spoke softly.
"The people you killed won't return, but enough people have died so far, when we leave this game, I'll make sure you pay for what you've done," He assured her. Standing up straight, Nagi had suspected Evet to have scaled down from the rooftop to escape the blaze-
*Shiing!*
Red pixels and glass bounced off Nagi's face as it paled in horror, grasping Nevermore tightly when Evet emerged behind Harriet, cloak gone, and his eyes shedding no remorse as his katana stole the last pixels of her health, the bar disappearing before Nagi's frozen eyes, his body licked by a frigid grip, his heart pounding.
Harriet's contracted eyes stared up at Nagi, and, a scent of sorrow and regret swept by his nose, a few specks of liquid caught in the rim of her eyes. Then, she closed them acceptingly.
"The dead can never return, for that, your life will pay for theirs," Evet spoke, relieving his blade from her chest before drawing it up in a single, purple stroke, severing her head from her shoulders as it rolled off the edge of the bridge, shattering a few meters below.
Her body slumped, bursting in the same, crystal pattern before their eyes. Nagi's blood boiled, veins bulging but he didn't draw his blade, containing his emotions. But his stomach twisted with nausea as the man unceremoniously stepped on the remains of the woman's hat, crumpling it.
"Don't waste sympathy for a monster that stole human lives," Evet said, eyes uncaring but his brow dipped. "She may have endured abuse and neglect, but once an innocent life is stolen, there is no redemption to be found."
"So that people get to live free and happy again, of course, I'll draw my blade on anyone who threatens them, I will fight until my last breath if I have to," Nagi spoke, reaching down to yank the amigasa out from under Evet's foot, holding onto it tightly. "But I won't just trample on the people who fell to despair and isolation, to a hollow pit they had no say in, so, even if you kill them, please, don't ever trample on those that suffered and regretted their choices!"
Neither budged on the matter, conflicting ideals overwhelmed by the burning building behind them, most of the vines attached to the bridge burnt to ash. That's when a heavy set of feet touched the ground nearest the spire. Immediately, both swords were drawn to the noise, someone else had just arrived.
"Showtime's over," The player gave a curt wave to them. His cursor blood-red. "Nice battle, real heart-pounder near the end there."
His features were mostly obscured by a leather poncho, but his distinct facial features and blue tattoo over the right side of his face were distinct in the jagged shadows cast by the flames. That grin of his made Nagi's blood lose its heat, the sheer malice behind his smile was enough to put him on edge.
"It's him..." Nagi whispered, not wanting to let on that he knew who the man really was. "The Man in the Black Poncho."
He laughed at that, "Blackie's been spreading that around, it's grown on me, real good pitch for meeting others." He didn't draw his weapon, not that they could tell what he was hiding under that raincoat. Instead, he hopped atop the balcony ledge, daringly hanging a foot over the lip. "It's bad business to have people that talk too much, I came here to deal with her myself but you have my thanks, putting her out to pasture for me."
He wasn't foolish, beside his health bar was the antidote icon, prepared entirely for another paralyzing pick, not to mention, that his right hand hadn't budged from under his poncho. "You are the man who orchestrated the monopolization of weaker players?" Evet questioned, and PoH spun on one leg, still swaying on the edge.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, who's to say?" PoH answered vaguely, then his eyes were revealed in the orange haze, tipping his cowl to them. "Be seein' ya someday, I'm sure, killers." His body dipped, and PoH fell from the balcony, revealing his large cleaver as it tore into the rocky spire underneath the tower, slowing his descent toward the mire.
Neither pursued PoH, watching him zip behind the mountain without a trace, his red cursor stained in the backs of their minds as the chapel behind them burned to the ground or at least the parts that were destructible.
|Feb. 4th, 22:49|
|Floor 16, Hollowsprings, Nightstand Inn|
"'-In conclusion, a recording of Arawn's voice and his identity was delivered to the Frontrunners and other notable guilds to be on the lookout for the orange player. As for the ringleader of this party, she was executed by another infamous orange player, Evet, based on his own reasoning that the lives she had taken were punishable by death, and shortly after, fled the scene with his companion. More details to follow on page six'," Nagi finished reading the news report in his fingers, all thanks to Argo burning the midnight oil for tomorrow's issue.
It was over, the battle against two dangerous orange players, and the resulting encounter with PoH himself had ended without any casualties, aside from Harriet herself. "The players Daora and Fynch rescued said they'd vouch for Fynch if anyone asks, but that was after one of them tried to kill him."
"Guy does run his mouth aloT," Argo hummed from her desk, the lamp on as she sat in nothing but a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt with a red collar, hem, and sleeves. Nagi was dressed in a pair of loose-fitted black track bottoms and a blue shirt with two white stripes across the chest. "Credit to 'em, his intel's what saved us both time and manpoweR."
Nagi smiled at that, Fynch wasn't a bad person, he just got stuck with the wrong crowd and they dragged him into deeper waters, and tonight proved to Nagi he was making a real effort to do better. The greenette never stopped shaking their hands in thanks and apologized profusely to Philia and the three imprisoned players.
"Philia's heading to floor twelve to continue her treasure hunting, she's broke but wanted to repay us for helping her," Nagi did try to stay humble and say it wasn't needed, even against Argo's own pleading eyes, but the girl was insistent so he admitted defeat. "She's scary..."
"You just can't say 'no' to a girl in neeD," Argo grinned over her chair, seeing Nagi hide behind the rough newsletter, earning a delightful laugh from the Rat. "Back to Frontrunnin' duty tomorrow, bright and earlY!"
"Yes, ma'am," Nagi jokingly saluted, but now that business with the orange party known as the 'Hunt' was concluded, they could focus their efforts on gathering boss intel, the most notable insight was the story of Darkdrinker Keep that Hotaru shared, of the beast that could potentially be the floor boss. "Kuorari the Decaying Light,"
"Bet it's a dragoN," Argo snarked, not taking her eyes away from her menus.
"Probably a dragon," Nagi added, the two laughing at their bland guesswork. Argo closed her menus for the night, turning off the lamp as the one by Nagi's bed remained lit as he threw the newspaper into his inventory, shuffling under the white sheets with a sigh, his muscles relaxing. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow..."
Adjusting the lamp's brightness to 0, Nagi turned toward the window, closing his eyes as he heard Argo shuffle around the large room in the dark, the blue moonlight illuminating the curtains. Then Nagi's eyes shot open, the lull of sleep vanishing momentarily.
His bed shifted, and then the covers rose, allowing Argo to slip into the sizable bed, but she was extremely close regardless. Nagi's face burned a bit as he found his voice. "A-argo?"
"What, this too much for yA?" She murmured, then she paused. "...turn around for mE."
With his only options being to fall from the bed or face the music, he chose the less troublesome option and shuffled to meet two golden-brown eyes in the dark, the faint glow of light catching the red whiskers adorning her face. Argo stared at him quietly, her big eyes downcast as she bit her lip. Without thinking of it, Nagi reached under the covers to find her hand, tapping it to break the trance.
"SorrY," She whispered, "When we all saw that Keep on fire, then your health plummeting toward the red I... I panicked, I guess, dumb really, yer more careful than that, I know you are but iT..." Falling over her words, Argo spat them out against her mind's wishes. "...scary, how easily you could disappeaR."
By now, Nagi's and her hand found each other, drawing them above the covers to set between their two pillows. A breath escaped his lips, staring into her eyes. "I know, and... same, I'm scared you'll disappear too," His hand tightened around hers. "PoH, other orange players, the future floors, I'll keep getting stronger to face them all, then, we won't have to worry about each other, we can smile knowing neither of us will disappear."
Argo's face relaxed, and a cute, girly giggle slipped through her smile, "I envy ya, talkin' all that sweet stuff with a straight facE," Shuffling closer, it was a bigger step what she was doing. Basing her actions off a third person's experience was all she could afford. With the gap gone, Argo wrapped her left arm over Nagi, enveloped in a new heat that flushed out the bad thoughts with ease. "But I like that about yA."
Her face was a little redder, so was Nagi's, but he carefully pulled his arm around her lower back, tucking the smaller girl so close their bodies were pressed together, a small but sharp breath hitched in Argo's throat, but she didn't pull back, relaxing into her new sleep pattern.
Nagi's body was starting to succumb to fatigue, his eyes drooping while burying his face into Argo's golden curls with a tranquil face, feeling her breath against his neck where her head rested. It was new, embarrassing, but also very addictive.
"G'night, KaitO," Argo murmured, her eyes closing entirely in her new favorite spot to sleep.
"Goodnight, Tomo." He whispered back, his thoughts slipping away, but all of them only centered around the amazing broker in his arms.
The girl who he had unexpectedly fallen hard and fast for.
Well, that wasn't really a bad thing, he thought.
To Be Continued…
Next Arc - Awakened Knights
It's been over a month since the Orange Guild, Hunt, was defeated, the Clearers have made it to Floor 24, a vast sea dotted with islands connected via bridges. It is here that Argo comes with startling news of a swordsman that bested the Black Swordsman, Kirito...
These two are adorable to write about, ahem, so, with that high-action conclusion, we wrap up this arc, full of new characters, battles, and drama. This will be quite the timeskip, the intermission chapter will be... fun. Oh, and we'll be seeing Philia, Fynch, and others again in time, gotta make room for others too.
Now, time for more drama, action, romance, and shocking reveals. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!
033 - Legacies
Argo brings some good news for a fee but also mentions a player who has even beaten Kirito. This news excites Nagi's party into investigating this rising player...