A/N: Can Christmas stay in its lane? Spooky Month is Spooky Month, leave all the snow and shit 'till November. I digress, Review Time.
To Isshion: Well, glad you're enjoying whatever I come up with on the fly. Seriously, half these arcs I just make up as I go along.
[Argo]: The confidence in yer plans is worryinG
[Nagi]: It'll work out, it's more exciting to see how plots develop spontaniously sometimes - and will do, Isshi!
Enjoy.
|March. 28th, 15:33|
|Sword Art Online, Floor 25, Forever Falls|
Forever Falls was a beautiful forest covered in the shades of autumn, orange, red, and yellow leaves bunched up across the dirt tracks with captivating views of the valley among the highlands and the massive waterfall that roared through the forest.
"Get in, quick!" Nagi swung out his left arm as Klein held his right, hugging the edge of the sheer drop that led to the floor of the forest many meters down, roughly a thirty-meter drop.
Ran, as her name implied, picked up the pace as a red gash tore across her back, forcing her to burst into one last gasp as she dove off the edge of the cliff, only to be snatched by the wrist and thrown into Klein and Daora's arms safely. The two Nodachi Infantry dove right off the edge thanks to the skill motion, their bodies disappearing to the forest below.
"Th-thank... you," Ran coughed, breathing a sigh of relief as she took out a health pot to recover. All of them were level 47 but comparing equipment she was the weakest, and since most enemies on this floor appear to be using katanas, that meant they had access to the same deadly skills as Klein and Nagi. "What's with the aggro on these guys?"
"I know right? Like they only got more aggressive since we got here, you don't think...?" Klein trailed off, his inventory holding the first fragment they needed.
"We can't assume it not to be," Nagi replied, glancing to their left where Daora scoped out, pressing his back to the cliff. "In any case, we're safe along this path, all we need to do is follow this hidden trail and it'll lead us to the temple."
"Uh, yeah, haha, easy..." Klein gulped, staring down briefly before his neck shot upward. "Graaah, why didn't we go to the swamp!?"
"Dangerous fall or dangerous poison? Not really a change of pace," Ran sweatdropped, tapping Daora's shoulder. "Say, what's the path ahead like?"
"Haha, totally clear," He gave her a thumbs-up, then pointed across past the vapor from the waterfall not far from the hidden trail. "But that part's got my skin crawling, one wrong step and we're either swimming back or worse,"
"Well, if it makes it better, at least the guys aren't here, we'd have to make a bungee cord just to convince them to look let alone try this crazy stunt of ours," Klein grinned, reassuring them before they slowly shuffled across the ledge, allowing Daora to test what was safer footing or a better method to travel since there were various nooks and crannies to step on.
The dangerous route would've taken them all day to find but with Shirayuki's offering of the clan tablet, they were able to find a player instance camp that, after some talks, pointed them in the direction of the hidden path. They'd have to thank their friend later for this.
Once underneath the roaring waterfall, the rocks were much more dangerous than before, forcing them to slow their progress, turning to grip the rocks tightly to avoid slipping. There were a few misplaced steps but Klein was quick to catch anyone by the back. As for Nagi, he used a pair of old claws Argo had given him and sunk them through the wet stones like climbing picks.
"Hey, I think I see it!" By the edge of the roaring water, Daora waved to something lodged between two mountains, the outer mound separated from the rest of the land, leaving it a staggering pillar of earth with a small forest on top.
Squeezing across, everyone peeked through the waterfall to spot the mass of vines, rope, and chains webbing the temple ahead.
There was an old, tottery platform just head, leading to a few corridors and pathways carved into the mountain face, stone bridges leading to a red-roofed temple weathered and cracked, suspended above the valley but it was stable and had four stories total.
With a gasp, Klein fell onto the wood platform, panting alongside the others. "Sure hope there's an escalator at the end of this thing," He huffed, staring back at the tremendous power of the waterfall. "Or we can take a swan dive?"
"Nope/Absolutely not/I'm in!" All but Daora seemed to disagree.
With Daora in the lead, the four traversed to solid ground, still overlooking the cliffside below from within a slate grey hallway with the outer wall missing, it was as if there was once a much larger structure but with time it crumbled away to the water basin below. Only the single, red-roofed tower remained standing.
Despite the seemingly empty ruins, a variant of the human monsters they fought above did appear to be in hiding. 'Forsaken Nodachi Infantry', their levels were still higher but the environment provided one clear advantage, a sheer drop no player nor mob could survive. "Klein, use a 'Hate' skill and kite them closer to the edge, Daora, Ran, you two prepare to intercept, I'll keep any stragglers off us!"
Nagi spun around and parried the swordsman honing in with Ripple Thrust, brandishing the katana into the ceiling to slash with Scarlet Fang, the third hit, a thrust, knocking the possessed man flying while two Infantry were thrown over the edge with a flurry of cuts and a wave of air pressure. Nagi spun around his target, vaulting against the inner wall as his feet splashed, propelling himself into a snap kick, disarming the man before twirling low into a twin roundhouse that knocked the man out of view.
EXP and loot were confirmed, and the team with their new plan set off for the temple. "Alright, let's keep this train humming along!" Klein roared, enhanced by another Hate skill to lure out the mobs further ahead.
|March. 28th, 15:45|
|Floor 25, Toxic Bogs|
"This place reeks, why's the gear have to simulate the sense of smell so potently?" Yuuki whined as she cupped the white cloth over her nose tighter, then she felt a tug on the back of her nape, feeling the cloth squeeze. "Huh?"
"There, you good now?" Artorias asked, not bothering to wear one herself.
"Uh, yeah, thanks for that..." She sniffed the cloth, blinking in surprise. "It smells fresh!?"
"Like it?" The redhead smirked, holding a blue vial between her fingers. "Not much in the way of combat, but a drop of this will have your senses tingling at the freshness of clean clothes, I call it the 'Scent Bomb', no need to thank me."
"Hey, pass it over!" Asuna shot forward, leaving Kirito dazed a bit as the smug swordsman dabbed her own cloth bandana with the liquid, making Asuna close her eyes before fawning over the scent. "It really is like fresh laundry!"
"You don't need one?" Kirito pointed to his own bandana while Artorias gave a side glance, dabbing a bit to Kirito's face as he visibly relaxed. "Thanks for that... ah, I breathe again."
"First, I'll put it on your tabs - second, no, once you've been to a party filled with sweaty try-hards who are either drunk or high, the smell of a rotten bog is actually not so different," She meant that literally too but no one wanted to confirm it.
Coming out of a cave system, the group stepped toward the ledge where various points jutted out into the murky green haze below. The mountains were far above the bog but down here the rot and decay were evident. Pools of water turned a thick dark green, bubbling between islands and smashed buildings, nothing was left of the temple say for the mobs that roamed in rags and covered their faces too with gas masks of some kind. Dead trees hung like black ribs in the air.
"I think that's the shrine down there," Asuna pointed as she knelt down. In the far back of the toxic basin were the crumbling remains of a shrine similar to the one in the bamboo forest only the candles were out, and the praying shrine was falling apart at the seams. "But which of these things is the boss?"
"I got a bad fee-" Yuuki's mouth was covered as Artorias swung her shield forward, blocking Asuna's view of the poison below as a sharp green bolt slammed into Artorias' shield, leaving a murky green haze that ate threw her armor, inflicting Poison. "Sniper!"
"Crap!" Kirito ran forward, activating a skill in time to slash the air twice with Snake Bite, dispelling two more toxic bolts as the girls scampered away from the edge. The ravenette spun around. "You alright!?"
"Yeah, fuck that's rotten," Artorias chuffed, downing a level three antidote she made. "Good thing I'm prepared to be a human meat shield when called for, seems I found the boss, what joy." Picking herself up, she sauntered over to the edge again, Asuna waving out her hand.
"Wait, what are you-"
Two more bolts shot through the green murk, connecting to Artorias' shield before she stepped back from a third as it struck the roof of the cave behind them, the bolt tearing a few rocks from the cave. "Huh? So the weaker ones can't poison us but the boss has piercing damage, guess we know how to proceed now,"
"We should try and use the ruins for cover then, ready?" Kirito raised his sword, glancing back at the girls who nodded as well. Inching toward the cliff, if they listened closely, the twitch and taut of a bowstring could be heard through the tense music ramping up in the air. "Let's go!"
Artorias was the first to start scaling down to the cliffs below, drawing aggro as several bolts slammed into her grave shield, a larger bolt she deflected with Slant as its lingering poison bled into the ground like a small pool, forcing the redhead to dive down to a level with one of the archers.
Tied up with rags covered in dirt, they were undead crossbowmen, the gnarled creature skittering back as it loaded a new bolt, the hood covering its eyes, a red name, 'Legionary - Lv. 48'. Still three higher but manageable. Artorias closed the gap quickly with Shield Bash, knocking the archer flying over the edge into the toxic lake below.
Asuna swept by with her rapier, slashing the nearest Legionary as a bolt struck her thigh, inflicting the deadly poison onto her. "Move it to cover, that hut down there!" Kirito ushered, having reached the first island as he recoiled from the venomous water to hide from a series of bolts from the mist.
Yuuki luckily deflected any homing attacks, leaping forward into a roll to avoid the green liquid, passing Asuna an antidote while Artorias blocked the bolts, taking a poisonous arrowhead to the shoulder as she leapt to a small lopsided barrier to the right of the gang. She gulped down a potion too, seeing the lingering buff - she hadn't perfected the ingredients yet, so the antidote wouldn't provide a substantial immunity to poison yet.
"Okay, so, think we learned something today-" Artorias clapped, eyes locked into that stale scowl. "-running at the bolts is not a viable solution."
"Guess it's a game of cat and mouse," Yuuki murmured, peeking around the wood wall only to yelp as a few strands of hair were torn by two bolts. She squeezed herself against Asuna who pushed against Kirito to stay covered. "We can use the ruins to move up."
"But there's the Legionaries on the outer walls of the ravine and islands to worry about," Kirito pointed out, a few shifty shadows adjusting their location. "It's a kill box, and we've stepped straight into the middle of it."
"Artorias, big favor to ask," Asuna's voice drew the girl's gaze, seeing a familiar spark in her hazel orbs. "Can you deflect a bunch of bolts for a few seconds?"
"Are you seriously asking me if my reaction time is enough to survive being turned into a human pincushion?" That flat tone made her huff, and slowly Artorias raised a hand to stop her. "Gee, Princess, your wish is my command, and etc, etc..." It was rather insulting if Artorias was honest with herself. Dusting off her leathers she cracked her knuckles. "Someone's gotta play hero here..."
Rolling out onto the middle of the island covered in debris, several figures moved around Artorias, forcing her to swat her shield backward, deflecting the first bolt before diving into a helix to block two more. She swiveled on her heel, tanking three from the same direction, applying a small amount of poison damage.
"Woah...!" Yuuki couldn't believe her eyes, Artorias had no real indication of where the attacks would come from in the green mist, and yet she didn't allow a single bolt to graze her. Her instincts were sharper than the acrid stench in the air could block.
Artorias doubled back, warding off two more stray shots before bowing under the wood barricade again, sipping on a potion. "And the verdict, Princess?"
Asuna, who analyzed the movements of the nimble swordswoman, sat back down with her face scrunched up in thought, hand covering her bandana. "One from the north, two from the west, and three to the east,"
"I can confirm the boss is to the north, that's where the shrine is," Artorias offered.
"Then we have six archers," Kirito concluded, smirking. "That was pretty risky, I should give it a try."
Artorias laughed once. "It's fun, really tests your reflexes but hopefully the next time it won't be in some decrepit swamp, my nostrils are shot," Artorias sneezed.
"Then what's next, if we can't get close to the mobs we'll be picked off, and guys?" Everyone turned to Yuuki pointing at where their health bars were. Beside all their bars was a new icon, a green box with a white skull cracked in half. "Our HP's cut in half."
"What!?" Asuna gaped, and then it occurred to them why Artorias kept biting down lesser health potions, even as they talked. Focusing on the debuff, the icon expanded to explain why.
|Debuff - Effluvium|
The toxins in the air have spread to your body. Max Health decreased by 50%, constant tick damage applied, increased damage from poison sources.
"Oh, you guys only just noticed?" All eyes shot toward Artorias sipping on a red vial. "And you wonder why I'm in a foul mood, guess we better nut up or shut up, otherwise..."
Across the largest island, over a bank of venomous liquid on a small rigid next to a boulder, a humanoid creature shambled out of hiding, two health bars present. Its cloak was a dirty grey, the torn edges dripping with dark green miasma as its right arm rose, twisted and malformed into a bony crossbow that infused the venom into a new bolt across the shaft as it snarled, one eye peeking through a tear in the cowl, a vibrant red pupil stared back.
/NM Mihanasa - Lv. 49\
"...We'll be left to rot down here."
|March. 28th, 16:03|
|Floor 25, Forever Falls|
"It's a trap."
"Definitely a trap."
"Hmph, obviously."
"I... yeah, yeah a trap," Nagi concluded the thousand-yard-stare observation of the final room of the tower.
Once climbing a ladder, the room opened up slightly before a row of Fusuma walls sat between them, two of the panels drawn back to reveal the larger space inside and a shrine at the back with a mural of House Flame, Dusk, and Frost hanging behind it.
Knelt by the shrine with their sword placed out in front of them was the Named Boss, and nothing else. After giving the panels a quick strike, the purple hexagon appeared, 'Immortal Object' flashing on-screen. The second they entered, the doors would slide shut, trapping them with the boss.
It was an old man in a dark purple kimono, bald and with similar facial hair to that of the Village Head of Sunsinger, only his beard split into two long strands.
"No turning back now," Nagi stomached the dread and lingering bloodlust, and stepped inside, behind him, the others followed quickly, the doors slapped shut behind Ran as the old man picked up his katana, facing them with a short, respectful bow. Feeling obligated, Nagi did the same, hand to Nevermore.
"You are here for the tablet's fragment?" The old man asked, freezing everyone in place. "You cannot simply take, you must earn," He motioned for two of them. "One who flows like a river, calm and ferocious, the other the untamed wilds, strong and perceptive, I shall face you both."
"Think he means you guys," Ran looked between Daora and Nagi.
"Really?" Nagi wasn't prepared for the boss to speak, let alone to pick only two of them to battle with. But he doubted the system would allow them to deal damage if they refused, or worse, buff the boss. "You guys alright with this?"
"Don't tell yourself short," Klein smiled, tapping his katana off his shoulder. "What matters is that fragment, so get in there and show the old man what you guys are made of, we'll be here to back you up, yeah?" Ran nodded in agreement.
"Hah, just sit back and watch a master and his student go to work!" Daora chuckled, drawing out his trick weapon into its two-handed state. "Ready?"
"I'm with you, Daora!" Nagi clutched his saber, stepping forward as one. The two health bars appeared.
/NM Elite Duskguard - Lv. 48\
"Very well, test your mettle young ones," The Duskguard commenced, stepping forward with bare feet tapping off the floorboards. The wind cut through them both like a knife, forcing them apart as the old man swept forward, a silver blade streaked through the air with a stance akin to Serpent Slash.
Nagi doubled back, water whipped around him as he spun through the air twice, striking against the man's blade, "Whirlwind Slash!" "Switch!" As the water faded, Nagi felt the cool blade rush through his bicep, taking out a chunk from his health before the Duskguard spun on the ball of his heel to block the destructive blast of Whirlwind, the air pressure slicing a good portion from the boss given his lack of armor.
The Duskguard followed Daora up with two parallel cuts than a firm thrust that punctured his stomach, slamming the wolfman through the dresser panels. Daora shook off the blow and lunged, catching the katana with the shaft before shoving the old man back, slicing in a silvery-grey crisscross into a winding diagonal that knocked the warrior into a backflip, blocking Nagi's counter strikes from below before landing.
A fountain of water expanded around Nagi, his feet leaving a puddle behind with Kick-Step, evading the wide Iai below, Nevermore building pressure within the sheath. "Rushing Water Undulation!" The strike rang against the tip of the Ripple Thrust stance the Duskguard slit against Nagi's cheek, but the skill had triggered already.
Several dragon claws within the waves carved against the swordsman's body, ripping apart a good fraction of his first bar as it dipped red. The Old Man parried Daora's leaping Grand Destruction, slashing the boy's stomach, dropping him into the yellow but he chuckled despite the blow. The Duskguard spun around to feel an arm wrap around his throat, Nagi pulling him off balance to plunge his sword through his stomach, spraying red shards with Ripple Thrust.
The old warrior threw Nagi aside, Daora catching his arm to toss him back into the fray, the boss had one bar left. He sheathed his sword, smelling the building bloodlust, Nagi caught his feet against the ground, squeaking when he dived under Serpent Slash again, rolling to guard against two powerful slams from above the man's head, forcing Nagi backward with a gust of wind.
Despite his frail stature, a red glow emanated from the purple robes, Battle Spirit further enhancing the elite swordsman's body. "Keep it up, you two!" Klein hollered.
"Combine your attacks, overwhelm him!" Ran yelled.
Nagi snapped his head forward, seeing Daora hop away from two wide slashes that covered most of the swordsman's flanks. "She's right, his attacks are strong but I know these 'stances', he may not be using sword skills but they're the real deal, we can use that," "Daora, parry now!" The boss went for a Ripple Thrust, in that window, the ax-wielder swung upward with both hands, evading the blade. "Let's synchronize our sword skills, me high, you low!"
"I getcha... I'm in!" Daora blocked another two slashes with his ax head, throwing the old man toward the shrine. His weapon took on a radiant silver, watching the wisps of water stretch across the floor with a sloshing sound behind him. Bending his right arm backward, Daora's muscles tensed up, breaking out into a deadly burst of energy. "Hahahaha, follow the lead!"
The Duskguard sheathed his saber, waiting for the wolfman to be within a comfortable range before unleashing blinding flashes, carving two deep impressions through his bare chest, dropping the boy's health toward the red. But to the old man's surprise, this didn't stop Daora's approach. Striking with two more cuts to the arms, again, Daora's rush wasn't faltering. "He's focused solely on offense, forgoing injury to close the gap." But there was nowhere for the warrior to run, his back near the shrine.
Daora closed the gap, "My dire wolf's ability to counter any attack can also make it to where my sword skill can't be canceled for a few seconds instead - and with Battle Healing, these scratches mean nothing - Ultimate Breaker!" Tearing through the floorboards, the ax head collided with the brunt force of the elite warrior's katana in two slants.
Daora spun once, evading a wide slash for his overhead slam to bring the weight of a thousand pounds down atop the old man's shoulder, the knockback stunning the Duskguard as his back struck the wall next to the shrine. Above, Nagi completed his ceiling wall run, striking down like a cobra in hiding, the howl of a dragon leaving his blade. "Dragon's Breath!"
The edge nicked the old man's chest, and the titanic blast enlarged that wound to cover most of his upper torso with one blow. The Duskguard slumped against the wall, falling to his knees. "Well... done..." He fell forward, shattering into thousands of pieces.
With the boss defeated, Klein and Ran cheered before running over to rejoin their friends. "Knew you had it, buddy, and here you were worried without us!" Klein chuckled, ruffling Nagi's already unkempt hair, opting to laugh a little too.
"At first I thought you were being as reckless as I was, but you knew you'd survive those initial blows, didn't you?" Ran asked Daora who healed up with a potion. Meeting her inquisitive eyes, he puffed out his still shredded chest, fists to his hips.
"His attacks would've been tougher if they were actually sword skills, so it wasn't a problem!" Daora spoke the truth, while it was clear the boss was mimicking the sword skills he never actually cast them himself. Without them though, the Duskguard proved to have the strength to back it up.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Daora," Nagi smiled brightly at the wolfman. "Your endurance won us this fight."
"..." He trembled, shaking his shortened ax. "Graaaah, stop making me feel all warm again!"
"Now then, about the fragment..." Nagi turned his attention to the shrine, spotting the circular stone placed on a small mantle before the candles, fruits, and coins offered to the three banners. Again, the edges of a sun were inscribed on the stone, glass shards embedded in the material. "You want to take it, Daora?"
"Huh, sure but you struck the final blow," He waved but Nagi then entered his menu with a simple smile.
"That's true, but the boss dropped something rare when I did, this," He hit a button, and soon, his Evernight breastplate was gone, replaced with a reflective pale blue chestpiece, a few padded plate metal sheets lining his abdomen, the edges of which were details to look like stars. "'The Crest of Renewal', its stats are better so go on, you can have the fragment."
"Well, if you insist, hehe," Daora snatched the Tablet fragment, and the quest log updated to indicate as much. "Now, let's get outta - woah!"
Everything inside the temple suddenly jerked left, everyone falling atop one another as they slid from the sharp angle. Using their weapons to hold themselves steady, the temple suddenly changed direction, and jumped down a few inches, slamming them into the floor again. "What the hell's going on out there!?" Klein huffed.
The eldest of the group pressed himself to the wall, inching closer to a window on the opposite side of the chamber to peer up at the mountains. It was a tricky angle to see the reason why, but when broken links of chain, snapped vines, and rope flew by his gaze, his whole face lost color, and he threw himself back as the temple shifted.
"Klein?" Nagi asked, the dread in the air palpable.
"W-we need to get out, NOW!" He yelled, pushing himself to stand while the temple buckled and shook. "This whole place is about to collapse!"
"What...!?" Ran gasped, then pointed to the same window Klein looked from. "Our only chance is through the window, we'll take too long scaling down through the tower!"
"But there's nothing to hold onto, the supports are being severed!" Klein countered, scratching his head. "Think-think-think gotta be a way to swing us back to the rest of the ruins, gotta be!" He ran to the window again, sliding into the wall to peer out through the rubble and dust.
"I... I have a plan!" Nagi yelled out, face dripping with a nervous sweat as he tried to stand. "But we need the person with the highest strength stat to pull this off, otherwise, well... this has to work!" He wouldn't think of the worst, only what they could do in the time they had.
Above the lop-sided temple, a large halberd swung wide, decoupling another row of chains with a single thresh that sent forth a powerful blade of wind. It belonged to a naginata user on horseback. His steed was decorated in sturdy gold scale armor. As for the man himself, the large warrior wore red and black samurai armor with a thick bloodstained white cloak over his shoulders and a decorative helmet that covered his mouth with two brass horns curved backward.
"You dare to set foot on our lands, outsiders!? You shall face my personal judgment for this treachery!" He bellowed, swinging his naginata above his head three times, gathering momentum to swing low against the cliffside, severing another half a dozen binds to the temple, seeing it jerk and eventually tumble downward another five meters. He huffed, petting his horse's head. "The weight shall pull them down."
"My-my, remind me never to get on your bad side," Standing with the horseback warrior was an orange player wearing the clothes of a victorian hunter, his saw-spear Bone Marrow locked against his lower back. Arawn sneered beneath his red bandana. "I must say, I personally wanted to savor the looks on their faces before death, but... well, a show is not without its twists, I say."
"Mm... why is it you swordsmen align with us?" The NPC demanded, turning his horse to bring him shoulder to boot with Arawn. "What do you purpose you gain from our alliance?"
Arawn stepped back, hands raised with a charismatic twang. "A mutual benefit! You get to eradicate that ninja village, we get to cut off the heads of the most bothersome people on the Frontlines, and-" He heard the snap and crash of wood, the two staring down at the cloud of dust, the temple spun through the air, eventually releasing an almighty 'crash' as it was flattened against the earth below. "-now nothing is left to stand in our way, ah, what a conclusion!"
"For a hunter, I suppose this method is to your liking, I will return to the mountains, and you?" He inquired, seeing the young man dismissed the rider with a wave.
"I'll go see what I can't scrounge up from their remains, ta-ta now, Yama." With a grunt, the warrior left with his steed, and Arawn patted his hips with delight. Once he was certain he was alone, his eyes slit with a hoarse laugh. "While I cannot wait to show your friends your remains... I certainly hope you survived..."
What remained of the secluded temple suspended above the cliffs was little more than the hallways carved into the stone walls, the temple was gone, reduced to a mound of rubble far below next to the waterfall. The chains lay limp or swayed in the harsh winds caught by the mountains.
Through the plume of smoke came a dry laugh of relief. "Nice work... Daora!" Nagi beamed with his arms wrapped around the shirtless man's waist for dear life. Attached to Daora's wrists and against his hands were the very claws Nagi used earlier, now suspending the shinobi, Klein, and Ran from certain doom.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Daora!" Ran's eyes bubbled with relief, wrapping her arms around Klein's neck while the red-clad samurai held onto Nagi's ankle, chuckling like his life didn't just flash before his eyes.
"I think I developed a fear of heights now!" Klein was laughing but his pale complexion said otherwise. "Can... can we come down now?"
"Hah, this workout's child's play to my strength stats!" The evidence showed, his arms weren't even so much as buckling from the weight of three players. "There's a hallway below, use that to scale down!" He barked.
"Okay, let's make this quick, the durability of those claws won't last long!" Nagi relayed, frowning as he fixed his eyes on the task of locating a stable place to put his left foot. "Let's hope the rest are doing better than us."
|March. 28th, 16:07|
|Floor 25, Toxic Bogs|
Roughly the same time Nagi's team had defeated their boss and claimed the second fragment, Kirito's team was struggling to move up any further. Now, Legionaries had flanked from the left and right, forcing them inside a rundown shack that offered the smallest amount of safety from the deadly crossbowmen. Using tables and chairs to barricade the doors for them to peek out of and sit down to rest.
"This is bad, they've got us surrounded now," Kirito pulled his head back to not draw aggro, so far, the enemies didn't step further than necessary, meaning they were trapped with no clear way through the green mist that ate away at them and their healing supplies gradually. They had enough potions to last for a while but one wrong move meant expending a potion.
Yuuki slumped with a sigh, sipping on her potion. "This sucks, we can't even fight back, how's that fair level design?"
"If it wasn't a death game, probably would be," Artorias grunted, sitting back beside her. "Don't worry about it, we'll figure this out, right, Princess?" She glanced over to Asuna's calculative expression, the girl snapping out of it.
"Huhwha?" She blinked a few times, then frowned slightly. "Well, I have one but it's really a stretch, and it solely relies on me and Kirito to pull this off."
Everyone listened silently, so Asuna explained, waving her hands to express herself. "The boss is currently past this hut, it's a straight line aside from two jumps over the toxic river and a curved path around the shore and behind the boulder it's using for cover," She drew two lines forward from Artorias and Yuuki. "The two of you will charge forward to overwhelm the boss, considering your reaction times are the same if not better than Kirito's,"
"I second that," The Beater waved his hand, "Question, what's our role then?" He had a vague idea where Asuna was going with this.
Her smirk curled at the corners of her mouth. "We're going to be their shield, deflecting the Legionaries while they make a b-line for the boss,"
"A pincer attack?" Yuuki realized with a bright smile. "That's perfect, thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" She was practically nose to nose with Artorias, causing the redhead's cheeks to tint pink with a wary smile.
"S-sure, a solid plan Princess, as always; I'd have said just go for a headless chicken charge with you guys as meat shields but your way of explaining it makes it sound like a strategy," She grinned as Asuna rolled her eyes. "Alright, heal up, buff, and let's crackdown on this archer."
With the effluvium still eating away at their health, they used another health pot, applying a strength and agility potion atop those too, again, adding to their tab with Artorias but for the moment, they'd pay a fortune. Kirito kicked the vertical table flying out the doorway, rushing with Asuna straight into the line of fire.
In an instant, bolts flew through the green murk but together, the Black Swordsman and his partner struck down the rapid-fire attacks with simple but far less risky sword skills. Asuna kited Yuuki around the shore, the purplette focused on speed and nothing else. Artorias was the same, flanking past buildings and debris, using a fallen wall to vault over the bubbling lake with Kirito defending her.
That's when the red cursor came into view across the river of poison, a straight line down the ruins toward the shrine, and ultimately, Mihanasa. It growled, charging its crossbow to fire three bolts directly at Artorias, but a streak of blue cut between them, shredding the bolts with Savage Fulcrum leaving behind a jagged 'A'.
Another burst followed soon after, Artorias didn't bat an eye, following Kirito's movements as the swordsman swung around like a black star, spinning with deadly precision and a reaction time to boot, effortlessly banishing the bolts from the front and sides. "Go for it!" Kirito swept back, defending Artorias' blindspots, sparks sailing by her red locks.
Mihanasa revved up its attacks, charging a condensed smog into one bolt, it left the mutated arm, exploding into a wave of venom that Artorias couldn't run through less the kinetic force of the blast threw her to the river. Instead, she changed her course, running up a lop-sided wagon onto a collapsing hut to grab a low-hanging rope strung around one of the trees, vaulting well over the poison and the sickly riverbank.
From behind the archer, it hissed when Yuuki spurred around the corner, her obsidian sword quickly flourished ahead of her, cutting down the toxic bolts with a scarlet glare catching lilac light. She yelled loud and proud, and through the green haze, a descending comet of light red mirrored the girl's, ensnaring the archer.
Helpless, Mihanasa was subjected to a torrent of simultaneous slashes that tore up from the ground, and spun through the air like crescents through its shoulders and neck, dispelling large arcs of lilac and rose contrails into the toxic sky. Yuuki and Artorias leapt at once, evading an unexpected circular blast of venom from the boss' right arm, the halo of green gas missed and was banished by the finishing vertical blow, ridding it with a dozen vicious slashes at once.
Stuck in a brief post motion, both grit their teeth as time crawled, feeling the cool metal pierce Yuuki's shoulder and Artorias' stomach, their health plummeting into the red by half due to the increased damage from poison. Asuna had noticed and nearly missed another bolt in her panic. "Yuuki, Artorias!" Kirito heard her cry, snapping around briefly with a gasp.
Both stumbled but caught themselves, Mihanasa gargled what was supposed to be a laugh, pointing its fleshy sights to a pair of scarlet eyes, a green glare covering a new arrowhead. "Don't you dare-" A flash of pink erupted behind it, forcing the monster to crane its neck to the two scorching pink eyes that followed the sword's edge. "-lay a damn finger on her!"
Artorias rammed her left index and middle fingers into the boss' back, Embracer piercing between the shoulder blades as she drew her right arm wide with a sharp cone of light exploding from her sword. Yuuki did the same, knelt low enough to avoid the boss' gaze as her sword twisted against the rotten fabric.
Snake Bite and Horizontal Arc pierced through the neck at two angles like a pair of scissors, beheading the monster in a swift, satisfying motion, leaving the headless body to shiver in protest before going stiff as the last of its second health bar disappeared entirely. The two stumbled and fell into one another under a hail of glass.
"Uh, sorry," Yuuki smiled sheepishly, now atop Artorias who shoved an antidote into her lips as quickly as she did for herself, embracing the blueberry aftertaste that swept the poison from their systems. Asuna and Kirito, who were on Ad clear, returned with signs of relief washing over them. Yuuki then smacked her lips, falling backward off of Artorias, their legs flopped together. "Man, that was too close."
"And this, young grasshopper-" Artorias' finger prodded toward Asuna. "-is why we gamers loathe swamp levels."
"With a passion, whoever came up with this one is a sadist of a level designer," Yuuki spat but raised a thumb with a toothy smile. "Nailed it though."
"Guess that means we're done here," Kirito breathed, looking over at the disgusting shrine where the fragment was kept. "I'll go grab it,"
"Hey, look over here," Asuna drew their heads to the back of the canyon where a once-hidden cave entrance could be seen lit with torches. "There must be more to this area now that the boss is defeated we should-"
"NO!" All three of them immediately refused with Artorias picking herself up quickly alongside Yuuki.
"Kirito, grab the damn fragment, we are leaving!" The debuff was still in effect too so they hadn't the supplies to explore even if they wanted - no if Asuna wanted to.
The chestnut-brunette frowned at their childish reply but knew she was outvoted. "Oh, fine, but we're coming back here someday."
"Sure, when we're dead," Artorias snarked, arm in arm with Yuuki and Kirito. "We're finally free, let's go home!" As they merrily skipped along the safe trail back, Asuna stared at them with deadpanned expression.
|March. 28th, 16:55|
|Floor 25, Sunsinger Village|
"So you guys got poisoned constantly, and we nearly had the whole building fall on us," Klein gulped, setting his drink down at the open cafeteria table.
"Yeah, pretty much," Kirito said with his eyes closed, cheek pressed against his palm as he ate the bowl of soup before him, roast red peppers, tomato, and basil, all in all, a nice hot meal after losing his sense of smell.
The gang came back to be bombarded by Argo for questions, both on the areas and the quest thereafter, so far, she got a real kick out of Kirito's story but was far less amused when Nagi explained how something or someone nearly took the whole temple down with them in it. "Definitely can't see it bein' an event, but I'll not rule it ouT," Argo promised.
"I'm just glad you gave me those claws, Daora's strength stat and the weapon helped us big time," Nagi once more commended Daora's actions, the man already gobbling down his second bowl of soup, his only visible features, a toothy grin, were revealed from under the wolf mask.
"Despite how hectic the swamp was, Artorias and I were in complete sync!" Yuuki swung an invisible blade with her spoon in her mouth. "Our double Phantom Rave and scissor-like decapitation was perfect, only Ran's ever been able to do that with me!"
"I'm impressed, but considering your infamy, it's no wonder you two are so alike," Ran nodded, staring at Artorias. "I do wonder, what kind of games did you play before SAO?"
"Private info, shorty," Artorias pointed with her spoon, catching the bread slice thrown at her to dip into her soup. "You throw like a guy."
"That doesn't even - I hate you," Ran scowled as her sister and Artorias laughed at her expense, though the latter's was more of a cackle.
Their mission was almost complete, with a single fragment remaining in the hands of the Clan of Darkness. How they planned to sneak in and steal it or worse, confront the enemy head-on remained a mystery until Shirayuki returned. But sadly, Nagi felt it wasn't going to be a quick walk through the park.
*Bam!*
Behind them, cutting through the banter like a sword's razor was a harsh sound of a body hitting the ground. To their horror, Shirayuki had collapsed in a heap, dropping two of her companions down softly, their health bars nearly extinguished, the silverette herself lingering near the red border.
"Shirayuki/Hey, you alright!?" Asuna and Daora were quick to help her up as she panted desperately to catch her breath, the look in her eyes spelling fear like a dark omen. Red lacerations covered her body, tearing up her uniform.
Artorias and Kirito fed the two shinobi potions to patch them up as Nagi knelt to tilt Shirayuki's head back to drink hers. She coughed on reflex but relaxed under the magic elixir running through her body. "I... failed, they... expected us," She revealed, punching the ground. "We're the only survivors."
The news was troubling as others in the village had gathered at the commotion. Shirayuki sat up, face twisted into a passionate determination. "Did you... acquire the fragments?" She asked hopefully.
"Yeah, Kirito, and Daora hold the two pieces," Nagi explained, hand on Shirayuki's knee. "But, the other one... how can we get it?"
"We must... postpone that inevitability, but good work," She gave them a faint smile, Daora, and Nagi helping her to stand. "Come, my friends, I believe you all are well overdue a reward."
"But we haven't gotten all the pieces yet," Asuna argued, not wanting to take advantage of the situation, while Kirito stared at the NPC shinobi as though it were Kizmel all over again, the compassion she displayed so very human.
"Yes, well, we will need all the strength we can muster," She raised her head in the direction of the falling sun over the valley that led to the main gate of the village, the sun casting her eyes in a golden-silver tint. "For when night falls, our enemy will come to wipe us out."
Argo then interjected with a solemn frown. "'fraid it's true, check what came through to me a while after ya lefT," Argo publicly displayed her messages, one taking a handful of them by surprise.
Fynch: Hey, got something you might want to hear. Arawn, pain in the neck I partnered with? Yeah, guy's back, working for the crazy strong samurai dudes. Best guess they're out for you guys
Fynch: Worst yet, I got some inside intel, they know where you guys are at. I dunno the details personally but I ought to let you figure this out. Good luck, and... sorry, for... y'know, everything
"Motormouth, you magnificent bastard," Artorias cracked a smile, punching her palm. "So we have an hour at least?"
"Yes, if your ally's information is correct, we will be set upon soon," Shirayuki concurred.
"Then let's give them a fight," Kirito proclaimed, drawing their eyes to his fixed glare. "We've dug too deep into this, would be a real pain to back out now and lose out on whatever's behind that door, that's all." He tried to appear aloof, but a few saw through his act, smiling.
"Then let's get ready for war!" Klein yelled, ramping up the energy in the group.
"Shirayuki?" She met with the young shinobi that led a handful of the swordsmen, her fire bouncing off his. "We'll take you up on that offer, I promise, your home won't fall."
Her eyes widened with wonder, and despite her healing injuries, she felt so much stronger in their arms, gripping their shoulders. "Your kindness, my friend... I will never forsake it."
To Be Continued...
Two boss battles back-to-back, and I hate swamp areas. But the chaos is only just starting to ramp up, of all the parts of the Path of Divine Sakura, this has been the most fun to try and plot out, now for quite the siege ahead. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!
040 - Her Shinobi
As sundown begins, Shirayuki offers all her companions a much-needed upgrade. Leading the charge on horseback, General Yama will bring about what could be the village's final night...