|Sword Art Online, Floor 29, Floor Boss Chamber|
|April. 25th, 10:06|
"Okay..." Artorias rasped, his eyes burning towards the boss that stood far away as it raised its weapon.
The boss was a skeleton in a suit of burnt armour now coated in pale green crystals, the flames subsiding to a crack in its breastplate, two red flames in its visible skull's sockets. The soul fire coated its weapon, a longsword with a coiled blade and weathered handle and a circular pommel. It clutched it by the blade, raising it like a staff as soul fire scorched the top, slamming it down as ripples of orange light expanded to the floor, causing dozens of skeletons clutching swords, maces, bows, and other assorted light weapons in their hands. All with chattering teeth and clanking bones.
But behind the boss, causing the whole labyrinth to rumble from an earthquake, the boss held the 'staff' and its spare arm high, like a conductor beckoning more to rise from their graves. A massive serpentine body slithered into view, towering higher than the 10th Floor Boss ever could dream as soul fire burned across its ribs and into its single eye socket atop the head with a hissing roaring like steam and an engine combined.
/Xol, Herald of the Deep - Lv. 60\
It was five levels higher, but Artorias then heard that awful gong-like bell chime, and appearing in the air to the back left and right corners of the chamber were three symbols each, he had to match pairs again. "...let's go!"
Taking off in a sudden sprint, Artorias glanced at either pairs, with a quick scan, her repeated the mantra in her head, spotting a third just above the door her came from, so there were three pairs? "Circle, Spiral, Star. Circle, Spiral, Star." She repeated as the first wave of skeletons closed in, charging with their weapons high. While preparing a sword skill, she spotted the front left obelisk at three pairs of symbols of two of its sides, all different, perhaps there were nine in total then? "So three are the ones to hit out of nine..." Releasing a skill, her weapon swung in two straight lines side to side and top to bottom, carving a burning pink square through several undead, but the gap was filled quickly.
"Shit!" Guarding in time to block two swords, Artorias felt the sting in her right shoulder blade from a distant arrow puncturing it, forcing her sword back to deflect another. Twisting her waist, she swept her shield around to throw the three skeletons while deflecting an axe and two arrows, charging with Shield Bash to roll into a sprint toward the archers, blocking forward to smash one of their skulls in, severing the other two with Horizontal.
As the skill fizzled out, she spun to stop another spear from skewering her throat, seeing the symbols on the front left obelisk starting to glow, starting from the bottom in that same distinct orange tint. Were they on a timer? This made her heart pound, tackling through the spearmen, ignoring the cuts made on her sides as she yelled, ramming through the horde with reckless abandon.
Tanking several cuts to her body, Artorias used Shield Bash again to pulverize a cluster of skeletons down the middle, already more were rising from their graves, and that massive serpent remained at its master's side. Ignoring Xol, Artorias drew several knives into her left, doing a complete loop of the obelisk, spotting the three he needed to hit, two on one face, and the last out of view. Once all three glowed a different colour to the ominous orange, the corruption vanished and that bell chimed, releasing a wide halo of white light.
Hiding behind the obelisk to avoid the archers, sucking on a health pot, a new buff had appeared for thirty seconds. It was the symbol of a ball of white light, similar to a sun, focusing on it, the context appeared for her wide pink eyes.
|Buff - Radiant|
Provides small damage buff and boss becomes susceptible to damage for 30 Seconds.
"Thirty? Crap!" Without a second to spare, Artorias dove out from cover and made a b-line for the boss, rolling under a sword swing while hopping into a spin to block two more arrows from puncturing his back. Her feet clapped against the marble-like floor, that's when she felt all the hairs on the back of her neck stand, twisting her shield right as the grave shield buckled in her arms, seeing the ground sweep by beneath her feet.
The serpent had moved, slamming its massive scalp into her tiny defence. With a dip of its snout, it flung the redhead into the wall, her breath hitched from the sheer force. With a hiss, it rammed the wall, Artorias leaping above it just in time to dash down its spine, ramping up a burning rose skill. Grinding her heels into its bone plates, she reeled her arm backward. A thrust from Vorpal Strike threw her down at the boss as it gathering cursed flames around the pommel, casting it as though it were a staff, battering Artorias' form as her own thrust tore through its left side, both taking a chunk of damage as a result.
When the post-motion ended, Artorias shifted sideways at the last second, avoiding another barrage of scorching darts that appeared to be flames that... crystalized? Not questioning the magic on display, she pivoted and swung with her skill, sweeping the boss in wide strokes while constantly adjusting her stance to avoid its crystal darts, completing Savage Fulcrum with a final, heavy slant to the back. Suddenly, a shadow loomed and forced Artorias to raise her shield. "Ward!"
The colossal serpent slammed down onto her, leaving her rooted in front of the boss already charging a new skill, it appeared to be compressing soul fire into the pommel, that was never a good sign. Every instinct of the Warrior screamed for her to evade and to do it fast. In rapid succession due to a lack of post-motion for a majority of shield skills, Artorias quickly channelled a new sword skill, driving her blade toward the ground then upright sharply, pulling her out from under the serpent to leave a thin gash across Xol's skull, its spell went off but was instead released upward in a devastating beam of burning green light. But Xol dragged it down, narrowly missing Artorias to dipped aside, her face twisted with annoyance as the buff wore off, and she barely chipped off more than a quarter of the first health bar, at least the boss didn't have high resistances, but the method to obtain the buff were very tedious.
Retreating back beyond the obelisks stopped the serpent from pursuing her, but now she was neck-deep in the bone zone as she'd likely jest if she wasn't so emotionally unstable. Suddenly, Xol raised its staff, and much to Artorias' shock and awe while Horizontal Arc cleared some space, a great ring of soul fire spanned the air above it and in front of the serpent's titanic body. When the ring was complete, a massive sphere of blinding green light that looked almost white. A new debuff was counting down from ten seconds.
Immediately, Artorias shoved a spearman aside, sprinting into a slide behind one of the obelisks, the buff still counted down, the spell grew so bright it roared like a furnace, casting a burning gaze across the whole arena, except in the shadows of the obelisks. "So a wipe mechanic after every buff phase..." During her analysis behind her shield, that's when her heart rate spiked, the name of the debuff. "'Ruinous Gaze'... is that-" But then the harsh light faded, and the buff was gone. "N-no, wait, not yet...!" She missed it, it was right there and she was too fixated on the mobs...
Her crown tapped off the pillar, sighing in defeat, or until a blade slid across her shoulder, pulling her away into the open as an arrow dug into her hip, red particles trickling from her wounds. Now, her blood boiled with overflowing rage, drawing a scorching pink blade. "Horizontal Square!" Artorias growled out, sweeping through steel and marrow like a awful wail of an orchestra.
While cleaving through the horde of skeletons, a new batch of symbols appeared, and this time, two of the obelisks, the back two, had chimed. Now, three pairs of symbols had appeared on the right wall, but to the left wall? Nothing. Just a shifting mass of energy in three separate spots. While blocking two spears and guarding an ax with her sword, Artorias' heart plummeted into her stomach, and bile rose up. She couldn't see the three other symbols, she didn't have the buff that's randomly applied to another to view it. No... she missed her chance and now she was stuck here!
A sword came down atop hers, arms buckling as an axe cut through her back twice. The skeletons didn't do a lot of damage on their own, however, a whole army? Now that was worth considering a threat. Her health now plummeted halfway before her foot foot on a pink glow, and her body swung itself backward, punting the skull of the skeleton in front as her vertical arc brought her foot down on the skeleton behind her, burying it in the ground. "Crescent Moon!"
Turning to the symbols on her left, she read them quickly top to bottom. Maybe if she completed one obelisk she could gain the buff? It was worth a shot as the orange energy was starting to cover the bottom layer of symbols again. Backhanding a spearman with her shield, she swung wide and high with Cross Arc, dividing the crowd for her to move backward. "Hexagon, Cross, Triangle!" Yelling this to keep it in mind, she leapt and swung her leg in a radiant roundhouse kick, folding an archer into another, brandishing three knives.
"Hex-" She vaulted over a skeleton to strike it. "-Tri-" The second symbol was on the same side as she landed and ran around the obelisk, spotting the last as her elbow dug into the maw of a mob, holding her sword out to parry an ax while her foot slammed down, Uchikesu pinning a spearhead. "Hah... Cross!"
The final knife triggered the obelisk but now halo of light was expunged, meaning she needed both to be active. Turning to rend the two skeletons into polygons, the redhead panted, chugging down another health pot. She peered through the chaos toward the right wall, inspecting the shifting masses of resonate energy for any indication they'd change.
Nothing...
"No..." Her voice broke a little, then suddenly recoiled as a sword threw her balance off, and an arrow immediately punctured her collarbone, followed by the heavy swing of a one-handed hammer to her side, throwing her across the cold, dark floor in a heap. Shakil rising on all fours, Artorias stared helplessly at the ground, the buff still didn't appear. In order to trigger it, she needed another person, but... she was all alone now. "You idiot... Idiot!" She screamed, headbutting the ground, trying to contain her emotions to no avail. Her karma came back around.
Without another player, the boss' mechanics couldn't be solved, and if Artorias' hunch was correct, the second all three symbols on the obelisk are orange, it would trigger an unavoidable wipe mechanic. A minor setback for any normal game, but this was never normal, it was straight hell since day one for her. Artorias sat on her knees, the skeletons slowly shambled towards her, another arrow punctured her chest but she barely made a noise of complaint, lowering her head as the grip on her sword finally loosened, the metal clattered loudly beside her.
"I really am worthless... I'm just better off dead... then no one will have to worry about me," She admitted, feeling her resolve start to chip away. In a way, it felt... great, to just... stop trying. Her lips quivered in an attempt to smile, but she found no strength. "...why was I even born...?"
...
...
...
"I... I'm so sorry, Hitomu,"
...
...
...
"It hurts, I know better than anyone how much it stings,"
A blurry memory took form in Artorias' head, feeling his head rest on a warm chest, hearing the steady, beating heart below. Two arms wrapped around him tightly as he shivered, he was crying, angry and confused. But she didn't leave, she embraced him and refused to let him go.
"It's not fair... why... what did I ever do wrong...?" He asked her, hiccupping in the process. A gentle hand rubbed his back, rocking him back and forth, he can't even remember the last time his mother ever did that... if she ever did after he was born.
"You did nothing wrong, mother and father are..." Hitomu sighed herself, pulling him back to look her brother square in the eyes. "Listen to me, I know why you did all of this, and I'm so proud of the things you've accomplished,"
"...it didn't matter... and I hurt so many people to get here, and for what?" He was scum, the lowest of the low. All he knew was how to crush people's dreams.
"You've made mistakes, but I've seen the talent you have, even better than me, heh, guess the student is now the teacher," Hitomu giggled, bringing him back into her loving embrace. "Even if everyone's against you... I'll always love you, and support you, and someday I know others will see that too, they'll see the kind and talented person you are,"
Artorias' lips shuttered out a breath to the precious memory. "...you're wrong... I pushed them all away... I don't deserve any praise, any recognition I..."
"I believe in you, don't ever stop doing your best,"
Like someone smacking her on the back of the head, Artorias finally regained focus in time to draw up her shield, blocking the thrust of a sword while grabbing her fallen blade, sweeping high with Slant to throw the corpse back to its friends. Rolling backward and onto her feet, Artorias stumbled a bit, the second pair of symbols were now coated in orange light, it wouldn't be long now, there was no way to win this, she would die, both here and in the real world.
"Our world had changed forever, we went from normal players to prisoners of SAO, now housing less than 10,000 players, young and old. I don't know what you were thinking Kayaba, you're someone I could never predict..." Her fingers dug into her palms, slowly, she picked up speed into a brisk walk. "But I swear to you, one way or another you're going to pay... and it's gonna hurt!"
What the hell was Artorias doing? That's why she was still alive, to get back to her sister, to apologize for so much, even if she was trapped in this body forever... so be it. A smile finally broke through, followed by a slap to her own face, "I'm not done yet... Kayaba...!" If she can't figure a way to see the symbols... then she'll just have to guess, the odds are Three to Twelve, not terrible odds she'd bet. Clenching her sword so tight it could snap in her palm, Artorias swung it wide, prepared to charge straight through the large army before her. "Whatever it takes to live..." "GraaaaaaaAAAAHH!"
"-Hyah!" A flash of violet struck past Artorias' face, and in a split second, a row of at least eight skeletons were wiped out in a flurry of sword swings, obliterating the first wave.
Artorias' face was morphed with bewildered shock, blinking toward... "Yuuki?" Zekken turned with a small swing of her blade, sharply smacking her foot off the ground with a smirk as she nodded back.
"Move in, push back on AD clear!" Lind rallied DKB to form a sturdy wall of tanks as their DPS mains rushed to clear the skeletons still rising in the background, attempting to clear the chamber as quickly as possible. To Artorias' right, she saw the familiar red and white garb of KoB do much the same, though with greater efficiency than the former guild.
"That's it, work alongside DKB, pinch the enemies in!" Asuna waved her rapier to direct them.
"...Lind... Asuna... how did...?" Speechless, she was at a loss for words now. Then a familiar water-patterned haori fluttered through the crowd with a shirtless, wolf-head wearing nutcase, both attacked the back right obelisk simultaneously, completing its pattern as both spires chimed, expelling a twin halo that slammed into Xol, and caused his giant serpent to move and hiss across the back wall. The buff, Radiant, returned with a forty-second timer this time.
"This buff... it must mean the boss can be damaged!" Ran gasped, and Heathcliff raised his hand while charging through the all-out warzone.
"All free hands, close in toward the boss, Tanks, attract Hate to lure the serpent away!" Heathcliff rallied, raising his shield to defend those moving toward Xol, bracing against the full weight of the skeletal serpent that roared against his impregnable defence.
"Artorias-" The redhead flinched, looking to Yuuki who passed her a warm smile, one that made her heartbeat rise. "-I'm glad you're okay, heal up, then let's finish this!"
"I..." But Yuuki ran off to slew through the skeletons with Sonic Leap, landing in the circle comprised of the Sleeping Knights.
All of them were here despite what she's done, how pathetic was she? While Artorias healed herself, she marvelled at their combined efforts despite what little knowledge they possibly had to confront Xol and his skeleton army, they figured out the final combination in seconds after finding the ones that had the buff, now they had the army of endless mobs under control, the tanks holding back the massive serpent as the first health bar of four disappeared from Xol in seconds. If not for the serpent, Artorias could've done as much, but on her own she stood no chance. SAO functions differently to other 'raid' mechanics in other games, she couldn't just solo certain battles.
The buff wore out again, causing Artorias to move. "Everyone get behind the pillars, it's a wipe mechanic!" Her voice reached them, and the frontlines pulled back after seeing the caster raise its staff, that massive halo beginning to form. While the members of all the parties hid in the shadows of the obelisks, Artorias stood rooted in place, sweat rolling down her cheek. "Come on... come on... appear..."
Opening her menu, she quickly scrolled to her Mixing skill's menu, bringing up several tabs around her, moving to 'Favourites', she brought up the top listed potion. Her finger hovered over the Potion of Transmutation, eyes flicking between the menus, the boss' wipe mechanic, and her own status bar with bated breath.
"What is he doing!?" Lind demanded, hesitant to move next to Nagi and Yuuki.
The shinobi's eyes flashed with recognition, "It's the debuff... this is the last requirement to craft a Transmutation Potion!"
"But he's gonna get burned!" Yuuki suddenly ran out before anyone could stop her, the purplette moving faster than any player in the history of SAO toward the redhead braced for the inevitable storm. "Artorias...!" She had to move faster, she still wanted to know so much more about him, to yell at him, to just hear that stupid nickname again! Her eyes hardened into slits, bending forward to give her body the least amount of drag.
The circle was complete, and the status, Ruinous Gaze, had appeared as being within its burning glow started to burn Artorias' avatar, chipping away at her HP. In that same instant, she hit the icon to begin crafting the potion, it would take a few seconds but it worked, she was able to merge all the gathered items over the course of several months to fix her avatar... she hoped.
"Artorias...!" To her right, Artorias suddenly felt a hand rush to her left, dragging her towards the nearest obelisk. "Move, hurry!" Yuuki yelled, the Ruinous Gaze was only three seconds away from vaporizing them, the area becoming unbearably bright that it was hard to see.
Squeezing Yuuki's hand tightly, Artorias ran ahead of her, thrusting her longsword forward instantly as Vorpal Strike sent them flying with it, the two tumbling behind cover at the last possible second, the whole area flashing red with a mere blip in their eyes as the green-almost-white burning pressure tore through the boss chamber. Several players gathered around them, Yuuki laying on Artorias' chest as the two looked to one another through black dots.
"A-Are you o-okay?" Yuuki managed, seeing as smoke rose from parts of their armour as Artorias raised a single square potion in her now free left hand, the elixir a deep shade of reddish-orange, topped with a cork. Yuuki's scarlet eyes widened with a gasp as she sat off of Artorias, the redhead sitting to clutch the bottle. "Y-you did it... it's real!"
"Yeah... I finally..." Looking past the players, Artorias glared, seeing now all four obelisks shifted, all displaying symbols. Three lines appeared near the entrance, three above the boss' head, and two either side of the arena were three invisible pairs. Worst of all? The serpent was still moving, slithering around the front right pillar to hiss down at the players scattering from its sweeping tail, as well as the ground breaking apart with a new wave of skeletons. "The boss isn't going easy now, buy me some time, please!" Artorias bowed her head without a second thought.
Those present all looked surprised themselves that Artorias would ever do such a thing to anyone, all of them nodded amongst themselves. "Well, since ya asked so nicely..." "We'll do you this favour," "You owe us big for this!"
Artorias only smirked, she had so much to make up for, watching the group rush off to rally again with their teammates as the titanic serpent forced the frontline into a difficult position while people organized with Asuna and Heathcliff to relay the correct combinations to the four pillars with Argo readying her own pairs of knives.
"I'll be waiting," Yuuki replied, then ran off to find her sister and friends, leaving Artorias to sit there, pulling off the cork to sniff at the sour stench in the bottle, almost gagging from the scent alone.
"Ugh, bad smelling and tasting medicine's better anyways, hrk, or I'm drinking poison," With a silent cheers to herself, she downed the bottle of foul liquid that tasted like copper, lime, and a hint of cinnamon. Trying not to gag and spit it out, she forced down every drop. The moment the last slither ran into her throat, her body lurched forward onto her hands and knees, smashing the bottle in her hand as her body flared up with pain that bypassed the pain inhibitors built into the game. "A-a-aaaah!"
It felt like her body was being pulled apart from the inside, and that static was making her ears bleed and her vision tunnel as she clenched her muscles, fighting back the pain in every inch of her body.
Across on the battlefield, Yuuki heard Artorias' cries, taking her eyes off the battle to see the redhead doubled over in agony. "Artorias - ack!" Suddenly, an arrow skewered the back of her knee, causing her posture to trip and fall. She spun on her knees only to gasp as the large skeletal plates belonging to the serpent swept by her side, twisting and tossing her body across the floor. In a daze, she looked up to see a larger skeleton, perhaps it was once a knight, stomping closer, dragging a large greatsword behind it with a chatter of bones behind every step.
Her sword was a few feet behind her from the surprise attack of the snake, forcing her to crawl toward it as the arrow persisted through her leg. "Crap...!" She winced, reaching for her obsidian sword.
"Yuuki!" Ran, who had noticed her downed sister, tried to run for her but was cut off by a spearman and an ax skeleton, forcing her blade to tear through their ribs, followed by Nori's downward slam to clear the road. "Nori, Jun!"
"On it/Move!" The pair chimed, demolishing the skeletons that got between them and their other leader, but Ran could see it, they weren't going to make it, even as she recklessly took several attacks to her own body to squeeze through the horde.
Nagi, who helped lead the way to the third obelisk for Argo, spotted the three struggling Sleeping Knights... and his other cousin laying on her backside, a greatsword raised to be plunged into her abdomen, that alone made his blood run cold. "Y-Yuuki!" Argo skidded beside him, seeing past the edge of her hood with wide frozen eyes, trying to change her direction but the serpent was slithering between them and the other half of the chamber.
Yuuki raised her sword, preparing to block and counter the greatsword as it came winding down sharply by the weathered corpse, her expression didn't so much as hesitate, she just needed the right second to-
*Ting-Zwoosh!*
The back of a leather coat fluttered in the slight breeze created by the giant skeleton's death, its sword exploding too into polygons, highlighting the dark fabrics and belts worn around a slim figure as their hair danced a bit in the gale. "Not like you to be down on the ground, Yuuki," An unfamiliar voice spoke to her expanding eyes, her mouth agape slightly. A hand under a fingerless glove lowered to offer its assistance. "Come on now, Zekken."
Gone was the distinct, apple-red hair bound in a high ponytail. Now the scruffy hair was shortened to the nape, covering the ears slightly in curls, the bangs partially covering the left eye. Both no longer light pink but a soft shade of blue as they glowed under the harsh shadows with a smirk that she recognized instantly. Her chest tighter as she spoke.
"Art...orias?" Yuuki whispered, her hand uncurling in his extended palm, now pulled back to her feet to come eye-to-eye with the real Red Warrior, the one who nearly bested her in combat, the one that made her face a little pinker from how cool this moment was.
"One and only... I..." His eyes were downcast for a moment shamefully. "I'm sorry... f-for everything - for now, let me take it from here, Yuuki,"
She held his hand tightly, a touched smile coming back to her as she nodded, taking a few steps back, much to his gratitude, his heart pounding. With a spin, Artorias swung his sword around to land over his shoulders, his left fanned out wide. "Alright, Alright, Alright! Thank you one and all for coming! Since I've been such a dumbass, sit back and relax, I'm gonna solo this crap boss!" He declared with a wide, toothy smile, one that he only ever wore when he fought with Yuuki. "Kiss my ass, Kayaba! I'm going for the wiiiin!" That's when an untold force awakened inside of Artorias, his eyes turning gold when he rushed forward, straight at the serpent circling around to glower down the middle of the chamber.
Without even a sword skill, Artorias swept through the skeleton army, using both weapons to push and remove any obstacle in his warpath as the serpent dove down with a hateful hiss, its eye bearing down on the swordsman. Artorias kept a wide grin, pressing his foot onto a skeleton's ribcage, then bouncing atop two skulls to dive over the monster's chin slam, plunging his sword through the eye socket, feeling its cries tremble through his arm and feet.
Carving forward, Artorias swept a large gash through the scalp, sprinting up the spinal chord, sweeping his sword left and right in a vicious cycle of slashes, spraying red polygons far and wide, one final rising slash tossing his sword high into the air, himself leaping after it as the familiar gong chime resounded, and four halos of light covered the chamber, leaving a minute-long Radiant buff, perfect timing! Clasping his trusty longsword over the head, it sudden became wrapped in a blinding rose flame.
"Meteor Fall!" Artorias roared, driving the scorching blade down in a straight line at tremendous speed toward Xol who was struck with the explosive force across its chest, gouging out half of its second HP bar. It stumbled but channelled more soul fire darts, firing off into the dust cloud. Sparks flew by as a result, a grave shield slammed into its face moments later, followed by another backswing to the torso, an uppercut straight into a leap for a downward slam of the same, rose-tinted shield, stunning the boss momentarily. "Falling Bash!"
Xol recovered, and the soul fire crystalized once again atop the pommel into a massive blade of light as it swept down toward Artorias' neck. He brought his shield around, tanking the gigantic weapon, pressing forward on his toes as the blade rotated and swept from the left. This time, Artorias caught his sword against it, green and pink sparks spat into the air. With a heavy stomp, he dragged it down the face of the soul blade, striking with a right and left slant followed by a vertical chop toward their feet, rolling under the crumbling soul blade, Artorias' sword plunged through its side, spinning to drag it around and out Xol's back into a leaping slant. Phantom Rave erupting outward in a flurry of light red lacerations to the back, stripping down the third health bar.
During the post-motion delay, the serpent ignored the rising Hate created by the tanks, arching high to tower over Xol and Artorias. "No!" "Look out!" "Behind you!"
Colliding with the ground, the great serpent hissed a cry, Artorias having plunged his shield as hard as he could through its burning eye socket that his shield shattered, but the force along knocked the beast aside, the brunette's body spinning to run along the spine, avoiding a wave of soul fire that tore past the snake and across the far wall, giving chase after the young swordsman who pivoted on his heels, bringing his foot down in a front flip ax-kick straight to Xol's, Luna Arc blasting the ground with rose-tinted fissures.
Xol trembled from the sparks of the stun wearing off, turning to cast the buster sword in cursed flames once again, sweeping closer as it's sword recoiled at Artorias' right, then to the left where he countered all the same, cracks appearing on his longsword. A third sweep met high, the two trembling to win this battle of attrition. Artorias grunted, carving down the hellish blade as it dug into his shoulder, twisting his grip to skewer both their blades into the earth, his left elbow connecting to Xol's chest, followed by a palm-heel strike, and another elbow jab. Both stumbled back, weapons in hand.
A fountain of light erupted from his sword once more, carving high and straight through Xol's jaw and through the top of its skull as the pink hug turned a deep crimson, his feet leaving the earth, twisting his grip to pull Xol with him. Artorias landed both feet behind the boss, diverting all the kinetic energy and velocity behind Vorpal Strike into a downward arc that tore the head of the boss clean off its spine, his sword snapping in half as a result, damaging him in the process of the following backlash as his health wavered between orange and red.
Sparks and red polygons drifted down around him as his half-lidded eyes stared forward, hearing a health gauge disappear, the severed skull of Xol burst into shards alongside his now broken blade. Above him, the massive serpent hissed toward the ceiling, showering the whole chamber in a dazzling rainfall of blue glass, same for Xol and the dozens of foot soldiers at their disposal. Everyone held their breaths, the heat of battle not quite leaving their veins.
/CONGRADULATIONS!\
Moments after, triumph roared throughout the dark chamber as the lights dimmed again, many glowing gold, Artorias included, from the level up, his eyes returning to their light blue pigment. Stumbling to his feet, he stared at his hands, weaponless until a small screen appeared for him.
|Level Up! 55 - 56|
|Last Attack Bonus: (L) Red Death|
He blinked at the text a moment, then chuckled at the name, hitting 'equip', feeling the weight on his back. The legendary weapon was the coiled sword no longer burnt and let to rust. It had a dark grey scabbard stained with 'blood' around the butt of the casing. Drawing the long handled sword with a rounded pommel with a cross over it, a clean dark grip with a rectangle guard came into view, the blade a deep shade of red with some light shades like splattered blood.
It was over, he had his real body again, but... Looking back at those celebrating, he saw Argo and Nagi smiling happily, the Rat laughing as Nagi was held in a headlock by Daora while Heathcliff, Asuna, and Lind watched nearby, the latter shook his head, Heathcliff had a small smile, and Asuna did her best to hide her own. Yuuki was being doted on by Ran, laughing nervously around her guildmates worried for her. Yuuki... he made her cry...
Looking away, Artorias went through his messages, tagging Heathcliff, Lind, Yuuki, Ran, Nagi, Argo, and Daora with a deposit of 100,000 Col to each. The last thing Artorias saw is the stupid looks of surprise on their faces, aside from Heathcliff, at what they received. Artorias pushed the doors to the stairwell leading to Floor 30 wide, exiting into the dark alone again.
|Floor 30, Serenity, Labyrinth Exit|
|April. 25th, 10:30|
Reaching the morning light, the ground was a lush green field atop a hill. Beyond, however, it appeared the whole floor was coated in a swamp or bog, leaving this 'island' as the only normal haven around for miles. When Nagi led Daora, Argo, and the Sleeping Knights up after Artorias, they were worried the former redhead would have vanished like a ghost, effectively leaving them for the foreseeable future. When they spotted the brunette staring at the world beyond, they all, say for Argo, exclaimed their relief.
"ARTORIAS!" He jumped at the collective yell, turning hesitantly with a slight wave.
"Y-Yo...? Oh crap," They all suddenly came barrelling toward him, so he stepped back himself, and Nagi quickly put his arms out to stop everyone, especially Daora, from getting up in the young boy's face. In his real form, he looked about as old as Yuuki and Ran. His face fell again, looking around. "Listen... I... what I did... I can't apologize enough for... I trampled over your trust, I... said you couldn't keep up... and I've never felt so wrong in my life," No longer was Artorias this cocky, overconfident girl they met, he was just as afraid as they were. Artorias hung his head to them. "...I'm sorry,"
Nagi looked at the others, deciding to take that step forward, he stood half a head taller than Artorias now instead of being eye-to-eye. The air was filled with the odour of guilt, sorrow, frustration too. Raising his smile again, he placed his hand atop Artorias', surprising the young man into raising his head a bit to stare up at Nagi, for a moment, it felt just like Hitomu. "I'm sorry I never could see it until it was too late, how much this hurt you more than just appearing different, you don't need to tell us anything about you, who you were before SAO,"
The raven-brunette's smile lit up again, cocking his head a bit. "We're your friends, and if you or anyone else needs it, we'll be here to help and listen, and to correct you when you make a mistake,"
Lowering his hand, the two locked eyes for a moment, Artorias really didn't understand Nagi at all, what exactly he thought of anything. It's why... Artorias trusted him with the truth long ago. "...I..."
"Woah!" Nagi caught Daora's ax before it sunk into Artorias' startled face as the wolfman stomped over, fuming.
"You ever use me like your personally step ladder again, and I'll use you like a baton against the next boss, you short stack!" Daora roared, jabbing Artorias in the chest. "I am no one's step ladder or stone, or... any other step, got that!?"
"...crystal... sorry about that," Artorias blinked slowly. "I think my life just flashed before my eyes again, that's a trip," Hearing his sarcasm again brought the others over, knowing they were safe to do so. Then Ran slapped his face. "Ow... yeah, deserved that,"
"If you ever do something that stupid and reckless again, so help me, not even Nagi will stop me, understand?" The eldest Konno twin warned with a dangerous glare, forcing Artorias to raise a hand.
"I solemnly swear to avoid that mean left hook I will be a good boy... that about right?" He asked, and Ran huffed, crossing her arms.
"...yes," She was still mad but showed a little concern after cracking her eyes open.
"Seriously dude, you're like a monster when you fight for real," Nori cracked her neck. "Still feel it in my neck too,"
"I thought we were gonna die..." Jun shivered, then glared at Artorias. "I knew you were trouble - ow!"
Ran and Yuuki slapped the back of Jun's head for that. Tecchi simply patted Artorias' shoulder with a relaxed smile while Talken spoke timidly, adjusting his glasses. "I-I hope you're feeling better, b-but what about your cursor? I-It's now orange,"
"Oh, right, that..." Artorias looked up, blinking for a bit as it slowly turned green again. "There we go... I forgot, you either do a karma restoration quest found at a church to restore it, or do several good deeds to remove it,"
"Like sendin' half yer earnin's to several guildS?" Argo noted, closing her message tab.
"Well, I do you owe you... all of you, and consider that payment for all the intel, Rat," Artorias smiled a bit, the blonde grinning with a tip of her cowl.
"Pleasure, ArtY," She hummed in delight at the bonus. "Ain't tryin' to get back in my good graces so quickly are yA?"
"No, you'd just tax me regardless," He stated bluntly, a few chuckling at that knowing gimmick with the info broker. "I expect to be billed soon for 'attacking personal property'," I.E. Attacking Argo's boyfriend, something Artorias was very much afraid of the repercussions of from the broker.
"What matters is you're no longer unwell," Siune concurred with all their feelings on the matter.
"More than you think..." Now, his eyes met Nagi's once more with a shy smile. "Guess this is it, Nagi,"
Nagi felt his heart fall a bit with disappointment, knowing what that meant. "I-I guess so... I did promise to help you fix your glitch,"
"Wait, a-are you...?" Yuuki spoke up finally, still lost in thought herself as Artorias stepped back a bit, hands in his pockets.
"Just how it is; you kept up your end despite everything, and I really can't put into words how I appreciate that," Artorias had no reason to still be here, his original deal was now null and void with the leader of this strange batch of players. Turning around, Artorias walked forward toward the road that led down toward the swamps near the island's 'coast'. Nagi just stood there, everyone wanting to say something, even Argo, but none raised their voice. If this was Artorias' choice, then at least they could part on better terms.
Nagi forced a smile, closing his hand tightly by his side.
Appearing under Nagi's, Daora's, and Argo's names on the party list, the tag of 'Artorias' reappeared. They all shot the leather-wearing swordsman standing further down the road with a strange look. "Well? I just single-handedly took down the remainder of that floor boss alone, AND, I'm about to open the main teleport gate before any of those extras, you comin' to rub in their faces or what, boss!?"
"Ah... hahaha, figures," Nagi let out a relieved breath he held for too long, everyone sharing the same feeling, even Daora who hid it with a jet of air through his nostrils as he ran after Artorias.
"That's my teleport gate!" Daora stormed past in a dust cloud by Artorias who clicked his tongue.
"Too easy... I expect the way will be mob-free as we go, ladies, gentlemen," Artorias tipped an invisible hat, nudging Nagi's side. "I've got so much to make up for, no way in hell I'm leaving now, I still want to see what that shinobi chick's questline leads to,"
"You and me both... I'm glad you're here, Artorias," Nagi showed his gratitude, holding up his fist that the brunette laughed and returned.
"Anytime, boss," He winked back, stretching his arms high. "Aaaaah, so freakin' good to be back in this awful skin! Goodbye sexy female body... no more awkward baths or showers, no more getting hit on, I've never felt so alive!"
"We're not gonna hear the end of it noW," Argo rolled her eyes, watching Nagi laugh alongside Artorias who was marching with a skip in his step.
Meanwhile, Ran smirked a bit, leaning toward Yuuki. "'"Not like you to be down on the ground, Yuuki'," She spoke in a poor imitation of Artorias' voice, seeing her sister's face light up, blushing again. "Despite how worried I was, that look on your face was so absorbed in his,"
"N-no it wasn't - shut up!" Yuuki hissed back, looking away from her sister, squeezing down her breastplate over her beating heart.
"...he's cute, isn't he?" Siune perked up behind the two.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it~" Yuuki whined, covering her ears as her cheeks deepened in colour. "Why would I think that dork's cute... well, he is - but that's not important right now..." So why wouldn't her heart stop racing? This feeling was really annoying...
"Whatever you say, leader," Nori hummed with her own, coy smirk, Siune and Ran laughing at Yuuki's expense as she hung her head, mortified.
"Oi, Cupcake, Shorty," The twins looked to Artorias walking backward with his hands behind his head. "You're fallin' behind, what's up? If you want to yell at my stupidity more, by all means,"
"I-It's alright, thanks!" Yuuki blurted out as the girls giggled and she marched forward with a firm smile, her face still very much red.
"...last one to town buys the other one lunch-byyye~!" And in following Daora's antics, Artorias left them behind with a mad cackle.
"Eh? H-hey, no fair! And you should owe US lunch - get back here!" Yuuki yelled angrily, chasing after him as the rest watched with various levels of amusement as Artorias laughed louder than ever before, Yuuki glaring his way with a big grin of her own as she managed to tackle him by the waist toward the marsh.
Artorias had many enemies, and his story before SAO was still much in the way of mystery, but it tore at him since becoming trapped within the body of his avatar. But now, free from that burden, Nagi could feel it with greater intensity, more of the real Artorias was on display. Whatever he was before didn't matter to Nagi, he met, travelled, and fought with Artorias at his side. And that would never change.
To Be Continued...
Next Arc - Honest Hearts
Floor 30, the sight of House Dusk, the cause behind the Abyss' rise during the Divine Sakura Campaign. Meeting with Shirayuki at the main settlement of the dark swamp floor, they make an unexpected alliance with a familiar face. It's not just a quest that needs to be overcome.
This arc was something else to put together, Artorias' background a bit, his strife, and eventual freedom from his avatar. Some may argue I should've had his avatar remain a female but for future events it was necessary for further growth down the line. But we're right back to the Path of Divine Sakura questline, the home of House Dusk, time for more answers hidden in the mire. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next arc, Players!
P.S. Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year Everyone!
047 - Unexpected Alliance
Following the updated quest for the Path of Divine Sakura through Lumina, the main town of Floor 30, Nagi and Co. come to make an surprising discovery upon meeting with Shirayuki...