A/N: I'm cutting it close with the next arc, as in, I've written nothing as I've had no time, I got a week off on the week it's meant to start so no pressure. Anywho, review time.
To Isshion: Yuna's one of many that obtained a unique skill, I like it as it's a proper support class. The song I used was an English cover of Lyra's Song from Fairy Tail, really lovely song, I'm not gifted with songwriting.
[Artorias]: Aaaand now it's snowing... on a floor that lacks snowfall
[Yuuki]: It's really strange how this stuff keeps happening, huh?
Enjoy.
|Sword Art Online, Floor 40, Old Prison|
|Oct. 16th, 08:55|
The field of the 40th Floor was largely a dreary wasteland. A steep wall of rocks formed a maze-like terrain and it was quite hard to see anything ahead. The Old Prison was a half-collapsed ruined structure, the same place the curved-sword user, his name being Mazon, led them straight to it, almost tripping over the rough terrain in his desperate act to save his friends in time. Mito expressed worry if this might be one of those PKers, but Nagi tapped his nose, saying he could smell no killing intent.
The Old Prison, unlike the main settlement nearby want anything but friendly. It housed only numerous Kobold-type enemies, and large, dark coloured slimes with spikes that shoot out when they begin attacking. However, with a group as well-equipped as theirs, they stomped out any resistance with minimal effort, that didn't mean moving deeper to the underground layer of the dungeon was easy. By the time they cleared through, it took them several minutes more to make it through the cell blocks.
At the end of the large passageway, Nagi's team came to a sudden halt before a large study-looking portcullis, beyond which they could hear the terrified screams of players overlapping with the roars of monsters. The chaos a mesh of metallic clangs and the slicing burn of sword skills. Upon hearing his comrades, Mazon leapt at the bars. "They're still alive…!" Nautilus and Nagi peeked through the bars too for a better view of the room.
The stone-paved room was quite large; twenty metres from left to right, and thirty metres long. Its top was curved, chains and cages with bones hung from them. The walls were lined several meters off the ground with cells looking inward, the bars broken and twisted toward the chamber.
Five players were clustered on the right side of the large room, fighting almost the same number of demi-human monsters. The tubby and small monsters, wearing leather armour with tattered hoods and gripping deep black short spears, the tormentor-class monsters. In any other situation, with a group like theirs, a trap like this was a cake-walk, but Nagi soon saw the reason why. There was a larger monster, over two meters tall. Thankfully, it hadn't moved, but at the rate these players had likely been killing an endless wave of mobs, their equipment, and soon, their lives would be wiped out.
"Where's the device that opens the iron bars!?" Nautilus demanded, following Mazon's finger past the eerie statue-state of the boss to the wall behind it.
"There's a lever that seems to fit the bill behind the boss! Though, the boss will probably begin to act if they try to reach it… I just barely managed to escape right before the bars closed." In hearing Mazon's response, Klein made an annoyed noise.
"So, your sayin' the guys inside have to get close to the boss and operate the lever if we are to come inside and provide relief, huh…?" Klein rubbed his chin in thought, looking around for any sort of clue that could give those inside some leverage.
"But, that's a gamble. Most likely, the bars will only stay open for twenty or thirty seconds. Once the boss starts acting up, getting them all out without panicking will be harder than it looks," Agil nodded in agreement.
"Oi! Stop shivering on the spot and open the door already, I'll take down that boss with my bare hands!" Daora shook the bars angrily, trying to draw their ears.
"Dude, have you looked at that thing, it's freakin' huge!" Jun exclaimed, only to hear the wolfman chuckle.
"Exactly!" Daora was brimming with excitement. "I've been pulled from the Raid team so this is the next best thing, and besides, we need to distract the boss, right!?"
"What about the mobs following it?" Nori pointed, pursing her lips. "Ain't like they'll just step aside to let us all dander off,"
Nori was right, once they got close to trigger the lever, the boss would no doubly move, and be immediately aggroed to them. Even for a party of eight Clearers and nine non-Clearers, this was going to be challenging. Nagi shared a glance with Nautilus, after learning Nagi was plotting to raid the Floor Boss ahead of the other guilds, Nautilus believed Nagi was insane, but then he remembered, he and that same guild, the Sleeping Knights, had done the exact same thing before in the past. With that mind, Nautilus gave the Misfits guildmaster a look, one of utter conviction.
"…Then, let's defeat the boss." At Nautilus's words, the players around and behind him were stirred up. Turning, Nautilus spoke to some of their concerned faces, speaking earnestly. "I have a plan; myself and several others, since I'm unsure of all your capabilities, will take the boss's aggro. This is the boss of a field dungeon close to town, and we have seventeen people if you include those inside the room, so, if all of us are level 60 at least it should be enough."
"I beg of you, save my buds! If it gets dicey, you can jus' run away!" Mazon begged them, not caring for the risks.
At that moment, Yuna, who had been observing the course of events from a short ways away, called out to Mazon. "Um, could you call the people inside to come closer?"
"Wha? Ah, sure…" He nodded to her then gripped the bars, clearing his throat to take a deep breath.
Nodding, the curved sword user gripped the iron bars with his hands and took in a deep breath. "Ooi, I've come to save you! Can you get closer to us!?"
For the next thirty seconds, they watched the five locked in constant battle shuffle against the wall, backtracking until they were pressed close to the portcullis. Now up close, the sight was worrisome to say the least. Their HP was down below 70%, and their movements were sluggish, the constant fatigue eating into their battle prowess. Before Nautilus could turn to ask why Yuna brought them closer, he heard a soft sound emanate from his childhood friend.
Yuna was playing her small lute. Atop the uplifting chords, she added her sonorous singing voice. Those inside, rightfully confused why the girl was singing like it was some musical scene. That's when Chant took affect, their bodies glowing a soft blue, they all stood up straighter, their fatigue drained and their vigour for battle restored. Their weapons burned to life in seconds, and in that same frame, the small horde was blown away, their HP declining fast.
"Woah...!" Nagi held out his arms, all of them sharing a look of wonder at both the applied buffs and Yuna's singing voice, confident, comforting, and serene. Nautilus, however, felt something hot welling up from the depths of his body. Not due to the Chant skill, no, it was her... the girl he thought needed his protection... he was so wrong. This was Yuna's power, the potential that he felt foolish for not seeing until now. She had a power no one else had, not Asuna nor himself. The power to envelop players with hope, to lead them.
No one saw the tears that caught in the boy's eyes as he wiped his arm across them quickly, the short, thirty-second song concluded, and from the trap beyond, the five once distraught players slammed their weapons together. "Oooh!" Now, their health was steadily rising from a yellow icon below all their HP gauges.
|Buff - Rising Current|
Health Regeneration Increase, Skill Cooldown Reduced, and Stamina Regen
Lowering her lute, Yuna shouted. "Rising Current will continue for one minute! Clear out those small fry and operate the door's lever!"
"Ou!" The rise in their morale led to another wave of sword skiils in constant rotation, practically annihilating every Tormentor in their paths. However, true to how some boss gimmicks work, from thin air, the large room was again filled with several more Mobs, and yet, the five players marched on without an ounce of regret.
Once ten meters from the boss, it shifted its head. "Dirararaaah!" With a deep bellow, it moved its hands from the terrifyingly huge ax it had planted headfirst on the ground, swinging it over its head. Now, braziers from the ceiling's chains above burned to life, giving them a clear look at the boss. Its appearance and distinct mask were easily recognizable as the same type of monster as the Warder Chief.
They watched as the four from the group of five drew the boss' attention away, meanwhile, from the right in a wide arc, the fifth player dove forward and yanked down the lever jutting from the wall with his full body weight atop it. With a loud 'gogoon' sound, the steel portcullis began rising, Nautilus counting slowly as it did while Mazon scrambled under the small gap in the gate, sprinting after his friends, the others quickly charging in also.
"Alright, let's get through this people!" Agil commanded, raising his ax with Daora.
"YEAH!" They all bellowed out, not one person truly taking charge, instead, leading by who felt it was right to proceed, it was a strange, unorthodox way Nagi led, looking to Nautilus for an answer, Nagi was testing him, but if push comes to shove, the Water Shinobi would jump in.
Once closer, the boss's two HP bars became visible, and its name in full view.
/NM Feral Warder Chief - Lv. 70\
Continuing his count, Nautilus glanced behind him and met eyes with Yuna, who had changed from her lute to her dagger and was running, with her pure white cape fluttering. This was probably the second boss battle for Yuna, but she gave him an encouraging smile. Responding with a firm nod, Nautilus increased his speed even more while the four trapped players moved away from the boss. "We're taking the aggro!" Nautilus declared, sword cast in red.
Beside him, the rushing stream of artistic water swept alongside his Rage Spike. With the combination of the upward thrust to the left knee and two parallel slashes from Nagi's sheath carving at the waist, the pair drew the ire of the Feral Chief. The roar from the boss shaking the air. In that instance, Nautilus felt that awful, chilling sensation course down his body, feeling the connection between his avatar and consciousness wavering. He clenched his teeth, fighting against the jarring motion to ready for the boss's counteroffensive.
"Dararuwah!" It swung its two-handed ax high, Nautilus waited until it came close before he evaded back.
From either side of him, two upswings with axes collided with the boss's, the sparks of forest green and silvery-grey releasing a surge of wind pressure and sparks behind Agil's and Daora's attacks.
Quickly, Nagi swung his head back to Mazon and his party. "We'll handle the boss, you help Sachi and Yuna with the Tormentors!"
"G…Gotcha, we're counting on you!" Mazon waved his curved blade back, rushing to aid the girls.
That's when the portcullis slammed shut. Twenty Seconds by Nautilus's count, meaning that they observations were right, trying to get all seventeen players out in time in one go would be nearly impossible, meaning, their only choice was right in front of them, defeating the Feral Chief!
Nagi quickly split everyone up. Three groups of three. Nautilus, Nagi, and Daora at the vanguard. Mito, Jun, and Nori to the right flank. With Klein and Agil to the left flank. But thankfully, Nautilus had this monster's entire attack pattern engraved in his head, he could do this! The Feral Chief wrenched its ax from the floor, he held it over one shoulder as it turned that same venomous violet tint.
"Vertical slash coming! Vanguards, when the axe gets stuck in the floor after evasion, one Sword Skill!" Nautilus commanded.
Immediately afterwards, the monster once again swung its two-handed axe down with a roar, but its target, Daora, dodged it by a wide margin. The moment the axe sunk into the floor, Nautilus, Nagi and Daora, as well the others from the left and right, pounded the monster with their Sword Skills.
"Hahahaha, how'd you like this, huh!? The true power of my loyal followers!?" Daora mocked the boss, driving his ax in a vicious three-rotation slash with Crimson Blood, combining that with the myriad of colourful skills that sank through the boss's red hide, peeling off glassy blood all across its body.
Despite its large stature, and the threat of the unknown skill that could potentially inflict the Silencing debuff, all of them fought tooth and nail. Nagi was made aware of Nautilus' capabilities via Argo; the Rat had said that Nautilus had the skills to fight with the best, however, he lacked combat experience that was to the scale of a large party. Nagi took all of that into consideration today, he followed the light-haired brunette's orders, seeing him speak with confidence that impressed him.
But Nagi's nose continued to twitch regardless...
Eight minutes had passed since they entered the room, and the battle against the boss was going according to Nautilus's plan. With the boy's call-outs, they all evaded the Feral Chief's attacks, quickly taking advantage of its long recovery phases, little by little, they could whittle down the HP gauges. All were restrained to two-hit sword skills to avoid being struck, or worse, Silenced. Even the five infinitely respawning minions were more than swamped by Mazon's party, combined with Yuna and Sachi, one of which having spent a good many weeks training with Klein's guild to be where she is today, their side was a breeze. Again, no Silencing debuff in sight.
Nagi climbed the boss' form, sweeping NightSky high with Rising Sun, just from above, Mito swung herself like she did to the labyrinth Chief, drawing Moonslice downward through its neck, the two quickly evading from its stomp as it howled in anger, its second HP gauge turning yellow. Since the battle began, Nautilus felt that creeping paralysis from his bugged Nervegear try to thwart his movements, but with the flow of the battle, that sinister omen hadn't occurred. Right now, everyone was relying on him to see to their victory, and with Yuna here, he had a stronger conviction to fight.
Although a little self-centred, he hoped that when this was over, Asuna would see that he was capable in battle, yes, his Full Dive Non-Conformity was a big issue, but he could learn to battle fearlessly without being reckless, he could do it, "Alright, just a bit more! Let's keep going at it, guys!" His words got a roar from his comrades.
Nautilus's cape and Nagi's haori fluttered behind them, evading the Lumberjack's cross-horizontal from the Feral Chief, Nautilus doubled back on a heel, striking with a rapid Snake Bite across its arm, Nagi grabbing Daora's wrist to throw him upward to bring the full weight of Skullshatter down on the boss's head, "Grand Destruction!" The blinding explosion rocked the chamber, the Feral Chief's HP bar shifting to an orange tint.
In seeing this, Klein yelled over to them. "Oi! Its attack patterns might change when it hits the red! We ought to pull back for a while!"
"No, the warder chief types shouldn't have any changes to their patterns!" Nautilus interjected, flinching as he guarded against the boss's sharp kick with his shield, throwing the leg back with a parry. This caused it's posture to break, crumbling to a knee. "There, attack!" Nautilus rallied.
More streams of colour coiled and slit through the boss at various angles, stripping more of the gauge away. When the boss slammed its ax into the ground to throw them back for minor damage, it had finally turned red, roughly around 20%. Of course, Nautilus kept his shield raised out of caution if the boss did have a new move, but it was unlikely given the Ruthless Chief was far stronger.
Nautilus raised his voice. "Let's all focus on the last attack!"
However.
His voice was drowned out by a new sound. That similar sound of rushing water, and to the cells just above the chamber's floor, the holes where something had torn out of were filled with the claws of Tormentors, the sight put the hairs on everyone's necks up straight. From the holding cells, more tormentor mobs fell into the chamber, drawing up new weapons, large, cleaver-like hatchets.
Six... ten... fifteen? Before long, the chamber now filled with twenty minions total. Mazon's party, as well as Yuna and Sachi, all looked around, completely in shock over the surge as some of them split into two teams of four to compensate as the Tormentors rushed them, some shambling toward Klein and Agil, them splitting off to deal with the reinforcements too.
"You guys handle the rest, we'll keep 'em off you!" Klein shouted, slashing three back with Whirlwind Slash.
That split-second loss of focus on Nautilus's part would be costly. "Everyone evade now! AOE!" Nori cried out.
Right afterwards, the Feral Chief gripping its large axe with both hands, made a full rotation with its body as if it were in shot put. The huge tip of the axe assailed them at such a low trajectory with three slashes, Crimson Blood a toxic dark purple as it streaked across the chamber. "Uaah!" Nautilus quickly drew up his shield, but was unable to trigger Ward to shield Nagi and Daora, even still, after the first two hits, Nautilus's guard is likely to break.
But something far worse occurred. A dark cape fluttered into view, spinning an obsidian scythe ahead of them. With three wide sweeps, Mito's scythe was struck by the full weight of the two-handed ax. Her face twisted in pain, guarding on reflex. "Not this time, I'm not letting anyone else down this time!" The images of seeing Daora and Artorias bang on the door to that trapped kill room haunted her, and that only forced her stance to remain strong. "I'll protect them this time!"
The Feral Chief roared over her own pained grunts, purple sparks following a metallic 'snap' as Mito watched Moonslice split in two at the staff, leaving the third arc of Crimson Blood to dig deep into her stomach, throwing her into Daora's path as he managed to catch her, seeing her health plummet below 30% in one hit.
Luckily, Mito didn't suffer an instant death, nor did anyone else as the trio were spared due to the Reaper's own intervention, but Nori and Jun fell to their knees or backside, yellow sparks discharging from their bodies, same for several from Mazon's party. They were caught by paralysis, same for Mito, who cracked her eyes open weakly.
"The hell were you thinking!?" Daora shook her as she saw the now broken scythe on the ground, making a weak chuckle.
"That's... what you... did before... idiot," She smirked up at him. "Now we're... even,"
"Here, take this," Nagi handed Daora a Greater Health Pot, the man shoving it in the girl's mouth, grunting in annoyance.
"...do that again, and I'll kill you, got that?" His voice was... genuinely soft, even with his grouchy tone of voice.
Mito smiled, nodding as she was also given an Antidote to move again. Due to Mito's intervention, Nautilus saw Yuna run to Jun and Nori, pulling from her pouch a pair of antidotes and health potions to remove the paralysis affect while Sachi tried to fight past the tormentors to reach Mazon's party. Then, Yuna's eyes fell to Nautilus, waiting for his command.
In front of the startled boy, the Feral Chief, who's post-motion ended, started to slowly rise again. "What do we do… should we give up on eliminating the boss and instead escape with Teleport Crystals? No, since the five paralysed guys can barely move their dominant hands, they won't be able to use crystals right away. If we were to leave only those five behind, they'd surely be wiped out..." His thoughts were driven to a halt, hearing the voices of despair and panic ring in his ears.
"Uwaah, This is bad!"
"W-we got hit with Silenci-!"
Looking behind himself, still on his back, Nautilus saw that Mazon's party, as well as Sachi, were encircled by the twenty tormentors, the girl looking terrified as she shakily kept her spear, Rebuke, jutting forward, clearly overcome with trauma from a similar experience. They had been driven into a corner now, unable to cut through all of tormentors as their HP gauges slowly fell, some inflicted with Silence while Agil and Klein lured a few away to give them breathing room, but half of them couldn't even scream, suffering from Silence.
Even if they were to escape, that left an enraged boss and twenty minions to overwhelm Nautilus's group, even if they were high-levelled players, some were surely to die, Mito had lost her weapon, and Nagi was too fixated on keep the boss's aggro himself while Daora helped Mito replace her scythe. They'd be wiped out in mere minutes.
Nautilus once again looked at Yuna. Below his mantle, his left hand moved of its own accord and gripped the Teleport Crystals in his second belt pouch. If they moved now... Nautilus and Yuna could escape, but then, they'd leave all of them behind, the leaders of two frontline guilds, one that offered Nautilus his hand to help him overcome his FNC. His eyes shook with guilt, he couldn't do that to Nagi, but he had to protect Yuna.
"Idiot! How can you think of leaving them! The hell kinda person would Yuna think you are after that!" He raised his head to her in the distance. "That's right, I can still get her out of here... no matter what happens to me with Nagi's friends. She can survive, she has the potential to protect others too," He had to act now or their chance was gone for good, his fingers clenched to the crystal out of view. "I can protect her one last time!"
"Yu…" With a hoarse voice, Nautilus was about to call out to his childhood friend. But, she firmly shook her head, predicting what he was about to say before yelling out. "Eh-kun, I'm begging you, defeat the boss… and save everyone!" Gone was her dagger, instead... she held up her lute and ran... straight towards the tormentors encircling Klein, Agil, Sachi and Mazon's party.
Nautilus's heart sank like an anvil. "Th…there's no way we can do that; Yuna, stop!" But his desperate plea wouldn't stop her, she was far too stubborn to stop now.
In that moment - Yuna strummed on her lute. It was mournful, gentle like the wind. Then, the tempo picked up, drawing a heroic spirit from herself, a golden flame burning across her body, sunlight turned to sound as she sang loudly, casting a new buff to them all in range.
|Buff - Heart Ablaze|
Attack Increase, Hate Reduction
Although, the buff couldn't begin to overturn the situation this late into the battle, that's not what made Nautilus's eyes widen, his pupils contracting. The tormentors, who had been attempting to clobber the players to death had all stopped attacking, ignoring the counter offense. The countless, small eyes gleaming from within their hoods all focused on Yuna.
This song wasn't just a simple buff. Everyone else was provided with a decrease to their Hate, but the levels of Hate increased solely on Yuna, her skill was attracting them to her. She sang beautifully, running as she did while the large horde pursued her. This brought Nautilus to stand, but then a huge shadow enveloped him, even the Feral Chief was trying to join in on butchering Yuna.
"Like hell we're letting you!" Daora suddenly pushed in front of Nautilus, raising Skullshatter as the boss swung down its ax to remove Daora from its path, hearing the grinding of metal in the process. "Grr...!" Inside, Daora was beyond frustrated. "Nito's unarmed, everyone else is trying to recover, and Singing Lady is drawing all the aggro, it's up to me and Daki to get this done! I've put all this time into training and for what!?" He saw how defeated Nagi, Kirito, and Sachi were when the door finally opened, himself standing there, useless and broken. "For what!?" Even Mito, who's been training alongside him all this time, who nearly died saving 'him'! "For what!?"
"Daora!" He raised his head slightly, still tanking the Feral Chief's slam attacks, holding it back as his whole body trembled, but he heard Nagi raise his voice. "The back of the knees, we need to bring it down by the knees!" Nagi wanted to help Yuna, but if they let the boss move and join the herd of tormentors, they'd have no chance of defeating the boss. He had to put faith in the others.
"Dyurah!" Bellowed the Feral Chief, who once again tried to break Daora's ax as it did Mito's scythe, but the man only seemed to stay rooted, but his Set Skill bonus won't last forever.
Despite this clear opportunity to turn and save Yuna, Nautilus was unable to move. He saw the tormentors beginning to close in on Yuna, her outfit barely visible among their large weaponry that swung in the air, following her siren song. Stomaching the sickening feeling festering at his core, Nautilus called out to Nagi and Daora. "I...I'm begging you! Please, go save Yuna!"
Anguish pulled at Nagi's face, he wanted to, he so desperately wanted to, but without any support close by, the boss would inevitably switch to target Yuna again. Even Daora was trembling, and not just from holding back the Chief. "Dammit... Agil, Klein, save her, hurry!" Nagi screamed as loud as possible, praying they could while Jun and Nori backed himself and Daora up on the boss aggro. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please, don't let Yuna die!"
"Graaaaah!" Releasing a wordless scream louder than the boss's roar, Daora threw it backward off its feet, ax bleeding silver as water wrapped around Nagi, following close by with a resounding impact of their skills combined.
Nautilus knew that, he didn't blame them for wanting to keep the worst of this trap from escalating, but he just couldn't face the boss. He heard Yuna sing, slowing being encircled by tormentors, and then, it cut out, seeing her HP gauge receive the image of a mouth with an 'X' through it, the Silencing debuff. That sealed it, she couldn't escape now.
"Yuna-!" He screamed until his voice strained, he kicked off the ground to save her. He wasn't far, he could make it, but against so many monsters, even with his stats, he'd be mauled if he got surrounded himself. Even so... if it gave him even a slither of a chance to save her... or... if it meant he'd die alongside her, then he...
Nautilus's decision and resolution... his instincts... betrayed him. "Grk!" His whole body jerked, feeling like he was suddenly frozen in ice, no... his legs... they wouldn't respond, just as Nagi and Argo warned him of, the FNC kicked in and he was unable to make even an inch further. He could still hear the chaos and commotion around him, the others ran between the boss or were stuck dealing with respawning tormentors that were picked off, trying to aid Yuna.
"Move! Move, move already!" He pleaded with his own body, he could see it, her HP was starting to fall into the yellow. "I'm NOT scared of dying, I'm not! Please... I would have no reason whatsoever to continue living even if I did survive this game!" His internal struggle didn't yield results, he simply could not move, welded to the stone.
Sensations like touch, hearing, smell, even colour, it all began to fade. His vision tunnelled to the sole source of pigmentation, the white and blue singer between the horde of tormentors, her health creeping slowly into the red. She threw something over their heads, his eyes seeing it roll into view. A glass bottle packed with colourful candies.
In the recesses of his mind, he swore he heard her voice softly murmur into his ears. "Eh-kun, I'm sorry. I won't be able to cheer you up any longer... If you ever feel like crying, suck on one of these and keep going... Knowing you, Eh-kun, I'm sure you'll be just fine…" Amongst the monsters that tore into her body, she smiled, a grin of acceptance. "Thank you... goodbye..."
"You've both gotten stronger... good," Artorias had been blunt in their fist meet, but gave them both his praise.
"You've got potential, Nautilus, I think you'll do just fine on the frontlines tomorrow, trust in your party, protect them," Asuna had faith in him despite his lack of experience.
"Erm... you know, Nau-kun... I'm also thinking of setting my sights on becoming a member of the Clearers. Since practically no other player's been able to acquire the Chant skill, I'm sure even someone as bad at combat as me could prove to be useful." Yuna... she knew she wasn't as strong, but her steadfast attitude and courage drove her to fight against her fear for the sake of others.
...
...
...
...
...
...
Nautilus grit his teeth, his blood was boiling as he felt static dig into his ears, they felt so hot that he almost mistook them for bleeding. His pupils were like pin, static causing his avatar to twitch in place. One foot went forward, shifting against the concrete as his breathing buzzed with the current.
"Yuna..." His voice was a breathless gasp, but the colour, every sense came back like a crushing tsunami inside his avatar. It felt as though his whole body was bound in chains, digging into his skin with hook and fang. He heard something beginning to twist and bend, his left foot forward, his right arm steadily in pursuit. With a painful choke, Nautilus felt a primal scream surface from inside. "HRAAAAAAAAGH!"
With a flash of burning red light, those chains broke at their weakest links, his consciousness overcoming all fear-induced instincts. "YUNA... I'm Not... Letting You Die!" In his emotionally driven state, a sword skill blooming the sinister prison chamber, and his body moved on its own.
The horde of tormentors were suddenly under siege from seemingly nowhere, a rippling wave of red light struck them with five high-speed thrusts, followed by a two parallel lines in a vertical sweep. Then, Yuna saw it high above, Nautilus's form basked in crimson light, his sword much the same as he brought down his sword in an overhead slash, dividing another tormentor in half down the middle. Four at once burst into polygons, sparing Yuna who had minuscule 10% to her HP gauge.
"Eiji... t-thank you..." Yuna accidently whispered his name, then she suddenly stood up in a panic. "It's fine now! There's no way you can take on this many on your own!"
From the side, before another cleaver could attempt to lop off Nautilus's left arm, the thrust of a blue-tipped spear pierced it, the subsequent piercing damage knocking the rest backward as a result of the Sonic Thrust from the raven-haired girl of the Furinkazan guild. "Don't worry, he's not alone!" Sachi, who had fully healed up, and in seeing how Nautilus was tormented by himself to move for the sake of saving Yuna, it sparked a familiar feeling within her heart.
"Don't say it's impossible, I was in the same situation once... surrounded by monsters, convinced it was all over for me... seeing my friends disappear before my eyes..." It still stung in her chest, and Sachi doubted she'd ever truly feel it fade for a long time. But that pain, as much as she wished to forget it, she instead turned to embrace it, expression burning with determination. "...but there were two people who never gave up, who fought to the very end. They both changed the course of my life, one more than anyone..."
"If you want to survive, it doesn't matter how strong your friends are, if you yourself can't muster up the will to fight, the determination to survive, then you won't make it. But there's always a way forward, don't ever be held down by your own doubts! You've been determined to give everyone hope, then it's only fair you give that to yourself! Survive to the very end of this game!" With her piece said, Sachi handed Yuna a Greater Health Pot and spun Rebuke toward the amassing horde with Nautilus. "This time... I'll protect you!"
"We both will!" Nautilus vowed on the spot, their skills burning to life like hot metal.
"Sachi..." Yuna stood back, seeing her health restored to a healthy green behind the pair. But something was different about Nautilus that she hadn't realized until closer inspection. Her buff had already worn out on everyone, and yet, his body was coated in shimmering red flames, and it wasn't like her Chant skill at all. "Is that one of his skills? Is that how he defeated so many at once? Even that sword skill just now was eight hits!"
Nautilus moved first, sweeping in four wide arcs between the horde of tormentors with Horizontal Square, the final vertical parrying a cleaver. Without a word, Sachi advanced past him, her tailcoat swept behind her as she danced with multiple twirls, sweeping up from the ground, splitting through the Kobolds' armour, two launched over the heads of the tormentors. After the fifth shovel sweep using Revolve Arts, Nautilus's cape swept by her cheeks, seeing the crimson knight slide under two cleavers, spinning to carve the first burning arc through their legs, followed with a jumping wide arc, completing Horizontal Arc, thinning the heard further when Sachi struck the next tormentor with Fatal Thrust, herself stepping back before the post motion stopped her, Nautilus's back to hers, feeling the heat from Sharp Nail etch through the same monster, bleeding its HP gauge dry.
"Warrior!" A roaring orange crescent burned through in two arcs behind the enemy line, the pair seeing the fiery leader of Furinkazan cleave more into fragments, his face burning with his own passionate spirit. "We got your backs, can't let lil Sachi have all the fun!"
"It may not do a lot in the long run-!" Two wide slashes of violet stripped down the weakest of the tormentors, Mito gritting her teeth while angling her spare scythe, which had the traditional handles of the farming tool, to reach past the Kobolds' guarding blades. "-but I ain't out of the fight yet!" She may have saved some of them with her stunt, but until the battle was over, she refused to let a single person die on her watch again!
"Right behind you!" Agil came barrelling into the horde, his now forest green ax down in a rapid, violent series of slams, each making the tormentors flinch, leaving them wide open to Sachi's Sonic Thrust, crossing with her fearless leader's Ripple Thrust, destroying the weaker mobs. Nautilus, with the last of his roaring red flames, drew back his sword as the flames burned across his sword skill, almost as if it extended it slightly while guarding Yuna at his back, the wind whipping through his clothes and hair.
Out of every skill a one-handed sword can use, this, for a single hit, was by far the most powerful. With only a single push off his toes, Nautilus was thrown forward, unleashing the devastating impact of Vorpal Strike, spearing one monster while the course of his blade left clean, wide gashes through many more, several bursting from the impact, including the one he embedded against the wall, exhaling heavily.
At the same time, Nagi let out a yell from his cut, moving in a sharp twist to the side of the Feral Chief, blade roaring to life, with a glimmering splash, he moved from one end of the boss's legs to the other, "Iai!" He hollered, catching the backs of the knees to bring it down. "Nori, do it now!"
"Already ahead of ya, boss! Here's for my guild, open wiiide!" Nori blurted out with a maddening grin, leaping into her purple-charged upswing, the face of her hammer striking the boss's lowered scalp followed by a downward slam to the back, throwing it down on all fours with a pained growl. "Hit it, guys!"
"Be right there!/Right!" Jun and Daora sprinted from the sides, red and silver joined from up high, jumping just before the Feral Chief's nape. "Grand Destruction!/Avalanche!"
The skill connect left a massive impact on both the floor and boss, the last slithers of its HP finally drawn out, both disappearing as it suddenly lurched its body up, throwing the boys backward. The Feral Warder Chief let out a dying roar to the ceiling, rattling the cages above. Then, to Nautilus's view, he saw the great beast collapse to the floor, shattering just like its henchmen in a flurry of blue shards.
The reactions were all delayed, no one felt the tension leave their bodies for some time. Only when the grinding gears of the gate raising the portcullis, freeing them from the dungeon, opened wide did everyone let out a thunderous applause, say for a few that were still exhausted. Nagi smiled with relief, panting as he looked around, everyone, himself included, having sustained heavy damage, but not a single life lost.
"We did it..." Sachi sighed, wiping a stray tear from her eye, admiring the Moonlit Black Cats symbol on her gloves, then she brought her hands to her chest with a gentle smile.
Nautilus removed his blade from the wall, his breathing heavy when he realized his health had fallen below the 30% mark, he hadn't realized how much damage he had taken in that last push. When he turned around, he was struck in the chest, knocking him against the wall to slowly slide down, feeling the strong grip around him envelop his body in warmth. "Thank goodness... you idiot," Yuna murmured into his chest, lifting her head to show her relief and misty eyes. "Are you okay? Your health is really low, lemme - eh?"
Overcome with relief and emotions, he didn't even remotely consider what he did next, wrapping his arms around his childhood friend securely, burying his face in her shoulder. "...I should be asking that... Yuna..." His voice croaked slightly, smiling regardless while he squeezed tighter. Her face lit up with surprise at first, slowly, it morphed into a warm, tender smile, placing her arms around his shoulders, allowing him a moment to finally rest.
"I'm okay because of you..." She was so certain she'd die, then, all she saw was his form protecting her, and Sachi's words that sank in thereafter. Maybe she wasn't cut out for the frontlines... yet, but knowing Nautilus would be just fine with her support brought just as much warmth to her heart.
"Nice work, everyone..." Nagi spoke up, closing his rewards menu, listening to the gentle humming coming from Yuna. He had heard that song before, all the way back in Tolbana of Floor One, The First Town... Glad they were both okay, and proud to see Nautilus do the impossible, breaking through his own fear of death, Nagi could speak with confidence. "...let's all go home!"
With another chorus of cheers, even expressions of gratitude from Mazon's party, everyone grabbed a Teleport Crystal, all chanting the same name. In a flash of blinding light, the dungeon's boss chamber became vacant once more...
To Be Continued...
Hopeful Chant, gut-wrencher that one. And yeah, add that to the list of 'prevented deaths', man, I am opening myself up to slander for this, but you know what? I don't care, I've got my own story to write here. This was a tricky chapter to write, primarily following Nautilus like with the side-story while maintaining the integrity of Nagi, Daora, Mito, and Sachi given what they've similarly experienced, hence their small moments.
That's ultimately what this arc is, rising from their failures to prevent further despair while leaving them scarred but matured from their experiences, I especially liked writing Sachi's character growth over the last few chapters, if I could, I'd dedicate a whole side-story to Sachi, but I digress. We've still got some character arcs to weave through, namely the Sleeping Knights, Artorias, and Kirito to wrap it all up, I just hope my own twist on the Christmas fiasco lives up to the changes I've made.
In any case, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Misfits!
055 - Bittersweet Fulfilment
Setting their sights on the Floor Boss to see to their end of the mission. Yuuki and Ran lead their friends towards a battle to achieve their dream, but just what kind of boss is the Prison Warden in person...?