|Sword Art Online, Floor 50, Town of Algade|
|Jan. 22nd, 10:15|
Three days after the Giant Steps quest and subsequent event had concluded, the whole floor was back into the swing of securing resources and pursuing the Floor Boss' location, so far, almost all of the floors within the labyrinth had been searched, leading to its discovery on the second day. Now, all that remained was to gather boss intel less they had another Massacre on their hands. However, during this, Nagi and Argo decided to conclude their business with Bevel, seeing as her quest may yield the best intel now that the floor boss was uncovered.
Upon entering the workshop, Bevel looked to be hard at work, spinning around on her chair with a proud smile. "Splendid work the other day, my assistant! You really know how to pilot a golem!"
"Ah haha, well, I had your instructions to thank for that," He replied modestly, Argo then shoved his side.
"Take the compliment, not everyday ya get to fight with a giant under your thumB," She smirked up at him.
"Well, as I promised, I'll do everything I can to investigate the Celestial Tower's guardian... but it seems you won't be needing my help," Bevel stated, confusing the pair for a second before thrusting her hands out, clutching high Bolt's Journal. "Rejoice! The fragments of the notes you gathered, plus their frenzied deciphering required by the crisis, have left us with a completed copy!"
Now their faces lit up, Nagi applauding a little, "Nice work, Doctor/That's what I like ta heaR!"
"I'm assumin' its got the intel we want on the guardiaN?" Argo inched closer to the journal, eyes twinkling at the tantalizing book.
"Correct, my assistant! For you see, the Tower's guardian was none other than Doctor Bolt's final invention that I tried to restore at first!" Then the young woman paused. "Now that I think about it, I guess we never found any parts for his final invention, even though we scoured that factory. And now that the notes are complete, I have proof in the form of the doctor's own words, just take a look, my assistants,"
Offering Argo the journal, she flicked through the pages until she found the entry that was once unfinished, the pages fully restored for her to continue from where they left off. "Yadda-yadda-yadda... aH! 'Therefore, I will name it...'
The Last Number. A power meant to defend all those that desire peace in the age to come, whether human, elf, dwarf, or any other. An ultimate defensive weapon whose absolute power will fight against conflict itself, not belligerent brethren or attacking aliens alone. It is meant to be a final weapon whose power creates a time where it is no longer needed. Thus known as The Last Number, my crowning work.
And so I entrust my ultimate weapon and my invincible armour, with the tower, to a distant future age. -Bolt Vortex
Turning the next page revealed so much more, the very description of the machine's blueprint, including a secondary machine. "Look at that... so there's an exterior power source that moves under the earth and only breeches the surface when the main unit requires repairs," Nagi pursed his lips tightly. "Does that mean we have to defeat the smaller machine first? But if it's burrowing underground..."
"We'll worry about the details with A-Chan 'n' the alliance, right not, this here's our golden tickeT," Argo waved the journal with a big grin. "Doc, mind lending me the book to jot some notes dow-"
"There's no need-" They lifted their heads to see her easy-going smile. "-I present you with Bolt's notes."
She was offering them the whole journal. "But... isn't this a treasure to you?" Nagi didn't feel right just taking it.
Again, Bevel didn't look hesitant. "That chain of events led me to creating something that even Doctor Bolt would have never thought up. It's not what I thought it'd be, but I got my Breakthrough #100. Now I can call Infinite my hundredth brilliant breakthrough," She smiled, satisfied with this fact. Closing her fist around a wrench, she threw it up to catch again. "It's time now for me to create incredible inventions not even found in the Bolt Notes-and thus I have no need for them anymore,"
"A invention... rather, a tool shines brightest while in the hands of the one who needs it most! And as such, I give this to you!" Standing tall, she pointed her wrench at the duo. "And now I shall give you your final task as my assistants! Survive no matter what and make it through the Celestial Tower! Once you do, spread the name and the exploits of the brilliant archmage inventrix Bevel Helical to all you meet!" Then, her quest marker vanished, and the notification appeared to bask the pair in golden sheen. "Stay well now, my assistants!"
And the Brilliant Breakthrough #100 questline came to a satisfying close.
Once outside the workshop, Argo held onto the journal, both feeling a strange air wash over them. "That questline was... somethiN'," Argo spoke up, eyeing Nagi out the corner of her eye.
"It certainly was the strangest," He smiled to her, then both chuckled at the grand farewell with Doctor Bevel. "Guess the only thing left to do is to go up,"
"ExactlY," Opening her menu, Argo threw the journal in for safe keeping, then moved to her messages, or, that's what Nagi assumed she was doing as her screens were blank to him. "I'll go 'n' send the pin to A-Chan, let's head early to prep our own strat for the meetiN',"
No complaints were heard from Nagi. "Lead on," Instinctively, their hands intertwined, walking and discussing what they learned from the journal and how best to confront a battle with two foes...
|IRL, Nagi's Home|
|Jan. 22nd, 12:15|
At the exact same time, the door to the Konno residence was knocked. Getting up from her stool by the kitchen island, a girl with shoulder-length, snow-white hair tied into a low ponytail and blue eyes, moved to open the door, immediately smiling. "Keon! See, here right on time!" The other girl greeted chipperly, she was two inches taller than Keon with chestnut-brown hair tied into her own high ponytail, and a blue hairpin tucking her bangs away from her navy eyes.
"If only you could make that a habit at college, Hitomu," Keon smiled a sigh, letting her in for a moment. "I'll be ready to go soon, I just need a few things,"
"No-no, take your time, I still gotta wrap my head around this one little piece of - it's a tough program," Hitomu huffed, receiving a pat on the head from Keon in passing.
"You'll get it right when we're there, I know it," Heading upstairs, Keon didn't see Hitomu's frown as she propped her head up on her knuckle.
"...you're really banking on this... I know I am," Steadying her breath, she pulled from her satchel a laptop, immediately getting to work.
|Jan. 22nd, 13:08|
It took them nearly an hour to arrive by train and reach the hospital in Tokyo that was known in the last year for housing a very distinct selection of patients. Heading inside, they quickly saw themselves through the reception towards one of the rooms, the whole time, Keon wore a forlorn expression, eyes following the lines on the edge of the floor. This silence was exactly the sort of thing Hitomu came to expect of the silverette every time they came here.
Reaching over, Keon was shook from her thousand-yard stare to see Hitomu's hand wrapped tightly with hers, giving back her smile a little. "It's been over a year now... crazy how long it's been just..." Hitomu sighed herself, not trying to hide her own concern with her eyes. "Look, I've said it thousands of times, but if Kaito's as stubborn as Alex, he'll be just fine, you said he had friends from the Beta to help him out, right?"
"I just hope they're okay too, Argo and Kirito," Keon smiled sadly too, stopping before the door with their family name on it, heading inside, Hitomu locked the door behind them, moving briskly to pull the table over while Keon sat beside her still motionless brother, face obscured by the Nervegear over his head and eyes.
"Before I do any of this," Hitomu stopped, placing down her laptop with her hand against it tightly, lips pulled into a tight frown. "I want your word that you're absolutely okay with this. If I mess this up, I could end up triggering the Nervegear to fry his brain on the spot; this is really, really risky," She shook her head, shaking a bit at the horrid prospect. "I'm not Kayaba, and the Cardinal System might just reject me all at once,"
"I know..." Keon felt like her heart was going to burst from the stress, squeezing her brother's hand. "...but I need... everyone needs to know everyone in SAO isn't some lost cause or worth even giving a shred of credibility to the idea of trying to unplug everyone at once."
There was talks with the government, someone made a suggestion, though it wasn't given any light, about physically breaking into every player's Nervegear and simultaneously destroying the batteries. Hitomu felt sick hearing this on the news, and the fact her own father and eldest brother agreed. It's why Hitomu was sitting here, not just for Keon's and her brother's sake, but to act a little brash like her own younger brother and prove a point.
"Hitomu?" Looking over the bed, she saw the silverette's terrified but confident eyes, entrusting her brother's life to her hands. "Please, help me see Kaito again, even if only for a second,"
Growing silent for a moment, Hitomu's hand tapped against the top of her laptop, nails pushed against its silver surface before she pulled it up, "Fuck it..." Speaking English for a moment, she reached down to grab couple wires to feed into the back of it. Once set, she moved closer to Kaito's slumbering form, then carefully, tilted his head to swallow a lump in her throat and plug the cables. Instantly, her laptop flashed with various warnings and other notifications that she promptly closed. Most importantly, Kaito wasn't spasming right now, and the link was secure. "Okay... one mine avoided..."
That made Keon release her own breathy laugh, smiling as she watched Hitomu's stern features come out, as she was normally seen with a cute face. Running every check and minute detail under her eye, Hitomu didn't speak nor was she interrupted, focused on every inch of data in front of her. After nearly fifteen minutes, she sighed. "Looks like the Cardinal System's either not picking up on the connection, or it doesn't see it as a malware... for now,"
"Just do your best," Keon smiled, earning a curt nod as the brunette typed away at an inhuman speed, making several alterations and lines of code to implement and edit.
The one thing Hitomu's family was renown for, not just at college, was the academic record of their children. The eldest brother was a lawyer, and a very good one at that. The second eldest, and the eldest sister, was a Psychiatrist. While Hitomu was still in college but held the highest grades among her peers, dwarfing the likes of Keon who was a great average; Keon wanting to go into programming, whether that was for a tech company or game development she always remained ambiguous about.
Regardless of whichever profession she chose, if she knew one thing, it was programming to a 'T'. So she'd be damned if she let anything happen to Keon's brother under her watch.
It took nearly three whole hours of stressful waiting and typing before Hitomu let out a snort. "I really hate this in movies, but, 'I'm in'," With a final few adjustments, she immediately felt her head spin when Keon sat her chair beside hers to look at the screen eagerly. Hitomu giggled, pushing her head back. "Give it a minute, needs time to load correctly, Nervegear's a powerful device so my laptop had to render it properly,"
Suddenly, the whole screen became clear again, only, instead of lines of code or something illegible mess, the video was crystal clear, a little janky at first but the FPS levelled out gradually to reveal a large cubic chamber of slate-coloured walls that were formed of horizontal and vertical rectangles. The floor smoothened wine-purple with golden lines broken up the same as the walls. The part that stood out most was a massive double door, two strips of red light on either side of the frame with a red border around the doors and a diamond in the middle with several layers to it.
To truly seal the deal, the girls over two dozen various players loitering around in groups. All various shapes, sizes, weapons and colours. A fragment of the SAO players were gathering at a floor boss doorway, but how high were they now? Did they have a plan or know what to expect? But two players stood close to where the camera was, one in a white cloak holding a large obsidian and white scythe, a firm frown on her face with purple hair tied into a ponytail with a braid around her head.
"What... is that?" Keon murmured as they stared at what stood with the scythe user.
He was clearly a guy due to wearing nothing for his torso, almost dressed like some barbarian with an ax attached to a clip at his lower back. But he wore a distinct wolf mask over his entire head, one that creepily craned toward the camera, making the two college girls shiver and pale as he slowly went for his ax.
"...d-Daora?" The second Keon heard the one with the camera speak, she gasped, covering her mouth. She thought she'd never get to hear her brother's voice for so long... But her moment of joyful sadness was replaced with concern, seeing the wolfman, Daora, slowly stalk towards Kaito's avatar out of view of the camera angle. "Daora? What's wrong?"
"Shh, don't spook it..." Now, he brandished his ax and took a swing, narrowly missing Kaito's head as he yelped in fright, drawing a few eyes, including the scythe user. "Tch, it went right through?"
"W-what was that for!? You're trying to take my head off!" Kaito understandably exclaimed.
Daora raised his arm but the scythe user caught his forearm. "Stop, before you - huh?" Now she noticed it too, pushing Daora's arm down to lean closer to Kaito, rather, the camera with a puzzled face. "What the hell is this? Looks like a reticle or something,"
"I have a what?" Kaito turned but the camera moved with him. "Hrm, it moves when I do so I can't see it, how long's it been there?"
"Dunno, did you trigger a setting by accident?" The girl asked, curious. Then, bouncing over was a girl with a tint of purple hair darker than the scythe user's, herself coming closer as she started to grapple Kaito's shoulders for a better look.
"Y-Yuuki, that's my head too!" Kaito complained when Daora did the same, shaking the camera as they moved Nagi about.
"Woah, it looks like a camera! But... it's not like the ones we use for photos..." The new girl, Yuuki, hummed before her red eyes flashed with surprise. "Oh! Maybe it's a recording feature!"
"That took them longer than I was expecting," Hitomu snickered behind her hand at this strange encounter.
"Kaito's got so many friends!" Keon was still teary-eyed, but giggled all the same at the banter.
"Hey-" But before Yuuki could exclaim it, the scythe user covered her mouth. "Whth thf fr?"
"We don't know if this is a bug or if the Cardinal System is aware yet, besides, we have to focus on the floor boss," The girl reminded Yuuki, making her pull away with a slow nod.
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Then she stared at Daora. "Is he okay? He's just been staring at it for a minute now, well, I think he's staring, it's really hard to tell with the mask,"
"It's a disabled streaming app for the game, it was in the beta test but was disabled once the game began, probably because people would use it to contact the real world," From the reactions of everyone looking at Daora with silence, he clearly wasn't known for his smarts. "What?"
"It's just... I wasn't expecting that from you, Daora, I didn't know you looked into SAO so furrowly before," Kaito, or Nagi, explained.
"You're usually more like, 'fight me! I'm the strongest in this whole game!'," Yuuki mimicked poorly with a nonchalant face, causing Daora to explode.
"I can be smart too! I take programming lessons before this stupid death game!" Daora growled at Yuuki who clicked her fingers with a smile.
"Yeah, like that!"
"It's true-" The scythe user answered with genuine honesty. "-after I met Daora IRL, he'd give me advise on how to mod my games and other useful tips, even if he does scream a lot," She smirked when his ax trembled in his hand.
"Haha, I'll take your word on it too, Mito," Nagi laughed, then moved to look at the doorway. "Anyway, Yuuki, get the Sleeping Knights over, I think everyone's about to start,"
"Gotcha!" She saluted and ran to a smaller group nearby.
"Well, your brother's definitely like you," Hitomu snickered at Keon. "You're both hopelessly sweet,"
"Y-you make it sound like you're not the same," Keon smiled sweetly back, making Hitomu's face a little pinker as she laughed it off. Soon the pair focused back on the broadcast for as long as they could. "Be careful, Kaito..." Keon prayed for his safety now more than ever.
|Sword Art Online, Floor 50, Floor Boss Chamber|
|Jan. 22nd, 16:26|
At the vanguard, Heathcliff gave the briefing one final time after their climb up the tower, his gleaming red armour standing out from his other KoB members, tower shield in the form of a cross with a red cross on the front, his longsword kept sheathed within the back of the shield. "Now, we are about to engage the 50th Floor Boss, a quarter and the only halfway point of SAO. Everyone is to perform at their absolute best, we cannot falter for a second, in the event we are too overwhelmed, we will retreat immediately if the secondary party cannot achieve their goal. Ours remains simple, wither down the boss' health to force it to call for recovery, then, the rest is up to chance,"
"We're heading in, DKB, ready yourselves!" Lind exclaimed.
"All other parties and guilds gathered, have faith in the alliance and those on the outside!" Asuna instilled her hope onto them, Heathcliff turning to press his hand to the doors, causing the red highlights to pulse and a seam to appear, splitting the door in half with a rocky grind against the floor.
Nagi had never clasped NightSky as tightly as he did today. Facing down Blueite Tenth was intense and a narrow victory due to Argo, and the 25th floor boss pushed them all their limits. But now, everything had to go right, they couldn't let another tragedy like the near-genocide of ALS occur to anyone here. Not only that, this streaming camera that followed him, it might've been a visual bug, but Nagi liked to think, if by some fraction of hope, that someone - anyone, was able to witness this from the outside.
"Frontlines, advance!" Heathcliff's declaration was drowned out by the chorus of battle cries and the thundering footsteps to follow.
When everyone expanded into the open area, the loud clanging of metal ceased, Nagi standing with his party comprised of himself, Mito, Daora, Sachi, Lizbeth, and Yuna. Yuuki waiting with the Sleeping Knights, bar Ran who was sent to Squad B. Klein and Agil stood with their own parties, it wasn't all of their top players but everyone here aside one or two had been with this frontline group for many floors, some since the beginning. Everyone was riding on them.
The area was like stepping into a barren dune, the sky a haze of yellow with large boulders jutting out of the ground around the arena, some floating in the air as the backdrop, as though everyone was swept into a sandstorm. At the very edge of the battlegrounds, two massive bronze hands dug into the lip, hoisting a chassis like no other. Two large hands were clasped above the boss on disks, almost in prayer before breaking away. A metal ring at its back like a detailed frame for a clock, the head forged to appear as a prophet or speaker for a church, a veil over its face with a trident crown above the brow.
Attached to the torso were four bronze arms, six total, it remained at the pit, having been detailed as being without a bottom half, yet it still towered as the largest boss they frontrunners have ever witnessed, it swung back its arms, releasing a bellowing noise like some form of roar, four health bars appearing below its name.
/-\The Last Number - Lv. 80/-\
"That has to be the largest boss on record..." Mito grimaced, twirling Soul Fang to bear.
"Here it comes-" Nagi saw it raise both back arms, grasping at light itself. "-EVADE!"
Every soul in the arena fled to the outer edges, seeing the glowing red rectangle below as both arms threw forth a hail of light spears to pepper the earth. When they faded, the tanks moved in instantly while Yuna kept to the back, ready to switch to her lute when the situation called for it. Number brought its right arm across, creating a cyclone of air pressure to tear across the tanks, the attack still dealing just over 10% to their overall health, then again from the left, forcing Nagi and his team to roll, avoiding the massive range of the blast that roared in their ears.
But the boss after each attack left itself open to a beating, those precious seconds were used by every DPS main, driving skill after skill down onto Number's hands before they could rise out of range. Daora, with his bare hands, roared, knuckles burning when he grappled one of the fingers, pulling at the whole arm to keep it from rising, making the Number's A.I unable to attack as it had no anticipated such an outcome.
"That's r-right...! I am... the strongest p-player there... IS!" Daora's health continued to fall due to the massive strain, his feet digging into the thin layer of sand underfoot, giving the players that bonus opportunity to wail on the arm and hand. Then, Daora was plucked from the ground with the finger, Number had learned of his skill already!? Then, it attempted to flick Daora off, but the brute jumped onto the back of the palm, pummelling at it with multiple jabs and elbow spikes atop the bronze palm.
"Daora, jump!" Glancing up, he saw one of the hands at the back of the boss reach down to try and flatten him between both hands, leaping away, he rolled, nailing his landing. "Heal up, we'll move in!" Nagi ordered.
"You got it!" Without question, he did so, the boss firing two more concussive waves of golden sand and air in their faces, some having their limbs shredded from failing to evade, even the tanks were being wailed on, all scattering at Asuna's order when Number slammed a fist into their position, the sheer impact throwing them off their feet, crippling their HP down by nearly half. "Liz, vault!"
"Gotcha covered!" She knelt down fast, providing Nagi with the boost over the boss' follow-up arm thrust, to his right, he saw Yuuki had done the same with Tecchi, the Konno cousins twirling through the air, one bathed in burning purple flames, the other creating a riptide around his frame. "Rising Sun/Meteor Fall!" Combining their efforts, the two plummeted toward the hand, puncturing it with a burning wheel of hot water and the collision force of a comet, an earth-shattering blast emanating from their blades.
The hand stopped, so Sachi lunged with Fatal Thrust, Klein using Solstice Haze on the opposite side in conjunction with Agil's Grand Destruction, Lizbeth swinging forward with Mito, Brutal Strike and Harvest respectively. Daora brought his own ax down on the wrist, sweeping up and over it for a following impact from Explosive Catapult. Protected by two tanks, Yuna played her lute loudly, providing those injured with healing buffs, her voice and instrument intertwined with the howling winds and orchestra of the boss battle.
Reeling its arms back, Number thrust both down the middle of the arena, creating a massive spiral of wind pressure, one that blew through most capes and cloaks, the sheer force behind the attack only stopped by the impressive coordination from the tanks, Heathcliff having managed to slip around to the right, Nagi on the left as both charged forward, blinding red and aqua rings woven into the palms, battering Number with a devastating flurry of invisible slashes, courtesy of Rushing Water Undulation and Vorpal Strike.
Then, they, and half the raid ducked, evading the boss' wide slashes with both hands, leading into the back arms gathering the light, hailing a volley of javelins into the sand, shredding anyone caught in the radius. When the sand levelled out, The Last Number still retained two near-full health bars, even after nearly twenty minutes of continuous attacks it was still only halfway.
"That attack brought the boss down to half, this is where the battle really begins! Stay focused, everyone!" Asuna yelled over the noise, her own gaze focused on the pattern the boss would take next.
It's when they saw the beam of emerald light protrude from its chest and through the wall of the labyrinth through the sandstorm, its movements ceased as it clasped all six hands together in prayer, shortly then after, the third health gauge began to climb back up. "So it's begun...! Energy supply to floor boss detected! Get ready for round two, everyone!" Lind instructed, many drinking buffs and healing items while Yuna prepared to play another song to bolster their attack prowess.
"I knew it was coming, but man, what a pain! Seeing it go all the way back up to full, just like that...!" Many shared Klein's annoyance at this mechanic, especially those tasked with actually dealing damage to bring it down.
"Complaining leads to collapse. We just have to do what we can for now. We keep on fighting and believe in Unit B," Agil pressed the matter to anyone with doubts over their plan.
"Bring it on! This is a piece of cake compared to when I bought the Waterwheel House!" Lizbeth had no complaints, twirling her hammer by the strap with a nervous grin.
"You said it! Let's take this hunk of metal down already!" Daora brandished his ax once more, tucking his mask down after drinking a health pot.
"We need to give it our all, Nagi!" Yuuki rallied with him, the Sleeping Knights all creating a tight formation with the pair, witnessing the fourth HP gauge restored to full.
"All members of Unit A! Enemy HP is fully restored, prepare to reengage!" Heathcliff ordered his men, the tanks quickly marching back into the frontlines to draw The Last Number's ire.
This battle continued for another gruelling twenty minutes of near-constant skill usage. Various flashes of colour from buffs were applied, a green haze washed over others thanks to Yuna's efforts, but The Last Number was simply an immortal object, taking punishment only for them to be aware it may begin healing.
Together, Asuna and Nagi struck the tips of their blades between the knuckles, the burst from Shooting Star and Ripple Thrust knocking the giant boss' arm backward, the two quickly breaking up to avoid a follow-up pummel of the earth, the impact smacking them across the chests like a semi-truck, slashing their HP in half momentarily. Both, among many others, were feeling the mental fatigue settling in.
Asuna continued to pant "...Okay... under half! Is everyone... okay!? Keep an eye... on your remaining HP and items... stay focused..." Taking a single step, her legs came out from under her, but Mito quickly caught her before she fell.
"Asuna!" The purplette stared down with worry. "You're exhausted, you need to pull back and rest,"
"Thanks, Mito... I'm fine though... just gimme... a second," Asuna forced out, but the Reaper shook her head, helping to move her away from the boss' attack range at the very edge of the arena as Nautilus took her place, keeping his sword at the ready.
"Unit A KoB members, move out! We're protecting our Vice Commander no matter what!" His confidence gave them the spirit they needed to follow him forward, watching out for two more arm thrust blasts. Nautilus felt his hand tremble a bit, his eyes fixated on Yuna near the rear too. "It's alright... I'm not the old me anymore! It's time for me to move!"
Opposite from KoB, Shivata finished downing another attack potion, grabbing his longsword from the stand. "You'd better let us help out too! Can't let KoB do all the work!"
"Defending and enduring is our job as tanks! If you need time to recover, let us take your place, believe in DKB!" Liten announced, raising her own shield with her tank squadron behind her.
"Rest up Asuna, we'll take the lead here!" Sachi declared, running to regroup with Nagi and Daora. "Mito, can you cover her in the meantime!?"
"Heard ya!" Mito waved.
In that moment, The Last Number's HP was completely recharged yet again, it was a bitter sight to behold, their own forces were starting to wither, but no one was willing to back away now. Drawing NightSky to his side, Nagi gave his own encouragement. "We're not defeated yet! Attack with every ability you've got in your arsenals!" Nagi bellowed out, NightSky erupting with the vicious maw of a dragon, staring up at the arms of Number, seeing the fists curl up to strike the ground.
Nagi, still unaware of the anxiety ravaging the two people watching by his shoulder, unable to see him, but unable to look away.
For another unbearable twenty minutes, a full hour had eclipsed since the battle began, and more and more players were beginning to fall apart or outright flee, their supplies were starting to thin out, and fatigue was creeping further into their digital bodies. When Mito managed to slash down the last slither from the fourth health bar, it recoiled, now at three quarters.
"Okay... that's one..." She huffed, wiping the sweat off her brow. In doing so, she didn't see the hand lunge down, striking the ground beside her to send her flying, thankfully, into Liten's arms as she stumbled.
"Are you okay!?" Her big orange eyes stared on worryingly when Mito's HP fell to the amber, gritting a smile.
"Thanks, Liten - ah, watch it!" In response, Liten drew her shield around Mito, but the fist was quickly intercepted by a longsword, Shivata's face strained as his HP took the blow, himself sliding back against Liten's shield.
"Don't you put a damn finger on her!" Shivata growled, crumpling to a knee. "That... hurt..."
"Shiva, are you okay!? If you're hurt, don't push yourself and go recover!" Liten warned, helping Mito to stand and heal herself.
"I'm fine alright?" The ravenette huffed, trying to appear aloof to his situation, grabbing one of his limited health pots to bit down on the rim. "Still... I'm not sure I can keep this up much longer..."
Behind them, Lind was watching with pensive eyes as their frontline was starting to fall apart, even the DPS mains were nearing their limits as Nagi baited the boss' attacks with Daora and Yuuki. Already, several had used teleport crystals to escape. "Agh, DKB work with KoB to regroup! We're holding the line no matter what!" But he himself was beginning to lose hope. "Still nothing...? Is Unit B... still not done? At this rate... how much longer do we have to go on...?"
"Now hold on a second, Lind. Aren't you the one always acting all tough? What're you doing, going all weak on us now?" Four meters out in front, Klein, in this desperate battle, flashed him a smirk.
"Can't let the big guilds take all the glory, you gotta rely on smaller guilds too. Take this as a lesson for future floors." Agil added, standing at the ready.
"Nagi and the others are giving it their all even if it seems fruitless, I know it does seem almost impossible, but that's why we're standing here, so we can turn that around," Sachi voiced, finishing her own recovery despite the fatigue. "I can't do much in terms of damage like them, but even the small margin matters," Then she jumped a bit, Klein patted her back.
"Well said, Sachi!" After finishing his own potion, Klein swung Sol Moeta forward, a burning orange tint overtaking the blade. "Alright, time to show the big guilds and the floor boss how sturdy a smaller guild's tank can be! Hear me!? Furinkazan, Bro Squad, fall in line and push that pile of scrap and cogs back!"
Diving over a fist, Yuuki spun and slashed down with Horizontal Square as her cousin's blade threshed a flurry of thrusts through the fingers, ending in a wide arc. "No matter how hard things get, we're gonna survive this world!" Yuuki exclaimed without thinking much of it.
At the rear, playing her lute while evading every wide air blast the boss threw, Yuna kept her rhythm alive, eyes defiant despite the threat to her life. "I'll sing with everything I have! Take my strength, I'll be fine! I can dodge any attack thrown my way!"
Rallying as best they could, the battle continued, pressuring the boss with all the manpower left, but with fewer players among the raid team, it became harder to land successful blows or avoid damage outright, the only thing saving them from exhausting their items entirely was Yuna, but even she couldn't keep her end up for long. Desperation, fear, panic, it was becoming a swirling vortex of unease among the players that remained.
"Aaaah, I-I can't keep going! I'm bailing!" One player cried out in a panic for their teleport crystal.
"Me too, I'm sorry... forgive me... I-I don't want to die! Teleport!" And like that, two more disappeared.
"Nagi..." Beside him, Mito was panting heavily, leaning against Soul Fang. "I-I think... we're..."
"I know, just... a little more," He didn't lose hope, Argo, Kirito, Ran, every single player on Unit B were likely struggling too, they must be feeling awful, not knowing how Unit A are fairing in here, this was as tough of a battle for them as it was for Unit A. "We can... still win! No, we got to win!" His eyes were pins, he absolutely refused to flee.
Beside them, Heathcliff stepped back with his shield raised, speaking to Asuna who finished using her last health potion, tossing it aside. "Looks like it's time to make a call, Asuna. More than half our members have left, and the rest our dangerously low on HP and items,"
The Vice Commander didn't relent, "But Unit B... Kirito and the others are still going! I know they can do it! And then, once they regroup with us we'll-"
"Dodge!" Daora growled, diving back with Nagi and Mito in time to avoid the slam attack, the shockwave nearly catching Asuna if not for Heathcliff warding off the impact himself, barely flinching.
"It's not like you to get this heated. We're merely holding it back thanks to my defence, victory seems unlikely, even with Unit B," Heathcliff stated firmly, watching The Last Number sweeping the battleground with two more air blasts, followed by bombarding the middle lane with light javelins. "You should be bright enough to realize the possibility that Unit B has been defeated by the supply unit,"
"Hey-" Yuuki, popping her head out from behind Tecchi's form, was about to say something, but Asuna kept a quivering grip on her rapier.
"I know that, Sir... but I still want to have faith. Regardless, we have to ensure the safety of those fleeing, so until then, I'll keeping fighting with that belief," She stood tall, shaking her head clear of the dizziness. "I can't count the number of times Kirito's made me mad, troubled, annoyed, or embarrassed since we met on the first floor. Even when we... parted ways, he never truly hurt me or made me sad, even when I ruined things and made everything awkward for him in return,"
"He is the person that gave me back my reason to live, he helped make me better! Everyone's told him time and again that beating Aincrad is impossible, but he still found a way to make it this far!" The tip of her blade turned scarlet, "And besides, I still need to apologize to him... for being an ungrateful friend!"
"ASUNA!" She didn't have the time to cease her skill when The Last Number adjusted its arms, quickly changing to using its lowermost arms to reach out and crush whatever was within reach, in this case, Asuna. Two loud, metallic crashes struck the palms, and the brunette gasped, seeing Daora using his bare hands to hold back the right, Nagi using NightSky on the left, but the gap between was slowly shuffling closed while the boss raised both uppermost arms, dragging the light from the sky. "T-tch grr...!"
"Grrr!" Daora couldn't move either, they were pinned!
"Get them out of there, quickly!" Lind hollered, running himself toward the hands before they were crushed, their health steadily dropping towards the yellow.
"No!" Mito broke into a full sprint. She could make it, she had to-!
...
...
...
Everyone among the raid team and the two who watched from the real world. All of them held a breath. Their hearts stopped for a finite moment.
...
...
...
...
...
"Hyraah!" A streak of blue that shot like a comet overhead came colliding between The Last Number directly between the eyes. It's arms suddenly lost all strength, and its body groaned heavily as it shook to catch itself from the blow, stunned as a result of the comet's impact.
Heathcliff made a sound. "The floor boss stopped attacking... I see, a Skill Break," A parry that require absolute precision or an overwhelming amount of attacks to perform. As tricky as the Infinity Moment was to perform. "A Vorpal Strike right between the eyes, there's only one player that could pull a stunt-no, a feat of this caliber..." And the older man smiled, watching the black tailcoat descend before the trio.
Kirito turned to them, frowning apologetically. "Sorry for the wait,"
"K-Kirito..." Nagi breathed a sigh of unparalleled relief.
"...Sure took your time..." Daora muttered under his breath.
Asuna, meanwhile, trembled on her knees, biting her lip. "I... I thought we... we kept losing so many... I though it was over... t-that we'd never... pass this threshold," For the time in months, fresh tears fell from her eyes, staring down at her hands. "I was so-so scared... I really mean it..."
Looking down at his old partner, Kirito slowly smiled, then, to her slight gasp, saw the hand reaching down for her. "It's all okay now... no matter how difficult the quest... I'll always lend a hand; and especially for my partner whenever she needs it," Now, her teary eyes met his apologetic smile. "I'm sorry... after the 25th floor, I didn't want you to always rely on me, I didn't want to overshadow your own growth, and... I completely disregarded your feelings on the matter for that sake-or rather, because I was scared I'd pull you into a mistake I couldn't prevent,"
"But... if you're okay with being my partner when it counts... will you accept that?" He waited with baited breath, feeling a little embarrassed with his friends and Sachi watching.
Rubbing her eyes with her sleeve, Asuna's hand fell into his, and their fingers locked, so Kirito pulled her back to her feet to see her trying to compose herself. "I was so worried about you... every time you'd run off ahead, I... wondered if that was the last time I'd see you, let alone speak with you," Finally opening her eyes, she smiled warmly at her partner and best friend confidently. "...so if you ever need it, I'll stand by your side too, partner,"
Backing away while the boss continued to recoil, seemingly in a state of suspended animation, Nagi and Daora healed up quickly, seeing that everyone else had finally returned. Argo, Artorias, Ran, Fynch, Philia, and every other player that had defeated the boss' healer. But more importantly, someone unexpected marched forward.
"Are ya two done with all yer yappin'? Leave if that's the case!" Stepping out from a group of familiar armoured players in metal and green cloaks. The leader of the small war band wore a new double breasted black blazer with gold buttons and a white outline with a green sash around their left bicep with a distinguished guild symbol on it.
"No way...!" Nagi's smile couldn't have gotten wider. "Kibaou... you're back!"
"And with a new look too," Mito commented as she force fed Daora another potion, much to his annoyance.
"Kibaou, what are you doing here!?" Asuna was as astonished to see the leader of ALS back on the frontlines after everything that had happened on the 25th floor. He had back that snarky confidence but carried himself better than before.
He huffed. "What else? We do whatever's the most efficient path forward. How many times are ya gonna make me repeat myself?" Then, he offered his old comrades a smirk. "'Course, a certain former guildmate in plate armour did send me a message,"
With Kibaou were two other officials from the joint collaboration with ALS, that of the leader and vice-leader of MMO Today, the same group that Argo worked for prior to the Death Game. Their leader, Thinker, had umber-brown, wavy hair and brown eyes. Thinker wore a teal trench coat, white gloves and grey trousers. His vice-leader, Yulier, is a woman of tall stature who has long, silver hair tied up in a ponytail and has sky-blue eyes that shine intensely. She wore an iron-grey cape on her body, under which she wears a dark green coat with leggings well-fitted for her thighs.
Thinker stepped forward to address them while the boss finally let out a mechanical howl again, finally rousing from its stunned state. "Kibaou, could you lead the fight from here?"
"As the most experienced ALA member when it comes to floor boss encounters, we can depend on you," Yulier added further.
"Alright! Provide cover! I don't care what ya have to use! Protect the Assault Team with all of ALA's resources!" Kibaou commanded like he used to, strict and direct.
"YES SIR!" The reinforcements resounded, marching to aid DKB and KoB in their weakened defence, applying their own DPS mains into the mix to further recoup the numbers lost.
"NagI!" Skidding to a halt beside him, Argo threw her cowl back. "We gotta put this down now, most of Unit A's not lookin' too hoT!"
"You're right," He glanced over at ALA, assuming that was their joint name now, even with their men, it was clear they weren't geared for boss clearing at the efficiency that ALS once had. "It's time we cleared this floor,"
In saying this, the boss then slammed its hands together, spreading all six wide as a tremoring energy emitted from its chassis, and the 'sandstorm' was gone, the ground now a bluish-white sand and the skies an eternal star-filled night, a red energy arising from within The Last Number, turning its entire body a shimmering gold. This was the boss' final stand, with two health gauges still in effect, they had a huge order to fulfil.
"The boss is gearing up for a serious attack, but it can't recover HP anymore! This is the final push, stay focused!" Asuna raised her voice, standing with Kirito and Sachi.
"Oi, Nagi," Turning to Kibaou, he saw the ginger glare at him like always, carrying that burning defiance the leader was known for, and an understand he only saw when ALS left the frontlines. "Do whatcha gotta do, hear me?"
Sighing a laugh, Nagi held NightSky upright. "I hear you loud and clear, leader," He smiled, his own guild gathering around or placing themselves into favourable positions.
"You've been kept busy, sorry that delay, had spiky-hair rant and rave at us along the way," Artorias prodded his thumb back, then narrowed his eyes. "New accessory?"
Seeing him gesture to the streaming circle, Nagi chuckled. "Yeah, seems the game's glitched or something, according to Daora its the streaming function that was disabled from beta," That entire sentence made Artorias give pause.
"I'm going to need time to process Numbnuts was directly linked to the answer," Then, a devilish grin stretched over his cheeks, clapping his hands. "Ahem! Alright-Alright-Alright! Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls, and that technicolour rainbow in between, welcome to the one and only stream covering the halfway point of SAO!"
Nagi raised his finger with a passive smile, the rest watching all giving Artorias a flat stare, "It's be active for over an hour now-"
"Don't ruin this for me!" Artorias cut off, twirling Red Death to point it at the boss. "Chin up, boss! This is a once in a lifetime chance to flaunt how much better we are to all those people thinking we're a lost cause and can't save ourselves!"
"Haha... I get it now; Mom, Keon, Kaida, Kayda, I hope you see this..." Nagi thought for a moment, then, pressed two fingers to where he assumed the camera was, then adjusted his hand, seeing the edge of a blue set of rings move into view with a red recording seal in the middle. So, he spun it around, pushing it to hover just over his head, giving whoever they were a better view of both Nagi and his surroundings out in front. "Everyone... let's go!"
"YEAH!"
The Last Number brought down the heavens in an array of light blades, everyone flanking into the middle a moment after as it threw its arm forward, colliding with several tanks and Heathcliff at the vanguard, the combined Ward blowing the first fist away, the second careening off to the side, blasting the air. A blinding flash of blue and orange overtook from both sides, Kibaou sweeping his scimitar in four arching crescents followed by Lind's Savage Fulcrum applying the same number of blows.
Kirito switched with them, drawing his blade down the underside of the arm with Sonic Leap, quickly followed by the vertical cross chop into twin spins from Mito's Harvest and the flurry of lightning fast prods of Quadruple Pain by Asuna, the two girls sailing under the slam in time to evade with a leap.
Through the impact wave, Liten blocked a hammering right hook with Tecchi and Artorias, the trio pushing back as hard against the knuckle, granting Nagi a chance to twirl in from the side, Klein doing the same as they rolled above the wrist, slicing in a double halo of Rising Sun, water and fiery orange flashing, Daora howling as he drove the head of Skullshatter through in a slash, thrust, then a cross slash into a diagonal slam. "Ultimate Skill - Dynamic Violence!"
The Last Number recoiled, hammering the ground with two fists before blasting either side with a torrent of golden winds. But down mid, Jun's greatsword drawn up against the lowermost hands, carving a deep lightning stroke through them both, himself being flicked away as both hands clapped, missing the red knight when Nori brought her hammer down with Tremor Aftershock, the enhanced version of Tremor, the impact weakening the arms so that Talken's spear could puncture both with Fatal Thrust.
Recovering, the boss cast another hail of javelins, completely unaware of the two shifting shadows that climbed its right arm, Philia's blade bright blue, Eternal Cyclone sending riptides of blue light bleeding through the wrist with the added impact of Cross Arc's horizontal into an overhead slam, Fynch smirking as he high-fived Philia in passing, the two diving away from a smash, a scarlet blade sweeping in various slants and crescents below, both Yuna and Nautilus throwing the limb backward, Yuna using a dagger to slash an Infinite symbol into the boss' wrist, leaving it coated in gashes for Nautilus' own sword to burn a hot red, unleashing the flurry of attacks with Phantom Rush, his final horizontal curve severing the hand, the combined damage permanently destroying the limb.
Agil and Daora took the vanguard, a dual Grand Destruction stunning the boss momentarily, Nagi's water current sweeping through the lowermost left hand, slicing it to pieces as he slashed the air ahead of him, the fountain of splashes set by Dragon's Breath obliterating the limb. "Switch!" He called aloud. Four figures pressing the advantage while The Last Number reeled.
The four top One-Handed swordsmen slid or dove over the middlemost left and lowermost right arms, evading the blasts. Yuuki and Ran mirrored each other, releasing arcs of continuously red and violet light with Vertical Square. Above them, tracing down the abdomen to the arm, Artorias and Kirito cleaved a stretched Vertical Square through the golem, utterly shattering the third health bar.
It was the final stretch, they could win! Nagi and Argo dove either side of another air blast from the left arm as it slammed the ground, their feet off the ground instantly, Nagi caught Argo's arm, spinning once using Dance of the Water Dragon to toss her down the length of the arm, blending away the armour with Frenzy before kicking off, seeing Nagi cleave up the forearm, his final, horizontal slash through the elbow, diving backward.
Daora and Mito cleaved through the arm as it rose, Mito unleashing a brilliant violet glow from Soul Fang, twirling her scythe so fast it became a halo of light she guided to mince through the forearm, the Ultimate Scythe Skill, Morana, her skill ending in a blip, sailing by Daora who drove Skullshatter through the palm, diving up and over the golden limb to wrench and cleave downward once again, Crushing Wave grounding the limb.
Lizbeth and Liten both hammered it like a nail with their clubs, pink and orange halos rippling from Power Strike, both switching out with Kirito and Sachi who glided past each other's shoulders, the twin haze of blue accumulating at the tips of their weapons, switching back and forth in a stream of slashes, causing various unseen slashes to shred the arm, damaging it significantly during an Infinity Moment. Their unified thrust being enough to trigger a halo outward at their wordless cry, bringing The Last Number crashing down on its chest, overwhelmed and leaving it wide open for everyone to assault.
However, The Last Number seemed to jerk, and suddenly, all its arms glowed red, and its legless body spun on an invisible axis, cleaving anything caught in its spin, swatting dozens of players across the arena, leaving them heavily wounded and those behind shields reeling. "Hold strong, we're almost there!" Asuna declared, her entire right arm glowing red from the impact as others shared similar injuries.
"Hey!" Daora caught Nagi's attention, he and Mito drawing up their weapons to bear. "Let's finish this sucker off right now!"
"We're with you!" Nagi called, he and those still closer to the boss giving charge before it performed that devastating spin again. "This. Ends. Now."
The Last Number raised its intact back arms, gathering a golden storm in both before sweeping them both toward the earth, puncturing the ground that Artorias took the vanguard of with Kirito and Yuuki, the trio swinging their blades at the oncoming javelins, practically deflecting a straight line through the bombardment, the others close behind, evading the ones battering the area around them. Mito saw the left arm swing forward, so in using Artorias's buckler, she had him launch her over the golden cyclone, scythe at her back as it began to glow, scarlet eyes locked to the wrist.
She spun down violently, sweeping once with Rend, leaving a large purple slant through the arm, Daora sheathed Skullshatter, arms erupting with bloodied flames, with the sheer strength of Barbarous alone, he grappled the hand, locking it as he did before with a furious howl, digging his heels through the hot bluish-white sand. Red and purple blew past the wolfman, Yuuki and Artorias zig-zagging.
"Howling-!/Deadly-!" Five high-velocity thrusts and slants left and right weaved a net of gashes, twirling bringing the two shoulder to shoulder, Yuuki diving over Artorias's head for her overhead slam to intersect to Artorias's winding horizontal, the clean cuts blasting away the last of the middle limbs. "-Octave!/-Sins!"
Overwhelmed, The Last Number to bent forward for its shadow to engulf the arena, its uppermost arms driven down toward the group, glowing a burning, furious red. The four swiveled on the spot. "SWITCH!"
Asuna arched her back, sucking in a long breath before lunging at the right palm, Oblique skewering the middle of the palm while amber scarred the left in wide rows of thin slashes due to Raptor Flurry, both hers and Argo's unison attack parrying the boss, throwing it back sharply, health dropping into the red, sparks of energy leaking from weaknesses along its whole body.
"Nagi!/Kirito!" The girls cried out.
"Do it!/Defeat it!" The guys howled to the stars themselves.
Standing at the foot of the boss, Nagi kept NightSky drawn, Kirito doing the same, almost in awe at the sheer scale of the boss that was summoning another array of javelins. "Time to keep moving up, right?" Nagi cocked his head a bit to Kirito.
"Right, may the best player win," Kirito fist bumped with him, the two moving to either side of each other in passing, Kirito's onyx blade taking on an ethereal blue hue, meanwhile, Nagi's katana wrapped itself and its user in many shades of blue water, the froth accumulating like a mane.
"Esoteric Skill," They spoke firmly, bending at the knees for the javelins that came hurdling toward their location.
"Nova Ascension/Tenryū No Mai," In uttering the names, their eyes burning gold.
Both simply vanished for a split second into a stream of colours, but if one looked closely, they'd see them slashing upwards using the very attack the boss summoned as a means to climb toward its torso. Nagi pressed his toes to the golden chassis, diving into a flurry of wide slashes along the armour, winding as he guided the azure dragon at his blade's back, carving deep impressions that arched into halos with each step he took.
Kirito struck in a slant right to left straight into a horizontal, repeating this movement in his ascension, turning clockwise for a slash only to double back, repeating the 1st and 3rd motion with a weightless swing behind them all. Both reached the chest, Nagi carving deep into the armour, drawing his blade in a slant through to the shoulder, coming eye-to-eye with The Last Number, hearing it rumble in displeasure. Below, Kirito did the same only to kick back, bending his arm back, aiming the tip for its core while Nagi clasped NightSky over his head.
No one saw who made the final blow, only an unbearably bright slash from them both, one that left a gaping wound through the towering colossus' chest, and a straight, vertical line from the top of the head straight down to the end of the torso, both releasing a satisfying, clean slice of metal.
The final inches of the health bar disappeared, alongside The Last Number's name, it hovered there, motionless, head craned back to stare at the starlight, beams of light spewing from its wounds. Eventually, the whole body turned bright blue, nearly white, exploding outward into a massive downpour of polygons over the players. Nagi stumbled back at this, Kirito tumbling into a kneel to break his fall, the beta testers looking to each other, panting.
Both shared a wide smile, closing their eyes before throwing their fists high in a child-like victory scream that was overshadowed the massive uproar of players in jubilation.
/CONGRATULATIONS!\
"That was insane... they were so close, chain-switching mid-skill motion that even the slightest mark off would've killed them..." Ran muttered a bit out loud, completely speechless afterward.
"Despite us pouring every skill we had into it a second ago, it suddenly couldn't keep up with the two of them. I dunno if it was the loss of limbs, or what..." Asuna exhaled, unable to stop herself from smiling.
"I've never seen 'em go that fast beforE. Felt like even the boss was panickin' near the end therE... Did they go faster than the A.I could keep up witH...?" Argo, in all her analytical prowess, simply had no idea what came over those two, it was a similar case months back when Artorias near-soloed a floor boss, something about the way Kirito and Nagi were moving wasn't something a human could pull off on their own. Argo's whiskers twitched from her grin.
"That's exactly right, all of you," Heathcliff too was beyond impressed by this performance. "High-precision chained switches with minimal lag. Almost as if it were a one-on-one, even within the boss' eyes. Two sword strikes delivered in a way not unlike dual wielding. What power their sword skills must have had,"
"Aincrad has never seen the precise sword dance of black and blue that they created. A style of unification unknown to the boss," It was everything Heathcliff never could've anticipated in this world. "An effect of overlapping streaks of light, almost like a beautiful stream of stars..."
When Kirito noticed the recording seal by Nagi's head, he pointed to it. "Seems you have access to the broadcast app, how'd that happen?"
"Not a clue, but I kinda hope it doesn't stay forever," Nagi leaned forward to whisper. "It's kinda unnerving to think about,"
Kirito pursed his lips, nodding while appearing amused as he tilted to one side, seeing their friends rush up to them. Klein quickly grabbed them both into an armlock around the head, the teens pulled tight. "You two did it! Can always rely on either of you to pull a win out from a narrow battle!"
"Congrats, the victory is both of yours," Agil chuckled, offering a thumbs up to them.
"Kirito!" Sachi then tackled Kirito into a tight embrace, smiling brightly. "You were amazing! You two were moving so fast we could barely keep up at all!"
"Sure wasn't easy to perform with such a crowd, that's for sure," Kirito chuckled at her, seeing her remain tightly at his side, infecting him with her smile.
Nagi, having pulled himself out from Klein's hold, was then surrounded by his team, but Daora paused, looking up and pointing to his head. "It's starting to bug out,"
"Huh?" Grabbing it now he had a better understanding of its function, Nagi pushed it out to see the seal was beginning to glitch and fizzle out. "The Cardinal System... it's probably fixing the issue now that the boss isn't a big factor, that's probably what kept it around all this time,"
"So does that mean it'll be cut off permanently again?" Mito frowned, thinking it would've been great to get updates out to the real world. "What do we do then?"
"Unfortunately, not a lot we can do," Artorias shrugged dismissively. "Once it's patched out, it's just us from here on in, not that it wasn't already on our to-do list,"
"Is one thing we got," Argo smiled at Nagi, nodding to him. "Wanna say somethin' on the off-chance it ain't just some buG?"
"I..." Looking to it, Nagi felt it... like someone was watching them. Were they anxious? Did they not believe this to be true? Would anyone be watching? There was no way to tell, no feature that allowed him to see more or prove which was the truth. Instead, he relaxed his smile to the flickering camera lens. "This is it from the frontrunners of SAO, and the defeat of the 50th Floor Boss,"
"So!" Jumping Nagi, Artorias wrapped an arm around his shoulders, winking with a peace sign. "This has been the best player in whole game, me! Artorias!"
Then, Mito was squeezed into view over Nagi's right shoulder, cheeks a little red with a bashful smile as Daora wrapped his arm behind her to push his wolf head into frame. "The Lord of Wolves, Kushla Daora! Don't you forget it!"
"M-Mito..." The purplette added, putting her own peace sign up.
Then from below, Argo popped her head up to rest under Nagi's chin, two peace signs up. "Argo the Rat!"
"Hahaha... you guys," Shaking his head, Nagi winked. "And Nagi, leader of Misfits. I don't know how hard things will get in here, or how much it hurts for everyone out there. But... we're still fighting, every single person in this game hasn't given up on clearing it. You just... have to have faith," He gave the camera a wave. "Until next time, this is the frontrunners, signi-"
But the icon disappeared, cutting off their only connection to the outside world. Nagi hoped... hoped that some saw it. And prayed his family did to, and everyone could see how hard everyone fought today. With the icon gone, Nagi was suddenly surprised yet again when... Argo, Artorias, Mito, and even Daora held their group embrace of sorts. It made his chest swell, feeling truly at ease around them, almost enough for him to-no, this wasn't the place for that.
"...thank you, guys," Nagi whispered, the team breaking apart to see Klein egging Kirito on for the L.A Bonus, as Nagi didn't receive the prompt in his rewards tab.
"-we're on the big 5-0 it's gotta be something amazing, right!?" Klein exclaimed, Sachi moving back a little to let Kirito see to the tab.
"Just one second, I'll turn it into an object now," With a few presses, a blue flash consumed the notification box, then he jumped back, allowing a large storage item to land at their feet. "What the...?"
"That's not what I would've expected?" Nagi cocked his head again.
"Like someone stuck to briefcases together... but it's huge, like, too big!" Klein gawked, kicking the side of it a little as it barely budged.
"It really is large, like a souvenir from the land of giants. Either way, must have two items inside given how big it is," Agil commented.
"So... we both go an L.A drop? That doesn't seem like the normal route for SAO," Nagi held his doubts, he had gear he liked so he wouldn't get his hopes up now.
"Shh, somethin' 's comin' from inside of it, like a voicE," Argo hushed, and the group all listened, even those around went quiet to listen.
~If you can hear this, that should mean... The Last Number has been unleashed~ The voice of an aged man crackled from the case.
"The treasure chest just spoke!?" Klein jumped back, then leaned down in wonder until Agil lightly tapped his shoulder.
"Calm down, it's probably just an audio crystal. Let's just listen for now." Agil coaxed the group, especially Klein.
~I have no way of knowing what kind of age you now live in. Perhaps a war-torn one that required awakening The Last Number, or perhaps one that exceeds my wildest hypotheses... Whatever the case, if the seal on this case has been broken, I have but one question for the one to do so~ The voice paused. ~Which do you require? An invincible weapon or an invulnerable armour?~
~Both represent the pinnacle of this age's technology. They can start or end wars on their own. They cannot be released without good cause. Even if used for good. They cannot both be brought into this world. It would be even worse if the two fell into one person's hands~ The man spoke gravely of this. ~So I ask you; which do you require? Why do you require it?~
~A weapon that can defeat any foe? Or an armour that can survive any situation? Which do you seek? And why do you seek it?~ He echoed his previous questions. ~Are you a hero or a villain? What is your reason? There is no way for me to know, so I leave it up to this box's Heart Core to decide~
"Heart Core..." It dawned on Argo and Nagi, both whispering to each other. "Doctor Bolt!"
~If the seeker is one that would start conflict; weapon, armour, and box will all vanish by way of the core. Now tell me~
It was all left to Kirito. This was his choice, his weapon or armour to grasp. If the Heart Core within saw him as unfit for either, it would disappear along with the boss that left it behind. Everyone awaited an answer, Kirito staring down at it for a critical second, his hands clenched... then they relaxed.
"...the weapon. The invincible weapon." Was his final answer. "Back when I first started, I wanted the power to protect myself, I thought that was all I'd ever need..." He saw people die everyday, he saw the first night flash in his mind, when Coper died trying to MPK him. "Now though... it's not just about me..." And his dark eyes looked to Asuna, his partner and trusted friend. To Klein, the one he left behind who became so much stronger. Agil who bartered with him, Kibaou and Lind who bickered all the time about Kirito's place on the frontlines. Yuuki, the only player to have bested him in a battle.
Sachi... the girl he fell for, and who pulled him from his grief.
Argo and Nagi... his best friends since the very start.
"...I can say with both honesty and pride that what I truly need is the power to protect the beloved friends I made in this world..." Kirito concluded his answer.
The case hissed, and the compartment swung open like a briefcase, unveiling a weapon as dark as the night sky above, unbreakable and powerful. Kirito lifted it out with some effort due to its weight, displaying the name to read out loud. "So this is the invincible weapon. It's name is... Elucidator...?"
~This sword was created using the vast battle records in my golem assistant's Heart Core along with countless verification cycles. An optimized tool of war made by man and machine. An elucidating blade with a graphite edge brought forth by a full picture of war. And so I name is... Elucidator~ The voice spoke with some level of comfort and pride. ~My only wish is that the wielder carves a way to a new age where both man and machine can live together in peace~
And so, the case shattered, leaving Elucidator in the hands of the Black Swordsman. Kirito's hands held it with the same care a blacksmith would his prized creation. "Elucidator, I humbly accept you, along with your creator's hope for the future." That felt only right to say, equipping it on his back as it fell into place perfectly. Looking back with a smirk, Kirito gripped Elucidator's handle. "Let's get going, we still have more floors ahead of us... with the hundredth waiting at the end,"
"Of course you do the cool protag angle," Artorias remarked, causing Kirito to stumble a bit towards the stairway across the sand, the group chuckling as the Black Swordsman turned with a bashful look. "Oh no, Mr Badass Black Swordsman, please continue,"
"'Look at me, I'm the super cool Red Warrior, I'm so awesome and cool'~!" Yuuki mimicked, puffing her chest out, earning a flat stare from Artorias as she snickered behind her toothy grin.
"Aren't you comedic, Absolute Sword Zekken," Ran, of all people, chimed in slyly, seeing her sister giggle nervously, scratching the back of her head.
"Haha... got me there, sis!"
"We all seem to have so many titles lately..." Nagi shook his head, seeing Sachi laugh alongside Kirito trying to recover from his blunder, Asuna adding on to the teasing. "50 Floors... it still feels so far..." He feared... how many of them would make it there.
"Have faitH," A hand jabbed his side, causing him to twitch sharply to look at Argo, smiling under the ceiling of starlight. "Ain't that what today really goes to shoW?"
Looking around, Kibaou was chatting and catching up with Lind and his members, speaking with Heathcliff too in the process. Liten was looking dreamily at Shivata spinning some tale while Lizbeth wore a flat stare and lax smile at it all. Nautilus listened to Yuna playing a song to help boost everyone back to full HP, many applauding her as she blushed a bit. Philia was nodding slowly with a funny look on her face as she followed Fynch's hand gestures, the dark leather-strapped player wearing an excited smile, a few other dagger users listening in.
Ahead of Nagi, Artorias and Yuuki were now shoving their hands into each others faces, trying to outwit the other while Ran rolled her eyes, Nori and Siune laughing behind her while Jun, Talken, and Tecchi all shook their heads at the sight. Daora actually seemed to give something to Mito, making her stifle a laugh behind a cute, silly smile in response. Klein and Agil were chatting among their respective guilds, linking an arm brotherly before raising them high, their friends cheering in turn.
"I see..." It wasn't really a question to debate, it was a simple fact, faith is what got them this far, faith to entrust their lives to one another, faith to believe in their individual strengths, and faith that when it's all brought together to face insurmountable odds, anything was reachable. Doctor Bevel was right, "'Believe not in the tools you wield but yourself'..." Quoting the inventor, Argo eyed Nagi, seeing his loving smile with his eyes closed toward her, her beautiful face captured when he opened his eyes. "...let's continue to go, higher than Beta Tester, Hosaka, until we can meet in the real world too,"
Her eyes widened, no one had noticed, seeing her offer a soft, loving smile back at her Hero. "...then you better keep gettin' stronger, KaitO,"
That... was an irrefutable truth.
To Be Continued...
Next Arc - Festival of the Radius
The 51st Floor unveils a festival in celebration of passing the halfway mark of Sword Art Online. Nagi and his guild take this time to finally relax and have fun before they continue their battle. But even some festivals hide a mystery best left undisturbed...
This was mental to put together, I didn't describe each sword skill and summarized everything aside the final push of the boss battle for both the reader's sake and mine, it just gives you an idea of the multiple layers of skills and attacks being used simultaneously. That last push was awesome, two esoteric skills at once and we finally see Kirito claim Elucidator.
Biggest surprise was the glimpse into the game from reality due to Artorias's own sister as well as Nagi's sister there for support. They will likely never be able to do this again, now that the Cardinal System's aware of the intrusion, but why did it let the video feed persist for so long I wonder? So, that my small addition of 'Anime Illogical BS' for this arc! I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next arc within a month, Misfits!
064 - Lights in the Sky
51st is a massive festival island, with tons of game-related quests, parties and food of all cultures, there's almost an endless source of entertainment as the Misfits Guild hatch a plan to have some fun...