|Sword Art Online, Floor 51, Summit of Luminary|
|Jan. 24th, 01:28|
A great hurricane had overwhelmed a fraction of the sky with dark swirling clouds, streaks of lightning descending onto the raging waves. At the center of the storm, slivering through the sea was the Great Wave, Railaan. In response to the final event, guard NPCs actively manned the cannons and ballista, somehow still functioning after many years submerged beneath the harbour. Before long, a battle for Luminary erupted by the shores only line of defences.
In response to the threat that surmounted to nothing more than biting insects, Railaan reeled its head back from left to right, spraying an electrified torrent of water to ripple and blast across the wall, knocking several people backward as yellow sparks travelled down the battlements. With a deep growl, Railaan continued to swim towards the city, small blasts and large arrows bouncing off its glistening scales.
Present at the once active ritual site, Nagi quickly spun on his heel, his heart gripped with panic and guilt over being unable to prevent this. Instead of internally beating himself up over his failure, he instead turned to action. "Chen, what do you know about Railaan? Anything about weaknesses that your ancestors used?" In that same breath, he glanced over at Argo. "Argo, can you try and find any clues left on the murals?"
"GotchA," And she quickly ran to inspect.
Chen, for her part, held her chin, brow furrowed as she tried to put the chaos and cries of her people aside in an effort to aid them. "No... most of the texts were lost when Railaan first attacked, and those that know are long gone. I..." Gritting her teeth, she slapped her cheeks. "No, there's definitely a way, my ancestors had to have known some members of the cult would've survived to repeat the past, I know they have!"
"What about this?" Over by the mural, Sakura and Argo were combing the images when they knelt by the edges of the mural, gesturing to a new string of words that hadn't been present before. "I might be wrong, but I'm sure these are new,"
"Nice find," Silent blinked in surprise.
"She's right too, ain't anythin' I can read thougH," Argo shrugged, standing back to look the mural top-to-bottom.
"It's Latin," All heads swiveled around to Artorias who raised his head, the colour having returned to his face. "Sorry about that, boss, got... kinda spooked to be honest,"
"It's not your fault, just try to relax, your heartrate's still high," Yuuki reassured him, forcing the brunette to sit still as he gestured to the mural.
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine... but the words are in Latin, I recognize the word for 'Soul', 'Anima'," Argo followed where Artorias pointed to, but since she wasn't taught how to speak a dead language, she was at a loss on what that could mean.
"Can you translate for us, Artorias?" Chen asked hopefully, but he shook his head.
"Only know a few words, not a lot to fill the gaps before this whole floor's washed away," Instead, his sharp eyes fell to one particular in the group. "But there's two eggheads here that'll be more than happy to translate, right, Princess, Reaper?"
Mito and Asuna looked to each other, then to the surprised and hopeful eyes begging them to lend a hand. Clearing her throat first, Asuna smiled sheepishly. "I can read Latin-"
"But I've had more experience cause of some stupid exam years back," Giving them a small thumbs up, Mito approached the wall with Asuna. "Leave it to us,"
"Mother was so insistent on it..." Asuna bemoaned, rolling her eyes, drawing a brief chuckle from Mito's lips.
"Anything to keep parents happy, am I right?" Her smile fell, starting with the top row while Asuna worked on translating the bottom.
During this exchange, Daora's eyes continued to stare across the rooftops of Luminary, seeing people running, screaming, and rallying to the frontlines. Players with any and all ranged skills did what they could but Railaan, despite only having a single health bar, was extremely difficult to damage, and any hits that did connect resulted in minimal damage. There was a gimmick to this, and no one else had the key.
His palms felt sweaty, and his heart was starting to race as he watched the beast unleash its full power upon the city. A living storm, the perfect source of primal power that Daora had been searching for. If they defeat this boss, would he finally have what he was looking for? Artorias was still recovering from a panic attack, the likes Daora had never seen happen to the cocky swordsman. That Arawn guy threw this whole plan into motion to wipe out the frontlines while they had their guards down. All these revelations were only drawing on Daora's frustrations further.
"We got it!" Asuna and Mito spoke up, the former gesturing for the purplette to start.
"It reads... 'Ominous clouds torn apart unleashing a torrent of rain. Then, an unrelenting typhoon, connecting the heavens once again. Finally it shows its form: A hurricane made flesh'," Mito then nodded to Asuna to read.
"'A needle is sown through soul and steel. Forsake the past, break free of its reins. May our light shine upon a promised day'," Asuna concluded the final message granted by the past.
"Oh great, that's really helpful... if it wasn't so incredibly, fucking vague!!" Silent's small, irritated outburst was warranted given the lack of a straight answer, but that didn't mean there weren't some clues.
"Let's look at what we know about the past scuffle with Railaan here, the ancients up and gave their lives to sealin' this monster away, obviously, they knew someone would be crazy enough to pull a stunt to free iT," Argo broke down the details they had gathered since the start of the floor, even as the harsh winds reached up to their location and threatened to throw them around. "In known' that, they couldn't just write down some big ol hint less the fanatics caught wind and destroyed 'eM,"
"Which means they purposefully left the warning with careful wording, but then if they hid it so well, what would be the point beside added security, right?" Nagi questioned, earning a nod of agreement from the Rat.
"Oh, I think I have it!" Yuuki waved her hand to speak. "I've seen this a bunch of times in books, the thing you're after is always in the last place anyone would look, or in plain sight,"
"Then... what would that be? I'll be impressed if a tea shop was an anti-dragon weapon," Chen gave a slight quip to lightening the mood, however, it was Daora who shoved past Nagi, drawing Skullcrusher again as he stalked towards the mural.
"Isn't it obvious? It's telling us to destroy this stupid picture, that's where the weapon or magic or whatever's hidden, the very thing that could unseal the dragon!" Daora gave a brazen but extremely sound answer. One no one could properly refute.
"Well, not like staring at it any longer's going to do the town any favours," Artorias sighed, managing to stand with Silent's help. "Screw it, smash away, Numbnuts,"
"Wait!"
Pausing, Chen lowered her hand, looking worried over what Daora was about to do. "I... this is part of my home's history, what if... what if it doesn't work? Another piece of history would be lost forever, I couldn't live with tha-" Her own voice snagged in her throat, the girl's fiery eyes downcast at a horrid realization. "...I... I'm no different than Mister Wei..." Biting her cheek, Chen knew what she had to do, feeling Nagi's hand on her shoulder as her head rose to his solemn smile. She too mirrored this. "...thank you... Daora, please... destroy this mural!"
His veins bulged with his wide swing, charging Lumberjack as two streaks of silver bled into the side of the mountain, shattering the thousands of tiles into bits once more. Instead of a hidden passage laying beyond the mural, only the surface of the mountain could be seen. Almost wincing from his blunder, Daora saw that none of the pieces of the mural were disappearing like most destructible objects, instead, they seemed to fizzle into wisps of radiant sunlight.
"Woah...!" A number of them stood in awe as Daora looked around, swatting the motes of light that circulated around him and his battle ax. The wisps formed a veil over his weapon, turning its once dark, rugged appearance into a regal, scorching weapon. It crackled and burned with the light of the sun, molten in texture and even his grip felt hot the tighter he squeezed.
"Their souls... that's what it was," Nagi realized with a bright smile.
"They sacrificed themselves to seal it away, and now that same power's come back to help," Sakura agreed, finding the message touching and sombre.
"Their wrath given form, fitting for someone as mentally unstable as you, Numbnuts," Artorias snorted a laugh, seeing Daora swing around, casting embers as a result while his wolf mask's eyes burned bright orange. "How ya feelin'? Toasty?"
"Heh... I wanna fight the dragon," Daora grinned beneath his mask, though took note of the sun buff. "Huh? 'Radiance; blessed by the spirits of the past, this buff can slew a sinister heart bathed in darkness. Unable to unequip weapon nor use items, the buff weakens if the player stops moving'? What!?"
"So you need to continuously move to keep the buff charged? -look, the ax!" Asuna pointed down as the once fearsome, molten texture to Skullshatter was darkened, like molten magma that had cooled and hardened in the open air.
In hearing this, Nagi finally had a plan formulating in his mind. "Okay... Daora?" The wolf boy looked up to him, swinging his ax to try and temper it again. "Right now, you're the only one that can defeat Railaan, so focus on getting as close as possible to attack it. Everyone else... we're going to defend Daora the whole way, it's likely the boss will aggro to him alone once he's within range, so all of us need to tank everything it throws Daora's way,"
"Haahaha, that's the best plan to date! You got it, just leave that mighty beast of the sea to me!" Daora brandished his ax toward the distant battle. "No matter what, I am going to slay this dragon!"
"Hey, Lightning Flash-" Fynch, who had been watching the cliffs on the off-chance Arawn tried something, called over. "-if we're gonna need to defend, best we get boots on the ground, so to speak. Call up all yer folks; friends, allies, associates, let the whole floor know what's going on before we come barrelling through the streets, you'll want the clearest past, right?"
With a surge of confidence, everyone prepared to mobilize, alerting everyone on Floor 51 to their plan to battle this living storm. However, a hand tugged at Daora's shoulder, his attention drawn away from his enemy to the uncertain look plastered onto Mito's face. "H-here... at least take this," She reached out before he could make any complaint, unable to unequip his own weapon to do so as something cold and metallic rested against his collarbone.
Looking down, he used his free hand to hold up... a necklace? It was made of a thick, black thread with decorative beads made of white and blue gemstones. As the centerpiece, the light from his simmering ax refracted through a crystal clear gemstone cut into the shape of a dragon's head.
"It'll give you a dramatic boost to all elemental resistances, as well as ailment resistances, atop health recovery for every debuff that's affecting you, the more you accumulate, the higher the regeneration," Mito elaborated as he held the pendant between his fingers.
"Holy crap, how in the hell did you get that!? Where do I get one...?" Artorias murmured off to the side.
"It's not a drop... I made it," Mito admitted, smiling modestly as she picked at one of her bangs. "I-I've been working on creating all sorts of powerful accessories for months, even before I joined your party, I... wanted to open a shop to sell them for cheap to help players from all levels survive in this game, so they don't ever need to be afraid of dying here,"
"..." Daora silently stared at her as she squeezed Soul Fang between her hands.
"I'm not as strong as you, Daora. Or as smart as Artorias. Or kind like Nagi. I've never felt I really was of any use to Misfits for the longest time, even after you all helped me reunite and fix things little-by-little with Asuna," Mito smiled softly at them all, shaking her head with downcast eyes toward her weapon, one she earned through her own strength. "I always wondered, 'What good am I? If I died, would that even have made any difference to everyone's strength?',"
"That's why... even if I am the weakest player in Aincrad, if by creating something meaningful for others to excel with, then I know my reason for being here tomorrow isn't wasteful. That's my strength," Now, her eyes were hardened, unafraid of the storm on the horizon.
Nagi, Artorias, Argo, even Asuna and Daora. None of them ever knew this was how Mito felt. She never opened up about her deepest doubts and fears, believing she was inadequate as their ally. Despite that, she never once backed out of any situation, and in her own time, she had worked tirelessly to improve a skill none of them knew she had, all for their sakes.
"You're wrong, Mito," She glanced over to Asuna, her aura practically radiating with compassion. "You admitting to all of this proves just how kind and considerate you really are."
"Asuna..." Then, Daora held his ax in both hands, Mito eyeing him warily at what he had to say.
"...thank you, Mito," Daora's words took her by surprise at how calm and tame his tone had become, his back now to her. "I'm going to win, just you watch,"
Her ajar mouth shut, forming into a warm smile. "...And I'll be right there with you,"
"Good," Gritting his teeth, Daora stomped the ground, bending at the knees. "If it attacks me than it won't focus on any of you! Leave the killing blow to me, dammit!" Everyone grinned in some capacity, adrenaline rushing through their veins as all of them drew their weapons, ready to move and counter anything for Daora. "We can win this, the ten of us!"
"Okay!" Nagi stood to his left while Mito guarded the right. "Mito, you stick close to Daora! No matter what, don't stop moving forward!"
"Understood!" She brandished Soul Fang.
"Let's go! Try and keep up, minions!" With Skullshatter held down by his right hip, Daora sped off down the mountain trail facing Luminary under siege.
The first leg of Daora's charge brought them down the mountains to the sloped highlands behind Luminary. However, something just pricked in the backs of their minds. This feeling was amplified by the hellish roar that shook the skies with thunder. From the edge of the hurricane, bolts of lightning struck at the city streets straight towards Daora.
"Even from this distance!?" Silent gawked then tapped his heel against Zeus. "Pounce!"
Following his rider's command, the large dire wolf dove over their heads, providing Silent with the space to cast Ward, blanketing Daora temporarily from the powerful strike of lightning that splashed over the crimson barrier. Zeus landed, digging his claws in to hold back the blast that tore down the Ward around Silent's buckler, making him flinch but Daora cleared through onto the streets leading towards the pier.
"Head's up!" Fynch ran ahead of the others, swinging with Avalanche to split through another bolt of lightning while Asuna's rapier flashed through the sky, piercing falling debris from stray strikes, twirling into a land.
Straight ahead, Railaan's eyes glowered at them even from a distance, then, drew back its body. "Silent, Sakura with me!" Artorias ran to the vanguard, holding his shield high, the pair at his sides with Zeus acting as a brace to their backs when a tremendous streak of electrified sea water split across the city in a vertical flash, shredding a line through the roads and over rooftops to collide with their shields in a fountain of water, blasting them backwards over Zeus, paralyzed.
"Guys-!" Nagi paused but saw Silent wave his hand before collapsing, telling them to run.
"Everyone, down here!" Chen waved them down an alleyway, seeing Railaan charging another spray of water aimed in their direction.
Only for a powerful, violet thrust to twist through the center of the beam, expanding and blasting the pressurized attack into crescents, Yuuki's body twirling through the air to land and brandish her obsidian blade towards Railaan.
"Leave them to us, we'll cover for them!" Asuna was quick to react, Fynch helping Zeus pull Sakura and Silent away as Artorias struggled against the debuff due to his equipment's resistances.
"Alright, thank you!" Nagi called, rushing to the back of the group that already dwindled down to half their numbers.
"Wait!" Chen held up her hand seeing more lines of blue lightning run across the streets but Daora couldn't waste a second and dove out, evading one of straight rows of lightning. Mito, Argo and Nagi shot out from hiding, a riptide frothing around Nagi's frame as he spun around with Dance of the Water Dragon, slicing through each smaller lightning strike that descended from the heavens, water and static discharge crackling across NightSky.
"Renewal!" Again he arched his nimble frame to sweeping a path through the destructive storm.
"Follow me!" Chen ran up a stack of crates pressed to the side of a building up onto several balconies.
Leaping off the street in time, Nagi winced as he dove, evading the brunt of a deafening beam of water that lasered the whole street in an explosive line of water and electricity, severing his right leg, causing him to tumble against the side of the first building.
"Ack... d-don't stop-go-go!" Desperately, he waved them on, pulling out a health pot to recover.
Now over the city streets, the barrage of attacks sent forth by Railaan refused to cease. Daora never let an ounce of hesitation thwart his advance, even as his friends fell around him, he leapt from one balcony to the next, even as he came into clear view of the dragon as it shot a slanted spray of water across the buildings.
Argo pivoted and threshed her claws into the wooden beams that held up the canopy above, causing it to fall and take the brunt of the water beam while the four dove down onto the ground once more, swivelling out from cover just as a streak of bolts struck the earth. Just ahead,, tanking another stream of unstable water were a line of tanks from DDA and ALF, most blown away and paralyzed but gave Daora his boost to use the few standing as slopes to vault over another streak of water onto a low-hanging roof.
"Just head straight, you can do this!" Chen called down, unable to keep up with the blazing warrior, cupping her hands together. "Please, finish what we couldn't,"
His feet crushed the tiles below, spotting a direct line of buildings towards Railaan, but now, he had no place to hide nor evade any oncoming attacks as the full might of the Great Wave loomed. With a roar of thunder, the dragon called down two rows of lightning either side of him as it sprayed down the middle. Mito and Argo dodged either side, but Daora kept his eyes forward, engulfed by the stream of water with an electrifying blast to follow.
"Daora!" The girls called out, only as the mist cleared, his scorching ax remained, his forward momentum hadn't wavered as the crystal necklace glistened blue and yellow. He had been afflicted with two debuffs but neither paralyzed nor dampened him. A furious roar escaped Railaan as it threshed its head to whip a crescent of volatile water to shave off the rooftops.
The beam sliced through like a blade only for it to split against the buckler attached to Artorias's forearm, Zeus growling at he and its temporary rider were left with a large gash each, tumbling across the rooftop. "Get him, Numbnuts!/Arf!"
Spurred on with a wordless roar to challenge the titanic dragon, Daora could only watch as it spat several lines of dark water into the air around it, seeing the streams bend and warp like rivers, forming into vague apparitions of Railaan. The raging torrent of dragons quickly converged on Daora, threatening to tear him limb from limb.
Just then, a rushing wave of water sailed overhead. It curled into a vicious, deep blue dragon of its own. "Tenryū No Mai!" Nagi dove in from behind, pressing his toes to the rooftop, unleashing a flurry of wide slashes through the various aquatic serpents, creating ultramarine halos with his arching streaks. One wide slant brought down the last two serpents, followed by a vertical dive from the air to the ground, leaving a massive moon-shaped blade of water through the air, obliterating a wave of lightning, Daora bounding overhead, running towards the stage facing Railaan.
In another hellish roar, a dozen more water serpents, two lines of lightning forming into a cross to pincer Daora, and its cheeks swelled with a surge of black water once more. It was about to unleash every attack in its arsenal. Or it would have, only for a hail of dark violet arrows to puncture the first wave of aquatic wyrms, shredding them from afar.
Then, a baby-blue arrow in the form of a silver spearhead whizzed by Daora's right shoulder. Daora's eyes glancing at Sachi who crossed blades with Kirito, the two absorbing the brunt of the lightning strikes, their bodies electrified, their sword skill having acted as lightning rods for the blast.
Railaan opened its jaws to spray the whole dock in volatile water had a barrage of arrows and kunai tipped with explosive powder not struck its eyes at precisely the right moment. Shirayuki and Kizmel directing their allies to repeat the process, retreating when Railaan slammed its body against the wall, crushing cannons and ballista as it snapped its jaws at the groups, using its body to toss them into the water.
Finally, Daora reached the stage, seeing the glaring red eyes turn and barrel towards him, Railaan opening its jaws to command its water serpents to lunge from the air in an attempt to bury the wolf boy on stage. In his vision, the fluttering white cape shielded him, the purple glare erupting over Soul Fang. Gripped tightly, Mito spun her scythe around into a blinding halo of metal and twilight.
The rending saw of Morana was pulled from left to right, shredding the aquatic wyrms in a vicious blender of light. Mito took a kneel, and Daora's feet dug against her back, seeing him dive head first towards the massive sea drake. "Defeat him!"
"Do it, Daora!" Kirito and Sachi screamed from the docks.
"You can make it!" Kizmel and Shirayuki hollered.
Everyone across the entirety of Luminary called out to the only man capable of slaying this dragon, this embodiment of destruction. By now, Daora's body was engulfed in golden embers, Skullshatter practically made from the crust of the sun itself, burning away the darkness the clouds held over the shores. Radiance poured out across his whole body, stretching his ax overhead in both hands.
"Ryuji, I know it can be disheartening sometimes," A woman with long raven hair embraced her son from behind, speaking gently to him as he sat before a computer screen, tears dripping from his chin. "I know my support won't always feel like enough, I'm your mother, so I will always be there for you. But I know you'll be great with whatever you use your talents for. You're strong, smart, and far more capable than you know,"
"I am the Lord of... no, the Former Lord of Wolves!" Daora growled, bearing down on the head of Railaan with unbridled hatred. "Become my stepping stone towards becoming the strongest player in this world! Kushala Daora, THE LORD OF DRAGONS!" If only for a split second, perhaps unheard by anyone. Daora's raw conviction laid bear frightened the Great Wave. "Dragon Slaying-Crushing Wave!"
"And one day, you'll find people who will see you for you too, no matter how many flaws you have, I promise,"
His boots dug against Railaan's snout, keeping its curved teeth from plunging through his body as he brought down the full wrath of the spirits atop its head like a gong. The first initial impact released a scorching wave of light, digging deep into its scalp, dealing a massive amount of damage to its health where even the combined might of cannon fire only whittled it down by five percent at most. Railaan threw its head back, climbing higher and higher into the raging storm above.
Daora held strong, bending his body over Skullshatter, planting one foot while the other dangled ahead, his muscles and bones threatening to pull themselves apart while he continuously screeched out his vocal chords, his ax inching out from the wound gradually. His fingers pressed harder to the shaft of Skullshatter, finally retrieving the weapon as that tension was thrown into Daora's velocity, driving the head of the ax straight through the same wound as before, obliterating a large number of scales as the whole head was engulfed in light, drowning out its painful roars, finally tossing Daora off its head to the raging waters below.
That final attack drove the preverbal nail through Railaan, wiping out the last stretch of its health gauge like it never existed. The clouds let out a final crackle of lightning and roar of thunder, signalling the defeat of its conductor. Railaan's body stiffened within the air and sea, turning a bright shade of blue before exploding into a cascade of polygons like all other bosses before it. The storm clouds gradually dissipating in the seaside breeze, revealing the starry sky and aroura that raced across the night sky.
Streams of green, purple, and yellow brought with it not only a wave of peace and relief, but an outcry of cheers like never before. Citizens and players alike rejoiced at the defeat of the event boss, those that helped to ensure its defeat even more so. However, Mito had yet to smile, running over across the outermost wall walk beyond the ruined docks in search of a green cursor that she definitely witnessed plummeting towards the ocean. Daora's health was in the red, and she was worried something beneath the dark depths might finish him off.
"Daora, Daora!?" She yelled, looking around franticly for a sign of life.
"Ugh..." Her head spun around, seeing the wet hand dig into the edge, trembling.
Instantly, Mito ran over to grab his arm and pull him to safety. His mask had been lost, and only the shaft of Skullshatter remained, burnt at the point the head had broken off. Mito stumbled onto her backside, Daora laying face first on the wall as he tossed the useless staff of his weapon away.
"Daora...?" She asked, seeing him sit upright surprisingly.
His lips were stretched into a toothy smile, eyes brimming with untold levels of excitement. "Ahahahaa! I did it! I won, hahahahaa!"
Running across the wall walk, the pair turned their heads to see almost all their friends rushing to check on the pair who were laughing, Daora's contagious reaction peeling away Mito's worries. The reaction of the two gave them no reason to ask, it was crystal clear they were more than safe now that the threat had sunken beneath the calming waves.
"Daora..." Nagi breathed a sigh of relief. "You were amazing out there! I've never seen you move so quickly or strike with so much power before!"
"Hmph, well obviously!" Standing tall with his arms crossed over his chest, his face practically brimming with pride. "I'm the Lord of Dragons, and I had my fearsome minions too! Good work!"
"Modest 'till the end..." Artorias rolled his eyes light-heartedly, ruffling Zeus's head. "Go on back to your owner before the Rat has an aneurism,"
With a delighted yip, Zeus sped off across the wall. "Sure was close, if you hadn't figured out the mechanic for the event, we might've suffered a loss more severe than any floor previously," Kirito pointed out, looking a little perturbed by the revelation.
"I'll say, I'm just happy everything's worked out... we didn't lose anyone, right?" Sachi eyed Argo who held up two peace signs, now shuffling out from behind Nagi with the dire wolf gone.
"Ya can thank Wolf Boy here for that, drew the boss' gaze the whole time once that buff was activE," Argo explained, hands on her hips. "If it hadn't been for the event steps, we might've missed this entirelY,"
"We might've won but who knows if this safe haven would still be viable in the future?" Nagi added, while it was a troubling thought, it was all settled and that put his thoughts at ease. "I hope Chen and the other citizens can rebuild. There might be new side-quests to help with repairs, at least, none of the damages seemed to have been rolled back after Railaan was defeated,"
"No rest for the wicked, eh Boss?" Artorias snorted lightly.
"Nope," Chuckling, Nagi eyed Daora. "Well, you got exactly what you were aiming for, right Daora? Even the people we passed were talking about how you slew the boss with Mito's watchful eye,"
"Really!?" Eager to see, Daora held himself back, rubbing his chin. "Hrm... I need to talk to the master blacksmith first, I want to finally have SAO's greatest armour in history!"
"Do you meant to tell me his reasons were to aquire the dragon's materials for a suit of armour?" Behind them, Kizmel was communing with Shirayuki, staring at the unmasked ravenette.
The woman in black and white gave a hearty laugh, "Yes, he is a peculiar one but his spirit is by far the fieriest of any warrior I have met! Tonight, that very ferocity has never burned so brightly,"
Kizmel smiled, nodding with a hand to her hip. "Yes, I can certainly see this now with my own eyes,"
"AlrighT!" Clapping her hands high to draw all eyes and ears down to her petite form, Argo wore a firm frown. "We can all pat ourselves on the back later, gotta scope the city, get a sit-reP,"
"You heard her, let's divide and conquer, then begin to look into the labyrinth in the morning, after that, we'll all gather at nightfall for the final night of the festival, sound good?" Nagi surmised, seeing no one shake their heads in disagreement. "Then make it happen!"
"RIGHT!"
Making their way back into the port where the rest of their friends were present, the celebrations for triumphing over Railaan only seemed to amplify, running from the main stairway towards them, nearly skipping over three times at a time was Chen. She stumbled but caught her feet and immediately grappled the puzzled Daora in a tight hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! That was amazing-all of you!" She leapt back with the biggest smile on her face. "You... you slew Railaan-the Great Wave of all creatures! I... I can't believe it!"
"Hmph, it was easy-peasy!" Daora held his fist upright. "Those ghosts gave me the perfect weapon, and now, I can forge a new armour set out of the body of this once 'Great Wave' and conquer every floor above us!"
Meanwhile, Yuuki leaned her head to one side to murmur to her cousin. "He does know he'll be left out of this floor's labyrinth boss cause he needs new gear, right?"
"Let's not spoil his moment, he's earned it," Nagi hushed back to her, the purplette nodding as she zipped her lips.
Calming down, Chen was a little misty-eyed as she dried them with her sleeve. "I mean it, all of you... my ancestors gave up their lives to seal Railaan away. I guess... they knew they couldn't defeat it in their time, hoping that someone in the future could finish the job when the time came."
"Must be why all them shards were scattered around, hopin' to find the best choicE," Argo assumed but Chen shook her head.
"Don't you see?" Chen gestured to all the players and NPCs, not an ounce of fear or dread to be seen. "People from all walks of life. Adventurers, craftsmen, performers, shinobi, elves-this is that childish, optimistic future they gave their lives for. Those shards responded to that, not just to find the one that could wield their souls as a weapon, but to find people willing to rally behind that person. That's how we're standing here,"
Taking her words to heart, it was a simple gesture but the weight it carried was real as it was proven tonight, everyone pulled together at the last second to defend Daora, granting him the opportunity to bring the boss down, something no one man could do alone. With the warm glow of the city behind Chen and the bustling crowds working to mend the buildings and roads, she gave them a warm smile, matching her orange gaze brilliantly as she put her hands behind her back.
"As the heiress of the Xiaolong family of Luminary, please accept our eternal gratitude, adventurers, and Slayer of the Great Wave,"
"That's 'Lord of Dragons' now," Daora corrected in a not-so-modest way, earning a snicker from the girl as she winked, the rest collectively sighing.
"Thank you, Mister Daora, Lord of Dragons," With this, all of them levelled up suddenly, earning a large boon of EXP and Col, alongside materials dropped by Railaan, same for every other player they could see.
In Daora's reward menu, the Last Attack Bonus appeared, and he clicked to accept the final piece to a very long and arduous puzzle with a satisfied smile.
|Last Attack Bonus: (Material) Aquamarine Dragonheart|
The Dragonheart itself glows an extreme deep blue, if one listened closely, they could hear the seas of the world, just touching the Dragonheart feels as though a great maelstrom is within the palm of your hand.
"It will take us some time, but by tomorrow night, the festival is back on, so please rest if you'd like, or help out, either way you've earned it!" Chen thanked, concluding the community event and saving the safe haven.
"Guess there's more side-quests dotted around..." Kirito pursed his lips at the thought.
"You never rest, do you?" Sachi smirked a little, making him flinch with hestitance. "Come on then, it'll feel nice to help around,"
"O-oh, uh, sure let's go," Surprised by Sachi's willingness, Kirito looked to Asuna. "You tagging along?"
"Hm? Are you sure?" She spared Sachi a glance, the ravenette giving an encouraging nod. "I'd be happy to, partner,"
"Good to hear," Kirito smiled, waving curtly to Argo. "I'll send you the deets later, Argo,"
"Always countin' on yer services, Kii-bou, A-ChaN~" The blonde happily waved on their merry way, now standing by her shinobi. "So then, ready to knuckle down, HerO?"
"Ready as you are, Argo," Sharing her knowing smile, the two turned to the others. "Rest up or help out, it's your call guys!"
"See, this is why you're far better at leading than Big Red or Sir Knight Wannabe, I'm allowed to breathe," Artorias yawned, looking around. "Agil mentioned a bar nearby..."
"You're too young to be drinking," Mito warned the brunette who huffed and kept walking.
"What are you, my sister? Who cares if I get drunk in a game!?" Throwing his hands up. "I tanked a damn lightning bolt to the face, I've earned that drink, besides, one's not gonna kill me, now who's with me!?"
"...hrm, maybe a toast would be fitting, no?" Kizmel suggested to Shirayuki, the shinobi chuckling boldly.
"Yes, a time of triumph is worthy of a toast!" Wrapping her arms around Argo and Nagi's necks, she grinned ear-to-ear. "Come my friends, let us honour the valiant efforts tonight, and especially in favour of Daora's selfless actions!"
"Well... maybe just one drink like Artorias said," Nagi pinched his fingers close together, not seeing anything wrong with that.
"Sure could go for one myselF," Argo shrugged.
"Head for a place called Starside, just left of the bridge to the commercial district, according to my dad they've got the best selection in town," Chen advised with a playful wink, now walking away to continue her duties.
While everyone walked, ready to give a toast, Kizmel even dragging Kirito, Asuna, and Sachi back to join them. Fynch stood off to the side, looked troubled for once given his often positive mood, one Nagi walked over to check on. Seeing his leader approach, Fynch tired to appear fine to save face but chuckled weakly instead.
"Ah, sorry 'bout my bad intel, I swore I had his movements nailed, guy's slippery, more than I thought," What Arawn said before still bothered Fynch. "Guess the old proverb 'bitten once, shame on him, bitten twice, on me' really rang true, huh?"
"You did more than anyone else. You and Argo risk your lives to try and weed out orange guilds, even Laughing Coffin, I couldn't ask any more of either of you, Fynch," Patting his shoulder, Nagi was genuinely glad no one was killed. "Thank you for saving Artorias, even if he's too embarrassed to say it directly,"
"Yeah, I get it, tough guy's all shy about it, ain't a problem with me, y'know that," Fynch dismissed lightly, wearing a more relaxed smile again. "I'll keep my ear to the floor, Arawn's out there, plottin' and I'll dig it up every chance I get, sure can't face him head on but nothin' I can't run from,"
"Good to hear," Satisfied, Nagi gestured for him to follow. "Let's go, you deserve the chance to let your guard down,"
"Haa... yes sir, right behind you," Saluting, Fynch grabbed his trick weapon and slung it on his back.
Standing at the back of the group, Daora dug through his inventory, finally finding a replacement wolf head to last until he got Lizbeth to craft him his new gear. Before hiding his face however, Mito tugged at his silver-tinged bracer, pulling him back slightly to look at her. "Huh? What?"
No one but Daora could see Mito's expression, her crimson eyes staring into his pale green gaze. Her lips parted slightly though nothing came out at first, a faint redness to her cheeks. Moving closer, Daora's guard was down, and no weapon nor skill could keep him from being completely floored. Mito leaned forward, his lips lightly pressed to his cheek for a quick, gentle kiss, moving back with a shy expression.
"...you're pretty cool back there, idiot," Then, she quickly moved along before anyone noticed, hopping up the steps while Daora stood facing the docks, speechless.
"And one day, you'll find people who will see you for you too, no matter how many flaws you have, I promise,"
Daora stared at the mask in his hands, seeing the narrow eyes staring back at him. Finally turning around, his eyes locked to Mito's back as her cape fluttered behind her, seeing her rosy cheeks and timid smile. The mask soon covered his own smile, his chest hotter than any flame as he chased after the people who waited for him.
To Be Continued...
Next Arc - Dance of Violet Crimson
Tension has started to accumulate between Artorias and Yuuki, the former growing increasingly suspicious of the girl's behaviour towards him as of late. And the latter's fear of him growing closer to her, and ultimately, her fate. But the world of SAO stops for no one, as a dire choice must be made...
And we conclude the festival arc, which totally wasn't stressful whatsoever! I did what I could to really show off almost every character we've seen in Misfits, some extra cameos too. As for Daora's new dragon attire, we'll be seeing that come the start of the next arc in full force, only the best entry for the Dragon Lord, even revealed his actual name.
There was a little bit of set-up for the arc ahead, which I cannot wait to get started, so, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Misfits!
069 - Tension
Buried into a dungeon close to the labyrinth in search of a lead to the floor boss' weakness, not everyone within the team is working as fluidly as usual...