|Sword Art Online, Floor 65, Black Tip Range|
|Apr. 10th 18:09|
The sounds of thunder and sword skills echoed across the mountainside under a near-pitch black sky. Another shatter of light was followed by Mito, Daora, and Philia all tumbling across the plateau in a heap, their health decreasing by a few more percentages. Shaking off the blow, Mito pushed herself upright with Soul Fang, glaring anxiously up at heavy footsteps, and the body that towered above them all. Nuckelavee walked through the dissipating sparks, its long, gangly arms twitching across the ground before its human half let out another ear-splitting shriek, one that forced them to cover their ears against.
Suddenly, it lurched forward, twisting its head in spasms, but both eyes were locked to the players set before it. Nuckelavee lashed out with one of its arms, extending it across the area toward Mito who leapt and rolled to avoid the striking limb, watching it retract as the other sprung for Daora, who stood his ground and swung hard using Double Cleave, causing it to flinch.
Philia snuck around, diving forward with Sword Breaker, weaving an emerald line between its equine legs, Gravity Magnum clipping the underside of its belly with a vertical strike and a final, horizontal sweep of the legs. Nuckelavee roared as Philia's eyes widened, barely blocking the kick from the back legs that sent her flying into a basalt column.
"Philia!" Mito called to, sweeping Soul Fang using Rend to swat it away, leaping forward to evade the left arm whilst the horse pivoted to track Daora who lunged for it. Both arms twisted and shot toward him instead, catching his ax with its long, bony claws, rooting Daora in place, wrestling for Destroyer.
"I'm good," The girl groaned, shaking her head, looking to see Nuckelavee struggling for the weapon.
"Hah... you think you can overpower me!? Here, hold it then, let it be an honour!" Releasing Destroyer caused the elongated arms to snap back, smacking Nuckelavee in the face when its head twisted sharply, screaming when Daora leapt for its horns, yanking them back as the spine bent backward sharply at his pulling. "Hahahaha! In exchange, I'll TAKE YOUR HORSE!"
"That idiot..." Shaking her head, Mito and Philia charged to support him, his bull-riding causing the humanoid half to aggro only to him, the horse bucking and growling at the unwanted rider.
Striking together, Mito swept the head of the horse with two parallel verticals, rolling under its bite to sweep the legs with the last two horizontal slashes from Harvest, causing the Nuckelavee to buckle when the horse's eyes widened, only for one to be gouged out with a striking, topaz-tinted dagger. Armour Pierce spewing red polygons when Philia grunted, twisting and tearing her weapon free.
Angered, the humanoid attempted to scream, throwing the girls off when Daora's scarlet fingers clamped its jaws shut, utilizing Barbarous to pummel the top of its head with constant elbows and knuckles to the jaw. "I'm going to Bust. Your. Face. UP!" Grabbing it by the horns, Daora swung himself to the ground, nearly toppling the Nuckelavee before twisting and flinging it by the humanoid into the nearest batch of columns, the rock formation crumbling atop the beast, dealing significant damage atop their assault as both bodies whined and kicked free of the basalt.
One hand shot out of the dust cloud, sweeping Daora off his feet when he retrieved his ax, burying him through his own column, taking nearly a quarter of his HP in the process. Mito grabbed Philia to duck, another arm sweeping overhead when it retracted to slam the ground, forcing Nuckelavee back to its feet, snarling at the loss of nearly half its first HP gauge.
Biting the top of a health pot, Mito reached for her reserve buff potions from Artorias, right now, they needed every advantage they had, otherwise, no one was making it home tonight, and more players would be culled by this hidden boss. She wouldn't run, and she doubted she'd convince them to either.
|Apr. 10th 18:21|
The commotion of Mito's battle couldn't be heard, Lycan led his party through the network of caves running through the mountain, keeping a hand on his rapier. Any monsters they encountered seemed to have fled, likely the result of that night-exclusive monster that roamed the floor, meaning, it might've been nearby, something he'd want to avoid fighting, if at all possible. Only an idiot would try to defeat something that took down Frontrunners.
"Lycan, sure he went through here? Place is like the labyrinth." One of his members, A spear user by the name of Veld, commented as they wandered into a more spacious cavern, many places to hide and get stuck between clusters of stalagmites.
"Our gracious guild leader gave me his location, he was heading up the mountain path, we find him, we find the wendigo," And those greenhorns they met at the ruins. If anything, stealing the drop from them would be a sinch, if they fought, well... a lot can happen in these caves. So Lycan wasn't worried, but that look the purple-haired girl wore was exciting, she must think highly of herself, same for the one in the blue cloak.
That's when he stopped just short of a small cliff edge to the rest of the cavern, barely a two meter drop, but Lycan gave pause, turning to his right the second he saw a gleam of silver shoot by the greatsword user of their team, Geld. It was a tinged knife, buried just shy of his foot, causing him to involuntarily step back.
"Wait-" Lycan said too late when his foot pressed to what all of them had missed on their way, a single, disk-shaped device buried partially in the dirt.
Geld's foot step off the shock trap, ensnaring him as his body convulsed and fell over in a heap. The others were quick to fan out, their Trap Detection skills causing their faces to lose colour, dozens, if not hundreds were buried around them, some narrowly missing them. How did they not trigger one on their way in?
"'How did we not trigger any on the way in?', that about right?" Lycan's eyes narrowed a little, turned to face forward and up slightly, there, sat on a ridge of a stalactite, was Lloyd, wearing the biggest, shit-eating grin in Aincrad. "I'm a master of being annoying, didn't you know? No, wait, you did, that's why you're here, following me around. You know, that's considered stalking, and even in a game, that's still fairly creepy, I dunno, you guys have quite the rep, wouldn't want to be known as a batch of stalkers, am I right?"
A small laugh escaped Lycan, unimpressed by the theatrics. "My, you continue to run your mouth so brazenly, I'll admit, I'm impressed you figured out we've been tailing you this whole time."
"Well, your head's so inflated by your ego, its kinda hard to miss," Lloyd replied, flipping one leg over the other. "Say, I know you've probably got this whole grand, villain monologue planned for me, probably practiced in front of the mirror for it too, but let's cut to the part you expertly disarm all the traps I've set, yeah?"
In a mere flick of their hands, all of them threw knives and other throwing weapons at the surrounding area, setting off almost every shock trap laid out carefully. The sparks crackled in the air, dispersing in a pathetic gasp of electricity, the danger had been thwarted, leaving only Lycan to lightly applaud Lloyd.
"You really don't learn how much trouble that mouth of yours gets you into, do you? But it has awarded you victories in the past, I'm sure, but petty insults are all bark. Tell me, do you plan to fight all of us yourself? Or have you tricked the rest into aiding in your little coup? I doubt it, but you'll scrounge for any scraps you can, did rubbing shoulders with the best, usurping the best make you believe you're stronger?"
"...you're goddamn right about that!" His reply had Lycan's smile fade, meeting the manic grin plastered on Lloyd's face, his eyes matching that of a crazed man. "Because of them, I've learned more in a few hours than I ever had watching your wrinkly ass! What? You thought I'd disagree? Why would I, when we're both the same, I'm just not afraid to admit I had a lot of help along the way, but you!?" Pointing down at him from atop his stone throne, Lloyd, for once, had it all planned out. "You're afraid of a nobody like me, now that's sad!"
Lycan said nothing, snapping his fingers. His party unleashed a barrage of throwing knives tinged with all sorts of debuffs, one working on disarming the trap on Geld. The throwing objects buried and cracked the rock formation, causing it to dislodge and crumble towards the cavern floor, but atop it, Lloyd came lunging through the plume, fists burying a vibrant, cerulean flame.
Drawing his rapier, Lycan drew Folium, the arching slash connecting to the reinforced knuckle that let out a sonic boom, sending Lycan flying across the cave. Arching on a heel, Lloyd flicked several smoke and flash bombs at his feet, blindsiding the rest, their sword skills cutting through smoke and air instead, giving him ample time to 'switch' and engage Lycan alone.
Another heave of sword swings dispelled the air, only for a new shock trap to slide at Veld's feet this time the moment he stepped forward, catching him off guard when it dropped him like a sack of bricks. The rest turned to the clusters of stalagmites to their left, right as a silver sword gleaming a moonlight blue, crashing through the formation, spraying them with the debris.
"Ah, hate to break this to you folks, but this ain't my first rodeo, get me?" Fynch smirked, keeping his sword brandished, just as his cursor flickered orange, he didn't mind, in a strange way, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He spent all this time, keeping to avoid turning orange when he was out investigating dangerous groups, some pushing him to a fight, he was afraid to be the first to strike, branding him as he once was.
But now? It made things far easier, giving his weapon a twirl. "I got people relying on me too. So, what'll it be?" Fynch gestured, never letting his gaze leave the group of three.
"Go to hell, brat!" Another longsword user, Ignis, struck with Rage Spike, clipping Fynch who swiveled and swung with Horizontal Arc, keeping Geld from advancing, the man forced to aid Veld from his own trap.
Keeping light on his feet, Fynch performed a pirouette, feet pressed against a boulder to dive over Ignis who struck the boulder with a mere sword swing, a skill drawing it around in a vicious assault of slashes, each weaving arcs through the air in a haze of dark blue, Deadly Sins, but Fynch kept his distance, waiting, timing each movement where he could. One, two, slash. One, two, slash. Repeating...
"You and Lloyd both couldn't hold a candle to us! We're on par with the Frontrunners!" Ignis yelled, his expression obscured by a helmet of red scales, but it was clear what kind of face he pulled, going straight into another sword skill, taking the stance for Vertical Square, so Fynch advanced, moving past the first vertical swing, now right up in the teen's personal space. "H-hey-!"
"You leave yourself open," Fynch thrust his left hand forward, burying a knife in the boy's stomach, inflicting high level paralysis that dropped him, alongside his sword inches from the raven-greenette's shoulder. "Plus, you keep fighting the skill motion system, you're getting there, but too much pressure throws your movements into a delay, nasty for a fight, I bet."
Throwing himself onto his back, a spear grazed his chest, rolling to evade the thrusts puncturing the earth until Fynch rolled up against a batch of stalagmites, scrambling to squeeze through, feeling a few hairs clip from his head, ducking under a wide, blood-red streak that shaved off several of the rocky spikes.
"Aw, what's wrong, is the PKer scared!?" It was Veld, and he sounded as well-tempered as a raging bull. Shimmying through, Fynch reached the other side where Geld swung his greatsword, cleaving Fynch's side, tossing the young man atop a boulder as he tumbled off it, now faced with both men. Geld was built like a bull, and Veld was the opposite, the names were really going to throw Fynch off as Lloyd warned. "Not gonna run?"
"No need," Fynch smirked, sheaving his weapon, hearing it lock in place. Taking the bait, Veld charged with Fatal Thrust bleeding dark yellow, right into a downward cleave of Avalanche from over Fynch's shoulder, cutting the man's right hand clean off his wrist, almost losing his weapon if he wasn't left-handed.
"Ah, you-you little bastard! You cut off my hand! You son of a fu-!" Before any other profanities could be spewed, Fynch struck his exposed neck with a knife, he too dropped at Geld's feet, the remaining player unimpressed.
"Moron," Geld grunted, shoving him back to engage Fynch, his face stoic, he looked straight at Fynch, he was taking things seriously. "You can't possibly expect Lloyd to win, can you?"
"Dunno, haven't seen him lose yet though, what about you?" Fynch inquired, squaring off with Geld.
"Fair enough." Geld replied, blade tinged almost black and white, closing the distance using Lightning, the same movements copied with an electric purple from Fynch, colliding in the middle.
Across the cavern, along a incline that wrapped around the circumference of the cave, flashed of gold burned against silver fists, each striking hard and fast in a desperate back-and-forth. With a flick of his wrist, Lycan shot the rapier toward Lloyd's shoulder, which he instinctively shifts away from, avoiding the tip by inches, but kept on the defence for the time being, against Lycan, one wrong move would end in his death.
Lycan lunged again, blade cast rose for Triangular, aimed for the midsection. But Lloyd was ready, sidestepping with a twist of his hips, throwing a front kick for the waist, Water Moon erupting with teal light. The skill struck home, forcing distance between them, Lycan grunting from the blow.
"Is this the best you can do? I expected more from the man that's clawed out of every unwinnable situation until now, or was that merely based on luck?" The cold tone of voice was still very condescending, but Lloyd could see it, that kick left a crack in Lycan's perfect image, he wasn't expecting this resistance. Little bits at a time to wear him down, in a way, Lycan was like any other monster. "It's honestly sad to watch you flail around."
He smirked a little, lunging in a flurry of thrusts, Crucifixion, each of the six stabs slicing across the edges of Lloyd's body, eating away at his HP, so he swung a kick to parry the blade on the last thrust, performing a gold Haganeri, embroiling him with bolstered defence, then crimson Kyodo for increased attack. A finally, a bright blue Sokudo for speed. Just in time to, dipping his head back, the tip of the rapier cutting a shallow gash through his collarbone, performing a backflip to bounce off his toes.
Going for another Water Moon, Lycan retreated his blade in time to hop back, keeping his guard risen, only feeling the wind kicked up by the leg. More commotion could be heard below, stone crumbling, pulverized by the ensuing battle beyond their vision, but Fynch's health was falling into the yellow now, but Lloyd didn't stare for long, crossing his arms to perform the basic Martial Arts defensive skill, Tate, absorbing the worst of a follow-up chain of thrusts from that accursed rapier.
"Your buddies aren't doing so hot, guess all that bravado means squat against an actual orange player," Lloyd knew Fynch likely wouldn't find it comfortable being called that, but anything to make Lycan slip further, which he started to. "I might not be all-knowing, but I think I know when to make good calls."
"Yet you continue to meddle where you don't belong!" Lycan grunted, avoiding a right jab by stepping back, only to realize it was a feint, allowing Lloyd the chance to close the gap with explosive speed, aiming to abuse the close quarters. Lycan caught this, flicking his rapier in bronze, threshing in a quick, circular motion, Parallel Sting jabbing the silverette in the chest, yet, he effortlessly fell and slid under the rapier, performing a sudden backflip kick, Crescent Moon throwing both backward, one with a glowing patch under his jaw.
"Coming from you, that's insulting," Lloyd remarked, brushing a fist across his wounded cheek, eyes burning in the gloom of the cave. "Hinata, Rex, Frey, Romulus. Are you proud of yourself? You're not some celebrity, you're a murderer, indirect or otherwise," Llyod's voice was knitted with venom, a glow illuminating their side of the cavern in hellfire. "And I'm going to put you down."
"I've had it with your constant back-chatter, your unbearable voice, and that obnoxious attitude of yours, Lloyd!" Finally, Lycan snapped. Gone was that stupid grin to swoon most girls. That confidence dipped in a miasma of anger and spite. Lycan was no hunter, with what he's done, Lloyd didn't even consider him human anymore, there wasn't an ounce of remorse to be seen, but there was fear, of who or what, Lloyd didn't know, and he didn't care.
The pair stared each other down, Lycan making the first move. "We didn't need any of you." Lycan growled, delivering a series of quick slashes, each striking against Lloyd's arms, knocking him back a short distance, Lycan going for a plunging strike into Oblique, forcing Lloyd toward the edge of the walkway. But after a quick adjustment, the whitette tightened up his fists in magenta, rushing him.
Lycan swung wide, but Lloyd pulled his head back, weaving under a follow-up slant, feeling it sail overhead, winding up an uppercut to Lycan's chest, throwing him skyward for a secondary spike to the chest, and a sharp kick to the abdomen, sending the man tumbling across the rocky ground. The three-hit combo, Break Beat Bark.
Landing fast, his buffs still applied, Lloyd closed in fast, side-stepping another Linear, burying it under his foot with Uchikesu, grabbing Lycan's arm to raise and slam a fist into the man's side and back, pulling him forward into a knee and rapid right hook to the nose, hearing him cry out in discomfort, the pain inhibitor didn't block everything after all.
Stumbling back, Lycan unleashing another series of rampant thrusts with Quadruple Pain, each streaking and marring Lloyd's arms, his defensive skill unable to block all the punishment, nearly thrown onto his back when he countered with Peekaboo, firing several sharp, blurred emerald fists against the shiny rapier, nearly knocking the wind from Lycan's sails.
He steps in, feinting with a low kick and immediately followed with a palm strike aimed at Lycan's chest. He deflects the blow with his forearm, but Lloyd kept advancing, mixing strikes with careful steps, weaving under and around Lycan and his frantic sword skills that sent contrails soaring through the air around them, keeping just in the man's blind spots.
Diving up like a viper, Lloyd cracks him across the cheekbone, pivoting on a heel to kick his side, firing off several more kicks both to Lycan's arms and chest, but a final, Luna Arc aimed for the head was caught by the length of the rapier, parrying and throwing the whitette backward, nearly over the lip of the walkway, both marked with multiple, glowing wounds and abrasions.
"You're in the red now... so... still think you're the one walking away?" Lycan panted a little, throwing a pick to knock the healing crystal from Lloyd's hand, sending it clattering to the cavern floor below. "No, I'm going to put you in the ground. Ever since you came crawling out of whatever pit you came from, you've been a thorn I just can't wait be rid of. No one will thank you, no one ever needed nor wanted you here! What? You think you're a hero, huh!?" He smiled, almost sadistically. "Think you're fast enough to save them, like Hinata?"
That name threw Lloyd off, his fists coming undone with a slight tremble, earning a chuckle from Lycan who advanced. "Me neither."
Rushing him, Lloyd manages to dodge the fist swing, rolling away from the second, but Lycan was quick to act, striking twice with a pair of kicks, Lloyd avoided another slash, then two more thrusts from Parallel Sting. Then, Lycan drew his rapier down diagonally, forcing his opponent back only to ram him with his whole body, knocking Lloyd to the ground, he quickly recovers, huffing slightly.
"Once I'm done here, I'll deal with that other orange player of yours," Lycan angrily struck at the ground, skimming Lloyd's feet, increasing the amount of light cuts across the brawler's body, himself still keeping on the defence. "Then I'll let the wendigo tear the rest of your friends apart!" Another flourish of pink followed his Diagonal Sting, digging into Lloyd's right shoulder and across his left forearm. "And make it that no one will ever remember they existed, like you!"
Nothing, not even a quip, which only seemed to piss Lycan off more, drawing his rapier down hard, smashing through Tate, watching it shatter like glass around Lloyd who stumbled back, eyes wide when a brilliant radiance of light overtook that gleaming rapier. So, he stood firm to right himself, narrowing his dry eyes. "God, you talk too much. So lemme give you one last bit of advice, since I'm such a nice guy..." Steeling himself, Lloyd closed the gap, just seconds from Over Radiation activating.
Thrusting his right hand down, Lloyd grit his teeth and forced his entire hand down the length of the rapier, cutting off the powerful, burning flow of energy to the skill, pinning the weapon between his fingers, his other hand swiping toward Lycan's face. "You'll lose, because you're not as stupid as me!"
Slapping his hand against the smug murderer's face, Lloyd slammed the man's head against the closest wall, prying his prized rapier from his fingers to fling off his hand, watching it sail across the cavern, and out of sight.
"No!" Throwing Lloyd aside, Lycan tried to see where it landed, but he lost sight of it in the gloomy depths, turning sharply to confront Lloyd who was one step ahead.
"So why don't you BITE ME!" The full weight of his body soared through his arm to his fist, feeling skin and muscle crease, lifting Lycan off his feet to send colliding into a column of stone off the edge of the natural walkway, burying him deep enough to not fall to the cavern floor immediately. Only leaving the once high and might hunter stunned to silence, unable to mutter a word from the shock.
Stumbling back from the edge, Lloyd was breathless, having put all this breath into that scream, finally, the adrenaline and shock left his system, taking stock of the situation, or lack thereof. Or until a familiar, rose-pink crystal was held out by an equally recognizable hand. Looking left, Lloyd offered a weak grin to Fynch, himself still covered head-to-toe in large, glowing cuts and gashes.
"Had fun?" Lloyd asked.
"More or less, am I right?" That got a light chuckle from Lloyd who took the offered crystal in thanks.
"Heal," The crystal shattered, bringing his health back to full, the battle wounds magically healed in the blink of an eye, same for Fynch who procured his own. "Did you get all that, by the way?"
"Every word, just as planned," Fynch pulled out a distinct, diamond-shaped crystal, a Message Recording Crystal. "If this ain't proof of what's happened, dunno what else can."
"Oh, we'll make sure people everywhere know what's happened. Frontrunners and those back in towns, there won't be a rock left to hide under when we're done smearing their names across this BS game." Feeling awfully good about himself, Lloyd also felt tremendous weight lift from his shoulders. "I finally did it, just one last push, then you can rest easy, promise." Giving a silent prayer to the fallen, he placed a hand on his hip. "Sadly, our work's not done yet, gotta keep up my end of the bargain with the chief, don't I?"
"Got the route mapped, we'll make it if we sprint," Fynch offered, earning a clap from the brawler.
"Love to see it! Oh, before I go," Turning back to the recovering Lycan, he was startled back to reality when a potion was thrown and smashed across his face like a cold sheet of ice. "Consider that my formal resignation. One premium quality Battle Potion." To any player familiar with alchemy in SAO knew of it, an obsidian-coloured potion that did only one thing. Boosting both aggro to the afflicted player, and attracting said monsters, nearly doubling monster spawn rates. Rare, and very dangerous.
"W-wait... get... back here...!" Lycan rasped, falling from the stone column to the floor of the cavern below, grunting from the blow, unaware of the many, red cursors appearing in the various tunnels around them.
"Knowing you, you'll find a way out of this, I mean, you're the 'best hunter in Aincrad' or whatever people say, I tend to tune out a lot of rabble, didn't you know?" Dismissing the issue, Lloyd gave the man one last flick of his hand, Fynch waving passively from the edge too. "Byyyye~"
"LLOYD!" But the name fell on deaf ears.
|Apr. 10th 18:42|
Mito leapt over an arm strike utilizing Reaper to hook its horse body, pushing down with both feet into a kick flip, carving through the beast, only to gasp when the wind was pulled from her lungs by a backhand from the very arm she evaded, sending her across the plateau where Philia sprinted by, sliding under the front hooves of the horse to lacerate its limbs, a blur of fluorescent green thrusts burning through its black flesh.
Nuckelavee screeched, swivelling around to kick her as it leapt away from Daora's follow-up slam, his skill blowing through the air when the beast rose to its full height, covered in glowing wounds that began to clot and fade. The humanoid form jerked and shivered, bony spines protruding further out of its back and now from its shoulders. The claws curled and pulled at its biceps, growing longer and soaked in a red miasma, the same as the wendigo.
As its health finally dipped into the red, it unleashed a deafening roar that caused physical damage to the trio who tried in vain to block out the noise drilling into their ears. Now, the Nuckelavee was fully enraged, twisting its spine to spin and sweep the area with its arms, catching the three of them unawares, still paralyzed by its scream, inflicting Bleed across their chests in the process.
"Cure," Mito sighed, she didn't want to use crystals, but this monster wasn't giving them much of a choice, their stock was already starting to dwindle, they hadn't returned to town since this morning, and nothing they've fought or found provided much in the ways of healing items. "What's your count?"
Glancing to Philia, she bit her cheek. "Got about three health pots, after that, just crystals. Nothing to cure bleeding bar four purifying crystals."
"I'm going to run out in half of that," Daora replied curtly, keeping Destroyer at the ready, Nuckelavee pacing, its crooked head twisting to watch them with each, slow turn, moaning and wheezing occasionally. "But its nearly dead, we can win!"
"Yeah, just a little further," Philia wore a weak smile, even as her legs trembled beneath her.
At this rate, none of them would be making it back alive, even if they ran now, it could catch up in an instant. Mito considered using teleport crystals, but her hand hesitated, scanning the environment while this brief lull in the fight persisted a few seconds more. Her eyes studied the river looping the 'arena', the creature and its blood-red claws, the crumbling basal columns around them-
Both eyes widened, standing upright with a shiver giving her goosebumps in anticipation. "Both of you, head for those clusters of columns," She pointed past the Nuckelavee to the natural walls forming a narrow pass, narrow enough to fit a giant monster. "Weaken them but don't destroy them until I say to."
"What's your plan?" Philia asked, genuinely curious.
"Trust me, and leave the boss to me," Mito smiled in a way that vaguely resembled Daora's, brandishing her scythe, nodding once to Daora's silent judgement. "We're not running away empty-handed."
That got a grin from the treasure hunter who took off around the monster that instantly engaged, thrusting its arms toward her, only to pause and turn toward Mito when three knives dug into the horse's neck, the girl lowering her arm. Daora stepped forward, turning to stare back at Mito.
"I know, you'd rather be the one fighting it head on, but-"
"Don't die." Two words, spoke in a low tone that took Mito by surprise, watching him sprint off without waiting for a reply. Her heart tensed a little; Now? She didn't have anything to worry about, twirling Soul Fang in one hand, knives between each finger in the other, all glowing a dark violet against blood-red claws propelling toward her lithe frame.
Ducking and weaving, Mito threw herself forward, chucking the knives that struck true, inflicting Bleed, Slowness, but the Poison knife did nothing, so it was immune to that. Keeping low, she threw herself onto her back, narrowly sliding under the crushing stomp of hooves to draw her scythe upward in a pirouette of lilac crescents.
Nuckelavee swiveled, slashing at the purplette to pushed her Acrobatics to their upper limits, angling her body to weave between the vicious claws, throwing a barrage of knives tinged with every ailment under the sun. Weakness, Rot, Blindness, Defence Down, Attack Down. Attack and Rot didn't work, the others stacked for a couple of seconds, eating away at its impressively large health gauge. Mito fell to around 80% from another three gashes to her right shoulder.
Kicking off Nuckelavee's right foreleg, she skimmed over a sweeping arm, performing a handstand when she fell, casting Soul Fang in an aroura of blinding, white light, charging her skill for a few precious seconds prior to her landing. It was ready, twisting the staff of her weapon, the glowing chain detaching the blade as she spun like a top, cleaving air and flesh with a winding whirlwind of slashes from the chained scythe blade, creating a miniature cyclone of light around her.
The Esoteric skill for scythes, Maelstrom. Arcs of light dispersed in the air around them, and despite the onslaught, Mito nearly felt herself dry heave when a pair of claws dug deep into her stomach, burying her against the ground, unable to move during the brief post motion left her wide open. Staring up in disgust at the disfigured Nuckelavee, its humanoid jaw hanging on by one side, deep wounds gored through both the horse's flank and stomach, as well as its face, snorting sharply when it trotted closer to her, allowing the human half to creak and lean down, screaming in Mito's face, leaving her partially deaf.
It curled its claws deeper into her stomach, her health plummeting below 60% and fast. Keeping her nerve, she twirled and sunk a paralysis knife into its palm, causing it to seize up, but the effect would only last a few seconds, giving her time to push and pry the fingers from her stomach. The pressure and sensation akin to butterflies was nauseating, but she persisted, pushing back against the hand as it regained control, instead, the horse reeled back, intending to crush her flat.
Clang!
A deep, metallic reverberation shook Nuckelavee down to its bones, its whole body jerking to the left sharply, nearly toppling over from the single, rising slash to the underside of the horse's snout, a powerful thrust finally knocking it sideways, a blast of cyan wind blowing across Mito who pushed up with her elbows to an awaiting, bandaged hand. For once, a grateful smile tugged at her cheeks, slapping her hand in the offered one.
"Hey there, chief, hope we're not too late?" Lloyd winked, hoisting her back on her feet, offering Soul Fang to her. "Nice skill, real flashy, helped locating you."
"Catch," Fynch tossed her one of his health pots, allowing her to quickly restore her HP into the green.
"Hah... thanks, I'd ask what happened but that'll wait," Giving her weapon a twirl, already, Nuckelavee was rising to its hooves, shrieking at the reinforcements.
"Is the wendigo bigger or is that just me?" Lloyd squinted, hand shading his eyes. "Wow, that is all kinds of ugly."
"A Nuckelavee? So that's the player killer, huh?" Fynch whistled, keeping his weapon in its greatsword mode. "What's the plan, Mito?"
"Lure it to those pillars," She gestured to where Philia and Daora were waiting.
The pair quickly twigged on to the plan, and branched away from Mito when a clawed arm struck the earth, retracting for another to swipe toward Fynch, who swiped it skyward, the left given a high-kick in succession, Lloyd diving back into a roll, inching in the direction of the basalt columns. Mito flanked from behind, taking to a full sprint, leaping once, an arm arching wide to catch her, only for her Acrobatics skill to provide her feet with an additional jump, bounding over the limb to sink the full length of her scythe through the Nuckelavee's chest, avoiding its spikes as it thrashed, and wailed.
Below, Fynch brought down a heave, crimson Avalanche alongside Lloyd's Peekaboo, the rapid, thunderous blows shoving the horse into the side of a pillar, causing it to thresh its head, backing away slowly just when Mito tore a large hole through the humanoid's chest, running and pouncing off the horse's scalp, landing into a roll and sweeping a lumbering Sever behind her, cutting across a retaliating hand, a secondary skewered by Fynch's sword tip, making it flinch and recoil, retreating further from them, all three throwing flash bombs, tinged knives, and picks.
"Keep going, lay everything you've got in reserve!" Mito screamed, these tools weren't going to deal substantial damage to the boss, but the numerous effects and interruptions confused its A.I, overwhelming it, no different than the Switch mechanic.
"Yeah, we got it on the ropes now!" Fynch grinned, moving to the vanguard to block another hand slam with his weapon, skidding back a few inches. "Switch!" Throwing the arm high, Lloyd took the lead, fists an electric yellow, striking with an elbow, then his left palm, and a second elbow strike, Thunder Clap pushing the arms aside.
"Switch in!" He called, ducking for Mito to dive forward into a flurry of light pink, vertical slashes, Morana tearing across both arms, straight to the horse's skull, the blade ringing against the snout that threw her back, only to be stomped on by Lloyd, and struck from the right side by Fynch, stunning the equine, its legs tripping over themselves, straight between the basalt pillars.
"Bring them down now!" Mito rallied, seeing a combined green and silver streak split through the base of the black columns, destabilizing them at an angle. Nuckelavee craned its head up with a howl, only for both elongated arms to be caught under the collapsing rubble, making it thrash in place. But the horse remained upright, stomping forward to drag the arms free.
"Lloyd!" Fynch called to, using some of nearby rock formations to gain some altitude, greatsword bathed in gold when Lloyd hooked his free arm, kicking off the air himself to spin and thrust the raven-greenette toward Nuckelavee, his weapon whistling as it collided with the top of the horse's skull, twirling the tip, the added momentum from Tempest driving the weapon through like a drill-bit, burying both weapon and horse into the ground, releasing a small tremor in the process. "It's down!"
"Hahaha, not so tough now, HUH!?" Daora howled, carving through basalt, driving Crushing Wave down through the shoulder, bending forward to strain and swing Destroyer overhead for another, violently fast blow to the right arm, severing the tough limb from its socket, the arm flailing amongst the rubble like a noodle.
The left was almost free when a glaring, light-blue whirlwind shredded it just below the shoulder, Philia's form twirling past its amputated arm in wide, omnidirectional slashes, leaving it helpless and flailing atop the immobile horse. All that remained was its humanoid half, helpless and weak. What had taken players by surprise, and led to the ends of a number of them, had finally met its match.
Eyes that gleamed in the moonlight, matched only by a crescent, amethyst scythe, Mito lunged like Death, splitting the shrieking monster in a single, vertical slant from the top of the head, to the base of the spine, both halves sliding apart, shimmering, before erupting into shards through the night sky and across her cape.
Shards twinkled like glass around them, each glowing a distinct, golden hue from the massive boon of exp gained in the Nuckelavee's defeat. Mito, Daora, and Philia each had equipment on the verge of breaking, their item reserves almost depleted, and before being completely healed, were covered in wounds from head-to-toe. But they joined in on the small celebratory cheer with Fynch and Lloyd.
"Stellar finish, chief, really living up to the title of Reaper," Lloyd winked, pointing finger guns at her. She gave a dismissively roll of her eyes at the title, sheathing Soul Fang to check her loot table. "Y'know, losing out on the A-Rank monster wasn't so bad, pretty sure a secret boss ought to fetch a high price too. These monster parts are like nothing I've seen, hahaha, is this what its like to be all-powerful? It's addicting." He rubbed his chin.
"I dunno where to even start asking a crafter about using these, all of it is A-Rank!" Philia gushed, mouth ajar as she tried to collect herself.
"Hey, you alright?" Fynch noticed Mito's frozen expression, caught between disbelief and wonder.
She had to triple check she was reading this correctly. She's gotten high-tier drops before, and the near hour-long battle more than made it worth the reward, but one stuck out, and she swore it was a glitch or a bug. But there it sat on her screen, safely in her inventory, and that made it feel physically heavier overall.
|Soul of Might (S-Tier Item)|
The essence of a legendary monster
"...s-tier... I-I got an S-Tier drop...!" Mito found her voice, a disbelieving laugh escaping her, covering her mouth. "Hah... hahaha, I... I actually got one!"
"No freakin' way..." Lloyd almost had to pick his jaw off the floor when Daora pushed by to see Mito's screen, the only one there who could.
"Lemme see! HaAH!?" The noise he made had a laugh leave her lips again.
"She dealt the final blow, so its treated like the LA Bonus," Philia shook her head, chuckling herself. "I've never even seen an S-Class item, those are like one-in-a-million."
"Ye-yeah, I... holy shit, hah..." She blurted out, leaning against Daora's side both out of exhaustion, and naturally gravitating toward him. "Think I found what I was looking for, Daora..."
"About time, it'll be the most powerful item in the whole game!" He declared, raising his ax. "We conquered this floor's gimmick! Just us, who needs anyone else!?"
"Hell yeah, brother!" Lloyd hollered.
"And we avenged a couple of people to boot, say that's more than worth the trouble," Fynch held up a hand to Philia, the redhead returning it.
"Couldn't agree more." She giggled, pumping her other fist to copy the boys.
Yes, Mito had gone through more chaos and excitement in one day than any other material hunt to date. She had met new allies, encountered enemies, and in the end, she couldn't have done it without any of them. If it were just her and Daora, could they have even made it past the Nuckelavee? Shaking her head at the dark thought; it didn't matter, because they were alive and had won, all of them were alive.
"A flawless victory," Mito whispered to Daora, her eyes soft, lingering on the item and its description. She felt the back of her hand brush against his, tentatively, she managed to lace her fingers between his, and felt his own accept her hold tightly. "Thank you, Daora."
"...anytime, Mito." He answered just as quietly, and none but her would be aware of it.
|Floor 65, Town of Blackwood|
|Apr. 10th 19:22|
On the outskirts of town, safely out of range of both monsters, and the town guards, Mito wore a conflicted look on her face, staring solemnly to Fynch and Lloyd. "We'll be just fine, I got a bunch of karma quests jotted down whenever I needed them, we'll have these cursors back to green within the hour." Fynch assured them, remaining as upbeat as ever, even with the collection of stares they got from passing players.
"I know, but, it doesn't sit right with me just to leave you two doing this alone, and with people already seeing your cursors like this," It was partially her fault, she didn't try hard enough to stop them, even if she knew it would be fruitless.
"I told ya, better this way, Lycan was going to be a problem, so it's safer we took the fall and not everyone, and risk losing out on the items we got," Llyod shrugged, ever nonchalant about the cursor, hands wide. "And hey, it worked out. I got to put the SOB in his place and get rewarded for it? Lady Luck's clearly patting my back tonight! Woot~!"
"Just be care, alright? And send a message if anything comes up, no exceptions," Mito was firm on this front, jabbing to emphasize each word, the two raising their hands in defence.
"Crystal, chief, relaaax, enjoy the victory toast with your team," Lloyd was actually relieved by that part, deflating a bit. "I don't think I'm mentally prepared to meet some of the top players all in one place, a few in my lifetime's enough for me, y'know? Stick to my lane."
"Well, won't be like that for much longer," Mito smirked, gesturing to him. "When you're cursor's back to green, come see me, I'll have the gift you wanted to make ready for you."
"Ah, always knew you were the generous time chie- wait... huh?" His brain caught up to him, teal eyes growing wider with a small, uncertain laugh.
"The S-Tier item, I'll make it into an accessory," Mito tried to play it cool, but his bewildered expressions were difficult not to laugh at. "I already have more than what I needed for myself, and I'll likely never get the chance to work on a rarity this high in a very long time, so let me make it into something important, for someone else."
"I, uh... you mean it...?" Lloyd didn't joke around, looking at her seriously. "I'm not one for pessimism, but... you'll likely never see an S-Tier item like this again, and... you want give it to me? For a gift?"
"Well, you're the one who wants it to be an amazing gift for someone important, and you're a good person, but, I'll only make it if you want me to, so, what's your choice?" Mito offered a hand, waiting.
"You have an amazing friend..." Lloyd smiled to himself, taking her hand. "Thank you, Mito, I mean it." He squeezed harder.
"Asuna will love it, promise." Mito winked, catching him off-guard, even Fynch did a double take, slapping his hands to his cheeks.
"Oh? Oh... Oh! Oooooh!" Fynch nearly fell over a rock on the road when he stumbled back. "Man, that really throws a lot into perspective, funny how that works out."
All Lloyd could manage was a defeated sigh. "Had me pegged from the start."
"It took me a while, but I knew I saw you from somewhere," Mito answered honestly, shrugging. It's what cut any doubts from her mind.
"Then, I'll be sure she knows who's the great craftswoman who forged it, trust," He smirked. Mito could accept those terms.
|Floor Unknown, Unknown Dungeon|
|Apr. 10th 23:59|
There were no discernible landmarks within the dungeon, being on a higher floor, they were larger, more complex, even if mapped out, an unprepared player could wound up lost without safe areas to hunker down in. So while it was dangerous to house meetings in such a place, it also meant the chances of being eavesdropped on were significantly lower. High risk, high reward.
A panicked cry echoed down its wide halls, not a monster or player in sight when the red polygons were whisked through the air by a large, scorched greatsword, almost like embers against its body. Laying on their back, propped up by their knees, Lycan crawled back, unable to move faster without his right leg, its severed form crushed underfoot.
"I-I did everything you asked! It was those Frontrunners that got in the way, I couldn't steal an item from them, one of them would've thrown everything into chaos!" Lycan excused but the figure wagged a finger before his unseen mouth, covered head-to-toe in plate metal that matched his scorched sword.
"You were bested by a player who you said was 'beneath you', rather, you underestimated him, and he used that against you, and you lost both the rare drop and by now, your actions will be spread across SAO like wildfire, yes, this certainly wasn't your fault, was it?" The man's tone was flat, stepping closer. Once close, he knelt down before the trembling Lycan. "And that'll lead back to us, all you had to do was deliver what you promised, and we'd cut ties. But clearly giving you the benefit of a doubt was more trouble in the end."
"I-I promise, I can double what I owe! I even know some good couriers too, ones with connections to some Frontrunners!" Lycan was grasping at straws, the man was impressed but stood up and considered his words. "I've everything you asked, I even led those greenhorns into a trap for your guild."
"I know, see, this is why you're my favourite, you're reliable, most would've folded by now, so you have my respects for holding onto your nerve for this long," The man expressed, raising his sword. "But my leader says we're cutting ties with everyone but our couriers, you've kicked a nest that won't quiet down now, can't have that."
"Wait, wait, come on, wait a second!" Lycan scrambled and narrowly avoided having his head split in two by the sword, instead, he heard glass shatter between his feet, flinching when the man drew his weapon back, holstering it. There, lying amongst shattered glass, was the remains of a black potion. A Battle potion.
"'Lycan, one of the Hunters Guild's best, tragically slain by high level mobs in a dungeon trap'," The man gave a curt wave, his back turned as several dozen glowing eyes appeared in the dark, himself doused in a Calming potion to counter the other. "Ironic, isn't it?"
"No, come back! Don't leave me here!" Lycan drew his rapier in time to throw a quick Oblique at the first approaching monster, a wolf-type, skewering it through the throat, but more came from all sides, none waited for their turn, pouncing on him as he screamed in terror for a final time.
All that remained for the next few minutes, was a shiny, gold and silver rapier.
|Floor 65, Town of Blackwood, Hollowed Inn|
|Apr. 11th 10:05|
Come the morning, all of Misfits had gathered at Mito's announcement, the prospect of a gift more than enough to get some out of bed or onto the highest floor in a timely manner, Mito banked on that. Everyone, her party, and the others that had joined along the way, including Philia and Fynch, the latter back to a bright green cursor.
"I designed each of them with the insignia of the guild, and with stats that compliment your strengths," Mito declared rather hastily despite her sleep-deprived state, having skipped out on sleep entirely to get them all ready.
She had designed with the many materials she had gathered and meticulously chosen to allocate very specific stats to each individual, a collection of bandana accessories for her guildmates. Each could be placed in most accessory slots, namely the neck, arms, legs, forehead, and waist. All in various colours to match the individual.
For her main party, Daora's was silver with scales, tied around his right bicep, bolstering his attack and defence values dramatically. Artorias's was deep red, replacing his neck bandana, boosting his agility and attack the most. Argo's was brown with orange and lime-green lines running along the edge. Hers increased agility, evasion, and stealth. Lastly, Nagi wore a bright blue bandana with a steel plate on the front, wrapped around his forehead. His bolstered attack and crit values across the board.
And all of them came with combined massive debuff resistances, as well as health and stamina boosts. All labelled the same, Mark of Misfits, graded at purple rarity. Several weeks worth of gathering, planning, and crafting resulted in over a dozen accessories, and by far the strongest ones Mito had ever created, bar the Dragonheart necklace she made Daora, which only served to amplify the new Mark he wore.
"These are amazing, Mito!" Nagi marvelled at his increased stats across the board. "I can't imagine the amount of planning this took to acquire items to correlate to all our strengths too."
"Your best work yet, Reaper," Artorias didn't make some dry remark, honestly impressed and grateful. But did smirk, patting his chest. "You keep giving gifts like this, and I'm gonna look bad in comparison."
"Explains why ya paid a pretty penny for all their deets, mine includeD," Argo hummed in thought, patting the girl's side. "Guess I'll give ya a discount next time for the gifT."
"Appreciated, but it was worth paying for," Mito admitted to all of them, gesturing around the longue of the inn. "Most guilds have some sorta symbol, everyone's got matching armour so I thought we'd go with something a little smaller, more customizable," Scratching the back of her neck, she felt the heat rising to her cheeks. "I also... wanted to express how I felt; I had nothing after what happened on the 1st floor... then I was given a place with all of you,"
"I've been struggling with where I belong, overcoming the mistakes I've made... but I-I just wanted to say... I know now," She smiled sheepishly, but managed to meet the eyes of her close friends. Nagi's especially. "I found my place."
"And?" Nagi asked, more than happy for her, the scent of joy stronger now than ever on the Reaper.
She closed her eyes to try and supress her embarrassment in front of all of them, but her smile lit up the room, a few tears creeping into the corners of her eyes. "I love it, heh!"
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
The Hunt has concluded, and with Mito finally able to express her appreciation openly to all of the guild, and especially to those that first accepted her. But, not all is bright across Aincrad, it seems... This arc was important for Mito's growth as a person and a leader, but also sets up the next, crucial arc to follow, especially for one character.
I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next arc, Misfits!
Next Arc - The Last Laugh
After months of tormenting SAO, the Frontrunners have begun narrowing down the location of the Death Game's most infamous guild, the original Red Guild, Laughing Coffin. But just how much blood will be split to wipe them out...?