[Alfheim Online, New Aincrad, Floor 27]
[Malzeno's POV]
"Far as what I dug up, that mystery man ranked the second best player in Ordinal Scale goes by the name Eiji, used to be NautiluS," Argo finally dropped the name that had been on the tip of my tongue since over a day ago.
"That's Nautilus?" Skeptical as I was, he did match the description, "Wasn't he like... not a good KoB member?"
"He was part of the same guild as Asuna?" Yuuki raised her hand next to me as Argo smacked her lips lowering her drink.
"The very same, he was set to becomin' one of the best, had the skills to boot, leadership too when it counted, downside, guy suffered from FullDive Non-conformitY," Argo laid out as my brow furrowed at the title. That made sense, unfortunately.
"What the heck is that?" Jun posed the question.
"FDNC, given how mass-produced the Nervegear were, they had to go through a lovely calibration check for each user, and in some cases, FDNC occurred; slight signal lag between the game and the brain, at worse, a player lost a certain sense or it was weakened, or they couldn't play at all. Hence why the numbers for launch were stuck at 10,000 exactly," I drawled, twirling my hand.
"Same thing affected Nautilus, if his sense of fear grew too strong the input to his legs would've cut ouT," Hearing that from Argo, I winced as Siune, Jun, and Yuuki all shared my pensive expression.
"In SAO of all games, that's..." Siune didn't say it, we all knew what that would've meant for a guy on the frontlines.
"Guess all that talent's come up to play in AR though, guy moved like he was right back in the saddle," I remarked, still unsure as to how he was so acrobatic.
"Might be a gymnast or just really athletic, his moves were so sharp!" Yuuki waved her hand, then grimaced. "Maaaan, why can't I move like that? I'm not even there yet it feels like my body's all sluggish!"
"Welcome back to the real world, Cupcake," Avoiding her jab, I kept my eyes on the tabs opened in front of me, flicking my fingers right to apply the right shade of colour to the rest of the outfit on display. I frowned for a moment. "No... lighter shade of green..."
"What's got you so focused anyway?" Feeling Yuuki press her head on my shoulder, she eyed the vague designs of a new outfit I had plans for. "Looks familiar," I closed my tabs.
"And it'll remain that way until I'm done, secret project," Winking, she pouted but kept her head in place. Eyeing the cheeky grin etched to my boss's face, I bit the line. "Alright, Rat, what's the deal with the event floor bosses? I heard Blackie's got little Yui working on it,"
"Siune, got the map I gave yA?" Argo turned to the bluette who nodded, bringing up a large, holographic map of Tokyo. Standing up, Argo marched over to gesture to the red marks with the title of each floor boss starting from Illfang from Floor One up to the one Asuna had fought last night. "Far as numbers go, they're still rising from the lowest, but here's the interestin' parT,"
Nodding to Siune, the woman overlayed a red set of pathways. Jun, confused still, raised his hand a little. "What's with the paths?"
"If what lil Yui and I cobbled together is right, each of these paths marks the main path to the floor bosses' original chamber within SAO's labyrinths, the game's purposefully overlayin' both gameS," It didn't take an expert to see the perturbed look on the blonde's face as these awfully big coincidences kept popping up.
"It's like whoever designed the game wants it to be similar to SAO, but why? Aincrad's already playable in Alfheim," Yuuki questioned, a thought we all had by the looks of it. "I dunno why, but this is giving me some really bad vibes,"
"How does 'bad vibes' rank with you, boss?" I crossed my arms whilst giving Argo an inquisitive stare.
She merely shrugged her shoulders, "Other than just a bunch of strange connections, ain't nothin' outta the ordinary. Like we discussed before, people will start to catch on quick one way or anotheR," With the map closed, Argo gave us all a wave with her tail. "I got some more work to do, if anythin' comes up lemme be the first to know, 'kaY?"
"Like we'd trust any other greedy broker," I smirked, causing a boisterous laugh to leave the feline.
"Nyahaha, ya sure know how to flatter a gal, MaL!" Like the wind, Argo vanished out the door as quickly as she arrived at the smell of free drinks.
"I can't believe that costed us over 2000 Yrd," Jun slumped against the table as Siune patted his back. "She's so-"
"I'd be picky with your words, her Listening skill is maxed," I warned, his mouth sealing itself up tightly. "And for the record, that was at a discount cause I work for her, so really, that was pocket money compared to what she extorts Blackie for,"
"Miss Argo is a very reliable info broker so let's not take her kindness for granted," Siune warned Jun who groaned into his arms, face flat on the wood.
Drumming the edge of the table, I spun around and popped my menu open with a flick. "If that's all for this lovely afternoon, I've got an important meeting to attend to,"
"'Meeting'?" Yuuki echoed as I gave a nod as she poked her face around to peer through my menus. "What about?"
I moved them to push two fingers to her lips. "An old friend who was visiting family abroad for the last two months is finally coming home, someone close to Asuna-man they've missed so much I'm gonna have my head spin trying to explain it all," That prompted a surprised look from the purplette. "Congrats, you have a rival for Asuna's favourite,"
"W-what? I'm not... she's not... shut up..." Yuuki stuttered, crossing her arms tightly as her cheeks turned pinker. It wasn't any surprise that Yuuki had openly admitted Asuna was very much like Aiko, I could see the similarities too. And Asuna herself was more than happy to accept that response from my bashful partner.
"Who is this 'old friend' then?" Jun air-quoted but I smiled politely and gave no response.
[IRL, Tokyo, Narita International Airport]
Yuuki bugged me to no end about meeting this person, I.E, threatening me to handle the next Ordinal Scale event boss without her aid, among other things. So with my Augma attached, I, Asuna and Yuuki all stood around the Arrivals sector of the massive airport, even here, AR was abundant with all ages.
"There's so many people here..." Yuuki had only seen this quantity of people when I first took her around Tokyo after she was given the all-clear by the Doc after the scare. Despite her bubbly attitude, Yuuki kept close to us, still growing used to real crowds and not just players with wings and magic.
"Think she's changed?" I broke the silence, sparing Asuna a glance as I saw her toy with her hair. "Asuna?"
"Hm?" She jumped from her daydream to smile at us. "Sorry, but... maybe, I mean, she changed a lot during SAO too like all of us, so this time apart might've helped get her mind away from everything for a healthy amount of time,"
"You still won't tell me who it is, please, Asuna~!" Yuuki whined, trying to shake the brunette's shoulders to no avail. "Aah, curse this holographic body!" Spinning around on the bench, Yuuki gave me the biggest puppy eyes possible. "Kazuki, please~!"
Sighing, I reached over and started to shake Asuna's shoulder for Yuuki, which only served to have the girl burst out laughing. "This is beyond low, Cupcake..." I dismayed, feeling my face heat up.
"No can do, Yuuki, you just have to wait and see," Asuna winked, a finger to her lips as I saw the raven-brunette between us slump in her seat.
"Fiiine~" I think I really got her ego tilted saying Asuna might have a new favourite. Ah, gotta love mind games.
Dozens came from the Arrivals terminal, many faces that didn't concern me as I searched the crowd, Yuuki trying to figure out who it might be herself. So far, nothing, maybe we had the times wrong? Soon, everyone had filtered out from the corridor into the main entrance of the airport.
"Did we miss her?" I blinked over to Asuna who checked via her Augma.
"No, this was her flight..." Asuna pursed her lips for a moment.
Just then, one last passenger came walking through with their suitcase, and a strange feeling of nostalgia struck my chest. The girl wore black, baggy clothing with her jacket tied around her waist as she flicked her hat up a little to look around.
She was a slim girl with long purple hair styled the same way as Asuna's, though a lock of her hair fell over her forehead. Her eyes were a smooth teal while the sight of an Augma poked out from around her left ear.
"Misumi!" Almost like a bolt of lightning, Asuna hopped to her feet to run and greet the girl. The call startled the purplette as she was suddenly pulled into a tight hug by Asuna, leaving her surprised. "I missed you so much!"
Slowly, a smile formed on her lips, moving a hand around to pat Asuna's back as she closed her eyes to lean into the embrace. "Hey, Asuna, geez you make it sound like I've been gone twice as long," Misumi replied as Asuna pulled back to hold the girl's shoulders.
"It's been three months, of course I'd miss seeing you in person, talking via voice call isn't the same," Asuna pouted, causing Misumi to chuckle a bit, now tilting her head to see me and Yuuki approach as I waved curtly.
"If it ain't the Grim Reaper herself, enjoy your freedom abroad?" She stared at me as intensely as I did, making the others anxious before a smirk broke out on our faces as I reached over to grab her hand as we gave a tight, brotherly hold so-to-speak.
"Best vacation to date, Rat," Misumi was quick to snap back at me as we both gave a brief hug.
"Ah, Argo's taken that mantle, best come up with a new one," I reminded her.
"Gotcha... so who's this?" Misumi's eyes fell to Yuuki who waved with a nervous smile. Studying the girl next to me closely, the Reaper realized what was off about Yuuki. "She's a projection from the Augma?"
"Yep, can't really go anywhere without it, hehe," Scratching her head shyly, Yuuki gave a little bow. "I'm Yuuki Konno, nice to meetcha!"
"Misumi Tozawa, likewise-huh, so your first name's Yuuki and Asuna's surname is Yuuki... how's that worked for others?" She questioned, pointing at Yuuki while looking to Asuna.
"It caused some confusion at first but Yuuki prefers being informal," Asuna explained, Misumi nodding along before eyeing me.
"Is she... like us?" She asked vaguely as I shook my head.
"Not a survivor but she knows all about it, even goes to our school... technically speaking as you can see," I waved my hand through Yuuki's arm as she recoiled with a frown.
"Hey, that feels weird still," Yuuki attempted to poke my cheek only for her finger to go through. "Grah, I hate this body's lack of contact!"
"As you can see, Cupcake here's been having the time of her life cosplaying a ghost," My devilish grin only infuriated Yuuki further as Misumi snorted, shaking her head.
"He's got you a nickname too, figures, guy never could keep his mouth shut,"
"My gift to the world, you know that, Mito,"
"Wish there was a refund policy, Meru,"
"Aw, you love it, Reaper, yours is cool!"
Our back and forth banter only grew more intense as our noses practically touched under our stares, Asuna waving her hands nervously at us. "Hehe, let's get a move on, we've got a lot to catch up on, Misumi!"
Breaking our stare, the purplette smiled softly. "Sure, I'd like that. Given how much has changed clearly," Then she grew bashful, rubbing her bicep. "And, uh, th-thanks, for... coming to greet me,"
Myself and Asuna shared a look, same with Yuuki who tagged along, and we gave the girl a welcome expression each. "Welcome home, Mito!" Asuna beamed, putting whatever anxiety Misumi had to rest.
Later that night, I hopped off the train alongside Riku and Yuuki, but also with our latest member of our impromptu party, Mito. She had intended to chat all afternoon with Asuna but still needed to unpack everything back home, so, we suggested she'd tag along with us to the next event boss.
Although, I did have some reservations about it, staring at the Reaper chatting away with Riku and Yuuki. "Say, Mito... you gonna be alright with this? This is a floor boss from SAO we're talking about,"
She gave their conversation pause, eyeing me with those sharp, blue eyes of hers, almost reminded me of Pix sometimes. "I'll be fine, I planned to join ALO now that I'm back home, so this is a good way to testing the waters for me," A small smile graced her lips. "It's not like you to worry, Malzeno,"
"Really? He's always worrying about our well-being," I groaned into my palm as Yuuki beamed up at Mito who eyed her silently for an answer. Please, no... "He acts as cool as a cucumber like Argo, but he's a big softie,"
"Yep, sounds like him to a 'T'," Even Riku was getting in on this, her flat expression lightening up with a small smirk.
"I hate you, I hate you both," Muttering to myself, I pulled my hand down my face with an elegant amount of drama.
Mito stared at me for some time, her hard stare slowly beginning to soften. "Sorry, it's just been a long time since we last spoke face-to-face, so hearing you actively show worry for others is new to me,"
That surprised my girlfriend and sister. "Really? What... exactly did you think of him?" Yuuki asked, now hooked on the topic. Lovely.
"If I had to sum him up? Smartass," Mito crossed her arms, tilting her head up a little. I couldn't argue there, "He worked with Argo all the time in SAO, so whenever we met, he acted much like herself, of course, I was distrustful of him given his history as an orange player,"
"Understandable," I nodded in agreement.
"So you guys just take jabs at each other now?" Riku wagged a finger between us, my eyes catching Mito's.
We blinked, then shrugged. "Pretty much,"
"How many people have you gotten on your bad side? Philia, Mito, DDA, KoB, ALS," Yuuki continued to list off with her fingers, giving me that, 'you really are stupid' look, it was an acceptable look, I'll admit.
However, I had to put my hands out. "Now-now, Cupcake, I am shocked and offended my these outlandish claims," A hand to my wounded heart, I raised my own hand. "There's the Salamanders, I doubt I need to explain why. Sylphs had it comin', only so many talks of peace I can take, and they're always so pretentious. Now the Undines, that... yeah, that was my bad, I accidently killed one of their top guys, even in a fair duel that was rigged, how is that my fault? Dunno,"
I wasn't done. "GGO... every info broker hates each other, so that's a given. The Guardians I've curbed stomped plenty of times, often to snag the loot they're after, damn loot goblins. There's the Reds and Blues, with how often they fight with each other, it was a no-brainer being a terror to them, except one of the blues, he's pretty nice. Aaaaand... Sinon? I mean, she hasn't put a bullet in me since the first time we met, so hey, silver lining,"
"Dude, the hell are you tryin' to do, get mugged one day?" Riku gaped at me, clearly concerned I may've angered enough people to warrant being dragged off into some alley eventually.
"That's honestly not surprising anymore," Mito sighed into her palm.
"Man, I'm in love with a lunatic," Yuuki realized, chuckling nervously. "Welp, it is what it is,"
"I really hate when people say that crap..." Riku grimaced.
"Language," I cut in, and she flipped me off. "Better,"
That at least got a small chuckle from the other girls, putting my hatred count aside for the night.
[Yebisu Garden Place Tower]
We arrived at the shopping center where the event was to take place. It had two floors worth of shops either side with a curved, glass rooftop. The plaza down the steps was dotted with players already synced to Ordinal Scale, awaiting the clock to strike 9 on the dot.
Mito had changed too, wearing the same outfit as most girls, only instead, her highlights were lilac and she wore a black cloak, much like her SAO days, with a mean-looking scythe on her back.
"Lookin' good, Mito!" Yuuki complimented, the natural purplette giving a timid smile as she inspected her outfit.
"Really feels like I'm back in the saddle now..." She murmured, clearly mulling it over as I had previously. So, I patted her shoulder.
"Don't overthink it, just take it slow, you'll find your footing with us," It was clear Mito was still unsure of my changes since we last met, I can't blame her, I went from an orange player to Argo's assistant, to who I am now.
Still, she managed a grateful nod, turning her attention to the girls down the steps from us. Asuna was here, alongside both Lizbeth and Silica. The latter two seemed to be having a dispute, seeing as Silica just jabbed Lizbeth and the brunette was quick to smile and apologize. If I had to place my bet, I'd say it has to do with Silica's singing, she was a great vocalist.
Our approach caught Liz's attention first so I waved on hand. "Yo, Pinky, Dragon Girl, Princess,"
"Are you ever going to call us by our real names?" Lizbeth glowered at me, to which I laughed dramatically.
"...naaah," I snickered, earning a light jab to my shin as I leaned up against the banister with Yuuki beside me.
"Mito, you look great, how's it feel?" Asuna hopped over to Mito who offered a lax smile, shrugging her shoulders.
"Just... taking it slow," I tried not to make my smirk obvious. Mito smiled at the others, giving a small wave. "Hey, uh... Silica and Lizbeth, right?"
"That's us, pleasure to meetcha," Lizbeth gave a cheery wink.
"It's really nice to meet you," Silica politely bowed her head.
"Guess Klein's not here..." Riku noted, which I was also surprised by, guess he and the guys were too busy tonight.
"Don't worry, you've got us to watch your back, and besides, you were a natural last time, so we're more than enough!" Yuuki gave Riku some needed confidence, perking up the ravenette's smile a little.
"Say, Silica?" The girl turned her head back to me, my thumb prodded towards my sister. "Little Riku here's actually a musician-" I saw her visibly jolt at my admittance on her behalf. "-if you ever need pointers on singing and vocals in general, she's the best of the best,"
"S-Shut it, idiot," Riku punched my side, her cheeks a little pinker as she fiddled with her outfit's collar. "I-I'm not that good, still l-learning myself..."
"Really? What can you play?" Now, Silica had hopped to her feet to look at Riku with curious eyes that no one could ignore.
"Uh, um, j-just a handful of instruments. M-mainly bass, both acoustic and electric guitar, piano and wind flute," Riku's nervous fiddling with her collar only increased.
"That's amazing, can you sing too?" Silica never even hesitated, which surprised my sister more than anything, a tiny, anxious smile forming on her flustered features.
"Ye-yeah, though more f-for myself," I bit my tongue when she said that, but gradually, Riku began to ease up.
"I'd love to hear you sing if that's okay? If you're already so talented with that many instruments that is," Silica had a way to make anyone who was insecure about their hobbies feel at ease around her. That may be chalked up to the light-brunette's innocent nature, but Silica wasn't naïve, she was just a good kid.
"That was sweet of you," Yuuki whispered to me as I watched the pair converse with each other, Lizbeth, Mito and Asuna watching too.
"My sis is great and all, but she struggles in the 'finding trustworthy people' department, mostly due to her own insecurities," I replied quietly, seeing these two hit it off quickly was good enough for me. "Once more, my fantastic work is done, aah, feels good to be the awesome big brother,"
"Everyone, it's almost time," Asuna broke the silence, stepping off the stairs as we all turned to the grand clock built into the shopping center itself.
The big hand struck 12, and suddenly, the whole world was consumed by a black and green grid once more. In seconds, Tokyo had vanished, and the center was now an arena of sorts made from blue ice with pillars made from chunks of rime. The walls either side of the area warped into mounds of earthly tunnels and overlooks for the crowds to watch from afar.
All of us stood at the ready, drawing our weapons as the column of red flames erupted from the center. Two large claws snapping through the flames, dispersing them with a chitter. It reeled back on its legs, giving a vicious hiss at the gathered players. Instantly, I recognized this boss.
Boiling red carapace, a twisted, spiked shell with large pincers and blood-red eyes. "Blast from the past. The 12th Floor Boss of SAO, The Strict Hermit, and a right pain in the ass," Literally, if the reports of people being snipped by those claws was anything to go off of.
"So it is true, SAO's bosses being in Ordinal Scale," Mito's grip on her scythe appeared heavier, yet, a nervous smile tugged at her lips with a hard stare. "What a welcome back to Japan,"
"Happy you're finally on-board, Reaper," I quipped, hearing her snort sharply in response.
Up above on a crystal jutting out from the left wall, a drone flew low, projecting for the adoring crowd their idol, Yuna. Again, I felt I had seen her somewhere before, the memory on the tip of my tongue, so to speak.
"Yuna!" Silica gushed next to Riku.
"We lucked out!" Lizbeth pumped her fist.
"Are you guys ready!?" She waved happily down at us, microphone in hand. "Alright, let the battle begin! Music, start!" Soon, the song she had played before slowly filled the air, it was a catchy tune.
"Alright, wanna go out there and grab some points?" Lizbeth turned to us, pointing her mace at Mito, startling her from her concentration. "And new girl, Asuna's said you're a damn good fighter, let's see if that's true, alright?!"
The mention of her newbie status for AR, or just for the sake of pride, gave Mito a challenging smirk. "Dunno if I'll be as good here, but I'll see what I can do,"
"Alright ladies, remember to play nice, have fun, and kick some ass for good measure," I replied, drawing my bow.
"YEAH!" The group hollered, and we were quick to dive straight into the action.
The Hermit was already focused on other players, so our approach was left undeterred. Yuuki took the lead, speeding up as she threw herself onto her backside, sliding to slash in a criss-cross manner, slicing through the legs as the crab stomped around, unable to find her as two of my arrows dug into its eyes, drawing its ire.
I dove back from the extending pincers that snapped at the air, rolling aside from a pressurized stream of water from its mouth as it cut through the ground and slashed two players behind me. Mito and Riku spun past the spray, my sister copying Yuuki with a twirling dance of her daggers, evading the legs to roll out from under the boss.
Mito, with the precision she had back in SAO, twirled her scythe at her side, using the momentum to drive her scythe wide to parry the right pincer, catching her scythe in both hands to deliver a slant across the carapace, leaving a thin gash, ducking under the slam of the left pincer that was immediately punctured by three arrows and a thrust of Asuna's rapier, knocking it away from the purplette's body.
Yuuki and Riku came rushing from the side, ducking to evade the right pincer, leaving four slashes across the weaponized claw, quickly retreating soon after as both claws began to steam up.
"It's using its big move, Pinky, block it!" I hollered, the girl raising her buckler in time with Silica's aid as a furious assault of jabs from the Hermit battered the measly shield.
"Just because there aren't any tanks!" Liz whined, screaming in a panic with Silica as they took the brunt of the assault for others.
When the skill winded down, Asuna and Yuuki both slammed their blades into the soft underbelly of the Hermit, sending it flying into the nearest wall with a resounding'crash'.
"Just as we planned!" Asuna smiled, but I shared Mito's blank stare. We had a plan?
Lizbeth didn't seem too pleased either, pouting at the former KoB member. "This is a tough position to be in!"
But despite the heavy blow, the dust cleared as the Hermit scuttled out to flank, swiping players away from its unprotected body. I drew my bow, winking to Yuuki and Riku. "Both of you, I'll cover, draw it to me. Mito, you're with me," I had a plan, just needed to time this right.
"Gotcha!" All replied without question, good.
As players distracted the crab, I split my fingers across the guard, pulling the string back so that three arrows formed between each finger. It wasn't much, but an echo of Buckshot wouldn't hurt. Smirking at my impromptu skill, I loosed the arrows, seeing them batter and splash against the Hermit, so I continued the assault, volley after volley.
It finally turned to us, slamming both pincers down before spraying a column of water that grazed a few strands of my hair had I not shifted my footing slightly. With it locked in the skill, Yuuki and Riku lunged, dishing out a flurry of light slashes to pepper the pincers, other players with added range riddling the carapace with bullets and the thrust of long-ranged spears or other polearms.
Cancelling the water beam, the Hermit tried to grab either girl, both running towards me before diving either side to evade a cross-slash from both pincers. Now, only my arrows continued to shatter against its eyes, drawing a bitter hiss from the crustacean.
"Mito, now!" I ran forward, falling onto my back to puncture its underbelly with multiple, hardlight arrows. In response, it reeled itself up on its back legs, attempting to crush me, little did it know, I was smirking.
The flap of a raven cloak shadowed me, Mito's blue eyes ablaze as her blade skimmed the earth, striking the Hermit across the stomach. Only she wasn't alone, Silica's own dagger and Lizbeth's mace swung in unison, the combined blow reverberating like a gong, sending the Hermit flying onto its side with a mighty collision with the ice.
"Oh yeah, now that's better!" Lizbeth grinned, knuckling Mito's shoulder. "Nice hit!"
"You too," Mito nodded, smiling a little further as Silica helped me to stand with some effort.
Rallied by the combo, others quickly ganged up on the Hermit, even though it wasn't actually stunned for long like this, gotta thank that Guidebook. Still, we persisted, dealing blows where we could, yet, my eyes locked with Asuna's form off to the far side of the arena... with Nautilus?
He was present and just... watching, he had a look on his face I've seen plenty of. A face you'd pull when you knew what was to come in a movie or show you've seen before, he expected something to happen soon, and Asuna looked as confused as I was.
"Kazuki?" I blinked away from them to Yuuki, seeing her spare Asuna a glance too, frowning curiously. "What's up with Asuna?"
"...you know those 'bad vibes' we talked about earlier?" She nodded as I grimaced, tightening the grip on my bow. "Yeah, well I'm thinking it's about double that now,"
"What do you mean...?" She trailed off, looking to where Lizbeth and Mito sent the boss flying with a combined strike, much to the wonder of the audience. "Kazuki..."
I didn't need to hear the rest to know what she's asking. So much so, I slowly holstered my bow onto my back again, reaching for something attached to my hip instead. "Round Two's comin'..."
Up above, the crystal Yuna stood on suddenly took on an ominous, purple glow. The once joyful song... became harrowing, filling the air with dread that made my skin crawl. Whilst everyone was heavily focused on the wounded Hermit, a circular rift opened in the sky, spitting out a gelatinous blob.
A handful of us saw it hit the ground, and from the visual effect, it burst to reveal a blue, feathered dragon. Pina? I stared at it for a moment as it jumped around, I should've been relieved, but...
"Pina!" Silica was more than happy to see her companion again, the others sighing in relief around us.
"Oh, is that all?" Liz rolled her shoulders with a smile.
"That's a relief..." One girl sighed with a hand to her chest.
"Hehehe, that's embarrassing, I thought we were about to be hit with a serious-" Yuuki cut herself off when I suddenly broke into a sprint straight for Silica. If she saw my face, she'd see I wasn't smiling.
"Silica, get away from it now!" From my left hip, I drew a carbon-copy handcannon from its holster, the hammer drawn back as I raised it to the feathered dragon's body. "MOVE!"
"H-huh? M-Mal..." She tried to speak until the feathered dragon shoved her back and into my arm as I pulled the trigger, only to miss from Silica's body shoved into mine, the little drake scurrying back with a hiss.
A tremendous pressure erupted from the tiny dragon, causing it to suddenly enlarge by several meters in length, width and height. It's skin bled a gradient of onyx and purple with large, crimson eyes. Spines ran down its back and tail, with massive wings made from black bone with a thin, transparent membrane.
With its body upright, it unleashed a hellish roar that thundered in the red skies.
I... don't know what this boss is...
"Holy crap... Silica, go, now!" I pushed her aside, drawing my handcannon towards its face, only for each bullet to bounce off its scales, I couldn't even make a dent! It snarled and roared down at me, snaking its head lower to slam into my torso, sending me sprawling across the ground.
"Malzeno!" From the side, Mito grabbed my outstretched arm and pulled me away before the drake could crush me with its foot, its eyes seemed to be drawn only to Silica who ran away frantically to throw off its sights.
I eyed Mito, seeing the pale complexion and fear in her eyes, even her hand was tense. Yeah, I knew this feeling too, all the way back in Aincrad. "This boss... I..." Gulping, I found my footing again. "I guess this is what was past the 75th floor..."
"No kidding..." She gasped, steeling herself with her scythe. "W-what can we do...?"
Good question. I looked to the countdown for the event, this all began at the three minute mark, maybe...
"We have less than three minutes," I pointed out, then gestured to the panicked players. "So that's three minutes to survive this, but with it aggroed on Silica, she's the person most in danger,"
"Then let's fix that," Mito was shaking, it was obviously getting to her, but she was forcing herself to stand. She always found a way to do that, even when I couldn't.
Breaking away, I raised my handcannon and unloaded bullets across the whole body of the dragon, trying to test for softer points. But my bullets simply bounced off its scales, all except for the membrane. Reloading, I slapped the moon clip in place.
"Gotcha now, asshole," Sliding on my heels, I unloaded the whole clip into the left wing as the boss began to spew fireballs everywhere, obliterating any player caught in the blaze. My gunfire finally left its mark, drawing the beast's ire for a moment as it reeled back and spat a fireball toward me.
A gleam of purple coated my vision in a cross formation, Yuuki and Mito parrying the fire blast into cinders around us, the heat blowing past my face. "Kazuki, you okay!?" Yuuki called back to me, my thumb risen shakily with an anxious sweat forming on my face.
"With a lovely lady like you to protect me? Always," My compliment had her eyes soften, Mito twirling her scythe. "Ladies, take care of Silica, I'll try to keep it's attention,"
"Leave that to the others," Mito interjected firmly.
"You can barely make a dent, everyone else is caught between this boss and the crab, everything's in disarray," Yuuki protested, glaring at me with fiery, onyx eyes. "You're not doing this alone, got that?"
I tried to voice my concern, but both seemed adamant about sticking with me that my voice died in my throat. Off to one side, I saw that Riku caught Silica's arm, pulling her away from the dragon's warpath. A pang of fear filled my heart, but also a sense of pride, my sister's as stubborn as Merida, no way I was gonna get her to run either.
"You ladies drive a hard bargain..." Throwing my hands up, I lowered my left to pull forth a secondary handcannon. Realistically, this would never work, but we're far from reality at the moment. "Alright, let's go fight a boss we can't even scratch, piece of cake,"
Drawing both handcannons, their silver frames refracting the light from the ice beneath me, I unloaded two full clips into the wings, drawing the drake's Hate as it turned through the air, scarring the left wall with its massive tail. Arching its head back, it retched a volley of fire balls that erupted on contact with the ice.
I kept light on my feet, Yuuki twirling her blade to strike at its low-bearing tail as her blade sunk between the scales in passing, two arcs from Mito's scythe leaving shallow wounds across the tip of the tail as I narrowly evaded the spined tail, the wind threatening to throw me backwards as it blew overhead.
Loading two new clips, I ran and used one of the ice columns to vault, evading the fly-by tail swing that demolished the pillar, firing several shots to pepper its back and membrane, despite these puncture wounds, it didn't seem to phase it at all, eyes narrowed towards Silica.
Mito kept her head low, rushing the dragon as it slammed into the ground, attempting to crush the Reaper as she used its own leg to run and climb its body, digging her scythe through the shoulder before swinging herself under, carving a deep gash through its flesh. She stepped back only to be caught off guard by the arching tail that slithered and crashed into her side from behind.
"Mito!" I called out in a panic, seeing her health plummet to half from a single strike, her scythe clattering to the ground next to her. I turned my head sharply, Yuuki barely managed to block a head slam that sent her skidding on her heels, teeth grit from the impact that tore a quarter of her HP away.
I tried to distract it, but now it ignored my gunfire entirely, bullets ricocheting off its hide. With a massive thresh of its dark wings, the dragon took flight with a triumphant roar, circling around the outside of the arena slowly. It was heading straight for Silica and Riku!
Nautilus... Eiji, my blood boiled when he grabbed the two of them, my own friend and sister, and threw them to the ground like they were cannon fodder, directly in the dragon's warpath...
Pushing my feet under me, I was surprised to see Mito stand in the rough path of the drake, twirling her scythe with one hand pressed against the joint between the staff and blade. Beside her, Yuuki crossed the scythe with her sword, both were intending to try and parry that thing?
If this really was past floor 75, and to the point none of our attacks did lasting damage... no... they can't survive a direct hit like this. Braced with that unsettling reality, I knew they'd be okay, it was a game, they'd be defeated like any other player, it was okay... so why...
Why did it terrify me to think about it?
Nothing really came to mind, not a single idea or crazy strategy flooded into my head. I just... moved without thinking at all, or, I did think, right back to when I couldn't save Arc, Myst, or even Pix. That awful day came rushing back to the surface like bile in my throat, worse than any other day.
The girls braced for the looming shadow, that deafening roar drawing closer and closer. I grabbed Mito and Yuuki, thankfully, the latter's body touchable whilst in Ordinal Scale, and threw them under me, just as my right arm was struck with a crushing pressure of the dragon sailing by, I barely felt any resistance as three, massive gashes lined my body, my health plummeting faster than I could imagine.
-Hunter Down-
The adrenaline when I ran and pushed the girls out of harm's way, the anger of seeing two people close to be being tossed to the wolves, and my head filled with the memories of my old friends dying. For an instant, it became too much as I felt my body give out, collapsing against the girls, though I managed to catch myself on my hands and knees.
I could see my heartrate skyrocket for an instant, static drowning out all other sound before something just... vanished from my head, like someone that nicked me with a needle, stealing away all the strength I had.
"Kazuki!" Both girls beneath me gasped as I shakily pushed myself onto my knees to let them sit upright, worry written on their faces.
"Sorry... I... lost..." I forced between breaths, but my hazy eyes were glowering at the only thing I could see. Past Asuna who seemed to have been taken down too, held by Silica and Riku... I saw him... Eiji... "Bastard..."
His gaze fell to mine, as though he was looking at an ant, runt had some nerve. I forced a grin to my face, my trembling arm reaching towards him with what little strength I could muster. "Heh... took a... dragon... for you to... beat me... w-what a joke... of a Knight..."
"H-hey, sit still!" Mito grabbed my shoulders before I hit the deck, her brow furrowed with a great deal of concern. "You're pale... are you okay?"
"N-never better, j-just need... a moment," I managed, feeling Yuuki's shaky hands support my back, one hand clutched to my left.
"Kazuki..." I knew that voice, even the glittery look in her eyes, she hadn't looked like that since she panicked and try to shut me away at the Monument of Swordsmen.
Despite our situation, hellfire rained from above, casting the whole arena in a vermillion blaze, sweeping an intense heat around us, and cutting off even Kirito from advancing on Eiji who stood back, practically untouchable when that dragon landed, roaring in our faces. At this range, we'd be wiped out... crap.
Or, until the music cut out suddenly. Did we... make it past three minutes?
"Well, t-that anticlimactic for us..." My hoarse laugh cut the tension, feeling my back relax against Mito's and Yuuki's arms.
"Too bad~!" Yuna sang whilst the dragon took to the skies to leave, the giant crab plunging itself into a pool of water to leave abruptly, leaving many with a bitter disappointment at the sudden end to what was, without question, the most stressful fight of my life since... uh... well, it was stressful. "Good job~!"
The arena slowly reverted back to your everyday shopping center, with most players running off to try and pursue the dragon, Yuna, or both. Likely both. Mito helped me to my feet as Yuuki practically welded herself to my side, even if she was clipping through my body, it was the thought that counts.
Asuna looked as bad as me, just barely able to sit upright. Riku turned to me with a look that screamed 'anxiety'. "Kazuki... a-are you okay?" She ran to my side, seeing the red gashes fade across my arm. "You... I'm sorry, I tried to help Silica an-and I-"
Placing a hand on her head, I gently stroked her head. "It's alright, you did more than enough and kept her safe; you'd make a great support in a raid," I smiled brightly, seeing her quickly wipe her eyes, trying to keep her chin up as I brought my arm around her shoulders to pull her in close. "Don't worry, we'll get that old drake next time,"
"Y-yeah, you bet, dork," Good, she was insulting me again. Patting her back as I nodded to Mito for her to let me go so she could check on Asuna.
"Asuna, what about you? Sorry I... wasn't there," Mito lowered her head, but Asuna shook her head weakly.
"This was my fault, don't go blaming yourself, okay? I've known you long enough to understand how you get," Asuna stated firmly, even if she was offering a gentle smile. Mito sighed through her nose, shaking her head at her, but mimicked the smile.
"Dummy, you really stress me out sometimes," Mito remarked, chuckling under her breath.
"Wah!" Kirito jumped back with me when Yuna suddenly dropped between us, again, those eyes spared me a glance, only now... I couldn't really place where I've seen her before, other than as an idol that is.
"That's too bad, we'll have to wait till next time," Yuna tisked, leaning down on her knees before Asuna to give a little wink with a heart. Then, her drone flew overhead, deconstructing her model back into polygons, vanishing yet again.
"I-I'm sorry too, Asuna. It was all because I messed up, you and Malzeno lost," Silica quickly piled on with the apologizes.
"Don't you start too," I sighed at her, giving a lop-sided smile. "Better newbies to this game than people with points to burn, am I right?"
Asuna nodded to me, though seemed lost in her own head. I had to admit, I felt a little like I was stuck in some lucid dream, or my senses felt hyper aware, whatever it was, it made me uncomfortable. Note to self, don't die in AR, feels really weird.
"Forget about it, you and Riku only ended up in that mess cause that No. 2 jerk shoved you both! What's his problem?" Lizbeth shared my annoyances with Mr Top Player. He looked right smug about it too, like there wasn't a blade that could touch him... for now.
"We'll see how he feels next time we cross paths," Yuuki huffed, punching her open fist with a fiery gaze. "That jerk got Asuna and Kazuki 'killed', and it wasn't even a fair fight!"
"Like he was banking on that boss appearing..." Mito muttered under her breath, but didn't follow up on that thought. Even if I agreed.
"Jumping headfirst into danger to save someone, as expected of the former vice commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath," Kirito smirked at his partner, but she seemed to be staring off into space again. 'Knights of the Blood Oath', huh? He offered her a hand, but quickly noticed her blank expression. "Wh-what's wrong, Asuna?"
She snapped out of it quickly, smiling tenderly. "No, it's nothing, sorry!" Taking his hand, Mito helped her up with Lizbeth whilst Riku acted as my own crutch.
"Come on, let's go home," Kirito replied.
"Here, lean on us for the moment," Mito offered, wrapping one of Asuna's arms over her own shoulders.
"Thanks, Mitsumi, Rika," The brunette thanked them.
"Yeah-yeah, let's keep you on your feet, Miss Hero," Lizbeth acted aloof but she was a horrible actor.
"You okay to walk?" Yuuki double-checked with me, those eyes of her washed with concern still.
"Just need my bearings, I'll be back to your ever-optimistic boyfriend in no time, Cupcake," I offered a sweet grin and a thumbs up for good measure.
"Alright... but take it slow, no 'ifs' or 'buts'," Her finger poked and phased through my nose, making her growl in annoyance. "Oh, come on! Stupid, event-only physics!"
On the bright side, it was enough to lighten the mood for a bit, putting this whole dual boss battle behind us.
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
Thus, the real story of Ordinal Scale begins. Putting the implications of the end aside, surprise, Mito from the Progressive Movies makes her debut in this movie! Despite her not being canon to the Progressive series I like her, and I hope you do too.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Players!