I struggled to come up with an answer, so Asuna sidled up with one prepared.
“I’ll be partnering up with him for a while, so it’s nice to meet you,” she said in a clear voice. I was stunned. It isn’t just for today? Klein and his friends vacillated between disappointment and jealous rage. Finally, Klein cast a beady eye on me and growled through gnashing teeth.
“Kirito, you rat…”
Just as I was slumping my shoulders with the resignation that I wasn’t going to get out of this easily, a new set of rattling and footsteps from the same doorway told of a new set of visitors. Hearing the rigid discipline of their march, Asuna brushed my arm, worried.
“It’s the Army, Kirito!”
I turned to the entranceway with a start to see the same squad of heavily armored soldiers that we witnessed earlier in the forest. Klein raised a hand, and his comrades retreated to the wall. The soldiers entered in the same two-row formation, but it was not as crisp as before. They looked sluggish, and the bits of their faces that could be seen beneath the helmets were heavily fatigued.
The squad came to a halt on the other side of the safety zone. The man in front gave the command to be at ease, and the other eleven clattered to the floor with an incredible din. He turned to us without a second glance at his subordinates.
Upon closer look, his equipment was slightly different from the others’. The plate armor was of finer make, and his breastplate was the only one that contained a crest meant to symbolize the full shape of Aincrad.
The man stopped in front of us and removed his helmet. He was quite tall. I’d put him in his early thirties, with short hair and a square face; thick eyebrows; small and sharp eyes; and a thin, disapproving mouth. After an imposing gaze, he turned and spoke to me, as I stood the farthest forward.
“I am Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz of the Aincrad Liberation Army.”
That last part came as a surprise to me. I’d thought “The Army” was just a nickname that others used. When did it get appropriated into their official title? And he was a lieutenant colonel, to boot. I gave him a brief, “Kirito, solo.”
The man nodded, then continued imperiously. “Have you already cleared the area?”
“Yeah, we’ve mapped out everything up to the boss’s lair.”
“Good. I’d like your map data.”
I was momentarily taken aback by his matter-of-fact tone, but Klein lost it altogether.
“Wh-wha…? You think we’re just gonna hand it over? Do you have any idea how much work it takes to map a labyrinth?” he bellowed. Maps of unfinished areas were a valuable resource. Treasure hunters who sought unopened chests would pay a fine price for that information.
The man raised an eyebrow at Klein’s outburst and jutted out his chin.
“We are fighting for the liberation of all players, including you!” he barked. “It should be your duty to share your information with us!”
It was sheer arrogance. The Army had barely bothered to help clear floors in the past year.
“Wait just a second…”
“Why, you shameless…”
I had to hold out both hands to stop Asuna and Klein from converging on the man.
“I don’t mind. I was going to release the data once I got back to town anyway.”
“Oh, c’mon, man! You’re being too generous!”
“I don’t treat map data like a business opportunity.”
I opened a trading window and sent the man named Corvatz my map. He accepted it stone-faced, said, “Your cooperation is appreciated,” without a shred of appreciation, and turned on his heel. I called out to his back.
“I wouldn’t bother the boss right now if I were you.”
Corvatz barely turned his head.
“…That decision is at my discretion, not yours.”
“We just took a look at it earlier, and it’s not the kind that a half-size raid can tackle. Besides, your soldiers look pretty wasted to me.”
“My men aren’t weaklings, to complain about a simple march!”
Corvatz put extra weight on my men, but the exhausted warriors sprawled out on the floor didn’t seem to share his camaraderie.
“Back on your feet!”
They slowly climbed up and re-formed into two rows. Corvatz took his spot at the fore without sparing us a second glance. He raised and lowered his arm, and the twelve readied their weapons and resumed the march.
While their HP appeared full, the tense battles of SAO left invisible strain on its players. Our real bodies weren’t budging an inch back on the other side, but the fatigue we felt here would not disappear without sleep or relaxation. From what I could tell, the Army soldiers weren’t used to battle on the front line, and they were at their limit.
“Do they know what they’re doing…?”
The Army squad disappeared through the exit farther up the tower, and the measured footsteps faded out. Klein was too concerned for his own good.
“I mean, they’re not just going to charge right into the boss lair…”
Asuna looked worried. Something in Corvatz’s attitude suggested that they were taking a risk that was downright reckless.
“Should we at least check on them first?” I suggested. Even Klein’s party nodded in agreement. “Who’s too concerned for his own good now?” I grimaced to myself, but my mind was made up. I wouldn’t sleep well that night if we left now and found out later that the group never returned.
I checked my equipment and was preparing to leave when I heard Klein whispering to Asuna behind my back. At first I was exasperated, but that turned to surprise when I listened to what he was saying.
“So, um…Asuna? Er…how should I say this? I know he might not deserve it, but be good to Kirito, will you? Even if he is a introverted, grumpy, battle-obsessed idiot.”
I spun around and yanked hard on Klein’s bandanna.
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on.” He rubbed his stubbled chin, head tilted. “I mean, you’re actually teaming up with someone now. Ensnared by feminine wiles or not, it’s still progress.”
“I-I’m not being seduced!”
I noticed that Klein, his party, and even Asuna were all grinning at me, so I had no choice but to clamp my mouth shut and turn around. I even heard Asuna assure Klein, “I’ll take good care of him.”
I beat a hasty retreat through the doorway, my boots clacking on the stones.
11
We were unlucky enough to run into a group of lizardmen, so by the time the eight of us reached the hallway at the top of the tower, it had already been thirty minutes. We never caught up to the Army squadron.
“Maybe they used some items to return already?” Klein offered in an attempt to break the tension, but none of us believed it. Our pace quickened as we headed down the hallway. About halfway to the door, we heard the echoing sounds that confirmed our fears. I stopped abruptly and focused my ears.
“Aaaahh…”
It was soft, but undeniably a scream.
And not from a monster. We looked at one another and raced forward. Asuna and I pulled away from Klein’s group due to our agility, but this was no time for playing nice. We sped over the slick stones shining blue, this time in the opposite direction of our last, panicked sprint.
Finally, we came to the massive chamber doors. They were already wide open, the flickering blue flames visible amid the darkness within. And behind them, a massive shadow, writhing. Periodic metallic clanging. Screams.
“Those idiots!” Asuna shrieked, dashing even faster. I strained to keep up. We were going about as fast as the system could allow us. It felt like my feet weren’t even touching the floor. The pillars that lined the hallway were a blur.
We screeched to a halt right before the doorway, the hobnails of our boots raising sparks.
“Hey! Anyone okay in there?” I shouted, leaning my upper half through the doorway.
The interior of the room was a picture of hell.
The blue-white flames were flickering across the floor in a lattice pattern. At the center, its back to us, loomed a gigantic form gleaming with metal—the blue demon, the Gleameyes.
The wicked goat head emitted burning breath, and it swung around a gargantuan blade like a zanbato—a sword more suited for dicing horses than human beings. It hadn’t even lost a third of its HP. All around it, miniscule shadows leaped and fled. It was the Army.
Their prior discipline was entirely gone. I tried to do a quick head count and came up two short. Hopefully they’d used teleport crystals to escape.
One of the men took a tremendous swipe from the zanbato to his side and went sprawling across the floor. His HP was down in the red zone. Somehow, the Army had managed to get trapped, with the Gleameyes standing between them and the doorway where we stood now. I shouted to one of the collapsed players.
“What are you doing? Teleport out of here!”
His face, lit blue with the room’s eerie flames, was a rictus of terror and despair.
“It won’t work…We can’t…use any crystals!”
“Wha…”
My breath caught in my throat. The chamber was an anti-crystal zone. It was a rare trap that you occasionally saw in labyrinths, but none of the boss lairs had been this way before.
“They can’t teleport out…?”
Asuna swallowed. This meant that it would be much harder to save them. On the other side of the demon, one of the players raised his sword and gave a battle cry.
“Nonsense! Retreat is not an option for the Liberation Army! Fight, you scoundrels, fight!!” It was clearly Corvatz.
“You fools!” I screamed. The fact that there were two people missing in an anti-crystal zone meant they were dead, gone forever. The unthinkable had already occurred, and he wanted them to keep going? I could feel all the blood in my body boiling.
Klein’s party finally caught up to us. “What’s going on here?!”
I explained as briefly as I could. Klein grimaced.
“Isn’t there anything we can do for them?”
If we leaped into the fray, it was possible that we could clear a path for the soldiers to escape. But without a quick and easy way to teleport out, there was no guarantee we wouldn’t suffer casualties in the process. We just didn’t have enough people. As I hesitated over what to do, Corvatz had rallied his men to their feet across the room and was bellowing orders.
“All units…charge!”
Out of the ten survivors, two were slumped on the floor in critical condition. The other eight formed two lines of four, with Corvatz brandishing his sword in the lead.
“No! Stop!!” But my scream didn’t reach them.
It was sheer madness. Eight warriors attacking all at once wouldn’t do a thing but cause chaos and limit their individual strengths. They ought to be taking a defensive stance, doing bits of damage one at a time, and switching out constantly.
The beast stood upright, hands on hips, and let out an earthshaking roar, spewing bright steam from its mouth. The exhaust must have had a damaging effect, because the soldiers who came into contact with it slowed their attack. Out came the demon’s giant sword again. One man was flipped straight over the demon’s head by the blade, crumpling in a heap on the floor right before us.
It was Corvatz.
His HP bar was empty. He wore an expression of utter disbelief, his mouth moving slowly.
Impossible.
As soon as he mouthed the words, Corvatz’s body shattered into countless tiny shards with a nerve-grating crackle. Asuna gave a brief shriek at his disintegration, so sudden and unceremonious.
Their leader gone, the Army squad was completely lost. They fled and screamed, all discipline gone. None of the men had even half his health remaining.
“No…no…you can’t…”
Asuna seemed to be wringing the words out of herself. I tried to reach out and grab her arm, but I was an instant too late.
“You can’t do this!” she cried, leaping forward like a burst of wind. She pulled out her rapier in midair and plunged into the Gleameyes, a beam of light.
“Asuna!” I shouted, forced to follow in her footsteps.
“Whatever happens, happens!” Klein’s party brought up the rear.
Asuna’s desperation attack struck the demon directly in the back. Sadly, its effect on the monster’s health was nearly imperceptible. The Gleameyes spun around with a bellow of rage, swinging its zanbato with fearful speed. Asuna darted out of the way, but the blade’s shock wave threw her to the ground. It swung around mercilessly for a follow-up.
“Asunaaa!!”
Sheer terror chilled my spine, and I desperately lunged for the space between Asuna and the sword. At the last possible instant, I succeeded in just barely deflecting the path of the demon’s assault. The impact was breathtaking.
Our weapons sent off sparks as they scraped, and the giant blade smashed into the floor just inches from where Asuna lay, gouging a deep furrow with the sound of an explosion.
“Get back!” I shouted, preparing for the demon’s next blow. The swings came fast and furious, each individual swipe powerful enough to be fatal. There was no time for me to mount a counterattack.
The Gleameyes used double-handed greatsword skills, but the perfect craft of its combinations left me totally unable to guess what was coming next. All my nerves were on edge, my every instinct dedicated to parrying or sidestepping each blow. The force of them was so overwhelming, however, that I couldn’t avoid everything, and my HP dwindled bit by bit with each deflection.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Klein’s party lifting up the fallen Army soldiers to drag them out of the room. As the demon and I were fighting smack in the middle of the chamber, their progress was limited.
“Urgh!!”
The demon finally connected on a powerful stroke. I went numb with the rattling shock, and my HP dropped precipitously. My equipment and skill loadout weren’t designed for tanking. I couldn’t last much longer. Fear of death spread through my limbs like a chill. I couldn’t even coordinate well enough to escape.
There was only one course of action remaining. I had to put all of my damage-dealing expertise to the test and fight back.
“Asuna! Klein! Just hold out for ten seconds!”
I gave a hardy swing of my sword and deflected the beast’s next attack, taking advantage of the brief pause that ensued to drop into a roll. Klein filled the gap with his katana just in time.
Unfortunately, Klein’s katana and Asuna’s rapier were both selected for their speed in battle, not their weight. They wouldn’t stand up to the demon’s tremendous horse cleaver. I swiped my left hand while on the floor, calling up the menu.
There was no time for a single mistake. My fingers flew over the buttons, my heart racing. I quickly shuffled through my inventory list, found what I wanted, and materialized it. I set the item in a blank slot on my equipment mannequin, opened my skill window, and switched my currently selected weapon skill.
When all the steps were complete, I hit the OK button to close the window, felt a new weight on my back, and looked up.
“All ready!”
Klein was pulling back and his HP bar was lower—he must have taken a hit. Normally, he’d be using a healing crystal, but that wouldn’t work in here. Asuna was occupying the demon’s attention now, and in a few seconds, she’d be down under half of her health, into the yellow zone.
When she heard me give the signal from behind her, Asuna nodded and unleashed a thrust attack with a piercing cry.
“Yaaaah!!”
Her sword left white tracers behind as it flew forward and collided with the Gleameyes’s blade, sparks flying in every direction. Both of them were knocked backward by the force of the impact, leaving a space in between.
“Switch!”
I leaped in to face the enemy without missing a beat. The demon recovered from its momentary paralysis and swung hard.
The zanbato trailed fire until it ca
me into contact with the trusty sword in my right hand, while my left hand reached for the new sword slung over my back. It pulled free and connected with the demon’s torso. It was the first clean hit we’d scored, and for the first time, I actually saw its HP bar diminish.
“Groaaah!!”
It erupted with rage and attempted another downward swipe. This time I absorbed the blow fully with both swords crossed in front of me, and pushed back. It lost balance with the reflection of force, and I leaped onto the offensive for the first time.
A mid-level slash with the right sword. A momentary thrust with the left. Right, left, right again. My swords flashed so quickly, they seemed to burn my brain cells. High-pitched slashing sound effects popped off in quick succession, and beams of light shot out of the fray like stardust.
I was using my hidden specialty, the Extra Skill “Dual Blades.” This was Starburst Stream, a high-level, sixteen-part combination.
“Raaaahhh!!”
Paying no mind to the few blows that the demon blocked, I roared as my assault continued, left and right. My eyesight began scorching—I could barely even see the enemy anymore. Even the occasional shock of the monster’s sword striking my body felt like it was coming from another world entirely. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, and my nerves sparked with every swing of the swords.
Faster, faster. My mind was accelerated to the breaking point, even the double-speed of swinging twice the swords feeling inadequate. I swung faster and faster, attempting to outdo even the speed-assist of the game system.
“…Aaaaahhh!!”
The sixteenth and final blow caught the Gleameyes directly in the middle of the chest.
“Groaaahhh!!”
Suddenly I realized I wasn’t the only one bellowing. The demon was roaring up at the ceiling, white exhaust pouring from its mouth and nostrils.
It seemed to freeze for just an instant.
And the Gleameyes exploded into a vast cloud of tiny pieces. Glittering particles of light showered the room.
Is it…over…?
My eyes swam with the aftereffects of the battle, and I unconsciously swiped both swords and returned them to the scabbards crossed over my back. I checked my HP bar—a few pixels of red remained. I stared at them as though they didn’t belong to me, then felt all the strength leave my body. I slid to the floor without a word.
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