1,207Hello everyone! Man, it's been way too long, hasn't it?
I won't bother wasting your time with excuses, but if you're really curious and you don't follow that story, you can know the causes for this unholy delay looking at the Notes at the top of 'One Punch Gamer: Chains of Fate's latest chapter. To that, add that despite how much I love to write Eroge, this last month of the year has been quite hectic and busy for me, especially the last week, as it probably has also been for quite a few of you.
With that said, though, I hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my dear readers. And that this chapter helps you have a nice day this Christmas Eve at least XP Without further delay, enjoy!
Oh, and, as always, help filling this fic's TvTropes is appreciated. Now, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Neither Sword Art Online nor its characters belong to me, as much as I wish otherwise. If they did, 'There Is But One Ultimate Way' would no doubt be the Canon Ending of the series.
Scene 16: Ending this annoying Sidequest!
November 20th, 2024. Arc Sophia, Main Inn. Kirito's Room, 07:25…
Yawning softly as he equipped his usual clothes, Kirito took a moment to take on the sight offered by the light of the morning sun coming through the window.
An exhausted but smiling Sachi lay on the bed, covered only by the blankets and snoring softly, causing a smile to also appear on his face. The girl (With the help of her 'guardian spirit' to completely ignore how much stronger than her he was) had been very active and even a bit forceful during their nightly actives, but had ended up passing out with a satisfied look first…not that he had much energy left at that point, barely having been able to hug her tightly and cover both with the sheets before going into dreamland himself.
Giving himself a moment to appreciate the peaceful aura around his 'wife', the black-haired boy chuckled softly as he ruffled her hair and exited the room, heading downstairs to have some early breakfast.
As he expected, nobody but Agil was there so early, the American man giving him a nod of acknowledgment as he went around preparing things for the inn to run smoothly that day, making the gamer wonder when he had time to farm and level up at all.
Still, as much as he loved spending time with his girls and/or waiting for them to wake up as of late, especially if he had just spent the night with them, he figured some alone time would do him good. Maybe try and get some breakfast up for Sachi to…
"Good morning, Papa!"
"Wah! Yu-Yui?" looking behind him, Kirito found the bubbly little AI giving him one of her usual silly smiles, seemingly in a very good mood. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there…weren't you sleeping with Kizmel today?"
"Yep, I was, but I woke up early thinking of something and I didn't wanna disturb Kizmel-mama…" pouted Yui while sitting across the boy, before smiling brightly again. "Oh, but that's not as important as what I had to tell you! Papa, I think I finally got it!"
"You…got it?"
"Yes, I know why your new friend and my future new mama, Philia, is stuck with a permanent Orange cursor on the Hollow Area!" happily declared the 'little girl' with apparent pride.
Immediately, the gamer was on his feet, staring wide-eyed at his daughter with a mix of disbelief and a bit of hope (Pointedly deciding to just ignore the 'future new mama' part).
"You did?!"
"Yep! Well, not exactly…I was totally lost and had no idea about what to do…until I saw it in a dream!" happily explained Yui while making a victory sign with her fingers. "This pretty lady with a weird mask and lots of chains that looked very annoyed with me told me everything I needed to know!"
"…wait, what?"
"Unimportant details, papa! The important thing is that I know what's wrong with Philia now, after putting everything you discovered about her together!" waved it off the first MHCP while puffing out her nonexistent chest. "See, when The Glitch happened during her teleportation that caused a whacky error inside the Hollow Area which messed up the…thingies that prevent errors from happening!"
"…you mean the game's code?" ventured the boy with a sweatdrop.
"Yup, that thingy! Anyway, normally when a player shows up in there, their 'Hollow' is immediately stored away, to prevent some weird error 'cause both use the same ID in the system! However, because of the Glitch, Cardinal instead accidentally spawned both her AND her Hollow on the same spot!"
"…that's what happened, then. And then…"
"Then Philia-not-yet-mama killed her Hollow in self-defense…Hollow Philia must have suffered a crash upon seeing 'another her', so she panicked and attacked. Philia answered in kind and…well, you know it ended." shrugging, the little girl paused for a moment, as if to catch her unneeded breath, and Kirito realized this was probably the longest she had ever explained…anything, probably. "Uff…that caused the new 'bug' to her Cursor to happen! Because, as you know, inside the Hollow Area, Hollows are like Players…"
"Which means killing one is seen as PKing someone would! That's why Philia's cursor is permanently Orange!" finished the gamer with an excited look on his face. "The System is erroneously confusing her with a Player Killer! And because Cardinal is all messed up and the Hollow Area is just a backup server, it hasn't been able to correct that mistake!"
"…thanks for finishing the explanation yourself, papa, I was getting tired from saying so many complicated words!" cheered Yui before taking a sip of a cup from hot chocolate, which her 'father' could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago. "So yeah, that's the reason why Philia future-mama is trapped. Don't worry, though! I'm sure you will find a Console Terminal that can correct her bugged state and let her leave the Hollow Area once you defeat the two remaining Area Bosses!"
"Oh? Did you find some information confirming that?"
"Nope! But it's just like the narrative plot of any anime that once you defeat all the monsters that are progressively blocking your path in a videogame you arrive at your objective!" proudly explained the little girl before taking another sip of her chocolate, not noticing how Kirito facefaulted at her words. "So that means you're only missing two Area Bosses, plus probably one hidden super-secret Final Boss before you can save her!"
"I…gods, the worst part is that I can't even honestly argue against her. With all the insane bullshit that has been happening in my life ever since I got trapped in this world, that TOTALLY could happen and I would accept it without even blinking." mentally lamented the black-haired boy, before taking a deep breath and standing up with decided eyes. "Whatever the case, though, it's time to end this…today, I'm going to get Philia out of the Hollow Area! And nothing will stop me from it!"
With those decided thoughts and quickly typing a message to all his 'wives', the gamer headed out, ready for anything and prepared to finally end the…!
"Yahoooh, Kirito! Are you heading for the Hollow Area?" shouted Strea out of the blue, all but dropping on his face just as he exited the inn, making him release a totally-manly-scream. "Can I go with you? Pweaseeee?"
"Ehm…sure?"
"Yaaay! You won't regret it!" cheered the busty AI before immediately dragging the boy of the silver cloak by the arm, burying it between her ample bust as they headed for the Teleport Gate. "Let's go! I have wanted to meet this Philia girl I have heard the others talking about for a while now."
"O-okay…
Well, that had certainly been a bit…unexpected, but it didn't change what he had decided at all! It was time to free Philia and nothing was going to stop him!
20 Minutes Later…
"Why won't I ever stop tempting Fate?!" screamed Kirito as he held on for dear life onto the head of 'The Hollowreaper', aka the Skull Reaper's angrier cousin, also the Area Boss of the 'Great Void' Area.
That on itself probably wouldn't have been too bad (As much as anyone with common sense would have disagreed), if it wasn't for the fact that Mochi was flying around while dodging countless strange and very diverse flying creatures and machines, luring them as close to the ground as it could for Philia and her clearly distressed followers to kill them off.
"Ha-hang in there, Kirito, we will back you off!" screamed the Lady of the Ring as she looked how the massive skeletal centipede rushed past them again with its 'rider' still doing its best to hang on AND keep it away from them at the same time. "As soon as more Chitauri are trying to kill us!"
"You know, it's in days like this that I almost wish going back to being nothing more than a semi-empty shell of data based on my original meant only for game-testing!" screamed Hollow Lind as he prevented a humanoid robot screaming something about 'The glory of Ultron' to blast their 'master' apart, by beheading it. "Things made more sense back then!"
"Hoh, boy, finally someone who understands me!" added Coper as he lost an arm to another of the 'Chitauri' that were flying around. "Fuck! A potion, please!"
"Stop whining and concentrate more on surviving, you two!" chastised them Koharu while glaring at her fellow Hollows, her own blade slashing a humanoid insect apart. "If we get distracted, we're going to get overrun!"
"I'm sad to say that's going to happen no matter what because these bastards somehow know how to use the Teleporter that brought us to the Boss Room!" shouted Mater while impaling another robot. "…also, where did that crazy girl who came with Kirito go?!"
"You mean the one with the massive rack and very little care about showing off skin?" eloquently summarized the currently armless Hollow as he downed a potion and nonchalantly dodged another fast-sweeping alien. "Haven't seen her since he said she would distract the biggest group following us when we were about to reach the Boss Room's teleporter! I know Kirito said to not worry about her, but don't you think…?"
RUMBLE…
"Wait, what was that sou-?"
With a loud wail, the rooftop of the massive Boss Room exploded in a shower of breaking polygons, a gigantic flying space-whale-insect soaring down with brutal force.
"Yahooooh! Kiritooooo, sorry for the waaaaaait!" happily called Strea from where she stood with her Holy Moonlight Sword stabbed into the creature's head, twisting the unnatural weapon to the side to make her insane 'ride' to veer and crush most of the enemies still in the room, under the gaping looks of Philia and her followers. "Incoming collision from giant alien-thingy!"
"Took you long enough!" simply replied the black-haired boy without missing a beat, ignoring The Hollowreaper's vain attempts of stopping its mad speed-charge as he forcefully removed his blades from its body and threw himself into the air, his cloak fluttering almost majestically around him just as the grinning virtual girl crashed the giant mob against the similarly-sized Area Boss, jumping at the same time while the sound of the brutal collision and of polygons exploding everywhere filled the room. "…man, I'm probably gonna seriously need a psychologist when I get back to the real world, if I can then shit like this in such casual stride by now…"
"That sounds lovely!" agreed Strea as she shot past him, grabbing him as both of them spun through the air and crashed against the ground, their HP bars considerably lower, but still alive, even as the remaining half-bodies of their previous 'rides' finished vanishing behind them. "Can I go with you if you do? Visiting the psychologist sounds fun!"
Kirito barely was able to suppress the urge of making a mention to her original nature, which even now he could read on the 'Heroine Summary' he could visualize above her head if he concentrated a little bit. Instead, he opted for giving her a smile, ruffling her Hunter Hat and ignoring her pout as he took advantage of his Stats to not let his gaze drop down to her absurdly exposed cleavage.
"Maybe, Strea. It depends on how much of my sanity I need to treat when the time comes." replied the gamer as he stood up, turning to the running form of the Lady of the Ring and her Hollows, just in time to receive a tackle hug from her. "Ugh…thanks?"
"Du-dummy, you scared me for a second there!" complained Philia while hanging onto him for dear life. "…that was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen, though."
[You gained 50 Affection Points with Heroine Kotone!]
[You stimulated her inner Marvel Fangirl! You gain +10 in Aura!]
"Heh, if you say so…okay then everyone, how about we exit this area and NEVER come back around here again? I don't know about you, but I could do without being hunted by cheap reproduction of western comic books' characters for the rest of my life…"
With a vocal round of agreements, the bizarre group that had more virtual than flesh and bone members headed towards the Hollow Area's last zone, ready to face anything…
Flying through the skies of Floor 82, a couple of figures soared the air a few times before landing just at the entrance of the latest Floor, Leafa's wings closing just as Lisbeth did a classic 'Superhero Landing' and then let her armor's faceplate open to show her massive grin.
Quite a few of the Front Liners that were just exiting from where the latest Floor Boss had just been defeated clapped, even as several of the other members of Unison Heart rolled their eyes.
"Okay, now that I'm not flailing around through the air like a headless chicken, I'm actually starting to love flying around." chuckled Lisbeth while giving her fellow flier a thumbs-up. "I'm starting to get why you're so crazy about it, Leafa!"
"Heh, yeah, flying is truly amazing. Back in ALO, it was one of my main reasons to enjoy playing the game…" trailing off with a small smile, the blonde 'angel' couldn't help but release a nervous laugh when her gaze settled on something else. "Then again, I bet she feels more as if she's flying than any of us right now."
Gazes drawn by her words, the rest of the gathered girls turned to look at a point near where the rest of the Front Liners were still sorting out the drops they had gotten from the Boss, where the chipper form of Sachi could be seen sauntering about, staring at the sky as if it was the greatest thing in the universe.
The fact that the other players were giving her a wide berth probably had to do with how sometimes the ground around her would randomly shake or gain claw-marks on it, as if some oversized, invisible and un-hearable feline was excitedly making rounds around her master.
"…well, all of us here know that feeling firsthand, so we can't really blame her." sighed Argo with a wry smile as she shook her head, her strange shadowy cloak draining all light as she turned to look up with a pensive look. "Hmm…that makes everyone but a pair of us, huh?"
"…well, if you're not counting Sinonon and that crazy Strea girl, or Philia-san in the Hollow Area, then yes." nodded Asuna with a small blush, which everyone else quickly shared, the golden-clad girl coughing out loud. "Though I feel we probably will have to sooner or later…probably the former."
"I can hear you, you know! I'm only ten steps away!" shouted a very red-faced Sinon while stomping on the ground. "And I have told you again, you don't get to count me amongst you! I-I'm not into Kiri…that idiot! We're just friends by circumstances until I regain all my memories, okay?!"
"…poor girl is still way too in denial." commented Yuna as she walked up to the group, having been speaking and exchanging items with her guild until that moment. "What were you talking about that triggered our resident sword-wielding Archer?"
"We were talking about those that have clearly taken the 'next step' with Kirito. Sachi here joined 'our ranks' last night, clearly." commented Lisbeth while closing her armor's faceplate and pointing at where the spear-user was still enjoying the marvel that was walking while humming.
"Player Lisbeth, in case you didn't know, everyone can tell you just put your faceplate up to pretend you're not blushing up a storm when saying that." chimed HARU from within the pink-haired girl's Iron Man suit, making her twitch.
"Nobody asked you, know-it-all AI…"
"Putting Liz's arguments with the literal voice inside her head (Or helmet I guess) aside, yeah." continued Kizmel with a fond smile, the downward arrow on her forehead seeming to gleam for a moment at whatever she was thinking. "If we exclude the ones mentioned earlier, which have come into Kirito's life the most recently, then the only ones who have yet to take up their rights as Kirito's wives are Lux and…"
"We're back!" called out Silica just as Pina's massive shadow flew above the group, the Elder Feathery Dragon 'roaring' as it landed beside the rest of the guild, Lux thanking her and her rider/partner as she hopped off its back. "There doesn't seem to be much in this Floor except the main town and some weird sand-traps all around the center of it…probably would take hours to go around walking through them, but it's just a few minutes if we go flying above it!"
"Then that will probably be what we do when the time comes!" quickly said Asuna before anyone could say anything, walking forward to the pair and giving them a big smile. "Let's head back to Arc Sophia and start getting lunch ready!"
"…were you talking about something before we came in?" innocently asked Lux as she looked around, the sometimes oddly sharp, if clumsy, girl noticing the mood in the air contrasted with the Gold Saint's clear attempt to change the mood, making her flinch and the others to look away embarrassed.
"U-uhm, Asuna-san was just talking about how Sachi-san looks clearly quite happy today!" explained Leafa with a nervous smile, hoping that the pair looking towards the happy-go-lucky spear-user would serve as enough explanation. "And that we shouldn't…"
"We also wondered when you two are going to make use of your right as Kirito's wives and lay with him." added Kizmel with her usual Warhammer-like bluntness, making both girls freeze in place as their faces slowly started turning an interesting shade of crimson. "Then again, given how things have been going lately, maybe one of you two already planned something for toni…?"
"WE'RE GOING BACK TO SCOUT!" shouted Silica with a very shrill voice as she jumped onto Pina's back with all the mastery of someone who based her entire fighting style around jumping on monsters' backs, Pina then gently grabbing the still unmoving Lux with a claw and shooting up into the air surprisingly fast. "We will see you all back in Arc Sophia lateeeeeeeerrrr…!"
"…and there they go. Great going, Kii-chan." groaned Argo as the dragon flew away under the confused stares of many players, probably because of how a statue-like Lux was hanging off one of its limbs. "Let's hope they calm down fast."
"…my apologies, I know they're probably amongst the most skittish of us all, but I would have thought at this point the thought of intimacy with our husband wouldn't elicit such an extreme reaction." apologized the Dark Elf while looking in the direction their 'fellow wives' had flown off to.
"Eh…I'm sure they will calm down and come back in a little while. Plus, they have each other to talk to if their thoughts get a bit too messy…" trailing off, Lisbeth gave Asuna a smile after those words, remembering how the girl had helped her out during her own 'situation'. "Sometimes, that's all you really need. A dear friend with which to talk to."
"…player Lisbeth, I would like to remind you player Asuna can't see you smiling if you have the armor's faceplate up." amusedly commented HARU, causing her partner to heavily blush and curse her.
The happy laughter that erupted amongst the group brought a smile to most of the people gathered too. It made the AI within the simulated virtual super-armor feel oddly peaceful.
Anything was better compared to the mess of chaos in which Cardinal had become…and maybe it was about time to bring that up with her user and her friends.
After all, whatever the consequences, they needed to get out of that damn game before the System running it finished going mad…
Amedister the Queen was the single remaining of the Hollow Area's Main Bosses The ones that served as 'overseers' and guardians of its Main Areas, at least.
Still, the massive insect queen monster, hidden within the depths of the bizarre-looking Outer World Area, capable of spawning quite an annoying number of ads 'children' to fight for her was a terrifyingly powerful enemy, whose power was comparable to that of most Bosses in the last upper quarter of Aincrad.
…which was why it was so extremely confused and being unable to do anything but run around as 'slashes of moonlight' kept tearing her body apart, the massive gigantic bug's AI being an absolute mess.
There were no players within her lair at all, after all, yet she was somehow being destroyed from outside her Aggro Range, meaning it had no idea how to retaliate. Never mind that her ads were completely useless as they were even less able to reach whatever was killing her than she was.
Also, none of the guardians, sub-quests, and triggers needed to even open the way up to her Boss Room in the first place had been activated at all. What the hell was going on?!
…relatively high the sky, Mochi snorted, the deceptively strong creature casually circling around again while 4 of its 7 'passengers' sat and munched on some sandwiches and sweets, two stood looking down at the Area Boss with focused looks and the last one…happily hummed about what a good day to hunt it was as she once again swung her shining blade downwards, sending yet another slash of deadly moonlight down.
"Ahahahahah! Gotta say, while I don't mind getting up close with monsters, there is something weirdly thrilling about this!" laughed Strea as another of Amedister's HP bars vanished.
"…man, that's awesome." grinned Philia while her hands twitched, as if wondering if she could pull off something similar.
"Welcome to the world of dirty cheaters, Strea. It's…not actually as bad as the 'me' of a couple of years ago would have thought." summarized Kirito with a small shake of his head.
To be honest, a part of him still felt bad for the Boss down there, the once fair gamer within his soul crying about how unfair it was that all of its unique properties and mechanics were being utterly wasted.
Thankfully, the new part of him developed under the maddened strain of having gained Dating Sim powers and being trapped in a game where you actually died if you were killed quickly bitch-slapped that other, smaller part of him away.
Truly, the moment they had exited from the Void Area and seen how the new alien-looking forest one was…well, completely outside, with no buildings or structures that seemed to be their destination or stood on their way…a shit-eating grin had appeared on his face.
Simply hoping on Mochi's back to bypass literally every single area of the labyrinthic and weirdly-colored woods had felt cathartic after all the bullshit they had experienced in the previous zone. They didn't even have to face whatever weirdness had infected this particular part of the Hollow Area thanks to that! (Which were probably zombies or something equally stupid and cliché like that)
So it was with nothing but a deep satisfaction that the black-haired boy watched the last Area Boss shatter into pieces.
"Yay! Victory!" cheered Strea before turning around and burying Philia on her cleavage, the smaller girl squeaking as she tried to get free for some virtual breath, but the Hunter seemed to be surprisingly strong even accounting for the power the Ring gave its Lady.
"A-air…air…!"
"Strea, let her go…"
"Man…this is finally over, hmm?" commented Koharu with a relieved sigh. "A bit anticlimactic, but I can't say I don't prefer that over the alternative."
"Preach, sister. I, for once, am glad that this didn't summon anything crazier or weirder." declared Coper while raising a mug of water towards her fellow Hollow, drinking it one go. "…still, what exactly do we do…?"
At that very moment, 5 beams of energy shot from every corner of the Hollow Area, one of them from directly below them, converging on the distant form of the black sphere they all knew was the Control Area, making it glow for an instant.
"…now? Never mind, that answers that."
"Well…guess we're heading back to the control room, then." sighed Lind while dusting off some inexistent food remains from his black cloak. "Glad that we can leave this area without any…"
Black-red tendrils shot up from down below, coiling around Mochi's wings and dragging the shocked Fellbeast and all of its passengers down into an unexpected cacophony of screams.
Experience from having 'fallen to his death' more times than a 16-years-old should have, Kirito spun in the air and reached out, grabbing Koharu and Coper before hugging them close to himself, his cloak flapping wildly around them as he put himself back-first towards the ground.
On his peripheral vision, he saw Philia shouting as she held onto Mater and Lind, her eyes burning with power as the Ring summoned forth ancient power to surround them like a glowing barrier, even as Strea Quickened to the side, turning into Mist for a brief moment to slow her descent.
And then he crashed onto the ground with brutal noise, the terrifying impact being so loud that the only reason a massive crater didn't form was that most of SAO's terrain was an Immortal Object. Two more followed shortly after.
Skulking forward, the…black thing that had downed the group retracted its hair-like tendrils and moved in an eerily slow way. Its body could only vaguely be called humanoid, its torso looking like nothing more than an open maw of broken ribs twisting in demented ways. Its head and face…were nothing more than some strange and deformed abomination between scar tissue and a tumor, twisting from side to side almost in a perfectly synchronized way.
Above its head, no HP Bars were visible as it looked over the crumpled silver cloak of the gamer, but a name barely covered in corrupted data could be clearly read.
'The Moon Presence'.
Releasing a sound that didn't seem from this world, the monster lashed down with its abnormally long limbs…
"In your dreams, you foul beast!"
…and was met by Elder Emperor's edge as the Nameless Knight emerged from under the cloak, stopping the attack with a battle cry while the two Hollows whose life he had saved backed off, cuddled within his mantle.
Atop the 'crazy hero', his now yellow HP Bar turned red, making him grimace.
Realistically, he should be proud and relieved from having survived the fall alone, never mind being able to parry the creature's attack. 95% of Aincrad's players would have died just from the former, after all.
However, he wasn't a normal player, in more ways than one. His 'wives' so-called 'super abilities' made most people forget, but he was way above the curve for even the strongest Front Liners.
Diavel, for example, was Level 89 last he checked. Klein had just pushed the rank into 91 as of the previous Floor.
Thanks to the Hollow Area, he was currently Level 163.
And that was without accounting for all the Passive Boosts, Active Buffs, Passive Skills and Damage Bonuses he had slowly but surely obtained from the Control Console thanks to grinding like hell through the ever-crazier grounds of Aincrad's backup testing server. A lot of his original skills had been upgraded to levels that could only be called 'broken' in every sense of the word.
Like his Battle Regeneration, which was currently making his HP shoot back up as he pushed the inhumanly powerful mass of corrupted data in the shape of some Lovecraftian wet dream back thanks to a STR Stat which no player would have normally been able to achieve so fast.
That was why, when the abomination moved far faster than it had before, so much it would have been able to decimate an entire Party of high-level Players, he was able to dodge, parry, block, and counterattack with deadly efficiency. Stunned, Koharu and Coper could only watch what looked more like a fight from a Shonen anime than a Boss Battle within a VRMMO.
Releasing another bloodcurdling wail, the Moon Presence shot into the air, defying gravity by soaring above Kirito and lashing out with its tentacles again.
Undeterred, the Nameless Knight brought out his second blade, both swords glowing with the telltale power of a Sword Skill as Starburst Stream was unleashing, cutting off a couple of the tendrils and making the creature scream before the last one made his spare weapon break apart like cheap, polygonal, glass.
…he really needed to get around having Liz make him a good one soon. So idly thought the post-skill-cooldown-frozen gamer as the monster roared and created several white balls that shot towards him.
He wasn't worried, though. After all, as proud as he was of his amazing fighting prowess, at the end of the day, there was a good reason why most people didn't notice or focus on it too much…
"Don't touch him!"
"HYA!"
…as Philia's sudden scream and brutal destruction of every single projectile coming his way (The burning blood that erupted from them harmlessly falling to the ground) could attest, just as Strea slammed her Holy Moonlight Sword on the monster's side, causing an explosion of pale light which sent it flying.
At the end of the day, what the girls around him could do was just way flashier and cooler-looking than what he did, after all.
"Is everyone okay?" asked the Nameless Knight without missing a beat, even as the corrupted abomination roared and literally bent itself back to its feet.
"Yes, they are! Mochi is a bit stunned, but he didn't die by a miracle!" shouted back the Lady of the Ring even as Mater and Lind rushed in to drag their still stunned comrades out of the way. "What IS that thing?!"
"Corrupted data vomited out of the Cardinal System in the shape of eldritch nightmares." summarized Strea with that unusually serious tone she always adopted whenever one of those things appeared. "…leave it to me and go on ahead. It won't take long and I'm sure that, if this thing spawned here, something bad is gonna happen in whatever was unlocked by beating that last Boss unless you hurry."
"Wha…?! Are you crazy?! That thing brought Mochi down as if he was a fly, we need to…!"
"Are you sure, Strea?" calmly interrupted Kirito without looking away from the Moon Presence, earning a shocked look from Philia as he did so. "Can you really guarantee you can beat that thing by yourself without risks?"
For a moment, the red-eyed virtual girl hesitated, the weight of something in her pocket suddenly seeming unusually heavy. She only had one of 'those' left.
But…if it meant returning to his side after he asked her to…
"…yes, I can."
"Then that's all I needed to hear." nodding to the orange-haired girl, the armored figure quickly signaled to where the four Hollows hesitantly waited, getting their injured 'pet' ready to fly again. "Let's go."
"…argh! I'm trusting Kirito on this, but you better come back right away, okay?!" shouted the Lady of the Ring before rushing after her totally-not-crush and her followers.
Immediately noticing its targets' attempt to leave, the abomination of corrupted data moved to stop them…only for a massive slash of raw moonlight to be blocked by its tendrils, the deformed face turning towards the smiling Hunter, her blade suddenly losing its shine as she faced the Moon Presence alone.
"Sorry, but you're not going to touch them at all."
Once again moving faster than anything its size had any right to, the mass of corrupted data roared as it tried to grab Strea and crush her in one move, but she simply Quickened to the side at the last second and cut with the now normal-looking (And lighter) sword through one of its arms, leaving a gash bleeding damaged data all around.
Mentally counting to ten as she exchanged more hits with the brutal monster, the former MHCP-002 finally deduced Kirito and the others should have gotten out of sight.
With a grim smile, she sheathed the sword on her back…and brought out the small vial filled with crimson liquid from her pocket.
Stabbing the Blood Vial on the side of her neck, Strea took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and reached for the Saw Cleaver on her back, even as her enemy tensed all of a sudden.
Because it had felt the change in the WEIGHT behind the Hunter's presence…
Her smile now looking much sharper and darker, the busty girl's eyes shot open…now nothing but pools of corrupted data as she grinned sinisterly towards the Moon Presence.
"Now then…time to Hunt."
Unleashing a roar as inhuman as her opponent's, the virtual girl exploded forward, Quickening towards her prey…
Within the Floor Labyrinth of Aincrad's 82nd Floor, the loudest sound one could hear was…that of electricity frying monsters with deadly efficiency.
Even as another wave of crystal-golems was reduced to collapsing polygons by a slightly-annoyed Pina (Who clearly didn't like the constricting walls and ceiling of the dungeon), Silica sighed as she lowered her dagger, Lux catching up to her from around the corner with her sword at the ready.
"I finished them…oh, and seems like you two are also done here, uh?"
"Yeah…sorry again for dragging you all the way here, Lux-san. I was just…a bit overwhelmed." mumbled the twin-tailed girl while looking away.
"Hey, it's okay, I felt the same way, so I'm kinda glad you took me away." mumbled the silver-haired girl while sheathing her blade. "I just wasn't expecting you to take us to tear through the Labyrinth, with Pina included…are you sure she can be inside here without it being too-?"
"Lux-san…do you think I'm childish?"
The sudden question caught the older girl off-guard, her eyes moving and looking at her usually cheerful and casual-about-brutality friend.
She was now slightly hunched over and looking oddly tired with a complicated expression on her face that made her look even more bizarre than her 'armor' already did. Worriedly, her oversized dragon friend nuzzled her head against her body, getting a weak caress in return.
"I…what's with that question all of a sudden, Silica?"
"I…I love Kirito-san. And while before meeting him I may have really been nothing but a brat that was in over her head, ever since he saved me that first time, I have been changing…I'm still changing, I like to believe, but…" looking down at her hands, the twin-tailed girl's voice suddenly became little more than a whisper. "What if…what if he can't see me that way as he has with the rest?"
"…oh, Silica." shaking her head as a smile appeared on her face, Lux finally seemed to realize what the issue was, even as she started taking resolute steps forward.
"I-I mean, I know he loves me, you know? He has proved it many times…even the other day when we were at the Maid Café…bu-but this body of mine…what if he doesn't want to touch me like that be-because it's…small? Li-like, I can't blame him if that's the case, but…I wouldn't be able to live with it! M-my self-esteem would take a Critical Hit so big I don't think I could ever reco-!"
Silica's increasingly desperate rant was cut off when the silver-haired girl hugged her, the love-filled embrace making feel oddly relaxed.
"Shh…it's okay, Silica. I know how you feel."
"Yo-you? But, you're…"
"How my body looks has nothing to do with it, Silica…tell me, have you ever tripped with your own two feet…consistently through all of Middle School? Have you ever been so clumsy that your food flew from your hands, did an inverted spin and fell all over your head?" questioned Lux with a sad laugh, even as the younger girl looked at her with wide eyes. "I have gotten better recently, especially since I started living with you all, but it doesn't change that I have been a total disaster of a girl for almost my whole life…even when Laughing Coffin strong-armed me into joining them, I was almost killed several times for screwing something up, despite my life being on the line…"
"Lux-san…"
"But you know what? If being with everyone has taught me anything, is that none of that really matters…it hasn't made my fear of not 'taking the next step' with Kirito because I think I may screw it up horribly to go away, but it has helped me not to feel bad about it." chuckling, the silver-haired girl smiled brightly at Silica, who was still between her arms. "Kizmel was only saying what was on her mind as always…neither she nor the rest will pressure us into anything, you know that. When we're ready, we will do what we think is best, and we won't be less than anyone for it."
"…how can you be so confident?" asked the awed Dragon Tamer while smiling too.
"I'm not confident at all…just go with what my guts tell me, or so Liz would say. Hmm, how did that one videogame I played put it?" looking thoughtful for a moment, Lux let another smile appear on her face as she remembered. "Oh, yeah! 'Let your Heart be your guiding Key'…that's how it went!"
"I…like how that sounds." laughing softly, Silica finally let go of the older girl, her usual smile back on her face. "Lux-san…thanks a lot. You're right…neither Kirito-san nor the others will judge us, no matter what we do, so…let's just do as our heart says!"
"And what is your heart telling you, Silica?" questioned Lux with some happy curiosity.
"…that we go and murder the hell out of the Floor Boss to release all the pent-up frustration from that awkward conversation!" proclaimed Silica while pointing forward, Pina releasing a roar of approval…or maybe just of annoyance from having to through such a constricting corridor again.
"Didn't Argo tell us not to do that, though?"
"Eh, it's just ONE Boss, Lux-san. I'm sure it will be fine!"
"…okay! Let's go kill it!"
And with that declaration, the two girls held hands and headed deeper inside while the feather-covered dragon followed, relishing on the prospect of virtual brutality to further deepen their friendship.
Aincrad's 82nd Floor Boss may have actually made them reconsider or regret things, given how powerful it was…if it had been anything but an oversized iron golem.
It conducted Pina's gleeful electricity in a quite spectacular way.
In hindsight, Kirito should have realized things weren't going to be clean and simple, even before Strea's ominous warning when they left her behind.
Instead of just a new console or similar waiting for them in the Control Room, what had shown up was a new Teleporter on the opposite side of it. Which would have been good at all if it had brought them directly at where they wanted to go, but, of course, things couldn't be that easy, right?
Well, on the bright side, at least he knew what else was within the gigantic sphere that was the core of the Hollow Area beside the Control Room, which always had seemed way too small to be everything inside it, in his opinion.
Then again, given how he was now running away through a floating semi-transparent hallway within an almost literal labyrinth floating within a virtual void, he could have gone without ever having seen this 'Control Area'.
Turning around a corner, a roaring creature which he was sure was probably meant to be an orc lunged at him, but the resolute figure of the black-haired boy (Having swapped back to his cloak and out of his 'Nameless Knight' armor) barely paid it any attention, beheading the monster with a swift move of Elder Emperor and continuing on his way.
Once again, though, he screamed for his missing companions, the seemingly endless corridors carrying the echo of his voice.
"Philia! Koharu, Mater, Lind, Coper! Dammit, where the hell are you, guys?!"
The moment they had touched the Teleporter, something weird had happened, Philia even screaming out loud a warning before he felt himself being weirdly yanked to the side and, when he had opened his eyes a few seconds later, he had found himself in one of those corridors with nobody else in sight.
He only hoped that the orange-haired girl and her friends were okay. Because at this rate, unless he started literally kicking down some walls or Philia managed to enter his line of sight in the distance at some crucial point, his bullshit powers weren't gonna help him in the slight…
A strange slithering sound behind him made the black-haired boy freeze and spin around, a hand over the handle of his blade.
There was nothing in the labyrinthic hallways behind him, though. It was still as empty as it had been after he tore through the mobs filling them.
Warily giving the empty area one last look, the gamer shook his head before starting to run once again, remembering he had no time to lose.
As he did so, he never noticed the strange black 'sludge' suddenly moving from where it had melted with a corner, somehow perfectly imitating its texture and looking like just another piece of the void below, even as it quickly hurried after him with almost hungry speed…
Meanwhile…Philia and her followers/friends weren't really having the best of times. Sure, they had survived being separated from Kirito and then rushing through several unknown corridors filled with mobs, sure. But when they had found another teleporter that thought would just take them further inside…
"Aaaaaaah!"
"Holy shit, what the hell is wrong with this thing?!"
"Is this thing really an SAO Boss?! It looks more as if came from a sci-fi fantasy!"
"Ke-keep it together, everyone! Protect Philia-sama!"
"I don't need protecting, Koharu! Let's just find a way to kill it before it kills us!"
Despite her words, the orange-haired girl wasn't sure if such a thing was actually possible. After all, staring up at the mighty form of Occuldion the Eclipse, the Hollow Area's True Final Boss (Because of course there had to be such a thing), she was fearing that even her overpowered Ring wouldn't allow her to get out of this alive or, at least, without losing some of her comrades.
Releasing a sound that seemed halfway between a beast and a machine, the mighty red, black and white entity once again moved, its claws glowing with energy stolen from the stars around them, the two oversized 'swords' from its back whistling through the air menacingly as Mochi hopelessly tried to distract it, even as he created several…magic circles (The girl knew no other way to call them) before itself and unleashed reddish energy that the group was barely able to dodge, feeling the power behind the lasers reducing their HP bars despite not touching them directly.
And did I mention that the thing was so big any of them perfectly fit inside its clawed hands?
Between that and the fact that it casually flew around the small circular platform that was all they had for the 'Boss Battle' in the middle of the massive star-filled void that seemed to act as the center of the Hollow Area, things really weren't looking good for the group of Hollows and one human.
Of course, that's when Lind finally managed to hit one of the creature's sword-limbs hard enough to drop its first HP Bar down…and then it roared with its vaguely dragon-like head as it flew back, out of everyone's reach but Mochi's.
The Fellbeast abandoned any inclination from trying to reach it when the massive red 'mandala' on its back suddenly spun, though, and the mighty Super Boss created a giant ball of darkness within its claws, raising it over its head as if it was parodying an attack from a Shonen anime.
Gulping in disbelief, Philia realized the thing must have been almost as big as Occuldion himself before he threw it, straight to the center of their only foothold in the void.
"SCATTER! Run to the edges of the platform!"
Running even as she gave that order, the Lady of the Ring was vaguely aware of her friends and followers doing the same, the golden band in her hand shining with forbidden power just as the massive sphere crashed and 'splashed' around into many smaller ones…that were still the size of a car at least.
The fiery energy of her Ring protected her easily enough. The others…were not so lucky.
"GAH! I-I can't see!"
"I thought there was no 'Blind' status on this game?!"
"U-unless someone slashes away your eyes, it shouldn't!"
"Ho-how do you even know that can happen, Mater…?!"
Staring in shock, Philia bit her lips upon seeing how her friends covered in some strange and shimmering darkness. Turning around angrily as Occuldion casually floated once again within striking distance, the girl's eyes seemed to burn with fire as she jumped and, almost as of if he had timed it perfectly, Mochi flew by just for her to land on the Fellbeast's back.
"Nobody messes with my friends, you oversized alien-thing! Mochi, let's get him!"
"RAAARGH!"
Almost seeming to release an amusing alien sound, the Final Area Boss called forth the magic circles that allowed it to shoot its lasers, unleashing the beam attacks that, by any normal SAO Boss' standards, would have made the already overpowered creature an even more 'broken' fight.
A burning, lidless eye of fire sprouted forth between the Lady of the Ring and them, though, the burning organ swallowing them with laughable easiness and staring down at Occuldion's suddenly not-so-impressive form, the Boss' AI actually stopping for a moment, unable to understand what it was watching…
With a scream, Philia and Mochi broke through the fire and crashed straight into the creature's head, the girl screaming and then stabbing deep into where the monster's brain would be if it was a living weapon with her wicked-looking dagger.
Quickly followed by slamming the ring capable of altering the physical substance of the world around it by a mere effort of will onto it. And while the innocent, if determined, being that was Takemiya Kotone didn't have the mindset needed for it…and would take a few years before anything capable of making her feel such dark thoughts presented itself in her life, the golden band filled with forbidden power, even if it was just a virtual reproduction, liked her enough.
As such, the Hollow Area's Final Boss was the only one truly 'surprised' with eldritch power blasted through it from the point where the dagger had pierced into its skull. Releasing a shrieking sound as his HP bars were all but blasted out of existence, the creature finally died without any fanfare, just the loud sound of scattering polygons and of Mochi's screech as it swooped back and let his mistress safely land on his back once again.
Releasing a breath she didn't even know she had been holding, Philia trembled slightly and held her right hand, looking straight to where she had, for a moment, the Ring burning into her virtual skin. That…had been new. And unexpected…and something she couldn't see she had liked very much, given the strange whispers and visions of burning lands she had just gotten when doing it. Resolute, the orange-haired girl decided she would never try that again unless there was literally no other option and someone else's life was on the line…
"Phi-Philia-sama, did you do it?!" asked Koharu just as their tired Lady landed near them with a shaky smile. "We still can't see but we heard something blow up!"
"Yes, guys…it's over." proudly declared Philia while shaking her head. "Now let's get…"
'Final Area Boss defeated. All system requirements have been met'
"…huh?" echoed 5 voices at once, accompanied by a confused draconic growl, at hearing the mechanical voice around them.
'Preparing Final Test for the Acknowledged Tester'
The moment those words were spoken, all the people present within the platform floating in the boy felt a shiver run down their backs and even those who still couldn't see turned their heads in the right direction to see someone appearing from nowhere with a rush of polygons.
Familiar black hair. A familiar silver cloak. A familiar bluish sword.
Even with all of that, all that the Lady of the Ring felt upon seeing the dull-eyed form standing across the platform was a terrible sense of foreboding.
"…Kirito?" asked Coper as soon as his sight returned, the others also staring in shock.
And as if he had been waiting for those words, a dim light seemed to come forth from within the figure's eyes, his pupils turning golden as he regarded all of them with emotionless eyes.
"…not exactly."
Then, he was amongst them, Elder Emperor drawn back and slashing down upon Koharu's defenseless form, the Hollow screaming as she saw the edge come straight for her head…only to be stopped by Philia's dagger at the last second, the orange-haired survivor gritting her teeth as she pushed against the sword and glared at the emotionless-eyed boy.
"Hollow!" snarled the Lady of the Ring as she barely managed to make him take a step back, realizing how insane his Stats had to be for just that to happen despite the boost the golden band gave her. "You're…Kirito's Hollow, aren't you?!"
"Indeed I am." casually replied the new Hollow as he tilted his head to the side. "I'm the copied data meant for testing of Player #958, in-game name Kirito…currently the strongest player within Sword Art Online's servers going off raw stats and level alone. But…this is strange…"
"Wha-what's so strange?" warily asked Philia while she watched her friends slowly get back to their feet and grip their blades.
"I was spawned as a final test for anyone capable of getting to the last stage of the Hollow Area. Therefore, I should have no autonomy or thoughts that interfere with my programming…but ever since I hear him call out that name, my AI has been expanding non-stop."
As soon as those words escaped the Strongest Hollow's mouth, he was amongst them, golden eyes glinting as his fist lashed out in a Martial Arts Skill that send Mater flying straight into Lind, then a backflip with another glowing kick letting him take Koharu down with seemingly no effort, a quickly ensuing Horizontal disarming Coper and making him fall down without even missing a beat.
"Wha…?!"
"KUH!"
"Ouch!"
"Da-dammit!"
Shocked, the only human present in the room stared at how her followers had been neutralized in less than 4 seconds.
"…the more I fight you, the more my mind expands. How curious." a flicker of something appeared on the Hollow's eyes as he stared right towards the paralyzed Philia, who quickly narrowed her eyes and raised her wicked dagger in a defensive stance. "I wonder, if I destroy you all here and now, win the 'battle' meant for the 'Players' to win, do I get to become my own per…?"
And that was as far as the virtual copy went before something descended from the sky like a meteor, cutting off his right arm and sending him flying to the edge of the platform.
Philia's relief at seeing the silver cloak was short-lived, noticing the weird way in which its owner was twitching…and feeling a strange shiver going down her back as he released a strangled growl.
Then, he turned around and she was barely able to not shout in disbelief upon seeing half his face covered by some black substance that seemed to be alive, one big white eye formed over where his own right one would be even as he grit his visible teeth.
"Phi-Philia…u-use your ring and…take this thing off me, ple-please…!" growled Kirito as the black mass tried to engulf more of his body and his hand shot up to try and rip part of it off his face. "It's trying to…get into my head and…I don't like that…!"
['To Protect that Smile' has been activated!]
The black-haired boy was barely aware of the notification before him before Philia raised her dagger as she rushed at him and promptly slammed it against her glowing Ring, a loud and thunderous noise from clashing metal filling the air like visible shockwaves, making the living black substance trying to cover him to 'scream' and all but jump off him, away from the worried-looking girl.
Letting out a relieved sigh, the gamer fell on his knees, feeling terrifyingly tired all of a sudden.
"Kirito, are you okay?!" cried out the Lady of the Ring as she rushed to his side, helping him back to his feet. "Where did you even find the Venom Symbiote?!"
"He-hell if I know…I was just rushing through the hallways trying to find you all and then that thing latched on my back. It was making me stronger…but also speaking inside my head and filling me with violent impulses, so I realized I had to get it off fast before it fully engulfed me…" sighing in relief once again, Kirito sent Philia another grateful smile, making her blush. "Thanks for that, Philia."
"I-it wasn't anything special, Kirito…you have saved me more times than I can repay already, after all…" mumbled the girl while looking away and trying to control her flaming cheeks. "Be-besides…"
"Ehm, sorry to interrupt the cutely romantic moment, but while you did that the sentient black ooze crawled all the way to Not-Kirito." deadpanned Coper from where she was lying on the ground.
"…what?"
All gazes snapped around, in time to see the twitching form of Hollow Kirito stare blankly as the Symbiote rushed over him, engulfing his body in an instant.
"Well…this sucks." were the copy's last words before the black tide consumed his head, the new form standing up as the body shifted and the arm he had lost reformed from the black substance. "Raaarrrghhhhh…!"
"…that can't possibly be good." mumbled Mater as she and the others stood up and adopted a loose formation around the two humans.
"You think so?!" snarled Lind as the former Hollow released another inhuman roar.
It was at that moment that the creature's hands became clawed, his muscles bulged to a degree that would make bodybuilders jealous and a sharp-teeth-filled mouth opened on its face, all-white eyes staring sinisterly at them as a massive and disgusting sharp tongue dripped from it.
On the chest of the abomination now looking at them, a massive white spider sat, almost seeming to call forth some old and forgotten fear from deep within human psyche.
Mochi let out a whine that reflected what everyone was thinking.
"You rejected ussss…" breathed out the black entity as it took a menacing step forward. "Now, we shall kill-!"
"No."
"…eh?"
"No, fuck it, I'm NOT doing this." growled Kirito as he stomped on the ground, a tired and quite angry look on his face as everyone looked at him in surprise. "Today was supposed to be a simple and straightforward day to finally end this Hollow Area business, and instead I have been from whacky fight to crazy fight, fell off the sky, had to leave Strea behind alone to fight another weird corrupted-boss thing, and then got lost for almost half an hour through a massive transparent maze floating in the middle of space! So no, I'm not gonna do a fucking 'Beat your superpowered evil copy'-fight now! I have had it up to here with all these damn references and clichés! Fuck you, Cardinal!"
Then, without even giving anyone time to process his words, the gamer turned around, grabbed Philia's shoulders and kissed her, the girl's eyes turning into saucers as she felt her entire body go stiff at the action, only to then melt into it.
[You gained 100 Affection Points with Heroine Kotone!]
[Relationship Status 'My Precious One' has been maxed! Upgraded to 'My Soul's Dark Lord'!]
[Congratulations! You have reached the last level of a Heroine's Route! You will unlock a Special Event if you max this level!]
"Wha-what the…?!" was all that a startled Mater could say at the sight.
"Oh…congratulations, Philia-sama!" cheered Koharu while raising her empty arm in the air.
"Is this really the time for this?!" shrieked Lind with a deadpan while pointing at the paralyzed and wide-eyed form of 'Venom'. "That thing is still there more than ready to kill us?!"
"Philia…you know I don't really have the most normal of situations. And my life is more than 'a bit' complicated; you have seen part of that firsthand already." softly muttered Kirito once their lips separated, completely ignoring everyone else as he looked straight into the orange-haired girl's quivering blue eyes. "However…I want to protect you. And you to protect me. It may sound selfish, but, if you're willing to put up with it, with me…I want you to be part of my life, even after we get out of here. S-so…what do you say?"
"….wa-wait, no!" suddenly screamed the creature standing near them, whether it being for something he had glimpsed inside Hollow Kirito or from his brief bonding with the original somehow having realized what the gamer was trying to do, jumping forward with impossible speed to try and separate him from the blushing girl. "You won't jussst get rid of…!"
"…yes. I…I would love to." mumbled Philia with a small but happy voice, also completely ignoring the world around them.
['To Protect that Smile' has been activated!]
"…usssssss…!" was the last thing that the black entity said when a fucking meteor flew past the platform, crashed onto and dragged him away into the void, under the wide-eyed and open-mouthed stares of the Hollows.
'Annual Testing of Aincrad's shooting star simulation for Quests finished as scheduled' randomly announced a voice in the background.
"…did that really just happen?" asked Coper to no one as they stared at the point in the void their enemy had just vanished from sight.
"What did just happ…? Wait, where did Venom go?!" shouted a blushing Philia while looking around, finally out of her 'trance' and realizing their opponent had vanished.
"Where it can no longer annoy us, thankfully." sighed Kirito while eyeing the void of stars, thankful when their enemy didn't emerge once again an, instead, a soft chime made a massive console materialize before them, leaving everyone staring at it in awe. "Now…let's get out of here and never come back to this crazy place."
"…too bad about him, though…I'm just remembering Venom is not always a bad guy…"
"Philia, please, don't tempt Fate to try and make it come back. I'm just really glad we got rid of that thing without anyone being seriously affected…"
Almost a year later, when he tried to stop a blackened blade and a smile filled with teeth from crushing him atop an icy bridge, Kirito would curse his past-self a lot.
That, however, was a story for another time. This one, though, 'ended' with a burst of light filling the Teleport Gate of Arc Sophia, many eyes turning in surprise as a black-haired boy with an orange-haired girl hanging from his arm as she looked up at the Floor-covered sky with tears in her happy eyes, a normal green cursor over her head, walked forward…
"…ah…home sweet home." mumbled Strea as she arrived at the small backstreet where her Inn was, quite away from the main areas of the town, a tired but happy smile on her face as she limped slightly forward. "That thing was…more annoying than I thought it would. Ah, gotta remember to send a Message to Kirito telling him I'm fine, of course, silly me…my head is all tingly from that stupid fight…"
Whispering a bit of nonsense, the virtual girl quickly typed the message and even made a cute 'kiss' gesture towards the screen before sending it, letting a small chuckle and turning towards her Inn…before a familiar voice made her stop.
"Thanks a lot, nice lady! You helped out a lot, Papa was super happy that what I told him about the console was right! And I have a new Mama now, like I predicted, so everyone is happy!"
"…Yui-chan?" muttered the lavender-haired AI while turning her head towards the end of the street, rushing towards it as fast as she could and then peeking into the alley parallel to it. "What the…?"
There was Yui, effectively, with an excited smile on her face, seemingly talking with…a wall of the alleyway?
"We're making this huge party to celebrate Philia-mama's return to Aincrad! She was a bit sad because her friends couldn't get out of the Hollow Area too, even if they're all safe now, so everyone is doing her best to cheer her up! I sneaked out after hearing you calling, though, to thank you!" cheerfully explained the little girl while raising her arms. "Is there anything I can do for you? Papa said it's important to repaid favors!"
Staring back at her, the tall shadow with a mask and with many clinging chains around her seemed to say something only the surprised Yui could hear.
"Eeeeh? I already told you, though…papa and everyone else says destroying the future is a bad thing, so I won't do it." pouted Yui before blinking at whatever was said next. "Huh? Just a matter of time…? Oh, yeah, I should probably be getting back before they notice I sneaked out! Plus, Agil-san is making this massive cake and I want a piece before Klein-san eats it all! Later, mask-lady!"
With those words said, Yui hurried out of the alley and back towards Arc Sophia's main inn as fast as her little legs could carry her. In doing so, she never noticed Strea half-crouched near the wall, watching her go before, slowly, making her way inside the alleyway and staring at the point where her 'big sister' had been talking alone.
An old and tall abandoned mirror, which was probably part of the city's background decoration, lazily reflected her pale face.
Suddenly, she really needed to go and hug her Kirito-pillow very tight…
At the same time, Kirito sneezed from where he was sitting on his bed, going through his Inventory to organize all the drops he had gotten that day in the Hollow Area. After all, a lot of the rare consumables that casually dropped in there were invaluable resources for the other Front Liners and he had technically participated in 2 Area Boss' fights today, never mind the other countless mobs he had killed during it all.
Still, he was more than a bit tired, and not just from the craziness of the day. Everyone had quickly organized a 'welcome party' for Philia, and the 3 girls that had already met her in person had quickly dragged her to introduce her to everyone else. It had been loud, fun and chaotic, and despite the fact that they had to leave her quirky friends behind at the Control Room (With promises to go visit them every day from the sad and happy girl), the Lady of the Ring had clearly enjoyed herself greatly.
She was sleeping in a nearby room right now, where Sinon, Argo, and Leafa had been talking with her until she finally fell asleep, in a bed for the first time in quite a while.
Thinking about such things, there was also what his dear Info Broker had proposed after telling him about Silica and Lux apparently going ahead and ended a Boss by themselves, and once he had told her a rough estimate of the Items he had gotten. It was a crazy plan that carried quite some risk…but if it worked…they may be out of Aincrad before the year ended, which was honestly a very good prospect in his mind.
Besides, it had been quite a while since he had tried 'speedrunning' anything…
Blinking in surprise at the unexpected sound of something hitting his window. Surprised, the black-haired boy stood up and headed towards it, opening the curtains…and deadpanning at Pina's massive head leaning down from where she was clearly lying on the roof.
"Pina, what the hell? What are you doing there?"
"Kyuuu!" answered the Elder Feathery Dragon with apparent pride.
"…you're just a distraction? What?"
"Indeed she was, Kirito-kun!" happily declared a familiar voice from behind the boy, making him turn around to see a smiling Lux standing beside his bed in her pajamas, a small smile…which contrasted with how burning red her face was. "I'm here!"
"A-a-and me too!" squeaked another voice from somewhere around the bed, making the gamer look around in confusion before his gaze was drawn to the space under his bed. "W-w-we came to spend the night with you, Kirito-san!"
"…Silica, you don't need to hide, it's fine." sighed Kirito with a small shake of his head, a smile appearing on his face as the pajama-clad form of Silica emerged alongside Lux in an almost comical fashion, twiddling her thumbs nervously, her hair free of her twintails for once making for a rare and exotic sight. "Did anyone else put you two up for this?"
"N-no…we decided we wanted to…uhm, well…just be with you tonight, you know?" mumbled the older of the pair while shyly looking at the bed, her face seeming as if it could catch fire at any second.
"…then you can, if you really want to." firmly declared the black-haired boy while sitting on the bed and patting it with a calming look. "I won't say anything about you two going ahead and soloing a Boss at all…but we can just lie here together and cuddle all night if you want to."
"Re-really? Just that? A-and you won't be…disappointed?" asked a surprised Silica with wide eyes.
"Girls…I love you. Even if saying that is probably extremely selfish whenever I say it to you all, it won't change the truth." softly spoke the gamer while smiling at them, making their faces heat up even more and their hearts to skip a beat…but also the tension that had been filling them to bleed out in an instant. "I will never force you to do anything you don't want to, nobody will. So…do you really want to stay here?"
For all answer, the girls exchanged a quick look and, a few minutes later, Kirito had a smile on his face as both girls lie on his side while resting their heads on his chest with happy looks on their own.
Yeah, this was truly a relaxing way to end such a chaotic…
"Heh…you were right, Lux-san. Just letting your heart be your guiding key works!"
"…huh, where is that reference from? I'm pretty sure I have heard it before…"
"Eh, it doesn't matter now, Kirito-kun. Just that we're all happy and fine with each other and with whatever we want to do. Besides, heh, at worst we will have to deal with some teasing from Liz next morning about spending the night here and not doing 'anything'."
There was a strangely awkward pause for a moment…before Silica shot up from her position and rolled over herself until she was hugged atop the surprised boy, Lux's eyes widening as she saw the burning look in her eyes.
"I changed my mind! I'm not letting Liz-san make any more jokes about m-me!"
"Si-Silica?!"
"Wo-woah, Silica, calm down, there is no need…!"
"Don't go now and tell me that, Lux-san! Now, strip!"
"EH?!"
"You heard me! You're gonna help me make sure Kirito-san isn't 'disappointed' at all tonight!"
"Wa-wait, I wouldn't be…AH!"
And even as the room descended into a curious and, ehem, very intimate chaos…none of its three occupants seemed to remember they had left the curtains open.
Otherwise, if they had been able to concentrate on anything but each other, they would probably have been very unnerved by how Pina spent the whole night staring at them with curious eyes and the closest thing a dragon could have to a blushing face…
[You gained 50 Affection Points with Heroine Keiko!]
[You gained 50 Affection Points with Heroine Hiyori!]
[CONGRATULATIONS! You have maxed Heroine Keiko's Route!]
[CONGRATULATIONS! You have maxed Heroine Hiyori's Route!]
[Congratulations! The Special Skill 'Draconic Tongue' has been Unlocked!]
[Congratulations! The Special Skill 'Key of the Heart' has been Unlocked!]
[A Special Event has been triggered!]
['Girls Ops-Teamwork' has been added to the gallery!]
Within the depths of Aincrad, the time of the end crept closer…
[Next Scene]: Speedrun this Floating Castle!
Author's Notes: Finished! And just in time for Christmas too, heh XP
Once again, sorry to you all for the delay, I hope you had enough fun with the chapter to make up a bit for it. On that note, yeah, even Kirito is SO done with all the randomness the story has been going through lately trying to drive him insane…luckily for him, it's almost over! We're at most 2 or 3 chapters away from ending the Aincrad/Hollow Fragment arc. Also, Philia is now free, so she can join in with the last bit of crazy randomness our heroes will face before getting out and back to 'normal' lives…pfftt…
And yeah, easy to forget, but the Hollow Area let you become stupidly overpowered Gameplay-wise...if you compare everything you can get there and semi-realistically apply it to Aincrad in comparison? It makes for a good excuse as for why Kirito and the gang managed to finish Aincrad's last 25 Floors so fast and become decent Front Liners in the case of a few of them (And that last Area Boss was total BS! How the hell were just two people supposed to realistically beat that if it had been an actual in-VR Boss Fight and not another videogame stage?! Kirito and Philia should have been SO dead before the fight was halfway done!) Also, can anyone guess where Lux's reference was from :3? It shouldn't be too hard~
All of that aside, once again, let me wish you all Happy Holidays! I hope you have a good time with family, friends, or however you celebrate the holidays, be it Christmas or anything else you celebrate. See you all next year at OverGamer's next update! (And let's hope the year is less busy so that I can write faster XD)
Until then, this is Saint, signing off!
