[The scouting team is completely wiped out--?]
When we returned to the headquarters of the Blood Alliance Knights after two weeks, what awaited us was a shocking notification.
We are currently in the upper level of the steel tower of the guild headquarters, in the meeting room with glass walls that was used for the meeting with Heavenscliffe. In the middle of the large semi-circular table was the figure of Heathcliffe, who was wearing a sage's robe. Although there were guild officers sitting on both sides of the table, Godfrey was no longer there.
Heathcliffe folded his bony hands in front of his face, a deep valley carved between his brows, and nodded slowly.
[It happened yesterday. Although it took a long time to collect the map files of the 75th floor's maze area, it was finally completed without any casualties. However, I had already predicted that there would be a tough battle against the leader..."
Of course, it's not like I didn't think of such a situation. Among the countless floors that they had cleared so far, only the Boss monsters on the 25th and 50th floors had outstanding huge bodies and powerful combat power. Therefore, they had sacrificed a lot to clear these two floors.
The twenty-fifth floor's two-headed giant leader had wiped out almost all of the army's elites, and this was the main reason why their organization had weakened. Then, on the 50th floor, the multi-armed leader who looked like a metal Buddha statue launched a fierce attack, which made many players timid and thus they hurriedly left the battlefield without authorization, causing the front line to collapse. If the rescue team had arrived a little later, we might not have been able to escape the fate of being completely wiped out. And the one who was supporting the front line was the man in front of me now.
If there would be a powerful leader every twenty-five floors, then the possibility of a powerful leader appearing on the seventy-fifth floor should be quite high.
"... So we sent out a team of five guilds, a total of twenty people.」
Heathcliffe continued, his voice lacking cadence. As his eyes were half-closed, it was impossible to see his current emotions from his brass pupils.
" The investigation was carried out with extreme caution. We'll send ten people to be the rear guards and wait at the entrance of the leader's room…The first ten people to enter the room will reach the center of the room. The moment the leader appears, the door to the entrance will close. The following situation was reported by the ten defenders. They said that the door had been closed for more than five minutes. At that time, no matter if it was a lockpicking skill or a direct attack, it did not seem to be able to open the door. When the door finally opened-"
The corners of Heathcliffe's mouth tightened. After closing his eyes for a moment, he continued,
" There's nothing left in the room. The figures of the ten people and the leader all disappeared. There were no signs of movement at the scene. They didn't come back either…To confirm, we sent people to the Black Iron Palace to confirm the death list on the metal tablet. In the end…"
He didn't continue, but shook his head. Asuna, who was next to me, held her breath and immediately squeezed out a sentence in a low voice,
" Ten... people... how could this be..."
[Is it the crystal nullified space…?]」
[That's the only possibility. According to Asuna's report, the 74th floor seems to be the same, so I think that all the leader rooms will probably be the same in the future.」
[How could this be…]
I couldn't help but sigh. If they couldn't escape in an emergency, the number of deaths due to unexpected accidents would greatly increase. " No sacrifice " was the biggest prerequisite when exploring this game. However, it was impossible to completely conquer the game without defeating the boss…
[It's starting to look more and more like a game of death...]
[But we can't give up on the strategy just because of this…]
Heathcliffe closed his eyes and said in a voice that sounded like a murmur but was resolute,"
"Other than the fact that there is no way to escape with the crystal, the structure of the room this time seems to be that when the leader appears, the retreat behind him will be cut off at the same time. In this way, the only way left was to send out the largest number of troops within the range of the commander to attack. Originally, I was very unwilling to call the newlyweds back. But I hope you can understand my difficulties.」
I shrugged and replied,"
[Let us help. However, Asuna's safety is my top priority. If we were to encounter any danger, I would rather protect her safety than the entire team.」
A smile appeared on Heathcliffe's face.
" When a person has someone they want to protect, they can always exert great power. I look forward to your battle. We will begin the raid in three hours. Including the two of you, the total number of participants is thirty-two. At 1 p. m., they would gather in front of the city transfer gate on the 75th floor. Then, you are dismissed."
After saying this, the red-robed Holy Knight and his men stood up and walked out of the room.
" Three hours later? What are we going to do..."
Asuna asked me after sitting down on the steel bench. I stared at her figure without saying a word. The four limbs that were wrapped in a white battle suit with red patterns, the slender and shiny chestnut hair, and the round and shining brown pupils-she looked as beautiful as a peerless gem.
After realizing that I had no intention of looking away, Asuna's smooth and fair face blushed slightly. She smiled shyly and said,
"You…what's wrong with you?"
I stammered,
[…Asuna…]
"What is it?"
"…Don't be angry. Listen to me first. Can you not participate in today's boss battle and wait for me to come back?」
Asuna stared at me, then lowered her head sadly and said,"
"Why are you saying this to me?」
" Although Heathcliffe said so, there's no telling what will happen in a place where crystals cannot be used. I'm scared... I just have to think... that something might happen to you..."
"Are you saying that you want to go to that dangerous place by yourself and then you want me to wait for you in a safe place?」
Asuna stood up and walked up to me. Her eyes were burning with anger.
"If Kirito doesn't come back, I'll kill myself too. Other than the fact that there was no meaning in living, I could not forgive myself for waiting here. If they wanted to escape, they would escape together. Kirito, if you want to do this, I'm willing to run away with you.」
After saying that, she placed her right hand on the center of my chest. His eyes became gentle, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"However…I think everyone who participated in the strategy battle today was terrified and wanted to escape. But even though they were afraid, there were still a dozen people who were willing to participate. That was because the Guild Leader and Kirito, who should be the strongest people in this world, were willing to stand in front and lead everyone…That was what I thought…I know that Kirito doesn't like to bear such responsibilities. However, this isn't just for others, but also for ourselves…To let us return to our original world and meet again, I hope that we can work hard together.」
I raised my right hand and quietly held Asuna's fingertips on my chest. The strong feeling of not wanting to lose her filled my chest.
"... Sorry... I was too scared. To be honest, I really wanted to run away with the two of us. I don't want you to die, Asuna. Of course, I don't want to die either. The real world…"
I stared into Asuna's eyes and continued,"
" It doesn't matter even if I can't go back to the real world…I want to live with you in that little house in the forest. Just the two of us…forever…"
Asuna clutched her chest with her other hand. Then, he closed his eyes and frowned as if he was enduring something. In the end, he sighed helplessly.
[Ah ah…It really feels like a dream.] It would be great if I could do that…I could be with you every day…forever…"
She stopped here and closed her lips tightly as if she wanted to cut off that tiny wish. When he opened his eyes and raised his head to look at me, the expression on his face was quite serious.
[Kirito, have you ever thought about…?] What happened to our bodies in the real world?」
This sudden question left me speechless. Actually, all players should have this question. However, since there was no way to contact the real world, it was useless no matter how much he thought about it. Although everyone was faintly afraid, they still forced themselves not to face this problem.
"Do you still remember? At the beginning of the game, that person…Hayaba Akihiko's game description. He said that the NERvGear could tolerate two hours of offline. And that reason is…"
"... so that our bodies can be transported to a hospital with nursing facilities..."
Asuna nodded vigorously after hearing my muttering.
"In fact, after a few days, everyone encountered an incident where they were disconnected for an hour, right?」
That was indeed the case. I looked at the disconnected warning in front of me and kept worrying that I would be burned to death by NERvGear after two hours.
[I think all the players will have been transported to the various hospitals by then. Ordinary families can't take care of vegetative people like us for several years. So, it should have been reconnected to the Internet after being moved to the hospital…"
[Hmm…maybe so…]
"If our bodies are in a hospital bed and connected to many tubes to maintain life... I don't think it can continue without any abnormalities.」
Suddenly, a sense of horror as if his entire body was beginning to thin invaded him. In order to confirm their existence, he hugged Asuna tightly.
"... In other words... whether or not we can completely conquer the game... there will be a deadline..."
"…And this time limit will vary according to everyone's physical condition…In the game, the topic of the 'outside world' is considered taboo, so I've never told anyone about it…But Kirito, you're different. I…I want to be by your side forever. I want to date you properly, get married, and grow old together. So…so…"
She couldn't say anything else. Asuna buried her face in my chest and finally couldn't help but sob. I slowly caressed her back and helped her finish her sentence.
" So... we must fight now..."
In fact, the fear had not disappeared. However, Asuna tried her best to resist the urge to escape and was ready to create her own destiny. How could I give up here?
No problem-it'll definitely be fine. As long as we're together, we'll definitely-
In order to shake off the chill in my heart, I hugged Asuna even tighter.
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