At the 75th floor, in front of the transfer gate square in Colinia City, there are already quite a few high-level gamers gathered there. I think they should be the strategy team. Asuna and I came out of the portal and walked over to them. When everyone saw us, they kept their mouths shut and looked at us nervously. There were even people who saluted us with their right hands.
I stopped in my tracks because I felt very troubled, but Asuna, who was beside me, returned the gesture with practiced movements and poked me in the stomach.
[I say, Kirito, you're a leader. You have to return the favor!]」
[How could this be…]
I had no choice but to bow stiffly. Up until now, I had belonged to many organizations in the battle against the boss, but this was the first time I had received such attention.
[Yo!]
I turned around because someone had patted me hard on the shoulder. I saw Klein, the Sword Envoy, smiling with a low-level bandana on his face. What was surprising was that there was a huge figure standing next to him. It was Aguirre, who was holding a two-handed axe and fully armed.
"What... you guys actually want to participate?」
[Is there a need to be so surprised!]
The indignant Aguirre said in a rough voice,"
" I heard that the battle this time was quite tough, so I left my business and came to help. You actually can't understand my selfless and great sentiment..."
Aguirre continued to speak in an exaggerated manner. I patted Aguirre's arm and said to him,
"I now understand your selfless spirit very well. Then you don't have to take your share when we distribute the spoils?」
Upon hearing my words, the huge man placed his hand on his bald head and frowned.
[Aiya, this, this…]
Klein and Asuna laughed cheerfully at the same time when they heard his spineless and vague words. The laughter spread to the other players gathered here, and everyone's nervousness seemed to be slightly relieved.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, a few new players appeared in the portal. They were the elite troops of the Blood Oath Knights, who were wearing long red robes and holding a huge cross shield. After seeing their figures, the tense atmosphere enveloped the players again.
Purely based on the strength of their levels, the only one who was higher level than Asuna and I was probably just Hitzcliffe himself. However, the way they were united was quite oppressive. Other than the white and red guild colors, each of them had different weapons. However, the collective power emitted from their bodies was worlds apart from the military forces they had seen before.
The paladin and his four subordinates split the players into two groups and walked towards us. When Klein and Aguirre were forced to take a few steps back, Asuna greeted them with a relaxed expression.
After stopping in his tracks, Heathcliffe nodded at us and began to speak to the group.
[It seems that no one is absent. Thank you for your participation. I think everyone already knows the situation. What awaits us next will be a harsh battle, but I believe that with your strength, we will definitely be able to successfully overcome the crisis. Let us fight for Liberation Day! --」
The gamers roared in excitement as well. I was speechless at his magnetic charm. Among the online gaming fanatics who generally lacked the ability to lead a group, there was actually a leader like him. Or should he say that this world had allowed him to discover his talent in this area? What kind of work did he do in the real world…
As if he had sensed my gaze, a smile appeared on his face as he turned to me.
"Kirito, I'll leave it to you today. I'm looking forward to your performance in the 'Nito-Ryu.'」
There was no trace of fear in that low and soft voice. In the face of a hard battle that could be imagined, he could still maintain such a relaxed attitude. It was really amazing.
After I silently nodded in response, Heathcliffe once again turned to face the group of players and gently raised a hand.
[Then let's go. I'll open the corridor that leads directly to the boss monster's room.」
After saying that, he took out the dark blue crystal from his waist pocket. When the other players saw it, they immediately exclaimed," Oh oh..."
Ordinary teleportation crystals could only transfer the user to a designated street, but the " Cloister Crystal " item in Heathcliffe's hands could record any location and then open the teleportation door to instantly reach the recorded location. It could be said to be a very convenient item.
However, although it was convenient, it was quite rare, and the NPC shops did not sell it. The only way to obtain it was to open the maze treasure chest or defeat powerful monsters, so even if there were people, very few players would use it directly. The exclamations from the crowd earlier were not so much because they had seen the rare Cloister Crystal, but rather because they had seen Heathcliffe use it as if nothing had happened.
Heathcliffe raised his right hand as if he didn't care about everyone's gazes and shouted," Cloister opened." The extremely expensive crystal shattered in an instant, and a vortex of blue light appeared in front of him.
"Then, everyone, follow me.」
After looking at all of us, Heathcliffe flipped his red robe and stepped into the blue light. His figure was instantly surrounded by dazzling flashes and then disappeared. The four members of the KO B immediately followed him in.
At some point in time, many players had gathered around the transfer gate square. He must have heard about the leader's battle strategy and came to send us off. Amidst the encouraging shouts, the swordsmen jumped into the corridor of light one after another and moved towards their destination.
In the end, only Asuna and I were left. The two of us nodded lightly, held hands, and jumped into the vortex of light at the same time.
After a slight dizziness, we found ourselves in a maze when we opened our eyes. This was a rather wide corridor. Thick pillars lined the walls, and a huge door could be seen at the front.
The 75th floor was made of obsidian, which was somewhat transparent. Unlike the rough uneven surface of the lower labyrinth, the floor here was made of black stones that were polished like mirrors in a straight line. The air was cold and humid, and there were faint clouds slowly swirling around the ground.
Asuna, who was standing beside me, hugged her body with her arms as if she felt cold. She continued,
[... I have a bad feeling...]
[Yes, yes…]
I agree with her.
In the past two years, we have conquered a total of seventy-four levels of the maze area and defeated the same number of leaders. After accumulating so much experience, he could roughly predict the level of strength of the leader just by looking at its habitat.
The thirty players around us opened the menu window in twos and threes and began to check their equipment and items, but it was obvious that their expressions were very stiff.
Asuna and I were leaning against the shadow of a pillar. I quietly wrapped my arms around her slender body. The uneasiness that had been suppressed before the battle erupted. His body began to tremble.
[It's alright…]
Asuna whispered in my ear,"
[I will protect the Kirito people.]
[No…I'm not afraid of fighting…]
[Hehe…]
Asuna chuckled and continued,"
[So…Kirito, you have to protect me too.]」
[Yes, yes…I will.]
I hugged her tightly and then let go. After Heathcliffe materialized the cross shield in the middle of the corridor, he shook his body to make the equipment make a sound, then said,"
"Is everyone ready? This time, there was no information about the leader's attack mode. Basically, we, the OOB, will be the vanguard to block the enemy's attacks. Then, everyone will take this opportunity to recognize its attack mode and launch a random counterattack.」
The swordsmen nodded wordlessly.
"Then-let's go."
After speaking as softly as possible, Heathcliffe walked straight to the obsidian door and placed his right hand in the middle of the door. All of us began to feel nervous.
I patted Aguirre and Klein on the shoulder and said to them,
[Don't die.]
[Hey, you should pay more attention to yourself.]」
[I won't die before I make a fortune from today's spoils of war.」
After the two of them answered arrogantly, the door slowly moved with a heavy sound. The players pulled out their weapons together, and I pulled out my two swords at the same time. He glanced at Asuna, who was holding a thin sword beside me, and nodded at her.
In the end, Chief Heathcliff, who had pulled out his sword from the inside of the cross shield, raised his right hand and shouted,"
[The battle begins!]
Then he walked through the wide open door, and we all followed him.
The interior of the room was a rather spacious, egg-shaped space. It should be as big as the arena when I fought against Heathcliffe. The arc-shaped wall gradually extended upward until it reached the far top before it curved and closed. When all thirty-two of them entered the room and formed a natural formation, the door behind them immediately closed with a loud bang. Before the leader dies or we are all wiped out, there should be no way to open this door.
Everyone remained silent for a few seconds. Although he had been paying attention to the wide ground, the leader had yet to appear. Time seemed to have stretched our nerves to the limit as it passed by second by second.
[Hello--]
It was unknown who let out an unbearable sound, but at this moment…
[Above!]
Asuna shrieked. I quickly looked up.
The top of the egg-there was something stuck to it.
It was a very large and long thing.
Amusement centipede-?
The moment I saw it, I instinctively had this thought. It should be about ten meters long. Its body, which was made up of many body segments, was more reminiscent of a human spine than an insect. A pair of sharp legs with bones exposed extended from each segment of the grayish-white cylindrical body. As he moved his gaze along its body, he could see that there was a skull with a ferocious face at the front end of its body that was gradually becoming thicker. And it wasn't a human skull. On the bones that were twisted into a streamlined shape, there were two pairs of eye sockets that were hanging high up, and blue flames flickered inside. Sharp fangs lined up on the jawbone that protruded forward. On both sides of the skull, there were huge skeletal arms that protruded out like sickles.
After focusing on it, the monster's name and the yellow arrow appeared at the same time. " The Skullreaper "-Skeleton Hunter.
The Skeleton Centipede slowly climbed up to the ceiling under the silent, terrified gaze of all of us. All of its legs suddenly stretched out and fell from the top of the team.
[Don't stay there, spread out!]
Heathcliffe's sharp cry pierced through the frozen air. It was only then that all the members finally regained their senses and began to move. We quickly retreated from the place where it should land.
However, the three people below the falling centipede were a little late. They didn't seem to know where to go, so they just stopped and looked up.
[Come here quickly!]
I hurriedly called out. The three of them began to run toward me as if they had been released from a curse.
However…the moment the centipede landed on their backs, the entire ground shook violently. This caused the three of them to step on empty air. The centipede's right wrist, which had a huge bone sickle as long as a person's height, swept towards them.
The three of them were sent flying from behind at the same time. When they were in the air, their HP bars had already decreased at a rapid rate. In one breath, they went from the yellow alert zone to the red danger zone.
「……!」
Then, it directly became zero. The three bodies that were still in the air turned into countless crystals and shattered. The sound of destruction overlapped.
「————!」
Asuna could not help but hold her breath. I also felt my body stiffen violently.
A single blow had killed them!
In SAO, where skills and levels were used together, as the level increased, the maximum HP would also increase. Therefore, no matter how good the sword technique was, as long as the level was high, it would not be so easy to die. This was especially so since all the players in the party today were high-level players. Even if it was the leader's attack, they should be able to withstand a few consecutive attacks. However, they only took one attack and…
[This is too exaggerated…]
Asuna said in a hoarse voice.
The Skeleton Entertainment Centipede, which had taken three lives in an instant, raised its upper body high and let out a deafening roar. Then, it rushed toward a group of new players at a fierce speed.
[Waaah-!]
The players in that direction screamed in panic. The bone sickle was raised again.
At the critical moment, a figure suddenly rushed under the sickle. And that person was Heathcliffe. He raised his huge shield to block the scythe attack. The sound of the collision almost pierced his ears, followed by sparks flying in all directions.
However, the enemy had two sickles. While his left wrist was attacking Heathcliffe, he did not forget to raise his right scythe and slash at the frozen players.
[Damn it…!]
I dashed out without any regard for my own safety. It was as if he was flying in the air, instantly shortening the distance between the enemies. He rushed under the bone scythe that was swinging down with a loud bang, and then crossed his left and right swords to block the attack of the scythe.
His body immediately suffered an impact that surpassed common sense. However, the scythe did not stop. Sparks flew as it bounced my sword away and approached me.
No, the force was too strong!
At this moment, a new sword appeared and slashed through the air with pure white light, hitting the sickle from below. The sound of a collision rang out. Taking advantage of the gap between the scythe's momentum and the momentum, I immediately used all my strength to push the bone scythe back.
Asuna, who was standing beside me, looked at me and said,
[If two people bear it at the same time, they can block it! We can do it!"
[Okay-I'll leave it to you then!]
I nodded. I felt that as long as Asuna was by my side, endless energy would emerge from my body.
This time, the bone scythe changed to a horizontal sweep and approached us again. Asuna and I simultaneously used a downward slash to the right. The two swords struck the scythe with two rays of light. After a strong impact, the enemy's scythe was bounced back.
I shouted loudly,
[We will resist the scythe! Everyone, attack from the side!"
My voice seemed to release everyone from the curse. The players roared and raised their weapons to attack the centipede. A few attacks deeply cut into the enemy's body. At this time, the leader's HP bar finally decreased slightly.
However, the screams of several players immediately rang out. Taking advantage of the gap between the counterattack scythe attack and taking a look, he realized that the spear-shaped bone at the end of the Amusement Centipede's tail had swept several players to the ground.
[Woo...]
Although I was eager to help, Asuna, I, and Heavencliffe, who was defending against the left scythe by himself, didn't have any extra energy to rush over.
[Kirito...]
I looked at Asuna, who was speaking.
- No! If he kept paying attention to that side, he would be in danger!
- That's true... -It's attacking again...!
He blocked it with his left upper slash!
Asuna and I understood each other's intentions with just a glance. The two of us used the exact same action to bounce the sickle back.
He barely managed to chase the wails and screams out of his head and focused his attention on blocking the enemy's ferocious attacks. The result was incredible. We didn't even need to speak or look at each other. We felt as if our thoughts were completely connected, allowing us to respond with the same technique at the same time and block the enemy's attack that didn't give us the slightest chance to breathe.
In this moment, in this life-and-death battle, I experienced a sense of oneness that I had never experienced before. Asuna and I fused into one, becoming a fighting spirit that kept swinging the sword. In a sense, this was an incomparable sensory experience. Although we would sometimes be injured by the aftershocks of the enemy's heavy attacks, which would reduce our HP bit by bit, we no longer cared about this at this time.
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