It had taken Asuna nearly a month to fully recover from killing her husband's double, at least by her estimation It was now eight more months of death on the nighty-ninth floor with little show for it. The mausoleum had run out of room for the bodies of the fallen and a graveyard had been made for the honored dead.630Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhZ1hvALA3
The deaths had forced her to comprehend what was needed to reach Kayaba and freedom from the game. That sacrifices would need to be made. They needed more aggression, even if the costs were high.
The costs were justifiable. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, and the Knights of the Broken Oath had sworn their lives to the cause. Their lives were forfeit if it allowed the thousands they had sworn to protect could return to the real world and their real lives.
This battle had been the culmination of her lessons. Asuna looked at the wreckage of the raid group. The ninety-eighth floor boss was dead, but the price was high. Half the defense force, whose numbers had continued to grow despite the manner in which both player and monster died, now lay dead in the field.630Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcHQyoPNfa
Most of the bodies were gruesomely torn apart, many of the pieces missing. Some were encased within their own melted armor; their flesh smelled almost sweet as if it had been fresh off the barbecue. The fire attacks from the add mobs had been unexpected. The worst were the puddles. The hammer this boss had gotten on its final bar left little to recover. Many of the survivors had been sprayed by the human debris it had produced.
During battle combatants become focused solely on the fight. They become blind to their friends, some of which were closer than family, being killed. They had a single mission and stopping to react to the horrors would get them killed as surely as those friends already were. They had become hardened to death now. Those who hadn't were among the dead.
This victory, putting them on the final floor before the Ruby Palace, would assure their numbers would be bolstered further. She would have to attempt to downplay how many had died, but those reinforcements would be needed for future victories.
As always she was unharmed, but unlike before the guilt of that fact wouldn't come. She knew it should. It was what a human should feel, but was she human anymore? Were any of them? Or had they all become nothing more than killing machines with her being their ultimate weapon.
Well, if she had been the ultimate weapon so many wouldn't have died today. Kayaba had never removed immortal object from her avatar, but both this and the last boss, and quite a few of the trash mobs in between, had a counter to that now: paralysis. With one hit she was removed from the equation.
Klein had been the first to experience this new form when his guild had been wiped out. No matter the level of the antidote used it could not be dispelled. Adding insult to this turn of events, it was made clear the defensive counter was specific for Asuna as the attack was almost exclusively used on her.
How would Kirito have handled this situation? Always so carefree outside of a fight, and so ferocious within. He gave himself to the battle, but he didn't allow it to become part of him. Would he have become a living weapon as she had? She didn't think so. He was stronger than her. He always had been.
Asuna didn't shed any tears anymore when thoughts of her husband came. She couldn't even feel regret at his loss. Like the deaths of the soldiers about her she had become numb to it. When she died was when she would allow herself to feel again. If there was a God, and in this hell she had come to doubt it, Kirito would be there waiting for her to ease the pain that would consume her.
Each floor had grown smaller as they had progressed. It had made finding each dungeon progressively faster. The ninety-eighth floor had been a matter of a month. The ninety-ninth was promised to be even faster.
The trouble was the mobs had grown stronger at an accelerating curve to compensate, and their spawn rates were enough on this floor to exhaust her forces. Asuna had to come up with a plan fast or those forces would lose heart.
That was why Asuna was at Fuchu prison. The remainder of Laughing Coffin was going to be enlisted today, whether they wished it or not. Since they had turned down the deal before the odds were against them being willing.
Her plan was inhuman, but it had become necessary. Their losses were becoming impossible to downplay. Soon there would be deserters, but if their losses were of people most wished dead anyways it would be more accepted, at least among the jaded soldiers of the front line.
Laughing Coffin's orders were going to be simple: destroy every tree, root, and bush on the floor. With nowhere to hide the monsters would be simple to kill. After spawning every monster had five seconds before they would begin attacking. That was enough time to cut them down.
She wouldn't send them out without backup. Archers would stand back twenty yards to pick off any monsters that showed while the remainder of their forces would destroy the spawns behind the lines. Those archers would also insure that Laughing Coffin continued with their job or risk being shot down as the criminals they were.
Like its namesake Fuchu Prison was a fortress, insuring that none of its charges escaped. It was a waste of manpower. There were two guards for every prisoner. Those guards could be joining them on the front lines instead. There were many benefits to this gambit.
With no fear of dying she simply walked into the jail. "Who's in charge?" she called out to the prisoners. No one answered. Fine.
Walking up to one of the convicts who looked as if he was anything but a leader, she stabbed him without further word. "Who's in charge?" she repeated as the digital pieces of the prisoner fell and disappeared. It almost surprised Asuna. She had seen nothing but blood from killing for so long she had almost forgotten what the lower floors thought death looked like.
She could never completely forget. Though she didn't allow herself to feel anything, dreams of Kirito's final moments still invaded her sleep at night.
Looking around when no one answered, she picked her next target. Even if she was forced to kill every murderer in this jail she would still receive the benefits of the guards joining her forces.
Knowing what was coming was no bluff this prisoner's composure shattered. "Over there!" he all but screamed, pointing at one man remaining seated and unmoved.
This man looked confident. He knew that he was the authority among the prisoners, and he knew everyone knew that and would obey him. If she was going to pick a leader among their group he was the one she would have chosen.
"I'll have to make sure to punish Sha..," was all he got out. Asuna pierced where the leader's heart would be outside the game, killing him. She felt no remorse. It was necessary.
Looking over the remaining inmates, she talked to them as if they were lower life forms. "Understand this: I am now your leader. Fail me and you will die."
If they could see their expressions, they would have recognized them as the same as their victims. This was why the two deaths had been necessary. None of them would doubt her words now.
She heard the running steps heading towards the cell door, and she knew what was coming. "General!" the warden yelled in shock, two guards flanking him. "I thought you were only going to try recruiting more of the prisoners. But this..." The man was at a loss for words. He hadn't been to the front lines. He was soft, like they all had been at some point.
"I did. All but two have agreed to my terms," she said simply. "Ready your guards. Those that are willing will be welcomed on the front lines."
Liz screamed out her frustrations on the prone monster that just spawned before her, caving his face in with her mace. She had learned to accept the blood and guts of the monsters they fought as not real. They were all digital recreations, nothing more. No soul existed within.
She refused to look at the line of trees being cut down. Those people had souls. They may be corrupt and unsavable, but souls none the less. She couldn't stand what they were being forced into, but she didn't have any way to stop it from happening. Asuna had asked for an alternative, and she couldn't come up with one that decreased their losses.
As much as she hated herself for admitting it, Asuna was right. That they were murderers and scum made their deaths easier to handle. It didn't make it right however. It didn't stop her from crying at night remembering their screams as they were cut down by the monsters.
She could have left. Asuna had not resorted to cutting down deserters. Liz almost had, several times in fact, but they were nearly free. If she left it would be one less to get there. She lacked the power to make a change in policy, but the sooner they won the sooner the nightmare would end.
The average respawn of the monsters on this floor was about one minute. The five second window before they became dangerous was all a single fighter needed with a decent level and good weapons to kill one. It was a simple plan.
Before the next monster had a chance to spawn she quickly began burning the body of the last. The game may have become too real, but at least in this it was not. In a matter of seconds the monster was nothing but ash.
A minute later a new monster spawned and received the same treatment. It was like an assembly line of carnage, and it lasted until her relief came.
Noting that plans had progressed without incident that day Asuna began her return to base camp. She guessed about half the floor had been cleared. The monsters on this floor had not been as numerous as they had appeared. Now they could see that they had used trees had concealed them and their rapid respawn times, to make it look worse than the reality. The bulk of her forces weren't needed, which allowed for them to cycle regularly and keep them rested until the next dungeon was found.
The less competent fighters were being used now to make the trip back for supplies. Food was available from the animals that spawned, but weapons were not. There were blacksmiths and leather workers to do it, but that they were there meant they were more useful keeping the threat at bay.
A twang of a bow followed by a scream told her another member of Laughing Coffin had tried to run. Only the archers knew the truth, and all of them had been guards at Fuchu prison. They knew the scum they were guarding still, and they had seen the evil these men had done. Some were personally affected, having a friend or loved one killed for their sick sense of enjoyment.
The rest of her forces didn't know anything except she had managed to recruit them and they were doing the most dangerous job in the army to earn their freedom. She didn't even confide it in her three remaining friends. Especially them. Liz and Klein were hardened against the deaths of the monsters. They wouldn't accept the deaths of actual humans no matter the necessity.
With so many monsters being killed at such a rate it was inevitable that the ground would become scorched. The beauty of the lush forest destroyed. It wasn't any more real than the monsters however. This was acceptable.
Beneath that ground is where the unexpected threat manifested however as a sinkhole formed and soldiers emerged wearing the old uniforms of the Order of the Blood Oath. That many looked identical was proof they were NPC's. Another game Kayaba had chosen to play.
The ambush site had formed yards from Asuna. The ground bucked once, knocking her off her feet and giving the first mob the needed time to paralyze her. Falling to the ground she was lucky enough to land where she could see the battle that had erupted.
"Archers keep cover on Laughing Coffin," she ordered, her command voice carrying. The ones that heard quickly spread the word down the line and turned back towards their prisoners. In her position she couldn't see them, but that the order was needed to clear up confusion was never in question.
Her eyes searched the battlefield. "Regroup on Klein," she ordered of the main forces, knowing that Klein was the best of the leaders besides herself. Unable to even lift her swords, her second-in-command was the most logical. From the extreme edge of her peripheral she saw Liz charging towards her. "Fall back to the main forces," she ordered her friend, but Liz didn't head her words as she continued.
Asuna issued the orders one more time, and when again her friend refused she turned her attention back to her forces. Most had managed to get to Klein and he had taken charge as she expected. There were some cut off. "Those unable to form up on Klein protect the archers," she commanded them. Having looked lost a second before; they were happy to have direction and quickly complied.
Hearing a thump Liz fell to her knees, an antidote in her fingers. "Move, you're blocking my view," she told her friend. She needed to see what was going on to handle any unexpected changes in the battle. God forbid Klein fell right now, she would need to command. She would have to do it regardless of her limited perspective.
It didn't really register that Liz had brought her an antidote. They were useless on her thanks to Kayaba, and thus they weren't worth the time to notice. Looking at her display in the upper right corner she noted she had another fifteen minutes before her immobility ended. She was used to it lasting at least an hour, so this was considered a good thing.
Liz applied the antidote anyways, and it did nothing as expected. What hadn't been expected was the monster that spawned behind Asuna where she couldn't see to give a warning. A moment later her friend screamed in pain, then cut off suddenly.
Unable to do anything for her friend, she turned her attention back to the fight, ignoring the blood soaking into her armor as her friend lay on top of her. She began sending more orders preparing her remaining men for the new spawns. Most of the fake knights had been taken down. It was now only a matter of time before order was restored.
"LIZ!" Klein screamed only moments after her first set of new orders. Liz had stopped breathing within seconds of the blow, telling Asuna it was too late to save her.
"Return to formation!" she yelled at Klein before his emotional reaction threatened to break down their defense which was beginning to switch gears into an offensive force. They couldn't afford to lose that momentum.
Like Liz he refused to listen to her orders, but he didn't completely lose his head. "Lancelot take command," he yelled as he ran headlong towards her, cutting down the monster, now standing between him and his friends, that had killed Liz.
Asuna ignored his sobs as he cradled Liz's broken body. The battle had not finished yet. Until it was over no one could afford to take a break.
By the time the fight was over Asuna's paralysis only had three minutes left. "Leave her," she told Klein, hoping he would come back to his senses. "We need to get everyone back to position before the respawns have a chance to undermine our forces," she ordered. "Also, have some men stand guard over that hole. I want to investigate it when the paralysis wears off."
"Why?" Klein said, his voice thick with tears. "Won't you take at least a minute to grieve for Liz? She was your best friend!" His grief was working on becoming anger quickly. She should have expected that.
All she could offer him was the truth however. "Liz knew I can't be killed, and she knew the antidotes don't work anymore. It's her own fault she died." She said it without emotion, without empathy. As simple as a misbehaving hunting pet.
It wasn't the right thing to say, but really there wasn't a right thing. It was the worst way to say it, but she couldn't fake any emotion to ease Klein's distress. Liz was dead. They weren't going to bring her back. Without a word Klein brought his fist down on Asuna's cheek with all his strength. She didn't feel it. Pain was no longer a reality for her. She accepted it if it was what he needed to get past their friend's death. And the next one, and the one after that, her lack of reaction only infuriating her friend further.630Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxRGwfiDLp
When he was too tired to swing again she said dispassionately,"You're relieved until you regain your composure." Looking over at the next highest in command she ordered, "Davyd organize the forces to clear the respawns before they become a problem again and set guards on the hole the army had come through."630Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93P2TpiJBU
Friends died. Lovers died. Friendships ended. Nothing survived forever. It was the only constant in the world, both outside and inside the game. Once you accepted that you would be able to do what was needed for the good of the ones who still lived, and the one who wanted to be part of that constant once again.630Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡck8r2xPqRY
