In the depth of darkness, the mysterious though elegant lady and I stood beside each other; the girl was on my right. To make an assessment of our surroundings, we quickly scanned the arena for the final battle by shifting our eyes back and forth, looking for advantageous places to fight and hide.
Nothing.
The place only consisted of an open area, a dome with a large diameter. There were crystallized jades and rubies in the walls, roof and floor that shinned brightly thanks to the slight light of the flames that lighted the cave. The ground was hard but not smooth, it consisted of a rocky area with many imperfections. Stumbling and falling could be fatal. Large stalactites hang above, covering the entire surface area of the roof. Some stalagmite formations, which were no more than two meter tall, were scattered all over the place. There couldn't be more than ten around the area. Though one would believe these being helpful as they cannot be destroyed, it is actually the contrary. A scythe's reach is different than a sword, a rock formation wouldn't be a proper shield.
"Dual wielding, black swordsman, Kirito?" The woman in light blue and white spoke with a soft voice. Her straight, light blue hair that didn't reach below the shoulders, along with her deep blue eyes and gentle expression was capable of swaying anyone with her cuteness. She was not taller than me, though not smaller than Asuna. Her slim body was covered by a battle dress, same of those used in Venice in the Renaissance period, except lighter and with a hood attached. The dress left her legs exposed, which was instead covered by long, white leggings. The sleeves were rolled over to the elbows, leaving the forearm exposed. Instead, she wore a pair of white leather gloves and small white gauntlets with heavenly decorations, which covered half her forearm.
"Yes it's me, thanks for the help" I answered with a serious expression, focusing on «The Reaper», as the boss prepared for the battle.
"I heard a scream and came as soon as possible, was that you?" The mysterious lady asked, containing her laughter.
"No no no no, that was a girl who already left, I came a couple seconds ago after hearing the scream" I said, rotating my back and forth in the horizontal axis, confirming my answer.
"You don't need to be ashamed, I would be scared if I were to confront an enemy like that all by myself" The lady said, smirking with taunting eyes.
"It is not the right time or place for something like this! Keep focus!"
"Yeah Yeah, I just wanted to tease you. Here, while the enemy recovers, let's joined up in a party, that would facilitate our performance and strategy" The lady said as she moved through the screens to the [Invite] section.
"Right, let's do it quickly" Kirito said, quickly pushing the [Accept] button. "Anya..." I whispered as I read the name of my new party member in the top left side of my screen.
"Hu? Oh yeah, I didn't present myself, my name is Anya, nice meeting you Kirito" Anya answered, smiling with a childish innocence.
"Similarly, please don't take this lightly, I have fought this thing before and almost died"
"But if you fought him and you are still here, then that means you won, right?"
"Not exactly..."
"Hrm?"
"I will explain you later, for now, don't die" Ending the conversation, I focused again in the boss, who had already recovered from the blow. The blow... what was that anyways? I wondered. Even with my strength, I was pushed back and damaged, but this girl not only pushed the «The Reaper» away, but send him flying an unbelievable distance.
«The Reaper», preparing his scythe, begins moving forward.
"Get ready" Isaid, lowering his center of gravity, my usual battle stance with the swords on the side, similar to the “No-Stance” style I read about before.
"Yes!" Anya answered, and similarly to me, lowered her stance, with her fist extended forward in front of her, with no weapon drawn.
Suddenly, «The Reaper» dashed forward with its godly speed, placing his scythe in the ground and tearing everything in its path. Reacting to the sudden action, I jumped to the left, escaping swiftly the attack. Anya, in response, jumped to her right, barely escaping the attack.
"ANYA!" I scream, desperately trying to figure if she was okay.
"Don't worry about me! Focus!"
With no time to spare, «The Reaper», who was closer to me, stroke with a horizontal slash in the level of my abdomen aimed at my right. In response, I raised my swords vertically, blocking the strike with a double block, defending successfully, though pushed a few meters back.
"So.... strong..."
Anya, seen me in trouble, leaped toward the boss, striking with her empty fist from above. «The Reaper» in response, quickly drew his scythe back, defending from Anya's direct punch with the stick, barely defending his chest. The enemy though, not able to resist the force, was pushed several meters back, losing some of its health. Anya landed on her feet, next to me while I kneeled in the ground.
"Kirito, are you ok?!"
"Just recovering from the strike. Anyways, what was that just now?"
"Cutting it short, I'm a martial artist. I specialize in unarmed combat."
It made sense. Being a martial artist, Anya would train on her agility, dexterity and strength. From the previous scene though, it seemed she had sacrificed speed over strength, making her "slower" compared to most people in her level. It was the exact opposite of Gin, who spent most of his skill points on speed. The dashing speed of hers can only be done when "pushing" with explosive power thanks to her strength, but cannot be retained as foot speed. Though at the moment, her strength’s level remained unknown to me.
Our fight with «The Reaper» prolonged long and exhausting. Though he was unbelievably strong, his attack patterns were awfully predicable. Anya and I would jump to the side, and as one of us defended, the other one will attack the boss' blind-spot, and continue switching. The HP of the boss was nearing red zone by now.
"We can do this!" Anya said excitedly.
"Don't lower your guard, bosses tend to go in a [Berserk] state immediately after reaching the red zone"
As I defended from the «The Reaper»'s strike once again, Anya attacked again with her fist, and in response, «The Reaper» defended with the stick, being sent away several meters. Or that is what I would like to have seen. After she stroked the stick, «The Reaper»'s HP reached the red zone. Immediately, «The Reaper»'s eyes glowed red, and swiftly, jumped a considerable distance back, leaving her in mid air to discharge her attack. He then, slashed vertically upward, striking her. Anya in response, inter-crossed her arms to receive the attack. The attack landed on her gauntlets. Sadly, the force in which the «The Reaper» hit her was so great, that she was sent upward into the air into the stalactites above us.
"ANYA!" I said with no response as I waited for a sign of her. Nothing. "DAMMIT"
In infuriating rage, I launched myself forward toward the reaper, activating « Starburst Stream» to land the final attack. «The Reaper», with grace, avoided my attacks with a death dance. His speed, movements and strength incremented drastically after reaching the red zone. With cold calculation, I knew the boss would launch his counter attack. As my sword skill was near is end, I closed my eyes, ready to receive the death's brace.
Two seconds remaining...
One second remaining...
I was able to hear the sound of «The Reaper»'s weapon as he prepared his attack.
No more time...
Out of nowhere, a giant stalactite fell from above with ridiculous speed, striking the boss head on. The boss, in retaliation, was send flying away several meters back, giving me a chance to cool down my sword skill.
"WHAT?"
A second afterwards, something landed beside my right, lifting a huge cloud of dust. It was Anya, who stood nonchalantly, cracking her neck.
"I didn't want you to witness that, but there was no other way" Anya said, breaking the silence.
"Was that..."
"Let's talk later, we need to
«The Reaper» once again, stood, moving toward us.
"He is too fast to get hit, our previous strategy will not work"
"So we need to hit him with a really fast, unexpected strike, right?"
"In theory, but the only one who can match a speed similar to that is my friend, who is currently unavailable"
"Not necessarily..."
"Hrm?"
Anya, with no warning, grabbed the neck of my shirt with her right hand. She continued by placing her left foot in front of her left, similarly to an Olympic thrower. "Ready?"
"You don't mean?"
"Yeph, all or nothing!"
With more brute strength than grace, Anya moved her body forward, launching me with incredible speed toward «The Reaper».
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
I placed both of my swords forward, inter-crossing them in case of an unexpected boss retaliation.
One second remaining...
The scythe moved toward me as I moved toward the enemy.
Half a second...
The scythe is beside me, I'm directly in front «The Reaper»
A third of a second...
The scythe was too late. In response, I immediately activated [The Eclypse], launching a torrent of attacks in the opening given. «The Reaper» could only shierk as he received my attacks. After my last strike, the boss' HP reduced to zero, and immediately he scattered in countless polygons, which scattered through the air.
[CONGRATULATIONS] stood in the air, as I once again collapsed in the ground from exhaustion.
Nothing.
The place only consisted of an open area, a dome with a large diameter. There were crystallized jades and rubies in the walls, roof and floor that shinned brightly thanks to the slight light of the flames that lighted the cave. The ground was hard but not smooth, it consisted of a rocky area with many imperfections. Stumbling and falling could be fatal. Large stalactites hang above, covering the entire surface area of the roof. Some stalagmite formations, which were no more than two meter tall, were scattered all over the place. There couldn't be more than ten around the area. Though one would believe these being helpful as they cannot be destroyed, it is actually the contrary. A scythe's reach is different than a sword, a rock formation wouldn't be a proper shield.
"Dual wielding, black swordsman, Kirito?" The woman in light blue and white spoke with a soft voice. Her straight, light blue hair that didn't reach below the shoulders, along with her deep blue eyes and gentle expression was capable of swaying anyone with her cuteness. She was not taller than me, though not smaller than Asuna. Her slim body was covered by a battle dress, same of those used in Venice in the Renaissance period, except lighter and with a hood attached. The dress left her legs exposed, which was instead covered by long, white leggings. The sleeves were rolled over to the elbows, leaving the forearm exposed. Instead, she wore a pair of white leather gloves and small white gauntlets with heavenly decorations, which covered half her forearm.
"Yes it's me, thanks for the help" I answered with a serious expression, focusing on «The Reaper», as the boss prepared for the battle.
"I heard a scream and came as soon as possible, was that you?" The mysterious lady asked, containing her laughter.
"No no no no, that was a girl who already left, I came a couple seconds ago after hearing the scream" I said, rotating my back and forth in the horizontal axis, confirming my answer.
"You don't need to be ashamed, I would be scared if I were to confront an enemy like that all by myself" The lady said, smirking with taunting eyes.
"It is not the right time or place for something like this! Keep focus!"
"Yeah Yeah, I just wanted to tease you. Here, while the enemy recovers, let's joined up in a party, that would facilitate our performance and strategy" The lady said as she moved through the screens to the [Invite] section.
"Right, let's do it quickly" Kirito said, quickly pushing the [Accept] button. "Anya..." I whispered as I read the name of my new party member in the top left side of my screen.
"Hu? Oh yeah, I didn't present myself, my name is Anya, nice meeting you Kirito" Anya answered, smiling with a childish innocence.
"Similarly, please don't take this lightly, I have fought this thing before and almost died"
"But if you fought him and you are still here, then that means you won, right?"
"Not exactly..."
"Hrm?"
"I will explain you later, for now, don't die" Ending the conversation, I focused again in the boss, who had already recovered from the blow. The blow... what was that anyways? I wondered. Even with my strength, I was pushed back and damaged, but this girl not only pushed the «The Reaper» away, but send him flying an unbelievable distance.
«The Reaper», preparing his scythe, begins moving forward.
"Get ready" Isaid, lowering his center of gravity, my usual battle stance with the swords on the side, similar to the “No-Stance” style I read about before.
"Yes!" Anya answered, and similarly to me, lowered her stance, with her fist extended forward in front of her, with no weapon drawn.
Suddenly, «The Reaper» dashed forward with its godly speed, placing his scythe in the ground and tearing everything in its path. Reacting to the sudden action, I jumped to the left, escaping swiftly the attack. Anya, in response, jumped to her right, barely escaping the attack.
"ANYA!" I scream, desperately trying to figure if she was okay.
"Don't worry about me! Focus!"
With no time to spare, «The Reaper», who was closer to me, stroke with a horizontal slash in the level of my abdomen aimed at my right. In response, I raised my swords vertically, blocking the strike with a double block, defending successfully, though pushed a few meters back.
"So.... strong..."
Anya, seen me in trouble, leaped toward the boss, striking with her empty fist from above. «The Reaper» in response, quickly drew his scythe back, defending from Anya's direct punch with the stick, barely defending his chest. The enemy though, not able to resist the force, was pushed several meters back, losing some of its health. Anya landed on her feet, next to me while I kneeled in the ground.
"Kirito, are you ok?!"
"Just recovering from the strike. Anyways, what was that just now?"
"Cutting it short, I'm a martial artist. I specialize in unarmed combat."
It made sense. Being a martial artist, Anya would train on her agility, dexterity and strength. From the previous scene though, it seemed she had sacrificed speed over strength, making her "slower" compared to most people in her level. It was the exact opposite of Gin, who spent most of his skill points on speed. The dashing speed of hers can only be done when "pushing" with explosive power thanks to her strength, but cannot be retained as foot speed. Though at the moment, her strength’s level remained unknown to me.
Our fight with «The Reaper» prolonged long and exhausting. Though he was unbelievably strong, his attack patterns were awfully predicable. Anya and I would jump to the side, and as one of us defended, the other one will attack the boss' blind-spot, and continue switching. The HP of the boss was nearing red zone by now.
"We can do this!" Anya said excitedly.
"Don't lower your guard, bosses tend to go in a [Berserk] state immediately after reaching the red zone"
As I defended from the «The Reaper»'s strike once again, Anya attacked again with her fist, and in response, «The Reaper» defended with the stick, being sent away several meters. Or that is what I would like to have seen. After she stroked the stick, «The Reaper»'s HP reached the red zone. Immediately, «The Reaper»'s eyes glowed red, and swiftly, jumped a considerable distance back, leaving her in mid air to discharge her attack. He then, slashed vertically upward, striking her. Anya in response, inter-crossed her arms to receive the attack. The attack landed on her gauntlets. Sadly, the force in which the «The Reaper» hit her was so great, that she was sent upward into the air into the stalactites above us.
"ANYA!" I said with no response as I waited for a sign of her. Nothing. "DAMMIT"
In infuriating rage, I launched myself forward toward the reaper, activating « Starburst Stream» to land the final attack. «The Reaper», with grace, avoided my attacks with a death dance. His speed, movements and strength incremented drastically after reaching the red zone. With cold calculation, I knew the boss would launch his counter attack. As my sword skill was near is end, I closed my eyes, ready to receive the death's brace.
Two seconds remaining...
One second remaining...
I was able to hear the sound of «The Reaper»'s weapon as he prepared his attack.
No more time...
Out of nowhere, a giant stalactite fell from above with ridiculous speed, striking the boss head on. The boss, in retaliation, was send flying away several meters back, giving me a chance to cool down my sword skill.
"WHAT?"
A second afterwards, something landed beside my right, lifting a huge cloud of dust. It was Anya, who stood nonchalantly, cracking her neck.
"I didn't want you to witness that, but there was no other way" Anya said, breaking the silence.
"Was that..."
"Let's talk later, we need to
«The Reaper» once again, stood, moving toward us.
"He is too fast to get hit, our previous strategy will not work"
"So we need to hit him with a really fast, unexpected strike, right?"
"In theory, but the only one who can match a speed similar to that is my friend, who is currently unavailable"
"Not necessarily..."
"Hrm?"
Anya, with no warning, grabbed the neck of my shirt with her right hand. She continued by placing her left foot in front of her left, similarly to an Olympic thrower. "Ready?"
"You don't mean?"
"Yeph, all or nothing!"
With more brute strength than grace, Anya moved her body forward, launching me with incredible speed toward «The Reaper».
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
I placed both of my swords forward, inter-crossing them in case of an unexpected boss retaliation.
One second remaining...
The scythe moved toward me as I moved toward the enemy.
Half a second...
The scythe is beside me, I'm directly in front «The Reaper»
A third of a second...
The scythe was too late. In response, I immediately activated [The Eclypse], launching a torrent of attacks in the opening given. «The Reaper» could only shierk as he received my attacks. After my last strike, the boss' HP reduced to zero, and immediately he scattered in countless polygons, which scattered through the air.
[CONGRATULATIONS] stood in the air, as I once again collapsed in the ground from exhaustion.
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