Stories of Aincrad; The Last Mile [IC][OPEN]

[Tracian Empire]

"Yeah..nightmares.", the black haired boy answered in a low voice. "I couldn't sleep, and I thought that it would be better to come out for some air.. I didn't want to wake up Marie." And then, he remained quiet for a few moments. "I know.. I used to go to a psychologist in the past, too. Right after.. that incident..it was part of the judge's decision, that all those of us who were involved with it had to visit one. Even my sisters did. And it helped.. for a while. But.. I never enjoyed talking about it. I never liked to open up to people.. and I never had the feeling that the psychologist understood.. what I was going through. So as long as visiting him was no longer compulsory.. I stopped going." And then once again.. silence. "But.. those are just.. nightmares of the past. Something.. something has been scaring me.. a lot more lately." And Dremo hesitated....

"I'm afraid of losing you..I'm so afraid of it. And yet....yet, when I think that..even right now, in real life.. that bastard is hurting you.. it's.." The boy's voice trailed off.. as he hesitated again. "I love you.. and I promised you that I would never let anyone hurt you.. and yet, my promise was broken as soon as it was made. And now.. now we know.. that as soon as the game ends.. as soon as we all wake up back in real life..you will wake up back into your old nightmare. And even if I will try to save you.. even when I will try to find you.. it will take a while. So you.. you will have to suffer again.. again.. and again.. until I manage to find you." Dremo refused to look at the red haired girl next to him, avoiding eye-contact.. but his voice was quivering.. and it was clear that he was close to crying. "So I know.. I know that you promised me that you won't try to kill yourself again, that you will try to live.. but if you will have to suffer.. if you will be hurt again..it's so.. selfish for me to ask you to live on until I manage to find you. I know that you're afraid of it..and forcing you to go through it will be so egoistical of me.."

Dremo tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down..but he just couldn't. "It's just.. I love you.. and I'm so afraid of losing you.. I'm so afraid that you will die...I don't want you to die, I want you to live happily. But..I love you.. and I also want to protect you. I don't want you to suffer ever again.. I don't want you to be hurt.. because of the promise you made to me. So..if you're afraid of it.. you.. don't need to listen to my selfish request. You don't need to wake up right back in your nightmare, with just the hope that I might find you one day to light the darkness in which you will have to leave. If you don't want that guy to ever hurt you again.. we can.. we can.. make it.. so that you die here, in the game.. before it ends." Dremo remained quiet. "I just want you to live, of course, I want to find you, to make you happy, to make that bastard pay.. that would make me happy. But to build my happiness over your suffering.. it's just.. it's just too selfish..."

[Charlia]

"Yeah..nightmares.", the black haired boy answered in a low voice. "I couldn't sleep, and I thought that it would be better to come out for some air.. I didn't want to wake up Marie." And then, he remained quiet for a few moments. "I know.. I used to go to a psychologist in the past, too. Right after.. that incident..it was part of the judge's decision, that all those of us who were involved with it had to visit one. Even my sisters did. And it helped.. for a while. But.. I never enjoyed talking about it. I never liked to open up to people.. and I never had the feeling that the psychologist understood.. what I was going through. So as long as visiting him was no longer compulsory.. I stopped going." And then once again.. silence. "But.. those are just.. nightmares of the past. Something.. something has been scaring me.. a lot more lately." And Dremo hesitated....

"I'm afraid of losing you..I'm so afraid of it. And yet....yet, when I think that..even right now, in real life.. that bastard is hurting you.. it's.." The boy's voice trailed off.. as he hesitated again. "I love you.. and I promised you that I would never let anyone hurt you.. and yet, my promise was broken as soon as it was made. And now.. now we know.. that as soon as the game ends.. as soon as we all wake up back in real life..you will wake up back into your old nightmare. And even if I will try to save you.. even when I will try to find you.. it will take a while. So you.. you will have to suffer again.. again.. and again.. until I manage to find you." Dremo refused to look at the red haired girl next to him, avoiding eye-contact.. but his voice was quivering.. and it was clear that he was close to crying. "So I know.. I know that you promised me that you won't try to kill yourself again, that you will try to live.. but if you will have to suffer.. if you will be hurt again..it's so.. selfish for me to ask you to live on until I manage to find you. I know that you're afraid of it..and forcing you to go through it will be so egoistical of me.."

Dremo tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down..but he just couldn't. "It's just.. I love you.. and I'm so afraid of losing you.. I'm so afraid that you will die...I don't want you to die, I want you to live happily. But..I love you.. and I also want to protect you. I don't want you to suffer ever again.. I don't want you to be hurt.. because of the promise you made to me. So..if you're afraid of it.. you.. don't need to listen to my selfish request. You don't need to wake up right back in your nightmare, with just the hope that I might find you one day to light the darkness in which you will have to leave. If you don't want that guy to ever hurt you again.. we can.. we can.. make it.. so that you die here, in the game.. before it ends." Dremo remained quiet. "I just want you to live, of course, I want to find you, to make you happy, to make that bastard pay.. that would make me happy. But to build my happiness over your suffering.. it's just.. it's just too selfish..."

Her eyes widened, and she simply stared at him in silence, her mind racing.

He... his nightmares are about... about me? Just the thought hurts him so much... So much that he... He's so sad... because of me...

After everything I did...

For so long now, I've been hurting and killing people... That's what defined me, that's what I was... It was better than being an obedient whore... and I needed someone to hate... someone that wasn't me...

So I didn't feel fear, even in a fight that I shouldn't have been able to win... and honor's something I lost a long, long time ago. And love...

Love... I never loved anyone, not even myself, and no one loved me... not really. No matter what I might have thought, none of it was real.

And in the end, I thought that was fine, since so many humans were evil. Right? I didn't need any of them... I didn't need anything like love. All I had was hate... and my enemies.

And if I had died...

If I had died, no one would have cried for me.

But then...

Why was he crying?

"Please... don't die..."

He couldn't stand it... if I died. I was so awful... but he still... didn't want me to die...

"Just... could you promise me, that at least for now... you won't try to kill yourself again?"

And I did... I promised... and now he's... releasing me from that promise...

He... would let me die, if I wanted to... so I wouldn't have to suffer...

I would have taken that offer in a heartbeat once...

But now, I...

"...I... don't want to die, though..." she whispered. "Not now. I want to live... I want to feel... I want to talk with you more, I want to love you more, I want to be with you, I don't want to die... Arno, I don't want to die..." She looked up, and hugged him tightly. She was crying, but not out of sadness.

She was crying because she was happy.

She didn't want to die.

"Isn't that funny?" she asked, smiling through her tears. "I thought I would want to die. But I don't. I want to live. I want to live with you. And I think... I think I could be happy that way... You make me so happy... So for now, for the time we have left, I'll be happy... and then when it's over, I know you'll find me... and I can survive as long as I know you'll be there... It's not like it'll be anything new, it's not like anything will have really changed... except that I'll finally have hope..." Her grip tightened, and her smile grew wider. "I'll finally be able to think, this won't last forever. Because I know that you'll come to find me... I know you will... so I won't die... because nothing would make me happier than to live by your side."

[Tracian Empire]

The black haired boy continued to look in another direction, not wanting to allow her to see that he was on the verge of crying.. or better said, that tears already started to roll down his cheeks. But just as he was about to start crying.. he heard her. .he heard her say.. that she did not want to die. Shocked and confused, with a mess of feelings in his heart.. he turned around, as he looked directly at her with his teary, black eyes. And hearing that.. hearing all of that, hearing her say all of that, seeing her cry..all the despair in which he was drowning turned in hope, and a ray of light started to shine in the darkness that had been surrounding him. He hated it. He hated the thought that she might die. It hurt him.. it hurt him so much. He couldn't.. he just couldn't imagine living without her. But still.. no matter of how much it pained him, he had decided.. that he wanted to protect her. He loved her too much.. to leave her to suffer like that. That's why.. he had decided.. that if she wanted to die.. to avoid all that pain and suffering.. he was going to accept it, no matter of how much it was going to hurt. And yet... and yet.. she wanted to live.. she wanted to live..

There wasn't much else that Dremo could do, besides from hugging her back, tightly, and from also starting to cry, letting all that pain and despair out. "I'm so happy.. I'm so happy to hear you say that....I was so afraid.. I was so afraid that you were going to choose death.. I just want.. I just want you to live, so much.. I want you to live on, happily.." The boy tried to speak between sobs, but tears were just flowing down freely from his eyes. "I promise you.. I promise you, as soon as we get out of this game, I will start looking for you.. and I will find you.. no matter of what will happen, I will find you, I will save you, and I will make that bastard pay for everything he has ever done to you.. just survive until I can find you..please.."

[Charlia]

The black haired boy continued to look in another direction, not wanting to allow her to see that he was on the verge of crying.. or better said, that tears already started to roll down his cheeks. But just as he was about to start crying.. he heard her. .he heard her say.. that she did not want to die. Shocked and confused, with a mess of feelings in his heart.. he turned around, as he looked directly at her with his teary, black eyes. And hearing that.. hearing all of that, hearing her say all of that, seeing her cry..all the despair in which he was drowning turned in home, and a ray of light started to shine in the darkness that had been surrounding him. He hated it. He hated the thought that she might die. It hurt him.. it hurt him so much. He couldn't.. he just couldn't imagine living without her. But still.. no matter of how much it pained him, he had decided.. that he wanted to protect her. He loved her too much.. to leave her to suffer like that. That's why.. he had decided.. that if she wanted to die.. to avoid all that pain and suffering.. he was going to accept it, no matter of how much it was going to hurt. And yet... and yet.. she wanted to live.. she wanted to live..

There wasn't much else that Dremo could do, besides from hugging her back, tightly, and from also starting to cry, letting all that pain and despair out. "I'm so happy.. I'm so happy to hear you say that....I was so afraid.. I was so afraid that you were going to choose to death.. I just want.. I just want you to live, so much.. I want you to live on, happily.." The boy tried to speak between sobs, but tears were just flowing down freely from his eyes. "I promise you.. I promise you, as soon as we get out of this game, I will start looking for you.. and I will find you.. no matter of what will happen, I will find you, I will save you, and I will make that bastard pay for everything he has ever done to you.. just survive until I can find you..please.."

"I will... I'll do my best," she replied, still shaking, still crying, but for that moment, barely afraid at all. "I'll survive. It'll only be for a little while longer... so I'll survive... I know you'll be there... and that means that I can live with anything he does to me. Because you'll come... I know you will. And as long as I know you're coming... I can survive the worst sins, just so long as I know there's still a chance..."

Thank you... Thank you... You have no idea how much I want this... I want to be happy... and for once, I think I finally can...

[Tracian Empire]

The black haired boy continued to look in another direction, not wanting to allow her to see that he was on the verge of crying.. or better said, that tears already started to roll down his cheeks. But just as he was about to start crying.. he heard her. .he heard her say.. that she did not want to die. Shocked and confused, with a mess of feelings in his heart.. he turned around, as he looked directly at her with his teary, black eyes. And hearing that.. hearing all of that, hearing her say all of that, seeing her cry..all the despair in which he was drowning turned in home, and a ray of light started to shine in the darkness that had been surrounding him. He hated it. He hated the thought that she might die. It hurt him.. it hurt him so much. He couldn't.. he just couldn't imagine living without her. But still.. no matter of how much it pained him, he had decided.. that he wanted to protect her. He loved her too much.. to leave her to suffer like that. That's why.. he had decided.. that if she wanted to die.. to avoid all that pain and suffering.. he was going to accept it, no matter of how much it was going to hurt. And yet... and yet.. she wanted to live.. she wanted to live..

There wasn't much else that Dremo could do, besides from hugging her back, tightly, and from also starting to cry, letting all that pain and despair out. "I'm so happy.. I'm so happy to hear you say that....I was so afraid.. I was so afraid that you were going to choose to death.. I just want.. I just want you to live, so much.. I want you to live on, happily.." The boy tried to speak between sobs, but tears were just flowing down freely from his eyes. "I promise you.. I promise you, as soon as we get out of this game, I will start looking for you.. and I will find you.. no matter of what will happen, I will find you, I will save you, and I will make that bastard pay for everything he has ever done to you.. just survive until I can find you..please.."

"I will... I'll do my best," she replied, still shaking, still crying, but for that moment, barely afraid at all. "I'll survive. It'll only be for a little while longer... so I'll survive... I know you'll be there... and that means that I can live with anything he does to me. Because you'll come... I know you will. And as long as I know you're coming... I can survive the worst sins, just so long as I know there's still a chance..."

Thank you... Thank you... You have no idea how much I want this... I want to be happy... and for once, I think I finally can...

The two of them simply remained like that, hugging each other for a while, in silence..until their tender moment was suddenly interrupted. Through sheer luck, or bad luck, the bench on which the two of them were sitting was right in front of the city's Portal Gate. And out of a sudden, the portal opened.. allowing a group to walk through it. A group of people they more or less knew..knights, in white and red, led by a black haired and black eyed boy who was wearing an entirely black outfit, and a chestnut haired girl.. "Well.. I'm sorry to interrupt your nice moment.. but we have a final boss to fight.", Kirito told them, with a smirk on his face. And as much as Dremo wanted this moment to just go on forever.. he knew that Kirito was right. This was it.. the moment had come..........

---

The next day..
The entire group was there.. standing in front of the Ruby Palace's main gate. This was it.. beyond that gate, the final boss, Kayaba himself.. was waiting for them. That was going to be it.. they were going to defeat him, and to end this death game once and for all.. or they were going to die. "Are you guys...ready?",Dremo asked, hesitantly.

[United States of Indonesia]

Morning
Josua was woken up by Virgil who woke up earlier. The two changed turns at some time before morning. "Good morning, Mr. Sleepy head~" she said to him while rubbing his head. He stirred her hand from his head while smirking. "Okay, okay... I'm awake, okay?" he said while bringing up his body, sitting down on the ground. Lucia and Cruade were already up by then, albeit Lucia being a tad woozy. "Wakey wakey, Miss Secretary..." Cruade said to Lucia while patting her back. "I'm already awake, okay?!" she replied, albeit annoyed by his prank, as she straightened up her form. He laughed at the sight of her. Meanwhile, Josua & Virgil were simply amused at the sight of the two.

The other groups that followed them began to wake up as well. With most of them preparing to move out, Josua decided to take command temporarily. He gathered them all at an open space that was clear of monsters. "Listen up, you lot! Right now, we're standing at the tippy top of Aincrad. And that red palace on top of that giant platform~" he said as he pointed at the Ruby Palace that was way above, on the giant plateau. "~ is where we will face the final boss, the creator of this death game, Kayaba Akihiko, or as his cover in the game, Heathcliff. Soon enough, we will be joined by groups from the rest of the frontline guilds. Right now, we are to establish a forward operation base at the entrance of the palace. We must clear the area around it & secure the path. Got it?" he continued. Some of them simply nodded, while others were discussing about it. "I assume all of you know who I am. In case you don't, I'm Josua, the Captain-Commander of the Infinity Twilight Brigade. And I'm sure you know the rest of my group that are with me right now." he said as they started to bustle at hearing his name & his guild's name. "For now, I will temporarily lead you until the Knights of the Blood Oath arrive. We will move in 10 minutes. Be sure to be done with your breakfast & packing your camp tents. Dismissed." he said as all of them began to dismantle their camp & have their breakfast.

10 minutes later...

The group then moved as per Josua's orders. They then began their ascend to the plateau. They would encounter monsters and defeat each of them, but not without a cost. Some players died due to negligence, while others died because of bad move. When they reached the top of the plateau, they already lost quite the number of players, but it was still acceptable enough for him. They then would continue to press towards the entrance of the Palace, where they defeated several enemy guards & began to construct the FOB. By the time the second group arrived, they had just finished constructing the base. Josua then would greet Dremo & the others. When he asked the rest of the group if they're ready, Josua simply sighed. "Dremo, are you really asking that now, of all times? We're just one step away from freedom, and that's what your asking? Do I even have to answer that?" he said as he shook his head.

[Charlia]

The two of them simply remained like that, hugging each other for a while, in silence..until their tender moment was suddenly interrupted. Through sheer luck, or bad luck, the bench on which the two of them were sitting was right in front of the city's Portal Gate. And out of a sudden, the portal opened.. allowing a group to walk through it. A group of people they more or less knew..knights, in white and red, led by a black haired and black eyed boy who was wearing an entirely black outfit, and a chestnut haired girl.. "Well.. I'm sorry to interrupt your nice moment.. but we have a final boss to fight.", Kirito told them, with a smirk on his face. And as much as Dremo wanted this moment to just go on forever.. he knew that Kirito was right. This was it.. the moment had come..........

---

The next day..
The entire group was there.. standing in front of the Ruby Palace's main gate. This was it.. beyond that gate, the final boss, Kayaba himself.. was waiting for them. That was going to be it.. they were going to defeat him, and to end this death game once and for all.. or they were going to die. "Are you guys...ready?",Dremo asked, hesitantly.

At Kirito's interruption, Noblemind stood up and then, perhaps predictably, backhanded him across the face.

Smug, arrogant, insensitive bastard... Wipe that bloody grin off your face or I can't promise I won't cut it off myself. "Sorry," she said icily, clearly not sorry at all. "I'm sure I had no intention of doing that." She shot Asuna a look of dark bewilderment, shaking her head in a clearly disapproving manner. I don't know how you put up with him. It's like he's incapable of being a likable person.

I don't like you that much... but I feel sorry for you.

---

"...I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she replied bluntly, gripping her swords. No. I'm not ready. I'm not ready at all.

No... It's going to be okay... He'll find me... He'll find me and everything will be all right again.

I'll survive. I've done it before and I can do it again. No matter what he does to me, I'll survive...

Let's just get this over with.

[Tulkomanistan]

22nd Floor, Night

David was holding a bottle on the fire. The bottle had some sort of liquid in it. He was readying a drink, a drink which didn't have alcohol in it. David would tell that it was a weird type of coffee to himself and others but he didn't really know what it really was. The only reason he called the drink a weird type of coffee was that the drink could keep someone awake or drive the sleep away.

"I hope you didn't keep you waiting." a familiar voice said to him from behind. "I'm glad you arrived before the drink got ready. We don't want it to get cold, do we?" David said with a faint smile on his face. Fortunately, the person didn't see his smile since his back was turned against that person.
------
Denz sat down next to David. "What are we drinking? Some of your special alcoholic beverage?" he asked and looked at the bottle. "Nah. This will make sure that we will stay awake all night. You might drink last bits of the drink when we are about to end the game if you desire." David said. None of them talked until David pulled the bottle away from the fire.

"Did you know that the glass bottle could break into many pieces if you keep holding it on the fire for too long? I didn't until one broke down while I was trying to boil water." David said, trying to break the ice.

David got a small flask from his inventory. "This one's empty. Let me pour some in for you." David said as he put some of the liquid from the bottle to the flask.

Denz took the flask when David held the flask toward him. "How does it taste like?" Denz asked as he examined the drink. "It's like you've mixed tea and coffee. Not that great but not bad." David said and drank the drink in one gulp.

Denz looked surprised. He wasn't expecting David to drink it that fast. "Just do like I did. It will just lower your HP in worse case scenario." David said. Denz looked at David's HP. It was in yellow. "Don't worry. Your HP won't go down as much as mine. I have been holding the bottle on the fire all this time so it sorta burned my hand. Luckily, my 'pain meter' is in minimal so no pain."
------------
The two watched the lake after Denz finished his drink. "Nice view, isn't it? One of the things I will miss when the game will be over." David said and sighed.

"So, if what you told me in the message is correct, there will be a fight against the last boss in the following days." Denz said after David slowly stood up extinguish the fire.

"Actually...I don't know when they will go. They going tomorrow is only a guess." David said and laughed nervously. Denz facepalmed before someone's voice was heard. "You two plan to go to the last boss fight without telling us? What a disappointment."

Denz sighed while David looked at him with a poker face. Ganze and the girl she was looking after were standing in front of them.
--------
"So, they followed you all the way here without you noticing? I wanted to say that you should improve yourself but I suppose it's too late for that." David said to Denz with a silly smile on his face.

"....I have things to say to you as well. I guess it's normal that you would come but why did you bring Iris with you? It is the last boss of the game." David said as he turned his attention to Ganze.

"Hey! She wanted to follow him. I tried to persuade her to stay but she didn't listen. Since I didn't want to stay alone and didn't want to send her alone." Ganze said and David looked at the little girl. Iris had a nervous smile on her face.

"You've become quite the protective parent, don't you think?" Denz said with a mocking tone. "He really has." Ganze said. David sighed but smiled afterward. "Seems like our roles have changed. It was me who used to tease you. Not the other way around." David said.
----
"There is no way I can make you go back, I suppose. You three defend each other and I will look after all of you. Seems fair, yes? Good." David said and readied his stuff. "I've seen a bit of the last floor before coming back. I want you two to teleport to it and rest." David said to Ganze and Iris. David opened his menu. He sent a location to Ganze and Iris with a message. "Here. Go now. We will come by the morning." David said. Although both of them seemed thoughtful but went anyway.

"Only two of us are left, eh?...but we won't be going together either. I want you to message your red guild. You told me some of them would like to be on the front so this is their chance. Their LAST chance." David said. "What do you want me to write? Send them a location on the floor?" Denz asked. "Tell them to get ready. I will meet them nearby your guild's HQ." David said.

Denz sent the message. "I won't be asking how you found the HQ. You said we won't be going together either. Where do you want me to go then?" Denz asked. "I want you to visit an old friend and ask for his help." David said. Denz looked away for a few moments, thinking about something. "You know who am I talking about, right?" David asked and Denz nodded. "It's just...we hadn't seen each other for quite a while. I don't know what he will think." Denz said. The tone of his voice was a bit different. "Don't worry about it. Just go." David said and Denz slowly got a teleport crystal out.

"I will be taking my leave. Good luck, old friend." David said as he ran and disappeared into the darkness.

Morning, The Last Floor

"So, this is the place...the last floor..." David heard someone from the group of red players. The group had like 7 players. It wasn't really a big number but David was expecting fewer people to begin with. "What now? Will we look for the gate or meet someone." another said. "Well...we should search for the front liners now." David said.

After walking around a bit, the group saw the Ruby Palace. They found the front liners along with it. They were quite the distance between them. "You were almost late. They will go in a few moments." Ganze said as she and Iris walked to the group. "Let us go near the gate then. Keep some distance with the front liners though. We don't know how they will react to a group of red players coming." David said and they walked to towards to the front liners with a fast pace.

'I hope Derren will make in time.' David thought as he sent a message to Denz. The message had the location of an empty place nearby the gate and a word was written below it: QUICK

Floor 3

Denz found the old house Lios bought many months ago. Although he didn't want to be a part of a guild, Lios somehow managed to persuade him. 'Hope he is not mad at me after what happened.'.

Denz shook his head. He didn't have much time to think. He had to be quick. He took a deep breath and walked to the door of the house. He knocked the door as he got a message from David. He didn't have much time. 'Please, open it before it's too late.'.

[Tracian Empire]

The gates opened.. and behind them, the most difficult battle of this death game awaited the players.

The Ruby Palace's great hall was much smaller than the other floors of the game, since it was after all, the last.. but it still looked gargantuan. It was a large, circular hall, surrounded by crimson pillars of stone. Above them, there was a large, blood-red dome. The hall was dark, but the fire of the torches on top of those pillars was bringing light in that empty battleground. The large gates closed behind them, and on the other side of the hall, a few other torches were suddenly set on fire, revealing a large throne. A large figure was sitting on it.. wearing the dark red cloak of a Game Master avatar. It was huge, like a giant compared to the players..and its face was hidden in the shadow created by its hood. There was no question.. that was Kayaba.

"My dear players.. welcome to the Ruby Palace.", the voice of the game's final boss was heard. "I am proud, that despite the perilous journey you had to endure.. you have finally managed to reach the final stage of this great game. Now, you stand on the edge. If you win, the Cardinal System will automatically force all the still living players to log out of the game.. and Sword Art Online will finally end. Those who are dead will remain dead, since they are already dead in the real world.. it is beyond my power to save them anymore. But if you lose this battle... all those in your group here will die.. and the next group of contenders will then be able to fight. I admire you all for your bravery and strength.. but this battle will determine whether you are truly worthy of conquering the castle of Aincrad... once and for all."

The large figure suddenly stood up....and holes were suddenly opened in the walls behind him.. out of them, gigantic harpoons, their metallic tips on fire, were suddenly thrown out.. one aimed at each player, traveling with such a speed that each of them only had a moment to decide on what to do.. "Let the battle begin!", Kayaba declared, proudly. The fight against the boss of Floor 100 had begun.

[Charlia]

The gates opened.. and behind them, the most difficult battle of this death game awaited the players.

The Ruby Palace's great hall was much smaller than the other floors of the game, since it was after all, the last.. but it still looked gargantuan. It was a large, circular hall, surrounded by crimson pillars of stone. Above them, there was a large, blood-red dome. The hall was dark, but the fire of the torches on top of those pillars was bringing light in that empty battleground. The large gates closed behind them, and on the other side of the hall, a few other torches were suddenly set on fire, revealing a large throne. A large figure was sitting on it.. wearing the dark red cloak of a Game Master avatar. It was huge, like a giant compared to the players..and its face was hidden in the shadow created by its hood. There was no question.. that was Kayaba.

"My dear players.. welcome to the Ruby Palace.", the voice of the game's final boss was heard. "I am proud, that despite the perilous journey you had to endure.. you have finally managed to reach the final stage of this great game. Now, you stand on the edge. If you win, the Cardinal System will automatically force all the still living players to log out of the game.. and Sword Art Online will finally end. Those who are dead will remain dead, since they are already dead in the real world.. it is beyond my power to save them anymore. But if you lose this battle... all those in your group here will die.. and the next group of contenders will then be able to fight. I admire you all for your bravery and strength.. but this battle will determine whether you are truly worthy of conquering the castle of Aincrad... once and for all."

The large figure suddenly stood up....and holes were suddenly opened in the walls behind him.. out of them, gigantic harpoons, their metallic tips on fire, were suddenly thrown out.. one aimed at each player, traveling with such a speed that each of them only had a moment to decide on what to do.. "Let the battle begin!", Kayaba declared, proudly. The fight against the boss of Floor 100 had begun.

This isn't even a fight! Noblemind thought with irritation, having been forced to practically throw herself against the ground in order to get out of the harpoon's way. "Worthy?!" she shouted. "Worthiness isn't how well you can dodge! Better question, though, is whether or not you're worthy of dying at our hands! I mean, with all due respect--which is to say, none--several of us here are definitely better than you. By which I mean that you're scum. And I have a long list of reasons why, if you'd care to hear them. Or we could just take you out here and now and call that good, because frankly, you disgust me, and that's saying something. So feel free to just die, okay?"

[United States of Indonesia]

Josua entered the palace alongside the others as the gates opened. When they entered the great hall inside of the palace, they saw a figure at the end of the hall, sitting on a large throne. Without a doubt, it was Kayaba. As he listened to his speech, he smirked with excitement building up inside of him. But his face, it has a terrifying smile that scared the hell out of several others that saw him. Virgil, who was behind him, tapped him on his shoulders, reminding him to keep it under control. "Ahh.. Sorry, he's giving me quite the stimulation in adrenaline..." he said while scratching his head. She only shook her head at his answer, while Lucia & Cruade, who also heard the conversation, respectively blushed (Lucia) and laughed (Cruade). As the four finished their little break in the tense situation, so did Kayaba, who was done with his speech, and summoned various harpoons that were aimed at each player. Then, as this music played in the background, he rushed & deflected the harpoon that was aimed at him. Virgil, Lucia & Cruade also deflected the harpoons that were coming towards them. Josua, who was finally unable to hold back his excitement, immediately went to his second transformation. But there was something off about it, since this time, he's completely conscious, instead of the true neutral personality. However, the look on his eye, it was that of a master Samurai, preparing to strike at his opponent.

"While I don't think I can use the moves from FF in this game, I can, however, imitate it. Like this." he said as he basically sped up in an instant, and swung Kusanagi at Kayaba. Kayaba parried his attack with his weapon, and attempted to attack him again with summoning those harpoons at him. He then swung his katana again, but this time he leaped back. This rush of adrenaline, the last time he experienced it was when he first faced the main antagonist in the Stormblood expansion of Final Fantasy XIV that was released in 2017, Zenos yae Galvus, in the last dungeon, just before the final battle. He was really looking forward to kill the man, with everything that he had. And this time, he was looking forward to kill Kayaba with that same intent. as he landed, the wings behind him solidified, and instead followed his rhythm, becoming his cloak, masking him in an aura that resembled his Samurai armor in FFXIV. The harpoon missed him as he dodged it. He then began to imitate the moves of the skills of Samurai from FF, as he builds up to the final stage of Iai-jutsu. One by one, he executed the moves without a waste of breath, until he finally finished with Gekko. It wasn't easy, since these skills were technically not from SAO, but he pulled it off, since he played FF for countless hours, dedicating God-knows-how-many amount of hours into his character while he was in university. He then leaped back after slashing Kayaba, and sheathed Kusanagi. He then took a deep breath, as he gathered all the power & speed of his upper body to his right arm. Midare Setsugekka, he said in his subconscious as he sped towards Kayaba, and executed the move. It was a double slash, but executed in one move. The first one being horizontal and the second one being vertical. It was then followed by a different move, with him slashing to the side with his right arm only. He then pulled back, knowing that Kayaba might pull something like a counter.

[Castle Crashers]

The gates opened.. and behind them, the most difficult battle of this death game awaited the players.

The Ruby Palace's great hall was much smaller than the other floors of the game, since it was after all, the last.. but it still looked gargantuan. It was a large, circular hall, surrounded by crimson pillars of stone. Above them, there was a large, blood-red dome. The hall was dark, but the fire of the torches on top of those pillars was bringing light in that empty battleground. The large gates closed behind them, and on the other side of the hall, a few other torches were suddenly set on fire, revealing a large throne. A large figure was sitting on it.. wearing the dark red cloak of a Game Master avatar. It was huge, like a giant compared to the players..and its face was hidden in the shadow created by its hood. There was no question.. that was Kayaba.

"My dear players.. welcome to the Ruby Palace.", the voice of the game's final boss was heard. "I am proud, that despite the perilous journey you had to endure.. you have finally managed to reach the final stage of this great game. Now, you stand on the edge. If you win, the Cardinal System will automatically force all the still living players to log out of the game.. and Sword Art Online will finally end. Those who are dead will remain dead, since they are already dead in the real world.. it is beyond my power to save them anymore. But if you lose this battle... all those in your group here will die.. and the next group of contenders will then be able to fight. I admire you all for your bravery and strength.. but this battle will determine whether you are truly worthy of conquering the castle of Aincrad... once and for all."

The large figure suddenly stood up....and holes were suddenly opened in the walls behind him.. out of them, gigantic harpoons, their metallic tips on fire, were suddenly thrown out.. one aimed at each player, traveling with such a speed that each of them only had a moment to decide on what to do.. "Let the battle begin!", Kayaba declared, proudly. The fight against the boss of Floor 100 had begun.

Kaiana looked about unsurely as they entered the final boss room, the crimson walls and dim lighting perfectly setting the atmosphere. It was definitely fitting for a final fight to the death...and across from them as the torches caught fire sat a large figure with a iconic red cloak, and even with a hidden appearance...it wasn't hard to tell that this was, indeed, Kayaba. Her heart automatically filled with anger as she looked upon him, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly as she listened to his condemning words, his voice echoing through the hall. She took a slight step back as she watched him stand, listening as Noble barked at him with her own voice of vengeance. What then drew her attention was the holes that opened in the wall behind them...and as she turned, she saw what appeared to be harpoons with tips of fire sticking out.

As expected, they launched forward from their positions in the openings, sailing forward and looking to impale each of the players that stood before them...but not before Kaiana pulled up her sword to block the harpoon, the metal colliding with the cold entity of the sword, sending sparks flying as it flew off in another direction, away from the other players. Once that'd happened, she listened as Kayaba declared the battle had started, and she turned once more. For vengeance...to make the deaths of everyone I knew really mean something... She thought as she furrowed her brow and armed her word. I need to do this...if not for myself, if not for everyone here, then it has to be for those who sacrificed their lives to let the rest of us leave! She then dashed forward, ready to join the fight Josua had started.

[Tracian Empire]

"Worthiness is how well you can fight. Your worthiness also depends on your determination to win. I have created this game after all, so I can at least decide is worthy to finish it or not.", Kayaba replied in a cold and emotionless voice. "You do have a lot of logical reasons for which you should despise me.. but it seems that you are quick to let yourself be dominated by your own emotions. Which is why I would recommend you to focus on the battle itself. Whether I will die or not depends entirely on the fighting ability of you and your friends." For a moment, Kayaba seemed to want to say something else, but he was rudely interrupted by Josua's attack. Kayaba swiftly parried his katana, before he summoned three more harpoons against him. He dodged it, and his swift attacks managed to cut just a little bit of HP from Kayaba's three bars, which seemed to shock the game's creator a little. The complicated final attack made by Josua had its effected intent however, as Kayaba made a step back. And the large cloaked figure snapped its fingers. Portals it opened in front of him, and at that moment, the players realized that this battle wasn't going to be as easy as they thought it would be.

NPC monsters entered the great hall through those portals, and whether it was just a coincidence, or a weird twist of fate.. those monsters were.. well, they looked like knights. Black coated knights.... paladins. Dark Paladins. The cursors over their heads clearly marked then as NPC's.. but they exactly like the members of that infamous guild, ignoring the lack of their emblem, of course. The paladins quickly entered a phalanx like formation, protecting Kayaba, advancing in straight lines, with their heavy shields and their lances...and Dremo pretty much realized that they were in a very precarious position.. no one could deny the advantage of a phalanx against frontal attacks, even when they had to deal with sword skills and some very aggressive and powerful players. But that's when the black eyed boy suddenly realized.. that there was a way, even if it was rather weird.

Quickly sheathing his sword, the black haired boy got ready to give a leg up to one of the others.. or to all of the others, if necessary. It remained to be seen how many of them trusted him. "It might sound stupid.. but we need someone to jump behind them. Quickly!"

[Charlia]

"Worthiness is how well you can fight. Your worthiness also depends on your determination to win. I have created this game after all, so I can at least decide is worthy to finish it or not.", Kayaba replied in a cold and emotionless voice. "You do have a lot of logical reasons for which you should despise me.. but it seems that you are quick to let yourself be dominated by your own emotions. Which is why I would recommend you to focus on the battle itself. Whether I will die or not depends entirely on the fighting ability of you and your friends." For a moment, Kayaba seemed to want to say something else, but he was rudely interrupted by Josua's attack. Kayaba swiftly parried his katana, before he summoned three more harpoons against him. He dodged it, and his swift attacks managed to cut just a little bit of HP from Kayaba's three bars, which seemed to shock the game's creator a little. The complicated final attack made by Josua had its effected intent however, as Kayaba made a step back. And the large cloaked figure snapped its fingers. Portals it opened in front of him, and at that moment, the players realized that this battle wasn't going to be as easy as they thought it would be.

NPC monsters entered the great hall through those portals, and whether it was just a coincidence, or a weird twist of fate.. those monsters were.. well, they looked like knights. Black coated knights.... paladins. Dark Paladins. The cursors over their heads clearly marked then as NPC's.. but they exactly like the members of that infamous guild, ignoring the lack of their emblem, of course. The paladins quickly entered a phalanx like formation, protecting Kayaba, advancing in straight lines, with their heavy shields and their lances...and Dremo pretty much realized that they were in a very precarious position.. no one could deny the advantage of a phalanx against frontal attacks, even when they had to deal with sword skills and some very aggressive and powerful players. But that's when the black eyed boy suddenly realized.. that there was a way, even if it was rather weird.

Quickly sheathing his sword, the black haired boy got ready to give a leg up to one of the others.. or to all of the others, if necessary. It remained to be seen how many of them trusted him. "It might sound stupid.. but we need someone to jump behind them. Quickly!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry for my emotions," Noblemind spat. "Funny how trauma tends to mess with your head. Then again, I suppose you'd already know that, wouldn't you?"

As the paladins entered the room, she started laughing. "You see?" she shouted, pure, mad glee on her face. "You see? He proves it again! All right, then. I've almost missed putting these animals down." She glanced at Dremo, smirking. "Let's do it, then. I'll be glad to take some of them out."

[United States of Indonesia]

Josua simply smirked at the sight of Kayaba's HP bar that got cut, albeit a little. Still, that was enough for him to get more pumped. However, as he saw Kayaba summoned mobs that are replicas of the Dark Paladins, he smiled terrifyingly and laughed maniacally. "KAYABA!!! YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE A MAN EXCITED, EH!!! OF ALL THINGS, YOU PULLED THIS KIND OF TROPE!!! THIS IS WHY I LOVE FIGHTING AN ALLIANCE-CLASS RAID BOSS LIKE YOU!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA" he said while laughing. He was amused on the ridiculousness of the mob that was summoned. He then calmed down, and refocused all of his sinister aura into Kusanagi. "Kayaba, let me give a word of warning: Don't even think of hiding behind these puppets. They won't protect you from all of us here. Because..." he said as he slowly walked towards the mob guarding Kayaba. "... Freedom or Death. Those are the only choice that you basically gave us when you trapped us. Well, you know what?" he said as he unsheathed Kusanagi. "I chose Freedom. Don't blame me if I get too excited & killed you in an instant." he continued as he makes a stance. He then heard Dremo's shout, and with confirmation from Virgil and the rest of his group via party chat, he then dashed & jumped on the shield of one of the mobs. As he was high in the air, he then dropped down, activating Gravity Wave. The ground shook when he landed on one of the shields that was facing upwards. Kusanagi pierced through the shield & pressed the poor NPC into the ground, causing a shockwave that threw off the balance of the mobs. "OI, PEOPLE! GET OVER HERE THIS INSTANT! THIS HOLE WILL NOT BE OPEN FOR LONG YOU KNOW!!" he shouted to the raid group. He then executed several others around him, as he tries to keep the area clear.

[Charlia]

"...I don't know," Makoto said tiredly. "I just keep worrying about it."

"Your girlfriend again, right?" The boy on the screen smirked.

"She's not my girlfriend," Makoto replied almost angrily. "She might not even be my friend anymore. What if she hates me? What if they all hate me? After what I did... I can't say I'd blame them."

Still, the idea terrified him. To lose his new friends... To be alone again... Matt was a good friend, it was true, but it wasn't enough, not anymore. He needed friends he could do things with, have fun with, and of course, share chocolate with. Although he enjoyed his conversations with the American boy, he needed more than an onscreen connection.

(The novelty of the hug he'd shared with Katrina was still shocking. Even now, he could remember how it felt. To call it a sensory overload wouldn't be nearly enough to describe it, but... it was almost nice. Maybe, in moderation, such things wouldn't be so bad.)

Matt started laughing.

"Hey!" Makoto snapped. "This isn't exactly funny for me, you know."

"Sorry," the other boy replied as quickly as possible, adjusting his glasses as he did so. "It was just... your face, man. Your face. It was great, you make the best faces. You looked like a lost puppy. It was fantastic. And hey, if your girl's anything like the girls over here, all you have to do is give her that look and she'll have no chance of hating you."

"...Really?"

"Sure, girls love puppies."

"So in the end, I'm the replacement for a dog." At this, Makoto slumped forwards, burying his head in his hands. "That's another thing I'm worried about," he continued, voice slightly muffled. "What if I'm just the replacement? What if that's all I am to her?"

"Chill, dude," Matt replied calmly. "What about that mental-link-thing you told me about? Wouldn't that have told you? Before you bought the farm, that is."

"...Bought... the farm?"

"It means 'died'."

"That's one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard... But no... It was too much. So much information all at once... I barely got a glimpse of her feelings before--" He was cut off by his own cry of pain, and felt the urge to slam his head into the desk in frustration... not that that would have helped at all. Since he'd woken up, he'd been plagued by headaches--and although they were usually just dull aches, every now and then a spike of pure agony drove itself through his brain. Traditional pain relievers had taken the edge off, leaving him to mostly deal with the occasional pulse of fire and steel, his mind still trying to recover.

He knew why they were happening, of course. He'd seen things, known things that a human wasn't meant to know--had an entire world and all the wonderful, terrible, impossibly complex people inside of it packed into an organ that was only 1,274 cubic centimeters. And it wasn't supposed to have happened. He and Kayaba had gone over the entire floor, looking for anything that could have caused problems, a single line of stray code that might end in disaster. It had been his floor, he reflected proudly. He'd chosen it, crafted it. Kayaba had done the most difficult of the work, but in the end, it was still Makoto's. Vashiel's. Yet, despite their efforts, they had missed something. They had to have missed something. There had been two mistakes, two things that shouldn't have been there. That bizarre rift and the strange, dark players that had crawled out of it--and the amazing, awful moment when his own mind had been uploaded into Aincrad itself. (Or had Aincrad been uploaded into him?)

Something as drastic as that... would always have consequences.

His thoughts were interrupted by Matt continuing, "Besides, I can't imagine the other guy was anything like you."

"That's true," Makoto replied almost ruefully. "I guess I am a bit of a freak, aren't I? I suppose that's what happens when you spend most of your life around one person... Everyone else just seems... so strange. Not you, or Katrina, though," he added hastily. "You're more normal. The others... are closer, although Arno's definitely the most stable of the bunch."

"As opposed to Homicide Lady?" Matt replied flatly. Makoto couldn't help but chuckle.

"As opposed to Charlotte, yes. It's... not unreasonable, though..." So much pain. He'd felt it, if only for a moment. The pain, the anger, the confusion. The hatred she'd internalized, and then pushed outward simply so she had someone to hate that wasn't herself. "I shouldn't tell you about it," he said quietly. "It's not my place. There's hope, though. Always. And it's not as if she's the strangest person around... I mean, what about you Americans? You're the real freaks, if you ask me," he added slyly.

"Says the guy living in Anime Land. Have you seen the stuff that comes out of your country? It's like being on drugs, dude." 'Not that I'd know anything about that', right?

"Tell that to the millions of rabid fans you're no doubt surrounded by. They're much crazier than we are." Those people are maniacs.

"Because of you!" Matt's retort was accompanied by a dramatic gesture, one that Makoto couldn't make any sense out of. His American friend really was odd sometimes.

"You say that, but I seem to recall anime being majorly influenced by your Mr. Disney."

"Which wasn't nearly as crazy as what you guys made out of it!"

Makoto paused, letting the argument sink in.

"You're just arguing that we're crazy to prove that we're crazy, aren't you?"

"I'll say whatever I want and you can't stop me, I have rights!"

"..." He finally allowed himself to laugh, mostly ignoring the splitting pain in his head. "There's just no winning with you, is there?"

"Never."

[Tracian Empire]

This was it....despite their resemblance to the infamous members of a certain player-killing guide..all those paladins were NPC's. Yes, they were the strongest NPC's they had ever fought.. but in the end, they were still NPC's.. NPC's, facing a group of really, really angry and determined players. The group of players managed to cut down the most of their enemies, and not before long..the enemy formation was broken. Only a few paladins were left standing. Breathing a little heavily, Dremo gasped as the paladin's warhammer hit him.. but it was already too late. With a swift move, the boy used his right blade to pierce the dark knight's neck...reducing his health points to zero.. and finally killing the monster after a few tense moments. With the body turning into little crystals and disappearing, the boy finally had a few moments to breathe...and that's when he noticed it.. a path to Kayaba. Without any sort of hesitation, Dremo rushed forward. The creator of the game noticed him pretty quickly, and a few harpoons were sent flying towards him.. but Dremo was just too fast. He managed to avoid the first two, and the third was thrown aside after meeting his blade. It was too late for Kayaba to do anything.. or was it? Only when he was already in the air did the gray coated boy realize that something was wrong..but it was to late to even think about stopping. Activating a sword skill, Dremo crossed his blades.. using both to pierce Kayaba's shoulder as deeply as possible....the boy felt his blades sinking through flesh.

And then, Dremo screamed.

The black eyed boy just fell. He crashed on the stone floor rather brutally..his HP bar reduced to a meager yellow..hus swords falling on the ground next to him. He tried to stand up again.. only to fall on his knees. There was a huge gashing wound in his right shoulder...exactly like the cut that was visible on Kayaba's crimson Game Master robe. Blood was flowing out of it at an alarming rate, reducing the boy's health points bit by bit..Gasping, in shock and in an immense pain, Dremo only looked at Kayaba.. desperately trying not to pass out.

"Oh, my mistake.. it seems that I have forgotten to announce you all of the new rules that will be applied to this boss battle. In order to test your determination..the pain absorber is set to level zero. As such.. you will all feel pain on the same level as in real life. But don't worry, I am not unfair.. I am going to feel the pain all the same. Still.. we should be careful...such a high pain level might even damage the nerves and the body in real life.." Kayaba remained careful for a moment, as more and more harpoons appeared behind and around him. "Also.. to further test your determination..every hit that I received will also be received by a player.. like a mirror effect, so to say. This time, the one who hurt me was hurt himself.. but it's randomly determined by the system, anyone can get hurt... Are you going to fight, knowing that you might kill you friends? This will be interesting to see.. any questions?.."

Kayaba snapped his fingers...and with that, five harpoons were thrown directly at the defenseless Dremo..

[Charlia]

This was it....despite their resemblance to the infamous members of a certain player-killing guide..all those paladins were NPC's. Yes, they were the strongest NPC's they had ever fought.. but in the end, they were still NPC's.. NPC's, facing a group of really, really angry and determined players. The group of players managed to cut down the most of their enemies, and not before long..the enemy formation was broken. Only a few paladins were left standing. Breathing a little heavily, Dremo gasped as the paladin's warhammer hit him.. but it was already too late. With a swift move, the boy used his right blade to pierce the dark knight's neck...reducing his health points to zero.. and finally killing the monster after a few tense moments. With the body turning into little crystals and disappearing, the boy finally had a few moments to breathe...and that's when he noticed it.. a path to Kayaba. Without any sort of hesitation, Dremo rushed forward. The creator of the game noticed him pretty quickly, and a few harpoons were sent flying towards him.. but Dremo was just too fast. He managed to avoid the first two, and the third was thrown aside after meeting his blade. It was too late for Kayaba to do anything.. or was it? Only when he was already in the air did the gray coated boy realize that something was wrong..but it was to late to even think about stopping. Activating a sword skill, Dremo crossed his blades.. using both to pierce Kayaba's shoulder as deeply as possible....the boy felt his blades sinking through flesh.

And then, Dremo screamed.

The black eyed boy just fell. He crashed on the stone floor rather brutally..his HP bar reduced to a meager yellow..hus swords falling on the ground next to him. He tried to stand up again.. only to fall on his knees. There was a huge gashing wound in his right shoulder...exactly like the cut that was visible on Kayaba's crimson Game Master robe. Blood was flowing out of it at an alarming rate, reducing the boy's health points bit by bit..Gasping, in shock and in an immense pain, Dremo only looked at Kayaba.. desperately trying not to pass out.

"Oh, my mistake.. it seems that I have forgotten to announce you all of the new rules that will be applied to this boss battle. In order to test your determination..the pain absorber is set to level zero. As such.. you will all feel pain on the same level as in real life. But don't worry, I am not unfair.. I am going to feel the pain all the same. Still.. we should be careful...such a high pain level might even damage the nerves and the body in real life.." Kayaba remained careful for a moment, as more and more harpoons appeared behind and around him. "Also.. to further test your determination..every hit that I received will also be received by a player.. like a mirror effect, so to say. This time, the one who hurt me was hurt himself.. but it's randomly determined by the system, anyone can get hurt... Are you going to fight, knowing that you might kill you friends? This will be interesting to see.. any questions?.."

Kayaba snapped his fingers...and with that, five harpoons were thrown directly at the defenseless Dremo..

Talking wasn't a free action. While Kayaba was continuing to speak, Noblemind had of course run to Dremo's side. In a time like this, her earlier, death-seeking nature was a benefit--it meant she had a large supply of healing items available, one of which she immediately used on the dark-haired boy.

She looked like she might cry.

"You're going to be okay," she whispered. "I promise. You're going to get out of this, and you're going to see your sister again, and you're going to be happy..."

If I'm lucky, maybe I will be too.

But with a situation like this... if there's no other way...

That was when the harpoons hit her in the back.

She stared blankly, her eyes wide, blood welling in her mouth, open in a silent scream. She fell, crumpled like a ragdoll, and could barely keep her eyes open.

I...

I'm cold.

Arno, hold me, please... I'm so cold... It's dark... I'm scared.

Am I going to die?

...I want to live... but if I'm going to die... maybe I could finally meet my mother. And... and...

Daddy, she thought dizzily, recalling the childish name. She'd never been able to think of her father as anything else. After he'd died...

If I die, will you be there when I wake up? Will you? I can barely remember your face... I don't remember what it felt like when you hugged me...

It hurts... It hurts, I can't breathe...

Arno... He's going to kill Arno, and everyone else... and I can't stop him... Marie... will be alone...

She might...

She might end up like me.

No. No, she can't. She can't be like me. Not her. She's so happy and innocent and she can't be like me, she can't be like me, I won't let her.

She coughed, an awful, wet, hacking, shuddering cough that wracked her entire body, and felt blood fill her mouth again.

Have to get up.

She spat the blood onto the floor, and wrenched the weapons from her back, unable even to voice the pain it brought.

Have to fight.

She healed herself, slowly, slowly, her health trickling from glaring red into yellow into green, and forced herself to her feet, still shaking.

I... I can't... let her...

"I hate you," she whispered, shivering. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you--"

Oh.

In the end, it was so easy.

Hatred came so naturally to her, after so long. Blood and rage and pain were the only family she had left. The only protection she had left.

The Noblemind that had become so infamous was back, and Charlotte felt as though she was watching from a distance as the blood-covered girl screamed something incoherent at Kayaba, and attacked.

"I'm going to kill you!"

[United States of Indonesia]

Josua was stumped at hearing Kayaba's announcement. To think he would abuse the rules that far, it was nothing short of a total system misuse. Even he wouldn't go that far, if he was in Kayaba's position, since it would be too unfair for players, and from the viewpoint of a developer, this was too game-breaking. "KAYABA, YOU IMBECILE!! DO YOU INTEND TO BEND THE RULES TO YOUR OWN ADVANTAGE?! ARE YOU A RETARD?!" he shouted with a clear anger in it. He felt insulted at the sight of Kayaba's action. "YOU SAID IT YOURSELF, THAT THIS GAME IS SUPPOSED TO BE FAIR, BUT THIS? CLEARLY, YOU ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES, BUT INSTEAD YOU BEND THEM & MAKE NEW ONES AT YOUR CONVENIENCE! ARE YOU TRYING TO INSULT MY INTELLIGENCE AS A GAME DEVELOPER?!" he continued while pointing Kusanagi at Kayaba. Clearly he wasn't happy with the trope that Kayaba pulled. Although he can feel his wounds that are starting to sting his nerves, it was drowned by the amount of adrenaline that was pumping into every blood vein in his body. And with his current transformation, he's in a state where he would disregard most of his wounds, only stopping at lethal ones before they could go critical. "You know what? Since you dared to even challenge the unspoken rules of game management & development, I suppose even if I 'accidentally' caused the death of another player, I don't mind if that's the price we have to pay." he said while smiling eerily. His malice started to show itself again, this time it manifested into a form of a woman who was embracing Josua from behind. "Unlike some people, I am not hesitant in killing people. I only held back because of my belief in God. But you? You never had anything to restrain yourself to begin with, thus why should I restrain myself when I'm fighting that kind of opponent?" he continued. He then began to make his stance, as he sheathed Kusanagi, while preparing to dash forward, keeping his hands on Kusanagi's handle. "I'm not a demon, mind you. But I'm also not a saint. That's what we call being human. We can be either, or one of it, or even both at the same time. It's our decision that matters in the end. And for you, especially, I choose to be a demon." he said as he slowly walked towards Kayaba.

Virgil, in the mean time, was busy handling the remaining groups of players that were all over the place. They were still handling the enemies that showed up, although it was not as harsh as before. But when she felt the malice from Josua, she immediately rushed towards him. But she was a step too late, as he was completely angered by Kayaba's remarks & actions. As she was almost upon him, he turned towards her, since he felt her presence. "I'm sorry, honey. It seems that this arsehat of a game dev has really crossed the line this time." he said to her while smiling with an apologetic look on his face. "Just... Try not to lose yourself again, okay?" she said while looking worried at him. "Don't worry... I don't plan to." he said as he turned his gaze towards Kayaba. He then sped up in an instant, as Kayaba summoned more harpoons in order to skewer him. But all of that was meaningless for him, as he practically deflected those that were coming at him with fit rage. At that moment, he resembled Lu Bu, one of the strongest military generals in history, as he dashed through the harpoons. It was almost as if he was walking on air, or rather, flying. But to those who saw him speeding up, they saw the mirage of Lu Bu riding Red Hare towards Kayaba.

As he was upon Kayaba, he took a deep breath, gripping Kusanagi properly on the sheath. He then imitated Tenka Goten, by activating Gravity Wave five times in one breath. It wasn't easy, as the burden on his body increased, and originally, Tenka Goten was an AoE skill in FF, that spreads a five wave of slashes from one move. The wave from the attack spread out, with three of it reaching Kayaba. It was something that can't be blocked with a physical object, thus he took damage. However, he wasn't done yet. Josua continuously move around, preventing him from getting targeted easily by those harpoons that Kayaba could summon. He then used Hissatsu: Shinten, as he began to use his combo again. The first set is Hakaze & Yukkikaze. The second set is Hakaze, Shifu & Kasha. The last set is Hakaze, Jinpu & Gekko. With those three sets completed, he then used Midare Setsugekka again. After that, he used Hissatsu: Shinten & instead of repeating his combo, he immediately used Meikyo Shisui, which is basically a shortcut to activate the end moves of all three sets & go into Midare Setsugekka once more. He then used Hissatsu: Yaten to fall back, taking a breather & to observe what Kayaba will do to counter him.

[Tulkomanistan]

"Let's go people! Enter the boss room." David said to the group he came with. The group started to enter as the frontliners entered the room. Ganze looked at David as they entered to the floor. They were behind the group. David knew what she was going to say. "Don't worry." David said and showed a few meters behind them. A worried and a bit nervous Denz was running to the gate. "Perfect timing, isn't it?" David said as Denz entered to the boss room."We will talk about it later." Ganze said as the last boss, Kayaba started his speech.
----------------

David jumped over the harpoon that came at him, making a weird trick in the air. "Show off." he heard Denz said behind him. Apparently, Denz managed to deflect the harpoon which was coming at him. David wanted to reply to Denz but before he could, he heard a girl's gasp. He looked to see two girls, an early adult, and an adolescent. They were slowly standing up. David guessed that they went below the harpoons or tried to. The older girl was holding her head while the younger girl was looking at her with worry. The older girl's head and left shoulder were bleeding. The wound in her shoulder seemed small but he couldn't see the wound on her head. It was probably fine as well...probably

Unlike David, Denz couldn't stay calm after seeing them. "Are-are you okay?! What happened?!" Denz said before rushing to their side. "S-she seemed l-like she was going to t-try to deflect both of the h-harpoons. I-I thought she couldn't and pulled her down. I-I wasn't fast enough. The harpoons c-cut her head and shoulder." the younger girl said with a shaking voice. "She is fine. Her HP and all. We should focus on Kayaba." David said, still staying calm. "Y-yeah...I'm fine." Ganze said slowly. Her voice was a bit shaking. Denz and the young girl seemed to worry about her even more after the tone she spoke.

By that time, the first attacks on Kayaba had been already made and the NPC's started to spawn. David called the group and told them to help others. The group was shocked to see that NPC's were Dark Paladins, the guild which used to terrorize them for rejecting to kill more green players. Their shock faded away as the battle continued and went to help the others.

David, on the other hand, didn't do anything. Instead, he chose to watch the fight for now and observe. A smile appeared on his face from time to time as others shouted at Kayaba. It was fun to watch, for him.
----------------

'Oh no.' David said and looked at Ganze, who seemed to keep telling that she is fine to other two. 'The pain absorbers are zero. That explains her shaking voice.' David thought. Seemed like Denz also heard what Kayaba said. He seemed to worry even more. "Hehe...that explains the headache I'm having." Ganze said, barely. She seemed like she was thinking about something else. Denz got a healing crystal out, only to face the angry face of Ganze. "'I'm fine' I said." she said. She was clearly annoyed by the over-protectiveness of Denz and the young girl. "Okay. Let's start doing our part in the fight." David said to the young girl and Denz. Both of them went to fight unwillingly. David saw them start to chat after they arrived at NPC's. He turned around and was about to go when he noticed something. "I suspect that this wound and the pain made you remember something. You look like you are thinking about something else since those wounds. Don't go to fight unless you clear your mind." David said in a serious tone. Both remained silent for a few seconds. "Before I forget." David said and threw a few healing items to Ganze. "In case someone hits Kayaba hard and you receive the damage with him." David said and left Ganze alone before she could protest or thank him.

He was right. The pain on her head made her remember an accident which happened one and a half decades ago. 'The car accident...he could guess after all...' Ganze thought.
----------------

"Hey, amigo!" David called out to Denz. "So, you are using 'Amigo' now?" Denz asked while starting to fight with NPC's. The younger girl, on the other hand, wasn't fighting. She was probably observing the NPC's. "No hello to me?" she said with a smirk. David smiled at her before looking back to Denz.

David noticed that Denz still seemed a bit worried. "Don't worry about her, she is fine. She is probably just feeling a headache." David said and Denz nodded but what David said didn't seem to have an effect on him. "Iris, I want you to inform the group that came with me. Is it okay?" David said to the girl. Iris raised her hand and gave him a thumbs up. "Good. I want you to tell them to stay close and ready their healing items in case they suffer the damage." David said and Iris ran to the place where the group was.

"Now. You and me. Let's attack Kayaba." David said and ran towards to Kayaba. Denz was just behind him. "Which part of our body is the least sensitive? You used to know stuff like this when we were in High School." David said and dodged a harpoon which was coming at him. "Um...it should be the back of our body...will we attack from there?" Denz asked. David waited a bit to answer as he was looking at what Joshua was making. "Yes. I don't want people to feel too much pain or die from our attacks...I hope others would do as well. They might hurt the ones they care about." David said, his tone becoming a bit serious at the last sentence. "I see what you are saying. We shouldn't make long or deep cuts then. A needle will hurt you even if it stings from your body." Denz said as he deflected two harpoons with his swords. One went left while other went to the right.

Not many harpoons came at Denz and David as they ran to the back of Kayaba's back. "Count the number of attacks you have done. We will be able to know how many people we will hurt." David said and Denz nodded. David jumped up to the back side of Kayaba's chest and made two attacks while either dodging or deflecting the harpoons which were coming for him. It was hard to dodge them at first but he slowly managed to get used to them as he could make guesses about where the harpoon will be in next few seconds. Although he could guess, his guesses weren't right sometimes. At one point, he was about to lose his free hand to a harpoon.

David's first attack was deep and long while the last one was much smaller and shallower. He accidentally made the first attack deep and long and hope that it won't hurt anyone much.


Denz, on the other hand, made loads of small attacks at the ground. He actually wondered if his attacks will affect others on their legs or on their backs. He retreated after a harpoon managed to touch him and rip a part of his right leg's skin. On normal conditions, he could continue but the pain on his right leg caused him to retreat.

David retreated as well when he saw Denz running away from Kayaba. "How many hits?" David asked as he caught up to Denz. Denz stopped running before answering David's question. "6 small cuts." Denz said and sat down on the ground to check his wound.

[Tracian Empire]

The battle was just so confusing and chaotic, that it was nearly impossible for the players to realize what was happening around them anymore. Harpoons continued to appear out of nothing, being thrown at them with an impressing speed and ferocity.. it took all their might to avoid them or to block them at the last moment. Even if the tank players with their large and heavy shields were unable to do much.. as it took all their strength to resist. Unfortunately, the weaker players around them had quickly started to die.. unnamed heroes, dying in the battle to free everyone who was trapped in this godforsaken game.

But of course, luckily for the roughly 4000 survivors who were still there.. some of the best players in the world of Aincrad were here.

Noblemind was the first to attack. While watching her, Dremo couldn't help but feel just a little afraid again..the blood covered girl was frightening in her wrath and hate..and her vicious attacks reduced Kayaba's first healthbar to half. But it wasn't enough.. it was far from being enough. And in response to that..Kaiana suddenly felt the pain of hundreds of cuts, all over her torso. Some were deep and gashing, some were just scratches, but all of them hurt like hell..as if she had suffer through that pain in real life. All those who were going to be hurt in the battle from now on were going to feel it.. the pain without the restrictions of the pain absorber system..a virtual pain so real, that it could damage nerves in real life through their intensity. It was no joke, and despite the determination of each and every player to hit Kayaba as brutally as possible.. the screams of those who were hurt because of that were soon going to make them question their resolve.

And unfortunately for David and Denz.. the system set up by the game's creator was pretty malicious. It did not count each and every hit and slash of a player as a singular attack, because that would have spread the pain and wounds around too much.. instead, each series of attacks done by a player was registered by the system, before it was replicated against another character. Noblemind was the one at the receiving end of David's attacks..two cuts on her back, one deep and long, while the other one small and shallow.. together with the afferent pain and blood. And David himself was the one to receive the attacks of Denz. Lots and lots of small cuts, all around his legs and back.. none of them big enough to cause a lot of pain on its own.. but together, they were quite something.

However.. it could be easily argued that Dremo felt the most pain. As if the pain from earlier hadn't been enough, the black eyed boy received the full brunt of Joshua's attacks. Dremo didn't even managed to scream.. he just fell on the ground again.his healthbar was reduced to a mere crimson...just like the pool of blood in which he was lying. And at that moment.. Dremo really thought that.. this was it. That he was going to die.. the pain was unbearable. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before..for a moment there.. death would have almost been a relief. A way out..but that's when one of the health crystals that Noblemind gave him activated.. saving his life.

Kayaba on the other remained quite emotionless.. even if the combined attacks of the players had emptied his first healthbar. "Bending the rules to my own advantage? That is not what I am doing. This is the final level..winning this fight would allow you to conquer this castle.. it will certainly not be easy. And even if I were to bend the rules to my own advantage.. it is most certainly not something honorable to went out your frustrations by insulting your enemy." The game master remained quiet for a few moments. "I am not trying to insult your intelligence.. since unfortunately, it is rather obvious that you do not have one. If you were actually a game developer, you would have realized that just like in all the other boss fights that you have experienced.. we are following a script. Right now, I am not an administrator... I am a boss. It's not a matter of fairness, it's a matter of difficulty.. the players are supposed to make sacrifices in order to finally conquer the castle..which reminds me that we are now supposed to move to the next step. You are all fighting the Great Demon King.. and one of the Demon King's ability is possessing others."

A moment of silence followed.. and Dremo stood up. Quietly, he grabbed his swords... and their blades pierced the back of a nearby member of the KoB guild..ending his life instantly. Under normal circumstances, the black haired boy's cursor would have turned into orange..but his crimson was already crimson.. like the NPC's from earlier, and like Kayaba's own.. the blood red of the enemy, game characters. His eyes were hollow..and like that, he rushed forward, without mercy, trying to attack and kill Noblemind..his quick and brutal attacks managing to wound her at least once..and yet, Kayaba remained just as cold as before. "What are you going to do, I wonder? Will you kill your friend, so that you can survive? But the let the battle continue.." The large figure snapped its fingers, and the harpoons continued to be thrown.. the battle continued..

[Castle Crashers]

The battle was just so confusing and chaotic, that it was nearly impossible for the players to realize what was happening around them anymore. Harpoons continued to appear out of nothing, being thrown at them with an impressing speed and ferocity.. it took all their might to avoid them or to block them at the last moment. Even if the tank players with their large and heavy shields were unable to do much.. as it took all their strength to resist. Unfortunately, the weaker players around them had quickly started to die.. unnamed heroes, dying in the battle to free everyone who was trapped in this godforsaken game.

But of course, luckily for the roughly 4000 survivors who were still there.. some of the best players in the world of Aincrad were here.

Noblemind was the first to attack. While watching her, Dremo couldn't help but feel just a little afraid again..the blood covered girl was frightening in her wrath and hate..and her vicious attacks reduced Kayaba's first healthbar to half. But it wasn't enough.. it was far from being enough. And in response to that..Kaiana suddenly felt the pain of hundreds of cuts, all over her torso. Some were deep and gashing, some were just scratches, but all of them hurt like hell..as if she had suffer through that pain in real life. All those who were going to be hurt in the battle from now on were going to feel it.. the pain without the restrictions of the pain absorber system..a virtual pain so real, that it could damage nerves in real life through their intensity. It was no joke, and despite the determination of each and every player to hit Kayaba as brutally as possible.. the screams of those who were hurt because of that were soon going to make them question their resolve.

And unfortunately for David and Denz.. the system set up by the game's creator was pretty malicious. It did not count each and every hit and slash of a player as a singular attack, because that would have spread the pain and wounds around too much.. instead, each series of attacks done by a player was registered by the system, before it was replicated against another character. Noblemind was the one at the receiving end of David's attacks..two cuts on her back, one deep and long, while the other one small and shallow.. together with the afferent pain and blood. And David himself was the one to receive the attacks of Denz. Lots and lots of small cuts, all around his legs and back.. none of them big enough to cause a lot of pain on its own.. but together, they were quite something.

However.. it could be easily argued that Dremo felt the most pain. As if the pain from earlier hadn't been enough, the black eyed boy received the full brunt of Joshua's attacks. Dremo didn't even managed to scream.. he just fell on the ground again.his healthbar was reduced to a mere crimson...just like the pool of blood in which he was lying. And at that moment.. Dremo really thought that.. this was it. That he was going to die.. the pain was unbearable. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before..for a moment there.. death would have almost been a relief. A way out..but that's when one of the health crystals that Noblemind gave him activated.. saving his life.

Kayaba on the other remained quite emotionless.. even if the combined attacks of the players had emptied his first healthbar. "Bending the rules to my own advantage? That is not what I am doing. This is the final level..winning this fight would allow you to conquer this castle.. it will certainly not be easy. And even if I were to bend the rules to my own advantage.. it is most certainly not something honorable to went out your frustrations by insulting your enemy." The game master remained quiet for a few moments. "I am not trying to insult your intelligence.. since unfortunately, it is rather obvious that you do not have one. If you were actually a game developer, you would have realized that just like in all the other boss fights that you have experienced.. we are following a script. Right now, I am not an administrator... I am a boss. It's not a matter of fairness, it's a matter of difficulty.. the players are supposed to make sacrifices in order to finally conquer the castle..which reminds me that we are now supposed to move to the next step. You are all fighting the Great Demon King.. and one of the Demon King's ability is possessing others."

A moment of silence followed.. and Dremo stood up. Quietly, he grabbed his swords... and their blades pierced the back of a nearby member of the KoB guild..ending his life instantly. Under normal circumstances, the black haired boy's cursor would have turned into orange..but his crimson was already crimson.. like the NPC's from earlier, and like Kayaba's own.. the blood red of the enemy, game characters. His eyes were hollow..and like that, he rushed forward, without mercy, trying to attack and kill Noblemind..his quick and brutal attacks managing to wound her at least once..and yet, Kayaba remained just as cold as before. "What are you going to do, I wonder? Will you kill your friend, so that you can survive? But the let the battle continue.." The large figure snapped its fingers, and the harpoons continued to be thrown.. the battle continued..

Everything had been going fairly smoothly for a while--for Kaiana, atleast. It was painstaking and difficult, yes, but it was nothing like what was going on with Dremo and the others. She thought that, maybe, for some reason, she'd gained an upper hand of some sort in this fight...however minuscule, but she was quickly disproven. She watched as Noblemind launched herself forward, throwing her many quick, heavy attacks at Kayaba...and it was about then that she felt the fiery, searing pain striking and splitting her chest and abdomen. She only managed a quick, short yelp as the red, ugly cuts began to rip open upon her person, the blood quickly blossoming into deep, dark stains across her uniform. She almost felt glad to be wearing mostly black...it didn't stand out quite as much...but the pain made no difference, regardless of appearance. She resisted the urge to scream, to cry from the pain, her health bar quickly depleting from yellow to red...and she hastily, desperately yanked a health potion from her inventory...restoring her health back to yellow, barely, in the nick of time. The cuts ceased to bleed, letting her sigh with relief...until she returned her momentarily distracted attention to the fight at hand.

It was probably then that she noticed something was very, very wrong. It was hidden in Kayaba's words...but she caught it too late. Would it have mattered in the first place? Yelling a warning, a call for caution would've done nothing to protect their minds from being coded to go against their morals...it was just a game, after all. They were all just avatars in a virtual world; but they were avatars with a lifeline. And, perhaps, what could be called one's worst fear...the one whom had been possessed...was Dremo. She wouldn't have cared if it had been anyone else, but Dremo...her longtime friend, her only besides Vashiel...but Vashiel wasn't here. He was gone, atleast for now, but Dremo...he had been there with her, by her side, from the beginning...for nearly the entire time she'd been in this game...he...was like family to her. Her only family...one of the only people who cared...she couldn't stand and let someone else take him down. They'd come so far, side by side, arm in arm, through it all...through the heartbreak and betrayal, the death and the depression, he was all she'd really had. And now, even if it meant her own death, she needed to be by his side. She needed to save him. It was all that really mattered...yes, she wanted to get back to reality, to finally see Vashiel...to know he's okay...but Dremo...he was still here. She was still here. Noblemind was still here. If she could just...save him now, this once...it would be okay.

She wasted no time advancing on him as he tried to attack Noblemind, completely disregarding her initial attention to strike Kayaba. She got to his back, not even managing but a thought or two before she lifted the hilt of her axe, and she shoved it into the back of his head. It was just enough to stun him before she grabbed him around his chest, reaching her free arm to where he'd been armed, twisting his wrist until he was finally forced to release the sword...and from there, she forced his wrist back up to his chest, and held him tightly there, as tight as she could manage before she forced her knee into the back of his leg, continuing to do so until he finally gave way and was forced to his knees, where she held him tightly, placing her knees on the back of his calves so he had little to no mobility. She realized if he tried hard enough he could break free, but she knew that she would keep trying, over and over, until she succeeded. She held him tightly, nearly afraid of hurting him with her tight grip...but she didn't lighten it. "I won't let you do this to yourself..." She told him, looking to Noblemind to somehow help her before she looked back to the back of his head. "I promise, and I made the promise a long time ago...I'm going to make sure you make it out of here. Whatever it takes...you're my only friend left...I need you to make it..." She told him. She realized that with the way she was situated, she was totally defenseless from behind, but it didn't matter. She didn't care. If she had to use her body to keep him alive, she would do so without a near single doubt in her mind. He was all that mattered right now, and she would do anything to save him from the fate Kayaba was trying to condemn him to.

[Charlia]

At Kayaba's reply to Josua, Noblemind felt a smile creeping across her face. Finally, someone else says it. Even if it's Kayaba... I'll take what I can get.

The wounds she received originally were of little consequence to her--easily healed, easily forgotten, especially when the removal of the pain absorber had changed nothing for her. She hadn't used it in a long time, anyway... so it was just another injury, in the end. And the pain she'd caused Kaiana was regrettable, but necessary. She was sure the other girl understood that just as well as she did, and felt very little need to apologize for it. It had to be done.

At Kayaba's last words, she frowned, not entirely sure what he was talking about--until Dremo stood up.

She couldn't breathe.

"If anyone," she shouted, "if anyone tries to kill him, I don't care who you are, I will tear you apart!" Her blade flashed up, blocking most of his attempted strikes, although he managed to score a long slash across her chest before Kaiana entered the fray--and she was lucky, she was so lucky that she was only trying to restrain him, not hurt him, no one hurts him. But if he breaks free... I can't just keep trying to fend him off... Either I make him stop, or I let him kill me. And I know... I know that would hurt him...

Does he know what he's doing? Can he see me? The thought was horrifying. The idea of the boy she loved trapped in his own body, unable to stop himself from attacking, hurting, killing--unable to do anything except watch--helpless, used, his own wishes completely ignored so that all he could do was watch and wait and wish to die--

The blade fell from her trembling hands, and she stared at him with wide eyes.

"Arno..." she whispered, her tone hollow. "You... You can't... You can't let him use you like this... Please, fight back... Please... You're strong, you can fight this, you can fight him, you can make him stop... I know you don't want any of this... You don't want to hurt people... You don't want to hurt me... You know who I am... It's me... It's Charlotte... You can hear me, right? I know you're in there somewhere... Aren't you? The... the one I love is... still there, right? Please come back... Please, I can't lose you... If I did, I'd rather die than keep fighting. What's the point in waking up if you won't ever be there? I couldn't stand it... I couldn't survive if I didn't know you would find me... so please, please fight him, don't let him hurt you like this... You don't deserve to suffer like this. Not you, of all people... You're... You're not like this, so... don't let him control you... What you want matters, right? And I know you'd never want to hurt anyone... Try to remember, please... Please, Arno, come back to me... Please, just stop... I love you... Remember? I love you... Come back..."

She reached out, gently touching his face, heedless of the possibility that he might break free from Kaiana's grip and attack. She'd felt worse, anyway. There was nothing he could do that would truly hurt her...

Seeing him like this hurt more than enough.

Please...

Arno...

[United States of Indonesia]

Josua just sighed at Kayaba's lackluster of a response. And now, of all things that's possible, Kayaba is controlling Dremo, trying to force Noblemind to subdue Dremo. "Actually, Kayaba... It takes one idiot to know another. And with your argument, you admitted that you are currently bending the rules. Possessing other live players? Don't give me that arsehat of an explanation! You're practically using magic, effectively breaking the very basic rule of this world: this world doesn't have magic." Josua said while facepalming in disbelief. "How convenient, right? Your goddamn plot armor! Your admin access & control are your only defense against us, the very best that have been tested through the baptism of blood in battle! You're only surviving until now because of your damned plot armor, nothing more, nothing less. While I have my own, I'm not as ridiculous as you, because mine is backed by pure experience. I saved an entire world from destruction, ended a war that spanned an entire millennium, and liberated two nations that were in occupation for 20+ years in one swoop! And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Even from that tip, I can tell, that this battle will end with us, the players, having the last laugh, though I predict, that there will be a lot of sacrifices before that." he continued while pointing Kusanagi at the possessed Dremo. "And for your information, I won't hesitate to kill that man. To me, he will be a part of casualties that were caused mainly by you, who forced us to play our hands. However, until Noblemind play her hands, I will not lift a finger at Dremo. He's her responsibility, and I will interfere if things get a little too exciting. And before you try to possess me, Virgil, or anyone from my guild... Know that the backlash of trying to possess me or the others will be heavy, especially if it's me." he said as he deflected the harpoons without batting an eye.

He wasn't focused at Dremo when Kaiana grabbed him, trying to restrain him from killing Noblemind. As Kaiana held back the now-possessed Dremo, Josua only stood there. He only deflected the harpoons that kept appearing, all while looking at the source of the ruckus. Hearing Noblemind, who shouted quite the threat, he merely chuckled. "We're in a war, Noblemind! Do you expect anyone to stay put if someone tries to compromise an already-high-risk mission like this?! Remember, if you want to stay with him forever, You MUST be able to handle him in ANY SITUATION at ANY GIVEN TIME! Either you manage to get him back to his senses, or we're forced to bathe our hands with his blood! Your choice!" he basically shouted back.

[Tracian Empire]

Nearly mindless, Dremo seemed to only be focused on Noblemind..and because of that, he was unable to react in time when Kaiana attacked him. The handle of the axe hit his head, stunning him for a few precious moments..forcing him to drop one of his swords.The pink haired girl grabbed him around his chest, before she twisted his wrist.. forcing him to drop his other blade. The black haired boy gasped in pain, as the axe-wielding girl forced his wrist back up to his chest, before she forced her knee into the back of his leg. He tried to fight back.. but it was all useless. The girl forced him to his knees, but no matter of how hard the grey coated boy tried to fight back..Kaiana just continued to hold him.

And then...Charlotte started to speak. As soon as he heard his name.. the boy stopped struggling. He just looked at her, in silence, his eyes hollow.....he did nothing.. but when she reached out, gently touching his face.. tears started to flow down his cheeks. His cursor returned to a calming, green color as the black eyed boy started to speak, between sobs. "I was.. I was so scared. I tried to fight it.. I tried to resist.. but I couldn't.. I couldn't do anything. It was as if I watching everything..but all my efforts were useless. I was trapped.. as if.. as if someone else was using my body.. it was.. it was terrifying..", Dremo tried to say, quivering uncontrollably. "I killed a person... and I nearly killed you.. I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry.."

The boy stood up, and for a moment, it looked as if Kaiana had let him go..there was nothing weird about it, he seemed to have returned to normal. What was perhaps weird was his gesture to take back one of his swords..but before Charlotte was even able to think about it..the boy put his left hand on her shoulder.. and his silver blade pierced her belly. Brutally, the boy pushed her to the ground, before he turned around.. only to face a paralyzed Kaiana. That's what it had happened..the tight way in which she had been holding him was the perfect scene for the boy to use his small poisoned needles. With his cursor now red again, Dremo only needed a quick slash..basically cutting her throat, and leaving her to die, bleeding.

The boy then turned around, looking at Charlotte with the same hollow eyes...as he placed the tip of his slow right on her throat..and he slowly, but surely started to push it.. as the health points of both girls started to disappear..