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46.44% Shattered: A SAO Tale (Sword Art Online) / Chapter 85: Chapter 85 - Lyusula

Chapitre 85: Chapter 85 - Lyusula

Two days had passed since the SAO players reached the 9th floor. To most, this floor wasn't any different than others. Just another step of the way. But to Reaver's Requiem, it was a floor they had been looking for and waiting with anticipation.

Now, the twelve members of Reaver's Requiem were standing on Lyusula, capital of the kingdom with the same name. It was the second of three cities on the 9th floor, and it was even bigger than Allenz, the town where players first appeared on this floor.

The city actually looked somewhat deserted, since only players who had chosen the dark elf side of the Elf War campaign could enter Lyusula. The same went for the forest elves' capital.

That wasn't to say Lyusula was empty, however. While most of the clearers and frontliners had given up on the campaign to allow Reaver's Requiem free reign, there were plenty of lower-level players who were still completing it. The experience was good, and it was a lot more interesting than killing the same mobs day after day.

But even to the players on the dark elf faction who had come to tour the elven city, there was one portion of Lyusula that was off-limits: the royal palace.

Or that would normally be the case. But today, Lyusula's royal palace had opened its doors to welcome Reaver's Requiem with the highest honors.

"Woah..."

Guided by Kizmel, who beamed proudly at their naked admiration, the players crossed the gigantic double doors of the palace. The entire building was made of some kind of white wood, which at first seemed like a very strange choice of material considering they were dark elves. But, when they entered the palace, they realized that there was something special about the wood.

"Kizmel, what material is this?"

Ran waved her hand in front of a torch, casting a shadow on the wall. The wood turned black... And stayed that color even after Ran lowered her hand and the shadow was gone. It was only after a few seconds that the section of the wall started losing color, first into a light gray, then finally back to white.

"Hehe... Impressive, no? The entire palace is made out of DayNight Trees. This type of tree changes color according to the light. So, it's white during the day, and black at night. I'll show it to you later. It looks beautiful at night, just like a starry sky."

"Then thanks in advance, Kizmel."

Like that, the Reavers walked through the palace's corridors, exclaiming and whoa-ing at everything like tourists, which Kizmel seemed to find incredibly entertaining.

She got serious when they arrived outside of the throne room, however. While Drifter and the others were more curious than anything, Kizmel took her job as a knight very seriously. To her, the queen was the most sacred and important being on Aincrad.

And she did look sacred. Sitting on her throne, the elven queen was a beauty who had Drifter staring for a few seconds before Yuna coughed and elbowed him on the side.

Dark skin, like all of her kind, contrasted with the white armor she wore. Yes, armor. Not a dress, but armor, and a battered one on top of that. It was polished and shining, but there was no mistaking the gashes across it. That armor had seen battle, and so had its owner.

Then you looked up at her face, and that was when the sacred aspect really hit. The queen's purple-ish long hair was braided, and upon her head sat a crown of pitch-black flowers. The contrast was breathtaking.

"My Queen, I present to you Reaver's Requiem. They are some of the strongest of the humans that recently appeared in Aincrad, and honorable warriors."

Two steps ahead of them, Kizmel greeted the queen and introduced them. She didn't kneel, but gave the same three-fingered salute, although she did bend her upper body. As they had agreed beforehand, Drifter and the others mimicked her. It didn't make any difference since the queen was just an NPC, but it mattered for Kizmel, so they did it.

"Greetings, humankind. I am Queen Melena. We are grateful for your assistance in recovering the Secret Keys and uncovering the plot of the fallen elves."

Just as they thought, the queen gave them a perfunctory greeting, and her voice, while regal, wasn't any different than that of other NPCs.

'I thought she might be special like Kizmel, but I guess not.'

Listening with one ear to the queen's following speech about how the dark and forest elves had to unite, and that she would be sending a delegation to the forest elf kingdom - with the Reavers as escort, of course - Drifter stole a glance at Kizmel. He always wondered why she, of all NPCs, was so different. So alive. He still didn't have an answer, but his best guess was that it had something to do with them breaking the plot way back on the 3rd floor.

Thankfully, the system didn't make them sit through a painfully long ceremony for nothing. After Melena's speech came to an end, she gestured for three servants to step forward. Each of them was carrying a delicate cushion, upon which sat three items.

"I now bestow upon you three tokens of our gratefulness, brave human warriors. I hope you will continue to aid Lyusula in our battle against the despicable fallen elves."

Drifter raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked to Kirito, but the swordsman shrugged. So this wasn't in the beta.

The first item was a lyre, and Yuna's eyes sparkled when she saw it. The second item was an ingot of some kind, and Drifter didn't even get to read its name, that was how fast Liz snatched it. As for the third and final reward, it was a blue crystal, rectangular, and as big as a person's head. Drifter had no idea what it was, but when Kirito, as the guild leader, received it from the dark elf, his eyes widened in shock and recognition. He mouthed the word 'later' to his guildmates when they gave him curious looks, but the black-haired boy was almost hopping on the spot in excitement. Whatever the crystal was, it had to be good.

Drifter and the Reavers anxiously waited for the moment they left the palace. The grand doors had barely closed when they crowded around Kirito. Yuna's new instrument, which buffed her songs, and Liz's rare smelting material were interesting, but what really caught their attention was the crystal that made even the beta-tester, Kirito, reveal such a shocked expression.

"What's that crystal?"

"Hurry up, Kirito, take it out!"

"Yeah, what is it?"

Under their urging, Kirito took out the item. Like Drifter had noticed before, it was a huge rectangular crystal. And, now that he got a closer look, the crystal was embedded in an ornate silver base. Kirito raised it so everyone could see.

"Remember how I said that, starting on the 10th floor, the NPCs sell a new type of item?"

"Yeah. Healing Crystals and Teleport Crystals, right?"

"And other types too, like Curing Crystals which nullify debuffs, and also Message Recording Crystals, which are self-explanatory. But even though those items are for sale, they are super expensive. I spent all my cor on upgrading my sword during the beta, so I didn't have enough to buy one. Besides, another important thing is that all crystals are one-time-use items, and only applicable to one player. You can't teleport two people with a Teleport Crystal."

Like well-behaved children, the Reavers all nodded to Kirito's lecture. Kirito might not have had money to buy crystals in the beta, but as a guild now, they had the funds to do so. If Drifter was honest, he would like everyone to have at least one of each type of crystal, with the exception of the message recording one. It would be another safety net if things ever went sideways.

"Enough suspense, Kirito. What type of crystal is this one? Teleporting, healing, curing? It's kinda big, no?"

The swordsman chuckled, throwing the item up and down with a rarely-seen smug look on his face.

"Neither, Asuna. This is a Corridor Crystal."

"Corridor Crystal?"

"Yup. If the other crystals were expensive, then this one was simply unattainable back then. I'm talking tens of thousands of cor. The only reason it was even displayed in the shops was probably to give players something to look forward to."

"That's nice and all, but what the hell does it do?"

"Heh. Unlike the other types, a Corridor Crystal isn't restricted to one player. Like the name says, you link it to the coordinates of someplace you have been to before, and it opens a corridor. The corridor lasts two minutes, and there's no limit to how many people can go through. It's still a one-time use, though."

"So, if we find the boss room, for example, we can use it to get the entire Assault Team there without having to walk through the entire labyrinth again?"

Enlightened, Kirito's audience exclaimed. It really was an extremely useful item. But Drifter could think of one even better use for it.

"Or, if we get into a tight spot, we can use it to get everyone out safely."

His words were a splash of cold water over their enthusiasm, and Drifter almost felt bad for it. But everyone agreed, rather than using the Corridor Crystal for a small convenience like avoiding having to walk, it was better to keep it for a truly desperate moment. Hopefully, they won't have to use it until they are high enough that this type of crystal became affordable.

-----------------------

That night, all twelve members of Reaver's Requiem were sitting across three tables in the common room of their inn. It was late, but they were waiting for a dark elf - most likely Kizmel - to barge in, telling them that fallen elves had stolen the four Secret Keys the dark elves possessed, and that they needed to recover them. That was the script Kirito had shared with them, and the quest which started the final leg of the Elf War campaign.

Currently, Drifter was sharing a table with Merida, Ran, and Vallerk. He had called those three over on purpose, because they were the ones in the guild who he interacted the least with. They were all naturally quiet, but he felt that, as one of Reaver's Requiem's vice-guild leaders, knowing so little about them was a failure on his part. Vallerk, as a newly added member, could still be excused, but Merida and Ran had been with them for over a month now.

What to talk about, now? It wasn't like Drifter had planned this. He had just seen the two girls sitting together, and grabbed Vallerk to sit with them.

"Now that I think about it, how did you and Silica meet, Vallerk?"

Merida opened the conversation while tinkering with a piece of low-level leather armor. To raise her Tailoring proficiency, she was always playing around with stuff like leather breastplates, gloves, and capes.

"Err... It was normal, I think? She's a dagger-user, so she needed someone to support her, and I use a shield but had no means of effectively dealing damage. We tried partying and it worked."

"I see. Why the shield, though? It would be one thing if you already were the tank for a party, but you just said you were alone..."

Drifter trailed off when he saw a dark look cross Vallerk's face. Right. There was no reason for a pure tank like the younger player to be on his own... Unless he was in a party before and something happened to them.

"Sorry, Vallerk. I spoke without thinking."

"Ah, don't be! It's not what you are imagining. Not exactly, at least."

"Huh?"

The tank quickly waved his hands to erase the misunderstanding, blushing slightly.

"My old party, they are still alive. But after the first day... Hah... They are part of the group who holed up in their rooms and refuse to leave. They don't even respond to my messages, so I stopped trying."

"I see..."

Drifter repeated. So that was why. Well, it certainly was better than them being dead, but Drifter could understand Vallerk's mood. He probably felt betrayed. It was likely that they were friends in real life, and yet they refused to even talk to Vallerk now, either out of fear or shame. It couldn't feel good, but the green-eyed player smiled weakly.

"They are still on my friend list, and I went to the monument, so I know they are still alive."

Vallerk shrugged. It hurt, it really did. But it wasn't the end of the world. In Silica, he had found another friend to care for. And his guildmates were quickly worming their way into his heart. Facing death together had a way of doing that.

"Each player has to make and live with their choices. I believe yours is the right one, Vallerk."

Ran, who had kept quiet until now, spoke. Drifter and Merida looked at each other - this conversation was not going according to plan. But before the spearman could find a new, lighter topic to dispel the somber mood, Kizmel entered the inn, puffing. The first person she locked eyes with was Drifter, who happened to be sitting closer to the door.

"Drifter! The fallen elves have stolen our Sacred Keys! And the king of the forest elves just informed us that theirs also disappeared! The fallen elves have all seven, and they are going towards the Sacred Tree! Their leader, Aater, is going to wake up the evil god!"

For the first time ever, the Reavers saw Kizmel panicking. Drifter quickly got up and held her by the shoulders.

"Not if we have something to say about it, Kizmel."


Chapitre 86: Chapter 86 - Lord of the Fallen

Excitement. Nervousness. Those were the two feelings swirling inside Drifter right now, and he smiled a savage grin. It had been a while since he felt like that.

Even against floor bosses, he only felt the latter. There was no excitement, no sense of anticipation or desire, when several thousand lives hinged on your victory. No, when they raided a floor boss, what Drifter felt the most was fear, although he pushed it down and away.

But now, as they made their way towards the Spirit Tree to complete the last quest in the entire Elf War campaign - there were only two quests on the 9th floor: Meet the Dark Elf Queen and Slay the Fallen Elf Lord Aater - Drifter felt true excitement, for a variety of reasons.

They were finally about to finish the campaign that had lasted seven entire floors. And Drifter, as well as all the Reavers, but especially the original party, had gotten very emotionally invested in the questline. Maybe it shouldn't have been so originally, but after meeting Kizmel and witnessing Locke's death, seeing Feredir's true grief when losing its master... It was hard not to be that way.

Of course, there was another reason why Drifter, Yuna, Nautilus, Kirito, Asuna, and even Sinon were grinning widely, much to the disconcert of their guildmates, who weren't used to seeing such expression in... Well, anyone's faces. This was SAO, after all.

"Err... Drifter?"

"What's up, Liz?"

"Why... Are you smiling like that?"

Drifter stared at the pink-haired blacksmith for a moment, confused. Then, he burst out laughing as he realized that Liz and everyone else had only joined them a lot after they met Kizmel.

"Right, we never mentioned that, did we? I guess it never came up when we talked."

"What didn't come up?"

"Heh. After this... Mission is finished, there won't be any more threats to Lyusula. Soooo... Kizmel's coming with us."

The spearman was careful not to mention the term Elf War. Yuna had committed the mistake of saying it once in front of Kizmel, and the amicable dark elf was not happy.

But that didn't matter right now. Liz, Yuuki, Ran, Merida, Silica, and Vallerk were looking between Kizmel and the smiling Drifter repeatedly. The dark elf was also grinning, although she made sure to hide it.

"By coming with us, do you mean..."

"Yup. After we defeat Aater, she is going to join Reaver's Requiem. Ain't that right, Kiz?"

The dark elf halted momentarily and sketched a bow, her smile now in full display and she straightened her body.

"Indeed, Drifter. It will be my greatest pleasure to become the 13th member of Reaver's Requiem and conquer the rest of Aincrad with you."

Their mouths dropped wide open as the original six Reavers laughed, and Asuna bounced over to hug Kizmel. Then, everyone started talking all at once.

"That's amazing, Kizmel!"

"I can't wait to see Kibaou's face when he hears that..."

"Glad to have you on board, Kiz!"

"Big sis Kizmel, is Feredir coming with you? Please, please, please let him come!"

Overwhelmed, Kizmel struggled to answer. While she always knew she would leave with the Reavers one day, she never expected them to be so supportive of the idea.

"I-I... Thank you, my friends. I am glad to have met you on the 3rd floor that day."

With a grateful smile, the dark elf hugged back everyone who had come forward to talk to her. Then, she rested one hand briefly on top of Silica's head.

"Yes, Feredir will be coming with me, Silica. I wouldn't leave him behind no matter what."

"Yay!"

Silica jumped up and down, then hugged the huge wolf. Drifter felt like he saw Feredir roll his eyes before sticking out his tongue to lick her hand, but he must have imagined it. As for Kizmel, she watched the scene with a smile. There was no way she and Feredir could ever be separated. They were the only memories, the only ties each other had to her brother-in-law and her sister.

"But, how would that work? Isn't Kizmel an..."

At the back of the group, Vallerk spoke up quietly, only to be almost instantly cut off by Sinon with a warning glare.

"It doesn't matter that she is an NPC. She's our friend and she's joining us. Nothing can change that."

Vallerk had joined them later, so he had only heard the story of how Drifter and the others met Kizmel, but hadn't actually experienced it. It was extremely confusing to the shield-bearer when he first saw the dark elf, who didn't behave like any NPC he ever met. Even now, he still wasn't quite sure of what to make of her. The fact that she could join parties was already strange, and now she was going to enter their guild. Vallerk felt that his entire knowledge of RPGs was quickly becoming obsolete.

"Sorry, Sinon. I didn't mean it in a bad way, I was just curious. Kizmel is nice, not to mention very strong. I'm glad she can join us."

The archer's glower subsided when she heard the apology. Sinon rubbed her cheek, the slightest tinge of red from embarrassment on it.

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just already imagining the things Kibaou and the other fools are gonna say to Kizmel."

And that was true, wasn't it? Vallerk sneaked a glance at his guild leader. Kirito surely already knew that getting Kizmel, an NPC, into Reaver's Requiem was giving ammunition for the ALS tyrant to call him Beater again.

But Kirito wasn't the same swordsman of a few months ago. He was still young, but he had grown into his role. He might never become an authoritative general, but he was a leader. Furthermore, he now had people he trusted. He wasn't a loner anymore. And being called a beater still stung, but not nearly as much as it once did. Because the ones he cared about didn't call him that.

Drifter looked back. He had heard Sinon's last sentence. But he just nodded to the archer. Whatever Kibaou complained about, he really didn't give a damn.

...

Excitement. And joy, now that they discovered Kizmel would enter their ranks. That was how Reaver's Requiem walked towards the location of their final quest.

A gigantic, ancient tree loomed over them. Drifter had never noticed it before, mainly because this entire floor was a forest, like most of the others before it. After all, a tree in a jungle, no matter how big, wasn't anything extraordinary. Except this one was.

Drifter looked up at the Sacred Tree. And then he looked up again. And then some more, because that was how big the tree was.

The Sacred Tree touched the bottom of the floor above. A thousand meters tall - more. It should have been a sign of eternity. An immovable paramount that had endured ten thousand years. But right, that very tree dark and forest elves alike worship - it was rotten.

All the leaves were an unhealthy shade of brown and yellow, fraying at the edges and falling. The trunk of the Sacred Tree was hardly any better. Huge cracks extended throughout it, making the tree seem like it would fall apart any second. And from those cracks, a black, noxious smoke drifted. It was putrid. It smelled like death.

At the base of the Sacred Tree, where a huge crack started, almost like an open door waiting for them, the Reavers spotted their first enemies. They were a trio of heavily-armored fallen elves, each of them holding massive axes. Drifter stared at them with Searching.

"Fallen Sentinels. Anyone ever heard of them?"

"I don't remember them from the beta."

"And they are not in the guide either."

"New mobs then. Whatever they are, they look strong. Don't lower your guard."

The players nodded. Drifter gestured towards one of the enemies.

"We'll split them, focus on the one on the far right. Vallerk, you tank the other two. Silica, Asuna, Kizmel... And myself will support you. Yuna, you run Rest full-power for Vallerk. Kirito, Nautilus, you and the others take care of the other. Bring it down and then repeat."

"Roger that, Drifter."

The sentinels earned their name. The players were still more than twenty meters away when they started to stir and turned their helmets towards them. No chance of sneaking around - not that the Reavers planned to.

Drifter met the charge of the Fallen Sentinels with one of his own. His spear shone brightly as he swerved it around two axes, striking the enemies in the throat with a Double Tap - one hit each. Even Kirito had to stop for a moment to admire how Drifter managed to turn a single-target skill into a crowd-control one simply by virtue of his incredible control over his weapon.

Then Vallerk barreled into the Fallen Sentinels with Unrepentant Charge, pushing them back even though they were twice as tall as him, and many times heavier. Asuna, Kizmel, and Silica went around him to strike the mobs. Folium, Slant, Stop Cut. Each of them carried a knockback, stun, or paralysis debuff, effectively halting the sentinels in their tracks. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough for Drifter to charge up his Tidal Sequence, sweeping one of the fallen elves from his legs, and a Martial Arts: High-kick knocked down the other.

Then, both Fallen Sentinels were on the ground, at their mercy. And the players had none for them.

"Switch! Send another our way, Drifter!"

"Here ya go!"

It took about three minutes for Kirito and the others to demolish their Fallen Sentinel. Drifter looked around, spun his spear, and smacked the mob with the lowest health in the face with the shaft. Vallerk completed the combo with a Shield Bash, sending the Fallen Sentinel stumbling towards the rest of the guild.

Numbers were the one advantage players had over mobs. Without shame, the Reavers ganged up on the monsters, making quick work of them.

"Aater should be inside the Sacred Tree. We can expect several checkpoints and ambushes before we reach him."

Kirito spoke as he prodded at a large cut on his shoulder, the red line slowly vanishing as Yuna's music worked its wonders.

The Reavers fought more recklessly than most. No, not reckless, that was the wrong word. They fought more... Straightforwardly than most. They never did anything truly risky - bosses didn't count - but they allowed themselves to trade blows and get injured more than other players would consider safe. But that was just because they had Yuna. Not only could she heal them during the battles, but also after it, so they consumed fewer potions - they were very expensive. Ran shrugged. She also had gotten hit during the short battle, but her HP was already back to full.

"Nothing different, then."

"Yup. Ladies first."

The girls rolled their eyes - Kirito was getting more and more cheeky later - and Silica and Yuna pushed Vallerk and Nautilus to the vanguard.

"Yup, ladies first. There you go."

"Hey, Kirito's the one who said it! Why are we getting caught in the crossfire?"

"'Cause you are his friends. And nobody told you to pick shields."

"Liz also has one!"

"Well, we like her better. Asuna, get your man under control."

Merida poked where she knew would hurt, and Asuna was suddenly also collateral damage. The fencer and Kirito blushed bright red while the others bickered. And Drifter and Kizmel, who had wisely chosen to stay silent, looked at each other and doubled over laughing.

That was how Reaver's Requiem entered the hollowed trunk of the Sacred Tree. And although they weren't laughing anymore by the time they reached the center, after several skirmishes with fallen elves, they weren't worried either. Just serious. Focused.

The final enemy in the Elf War campaign stood with his back turned to them. He was wearing a stylish - and lavish - robe, not armor. His platinum hair contrasted sharply with his dark, yet sickly pale skin. The seven Secret Keys floated around him. Slowly, the Reavers looked above his head.

Aater, Lord of the Fallen.

His name had a comma. That was the first time Drifter had ever seen that. Not even floor bosses had such a complicated name. And, as the fallen elf seemed to finally notice their presence and turn around, his eyes glowing red, Drifter gulped. Okay. Maybe they shouldn't be that relaxed.


L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
Reis123 Reis123

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Next up, boss fight!

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