Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

The Insane Blade CHP. 6

As I walked out of the teleport gate, I took a look around the empty plaza, the setting sun shining off the dark building in front of me. It had been over a year, but this had been the first time I had returned to this place, and I could almost hear the near 10,000 screams that took place here one that day. Stifling a sigh and briefly stretching my arms, I began walking towards one of the last places I wanted to be, the Black Iron Palace in the Town of Beginnings.

Unsurprisingly, the knight in shining armor that had put me up to this in the first place was hidden behind a pillar by the main entrance. Also unsurprisingly was his irritated face that caused his brows to form A V-shape, which didn't fit his young-looking features at all.

"What the hell took you so long? I hate dealing with the army as much as the next guy, but don't you think it's a bit rude to keep me down here for over an hour?"

The leader of the aptly named DOA, Nautilus, was back in his white armor with blue patterns. Unfortunately, the brighter colors didn't do much to lighten up his attitude.

"Cut me some slack, I ended up getting you guys a new guild member. Yuna already loves her and is introducing her to the rest of your guild."

After splitting up with the Fuma Ninja Force when we got to Flora, Silica and I returned to the inn on the 36th floor where we revived Pina. Since I essentially used her as bait to drag the 'Titan's Hand' out into the open, I answered all, well mostly, all the questions she asked, the main one being how she could help out with clearing the game. With the equipment she got from me and the level-ups from our hunt today, I got into contact with Yuna, and within minutes she was accepted into their guild.

I still hadn't been invited back into the KoB since I had yet to meet up with the fencer Silica was quite interested in and my coat was still pitch black. Although I complained at first at the flashy red colors, now I couldn't help but feel that being in this get-up was just as troublesome, especially after Silica's reaction...

"New member? Oh, you're talking about that tamer you met up with the other day? I'm surprised, I thought you would have scared off anyone who saw you like that."

"Ugh..."

Just the other day when I had been patrolling the 36th floor, after an extremely heated debate with Asuna, I ended up running into one of the youngest players I've ever met that hadn't been a part of Sasha's child care, and just like Naut had warned me before, I ended up scaring what was left of her soul out of her. Fortunately, she didn't attack me out of the blue and we ended up working together, but it wasn't exactly what you would call a good first impression. Although from the looks of it we'll probably be meeting up again in the future since her proclamation of wanting to get into the clearing group.

All of that aside, Naut's irritation died down as he raised an eyebrow at my reaction and a pitying smile showed up on his face.

"So you did end up scaring her. Well at least look on the bright side, she still trusted you enough to join a guild you recommended."

"Yeah, yeah...so...are they in there yet?"

I already knew the answer to that question. After all, there was no other place that the criminal guild could be after going through the portal opened by the corridor crystal. At first, I wanted Naut and the Army to take care of em, but after hearing something strange from one of the members, I had no choice but to get involved. I still felt a bad taste in my mouth from the emotions that boiled in me earlier, but if there was one thing to be grateful for, it was that things ended, relatively, peacefully.

At my question, Naut grimaced and nodded, stepping away from the pillar he was leading on, he beckoned me to follow him as he led the way up the steps of the palace. Following behind through the massive double doors that served as the main entrance, a cold wind blew through the main hallway, and before us laid 'The Monument of Swordsman', the cruel stone that mercilessly listed the names of all 10,000 players...and how those no longer here had died.