Progressive Factor II: Lacrimosa Of A Reaper

Crimson Rage

Kirito

As Jaymes leads Mito and Koharu in the direction of Stachion, Kirito keeps Morte and his partner's attention on him. Kirito has several things on his mind.

The first is that Asuna was left behind in the poisonous green gas, which is concerning. Kirito knows Jaymes well enough to know that he will protect Koharu at all costs above the others (which he's been vocal about before). But he took Mito with him, so at the very least, the statement isn't completely true. He and Asuna may not get along, but he wouldn't leave Asuna behind...would he? But even if he didn't, the gas lasted longer than thirty seconds. Was the length of the gas in the "cutscene" for that one instance, while it lasts longer now? And why is Asuna still there if Jaymes didn't leave her alone and she's not paralyzed?

The second concern is Morte's picks. As previously experienced, paralysis is dangerous. In SAO, it is classified as a type of poison, although typical poison effects are also present. But at this stage of the game, a high-level agent, even with the Mixing Skill, would be challenging to craft. Application to a weapon has no effect unless the weapon has the rare Toxicity attribute. Kirito has not seen or found a weapon of the sort in the beta or the current game. If the man in the black poncho wasn't bluffing, he'd been the first.

Yet it is clear as daylight - or moonlight in this situation - that Morte has something coating the tips of the two remaining picks between his fingers. Because this will classify as dual-wielding, Morte wouldn't be able to use axe skills, but that's a small problem right now. Kirito's stuck in a two-on-one situation as "Joe" emerges from his escape from the giant male NPC. Whatever Jaymes is planning is unknown to Kirito...and if Asuna's in trouble, this situation just grows dire for Kirito. Yet... something tells him to trust in the other boy.

"Damn, he's still alive? What's up with this smoke anyway? We weren't supposed to be usin' this, right?"

"It's not mine. Kirito here found a way to utilize the NPC's poison item. Aha-ha-ha."

"What a pain in the ass. On the other hand…maybe I'm lucky, now that I get to finish someone off? I still haven't gotten over my rage at having my Cilvaric Rapier stolen from me on the fifth floor. Hey, where's the woman?"

"She still seems to be paralyzed inside the smoke cloud. Same with the rest."

"Cool. Then let's kill the beater over there first." Joe pulls his dagger from his waist, locking his sights on Kirito.

His blood mildly rushes at the mention of Asuna, but this confirms Morte and Joe are clueless about the three who escaped. That's the only advantage in Kirito's favor right now. He calms his nerves, keeping his eyes on Morte, for he's the greater danger with the picks. Kirito's Coat of Midnight, his LA reward from the first boss fight, has been strengthened to protect him even on the sixth floor, but it is weak to piercing attacks. A slash from Joe's dagger or a cut from the blunt force of Morte's axe may not do Kirito in, but it is weak to piercing objects - lances, spears, rapiers, and throwing picks.

Morte has to go first, but the problem is that Morte isn't going to just up and leave even with a pixel of HP left. If Kirito is going to protect himself and Asuna...he might have to cross the line. It wouldn't turn his cursor orange, Morte and Joe have seen to that themselves by attacking Cylon and the other NPC, but the only downside to PKing in SAO is the result. Death in-game is death in the real world.

Is it murder to protect oneself and another? Jaymes might answer that question, but it leaves Kirito indecisive. And he pays for it when Morte strikes first.