Sword Art Online - Legends of Aincrad

Chapter 17 - At the End

Yo guys! Firestorm40 here. This is it, folks! This is where Aincrad comes crashing down- although it may be in a way that you didn't expect! Please be sure to leave a review when you are done reading, because I love hearing from you all- you guys are so much fun to write for and to talk with! Without further ado, let's finish this thing!

(Opening Theme: Crossing Field/ NateWantsToBattle)

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The fight was unlike anything Shoto, Kirito and Asuna had ever seen in all of their history on the front lines. The boss changed its patterns every time they drained its health bars, of which there were five, forcing Shoto to re-examine the patterns and weaknesses it might have. And it did so again when it got into the yellow zone.

It seemed like an eternity before Shoto looked up and saw that its final health bar was down in the red zone. Heathcliff saw it too, and shouted, "Everyone! Rush it, now!" The players seemed to catch on, for they all abandoned the careful patterns that they had constructed over the last hour or so, and immediately unleashed their most powerful attacks. The monster seemed to be overwhelmed and exhausted, for it began to sag to the ground, its stomach almost touching the stone beneath it.

But the fighters of Aincrad didn't let up for even half a second. They each kept slicing, hacking, bashing, and crushing until at last, the monster let out one final dry screech, and exploded into millions of blue and green polygons.

'Congratulations!'

As one, almost every one of the fighters sank to the ground, exhausted. Some were sitting, others were lying flat on the ground. Among those sitting were Shoto, Kirito and Asuna. Yui ran over to the trio to embrace them. The Yellow gave out a tired ginned and said, "Great job, guys."

"How many did we lose?" Asuna's voice could be heard echoing across the now-gray chamber. For a moment, nobody answered.

 Kirito opened his menu and said grimly, "Fourteen. Fourteen of us didn't make it."

Hearing this, everyone looked on in shock and horror.

"Holy crap..." Klein gasped. "We haven't lost that many since floor twenty-five when the army got stomped."

"And we still got twenty-five more floors to go..." Agil could be heard saying. "How the hell are we even gonna make it that far?" No one had an answer for him.

Shoto looked over at the only man still standing. There he was, strong and proud, still in the green zone. Shoto eyes narrowed at the health bar. After that disaster, he's still like a god amongst his mortal subjects- 'Wait!' Shoto's eyes widened. His subjects... That dry, mocking voice of his... He felt his blood freeze.

Nudging Kirito with his elbow to get his attention. "What's up, Sho...?" The other boy said quietly?

Shoto turned to face his best friend and mouthed, 'Back at the arena. His block.'

"What of it?" the Black Swordsman asked softly with a frown.

Shoto jerked his head at Heathcliff, who was still unmoving, looking up at the ceiling in contemplation. Then he mouthed, 'Too fast. He was being protected.' Kirito's eyebrows down as he recalled the moment and played it back again his mind. Then he looked over at Heathcliff, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Protected by what...?" He murmured. Then he had it, and he looked over at his partner as they nodded at each other. Moving as one, Shoto dashed around to the left of Heathcliff while Kirito went right for him full-on.

"Heathcliff!" Shoto roared as he leaped at the man with his sword in hand. The paladin moved to block- only to leave his back exposed to Kirito's straight thrust that took him in the back. Or rather, it would have, if not for a purple hexagon that stopped his blow. Following that, which confirmed the two boys' suspicions was another hexagon that appeared above the man's head that read 'Immortal Object'.