The Rogue Reaper (Sword Art Online)

Part 2: Wanted

The self-appointed police of this world, the largest justice guild, The People's Army of Aincrad's soldiers stood guard at the town gate. Clad in heavy armor and wielding lances and shields, they certainly looked the part of town guards, Noct thought as he approached. When Noct was about ten meters away, he raised a hand in a friendly gesture to the guards.

Player killing was a crime very much like murder in the real world; PKers and those belonging to PK guilds were barred from entering any city controlled by the PAA, that is to say, all of them. PKKers were in a sort of grey area, since they only attacked PKers and helped to keep the world safe. Thus, even if a person like Noct, who openly wore his PKK guild crest on his shoulder wanted entry to a city, the guards let him through, if sometimes grudgingly so.

Both guards stepped away from the gate. "Hail, Reaper," the one on the right said, eyeing Noct's now-orange indicator warily. "Don't cause any trouble."

Noct laughed. "Hah! Good one. Now why don't you stop looking at me like I'm a dirty PK, guard-san?" he said with a hint of sarcasm.

The guards looked at each other. The one on the left shook his head and they turned to resume watch on the road, when-

"That's him! That fucker in the black and the spikes! He's the one who killed my friends!"

Everyone in the area stopped what they were doing to see who was screaming in the street. It was Hitoshi, accompanied by three PAA soldiers and the two adventurers from the forest, standing in the middle of the road leading to the square and pointing an accusing finger straight at Noct. The two guards by the gate took a step towards him.

The accusation stunned him. His train of thought derailed, and a mixture of confusion and outrage took its place. "What?! Wait, no! That guy is-" Noct was interrupted by the guard captain's bellow.

"So you're the one terrorizing the players in the forest dungeon! PKK work not good enough for you, huh scumbag?! There are multiple eyewitnesses to your crime. Seize him!" The soldiers moved at the captain's order.

In a safe zone like a town, combat was disabled, but if one were to be caught and surrounded by enough players there wasn't much you could do to escape. They said the prison on the 1st floor was more like a dungeon: cold, dark, uncomfortable, and populated by dangerous bandits, highwaymen, and murderers. I'd rather be thrown naked into a boss room, Noct thought grimly.

"Do I look like a Red to you?! That guy's a thief! He's the one you want-" Noct protested and jumped back, avoiding the grab of a guard.

"I knew you PKK lot were no better than common criminals! Grah!" The gate guard who previously showed distrust towards Noct grunted as he lunged forward, swiping at Noct's cape and missing.

"You don't have any proof! You can make your accusations in jail!"

"He might be a thief, but at least he's not a murderer!"

"Surround him!"

It was clear they would not be swayed. The look of disdain from not only the PAA members, but also the other common players nearby bore into Noct. He could feel the heat of the collective contempt around him, like an ant under a magnifying glass in the sun. No one saw the telling smirk in Hitoshi's expression but Noct, who grit his teeth and shot the true criminal a searing leer.

He ran, pulling up his hood and dodging into a side street. PAA soldiers awaited him at every turn and corner. Luckily, as a lightly armored assassin-type, by sticking to the shadows and back alleys Noct was able to outrun and evade the weighed-down knights.

He rounded a corner and nearly ran into a searching soldier.

"Surrender!" the lancer cried, pointing his spear in Noct's direction. In the narrow alley, between the soldier and the knights in pursuit somewhere behind him, there was nowhere to run.

With quick thinking and even quicker fingers, Noct challenged him to a duel using the system menus. The lancer didn't expect the pop-up of a duel request, and as he began to accept and decide the rules for the duel Noct ran and leapt, kicked off the wall with his right foot, and came down with a punch to the face that did no damage, but knocked the lancer over, clearing the path.

Peeking out from behind a building, he could see the inter-town warp gate ahead in the town square, blocked by no less than six PAA members. Trying to fight his way through would almost certainly lead to his capture. Could he use the same trick as he did on the lancer in the alley? With six of them, it seemed like a poor idea.

Players were still coming and going through the gate. The guards there didn't seem to be giving any of them a second glance. Noct was contemplating whether he could simply remove his armor and walk through when the footsteps behind him grew too close for comfort. Noct started forward with more of a hopeful prayer than a plan to get through. His eyes fixed on the top of the steps, where the mystical portal that promised escape awaited him, and he broke into a run.

Noct drew his blade in a flourish, hoping to cause the guards to falter, but the formation held fast.

"Move!" Noct shouted as he threw his shoulder between the middle of the guards. He crashed and fell through, knocking the whole formation off-balance just as a player warped in, materializing on top of him.

"Eeeyah!" The startled player yelped as she lost her balance. She fell backwards, onto a scrambling Noct, who managed to roll onto his back and push the poor girl down the warp gate's steps and into the guards, causing stumbling and falling chaos at the bottom.

Noct looked back at the mess he created, feeling a bit guilty for shoving an innocent girl into those men. He caught a glimpse of her and his breath caught; she sat on the ground rubbing her head, hair in a mess and her things strown all around her. She looked up, probably to yell and swear at him, but Noct was through the gate and long gone before then.

Akari soon learned his name, along with the rest of the server, when Wanted posters sprung up on every bulletin and bounty board calling for his arrest for the hefty sum of three hundred thousand col.

"'The Rogue Reaper', huh? ...Noct-kun?!"

Her urgent messages went unanswered, and the posters remained prominently on the boards for weeks, and then months...