Chapter 10
December 7th, 2023
(A few hours later)
Rizea glanced over at me with concern in her eyes. "Are you ok? You look embarrassed. Is there something wrong with the uniform?" she asked.
The recruit uniform consisted of a white coat with a red trim and a large red cross on the back, as well as a fitted iron breastplate. For the men, they had a pair of iron plated grey pants, but for the women, it was a pleated red miniskirt, as well as a set of white and red stripped knee-high socks.
I shifted uncomfortably, feeling the cool air on my exposed thighs. "N-No, nothing's wrong. It's just, well, the skirt is so short," I admitted, blushing slightly.
The skirt was far shorter than anything I'd ever worn. All of the skirts that I'd worn went down to just above my knees, whereas this barely went halfway down my thighs.
"It's a miniskirt," Rizea smiled reassuringly. "I understand that it can be a little embarrassing at first, but it provides excellent mobility in battle. You'll get used to it pretty quickly, then you'll wonder how you went so long without one. Anyway, enough about that. Do you all remember your assignment?"
Saxon nodded and recounted, "There have been complains arising about Gresics Pass. Specifically, Ceaseless Gap, just outside of the town of Cragdor on floor 25. With the exception of teleportation, the winding canyon serves as the only method of travel through the floor, however it's homed to many high-level dire wolves that have been terrorising players. Our goal is to clear Ceaseless Gap of enemies, while other knights clear other sections of Gresics Pass in order to allow safe passage through the canyon."
"All of the necessary preparations have been made. Raymon is carrying the teleport crystals, in case of an emergency and Saxon has the health potions," Raigen chimed in.
"Will we need anything else?" I asked.
"Doubtful," Rayon responded. "They're just dire wolves. They don't have any poison attacks, so we have no need for antidote crystals, and we only have access to a few potions. We're rookies, so we only have access to the bare necessities. Still should be a piece of cake. With any lucky, we'll be back before dinner."
"You should go back to the tavern, Enzu," I said softly. "This place might be too dangerous for you."
Rizea wished us luck and we called the teleport phrase, which teleported us to the entrance of floor 25 and into a large city built into the side of the canyon called Cragdor. Unfortunately, there was no time to admire the sights, as we had a job to do, however, the importance of the mission didn't cause my complaints to cease as the heat of the desert wasteland hit us like a freight train.
"It's so hot!" I groaned, feeling the constrictive warmth envelop me.
Raymon chuckles, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Well, despite it being winter, floor 25 stays at a cozy 32°c."
"32?!" I exclaimed. "I feel like I'm going to melt!"
###
(A few minutes later)
I made my final assault on the dire wolf, plunging my dagger into its side and watching it die. Breathing heavily, I glanced around, seeing no more enemies in sight.
Raymon brushed his hair from his eyes and sheathed his weapon. "That should be the last of them," he said, relief evident in his voice.
"Phew!" Raigen exclaimed, wiping his brow instinctively, despite there not being any sweat there. "That was a lot tougher than I thought it'd be. Saxon, hand out a couple of healing potions."
He was right. The fight was unusually hard for this floor. The average level of enemies on floor 25 was about 29, but these dire wolves were at levels between 32 and 33, which in itself was already far higher of a level than I feel comfortable fighting on my own. Even with friends, it was frightening. I made several mistakes and got hit just as much, which had brought my HP bar down into the yellow. About 35% left.
We all sat down on some large rocks and Saxon tossed each of us a potion. In an instant, I popped the top off and poured the entire content of the red vial down my throat, then opened my inventory and downed a whole bottle of water.
"You're probably gonna need Kikina to upgrade that dagger of yours. You barely made a dent in most of those wolves HP," Raigen suggested.
I looked around the canyon, once again confirming that this was a safe place to rest. Raigen and Raymon looked as though they could barely stand, but Saxon was staring off into the canyon smiling, seemingly unphased, but my attention was quickly pulled away from him as I noticed a glimmering rock at my feet.
"Ooh. Shiny," I muttered, leaning down to the rock, but losing my balance and landing face first on the ground.
Raymon began laughing. "You ok there?" he chuckled. "You do remember that gravity is still a thing, right?"
"Ugh. I can't move," I groaned, feeling as if all my energy had left me.
Saxon turned his gaze towards me, still sporting a smile. "You're probably just exhausted. You exerted yourself pretty hard out there, and for such a small thing, it's bound to take its toll on your body."
Pushing oneself too hard for too long would eventually lead to loss of balance. If that happened, you'd be unable to move for a little while, and sometimes fall unconscious, then it never lasted very long. One of SAO's many features. Even so, I didn't feel like I was pushing that much harder than usual.
Raymon looked down at the potion bottle with a confused look on his face. "Hmm. Hey, Saxon? Are you sure you grabbed the right bottle?"
"Of course," he replied. "Why do you ask?"
"It's just, my HP hasn't gone up. I-Woah! Hold up. I'm starting to feel a little...funky," Raymon said, his voice trailing off as he lost his balance and landed face down and sprawling out on the rocks below.
Raigen jumped to his feet, exclaiming "Saxon?! What the hell is going on?!"
Saxon looked around, panic spreading across his face. "I-I don't know! Everything was fine and-ugh! Forget it! This is taking too long!" he exclaimed, his voice growing frustrated.
All of a sudden, Saxon drew a dagger from his waist and stabbed Raigen in the chest. It did minimal, almost unnoticeable damage, but Raigen's entire body locked up and he tumbled to the ground. As Saxon pulled out the blade, his cursor above his head switched from green to orange, indicating that he had committed a crime.
"SAXON!" Raigen yelled.
Saxon turned to us, his regular, annoyed expression replaced by an evil grin. "My GOD! Finally! Even though the poison takes longer to affect larger people, which is why it took ages for you, and only a few seconds to affect little Osaka here, it's still timed. I've got about seven minutes before it wears off, which should be more than enough time," he said, his tone dripping with malice.
Raymon struggled to speak, "What the hell is going on? Where is the status effect?"
I glanced at my HP bar, then everyone else's, expecting to see some hit of paralysis, but the lightning bolt symbol wasn't present, despite the fact that we were all paralysed. My mind raced, trying to make sense of what was happening. Why would Saxon do this? We were a team, weren't we?
"You like that?" Saxon laughed. It's a new skill I picked up in the poisoners skill tree. It hides the status effect of poisons from players for sixty second. A great tactic if you wish to remain undetected."
Raymon's face twisted in anger and disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you, man?! You are part of the KoB!" he shouted.
"Why are you doing this?! What do you want?!" I cried, desperation in my voice, the pieces of the puzzle still not fitting together in my head.
Saxon crouched down to me, moving my body and positioning me against a rock so that I could see Raigen and Raymon better. He glared at me for a few moments, like he was trying to burn a hole through me. Just when I thought he was going to give me a reason, he broke into a fit of maniacal laughter. His whole demeanour had completely changed. He had lost it.
"Come on! Surely you can't all be THAT stupid! Use your brains!" Saxon taunted. "I'm part of the KoB, just like Raymon said, so why have I suddenly turned on my companions and poisoned them? What goal could I possibly have?"
Raymon's eyes widened in realization. "I... Wait... no. There... there's no way," he stammered, the truth dawning on him.
Saxon walked over to him, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "Oh, it seems someone's figured it out. Care to share with the rest of the class?" he asked mockingly.
Raymon's voice trembled with fury and horror. "There's no doubt. You're a Laughing Coffin spy, aren't you?!" he accused.
A cold feeling flooded my body at the mere mention of that group's name. Laughing Coffin. Player Killers. Murderers.
"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" Saxon declared, his grin widening.
Saxon stood over Raymon, rolling up his sleeve to reveal something I had hoped to never see up close. On his forearm was a small, ink symbol. A tattoo of a tilted coffin with large eyes and an evil smile. The mark of a murderer.
Raigen's voice trembled with rage and desperation. "Saxon, I swear to god-"
Saxon cut him off with a sinister smile. "Let's start with you, shall we?"
In an instant, Saxon plunged his sword into Raymon's back. Raymon let out a large grunt as the wind seemed to be knocked out of him.
"Raymon!" I cried, my voice shaking with fear.
Saxon lifted his sword and plunged it back down again, his movements swift and merciless. "I'll tell Rizea that we were attacked by a group of bandits," he said, his tone dripping with mockery.
Raymon's agonized voice filled the air. "Ghaak!"
Saxon continued, "However, most of them were green players." Another stab. He kept stabbing repeatedly without mercy.
"Please! God! Please! I don't want to die!" Raymon pleaded, his voice raw with terror.
"YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" I screamed, my heart pounding in my chest.
The look on Saxon's face was terrifying. He was a demon. There was no way a human could be this cruel! There was no reason behind this act of violence. I could see it in his eyes. This wasn't about a grudge or anything rational. This was happening simply because he wanted to kill someone.
"Stop it! Leave the kid alone! Kill me instead!" Raigen shouted, his voice filled with desperate anger.
"No!" I protested, tears streaming down my face.
Saxon sneered. "Don't fret, Raigen. I'll kill you too, but you'll have to wait your turn. And don't worry either, Osaka. I'll save you for last. I can't wait to watch the look on your face contort in horror as you watch each of your friends die right before your very eyes. Then, and only then, will my blade taste your flesh."
Raymon screamed out in pain, a sound that was becoming all too familiar, right before his body burst into crystals. Saxon watched as the remnants of Raymon flew into the sky, laughing at his handiwork.
"Damn you!" Raigen shouted, his voice filled with fury and helplessness.
My throat felt as if it were closing up. I couldn't go through this again. I couldn't lose everyone again.
I watched through my tears as Saxon jerked his head around towards Raigen, staring at him with killer intent. He slowly approached him with his sword still in hand and a smile plastered across his face.
"Please, don't hurt him!" I begged, my voice trembling with fear.
Saxon once again planted his blade into the flesh of another person. Raigen let out a similar grunt to Raymon's.
"Uncle Raigen!" I cried out, my heart breaking.
Raigen's voice was strained. "Ghah! Close your eyes, little lady. Don't watch this."
Saxon's eyes gleamed with sadistic delight. "If you close your eyes, I'll make sure his death is excruciating." He repeated the action, plunging his sword into Raigen's back.
"No! Please! Don't kill him! I'm begging you!" I pleaded, my voice cracking.
"Begging, you say? Yes. Yes! That is what I like to hear! Beg me to spare him! Beg like a kitten! Beg!" Saxon taunted, his voice dripping with malice. With his sadistic comments, he sped up his attacks.
Raigen's voice was filled with pain and anger. "Ack! You bastard! Killing her is one thing, but forcing her to watch this...! You're sick!" His HP was already in the red zone, and he was struggling to speak.
"Stop it! PLE-HE-HEASE!" I screamed, my voice breaking.
Despite the paralysis, I tried my hardest to move. With all my might, I managed to find enough strength to wiggle my fingers slightly.
"Laughing Coffin has the right idea! It's survival of the fittest! Nobody else matters! If you die, you are weak! Just like your friend Raymon. Hahaha!" Saxon declared, his voice filled with twisted conviction.
The blade continued making harsh impacts with flesh, accompanied by screams of agony. Everything happened so fast, and in a flash, I watched as an HP bar slowly decreased to zero. Mouth open wide, Saxon looked down at the dagger sticking out of his throat in front of him, then slowly turned his head toward me. He looked at me with the largest smile on his face and uttered one last phrase.
"Murderer."
He started laughing, which quickly turned into a coughing fit, which then quickly turned to silence as Saxon's body faded with the sound of breaking glass.
My actions didn't sink in at first. I turned to Raigen, feeling a brief moment of relief that I had saved him, but when I saw the expression on his face, my heart sank, and my eyes widened. My dagger slipped out of my hands, and I screamed, the reality of what I had done crashing down on me.
###
(10 minutes later)
The fire in the centre of the KoB meeting room crackled lightly, just barely breaking the silence. Raigen and I stood before Rizea, the only other person in the room. All other seats around the table at the back were vacant besides where Rizea was.
Finally breaking the silence, Rizea spoke up. "I know talking about what happened is the last thing you want to do, but I need to make a report."
I struggled to come up with a coherent sentence, stumbling over words and speaking so quiet that it was barely audible.
"S-Saxon gave us potions, b-but they were poisoned. They paralysed us. He said that it would keep us down for seven minutes. I went down first, a-and then Raymon, but Raigen wouldn't go down, so Saxon stabbed him with a poisoned dagger."
"That was when he revealed his true intentions," Raigen added. "That rather than being a member of the KoB, he was a Laughing Coffin infiltrator – likely with the guild to learn our movements."
Rizea scratched her chin. "But if he was a spy, why would he reveal-"
"I don't know!" Raigen shouted. "Maybe because all of Laughing Coffin are psychopaths who only want to cause suffering. Maybe he couldn't hold it in any longer and thought it'd be fine to tell us. If what happened didn't, then we'd all have been dead in a few moments anyway." With a sigh, he clenched his fist. "Well, I guess he was right about one of us anyway."
"He killed Raymon! Right there in front of us!" My voice broke, but I managed to hold myself back from crying, if only barely
"After that," Raigen interjected, "He turned all of his attention towards me. It was all just some sick game to him. He wasn't doing because he wanted me dead. He did it because he wanted Osaka to watch! He wanted her to suffer before he killed her!" he growled. "I've been in some tight spots in my time, both IRL and in SAO, but I don't think I'd ever been that close to death."
"Both of you were paralysed. Surely seven minutes couldn't have passed already. What happened? How'd it all end?"
"It'd been about five minutes since I hit the ground, so no. I don't... I don't know how I broke free. I just...tried, and suddenly, I could move."
Could Saxon have miscalculated the potency of his poison? Surely not. He was a master poisoner for one, and a status effect icon would begin flashing before wearing off. I recalled seeing it appear while he was attacking Raymon, but I knew it wasn't flashing when I got up. It simply vanished without warning.
Rizea pressed on. "And then?"
The words wouldn't come out. They were stuck in my throat. I couldn't force myself to utter the words. Saying it out loud would make it real, but I wasn't ready to face that reality. My mind was a whirlwind of guilt a fear as memories of Saxon's final moments swirled in my head, playing over and over again. The horror paralysed me far more than any poison ever could. I tried to run away to avoid the question, but my legs were like jelly.
Rizea's voice was gentle but firm. "Osaka. What happened to Saxon?"
Her insistence punctured my mental barrier, causing small cracks which quickly began to expand. "H-He was killing him! He was ab- If I di- If I-" My voice began to break as tears started streaming down my face.
"Shhh," Raigen reassured. "It's ok."
"N-No it's not!" I growled.
With each though, the barrier cracked more and more, quickly approaching critical integrity.
The way he dismissed the act frustrated me. Yes, Saxon was an evil man, but did that really mean he deserved to die?
"He was human too!" I shouted. "Same as me and you! This isn't the same as any other game! I didn't just kill an avatar in a game!"
And with that final statement, the flood gates were broken.
"I killed a real person!" I cried. "One strike! I killed another human being! I'm a murderer! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR!"
I fell to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably at my admission. Raigen placed his hand on my shoulder, but no amount of comfort was going to make this feeling go away.
Even Rizea's voice was soothing, but even that did nothing to ease my guilt. "You did what you had to."
I was willing to let the Knights of the Bloodoath be my salvation. My experience with guilds in the past had left me weary of the possibility that everything could go wrong in the blink of an eye, but this was the final nail in the coffin. I couldn't go through that again.
"I-I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I can't be a knight," my voice trembled.
Rizea quickly stood to her feet, either in protest or an attempt to comfort me. "Osaka, I understand-"
"HAVE YOU KILLED ANYONE?!" I cut her off sharply.
"Well, I... No, but I'm sure-"
"Then you can't understand! I just want to go home!" I shouted; my voice filled with desperation.
Before anyone could protest, I navigated my inventory and pulled out a teleport crystal, shouting the initiation phrase.
"Teleport, Sorrowise!"
I ran through town as quickly as I could, pushing past everyone in the tavern to try and make it to my room, but the man in the coat stood in front of my door.
"Move!" I demanded; my eyes blurred by tears.
"Not until you tell me what's wrong," he said firmly.
"Just get out of my way!"
"Jesus, Misaki! Why do you always do this?!" he exclaimed, exasperated.
I froze, momentarily distracted. "W-Who is Misaki?"
"I-It's nobody," he dismissed. "Doesn't matter. What does matter is... Oh shit."
He leaned down, wiping away my tears and looking directly into my eyes.
"What?!" I snapped, feeling the weight of everything around me.
"I may not be very good at understanding emotions, but even I can tell what that look means. I've seen it enough. D-did you...?" he asked, his voice trailing off.
In an instant, my anger shifted to sadness. I wrapped my arms around him, seeking comfort in his embrace. He patted me on the head gently as I balled my eyes into his coat.
"Shh. Don't cry," he whispered.
I stayed in his embrace for a few moments, not wanting to let go, the weight of my actions pressing heavily on my heart. I pulled away slightly, looking up at him. "I-I just want to go home. Why can't we just go home? Why do people need to die? It's just a stupid game." I sobbed, my voice filled with despair.
"Was it Laughing Coffin? I swear, I'll kill the lot of them." He grunts.
"No! Stay away from them!" I pleaded, my grip tightening. The thought of losing another person I cared about was unbearable.
###
(30 minutes later)
I laid in bed, cuddling my hawk, trying my hardest to get some sleep, but every time I shut my eyes, all I could see was 'his' face. All I could hear were 'his' words. "Murderer."
Thinking about anything else was impossible. Because of my actions today, there was another corpse in the real world. Maybe somebodies husband or father. I'd never know if there was somebody on the other side grieving for the loss of a loved one, and in return, they'd never know why they died.
My thoughts were thankfully interrupted by sounds coming from the eating area.
"What are you doing here?" Shiraki grunted.
Rizea replied, "Relax. I'm not here for you. I came to check on Osaka. Is she here?"
"Yeah, she's here. Now you're going to tell me exactly what happened, right god damn now, and you're gonna talk fast."
"Look, it's obvious that we both care about her wellbeing, so how about you cut the crappy attempts to intimidate me and tell me where the hell she is, alright? In case you haven't notice, Swordsman, we're both worried, so we can either work with each other, or against ourselves. The choice is yours, but just know that if you keep standing in my way, I will use force."
The room went silent as I waited for Shiraki to respond. Eventually I heard him sigh. In a quiet, defeated tone he responded, "She's in there, but she asked to be left alone. Your best chance of seeing her is probably going to be tomorrow morning. If you really care that much, you might as well stay the night here, I'll pay for your room."
"I... Thank you."
###
(A few hours later)
I woke screaming, gasping for air. The commotion caused Enzu to fly up into the air and begin circling the room while squawking. As I caught my breath, I realized that it was almost midnight. I'd probably woken everyone up, so I waited for someone to come in. I expect Raigen, or even Shiraki, but to my surprise, Rizea rushed through my door.
"Are you ok?" she asked in a soft voice.
"I-I had a nightmare."
Shiraki rushed in too, but stopped at the doorway when he spotted Rizea. Cautiously, he slowly walked back to his room. Enzu quickly calmed down after the screaming stopped and landed on the dresser beside my bed.
"I-I'm sorry, girl. I didn't mean to scare you like that," I sighed.
Without a word, Rizea climbed into my bed beside me and began stroking my hair, just like mum used to.
"Shhh," she whispered. "It was just a dream."
"But it wasn't just a dream. I relieved today."
We laid silently for a moment before Rizea opened her mouth and began singing.
"♫Way in the for-est
High in the trees
Lives a little bird
Happy as can be
She is fly-ing
Away to be free
Can't stay fore-ver
No, she must leave,
But, when she does go,
There's one thing you'll see,
She will never for-get,
The love of her family♫"
Her voice was angelic, giving off a calming energy that I hadn't felt since last time I saw my mother. As she continued to sing, I felt my eyes become heavy and I drifted off to sleep.