Rock shards scattered through the air. Asuna suddenly twisted her waist ninety degrees, dodging a swinging arm aimed at her head. Her rapier transformed into a spray of starlight, fiercely stabbing at the statue's head as if vowing to pierce it through.
But with only a few sharp clangs, the crystal statue remained unfazed, attacking the girl in front of it again, even with the rapier still embedded in its body.
"Stabbing the heart doesn't work!... Waaah!" she shouted shrilly.
Asuna barely dodged the heavy arm swing, then stabbed the hearts at the statue's waist and knees with her sword, finally retreating to Yuu's side in a slightly disheveled state.
Yuu charged forward, using a sword skill to hold off the pursuing crystal statue. After canceling his movement lock with a roll, he attacked from the side.
"If that's the case, let's try together!"
"Got it!"
Asuna didn't hesitate. Though the statue stood between them, she quickly caught his silhouette, his movements, his breathing, memorized them, and adjusted accordingly.
The next second.
*SWOOSH!*
Pink and blue effect lights flared simultaneously, gray smoke mixed with rock dust blasted away by two meteor-like figures speeding forward, their clothes and long hair nearly straight from the wind.
*CRASH!*
Leaping together, they dodged the crystal arm swing and exchanged knowing smiles midair.
Then, lowering their heads:
"HAH!"
The one-handed sword and rapier became two intersecting beams of light, their crossing point precisely at the heart in the center of the crystal statue.
*CRACK—*
Both landed steadily.
A faint cracking sound echoed. The muscular man-shaped statue froze completely.
But soon after, under the silent night, a crystalline glow erupted, transforming into a shimmering, beautiful shower of heart-shaped lights.
—Strategy, complete.
The swordsmen sheathed their blades, looking up in slight surprise at the falling heart-shaped rain, beautiful as a dream.
"So pretty…"
Sighing unconsciously, Asuna couldn't help reaching out, as if to grasp the glowing rain.
Though the hearts passed through her palms, leaving no trace, her face still showed a pure, joyful smile, like a child seeing snow for the first time.
Yuu walked closer, looking at her and nodding: "It is pretty."
"Right?" Asuna replied cheerfully, her eyes sparkling, completely unaware of the teasing preparation in the man's movements.
"I didn't expect defeating a boss could have such a beautiful effect. I hope we can fight monsters like this every day!"
"…" After a moment's thought, Yuu gave up on teasing her awkwardly and pulled something from his inventory. "That's probably not possible. Look at this."
It was a crystal card with the words "Entry Ticket" written on it.
"What's this?" Lowering her hands and stepping to his side, her shoulder slightly leaning against him, Asuna read the item's description, murmuring:
"Ticket to the Land of Love, obtainable only when two people who love each other fight side by side to defeat the Crystal Guardian of Love…"
"Wait, what does this mean!?"
Her voice came out like a shriek.
Asuna stumbled back as if shocked by electricity, her orange eyes wide with panic as she stared at the ticket, her face flushing red as she stammered:
"Love each other… what?! No way! Why did we get this?!"
"Who knows, maybe the system's bugged?" Yuu shrugged, storing the ticket while giving her a meaningful glance. "Or maybe the system noticed someone with ulterior motives and counted that as some kind of twisted love?"
"Ulterior motives…"
Stunned for a moment, Asuna suddenly covered her chest with one hand, drew her sword with the other, its trembling tip pointed at Yuu.
Biting her lip slightly, her watery, embarrassed eyes glared threateningly, like a female knight cornered by a villain.
"I'd never have ulterior motives toward you, it's just you, Yuu-kun!"
"S-so, it's obvious, even if you say the in-game marriage isn't serious, you still have bad intentions toward me… I trusted you so much!"
Dropping his teasing expression, Yuu sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You're way too dramatic… This is the second time. Am I really that bad in your eyes?"
"Besides, think about it. If the ticket's description is accurate, 'loving each other' means both you and I have ulterior motives, right?"
Asuna blinked, slowly calming down.
"…Y-yeah, that makes sense."
"Got it?" Yuu raised an eyebrow at her, a mischievous smile curling his lips. "So, if I really had ulterior motives toward you, that'd mean you also…"
"It's definitely a system bug!"
Cutting him off with firm conviction, Asuna sheathed her sword and turned gracefully.
Her brown hair fluttered under the moonlight, hiding the side of her face, still as red and beautiful as a glowing sunset.
"A-alright, enough, no more pointless talk like this. We're in a hurry—now that we have the ticket, let's go!"
Saying that, as if afraid of being caught out, Asuna headed toward the crystal gate.
"Yeah, yeah~"
Saying nothing more, Yuu shrugged, following her with a smile.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, host received reward: Lockpicking (Advanced Level)]
[Congratulations, host received reward: Aura Detection (Status) One-Time Use]
Before entering the gate, Yuu suddenly called out to her.
"Oh, by the way, Asuna."
"What?"
Asuna turned, looking at his seemingly serious expression with confusion.
"Wanna go in holding hands?"
The air went silent for a few seconds, and the girl panicked again:
"Holding hands… huh?! W-what are you talking about! That's way too weird, the mission clearly doesn't require—"
"Just in case something unexpected happens. If you don't want to, it's fine."
Yuu didn't push, preparing to step into the gate.
But Asuna stayed rooted, head lowered, silent.
"What's wrong?"
Sighing softly, her flushed face lifted.
"…Fine, I get it."
"It's just holding hands, and it's in a game, so it's no big deal."
Giving Yuu a slightly sharp look, Asuna pouted, then, in front of the crystal gate, took a deep breath as if steeling herself—then reached out, grasping his pinky finger.
Just like that, she felt his warmth and heartbeat, along with a slight tremble from the unfamiliarity of something unknown, something she'd never faced.
Her face tense, she quietly turned away, avoiding eye contact with the man in front of her, who looked at her with a teasing gaze.
"Let's go… Wah?!"
Before she could react, Yuu suddenly gripped her small hand tightly in his palm.
Then, pulling her, her soft body seemed to lose strength, and she stepped into the gate emitting white light.
Next destination: the Land of Love.