"What about the girl?" Yuriell asked, her eyes lingering on Yui.
"She's our daughter, Yui-chan," Asuna said proudly.
"Your… daughter?" Yuriell blinked.
It was clearly beyond her expectations. Understandably so—Yui was too old to be their biological child in SAO, where such a thing was impossible.
"Like, adopted, you mean?" Yuriell asked.
"It's… complicated," Hachiman said.
"I see… everyone's got their story," Yuriell said. "But isn't it dangerous bringing her here?"
"She'll be fine. I'll protect her," Asuna said.
"Pretty much. Unless we face something crazy, Kirito and I can handle combat easily," Hachiman added.
Yuriell's eyes sparkled. "I never thought I'd see the Four Heavenly Kings fight in person!"
"No strong enemies nearby, so fights'll be over quick. Might not be that exciting," Kirito said.
"Still!" Yuriell insisted. "It's incredible!"
"Then watch all you want," Hachiman said.
"Yes! I'll learn from this!" Yuriell said eagerly.
The frog-like monsters they were mowing down were about as strong as level sixty mobs. To Yuriell, they seemed formidable, but Hachiman and Kirito dispatched them effortlessly, leaving her in awe of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings. Meanwhile, the duo faced a different problem.
"Hey, Kirito, our item storage is getting full, isn't it?" Hachiman said.
"Yeah, these things always drop meat. We might need to pause and sort this out," Kirito replied.
"Dumping it feels wrong. Let's ask Asuna if it's edible," Hachiman suggested.
"Good call."
Asuna hadn't flinched fighting the grotesque frog monsters, so Hachiman held up a piece of frog meat. "Hey, Asuna, can you cook this?"
"Huh? What's that?" Asuna asked.
"Frog meat from these mobs," Hachiman said.
"They keep dropping it," Kirito added, piling a heap of meat in his arms to show her.
"Eek!" Asuna paled, letting out a scream. "Kyaaa!"
Hachiman, flustered, apologized. "Sorry, you seemed fine fighting them, so I thought it was okay. You hate it?"
"Fighting them is one thing, eating them is another! Just thinking about it makes me sick!" Asuna said.
Hachiman instantly switched gears. "You heard her, Kirito. Fighting and eating are different. Don't you get that?"
"Hey…" Kirito muttered, stunned by Hachiman's flip.
Hachiman started tossing Kirito's meat pile away, having already deleted his own. Once the meat was gone, he rushed to Asuna and patted her head.
"There, there. No more gross meat anywhere. Nothing to worry about," he said.
"Thanks, Hachiman-kun," Asuna said, smiling and hugging him.
Yui, watching, beamed. "Papa and Mama are so close!"
"Nah, Yui, we're close as a trio," Hachiman said.
"Yup, Yui-chan," Asuna agreed.
"Papa! Mama!" Yui said, hugging them both.
Kirito and Yuriell sighed at the sight.
"Who knew those two were such a lovey-dovey couple?" Kirito said.
"You'd never guess from their front-line rep," Yuriell said. "Though, this is pretty recent, right?"
"It's good that top players get along so well!" Yuriell added.
"Sure, but the gap from their usual selves is… something," Kirito said.
"I'm jealous… I hope Sinker and I can be like that someday," Yuriell mumbled.
"You like Sinker?" Kirito asked.
"Uh, did I say that? Well… yes," Yuriell admitted.
"Hope it works out," Kirito said.
"Thanks! What about you, Kirito-san? Anyone special?" Yuriell asked.
"I want to repay someone who gave me strength, but I'm not sure if that's love yet," Kirito said, gazing at his Dark Repulser.
Yuriell thought to herself, Kirito-san will find happiness too.
"Let's keep moving," Hachiman said.
"We're almost at Sinker's location," Yuriell said, checking her window. A marker for Sinker blinked nearby.
"Hey, Yuriell, what's Sinker like?" Hachiman asked.
"He's kind," Yuriell said. "He mentioned running a big MMO攻略 site before coming here."
"Big site… Sinker… wait, MMO Today's Sinker?" Kirito asked.
"You know him?" Asuna said.
"He's a big name among us. I've emailed him a few times. Seemed really chill, but he's here too…" Kirito said.
Hachiman and Kirito continued fighting during the conversation, wiping out enemies. Hachiman, struck by a thought, turned to Yuriell. "These enemies tough for you?"
"Alone, I'd be toast," Yuriell said. "The Army's weakened a lot. Even with our best, we'd need two parties to get this far."
"So the Army knew about this place?" Hachiman asked.
"Not exactly. Kibao's group found it by chance, tried to monopolize it as a hunting ground, but the enemies were too strong," Yuriell said.
"Yet Sinker's deep inside. How'd he manage that?" Hachiman asked.
"A scout pushed through and registered a corridor crystal point," Yuriell explained.
"Which gave Kibao's crew the idea for this trap," Hachiman said. "Kibao started out trying to rebuild the Army, didn't he?"
"Yes, but… look, there's someone! Probably Sinker!" Yuriell said, sprinting toward a figure.
"Papa! Something scary's here!" Yui warned.
"Crap! Yuriell, get back!" Hachiman shouted.
Hachiman and Kirito chased after her. Yuriell stopped and turned at their call. Behind her, a massive black figure appeared, raising a scythe toward her.
"Yuriell, duck!" Hachiman yelled.
Yuriell dropped just as the scythe whooshed over her head. Hachiman and Kirito leaped, landing a hit on the enemy before pulling Yuriell back.
"Kirito, see it?" Hachiman asked.
"Yeah, a reaper-type. Black cursor—maybe a level ninety enemy," Kirito said.
"Let's head for the safe zone and plan from there," Hachiman said.
"Got it."
"We'll draw it off! You three get to Sinker!" Hachiman called.
Asuna nodded, leading Yuriell and Yui toward Sinker. "Be careful! I'll back you up soon!"
"Thanks," Hachiman said.
Hachiman and Kirito faced the boss. "Let's retreat while switching," Hachiman said.
"Yeah, we can't beat it yet," Kirito agreed.
"Not yet. Once we clear more floors and level up, we'll come back for revenge," Hachiman said.
"Definitely."
They backed off, switching aggro, hoping to escape. Asuna ran back to support them. Hachiman glanced at her briefly, then looked forward—the boss was gone.
"What?" Hachiman said.
"Hachiman! It sank into the shadows!" Kirito shouted.
"Hachiman-kun, behind you!" Asuna cried.
As if waiting for Hachiman's glance, the boss had melted into its shadow and emerged from Hachiman's, scythe raised. Asuna, the only one seeing it all, sprinted forward.
"Make it in time!" she yelled.
Asuna tackled Hachiman just in time, dodging the scythe. Kirito moved to help, but the boss was faster, swinging its scythe down toward the fallen pair.
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