Asuna, Kaguya, and Shiro were grinding monsters when they heard the discussions from the surrounding players... and couldn't help but frown slightly.
Asuna and Kaguya exchanged a glance, then looked at Shiro.
"Should we also head to the Dragon's Lake first?"
"Mhm. That idiot, forget about him for now."
A trace of discontent appeared on Shiro's cute little face. Puffing her cheeks, she was quite angry at her Nii for abandoning her.
Asuna smiled amusedly and patted Shiro's little head, comforting her.
"Maybe Yusei-kun really was delayed by something... Let's go first."
The three girls followed the crowd and quickly headed towards the Dragon's Lake.
When they arrived, they realized the place was already packed with players, a sea of people seemingly about to trample the entire forest surrounding the Dragon's Lake.
"So many people? Did they all rush over immediately after hearing the explosion?" Asuna asked with a furrowed brow.
Kaguya nodded, not surprised by this situation.
"It's normal. After all, everyone wants to leave SAO quickly. Hearing someone made the first move, it's normal to feel restless."
"However, there are exceptions. Like a certain guy who's still on the 15th floor, who knows what he's doing." Kaguya said with an expressionless face, checking the friend location.
Asuna gave an awkward smile and didn't respond, instead looking curiously towards the Dragon's Lake.
It was currently calm over there, with nothing strange happening. But the surroundings were indeed a scene of devastation... looking like it had been bombed.
She stepped forward and tapped a girl with long black hair wearing black clothes, intending to just ask someone casually. But when the girl turned around, Asuna was surprised to find it was Kiriko.
"Kiriko! Long time no see!"
"Huh? Asuna? And Kaguya and... Shiro?"
Kiriko blinked, looking at the three girls before her, then asked curiously,
"What about Yusei-kun?"
"He's... busy." Asuna smiled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, we just arrived and don't know what happened at the Dragon's Lake. Do you know, Kiriko-chan?"
"This? I also just got here, so I'm not very clear. But I heard people around saying there was a fight here earlier. The dragon Kanna battled players, and the players suffered heavy casualties."
"Heavy casualties? You mean all this damage was caused by the dragon Kanna?" Asuna found it hard to believe.
Kiriko nodded with a grave expression.
"I'm afraid so. This boss is completely different from any we've encountered before."
"It might even possess magic-like powers, similar to magic games we've played."
Asuna found this somewhat unbelievable.
SAO's game introduction clearly stated it was a world of Sword, so it would be just swords. Magic doesn't exist. But now a magical dragon has appeared... this clearly violates the initial setting.
"Could it be that Kayaba Akihiko wants to make things difficult for us by deliberately increasing the difficulty?" Asuna guessed.
Kiriko shrugged helplessly, "I don't know about that. But I think if Kayaba wanted to increase the difficulty, he could use normal methods, like increasing the floor boss's HP, defense, or attack."
Asuna nodded thoughtfully.
What Kiriko said made sense. Kayaba had no need to violate the game's initial setting by specifically adding magical creatures.
If he simply didn't want players clearing floors so easily, he only needed to strengthen each floor's boss.
Kaguya, who had been silent until now, suddenly interjected.
"Could it be because of that guy, Kazami Yusei?"
Asuna was startled, involuntarily recalling the technique Yusei used during the 25th-floor Boss Raid.
That technique, which manifested a seemingly physical dragon, had indeed surpassed the scope of ordinary sword skills.
She nodded gravely, "It's possible. Perhaps it's because Yusei-kun developed that sword technique, and Kayaba Akihiko took notice."
Then, Asuna looked curiously at Kaguya, "Does your swordsmanship lineage in reality have such exaggerated techniques too?"
"Of course not. He developed that himself." Kaguya shook her head, a flicker of envy in her eyes. She also felt inferior to Yusei's talent.
"Of course... why can such sword techniques be developed in the game?" Kaguya actually knew the reason. She herself could now use Doryusen in the game.
And the [Doryusen: Dragon's Bite] that Yusei developed was just an advanced version of Doryusen.
Kaguya had actually thought about the possibility of her using it one day too.
"But regardless, the dragon Kanna is not an enemy we can match. The best method is still to find the Dragon Knight first."
Kiriko looked towards the distant calm lake... she knew the dragon Kanna was hiding there.
Asuna and Kaguya nodded and also looked over. However, they froze.
"What is that over there?"
Kaguya pointed towards a spot. Kiriko looked and was surprised to find something resembling siege weapons set up in a circle around the lake's perimeter.
"Are those the Army guys? Are they planning to use catapults to hunt the dragon Kanna?" Kiriko said in doubts.
No sooner had she spoken than she saw several Army's members get into small boats and head out onto the lake to lure out the dragon Kanna.
The Army's members threw a few unknown objects towards the center of the lake. Soon, that area of the water quickly turned purple.
"Is that poison? Are they trying to force the dragon Kanna out?"
The water of the Dragon's Lake was rapidly polluted, the deep purple of the poison dyeing the water at a visible rate.
Soon, a clear cry came from within the Dragon's Lake. The cry carried grievance, fear, and anger.
Immediately after...
The giant dragon soared into the sky, its beautiful body stretching out in the air.
Its large, sparkling eyes, usually lively and curious, now held only grievance and anger.
Her gaze quickly locked onto the players on the few small boats below. She began gathering a white, electric beam in her mouth.
Boom!
The beam shot out directly... The players on the small boats had no way to dodge. Hit by the massive beam, they instantly turned into data fragments and vanished.
This terrifying scene made the Army's members on the shore break out in a cold sweat.
The leader, seeing this, nervously and fearfully pointed at the dragon Kanna flying in the sky.
"Fire! Fire the catapults! Quickly!"