Sword Art Online: A New Beginning

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku crossed his arms.

"I see. Then it is quite the coincidence. I take it you have heard what they are calling the odd events that have been happening around the game, right?"

He asked, watching the girl carefully.  

[Mega90]

Emia’s eyes twitched a little and she looked up at Hiroku.

“They call them Emia events because I was the first one to find one.”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku's brow furrowed slightly as he noticed the girls reaction.

"You were the first one to see them? What was the event and where is I may ask?"

As he spoke his tone was serious, though it remained soft as he took note of the girls clear unease.  

[Mega90]

Emia looked at him with an even gaze.

“You don’t believe me?” She questioned with a flat tone.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku shook his head slightly.

"I didn't mean it that way at all, I was simply curious as to what the first event was. I have investigated a few on my own and any information I can gather is helpful."

Hirouk kept his tone calm as he spoke, locking eyes with the young girl.  

[Mega90]

Emia turned away and went back to brushing her hair.

“It was a null area. I was going through a dungeon and I stumbled across a room that was outside the games parameters. Apparently, there was someone from the Rumor Mill behind me, and they saw me discover it. I guess the name just stuck.”  

[Mega90]

Emia nodded and rose to her feet.

“I’m still not sure what it was. Ever since then, though, more and more events have been popping up.” She said as she finished coming through her matted hair.

When Hiroku thanked her for saving her, she nodded and handed him the comb back.
“Consider it a thank you for saving me earlier. Now we’re even.”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku offered a small smile and nodded.

"Even it is then. Go ahead and keep the brush. It was a reward from an even awhile back but I don't have much use for it. So where are you off to now?"  

[Mega90]

Emia tucked the brush away in her inventory and turned back to look at Hiroku.

“Back to town. You?”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku considered for a few moments before responding.

"No, not quite yet. Still have some things to do here before I head back." He said softly.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Emia. Feel free to add me or contact me should you ever need help on a quest."

Hiroku offered a soft smile before turning to leave and let the girl return to town.  

[Mega90]

She nodded and began to move towards the Teleport crystal.

“See ya.” She said as she cast one final look over her shoulder. The crystal began to hum and in another moment, she was gone.

A gentle wind blew through the field, and Hiroku was left standing alone.  

[Zarkon90]

The tall black clad teen stared at the girls vanishing form until she and the resulting light faded. Once he was certain that he was alone, he opened a message window to Legacy.

"I need to speak with you when you are next able. Come alone."-Hiroku.

He considered for a long moment before lightly tapping the send button. The window vanished and he slid his hand down, closing the menu before making his way silently back into the forest.  

[Mega90]

Yamen walked through the busy streets of the Town of Beginnings. There were players in excess today on account of the rumors that had been floating around about a new competition that would be coming to the game. In anticipation of this latest update, the players of ALfheim online were doing their best to boost their strength and stats.

Yamen was on a similar mission, though his aim was not to boost his own power. He was more concerned with getting some quick training lessons for Rin. He had spent several hours training with her, but matters were increasingly occupying his time, meaning there wasn’t much left to devote to helping her at the moment. Though he didn’t like to admit it, he knew the only option was to outsource her training.

Normally, he would have tried to convince one of the other members of Crestfallen to train her, but as he knew that her even being in the guild was a bit of a sore subject at the moment, he had decided it would be best to look elsewhere for aid.

It was through this need that he now found himself outside of the massive guild hall of the Transvaal guild. Transvaal was run by a group of players known as the Six Sisters of Transvaal. Officially, it was run by a girl named Ira, a fiery and mean-spirited girl of fourteen. Despite her young age, she was one of the strongest players in the game not only in terms of level, but in measurements of skill as well. There were few players that would dare to challenge her, and based off of her ruthlessness in battle, there were fewer that would succeed.

Whereas Crestfallen had established a reputation as the guild to beat, Transvaal was known as the guild to avoid. Not only were the members extremely powerful, Ira would not let anything negative be said about the guild. If it was and she found out about it, she would be relentless in her search of the player who spoke out against her guild. She would spare no expense or effort in ensuring that they were killed in a brutal and excessive form.

Ordinarily, Ira would have been the last person that Yamen would have come to, but he was desperate and didn’t have many options. If Rin was to fulfill her position as the Princess of Crestfallen, and if she was to participate in the upcoming Gloria in Dolore event, she would need to have been trained by the best. As much as he hated to admit it, he could think of no one better than the Six Sisters for this particular task. Now all that remained was convincing them to help.

Crestfallen had a bit of a history with Transvaal, and it wasn’t always on good terms that these two guilds had interacted. More than that, Yamen had a history with Ira and her five sisters. They had all been playing the game since its early days, and more than once they had come to blows in competitions and raids. Through these interactions, Ira had come to regard Yamen as something of a rival, and the two guilds often competed with each other in competitions to prove who was the strongest. In terms of victories, Crestfallen currently held the high mark, only deepening the hatred that Ira held for the guild.

It was actually Yamen and his involvement with Crestfallen that had inspired Ira to create Transvaal in the first place, and she had been trying to topple his guild ever since.

His eyes trailed up the façade of the massive structure in front of him and he allowed a deep sigh to escape. It was an enormous stone structure that was largely modeled after Castel Del Monte in Andria, Italy. It stood as a massive octagonal citadel surrounded by eight stone turrets that extended just above the top of the central arena. Transvaal had grown to a large enough prominence that they, just like Crestfallen, had been allowed to design their own guild hall. However, while Crestfallen had gone with a more European castle aesthetic, Transvaal had chosen to go with something far more unique.

Raising his hand, Yamen gave a loud knock on the front door. It echoed against the stone front, resonating throughout the surrounding area. A moment passed with nothing in response until the doors began to creak open. Inside the narrow opening that had been created, a group of guards stood. They were dressed in crimson armor, their faces completely obscured by iron helms, and their bodies cloaked beneath the insignia of Transvaal, an artistic rendering of the Transvaal Daisy for which the guild was named.

Yamen was recognized immediately, and one of the guards broke off from the rest, running deeper into the guild. They gave no indication of what this meant, but Yamen didn’t need them too. This was not the first time that he had come here, and the ceremony that had already begun was carried out each time. In another few minutes, the guard returned and whispered something to the other guards. In another moment, they parted, allowing him to enter into the dark halls of the Transvaal guild hall. As soon as he was within the confines of the structure, the doors slammed shut behind him, and the guards surrounded him, walking in a strict formation with him into the center of the guild.

There, sitting on an altar like structure, Ira was waiting for him. She had long, red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail that extended down to just below her knees. It was tied back with a black and red ribbon, and a gold, understated circlet adorned her forehead. She wore a red sleeveless dress, the top of which was a deeper crimson than the lower skirt. Made of two parts, the top was a coat like garment that ran the full length of her upper body, stopping with the lower skirt, but being open in the front below the naval. A red ribbon synched the shirt below her chest, and a diamond shaped opening was cut into the shirt near the upper chest, revealing a slight amount of cleavage. Just above her elbows, baggy sleeves began their descent down her thin arms, coming to a stop with enough of an overhang that they largely obscured her hands from view unless the fingers were fully extended. She wore high red boots that were laced with a crossing pattern, and a dark smile adorned her face as she stared at the blonde man with her blazing ruby eyes.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the illustrious Yamen. To what do I owe this honor?” Her tone was snide and sarcastic, and there was a slight amount of rasp in it.

“Hello, Ira. It’s been a while.” Yamen was as characteristically laid back as ever, though he was on a higher alert than normal. His eyes darted left and right in the dark space, looking for any signs of an ambush.

The room was impossible to see, as most of it was obscured by shadows, the only source of light coming from a few flame cauldrons around Ira’s throne. His voice echoed in the space, suggesting that it was extremely large, though just how large was impossible to deduce by sight. Again, he didn’t need to. Yamen had seen the Transvaal guild hall several times, and each time he had, his life had been on the line.

“Not long enough. Now, what is so important that you think you can just waltz into my guild?” Ira asked. Her voice was harsh, but there was a certain playfulness to it that made the hair on Yamen’s neck stand on end.

“Well, strange as this is going to sound, I have a favor to ask you.” A silence fell between them for a moment before Ira burst out laughing.

“You, the man that I hate more than anyone else in this world, wants to ask ME for a favor? Are you stupid?” Her tone was hysterical, and she leaned back against a stack of pillows that stood on the altar like stage.

Yamen made no response, instead opting to stand with his hands casually in his pockets. Though it had been almost imperceptible, he had seen something move high above him and to the right. He knew it could only be one of the other Six Sisters getting into position to attack as soon as Ira gave the word.

When she had finished laughing, Yamen took a step forward and trained an even gaze on her.

“You don’t hate me, Ira. Much as you may want to, we both know that it’s not true.” A wide grin formed on her face and she gave a non-committal shrug.

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t give you the right to just ask a favor of me without offering anything in return.” Yamen gave a short huff and leaned back.

“Who said I was asking you to do this pro-bono? I know better than to implore the help of the Six Sisters without offering a reward fit for a king…or should I say queen.” Ira sat quite for a moment, considering his words before waving him off with the back of her hand.

“Very well. Speak.”

“I need you and your sisters to train one of my members. They need a lot of help to get up to the level of the rest of Crestfallen, and though I don’t want to admit it, I couldn’t think of anyone better for the job than Transvaal’s legendary guild master.”

“You were always so good at flattery, but why would I help you to boost Crestfallen’s power, when it’s been my goal to see you and your guild fall?” Yamen crossed his arms and shifted the majority of his weight to the left leg.

“Oh, I think you’ll be more interested when you find out that I’m asking you to train our Princess.” Again, Ira flew into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. The fit that seized her was so powerful that it nearly knocked her off of her own throne.

“What’s that? Sentina not able to cut it with the big kids anymore?” Yamen shook his head, taking a deep breath in before speaking.

“Sentina is no longer with us. We have a new Princess now, a girl by the name of Rin. She’s a new player to the game, and while she has potential, she has a long way to go before she could be considered elite.” Yamen said, his tone even. As if Ira hadn’t had enough reasons to hate Yamen, she had always resented Crestfallen for winning the attention of the Dev’s to a degree sufficient enough to allow them to let the guild create not only their own event, but their own item as well. She had been trying to accomplish this for some time, but had been narrowly beat out by Yamen and his guild. As rumor had it, it had been a persuasive email to one of the lead developers from Yamen that had finally pushed the team over the edge and convinced them to allow Crestfallen to run the event.

“What’s that? Your special snowflake quit on you, and you decided to replace her with a noob? Forget my earlier question, I know that you’re stupid. I guess Transvaal won’t have far to go to completely erase the name of Crestfallen. Clearly you guys have left all standards and respect behind. I have to say though, I’m a little hurt. You were looking to fill the Princess of Crestfallen spot, and you didn’t even ask me. I would have said no, of course, but it’s nice to be asked.” Ira’s tone was condescending and cruel, and a dark smile touched her pale lips.

Yamen smiled and lowered his head.

“I guess I can’t say that I’m surprised, but I am a bit disappointed.” He raised his head again and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “I won’t take up any more of your time.” He said as he turned to leave. Ira’s voice stopped him where he was.

“What are you going to give me for the time that you’ve already wasted?” A moment’s pause afforded him no time to respond before she continued. “Trick question, I’ve already decided what the punishment for such an offense should be.” With that, an arrow flew from the rafters and exploded with a fiery blast at Yamen’s feet. Clearly expecting the assault, Yamen leaped out of the way at the last second.

Raising his hand, Yamen whispered a quick incantation and a ball of light formed in his open palm. He threw it upwards, and it floated towards the ceiling, casting a warm radiance across the interior of the guild.

Above him, a maze of beams and narrow walkways could be seen stretching across the length of the room. They were oriented in all different ways, with some being diagonal, some being vertical, and some being horizontal. Clearly, this served as a sort of obstacle course battle arena.

This was the chosen terrain of Transvaal. Many players had met their ends on these narrow catwalks as they became disoriented with where they were and were easily picked off by the experienced women that called the guild home.

All across these beams, five red haired women could be seen. They were of varying ages and heights, but it was clear that they were all related to one another.

Yamen casually looked up at them and nodded.

“Vasari, Mayuri, Amari, Milara, and Melody, it’s good to see you all again. How have you been?” There was a slight hint of sarcasm present in his tone, and this was met with yet another arrow being shot at his chest. Again, he easily dodged the attack, sliding to a stop near the altar where he had started. For her part, Ira leaped into the air, coming to rest on one of the lower beams before systematically hopping up successively higher beams until she had taken her place about half way up the large cylindrical dome that was the Transvaal guild hall.

“You have come into my home and disrespected me by wasting my time.” Ira said as a dark smile worked its way over her face. It was the most sinister that Yamen had ever seen her look, and he had to admit that even though she was young and small, she still made a rather intimidating picture. “I’ve wanted to kill you with my own hands for as long as I’ve known you, but now I finally have a reason. You’ve come into my world now, bud, and you aren’t going to leave it alive.”

Yamen leaned back and placed his hand on the sword that spawned at his side.

“Very well, what’s it to be then? Honorable combat, or six on one?” Ira’s face contorted into a dark scowl. When she spoke, her words came out as a hiss.

“You don’t deserve honor.” The words had no sooner left her mouth before two of the sisters stood up, raising their elegant bows and firing a volley of arrows at the blonde man below them.

His movements appeared liquid as he easily weaved through the openings in their attacks. As he neared the wall, he dashed forward, banking off the cold stones and rolling onto the first layer of metal beams. Again, the two raised their bows and fired volley after volley at him.

His first attacker was also the tallest and oldest of the sisters. Millara was a strong and independent woman that had first met Yamen in ALfheim online. They were fighting on opposing sides, and he had single handedly defeated her entire force. This eventually led to a one on one duel between the two. She had been impressed with his fluid movements, and customized evasion skills. His dodging skills had been so on point that she had originally accused him of somehow cheating. When the SAO expansion launched, she again came into contact with him, and again, he had managed to get past her defenses and defeat her when no one else she had faced could. Millara was not as mean spirited as her sister Ira, and the rivalry that she held with Yamen was far more innocent in nature. She simply wanted to fight him again because he was one of the few players in the game that had ever bested her in combat.

The second archer was the shortest and youngest of the sisters. Yamen had first met Melody in the Town of Beginnings market place before Transvaal had even been formed. All six of the sisters had been traveling together, and it was then that Ira declared that she was forming her own guild, one that would personally take down Crestfallen.

Of all the Six Sisters, Melody was the kindest and most passive. She was not particularly interested in fighting, and though she also held the title as one of the strongest female characters, she preferred to avoid fighting all together if she could. She had no personal qualms with Yamen, but was simply doing what her sister told her to do.

The attacks came in such perfect succession that each arrow nearly struck him, with several even grazing his cloak. Still, none of them managed to find purchase. This barrage continued for nearly two minutes before Ira held up a hand. Instantly, the attacks stopped. By now, Yamen had worked his way up several levels, even moving over top of them at several points. He had managed to move to the same level that Ira herself stood on, and their gazes now met.

He was not allowed to maintain her stare long, however, as a massive blade sailed past his head as he nimbly back stepped. The sword was a single edged red great sword, the edge of which was jagged in a hocked, nearly serrated pattern. The top of the sword was black, while the lower blade and guard were of a blood red coloration. Three gems of increasing size stretched from the hilt, extending nearly a foot up the length of the weapon.

The girl who held this blade was known as Vasari. At only fifteen years of age, she had already managed to earn several in game records and accolades, including several PVP championships. She wore a red dress who’s straps were crossed over her shoulders with an almost patchwork design, leading to the V-cut chest. Black belts and accents added to the overall design of the garment, and red and black legging served as her pants. She wore long black and red gloves that stretched nearly to her shoulders, and a short waist cape trailed behind her, secured by several black belts with silver rivets and red trimming.

Her golden eyes were a bit dull, showing little interest or emotion. Yamen knew that this was not indicative of the quality of their fight, as she always appeared this way. Only once had he ever seen her show much interest in anything, and that was when he had beaten Ira in battle. Long, straight red hair danced through the air as she swung with precision strikes at Yamen’s vital points. Again, he was able to narrowly dodge her attacks, twisting out of the range of her sweeping blows.

In the dark arena, it was difficult to keep track of all six girls as they moved throughout the various levels of the arena with practiced steps. Vasari raised her blade, nearly disappearing behind it. Then, without warning, she stepped to the side, dropping off the rails. From behind her, the next sister emerged, extending her long, narrow blade towards Yamen’s eye.

A white flash exploded through the arena as her crimson blade struck his white katana. A faint smile registered on his face as, for the first time that fight, he had been forced to draw his sword. This newest assailant was Mayuri. Even though she was only sixteen years old, she was the most rational, responsible, and level headed of all Six Sisters. She served not only as the guilds principle counselor, she was also in charge of the guilds accounts, and keeping her other sisters from making rash decisions. On top of that, she was one of the top players in terms of technique, and she had created several original sword skills. These unconventional attacks had won her nearly every fight that she engaged in, and made her somewhat of a legend among causals and hardcore players alike.

Ruby eyes stared out at him from long, straight red hair. Two large black bows were tied into her tresses near her ears. These bows matched the bows that were affixed at the collar of her long black-trimmed, red coat, and on the back of her coat at the waist. She wore a black ruffled skirt, black tights, and tall brown boots.

Yamen’s seasoned eye had tracked down all five that had attacked him thus far, leaving only one sister. Ironically, this was the sister that he was most concerned about. She was largely unknown in terms of infamy, as most who faced her were killed so quickly that they weren’t even able to see her name; the assassin of Transvaal, Amari.

It was then that the real attacks began. Melody, Millara, Vasari, and Mayuri moved in unison, closing the distance between him, and cutting off his ability to dodge or evade. Yamen took a deep breath and readied himself. He smiled as the realization of his situation hit him – now, he could finally let loose.

Sheathing his sword, he dropped his stance low. His hand glowed a pale blue as he activated one of his originally created sword skills. As Vasari and Mayuri’s swords neared him, his arm moved on its own, slicing effortlessly at the perfect angle to catch both blades. More than that, their weapons were knocked upwards, leaving them open. With effortless movements Yamen twisted, delivering a sharp kick to Vasari’s ribs, while grasping Mayrui’s long red hair and forcing her off the narrow plank that they were standing on. He then leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding the arrows from Melody and Millara.

Before he was even able to touch the ground, Vasari was on him again, and he parried her blows with his blade, being knocked back slightly with the force of each swing. Despite her slight frame, Vasari was extremely powerful and could out-muscle men over three times her size. However, in much the same way that they suffered, this meant that her strength stat was high, but her speed was far lower. Evading her blows was easy, but he knew that he was going to have to think fast if he was going to survive the onslaught of both Mayuri and Vasari. The two had fought side by side in MMO’s for years, and they knew each other’s movements perfectly. They were capable of unleashing attacks that perfectly complimented one another, making fighting them together a near impossibility. As Vasari swung down, Yamen moved inward, stepping towards the attack. The tactic was unusual, and the red haired girl eyed him curiously. Moving his blade up, he slammed the bottom of the hilt into her elbow, causing the arm to collapse, and the weapon do drop straight down instantly. It was just in time, as the falling blade caught the strike of the now rebounded Mayuri. Cursing slightly, she was once again pushed off the bridge by a roundhouse kick from Yamen. As he spun, he delivered a quick jab to Vasari’s solar plexus. The wind was instantly knocked out of her, and he leaped upwards, gaining ground on the next level of bridges.

The whole interaction had taken less than three seconds, and to most players watching, it would have seemed as nothing more than a blur.

The blonde haired teen was given little more than a second to recover before Millara was on top of him. It was unusual for archers to opt for close quarters, but he could see that she was aware that ranged combat wouldn’t work in this environment. There were just too many ways for Yamen to quickly move around, and trapping a man who was known for his evasiveness was going to be no easy task. Thus, she had closed the distance between them while he had been struggling with her sisters. In her right hand, she held a small dagger and she aimed it for directly in between his ribs.

Millara was a tall, fit girl who wore a long, strapless red dress. A black ruffled lace pattern served as the upper trimming of the dress, while a deep burgundy skirt composed the lower half of the garnet. A burgundy bow was tied with a silver cross at her chest and she wore black gloves that reached nearly to her elbows. Around her neck she wore a black choker, and her deep red hair was tied back into a long ponytail. Long bangs framed her bright blue eyes, and a confident smile adorned her full lips.

Yamen watched her coming, and time seemed to move in slow motion. It was too easy, and she knew it. Not only would he be able to easily avoid the attack, he could also deal a potentially lethal counter attack in the process. He knew that she would be aware of this, and so if she was going for such an easy strategy, there had to be another reason. His thoughts immediately traveled to the missing sister, Amari. Even if she didn’t appear at this time, Ira had yet to attack, and this opening would provide the perfect opportunity to jump into the fray. Whatever it was that she intended, Yamen knew that he couldn’t attack. To do so would surely mean his own death. Even if he didn’t know exactly where it was coming from, he knew that there was another strike trained on him. So, if he couldn’t dodge and he couldn’t attack, there was only one thing that he could do. Gritting his teeth, he turned toward the red haired archer and stepped into the attack. The blade pierced his side, though he twisted so that it would avoid his vitals.

It was then that she appeared – cloaked in a black leather outfit, Amari’s long blade swung down towards his back. She had long, wavy red hair that extended to the middle of her back, and her ruby eyes stared out from beneath a red and gold scarf that covered the lower portions of her face. Over the formfitting black leather suit, a large black and red cloak flowed with the wind of her strike. Large red belts clinked against each other as they hung from the coat, and her pearl skin glistened in the low light of the arena. The leather jumpsuit was composed of an upper and a lower half, with the upper half cutting into two halves at the waist, leaving a portion of her stomach exposed on each side. A wide strip of leather extended from the center of her abdomen, connecting the upper and lower half of the garment.

Yamen’s reaction was instant. With the blade still embedded in his side, he grasped Millara’s hand, spinning her around so quickly that she fell under the blade of her own sister. The sound was deafening as metal caught metal. For once, even Yamen was surprised, and he looked up to see Mayuri’s blade holding Amari’s sword mere centimeters above Millara’s shoulder.

Then came Vasari, leaping up from the right side of the beams and delivering a strong blow straight down at Yamen. Trapped between the three women, he could do nothing but raise his sword to block. In terms of pure strength, Vasari was far superior to him, and he felt something give in his shoulder as her thunderous attack connected with his blade. He lurched to the side, dragging Millara with him.

The knife was still in him, and though it allowed him to keep ahold of her, it also prevented him from doing any sort of agile movement. Raising his sword once again, he swung toward Millara, releasing her hand at the same time. The attack was a feint, as his damaged shoulder had no power behind it, and he would have therefore been able to deal her almost no damage. Still, it had been enough to cause the eldest sister to abandon her captive and jump back to the safety of a higher beam. Yamen fell sideways, passing through several layers of beams before landing on one roughly five levels from the bottom.

Grasping his shoulder, he pulled hard, snapping the bone back into place, restoring use to his arm, though the pain caused him to momentarily close his eyes in a deep grimace. This had been enough time for the flame haired assassin to make her next move. Amari appeared in front of Yamen so quickly that any normal player wouldn’t have been able to even register that anything had happened. Yamen, however, was no normal player, and he quickly activated a sword skill, parrying her attack and using nimble footwork to work his way around her. Now behind her, he brought his blade down in a quick strike. His attack found little purchase, however as an arrow connected with the side of his sword, knocking it off course, causing him to only graze Amari’s shoulder. His eyes quickly traveled up the trajectory of the projectile to see Melody standing some twenty feet up, her bow still raised in recoil.

Yamen had been on the defensive since this fight had begun, and though this was where he was usually most comfortable, in this case he felt like he was getting nowhere. A diving attack from Vasari cemented this sentiment as he was once again forced to retreat.

In a one on one match, any one of the Six Sisters would be able to provide an ample challenge for even the most experienced fighters. When they were all together, it was like kicking a bee hive and then trying to fight the individual insects. If he let down his guard for even a second, he would be overwhelmed by the barrage of attacks that seemed to come from every direction.

Quickly glancing up at his health, Yamen was surprised to see that the attack he had suffered had taken a little less than a fourth of his overall health. Even though it wasn’t her primary weapon, Millara still had a surprising amount of power behind her strikes.

The attacks continued to come for several more minutes, and though he was able to counter attack a few times, he was using most of his energy to dodge and avoid. This wasn’t unnatural for his fighting style, but he ordinarily was able to perfectly control the battlefield. This time, he was the away team, and he was trying to fight a group of players that did nothing but train together on their own turf. To say the least, it was a challenge.

As he moved throughout the obstacle course, his eye occasionally caught Ira’s. She was fuming. The fact that Yamen had survived alone for this long against her sisters was not only unthinkable, but maddening. She was finally coming to grips with just how powerful the ace of Crestfallen really was. There was no mistake that he had been declared one of the strongest players in the game for good reason, and she began to suspect that the rumors about him never having been killed might be true.
As the five sisters moved towards him at once, he again activated a sword skill and seemed to vanish from in front of them. They quickly scanned the area, but for all their efforts, they couldn't catch so much as a glimpse of him.

High above them, Yamen crouched low on a beam. In the darkness, he was almost completely invisible. They, on the other hand, were not. The light that was cast by the fire which burned in the ornate torches around the throne was sufficient for him to see each one of the five sisters.

Just a few moments ago, Yamen had activated a sword skill that he had spent weeks perfecting. It was an original sword skill that had first been invented by Sentina Anshee, the former Princess of Crestfallen. She had used it in a friendly duel between them, and he complimented her on it so highly, that she was willing to share it with him. His mind trailed for but a moment to the enigma that was their former princess. At times, she could be selfless and kind, and at others, she was the most cruel, ruthless person he had ever met.

He was not left long to his musings, however, as he caught a quick movement out of the corner of his eye. By the time he was fully aware of what was happening, Ira’s glaive was mere centimeters away from his face. He leaned back, allowing it to sail harmlessly past him, but was knocked from his high perch by a hard kick to the head by the flame haired master of Transvaal.

Her actions were so fast, and her flexibility so extreme that even he was unable to dodge her surprise attack. Twisting in the air, he managed to catch himself on a row of planks two layers down. He looked up at her with bored eyes, and a slight smile formed on his face.

“So, you’ve finally decided to jump in and do something? It’s about time.” He mocked as he shouldered his blade. The fact that another player had joined the fight was bad enough, but given that it was someone as strong as Ira, he knew that he would need to use tactics beyond simple might if he was going to stay alive.

Luckily, one thing that he knew how to exploit was the weakness in others. He could see from where he was standing that Ira’s temper was at a boiling point. She was enraged that he had once again made a mockery of her guild. The strongest members of Transvaal had been unable to kill a single man, even though they were ganging up on him and fighting in their own environment.

The five below them had by now begun to make their way up the various layers of the arena, but they were stopped by a dismissive wave from Ira.

“I can’t trust any of you to do this right, so I’m going to do it myself. If any one of you interferes, I’ll kill you myself.” The smile widened on Yamen’s face, and his stance relaxed perceptibly. He knew he had won.

“You’re gonna regret that, Ira. If all five of your sisters couldn’t take me, how do you possibly believe that you’ll beat me alone? Do you really think that you’re stronger than the rest of your family put together?” Ira grit her teeth and lowered her stance, readying to attack.

“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Her words came out as a hiss and she burst forward. Her movement was like an eruption as she slammed her glaive on the metal beam, triggering a fiery explosion that propelled her forward with incredible speed. She flew off of the beam that she had been standing on and fell down towards Yamen with a powerful downward thrust. The blonde haired man readied his sword and stepped back, dragging his own blade down her weapon and throwing her off balance. Amazingly, she seemed completely un-phased, tumbling on the ground before rolling back on to her feet. Before she had even readied her stance again, she gave a quick jab with her weapon. Again, Yamen was able to deflect it.

When it came to one on one fights, he was seldom surprised. Rather, he was able to not only predict what the other player was going to do, but he was often able to set up counter measures to deflect and counter attack, often several moves in advance.

For the next several moments, the two titans traded blows, Ira using a flame infused weapon to attempt to scorch Yamen, while the latter played defensively, countering her attacks and moving for a strike only when an opening presented itself. As they fought, he systematically moved his way closer to the other sisters that were watching the battle from below. When he was within roughly ten feet of the group, his eyes left the battlefield and traveled instead to his intended target.

Standing with shoulder length red hair and violet eyes, Melody watched the fight intently, studying the combatant’s movements. However, she was not prepared for Yamen’s attack. As Ira moved to strike at him, he fell backwards, lunging towards the youngest member of Transvaal. Her shocked gaze reflected in the white blade for only a moment before it was eclipsed in a rain of sparks. Four blades pinned Yamen’s weapon as each of the remaining sisters moved to protect their unprepared family member.

Once the immediate danger had past, Millara, Amara, and Vasari grabbed Melody and pulled her backwards to safety, allowing Mayuri to shift to the front. She shouldered her weapon, using the full force of her body to glance the blow sideways.

Ira was just a step behind, closing in on Yamen’s back. Mayuri’s eyes spread wide in shock as he didn’t even try to dodge. He didn’t have to. The attack was never meant for him. Ira sailed past him with blurring speed, heading directly for Mayuri. As soon as she was within striking distance she delivered a hard kick to her sister’s side, knocking her to the ground and sending her sliding across the floor.

“What did I say!? I said he was mine and that you were not to interfere!” Raising her boot, she thrust it down towards her sister’s head. The strike found no purchase, however, as Vasari moved to block the blow.

“Ira, what are you….” She was not given time to finish speaking before Ira swung her glaive, catching Vasari in the gut with the hilt. It unbalanced the red haired girl, forcing her to stumble sideways.

“Don’t interfere!” Ira was screaming now, and swung wildly at Vasari who had recovered only second after the strike and was moving towards her sister again. Their blades clashed, only to be unseated from one another by an upward strike from Mayuri who was now standing again. She looked to her sister with imploring eyes.

“Ira, stop. He’s playing us against each other!” Clarity struck Ira’s eyes at her sister’s words, and her breath caught in her throat as she heard Yamen’s voice from behind her.

“Well, it was entertaining at the very least.” His mocking stung, but not nearly as much as the blade that pierced her back. She could feel the cold steel working its way deeper into her flesh as the blond haired man drove his sword onward. Her health began to plummet, losing 20%, then 30%, then 50%. By the time that his blade was stopped by Amari’s sword, he had taken almost 75% of her health.

It was impossible. How could he have been able to get behind her and attack in the perfect place where she would be unable to retaliate? The realization sunk in that without her sisters there to save her, she would have been killed in one hit. Rage filled her eyes, but her body collapsed, falling into the waiting arms of Millara who quickly moved backwards, leaving Amari, Vasari, and Mayuri to hold off Yamen.

Sheathing his blade, Yamen rested his dominant had on his hip and leaned back some.

“There’s no reason for us to continue fighting. Let’s just end this before someone gets hurt.” The three sisters stood at the ready, preparing to attack when a weak voice from Ira froze them where they were.

“You think you can come into my guild, demand that I train one of your members, the very rank of which insults me, and then try to just run away? I don’t think so. You’re going to die here, Yamen, and no amount of cheap tricks will save you.” She forced herself to her feet and staggered a few steps towards him. “You got a few lucky shots in…good for you, but it isn’t going to be enough to save you.” Silence fell over the room as she looked at each one of her sisters. “I know that you’ve all been holding back up until this point because you don’t really want to fight him, but I want you to fight at your full strength from here on in. This isn’t just to knock this pompous jerk off his lofty perch…this is for the honor of the Transvaal guild.”

All weapons were drawn, and with a battle cry worthy of an army, the Six Sisters of Transvaal moved in on the Ace of Crestfallen. Steel met steel, creating a symphony that would dominate all other sounds in the guild hall for the next hour, and as the sun stood high in the sky, the true battle began.

§

When Yamen stepped out of the Transvaal guild hall, it was nearing late afternoon. His health was at a mere fraction of what it normally was, his body was tired, and his clothes were tattered and burned. His hair fell in front of his eyes, darkening his gaze, and hiding the upper part of his face from view. He paused at the entrance and took a deep breath in. A dark, sinister smile formed on his face and he raised his shaking arms, allowing them to fall into his ripped pockets.

“Mission accomplished.” As he walked away from the massive castle like structure, no sounds were heard from inside.  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga leaned back against the railing that ran along the long river which snaked its way through one of the districts of the Town of Beginnings. The sun was waning as early evening set in, and Kaiyaga took comfort in the moment of silence. He knew that Eve would be joining him soon, but he didn’t mind. Despite their differences, he found the young girl to be an amusing companion.

They had spent the afternoon in a bar together, drinking casually, though speaking relatively little. The atmosphere had been timid, but not tense.

“I wonder if she’s finally warming up to me?” He mused silently to himself. He glanced out over the water which had now been turned to a blazing sea of fire with the reflection of the setting sun.

Kaiyaga had told Eve where he was going, and had stepped out a few moments before her to get some air.

His mind played over the coming conversation, and though he was generally pretty good at reading people, he wasn’t entirely sure how it would go. There was a chance that it would be very pedestrian and smooth, or that she would freak out and act insulted. Regardless of what happened, he knew that he would have to speak with her soon if he didn’t want to lose his chance.