The Red Player (A Sword Art Online story)

Chapter 21: Brink of Destruction

Chapter 21: Brink of Destruction

Miki

So this is the great Piifalo, huh? I'll admit he's quite interesting, considering his feats, yet I can't help but wonder why Akihiko Kayaba would create me simply for someone like him! Was Daisuke not enough to keep him down? Now is a perfect opportunity to break him myself...

"Yeah, I'm Miki... sorry for lying earlier, Ashas!" I exclaim, bowing down before her. I can't keep the smirk off my face with my head to the ground. She's so simple!

"No no! Don't worry about it!" She shakes her head rapidly. "I can understand why you would have to do that."

I show her a wide and excited smile at this. At this rate I can make her do whatever-

"Hey!" Piifalo's loud voice interrupts me. "I came here for a reason damn it... you're that reason!" His voice is ragged and out of breath from his fight, but I'm glad to see where this is going. He stands up, stumbling along the way. "You're too strong... that's why I'm going to shut you down, right here."

It's not as though I wasn't expecting him to challenge me, but he's so horribly... crass, and gauche about it! I can hardly contain my mirth, even allowing myself a small chuckle.

"I" You're "would" hardly "be" worth "honored," my "but..." time. "In you're condition, could you perform at your best?"

"Don't worry about me," he says, but his palpitating chest begs to differ. He opens up his inventory to the items section and pulls out an item of which he has only one. A health potion. Without hesitation he drains the bottle and smashes it to the ground. His health meter refills completely.

I take a step back at this and run my hand through my white snow-covered hair. If my information is correct, that was the first health potion he has consumed since entering the game! I'll have more fun crushing you than I thought if you'll take the fight this seriously!

Piifalo pushes Ashas' hand aside as she tries to stop him. "Something about this guy..." He says to her with a cocky smile. "I don't trust him for second. It'll be my fault if you die at the hand of this b*stard..."

At first she appears to be quite taken aback by his defiance, she soon accepts his decision. My my... these two have built up quite the consanguinity with each other, despite everything Piifalo has done. That much is evident.

"Very well then," I say confidently. "I accept your challenge. Shall we continue the contest until one of us cedes?"

"That works for me," He says, unwavering.

Idiot. Laugh to myself. 18 levels below me and he challenges me. This is not just confidence, not even arrogance. He is nothing more than a fool asking to die.

"By all means..." I gesture for him to make the first move.

He nods reassurance to Ashas before turning back to me. His eyes are narrowed down, filled with unmistakable intensity. A moment later he seems to vanish.

This must be his combat reflexes hidden ability, amplified by Bloodrush. However that will only get you so far... Immediately I spin around, and sure enough he's directly behind me with wide and surprised eyes. In a single swift motion I slide my longbow down off my shoulder and into my arms. I loose an arrow aimed straight for his right leg. At only 4 meters away he scarcely has time to move out of the way, and the tip slashes his thigh.

He lands into a roll on all fours in the snow. He stares at me, panting hard. He thinks and acts exactly like an animal on the hunt... his reflexes are beyond compare!

It doesn't take long for him to charge at me once again, this time straightforward with a slash attack. I easily raise my shield to deflect the attack, countering with a stab from my short sword. The blade manages to graze his right rib cage, and his health falls to 7/8.

"You'll have to do a little better than that to beat me, Piifalo. You're trying to kill me, right? You're trying to fulfill that promise to that sister of yours by protecting Ashas, aren't you? Don't tell me you're... hesitant?"

Immediately unprecedented rage floods his body in a silent eruption. "What the hell did you say... I don't think I heard you right... How could you possibly know that?" His body shakes with great ferocity. The look in his eyes is one of limitless bloodlust. "Just tell me... who the hell are you, and how do you know about me?"

I sigh deeply. "It seems in all the excitement I gave away too much information. Oh well, I suppose I can't be helped now. I've been sent by Akihiko Kayaba, who happens to have a wealth of knowledge, as you can imagine. He shared a bit of his fortune with me and now I know everything there is to know about you." He doesn't need to know that I'm an NPC, not yet. "Everything that has happened to you in this game since you started, I've seen it all!" I pause for a moment to laugh at his loss of words.

"In case you're having some trouble understanding, let's just say that Kayaba is the sun, and I am the moon, Miki. I am merely a reflection of his light, but I still have total control over you. Even your biggest wave; a tsunami will never be greater than me. I can manipulate you however I want..." I shoot him a sharp sneer, but he remains unmoving. Throughout my entire explanation his shoulders shaking was his only movement.

"Shut up," He suddenly says scathingly.

I turn my head sideways, confused.

"I said shut up. You've seen my entire time in this game, haven't you? If you think I'm angry because you're a little stronger than me, or because you've been watching me, then you haven't been taking notes during your little film study. If you dare to mock my weakness, or my sister again, then I swear I will paint this snow red with your blood."

I stand for a few moments in silence, allowing the storm blow between us. He really is more interesting than I had anticipated. Quite defensive, I must say. He's on the brink of destruction, I can tell. I can only hope that I will be the one to spark it.

Suddenly Akihiko Kayaba's voice shoots into my head. "Get on with it!" He says. "This is getting too slow. Show him your arm..." I smirk at his ever present impatience.

"Hey Piifalo," I call to him. He doesn't bother with a response, merely turning his eyes slightly forward to face me. "I have a... rather peculiar tattoo on my arm, would you care to see it?"

Without waiting for the reply I know would never come, I pull the sleeve up on my right arm. Printed boldly in black ink is a coffin, beside itself with laughter. The mark of the Laughing Coffin guild.

End of Chapter 21. I wish I had the vocabulary of Miki. I hope you enjoyed! This chapter might not have been perfectly executed, but I tried :p. I forgot to mention, this town is called Stirmachs town. Care to guess what it's an anagram of?