The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

Clashing Guilds Arc: Chapter 46 - Clash of Guilds

Asuna stared at her intercepted rapier for a brief moment, before returning to lock her eyes with me. I could sense determination in them, but not them way one would normally think. She wouldn't back down from trying to capture me, even in such a situation.

"...Player kills are a serious offence, do you know that?" She shot at me through gritted teeth. It seemed like her emotions were starting to get the better of her.

"I know." I replied, as calmly as I could. "But you went and assumed that I committed this offence. It's not fair for me not to explain my side of the story, especially in front of so many players..."

Taking a single step forward, I focused my stare back at Asuna's eyes. I might have looked villainous as I spouted my next sentence in front of the KoB vice commander.

"...But you aren't gonna buy that, are you?"

The moment I noticed that the pupils in Asuna's eyes had shrunk, I should have backed off. Fast.

Her rapier shot up, throwing off Misuko's axe as if it had no weight. Shocked by the force that suddenly caught her off guard, Misuko fell onto the ground.

In a speed no naked eye could follow, Asuna's rapier enveloped itself in blue light, piercing through the air, directly at me like a pouncing snake. I saw the rage on her face just before her rapier blocked the view, as she shot forth towards me.

The first hit struck me at my left arm, but before the second hit could reach me, a big body rushed past me, blocking the strikes completely.

I would have expected red light effects to have appeared where I was struck, but a purple window popped out instead, titled "Immortal Object", disappearing right after.

I would have forgotten that I was in a safe zone, if not for the fact that that happened. I was just too absorbed in my speech against Asuna. But I still felt the force of that strike, which had sent me several metres back onto the ground.

As I looked ahead, I saw a player holding his shield out front. It was Nicholas, standing his ground as he tried to recover from the remaining force that was meant for me to take.

The next moment saw all hell breaking loose.

The weapons being brandished. The brawls starting off. The players from both guilds crashed against each other in a mess of purple windows popping out, wherever there was a hit of any body part.

In other words, it was a damageless battle. The only way to gain the victor was to blow your opponents off with an impact stronger than theirs.

"Zen, get up!" Misuko shouted across the chaos. She was going blade to blade with Asuna, as both girls struggled to force each other to the ground.

I stood up, my left arm held at a strange angle. No player from the KoB had come at me yet, probably because their numbers were being overwhelmed by ours.

"That quest! You should know where it is!" Misuko shouted again, as she blocked a flurry of slashes from Asuna. "Now go!"

Nodding discreetly, I bolted for the nearest exit in the town square. As much as I didnt want to leave my fellow guild mates, it had to be done.

All was going according to plan.

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28 October 2023

Horizon's Edge guild base, 30th Floor

"...Demand?" I asked.

"Yeah," Misuko explained. "The KoB has demanded for you to surrender yourself to them for their investigations."

She sighed as she announced that, planting her hands onto the round table as she stood overseeing Narnia and the company leaders.

"Thats to be expected." Narnia speculated. "It's not like they can just treat the incident as any other."

"And for that," Misuko continued. "Theyre asking to meet us in the town square in Nolfret, the 39th Floor. 3 days from now."

"Are you sure it's not an invitation to a party"? Nicholas leaned on his chair.

"It's no joke." Misuko crossed her fingers together. "They're most certainly going to bring their forces in this serious situation."

"Indeed." Krieg added. "As long as the Knights of the Blood Oath is the strongest guild around, they will not hesitate to use their power to get want they want."

The round table went silent once more. I broke the silence, amid the frustration showing on their faces.

"At least we're meeting up in a safe zone. They don't want anyone getting hurt."

"True." Misuko pondered at that fact. "But that would mean that they would bring more manpower to the scene, just to show dominance. They have all the reasons not to hold back in this case."

"What about the Lycan Mark?" Nicholas asked with concern.

"I believe that they will not interfere, since most of their members have orange cursors." Krieg answered. "Even if there is a slight possibility that a few of them are green, they won't make quite an impact in the scene."

He then touched the tip of his black cap, turning his darkened face at Misuko.

"There is also that quest that we need to discuss, my lady."

"You mean the one you found a few days ago?" Misuko asked.

"Affrimative. It is located in a forest on the 39th Floor. A 10-minute walk from Nolfret, I would estimate. I believe obtaining the quest reward for that quest would solve the mystery of this incident completely."

"It would, in theory." I nodded. "But didn't you say yesterday that the quest becomes active on random days?"

"It does." Krieg replied. "But I do not think that it would pass up the chance of being active on Halloween, which certainly is 3 days later. But please bear in mind that this is just my empty guess."

"You mean a gamble." Nicholas commented.

Misuko stood listening to our discussion with utter focus. Having heard enough, she lifted her hands from the round table, as everyone noticed her actions.

"We need a plan." Misuko declared. "And here's one that I propose. We bring as many of us from all the Companies as we can to meet the KoB. Assuming the Lycan Mark doesn't interfere, we'll start a brawl right in the middle of that town square."

"A commotion...no, distraction." I deduced.

"That's right." She looked at me. "Our objective here is to make sure you complete that quest without anyone in your way."

"Why can't we all just go to complete it then, before the meet-up?" Narnia asked.

"It would be very risky." Krieg lowered his cap in concern. "If the KoB found out, they would chase us into the forest. And there certainly will be blood spilled if we were to pick a fight with them in a field dungeon."

Misuko nodded as she planted her hands on the table again, her seriousness reverbating through the room.

"Any objections to this plan?"

No one stood to protest.

"Alright!" She then turned to me. "You'll do the honours for starting that brawl, won't you?"

For a moment, I thought I felt a cheeky sparkle at the end of her words.

"By whatever means necessary?" I asked.

All I got from Misuko was a simple smile in response.

"Heh." I finally placed my arms on the round table, clearly knowing my role in the plan.

"I won't hold back then."

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