The room was tense, with a total of 48 players standing around a stone table in the Labyrinth Dungeon. The Assault Team, gathered and led by Members of the Knight of Blood Oath, the largest guild in Aincrad, had assumed control after Nanu resigned as the organizer after floor 35. Not that there was a power struggle. Nanu gave the position to Heathcliff, the head of KoB, for his skill and strength on the battlefield. So now, Nanu was a simple grunt on the team. At this time, the Assault Team was preparing to raid the 60th Floor Boss. Nanu had already given the map to the Boss Room to the current second in command of KoB, an archer by the name of Yumi. But Nanu knows her simply as Nina.
Once the prep meeting was dealt with, the group is dismissed, and would be notified ahead of time of when the raid was ready to take place. Once everyone went their separate ways, Nanu immediately teleported to relax in a nearby field. And while partaking in said relaxation, he's spotted by Nina returning on foot. With a sigh, she walks over to him, and stands over his flicking sunlight, making him open his eyes. "What are you doing?" She asked with a scowl.
"Nunya." Nanu replied.
"What?"
"Nunya damn business." Nanu chuckles.
"Dude. There's a boss raid in a couple of days. Go level grind." Nina says.
"What are you, my mom? I've already reached the level cap for the Floor, so there's no point in that anymore." Nanu yawned. "And besides that, I'm not participating in this raid."
"What?!" Nina shouts.
"Yeah. Honestly, I'm kinda over it at this point."
"Over it...?! You realize this is life and death, right?! And this is going to be one of the toughest battles yet!"
"I'm sure KoB has plenty of competent players in its ranks. Hell, there's that other really good solo player as well. Ask her to carry you." Nanu sighs, still not getting up from his back. He was of course talking about his partner way back on Floor 1, Kiria.
"That's not the point! The faster we can clear this damn game, the faster everyone here can get back to the real world! And unlike a bum like you, SOME people have important businesses that needs dealing with in the real world!" Nina says.
This seemed to irritate Nanu, as he stands up and grabs Nina's collar. "Just shut your damn mouth already! If you're adamant about getting out, then YOU clear the game!" He snaps.
Nina retaliates by grabbing Nanu's collar back. "It's suicide to even TRY to attempt Floor Bosses alone and you know that!" She grabs his arm and makes him let go, releasing his collar as well. "God...! You're always the same, no matter if it's the real world or a virtual one. You know what you are? Lazy! Unlike you, I have to work my ass off to do everything in my life, whereas you get to roll in grass all day because your mother was too nice to be assertive with you! Maybe if you took things a little more seriously, that shielder you were with would still be alive!!"
"SHUT UP!!" Nanu shouts gripping his shield. "Just...leave me alone...!!" With that, still seething with rage, he walks off into the fields.
———
It's been a couple hours now. Nanu was still pissed off about what Nina had said to him. But deep down, he knew she was right. As he sat on a bench in the town, he stared down the shield he was given. "I'm sorry..." He says to the shield, as if it were Saori.
With a sigh, he soon hears footsteps approaching him. "Hey." Nina voice spoke up.
"What now?" He groans.
"I'm...sorry. For what I said before. I got too heated, and shouldn't have said that. So I'm sorry..." Nina bows for forgiveness, as Nanu just stares at her. "I didn't mean to pry open old scars..."
"No... What you said was...justified." Nanu admits.
Nina was silent, but she sat down on the bench next to him. "I'm sorry about what happened... I can understand why you'd be 'over it'... We haven't had a boss raid where we were casualty free since Floor 23... The fact that those people died like that...nobody deserves it... It's bound to take its toll on anyone at some point..." She says and looks at him. "Which is why we need to get out of here. So we don't lose any more players than we need to." With a dry gulp, she reaches over and places her hand on his. "We need your help, Nanu... I...need your help..."
Nanu looks at Nina, and for the first time, actually sees her. Not as the KoB second in command, not as his rival. But as a young woman in her 20s, just as scared and hurt as he is.
"It's okay to take a break. Just...don't disappear forever... Because whether you think so or not, there are a lot of players who you've had a positive impact on. Me, Kiria, Mecha, Uzume... And I'm sure there are a lot more." Nina stands up and reaches her hand out. "C'mon. Let's get some food. My treat."
Nanu stares for a moment. "Heh... Trying to talk you out of something is like talking to a brick wall, so I'll bite..." He says with a smile, then takes her hand.
"Oh shut it." Nina giggles as the two head to a nearby cafe to eat.
Once they sit down, they spent most of their time with witty banter. Hauling passive disses and light hits as they usually do. And once their meal was finished, the two walked the town a bit, until they heard a scream coming from the main plaza of the town. Concerned, they both rush over and spot a man hanging from the window of the clock tower, a sword lodged in his abdomen, and suspended by a rope under his arms. And from behind him, Nanu spots the silhouette of someone behind the window. They were wearing a hood, so it was impossible to identify them. Nanu rushes over, as the sight of the man falling spurred him into action.
"Nina, there's someone in the tower! You go after them!" Nanu calls and rushes to the falling man. Nina runs past him and enters the clock tower, rushing up multiple flights of stairs until she reaches the top. Once she's there, however, nobody was present. Nanu caught the man who fell, only for them to disappear in his arms the second Nanu touched him. The sword hits the ground with a loud clang.
"There's no one up here!" Nina calls back from the window.
"The hell...?!" Nanu looks around as he holds the murder weapon. He couldn't see anyone leaving the area, and he even check the rooftops of the surrounding houses. But nobody was around. He also scanned the players present, as it could have been a duel and the winner (the murderer) could still be here. Pretty soon, Nina comes down to ask questions, but Nanu had no answers.
"Somebody died while in a safe zone...? That shouldn't be possible!" Nina says.
"It shouldn't be, but we just witnessed it happen... The guy disappeared in my arms..." Nanu says and thinks.
"Could the sword you're holding have something to do with it?" Nina asked.
"Only one way to find out." Nanu says as they head off somewhere in town. To a tiny weapons shop owned by a tinier male.
"Well if it isn't my favorite customer?!" The blue haired femboy smiles.
"Hello Harper." Nanu says. "We came to do an appraisal." He states.
"Say no more! Hand it here and I'll give you the best analysis you could ask for." He smiles as the trio head up the stairs to a more private location. After the appraisal, Harper hands the sword back to Nanu. "It's just a regular sword." He says.
"Seriously? There's no special quality to it whatsoever?" Nina asked.
"Nope. Well, other than the fact that it was custom made." He says.
"Custom made? By who?" Nanu asked.
"A guy who goes by Grimlock." Harper says. "Oh, and the sword is named "Guilty Thorn" if that helps." He adds.
Nanu stares the sword down as he raises it up, about to stab his hand, but Nina stops him. "What the hell are you trying?!" She shouts.
"I just need to check something." Nanu says.
"Well don't do it to yourself, that thing's already killed one person!" She sighs.
"Yeah, but who in their right mind would say yes to "Hey, I need to test this sword, can I stab you real quick?" kind of question? If someone's gonna that the fall, it might as well be me." He says.
"That's not the point!" Nina sighs and snatched the sword away from Nanu. "Harper, hold onto that please. And don't even think about selling it to anyone until we know what's up!"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, okay, sure?" He says and takes the blade again.
"C'mon. Let's go and ask around if anyone knows the murder victim." Nina grabs Nanu's arm and drags him out before he can get any more ideas about stabbing himself.
———
After about an hour of asking around, the pair of players were approached by a woman with dark blue, wavy hair. Her name was Yoriko, and she was a member of the guild Golden Apple. Well, former member, as Golden Apple doesn't exist anymore. The guild disbanded about 6 months ago. The man who was killed, named Kians, was another member of the guild. After sitting down and having a talk with her, they hear the story about how her guild was disbanded. To cut a long story short, there were 8 members of Golden Apple. After killing a rare monster and receiving a rare ring drop from it, the members couldn't decide what to do with it. To sell it, or just keep it. In the end they held a vote, and 5 of the 8 members voted to sell it. 3 voted to keep it.
"Based on this information, I think it's possible to narrow down our suspects." Nanu says.
"Or the next possible victims." A woman's voice sounded behind the two, making them look back.
"Athena?" Nanu wondered. "Why are you here?"
Athena Kanzaki. Nanu's twin sister and a master swordswoman, wielding katana swords rather than the typical European long sword. She's a very intelligent woman, and a detective in the real world. If anyone is smart enough to figure out a murder mystery, it would be her. As to why she's even here, Nanu told her all about his time in the SAO beta test, and the idea excited her as well, resulting in her getting trapped too.
"Perfect timing, Athena." Nina smiles.
"Of course. I couldn't say no to a request from you." The purple haired woman smiles and leans against a table next theirs. "So, we have the murder weapon and the suspects. We just need a motive."
"Right. If Grimlock made the sword, then it's safe to assume he'd be targeting the the people who knew about the ring they got, right?" Nanu asked.
"Makes sense." Athena nods.
"Then...maybe he's targeting the three people who voted against selling the ring...?" Yoriko asked.
"Not possible." Athena shakes her head.
"What? Why not...?" The blue haired woman asked.
"If the guild vote had went the other way around, then there would have been no reason for Griselda to leave, meaning she would still be alive and have possession of the ring. The people Grimlock should be targeting are the other four that said to sell it, right?" Athena brought up a good point.
"Yeah, I suppose that's true..." Nanu nods along with what she's saying. "Yoriko, who were the people who voted against selling the ring?" He asked her.
"Whatever the case, we need to round up everyone related to this incident. If you think Grimlock is after you, we need to get the third person who voted against selling." Athena says.
"I was one of the three people... Kians was the second... And a man named Schmidt was the third person. He's now a member of the Holy Dragon Alliance..."
"I know someone in the Holy Dragon Alliance. I'll get into contact with them and see when the best time to meet up is. Yoriko, you need to stay at your inn." Nina says.
"While you're doing, I'm going to walk her back to said inn. And maybe do a bit of an interrogation myself." Athena says.
"Right. I'll just...do...something." Nanu says, unsure of what to do.
"Sounds good. Oh, and don't even THINK about stabbing yourself with that sword." Nina adds.
"Seriously?!"