A Few Days Later...
"Whew! Things have been much more difficult lately. I wonder if it has something to do with K's disappearance." Kirito finished cutting down a group of high level mobs.
"I'll say. I swear he's upped the difficulty for the whole game at this point." Lizbeth commented.
"Sakuya did say that the magical presence in Alfheim had increased tenfold since Kieran's uprising." I backed that claim.
"You've been referring to him by his real name a lot more." Asuna noticed.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. We live together now, so I find myself saying his name more often than his handle." I admitted.
"More times in the bedroom I imagine." Liz poked.
I just punched her in the arm.
"Hey! It's true, isn't it??" She rubbed the pain away.
"That's not the point." I flicked my hand, not out of pain, but out of relief.
"You see him around the house then? Has he been coming out to eat?" Asuna asked.
I just shook my head.
"If he does it's when I'm online, so I never see it." I told her.
"Do you think that's on purpose?" Kirito brought into question K's past tendencies.
"He wouldn't do something like that to me IRL. There must be a reason. He has to be fighting tooth and nail down there." I hugged my arms to comfort myself.
"What should we do?" Liz spoke like there was no hope.
I half glared at her, but then I had an idea.
"We need to go spy on the Salamanders." I declared.
"What?" Everyone all said.
"They're the ones that attacked us on the water. With Eugene down with K, their military force is more than insufficient right now. If we snoop around, we may be able to gain valuable intel for the upcoming war." I suggested.
"So it is war..." Asuna said softly.
"Not if K can help it. And not if I can either." I vowed.
We glided to a nearby ridge that lay next to the Salamander kingdom. We walked the last of the way in order to avoid detection as we crested the cliffside. This was the first time we were doing reconnaissance as a full group, so it felt rather exhilarating for a lot of us. The fear of being detected kept us on our toes as we knelt low before nearing a close edge.
"Down." I directed everyone else who was more or less on their knees.
They looked at me as I lowered myself and began to crawl on the ground.
"Right. You must do this all the time as a sniper." Kirito noticed and followed along.
"More often than not." I agreed as we peered ahead.
"Woah..." Lizbeth was the first to say.
Before us was the active construction of an external compound militarized wall. Even odder, it was made of some sort of iron or steel, metals that can only be forged with high heats and heavy hits.
"My god..." Kirito was at a loss for words as we watched soldier after soldier carry bars and bolts.
"They're initiating an industrial age." I took notice.
"I bet they wanted to do it in conjunction with the Leprechauns." Kirito surmised.
Then I thought back to some prior conversations just after K's interaction with their king.
"Yes, you're right. K was told that the Salamanders regularly made threats to the Leprechaun kingdom for not relinquishing designs for mechanical machines." I recalled.
"The only difference is that instead of using steam power as the Leprechauns do," Liz started to explain.
"They'll use fire and combustion." I saw where she was going.
"Bring it here!" A voice called out from on top of the partially made metal wall.
A large group of soldiers began carrying in what looked to be some kind of massive cannon barrel with venting on the sides for cooling and pressure release. The man on the wall had very long red hair that almost reached his waist. He belay in a set of full black armor that was also metal, but the kinds that we're much more used to seeing used in swords and armor such as his. He had red accents, sashes, draped cloth, a little cape and a bit more. He beckoned and guided their trajectory until it rested against the wall where it needed to be.
"That's good!" He gestured for them to stop and they all put it down.
"Who's that?" I asked generally.
"I don't know. Looks like someone important." Kirito noticed.
The rest of the Salamander soldiers continued to construct the wall rather unremarkably. The important looking man soon retreated back to within the kingdom walls where we wouldn't see him again. The cannon barrel was hoisted up and heaved by many in order to lock it into place on top of the wall. This was the first of many fortifications the Salamanders were planning in order to establish military dominance. It sent goosebumps up my body as I realized they were planning a full scale assault on Alfheim. They wouldn't need to go to such lengths to counteract just K. This was clearly about more than that.
"I think we've seen enough." I stated and began to crawl backwards.
"What about that guy?" Kirito asked.
"We'll do some digging. See what we can find out." I stood up and turned but came face to face with the man we saw before.
I stepped back as he towered over me, grinning at the sight of all of us. The group just got up and got ready to fight.
"Please, there's no need for that." The man shook his head.
A sudden woosh could be heard behind us and I peeked back to see a large force of Salamander soldiers in the air. I reluctantly swallowed my pride and stood down.
"We submit." I lowered Kirito's swords next to me, as he was ready to lash out at them all.
"What!? But Shino, I can handle-"
"It's not about that." I glared at him while still facing the man.
"Who are you?" Asuna asked curiously.
"Take them inside." He ordered and suddenly our hands were all bound with metal braces.
They were almost like cuffs but they were rectangular and made of a darkened metal. We were escorted within the walls and marched to the main military base located beneath the kings quarters. Thru a dark tunnel we descended until flames danced to produce light. We passed their metal forge which was illuminated by scolding falls of lava. Down each side it fell into a trough which pooled for them to use. The heat, steam, hissing and thumping of forging and machinery was overwhelming as another wave of dread fell over me. They're planning to utterly ravage this world for all that it provides. They don't care about the world and its harmony anymore, they only seek to gain more power. We were escorted to a massive wall that rose to the ceiling and began to curve. I believe it was cylindrical as the heavily armed guards pulled the doors apart for us to enter. The room was extremely dark save for one shred of light leaking in from a ceiling cage. Before us was a knelt player hunched over with his head hanging low. He sat perfectly still and his arms were chained tight to the far walls, keeping them away from himself. I noticed quickly after that shining from the darkness were chains that were forcibly wrapped around his black feathered wings to keep them down. I covered my mouth and fought back tears as I realized who it was.
"Kieran. You have visitors." Said the man, stepping forward from our restrained group.
His head very slowly rose until his gaze met us. His eyes were glowing an intense fiery red that barely flared from the brightness. Based on what I've learned about the expression of his powerful magic, this is usually an indication that he's holding back. The fact that he didn't break that anger when he saw me either was another awful sign that he was not doing well. Normally, seeing me shakes him from any amount of emotional overload, but this time he just stared. A dim red glow and an unbreaking stare... He must be furious.
"They were slithering around in a place they don't belong. You must get along great." The man remarked.
The Salamander soldiers around us all laughed. The others around me started to look at them, but I didn't keep my eyes off of K. He just kept glaring at the man with a red stare as harrowing as death itself.
"We'll have them bunk up with you, huh? That way we can keep everyone in one secure place." The man gestured to us as if he were shooing us away.
That's when the soldiers pulled us over to the curved wall the door was on. There were hooks on the wall that each of us were attached to by our metal restraints. The men all stepped back and got a good look at the girls specifically since our arms were bound over our heads, feasting their eyes upon us like we were cuts of fresh meat.
"Have some fun, boys. I'm sure Kieran won't mind." The man did this to try to make K lash out.
These Salamander men began approaching with grubby hands when a voice called to them from the opening doors.
"Dae!" The voice was stern. "Playtime is over. We have preparations to oversee."
"Yes, General Eugene. Right away." The man nodded.
The Salamanders froze and looked to the man for his next orders.
"Good things come to those who wait. They won't be going anywhere." He ushered them out first then stood holding the two double doors.
"May you rot in Hel with those you have imprisoned there." He slammed them shut and many locks could be heard engaging.
A silence followed as the girls of the group collected our tattered thoughts. A close call to be sure, but one none of us will be able to forget now. I looked to K after collecting myself and saw that his head was hanging once again.
"Who was that, Kieran?" I asked.
"Dae." He simply replied.
"Dae?" Kirito wanted clarification.
"He's the newest edition to the Salamander high circle." K explained.
"What's with their industrial revolution?" Liz thought to ask.
"They plan to ravage this world, starting with the destruction of my kingdom. It will be an onslaught like none we've ever seen." K informed.
"What's so special about this guy, K?" I instinctively asked, remembering that he was giving him a ceaseless glare.
K just raised his head and looked at me. His dim red eyes still glowed but they were piercing my heart. I could tell he just wanted to get out of here and play like we always have. Instead he was trapped within a cruel prison for trying to uphold peace and prosperity. He didn't answer my question.
"So how do we get out of here?" Kirito began looking up and around the place, peeking at our restraints and the metalwork built into the prison.
K just slowly hung his head again.
"Surely there's something we can do to break these cuffs." Kirito tried to yank, pull, swing and kick.
Kieran began to audibly chuckle, but in the way he normally would when against a great foe. It wasn't one that invoked love or lightheartedness, it was one that mocked the very belief of hope itself.
"Do you not think I've tried?" K spoke coldly.
The rest of us remained silent.
"My destruction based magic is being blocked by the kingdom safe zone system. I can't access my inventory with my arms like this and my wings are practically broken." He explained.
He turned his head slightly away as it hang.
"You're on your own..." K said, shaming himself for being so useless in the moment.
The silence grew louder until it was all we could hear. We all sat staring at the floor as we each sift thru our thoughts, restlessly debating our current situation.