The Black Swordsman

Chapter 23: The Nightmare Fairy, Akumu Pt. 1

I couldn't believe that he was gone...I expected Agil, the tank of the group, to make it much longer into our pursuit of Asuna but...he was gone...in an instant. He sacrificed himself so that we could take down Muma, one of Sugou's royal guard. Thanks to him, the rest of us still had a chance to rescue Asuna. But, at what cost? I couldn't even imagine the damage that dying in this world has on the real-world body...did Agil wake up in absolute agony...or was all of Sugou's claims about pain transferring to the real world nothing more than a lie. The shitty thing was that I wouldn't possibly be able to figure this out unless I was the one who was defeated and returned to the real world. After Agil and Muma were both defeated, we were rewarded two potions to help two members of our party regain health. After much debate, the two that ended up taking the potions were Suguha and Lisbeth since they took so much damage during the fight with Muma. Klein definitely needed the potion more than both of them but he refused, once again, and this time, I did the same. Suguha and Lisbeth tried to make the claim that it was more important that I take one of the potions to guarantee my own safety but I managed to convince them both by saying that it would be more beneficial if two of our team members that were low on health took them. I promised them both that I would take it easy during the next boss fight, since I was still in pain from the blow that I had received from Agil's battle axe. Luckily, despite the agonizing pain, I was able to stand and move, again. I was even able to swing my weapon if I really needed to but damn was it painful to do so. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to do much of the fighting in the next boss fight but if I had to...I wouldn't hesitate to protect the others. I didn't care if I was the one who rescued Asuna, as long as one of us was. If I had to die to give the others a chance to save her, then I would, without a shadow of a doubt.

A soft, feminine hand, was rested on my shoulder, causing me to crane my neck to see who was attempting to comfort me.

"I really wish you would've taken one of the potions", said Lisbeth, staring at the bloody wound on my stomach that was from Agil's battle axe.

"It's fine", I responded, covering the wound with my hand so she didn't have to look at it. "At the very least, your wound is gone. The one on your back, I mean. It looked painful."

"I-it was...to be honest, it was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced in my life", Lisbeth explained. "I'm sorry, Kirito."

"Hm, what are you apologizing for?"

"Despite taking such a nasty blow to the stomach, you were able to push through the pain, pick yourself up and help Agil and Klein fight Muma but...it took me forever to do the same thing. You have to believe that I wanted to pick myself up and keep fighting but the pain...I just couldn't push through it. It was awful...truly awful."

"It doesn't matter how long it took you to rejoin the fight", I replied. "The important thing is you did."

"The thing...that finally pushed me through the pain was seeing you and Klein run towards Muma to protect Agil, not giving a shit about the wound in your stomach. That bravery and determination...it's what made you the best player in SAO."

"I can't exactly tell you what was going on through my mind in that moment but...I do know that there's no way in hell that I would have been able to make it this far in the castle by myself. I've only made it this far because of you and the others. So please, Lisbeth, don't feel like you have to apologize. I truly can't thank you enough for all of your help so far...same with the others."

"Are you at least going to try to take it easy during the next fight?" asked Lisbeth, concerned.

"Yeah, Klein and I both will probably let you and Suguha do most of the fighting. Sorry for putting so much pressure on you two."