The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

PK Pandemonia Arc: Chapter 92 - Pandemonia

28 February 2024

Katalysis, 43rd Floor

Nice save, Xana.

I wondered what Puma had meant with those words, as the exploded blue crystals flushed through my face.

Although I couldn't ever ask her about that anymore, I was starting to understand its meaning, as I turned to Rakuno slightly.

" 'Nice save'.....to save you from the burden maybe, or rather....."

".....What.....are you.....saying....."

The witch's katana was held locked in place, unable to return to its sheathe as its owner breathed rather heavily. Whatever she had just seen might have almost been enough to send her into shock or something.

"Were you planning to save her no matter what happens?" I asked as I returned my spear to its sheathe.

Raku tried to slow her breathing down. "I.....I.....just wanted to.....but......"

"She would have done it to herself anyway." I searched my system menu for a red HP crystal, and popped 2 out from my storage. "Here, it's on me."

I stretched one out to Raku, half-expecting her to reject the item in front of the guy who made her witness such a depressing scene. Whether she understood that what I did were last resorts or not, I didn't really care for now.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to reject the crystal, though she was still frozen in place, unwilling to move an inch. I gently tapped the crystal onto her shoulder.

"Heal."

The red crystal vanished. Raku's HP gauge instantly refilled to full. She was still fixated on the spot where Puma perished, as if she was in a daze. I sighed a little, as I used the second crystal on myself with the same results on my HP.

As unfazed as I was in this kind of situation, it wasn't like I was happy about winning the battle that I had just fought.

I just wished that my opponents were enemy mobs, instead of players who fought for their ideals. Then again, for me to survive, the only option I could opt for in those circumstances was.....to kill.

Considering the extreme stubborness displayed by both of them, it was the only conclusion that I could land on at that very moment.

Well..........I get it. I completely understood what Raku was feeling, even though I wouldn't have that strong of a feeling myself.

Watching a player shatter into crystals wasn't supposed to be a tragedy in the first place. It was supposed to be considered as simply a mistake made by the player, who could be revived somewhere else safe and sound, without any reprecussions.

I'd constantly forgotten about that piece of logic that existed in other MMORPGs, but never did exist in this one.

Leaving Raku behind for a while, I exited the Gladorium through one of its large entrances, and witnessed the many fights still going on. The sounds of blades clashing suggested that there were more fighting than what I was seeing. The city of Katalysis had effectively turned into a war zone.

I went back to Raku, who was now sitting on the ground, slumped in a daze apart from her heavy panting.

"....."

In the state that she's in now, there's no telling whether she's willing to keep fighting on this battlefield, let alone having to resort to kill.

I sat at a spot right in front of her, crossing my legs to relieve myself of the strain from having to stand. With all the running around for the past few days, sleeping another few days straight doesn't seem like a bad idea when I finally get back to my guild base after all these bullshit.