Sword Art Online: The Crystal Swordsman

Serene Prior Tempest

K pushed forward with his Bizon in hand, peeking corners and maneuvering around quickly. No one spoke so that we had the chance to hear our enemies. We moved thru storage unit rows until a two story building came into view. K turned around to be sure we weren't being flanked or followed. That's when a player began firing from the second floor window. The sound of glass shattering and bullets raining filled the air as we all split up fast.

"Contact! Second floor!" I warned, being the only one who saw his position.

"I got something special for this asshole." K fished a frag grenade from his belt and pulled the pin quickly.

He held it in his hands for two short seconds then chucked it right into the open top window. I watched it ricochet off a wall and explode at the enemy players feet.

"Watch our flank, Liz!" K ordered and pushed towards the building.

I followed suit just as Liz turned around to check.

"Don't worry, I've got your back." Liz spoke confidently.

"Sinon, with me." K got my attention and moved up so I may move up with him.

We reached the door to the first floor of the building but instead of breaching full force, K stacked on the wall and paused. He unhooked a canister from his belt and nodded to me being on the side of the door handle. I understood and opened the door a decent amount. K leaned in and tossed the canister inside before I pulled the door closed again. K reeled back as it went off and forced his heel into the door, breaking it permanently open. Upon entering, K put his magazine into a blinded player in the corner of the room. Once dealt with, K reloaded and proceeded ahead only to find the back door. The square building we were in was quite small and second floor access seemed to be on the outside. With that in mind, K rushed out the back door and checked his corners before finding an outer staircase. K walked up two steps at a time and reached the second floor before I could. He shoulder checked the door and forced himself inside. On the ground was a downed player with a pistol that ended up shooting K in the chest. K grunted in pain but thanks to his armour plating, shook it off and shredded the downed player instantly.

"He's down. There should be one mo-"

"Eat lead you son of a bitch!!" Lizbeth screamed a battlecry as she unloaded her gun.

"Lizbeth!" K shouted and brought his attention out the window.

Having a better vantage point, we were able to see Liz go down in the open. K was about to jump straight out the window but something stopped us both in our tracks. A player slid over to Liz from our side and held her head up softly. K gasped, realizing who it was. He seemed shocked to find out however. As though he was led to believe something else entirely. The player pulled out a grenade and yanked the pin on it, holding it up in their hand.

"ASUNA!!!" K screamed at the top of his lungs and reached his hand out the window.

Asuna looked back and the wind waves her hair away. Her eyes met ours and she cracked a genuine smile.

"It's okay." She mouthed.

In that same instance, the grenade went off and consumed them both in a fiery explosion. Thick white smoke took to the skies as we both stared, dumbstruck at what we had witnessed. That's when K noticed something.

"Wait... White smoke. White flames. She used a Phosphorus Grenade!" K deducted.

"Meaning what exactly?" I asked.

"Those flames won't extinguish for a good while. The last players can't move up as long as they burn." K explained.

"So we can get the drop on them!" I was ecstatic.