Chapter 107: Seamless cooperation
Saeko prepared herself the moment Feng Yu Chen jumped in. She waited until Feng Yu Chen finished his combos to tap in. Unlike Feng Yu Chen, she complied with SAO's Cardinal System settings, but, she also figured out her own way of exploiting the system's imperfection to chain skills together.
With her Murata sword slanted down to rib-level, a purple flash covered her when she shot forward like a purple arrow. Her attack culminated in a soaring slash that left a giant red gash on the boss. Red data crystals peeled off the boss instead of blood spillage.
SAO is a very accurate mimicry of reality, however, it's not perfect. Blood didn't spill in this world, instead, red data peels replaced the bloody spill of a wounded victim. Perhaps it's a result of the game's imperfection, or, it's a crude attempt to comply with government regulation, you know, like the PG13 ratings to regulate what kids see.
With the System's assist, Saeko finished her attack in the air. Then, she got into another stance. While others would struggle to pull off a second skill, especially harder when you're in the air where stabilization is more important than pulling off another attack. But, by God, Saeko did it, her Murata sword was at a 45-degree angle from the ground. She placed her left hand on the blade as a purple ripple came from her sword. Power surged as...
Like a divine purple bolt of lightning, the human-blade symbiote flew down at the boss, she wanted to land another strike on the same wound she made. This would result in a critical hit base on previous experience.
The kobold boss is very strong, its reflex wasn't a joke. It raised its battleax to meet Saeko head-on.
Clang
The blade and the ax met as Saeko got sent away by the reaction force. She twirled in the air as she landed on the ground with two hands drawing two trails along the floor.
Inori got into action. She differed from Saeko and Feng Yu Chen in the sense that she wasn't into flashy attacks. Like an assassin molded by the shadows, she started sprinting with her dagger flashing with a green light. Her eyes spotted the perfect moment to attack and she threw her dagger.
Spish...
Graaaooo
The dagger was true as it struck the kobold boss in one of its eyes. The dog bellowed in anger. To be attacked by a small creature that it can crush with a single attack, that was the ultimate slap to the face. This monster's agro turned on as it honed in on Inori, casting doubts on the lack of emotions in monsters of this game.
Inori didn't mind attracting the aggro. Her dexterous hands were immediately equipped with two more throwing knives. She ran circles around the boss as the same green light from before covered her knives.
Inori designed her attacks around merging her powers with SAO's assassin series of skills. Feng Yu Chen didn't really mean it when he said Inori should focus on ranged attacks. But, Inori took his advice as order and she put effort into inventing her dagger and knives skill. Without Saeko's mastery over the blade and Feng Yu Chen's Extreme Mysterious Sword Art, she had to find her own way that leveraged her agility.
Everybody's unique in their own way, Inori reckons she can go down a different path than Saeko. She silently worked on her own style all so she can fight together with Feng Yu Chen. As long as she's with him, even fights can be fund. She found her reason for living in Feng Yu Chen, he saved her from Guilty Crown.
With a significant other in her life, she wanted to protect the people that mattered to her. She understood that she was alone no more. There are other people around her who fought together with her. Strength is something that can be built, she only needed to find it. She expressed this belief by developing her own style of fighting.
Swish swish
The two knives embedded themselves into the Kobold's underarm. Due to the power of the knives, the attack pierced through its shoulders.
Gaawwwrrr
The kobold boss broke loose as it rushed towards Inori.
Luckily for her, she's very agile.
She dodged the attacks from the boss by jumping back.
"Here's the finishing strike!"
With a series of footsteps, Feng Yu Chen got into another stance, his Xuan Yuan Sword held firmly in front of him. He drew a circle before he burst forward with a sonic boom. In a flash of white meteoric light, he charged at the boss.
Heavenly dipper
The boss there away its ax and shield as it unsheathed the nodachi strapped to its back.
The boss sensed Feng Yu Chen's impending attack so it changed attack style to trade defense for more power.
The beta testers noticed this irregularity in the attack algorithms when...
"No, don't go solo..."
Kirito cautioned at a late juncture. The boss jumped up with a red glow covering its body. Bouncing around the pillars in the temple, the boss finally gathered enough power before it leaped at Feng Yu Chen on the ground.
Feng Yu Chen knew about the boss's attack pattern because he saw this in the original anime. He had a grin of disdain on his face. His right foot moved as he started a series of blurring motions.
Boom
The boss missed its attack.
At this point...
Hate reversal flying star
Feng Yu Chen's sword was shining with astral light, he unleashed his counter attack with a very blinding light coming from his body. Feng Yu Chen and his sword rammed into the boss's chest. He carved a star-shaped wound on the boss's chest before utterly decimating the boss's chest cavity. He skewered the boss and landed behind the boss. He sheathed his sword, signaling the end of this fight
Shatter
The boss burst into a rain of data crystals and fragments...