"Long time no see, Ilfang the Kobold Lord!"
Klein pointed at the boss, bellowing boldly. Naturally, the others pounced with retorts.
"No way, Klein, you weren't even there!"
"Yeah, Klein-san wasn't around. It was just me, Hachiman-kun, Kirito-kun, and Egil, right?"
"No Klein in my memory either."
"Maybe he secretly joined? All the oddballs were in my party back then, though."
Blushing, Klein protested.
"Shut up! It's the vibe, okay? Sure, I was still fumbling around with my crew back then, but we were aiming for the front lines!"
Kirito grinned.
"True, Klein ended up a solid part of the clearing team, which is impressive. But the hard fact is, you weren't there."
"Damn, that smile's brutal… You guys are such buzzkills!"
"Maybe a bit," Yukino admitted.
As the SAO crew bantered, Yukino stepped forward lightly. The group watched, curious, as she pointed at Ilfang the Kobold Lord and declared,
"Nice to meet you, Ilfang the Kobold Lord. But I'm sorry—we'll be parting ways soon. You've barely had time to exist in this world again, but make your short life count by resisting us with all you've got before you fall!"
Flushing slightly, Yukino glanced at Hachiman, who stood stunned. Soleil whispered to him,
"Hey, isn't Yukino-chan super hyped? If you don't play along, she might sulk later."
"For real? …Alright, I'm in."
Hachiman, half-grimacing, flashed Yukino a smile, took a deep breath, and stepped forward, raising his dagger high.
"Long time no see, Ilfang the Kobold Lord! We're here to claim your life again! Witness the might of our upgraded army and let your brief existence end here! Everyone, roar!"
""""""""""""""""RAAAAH!"""""""""""""""
Caught up in the moment, the team roared with gusto. Maybe it was their imagination, but Ilfang's eyes seemed to burn with defiance.
"Yuiyui, Mebius, you're with me on the boss! Next, the three minions: first one's Asuna, Komachi, and Soleil; second's Leafa, Recon, and Iroha. Hold them off—that's it. Komachi, Recon, focus on evasion and feints! Soleil, Iroha, harass with magic from a distance! Asuna, Leafa, keep the heals flowing! The rest, Kirito's party, are the main attackers. Take down the minions one by one!"
Each party huddled for quick strategy talks.
"Kirito's team, signal when you're ready."
The other three groups, smaller in number, wrapped up fast. Yuiyui, tasked with helping Hachiman hold the boss, seemed focused but not nervous, her motivation just right. Recon, eager to impress Leafa, was overly tense, but Iroha teased him to loosen him up—her specialty with his type. The issue was Asuna, Komachi, and Soleil—the makeshift Hiki family sisters. After their talk, Komachi approached Hachiman, pale.
"Big bro, I can't handle those two…"
"You only need to handle the enemy. What happened?"
"We talked, but it was just one line: 'We're definitely beating Kirito-kun's team to the minions.'"
Hachiman, expecting this, wasn't shocked but offered Komachi advice.
"Tell them, 'Komachi's nervous and entrusting her life to her big sisters.' That might rein them in a bit."
(Probably just a bit, though…)
Komachi returned to Asuna and Soleil, spoke briefly, and signaled success to Hachiman. He nodded and called to Kirito's team.
"Got a plan? What's the strategy?"
"It's me, Argo, Liz, Silica, Klein, Egil, Yumi, Yukino. Yumi's into magic, so she'll blast from afar. The rest? We hit hard. Yukino'll heal any damage. Done!"
"Pretty rough plan… but if you say it's fine, it is."
Hachiman trusted Kirito's combat instincts completely, so he didn't press further. Kirito, however, had a question.
"What if the number of minions was tweaked? I won't ask Argo—that's cheating. Just your guess, Hachiman."
"Hmm…"
Hachiman glanced at Argo, smirking.
"Nah, no way. I heard Argo's schedule was a death march until today. No time to mess with that."
"Ugh…"
Argo, usually aloof about such things, let out a frustrated grunt, clearly caught. Kirito, satisfied, patted her shoulder and stepped back.
"Alright, prep's done. Let's go!"
Hachiman stepped forward, weapon ready. The others took their stances, advancing slowly. As they reached the center, Ilfang's eyes gleamed, and it charged, three minions appearing and rushing them.
"Here we go! Sweep them away!"
The battle began—Aincrad's first boss fight for Hachiman and his crew. Naturally, Kirito's team shaved down enemies fastest, taking some hits but instantly healed by Yukino. Asuna watched from the back, grinding her teeth. Despite Soleil's strength, their team couldn't spam area magic in this fight, relying on single-target spells while dodging, making their damage output lag behind larger teams.
"Healing and attacking… protecting Komachi-chan while dealing damage… How do I do it?"
Asuna, after intense thought, reached a conclusion.
"Adjust chant speed, keep healing magic on standby, and attack!"
She charged the enemy, chanting a heal.
"Big sis?"
Komachi, confused, got no reply—Asuna couldn't speak mid-chant. Instead, she winked reassuringly and unleashed a fierce assault.
"Nice one, my little sis! Can't let her outdo me!"
With Asuna attacking, the enemy's focus on Soleil lessened, letting her stop dodging and focus on offense.
"No choice—Komachi's gotta step up!"
Distracted by Asuna, Komachi took a hit, but Asuna's heal hit instantly, erasing the damage. Asuna kept attacking, leaving Komachi in awe of her "amazing big sis" as she focused on her own strikes. Kirito's team, overconfident in their numbers, didn't notice Asuna's team surge ahead. Seizing the moment, Asuna's group pushed a minion to near-death. Deciding heals were no longer needed, Asuna dropped her chant, let out a battle cry, and unleashed a devastating final blow, beating Kirito's team to the first minion kill. The others finally noticed, exclaiming,
"Whoa, Asuna's screaming and attacking!"
"But she was healing perfectly till now—no one's hurt!"
"Like a berserker… but a healer?"
"Berserk Healer!? That's new!"
"Berserk Healer!"
Thus was born Berserk Healer Asuna.
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Greyhounds
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