Sword Art Online demonic change

by redsopine

The Blade Of Ice

Author's Note:

Normally I leave a note at the bottom but this ones at the top when the singing fight begins that’s ment to be playing in tune for the fighting the chorus is Gelu the main singing is red

Once the roar faded, a dark shadow fell across the group, heralding the arrival of yet another giant dragon, this one covered in a sheet of glittering sapphire scales. Flapping its large, feathery wings, it hovered in midair, baring its fangs at them all.

“Oh, boy…” Red groaned.

The dragon let out another wild roar, commanding a volley of icicles to burst from the ground and race toward them.

“Terra, spikes!” he commanded, charging forward past the others.

A large mass of crystals erupted beneath him, stopping the dragon’s attack midway, and Red quickly ran up it before jumping into the air and the toward the dragon. Unfortunately, it gave another flap of its wings, casting him away in a blast of icy wind.

Stone plates formed around Red, softening the blow as he tumbled across the ground and into a crouched position. “Thanks, Gramps,” he said, rising and shaking his right arm to loosen it up. “So, let me guess…?”

“There’s no mistaking this presence,” Terra solemnly grumbled, watching through Red’s eyes as the dragon ascended further into the heavens. “I confirmed it when our attacks connected; it’s her. It’s Gelu.”

“Oh, that’s just great! She’s going crazy too!?”

“This world’s lack of conventional magic is driving her berserk. Just as it did Umbra and I.”

“Any way to snap her out of it?”

“The best way to do so would be to either weaken her enough to where she’ll listen to reason like you did with me,”Terra suggested.

“Okay, I can probably do that,” Red acknowledged, cracking his knuckles.

“Or…”

“Or?”

“Or,” Umbra piped up next, joining the conversation. “You can do something that reminds Gelu of who she is.”

Red paused, blinked, and asked, “What?”

“Umbra means that you could also do something that draws upon Gelu’s memories, bringing her back to her senses,” Terra elaborated, humming in thought. “Effectively, you’d need to evoke a very positive feeling that would overtake the rage caused by this state.”

“So I gotta either beat her up or cheer her up, huh?”

“Essentially.”

Red narrowed his eyes as Gelu began to circle around and fly back toward them all, roaring threateningly.

A tiny part of him wanted to take the chance to give Gelu some much deserved payback for all the times she and her brother screwed with him, but another, far stronger part of him simply wanted to see her back to normal without having to beat her senseless.

“Okay, guys,” Red began somewhat hesitantly. “Any ideas on how to do the latter option?”

“Wait, you— You don’t want to harm her?” Terra questioned, unsure if he had heard right.

“Well, not right now I don’t, but I’ve never known how to make Gelu not want to kill me. Not before and certainly not now,”he ended somberly.

While Terra struggled to process Red’s newfound care for Gelu, Umbra piped up again, “Ooh, I’ve got an idea!”

“Okay, what’ve ya got, Shadow-Cat?”

“Er, you’re not going to like it, Red,”he acknowledged hesitantly.

Red frowned exasperatedly, knowing that tone all too well. “Why do I get the feeling it’s going to involve me embarrassing myself again?” he whined. “Ah, whatever. Just tell me.”

Umbra didn’t say anything; instead, he merely began humming a tune.

“Oh no! No, no, no, no; no!” Red vehemently protested, fighting back every instinct that urged him to hum along. “Anything but that!”

“It is certainly unorthodox, but it just might work; Gelu does love music,” Terra pointed out, a small hint of mirth penetrating his calm voice. “And it’s either that, or fighting.”

…

“You guys suck,” Red whimpered, giving in.

“Aw, crap! That dragon’s headed back!” Silica realized.

“And the other one’s still kicking too!” a girl with pink hair and wearing a red and white outfit announced, readying her mace for another bout of combat.

“Do any of us have a plan!? Seriously, what are we… Going to…?”

All of Red’s compatriots paused and turned to him, utterly bewildered as to why he was suddenly humming a random tune.

“Um, Silica? What is he doing?”

Silica groaned in annoyance and hastily covered her ears before the magic could wash over her again. “Red, you have a lovely singing voice and all, but this is not the time to start another musical number!” she yelled. “That other dragon’ll be on us in minutes, and the first one is already getting back up!”

The pink haired woman tapped Silica’s shoulder, acquiring her attention. “‘Musical number’?” she echoed inquiringly.

“Yeah, it’s one of Red’s weird abilities,” she stated, shifting through her bag. She then pulled out some spare bits of cotton and passed them out to the others. “It affects people around him, so cover your ears before you all get swept up in it.”

“…I swear this day just keeps getting weirder and weirder,” the pink-haired girl muttered, following her advice.

“You’re telling me,” Silica said, stuffing some cotton into her own ears and muting the world around her just as faint music began playing in the background as Red begins to Sing with Terra and Umbra backing him up.

Mid-lyric, he slid under a tail swipe and weaved past a blast of spikes, getting closer toward the dragon.

“What is he doing?” The pink-haired girl asked, watching Red dancing and singing as he reached the dragon, still dodging its assault. Her jaw then suddenly dropped at what happened next.

Continuing to sing, Red evaded another icy assault, and the female dragon paused to give its head a firm shake. It then reared up and moved to strike again, but before she could, Red reached the chorus. Immediately, the dragon twitched and fell back to all-fours, beginning to mimic him. At first it was merely more incoherent growling, but the longer she did it, the clearer her words became until she was properly singing as well, arguably even better than Red. And with every word that left her maw, her size gradually got smaller and her stature relaxed.

Grinning victoriously, Red finished singing along with the now-docile dragoness, and once they were done, the latter let out a small, quiet sigh.

“What the hell did he just do?” the pink-haired girl asked Silica who merely shrugged.

“I must admit,” the dragoness spoke up, meeting Red's eye. “I am surprised you actually sang, but I am beyond grateful that you did.”

“Anytime, Gelu,” he said, winking. “Frankly, I'm just glad that worked.”

“As am I,” she said, patting his cheek smiling at the blush it gave Red. “There's nothing I hate more than not being in control.”

Suddenly the other dragon roars loudly as it lands slowly advancing.

Red winced, but a loud roar rang out before he could say anything. He then smirked and asked, “Speaking of control, I think we should teach that guy a lesson in manners. You up for it?”

“Gladly,” Gelu agreed, turning and glaring down the other dragon. “Now, what to sing now? Ah, yes.” Letting out a small laugh at Reds look of shock, she began to sing again as she returned to her previous massive size. Once the other dragon landed, she charged forward and unleashed a barrage of ice, sending it flying into a large crystal she formed behind it.

Seeing everything that was happening and that the music was starting up again Silica tugs on Kirito’s jacket getting his attention.

“We should probably find someplace to hide from the fighting and the music last thing we need is ending up dancing in the middle of a dragon fight.”

Before Kirito could reply, a large gust of wind from the fight sent the pink haired girl slamming into him and Silica, sending them down into a pit.

“Um, Red?” Umbra said while Red climbed onto the dragon's back. “Sorry to interrupt your fight, but it seems the others just fell off a cliff; shouldn’t we check on them.”

Red let out a sigh, somewhat from annoyance at being interrupted but mostly from the exertion of scaling the maddened beast. “Yep. On it,” he replied to Umbra, driving his great sword though the dragon's back and leaping off the beast, dragging his blade down its side and opening a gaping, blood-spurting wound resultantly. After landing on the ground, Red ignored the dragon's tormented screams and faded into the shadows, swiftly flowing across the ground toward the pit and reappearing by his allies' sides.

“Hey,” he called out in the darkness. “Are you three—“ Red's words ended in a loud, high-pitched yelp as a massive, heavy mace slammed straight into his muzzle. Umbra and Terra quickly healed the damage off, and once his jaw finished being reconstructed, Red groaned, “Oww, son of a bitch! What was that for!?”

“Well, how was I supposed to know it was you!?” the pink haired girl griped, clearly regretting her action despite not wanting to let it show on her face.

“You can teleport?” Kirito asked, getting back to his feet from the fall.

“Shadow step,” Red corrected, still rubbing his muzzle. “But yeah, I can teleport too.”

“Really? Wow, you're even more overpowered than I first thought.”

“You're one to talk, Kirito,” Silica deadpanned.

Kirito was on the verge of making a snarky comeback, but upon reflection, he simply nodded in halfhearted agreement. “In any case,” he resumed. “Are you okay, Red?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. You guys want help getting out of this pit?”

“That would be welcome. Though, hey, Liz? Is this the ore you needed to make me a sword?” Kirito asked, holding up a lump of crystal.

“That’s it,” Liz confirmed. “So should we leave now or wait for tomorrow since it’s getting dark?” she asked.

Red shook his head and said, “Nah. It’s best we stay the night; I’m unable to shadow step, and I won’t be able to fly all of you out with the fighting going on up there.”

Suddenly, there was a loud roar of pain followed by Gelu crashing down into the pit, her form shrinking again and one of her forelegs broken.

“That’s not good,” Silica said, shivering from the cold and wincing at Gelu’s injury. “Wasn’t she just claiming she was undefeatable; what happened up there?”

Shaking her head clear, Gelu carefully rose up, grumbling, “It was just a hype song, mortal; don’t read too much into it.”

“Who the hell sings hype songs unironically?” Silica shot back.

A faint blush rose to Gelu’s cheeks, but she paid it no mind, focusing instead on breathing ice on her broken leg and forming a cast of it around the wound. “In any case, that damn brute seems stronger than I gave it credit for,” she stated, gently setting her claw down and immediately wincing.

“Whoa-whoa-whoa! Easy, Gelu,” Red urged, swiftly approaching her. “That’s not a clean break.”

“Yes, I can see that,” she deadpanned. “I saw you using Terra and Umbra’s skills, so are they nearby?”

“Closer than you think,” he answered.

Gelu blinked then grimaced. “Not five minutes and already they’re rejoining with you? Are my brother and I the only ones who prefer having bodies anymore?”

“That’s something you can ask them; in the meantime, take a rest inside me,” Red insisted, holding out his hand. “Terra and Umbra can work on fixing your injury up and tell you what’s going on.”

“And my brother?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find him next,” Red promised.

Gelu hesitated for a second, glancing at her wound then at his arm. “You know that in our current state, if I go back in you…”

“I can work with a broken arm for a couple of hours.”

“Days,” Terra corrected telepathically. “We are still weakened, remember?”

“And I’m still trying to figure out how my powers work with all this coding stuff,” Umbra added vocally, stepping out of the pit's shadows.

“Eh, I can still manage,” Red assured.

Besides, Gelu doesn’t look like she can, he thought to himself. “Well, Gelu?”

After a moment, Gelu sighed and smiled softly. “Fine. Just make sure not to die again before you find Ignis,” she jokingly grumbled before disappearing in a blue light.

Said light then flowed directly into Red’s outstretched arm, and he immediately felt Gelu’s presence return to its usual place in his soul. He then let out a pained groan as his arm magically broke and hung limp and useless.

A thin sheet of ice then sprouted out from the wound until it coated his entire arm, dulling the pain.

“Thanks, Icy,” Red thanked, grinning slightly.

“Don’t call me ‘Icy,’” she groaned, though Red could tell she was likely smiling too.

Suddenly, Red felt a very familiar presence above them and smiled wildly. “Hey, Gelu? That good ole Ice Bane I sense up their?”

“Ugh, must you always name my swords?” she asked, unamused.

“Yeah, more fun that way,” he replied cheekily.

“They're just blade-shaped hunks of ice.”

“Aww, what's wrong, Icy; don't like the name 'Ice Bane'? Would you prefer 'Rundas'? 'Khione'? Ooh, what about 'The Monado'!? Haven't named a sword that yet.”

“Oh, for goodness...” Gelu sighed in defeat, deflecting, “Fine, name them whatever you want, but yes, it is my swords you sense. Pray tell, how do you plan on using it with one arm?”

“Easy. Shrink it down to dagger size,” he explained. “It’s not like I will be using it on anything other the the big ones here.”

While Red was talking with Gelu in his mind, Liz spoke to Kirito and Sillica.

“So could anyone fill me in on exactly what’s going on?” she began, her expression a confused grimace. “Why is an N.P.C. here and how did they just absorb a talking dragon?”

“Firstly, Redsopine is not an N.P.C.” Kirito replied while Silica nodded in agreement. “He’s a real person, just with an odd avatar. Secondly, whatever just happened with the dragon is for him to share, not us.” A pause. “Although, I do plan to ask him about the specifics myself later as well.”

“Besides,” Silica continued for Kirito. “If we did tell you right now, you'd probably freak out, and that might bring the other dragon back on us which we’re in no shape to fight, being down here and all,” she concluded, rubbing a sore part of her back and checking current health.

“Also, Red's in no shape to be shadow stepping,” Umbra piped up despite being nowhere to be seen. “He's sorta at risk of dissipating right now. He’s lucky Terra can still numb the pain despite being separated or he would be screaming in agony right now.”

Liz looked around for a moment, trying to find wherever Umbra was, but a smirk from Silica and an pointing finger from Kirito directed her attention upward to meet the calm gaze of the shadowy demon comfortably resting upon her head. Umbra then leaped off of her and darted toward Silica, vanishing into the shadows just as Liz's mace slammed the spot he had been one second before. An impish giggle sounded off beside her, and she looked to see the feline devil, stepping around Kirito, flicking his tail almost tauntingly.

“How rude,” he commented smugly. “Didn’t anybody teach you manners, young lady? Or at the very least not to crush small adorable things like me?” Umbra proclaimed, gesturing to himself with a paw and blowing a raspberry at her.

Liz blinked. “Okay, I have had it. Can someone tell me what the heck is going on because I am not being paid enough for this.”

“I'm surprised you're being paid at all, considering how violent you are,” Umbra just couldn't help himself from wisecracking.

“Oh, screw you; I’m Lizbeth, the best blacksmith in the game, and I both do not have time and am way too tired to deal with some random creature lecturing me about manners,” she grumbled, swinging her mane threateningly. “Especially when they're inconsiderate enough to plant their fury ass in my hair.”

“Don’t let him get to you, he does it all the time,” Red acknowledged as Umbra stepped out of the shadows and back toward him.

“Yeah, I can’t help myself,” Umbra agreed as if he had done nothing wrong. “Heads are the most comfortable place for naps, second only to sunbeams.”

“Also don’t let that innocent act fool you, Lizbeth, he definitely wanted to mess with you,” Red added, shooting an unamused look at Umbra who frowned back for being called out. “You should count yourself lucky you didn’t hit him though; the last thing you want is to be on Umbra’s payback list.”

“I said I was sorry!” Umbra mewled, flicking his tail anxiously. “How was I supposed to know Twilight was afraid of quesadillas; no one’s afraid of quesadillas!”

“I know.” Red then scooped Umbra up into his arms, booping him on the snoot and earning a soft purr. “But let’s not forget that that was one of your tamerpayback moments.”

“Yes, well,” Lizbeth spoke up indignantly. “The cat had better be glad he’s not on my payback list; I prefer weapons and bludgeoning to pranks involving food.”

“Even someone as adorable as me?” Umbra asked, putting on his best, most innocent smile.

“Yes,” she deadpanned.

“Good to know,” Red said. “On that note, check your inventory because I’m pretty sure he robbed you too.”

Lizbeth checked her inventory and found half of it missing, including the mace she had been holding not twenty seconds prior. She then looked back up at Umbra, glaring daggers at him while she venomously muttered, “Okay. Now you’re on my payback list.”

“Oh no! How terrifying,” Umbra mock-exclaimed, putting his sharp teeth and blade-like tusks on full display as he smiled smugly at her.

Not caring about the display at all, Lizbeth drew a short dagger from the inventory she did still have and began moving toward them, but Red quickly flared a wing, holding it between them all as he ordered, “Okay, Umbra, fun’s over; give her stuff back.”

“Aww, but—”

“No ‘buts’! They’re our allies, and do we steal from our allies?”

“As a prank we do,” Umbra grumbled.

“But do we do it for real?”

“…No,” he pouted, squirming out of Red’s grasp. “Sorry I stole your stuff, Ms. Lizbeth,” he apologized.

“I’ll accept your apology once you give it back,” she responded, clearly not meaning it, but she did pause and lower her knife, expecting Umbra to cooperate. Which he did. … Partly.

Umbra cautiously approached Lizbeth, but once he realized she wasn’t going to suddenly stab him, he paused. She raised an eyebrow, but a second later, his ear flicked and suddenly, he pounced her, knocked her to the ground, and darted back behind Kirito, disappearing into the shadows and laughing all the while.

“That little son of a—”

“Before you finish freaking out,” Umbra interrupted her from his place atop Red’s head. “I did return all of your stuff.” He then pulled out the knife Lizbeth had drawn, adding, “I did steal this though, but I’m keeping this one. I like knives,” he whispered, stroking the serrated edge almost reverently.

“I’m so freaking confused right now,” Liz grumbled, checking her inventory to see that her items had indeed been returned. She then stood back up, drew her mace again, and asked, “Mind explaining how your little cat pal over there stole all my stuff, horse-boy?”

“First rule of thieving: Distract your target,” Red said with a shrug. “And getting on someone’s nerves to the point they’re busy trying to bludgeon or stab you is a pretty good way of distracting them from their pockets. Or, in this case, inventory menu.”

Liz paused before turning to Kirito and Silica and bluntly saying, “You guys are going to explain everything to me later, got it?”

“Got it,” Silica answered for both of them.

The dragon above then let out yet another thunderous roar, reacquiring all of their attentions and reminding them that their was still a battle to be won up above.

---

A few hour later

"So are we all in agreement Red ferry’s us up above grabs ice bane and we leave before the dragon notices us as plan A plan B is we sit back with popcorn and watch him and Kirito kill it then head home?"

"Silica asks flicking a dagger about in her hand as everyone else nods before umbra pipes up."

“You’re forgetting: Making sure we have extra popcorn to watch Pinky freak out when we explain things to her,” Red finished, blowing a raspberry at Lizbeth.

Before Lizbeth could respond, the earth rumbled with the strength of a monstrous roar above and a shadow engulfed the party, both heralding the return of the dragon who wasted no time descending into the pit with murder in its eyes.

“Whelp, no time to argue,” Red deadpanned, rolling his eyes and shifting back into a combative stance. “Looks like the big guy’s back for round two.”

“It’s too confined down here for either of us to fight at our best,” Kirito acknowledged, gripping the hilt of his blade.

Red glanced back at him, looking for confirmation which Kirito gave in the form of a nod. “Alright then, first things first!” Just as the dragon began to advance, Red waved his arm forward, a wall of icicles bursting from the ground, stalling the dragon in its march. “Everyone hang on!” he called out twisting around and grabbing Silica who yelped.

“Lizbeth!” Kirito beckoned as well, quickly finding her arms hooked around his neck.

“I’ve got you, now go!” she hollered.

The group launched into the air just as a wave of flames burned through the ice and cascaded down upon where they had been mere moments prior. They then landed back out into open air, but the dragon was quick to climb back out, snarling at having to come right back out of said pit.

With a grunt, Kirito threw a spare knife into the dragon’s eye, causing it to wince and whine, but its whining was swiftly silenced when Red let loose yet another blast of ice, trapping the dragon’s entire head within it. The rest of its body still thrashed about wildly, however, and soon, its maw began glowing.

Red cursed under his breath, helping Silica back onto her feet and standing between her and the dragon. “Kirito, mind giving me a hand?”

“I can give you a blade, would that count?” Kirito joked, motioning both Lizbeth and Silica to get to safety.

“So long as your aim is true,” Red joked back, giving Kirito a snarky grin which he returned in kind.

“You boys aren’t going to leave any leftover for me, are you?” Liz grumbled, glaring at them indignantly. She then squawked out, “What the— Hey!” as Silica hastily grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

“Kick his ass for us, guys!” she urged, continuing to push Liz away despite her infuriated protests.

“We will,” they both vowed as the dragon unleashed yet another barraged of fire, finally freeing itself from the constraints of Red’s infernal ice.

“I’ve got the flank!” Red announced, racing forward and diving beneath the dragon just as it took back to the sky.

“Wings!” Kirito shouted, leaping into the air and striking for the beast’s left wing.

In a display of frightening agility, the beast immediately folded its wings back to its sides, causing Kirito’s blade to merely nick against its scales. The second after it did so, the dragon rolled across the plain and used the motion to swivel back around to face down Red and release yet another blast of fire.

Red then suddenly sunk into the ground, dodging the attack, and after a moment of tunneling, he erupted from the ground and jabbed an ice-covered fist directly into the bottom jaw of the beast.

The dragon recoiled, and one of its many fangs fell the ground, bloody and cracked, and Red didn’t hesitate to take the chance to, not continue his assault, but turn right back around and wisecrack, “Your aim wasn’t true!” at Kirito.

The next thing Red knew was a rush of wind, a black blur, and the sound of the dragon’s flesh being torn asunder and its subsequent scream of pain. He then turned around to see Kirito rising back to the ground, sheathing his sword in the most unnecessarily flamboyant manner, leveling a cold glare at Red that couldn’t possibly hide the smug grin he was barely holding back.

Red just gave him a thumbs up, saying, “Nevermind.”

Kirito couldn't hold back his grin any longer, but it lasted less than a second because he had turned his back to the dragon as well and the creature didn’t hesitate to take advantage of it by sending him flying away with a hard smack of his tail. Flames once more washed across the land as the dragon swiftly swiveled around to strike at Red, but the soldier simply sprinted forward and away from its path.

The fire chased him nevertheless, coming just shy of his tail, and though annoyed by this, Red soon broke out into a wide grin upon spotting a twinkle in the distance. Red then leaped forward - Terra’s power flowing through both him and the land upon which he ran - and he dived into the stony gravel as if it were mere water.

That didn’t stop the dragon, unfortunately, for although it could no longer see its prey, it remembered the trick from earlier and gave pursuit, keeping its flames against the ground in hope of burning Red through it.

It would have worked too had Gelu not been present to counter the heat with her calming chill, and even better of the ice queen, she reached her power through the land as well, attacking at the dragon with yet another flurry of icicles. The heat of its flames soon fell far behind Red as he continued his venture through the earth.

“Heh. Thanks for that, Icy,” Red said mentally. “I didn’t even have to ask you to do that this time.”

“Don’t get used to it,” she responded, trying to sound antagonistic but not quite succeeding. “Consider it a favor for going after my sword first.”

“Alright, I will,” Red said, bursting through the ground yet again and landing in a crudely made nest of randomly assorted jewels, trinkets and half-melted metals.

A quick glance back showed Kirito had recovered and resumed fighting the dragon, and from the spiked, bloody tail lying on the ground away from the couple, it seemed Kirito had managed to once again strike the dragon true.

“Augh, come on! I missed Kirito being badass? Damn it,” Red whined. He then looked around and spotted his quarry: A crystalline great sword, shimmering with a dark cerulean opalescence and glittering as if reflecting the stars of the cold night sky. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just settle for him seeing me be badass,” he said with a grin as he picked up Ice Bane.

Immediately, the power of the sword returned to its crafter, and Gelu’s victorious laughter rang both in Red’s mind and the surrounding world, drawing the attention of Kirito and the dragon.

Upon seeing Red raiding its horde, the dragon shrieked for what was quite possibly the dozenth time in the past five minutes and charged forward.

Kirito then took the chance to plunge his sword into the dragon but doing so drew barely any reaction from the beast, its eyes focused squarely on Red. Kirito took his sword and made to strike again, but the dragon merely gave a mighty flap of its remaining wing, once again sending Kirito flying, much to his vexation.

“We have company again,” Terra remarked neutrally.

“Shall we, Icy?”

“I’ve been meaning to remind my brother how much better I am than he,” she sneered. “Strike him down, Redsopine. My power is yours.”

“Just this once?” he guessed jokingly, drawing back IceBane.

“…Y-Yes. Just this once…”

Though perplexed by her hesitant answer, the rapidly approaching, utterly maddened Ignis was enough of a distraction for Red to not comment on it. Instead, he took a deep breath, feeling the power of Gelu’s masterpiece weave along his fingertips, coating them in a thin layer of frost. Red then exhaled and aimed squarely for the dragons remaining wing.

Ignis shrieked, lunged forward, flames trailing behind him, claws outstretched, and maw open and blowing yet more flames.

In the span of a heartbeat, the dragon fell upon his rudely cobbled-together nest, his prey having disappeared yet again. His wing then fell off and upon landing, it shattered into a layer of dust that soon faded into nothing.

A beat.

Another.

The dragon collapsed, it's body twitching slightly as Gelu’s magic creeped through his body, freezing his every muscle, nerve, and cell until even his blood was nothing more than a tangled web of scarlet crystals.

Red stood far behind the dragon at the end of a vast ravine of ice that had also been carved into the land from merely the single stroke of Ice Bane. He then flourished the sword fancifully before Gelu shrunk the weapon down to nothing, drawing forth the blade and its magic back into her own soul and completing her once more.

Red then strode forward, smiling widely at his ally who approached him also. “So? Pretty cool, right? Oh no, wait! Don’t tell me, I left you totally speechless, right?” Red wondered, grinning even more widely.

“Uhhh… What?” Kirito responded, peering behind him at the downed dragon. “Oh, you did the slay the dragon. Good job,” he complimented. He then raised an eyebrow and asked, “But why exactly would I be speechless?”

Terra and Umbra both snickered, realizing what had happened, but Red just gawked, looking between Ignis and Kirito. “You… You didn’t see me carve through that guy with my giant ice sword!?”

“My ice sword,” Gelu reflexively commented.

“Ice sword?” Kirito echoed, blinking in surprise. “What ice sword?”

“You didn’t see me carve through that guy with my giant ice sword,” Red repeated, throwing up his arms in exasperation and cursing the world for never letting him be applauded for his feats.

“You carved through the dragon with a giant ice sword?”

“Yes!” Red confirmed, annoyed. “How did you miss it!?”

“The dragon knocked me aside,” Kirito answered, wincing at Red’s annoyed groan. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I missed it. I was hoping to see you be as badass as you claimed you were; I really was. Damn…” he swore, shaking his head in lamentation. “I can’t believe I missed it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know,” Red said, crossing his arms and pouting.

“I hate to be rude, but could we please tend to Ignis?” Terra requested, already readying his power to help heal the dragon. “I’d prefer we all properly reunite before we determine how to continue on.”

Red groaned and walked back to the dragon, grumbling, “Do we have to?”

“Yes,” Gelu said curtly. “The sooner I can rub it in his face we felled him with IceBane, the better.”

“Point taken.”

"Uh, guys?" Umbra spoke up. "That's not Ignis."

"Huh?" Red, Gelu, and Terra all deadpanned. Red quickly turned back to the second dragon and scrunched his face in confusion as the dragon began breaking apart and fading away into a cloud of sparkles. A discolored glitched-out menu popped up next to Red, displaying a scrambled message about experience.

Ignoring that for now, Red just shrugged at the empty space the dragon once lay and groaned, "What the hell!? That wasn't Iggy!?"

"But— But—" Gelu stuttered, similarly confused.

"I thought something seemed off about that guy,"Umbra said simply. "He seemed...? Hollow, I guess," he said, not having a better word to describe what it was he sensed. "That dragon must have been a creation of this world."

"Damn it!" Red cursed, slumping both in exhaustion and exasperation. "Well, then where the hell is the real Ignis!?"

"Elsewhere in this world it seems," Terra answered, equally frustrated. "How did I miss that wasn't the real Ignis?"

"Better yet, how did you not see it, Gelu?" Red bluntly asked.

"I don't— I-I just assumed he would be with me!"she explained, trying to sound indignant but far too flustered to succeed. "W-We're supposed to remain by each other's side..." she muttered. After a pause she angrily squawked, "Besides, why are you mad at me; you all thought it was my brother too!"

"Yeah, cause we figured you'd be with him, not hooking up with random strangers." Red then blinked and smiled wickedly. "Seriously, Gelu! I never took you for a one-night-stand type of gal."

"Yeah," Umbra chimed in, knowing full-well he was only making things worse. "But nope. All this time, Gelu, you were one big wh-"

"If you've the utter gall to finish that sentence...!"she shrieked, her embarrassed blush rising up and onto Red's own cheeks. "I-I'll... I'll...!"

"Gelu?" Terra began.

"Yes?" she said, hoping, praying her elder would return some semblance of sense to the situation.

"I just want to make this clear right now before you get any ideas... I am much, much too old for you."

Gelu screamed while Red and Umbra both broke down into fit of laughter.

"Uh, is he laughing... At... Himself?" Liz asked upon approaching Kirito.

"I've no idea," he answered, confused but ultimately unbothered by Red seemingly talking to himself again. "Though apparently the other dragon wasn't the dragon he hoped to find."

Just then, Red finished laughing and wiped his eyes dry before turning back to the others and seeing their confused expressions. "Sorry about that, just, uh? Thought of something funny."

"Uh-huh, sure," Lizbeth deadpanned, crossing her arms.

"Was something the matter with the other dragon?" Kirito inquired.

"Eh, sorta," Red said, shooting the leftover nest an glare. "Let's just say I've still got a friend to look for. In the meantime though, I think it's time we go back to the guild."

"They're gonna be rather angry to learn you fought," Terra commented warily.

"Yeah, yeah, I know we're supposed to be taking it easy. Whatever," Red shot back dismissively. "Uness you guys want to chance an encounter with another giant dragon or something?"

"No thank you," Silica immediately spoke up, shaking her head. "I'm all quested out for the time being."

"Before we go, I wanna take a look at that nest," Lizbeth said, already marching toward it. "See what kind of loot it's sporting."

"Do hurry though," Kirito requested of her as he looked over his health and stats. "It won't take us too long to return to the guild, but I'd prefer being back there by nightfall."

"Don't worry, I know," she said over her shoulder. "I won't be ten minutes."

"Sure you won't," Red said, quickly following after her to help. "Say! If we find some good crafting materials, ya mind making me another set of armor? Maybe one that can actually take a beating?" he sneered, looking over his own and loathing its many dents and scuffs.

“Fine. But if that weird cat friend of yours wants some too, he can look elsewhere," she growled. "I don’t need anything to go missing 'mysteriously.'”

“And here I thought we were friends, Pinkie,” Umbra pouted from atop her head again.

"Get! Off!" Lizbeth snapped, grabbing Umbra before he had time to react and tossing him away.

Red fell into another laughing fit as his roommate squeaked in fear and tumbled against the ground before collapsing into a heap. "You're a meanie!" he groaned into the dirt.

"And you're weird," Liz whispered under breath, combing a hand through her hair while Silica rushed to Umbra's side to help him back up.

"Sorry about him," Red apologized between laughs. "He does that to almost everyone I meet; we're pretty sure he just does 'cause he thinks it's cute."

"It's not."

"I know. It is funny though," he said, chuckling to himself again.

Comments

[Arceaion]

Good chapter.