The room filled with blaring red light.
Behind them, the door slammed shut with an echoing boom.
Then, panic-inducing warning claxons began resounding.
Sections of wall split, opening into a pathway with which pickaxe-wielding gnomes began pouring out from every direction.
Then, from thin air, golems appeared in a burst of light particles, "spawning" in around them.
In an instant, all seven of them were surrounded.
It was as Yuuji expected. The secret room didn't lead to treasure.
"It's a trap! We have to escape quickly!"
"Teleport! Taft!"
Ducker shouted the command, clutching onto a blue teleport crystal. But his figure remained. And out of desperation, despite knowing its futility, he shouted it over and over.
"Teleport! Taft!"
"T-The crystals won't work!"
Having brandished his sword, Kirito moved closer towards Sacchi.
"We're in a crystal nullification zone!"
"Calm down! All of you, listen to me!"
A commanding voice resounded, catching all of their attention despite the blaring claxons and monsters' groans.
Yuuji stood tall before them. In his hand, a gleaming jet-black blade.
He had always been the tallest out of the group, even surpassing Tetsuo. But now, his figure appeared larger than life. His broad back giving them all a sense of security despite the crisis.
"Stay together. Defend with everything you have. Don't even think of counter attacking!"
""Y-Yes!""
The Moonlit Black Cats members all tensed and shouted their answers. And for the moment, Yuuji's clear order erased most of their uncertainty, panic, and fear that was robbing them of their clarity.
Then, he turned towards Kirito.
"Protect them. Asuna and I will take care of this."
"Alright. Leave them to me."
Yuuji nodded and turned towards Asuna, and saw her smiling figure, basked in the glaring red light of the room.
"Let's do this, Yuuji."
"Alright. The one with the least kills makes dinner."
Without waiting for her answer, Yuuji burst into speed, rushing towards the densest, target-rich environment.
"Haaah!"
He weaved through the crowd of gnomes and golems. His blade cutting through each one like a hot knife through butter.
And as the sword skill "Square" finished its last movement, Yuuji chained it with a sword slash, splitting another golem in half.
In an instant, six gnomes and five golems shattered in particles of light before the others could even move.
"Amazing…"
"That's insane…"
"Is this his true power…?"
Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker all stared in disbelief. Even Sacchi froze in awed silence as Yuuji continued to slash through the horde of enemies.
"Yuuji! That's cheating!"
Asuna's shout brought them back to their senses. And they watched as she flashed through her enemies, true to her epithet, leaving behind monsters with clear circular damage indicators of a piercing attack before shattering into particles of light.
"She's also amazing…"
"Asuna-san…"
"Focus!"
This time, Kirito's voice snapped them out of their daze.
"Don't be careless! Focus on defending! Keep your eyes on the monsters before you!"
Kirito brandished his sword, slashing through a gnome before hacking through a golem with his second slash. Both monsters shattered into particles of light in an instant.
His damage output wasn't missed by the rest of his guild members.
But with monsters beginning to charge at them, a brutal defensive battle now truly began.
"Sacchi, Sasamaru, keep them away with your spear! Tetsuo, help shield Ducker while he does chip damage with his short sword!"
Kirito barked orders as he continued engaging monsters after monsters that had come too close to their little circle.
He spent all his focus determining their danger-levels based on how close they were to threatening the others, and killing those first even if he had to open himself up to attacks from another monster.
With his level and his battle healing skill, he would be able to survive a few hits. But the same couldn't be said for his friends.
Sacchi, Ducker, Sasamaru, and Tetsuo desperately brandished their weapons to stave off the monsters, following Yuuji and Kirito's order to focus on defending. But despite their efforts, all they could do was turtle behind the meager defense their equipment could offer and Kirito's protection, desperately clinging onto hope that Yuuji and Asuna could kill all the monsters quickly.
"Kuh!"
"Sasamaru!"
"Ducker, stay behind me! Sasamaru will be fine!"
"Kirito!"
"Stay together!"
The sound of glasses shattering continued to echo within the sealed room as one by one, two by two, monsters began shattering into particles of digital light.
A minute passed… And before the second came, the sound of battle soon dissipated, punctuated with the final shattering of a golem under Yuuji's blade.
The blaring red light dissipated, and the room returned to its original white.
Where there were sounds of clashing swords and desperate cries, now utter silence.
Then, thuds resounded as the four members of the Moonlit Black Cats collapsed onto the floor.
"Hah… Hah… It's finally over…"
"That was… Too close to comfort…"
"I almost peed my pants… No, I would've if I could pee here…"
Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker let go of their weapons and laid on their backs, their chest heaving tumultuously.
Meanwhile, Sacchi entrusted her body fully to Kirito as she leaned onto his chest, strength leaving her trembling body completely.
Tears flowed down her eyes as she clutched onto Kirito's shirt, her lips trembling as did her body, unable to utter even a single word. Not even that of relief.
Kirito held her shoulders firmly, pulling her towards him.
He saw a glimpse of a future where he would've lost her… It was then that he felt that he couldn't.
And so he held onto her firmly, both to assure himself that she was still present, and to keep her by his side.
Footsteps echoed in the room. The door that was the sole exit had opened, yet the sound still echoed in the now hollow room.
"You did well to hold on…"
Yuuji approached them and knelt down by their side. From his inventory, he took out several vials of potions and handed them to all members of the Moonlit Black Cats, including Kirito.
"Thank you…"
One by one, they thanked Yuuji. Not only for the potion, but for saving their lives.
And now that they had the luxury to calm down and relive what had just happened, their faces turned grim once more.
"We… Almost died."
"Yeah… Yeah we did…"
"It was only thanks to Yuuji-san, Asuna-san, and Kirito that we got to live…"
"Uhn…"
Even now as the room returned to its previous color and silence, they could still see and hear the piercing red light and blaring sound of warning horn reverberating in their memories.
They feared death during the battle. But they had the luxury to be distracted by combat and the determination to live.
Now… voided from all those distractions, they had the time and leisure to truly savor the sensation of being a hair-breadth away from death.
Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Sacchi agreed with Ducker's words.
Yuuji and Asuna's strength was obvious from the start. They perceived the two as being strong due to their high level. But after seeing them fight, they could tell that even amongst the pioneers of the front lines, they were in a league of their own.
But Kirito…
"You are… so strong, Kirito."
Sacchi looked up. Though even looking up to him required her to pull onto his clothes to lift her up and look at him in the eyes.
And she saw it. Shock, fear, guilt. She saw it all in his widened eyes.
He had always been knowledgeable and reliable in battle… Sacchi had noticed something amiss during all his time spent with them.
And she knew she wasn't alone.
It was on occasion… But they had spoken of their suspicion. Though in the end, they never pried deeply.
Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker all turned towards him as well. Not with an accusatory look. Just… the desire to hear the truth from the mouth of the man they've been calling friend.
"I…"
Kirito opened his mouth. But he could feel a lump of guilt, of fear, bulging in his gullet, allowing him to squeeze out only one letter from his throat.
He looked at his guildmates on the floor, then towards Yuuji, Asuna, and finally Sacchi.
His jaw clenched as his eyes shut closed, bracing for the inevitable.
"I'm sorry…"
His head fell. Perhaps out of shame. Perhaps guilt. Or most likely, both.
Sacchi maintained her gaze. Though she could no longer see his eyes, she looked as if she could.
"Why are you apologizing, Kirito?"
"... Because I lied. I was level 40 when we first met… I lied about my level…"
The revelation didn't shock the Moonlit Black Cats. They've had a guess. Though they didn't expect him to be that much higher level than them.
"Why did you lie about that?"
Sacchi asked once again. Her hands now no longer clutched onto his clothes. She simply placed them on his chest.
"Because I'm… I'm a beta tester."
"... I see."
The revelation made many things click into place.
His knowledge. His strength. His subtle nudges to drive them towards the right direction.
Now that they knew the truth, everything became obvious in hindsight.
And they knew now why he would keep it a secret.
The fear of not being accepted. Of being ostracized. Of finding company, only to be rejected and become alone again if they were to know that he was a beta-tester who robbed the chances from other regular players to grow stronger and survive in this death game.
There was a reason why Beta Tester preferred to either move alone, or hide their true nature like he did.
No matter how far Yuuji's words had spread, some would still pin their mistakes, their recklessness, and their misfortune to the Beta Testers.
This was what Kirito had feared.
"...Well, I personally don't think badly of beta testers."
"Eh?"
Kirito snapped his gaze towards Sacchi, and saw her looking back at him with a soft smile.
"Me too."
Ducker took out a small booklet. One that should be familiar to all Sword Art Online players.
"This thing saved us more than we can count… And they're written by beta testers. Sure they got an early advantage, but they never really abandoned anyone, right? If they do, this thing won't be free of charge to get in at least one store on every floor."
Tetsuo and Sasamaru nodded, and took out their copies of the Player Guide Yuuji, Argo, and other beta testers had made and distributed to players.
They've bought several volumes, even the paid ones which were meant for more advanced players. Although they hadn't seen any use of it, it was still a good read during idle times in a world where entertainment was limited to a few NPC and player songstresses or bards who would sometimes perform in plazas.
One they particularly loved. A songstress by the name of Yuna. She often performed in the plaza of the first floor. But she'd also often go to higher floors, sometimes even on the newly opened floor and perform there to celebrate.
It was always a treat to watch her perform. But when they didn't, the guide was a good way to kill time.
After all, it's essentially a game guide, and they've read more than they could count since they started being able to read.
"That's why… You don't have to hide anymore. Not with us. After all, we're friends, aren't we?"
Sacchi placed a hand on his as Kirito froze, his eyes gazing upon them with disbelief.
"That's right! Don't worry about something like that! We're friends! And friends don't mind those kinds of small things!"
Ducker assured.
"We actually have a hunch that you're stronger than you let on. But we don't want to pry too deeply. And since you're a good guy, we don't really mind if you're a beta tester or whatnot."
Sasamaru added.
"We've reached this far thanks to your help. And you've protected us more times than we can count. You are our comrade. Our friend. Being a beta tester won't change a thing."
And finally, Testsuo stood up from the floor, approached Kirito, and placed hand on his back.
"I'm sure Keita would think the same as us. So don't worry. You're a member of the Moonlit Black Cats. And that won't change."
"Everyone…"
His head fell down, his hair obscuring his eyes.
Tetsuo could feel the body of the "Black Swordsman" tremble under his hand, and he simply stroked it softly while Sachi held his hand tighter with both of hers.
"Thank you…"
The system had deemed him a member of the Moonlit Black Cats for months.
But now, only now did Kirito finally feel he truly belonged as one of them.
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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!!
Also, if you'd like to read additional chapters ahead and get a pdf version (Light & Dark), please feel free to check out my at patr_eon.com/verglasx ~!
Thank you~!