Because Xaxa had been lurking in the shadows all this time, with no telling when he might strike, Akimi and the others fought cautiously, which slowed their monster-clearing efficiency quite a bit.
Fortunately, Yuna's chanting provided solid stat boosts, easing much of the pressure on them.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
After slashing back several monsters once again, Akimi glanced at his HP and downed a recovery potion.
They had already been entangled with these monsters for nearly ten minutes, and their condition was steadily worsening.
While there wasn't overwhelming pressure yet, that might change at any moment.
If not for the Mid-Autumn Rabbits, they could have simply used teleport crystals to leave.
But unfortunately, there was no "if"—
The rabbits were too fast, able to strike more than twice before a teleport crystal could activate.
And with their advanced AI systems, they could calculate how to knock Akimi's group into cage traps, interrupting the crystal's activation.
Just a few minutes earlier, Klein had nearly lost half his HP because of this, almost falling right then and there.
Still, their attacks weren't without effect—they had already torn a gap through the horde.
But strangely, the monster numbers didn't seem to have decreased much at all.
"Something's wrong…"
Akimi frowned and muttered softly.
Although his detection skill hadn't picked up anyone other than Xaxa in the vicinity, he could guess what was happening—
While Xaxa and the monsters kept them busy, someone else outside was continually drawing more monsters in to replenish their numbers.
As for who… Akimi didn't even need to think.
It had to be PoH's people.
No ordinary player would be bored enough to herd all the monsters in one direction just to trap others.
But that made things all the more troublesome.
They were still some distance away from the safe zone.
If it came down to it, Akimi, Asuna, and Klein could probably hold out using their stock of recovery items, but Nautilus and Yuna didn't have nearly enough supplies.
Thanks to the others' support, Yuna and Nautilus weren't burning through potions too quickly, but if things kept up at this pace, an accident before reaching the safe zone was almost certain.
"…We can't drag this out any longer," Akimi thought to himself, already considering ways to break through.
But before he could come up with anything, he felt himself yanked back.
A rapier stabbed into the spot where he had just been standing, skewering a lunging monster—it was Asuna.
She shot him a glance and scolded softly:
"What are you spacing out for?"
"Uh… just trying to think of a way to break through."
Akimi blinked, then answered.
At that moment, a glint of green on Asuna's left hand caught his eye—it was a cheap-looking ring, thin and plain, like an iron band clasping a green gemstone.
The cheap-looking ring on Asuna's slender, fair finger stirred Akimi's memory.
It was one of a pair of special rings they had obtained back on the fifth floor.
He still had the other, a black one.
Asuna's ring could stun any target within a two-meter radius for two seconds, with a five-minute cooldown—though unfortunately, it had no effect on bosses.
His ring, on the other hand, could slightly alter the terrain within a five-meter radius, with a ten-minute cooldown.
And just how "slight" was that alteration?
Well, about the level of a severely nerfed version of Earth Flow Wall.
He had almost forgotten he even had it—though once before, it had actually saved his life.
Out in the field or inside a spacious boss room, the terrain ring was basically useless.
But in an environment like this—narrow and confined—it could prove invaluable.
With that in mind, things suddenly seemed much simpler.
Akimi quickly unleashed two sword skills, clearing out the surrounding monsters, then moved to Asuna's side.
"Asuna, let me borrow that stun ring for a bit."
"Oh—okay."
Though she didn't know what he was planning, she trusted him.
Without hesitation, Asuna slipped the ring from her finger and placed it in his hand.
Without wasting time, Akimi equipped it, then activated his own terrain ring first.
A wall of earth rose up, cutting off the monsters from them.
The move left Klein and the others stunned.
"Wha—?!" Klein yelped, then exclaimed, "I thought Aincrad didn't have magic! What the heck is that?!"
"Hard work and talent… I'll leave it to you guys to hold out a little longer."
Akimi, as if joking, dashed in one direction—the exact spot where Xaxa was hiding.
Although Xaxa's stealth skill was already quite high-level, Akimi's detection skill, enhanced by the Breath of Water, was nearly at the level of complete mastery.
Xaxa, however, knew nothing of this.
He was very confident in his stealth, and to make ambushes easier, he had been hiding relatively close to Akimi and the others.
When Akimi suddenly charged toward him, Xaxa thought at first that Akimi was abandoning the others and trying to escape alone.
But he soon realized something was wrong—it looked like Akimi was charging straight at him!
"Hey, hey, hey! This isn't part of the plan!"
Seeing he was exposed, Xaxa wasn't stupid enough to stay put.
Confident as he was, facing Akimi head-on was something he felt should be left to the boss.
So he immediately got up and ran.
This, however, allowed Akimi to completely lock onto his position.
The corner of his mouth curved into a slight smirk as he spoke in a mocking tone:
"Hmph, trying to run? I'll make sure you never come back!"
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Piercing Drop Thrust!"
With the breathing technique's enhancement, Akimi's agility stat had reached an absurd level—204 points.
In an instant, he appeared behind Xaxa, his Nichirin blade poised to strike down.
But Xaxa wasn't entirely without skill.
He immediately reacted, trying to duck out of the way.
Akimi had already anticipated his move.
A faint green glow shone from his hand.
"Too bad, Mr. PK murderer. From here on out—or rather, from now on—you won't have a chance to see any more 'show time.'"
"No—! No! Stop it!"
Unfortunately for him, Akimi showed no mercy.
His Nichirin blade pierced straight through the flimsy leather armor on Xaxa's body, stabbing into his heart from behind.
Glancing at the marker displayed by his own ID, Akimi murmured to himself:
"…Truly, you got what you deserved."
— The end of the Chapter–