Chapter 161 - Infinite Spear

Time dulled the pain. It never fully went away, but each day made it more bearable. That was the hard lesson all players eventually learned.

6 days after the disastrous raid that had come to be known as the 25th Massacre, the players had already explored a good three-fourths of the 26th floor.

They still hurt. The nightmares still made an appearance every night. Which was why they were all the faster in mapping this floor. You could hardly find a single clearer who was still sleeping by 5 AM, and who got back to the safe zone before 9 PM. Definitely no frontliners.

Even Liten and the ALS were about. They, more than anyone, needed to keep themselves occupied. Not just because of the slaughter, but also for the decision they had made, and which would be put into action soon.

You see, after Kibaou transferred leadership of the Aincrad Liberation Squad to Liten, the tank wept during the first day. She talked and comforted the normal players and clearers in the second.

On the third day, Liten called a meeting with all the players with leadership roles inside the ALS - the ones who were still alive, at least. They spent the best part of days 3 and 4 arguing.

What about, you might ask. And the answer was simple: the future of the guild.

Some thought that they should maintain the guild, but retire from the frontlines. Others argued that there was no reason for the ALS to exist if it wasn't to be a part of the Assault Team, and that they should start recruiting and training again. A portion of them still supported disbanding the guild completely.

It was that last group that, despite being the smallest in number, spoke the loudest. They said that without Kibaou, the ALS would never be the same. But they weren't defending their former guild leader, far from it. They called him a stain in the guild's reputation that they could never wipe away. Much better get rid of it altogether and start over.

Liten wasn't sure she agreed with that. Kibaou definitely deserved everything he got, and seeing Broken Spear Drifter tell him to fuck off and never come back had been satisfying on many levels.

But still, it was one mistake. A huge, unforgivable mistake, but just one nonetheless. The way the people were talking about Kibaou... Liten shuddered to think of it. That much hatred couldn't come from just a singular occasion. Just how long had the ALS been falling apart to infighting that she was not aware off?

Even forgetting all that, there was the matter of the resignations. Within 4 days, half of the surviving normal players who took part in the raid had left the guild, and with them a good chunk of the ones who didn't participate.

Not only that, but while the frontliners, however few were left, were still going strong, a not insignificant portion of the ALS clearers had decided to take some time off. Understandable, really, but it was doubtful how many would actually return instead of retiring completely.

Liten couldn't blame any of them. They had been through a traumatizing experience. 1 in every 3 of the participants of the raid had died. That was a ratio that not even the worse of wars in the outside world saw. Anyone who didn't have some sort of PTSD after that needed to get checked out.

Frontliners were the crazy ones. They were definitely all sorts of traumatized, but neither Liten nor any of the handful of ALS frontliners ever thought of leaving. Whether the Aincrad Liberation Squad endured or not, they were in this life until the end.

On the fifth day, the ALS arrived at a consensus.

The Aincrad Liberation Squad, one of Sword Art Online's first guilds and founders of the Assault Team... Was officially disbanding.

Liten was... Conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to fiercely fight that decision. The ALS was her home, it had been everything she had for a long time.

On the other hand, her home was in shambles. And sometimes the only way to rebuild was to tear everything down and start over.

Nevertheless, the decision was made. And on the night of the sixth day, after one last hunt as the Aincrad Liberation Squad, she officially dissolved the guild.

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The disbandment of the ALS made waves, even if it was already expected. Putting Sword Art Online aside for a moment, the second the decision was announced, it made the news in the outside world.

One thing that had to be understood was that SAO wasn't just a Japanese problem anymore. No, it was global. Because if one madman could trap 10.000 souls in a virtual realm, then what more could be done? For both good and bad.

Because of that, anything that happened in Aincrad was always under the scrutiny of the public. There was not a person in the world who didn't know of SAO, and anytime a floor boss raid happened, the spectators would be in the billions. SAO was by far more relevant than the Olympics or World Cup.

"...Just a few minutes ago, Liten the Fortress has officially announced the disbandment of the Aincrad Liberation Squad. In regards to that, our team would like to bring you on a short trip down memory lane on the history of one of SAO's founding guilds..."

"...Actions of Kibaou the Challenger, dissolving the guild was the only possible course..."

"...We are now left to wonder about the future of the former ALS guild members, especially the frontliners and..."

"...Dragon Knights Brigade, Reaver's Requiem, Fuurinkazan, and Legend Braves have yet to comment..."

"...Brings the rash actions of the player Kibaou, who many are calling a sinner, to the forefront again..."

"...25th Massacre..."

Bzzt.

Yuuki Shouzou turned off the television and sat back down on the sofa, rubbing his temples. No matter which channel he chose, they were all talking about it.

The 25th Massacre. Never had a name been so accurate. Because what the SAO players went through, even if they did kill the boss in the end, was nothing short of a slaughter.

Even Shouzou, the ever cool CEO, had been on the edge of his seat that day, his heart thumping painfully in his chest. And with reason, as his daughter was one of the first to throw herself into danger to rescue the ALS.

Shouzou counted. Asuna came close to death 13 times during that battle. Not that her health got to the red that many times, but it fell low enough that just another hit would have spelled death for her. And she avoided 13 potentially fatal blows.

She almost gave Shouzou 13 heart attacks, that's what. Even before, when Asuna had some close calls, he hadn't been too worried. But watching players shatter left and right, had made it much more real. It terrified him like nothing he had felt before.

"Shouzou, stop watching useless things. We have a meeting with Senator Otaka. He is one of my father's contacts, so make sure to treat him well. Don't talk about unnecessary things."

Translation: don't mention Sword Art Online and Asuna. His wife viewed both as an embarrassment to the family.

"Hm."

Shouzou simply grunted in agreement. He didn't clench his fists, he didn't frown. He was a calm man. A collected man.

He could also be a petty man when he wanted to.

"When was the last time you visited our daughter? Kyouko."

His wife didn't answer, but she didn't need to. Shouzou knew. Other than the first day, she hadn't gone to the hospital to see Asuna once. She had stopped watching the boss raids after the 3rd floor. She never tuned in to Asuna's channel after the 24/7 broadcast became available.

He turned on the television again and opened Asuna's PoV. She was talking with the former ALS tank, Liten the Fortress. She was saying something that made the other woman grin wearily. Every so often, her gaze would wander to Black Swordsman Kirito, and she would smile.

Sometimes... Sometimes Shouzou thought that it might be better if the players never beat SAO. That his daughter stayed in Aincrad forever. At least she seemed happy there.

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Far from the Yuuki's household family drama, Ogawa Kenji and Ogawa Kana were ecstatic. Their son had survived the 25th Massacre. And he had been elevated to guild master of Reaver's Requiem!

Well, they were feeling happy now that their son was safe and sound - as much as he could be when he was a frontliner, that is. When the 25th Massacre happened, the couple was feeling very differently.

The only other time Drifter's parents felt so much fear was when Kayaba announced the start of Sword Art Online.

Back then, they had tried calling their son, although they had no idea he had bought a NerveGear. They were simply doing what parents do when they hear about something bad happening within 300 kilometers of their children.

When Drifter didn't answer, that was when they started to get worried. That worry turned to fear, and then horror, when a man from the SAO task force contacted them saying that Kayaba had released a list of all SAO players and their locations to the government, and that their son was one of them.

That's when they first learned what despair felt like. That entire first month of complete radio silence from the players and Kayaba, sitting next to Drifter's hospital bed everyday.

The first broadcast had been both a blessing and a curse. Because just when they were finally getting used to the idea that their son was all but gone, they saw him again. Fighting a monster they couldn't even begin to imagine existed.

And then again and again and again and again. To the 10th floor, and then the 20th. Always going up. Never faltering. For a time, even Kana and Genji had allowed themselves to believe that their Itsuki was invincible. That he was coming back home.

The 25th Massacre shattered those hopes. Watching dozens of players die, their son practically set a foot on the other side... Kana fainted the moment the battle ended, her blood pressure through the roof. It was only yesterday that she came back home.

But the emotional roller-coaster never stopped. Because when Genji took her home and told her about Drifter succeeding Kirito as Reaver's Requiem guild leader, nearly all her bad emotions were washed away. She was so proud of him.

He was so strong. He never looked back. Even now, Drifter was training with his new technique. He never stopped.

Kana felt like she was finally starting to understand what it meant to be a frontliner.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Kana in the outside world and her son in SAO spoke at almost the same time. Kana because Drifter, who had been reclining on a chair and checking his HUD after a hard day of grinding, suddenly fell. And Drifter because of another reason entirely.

"What the-?

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The SAO players had different reactions to the announcement of the ALS breaking up.

Drifter and Reaver's Requiem simply nodded, acknowledging what they already knew. Lind and the DKB got right into recruiting the former ALS frontliners and clearers, with varying success.

Liten obviously joined the DKB, so she could be with her boyfriend. About half of the frontliners and clearers followed her. The other half, however, was surprisingly recruited by the upcoming Knights of the Blood Oath. Never let it be said that Heathcliff didn't recognize an opportunity when he saw it.

Reaver's Requiem didn't recruit anyone. They never relied on numbers, and they had a few too many conflicts with the ALS frontliners over the years to feel comfortable inviting them.

Liten was the only one who they might want to add to their guild, but they always knew she was going to the DKB to be with Shivata.

"How long do ya give it, Drifter?"

The spearmaster looked up from his meal. Reaver's Requiem had returned to the safe zone, and were having dinner before turning in for the day.

Agil was sitting across from him, messing with his menu. From his finger motions, the Merchant Warrior was organizing his inventory. Drifter put another piece of steak in his mouth.

"Heathcliff?"

Agil nodded without taking his eyes off his HUD.

"Another floor at most. Just long enough so the new recruits can settle in."

The merchant nodded again, and a few of the Reavers around who were listening in did the same. Heathcliff was a very ambitious man. Honestly, it was a surprise he hadn't already contacted the frontliner guild leaders and requested to join the Assault Team.

"Let's hope he isn't another Kibaou."

Finishing his meal, Drifter reclined on his chair and opened his menu out of habit. He ignored the way Asuna, Kirito, Silica, and some of the others stiffened at his words.

Agil, Yuna, Nautilus, Sinon, and Ran, on the other hand, just grunted. They shared the same cynical view as Drifter when it came to Kibaou: absolute loathing. Maybe it was too much. But so were the deaths.

"Huh?"

It was during his thoughtless skimming of his menu that Drifter spotted something and narrowed his eyes. Then his mouth fell open in shock.

"Huh?!"

He sat up so quickly that his chair rocked in place and tumbled. Drifter barely noticed he was now on the ground. He was staring at his menu.

"Drifter! What happened?!"

"What's wrong, Drifter?"

His friends scrambled out of their seats, and Vallerk lifted him up. Liten, Shivata, Orlando, Klein, and everyone from the other guilds also looked over to him.

The curious gazes shook Drifter out of his stupor. He looked around and bit the inside of his cheeks. There were only friends around. But this was big. Should he say it?

He had to. Keeping secrets, especially one of this magnitude, right after the 25th Massacre would be an even bigger mistake. Because secrets always got out, and the longer they were kept, the worse the distrust that followed would be.

So Drifter took one last deep breath to steady himself, grateful for Yuna's hand clutching his, and set his menu to the public mode.

There, sitting in the middle of his skill list as if it was nothing special, was one new skill Drifter had never seen.

If it was only that, Drifter wouldn't have had such an exaggerated reaction. Players got new skills all the time. Drifter himself had earned Pinpoint Star after his One-handed Lance and Two-handed Spear base skills hit 700 and 620 mastery respectively during the battle against the Two-Headed Giant.

But this one was different. Because it wasn't just a new skill. There was something else in front of its name. A modifier.

Everyone stared in silence at Drifter's new acquisition. The Unique Skill: Infinite Spear.