-424- Face to face with death

"Boom!"

In a thunderous sound akin to a cannon blast, Rozen, who had just clashed head-on with the Skull Reaper in mid-air, was sent flying and plummeted toward the ground.

"Rozen!"

Seeing this, Asuna immediately turned around and rushed back.

"...!?"

Kirito's expression also turned urgent, and he swooped in the direction of Rozen.

"Gu!"

"Gu!"

Saichou and Hanachou, as if they hadn't witnessed what just happened, smoothly glided on either side of Rozen, who was falling, and like streaks of light, they moved toward the Skull Reaper.

While the Skull Reaper that directly clashed with Rozen in mid-air wasn't flung away like him, it did freeze for a moment, allowing Saichou and Hanachou to reach it and scatter a large amount of phosphorescent powder.

"Zap!"

Accompanied by an electric-like sound effect, the Skull Reaper fell into a paralytic state. Its colossal body dropped heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

At the same time, Kirito and Asuna also arrived behind Rozen, extending their hands to catch him as he fell and immediately checking Rozen's HP gauge.

Rozen's HP gauge was fluctuating slightly and had decreased by a small portion, but it was barely even ten percent.

Kirito and Asuna finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, that relief didn't last long.

"Be careful!"

Rozen, who had recovered from his stun, struggled to get up and fixedly stared ahead, urgently providing information.

"This Boss's attacks are incredibly powerful. A single hit without blocking will likely be fatal. Don't let it hit you!"

This was Rozen's instant judgment after the mutual strike with the opponent.

If it wasn't like this, after Rozen activated his Sword Skill, the opponent wouldn't have rebounded him and even weakened his own HP.

"What...!?"

"A single hit...!"

Kirito and Asuna's expressions changed.

Not to mention Kirito and Asuna, even the other players who were paying attention to this situation showed astonished expressions.

"How... How is this possible!?"

"A... single hit..."

Klein and Agil's expressions became quite grim.

In SAO, a player's strength primarily depended on three aspects: level, equipment, and skills.

Although a player's personal skill was important, when you considered everything else, these three factors played a significant role.

Equipment, naturally, needed no explanation. The higher the performance, the more it could enhance a player.

Skills was about what kind of skills were placed in the limited skill slots and how skilled the player was with those skills. This significantly determined a player's strength.

As for level, it was paramount.

Once the level increased, not only would STR (strength) and AGI (agility) improve, but it would also add more skill slots. Most importantly, the maximum HP would increase.

For this reason, no matter how poor the equipment and skills were, as long as the level was high enough, the HP value would be high, making it difficult to die.

This was also why being over 10 levels above the current floor became a safety margin. Even with poor equipment and skills, if you were 10 levels higher than the current floor, monsters would find it challenging to kill you.

Today, the players participating in the clearing group for the Floor Boss were all the top players with the highest levels in SAO. Their levels were all within the safety range, and each one was above level 85.

Under such circumstances, even the attacks of the Floor Bosses could be endured several times without blocking, especially Sword Skills or special attacks.

Ordinary attacks wouldn't instantly drain the HP of the clearing group players.

Even the renowned powerful Floor Bosses on the 25th and 50th floors couldn't reach the level of one-hit killing a top player solely with normal attacks.

Yet, Rozen claimed that without blocking, they couldn't even withstand a single hit?

How could this not be shocking?

On the other hand, Asuna quickly regained her composure.

After all, she had seen monsters of this level before.

The Fatal Scythe in the Black Iron Palace Underground Labyrinth also has the ability to kill Rozen and Asuna with a single hit.

Although they might withstand a hit by successfully blocking, their levels and equipment performance are higher than the average players in the clearing group.

If they can't even withstand a hit without blocking, it would be even more challenging for the other players in the clearing group, even if they blocked the attack.

So, Asuna was the first to regain her composure.

"Fall back!" Asuna hurriedly said, "Create some distance from the Boss and regroup!"

Asuna's words were immediately rejected by Rozen.

"No, there's no time!"

Rozen's eyes, locked onto what was in front of him, contracted suddenly as he spoke.

"The effects of Saichou and Hanachou's skills on it are very minimal. They probably won't last even a second!"

Just as if to confirm Rozen's statement, from the rising dust, the Skull Reaper burst out of the smoke and rushed towards them violently.

Like a speeding train, the Skull Reaper vibrated its bone legs rapidly while charging out. It raised its bone scythe again and swung it heavily toward Rozen, Asuna, and Kirito.

"————!"

Kirito and Asuna immediately reflexively raised their weapons to prepare to block.

But Rozen shouted.

"Two meters backwards! Jump!"

Having said that, Rozen himself exerted force and jumped away.

Kirito and Asuna were initially taken aback but quickly followed suit, jumping back as well.

The distance was just right, exactly two meters.

In that instant, the Skull Reaper's bone scythe swung down.

"Swoosh!"

With a crisp slicing sound, the bone scythe broke through the sound barrier, gleaming with sharpness.

Its tip passed just in front of Rozen, Kirito, and Asuna at lightning speed, missing their bodies by less than a centimeter. It even cut a small piece of Kirito's bangs before landing in an empty space.

Feeling the tip of the bone scythe passing in front of his forehead, Kirito's face turned almost white.

However, the Skull Reaper's attack wasn't over yet.

"There's a second one! Be careful!" Rozen reminded them.

The Skull Reaper's bone scythe actually had two blades, not just one. It let out a chilling roar and raised the other bone scythe high, preparing to strike down like a thunderbolt.

But someone was faster than the Skull Reaper.

"Clang!"

With a crisp sound, the bone scythe struck heavily against a cross shield, producing intense sparks.

In the nick of time, a player rushed forward and blocked the deadly strike.

That player was none other than Heathcliff.

Heathcliff gazed at the Skull Reaper with extreme composure, holding his cross shield in front of him to block the lethal bone scythe.

At the same time, two other players rushed forward.

"Oooohhh!"

Klein and Agil roared in anger and charged at the Skull Reaper's skull, unleashing sword skills with their katana and battle axe.

"Boom!"

The effects of their sword skills exploded on the Skull Reaper's face, causing it to recoil and emit a painful howl.

"Gu!"

"Gu!"

Saichou and Hanachou, taking advantage of the opportunity, fluttered down and scattered more phosphorescent powder, silencing the Skull Reaper's howl.

"Now's the time!" Rozen shouted.

"Damage dealers! Unleash your attacks collectively!"

Rozen's shout brought the dispersed players charging towards the battlefield.

Player after player roared out and rushed toward this direction.