Kayaba reclined on his chair, eyes closed as he pondered on the raid that was to take place the next day.
The Silver Duchess had been especially designed by him. Most bosses were, but he had paid special attention to the more important ones like the Silver Duchess, the Two-Headed Giant, Illfang the Kobold Lord, Kagachi the Samurai Lord, the Skull Reaper, Fatal Scythe, and, of course, the floor boss of the 100th floor itself, whose's place Kayaba planned to take, An Incarnation of the Radius.
Details aside, the fact of the matter was that Kayaba was fully expecting the Assault Team, including his own Knights of the Blood Oath, to suffer heavy losses tomorrow. He may not have been the one to coin the term 'sure-death floor', but it was appropriate.
Of course, he wouldn't be one of those who fell. He knew the boss better than anyone. And then there was the system protection he had in place which made it impossible for him to die.
It was cheating, yes. Kayaba would admit it. But it was a necessary precaution to ensure the plot of his world did not get disrupted.
But those were worries for the future. Right now, Kayaba had to make a decision. How much should he interfere in tomorrow's raid?
In his initial vision, by now he shouldn't even have to worry about that question. The Assault Team should already have been under his full control - although he would, of course, give the other guild leaders the illusion that they still had a say. It would make his betrayal later on all the more impactful story-wise.
But if Kayaba was being honest, everything was going not according to plan.
He had made a series of mistakes in his calculations, starting with taking too long to join the frontlines. His decision to attempt to swoop in at the 25th floor raid like some kind of knight in shining armor had backfired.
If Drifter or any other frontliner were privy to his thoughts, they would tell Kayaba that any time after the 1st floor was already too late - after they finished murdering him, of course.
But Kayaba's list of errors didn't stop there. Most were minor, like letting his superiority complex from being the god of this world color his interactions with other leaders of the Assault Team in a less than stellar light.
But by far the biggest mistake he had made was not accounting for the appearance of so many anomalies in the Assault Team.
Dragon Knight Lind's pride giving way to his desire to see as many of his subordinates live as possible. NPCs becoming nearly human. Unique Skills popping up earlier than they should have. An archer and a musician taking key roles in the Assault Team.
And, most of all, the surfacing of a leader all in the Assault Team were willing to bow their heads to.
Broken Spear Drifter was both a source of annoyance and admiration to Kayaba.
Annoyance because he threw his plans in disarray by taking up the leadership spot Kayaba was aiming for, and all of it without even trying.
And admiration for nearly the same reason. Drifter represented the best Kayaba saw in humanity - and believe it, that was quite the compliment, seeing as he had become disillusioned enough with people that he saw fit to create an entire new world.
But Broken Spear Drifter... The man had risen to his current station with nothing but sheer force of will and dedication. No tricks, no cheating. Just a spear and the ruthlessness to wield it against the very world he found himself into.
In special the raid on Laughing Coffin. It was one thing to fight digital monsters, but another entirely to go up against other humans. And yet, Broken Spear Drifter had shown not a shred of hesitation in cutting down a dozen of the red players.
After that day, Kayaba had no choice but to recognize Drifter as the most dangerous player in Aincrad.
No doubt, when the day of the final showdown between him and the Assault Team came, Drifter, if he still lived, would be at the forefront.
But all that brought him to his current state: resting on his chair, eyes closed, and weighting his options. Should he show off tomorrow at the raid, and attempt to gain some measure of control over the Assault Team? Drifter had set the perfect stage for it, but it would undoubtedly lead to more butting heads with the spearmaster in the future.
Or he could step back and just do strictly what the other guild leader asked of him and KoB. No one would be able to fault him for it, but it would mean assuming a subservient position towards Broken Spear until the day Heathcliff came out as Akihiko Kayaba.
It was a hard decision. And one he didn't have a lot of time to make.
-------------------------
The morning sun had just crested over the edge of Aincrad when the last of the frontliners made their way to the meeting point. They were 20 minutes early.
ZZIIIIIIRRK!
They quietly entered the queu before Forge Master Lisbeth, for a last-minute sharpening and buffing of their weapons.
ZZIIIIIRRK!
Other than the sound of metal scraping against whetting stone, the safe zone was silent.
ZZIIIIIR-- KAK!
Drifter raised his head and pulled his spear off his back.
"Let's go."
...
The Assault Team stepped out of the Corridor Crystal to be greeted by a set of lavishly decorated doors. Fit for a royal.
Or a duchess, as it were.
Drifter wasted no time with speeches. The moment all the frontliners were accounted for, he placed his palm against the doors and pushed them open.
Like always, they needed only a touch before moving on their own. Drifter stepped through the gap, gaze fixed on the figures at the back of the circular room.
Sitting on a throne fit for a queen, the Silver Duchess made her name justice by being bedecked in the color. From her hair to her eyes, dress, and jewelry, all of it was silver, standing in stark contrast with her ebony skin.
Her expression was almost bored as she waited for the Assault Team to take their place in the center of the room before lazily waving her hand.
As one, the other figures who had been still as statues kneeling at the foot of the throne got up.
Much like their lady, the Gem Knights seemed to take their theme to the extreme. From their armor to their weapons, it was all made of precious minerals.
There were three of them, the leftmost holding two short swords and covered from head to toe in a startling blue shining armor, looking as if it were made from diamonds or sapphires.
The one in the middle, also showing not an inch of skin uncovered by its green emerald armor, held a morningstar and a round shield.
And the last one, to the right, was the one who got Drifter's attention immediately. How could it not, when its spear, made of pure golden topaz, shone so brightly and dangerously.
None of the frontliners relaxed at seeing just three Gem Knights guarding the Silver Duchess. From the short, but equally informative scouting raid, they knew things weren't so simple.
And, lo and behold, they were actively getting more complicated.
The Gem Knights suddenly blurred, as if their resolution had violently fallen. Their forms started to stretch, and, before the frontliners knew it, four extra copies of each mob had appeared.
"Fifteen. That's more than when we scouted. Scaling of our numbers?"
Kirito muttered under his breath, and Drifter shrugged even as he tightened his grip on the haft of his spear.
"Maybe. It doesn't matter. Everyone, stick to the plan! Attack!"
Drifter himself was one of the first to charge at the Gem Knights - targeting one of the spear-wielding ones, of course - with a Comet Break.
"Uh!?"
To his surprise, his intended target matched him skill for skill.
That hadn't happened before.
Around him, Nautilus, Vallerk, Ran, and Kizmel grunted in shock as the synchronized Comet Break charge by all 5 Gem Knights caught them all off guard.
"What the fuck!?"
Unable to pay attention to others, Drifter barely managed to abort his skill in time to avoid getting skewered by the rushing mob.
Trading hits with a monster was nothing short of suicidal.
His spear swept up and right, but the mob blocked it with the shaft of his own weapon. The Gem Knight ignored the tangled spears and reared his free arm to throw a punch.
Drifter kicked it in the stomach.
"Fuck off!"
The kick, without any skill empowering it, did absolutely zero damage. But it accomplished its objective of pushing the mob back enough that Drifter could change his weapon into a an awl pike and thrust it upwards.
For the first time since he engaged the mob, the spearmaster managed to land a clean hit - and it was a good one.
The awl pike entered through the gap between the Gem Knight's helmet and neck armor, piercing clean through the jaw and out its nape.
Had it been a skill, it probably would have wiped out a good fourth of the Gem Knight's HP. Even as a normal attack, it still took away about 15% of it.
"Drifter! Switch!"
The spearmaster fell back without hesitation, allowing Kirito to swoop in and engage the mob in his place. While he still had more than enough energy and health to continue fighting, as the leader for this raid, he had to look at the bigger picture.
Already, things were going off the rails. When the Reavers scouted the boss, none of the Gem Knights had used skills, much less with such coordination. And their fighting prowess-- Drifter felt as if he had been fighting another frontliner.
A quick glance around showed that the spear-wielding Gem Knights weren't the only ones who had seemingly evolved between the scouting raid and today. The other two types were also displaying combat power far above the expected.
Good thing the Assault Team had come prepared to be surprised, even if not so early. Although many players were struggling against the unexpectedly fierce mobs, none had fallen in the initial clash.
"Reform ranks! Reserve parties A through D, I want you to engage the sword-user mobs! Heathcliff, we may need you earlier than planned. Be ready!"
The Assault Team moved to follow his commands like a well-oiled machine. Even Heathcliff didn't hesitate like he normally would.
The Silver Duchess was still lounging on her throne, watching the battle through half-lidden eyes. She seemed completely uninterested in everything, but Drifter wasn't fooled. She would come out to play, and soon.
"Reserve parties E and F, alternate with Fuurinkazan! G and H, back up Reaver's Requiem! Orlando, you are overextending, pull back and switch with the DKB sub-parties!"
Leading a raid meant always having to keep an eye on everyone, especially the more hot-headed frontliners, who were prone to getting drunk in battle-lust and charging ahead while forgetting everything else.
It wasn't a job just anyone could do. Guild leaders were prideful individuals, evidenced by the fact they would rather start their own groups than fold under someone else. Getting them to listen to anyone wasn't an easy feat.
It was one of the reasons Kibaou the Challenger had been kicked out of the Assault Team - although not the main one, that was still the absolute clusterfuck he caused. But Kibaou's refusal to play nice with others would have seen him gone sooner or later.
"I'm switching in. Kirito!"
But Drifter couldn't just play the role of a backline commander. He was still one of SAO's handful of titled players, and one of the Assault Team's strongest combatants. After seeing that there was nothing more demanding his immediate attention, he jumped back into the fray.
The Gem Knights weren't easy opponents. If Drifter had to guess, each and every one of them had advanced AI - capable of learning and improvising during the fight. Fully at the level of the average frontliner.
Still, there were just 15 mobs to over a hundred frontliners. Even of the KoB was staying out of it, there were more than enough player to comfortably split one party per Gem Knight. If any frontliner fell this early, Drifter would have been severely disappointed - and would also order their retreat immediately, to re-evaluate their strategy.
A spear whistled past his head, and Drifter frowned as he ducked and changed his weapon into a guisarme - a tip-heavy variant of a polearm with a hook in addition to the main blade.
Sweeping the guisarme close to the ground, he succeeded in hooking a Gem Knight by the ankle. Without missing a step, he pulled strongly, bringing the mob down.
There was nothing to be seen in the helmet-covered face of the mob, but Drifter got the distinct impression it was surprised.
That didn't stop him from stabbing it in the neck with a Double Tap, making it the first Gem Knight to fall today.
"What the--"
However, Drifter wasn't happy about his kill. If anything, he became even more tense, a frown taking his face as his lips twisted into a grimace.
The Gem Knight's HP had undoubtedly reached zero. And yet, the mob had not shattered into a million shards like everything else that died in SAO.
Instead, the creature dissolved into golden liquid, which slithered away from Drifter's spear like it had a mind of its own. The spearmaster attempted to slash at it, but it was futile, simply parting the liquid momentarily, and not even slowing it down.
Drifter could only look on as the living puddle nimbly moved across the room, joined by more golden, blue, and green liquid as other Gem Knights perished, their destination evident.
As the remnants of the Gem Knights disappeared under the hem of Silver Duchess' dress, Drifter nervously flexed his fingers.
No matter how he looked at it, this was a sign of the rapidly approaching second phase of the boss raid.
Before the Silver Duchess even got up, Drifter's heart already felt like someone had stuck their hand inside his chest and was squeezing it.
Death. That was what he felt.