Forty-seven players joined the boss battle, divided into four groups: Teams A, B, and C, led by Lind (chosen by lot as raid leader) and now called the Dragon Knights Brigade; Teams D, E, and F, the Aincrad Liberation Squad under Kibao; Team G, the five-member Legends of Braves led by Orlando; and Team H, led by Egill, who'd stayed neutral last time.
The Legends of Braves… their gear gives them some presence, but they seem jittery, Kirito thought. Probably worried their scam'll be exposed now that Nezha's gone.
Kirito, who already had a low opinion of them, mentally shrugged. Not my problem.
Initially, Teams G and H were assigned to handle Nat the Colonel Taurus, nicknamed Colonel Nat. But Orlando insisted—vehemently—that his team take on the main boss, Baran the General Taurus, or General Baran. After debate, Team G was added to the boss detail.
With Nezha gone, they're probably anxious about their future, Kirito mused. They want to leap to the top of the raid group. That aside, one team on Colonel Nat? That's rough…
Kirito started to protest, but Egill stopped him, speaking calmly.
"I've heard Colonel Nat's a mid-tier boss. It might be too much for us alone," Egill said.
"If the intel's off and it's too much, we'll send another team," Lind replied. "Sorry, can you make do for now?"
Egill shrugged and backed off.
The boss battle began with less resistance than expected. Early on, the paralyzing attacks forced a brief retreat consideration, but the group held firm. As the fight progressed, they adapted, and while some still got paralyzed, the numbers dwindled.
"How's it going, Egill?" Kirito asked.
"Easier than last time, but…" Egill trailed off.
"Yeah, we can't let our guard down," Kirito agreed.
"Colonel Nat's HP's in the red!" Egill shouted.
"Alright, let's play it careful," Kirito said.
A sudden roar of cheers erupted from the other side of the coliseum. Kirito tensed, but it was jubilation—General Baran's HP had hit yellow. Relieved, he refocused on Colonel Nat. Then it happened.
The stage at the far end of the arena rose. The air above shimmered—a telltale sign Kirito recognized: a large monster was about to spawn. The distortion grew, and from the inky void, a massive figure emerged.
"Asterios the Taurus King…" Kirito muttered.
A six-horned, crown-wearing Taurus appeared with a crackle of lightning effects. No team could react instantly; those fighting General Baran had no spare attention.
"This is bad! Full attack!" Kirito shouted, overriding Egill's leadership.
There was no time to waste—they had to down Colonel Nat. Kirito leaped high, landing a powerful blow to its forehead, briefly delaying its attack.
"Now! Everyone, hit it!" he yelled.
The team unleashed a barrage of sword skills. As Kirito's cooldown ended, so did Colonel Nat's delay. Normally, he'd fall back, but retreat wasn't an option. He jumped again, slamming a Horizontal into Colonel Nat's face, followed by a martial arts sword skill, Crescent Moon, with his left leg. Kirito's research had revealed that mixing weapon categories bypassed sword skill cooldowns. The combo landed, and Colonel Nat shattered into polygons.
"Everyone, chug potions! Egill, what's the big one doing?" Kirito called.
"Looks slow to move. We've got a bit before it reaches us," Egill replied.
"Then we need to help the main group," Kirito said.
"Alright, everyone, move!" Egill commanded.
They rushed toward General Baran.
"Flank from the right?" Kirito suggested.
"Yeah," Egill agreed. "Take command, Egill. Focus on General Baran first. If that monster gets here before we're done, hit it and kite it as far as you can."
Kirito accelerated, launching into a Sonic Leap. The blazing attack struck General Baran's forehead, and the boss exploded into fragments.
"We made it…" Kirito muttered.
But then he saw the Taurus King take a deep, ominous breath.
"Shi—"
He couldn't finish. A purple breath attack swept through, slashing his HP by twenty percent and flashing a green paralysis marker—a familiar sight from the day's battles. The frontline was immobilized, unable to even speak properly.
"Everyone… paralysis… potions…" Kirito gasped, refusing to give up.
The potions slightly sped up recovery, but without them, death was certain. The group struggled to move their sluggish hands. The Taurus King's heavy footsteps approached, its presence regal and terrifying. Everyone envisioned the massacre to come—helpless, unable to move, crushed by the king's hammer. The Taurus King's gaze locked onto Kirito, Lind, and Kibao at the front.
"Damn… Hachiman, Asuna, I'm sorry…" Kirito thought, longing to see them again.
As the Taurus King raised its weapon, Kirito braced for death. Then, a white streak of light shot from the entrance, striking the king's forehead, making it stagger.
Moments earlier, Hachiman's group pushed deeper into the labyrinth at a blistering pace, urgency gnawing at them. They dodged most traps and enemies, ambushing those they couldn't avoid. Even with map data, their speed was staggering.
"Haa-bo, you're unreal," Argo said.
"Helps that the trash Taurus mobs haven't spawned yet," Hachiman replied.
"I see the boss room!" Asuna called.
"Alright, no matter what, stay calm and do this right," Hachiman said.
"Yes!" Nezha replied.
As they entered, General Baran exploded into fragments. Colonel Nat was nowhere in sight, but the Taurus King had already spawned. A moment later, it unleashed its breath attack.
"No! Don't let it chain attacks, Nezha! Argo, disband the party!" Hachiman shouted.
With Nezha, they'd hit forty-eight players, and party restrictions would block his attacks. Argo swiftly disbanded the group. Nezha took aim and hurled his chakram with all his might.
"Asuna, rally everyone—get the healthy players to start rescuing. Argo, brief Kibao's group. I'll get potions to the paralyzed," Hachiman ordered.
Nezha's chakram streaked like white light, striking the crown on the Taurus King's forehead just as it raised its weapon.
Everyone saw the light, though none knew what it was. It hit the king's forehead with a metallic clang and returned to the entrance. The sound snapped the group out of their stupor, and they turned to see four figures. The Taurus King, recovering from the brief stagger, glared at the entrance and began advancing—likely because Nezha's hit had registered as the first attack, drawing its full attention.
"Healthy players, pull the downed back!" Asuna's clear voice rang out. "We can buy time! Stay calm, stay sharp!"
Her words spurred the frozen rear guard into action.
"Drink, Kirito," Hachiman said, offering a potion.
"Hachiman…" Kirito rasped.
"Sorry we're late."
"Nah, we're good," Kirito said, leaning on Hachiman's shoulder to stand.
"Egill, take Kirito to the rear," Hachiman said.
"Damn, I froze up. My bad. Leave the rest to me!" Egill replied.
"I'm counting on you! I'll get potions to the others!" Hachiman called, moving off.
Meanwhile, Argo reached Kibao and Lind, pulling them to safety.
"I know you've got issues with me, but hear me out," Argo said. "Retreat now, and we can all escape safely. But if you fight, I've got fresh boss intel—free, just this once."
To Argo's surprise, both immediately chose to fight. Despite facing death moments ago, their resolve forced her to reassess them slightly.
Kirito, now recovered, spoke with Hachiman.
"That's Nezha, huh? He made it," Kirito said.
"Yeah," Hachiman replied.
"Mastering the chakram in such a short time? Impressive."
Kirito glanced at Nezha, still holding the line alone, and noticed the Taurus King preparing another breath attack.
"Crap, breath! Nezha's in trouble!" Kirito shouted.
"He's fine. Just watch," Hachiman said calmly.
As Hachiman predicted, Nezha dodged the breath with ease. At that moment, Lind's voice boomed.
"We just got new boss intel. No complaints about timing—these folks ran straight here after digging it up. Here's the deal: the boss's eyes glow before its breath attack!"
"So that's why Nezha dodged so easily," Kirito said.
"Yeah. He's holding the front alone. Guy's a beast," Hachiman added.
Lind continued relaying the intel swiftly. Nezha couldn't hold the boss forever, so the raid group, now organized, jumped back in. Teams A and D, the tanks from Lind and Kibao's groups, charged the Taurus King's legs.
"Alright, Asuna and I'll hang back. Good luck, Kirito," Hachiman said.
"Knock 'em dead, Kirito!" Asuna cheered.
"What? You're not fighting?" Kirito asked.
"Dude, with Nezha, we're at forty-eight. No room," Hachiman pointed out.
"Oh… right…" Kirito muttered.
"If you get paralyzed, we'll drag you back," Hachiman offered.
"Uh, thanks," Kirito said.
With Teams A and D drawing aggro, Nezha finally wavered, tension easing.
"You okay?" Kirito called.
Nezha's eyes, though weary, burned with determination as he raised his weapon. "I'm fine! I'm just… so happy to be this useful in a boss fight! Don't worry about me—keep attacking!"
At Egill's shout, his team charged in. Each time the boss's eyes glowed, Nezha's chakram flew, landing with a clang. Cheers of "Nice!" echoed from somewhere in the crowd.
"Watching from the sidelines kinda sucks," Hachiman grumbled.
"Support's important too!" Asuna said.
"The vibe's pretty good, though. Let's keep an eye out for trouble," Hachiman said.
"If anything goes wrong, we're on rescue duty," Asuna agreed.
The battle stabilized, largely thanks to Nezha. Yet he remained solo. The Legends of Braves, his former team, stayed focused on attacking, never approaching him. Their gear likely kept their paralysis rate low, making Lind hesitate to order a retreat.
"Us asking Lind to pull them feels off," Hachiman said.
"Yeah… that team's probably done for," Asuna sighed.
"No clue what'll happen, but we can't do much," Hachiman added.
"Nezha'll find a better team, though," Asuna said.
"Yeah, but he's still got to atone. Wonder how that'll shake out," Hachiman mused.
"With victims in this fight, it's messy," Asuna said.
"Speaking of, I don't want those guys getting the boss drops," Hachiman said.
"Same," Asuna agreed.
"Next time Kirito falls back, I'll light a fire under him," Hachiman said.
"Do it!" Asuna nodded.
When Kirito retreated briefly, Hachiman grabbed him and whispered, "We can't let those guys take MVP."
Kirito, already motivated by Nezha's effort, felt the weight of Hachiman's words. It wasn't just a goal now—it was a mission he couldn't fail.
I'll fight for the two who can't, Kirito vowed.
The raid held strong, and the boss's HP hit the red zone. One final push would end it. Kirito steeled himself, waiting for the perfect moment. As Nezha's chakram staggered the boss, Kirito unleashed a devastating one-handed sword and martial arts combo, landing the killing blow. The Taurus King shattered into polygons.
"That's our Kirito!" Asuna cheered.
"Clutch as always," Hachiman said, grinning.
Following the tumultuous first floor, the second floor's boss battle concluded with its own share of drama. Not all problems were resolved, but the fight was won.