Equis Art Online II

As Frostprow charged, the warriors prepared to dodge to the side. However, luck was not in their favor. Frostprow leaped into the air and slammed his horns into the ground. A massive barrage of icicles launched into the air and began to rain down like meteors. The blasts from their impact sent the players flying.

"This isn't looking good! He's too fast!" Leafa said.

"Double that!" Klein said, slashing through a particularly large icicle.

"We need to regroup and hit it with everything we have!" Aries said, drawing his claymore.

"Got it! Let's go!" Kirito said, kicking up sand as he drew his Frost blade. As he charged, Frostprow growled and recoiled back.

"Ice Quake attack in three!" Yui yelled.

"Two!"

"One!"

Frostprow slammed his right hoof into the earth, shattering the ground and sending an earthquake towards Kirito. Kirito leaped into the air, and slashed at Frostprow's horns. Landing a cut, he sneaked a look at the boss's HP bar. The slash had barely dented it.

"Damn." Kirito swore, dodging a stomp from Frostprow.

"How are we supposed to beat this guy?" Sinon said, shooting an arrow.

"Beats meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Klein said as the quake toppled him.

Suddenly, what looked like a large oaken war-horn appeared in the shattered ground. Aries's eyes opened in realization.

"Kirito! Get the horn!"

Kirito looked at Aries in surprise, but he ran forward and snatched it. Leaping backward, a system notification appeared.

KIRITO HAS PICKED UP THE HORN OF TRIUMPH

Kirito drew a breath, and blew into the horn. What he got was unexpected. A large blast of sound, similar to a guttural war cry, hit the boss straight in the face. Then, Frostprow collapsed on one knee, and another notification appeared.

FROSTPROW SUBMITS TO THE TRIUMPHANT

And a timer began to count down from thirty seconds. Agil rushed forward and slammed his axe into the boss's bent knee. Frostprow did not utter a sound, but his HP gauge depleted drastically, cutting down nearly seven-eights of the first bar.

"Kirito! It's a damage boost! Hit him now!" Agil yelled.

"On it! CHARGE!"

As the fairies charged, Frostprow continued to bow. As the warriors slashed, cut, and gouged, the timer ran out. Frostprow roared and stood back up. As the warriors backed away to safety, yet another notification appeared.

FROSTPROW RISES AGAINST THE TRIUMPHANT

As Frostprow stomped, slammed, and rammed at the Warriors, Asuna panted hard.

"Kirito! My MP's almost dried up! We need to finish this!"

"Got it!"

Then, another war-horn appeared. Thinking quickly, Agil blew hard, staggering the boss.

FROSTPROW SUBMITS TO THE TRIUMPHANT

As the warriors charged as one, each readying a sword skill, Kirito jumped and slashed wildly, leading to a massive succession of blows that finished off Frostprow. As the boss disintegrated, The group collapsed to the ground, exhausted. As the Congratulations message appeared, Kirito sighed.

"That was tough."

"Yeah. Is it me, or are these boss-fights getting progressively tougher and more complicated?" Leafa said.

"I have to agree with Leafa on that one. These bosses aren't from ALO, so who's making them? The GMs?" Aries added.

"You're right. It is really weird." Lizbeth said.

"Let's get some rest. We need it." Kirito said.

As the group entered the house, they saw Twilight talking to a fairy clad in strange armor. He noticed the group, and he smiled underneath his helmet.

"Nice job clearing that boss, Kazuto."

Kirito flinched slightly.

"Have we met?" he asked. "I don't believe we have."

"We have met. Think carefully. Luck plays you into its hands..." he said. At that, Asuna started to chuckle, then she began to laugh out loud.

"Way to make an entrance, DAD." She said, hugging him tight and smiling wide.

Shozou Yuki smiled and hugged Asuna back, leaving the group, especially Kirito, aghast.

"Mr. Yuuki? You play ALO?" Kirito asked, rather shocked.

"Well, a few things, Kazuto. One, I decided to start playing a few days ago. Two, you can call me Shozou or Arec, depending on what you want. And three, well, Asuna's mother put in a good word for it."

"I see. Welcome to the group." Agil said. As they shook hands and introductions went around, the moon rose into the sky.

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