Equis Art Online II

As the Torchbearer slammed with his fist, Kirito dived to the side and slashed several times. Diving backwards, he looked up and scowled. The boss had taken barely any damage, his three health bars untouched.

"Damm!" Kirito swore. "How are we supposed to beat this guy?"

The Torchbearer roared and sent flying bolts of purple energy towards the group, and Twilight quickly put up a shield to block them. Klein growled and charged, while drawing his sword. The Torchbearer growled and spat a bomb of purplish green venom towards him. As Klein attempted to dodge, he was grazed by the attack. Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground, his health bar frozen, and a strange notification appeared on his HUD.

The Torchbearer's venom attacks you!

Klein gagged and tried to stand up, only to have his HP bar deplete by a large amount.

"I'm down!" he cried, wincing in pain.

"Got it! Just hang on!" Aries said, dodging another ground slam form the Torchbearer.

"We've got to hold out!" Asuna cried.

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After thirty more fast and furious minutes, the only ones left standing were Asuna and Kirito. Aries had thrown himself to save Leafa, only to have the splash hit her too. Silica and Liz had nearly dodged theirs, only to be hit by a follow up blast. Twilight had almost protected herself, but the attack was too much for her shield. Alice was the most recent to fall. Now, low on HP and MP, Asuna and Kirito looked up exhaustively at the Torchbearer. His HP had only gone down by a half of the first bar. Then, Yui cried out.

"Get ready! Something big is coming up!"

The Torchbearer roared louder than ever before, and he charged. Asuna tried to jump out of the way, but she missed her mark and the torchbearer sent her flying. Crashing into the wall, she winced and tried to stand up. The Torchbearer let out a small noise, and raised his fist to crush her. Kirito launched himself at the boss, slicing down his back. The Torchbearer roared in agony, and the boss's HP dropped by a substantial amount. The Torchbearer's tentacles covered the wound, and he focused solely on Kirito. As the Torchbearer charged, Kirito charged as well. Only this time, the Torchbearer triumphed. As Kirito was thrown into the wall, The Torchbearer raised his fist again, raedy to crush him. As the first descended, Kirito closed his eyes. Then, a voice yelled.

"HALT, TORCHBEARER!"

Kirito opened his eyes to see an NPC clad in an ornate red dress, with silvery blonde hair spread her arms out in a protective gesture in fornt of him. The Torchebearer stepped back and lowered its fist, like a dog obeying its owner.

"Return to your slumber." the NPC said, and the Torchbearer collapsed, the only noise coming from it soft snores. The NPC walked up, and placed her hand to its head.

"May your ashes find their rest." she said, before a bright yellow bolt pierced its head. The Torchbearer then stopped breathing, and dissipated into blue and green particles. She turned to look at the group, now thoroughly shocked. Kirito stood up and walked over.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I am fine. It is you and your party that I am more worried about." she replied. "Allow me to do you a favor."

She chanted a spell, and instead of green words appearing, they were red. Healing particles appeared over every member of the group. A notification then came up.

You have been cleansed of venom

"Why did you help us?" Alice asked.

"Because you are the only ones that can end the King's reign. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vilja, Daughter of Syrt, king of the Flame Giants."

"You're Syrt's kid?" Klein asked, shocked.

"I am, Salamander. Now? We must move." She said, opening the door at the end of the hall to reveal stone stairs, carpeted in rich crimson. As they followed Vilja into a large Great Hall, she stopped and looked at a balcony.

"The King's chambers are through that door. But tarry a bit. There is much I need to speak with you about."

"One sec." Kirito said. "Yui? How much time do we have?"

"About two hours left, Daddy." Yui replied.

"Alright. Go ahead." he said to Vilja, who sighed.

"My father was not the warmongering demon he is now. He was once wise and benevolent. Until it came his time to die. In order to reign forever, he delved too deep into the black arts of our ancestors. He slowly grew insane. His age and life were prolonged, but his mind began to wither. He became demented, believing the Fairies of Aarune and Alfheim knew the cure for his madness."

"Then why is he attacking it?" Aries asked.

"Because father does not care what stands in his way. He wants to destroy in order to save himself. Many times he attempted to find thecure, only to fail each time. As he lived,  The King grew tyrannical, evil. He ordered his Warpriest to silence all that opposed him. And he created the Torchbearer to devour those who survived the Warpriest."

"How do you know the Torchbearer so well?" Alice asked.

"Because before he was that monstrosity, he was a proud Flame Giant warrior, named Vorlan. He was one of father's favorites, and treated him like a son. And I loved him like a brother. One day, Father stole a single drop of Venom from the serpent Nidhogg, believing it to be the cure for his madness. The venom does not kill, but corrupts and changes, you should know. One night, in a fit of madness, Vorlan attempted to calm him. A fatal mistake. The king forced upon him the venom. I saw the whole event. His changing, his resulting form. When father calmed himself and found out what he did, he was distraught. He sent Vorlan to the pit under the volcano, where he became the Torchbearer." Vilja said.

"I'm sorry." Asuna said.

"Thank you, Undine. Now time is short. You must slay my father, though it will be a difficult task. His weakness is concealed, hidden. The many years of curses he has evoked on himself has hardened his skin and soul. He will not try to reason, for he will try to kill you."

"Then how are we supposed to beat him?" Silica asked.

"That Chalice." Vilja pointed to a golden goblet, about the size of Kirito's hand, dancing with pure white flames.

"The Chalice of Light will give you the strength to defeat my father. But I must come with you. In order to succeed my father's throne, I must be present at his death. Such is our way."

"Fine." Kirito said. As Vilja joined the party, Kirito led the way up a spiraling staircase to the door leading to Syrt's chamber. Kirito drew his blue longsword, and pushed the door open.