Harry was only half listening to the discussion between the adults when Klein called out to someone and Harry glanced up to see the man waving towards Kirito and Asuna who'd just arrived hand in hand. While Agil and Klein exchanged pleasantries and joked around with the two teens, Harry couldn't help but notice the new matching rings that the two were wearing. He smiled at the evidence that his two friends had stopped dancing around their feelings for each other and opened his mouth to congratulate (read tease) them at the same time as the two of them finally noticed him present.
"James!? Why in the world are you here?" Kirito demanded with a frown (the teen had been worried about the pending fight ever since Heathcliff – the leader of the KoB – had briefed him and Asuna the previous evening).
"To help, of course," Harry stated with a frown of his own as he glanced up to see the worry in both Kirito's and Asuna's eyes. "I've helped in two other Boss fights and did all right."
"James…" Asuna murmured worriedly.
"I'll be fine and I brought my Dragon Wire," Harry assured the young woman; the eleven year old referring to the diamond wire that he always used to help him defeat the dragons he faced.
Before either teen could form another protest, Heathcliff appeared with a small contingent of KoB Members and opened the corridor leading to the Boss Room up on the seventy-fifth floor. In order to prevent anyone from stopping him from going, Harry latched onto the back of Agil's shirt and stuck to the man he secretly viewed as a father like glue. Klein and the Fuurinkazan moved in behind the pair in order to watch his back; the small Guild had been involved in both of the other floor Boss fights that Harry had participated in and all of the members were well aware of his capabilities and the benefits gained from allowing him to help despite his age.
The entryway leading into the Boss's chamber was dark and creepy and Harry shivered in the oppressive atmosphere that clung to the room. Behind him (following on the heels of the Fuurinkazan), he heard Kirito mutter under his breath about having a bad feeling and Harry wished the teen would give a show of his usual bravado because the knowledge that the stronger teen was frightened only made Harry feel even more nervous.
Hearing Asuna reassure the boy actually eased some of the tension Harry felt and the eleven year old snickered silently to himself as he made a mental note to tease the older boy about being reassured by a girl once the fight was over; and while he knew Asuna was a strong Player, it still didn't change the fact that she was a girl. He owed Kirito for all of the times he'd teased Harry about how he used to snuggle with Agil during the first six months in the game (something that the eleven year old still adamantly denied he'd done).
All thoughts of teasing fled as the doors to the Boss Chamber were opened by Heathcliff and the group gave out a wordless battle cry as everyone rushed forward into the room as one. They made it to the center of the platform and slid to a stop as they spread out in a loose circle in order to search for the boss. The group's earlier fear returned when the doors slammed shut behind them and vanished even though the Boss still hadn't made an appearance.
"Above us!" Asuna cried out suddenly and more than one of the adults panicked as they all glanced up to find a creature called the Skull Reaper clinging to the ceiling upside down.
Harry stared in horror at the humongous Monster that looked like it was part alien, part centipede, part Killer Mantis, part spider, and all ugly. It was all bones and blades, had hundreds of dangerously sharp limbs (including two scythes like the Killer Mantis – only bigger), and four glowing red eyes set in a deformed and demonic skull. Before Harry had even finished taking in the creature's appearance, the thing had dropped down into their midst to kill two adults with a single swipe of a scythe while everyone else promptly scattered in terror.
As he watched the two men shatter, Harry feared for the lives of his four friends that had come with him to battle the monstrosity. He didn't have to worry about himself, he'd long since learned that there was nothing in this game that could kill him; even if the Monsters could draw his blood and cause him pain when they attacked him.
When the Monster lashed out a second time, Heathcliff moved to block the deadly scythes with Asuna and Kirito while the dark haired teen ordered everyone else to attack the Skull Reaper from the sides. Harry stood frozen on the edge of the platform, feeling completely useless against a creature that was four or five times larger than the biggest dragon that he'd faced, right up until he saw Agil take a hit when the man courageously rushed forward to save some of the others.
Letting out a snarl of rage over how close he'd just come to loosing the closest thing to a father he'd ever known, Harry finally rushed forward to join the fight as he pulled his shield off his back and dug out his Dragon Wire.
As he ran, Harry wove the wire into a net snare that he used to entangle several of the creature's flailing limbs before he slid under the belly of the beast and ended up just a few feet away from Klein and two other members of Fuurinkazan. He pulled the wire tight as he used his shield to defend against an attack from one if the creature's legs before he made another net snare with the same wire and yelled at Klein to throw him over the top of the beast even as he used the new net snare to tangle up another dozen limbs.
Seconds later, he soared through the air over the back of the beast before he landed roughly on the other side and grunted in pain as both knees had been bruised when he'd fallen onto his knees from the poor landing while he struggled to keep hold of the wire in his hand. It took him a few minutes to recover before he was up and moving again so he could tie off the wire so that the limbs he'd entangled were secured; giving the group a two foot section of the creature that they could attack freely with less of a chance of getting hit by the beast.
He was then forced to shield himself from another attack as the Reaper lunged forward to attack those in front while the rest of its body shifted back and forth like a fire hose on full blast. Dancing back out of the way, Harry pulled out another length of wire and began preparing another net trap as his eyes stayed on the Reaper and the other Players' efforts to bring the Monster down. He caught sight of Agil again and immediately felt a rush of relief at knowing that the man was still alive and fighting before he glanced around to check on his other friends.
He felt some distress when he could no longer see Klein but he tried not to worry about the boisterous Guild Leader as he knew the man was a good Player. A glance towards the front of the beast revealed Kirito and Asuna both still fighting side by side along with Heathcliff in their efforts to keep the Monster's attention focused entirely on the three of them so the others could freely attack the boss. Another few minutes passed as Harry caught his breath and tested his knees to determine whether or not he needed to take a potion before he rejoined the fight.
When he determined that his knees weren't seriously injured aside from being bruised and a bit stiff, Harry darted back into the fray to tie up another section of legs. This time he aimed for a section closer to the front of the beast in order to potentially hinder its ability to maneuver but the damn thing wouldn't sit still. Worse yet, those people that were part of the KoB (bar Asuna and Kirito) kept getting in his way or pushing him back because they thought him useless because he was so young and not wielding an obvious weapon.
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