Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

"It's faster than expected. It looks like it will take quite a while for us."

"Worst case scenario, we'll just rush into the labyrinth area once this is over."

"Anyway, as long as we have the map data, there will always be a way."

"In short, we can only cheer up and keep moving forward."

That night, Bakaha, who had been working tirelessly to hit the rock, split the huge rock at an astonishing speed.

After descending the mountain, they immediately began special training with the Chakram, taking only short breaks for food and continuing their practice until the next morning. By noon, Bakaha had finally mastered the Chakram and began to head towards the maze area.

The next morning, the three finally reached the end of their mission.

"Phew, the next step is to call it a day."

“What a long mission.”

"Thank you both very much."

"Okay, that's it... Wait! Hachiman, Asuna, something terrible is happening!"

"What's wrong Argo?"

"The boss information is wrong! To be more precise, there's one more person—Asterios, the Minotaur King."

"Contact Kirito immediately!"

Argo tried to send a message but it showed as undeliverable - the players in the dungeon were unable to receive the message, and the main force had obviously entered the maze area.

"Argo, gather the boss information immediately. Once we're ready, we'll charge into the labyrinth area."

"I'll come along this time too. It's always good to have more people to help."

"Understood. Speed ​​up the preparations."

The three of them hurriedly prepared themselves and rushed towards the maze area.

"Hmm? There's someone over there?"

"Oh? Isn't that... Bakaha?"

"He looks like he's finished his job, he didn't even draw the beard anymore."

The three decided to go up and talk.

"Hey, why are you here?"

"You are... So you are also Kirito-san's companion?"

"Well, sorry about what happened earlier."

"No, it's all my fault, please don't take it to heart."

"So what's the situation now?"

"I've successfully completed my training and came here thinking I could help, but I've never been in a maze before and I'm worried..."

Argo suddenly interrupted:

"Bakaha's existence may be the savior of this incident."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain as we go. Bakaha, we're going to the boss room now. Want to come with us?"

"Yes! Please let me join!"

"Okay, everyone, let's go!"

"Everyone, speed up!"

"I'll leave the trap detection and enemy warning to you, Hachiman."

"give it to me"

SAO : Chapter 19: A Critical Moment ~ Timely Rescue

There are a total of forty-seven players participating in the battle against the main boss of the strategy layer.

The team is divided into three teams, Team A, B and C, led by Lin De, who was chosen as the team leader by lottery.

The DEF Aincrad Liberation Squad commanded by Kiba.

And Team G, composed of five legendary warriors, with the captain named Orlando.

Plus Team H, led by Agil, who remained neutral last time.

The ABC team is called the "Holy Dragon Alliance".

(The legendary hero... his equipment is impressive, but I still feel a bit apprehensive... Ah, I see.)

Kirito understood that since Bakaha suddenly disappeared, he might be worried that his evil deeds would be exposed, so he was so panicked.

Although I didn't have a good impression of these people, I added in my heart, "But that has nothing to do with me."

Originally, the two GH teams were responsible for dealing with the follower monster "Nato Canal Minotaur", commonly known as Colonel Nato.

But Orlando insisted that his team also participate in fighting the BOSS monster. After negotiation, Team G also joined the BOSS battle.

(He's feeling uneasy about Bakaha's disappearance... Maybe he's planning to use this opportunity to leapfrog into the lead of the Clearers.

But it's really hard for one team to take on Colonel Natto...)

Just as Kirito was about to make a suggestion, Agil stopped him with a calm voice:

"I heard that Colonel Natto is a mid-level boss. It might be difficult for us to handle him alone."

"If the actual situation doesn't match the intelligence, we'll send another team for support. Sorry, could you please be patient for a moment?"

Agil protested symbolically, then shrugged and retreated.

When the boss battle began, the members of the subjugation team felt it was easier than expected.

Although they initially considered retreating due to multiple paralysis cases, they gritted their teeth and persevered. As the battle progressed, they gradually adapted to the situation. Although some paralysis cases still occurred, the number gradually decreased.

"Agil, what's going on?"

“It’s definitely easier than last time…”

"But we can't let our guard down..."

"Um"

"Colonel Natto's HP turned red."

"Okay, continue to be cautious."

At this moment, players exclaimed from the other end of the arena.

Kirito was startled, but realized that it seemed to be cheering, only to see General Baran's HP finally turned yellow.

Just as Kirito breathed a sigh of relief and was about to focus on dealing with the enemy in front of him, something unexpected happened.

The stage deep in the square suddenly rose up, and the sky scene began to distort.

Kirito recognized this sight, it was a sign of a large monster appearing.

The spatial distortion became more intense, and the gigantic creature that emerged from the pitch-black cracks was—

"Asterios, King of the Minotaur"

A giant minotaur with a crown and six horns appeared, swathed in lightning. This sudden change caught all teams off guard, and the team fighting General Balan was unable to respond.

"Oh no! Attack with all your strength!"

Kirito gave the order before the team leader Agil, that the current enemy must be dealt with first.

"Concentrate on attacking the weak spot on the forehead! Even if it's just a stretch, we have to attack!"

A life-or-death struggle ensued. Kirito leaped forward and delivered a powerful blow to the forehead, successfully delaying Colonel Natto's attack.

"Now! Everyone, come on!"

Everyone released sword skills one after another, and when Kirito's stiffness was lifted, Colonel Nato's delay also ended.

Normally, Kirito would have retreated at this point, but he chose to continue his attack, leaping high once more and unleashing his full strength of "Horizontal Slash" to slam into Colonel Natto's face.

At the same time, he unleashed the physical sword technique "Crescent Moon" with his left leg. This was a secret technique he had discovered through research, which could eliminate the backswing of sword techniques by switching weapon types.

This final blow finally shattered Colonel Natto into polygonal fragments.

"Everyone, drink your recovery potions quickly! Agil, where did that monster go?"

"It seems to be moving very slowly. It will take some time to get here."

"Then... you must support our team immediately."

"Alright, everyone, move towards General Balan! Quick!"

Under Agil's command, all the members rushed towards General Balan.

"Flanking attack from the right?"

"That's it. I'll leave the command to you, Agil. Prioritize taking out General Baran. If you can't deal with that monster before it gets close, use all your strength to lure it away."

Kirito then sped up and leaped into the air, unleashing his charge skill, "Sonic Impact." The incredibly high-speed attack accurately struck General Baran's forehead, crushing him.

"Have you caught up yet..."

Before he finished speaking, Kirito saw the Minotaur King taking a deep breath. The next second, a purple breath swept across the entire place.

“Oops…”

HP was instantly reduced by 20%, a green paralysis symbol appeared, and all the people in the front row fell into a paralyzed state, finding it difficult to even speak.

"Everyone...drink the anti-paralysis medicine..."

Kirito forced himself to remind him. While the potion would only slightly speed up recovery, not using it would mean death. Upon hearing the call, everyone began to struggle to get the medicine, but their movements were extremely slow due to the paralysis.

At this time, the footsteps of the Minotaur King were approaching with pressure. Everyone imagined the upcoming massacre and fell into fear.

While being unable to move and bearing the King's Hammer, the Minotaur's eyes first locked onto Kirito, Linde and King Kiba in the front row.

Since Kiba was standing in the front, the boss's hammer emitted a purple light and hit Kiba's face, knocking him away.

"Ah! Ugh..." Ya Wang's face was deformed when he was hit. As he fell to the ground, the blood volume on his HP bar continued to decline until it dropped to the red area and stopped.

"Damn it... Hachiman, Asuna, I'm sorry..."

When the Minotaur King raised his weapon and Kirito was ready to die,

A beam of white light pierced through the king's forehead from the direction of the entrance, causing it to stagger backward.

(About ten minutes ago)

Driven by anxiety, Hachiman and his companions advanced deeper into the maze at an alarming pace. Leveraging the map's advantages, they avoided most traps and launched surprise attacks to annihilate those enemies they could not avoid. Even factoring in the map's bonuses, their advancement speed was truly terrifying.

"Hachiman is still so awesome."

"Thank goodness the soldiers haven't refreshed yet, it's a lot easier."

"I saw the boss room."

"Remember, no matter what happens, don't panic, just stick to your plan."

"understand!"

The moment the four of them rushed into the boss room, they witnessed General Balan being defeated. Although they didn't see Colonel Natto, the true boss, the Minotaur King, had already appeared and was preparing to breathe.

"Not good! Don't let that monster chase us! Bakaha! Argo! Disband the team!"

After Argo quickly disbanded the team, Bakaha aimed at the target and threw the chakram with all his strength.

"Asuna, use encouragement to have those who can move take charge of the rescue! Argo pass the information to Kibo and the others! I'll give medicine to the paralyzed ones!"

The ring blade thrown by Bakaha turned into white light and accurately hit the crown on the forehead of the Minotaur King who was about to swing his weapon.

Everyone witnessed the white light, and after the sound of metallic collision, the ring flew back to the entrance.

Everyone looked towards the four figures at the entrance. Even the boss, who had recovered, turned and moved towards a new target. Due to the aggro established by Nezha's first attack, the king completely ignored everyone in front of him.

"Those who can move, please drag the injured to the rear! We should still be able to buy time! Everyone, calm down! Hold on!"

Asuna's clear voice echoed across the battlefield, and the stagnant players in the back also began to move.

"Drink your medicine, Kirito."