Satoru knew he'd just barely avoided dying thanks to Kurai's healing ability but being able to look around the room while in some sort of ghost form almost caused him to use his resurrection ticket for a moment as he thought the healing had failed to keep him alive.
Luckily a message popped up from the system to inform him otherwise:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Warning: Players that fall unconscious or receive a near-fatal blow from a boss NPC need to be revived or healed within 15 seconds of the attack. If a player is revived or healed after the time limit has passed, they will be unable to access their Avatar until the boss is either defeated or until the entire party is wiped out.
Resurrection tickets cannot be activated unless the player is truly dead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, it meant that he could only watch as Kurai tried to slowly bring down the boss' health and he grew more and more agitated as it became clear that Kurai was getting tired as well as running out of mana.
He winced as Kurai was slammed into a wall, and he made a mental note to lecture the younger man for taunting boss NPCs as he heard Kurai's comment about old dogs and new tricks.
Dread gripped him as he saw the king trap Kurai against the wall and he could only watch as the king gathered abyssal energy into his fist while he taunted the other man before slamming it into Kurai's heart.
He could see Kurai fighting with the pain, but then the king released him, causing him to collapse onto the hard floor and Satoru noticed that his guildmate had passed out.
Satoru readied himself to get Kurai out of there once the battle ended, but the stage didn't simply reset as it would in other games.
Instead, the king seemed to be waiting for something to happen, but when nothing did, Satoru let out a breath of relief, only to partly choke on it seconds later as a darker version of Kurai took control of his body.
The king's earlier words finally made sense, and Satoru hated the thought that they would have to fight the younger man while he was under the king's control, but the thought barely ended before he was watching in surprise as Kurai's darker version sent the king flying before slamming him down into the ground.
He watched as the being sneered something into the boss' ear, causing him to jerk in shock, and seconds later Satoru watched as the boss' head was severed from his body, allowing Satoru's own 'spirit' to return to his Avatar as the room pulsed once to acknowledge the defeat of the king.
Kurai didn't turn back into his normal self however and Satoru reluctantly readied himself for the battle that was to come as the being turned towards him, but he only had enough time to notice how the being sneered, "That brat better be doing his job properly, or el–"
Nothing more was heard as the being that had taken Kurai's place collapsed and Satoru warily walked closer before slowly removing the ninja mask that covered his face and hair.
The black hair with red tips and the tattoo were dead giveaways and Satoru remembered seeing that Kurai's normal hazel eyes had been as black as night.
'Nothing survives the corruption of the abyss…'
That was the general rule in the game.
The abyss corrupts everything it touches…and it spreads that corruption faster than wildfire.
'Everything touched by the abyss must be destroyed…'
It was a rule he lived by, after the destruction of his Avatar's home, and despite the handful of encounters he'd had with beings from the abyss so far, he'd always made sure to follow through.
But what does one do when the person that had been corrupted is not a part of the game itself, but a player as well? Would the abyss count as an illness that goes away when the Avatar dies? Would Kurai be able to resurrect to return back to normal?
His hand clenched around his weapon as his mind tried to find answers to questions that he'd only ever regarded as theory, though his hesitance proved to be a good thing as movement drew his attention and he realized that the red tips had changed to white and that the tattoos now also held white accents.
Kurai's eyes opened and Satoru quickly jumped back at the eerie sight of white on black, but then he heard a groan, and the features seemed to melt back into the younger man's skin as black and white hair and tattoos melted away to reveal brunet hair and clear skin before hazel eyes opened to look at him in confusion, "Please tell me you got the plate number of that bus?"
For a moment, Satoru couldn't comprehend Kurai's words before he threw the mask at his face in relief, "Yeah, I actually did. The bus was named Kurai."
The young man laughed at that until he realized that Satoru was kind of serious, "What happened?"
Satoru carefully helped him up before motioning toward the decapitated boss, "The boss tried to corrupt you…it didn't stick. Though I don't know how that is possible."
Kurai shrugged nonchalantly, though his mind was a mess on the inside as it tried to process exactly what had happened.
A thought had him glancing at Satoru and his eyes widened slightly as he noticed the sword in the man's hand, which he quickly sheathed, "Don't tell me…wait…you said the boss had tried to corrupt me and failed, so did you manage to beat the boss by yourself?"
Satoru immediately shook his head, though it didn't seem as if he was too keen on describing what had happened.
He didn't realize that Kurai already had a bit of an idea as he spoke, "You were knocked out and then it looked like you had become corrupted by the abyss. The king tried to give you a command, but instead, it only took two blows and one decapitation for you to end him. I thought you were going to attack me then, but you simply passed out and I–eh saw your hair and everything turn back to normal."
As he said this, Kurai realized that he wasn't wearing the ninja hood anymore.
Satoru held it up, "I don't know why you insist on wearing it though unless you are truly trying to go for the whole 'I am shinobi' look, there are other types of gear that would be able to grant you more protection."
Kurai nodded in acknowledgment as he pondered on whether or not to trust Satoru with his secret.
Given that the other man was also a player, and that he had hesitated to harm Kurai even after it seemed as if he'd become corrupted, it was clear that the man would be a good ally to have.
With his mind made up, he turned fully to Satoru, "I received an extra ability when I received 'Seraph's Blessing' from Hozumi and it causes some of my features to change just like you apparently saw when the king tried to corrupt me. Maybe that was why it didn't work?"
Satoru's eyes widened in recognition as he mouthed, 'Seraph's Form?' and Kurai nodded, but given their current location, he immediately changed the topic, before he realized with a silent curse that Hozumi was still injured and that they were losing valuable time, "Do you think we'd be able to get everyone out safely now?"
His words were barely cold when the sound of fighting sounded from the floors above and their eyes widened before they rushed to the doors where the healers were kept.
Luckily it seemed that the trap from earlier had been deactivated after the king's death so they were easily able to open the doors, only to be met with almost 2 dozen healers being held in cages, while one or two had been tied to a strange stand and their bodies clearly showed signs of torture.
Kurai would have questioned why they didn't simply heal each other, but it was likely that the trap that had been set in the room had also stopped them from being able to use their abilities.
None of the healers looked up as they entered, but then one of the healers who were tied to a stand recognized Satoru, "Satoru! What the hell are you doing here? Did you get caught?"
Kurai glanced to the side to see Satoru simply lifting a brow before replying, "Do you really think that they would have allowed me in here with a weapon if that had been the case?"
The room became still before someone in one of the cages hesitantly moved forward, "S–so if you haven't been c–captured…does that mean you are here to free us?"
Kurai, who had been searching for Hozumi in the meantime, didn't hear Satoru's answer as he spotted her unconscious form tied to one of the stands, "Hozumi!"
He ran to her side, but she seemed to be out cold and he immediately activated 'Seraph's Blessing' causing the rest of the people in the room to spring into action as they realized that they could use their abilities again.
Once he determined that Hozumi had been healed enough for him to be able to move her, he removed the straps that held her and moved to pick her up, only for her hand to stop him and he looked up just in time to see her eyes slowly opening.
Her voice rasped as she spoke, "Don't you dare try and carry me out of here…just give me a moment…I can walk."
Kurai tried to argue, but she would hear none of it until they finally compromised enough for him to be able to hold her up as she walked, though he allowed her a moment to rest against his side after fully releasing her, "Are you sure you will be able to?"
Hozumi nodded determinedly before she gave him a wry grin, "You know, this was NOT supposed to be a part of the game, or at least, I can't imagine why they would add in something like this."
Her words immediately confirmed her status as a player, but Kurai found that he didn't really mind either way, "As far as I know we also weren't supposed to be sucked into the game either, so I guess it's safe to say that they probably added in something like this intentionally. If not, then we might be facing a bigger problem because it would mean that the game had either changed itself or someone messed with it."
Kurai didn't have any time to answer as the door to the room swung open and they were met with quite a few guild masters who had apparently decided to storm the place, with Reese and Taya in tow.
Kurai winced as he saw the expression on Zane's face once his 'uncle' realized that he was safe…he was sooooooo dead.
The 'I told you so!' expression on Satoru's face didn't help much either and Kurai couldn't help but playfully mouth 'traitor' toward the other man, who quickly pretended to be busy as Zane's attention turned towards him instead.