Critical Dead

"Takeko..." Roko frowned, "Of course it'd be you."

"Figured me out then?" Takeko smirked, "For how long?"

"Only the day before. Once I knew it was Kaguya, it was easy to figure out who the necromancer was. My question is, how long did you know who it was, Kaguya?"

"Me?" Kaguya smiled, "That would be right when I picked up the journal."

"So right from the start." Roko sighed, "You couldn't just tell me?"

"The entire plan was to get you to kill me." Kaguya laughed, "Though it wasn't my plan."

"You knew there was a plan out to expose and kill you and you went along with it?"

"Like I said. If anybody were to expose me and kill me, I'd be happy if it was you." Kaguya said as she patted Roko on the back.

"I didn't expect you to help me." Takeko sighed, "Is that the last of your sense of righteousness coming back?"

"Hm, maybe." Kaguya shrugged, "I think it's mostly if my best friend thinks I should die, I probably should die."

"Friend..." Takeko scowled, "We're not friends."

"Not anymore it seems." Kaguya nodded.

"How'd you know it was Takeko?" Roko asked.

"Well, there aren't many people smart enough to figure out my secret." Kaguya smiled, "The journal was buried with Kirito so the only one who could find it was the necromancer and the appended page with the details of Yuno's death was a separate investigation done for her specific death. While it was written by Kirito, it was not in relation to the noble killer murders as those murders had only just begun. That page was compiled with other reports in Shizuka Castle's library. The only person who could have gotten their hands on that report was a noble meaning the necromancer was a noble. Of the people who could conceivably connect this story together and still have a reason to expose my crimes in such a roundabout and personal way, it could only have been Takeko."

"I'm surprised you didn't try to kill me the moment you suspected me." Takeko scoffed.

"Like I said. If my best friend thinks I should die, I have no qualms facing her judgment."

"And like I said, we're not friends."

"I would like to know though." Kaguya said, "What made you investigate me and the murders so thoroughly?"

"...It all started when I found this book." Takeko explained as she held up the black grimoire, "I found it in the library and couldn't tell what was written on it. I flipped through the pages and couldn't make sense of anything written in it but it did begin to whisper things to me. Names of spells and visions of power that were all possible with the book. It was unnerving but I knew I could use it for one thing. To bring back the spirits of my parents one last time. I tried to search for a spell like that but the only ritual that I could find required their corpses. I was ready to give up and leave the book behind when it gave me a spell that would help me locate their bodies. I used it, expecting to go to a graveyard but it instead lead me to Kirito's lab. There, I read up all the reports on the noble killer and became determined to find the person who killed my parents and get my revenge on them. I raised Kirito to get access to his personal journal and from there, I investigated every death I could."

"I'm surprised you didn't just raise Kirito and ask him to tell you who the killer was." Roko said.

"If I had that level of magic, I would have done a lot more than just raise a little bit of havoc." Takeko scoffed, "I can barely get ghosts to speak, much less answer questions. Thankfully making them speak wasn't needed for much of the plan."

"And your plan was to torment Kaguya before getting me to kill her?"

"That was the plan." Takeko scowled, "Until you decided to abandon reason and justice. And for what? Are you telling me you actually agree with her? That you're fine with all the deaths she made?!"

"There's no making up for a death with more death. A death penalty isn't to make up for all the deaths they committed but to prevent the deaths that would continue if they were left uninhibited. Even if I asked Kaguya now if she intends to kill again, her response would probably be if anybody stood in her way again."

"You know me well." Kaguya chuckled, "It's almost embarrassing."

"And while that's far from a show of remorse and promise that she won't assassinate again, I have not seen her kill nor shown any hint of killing. Kaguya is not an unreasonable, dangerous person. From the actions I've seen her do, she has made herself an asset with genuine contributions to society. That may not awash her of her crimes but it gives reason against blindly executing her. Not that any of this probably matters to you."

"You're right, it doesn't." Takeko frowned, "But I didn't expect you'd come up with actual reasons as to not kill her."

"It's unusual to be sure, but it's true." Roko shrugged.

"Can I hire you as my lawyer?" Kaguya joked.

"And what if Kaguya became a danger?" Takeko asked, "Will you be able to stop her then?"

"If Kaguya goes off the deep end and starts killing haphazardly without regard, then I will personally stop her. And if that includes killing her, then I will do so."

"You expect me to believe that after all this?" Takeko sneered, "That's enough. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself."

The black grimoire opened up and floated under her hand and as black light glowed off the alien characters in its pages. The ground around her began to crack as rotted arms burst out of the ground and various dead bodies began to pull themselves out of the earth.

"Hey, disappointment." Takeko called, "If you're not going to kill her, then stay out of my way."

"Just because I'm not going to commit murder, doesn't mean I'll let you commit murder either." Roko said as he put his backpack down, "Besides, I need to take that book from you."

"If you think you can, come give it a shot." Takeko sneered, "I've got enough zombies for you too."

"Kaguya, Mikado." Roko said as he unstrapped the wrapped pole he had ordered from Hachi, "Leave Kyousei to me."

"Oh? You want to take on the Guardian of Pure Silver Snow?" Takeko grinned, "Go right ahead. I can take care of myself."

Kyousei stepped away from Takeko, drawing Evergreen as he approached Roko.

"Are you sure about that?" Kaguya called as Mikado stepped in front of her and drew his sword, "Even Mikado might lose against Kyousei."

"I've got a plan." Roko replied, nervousness creeping into his voice as the general approached him.

"Do you?" Takeko raised an eyebrow, "I wish I could watch but I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Turning her attention back to Kaguya, three more zombies rose out of the earth around her. These were in slightly better condition than the rest but it was when Roko recognized their faces from the ghosts that his blood ran cold.

"Change of plans!" He cried, "Kaguya, I'll handle Takeko and-"

"You're very kind, Roko." Kaguya said as she stared at her father, brother and sister from across the horde, "But it's fine. I'll handle them."

"But..."

"I have some things I want to say to my family too." Kaguya smiled, "Give me some privacy."

"...Alright."

Kyousei stood in front of Roko, his sword glinting green in the dim light.

"Here goes nothing." Roko sighed as he unwrapped his weapon and pointed a thick metal shaft at Kyousei, "If you were expecting something impressive, sorry. There weren't exactly any fancy blacksmiths around. No special materials either so this is just a normal staff. But I have to warn you."

Kyousei took his stance against Roko.

"I have no idea how to use this."

Roko imagined a laugh to make himself feel better. Instead, Kyousei charged at him, swinging his sword down at Roko. Roko sidestepped the attack and thrust his staff forward, aiming for the zombie's head. Kyousei tilted his head to the side, dodging the attack and responding with another slash at Roko's exposed side.

"Damn!" Roko jumped to the side, evading the attack by rolling across the ground and landing back on his feet, keeping his staff trained on the old general.

"A staff is much too different than a sword." Roko gritted his teeth as Kyousei turned to him once more, "A jab opens me up too much in close combat. If I want to use it properly..."

Kyousei charged towards Roko once more and Roko met the approach head on, lunging as deep as he could and jabbing his staff at Kyousei's head as fast as he could. His attack met Kyousei with enough speed and accuracy for the zombie to be unable to shift his own forward momentum enough to dodge it again, forcing the zombie to stumble back before the staff could impact his head. Further attempts were met with equally fierce counterattacks, each combatant unable to land a proper blow on each other and forced to retreat into contemplation.

"Right." Roko breathed, "I have to use my longer range. I have to keep his sword just short of reaching me. And I have to keep him from getting close."

But that's all defensive plays. The only way his jabs could deal damage is if Kyousei slips up and he's not just too experienced to make such a mistake but right now, rather than slipping up, he's thinking of how to bypass past his guard and land a hit.

Kyousei's stance shifted. From a free, defenseless open stance to a closed stance, sword pointed forward and both hands on the handle of his sword.

"Defensive." Roko noted.

The fact that Kyousei, a defensive general was going into a thoughtless offense was one of the reasons why Roko managed to hold him off for this long. Now he was clearly in a more defensive stance but he showed no intention of staying back. If Roko had to guess, he will make small parries that kept him from accumulating damage while forcing his way forward. Approach while defending in order to land a decisive blow. Jabs like Roko was using before depended on the split second timing to take advantage of his reach. Small critical attacks like a jab would bounce off a well trained defense while exposing his own defenses to be taken advantage of.

Roko shifted his stance as well, drawing the staff to the side and swinging it behind him.

If it was Roko defending he knew his biggest worry would be attacks too strong to be withstood or parried. Therefore, if the defensive general was inviting him to try and attack, Roko would have to close the distance himself, make the first move and control the pace of the battle.

Roko took a deep breath. And when Kyousei stepped forward, Roko charged.

Roko's staff swung from the side, wide and telegraphed but with too much force to just deflect. Kyousei shifted his sword back, laying the side of the blade against his upper arm, blocking Roko's staff with his sword and body. Kyousei dragged the sword up again, straightening the sword and sliding to against the staff as he pushed forward towards Roko's body. Roko pivoted the staff around Kyousei's blade, pushing the shaft against the sword before raising the end of his staff and shifting his weapon around the other side of the blade, swinging the end at Kyousei's head. Kyousei shifted his head aside, barely dodging the attack. With his sword now trapped on the other side of Roko's staff and in a compromising position, Kyousei began to withdraw in order to regain some space. Roko knew he was retreating and pressed his advantage, jabbing his staff at the retreating soldier's stomach. Evergreen swung around and knocked the staff away. The simple parry shifted their positions enough towards Kyousei's advantage as he turned his blade back and swung at Roko's own head. Roko buckled his knees, swinging his body low enough to dodge the soldier's slash. Once the blade sailed safely past him, Roko pushed his body forward shifting his staff and hands around over the zombie's arm and swung at the zombie's head again. The staff hit but it was against the zombie's neck, dealing minimal if any damage. Instead, Kyousei grabbed the staff and held it in place as he crossed his sword underneath the staff and swung at Roko's body. Caught off guard by the grapple, Roko moved his body back as far as he could, barely keeping one hand left on the far end of the staff as he arced his body back to dodge Kyousei's attack. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Roko pulled on the end of his staff, dragging Kyousei forward as he twisted his body around, pulling with all his strength as the staff laid across his back now. Roko swung his body around, shifting the staff back in front of his body and grabbing his end with both hands. His efforts had pulled Kyousei forward as he tried to keep hold on Roko's weapon and now the staff was positioned low, in front of Kyousei's stomach. Roko pushed the staff forward with his whole body, forcing the zombie's hand off his weapon as he slammed the end of the staff into his body. The end of Roko's staff seemed to suddenly scrunch down and extended again, sending staff flying out of Roko's hands as it clattered a few feet across the ground behind him.

"Wait, what?!" Roko cried as he spun around, "What the-"

Kyousei took advantage of his confusion and made some swings at Roko who stumbled back, dodging the best he could without his weapon.

"Wait. Time! Hold on!" Roko yelped as he turned around and ran backwards, lunging for his staff, grabbing it and rolling across the ground until he settled back on his feet, weapon in hand and pointed right at the general. Thankfully, Kyousei had opted not to chase him so there was now a few feet of space between them and some time for Roko to process what had happened.

"What the hell's going on?" Roko gasped under his breath, "The end crumbled and then sprang out again? Like a spring? What the hell, I thought this was a normal sta-"

"And since we don't have much metal to work with, the imbuing process is as much a cost saving measure as it is an enchanting process. So if you're making a sword in this country, it'll likely have some sort of impure element to the steel."

"And this is a steel staff." Roko realized, "Wait. Analyze."

Roko used the analyze spell on his own weapon.

Staff

HP: 98%

MP: N/A

Attack: 98

Defense: 76

A steel staff made with 70% metal. While it is well balanced and made, its composition was supplemented with the shells of gum shrimps. This actually makes the staff less durable but gives it a bendy and springy attribute, allowing it to scrunch together before springing out with great force.

"That bastard knew how to do the imbuing process?!" Roko scowled, "He should've told me about this at the very least, the cheapskate. So he just used whatever shells he had lying around his restaurant?"

Kyousei charged forward while Roko was still trying to process this new information.

"W-Wait!" Roko cried as he stood back up to meet the general's approach.

Kyousei swung high, slashing down towards Roko who brought his staff up to block the attack. Roko struggled against the blade as it tried to overpower him. It was a wildly more aggressive move that the back and forth battle the two were having before. If Roko had to guess, the accident with the staff probably lead him to believe the staff was ineffective as a weapon. And he might be right, though Roko had one idea on how to utilize it's unique properties. Roko pushed Kyousei's sword into the side and jabbed the staff into the zombie's stomach. The end compacted again but this time Roko tightened his grip on the staff, holding it in place to avoid it jumping out of his hands again. He pushed forward again and the staff finally straightened itself out again, launching Kyousei into the air as the end righted itself. Kyousei tumbled across the ground, rolling back onto his feet not far from Roko, his sword held more defensively as he warily reconsidered his options.

"Heh. This might not be that bad." Roko said as ideas began to flood his mind, "If I can find more ways to utilize this than he has thought of defenses for, I could win this much more handily."

Kyousei stood up, much more wary of Roko's weapon than before. Roko smiled smugly, trying to effect a larger air of confidence than the minimal that he was only starting to feel. Roko wasn't quite sure how effective mind games would be against a mindless zombie but it was at least reassuring to fall back on old tactics. Kyousei readied his sword and charged, going on the offensive but keeping his guard up to respond to anything Roko might do. Despite going on the offense, it was virtually the same situation as before. Roko's best bet was to overpower Kyousei's guard. The only difference was that the general now had the control over the timing and flow of the battle. That was fine. Roko felt more comfortable being on the defense anyway.

Roko moved the staff back and began to swing upward, dragging his staff across the ground, but also bending the weapon against the ground. Sensing what was going to happen, Kyousei tried to stall his forward momentum and bring his sword up to defend himself. But it was too late to escape Roko's range as the staff snapped up with explosive momentum, knocking aside the sword and smashing into Kyousei's chin. The sheer force that went into Roko's attack also threw Roko's weapon out of his hands and into the air. Roko jumped, reaching out to regain hold of his weapon. Roko had not anticipated this much force from his attack but the critical hit to the zombie's jaw ensured that he would be too stunned to take advantage of this opportunity. Roko safely managed to grab the spinning staff in midair and angle it down at the recovering corpse. Kyousei stumbled back, letting Roko land in front of him as he stabbed his staff into the ground. The staff compacted and Roko re-angled the staff back at Kyousei and left go of the staff. The staff shot itself off the ground and slammed into Kyousei's chest. Kyousei was knocked a step back as the staff crumpled in on itself from its own impact. Roko stepped forward and reached one hand out to grab the end of his staff before it could fall. With his other hand, he braced his end of the staff to prevent it from firing backwards, forcing the end on Kyousei's side to expand once more. The staff hit Kyousei once more but Kyousei had managed to jump back a bit before the staff could fully extend, mitigating some of the damage. Kyousei scowled as he grabbed the end of the staff and pulled it away from him, slashing with his sword at Roko's body. Roko turned his body closer and threw out a kick into the zombie's side, interrupting his attack, freeing his weapon and sending him recoiling a few more steps back. Roko thought to retreat for a moment to gather his strength again but that would mean giving up the initiative which Roko wasn't ready to give up yet.

Roko bent the staff across his back and stepped forward. Kyousei recognized the threat and readied his sword. Roko swung the staff downward, cracking the staff over Kyousei's sword, the force of this attack knocking the soldier down to this knees as he pushed up against the staff with his sword. As it was, Roko knew he wasn't going to be able to beat a military general with sheer force and he wasn't exactly in position to push for more power with one hand on his staff so he began to draw his staff back for the next attack. But that was enough of an opening for Kyousei. As Roko retreated, Kyousei stood back up, pushing the staff up as he grabbed the end of the staff once more. He pulled his arm back and with one swing the staff was cut in half.