But there was still something rather strange—this ruin was at most about the same size as a normal BOSS room.
If Cescale was really as the information on the compass had described, then it still didn't seem very likely this could be the BOSS room.
Yet, all the clues pointed here, and for the moment there was no other information to go on.
"Let's just go in and take a look."
Akimi shrugged as he spoke.
Naturally, Kirito and the others had no objections.
As soon as the "Key · No. 5" was inserted into the keyhole on the ruin's great door, cracks spread across the ruby-like bricks surrounding it, and in the end even the key itself, still stuck in the lock, shattered into several fragments.
Seeing the gap that was just wide enough for a person to pass through, Akimi calmly drew his Nichirin Blade, lowered his head slightly, and stepped inside.
When they heard him say, "Nothing inside for now," Asuna and the others drew their weapons and followed after him.
The ruin—or perhaps now it should be called a palace—wasn't much different inside compared to its exterior: the ruby-colored bricks were still engraved with dragon-shaped reliefs.
Beyond that, there were only about a dozen stone pillars arranged in a large circle, and a single stone stele about as tall as a person.
The palace ceiling wasn't fully closed off; at its center was a circular opening about three meters wide.
A shaft of sunlight shone down through it, illuminating a bright patch in the middle of the floor.
The pillars didn't connect to the ceiling but instead stood separately.
Between each pillar were lines of colored light, forming an overall pattern that looked like some kind of Western-style magic array.
The sunlight fell precisely at its center, making it appear both dazzling and dangerous.
The stele stood directly ahead of Akimi and the others, between two pillars.
A few short lines were engraved upon it—"The Side Hall of the Ruby Palace, existing for the sake of guarding Radius, the eternal master of the Ruby Palace."
The empty palace left Akimi and the others somewhat lost.
As he slowly made his way toward the pillars, observing his surroundings, Asuna and the other two searched along the palace edges for any kind of special items.
"This really is strange…"
Akimi stepped into the center of the "magic array," feeling the sunlight shining down on him.
He couldn't help but raise his head, squinting slightly against the glare as he looked toward its source.
Just as he lifted his hand to shield his eyes, the lines of the "magic array" beneath his feet suddenly flared, shining several times brighter than the sunlight.
The entire palace was instantly filled with dazzling colors, as if someone had thrown a rainbow-colored flash grenade into it.
The sudden brilliance startled them all, forcing them to shut their eyes instinctively against the glare.
While they were shielding their eyes, the stone pillars and the central circular area began to rise, quickly forming a clear height difference from the surrounding floor.
When the light faded and they opened their eyes, Akimi had already been lifted into the air by the stone platform and was about to be carried out through the palace's roof—which had vanished while their eyes were shut.
The entire process was completely silent, leaving them stunned.
But before they could figure out what was happening, the circular area that had become a floating island began to ascend even faster.
Within just a few seconds, it had risen to about seventy meters in the sky, carrying Akimi along with it—while Asuna and the others were left behind inside the palace.
Just as they stood bewildered, a piercing dragon's roar echoed from afar.
The next moment, a colossal crimson dragon with a wingspan of seventy meters, its entire body glowing with a faint radiance, rapidly flew toward them.
In only a few seconds, it landed upon the floating island.
The red dragon, having landed, suddenly spread its wings and let out a sky-shaking roar.
Its massive wings shattered four stone pillars beside it, and at the same time, a dark-red marker and name appeared above its head.
On its left, four long HP bars filled up one after another.
The Last Guardian of the Redjade Palace · Cescale — The Final Guardian of the Redjade Palace, Floor 39 Boss.
"Akimi! Use a teleport crystal, quickly—!"
Asuna shouted at the top of her lungs, forcing the words out from her chest, her voice carrying toward the floating island.
The sound rushed upward and faintly reached Akimi's ears.
But he only gave a bitter smile, sighed lightly, and looked toward the dragon before him.
It wasn't that he didn't want to use a teleport crystal—after all, facing a floor boss alone was pure madness.
But right now, he couldn't.
Not because the area nullified crystals—it didn't.
Teleport crystals could be used here normally.
But a system message had forced him into trying to defeat the boss alone.
When the dragon first reached the island, Akimi had already taken out a teleport crystal, ready to use it.
But just as he tried, a system message appeared before his eyes:
Leaving the floating island now will cause it to collapse.
Cescale will return to the Redjade Palace, and the raid cannot be reattempted.
In other words, if Akimi used the teleport crystal now, SAO's progress would be locked at Floor 39, with no chance of moving forward.
"…What a mess."
Akimi no longer had the time to message Asuna and explain.
Cescale's enormous, terrifying eyes had already locked onto him—an attack was about to begin.
Watching the sparks of fire scattered across the sky, and with no reply from Akimi for so long, Asuna's face turned pale.
But she quickly forced down the anxiety in her heart and said in a low, firm voice to Kirito and Argo:
"We have to find a way up there quickly… we can't let Akimi face the boss alone."
She then hurried toward the center of the palace, all the while silently reassuring herself—Akimi wasn't a reckless person.
If he hadn't used a teleport crystal, he must have had another reason.
He was strong.
He would be fine.
Kirito and Argo exchanged a grave look before springing into action as well, running off toward other parts of the palace to search for a way to the floating island.
Meanwhile, in a small house on the edge of Norfrett, which also served as the Knights of the Blood Oath's guild base, Heathcliff—or rather, Kayaba Akihiko—looked toward the floating island with a faint smile tugging at his lips.
He brushed aside the strand of hair falling over his left ear and murmured quietly:
"Well then… let me see just how far you've grown, Akimi-kun. If you can't even pass this little trial, then you have no right to stand before me."
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