Luckily, this time Cescale didn't breathe fire.
Even so, the gusts stirred up by its wings when it neared the ground still blasted several people off their feet.
After these two sudden incidents, the ordinary players didn't dare to linger anymore.
They scrambled out of the palace in a panic, rolling and crawling, without even looking back.
A few solo players also fled.
They had only come to fish in troubled waters and maybe snatch some benefits, but now the situation was obviously far beyond their ability.
A monster of this level—if it wasn't a BOSS, then what else could it be?
And with the entire clearing group here, how could they possibly compete?
Still, there were some who wouldn't give up until they saw the coffin.
Their eyes stayed locked on Cescale as it twisted and spiraled through the air, ready to strike at any moment.
Besides the few remaining solo players, both DDA and the Knights of the Blood Oath also kept a greedy eye on the BOSS's Last Attack.
Meanwhile, Asuna and the others continued searching the area for any way they could help Akimi.
The strangest one was Heathcliff—he kept fiddling with his system menu, only glancing up at Cescale from time to time, as if he didn't care at all about who would land the Last Attack.
But whatever the others were thinking, Akimi himself now felt like he might soon have to say goodbye to both SAO and the real world—his mild fear of heights would probably be forcibly cured… assuming he lived through this.
Thanks to his relentless effort, he had managed to climb from Cescale's claws up to its thigh.
A little higher and he would reach its back.
Fortunately, Cescale didn't seem to have any way of attacking him where he was—it was as though Akimi was sitting in its blind spot.
After waiting a moment, once Cescale's movements settled into a relatively steady rhythm, Akimi gripped its scales and leapt onto its lower back.
He couldn't help but admit—Cescale's sheer size was terrifying.
He could tell just by the massive scales on its back.
Each one was the size of a door panel, about two square meters, and nearly two fingers thick.
The way the light refracted off them made the scales gleam like metal.
Perhaps sensing Akimi's movement, Cescale suddenly rolled its body sideways.
Just as Akimi was starting to breathe in relief, he was startled again.
He immediately jammed his Nichirin Blade into the gap between two scales, one hand gripping a scale and the other clutching the hilt, barely managing to stabilize himself.
Ten seconds later, Cescale straightened out again, and Akimi rose to his feet.
With a quick motion, he pulled his Nichirin Blade free and rubbed his nose lightly.
"What a hassle… I can only push my damage while I have the time."
But just as he was about to unleash a sword skill on Cescale, he suddenly felt the temperature in front of him spike sharply—Cescale was about to unleash its fireballs.
"! How the hell did that fireball get over here… Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
While reeling in shock, he swung his Nichirin Blade to block.
These fireballs were different from the ones Cescale had unleashed on the floating island before—they were much smaller in size, but their number had suddenly multiplied.
It was precisely because of their reduced size that Akimi was able to deflect them with his Nichirin Blade.
After observing closely, he noticed another change—the fireballs could linger in the air.
Each time Cescale spat them out, its flight altitude would drop slightly, putting Akimi just within their attack range.
A simple method, but highly effective.
After dodging another massive wave of small fireballs, Akimi casually tossed aside the now-empty potion bottle in his hand.
Looking at the fresh barrage forming ahead, he drew in a deep breath and muttered under his breath:
"Doesn't matter anymore… if I keep dragging this out, I'm dead anyway…"
Steeling himself, Akimi let out a low shout and charged straight ahead, water-like ripples flowing across the blade of his Nichirin Sword.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
Twisting his body again and again, he avoided most of the incoming strikes, slicing through the fireballs that left him no room to dodge.
When he finished, Akimi slid his left foot across to halt his forward momentum.
Then, raising his Nichirin Blade high, he slashed down hard at Cescale beneath him.
A deep wound split open instantly where the blade passed—the thick, heavy scales might as well have been decoration, offering little real defense.
Then, with a slight crouch to gather power, Akimi leapt into the air, narrowly evading another round of fireballs.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
With the force of a crashing waterfall, his Nichirin Blade slammed down on the same spot as before, widening the wound even further.
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