SAO: I replaced him?

When Morin and his party entered the valley known as the Battlefield of the Dead, it became painfully obvious why it had earned such a grim title.

The valley stretched out before them, desolate and eerie, its ground littered with remnants of battles long past. Broken skeletons, shattered weapons, and fragments of armor lay scattered across the bloodstained earth. A chilling wind blew through the valley, carrying with it the faint metallic scent of dried blood and decay. The entire place had the unsettling atmosphere of an ancient graveyard, one that had been disturbed far too many times.

Creak… Crack…

Before Morin, Asuna, and the others could even process their surroundings, a sinister presence made itself known. A few wisps of black mist seeped from the cracked ground ahead, twisting and curling like ghostly fingers. Then, with a sickening crunch, a half-broken skeleton slowly pushed itself up from the dirt.

At first, it was nothing more than a pile of bones, but within moments, something unnatural took hold. Its missing pieces reassembled with an eerie efficiency, a bony exoskeleton snapping into place like puzzle pieces coming together. A helmet-like skull plate formed over its head, and in its bony hands, a rusted sword and shield materialized out of the ether. The once-pathetic skeleton was now a fully armed warrior, its eye sockets burning with eerie crimson flames.

Then, without hesitation, it lunged straight at them.

---

"Alright, let's see what we're dealing with."

Morin remained unimpressed as the skeleton soldier charged forward. Instead of stepping in himself, he turned to the elite members of [Star Flame] and gave a simple command.

"One of you take care of it."

He wasn't going to waste his time on every minor enemy that showed up. If he had to step in personally every time some skeleton got uppity, then what was the point of forming [Star Flame] in the first place? Babysitting players was definitely not on his agenda.

"On it, boss!"

One of the elite members, clearly eager to prove himself, rushed forward with his sword drawn.

Sching! Sching! Sching!

With a few well-placed strikes, his weapon glowed with sword skills as it carved through the skeleton's weak points. The undead creature barely had a chance to react before its cervical spine and skull were sliced apart in a blur of light.

CRACK!

The skeleton let out a final, silent scream before its health bar plummeted to zero. Its body crumbled into a pile of lifeless bones, vanishing in a burst of blue pixels.

"Not bad," Argo commented, tapping her chin. "These guys are level 70 sword-and-shield skeletons. Pretty decent, but nothing crazy. The deeper we go into the battlefield, the nastier things get—skeleton spearmen, archers, and squads led by elite captains. That's when things start getting dangerous."

Morin nodded, taking in the information. "Any idea what's waiting at the end of all this?"

Argo grinned. "Now here's the interesting part. Originally, the Blood Alliance Knights thought the final boss here was some 'Terror Knight Commander.' Heathcliff and his crew cleared it out, then moved on to fight the floor boss. But when I was snooping around, I noticed something weird—this battlefield still had an undiscovered boss. A real boss."

That caught Morin's attention. His knowledge of SAO's original timeline ended on Floor 75, which meant anything beyond that was uncharted territory. He had to rely on Argo's intel, and so far, she had never let him down.

"Do you have any solid leads?" he asked.

Argo smirked. "Oh, I do. Follow me."

---

Half an Hour Later—Deep in the Battlefield

With the elite team of [Star Flame] leading the charge, the once-menacing skeleton soldiers stood no chance. Even the squads commanded by elite skeleton captains were cut down with brutal efficiency. For a team accustomed to fighting floor bosses, this was just another day at work.

However, after dealing with all the wandering undead, everyone turned their attention to Argo, who had led them to what seemed to be the remnants of a ruined structure in the heart of the valley.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Humming a little tune, Argo casually hopped onto a crumbling stone pillar. She examined the ruins for a moment before pressing a specific point on the surface.

BZZZZZZZZZT!

The ground trembled as a section of the ruins split apart, revealing a massive, gaping cavern beneath.

Before anyone could react, thick black mist erupted from the fissure, swirling through the air like a living entity. The scattered remains across the battlefield twitched and shifted—skeletons that had been defeated mere moments ago began to move once again. Bone fragments snapped together with unnatural speed, forming grotesque new warriors.

Within seconds, hundreds of blackened skeletons, far larger than the ones they had previously fought, emerged from the shadows. Clad in dark bone armor and wielding massive weapons, they formed ranks under the command of towering elite skeleton captains, their cloaks billowing in the ghostly wind.

THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.

The ground shook violently. From the depths of the cavern, dozens of undead knights emerged, each clad in massive black armor and mounted on skeletal warhorses.

But that wasn't the worst part.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled through the air as something enormous shifted within the cave.

And then, stepping into the open, came a bone dragon.

The towering, black-scaled monstrosity unfurled its massive wings, shaking dust and debris into the air. Its empty eye sockets burned with dark red fire, and perched on its back, sitting on a throne of bone, was the true nightmare—a towering undead sorcerer, robed in extravagant, tattered garments, wielding a massive bone staff.

Yeah. This was not part of the original plan.

"Argo." Morin's eye twitched as he gripped his sword and shield tighter. "You definitely left this part out of your intel report."

"Hey, don't blame me!" Argo threw up her hands defensively. "Last night, I only saw a few undead knights coming and going. When I tested the mechanism this morning, there wasn't a giant freaking dragon waiting to kill us!"

Morin wasn't sure if he wanted to be more annoyed or impressed. Either way, there was no time to dwell on it.

"Foolish intruders…" The undead sorcerer's voice echoed ominously through the valley. "Your flesh and souls shall become part of my eternal legion!"

The undead horde surged forward in perfect unison. The skeletal knights lowered their lances and charged at full speed, their hooves kicking up a storm of dust. Black skeleton archers readied their arrows, while the foot soldiers advanced in terrifying waves.

And the bone dragon? Oh, it was just casually preparing to unleash hell.

Morin exhaled sharply, adjusting his stance.

"Alright, no use complaining now. Time to see what this bastard is really made of!"

Asuna and the rest of [Star Flame] readied their weapons, their faces grim yet determined.

Argo, now fully regretting her life choices, hurried back to the team. "Yeah, uh, next time, let's bring, I dunno, a hundred more people?"

Morin smirked. "Too late for that. We fight now."

With that, the battle exploded into chaos.

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