Being separated into groups wasn't the best thing for Hanta, he hated being away from Komada. It was overbearing, yes, but he preferred to actually be able to keep an eye on her, otherwise he worried incessantly over her. It occasionally had an adverse effect on him as they cleared the floors, missing a step in his switch or making a stupid mistake. Izumo was always quick to capitalize on his blunders, snapping at him and demanding he pay more attention. It took a while, but more towards the end of the labyrinth, the last five floors or so, he finally managed to 'get his head in the game'. While the two boys most certainly did not get along Hanta and Izumo made a fair good team. Izumo's prowess with a two handed blade dealt massive damage, and he'd switch for the quicker Hanta to deal the final blows. Keeping that rhythm they soon developed a strategy between the two of them, making the elimination of a single target take but one go. For all of their butting heads they made a good team. The third member of the group, an axe wielder named Corgan, was every bit as helpful. A little timid perhaps, but he could do a great deal of damage and take it as well, definitely the tank of the group. Between the three of them there was relative ease in clearing the mobs. 

With the twentieth floor of the labyrinth reached everyone was allowed a few moments break to catch their breath. People who were missing health didn't bother using their crystals, those would be saved solely for the boss fight. The few who had food took this moment to get a snack in, perhaps as a way to calm their nerves before the storm. Others still were taking in the sights, marveling at the ornate door and pillars that now stood before them. This was definitely the most elegant part of the entire dungeon by far, with jade slab floors, whitewashed pillars with serpents twisting up their lengths, and an iron cast door with ornate carvings on both halves. In spite of what was about to happen the overall atmosphere felt peaceful, people were remarkably calm considering they were going to fight a boss. Hanta stood just off to the side with a few others, propped up against a pillar and just simply trying to catch his breath. The big moment was here, this was the first floor boss to be fought in the game. Depending on how this went it would set the tone for the next 99 floors, hopefully it went well. After quite a long time of working to get to this point the break before the boss seemed inconsequential, and before he knew it they were prepping to go inside. If anyone had cold feet at this point it was much too late to turn back, it was do or die time. Hanta only hopped he or any of his friends would not be doing the latter. 

Players began to pour into the room then, in sequence as the first wave took the lead. Almost instantly minions began to spawn, rising up from the ground almost as they formed en masse. Keeping their positions the first wave met the minions head on, immediately breaking up into pairings to deal with the mobs. Hanta went with Corgan, the two of them on the left side of the formation, while Izumo and another swordsman held the middle. Compared to what they had to go through just to get here these creatures were a cakewalk. Switching was done sparsely, and very few if any hits were landed by the enemy. It would have been easy to push further into the room, but that wasn't the plan. These weren't the things they were here to fight, not exactly anyways. Sooner or later the boss would emerge, and then they'd take action. Sure enough as another group of minions were cut down the main foe made himself known. Like the others he materialized from the floor up, crystals coming together and gradually taking shape as they clumped into one singular form. As the last shard fell into place the Illfang the Kobold Lord appeared, as did his four health bars. With a monstrous roar from the boss the battle then began in earnest.

For the beginning of the fight everything was going as smoothly as could be. Tensions were high to be sure, but following the plan players were able to switch out as needed, sustaining as little damage as possible from the fight. Hanta was just coming off of a rotation, having landed a few quick strikes on Illfang before dashing away to let the second wave come in. Slowly but surely they were making headway, already two bars of the boss' health was gone and his minions were barely a factor in the battle. Given another few minutes he'd be beaten, and the first floor of the game would be cleared with no casualties on their side. That was the hope anyways. Just as he was getting back behind the next wave Hanta happened to look to the boss again, noting a figure rushing at it on their own. Baffled by that he took a second to register just who it was, his eyes widening in fear when he recognized the person. "Komada, no!"

In one fell swoop the Kobold Lord brought his weapon down in a thunderous crash, hitting the floor and causing a shockwave that tossed Komada up into the air and sent her tumbling back down. Hanta watched in silent horror as her health dropped rapidly, from green to yellow, yellow to red... And by some miracle it kept the last few pixels of her health. The boss hadn't done that before, so did that mean it was learning? Or were there other tactics they didn't know about? He couldn't be bothered to think on it now, his friend was still in dire straits. Not a second after landing he watched a Kobold minion begin to advance on her, its lips curled back in a vicious snarl and weapon in hand. He was too far away, he couldn't get to her in time. Then, just as the mob raised its weapon in the air a streak ran to it, a blue line indicating a sword skill being used cutting it right in half. The Kobold shattered into pixels, and with a great deal of relief he saw Lily standing there over Komada, seeing to her wounds. She would be okay, he told himself, tearing his focus away from her and back to the task at hand. Unless they wanted another scare like that this fight had to end.

The Clearers hardly missed a beat, taking the near death of one of their own as a rally cry. The first wave quickly assumed the front again, being the strongest of the group and more than ready to fight despite having just switched out. The first to get to Illfang was Corgan, and with a loud shout he twisted his body around in a full rotation, swinging his axe in a wide arc that made a deep cut right on the Kobold Lord's leg. Immediately after landing he jumped back to avoid being cleaved in two, letting a pair of swordsmen charge in next, each getting a clean stab on the boss' legs. Hanta opted to go next, furious at the boss for having harmed his friend and determined to just unleash until it was no more. Dashing past a few of the second wave holding off minions he shouted angrily, his sword lighting up in a blue light as he brought it forward, lunging right ahead and piercing through the boss. Catching himself on his foot he pivoted his body, using another skill and slashing horizontally across Illfang's waist. He'd use the vertical slash skill too before he was finally made to move away, having drawn quite a bit of aggro from the minions in his burst. Now having to fend off the soldiers with the other first wave players he watched in a fair bit annoyance as Izumo took the chance to land the final blow, crushing a Kobold under his sword before darting right at the boss. 

Izumo dragged his two handed blade behind him, eyes trained solely on Illfang and nothing else. After easily sidestepping a heavy swing to his left he twisted himself back, grabbing the sword with both hands and bringing it across the floor and up in a wide arc, making a large slice in the boss' gut. At the top of the arc he activated another skill, rolling his shoulder and bringing his broadsword back across in a two-handed version of the horizontal slash skill. His final strike was done with the Cyclone skill, and throwing all of his weight behind it he tore clean through the boss' midsection. Collectively the three strikes dealt massive amounts of damage, and just as he came to a stop from the final hit the health bar of Illfang dropped to nil. With a self satisfied smirk he watched as the creature gave one last furious roar before finally shattering into pieces, and the minions subsequently followed. The sound of trumpets declaring their victory was heard soon after, and a large banner appeared over everyone's heads. That was it, the first boss. With no casualties they had managed to clear the floor and were now beginning to ascend into Aincrad. Maybe there was a chance they could do this after all. Izumo's thoughts were not on that however, but on the loot he had received for the final blow. The Col and Experience reward was nice, but so was the weapon he got in exchange for his attack. Not wasting a second he unequipped his current, basic broadsword and traded it out for a more elegant two handed weapon. The blade was a fair bit wider on this one, and thinner, with three varying size holes punched into the sheet of metal. In length it was probably four feet, which realistically would be terribly difficult for anyone to wield with any degree of ease. In the game though Izumo held it in one hand, smiling proudly as he gave it a swing. Yes, this would do nicely.

As soon as the fight had ended Hanta sheathed his weapon, hardly caring for the rewards he'd gotten. The fact that Izumo had in essence stolen the final hit and the subsequent reward didn't bother him right now, he had much larger concerns. Running across the room to where Komada was still curled up he immediately knelt down before her, without so much as word he wrapped his arms around her tightly, hugging her against himself. That had been much too close, she had very nearly died during that battle. Only now that it was truly over did he realize he was shaking with fear, his own breath coming in small gasps as he tried to settle himself down. He had very nearly been alone and lost his only real friend in this world. If he had managed to be with her, or argued to be closer to her during the fight then this never would have happened.

"Komada... I'm so sorry..." he whispered, closing his eyes as he hid his head against her shoulder. "It's over now... You're safe. I swear I won't let anything like that happen to you again..." He hadn't been diligent enough and it nearly cost Komada her life. If he couldn't protect his best friend then what hopes did he have in protecting someone he didn't even know? Face it, he was useless. Hanta sniffled as he felt his eyes beginning to burn, shaking his head to stave off the tears that he didn't want to show.

"You're okay now..." Hanta said again, trying to reassure himself more than anything. "It's safe..."