Chapter 36 Reinforcements!!!

Satoshi heard the faint sound of crumbling concrete before he regained his consciousness. Dazed, he didn't recognize where he was at first but when his senses finally returned to him, he realized that he was still inside a battered school bus which seemed to have toppled a dozen times over before halting to a stop. A drop of blood flowed through his eyes and he became aware of why he was experiencing a slight headache. "I must have hit my head somewhere. What happened? Is everyone all right?" He asked.

"Um... Satoshi, glad you're awake! A little help." Kuroe said with blood on his lips.

p Because Satoshi just woke up, his vision was still blurry so he didn't notice something was wrong at first. But when his vision cleared up, his pupils dilated from shock.

When he first saw Kuroe sitting on the ground and surrounded by an unknown force field, he thought that maybe it was just one of the drawbacks of her superpower— that she cannot move while using her superpower. But the reason why she couldn't move was that she was stabbed right through her stomach by a thick metal pipe, which protruded through his back and stabbed her right leg. She was kneeling on the ground and she couldn't move an inch since the metal pipe held her in place. The only thing she could do was use her force field to stop the bus's roof from caving in on her.

"I'm surprised you're still alive after all that. You doing all right? T-t-that metal pipe really did you in, huh." Satoshi tried so hard to wear a poker face and remain calm but he couldn't help but stutter on his last comment. He wanted not to panic and to remain as stoic as possible but his efforts were all in vain.

"I know right, you should probably help me out don't you think. Can you remove the roof of the bus, I don't think I can hold the force field that much longer. Everyone else is unconscious and I'm the only one who was awake throughout the entire thing... if I didn't have this metal pipe piercing me, I'd have taken all of you to safety already."

Heaving in a deep breath, Satoshi summoned his Nailgun familiar which was in his bag all this time. He then rode on top of his Nailgun and grabbed the roof part of the bus. The moment he grabbed hold of it, he realized that a great slab of concrete was actually on top of the bus, ready to fall at any moment if he were to let go of it. Without thinking twice, he hopped out of his Nailgun and had the Nailgun fly through the air and charge at the concrete, which exploded in no time. A few seconds later, the great slab of concrete was reduced to rubble and Satoshi managed to move the bus's roof part with easer.

With that out of the way, the only thing Satoshi had to think about was Kuroe's injury. Not only was she losing incredible amounts of blood, but it seems that she was losing consciousness as well. "Just hang in there, Kuroe, help is on its way," Satoshi said.

"I hope... " Kuroe sighed. She didn't have to read Satoshi's mind to see how worried he was of her. She forced herself to smile.

However, that smile was then replaced with despair when Kuroe saw a Slime from afar. Apparently, one of the Slimes the SAO was fighting in space just so happened to slip through and it just so happen to land in front of Satoshi once again. These coincidences on top of each other made Satoshi encounter another alien and this time, no one was there to help nor support him.

With his classmates out of commission (even the school bus driver was unconscious) and with only one Familiar in tow, Satoshi was greatly disadvantaged. "If only I had Lighter with me. I'd be able to defeat this Slime in no time. No, there's no time to be thinking about these things. I need to defeat that Slime as fast as possible, otherwise, Kuroe will die."

Mustering all his courage, Satoshi didn't hesitate to charge at the Slime without a plan at all. Once again, Satoshi rode on top of his Nailgun and maneuvered around the Slime, shooting at it with the unlimited nails that the Nailgun has as its bullets. The volley of nails didn't seem to be effective, however, since it would just pass through the Slime's body.

The Slime, feeling that it was being attacked, whipped its tentacles towards Satoshi at high speeds, forcing Satoshi to do an untimely somersault in the air before the Slime hit him with another whip attack. Having lost his balance and footing in the air, Satoshi descended towards the ground with sheer force. It happened all too suddenly that Satoshi didn't have any time to wonder if he was dying or not. His mind immediately flashed back to his parents who were still fighting in space. 'Sigh~ what would they think if they found their one and only son died as soon as they return? That would suck. I don't want to die.' Satoshi said in his mind as he helplessly flailed his arms around.

Ughp~!

Before he could hit the ground, however, something floating actually caught him.

It was Dex, his trusted System, and retro computer.

[Satoshi, I have encountered a distress signal coming from you.]

[I have brought our comrades with me. Sorry it took so long]

"Dex! What are you doing here?!" Satoshi asked in surprise, glad that he was alive and glad that reinforcements have arrived. With everyone here, he now had full confidence that he'll be able to defeat the Slime without batting as much as an eyelid.

[As I have mentioned, I have received a distress signal sent from your mind. Are you perhaps all right, Satoshi?]

"Yes, never better! Now let's go end this thing." Satoshi clenched his fists after heaving a sigh of relief.