Chapter 32: "Total Annihilation" Aincrad Liberation Squad
About a month had passed since Hachiman acquired a base that could be called a secret hideout.
The clearing of the floors had been going smoothly, and just as the twenty-fourth floor was safely cleared, a problem occurred.
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The tin kettle on the fireplace emitted a sharp whistle.
Hachiman reached out and pressed a button to stop the heating.
Outside the window, faint blue data-stream fireflies floated—this was the unique night scene of the twenty-fourth floor.
"Don't you think the atmosphere at today's celebration party is too tense?" Agil suddenly paused while wiping his battle axe.
Hachiman dropped a third sugar cube into his black tea. "That guy, the Kibaou, causing trouble again over the final blow's equipment distribution?"
"This time it's not just a small quarrel. I heard the Divine Dragon Alliance got three rare materials, and all of them were stashed in Lind's warehouse."
The next day, a system notification suddenly rang out, and a translucent message box appeared: [Urgent assembly! All guild representatives, please proceed immediately to the central square.]
At the fountain in the square, the Kibaou was grabbing Lind by the collar armor.
Between them hovered a crystal ball still playing back battle footage.
"So this is what you call elite tactics?" Veins bulging on his forehead, the Kibaou's over twenty Liberation Squad members behind him all brandished their weapons in unison. "Last week's floor BOSS, the final blow rewards were taken by you again…"
"Watch your words, you scrub," Lind flicked the other's hand away. "Without our intelligence team, you wouldn't even find the BOSS's door."
Asuna's slender sword suddenly slid between them. "If you want to fight, take it to the arena. Fighting here will be flagged as malicious PK by the system."
Although the situation was temporarily calmed, the sparks seemed to continue smoldering.
That night, Asuna and Liz visited Hachiman's home under the pretense of a celebration party.
Liz's newly dyed cherry-pink hair tips shimmered with iridescence under the chandelier. The lace on her red dress rose and fell as she handled the tea set.
Asuna skillfully cut the cake, the silver knife spinning at her fingertips. "Liz's new look has caused a sensation. The forums are buzzing about the 'Flame Fairy Smithy' poster girl."
Sexy poster girl.
"Oh, stop it, but thanks to Asuna's fiddling around, sales increased by thirty percent."
"Really?"
"I think Liz totally fits this style."
"Right, right!"
Liz Bett's hair had changed from brown a few days ago to a pinkish tea color, and her outfit switched to a slightly brighter red dress, with a white apron tied on during business hours.
Normally, pink, emerald green, or sky blue hair colors would seem unnatural, but maybe because it's inside the game, it was strangely without any sense of incongruity.
They chatted until the meeting dispersed.
Both seemed careful not to stay overnight, a thoughtfulness Hachiman appreciated.
Although two guest rooms were prepared and decorated separately, even when Liz stayed overnight, she often forged in a separate building.
They always contacted beforehand to avoid unexpected meetings, occasionally entrusting him to collect materials or going hunting together, maintaining a proper distance that caused Hachiman no trouble.
"See you both next time."
"Goodbye, Hachiman-kun."
"We'll come to forge again tomorrow noon. Please take care, Hachiman."
"Okay, got it, Liz."
After seeing them off, Hachiman soaked in the bath, preparing to sleep.
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Several days later, when breaking through the twenty-fifth floor was imminent, an unexpected event occurred—Hachiman suddenly received a visit from Argo and Asuna.
"Miss Argo said she has something to discuss."
"But this is a nice house, I even want it."
"No way, so what's the matter today?"
"Hachi, Asuna, brace yourselves. Just now... the Liberation Squad was completely wiped out."
"...Huh?"
"...What?"
It took Hachiman several tens of seconds to understand what was said, then he blankly asked Argo.
"Hey, what happened? What exactly occurred?"
"I heard the Liberation Squad recently found the BOSS's room but kept the information secret and challenged it alone.
According to survivors, they thought they had effective intel and launched a surprise attack, but the intel was completely wrong, and the BOSS's strength was totally different from before."
"Survivors…"
Asuna, upon hearing the ominous word "survivors," looked at Hachiman. Hachiman resolutely asked:
"How many participated? How many survived?"
"Seven teams, forty-two people in total. Survivors... eight."
Hearing the number, both were stunned into silence. Hachiman recovered first and continued to ask:
"What about Kibaou?"
"He barely survived."
"Could it be… that person did something again?"
"Survivors said the BOSS info was brought by him."
"Damn! Damn!"
Hachiman repeatedly punched the table.
If only he had been more alert.
If only he had taken countermeasures… Regret surged like a tide.
Asuna spoke worriedly:
"Hachiman-kun, this isn't your fault."
"No, Asuna, I have intel related to him. I clearly could have done something, but I did nothing."
Hachiman told them about his previous observations.
"I see, so that's what happened."
"Yeah, I was worried that intervening rashly would be dangerous, so I told no one, but it backfired completely."
"Hachiman-kun…"
"I understand how you feel, Hachi, but this time we really were powerless."
"Maybe so, damn it!"
"Hachiman-kun always wants to bear everything alone. We should think about what we can do and work together."
"Hmm…"
Warmth suddenly enveloped his trembling right hand. Asuna sat beside him, removing her glove.
Her fingertips were cold but firmly held Hachiman's fingers: "Now is not the time for repentance, Hachiman-kun."
After a moment, Hachiman looked up as if having made a decision.
"Sorry, both of you. I'm fine now. Let's think about our next strategy together."
Suppressing his helplessness, Hachiman decided to look ahead. After organizing all information, the core problem remained insufficient combat power.
The Divine Dragon Alliance could field 24 people, Agil's team and Hachiman's faction about 8, and the Liberation Squad survivors were basically unreliable.
The power gap was still huge. He again asked Argo to investigate. The discussion ended that day.
Later, Argo reported no leads at all—not even eyewitness information—and the situation was at a deadlock.
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In this situation where high-level combat power was urgently needed, Hachiman called Kirito up from the lower floors.
"Long time no see, Kirito."
"You don't look well. Take care of yourself, Hachiman."
The two reunited and talked.
"Have you heard about the situation?"
"Ah, it's really a disaster."
"As long as there are people, we can keep clearing floors, but combat power is really…"
"What can I do?"
"Just participate in the BOSS battles. The current problem is combat power."
"I see. I haven't been involved recently, sorry."
"No, you don't have to apologize. Progress was going smoothly, and you weren't idle either."
"Even so…"
"You've joined a guild, right?"
"…Yeah."
"Just focus on that for now. We'll need help sooner or later, but not right now."
"Understood."
Hachiman smiled at Kirito.
"As an exchange, I'm counting on you for the actual battles."
"Ah, I'll give it my all."
The two gave a high-five and parted ways.