My SAO adventure is wrong, as expected

Chapter 48: Annihilation Battle

"The doors of the Safe Zone's council chamber were knocked on repeatedly."

Several days later, an emergency meeting was called under Hachiman's initiative.

Kirito leaned slantwise against the faded walnut long table, arms crossed, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the surface.

As the last participant, with dew-soaked leather boots, finally took a seat, he suddenly knocked over the pewter water cup beside him.

"There's been new developments, so I gathered everyone. I apologize for the sudden notice as always," Hachiman said in a voice slightly lower than usual as he addressed the group.

"We encountered an officer of Laughing Coffin. We can't leave them unchecked anymore—this concerns everyone's safety. No need to dwell on formalities," Asuna abruptly cut in.

Her pupils swept across the attendees, and the cold gleam reflecting off her slender sword at her waist made everyone straighten their backs involuntarily.

Klein suddenly pushed back his chair and stood: "Those lunatics are up to something again? This time it's...?"

"Yeah, I'll skip the detailed sequence of events, but we managed to collect some intel during an incident a few days ago. I'd like to report it now."

"Go ahead."

Since their own lives were at stake, everyone listened closely.

"First, though we've suspected it for a while, it's now confirmed—those people wear masks while committing crimes and take them off to casually stroll the streets afterward."

"That's been pointed out already."

"Secondly, it's about XaXa's eyes. Even without the mask, his pupils should still be red." Hachiman enlarged a segment of combat footage, where a grinning man's eyes flashed with a strange red glow.

"That piece of intel is just barely verifiable at best."

"Right. These are just confirmations. Now to the main point."

Hachiman scanned the room, then spoke slowly:

"PoH is likely a physically strong foreigner."

Everyone froze in surprise.

"What matters is the confrontation from three days ago," Kirito continued, his Adam's apple bobbing. "That guy cursed using a West Coast slang word-Sonofa'"

"Son of a bitch," Agil translated in his deep, rich voice, his bronze skin gleaming under the magical lighting. "Back when I was fixing cars at a garrison, that's what the drunk soldiers used to shout all the time."

"I-I see..."

"This is very dangerous. It likely means the guy is a professional soldier."

A wave of unease swept the room, followed by a heavy silence as the weight of the words sank in.

"That means he's highly trained in weapon handling and could potentially ignore skill limitations to use real-world martial arts. By the way, his weapon is a cleaver-shaped short sword."

"I see..."

"That's... too dangerous..."

"Can we even fight him?"

"No problem. This is still a game.

What makes soldiers strong is their technique and physical training, but strength and speed here are governed entirely by level and stats.

As long as several high-level players team up, we can handle it."

Many sighed in relief at these words.

"Finally, as for countermeasures—among the foreigners I've seen in-game, only Agil has such a physique. Has anyone else seen someone similar?"

No one answered.

"Meaning he rarely comes into town. From now on, if you see a foreigner fitting that build other than Agil, that's PoH."

Everyone murmured in surprise.

"We'll also post bounties for reporting people matching Johnny's wanted poster, XaXa's red eyes, or large foreigners wearing black cloaks—just be careful not to misreport Agil."

Agil let out a wry smile, and light laughter spread in the room.

"This way, all players can help monitor the officers.

Also, when accepting quests to restore morality points, suspicious movements can be reported.

While false reports are a concern, we'll consider adjusting the reward system..."

This time the reaction was louder—another chorus of "Ohh!"

"This'll be a major blow to Laughing Coffin, right?"

"Yeah, it should be very effective."

"Great! Let's proceed with this plan!"

"Yeah!!"

Thus, a net was quickly cast around Laughing Coffin.

.

.

.

In a forest outside the Safe Zone, the air reeked of blood, and rotting leaves crunched underfoot.

"They're here again..."

"Two of us already got caught this week."

"Tch! Must be Hachiman's doing. Boss, let's take him out!" the red-eyed youth snapped irritably, hacking at branches with his dagger.

"Any more losses and we're in trouble."

Even the usually silent Johnny murmured in agreement.

PoH, leaning against a dead tree, was wiping his scimitar. Its blade reflected his cold, ruthless eyes.

"Tch. How many are left?"

"Just over twenty."

"Any feedback from those sent to poison the Knights of the Blood?"

"The higher-ups are tightly controlling intel—no way in."

"Withering away like this and waiting to be caught is pathetic!"

"Let's set a trap and wipe them out in one go, boss!"

"..."

Seeing even XaXa nod in silence, PoH issued new orders.

.

.

.

Returning from a 65th-floor dungeon expedition, Hachiman and Kirito received word from Argo.

There was new progress, and a tactical meeting was about to begin regarding Laughing Coffin. Two weeks had passed since the last one.

"Seems like we've made headway, Hachiman."

"Since we've had them surrounded, it's about time."

Unlike previous briefings with only a few officers, this time the entire front-line group gathered.

Shocking intel was revealed—Laughing Coffin's headquarters had been located.

A friend of Knights of the Blood member Kuradeel had seen several orange-named players in the wilderness of the 37th floor.

A scout team monitored the area for days, tracking them to a cave frequently used by the suspects.

It was concluded this was their HQ.

"We're forming an assault team. Anyone unwilling may leave now—we won't hold it against you."

'Originally I didn't want Asuna to join...'

Because it was a full meeting, Asuna was present despite usually not attending.

She insisted on participating, and Hachiman couldn't stop her.

"Hey, Kirito, about Asuna..."

"I get it. We'll do the dirty work ourselves."

Hachiman stood to propose a plan: to minimize casualties, target enemy wrists to disable combat ability while reducing kill risk.

Members using piercing weapons would guard the cave entrance.

The plan was accepted, and Asuna was appointed captain of the guard unit.

Though she looked displeased, everyone understood Hachiman's intent to protect her and supported the plan.

In the end, Asuna agreed.

.

.

.

After the meeting, everyone returned to prepare.

Hachiman seemingly left early to avoid Asuna, who instead caught Kirito and tearfully said:

"Please, Kirito-kun, protect Hachiman-kun in my place."

She entrusted to Kirito the responsibility she had wanted to take on herself.

"Leave it to me."

The day of the assault arrived.

The strike team cautiously advanced and was ambushed near a cliffside plaza.

A fierce battle broke out.

"Stay calm! They're fewer than us!"

"Hold formation and fight!"

The surprise attack threw the command structure into chaos.

The intel had likely been leaked.

With the enemy having the advantage of terrain, the battle devolved into scattered skirmishes.

Even knowing pain didn't exist, many hesitated to sever another's limbs.

That hesitation was exploited, resulting in casualties.

Some enemies even dragged teammates over cliffs in suicide attacks.

Kirito and Hachiman were repeatedly surrounded and had already taken down several foes.

'Even if it's just visual effects with no physical feeling... it's still really rough.'

Gradually, the strike team gained the upper hand with numbers.

At that moment, two familiar figures emerged from deep within.

"Been waiting for you, Hachiman-san~"

Johnny approached Hachiman, while XaXa silently closed in on Kirito.

"I really didn't want to see you."

"After all we've been through side by side, how cold~" Johnny's face contorted, veins bulging on his scalp—clearly under immense mental strain.

"Since it's our last meeting, I'll keep you company a bit."

"I'll kill you right here and now!"

Hachiman and Johnny clashed fiercely, Kirito and XaXa engaged silently.

In such uncontested duels, the outcome was already clear.

Kirito deftly dodged attacks, waiting for XaXa to use a sword skill. He anticipated frequent use of the low-delay Linear Thrust—which proved correct.

Kirito deliberately exposed an opening.

On the seventh thrust, he dodged with swift lateral movement, slicing off XaXa's sword arm with lightning reflexes, then cut off the other arm, rendering him powerless.

He handed the curled-up XaXa to teammates and rushed to Hachiman's aid.

"I saw through your moves ages ago!!"

As expected, Johnny was unexpectedly persistent.

Overly wary of Hachiman's parries, his offensive power had dropped drastically without him realizing.

At that moment, Kirito arrived.

"Two against one? That's cheating!"

"Hah? Kirito won't strike."

"Yeah, right! I saw you two kill countless people! You're just like us—murderers!!"

Faced with Johnny's crazed laughter, Hachiman changed his mind.

"Hey Kirito, I changed my mind. You can land a punch too."

"Really? I've been wanting to hit this guy forever."

"Same here, actually."

"Huh? What are you even—"

In an instant, Hachiman closed in, locking Johnny's sword arm.

Kirito advanced with the martial art skill Flash Strike, hitting him square in the face.

As Johnny reeled, Hachiman followed up with Moon Hook, both of them synchronizing to sever his wrists and completely subdue him.

"Alright, the rest are done—only PoH is left."

However, despite thoroughly searching, PoH was nowhere to be found.

"That guy won't stir much alone. Forget it."

"Let's stay alert anyway."

Until the day SAO was cleared, PoH never appeared again.

Thus, the murder guild Laughing Coffin was effectively annihilated.

"Death is not the end—it's a new infection source."

But one day, Hachiman received a message. Encrypted.