"We don't have another Laughing Coffin situation on our hands, do we?"
Drifter was genuinely afraid of that. Once had been enough to almost break the Assault Team, though he personally believed they had come out stronger the other side.
But if it happened again, they would truly collapse.
When Akari didn't immediately deny it, he felt his hear skip a beat. His hand unconsciously shot to his back to grip the haft of his spear.
"Who?"
"Are you familiar with a player called Lancelot?"
Drifter furrowed his brows.
"I... Think I've heard the name before? Argo mentioned it. Cursed it, really. Who's he?"
"A solo player, active in the middle floors. Keeps a consistently orange status."
Displaying an orange cursor wasn't that frowned upon - plenty of players, including inside Fuumaningum, did it with some frequency. There were certain items, mostly geared towards PvP, that could be only bought with an orange status.
But to have it on all the time? That was a red flag. After all, you had to attack someone, unprovoked, to gain an orange cursor.
"Argo knows him well. He was one of her informants. She cut him off because he was too closely associated with some LC members."
Another big red flag. Drifter was starting to really dread where this conversation was going.
By the nature of her work, Argo kept in touch with a number of unsavory individuals. It had served her - and the Assault Team - well when it came to raiding Laughing Coffin.
So, for it to get to the point where she decided to cut ties with this Lancelot, it must mean the man was far more than just friends with the red players.
But you couldn't imprison someone for the company they kept. So letting him go was really the best his little rat could do.
"You kept tabs on him, I assume?"
"Yes. But with the clean-up of that mess, and the losses my guild had..."
Akari trailed off. Fuumaningum had paid in blood for their efforts to bring down Laughing Coffin. With the raid itself, and all the battles they fought behind the scenes, over twenty of the role-players had laid down their lives.
"And Lancelot slipped through the cracks."
"Yes. We managed to find him a few times, but he either found out we were observing him, or expected it. He has become quite adept at losing his tails."
That was impressive, albeit also annoying. Fuumaningum were Argo's best trackers.
"You said this was related to a frontliner. How so? Or who, rather."
He could see Akari bitting her lips under her mask.
"Knights of the Blood Oath's Chief of Finances, Daizen. Twice already we have clocked him on not just the same floor, but the same safe zone as Lancelot, at roughly the same time. Once, they were spotted talking."
"Ah."
That... Complicated things. Daizen wasn't just any player. Although not a frontliner himself, he controlled pretty much everything on the Assault Team's second largest guild, answering only to Heathcliff.
If Daizen was involved with a bad egg like Lancelot, and Drifter decided to help Akari investigate him - and the Reaver certainly wouldn't refuse if she asked - it meant Heathcliff would have to be brought into it at some point. And it was no secret to anyone that the two guild leaders disliked each other.
"Do we know what they were meeting about?"
Meeting in person in Aincrad, where you could just send messages, meant Daizen didn't want to leave any trails leading back to him. Akari shook her head.
"No. But there is one more thing. In the past month, myself and Argo have identified 13 instances of suspicious deaths. 17 players in total, all mid to high-level, who seemingly got unlucky with tower mob spawns."
Drifter's eyes glinted dangerously.
"Mob-pulling?"
Using mobs to kill someone for you, usually by aggroing them and then leading the monsters to your target, before using a stealth skill to transfer the aggro.
Drifter wasn't unfamiliar with the practice. Back on the 1st floor, when it had been just him, Yuna, and Nautilus, they had almost fallen victim to it. It was luck, instinct, and Drifter's ruthlessness that saw them live through it.
But 13 instances of mob-pulling in just a month? That wasn't just griefing anymore. It was mass-murder.
"I believe it to be the case. And though they all happened in the labyrinth, and the survivors didn't report seeing anyone, my people can confirm Lancelot was on the floor above or below in 6 of those occasions."
Akari grit her teeth. That she couldn't confirm it on all was a blemish on Fuumaningum's record.
"I believe in coincidences, Broken Spear. But not that many."
Neither did Drifter. The logical and obvious conclusion was that Lancelot was behind it.
"If Lancelot really was as close to the red players as you and Argo believe, then it won't surprise me if he's behind it. But... Where does Daizen fit in?"
A member of one of the most looked up to guilds in Aincrad was paying an orange player to kill normal players? That didn't make sense. But then, neither did anything else.
"I don't know, Drifter. That's why I came to you. If Fuumaningum started stalking Daizen and got discovered-"
"Yeah, that would be trouble. No, I understand. You did well by bringing this to my attention, Akari. I'll take it up with Heathcliff. Hopefully Daizen's association with Lancelot is something inane."
The ninja accepted it, but couldn't help but ask:
"And if it isn't?"
Drifter's eyes flashed murderously.
"I've already killed plenty of monsters wearing human masks. I don't mind adding two more."
...
After leaving Akari to her thoughts, Drifter didn't waste any time. His feet carried him straight to the 28th floor, where the Knights of the Blood Oath had set their temporary base until they, like Reaver's Requiem, procured the funds to buy an actual proper location.
It was a big building, built with the characteristic deep-red stone that was abundant on the floor. Drifter didn't know how much the KoB was sinking on it on rent each week, but he knew it must be a fortune.
It wasn't something the spearmaster or Reaver's Requiem would do. Although Drifter could see the value and necessity of having a proper base, he had chosen to wait until they found a suitable location to buy.
For the Knights of the Blood Oath, however, he could see the sense in it. Heathcliff ran his guild a lot more like a company rather than a family like Reaver's Requiem. Having a physical location gave the lower-level members a feeling of stability they sorely needed.
The spearmaster stormed through the building's entrance without slowing down, leaving a couple of very bewildered guards unsure if they should stop him or not. He was Broken Spear Drifter, after all.
Finding Heathcliff's office wasn't difficult. He just had to follow the most opulent-looking corridor to the end. That wasn't so much a reflection on Heathcliff's personality as it was the image his guild wanted to pass.
"Broken Spear Drifter! I didn't know you were coming! How can I help you?"
And, sitting at a desk in front of the office, was none other than Daizen himself. The spearmaster's nostrils flared at the sight, and he sneered in dark amusement at the carefully practiced fawning tone of voice.
"Is Heathcliff in?"
"Ah, well, yes. However-"
"Thanks. Go take a walk. I want to talk to him. Alone."
"Ahh- You can't-"
Brushing past the pudgy man, Drifter pushed one of the large oak doors open, before slamming it close on his face as he made to follow.
BANG!
Sitting at a desk in the center of the large oval room, shifting through a pile of documents, was none other than Heathcliff. The gray-haired guild leader looked up at the loud noise, one eyebrow rising in surprise.
"Ah, Broken Spear. To what do I own the pleasure of your unannounced visit?"
The not-so-subtle jab did absolutely nothing to deter Drifter. The spearmaster walked right up to the front of the desk and looked down at Heathcliff.
"Your man, Daizen, was seen multiple times cavorting with a known orange player. Said orange player is suspected of mob-pulling in no less than 17 suspicious deaths. Do you know anything about it?"
Drifter had rarely been one to mince words.
"Hm..."
His glare sharpened as the other guild leader showed zero reaction to the accusation other than to interlock his fingers and stare back at the Reaver. Damn Heathcliff and his incredible pokerface.
Neither broke the stalemate at first. Drifter was extremely out of line by coming here like he did. But Heathcliff also knew the likely response he would receive if he pointed that out with the spearmaster in his current state.
"May I ask how you came to know of this, Broken Spear?"
It was Heathcliff who spoke first. Giving away nothing, of course. Drifter snorted.
"I make a point to keep an eye on all criminal players after Laughing Coffin, Holy Sword."
"I see. Well, first let me assure you that if Daizen is indeed in communication with such a player as the one you described, it was not under my instructions."
Drifter narrowed his eyes.
"Don't try to jerk me around, Heathcliff. You are many things, but blind is not one of them. Neither is stupid. If even I found out about it, there's no way you've missed it. Not with how you run your guild. So spill. What's Daizen doing with Lancelot, and what are you going to do about it?"
Heathcliff hid it well, but Drifter caught the flicker of annoyance deep in his gaze. The spearmaster put both of his hands on the desk, shoving aside a paper pile, and leaned uncomfortably close to the other man, looming over Heathcliff.
"I'm not stupid either, Heathcliff. If Daizen was just trading with the orange player, there would be no need to hide it. Every frontline guild does it. Hell, I've gone orange once or twice to complete quests or buy some special items. And this isn't that."
For a moment, it looked as if Heathcliff was going to drop his facade of indifference. His face contorted in several unfamiliar and deeply unpleasant expressions before his mask set once again and he got up.
"Remember where you are, Drifter."
The two men were of a height, and, for a few seconds, it looked like they were about to attack each other. Maybe they would have, were it not for the desk between them.
But this wasn't what they needed right now, not before the 50th floor. So Drifter took a step back, both literally and metaphorically.
"What's Daizen up to, Heathcliff?"
The white-and-red-clad player stared back at Drifter for a few uncomfortable seconds.
"It's because of you."
Drifter furrowed his eyebrows at the accusation.
"Explain."
Heathcliff sighed, massaging his temple as he sat back down.
"Daizen was always terrified of dying. When rumors of the revival item were abound, he was one of the ones who searched the most frantically for it. It's how I pulled him into the guild in the first place. Despite having basically no combat ability, I saw how effective he was at coordinating others and arranging things. I promised him safety and he takes care of our finances and other civilian matters. Eventually he gave up on it, seemingly satisfied I wouldn't force him to fight."
It was Drifter's turn to sigh and grind his knuckles on his forehead in a vain hope of stamping the incoming headache.
"And when I got brought back by the Divine Stone of Returning Soul..."
"It reignited his hopes that there was another, or something like it, yes."
"For fuck sake. And how does Lancelot figure in this mess?"
"As far as I am aware, he is one of the players Daizen hired to search for the item for him. However-"
He raised a hand to stop Drifter's objection.
"However, I did not know about this Lancelot's indiscretions, and I very much doubt Daizen does. Despite his cowardly nature, Daizen is a good man. He is one of the reasons why my Knights of the Blood Oath could grow so quickly and strongly to take our spot on the Assault Team."
Well, Drifter couldn't deny the KoB was invaluable for the frontlines and Aincrad as a whole. And, whatever disagreements he had with Heathcliff, he very much doubted the man would let anything get in the way of them clearing SAO, much less the actions of one of his own subordinates.
"He has to stop, Heathcliff. Take care of it, or one of Akari's shadows will. And it won't be pretty."
The spearmaster knew Akari too well to believe the ninja would let him get anywhere close to Lancelot. After the Laughing Coffin raid, his status was too high to risk him losing control and killing Lancelot in a moment of rage, and gaining a red cursor. No, she would have one of her subordinates do it, or maybe herself.
"I will, Broken Spear Drifter. And I'll speak with Daizen too. It won't happen again."
Satisfied, the Reaver turned around and walked out, almost smacking Daizen with rhe door. His glare grew up a notch when he saw how pale the man was, and he was sure he had Eavesdropped on his and Heathcliff's conversation, but he said nothing.
...
A week later, just as the Assault Team triumphed over the 49th floor boss, Akari went to check on the Monument of Life.
Lancelot's name was crossed. Cause of death: mobs.