At the foot of Hill of Memories, Kai slowly walked back toward the town. His lean figure moved calmly, his black coat fluttering lightly in the wind.
As he crossed a stone bridge over a small river just outside the hill's boundary, he suddenly stopped in the middle of the bridge. His eyes turned toward the bushes on either side of the path ahead.
"I believe I already warned you. There won't be a third time."
He stared at the seemingly empty underbrush, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold smile. In his pitch-black eyes, a sharp, storm-like glint began to rise.
As he spoke, he drew his azure longsword. Nearly noontime, the sunlight glinted off the blade, reflecting an icy gleam.
Holding the sword casually with one hand, Kai calmly fixed his gaze on the bushes across the bridge.
"Drop the act. Your stealth skills don't work on me. Come out."
A few seconds later, the leaves in the shrubs rustled. A woman stepped out from the air, as if peeled from invisibility. She had blazing red wavy hair like fire, wore dark leather armor, and carried a cross-bladed scythe in hand.
"So it really is you…"
Kai's smile grew a touch colder. The player looked familiar.
The leader of the criminal guild [Titan's Hand]—Rosalia.
"No wonder I felt such a strong sense of danger from just one glance. Swordsman, your enemy detection must be very high."
"It's not that mine's high—your stealth is just garbage."
Kai hadn't gone out of his way to enhance detection. If Rosalia's level matched his, he wouldn't have been able to see through her stealth at all.
He glanced at her briefly, then turned his gaze to the bushes around her. A faint chill flickered through his eyes.
"If even your guild leader has been spotted, what's the point of the rest of you hiding?"
Rosalia raised an eyebrow, a cruel smile curving her lips. She clapped her hands lightly and said, "You heard him. The swordsman has seen through us. Come out."
The bushes on either side of the road shook violently. One after another, hidden players began to appear.
Soon, ten male players stood around Rosalia.
Kai's eyes scanned past them and locked onto one particular player—the only green-named one among the orange-named group besides Rosalia. It was the spiky-haired small fry he had warned last night.
Kai burst out laughing. "You really didn't let me down, small fry!"
The spiky-haired guy flinched at the memory of last night's beatdown, fear flashing in his eyes. But he quickly forced a fierce expression, shouting, "Fine, I admit you're strong! But you're just one guy! You really think you can beat all of us?!"
With a sense of confidence fueled by their numbers, he twirled his mace-like weapon and sneered, "But don't worry—we won't kill you too fast. I'll beg the boss to let you suffer a bit first!"
"Enough, Diddy. Shut up."
Rosalia waved him off with irritation and looked toward the swordsman still standing in the center of the bridge. She glanced behind him.
"Where's Silica? Wasn't she always following you?"
"She was. But now she's already returned to town."
"No way!"
Rosalia's face twisted in disbelief. "You think I've been waiting here for nothing? There's no way she slipped past us without a sound…"
She froze mid-sentence. "A teleport item?"
Chen Mo nodded. "To be precise, a Teleport Crystal."
"...Tch."
All eleven players—Rosalia included—gasped.
As a criminal guild, they specialized in targeting and scouting players. They had a good idea of how rare and valuable every item in the game was. A Teleport Crystal could serve as a treasured artifact in some low-tier guilds. And Kai… used it just to send Silica back to town?
Bastard!
Pained expressions crossed their faces, but at the same time, their gazes toward Kai grew increasingly greedy.
A guy who casually pulled out a Teleport Crystal for travel… How wealthy was he?
"Get him! This guy must be loaded with money and rare items! Even if he's high-level, we've got numbers on our side—we can definitely kill him!"
The spiky-haired man rallied the others, and the rest quickly drew their weapons. All eyes turned toward Rosalia, waiting for her signal.
After a brief silence, Rosalia, still staring at the swordsman's ever-calm smile, finally clenched her jaw and swung her right hand down.
"Attack!"
"WOOOOO!!"
With a roar, the nine other players charged across the bridge with weapons raised, grinning wildly.
Seeing Kai's lone figure swallowed by the crowd, the spiky-haired guy finally relaxed and grinned.
But standing nearby, Rosalia's brow furrowed.
Something was off…
This wasn't like ambushing other guild players.
What was it?
Watching closely, her face suddenly turned pale.
"Retreat! Get back now! You're no match for him!"
As she screamed, she pulled out a Teleport Crystal.
The thing that felt off—the key difference from all their previous ambushes—was that the black-clad swordsman hadn't made a single sound.
No screams.
Which meant… he hadn't been hurt.
Even while surrounded, he was still smiling. His dark eyes calm like a night sky.
How could he still be smiling?!
In the middle of the bridge, Kai effortlessly blocked every attack that came his way. Not a single blow landed.
"Teleport—"
He frowned as he heard her voice, then raised the [Azure Rose +3].
In the next instant, Kai suddenly accelerated. In a blink, he vanished from the bridge and reappeared before Rosalia, sword aimed straight at her face.
"Go on. Finish your chant. Let's see if your teleport is faster than my sword."
"...!!"
His tone was calm, but the killing intent in his eyes froze Rosalia in place. Her hand holding the crystal trembled.
Fear surged through her like fire, her heartbeat roaring in her ears.
Staring at the blade tip before her, she hadn't even seen how Kai moved. Just the rush of air, followed by his icy voice.
Monster…!
"If I were you, I'd stay right there."
Seeing she was frozen in fear, Kai calmly lowered his sword and turned back toward the bridge.
From rushing at Rosalia to returning to the fight, he'd spent less than twenty seconds.
The spiky-haired man, watching from nearby, went blank with shock.
A few seconds later, he gulped and turned to run toward the town.
On the bridge, though facing nine players, Kai was already bored of the fight.
With a smooth stance, he bent his knees, gripped the sword, and swung at full speed.
Vmmm—vmmm—vmmm—vmmm—vmmm—!
Nine slashes in a flash of blue light.
By the time Kai stood at the bridge's end, sheathing his blade, the sound of enemies bursting into polygons rang out behind him.
Above his head, the previously green triangle icon had now turned deep red—blood-red.
Tap, tap, tap…
Despite killing nine people, Kai's face remained calm. He slowly walked over to Rosalia, who was still frozen in the same pose as when she had tried to teleport.
"S-Swordsman-sama…"
Seeing her entire guild wiped out in moments, Rosalia forced a seductive smile.
"I was blind and ignorant to offend you… You shouldn't stain your sword with dirty blood like mine. If you spare me, I'll be your loyal servant—even in the real world once this game is cleared…"
Though she called herself worthless, Rosalia, who usually acted like a queen, now bared her curves, her tone seductive, trying everything to survive.
In SAO, if both parties agreed, "intimate interaction" was technically possible. So a seductive figure could sometimes be a weapon in itself.
As for dignity… it meant nothing in the face of death.
Kai stared at her coldly, expressionless.
Without hesitation, he raised his sword. A dazzling blue arc cut through the air.
Rosalia's face froze in fear, the blade piercing her chest. Her HP dropped to zero.
Boom—
A clean shatter. Another death in the world of SAO.
Kai, the killer, turned to where the spiky-haired man had run.
A cold smile spread across his face.
"From small fry to rat… Are we playing hide-and-seek now?"
He lifted his sword and chased toward Floria's main street.