In a game that had become a lawless land, a beautiful and isolated girl like Asuna naturally had to learn how to protect herself and be wary of others.
However, over the last two days, Seiya and Kirito had earned her trust through their actions. In just two days, Asuna felt she had grown more than she had in the entire month she'd been in the game alone. Now that she had gained the ability to protect herself and had two amazing teammates, there was no need for her previous disguise.
When Diabel saw Asuna, he was visibly impressed, but seeing her stand beside Seiya, he simply smiled and said no more.
Kirito, the "lord," was once again selectively ignored, and he grumbled in annoyance, "If looks could kill, I'd probably be dead a hundred times over by now. You've got a super-rare beautiful girl and a famous 'Saint.' Everyone must be wondering how a completely unremarkable guy like me got into this group."
Hearing Kirito's complaint, Seiya looked around and playfully patted his shoulder. "It's not entirely true. You're not without admirers. Look, isn't there someone over there who's been staring at you?"
Kirito's face lit up with excitement, but it instantly dropped when he saw who it was: Kibaou, the guy who had stirred up trouble a few days ago.
Logically, Seiya was the one who had argued with Kibaou and made him lose face, so Kibaou should be staring at him. Why he was fixated on Kirito, Seiya could only guess it was "true love."
After the raid team gathered, Diabel quickly led them toward the boss room at a rapid pace. Since the players were all high-level and experienced, and Diabel's commands were spot on, the group reached the boss room in less than an hour.
The nearly flawless journey boosted everyone's morale and Diabel's reputation.
The first-floor boss, Kobold Lord Illfang, was a giant, two to three-meter-tall kobold armed with a bone axe and a leather shield, and it had four health bars. It was also accompanied by three elite monsters, Ruin Kobold Sentinels, who wore heavy metal armor and carried halberds. Despite being "elites," their level and stats were as high as a field boss's.
Diabel divided the dozens of players into two teams. One team would handle the Kobold Lord, and the other would deal with the sentinels. The sentinel team was further split into three smaller groups, with Seiya's team taking on one of the sentinels.
To gain reputation, Diabel had to fight the Kobold Lord himself. Seiya remembered that Diabel was a beta tester and knew about the special last-hit bonus. Since Seiya already had a high reputation as the "Saint," if he were to defeat the boss, Diabel's position as a leader would be jeopardized. This was likely why Seiya's team was assigned to fight a sentinel.
The sentinels' health bars were much smaller than the boss's, and they were quickly defeated. According to the beta information, the Kobold Lord would discard its axe and shield and pull out a scimitar when its health was critically low. The moment the boss dropped its weapon, Diabel immediately told everyone to stop attacking and advanced alone.
"Just as I thought. He's organizing this raid not just for reputation, but also for the special last-hit reward."
Diabel's actions of pushing others away to finish the boss likely went unnoticed by most, but to Seiya and his team, who had already defeated a field boss, the blue-haired man's intentions were clear.
"Seiya, something's wrong! That's not a scimitar—it's a nodachi! Stop him, he's going to get killed!" Kirito, as a beta tester, knew the boss's last-stage weapon was supposed to be a scimitar. The fact that it was a nodachi meant the monster's mechanics had changed, just as Seiya had predicted. A nodachi had a much longer attack range than a scimitar, and if Diabel fought it the same way he did in the beta, he would be doomed. Kirito wanted to stop him, but as he was about to move, the Kobold Lord summoned three more sentinels that blocked his path.
Seiya was closer to Diabel, so to save him, Kirito could only shout his name.
"Tch, you really are a busybody, aren't you?"
Seiya didn't have much affection for the blue-haired man. He was arrogant and greedy, and if he got killed by the boss, it would be his own fault. If Kirito hadn't called out to him, Seiya likely would have just watched. But with Kirito shouting so loudly, Seiya couldn't just stand by. He had a reputation to build for his merchant guild, and a reputation for abandoning allies would be bad for business.
After swapping to the nodachi, the Kobold Lord's speed became astonishing, and its movements were completely different from the beta. It dodged Diabel's attack with a leap, then pushed off a nearby pillar, swinging its nodachi at Diabel.
The boss's strike sent Diabel flying. The Kobold Lord then planted its feet into the ground, preparing to land the killing blow. Just as it was about to finish off the blue-haired man, a figure suddenly darted between them.
"Weapon Parry!"
The nodachi clashed with Seiya's Windflower Sword, sending a shower of sparks into the air. As his body was pushed back, Seiya grabbed the blue-haired man behind him and tossed him toward Kibaou. Diabel's health was already in critical condition; even the impact from the parry could have killed him.
"Asuna, switch!"