Lillian's sudden appearance made everyone hesitate. Thoughts like "Isn't he…" and "He saw the encirclement and still walked in?" raced through their minds.
Terusuke was especially anxious. "Why did you come?!" he said urgently. "They're targeting you! They even told me to call you over!"
"Then you should've called me," Lillian sighed. "Did you forget how I slammed the Boss flat on its back? These guys are nothing in comparison. I know you meant well, but don't gamble with your life like that."
"…"
Terusuke didn't know what to say. He simply nodded heavily and turned his gaze toward the enemies ahead.
On the opposite side, the leading players had also recognized Lillian—especially Kibaou. Even with a conical hat on, he identified him instantly, by the greatsword and that infuriatingly casual, contemptuous attitude.
"You came at the perfect time! We were just about to settle accounts with you!"
"Settle accounts?" Lillian swept his gaze across the hundred-plus players, well aware that more than half had merely been incited—but it made little difference.
"Settle what accounts, exactly?"
"Of course it's about you monopolizing resources!"
Kibaou gripped his one-handed sword and shouted at the top of his lungs, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to skin Lillian alive to vent his rage. "You closed-beta players vanished from the Starting Town the moment that bastard Kayaba finished talking! You heartlessly abandoned us open-beta players—abandoned us newbies! Just look at your gear! Isn't all of that something you got by abusing your insider knowledge and experience to seize the best leveling spots and quests ahead of everyone else?!"
As he paused, people around him loudly voiced their agreement. Lillian, meanwhile, maintained an expression that clearly said this is boring, which only fueled Kibaou's fury further.
"So!" Kibaou roared. "All those newbies who died—it's your fault! If you have even a shred of conscience or guilt, then hand over your equipment and your col! Use it to atone for your sins!"
"…"
Lillian didn't even bother responding to him. Instead, he turned his gaze to the other players and asked calmly, "Is that what all of you think as well?"
"Of course!"
"Those players may have been SAO newbies, but they were top-tier gamers in other games. Dying like that was such a waste."
"Yeah…"
"In any case, you must be at fault, right?"
The crowd chimed in noisily. Lillian quickly noticed that some were extremely aggressive, much like Kibaou—but others were clearly hesitant. They believed the closed-beta players were at fault, yes, but not to the point of wanting them dead. After all, killing someone in the game meant killing them in reality. In a modern, law-abiding society, how many people raised normally could truly kill someone without psychological burden, even if they believed the other person was "evil"?
Most of them were here simply to vent their anger. If you really told them to swing their swords and slaughter closed-beta players, most likely wouldn't do it. And those were the people Lillian chose to address.
"Then let me tell you what I think," Lillian said. "Let's set aside whether closed-beta players had a responsibility or obligation to disclose all information. Some people already did, didn't they? You all have the freely distributed [Strategy Guide], right? Are you really going to say you've never benefited from the information in it?"
The crowd exchanged looks. None of them could honestly say that. They had avoided countless dangers thanks to that guide and relied on it multiple times to complete quests or gather materials safely.
"And as for you," Lillian continued, turning back to Kibaou with a faint, mocking smile, "are you suggesting that all players should share equipment and col equally? Let me ask you—after everything is 'shared,' who distributes it? Only forty-eight players can enter a BOSS fight at once. Should all good gear go to them? Who decides which players get chosen? And after the fight, do they return the gear?"
"Th-this…" Kibaou had never thought that far. He only wanted to exploit mass pressure to squeeze benefits for himself.
"Not to mention motivation," Lillian went on coldly. "Who would still be willing to fight on the front lines, risking their lives, if the rewards had to be evenly split with players sitting safely in the rear? Or should we just stop clearing the game altogether and wait for outside 'experts' to rescue us? And those who died—how many of them really died because of a lack of information, and how many died because they overestimated themselves as 'elite gamers' and underestimated the monsters?"
He looked around slowly.
"You know the answer yourselves."
"Y-you're twisting the argument!" Kibaou shouted through clenched teeth. "What I'm saying is that you closed-beta players should share all your information! I don't believe that guide contains everything!"
"You don't believe it?" Lillian's voice turned icy. "And who do you think you are?" He sneered. "Do you really think you're some kind of opinion leader?" Then he looked at the others. "And you—are you really going to let a guy like this lead you around by the nose?"
"Uh…"
"I'm not sure anymore… maybe we should just leave?"
"What he said actually makes sense…"
Quite a few people began to waver. That was the one thing Kibaou absolutely couldn't accept. Sensing that the group might collapse if this continued, he immediately raised his sword high and shouted furiously,
"Don't listen to him twisting the truth! If they won't hand over their equipment and items willingly, then we'll take them by force!"
Shing! Shing! Shing!
Many players raised their weapons. These were the ones who refused to listen to reason—and to them, Lillian had no intention of wasting words.
He drew the massive greatsword from his back and planted it into the ground.
"Anyone who's not afraid of dying, come at me," he said calmly, his tone chillingly indifferent. "But I'll warn you in advance—once you make a move, there's no turning back. I won't show mercy to anyone who tries to kill me. Think it through."
"…"
With that stance, there was nothing more to say. The enraged players glanced at one another. They wanted to attack—but no one wanted to be the first.
Lillian's equipment was clearly excellent, and his level was probably very high. What if the first attacker got instantly killed? And whoever struck first would immediately become orange-named.
More onlookers had begun to gather nearby, having heard what was happening. They stayed far away, afraid of getting caught in the chaos, watching nervously from a distance.
Are we really doing this?!
Kibaou's palm was slick with sweat as he gripped his sword. His original plan was to use overwhelming numbers to force them to surrender their gear. He never expected such fierce resistance. Now, things had been pushed to the brink.
If he didn't act…
He looked at the people around him. If he backed down now, his reputation would be completely ruined. Who would ever respect him again?
Damn it! Screw it!
"Don't blame us for being ruthless!" Kibaou roared, charging forward with his sword raised. "Beat their HP down into the yellow! Let's see if they're still so arrogant then!"
"Yeah!!"
Kibaou's charge galvanized the extremists. Around forty aggressive players rushed forward with weapons raised. Seeing this, Terusuke shouted loudly,
"Don't worry about turning orange! As long as you don't kill anyone, you can clear the criminal status by farming monsters in the field!"
"Got it!"
The melee erupted instantly. Lillian's gaze locked onto Kibaou. He'd originally planned to deliberately take a hit, turn Kibaou orange, and then kill him outright—but halfway through his charge, Kibaou suddenly "tripped," tangling his own feet and crashing face-first to the ground.
"You're really afraid of dying, huh," Lillian chuckled.
At that moment, another player rushed straight at him.
"Hand over your gear!" the man shouted, slashing at Lillian's chest.
Lillian's HP dropped by about one-twentieth, and the attacker's cursor instantly shifted from green to orange.
Orange—criminal.
Attacking a criminal carried no penalty.
"I told you," Lillian said coldly.
He drew his greatsword, stepped past the man in a flash, and the blade swept across the player's neck. The HP bar plummeted and vanished completely.
"Uh—"
As he collapsed, the player stared up in disbelief, meeting only Lillian's merciless gaze and hearing the icy words spoken down at him:
"I told you—there's no turning back."
Crack—!
His body shattered into countless fragments, scattering into the air.
The first death had occurred.
Everyone froze—including Kibaou, still sprawled on the ground.
When he looked at Lillian again, his expression had completely changed.
Yet just as fear spread across the faces of the crowd, a young man with distinctly mixed features standing among the distant onlookers suddenly widened his eyes. Flames of excitement and exhilaration burned fiercely within his pupils.
"That's right— I like it!"