SAO, Aincrad, Floor 90.
Starting from this floor, the monsters began to take on a more humanoid appearance.
It was a strange trend.
In the lower floors of Aincrad, the most common monsters were various beasts—
Wild boars, hyenas, large insects, and the like.
From the middle floors onward, monsters started shifting toward fantasy-themed creatures—Ghostly skeletons and spirits, all sorts of western dragons, giants, and weaponized beasts.
Moreover, monsters grew increasingly massive in size.
But after Floor 90, both the regular mobs and bosses turned into more human-like forms.
Even their size visibly decreased.
As if hinting at something… strange.
Unfortunately, the other players were too preoccupied with progression to notice this detail.
But Haruto, who knew the truth, understood it clearly—this was just Kayaba Akihiko's twisted sense of humor.
All just a buildup for his grand final appearance.
Upon logging in, Haruto appeared as usual in the wild.
He stretched his body lightly.
"Higher floors, yet the raids are getting easier."
He remarked with a chuckle.
After all, Aincrad was structured like a massive tower.
The higher you went, the smaller the floor space became, and dungeon exploration became relatively easier.
However, if other players had heard him say this, they probably would have been unable to agree.
After all, the monsters on upper floors were overwhelmingly strong.
Not just in stats—their behavior patterns had become more random as well.
Aside from Haruto and Shiro, most players found these levels torturous to deal with. Who would ever think upper floors are easier to explore!?
As Haruto was about to max out the exploration percentage and head straight into the boss room—
A message came through.
It was from Asuna.
Haruto opened it with a glance—and immediately frowned.
It was about a planned assault on the murder guild, Laughing Coffin.
Certainly, thanks to the contributions of Haruto and Shiro, Aincrad's progress had been shockingly fast.
But murder guilds like this had still inevitably formed.
This game, for ordinary players, was a true death game.
At least for now, every player believed that dying meant losing their life. This knowledge brought not just fear—but madness.
In the real world, killing meant facing consequences.
But in the game world, that wasn't necessarily the case. In fact, as long as your strength was overwhelming, you could do whatever you wanted.
With that kind of mindset, murder guilds were born.
The fact that they hadn't become a huge issue until now was thanks to Haruto and Shiro. After all, everyone had been busy leveling as they climbed floor after floor.
But now… it seemed the tension had reached its peak.
Asuna wanted Haruto's help.
Even though she knew that dying in this game didn't mean truly losing one's life—she still couldn't contain the disgust she felt toward the murder guild.
Those people… were seriously intent on stealing away others' lives.
After some thought, Haruto decided to go check it out.
His level was already maxed.
No need to rush the exploration bar either.
So, he took a Teleport Crystal from his inventory.
With a flash of white light, Haruto returned to the town square on Floor 74. This was the publicly recognized gathering spot for the current raid group players.
Ever since Floor 74 was conquered, most of the strategy meetings were held here.
Of course, many of those meetings were pointless.
Most bosses had been soloed by Haruto or cleared by him and Shiro together.
Only on the rare occasions when Haruto logged off to deal with real-world issues did the raid group actually get a shot.
Also, Floor 74 was the headquarters of the largest guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath.
As soon as Haruto appeared in the square, a stir broke out around him.
"That's…"
"No doubt about it! That outfit—that's the Black Shura!"
"Is that really him!? Did he show up because of the Laughing Coffin assault?"
"Probably! With the Black Shura joining the fight, this will be a cakewalk!"
The buzz reached Haruto's ears.
His mouth twitched.
Black Shura? What kind of chuunibyou nickname was that?
Who the hell came up with that!?
Well, it was true that Haruto rarely returned to town.
Even when he encountered other players out in the field, he seldom interacted with them.
This was the first time he'd heard of such a ridiculous nickname.
Opening his friend tracker, Haruto headed toward Asuna's location.
Soon, he arrived at a large pure-white building.
This was the Knights of the Blood Oath's base.
Holding a meeting here made sense.
Haruto placed his hand on the door.
Instantly, a request was sent to those inside.
In this game, entering a private area required permission.
The request was quickly accepted.
Haruto pushed open the door and entered.
Inside the massive council room, players of various outfits sat around a round table, all staring in astonishment at the door.
They hadn't expected that legend to actually show up.
Asuna and Argo, upon seeing Haruto, were both filled with joy.
The two girls immediately ran over to greet him.
Asuna had only sent the invitation on a whim.
After all, Haruto almost never returned to town. She hadn't expected a reply, much less a visit.
Haruto took a glance around.
All members of the raid group were present—Shiro and Gabriel among them.
And seated at the head of the table—
Was Heathcliff.
Leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath.
His real identity: Kayaba Akihiko in disguise.
Now sitting there with a serious expression, playing the part of the charismatic leader, presiding over the meeting.
How theatrical.
The twilight of the sun, the birth of the dawn—
Sensing Haruto's gaze—
Kayaba felt a chill in his heart.
He had this strange feeling that he'd been seen through. But by all accounts, his disguise should have no flaws!
How could he be exposed!?
And more importantly, he had no way of dealing with the guy in front of him. He could only keep up the act.
If he got exposed here, the game would be over.
Thankfully, Haruto merely gave him a look of disdain, then sat between Asuna and Argo.
Kayaba breathed a quiet sigh of relief yet also felt an odd sense of sorrow. This was his world—Kayaba Akihiko's world.
He was supposed to be a god here.
But in the end, he still had to live under someone else's shadow.
Wasn't this just groveling for scraps?
How infuriating.
Suppressing his irritation, Kayaba spoke:
"I've gathered everyone here today to discuss the assault on the murder guild, Laughing Coffin. Recently, Laughing Coffin has been responsible for dozens of player attacks. The entire community is on edge. If we don't put a stop to them soon, forget about clearing the game—we'll destroy ourselves from within!"
His speech was passionate and stirring.
Many players nodded in agreement.
As for Haruto—
Pfft!
He couldn't help but chuckle aloud.
Kayaba: "...?"
Not just Kayaba—even the other raid group members looked at Haruto in confusion.
Haruto quickly waved his hand.
"It's nothing, nothing. You guys go on—I just remembered something funny."
For a moment, the atmosphere turned awkward.
But Haruto genuinely did recall something amusing.
The murder guild was clearly something Kayaba Akihiko himself had orchestrated. It was part of the real world of this game.
Exactly what Kayaba wanted to see.
And now he was up there, righteously condemning it with a straight face?
That was just… too ironic.
Hard not to laugh.