The atmosphere in the conference hall was a little strange.
At this moment, Kayaba Akihiko really wanted to ask Haruto what he was laughing at. But after opening his mouth, he still held back.
Even with his exceptional mental fortitude, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
"If anyone has any objections, please bring them up. We can discuss it together," Kayaba said, trying to keep a serious tone.
Haruto shook his head.
"No objections at all. Please, continue."
Kayaba stared at Haruto for a while before averting his gaze.
He swiped his finger.
An intel report was shared with all the players present. It was the map data and video feed of the Floor 19 labyrinth area.
What shocked everyone a bit was—
Even though it was a labyrinth area, the map was labeled with the words "Guild Territory."
Logically speaking, such an area shouldn't be allowed to be used as guild territory.
"This intel came from an anonymous player. Please understand that we're protecting his identity," Kayaba explained.
"He went back to the 19th Floor to gather some low-level materials and discovered this base inside the labyrinth. Afterward, the Knights of the Blood Oath dispatched several high-AGI players to investigate. It was confirmed—this is Laughing Coffin's base.
They must've used some special item to convert the labyrinth into a guild base after most players had moved on from the lower floors. Because hardly anyone explores the low-level labyrinths anymore, we've never been able to locate Laughing Coffin's base until now."
Upon hearing this, the players present all gasped.
Right now, SAO's player base was generally divided into three types:
Frontline players who grind materials and levels on the upper floors to push the game forward.
Non-combatants who gave up on clearing the game and treated SAO as their new life, staying in towns on the lower floors.
Life-skill players, support players, and general players who hunt or gather in mid-high floors.
No matter which type, the low-level labyrinths were practically abandoned.
It had to be said—Laughing Coffin's decision was ingenious.
After all, murderers became red-named and couldn't enter towns. They needed a guild base to rest and repair their gear. If their base was ever discovered, the clearing group could easily wipe them out.
Haruto, however, was a little curious.
Was Laughing Coffin's base truly found by coincidence?
Or was this so-called "anonymous player" a fabrication?
Perhaps Kayaba simply wanted to stir up player conflict and used his authority to release the information.
Haruto leaned toward the latter.
Still, this was fine by him.
A clash between the clearing group and the murder guild was something Haruto welcomed.
After all, once SAO was cleared, the new Mobile Task Force would likely be selected from among the clearing group.
Having experience fighting humans—and having seen blood—was a good thing.
After revealing the intel, Kayaba opened the floor for discussion.
The others glanced at each other but ultimately turned their gazes toward Haruto.
The clearing group had long grown accustomed to trailing behind Haruto—they'd become somewhat submissive.
"Our average level is higher than Laughing Coffin's, and we outnumber them nearly two to one. With that kind of advantage, once we find their base, we can just force them to surrender and go to jail. Even if it comes to a fight, we definitely won't lose."
Asuna analyzed the situation and then looked toward Haruto for confirmation.
The others seemed to share this sentiment.
The clearing group was generally seven to ten levels above the rest of the player base.
That was a huge numerical gap.
Plus, the clearing group had over 50 members, while Laughing Coffin only had around 30.
The advantage was clearly in their favor!
It looked like a total stomp—a flying dragon landing on someone's face. How could they lose?
However, Haruto shook his head.
"Rationally speaking, that's all true. But humans can't be judged by reason alone."
Asuna froze, then looked confused.
Argo, however, understood what Haruto meant.
"I think what Haruto's referring to is... resolve."
Argo explained.
But this explanation only deepened the players' confusion.
Seeing this, Argo sighed helplessly.
"It's like in a normal fight—two people against one will usually win. But what if it's in real life, and two ordinary people are facing a murderer? Even if all three have similar physical stats, the killer won't hesitate. Meanwhile, ordinary people can't just summon the resolve to kill instantly. That's the difference."
Haruto approvingly patted Argo on the head.
As expected of the rat—smart as always, just like a true informant.
But the meeting room fell into silence.
This problem was both real and sharp.
So sharp that it couldn't be ignored. So sharp it hurt to even think about it.
Laughing Coffin was a murder guild. Taking the lives of other players was their daily routine.
But almost no one in the clearing group had ever actually killed another player. Even the most stubborn among them couldn't honestly say: "I'm ready to kill someone."
This left a hidden danger buried in the coming battle.
Haruto remembered how it originally went down.
The clearing group's 50 players fought Laughing Coffin's 30+ members.
The result: Laughing Coffin was wiped out, but the clearing group lost 20 of their own despite having superior levels, gear, and numbers.
As the silence stretched on, Haruto stood up.
Everyone instantly froze.
The faster ones even reached out to stop him.
This scene had played out several times before.
During strategy meetings, Haruto would occasionally show up.
And when a particularly thorny issue came up, if the room went quiet long enough, this guy would suddenly stand up and walk away—
—then go solo the boss on his own.
That déjà vu was overwhelming. They were all certain:
If they didn't stop him, this guy would rush off to Laughing Coffin's base by himself.
No matter how annoying Haruto was—none of them could just sit back and let him fight a murder guild alone.
Blocked, Haruto furrowed his brows in apparent confusion.
"What's wrong?"
He needed to give the clearing group a push.
They couldn't be driven to break their limits only when backed into a life-or-death corner.
They needed resolve—genuine resolve.
It mattered.
For a moment, the clearing group was speechless. This time, it was Kayaba who suddenly asked,
"Indeed, the issue of 'resolve' is a valid point. But do you yourself possess the resolve to kill?"
Kayaba asked out of genuine curiosity.
After all, he still believed that the death game he designed in SAO was real. He didn't know that player deaths merely resulted in comas in the real world.
He was truly curious where Haruto's resolve came from.
Haruto almost wanted to give Kayaba a thumbs-up.
What a great tool-man.
Even now, he was still helping push the plot forward.
Haruto nodded without hesitation.
"Of course. I have that resolve."
Everyone gasped.
Was this guy also some kind of psycho like Laughing Coffin?
Just as panic began to spread, Haruto continued,
"It's either we take down Laughing Coffin, or more innocent players will keep dying. Either way, someone's going to die. So of course it should be Laughing Coffin. That's not even a question."
As for taking the risk to try and 'control' those people? I don't think they're worth it.
They're just a group that kills for profit or fun. Their lives don't carry the same weight as normal people's anymore."
After finishing, Haruto walked straight out of the meeting room.
Under the gaze of everyone present, he stepped into the square outside and turned into a beam of white light—teleporting to the 19th Floor.
After a moment of stunned silence, Asuna and Argo stood up and chased after him.
Then, the rest of the clearing group gradually got up and ran toward the square as well.
Haruto's words were harsh.
He treated the lives of killers as disposable, worthless.
But—
It was the most honest expression of human survival instinct.