"Big brother, you're so devious," Shiro complained.
Haruto pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
Indeed, what he just did was a bit underhanded.
He'd subtly twisted the narrative and forcefully implanted some of the Foundation's ideologies into the clearing group.
He even blatantly labeled the members of Laughing Coffin as D-class personnel.
But... it wasn't really wrong, was it?
Weren't those murder guild guys basically cyber D-classes?
And as for the claim that they hadn't actually committed murder…
Well… it's a game. Even if you're killed, you don't actually die.
Totally reasonable, right?
At that moment, the clearing group players were storming toward the labyrinth zone on the 19th floor, hot on Haruto's trail.
The difference from the original story couldn't be more stark.
In the original timeline, when the clearing group headed for Laughing Coffin's base, they were laughing and joking the whole way, relying on their advantage and thinking it was just a simple quest.
They didn't even notice when they were ambushed.
They never truly saw the battle ahead as a matter of life and death.
Of course, that was also because the clearing group was intentionally avoiding that line of thought.
They were trying to escape from the reality of killing.
But now, the facts had been ruthlessly exposed by Haruto and laid bare before them. So the clearing group's march was silent—but sharp.
Like a drawn sword, unsheathed and ready to strike.
As they progressed, a thick fog suddenly rolled over the labyrinth path ahead.
No words were needed; the clearing group instinctively tightened their formation.
They stayed alert, scanning their surroundings, gripping their weapons and bracing themselves.
Thanks to their constant vigilance, they immediately realized the fog wasn't naturally occurring.
It was a player-made item—a tool originally meant to disperse aggro from mobs. Its appearance here clearly meant someone was trying to obscure visibility.
Sure enough, soft footsteps came from behind them.
Laughing Coffin had circled around to launch a pincer attack on the clearing group.
Unfortunately for them, this time the clearing group wasn't caught off guard.
Moments later, swords clashed and the sound of steel rang out across the battlefield.
Without the advantage of a surprise attack, the clearing group completely overwhelmed Laughing Coffin.
Only three people paid attention to the broader battlefield.
Poh, Kayaba Akihiko, and Haruto.
Poh, the founder of Laughing Coffin.
It was said he possessed exotic beauty and could fluently speak at least three languages.
Probably a half-blood between someone from Japan and a Westerner.
With a voice like a professional DJ, he could easily manipulate the values of those around him.
After entering SAO, he gradually transformed into a cold and relentless figure, completely shedding the concept of being a "player."
Eventually, he founded a group that blatantly ignored all laws.
According to other players, he and the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath were two complete opposites.
But in truth, Poh was even more dangerous.
Because Kayaba Akihiko remained detached—he was just acting.
Poh, on the other hand, was genuinely involved in the chaos.
He slowly, ever so slowly, wore down the psychological boundaries of the players who gathered around him out of admiration.
Like a devil.
Unfortunately, this devil now wore a frown.
Poh couldn't understand what was happening.
He had gotten advance intel from a certain player (Kayaba Akihiko) about the clearing group's attack.
So he set up an ambush.
In his mind, even with a gap in levels and gear, the battle shouldn't be so one-sided. No normal player would truly be able to fight against his guild in deadly combat.
Kayaba Akihiko, watching the battle, shared the same thoughts as Poh.
His intention had been to stir up tension between players. To add a sense of realism to the clearing group's journey. He'd even gone so far as to leak information about them to Poh in advance.
But this outcome… was completely beyond his expectations.
And Haruto?
He looked at Kayaba Akihiko with a smirk—like watching a clown show.
That guy fancied himself a puppet master behind the scenes.
Always secretly scheming, pulling strings.
So stabbing him in the back and watching him squirm was actually pretty entertaining.
When the battle ended—
Laughing Coffin was almost completely wiped out.
These players, brainwashed by Poh, had completely twisted worldviews.
They resembled fanatical cultists. Even with their HP dangerously low, they kept charging ahead in suicidal attacks.
Among the few who remained alive—was Poh.
Seeing the tide turning, he immediately tried to slip away and flee, only to be caught and kicked down by the ever-watchful Haruto.
Ironically—
Most of Laughing Coffin fought to the bitter end.
But their leader, Poh, surrendered early.
The few remaining Laughing Coffin members only collapsed and surrendered after seeing their leader give up.
These survivors were thrown into the town jail.
Because they were red-named players, the game's mechanics locked them up, preventing them from doing anything.
As for the clearing group—
Not a single member had died.
They had completely crushed the enemy with superior levels, equipment, numbers, and experience.
As long as they didn't show mercy…
It was like a dragon swooping down—they couldn't lose even if they tried.
However, after the battle, many felt a lingering dread.
They all glanced at Haruto.
Those Laughing Coffin lunatics had basically performed suicide attacks.
If Haruto hadn't woken them up...
If any of them had held back during the fight...
They might've actually died.
That chilling realization left them nearly breathless. If this weren't a game, they'd be drenched in cold sweat. Just as they were about to thank Haruto—
He clapped his hands.
"That's it for now. I'm going to continue clearing the game—let's free SAO as soon as possible."
With that, Haruto turned and walked away without looking back.
Gazing at Haruto's retreating figure—
All the clearing group members felt nothing but deep respect.
To them, Haruto was someone truly walking alone for the sake of all players.
Even while enduring criticism and doubt, he kept pressing forward with immense resolve and unwavering will.
Thinking of this, many nearly burst into tears.
Well... all except Kayaba Akihiko, who just wanted to curse out loud.
He had originally hoped this event would weaken the clearing group a bit. After all, the 100th floor was fast approaching. The clearing pace was far too fast—completely out of his calculations—so he wanted to slow things down.
But now the entire script had gone off the rails.
After leaving the battlefield, Haruto didn't head to the 90th floor to continue map exploration.
Instead, he went to the Town of Beginnings.
Asuna and Argo followed him.
Once there, the two of them were surprised.
"Haruto-senpai, are you here to rest?" Asuna asked curiously.
Argo, on the other hand, was carefully recalling any relevant intel about the Town of Beginnings.
Haruto shook his head.
"No, not to rest—I'm here to get an important item."
He had been feeling like something was missing all along.
And now he remembered what it was.
Damn it—he was missing a cheat code.
If he wanted to solo Kayaba Akihiko, he needed one crucial condition:
He had to break past the system's limitations and unleash an overpowered attack.
In the original story, this was called "the light of the soul."
Haruto believed that so-called "light of the soul" was just the manifestation of a powerful will. But even if one had powerful will, there had to be a way to express it. Originally, Kayaba was supposed to grant a unique skill called Dual Blades to the player with the fastest reaction time.
That was the channel through which the soul's light was expressed.
However...
Because of Haruto's presence this time—
There was no doubt that Dual Blades should have gone to him.
Kayaba Akihiko also knew this.
So he simply chose not to assign the Dual Blades skill to any player. Unless Haruto decided to completely break the game using his powers...
There was no guarantee he could beat Kayaba in a solo fight.
After all, it's still a game—the numbers mattered.
To get around this, Haruto had another idea—which brought him to the Town of Beginnings.