What was Yusei's trump card? Naturally, it was Kanna. He had actually thought about it a lot. For instance, would telling them that Kanna was a real dragon have any consequences?
But considering Kaguya and Asuna would inevitably come into contact with the supernatural world he was connected to sooner or later, telling them now didn't matter much.
Therefore, Yusei explained that Kanna was a dragon from another world and his plan to have her eliminate Kayaba.
Kaguya listened with an expression as if she had seen a ghost, clearly thinking, 'Yusei, don't think I'm stupid. I have an extremely high IQ.'
Indeed, something like a dragon from another world was truly hard to believe.
Asuna, however, accepted it very quickly. A woman in love unconditionally trusts her husband, and she felt Yusei wouldn't lie to her.
Moreover, Kanna was so cute. Even when she turned into a dragon, she was adorable. So what if she was an otherworldly dragon?
After instructing them to stay back and not intervene later, Yusei walked ahead and pushed open the large door of the Knights of the Blood Oath's Headquarters.
It was the middle of the night.
Even though Yusei and the others made no attempt to conceal their movements, not a single guild member on duty came out… which puzzled them all.
Without hesitation, Yusei went straight to the Guild Master's office of the Knights of the Blood Oath.
According to Kaguya, Heathcliff had been staying in the Guild Master's office these past few days to handle guild affairs, sleeping in an inner room separated by a partition.
Looking at the tightly shut, ornate door before him, Yusei directly pushed it open and entered. Instantly, a brightly lit scene met their eyes.
The place was magnificent and brilliantly lit. As the office of the Guild Master of SAO's largest guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath, its level of grandeur was exceptionally high.
Looking at the decorative items placed around the room, it seemed any one of them could cost more than the total assets of many players.
The moment Yusei entered the room, his attention focused entirely on the person sitting behind the office desk inside, quietly watching them.
And that person was Heathcliff, the Guild Master of the Knights of the Blood Oath.
Yusei looked at him, his expression unchanged. Heathcliff was the same, not saying anything.
The atmosphere instantly became eerie. Asuna and Kaguya watched Heathcliff nervously. The man before them was no longer just the Guild Master of the Knights of the Blood Oath-
He was the mastermind behind SAO… Kayaba Akihiko.
After a long while, Heathcliff, or rather, Kayaba, finally spoke.
"Yusei-kun, I'm curious. When did you find out?"
Yusei's expression remained normal. He countered with a question, "I'm more curious about when you realized."
Hearing this, Kayaba stated matter-of-factly, "One week before entering the game."
"At that time, you controlled me, demanded I modify game data for you, provide game helmets completely free of tampering... all just so you could come in and 'play' this game?" Kayaba expressed his puzzlement, "I want to know, Yusei-kun, how did you know I intended to turn SAO into a true 'life and death game'?"
Kayaba looked at Yusei with great interest, as if hoping to get an answer from him.
Their conversation didn't avoid anyone. Kayaba simply didn't regard Asuna and Kaguya as significant.
Right now, his interest lay solely in Yusei himself.
And Yusei, for his part, felt he had nothing to hide from the women he cared about. Besides, Kaguya already knew. The only potential issue was with Asuna.
But Yusei trusted his new wife. He believed Asuna would believe him.
Yusei gave a faint smile. He pointed his two fingers towards his own eyes.
"My eyes can see the real you."
"I see. So it was through the eyes that you hypnotized me, making me inadvertently reveal it? Unscientific, but it's the only explanation."
Akihiko nodded. Then he said, "Let's return to the first question. When did you discover I had slipped from your control?"
"You must know, I've been following your instructions all along. Providing equipment, modifying data... I don't feel I missed anything."
"Really? But my answer remains the same. Your eyes exposed your thoughts to me. Similarly, your eyes also reflected your view of me."
Yusei's expression was calm. He continued, "At mine and Asuna's wedding, you attended. But when you saw me, your reaction was merely indifferent."
"Wasn't that reaction correct? That was what you requested… to remain hidden," Kayaba said, puzzled.
"Nothing wrong with the reaction itself. But the look in your eyes was also indifferent, as if looking at a stranger. No, there was a slight difference. Your reaction at that time was different from during the hypnosis. Back then, you were fanatical, regarding me as a deity."
The hypnosis Yusei had initially placed on Kayaba was to make him regard Yusei as the person he most respected and whose orders he obeyed. Therefore, back then, the look Kayaba gave Yusei was filled with respect and fervor.
When 'Heathcliff' attended the wedding, during their brief eye contact, Yusei only saw calmness and a hint of curiosity in Heathcliff's eyes.
Perhaps this was due to the SAO System's influence? But little did he know, SAO's emotional simulation was extremely sophisticated.
Kayaba also realized this, recalling the events of that day. He couldn't help but chuckle wryly.
"So that's it. In the end, I slipped up here. How careless of me."
"Alright. My turn to ask. Why, after you regained your senses before the game started, did you still proceed with the death game?" Yusei looked puzzled at Kayaba.
Akihiko was actually quite similar to Yusei in some aspects, such as their curiosity.
Yusei had considerable curiosity, especially regarding his own abilities.
He had been somewhat negligent in considering the duration of his Sharingan's hypnotic suggestion. In truth, ordinary hypnosis couldn't permanently hypnotize someone.
In response to Yusei's question, Kayaba just gave a faint smile and instead asked a question in return.
"So what? What if I did regain my senses? The game data for the death game had already been modified. Yusei-kun, your helmet was one I hadn't tampered with."
"Should I have immediately exposed myself, using all my strength to find you, revealing my own issues? Or should I have proceeded with the game's operation as usual and carried out my own plan?"
"Yusei-kun, if it were you, which would you choose?"
…
(Author's Note: This was a planned reversal from the start. Kayaba broke free from the Sharingan's hypnosis before the game even began but pretended to be controlled all along. After entering the game, he chose to continue hiding to observe the Protagonist. Ultimately, the protagonist's helmet was untampered, so he had no way to directly punish the protagonist. Acting rashly would only alert the enemy. Observing quietly to understand just what the Protagonist had done was more in line with Kayaba's character.)