4th Floor, Caldera Lake
At the large lakeside, two factions faced each other. One was the guild Kaige, comprised of eighteen members across three squads. Opposite them was the newly-formed Laughing Coffin, barely two days old.
"What do you think you're doing?!" The Kaige guild leader, wielding a spear, glared at the seven or eight opponents. "Looking for a PK fight?!"
"Haha, otherwise what do you think?" One young Laughing Coffin member, exuding a crazed energy, rubbed his hands excitedly.
"Come on, boss! Slicing people is way more thrilling than racing!"
The Kaige members noticed his demeanor, suspecting he was a "bosozoku" in real life. In Japan, normal citizens typically avoided these biker gangs. Despite legal restrictions preventing attacks on civilians, conflicts among gangs were common, and young members often associated with organized crime.
"Fine then." The Kaige leader, seeing the orange markers above their heads, waved his spear. "Since you PK'ers are asking for it, we'll send you to prison!"
Outnumbered roughly ten to one, the leader's confidence was met with disdain from the mixed-race youth at the front of Laughing Coffin. He raised a hand, and multiple small knives shot at Kaige's members.
Pew pew pew…
The knives were fast. Some hit players unprepared; others didn't bother dodging. [Throwing Knife] did minimal damage—mostly for hunting or practice.
"Is this all you've got?" A hit player laughed… until the sensation of extreme weakness froze him in place. He realized he'd fallen into a three-minute paralysis state!
"Ah!"
"Paralyzed! Those knives were poisoned!"
"How is this possible?!"
In an instant, six or seven players collapsed. Laughing Coffin erupted in laughter. One member slapped a short-statured companion on the shoulder. "White, your paralysis poison worked perfectly."
"Let's go!" another player urged. "My skill can only maintain the poison for three minutes."
"Fight them!"
Kaige's leader wasn't affected and still had seven or eight active members left, roughly equalizing numbers with Laughing Coffin. Fearing more tricks, the leader decided to strike first.
The Laughing Coffin members, impatient, charged with wild shouts. PoH led the way, wielding a rapier, his weapon of choice. With deft precision, he stabbed multiple holes into a single enemy.
Like Asuna, PoH was a naturally talented player. The rapier in his hand was like an extension of his arm. He relied on unconventional angles rather than sword skills. His young subordinates were equally ferocious, quickly crushing Kaige's forces.
This was expected: the two guilds had entirely different roles.
In SAO, guilds fall into categories: those focused on questing, small friend-based guilds, and raiding guilds like Titan's Hand. Laughing Coffin was purely a killing guild.
Kaige, a PvE guild, fighting a PvP guild in the wild was like exposing weakness against strength. With equal numbers, defeat was inevitable.
Moreover, the individual fighters in Laughing Coffin were stronger. Mostly young, they had quicker reflexes. Older players couldn't keep up—like esports, where early twenties are peak reaction ages.
Within two minutes, half of Kaige's fighting players were down. Only one Laughing Coffin member had red HP; the rest hadn't even dropped to yellow.
"Damn it…" Kaige's leader glared at PoH. This single opponent had killed three of his members alone—a formidable enemy. Even if all his guildmates fell, he'd take him down!
He signaled the others, who immediately rushed PoH.
"Stupid."
PoH sneered. As the approaching attackers closed in, his rapier suddenly vanished. At the critical moment, he switched weapons—now in his hands was a massive greatsword over a meter long.
"What?!"
All of Kaige's members, including their guild leader, were shocked. In the next moment, PoH swung the greatsword in a wide arc. The attack's reach was enormous, instantly interrupting their strikes. At the same time, the other Laughing Coffin members charged, their chaotic blades killing two of the attackers. The Kaige leader had no choice but to retreat with the remaining few.
Breathing heavily, he glanced at his red HP bar. Despair was setting in. Members still paralyzed by poison wouldn't recover for over a minute, and they couldn't hold out… Even if they recovered, the overwhelming strength of these opponents left no chance to reverse the situation.
But it didn't matter.
The Kaige leader fixed his gaze on the greatsword. "You're using that weapon? What's your connection to Lillian? Or is he part of your guild?"
"What's Lillian?" PoH hadn't finished when a young member scoffed, "Our leader is just cosplaying for fun."
He had barely spoken when an icy, piercing gaze fell on him—it was PoH.
"Shut up."
"Boss, I…" The boy realized his mistake, his face pale. The Kaige leader watched this and felt a jolt.
Cosplay?
Though not an otaku, he understood the meaning: imitation… imitating Lillian?… Could it really be…?
"You all can die now." PoH retracted his gaze and addressed the Kaige. Upon hearing this, the Kaige leader laughed.
"Ha ha ha!"
"What's so funny?"
"You won't be smug for long," he replied. "I've requested reinforcements… you won't escape."
"…"
PoH frowned slightly, a hint of unease crossing his mind. Maintaining a calm expression, he raised the greatsword.
"Is that so? Then let's see." He advanced toward Kaige's forces.
At that moment, a sharp whistling sound stopped him. In the next second, a greatsword plunged into the ground before him, its blade deeply embedded, the edge gleaming with cold light.
"Let's see?"
From above, Lillian descended, landing behind the sword. He gripped the hilt, drew the blade, and shouldered it. "Your 'waiting' has arrived."
The sudden appearance of Lillian stunned both sides into silence. His orange-name marker was highly conspicuous; for a moment, Kaige mistook him for an enemy. Once recognized, expressions grew complex.
"Had enough cosplay?" Lillian looked at PoH. "The fake meets the real—there's only one way out."
"…Is that so." PoH smiled. Behind Lillian, the Kaige leader now understood the situation. He shouted, "Be careful! They're armed with poisoned weapons!"
"No worries. I maintain poison resistance buffs year-round," Lillian said. Glancing at the disheveled attackers behind him, he added, "Stay back. Watch the show."
"…"
"Why are you standing with them?" PoH switched back to his rapier, his eyes dark.
"Did you forget how they chased you?"
"Nope. Sure, it was annoying. But I should deal with you first—you're the real culprit behind all that mess."
"I'm helping you," PoH replied. "I'm helping you recognize your true nature. When I saw you kill on the plains, I understood: you're a killer. No matter how well you disguise it, you enjoy the thrill of killing." His words carried a persuasive rhythm. "Why? Being restrained by a group of trash feels good? You've seen them venting their ugly emotions without regard for facts. Together, we can cleanse this ugliness. Isn't that the meaning of the game?"
"Meaning?"
"Exactly! Why did Akihiko Kayaba create a safe starting town where players could do nothing? Why not remove PK? The PK system exists; our actions are justified. If blame exists, it lies with Kayaba. Why blame us?"
"Yes! It's all Kayaba's fault! If he didn't want PK, just disable it!"
The Laughing Coffin members cheered, fully supporting PoH. Lillian nodded.
"Fine, you can blame the world. That's not my concern. I just don't like you, so I want to cut you down. Save the philosophical lectures for someone else." Lillian laughed.