The great stone hall was lined with neatly arranged pillars on both sides.
From the center, no clashing of steel or ringing of metal could be heard—only the tense stillness before the final exchange.
In the middle of the chamber, a dark-red, bloated Kobold Lord loomed over a group of players. Of the four green HP bars above its head, three had already vanished, and the last had shifted into a dangerous crimson.
"Everyone, the boss is in the red! Switch tactics!"
Ryuto's warning rang out, but before anyone could respond, Diabel stepped forward.
"Fall back! Leave this to me!"
The First Floor boss raid had been organized and planned entirely by Diabel. While no official leader had been chosen, the players had generally accepted his guidance. At his command, they instinctively pulled back.
With a confident stride, Diabel raised his kite shield. The blade in his hand shimmered with the light of an activated Sword Skill. Without hesitation, he charged straight at the weakened boss.
Kirito's eyes widened. Something was wrong. At this point in the fight, everyone should have been engaging together to keep the boss locked down.
"No—get back!" he shouted urgently.
But Diabel's Sonic Leap had already been triggered, his figure darting toward the Kobold Lord in a blinding blur.
The boss reacted instantly. Dropping its axe and shield, it drew a massive nodachi from its back. Its movements became unnervingly agile—it bounded onto the stone pillars, leaping from one to another, and in an instant landed in front of Diabel.
A diagonal slash cleaved down toward him, sending Diabel flying backward. The Kobold Lord didn't relent, following with another vicious strike midair.
A deep wound stretched from Diabel's abdomen to his chest. His HP plummeted into the red before his body skidded across the floor, coming to rest at the feet of the retreating players.
Ryuto shook his head silently. He knew this was greed at work—the fatal desire to land the last hit and claim the reward. Stepping through the crowd, he knelt beside the fallen knight.
Diabel's fading eyes met his, and his mind flashed back to something the man had said during the strategy meeting:
"This is the data from the beta test."
Now it made sense. Diabel had known the boss's patterns from the start. He had told Ryuto in advance to reduce the chance of failure—but in the end, his own ambition blinded him to the danger.
With a faint smile, Diabel whispered his final request:
"Please… finish the boss…"
His body shattered into countless blue polygons and scattered into the air.
Ryuto stood silently. He couldn't say what kind of man Diabel truly was, but he would honor his last words.
Kirito and Agil were still struggling to hold back the boss. Seeing their formation faltering, Ryuto sprinted forward. His blade intercepted a downward strike aimed at Agil, the clang of steel echoing through the hall.
With a swift step, Ryuto's Horizontal skill flashed, his sword tracing a clean, parallel arc across the Kobold Lord's torso. He followed up by anchoring his stance, raising his second blade, and unleashing a Vertical Arc.
The combined strikes tore through the boss's remaining HP. With a final, ear-splitting roar, the Kobold Lord exploded into a shower of light and data fragments.
For a moment, the hall fell silent—then an eruption of cheers filled the air. Players shouted in relief and triumph. They had survived.
Ryuto glanced around. Asuna was smiling brightly, clearly relieved, and even seeking his acknowledgment. Agil and Kirito approached, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Well done. This victory's thanks to you," Kirito said warmly.
Asuna's expression softened, her eyes narrowing in quiet satisfaction—almost as if she were happier for him than if she'd been praised herself.
The applause grew louder. Several voices began chanting Ryuto's name. But suddenly, a voice from the back of the crowd cut through the celebration:
"Why… why didn't you die in Diabel's place?!"
Ryuto froze, momentarily stunned by the absurdity of the question.
"...What?"
"You knew the boss's pattern, didn't you? If you'd told us sooner, Diabel wouldn't have died!"
Murmurs rippled through the group:
"Yeah…"
"How did he know…?"
Ryuto exhaled slowly. The joy of the moment dissolved. If this was the mindset of the people he was meant to protect, could he truly lead them to clear the game? He didn't think so—not without resentment building in his heart.
With a faint, humorless smile, he stepped toward the one who had spoken.
Ryuto stepped forward, his voice calm but edged with steel.
"First—during the strategy meeting, I said my information came from the closed beta. I also said I didn't know if anything had changed for the official launch. I made that clear. If you heard me and still want to blame me, maybe you should ask yourselves—do you have any common sense?"
The crowd wavered. Kibaou's scowl deepened, but Ryuto didn't stop.
"Second—since I suspected changes from the beta, rushing in blindly could have cost me my life. Even if I'd tried, I might not have saved Diabel at all. So yes, my reason was simple: I didn't want to throw my life away. Now, since you're still standing here, you're clearly not weak, so let me turn the question back to you, Kibaou…"
Ryuto's eyes locked on him.
"Why didn't you save Diabel?"
Kibaou's expression froze. No words came out—because the truth was, his legs had been trembling too much to move.
"See? You stay silent because you know the answer. You were afraid of dying. Yet even with that fear, you stand there on your moral high ground, judging others for not doing what you couldn't. You expect others to act where you won't. You're pathetic, 'Mr. Kibaou.'"
Kibaou's face twisted with anger, but no rebuttal came. Ryuto snorted softly—he wasn't worth more than that.
Turning to the crowd, Ryuto's voice lowered, but carried through the hall.
"You've disappointed me. One man throws out an accusation, and you're shaken immediately. Do you not trust your own comrades at all? You entrust your lives to your teammates in this game, yet you question them at the first word. Are you worthy of that trust?"
He straightened, his tone final.
"From now on, I'll walk my own bridge, and you'll take your own road. If you want to attack me, do it. But you don't deserve to have me as a teammate."
With that, he reached up, pinched the brim of his cloak, and pulled the hood over his head. Without looking back, he walked toward the staircase leading to the second floor, Asuna matching his pace.
"Guess I'm better suited to being a lone hero after all."
The two disappeared into the shadowed passage.
Behind them, the group fell into a heated debate.
Some players looked ashamed.
"Yeah… we were wrong. Doubting our own party like that…"
Others scoffed.
"What? Just because he beat the boss, now he thinks he's number one? Lone hero? He's nothing without the raid group. He'll choke soon enough."
A few remained silent—Kirito and Agil among them. What stayed with them wasn't the fight, but the trust issue Ryuto had thrown in their faces.
They glanced at the noisy, fractured crowd and shook their heads. Without another word, they turned away, following Ryuto and Asuna up to the second floor—leaving the quarrelsome players behind to stew in their own ignorance.