Diabel looked up.
His once handsome and confident face was now devoid of color, leaving only a pallid gray.
"I… I didn't…"
His voice trembled uncontrollably, every syllable laced with a desperate quaver.
Chen Mo looked down at him, his eyes devoid of emotion, as if he were looking at an inanimate object.
"You didn't conceal that the BOSS goes berserk at half health?"
"You didn't conceal that it summons sentinels?"
"You didn't intentionally rush in at the most dangerous moment just to snatch the last hit?"
Chen Mo's voice wasn't loud, but it struck Diabel's nerves like a heavy hammer, and it also struck the hearts of every survivor.
The crowd gathered, silent, but the anger, fear, and loathing in their eyes had solidified into tangible flames.
In the battle just now, some lost companions, some brushed with death.
And the root of all this pointed to the hypocritical knight before them.
"Bastard!"
A player who had lost a teammate roared and rushed forward, his eyes bloodshot.
"If it wasn't for you, Dark wouldn't have died!"
"You almost got all of us killed!"
Roars rose one after another.
Diabel's body trembled violently, and he cowered in a corner.
"I… I just wanted to…"
"Wanted to be a hero?" Chen Mo's voice cut off his 辯解, "Wanted to monopolize the glory?"
Chen Mo reached out his hand.
Diabel instinctively recoiled, his back pressed hard against the cold wall, with nowhere left to retreat.
"The sword, hand it over."
"What?" Diabel seemed not to have heard clearly.
"The guardian sword." Chen Mo repeated, his tone brooking no argument, "You are not worthy to wield it."
Diabel clutched the long sword in his arms tightly; it was his last shred of dignity and reliance.
"No… this is mine…"
"Yours?"
Chen Mo's lips curved into a cold arc.
"Something obtained by sacrificing your teammates' lives, do you even dare to call it yours?"
Kirito walked over, his expression extremely complex.
He was equally angry at Diabel's actions, but seeing the other party in such a completely broken state, he still felt a touch of reluctance.
"Chen Mo, let it go…"
"Let it go?"
Chen Mo's gaze turned to Kirito, and the invisible pressure made Kirito's breathing hitch.
"Kirito, do you think we should let it go?"
"I…"
Kirito opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.
"If it was you who died today, or Asuna, or Mito, would you still say to let it go?"
Kirito fell completely silent.
Chen Mo's gaze returned to Diabel, his outstretched hand, unmoving.
"Last chance."
Diabel's eyes completely dimmed, and trembling, he unfastened the guardian sword from his waist and handed it over with both hands.
Chen Mo took the sword.
He casually weighed it in his hand, then made a gesture that silenced the entire hall.
He raised his arm and tossed the blue-glowing knight's sword to Kirito.
"It's yours."
Kirito subconsciously reached out and caught it, the heavy feel of the blade making him tremble.
"Wh-why…"
"You blocked for him just now."
Chen Mo's answer was extremely simple.
"Only a fool who dares to take a hit for someone else in such a situation is worthy of this sword."
Kirito gripped the hilt, where Diabel's body temperature still lingered, but now it made his fingertips tingle.
The weight of this sword far exceeded his imagination.
Chen Mo ignored him and looked back at Diabel, pronouncing his fate.
"From today onwards, your name will appear on the blacklist of all Information Brokers."
"No one will team with you."
"No one will sell you equipment."
"No one will believe a word you say."
Diabel's face turned completely ashen.
To be isolated by the whole world, in SAO, this was an exile more cruel than death.
"Remember."
Chen Mo turned and walked towards the exit.
"That you are still alive is the greatest grace."
The survivors parted for him like the Red Sea, creating a path.
Awe, fear, shock.
In that battle just now, the image of this man had been branded deep into everyone's souls.
"Chen Mo…"
Argo quickly caught up, her voice for the first time losing its usual playfulness, carrying a hint of imperceptible dryness.
"That sword skill of yours just now…"
"Want to buy information?"
"…Was that really an original sword skill?" Argo ignored his teasing and asked persistently.
Chen Mo stopped and looked back at her.
"What do you think?"
Argo bit her lip.
As an Information Broker, she understood the significance of that strike just now more than anyone.
It wasn't a matter of power.
It was something on a fundamental level, a power unique to him, beyond the recognition of this game system.
"If it's true…"
Argo's voice wavered slightly, carrying the fervor of discovering a new continent.
"You will be the first player to create a skill outside the system."
"So?"
"So…" Argo took a sharp breath, her eyes frighteningly bright, "Your value will be redefined, you will become…"
"A legend?"
Chen Mo smiled.
He turned his head and looked at the glowing staircase at the end of the hall, leading to the second floor.
"If becoming a legend can allow more people to survive…"
He didn't finish, but Argo understood.
In the corner, Yabashi and his subordinate, Cactus Head, had minimized their presence.
The scene just now made them thoroughly understand what an insurmountable gap was.
It wasn't a gap that could be compensated by level and equipment.
It was a difference in species.
"Boss… we…"
"Shut up!" Yabashi growled, his voice filled with the fear of surviving a catastrophe, "From now on, when you see him, walk around him!"
On the other side, Asuna and Mito huddled together.
"Mito…" Asuna's voice was still trembling slightly, "Did we… really clear it…?"
"Yes…" Mito could only force a bitter smile, "Now that I think about it, it's a miracle we survived."
"He's not a novice, not a Closed Beta Tester…" Asuna murmured, "He's… a monster."
"No."
Mito shook her head, her gaze incredibly firm.
"He is hope."
Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from the hall entrance.
A group of late-arriving players rushed in, and the young man leading them saw the mess on the floor and the survivors, exclaiming excitedly:
"The BOSS… was really defeated?"
"Who? Who did it?"
Everyone's gaze instinctively turned to the black-clad figure who was about to step onto the stairs.
The young man followed their gaze, and when he clearly saw Chen Mo, his eyes widened.
"It's… it's you!"
He excitedly wanted to rush over, but suddenly stopped a few steps away from Chen Mo.
Because Chen Mo had turned around.
In those eyes, there was no joy, no pride, only a bottomless calm.
"Something wrong?"
The young man swallowed, nervously asking: "C-can we really… go to the second floor now?"
Chen Mo nodded.
"You can."
"Then… then can you take us with you? We…"
"No."
Chen Mo's voice was utterly calm, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"If you want to live, get stronger yourselves."
"Don't pin your hopes on others."
This was the second time he had said this; the first time was to Asuna, and the second was to all the players in this world.
Having said that, he stepped onto the staircase leading to the second floor without looking back, his figure disappearing into the light.
Argo followed behind, and as she was about to leave, she stopped and glanced back at the players in the hall with their varied expressions.
She didn't shout, but spoke in the clear and calm tone characteristic of an Information Broker announcing important news:
"Everyone, update your information."
"Remember this name—Chen Mo."
"From today onwards, he is the SAO strategy itself!"