At exactly 6:55 AM, Akimi and the others finally spotted two figures approaching from the north.
Both wore black cloaks and were slowly making their way toward Dragonbone Hill.
About ten minutes later, the two figures finally arrived at the hill.
Fortunately, the terrain around Dragonbone Hill was relatively rugged, surrounded by stones of various sizes, allowing Akimi's group to hide perfectly behind the rocks without being discovered.
"Hm? Where's that human old fool? He usually shows up way earlier than the appointed time. What's going on today?"
One of them glanced around, clearly irritated.
The one beside him snorted coldly and said, "Hmph, those lowly humans are actually making us wait? Javier, I think we should raise the price a bit later."
The fallen elf referred to as Javier curled his lips into a sinister smile and nodded.
"Oh~ Lea, you're right. These human fools really need to be taught a lesson."
While the two fallen elves were talking, Akimi's group quietly watched them from their hiding spot, keeping perfectly still.
A little while later, obvious impatience began to show on the faces of the fallen elves.
The one named Lea slammed his two-handed sword heavily into the ground and cursed, "Damn it! Were we tricked by that bastard Bardun?! We've been here so long and still haven't seen a single shadow!"
Javier's face darkened. "Looks like we were — those filthy humans dared to deceive us. We'll make them pay for this. Let's go, Lea. We're heading back."
"Hmph."
Lea angrily kicked a small stone at his feet, then stormed off with Javier in the direction they had come from.
"Let's go. We're following them."
Seeing them leave, Akimi and the others activated their stealth skills and quietly followed behind.
After tracking them for a while, they passed through the Bone Plain around 8:30 AM and entered a massive canyon area known as the Ant Nest Gorge.
This area consisted of narrow canyons interwoven with a maze-like network of tunnels.
Even with a map, it was easy to get lost.
As the name suggested, the gorge was crawling with countless ant monsters.
Although they were weaker than elite monsters from the fifth and sixth floors, once they spotted an enemy, they would continuously summon reinforcements to swarm and encircle them.
While cautiously trailing the fallen elves, Akimi's group also had to swiftly take out the ants that appeared along the way.
Progress was difficult, but fortunately, they managed to keep up without losing track.
Just as they thought the fallen elves' base must be hidden somewhere within the Ant Nest Gorge, the two elves suddenly picked up speed and exited the canyon — heading straight toward the Labyrinth Tower.
Akimi and the others were caught off guard by this unexpected move, but they quickly followed without hesitation.
The monsters inside the Labyrinth Tower were nothing like those ants—each one was difficult to handle.
Even with Akimi's group going all out, they still lost track of the fallen elves within half an hour of entering the tower.
It was unclear whether the fallen elves were using some kind of special magical item, but even Kirito—who had the highest proficiency in the Tracking skill—was unable to pick up any trace of their movements.
With their targets lost, Akimi's team had no choice but to start clearing the Labyrinth Tower itself, hoping to stumble upon the fallen elves' base somewhere within.
But as they pushed deeper and deeper, they eventually found themselves on the topmost floor of the tower—just a little farther ahead, and they'd likely reach the boss room.
6:00 AM, January 8.
They had spent almost the entire previous day reaching the tower's top level.
Now, all that remained was to explore the surrounding area a bit more, and without a doubt, they would find the boss chamber.
However, based on their estimates, the main forces of ALS and DKB wouldn't catch up to them until around noon.
At the moment, Akimi's group was resting in a safe zone.
Asuna and Argo were preparing breakfast.
The safe zone wasn't very large—about six by seven meters—and its surrounding red brick walls stood out starkly against the blue-black stone of the rest of the Labyrinth Tower.
In a corner, Kio looked worriedly at Nirrnir—when she woke up that morning, her HP had already dropped to around 10%, and her complexion was shockingly pale, making Kio fall into deep anxiety.
Just then, a series of footsteps began to approach the safe zone.
But these weren't the chaotic stomps of monsters—instead, they were heavy, deliberate steps, clearly the sound of metal clashing against stone.
"Wait, there's no way Kibaou's group is here already…"
Kirito slowly drew his Sword of Eventide from his back, his expression tense as he looked toward the source of the sound.
The others also readied their weapons, all eyes locked in that direction—who knew what sort of weird tricks Kayaba Akihiko might pull, like throwing in some bizarre new type of monster?
But soon, they relaxed.
Coming around the corner were four tall figures—each marked with a green cursor above their heads.
The tall, dark-skinned, bald-headed man leading the group waved at them with a broad grin and said in his rough voice, "Ahh, Kirito and the gang! You guys are fast, huh?"
A few minutes later, Akimi rubbed his chin and asked Agil, who was chomping down on a hamburger, "I don't remember seeing you guys back in Volupta. When did you get to the Labyrinth area?"
"Mmm—"
Agil swallowed his bite, raised an eyebrow, and chuckled.
"Haha, of course you didn't. We didn't take the southern route at all—we went through the so-called 'Headwind Path.' As real men and gamers, when facing a route choice, you obviously go for the harder one, right?"
The second tall guy, Wolfgang, gave him a side-eye and retorted, "Says who?! That 'Headwind Path' was pure hell! I told you we should've taken the Tailwind Path!"
After Wolfgang's complaint, the third and fourth tall guys, Naijia and Robacca, both nodded in agreement and added, "Out of the four of us, you were the only one insisting we take the Headwind Path."
Agil awkwardly scratched his shiny bald head and stubbornly said, "Okay, but tell me this—didn't that path give us more EXP and materials?"
In response, the three of them unhesitatingly raised their middle fingers at him.
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