A month had passed since Hachiman claimed his secret base. The Raiders' progress remained strong, with the twenty-fourth floor freshly cleared, but trouble brewed. The usual bickering between Joe and Morte escalated, this time dragging Lind and Kibao into a heated dispute.
"Egil, what happened?" Hachiman asked.
"Joe complained the Liberation Squad's been sidelined on boss kills lately. Lind clapped back, but his words rubbed Kibao the wrong way, and it blew up," Egil explained.
"That's it?" Hachiman said, exasperated.
"You and I don't care about last hits, but big guilds fight over influence," Egil said.
The argument fizzled out, but the tension lingered. That night, Asuna and Lisbeth visited Hachiman's tower for a post-raid celebration.
"Hachiman, Asuna, great work," Lisbeth said.
"I'm exhausted, Liz," Asuna said.
"Mostly from the drama afterward," Hachiman added.
"Not the raid itself?" Lisbeth asked.
"When people gather, fights happen," Hachiman said.
"That's true," Asuna sighed.
Hachiman couldn't fix it. A unified guild would solve things, but that was a pipe dream now.
It's not derailing the raids yet… he thought, then changed the subject. "Liz, you changed your hair and clothes."
"Yeah, Asuna got her hands on me," Lisbeth said.
"Really?" Hachiman asked.
"I knew this style would suit her," Asuna said.
"Not bad," Hachiman said.
"I wasn't into it at first," Lisbeth admitted. "But, annoyingly, my stall's sales spiked after Asuna's makeover."
"Told you!" Asuna grinned.
Lisbeth's once-brown hair now had a pinkish hue, paired with a bold red dress and white apron for business. Bright colors like pink or blue could look unnatural, but in-game, they felt oddly fitting.
"Want me to style your hair, Hachiman?" Asuna teased.
"Hard pass," he said.
"Your clothes, then?" she pressed.
"Maybe. In real life, my sister handled that stuff," he admitted.
"Let's shop next time!" Asuna said.
"Uh, sure…" Hachiman mumbled.
They chatted longer before parting. Neither Asuna nor Lisbeth had stayed overnight, a courtesy Hachiman appreciated. They'd each claimed a room, decorating them personally. Lisbeth often forged in the shed, always coordinating to avoid awkward run-ins. Hachiman occasionally helped with materials or hunted with her, their boundaries comfortable and respectful.
"See you guys," Hachiman said.
"Later, Hachiman," Asuna replied.
"I'll be back tomorrow noon to forge," Lisbeth said.
"Got it, Liz," Hachiman said.
After they left, he bathed and slept.
Days later, as the twenty-fifth floor's conquest seemed imminent, disaster struck. Asuna and Argo arrived at Hachiman's tower unannounced. Hachiman had already told Argo about the house, swearing her to secrecy to avoid inevitable leaks.
"Argo's got something to tell us," Asuna said.
"This place is still amazing. I'd kill to own it," Argo said.
"Not for sale. What's up?" Hachiman asked.
"Haa-bo, Aa-chan, brace yourselves. The Liberation Squad just got wiped out," Argo said.
"…What?" Hachiman said.
"…Huh?" Asuna echoed.
After a long pause, Hachiman processed it. "What happened?"
"They found the boss room but hid it and went in alone," Argo explained. "A survivor said they had 'solid' boss intel, thought they could handle it, but the info was bogus, and the boss was way stronger than anything before."
"Survivor…" Asuna murmured, glancing at Hachiman, sensing the grim implication.
Hachiman steeled himself. "How many went in, and how many survived?"
"Seven parties, forty-two people. Eight survived," Argo said.
The number silenced them. Hachiman recovered first. "Seven parties? Some were underleveled, right?"
"Two parties were a bit low, yeah," Argo confirmed.
"What about Kibao?" Hachiman asked.
"He survived," Argo said.
"Was it… Joe again?" Hachiman pressed.
"Survivors say he brought the intel," Argo replied.
"Damn it!" Hachiman slammed the table, frustration boiling over. If I'd paid closer attention, if I'd acted… Regret flooded him.
Asuna, concerned, spoke up. "Hachiman, it's not your fault."
"No, Asuna, I had info on Joe. I saw something before. I could've done something, but I didn't," he said, confessing about the tavern trio—Joe, Morte, and the poncho figure.
"So that happened," Argo said.
"I didn't tell anyone, thinking it was too risky to act rashly. That backfired," Hachiman said.
"Hachiman…" Asuna said softly.
"Haa-bo, I get it, but this was unavoidable," Argo said.
"Maybe, but… damn it," Hachiman muttered.
"You try to carry everything alone," Asuna said. "We need to figure out what we can do together."
Hachiman clenched his fists, then exhaled. "Sorry, you two. I'm okay now. Let's plan."
Swallowing his powerlessness, he chose to move forward.
"First, what happened to Joe?" he asked.
"He vanished right after surviving," Argo said.
"How many Liberation Squad survivors can still fight?" he asked.
"Maybe six strong enough for the boss," Argo estimated.
"What's the Dragon Knights doing?" he asked.
"Scrambling to recruit. It's do-or-die for the raids," Argo said.
"We're stalled for a while," Hachiman said.
"This isn't a one-or-two-day fix," Argo agreed.
"What about Kirito?" Hachiman asked.
"Haven't told him. He's been busy on lower floors," Argo said.
"He hasn't joined raids lately, so I didn't reach out, but we'll need him for this," Hachiman said.
"Kirito'll come through," Asuna said.
They hashed out more details, but the core issue was manpower. The Dragon Knights could muster twenty-four fighters, Egil's team and Hachiman's group about eight. The Liberation Squad's survivors were mostly broken, unreliable. They were critically short. Hachiman tasked Argo with digging deeper into Joe, Morte, and the poncho figure, and they ended the meeting.
Days later, Argo reported back: no leads, no sightings. Morte had vanished too. The trio's whereabouts were a dead end. Recruitment stalled, and the situation stagnated.
"Been a while, Kirito," Hachiman said.
"Yeah, Hachiman," Kirito replied.
They met, catching up briefly.
"You heard?" Hachiman asked.
"Yeah, it's bad," Kirito said.
"We could push forward with enough people, but manpower's the issue," Hachiman said.
"Anything I can do?" Kirito asked.
"Just join the boss raid. Numbers are our problem," Hachiman said.
"Sorry for being absent," Kirito said.
"Nothing to apologize for. Things were fine, and you weren't slacking," Hachiman said.
"True, but…" Kirito trailed off.
"You joined a guild, right?" Hachiman asked.
"…Yeah," Kirito admitted.
"Focus on that for now. We'll need you later, but not yet," Hachiman said.
"Got it," Kirito said.
Hachiman smiled. "Countin' on you for the big fight."
"Full effort," Kirito promised.
They high-fived and parted ways.
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