A few days later, an emergency meeting was convened at Hachiman's call.
"There's been a new development, so I've gathered you all here. Sorry for the short notice, as usual."
"No worries," Kirito replied. "You ran into Laughing Coffin's executives, right? We can't let those guys roam free anymore—it's a matter of everyone's safety."
"Yeah. I'll skip the details, but we managed to gather some info during a recent incident. I'm here to report on that."
"Go ahead," someone urged.
With their lives on the line, everyone listened intently.
"First, as we've long suspected, they wear masks or hoods during their crimes but take them off and blend into town like nothing's happened."
"That's been the rumor for a while," someone noted.
"Next, about XaXa's eyes—chances are, they stay red even without the mask."
"That's more or less confirmed, but it's not exactly new."
"Right. That's just verification. Here's the real deal."
Hachiman scanned the room before speaking slowly.
"PoH is likely a big, burly foreigner."
The group blinked, caught off guard.
"I'll explain how I know. The other day, Kirito and I faced him. He said 'Snafu'—a slang term used in a certain country's military. Think of it as 'screw-up' or worse."
"So that's how…" someone murmured.
"This is bad news. It suggests he's a trained soldier."
A brief stir rippled through the room, but the gravity of his words soon silenced them.
"That means he's likely skilled with weapons. He might even use hand-to-hand combat techniques, regardless of game skills. His weapon is a dagger called Mate-Chopper, shaped like a Chinese cleaver."
"Got it…"
"That's dangerous…"
"Can we even take him on?"
"Yeah. This is a game, after all. A soldier's strength comes from training, but here, it's all about level and stats. If multiple high-level players gang up on him, it shouldn't be an issue."
Hachiman's words eased some of the tension in the room.
"For our strategy—among the burly foreigners I've met in this game, there's only Egil. Anyone else seen someone like that?"
No one responded.
"That means PoH rarely comes to town. So, if you spot a big foreigner other than Egil—or someone in a black poncho—assume it's PoH."
A murmur of "Ohh" rose from the group.
"Jo's sketch, XaXa's red eyes, a big foreigner or someone in a black poncho—if you see any of these and report it immediately, we'll pay a reward once confirmed. Just make sure Egil doesn't get reported by mistake."
Egil gave a wry smile, and light laughter broke out.
"With this, every player becomes a lookout for their executives. Also, if you see someone acting strange during a karma recovery quest, report that too. We'll need to figure out rewards for that, since some might lie."
A louder "Ohh!" erupted this time.
"If we pull this off, it'll hit Laughing Coffin hard, right?"
"Yeah, it should be pretty effective."
"Alright, let's move forward with this plan!"
"Hell yeah!"
And so, the net to trap Laughing Coffin tightened at an accelerating pace.
"Again…?"
"That's two caught this week."
"Tch, Hachiman's doing, huh? That guy's such a pain—let's take him out, boss."
"…Losing any more people would be bad," PoH replied.
Even XaXa, who rarely spoke, chimed in quietly.
"Tch, how many members we got left?"
"Twenty-something."
"Any word from the mole we sent to the Knights of the Blood Oath?"
"They're keeping info locked down tight among the higher-ups. Nothing's getting through."
"Sitting around, getting weaker, and just waiting to get caught ain't fun."
"Let's lure 'em out and take 'em all down, boss!"
"…"
Seeing XaXa nod silently, PoH issued new orders.
Having cut short their exploration of the 65th floor's labyrinth, Hachiman and Kirito returned to town when a message from Argo arrived. Apparently, there was a breakthrough, and another meeting about Laughing Coffin was being held. It had been about two weeks since the last one.
"Sounds like something's up, Hachiman."
"With the pressure we're putting on them, it's no surprise they're making a move."
Unlike the usual meetings with just the core leaders, this one gathered the entire frontline group. As it began, shocking news was revealed: Laughing Coffin's headquarters had been found.
A friend of Kuradeel from the Knights of the Blood Oath had spotted multiple orange-cursor players in the wastelands of the 37th floor. Scouts staked out the area for days, confirming several orange players heading in one direction. After cautious exploration, they discovered a cave frequented by multiple players, including executives, and identified it as their base.
"So, we're forming a raid team," the speaker announced. "If you're not prepared, leave now. No one will judge you."
(I didn't want Asuna involved…) Hachiman thought.
Since it was a general meeting, Asuna, who usually didn't attend, was present. She insisted on joining, and Hachiman couldn't dissuade her.
"Hey, Kirito, about Asuna…"
"Yeah, I know. We'll handle the dirty work ourselves."
Hachiman stood and made several proposals: to minimize deaths, they should aim to sever enemies' arms to neutralize them without killing. Piercing-weapon users would be assigned to guard the cave entrance to avoid direct combat. The group adopted his suggestions, and Asuna was chosen as the lookout team's leader.
Asuna looked displeased, but most in the room understood Hachiman's proposal was meant to keep her out of the fight. They supported it enthusiastically, and Asuna reluctantly agreed.
After the meeting, members dispersed to their bases to prepare. Perhaps fearing Asuna's wrath, Hachiman left early. Asuna caught Kirito, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Please, Kirito, protect Hachiman's back for me."
She was entrusting him with the role she'd intended to take herself.
"Got it. Leave it to me."
The day of the raid arrived.
The assault team stormed Laughing Coffin's headquarters, advancing cautiously. But as they reached a wide plaza with a deadly cliff drop on one side, they were ambushed and thrown into a chaotic battle.
"Stay calm! We outnumber them!"
"Form ranks and fight back!"
The orders didn't reach everyone in the chaos. The enemy likely had prior knowledge of the raid and held the terrain advantage, forcing the team into scattered combat.
Even knowing there was no pain, some hesitated to sever arms, leaving openings that led to their deaths. In other cases, enemies dragged allies off the cliff in suicidal leaps.
Kirito and Hachiman were frequently surrounded, and both had already killed several players.
(Even if it's just effects, this is rough…) Hachiman thought.
With their numerical advantage, the raid team was slowly gaining the upper hand. Then, from deeper within, two familiar figures emerged.
"Been dying to see you, Hachiman!" Jo called out.
"…"
Jo advanced toward Hachiman, while XaXa silently approached Kirito.
"Don't really care to see you," Hachiman shot back.
"We fought together once, and this is how you treat me? Cold, man."
"Well, this is the last time we'll meet, so I'll humor you a bit."
"I'm gonna kill you right here!"
Hachiman and Jo's fight began, while Kirito and XaXa clashed wordlessly. In a one-on-one duel without interference, the outcome was almost certain from the start.
Kirito effortlessly parried XaXa's attacks, anticipating he'd rely on low-recoil skills like Linear in this kind of fight. As expected, XaXa did just that. Kirito deliberately left an opening, and when XaXa unleashed another Linear, Kirito sidestepped with lightning reflexes, slashing off the extended arm. He swiftly cut off XaXa's other arm, neutralizing him.
Leaving the crouching XaXa to an ally, Kirito turned to aid Hachiman.
"I know your tricks!" Jo shouted.
True to his words, Jo was holding his own, cautiously avoiding Hachiman's parries and leaving no openings. But in doing so, his attack power plummeted, though he didn't realize it, believing he was matching Hachiman.
Then Kirito approached.
"Two-on-one? That's cheap!" Jo protested.
"Huh? Kirito's not even joining in," Hachiman said.
"Yeah, right, like I'd believe that! I've been watching you guys kill tons of people out there! You're no different from me now!"
Jo's manic laughter made Hachiman rethink his approach.
"Hey, Kirito, change of plans. You get a free hit."
"For real? Been wanting to punch this guy for ages."
"Same here."
"What the hell are you—"
Hachiman lunged, pinning Jo's weapon arm under his own. Kirito dove in, landing a restrained Flash Hit sword skill to Jo's face. Hachiman followed with his own Flash Hit to Jo's staggering face. Together, they severed both of Jo's wrists, rendering him powerless.
"Alright, looks like the rest are done. Just PoH left."
A thorough search followed, but PoH was nowhere to be found.
"Well, one guy alone can't do much. Guess we let it slide for now."
"Yeah, we'll just have to stay vigilant."
The alert was maintained, but until the day everyone was freed from SAO, PoH never showed himself again.
On this day, the murder guild Laughing Coffin was effectively dismantled.
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