Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

"More than twenty people."

"Any feedback from those who were sent to poison the Blood Alliance Knights?"

"The intelligence seems to be strictly controlled by the cadre level and cannot be penetrated at all."

"It's so boring to just languish like this and wait to be caught!"

"Set a trap and catch them all, boss!"

"..."

Seeing Shasa nod silently, PoH issued a new order.

----

After finishing their exploration of the 65th floor maze area on the front line and returning to town, Hachiman and Kirito received a message from Argo.

There seems to be new progress, and a combat meeting against Smiling Coffin is about to be held, two weeks after the last meeting.

"Looks like there's been some progress, Hachiman."

"After all, we are under siege. It's about time we take action."

In the past, only some cadres attended the meeting, but this time all members of the strategy team gathered together. After the meeting started, shocking information was revealed - the headquarters of Laughing Coffin had been discovered.

An acquaintance of Kladil, a member of the Blood Alliance Knights, witnessed several orange-named players in the wilderness on the 37th floor. After several days of surveillance, the reconnaissance team tracked down the cave where these players frequently entered and exited, and concluded that it was the headquarters.

"Therefore, we will form a punitive team. Those who are not aware of the situation can leave and we will not hold them accountable."

(I didn't want Asuna to participate...)

Since it was a general meeting, Asuna, who usually did not participate, was also present. She insisted on attending, and Hachiman was unable to stop her.

"Hey Kirito, about Asuna..."

"Understood. We'll just take care of getting our hands dirty."

Hachiman stood up and made a suggestion: to minimize casualties, focus on attacking the enemy's wrists to make them lose their combat effectiveness while reducing the risk of death.

The plan of having members using stabbing weapons guard the cave entrance was adopted, and Asuna was appointed as the captain of the guard.

Although she looked dissatisfied, everyone understood that this was Hachiman's strategy to protect her, and they all actively supported it. In the end, Asuna also accepted the arrangement.

----

After the meeting, the members returned to their base to prepare. Hachiman left first, seemingly afraid of being caught by Asuna. Asuna grabbed Kirito, who was left behind, and said with tears in her eyes:

"Please, Kirito-kun, please protect Hachiman-kun's safety on my behalf."

She entrusted the responsibility that she had intended to shoulder personally to Kirito.

"give it to me."

The day of the crusade finally arrived. The crusade team that broke into the headquarters advanced cautiously. When passing through the Cliff Square, they were ambushed and a fierce battle broke out.

"Calm down! The enemy has fewer people than us!"

"Keep in formation and respond!"

The surprise attack caused chaos in the command system, and intelligence was likely leaked in advance. In addition, the enemy had the advantage of terrain, and the battle became a state of each fighting on their own.

Even though they knew it wouldn't hurt, some people still hesitated to cut off others' arms, and this hesitation was exploited to cause casualties; some enemies even jumped off a cliff holding several teammates and died together. Kirito and Hachiman were besieged many times, and both of them had killed several people.

(Although it’s just special effects and lacks realism, it’s still very uncomfortable...)

As the expeditionary force gradually gained the upper hand with their numerical advantage, two familiar figures walked out from the depths.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Hachiman-san~"

Johnny walked towards Hachiman, while Sasa approached Kirito silently.

"I don't want to see you."

"The friendship between us who once fought side by side has become so cold~" Johnny's face looked a little grim, with veins bulging on his scalp. It seemed that he was under a lot of mental pressure.

"Anyway, this is the last time we meet, so just stay with me for a while."

"I'm definitely going to kill you right here!"

Hachiman and Johnny engaged in a fierce battle, while Kirito and Zasa also fought in silence. In this one-on-one duel where no one else could interfere, the outcome was already decided.

Kirito deftly parried the attack and waited for Shasa to use his sword skills, anticipating that she would rely heavily on the short-stun "Linear Thrust," and that proved to be the case.

Kirito deliberately exposed a flaw, and when the opponent thrust for the seventh time, he dodged and moved sideways, using his super reaction speed to cut off his sword-holding arm, and then cut off the other arm to make it lose its combat power. After handing the curled up Shasa to his teammates, Kirito rushed to Hachiman who was still fighting.

"I've seen through your tricks a long time ago!!"

As said, Johnny was unexpectedly tenacious. He was extremely wary of Hachiman's blocking, causing his attack power to drop sharply without him realizing it. At this time, Kirito came over.

"Two, two against one is despicable!"

"Huh? Kirito won't do anything."

"I don't believe that! I saw with my own eyes how many people you killed! You are already murderers just like us!!"

Faced with Johnny's wild laughter, Hachiman changed his mind.

"Hey Kirito, I changed my mind. Let me give you a punch too."

"Really? I've been wanting to beat this guy up for a long time."

"Actually, so am I."

"Huh? What are you talking about..."

In an instant, Hachiman rushed into Johnny's arms and locked his sword-holding arm. Kirito rushed forward at the same time and used the physical sword technique "Flash Strike" to hit the opponent's face. In front of the staggering Johnny, Hachiman added a "Moon Hook", and the two of them cut off his wrists at the same time, completely subduing him.

"Okay, everything else is taken care of, only PoH is left."

However, after a thorough search, no trace of PoH was found.

"That guy can't cause any trouble on his own, so forget it."

"Stay alert."

Until the day SAO was cleared, PoH did not appear again. At this point, the murderous guild [Laughing Coffin] was essentially destroyed.

【Death is not the end, but a new source of infection】

But one day, Hachiman received a coded message like this.

SAO: Chapter 49: Hachiman - The Land of Gentleness is the Hero's Grave

All the surviving members of the Laughing Coffin Guild were sent to prison, and the remaining Raiders had different reactions.

Some people breathed a sigh of relief that the battle was over, some mourned their dead comrades, some angrily cursed the enemy, and some sat on the ground in silence. The atmosphere at the scene was depressing and suffocating.

Even the usually calm Kirito frowned and took the initiative to talk to Hachiman.

"it is finally over."

"Yes."

"How many have you killed?"

Kirito asked with a slightly hoarse voice.

"Four."

"There are four of us too. I heard there are fifteen people in total, and the two of us alone are more than half."

As the biggest contributors to defeating the enemy leaders and ending today's battle, Hachiman and Kirito had to fight more enemies due to their superior strength, resulting in a kill count far exceeding that of other members.

Amidst this gloomy atmosphere, Klein suddenly stood up and shouted, "We did kill people! But at the same time, we also protected innocent people who might be sacrificed in the future! Don't forget this!"

The echoes accumulated layer by layer in the cave, as if the roar had pierced through some membrane.

Hachiman looked at Klein's red eyes and suddenly realized that this man who was always making jokes was now using all his strength to fight against an uncomfortable impulse.

This sentence seems to have brought salvation to the current strategy team. Although it may just be a game of words, it is indeed an indisputable fact.

"Indeed!"

"We protected the people we wanted to protect!"

"Everyone! Lift your heads!"

Everyone seemed to regain some of their spirits, and voices of approval were heard from everywhere. Those who had been sitting on the ground also stood up and began to move out of the cave one by one. When they arrived outside, Asuna ran over with a worried look on her face.

"Great, you're all fine."

"Ah."

"I heard PoH isn't there?"

"He's not on the kill list," Agil said, polishing his heavy axe. The grinding sound of metal was so sharp it made one's teeth ache. "That guy probably planned to use his subordinates as cannon fodder all along."

"Anyway, I can't cause any trouble alone. I just need to stay vigilant and be fine."

At this time, Klein and Agil also joined the team, and the five of them began to walk towards the town. Agil was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry, both of you. This kind of thing should have been handled by us adults, but you ended up having to bear even more..."

Kirito immediately shook his head upon hearing this:

"Agil, don't say that. This was just a coincidence. All decisions are made through collective discussion. Even if it sounds a bit strange coming from me, it's a responsibility we all share. Don't take it to heart." Klein nodded repeatedly.

Hachiman j〒i*〓u"零膘死陸"棋覇(二) VIII remained silent, which was not unusual, but at the moment he was obviously absent-minded. He remembered the dying look of the red-named player just now - it was not fear or resentment, but a kind of creepy pleasure.

"Hachiman-kun...?"

"Ah? W-what happened?"

"Nothing... Everyone else has a depressed expression, only you seem..."

"Do we look depressed?"

"Well, Mr. Klein's forced smile was too obvious. Mr. Agil, who doesn't show his emotions due to business habits, had a stiff face. And Kirito-kun...it was like he had the word 'depressed' written on his back?" Asuna listed everyone's reactions one by one.

The three people who heard this were stunned:

"I always feel like..."

"Asuna recently..."

"Have you been led astray by Hachiman!?"

"Hey, you guys, do you think I'm the source of infection?"

As if awakened by these words, Hachiman suddenly complained, and Asuna hurriedly apologized:

"I'm sorry! I was so worried just now, but seeing everyone's faces, I suddenly felt so relieved that I couldn't help but..."

"Hey Asuna, that's not exactly comforting."

Watching the interaction between the two, the five people finally smiled.

"I've truly been saved by you."

"Indeed, I feel relieved to see you."

"After all, Hachiman never wavers."

Asuna's expression suddenly darkened upon hearing this.

"Because I wasn't there, I can imagine how horrible things everyone went through, but I can't truly understand that pain, so I can only pretend to be cheerful."

"That's good!" the three of them said in unison, "No one wants to see Asuna sad!"

“Thanks to you we can cheer up!”

"Ms. Asuna's smile is our motivation!"

"Um... Sorry, thank you everyone..."

Asuna bowed to the three of them in thanks.

"What should we do next? How about going to eat?"

"Okay, where's Hachiman?"

Faced with the question, Hachiman fell silent again, that absent-minded feeling reappearing.

"Hachiman...kun?"

Asuna gently shook his arm.