Seeing that the boss's health was bottoming out, the people around all sensed the light of victory.
"Everyone, fall back. From here on, leave it to me!!" Excitement flashed in Diavel's eyes as he roared at this moment!
"Oh!" The group was still very confident in Diavel; after all, under his leadership, not a single person had died yet.
Meanwhile, Kirito had already dealt with the second wave of spawned guards. Hearing Diavel's words, he couldn't help but look toward the boss.
"It should be fine now." Kirito breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the boss place its hand behind its back, likely reaching for that scimitar...
"What!" Kirito's pupils constricted sharply. That was a Tachi. "Look out!!" Kirito shouted at that moment.
However, Diavel had already charged in. Although he heard Kirito's warning, he didn't pay it any mind, as he viewed Kirito as someone who might steal the boss's last hit from him.
"Now I just need to dodge the boss's scimitar!" Diavel knew this, but perhaps greed had clouded his judgment, as he still hadn't noticed anything wrong, even though that Tachi was quite conspicuous.
When the boss drew the Tachi, Diavel's eyes were filled with horror; at that moment, he had completely forgotten what to do.
In fact, when the boss swung its blade, Diavel even forgot to raise his own sword to block.
"Bang!!" Diavel was sent flying by the boss's horizontal strike, unable to offer any resistance.
"Captain!!" Those around him also realized something was wrong and began to block the boss's path, but without anyone leading them, they were completely disorganized and could only struggle to hold their ground.
"So, what he said was true." Diavel closed his eyes, recalling Kirito's warning. Why hadn't he paid attention? Was it because of his own greed?
"Are you okay!" Kirito ran over at this moment, pulled out a red potion, and tried to feed it to Diavel.
"Don't bother." Diavel refused Kirito's kindness. "This is the fate I deserve. Besides, you know this is a fatal wound; even if I drink the potion, it will only delay the end, so don't waste it."
Finally, he took a deep look at Kirito and said with a hint of regret, "It was all caused by greed. From here on out... I'll leave it to you."
As he said this, Diavel's health bar, which had been sliding down, hit the bottom, and finally, his entire body shattered into fragments of light.
Kirito hung his head, his expression hidden.
Asuna and Kaede stood nearby. Asuna looked like she couldn't quite accept it, while Kaede felt a bit bored—if he's dead, he's dead.
"Ah!!" Suddenly, Kirito roared, then widened his eyes and charged toward the boss.
Kaede and Asuna followed Kirito.
Ignoring the people around him, Kirito rushed straight to the front of the boss and slashed several times in succession.
Then, just as the boss was about to counterattack, he suddenly backed away and shouted, "Switch!"
There was no verbal response, but Kaede and Asuna simultaneously charged the boss from the left and right. Before the boss could retract its empty swing, they each stabbed and slashed the boss several times.
Afterward, they retreated before the boss could recover.
Although this was the first time they had used such a combination, their coordination was extremely tacit.
At this moment, Kirito's ultimate move was already prepared.
As Kaede and Asuna retreated, Kirito charged out once again.
With flashing sword light, Kirito, fueled by rage, fiercely struck the boss with his ultimate move.
"Die!" "Roar!!" The dog-headed boss let out an unwilling roar, trying to swing the Tachi in its hand toward Kirito, but the next moment, it turned into points of starlight and dissipated.
"So, that wasn't a scimitar after all, was it?" Kaede asked, looking at Kirito.
Kirito, panting heavily, was suddenly stunned. Remembering Kaede's abnormal observational skills, he turned his head and stared fixedly at Kaede. "You... had already noticed?"
"Mm." Kaede nodded naturally.
"Then why didn't you say anything sooner?" Kirito looked at Kaede, suppressing the anger surging within him.
"Why would I need to say anything?" Kaede tilted her head, looking a bit confused.
"That was a human life!!" Kirito shouted dryly.
"And what does that have to do with me?" As soon as Kaede finished speaking, she sensed something was wrong.
Kirito's eyes were filled with rage, and the people around were looking at her with fear. A chill couldn't help but rise in her heart.
Kaede looked at them, not quite understanding why. But Kaede didn't care much about them; what did their expressions have to do with her? Subconsciously, Kaede stepped back, wanting to grasp the gentle hand that had always brought her warmth.
However, Kaede's hand grasped at empty air. Kaede turned around, puzzled, and then her heart suddenly stopped beating.
She saw Asuna looking at Kaede with an expression of disbelief and a hint of fear. Why didn't she say anything? That... was a human life!!
Kaede opened her mouth, then dropped her sword, wanting to reach for Asuna's small hand again, but Asuna dodged it once more—subconsciously dodging it.
"Why? Big sister?" Kaede looked at Asuna, the sparkle in her eyes slowly dimming.
Asuna also opened her mouth, but didn't know how to answer.
Kaede's last shred of hope was shattered by Asuna's silence. She picked up her sword and ran out without looking back, and not a single person dared to stand in her way.
"I didn't expect her to be that kind of person!!" The people around only began to whisper after Kaede had left.
"Shut up!" At this moment, listening to others' discussions, Asuna became furious and roared in a tone completely different from her usual self, "What do you know! She's still just a child!"
Suddenly, Asuna froze. That's right, she had long understood that Kaede was like a child, but at this very moment, what on earth had she done!!
She was supposed to be the person who understood Kaede best, yet in the end, she had ruthlessly stabbed a knife into Kaede's heart. Recalling the change in Kaede's expression, Asuna realized that the expressions of everyone else had no effect on her, but her own subconscious dodge had shattered Kaede's fragile, child-like heart.
"Kaede!" She couldn't forgive herself; she absolutely couldn't forgive herself. What on earth had she done! Filled with guilt, Asuna chased after her.
"A child?" Kirito was also stunned. He recalled their recent time together. If Asuna hadn't pointed it out, he wouldn't have noticed, but now that he thought about it, Kaede's behavior really was like that. Then, his anger toward Kaede slowly dissipated. Now, he only hoped that Asuna could successfully find Kaede. Even though they had only spent a short time together, Kirito could see Kaede's reliance on Asuna. As long as she could be found, everything would be resolved.
However, Kirito didn't expect that, in the next moment, right in this boss room, a campaign of criticism against him began to be raised by someone.
"Kaede!" Asuna searched anxiously everywhere—the labyrinth area, the small town, the wilderness—she even nearly fainted from hunger again.
"Kaede! Come out! Big sister will never be like that again!" Finally unable to hold it in, Asuna shed tears.
"It's all my fault." Asuna knew that no matter how others viewed Kaede, Kaede wouldn't care. Kaede's personality was such that she wouldn't care about the opinions of those she didn't care about, but that didn't include Asuna. Asuna clearly felt Kaede's reliance on her; although she called her "big sister," she had always regarded her as a mother-like presence, and this time, she had heartlessly hurt her! It was unforgivable.
"Kaede." Asuna knelt on the ground. What on earth should she do?
Suddenly, Asuna seemed to think of something, wiped away her tears, and dashed rapidly toward the city area.
But in reality, Kaede's situation was even more serious than Asuna imagined, because she was the first person Kaede had relied on, and she was viewed as a mother. Asuna was the first person to bring light into Kaede's life.
However, if you cannot give the entire light to someone who has always lived in darkness, then do not leave even a glimmer of light; otherwise, it will inevitably bring deeper pain and despair!
Curled up in a corner, Kaede tilted her head and looked at the cold moon, tears constantly sliding down the corners of her eyes. "Why? Big sister?" "What did I do wrong? Why did she look at me like that? Why did she dodge? Big sister!"
Kaede's eyes, which had slowly begun to regain their luster, now became dead and silent again, just like when she used to hide in a corner in the past, witnessing a scene without a hero saving the beauty, and the hollow, dead gaze she had when the male lead would beat her up when he was unhappy.
Resistance? It didn't exist, because that person would slowly lose interest in beating her, and then she could at least survive. No one would worry about her, and in the end, she would be dragged away like trash and buried in an unknown place.
Kaede looked at the cold moonlight, constantly thinking about what she had done wrong. But she couldn't think of anything; that person's death really had nothing to do with her!
"Sure enough... was it the expressions of those people that influenced big sister? Was it those people!" A gray aura slowly began to shroud Kaede's eyes.
"Sure enough, those people should all die. Killing those people would be enough, that would be fine." "Big sister... will come back, right!" "As long as... I kill those people!!"
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