Aincrad, Floor 48.
Ever since Asuna left, Akasaka had been following behind her, silently keeping his distance and not getting too close.
What Akasaka was thinking now was how to deal with this matter.
Asuna clearly had a psychological problem—something like a mental block. Right now, even drawing her sword to kill a rabbit was difficult for her.
As Akasaka walked along, he accidentally bumped into Asuna, who had stopped ahead of him.
He ran into her back.
Asuna turned around helplessly and asked Akasaka, "What are you thinking about?"
Akasaka said, "Nothing. I just got a little distracted."
Akasaka waved his hand, indicating that Asuna did not need to mind it.
How could Asuna not mind?
This guy had been following her the whole time. After a while, she was starting to feel a little guilty...
He had clearly confirmed his relationship with Mizusumi, yet instead of properly spending time with her, he was following Asuna around. What was that supposed to be?
Aincrad, Floor 55.
The Knights of the Blood.
Heathcliff—Kayaba Akihiko—was currently sitting in his office.
As for that thing Akasaka had cut off last time... Kayaba Akihiko had already restored it using system privileges.
Restoring it was one thing, but the pain had been real... something Kayaba Akihiko would never forget for the rest of his life.
Kayaba Akihiko sighed, leaned back, and reclined in his chair.
He was troubled by something right now.
Ever since Laughing Coffin's members had ambushed Akasaka last time and gotten a taste of success, they had become increasingly unrestrained. Now, they had even set their sights on members of the Knights of the Blood.
Whenever the Knights of the Blood emerged from the boss room after defeating a boss, those people would jump out to cause trouble and attack the