CH 34 - Traitor's Lament

"How is she?" I asked Yui.

"...Onee-chan will be fine, but...please keep a close eye on her." She replied.

I nodded. "I will."

She smiled. "I know that I didn't need to say it, but I think that you'll agree with me when I say that it bears saying."

I smiled back at her for a moment before my eyes wandered to Silica. "You're absolutely right."

Silica looked at me and smiled back.

It was a bit of time after Silica went to speak with Yui. At first, they spoke privately, but Yui motioned for me to come. Kirito and Asuna were at the corner, resting.

"How about you? How are you holding up, Onii-chan?" Yui asked me.

"I'm doing fine."

"...even after…?" She trailed off. It was clear as to what she was implying.

"...yeah, more or less…" I shrugged trailed off. Silica glanced wistfully at me.

"Both of you...I'm sorry that I couldn't be of more help."

"It's fine, Yui. You're not a part of the system anymore, and It's not right for us to think that you can solve anything and everything."

A momentary pause, then she stared intently at me. "Is that why you've been training Onee-chan to not rely on you?" She asked.

I tilted my head, a bit surprised at her statement. Her tone didn't contain even a hint of accusation, but I could tell that she wanted an answer.

"Yui-chan, that's…" Silica muttered.

"Please, Onee-chan. I just need to say my piece." Yui said to her before she looked back at me. "I know that she would be - in an objective sense - 'better' if she became more independent. But it doesn't take a counsellor to know that she is most at ease when she is with you, with also the opposite being true."

I sighed and looked to the side, contemplating what I had to say. "...there is a chance that I would either die or that our feelings for each other would disappear." I turned to Silica. "If that happens - hell, even if it doesn't happen - I want you to be able to take care of yourself. For me, being wanted means so much more than being needed. I want you to stand by my side not because I make a good crutch, but because you want to be there."

"Riwet…" "Onii-chan…" They both muttered.

I felt my face heat up, and I instinctively looked away. "Second point is that even though I...l-love Silica a lot, I need my time to be alone just to relax and gather my bearings. I don't want our relationship to devolve into obsessing over each other until we grow tired of each other." I sighed. "Right...not really good with these kinds of talks, so yeah...I think I've said my piece..."

Silica came closer and took my hand. She looked up at me and let out a smile - one that reminded me of a vibrant summer morning. "...Riwet...thank-" She started to say, but a sphere of light emanated near the Transport Console, cutting her off.

After a split second of being startled, I realized that someone was warping in and I very quickly drew Caerulus out. The others also prepared themselves. The sphere of light dissipated and revealed a hooded player.

He looked around a bit before he faced me. "So you survived." He said in English.

Excello.

"...thanks to you, I guess." I replied. In any other case, I would've rushed him and beat him to the ground, but I don't know what he was playing at.

"Don't mention it, buddy. It's more fun this way."

"..."

"...Heh. Sizing me up before trying to bum-rush me? Don't worry. I won't bite."

I frowned. "If you're going to keep talking, you probably should let the others in on the conversation." I said in Japanese.

Excello shrugged. "As you wish." He replied in Japanese. His head swivelled slightly and caught Yui, who was hiding from behind me. "Hi."

"...!" Yui quickly hid, but she slowly peeked her head back. I pushed Yui behind me a bit.

"How did you get here?" Kirito took a step forward and asked. "Are there any more of you coming?"

"I have my ways, and they're not available for the others. And as far as I'm concerned, there's nobody quite like me."

"Alright then. Why are you here?"

"I was interested in what you guys are doing." Excello stretched his limbs. "Now that I'm an ex-member of Laughing Coffin, I've got tons of free time. You know, it's kinda funny how much people trust you just because you acted nice."

I know that feeling. "So what happens next?" I asked.

He looked back at me. "How 'bout we spar till one of is under half health?"

"We don't have to deal with your games. What's stopping us from dealing with you, right here, right now?" Asuna asked.

"A couple of things. First," He pointed to Kirito, "Hero-san here is gonna listen to what I have to say. I did save all your asses. Secondly," His hand went into his pocket, "If I die, this dies with me." He held his hand out and showed us a Chromacite Fragment. Finally, his attention turned back to me. "Lastly, I can probably take two people with me, so you're gonna have to choose."

I had to stop myself from scowling. I don't know where the hell he got all of this information about me, and it was starting to piss me off. "Alright. I'll play your game." I said to him.

"Wonderful." He sent me an invite to a Duel (Half-Loss Rule) and I accepted. A 60-second timer began counting down. A duel until another person reaches half health, eh?

I took this chance to observe my opponent. Excello took off his cloak. His chest and joints were covered by plain black leather armor, and he wore gray clothing under it. Overall, I had more defense compared to him since I had bits of steel included in my armor, but he could move more freely and was more efficient in stealth.

His face was covered by a pair of goggles and a black cloth mask and his hair was neatly combed from left to right. "Like what you see?" He sneered at me as he drew out his purple battleaxe and held it on his left hand.

"..." I said nothing and silently prepared myself for the duel.

The atmosphere turned tense, and all eyes were trained on the two of us. Within under a minute, I could tell that this murderer was different from the rank and file bags of meat that I could kill by the dozen. I couldn't quite put it into words, but there was something about the way he carried himself.

This guy meant business.

The timer counted down to zero, and the duel began.

I crouched slightly and slowly crept forward. Excello just stood there. As soon as I was a bit closer to him, I darted forward and made a quick lunge. Excello shifted to the side and brought his weapon up.

We exchanged a series of blows, with him dealing a bit more damage. His attacks were simple but effective, and his defense was on point. His leather armor was also good at absorbing damage - it was likely crafted with high-level materials.

As expected - his knowledge extended to my playstyle. Much more than that, I got the feeling that he was proficient in dealing with a lefty, while this was my first time dealing with a left-handed polearm user like me.

However, I didn't come this far away by only relying on one fighting style.

Time to mix it up.

I let out a sharp breath and lashed out with a reckless blow. While it resulted in one of his attacks nicking me in the shoulder, I wound my right back and slammed my elbow into the side of his torso.

It was a solid hit. Excello jumped back and clutched his side. "Nice shot." He said.

I clutched my left shoulder and grinned back, not saying anything. We continued to fight. This time, I was mixing up my usual attacks with feints and reckless blows. I was also slowly taking hold of his tendencies and using those to my advantage.

Despite myself, I was having fun with our duel. Such a shame, considering that he was a murderous bag of meat.

Eventually, I broke his defense with a well-timed feint, and I quickly drew my knife and hit him clean in the chest with a Twin Assault, depleting his HP to under half and ending the duel. A chime rang, and a "Congratulations" sign was displayed in front of me.

"Congratulations. As expected from the Cobalt."

"...I know for sure that I haven't met you before, but I felt like you read me like an open book."

"Well, you're not quite wrong. Regardless, you alleviated me of boredom, so here's your reward." Excello said before he looked at Yui and opened a trading window. "Heads up, young lady. Map data coming at you."

"What are you giving her?" Asuna asked.

"Your little blond-haired traitor's chilling there. I suggest fishing her out before the LC get bored of her." He turned back to me. "As for you, I'm sure that you've got a question that you want to be answered. Ask away."

"...you know things about me. My fighting style, my name...and my gut tells me that you know more. Much more...how?"

"Oh, that's simple." Excello reached up and took off his mask and goggles.

A small, square face. Round eyes and a flat nose.

It was, without a doubt, me. My face stared back at me. However, his skin was pale and he had striking purple-colored eyes that matched his axe.

"Like what you see?" His lips twisted into a lopsided grin.

I took a step back. "...what?..."

"I know. All geared up for Haloween, right?"

"..." I couldn't find the words to speak.

"Could it be...are you Riwet-kun's...Hollow?" Asuna asked.

"Th-that's impossible!" Yui shouted. "You should have been frozen and relocated away until Onii-chan had left!"

"Heh." Excello chuckled. "I've been in this place for quite a long time now. Let's just say that I accidentally wandered into somewhere I wasn't supposed to and pushed a couple of buttons."

I took a step forward. "...so, what's your deal? Kill me, and take my place?"

He tilted his head and frowned. "Hmm...that's a likely option. I haven't really thought that far ahead. I was pretty bored ever since I came here, and killing red players from the inside and getting away with it got stale after a while. Regardless of that, you have bigger things to worry about."

"What?"

"I'll let you figure it out before I deal with you."

Silica stepped forward. "With us, you mean."

Excello shrugged and let out a hearty chuckle. "Heh heh heh...I'm only interested in him, but hey - it's your funeral." He put his mask and goggles back. "That's all for now. See ya." He snapped his fingers and a sphere of light covered him as if he used a Teleport Crystal. A few seconds later, and he was gone.

From beside me, Silica let out a sigh. I turned to her. "You all right?" I asked.

"Yes…" She replied, but she sounded deep in thought.

"Silica?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

I nodded back and turned to Yui. "What did he give you? Map data?"

Yui nodded. "...I had been trying to triangulate Philia's location for a while. Comparing that to what I just got from the Hollow named Excello, I am 85.19% sure that Excello-san's data pertains to Philia-san's location, and that's only at first glance. In addition to that, while I did not sense any deceit in him, I found some tendencies showing that he was obscuring further information."

"The classic half-truth…" I turned to the others. "So, what's our plan?"

Asuna chimed in. "We might as well check the location out. I don't completely trust Excello's words, but I don't think he's lying when he says that we have more things to worry about. Let's hurry. I'm afraid to think of what that would entail."

We all nodded back. "Mama, please share this with everyone." Yui opened her Player Menu and shared the map data to Asuna, who in turn shared it to all of us. "Please be careful out there."

"We will. Don't overwork yourself, Yui-chan."

***
Loading...Complete
Changing Perspective: Third Person
***

After a few minutes of prep work, the group headed out and went to the specified location. The journey there was quiet and tense, and it was not because of external circumstances.

For as far as the two girls knew, Riwet and Kirito were close friends. They may have had differences, but they were quick to compromise. This was different. This time, there seemed to have a sort of moral divide amongst them, and neither one was not quite ready to back down.

Asuna wanted to intervene, but she felt that it would be better if the two of them would talk this out themselves.

Silica counted this as strike one. She knew that Riwet had a point, but he was being difficult. Many times he told her that he didn't have many friends and that he wanted to treasure the few friends he had. Well, if kept this up, he might find himself losing a friend and Silica might have to drag him by the ear and force him to apologize.

Regardless of what they felt, they had a job to do. "So, since we're not in the mood for small talk, why don't we discuss our current predicament?" Asuna said.

"Okay!" Silica nodded. Beside her, Riwet nodded silently.

"Sure." Kirito said. "What do we actually know about why Philia?"

"Hmm…" Asuna took a moment to ponder. "We have two assumptions. First is that she was tricked in some way. Based on what she said

"...and the...second…?" Silica asked quietly.

"...willing accomplice…" Asuna muttered before she shook her head.

"...regardless of that, we at least need to neutralize her." Riwet spoke up. "Isolate her, and then confront her and ask what the hell happened. If it's our first assumption, it'll be as easy as asking her to stand down. If it's our second assumption...then we'll have to be a bit more forceful."

The group went silent after that. Asuna looked down and sighed, accepting the slight chance that she might have to hurt her new friend. Kirito looked away and tried to think of an alternative plan that didn't involve violence. Silica frowned, frustrated that she was unable to contribute meaningfully to the discussion. She looked at Riwet, and while he was quieter than usual, she couldn't read much more from his expression.

Eventually, they came upon a hill and reached the top.

"That's the place." Kirito nodded to the horizon. Far away from the four of them stood a fort, built on the side of a coast. The surrounding area was flat and plain, and surrounded by forests. "Right. The forest's a little dense in some areas, so we should plan our route around them to avoid any possible lookouts. Also, we don't know how many Hollows are in there…thoughts?"

Asuna nodded and tilted her head down. "...I think I've got an idea…"

"Alright. Let's hear it."

***
Loading...Complete
***

In a room deep inside a dungeon, two individuals stood. "..." In a corner was Philia, glaring anxiously at a red player.

"Well done, Philia." The red player said. He wore a hooded cloak marked with a red reverse cross. From under the hood, Philia noticed that the player wore a skeletal mask with a glowing red eyepiece. "With your help, our plan will be

"If that's the case, then let me go already! You promised you'd release me once you'd done what you needed to do. I have to see if they're okay…" Philia replied.

The red player looked at her for a moment before he started chuckling. "Well, you did perform what was asked of you. In fact, they should be drowning in poison right now…"

Philia's eyes widened. "What..? What did you just say?!" She demanded.

"...I didn't stutter, did I?"

"But this...this is different from what PoH said! You said you wouldn't kill Kirito!"

"...How much of an idiot can you be? Did you really think that it would end without them dying?"

"Gh!" Philia gritted her teeth and glared at the murderer. She took a sharp breath and rushed to the door.

"You're not going anywhere." With blinding speed, the red player shoved her back.

"Guha!" Philia was knocked to the ground.

"...You've been a big help. Thanks to you, there's no one who can stand in our way anymore."

Philia slowly picked herself up. "What…?"

"... as we said earlier, if SAO had been cleared, the Hollows would have disappeared. Thanks to you dealing with them, we can keep killing forever. On behalf of PoH, we extend our sincere thanks to your efforts."

"Killing forever…? I don't understand…"

"This is the life that we chose. When we ordered you to trap them, we chose a world of eternal bloodshed. And you complied obediently."

"No….no! That's not…!"

"I now formally welcome you to our guild. And I have to say, you make a better killer than half of the guild. "

Philia fell on her knees and hung her head down. "No...I...I haven't killed anyone…" She muttered in disbelief. "...All I wanted was to be with them...with my friends…"

"I had hoped for a more positive answer." The red player sighed. "As you wish. Join them in death." He drew his weapon out - an estoc that glittered with a vivid crimson.

Philia absently closed her eyes. She had killed herself and had killed her friends. She deserved to die like a dog.

Suddenly, a ringing sound permeated the room. Philia opened her eyes and saw the red player dodging to the side and looking at a person that just entered the room.

There, holding a one-handed polearm on his left hand, was Riwet.

"You...Riwet...the Cobalt…" XaXa snarled.

"...XaXa, PoH's second most favourite lapdog." Riwet replied. "Oh, right. Since we took care of Johnny Black, you're the first now. Congratulations."

The red player growled and charged Riwet with a flurry of stabs. Riwet took a defensive stance, but he was only able to block and avoid less than half of the strikes. The glaive wielder retaliated with a string of attacks of his own but was only able to graze XaXa's side.

The battle dragged on, and it was clear that Riwet was outmatched in terms of speed. Every attack made by Riwet, the red player dodged and counterattack. XaXa was an expert in dealing with players, and it showed. It got bad enough that the murderer was making a show out of it.

However, Philia could not shake the feeling that it was what Riwet had wanted.

XaXa parried a slash from Riwet, throwing him off his footing. Relishing in the taste of victory that he was about to get, XaXa let out a chuckle as he thrust his weapon forward.

Riwet's response was a malicious grin. He instantly regained his footing and let go of his glaive. He reached up with his hands and caught the estoc, and since the estoc's edges weren't bladed, he grasped tight and yanked it out of the murderer's hand.

"Imposs-" XaXa started to say, but he was interrupted as Riwet wound his arms band slammed the estoc's pomme right into XaXa's head. The red player reeled back, stunned. Taking his opening, Riwet let go of the rapier, grabbed him by the shoulder, and slammed his foot into the murderer's knee.

For a split second, Xaxa's knee was brutally bent over the other way around before it was completely torn from his body. After this, Riwet stabbed him in his center, pinning him to the wall.

"Haah…" Riwet let out a satisfied sigh. "Finally got you. If you stopped playing with your food, then this wouldn't have happened."

"..." XaXa was silent, his masked face peering at Riwet.

"You look like you wanna say something. Go on, then. Nobody's stopping you."

"...you enjoy all of it, don't you? All the fighting? The killing?... You're a murderer, just like me."

"...Indeed I am. So?"

"...don't you see? We, the Laughing Coffin, want a world of endless conflict. Endless bloodshed. Doesn't it sound-?"

"Kinda boring." Riwet cut him off. "A couple of things. See, my first point is that we're not quite different….except that while you like killing innocent people...I like killing people like you...and also just fighting in general. No need for lethal implications. Also, I'm not a psychopath, and I don't like killing innocent people. So yeah, not really that similar, either. It brings me no joy to kill an innocent person, but it warms my heart to know that when I slit your throat, there's one less bag of meat in SAO. The second point is - too much of anything will leave you bored. I can only kill so many of you in a given time before I get sick of it, so a world of bloodshed sounds less like a pastime and more of a chore, don't you think?"

"You-" XaXa started to say something, but Riwet silenced him with a punch to the face.

"It was rhetorical, so you don't have to answer. I've heard enough from you, anyways." Riwet said in an inconvenienced tone. "You know, the good bit about enjoying killing is that while other people see good in everybody and gamble their lives in sparing someone like you, I know when to decide that enough is enough, and you and your original have pushed your luck for far too long." Riwet straightened his hand and prepared to activate Embracer.

However, before he could do that, the red player spoke up once again "...you have no place among them." He said in a mocking tone. "Your so-called 'friends'...you fight for them...you bleed for them...you dirty your hands for them...and yet...even though they benefit from it...they feel disgusted at your methods...at you...and they shun you away…"

The seemed to affect Riwet. His detached demeanor gave way to seething fury, and Philia could tell it even though his back was to her. Riwet looked down, recomposed himself, and chuckled. "I admit that you have a point that's worth reflecting on, and it's almost like you're speaking from experience. " He looked up at XaXa. "However, there are two things...one is that I live for myself first and foremost. Second point - There's nobody out there who accepts everything you are and everything you do, and if there is, we probably don't deserve them. That, or they're just enabling us for their own reasons. Real friends disagree with each other's methods, but stick with each other all the same." Riwet activated Embracer and thrust his left hand out, piercing upward from the bottom of XaXa's jaw. "As I said - I've heard enough. You and your whole guild can go fuck yourselves."

With that, XaXa unceremoniously disintegrated.

"That's done." Riwet exhaled and turned to Philia. "Now, where were we?"

A flash of blue, and then Philia found herself pinned on the wall. Her body was lifted up and her legs dangled from under her.

Riwet looked at her with an indifferent expression. His left hand was wrapped around her neck, and yet, he was not choking her. "Anything you wanna say for yourself?" He asked.

Philia instinctively swallowed. The tone in his voice was flat - friendly, even - but it carried an undertone of seething hatred. She no longer felt numb.

She felt terrified.

"The...others…?" Philia asked weakly.

"Alive and well...no thanks to you." Riwet said before he elaborated on what he and the others had just been through. "Now, anything you wanna say for yourself?"

"I...I didn't know-" She started to say, but she was interrupted by Riwet's hand suddenly tightening around her neck.

"An argument can be made that you should have known." He replied in a calm voice and loosened his grip once again. "I mean, what would you expect from dealing with murderers?"

"I...I'm sorr-" She was interrupted by Riwet suddenly dropping her. She hit the ground with a thud. "Gh!...haah...haah…" She laid there, breathing heavily.

Riwet crouched above her. "Save your apology. We get out of his shithole and meet with the others, then, and only then should you apologize to those you hurt. And you're not enough of an ungrateful bastard to betray them again, are you?"

"...no…"

"Then we are in accord." Riwet reached his hand out.

For a moment, Philia was tempted to slap his hand away. She stifled the impulse and just picked herself up without any help from him.

Riwet shrugged and retracted his hand. "Before I forget…" He sent a party invite to Philia. She accepted and noticed that Asuna was in the party. "Now, we can regroup. I'll lead the way, but don't get any funny ideas." He said. Philia nodded and they went to the door.

They exited to the hallway and slowly made their way toward the exit. "...what happened? Why are you not with the others?" Philia asked.

"…half an hour ago, we arrived on the outskirts of this place..."

***
Start Flashback
***

"So, what's the plan, Asuna?" Kirito asked.

Asuna looked at us, "...we do this subtle. We sneak through and make us as discreet as possible. We should split up in pairs so we have a backup. I'm usually not much of a fan of splitting the party, but considering what just happened to us..."

"Hmm...I think it's a good idea. I vote yes. Split into pairs?"

"That's right. The first team will infiltrate and find, isolate, and confront Philia. The second team will hang back and go in after a set amount of time."

"Okay. Who's going to be in the team that goes in, and who's going to be the backup?"

"I should probably go in." Riwet stepped up. "My stealth capability is around average, but I've no qualms about dealing with people I can't sneak by."

Asuna gave him a keen glance. "And what happens if you find Philia?"

"...I made my promise."

Kirito stepped in. "I'll go with you."

Asuna looked unsure. "No, it's my plan. I can't risk your safety."

"Asuna…" Kirito walked closer and pulled her aside.

While the two were talking, Riwet scooted over to Silica. "I'm sorry. I don't want you to go with me. Do you want to?"

Silica took a moment to ponder his words. It was frustrating, but it didn't take long for her to concede that in this specific situation, she would fare better on standby. She looked up and shook her head. "I'll be the backup."

"Thanks." He said as he gave her a pat on the head.

"We've made our decision." Asuna said as she stepped forward. "I will come with you." Kirito was beside her, not happy with the decision.

"Alright." Riwet nodded back. "So all that's left is our path towards there…"

Asuna scanned the area. Her lips curved into a slight smile as she found a suitable route. She turned to them and showed it on the map. "I think this will work. Do you agree?" The others nodded. "Alright. Let's get a move on."

***
End Flashback
***

"And that's that." Riwet concluded. "While we were inside, we split off to cover more ground."

"I see." Philia muttered. "Are they mad at me…?"

Riwet looked like he was about to answer, but he suddenly stopped and motioned Philia to keep quiet as he pointed to the end of the hallway. Philia focused, and she could hear footsteps emanating in the distance. Fortunately, there was a room to the side, so the two of them went in and hid near the doorway.

Philia felt her breath quicken. Coming here and allying herself with a guild filled with murderers was a mistake, and regardless of how he felt about Riwet, she was safer with him. She wanted out of place, and if they were discovered….

Riwet seemed to catch on to her state, and he took a moment to give her a silent look. His expression was less of a calming glance and more of a promise to inflict pain to those who would try to hurt her. It was, in its own, twisted way, comforting.

The guards continued on their way. As they were walking, one of the red players turned to the other. "So what do you think about the blond girl? Got a cute butt, and dumb as a bag of fucking rocks. Totally my kind of girl."

Philia gritted her teeth, her face red with anger and embarrassment. Riwet once again turned to her and gave her a look, asking for nothing but her word.

She was sorely tempted, but she shook her head. She had hurt enough people already, and all she wanted to do was to get out of here.

The red players slowly walked by, making small talk along the way. And despite more lascivious comments about her were being made, Philia suppressed the urge and just cursed under her breath.

However, once they were a bit far away, one of the red players chuckled. "Well, it's a shame that Johnny Black and the guys up top had their way with the others first."

"Yeah. You were eyeing those two girls pretty hard, you know."

"Heh. Of course, I did. Both of them are famous, you know. And what are the odds that they'll just be there, ripe for the picking."

All of a sudden, Philia felt a chill run up her spine. She stared at Riwet. His face subtly twisted into a dark scowl.

"I hear ya. Too bad that they're probably the top dog's plaything now."

"Yeah, I would've loved to just grab them by the hair and - Hg!" He never got to finish his sentence as Riwet dove out from his hiding place and threw a poisoned dagger at him. The knife hit the murderer's back and he fell face-down, paralyzed.

"Hey, wha-" His buddy only had a moment to react before he was impaled, raised up, and slammed to the ground. Riwet then drew out his dagger, held it both hands in a reverse grip, and impaled the player with it, this time in the face.

Once he confirmed that the red player was dead, the glaive wielder promptly retrieved his weapons and turned to the other player who was lying on the ground. With a fluid motion, he retrieved his poisoned weapon with his right hand while plunging his glaive into the back of the red player's head.

Simple and efficient, but so very terrifying.

"Would've preferred killing them slowly and painfully, but that'll take some time." Riwet snorted and sheathed his weapons.

Philia could only nod. She had thought she saw the extent of his fury back when his arm was around her neck, but she was mistaken.

Riwet sighed. "We're done here, let's go-"

Suddenly, a hooded figure approached Philia from behind. She impulsively turned around, fear clutching her heart.

The figure pulled their back and revealed their face. It was Asuna. "Philia…" She muttered.

"Asuna…"

Asuna darted forward and hugged her. "Thank goodness that you're alright..."

"...I...I…." Philia all but broke down in Asuna's arms. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry…" was the only words that came out of her mouth.

"It's okay...it's okay…" Asuna slowly patted her back to calm her down.

A short distance away from them, Riwet waited patiently and kept track of the surrounding area.

The two broke away after a few moments. "What took you so long?" Riwet asked. "I was starting to get worried."

"I had to hide and sneak around a couple of them."

"Well...it's two...three less now. Stick around with Philia. I'll scout ahead."

"Right. Be careful."

"Roger that."

The three of them continued on, with Riwet a few distance ahead.

Asuna came closer to Philia "He hurt you, didn't he?" She whispered.

"...I deserved it. And even then, it's not nearly enough compared to what I did to you." Philia replied and looked away.

Asuna grasped her shoulder. "Don't say that...you were fooled by them. They poked at your uncertainties, made you believe things, didn't they?"

Philia froze for a second before she shook her head. "But I was still fooled. By a red player, no less...I'm sorry, Asuna...I really am…"

"We have so much more to talk about, but know this. I forgive you, Philia. We all do. And even if it'll take Riwet-kun a little while, I know that he'll forgive you. Okay?"

"...thank you…"

Asuna nodded. "Right. So, cheer up, and let's get out of here." She shared her map data to Philia. It highlighted the path that they were going to take, and it led to the side of the dungeon.

Riwet took point, guiding the group on the path while scouting for enemies. Their progress was slow and steady. At one point, Philia slipped up and made noise, attracting a red player, but Riwet was able to create another noise and successfully threw the murderer off their way.

They were three quarters there. Riwet had switched roles from leading them to making sure that they are not being followed. Asuna and Philia ran forward and scouted the area before they signaled Riwet to follow.

After that, they continued on their way, when they eventually arrived at the side of the dungeon. It turned out that there was a crack at the side of the dungeon wall, just big enough for an average-sized player to squeeze through.

Eventually, they reunited with the others. Riwet slowly distanced himself from Philia and approached Silica. "I'm back."

Silica replied with a smile. "Welcome back."

Asuna approached Kirito. "Mission accomplished."

"Good." He replied before his eyes wandered over to Philia. "You have a lot of explaining to do, but let's worry about that later after we get a short rest."

***
Loading...Complete
Changing Perspective: Riwet
***

It had been half an hour after we got back. Yui consulted Philia and advised her to rest. We were just decompressing on what had just happened. God, this was a damn long day. Honestly, that could've gone better, but I can't complain. I cut it close that one time, but I've faced worse.

...huh...funny..., I really didn't feel anything when I killed him as well as the two fuckfaces who ran their mouth at the worst fucking time. I really got used to it, huh?

Well, I guess it's time to think about the trite bullshit that the murderer spouted out, as well as how Excello fits in with all of this.

…

I sensed someone approach me from behind. I turned around and was greeted by Philia. "Riwet..." She muttered.

"...yeah?" I replied.

"...can I talk to you right now?"

I looked around me. The others were at the side, a bit far away from us. She must've requested them to give us a bit of privacy. "Alright." I nodded and leaned my back towards the wall.

She looked away for a second, took a deep breath, and looked back at me. "...I...I'm sorry for betraying you, a-and...thank you for saving me."

I couldn't stifle a slight chuckle. "…heh…after all that, you can stand talking to me?"

She looked away and grasped her shoulder. "...I'm still terrified of you...But…I can't blame you for that. I have nobody to blame but myself. You were right. I didn't know they would betray me, but I should have known...you still saved me despite that...and I don't...want to leave any bad blood if I could help it."

I looked at her for a few moments, finding any sign of deceit on her face. I had checked her out multiple times since I found her, and she seemed genuine for the most part. "I'm assuming you had a talk with the others?"

She nodded slowly. "They were quick to forgive me."

"I'd find it surprising if they didn't."

"..."

"What is it?"

"...it..it's just…"

I took a moment to ponder before I chuckled a little. "Feels terrible, right? Being forgiven that easily?"

She looked up at me. "How did you…?"

I shrugged. "Been there, done that, and not too keen on doing it again." I paused and glanced at the others. They acted like they were doing their own thing, but they kept stealing glances here and there. I sighed and pulled my attention back to her. "In any case...we're quite different, you and I. You're not like me, and as long as you keep your wits about you, you will never be like me. Before you say anything, that's a compliment."

"I see…" She nodded. "Will you be able to trust me again?"

"...I'm sure I can, but understand that it'll take a while, and it'll take more than words. Not betraying us again would be a good start. Beyond that...I'll leave it to your imagination. Just remember that I am a little bit more on guard until I feel safe enough to relax around you." I reached out with my right hand. "I hope you understand."

"...deal." She reached out with her hand and shook it.

I stretched my limbs, "...alright. Now that that's done, let's go ahead and find our way out of this prison we're in and into the bigger, hundred-floor prison that we all know and hate."

***
Chapter End
***

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Had to take my finals seriously.

Thank you for your review, guest reader. You had a bit of error and typos, but I understood what you wanted to say.

I was right in assuming that some people wanted hints of his personality on the first few chapters. I'll need to figure out how to handle that, and differentiate how much of is personality is innate to him and how much of his personality was developed in response to what he experienced in SAO.

One thing that I would discuss upon is when you said that "Riwet may have this kind of spark which makes him more attentive to others and more easily connected into groups, even though he's solo." I would respectfully say that he has no such thing, and I'd go even so far as to say that it is Kirito who has that spark. My theory is that he appears like that because he only hangs out with the people he knows.

Riwet's usual approach to socializing is that he starts out polite and professional, but a bit distant. After that, it's a slow process of him slowly opening up to other people. Of all the people Riwet interacted with throughout his tenure in SAO, the only people that he feels completely comfortable with are Kirito, Asuna, Silica, and Yui. He gets along with Klein, Sefton, Lizbeth, etc. but he still keeps a bit of distance.

Now, compare that to Kirito. Kirito is very frank and outspoken, especially to people he just met. This would cause some friction, but after that, they would quickly warm up to him.

For a complete reference, compare how Riwet talked to Heathcliff on CH 11 with how Kirito talked to Heathcliff during Episode 9.

That said, I don't want to make changes just because of the sake of change. I want to develop Riwet as a mirror of myself and in a way that makes sense to his experiences. If he remains similar to Kirito - or hell even if he grows more like him - then I won't change that as long as the development is natural.

That's all for now. Thank you very much, and have a good one.