-1767- [ Gunblade Crafting ]

"Whoooosh—!"

A cold wind howled across the vast square, lifting a cloud of dust and carrying it far into the distance.

Rozen and Death Gun—or rather, XaXa—stood face-to-face amidst the gale. One bore an expression of a faint smirk, while the other's pupils contracted as he fell into silence.

A long moment later...

"I see... so that's how it is..."

XaXa's raspy voice broke the stillness.

"You've already figured out... my identity, haven't you?"

In a roundabout way, XaXa acknowledged Rozen's statement.

After all, XaXa, who had dealt with Rozen multiple times before, understood that denying it was pointless.

The man before him was none other than the celebrated tactician of SAO, whose ingenuity had unraveled countless plots of Laughing Coffin, mitigated the despair of the raiding parties, and led players through boss fights unscathed, pushing steadily toward the upper levels of Aincrad.

Given this, it was only natural for Rozen to see through XaXa's disguise.

After all...

"Do you think your identity is so hard to guess?"

Rozen's faint smirk remained unwavering.

It couldn't be helped.

As Rozen had already mentioned, within Laughing Coffin, the individuals capable of leaving an impression on him were by no means ordinary members. They were significant enough to draw his attention in the past.

And among such individuals, Laughing Coffin had three key figures.

Naturally, the guild leader PoH was one of them. As for the other two, they were PoH's acknowledged right-hand men, infamous for their prowess and feared even by top-tier players in the clearing group.

The first was Johnny Black, a dagger wielder skilled in the use of poisoned weapons.

The second was XaXa, the crimson-eyed rapier user renowned for his mastery of thin, sharp weapons.

These three had once collaborated to ambush Rozen in the middle floors, even setting up an elaborate trap to lure him in. Yet their carefully laid scheme was effortlessly dismantled by Rozen, who emerged victorious against all three.

In the aftermath, PoH managed to escape, but Johnny Black and XaXa were captured by Rozen and thrown into the Black Iron Palace's prison on the first floor of Aincrad, where they were held for over six months.

Now, standing before Rozen and claiming to be Death Gun, a killer on the loose once more, was undoubtedly one of those three.

Moreover, as Rozen had noted, the person before him was not PoH. This individual lacked PoH's unique charisma and ability to sway others, as well as his distinct manner of speech.

That left only Johnny Black and XaXa.

However, Johnny Black was a maniacal brute who derived sadistic pleasure from killing, an impulsive lunatic whose immature persona and speech patterns bore no resemblance to the calculated and icy demeanor of Death Gun.

The only possibility was XaXa, with his halting manner of speech and calculated actions.

Thus, from the very first encounter, Rozen had identified Death Gun not only as a remnant of Laughing Coffin but also as one of its top officers—XaXa, the crimson-eyed rapier user renowned for his mastery of sharp, thin weapons.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? From your perspective, it must have been at least a year and a half since we last met," Rozen said, spinning the chamber of his revolver as he smirked at XaXa.

"So, how was your time in the Black Iron Palace? Considering you still have the energy to go out killing people, I'd say those days must have been pretty enjoyable for you, huh?"

The mocking tone in Rozen's laughter was unmistakable, sparking a murderous gleam in XaXa's eyes.

"Those days... I will never... forget them..." XaXa rasped. "In that dark... prison cell... I fantasized... countless times... about killing you..."

XaXa's words brimmed with unbridled hatred and malice.

In SAO, when the game turned into a death game, orange and red players who committed crimes were imprisoned based on their Crime Values. The duration of their confinement depended on the severity of their offenses.

Unable to log out, with no visitors and no forms of entertainment, being locked away in SAO's prison was a torment worse than death.

And it was Rozen who had sent XaXa there.

Given that, XaXa's intense loathing for Rozen was understandable.

However...

"You said it yourself—that was just a fantasy." Rozen cast a sidelong glance at XaXa and smirked. "If you're looking for revenge against me, you'd better bring PoH along to make it at least somewhat entertaining. You think you can take me on by yourself?"

Rozen's words dripped with blatant contempt.

No—this wasn't mere contempt; it was outright disdain.

When it came to his enemies, Rozen was never one to hold back.

Although XaXa didn't even qualify as a worthy opponent, Rozen, ever bold, was equally sharp-tongued. Whether his enemies were composed and calm or arrogant and brash, Rozen would mock and ridicule them with unrelenting scorn, never sparing them a shred of dignity.

This trait remained unchanged, even as Rozen matured over time.

And now, he intended to make XaXa feel the full weight of his derision.

Naturally, XaXa understood this all too well. The killing intent in his eyes grew more intense as his raspy voice rang out once more.

"You think... I'm still... the same as before?"

As he spoke, XaXa moved.

He raised his sniper rifle—but not to aim it at Rozen.

After all, such a weapon was useless against Rozen.

XaXa had come to that realization.

Instead, he began dismantling his rifle, extracting a slender metal rod from beneath the barrel.

It was a cleaning rod, a tool for maintaining firearms. Normally, it lacked any offensive capability and could at most deal a tiny amount of HP damage if used to strike someone. Its primary purpose was to clear debris from a gun's barrel.

However, the tip of this cleaning rod, originally ridged and hollow, had been sharpened to a needle-like point.

In other words, it had become a weapon.

A weapon that was...

"A rapier?"

Rozen raised an eyebrow, a faint trace of surprise flashing across his face.

The reason was simple.

"In GGO, aren't metal weapons other than daggers supposed to be non-existent?"

Because of this, even Rozen hadn't anticipated that XaXa would brandish a rapier.

But XaXa seemed to revel in Rozen's surprise, letting out a low, raspy chuckle.

"This is a weapon... created using the advanced derivative skill... Gunblade Crafting... It was forged from the highest-grade metal in this game... a material strong enough to be used... for the armor of a space battleship..."

As he spoke, the aura around XaXa underwent a drastic transformation.

"Thud!"

In the next instant, XaXa stomped the ground and charged straight at Rozen.