-1773- The other killer

As the BoB tournament reached its conclusion in GGO, in a small alley in the real world, the glow of a phone screen flickered.

A person stood there, holding their phone, watching the BoB tournament live stream.

Everything that happened in the tournament was clear in their eyes.

Naturally, this included the moment Rozen beat XaXa to death with his bare hands and the scene where XaXa forfeited, leaving the victory to Sinon.

"It's over…"

A low and almost dazed voice came from the person.

The light from the phone's screen illuminated the face of the speaker.

It was a young boy.

A boy who looked incredibly fragile and weak.

If Shinon were here, she would instantly recognize him.

Because this boy was her only acknowledged friend—Shinkawa Kyouji.

However, at this moment, Kyouji's mental state seemed… off.

"As expected… nii-san lost…"

Kyouji muttered softly as he stared at XaXa, who had been killed by Rozen.

Yes.

XaXa was Kyouji's older brother.

Moreover, his biological brother.

Neither Rozen nor Shinon knew about this.

Even Rozen, despite figuring out the incident's details, wouldn't have imagined that XaXa's younger brother was Sinon's only friend.

Yet this made perfect sense.

After all, if XaXa wanted to kill someone in a game, why not do so in ALO, where many VRMMOs existed? Why choose GGO?

The reason was simple: XaXa and Shinon had both entered GGO on Kyouji's recommendation.

At that time, XaXa hadn't yet planned on creating a killing incident in the game.

As Kyouji's older brother and the eldest son of a hospital director, XaXa's real name was Shinkawa Shouichi.

From a young age, Shouichi was plagued by illness, spending his years repeatedly hospitalized, which delayed his education and caused him to enter high school a year late. Their father gave up on grooming Shouichi as an heir and placed that responsibility on his younger brother, Kyouji.

From then on, Kyouji was burdened with great expectations, while Shouichi, who was no longer valued, was driven to despair. This warped his mental state and ultimately turned him into a murderer.

Yet, the relationship between the two brothers remained strong. After Shouichi dropped out of high school, he sought solace in the virtual world of MMORPGs. This influenced Kyouji, who also grew fond of games.

Later, Shouichi became trapped in the death game known as SAO, where he lay in a coma for two years in their father's hospital. There, he became one of the highest-ranking members of Laughing Coffin, the guild feared even by top players in the clearing group. As a rapier user, he killed countless players in SAO, showing no remorse even after waking up. Instead, he shared his actions with Kyouji.

Kyouji, who struggled academically and was bullied by older students, did not fear this revelation. Instead, he felt a sense of liberation and even satisfaction.

In other words, Kyouji's mental state was already as twisted as his brother's.

To Kyouji, Shouichi wasn't someone to fear but a hero.

However, Shouichi had repeatedly told Kyouji:

"I… never cared about anyone… but there's one man… I can never forgive…"

Shouichi brought this up again and again.

Kyouji knew that his idolized brother, who was so strong and exceptional, had once lost to someone—and that hatred consumed him.

Thus, Kyouji understood how much Shouichi wanted to beat Rozen and even kill him.

So, when Rozen announced his intent to enter GGO and participate in the BoB tournament, the brothers made their decision without hesitation: Rozen must be their target.

So, XaXa's accomplice was actually Kyouji.

Kyouji was the other half of Death Gun.

Previously, Kyouji was the one operating the Death Gun avatar in GGO, and the voice Rozen heard in the recording was Kyouji's. The two players shot in GGO were killed by Kyouji, while Shouichi infiltrated their homes to murder them.

This time, the roles were reversed: Shouichi operated the Death Gun avatar while Kyouji was tasked with infiltrating Rozen's home and killing him.

There were two reasons for this.

The first was practical. Only Shouichi had the skill to face Rozen. Kyouji's abilities, though decent, paled in comparison to his brother's and Rozen's. If Kyouji operated Death Gun, Rozen would easily destroy him.

The second reason stemmed from Kyouji's selfish desires.

"Not only did he kill Shouichi-nii, but he's also so close to Asada-san…"

Watching Rozen and Shinon's conversation, with Shinon's fragile and vulnerable demeanor, Kyouji's expression twisted.

His hatred for Rozen had grown in recent days.

"It's all because of you that Asada-san has become so strange…!"

Kyouji's voice dripped with venom.

Over the past few days, Shinon had frequently acted out of character around Kyouji because of Rozen. Outwardly, Kyouji expressed concern, but inwardly, his heart seethed with dark hatred.

Perhaps Sinon never realized that Kyouji's decision to talk to her and introduce her to GGO wasn't by chance—he had orchestrated it.

Kyouji had long known Shinon's past. He knew she had killed someone with a real gun and had thus fixated on her as something special.

Having a twisted mind and finding liberation in murder, Kyouji became obsessed with Sinon, who had also killed.

If Shinon learned about Kyouji's feelings, she would undoubtedly be devastated.

Kyouji couldn't bear for Shinon to change because of another man.

"Being with him has made you so weak, so helpless."

Kyouji gently caressed the screen where Shinon's face was displayed, murmuring obsessively.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of this obstacle for you soon."

With that, Kyouji turned around, leaving the alley and looking ahead.

There stood an old Japanese mansion.

The Kirigaya residence.

"Heh…"

A chilling, low laugh escaped Kyouji's lips as he began to move, vaulting over the wall and sneaking into the Kirigaya family's garden.

In doing so, Kyouji failed to notice that someone was sitting on the window of Rozen's room, looking down at him.

A playful, mocking expression filled his gaze.