Rozen was certain that as soon as he announced his intention to transfer to GGO and participate in the BoB tournament, XaXa and his accomplices had already set their sights on him.
XaXa would inevitably attempt to kill Rozen during this competition under the guise of "Death Gun," aiming to bring about Rozen's death.
In light of this, the moment the tournament began, XaXa's accomplices would undoubtedly follow pre-obtained addresses to Rozen's location in the real world, intending to infiltrate his room and assassinate him.
And this was the trap Rozen had set, a plan to lure the perpetrators into his net.
As soon as the culprits showed up, Rozen would ensure that they could no longer escape.
Once apprehended, if any murder weapon or poison were found on them, it would be enough to convict them.
From there, following the trail—be it through examining the source of the poison or extracting a confession from the perpetrator—XaXa's crimes could be confirmed, and he could be arrested.
With the player records from the SAO era, Kikuoka Seijirou would have no trouble identifying XaXa's real-world identity and bringing him to justice.
Now, Rozen revealed the trap he had laid out to XaXa.
"Players can't log out during the BoB tournament, and the live broadcast won't transmit full audio. Even if you wanted to warn your accomplices to stop, it would be impossible," Rozen said casually, deflecting yet another attack aimed at his throat with his dagger.
"How does it feel? Despairing, isn't it?"
"But you should be quite familiar with this sensation by now, shouldn't you?"
"After all, this is exactly the kind of fear you've inflicted upon your victims. When I defeated you back then, I made sure you tasted this sensation as well. There's no way you'd forget it."
Rozen's words finally broke the composure XaXa had been maintaining.
"I'll kill you…!"
XaXa completely lost his cool. His previously emotionless, hoarse voice now brimmed with panic and rage.
And the smile on Rozen's face disappeared as well, replaced by an indifferent expression.
"Don't tell me you actually think that with just some cheap invisibility cloak, I wouldn't be able to deal with you?"
With that, Rozen's figure moved sharply, darting forward like the wind. Instead of parrying the countless strikes aimed at him, he dodged them all and closed in on a specific spot.
"Whoosh!"
With a sharp whistle of movement, Rozen spun and delivered a fierce kick to the air in front of him.
"Bang!"
A dull impact rang out.
Although the space appeared empty, Rozen's foot slammed solidly into an object.
"Ugh…!"
With a pained grunt, a figure suddenly materialized in shimmering light—the outline of XaXa—sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the fountain and shattering it.
The sheer force of the kick was a testament to its power.
Even though it was only a physical attack, Rozen's incredible STR (Strength) stat caused XaXa's HP to plummet drastically in an instant.
"Cough, cough…!"
XaXa clutched his chest, coughing violently. His body trembled as he awkwardly rolled across the ground, using his optical camouflage to vanish once more.
However…
"Where do you think you're going?"
Rozen had already leaped to another position. Calmly, without a trace of emotion, he unleashed another devastating kick. His foot struck the space beside the fountain like a sledgehammer.
"Bang—!"
Another loud impact resounded as Rozen's immense strength burst forth from his strike.
"Argh…!"
This time, XaXa's form could no longer stay hidden. Amid cries of agony, his camouflaged figure flickered into visibility. He was launched into the air, crashing to the ground and rolling a considerable distance before finally coming to a stop.
By now, XaXa's HP had dropped to less than half, leaving only a sliver remaining.
But…
"Don't make it sound so pleasant. After all, there's no actual pain in the game. Compared to the people you've killed, the suffering you're feeling is nothing."
Rozen appeared before XaXa as if out of nowhere. Before the latter could rise, Rozen reached out, grabbed his cloak, and dragged him close.
Then…
"Thud!"
Another dull sound echoed.
But this time, instead of kicking XaXa away, Rozen clenched his free hand into a fist and slammed it into XaXa's face.
"Crack…!"
The mask on XaXa's face cracked under the blow, and his head snapped backward.
However, Rozen yanked him back with a sharp tug on his cloak.
"Thud!"
The fist landed again, releasing an incredible burst of force.
One punch after another, Rozen continued to pummel XaXa's face.
"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"
A series of heavy impacts reverberated as Rozen's relentless fists smashed into XaXa's face repeatedly. The red glow representing blood sprayed into the air with every strike, creating a brutally violent scene.
"Clang!"
At last, XaXa's skull-shaped mask, already riddled with cracks, shattered completely under the continuous assault.
Naturally, XaXa's HP, too, continued to plummet, dropping lower and lower at an alarming rate.
By the time Rozen threw his final punch, XaXa's HP bar had dwindled to a mere sliver.
"Boom!"
Instead of throwing another punch, Rozen grabbed XaXa by the face and slammed him into the ground with a powerful force. The impact shattered the ground beneath them.
"Ugh… uh…"
Lying there, XaXa could no longer utter a single coherent word.
Even though there was no pain in the game, being repeatedly beaten and having his head violently shaken left him thoroughly disoriented.
His avatar, now utterly disfigured, was covered in simulated wounds. His mouth area appeared to have been rendered broken, leaving him unable to speak.
Standing over XaXa's ruined form, Rozen's expression was blank.
"Don't worry. This is just the appetizer. Consider it a parting gift from me."
"After this, we won't see each other again."
"This time, you'll spend the rest of your life in a prison cell in the real world."
With those words…
"Splurt!"
The sound of flesh being pierced replaced the thuds and crashes, marking the end of the encounter.
Rozen's dagger plunged mercilessly into XaXa's chest, pinning him to the ground.
XaXa's body trembled violently, and his last sliver of HP disappeared.
And with that, XaXa stopped moving.
[Dead].
The red text appeared over XaXa's ruined corpse, signifying that he had been eliminated from the tournament.
At the same time, it also symbolized that XaXa had been removed from the stage of life entirely, never to return.
What awaited him next was judgment and punishment.
There would be no escape.