Outside the entrance to the 27th floor of the labyrinth zone, the ground was completely covered with remnants of flames.
Only two figures remained—one stood tall amidst the blazing embers, radiating a godlike presence, while the other collapsed outside the circle of flames, trembling uncontrollably, his teeth chattering as he stared at Rozen with deep, unrelenting fear.
It was true fear.
At this moment, the Salamander leader could hardly believe his eyes, yet he had no choice but to accept the reality before him. It made him forget entirely that this was just a game, as if he had encountered a terrifying assassin in real life, a fear that he simply could not suppress.
What else could he do?
From the moment Rozen drew his holy sword and charged forward to the instant when all forty-eight players—except for him—were annihilated, leaving him barely clinging to life, how much time had passed?
Not even a single minute, right?
In less than a minute, Rozen had single-handedly massacred a handpicked elite team of forty-eight top players from several major clearing guilds, leaving only the Salamander leader alive amidst the remnants of flames. How could this situation not inspire terror?
It must be noted that these allied guilds, being capable of sabotaging Crimson Wing, were undoubtedly strong in their own right.
At the very least, any individual player in this elite force could rank among the top 100 in the All-Race Tournament. Some could even break into the top 50.
And yet, this group of players was utterly wiped out in under a minute by a single opponent. How could the Salamander leader accept this?
Coupled with the sheer power and beauty of Rozen's OSS, the stark contrast had instilled a level of fear in the Salamander leader that he simply could not contain.
"How..."
The Salamander leader could not comprehend.
"How can there be a player like you...?!"
This must be the question that anyone who had directly witnessed Rozen's overwhelming strength would want to ask.
Rozen's skill level was far beyond that of other players. Even a player like Kirito paled in comparison to Rozen in his current state.
If Rozen truly intended to end a fight quickly, he could likely defeat even Kirito in under ten seconds.
This demonstrated just how powerful Rozen was now.
Of course, Rozen himself had never considered this a big deal.
It wasn't because of arrogance. It was simply because, compared to the strength he possessed in the real world, his abilities in this game, while impressive, still fell far short.
If this were the real world, Rozen could likely eliminate his in-game self in mere moments.
As a result, at this stage, Rozen rarely took anything seriously, let alone fought with his full strength.
Perhaps this unshakable aura was exactly why the Salamander leader was so terrified.
Rozen gazed at the trembling Salamander leader, who had collapsed on the ground, and spoke with a hint of mockery in his voice.
"So? Do you think I can handle all of you alone?"
This statement became the final straw that broke the Salamander leader's resolve.
"Ah...! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!"
Suddenly, the Salamander leader roared in a frenzy, as if trying to dispel his inner fear. He raised his two-handed greatsword high and charged toward Rozen.
"Zing!"
An orange glow emanated from the sword.
It was unmistakably a sword skill.
Rozen immediately recognized that the Salamander leader was using the two-handed greatsword's advanced charging technique—Avalanche.
It was a highly powerful heavy attack skill. When facing it, a simple defense would result in the user being unable to counterattack due to the overwhelming impact. The opponent could then recover from their skill cooldown and follow up with another strike. Evading it would allow the user to reposition and launch a fresh assault. This made it an excellent high-level sword skill.
Unfortunately...
"Using a sword skill recklessly in a duel is a cardinal sin. I can't believe you don't even know that."
As he spoke, Rozen extended a hand.
"————そ·ザ·ξ·ほ·ぁ————"
With the chant of an incantation, a series of magical glyphs materialized.
This was a textbook countermeasure.
If this were SAO, handling such an advanced sword skill would indeed require some effort. But this was the world of ALO—a world with magic. Close-quarters combat wasn't even necessary; casting an offensive spell at the charging opponent would suffice.
And so, blazing flames surged forth, engulfing the Salamander leader.
"Boom—!"
Amid the explosion, the Salamander leader let out a wretched scream. His sword skill was interrupted, and his body flew backward faster than it had come, crashing to the ground, smoke rising from his charred form.
He looked utterly pitiful, but compared to when Rozen used sword skills, the HP reduction this time was minimal. The Salamander leader was left with just a sliver of health.
This, however, was deliberate on Rozen's part.
"Saichou."
At Rozen's call, Saichou darted forth, soaring above the Salamander leader and scattering paralyzing powder.
"Crackle...!"
As if electrocuted, the struggling Salamander leader went limp, paralyzed on the spot.
Rozen slowly approached the motionless Salamander leader.
"When you return, tell your guild leader or the leaders of your alliance that this floor is under my protection today. If they want trouble, I'll be here to deal with it."
Rozen looked down at the Salamander leader with cold indifference, a faint smile on his lips.
"And one more thing—earlier, I didn't take things too seriously because you hadn't crossed my bottom line. If you truly believe you can stand against Crimson Wing, I welcome you to try. I promise it will be worth your while."
With that, Rozen raised his holy sword.
"As a parting gift, let me show you the final star of my North Star OSS."
An unprecedented radiance blossomed along the blade of Rozen's holy sword.
"Alkaid."
As the soft words fell, the Salamander leader felt his vision dim. Day turned into night, the blue sky transformed into a starry expanse, shimmering with light.
Then, as if a meteor shower descended, thirteen meteors streaked down from the heavens.
Thirteen meteors symbolizing thirteen slashes.
The Salamander leader was engulfed by the meteors, torn apart by thirteen devastating strikes.
He was killed in an instant.