"Morte."

Despite what his trembling hands and intense glare might indicate, there was no emotion in Drifter's voice when he spoke. And at the same time, it was so full of disdain that you could practically feel the disgust dripping from the word. And that made Morte laugh.

"Bingo! Hahahahaha! It's been so long, Reaver's Requiem!"

"Not long enough."

Yuna muttered under her breath. The only thing keeping her and Drifter and everyone else from throwing themselves at Morte right there and then was their wariness. The red player appearance was too sudden, and he was provoking thirteen players, all very eager to see him dead, by his lonesome self. No one would believe this wasn't a trap. The question was just: of what kind?

"Aww... No reaction? You'll hurt my feelings, friends."

"We are not your friends, Morte."

"Sure, whatever you say, songstress. Geez! You kill two people and suddenly no one likes you anymore. You people are sooooo touchy."

Morte wanted reactions, and he got them. Drifter had to grab Asuna's shoulder to stop her from charging the red player. Ran and Nautilus had to hold back Yuuki and Yuna. And Sinon...

Sinon actually let an arrow fly, and Morte had to duck to avoid gaining a new piercing on his forehead. But still, he laughed. A mad cackle that creeped out the green players.

"Damn, girl! You are even more murderous than me! At least I let my prey finish speaking before trying to kill them."

Sinon growled, and knocked another arrow on her bow. Drifter let got of Asuna to stop her, but someone else was faster. Yuuki, who had been about to rush Morte herself, suddenly cooled down. She grabbed Sinon's wrist and shook her head. Surprisingly, the archer obeyed her and lowered her bow, although she never stopped glaring at the red player.

It was surprising, but Drifter didn't pay any heed to it for now. His entire being was focused on Morte. He had already made up his mind long ago, and if he had a chance to took the murderer down, he would.

But everything was too suspicious right now. Morte was out there in the open mocking them as if he wasn't the least bit worried about any retaliation from the Reavers. And he also said he was waiting for them, which meant this wasn't a spur of the moment decision on his part, but something he planned beforehand, which only heightened the odds of it being a trap.

"What do you want, Morte?"

"Me? Nothing! I was just looking forward to catching up with some old friends. Don't you remember everything we went through together? Like that boss raid on the 5th floor? Or the time I tried to murder Argo the Rat?"

"Stop it! And since you've come to us, don't think of leaving. Surrender, Morte."

"Now, why the fuck would I do such a thing. Hum, Blackie?"

While Kirito and Morte traded barbs, Drifter scanned the treeline for ambushing enemies or some kind of trap. But it was so damn dark he could barely saw anything. Besides, he didn't know what exactly he was looking for. Hidden weapons? More red players? That was a terrifying thought.

[ Argo: My << Searching >> ain't findin' anythin'. I think he's alone. ]

[ Drifter: Nothing on mine either. Kirito, keep him distracted. ]

The swordsman answered with a subtle nod. Drifter had the feeling Morte knew they were messaging each other, but didn't care one bit. The red player was having fun.

[ Ran: Should we rush him? ]

[ Drifter: He will just run away. ]

[ Sinon: Not if I put a << Crippling Shot >> through his knee. ]

[ Argo: Don't be rash, Sin-chan. He's crazy. There's no way of knowin' how it's gonna go down if we back him into a corner. ]

[ Sinon: We can't let him escape. ]

[ Nautilus: Agreed. ]

Drifter wasn't the only one who seemed to have made a resolution not to hesitate anymore. Even through their silent messages, it could be felt that Sinon and Nautilus also weren't going to back down from doing what they thought needed to be none. That was something the spearman was terrified of seeing.

[ Drifter: When the battle starts, block his escape routes and watch out for his tricks. Let me fight him. ]

[ Nautilus: No way! We do this together! ]

[ Drifter: We need to make sure he doesn't escape! Just listen to me! ]

Whatever Nautilus or anyone else was going to type got cut short as Morte suddenly clapped, causing everyone to jump in fright. Kirito, Asuna, and Yuna, who had been talking to the red player, were the ones with biggest reaction. The first two took a step forward, ready to charge, while the later raised her dagger - a musical instrument would do little good here.

But Morte wasn't interested in them. He pulled the edge of his hood back just enough so that the lower half of his face could be seen under the moonlight, and grinned a smile full of teeth.

"Aight, good talk! I'll see you guys some other time!"

"What?!"

"Stop right there, Morte!"

"Don't you dare, you..!"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

No one had expected that the red player, after speaking so much, would simply turn around and bolt.

Instantly, Drifter, Kirito, Asuna, Ran, and Yuuki shot forward, chasing him. They didn't stop even after Argo yelled at them that it might be a trap. They would rather walk right into an ambush than let Morte get away again.

But the fastest to reach the red player was none other than Sinon, or an extension of her, at least. A purple-glowing arrow whizzed by Morte's head, missing by an inch when he suddenly ducked, and bounced off a tree, triggering the [ Immortal Object ] message.

"Oops! That was almost bad! Anyway, I'll see you guys soon! Remember to always keep looking over your shoulders, 'cause I'll be there someday!"

Pulling a face, Morte waved at Sinon before accelerating. Then, he jumped over the side of the bridge and onto the mist below. They all heard a splash, and laughter.

"I'm going to kill all of you! Hahahahahaha!"

Drifter stopped so abruptly he almost went over the railings. Looking down at the mist, he knew it was useless - not to mention dangerous - to jump after Morte. The currents would carry each player in a different direction, and you could end up literally anywhere on the floor, including inside the labyrinth.

"Fuck!"

Furious, he kicked the bridge in a fit of anger. Now he knew why Morte had chosen this moment to appear before them. There was no trap or anything. It was because, on this floor, he could escape at any point he wished.

"He came here just to mock us. To mock us!"

Yuna had to repeat it twice for emphasis. Argo shook her head.

"No, not just that. It was a threat. He wants us to be scared of him."

"Well, he accomplished that. No one's walking out of a safe zone alone, even if it's just a single step. I want everyone to always be in groups of three, at least. That includes you, Kizmel. You are basically one of us already, and Morte knows that."

It was impressive how level-headed Kirito was, even in this situation. He even thought of the dark elf, who Drifter only now realized had no context for what was happening. The spearman himself, on the other hand, was having a hard time controlling his urge to let out a string of expletives after the first 'fuck'.

"So that's it? He comes outta nowhere, threatens us, and now we can't even go to the bathroom without fearing for our lives?"

Liz asked almost belligerent, although Kirito wasn't the target of her anger. But the dark-haired swordsman just shook his head.

"Yes. He killed two people already, Liz. At least. Probably more. He isn't joking when he says he will be coming after us. He's hunting us. And if we give him the chance..."

Drufter shivered. Morte would kill them if they let their guards down, no doubt about that. And he was in the dark while they were in the light. They would have to watch their backs in the coming days and months.

"W-What do we do now?"

Hearing the meek voice poured a bucket of cold water over Drifter's boiling emotions. Looking back, he saw Silica clutching Vallerk's arm. Silica, who wasn't there when Morte murdered two people. Silica, who was a clearer but not a frontliner. Silica, who was just twelve-year-old. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"We are going to the dark elf camp to hand in this quest, and then going back to the city for a good night's sleep. Morte's a red player, so he can't get into the cities. Argo, spread the word. I don't believe we are the only ones in Morte's list. Kibaou."

"On it, Dri-bou."

He touched the info-broker's head, and for one she didn't complain. She stared into his eyes, searching. She found nothing.

Drifter didn't want her to see where his mind was.

...

Town of Beginnings, main plaza. 3 AM.

The city was silent. Even the rowdiest of players was sleeping by now. SAO's increased difficulty during nighttime really forced players to get a normal sleep pattern.

Drifter had snuck out from Reaver's Requiem's inn on the 8th floor - which wasn't easy, considering half of them were still awake. Now, he was waiting to meet someone he wasn't exactly keen on seeing.

After half an hour of sitting around, he heard muffled steps behind him - but only because the other party wanted him to hear it. The person Drifter was meeting belonged to the group who probably had the highest mastery in << Hiding >> in Aincrad. He turned around to face the black-clad ninja.

"You are not the one I messaged."

"All the disciples of our humble guild function as one, honorable warrior. A mission accepted by one is accepted by..."

"All right, I don't have the time for all that role-playing bullshit. I want to know where Morte is. Can you tell me? Yes or no?"

Drifter cut off the ramblings of the other player. He wasn't in the mood to have to decipher everything the other party was saying. And Morte's name had a huge enough impact that even the crazy Fuumaningum role-players knew when to stop their antics. Not to mention, Drifter's identity and the time and way he was asking made very clear what he intended to do with the information.

"He should be on this floor still. Red players can't enter the main cities and use teleporters."

"I know that. But do you know exactly where he is?"

"I can find out. But our Fuumaningum doesn't work for free."

Drifter stared at the ninja. They had their entire face covered, so he could only see their eyes, and not their expression. And, dark as it was, even the little clues he might be able to glimpse from their gaze were gone.

"I'm going to put a murderer out of circulation. Isn't that enough?"

"That's fair. But can you actually do it?"

Drifter stared at the masked ninja. Man or woman, he couldn't say. And his hand went to his spear almost reflexively. And he was sure.

"Yes."

---------------------------

Yuna hadn't slept. There was no way she could, not after meeting Morte. Not because of the murderer - she could ignore him easy enough if she thought she was in a safe zone - but because of her friends.

The idea of killing Morte herself had crossed her mind before, but it was swiftly pushed away. She was a singer, a musician. Even if Reaver's Requiem were the ones to end the red player - and someone had to, he wasn't going to jail - it would not be her to do it. But it might be someone she deeply cared about.

Yuna was afraid. Tonight, while everyone was focusing on Morte before he gave them the slip, she had instead looked at her guildmates. Those she considered family by now. And she saw at least four of them ready to kill Morte. Kirito, Sinon, Nautilus, and Drifter.

Morte deserved to die. She wished for him to drop dead with all of her being. But she was scared of what it would do to her friends if one of them was the one to do the deed. Especially to the latter two. The boy who she had known her entire life and the man who had quickly found his way into her heart. How would they change if they were forced to take another person's life?

Staring out the window, Yuna felt something wet and hot trailing down her cheeks. She didn't bother wiping away the tears. There would be more flowing. The night was still young, and she didn't think she would be able to fall asleep.

How would they change? And more, wouldn't that be Morte's victory?

--------------------------

Argo shuffled her way through the crowded streets, pushing aside players who were too focused on their menus to notice SAO's greatest info-broker passing through. She took that as a good sign.

A quick glance at her HUD revealed that the raid-party was still going strong since the last time she checked, approximately twenty seconds ago.

It was now a little less than a week since their encounter with Morte, and the info-broker hadn't caught a glimpse or heard anything about them simce then. Even her best informants, the Fuumaningum ninjas, had nothing.

But she had a hunch. And Argo's hunches were usually right on the money or wildly off-course. She hoped, she really did, that it was the latter. But she doubted it. Which was why she had handed the << Flag of Valor >> to Shivata, trusting him to give it back later, and came here. Argo stopped before the large obsidian stone slab.

Town of Beginnings, << Monument of Life >>.

The place players dreaded the most in SAO. She was a constant visitor here. It was an easy - and free - source of information. Almost always terrible, but better than not knowing.

Argo started walking down the gigantic rectangle of black stone upon which ten thousand names were carved. Too many were crossed.

"Shit. Fuck."

She halted when she found the name she was looking for. If any, she should be glad this one was crossed. But she couldn't, because of the words next to it.

Morte. February 10h. Player killing.