Chapter 38: Morin's Long Preparation (Part 2)

Seeing that the command he had issued received no response whatsoever, the smile on Kayaba Akihiko's face instantly froze.

He tried again, somewhat disbelieving, only to find that SAO's intelligent management program still showed no reaction, as if his urgent command had been completely ignored. In the next instant, even the blood-colored protective barrier around him suddenly vanished, revealing Kayaba Akihiko in full, no longer shielded.

"How can this be? Wait, the intelligent control system... only a few days ago at the Black Iron Palace..."

Kayaba Akihiko's face turned ashen. A flash of realization struck him, connecting to something he had carelessly overlooked days earlier.

Morin had infiltrated SAO's main system from the Black Iron Palace?

Could it be that Morin's actions back then were not fruitless, but a successful breach of the Black Iron Palace's defenses, even tampering with the game's intelligent control system?

"That is right, Senior Kayaba Akihiko. This is my gift for our reunion."

Morin raised his head, meeting Kayaba Akihiko's gaze. The slightly mocking tone in his voice made everyone present, including Kayaba himself, feel an almost overwhelming urge to punch him.

What Kayaba Akihiko had yet to realize was that Morin was not some unparalleled genius who had personally surpassed him in programming. Instead, with Yui, once an intelligent sub-program, actively opening the internal data interface, and aided by Sugou Nobuyuki's memories — though slightly inferior to Kayaba's own skills — Morin had successfully breached SAO's internal defenses. With Yui's cooperation, they managed to transfer her identity from a restricted GM to a contracted familiar spirit tied to Asuna.

At the same time, after identifying a hidden vulnerability in SAO's world protection system, Morin had planted seeds of a virus program into the virtual world. Kayaba Akihiko, neither a true omniscient god nor suspecting a betrayal from within, failed to detect these subtle manipulations following Morin and Asuna's arrival at the Black Iron Palace. Nor could he have anticipated their quiet sabotage.

Now, Morin had activated the dormant virus program. Even though Kayaba Akihiko could still attempt to issue commands, he had been forcibly severed from SAO's main control system. No response came to his orders, and he was left with nothing more than his set player level and standard skills. His godlike authority had been stripped away.

"You bastard..."

Hearing Morin's mockery, Kayaba Akihiko finally lost his composure. A rare expression of astonishment and fury twisted his face. For the first time, he no longer looked down on Morin with detached superiority.

As the saying goes, there is a thin line between genius and madness, and Kayaba Akihiko was a prime example.

Ever since high school, he had displayed exceptional talent, easily surpassing ordinary people and even professional scientists in quantum science. With his obsessive nature, after completing the development of Sword Art Online, he launched the death game mode to realize his dream of a "perfect world," ruthlessly trapping ten thousand players within it.

To Kayaba Akihiko, the players trapped in SAO, regardless of age or background, were mere numbers. The deaths of over a thousand — nearly two thousand — players over the span of a year had not moved him in the slightest. In his mind, their deaths were simply part of his grand experiment.

Death?

Was that not contributing to his dream world? They should feel honored.

In the early days of SAO, using his administrator privileges, Kayaba had watched indifferently from a god's-eye view as players threw themselves from buildings, were killed by monsters, or succumbed to fear and despair. It left no impact on him.

However, now that Morin had exposed his true identity and shattered his omnipotent control over SAO, something deep within Kayaba Akihiko began to crack.

The lofty god had been dragged back to being nothing more than an ordinary man.

And now, looking at Morin, Kayaba Akihiko could not deny it.

For the first time in a very long time, he felt fear.

"Scared now, Kayaba Akihiko!"

Realizing his plan had succeeded, Morin sighed with relief in his heart. He cast a subtle glance at Kirito behind him — who had become little more than a bystander — and focused all his mockery on Kayaba Akihiko, the final boss of Sword Art Online's first season.

"It seems, Senior Kayaba Akihiko, that you were relying solely on your administrator privileges within the game. Now that those privileges are gone, you have lost all your so-called confidence."

"You..."

Kayaba Akihiko glared fiercely at Morin, but the fire in his gaze had dulled.

It was not just Kayaba who had noticed the shift.

The other players, having witnessed the exchange between Morin and Kayaba, also realized something was off.

The legendary creator of Sword Art Online no longer possessed the arrogance one would expect from an all-powerful villain. He was being completely suppressed by Morin, Guild Leader of Star Reavers. Their conversation made it clear — Kayaba Akihiko's control over SAO had collapsed.

And when faced with the man responsible for trapping them in a death game for over a year and a half, their long-suppressed resentment and hatred surged like a tidal wave.

Diavel, Klein, and others had not immediately attacked Kayaba because of the shock of learning his true identity and their ingrained fear of him.

"Kayaba Akihiko's administrator privileges have been isolated. He is just Heathcliff now."

Seeing their hesitation, Morin spoke calmly, almost invitingly, as he informed them of the current situation. He even stoked their anger further.

"If I remember correctly, according to the game settings, defeating him means we can all leave SAO."

"Hehe. We can leave this death game now?!"

"That is right. Take him down!"

"Die, you bastard!"

"You are going to pay, Kayaba Akihiko!"

Before Morin could finish speaking, a few players who could no longer contain themselves lunged toward Kayaba with their swords raised.

Diavel, Klein, Agil, and other top players immediately followed, eyes burning with fury.

Even Kirito, after hesitating for a moment, charged forward with the determination to end this nightmare once and for all.

Amidst the uproar, Morin and Asuna exchanged a brief glance.

Then, without hesitation, they drew their swords and joined the assault against Kayaba Akihiko.

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