Opening their eyes, each person had their own answer.
Since they were all in a safe place, receiving 24-hour nursing care and protection at the Yuki residence, with uninterrupted nutrient supply, the answer was obvious.
"We're all logging out!"
Yes.
Even so!
They were going to log out!
Why?
To face Kaito in the best possible condition!!!
Living in bed on nutrient drips was nothing compared to living a normal life!
Especially since Kaito said he would come to their real world someday, just not yet. That made them even more determined to do this.
For no other reason than none of them wanted Kaito to see them looking sickly, weak, thin, and unattractive!
So, why wouldn't they go back?
Wasn't it nice to eat and then log in to play games like Ako did!!
Especially since Kaito wasn't always online!!
Although logging out would definitely cause a stir, and many would wonder why they could log out when others couldn't, they could use the excuse of survivor bias or say they found an item that allowed logout.
That might even give the players living in the game new hope, encouraging them to go out, hunt more monsters, and search for hidden dungeons.
In fact, this VR game did have a few hidden dungeons or NPC hidden quests that were one-time only; once a player took them, others lost the opportunity.
And clearing them did yield many good items.
Anyway, they could use that as an excuse. As for any other fallout, the Yuki family was well-off. Even if she didn't manage the company anymore, it was still her asset.
After a few days of scrutiny, people would stop talking about it.
"Heh, a wise decision."
Kaito smiled, searched for their IDs, completely hid their accounts, and after specially generating item information for logout items like this, he gave them an item that looked unremarkable but allowed logout.
He basically generated a hidden quest. Even if Kayaba Akihiko found out, he probably wouldn't have much to say about it.
After all, he wasn't the sole developer of the game. He might just think there was a mole among his team.
As for further doubts, he couldn't pursue them. He had already sacrificed himself to become a data-based life form living eternally in the network.
"Alright, this way you can do it."
"As for the timing, how about Christmas? Consider it a special Christmas gift. Every Christmas after that, there will be revival items, logout items, etc., for other players to obtain through quests."
"But this Christmas, only you know about this NPC's quest. And since it's a difficult quest, it will be more convincing."
Conveniently, Asuna and Leafa were both top-tier players. Leafa was currently the strongest swordswoman, so even if others found out, they could only be jealous and envious.
"Okay, that's good."
Not logging out immediately was something they could accept.
They needed to let others accept it too. After all, players in this world could communicate with people in the real world.
Besides, Christmas was only about 30 days away. They could tough it out until then.
As for Kaito's continued decision not to let all players log out or prevent their deaths from being permanent, they chose to remain silent.
"When I can come to your world, I'll take you to see mine, even take you to space, to real other worlds, magical worlds, etc."
"Don't disbelieve me. These are all true."
He conveniently stuffed their backpacks with a large amount of gold, several pieces of gear of different levels, and gave them a few hidden buffs before closing the GM account.
System-generated items were always high quality. Even if they were only usable in this game world, or his GM account was based on the game's underlying code, it was still higher level than Kayaba Akihiko's.
If Kayaba's account was the highest level, then Kaito's was one level above it.
Kayaba couldn't trace any of Kaito's actions. In the end, Kayaba might just have to watch helplessly as Asuna and the others enjoyed all these benefits.
Because they had invincibility at low HP, they didn't even need revival items.
As for the helmets, Kaito had already fully protected their accounts.
Even if Kayaba wanted to kill them, he couldn't.
Nothing else needed to change.
"Kaito-nii, when can you log in again?"
Morning was approaching. Asuna lamented how quickly time passed while anxiously waiting for Kaito's answer.
"Well... as the Overlord of the Universe, I have many things to do. If I could use a clone, I'm sure you wouldn't like that, right?"
"Of course, I don't like using clones to do things for me either. So I can only log in when I have time."
"Ultimately, this is your world. The historical progression, everything about it, is predetermined. So I won't interfere too much."
"Clearing this game is up to you. If I did it, it would lose its significance."
He patted Asuna's hair and, without letting them say much more, logged off cleanly.
Although it wasn't yet dawn, Kaito had a reason he had to log off.
Back in the real world...
Taking off the helmet, Kaito stood up and looked at the woman who had appeared before him: Oosuki Chiyo.
She probably got here using a teleportation card, which allows appearing in front of any chat group member regardless of world.
Kaito had drawn a few of these cards too, but they were one-time use. The advantage was that they didn't require points, but the downside was that they were one-way; returning would cost points.
So Chiyo appearing here probably meant she got this card from Mamako.
"Oosuki Chiyo, may I ask why you went so far as to use a teleportation card to come see me?"
"Kaito-nii, I feel like I'm losing control of my body. I need your help."
As soon as she finished speaking,
Chiyo, who had been normal just a moment ago, suddenly grew a pair of green goat horns. Behind her, vines-like structures made of starlight appeared.
Then, her entire body was filled with the presence of an evil god...