Diabel/Synopsis

#### Pre-Episode 2

On November 6, 2022, Diabel got his hands on a NerveGear and a copy of Sword Art Online, a VRMMO set in a multifloored castle in the sky called Aincrad. He logged into SAO and was trapped in the game along with 10,000 other players. Not much is known about what he did during the following month, but he had at least one encounter with a player named Kibaou, which ended with Diabel more than annoyed by Kibaou.

#### Episode 2

On December 2, 2022, Diabel was part of a Party that discovered the first Floor Boss Room. Diabel then took it upon himself to lead the raid against the Boss and summoned the players to the Floor 1 town of Tolbana to help.

After a group of players came to the strategy meeting, Diabel tries to them cheer up, believing they knew that 2000 players had died by that point. However, Diabel discovers that, not only were most of the players unaware of this fact, but they also weren't aware that they hadn't cleared the first Floor yet, nor did they know that the game has 100 Floors. Having made the situation worse, Diabel announces that they've finally found the Boss Room, and that they've been formulating strategies thanks to info from the beta testers.

However, as soon as beta testers are mentioned, Kibaou becomes enraged and steps out of the crowd, much to Diabel's dismay. Kibaou proclaims that the beta testers are responsible for the death game's existence, but when Diabel asks for evidence, Kibaou claims he does need any. When the players don't believe Kibaou's claims, he switches tactics and starts chastising the beta testers for the not helping the beginners out when the death game started.

Kibaou's comments causes another player to emerge from the crowd. Kibaou asks who the player is, to which the player says he's known by many names: "Mountain Slayer", "Thunder Lion", "the Chocolate Axe", but in SAO, his name is currently Tiffany. With Kibaou both intimidated and confused by his surprisingly feminine name, Tiffany points out to the other players that the beta testers have been helping them all along, as every player was given a guidebook with tips and strategies on how to survive the game when they logged in, which was written by the beta testers. However, Tiffany is shocked to learn that none of the players have read the book, mostly out of laziness. Having learned this, Tiffany gives up on trying to help the other players.

With Kibaou silenced, and Tiffany defeated, Diabel brings out the guidebook Tiffany mentioned, stating that, not only does the book contain tips on how to survive the game, but it also has advice on how to defeat the first Floor Boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. Diabel then reads the passage on the Boss, which says that Illfang will switch his weapon from an axe and buckler to a talwar once his health bar turns red. However, Diabel stops reading when he realizes that the guide is full of non-helpful info, which involves sacrificing annoying players, with one category fitting Kibaou, and culminates in a joke about the Final Solution. With the guide no longer of any use, Diabel decides to form his own battle strategy for the assault team, but when he fails to do so, he asks the players for suggestions. Two players then suggest that they "group up and hit it 'til it dies", which Diabel reluctantly accepts, due to not having any better ideas. After everyone groups up, Diabel tells the assault team to get plenty of rest, as they will be leaving at noon. However, after hearing complaints from most of the players, he begrudgingly delays it to 2:30pm.

The next day, after walking up the stairs to the Boss Room for five hours, most of the assault team are exhausted from the trip, as SAO bases a player's stamina on their real-life athletic abilities. Annoyed, Diabel jokingly tells the assault team to take an extra hour to regain their stamina, only to become even more annoyed when they actually take an hour.

Once they finally enter the Boss Room, the assault team is greeted by Illfang and three Sentinels. As Diabel tries to lead the charge, most of the assault team ignores the plan and starts aimlessly attacking Illfang, with one player yelling, "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!!!" Diabel tries to regain control of the situation by barking orders to each Squad, but none of them listen to a single order, with one Squad stopping in the middle the fight to play Bejeweled. Annoyed, Diabel orders two players named Kirito and Asuna to help out the other Squads, which Kirito obeys, much to Diabel's surprise, as Kirito had a reputation of being snarky.

Eventually, all the Sentinels are defeated and Illfang's health goes into the red. As Illfang goes to switch weapons, Diabel decides to land the finishing blow himself, believing the other players are not skilled enough to do it. However, as Diabel prepares to attack, Kirito notices that Illfang's new weapon wasn't a talwar like the guidebook said, but a nodachi. Kirito tries to warn Diabel about the weapon change, but when Diabel asks what the difference is, Kirito goes on a long lecture about the origins of both weapons, resulting in Illfang striking Diabel down with a combo before Kirito can explain why the new weapon is dangerous. As the other players continue the fight, Kirito rushes to Diabel's side and explains that he was trying to say that a nodachi has more reach than a talwar and causes more damage. Diabel asks why he didn't say that sooner, to which Kirito says he thinks of himself as a teacher.

Kirito tries to give Diabel a Healing Potion, but Diabel rejects it, stating that he no longer has the willpower to lead the other players. Diabel laments that he had such high hopes about defeating the Boss, but now their best player is Asuna, who thinks DPS is a "some kind of sex thing", a sentiment Kirito agrees with. Diabel asks Kirito how he's able to push on despite all despair, to which Kirito explains that, after playing MMOs for so many years, he's learned to let go of all his compassion, seeing himself as a lion among sheep. Diabel tells Kirito he's so wise and wishes they had met sooner, as things might have been different. In his final moments, Diabel asks Kirito to lead the assault team and show them they can beat the game. Kirito seems to accept the offer and says that, in different circumstances, he and Diabel could've been friends, but Diabel's last words are, "I... doubt it."

## Legacy

Despite telling him to, Kirito decided not to honor Diabel's last wish and leaves his position as leader of the assault team, chastising the other players as he did so. Although the memory of Diabel was lost over the next few years, his spirit lived on in a sense when Kayaba Akihiko, the game's creator, tried to lead the players in Diabel's place, under the name Heathcliff, resulting in Kayaba being driven to almost the same level of insanity. Although this time, Kirito would eventually stand up to Kayaba and defeat him for the players' sake, having gone through his own epiphany.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 2