Chapter 14

I separated from Sinon and walked out of the cave. The red color

of the sunset in the sky was nearly gone, leaving only the last trace of

purple in the night.

I, who always thought that the world of GGO was always in the

sunset, was slightly shocked that this world also had late night and

looked up in the sky. But after thinking about it, it had to be close to

10pm in the real world, so it's obvious that the night sky would become

dark.

There seemed to be no stars in the sky. It's said that there was

some large-scale galactic war on this world in the past, and civilization

started to decline. Right now, humans could only rely on the remains of

past technology to survive. This wide night sky would even make one

wonder if the planets in the galaxy were destroyed.

Suddenly, there was a small light that shone in the endless

darkness from the south-west direction.

A meteor—of course that wasn't what it was. It was an artificial

satellite. Ever since the last civilization shot one up, there had been no

one using it now, and it continued to send information.

9:45pm. It was time for the 7th «Satellite Scanner» since the 3rd

Bullet of Bullets finals began.

I turned my eyes away from the night, took the thin terminal out

from my belt pouch and touched its surface. The screen immediately lit

up, and the map of the surroundings appeared on it. This lone island

that became the battlefield for the tournament seemed to be

completely covered by desert in the north. There were a few rocky hills

and little green pastures and also a flat barren land that didn't change.

Speaking of which, this place shouldn't be suited for sniping.

After leaning my back on the rock wall near the hole, I tried my

best to hide myself and continued to watch the device. Several seconds

later, the center of the map showed a light silently. I didn't need to

touch it to know that this light represented me—Kirito. Of course,

Sinon, who was waiting in the cave beside me never showed up on the

map.

Unexpectedly, there weren't other players who were alive in this

desert in a 5km radius around me. Even if «Death Gun»—«Steven»

would use the «Optical Camouflage» and not appear on the map, the

other players who realized that Sinon and I were hiding in a desert

cave should be gathered nearby and would be ready to lob grenades

into the cave.

This doesn't sound necessarily great—but there were countless

grey light dots shown all over the desert. This should be players who

have retired, but there were so many «dead bodies», and yet we didn't

hear any sound of battle from the cave. Speaking of which, it's really

unbelievable.

I hurriedly adjusted the receiver's magnification and found that

there was a light dot 6km southwest. After touching it with my

fingertip, the name shown was «Yamikaze». This name seemed familiar.

Looking down even more, I found out that there were a few dark

dots and two light dots that were fairly close. The survivors were «Nono» and «Fernil». I then increased the range to display the entire island

on the screen. However—there were no more lights. Even the player

Sinon called «Camperichie», who occupied the peak of the southern

hills ever since the beginning of the tournament had become dark. Also,

there were two dark dots near him. It seemed that he was ganged up

on.

In other words, including Sinon and Death Gun who didn't appear

on the map, there were only 6 people left in this wide battlefield.

Of course, there could be a possibility that the other players were

hiding in caves or underwater, but without the unique ability of Death

Gun, they wouldn't be able to receive information from the satellite.

Also, at this moment where the tournament's about to end, there

shouldn't be anyone who's patient enough to not to take a look at the

current standings…

"…Ah"

Just when I was thinking about this as I watched the receiver,

there was a sudden important change on the screen, and I couldn't help

but hold back my cry.

This wasn't because the number of light dots increased. In fact, it

was the opposite. 2 light dots in the ruins nearby suddenly went dark.

These two people probably didn't realize that another person was

nearby. And after seeing the screen, they realized that the enemy could

be behind a wall where they were. They then hurriedly threw a

grenade and caused both sides to die—or that's how I think it went. If

this were really the case, these two experts who fought like this until

now were probably depressed over having to be eliminated like this. I

had to hold back my urge to pray 'Amen' to them and send them off.

Anyway——just like that, the battle royale that originally began

with 30 players was now left with four. Also, shown on the screen was

just Yamikaze and me.

I finally counted the number of light and dark dots that were

scattered all over the island.

And then gave a low moan.

"Eh…"

I hurriedly counted again, but no matter how I counted, the

number never changed. The receiver screen showed only 2 surviving

white dots. And also, the number of dots that were eliminated was 24.

The numbers didn't tally. Beside Sinon and Death Gun who didn't

appear on the screen, there were only 28 people. Even if we count

«Pale Rider» who disconnected and disappeared after being shot by

the handgun, there should be only 29 people. There's still only one

person left.

Did someone betray my expectations and hide inside a cave or

underwater? Otherwise…

Death Gun «erased» another player.

No. This shouldn't be possible. Death Gun's avatar, his accomplice

in the real world should be waiting in Sinon's house or somewhere

nearby. I didn't think of using Sinon as bait, but Death Gun's accomplice

can't move to other targets' houses like that.

—No, maybe…did I leave out something important…?

No. Now's not the time to hesitate. I closed my eyes hard and

shook aside the cold air that surrounded me.

Once I opened my eyes, the light dots that were shown on the

screen were starting to flicker. It seemed that the satellite was about to

leave soon. Maybe…no, I don't think I need to do another scan. I silently

said farewell deep inside to the satellite which worked hard and

immediately looked around. Under the desert that was covered in

slight darkness, there wasn't anything that could move or was glowing.

I placed the device that lost its information back into the belt pouch

before turning around and walking back to the cave.

The girl who was carrying the large sniper rifle didn't hide at the

bottom of the buggy, but was waiting at the right corner of the cave.

"So? How is it?"

Sinon shook the short aquamarine hair that was tied to both sides

as she asked anxiously. I tried to clearly and simply explain the entire

situation to her.

"Two people took each other out during the scan, so all that's left

should be 4 of us: me, you, «Yamikaze» and «Death Gun» who didn't

appear on the screen. Yamikaze's 6km down southwest, and Death Gun

should be moving over from a certain point in the desert. Also, there

may be someone hiding in the cave like us."

I really couldn't say my suspicion that someone could have died

by Death Gun's hands. Sinon herself didn't seem to notice my worry as

she muttered while looking somewhat surprised,

"…Only 4, 5 people left…"

But she then nodded her head and said,

"It's been past 1 hr and 45 minutes. In the estimated 2 hours the

tournament would likely take, this progress would be able to meet that.

However, it's really strange that no one threw a grenade in here…"

"Un…those who were searching for us were probably dealt with

by Death Gun using the sniper rifle. There were a lot of grey dots all

over the desert."

"In that case…that guy should get the Max Kill award."

After shrugging with a complicated look, Sinon seemed to be

motivated again and said this,

"Forget about that. The problem now is «Yamikaze». You're the

only survivor who appeared on his terminal, so he'll definitely come

for you."

"I think I heard that name before…is he strong?"

After I asked, Sinon gave an incredulous look,

"The second place in the last tournament. He's a super AGI boost

type. Called the «Devil of Run and Gun»."

"Ru…run and gun?"

"«Run and Gun», running and shooting as he continues to move.

His weapon is the extremely light submachine gun «Calico M900A». He

lost to the rare gun and defense equipment Zekushiido had the last

time and got second, but some would say that Yamikaze's skills were

stronger."

"This…this means that he's the strongest player in the GGO

Japanese server…"

Thinking about it, since he's able to make his way to the end of

the battle, he should be extremely strong. Just when I was thinking

about this, Sinon brought that sort of determined voice into my ears,

"Well…you just said that the real killer was «Death Gun»'s

accomplice in the real world, right? If your guess is correct, Death Gun

can only kill me because the accomplice's in my house."

"…"

I was a little, no, perhaps rather shocked as I watched her face

that reminded me of a cat-like animal.

An unknown killer was ready to harm her body in the real world.

The fear in this situation may even surpass the bind I had with the

Nerve Gear and the rules of the death game I experienced. At this

moment, Sinon's blue eyes were showing fear, but I could see the glint

that's fighting against it. She continued to say in a cool tone to me, who

was dumbstruck.

"Anyway, this means that we don't have to worry about Yamikaze

being killed by Death Gun. Then, even though I'm sorry for Yamikaze,

we can also use him as bait, right? If Death Gun uses the L115 to snipe

Yamikaze, we can find his location. This is much more effective than

you going alone as bait…and basically, I'm doing something similar."

The last words should be referring to how she's holding Death

Gun's accomplice in the real world. Even though she trembled a bit at

the end, it's impressive that she had the concentration to finish it off.

"…You're really strong, Sinon."

The sniper girl blinked and then smiled,

"…I just didn't think about that. I was always good with ignoring

things I'm scared of."

Then, she immediately said something else to cover over that dig

at herself.

"Anyway, how's that strategy? I think it's a situation where we

have to use it."

"Un…that's true. I agree with your strategy too…but…"

I bit my lips slightly and then said a doubt that remained in my

heart a few minutes back.

"…There's something I'm worried about. During the satellite scan

just now, I counted the number of survivors and those eliminated.

There were 28 people. Even if we include Pale Rider, there's still one

less player."

"…Don't tell me, Death Gun killed someone else after that?"

Sinon widened her eyes, but immediately shook her head.

"Tha…that's impossible! The accomplice's target should be me,

right? The outside's not a virtual world. How can he move to such a

place so quickly? Was another player in the same apartment as me?"

"Yo…you're right…but thinking about it, this is really a bit

unnatural…"

I glanced at my watch. It's been two minutes since the scan ended,

thus I quickly mentioned all the doubts on my mind clearly,

"About 30 minutes elapsed from the moment Death Gun shot Pale

Rider and got ready to shoot you near the stadium. In other words,

Pale Rider in the real world should be living about 30 minutes away

from you. Of course, this isn't impossible, but don't you find that it's too

much of a coincidence?"

"…But, that's just a possibility."

I said the doubt that crept up my mind during the satellite scan to

the frowning Sinon.

"No. Listen…maybe there isn't just one person as Death Gun's

accomplice. If there were multiple «task forces», even if someone

stayed behind to attack you, he can also harm another target. In other

words…we can't deny the possibility that Yamikaze is a target of Death

Gun."

"…!"

Sinon gasped and hugged her huge sniper rifle hard. She shook

the face that showed a little white light in the slightly dark space.

"Ho, how's that possible…? Are you saying that there are more

than 3 people who're taking part in this horrifying killer plot?"

"…There were at least 10 survivors from the ex-«Laughing Coffin»

guild. Also, those guys were locked in the same jail for almost half a

year. Maybe they exchanged contacts in the real world…to be a little

extreme, they had enough time to thoroughly go through with this plan.

Of course, not all 10 people can take part…but we have no proof to

decide that there was only one accomplice."

"…Why…why must they plan so much just to continue this

«PK»…? They just got released from the death game, so why…?"

On hearing her trembling vice, I used my dry throat to squeeze an

answer out.

"…Maybe it's the same reason why I wanted to be a «swordsman»

and why you wanted to be a «sniper»…"

"…"

I thought that Sinon would be angry, but she merely bit her lips.

Then, her slender body stopped trembling, and her blue eyes were

giving off a strong glow.

"…If that's the case, we have all the more reason to not to lose to

these guys. I just used the word «PK», and I want to take that back. A

lot of people are PKing in this game, and I joined a squadron that was

based on this. However, PKing has rules and realizations. Killing

completely unconscious players who dived in through drugs isn't

PKing. It's just despicable crime…just killing."

"Un…that's right. We can't let these people continue on like this.

We have to beat «Death Gun» here and make him pay for his crimes

with his accomplices in the real world."

In fact, half of these words were said to myself.

That's right—that's my top priority. I have to start all over here.

This is to redeem myself for killing two people in my madness that

night and taking another person's life after that.

This should be a battle I have to face alone, but this sniper girl got

completely involved. I could only watch her silently.

If her safety's the priority, we can make Yamikaze fight Death Gun

and immediately suicide once one of them wins. However, the worst

thing was that the tournament would still go on if that person who

didn't appear on the map wasn't Death Gun's victim, but was hiding

underwater or in a cave. And Death Gun would take down Yamikaze

and then shoot at Sinon who's unable to move while I'm a corpse for

the time being. Also, if Yamikaze was Death Gun's target, we would

only end up increasing the number of victims.

Thus, I have to fight. I want to protect Sinon, deal with Yamikaze,

and beat Death Gun. This isn't easy, but I have to complete all these—

As I thought about this, Sinon herself said with an adamant voice,

"Leave Yamikaze to me then."

"Eh…"

"That guy's strong. Even you can't beat him immediately. Besides,

Death Gun will use this opportunity to show up when you two are

fighting."

"That…that's true, I guess…"

Sinon saw me give an ambiguous expression, released the gun

from her right hand and then patted on my chest.

"Beside, you must be thinking about protecting me."

I was unable to say anything back as these words hit the target.

The small mouth of that sniper immediately smiled, but then scowled

again.

"Stop joking around. I'm the sniper. You're the supporter. Just

help me find the enemies' positions. Leave Yamikaze and Death Gun to

me."

I don't really understand a small part of these words, but I could

only give a wry smile and nod my head,

"I see. I'll leave it to you then… I guess both of them should be

nearby. I'll ride out in the buggy. You'll leave the cave a little later and

find a spot to snipe."

After we confirmed the plan we had a while back, Sinon nodded

her head.

This time, the serious expression returned to her face. The girl

looked at me straight on from the front and then said simply,

"I'll leave it to you then, partner."

Sinon set her beloved Hecate's scope into night vision mode and

then placed her right eye on it.

In this vast desert, there wasn't anything moving around at that

moment. However, Yamikaze in the southwest side and Death Gun,

whose whereabouts are unknown, should be approaching this place.

Sinon chose a short hilly peak as the sniping area, and right below

the rocky hill was the cave they were hiding in just now. It was hard to

spot this place from the ground, and she could get a birds-eye view all

around. However, there is the risk of danger. Though it's a short hilltop,

the peak's still more than 10m tall from the ground. Someone like

Sinon, whose VIT isn't high, can't jump down just like that. Also, there's

only one way to get up to here. If the enemy was nearby, she could be

pierced through by bullets with nowhere else to go.

However, now's the time where she should shake away all

negative thoughts. The sniper continued to try and keep herself calm

as she stealthily turned her beloved gun to the right.

Thus, she spotted a figure right in the middle of a large sand dune.

The night wind that continued on and off blew his waist-length

black hair at times. He's wearing a black army uniform on his slender

body, making him look like he was about to mix into the darkness. That

profile was more of an elf swordsman in the middle of a fantasy desert

rather than a soldier with a gun.

Right in front of Kirito was the transport both of them took from

the ruins to here—the three-wheeler buggy. It didn't have much fuel

when it ran out of the cave, so it shouldn't be able to move now.

However, the buggy still fulfilled its duty obediently until the end. Its

massive frame was used as a cover by Kirito. It's easy to spot, but

people couldn't really snipe him from the north easily.

The rocky hill Sinon was hiding at was on the south side of where

Kirito was, and this was a location that had only a few attack options.

In other words, Death Gun's L115 could only attack from the west and

the east. Also considering that Yamikaze was coming over from the

west, Death Gun would probably take action from the east. That should

be what Kirito was thinking. His face that didn't look any different from

a girl when looked from afar was facing the blueish-white moon that

was gradually moving up through the hole in the thick clouds.

Death Gun would probably not use the stun bullets when sniping

Kirito, but use the .338 Lapua Magnum. It would almost guarantee an

immediate death once that kind of bullet hits the head or the heart.

Even if it only hits the limbs, the impact damage would cause half the

HP to be gone. Also, Kirito would find it hard to dodge this attack.

Death Gun's first bullet didn't have the bullet line, and he could also use

the «Metamaterial Optical Camouflage» to hide and snipe. Of course,

there would be footprints on the sand, so he couldn't move to a

position where he could get a sure hit. But even so, Death Gun had an

overwhelming advantage.

—But, if it's you.

You, who cleared that «Untouchable Game» when we first met and

could even slice Hecate's bullet from point blank, you'll definitely be able

to dodge it, Kirito.

Sinon said this to him in her heart, and then turned her eyes back

to the rifle.

Her job was to allow Kirito to maximize his concentration. Thus,

they had to quickly deal with the strongest AGI-type attacker,

Yamikaze that was closing in from behind.

If they had time and if the situation was safe, maybe Yamikaze

would personally avoid trouble or even help out if they explained

things to him. However, it would be extremely impossible to make him

believe that there's a real killer incident in the final stage of the BoB. If

Sinon herself didn't witness Death Gun and feel the chill on being

aimed at by the Blackstar, she would only laugh at what Kirito said.

Thus, they could only take down Yamikaze. Zekushiido didn't take

part in this tournament, so almost everyone would think that he's the

player with the highest chance of winning. And she had to kill him in

one hit.

…Can the me right now really do this?

Sinon used her naked right eye to look through the entire vast

desert as she tried her best to resist the doubt and fear that was slowly

creeping up on her. All the snipes she made on the three-wheeler

buggy when they escaped from the ruins were pathetic. She couldn't

even hit the mantle guy, and even the hit on the truck's gas tank was

merely a coincidence. All the pride Sinon built up till then was

immediately wrecked at that moment.

As a sniper, Sinon's role is to gather up the number of kills and

practice her refined sniping techniques. One day, when she could win

in the BoB tournament, the Asada Shino in the real world will feel real

strength. At that moment, she could then give up her fear of guns,

wouldn't think about it and could live on normally. She always believed

that ever since she accepted Shinkawa Kyouji's invitation to GGO.

However, this wish may be off the mark.

Unknowingly, she had already thought that she separated her

heart into two different existences, «Sinon» and «Shino», forming the

strong Sinon and the weak Shino. But this was wrong. Sinon in the

game still had the weakness that's left in the real world, so she was

afraid of that Blackstar handgun and missed that snipe.

Anyway, what she was looking for was «herself». After meeting

this enigmatic boy Kirito, she finally found this out. Perhaps he

definitely was this sort of person in the real world. Fighting his own

weaknesses, fighting all the time, even if he didn't have a lightsaber at

his waist.

In that case, Shino in the real world should originally have that

tough personality she had in the game.

—I shall fire this bullet as the ordinary person Shino. Just like that

incident 5 years ago.

I continued to escape that moment, just wanting to forget, erase it

and close my eyes, just wanting to vandalize it with pens.

But I won't do that again. I want to look at my own memory and

crime, back to that moment, and build on from there. Maybe this was the

moment I had always been waiting for.

In that case—

Now's the moment.

Sinon's right eye captured the black profile that was quickly

moving over through her scope. «Yamikaze» was there.

She immediately placed her fingers on the trigger. However, she

still couldn't exert force yet. There was only one chance to snipe.

There's no time to move and readjust her position.

If she missed, Yamikaze would definitely aim for Kirito. At that

moment, no matter how strong Kirito was, he couldn't handle both

Death Gun and Yamikaze. He would definitely be taken down by one of

the two. Then, Death Gun would just need to deal with Yamikaze and

easily use the Blackstar to attack Sinon just as he planned. The virtual

7.62mm bullet would hit Sinon, and once this image was sent to the

screen telecasting this in the outside world, the accomplice in the real

world would inject the fatal drug into Shino's body and cause her heart

to stop.

In other words, this one bullet could decide Shino's real fate. Just

like that time.

However, she felt unbelievably calm. Maybe she just couldn't

understand the entire situation, but that's definitely not just it. She's

not alone. A certain someone, a certain strength was supporting her.

There was a slight heat that was warmly melting those stiff and

number fingers. What was this—

The Hecate II. This other half of her who went into numerous

battlefields with her, the one and only alter ego of her.

…Ah, I see. So you were always accompanying me. Not just in the

hands of a sniper…but also being with an ordinary girl like me. You still

continued to encourage me even though I can't see you.

…Please. Lend this weak me strength. Grant me strength to again

move on from here.

In Aincrad, the floating city that had already disappeared, we

fought hard in there, and every day, the swordsmen of the attack group

would find «Outside System Skills» when they battle and train.

For example, when dueling, there's the «prerecognition» that

comes with the position of the sword and the avatar's center of gravity,

the «insight» that can predict the attack patterns of monsters from long

range and through the attack pattern, the «Distinguish» that allows

players distinguish the enemy's sound effects from the background

sound and find them, the «mislead» to lure the AI monsters' learning

capacity and give it a heavy burden, the «switch» that allows multiple

players to switch positions and allow them to recover their HP.

And amongst these skills that weren't listed in the ability column,

the hardest skill to get, and even treated as a supernatural one was the

«presence sense»—also called «Hypersense».

That's to feel the presence of the enemy before seeing and

hearing first. It's also a skill to «sense killing intent».

There's one group who denied the existence of this skill since

logically, it's impossible to detect this so-called killing intent in the

virtual world. Humans who were dived in could only use the digital

data Nerve Gear sent over to identify the world, so all the information

codes in this game could be changed into a process. Of course, that

would mean that there couldn't possibly be vague things like killing

intent or sixth sense.

Their reasoning was actually logical. Even I wouldn't really agree

that the «Hypersense» skill exists.

However, during the 2 years I fought in Aincrad, I did experience

what could be said as «a sense of killing intent» a few times. I didn't see

or hear anything, but I just had the feeling that someone was watching

me and didn't move further into the dungeon. In the end, I did manage

to save my own life a few times.

Earlier this year, I mentioned this once to my «daughter» Yui. Yui

was once the affiliated AI to the «Cardinal System» that operated SAO,

and she definitely indicated that in SAO and «The Seed» program that

was derived from it, there weren't any other methods of knowing the

existences of monsters other than the five senses.

—Thus, I shouldn't be able to notice the enemy if he hide silently

in a place I couldn't see. Thus, I explained the thoughts I had for a long

time to Yui.

Players who dived into VRMMO would use the game server signal

that's constantly far away from them, to check «their» own status.

When moving alone in a wilderness or dungeon, they could only check

their own data. However, if someone tried to ambush the player, access

of the status signals would become twice or more. At this moment, the

system process would become slower, and finally causing a slight delay

in transmission, and this could possibly be the «killing intent» I felt—

After hearing my guess, Yui showed a doubtful look and then said

that if the server became slower due to this level of processing, it

would be eliminated. However, she later added that to put it bluntly,

she couldn't dare to deny this possibility completely.

In the end, maybe it's more convincing to say that it was some

supernatural power.

But now in this situation, I couldn't care about such reasoning.

Having played so many VRMMOs, this was the first time I was

forced to only rely on the «Hypersense» skill.

Far up in the sky that had the last remaining light in it, I could see

the blueish-white plate hanging high up in the blurry sky. It's a full

moon today, but maybe it's because the thick clouds covering it that it

felt even darker than Alfheim. The silhouettes of the sand dune were

half merged into the night, and it's difficult to even tell whether the

silhouettes were cacti or rocks.

If... If someone was hidden behind these objects and points the

gun that had a sure-kill ability, I may be unable to spot him with my

naked eye. Also, the enemy who's ready to snipe me also had an

advantage of being able to become completely transparent. The only

thing I could hope for visually was the footprints that are going to be

imprinted on the sand. However, even I can't see for distance more

than 1km away if I want to see it. Also, the footsteps that can be heard

when the enemy's moving will be blown away by the wind and won't

reach my ears.

—Then, I might as well close my eyes and cover my ears.

I shook my fear aside and silently closed my eyes. Then, I

removed the wind, the dry cold air and the rolling of the sand beside

my feet out of my consciousness.

Then, there was a sudden movement far away. Someone was

running really quickly. The direction was from the southwest side, so

this was «Yamikaze» instead.

I tried my best to hold back the impulse to chase after his profile.

Yamikaze was Sinon's prey, so she'll definitely stop him. Thus, I

removed the footsteps behind me through my consciousness and

gather all my senses from the front, desperately increasing my

concentration to feel any possible «changes».

Ah…that's right. I remember it now. During that night where we

had the Laughing Coffin Crusade, I didn't notice those guys' ambush

because of any visuals or sounds. I just had a «bad feeling». I then

instinctively turned around and found that there were some shadows

moving through the fork of the dungeon.

What was the name of that guy who led the charge against us

again? It was not the leader of Laughing Coffin, «PoH», he wasn't

around that time if I remember correctly. Most likely, it's a certain

cadre. That guy's weapon was an «Estoc» that was thin like some type

of needle, a weapon that strengthened its piercing ability without the

blade. It swayed as it brought its sharp tip at me, and it was even giving

off a small glint of light…

Did I kill that guy the last time? No, I don't think so. After I wore

his HP down to less than half, that guy switched with his partner and

slowly went backwards.

Before he left, he should have said something to me. It wasn't

some big words or something, but a stuttering, ear-piercing voice that

sounded like some 'shuu shuu' voice in little parts.

"…Kirito. After this, I'll definitely, kill you finely."

—That manner of speech, that presence, and those eyes that let

out the red glows under the hood—

Suddenly, there was a sharp painful feeling that's right between

my eyebrows.

It's this kind of feeling. This thing that's targeted at me, this icycoldness that's merciless and sticky—killing intent.

I immediately opened my eyes.

Far away in the desert, underneath a cactus that's slightly north

in the east direction, a sudden glow bursted brightly.

Was that the sword tip of an Estoc or the flare of a sniper rifle

being fired?

I turned my body to the right. No, once I was about to tilt to the

right, the attack force that had shocking intensity gathered on my

forehead. The flow of time started to change. That extremely heavy

feeling felt like it could even freeze the air—

The bullet that was rotating at high speed, grazed past my temple

cutting off a strand of my hair and flew behind me as I tilted slightly.

"Oh…OOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

I abandoned the remaining trace of black hair that was in the air

and kicked at the sandy ground hard with a roar.

—Fast!

Though her scope finally managed to catch sight of «Yamikaze»'s

profile, his fleeting speed far exceeded Sinon's expectation. With his

AGI stat boosted to the max and the dash skill raised to the maximum

level, that shocking movement speed made him really look like some

black whirlwind.

The equipment that's worn on Yamikaze's little body was a dark

blue uniform that had the lowest amount of protection. He didn't bring

any support weapon, and only a plasma grenade on his waist. This

person didn't even wear a helmet and showed his thin face. His long

and thin arms were holding the M900A, and together with his upper

body that was tilted forward, he didn't shake at all even when running.

That speed which left only an afterimage as he continued to run was

more like a «Ninja» than a soldier. Also, he wasn't just fast—he never

stopped.

Even players who have extreme confidence in their own speeds

would find a place to cover after running a while, look around to

observe their surroundings before continuing. To a sniper like Sinon,

the moment he stops would be the best chance to snipe.

However, even though Yamikaze also used cover like cactus and

rocks, he never even stopped. He knew that continuous dashing would

be the safest defense for a character that focuses on AGI.

…what should I do? Should I predict his movement and shoot? But

Yamikaze's not running in a straight line. He's running over sand dunes

and peaks; this trajectory can't even be predicted. Or maybe I should aim

my first bullet at his feet and take care of him while he gets down for

cover? To a seasoned veteran like him, this old-fashioned trick may or

may not work. Also, from the second bullet on, the enemy could see the

«bullet line». Should I really abandon the greatest advantage of a snipe

weapon—the first shot without a bullet line?

Sinon hesitated. However, this hesitation wasn't of the fear and

perplexity like on the three-wheeler buggy. Her mind was rather cool

and collected. The wooden stock of the Hecate brought a smooth

feeling to her face, and that, together with the fact that the boy

standing with his back to Yamikaze believed in Sinon, gave her

strength.

She shouldn't gamble and shoot Yamikaze that's running

around…

After hesitating for a while, the girl made this conclusion and

slightly relaxed her finger.

She would only squeeze the trigger once she was certain that she

would hit the target, or else it wouldn't be called a snipe. As Kirito

entered the range of the M900A, Yamikaze may stop, and until then,

she had to wait for that moment.

The blue ninja was less than 1km away from Kirito. But once

Kirito didn't react even if his back is facing him, he would feel that

Kirito didn't discover him and continue to get close until the 100m

shooting range where an AGi-type player would be most adept in.

—I'm also going to hold on until that moment, so you have to be

patient too, Kirito. Trust me.

In this battle royale where they couldn't use communication

equipment, Sinon could only pray this deep inside her heart. However,

she had a thought that she passed her feelings to him. The sniper then

started to stop thinking and brought herself as one with Hecate, letting

her vision merge with the scope, and the feel with the trigger. At this

moment, even the feeling of herself breathing left her. The only thing

she felt was the target that continued to dash and the crosshair reticle

that was constantly trying to track his heart.

She couldn't even tell how long it took.

Finally, the moment she waited for arrived.

A white light came from the rear right corner of her eyes. That

was a bullet, but naturally, it didn't come from Hecate, but the .338

Lapua bullet Death Gun shot from the east side of the desert. Kirito

dodged the attack, and the L115's bullet line went near Yamikaze who

was approaching from the west.

Yamikaze didn't think that Kirito noticed him, but didn't even

expect another huge bullet to fly in and pass the target. Then, he

naturally got low and crouched down to stop suddenly and got ready

to head at the rock nearby, right behind him.

This would be the first and last chance to snipe him.

The finger that was half following the Hecate's own will started to

squeeze the trigger. The light green «bullet line prediction» showed up

in her eyes, and the circle immediately became small as a dot. Sinon

aimed for the center of the chest. After squeezing the trigger, the

hammer slammed the firing pin, and the powder of the .50BMG inside

the chamber exploded, CHANK, and the large bullet immediately went

into supersonic speed—

Yamikaze's eyes noticed the muzzle flash that came from the

Hecate and Sinon's right eye that was looking through the scope. His

eyes seemed to show shock, regret and definite admiration. Then…

The ninja who was the most likely to become champion had a

blinding light of special effect on his chest. His avatar was sent flying

several meters away and then rolled on the sand a few times before

stopping face up. At this moment, the M900A left his right hand, and

the grenade rolled onto the floor. As the [DEAD] tag appeared above

his abdomen and started to spin—Sinon herself had turned 180

degrees together with the Hecate.

—Kirito!

She wordlessly called this name out.

The black-clothed swordsman was running at the blueish-white

moon that was starting to appear on the horizon.

His running motion was completely different from Yamikaze's

clean posture. That straightened back while keeping the chin down as

he ran forward felt just like dancing. Kirito's right hand moved to pull

the lightsaber on his waist. The blue and purple blade that immediately

extended added some color to the darkness.

The direction Kirito was heading to flashed a weak orange glow.

It was the firing flame.

The lightsaber drew an arc and knocked aside the bullet that flew

over, again and again. Kirito was already able to see the bullet line after

dodging the first bullet. No matter how many times the bolt action

sniper rifle continued to fire rapidly, it couldn't pierce through the

outstanding reflexes of the lightsaber warrior.

Sinon removed the nightvision mode of the scope and increased

the magnifier to the maximum level to try and find the position of the

bullet.

—Got it. Below the tall cactus. That unique suppressor that's

reaching out from under the mantle clothing and the cleaning rod that's

under the barrel. This person is the user of the L115A3 «Silent Assassin»

and the real killer «Death Gun».

Sinon tried her best to widen her right eye to fight off the fear

after seeing his profile.

…You're not a dead soul. No matter how many people you killed in

«Sword Art Online», how you're a lunatic who came up with such a

terrifying plot when you went back to the real world, you're still a human

who can breathe through your nose and has a beating heart. I'll fight

with you then. I believe that my Hecate and my power's enough to beat

you and the L115.

Sinon pulled the bolt handle and aimed her beloved gun, which

now was reloaded, deep at the mantle guy who's lying on the ground.

Though she could see his flickering red eyes through the scope,

those definitely weren't the ghost lights of the dead, but the lens of the

full face-type goggles. What's under the goggles was just a mere

avatar's face.

Sinon's fingers touched the trigger and exerted force slightly.

Death Gun's head immediately moved for a moment. He could see

the bullet line. After the attack on Yamikaze just now, Sinon had

already exposed her position. However, this just made both sides end

up in equal circumstances. Now—

Time to decide this!!

Death Gun, who's being aimed at in the scope, moved his L115

and pointed his gun at Sinon. Poking out from under his black jaw were

the bloody red eyes that were coldly staring at Sinon's forehead. Sinon

immediately squeezed the trigger without even waiting for the reticule

to shrink.

As her beloved gun let out a huge bang, Death Gun's sniper rifle

let out a little fire. Sinon moved her face away from the scope to watch

her bullet that was flying over and the enemy's bullet that was flying

over through her naked eye. The trajectories of both bullets had looked

like the same.

For a moment, Sinon had the feeling that the bullets would hit

each other. However, such a miracle never happened. At last two

bullets seemed to graze by each other by the tiniest of gaps as they

went slightly off course.

KUWANG! A sharp impact sound rang beside the eye piece. Then,

the large scope that was installed on the Hecate vanished without a

trace. She would be immediately dead if her right eye was still there.

Death Gun's .338 Lapua bullet grazed past Sinon's right shoulder and

disappeared behind.

And the Hecate's .50BMG bullet missed its target silently and hit

the L115 gun directly.

The guns in GGO would have a fixed durability for each parts.

Normally, only the gun itself would be worn out, and this could be

recovered through maintenance. No matter which part was hit, it

would be a lot of damage, but even so, it's hard to make the durability

drop to zero. Also, it could be repaired if there were some durability

points left—but it's a different case altogether if the weak parts of the

gun got shot by a large caliber. Like now.

A small fireball was formed at Death Gun's chest. The center of

the L115 scattered into shrapnel and immediately disappeared. Also,

parts like the gun stock, scope and barrel fell onto the sand. These

parts could be used, but the mechanism part couldn't be used again. In

other words, the «Silent Assassin» was dead at this moment.

…Sorry.

Sinon said this apology secretly in her mind, but the target to her

apology was obviously not Death Gun, but that gun with such rare and

great performance ability. She again pulled the bolt of the gun. Even

though the safe sound of the metal was heard as the bullet was loaded

into the chamber, the scope was destroyed, and she couldn't use it to

snipe from afar.

"I'll leave the rest to you then, Kirito."

She muttered at the lightsaber warrior's profile that was running.

Kirito and Death Gun were about 200m apart. Even if he activates

Optical Camouflage, he couldn't get away from the situation as there

would be clear footprints left on the sand.

The mantle guy slowly got up from under the cactus, probably

giving up. The large barrel that was left of the L115 was slinging down

from his right hand, and he slowly moved forward like he was gliding.

Was he going to use that metal rod to fight? That lightsaber of Kirito

that could slice even the Hecate's bullet could slice it in half in one hit.

Both of them were quickly closing in. Even without a scope, Sinon

who had the long-sight skill could clearly see Kirito running forward

while raising a large amount of sand and Death Gun who was slowly

dragging his feet forward.

Kirito continued to run as he swiftly raised the lightsaber in his

right hand over his shoulder. He then thrust his left hand forward at

the same time. It was the posture for that overwhelmingly intense

thrusting technique seen countless times in the preliminaries.

In contrast, Death Gun moved the gun barrel that was giving a

black glow over to the left hand and grabbed the front end of the gun

with his right hand. Both of them were about 5 seconds away from

each other. There were camera glows appearing behind both of them.

Right now, the audience was watching this live telecast from the bars

inside GGO or from the multi-MMO channels on the outside, and of

course, they wouldn't know about Death Gun's crimes and Kirito's aim.

But they would still watch the screen for this intense battle scenario.

Sinon forgot all about this and merely widened her eyes to watch this

deathmatch.

Death Gun then raised the gun barrel horizontally with both

hands.

As his hand let out a sharp light—

"Ahh…!"

Sinon left out a sharp cry.

Death Gun moved both hands away. The gun barrel left his left

hand and flew backwards.

And on his right hand—there was a thin metal rod that was

drawn from below the gun. It was the cleaning rod. Was that his final

weapon? The cleaning rod should only be a tool to maintain the gun. It

wouldn't have any attack power, and even if he used it to beat someone,

the most it would do would be to reduce a little of the enemy's HP…

—No.

That wasn't a rod used to clean a gun. The tip that should have an

opening was as sharp as a needle. Was that a sword? But even its base

was about 1mm thick. Could that thing really hurt someone? Speaking

of which, there shouldn't be any other metallic swords in GGO other

than combat knifes.

Flabbergasted, Sinon saw Kirito's back seem to freeze.

However, the lightsaber warrior didn't stop. The energy saber

that's shining in his right hand thrust forward. The jet engine-like

sound effect of metal even reached Sinon's ears while she was on the

hill. The sharp end that had a sure-kill ability was sucked in by the

mantle. Kirito wanted to use this entire sword to stab into his body—

but failed as Death Gun's upper body bent backwards. This perfect

dodged looked like he knew Kirito's move and timing.

The power of Kirito's one-handed thrust merely left a burnt smell

in the air and went by Death Gun.

Perhaps because the move was dodged, the lightsaber warrior

froze and showed a short opening. Though he immediately moved and

got ready to jump forward and right, Death Gun, who was still bending

backwards, moved his right hand like some independent creature. That

approximately 80cm long metal needle tip—

Stabbed straight into the left shoulder of the black uniform

viciously.

"…KIRITO!"

As Sinon shouted out, the bloody red special effect scattered in

the darkness like real blood.

* * *

Yuuki Asuna placed her handphone on the sensor. Once the sound

effect of the transaction went through a second later, she then said,

'thank you!' and ran out of the taxi.

At the front of the rotary, there was a large entrance that was

partially lit even though it was almost 10pm. Even though the power of

the automatic doors were cut off, Asuna ran to the sign that indicates

that it was the night entrance without thinking.

She pushed the door and went through the cold air that smelt of

disinfectant to the visitor's counter. As Kikuoka Seijirou had contacted

the hospital before, Asuna immediately said what she was ready to say

to the nurse who looked up.

"I'm Yuuki who just called to visit room 7025!"

At the same time, she pulled her student ID out from her pocket

and handed it to the counter. As the nurse took the identification card

to compare with Asuna's face, Asuna herself used that time to

memorize the floor plan that's on the wall opposite her.

"Hello, Yuuki Asuna-san. This is your visitor pass. Please

remember to return this pass when you leave. The patient's room is

from the elevator on the right…"

"I got it. Thank you!"

She hurriedly bowed once she got the pass card and left the

shocked nurse behind her. She ran to the elevator. In the hospital

records, Kirito—Kirigaya Kazuto wasn't here to be treated or

hospitalized, but to be checked on, thus Asuna's anxiety was a little

unnatural. However, there's no time to look at others now.

There seemed to be some gate that looked like a platform

entrance in front of the elevator. Asuna placed her pass card on the

screen, let it scan through and went through before the metal doors

opened completely. She pressed the up button, ran into the elevator

doors that opened and finally heaved a sigh of relief.

—Kazuto must have felt this way when he had to run to me after

releasing me from the bird cage in ALO, right? He's definitely alright. He

couldn't be... Though she believed that, she couldn't hold back that

anxious feeling.

Every time the elevator passed through a level, there would be a

steady electronic sound. It was only the 7th level, but the speed at

which it went up felt really slow.

"Don't worry, mama."

Suddenly, an immature voice came through the handphone

receiver that she's holding with both hands.

That's the «daughter» of Kazuto and Asuna, the AI Yui. Her main

processor was now in the terminal-type platform in Kazuto's room. If

there was a need, she would enter the game as a guide pixie in ALO,

and they could talk through the phone in real life. Even though the

battery was limited which made her unable to keep talking for long,

they had been in constant contact ever since Asuna left the Dicey Café.

"Papa won't lose to any strong opponent. Because he's papa."

"…Un. That's right."

Asuna placed the microphone near her lips and softly responded.

The stiff fingers could finally move at this moment, but the tension was

still in her heart.

Kirito was requested by Kikuoka to head into GGO to investigate

that mysterious player «Death Gun». In the end, the one controlling

this avatar was an ex-member of the SAO red guild «Laughing Coffin».

Also—those two that Death Gun shot in the game died of heart failure

in the real world.

Without doubt, something strange must have happened. Though

Kikuoka was certain that Kirito wouldn't have any danger while diving,

he could tell that those two strange deaths weren't just a coincidence.

PAANN

With that sound, the elevator went through the 6th level and

started to slow down before stopping on the 7th level with an

electronic sound. At the same time the elevator opened, Yui

immediately gave the directions 'head right for 15m, turn left and walk

for another 8m'. Asuna immediately followed what she said and ran all

the way down the empty corridor.

There were sets of electronic doors on both sides of the corridor,

and Asuna checked the metal doorplates with her eyes as she ran.

7023…24..25! She placed her access pass on the door, and the door

immediately opened after the light on it turned from red to blue.

This was a single room ward that had grey and white base colors.

Near the center of the room was a plastic patient's bed Asuna herself

relied on before. The curtains on all sides of the room were opened,

and there was a professional looking monitor. The cables that were

attached to the monitor split up and were attached on the exposed

chest of the boy who's lying on the bed. The boy's head was also

wearing the rather familiar silver circlet Asuna was familiar with—the

AmuSphere.

—Kirito-kun!

Asuna forcefully gasped as she let out some warm air and was

ready to shout—

"…Kirigaya-kun!?"

A certain voice rang before Asuna's did, causing her to almost

tumble forward in surprise. She turned her neck to the right and found

that the monitor was blocking a foldable chair beside the bed, and

there was also a person sitting on it.

That person was wearing a white uniform, wearing a nurse's hat

and her hair tied into braids. Her face also had a rather trendy looking

pair of glasses. She was a nurse. Thinking about it, Kikuoka did say that

someone was by Kazuto's side.

However, that person was actually a beauty of an unknown age,

and she even bent forward and almost got onto the half-naked Kazuto.

Asuna felt somewhat unhappy on seeing that, but the thought merely

flashed through. The nurse who noticed Asuna walking into the room

lifted her head and looked somewhat nervous.

"Ah, are you Yuuki-san? I heard that you're coming. Please come

here."

The nurse said with a somewhat hoarse voice and then used her

left hand to point beside the bed. Asuna ran over without her telling,

nodded back and again looked at Kazuto's face.

Of course, Kazuto's eyes were closed. However, he wasn't

sleeping and neither was he conscious. The AmuSphere isolated his 5

senses from reality and took him away to a distant unique land. As the

AmuSphere would receive all the muscle movement from the brain, his

face and body wouldn't be moving. Logically, that should be the case,

but on seeing Kazuto's face, Asuna immediately felt that his heart was

rather unstable.

"How's Ki…Kazuto-kun?"

Asuna lifted her head up and asked the nurse. On hearing this, the

nurse with the «Aki» nametag frowned and shook her head.

"Don't worry, he's not in physical danger. But the heart rate just

jumped to 130 beats a minute just now…"

"Heart rate…"

Asuna muttered and looked at the screen beside her. The liquid

crystal display showed the wave patterns and the words [132 bpm].

The wave pattern in front of her was moving erratically.

It's not rare for the heartbeat rate to increase while playing a

VRMMO. While diving into the environment and fighting against

monsters, many would be nervous and so their pulse would quicken.

Or rather, this would be how they enjoy the game.

However—Kazuto was that Kirito. In the floating city of Aincrad,

he was a solo player on the clearing team and would be the one who

would brush close to death most often. How could he be so nervous in

an ordinary game?

In fact, she had never seen Kirito look so frantic during the past

year when they were playing ALO together.

—What in the world happened?

Asuna used her finger to rub away the sweat that appeared on

Kazuto's forehead and bit her lips tightly.

At this moment, Yui's voice came from the handphone in her left

hand.

"Mama, please watch the panel PC on the wall! I'll connect it to the

network channel «MMO Stream> live feed!"

On hearing this, Asuna looked up and found that there was a 40-

inch monitor that's on the wall near the edge of the bed. Yui may be

using the handphone wireless function to connect to that computer as

the originally offed-screen lit on its own and the browser went into full

screen mode.

The image that appeared was exactly the same as how it was seen

from the room in ALO.

At the top left hand corner, the large words Gun Gale Online were

written there. On the side, there were the long and small words 'the

3rd Bullet of Bullet battle royale finals is being telecasted!'

On the right side of the screen were the namelist of the players.

The one that took the largest space of the screen was the split channels

that had multiple split camera images. But now, only two large

windows were lined together.

The background of those two was the desert under the blueishwhite moon. It seemed that two players were engaged in close ranged

combat and the cameras were filming them from behind. The window

on the left depicted a petite avatar with fully black uniform and flowing

hair. He was holding a purple-blue lightsaber that was glowing, and his

left hand was just hanging down. Also, they could see fresh red blood

scattering from his left shoulder. The footer beside the avatar had the

words that showed his name [Kirito].

"That's Kirito-kun…"

The impression the avatar gave was different from the «black

swordsman» during SAO and the Spriggan in ALO as that slender back

looked no different from a girl. However, the way he raised the sword

and adjusted his center of gravity was showing that he was Kirito.

Watching the same visual from the other side of the bed, nurse

Aki said in a troubled voice,

"Is that Kirigaya-kun's avatar over there? So Kirigaya-kun who's

unconscious is controlling it now, right?"

"Yes. He's fighting now…so the heart rate increased."

Though Asuna answered this, there was something she couldn't

seem to explain clearly to nurse Aki. Kirito's left shoulder had a severe

wound—and his opponent was most likely another survivor of SAO

and could have killed two players in GGO.

Asuna timidly turned to look at the right window.

Standing over there with his back facing the screen was that

player who was wearing a mantle, which was what she expected. His

back looked lifeless and full of holes, but Asuna knew that those who

were completely used to the virtual world would have this posture. She

held her breath and watched the small sharp object in the mantle guy's

right hand.

"Eh…"

On first glance, she couldn't help but cry out.

The mantle guy wasn't holding the large sniper rifle he used on

the metal bridge or the black handgun, but an ordinary thin and long

metal rod—

No. it wasn't just an ordinary metal rod. It started to thin from the

base on, and was already as thick as a needle at the end. That was a

sword. On first glance, it looked rather similar to the rapier Asuna was

used to wielding, but in fact, it was a weapon that didn't have a blade,

one that could only be used to stab.

"Estoc…? Ah…ahhh…"

Asuna herself didn't even realize that she was making a sound.

Her distant memory started to ache like how that sword stabbed

through. There was really a cadre amongst «Laughing Coffin» who was

skilled in using this weapon. His name—his name was—

Of course, the mantle guy wasn't using the name he used in SAO

like Kirito. However, Asuna couldn't help but look over at the avatar's

foot.

The displayed player name, was also in alphabets.

[Sterben].

Asuna couldn't read it out exactly immediately and could only say

it in an interrupted manner,

"St…ster…ben? Was it a misspell of Steven…?"

"No…that's not it, mama."

As Yui answered this, nurse Aki added ' it isn't like that'. Asuna

looked at her, and the nurse frowned her bewitching eyebrows before

saying in an extremely tense expression,

"This is a German medical term. It's read as…«Sterben»."

"Ster…ben."

Asuna had never heard of this word before. Nurse Aki looked at

her troubled expression, hesitated for a little bit and then said with a

somewhat hoarse voice,

"It means…«death». It's a common term in a hospital…when a

patient just passes away…"

The hairs on Asuna's arms and back immediately stood up. She

then finally turned her eyes away from the screen to the face of the boy

lying beside her.

"Kirito…kun."

At this moment, Asuna's voice was trembling so much that she

couldn't even recognize it.

* * *

GGO was a game operation that was created from the completely

free VRMMO support package «The Seed».

The Seed was a very versatile system, but even the operator

couldn't change its processing. In other words, it was a black box

existence. Games operating after 3 months since the start would

definitely be able to «convert» characters from all games with the On

setting, and the «pain absorber» that could prevent giving players'

virtual pain or use misleads to erase the pain could only be adjusted,

and couldn't be turned off completely.

In other words, no matter how many times someone got shot in

GGO—even if hand or leg got blown away, the player wouldn't even

feel overwhelming pain or numbness.

Thus, the pain that's on my left shoulder and the ice-pick like pain

was just an imagination. No, the pain numbness mechanism had

already removed this imagination, so this isn't real pain. It's just my

memory, an awakening of a memory in another world, where I got

stabbed by the same weapon in the same part.

About 5m away from me, the mantle guy—«Death Gun» was

showing the sharp tip of the Estoc that was giving off a black glow and

swaying like it was some rhythm. That guy could launch stabs without

any preparatory movements in such a situation. It would be hard to

dodge it if I view it as an ordinary sword.

That's right. I once had the same thought when I was in the cave

«Laughing Coffin» was in. Back then, I felt that the weapon this guy

used was rather rare, but in that intense battle, I really never had the

chance to talk to him.

About a year and a half later on, I finally could say to him what I

couldn't say back then.

"…That's really a rare weapon. Or should I say…I didn't know that

GGO allows for metal swords."

Then, Death Gun let out a hoarse laugh from the hood that was

covering the head, and then said in an interrupted manner,

"To think, that you became so lazy, «Black Swordsman». A high

level, «knife creation» skill and a «weapons creation» skill would be

enough. The length and weight, mostly like that, that's the limit."

"…Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that I could create the sword I

liked."

Once I finished answering, the enemy again laughed,

"Like back then, you still want a high STR rated sword, right? That

toy, in your hand, shouldn't be rather useful."

The lightsaber «Shadow Light» in my right hand let out a low

moan, and couldn't possibly like being called a toy. The moment that

was said, it then let out a little burst of spark. I shrugged and said for

my sword,

"It's not some toy. I already thought of using this kind of weapon

once. Also…"

I swung the lightsaber, letting it give a vibrating sound and then

put the sword that was down below to the middle.

"A sword's a sword. It's enough if I can hack your HP to zero."

"Ku, ku, ku, how awesome, huh? However, if you can."

The red eyes that were deep inside the hood were flickering

irregularly. The skull-faced metal mask that seemed to laugh coldly,

"«Black swordsman», you've, breathed in, too much, of the,

corroded, air of, the real world, that move just now, the slow, «Vorpal

strike», just now, you would be disappointed, if the old you, saw that."

"…Maybe, but you should be the same too, right? Or rather, do you

still think that you're still a member of «Laughing Coffin»?"

"Oh? So have you, remember, so many things?"

Death Gun let out the sound of breathing as the metal rubbed

against each other and moved his hands as if he was clapping. The

rotten bandage that covered his right hand vaguely showed the tattoo

of «Laughing Coffin» on the inside of the wrist.

"…Then you, should, be clear, about the, difference, between, me,

and you. I'm, a real, red player, but you're not. You killed, merely

because, you, were driven, by fear, to survive. A coward, you are,

without thinking, about, the meaning, to be, a killer, just wanting, to

forget, about everything."

"…!"

I was immediately rendered speechless by what he said.

—Why? Why was he able to accurately say out my mental state? I

had never interacted with this guy ever since the Laughing Coffin

crusade until when we met again in the waiting dome.

—Don't tell me…this guy really has some supernatural power? I

thought that I saw through his killing methods. Am I thinking too

highly of myself…?

I motivated myself and recovered my sight that was starting to

distort. I could still maintain the tip of the lightsaber and prevent it

from trembling, which itself can be said to be a miracle. If he sees that

there's an opening, Death Gun's sudden stab that doesn't have any

preparatory movement will definitely stab through my chest

I took a slight breath through my gritted teeth and then answered

him softly,

"…Maybe. But you're not a red player anymore. I know how you

killed «Zekushiido», «Usujio Tarako», «Pale Rider» and another player

that could have died in your hands. That's not the power of the black

handgun, and neither was it your own ability."

"Oh? Then, say it, out then."

Now's the crucial moment to decide the winner.

I exerted all my strength into my eyes and stared tightly at the

enemy—and then said out what I believed was the truth,

"…You used that metamaterial optical camouflage to read the

addresses of all the BoB players from the monitor at the presidential

building. You then got your accomplices to enter their rooms and get

them to inject drugs while you shoot, making them look like they died

of heart failure. That's the true identity of Death Gun."

This time, Death Gun finally went silent.

Those red eyes in the darkness that laid in the midst of the hood

suddenly narrowed. I couldn't really decide if my guess was correct

from his response. I took the great killing intent he gave off and then

continued,

"You may not know that, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs have

the players' names in SAO. Once they know your ex-character name,

they can track your real name, your address and your modus operandi.

Stop making anymore mistakes. Log out and hurry to the nearest

police station to surrender."

Even so—he remained silent.

Under the dry night wind, the surface of the mantle guy looked

like some little organisms gathering as they continued to move. The

live camera feed that was flickering with the REC sign seemed to be

impatient as it increased its height. Death Gun and I had been facing

each other for about 3 minutes. As the audience couldn't hear our

conversation, their expectations and tension should be at the climax.

But right now, we're only clashing with our tongues. Once Death Gun

confirmed my guess, there wouldn't be any meaning to continue the

battle.

However—

Several seconds later, 'kukuku', what came from under the hood

was a chilly laughter that wasn't any different from before.

"I see…so your imagination, is really interesting. However, that's

too bad, «Black Swordsman». You can't, stop me. Because, you

definitely, can't, remember, my name!"

"Wha…what, why are you so confident now?"

"Ku, ku, you may, even forget, about the reason you forgot. Listen

up…after that battle, just when we're about to be sent to jail, I was

about to tell you my name, but you said 'I don't want to know your

name. There's no need because I don't want to meet you again'."

I was immediately unable to say anything and could only widen

my eyes. And Death Gun merely murmured as if he was mocking me.

"You don't know, my name. So, you can't remember. You, can't do

anything. You can only wait here, until you're taken down by me, lying

there awkwardly—and then, watch me, kill that girl…"

A certain object glided past the air and let out ripping sound, and

then, a flash of silver cut past the darkness.

"You can't, do anything!"

Death Gun's right hand stabbed at me like a puppeteer.

I subconsciously used my lightsaber to block the stab that was

aimed at my heart.

The energy blade let out a buzzing sound before entering the line

of the Estoc. The blueish white plasma blade slashed directly into the

metal side.

Logically, any metal sword would be sliced. The Shadow Light

could even slice Sinon's sniper bullet in half, so how could this thin

metal rod block it? I immediately raised the saber up and got ready to

slice it at the left shoulder of Death Gun—

In the end, an irritating sound rang inside my avatar.

I could only blankly widen my eyes and see that the metal rod

that was glowing was stabbed straight inside me.

Only a part of Death Gun's Estoc was burned, and there was no

other damage. It could actually block the energy blade that had

overwhelming power. Why—why is there such a thing?

Death Gun continued to step forward and stabbed the Estoc in

deeper. My HP got reduced drastically with the movement of the metal.

At this moment, I could only grit my teeth and use all the strength in

my right foot to jump backwards. The enemy's blade got away from me,

and the special effect of the damage drew a red line.

I jumped back for about 2, 3 steps and again pulled my distance

away from Death Gun. In the end, he moved his mouth like he wanted

to lick the blade.

"…Ku, ku. This guy's, material, is the, highest grade, metal, that

could be, obtained, in, this game. I heard, that, it's a galactic, warship,

armor plate. Ku ku, ku…"

Then, Death Gun didn't seem like he wanted to speak up as he

flipped the mantle and attacked me. His right hand went at an invisible

speed as he drew numerous afterimages in the sky. He had never used

this continuous stabbing attack up till now. This thrust is a high-level

sword skill «Star Splash», an 8-straight thrust attack—

The lightsaber in my hand couldn't block the attack, and I couldn't

dodge it at will as it was sand below me. The sharp needle then

continued to stab into my body.

* * *

—Kirito!

Sinon tried her best to suppress the shout that was about to come

out of her throat and the impulse to squeeze the finger at the trigger.

On the battlefield that's about 700m away, the special effects

showed damage that came from the black-clothed swordsman. Even

though Sinon didn't touch any weapon other than a gun, but even she

could tell how skilled Death Gun's sword techniques were when he was

able to injure Kirito. She held her breath, thinking whether the attack

just now would have worn out his HP. Luckily, Kirito himself didn't

have the DEAD tag on him. He kicked hard on the sand, did a backflip

and used that to gain a rather large distance from Death Gun.

However, Death Gun himself didn't seem to want to let Kirito

have a chance to regroup himself. He flipped his hood and closed the

distance between the two of them like a phantom. The automatic-

control cameras continued to increase in numbers like they knew that

a winner was about to be decided. Soon, about 10 cameras surrounded

them and caused the corner in the desert to look like an arena.

If the Hecate's scope was still there, she could have sniped to

cover Kirito, but in this distance, even Sinon couldn't easily use her

naked eye to shrink the reticule. She could even mishit Kirito

accidentally if she attacked randomly.

—Hang in there. Do your best, Kirito!

Sinon forgot that she was also in danger in the real world as she

was in a high-kneel position on the rocky hill, clenching her fists as she

prayed this.

Kirito once killed a few players to protect himself and a few

others in the infamous death game «Sword Art Online». This

experience could be said to be rather similar to the burden Shino bore.

Thus, his troubles should be similar to Shino to a certain extent.

Kirito said that he couldn't overcome these painful memories and

sealed them in a corner of his mind, before saying that he could only

face them from today onwards.

He was following what he just said as he got ready to personally

stop the criminal who brought darkness from SAO—Death Gun.

But Kirito could do that not because he was weak. He just told

himself to be stronger. No matter how much he felt troubled or

anguished, he had to accept his weakness. That's because he was the

one who continued to persist on looking forward under such a

situation. Strength—wasn't about the outcome, but about the process

of moving towards a certain goal.

—I want to talk to you. To tell you what I felt and what I discovered.

—Is there anything I could help with? If I go close to them, it would

be the opposite effect. Once I'm aimed at by the Blackstar, Kirito will be

unable to do anything. Even so, I'm just trying my luck if I snipe without a

scope. The range of the support weapon MP7 isn't completely enough. Is

there…there any way I could help…

"…!"

Momentairly, Sinon's whole body shook.

There was. In this situation, there was a way for her to take the

initiative and «attack». She didn't know how effective it would be—but

there's a value in trying.

Sinon took a deep breath, gritted her teeth hard and looked at the

battle that's far away.

* * *

—Kirito-kun!!

Asuna covered her mouth just when she was about to scream out.

There wasn't any lighting special effects, but the move Death Gun

used was undoubtedly the 8-strike thrust «Star Splash». That was a

high-level skill like Asuna the «Flash» was skilled with in the past.

Basically, this was a sword technique of a «Rapier», but as it didn't

include any hacking or slashing, it could also be done with the «Estoc»

that was derived from the Rapier.

The flat screen on the wall showed Kirito continued to be

thrusted all over his body with the continuous stab attacks as he

jumped back to pull his distance. However, on the right side of the

screen, the mantle guy moved in a mysterious gliding like action and

pursued him. Kirito continued to struggle with the Estoc that was

surrounding him.

The monitoring device beside Asuna started to let out an urgent

electronic sound, causing her to glance aside. Kazuto's heart rate had

already risen to 160 bpm. Asuna forced herself to look away from the

screen and looked at the face of Kazuto who was lying on the bed.

He was sweating a lot, and he looked to be in pain. The mouth

that was slightly opened was gasping. Nurse Aki noticed him to be like

this, and the eyes behind the spectacles showed a worried expression.

"…I told him to take lots of water before he dived in…but it's now

more than 4 hours. There will be danger of dehydration if this

continued. Can't we log him out first…?"

On hearing the nurse's words, Asuna could only bite her lips

tightly and said,

"Kirito-kun can't hear anything we say here…and he's taking part

in a PvP tournament. I don't know how effective the log out system

would be…"

In ALO, to prevent the players from deliberately «disconnecting »

when they were in a bad situation— if this situation happened in a

VRMMO tournament, the grounds will be switched—and they will be

prevented from logging out for a while.

"…But the AmuSphere will note the blood flow in the brain. If it

ends up damaging the body, it should be automatically logged out…"

Once Asuna said that, the nurse nodded her head and said that,

"I know. We'll just observe for a while. He's not a patient, so I

don't think there's a need to inject fluids into him."

"You're right…"

Asuna's voice became stiff. Wouldn't it be like the time during

SAO if he had to go on a drip.

No—there's something completely different from that. The thing

was that Kazuto wasn't wearing the Nerve Gear that had a death trap in

it, but the AmuSphere with a safety configuration. Thus, even if Asuna

forcefully removed the silver circlet on Kazuto's head, there shouldn't

be any danger posed to him. Kirito would only disappear from the

desert that's being telecasted on the wall and return back to the bed—

in other words, return to Asuna's side.

That terrifying enemy called «Sterben» shall never touch Kazuto

again.

Asuna tried her best to hold back this urge.

Kirito/Kazuto was now betting his pride as a swordsman to fight

hard, and Asuna obviously couldn't stop him.

But, was—wasn't there anything she could do? She's right beside

him, but was there no way she could pass any message to him who's

fighting in the other world?

"Mama, your hand…"

Suddenly, a soft voice came from the handphone. It was Yui's.

"Please hold onto papa's hand. The AmuSphere can't stop senses

from the outside world like Nerve Gear. Papa should be able to feel

mama's warmth. I can't touch physical objects…but please bring…mine

too…"

Yui's voice was trembling by the time she spoke till the end.

Asuna herself was shaken up hard inside as she forcefully shook her

head and answered,

"No…papa will definitely feel Yui's hands. Let's cheer for

papa…cheer for Kirito-kun!"

As she said that, she placed her handphone into Kazuto's limp left

hand and used both her hands to cup it.

The patient's room was a little warm, but Kazuto's hand was as

cold as an ice block. The automatic log-out function may happen if she

held it too hard, so Asuna grasped Kazuto with her hands lightly,

exerting all her warmth and will, hoping to make his hand go warm.

Asuna wasn't looking at the live telecast anymore as she merely

closed her eyes and continued to pray.

—Do your best, Kirito-kun. For all that you believe in. I shall be by

your side always. Always protecting you from behind, supporting you.

Kazuto's icy cold left hand jerked slightly, but definitely.

* * *

The enemy was really strong.

Whether it's in terms of speed, balance or striking moment, they

were all flawless. There were few swordsmen who were so skilled on

the clearing team.

But why did it become like this? This cadre of «Laughing Coffin»

who's controlling the character «Death Gun» couldn't see my swords

during the crusade. I spent quick work and reduced his HP to half,

causing him to retreat to the back lines.

Looking at things, I guess the half year where he was imprisoned

in Black Iron prison caused this guy to change drastically. The one who

thoroughly crushed Laughing Coffin was one of the members on the

clearing team, me—and he used revenge against us as motivation to

work hard on his swordsmanship. Even if he couldn't gain money and

experience, repeated training of sword skills could allow him to

improve. This guy may have trained on the same movements hundreds

or thousands of times in the dark and cold prison. The sword technique

that an Estoc could use was firmly ingrained into this guy's senses.

I may not lose to him in terms of the number of times I swung the

sword, but the sword in my hand was the lightsaber that's a lot lighter

than my old swords, and the touch feels completely different from

before. It's easy to use the one-strike «Vorpal Strike», but it'll be

difficult to use continuous moves. Also, Death Gun probably won't

allow any openings for me to use some huge attack. He continued to

remain close and kept using all sorts of varying thrust attacks. I tried

my best to dodge them, but the sharp tip of the Estoc still pierced

through parts of my body from time to time and slowly drained my HP.

I think I have only about 30% left.

Even as my HP's being worn down by that sharp sword, Death

Gun can't really kill me if he used that black handgun to shoot me. I

didn't input my name and address at the machine in the presidential

estate, so nobody could find my residence.

Was I too reliant—in a «safe feeling»? My eyes were completely

covered by the power of the black handgun, which caused me to not

look at the user's true ability. If that's the case, it's obvious that I would

be in such a tight spot. The enemy was still in that death game, and I

left that place a long time ago, whether it was my body or my heart.

Maybe it was too late that I noticed it.

However, I still wouldn't allow myself to lose to him like that. My

body in the real world shouldn't have any damage, but like what that

guy just said, Sinon, who's waiting on the rocky hill behind me was

already in the range of that black gun. If I get taken down now, Death

Gun will attack Sinon. Once she's hit in battle by a bullet from that

black handgun, Death Gun's accomplice will kill Sinon in the real world.

One moment. Just one moment.

I just need him to stop this one series of attacks for the time being.

If it's the power of the weapon, the lightsaber far exceeds that of

the extremely thin Estoc. Once I can accurately hit him in one hit, I

believe I can wear Death Gun's HP down to zero. However, I just

couldn't create this opening. The half-hearted attempts will definitely

not work, the enemy's Estoc could even break through the energy

blade of the lightsaber, which means I couldn't create an opening by

swinging hard in a sword duel. What should I do? What should I do—

Kyu kyu kyu. With those deep sounds, the last strike of three

consecutive hits grazed my face on the right, and my HP finally went

red.

The special effect that flowed out of my face dyed my vision red.

Maybe he thought that he was winning as Death Gun's red eyes

were glowing even redder.

The Estoc user of the red—what was originally «Laughing Coffin»

chose red eyes too. My consciousness shook, and cracks appeared in

the thick walls of my memory.

That's right…I did refuse to know this guy's name. I didn't want to

get involved with this again. I just wanted to hurry up and forget that

night that was full of madness, blood, screams and curses.

But I couldn't do that.

I didn't forget anything at all. I just pretended to forget, just lied

to myself. I merely sealed that part of my memory away, trying to

convince my brain that I didn't see the fact that was there…

Death Gun dragged his Estoc back to deal me the final blow. The

cold glow that remained on its tip caused that sealed fragment of my

memory to appear.

Before we went on the crusade, we were gathered at the

headquarters of the «Divine Dragons Alliance» guild for our last

meeting.

During the meeting, we again explained the member information

regarding the members of «Laughing Coffin». That included the battle

abilities of their leader «PoH» and his cadres' weapons, skills,

appearances—and names.

Of course, we did mention that two of them liked to use their

colors. One of them was black, the guy who liked to use a poisoned

dagger. His name was…yes, «Johnnie Black». Klein immediately gave a

serious look after hearing it, and specially told me 'don't fight with this

guy. Or else we don't know who to protect'.

The other person was red. However, he wasn't dressed

completely in red. This Estoc user merely had his eyes and hair red,

and had a reverse cross sign dyed on his grey helmet. His colors and

the picture used looked like the «Knights of the Blood» , and caused the

sub-leader of the KoB, Asuna the «Flash» to give an irritated look. I

faced this guy right from the start. As he got ready to retreat, he left

these words 'I'll, definitely, kill you later', and intended to report his

name. It was this guy.

One and a half years later, this guy broke the wall of the other

world and appeared in front of me. Like what he declared before, this

mantle guy got ready to stab through me with the Estoc—«Death Gun»

was that guy. His name was—

"«XaXa»."

The word that came from my mouth caused the metal that was

about to pierce through my heart to deviate course.

I ignored the slightly stabbed feeling of the sword tip that was

about to be pulled back and continued,

"«Red-eyed XaXa». That's your name."

Next—a few things happened in front of my eyes.

A red line suddenly went into the center of Death Gun's hood

from behind me.

That wasn't a bullet—just a simple bullet line. It was Sinon. I

immediately understood her intention. This was an attack of hers that

used the bullet line. It was the final hit that was based on her

experience, inspiration and will to fight. The phantom bullet that she

fired.

Death Gun seemed like a beast who felt a power carnivore's killer

intent and instinctively jumped back.

A low growl came from below the skull-head mask. He should

have realize that Sinon couldn't possibly risk shooting at me in case of

a mishit, but he wavered after I called his name, causing his judgment

to be slowed. Thus, he dodged automatically as if he reacted to a

phantom bullet.

This was the last chance. The bullet line won't work anymore. I

can't waste this chance Sinon gave me. I stepped in front and raced

after Death Gun.

Ah—damn it. His profile disappeared. It was the «Optical

Camouflage». I could still find him based on the footprints he left on the

ground, but now the lightsaber couldn't deal a fatal blow to him. If I

can't kill him in one hit, my HP will become zero once I'm countered.

At this moment, there was something more shocking that

happened.

My left hand started moving as if it was guided by someone. The

icy hand that was tense due to nervousness—was surrounded by a

certain familiar pair of warm hands that guided me. My left hand

immediately moved and then gripped onto something—the second

weapon that even I forgot about, the «FiveSeven handgun». As my hand

felt the weight that was pulled out of my gun pouch, a certain circuit in

my consciousness suddenly flared.

"U…OOOOOHHH—!!"

I roared and stepped forward. I then spun my left side back

forward like a bullet.

Death Gun's profile was about to vanish, and I swayed my profile

before swinging my left hand.

A two-handed sword skill would normally have the sword in the

left hand swing up from near the ground to break the enemy's defenses.

However, what's in my hand wasn't a sword but a handgun. However,

who said that I couldn't use sword techniques with a gun? I used the

impression I had of swinging the left sword up and continued to

squeeze the trigger.

The bullet that was flying up continued to hit the object that was

about to become invisible and shone sparks intensely in the air. Death

Gun's body finally appeared in the midst of the flash. I faced the avatar

whose Optical Camouflage was being destroyed—

And swung the lightsaber in my right hand in a clockwise

direction with motion and weight.

This was the «Double Circular» twin-swords assault skill.

The energy blade sliced deep into Death Gun's right shoulder and

then sliced in diagonally before leaving from his left abdomen. At this

moment, the «black handgun» that was in his gun pouch was sliced in

half by the lightsaber, and after giving off a bright orange flash, it

exploded.

The avatar that was sliced in half, the ripped mantle and the flame

arc floated under the blueish-white sky.

After a long flight—

Dodou, two consecutive deep sounds rang, and Death Gun's upper

and lower bodies landed somewhere away from each other. After a

while, the metal needle-like thing—the Estoc was stabbed onto the

ground between both parts of the body.

At this moment, while I was kneeling on the ground on one leg, I

heard a weak voice,

"…It's not, over…that person…won't let…you…end this…"

However, the [DEAD] tag that appeared between the sliced body

caused this player Death Gun to stop completely and unable to say

anything. I slowly got up, lowered my head and watched the «corpse»

on the ground.

Having lost the mantle that would have represented himself,

there was nothing that represented Death Gun except for that skull

mask. I looked at the goggles that had lost their glow and silently

answered,

"No…it's over, XaXa. Your accomplices will be found. The killing

acts of «Laughing Coffin» have come to an end."

I then turned around and dragged my battered body west.

After walking for about a few hundred steps, hundreds of meters

away, my lowered sight finally saw a pair of small feet wearing small

boots, and I looked up.

The sniper girl was standing there. She was holding that large

sniper rifle that lost its scope, giving a steady smile.

* * *

Sinon looked like she had something to say as she opened her

mouth, but for an instant, she didn't know what to say.

Even she didn't know what sort of emotion she had in her heart

now. There was merely a rising burning feeling up her chest that

caused her to hug the Hecate in her arms tightly.

Seeing Sinon standing blankly down there, Kirito showed a calm

smile for the first time. He placed the FiveSeven handgun in his hand

back into the holster and clenched his fist before reaching it out to

Sinon.

And Sinon raised her right fist to tap his fist lightly.

"…It's over."

The lightsaber warrior muttered simply and then looked up.

Sinon then followed him and looked up as well.

The clouds have parted unknowingly, and the stars in the sky

were showing their shine. Sinon then remembered that this was the

first time she saw stars in this world.

The skies in GGO were often covered by thick clouds because of

past wars. The daytime here were always of depressing sunset colors,

and even the night would have bloodstained-like red.

But as prophesized by the NPC elder on the streets, once the toxic

on the land is purified and returned back to white sand, the clouds

shall disappear, and the shine of the stars and the spaceships would

return to the sky. Of course, no people would believe such ordinary

words, but maybe this desert wasn't just a wilderness for players to

wander in, but may even be a sacred land far away in the distant future.

Sinon immediately couldn't say anything as she looked up at the

sparkling group of lights in the clear night sky, and the remaining lights

of the spaceships that looked like rivers.

Soon after, Kirito said,

"…It's about time to end this tournament. The audience may be

sick of waiting."

"…Un, that's right."

The blue camera feeds that covered the entire sky were flickering

with the REC logos anxiously. Kirito may have noticed it as he

immediately gave a wry smile. However, he immediately regained his

original look, went closer and whispered,

"…The danger of this tournament's finally over. Death Gun was

taken down, so the accomplice who's preparing to kill you should have

left. Their aim should be to create the rumor that «those players who

were shot by that black handgun in GGO and will die in the real world»,

so they probably won't kill people at random. Logically, you shouldn't

be in any danger when you log out…but you better call the police for

safety reasons."

"…How do I explain everything to 110? They probably won't

believe me if I said that someone plotted to kill inside and outside a

VRMMO, right?"

After hearing Sinon's question, Kirito was stumped for a bit.

However, he immediately nodded and said,

"You're right…my associate is sort of a civil servant, so we can get

him to help…but I can't just ask for your address and name…"

At this moment, the lightsaber warrior hesitated and looked away.

Of course, he knew how rude it would be to ask for someone else's real

identity in a VRMMO.

However, Sinon thought for a while and then said,

"Alright. Let me tell you."

"Eh…bu, but…"

"I just feel that there's no need to worry about this anymore.

Besides…I already took the initiative to tell you my past. I never done it

before…"

After hearing her mutter, Kirito widened his eyes, but

immediately nodded his head.

"That's true…speaking of which, I was the same too…"

If they continued to drag on like this, Sinon may end up saying

'never mind' because of her fearful nature. Thus, she slung the Hecate

behind her shoulder and immediately stepped forward. She placed her

lips near Kirito's ears and said in a voice nobody else could hear,

"My name is—Asada Shino. The address is Tokyo District, Bunkyo,

Yushima, Yonchome…"

As she finished saying her apartment's name and room number,

Kirito immediately answered softly in surprise,

"Yushima? That's a coincidence…I dived in from Ochinomizu in

Chiyoda."

"Eh...ehhh!? Isn't this just nearby?"

Now even Sinon was shocked and nearly squealed out.

Ochinomizu and Sinon's apartment were just separated from the

Kasuga subway and the Kuramae subway. At this moment, Kirito

suddenly widened his eyes, let out a 'un…' before continuing,

"Then I'll just log out and go off to find you…"

"Eh…you…"

Sinon nearly said 'are you willing to come by', but shut up at the

last moment, coughed dryly a few times and corrected herself,

"Un…no need. There's a reliable friend nearby…"

Spiegel, also known as Shinkawa Kyouji, who invited Sinon to this

world was the second son of a practitioner. His house was in

Hongoume right beside hers. He would come over once she gave him a

call. Speaking of which, he may have seen the footage of this

tournament from the beginning to the end, so she had to find an excuse

as to why she got close with Kirito a few times.

"…And that guy's a doctor's kid, so he can take care of me if

there's a need."

To hide any embarrassment and end off, Kirito gave a serious

look and answered,

"Oi, it'll be bad if something really happened. But I guess it's

alright if you say that…I'll request my associate after I log out to check

with the police. No matter how late, it should take 15…no, 10 minutes.

The police will be at your house in 10 minutes."

"Un, I got it. It'll be great if we can catch the accomplice…"

"Unn…"

Seeing the still wary Kirito nod his head, Sinon stared at him.

"Forget about that. Are you one to run away after hearing my

personal information?"

"Eh, ah…so, sorry. My name's Kirigaya Kazuto. I dived in from

Ochinomizu, but my house's at Kawagoe city."

The lightsaber warrior looked panicked as he hurriedly reported

his data. Sinon murmured for a while and then chuckled at this nonurgent situation.

"Kirigaya Kazuto. So that's why you're called Kirito, right? That's a

really simple name-ing."

"Wha…what right do you have to say me!"

Both of them smiled. Kirito again looked at the camera above his

head and then changed his tone,

"…We can only log out by putting BoB to an end…how about it,

Sinon? Do we fight it out like yesterday?"

After hearing his question, Sinon found that her strong desire to

have a rematch with Kirito was forgotten completely. She stared at this

pretty face in front of her and then said,

"…Strength's not an outcome…but a process of working hard…"

"Eh? What are you saying?"

"Un, it's nothing—I say, you're completely wounded all over now,

right? There's nothing to be proud about winning against you. Let's just

leave this for the next BoB tournament."

The moment Sinon finished, Kirito raised his eyebrows in shock,

but immediately gave a wry smile,

"Are you saying that I can't convert back to my old game before

the 4th tournament?"

"You can convert back and then convert here again, but don't

think that you can beat me the next time…then, it's time to end the

third tournament."

"How do we do this? This is a battle royal, so there should be a

winner decided when one person's HP is zero, right?"

"It's rare, but I heard that the first BoB in North America was won

by two people. The reason was that the person who should have won

accidentally got a underhanded trick called «Gift Grenade»."

"Gift Grenade? What's that?"

"The losing player will throw a grenade to drag the enemy

down—un, here, this is for you."

Sinon reached her hand into her pouch and then pulled out a

black ball object onto Kirito's right hand that reached out in reflex. She

then set the countdown of the fruit-like grenade to 5 seconds.

This was the plasma grenade she got after she checked that Kirito

defeated Death Gun and ran to Yamikaze on the west side of the rocky

hill. At that moment, Sinon had already decided to use this to end this

tournament.

Finally realizing what was placed in his hand, Kirito widened his

eyes and got ready to throw it away instinctively.

To prevent him from doing this, Sinon wrapped both arms behind

Kirito's back and held his hands in.

Soon after, an abnormally dazzling flash appeared between the

two avatars, engulfing the wryly smiling Kirito and the smiling Sinon

into pure whiteness.

The time taken for the tournament was 2 hours, 4 minutes and 37

seconds.

The 3rd Bullet of Bullets battle royale finals ended.

The result—[Sinon] and [Kirito] won at the same time.