Chapter 5

As the browser launched, it loaded up the preset URLs, spawning

several layers of tabs. These were largely Gun Gale Online–oriented sites, particularly those that collected information on Death

Gun.

He controlled a 3D mouse with his right hand, switching to the

site that was most active at the moment. The banner identified it

as the Death Gun Information Repository, with the words Death

Gun colored in red.

The recent history showed that the site administrator hadn't

uploaded any details tonight, so he moved to the message board.

A number of posts had been made since he checked the site last

night—a blinking NEW icon appeared here and there throughout

the posting tree. He read them in order.

—Haven't seen Zexceed or Tarako in a while. What's it been, a

month? Aren't their accounts about to expire? If anyone can get

in contact with them IRL, that'd be great plz

—I told you, no one knows. Even their own squadron members don't know their real contact info. I mean, anyone who reveals their private info on GGO is an idiot

—We know the date and time that Death Gun shot them, so

shouldn't we be able to look up any stories about people who

died at those times to see if any of them were VRMMO players?

—Read the backlog, quit repeating the same topics. If you die

while living alone, no one will notice, and we already know from

experience that the police won't tell us anything. And if you try

writing to Zaskar in English, they just give you their canned response about private customer information.

—I bet I know what this is. It's all a big retirement prank

from Zex and Tara. You guys better come out and spill the beans

before everyone stops caring anymore!

—In the end, I think someone will just have to do the research

with their own eyes. Anyway, I'll be waiting outside the Central

Bank of SBC Glocken at 2330 hours tomorrow night with a red

rose pinned to my shirt. Come and shoot me, Death Gun.

—A hero arrives! But you need to reveal your name and address before you die so we can actually check.

—Actually, you should probably just dive in public from a net

café.

—...…

He clicked his tongue in irritation and spun the mouse wheel,

activating the next tab. But no matter which site or forum he visited, he did not find the precise kind of article or post that he

sought.

After the second one died, the rumors wondering if Death

Gun's power was real should have swept the Net, leaving every

GGO player trembling in fear at the thought that they might be

next, followed by waves of players deciding to give up the game

for good.

But in reality, the idiots on the Net still hadn't recognized the

true terror of Death Gun. They still thought it was all a big joke.

The total number of active GGO accounts had barely taken a hit.

He hadn't counted on there being no real news coverage of the

deaths of Zexceed and Usujio Tarako. Apparently there were

enough unexplained deaths in the big city happening on any particular day that if there wasn't an obvious criminal angle, no single one would make the news.

Of course, he knew that the hearts of the two men he'd shot

did stop in real life, and they had died. Because that was the

power of Death Gun.

The temptation to post that information directly onto one of

the message boards was overwhelming. But providing a proper

source would be extremely difficult for him, and more importantly, it would diminish the Death Gun legend. He was the alpha

and omega, the true absolute power in that wasteland—a grim

reaper whose ability surpassed the game's management.

Well, whatever.

He sighed and calmed himself down.

The third Bullet of Bullets would begin soon. Death Gun

planned to eliminate the lives of two players during the tournament, maybe three if he could manage it. Of course, he needed to

get through the preliminary round without using the gun's powers, but with the twenty hours a day he spent logged in, he knew

his stats were good enough.

The attention the BoB commanded was absolute. The

livestream on MMO Stream attracted viewers far and wide, not

just from GGO but from all manner of VRMMOs. Once he was

both the unquestioned champion of the greatest stage and the

people he shot disappeared from the Net, none of the fools would

ever doubt the power of Death Gun again.

After the attention that would garner, he wouldn't be able to

use his current account anymore, but that wasn't a problem. As

long as he had the gun, it would be easy for a new Death Gun to

descend upon the sands.

And he would kill more. His plans called for the number of victims to rise to seven. By then, players would be leaving in droves,

and Gun Gale Online itself would eventually succumb to death.

Death Gun would become a legend.

It wouldn't match up to the sheer body count of the cursed

Sword Art Online, but that was simply the act of a madman frying his players' brains with microwaves.

The power of Death Gun was much more than that. The virtual

bullets he shot could stop a heart in real life. No one understood

the secret of how he worked aside from him and his counterpart.

Death Gun was supreme. The Black Swordsman who was rumored to have beaten SAO was nothing. The moment would

come very soon that he took his rightful place as the greatest

VRMMO player in existence.

Absolute power—legendary tyrant—supremacy—supremacy—

supremacy…

He eventually noticed that he was clenching the mouse so

hard, he might crush it. Slowly, he relaxed his shoulder, breathing

heavily.

The day couldn't come soon enough. Once the legend was his,

he had no use for this worthless world any longer. Never again

would he be plagued by the asinine cretins.

He closed all of the browser tabs and opened up a local HTML

file. It contained a vertical list of seven mugshots—screencaps

from GGO cut and pasted. To the right of each picture was a

name and list of weapon information. The pictures of Zexceed

and Usujio Tarako at the top were dimmed out and covered with

a large X the color of blood.

This was Death Gun's target list. Or put a different way, it was

the number of Death Bullets loaded into his magazine. All seven

of them were famous, powerful GGO players.

He scrolled slowly through the file until the bottom picture

came front and center. It was the only female player of the seven.

The screenshot was taken from a right diagonal angle. She had

short, pale blue hair tied into tufts that framed her face and covered the line of her cheek. Unfortunately, the sand-yellow muffler

hid her mouth from view, but the catlike indigo eyes held a bright

allure to them.

The information to the right said her name was Sinon. Her

main weapon was the antimateriel sniper rifle, Ultima Ratio

Hecate II.

He had seen her in person within the game many times. Shopping in the market district of Glocken, chewing on cart-sold hot

dogs on a park bench, and running into battle with that enormous

rifle strapped to her back. Every one of these actions was infused

with a coquettish charm that stoked his desire to own her. She almost never smiled, and there was always a note of some kind of

lament in her eyes, but that only increased his interest.

He was conflicted about including this Sinon girl on his target

list. If she could made to be his in body and spirit, not just in the

game, but in real life as well…

But his other half, Death Gun's matching arm, would want her

dead. Sinon was famed throughout GGO as the cruel, bloodless

sniper, the goddess of the underworld. No flower could be more

appropriate to sacrifice to the legend of Death Gun.

He reached out and stroked the image of Sinon with a fingertip.

Within the sensation of the slick, glowing panel, he felt the

softness and warmth of her body.