Accel World: Flight Towards the Blue Sky

by Reki Kawahara

  Haruyuki and Takumu fixed their backs and heads against the sofa just as she did, and answered “Yes”.

  “Here we go. Ten, nine, eight, seven…”

  Haruyuki closed his eyelids and took a deep breath, and then—

  One second after he heard Nico’s count reach one, they shouted in a loud voice the command to fly into the true accelerated world.

  Chapter 5

  The first thing he felt was a merciless chill, as if the season had reversed to three months back.

  He timidly opened his eyes, and only colors that went from white to blue expanded out across his entire vision.

  It was snow—and ice. All of the surrounding terrain was formed out of thick ice, and pure white snow thinly covered it all. The whole sky was filled with milk-colored clouds.

  “The «Ice and Snow» stage, huh. I don’t like this one.”

  After Haruyuki looked to his right where the voice came from, a girl-type avatar with ruby-like vivid crimson armor stood there while shaking the long antennas on her head.

  Her size was slightly smaller than that of Silver Crow. Whether it was her face-mask with sparkling round and cute lenses or her body which had almost no sharp edges, she could only be seen as a harmless mascot character.

  But this duel avatar was the body of the long-distance firepower demon that silences even crying children, the boss of the legion «Prominence», Scarlet Rain.

  The Red King looked up at Haruyuki and spoke in a seemingly dissatisfied voice.

  “Hey Crow, is that metal armor cold resistant?”

  “Y-Yes, on the whole…”

  Nodding and shouting “Unfair!!”, she suddenly scooped up some snow at her feet into her hands and struck it against Haruyuki’s back.

  “Uhyarue!”

  “Come on, make this body rust! Come on, come on!”

  “Hyoguu! W-When I say resistant, it’s only in terms of numerical damage, the c-cold itself is still the same!”

  As he hopped away to escape from the cold-feeling attack, a magnificent cough was heard from a little ways away. As he turned to look in that direction at the same time as Niko, a large avatar with dark blue armor was standing there with his arms folded. Of course, it was Takumu—Cyan Pile.

  “O-Oh, that’s right, that’s right.”

  Scarlet Rain moved away from Haruyuki while seeming a little embarrassed, and also coughed.

  “For the time being, I’ll say welcome to our Nerima area. If it weren’t for this kind of situation, you’d be immediately attacked and driven out, though!”

  She quickly spread her arms wide, so Haruyuki looked around at his surroundings once again.

  The first thing he felt was that the wideness of the sky. He immediately understood the reason for that feeling. The three of them were currently standing in a not very wide space that stood at an intersection of frozen roads, but almost no large geographical objects that could obstruct their vision were within sight.

  Only, he could see a slightly tall ice palace that was a little ways away from them to the northwest. When he compared it to a map of the real world in his mind, it was probably the Nerima District Government Office. In addition, he noticed a huge tower that grew hazier as if melting the higher it went, far away in the sky to the east. That was probably the Sunshine City in Ikebukuro within the Toshima district, where they had fought «Chrome Disaster». There were also no «Enemies» or other Burst Linkers within sight.

  Haruyuki sucked a deep breath of cold air into his chest and then spoke.

  “This is a spacious and comfortable area, isn’t it!”

  Just then, a howling flying snowball hit Silver Crow’s helmet right in the center.

  “S-Sorry that there isn’t anything here! We don’t have anything like your Suginami!!”

  Shouting with her antennas standing on end, Niko turned away in another direction and continued.

  “Ah geez, the preface is over! We’re quickly starting the class! You guys sit down over there!”

  Sensing that his words had pressed the anger switch of Nerima residents, Haruyuki looked at Takumu and then they both hurriedly sat down in the center of the intersection.

  As she folded her arms and raised herself up to her full height while briskly walking in front of the two of them, Scarlet Rain’s presence—suddenly changed.

  The childishness she had been given off until now evaporated without a trace. The light within her lenses became sharper, and it felt like her avatar’s body itself became bigger.

  “I’ll say this first.”

  The voice she let out also had a tone that was clearer and more frigid than the stage’s cold wind.

  “Before I teach you about the «Incarnate System», you have to promise me one thing.”

  Looking one by one at Haruyuki and Takumu as they gulped, Niko declared clearly.

  “You must never use an Incarnate technique outside of a situation where you are attacked with an Incarnate technique. Promise that you will uphold this on your pride as Burst Linkers!”

  “……U-Umm, is that because it’s cowardly to use it otherwise?”

  When Haruyuki unconsciously asked that, Niko immediately denied it.

  “No. It’s because, in this game, your true enemy is yourself. Because ultimately, mind power exists not just to defeat enemies, but to confront your own weakness.”

  Haruyuki and Takumu couldn’t press the issue and say no. Besides, they by no means wanted to learn about the Incarnate System in order to win duels by using it. They just wanted to fight against the mind power-user Dusk Taker.

  Haruyuki and Takumu looked at each other for an instant, and then cried out “Yes!” at the same time.

  “Alright. If you break this promise, I’ll make you experience a horrifying day in order to take responsibility for it, after all.”

  After nodding his head many times at high speed, Haruyuki cautiously asked an additional question.

  “…U-Umm, but. I think it’s difficult to distinguish between the appearance of a normal technique and an Incarnate technique…I feel that I can’t tell if I’m not hit by it…”

  “Hey, you’ve already learned the bare basics, haven’t you?”

  Niko let out an amazed voice, and struck out the index finger of her right hand with a snap.

  “Listen well, Incarnate techniques have two big differences with special techniques…First, even if you use it, the special technique gauge doesn’t decrease!”

  “Ah…yeah, c-certainly, that’s true…”

  Haruyuki nodded once, but then immediately the next question gushed forth in him.

  “…But then, what do you do if you’re in the Unlimited Neutral Field, where the opponent’s gauge can’t be seen?”

  Then Niko stuck out a second finger and—

  “That is the second difference! It shines!”

  “S-Shines?”

  Haruyuki shouted back that far too vague word. Certainly, when mentioned it, Haruyuki’s «sword of light» shined white as its name suggested and Noumi’s «wave surge of nothingness» also emitted a purple light, but was that a system-like phenomenon that was common to all Incarnate techniques?

  Hearing Haruyuki’s uncertain voice, Niko gave a thin smile.

  “It isn’t something vague like «determination» or «fighting spirit». Listen well, when using Incarnate techniques, our consciousness and duel avatars are connected to an «image control system». When an excess of imagination passes through the circuit, the system overflows and the irregular signals are processed as a particle-like effect without substance—in other words, as light. Specifically…like this.”

  Niko tightly clenched her still struck-out right hand.

  Suddenly, her arm from her fist to near her elbow burst into red flames, no, it wasn’t exactly flames. It was a crimson light covering and shaking over her arm.

  “…It also depends on the strength of your mind power, but if it’s a strong image that can be used in battle, it will definitely shine like
this. We call this «Over-Ray[11]». Listen well, the phenomenon of an avatar continuously emitting light like this never occurs except when activating the Incarnate System. Since even if special techniques emit light, it’s only for an instant.”

  Abruptly putting out the flames, Niko spoke to sum it up.

  “In other words, if an enemy avatar shines with an aura like just now and moreover their gauge doesn’t decrease, that’s an Incarnate technique. But…even in such a situation, if you can run away, then run away. Fight back with mind power only in battles that you can’t concede no matter what. Understood!?”

  —Naturally, they had the question of ‘why does it have to be restricted so strongly?’. But, Niko, who was waiting for their reply, was surrounded by an intense intimidating air that was truly like that of a King, so Haruyuki didn’t question it any further.

  “…Yes, understood!”

  He shouted that out in a single voice along with Takumu, and the Red King finally seemed satisfied and nodded.

  “Good. Then, with this the preface is over.”

  Folding her arms in front of her flat chest, she gave a single cough and then—

  Niko suddenly said some unexpected words.

  “Right now, you guys should be thinking this. ‘Since its use is so insistently restricted, the «Incarnate System» must possess a terrible power and if mastered anything can be done.’ But, that’s a big mistake.”

  “…Eh……?”

  Feeling far more surprised at the contents of her words than the Red King’s intimidating air, Haruyuki unconsciously raised his voice.

  “N-No way. Mind power should be able to make the impossible possible…”

  “No. Listen well, mind power is never an almighty power. Drive this into your brains first.”

  After declaring that in a tone that made one think of hot flames, Niko gave an imperceptible smile over her mouth and continued.

  “You seem dissatisfied, Crow. You don’t agree?”

  Swallowing his saliva, Haruyuki nervously nodded.

  “Y…Yes. Because, I…experienced just how amazing mind power is with my own body. Both by being hit by that power and by attacking with it myself.”

  “Hmph, you seem rather confident. Okay, stand up.”

  Obeying her raised index finger, he timidly stood up. While feeling Takumu’s gaze, he took several steps forward.

  “Now then, show us that power of yours.”

  Those were the words Haruyuki had expected, so he had already been prepared for it the moment he stood up. After answering with just “All right”, he stepped up to one of the blocks of ice scattered about close by.

  ‘My Incarnate technique will surely be nothing special when seen by the King Niko, but—let’s show her something a step above her expectations’, such thoughts and feelings also existed within Haruyuki. The «sword of light», which Haruyuki had mastered by facing off against the cliff that exceeded the 300 meters of the Old Tokyo Tower over the course of a week, had also certainly been able to pierce through the «wave surge of nothingness» of the formidable enemy Dusk Taker.

  Stopping one meter in front of a transparent blue block of ice that was about the same size as himself, Haruyuki lowered his waist. It was a suitable distance that absolutely could not be reached if he threw out an ordinary punch.

  He folded his right hand’s thumb into his palm and straightened together his remaining four fingers. While twisting his upper body to the right, he prepared his blade-shaped hand sword at his side.

  —My hand is a sword. A sword that pierces through everything at the speed of light.

  The sound of the cold wind blowing through the stage went off far away and disappeared. The surrounding scenery also sank into dimness, and only the center point of the blue block of ice stood out clearly in his vision.

  *iiiIIIN* Minute vibrations were transmitted through his body, and a white light, what Niko called «Over-Ray», appeared on the tip of his piercing hand. It soon spread from his wrist almost all the way to his elbow.

  “……Shi!!”

  With a momentary fervor, Haruyuki made his waist rotate and then stick out his hand sword straight forward.

  *SHUKIIIIN!!* Along with a high and clear sound, a sharp white light was send out from his extended right arm, and sunk into the middle of the block of ice.

  A beat passed by after the light vanished, and the ice let out a cracking sound—And then the huge block split apart right and left from a vertical crack in the middle and fell down. With a solemn impact, thinly-piled snow went flying through the air.

  As he let out a breath and raised his body back up, Haruyuki was greeted by Niko’s applause when he turned around. Takumu wholeheartedly banged together his left hand and right arm’s «Pile Driver», and Niko also clapped her hands without reserve.

  “Heh, that was a more decent technique than I expected. Impressive.”

  As Haruyuki scratched his head and said “Oh no, I wouldn’t go that far” in response to the Red King’s comment, his movements were stopped as her words continued.

  “—For the first step of the first step, that is.”

  “……F-First step?”

  “Of course! What you used just now was one of the four basic types of Incarnate techniques, «Attack Range Expansion[12]».”

  “……B-Basic?”

  After beckoning at the dumbfounded Haruyuki who was repeating her words and making him sit in his original place, Niko coughed and then continued.

  “Listen well, it may be called by the exaggerated name «mind power», but in the end this is only a single logic that operates within the Brain Burst program…In other words, it is an operation that functions according to the Diver’s image power. To put it another way, due to one’s intense subjective impression, this world’s God…the system mistakenly believes it to be reality.”

  After taking a short pause to breathe there, the scarlet avatar spoke slowly in order to engrave her words into the minds of her two students.

  “But, in order to actually cause this phenomenon, an image that is strong enough to deceive even yourself is needed before the system can be deceived. A «belief» that surpasses the level of imagination power. And two things are needed in order to conceive that belief in your heart. «Experience» that has been instilled over an overwhelming amount of time, and a «desire» whose source is an absolute lack of something. An image that isn’t backed by these two things will never become reality.”

  “……Experience, and a desire……”

  Nodding slightly at Haruyuki as he mumbled that in a hoarse voice, Niko stepped back several steps and spoke while loosely hanging her arms at her sides.

  “—This is a huge service. I’ll demonstrate it just once, so look carefully.”

  The instant they heard that, Haruyuki and Takumu corrected their sitting postures with a jolt while sitting in seiza[13] position. In order to miss nothing, they opened their eyes so wide that they were practically spilling out from their helmets.

  The smallest-sized female avatar turned her body towards the south side of the intersection and—

  Suddenly, a pale red flame-like aura appeared on her left fist just as it did a while ago.

  “This is the first of the four types of basic techniques, «Attack Range Expansion».”

  With a voice empty of fighting spirit, she threw forward her left arm at such a fast speed that it became hazy. The air resounded like a whip, and a long straight line of flames was etched into the air.

  Immediately after, a wall of ice that was 30 meters away spouted out pure white vapor into the air with a ‘BOSHUU’ sound. When that vapor had scattered to the winds, a huge hole of a size that a single person could slip through was visible in the middle of the wall. The color of the smooth inner wall had changed from blue to black, and it was impossible to tell just how deep the hole went.

  The still-speaking voice reached the ears of the two dumbfounded boys whose eyes had peeled.

  “And this is
the second basic technique, «Movement Ability Expansion[14]».”

  The aura of flames wrapped around her small legs this time. Her avatar quickly sank its body, and then her form suddenly disappeared.

  No, Haruyuki’s eyes could just barely see a hazy silhouette. She was behind him. When he quickly turned in that direction, Niko was standing there with her hands against her hips. She had easily moved 30 meters from where she originally stood. When looking closely, a thin track that was melting and raising pale white smoke was etched into the icy road surface. Without giving them the time to catch their breaths, Niko’s figure disappeared a second time leaving only a ‘SHUWAH!” sound. She surrounded Haruyuki and Takumu with a circular white track and then returned to her original position.

  It was overwhelming.

  The range of her long-distance attack endlessly exceeded that of Silver Crow’s «sword of light», and moreover the speed of her side-dash easily surpassed the charge of Ash Roller’s bike.

  While clenching both his hands in order to hold down his enormous shock, Haruyuki didn’t overlook a thing and waited for the next demonstration.

  —But.

  The scarlet avatar nimbly spread out her hands and spoke.

  “That’s all.”

  “B-But.”

  The one who raised his voice was Takumu.

  “You said before that there were four kinds of basic techniques…”

  “There are. The third is «Attack Power Expansion[15]». And the fourth is «Armor Density Expansion[16]». But…I can’t use either of those.”

  “Y-You can’t use them!? Can’t use a basic technique…a King like Niko can’t!?”

  Glaring at Haruyuki who had reflexively shouted that, but without raising her tone, Niko explained.

  “That’s right. That’s because…I myself know that I’m not that strong. That is the «scar of the heart» that was used as the source of this avatar…of Scarlet Rain.”

  Her cute mask turned straight up towards the snowy sky. The Red King, who was one of the strongest people that ruled over Accel World and who possessed terrifying long-distance firepower, spoke in a monologue with a voice that somehow felt lonely.