Accel World: Flight Towards the Blue Sky

by Reki Kawahara

Noumi muttered in a hoarse voice.

  “If it isn’t…healing ability, then what are you saying it is?”

  After staying silent for a while, Chiyuri replied quietly.

  “…I always felt it was strange ever since I became a Burst Linker. Why was I given a power like «healing»? But…at fifth period on Tuesday, after I healed you for the first time, I realized it when I talked with Haru and Takkun. That time, Haru told me that when I healed you, I didn’t just restore your avatar’s wounds and HP, but also the mechanism of your right hand. I thought that was odd. That wasn’t healing, but repairing. And then…I realized and understood.”

  After sucking in a big breath, the avatar of the color of new green leaves spoke clearly.

  “My power isn’t «healing». It’s the «power to turn back time». I can turn back the time of the avatar I use my technique on. That’s why…I thought. ‘If I use this power, I can surely take back Haru’s wings. I can turn back Dusk Taker’s time all the way to before he stole Silver Crow’s ability’.”

  ——So that’s, how it was.

  The instant he thought that, the inside of Haruyuki’s chest hurt strongly with a ‘ZUKIN’. Tears built up in his eyes once again.

  —And yet, I doubted Chiyu once. I didn’t believe in my childhood friend, who was doing her best for my sake. I’m an idiot. A complete and utter idiot.

  As Haruyuki hanged his head deeply in shame, a voice of resounding resentment reached his ears from the ground at his feet.

  “……What…you betrayed me? You betrayed me, Lime Bell?”

  While in a state where he had lost his body and was dying, Noumi shouted out as if his anger gave his power.

  “Me, who made you win so much…me, who gave you such a vast quantity of points, you betrayed me!!”

  “You’re wrong, I didn’t betray you.”

  Chiyuri also responded in a voice that had regained just a little of its usual unyielding spirit.

  “I healed you the first time because you threatened with that video. I obeyed you after that in order to level up my special technique and increase the amount of time I can turn back…And also to aim for this one chance today. I never once became your comrade!”

  Once again, there was silence for a while.

  The wrecked body of twilight-colored avatar trembled, and he suddenly gave a low laugh.

  “……Fu, fufufu. Good grief…every single one of you people are just idiots. It’s disgusting just looking at your faces. I’m going back. I’ll distribute all of your real life information and leave the clean-up to someone else. I’ll transfer to another school and make my kingdom again there. —Now then, what are you doing, Vise? Quickly take me away and let’s retreat.”

  The instant he heard that, Haruyuki quickly raised his head and looked over at the laminated avatar who was confronting Black Lotus over there.

  The jet-black avatar slowly tilted his head—

  And spoke quietly.

  “That’s a problem. No matter what you might say, doing that is difficult in this situation, Taker-kun.”

  “…Then put in some effort. If a main force member like me is gone, the «Research Society» will be troubled too. I may even leak information about the BIC.”

  “No, I don't think I have to worry about that. Our BIC has been customized so that, if Brain Burst is lost, it will automatically deactivate the instant it detects that and then soon after dissolve into the cerebrospinal fluids and vanish, so tracing it is impossible. Besides…Taker-kun, you of all people should know. That an ex-Acceleration Ability User cannot interfere in any way with this world anymore.”

  Haruyuki couldn’t grasp the meaning of Black Vise’s words at all.

  However, Noumi raised his face with a start, and then glared at the full moon above—and suddenly shouted.

  “Shit. Shit! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!”

  He yelled for a while, and scattered out even more words.

  “I won’t accept it! I won’t allow such a development! Someone, anyone, come here! Save me! If you do, I’ll give you points!!”

  —I’ve had enough.

  The instant Haruyuki thought that, Takumu also looked at Haruyuki and spoke.

  “…Let’s end it, Haru.”

  “…Yeah.”

  Nodding, Haruyuki started walking. In order to bring about a conclusion to everything.

  Dusk Taker shouted out in a high voice the instant he save Silver Crow approaching him.

  “St…Stop! I know, from now on, I’ll supply points to you people! It’s not a bad deal! I’ll even join your legion if you want!!”

  Haruyuki raised his right hand while walking. A white glow extended out from his straightened fingers.

  “Stop, don’t do it, I don’t want to lose it! My power! My «acceleration»!! Don’t, don’t…dooooooooooooooooon’t!!”

  Dusk Taker sprang and turned over his over that consisted of only the top-half, and tried to get away by scratching the ground with his short tentacles.

  Freezing his heart, Haruyuki held up his sword of light high, and—

  Brandished it without hesitation.

  *KAH* The air trembled, a thin line of light ran and extended to the white pavement tiles, and caught the crawling Dusk Taker.

  The twilight-colored avatar was cut in half left and right down his exact center without a sound .

  And immediately after, a huge red-purple column of flame spurted. Countless ribbons of light was released from the center of the flames into the sky, dissolved in the air and then vanished. All the ribbons were weaved with detailed digital code. It was nothing other than the final disappearance phenomenon of a Burst Linker that Haruyuki had only seen once before.

  At this moment, the «plunderer» that had reigned over Umesato Middle School and trampled over Haruyuki and the others with overwhelming power, exited from Accel World forever.

  The system font that declared the conclusion of the Sudden Death Duel shined red in the vision of Haruyuki, who was standing stock-still. A massive amount of Burst Points was added to his, and it continued with a message that said that rising to Level 5 was now possible.

  However, neither the joy of victory nor a sense of accomplishment was born in Haruyuki’s chest.

  Only the recognition that everything was over spread quietly through him and filled his entire body.

  When he dragged along his ragged body and moved several steps over to Chiyuri and Takumu, he heard a resolute voice.

  “——Now then.”

  It was the voice of Kuroyukihime, who had been perfectly restraining the mysteriously Burst Linker «Black Vise» in a mind power battle until now.

  “There are a mountain of things I’d like to ask you, but you probably don’t plan on talking. In that case, let’s settle this quickly.”

  In response to that, the laminated avatar shook his head slightly.

  “No, I’ve come to unpleasantly understand the true power of a king in these last few minutes. I can’t win at all, so I will be quietly exiting here.”

  It was a quiet voice that showed how he didn’t think anything of how his comrade had been completely annihilated before his eyes. Kuroyukihime quickly raised her right hand’s sword and whispered in an increasingly-sharp voice.

  “I also don’t have the obligation to overlook you saying that. I’ll cut you down first, and then slowly consider how to deal with you for the hour until you revive.”

  “Scary, scary.”

  Shrugging his shoulders, Black Vise continued speaking in an even more aloof manner.

  “—But, my greatest ability is «running away», you know. Ah, one more thing before that. I know absolutely nothing concerning you people of the Black Legion. Even though I came here, it was only because I was requested to with a prepayment from Taker-kun. Naturally, I didn’t receive any information of your real life information at all from him, and if possible I don’t want to ever have anything more to do with you from now on.”

  “Too late.”

 
; Retorting back coldly, Kuroyukihime wrapped a red aura around her right hand’s sword and a blue aura around her left hand’s sword.

  Just after she took one step forward—

  Suddenly, a strange phenomenon occurred.

  Black Vise gathered the countless thin plates that constituted his entire body and collected them into a single plate in the middle with a ‘PATATATA’.

  The only thing that existed there now was a single black plate—no, it was just a shadow. It looked it just barely had a form from Haruyuki’s position, but when it turned to the front, it was hardly possible to see it at all.

  “Then, I bid you farewell.”

  Immediately after hearing that voice, the thin shadow sank as if melting into the shadow of the school building that spread out beneath him. A ‘HYUU’ moving sound receded away at a high speed.

  “—HAH!!”

  Kuroyukihime swung her wight arm up with a yell.

  A crimson line ran over the ground, collided with the school building, ran up it, and—

  “Uah!?”

  Haruyuki let out a voice of astonishment as he watched as the southwest corner of the chalk-like royal palace, which in the real world would have been a corner of the staffroom or principal’s office, was cut off and collapsed hugely.

  Mixed in among the countless smashed white objects, a single small black plate was blown high up and away, pierced the ground further away in the schoolyard—and transformed into a single arm and rolled over the ground.

  But, nothing else happened. The arm also immediately turned into countless polygons, dispersed and vanished.

  “…So he got away, huh.”

  Muttering that, Kuroyukihime lowered her sword.

  After gazing at that far too beautiful, heroic, and also transient form for a while.

  Haruyuki shouted out a single word and started running.

  “……Senpai!!”

  He desperately ran with his avatar whose upper body armor had been blown away and furthermore had countless wounds running through it. Hearing his footsteps, Kuroyukihime turned around.

  Stopping right in front of her, Haruyuki grasped both his hands tightly.

  “Senpai…senpai…I…I……”

  He couldn’t say anything more than that.

  Kuroyukihime gazed at the shining Gale Thruster that was fused with his wings on Haruyuki’s back for a while.

  Her violet-blue eyes blinked, and she nodded her head deeply. She then lifted her right hand’s sword, clapped Haruyuki’s shoulder with its ridge, and spoke.

  “—You really did your best. I’ll have a detailed talk with you after I return to Tokyo tomorrow. For now, take a good rest.”

  And then her gaze move to behind Haruyuki’s back. There, Cyan Pile and Lime Bell also stood together.

  “You also fought well, Takumu-kun. Thank you for all your efforts today. And also…Kurashima-kun, no, Chiyuri-kun.”

  There, Kuroyukihime did an unexpected action. She suddenly bowed her head to Lime Bell.

  “—Truly, thank you. If you hadn’t told me about this, I wouldn’t have been able to run here.”

  “Wha……”

  “What!?”

  Haruyuki and Takumu both cried out at the same time.

  “T-Told you…wait, Chiyu, you!? Told Kuroyukihime-senpai!?”

  “That’s right!”

  Brandishing her left hand’s bell, Chiyuri shouted in her usual spirited voice.

  “You guys probably wondered for what purpose I expressly came to see you. It was of course in order wait for you to specify the true duel time and then send it to Kuroyuki[46]-senpai!”

  “Eh…eeh…w-wait a minute…”

  While sputtering that out, Haruyuki desperately turned the wheels in his already tired brain.

  Immediately before Diving into the Unlimited Neutral Field, and after sending Noumi the last of the postponement messages, Haruyuki had certainly said it. ‘All right, we’ll Dive in one minute.’

  The instant Chiyuri had heard that, she had pushed the transmit button for a message addressed to Kuroyukihime, which she had maintained in her virtual desktop beforehand. Having received the message in Okinawa, Kuroyukihime had Dived immediately into the Unlimited Neutral Field, captured a flying horse Enemy, and dashed intently towards Tokyo for 15 hours—or so is what must have happened.

  As Haruyuki and Takumu looked at each other dumbfoundedly, Chiyuri’s voice continued showering them.

  “Because I was anxious entrusting things to you obstinate boys, I sent an email to senpai the moment you guys decided to do this duel, and told her about everything that happened until now. Then, I got a reply saying ‘I’ll run there through the field, so specify the exact time’. It was really irritating waiting at Haru’s house, wondering when you’d finally decide the time!!”

  “So…Sorry…”

  After murmuring that, Haruyuki did a big shake of his head once—

  And then first turned towards Kuroyukihime, and bowed his head very, very deeply.

  “Thank you very much, senpai. To have traveled as long as 15 hours to come save us…When I saw senpai on the roof, I was extremely moved…and happy.”

  “I think I was trying to show off a little too much there.”

  As Kuroyukihime shrugged her shoulders, Haruyuki responded with a smile while holding back tears.

  Next, he looked at Chiyuri, and bowed his head once again.

  “……Thank you, Chiyuri. If only me and Taku had been here, we would have definitely lost. Truly…thank you.”

  His throat was blocked and his voice trembled.

  “…Geez.”

  Chiyuri’s voice as she responded was also quietly wet. However, his childhood friend continued in a brighter tone.

  “I’ll get very anxious from now on if it’s only the two of you, so…I guess I’ll have to join Nega Nebulas as well.”

  “Eh.”

  “C-Chii-chan.”

  Now ignoring the two boys as they raised their voices, Chiyuri turned around to face Kuroyukihime, and tilted her head as if shy.

  In response to that, Kuroyukihime also nodded, and then quickly operated her BB console.

  Chiyuri didn’t hesitate at all as she pressed the ‘legion joining’ request that was probably displayed in her field of vision.

  And then, the jet-black and bright green female-type avatars each took a step forward—

  And made their sword and bell bump together with a loud pitch.

  As Haruyuki merely watched that spectacle silently, a whisper from Takumu standing next to him reached his ears.

  “…It seems we were worried about nothing.”

  “…You got that right. But…I’m glad. I’m so glad…really…”

  Haruyuki also unconsciously extended his arm, and firmly held Cyan Pile’s shoulder.

  While receiving Accel World’s blue moonlight, the four Burst Linkers remained standing there like that for a while.

  However, eventually, Kuroyukihime raised her head, and ordered her subordinates in a refreshed voice.

  “Now then…Let’s go back. To the real world.”

  After withdrawing from the Unlimited Neutral Field through Koenji Station’s portal, Haruyuki returned to his home’s living room in the real world.

  Although the duel had followed unexpected developments one after another, the total time that had passed wasn’t even an hour. In other words, on this side, it had been an event that had lasted a mere three seconds.

  However, the instant he returned to his real body, Haruyuki felt like so immensely fatigue that he was on the verge of falling prostrate over the table. He endured it, and raised his head.

  Once he readjusted the focus of his blurred vision, he saw Chiyuri’s face there, also blinking her eyes incessantly in the same manner.

  The two of them locked gazes for just a moment. Just that made something hot well up in his chest and made his eyes nearly wet, so Haruyuki opened his mouth hurriedly.

  “……It
would have been fine if you told us.”

  Then, next to him, Takumu also spoke while shaking his head slightly.

  “That’s right. About getting in touch with master…no, before that, if you have told us that you had joined forces with Noumi for the sake of getting back Haru’s wings, we wouldn’t have needed to worry like that.”

  As the two boys used a reproachful tone because of their own self-reproach over doubting their childhood friend, Chiyuri made a show of giving a big sigh, and then responded in an amazed voice.

  “Hey, I told you before! I only had once chance to turn back Dusk Taker’s time with «Citron Call»! Even if the chances of it were one in ten thousand, I couldn’t afford for Noumi to notice. I didn’t think it was possible, but if Noumi had placed something like a bug-tapping application or device on me, he would find out the instant I explained it to you!”

  After the two boys gulped and looked at each other, Haruyuki mumbled dumbfoundedly.

  “Y-You thought that far…Even though you’re Chiyu…”

  “Wait, what’s that supposed to mean!!”

  Shouting and getting up from her chair with a ‘GATA’, Chiyuri went around the table in order to jab Haruyuki.

  But then, she collapsed to the floor as if dizzy, so Haruyuki and Takumu also hurriedly stood up and knelt down in front of Chiyuri.

  “C-Chii-chan, are you okay!?”

  In response to Takumu’s question, she nodded her head lightly while still hanging her head—

  And then Chiyuri suddenly whispered in a delicately trembling voice.

  “……I did my best.”

  *POTA* A single drop of water made a sound on the flooring carpet as it fell down.

  “……It was very tough, but…I did my best. I really did my best, so……”

  *POTAPOTA* The drops that fell one after another shone beautifully like jewels on top of the floor.

  Haruyuki felt his chest prick, and this time spoke quietly in a voice that was trembling deeply.

  “Yeah…Thank you. Truly, thank you, Chiyu.”

  Heaving one great sob, Chiyuri raised her face that was overflowing with tears and suddenly jumped at their two necks with a ‘GABA’. She strongly drew close Takumu with her left hand and Haruyuki with her right hand, and shouted while pressing all three of their heads together strongly.