Accel World: Floating Bridge in Starlight

by Reki Kawahara

  ‘You shouldn’t raise your expectations too high. There’s no way the prizes will be so great that they could break the power balance between legions, after all. More importantly…’

  Pausing for a moment there, the senior member of «Prominence» asked Haruyuki a question as her ponytail swayed.

  ‘Will your legion participate with all five of your members?’

  ‘Eh? …Err, the capacity of the shuttle is five passengers, so…’

  As he was about to nod, Haruyuki paused the movement of his neck.

  No matter how well they got along, or how she had let him ride on her bike and treated him to a hamburger, Pard-san was ultimately not a «comrade». She was a core member of the Red Legion, which might one day turn against the Black Legion. Was it alright to tell such a person about the movements of Kuroyukihime, who was under the Sudden Death rule?

  Most likely immediately seeing through Haruyuki’s hesitation, Pard-san quickly shook her head.

  ‘I’m not really asking in order to take advantage of this opportunity and take the Black King’s head. In the first place, since the HP gauge is locked inside the event, it’s impossible.’

  ‘L-Locked…?’

  After repeating the word, Haruyuki finally remembered. When he had transported over to the Hermes Cord earlier, there had definitely been the word [LOCKED] distinctly inscribed on his HP gauge.

  ‘E-Err…in other words, during the race event, nobody can receive damage?’

  After pretending to think for a moment, Pard-san immediately nodded to his question.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then, why is it necessary for there to be four other crewmembers in the shuttle? Is it because just me isn’t enough to attack and defend against other teams…?’

  ‘Yes to that as well. Most likely, the shuttle’s body is also configured with a HP gauge, and if it becomes zero it will be destroyed. The event at the Glass Castle I spoke of before was also like that. It was a game where you had to properly carry jewels given to each team up to the throne room on the top floor of the castle. The players couldn’t die, but it was setup so that the HP of the orbs would wear out from attacks by monsters or other teams.’

  Haruyuki nodded in admiration at Blood Leopard’s words. If it was like that, then it would definitely turn into a hot race even in the slightly nulled situation where the HP gauges were protected.

  ‘I see…so it has that kind of setup. In that case, I’m all the more certain that all five members of my legion will participate. But…why are you asking me about that?’

  As Haruyuki turned her gaze towards her, Pard-san displayed the rare sign of hesitating to say something.

  However, her hesitation disappeared in just one second, and—

  ‘In Accel World, there are two people whose existences are important to me.’

  Her quiet thoughts flowed through the red cable.

  ‘One is the king I serve. A person I want to protect no matter what. And the other is my eternal rival. Someone who became a Burst Linker at almost the same time as me and who I fought against countless times, known as «Strato Shooter[23]» and «ICBM[24]»…’

  Haruyuki immediately guessed who those two names belonged to.

  ‘…Sky Raker-san…?’

  In response to Haruyuki’s whisper, Blood Leopard softly nodded.

  ‘I was very happy when I heard that she had returned. But since she’s only been participating in the territory defense battles, I haven’t met her yet.’

  ‘Ah…I-I see. That’s true.’

  Currently, the Red Legion «Prominence» and the Black Legion «Nega Nebulas» were under an indefinite ceasefire. Therefore, as one of the Red Legion’s core members, Pard-san couldn’t participate in attacking the Suginami area.

  Haruyuki sucked in a deep breath, and then spoke while unusually looking at his conversation partner right in the eye.

  ‘The truth is, I also have a reason for wanting to take Raker-san to the Hermes Cord no matter what. That’s why, even if she isn’t interested in it, I’ll do my best to persuade her. I think that you’ll definitely meet her on Sunday.’

  ‘I see.’

  Her answer was short, but Blood Leopard gave a light smile, and slowly gave a deep nod.

  ‘Thank you, Silver Crow. I’m glad I talked with you…Perhaps I have three important people now instead of two.’

  —Whatever the meaning of those words were, Haruyuki could unfortunately not understand it at all. Therefore, he naively asked about it. But.

  ‘H-Huh? What…who is the third?’

  It’s a secret.

  As if saying that, Pard-san quickly disconnected the Direct Connect cable.

  After being transported to Suginami again on the motorbike and seeing Pard-san off until her tail-light disappeared far away, Haruyuki thought absentmindedly.

  The total number of Burst Linkers was about 1000. Almost all of them lived in the center of Tokyo. There were so many that it was impossible to memorize all of their names, and most of them were in a relationship where they scrambled for Burst Points amongst each other, but—even so, if they continued to duel over a long period of time, a relationship other than as «enemies» was sometimes born eventually. Thinking about it, even Takumu, «Cyan Pile», who was now his irreplaceable tag partner, met him as a genuine enemy at first…

  In Haruyuki’s mind, the faces of his comrades in the legion starting with Kuroyukihime, of his friends Niko and Pard-san, of his rivals Ash Roller and tentatively Frost Horn appeared one after another and then disappeared.

  Aiming for Level 10 as a Burst Linker was, in principle, equal to continuing to bring down other Burst Linkers. That was probably exactly what the game’s mysterious developer intended. To make 1000 young people fight amongst each other, and select only one person as the victor.

  However, despite that, even the developer shouldn’t be able to stop feelings other than hatred from being born and exchanged in the process. The way Blood Leopard worried about Sky Raker who she shouldn’t have been friends with was proof of that.

  —I also want that.

  Haruyuki strongly thought that as he walked towards his home.

  —Even if I’m beaten black and blue, even if I’m so mortified I shed tears, I won’t simply hate my opponent. Because I love this game…Accel World. Because I consider myself more fortunate than anyone for having become a Burst Linker.

  ——Really? Is that really all?

  Suddenly, a voice asked him that.

  At the same time, several silhouettes flashed quickly through his mind’s screen. A rust-colored avatar that seemed to be combined with a steel frame. A laminated avatar made of parallel jet-black thin membranes. And—a dusk-colored avatar with a spherical visor and huge talons, who no longer existed. They were members of the group that judged Brain Burst not as a duel fighting game but as a thought acceleration tool and who aimed only at acquiring and using points, the «Acceleration Research Society».

  They hadn't carried out any public activities over the past two months. However, that did not mean that they had vanished. They were probably hiding somewhere in Accel World and waiting with vigilant hostility for the chance to invade again.

  ——Can you also forgive those guys? Can you throw away the hatred you feel towards them, who cruelly wounded and tormented you and your friends?[25]

  Haruyuki did not notice that the voice echoing in his mind had at some point become not his own, but instead carried a shadowy and twisted metallic echo in it. While grimacing at the aching feeling at the center of his back, he stepped towards the location of his apartment building with rough steps.

  ——It’s natural to hate guys like that. It’s natural to crush them with hatred. Release all your anger, resentment and hatred, and destroy them. You have that power. The power to tear off their limbs, devour their flesh, and drain their blood. Yes—

  Devour them. Devour them. Devour them. Devour them. Dev…

  “……Shut up!”

 
; He shouted that in a stifled voice as he hanged his head down deeply. Residents and shoppers avoided Haruyuki as he stopped in front of the entrance of a shopping mall.

  Feeling as if he could see talons shining with a dusky purple color among the countless shoes that passed by on either side of him, Haruyuki shut his eyes tight. Inside his mind, he strongly spoke to himself.

  —If they appear again, I’ll fight them. But not because I hate them. It will be because I love Accel World. Because I believe that there exists bonds besides that of hostility in there. I will fight to protect those bonds.

  ——Really?

  Leaving that single word along with a creaking laughter, the voice went away. The pain on his back also faded away soon and disappeared.

  After letting out a long breath and rubbing his sweaty palms against his trousers, Haruyuki headed towards his empty home with heavy footsteps while hanging his head.

  Chapter 5

  “Hey, hey, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!!”

  That shout resounded throughout the entire battlefield.

  At the same time, there was the deep roar of a V-Twin Engine. Then a shrill squealing sound, and another shout.

  “With such a cheap wall, you’ll never stop the great me!!”

  “No way!?”

  Haruyuki frantically looked at his surroundings. Faded buildings, characteristic of the «Weathered» stage, were collapsed everywhere, thereby making a barricade of rubble. The ones who had destroyed them were Haruyuki and Takumu, who was fighting a little further away. They had determinedly destroyed the buildings by using this stage’s characteristic of having very fragile geographical features, and filled in the surroundings roads with their rubble.

  The objective of this was to weaken the mobility of the bike-user «Ash Roller» in the three-player team on the attacking side of the territory battle. Their aim had been successful, and there were no longer any routes that would allow him to move on his bike from the current front line to the position that Sky Raker was protecting at the back—is how it should have been, but.

  “W-Where are you!?”

  Haruyuki desperately searched for the source of the roaring engine sound.

  After several seconds, he quickly found it. However, Haruyuki didn’t move immediately, but instead fully opened his eyes and mouth wide while standing bolt upright.

  A gunmetal American motorbike was moving from right to left on the opposite side of the one-sided two-lane main road. However, its speed was too slow. That was not because it was avoiding the rubble covering the road, but rather because it was impossible to avoid it in the first place, since the height of the rubble reached up to nearly two meters—so it was being carried instead.

  The huge motorbike, with its rider on it, was being carried on the right shoulder of a short-statured avatar not even half as tall as the bike, who stepped over the rubble barricade with great effort. Ash Roller was merely straddling the seat of the bike as it swayed on top of the shoulder and repeatedly gunning the accelerator.

  “……T-There’s no point to revving the engine like that!!”

  After instinctively letting out that retort with all his strength, Haruyuki finally noticed that this wasn’t a situation where he could sit back and watch. Their aim was to cross over the mountain of rubble and reach its base. It would become troublesome if they got there.

  “I-I won’t let you!”

  Shouting that, Haruyuki charged towards the opposite side of the main road. Then, the short-statured avatar carrying the bike glanced at him, and immediately after—

  “Big Bro Ash! Forget about me and go—!”

  While shouting out those somehow excessively cool words, he threw the bike forward. It was an incredible feat of physical strength compared to his size.

  Leaving aside the fact that Ash Roller seemed to have gotten a younger brother at some point, the American bike he rode crossed over the summit of the barricade while emitting a particularly shrill exhaust sound.

  “Your heart, is Giga Buuuuurning!!”

  Along with one of his usual incomprehensible shouts, he landed on the asphalt and made an extreme dash with his bike while letting out white smoke from his rear wheel.

  Saturday, June 8, 5:30 PM. They were in the middle of a 3-vs-3 battle to defend the 3rd Battle Area of Suginami. Kuroyukihime and Chiyuri were having a break, so the «Nega Nebulas» side consisted of Haruyuki, Takumu and Sky Raker. The opposing attacking side consisted of three members of the Green Legion «Great Wall» led by Ash Roller.

  There was a considerable gap in level composition between the two teams, with Haruyuki’s team having levels of 8-5-5 and the enemy team having levels of 5-5-3, but Brain Burst was a game where that kind of difference could be easily overturned with a single moment of negligence. While gritting his teeth for having let that «single moment» happen by allowing Ash to break through the barricade, Haruyuki tried to chase after the fast bike. —However.

  “I won’t let ya pass here!!”

  Along with a cry that made Haruyuki wonder whether that kind of tone was for constructing a certain character or was simply natural, a shadow jumped down in front of him. It was the avatar that had carried Ash Roller’s bike.

  His name was «Bush Utan[26]», a Level 5 player with dark green armor. He was shorter than Silver Crow by several centimeters, but he had a robustness that didn’t give off that impression. The reason for that were his strangely-developed arms. His overall silhouette made one think of a certain kind of primate due to the way his hands almost grazed the ground when he bent forward, but even so, he wasn’t an opponent to be made light of.

  Haruyuki responded back while glaring cautiously at those two huge arms pointed at him.

  “…Guys that say lines like that are never able to hold others back!”

  He then quickly bent forward and went into a super-low dash.

  Bush Utan was a brute strength-specialized avatar that poured all of his potential into his two huge arms. If Haruyuki received a direct punch from him, he would be blown away by damage equal to a 2 level difference, but Utan’s speed was not that great. Besides, Haruyuki didn’t intend to fight here in the first place.

  After instantly shortening the distance between them with a ground-chafing gallop, Haruyuki jumped up with all his strength, since the enemy’s focus was turned downwards. He vibrated his wings for only a moment in order to preserve his special technique gauge, and then passed over the enemy’s head with a long jump instead of flying.

  Utan tried holding his hands up frantically, but he couldn’t reach him at all. During this scene, Haruyuki had the time to mentally comment to him, ‘You should have shortened the distance between us yourself and reduced my options. You should actively control the distance between instead of simply waiting…’

  “——wait, owah!?”

  The surprised shout that leaked out from Silver Crow’s mouth was overlapped by a thick male yell.

  “Uhohoho! I’m not letting ya go——!!”

  What had happened was that Bush Utan’s arms had extended. It wasn’t simply that his elbow joints had come undone. In fact, his arms had lengthened up to three times their original length and had firmly grabbed Haruyuki’s ankles with his huge palms—

  “Funnuuuussu——!”

  Since he was about to be thrown right to the ground, Haruyuki fully opened his wings reflexively and released all the propulsive force they contained.

  “Nuooh!”

  The state of equilibrium was momentary. No matter how strong Utan was, his actual weight was still in the light-weight category. Haruyuki flew up blindly while having the primate-type avatar hanging from his legs. Since it had turned out like this, he thought of ramming into Ash Roller like this while still carrying him, but at that instant.

  “Uho!? S-Scary!!”

  After hearing a pitiful cry, the speed of his flight weakened with a jerk. When he frantically looked down, he saw that Utan had released only his left hand from Haruyuki’s leg and was holding on
to a handrail on a building’s roof instead. Since both his arms were stretching to the limit, it was as if the primate avatar was fastened to the middle of a long rope.

  “You, l-let go!”

  “N-No way!”

  Haruyuki tried flapping his wings desperately, but the grip on his left ankle showed no signs of loosening at all. Takumu’s «pile» might have been able to cut off Utan’s arm, but he was still fiercely fighting the third member of the enemy team somewhere a little further away and sounds of clashing could be heard from there intermittently.

  While reluctantly continuing this tug of war in the air, Haruyuki cast his gaze around and looked at the western side of the main road. At that instant, he inadvertently blurted out.

  “Oh no…!”

  The big American bike had already dashed more than ten meters ahead and was trying to plunge into the small plaza at the end of the road. There was a circle that emitted a lavender-colored light with a tall flagpole at its center installed in the plaza. The black color on its flag was proof that it was the «base» of Haruyuki’s team.

  Bases were selected spots that dotted various places on the territory battle field, and if a team occupied one, their special technique gauges could be recharged endlessly within the circle. In other words, territory battles in Brain Burst consisted of nothing more than pushing forward while occupying one base after another and assaulting the enemies’ bases.

  The base Ash Roller was aiming for was currently only being protected by Sky Raker. As a Level Eighter, her ability was naturally guaranteed, but her unique fighting style could be a huge advantage or disadvantage depending on its compatibility with the enemy.

  And according to Haruyuki’s diagnosis, the wheelchair-user Sky Raker and the bike-user Ash Roller were part of the same category, and as a result he judged that Raker was at a disadvantage. Her wheelchair’s abilities as a vehicle-type Enhanced Armament were naturally outclassed by far in nearly all aspects by Ash Roller’s bike.