Accel World: Floating Bridge in Starlight

by Reki Kawahara

  He sharpened his imagination. Generating Over-Ray, he condensed it on his fingertips, and converged it into the form of a sword.

  “……«Laser Sword»!!”

  Haruyuki released the only incarnate technique he had mastered towards the center of Rust Jigsaw’s chest.

  With a loud metallic sound, a silver light extended out from his projected right hand, touched the rust-colored armor, and shallowly gouged into it—

  But, at that point, Silver Crow’s right arm itself broke apart at the elbow. The silver light also uselessly dissolved away in the air, and the final part of Haruyuki’s attack that had begun ended with depleting only a single dot from Jigsaw’s HP gauge.

  Just before Haruyuki fell down on the shuttle after using up all his strength.

  A thin line that extended out from the outer side of Rust Jigsaw’s right arm hooked under Crow’s left armpit and supported him.

  “……Ku, kukuku.”

  Letting out a chuckle, the rust-colored avatar turned around completely to face him. He had removed his foot from the accelerator and the shuttle was gently slowing down, but even if Haruyuki had succeeded in momentarily stopping the No.10 shuttle here, it was all meaningless if the surviving No.1 shuttle and the two machines driven by Blood Leopard and Ash Roller were greatly damaged.

  At the same time as the No.10 shuttle stopped completely, the storm of mind power gradually settled down, and the universe regained its original color and silence.

  Bathed in the cold light of the stars and the intense sunlight pouring down on them, Rust Jigsaw whispered while lifting up Haruyuki with the thin two meter-long line extending out from his right arm.

  “Acknowledge it. This is the limit of you people who blindly believe this world to be a game.”

  Suddenly, the thin black line began gradually vibrating. Close-packed fine triangular blades were carved into the top side of it.

  It was a saw. This was without a doubt his main armament that troubled Haruyuki and Blood Leopard in their duel against in Akihabara, a «jigsaw».

  “And feel it keenly. This is the price of your foolishness.”

  The jigsaw suddenly sped up its vibration. At the same time, a pale Over-Ray wrapped around the entire saw. At the same time as it was strengthening its cutting power through mind power, it cancelled the HP protection rule of this stage.

  A shrill metallic sound was immediately emitted from Haruyuki’s left armpit, followed by a scorching pain.

  “Uu…aaaah!”

  While screaming, Haruyuki tried to jump away. But, his body didn’t listen to what he said. Due to Silver Crow’s weight, the jigsaw quickly cut into his left arm at its base.

  Several seconds later, huge sparks were scattered and his left arm was swiftly cut off. His health gauge was dyed red and cut below 10% remaining.

  Having lost both arms, Haruyuki collapsed onto the shuttle like a broken doll, and words mixed with derisive laughter were once again thrown at him.

  “Kuku…Lament the fact, if you were going to be a metal color anyway, that you didn’t get a corrosion-resistant color like gold, platinum, or at least stainless steel.”

  And then Jigsaw released another jigsaw from his left arm, crossed the two together and hooked them on Haruyuki’s neck, and lifted him up high.

  As Haruyuki was crucified and his head bent back powerlessly, his eyes caught the last remaining spectator stand.

  The hundreds of gallery viewers were in a commotion as usual with questions and confusion at the situation. However, even among all that, clear disappointment towards Silver Crow, who hadn't made a single hit despite his bold rush attack and was hanging there powerlessly, was hanging in the air. Countless comments like “What did he come here for?” and “So this is all he’s got after all that anticipation…” pierced through Haruyuki’s ears.

  —Even if you don’t say all that, I’m the one that’s most disappointed in myself.

  While waiting for the saws to tear through his throat, Haruyuki murmured within his mind.

  —I was naïve. I was too ignorant. I never even thought that mind power born with «hatred» as its source could have such a frightening power…

  As he thought that, someone else replied back within his head.

  —That’s only natural. Did you really believe that a thing such as «hope» could overcome «malice» in offensive power?

  Closing his eyes, Haruyuki answered back.

  —I never knew of such a thing. After all, I can’t use that kind of power.

  Once again, that someone refuted him.

  —That’s a lie. You know that. That power from long ago is sleeping inside you. A power even purer than «hatred». A malice that hasn’t spread to the outside world, but has been accumulated inside you and keenly sharpened itself.

  —In other words, «anger». Mind power of «rage» has existed inside you since long ago, and has been waiting for the time when it would be released.

  Throb.

  Suddenly, the center of his back ached chillingly. Throb, throb. It pulsated like a heart, and circulated a frozen liquid like mercury through Haruyuki’s body.

  —Do it.

  —Do it!!

  —Call my name now!! Release me!! I’ll turn your anger into power!!

  “Uu…aah…!”

  The cold feeling filling his body suddenly became fiery, and as he was hit him with a blazing sensation, Haruyuki opened his eyes wide.

  And he saw it. The aura surge clearly rising up from his tattered body—Over-Ray. However, it wasn’t the color of silver. It was a grey that was close to being black as possible—a color he was sure he had seen somewhere before.

  Something terrible was happening. For an instant, he was wrapped in fear, but that also flew away the moment he caught sight of Rust Jigsaw who was lifting him up.

  It seemed that the words from that unknown person had come to him in the split second between when Jigsaw had lifted up Haruyuki and started vibrating his saw. A dissonance was born on his throat, and the fine blades ate into his thin armor. However, Haruyuki forgot the fear of his head being chopped off as well, and whispered while intently staring at Jigsaw.

  “I won’t…forgive you. You’re the only one…I’ll absolutely never forgive.”

  “Ku, kuku. Resign yourself. There’s nothing more you can do.”

  “I’ll never forgive…I’ll never forgive…”

  His core cold like ice, and stirred by an overwhelming anger that seemed to enclose his surroundings in scorching flames, Haruyuki repeated that as if he were delirious.

  Rust Jigsaw was no longer just Rust Jigsaw to him anymore. He was the symbol of all the unreasonable malice that had continued to oppress Haruyuki for the majority of his fourteen years of life.

  If any of his comrades who had linked hearts with him were here right now.

  Haruyuki might have been able to stop himself here. Like he had two months ago during the duel within the Unlimited Neutral Field.

  However, Kuroyukihime, Fuuko, Takumu and Chiyuri were currently deeply damaged due to Jigsaw’s incarnate attack, and had been left behind far away in the stalled No.1 shuttle. That fact increased Haruyuki’s anger further, and he wasn’t able to restrain himself.

  “You…you people……”

  With a voice tinged with a metallic resonance, Haruyuki let out a final roar.

  “I’ll absolutely never…forgive you all——!!”[51]

  Instantly.

  His hot anger finally exceeded a certain threshold.

  Haruyuki felt something break through the armor of his back and extend out with a twist. It waved forward in place of his lost arms and snapped away the two jigsaws holding up his neck.

  “Muh…”

  As Jigsaw let out a low grunt, Haruyuki jumped high up and took distance from him. Landing outside of the stopped shuttle, Haruyuki violently pierced the surface of the tower with the thing extending out from his back. Dazzling sparks scattered along with an unbelievably loud impact s
ound.

  The thing was a sinister-looking «tail» that was made of countless dark-silver worm-like parts tied together and that had a sharp sword-like protrusion at its tip.

  While waving the dark silver tail like a snake, Haruyuki sucked in a deep breath, bent his body back, and howled.

  “Uu…oo…oooooooooo—!”

  An aura of darkness gushed out from his entire body, and shook the stage violently. The gallery viewers above made a violent commotion. But their voices no longer reached Haruyuki’s ears. Instead, a single sharp order hit the center of his brain.

  —Now! Call, my, name!!

  While standing up to his full height and thrusting his tail into the vertical tower wall to support himself, Haruyuki took the name that automatically flashed in his mind—

  And shouted it.

  “Chrome…Disaster—————!!”

  Chapter 10

  The gallery viewers, Rust Jigsaw, and even the stars were silent.

  Within the silence, a flash of jet-black lightning poured down from somewhere and hit Haruyuki.

  In his upper left vision, a purple message blinked.

  [YOU EQUIPPED AN ENHANCED ARMAMENT…]

  The cursor at the end flickered on and off two, three times. As if the BB system itself was scared of writing that name.

  But, after the fourth flicker, the cursor continued on to the right and wrote one phrase.

  […«THE DISASTER».]

  Darkness overflowed.

  A dusky dark grey aura flowed out from the base of his tail and deeply wrapped around his entire body. It immediately condensed, increased in density, and erased Silver Crow’s silver color.

  Eventually, a smooth metallic luster appeared on the surface of the thick darkness. A dusky dark metal shine just like his tail’s. Countless armor parts with sharp edges were solidified at high speed from his back to tips of his body. The armor covered his chest, torso, legs, and even the space of his lost arms without leaving a single gap, and was completed as a dark-silver full-body armor.

  At the same time as both his arms were regenerated inside the armor, his HP gauge recovered completely right to the right end.

  Finally, a grave metallic sound was released, and his head was covered with a thick helmet from behind.

  The color of his vision changed. A pale grey layer was added to everything, and only the figure of Rust Jigsaw in the center of his vision stood out clearly.

  Haruyuki slowly raised his arms and looked at the shining, fiendish claw-like fingers on them.

  They were completely different from Silver Crow’s delicate hands. One could easily believe that they were now merely frightening weapons that couldn’t hold anything.

  No, it wasn’t just his hands. His torso, covered in thick armor. His legs, drawn with muscular and supple lines. And the tips of his feet, equipped with three huge talons each.

  His entire avatar had now transformed into a crystallization of pure power.

  Unable to bear the feeling of power that ran through his entire body, Haruyuki tightly clenched his hands, looked up at the sky—and howled.

  “GUU…RUOOOOOOOOO!!!”

  The sound that came out from his throat was the roar of a beast tinged with a metallic effect.

  Slightly further away standing on the shuttle, Rust Jigsaw flinched back for a moment, and then immediately returned his posture to normal. This situation should have been unexpected to Jigsaw as well, but the voice he let out was filled with the same unchanging cold contempt as before.

  “…Kuku, interesting. The «Armor of Catastrophe», huh. Very well, I’ll prove that…the power called the most evil is also a mere embellished virtual image in the end.”

  Though he said that, his words felt like only a drop of water falling into a scorching flame to Haruyuki.

  His thoughts and emotions were completely inhibited, and only high speed calculated logic filled his consciousness. That is, on how to efficiently incapacitate the enemy before him.

  He could no longer hear that voice which had whispered to him countless times until now, and he no longer felt the anger that the voice had incited in him either. The reason for that was clear. It was because that voice and the anger had now completely merged and become one with Haruyuki himself.

  —Ah, I see.

  —I’m now…the sixth generation Chrome Disaster.

  —I’m sorry, senpai. I’m sorry, master. I’m sorry, Taku, Chiyu…

  Such thoughts made a small ripple on the surface of his consciousness and then disappeared. Afterwards, there only remained the purified desire to fight.

  The one that moved first was Rust Jigsaw.

  He casually held up his right hand on top of the stopped shuttle and spread out his five angular fingers. That hand was wrapped in a darkish red light.

  Instantly, a strange phenomenon occurred within Haruyuki’s vision.

  Many alphabetic letters appeared at high speed on top of his vision’s newly added grey layer. What they spelled out was—«Attack Prediction/Incarnate Attack, Long Range/Power Expansion/Corrosive Type, Degree of Threat/0».

  “—«Rust Touch».”[52]

  Following the technique name announcement, an enlarged phantom hand shot out from Jigsaw’s right hand and firmly grasped Haruyuki’s entire body. His shining dark grey armor immediately began to cloud over. —However.

  “GURUOOH!!”

  Along with a short bellow, Haruyuki spread out his arms widely. The phantom hand was easily torn off and scattered away into space. His chrome silver armor also immediately regained its original wet-like gloss.

  Taking a step towards the shuttle, Haruyuki gave a short, sneering laugh.

  “Ruru…—Just now, you said I should have been stainless steel.”

  The voice he let out was tinged with a metallic overtone and was strangely distorted.

  “…That’s a misunderstanding on your part. Stainless steel does not rust because the chrome included in it puts it into a fixed state. It’s chrome that doesn’t rust.”

  He let out another thick laugh.

  “—Your mind power is now useless against me.”

  Declaring that as if jeering at Jigsaw—Haruyuki then leaped forward off his legs like a beast.

  In midair, he unfolded the wings on his back with a whoosh. He strongly vibrated his wings, which no longer bore the slightest resemblance to their original simple metal fin form and had now changed into weapon-like silhouettes.

  By simply raising his right hand without even particularly concentrating his will, a darkness-colored Over-Ray surged out of it as if overflowing. It instantly condensed into the form of a Qatar thrusting sword used by Middle Eastern warriors, and advanced upon Jigsaw.

  In response, Jigsaw released a long jigsaw from his right arm and tried to intercept Haruyuki’s attack with its blade tinged with a red Over-Ray. Instantly, detailed information flowed into Haruyuki’s vision once again. «Attack Prediction/Incarnate Attack, Power Expansion/Cutting-Type, Degree of Threat/20». Furthermore, even the predicted curve of the jigsaw’s trajectory was added as well this time.

  “RUUU!”

  Letting out a short roar, Haruyuki slid his body 50 cm to the right in midair.

  The jigsaw, with its superior reach, reached Haruyuki first. However, its tip traced the displayed prediction line too faithfully. As a result, Haruyuki dodged it by just a few millimeters, which should have normally been impossible if there wasn’t a considerable difference in ability between opponents, and immediately after drove his right hand’s black Qatar into Jigsaw’s left shoulder.

  *BAKIN!* A painful screeching noise resounded, and Jigsaw’s body was blown away from the shuttle. However, he managed to spin with his expert body control and landed on the tower surface on his two legs.

  His body was tilted down towards the Earth. Although the interior of the shuttle created false gravity down in the direction of the Hermes Cord’s shaft, when players stepped outside it, the tower’s surface became not the groun
d, but rather a several thousand kilometers long vertical cliff.

  Jigsaw thrusted a saw from his right hand into the tower surface right away and supported his body from falling.

  Landing in front of him, Haruyuki similarly pierced the tower with his feet’s talons and stood at full height.

  “Rururu…What kind of acrobatics will you show me next…?”

  At this point, a feeling of thick hatred was finally released from Rust Jigsaw’s eyes.

  “You bastard………gret it…egret it. You’ll regret it. You’ll regret it. Regretitregretitregretitregretit!!”

  His murmurs were replaced by shouting, and as if it was guided by his hatred, the greatest Over-Ray yet was released from his left arm.

  *JAKI!* A jigsaw flew out from it. A red light flowed through it and lit up its countless saw blades.

  His arm drew a circle in the air so fast its form was hazy, and the jigsaw changed into a big ring. Immediately after, its spin increased and it shot off to somewhere with a groan. Rust Jigsaw’s long-range attack technique, «Wheel Saw». Haruyuki had once been greatly harassed by this technique that threw spinning saws possessing super-cutting power.

  Moreover, it didn’t follow a straight trajectory this time. The saw disappeared completely from Haruyuki’s field of vision, and struck after curving through the air like a boomerang. It wasn’t a technique that could be dealt with when seeing it for the first time, or so it should have been.

  But. Detailed information once again appeared in his vision. «Attack Prediction/Incarnate Attack, Long Range/Power/Movement Expansion, Degree of Threat/40». And then—a prediction line stretched out straight up from Jigsaw’s left hand and went around Haruyuki to his back.

  Without turning around, Haruyuki did a wide swing with his back tail.

  *GIN!* A jarring impact sound resounded, and the special technique spinning saw was easily flicked away, disappearing into the starry sky.

  Haruyuki vaguely realized what the variety of information being displayed over the grey layer in his vision was. This was a form of future prediction that calculated from the extensive battle experience accumulated in the body of the Armor of Catastrophe, the Enhanced Armament «The Disaster». It was unimaginable how many duels this armor, which was born at the dawn of Accel World and inherited by five Burst Linkers, had overcome. Data equal to that infinite span of time predicted all of the enemy’s attacks with frightening accuracy.