Sword Art Online - Volume 6 - Phantom Bullet

by Reki Kawahara

  “Among the 30 people on the name list, how many do you not know?”

  “Haa…?”

  I ignored Sinon, who was giving an extremely surprised look as I moved my fingers down the name list that’s not really long.

  “Please tell me. This is very important to me.”

  “…Well, it’s not like I can’t tell you…”

  Though she still had a bit of suspicion, Sinon still continued to look at the purple holographic window on the table, and her blue eyes quickly scan through from left to right.

  “Erm…it’s already the 3rd BoB, so I know pretty much all the people there. Those first-timers in the finals…other than a certain infuriating light saber user, there are 3 other people I don’t know.”

  “3 of them? Their names?”

  “Nn…«Jyuushi X» and «Pale Rider», and…this «Steven» guy, right?”

  Sinon stiffly read a few names, and I read through the names on the window to check personally. Except for the «Jyuushi X», the other names were written in the English alphabet. I closed my eyes and repeated these three names a few times.

  At this moment, Sinon looked half-shocked and half anxious as she said to me.

  “Oi, what’s going on? You’ve been asking the questions up till now, and yet you haven’t explained anything to me.”

  “Ahh…un…”

  I used an ambiguous reply to buy time as my mind continued to think.

  The 3 names Sinon told me—

  One of them should be the reason why I came to this world. He’s related to the two mysterious deaths, and also a survivor of SAO who’s affiliated to the red guild «Laughing Coffin»—the character commonly known as «Death Gun».

  The reason why I deduced this was because up till now, Death Gun kept his real name rather privy. If possible, he would really want to use «Death Gun» as a character name, but in that case, he’ll get lots of spam e-mail, and will even cause lots of trouble. Also, if the real character becomes overly famous, the rumor of the «Death Gun» he would have painstakingly built up will disappear. Thus, he has to hide his real name up till now, and Sinon definitely won’t know of this person’s existence.

  Now, the problem will be, which one of them is the real «Death Gun»…

  Just when I was pondering, a white slender hand entered my vision. That hand was prodding at the surface of the table with the thumb.

  Looking up, I saw Sinon narrow her eyes as she glared me me.

  “…I’m really going to be angry. What the heck are you doing? Is this some strategy to make me angry and get me to make a mistake in the finals?”

  “No…that’s not it, I didn’t mean that…”

  On feeling that sharp high-temperature flame-like stare, I bit my lips tightly.

  I really couldn’t decide immediately whether I should explain the truth to her. I believe the rumor that ‘There’s a player in GGO who calls himself «Death Gun» and has been shooting on streets and in bars, and the players who were shot by him never logged in again’ would be rather widespread, but there’s still no player who would believe that they were killed. Of course, Sinon in front of me should be the same too.

  To be honest, I didn’t really believe this completely. For a player to fire bullets in a game to kill someone in real life—is completely impossible no matter what reasoning Kikuoka and I used when we discussed this a few days ago.

  But right now, I can’t even laugh at Death Gun’s ability. If that guy was really an important member of the old «Laughing Coffin», he’ll definitely be one of the killer players who were enthusiastically taking away the lives of many players in Aincrad. Maybe he developed a certain way of killing that far surpassed Kikuoka and my own imaginations during that terrifying experience. This possibility still exists.

  If I tell all I know to Sinon and also that the power of the Death Gun may be real—you may die, you shouldn’t take part in the tournament this time, will she listen me? No, absolutely not. That image of Sinon as she showed me the side of her desperate face because she nearly missed the registration after shopping with me. This girl should have some important reason why she has to take part in the BoB tournament…

  The blue eyes that were glaring at this silent me—suddenly softened.

  Her light-colored lips said without moving too much,

  “…Don’t tell me that the reason why your face suddenly became weird during the preliminaries yesterday was also because of that?”

  “Eh…”

  Sinon and I exchanged looks, and for a moment, we couldn’t say anything.

  However, I forgot all my reasoning and thoughts as I nodded away like I was prompted to. A teeny-weeny voice came from my own mouth,

  “…Ahhh…that’s right. Yesterday, I was suddenly called by someone who used to play a similar VRMMO in the underground dome…I thought that he would be taking part in the battle today. I’m afraid that one of the three people was him…”

  “Were you friends?”

  I shook my head hard on hearing Sinon’s question, messing my hair up in the process.

  “No, quite the opposite…we’re enemies. Me, and him, we seriously tried to kill each other before. But…I can’t remember that guy’s name back then. I have to recall it. I want to meet this player in the finals… find out why he is here, and what he is doing…”

  After explaining till here, I realized that my words may have confused Sinon. In a normal VRMMO game, even players in opposing guilds are technically still rivals playing the same game. It’ll be too much of an exaggeration to use the title «enemy».

  However—

  The sniper with the aqua blue hair didn’t laugh at my words, but widened her small eyes, and then muttered with a weak voice that system could barely identify.

  “…You tried to kill each other…enemies…”

  And then, she used the same soft volume to raise another question that’s enough to pierce through my consciousness.

  “…Is it because your play styles didn’t match, or your relationship between each other worsened when you were in a party because of some trouble? Or…”

  On hearing till this, I shook my head in reflex.

  “No, we were really betting our lives and trying to kill each other. That guy…that guy’s guild did something unforgivable, and both sides couldn’t come to a peaceful resolution. We had no choice but to settle this with swords. I wasn’t regretful about doing this, but…”

  I know this will only bother Sinon, but my mouth just couldn’t stop. I grip the hands that were placed on the table, trying to look deep into those blue eyes, and try to force out my voice from the dry throat.

  “…But, I, I just continued to run away from the responsibility I should have taken, and never had I thought about the meaning behind this action. Until today, I was forcing myself to forget…but now, I can’t continue to escape. I have to solve this problem head on.”

  These words seemed to be said right back at myself. Of course, Sinon shouldn’t be able to understand at all. The moment I shut my mouth, Sinon looked down as well. The thought that she got a weirdo here deep inside her heart should be even greater now, I think.

  “…Sorry for such ridiculous words. Just pretend that you never heard them. Anyway, it’s just my past grudge…”

  I deliberately forced a smile and prepared to simplify things.

  But Sinon muttered to interrupt my words.

  “—‘If your bullet can really kill a player in a real world, can you squeeze the trigger without hesitation’.”

  “…!”

  I quickly gasped.

  This was the question I asked from deep inside me at Sinon during the tournament preliminaries finals yesterday. Actually, I still don’t understand why I asked this, but at that moment, I did ask back instantly, as fast as a spark, on hearing Sinon ask ‘how do I get to be as strong as you’.

  An attack in the virtual game world killed a player in the real world. From the way nobody believed in the rumor of the «Dea
th Gun», it’s likely that this is impossible in theory. However, this rule occurred in the world that doesn’t exist now.

  At this moment, I could only remain silent, and Sinon stared at my eyes with a sharp gaze—and opened her small lips to say,

  “You are…Kirito, perhaps you’re, from that game…”

  This seemingly voiceless question immediately vanished as it melted in the dry air of the bar. The wavering blue eyes looked down before shaking silently.

  “…Sorry, I shouldn’t be asking about this.”

  “…No, it’s alright.”

  I could only answer this with regards to this unexpected apology, and we continued to look at each other under this tense silence.

  I don’t intend to tell Sinon that I was an ex «Sword Art Online» player, a «survivor of SAO». But if I don’t say so, she will never be able to understand my explanation just now.

  This Sinon should be able to understand the meaning of the word «enemy» I used, and she would be able to understand the detailed meaning of «killing each other».

  I just waited silently for the girl to show that disgust and annoyance in her eyes.

  However—

  Sinon didn’t look away, and she didn’t leave her seat. She leaned forward and stared at me. The sapphire eyes of hers, for some reason, seem to be giving some sort of…maybe a glint, a plea for help, or maybe that’s just my imagination.

  The next moment, Sinon closed her eyes tightly, and then bit her lips tight.

  I didn’t even have the time to be shocked as the tense atmosphere between us disappeared. After exhaling deeply, the sniper girl gave an obscure smile and whispered to me softly,

  “…Well, it’s about time to head back to the waiting dome, or else we won’t have time to check our equipment and warm-up.”

  “Ah…ahh, that’s right.”

  I nodded my head, and Sinon stood up. I looked at the simple digital watch on my left wrist, and found that the time was soon going to be 7pm. There’s still an hour before the finals tournament start.

  As we arrived at the simple elevator at the corner of the huge bar, Sinon pressed the down button, the metal gate let out a creaking sound as it slides aside, and the elevator appeared. The moment we entered, I was the one who pressed the bottom most button.

  In this cramped space that’s had an imaginary descending feeling and the sound of machinery, a soft voice rang.

  “I know you have your own difficulties.”

  Behind me, Sinon seemed to walk towards me, and there was something pointing at the center of my back. That’s not a muzzle—but a fingertip. She said with a slightly forceful tone.

  “However, your promise with me is another thing altogether. I’ll definitely return that humiliation during the final battle yesterday with interest, so you must not let someone other than me shoot you down.”

  “…I understand.”

  I nodded my head slightly.

  The biggest aim I had when I dived into GGO was to interact with «Death Gun» and solve the mystery behind the murder, but this incident now isn’t just about Kikuoka Seijirou’s request, but also related to me. Thinking through it calmly, I should avoid this duel with the scary sniper Sinon and achieve my aim.

  But I met Sinon in this world, talked to her, and built a new relationship in this battle. I really can’t ignore or belittle her actions. That’s because, even in another virtual world, even if the thing attached on my waist is a light saber without a physical blade, «Kirito» is still a swordsman.

  “…I’ll survive until the time I fight you.”

  The moment I said this, the finger behind my back left my body, and a soft voice rang again.

  “Thanks.”

  Before I could even ask why she said thanks, the elevator came to a sudden halt. After the door opened, what immediately came in from the front of the slightly dark elevator were the smell of iron and smoke—the smell of battle came over at me and engulfed me.

  Chapter 10

  Sinon sighed for a long while, and spent the same amount of time trying to exhale the icy air out from her virtual lungs.

  She slowly tried to adjust her breathing with her heartbeat, and the green reticle[1] of hers started to expand and shrink.

  She looked right in the middle of the screen. A player was moving through the bushes. He was holding a mini «Yatei» assault rifle, and though other support weapons couldn’t be seen, there were all sorts of abnormal lumps on him. Perhaps he lightened his rifle to the bare minimum, and used hi-tech optical shielding and multi-layered armor against live rounds to fill up the capacity. Also, he was wearing a helmet with face shield, and looked just like a giant boar. His name was called «Shishigane», and the stats showed that he was a defensive player who focused on VIT. Although he took part in the last finals, Sinon didn’t face him directly.

  With a distance of more than 1,200m, even the anti-tank sniper rifle «Ultima Ratio Hecate II» can’t give a fatal shot through that thick armor. Of course, it’ll be different if she could hit twice consecutively, but the enemy’s no slouch. Once he’s hit, he would definitely hide in the shadows and not show up again. Until then, if she waits for him to show up at that position, the other players who heard the first shot would definitely gather over, and it’ll be a wave of machine gun fire swarming around her like a beehive.

  As Sinon was laying prone between the large rock and the shrubs, the trigger in her finger was silently muttering,

  “…Come over here.”

  Once the distance between the target and her were within 800m, she believed that she could break through the thinner part of the armor, the face, and deal a larger amount of damage to eliminate this player from the stage.

  However, Sinon’s wishes didn’t come true as the guy turned away and moved further away from her. He was careful enough to put heavy armor on his back too, and it could be said to be that there were no openings about him. It was a pity, but it seemed that the best choice she had would be to give up on this prey and wait for the next enemy. Just when Sinon was about to move her right eye away from the scope, she found that there was a round thing on the guy’s right waist.

  It was a large plasma grenade, two of them. Perhaps he was using it as another means of protection as he didn’t have any support weapons. However, in this game, those «cheap and effective tools» would normally have some elements of danger to them. Sinon made herself tense and narrowed her eye that was on the scope.

  She moved the scope down from the guy’s back to the bottom right area, and finally aimed the crosshair at the shaking metal ball.

  Inhale, exhale. She inhaled—and stopped.

  As the screen of success removed all random thoughts, her body and the hand on the sniper rifle would fuse into one for a moment, and pinpoint into a fine circle. The girl naturally squeezed the trigger.

  Then, there was an impact rushing through her body. Her eyes were immediately dyed white because of the sparks released by the muzzle. However, Sinon’s vision immediately recovered as she looked through the scope, and through the vision that retained its color, she could see a grenade on the right waist of the man go ‘bam’, and she turned her face away from the gun.

  “Bingo.”

  As she muttered, a blue explosion occured in the middle of the hill far away, and all the neighboring trees collapsed. A few seconds later, the sound of a thunderclap came over, and she didn’t need to check to know that the guy’s HP was reduced to zero.

  At this moment, Sinon stood up, straightened her legs and carried her Hecate. As the gunshot and the muzzle spark revealed her position, the next few minutes after a snipe would be the most dangerous moment for a sniper. She quickly scanned around and then decided on the route she would take.

  This path had shrubs all around, so she wouldn’t be discovered easily. Also, the nearby enemies should be attracted to the large explosion of the boar guy. However, despite knowing this, Sinon didn’t stop as she continued to run for more than a minute before kneel
ing at the base of a large dead tree before heaving a sigh. As she looked up, she could see through the gaps between the thick layers of clouds, the bloody red sun that was setting to the west.

  It’s been about 30 minutes ever since the Bullet of Bullets tournament finals started.

  That boar guy just now was the second one Sinon sniped and eliminated, but the participants can’t tell how many survivors were there until the satellite did its per-15-minute scan. The girl took out the thin «Satellite Scanner», activated it to show the map of the entire area and silently waited for the intel to refresh itself.

  The time on the left of the screen indicated that the time in the real world was 8:30pm, and the highly detailed map showed numerous blinking lights. There were 21 of them, and in other words, 9 people had been eliminated. Sinon continued to stare at the screen as she tried to check the current scenario.

  The place that became the stage of this tournament was a 10km wide isolated circular island. The north of the island was a desert, and the south was all forests and hills. Also, there was an abandoned town located in the middle of the island. Right now, Sinon was located at the southern-most hills. Moving on slightly north, there was a river flowing through, separating the hills from the forests.

  Right now, there were 3 spots of lights within 1km radius. Sinon used her fingertip to prode the names on the lights. The nearest was «Dyne», who was moving northeast 600m away. Slightly further east was «Pale Rider» who was chasing «Dyne». And finally, the last point of light which was 800m from there in the rocky hills, remaining completely still was «Lion King Richie».

  Richie’s equipped with the hi-firepower heavy machine gun «Vickers». Perhaps he wanted to occupy the highest point in this area and sweep any players that got near him. He used the same strategy during the last tournament, and had to withdraw as he ran out of bullets. However, he should have a counter strategy now. Either way, she could leave this enemy that wasn’t moving alone.

  The problem was the lights points of «Dyne», who seemed to be running for his life, and «Pale Rider», who was chasing after him. Dyne wasn’t just the leader of the squadron Sinon belonged to, but also a veteran who made it into the finals of the BoB 3 times. He had an assault rifle «SG550» with him, and specialized in mid-ranged combat. This person wasn’t really worth respecting in terms of character, but he wasn’t an enemy that’s to be underestimated.