Sword Art Online - Volume 6 - Phantom Bullet

by Reki Kawahara

  A few seconds later, Sinon finally managed to say these words.

  The mantle player merely fired a handgun at Pale Rider. At this moment, Pale Rider should have some HP left. Then, Pale Rider was released from his stunned state and got ready to fight back with the shotgun. But just when he was about to fire, the circuits went faulty unfortunately, kicking him out from the game.

  If there was a need to explain what just happened before her eyes, this would be the most logical explanation.

  But how did it end up disconnected with such perfect timing? And, more than being lucky, that mantle guy who nearly got a huge reversal seemed to know that this disconnection would happen. No, rather than that—

  It felt like he was able to kicked Pale Rider out from the game through his own will.

  That was impossible. It’s impossible to interference with other players network connection from within the game.

  However, the mantle guy didn’t seem to be shocked by Pale Rider’s disappearance at all as he merely kept his left hand back into the mantle. Then, he again raised the handgun in his right hand and pointed it to a certain point. Sinon immediately knew what that was. That was the video camera that was showing the live broadcast of the tournament. The tournament set up a light-colored thing in the sky to show the player that he was being filmed. In other words, that was a declaration of victory to all the audience. However, what was he declaring? Just now, the battle he had with pale Rider was a forfeit because of a network failure, so it wasn’t a manner that’s worth bragging. Or—was the disappearance just now the real victory to the mantle guy? In other words…

  “That guy…can disconnect the other players from the server…?”

  Sinon muttered with a hoarse voice.

  And beside her, Kirito seemed to be daydreaming as he answered,

  “Wrong…that’s not it. It’s not just an ordinary power.”

  “What’s ordinary? That’s a huge problem! How can he use such a cheating method? What is the operating company Zasukaa doing…”

  “WRONG!”

  Kirito suddenly grabbed Sinon’s left shoulder tightly. Sinon wanted to shake him off instinctively, but the following words made the girl freeze.

  “That guy didn’t kick the player out from the server. He killed him. That Pale Rider just now…that real life player controlling Pale Rider is dead!!”

  “…You…”

  ‘’What are you saying?’’

  Sinon was about to say that, but what Kirito said next made Sinon swallow her words again.

  “So I’m right. That guy…that guy’s «Death gun»—«Death Gun»!”

  Sinon heard of this name before. After the vague knowledge floated up from deep within her memories of knowledge, she then said.

  “…Death…Gun. Is it about that weird rumor…? That someone shot the winner of the last tournament «Zekushiido», and «Usujio Tarako» who got a high ranking position, in a pub on the streets and the plaza, and they never logged in again afterwards…”

  “That’s right…”

  Kirito nodded his head and then looked at Sinon’s face. Those large and black eyes had a strong impact and fear in them that Sinon had never seen before. Also, he was shaking because of a certain feeling.

  “I felt…that it wasn’t possible. Yesterday, while waiting at the dome, I met him and still continued to deny this possibility. But I have no need to doubt it anymore…that guy really used a certain way to kill players in the real world. In fact, the corpses of «Zekushiido» and «Usujio Tarako» were discovered recently…”

  “…”

  ‘’—How did you know about this? Who are you? What’s your relationship with that mantle guy…?’’

  Before she was shocked by the fact that «Death Gun» really existed. Sinon’s heart was already confused by this person called Kirito, and this made her really unable to catch what was going on.

  Of course, Sinon still couldn’t believe this honestly. Killing someone in the real world from a game? That’s too far-fetched…and wouldn’t this be paradoxical? If things inside the game affected the lives in the real world, that wouldn’t be a game anymore. However, on seeing Kirito give a serious expression, voice and gaze that didn’t look like what a virtual avatar could make, she just felt that she couldn’t laugh this off. ‘’Who—who exactly in the world are you…’’

  Sinon’s mind was all confused and could only remain silent. At this moment, Kirito, who maintained a sharp gaze as he continued, finally managed to turn his eyes away from her to the metal bridge, and Sinon looked over too as if she was led by him.

  The mysterious mantle guy who made Pale Rider «log out» put the handgun that was aimed at the camera down and turned to look at Dyne who was in the south. Dyne, who had the [dead] tag on his abdomen, was still logged in, but unable to talk, and unable to make any expression, so nobody could tell what sort of thoughts he had about the strange battle that went on beside him.

  The mantle guy placed his handgun back into the holster, strapped up his L115 back on his shoulder with a shyari sound, and started walking to Dyne. Was he going to attack this «corpse» of Dyne? Sinon couldn’t help but gasp on thinking about this, and Kirito seemed to be thinking the same thing as his slender body twitched slightly, looking like he was about to rush out from the woods.

  But perhaps Dyne—was lucky as the mantle guy didn’t take out his automatic pistol, but walked past Dyne and moved onto the metal bridge. He didn’t cross it, but disappeared behind the thick big pillar like how he appeared. He should be walking on the slightly shallow river. Though they couldn’t see him now, that position can only lead him north or south down the river. If she start to move now, she would definitely see him again—…

  “…Still hasn’t appeared yet…”

  Kirito muttered. Sinon still nodded her head. Even after 10 seconds, the mantle guy hasn’t showed up. This means that he was still hiding in the shadows behind the bridge. It seemed like he was wary about Sinon’s sniper rifle.

  At this moment, a slightly ringing vibration could be felt from the left wrist, and Sinon then checked her watch. 8.44pm 50 seconds. There was 10 seconds left before the 3rd «Satellite Scanner». Sinon pulled the device out from her waist pouch and watched the screen.

  “Kirito, watch the bridge. I’ll use this chance to check that guy’s name.”

  “Got it.”

  On hearing his immediately replying, Sinon waited for the map to refresh itself. There’s still 3 seconds…2, 1, the scan started. The spy satellite of the galactic war age flew through the sky, and scanned through the entire surface without letting a single spot slip by. It’s electronic eye could easily read through mini cover. There was no other way to hide except by hiding in a cave or swimming into the water like Kirito.

  PaPaPaPaa…. After a few beats, new flashing lights appeared on the screen. Lion King Richie was still camping on the peak of the hill far south. He wouldn’t be able to get down the hill before the tournament ends.

  About 800m north of him, the two blinking spots hiding between the forest and the hills were Kirito and Sinon. To the players who were far away from them, they would definitely think that they were fighting at close range. They shouldn’t be able to expect that they were pushed side by side, hiding in the bushes. Of course, Sinon was praying that the other players wouldn’t know that.

  And 200m north, there was a rather light glow, showing Dyne, who was dead. A little north, and it would be Pale Rider’s light spot, but the map didn’t show it. And at the east side of Dyne, the light spot of that mantle guy under the bridge was—

  “Eh…not, not there?”

  Sinon said with surprise as she stared hard at the high definition screen.

  But no matter how she continued to look, the surroundings of the metal bridge only showed Dyne’s light spot. The mantle guy had already moved somewhere else. But if he moved up the river, she should be able to notice it. Sinon then panicked as she wondered what was going on, but immediately start
ed thinking again.

  There was only one possibility she could think of. He used the same method as Kirito and swam underwater to avoid the satellite scanner. In that case, that means…

  “…There’s a chance.”

  On hearing Sinon mutter, Kirito frowned. Sinon glanced at him and then quickly explained the entire situation.

  “that mantle guy didn’t appear on the screen, so he’s definitely hiding at the bottom of the river. In that case, he should have removed all his equipment. Even if he wants to get up the river, it’ll take at least 10 seconds for him to summon his window and fully equip himself. We just need to attack him…”

  “What if it’s just a handgun? He should be able to move if he’s carrying such light arms, right?”

  Before she even finished, Kirito raised the same doubt. Sinon could only reply reluctantly,

  “I’ve never tried this before, but if the STR and VIT values are high enough, it should be…but even so, we should be able to overpower someone with a handgun easily…”

  “NO!”

  Kirito suddenly stopped suppressing his voice and shouted, forcefully grabbing Sinon’s left hand.

  “You just saw it, right? That guy’s black handgun made Pale Rider disappear! It may be real death if you’re hit!”

  Sinon couldn’t look away from the glowing black eyes of Kirito. She forced herself not to look away, shook her head, and answered,

  “…But I still can’t believe that there will be real death resulting from being shot in a game….Uun, or rather, if this were real, that mantle guy could kill anyone on his own will, right? How is that possible…I really can’t believe it. How can such a person exist in GGO…in a VRMMO…”

  That’s right. Even in the wilderness of «Gun Gale Online», where killing intent was everywhere, it was still «a kind world» to Sinon/Shino.

  This world didn’t have any real evil intent or killing intent. The reason why they replaced communication with bullets and smoke was simply because they wanted to surpass their peers, to be stronger than anyone else. In this world, no matter how much they shot or how many bullets they take, they wouldn’t lose a single drop of blood. Also, they would definitely not feel any pain, injury or any real damages. Thus, even though they would feel remorse over losing a battle, they wouldn’t behold any grudges with the enemy. Like the tough battle before. Sinon’s entire left leg was blown away by the minigun of that Behemoth, and the Behemoth was shot through by Sinon’s Hecate. But after that battle, Sinon was just left with self-confidence, reflection and the respect to that strong Behemoth. She believed that the Behemoth would feel the same about her.

  It’s because of that that Sinon decided on this GGO world, a cushioning mechanism that protected her from that weak her in the real world and that terrifying memory. She believed that if she continued to fight here, the confidence she built in the virtual world would one day surpass that grudge that anguished her so much in the real world.

  There couldn’t be any real malice in a VRMMO, or else it wouldn’t be a virtual world. Wouldn’t it become the dark reality Sinon always feared and was running from…

  “I…really couldn’t believe that there was really a VRMMO player who would really kill someone besides PKing.”

  On hearing Sinon murmur—

  Kirito answered with a thoroughly pained voice,

  “But they really exist. That mantle guy…«Death Gun», he used to kill a lot of people in that VRMMO I was in before. Even after knowing that the enemy would really die, he still swung his sword. It was like how he shot Pale Rider just now, and…I…”

  At this moment, Kirito stopped talking, looked down and let go of Sinon’s hand.

  However, by piecing together those heavy words and the conversation she had with Kirito before, it was easy to tell what he didn’t say.

  3 years ago—at the end of AD 2022, «that incident» shook all of Japan. Even Sinon, who didn’t have any interest in VRMMO at that time was rather clear about this incident because of the daily long reports the media gave. There were more than 10,000 young people who were held captive in the virtual world; and two years later, the people who were released and returned back to the real world was about 6,000. In other words, 4,000 lives were gone because of this incident.

  Undoubtedly, Kirito must be one of the «survivors» of that world. And if he wasn’t lying, «Death Gun» should be the same as him. No, that’s not it. There was an even more terrifying truth behind Kirito’s confession.

  Those who died in that game basically died in the real world. «Death Gun» knew that they would die and killed many players on his own will. He was «the player who really killed someone in a VRMMO» Sinon said.

  That guy in GGO…at this moment, he was in the field of the «3rd BoB finals», and even took the lives of players in the real world through an unknown mean. That should be what Kirito was saying.

  Sinon finally managed to get something out from her confused thoughts, and immediately felt her body chill.

  Her vision started to become dark from the center. There seemed to be something watching her from the darkness. That look—that lifeless, weak and seemingly sticky swamp-like stare was…

  “…-non. Sinon!”

  Suddenly, Sinon heard someone calling her name, causing her to wake up forcefully. Behind the black shadow that was moving away, Kirito was looking worriedly. On seeing that pure and bewitching beautiful looks of his, the girl felt annoyed that it went against the norm, causing her phobia to be suppressed.

  Sinon sighted lightly and answered,

  “…Don’t worry, I was just a little shocked. To be honest…I really couldn’t believe your words straight away…but I don’t get the feeling that this is all a lie or a fabricated story.”

  “Thanks. That’s enough.”

  Kirito nodded his head slightly. At the same time, the light spots on the device in Sinon’s right hand flickered. The satellite in the sky above was about to leave. Sinon hurriedly switched the map over to the whole field and started counting the number of dots. Right now, there were 17 dots of lights, which meant that there were 11 dead dim lights, 28 altogether. “The numbers don’t match after all…”

  There were really 30 people at the start. Subtracting off the disappeared Pale Rider who disconnected, there was still one person. That should be the «Death Gun» who went underwater to avoid the scan. No, maybe he wasn’t just waiting silently underwater, but moving around. However, it was hard to tell whether he intended to move to or away from the two of them. If he were approaching, he could immediately come out from the water on the east side of the bushes Sinon and Kirito were hiding at and launch his attack forcefully…

  As Sinon thought about that, all the lights on the screen disappeared. Now, they could only search for the enemy with their five senses for the next 15 minutes.

  Sinon glanced to the east slightly, but couldn’t find any movement. The mantle guy should have moved on from the bottom of the river to the north. Though his main weapon L115A3 «Silent Assassin» was a terrifying weapon, it was a hand-operated sniper rifle like the Hecate II, so it wasn’t suited for mid to close ranged combat. Most likely, he wouldn’t force his attack, but pull away to hide his own location.

  Thinking till here, Sinon exhaled and muttered,

  “We have to get out of here first…those far away will think that both of us were fighting and will come over to collect the earnings of a fishmonger.”

  “…You’re right…”

  Kirito instantly looked down at the ground, but immediately turned to Sinon and said,

  “If I had told you to find an absolutely safe hiding place until the tournament ended…you wouldn’t listen, would you?”

  “OF…OF COURSE NOT!”

  Sinon immediately shouted back with her loudest voice.

  “How could I do such a stupid thing that the «Camper King Richie» would do! Besides, there’s no absolutely safe place on this island. There are caves in the northern deserts where the sat
ellite can’t read through, but I’ll definitely die if someone throws a grenade in.”

  “…I got it. Then, let’s split up here.”

  “Eh…”

  These unexpected words finally caused Sinon to be unable to say anything. She blinked for a few seconds and finally said with a calm voice,

  “The, then what you intend to do?”

  “Me, I want to…continue chasing after that «Death Gun». Can’t let him use that gun to shoot anyone. And…if I faced him head on, I’ll definitely remember that guy’s old name. In that case…”

  At this moment, the shiny lips of Kirito were tightly shut. He took a deep breath and faced Sinon straight in the face.

  “…Sinon, please get away from that mantle guy. I’ll abide by your promise. I’ll fight with all I got on when we meet somewhere on this island…Just now, thanks for not shooting at me and listening to what I said.”

  After nodding his head, the black-clothed lightsaber wielder slipped out from the bushes.

  “Ah…wait…”

  Just when Sinon was about to instinctively call him, he landed on the deep-tea-colored ground and got up and walked towards the metal bridge in the north without turning back.

  After staring at that slender figure that was gradually leaving for a moment, Sinon forcefully closed her eyes.

  “….”

  The air that was forcefully inhaled was exhaled hard with a silent ‘that’s enough!’, and Sinon immediately got up from the woods. The shrubs that were wrecked by her violent action had their leaves scattered before disappearing.

  “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”

  The girl shouted loudly, and the person who was 20m away stopped just like that. She immediately grabbed the Hecate and carried it on her right shoulder before running to Kirito. No matter if the other person gave such a completely surprised look, Sinon glared somewhere else and said,

  “…I’m coming with you too.”

  “eh…?”

  “You intend to fight against «Death Gun», right? That guy’s an expert even without that gun. How can you keep your promise if you lose before you face me? I’m not really willing, but we should work together to chase that guy out of this island…and the tournament finals of this BoB.”