Sword Art Online - Volume 6 - Phantom Bullet

by Reki Kawahara

  The path went from the damaged asphalt road to a mere gravel path that was hardened by compression. The three-wheeler buggy started jerking more and more, and Kirito could only slow down and cautiously move the buggy through the sand dunes.

  Sinon was merely counting the number of big cacti that were around them, but seemed to realize something as she looked at her left hand. The long and thin needles showed that the current time was 9:12pm. What shocked her was that they merely spent about 10 minutes moving from the riverbank in the south of the streets to the ruins and up till here.

  But during this short time, the finals of the BoB—no, this game called GGO had a tremendous change in definition to Sinon.

  As she used her slightly cool head to think through, she knew that the player called «Death Gun» couldn’t be the man she shot in that post office robbery incident a long time ago. The «Type-54 Blackstar» that caused Sinon to think that way wasn’t a really popular gun, but it wasn’t some rare weapon and was rather cheap. Maybe Death Gun merely chose it as his support weapon out of coincidence.

  The problem was that she could immediately feel fearful, timid and it could even trigger her phobia once she saw that gun.

  Sinon had treated those enemies in this world who use the Blackstar as one of her goals. She believed that she could calmly fight against them even if that gun was pointed at her, and finally bury it amongst the many targets Sinon shot down in the past.

  But she was ever so awkward when she met it for real. The effects of the stun bullet was completely gone, but she just felt rather slow all over, and her hands couldn’t help but continue to tremble. Even the familiar weight of the Hecate she carried just felt like a burden.

  —Everything was a lie, I was just fooling myself. The large amounts of kills I got, and this thought that it could prove my ability, they were completely meaningless…

  As Sinon was feeling dispirited, the wheels suddenly skidded, and the buggy then stopped. Kirito’s sturdy voice rang from behind her,

  “Ahh… how can we find a hiding place in the midst of a vast desert?…”

  On hearing those words, Sinon started thinking. Kirito was already severely injured after coming to save Sinon while she was numb. Now he should be thinking of hiding in the desert and use the first-aid pack that was given to all the players to recover their HP. However, that equipment’s healing effect was rather slow. If he intend to recover safely, it wouldn’t be enough to hide behind the sand dunes or the cacti.

  Sinon held up her still blurry head and looked around. As she found that reddish-brown rocky hill slightly far away, she slowly pointed there,

  “…There should be a cave there.”

  “Ah, that’s right. You said that there are caves to avoid the Satellite Scanner in the desert.”

  Kirito quickly answered and turned the buggy off the road. A bit later they reached the rocky hill and circled around it. Like what Sinon expected, they discovered a huge hole at the north side. Kirito slowed down and brough the entire buggy inside.

  The hole was rather big, and there was still a lot of space once they drove the vehicle over to a place that couldn’t be seen from the entrance. Though the inside was dark, the sunset that was reflected on the wall would still allow the five fingers to be seen.

  Kirito turned off the engine, stretched his body out on the sandy floor and turned to look back at Sinon.

  “We’ll hide from the next scan here—ah, wouldn’t our device not receive the satellite information?”

  On hearing that unnecessary question, Sinon couldn’t help but give a wry smile. She got off the buggy with weak legs, arrived near the granite wall, sat down and said,

  “…Of course. If other players were nearby. They would try their luck by throwing a grenade, and both of us will be dead inside.”

  “I see. But at least it’s better than removing all my equipment and swim underwater… and speaking of water…”

  Kirito left the buggy and glanced at the entrance of the cave before saying,

  “«That guy» just appeared beside you, right? Does that mantle have some sort of ability to make him invisible? He disappeared at the bridge, the satellite couldn’t get any visual on him. Maybe it’s not that he swam but used that ability…”

  “…I guess so. That’s a unique ability called «Metamaterial Optical Camouflage». It’s normally reserved for boss monsters… but it’s not strange to have such an equipment with an effect like that.”

  Saying till here, Sinon finally understood what Kirito was worried about. She looked inside the cave of the entrance and then softly said,

  “…I guess it’s alright here. There’s sand all over the ground, so someone invisible can’t hide their footsteps, and will also leave footprints. He can’t appear suddenly like just now.”

  “I see, but we better prick our ears.”

  Kirito finally seemed relaxed and then sat slightly far away on Sinon’s right side. He took out the first-aid kit from his belt pouch and tipped the front on his neck in a stiff motion before pressing the button on the other side. A light ‘zzz’ sound could be heard, and the red light that showed the recovery effect covered Kirito entirely. A first-aid kit could recover 30% HP, but will take 180 seconds, so it was meaningless to do this in battle.

  After turning her eyes from the right side, Sinon again looked at her watch. The time now was 9:15pm, which was the fifth Satellite Scan. However, like what Kirito said just now, as the electric pulses that were sent over by the satellite couldn’t reach inside this hole, the map on the receiver wouldn’t show any data.

  The last tournament’s battle royale started at 8pm, and it ended with the last survivor «Zekushiido» taking on «Yamikaze» and winning to put an end to this. The overall time was slightly more than 2 hours. Assuming that the progress rate was the same this time, there should be around 10 players left. In the last tournament, Sinon became the 8th casualty after merely 20 minutes, so this would far exceed her previous record. However, she wasn’t happy at all.

  Sinon put her left hand down, leaned her back on the cave wall and muttered,

  “…Do you think… that «Death Gun» could have died in that explosion?”

  She knew deep inside that there was only a minimal possibility, but couldn’t help but ask for Kirito’s view. After a while, Kirito answered softly,

  “No… I saw him jump off the mechanical horse before the truck exploded. Though he couldn’t be unscathed… I don’t think he’ll die like this…”

  Any player who would get involved in such an explosion should have taken a lot of damage.

  Any ordinary player maybe.

  But that guy was definitely not ordinary. The mantle guy used the «Blackstar» to kill Zekushiido and Usujio Tarako, and Pale Rider was most likely dead. Maybe he was a wandering spirit in the network. However, Sinon obviously didn’t say this out loud. She merely answered, “I see”, and then placed the Hecate onto the sandy floor beside her, cupping her knees together.

  Sinon lowered her head and asked another question,

  “How did you come and save me at the stadium so quickly just now? Didn’t you reach the outside top wall?”

  Kirito seemed to give a wry smile. Sinon looked beside her, and found that the lightsaber warrior was still leaning on the wall, both hands behind his head.

  “…I knew we were mistaken the moment I saw that «Gunner X» we thought was Death Gun…”

  “…Why?”

  “Because that person looked like a real girl no matter what, not like this male character of mine which look so feminine.”

  On hearing that somewhat unexpected answer, Sinon muttered “I see”. Kirito nodded his head slightly and gave a somewhat bitter expression.

  “At that moment, I knew that we left out something very big… on thinking that Death Gun could attack you, I forced my way to slash her when she was introducing herself. I should apologize to her later.. On a side note, her name had to be pronounced as «Musketeer X».”

&nb
sp; “Oh…”

  Sinon again responded, and then guessed whether Kirito was going to apologize because his battle method was too forceful or that the other party was a girl. But just when she was about to ask, Kirito carried on,

  “I took a hit, but still managed to take her down. Looking south from atop the stadium, I found you lying on the floor… once I saw that things were bad, I immediately grabbed the large sniper rifle and smoke grenade Musketeer-san dropped and jumped from the perimeter. I fired and threw the grenade and then ran at that person…”

  Kirito then shrugged as he said till here, seemingly indicating ‘you know the rest’.

  In other words, the two bullet scars on Kirito were from Musketeer X’s snipe and the L115 from Death Gun. Though he said that in a rather easy manner, the lightsaber warrior has been shot twice after defending flawlessly again Xiahou Dun, which showed that he didn’t even care for his own safety when he went to save Sinon.

  On the other hand—looking back at that situation, Sinon obviously pulled Kirito down. Even though Death Gun had the unexpected unique equipment «Metamaterial Optical Camouflage», Sinon could have dodged that stun bullet if she noticed the movement behind her. If she met up with Kirito without being paralyzed, they could even use this chance to take down Death Gun.

  Of course, that was if Death Gun wasn’t a dead soul but an ordinary player.

  Feeling troubled and weak, Sinon dejectedly rested her forehead on her kneecap. She felt Kirito close in and say in a soft voice,

  “You don’t have to be so hard on yourself.”

  “…”

  Sinon sighed and waited for Kirito to continue.

  “I didn’t notice that guy was hiding nearby too. If our roles were reversed, I would be the one who took the stun bullet—you would save me at that point too, right, Sinon?”

  That voice was ever so steady—

  Yet it made Sinon feel extremely hurt deep inside. She forcefully closed her eyes and muttered to herself.

  This was a person she originally viewed as a rival… this enemy who she thought she could fight against actually said such encouraging words. Her failure, weakness were all seen by him… right now, he just looked like he was appeasing a kid.

  And what made Sinon unable to bear with this or even forgive herself was that while she felt extremely humiliated, she had a huge urge to accept his comfort.

  Once she said her fears and pains that were tormenting her, and reach her hand out to this boy who’s one meter away… that enigmatic lightsaber warrior who had such sincerity inside, he would definitely comfort this Sinon in the game… the real Shino with all his earnesty and words. Maybe she could even get this «redemption» of that post office robbery incident 5 years ago from him.

  If she did that, the other icy cold-like sniper Sinon may completely vanish. But speaking of which, how could she say her true thoughts to someone she just met yesterday—and doesn’t even know his real appearance. Sinon had never said her true thoughts to even Shinkawa Kyouji, who was her friend for more than half a year.

  As she was anxious, powerless , puzzled and messed up, the girl could only continue to hug her own knees.

  Just like that, after a few seconds…

  Kirito’s voice finally rang again.

  “…I’m going then. Just rest here first, Sinon. Actually, I was really hoping that you could log out… but you can’t do so during the tournament…”

  “Eh…”

  Sinon lifted her face up instinctively. Kirito had already used the stone wall to support his body and checked the remaining amount of energy in the lightsaber.

  “…You intend to fight… alone… against that Death Gun…?”

  Once Sinon finished asking in a hoarse voice, the other person nodded slightly but firmly.

  “Un. That guy’s really strong. Even without the power of that black handgun, his equipment and stats were already a headache. Most importantly, the player’s own ability was rather unique too. To be honest, it should be hard to take him down before the black handgun’s fired. We were able to escape just now, but half of it was because it was a miracle. If we get aimed at by him… I don’t have the confidence to face him courageously. Maybe I may leave you and run away… so I can’t take the risk of having you follow me.”

  “…”

  Sinon originally thought that this lightsaber warrior was absolutely confident in his own abilities, so she couldn’t help but look at his face after hearing this unexpected declaration. At this moment, a glint appeared in the black eyes, showing the insecurity he never had.

  “…Even you are scared of that guy?”

  On hearing Sinon’s question, Kirito placed the lightsaber back onto the belt pouch and gave a bitter smile.

  “Un, of course. If it was the old me… even if I knew that I could die, I would fight him with all I got. But… I have a lot of things I want to protect now. So I can’t die, I really don’t want to die…”

  “Something, to protect…?”

  “Un. No matter whether it’s the virtual world… or the real world.”

  He must be talking about the bonds with some people. Kirito was different from Sinon, he had lots of friends who felt the same as him. The girl felt a sharp pain inside her heart, and her words rushed out,

  “…Then you might as well just hide here, right? We can’t automatically log out in BoB, but we can leave when it’s just us and someone else. Once we commit suicide to let the 3rd person win, the tournament will be over.”

  On hearing that, Kirito widened his eyes, but immediately smiled, said ‘I see’, and shook his head. Sinon already expected that he would have such a response.

  “There is that method. But… I can’t do that. Death Gun should be hiding somewhere and recovering his HP. If we let him go until the tournament ends, who knows how many people he will kill…”

  “…I see.”

  “—You’re really strong.”

  Even though he said that he had something he wanted to protect, he didn’t lose any of his courage of risking his life to fight against the Death God. And I don’t have these two things anymore.

  Sinon could only smile weakly, thinking of what would happen to her once she leaves this battlefield.

  Sinon had already lost all her courage once she faced that black handgun that Death Gun raised on the streets in the ruins. She cried many times as she escaped and couldn’t even control her separate identity, the Hecate. The ice sniper Sinon was on the brink of disappearance.

  If she continued to hide in the cave like this, she would never believe in her own ability again. Her heart would shrink, her fingers would stiffen, and it’s unlikely that she would ever hit something again.

  Forget about overcoming that memory, the real her in the real world would always worry about whether that man would appear from the shadows of the night streets or the gaps between the door. That would be the virtual and real worlds waiting for Sinon/Shino.

  “…I…”

  Sinon looked away from Kirito and said softly,

  “I’m… not running away.”

  “…Eh?”

  “I’m not running away. I’ve decided not to hide around. I want to go out and fight that guy.”

  Kirito frowned, bent his upper body over to Sinon and whispered,

  “You can’t Sinon. Once you get hit by that guy…you may really die. I’m not just a complete melee-type player, I also have defensive skills. You’re different. Your predicament would be far more dangerous than mine if that invisible man attacks.”

  Sinon shut her mouth for the moment, but soon after, spoke up and concluded.

  “It doesn’t matter even if I die.”

  “…Eh…”

  Kirito widened his eyes again, and Sinon said slowly,

  “…Just now… I was really scared. Really scared that I would end up dying like that. I got weaker than how I was 5 years ago… I even embarrassed myself by screaming… I can’t take this. If this lingers on anymore, I might as well
die!”

  “…It’s normal to be scared. Who’s not afraid of death?”

  “I’m sick of being scared. I’m sick of living in fear… I’m sick of it— I’m not going to ask you to accompany me, I can fight on my own.”

  After saying that, Sinon’s weak arm started to exert force and got ready to get up. However, that arm was grabbed by Kirito beside her. He asked softly with a nervous voice,

  “You’re saying that you want to fight alone and die alone…?”

  “…That’s right. This is likely my fate…”

  She made a cardinal sin, but wasn’t punished for it. Thus, that man would come back to give her the punishment. Death Gun wasn’t a dead soul—but a cause and effect. This was already decided.

  “Let go of me… I got to go…”

  Sinon tried to shake off Kirito’s hand again, but he grabbed her with even more force.

  The black eyes were sparkling. Those small and beautiful lips exploded with such intense words that didn’t fit the perfect appearance at all,

  “…You’re wrong. No one will die alone. Once someone dies, his position in someone’s heart will vanish too. My heart already had your existence, Sinon!”

  “It’s not like I asked you to remember me… I, I never hoped to have a relationship with anyone!”

  “But haven’t we made contact with each other?”

  Kirito raised Sinon’s hand and moved it in front of her.

  At this moment, the intense emotions that were suppressed inside Sinon’s icy heart suddenly exploded. She gritted her teeth and used that other hand to grab Kirito’s collar.

  “Then…”

  The weakness of wanting to be comforted and the urge to be destroyed created a feeling she never had before, causing her to say these words out from deep within her. Sinon’s fiery gaze stared at Kirito’s face and screamed,

  “—THEN PROTECT ME FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!”

  Her eyes suddenly twisted, and there was something hot flowing down her face. Sinon then noticed that tears were already flowing out from her eyes, dripping.