Sword Art Online - Volume 6 - Phantom Bullet

by Reki Kawahara

  But this world itself didn’t seem satisfied as it wanted to take Shino’s life while she already had nothing. She really didn’t want to admit that this was the one «truth» in this world.

  However, this wasn’t reality. These were just certain things that happened in this overlapping world. In these worlds, there should be «a world where nothing happened».

  Not knowing Shinkawa Kyouji, not going through the post office incident, her father not having died in the traffic accident. A certain world should have an ordinary Asada Shino living a peaceful life. Shino curled in the darkness and gradually became a lifeless thing, but her soul kept pushing her to look for her smiling profile in the warm sun.

  At this moment, Shino suddenly felt an urge to argue back at herself from the irony.

  If she was unable to accept the cruel reality and escape into fantasy, wouldn’t she be like Shinkawa Kyouji to some extent.

  Bullied at school, being treated like that by his parents, the heavy pressure of exams…Shinkawa Kyouji gave up on these «realities» and went to the virtual world for redemption. Kyouji believed that if he could get the title of the ‘strongest’ in the virtual world, he would be able to cover over that weak him in the real world. But now that the wish vanished, he crashed too.

  Like Kyouji, Shino yearned to be the strongest in the world called Gun Gale Online, and she felt that this goal would form some sort of inspiration, and she thought that she found a way to settle her own problems.

  The icy cold hand that came from deep inside Shino’s swamp of memories finally grabbed her and got ready to drag her into the dark abyss. However, she couldn’t resist, and couldn’t even open her eyes. Every effort was futile.

  Shino could only think in an interrupted manner like water bubbles floating up from the riverbed, however, she suddenly remembered…

  If it’s that guy, what will he do?

  That boy who was locked in the virtual prison for 2 years, took a few lives in it, should have lost important people in his long battle. He should have felt regret over it, right? He would definitely hate the virtual world that took lots of things, correct?

  No, he wouldn’t do that. No matter what sort of trials he faced, he wouldn’t abandon the responsibility he had. It’s because he was that sort of person that he was able to win in that battle of despair against Death Gun.

  —You’re really strong, Kirito.

  Shino muttered deep inside the dark abyss.

  —You finally managed to save me…but I betrayed your kind intents. I’m sorry…

  Kirito said that he would get the police over once he logged out. She didn’t know how much time elapsed since she logged out, but it looked like it was too late. It’s unknown what sort of thoughts he would have if he knew that Shino’s killed. This really made her worry…

  Thinking about that, her thoughts started to create a chain reaction, and a certain worry lit the darkness in the girl’s heart like a weak lamp.

  Kirito–will it be over after that lightsaber warrior contacted his associate? Maybe he might even drive over to my apartment. But even in this case, it’ll be too late. Once Kirito meets Shinkawa Kyouji in this room, Kyouji might do something. He might run away or stop struggling…or rather, will he attack Kirito with the syringe in his hand? From the way Kyouji showed his hatred against Kirito, it was likely that he would do that.

  Maybe she was destined to die.

  But—after thinking about how it would involve that boy—that would—

  That would be a different case altogether.

  …Even so, there’s no other way.

  The young Shino, who was lying in the midst of darkness, was all curled up and refused to receive any information through the eyes or ears. At this moment, the sniper girl with desert-colored muffler Sinon knelt beside her, placed her hand on the slender shoulders and said softly,

  …Up till now, we had only been looking out for ourselves, fighting for ourselves, so we couldn’t hear Shinkawa’s inner voice. But—it may be too late, but we should at least fight for others.

  Shino’s opened her eyes slowly while she was sinking in the darkness. A white, slender yet strong hand reached out to her. Shino timidly grabbed that hand.

  Sinon from the game smiled and helped Asada Shino out. She moved her pink lips and said clearly.

  Come, let’s go.

  Both of them kicked the darkness and started moving up to the light at the water surface.

  Shino blinked hard and again returned to the real world.

  Kyouji was still holding the syringe in his right hand as he pressed it against Shino’s neck, and his left hand was trying to take off Shino’s tank top. However, he wasn’t able to take it off with one hand, and showed an anxious expression. Soon after, he started tugging at the fabric that was about to be torn.

  Shino pretended to be pulled by him and turned her body left. The tip of the syringe slid off from Shino’s body and stabbed into the bed.

  Shino immediately used this chance to grab the cylinder with her left hand, and then used her right palm to strongly press at Kyouji’s lower jaw.

  ‘Gu!’, with a sound of impact, Kyouji went backwards, and the weight that was pressing down on Shino’s body disappeared. She then used her right hand to push a few times and then tugged at the syringe with her left hand. If she didn’t use this chance, her last hope will then vanish.

  However, Kyouji was using his better hand to grab the handle, and Shino merely grabbed the slippery cylinder with her left hand, so Shino was in a disadvantage in this tug-of-war. Kyouji recovered and pulled his right hand back, making a strange sound as he swung his left hand.

  “Gu…!”

  His fist landed hard on Shino’s right shoulder. As the syringe was plucked out from her left hand, Shino rolled back from the front edge of the bed. She hit the writing desk with her back, and one of the drawers slid out, dropped and scattered things all over the place.

  Having been injured in the back, Shino was immediately unable to breathe and could only pant to get air. Kyouji was pressing his lower jaw on the bed, but he immediately lifted his head and looked at Shino.

  His eyes were rounded, and the lips that were glowing with saliva were numb. From the way he was bleeding on the lips, it looked like he bit his own tongue. Soon after, he let out a hoarse voice,

  “Why…?”

  He slowly shook his head, seemingly feeling disbelief.

  “Wh, why must it be like this…? Asada-san only has me! I’m the only one who understands Asada-san! I’ve always been helping you…always been protecting you…”

  On hearing his words, Shino recalled a few days ago. As she was on the way back from school, she was surrounded by Endo and the rest and was extorted, and Kyouji just happened to pass by and save her—

  Looking at things now, it wasn’t a coincidence.

  It was likely that Kyouji tailed Shino every day after she left school until she entered her own house, and would log into GGO to wait for Shino to enter the game.

  That could only be called madness. Shino seemed to realize a little that he had some dangerous aspect about him, but never noticed this terrifying nature of his at all. Was this the result of not being open with someone? Even in this situation, Shino still felt bitter inside.

  “Shinkawa-kun…”

  Shino moved her stiff lips and said,

  “…Everything’s painful…but I still like this world. I guess I’ll like it more in the future. So…I can’t go with you.”

  As she said that, Shino got ready to get up. While supporting herself on the floor with the right hand, her fingertips felt something heavy and cold.

  She immediately knew what it was. That was an object she always hid deep inside that drawer. It was the symbol of all her fears in the real world. It was the participation prize she had in the 2nd BoB tournament—the model gun «Procyon SL».

  Shino fumbled with her fingers before grabbing it, and then slowly raised this heavy handgun at Kyouji.


  The gun in her hand felt abnormally cold like ice. Shino’s right hand immediately felt slowed, and the numbness crept up her arm.

  She knew that this wasn’t the cold freezing feeling in the real world. Even though she knew that it was a mental rejection, she couldn’t stop this feeling from happening. That fear which couldn’t be explained came out from deep inside her heart like black liquid.

  The white wallpaper that was speck-clean seemed to shake like water, and the grey concrete cracks behind the wall started to appear in front of her. The wood-based floor faded in color and became a green flax carpet. The protruding windows became the counter too. As Shino recovered, she found out that she was standing in the middle an old post office.

  Kyouji’s face that was being pointed at suddenly melted. His skin changed to a person with oily yellow skin, lots of wrinkles, and a set of yellow teeth in the dry mouth. The syringe in his right hand unknowingly became the old automatic handgun that was giving a dark glow—and the gun in Shino’s hand became the same thing.

  Predicting what would happen next, Shino sank into extreme panic. Her stomach felt like it was pushed up, and her muscles tensed up.

  No, I don’t want to look. I really want to throw aside this Blackstar in my hand and get away from here.

  But if she ran away here, everything would be wasted. The things that were as important as her life would also disappear.

  She was fighting her fear as Asada Shino when she relapsed, and she was fighting against many powerful foes as the sniper Sinon. Perhaps these experiences would never bring any outcome. But—

  This so-called strength is the process of moving forward.

  Shino gritted her teeth and cocked the gun with her thumb. The apparition that appeared in front of Shino disappeared with this hard and heavy sound.

  Kyouji, who knelt on the bed, watched the Procyon SL that was pointed at him and backed away slightly. Perhaps feeling scared, he continued to blink.

  He opened his mouth, and the hoarse voice then followed.

  “…What do you want to do, Asada-san. Tha…that’s just a model gun, right? Do you really think that that thing can stop me?”

  Shino placed her left hand on the table, exerting strength into her lifeless legs to get up and answered Kyouji,

  “You said it before. I have real power. You said it before that there aren’t any other girls who used a handgun to shoot someone else before.”

  “…”

  Kyouji’s face turned as white as paper and tensed up, backing away.

  “So this isn’t a model gun any more. Once I press this trigger, I’ll shoot a real bullet to kill you.”

  Shino pointed the handgun at Kyouji and then slowly moved to the kitchen.

  “Yo…you want to…kill…me…?”

  Kyouji muttered like he was daydreaming and slowly shook his head.

  “Asada-san wants…to kill me…?”

  “Yes. You’ll be the only one going to that world.”

  “NO…NO…I DON’T WANT…TO BE ALONE…!!!”

  Kyouji’s eyes lost all signs of consciousness. He looked up at the space blankly and knelt down on the bed.

  Seeing his right hand loosen up and the syringe nearly falling completely onto the bedsheet, Shino hesitated over whether she should use this chance to snatch that thing. However, if she agitated Kyouji, he may really lose his senses and attack. Thus, Shino continued to move slowly to the kitchen.

  When her eyes couldn’t see Kyouji, she immediately kicked the floor and ran to the door.

  A mere 5m distance felt so far away. She tried her best not to let out any footsteps as she moved pass the kitchen. As she ran to the corridor and stepped onto it…

  The mat slid backwards, and Shino felt down. She swung her right hand to get balance, and the model gun flew out and landed in the basin, creating a loud sound.

  Even though she didn’t managed to fall, the left kneecap hit the floor, causing Shino to feel pain. However, she continued to try and reach her body out and use her right hand to grab the door handle.

  However, the door wouldn’t budge. At this moment, Shino noticed that the door was still locked and gritted her teeth while unlocking it.

  CLAK. Just as the sound of the door unlocking reached Shino’s fingers—

  An icy hand held her right ankle hard.

  “…!”

  Shino held her breath and looked back, and found that the distraught Kyouji was lying on the floor and grabbing her foot. She did not know where the syringe went.

  Shino tried to shake him off and moved her foot about, and her hand went all the way, reaching out to try and pull the door open. However, her fingers did touch the door handle, but she didn’t hold it. That’s because Kyouji’s amazing strength pulled her back.

  Even after Kyouji pulled her to the kitchen for several centimeters, Shino still used her left hand to grab the step of the corridor to resist.

  If she screamed here, her voice may reach outside. But just when Shino was about to scream out, her throat got stuck and couldn’t take in air, causing only a hoarse voice.

  Kyouji’s strength could be said to be far more than usual. That skinny body of his which was only about as tall as Shino showed such arm power from nothing. Shino’s right hand was finally pulled away from the step, and she was then pulled deep into the kitchen.

  Kyouji’s face immediately pressed down. Even though Shino held her right hand tight and got ready to push at his lower chin, Kyouji grabbed it with his left hand the moment she touched the skin. That wrist felt as tight as a tiger clamp, and a sharp pain exploded deep inside her brain.

  “AsadasanAsadasanAsadasan…”

  After a while, Shino realized that the strange sound Kyouji was making was actually her name. Kyouji’s face lost all focus and his mouth was giving off white foam as he slowly brought his mouth close in. The mouth he brought over was really big, showing two rows of teeth that looked like they were ready to rip Shino’s skin away. Shino wanted to push him away with her left hand, but her left hand was soon grabbed by Kyouji’s right hand.

  Shino’s hands were restrained, but she intended to wait for Kyouji to close in and bite his neck. Just when Shino’s mouth was becoming tense for that moment—

  A sudden guest of cold air blew past Shino’s shoulders. Kyouji looked up behind Shino, and his eyes and mouth were open wide.

  Just when Shino was thinking about what happened, a black whirlwind rushed in front of her from the door that was opened unknowingly—it should be someone, at least, as he used his knee to smash into Kyouji’s face.

  Dodo, with that sound, Shino could only look flabbergasted as she watched the mysterious intruder who rolled into the room with Kyouji.

  Kyouji, who collapsed onto the floor, was bleeding from the nose and the mouth, and a young man she never met before was on him.

  That person had slightly long black hair, and he was dressed in a similarly black rider suit. Shino thought that he could be another resident from the apartment, but once the guy—or boy turned around to shout, Shino immediately knew his true identity.

  “HURRY UP AND GET AWAY, SINON! GET SOMEONE TO HELP!”

  “Kiri…”

  As she muttered blankly, Shino hurriedly got up. She knew she had to get away from this place as soon as possible, but her feet just wouldn’t follow.

  Finally, Shino grabbed the edge of the sink and finally managed to stand up. So he did personally come over from Ochinomizu. This meant that the police would be here soon. At that time, Shino forced herself to move her weak legs towards the entrance and ran a few steps—

  Shino remembered something important.

  Kyouji had a fatal weapon. She had to warn Kirito.

  Just when she turned around and got ready to shout,

  Kyouji, who was pressed down on the floor, completely lost his senses and let out a wild beast like howl. Kirito’s body was then pushed aside, and both of them swapped places.

  “SO IT’S…….YYYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!”

  Kyouji’s roar sounded like the echo from a large audio speaker, and the volume was so loud it nearly broke the eardrums of those near him.

  “DON’T YOU GET NEAR MY ASADA-SAAANNNN!!!”

  Kirito was ready to support his body, but Kyouji’s left fist hit his face and let out a heavy impact sound. Kyouji then reached his right hand into the jacket pocket and took out that savage gun-shaped syringe.

  “KIRITO—!”

  Just when Shino shouted that…

  “GOOOOO TOOOOOO HEEEEEEEELLLLLL!!!!!!!”

  Kyouji roared out.

  Byutsu~ The high pressure syringe stabbed into Kirito’s chest, on the T-shirt that showed itself under the rider’s jacket, and let out a soft, sharp yet clear sound.

  What was terrifying was that the sound was really similar to the high-capability silencers installed on guns.

  Of course, Shino only knew about the sound effects of the imaginary guns in Gun Gale Online, and in fact, she didn’t know what the sound would be like if it was silenced in real life. However, to Shino, who was familiar with this sound, it meant that she should step up and face the threat. The moment she recovered, she found herself running forward.

  She took a few steps, rushed past the kitchen and then subconsciously looked for the most effective weapon. Finally, she chose the stereo on the table, and grabbed the handle with her right hand.

  This machine Shino used for a long time had quite some history, and it could be said to be abnormally big, about as large as modern wall-speakers. Shino used her waist to support this rectangular body that was less than 3kg and quickly swung it behind her—

  And then used centrifuge force to hit the left side of Kyouji’s face, which was showing a smile that looked like he lost it.

  Shino almost didn’t feel any shock or feeling when she struck him, but after Kyouji was sent flying away fast, his head hit the corner edge of the bedframe, letting out a heavy sound that still clearly remained in her ears.

  After half a second, Kyouji, who was struck on both sides of the head, moaned as he collapsed onto the floor. His right hand was loosened, and the high pressure syringe rolled out.