Sword Art Online - Volume 5 - Phantom Bullet

  Therefore, Sinon maintained a hold on Hecate, waiting motionlessly for the transfer to the next battleground.

  After a few seconds, she did not return to the standby room, but flew directly to the final preparation area. The hexagonal surface of the window on the screen was marked by the opponent’s name, and sure enough, the name there was [Kirito].

  After the next transfer, she opened her eyes to see an elevated road extending out in a straight line, and the blood red sunset it went into.

  The «Inter-Continental Highway» stage. Although the battlefield is the same size as the last one, about one kilometer squared, since you cannot get off the highway that goes from east to west, in fact, the battlefield is quite slender and simple.

  However, there were numerous cars, trucks and even a helicopter wreckage, and there were cracks as the road went up and down, so from one side of the road that you could not see the other side.

  Sinon took a quick look behind to confirm that she was in the eastern-most corner of the map. Then the opponent, Kirito, would be in the west extension of the road, at least 500 meters away.

  She looked around, then soon ran up the road. Her destination was the large tour bus sitting across the road to the right front. From the semi-open back door into the bus’s interior, and then up the stairs to the second level. She threw herself stomach down on the center of the floor, took Hecate II from her shoulder and opened its two legs. She aimed the gun muzzle at the panoramic window on the bus’s front side, took up a sniping position, and flipped up the scope’s front and back covers.

  The sun is right in front of her. That means, no matter where she hid outside, the scope’s lens reflection from the sunlight will have the danger of letting the enemy notice her. A sniper whose position is found out is easy to take care of.

  But inside this bus, mirror coating on the glass outside will hide the scope’s reflection. Also, with the height, she could see past most of the obstructions on the road.

  Kirito should probably be closing in at high speed by moving from one obstacle to another. She did not think that she can hit that enemy with the Bullet Line. Her chance, is while he does not know her location, that first shot.

  ‘- Hit him. I must.’

  Carving that belief strongly into her heart, Sinon placed her right eye at the scope.

  Why she wanted to win so much, she was not very clear herself.

  Indeed, Sinon was deceived by Kirito when he hid his gender as she showed him around and helped him buy equipment. Beyond that, he also saw her changing in the preparation room.

  However, even saying so, it is nothing but this level of things. She had not lost any items, and only her avatar’s underwear was seen. From the meeting on the street of Gurokken, to their separation at the standby room were only tens of minutes, it should not be difficult to forget.

  But now, all the different battles she experienced in GGO were faded compared to how strongly she wanted to win against Kirito. Yes - even more than that fearsome minigun user, Behemoth. For someone who just arrived at GGO today, and furthermore against a lightsaber user that all gunners consider to be heretical, why would she go to such extents…

  ‘…No.’

  No, maybe, she had already understood the reason.

  That is because, ‘I no longer consider that guy as an «enemy» in my heart.’ When that guy sat on the hard bench trembling as his cold hand held hers, she realized that a feeling that she could not name was born in her heart.

  Compassion? No.

  Pity? No.

  Sympathy…? No, absolutely not.

  ‘There is no one that can sympathize with me. There should not be a single person that bears the same painful darkness as me. I had been looking for such a person, but in the end, she was just constantly, constantly, constantly betrayed.’

  The only thing that can save her, is her strength. Because she understood that, it’s why she is here now.

  She does not want to know Kirito’s situation and does not need to know. As long as she mercilessly blows apart that avatar that confused her, he would be buried in her numerous kills thus far. Then she would forget.

  That is all she needed to do.

  Carefully but deliberately, Sinon set her mind and stared through the scope; her finger gripped the trigger.

  So - .

  In the background of the crimson sunset, when a shadow appeared, in a flash, Sinon forgot her self control as a sniper and leaked out a sound.

  “What..?”

  The wind blew the long black hair, camouflage clothes wrapped the delicate body, and a light saber hung from the belt. No doubt, it was Kirito.

  However, he was not running. And he did not seem to want to hide. He was right in the middle of the highway on the slightly raised center dividing line, walking with a sway. It was exactly the opposite of his previous match, a totally defenseless posture.

  ‘- Is he trying to say that, even without the Bullet Line, he could easily dodge my shot?’

  Thinking this, anger exploded inside her head as the crosshairs went to Kirito’s head. Then, Sinon went to pull the trigger - just before that, she realized that her guess one second ago was wrong.

  Kirito did not look in front. He just lowered his head down, with his body limb as if weaken, just mechanically dragging his feet forward. This was completely opposite to the “chased by ghosts” charge in his previous match, and it was a lethargic pace.

  With him like that, dodging Sinon’s shot was absolutely impossible. The Hecate II’s bullet is shot out faster than the speed of sound, and it is too late by the time you hear the shot. And then with him looking down, of course he would not be able to see the muzzle flare.

  That means - that is, Kirito did not want to avoid her shot from the start. He intended to deliberately get shot, and then lose to end the match. Once he obtained the right to enter the main tournament, whatever came after… his match with Sinon no longer mattered. That is what it means.

  “…Don’t, jok…”

  Sinon lips leaked out that raspy sound.

  She put her finger on the trigger and applied force. The green Bullet Circle appeared, then centered on Kirito’s lowered head and rapidly shrunk. The Circle’s intense movement showed Sinon’s chaotic heartbeat. But with only a weak breeze and a distance of only 400 meters, her shot would definitely hit.

  Her index finger pushed down, and the trigger spring squeaked. And there she relaxed her finger. She pushed down again, trigger squeaked. Again relaxed.

  “…Don’t joke with me!!”

  Her shout, was distorted like a child’s crying sound.

  At the same time, Sinon pulled the trigger. The 50 caliber rifle’s roar filled the interior of the tour bus, and over half of the front glass filled with a white cloud then broke apart.

  The bullet that came out flew through the crimson sunset in a straight line - it passed by Kirito’s right cheek with over 50cm of space between them and hit the car far behind him. A fire pillar, and after that black smoke erupted.

  From the pressure of the 12.7mm bullet flying by close to his head, Kirito lightly swayed. He stopped and looked up.

  While Kirito looked like a girl on the surface, only a ‘why did you miss?’ questioning look appeared on Kirito’s face. While staring at that face through the scope, Sinon pulled the bolt handle and fired again in one action.

  This time, the bullet went over the top of Kirito’s head and away behind him.

  Reload. Pull the trigger. The third bullet hit the asphalt floor next to his black clothed right foot, leaving a big crater. Reload. Fire. Reload. Fire. Reload. Fire.

  Six empty shells bounced around Sinon and disappeared after a little while.

  Kirito was standing there, still unscathed, and through the scope, his eyes continued to look questioningly.

  Sinon slowly stood up, her hands holding Hecate, and began to walk through the bus. She jumped out of what little remains of the front glass window onto the road and continued walking. br />
  Tens of seconds later, when she closed to about 5 meters away from Kirito, she stopped.

  Staring at the still standing black lightsaber user in the face, she breathed out.

  “…Why?”

  The meaning of this question, and the criticism mixed in it, seemed to reach Kirito. His black pupils shook, and again looked down at his feet.

  Finally, he said without feeling, like an NPC.

  “… My goal, is just to enter tomorrow’s main tournament. I don’t have a reason to fight beyond that.”

  Sinon had expected this answer. However, the feeling of ‘that’s why I cannot forgive’ welled up in her chest, and once again, Sinon pushed out words.

  “Then, you should have shot yourself with that gun right at the start of the match. Are you worried about ammo cost waste? Or do you want to give me a kill count, thinking that this way I would be satisified…!?”

  To the head lowered Kirito, she took another step closer - .

  “Merely a VR game or merely one match, it’s your choice if you feel that way! But don’t force those values on me!!”

  Sinon cried out in a trembling voice, and she also realized that she said something irrational.

  To impose personal values upon your opponent, then it’s the same as what she had done. If she cannot forgive Kirito, then Sinon should have used the first round of ammunition to determine the match, and then forget about him afterwards. Instead she used 6 rounds of ammunition to threaten him, and beyond that she threw out her feelings at him face to face. On the other hand, the unreasonable one might be herself.

  ――However.

  Even so, Sinon could not stop herself. The Hecate held in trembling hands, face distorted, and could not stop a drop of tear that leaked out of the edge of her eye.

  With his back to the distant sun as it set, half of his body in shadow, Kirito’s eyes were tightly closed, and his mouth was stiff.

  Finally, the delicate avatar relaxed, with a weak, but with a hint of emotion, he said.

  “…I too… A long time ago, I felt that I blamed someone like that…”

  “…”

  Kirito glanced at the silent Sinon, then he bowed his head down.

  “…I’m so sorry. I was wrong. Although it is only a game, only a match, but I should still give it all I got… otherwise, there is no meaning or qualification for me to live in this world. I, should have known that…”

  There, he raised his head, the black eyes looked straight at Sinon, and the swordsman from a strange land said.

  “Sinon, can you give me a chance to make it up to you? Right now, have a match with me.”

  From the unexpected words, Sinon momentarily forgot her anger and wrinkled her eyebrows.

  “Right now, even if you say that…”

  BoB’s qualification and main tournament are encounter fights with unknown enemy starting locations. Since they met face to face like this without fighting, there should be no way to return to the beginning condition.

  However, Kirito showed a slight smile, then pulled out the FN-57 from the holster on his left waist. He used a hand gesture to stop Sinon, who was about to take position, and pulled the gun’s slide once. He skillfully caught the ejected the bullet in the air, then placed the pistol back into the holster.

  While spinning the 5.7mm bullet with his left hand fingers, Kirito said.

  “Your gun, it still has ammo, right?”

  “…Yeah, only one shot left.”

  “Then, let’s go with a duel style. Let’s see… 10 meters away. You use your rifle, and I use my sword. I’ll throw the bullet. When it hits the ground, we start the match. How about that?”

  Surprised, or more like Sinon was stunned. Without noticing that her earlier anger had thinned, she moved her mouth.

  “Look here… do you think that would even be a match? With just 10 meters apart, this Hecate’s bullet will definitely hit. With my skill proficiency and stats supplement, combined with its stats, it’s a sure hit distance in the system. You won’t even have a chance to move your lightsaber. The result is no different from your suicide.”

  “We won’t know till we try it.”

  After saying that with arrogance - Kirito’s red lips showed a sharp smile.

  At the moment she saw this expression, Sinon felt a jolt run through her back.

  He was serious. This lightsaber user, really wanted win against Sinon in a Western-style duel.

  Indeed, the Hecate II had only one round of ammunition left in the magazine. So, he must dodge that somehow to win. He might be thinking like that, too naive. Against a sure hit and sure kill bullet, there should be no «somehow». Compared to the shopping mall «game to avoid the bullets» gunman’s antique revolver, whether it is bullet speed, accuracy, or power, it is not on the same level.

  But - if Kirito really did have «something», then.

  ‘I want to see it. No matter what.’

  The next moment, Sinon nodded and said:

  “…Fine. I agree to use this approach for a showdown.”

  Then she turned away, took around ten steps east on the center dividing line, and then turned back to face the sun.

  The distance between the two people, was just ten meters. She raised the Hecate that she was carrying, nestled the butt of a rifle against her right shoulder, and spread apart her feet in a standard shooting position.

  In the real world, even the strongest person could not fire an anti-materiel rifle from a standing shooting position. But in GGO, as long as the physical abilities reach a sufficient value, it was no longer impossible. Of course, one can not withstand the huge recoil and will fall back behind, but since she only has one bullet, this doesn’t matter.

  She pulled the bolt handle to place the last bullet into the chamber.

  When she looked through the scope, even at the lowest magnification, Kirito’s shape filled her view.

  It was like the beauty of young girls, the weak and powerlessness a few minutes ago no longer existed. His obsidian like looks shone brightly, and a fearless smile on his lips.

  Kirito closed the fingers on his hand that was holding the FN-57 bullet and stretched that arm straight in front, as his pulled out the lightsaber on his right waist. He pressed the switch with his thumb, and it issued out a blue-white brilliant blade of energy.

  Right now, the audience outside watching the F-Block final might be titling their head and wondering what those two people are doing. She did not care about that. A bullet versus a blade. With common sense, it’s not a fighting match, but Sinon could really feel her tension going up.

  ‘– Sure enough, that guy has «something».’

  With such a direct feeling, Sinon slightly adjusted Hecate’s aim.

  On the other side of the reticule, Kirito spoke.

  “…Then, let’s start.”

  Then, he did not hesitate to flick the bullet into the air. The spinning bullet flew high. Light reflected by the setting sun made it shine like a ruby as it traveled into the air.

  Kirito lowered his waist, placed his left foot in front and leaned half of his body forward, and the lightsaber on his right hand slanted down to the side. Even with his fingers that held the blade, there was not any feel of force; it was a relaxed posture. But even in such a stance, the delicate avatar sent out a pressure as if she was targeted at her heart by a rifle muzzle.

  Sinon, as well, realized that her sensations sharply rose higher. The 5.7mm bullet moving in the air seemed very slow. Every other sound faded. She was only conscious of the existence of her body and the Hecate II. No, the distinction between those two also disappeared. The shooter and the gun had completely merged to become one, with only striking the target accurately with the bullet in mind.

  From her view, the white reticule, and the green circle also disappeared.

  In front of the silent swordsman in black, falling at a slow pace, was the bullet signal. Although the bullet crossed her scope and went out of sight, Sinon could feel its existence.
It rolled and tumbled to the ground - the sharp bullet hit the asphalt - the game system determined the contact of the two objects, and issued an order to convey a sound effect through the AmuSphere – the signal released an electronic pulse, in Sinon’s hearing -

  PING.

  At the instant of that small sound’s echo, her right index finger pulled the trigger.

  In the next few seconds, the phenomenon that occurred would be engraved into Sinon’s accelerated consciousness with fresh color.

  From the Hecate’s large muzzle break came orange flames.

  On the other side, the blue white lightning cut through the dusk darkness.

  Shining like shooting stars, two small lights split to the left and right, flying far away.

  Pushed by the anti-materiel rifle’s huge recoil, while falling backwards, Sinon belatedly realized the meaning of the scene that she saw.

  It was cut apart.

  At the moment the bullet fell to the ground, Kirito’s lightsaber slashed upwards, and cut the 50-caliber bullet that was supposed to be a fatal hit. The two shooting stars that Sinon saw, were fragments of the bullet that were cut by the high concentration energy blade, and flew pass either side of Kirito behind him.

  But - it should not be possible!

  If he had guessed her bullet’s path and swung the sword, then the result would be understandable. However, Sinon had not aimed at the avatar’s center as she was supposed to, but instead, she aimed at Kirito’s left leg.

  Hecate is such a large-caliber gun, that it has something called «impact damage» as additional damage. In this case of super-close range, even if only the wrist or foot were hit, the impact area attack will take HP right to 0.

  For Kirito who converted to GGO today, and with no knowledge about guns, he should not know about this. So, if he had guessed the bullet’s path, he should certainly have only guarded the center of his body.