Sword Art Online - Volume 6 - Phantom Bullet

  “No, I didn’t hear anything as well. What’s going on…?”

  “The only thing I can think of…is that it was a laser rifle that lets out a very soft sound…or a live weapon with a suppressor. However…”

  “Wh..what?…?”

  Sinon glanced aside and stared at the puzzled Kirito, thinking how much stuff must she teach him and started explaining.

  “It’s a muffler. An equipment that’s placed in front of a gunbarrel to suppress the sound of gunfire.”

  “So, so it’s a silencer…”

  “You can call that. Anyway, a sniper rifle that’s equipped with this can suppress the sound of gunfire to a certain extent. But this thing will affect accuracy, shooting range, and is rather expensive.”

  “I see…”

  Kirito nodded his head as his eyes glanced slightly at the tip of Sinon’s Hecate II. The front of the gunbarrel was merely a muzzle brake, and even an amateur like Kirito knew that that wasn’t a suppressor. Sinon added on before the other party wanted to say something,

  “This wasn’t to save money, but because those things don’t fit my style.”

  ‘’Fun’’.

  She snorted and again looked through the scope. Pale Rider, who collapsed on the floor, didn’t look like he was about to get up, but that wasn’t a fatal blow. If it was, there would be a red ‘dead’ tag on him that’s like Dyne, who was slightly far away from him. ‘’He’s alive, so why didn’t he run away or fight back’—

  Also, there were other doubts as well. 10 minutes ago, on the map of the «Satellite Scan», Sinon checked that there wasn’t anyone else within 1km. In other words, the mysterious sniper shot Pale Rider from a rather far distance. But in that case, the enemy would be using a rather large caliber to snipe him. In GGO, the larger the gunbarrel, the weaker the effect of the suppressor, and the accuracy and shooting range would be even more affected. However, there was no gunshot heard just now, and she couldn’t understand why.

  As she was thinking, Sinon suddenly remembered that she was wondering about the same thing about that player who was right beside her, and felt that it was time to ask this. She turned around and said softly,

  “…Speaking of which, Kirito, where did you appear from? You weren’t around these hills 10 minutes ago on the satellite scan.”

  “Eh…? I was tailing that guy Pale Rider from about 500m away, so it should show up on the screen…no, ahh, I got it.”

  “What is it?”

  “Speaking of which, I should have been wading in the river 10 minutes ago. Maybe it’s because I was hiding underwater that the satellite didn’t discover me…”

  ‘’—YOU, YOU SWAM THROUGH THE RIVER!?’’

  Sinon tried her best to hold back her voice, and didn’t shout out.

  It’s known that the rivers and lakes in this game weren’t some forbidden zone, and they won’t die if they dropped inside. However, the HP will continue to drop in the water, and the player won’t be able to swim at will due to the weight of the equipment on the body. It’s practically impossible for any player to swim over that wide river except for those frogmen-type players with the breathing equipment.

  “How, how did you do that…?”

  After she finally raised this question with much difficulty, Kirito himself simply shrugged his shoulder and answered,

  “Of course I removed all my equipment for the time being. All VRMMO that uses the specs of «The Seed» can remove their equipment in their personal window back into the item box. There’s no need to carry it, right?”

  “…”

  Perhaps this would be a suitable example to describe someone who was so shocked that she couldn’t make a response. Forget about swimming, the boldness of even removing all the weapons and armor in the middle of a battlefield was extremely unbelievable.

  “…People would definitely be happy to see your character in underwear like that.”

  “Arre, isn’t the live telecast only showing the battle scenes?”

  Seeing Kirito give that don-try-and-fool-me line, Sinon merely snorted coldly and answered,

  “…Anyway, so the «Satellite Scanner» can’t catch people who are underwater. I’ll remember that. But, the Pale Rider you swam through the river just to trail was strong, but not some outstanding player. He’s unable to get up after getting hit by a bullet, looks like he’s…”

  Just when Sinon was about to say ‘not going to survive’, she was interrupted by Kirito, who again raised his binoculars.

  “No…I don’t think he was so scared that he was unable to get up…look at him, isn’t there some strange light effect on his avatar…?”

  “Eh…”

  Sinon hurriedly increased the range of her scope. Though it was hard to tell as the sunset was too strong, the blue and white camouflage of the Pale Rider did have blueish-sparks all over him. Sinon did see that effect before, and that was—

  “An…an electric stun bullet…!?”

  “Wha, what’s that?”

  “Like the name, it’s a unique bullet that would cause high voltage of electricity once it hits a target. But it needs a large caliber before reloading. A single bullet’s very expensive, so they’re not often used in PvP. That’s a bullet that’s used when a party hunts a large Mob.”

  In fact, as Sinon was explaining, the sparks that immobilized Pale Rider started to turn pale. A few more seconds, and the effect would disappear. His HP shouldn’t wear down because of that, but now she really didn’t know why the enemy would do such a difficult snipe—

  “—!”

  Sinon couldn’t tell whether that little tremor was from her or from Kirito beside her.

  200m north from where both of them were hidden was that large metal bridge that extends to both east and west. On the west side of the bridge was Dyne, who was dead. Pale Rider was knocked down by a stun bullet that came from the forest on the east side, and was now 5m north from him. However, he was about ready to get up.

  Right between the bodies of Pale Rider and Dyne, a black profile came out from a shadow of a supporting metal pillar.

  On first glance, that didn’t look like a person (player). The avatar was completely covered with a mysterious presence. After trying her best to look at it, Sinon finally understood the reason why she couldn’t see him. That person was covered with a grey hooded mantle, and that hood was fluttering irregularly like some little thin material because of the wind. That was a Gille Suit a sniper wears. No, it should be called a «Gille Mantle». But—

  “…Since when was he waiting there…”

  Sinon subconsciously muttered. That mantle guy should be the one who shot Pale Rider. However, since when did he move out of the forest and cross the bridge? Even if he had a Gille Mantle that had outstanding camouflage ability, he would definitely be discovered if he moved on the metal bridge without anyone noticing. Or did he swim through the river like Kirito? But if that happened, she definitely never saw him summon a window and control his equipped figure.

  But at the next moment, the next stunning revelation that shook all of Sinon’s doubts aside occurred.

  The tattered mantle moved forward, and then revealed the main weapon that was hidden under the body in his right hand.

  “—«Silent Assasin».”

  She let out a panting like voice.

  It was a large sniper rifle that was about as long as the Hecate. Though the gun itself was slimmer than the Hecate, the several bolt holes that passes through the mechanisms, the highly-advanced grip that had a thumb handle and the dark-grey gun body that was polished all gave a bone-chilling feeling. However, the most unique specialty about it was the large suppressor that’s attached to the tip of the gun barrel. No, it wasn’t right to call it installed, but rather, it was a sniper rifle that was designed with the intention to use the suppressor.

  It’s actual name was called «Accuracy International L115A3», and it used .338mm Lapua Magnum bullets. Though the firepower was far inferior to the .50BMG the Hecate I
I, but the L115 wasn’t an anti-tank sniper gun. One can tell from the fact that this was originally equipped with a silencer that it was created to snipe humans. As the largest range was more than 2,000m, those who were shot by the bullet couldn’t see the shooter, and couldn’t hear the gunshot before dying. Thus, people gave it a nickname—the «Silent Assassin».

  Sinon did hear of this terrifying sniper gun in GGO, but she had never actually seen it before. Speaking of which, she never heard of a sniper who could work on his own other than herself. However, that tattered mantle was able to shoot from deep within the forest across the river and shoot Pale Rider. It’s impossible to accomplish such a shot without enough skill, concentration, control and heartbeat.

  ‘’—Who is that guy?’’

  Sinon instinctively checked the watch on her left hand. It’s now 8.40pm. There’s still 5 minutes before the third «Satellite Scan», and in this situation, things just feel extremely long.

  The mysterious mantle in her scope gave a deathly presence as he strapped the L115 on his right shoulder. Sinon widened her eyes to see if there was any tag or affiliated squadron, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary other than the muzzle and the dark-grey hood. As Sinon watched on, the tattered mantle seemed to glide as he walked towards the Pale Rider who fell onto the floor.

  Pale Rider, who was able to take down Dyne seemingly without a scratch, was a player who did give off a strong presence. Sinon never heard of his name before, but in the north mainland that was far away, he should be famous like that «Behemoth» who used that minigun. However, when seeing both of them like this, the existence of the tattered mantle was more shocking. When she got her Hecate for the first time, Sinon once took down a large boss monster-like monster alone, and the tattered mantle gave Sinon the chills that was larger that monster—no, it gave more chills than that monster.

  But as she realized the ability of the tattered mantle, Sinon had a question she just couldn’t understand.

  Even though he had such a rare gun and highly-skilled sniper technique, why did he use a stun bullet instead of real bullets? Pale Rider was lightly equipped, so a .338 Laqua should have a chance to kill him if it was the head or the heart. However, this tactic is understandable if he wanted to numb someone before sniping someone more accurately. However, the tattered mantle player showed up from the forest away shooting the first stun bullet and walked towards Pale Rider which had lots of HP, revealing his own position. Wouldn’t that highly difficult snipe be completely meaningless.

  The anxiety that came with being unable to predict the enemy’s intent made Sinon bite her lips.

  Speaking of which, Kirito, who was beside her, went quiet. Even though Sinon wanted to check the situation with him, she hesitated over whether she should turn her eyes away from the tattered mantle, and could only look through the scope of the Hecate.

  The tattered mantle guy moved in front of Pale Rider and reached his right hand into the hood while carrying the L115. ‘’Is he going to finish off with his support weapon?’’ Sinon thought. Even a mini-assault rifle can wear Pale Rider’s HP to zero at such a close range—

  “…Eh…”

  But Sinon again lets out a shocked voice.

  What the mantle took out was a handgun. As the shadows caused by the sunset were too great and that it was immediately covered by the body, Sinon couldn’t tell what sort of gun it was, but the silhouette was enough to indicate that it was an ordinary automatic pistol.

  A shot from a handgun wouldn’t cause less damage than an assault rifle, but even after pressing the trigger for consecutive times, it couldn’t fire automatically, and will need lots of time before it can deplete an enemy’s HP. Right now, Pale Rider was lying on the floor, and was about to recover from his numbness. Once he could move, he’ll definitely fire the shotgun in his right hand. At that time, the one who would be dead would be this tattered mantle.

  Even so, this mysterious player was just standing there, waiting for the night wind to blow his Gille mantle. There wasn’t any sense of anxiety or wavering in him. He continued to point his right hand at Pale Rider, who was lying on the floor, and then raised his hand out from the mantle. That hand wasn’t holding anything. It’s unknown what the mantle guy was about to do as he placed his left finger on the forehead of his hood. Then, he moved to the chest, and finally, left and right.

  This action was the so-called Cross-sign—was he planning to pray for an enemy who’s about to be dead? But he shouldn’t have much time left to this this. Does he think that he could dodge the shotgun at such a close distance? Or rather, was he a cocky person who just got lucky in getting a rare gun…?

  The unnecessary questions made Sinon bite her lips anxiously. Suddenly, a soft voice came in to her left ear.

  “…Hurry up and fire, Sinon.”

  It was Kirito’s voice. This short sentence had a sense of urgency she never felt before. Sinon couldn’t help but ask,

  “Eh? Shoot who?”

  “Shoot that mantle guy!! Please, just shoot! Shoot before that guy takes action!!”

  That abnormally anxious voice actually caused Sinon to exert force on her right index finger which was on the trigger of the Hecate. Sinon would normally grumble about it, but right now, she aimed her crosshair on the back of that mantle. She predicted the wind direction and humidity through the surrounding dust effect and slightly adjusted her angle. As she exerted force on the finger that’s on the trigger, the green bullet trajectory immediately covered the enemy.

  Logically, Sinon should wait for the winner to be decided between both of them. If she attacked the mantle down, the Pale Rider will recover from his numbness and definitely escape into the bushes on the left, and Sinon wouldn’t have the chance to snipe him.

  But even after knowing that, Sinon didn’t release the strength that’s exerted on the finger. For some reason, she had a feeling that she had to hit no matter what. She stopped her breathing, letting the imaginary cold air stop in her chest. That icy feeling could make her heart calm down. Bekun…bekun…just when the reticle shrank and the pulse moved as it gathered in a small circle—

  A gunshot.

  The large muzzled brake let out a large flame that looked like a fire dragon.

  There was only 300m between her and the target, so she couldn’t miss. Sinon could even see an illusion where that avatar had a large hole there.

  —However,

  In fact, the moment Sinon squeezed the trigger, the upper body of the mantle player bent backwards like a phantom that didn’t materialize. The sure-kill bullet grazed past his chest and opened a huge hole further away.

  “Wha…”

  Sinon was unable to say anything and had a uncertain feeling. She found that he turned his head towards her location, and faced her from deep under the mantle. That heinous face did give a smile, and Sinon subconsciously gasped.

  “Tha…that guy, he knew that we were here…right from the beginning…”

  “How is it possible…! He never looked at us once before!”

  On hearing Kirito’s similarly shocked voice, Sinon shook her head slightly and said,

  “It’s impossible to dodge this without seeing the bullet line. In other words, he started noticing me from a certain time and checked through the system…”

  As she said this, her right hand automatically loaded the next round into the Hecate. Sinon again got ready to snipe, but started to hesitate. Facing this enemy who had such a response speed, there’s a 99% chance that this bullet line will be dodged. She could fire all the 4 bullets in her magazine, but if she used them all, it’ll be easy for the enemy to counterattack. ‘’What should I do…what should I do.’’

  The mantle guy brought his body back forward as if he saw Sinon’s short hesitation.

  He again lined the automatic pistol in his right hand at Pale Rider, and flicked the hammer with his thumb. His left hand was supporting beside the grip, and then he calmly squeezed the trigger.

  A flash a
ppeared. After a few seconds, Sinon could hear a dry gunshot in her ears.

  “Ahh…!”

  Kirito groaned, seemingly afraid of something.

  Of course, the bullet hit the center of Pale Rider. It was a physical damage, but anyone in this world wouldn’t be dead from a 9mm bullet round immediately no matter which part he’s hit in. Also, Pale Rider should have at least 90% of his HP. But for some reason, the mantle guy stopped attacking. He just kept his hands on his gun and stood there. He knew that Sinon was aiming at him, but never had the intention to look for cover. He probably had the belief that he could dodge any bullet.

  1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds—

  At that moment, the stun bullet effect that immobilized Pale Rider finally vanished.

  The guy who was dressed in the blue and white camouflage suit then jumped up and quickly raised that AR17 shotgun with breathtaking speed and placed it at the chest of the mantle guy. That’s was definitely zero distance, and all the pellets could enter the heart of the mantle guy. It’s power was different from a handgun, and the mantle guy could be killed in one hit.

  Sinon and Kirito, that was laying beside her, and the audience in the entire GGO world and real world who were watching this live telecast should be watching this with their eyes widened.

  The counterattack gunshot—was never heard.

  What replaced it was the slight sound of a heavy object landing. It was the AR17 in Pale Rider’s right hand dropping on the deep tea-colored sandy ground.

  Then, Pale Rider knelt down like his joints were destroyed like a puppet and tilted right slowly before lying completely on the floor.

  From Sinon’s position, she could see the lips under the helmet of Pale Rider. He opened his mouth, seemingly making a silent cry and also looked like he was desperately gasping for air.

  He suddenly raised his left hand in a rather weak motion, grabbing the center of his chest. And at the next moment—

  The body that was wearing blue and white camouflage seemed to be surrounded by light that looked like static and suddenly disappeared.

  Finally, what was left of him was a little line of light displaying [DISCONNECTION], but soon it faded into the sunset and disappeared. “…What, was that?”