70 Chapter 12 Part 1

Gun Gale Online. The system for this game did not have the

«Warrior» or «Mage» class like RPGs in the past.

Each player could choose to increase 6 of their «stats» like

strength 'STR', agility 'AGI', vitality 'VIT' and dexterity 'DEX'. Also, there

are hundreds of «skills» that include 'masteries', 'suggestion', 'first aid'

and 'acrobatics', forming one's own build. In a sense, this means that

there were as many classes as the number of builds.

But on the other hand, a build that wasn't planned—like having

low STR and unable to equip a large machine gun and yet increasing

the mastery of a heavy machine gun—would weaken one's own ability.

Because of that, there would definitely be a fixed pattern where people

have to attain certain statuses and skills before being able to equip

certain weapons. Based on the slight differences of the skills, everyone

would classify similar players as «Attacker», «Tank», «Medic», «Scout»

and all sorts of names for different classes.

Though Sinon's class as a «Sniper» was extremely rare, it was one

of these. To equip a large-sized sniper rifle, they have to strengthen

their STR status, and then have to increase their DEX to improve their

accuracy, and finally a suitable amount of AGI to get away quickly from

the scene after a snipe. However, they would lose if they were

discovered, so they gave up on VIT completely. As for skills, they need

the necessary gun mastery and also other skills that could improve

their accuracy. Of course, they gave up completely on defenses.

However, there's also the possibility of a failed snipe because of the

«heartbeat count system» even if the build was perfect, and this would

be the hard part about this class.

Such an overly specialized class wasn't really suited for a battle

royale. While aiming for an enemy far away, they could be easily

approached by others. A sniper could only surrender once an attackertype player with a submachine gun or an assault rifle rushes in. Even if

a sniper barely managed to fire at the rushing enemy without aiming—

which were normally unable to hit the target—the sniper would end

up becoming a pincushion of bullets before they were able to get a

second shot out.

Because of the above reasons, if Sinon acted on her own, she

would have no chance of winning if a mid-ranged shooter who would

value accuracy like the attacker «Xiahou Dun» reaches the range where

the Norinco CQ would hit.

However, things were different now. Because of a chance

occasion, beside her was a «lightsaber warrior» which no one else in

the world of GGO would possibly have. This person looked like a blackhaired beauty no matter how you looked at it—but he's actually a boy.

The 'lightsaber' was a weapon that the programmers of 'Zaskar'

created out of their own whims, and its range would be far less than a

sniper rifle.

The attack range was as long as the blade of the saber itself, about

1.2 meters. The GGO world's smallest firearm «Remington Derringer»

had a range of merely 5m, but the attack range of the lightsaber was a

lot smaller than it. However, that energy blade that was glowing blue

and white seemed to have power that far exceeded expectations. The

fact that it was able to slice the .50BMG the Hecate fired from close

range was the proof of it.

In another perspective, since it could slice any bullet apart, it

would mean that this would be the strongest defensive weapon in the

world. But even with the «Bullet Line», it's not easy to use a 3cm wide

blade to defend against a rain of bullet that was coming at a supersonic

speed.

This needed a calm prediction of the bullet lines, order, and

perfect response ability to use the sword. Also, the most important

thing was not to show any fear when facing a fully-automatic rifle—

What sort of training allowed him to learn such skills? Sinon

really could not imagine it. No, this may not be just a VR game

technique. It's when the player merged with the avatar through his

own experience, belief and power of his soul.

Once he reloaded his weapon, Xiahou Dun again grabbed the CQ

and started firing wildly. However, the lightsaber in Kirito's hand

created numerous afterimages in the air and accurately picked out all

the bullets that would hit him in the grid boxes and deflected them.

Sinon could only feel that way on seeing from behind his back.

This real ability that far surpassed the barriers of the virtual

world and the real world was exactly what Sinon was looking for. She

learnt the calmness of a sniper, no, a coldness—ruthlessness, and then

wanted to use it to crush Asada Shino's weakness. She had been

moving through the wastelands during the past half year, looking for

an opponent who would give her real strength.

Ever since she met Kirito yesterday, Sinon had this thought that

she wanted to fight with this powerful foe with all she's got, and that

she would get such strength if she could win.

But at the same time, she noticed that another emotion was

growing in her.

I want to know him more, I want to talk to him more. What

happened in that world before Kirito arrived in GGO? What kind of life

did he have in that world, what did he learn, and how did he fight his way

through? No—I want to know what kind of person he is in the real world.

I had never had such thoughts about anyone else while growing up...

"SINON, NOW!"

Kirito cleared off the second barrage of bullets Xiahou Dun fired

and shouted, and Sinon's thoughts were brought back to the battle on

hand because of that.

Her right index finger moved half consciously, squeezing the

trigger of the Hecate. It was a shot crippled by her severe lack of

concentration ability right now, but the distance was less than 100m,

after all. Sinon couldn't possibly miss with her build based on accuracy.

The bullet piereced straight through the middle of the general warriortype armor Xiahou Dun was wearing.

In a normal battle, a player whose HP was down to zero would

shatter like glass and disappear. However, the special rules of the BoB

tournament specify that the corpse would be at the scene. Xiahou Dun

was sent flying back after he was hit, and the helmet decoration flew in

the air. As he landed on the chilly ground in a wide position, the red

[Dead] tag started to spin on him.

'Fuu~', Sinon heaved a sigh and got up, changing the magazine of

the Hecate which could normally hold 7 bullets, but didn't have much

left. Then, she placed her rifle on her right shoulder and glanced at her

temporary partner.

Kirito skillfully spun the lightsaber in his hand and placed it back

at his waist buckle. The side of his face was dimly illuminated under

the red sunset, and looked as enigmatic as ever. After taking a deep

breath to hold back that earlier desire to know about him, Sinon

quickly said,

"That battle just now will attract lots of people. We have to move

quickly."

"Ok."

Kirito nodded his head and then turned his eyes to the river

surface nearby.

"«Death Gun» should have headed north down this river. He

probably wants to hide somewhere until after the «Satellite Scanner»

works at 9pm and then choose his next target. I want to stop him

before he kills... shoots someone. Can you think of a plan, Sinon?"

On hearing this sudden request, Sinon blinked a few times and

then frantically thought about what she should do. Though she really

couldn't think of some good idea since she didn't really understand

what was going on, but she immediately opened her mouth and said,

"...No matter how mysterious his power is, «Death Gun» is still

just a sniper, so he shouldn't be used to fighting in a place without

cover. But if we continue moving north from here, we'll leave the forest

stretch on the other side of the river. We'll continue moving up to the

center of the island, the abandoned city, and it's all a grassland with

great line of vision."

"In other words, he could have chosen that place as the next

hunting ground... right?"

Kirito muttered and then looked over at the ambiguous buildings

that were far away in the north. Though the distance effect made it

look very far, it was just 3km straight on. Without bad AGI stats, they

can reach there in around 10 minutes if they run and watch their

surroundings.

"Alright then. We'll head towards that city too. If we run down the

river, we shouldn't be spotted from both left and right sides."

"...Got it."

After Kirito nodded and said that, Sinon looked back slightly.

Dyne's «corpse» was still lying at the end of the bridge slightly far

away, but the existence of the red [Dead] tag showed that he was still

alive. The person who was really dead—though it could be just a

possibility—was «Pale Rider» who disappeared completely.

To be honest, Sinon still couldn't believe this, but at the same time,

she couldn't feel that this was all a lie.

However, there was a definite feeling within her, that during the

3rd BoB tournament, something in her would change. It's just that she

didn't know what direction the change would occur—and she didn't

know if the opponent who would change her would either be Kirito or

that mysterious mantle guy.

Right now, she could only act on her own inspiration. That's

because 'inspiration' was a skill that couldn't be enhanced with any

build.

Though Sinon didn't boost it that much like Spiegel, her AGI

wasn't that low, and it should have at least been about the same as

Kirito's who should have boosted STR stats.

But eventually after running together like this for a while, Sinon

had to run with all she had before catching up to the flowing black hair

in front of her. To put it simply, their «basic movements» were

completely different. There were cracks appearing suddenly on the

numerous rocks on the riverbank, and Kirito seemed to have

memorized them as he quickly dodged them or leaped over them. He

would often turn his head around to match Sinon's speed, which made

her all the more unhappy.

Even so, it was because of Kirito's help, running in front of her

and pointing out paths that were easy to move through, that she was

able to pass through the mid-south area, the grasslands. Unknowingly,

the riverbed below her feet became concrete, and when she looked up,

she could see the crowd of skyscrapers. They were about to enter the

main battlefield of this island, the abandoned city.

"We didn't catch him."

Kirito slowed down and said softly to Sinon. He was somewhat

hoping to meet «Death Gun» who went underwater and head towards

the city, and attack him while he was unarmed.

"...Maybe we went past him somewhere..."

Once Sinon answered, Kirito turned over, gave a deep thought,

watched the river flow behind him, and said,

"No, that's impossible. I checked the water while we were

running."

"Is-is that so..."

Speaking of which, a person couldn't stay under water for more

than a minute without an aqualung. The large sniper rifle Death Gun

was carrying shouldn't allow for more space to carry one. Then, he

must have slipped into the river below the metal bridge, swam north

together with the water flow that was heading there, and then got up

before running into the abandoned city.

"—That means he should be lying in ambush somewhere inside

this city. The river flow stops there."

The river in front of Sinon became a drain that flowed to the city's

underground, and the entrance of the underground drain had sturdy

metal bars there, which any player could tell that it wasn't to be

entered. That obstacle couldn't be destroyed even if hundreds of

plasma grenades were thrown.

"I see... there's still 3 minutes till the scan. We can't avoid the

satellite scan if we stay in this dump, right?"

Sinon considered Kirito's question and then nodded her head

forcefully.

"Un. During the last tournament, the map would show even the

1st level of a tower. If there's really a need to hide, it'll be water that's

extremely dangerous or a cave. Other than that, there's no other way to

avoid the scan."

"Okay. Once the scan locks onto Death Gun's position, we can

immediately attack to stop him from firing. I'll run straight at him.

Please provide covering fire then."

"...I'm fine with that..."

Sinon shrugged, but after that, grabbed Kirito who had been

waiting for this chance and said,

"But there's a small problem. Haven't you forgotten that «Death

Gun»'s not that guy's real character name? If you don't know the name,

you can't track his position through radar."

"U...Tha-That's right."

The lightsaber warrior crumpled his beautiful eyebrows and sank

into deep thought.

"In fact... amongst the 30 participants, you don't know three of

them, right, Sinon? Amongst these three, the «Pale Rider» I was

tracking wasn't Death Gun. Which means that remaining two... «Jyuushi

X» and «Sterben», one of them is Death Gun... if there's only one person

in the city, it'll definitely be him..."

"If both of them are present, we don't have time to hesitate. Now

we have to decide which side we want to attack. Well—I just thought of

something..."

Sinon coughed dryly a few times and continued,

"...If you read «Jyuushi» backwards, wouldn't it become «Death

Gun»1, and «X» can be read as «Cross», which is the Cross that guy

drew... no, things shouldn't be that simple..."

"Hm... but most of the character names in VRMMO were randomly

created. Someone like me merely modified my own real name... what

about you?"

"...Me too."

They stared at each other with a strange expression, and then

coughed dryly a few times,

Kirito seemed to be undecided as he sighed and said,

"If that guy called «Sterben» was really a foreigner like what his

name indicated. Are there players from overseas in BoB?"

"Well..."

1 Gunner: 'ジュウシ' (Jyuu-shi), Death Gun 'シジュウ' (Shi-jyuu)

Sinon looked at her watch. There was less than two minutes

before the next scan, so she tried her best to explain as quickly as

possible,

"During the first tournament, we could choose American (US) or

Japan (JP) servers, but there were still a few foreigners who played the

Japanese version. I hadn't played GGO then, but from what I heard from

Shi... Spiegel, the winner of the first BoB was a foreigner. That person

seemed really strong. He managed to kill off all the Japanese with a

knife and a handgun..."

"I see... what's his name?"

"I believe, Sato... Satori or something weird like that. But when I

started playing, the Japanese server only allowed those in Japan to

connect to it, so the players from the 2nd round and the 3rd round this

time are all Japanese... or at least, living in Japan. Though that

«Sterben» was written alphabetically, he should be Japanese."

"I see..."

Kirito blinked hard and looked like he finally decided as he said

this,

"Okay, if both of them are at the dump, we'll head to «Jyuushi X».

You don't have to panic when I get stunned by the stun bullet like Pale

Rider, so just get ready to snipe. Death Gun will definitely use that

black handgun for the final hit, so use that chance to hit him."

"Eh..."

On hearing those words, Sinon immediately forgot that there was

less than 1 minute left as she widened her eyes. She looked at the black

eyes beside her and asked,

"...Why are you so..."

Trusting of me? However, Sinon could not let out the voice at the

latter end—

"...I may not attack Death Gun and snipe you from behind, you

know..."

Kirito lifted his eyebrows in an unexpected manner and smiled

"I know that you won't do that. Come on... it's about time. I'll leave

it to you then, partner."

The black-coated lightsaber user then patted Sinon on the left

hand and then walked towards the stairs as he wanted to move from

the riverbed to the street.

The place that was touched felt mysteriously hot and painful as

the fingers from yesterday, but Sinon chased after the figure

wordlessly. Though she told herself that this was an enemy countless

times since yesterday, she did not have that feeling anymore.

On the upper levels of the short concrete steps, Sinon and Kirito

crouched down at a position that couldn't be seen from the street and

waited for the 4th «Satellite Scanner».

Her right hand held onto the device as she watched the watch on

her left hand. Right now the time is 8.59pm 55 seconds... 56, if the

proceedings of the finals was as fast as last year, it should be about

time to enter the second half, which meant that there were only half

the number of players left. In fact, she could even hear gunshots and

explosions from the abandoned city. However, the sounds finally

stopped for now, so everyone should be hiding in the shadows and

watching the device.

58 seconds, 59 seconds, 9pm sharp.

The device map showed numerous white and grey dots.

"Kirito, check the north!"

After saying that softly, Sinon then touched the two gathered

spots that were at the soutern-most part of the street. The names that

were on them were naturally [Kirito] and [Sinon]. As a battle couldn't

last for more than 15 minutes, the other players should know that

these two weren't fighting, but working together as partners. Even

though this wasn't against the rules and there were many instances of

players working with each other, the rest would have the thought that

'this Sinon would actually work together with others'. She couldn't help

but pray that they won't be caught on camera together.

—She abandoned those unnecessary thoughts and quickly

checked through the names. «No-no», «Yamikaze», «Huuka»,

«Masaya»...these were all famous players Sinon knew of. The names

she was looking for weren't in this city, so that would mean that their

hypothesis was wrong—

No.

"...Got it!"

As Sinon shouted this, Kirito's voice answered in perfect unison.

The center of the street had a round building perimeter that

looked like a stadium. A light spot remained in what looked like a

perfect sniping position. As Sinon touched it with her finger, the name

of the character appeared—«Jyuushi X».

She immediately exchanged glances with Kirito, but immediately

returned back to her device. To check through the information again,

Sinon continued to move her fingers north, and Kirito moved south at

the same time. 5 seconds later, they lifted heads at the same time.

"«Jyuushi X»'s the only one in this city for now."

Kirito then answered Sinon with a nervous voice,

"Yeah, looks like «Sterben»'s not here. In other words, «Jyuushi

X»'s the «Death Gun», and the prey is..."

Kirito used his finger to point at his own device, showing a

building that's slightly west from the stadium in the center—the name

was «Ricolo». Being alone, if he wanted to move his hiding place to

somewhere else, he would have to put himself in shooting range of

«Jyuushi X».

As Sinon nodded her head, the light that represented Ricolo

started moving to the exit of the building. Once he stepped onto the

road, he would be immediately hit by the L115 sniper rifle stun bullet.

They had to stop Death Gun no matter what before he fired that black

handgun.

Kirito kept his device and looked at Sinon. He looked like he had

something to say, but he merely said,

"Please cover me."

"Understood."

Sinon answered simply and got up. She then moved up the stairs

where Kirito was in front of, observed the surroundings, and moved

her right hand to indicate that they should move on before rushing up

the steps.

The official name of this lone island that became the grand stage

of the tournament finals was the «ISL Ragnarok».. Right now, the

ancient city was right in the middle of it, and it should be modelled

after famous cities from the world like New York City. There were

many skyscrapers that mixed all sorts of functions with traditional

beauty, and there were numerous English adverts and bulletins. Of

course, these things had become old and were covered by weeds and

sand.

Sinon and Kirito tried their best to run up the river that became

the drain. Right now, other than the two of them, Death Gun and his

target, there were also 5 or 6 players in this city. However, they

wouldn't care about that. Luckily, the scan just now did not show

anyone who could immediately move to their position. Also, those

broken yellow taxis and large buses on the road could act as perfect

cover. Both of them moved through like this and continued north.

This abandoned city was about 700m in radius, and with the

assistance of AGI boost, both of them ran past this distance in less than

a minute. They could see a large round building, and that was their

destination, the stadium was in the center. Sinon gave the hand signals,

and they ran into the shadow of the bus before observing the

surroundings through the broken windshield.

The stadium wall was about 3 stories tall, and there was a exit at

the north, south, east and west areas. If Jyuushi X did not move away

after using the Satellite Scanner, he should be waiting above the west

exit. Sinon widened her eyes and stared at the top of the outer wall.

With the improved vision skill 'Hawk Eye', the distance effect of an

object would be reduced, and the visual identification rate would

increase. She found that there was something like a gun muzzle in a

triangular hole on a damaged concrete wall, and behind the hole—

"...Got it. Over there."

Undoubtedly, the sniper gun's gunhole was under the place

where the sunset shone. At this moment, Kirito seemed to recognize

the thing Sinon saw and whispered softly like her,

"Looks like he's still waiting for «Ricolo». Okay... I'll use this

chance to attack him from behind. Sinon, get ready to snipe at the

building opposite this street."

"Eh... I can go into the stadium too...'

Though Sinon objected, she was immediately interrupted by

Kirito's strong and forceful expression.

"This is a battle where you can use your ability to its maximum. I

trust that you'll definitely use your gun to cover me when I'm in

trouble, so I can fight with that guy. This is what partners are for."

"..."

Once these words were out, Sinon could only nod her head and

agree with Kirito's plan. He smiled, glanced at his watch and continued,

"We'll begin action 30 seconds after I leave. Is that enough?"

"...Yeah, that's enough."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you then."

Then, the black-haired swordsman moved his back away from the

bus without hesitation—

He looked straight at Sinon from the front, and then ran to the

southern exit of the stadium without seemingly letting out any

footsteps.

Sinon watched his slender back profile gradually move away, and

felt something strange deep within her. Was this nervousness? Or

anxiety? They were similar, yet different. This was—right, it's fear...

How is it possible! What am I scared of!?

Sinon gritted her teeth and forcefully chided herself.

—In order to win in this BoB tournament and become the strongest

player in the world, this had to be done. I need to eliminate this Death

Gun who's using some unknown power outside the system to mess with

the tournament, so I have to work together with Kirito for now. The

moment we succeed, that lightsaber warrior will become my enemy

again. Once I meet him again after that, I will squeeze this trigger

without hesitation, take him down and forget about him. That's because I

won't meet him again.

While forcing down the sharp pain that's near her heart, Sinon

started running. Amongst the buildings on the streets, there were two

kinds, the accessible ones and the inaccessible ones. The buildings that

could be entered would definitely have a place where one could tell

that it was an entrance. This building that's in the southwest position

from the stadium, separated by a ring road, had a large hole on a wall

that collapsed. Once she entered, she would climb up to the 3rd level,

and she should be able to see the path on the wall of the stadium. The

two positions were really too close, and normally speaking, it's likely

that she would be spotted if she sniped here. But even for someone as

strong as Death Gun, he had to notice the surroundings when he fights

against Kirito. Once she finds an opening, she would shoot without

hesitation. Then, she would leave the slum and meet up with Kirito

somewhere else. This should be enough...

Even though Sinon tried to take action coolly like usual...

Her heart was already taken up by an emotion that was different

from usual.

As she was about to move through the collapsed hole in the tower

wall, she felt a sharp chill behind her back. The moment she was about

to turn around, Sinon found that she had collapsed onto the road.

—What's happened... why am I on the ground...?

She couldn't recover immediately.

There were goosebumps on her back... there seemed to be

something glowing on the left side of her vision field...she raised her

left hand in reflex, and the exterior of the arm received a strong hit.

Once Sinon realized that she got hit, she immediately intended to run

back into the tower. However, her feet couldn't move for some reason

and she immediately fell back.

After finally realizing the current situation, Sinon tried to get up

immediately, but her body just couldn't respond to command at all. It

seemed that she could only move her eyes. She tried to look at her left

arm to check the front shoulder that was hit.

There was something that pierced through the desert-colored

jacket sleeve and had pierced into the arm—it was more like a silvery

needle-like thing than a bullet. It was only 5mm in diameter and about

50mm in length. The base created a thread-like spark that came with a

sharp vibration that let out blue and white sparks, and these sparks

spread from Sinon's shoulder to her entire body. This was—

A stun bullet.

This was the special bullet that numbed Pale Rider. Assault rifles,

machine guns or handguns couldn't load it, and only a few large sniper

rifles could use it. However, Sinon never heard the gunshot. There

should be only a few players in GGO who had a large sniper rifle that

came with a suppressor.

Even if Sinon thought of this, she still couldn't believe that the one

who hit her was 'that person'. The stun bullet came from the south

direction of the road, but that guy should be in the north perimeter of

the stadium. He shouldn't have recognized Sinon's existence and

should have been aiming at another target. Based on the Satellite

Scanner at 9pm, Sinon could conclude that there were no other players

who could have attacked her from the south. Whether it was «No-no»,

«Huuka» or «Yamikaze», they would need lots of time to break through

this heavily collapsed area.

This was really inexplicable. Why—who—how did he do it?...

What answered Sinon's question weren't words, but a scene that

appeared in front of her eyes after that.

About 20m south, there were a few light sparks in the space

where nothing was supposed to be. And then, a person suddenly

appeared in front of her like he ripped the world apart.

Sinon's throat that couldn't let out a voice continued to pant and

scream silently.

—Metamaterial Optical Camouflage!

It could hide itself by refracting the light that shone on the surface,

and it was said to be the ultimate camouflage ability. But that should be

a skill only a few high level boss monsters have. Did they have such a

monster in the middle of this battle of the 3rd BoB tournament? But

she never heard this news before.

*Swoosh!*

The dark-grey cloth that was blowing in the wind interrupted

Sinon's extremely confused thoughts.

That was a mantle that looked rather tattered and worn out, and

there was also the same grey color that covered the head. Sinon could

only remain like this and watch the attacker who removed his optical

camouflage and showed his identity. This person was the «Mantle» guy

who shouldn't have been here.

—«Death Gun»

That 'Silent Assassin' who a few minutes ago caused Pale Rider to

disappear, and could have also kill the previous tournament winner

«Zekushiido» and the leader of a large squadron «Usujiro Tarako».

From underneath the slightly fluttering mantle, she could see the

large sniper rifle that reached down to near his shoes and the silencer

that was equipped in front of it. If that large mantle had an optical

camouflage ability, he could cloak the entire rifle after preparing it,

making it possible for him to shoot while invisible. No, that's not all to

it. He could avoid even the Satellite Scanner while camouflaged.

Otherwise, there would have been a light displayed around this area

during the scan earlier.

That means that this mantle guy—«Death Gun» wasn't «Jyuushi

X»...?

...Kirito

Sinon called this lightsaber warrior who should be in the stadium

behind her, ready to attack Jyuushi X. Of course, she wouldn't get any

response.

*Paa..Paa..* The footsteps rang in her ears. The mantle guy

seemed to glide over as he approached. Deep inside the darkness of

that hood, she could see two dark red lights flickering irregularly.

«Death Gun», stopped about 2m in front of Sinon, and was

standing there like a phantom.

The muttering that was like metal rubbing against each other

came from the face that couldn't be seen.

"...Kirito, now, I can tell, if you're, the real one, or, a fake."

It seemed that the mantle guy already knew that Kirito was at the

stadium. These words were said to him instead of Sinon that was

laying in front of him. That monotonous voice continued in an

interrupted manner, and though it was flat, one could feel an intense

emotion hidden inside it.

"I remember, when you, went berserk. Once I kill this woman...

who is your friend, once you go berserk like that again, you'll be the,

real Kirito. Come... let me see it, let me witness that blade of yours, full

of anger, killing intent and madness."

Sinon seemed like she couldn't understand the meaning behind

his words.

But the terrifying declaration of the mantle guy made the girl

recover from her shock and bewilderment.

—He wants to kill me? This hermit that uses optical camouflage

wants to kill me?

Sinon had a flame of anger burning inside her, and the heat even

started to overwhelm the numbness.

The stun bullet still had lots of sparks left, but perhaps that's

because the part that was hit was the left arm. If she try a little harder,

maybe her right arm should be able to move slightly. Luckily, the

support weapon Sinon had on her waist, the MP7 submachine gun was

near her right hand, so maybe she still had a chance to hold it and

squeeze the trigger. In such a short distance, she should be able to take

him down once she finish firing an entire magazine.

Move, move!!

Perhaps Sinon's movement frequency moved from her brain to

the AmuSphere and surpassed the numbness as her right arm started

to move slightly. Her fingers had already touched the rather familiar

MP7 grip.

But at this moment, Death Gun slowly raised the left hand that

was empty-handed from under the mantle, using two fingers to touch

the forehead underneath the hood. Sinon then noticed that there was a

light blue 3-layered circle floating device above Death Gun, and the red

[REC] line continued to flicker. That was a live camera feed. The

numerous audience from within and outside GGO were watching Death

Gun draw the winning Cross sign and Sinon who collapsed in an

embarrassing manner.

The skinny left hand that had a black leather glove passed

through the chest and reached for the left shoulder.

During this time, Sinon finally grabbed the grip of the MP7.

Of course, there were safeties on the guns in GGO, but it was much

more common to see a quick attack than a misfire, so almost everyone

kept their safety off. Of course, Sinon was the same. Now, she just

needed to aim and squeeze the trigger. There's still time. I can make it.

Death Gun, who finally finished drawing the Cross sign, placed his

right hand back into the mantle and got ready to draw it out. Sinon had

also used the numb right hand to try and grab the MP7. She nearly

dropped the gun a few times while lifting it out, but barely managed to

hang on. This time, the mini-SMG which was nearly 1.4kg felt as heavy

as a mountain. However, Death Gun probably had to cock the gun. Once

she spotted that moment and fired—

However—

At this moment, Death Gun pulled out his right hand from the

mantle. The moment Sinon saw that black automatic handgun in his

hand, her body and right arm immediately froze like ice.

Why? That was just an ordinary handgun. I faced handguns

stronger than this, pointing at me, like the «Desert Eagle» and the

«M500». There's nothing to be scared of. Hold that MP7 again, put that

gun at the enemy and squeeze the trigger.

Sinon tried to convince herself like this and again tried to move

her right arm—

But just when she was about to take action...

Death Gun placed his left hand on the sleeve, and this movement

just revealed the left side of the handgun to Sinon. More accurately, the

metal grip that was serrated and the little carving at the center of the

grip was revealed.

The carving was a circle, and there was a star in the middle.

A black star.

The Blackstar, type 54—that gun.

Why... Wh-Why-Why-Why is-Why is that gun here?

She lost her strength and let it slip out of her right hand, her final

hope, the SMG. However, Sinon could not even hear the sound of the

gun dropping.

*Gachink*. The hammer was cocked. The left hand of the mantle

guy was holding the grip like this, and then pointed the gun from the

side at Sinon in a Weaver Stance. Suddenly, there was a strange

distortion from the darkness inside the mantle and hood. The dark

space seemed to sway like glue, dripping and finally showing two eyes.

The whites of the eyes were bloodshot, and the pupils were small.

Those enlarged eyes looked just like a bottomless pit.

It was that man. That man who, 5 years ago, took the gun—the

Type-54 pistol to barge into a little post office in a city, in the north, to

shoot Shino's mother. At that time, the young Shino lost all selfawareness and leaped at the gun, snatched it and squeezed the trigger

to kill that man—those eyes were just like the man.

—He's here. He's right here. He's hiding in this world, waiting for

the chance to take revenge.

It wasn't just the right hand as she lost even more of all her

senses. The red sunset and grey ruins gradually vanished, leaving

behind only the eyes and the gun in the darkness.

The girl's heart seemed to be beating even louder. If she fainted

now, the safety function of the AmuSphere would cause Sinon to log

out automatically. However, her consciousness was clear as she waited

for the Blackstar's trigger to be squeezed. The gun let out a sound,

*kiriri*. Once that finger moved a few more inches, the hammer would

hit the firing pin, firing the .30 caliber metal bullet. That wasn't damage

in terms of value, but a real bullet. It would shoot through

Sinon/Shino's heart inside and outside the game, stopping it, killing

her.

Just like what Shino did to that man that day.

That was an unavoidable fact. Even if she did not play GGO, she

would be caught up by this man in some place. Her efforts were all in

vain. No matter how much she struggled to break free from her past, it

was meaningless.

Just when her consciousness was giving up—

A flicker of feelings, as small as fine sand, still remained.

I don't want to give up. I don't want everything to end here. I finally

managed to understand the meaning of «strength» and battle. If I can

remain with that guy and watch him, one day, I'll...

Sinon's thoughts were finally interrupted by the gunshot that

shook the sky.

She did not know where she was hit, but still closed her eyes,

waiting for her consciousness to fade.

However—

The mantle guy in front of her was the one who shook.

«Those eyes» in his hood disappeared, becoming red dots again.

The right shoulder of the mantle was flickering with some orange

damage special effect. So someone shot «Death Gun», just when Sinon

was wondering who it was, the second gunshot followed. The bullet

that flew this time grazed past the left shoulder of the mantle guy.

From the sound of it, the gun caliber must be pretty big. The mantle

guy immediately crouched down and hid into the large hole of the

tower.

Sinon could see the actions of Death Gun from her position. He

placed the Blackstar back into his gun holster, pulled out the L115 on

his back and quickly reloaded the magazine. It seemed that he wanted

to switch the stun bullets into the sure-kill .338 Lapua bullets. The

enemy's fluid movements in readying that large sniper rifle made

Sinon, a fellow sniper, feel rather impressed. After aiming, he squeezed

the trigger without hesitation.

A silenced *whoosh* gunshot and the third attack occurred at the

same time. But this time, the enemy did not attack with a gun.

Something that looked like a can rolled onto the road between Sinon

and Death Gun—a grenade. Death Gun immediately moved inside the

building once he saw that.

Sinon could only close her eyes. If the grenade exploded here at

such a distance, she would suffer rather serious injuries. However, it

would be better than being shot by Death Gun's Blackstar. That's right;

she might as well die like this. To retreat from this tournament, and

then retreat from GGO, no, VRMMO, and live a low-profile life in the

real world, always bearing the fear of being caught up by that man one

day...

However, the developments this time again betrayed Sinon's

expectations.

The metal can that exploded half a second later wasn't a powerful

plasma grenade an ordinary player liked to use, and neither was it a

normal one or an incendiary napalm one—but one that would spout

out harmless smoke.

"...!"

The white smoke immediately covered Sinon's vision, and she

couldn't help but hold her breath.

This would likely be her last chance of escaping. However, the

numbing effect hadn't vanished yet. Even though she should be able to

move once she pulled out the bullet that's lodged in her left shoulder,

Sinon couldn't get her right hand do this. And at this moment, she

didn't even have a will to stand up and fight.

Sinon was unable to keep her cool and could only lie on the floor

with her eyes widened until her left arm—was grabbed by someone.

This person just pulled her up roughly like that. That person

threw aside the large gun Sinon wouldn't normally see and put his

hand on her back. The girl didn't even have the chance to stagger

before she was lifted into the person's arms along with the Hecate on

her right shoulder.

An acceleration that seemed like it was going to squash her body

into his followed. Hiuu! The air sounded beside her, and the

surrounding smoke started to grow thinner. The moment Sinon

recovered her sight again, she caught sight of the other player who was

holding her in front of them and running forward.

That person had near transparent white skin, obsidian-like pupils

and flowing black hair.

...Kiri, to.

Sinon wanted to call him, but was unable to make a voice. His

beautiful girl-like face was showing an abnormally serious look to

the—no, it was more like he was really desperate. She understood that

he is straining his nervous system to exert physical movement

commands to his avatar.

It's to be expected that he would be having so much trouble. Even

if Kirito was a STR first-type player, and that he had only a light weight

lightsaber and handgun, he would be at his limit carrying Sinon and

Hecate. It was a miracle for him to be even sprinting at this point. Also,

looking closely, one could tell that Kirito himself wasn't completely

unscathed. The new wounds on his right and left shoulders were giving

off a red dragging special effect. From the intensity of the light, the

bullet caliber that hit him should be rather large. GGO was a VRMMO

that originated from America, so the pain absorption rate should be

rather low. With this level of damage, even if he didn't feel hurt, there

should be some form of numbness on him.

...That's enough. Put me down and run away.

Even though she thought this way, the girl still could not say it out

in the end. Her entire body, no, even her consciousness was completely

numb.

Thus, Sinon could only blink even though she saw a large caliber

bullet fly out from behind. Her sleepy mind was thinking. She didn't

hear the gunshot just now, which meant that the bullet was fired from

Death Gun's L115. With the effects of the smoke screen, this snipe was

too accurate, which meant that he was right after them. She didn't

know what sort of character the enemy was, but he couldn't be slower

than Kirito who was carrying Sinon, and it would only be a matter of

time before they get caught up.

Kirito himself should understand this too. However, the

lightsaber warrior never intended to stop or put Sinon down. He

merely gritted his teeth, breathed hard and continued to run forward.

Both of them ran to the east side of the round stadium, ready to

leave from the north side of the ruins. Like the south side, there was a

main road that stretched on forward. There were a few damaged cars

and buses scattered all over the road, but it wasn't enough for them to

leave the ruins while being completely hidden. Where is Kirito running

to?...

What answered Sinon's doubt was the half-wrecked neon-light

advert signboard.

The words that flickered weakly under the sunset showed the

words [Rent-a-Buggy&Horse]. This was the unmanned transport rent

area that the capital Gurroken also had. Amongst the 3 buggys in the

motorpool, two of them were nearly completely wrecked, and only one

looked like it could still be in operation.

However, that wasn't the only transportation tool for them to rent.

Like what the advert said, there were even a few large four-legged

animals beside the buggys—horses. But of course, these horses

weren't real animals, but mechanical horses with metal frames and

gears showing outside. Also, there seemed to be only one that still

worked.

Kirito rushed into the motor pool and immediately hesitated over

whether they should choose the 3-wheeled buggy or the mechanical

horse. Sinon squeezed out a soft voice from her still-stiff mouth,

"A horse would be... too difficult. Its ability to break through

obstacles is great... but it's really hard to control it."

Although it seemed that almost no one was able to control the

hand-controlled 3-wheeled buggy, the mechanical horse's hard-to

grasp personality would make it a lot tougher to control than a buggy.

As this had no relevance to the skills of the avatar, but that of the

player's own skills, a lot of time, hard work and practice would be

required for them to use these transportation tools at their own will.

For GGO that's only operational for less than a year, there shouldn't be

a lot of people who had so much time to practice.

On hearing Sinon's words, Kirito seemed to hesitate, but he soon

nodded his head and ran towards the only three-wheeler buggy that

could still work. He touched the panel screen and started the engine,

let Sinon sit on the rear panel, and once he got onto his own seat, he hit

the acceleration on the three-wheeler buggy. The large back wheel

immediately let out a sharp rubbing sound, gave off white smoke and

started spinning.

As the vehicle moved to the north road, Kirito immediately

stopped and shouted,

"Sinon, can your sniper rifle destroy that horse?"

"Yes..."

Sinon pulled out the stun bullet with the right hand that finally

managed to shake off the numbness and blinked her eyes. She saw the

mechanical horse behind and immediately understood Kirito's

intention. He was worried that the mantle guy—Death Gun would use

that horse to catch up. Sinon really felt that it wasn't really possible,

but she still nodded her head.

"Go... got it. I'll try..."

She used her still-trembling arms to carry the Hecate that was

unstrapped, and pointed the gun at that metallic horse that was

standing coldly 20m away. This was a distance where she could hit

without aiming through the scope and use skill assist. As Sinon placed

her hand on the trigger, the light green reticle immediately appeared.

She gathered the point at the side of the horse, and her finger got ready

to exert force—...

*Kachink!*

The numb feel made Sinon widen her eyes.

She couldn't squeeze the trigger. Sinon was wondering whether

she accidentally turned the safety on, and turned to check the side of

her beloved gun. However, that wasn't the case. The sniper then

exerted force on the finger again, but the trigger felt like it was welded

and knocked her right hand aside,

"Eh... why..."

*Gachink*, *gachink*

No matter how many times she tried, it was the same outcome.

She stared blankly at her finger, and what appeared in front of her was

an unbelievable scene. Her finger didn't even touch the trigger. The

white fingertip and the smooth metal had a gap between them, several

millimeters wide. And no matter how hard she exerted force, she just

couldn't remove that distance...

"...I couldn't press it... why... WHY CAN'T I SQUEEZE THE

TRIGGER?...!"

The voice that came from her own throat was a soft and hoarse

cry.

It seemed that the one who let out the cry wasn't that ice-like

sniper, but Asada Shino in the real world.

At this moment...

A figure appeared behind the thin smoke on the east side of the

stadium.

The mantle on the enemy shook, and he was still holding onto a

large sniper rifle. Of course, he was «Death Gun»—or maybe he could

be «that guy» who borrowed this appearance.

Sinon's eyes darkened. Her legs lost their strength. Her body

started to turn cold.

Ahh... how did it happen? That was an omen of a fit. Sinon, who

had a different personality than the real life Shino, never had this

happen to her before. It didn't even happen when she first logged in

and was immediately forced to wield a gun...

"Sinon, grab on!"

Suddenly, a forceful and powerful voice sounded right as a hand

grabbed her left arm hard. Sinon grabbed onto Kirito's body just like

that. Then, the old fossil fuel engine immediately let out a growl. The

buggy's front wheel went up and then flew as it it was shot out on the

road.

Every time Kirito used his foot to step on the pedal, Sinon felt that

an acceleration was making her move backwards. While surrounded

by fear, she continued to maintain her consciousness and grab onto

that skinny body with all she's got. A dark force continued to try and

swallow her, and the warmth that's coming from Kirito's body was the

only reliance she could use to fight it.

The buggy that reached the top gear let out a sharp roar in the

ruins and started to race down the street.

—Can we... really escape safely...?

Though she felt anxious inside, Sinon didn't have the courage to

turn back. It was only now that she found that her body was still

trembling.

The sniper girl moved her stiff fingers, ready to move the Hecate

she was carrying in her right hand back onto her shoulder. At this

moment, Kirito's anxious voice rang again,

" —DAMN IT, WE'RE NOT OUT OF THIS YET! DON'T RELAX!"

She looked back instinctively—

She could immediately see that the mechanical horse that wasn't

destroyed successfully dashed out from the motor pool that was

gradually becoming further. The girl widened her eyes in disbelief, but

there was no need to tell who was the person on it.

The mantle on the rider flapped like black wings of a crow. He

carried the L115 on his back and held the metallic leash with both

hands. That posture of kneeling down on the stirrup and moving up

and down as the horse galloped looked no different from a skilled rider.

Clak, clak.

The heavy footsteps caused Sinon's to descend into confusion.

"Why?..."

He could actually ride a horse. She used to hear that even those

with horse riding experience in real life would have difficulty

controlling the mechanical horse in this world. However, the darkcolored horse galloped and leaped over the abandoned vehicles,

chasing with a similar speed to the buggy.

That look of his made him look like he wasn't an ordinary player

like Sinon, but rather, a concentration of fear within the girl's heart

that's flowing out. Even though she tried to look away, she couldn't

help but concentrate on the face of the rider that's 200m behind them.

Sinon obviously couldn't tell the distance clearly, but she felt that she

could see those eyes that were deep within the darkness of the hood

and a bloody mouth that's revealing a smile.

"He's catching up...! Faster... get away... get away...!"

Sinon cried out with a soft wailing voice.

And Kirito seemed to be answering her request as he pushed the

three-wheeler buggy to full speed. But at this moment, the rear wheel

of the buggy ran over an obstacle and jumped up, causing the back to

slide to the right.

Sinon screamed and tilted left instinctively, hoping to use this to

balance the buggy. If the buggy skidded at this time, Death Gun would

catch up to them in 10 seconds. Kirito cursed while he controlled the

shaking frame of the vehicle.

The buggy let out a sharp rubbing sound and skidded left and

right, and several seconds later, finally regained balance and again

accelerated. However, Death Gun used this minor error to close a large

part of the gap between them.

As they drove through the highway of the ruins, obstacles

continued to appear as if someone was playing a prank on them,

causing the buggy to continue shaking from side to side when made to

drive quickly. Also, there was a layer of thin dust all over the road

surface, and the wheels would lose grip once it ran over them. Every

time that happened, the buggy would skid slightly to the side, and

Sinon would tense up.

Even though the pursuer was under a similar condition, this road

that was full of obstacles was more advantageous to the mechanical

horse. Thus, the mantle guy continued to easily avoid the abandoned

cars and close in on Sinon and Kirito. Also, the enemy had another

advantage.

Even though the three-wheeler buggy and the mechanical horse

were transportation tools that could accommodate two people, there

were two people on the buggy, and one on the mechanical horse. Of

course, the buggy would be slower in its acceleration.

Every time the horse appear from behind the shadows of the

obstacles, the profile that was closing in would become larger. Even

though there was still some distance, Sinon still felt there was a

stinging metallic sound continuing to irritate the back of her neck.

Just when both parties were 100m away from each other,

Death Gun's right hand let go of the rope and pointed something

at the two of them. What he was holding was – that black handgun,

«Type-54 Blackstar»

Sinon, who felt like her entire body collapsed into the freezer,

couldn't get down into the buggy for cover and could only watch as the

handgun was aimed at them. Her teeth were trembling, letting out

irregular kakaka sounds. Fuu, the red bullet line wordlessly moved up

Sinon's right cheek. She turned her head to the left without hesitation.

Then, the gun let out an orange glow like a devil with a bloody

mouth—

*BAM!*

The fatal bullet dragged a sharp sound and flew towards her

before grazing 10cm past Sinon's right cheek.

Even though the bullet moved past the buggy and hit the

abandoned vehicle in front, the particles that floated in the air still

grazed past Sinon's face. At this moment, she felt a sharp pain as if

someone scatter dry ice on her.

"NOOO!!!!"

This time, Sinon finally cried out loud in anguish. She turned her

eyes away from the Death God behind her and stuck her face onto

Kirito's back. After that, the second bullet seemed to hit the rear fender

of the buggy, and they could feel a strong jerk on their feet.

"No... save me... save me..."

Sinon curled up like a baby and continued to repeat the same

words over and over again. She couldn't hear a gunshot, but the sound

of the horse galloping was getting closer, and it seemed that Death Gun

intended to catch up to the buggy before firing.

"Sinon... can you hear me, Sinon!"

Kirito called Sinon's name again, but couldn't get any response.

She just remained crouched against his back, letting out soft whimpers.

"SINON!"

After she got shook by the sharp sound again, Sinon finally

managed to stop whimpering. She moved her neck slightly and looked

over at the back profile of Kirito which had that flowing black hair.

Kirito was looking forward, pushing the three-wheeler buggy to its

limit and saying with a stiff yet calm voice,

"Sinon, we'll be caught up at this rate—hurry up and snipe him!"

"I...I can't do that..."

Sinon forcefully shook her head to refuse. Though she felt the

heavy weight of the Hecate II, this weight that would normally fill her

up with battle intent couldn't bring her any feelings.

"It's alright if it doesn't hit! Just hold him off!"

Kirito persisted in shouting, but Sinon could only continue to

shake her head.

"...I can't do it... that guy... that guy, he..."

That guy was the soul that awakened from her memories, and

even if she used twelve 7mm bullets to hit him in the heart, she

couldn't stop him—that was what Sinon believed. Direct damage was

already ineffective, let alone holding him off.

However, Kirito turned around, and those black eyes were

shining brightly. He said,

"Drive then! I'll use that gun to snipe him!"

On hearing those words, the little pride that remained in Sinon's

heart shook her up—

—Hecate's... my identity. Other than me... no one else can use it...

These interrupted thoughts seemed to act like some sort of weak

electric pulse in a circuit and caused Sinon's right hand to move.

She slowly moved that large sniper rifle from her shoulder and

then placed the gun over the rear fender on the back of the buggy,

while timidly supporting her body she brought her eye over to the

scope in front.

The magnifier was at its minimum, but at a distance of less than

100m, the figure of the mechanical horse carrying Death Gun took up

more than 30% of the scope's view. Sinon originally intended to

increase the magnifier to hit straight in the middle of Death Gun, but

the hand that reached out to increase the magnification stopped.

If she continued to enlarge it, she would see that face under his

hood clearly. On thinking up till here, her fingers couldn't move. Sinon

then moved her right hand over to the gun grip and got into sniping

position.

Death Gun should have noticed Sinon's action, but he had no

intention of dodging, let alone stopping. His hands were holding onto

the leash as he continued to race over. Sinon knew that she was being

underestimated, but on thinking that Death Gun may take out that

handgun—that accursed Type-54 handgun Sinon herself used that

eventful day, she couldn't feel any anger, just complete fear.

One shot. Just one shot would be enough. In such a close distance,

even if the enemy could see the bullet line, there was a chance that he

could fail. Sinon gathered that pessimistic and little battle intent

together, ready to let the index finger in the trigger guard touch the

trigger.

However...

A surge of mysterious anxiety struck, again preventing her action.

No matter how hard she tried, her finger just couldn't touch the

trigger. It felt like the one and only partner Hecate was rejecting Sinon

herself—

"I can't shoot it..."

Sinon/Shino muttered with a hoarse voice,

"I can't shoot. My fingers won't move. I can't... can't fight anymore."

"NO, YOU CAN!"

The strong yet stern voice rang from behind her.

"THERE'S NO ONE WHO CAN'T FIGHT! THERE'S ONLY THOSE

WHO GIVE UP ON FIGHTING!"

Even though she was chided by her greatest rival Kirito, the flame

that was about to disappear in Sinon merely flickered.

Choose? I'll just choose to give up on fighting then. I don't want to

relive those painful memories. I had enough of seeing my hopes taken

away and destroyed. It's just my delusion to think that I can survive in

this world if I have ability. I will always have to carry the fear of the

grudge by that man and the gun. I can only lower my head, hold my

breath, not look, and not bring any feeling to this...

Suddenly, a scorching flame reheated Sinon's frozen right hand.

The girl opened the eyes that were originally closed.

Kirito was originally sitting on the seat of the buggy, but at this

moment, he turned around, and he was leaning on Sinon's back while

standing on the pedal. He reached his right hand out, holding Sinon's

right hand that was about to fall off from the Hecate's grip and held it

forcefully.

It seemed that he was able to set the three-wheeler buggy's gas

pedal to full throttle as the buggy was still running forward. However,

they would soon hit an obstacle. Kirito himself seemed like he didn't

mind as he shouted at Sinon's ear.

"I'll shoot too! So, just once, please move this finger!"

Sinon wasn't clear if the system would allow two people to shoot

one gun. However, the flame-like heat that radiated from the touch of

Kirito's hand made her feel that the frozen fingers were starting to

melt.

The sniper's fingers twitched slightly—the finger touched the

metal that form the trigger.

In her eyes, she could see the bullet line. However, the aiming

circle was so large it exceeded Death Gun's body into the area

surrounding it and was irregularity moving about. Sinon's heart was in

a mess, and the buggy that was racing was jerking way too much. If this

kept up, there was no need to consider how the enemy will dodge,

because the bullet wouldn't fly straight.

"No-No way... I can't possibly aim if it keeps jerking like this..."

Sinon weakly moaned, but a calm voice immediately rang beside

her ear,

"Don't worry, it'll stop shaking in 5 seconds. Listen up... 2, 1,

NOW!"

*BAM!*

The powerful shock came with a sudden sound, and the buggy

stopped shaking in a miraculous manner. It seemed that they were

flying in the air after being hit by something. Sinon glanced at the

ground from the corner of her eye, and found that there was a wedgedshaped sports car lying there like a ramp. Kirito let the buggy head to

this direction before he even turned around.

...Why is he so calm even in such a situation?

Immediately, Sinon asked in her heart, but she again denied her

own question.

...No, this has nothing to do with being calm. This person just did

what he could do. He never tried to find excuses for himself and chose to

fight with all he's got. That's—that's this person's real ability.

During the finals of the preliminaries yesterday, Sinon once asked

this to Kirito—with such ability, what he was still scared of.

However, this question itself was a huge error. No matter how

scared, troubled, or pained he was, he could still move on. That was the

real «strength». He could only choose over whether he should get

better or not, whether to fire or not.

Of course, she couldn't be as strong as Kirito. But at least for

now—she wanted to at least give it her all.

Sinon bet on all her heart, to squeeze her finger that's placed

against the trigger of her beloved gun.

This mere slight adjustment of the trigger felt extremely heavy.

However, with the support of that warming hand, Sinon's finger finally

squeezed it slowly. The reticle that appeared in her sights started to

shrink, but half of the enemy was still outside the circle.

She probably, no, definitely won't be able to hit the target.

Having fought for so long as a sniper, this was the first time Sinon

had such a thought as she squeezed the trigger.

Like an unpleasant nauseous feeling that was about to be puked

out, her beloved gun Hecate II shot the bright flame from the muffler,

shooting a loud bang she never heard before.

Still in an unstable state, Sinon couldn't hold back the recoil

effectively as she jerked back, but Kirito held her steadily. The buggy

jumped over the top and started falling, and Sinon could only stare

wide-eyed on the vehicle and watch the bullet fly. Under the sunset, the

spinning line grazed the riding Death God with the nearest of misses

and went by his right.

—I missed...

There were still bullets inside the magazine, but Sinon didn't even

have the strength to pull the bolt down and could only mutter.

However, perhaps the pride of this «Goddess of the Underworld»

wouldn't allow this bullet to miss completely as the anti-tank sniper

rifle didn't leave a useless hole in the asphalt, but went into the truck

that was lying on the road.

In GGO, all the artificial objects that were placed battle zones

seemed to be there for players to use as cover. But as expected of a

game that used MMORPG and FPS elements, each artificial object had a

little trap. Like how a gas tank or a large machine may be lit on fire or

even explode once they take a certain amount of damage. With such a

chance, the old abandoned vehicle that was placed on the road may

have some gas inside the fuel tank. Once it got hit by the bullet—

The large truck started to let out small sparks.

Death Gun, who was just ready to move beside the truck,

immediately intended to let the mechanical horse jump to the other

side after noticing it.

But before he could do that, a large fireball exploded, and the

orange glow immediately swallowed the bus and horse.

The three-wheeler buggy that finished its jump landed at this

moment, and as it landed, the tremendous bounce and the powerful

impact that shook the entire main road occurred at the same time.

Even though the scene of explosion couldn't be seen because of the

sports car that acted as a platform, Kirito and Sinon still witnessed the

mechanical horse scattered into pieces in the pillar of fire.

—Did I take him down...?

Sinon had this thought for a moment but immediately shook it off.

How could an explosion of an obstacle kill a Death God? The most it

could do was to buy some time, but to them, this was really a great

miracle.

Kirito, who again turned to look in front, first tried to steady the

buggy that was about to collapse sideways, and then continued to

accelerate.

Sinon collapsed onto the seat and watched the smoke float up into

the purple sunset. She couldn't think anymore, and could only let her

body jerk along with the racing buggy.

The number of buildings and abandoned vehicles on both left and right

sides started to decrease, and the natural rocks and mysterious plants

started to take over. Once she recovered, she found that the threewheeler buggy had already passed through the center of the lone

island and arrived in the desert in the north.

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.