Sword Art Online - Volume 5 - Phantom Bullet Read online

  When asked openly, Kikuoka used his slender finger to adjust his glasses, hiding his expression from me. There was no doubt that he was considering just how much of his answer would be the truth, and how much of it would be deception. What a cunning man.

  “- Actually, my superiors are the ones concerned about it.”

  The high-level official who began to speak returned to his usual smile.

  “Full Dive technology’s influence on reality is the most notable among the fields at the moment. The impact on society and culture is certainly great, but in the field of biology it has also attracted much controversy. Such as: in which ways can virtual worlds change a human’s way of existence? Hypothetically speaking, if there are any signs of danger, and that kind of conclusion was reached, a movement to put regulations on it will come about. In fact, it reached the stage of right before a legislation being passed at the time of the SAO incident. But I - or rather, the virtual department, did not consider retreating in front of the flow as the proper course of action for the enjoyment of VRMMO games, and for the sake of your new era of youths too. That is why, before this one incident attracts strange attention, we want to know all the facts before it can be used by the regulation advocates. It would be best if it was merely a hoax but what we want is to be certain of it. - Up until now, however we can.”

  “…With that understanding of the youths of the VR game generation, your principles, I’ll just interpret them as good will. But if you really are concerned about that issue, what about direct hits on the operating company? If you analyze the logs, you should be able to investigate the player who shot «Zekushiido» and «Tarako». Even if the personal information registered in the game is fake, you could still contact the provider from the IP address, and you would find out his real name and address that way.”

  “- As long as my arms are, even they cannot reach the other side of the Pacific Ocean.”

  Kikuoka’s frown had, this time around, seemed to display an unfeigned weariness.

  “«Zasker», the company that develops and operates Gun Gale Online… is an unknown organization that we know next to nothing about and they have their server in America. While the in-game player support seems to be fairly solid, let alone the real address, even the phone number and e-mail address are kept private. Good grief, ever since «The Seed» got publicized, it’s one of those sort of shady VR worlds that have been sprouting non-stop like weeds.”

  “…Oh, is that so?”

  I interrupted, while shrugging. Only Egil and I knew about the origin of the VRMMO development support package «The Seed». Similarly, the sudden appearance of the floating castle Aincrad in the reborn ALFheim Online was, to the general public, a leftover from the former SAO server that was managed by the currently non-existing RECTO Progress, which is how the matter was settled.

  “And well, for that reason, if we’re thinking about grasping the truth of the matter, we have no choice but to get into direct contact within the game. Of course, we’ll consider even the most remote possibilities, and the utmost of safety measures will be taken. Kirito-kun will, in a room prepared by us, dive into the game, and we will disconnect you right away if there are any abnormalities in the output of the AmuSphere being monitored. I won’t ask you to get shot; it’s fine as long as you get me an impression from what you see. - You’ll do it right?”

  Before I had realized it, even my mind was stuck in this situation where I couldn’t say no.

  I really shouldn’t have come to meet him… While seriously regretting the decision, I began to feel a slight amount of interest at the same time.

  The ability to interfere with the real world from inside the virtual world… if such a thing really existed, then was it a clue to the world alteration that Kayaba Akihiko was striving for? The incident that began in the winter three years ago, was it still unresolved…?

  If that was the case, then the obligation of witnessing the destination of its development would be mine as well.

  I shut my eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and spoke.

  “…I understand. As annoying of a ride as it’ll be, if it’s just going into the game then I’ll go. But I don’t know whether or not I will encounter this «Death Gun». In the first place, even his existence is questionable.”

  “Ahh… about that.”

  Kikuoka grinned with an innocent face.

  “Did I not mention it? During the first shooting incident, one of the players present took an audio log of it which I compressed and brought the data along. It’s «Death Gun»-shi’s voice and by all means, listen to it.”

  To the Kikuoka holding out the wireless earphone, I seriously cursed ‘that heart of yours should stop’ in my thoughts, while glaring at him.

  “…thanks for going out of your way to do this.”

  After putting on the earphones I had received, Kikuoka prodded the screen with his finger. Soon, a low bustling was playing in my head.

  Then, the bustling disappeared suddenly and the strained silence that followed was torn by a sharp declaration.

  “This is real power, real strength! Foolish people, engrave the fear of this name in your hearts!”

  “This gun’s name and I: «Death Pistol»… «Death Gun»!”

  It was tinged with a somewhat inhuman, metallic sound.

  And yet, from behind the cry, I could strongly feel the presence of the living player behind the character. The owner of this voice, rather than just role-playing, seemed to radiate the genuine urge of the desire for slaughter.

  Chapter 2

  She checked the watch on her left wrist as she exited the C10 exit of Chiyoda Line’s Otemachi Station.

  There was more than five minutes left before the agreed time of 3:00 pm. As Yuuki Asuna was about to lower her wrist, her eyes paused casually at the small calendar window in the watch’s dial.

  Sunday, December 7th, 2025.

  It may not be a special anniversary, but within Asuna’s chest, the seed of a certain strong emotion had sprouted. As she began to walk along Eitai street, she looked up, facing the main gates of the Imperial Palace and murmured without letting her voice out.

  - Soon, it will be one year…

  Left unspoken were the words, “since my return to the real world”.

  After the floating castle of steel (SAO), to the bird cage in the treetops (ALO), she was subsequently rescued and returned to the real world in mid-January of this year. The fantasy world was gradually becoming a memory, but even so, she still occasionally felt strange about herself living like this in the real world.

  The wide walkway paved with stone, the roadside trees shaking in the cold air and pedestrians walking with their faces buried beneath the collars of their coats or mufflers. Walking slowly in the midst flow of the crowd, was Asuna herself.

  Everything around her were not digitally coded 3D objects, but real minerals, plants and creatures.

  But how do we interpret what «real» is? If it’s just made with atoms and molecules, then it would be the same as virtual polygons. Because those polygons’ real identity are electrons contained in a server memory element. That is not much of a difference in elementary particles.

  Saying that, the only problem probably comes from reversibility. The objects that exist in the real world, whether biological or non-living; if they were destroyed, it was impossible to recover them to the original state. But in the virtual world, then it is easy to regenerate the original object without a single byte of bad information.

  …No.

  That’s not it. In that world – Aincrad, what you lost and could not be recovered really existed. The two years spent in that floating castle, what Asuna touched, felt, obtained and lost were without a doubt all «real».

  If that was the case.

  “….The differences between the real world and the virtual world… what are they….?”

  She unconsciously whispered, and to her question -.

  “Just the quantity of information.”

&nbs
p; Came an answer from beside her, its unexpectedness caused Asuna to jump.

  “Wa, waa!?”

  She hurriedly looked for the source of that voice and noticing a boy’s face, blinking in surprise.

  Slightly long front hair. A very thin profile, but it made him look sharp. Dressed in a black shirt with a black jacket over it and faded black jeans.

  His appearance is very similar to the avatar he used, the fact that there wasn’t a sword hilt on his back felt very unnatural. Asuna took deep breaths to dissolve the sweet ache of longing arising from deep within her heart; she opened her lips and said.

  “…I was surprised because you appeared so suddenly, did you use a transfer crystal?”

  After hearing this, the boy - Kirigaya Kazuto revealed a bitter smile.

  “It’s not suddenly. Is this not the agreed time and place?”

  “Eh….”

  After being asked, Asuna looked around again.

  The soft afternoon sunlight bathed the pedestrian street, and with the light flashing from the water surface. A little bit in front, a bridge connected with a large solemnly guarded door. Indeed, it was in front of the Imperial Palace, where she had arranged to meet with Kazuto. It seemed she was walking while thinking, and had reached the destination.

  Asuna gave a shy smile and shrugged her shoulders.

  “Ahaha, it seems like I was on autopilot. Umm… anyway, good day Kirito-kun.”

  “That’s dangerous, the real world doesn’t have navigation function. …Hello Asuna.”

  After greeting each other, Kazuto’s black eyes suddenly narrowed, staring at Asuna.

  “Wh… what? What happened to you suddenly?”

  Wondering if something strange happened, Asuna put her hands in front of her and asked. Then Kazuto hurriedly shook his head, and stammered:

  “Ah, no, that is… Umm… I think this dress fits you well, or reminds me of…”

  “Eh….?”

  She unintentionally looking down at her form, it took two seconds for her to fully understand what he had said to her.

  Today she was wearing a winter coat made of white tweed. Below that a knitted ivory and red checkered argyle skirt.

  In short, all of the colors were associated with the no longer existing guild, «Knights of the Blood». Thinking back, in Aincrad almost every day, she was dressed in the red and white knight uniform. That probably awoke Kazuto’s memory of those days.

  Touching the left waist area with her fingers, Asuna gave a smile.

  “…That’s true. But I don’t have a rapier… - That’s right Kirito-kun too, today you are dressed entirely in black.”

  Hearing that, Kazuto also gave a shy smile.

  “But without the two swords. …In fact, I have been trying to avoid wearing black from top to bottom, but Suguha was washing our clothes this morning, and these are all I had left.”

  “That can happen if you leave your laundry lying around.”

  Her cuff met Kazuto’s, and they held hands.

  “Well, today we accidentally wore the «colors from those old days». What a coincidence.”

  She said while looking from a slightly higher position into Kazuto’s eyes. Kazuto gave a small cough, and a monotone answer:

  “Well, we have been meeting for a year like this; it was bound to happen sometime.”

  “Oh you, there you should have just said ‘That’s right’!”

  Asuna gave a small pout then pulled the hand in the leather jacket.

  “I say, don’t just stand while talking, let’s go. The day will get dark soon.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  Asuna stuck close to the nodding Kazuto, and the two headed over the bridge.

  The old-style main gates against the white walls were shrouded in red sunset, casting black shadows on the bridge. Although it was Sunday, there were very few tourists due to the season.

  They passed by the guards in thick coats, through the gate, and obtained a plastic admission ticket from a small office. Through the silver fence, it was hard to believe that it was the center within central Tokyo, with a vast and quiet stretch of woods.

  Although it was Asuna who asked where they should go on Sunday, it was Kazuto who decided the meeting place to be «in front of the main gates».

  The Imperial Palace itself was not open to the public, but within the moat, the «East Garden» in the northeast corner, was open to the general public on selected days of the week - that information, Asuna had not known until today. Of course, it was the first time she had actually stepped in there. Walking on the broad and fascinating trail, Asuna once again felt a strange feeling, she turned to the boy beside her and asked:

  “…Oh yes, why did you choose the Imperial Palace for our date? Kirito-kun, are you interested in history?”

  “Well, not really. The main reason was… recently, I was called around here for some stupid business…”

  For one moment, his nose flared while remembering something, but soon returned to his original serene smile and continued.

  “I’ll tell you about that later, but don’t you think that the Imperial Palace is a somewhat interesting place?”

  “…Interesting? How so?”

  Kazuto blinked his eyes, pointing his jacket right arm at the thick trees around.

  “North-south about 2 kilometers, the east-west span 1.5 km. The north park and outer gardens combined area are approximately 2.3 million square meters, occupying twenty percent of Chivoda-ku. Compared to the Vatican or Buckingham Palace, this is much larger, but it loses to the Palace of Versailles… It’s not only the surface, there is not a single underground railway or tunnel below, and no type of aircraft is allowed to fly above. In short this place is a vertical wall through the center of Tokyo, a huge no entry area.”

  Hearing that, Asuna pictured a map of Tokyo in her head. Moving her left index finger round and round in the air, she nodded in understanding.

  “That is to say, the heart of most of the trunk roads, ring lines, radial lines, is based on this point as the center….”

  “That’s right, Tokyo is not checker board shaped like Kyoto, it is disc-shaped, with a radial concentric circle city. And that center, not just the physical level, even information has been perfectly blocked. Like the old ALO «World Tree»… sorry. I remind you of the bad memories.”

  “No, I am fine.”

  For Asuna who had experienced long imprisonment in the old World Tree, she shook her head at Kazuto’s consideration and asked:

  “Prohibition on the physical level, I understand… but information, what do you mean?”

  “Ah, that…”

  Kazuto suddenly glance at the surrounding trees, and with small hand movement points to several areas.

  “You see, there and there, have surveillance cameras, right? That security system, it is now on a completely standalone system. This is a private closed network with not a single connection from the outside.”

  “Ah… Oh yea, the camera has a weird shape.”

  Looking at where Kazuto pointed, she saw a black sphere on top of a pole. It looks more like lighting than a camera if you don’t know about it.

  “The next generation security technology is being tested, I heard the rumor… - In short, this place is the center of Tokyo, but at the same time, an isolated «other world» as well… I might be exaggerating a bit.”

  “Ahaha, a little.”

  While chatting, they went by a huge stone wall, and walkway changed to a ramp going up. After walking in silence for a while, their view opened up fully.

  The other side is a huge lawn, almost hazy in its size. As it was winter, the grass had withered to a light brown, the leaves on the trees around had almost all fallen. With the arrival of spring, it would be a refreshing view.

  “This is the Edo Castle ruins. In historical plays, the inner palace used for stage is supposed to be a bit north of the grass fields.”

  “Let’s go see!”

  Holding his hand again, Asuna b
egan to pick up the pace. There were still not many people; most of them were foreign tourists. On the way, they passed a family with two cute-blonde sisters, and a husband and wife, who requested their help to take a picture. After Kazuto happily did so, the wife smiled and said, “We will take a picture of you two as well”, Asuna shyly stood beside Kazuto as their picture was taken.

  After receiving the image data on the mobile phone, we parted from the young sisters as we waved goodbye. After seeing the family moving further away in the orange colored light, Asuna sighed involuntarily.

  “…Tired?”

  With Kazuto’s question, she inadvertently caught a brief glimpse from him.

  “W-R-O-N-G! I want our future to also be like…. that, um… really!”

  Her cheeks blushing at the line she blurted without thinking, she bolted ahead in a scurry.

  “H, Hey, wait up!”

  While in a short race with Kazuto chasing, they soon came to a fork in the road splitting to the north and south of the lawn. At the fork in the road was a bench, she sat down on it.

  Even so she turned her face away, and Kazuto who sat next to her shyly said:

  “Mm, well, that is… if she gets a younger sister, I’m sure Yui will be happy, yea.”

  Hearing something that was too similar to a fastball, Asuna’s blood rushed to her cheeks once again, she giggled.

  “Y, you’re right.”

  “Come on, laughing now is mean of you…”

  “Ahaha, sorry sorry. But really, it would be nice if Yui-chan could cross over to this side and live with us too…”

  What they’re referring to by Yui, was the name a young girl they both met in the former SAO server. Her true form was actually players’ self-regulation program for mental maintenance, that is, an AI, she recognized Asuna as her mother, and Kazuto as her father. When Aincrad was on the verge of collapsing, her core program was saved to Kazuto’s NERvGear and was spared from being deleted. Currently, in Kazuto’s room, she was «living» inside a dedicated stationary-type machine prepared by him.

  But, direct contact with Yui was only possible exclusively under a full dive environment - in other words, within ALO only. Although in the real world you could use a mobile phone and have her there, the battery capacity was not long enough and they could not «always be together».”