We were originally about 25m apart, but at this moment, I ran past half the distance. I continued to run as I used my right thumb to slide the photon sword's switch. *Bu~n*. The sound that made me relax could be heard, and a blueish-purple glowing blade came out from the sword handle.

For the third time, the numerous "Bullet Lines" that came from Uemaru's rifle appeared on my body.

Up till now, I had been instinctively looked for places where I could hide. But this time, I only let my eyes look right in front of my body and endured the fear that came from the back of my neck and irritated my senses. After trying my best to observe the enemy, I found that not all the thin red lines appeared at the same time. There's a little time difference between them, and the difference should be the order where the bullets would come out from the rifle gunhole.

I controlled the body that was a lot more pet.i.te than in real life and rushed forward. At this moment, there were 6 Bullet Lines that were aimed on my body.

The other Bullet Lines on the left and right were all slightly off course. With the current distance, the enemy's rifle-and the shooter's accuracy himself wasn't much.

The long forgotten thrill of P v P seemed to have caused my character to shift into battle mode. As the remaining margin in my sights showed an outward extension from the center, the target's body was extremely obvious. It's this accelerating feeling that made me feel memorable. During this time was I started to slow down, my consciousness was the only thing racing.

The enemy's rifle's muzzle suddenly let out an orange spark.

During this time, the blade of the light saber blocked the lines of the first and second bullets with pinpoint accuracy.

*BA-BAM!!* The surface of the light saber let out two bright orange sparks. The moment I noticed this, my right arm immediately pointed the photon sword onto the third and fourth bullet lines at a lightning quick speed. Then, the sound of the bullets being deflected off the intense energy could be heard again.

I continued to move forward while ignoring the bullets that "wouldn't hit me at all". Actually, it was really a mentally draining thing, but I grit my teeth and continued to swing the sword in my hand.

5...and that's the 6th one! After deflecting all the bullets that could have hit me successfully, I kicked the ground hard with all I've got to cover the remaining distance between us.

"No...No way!"

Uemaru's thoroughly bearded jaw dropped as he widened his mouth and cried out in shock. However, this guy didn't stop at all. He ejected the magazine skillfully and drew out the prepared magazine on his waist and got ready to load it into the rifle.

To prevent him from doing this, I gripped the Five-Seven in my left hand and pointed it at Uemaru. The moment my fingers touched the trigger, a light green circle appeared at the center of the enemy's chest. This shocked me, but I just continued to shoot 5 bullets.

The unexpectedly light recoil went from the wrist to the shoulder, and inside the half-transparent circle, Uemaru was. .h.i.t once in the shoulder and the abdomen as the remaining three shots disappeared behind him in the bushes. However, the bullets that hit him went through his armor and caused damage to him. The screen showed his HP gauge drop by about 10%. Uemaru staggered and immediately hesitated.

To me, this was enough time.

As I entered the attack range, I slightly twisted my body to the right- Just when I stepped out at a speed as if I wanted to break through the virtual ground, I lunged forward without wasting any of the speed at all. In the world of SAO, it's called a "Vorpal Strike" a critical hit as it lunged into the enemy's chest.

The jet engine-like buzzing rang as the blade of light pierced through the enemy's body easily. It felt that the burst of energy that couldn't be vented anywhere else imploded inside the enemy.

Then, with an exaggerated light and sound, the cylinder-shaped thing in my right hand shot out, and the enemy's body became numerous fragments as it scattered in the air.

I felt the numbing feeling of the fight that just finished as I slowly supported my body.

*Wu~wun*. I swung about the lightsaber and nearly sheathed the sword on my back immediately, but I hurriedly turned it off.

After hanging the sword on the carabiner on the right side of my waist and the handgun in my left hand into the holster, I finally let out a long sigh. I looked up at the sunset sky, and found that the low-hanging clouds looked like a screen showing the words 'Congratulations'.

I won the first round with great difficulty. It was really good news that I could use such a lightsaber to defend against rifle bullets. However, I needed a lot of concentration to wield it, and my nerves were already starting to char and smoke.

I still have to go through another 4 tiring rounds- A blue light came over my dejected body and started surrounding me. The silent sound of the wind gradually disappeared. Once the sounds became the buzzing of many humans, I found myself back at the waiting area.

It looked like I was transferred to the box seats near the wall like how I was before. I looked at both left and right side, but didn't notice Sinon or Spiegel around. If Sinon is still battling, what I'm wondering is what the man who was related to Sinon in some way went to. I set my sights onto the entire s.p.a.ce, and found that there was a familiar figure near the center of the dome, dressed in street clothes. He didn't notice that I came back as he merely focused on the large screen on the ceiling.

I lifted my head up just like he did, and found that the large screen that was only showing the countdown timer was now showing several battles. The screen showed players in deserts, forests or ruins that using handguns, machine guns or rifles to fight in different angles like those scenes in movies.

These should be some of the hundreds of battles that were going on and were chosen to be telecasted. Once the scene of a player being hit and blown to bits was shown, countless players who were gathered inside the dome would let out a deafening cheer.

I thought about whether Sinon's match would be telecasted as I took a few steps forward. I checked every single image from the top right corner, but as the cameras continued to move, I really couldn't tell. I concentrated and tried to look for her aqua-blue hair.

-As I was too concentrated, I was too shocked that my heart nearly stopped when my right ear suddenly heard a voice. That deep, hoa.r.s.e and somewhat metallic voice seemed to enter my mind.

"Are you, the real one?"

I instinctively took a step back and looked back.

Immediately, I thought that I saw a ghost.

Of course, I wasn't referring to a real ghost, but a "Ghost-type" monster mob that appeared in the 65th level of Aincrad at night in the Ancient Fore.

The person in front of me wore a tattered dark grey mantle. The hood that was kept low was completely black, and only the eyes that were deep inside showed a little red light.

Under the light of the dark waiting dome, the stranger in front of me really looked like a ghost-type monster in SAO. Thus, I instinctively wanted to back away and draw my light saber to battle. I couldn't even control this instinct at all as my right hand jerked.

I panted as I looked at the feet of that guy. At the end of the tattered mantle, I could see the tip of the somewhat dirty boots.

He wasn't a ghost, but a player. After checking this obvious fact, I released my slightly held breath.

Looking closely, those red eyes weren't some ghost lights, but the shine on the lens of a pair of black goggles that covered the entire face. This somewhat rookie-like response from me and the way that guy just approached me at such a close place in such a rude manner, so I asked coldly, "Real...what do you mean by that? Who are you?"

However, the player who was dressed in the dark-grey mantle didn't mention his name as he deliberately took a step closer to me even after I took a step back. This time, I didn't take a step back, but took his stare head on at about 20cm away from him.

That voice that seemed to have some form of sound effect within it and had some reverb overtones ringing in an interrupted manner, "I saw it, the match. A sword, you used it."

"Ah...ahhh. That's not against the rules, right?"

The d.a.m.ned AmuSphere really showed the wavering in my heart as my answer sounded somewhat hoa.r.s.e. The dark-grey mantle guy seemed to have read my heart as he advanced a few more centimeters.

Then, he said another thing with an even deeper voice. As the voice was rather soft, at this distance, I had to concentrate just to hear it.

"Let me ask, you again. Are you, the real, one?"

Before I could understand the meaning behind these words, my heart felt like it got hit by a thunderous-like premonition, and I could only remain rooted there.

-I know this guy!

That's right. I definitely met him somewhere. I did once talk to him straight on like I am doing now.

But where? After logging into GGO, I had only talked to the guy who was at where I appeared who wanted to buy my avatar, Sinon who brought me to buy the items and register, and her friend, three of them altogether. Thus, I couldn't say that I met him in this world before.

Was it in ALO? Did I meet this guy with a different avatar in ALFheim? I frantically searched the database of my mind to see if his verbal mannerisms and presence resembled someone. However, I really couldn't think of another. I don't remember someone like him who would stand in front of me and raise gooseb.u.mps in me with the cold air around him.

Where...where exactly did I meet this guy...

At this moment, the tattered mantle swayed, and a slender arm came out from inside. I got ready to back away, but after looking at it, I found that aside from a glove that was as tattered as his mantle, there was nothing else.

That hand in the air was pointed at me, and opened a window before moving it in a lackl.u.s.ter manner. Right now, the matchup schedule that was going on in this third BoB preliminaries appeared on the window.

That thin metal-like finger pressed on Group F, and in the end, the image of Group F expanded to show the entire screen. He pressed it once, and the center part of the matchup schedule became wider.

My eyes were attracted by his finger.

There were 2 names on it.

On the left side was "Uemaru", and on the right side was "Kirito". On the name on the right, there was a light-glowing line extending out from it. The news that I beat Uemaru and entered the second round was already reported.

His finger moved slightly, touched the word "Kirito" up and down, and then, it rang again-his voice.

"This, name. That, sword skill...are, you real?"

Immediately, I was shocked for the third time, and this was the strongest impact.

My knees started to tremble, and I had to work hard not to let myself collapse.

This grey-colored mantle player-I know him!

The origin of the name "Kirito", and the sword skill I used to beat "Uemaru". This guy knows about them.

In other words...I didn't meet this guy in GGO or ALO.

But in SAO, "Sword Art Online". I once met this guy in the main stage of that death game, the floating city Aincrad.

This avatar hidden under the tattered mantle...no, the player who's wearing the AmuSphere and playing this avatar was an "SAO survivor" like me.

My heart was already pounding like crazy unknowingly. If it wasn't for the fact that we're inside the dark dome, he would have found out that my avatar's face was all white already.

Calm down. Calm down!! At this moment, my mind could only continue to repeat such words.

Even when meeting an SAO survivor, I have no need to be panicking so much. When Aincrad was about to collapse, I became famous because of the report of my unique skill 'Dual Blades" and how I openly took on the leader of the Knights of the Blood, Heathcliff. Also, the "Vorpal Strike" I just used on Uemaru was a rather common skill under the one-handed sword category. Those high-levelled players in Aincrad can guess from the footage of the match and the player's name in the matchup schedule that I'm Kirito of the SAO clearing group. If it was me, if I find a player who I may know of at first, I might talk to him and chit-chat about the past or something.

So I had no need to be scared at all. I shouldn't be scared.

But why am I so...

The next moment-the thin and long arm removed the matchup schedule and kept his arm back into his mantle, and a part attracted my attention.

There was a thin gap at the front side of the glove that looked like a tattered bandage, probably a little higher from the inside of the wrist. From there, I could see his pale skin.

And on the kin, there was a squared tattoo about 5cm wide.

It was a Western Coffin that was drawn in a manga style. The lid showed a mysterious smiling face, and the lid was slightly open. A white arm reached out from the darkness inside, waving at anyone it saw. At that other world, another guy used poisoned water to numb me and got ready to kill me. At that time, he had a similar tattoo too.

That was the emblem of "Laughing Coffin".

Once I recognized that image, it was really a miracle that I could stifle my shout or prevent myself from collapsing onto the floor, or even that I wasn't forced to log out because of the abnormal brainwaves.

The player under the tattered mantle stared at me, who didn't react at all, and then whispered, "You, don't know, what I'm asking?"

I slowly and cautiously nodded my avatar's head.

"...Ahh. I don't understand. What do you mean, by the real one."

The grey mantle silently took a step back. The red eyes looked like they were blinking as they flickered.

After what seemed like a long few seconds, the inorganic-like feeling seem to be amplified as the voice rang.

"...Then, forget about it. Well, whether, your name, is a lie, a fake...or whether you're, real."

He turned back and left the last words.

-One day, I'll kill you.

These words made me feel that he wasn't talking about killing within the game.

The tattered mantle went away silently like a ghost-and then suddenly vanished.

Right now, the surroundings weren't like before where the player was still around.

My thin and pet.i.te body started to sway, and after barely supporting myself, I collapsed like an avalanche and sat down on the box seat beside me. I then cuddled my thin legs and put my knees to my forehead.

I closed my eyes, and inside my eyelids, I could see what was a clear little tattoo even though it was for about a fraction of a second.

A laughing coffin. There was only one guild that used such an emblem in Aincrad.

It was the killing guild "Laughing Coffin".

During the two years clearing SAO, it could be said that there were a lot of orange players who went into economic constraints and started stealing money and equipment from other players. Normally though, they would gather together in bunches to one person and force them to hand over valuable items. At the most, they would just use some numbing poison.

When someone attacks another person and causes the HP bar to be depleted, the player will really die in the real world, so no one would dare to do that. That's because these 10,000 players were all heavy Net-gamers, and were all people who had nothing to do with crime in real life.

However, this unwritten rule of "Not causing the HP to drop to zero" was broken by a strange player.

This guy's name was called "PoH". It was a really funny name for a character, but unexpectedly- or rather, it's because of this that he had a certain charisma.

The first attractive point about PoH was that he had an exotic-looking handsome appearance, and was a multilingual player who was well-versed in three languages. He may be a mixed-blood between a j.a.panese and a Western, and his j.a.panese, fluent English, and decent Spanish sounded just like a professional DJ singing rap, which would change the players around him. In the end, they went from being players to a real illegal organization that was cold and solid.

And the second point was really simple. PoH's own ability.

He was a talented dagger user. A dagger in his hand was just like an extension of his arm. The blade didn't even need an a.s.sist from the system and could crush monsters-or players. Especially at the end of the death game, once he got what's called a horrifyingly large dagger "Mate Chopper", his ability was so great that even players in the clearing group feared him.