She held her right hand in a fist and once again knocked on Kirito"s shoulder.
That hand was suddenly covered by two white hands. He then pulled that hand strongly and tightly held it to his fatigued chest.
"Hey, Hey... what are you doing!?"
Sinon shouted on reaction and tried to pull her hand out, but she had never imagined Kirito"s delicate body to have such high STR rating, as he continued to hold her hand.
His hands were as cold as ice, and Sinon felt that touching his hands even made her breath cold.
At this time, in Sinon"s field of vision, there appeared a "report s.e.xual hara.s.sment" b.u.t.ton. If she were to press it with her left hand or say "report," then Kirito"s avatar would be delivered to the Gurokken prison area and, for short period of time, would not be able to get out.
However, Sinon made no movement, and she also did not say anything.
Looking at his clenched hands and that slender body slightly shivering away, Sinon was struck by a strong sense of deja vu. She had seen a girl from somewhere, in that exact same posture before. Thinking further about it, she immediately noticed that was herself.
Not Sinon the sniper, but Asada Shino from the real world. It was just like the times when Shino lay curled up in bed from the memory filled with the stench of blood and gunpowder, crying for someone to save her.
Aware of that at this point in time, Sinon involuntarily relaxed her right hand.
"............Why are you............?"
She gently asked, but there was no answer. Even so, Sinon felt it.
Clinging onto her hands, that black haired avatar no, inside that, the player whose face and name she doesn"t know might be trapped in a similar darkness as Shino.
"What happened," Sinon wanted to ask.
But before that, there was a faint light that enveloped Kirito"s body, and then he disappeared. His next opponent had been set, so he was transferred to the site for his second battle.
With him like that, he probably would not be able to fight properly. Sinon determined that and gave a small sigh.
The one who lost will return to the Hall instead of the underground waiting area here. That"s why, if Kirito lost, then today - or put it another way, she probably will not have a chance to meet him again.
Of course, that was not really a big deal. They were not even friends, but just happened to go in the same direction to the Government House. After today, she would forget his face and name.
While she told herself that, Sinon took her hand that remained in the air and put it on her chest.
- That was how it was supposed to be.
But beyond Sinon"s wildest expectations, the second, third and even the fourth combat battle had been won by Kirito using just a lightsaber and a pistol.
While Sinon was waiting for her next match, she only had the chance to see his fight on the monitor once. His fighting style was like a "Last Stand" or "Banzai" attack with extremely suicidal tactics. Faced with the rapid-fire a.s.sault rifle of his AGI-based opponent, he used the small pistol FN Five-Seven, bought at Sinon"s suggestion, as support fire in his frontal charge. He ignored the enemy bullets that hit his avatar"s outer parts and only use his lightsaber to block the deadly ones, and with that. He closed the distance in the blink of an eye, then cut the enemy apart together with his rifle.
There was not a single person in the first and second BoB who fought this way. In the standby room, people were amazed and surprised, and Sinon could only watch with wide eyes.
With this momentum, Kirito could easily reach the finals of the F Block. However, against that kind of unreasonable opponent, how is she supposed to fight him?
After seeing Kirito"s match, Sinon thought like that even as her semi-final match began, and part of her mind would not cease to consider the matter. At the same time, she could not stop thinking about the player called Kirito himself.
When shopping together, he revealed a curious natural smile. When he was exposed as a male, Kirito waited for her to skin him alive for his cheeky att.i.tude. Then, after his first battle, holding Sinon"s hand, his weak body trembled. And with his the blue light blade, he cut up enemies relentlessly, with a ghost like appearance.
In the end, which is the real "Kirito"?
And why does she continue to think about these kind of things?
Realizing that she was irritated for no reason, Sinon lightly bit her lower lip while her right eye was against the high magnification scope. At this point - A kilometer away, watching the road"s intersection, she captured a large shadow speeding out from the mountain side.
Sinon automatically fine-tuned the Hecate. Wind was blowing from the left at 2.5m per second. Humidity was 5%. She placed the center of the faint reticule slightly above the shadow and waited for the Bullet Circle to shrink before pulling the trigger without hesitation.
THUD -.
From the sights, the 50 caliber bullet flew through the air in a heat haze like tunnel. It drew a slight spiral track towards the bottom left and hit the upper part of the shadow.
"... ... There."
Sinon breathed out as she pulled the bolt of the Hecate back, emptying the cartridge sh.e.l.l and putting the next round of ammunition in the chamber.
The shadow that crumbled with a light sound was not the opponent Stinger. Instead, it was a lump of rock with a diameter of about one meter.
The next moment, flying out from the same place as the rock, an even larger silhouette came rushing out leaving a trail of dust behind.
A four-wheel armored vehicle- the "Humvee". Things such as vehicles are not items held by a player but are bonuses on specific points of the map. People who get there first can use them. It looked brand new, except for a small dent in front - Sinon instantly understood: the stone was deliberately knocked out by that car.
Stinger, who was supposedly to be in the driver"s seat, knew that Sinon"s Hecate II was a bolt-action rifle and also knew that she would be aiming at the intersection that he must pa.s.s through.
So, he knocked that stone into the intersection with the Humvee to be shot, then while she prepared for the next shot, he planned to cross the intersection.
The idea was correct. In fact, the vehicle already reached the center of the intersection while she was pulling the bolt handle. She only has one more shot. Furthermore, she did not have time to aim carefully.
However, Sinon did not panic.
Stinger took away Sinon"s largest advantage as a sniper, the "No Bullet Line First Shot". But in exchange, he also gave her important information. In Sinon"s view, the trajectory path from her first shot was burnt in it. As long as she does not panic, she can make the second bullet fly the exact same path. If she used that, it would be possible for her to have a far higher accuracy hit than the first shot.
After making a slight adjustment to the gun body, Sinon pulled the trigger a second time. BOOM!
The 50 caliber bullet hit the side window of the driver`s seat and went right through the thick bullet proof gla.s.s easily.
The next moment, the vehicle made a big arc, went off the side of the road, and then crashed into the side of the mountain. From the front engine, flames erupted.
"... ... If you got off the car and ran, you might have seen the Bullet Line and be able to avoid it."
Sinon whispered as she chambered the third round. Keeping the scope on her right eye, she captured the burning Humvee in the reticule. No matter how many seconds she waited, Stinger did not appear. It looks like he died in the driver`s seat, but she maintained a firing position.
Once the evening air displayed "CONGRATULATIONS" in colored words, Sinon stood up from the bushes.
Game time, 19 minutes and 15 seconds. Semi-final cleared.
In this way, just as she had planned, she got a ticket to the BoB tournament. However, she showed no sign of victory, not even a smile. Her thoughts had been directed towards the upcoming preliminary F Block finals.
The mystery that was Kirito, no doubt, spent less time in his semi-final match. His opponent was armed with two SMGs. No matter how many bullets he shot, if he lets that lightsaber user get close, he will be showered by the instant death energy blade before Kirito"s hp is all gone. Kirito, after all, with his amazing reaction speed, had the ability to "predict the trajectory prediction line". The best chance to stop him would be suppression fire from a M134 mini-gun, or other weapons like it.
Therefore, Sinon maintained a hold on Hecate, waiting motionlessly for the transfer to the next battleground.
After a few seconds, she did not return to the standby room, but flew directly to the final preparation area. The hexagonal surface of the window on the screen was marked by the opponent"s name, and sure enough, the name there was [Kirito].
After the next transfer, she opened her eyes to see an elevated road extending out in a straight line, and the blood red sunset it went into.
The "Inter-Continental Highway" stage. Although the battlefield is the same size as the last one, about one kilometer squared, since you cannot get off the highway that goes from east to west, in fact, the battlefield is quite slender and simple.
However, there were numerous cars, trucks and even a helicopter wreckage, and there were cracks as the road went up and down, so from one side of the road that you could not see the other side.
Sinon took a quick look behind to confirm that she was in the eastern-most corner of the map. Then the opponent, Kirito, would be in the west extension of the road, at least 500 meters away.
She looked around, then soon ran up the road. Her destination was the large tour bus sitting across the road to the right front. From the semi-open back door into the bus"s interior, and then up the stairs to the second level. She threw herself stomach down on the center of the floor, took Hecate II from her shoulder and opened its two legs. She aimed the gun muzzle at the panoramic window on the bus"s front side, took up a sniping position, and flipped up the scope"s front and back covers.
The sun is right in front of her. That means, no matter where she hid outside, the scope"s lens reflection from the sunlight will have the danger of letting the enemy notice her. A sniper whose position is found out is easy to take care of.
But inside this bus, mirror coating on the gla.s.s outside will hide the scope"s reflection. Also, with the height, she could see past most of the obstructions on the road.
Kirito should probably be closing in at high speed by moving from one obstacle to another. She did not think that she can hit that enemy with the Bullet Line. Her chance, is while he does not know her location, that first shot.
"- Hit him. I must."
Carving that belief strongly into her heart, Sinon placed her right eye at the scope.
Why she wanted to win so much, she was not very clear herself.
Indeed, Sinon was deceived by Kirito when he hid his gender as she showed him around and helped him buy equipment. Beyond that, he also saw her changing in the preparation room.
However, even saying so, it is nothing but this level of things. She had not lost any items, and only her avatar"s underwear was seen. From the meeting on the street of Gurokken, to their separation at the standby room were only tens of minutes, it should not be difficult to forget.
But now, all the different battles she experienced in GGO were faded compared to how strongly she wanted to win against Kirito. Yes - even more than that fearsome minigun user, Behemoth. For someone who just arrived at GGO today, and furthermore against a lightsaber user that all gunners consider to be heretical, why would she go to such extents...
"...No."
No, maybe, she had already understood the reason.
That is because, "I no longer consider that guy as an "enemy" in my heart." When that guy sat on the hard bench trembling as his cold hand held hers, she realized that a feeling that she could not name was born in her heart.
Compa.s.sion? No.
Pity? No.
Sympathy...? No, absolutely not.
"There is no one that can sympathize with me. There should not be a single person that bears the same painful darkness as me. I had been looking for such a person, but in the end, she was just constantly, constantly, constantly betrayed."
The only thing that can save her, is her strength. Because she understood that, it"s why she is here now.
She does not want to know Kirito"s situation and does not need to know. As long as she mercilessly blows apart that avatar that confused her, he would be buried in her numerous kills thus far. Then she would forget.
That is all she needed to do.
Carefully but deliberately, Sinon set her mind and stared through the scope; her finger gripped the trigger.
So - .
In the background of the crimson sunset, when a shadow appeared, in a flash, Sinon forgot her self control as a sniper and leaked out a sound.
"What..?"
The wind blew the long black hair, camouflage clothes wrapped the delicate body, and a light saber hung from the belt. No doubt, it was Kirito.
However, he was not running. And he did not seem to want to hide. He was right in the middle of the highway on the slightly raised center dividing line, walking with a sway. It was exactly the opposite of his previous match, a totally defenseless posture.
"- Is he trying to say that, even without the Bullet Line, he could easily dodge my shot?"
Thinking this, anger exploded inside her head as the crosshairs went to Kirito"s head. Then, Sinon went to pull the trigger - just before that, she realized that her guess one second ago was wrong.
Kirito did not look in front. He just lowered his head down, with his body limb as if weaken, just mechanically dragging his feet forward. This was completely opposite to the "chased by ghosts" charge in his previous match, and it was a lethargic pace.
With him like that, dodging Sinon"s shot was absolutely impossible. The Hecate II"s bullet is shot out faster than the speed of sound, and it is too late by the time you hear the shot. And then with him looking down, of course he would not be able to see the muzzle flare.
That means - that is, Kirito did not want to avoid her shot from the start. He intended to deliberately get shot, and then lose to end the match. Once he obtained the right to enter the main tournament, whatever came after... his match with Sinon no longer mattered. That is what it means.
"...Don"t, jok..."
Sinon lips leaked out that raspy sound.
She put her finger on the trigger and applied force. The green Bullet Circle appeared, then centered on Kirito"s lowered head and rapidly shrunk. The Circle"s intense movement showed Sinon"s chaotic heartbeat. But with only a weak breeze and a distance of only 400 meters, her shot would definitely hit.
Her index finger pushed down, and the trigger spring squeaked. And there she relaxed her finger. She pushed down again, trigger squeaked. Again relaxed.
"...Don"t joke with me!!"
Her shout, was distorted like a child"s crying sound.
At the same time, Sinon pulled the trigger. The 50 caliber rifle"s roar filled the interior of the tour bus, and over half of the front gla.s.s filled with a white cloud then broke apart.
The bullet that came out flew through the crimson sunset in a straight line - it pa.s.sed by Kirito"s right cheek with over 50cm of s.p.a.ce between them and hit the car far behind him. A fire pillar, and after that black smoke erupted.
From the pressure of the 12.7mm bullet flying by close to his head, Kirito lightly swayed. He stopped and looked up.
While Kirito looked like a girl on the surface, only a "why did you miss?" questioning look appeared on Kirito"s face. While staring at that face through the scope, Sinon pulled the bolt handle and fired again in one action.
This time, the bullet went over the top of Kirito"s head and away behind him.
Reload. Pull the trigger. The third bullet hit the asphalt floor next to his black clothed right foot, leaving a big crater. Reload. Fire. Reload. Fire. Reload. Fire.