Accel World Vol 8 Chapter 9 (1/2)

Chapter 9

His Neuro Linker amplified his thought process clock, and Haruyuki shut his eyes and pa.s.sed through the «acceleration» process released simultaneously from his five senses’ signals in the real world.

Waiting till he felt his momentarily floating body descend to a hard, level surface, he raised his eyelids.

What was there was no longer the Arita family’s living room he was accustomed to seeing. A floor joined together in a complex manner from blue-black tiles with a dull metallic l.u.s.ter. Walls with a design of like that of thin blades lined up. A ceiling with narrow beams in lattice formation crossing it. The only illumination was from a number of curious purple candles installed on the wall; on the whole, it was rather gloomy, and from both his gut feeling and his knowledge, he knew that it was a deep underground room.

This was the center of the Unlimited Neutral Field, the deepest of the depths of the main shrine of the «Imperial Palace»—a small room linked to the hall a certain person had called the «Shrine of the Eight G.o.ds». Why the design differed from the one he remembered was because the Unlimited Field’s characteristic «transition» had occurred, and the attribute had changed from last time’s «Heian1» stage to this.

“…It’s the «Demonic City» stage.”

A lovely voice that was also clear resounded; Haruyuki turned his gaze that way.

The one standing with her two hands aligned precisely before herself was a duel avatar of a small frame equipped with white and scarlet armor that reminded one of a miko’s2 dress. One of the corners of the first Nega Nebulas’ Elements, the world-destroying conflagration shrine maiden «Ardor Maiden». The one handling her was of course s.h.i.+nomiya Utai—.

In response to Utai’s voice, which he could not hear in the real world, he quickly responded.

“I’m glad it’s not a stage full of terrain traps and wild creatures. The terrain’s probably harder than that of the Heian stage, but the Imperial Palace’s building is indestructible anyways…”

While chatting, he checked his status in the upper left hand of his field of vision. Since they had dived again after leaving once, while his health gauge was at full throttle his special technique gauge was zero.

Following that, he looked around in circles, but of course other than those of himself and Utai there were no figures of legion members. Unlike the two of them, the four people including Kuroyukihime and company who had escaped normally from the «Leap Point» portal in last time’s dive would appear in Suginami, separated ten kilometers to their west. Around now they were probably meeting up with Ash Roller and starting to move. Basically, the only ones here were Utai and Haruyuki—

…No, that was not so. There was one more person who should appear.

“…Tha…that’s right. He’s…”

“Already here.”

In response to Haruyuki’s murmur, Utai had responded like that, so with an “eh” he tried to look around at his surroundings anew; at that instant.

“—I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Crow-san, Maiden-san.”

From the darkness alongside the wall, a refres.h.i.+ng boy’s voice reminiscent of a balmy breeze in early summer reached them.

He strained his eyes in that direction, and in the middle of the meager candlelight a silhouette stood out.

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His overall impression was quite similar to that of Ardor Maiden. Head armor in the shape of a parted hairstyle and a lucid face mask. Arms swelled out in a shape that made one think of j.a.panese-style dress. Why the hakama3-style breast armor was extended horizontally was because the avatar was sitting seiza-style on the ground. His armor color was nothing but serene azure.

In front of the body that was, if anything, of small build, a silver bar-shaped object lay flat. A straight sword sheathed in its scabbard. It was not that large a thing, but perhaps reflecting its concealed overwhelming potential it even seemed that the surrounding s.p.a.ce was distorted imperceptibly. The fifth star of the «Seven Arcs», the group of the strongest Enhanced Armaments in the Accelerated World, «The Infinity»—.

The deep blue avatar, who could be perfectly described as being a young warrior, looked straight at Haruyuki and Utai with his light blue eye lenses and then made a deep bow while still in seiza posture. He lifted his body, raised his straight sword up from the ground, and stood up lightly.

With a splendid movement, the neighboring Utai also bent her waist and returned the favor to the young warrior, who had stepped forward a few paces from the wall, so Haruyuki also hurriedly bowed his head respectfully. He lifted his face; after being at a loss for words for a while, he opened his mouth.

“Uh…um, uh, it’s been a while…though it really hasn’t. Good evening, Lead. S, sorry to have kept you waiting.”

At Haruyuki’s awkward remarks, the young warrior avatar smiled tenderly and shook his head.

“Not at all, even if one said I waited, it was only to the extent of two seconds in real world time. Please don’t worry about it.”

—Though having said that, in this side two seconds was two thousand seconds, in short over thirty minutes. If he sat in the seiza position for that long a time, Haruyuki’s legs might go numb even as a duel avatar.

Before that, in this day and age where the Neuro Linker was in widespread use, no one was «just waiting» any longer in one’s daily life. For example, even in cases where one had arranged to meet someone, the Neuro Linker would tell one how many more minutes till one had to leave the house and which time’s train would be able to optimize the migration to one’s destination when ridden, and even the current location and the estimated time of arrival of the person one was meeting were displayed in detail. Even for having a meal, one understood the congestion conditions of the surrounding stores in real time, so it could be finished without lining up, and as for riding a taxi, with the push of a b.u.t.ton from one’s navigation application a request would be sent to the nearest vehicle. Of course, due to unforeseen circ.u.mstances some waiting time sometimes occurred, but there were a heap of ways of using one’s time meaningfully built into one’s Neuro Linker.

As a result, in this place where there was nothing to do, from the bottom of his heart Haruyuki thought that having kept him do nothing but wait for thirty minutes was inexcusable and tried to lower his head again. However, wholly as if he were used to sitting for long periods of time with neither an AR nor a full dive the young warrior stopped Haruyuki’s apology and spoke amicably.

“Really, please don’t mind it. Waiting for the two of you to come was also a very heart-pounding experience. I wouldn’t even mind waiting a whole day.”

“Is, is that so… Um, well, I too…in terms of the situation, I was in a pinch, but I too was greatly looking forward to it. That is, being able to meet you once again, Lead.”

A remark rare for Haruyuki spilled out like a drop from his mouth; the azure avatar hunched up his shoulders, and replied with a smile as if feeling bashful.

Lead was an abbreviation. Correctly, it was «Trilead Tetraoxide». Haruyuki had not checked that name, which according to what Tak.u.mu had searched was the chemical formula of the substance «Pb3O4», in the Brain Burst system. To the last, it was just that he had given his name as such.

In the Unlimited Neutral Field, health gauges apart from his were not visible, so if he were to check his avatar name, within Haruyuki’s knowledge he could think only of sending him a request for admission into the legion from the «Install Menu». But he couldn’t behave like that all of a sudden, and, in the first place, whether «Trilead Tetraoxide» was his real name or not strangely did not bother him. If he were hiding his proper avatar name, then Haruyuki only thought that he had a reason for having to do so by any means.

First and foremost, bearing any kind of doubt toward Lead at such a late point would make this very Imperial Palace escape mission not come to completion. As for why, without his cooperation the act of Haruyuki and Utai coming out from the inner sanctuary probably would not be fulfilled—.

Therefore, Haruyuki had already decided to have complete faith in Lead, and Utai seemed to have done the same. The shrine maiden whose frame was even smaller than that of the young warrior lowered her head respectfully once more, and spoke far more smoothly than Haruyuki had.

“I too am happy to have been able to meet you once more, Lead-san. I have a strong urge to inquire about various things, but…since we’re making our legion comrades outside the Imperial Palace wait, it’s selfish of me, but I was thinking about receiving your opinion regarding a means of immediate escape from here.”

Though Haruyuki had a heap of things he really wanted to ask Lead—how he had entered this Imperial Palace, why he had not used the «one-time portal» in the hall above and escaped, what was the truth behind the words that “he had not fought a normal duel even once,” et cetera—however, true enough it was not the situation to be chatting leisurely. Kuroyukihime and the others were probably still in the middle of moving, but he wanted to make the time they waited outside the south gate as short as possible.

They would surely have opportunities to hear his story while moving; thinking that, Haruyuki also nodded wordlessly. In doing so, Lead straightened his sitting posture and replied in a voice with increased spirit.

“You being selfish, that’s unthinkable. The first time the two of you met me, you trusted me unconditionally. In that case, it’s natural to answer to that trust… Allow me to gladly a.s.sist you in escaping.”

There, the young warrior stopped his words temporarily and mounted the sheath of the straight sword gripped in his left hand at his waist. He leisurely raised his hand, which had become free, into the air and continued.

“Currently, there exist two ways of breaking out normally from this Imperial Palace. However, one of them is realistically impossible.”

His left hand moved further and indicated the depths of the not-so-wide room.

What existed there was a railing, no, barricade with a design completely like that of diagonally intersecting countless short swords. On the other side of the railing was a vast s.p.a.ce filled with blue darkness. In the far distance of the large hall that was several times, several tens of times larger than Umesato Middle’s gymnasium, two small colors of light were visible.

What was pulsing blue like a water surface was the light of a portal, basically a pathway to the real world. And then a golden light that wavered ephemerally existed before it. According to Trilead, that very thing was the last Divine Weapon remaining in the Accelerated World, crowned with the name of the seventh star «Youkou» and inscribed «The Fluctuating Light».

In the same way as that of the day before yesterday, as if being lured in Haruyuki went out a few steps and fixed his eyes with a stare upon the golden resplendence. Since it was too far, he could discern neither the substance of the light nor the pedestal on which it was supposed to be placed. However, in spite of that Haruyuki still felt «something».

The desire to possess a rare item? —Nay.

The instinct to strengthen his fighting power? —Nay.

The reason was that to Haruyuki, that light, which was supposed to be nothing more than an Enhanced Armament, Divine Weapon be that as it may, could not be thought of as a simple item by any means. As proof of that, the «dream» he, Chiyuri, and Tak.u.mu had shared this morning—had «The Fluctuating Light» that they had seen as save data in the middle of the «Brain Burst central server», which in a certain sense was an area more inviolable than the Imperial Palace, not been s.h.i.+ning more greatly and dazzlingly in the center of the galaxy than anything else? Just as if it were even the absolute core of the Accelerated World itself…

“The last Divine Weapon, «Youkou»—”

Suddenly, at his immediate left Lead’s voice reverberated, and taken aback Haruyuki awoke from his internal thoughts.

“If you can obtain it and activate the portal at its back, a normal withdrawal from the Imperial Palace is possible. However, that is far too difficult. As to why, this railing…the day before yesterday, it was a s.h.i.+menawa4, but from the moment you cross it, absurdly powerful enemies will begin to appear in the s.p.a.ce back there.”

“«Begin to»…does that mean that it’s not only one?”

From Haruyuki’s right, Utai interrogated that, and Lead slightly nodded.

“Correct. In the beginning there’s two…as the invader advances, or as the time he or she stays lengthens, a further two bodies will increase apiece. I’ve confirmed up to six, but probably with that it’s not the end. Based on the conjecture that they will probably increase by at least two more, I call them the «Eight G.o.ds».”

“…Eight, Eight G.o.ds…”

Haruyuki murmured in a stiffened voice. Though they had been unable to deal with even one of the «Divine Beasts», the super-cla.s.s enemies who protected the gates outside the Imperial Palace, they were even doubled here.

“…If in actuality that portal were linked to the next boss room, and there «Sixteen G.o.ds» popped out…”

In response to Haruyuki’s nonsensical statement, next to him Lead showed signs of being in serious thought, so in a flurry he shook his head and hands.

“N, never mind, sorry, forget what I said just now. Th, that’s right, at any rate even if we don’t defeat the «Eight G.o.ds» and manage to reach the portal while evading their attacks, that also seems h.e.l.la5 futile, right.”

“Yes, as you say, Crow-san, it h.e.l.la seems that way. Besides that, if we don’t completely defeat the enemies, I think that procuring «Youkou» also probably seems h.e.l.la impossible.”

“…Forget about «h.e.l.la» too.”

Since it seemed that he would accidentally cause Lead, whose brain’s conversion dictionary seemed to be in a state of brand-new purity, to learn a strange word, Haruyuki hurriedly added that and continued.

“Uh, um, to be sure it seems that realistically we can’t go out from that portal. Which means, about the second method…I tentatively predicted that we might have to also do that. Basically…returning to the south gate once again and leaving from there…right?”

Upon that, Lead turned toward Haruyuki and nodded while smiling.

“It is exactly thus. —If you insist by any means, Crow-san, I don’t mind the north or west gate either though.”

“No, no it’s all right, we’re fine with the south gate! I mean, our comrades are also waiting for us there…”

After replying with that, Haruyuki suddenly tilted his head quizzically and inquired.

“—Is the east no good?”

“I’m somewhat diffident about recommending the east gate… Since the characteristic attack of its guardian beast «Seiryuu» is slightly troublesome…”

“Really? What does he do?”

“«Level Drain».”

“Let’s give up on the east.”

In less than a tenth of a second, he replied right away and immediately continued.

“N, no, let’s give up on the north and west too; the south, if you please.”

“h.e.l.la understood, Crow-san.”

Lead nodded with a dead serious expression on his face, and Utai, who was standing to the right side, let a rare small voice of laughter slip out with a chuckle.

“Kuu-san and Lead-san are harmonized in sync too much, I don’t have a chance to get a word in.”

“Eh…is, is that so.”

“You two have splendid s.h.i.+te-kata6 and waki-kata styles.”

Utai, who had commented with words that Haruyuki did not know, changed the expression of her face mask and bowed her head facing Lead.

“Lead-san, forgive us, but we would like your a.s.sistance.”

“I’ll do what little I can. —Well then, the two of you, first of all to above.”

Lead left the barricade of swords and began to walk toward the ascending steps at the rear of the small room. Utai continued after him.

After chasing after the two and stepping forth several paces, Haruyuki looked back at the «Shrine of the Eight G.o.ds» once again. Gazing at the golden light swaying in the distant ultramarine darkness, he murmured inside his mind.

—One day, I will come here again. Besides that, I will acquire enough power, go on the right path, and come to meet you again…until then, please wait.

For some reason, his words had become as if they were a call directed not at an Enhanced Armament but at «somebody», but to Haruyuki, completely as if the seventh Divine Weapon carried a will and were answering him, it could be clearly seen flickering strongly once—or so he thought.

The stairs, which were heavy boards the day before yesterday, had changed into a spiral staircase joined together from polished stones and steel.

At the time when he had begun to lose track of how many rounds they had done, they finally managed to reach the ground floor.

The hall at the place where they had come out from the stairs also indeed deserved to be called the «Demonic City» stage, having been transfigured into a both sinister and solemn figure. Countless spear-shaped protuberances decorating the walls. A pointed ceiling chandelier that seemed just like some sort of free-fall type of trap. What had not changed were just the two right rectangular prism objects lined up in the center of the hall. The pedestals of black granite where in the past the fifth and sixth Divine Weapons had been enshrined—.

“Is that so…come to think of it, after all…”

Casually speaking out while walking, Haruyuki held his tongue. Lead, who was ahead, had looked back strangely at him, so he apologized with “Sorry, it’s nothing.”

What he had tried to say was “After all, I have one of the Divine Weapons that used to be on those pedestals.”

«The Infinity», the fifth Divine Weapon, was glittering beautifully at the waist of the young warrior avatar before his eyes. And «the Destiny», the sixth Divine Weapon—was dozing lightly in the depths of Haruyuki himself, who was basically Silver Crow. However, it was no longer its former mirror-like silver color. A black-tinged chrome silver. The «Destiny» had now transformed into the Disaster Armor «The Disaster», not the strongest but the most atrocious power in the Accelerated World.

Haruyuki could not fully remember that strange dream, but in the far, faraway past…in the very dawn of the Accelerated World, a Burst Linker who had succeeded in trespa.s.sing into this Imperial Palace had acquired the Divine Weapon the Destiny. He did not use it for himself but gave it to his partner. To the girl who had bright golden yellow armor and had appeared in Haruyuki’s dream.

However, after that, something had—«something» very saddening as well as frightening had happened. No matter what, he couldn’t remember the details. Even if he retraced his hazy memories with all his might, all that was resurrected were a number of fragmentary images.

—An enemy with a humongous, repulsive figure.

—Many Burst Linkers who were lined up around the edge of a large hole and were looking down.

—And a number of people talking covertly in a corner, though he did not understand them too well. «Main Visualizer»…«Override phenomenon»…and «sh.e.l.l of trauma». Those words faintly grazed his hearing, but if he tried to grasp them then they would disappear all too quickly like soap bubbles. If he tried to chase after them forcibly, then that phenomenon would surely occur again. «Overflow», which would call up an extraordinary amount of negative emotion as well as intense pain. Right now, he had to avoid collapsing and becoming unable to move.

At any rate, due to some occurrence involving those images, the shape—or the essence of the «Destiny» had changed into that of the «Disaster».

As a result, the Enhanced Armament that Haruyuki possessed now could no longer be called one of the Seven Arcs. If he were to explain how that had become so to Lead, who knew nothing, no matter how much time he spent it wouldn’t be enough; in the first place, he did not possess sufficient knowledge to explain things out.

…I’m sorry, Lead.

Inside his heart, facing the blue back of the younger warrior who made him feel a curious intimacy, Haruyuki apologized.

…One day, I will surely tell the whole story. Not just about the «Armor»; why I became a Burst Linker, what sake I’m fighting for, what I’m aiming for…everything, without leaving out a thing. However, when that time comes, you too…

There, against his will he checked his thoughts; Haruyuki hastened his feet and lined alongside the two walking ahead.

With their shoulders side-by-side, they pa.s.sed through the area with the pedestals lined up left and right, and they headed for the south of the hall.

At the point where the depths of the exit adorned with austere decorations became visible, Haruyuki again slightly raised his voice.

“Huh…the terrain’s…different..?”

The day before yesterday, when he had entered this hall, if he recalled correctly he had went through a pa.s.sageway running east and west. However, now the pathway visible on the other side of the exit stretched south as it was—what was more, in its depths he could see an ascending staircase.

The one who answered Haruyuki’s bewilderment was not Lead but Utai.

“Since a «transition» had occurred and the stage had changed from «Heian» to the «Demonic City», not only the labyrinth’s design but also its structure changed.”

“Geh… —That means, my «memory» can’t be counted on anymore, doesn’t it…”

The day before yesterday, why Haruyuki and Utai had been able to arrive at this large hall without attracting the sentry enemies once was due to the fact that he had vaguely remembered the route the avatar whose name he did not know had taken in the middle of his strange «dream». However, if the terrain had changed due to a transition, obviously that memory could not be used.

However, fortunately as if to rea.s.sure the two Lead nodded and spoke unhesitatingly.

“It’s all right, I know the way.”

“Eh…does, does that perhaps mean that you memorized the maps of this Imperial Palace, each and every one of the over one hundred types of stage attributes..?”

As he asked in a dumbfounded way, the youthful samurai nodded while slightly being bashful.

“Though having said that, I only remember the path from this hall to the exit of the inner sanctuary though.”

“Th, that’ll be enough. Whew…I thought maybe we had to do a dungeon strategy from square one until the exit…no, by no means do I hate it though…on the other hand, I like it, but…”

At Haruyuki’s strange relief, Lead showed a modest smile, but his expression immediately returned to what it was before, and he spoke.

“—However, speaking from experience, the level of difficulty of this «Demonic City» stage is slightly higher than that of «Heian». The strength of a single sentry enemy is not that much, but since their numbers are many, it’s difficult to move without being found…”

At the imbalance of the knowledge of Lead, who seemed to know relatively many stage names for not knowing the name of «Nega Nebulas», in his heart Haruyuki wanted to slightly tilt his head, but he immediately put his doubts aside and murmured.

“I see, it means that the mob’s7 easy to aggro8, so it’ll be hard to sneak around…”

Upon that, not only Lead but Utai too wore puzzled faces. It seemed that somehow or another, both of them were unacquainted with online games’ general purpose terminology. Putting aside the thought that it would no doubt be interesting to have them chat with Pard-san, he continued without online gaming terms.

“Um basically, it means that we have to use our nerves to move, more so than in the Heian stage. If that’s so, I’ll do my best somehow or another. I’m pretty good at sneaking around.”

“That’s rea.s.suring.”

In response to Haruyuki’s declaration, which was meant half in jest, Lead nodded with a serious expression and added “However.”

“It’s just one place, but there’s a place where we can’t slip through the enemy’s blind spot no matter what. Therefore, we must engage in combat once. Please prepare yourselves for that.”

“…Is, is that so. Unh, understood. It’s all right, w-w-we’ll try our best. They’re weaker than those of the Heian stage, right, if so I think we can do it, it’ll definitely be fine, hopefully.”

In his mind, he was in the mindset of breaking out into a great sweat, but with a show of courage Haruyuki pounded his chest once with a thump to deceive them and with great vigor went forth about three meters. He looked back and questioned Lead.

“With that, well…tentatively, just to be sure I wonder if you could tell me something. The fight, when will that be..?”

In doing so, Lead’s response was unusually delayed; about two seconds later, for some reason he apologized.

“…Pardon me, Crow-san. My explanation was not sufficient.”

“Eh..? Wha, what wasn’t sufficient..?”

“Combat will become inevitable when we leave this hall. As the sentry guards are patrolling the inner pa.s.sageway en ma.s.se…”

“……What.”

At the same time Haruyuki murmured, stupefied, a heavy metallic sound rang out at his back with a clank.

Fearfully, he looked round, and from the large exit, an even more enormous silhouette peered into the hall.

In the Heian stage of the day before yesterday, all the bodyguard enemies of the Imperial Palace’s inner sanctuary had j.a.panese-style warrior figures, but the ones of now had a figure that should be called a «knight» that matched the Demonic Stage well. Its huge frame approaching an overall height of three meters was surrounded in bulky metal armor. A kite s.h.i.+eld like a sliding door in its left hand. A rough large sword that seemed as if it were cut from a plate of steel in its right hand.

The part below its helmet, from which a long horn was growing, was engulfed in darkness and was not visible, but two eyes radiating a dull purple looked down on Haruyuki in a staring manner. That gaze indicated that Haruyuki had basically entered the knight’s sphere of response.

“…………What.”

Leaking out a hoa.r.s.e voice once more, Haruyuki tried to draw back gradually.

However, quicker than he could the knight caused the earth to rumble and took a step inside the hall.

“VORUAAAAAA!!”

That war cry, which would be like that if one were forced to transcribe it, struck his avatar with a physical pressure. Overhead Haruyuki, who had reeled, a too-immense sword was raised very high up.

“Just…a mome…”

In blank amazement, he had let out that voice, but there was no way the enemy would accede to it. Its two purple eyes gleamed in a fiery way, and the knight tried to cleave in half the small avatar who did not even reach his waist with a single stroke—

Giin! That sharp metallic sound restored Haruyuki’s thought process, which was in a half-stopped state.

An arc of blue light that had come flying from the rear collided with the knight enemy’s sword and had forced it slightly back. Not letting the produced extension of time slip through his fingers, this time Haruyuki made a back dash with all his strength.

The one who had pa.s.sed him and had gone forth was the young warrior Trilead who possessed azure armor. The earlier attack was unmistakably his, but however his left hip’s straight sword was still sheathed in its scabbard. Instead, his hands were enveloped in a blue glitter.

Before Haruyuki, who had opened his eyes wide, Lead raised his swordless right hand straight overhead.