Accel World Vol 4 Chapter 7 (1/2)
Chapter 7
Haruyuki, as the duel avatar «Silver Crow», landed on top of a water storage tank that jutted out fro
The rows of stores that spread out in all directions on the streets beloere colored with countless neon signs just like the scenery he had seen before he Dived Nuhts and laser illu low in the night sky A blie advertisement panel on it soared above their heads, and co emitted from all the streets
But this, of course, wasn’t the real world Akihabara This was a 3D field that was reconstructed froes captured by the Social Ca District»
Haruyuki quickly bended over his body and first checked the HP gauges in the upper corners of his vision
To the upper left was his own gauge The s partner, Blood Leopard, was visible right beneath it
And the gauge that was shi+ning in the upper right corner had, just as expected, the naht beneath his silver helht blue cursor that had appeared in the center of his vision The enemy should be in that direction Fortunately or unfortunately, since the Shopping District stage prohibited entry into building just like the End of the Century stage, it seemed that they had been relocated soinal position
Now then, first I have to link up with Pard-san—
Iht that, he heard a quiet voice from behind him and he turned around with a start
“K He’s taken the bait”
Although he hadn’t heard any footsteps or sensed her presence, a tall and lean avatar now stood quietly behind him before he noticed it
Her whole for resemblance to the leopard-headed rider avatar she had used at the bar But, she no longer had a leather suit, but instead non-glossy dark red armor that covered her entire body Since her mask had a form which sharpened to a point like a bullet shell at the front and tapered into ear-like points at the back left and right tips, she resee beast of the feline family
Within her long and slihs that were extre avatar sat down next to Haruyuki, and the Level 6 Burst Linker belonging to «Pro in a whisper
“You and I are close range types, while the enee type He will first try to split us up with long-range attacks and then take you down Therefore, you ive priority only to not separating from me”
“…R-Roger”
Haruyuki nodded, and then a half-second later
JIIIII! As a jarring vibrating sound quickly approached fro towards, Haruyuki jumped aside reflexively
A short tie tank that they had been standing until then was cut apart into two equal pieces The water that flowed out with a splosh spread out across the rooftop Trying not to step on it, Haruyuki hurried over next to Leopard, who had already juainst a ventilation duct
“That just now should have been that guy’s long range technique, «Wheel Saw»”
While resaw’s abilities that they had heard about beforehand from Matchmaker, Haruyuki also responded back as fast as possible to Pard-san’s staggeringly fast-paced commentary
“A technique that shoots out a jigsaw ring But in this darkness, we can’t see the saw’s form at all”
“We’ll have to make do with sound Since it seems he can’t shoot the the next attack”
“K-K[1]”
Without the ti ‘JIII!’ sound approached
He looked, no, listened for the source of the sound, and then ju super-thin ring passed by to his left, where his body has just been The ventilation duct was cut apart and fell down behind him
But Haruyuki didn’t look back at it and instead desperately ran after Blood Leopard as running right in front of him
The speed of the deep cri to leap and ju in only a few steps—and then jumped into the air without any hesitation
It was a si that faced it on the other side of the wide road Leopard easily flew across that ehts
…I also have to jump!?
—Don’t waver, jump!!
Putting that instantaneous thought into his right leg, Haruyuki also ju in his ears with a ‘BYUUU!’ sound, and the rooftop of the next building rapidly approached
Haruyuki’s legs landed at a point ten centie of the concrete But there was no tih of relief Because, on the rooftop of the next building over that was connected to theirs, the eneht silhouette which stood out with its rust color ahts
—Rust Jigsaw!
Haruyuki cried out sharply in his mind
—Are you Noumi’s…Dusk Taker’s ally!? Do you use the same method to intercept the list!? Just what the hell is the truth of that secret!?
As if ridiculing Haruyuki’s isaw spread out his arms wide and then nimbly turned his body around He then retreated to the next building at an unexpected high speed
“…Think you can escape!?”
Haruyuki shouted that out in a lon and fiercely dashed forward Even if he had no wings, for hie type was…
“Stop”
If Haruyuki hadn’t slowed down his speed slightly in response to that sharp order, his head
Suddenly, a violent i into it A ‘BIIIIN!’ vibration attacked his throat, and orange sparks scattered about just like blood At the sa with his neck’s armor
“Guh…”
While gritting his teeth, Haruyuki shook his body with all his strength and escaped fro into his neck As he was in thedown backwards, he certainly saw it In the air—was a super thin thread that was floating horizontally at the position where Rust Jigsaw had spread out his hands several seconds ago A jigsaw
As Haruyuki lay collapsed on the rooftop, Blood Leopard’s hand grasped his arm from behind Ith, a circular saw that ca torn apart the spot where he has just been laying
After dragging Haruyuki to the shade of a huge signboard, Leopard spoke as if amazed
“Good thing you’re a metal color”
“I…I’uy’s other technique that ere told about before…”
“«Still Saw» A technique that places a jigsaw on a fixed location in the air”
Narrowing her golden eyes sharply from inside her tapered mask, Leopard continued
“Close-range attacks are stopped by the fixed saw, and he continues his long-range attacks with the circular saw Certainly, he is a natural enee types”
“…W-What should we do?”
Thinking for just an instant, Leopard spoke
“Let e”
Then, without giving time for Haruyuki to react, she suddenly opened up her mouth hidden beneath her s
“Hii!?”
Crying out, Haruyuki was further surprised by the phenoe, which had filled up to 30 due to the daauge increased at the same pace
Once she had taken his entire gauge, Leopard detached her mouth and shouted
“«Shape Change»!!”
Putting her hands down on the concrete ground, her avatar shi+ned crimson for an instant, and then—
She instantaneously changed froed beast» Her back extended out long and slender, her shoulders swelled strongly, and her hind legs folded into the shape of the letter ‘Z’, holding huge power
“……Wh-Wha…”
As Haruyuki became shocked for the third time, Blood Leopard spoke to him in a voice whose effect intensity had increased
“Get on”
At any rate, it was certain that if he reain, so Haruyuki clie leopard’s back while still in a daze Bending her body low, Leopard next jumped to the side in order to avoid a «Wheel Saw» that caht air in a straight line
“……Kuu!”
Haruyuki unconsciously cried out at the back of his throat as they dashed out at a speed that couldn't simply be called ‘fast’
With just a single juhts melted into a thin line and flowed by on both sides of his vision
All at once, the silhouette of Rust Jigsaas running on the roofs of several buildings ahead, stood out blackly He was running while repeatedly carrying out the action of opening up his ar back In the spaces he went through while doing that action, there should be a lethal saw thread suspended in the air there, but byat this fast speed Haruyuki couldn’t see them at all—
Just as Haruyuki was having ht
She landed on her hands and feet on the back side of an advertising signboard that was illuhts, and then jumped towards the left She kicked off the neon-lit tower there and went towards the right once again Although she avoided the spaces where the «Still Saws» probably ith great zigzagging ju the distance between theht line
When caught up after three, no, two saw turned around and displayed an action that was different from what he had done until then
After drawing a big circle in the art with his right hand, he swung it straight at Haruyuki and Leopard
JIIII! That vibrating sound It was a «Wheel Saw» But Blood Leopard, as in the middle of a jump, could not avoid it—
“I leave it to you”
Hearing that from the body below him, Haruyuki reflexively responded with a “K”
The cutting power of the circular saas overwhel, but even so it had a blind spot That is, since as flying towards Silver Crow’s neck right noas a jigsaw in the fored edge And most importantly, it was slower than a bullet
Of course, if he couldn’t see the et the tiht the super-thin line at the last htscape Just before it touched Blood Leopard’s right shoulder—he stuck out his right hand with all his strength into the inner portion of the ring from the side
CHUII! A sharp sound resounded, and sparks flashed froht the ring that was probably fifty centied its trajectory and parried it off to behind hih Rust Jigsaw at having his great technique parried away at hitting distance
“GJ[2]”
Giving just that brief coh the air
She pounced on Rust Jigsaw fro out his arsaw in the air, and then—
She opened her jaide and deeply embedded it into his shoulder
Thrown off from Blood Leopard's back from the shock of the crash, Haruyuki watched dumbfounded at the spectacle of the battle, or rather hunt, that was unfolding before his eyes as he lay on his backside
“Guh……”
While letting out a low groan froether with its steel frasaw desperately pu over his that were deeply eating into his right shoulder firo
If Jigsaere a close-range type, he ht have been able to reverse this situation as well Leopard’s HP bar also definitely decreased whenever his punches hit theirwas far faster A daht effect was periodically e red like real blood Even when Jigsaw forcibly twisted his body and escaped fro already decided that on no account would she let his back into the exact same place
I attack for the nth time—
“U…GUA!!”
That cry of pain was eer hold it back
At the same tisaw’s right arm was torn off from his shoulder and rolled onto the floor
His HP gauge itself was also bloay fro with a fasaw’s avatar turned into countless frag characters of [YOU WIN!!] blazed up in the center of his vision, Haruyuki was not able to stand up
…Too strong!!
That was the only thought that whirled through his nuhtered the enele bite quickly raised her head, look at Haruyuki with her golden eyes, and spoke a brief comment
“GG[3]”
And then, the accelerated world ended
Even when the momentary dizziness passed and the sensation of his entire body returned, Haruyuki was not able to immediately re
Therefore, right before he tried opening his eyelids, he was unable to guess what on earth the sensation that was rich in elasticity and was squished against his face actually was Reflexively closing his eyes once again, he stiffened his body as he thought ‘What was that just now?’, and then the nape of his neck was pulled back along with a sharp voice
“Get up”
He immediately ju chair in the single-person booth within the Dive Café on the fourth floor of the Quadtower Since Brain Burst, in its default settings, also canceled the Full Dive along with the acceleration once a duel ended, they had naturally returned to the real world instead of the Akihabara BG’s bar
The girl in the maid outfit that had Dived in the saed the booth’s lock As soon as the door opened, she poked her head out slightly and quickly checked left and right outside
Getting off fro?’, Haruyuki felt his consciousness go cold at once as he heard her next words
“We’re leaving the store If it’s noe may be able to identify him”