Accel World Vol 5 Chapter 6 (2/2)

Lowering her hand, Kuroyukihis mixed into it

“When I was clearly demonstrated the truth of this final rule, which had only been a rumor until then, in the most irrefutable fashi+on possible, I became very afraid Because, if I’s» even once, it et who I was at that very instant But, Haruyuki-kun At the same time, I…also felt relieved…”

Unable to i of her words, Haruyuki was confused Kuroyukihiripped the cushi+on on top of her knees harder, and continued with her eyes cast doards

“……Two and a half years ago, I banished one of the «Kings» fro Since then, I have always been frightened in the deepest depths of eneration Red King, «Red Rider», held a profound resentment towards me from somewhere in Tokyo”

Haruyuki sucked in a sharp breath

He had heard this story several times before No, he had even seen a replay file that recorded that very scene once Therefore, he had come to understand the size of the scar which that incident had left in Kuroyukihiht that she had already overcome that pain

Unconsciously leaning his body towards Kuroyukihime as she set on the left side of the bed, Haruyuki spoke keenly

“B-But…Even if it was a surprise attack…Wasn’t it a legal attack in accordance with the rules? Furtherion boss he was facing at the tie…”

Kuroyukihiently but clearly and interrupted Haruyuki’s desperate words

“That’s wrong, Haruyuki-kun”

“Eh…What do you …?”

“The attack I used when I cut off Red Rider’s head was » It has an attack range of only 70 centih attack power —That being said, regardless of how strong it is, it still shouldn’t have had the power to instantly kill Rider, as the sah defense just below that of the green and blue colors due to being a pure battle type Yes…you probably already understand At that time, I activated the «Incarnate Systes had sworn to not use after subduing the fourth generation «Chrome Disaster»…”

This time, Haruyuki was speechless

The high-ranking interface hidden within Brain Burst, the «ia this interface was, in other words, the «Incarnate Systereatest, but at the sa dark side to it All the high-ranked players Haruyuki knew had told him that all those that pursue its power are sed up by the darkness within their hearts Kuroyukihi in front of him, was not an exception to that either

Her slender shoulders slumped even further and a dry voice came from her

“……Rider has a right to resent h I don’t have any regrets at having chosen to fight the other Kings, my arms are still stained with the feel of that one attack…—That’s why, Haruyuki-kun, for a long time I stubbornly didn’t believe in the rumor that former Burst Linkers lose their memories of Accel World Because I couldn’t allowto that rumor and let myself feel better because of it However, when it was proved two o that the runized that Rider no longer re and that he was banished due to my betrayal, and I felt relieved about it froible cowards I am…”

Chuckling slightly, the pajaile Haruyuki e he had and shortened the distance between them by another five centimeters

However, he of course didn’t touch her hand, but at least spoke as best he could

“Se…Senpai Umm, I think that the reason the existence of the memory erasure process is hidden is because it creates an incredible pressure within you if you fight while knowing about it Bu…But, we already know about it Fro that resolve So…it isn’t cowardly to instead be a bit relieved about it…rather, I believe it’s perfectly justifiable”

Kuroyukihilanced at Haruyuki A painful yet gentle smile spread over her pale lips

“…I see That kind of logical opinion is just like you That’s right, you should fight under that belief…But, I probably don’t have that right…”

“Wh…Why!?”

“That’s…because the Burst Linkers that received an unrecoverable loss due to an incarnate attack by me aren’t just Rider alone”

Blinking several times, Haruyuki frowned and asked

“By that…you eneration Chroht?”

“No, that’s not it”

Swaying her damp hair, Kuroyukihime shook her head feebly After several seconds, she said the person’s nah

“My…old friend The only person I had a friendshi+p with in the real world before I made you my «Child»…Fuuko, no, Sky Raker”

“……Eh…?”

“The reason Raker’s legs weren’t restored even with Chiyuri-kun’s «Citron Call» after the territory battle today wasn’t because her will power didn’t work It was because ofinto Raker’s scars even now and is preventing the healed Like a poison…Like a curse”

“No way! No way, that can’t be!!”

Haruyuki shouted fervently Shaking his head repeatedly, he leaned forward his upper body and argued back vehemently

“Raker-san said that she forcibly asked you to do that, senpai You tried to dissuade her right until the end, but Raker-san wouldn’t change her s off…Isn’t that hoas!?”

“That’s correct, on the surface…”

Burying her face into the cushi+on in her arms, Kuroyukihime whispered

“But…my twelve-year-old self back in those days was far more childish and foolish than I as when she chose…couldn’t help but choose to yearn for the sky instead of fighting alongside ion’s sub-master At the very end, when I realized that Raker would never change her s into the blade of s At that tiht ‘Then you should lose your legs forever’ within my heart as I used will power That became a curse which ree of the first generation Disaster that produced the «Armor of Catastrophe» in the past…”

She put eventhe cushi+on Her low cracked voice flowed into the dim bedroom

“…The will power that Raker and you use is an embodiment of «hope» But I’m different I override phenoer», «resent, I just cut through everything, and lose everything It’s as if ly form that syeneration «Nega Nebulas» that you revived will also one day be lost if they continue to fight with me…definitely……”

The volume of the last half of her words sank even lower, sonot sound, but rather Kuroyukihime’s self-reproach itself

—That’s wrong That’s wrong That’s definitely wrong

«Despair» and «loss» can’t be your true nature Because, I was saved by you You keenly held out your hand and pulledI was in You gave«salvation»!

Although he shouted that in his h to put those swirling feelings into words Haruyuki gritted his teeth hard, and thought desperately about how he could convey to Kuroyukihime just how much he had been saved by her and Brain Burst

After five seconds, the answer he came to was—

“……Senpai”

Haruyuki called out to her, and quietly held out an item he picked up from the corner of his headboard

It was a XSB cable with a silver wire Gripping the plug at one end in his left hand and the other end in his right hand that he was holding out to her, Haruyuki spoke

“Senpai, please «duel» with et you to understand About…about how…”

Unable to suppress the feelings that ca up, tears fell in drops fro and then continued in a tre voice

“…how important you are to me”

Kuroyukihime turned her face halfway up towards Haruyuki, and widened her eyes Showing an expression that went from shock, to hesitation, and to fear, she finally settled on a light yet pain-filled smile

“…You always surprise me”

Muttering that, she took the plug

But, instead of putting it in her Neuro Linker, Kuroyukihiht in front of Haruyuki The scent of soap and shampoo drifted to his noise, and his mind jumped in spite of the situation

“Now that I think about, this is the first time we’re…”

Leaving her words there, she put her plug into the port on Haruyuki’s Neuro Linker

“…f-fighting each other one-on-one”

Finishi+ng her sentence, Haruyuki also held out his plug to Kuroyukihi of the hand holding it He jacked it in at the saainst each other A wired connection warning blinked in his vision

While soaking hinals, but each other’s consciousness themselves, Haruyuki quietly recited the command

“Burst Link”

Clad in silver s stepped onto a floor of cracked marble

Haruyuki’s aparted into a white-walled shrine All the walls that divided the rooms of every apartle floor consisting of a vast circular atriuh, supported by Greek-style pillars in soht shi+ned in fro its perimeter

It was the sae where Haruyuki had received his first lecture fro his surroundings, he turned his gaze forward, and there, 20 meters away from him—a beautiful obsidian avatar stood there quietly

Both her hands and legs wereswords A petal-like armored skirt enclosed her thin waist, and both sides of her face leamed sharply

Accel World’s rebel, the Black Knight «Black Lotus», had her arhtly tilted doards However, that slender figure emitted an intense pressure that uillotine, and so «Silver Crow»’s thin body unconsciously shook

—No, I can’t let myself be seized with fear in this situation!

He shouted that at himself beneath his silver exterior

Haruyuki had a reason for challenging Kuroyukihi incredibly simple He wanted to convey to her a certain belief that supported him as a Burst Linker That was—

«Brain Burst» is, at its foundation, an online player-vs-player battle game

And all games are meant to be enjoyed

For the thrill, the excitea and fighting alongside others All players had a right to receive that Ga

In order to convey this belief to Kuroyukihi Haruyuki could do was to ht here and now With all his strength, he would challenge her, who thought that her avatar and will power projected «despair» and that those who crossed blades with her would also be consumed by it as well And, he would re

—That’s why, I’m…

“I’ to come at you seriously, senpai!!”

Shouting that, Haruyuki fiercely dashed forward off the ground

Black Lotus still didn’t move However, he didn’t slon his h the twenty ht up to her so strongly that he cracked the marble floor

His first attack was his best specialty, a left-hand straight punch, which he aimed at the center of her body with the ive itback at just the last second and narrowly avoided his attack

Although she had had accepted Haruyuki’s challenge, she was probably still held back by hesitation Her h she raised her right-hand sword for a counter thrust, Haruyuki could clearly see the point of the sword as if it were in slow motion

He gathered his fingers on his right hand into a straight open pal his arm like a whip, he tried to repel Kuroyukihime’s attack with a hand thrust

Even though they had never fought each other directly, since they had fought side by side in territory battles for over half a year, Haruyuki had noticed a single very se

Although the swords on Black Lotus’ four lirated both offense and defense, they were still swords, and so their power had a certain orientation and direction To be specific, their strength was concentrated only on the blade edges, and the body of the sas actually rather vulnerable

Of course, they couldn’t be broken with just a single strike, but it was possible to pile up da that he would be able to find in a close range battle with her

“…Kh!”

Along with a sharp righting yell, Haruyuki thrusted his right hand into the side of the blade being swung at him—or tried to

However, the impact he expected didn’t occur Instead

Feeling a soft sensation he couldn’t described except as ‘gentle’, Haruyuki was shocked

The long jet-black sword enfolded Haruyuki’s hand thrust with a small outward motion He couldn’t believe it, but it looked as if the blade had changed into a soft material and halted his arm with a spiral motion around it But, the moment after he felt that—

“Hah!”

Letting out a ht ar a step forward

Instantly, an explosive repelling force hit Haruyuki from his arm to his shoulder and chest

“Wha……”

By the tied to croak that out, he had already been helplessly blown backwards Unable to adjust his stance either, his back crashed into one of the distant pillars The pillar broke with a loud crash, but even so Haruyuki didn’t stop there, and after rolling on the floor some distance further, he finally stopped with his limbs spread out

After seeing sparks flicker before his eyes for over a second, he shook his head and quickly stood up Sos, he raised his head and shouted out

“Wha…What was that just now!?”

Slowly approaching hi htly and answered back

“A soft technique for facing a hard technique[4]…I suppose you could describe like that Someday I’ll tell you about the time I trained in the Chinatown area within Yokoha you wanted to tell me?”

Her voice was cal of suffocating loneliness contained within her tone

Just as he thought, the current Kuroyukihis buried deep inside her ‘My fighting can only create negative energy I can give neither the exciteainst each other to my opponent’ That’s what she believed

—No, that’s wrong!

—I’ht now It isn’t due to fear My entire body is shaking fro person in front of ht me

Haruyuki resisted the urge the shout that out, and clenched his fists tightly

He wouldn’t be able to convey this to her ords That’s why he requested this duel He couldn’t cower fro been blown back once in this situation He couldn’t stop until he coht now

“……I’ll tell you with my fists!”

Shouting loudly, Haruyuki once again dashed forward

His health gauge had decreased by 20 due to the attack that had sent hie, his special technique gauge had also been charged up While running, he unfolded the metal fins on his back one by one

He threay his plan of counter-attacking Black Lotus’ sword fro on the three-dimensional rush attack fro time

“Uu…oooh!”

Crying out, he did another long punch Kuroyukihiht sword just like before As things stood, he would be hit first due to the difference in reach between them

The shi+ning point of the sword approached closer and close, and the instant it was about to touch his helmet—

Haruyuki strongly vibrated his left wing just once Silver Crow’s body slid to the right without any preliminary movement, and the sword scattered sparks across the surface of his helmet as it just barely passed by him

“…!”

Kuroyukihime sucked in a short breath But she didn’t stop her htly, and instead rotated her body with her left leg’s sword as the axis and tried to dodge Haruyuki’s punch At that instant, Haruyuki’s right wing quivered this tiain, and—

KIIIN! With a small yet clear sound of impact, sparks burst out froe indicated to the top right of his vision lost only a single small dot, but it definitely decreased

—Now!

“Seaaah!”

Haruyuki let out a war cry and raised his right leg Ordinarily, he wouldn’t be able to successfully use a high kick when glued to his opponent like thos That was because a minimum fixed distance from the tip of his left foot that served as the axis of rotation and the tip of his right foot that dealt the daured that out as well, and instead of receiving or dodging the attack, she tried to counter with an elbow strike

However, at thatat full throttle for an instant Using the center of his tilted body as the axis, he let out a groan as he put a h kick

Kuroyukihime stopped her elbow strike and bent her body back, but Silver Crow’s sharp toes grazed the left side of Black Lotus’ e was dealt

Having finished his bold move, Haruyuki was forced to experience a momentary stiff posture that was only natural at this point Perhaps hating having her opponent glued to her, Kuroyukihime juround with his left leg using the ht wing for an instant again Using the rotation this created, he unleashed a back roundhouse kick with his left leg

Kuroyukihime blocked it with her bent left are flash effect dyed both their ar marble

While perceiving the upper right gauge at the edge of his vision go down by two dots, Haruyuki added thrust fro this time into the recoil of his kick He rapidly counter-rotated in y he thrusted with his left hand His fingertips shallowly dug into Kuroyukihis when the two of them were face to face with each other His double knee-kick was unfortunately blocked by her right arreatest ie, three dots

—This was his second special technique that specially utilized flight ability, where he did a non-stop rush attack that efficiently es, to which Haruyuki had dedicated special training for after the «bullet-dodging» training from before Its name was «Aerial Combo» Compared to the first technique he had, «Dive Attack», its appearance was e, but it could be used even indoors unlike the first and it could also be activated starting from when his special technique reached 20 And ainst when seeing it for the first time!

“Oooh!”

I his entire body in the sensation of acceleration as if his nervous syste apart, Haruyuki sped up his rush attacks further Re out attacks with all four of his liround All of his attacks were avoided or blocked at the last e to Black Lotus’ gauge

Even while franticallyhis entire body, Haruyuki shouted out within his mind

—Senpai, this is my current self This is all the power contained in s to If your true nature is «despair» and «loss» that cuts down everything…then what do you make of this battle!?

Without hiation of silver light that shi+ned in the air Putting at full throttle the reaction speed he’d trained at the virtual squash game in the Umesato Middle School local network, which had once served as the incentive that made hi his Aerial Coh he wasn’t certain how many dozens of attacks he’d done, he still hadn’t landed even one clean hit Kuroyukihi nothing but evading or blocking Haruyuki’s unpredictable rush attacks

Although they didn’t exchange any words, after a certain amount of tied between the thenever their avatars came into contact

It was admiration Towards Kuroyukihime’s defensive skill for Haruyuki And most likely towards Haruyuki’s mid-air rush attacks for Kuroyukihime Both of them felt unbelievably, deeply impressed and excited

Suddenly, he felt as if he heard a voice

——Aah, I see…So that’s it

——This is a «duel» You need only forget everything else, becoht to your heart’s content Even if this is a world that will disappear in just 18 seconds, even if it’s a contact that will end in 18 seconds…An innocent duel will surely leave so to you…

——Rider and I The countless number of battles between Rider and I that we had ere young also surely…created so precious…that remains behind even noithin both of our hearts……

Haruyuki didn’t know if he really did hear those thoughts

Because that voice was transmitted to hiht fist, which he had lunged out dozens of times, was touched and drawn in by Kuroyukihime’s left sword, a transient instant that couldn’t really be called time

The next instant, that mysterious attraction intensely drew in Haruyuki’s fist once again

…Ah, that «soft technique»…!

Gritting his teeth, Haruyuki tried to oppose the explosive repelling force

However, it never hit him Instead, Haruyuki’s body was pulled up to Kuroyukihime’s chest, and was firmly halted and held within her arms

“Eh……”

While Haruyuki stiffened as he was unable to judge what he should do in response to this very unexpected development, this time an actual voice whispered in his ear

“You were splendid, Haruyuki”

—Eh? The duel is over? But, both our gauges still full, and there’s still time left, isn’t there?

When he checked their respective health gauges in confusion, Haruyuki realized so important

Silver Crow’s special technique gauge had been consumed what he’d accumulated on it due to his continuous s, and now not even 10 of it remained

On the other hand, Black Lotus’ special technique gauge was co, and was shi+ning a brilliant blue from end to end

“This is the first time I’ve used this technique in two and a half years Thank you, Silver Crow Nice fight”

At the same time as she whispered that, Black Lotus’ arms, which norapped around Haruyuki’s back from both sides, emitted an intense violet-blue flash

“«Death By E»”

Right after she uttered the technique na sound Before its echo could even fade away, Silver Crow’s entire health gauge was dyed red—decreased swiftly froht end—and reached zero

……Really, what power she has

At the sa of ad words [YOU LOSE] appeared before his eyes Luckily, before the feeling of being cut in half could reach his senses, Haruyuki’s entire body shattered into pixels while eht

He escaped fro, and returned to reality

Opening his eyes on top of his bed, Haruyuki blinked several times, and looked for Kuroyukihiht in front of him

But, he couldn’t find it Because Kuroyukihiainst his, put her head on his left shoulder, and wrapped her arms around his back at some point

“Ah, umm, hey…”

As the sensation of her hair tickled his cheeks and the scent of her shampoo directly hit his brain, Haruyuki tried to ju However, he wasn’t able to perform such a dexterous movement at a time like this, and instead his balance was broken backwards He tried to frantically recover his posture with the thrust of his wings, but the back of his physical body was of course equipped with no such thing

As Haruyuki fell down onto the mattress, Kuroyukihime’s slender body softly landed on his chest shortly after

With only the faint sound of the air conditioner pervading the room, Haruyuki’s entire body froze completely this tie the situation, and act!’ is ent through his rasp what had happened

He was lying down on his bed in his usual sweatshi+rt and sweatpants attire at 11:00 PM Up till this point was okay There were no proble Kuroyukihime was on top of his body, with both arth into them—was this situation really reality? In the first place, why had they ended up in this kind of position? Was this all the work of a city-wide virus or so?

“……I’m surprised”

When a voice spoke directly in his left ear, Haruyuki’s extrehts halted

“You…beca it……”

Unable to think at all as he heard that emotion-filled murmured voice, Haruyuki’s mouth moved by itself

“B-But, the end result was an almost perfect win for you, senpai……”

“That merely reflects the difference in levels That battle was far more even-matched than you think I was forced to desperately block while you continued yourtime”

“Re…Really…?”

He skeptically ht the difference in true strength between hi was like the distance froeostationary orbit station

But Kuroyukihihtly, and then looked into Haruyuki’s eyes froe and smiled weakly

“Really Aah…I wish I could convey to you how happy and how ht now!”

A light like stardust whirled and glittered within her wide jet-black pupils Just seeing that bleay his ain Haruyuki didn’t know from whose heart the intense heartbeat he heard calued to each other with no space between them

As the tips of their noses were so close that they touched, and they held each other’s gazes—

Kuroyukihi quietly

“…At the very least, I’ll believe in the path I’ve walked until now I still have rets, but…even so, the enormous time I spent in Accel World and the countless duels I accuot to find and invite you at the end of that path…”

She ently stroked Haruyuki’s cheek with her fingers

“Haruyuki-kun I’m proud of you”

The instant he heard those words

All of the fright inside hi the