Accel World Vol 8 Chapter 8 (1/2)

Chapter 8

During the ten ed out of his gym clothes into his school uniform and returned to the second-years’ class C

Immediately after he pulled the door open and set foot into the classroom, he was showered in considerable applause and stood stock-still However, now that he thought about it, if he were a somewhat anemic, y female, then maybe this would not have happened, but since he was a male who had tried too hard and collapsed in a class that was only gym class at most, he would be seen as a so his neck, while lowering his head obsequiously he dashed to his seat; exactly at the point where he sat down, the chi breath

He lifted his head, and his eyesback at hiht in front of hi as if to say “I’ eye contact with Takuht

Takuetic; in short, he was probably thinking that why Haruyuki had tried so hard to the point of collapsing was the fault of his own advice that “ie is important”

—It’s not your fault; on the other hand, thanks to you I was able to realize so important; I thank you for that

Putting those thoughts into his gaze, he srin widely

During the classes of third, fourth period, lunch break, and afternoon classes as well, while studying with half his le-mindedly

What was the «second stage Mind Power» that he needed to find and nurture—

He understood that now there were other urgent duties on which he needed to concentrate y II», which was drawing close tonight at seven He ether with shi+nomiya Utai, also known as Ardor Maiden, into the Unliain with thewarrior Trilead Tetraoxide, receive his assistance, and return alive from the Imperial Palace as well as the territory of the Four Divine Beasts If he considered the fact that they would fall into the terrifying state of «Infinite EK» if they were defeated by one of the warrior avatars prowling the interior of the Imperial Palace (not to mention also Suzaku, one of the Divine Beasts), no matter how much he concentrated it would not be too much

However, Haruyuki could not help hi to think about his own Mind Power

As for why, at present another «circumstance» that he could not defer had arisen

Na the basics of the Incarnate system to his eternal rival—or the Burst Linker who had tentatively become that, the end-of-century bike rider Ash Roller

At the end of their duel before going to school, when Ash had asked hihtaway “Could you teach it to me? The Incarnate system,” Haruyuki had been taken aback for close to a full five seconds

After his ability to think somehow recovered, what he asked first of all was a question that he thought likely to be extremely obvious

“Wh…why, me?”

In doing so, the end-of-century rider said,

“Well you see, you’re that, right? Master Raker’s disciple, right? Which ht?”

In a further second, he understood that that strange word referred to a «junior disciple»; stopping hi it you can’t distinguish it from «senior disciple»,” for the moment he asked back a practical question

“If, if so, wouldn’t it be fine if you were properly taught by Raker-san? If it’s her, then regardless of differences in legion, I believe she’d teach it scrupulously to her own «child», Ash-san…and no doubt, thoroughly…”

“…That’s it That «thorough» part’s the problem”

The instant he caught the ring that seehtened in the voice leaked from below his scarface, Haruyuki realized what Ash had a problehtened Frightened of that fearso, like that of two un to teach Haruyuki the basics of the Incarnate system, she had pushed him off the apex of the Old Tokyo Tower

Staring at Ash Roller for a while out of the corner of his eye, Haruyuki spoke

“U it…the Incarnate syste a dubious Neuro Linker-use study kit to acquire it with ease without going through hard pains is kinda…”

“Don’t say everything! I got it, I too understand that!”

Before Haruyuki’s eyes, Ash thrust his rider glove palht out and shouted

“But if you’ll let me say it, Master’s lessons that you experienced were the uests!”

“Eh…th, they were?”

“That’s right! …well, generally speaking, I, how do you put it…this way of saying it ht be unexpected, but I don’t have the intention of fir like mad with baddies in the Unli able to use an Incarnate technique in just one fight; no, just one ti to be sed up by the «ISS Kit» one hard knock and open his eyes, I’m fine with that…”

At those unexpected words, Haruyuki looked back at the side of the skull face Ash Roller, who had turned his face to the sky of the stage, ed with uncharacteristic heaviness

“Because to ame”

If he were spoken to like that, he could no longer refuse flatly

As to why, the one who had conveyed to Ash Roller the information that «now’s our chance to deal Bush Utan a bloith Mind Power and destroy the ISS Kit» was Haruyuki himself

There, the duel time had ended; Haruyuki was unable to say either yes or no to Ash’s «request», but however it had undoubtedly been conveyed to him The fact that Haruyuki had made up his mind to accept his request

While he continued to think round and round with half his , and the atmosphere in the classroom became bubbly and enlivened

Switching places with the subject teacher, the hoeno appeared, and the short hoes, the incident of Arita’s loss of consciousness was brought up; at the point where he was scolded with the welcoentlyyour own physical condition is an athlete’s ironbound law” and broke into a cold sweat, the after-school chi

First, Haruyuki talked lightly about that night’s plans with Chiyuri and Taku to track and kendo practice respectively After club and coe clothes, asseion members present, and thereafter coy»—they confir parted

While he changed into sneakers at the entranceway and headed alone to the backyard in order to do his cole question single-mindedly

Whether he had the qualifications to teach so Mind Power

In the nurse’s office, when he had sought his initiation into Mind Power in an alht have also existed in the depths of his heart

In ter the «Incarnate systeaination circuits—he had self-confidence in having acquired some as such However, Mind Poas not apower outside the rules, but on the other hand the terrible risk of the player likely being pulled into his or her heart’s own dark side existed That was not just an analogy Burst Linkers who unleashed negative Mind Power had even their real-world personalities distorted Like the robber «Dusk Taker» And then, like the Takumu of yesterday—

If he were to teach somebody the basics of Mind Power, hediscreet attention such that his companion was not pulled to the dark side It would probably not be enough just explaining the dangers in words There was a need to show an illustration of how great aLike Sky Raker, who ht without using her hands, or Black Lotus, who changed her sword into her hand

If one considered that point of view, Haruyuki’s «Laser Sword» and «Laser Lance» were someeak The reason was that as phenomena they were only mere one-shot attack techniques There were no few numbers of other Burst Linkers who had acquired special techniques that possessed about the sae and power

If he really had the intention of lecturing Ash Roller about the Incarnate system, he would probably have to show hie» that Kuroyukihime had mentioned, not just the elementary four types of techniques If he could not do that, then he probably did not have the qualifications to teach people Mind Power

“…Though, having said that…”

While going around the second school building fro on the backyard covered in h mixed in Haruyuki muttered that

At the nurse’s office, Kuroyukihie of Mind Power, one must face one’s physical self head-on, reverse one’s traue of hope However, frankly Haruyuki himself did not understand hy he had been born as «Silver Crow»—as a metal-color who possessed slender limbs, a smooth head, and ten metal fins

Because he had grown fat, he yearned for a thin body Because he had lived groveling on the ground, he yearned for wings to fly in the sky It was simple to draw that conclusion But for so that was not all Because with that explanation, he did not understand the reason why he was a metal-color…

At that time, suddenly he heard a faint voice from somewhere

—And then, people who possess «shells of trauma» that cross a certain level of intensity will almost certainly become metal-colors-ya wa3…

“?”

He stopped still with fear and looked around at his surroundings

It was the slightly husky voice of a girl However, there was no one’s figure in the diain, he strained his ears, but only the calls of the sports club rounds and the sounds of the concert band club tuning instruments in the music room reached him

However, he had not misheard it Even if he did not know the word «shell of traus who used the Kansai dialect

Throb

All of a sudden, a point on his back between his shoulder blades hurt intensely He unintentionally staggered and put his hand on the wall of the school building at his side Throb, throb The pain did not readily go away

Muscle soreness froym class—it wasn’t that Haruyuki already knew that this pain was not co from an abnormality in his body

“…hh…why, is that…here now…”

While clenching his fists and bearing it, he muttered in a hoarse voice

That was right That—the «Disaster Ar Silver Crow, namely the sixth star of the Seven Arcs «The Destiny» that had iven birth to the Enhanced Ar excited

In the depths of his ears, the roar of a ferocious beast different from the voice before reverberated

—Destroy Destroy Those guys…tear them apart…chew them to pieces…devour them!

In response to the quantity of heated anger and hate contained in that voice to an alar on the wall

Teeks before, in the final stretch of the «Here toward Rust Jigsaw Haruyuki had suun to be nearly completely controlled for a while, due to Chiyuri’s special technique «Citron Call Mode 2», tiain been restored to sieneration Disaster, Cherry Rook

Since then he had never heard the Disaster’s voice, but yesterday evening he had fought with Takuun to be sed up by the ISS Kit, and in order to pull hiinal forh it was not the Disaster itself, through the suhtly awoken

—However Even while bearing the pulse of the lightning-like pain, Haruyuki felt some sort of sense of unease

In so different from the previous «voice of the Disaster» He had that hunch The brutal impulse to destroy was the same, but it was likely that behind it there was another e, and then—this e…

Before he knew it Haruyuki was trying to tune his consciousness to the voice to which he had been blocking his eyes and ears in the expectations that it would go away

That , intense pain up until now ran froround on his knees, tre

—Destroy Destroy Destroy destroy devour devour devour devour devour devour!!

…Is this…sorrow?

…Are you, crying?

The answer in response to Haruyuki’s question was a thirdout a an to fall forward onto the round—but just beforehand

Somebody supported Haruyuki’s shoulders from the front with her small hands

In that state, a soft, tender feeling enveloped his upper body Quicker than he understood soht him in her arms, with his two ar to her

She had a cool body te blazing crimson flames Each time her small hands rubbed his back, the pulse of pain rapidly receded

“…”

Letting out a thin breath, Haruyuki relaxed his stiffened body

With his thinking process still over halfway at a stop, vacantly he raised his eyelids Before his eyes was a deep red, thin radial line on a background of black like sparklers on a su It took some time for him to notice that that was an iris—basically, a human eye

He pulled back his face just a little bit and expanded his field of vision

Fifteen centiirl whose large pupils were opened wide as if worried

Bangs cut neatly to the sath The back was fastened with a thin ribbon A neck so thin it made one surprised, and below that a white dress type of uniform A brown leather satchel on her shoulder—

“…shi+, nomiya…san?”

Haruyuki whispered in a hoarse voice, and his companion nodded deeply

It was shi+nomiya Utai, the off-campus member of Umesato Middle’s caretaker corader of the affiliated Matsunogi Elementary Institute And a level 7 Burst Linker who occupied a corner of the upper echelons of the first-generation Nega Nebulas «Elements» in the Accelerated World, «Ardor Maiden»

At the appearance of a person on whom he could rely unconditionally, Haruyuki thinly exhaled a breath of relief and hastened to separate himself a bit more from her face, which had approached him far too closely

However, he could not As to why, it was because his oo ar her body, which was shtly with all his ht

“…”

After looking down at the dress of Utai, as in close proximity, and his round belly for two seconds, Haruyuki finally became aware of his deed that defied even the heavens and cried out

“Nohyaa!”

Like a spring ht and ju posture

“I, I’, i-i-it’s not like that…”

As he waved his hands in a flapping way, there was a red systenizing whether it was an ad hoc connection request, he pressed the yes button As soon as the chatappeared in the bottoers typed in the air with furious momentum

【UI> There is no need to worry, Arita-san We are probably out of view of the social cameras】

—Was, was that so? Speaking of which, wasn’t that even worse?

For an instant, he had thought that but did not put it into words; Haruyuki tried to ical justification

“Uh, uht it was undoubtedly because I had went all-out too ym class, but since I’m fine now, I’m sorry to have caused you to worr…”

However, his words were interrupted by Utai’s placid as well as heartbreaking s After she separated her knees, which were on the ground like Haruyuki’s, and got up, she slightly dropped her speed and began ain

【UI> You don’t need to be in such a flurry Because I understand… What had happened just noas probably the thing called «Overflow»】

“O…over, flow?”

He tilted his head at the word he had heard, no, seen for the first time However, immediately after, Haruyuki opened his eyes wide at the line of words that continued to flow

【UI> It’s a higher version of «Zero Fill» If the act of one’s heart being filled to the brination or a sense of helplessness, and beco unable to ative Mind Power…rage, hate, or despair overflowing and becoinally it was a phenomenon that occurred to Burst Linkers in the Accelerated World, but I heard that even in the real world it happens rarely to Burst Linkers who are users of negative Mind Power】

“…Negative, Mind Power…”

He mumbled in a s his head back and forth, he forced out some words

“Uh, uative Mind Power of my own accord…”

Whereupon Utai again sht next to his side, and touched her left hand to Haruyuki’s cheek in a squishy way At the saht hand alone

【UI> I said it, didn’t I; I understand Earlier, that was…the interference of the «Armor», wasn’t it?】

“!”

He sharply sed his breath, but if she had seen through him to that extent then it couldn’t be helped even if he denied it

“…Yes, that’s correct… By re soan to act violently…”

【UI> Words? Of what kind?】

“Uh, I can’t remember who it was In fact, no matter how I think about it, it was the voice of someone I didn’t know…if I re about one’s shell of trau like that…”

What had trembled with a twitch was not Haruyuki but the left hand of Utai, as touching his cheek

The iris streaked with deep red lines opened completely wide Her lips faintly quivered, but of course her voice did not coly

【UI> Who was it? Who was the one who said that to you, Arita-san?】

“…Sorry, I’ as hard as I can to remember…but it’s no use, I don’t know All I recall was that it was the voice of a female…”

【UI> Is that so I’et it Is your physical condition fine now?】

It seee of topic, but Haruyuki iot his sense of discomfort and nodded Utai’s left hand left him; with a heave-ho, he stood up and brushed off his uniform at the knees

“Unh, I’m fine now, thank you —It seems wholly as if you can use Mind Power even in the real world, shi+nomiya-san”

While thanking her and saying that casually at the sa bashfully in a way appropriate for her age, which was rare Her cheeks slightly reddened, she cast her eyes down, and she let out a floords in the chat log in one go with the fastest typing speed up until now

【UI> I’lad it didn’t turn into a serious ards to the interference of the «Armor» If it’s an Enhanced Armae if overflow didn’t occur No matter what interference there is, unless you intone the equipping command in the Accelerated World, it should not exhibit a connection-like influence Besides, either way, if tonight’s escape strategy succeeds, I’ll be able to purify you of the parasitic factors on the spot】

“…Unh, that’s true”

Why Haruyuki’s ansas a moment late was because he had felt an instant of vacillation about the presently most important topic, the «purification of the Arroundwork for the sake of both Ardor Maiden’s rescue and the escape from the Imperial Palace

However, was there the need to hesitate about soet rid of the Disaster Ar» in three days, Silver Croould be designated with a bounty on his head by the joint signature of the six large legions He absolutely had to avoid that

Fortunately, it seemed Utai, whose head was lowered, had not noticed Haruyuki’s abnorers flash

【UI> Now then, let us begin cory】

She swiftly waved her hand, erasing the keyboard, and she lifted up her bag, which had been put in a place slightly separated from them Haruyuki hastily chased after Utai, who had headed for the caretaker shed in the northwest corner of the backyard and had begun to walk briskly without trying to regard Haruyuki’s face

The African Sunda Scops-owl «Hou» had i Institute to Uo

However, the s off on his perch established in the caretaker shed already seeh he did not so much as open his eyelids even if Haruyuki approached the shed, as soon as he noticed the footsteps of Utai, who had put her bag and satchel at the side of the sink, he opened its round eyes perfectly wide and also incidentally s restlessly

“Really, what a self-interested guy, huh…”

Haruyuki h mixed in and unlocked the electronic lock on the door He nimbly entered and retrieved the water-resistant coated paper laid around the vicinity of the perch and the bathing-use vat Swapping places with him, Utai lined up the paper washed and dried froht and body temperature were at their normal values

As Haruyuki, who had again went outside, washed the papernoise with the water supply established at the flank of the shed, a white cooling receptacle peeking out froht his eye

The contents were Hou’s feed Yesterday, the limits of what he had been shoere so to Utai it seemed to be neither chicken nor pork nor beef Coh today she was supposed to show hi from the point where she would dress the feed, but Utai had also added “I predict you’ll suffer e his brains on what on earth that ht hand At that instant—

【UI> It probably wouldn’t be strange even if you ate it, Arita-san】

Those words flowed into his chatthat had been left displayed, and he froze his hand in fear He looked back; Utai, who had co from ear to ear

“N, no, such a thing, I wouldn’t snitch food, I’m already a second-year in middle school”

Forgetting even the fact that he and Chiyuri had plant of the soup garnish and the chicken, Haruyuki shook his head ed the coated paper, which he had finished washi+ng, on soers With a handkerchief, he wiped his hands and then looked at Utai

The grade schooler four years younger than he showed for an instant a facial expression as though she were considering so, but immediately she nodded deeply

【UI> Now then, I’ll prepare Hou-san’s food】

She moved to a place before the sink, inserted her hand into the handbag, and took out the cooling receptacle She loosened the buckle fastening its four sides in place and opened the lid Spurred on by curiosity, Haruyuki, who had thrust his face out and had peered inside the receptacle, stopped his breath short two seconds later with a start

Lined up inside along with the ice packs were sth—probably rown Of course, they weren’t alive, but their shapes were the same From the four there she took out one and typed with one hand while placing it on the lid of the receptacle, which had been put on the sink

【UI> It’s a feed called «frozen pink mouse» Basically, mice, chicks, or insects like crickets and mealworms are distributed to pet Ural owls or horned owls However, it’s too large as it is now, so we’ll need to dress it】

And then she put her hand into the bag again and took out a thing that surprised Haruyuki even reatly

It was quite small but without a doubt a knife—no, perhaps he should say a pocketknife She relossy, natural wood, and a six-centi with a pale blue sheen appeared from inside

【UI> Of course, I’ve obtained permission to carry as well as use this pocketknife Despite that, if I take it out somewhere like on the public roads, in the blink of an eye I’d be taken into protective custody】

Utai’s annotation was not an exaggeration at all Now, in 2047, carrying any tool with a blade was a violation of regulations, regardless of size If one had a reason as part of one’s duties, it was possible to carry one by obtaining a permit from the public safety commission, but he recalled fro was rather harsh

“Seeht”

In spite of himself Haruyuki muttered that, but in response to that Utai only faintly s In return, with her left hand she steadied the pink ht she applied the seely sharp tip of the penknife to it

As the blade et was split neatly in half Despite that, there was not a sign of a cut on the plastic covering The pocketknife moved a further two times, and the h, their hue was that of what Hou see way yesterday Its internal organs seemed to be processed already, but some blood flowed out and moistened the blade

Utai, in the es in the surrounding air pressure were nearly visible; Haruyuki could no longer even speak out to her Of course, though, he didn’t have the courage to propose «letmice were also prepared one after the other, and in less than a ed into the same state as that of yesterday

Utai finished her work, washed the pocketknife at the tap, wiped the blade ith a cloth rese cotton, and returned it to its sheath With that cloth, she wrapped the penknife, scabbard and all, put it in her bag, and raised her body Without looking at Haruyuki, she typed on the holo keyboard

【UI> Normally, one would use scissors for this work That way’s easier】

“…If so, then why the pocketknife?”

He interrogated her softly, and after looking down for a while as if in thought Utai answered

【UI> I thought it would be a ht have been o feed these to Hou-san】

While chasing after Utai, as holding the receptacle and her leather gloves and again heading for the shed, Haruyuki tried to ponder theof the line of words still displayed in the chat ever, no

The two entered the shed, and as if to say he couldn’t wait any longer the Eurasian Scops-owl showed the behavior of flapping his wings from his perch No later than Utai raised her left hand fitted into the leather glove did heround the shed in circles

With both hands, Haruyuki held the receptacle in the sarabbed slices of ave them to Hou The answer to his hoht of it he had the feeling that owls in fiction for the ht mice Well, there was no way they would eat pork, beef, and the like