it means! The Red is an upstart fake! And the Black, is a despicable traitor right!?”

The relentless insults, was overlap by ‘Gishi gishi’ metallic breaking sounds. And then, a girl’s small painful sounds too.

“A... a...”

He looked that way, and saw a large close combat type avatar standing on Scarlet Rain’s missile container, holding her left main cannon.

He used his whole body to pull the huge cannon up. From the joints a lot of flame like sparks came out, that looked almost like fresh blood.

Eventually, with a ‘Bikin’ sudden sharp breaking sound, the main cannon was pulled off.

Linked to that, without a doubt, was Niko’s broken left arm that came dangling down. With Niko’s unsuppressed scream that leaked out, the enemy avatar lifted the cannon up high in a victory pose and roared at the same time.

“All right! The Red King is just like this! You guys, strip off all her skin and yank that kid out!! Till right before her gauge run out, give her plenty of humiliation!!”

Haruyuki grounded his inner teeth till they almost broke, and his extended fingers of his right hand desperately clawed the ground.

In front of that, was a dust covered black lotus avatar laying flat there with eyes fully lost all light.

“Senpai... senpai.”

Haruyuki pushed out a raspy sound from his throat paralyzed by the stun effect.

Behind him, maybe Niko’s last resistance, her remaining weapons continued to sound as they fired. While feeling the vibration from empty explosions, Haruyuki still shouted.

“You... you are okay with this? This way of finishing, is your game ending?”

In his brain, from last night, the real Kuroyukihime and Niko sleeping while holding each other appeared lightly.

What that scene represent, and what the two girls truly wish for, Haruyuki could not conjecture. But, the one thing he was sure is, soon everything will end. The slight bond born out of chance in one night, will be cruelly broken apart.

“Senpai... Black King!!”

Haruyuki used the rest of his strength and screamed.

Right now, the wound Kuroyukihime faced in her heart, might be so huge size that Haruyuki could not fathom. The first generation Red King - a comrade, and friend, while he was excited, he was betrayed and forever retired from the accelerated world, Kuroyukihime must have continued to suffer a long time for that action.

No, maybe ?Red Rider? and her, were more than just comrade or friends. That kind of opponent, that person was put down by her hand.

But.

Even if that was true.

“What is ?Accelerate? to you! And ?Brain Burst?!!”

Hitting the ground with his fist surrounded by sparks, Haruyuki roared with passion.

“Going to level 10 that has never been reached before, your ambition of wanting to see what’s ahead in this world is just to this degree? Is it so cheap as to exchange for the memory of just one man! Someone who wants to exceed the human husk... being tired down by past regrets, how long are you planning to be this unsightly! You don’t have the free time to do that, you should cut through all kind of obstacles, mow them down, and charge forward as the last person, isn’t that right, Black Lotus!!”

‘Rin’.

In front of his thrown out right hand, was it an illusion that he saw the deep black sharp part waver?

No, that’s wrong. Inside the sharp form’s goggles, like distant stars, slight violet lights shone. Weak like glowing embers of soul, beat with ‘thump thump’.

“Sen... pa...”

Haruyuki quietly said.

‘Bun!’ kind of strong vibration sound overlapped that.

That, was under the goggles, the sound of two eyes strongly shining.

In the half transparent armor as if made from obsidian, from parting lines starting from the head to the limbs, the same light filled them up. That blew away all the dust covering her whole body, reviving its dull reflection.

Finally, the sword arms and legs strongly vibrated.

To the lightly rising, as if pulled by invisible strings, deep black avatar, Haruyuki watched without blinking as his throat clogged up.

Black Lotus who stood straight up, with the tip of her feet slightly floating above ground, slowly began to hover and move. She reached Haruyuki who was lying flat while being caught by electric shocks, and stopped still.

“Haruyuki-kun.”

The sound that echoed was kind and strict like usual.

“...Yes.”

Hearing his groaning reply, she murmured with her familiar wry smile mixed sound.

“That is... the way you said it earlier, it was like Rider and I were lovers.”

“Is... is that wrong?”

“Absolutely wrong. You are my first, I should have told you before. Also... how long are you planning to lie there, try sticking a hand into the ground.”

“Huh... o... okay.”

As told, Haruyuki lined up his sharp fingers, and stuck them into the dry ground near him.

At that moment, he felt that the sparks holding his whole body slowly flow into the ground, and Haruyuki shouted in realization.

“I... I see, earth...”

“If you think about the skill’s affinity and feature, you should be able to counter even if seen for first time. It seems I still have a lot of things to teach you.”

Right after, he heard a ‘Pusun’ kind of pathetic sound from behind, and Haruyuki turned his head to look.

He saw the electric avatar slowly backing off while white smoke came from the transformer on his back.

“You should be able to handle the rest yourself. - I have to go look after the little girl that fell into a trap.”

She said that casually.

With a ‘Bunn’ air vibration, the deep black avatar disappeared.

Without a single preparation, that was a fearsome speed dash. Kuroyukihime who went forward like a dark color beam for a few tens of meters, the next moment, she appeared beside the close combat type enemy standing directly on Niko.

“Uooo...”

After that surprised yell leaked out, the enemy avatar holding Red King’s main cannon let it go, and opened both hands with strangely strong fingers trying to dance with Kuroyukihime. Having the arm strength to pull off Niko’s main cannon, instead of a blunt attack type, it must be a hold skill type duel avatar.

Against that, not sure what she is thinking of, Kuroyukihime extended her right arm straight out as if saying ‘please grab it’. The enemy’s eyes shone strongly, and his snake like extended hands held Black Lotus’ arm in two places.

“Got you, ?Oneway Sl...?.”

With the shouting of the skill name, he turned around, putting the arm he was holding on his right shoulder, going into a judo throw posture - at that instant, some things dropped down.

Ten fat curved cylinders. Fingers. The enemy’s fingers holding Kuroyukihime’s sword arm, to throw her, he applied strength, and they were cut by the sharp edge.

“Sorry, hold type skills do not work on me.”

Kuroyukihime said that to the enemy frozen in the throw posture, and cut her carried right arm down in one go.

From right shoulder to left flank, the faint light passed through. Then the enemy avatar’s tough upper body slid down, and the remaining 70% of the body fell to the ground.

“Aaa... ga... gaaaaa!!”

He seemed to still have HP remaining so did not disappear, however just disappearing might be better off for him. Screaming in the pain of body being cut apart, and his remaining one arm flapping on the ground, Kuroyukihime moved her eyes away to stare at the remaining 7 or 8 enemy close range type avatars.

“I am not sure if you all realized, however people fighting with me always taste the damage of losing body parts.”

The tone was calm, but the savagery echoing in it made everyone in the battle field breathless.

“You can not... say that you don’t want to now!”

With that loud shout, the black raptor like avatar attacked an unlucky guy that she set her eyes on. High pitched metallic sounds, intermittent screams, and the surrounding Burst Linkers’ cries of desperation soon filled the air.

After determining that he could leave that place to her for a while, Haruyuki turned towards the electric avatar that still had the wires around him.

When their eyes met, the enemy turned his old fashioned instrument-like face away and raised a hand.

“Hey, wait a minute. I am recharging my battery right now...”

“Like I would wait!!”

Haruyuki shouted, and grabbed the two wires wrapped around his feet with both hands and released them, then kicked the ground all at once leaving it behind.

“U, uwawawa!”

With the moaning enemy dangling below, he attained altitude, then while hovering started turning in circles.

“Waa - Aaa - Aaa -”

With the high and low screams continuing from the opponent, Haruyuki attained plenty of centripetal force then let go of the wires, and the heavy looking robot avatar flew south with tremendous speed, then with a small falling sound somewhere in the group of buildings.

His own eyes were spinning as well, so he shook his head strongly to clear them and looked down, the expanding battle below was right in his sights.

That could no longer be called a ?Duel?, but a ?Slaughter? probably.

Most of the blue type close combat avatars fight with their hand or foot, and some with hammer or sword like contact weapons. That is for blue type comrades, they basically switch between attacker and guard, aiming for any opening in the opponent.

For Kuroyukihime - Black Lotus, with four sword limbs is a super close combat type as seen, but can take various attack actions.

Cut, a slash forward type of action is matter of course, if the opponent block with fist or arm those will be cut apart, and just chasing an opponent with a dash while swinging a leg up, that target will be cut apart. Absolutely no contact allowed, everything that touches her gets cut apart, just like a ?Black death water lily? - .

The dance like battle shape was incredibly beautiful, and also full of very painful rejection.

Within merely a minute or two, the enemy close combat team was mostly annihilated, or with lost parts, damaged, in sharp pain, rolling on the ground out of action.

“Y... you bitch!!”

The last remaining large build Burst Linker suddenly roared loudly. He held up his thick long sword, and swung it down right at Kuroyukihime.

Spectacular speed and timing. The lightning like steel colored thick sword that came down, Kuroyukihime did not avoid it, but took it with two crossed sword arms.

‘Kiiiiin!’ That ear splitting high frequency wave echoed pass. Brilliant sparks came from the contact point, and the movement of both stopped.

‘Screech screech’ like high pitch metallic sound continued to echo. The silver and black swords, with every second ate into each other deeper.

Which will eat into the other first, Haruyuki could not instantly determine. However, the sword wielding fighter type avatar, his Hannya[2]?like mask twisted in a sneer.

“Zann!”

At the same time as the fighter’s low sound, right below the sword, Kuroyukihime’s hands cut left and right in one instant.

What fell without a sound, were the fighter’s head, and the huge sword’s upper part. The head that rolled around with unbelieving eyes was pierced without mercy by Kuroyukihime’s left foot tip. A light pillar went up, and the enemy avatar blew apart like glass figurine and disappeared.

Again, a few seconds of silence.

What broke it was a short sound released from the far edge of the crater.

“...Why.”

With a flat sound that finally lost composure maintained till now, the Yellow King, Yellow Radio said in a moan.

“Why appear now, to interrupt my years- long prepared circus carnival? After continuing to hide in a basement somewhere for two years, why?”

In the clown’s laughing face, the up turned eyes were filled with white phosphorescent. The dead branch like arms spread wide left and right, standing swaying on one leg, and head swinging slowly left and right.

Suddenly under the mask, a ‘kukukukuku’ small laughter leaked out. His right hand pointing straight at Kuroyukihime, the Yellow King said in a voice with regained mockery.

“That means, you have already forgotten? From your betrayal, our friend that was beheaded? ...Right now he, what he is doing and where. Never to return to the accelerated world again... I wonder if you remember the person who created the reason why that is? If it was me, I won’t be able to forget it. If it was a normal fight then fine, but that kind of sneak attack... right?”

‘Kuu, kuukuukuuku’.

While hearing the laughter coming up from that throat, Haruyuki shouted in his mind.

‘- Don’t listen to it. That guy want to take away your fighting spirit again.’

However, to say that in actually words, Haruyuki could not do it. For the Black King and the Yellow King, since the beginning of the accelerated world they have been training together, between the two that had been friends till an incident two years ago, he thought there is a history that not just anyone can cut into.

Haruyuki slowly descended, and he landed behind Black Lotus who was standing beside the half broken Scarlet Rain. Inside his chest, he just strongly prayed that she would not lose.

Suddenly - .

Kuroyukihime lifted up her right arm without a sound. The obsidian edge that did not have a single scratch from the battle was pointed straight at the Yellow King.

The Black King started her smooth silky voice.

“...You are mistaken about just one thing, Yellow Radio.”

“Oh? What would that be? Don’t tell me that was not a cowardly sneak attack?”

“Not that. You think that your head has the same weight as Red Rider’s to me, that. Let me tell you another thing... I...”

With a ‘Riin’ sound, she slashed her right hand horizontally, and Kuroyukihime said.

“From the first time I met you, I disliked you a lot!”

The Yellow King’s upper body bended backwards.

Kuroyukihime glanced to the side then behind her and quickly called out.

“Rain, your remaining weapons finished recharging right!? Crow, protect her!! - Let’s go!!”

And then, carving a line in the bottom of the crater, she started a fierce dash.

“Damn... let me rest a bit more!”

It was Niko who cursed. With her remaining right cannon and half broken missile pods giving out grinding sounds, she pointed them towards the enemy long range group at the outer edge of the crater.

While Kuroyukihime and the Yellow King talked, Haruyuki was not just idly listening. He used the few tens of second pause to find someone. The enemy indirect attack avatar that used jamming to mess up Niko’s aim.

‘- That guy!’

Haruyuki discovered a yellow type hiding behind a red type at the crater’s north side, and shouted in his chest. The pods equipped on both shoulders were open, and from the center a parabolic antenna with the center cylinder giving out light effects stuck out.

After determining that avatar was in the middle of doing electronic wave attacks, Haruyuki fiercely kicked the ground.

However, there is a full 30 meters from the center of the crater to the outside edge. Even though Silver Crow is a speed type, he could not get there instantly, so the support red type has time to aim his huge weapon.

A slight chill ran down Haruyuki’s back. Just like this, being aimed at in an open space by a gun with no place to hide - this is truly the situation and reason why he had so low success rate these past few weeks.

He could only dodge it.

If he does not defeat that jamming avatar, then Niko’s firepower will remain sealed. If that is the case, then the enemy formation’s existing red type avatar firepower will be concentrated on Kuroyukihime, to prevent her from directly fighting the Yellow King.

Whether Haruyuki can avoid this one shot will probably determine the trend of this battle.

The huge pressure made his hands and feet cold with paralysis. His view narrowed, and only the gun barrel opening darkness expanded wide. It’s no good, if he is like this then he cannot avoid it. The bullet released by the still gun in the virtual training room, he could at most avoid 30% of them.

‘- No. This current situation, is different from that white room.’

The reason is, that gun is held by an avatar. With a brown camouflage pattern body and large lens like eyes shining, that’s a sniper type duel avatar. Not the gun, look at that guy. Try to see the action of when he is about to pull the trigger.

Instantly, from Haruyuki’s view, everything other than the enemy avatar disappeared. He forgot about the battlefield situation, opened both eyes, and just captured the shape of the enemy holding the rifle.

The back of the enemy’s neck tensed, right shoulder lifted up a few millimeters, right hand shook -

‘...There!’

- Right hand finger squeezed the trigger, and a blue white shone from the gun barrel.

At that time, he had already leaned left.

‘Shaaa!’ With that air vibration sound, a heat ray scratched by Haruyuki’s right chest and right shoulder going behind him. He ignored the burning sensation and flew the last ten meters forward, passing right beside the enemy long range type to dance with the indirect type behind.

To the surprised electronic wave avatar, Haruyuki attacked both antennas with two hand knives. After seeing the delicate equipment smashed to bits, he sunk down for a moment, then flew straight up.

‘- Niko!’

Whether his mental shout reached her or not, the instant the jamming was stopped, Scarlet Rain’s remaining weapons all spewed fire.

Her right main cannon shot out a beam of heat, and left side missiles fell down, then the there was a mysterious curtain of flame that went up on the crater’s outer edge. Of course that one shot would not kill all of the enemy army, but all the long range shots that were firing at Black Lotus were silenced.

In the moment of silence after the explosions, Kuroyukihime’s fierce roar echoed.

“Radio!!”

Her right arm blade drew a deep black path.

What was cut apart without a sound, and floated in the air, was Yellow Radio’s huge hat’s right side horn.

“Lotus!!”

After the angry reply with not a single bit of banter up till now, the Yellow King took out a long and big baton like weapon from somewhere and started counter attacking. The hit that came in while drawing golden lines, Kuroyukihime used her left sword arm to parry, and the sparks that flew brightly lit up both of them.

Niko that was intermittently shooting restraining fire, Haruyuki landed on the long stabilizer extending from her back and watched the fierce battle starting on the western edge of the crater with half amazement.

Kings, that is, level 9 Burst Linkers fighting each other, of course it was his first time seeing it.

That, everyone in this place - including the two persons fighting - would probably say the same thing.

The current ?Pure Color Seven Kings?, aside from Niko, reached level 9 almost at the same time a bit more than two years ago. Then they found out about the cruel sudden death rule that is needed to reach level 10, and to avoid fights to the death, they started a round table conference.

In that conference, the Black King, Black Lotus sneak attacked the first generation Red King, Red Rider and killed him in one critical hit. A King killing another King, that time was the first and only one. After that, the Black King was hunted as a betrayer and she stayed hidden in Umesato middle school’s local net for about two years, and the other Kings signed no invasion treaties with each other and did not leave their own territory.

That is why, for level 9s fighting each other normally, since the beginning of accelerated world, this is the first time.

Haruyuki, and Niko too.

And the remaining around ten yellow legion members, all stopped attacking, and watched the fight with breaths held.

‘- Fast!’

Haruyuki leaked that sound of awe in his chest.

If he did not concentrate, then all he could see around the two fighting, were mysterious flashes that continued to bounce around. The Black King’s four chain, and five chain continuous attacks, were impressively parried by the Yellow King’s baton as he turned in high speed, while he looked for openings and used his long leg to kick. That was blocked by Kuroyukihime’s leg, and ripple like impact waves spread out, distorting the background.

With the way to high power attacks continuing, radiating cracks started to appear from both fighter’s feet, and pieces of rubble started flying about. The space was filled with colorless pressure, and the lights shining from both combatant's armor, also seem to increase in intensity.

“...It will be soon.”

Niko murmured, and Haruyuki asked in reaction.

“Wh, what?”

“Those two’s special attack gauge should be full. The real battle will be starting.”

Before that sentence finished, ‘Baan!’ that one impact sound exploded, and pushed by that those two distanced themselves from each other.

They soon closed up, Kuroyukihime slowly lowered her waist, left arm held horizontal in front of her body, and right sword arm perpendicular to that peak. The long blades pulsed and started to be covered by violet light, and at the same time a low frequency vibration shook the air.

On the other hand, Yellow Radio crossed both arms in front of himself, with fingers holding the golden baton. The balls on the baton’s either end, also released cyclic light.

The increasingly higher pressure, made Haruyuki feel a light snapping sensation around his cheek area.

A King’s special attack, Haruyuki saw a fragment of its power in his duel with Niko. The huge beam released by one main cannon, blew away the top part of Shinjuku metropolitan government building far away in the battle field without much of effort.

If same level potential power as that attack, is released in such close distance, what would happen? To Haruyuki who opened his eyes wide and forgot to breathe, Niko’s voice again lightly reached his ears.

“...Not with power, it will be decided by speed.”

“Eh... wh, what do you mean?”

“No matter how you look at it, Lotus’ special attack is direct contact type. Against that, Radio’s special is illusion type. That means before Radio’s skill going into effect, whether Lotus’ one hit can reach him or not - will decide the battle.”

Haruyuki’s throat made a ‘Gokuri’ sound.

The largely tilted sun, cut through the black clouds slightly, and one red beam of light came down.

That was reflected on the obsidian blade, at that instant.

Black Lotus’ dignified sound echoed.

“?Death By Pi...?.”

At the same time, Yellow Radio too.

“?Futile Fortune Wh...?.”

However.

Two skill names that were shouted at the same time, neither finished the last sound.

‘Ton.’

That kind of small, however overwhelming presence dry sound echo, pressed down the two King’s sounds.

That, was from Yellow Radio’s bright yellow color breast armor, something piercing through from behind kind of sound.

Kuroyukihime who stopped her skill in mid shout, Haruyuki, Niko, the other Burst Linkers, and the Yellow King himself as well, looked at the about 15cm of silver grey metal sticking out of the armor.