Something terrible had happened at school, and he returned home while gazing down with the feeling of being knocked down.

Such an experience was an everyday thing for Haruyuki. During the time he had been severely bullied by classmates last year, he had gone home while counting the tiles on the sidewalk beneath him almost every day.

However, for Takumu next to him—for?that?Mayuzumi Takumu, who was walking next to him and hanging his head and dragging his feet just like Haruyuki, this must have been his first time experiencing this in his life.

After silently walking along the path to their apartment building from Umesato Middle School alongside Takumu, who had skipped out on kendo club practice on the pretense of being sick, Haruyuki spoke in a whisper when they passed through the apartment’s front gates.

“Come inside my place.”

“....Sure.”

He got on the elevator with Takumu who feebly nodded and got off on the twenty-third floor. After opening the door of his empty home and entering the living room, he threw his bag onto the floor and sat down on a chair at the dining table.

Takumu sat down on the other side as well, and the two of them remained silent like that for a while.

—We sat down opposite each other like this before as well.

Dimly thinking that, Haruyuki finally recalled that that incident that occurred only twenty-four hours ago—in other words, on Monday after school.

During the recess yesterday, Haruyuki had dueled Noumi Seiji for the first time, and had the silver wings on his back taken away by his special technique.

Takumu had been puzzled by the strange state of Haruyuki and Chiyuri, who had been present there, and had visited Haruyuki after club activities had ended and sat down in the exact same place. That time, Haruyuki had showered Takumu with cruel words while feeling self-torturous, and had been severely hit. Afterwards, he had gone out to Shinjuku to challenge anyone to an accelerated duel in despair, had had his lethargic attitude scolded by the familiar bike-user ?Ash Roller?, and had been forcibly brought by him to the Old Tokyo Tower in the Unlimited Neutral Field.

There, he had been introduced to Ash Roller’s Parent and former member of Nega Nebulas, ?Sky Raker?. She had taught Haruyuki about the existence of the ultimate power of Burst Linkers, the ?Incarnate System?, and had given him super Spartan-type intensive training to make him learn it.

Though Haruyuki had mastered the first step of the first step of Mind Power, he had actually needed one week in that world that was accelerated by one thousand times.

That’s why, in a sense, it was natural for him to feel like the current situation of facing Takumu was such a long time since the last time.

Unconsciously raising his right hand, Haruyuki traced in his jaw where he had been hit by Noumi during yesterday’s recess and then his right cheek where Takumu had hit him after school. Almost no marks were left anymore more on either of them, but he could still keenly feel the pain as it stiffened stingingly.

..No matter much I accelerate my minds and shut myself in a different world, the wounds of the flesh..in other words, real pain can’t be healed.

While he thought that, Takumu, who paid attention to that action, gave a self-deprecatory smile and muttered.

“Haru. When I hit you, I said that I said that was fine with Chii-chan becoming happy no matter who her partner was, but..I take that back. I can’t accept it at all. That..Chii-chan would become that Noumi Seiji’s partner.”

Dropping his hands on the table, Haruyuki also responded back with a hollow voice.

“Before accepting it..I can’t believe it. Certainly, there are no rules in Brain Burst that say that real-world friends have to enter the same team, but..For that Chiyu to betray us and join Noumi for the sake of getting points is..”

“Well, if you just think about earning points, it certainly is more efficient to join up with Noumi than us. Now that he’s stolen Haru’s wings, Dusk Taker’s battle power is already at a foul play-like level..If he debuts in duels with that while paired with the ?healer? Lime Bell, there would be no Burst Linkers within the middle range that could directly fight against them.”

“What a calm conclusion while still being depressed, professor.”

This time Haruyuki gave a wry smile, but then quickly swept it away with a sigh.

“But still, Taku..It’s Chiyu we’re talking about. Do you think Chiyu, who lacks any game sense and who is always useless in RPG event battles where she gets annihilated, would make a decision based on something like point efficiency?”

“T-That’s..I don’t think so, indeed..”

It was in a subdued tone, but Haruyuki’s shock from Chiyuri declaration of parting finally eased down a little from taking with his best friend, and he stood up slowly and headed toward the kitchen.

He took out a box of frozen pizza from the large freezer and simply threw it into the microwave. He also took out a bottle of oolong tea and prepared two glasses. After the pizza finished thawing and heating in only a few dozen seconds, he carried it all to the table and properly placed them down.

“..Thanks.”

After pouring tea into Takumu’s glass as he muttered that, Haruyuki opened the box and picked out a piece of sea-food pizza. Just as he pulled at the thin strands of cheese, he suddenly heard a voice in the back of his ear as he tried to take a bite.

‘Aah, you’re eating something like that again!’

‘No other choice, I’ll have to get Mama to make you something.’

But, of course, that was neither a real voice nor a PCM[1]?file played by his Neuro Linker. Beginning to recall the taste of the lasagna that Chiyuri had brought over just a few days ago, Haruyuki emphatically bit at the mass-produced-type pizza in over to overwrite that taste.

Casting his eyes down, he chewed the strangely salty pizza, and heard a sniffling sound all the while as he did so. When he quietly raised only his gaze, he saw Takumu rubbing vigorously beneath his glasses while eating with the same downturned face as him.

Suddenly, a different pain than that until now pierced his chest throbbingly.

—Taku, he’s always so calm and so clever that I’m no match for him..But, by no means is he someone who can stay strong in the face of all adversity.

—When I lost my wings and became careless, he tried to help me with all his strength. Then, it’s my turn this time. It’s my turn to encourage him and support his back.

Muttering that within his mind, Haruyuki closed both his eyes, and quickly made his pizza disappear with non-stop munching. He drank his entire glass of oolong tea, and returned it to the table with a bang.

“Taku!”

As he shouted that out, Takumu’s shoulder’s shook, and he lifted up his reddened eyes to look at him. Haruyuki looked straight at him and continued speaking.

“Taku, I believe in Chiyu! That’s why, I don’t believe what she said!”

“Eh..?”

“I said it before. Joining up with Noumi because she wants points? That’s not like Chiyu at all. So that possibility is completed eliminated. Probably..no, definitely by at least 90%, our first guess was correct. Chiyuri was threatened by Noumi to partner with him, and was forced to give that explanation to us. You can understand and agree with that much, right?”

While tightly grasping his glasses, Takumu seemed to scrutinize the words that Haruyuki had vigorously lined up for a short while.

Eventually, he slowly responded with some calmness returned to his voice.

“Yeah..Certainly, that may be. But Haru, your explanation has a small inconsistency. You say ?completely eliminate?, yet you also say ?90%?? In other words, the remaining 10% is that the possibility that Chii-chan voluntarily joined Noumi, right?”

“Yeah..but, for a different reason.”

“Reason..? You mean there’s some reason other than points that Chii-chan would become our enemy?”

After looking with upturned eyes at Takumu who titled his head, Haruyuki spoke in a whisper while instinctively shrinking his shoulders.

“In other words, umm..because of the boss of our legion Nega Nebulas..that person..”

Takumu blinked several times just now as if he was caught off guard. Soon, the same kind of fear as Haruyuki was showing on his face appeared on his own face as well.

“I-I see..—A situation where Chii-chan is thinking ‘No way!’ to becoming master’s..Kuroyukihime-senpai’s (Black Lotus) subordinate..”

“Can we absolutely say that she would never do that?’

At Haruyuki’s question, Takumu shook his head left and right with a complicated expression. Letting out a long continuous sigh, he then added with a groan.

“But, in that case, that’s all the most reason not to tell master about this and seek her assistance..If master found out that Chii-chan had betrayed us because of her..”

“She would take down both Dusk Taker and Lime Bell with a single stroke..”

They didn’t need to be reminded now of the severe nature of Kuroyukihime, the ?Black King? that lead the legion ?Nega Nebulas? and the one that controlled the Level 9 duel avatar ?Black Lotus?. Once she determined someone as an enemy, she would mercilessly cut them down with the swords on both her hands. It was very difficult—no, impossible to think that she wouldn’t apply that principle on only Chiyuri.

Haruyuki temporarily raised his gaze from looking down at the table with a jerk, and though he looked at Takumu’s face, he spoke as if telling himself as well.

“Senpai will return from the school trip on Saturday night, so we have four more days. We no choice but to settle things in that time.”

“Settle things, you say..how..?”

“Whether Chiyu is being threatened or is acting of her own volition, if we can defeat Noumi..if we can corner him until he loses Brain Burst, that will end everything. Right?”

After letting out a big breath at Haruyuki’s words, Takumu gave a faint smile.

“You say it so easily, Haru. Even if we expose the means that allows Noumi to not appear on the matching list, just how many times will we have to win in order to make that Dusk Taker lose all his points?”

“I wonder about that.”

Muttering a little, Haruyuki spoke the continuation of all his thinking.

“Right now Noumi, who has just entered Umesato Middle School, must be consuming points at an incredible pace in order to build up his position through the ability tests and kendo matches. In particular, he uses that Physical Burst command which costs five points each time in kendo matches. Do you really think that he, a Level 5, still has that much accumulated points to spare?”

“..I see..Especially since right now he’s not participating in ordinary duels either. The sources for supplying himself with points should be limited.”

Takumu narrowed his eyes which had regained just a little of their sharpness behind his glasses and nodded as well. Then he suddenly looked back at Haruyuki and continued speaking quickly.

“But, Haru. In that case, it’s a battle with a different time limit that has no relation to when master returns to Tokyo. Noumi, who has now obtained an exclusive ?healer? in addition to ?flight ability?, should be debuting in duels which he has bided his time for until now. He won’t be able to immediately fight that many times with the limitations of tag-matches, but even so he’ll still win in almost all duels..”

“In other words, we have to sever his neck before he begins saving up points.”

After exchanging a short gaze with Takumu, Haruyuki spoke decisively.

“Alright. I’ll somehow investigate the means he uses to block himself from duels by myself.”

“W-What are you saying? I’ll also investigate with you..”

“No, there’s something you have to do while I do that.”

Tightly gripping both hands over the table, Haruyuki then lowered his voice a little—

“Taku, you remember the attack you directly received, right? That technique of Dusk Taker that let him scrape off and invalidate everything with his hands.”

“Ah..yeah. I can’t believe it even now.”

As if doubting his memory, Takumu shook his head a little.

“The fact that his special technique gauge didn’t decrease even though he was emitting such intense light..No, before that, leaving aside punches and kicks, he even sucked in my non-substance attack ?Lightning Cyan Spike?. Such an impossible degree of relative priority, just what on earth kind of ability was that..?”

“Umm..it’s neither an ability prescribed by the system nor a special technique. How should I say it..I also can’t explain it very well, but..”

While frowning and strenuously looking for the right words, Haruyuki tried to somehow convey the knowledge he had gotten just yesterday to Takumu.

“It’s a ?super special technique? as it were, which turns the image power of Burst Linkers into an energy source. Its proper name is the ?Incarnate System?. Accel World’s strongest offensive power which takes form due to the power of one’s heart and will..”

It took nearly twenty minutes for him to explain without leaving anything out the gist of the Incarnate System he was taught by the Old Tokyo Tower’s recluse ?Sky Raker? and how he acquired the Mind Power for the ?sword of light? that he himself used.

While talking, Haruyuki was once more conscious of the fact that he still had many questions about that system himself as well.

From Sky Raker’s words, it could be thought of as a bug technique that poked through a hole in the game system, but then why wasn’t it dealt with by the game administrator? If it was purposefully left in the game, what was the goal of that?

Certainly, ?Brain Burst? was an extremely player-unfriendly game as it had neither a manual nor any guide NPCs, but it felt like the game’s mysteriousness increased even more with the existence of the Incarnate System. Just ?what? on earth is this application really..?

Even while thinking about such things, though, Haruyuki somehow explained as much as he knew.

After having finished listening and dumbfoundedly looking at Haruyuki who was drinking his oolong tea, Takumu finally muttered in a hoarse voice.

“....How to say it..—Haru, you really are the kind of guy that is popular with older women one after another.”

“T-That’s the first thing you comment on?”

“Well, because..frankly, I can’t easily take in this whole ‘Mind Power’ thing. Changing something vague like image power into real offensive power..even if you say that, such a thing already exceeds the limits of a fighting game..”

“Well, that’s true. I also can’t explain how I make my sword come out..”

While staring at the fingers of his hands, Haruyuki voiced his still developing thoughts.

“..But, probably, Mind Power shouldn’t be something rough like ?if you imagine it, anything can be realized?. The attributes of the avatar..and the nature of the Burst Linkers themselves..it may be closely related to such things. For example, I can emit a sword from my hand because Silver Crow’s arm was originally shaped like that, that’s what I feel.”

“Hmm..Then for example, you mean that even if I do the same training as Haru, I may not be able to emit a sword of light the same way you do.”

“Perhaps. But, if that’s the case, I think that there are other Mind Power shapes that are more suitable for Taku..for Cyan Pile. That means the problem is, through what kind of training can you acquire it..? When I think of it now, that person, Sky Raker, after seeing through a training method that was optimized for me right from the beginning, made me do wall-climbing. This is also just a guess, but maybe high-level Burst Linkers who have perfectly mastered the Incarnate System also know something like a method for that kind of Mind Power coaching..”

Takumu bit his lip lightly and seemed to be pondering something, but eventually he began to speak while lowering his gaze.

“So what it amounts to is that, even if I dive into the ?Unlimited Neutral Field? and trained myself at random, the chances of me being able to grasp the Incarnate System is low. So it’s absolutely necessary to have the guidance and coaching of someone who thoroughly knows about the system.”

“Yeah..Sky Raker would also surely teach it to Taku, but the problem is that we have no way to contact her..”

When Haruyuki said that mixed with a sigh, Takumu also frowned and muttered “I see”.

“Since she’s not an NPC, we can’t meet that person just by climbing the Old Tokyo Tower in the Unlimited Neutral Field. We have to set a time to dive after contacting her in the real world..”

“That’s right. We might meet her eventually by waiting at the top of the tower, but because the other side is accelerated by a thousand times, we have no idea how many months or even years that would take..If there was just one method, it would be to duel with Sky Raker’s ?Child? Ash Roller in Shibuya and ask him to arrange an appointment with her there, but..you know?”

He paused in his speech there and rested his chin on both hands.

Then, Takumu immediately did a skillful imitation with a serious face.

“‘Hey Heeey, don’t depend on me like a spoiled kid, you sweets bastard’..is what he doubtlessly say.”

“T-That’s a strange skill you have..Well, he would certainly say that, yeah.”

In truth, Haruyuki already owed a huge debt to Ash Roller just for introducing him to Sky Raker yesterday. Besides, to ask a guy from an enemy legion for help had to be said to be too much of a weakness as a Burst Linker.

While taking another piece of the cooling pizza and emphatically taking a bite out of it, Haruyuki thought desperately.

If the situation were normal, they should just directly ask Kuroyukihime, who was both Haruyuki’s ?Parent? and their Legion Master. If it was her, the Black King, she should also naturally be familiar with the Incarnate System, after all. But Kuroyukihime should have her own reasons for not teaching it to them herself until now, so he didn’t think she would teach them right away if they asked her, and from the beginning there was no way to meet with her in Accel World while she was currently in Okinawa in the south.

In that case, perhaps Takumu’s ?Parent?—is what he’d like to say, but that guy, who had been an executive of the Blue Legion, had already exited from Accel World due to the ?Judgement Blow? by the Blue King for being the mastermind of the ?Backdoor Program incident? half a year ago.

The chances of there being another Burst Linker who was knowledgeable about the Incarnate System and furthermore had a reason to lend a hand to Haruyuki and Takumu was—

“..Ah..Aah.”

When he had thought that far, Haruyuki let his voice leak out without noticing a piece of shrimp fall out from his mouth.

“Yes..that’s right. There is one, a super-high level player who owes a huge debt to us and whose theater of operations is nearby in the north.”

Just as he heard that, the edges of Takumu’s mouth lightly twitched.

“O..Oioi, Haru. You couldn’t be talking about..”

“There is only that person. The Legion Master of ?Prominence?, the Red King ?Scarlet Rain?. If it’s her who’s Level 9, she definitely should have mastered the Incarnate System..”

Even as he said that in a lowered voice, the form of the crimson avatar that occupied one corner of the Seven Kings of Pure Color was vividly recalled in Haruyuki’s mind.

The Red King who burnt the field and all her enemies to nothing with the firepower of her enormous reinforcement armor that was several times the size of her body. If she could do that much even without the Incarnate System, she should have a power even further endlessly ?beyond that?, but after putting aside that far too terrifying imagination from his mind, Haruyuki continued speaking further.

“That’s not all, Taku should also not have forgotten that we went through a terrible experience because of her request.”

“I-I remember that, but.”

Niko, or Kouduki Yuniko, had suddenly entered Haruyuki’s home in her real body just three months ago.

Her goal had been to get Haruyuki’s help in subduing the mad Burst Linker who came from her legion, ?Chrome Disaster?. Her request was based on the conclusion that the only one that could capture Disaster with his three-dimensional movement was Silver Crow with his wings.

Haruyuki had challenged the mission together with Takumu and Kuroyukihime, but it became a mess as an unforeseen life-or-death battle had unfolded with a large group from the Yellow Legion who had attacked them in the middle of their mission. No, in truth, Takumu had been taken out then together with a large enemy avatar.

“But, Haru. While we had both benefited by cooperating in subduing Chrome Disaster back then, what reason does Prominence have to help Nega Nebulas now? As the Red King, she won’t just pay back the debt for that, you know?”

But because Takumu himself said it in a skeptical tone, Haruyuki puffed up his cheeks and retorted back.

“T-Then, I’ll just repay the favor of curry with hashed meat![2]”

“No, I don’t quite understand that example..”

“In..In any case, there aren’t any other high-level Burst Linkers that we can contact in real life. And if we’re thinking about fighting Noumi, we at the very least need the power to defend against his Mind Power attack. So..we can only bet on Niko’s whim..”

At the end of Haruyuki’s sentence as he lost momentum, Takumu let out a big breath at the same time.

His tall best friend lowered his face and hid it within his long forelocks, and kept quiet for a while. When he clenched his right hand on the table, Haruyuki understood that he was now remembering his fierce fight against Noumi.

Eventually, Takumu lifted up his face, whose eyes now had a different strong light in them. The voice he let out also coldly resounded in the dim living room.

“Yeah, it’s just as Haru says. I think I could fight equally against Dusk Taker until the middle stage of battle, but after he starts using Mind Power, I can’t do anything, as frustrating as it is to admit. I felt the overwhelming difference in power. If we’re going to beat him and take back Chii-chan, I can’t afford to shrink back at a place like this.”

“Taku..”

“Besides, Haru.”

Temporarily pausing in his speech there, Takumu stared straight through his glasses at him.

“Your ?sword of light? is also just as amazing..no, even more amazing than Dusk Taker’s ?purple wave surge?. I also understand that Haru put in a serious effort in order to master that. You..told me when you fought me in the past. You can’t win against me in the real world. I can’t win against you in the virtual world. That’s why we’re the same, you said.”

“Ah..n-no, that was..”

Stopping with his right hand Haruyuki who was about to say ‘That was just something I said in the heat of battle’, Takumu continued.

“But..But, you know, I don’t think that’s truly the ?same?. It’s how we compete and accept things, in both the real and the virtual, that makes us what we are.”

Suddenly, his childhood friend made an expression as if he was yearning for some past.

“..In elementary school, whenever I bought a new game, I would immediately look at the walkthrough site. Not just for action-types, but for RPGs as well, I would play while having the chart window opened next to it, because I was worried about taking risks. That’s why, it couldn’t be helped that I was anxious about ?Brain Burst?, which for the most part doesn’t even have a manual, let alone a walkthrough. I now think that may be why I depended on something like a Backdoor program. —But, I finally understand now. Something like the development of allotment doesn’t exist in this game. You have to face everything yourself, and cut your own way through. If the Incarnate System can be called a power that goes beyond even the limits of the program..I want to master it. In order to keep standing next to Haru..to Silver Crow.”

Even after Takumu closed his mouth, Haruyuki reflected upon his words in silence for a while.

For the past half-year, Takumu had kept showing self-deprecating behavior during every incident. Having lost his fear of losing ?Brain Burst?, he tormented himself over his crime of aiming at Kuroyukihime’s neck to the point where he put a virus in Chiyuri’s Neuro Linker, and so he had repeatedly acted at the risk of his own expense in various scenes.

While being like that, he had been struck by the huge impact of Chiyuri’s estrangement from them—even if her motives for it were unclear—and yet, he still tried to confront his weakness once again.

..As I thought, you’re strong, Taku. More than me in every way. You say that, but in the real world, I can’t stand next to you at all.

After pushing down that mutter and stopping it in the middle of his chest, Haruyuki finally gave a smile.

“You’ll have to arrive at that. You’ll master the technique to the point that Noumi’s ?wave surge? won’t be a problem, and then we’ll rush him and swiftly take Chiyu back. Though most likely, Niko’s training will ten times more Spartan than Sky Raker’s.”

“..I-I’m prepared for that.”

Looking away from Takumu, who returned a subtly twitching smile, Haruyuki glanced at the time indicator at the right edge of his vision. The strategy meeting around frozen pizza had gone on for a long time beyond his expectations, and it had reached 7 PM before he realized it.

The Red King Niko, while being one of the strongest Level 9 Burst Linkers, was still a sixth-year elementary school student in the real world, and moreover went to a school with a dormitory system. To call her out now, when she was severely restricted in going out at night, would be unfortunately difficult.

“..After school ends tomorrow, we’ll contact her right away and go to Nerima. Taku, are you okay even if you’re absent from club activities for two consecutive days?”

“Yeah, because I no longer do kendo for the sake of getting good results at tournaments. Even if I’m watched by the advisor and club president a little, it’s no big deal.”

“I see. Then, it’s decided.”

They looked at each other in the eye and nodded once again.

As they stood up from their seats at the same time and head to the front door, Haruyuki suddenly opened his mouth to ask a different question.

—Taku, just before the end of today’s duel, did you hear a strange voice?

But, the words didn’t come out from his open mouth. He shook his head at Taku who looked at him with questioning eyes, and muttered in his chest “See you school tomorrow” while waving his hand.

—It was just my imagination. There weren’t any others in the gallery nor other opponents in that field. So something like hearing someone else’s voice was impossible.

When the door closed after seeing off Takumu towards the elevator, the interior of the house was wrapped in deep silence after the ‘click’ of the door automatically locking. After being suddenly struck by illusion that someone was standing behind him, Haruyuki pressed his back hard against the door once, and then returned to the living room at a half-run in order to clean-up.