"Yesterday, when we registered for BoB in the first-floor lobby of the Governor's Office, there was a field for your real address, right? The warning said that if you left the address field blank, you might not receive your prize... ngh!"
Satoru suddenly grabbed her right shoulder. His face came close all at once, making Sinon let out a strange sound. For an instant, her body went stiff, thinking he was about to do something indecent.
Of course, that was not what was happening.
At such close range, she could faintly see those strangely dark eyes glinting with gold. But she remembered that he had no eye-color-changing setting.
"What prize did Dyne choose after the last tournament?"
"Th-that... I think it was in-game equipment. I saw it once. I think it was a coat with a really flashy color."
"What about XeXeeD?"
"Th-that... I never talked to him, so I do not know. But I heard he was a stubborn efficiency freak, so he probably would not have been interested in items that only looked flashy. If that is true, he probably chose the model gun. Whether you placed first or second, you could get what looked like a huge rifle model, but... why does that matter?"
The hand on Sinon's right shoulder suddenly went hard as stone. His eyes opened wide, and Sinon was certain of it now. That drifting pale gold was not her imagination.
She straightened a little and could not help crying out.
"Wh-what is it? What happened?"
"I understand now."
His voice came low and hoarse. And there was... a laugh in it?
"I... made a mistake."
"A mistake?"
"Of course. Why did I make the facts so complicated? He is not Kayaba, and he is not some inhuman thing with the power to reach from the virtual world into reality. I only needed to think about it simply. The him inside the virtual world is still a player. He still only has a player's rights. So how does he kill someone in reality?"
"Simple. There are two Death Guns. One acts inside the game. At the same time, the other breaks into the target's home and kills the helpless player lying there. See? It is that simple. If you cannot kill someone in the virtual world, you go to reality and stab them."
Sinon could not immediately understand what Satoru's words meant.
She sat up, stared blankly for a while, then shook her head several times.
"But... that cannot be possible. How would they find someone's real address...?"
"Idiot. You just said it yourself. The model gun was delivered to people's homes... I overlooked that. I never paid attention to it, so it did not remain in my memory, and naturally I could not search it out."
For some reason, she felt a little annoyed at being called an idiot. But ever since that pale gold had appeared, the air around Satoru had stopped feeling gentle, so she pushed that thought down for now.
"Then are you saying the operating company is the culprit...? Or that someone hacked the database?"
"Those possibilities are too low. Death Gun is only an ordinary person too. For an ordinary player, there is still a way to learn a target's address, as long as the target is a BoB participant and also someone who chose the model gun."
"..."
"The Governor's Office. Any participant who wanted the model gun would enter their name and address at the terminal there."
Only then did she finally understand what he meant. Sinon held her breath and shook her head slightly.
"You mean... he looked over their shoulder at the terminal screen? Impossible. Because of the distance effect, if you move even a little away from it, you cannot read the text. And if someone was nearby, they would notice no matter what."
"Optical Camouflage. In that state, if he used large binoculars or a scope from a distance to look at the terminal screen, he could learn the name and address in the registration data."
Invisibility and long-range viewing tools. Combined, it was possible.
Menu windows were basically impossible for other people to see, but the touchscreens on game terminals were designed for multiple users. In their default state, anyone could see what was on them.
Sinon had done the same thing during the previous tournament. She had filled in her address and name in visible mode. Had someone... no, had that tattered-cloak grim reaper watched from behind? Had it all been for the sake of making a kill list?
As if unable to accept that theory, Sinon desperately listed objections.
"...Even if he knew the home address, how would he get inside? What about the lock? What about the target's family?"
"The addresses are all old apartment buildings. The electronic locks on the doors are early models. And while the target is in GGO, their physical body is completely defenseless. Even if breaking in takes some work, they do not have to worry about being discovered. As for checking whether anyone else is home, they only need to knock. If someone answers, they pretend they got the wrong door."
Satoru's words made Sinon suck in another sharp breath.
Seven or eight years ago, residential locks had been changed to keyless entry locks like cars used, making them physically impossible to pick. But she had heard on the news that early models could be analyzed with something like a master radio signal, and that unlocking devices like that could be bought for a high price on the black market.
After that, she had started using not only the radio lock, but also a metal lock and a combination lock. Even so, the chill along her back did not disappear.
Death Gun was not a ghost resurrected from the past. He was not an avatar with mysterious powers either. He was a murderer in the real world.
That conclusion made the burden heavier. It brought a different fear than before. Driven by a resistance she could not understand, she blurted out her final objection.
"Then what about the cause of death?"
"There are too many ways to kill someone who cannot resist. But if they used a crude method, the police would have caught onto them long ago, and they would not still be active here now. They must have thought the method through carefully too. As for that part, I cannot reason any deeper."
Sinon clutched his coat with both hands and shook her head like a child.
To prepare this thoroughly, all for the sake of killing people, meant killing for killing's sake. A human being capable of doing that was beyond anyone else's understanding. All she could feel was malice, filled with endless darkness and still spreading.
"...That is insane."
Sinon whispered it, and Satoru nodded in agreement.
"Yes. He replaced the identity of a killer in the virtual world with reality itself. He can no longer tell the difference between the two worlds. In the end, my opponent has fallen that far."
He smiled coldly.
"That... I can understand a little. I sometimes think of myself as a sniper too. But besides that tattered cloak, the second person is also...?"
"After Laughing Coffin was sent to prison, plenty of its members survived SAO's collapse and escaped. Maybe he found one of his old teammates. The cross gesture was not only to draw the players' attention. It was also to hide the motion of looking at his watch to confirm the time. He and his real-world accomplice must have set a very precise time for the crime. Looking at his watch before every shot would have been far too unnatural by itself."
"I see... The watch on his wrist would come up in front of his eyes when his hand touched his forehead."
Just as Sinon was feeling stunned by that, the person in front of her suddenly gripped her tightly. He spoke slowly.
"Do you live alone?"
"Y-yeah."
"Your door lock?"
"The radio lock and the combination lock are both locked... But my apartment's lock is an early-model electronic lock too..."
She frowned hard, desperately trying to remember what she had done before entering the game.
"...I do not think I put the metal lock on."
"Then listen to me."
Seeing that expression on his face made her chest turn terribly cold, as if it had frozen over.
"Death Gun tried to shoot you with his handgun while you were paralyzed. Especially after I interfered, he kept shooting at you even while chasing us on the mechanical horse. That means the preparations were already complete."
"Preparations... for what...?"
Sinon asked in a voice so soft it barely carried.
Satoru did not try to spare her feelings. He answered immediately.
"Right now, at this very moment, his accomplice may already be inside your home in the real world, watching the tournament broadcast and waiting for the moment you are shot by that gun."
It took a long time for those words to enter Sinon's awareness and become meaning.
Suddenly, the scenery around her thinned. The familiar image of her own room appeared in her mind like a hallucination, and she seemed to be looking down from high above at a room about six tatami mats in size.
The vacuum cleaner hung neatly in place. The floor had a wood finish, with a pale yellow carpet and a small wooden table.
Against the west wall stood a black desk and a black steel-frame bed, side by side. Plain white sheets lay on it, with her tracksuit and shorts placed on top.
Her real body lay there with its eyes closed, a device made of two metal rings fitted around her forehead.
Then...
A black figure stood by the head of the bed, staring at the sleeping Sinon. Its whole body was blurred, visible only as an outline.
"No... no..."
Sinon desperately shook her stiff neck and moaned. Even after the hallucination vanished and she returned to the desert cave, the intruder's shape remained burned into her vision.
"No... not this..."
This terror was not normal.
Driven by a violently intense rejection response, her entire body began trembling beyond her control. She could not move. She could not even recognize her surroundings. Her powerless body was being watched at close range by a stranger. No, maybe not only watched.
That person might be touching her skin... thinking about where to begin killing her.
Suddenly, it felt as if something had lodged deep in her throat. She could not breathe. Sinon arched backward, painfully searching for air.
"Ah... aaah..."
The light began to recede, and a ringing filled her ears.
Her soul felt as if it were about to detach from her virtual body.
"Wait."
Satoru seized her arms and spoke to her sharply.
"If you auto-disconnect now, there is no going back. Calm down. You are still fine. You are not in danger yet."
"Ah... ah..."
Opening unfocused eyes, she groped blindly with both hands until she found the owner of that voice. She wrapped her arms around the warm body and clung to him.
She was already using a great deal of strength, but as if trying to stay connected to him, Sinon tightened her hold even more.
On the other side, the pale gold in Satoru's eyes began flickering irregularly. The hostility in his gaze slowly faded, little by little. Then he slowly raised his hand and stroked her hair.
Again, that quiet voice reached her.
"Until Death Gun's handgun, the Black Star, hits you, the intruder cannot do anything. That is probably the rule they set. If you auto-logout because of abnormalities in heart rate and body temperature, that would actually be dangerous. Calm down for now."
"But... but I am scared... I am so scared..."
Crying like a child, Sinon buried her face against Satoru's shoulder.
Her hands were still gripping him tightly. Slowly, Satoru's calm, mechanical, perfectly ordered heartbeat reached her.
As if trying to drive the terrifying image from her mind, the girl listened desperately to that rhythm.
Thump. Thump. Almost once per second. That beat spread into her body, and the girl's frantically racing heart slowly settled as if following a metronome.
When she came back to herself, the impulse of terror had faded as if they had synchronized. It had not disappeared completely, but she had regained enough reason to suppress it.
"Have you calmed down?"
As those quiet words reached her, Satoru seemed about to draw his hand away, but Sinon shook her head slightly.
"Stay like this... for a little while."
"..."
Satoru did not answer. He only hesitated for a moment before hugging her tightly again, gently stroking and patting her back. Warmth gradually melted her frozen body and mind. Sinon took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and lost her strength.
After several dozen seconds, Sinon spoke haltingly.
"...Your hand feels like my mother's."
"I thought it would be your father's."
"I... do not know anything about my father. He died in an accident when I was still a baby."
"I see..." His expression twitched a little, as if he had unconsciously remembered his own family.
Sinon pressed her cheek tightly against his chest.
"Tell me... what should I do?"
Her voice came out stronger than expected. Satoru stopped comforting her.
"Defeat him. If we do that, the accomplice targeting you in the real world should leave without doing anything. You stay here and wait. I will fight. His gun cannot kill me."
"Will that... really be okay?"
"Yes."
"But... even if the Black Star does not work, that tattered cloak is still a seriously strong character. You saw him dodge Hecate's bullets from only a hundred meters away, right? In terms of evasion alone, he is just like you."
"Just like me...?"
Satoru suddenly frowned. For some reason, dissatisfaction rose inside him.
It felt as if he had been underestimated.
The heart he had kept so perfectly calm began beating hard.
No.
Not the same.
A mere mortal... how could he possibly be like me?
His eyes widened. Heat passed through both eyes, then spread along his nerves and stabbed into his marrow.
"No one... can beat me."
He ground the words out between his teeth in a hoarse voice.
As the two of them remained locked together and continued talking, Sinon felt the fear coiled behind her move a little farther away.
A murderer might already have broken into her real-world home. That terrifying possibility was something she could only turn her eyes from for now. Defeat Death Gun, and that man would not be able to do anything. That was all she could think.
"Since a little while ago, there has been a strange red dot in the lower right of my vision."
"Huh...?"
She turned her head. Just as he said, there it was. What is that? Sinon wondered for a moment, then jerked her gaze upward.
On the cave ceiling was exactly what she had imagined. Sinon hurriedly pulled herself back from Satoru's lap, then realized it was already too late and could only sigh.
"Ahh, damn it. I let my guard down..."
Floating above them was a strange aqua-blue set of concentric circles. It had no physical body, only the monochrome glow of a game object.
"It is a live broadcast camera. Usually it only follows players in combat, but when the number of players gets low, it will even come here."
"..." Satoru fell silent.
"It is fine. As long as we do not shout, it will not record audio... Hurry up and move your hand."
"..." The silence continued.
Sinon gave a small snort.
"Panicking because we noticed the camera would be worse. It is nothing. And... even if people start saying I am that kind of person, it might save me a lot of trouble."
Before she could react, Satoru suddenly drew Azure Rose, aimed below and above them, and fired in quick succession. With two sharp reports, the two tiny broadcast cameras instantly turned into scrap.
"What was that for all of a sudden?" Sinon raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing. I am just irritated."
Sinon sighed and sat up.
"Maybe I am imagining it, but every now and then there is something off about the way you react. Like right now, acting like you have a mortal grudge. Are you in a bad mood...? Wait, no matter how you put it, you were holding a cute female avatar. If you get caught and broadcast to every player, do you really have to look like that?"
"It is not because of that." Satoru paused. "It is personal."
"Oh? Can you tell me?"
"I cannot explain it clearly."
Satoru shook his head, as if trying to shake off the negative emotion rising in his chest.
"Anyway, let us leave it at that for now. Death Gun is almost certainly still eliminating the other players. Considering what he did to you, the chance that the others are being killed directly has dropped a great deal. It is not as if his accomplice can instantly move to the home of any player in this tournament."
"When only the three of us are left..."
Satoru spoke in a low voice.
"That will be the final battle."
"I will win, and you will be saved."