After Sinon ran off, five people, including Usu-shio Tarako, pursued her.
They were all elites, which proved just how wary Usu-shio Tarako was of Sinon.
"I can't afford to stop and clumsily try to take out a weapon. But I'm heading in the complete opposite direction from Dyne's group, and this is bad. If they just keep chasing me forever, that would be fine in its own way, but at this rate, they'll definitely catch up soon. If only I could somehow link up with Shana..."
While thinking this, Sinon continued to run in a zigzag pattern to dodge the occasional incoming bullet.
Thinking of Shana, who was similarly isolated in enemy territory, she reasoned that if Shana was continuing guerrilla warfare, contacting him from her end might expose his hiding spot to the enemy. Thus, she decided to simply wait for contact from Shana.
However, since she couldn't run away in a straight line, the gap between her and the enemy was closing rapidly.
At this rate, she wouldn't last long.
Meanwhile, Shana had disposed of about five more enemies through surprise attacks in his guerrilla warfare since then, and no enemies were visible in the vicinity anymore.
"Well then, now that things have settled down, I should link up with Sinon and the others."
Thinking this, Shana considered the possibility that Sinon might be in the middle of sniping and decided to contact Spiegel instead.
Spiegel had been in a state of stupor after being sent back to the city, but receiving a call from Shana brought him back to his senses, and he hurriedly switched on his communicator.
"Is that you, Spiegel? What's your status right now?"
Asked this, Spiegel tried to explain Sinon's predicament, but to do so, he would have to talk about his own mistake as well.
Spiegel thought Shana might say the same things Usu-shio Tarako had said to him, and he wondered how to gloss over it. But since Sinon knew the circumstances, any lie would be exposed later anyway.
Therefore, Spiegel reluctantly decided to tell Shana honestly what had happened.
But contrary to his expectations, Shana didn't say a word of blame to Spiegel; instead, he offered words of comfort.
"I see, you messed up there. Well, it was a good learning experience, right? Just be careful next time."
"Eh... Ah, yes... I'm truly sorry..."
"What's done is done. So, where do you think Sinon is right now?"
"Yes, the last thing I heard was an exchange indicating she started running to get as far away from them as possible. So I think she probably headed straight after descending the cliff."
"Is that so? Alright, I'm going to rescue Sinon now. You wait there and relax. You might want to apologize to Sinon later, but after that, we're having a banquet on Dyne's dime. I'll definitely come back with a win, so pray for our victory."
"Y-Yes!"
After the communication cut off, Spiegel muttered quietly.
"Damn it, why won't that person let me hate him... I hate him, yet... I just can't bring myself to hate him..."
Muttering this, Spiegel imagined Shana fighting Usu-shio Tarako and recalled the barrage of insults thrown at him earlier.
In his brain, they were compared against Shana's kindness, making the impression even harsher than reality.
"Damn it, saying whatever he pleased... Someday, I'll definitely kill him with my own hands."
Of course, at this time, there was no doubt he intended to do so within the game.
Spiegel's hatred, which should have originally been directed at Shana, lost its target and was entirely redirected toward Usu-shio Tarako.
However, Spiegel should have realized at this moment why Shana, who supposedly valued his comrades, didn't get angry.
Shana didn't get angry at Spiegel for two reasons: one, he was confident he could rescue Sinon with ease; and two, he found no value in getting angry at Spiegel.
Even if he got angry here, this guy would just do the same thing again.
In that case, it was better to incorporate that into the strategy beforehand.
Thinking this, Shana decided to limit himself to comforting Spiegel this time, just in case he did something crazy.
Meanwhile, Shana estimated Sinon's escape route to some extent based on Spiegel's words and ran toward it at full speed. Finally, he spotted Sinon in the distance, as well as the five figures chasing her.
"Well then, I could annihilate them right here, but I have a use for the communicator Usu-shio Tarako has... Besides, rumor has it he's tough, so he'll probably survive taking a few bullets."
Shana then contacted Sinon.
"Shana, are you safe?"
It seemed Sinon was communicating without slowing her running pace, making it a bit hard to hear, but Shana didn't mind and told her:
"Sinon, right. I'm to your right, so charge straight into the woods!"
"Understood, heading there now."
Sinon obediently followed his words and suddenly changed course to the right.
Seeing a human figure ahead, Sinon assumed it was Shana and called out happily.
"Shana!"
But the silhouette didn't answer. As she got closer, Sinon was stunned to discover only Shana's clothes left there.
"Shana, Shana? No way... Are you saying Shana was defeated here?"
Sinon said this, but there was no reply from anywhere.
Sinon collapsed to the ground and hugged Shana's clothes to her chest.
Shana's clothes were strangely heavy. Realizing what was inside, Sinon thought for a moment, then looked up at the sky. Her eyes widened with an expression of understanding.
"I see... leave it to me, Shana..."
Then, Sinon went limp on the spot as if hanging her head.
Usu-shio Tarako and his men caught up to her immediately.
"I wondered why you suddenly turned right, but did you give up already? Hmm, those clothes look familiar. Shana's clothes, right? I see. No contact came from anyone, but someone must have defeated Shana here. You saw the clothes, thought Shana was here, turned right, found them, and hung your head in despair. It's a real shame your beloved Shana was already taken out."
Usu-shio Tarako continued.
"Now then, we can't keep bothering with just you forever. Just die here quickly so we can go annihilate the remaining forces. In the end, I couldn't face off against Shana, but that opportunity will come eventually. Goodbye, then."
"That's right. Guys who gang up on a woman should just exit the stage quickly."
"Wh..."
Suddenly hearing a voice from above, the five panicked and looked up.
In that instant, Sinon thrust her hand out from Shana's clothes and fired the submachine gun that had been gripped in her hand before anyone noticed.
"Are you stupid? There's no way Shana would lose!"
"Wh... You, since when did you have such a thing... You shouldn't have had any leeway for that!"
Two men were taken down by the spray of bullets. As Usu-shio Tarako hurriedly hid behind a tree and spoke, he heard the sound of something falling, followed by a scream from a comrade behind him.
"Damn, a trap!"
While paying attention to Sinon's movements, Usu-shio Tarako turned around, only to see his comrade being easily decapitated.
"Shana!"
"Yo. Looks like you bullied Sinon quite a bit. I'll be neutralizing you for now."
Saying that, Shana cut off both of Usu-shio Tarako's arms, searched his pocket, and took out the communicator.
"Guh... What do you intend to do!"
"That's decided, isn't it? Hey Sinon, keep this guy's mouth shut."
"Yeah, got it. Still, I was surprised there were only clothes. Though I was even more surprised that there was a submachine gun inside."
"Well, that told you I was nearby, right? Still, you did well to realize I was above."
"Yeah, I just somehow felt like you were up there."
"You... you're starting to resemble Pito a little..."
Then, Shana used Usu-shio Tarako's communicator to contact the remaining enemies.
"It's terrible, the leader's been taken out!"
"What, really?"
"Yeah, I'm borrowing the leader's communicator to contact you now. I'm the only survivor here, so once you regroup, retreat to the city. I'll follow you if possible. The route is..."
Shana instructed them to take the route where Dyne and the others were waiting, then cut the communication.
Usu-shio Tarako resisted fiercely at first, but midway through, he stared at them silently, as if resigning himself to everything. Then, Usu-shio Tarako said to Shana:
"It's a complete defeat, a complete defeat. But you, you really show no mercy, do you?"
"Those who oppose me are in the wrong. I am not wrong."
"It's not like we opposed you because we wanted to... No, saying that now is pointless. We opposed you, and that's a fact. Haa, if the remaining guys get taken out now, we're totally wiped out."
To Usu-shio Tarako, who spoke in a dark tone, Sinon said:
"If you had clashed with us head-on from the start, we might have lost, you know."
"With you and Shana there? I think the odds would still be against us facing two anti-materiel rifles."
"Well, even so, I don't think we would have gotten away with just one casualty on our side like this time."
"This time, huh... I thought it was a perfect plan."
"There's no such thing as a perfect plan. Even if you think you've trapped the enemy, you must always consider beforehand what to do if they see through it."
"If there's a next time, I'll do that."
Then Shana asked something that had been bothering him.
"By the way, why were you at Sinon's location? If you had been commanding the other units, you wouldn't have been beaten this easily, right?"
"That's because the objective this time was to crush this young lady."
"Me!?"
"Yeah. If left alone, there's a high probability you'll become a considerable threat. So I thought I'd crush you now while I could. And even if I couldn't defeat you, I wanted to know what kind of person you were."
"So he says. Good for you, Sinon. Looks like you're being evaluated quite highly."
Sinon made a complicated face at those words.
"It's not just my power... I think part of it is because I'm with Shana."
"Well, that's certainly part of it. To us, Shana is just a mystery. He was unknown until recently, yet suddenly advanced to the BoB finals. Judging from that fighting style, there was a rumor for a while that a top ALO player had converted over. Though the story went that the only players fitting that description would be Hachiman or Kirito from ALO's strongest guild, 'Valhalla Resort.' But since it's confirmed both of them still have their characters in ALO, that's probably wrong."
"Hachiman... huh. So, what kind of guild is this 'Valhalla Resort'?"
Hearing that infinitely familiar name, Sinon asked while giving Shana a scornful look.
"Do you know about ALO? It's a game sometimes called the successor to SAO, and that's the name of the literally strongest guild there. The leader is the guy I mentioned, Hachiman, also known by the alias 'The Ruler.' His strength is in a different league. It's said that even if faced with ten times the number of players, Valhalla would win overwhelmingly."
"Ten times!?"
"Yeah. There are three powerful vice-commanders there: Kirito the 'Black Swordsman,' Yukino of 'Absolute Zero,' and Asuna the 'Berserk Healer.' Furthermore, it seems there's a person called Soleil the 'Absolute Tyrant' waiting in the back, who's like a strategic nuclear weapon."
"Asuna and Soleil... Hey, Shana, what do you think?"
"W-W-What do I think, you ask? Uh, he's quite knowledgeable, is all I can say."
Shana said this while his eyes swam grandly.
"Furthermore, a characteristic of that guild is that there are just so many female players. The rumor is that most of them are in love with Hachiman..."
"Hey Tarako, that's enough of that talk, okay?"
"Hmm? Is it inconvenient for you? Don't tell me you're actually...?"
"Listen, Tarako. What I'm about to say is an absolute secret. If rumors spread, I will hunt you down relentlessly and make it so you can't stay in this game."
Shana thought it better to silence him beforehand rather than have strange rumors spread from wild guesses, so he brought it up himself.
"So, the rumor was true?"
"Yeah. I am Hachiman himself from 'Valhalla Resort.' This character was made from scratch when GGO service started."
"Seriously!? Then don't tell me, Shizuka is... the Berserk Healer?"
"Yeah, that's correct. But I'm here secretly for a certain purpose, so it would help me out if you could spread stories that deny those rumors."
"Is that so? Seriously... I'm a huge fan of yours! Got it, I promise to keep it an absolute secret!"
"I'm counting on you, seriously... Sinon, too. Don't make weird reactions in front of others from now on."
Sinon was silent at those words, but eventually lifted her face and said with an intense smile.
"Understood. Still, my rivals weren't just Shizuka and Pito, huh. Shana, introduce me to those people properly next time."
"Ah... yes."
Seeing the two of them, Usu-shio Tarako laughed heartily.
"Ahahahaha! Hey Sinon, you really have guts. I guess that's expected of someone Shana keeps by his side. Your rivals in love will surely be tough, but I'll root for you."
"Thank you. I'll do my best to meet your expectations."
"H-Hey..."
"Shana, just be quiet and watch our contest, okay?"
"My will is ignored, huh..."
Just then, Shana's communicator beeped, and Dyne informed them that Usu-shio Tarako's last remaining comrades had been wiped out.
Hearing that, Usu-shio Tarako looked up at the sky and said:
"I heard some very good stories today. If I lost to you guys, I'm satisfied. I'll definitely keep my promise, so finish me off here with one strike."
"Are you sure? I don't mind letting you go."
"No, then I can't face my comrades who fell. Take my head with your own hands."
"Tarako, you're not quite Shana's level, but you're a good man."
"Oh, that's the highest praise."
Told that by Sinon, Usu-shio Tarako smiled very happily.
"Well then, if there's a chance, invite me to your side next time."
"Is that alright? I'll be counting on you both then."
"Yeah. See ya, Tarako."
"See you."
"Yeah, see ya, both of you!"
Shana decapitated Usu-shio Tarako, and his body vanished with a visual effect.
"He was a pretty interesting guy."
"Yes. As expected of the leader of GGO's largest squadron."
"Well then, shall we make our triumphant return to the city?"
"Yeah!"
Naturally, Sinon linked her arm with Shana's.
"Hey, let go."
"No way. After hearing that story, I can't just do nothing."
"I'm telling you, my partner is only Shizuka."
"You say that, but you still deal with us properly too, right?"
"Maybe that's the problem..."
"Fufu, no one listens even if you say it, right? In that case, letting us do what we want to some extent is better for your mental health, isn't it?"
"I guess so... Well, just don't make Shizuka seriously angry."
"Yeah!"
The two returned to the city and rejoiced in the victory with their comrades.
Spiegel apologized apologetically to Sinon, but Sinon patted his shoulder and forgave him with a smile.
Actually, Sinon, much like Shana, felt indifferent about it, but Spiegel naturally didn't notice and misunderstood that he had simply been forgiven.
The group rented out the second floor of a bar and held a grand victory party.
Spiegel, perhaps not in the mood, logged out early.
Later, for some reason, the Usu-shio Tarako corps joined in. Since they apologized for trying to entrap them, everyone let bygones be bygones and agreed to fight fair and square if they clashed again.
Thus, this incident concluded peacefully without leaving any grudges—except for Spiegel, who logged out early, leaving a grudge behind.
-------------------------------
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