Chapter 10

"Aughh…" Desmond closed the door of his unit and took a hard step on the threshold. He slowly walked past the kitchen, the dining room, and the hallway before he opened the door to his room, and quickly dived onto his bed.

The man grunted as he slowly removed his white hoodie. Once it was removed he turned and looked at the ceiling.

"What a tiresome day," Desmond said as he raised his finger and made a gesture, summoning his Neuro-Linker menu. He pressed the program and quickly muttered, "Burst Link."

Desmond scanned the holographic screen which displayed his status, written in bold, burning, letters.

SILVER ANIMUS

LEVEL 9

"Heh." Desmond smirked, then he closed the holographic screen and pressed a button. Another holographic screen appeared, showing his item inventory box.

So this is what I got huh. The man stared at the holographic card that he got from his fight from Akihabara Battle Ground. The card was an enhancement armament, a weapon that could be equipped to a burst linker.

"The name of this sword-" Desmond started, but then he paused and tapped the card twice. The card glowed red as the sword slowly materialized in front of him. The sword then but Desmond was quick enough to catch it.

"Ah, it's heavy," Desmond said as he raised the sword to the frozen ceiling of his room. The sword was a Claymore type. He rose it higher and stared at it in awe.

"The name of this sword is HAYTHAM'S REDEMPTION," Desmond said as he lowered his sword, and then he noticed something. He stared at the hilt of the sword where he found a symbol engraved.

The man was about to touch the symbol when a sudden spike of pain surged through his skull.

"Ah! Wha—what's all of a sudden-" His sentence was cut in in half by a grunt as a sudden wave of pain hit him again.

"B—Burst out!" Desmond commanded as the 3-D environment began to disintegrate. The man looked at the sword; the symbol engraved on the hilt was the last thing that he saw - a Red Cross.

"Ah!" Desmond opened his eyes and woke up, breathing hard. He slowly sat and closed his eyes and tried to relax.

"What was that about?" Desmond touched his forehead and wiped off the cold sweat. He sighed and stood up then glanced at the clock on his table.

"It's already 7 am," the man said. He stripped of his t-shirt and plucked a fresh one from his closet.

"Mornin'! How's my cute little nephew?" Rena said cheerfully while she hugged Desmond, who was eating a waffle, from behind.

"I'm fine, Rena."

"Oh that's great. Say, Des-y-kun," Rena paused as she took a seat on the opposite side of the table. Then, she eagerly continued, "2 months from now Transcendence Corporation will be celebrating its centennial year, and I'm in a bad shape."

Rena sighed, disappointed at her figure, and touched her tousled brown hair.

Desmond only nodded and continued chewing the waffle in his mouth.

"Say, what do you think will fit me? A red dress or a blue dress?"

"Hmm…I don't know, I think I'm bad with fashion."

"Oh, Des-y-" Suddenly, her sentence was cut in half as her phone rang on the table in front of them. Rena picked her phone up only to grunt upon seeing the caller's ID.

"Just a second, Des-y." Rena stood up from the chair and walked towards her room. The man watched in confusion as Rena slowly closed her door.

Who might that be? Desmond thought as he finished chewing the waffle on his plate. He stood up and put the dishes in the sink then walked to the living room to watch a program in the television.

After an hour, Rena came out of her room with a stern face. She quickly smiled before Desmond caught her expression.

"Hey Des-y, sorry, I have to go to my office."

The man nodded and struggled for a response. Eventually, he found one. "But isn't today Sunday?"

"Yeah, but it's an emergency. Somehow the server of Accel World, in Tokyo Metropolitan Area, is jammed and the PING is too high."

Desmond blinked, startled by what he had heard. He quickly asked the woman, "what's the cause of it?"

Rena stopped fixing her scarf on her neck and answered the man.

"I don't know, it was probably congested by too many Burst Linkers or 'natural enemies'." Rena finished fixing her coat and immediately opened the door. She smiled at Desmond and bid him a farewell then she closed the door, leaving the man alone.

Desmond, for a minute, stared at the door and tried process what Rena said. Congested by players, Desmond thought, then slowly he made a sinister smile.

"It worked. Thanks, Matchmaker," the man said as he stood up from the sofa. Desmond then walked to his bed room to prepare for his battle.

Desmond strode past a crowded area of the train station in Tokyo Metropolitan's Shinjuku station. He retracted his black hoodie and looked around, observing the whole place.

The crowd walked past him while he stood in front of an intersection, waiting for the pedestrian light to turn green.

The people flocked beside him as he entered a walk aimed towards the park where he had defeated the Blue King. He smirked as he entered the park then he sat at the same bench he had sat at many months ago.

He looked up to the blue sky and said, "here goes nothing." Then, he lowered his head and muttered, "burst Link!"

LOCATION: TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA

STAGE: DARKLORD'S CITY

Desmond slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The whole place, the whole Tokyo area, had become futuristic. Constructed in different shapes and sizes, the buildings towered over one another. Above them, thunder-soaked violet clouds stirred.

The whole city had turned evil - just like its namesake.

"Hmm..." The man hummed. "Not the one I had in mind but it's impressive."

Rena, your work is beautiful, Desmond mused. That's why I don't like those Kings, ruling and dividing the world that you solemnly created. That all ends today. It all ends here.

Desmond, done with his musing, verbally equipped Eagle Eye. He then slowly walked towards the twin tower where he previously duelled The Blue King.

Hmm, they should be around here somewhere… Desmond scanned the whole area near the twin towers.

The man was about to turn back when something in his peripheral vision stirred. He looked straight ahead and spotted four figures standing near the entrance of the building. The distance made it difficult to see so he entered a walk aimed towards the figures.

Suddenly, the wind threw a cluster of dark clouds at him, blocking his view completely. A bright flash zipped across the murky sky. At a distance to his right, lighting stuck.

"You there!" A woman shouted.

Desmond's eyes darted to the 4 figures.

"Are you the one who challenged us?!" The woman shouted again.

A large gust blew the looming fog away. With his vision now clear, Desmond stood and looked at the four figures.

He scanned each and every one of them with keen eyes. He easily recognized the Blue King however the yellow colored avatar that stood by the Kings' side struck no recognition. To Desmond, the yellow avatar looked like a clown out of a nightmare. The smiling mask it wore, mixed in with protruding horns, gave the yellow avatar a vibe so dark, Desmond had to squint.

"Are you the one who challenged us?!" A voice boomed across the land.

Desmond moved his eyes to the woman avatar. She was violet. Overly violet. The tall metal hat atop her head was violet, her long metal skirt was violet, and even a tall, violet, metal staff, topped with pink gem, was gripped tightly within her hand.

Desmond then finally stared at the large green avatar. An enormous shield sat clasped within its right hand and it stared at Desmond with sharp yellow eyes.

"Yeah, I am." Desmond calmly replied.

"Do you know our identity, young man?" The Green avatar asked.

"Yeah, I know about the six kings of pure color." Desmond paused, smiled, then continued, "Although I'm expecting five to appear, I guess I'll take all four of you."

The Yellow avatar let out a laugh and said, "this man is so foolish! I bet he'll be crying with stained pants after this!"

The Yellow King laughed.

"Are you sure about that?" Desmond retorted. "Because I'm pretty sure the one who'll be like that is you." Desmond activated his dual blades.

The Blue King and the other kings shared a nod, then they pressed the holographic duel button that appeared on their screen.

As usual two holographic bars appeared above them, showing their life points, their names, and their energy points. Desmond looked at the four names that were listed on the opponent side. He smiled and mumbled, "here goes nothing."

(10 minutes later)

"Altair Wings!" Desmond shouted. Suddenly, wings protruded his back. He pushed off the ground and soared up towards the dark sky, avoiding bolts of lightning that thundered from the violet avatar's staff.

Her staff is one of the seven arcs weapons, Desmond mused. The tempest produces, and controls, electricity and lightning.

Desmond quickly blocked an attack by the Yellow King with his Edward Golden Shield skill.

"Hoh! Now you're flying! This is getting interesting!" Yellow Radio, the Yellow King, shouted as he twirled a long baton in his hand. Suddenly, from the tip of the baton, a barrage of yellow spikes launched like rockets. It soared through the air towards Desmond - its target.

Desmond pushed higher but one of the spikes stayed directly on target. The spike speared his stomach.

Desmond gasped in pain and fell to the ground, like a bird shot out of the sky. The Blue King waited for Desmond to strike the ground. He twirled his sword as the seconds passed and verbally taunted Desmond from below. "It's payback time, Silver Animus!"

"As if!" Desmond retorted, and he uttered a skill which covered him in armor. From the armor he took out two pistols and he fired twice at the Blue Knight. However, much to the man's dismay, his shots missed. The Blue Knight was faster – too fast for his liking – and it immediately hit the bullets aside with its sword.

Desmond flapped his wings and landed on the ground away from the Blue King.

Only to feel a sudden presence behind him.

Desmond immediately tried to dart out of the way of the looming shadow behind him, but the presence was faster. A blur of green zipped across his vision then suddenly the man was flying. Pain rippled across his back as the air rushed past him. Through his spotted vision, he saw the Green Avatar readjust its shield.

Confusion struck Desmond. When did he get there?!

"This is your end!" A voice shouted from below – a voice he recognized as the Blue King's.

Desmond forced his head to the side just in time to watch the Blue King jump off the ground. Dismay filled Desmond once again. Held high above the Blue King's head, his sword was ready.

Shit, Desmond screamed in his thoughts and tried to fly away, but it was too late. The man, whose eyes were wide opened, yelped in anguish as the sword of the Blue King pierced his right shoulder.

Both of them crashed to the ground.

Desmond, lying on the ground with the Blue King on top, felt an unbearable pain in his right shoulder. He looked at the Blue King who was looking down at him, then to the Life bar above him. Desmond saw his life points decrease continuously, and rapidly.

Damnit! He cursed mentally, and kicked the Blue King away from him. He quickly moved, eventually ripping and detaching the whole right limb entirely from his body.

"Must. Move!" His wings quickly flapped and pushed him away from the ground. He manoeuvred to the left, avoiding an oncoming projectile attack from the Yellow King, and then to the right, avoiding a lightning strike from the Purple King.

Desmond groaned in pain, "I must fly away… I have to avoid them."

And so he did. Desmond flew, and flew some more, dodging attacks and struggling with his vision as he did so. Eventually it worked. Eventually the attacks soared further and further away from him. Eventually, the King's lost track of Desmond.

"Where the hell are you, Silver Animus!?" A woman's scream echoed throughout the buildings of the city. The four kings were stuck furiously searching for the familiar glint of the silver avatar. They searched like a predator hunting for its prey.

"Hmm…searching for a silver doll," the Yellow King, Yellow Radio, muttered. He walked merrily along the road, his shoulders as relaxed as they could be. But then he suddenly pointed his baton to a dumpster. The dumpster instantly exploded. Shards rained down from above. The Yellow King waited for the cloud of dust to clear.

Once clear, he looked at his surroundings. No familiar silver glint struck his gaze.

The Yellow King hummed. "I thought I heard something in there."

Blue King slashed a huge door of a building with an inhumane growl. As he marched across the room, destroying everything that sat in his way with cuts and slashes, he shouted, "Where are you, you coward!"

Green Grandee walked slowly down the road, silently and calmly observing everything, seemingly uninterested in the ranting of the other kings.

"Augh…" Desmond groaned in pain as he touched the part where his right limb was. From the top of the building he looked at the window, then to the road below.

The man grunted. Damm, did I miscalculate everything? They're too strong for me… What can I do? Desmond thought hard as he rested against the cold wall.

"Rena, what can I do - Wait…" On cue, as if it was a reply to his desperate plea, an idea suddenly entered in his mind. "That weapon…" Desmond quickly opened his holographic inventory box and made a hand gesture. He swiped down furiously, passing many items that he labelled useless - all except for one.

"Here it is." Desmond pressed the item which emitted a very bright light. The item materialized in the air in front of him. His eyes widened with excitement, forgetting his current situation.

The item materialized and started to fall but Desmond caught it with his remaining left hand before it hit the floor.

He slowly raised the item – a sword – in the air, and smiled.

"You're my last hope, Haytham's Redemption," Desmond said, and stared at the large red cross, branded and engraved in the claymore-like sword's hilt.

It's still familiar to me but why can't- The man's thought was cut suddenly when the wall behind his back exploded. Desmond, before he could react, was thrown outside the top portion of the building and began to free fall.

He grunted and summoned his normal skill, Multiple Rope Dart, which ejected on his shoulder. He quickly recovered and swung towards the road below, after one of his rope darts speared into a building's wall supported him.

"Ha…that was close-"

"Peek-a-boo, I see you!"

Desmond yelped and instinctively bent down, avoiding the baton of the Yellow King, who suddenly appeared behind him. He jumped away from him and landed in the middle of an intersection.

Desmond turned around, attempting to run, but the Blue King loomed before him, blocking his way. He turned the other way and saw the Green King. Desmond didn't bother to look the other way since he saw the Purple King approach from the corner of his eye.

Desmond was completely surrounded.

His eyes flicked between the four kings.

"There's nowhere to run, Silver Animus," Blue King triumphantly said as he walked towards to the cornered man.

"Ignorance isn't bliss; you have to pay the price somehow," Green Grandee said, as he raised his shield an inch higher.

"Too bad, too bad!" Yellow King mocked, "I really wanted to see more of this Silver Avatar, but now he's nothing more than recycled metal."

"Now this is what happens to avatars who mess up my legion," Purple King said as she raised her legendary weapon, the Tempest, which emitted a small spark of electricity.

Desmond uneasily stared at the Purple King. He swallowed nothing and closed his eyes, seemingly accepting his inevitable defeat.

"Heh, praying now are we?" Purple Thorn taunted. She then raised her staff. "Gods can't reach you here boy!" Then she shouted a skill. "My finishing skill, Thunder crash!"

The tip of Purple Thorn's staff emitted a blinding spark; at first it built up, but then it reached its zenith and burst free, and propelled to the man.

Desmond, whose eyes were still closed, suddenly opened his eyes. He placed his sword in front of him, ready to block in the incoming lightning bolt, then he shouted, "HAY THAM'S RAVEL!"

The Lightning which was supposed to hit Desmond caught on the man's sword and began to swirl around the blade. The Purple King gasped as the lightning she summoned was absorbed by the avatar's new weapon - a large claymore sword.

"My turn!" Desmond shouted as he jumped high up to the air, and with one final look at the four kings, he raised his sword up to the sky and swiftly swung it downwards.

The Lightning bolt, which was sparking in the blade of the sword, was released. It thundered down high from the sky… straight towards Yellow Radio, the Yellow King.

"W-wait! Hey, that-" Yellow King attempted to run but the lightning reached him first. It viciously electrocuted him.

The Kings watched in horror as the Yellow King screamed in pain and slowly slumped to the ground.

The three remaining Kings moved behind the man out of fear. "You! What did you just do?!"

Desmond turned and faced them, his white glowing eyes shone like a predatory eagle staring at its prey.

"He's not dead yet, the same as all of you." Desmond said clearly and calmly. He raised his sword and with plain tone asked, "who's next?"

Purlpe Thorn, offended by what she saw to the done to the Yellow King, shouted, "you're going to pay for this," and pointed her staff. Her staff discharged a horde of small lightning bolts which travelled at a blinding speed. Desmond, however, swung, spun, and swiftly slashed the lightning bolts with his swords at a fast pace.

"I'll take him on!" Blue King shouted, and charged towards the Silver Avatar. He raised his large sword and immediately swung it downwards, aiming at his enemy's head. Desmond quickly moved and reflexively bent his upper body downward. Using all of his strength he shot upwards and stabbed the Blue King in the left side of his chest.

"Aughh!" Blue King yapped loudly.

Desmond jumped again and summoned his wings. He quickly flew and left the Blue King on the ground, which angered the Purple King more.

The Purple King shouted, pointed her staff at the sky, and discharged a rain of lightning bolts. Desmond simply, and speedily, manoeuvred, avoiding every single bolt of lightning in the sky.

Desmond then noticed something after the Purple King's attack ended.

Purple Thorn… She spun her staff a while ago so she could shoot me with her Thunder bolts, Desmond observed. Then, suddenly, an idea came to mind. The man smiled.

"She's creating a small whirlpool of air," Desmond explained. "Air contains oxygen. She's using oxygen… Now I got it - that's her blind spot!" Desmond quickly descended and aimed his sword at the Purple King.

Purple Thorn, while she was still spinning her staff, called to the Green King, "Oi, he's coming for me!"

"He won't if I have it my way!" Green King immediately appeared in front of the Purple King and placed his tall shield in front of them.

Desmond, while still descending, thought in excitement, that's what I'm expecting you to do!

Purple King grunted and immediately pointed her staff to the crashing Silver Animus. She was about to call a skill when her target suddenly disappeared in front of them.

"Where is he-"

"Right here." A voice sung.

Purple King gasped in terror and turned her head, but then the next thing she felt was that a sharp pain in her legs. She fell, suddenly, and faced the dark sky above.

"Wa—ah!" She tried to stand but her legs were numb - they had been was cut by Silver Animus's sword which was glowing a deep red.

"Three down," Desmond said plainly and faced the remaining King, Green Grandee, who moved speedily with his large shield. "One to go…"

"You're well aware of who I really am, Silver Animus," Green Grandee said as he took a step backward.

"Yeah, you're Green Grandee, the Green King, the strongest King in terms of defence and after effect." Desmond paused and continued. "Your shield is one of the seven Arcs, Gamma, the third star of the dipper. According to the rumours I've heard, your shield can't be destroyed."

Green Grandee slowly put the shield down and spoke. "And? You're saying-"

Green Grandee's sentence was suddenly cut off as he gasped in shocked. Out of nowhere, the Silver Avatar disappeared from in front of him. Fear settled in. He darted his yellow eyes to every object possible.

When did he-? Green Grandee thought. He has incarnate abilities too? Impossible. I should've noticed-" He heard a small scrapping sound behind him that made him turn, but then he cried, suddenly, after he felt a sharp pain embedded in his back.

"Looking for me?" Silver Animus asked plainly. His sharp silver eyes met the terror stricken face of the Green King.

"You-!" Green King exclaimed. "When-?"

"I just noticed it a while ago," Desmond said, as he buried the tip of his sword deeper, making the Green king yelp. "While you were protecting the Purple King, she was building up charges which might've had an effect on you." Desmond looked up and saw the life bar of the Green King decreasing slowly.

"Your life bar wasn't damaged until you shielded for Purple King, which gave me an idea," Desmond paused and pushed his sword deeper, making the Green King grunt in pain. The tip of his sword came out from his chest. "Your back is your weakness… you should always check your 6."

Desmond then pulled the sword out from the avatar's body of the Green King. Letting go of his shield, Green Grandee fell to the ground, unable to move from the attack. The Silver Avatar looked at him then he mumbled something which summoned his skill.

"Now I'm going to take your Burst Points, and your level points." The man squatted down and stabbed the Green King in the back. The Green King, who was still unable to move, watched in grief as his level began to decrease like a countdown.

Level 8…7…6…5… Desmond counted silently with stern eyes as he stole the points from the king. Then, after what seem to be an hour, he stood up and looked down at the King.

"You're now Level One. You're free to go back to your level… If you dare." Desmond then moved his eyes to the Purple King and shouted a cursed in Japanese.

Desmond slowly opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. The park was still silent as ever; only a few people were walking, relaxing in the peaceful weather.

He stood up and stretched his body and inhaled the clean air.

"I ran out of time." He paused and smiled. "But it's worth it."

He started walking as he glanced at his watch. "I accelerated at 11:30, now its 11:35." He looked away from his watch and saw a playground full of children playing on the swings and screaming in fun.

"I'm Level 10 now," he said with a smile on his face and resumed walking. However, behind him, unknown to Desmond an old man clothed in a long overcoat, under the shade of a large tree, watched him as he walked by.

Re-update on chapter 10...there'll be a slight delay for the current chapter :) Special thanks to Katharonie for beta-reading and proofreading :)