Chapter 22- While You Were Away
April 18th, 2057
Kazuto, Frank, Kuroba and Asuna hurried over to Dicey Café where Shino and the other members of Nega Nebulus were waiting after dropping off their luggage at their apartments. They needed to confirm what Meg had told them via instant message in person.
"That Seiji," Kazuto grumbled irritably. Even just thinking about the mysterious first-year made him angry. "I'm gonna make him regret the day he was ever born. No one messes with my sister!"
"Calm down, Kazuto," Frank said gently. "We can't be rash about this. We need to know what we're dealing with before we act, otherwise things will just get worse."
Kazuto just clenched his teeth in anger before the quartet arrived at their destination. They went inside, where they saw Shino and the others sitting around a large table in the center of the café. Besides them, there was no one else present since Andrew had put a closed sign on the door. The larger group seemed to be in a gloom, especially Suguha, which made Kazuto unconsciously ball his fists.
"Hey guys," Shino said slowly. "I'd ask how was your trip, but now might not be a good time."
"Unfortunate," Kuroba replied. "Now let's get this meeting started."
The third-year students took the empty seats by the table, which were conveniently right next to each other.
After a few moments of silence, Asuna said, "What happened?"
Meg, who had been comforting Suguha, faced the Lightning Flash and said, "It started two days ago…"
Flashback- April 16th, 2057
Meg, Suguha and Shino were on the school roof for a legion meeting. There were a few other students hanging out there as well, mainly because they were in the middle of their lunch break, but they kept their distance from the girls.
"You want to do what?!" Meg exclaimed in shock.
Shino brought her index finger to her lips in a shush manner. "Quiet, Meg," the Aqua Sniper player murmured. "We don't want to be overheard."
Meg looked a little embarrassed before whispering, "Why do you want to look into Seiji? Kuroba told us to stay out of trouble!"
"I know. But something about that guy just seems off to me. I just want to make sure he's no threat to us or our friends."
Suguha brought her hand to her chin in thought. "He does seem pretty suspicious. There's no way he could've beaten the third-year kendo members so quickly. I think we should look into him."
The Emerald Fencer let out a sigh in defeat. "Okay, but we'll have to be careful. If Seiji really is a Burst Linker, we don't know how strong he is or what his abilities are. And since our strongest members are in Okinawa right now, we could bite off more than we can chew."
"I know," Shino replied. "That's why we can't do anything too reckless. Leafa, do you think you could keep an eye on Seiji during kendo practice?"
"Sure. If I notice anything weird, I'll tell you guys." Suguha checked the time that was located in the top right corner of her peripheral vision. "Anyway, lunch is almost over. We should start heading to class."
Meg and Shino nodded, although the former was more reluctant. It was largely because Meg had to deal with a handful of monster attacks before she had reunited with her brother and since then, the attacks stopped. This idea was putting her on edge.
The school bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Shino walked off to go to her next class while Suguha prepared to do the same.
"Sugu, wait," Meg said suddenly, prompting the female Kirigaya to halt in her tracks and face her.
"What's wrong, Meg?"
The Emerald Fencer player found herself at a loss for words. "Just…be careful. I've got a bad feeling about this."
Suguha gave her best friend a warm smile. "Don't worry. I'll be just fine."
Present Day
Shino balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth in frustration. "Damn it. We should have waited for you guys to get back," the Aqua Sniper said bitterly. "Instead we fell right into Seiji's trap."
"That doesn't matter anymore," Kuroba spoke up. "What matters is what our next move will be. So what happened after that?"
This time Suguha was the one to speak. "Well, after school I went to kendo practice and kept an eye on Seiji, and then…"
Flashback- April 16th, 2057
Suguha watched as Seiji performed several practice swings in the school's kendo dojo while their team members either preparing to leave or continuing to practice. They were all dressed in their kendo gear, minus the pads and helmet.
The Verdant Fairy player had to admit that despite having potentially cheated during the kendo team trials, Seiji had a decent form. He held his shinai with both hands and had his feet spread evenly across the wooden floor, balancing his weight.
"Maybe you should take notes."
Suguha let out a gasp as she realized that Seiji was looking at her. She let out a cough to clear her throat before saying, "I appreciate the thought, but I think my form is good as is."
"Then why'd you lose to me, a first-year and new member of the kendo team?" Seiji goaded with an arrogant smirk.
"The ego of this guy… You win a few matches and you think you're the strongest person here," Suguha thought to herself. Instead of a bitter reply, she calmly said, "You got lucky that time. Our next match will be very different."
"Oh, then I look forward to it. Just try to put up a better fight next time."
Suguha clenched her teeth in frustration at the first-year's remark. She turned to leave before Seiji added, "That boy that hangs around the student vice-president, Frank right? He was on the kendo team, wasn't he?"
"Uh, yeah. From what I heard, he was one of the best members until Araya got him banned from the team."
"What a shame. I wouldn't mind taking him on. He might actually give me a challenge."
"Or wipe the floor with you," Suguha muttered under her breath. She was aware that Araya somehow found out that Frank's civilian form (the one he was in the most) had enhanced strength and reflexes, and being the bully he was, Araya leaked it to the kendo instructor, resulting in Frank getting kicked off the team and completely blacklisted from joining any other sports team. Suguha knew that for the most part, Frank actually held back during his matches, but there were occasional slip-ups where he either reacted too fast or put too much force into his swings, which were probably interesting for him to explain.
Kazuto, who was also on the kendo team at the time, naturally tried to defend his best friend, but the instructor threatened to kick him off the team if he didn't stop. However, Kazuto ended up quitting in protest, much to the instructor's shock, since it was close to the nationals and Kazuto was one the team's top members. Umesato High ended up losing that year because of it.
"Did you say something?" Seiji questioned with a raised brow.
"No. I should get going. My friend is waiting for me."
Seiji didn't respond, prompting Suguha to gather her gear before going to the girls' shower room to clean up and change. After putting on her street clothes, she headed for the school gate, where Meg was waiting.
"Trouble at practice?" Meg questioned.
"N-not exactly," Suguha replied before the they began walking to their apartment. "Seiji didn't try anything strange during practice today. But I think he knows I'm watching him."
"Not good," Meg said slowly. "Did he say anything?"
"Well he mentioned Frank out of the blue when I was about to leave. It came off as weird to me."
Meg nodded in acknowledgement. "That is weird. You don't think he knows Frank's identity, do you?"
"How could he? Frank's done a pretty good job of hiding his full powers. There's no way Seiji could find out Frank's true identity on his own."
That didn't seem to convince the younger Storm-Furuta, so Suguha pulled her into a sideways hug, causing them both to stop.
"Relax, I'm sure everything will be alright. Your brother wouldn't let his biggest secret be found out so easily."
"I know," Meg said weakly. "But I just can't stop worrying. Frank's the only family I have left. I nearly lost him after the Demon War and I just got him back. If something happens to him…" she choked back a sob, "I don't know what I'd do."
"Frank's not going anywhere, not with Kazuto and Kuroba around," Suguha said soothingly.
"I hope you're right."
Little did they know that tomorrow would be the day that Seiji would make his first move.
The Next Day
Suguha was in the north courtyard at Umesato High School. This courtyard had rows of incredibly ancient camphor and oak trees that stretched along all sides, making the place dim even during the day. There were no benches or lawns, nor security cameras, so most students never go near it. It also happened to be Frank and Kazuto's favorite place on campus, having taken several naps under the shade of the trees.
The reason Suguha was here was because Seiji had sent a text mail to her, asking her to meet him here alone. That did send red flags to her brain, but she didn't tell Meg or Shino about the message as she saw this as her chance to get some answers out of the first-year. The designated time was the twenty-minute break between second and third periods.
At first Suguha thought she was the first to arrive, until she saw Seiji Nomi come out from behind an oak tree. His build was slim, like that of a child, making her question if he was a threat for a brief moment.
Seiji bowed lightly, his soft, bowl-cut hair swinging. He had a big smile on his face.
"That's game over, Kirigaya, or should I say, Verdant Fairy."
Suguha's eyes widened in alarm. He knew her avatar's name in Brain Burst. But how could he have known?
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Suguha questioned.
"The match. My victory," Seiji said, retaining his smile while shrugging his shoulders.
It took Suguha a second to realize what he meant. "We haven't even had a proper duel yet," she said with a scowl. "You keep hiding your name from the matching list."
"Who needs duels when you have the knowledge that I do? Like how your brother, Kazuto Kirigaya, is the Black Swordsman, also known as Graphite Edge, and how Frank Storm is the Dark Swordsman and Black Wolf. In fact, I know all of your identities, including the student vice-president, Kuroyukihime."
"But how?"
"Sorry, that's a secret. By the way, take a look at this."
Seiji sent Suguha a digital folder to her Neurolinker wirelessly. When she opened it, the folder contained several pictures of Marth training Kuroba in the city park.
"Oh no," Suguha said in dread.
"Your friends should've chosen a more private area than the park. Sure they were in an isolated section of it, but to think that the Dark Swordsman and the Black King would make such an amateurish mistake."
Suguha clenched her fists tightly as she glared at Seiji, who didn't even flinch. "What do you want, Seiji?"
"Oh nothing much. I just want to use you and your friends as my pets, giving me Burst Points."
"No way. Do you really think you'd get your way, just like that?!" Suguha exclaimed in anger.
Seiji simply sneered. "I do actually. I wonder what the military will do once they learn that the Aegis, the being who nearly destroyed Tokyo and disappeared thirty years ago, was attending this very school. I bet they'd try to capture him and find a way to weaponize him."
Suguha's eyes widened with fear. "You wouldn't…"
"That won't happen!"
The Verdant Fairy player turned around and saw Shino and Meg appear behind her. Meg also had the angriest face Suguha had ever seen on her, indicating that she must have heard the entire conversation.
"Even if you leak out my brother's identity to the government, they wouldn't do a damn thing!" Meg continued, her tone filled with rage. "Because there's not a military force on the planet that's strong enough to take him on."
Seiji, however, looked unfazed. "True, but does that also apply to his Driver? If they have Kuroyukihime, then the Aegis wouldn't dare to resist, lest something happen to her."
"You bastard!" Shino exclaimed in outrage. "You'd really do that just to get Burst Points?! You don't have a lick of honor!"
"Honor's for wimps like you," Seiji replied. "Now then, we've got three minutes until next period. I believe I should collect my Burst Points, but who to choose?" He eyed the three girls before setting his gaze on Suguha. "Since you requested a duel, I might as well accept, Kirigaya. I hope you're ready."
"Sugu!" Meg said loudly.
"Burst Link!" Seiji shouted.
Suguha was confused as to what just happened. Not only did Seiji know her and her friends' Brain Burst avatars, but he also knew Frank's identity and even threatened to expose it. Next Seiji challenged her to a duel while she was still in shock.
"Just calm down," Verdant Fairy said to herself. "I'll just beat him and show Seiji that he can't mess with us."
Verdant Fairy was a level 5 Burst Linker and had a green metallic appearance that resembled her Sylph account from Alfheim Online. She had a green and white waistcoat that covered the backs of her legs, long blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail with a flower-like headband, and had a katana strapped to her waist in a white sheath. She also had a featureless face with no mouth and dark-green eyes.
The stage she was in was dark, the sky changing to a shade of indigo of dusk. The school buildings had disappeared before being replaced by gray stone structures, tombstones. Moss-covered crosses and stone monuments stretched over endlessly, as far as Verdant could see.
When the stage generation was complete, two HP gauges materialized on either side of the top of her visual field. The one on the left had the name Verdant Fairy directly below it while the right had Dusk Taker, who was a level 5.
Verdant had never seen that name before and yet somehow it belonged to a high-level Burst Linker. Seiji probably blackmailed other Burst Linkers into giving him their points, allowing him to level up without having to actually fight. The word "Fight" in large flaming letters appeared before her before scattering into the air, prompting Verdant to draw her katana.
The green-type avatar quietly marched straight ahead, where she saw the strange form of a duel avatar that was standing still.
The silhouette was a normal human shape, but on the smaller side, not too different from Verdant Fairy. Its face was a featureless visor and had reddish-purple eyes beneath it. The body and legs were slim poles, while the arms looked completely different.
The right arm looked to be of the metallic variety. The inner side of the thick arm, made up of an assemblage of gears and shafts, was equipped with a brutal edged tool like bolt cutters. The left arm, however, was quite different. It appeared to be organic with thin protruding segments and divided from the elbow down into three long tentacles.
The avatar's form had no real sense of unity, but the entire body was a uniform dark purple, just as the "dusk" of its name indicated. Its affiliation on the color circle meant it was probably meant for close-range and distant, but the saturation was fairly low.
That was all Verdant Fairy could glean from her observations. She braced herself, not lowering guard by even an inch, and said, "So you're going to try to take away my points now. I let you beat me and you get today's 'tribute', that's what you meant?"
Seiji, Dusk Taker, remained silent for a few seconds before turning his twilight-colored visor toward Verdant. "You sure sound confident, Kirigaya," he said finally, sounding as though he was suppressing his laughter while the tentacles of his left arm writhed. "I wonder how long that'll last. You'll soon learn your place, at my feet."
"Well you just revealed that you're a Burst Linker and I now know your avatar name and appearance," Verdant retorted. "Don't you think this could be just as lethal as revealing Frank's identity to the government?"
"In other words, you're saying that if I leak out Frank's identity as the Aegis, you and your friends will counter by outing me in the real world and I'll be attacked by other acceleration users?"
"Is there any reason I shouldn't?"
"Ha-ha-ha! Tough talk! Well, I'll acknowledge that you have managed to get ahold of a card. But to get your points, no matter which route we go, there is still the need for the duel. So I thought I'd hang onto one other thing for you."
"What?" Verdant wasn't able to grasp what Dusk Taker meant, his words distorted by a metallic effect.
"Yes. Something very precious to you. Now then…we went to all the trouble of getting this stage, so perhaps we should fight? It is a bit lonely here with no one in the Gallery, but this shouldn't take too long, so I don't mind." As he spoke, the blackish-purple avatar raised the cutters of his right hand and snapped the blades shut.
Verdant couldn't tell what Dusk Taker was planning. If they were going to fight, then she had no intention of going down quietly. With the knowledge of Dusk's real identity in her hands, she could broadcast it across the entire Accelerated World, and Seiji would be hunted down by point-hungry Burst Linkers to the point where he couldn't take a step without getting challenged. Dusk Taker must have a plan to ensure that doesn't come to pass, but even then, all she had to do was inform her brother, Frank and Kuroba of the matter and they could deal with it themselves.
She didn't know what Seiji was planning to take from her, but whatever it was, Verdant knew she had to defeat him before he tries.
"If you think this will be an easy victory, then you're sorely mistaken!" Verdant Fairy shouted before she shot towards her opponent with blinding speed.
The battlefield they were in was the Cemetery stage, whose main characteristics were that it was dark and the arms of the dead shot up from the ground to occasionally grab onto the legs of the duelers.
Even though they were the same level, that didn't mean that their fighting strengths were equal. Unlike other online games, a difference in level was not a determining factor in victory or defeat in Brain Burst. Obviously, a battle between a level one and nine would be entirely one-sided as the level 9 player would have more abilities. But a battle between two level 5 duelists, the stage attributes and compatibility with them were very important.
Unfortunately, because of her bright colors, Verdant Fairy can't take full advantage of the terrain to attempt sneak attacks on her opponent, unlike her brother, Frank, and Kuroba. On the upside, however, there were plenty of breakable objects for her to destroy to fill up her special-attack gauge.
Just like Meg, Kazuto and Frank, Suguha's avatar had an aviation ability. Out of the four of them, Suguha was the fastest, even with minimal investment in her flight speed. Her wings were like a part of her, just like her arms or legs. She didn't know what she would feel if she couldn't soar through the skies just like she did back in Alfheim Online.
"Seii!" Verdant Fencer ran her katana through several tombstones, cutting them like a hot knife through butter. The object destruction bonus she got from doing so went straight into charging her special-attack gauge.
Dusk Taker kept his sights on the female avatar while barely moving from his position. He shifted his feet unhurriedly and braced the bolt cutters of his right hand before him and the tentacles of his left behind.
"Chehhh!" By the time Dusk Taker waved his left arm with a high-pitched, assertive kiai shout just like in the kendo tournament, the distance separating them was still more than five meters.
Suddenly the three tentacles bent like whips before snaking out ahead. But Verdant was expecting this. In basically every game, tentacles always snaked out. The speed they were moving in was decent, but they were much slower than a bullet. Verdant moved her head to dodge the one targeting her face before chopping the remaining two with her katana and closed in on Dusk Taker.
Dusk Taker attempted to strike her in the chest with his bolt cutter arm, but Verdant Fairy simply slipped past it and slashed at his right arm and chest with her katana. Dusk Taker's HP had lost a chunk, but it was nowhere close to empty.
"Gotta keep up the pressure," Verdant Fairy thought to herself quickly.
Her opponent was trying to keep himself from falling over, but Verdant stayed on the offense, cutting into his defenseless chest. She refrained from using any of her katana Sword Skills, as they would cause her body to go rigid for a few seconds after they concluded, and in a one-on-one fight, that could be deadly. Instead she decided to save her strongest skills for when Dusk's HP was nearly depleted and she was airborne.
"Ngh!" Dusk Taker groaned.
Verdant Fairy kept on attacking as her opponent staggered, delivering slash after slash, wedeling down his HP bit by bit. Suguha's avatar was much lighter than her real body, allowing her to perform nimble techniques with ease.
"There's no way I'll lose to a person who just runs from duels. When it comes to one-on-one combat, there's barely anyone who can beat me."
"Someone who focuses on finding dirt on his opponents than fighting fairly has no reason to call themselves a Burst Linker!" Verdant Fairy proclaimed as she activated a one-hit wind katana skill, causing her blade to glow with a green light effect. She let the system take control of her body, having her slash diagonally on Dusk Taker's chest. The skill then generated a strong gust of wind, sending the blackish-purple avatar crashing violently into a nearby monument, his health gauge now down to 30 percent.
"It's over!" Verdant Fairy declared as she summoned her wings, which were the green wings of the Sylph race.
This was her chance to land the final blow. Her special-move gauge was completely full thanks to her constant attacks and there was no cover for Dusk Taker to hide behind.
Verdant took one breath and prepared to take off. Suddenly Dusk Taker's left arm twitched to life with no advance warning as its owner was lying limp against the ruined monument. The three tentacles flew at her like each was a separate life-form. She managed to dodge the first two with some fancy footwork, but the third managed to coil itself around her right wrist. Verdant didn't panic and instead grabbed onto the tentacle with her left hand and yanked it up as she kicked off the ground.
She rose up by about fifty centimeters, shifted the perpendicular thrust of her wings to the horizontal, and tried to drag Dusk Taker up with her. Her opponent resisted by planting both his feet firmly into the ground, but Verdant had enough momentum to make those feet scrape ruts into the ground.
She had fought several opponents who had tried to capture her with whips and wires, but nearly all of them had either been pulled up high into the sky, still connected to their whips or wires, or trapped awkwardly as they scraped along the surface of the battlefield. Similar to her fellow aviation users, Verdant Fairy's wings could keep going as long as her special-move gauge wasn't empty.
"Aaah!" Verdant Fairy's wings began glowing as they began beating fiercely, ready to drag Dusk Taker across the battlefield to finish him off.
Dusk Taker caught the elbow of his own left arm with the enormous cutters of his right hand. Verdant didn't have any time to register it as she heard an unpleasant snip, the tentacles being severed just as easily as with her katana.
The tension of the tentacle clinging onto her abruptly vanished, and she was sent cartwheeling backward through the air. She bounced at least three times on the ground, destroying several tombstones before coming to a stop. Verdant Fairy found herself looking up at the reddish-black twilight sky in daze before getting back on her feet. Suddenly skeletal white arms erupted from the ground around her, grabbing her limbs. It the "Ensnare" terrain effect of the Cemetery stage.
"Damn it! Not now!" Verdant Fairy tried to brush them all off, but the arms just kept coming and she was slowly being pulled down to the ground. She quickly spread her wings and began flapping them fiercely to go straight up.
However, just as she was about to break free, a shadow shot toward her, moving like some kind of insect, and came down on Verdant's shoulder with a kick, nailing her back down.
Above her was none other than Dusk Taker, who had less than 20 percent of his HP gauge thanks to the self-amputation of his left arm. Verdant Fairy's HP, however, was still at 90 percent. A turn-around seemed impossible at this point, yet the dark-colored avatar looked strangely relaxed. He bent over languidly and drew near Verdant's featureless face.
Verdant Fairy let out a grunt before saying, "Do you like stepping on people that much?"
"Heh. Maybe. Now then, I think it's time this duel came to an end." Dusk Taker lifted up his left arm, half of it missing, to stare at the cross section.
Verdant found herself staring at it as well and watched as the three wriggling nubs grew into three new tentacles. "So they regenerate? Just like a lizard's tail or something."
"If we're talking about it, it's more like octopi or sea anemones. Or wait, I think the former owner said starfish."
"Wait, what?!" Verdant Fairy exclaimed in shock.
"I told you, didn't I?" Dusk turned towards her and began to murmur in an even colder voice, "That I would hang onto something very precious to you," the blades of the bolt cutters clacked open around Verdant's right arm, "means," light from the reddish-purple eyes swirled around in the center of Dusk Taker's helmet, which was so close now that it almost touched Verdant's head, "this. Demonic Commandeer."
"He's using his special move!"
However, the voice uttering the attack name had no fight or enthusiasm in it, instead the words were simply spat out. It was almost like Seiji was trying to distance himself from the rule that players must call out the name to activate their special attacks.
Dusk Taker's face emitted a pillar of black light that slammed into Verdant Fairy's face before bouncing back in every direction.
"Ngh…!" Verdant groaned as she gritted her teeth. She prepared to withstand the attack but there was no way Seiji could win now, even at this range with one blow. Once Dusk Taker was done, that was when she'll counterattack.
However, her HP gauge didn't decrease at all. There was no pain either, not even heat from the light blasting into her face. But Dusk Taker's special-attack gauge was indeed plummeting from fully charged at an alarming rate. The blackish-purple vortex increased further in intensity, putting a cold pressure on Verdant's face, but besides that, nothing seemed to have changed.
"Wait."
Suguha suddenly felt something being sucked from her body. She realized it the instant her opponent's special-attack gauge had dropped to half. The flow of the light had reversed itself, erupting like a slithering liquid from her face and re-entering Seiji's.
Several seconds later, and the phenomenon had stopped. Dusk Taker's special-attack gauge was at zero now while Verdant Fairy's was fully charged. Neither of their HP gauges had changed.
Verdant Fairy willed herself to fly. Dusk Taker's attack might have a delayed effect, so there was no point in waiting for it to be activated. If she could get her opponent to a high enough altitude, she could drop him and end the duel in her victory.
Strangely, though, nothing happened. The skeletal arms that clung to her were gone, leaving the only thing holding her down was the light touch of Dusk Taker's left foot and right hand, the former on her chest and the latter on her right arm.
Suddenly her nerves ran cold as she realized something. She couldn't fly. No matter how much she concentrated on her back, the Sylph wings that brought her body up into the sky wouldn't respond.
Dumbstruck, Suguha whirled her head around and looked over her shoulder.
"Where are they?!" she thought in a panic.
The two pairs of green wings that should've been there, sparkling as always, had disappeared without a trace.
"No," Verdant Fairy said in despair before turning to face forward again.
The blackish-purple avatar in front of her stood up soundlessly, casually releasing her restraints and taking several steps back.
"What did you just do to me?!" Verdant Fairy exclaimed.
"Heh-heh-heh." Seiji's laugh was a mix of a young child's innocence, and a veteran's tenacity. "Isn't it obvious? Your wings have been clipped. Now," he crossed his arms in front of his chest and then thrust then thrust them out to the sides, "they're mine!"
A hollow, wet sound filled the air as Suguha watched in shock as two curving protuberances stretched out from Dusk Taker's back. They extended a meter or so before stopping, groaning, and then they deployed wide to both sides, scattering a dull, viscous black liquid.
They were wings, composed of bones and membrane, like a bat or a demon, and formed a sinister black silhouette in the red of the evening sky. Suguha could only stare as Dusk Taker attempted flap his new wings and try to take off.
"I see. It's more difficult than I thought. I suppose they're controlled not just by the physical order system, but also with input from other systems. I'll need to practice until I can control them without thinking."
Verdant's body felt completely numb to her as she tried to process what just happened. This couldn't be real. Her wings, the ability she loved so much back in ALO, was gone. It was too hard to believe.
"Oh, this is very real." Dusk Taker spread his hands slowly as he hovered three meters above the ground. "My signature special attack, Demonic Commandeer, takes the Enhanced Armament, special attack, or any one of the other abilities of the target avatar. Those tentacles, I got from someone else ages ago, but I'm not that good with them. Do you get what I'm saying? There's no time limit. I can keep whatever I steal for as long as I want, but I can only keep so much."
Verdant's eyes widened in shock. "No. Give them back right now!"
"Oh I will, after you graduate from Umesato High School. Naturally you'll be giving me Burst Points until then every week. You'll be fine without it. I could never steal those sword skills of yours. You even almost made me use my trump card. Heh-heh-heh… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Suguha simply gritted her teeth and said, "You're nothing but a coward! There's no honor in stealing someone else's powers!"
"But isn't that how all your other opponent's felt when you used your wings against them? I'm just returning the favor. Now then, I believe it's time to collect this week's payment. Hold still, why don't you?"
Verdant Fairy didn't have the will to fight back after losing her wings. She simply let Seiji take out all of her HP returning them to reality.
Meg saw that Suguha had fallen to her knees in despair. "Sugu!" she exclaimed in worry. Meg then glared at Seiji, who simply smiled at them. "What did you do?!"
"Oh, I just took your friend's wings from her. I'll give them back after you all graduate, but only if you cooperate. Don't even think about telling your Legion members about this, or Kirigaya will never get her wings back again."
"Why you…" Meg looked ready to throttle Seiji, only for Shino to grab her by the wrist. "Why are you stopping me? He has to pay!"
"That's just what he wants you to do. He's already taken something from Sugu. Don't let him do the same to you."
"How wise, Asada," Seiji replied as he brought his hand to her cheek. "You might make a pretty good pet.
Suddenly, Shino slapped his hand away from her. "Touch me again, and I'll put a bullet in your forehead. I don't know how you managed to steal Sugu's wings, but I will get them back for her."
Seiji, however, looked unfazed by the threat. "We'll see." He then walked off as Suguha began to break down, tears running down her cheeks.
Present Day
"That bastard!" Klein said in outrage as he slammed his fist against the table. "I can't believe he did that."
"Are her wings really gone?" Ayano questioned.
"Unfortunately, they are," Meg confirmed. "Sugu and I had a duel this morning to see if they came back, but they were still gone. Seiji's probably the only one who can return them, but there's no way he'll budge on returning them until we graduate."
"Seiji," Kazuto muttered in anger, catching the attention of his partners.
"Kazuto?" Frank asked in concern.
The Graphite Edge player didn't respond. Instead he got out of his chair and left the café.
"Where is he going?" Kuroba questioned.
"He's not… Oh no." Frank immediately sprang up from his chair and sprinted out the door. "Kuroba! Tell the others what happened in Okinawa. I'll go after Kazuto!"
"Uh, okay," Kuroba replied, still confused as to what just happened.
"Kazuto, wait!"
The Black Swordsman stopped in his tracks before turning to see his partner running towards him. "What do you want, Frank?" he questioned coldly.
"You're going to confront Seiji, aren't you? Don't try to deny it. I know you better than anyone. Are you insane?! If you do that, he might dispose of Sugu's wings so she can't ever get them back."
"Oh, he'll do nothing of a sort, if he knows what's good for him," Kazuto said fiercely. "Besides, I know you want to make him pay just as badly as I do. Why don't we go make it clear exactly who he's dealing with?"
Frank was silent for a few moments before nodding and saying, "You're right. Let's go pay the sneaky bastard a visit."
Seiji was alone in the school's kendo dojo preparing to leave when suddenly the lights began flickering.
"Huh? What's going on?" he questioned to himself. He held his shinai tightly, as if preparing for an attack.
The room then went dark, making it almost impossible for him to see. Seiji also sensed that he wasn't alone.
"Seiji Nomi, or should I say, Dusk Taker," a male voice said. "I heard you threatened my friends yesterday and stole my sister's aviation ability."
Seiji gritted his teeth as he realized who it was. "Kazuto Kirigaya," he said calmly. "I suppose I'll have to inform Suguha that the deal is off then. Her wings are mine forever now that she told you."
Suddenly he felt something moving towards him at high speed. The next thing he knew, his shinai had been split cleanly in half by a black sword, with the top half landing on the floor with a thud.
"What the hell?" Seiji suddenly found himself feeling very afraid for his life. Even Brain Burst couldn't protect him from being slashed at by a real sword.
"Looks like someone's afraid," another voice spoke up. Seiji recognized it to be Frank, but just like Kazuto, he was hidden in the darkness. However, he could hear two pairs of footsteps circling him. "Reminds me of another person who acted just as arrogant as you. What was his name again?"
"Nobuyuki Sugou, otherwise known as the Fairy King Oberon," the Black Swordsman replied. "He tried to brainwash Asuna into marrying him and even tried to brainwash us as well. Do you know what happened to him, Seiji?"
"Uh, you guys fought him," Seiji said nervously. He knew it was too risky to fight back, especially since he can't even see his enemies, so he decided to humor them.
He heard Frank let out a scoff. "I wouldn't call that a fight. Sugou was all talk. Once we got rid of his GM powers, he became a sniveling coward. I then cut his lousy avatar in half."
"And I stabbed him in the eye," Kazuto added in a cold tone.
Something about how the duo said those remarks chilled Seiji to the bone. Suddenly two figures then appeared in front of the first-year. It was none other than the Darkness Duo themselves, the heroes of Aincrad, Kirito and Marth.
They were both in their SAO forms with Kirito having Elucidator and Dark Repulser strapped to his back while Marth held Lunara and had Solaris in its scabbard.
"We know your kind, Seiji," Marth said venomously. "You act all smug when things are in your favor, but when they're not, you become a sniveling coward. You made a big mistake crossing us."
The angry presence around Marth outright terrified Seiji. "I-if you kill me, Suguha will never get her wings back. They'll be lost forever."
"Who said we're here to kill you?" Kirito questioned. "We're not like you. We don't go after people in the real world to force them into submission." He pointed a finger at the Dusk Taker player, causing the latter to flinch. "But know this. Don't think that whatever mod you use to keep your name off the matching list will protect you forever. I'm coming for you, and I will Sugu's wings back. After that, I'll make sure you'll never be able to accelerate again."
Seiji's eyes widened in fear. It seems he sorely underestimated the Darkness Duo. Right now, the only thing protecting him was the mod he used to hide his avatar's name and Verdant Fairy's wings, but as Kirito just pointed out, that protection won't last forever.
Kirito and Marth then faded into the darkness before the lights came on again, revealing that Seiji is alone.
"I might need some help with this," Seiji muttered to himself.
That Evening
Kazuto was lying in his bed, wondering what he should do. It was nine o'clock and was a clear night. He knew that there was a dark magic spell he could use to take back Suguha's wings from Seiji, but the name of the spell eludes him.
"Damn it. Not only do I need to remember that spell, but I need to find a way to get way stronger so I can beat Seiji. But how am I supposed to do that?"
Suddenly he got a text mail from Klein. Kazuto was curious what the red-head wanted, so he opened the message to read it.
"Hey, Kirito, I hope you're still up because I have something important to tell you," Klein had typed. "I contacted one of my friends in Brain Burst and explained the situation to them. Good news is that they'll be happy to help. They asked for you to meet them at Kannana and Inogashira Street in the Unlimited Neutral Field at nine thirty. You can also bring one person with you too. I'd offer to go with you, but I have a late shift tonight and my boss can get really cranky if he catches anyone slacking off. Good luck."
"Interesting. I wonder who this person could be."
Kazuto already knew who to contact. He immediately sent a message to Frank telling him what Klein had done. He could've also contacted Kuroba, but she was most likely asleep already and he didn't want to bother her. Besides, Klein said he could only bring one person with him.
He got a reply from Frank saying that he was in. He cracked a light smile before waiting until it was time, closed his eyes and said, "Unlimited Burst."
When he opened his eyes, Graphite Edge found himself standing in the Unlimited Neutral Field, which currently had a wasteland vibe to it. He quickly made his way to the rendezvous point, running into Black Wolf along the way.
The duo then just stood there, waiting for this person to arrive. They needed to stay on guard since there were Enemies that wandered the area as well as other Burst Linkers.
"Do you have any idea who we're meeting?" Black Wolf questioned.
"No idea. Klein didn't tell me. I just hope this isn't a hoax."
"Me too."
Suddenly the loud sounds of an engine roared in the air, causing them to perk up.
"Wait. I've heard that sound before," Black Wolf realized.
"Yo! Wolf, long time no see!" a familiar voice shouted.
Graphite and Wolf turned around were they saw duel avatar with a skull helmet riding on an American motorcycle heading towards them.
"Ash Roller!" Black Wolf said in surprise as the biker stopped in front of them. "You made it to level 4?"
"You bet! Losing to you two times in a row was the motivation I needed to increase my level," Ash Roller confirmed. "Red Shogun told me what happened. Is it true Verdant Fairy lost her aviation ability?"
Graphite Edge lowered his head in shame. "Yeah, it is. Do you know of a way to get it back?"
"Not a clue. But I think I know someone who can give you the power you need to do it. Hop in." Ash Roller hit a button on his dashboard, causing a sidecar to appear.
The Darkness Duo locked eyes with each other and nodded before climbing onto the motorcycle, with Graphite sitting behind Ash Roller while Wolf sat in the sidecar. Once they were aboard, Ash revved the engine and took off.
"So where are we going?" Black Wolf questioned loudly as the strong gust of wind and the roaring engine made it hard to hear.
"Tokyo Tower, in Minato Ward's Shiba Park," Ash answered back. "Let me tell you two a story on the way there. Before you guys showed up there was only one Burst Linker that achieved the closest thing to flying. People called her 'Iron Arms', 'Icarus', things like that. Eventually she disappeared from the duel frontline and has made her home on Tokyo Tower."
"Wow, she sounds strong," Graphite replied as they were nearing their destination, which was a lone immensely tall stone pillar. There were no stairs or passageways leading up, likely mirroring that the old Tokyo Tower was off-limits.
"Oh, she was terrifying when she wanted to be," Ash Roller continued. "She also happens to be my guardian. Lucky me, right?"
"Yeah, lucky," Wolf said with little enthusiasm.
"Well, Wolf, I'd say you're the luckiest out of all of us. Not just anyone can catch the attention of a King, much less the Black King herself. Anyway, I'm sure my guardian will be more than happy to help you guys out."
Graphite Edge couldn't help but smile in response. "Thanks, Ash. I mean it."
"Don't mention it. Any friend of Red Shogun is a friend of mine, even if we're in different Legions."
Graphite made a mental note to ask Klein how he befriended Ash Roller as the biker stopped his motorcycle near the stone pillar.
"Is something wrong?" Graphite questioned.
"No. I'm just waiting for the wind to stop."
After a few minutes of waiting, the wind finally stopped. "Now! Hold on tight! We're going up!" Ash Roller shouted.
"How are we… Ahhhhh!" Black Wolf exclaimed as Ash Roller raced his bike towards the stone pillar.
Somehow Graphite and Wolf managed to grab onto something as the front wheel of the bike jumped up, slammed against the vertical stone wall and started to climb straight up the pillar.
"No way!" Graphite Edge shouted in disbelief. Wolf had told him that Ash Roller had used this wall-climbing power during their second battle, but he never thought he'd see it used for this.
Somehow the bike was able to ride up the pillar without even wobbling, almost as if some mysterious gravity were at work to keep the tires glued to the wall. Obviously, the bike wasn't going as fast as it would on the ground, but it still making decent progress. The top of the spire was coming into view, with the edge tracing a beautiful arc in the yellow sky.
Now that Graphite thought about it, he could easily make it up the pillar by flying. He could sprint up walls if he built up enough speed, but there was no way he could climb this entire pillar with it. Unfortunately, when they were about ten seconds from reaching their destination, he felt a wall of air about to rush at them from the left.
"Shit! Wind. Shiiiit!" Ash Roller cursed as he turned the handlebars and shifted the motorcycle's trajectory to the left. The gust that blew in seconds later sideswiped the bike mercilessly.
"Fly hiiigh!"
"Aaaaaaah!"
Wolf then gritted his teeth in frustration. "No way we're dying from some stupid wind. Stormveil!"
Suddenly a vortex of black wind appeared around the bike, blocking the wall of air, allowing Ash to steady his bike.
"Nice thinking, Wolf!" Ash Rider shouted. "Keep that wind off us!"
Wolf let out a strained grunt as he struggled to maintain the barrier. Normally he'd need to use 40 percent of his special-move gauge to use this defense spell but under special circumstances, he can use it briefly (at least a few seconds) without even charging the gauge.
Soon the trio reached the top of the pillar, allowing Wolf to dismiss his spell. They then got off the bike and gazed at what could only be described as a heavenly garden. The lawn was a bright green that covered the entire area, with a small spring in the center. The shimmering water there was astonishingly clear.
In the center of the spring was a small floating island, where Graphite saw an elliptical blue light turning slowly. He instantly recognized it as a portal, the sole way to return to the real world of your own volition from the Unlimited Neutral Field. Portals were usually found in landmark-type buildings, like train stations or tourist spots, so it was a little surprising to see one here.
On the opposite side of the garden was another unexpected something. It was none other than small house surrounded by countless flowering plants. The walls were a pure white, and the pointed roof was a deep green. It matched the ivy that was climbing up the walls.
"Wow," Graphite Edge said in awe. "This is a nice place to live in."
"Yeah," Wolf replied.
The door to the house immediately opened, prompting Ash Roller to stand at attention. Graphite Edge was curious as what Ash's guardian looked like, but what came out was nowhere close to what he expected.
What came rolling out, creaking as it did, was indeed a two-wheeled vehicle. However, the wheels were on the sides rather than front to back. The spokes were extremely thin silver lines and the tires were also silver, about a centimeter wide. On the vehicle was a slender chair, also knitted from silver wire. It was a wheelchair.
The duel avatar sitting on the wheelchair had her arms resting in her lap, which were tinged with a brilliant blue, and the lower jaw of the downward-pointing face was in the shape of a sharp mask. He couldn't see more of her face because of the white bonnet hat she was wearing. She was also wearing a dress of the same color.
"Graphite Edge, Black Wolf," Ash Roller said slowly. "I'd like you to meet my guardian, Sky Raker."
To be continued
Finally this chapter is done. I probably made this one longer than I should have but I wanted to end it with Marth and Kirito meeting Sky Raker. I wonder what she's going to teach them. Maybe about a certain system Kuroba hinted about in a previous chapter? You'll just have to wait to find out!