Nega Nebulas dived into the Unlimited Neutral Field from the complex that housed the Arita residence, and were about to head into Kinuta Park.
"This is the Wasteland stage…", Haruyuki said.
"Excellent to navigate through. First, we need to find out the exact coordinates. Milady."
"Understood. Flower Divination."
After getting the unspoken order from Fuuko, Tsubomi – Rose Milady – shot one of her petals to what she wanted and confirmed the direction where the petal had landed, seemingly drawn to the immense Incarnate energy that was focused at that point.
"Now, we need to figure out how to get there."
"Alright! How about y'all totally get on my MEGA-COOL bike!"
"I'm afraid there's no space for all of us, Ash.", Fuuko reprimanded, while turning to a certain someone.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Niko called forth her Enhanced Armament, the 'Immobile Fortress' Invincible, and changed it to Dreadnought form, a truck which the team used for transport.
After a long and bumpy ride, which was necessary for Niko to charge up her special ability gauge, they arrived at their destination. They noticed Tsubomi's petal and Graph holding it, possibly arriving here beforehand. After everyone disembarked from Dreadnought, Niko changed it back to its regular tank form, and everyone turned their attention to two orbs of light that were not present there before.
"This is…", Haruyuki was about to speak.
"Yep, they are the people you have to face. More powerful than your typical Enemy, that's for sure.", Graph completed his sentence.
Just then, Metatron spoke inside Haruyuki's head:
"Be careful, Servant. I sense a huge amount of power from them, equivalent to us from the Four Saints – no, maybe something even greater."
"Right…"
Kirito and Asuna. According to Graph, they were once the greatest VR players twenty years ago, who had reached a level no one else would be able to. Once the champions of a floating fortress, they went on to conquer many different worlds, and had even tasted the very power of acceleration a long time ago. Their strength was quite formidable to those who knew them, enough to be considered 'gods' at one point.
However, even they had their own challenges. Especially with the beginning of the accelerated world, they were unable to achieve their task on their own, which was the safeguarding of the coveted item known to Burst Linkers at large, The Fluctuating Light.
They had to wait until the time was right to launch Accel Assault, Brain Burst, and Cosmos Corrupt, after which they invited strong, capable players who would carry out their final task.
However, as a response to the termination of the other two games, a fourth game – Dread Drive – was seemingly launched as a backup, putting Burst Linkers at jeopardy. Now, they made echoes of themselves in the accelerated world carrying the strength they once left behind, sleeping for a long time in the Highest Level, occasionally watching and observing the state of Brain Burst, and sometimes the real world via the Social Cameras, all to find the players they were searching for.
They finally responded to the rise of Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime. No other Linker had gotten closer to the truth of the accelerated world before these two.
But due to a certain bug – no, maybe it was a string of fate long forgotten, Kuroyukihime's Fluctlight reacted strongly to their re-emergence.
Haruyuki took notice of her, not in her Black Lotus avatar, but the spangled butterfly avatar she used as a part of her school persona, with her hands and legs wrapped in chains.
"Senpai…"
As if they were expecting their visitors, the two orbs expanded, revealing two young figures no more than eighteen years of age.
A feminine-looking boy dressed in black wielding two swords. An extraordinarily beautiful chestnut-haired girl dressed in white wielding a rapier. Both of them wore a royal attire of some kind.
Truly, they were once known as the fiercest warriors, demonstrating their aura from their tremendous will. They had awoken for a specific reason, and Nega Nebulas were determined to find out why.
"We shall take caution from here on out. Graph, Karasu-san, you two go on ahead of us."
Fuuko signaled the two Burst Linkers off to exchange words to their adversaries before blows.
"But I'm not sure if I'm ready for this…"
"Crow!"
"Yes?"
"You must keep your mind clear from any negative thoughts. You'll never be able to beat them otherwise."
"Understood."
After assuring him, Graph proceeded to bow before the two figures. Unsure of what action to take, Haruyuki did the same.
Finally, the figure clothed in black known as Kirito spoke:
"Hmm, so this is the warrior you have sent to us, Graph?"
"Yes, that's right. There is one other as well, but you see…"
Graph pointed towards the entangled butterfly avatar in the right of Kirito's field of vision. The chestnut-haired swordswoman known as Asuna also glanced over there and exclaimed:
"No, this can't be! She is… Never mind."
Asuna put her thoughts together and stepped forward to face Haruyuki, issuing a proclamation with the air of a queen:
"Silver Crow. You are currently the Burst Linker with the greatest potential."
"We are well aware that you and your legion have faced many challenges here in the accelerated world.", Kirito followed after her.
"And so…", Asuna continued. "We would like you to face us in battle."
"O-Ok! So, what will it be?"
The two swordsmen hesitated to say it, but they had no other option if they really wanted to test the Burst Linker offspring. Kirito proceeded to offer an item to Haruyuki that was a one-stop solution.
"A Sudden Death Duel."
"Sudden… Death…"
After the sudden realization, Haruyuki quivered.
"N-No please, I'm not Level 9 yet! Can I withdraw?"
"You cannot!", Asuna firmly declared.
"Sigh…"
Around six months ago, Haruyuki was challenged by Dusk Taker, Noumi Seiji, to a Sudden Death Duel. He was well aware of the risks it could bring out, as it meant a high-stakes duel for a Burst Linker with their privilege of acceleration being forfeit.
Kuroyukihime had promised him an all-out duel once he reached the necessary amount of Burst Points to become a Level 9, but deep down, he was afraid of being permanently bound by this condition. But now…
"Regardless of your level, we have acknowledged your strength. So, you must duel us in earnest without holding anything back. For you see, we desire the true strength needed to conquer this world. And we have found it in you two.", Asuna continued.
Looking at Kuroyukihime, Kirito added:
"She is currently in a stasis mode trying to unlock her hidden memories. I do not know what will happen to her, but… if you're her partner, I have to leave her as part of the duel. No matter what happens, you cannot hope to face us alone."
"But… But that's unfair…", Haruyuki said. "And besides, weren't you the ones who made her like that?"
"We can assure you, that wasn't our intention.", Kirito replied. "Though I should mention, this does not exempt your legion from participating in this battle. They are free to assist however they wish as they will not be bound by the Sudden Death Rule."
"Ok. Graph-san?"
"No way, you can count me out of this! I'm only here as an observer.", Graph hastily replied, looking for an excuse in order to escape from the battle.
Haruyuki sighed once more and activated the Sudden Death Duel Card he acquired from Kirito. He was struggling to hit the 'Accept' button. The burdens placed on him were too heavy to handle.
"Really wish I could use Senpai's help right now… no no, what am I thinking? I'm dueling them to save her! So…"
Just then, Fuuko reassured him from behind.
"Don't worry, Karasu-san. You are not alone. We will provide all the support you need."
Haruyuki looked back to see smiling faces from Nega Nebulas. They were the ones who would get to see the truth of the accelerated world standing behind him and Kuroyukihime, and to do that, they swore to confront any and all obstacles they would face together.
"Thanks, Master, and everyone."
With his will restored, Haruyuki declared like a knight:
"I, Silver Crow, will give it my all! For this world! For my legion! And…"
He glanced at the chained Kuroyukihime one last time.
"For Sen...for my King!"
"That's more like it", Kirito remarked with a grin on his face, eager for a battle after so long. Haruyuki then pressed 'Accept', and charged all of his Burst Points into the card.
10… 9… 8…
Haruyuki built up every ounce of his will for this battle.
7… 6… 5… 4…
This would be a battle that determined the fate of the accelerated world, so he needed to stay focused on his opponents.
3… 2… 1…
FIGHT!
With that system message, the duel began. Haruyuki came forward with a Laser Lance, but Asuna easily repelled it with the one-handed Sword Skill, Linear, while Kirito was preparing his next move.
"Did you forget, Crow? We can control everything, no matter what stage we are in."
As Kirito said this, he and Asuna spoke some unfamiliar words, like reciting a string of commands.
"Generate aqueous element, discharge. Generate thermal element, burst element."
"Generate aerial element, cryogenic element, discharge."
In the midst of the bizarre command recitation, an air current was formed where air rose from high to low temperature and gave rise to a cumulonimbus cloud, which was unheard of in the Wasteland stage. It was a bit small as they were not in a suitable stage to produce this, but it carried the one thing Silver Crow was weak to: electricity.
Asuna then directed the electricity generated from the cloud towards Haruyuki using Incarnate. The power in it was slightly weak, but it still served as an effective paralysis on him, chipping off a good chunk of his HP. Depending on external conditions, they could even recreate lightning in the Storm stage, or produce it with a strength similar that of the Purple King. As the developers, they could change the stage if they wanted to, but they did not do so for some reason.
"Whew, as expected of you two. You sure know how to counter my duel avatar. In that case!"
Haruyuki touched the ground with his fingers to dissipate the charge, and called out to Archangel Metatron, the Enemy he shared a close bond with.
"Please, Metatron. I need your help now. Let's finish them in one blast."
"Understood."
"Trisagion!"
He called out the name of the most powerful attack in Metatron's arsenal, wanting to test out his opponent's true power.
Just then…
"Generate crystalline element…"
"Generate metallic element…"
Kirito and Asuna spoke these two commands together.
""…discharge!""
A giant mirror formed where they were that deflected all of Trisagion. Normally, the beam should be powerful enough to blast through this mirror, but they had reinforced it with their shared Incarnate power, which was on a league of its own.
The beam headed straight back for Haruyuki, who deflected it to another direction using his Optical Conduction ability.
"They really are amazing, deflecting my Trisagion like that. No one else has been able to do this… aside from you.", Metatron voiced in his head.
"Alright, enough testing their abilities."
Haruyuki equipped Lucid Blade.
"Let's give them the swordfight they desire!"
He was up against Kirito, a master of two swords like Graph, and Asuna, a rapier master. His Lucid Blade was a straight sword, but a bit wide unlike Asuna's rapier, the Radiant Light, which was the thinnest a sword could go. It was good for blocking direct attacks, but not shielding from them entirely.
By contrast, Kirito had only brought out one sword so far, but it was of the same nature as Haruyuki's Lucid Blade. The sword, which was once called the Night Sky Sword, absorbed darkness from the surroundings to enhance its power, while Lucid Blade absorbed the light.
With this knowledge in mind, Haruyuki engaged with the two swordmasters in a long and grueling swordfight. They pushed him back with at most 5-hit combo Sword Skills, but aside from his 1-hit Incarnate attacks, Haruyuki also used the Guard Reversal technique he had learned from Kuroyukihime to get close to them. He could mostly deflect and parry, and hope for the best when attacking them. Even a clash of energy between his and Kirito's sword was tipping lesser and lesser in his favor.
With the intensity of each clash, as his Incarnate grew stronger against them, it triggered some memories hidden deep within him.
"Th…These are…"
He briefly saw a pair of white and black avatars, both really proficient at using swords, tackling down monsters using the most unorthodox methods. Haruyuki noticed that the white avatar was using a fighting style similar to his own.
"Is that… my avatar? I don't remember playing such a game before."
But he couldn't ponder on it further as he was intensely focused on the battle in front of him.
After a while, he grew weary of their attacks. Despite this, he managed to bring their HP down to 50%. It proved to be quite a challenge however, as his own HP went below 30%. Not even Metatron was able to help him in a pure swordfight.
"But… if that memory is true… and if she is that person…"
Haruyuki readied an attack. A desperate attempt to save the person he loved. To get her by his side. He realized he could only win this battle with her.
"I cannot lose here! I have to bring her in!"
He attempted to sever the chains binding Kuroyukihime using Omega Style. He imagined three slashes like the edges of a triangle, cutting off the three chains attached to her and causing her to fall.
"No! You idiot!"
Kirito on the other hand, knew that the process she was going through was incomplete, so he had to step in before any further complications were made. However, Haruyuki stopped him in his tracks with Laser Javelin, so he could not attend to her. He could only hope and silently plead to his friends to rescue her.
"I'll leave the rest to you, Master!"
As though hearing his call, Fuuko equipped Gale Thruster and rushed in.
She caught the falling Kuroyukihime in her arms. If she were holding the sharp-edged Black Lotus avatar, she had to be extra careful on choosing where she could touch her without losing a body part. Now, she could catch her body without worry.
She gently lay her down on the ground. After a few seconds, Kuroyukihime opened her eyes. That white beautiful face of hers came to life once again.
"Sacchan! You're ok!"
But what happened next was shocking to everyone present. She attempted to slash her fellow legion members. In doing so, she unconsciously manifested her hand blades, which were part of her Black Lotus avatar.
"…S-Sacchan? Where am I? And why did you call me that?"
Fuuko was shocked. She had never expected her dear friend to be in a total state of confusion.
Kuroyukihime pointed her blade at her friend, unaware of who she was.
"My name… is just Black Lotus. Don't get in my way!"
Though nobody said it, they were all sure of one thing: Kuroyukihime had lost her memories.