"He's taking a long time to come out of that cave. Why now of all times?"

"You know what the stakes are and so do I, so just shut up and watch."

"Oh, fantastic coming from you! You've been moaning about what we did after you blew yourself up with some mines for the last ten minutes!"

This conversation had continued for a while now. Both Subaru and Starbug had returned to the waiting rooms from before entering the final fight. Many others joined them, like those killed during the match or others still holding onto bets from the beginning. Previously, throughout the majority of the fight, cheers and roars dominated the city and everywhere between the highrise skyscrapers. Even as dusk crept by, the crowds only grew larger. Lights grew brighter across the Glocken as the light provided by the sun above faded. Fights were as common as large banners fluttering above the endless crowds. All eyes were on the screens dotting the city to see how this Battle of Bullets would end. Would the mysterious death-wannabe take victory? Or, will it be the unexpected pair that have managed to put their differences aside to come together as one? Only time will tell.

"You two sound as friendly as ever to each other." A tall tanned woman with lush red hair approached the two without concern for their argument. She sat between them, knocking their heads to together as they spouted insults at one another.

"Thanks sis," Starbug moaned, rubbing her head, "We're just trying to think of their next plan. Well, trying until mister drift king thinks he knows more than me in what old split brain is going to do."

Subaru hit back, hard: "Well, Blue Midget, your previous guesses have be completely wrong. Besides, I have helped in his plans before, so I know more in how his mind works. HA!"

This resulted in another knock between their heads. "You two should be cheering them on. They need as much support from us as possible." Zero X could do this all day. "Now, where are my best customers at?"

"Still in the cave, sis…" replied Starbug, again rubbing her head in pain, "The camera hasn't entered, just hovering outside. The announcers are muted on this screen thank God. They drive me up the wall sometimes. Oh wait, there! There's Seiba!"

Sabretooth had just left the safety of the small cave, followed by half a dozen camera drones at different angles. He climbed up a tall sand dune, then onto the top. Sand rushed down the sides like small waterfalls. He scanned the horizon. Visibility was rapidly decreasing with the falling sun. Hard to find a sniper, and for a sniper to find its prey without the correct equipment. The next pieces of land taller than his position were within the abandoned city. A flash of light, not bright but noticeable against a constantly blackening landscape. In response, Sabretooth knelt down and grabbed a flashlight, then began to flash it on and off in the glinting of light just seconds prior. The flashes came and went in cycles and patterns. These stopped after a while. Nothing, not even a gust of wind.

Abruptly, a single bullet embedded itself into the sand just in front of his position. He smiled before leaping down off the dune.

"When did he learn flipping morse code!?" boomed Starbug at the top of her voice, "When did he get that torch? Why did the murderer actually listen?!"

"You're making no sense Ahmya," Subaru started, slightly concerned by her outburst, "He probably got the torch when passing a defeated player, a lot do. What did he message using the torch?"

"Ugh, basically… basically, he just invited Death Gun to take part in a duel, one on one, at least that's what I've managed to gather from what he's saying. He's just too damn cryptic sometimes... The winner would fight Sinon. A reply 'yes' was a shot into the ground beside him. He agreed, for some reason."

"Yeah, arrogance probably. Hell, Sabre's been awake and kicking for only a few minutes now. But, why a supposedly fair fight? Why not have Sinon take him out from a distance?"

Zero X butted in: "Cos wouldn't he notice? Besides, Sabre isn't that kind of guy do such a thing right?"

Both Starbug and Subaru sniggered. "You haven't seen him in action." They both responded at the same time. "He lives on deception and chaos during battle."

"I like to think he has actually learnt a few things from being with us. So yeah, you may have been good friends with him all of that time ago, but he ain't the same guy as you know." Starbug commented with her head held high, "He's changed for the better since meeting us and returning back to you, I swear on it sis. C'mon, let's just enjoy the magic. There's Sinon!"

"Keep a close eye on my position, you'll know when to take the lead."

"Roger that, I'll be waiting. And… Good luck."

Sunset had passed by now, the last trickles of sunlight gently washed over the sand dunes in a dazzling orange glow. Already the positions of the dunes had begun to alter. Their heights had begun to rise and fall. Streams of sand flowed alongside the sunlight. Some wrecked vehicles slowly became buried by the sand while others were freed from the sand's grasp. Sabretooth leisurely walked onto the wide highway. Barely a quarter of an hour ago, he was in the grip of his past helpless to the pursuit of Death Gun. Now, he had challenged the masked killer to a duel. To him, that mattered little right now. He wanted to get to the bottom of this quickly and efficiently. He stopped beside half a hatchback; a sign hung loosely above, screeching in the sandy evening winds.

"Come on out, I know you're here. You want a fight or not?" Sabretooth began, still no weapons drawn. "I'm sure you just can't wait to complete your noble goal of killing others, hidden by your mask. Like a coward."

"You will not be speaking with such positive tones for long." A figure appeared from barely a dozen or so metres in front of him. As if he was completely invisible to the eye until just now…

"A metamaterial Optical Camouflage Mantle? Clever… And some money to back you up. Hundreds of thousands of Yen… But none of your tricks will pull you and your ways through me. I shall be your impervious roadblock. To get through, you must fight like a soldier, not mercenary-like or knight-like. But, let us make this a tad more interesting, I am sure the humble audience would agree: A sword fight. I presume you have one?"

"Of course. Picked one up from those killed by one of your dear friends."

"You are too kind…"

They began to circle one and another, pulling out their respected plasma swords. Death Gun's skull mask glowed in luminous blue while Sabretooth's green and brown eyes were illuminated by his red sword. They closed steadily eying up each other up. Nothing would get in their way, no amount of sand, no amount of wind, no amount of darkness.

"You could at least be so kind in giving your avatar's name. I would hate to defeat you without knowing your name, just for formalities, y'know?"

"Sterben. Like that helps. But, since you are so supposedly wise, maybe you can pick up on some other names… Like Laughing Coffin?"

Laughing Coffin! Yes, that Laughing Coffin. (He even had the tattoo right forearm, just about visible in the dim light) The infamous killers of Sword Art Online. But, why would one still continue to kill? That mess was been and done ages ago. All so-called 'PKers' were put through a special course after being freed from the game. Did a few slip through? Did the course not work in combatting against their desires? Either way, if the player was telling the truth, Sabretooth was staring down someone who knew how kill in game a little too well. Guess some of that vicious pride did remain after all. However, one issue remained: how does one kill another through a game with a system that fixed all major issues from the nervegear? Answer: you don't. There had to be another way. Not via the game, but real life…

"Unfortunately for you, I am not threatened by such a name. Maybe it's a name that shouldn't be feared, or I'm just ignorant of what happened in that game… Who knows… Y'know, I kinda dislike this game. I like my games to have an overall decent story that follows, no matter how vague. I want to know that I'm heading for a reachable goal by training hard. However, here, there is no story whatsoever. Your only goal is to complete hunting quests for random NPCs to gradually get the best equipment possible and become the best player on a server. A process that is not only futile, but drains the person of their hope over ever achieving that goal. Even if they win a championship, they'll never be happy. No one will ever be happy."

"What's your point?"

"My point is simple: you'll never stop. If you will bring your 'justice' on those you deem require it, it will not be enough. It will never be enough. You will continue to kill. Boundaries that you go by now, vanish to the past. I'm giving you a choice: Stop now and all of this can be forgotten like nothing happened, or you face the consequences of your actions."

"I will deliver justice on all I deem worthy. Enough talk, let our actions to the talking!"

"Fine, but I did warn you. This unsung war is about to be unveiled to the world!"

They both charged at each other. Photon sword on Photon sword. Whirring and scraping. Blue on red. Red on blue. Sabretooth backed up a step then swung high only for it to be countered straight away. A low sweep was quickly countered too. No matter what angle he did, Death Gun countered perfectly. Left, right, right, down, up, up, left, down, down, right and so forth. All blocked with little effort. Sabretooth stopped his offensive, he couldn't break through, not even an inch. Death Gun suddenly went on his offensive, his swings came faster and harder. Sabretooth was now on the backfoot. He attempted to counter every blow from the opposing blue sword. Each time the blows came quicker than the last. Each time the sword came closer. Each time he had to take a step back. He couldn't keep up on the back foot, he was running out of road. Sabretooth was losing his fight sword fight. Last time he had swung a sword was as a joke a few months ago when purchasing some new weapons. He had to do something else and quickly. Just wait for the right movement… There!

Death Gun raised his Photon sword ready for another swing. Perfect. Sabretooth dived backwards, just avoiding the next swing, and nimbly rose back to his feet. He held his Photon sword loosely with both hands. No damage had been taken, but that last swing nearly took a chunk of health and an arm. Then, a dark and deep chuckle.

"What's the matter? Can't keep up?" The reaper taunted, his red eyes glued onto his foe's position. He stepped ever closer.

"I'm just getting started. Don't you see? This is a battle of attrition. Picture it!" His voice altered from previously. Somewhere between: calm and chaos, joy and anger, pride and desperation. Both were out to play now. "We will have our closure! We will have our victory! We will have our salvation!"

Sabretooth plunged into another attack, his opponent raised their sword to deflect his. Except, he wasn't aiming there. Just as the blue Photon sword came to strike his red sword, he shortened the height of the sword and glided past. It was then raised again instantly, clipping the Mantle. A large hole was left as Sabretooth glided past, ending up behind Death Gun. The mantle would not work anymore with such a hole. No more tricks could be pulled off. Both remained still before turning to face each other, raising their respected Plasma Swords. "You see? Attrition."

"You're fighting a losing fight, a fair fight. What makes you think you could win against me?"

"What makes you think that I'm trying to win? I just need to… buy some time."

Angered, Death Gun drove another offensive. His attacks still hit just as hard as before, but now Sabretooth countered them better and better with each swing. Something was changing. With every strike, Death Gun maintained his blistering pace while Sabretooth was rapidly catching up. Unlike the Reaper, he adjusted the height of his sword constantly. Sometimes the tip scraped part the mantle. Sometimes, a countered swing by the blue Plasma sword was driven back in a swift counterattack. Although nearly matching Death Gun now, Sabretooth didn't dare go on the offensive now. His skills were barely a few minutes old and left plenty of opportunities for an opponent to find a hole. They jostled their positions constantly. One moment, Death Gun had their back against a small vehicle, the next moment had Sabretooth nearly pinned beside a lamppost. Every time the other broke out of their disadvantageous situations. The status quo returned as frequently as a bird that had discovered a place for easy food. However, the tide of battle yet again turned. As it turned out, Death Gun was barely trying while Sabretooth was attempting to keep up his pace. The thrusts came faster still. He couldn't keep up. All it would take was… One strike...

One thrust struck Sabretooth in the upper right shoulder, sending him flying into a wrecked red van. Dust and sand rose then fell in rapid succession. He swapped his grip of the Plasma sword to a very trust G36C, held only by his left hand. Death Gun stopped in his tracks after seeing the assault rifle appear from the sand that blew away.

"Looks like I lied." Sabretooth smirkly spoke from where he sat. His G36C was held very loosely in his left hand, it wobbled side to side.

Then Death Gun pulled out his Type-54, "Looks like I lied as well. All I need is one shot, which will be far more accurate than yours."

A shot rang quietly over the darkening dunes. Then, a clang. A bullet had been embedded into a wrecked car beside Death Gun. Where did it come from? No light reflected from a scope. No bullet line too. The shot could've come from anywhere. Another shot, this time it struck the Reaper in the leg, forcing him to the ground. Still no bullet line appeared. No red laser guided the bullet to its target. Death Gun refused to look Sabretooth in the eyes, he just looked at the ground beneath him.

"Looks like I lied twice."

"You had Sinon as a sniper didn't you? Impressive shot, though I didn't see a scope nor a bullet line."

"Indeed, no scope. No bullet line either. Instead, some good old American iron sights and a good aim. Using a tactical scope to snipe is good and all, but can you use an iron sights to similar effect? I suppose not. And that red line? Well, you need to have your finger rested on the trigger for a little while for that to appear, remember? Enough of this! Any last words?"

"You haven't stopped anything. He know where she lives!"

A final bullet struck him in the head. He fell to the ground. Sabretooth had baited the Reaper into being shot by a sniper using a rifle from the last world war. Sabretooth breathed a sigh of relief as 'dead' appeared above the body, then collapsed facing the sky. They had won, well for now at least. There was time for a breather. Sinon quickly joined him after running up and down a few dunes.

"Finally!" Sabretooth boomed, raising his arms (including the right one, the hole in the shoulder had mostly vanished by now) into the sky, "All of that time and effort was worth it! The days of training, going through an episode and even having some fun on the way! Even with some loose ends to tie off, I can deal with them in a bit..."

"So, what now? We gonna fight?" Sinon threw the Garand to her side and knelt beside him. She still had some energy left. However, night was here to stay now. The only light that would stay the night was flickering lightbulbs hung from half-collapsed lamps.

"Nah, the victory is all yours. You deserve it. He was after you and you defeated him. Life isn't forgiving sometimes, but it finally is! We all have suffered much throughout our lives to get here. Without that pain, we wouldn't be who were are now. Everyday is a fight against what many call fate, but I say that is fate itself. Although I am happy we got through this together, I never want to experience this again. I think we can agree on that." Sabretooth finally rose from lying down to face Sinon face to face only a few feet apart. For the first time in a while, he smiled a joyful smile. Not the rage-fuelled smile from days ago, but one full of hope. Sinon smiled too, cracking any ambition to keep a serious emotionless tone.

"Alright, we will call it a draw," Sinon grabbed a grenade and pulled the pin before dropping it. It began ticking louder and faster. "See you on the other side."

Sabretooth could only smile back (only a little one though), and held out a hand. "Thank you, for everything."

Sinon accepted his hand with a handshake. Then, the grenade swallowed the local area in a bright white light. The Battle of Bullets was finally over and for the first time, it ended in a draw. The whole of the Glocken roared into cheering and celebration. What a fight! Too many car chases to count, aces taking on hordes of opponents, even ended with a climax to boot! All fights ceased under the immense pressure to celebrate another conclusion to the BoB. Fireworks shot into the near-black sky, exploding into any and every colour imaginable. The whole city became one giant festival of light and metal. For some, there was even more of a reason to celebrate: bets. Some players made millions off their bets, inviting the overwhelming choice of blowing it all on rare equipment. Under normal circumstances, why bet on those that no one has heard of? But, those who did were winners alongside the final survivors Sinon and Sabretooth.

"And that is it folks!" started one of the commentators after a few minutes of cheering and gasping alongside the others, "The first ever draw in BoB's history! This was, by far, the best one yet. There was simply too many good highlights to show off, just wow! But, what about you two? What's your favourite parts?"

"Easily the parachuting section," one began, breathing heavily after cheering so hard, "The coordination between the players involved was simply incredible. Truly something I'd expect in esports, but not in this! I'm still trying to get over it."

"For me, it had to be that player using those mines to destroy the two trucks," finally started the second one, after coughing a few times, "even on the weekly highlights of recorded moments sent in, I have never seen anything like it. Perhaps on a single vehicle, but not two while hailed in 50 cals! Just attempting to replicate such a thing would be incredible to see. Personally, this BoB is going in the history books!"

Then, it was back to the first commentator, "Totally agree fellas. Now, stick around everyone as we will be going through the third BoB's best bits to show you a step by step guide on how you can counter these tactics in the future. But first, a word from our sponsors…"