"If it's just Zekushiido and Usujio Tarako, both of them were living alone...and they were staying in old apartments. I guess what's installed on the doors were first generation electric locks which weren't really safe. Also, when diving into GGO, the real physical body would be in an unconscious state. Thus, no matter how much effort he had to use to enter, he wouldn't worry about being discovered..."

Kirito's words made Sinon gasp.

Ordinary houses were only installed with the electric keyless sensor lock like those on cars 7 to 8 years ago. Though it couldn't be broken through physically, the first generation locks' electrowaves were cracked and installed into a opening mechanism, making this device seem like some master key that can unlock all sorts of doors. Sinon remembered from the news in the past that this device could be sold for a high price in the black market. After that, Sinon bought a metal lock and an entrance keypad beside the electric lock, but still couldn't remove that uneasiness on her back.

"Death Gun" wasn't some dead soul that was resurrected from her past memories, and neither was he a game character with a mysterious ability, but a real killer.

As this reasoning continued, the realism came with it, and Sinon's heart started to create another fear that was different from just now. She felt pressured by this resistance she couldn't explain, and said out the final argument she could think of, "Th-Then...the cause of death? You said it was heart failure, right? Was there something that could cause the heart to stop and fool the police and pathologists?"

"Maybe they inserted some drug..."

"Then...then they could just investigate to check it out, right? Like some traces of drugs that were injected..."

"...The corpses were only found after a few days, so the rotting was rather serious. And... unfortunately, there are many incidents where hardcore VRMMO players die of heart failure. They often won't eat and would only lie on the bed...if the room wasn't broken into or if there wasn't any money stolen, there would be a high chance that it would be determined to be natural death. The police seemed to have investigated the head of deceased, but they probably never thought that some drugs would be administered...if they never investigated this right from the start, it's unlikely for them to find this evidence."

"...How is it possible..."

Sinon used both hands to grab Kirito's jacket, continuing to shake her head like some disobedient kid.

Planning so hard just to kill people meaninglessly-she really couldn't understand the mental state of the person. Sinon could only feel a huge evil intent in that unlimited darkness.

"That's crazy..."

On hearing Sinon mutter, Kirito nodded his head as well.

"Yeeah...it is crazy. I can't understand it, but I think I could imagine why he wanted to do this. This guy spent so much effort probably to maintain his identity as a "Red Player". I...I could also feel that I was still a "swordsman" fighting on the front lines in Aincrad..."

Sinon immediately imagined-that name that she never heard before should be the floating city in the stage called "Sword Art Online". Immediately she forgot her own fear and nodded her own head.

"...I can understand...I can often see myself as a sniper...but if it's not just that mantle guy, but who is his accomplice....?"

"Yeah, I think there's a high chance that the guy is most likely a survivor of SAO. Also, he may be a remnant of "Laughing Coffin"...both of them must work together flawlessly to accomplish such a killer plan...ah, don't tell me..."

Sinon's eyes immediately seemed to be asking Kirito who looked like he discovered something.

"Nothing, it wasn't anything much...it's just that, the Cross action that mantle guy drew...wasn't just to show off to the audience, but also some trick to check the time on his watch. He has to plan the "crime moment" together with his accomplice in the real world. But it would be too unnatural to look at the watch before firing."

"I see...if a mini-watch is on the inside of the wrist, it would be right in front of the eye once it touches the head..."

Sinon finally agreed with this assumption and nodded her head- Her shoulders were suddenly grabbed by Kirito in front of her. He slowly opened his mouth and gave an even serious expression, "Sinon-do you, live alone?"

"Y...Yeah."

"Did you lock up the door and put the chain on?"

"I lock the door other than the electronic lock...but my house's the initial version...as for the chain..."

Sinon frowned and continued to search her memory before she dived in.

"...Maybe I didn't lock up."

"I see...then listen to me!"

As Sinon had never seen Kirito look so worried, her chest immediately felt like it was stuffed with ice blocks and had a chilly feeling throughout her deep inside.

No, I don't want to listen on- though she thought this way, the lips in front of her had no intention of stopping and said something shocking, "At the ruins, when we were at the stadium, Death Gun already intended to use that gun after you were stunned. And...he really shot the gun at you when he used the mechanical horse. In other words...they were ready."

"Ready...what..."

Sinon asked in a voice which nearly couldn't be heard. Kirito himself nodded and answered softly, "...Right now, at this moment-perhaps, the accomplice of Death Gun in the real world entered your room, and is waiting for the image of when the gun hits you."

After a long while, Sinon's consciousness finally comprehended what Kirito was saying.

The image around her immediately became blurry. The familiar scene of her room appeared in her mind. She was looking down at her 6mat room like it was an illusion.

The wooden floor tiles that were often vacuumed, the light yellow floor mat, the little wooden table.

The black table lined together with the similarly black pipe bed, facing the wall on the west. The bedsheet was completely white, with herself, still lying on the bed in a sweatshirt and shorts. At this moment, her eyes were closed, and there was a machine on her forehead that was made from twin-layered metal rings. Other than that- There was also a black shadow stealthly standing there, watching Shino who was dived in. That person who was covered in black completely like a silhouette, but there was a single object that could be seen clearly, in his right hand. It was of a cylindrical shape and made of translucent glass, with a silver needle at its tip-a syringe full of deathly liquid.

"No...no..."

Sinon turned her neck and moaned. Even if the illusion was gone and she returned back to the cave, the glint of the needle in the intruder's hand was still in her eyes.

"No...that..."

This wasn't just the simple emotion of 'fear'. The intense emotion to resist should be running all over inside her body, causing her to continue to tremble. She couldn't move, and couldn't look around her. She was that weak, yet there was someone she didn't know watching her inside her room. No-that wasn't just it. That person could be touching the skin...looking for the place to inject...

There was a sudden blockage feeling deep inside Sinon's throat, causing her to be unable to breathe. She straightened her back and continued to gasp for air.

"Ah...ahhh..."

The light was leaving her, getting further and further away. A rumbling cry rang in her ears. Her 'soul' seemed like it wanted to leave her virtual body- "No, Sinon!"

Her wrists were suddenly held forcefully, and there was a shocking voice that rang beside her.

"It's dangerous to auto log out now! Let's do our best...calm down! It's alright. You're not in danger yet!"

"Ah...ahh..."

Sinon opened her eyes that couldn't seem to concentrate, and her arms continued to flail. Finally, she got the person who let the voice out. Her arms were wrapped around the body which had warmth, only wanting to hug that person.

She immediately had this strong and forceful arm grab her back, exerting even more force to steady her. And the other hand reached out, gently stroking Sinon's hair.

The murmuring rang again, "Before Death Gun's handgun...the "Blackstar" hits you, the intruder can't hurt you. That's the limitation these guys set. But if you log out because of your heart rate or a change in body temperature, there will be danger when you see the intruder's face. So you have to calm down first."

"But...but...it's scary...really scary..."

Sinon continued to cry like a kid and buried her face in Kirito's chest.

As the girl forcefully grabbed Kirito tightly, there was a weak but regular heartbeat from that person.

Sinon continued to try her best to listen to this sound to chase away the terrifying image in her mind. Tokun, tokun, almost a second each worth of heartbeat entered her body. Sinon's crazily beating heart finally went back to being like a regular beat.

As she recovered, she realized that she seemed to be on the same mental wavelength as Kirito, and her fear left her slightly. Even though the fear within her didn't vanish, the sanity that was enough to suppress these emotions was recovering.

"...Have you calmed down yet?"

Behind her, Kirito's deep voice rang as his hand was about to leave Sinon's back. However, Sinon shook her head slightly and said softly, "Let's just leave it like this for the time being...alright..."

Though she didn't hear the reply, the girl's body again felt the other party hugging her. Every time the slender hand patted her head, there was a warm feeling that was melting the frozen heart of hers bit by bit. Sinon took a deep breath, closed her eyes and relaxed her body.

After maintaining that position for several seconds, she blurted, "...Your hand, it feels like my mother's..."

"Mo-Mother's? Not like your dad?"

"I have no impression of my dad. He died in a car accident when I was a baby."

"I see..."

Kirito's answer was rather short. Sinon forcefully brought her face near Kirito's chest, "-Tell me. What should we do?"

Her voice was sturdier than what she imagined. Kirito stopped the hand that was patting Sinon's hair and immediately answered her, "We'll take Death Gun down. With that, the accomplice who's ready to kill you in the real world can't do anything and leave. But you just need to stay here. I'll fight. That guy's handgun can't kill me."

"Is that...really alright?"

"Yeah. I didn't state my name and address when I registered, and I didn't dive in at my own house, and there's even someone beside me. Thus, I'm alright. I just need to beat that guy who broke the rules."

"But...even without that "Blackstar", that mantle guy's tough. You saw him dodge the Hecate's snipe even with a distance of 100m? Maybe he can match you if it's just dodging ability alone."

"Truthfully, I don't have the confidence to say that I'll definitely win...but the remaining choice, like what you said-we'll hide here all this time until there are 3 people, and both of us commit suicide..."

At this moment, Kirito glanced at the watch and Sinon looked at it too. It's 9:40pm. Unknowingly, the scan at 9:30 passed through. It's been about 25 minutes ever since they escaped to this hole.

Sinon looked at Kirito's face and then shook her head slightly, "I probably can't hide here any longer. The other players should have noticed that we're hiding in a desert cave. There aren't many of them, so we may end up having grenade attacks. Or rather, we've been lucky that we were safe for 30 minutes."

"-I see..."

Kirito bit his lower lip and looked at the entrance of the cave. Sinon watched the side of his face silently and said, "Since both of us worked together till now, let's just fight together until the end."

"...But...if you're hit by that handgun..."

"That thing was just an old single action handgun."

Sinon was more or less shocked that these words came straight out of her own mouth. That's because that handgun-the "Type-54 Blackstar" was always the sign of the fear that tormented her.

No, the fear never vanished. If it was just a coincidence that Death Gun chose the Blackstar as his split personality, that gun would be the curse Sinon could never shake off. However, at least in this game, the Type-54 handgun wasn't some powerful weapon. It was the increase in fear in her own heart that made her really afraid, that made her lose her original fighting ability.

"-Even if he shoots me, you'll just use that blade to easily knock those bullets back away for me, right? Besides, its rapid fire rate is several times less than an assault rifle."

On seeing Sinon suppressed her own trembling and finish what she wanted to say, Kirito gave her a smile that had worry and relief in them.

"Good...I won't let him hit you. But for safety reasons, you better not appear in front of Death Gun."

After using his hand to stop Sinon who was about to argue back, Kirito continued, "No, I'm definitely willing to fight with you. But Sinon, you're a sniper. Isn't your specialty to snipe from afar?"

"That's true..."

"Then let's do this. During the next scan, I'll appear outside to lure Death Gun over. That guy must be hiding somewhere to snipe me. I'll then use that bullet to find his hiding place, and you shoot him. How about it?"

"...You intend to be bait and spectator at the same time?"

Sinon could only grumble at this overly daring plan, but in terms of their abilities, this may be the best option. A close-ranged type working together with a far-ranged type would definitely cause one side's forces to be worn down.

Sinon took a hard deep breath and nodded her head, "I got it. So be it then. But before that, you better not get shot to death by Death Gun in one hit."

"I, I'll try my best...but that guy's sniper rifle's almost completely silent, and I can't see the initial bullet line."

"I don't know who said that he wanted to 'predict the bullet line'."

Both of them were still close together. In such a conversation, Sinon felt that the fear that's clinging onto her back was leaving slightly.

Maybe there was a killer who entered her room in the real world-to be honest, she merely didn't look or think about this scary guess. Right now, she could only believe what Kirito said, that the person couldn't do anything once they take Death Gun down. Of course, besides Kirito's words, the virtual warmth he gave to Sinon brought some comfort to her. She will have to leave the hole, separate from Kirito and get into sniping mode alone. She didn't know whether she could maintain this current mental state. Thus, at least she should take more of the other avatar's warmth. Sinon leaned her body closer for the last time.

At this moment, Kirito muttered in a surprised manner...

"Eh...let's forget about that for now. Sinon, there was some red dot blinking at the bottom right corner since just now..."

"Eh..."

On looking over, she could find that it was just as what Kirito said. Sinon thought about what exactly he was talking about, but immediately looked up at bulletspeed. As expected, the object was at the top of the cave. She wanted to jump away from Kirito's legs, but it would be meaningless to do this now, and she could only sigh.

"Ahh...damn it, I was really careless..."

What was floating in the air-was something mysterious, a round aquamarine concentric circle. However, that wasn't a real object, but a glowing object in the game. Kirito, who discovered the same thing, tilted his head and asked, "Eeh...what's that..."

Sinon shrugged her shoulders and then answered, "A live camera feed. It would normally show the footage of battles, but now that there aren't many people left, they would come over here."

"Eh...damn it. Was our conversation just now..."

"Don't worry. It won't spread if we don't shout or something-How about we just wave our hands at them?"

Then, she continued with a cold and cruel voice, "Or will you be troubled about letting some people see this footage?"

On hearing this, a terrified look flashed over Kirito's face, but he immediately slipped through with a stiff face.

"Ah-...no...well...I guess you're the one who should be worried. Speaking of which, those who are seeing this would most likely think that we're girls, right?"

"Uu..."