Almost thirty minutes had passed since the Bullet of Bullets main tournament began.
During that time, Sinon, fully prepared for the fight, had already eliminated two players herself. A battle royale that threw everyone onto one map and forced them to kill one another certainly left room for cautious survival and hidden ambushes. But in the end, without the strength to stand on your own, even the best luck could only carry you to second place.
And if every viewer watched you cling to life through cowardly survival tactics, only to be easily killed by the eventual winner, that would be too pathetic.
So once she found a player, she had to be ready to kill.
If her skill was good enough, there was nothing to fear.
Including the unlucky player from earlier, Sinon's sniper rifle had now removed two people from the tournament. As for how many players were still alive, she could only confirm that through the Satellite Scan data sent out every fifteen minutes.
That was another cruel part of this battle royale format. Eventually, someone hunting for kills would always catch up to you.
Sinon took the thin Satellite Scan receiver from the pouch at her waist, brought up the full map, and waited for the location data to update.
The moment her wristwatch showed 8:30 p.m., several bright points flashed across the high-precision map. There were twenty-one of them, meaning nine players had already fallen. Sinon fixed her eyes on the screen, memorizing the situation as quickly as possible.
The special stage used for the main tournament was a perfectly round isolated island ten kilometers in diameter. In terms of terrain, the north was desert, the south was mountainous, and a ruined city stretched across the center.
Sinon was currently at the foot of a rocky mountain near the southern edge of the map. A little farther north was a large river, dividing the mountains from the forest area.
There were three blips within one kilometer. Sinon tapped them one by one on the screen to confirm their names. The closest was Dyne, moving west from a position six hundred meters to the northeast. Farther east, chasing him closely, was Pale Rider. The third was Lion King Richie, a blip that remained still near the top of a rocky mountain eight hundred meters to the south.
Richie, if she remembered correctly, was a high-firepower player equipped with a heavy machine gun. His tactic was to hold the highest point on the stage and spray down every player who approached. He had used the exact same strategy in the previous tournament too, only to meet a miserable end after running out of ammunition.
Had he prepared some countermeasure for that this time?
Either way, an enemy who refused to move could be left alone for now.
The problem was Dyne, who seemed to be fleeing at full speed from the movement of his light, and Pale Rider, who was chasing him. Dyne was not only the leader of the squad Sinon had once belonged to, but also a veteran who had appeared in BoB three times in a row. He carried a high-performance SG550 assault rifle and excelled at mid-range combat. As a person, he was not exactly worthy of respect, but his technique was genuinely strong.
As for Pale Rider, he had driven that Dyne into fleeing like a rat. Sinon had never fought him. She had not even seen his face. Was he really that strong, or did his equipment simply match the terrain too well?
While she tilted her head in thought, the surveillance satellite above seemed to move on. The lights on the terminal map began to flicker; in another ten seconds, the information would disappear.
Sinon reflexively raised her right hand, about to tap through the remaining eighteen lights from one end of the map. But an instant before her fingertip touched the screen, she pulled back and clenched her fist.
She had realized she was looking for one particular person.
"He is definitely still alive..."
She murmured it as if arguing with herself.
If he had lost, the difficulty would drop. If he had survived, she would have another chance at a third fight. Either way, it was not bad for her.
The flickering points of light finally vanished without a sound. Sinon returned the terminal to her pocket and stood while keeping watch on her surroundings.
Beyond the slanted hill in front of her was a deep forest. Inside it, Dyne and Pale Rider should be moving from right to left. Their destination was the large river dividing the field, and the bridge built over it. Cautious Dyne was probably trying to avoid troublesome forest combat and meet the Pale Rider chasing him on the bridge, where visibility was wide open.
Compared with the two of them, Sinon was clearly closer to the bridge. If she started now, she could definitely get there first and choose a good sniping position. Then she only had to wait for their fight to decide itself and kill the winner the instant he relaxed.
Two birds with one stone.
She slung Hecate II over her right shoulder again, lowered her center of gravity, and ran through the bushes.
After crossing the reddish-brown foothills safely and slipping into the last clump of brush, the first thing Sinon saw was a band of reflected crimson light.
It was a river, flowing down from the southern mountains, winding north through the center of the map, and disappearing into the ruined city in the distance like a mirage.
On the opposite bank stood a forest of massive ancient trees. Beneath the thick green canopy, a stone-paved path extended outward, running all the way to the river about two hundred meters north of Sinon, where it crossed the water as a simple iron bridge.
At that very moment, two players should have been sprinting down that path at full speed.
Just as she thought that, a figure burst from the shadows of the huge trees near the path and iron bridge, running in a straight line toward the bridge. Sinon quickly set Hecate II on the ground, flipped open the folding cover of the scope, and leaned in to look across.
Forest camouflage. A square jaw visible below a steel helmet. A SIG held in both hands. There was no mistaking him: Dyne. Moving with the smoothness expected of a veteran, he dashed along the stone road, left the forest in only a few seconds, and charged onto the rusted iron bridge in one breath.
He did not choose to cross the nearly fifty-meter span to Sinon's side of the river. Instead, he threw himself down and took a prone firing position.
"...I see."
Sinon murmured with a touch of admiration.
In this situation, trying to cross the bridge would only let the enemy attack him one-sidedly. Unfortunately, he had not paid enough attention to anything else. His back was completely exposed to any enemy who might appear on the other side of the river.
"Always check six, Dyne-kun. Watch your back."
As she aligned the crosshair with his rough profile, she realized she might not need to wait for Dyne and Pale Rider to settle things before attacking. Even if her shot revealed her position to Pale Rider, he would not be able to force his way across the bridge. The distance to the bridge was under two hundred meters, and even if the enemy sprinted toward her at full speed, she was confident she could deal with him.
Two hundred meters. She did not believe just anyone could dodge a bullet fired at sniper-rifle speed.
She felt a little bad for the viewers watching the livestream. They were probably hoping for a fierce clash between those two.
That thought crossed her mind as she was about to pull Hecate II's trigger. Then a cold shiver flashed across the back of her neck.
Someone was behind her.
She had made the same mistake: neglecting to watch her six.
Even as that realization screamed through her mind, her right hand left Hecate II. Her body spun one hundred eighty degrees with lightning reflexes, and her left hand drew her secondary weapon, the MP7 submachine gun. During that motion, fragmented thoughts flashed through her mind.
But there should not have been anyone there. When she checked Satellite Scan a few minutes ago, the only person behind her had been Lion King Richie, standing still the whole time. He should not have left the mountaintop, and there was no way someone carrying a heavy machine gun could approach from behind without her noticing.
Which meant it had to be someone other than Richie, someone who had circled behind her in that tiny window of time.
Holding countless shocks and questions at once, she pointed the MP7's muzzle behind her. At the same time, a black gun barrel entered her vision. She had not imagined it. Someone had used her lapse in attention to close to melee range.
No matter what, avoiding this fight was impossible now.
But the dark muzzle in front of her seemed to be rushing closer at terrifying speed. By the time she managed to bring her own gun around, that weapon was already pressed against her forehead. At the same time, the person's left hand struck the right hand holding her gun and knocked the MP7 cleanly away.
Bad.
A sharp certainty of defeat spread through her chest.
But the muzzle that could have fired point-blank into her head did not move.
"Don't move," the person warned in a low voice.
"Ugh...?!"
Sinon widened her eyes and moved her gaze from the gun barrel to the other person's face.
The face was plain enough to look like an untouched system default. His height was completely average, and his build seemed deliberately adjusted to look a little frail. A gray trench coat hung from his body. Calm black eyes reflected her image. Compared with the last time she saw him, he seemed even more restrained now.
Samuro...?
Inside Sinon's chest, several mixed emotions sparked at once. They made her forget the gun barrel in front of her. By instinct, she bared her fangs and tried to counterattack, but she had no suitable weapon in hand. The MP7 had been knocked away, Hecate II was behind her, and more than that, Blue Rose was pressed against her forehead.
"What are you planning...? You are not going to finish me off?"
He should not have needed mercy. Right now, one shot from him could end all of Sinon's efforts so far.
But Samuro spoke again in a low, steady voice.
"I can't let a gunshot ring out here yet."
"Huh? At this point, what is there to..."
Sinon spoke in a voice so small it was almost inaudible, yet thick with frustration.
"In this situation, proposals and compromises are impossible. We fight until one of us dies. That's all."
"If I wanted to kill you, I would have killed you already. I said I can't let a gunshot ring out here yet, so I had to restrain you first."
Samuro gave her a quiet smile, and Sinon unconsciously pressed her lips shut.
It was infuriating, but right now Sinon was effectively his prisoner, with no chance of counterattacking. She still had a tactical knife at her waist, but she did not have the nerve to use it against someone who could cut bullets out of the air. Beyond that, she had grenades, and she did not lack the resolve to take him down with her.
Samuro, however, seemed to have expected that. He flipped her over, pinned both her hands behind her back, and straddled her lower back with infuriating ease, locking her in place. Then he pressed Blue Rose to the back of her head.
This time, Sinon truly had no options.
She could only snort in anger and humiliation.
"..."
Sinon stared at him in silence.
Samuro spoke before she could find the words.
"Hold still for a minute."
"What is that supposed to mean...?"
"That bridge is a mess. Everyone on it thinks they're the hunter, but every one of them is already in someone else's sights. If we move now, we just get dragged into the crossfire. So we wait."
Sinon narrowed her eyes.
"Wait until they kill each other, then pick off whoever's left? Including me?"
"Don't twist it."
Samuro paused, then, to her surprise, released her. He eased himself off her, and the muzzle of Blue Rose drifted away.
"I didn't come here to fight you."
"..."
Sinon pushed herself up from the ground, still surprised and suspicious. She looked at Samuro's calm face and curled her lip.
"What if I pull a grenade pin right now and give away our position?"
"Don't joke about that. You'd get yourself eliminated instantly."
Samuro kept part of his attention on the bridge. Then, to her surprise, he lowered Blue Rose and returned the pistol to the holster at his waist.
"...After this is over, will you fight me seriously next time?"
"When I fight seriously, I don't hold back."
Sinon stared into Samuro's eyes for about half a second before letting out a long sigh. Her feelings were mixed: anger, exasperation, and something she could not quite name. Why was this man saying he wanted to watch someone else's fight? More importantly, where had he come from? When she checked Satellite Scan only a few minutes earlier, his name had definitely not appeared within one kilometer.
For now, though, she swallowed those questions. Sinon picked Hecate II up with both hands again and looked across through the scope.
On the far side of the long iron bridge, Dyne appeared in her view, still in his prone firing position. He kept the SG550 pressed to his cheek without wavering. His concentration really was impressive. Even Pale Rider, who had chased Dyne this far, would have to be cautious and hesitate to step out from the forest on the opposite bank.
"...The fight you went this far to watch doesn't look like it will happen at this rate."
Sinon whispered that to Samuro beside her, half joking.
"Dyne won't stay tucked in there forever. If he stands up and tries to move, I'll shoot before he can."
"You can't shoot. The fight will happen."
"Whether I shoot or not is my right, isn't it?"
"Then I will have to restrain you again, just like before," Samuro said coolly.
"..."
Did he mean the part where he straddled her back, pinned her hands, and held her down on the ground?
She had not expected him to be this shameless. Being restrained like that was more humiliating than simply being shot and killed. Sinon clenched her teeth and endured it.
"Here he comes," Samuro whispered.
Sinon lifted her eye from the scope and scanned the entire iron bridge with her unaided eyes.
On the opposite bank, a player leisurely emerged from the path leading out of the dense forest.
He was tall and slender, dressed in blue-and-white camouflage. A steel helmet and black goggles hid his face. As for his weapon, all she could make out was the lightweight ArmaLite AR-17 shotgun swinging in his right hand.
There was no doubt about it.
This was Pale Rider, the player who had chased Dyne all the way here.
On the other side of the bridge, Dyne's shoulders tightened as he lay prone. Even from this distance, Sinon could feel the tension in his posture. By contrast, Pale Rider showed no sign of pressure at all. He seemed completely unconcerned by the SIG Dyne had trained on him, approaching the iron bridge one slow step at a time.
"That guy... he's good..."
Sinon murmured before she could stop herself.
It was her first time seeing both his name and avatar, but from the way he moved, she could already tell he was strong.
GGO had support systems like Bullet Lines, a form of combat foresight impossible in reality, but closing in on an enemy with a full-auto weapon was never simple. Normally, you had to sprint from cover to cover, gradually narrowing the distance.
Pale Rider, however, showed no caution at all.
He strolled toward the bridge despite the complete lack of cover. Even Dyne, who had fled onto the bridge to escape the forest, seemed thrown off by that fearless approach.
Even so, as a squad leader with plenty of experience, Dyne reacted faster than most. A second later, the solid, distinctive report of his Swiss-made SG550 assault rifle drowned out the sound of the river.
At least ten 5.6mm rounds tore through the air.
Pale Rider dodged them in a way Sinon had not expected. He leaped onto one of the bridge's suspension cables and climbed upward using only his left hand for support. Dyne hurriedly shifted his muzzle to follow, but aiming upward from a prone position was difficult.
His aim wavered during the second burst.
Pale Rider seized the opening, using the cable's elasticity to launch himself high into the air. He cleared the bridge deck and landed far beyond Dyne.
"Even with a STR build, he cut his equipment weight down this much just to improve his vertical mobility...? And his acrobatics are polished."
As Sinon spoke, Dyne dropped to one knee, as if signaling that the same trick would not work twice, and pulled the trigger for the third time.
But Pale Rider had already read that attack too.
The line of fire was aimed slightly too high. Beneath it, the pale blue figure lunged forward almost horizontally, leading with his head and shoulders. It was not a roll. He planted his left hand against the ground and vaulted himself forward, covering a surprising amount of distance in a single motion.
By the time he rose again, he was only twenty meters from Dyne.
"What...!"