June 1st, 2026
After what happened with Yuna, Kirito and his friend moved back to Alfheim Online. Sinon also moved back there for a while but returned when the fourth Bullet of Bullets (BoB) competition was announced. Kato picked up the invitation to BoB when one of the seeded players gave up their spot. Kato got to skip the preliminary rounds, though he still watched the rounds for any information.
"The tournament starts in thirty minutes," the announcer said, "All competitors, please head to the staging area."
Kato stood up from his chair and walked towards the lift. He pressed the button for the staging area. The doors were closing behind him when they reopened. Two people filed into the elevator and chose the same floor. Kato overheard their gossip while the elevator took them down. The doors gave way and Kato stepped out of the elevator. He turned left and walked down the long hallway that led to one of several staging areas. He entered the area and noticed the quiet atmosphere. He walked over to a booth and took out a pair of headphones. He propped his legs onto the table and waited for the deployment phase to start. He kept an eye on the door and saw a few people walk in.
"Hey Kato," someone asked while tapping his shoulder.
Kato turned to his right and saw Sinon standing there. He dropped his legs from the table and sat up straight.
"I thought I'd never see you before the tournament," Kato answered while taking off his headphones.
"Well, I thought about it but I think I should tell you something," Sinon said.
"Something as in what?"
"You didn't see the entire prelims did you?"
"No, I didn't. I only saw the F-block."
"Well...Kureha managed to get through the prelims in C-block."
"She did? Good for her."
"Thought I'd just tell you since you two are pretty close to each other."
Kato removed the cap from his head and scratched his hair. He thanked Sinon for the information and offered to buy a drink for her. She accepted the offer graciously and bought a canned drink. Kato checked the watch on his wrist and noticed that they had five minutes left. He reached for his leg and secretly took out the FN-57c on his leg holster. He checked the magazine and the chamber for a bullet. When that was said and done, he turned to Sinon and gave a light-hearted salute towards her.
"Competitor transfer initiated," the PA system informed.
The booth changed from its dimly lit state to a dark room. Kato stood on his legs on top of a glowing tile. Above him, a screen displayed the remaining preparation time and the name of the map. Kato took out his plate carrier and adjusted the straps. He equipped the magazines for his ACR and loaded the first magazine into the gun.
"Commencing transfer to playing area," the screen read.
A ball of light encased Kato. When the light ceded, the time was sunrise. He noted the jungle area and took out his UFG to grapple onto a higher area. He grappled onto a higher branch and rested there. Kato reached for his sleeve pocket and felt a stiff object. He took it out and saw that it was the satellite terminal. The map displayed a large area and gave the general lay of the land. The center of the arena were ruins of a bygone era. He closed the map and returned the terminal to his sleeve.
"We have to get going to the center," Kato thought while taking out his UFG.
Kato grappled onto different branches of nearby trees. He made his way slowly towards the city when the first sat-scan started. The sat-scan started and there were two players near him. Kato assumed that they were going to kill him first, so he dropped down to the jungle floor and hid under an overhang. He heard the leaves move and saw the first hunter approaching from the south. They walked up to the overhang and looked downwards. Kato pushed himself closer to the wall to not be seen. The hunter kneeled and poked his head over the edge. Kato watched his shadow become darker and darker. Once the guard stopped moving, Kato came out from the overhang and grabbed their helmet. He pulled them to the ground and took out his pistol. He quickly dumped ten bullets into his chest and they managed to penetrate his uniform. A dead banner appeared over the body. The second hunter ran towards the fight expecting a clean sweep. Kato retreated from the area using the jungle for cover. The second hunter sprayed into the jungle with no regard for ammo conservation. Kato hid behind a large banyan tree when he heard a scream. After that short scream, silence filled the area. Kato took two quick breaths and peeked back out of cover to find a dead banner in the forest.
"Way too close," Kato thought while reloading his pistol.
Kato retreated from the area and moved towards the center. He favored the act of tracking and observing a target, rather than going in guns blazing. The tournament standings dropped quickly and only ten were remaining by mid-afternoon. Kato was still holding out in the ruins when he saw Kureha for the first time. He raised the ACR to his face and watched through his scope. She was fighting a blonde man that had incredible agility and close-quarters-combat capability.
"Damn, he's good," Kato admired while watching the fight.
Kureha threw one last punch but missed and tripped over herself. The opponent took advantage of the moment and came behind her and placed her in a chokehold. Kureha struggled to remove the arm but her body fell limp.
"Gotta be careful around him," Kato said while lowering his rifle.
Kato made his way to the center of the arena and got onto the highest floor in a nearby building. He slowly made his way up, clearing every room. When he reached the top floor, the doorway was open. Kato cautiously shouldered his rifle and slowly walked up the stairs. He reached the top floor and passed through the door. It was a hallway that led to an open area. Kato followed the hallway and reached the end when his Hyper Awareness skill suddenly activated. His body moved backward from the area. When he saw his original location, an arm was grabbing onto his rifle.
"Dammit," Kato thought while taking out his knife.
The figure turned the corner and revealed itself. In front of him was the guy who killed Kureha. He tossed the rifle to the side and charged at him. Kato flipped the knife to a reverse grip and lowered his stance. Kato ducked under the first blow and pushed his elbow into the person's gut. The enemy flipped backward to create some distance. Kato sprinted towards them and brought the fight into the open area. The figure charged forwards to match Kato. At the last second, Kato slid and kicked their knees to bring them down. He took out his UFG to pull his head to the ground. The opponent was knocked on all fours and Kato quickly got behind them. He wrapped his right arm around their neck and brought the knife to their side. The opponent reached behind him and threw Kato on the ground. When Kato's body impacted the concrete floor and the knife fell out of his grasp. The enemy reached for it and pushed it towards Kato's head. Kato grabbed their forearms and tried to resist the push. The cold steel blade was in front of his face the entire time.
"What the hell are you?" Kato grunted.
The opponent gave no word. Kato struggled to resist their strength until his arms gave out. Kato died by his own knife and the last thing he saw was his opponent's soulless face. Kato's vision returned to the black void. He gazed up and saw his killer's name, Subtilizer.
"The guy from BoB 1?" he thought.
The black void turned into the bar that everyone was watching the tournament from. There were four remaining players, one of which was Sinon. Kato saw Kureha sitting in one of the booths holding a shot glass. Kato walked up to her and sat down in the booth.
"Rough time?" Kato asked.
Kureha raised her dejected face and sighed, "Yeah."
"Are you trying to drink it off?"
"...Yeah."
Kato understood how much this tournament meant to her. It'd be nice to have your name on the GGO website as a BoB winner, but to see that chance slip away is a feeling no one wants.
"There's always next time," Kato assured.
"But what if there isn't?" Kureha asked.
"Well...who knows?"
Kato and Kureha turned their attention to the screen and saw the last fight of the round. Kato's killer, Subtilizer, was confronting Sinon. There was a short scuffle but he had the strength and combat advantage over Sinon. The game ended with fanfare and the total number of bullets fired was lower than the average, five-thousand bullets. As for Subtilizer, he won the most kills award as well as the tournament. Kato was considered a demon when he was playing, but he was bested by this person. Only one being is stronger than a demon.
"Lucifer himself," Kato thought.
