The Lightning Flash

Chapter 33: Asuna and Sinon Vs. Death Gun Pt. 1

He was gone.  The Black Swordsman was gone. Vassago had beaten him...just like he had wanted, all of this time.  Yet, as he stood in the midst of the sandstorm with still 3% of his health remaining, he couldn't help but feel devoid of any sort of satisfaction...of any real sense of winning.  Vassago always imagined the look of genuine terror on The Black Swordsman's face when he would lose...a look of disappointment...of disgrace with himself but that wasn't what happened at all.  Instead, The Black Swordsman had a shit eating grin on his face, almost like he was mocking Vassago. If what The Black Swordsman had said was indeed true, then Vassago's plan to embarrass him in the Bullet of Bullets tournament was for nothing...absolutely nothing and he couldn't help but feel enraged by this.  Vassago wanted him to suffer for visiting his family and telling them about his dark past...which was something that he never wanted Ms. Tanaka or Lilith to ever find out, especially Lilith.  There was no proof that Ms. Tanaka would tell Lilith what she learned from The Black Swordsman and Vassago was hoping that she would keep it to herself but still...the image in his mind of The Black Swordsman even talking to his sister caused Vassago to feel a rage he hadn't felt in his entire life.  Also, there was that weird and vague last comment the Black Swordsman had made before he shattered into tiny, red polygonal shards...something about everything still going according to plan.  Vassago had no idea what this meant or what kind of plan The Black Swordsman was talking about and this made him even more frustrated.  In a weird way, despite beating the Black Swordsman, Vassago still felt like he had, ultimately, lost to him, and he couldn't accept that...there wasn't a chance in hell he could accept that.  Vassago began laughing, eerily, to himself as his health was now at 1% because of the sandstorm.

"You really think you won, you little shit?" he asked to himself, seething with rage.  "This isn't over.  This isn't over by a long fucking shot."

Before he could be eliminated by the sandstorm, Vassago was consumed by a blue light and without even having to access his menu screen, he was gone in an instant, an ability that was only possible because of the third individual, who was helping him and Death Gun both.

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One second, I was fighting POH in the third round of the Bullet of Bullets and then, in the next, I was in the same pitch-black room, where I found myself before each round of the tournament started.  I was alone in the room...alone with my thoughts.  Even though a lot happened during my fight with POH, I didn't have time to waste thinking about it.  A part of me was aware that I would see him, again, anyways.  I seriously doubted that he would let things end this way...that's not how the psychotic bastard worked. 

"Still, the fact that Vassago eliminated me in the third round and I ended up respawning in this room rather than dying in the real world means that my plan is going according to plan," I deduced to myself as I pulled up my menu screen to log out.  "I have to return to the real world, now.  Asuna...Sinon...I wish I could be there to help you but...it looks like you'll have to defeat Death Gun without me.  Although, I'm not worried because I know that if you two work together, you can, easily, beat that discount Grim Reaper looking ass.

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While Kazuto was busy having the fight of his life against POH, in a completely different location, two girls, one with chest-nut brown hair and one with light blue hair, were panting, exhausted, from dealing with a group of other players and eliminating them. 

"I'm...glad...I was able to run into you, Asuna," claimed Shino, straightening her back and checking her HP bar while Asuna was doing the same.

"Yeah, but I feel like our good luck was counteracted by the fact that three other players found us...at least, we were able to deal with them," responded Asuna, trying to keep the conversation focused on the bright side of things.  "Although, that makes me wonder if the map this time is a little bit smaller...which would be strange since the developers of the game went to all of the work to implement jumping from an aircraft into the beginning of the round."