Sword Art Online: The Crystal Swordsman

Edge of the Rainbow

"Isn't that right... Elza Kanzaki?" I tilted my head as I grinned widely at Pitohui.

Her hesitation was clear and the fury on her face was even more so. It was only a second before Pito charged me in a blind rage. In that moment, I quickly activated another part of my Wolf Wheellock for a close range engagement. From the bottom of its body extended a steel blade with unique curvature that lined the bottom of the pistol. As Pitohui closed the distance I sliced left across her chest, cutting deep into the black metal breastplate. The force of my strike sent Pito away but she caught herself and held her damaged armour. She winced in pain and growled at me with a ruthless look on her face.

"You're not the only one who's unpredictable." I smiled, pulling the primary hammer back and loading another round in the top.

The design of my Wheellock pistol was made to be easier to reload while still keeping the original composition. The primary wolf head hammer was poised and calm but the secondary wolf hammer was snarling and furious.

"K, watch out!!" Liz warned me.

I turned around just in time to stop an overhand strike from Death Fang. I stopped his wrists with my forearm and pressed both barrels of the pistol to his stomach. He had a split second to look down and witness as I pulled the primary trigger. The round practically exploded upon Death Fangs stomach as he fell backwards to the ground. The air shifted, so I spun to send my foot into Pito's stomach as she tried to charge me. This halted her forward momentum and stopped her dead in her tracks. Using this to my advantage, I took a step forward and fired a round into her chest. The force of it knocked her back far, allowing me to reload my now empty pistol. As I did so I turned back slightly to see a struggling Death Fang and behind him, a furious Kirito. I held my gun at my side as I analyzed them.

"He's all yours." I told Kirito and turned back to Pito.

I flicked my hand up to spin the pistol and point it to the sky. I took a few steps forward and readied for another round with Pitohui. With my eyes locked to hers, the silence around us was deafening. The wind picked up and blew our hair for a moment before settling calmly once again. After that moment of serenity, Pito launched up into the air and I followed her. We clashed overhead hovering with our wings, I pushed Pito back with my Wheellock blade. Our swords clashed and she leaned in with an evil smile.

"One deep cut, that's all I need." She hissed.

"You'll never get it." I pushed harder and almost hit Pito's other cheek as I pulled the trigger.

I think Pito's ear started ringing because she grunted and flew away. I chased her as fast as I could but her nimble nature made it difficult to catch her. I flapped up high and fired a secondary round at Pito but she evaded quickly with a spin. I took this time to reload both my spent rounds and close the distance fast. With a burning palm I attempted to grab her by the wings or the hair but to no avail. I narrowly missed her wing but continued to chase her down hastily. As I continued my pursuit, I noticed that slightly to my right flying alongside with us were a large Raven and small Hooded Pitohui. The nimble bird chirped as it flew away in panic but the larger predator was always looming over. The Raven stayed calm and collected while the Pitohui flew for its life. One thing caught my eye when I watched them however. Upon the back of the fierce Raven was a young pure white female. It sneezed and shook its head cutely as I realized the symbolism. I remembered why I was doing this and focused ahead to Pito, chasing her down as fast as I could. I closed the distance but she would constantly try to evade. As soon as I got close enough, she'd duck and swerve. I grew tired of it. I returned my Wolf Wheellock to my lower back and ignited both my now free hands as I flew.