A-Asada-san...
Asada-san...
Asada-san!
Asada-san! Asada-san!
Asada-san! Asada-san! Asada-san!
Run, Sinon!
Kirito...
What the hell are you doing?
What... What are you doing?!
Stay away...
Stay away from my Asada-san!
Kirito!
He got me.
I had no idea that was a syringe...
Where?
Where did he inject you?
Don't die...
Don't die like this!
Hey, um...
What is this thing that's stuck to you?
Did he inject me here?
It looks that way.
What is this?
Um...
I think it's an electrode for a heart monitor.
Jeez, that scared me...
That's my line!
I thought you were going to die.
I... I am going to die.
Is he okay?
It looks like he is.
Anyway, thanks for coming.
No, in the end, I wasn't able to do anything.
And I'm sorry I'm late.
Are you hurt?
One Little Step
Don't call me here and keep me waiting.
Asada-san, you've been a little cocky lately, haven't you?
Yeah, it's a bit much, isn't it?
It's fine.
We're friends.
But of course, if we're in trouble, you'll help us, right?
For now, 20,000 yen will be enough.
Lend it to me.
I told you before.
I'm not lending you any money.
I seriously did get it from my brother today.
Do what you want.
He told me to make sure I never pointed it at anyone...
But you're fine, aren't you?
You're used to it.
Now cry.
Kneel and apologize!
What's with this thing?
Ow!
A Government 1911, huh?
Your brother has good taste.
Not my preference.
Most guns require you to take the safety off first.
C-Crap...
It's dangerous to point it at anyone.
Here you go.
Are you okay?
Endou?
Bye.
This is my first step...
Asada-san!
Who's that?
Is that your boyfriend?
Hey!
I told you we could meet,
but what are you doing somewhere so obvious?
Yo.
Hey there, Sinon.
After what happened, Shinkawa Kyouji and his brother, Shouichi, were arrested.
Shouichi's testimony made the existence of another conspirator clear.
The third Death Gun, Kanamoto Atsushi, is still on the run,
but Kikuoka says it's only a matter of time until he's caught.
Death Gun began when Shouichi purchased a cape,
which could make you invisible, in a real-money trade.
Using that cape and binoculars,
Shouichi began to fanatically collect other players' information.
Meanwhile, his brother, Kyouji, was having trouble leveling his character.
The idea that agility is the only stat that matters is only an illusion.
Spiegel was an AGI type,
and he hated Zexceed for previously saying
that AGI was the most important stat, while he shifted to a STR/VIT-based build.
When Shouichi heard this, he told Kyouji Zexceed's real name and address,
and the two of them discussed how best to kill him.
Even so, they say that at first they weren't serious.
But as they debated for days and days, the plan began to seem increasingly realistic.
No Entry Door Must Remain Closed At All Times
At last, they settled on stealing a dangerous drug
and a master electronic key, used for opening doors in emergencies,
from their dad's hospital.
They carefully researched their targets,
focusing on people who lived alone, in places with weak security.
Shouichi used this master code to enter the house of Zexceed, AKA Shigemura.
They settled on a time to kill Shigemura's character.
Kyouji logged in, using his brother's character, "Sterben."
He called himself "Death Gun," and attacked Zexceed with a gun.
The second victim, Lightly Salted Tarako, was killed in a near-identical manner.
But GGO players didn't get scared of Death Gun.
They treated it as a joke.
The perpetrators became infuriated,
and decided to kill three different players in the BoB tournament.
Their targets were players who met the same conditions as the other murders,
Pale Rider, Garrett, and Sinon.
But there was a big problem with killing multiple people.
That's right.
A partner needed to be at the target's house
when the killing took place.
And that's when a third partner, Kanamoto, was brought in.
You could say Kanamoto was an old friend of Shouichi's.
In SAO, they were members of the same guild.
His character name was Johnny Black.
Do you remember him?
A poison knife user who paired with Zaza.
Kanamoto's house was near Pale Rider's and Garrett's, so he took them.
Kyouji took Sinon.
Until now, Shouichi had been doing the killings,
but this time, Kyouji insisted.
Um...
Did you hear that from Shinkawa-kun... I mean, from Kyouji-kun?
No, this is based on his brother's testimony.
Kyouji is keeping silent.
Oh...
By the way, about Shinkawa Shouichi.
Since he was little, he's had a weak constitution.
His father gave up on him early,
and decided that his younger brother, Kyouji, would take over the hospital.
There's no problem, instructor!
Even so, it seems like the two of them got along well.
But Shouichi got into MMORPGs.
And in 2022, he became a prisoner of Sword Art Online.
When Shouichi came back, Kyouji was the one person he told...
About how he'd been feared as a real murderer in that world.
To Kyouji, his brother seemed like a hero.
Shouichi says that everything about the Death Gun plan,
including the murders, was a game.
That there was no difference between it and how, in SAO,
they'd research their targets, ready their equipment, and carry out attacks.
The dark side of virtual MMOs, maybe.
Reality starts to seem less real.
As for you...
What about your reality?
It's true that there are things I left in that world.
And that, because of it, there's less of me here now...
I think.
Do you ever think you want to go back?
Don't ask that. It's in bad taste.
But Kirito...
What you just said is different than what you said earlier.
You said there was no such thing as a virtual world.
That wherever you are is reality.
Right now, the world I'm in...
This world is my only reality.
Even if this were a virtual world, I think it would still be reality to me.
I see...
You're right.
What Sinon just said
may be the one truth of any worth in this whole thing.
Don't tease me!
You're quite right.
At the moment, that's all I know.
Any questions?
Well...
What's going to happen to Kyouji-kun?
From the way they act and what they say,
they're likely to be sent to a medical reformatory.
Those two don't actually have a "reality."
No, I don't think that's true.
I don't know anything about his brother,
but to Kyouji-kun, reality was inside Gun Gale Online.
He abandoned everything
in this world, and decided that GGO was his reality.
He did hours of painful and boring grinding for experience every day,
trying to be the best.
I'm sure he was under a ton of stress.
Stress in a game?
But isn't that confusion of reality what a game is supposed to accomplish?
Yes, I think Kyouji-kun got this world and that one mixed up.
But why?
I don't know that.
Kirito, do you?
Because he wanted to be stronger.
Yes, I was that way.
Maybe every virtual MMO player is the same way.
They just want to be stronger.
Kikuoka-san, I'm going to see him.
I'd like to see him and tell him what I've thought so far,
and what I think now.
You're a strong person.
Please do.
When he's allowed to have visitors, I'll send you an e-mail message.
I'm sorry, but I have to go.
Yeah, sorry to take up your time.
Um, thank you.
No, it was my fault that you two were in danger.
I need to do at least this much.
Oh, right, Kirito-kun...
Death Gun...
No, Red-eyed Zaza, AKA Shinkawa Shouichi, gave me a message for you.
Of course, you have no responsibility to hear it.
What will you do?
I'll hear it.
Okay, then.
"This isn't the end.
You don't have the power to end it.
You will be made to realize this soon.
It's show time."
That is all.
Um, Sinon?
What?
Are you free after this?
I don't really have any plans...
Is this where you wanted to take me?
Yeah.
I wanted to introduce you to someone.
You're late.
While I was waiting, I ate two pieces of apple pie.
If I get fat, it's your fault.
Why?
Introduce me, Kirito-kun.
O-Oh, right...
This is the third champion of Gun Gale Online, Sinon, AKA Asada Shino-san.
S-Stop it.
And these are my friends from SAO.
Lisbeth, AKA Shinozaki Rika, the rip-off blacksmith.
What did you say?
And that's the berserk healer, Asuna, AKA Yuuki Asuna.
Th-That's mean...
Ow...
Anyway, take a seat.
Sterben... It wasn't "Steven," was it?
A word used by hospitals for "death."
I wonder what he was thinking when he named himself that.
It's better not to look for more meaning than there is in a name.
You'll lose sight of a lot more than you notice.
Ooh, pretty smart.
Coming from someone who uses their real name for their character,
it sounds persuasive...
Jeez!
Don't say that!
Sorry, sorry!
Anyway, I'm happy to meet a female VRMMO player in real life.
Yeah.
Please be our friend, Asada-san.
Listen, Asada-san...
Sinon-san.
There's a reason we asked you here today.
A reason?
Sinon, I need to apologize to you first.
I told Asuna and Liz about what happened to you long ago.
I needed their help.
Sinon-san, we actually went to the town where you used to live.
Why did you...
Because I thought you hadn't met the person you needed to meet,
or heard the words you needed to hear.
It may hurt you,
but I couldn't just ignore you.
The person I needed to meet?
The words I needed to hear?
Um, who are you?
Hello.
You're Asada Shino-san, right?
My name is Oosawa Sachie.
This is Mizue. She's four.
Before she was born, I worked at the post office.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry,
Shino-san.
I should have come to see you earlier.
I never apologized. Or thanked you.
When it happened, I was pregnant with her.
So, Shino-san, you not only saved my life,
but hers, as well.
Thank you...
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Saved your life?
Sinon,
you've always blamed yourself.
You've tried to punish yourself.
I won't say that that's wrong.
But at the same time,
you have the right to think about the lives you saved.
You have the right to think about them and forgive yourself.
I want you...
I want...
To Shino-oneesan
Shino-oneesan, thanks for saving Mom and me!
Next Time Debriefing