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The Red Storm Princess (紅の暴風姫, Kurenai no Bōfūki) is the 2nd volume of the Accel World light novel series, published on June 10, 2009.

Summary[]

Since meeting Kuroyukihime, Haruyuki has managed to grow up a bit. But suddenly this mature Haruyuki is confronted by Tomoko, an elementary school girl he's never met before--who calls him "big brother"?! When Kuroyukihime sees the two of them flirting, the look she gives Haruyuki is like a cold knife stabbing him in the gut! Meanwhile, in the Accelerated World, something very mysterious is taking place...

A cursed piece of Enhanced Armament called the Armor of Catastrophe is making the rounds, polluting the minds of the Duel Avatars that don it and causing those avatars to attack at random with no regard for friend or foe. Only Silver Crow, the sole duel avatar with the power of flight, can apprehend the relic. Is Haruyuki up to the challenge on this mission to subjugate the Armor?!

Chapters[]

Prologue[]

The flight ability has given Haruyuki a huge advantage in the Accelerated World, allowing him to reach level 2 in a mere week and level 3 in only a month. However, now at level 3, his opponents were beginning to analyze the shortcomings of his flying ability – mainly, his weakness to long-ranged, high-speed projectiles. Now, in Territory Battles, the attacking side would always have a “anti-crow” ranged avatar on their side to exploit his huge weakness. As his win-rate plummeted, Haruyuki grew desperate to prove himself – and to stay by Kuroyukihime’s side.

Thus, he began to train. Haruyuki built a training program consisting of a blank white space with a single large revolver placed in the center. When the “start” button was pressed, a thirty-minute countdown began. At a random moment within the thirty-minutes, the gun would fire, and Haruyuki would have to react fast enough to dodge it at a distance of twenty meters. Furthermore, the program contained an illegal patch that nullified the pain-absorber, allowing him to feel the pain of each bullet.

One day, a month later, Haruyuki practiced as usual in his training program. As his attention faltered for a split second, the gun fired. Although Haruyuki managed to avoid a direct hit, the bullet nevertheless blew off his left ear. Feeling the full pain of the bullet, he began thrashing on the virtual space’s floor. Detecting the abnormalities in his brain waves, his Neurolinker automatically logged him out.

Finding himself facing the door of the toilet stall, Haruyuki abruptly turned around and vomited into the toilet. Pondering his failure in the training program, Haruyuki begins to worry about the disappointment Kuroyukihime must have felt at the recent Territory Battles. Promising to become stronger, he exits the toilet stall and walks home.

Chapter 1[]

As Haruyuki enters his apartment, he is greeted by the voice of a young girl. With his mind on autopilot, he answers the voice without thought and begins to walk to his room. After taking a few steps, however, he stops and realizes he's an only child. There was no way he could be an older brother, especially not to a girl with a cute voice like that. He even smells something sweet. Hallucination was possible... but with a scent? He stumbles clumsily into the kitchen and sees an angel in the living room. She is making cookies! Convinced that it was simply Neurolinker virus, he walked up and began pinching the girl’s cheek. Suddenly, the girl began screaming, and Haruyuki jumped back in shock. Pulling off his Neurolinker, he realizes that the girl is a real flesh-and-blood person.

Vol 02 - 002-003

"Tomoko Saito" talking with Haruyuki

It was only here that Haruyuki noticed a message from his mother. Haruyuki listens to a voice message, which explains that a relative's (Saitos in Nakano) daughter would be staying with him for a few days.

The girl introduces herself as Tomoko Saito and offers Haruyuki cookies. His heart melts as she dips her head neatly and hopes they can get along together.

That night, while Haruyuki was taking a bath, he thought over the day’s unexpected events. Realizing that it all seemed to “perfect”, he began to become a bit suspicious. Equipping his Neurolinker, he begins to browse through his family’s net for any mention of “Tomoko Saitou”. However, the moment he found a match, the girl in question walked into the bathroom.

"Tomoko Saito" in the bathroom

Innocently smiling towards the shocked Haruyuki, she asks if it was okay to get into the bath with him. After blubbering excuses for a bit, Haruyuki looks over to the picture of “Tomoko Saitou” that he had found on the net. Realizing that his cousin and the girl in front of him looked completely different, he asks the girl if she was a new Burst Linker.

The girl’s reaction was immediate. Her face turned red, and her eye jerked. However, after a split second, she returned to her previous expression and questioned Haruyuki’s words in a cute voice. Undaunted, Haruyuki began to explain his findings. Finally dropping the act, the girl’s facial expression and tone of voice immediately changed, and explained how she had arranged their meeting after three days of social engineering. After listening to her explanation, Haruyuki guesses that she was trying to hack Black Lotus through him, since she did not have the power to defeat Lotus in an actual duel.

Taking great offense to this declaration, the girl exclaims that he had shown great disrespect towards the famed “Scarlet Rain”, and that he was going to suffer great punishment. However, as she ran to get her Neurolinker, she slipped on a towel and fell into the bathtub. On impact, her towel was blown away.

Realizing that they were both completely naked in the bathtub, the girl screams and leaps out. However, before running out of the bathroom, she declares that she is going to kill Haruyuki. With that, she ran off to grab her Neurolinker – and a pair of clothes.

His mind slowly recovering from the shock of the situation, Haruyuki ponders on the name the girl had mentioned. Calling Kuroyukihime, he asks her about a Burst Linker named “Scarlet Rain”. Slightly shocked, she answers that Scarlet Rain, also known as “Immobile Fortress” and “Bloody Storm”, was the Second Red King.

At this moment, the girl who was Scarlet Rain entered the bathroom, this time with her Neurolinker. Without any delay, she accelerated, challenging Haruyuki to a duel.

Scarlet Rain

Landing in the duel field, Haruyuki examines his opponent. Scarlet Rain’s duel avatar was small and red, resembling a doll. However, just as he began to question whether this doll-like avatar was a fearsome level 9 King, a strange phenomenon occurred. Massive red blocks appeared one after another from the space behind the small avatar, connecting with huge legs and cannons to form a humongous Fortress.

Haruyuki attempts to attack the back of the avatar. However, huge jets of flame blew through, blowing him away. Immediately after, Scarlet Rain’s fortress turned around and released a massive barrage of missiles, forcing him to flee. Flying out of the building, Haruyuki turns around to examine the destruction. His apartment building had been completely destroyed, reduced to a large pile of rubble. Thinking that Rain had buried herself under the rubble, he lets his guard down. However, at this moment, Scarlet Rain unleashed her Heat Blast Saturation, a giant laser that incinerated the rubble and pierced through Silver Crow’s left arms. Haruyuki is left speechless at the massive destruction left behind by a single attack.

Haruyuki under "Hailstorm Domination"

Seeing the flying Crow, Scarlet Rain unleashes her anti-aircraft Hailstorm Domination. Haruyuki somehow manages to dodge the barrage of missiles and bullets shot from the fortress. Suddenly, he is struck by an interesting thought: how was he able to dodge all these hundreds of bullets now, when he could not manage to dodge even a single one during the Territory Battles?

Dodging the heat-seeking missiles, Haruyuki finds a blind spot and takes the opportunity to unleash a dive kick at the stationary fortress underneath. However, just as he is about to make contact, Scarlet Rain dismantled her Enhanced Armament and dodged with a single step. Completely missing his target, Haruyuki crashes into the ground in an unsightly manner. Now stuck, he could only watch as Scarlet Rain triumphantly walked over to him. Suddenly, instead of killing him, Rain makes a shocking request: she wanted to meet with Black Lotus in the real world.

Chapter 2[]

That night, Haruyuki could not fall asleep as Tomoko, a.k.a. the Red King, was sleeping in the living room. He couldn't stop thinking about what the Red King objective was, why she did what she did, and many other questions.

The next morning, Haruyuki meets with Kuroyukihime to talk about the Red King’s request. She asks him about last night’s call and his mentioning of the Red King. Having no other options, Haruyuki explains everything from "Big Brother, Welcome home" to how he battled the Red King. Kuroyukihime was a bit angry, but they continue talking about the Red King, known as the “Immobile Fortress”. Haruyuki says that he should have given up at the start of the battle if he knew how strong she was. Kuroyukihime responds that he needed to do more research. Accidentally mentioning Red Rider, she is reminded of his death at her hands. Haruyuki assures her that they were a family, promising that he would never fight her. Kuroyukihime smiles a bit and suggests that they meet somewhere more private, calling a Nega Nebulus meeting on the school’s roof.

Now with Takumu, Haruyuki explains his meeting with the Red King. Takumu, living up to his nickname of “Professor”, theorizes that the Red King had initially planned to manipulate Haruyuki into temporarily joining the Red Legion, Prominence. Then, using the possibility of Judgement Blow, she would have threatened Haruyuki into doing something. In the end, Kuroyukihime agrees to meet with the Red King, arranging Haruyuki’s living room as the meeting place.

Stressing over the condition of his house, Haruyuki leads Kuroyukihime to his house. To his horror, he finds that Scarlet Rain had found his stash of violent video games and was currently playing them on his home television. Seeing Kuroyukihime, Rain pauses her game and stands up to confront her. Sensing the dangerous amount of tension present, Haruyuki butts in with a stupid comment. Although he ended up pulling the death stares of the two Kings onto himself, he successfully lessened the tension.

After Takumu arrives, the meeting between the Red and Black Kings begin. Starting off with an introduction, the Red King introduces herself as Kozuki Yuniko, Niko for short. After the members of Nega Nebulus do the same – Kuroyukihime somehow hacked her identification card – the meeting got down to business.

First, Kuroyukihime questions how Niko had managed to crack Haruyuki’s real life identity. She answers that she had accelerated at every school she visited in Suginami to check the matching list. Once discovering Umesato, she used an alternative plan to accelerate every time a student walked out of the school. Using around two hundred Burst Points, she managed to find Haruyuki’s real life identity.

After this matter is cleared, Kuroyukihime questions Niko’s motive – the reason why she had gone to such lengths to crack Haruyuki’s identity. In a grim voice, the Red King answers that she needed to borrow Silver Crow’s flight ability to destroy the Armor of Catastrophe.

Chapter 3[]

At this revelation, the shocked Kuroyukihime exclaims in a terror-filled voice that the Armor has already been defeated. Confused, Haruyuki questions about the “Armor”. Kuroyukihime, after calming down, explains the concept of Enhanced Armaments. These powerful weapons could be obtained through a variety of methods. One such method is to rob the player in possession of the Enhanced Armament of all their Burst Points. In such a case, there is a low possibility that the Enhanced Armament will be transferred to the killer – a low rate random event. However, the cursed Armor of Catastrophe has a perfect transfer rate of 100%.

Severely disturbed, Kuroyukihime once again argues that the Armor had already been destroyed. In fact, she had confirmed its annihilation two and a half years ago.

Here, she explains to the perplexed Haruyuki the history of the Armor of Catastrophe. At the dawn of the Accelerated World, there was a Burst Linker known as Chrome Disaster. Covered by a metallic armor, the tyrant drove many Burst Linkers to total point-loss with his berserker fighting style. Perceiving him as a threat, the highest-levelled Burst Linkers at that time banded together to end the Disaster’s reign. Finally, the day came when he was deprived of all his points. On the verge of death, Chrome Disaster proclaimed that he, cursing the world, would return again and again. Going along with the promise, the cursed Enhanced Armament, known as the Armor of Catastrophe, remained after the original Chrome Disaster’s death. Infecting Burst Linkers one after another one, the same cycle of subjugation repeated itself three times. However, after taking part in the Fourth subjugation mission, Kuroyukihime believed that the Armor had been destroyed for good.

Vol 02 - 107

Niko teases Haruyuki with a Direct Connect Cable

In order to demonstrate the monstrous power of Chrome Disaster, Kuroyukihime offers to show them a video recording of the Fourth Disaster’s death. Direct Connecting to each other in a daisy chain net of cables, the four Burst Linkers dove into the virtual net. Guiding them towards the correct access gate, Kuroyukihime began to play the recording.

Haruyuki watched as Kuroyukihime and the Green King, Green Grandé, planned an ambush. Hiding behind a few rocks, the two Kings awaited the arrival of the Fourth Chrome Disaster. At this moment, the monster in question appeared. Seeing through the ambush, the Disaster immediately attacked the rock of the Green King. Forced to evade, Grandé leapt out from the cover of the rock. Activating his cross-shield The Strife, he blocked the Disaster’s attacks. Watching the monster’s enraged strikes, Haruyuki felt himself pierced to the core with overwhelming fear.

Seeing that his repeated strikes bore no fruit, the Fourth Disaster opted for another mode of attack. Opening his mouth, the beast extended its tongue to use “Health Drain”. However, at this moment, the Black King intervened. Dashing towards the Disaster, Kuroyukihime severed the tongue with a clean hit. Together with Green Grandé, she managed to kill the Fourth Chrome Disaster.

Returning to the real world, Haruyuki found himself in cold sweat, unable to believe that a Burst Linker like himself dwelled within that feral monster. Niko, upon waking up, repeats her claim that Chrome Disaster has once again returned to the Accelerated World. Not believing her, Kuroyukihime stubbornly insists that she had personally confirmed the Armor’s annihilation after the Fourth Disaster’s death. Exasperated, the Red King retorts that if the Armor was indeed destroyed, then how had the Fifth Disaster appeared?

At this point, Kuroyukihime begins to question the current Disaster’s characteristics. In a shaking voice, Niko explains that the Fifth Disaster was originally a Prominence legionnaire by the name of Cherry Rook. Surprised that the Disaster was not one of the Kings, Kuroyukihime begins to muse over the dilemma. Takumu offers a possible explanation: one of the Kings at the previous subjugation raid had lied about the Armor’s disappearance, keeping it for themselves. Then, two and a half years later, they gave the cursed Armor to Prominence’s Cherry Rook.

Haruyuki finds it hard to believe that the Armor of Catastrophe, a mere item in a game, could erode a player’s mental state to such an extent. Kuroyukihime explains that it was definitely possible – information from the Brain Burst system could potentially flow backwards into the Burst Linker’s brain, influencing their thoughts and emotions.

Vol 02 - 005

Kuroyukihime and Niko persuading Haruyuki to take part in the subjugation mission

Continuing, Niko explains that she decided to end Cherry Rook’s life with Judgement Blow. However, when she had tried to do so ten days ago, the Fifth Disaster had escaped with a huge jump – an ability that almost resembled flight. Thus, she explains her motive for visiting Haruyuki: she needed Silver Crow to use his flight ability to capture the Fifth Chrome Disaster. After overcoming his shock, Haruyuki agrees to the request.

However, he still has one last question: where were they going to confront the Disaster? If they challenged the Disaster to a three against one Battle Royale with two Kings present, there was no way that he was going to accept. Niko answers that the battle was going to take place in the Unlimited Neutral Field.

Upon hearing this, Takumu immediately protested – the Unlimited Neutral Field was far too dangerous. Besides, they did not know whether the Red King was being truthful; for all they knew, she could be leading them into a deadly trap. In response to this allegation, the Red King offered her real life information: her name, her address, everything. If the subjugation mission turned out to be a trap, they could take revenge with a Real Life PK.

With this, the Black and Red legions reached a consensus. Nega Nebulus would help the Red King subjugate the Fifth Chrome Disaster. In return, Prominence would cease all Territory attacks on Black Legion territory. Agreeing to carry out the mission the next day at Haruyuki’s house, the meeting concludes.

Vol 02 - 137

Kuroyukihime and Niko in the bath

However, while she was leaving, Kuroyukihime realized that Niko would be staying with Haruyuki for the night. Immediately stopping in place, she proclaims that she would also spend the night at the Arita apartment. Stunned, Haruyuki could only stand there as Kuroyukihime walked back into his house.

That night, the three of them slept together in the living room. In the middle of the night, Haruyuki woke up to a surprising sight: the two Kings who were supposed to be a whole meter apart were now asleep in an embrace. Niko had her head buried in Kuroyukihime chest, while Kuroyukihime cradled Niko’s head. These two fearsome Level 9 Kings were supposed to be sworn enemies, bound by the Level 9 Sudden Death Rule. Yet here they were, wrapped in a sleeping embrace. Feeling that he had arrived on something unfathomably beautiful, tears began pouring out of his eyes. However, unable to put his thoughts into words, he could only stare at the two sleeping Kings.

Chapter 4[]

The next morning, Haruyuki leaves the house with Kuroyukihime to attend school. However, he accidentally runs into Kurashima Chiyuri in the elevator. Surprised and slightly irritated to find Kuroyukihime together with Haruyuki, she demands an explanation. Fumbling, Haruyuki texts Takumu for help. Upon arriving on the scene, Takumu explains to Chiyuri that he and Kuroyukihime had both stayed at Haruyuki’s house to discuss Brain Burst matters. Unconvinced that a mere game could warrant such time and attention, she states that she wanted to see for herself what Brain Burst actually was. After promising to raise her virtual aptitude, she runs off.

Vol 02 - 006

Chiyuri confronting Haruyuki, Kuroyukihime, and Takumu

On the matter of lending Chiyuri Brain Burst, Kuroyukihime explains that Brain Burst could only be given to one other person. Thus, giving Chiyuri Brain Burst would be a huge gamble – such an important decision had to be thought out further. Haruyuki states that Chiyuri already satisfies the first condition of Brain Burst, which is to have equipped a Neurolinker since birth, so there was a large chance that the installation would succeed. Suddenly, Haruyuki is struck by a thought: who was Kuroyukihime’s Parent? However, before he could voice his question, they arrived at the school.

During his classes, his earlier question continued to bug him. Unable to resist, he scheduled to meet with Kuroyukihime at the virtual squash court. Kuroyukihime manages to guess Haruyuki’s question, but doesn’t answer it directly. Instead, she cryptically states that her Parent used to be her greatest friend, the person whom her life revolved around. However, one day, their acquaintance was brutally shattered. Now, her Parent was her greatest enemy.

Kuroyukihime explains that, while the Parent-Child bond is the strongest bond in the Accelerated World, it is not always positive. If such a bond was to become negative, the effects would reach outside the realm of Brain Burst to affect their real-world relationship. Haruyuki vows that if his bond with Kuroyukihime ever turned south, he would voluntarily uninstall Brain Burst. Hearing his words, Kuroyukihime promises that, no matter what happened in the future, she would never regret choosing him as her Child.

That afternoon, Haruyuki walks home by himself. Arriving in his living room, he greets Niko, who was sitting silently on the sofa. In a businesslike tone, she states that they should be able to make it in time to confront Chrome Disaster.

Here, Haruyuki is struck by a sudden thought: What if the Red King held a grudge against Kuroyukihime for killing her predecessor? As such, he directly asks her whether she hates Kuroyukihime. A bit surprised, Niko answers that she didn’t hate her; as she had hardly even met the previous Red King, she didn’t hold much hatred towards the Black King for killing him. In fact, it was because of Red Rider’s death that she was able to rise to the rank of Legion Master. A bit embarrassed, she explains that she actually admired Black Lotus. The other Kings hypocritically advocated for the Mutual Nonaggression Pact while secretly aiming for Level 10 themselves. Meanwhile, only the Black King had the guts to openly declare her intentions.

Niko explains that there was a theory that Brain Burst would end and automatically delete itself when a player reached Level 10. As such, the Mutual Nonaggression Pact might potentially help prolong the game’s life. However, it also led to the world’s stagnation – it was getting progressively more difficult to earn points and levels. This thought had tormented Cherry Rook, the current Chrome Disaster, driving him to turn to the Armor.

Vol 02 - 175

Haruyuki grabs Niko by the feet

At the mention of Cherry Rook, Niko begins to tear up. Shouting at Haruyuki to turn away, she wipes her eyes with her arm. Recovering, she commands him to forget everything that she had just said and begins kicking him. However, Haruyuki grabs her legs and begins to reassure her. He explains that he had seen many MMOs quietly die out because of such stagnation, watching the familiar parts of the beloved world vanish one by one. This, he believed, was the saddest type of ending possible; he would not allow Brain Burst to die out in such a manner.

After thinking quietly for a moment, Niko states that she was beginning to understand what he was trying to convey. However, immediately after, she begins shouting at him to let go of her feet. Just as she successfully kicks Haruyuki to the ground, the doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of the other members of Nega Nebulus.

After a quick greeting, Kuroyukihime explains the mission’s plan. The confrontation with Chrome Disaster was going to take place in the Unlimited Neutral Field, the true battleground of the Accelerated World. Instructing him to speak the initiation command “Unlimited Burst”, they dive into the Unlimited Neutral Field.

Chapter 5[]

Diving into the Unlimited Neutral Field for the first time, Haruyuki abruptly realizes that the time limit, which was usually displayed on the top of the user interface, was gone. Niko explains that the Unlimited Neutral Field had no time limit – with just ten points, the user could accelerate for an unlimited length of time. Furthermore, the Unlimited Neutral Field had no boundaries; it stretched throughout all of the Social Camera Network.

However, Takumu warns him against frequent long-duration dives. If one were to spend an extended duration of time in the Unlimited Neutral Field, their mental and physical ages would slowly drift apart.

Vol 02 - 189

Kuroyukihime and Niko arguing over the flight arrangement

Changing the topic, Niko states that they should get going soon, suggesting for Haruyuki to carry them through the air. After arguing about the arrangement for a while, the four Burst Linkers finally agree on the following formation: Kuroyukihime and Niko in each of Haruyuki’s arms, while Takumu hung on to his legs.

While flying, Haruyuki notices a gargantuan four-legged beast crawling through the field below. Kuroyukihime explains that the creature was known as an “Enemy”, a monster created by the system. Watching as a group of Burst Linkers attacked the Enemy, she explains that Enemies could be hunted for Burst Points. As such, hunting parties frequented the Unlimited Neutral Field for Enemy hunts.

Suddenly, lasers, missiles, and bullets begin to target them from the ground. Barely managing to dodge the first barrage, Haruyuki flies down to middle of a huge crater in the ground. Safely landing in the crater, they take stock of their surroundings. However, immediately after, more than thirty Burst Linkers line the edge of the crater, firmly surrounding them. Lastly, the crowd parted for the entrance of a yellow clown-like avatar – the Yellow King, Yellow Radio.

Realizing that it was an ambush planned by the Yellow King, Niko begins to shout accusations at the yellow avatar. However, Radio calmly denies her allegations, saying that the Mutual Nonaggression Pact stated that if a Burst Linker was forced to total point-loss by a member of another legion in violation of the Pact, then the legion of the deceased Burst Linker could also drive the first avatar from the attacking legion that they find to total point-loss as well – an eye for an eye. And since the current Chrome Disaster, a former member of the Red Legion Prominence had driven members of the Yellow Legion to total point-loss, going by the Pact, Yellow Radio was waiting in the Unlimited Neutral Field with thirty more Burst Linkers to ambush the first Red avatar they meet. However, this supposedly random Red avatar just happened to be the Red King herself – or at least, allegedly.

Knowing that this was no coincidence, Haruyuki theorizes that it was Yellow Radio who had kept the Armor of Catastrophe after the death of the Fourth Chrome Disaster. Afterwards, he had given it to Cherry Rook, turning him into the current Fifth Disaster. However, he had no way to prove his theory. With no way to get around the situation, Haruyuki suggests for them to log-out of the Unlimited Neutral Field to avoid the ambush. However, Niko responds that immediate log-out was not possible in the Unlimited Neutral Field; in order to log out, one must reach a portal. As such, they could only fight.

However, Yellow Radio has another trick up his sleeve. Pulling out a recording of the death of the First Red King, Red Rider, he plays the video in front of Kuroyukihime. Haruyuki watches as Red Rider, after conveying his wish to be friends with Black Lotus, offers her a handshake. However, since her hands were blades, she instead pulls him into a hug. At this moment, she activates her Death By Embracing attack, instantly decapitating Rider. With this, the recording ends.

Forced to watch the recording, the lights of Kuroyukihime’s avatar suddenly went out. Collapsing on the floor of the crater, she ceases to move. Laughing at the spectacle, Yellow Radio commands his troops to commence the ambush.

Chapter 6[]

Immediately, a hail of bullets, lasers, and missiles begin to rain down on the crater’s floor. Barely surviving the barrage, Takumu commands Haruyuki to carry Kuroyukihime and escape with Niko to the crater’s edge. However, Yellow Radio activates his special attack “Silly Go Round”, distorting their vision and robbing them of the ability to escape. At this moment, the second barrage of attacks commences. Standing in front of his friends, Takumu blocks the rain of bullets with his own body. After taking a couple more attacks and killing a few close-ranged avatars who had come to engage them in close quarters, Takumu’s health gauge runs out.

Vol 02 - 007

Kuroyukihime under Zero Fill

Holding Kuroyukihime’s limp body, Haruyuki begins to ask why she couldn’t move. Niko explains that she was currently in a state of Zero Fill – a phenomenon in which a lack of willpower and a sense of hopelessness robs a Burst Linker of the ability to control their avatar. In other words, a Burst Linker without the strength to face their own wounds could not move.

Instructing Haruyuki to take Kuroyukihime and fly away, she asserts that she was going to stand her ground and fight. However, Haruyuki rejects her command, stating that as her friend, he was also going to help. Surprised, Niko responds that he could do what he wanted. Turning around to face Yellow Radio, she calls out the command to summon the Immobile Fortress, the Enhanced Armament Invincible.

Telling Haruyuki to take care of any closer-ranged avatars that tried to attack her base, she begins a long-ranged attack. Barrages of missiles and heat beams incinerated any avatars that attempted to get close. Laying Kuroyukihime down on the floor of the crater, Haruyuki begins to engage the melee avatars who had managed to survive Niko’s initial volley.

Vol 02 - 249

Kuroyukihime rising out of Zero Fill

After defeating a few avatars, however, he falls prey to an immobilizing stun attack by a neighboring avatar. Meanwhile, a jamming avatar in the ranks of the ambushers had removed the Red King’s ability to attack. Unable to move, he could watch as the melee avatars clambered onto her fortress and began ripping parts off. Helpless, he cries out to the limp Kuroyukihime, encouraging her to get up and fight. Slowly, the lights in the duel avatar ignited once more, and the Black King rose back up. Stating that the way Haruyuki had spoken before made it sound like she and Rider were in love, she tells him that it was not the case; Haruyuki was her first. Furthermore, she instructs him to simply stick his hands into the ground.

Doing as such, Haruyuki felt the electricity immobilizing him instantly dissipate – the earth had absorbed the electrical charge. Easily defeating the avatar that had been holding him in place, he begins to engage the other melee avatars in combat. Meanwhile, Kuroyukihime dashed towards the enemies atop Niko’s armor. Weaving through their ranks, she dismembers their limbs one by one, effortlessly massacring the entire group.

Seeing the Black King back in action, Yellow Radio once again tries to return her to Zero Fill, taunting her with words of Rider’s death. However, Kuroyukihime simply states that taking his head would not weigh on her the same way Rider’s did, and dashes towards the Yellow King on the edge of the crater.

Meanwhile, Haruyuki flies upwards in search of the jamming avatar. Finding him, he realizes that the avatar was protected by a long-ranged red avatar with a rifle. Seeing him, the ranged avatar points his gun towards the flying Haruyuki. Realizing that he had to dodge the bullet, something that he had failed to do in his training program, Haruyuki’s anxiety kicks back in. However, he quickly realizes something: the current situation was different. Now, he could see not only the gun, but also the avatar holding the gun. Thus, he could watch the avatar’s movements to determine the timing of the bullet. Going off of his newfound theory, Haruyuki manages to dodge the bullet. Performing a dive kick, he easily defeats both the long-ranged sniper avatar and the jamming avatar. With her guns now freed, Niko mows down the rest of the attacking avatars.

On the other hand, Kuroyukihime is battling against Yellow Radio. The two face off – Kuroyukihime using her blades, and Radio using a yellow baton. In awe, all of the remaining combatants stop their battles and watch the two Kings. Niko declares that this was the first time that two Level 9 Kings fought against each other in a serious battle to the death. In the next moment, the battle would be decided: each of their special attack gauges were almost full. Whoever could attack first would be the winner of the death battle.

At about the same time, Kuroyukihime begins her Death By Piercing incantation and Radio begins his Futile Fortune Wheel. However, at this moment, Radio’s chant is interrupted by a sword bursting through his chest.

Chapter 7[]

Slowly, a dark knight wielding a gigantic sword materializes in the darkness behind him – The Fifth Chrome Disaster. Paralyzed with fear, Radio is unable to act. However, coming to his senses, he quickly activates his Deceit Firecracker and manages to escape. Gathering his troops, Yellow Radio and his ambush group flees to the nearest portal, exiting the Unlimited Neutral Field.

Vol 02 - 265

The Fifth Chrome Disaster

Overcome with fear, Haruyuki momentarily enters a state of Zero Fill. However, Kuroyukihime dashes forwards and intercepts Chrome Disaster’s incoming blade. Under the pressure of the huge sword, she begins to encourage Haruyuki. She tells him that he feared defeat – he believed that with every loss, his own worth decreased. Progressively getting more and more discouraged, his victories in the recent Territory Battles had also begun to decrease. Declaring that this was not at all the case, she begins a fierce onslaught directed at Chrome Disaster.

Haruyuki begins to wonder what was giving her the strength to face such a terrifying opponent. While stubbornly standing her ground, Kuroyukihime conveys to him that once on the battlefield, there was nothing else to do but fight, to fight with all their might regardless of the possibility of defeat. Finally understanding what Kuroyukihime was trying to say, Haruyuki overcomes his fear and rises out of Zero Fill. However, the moment they prepare to fight Chrome Disaster together, a red beam of light washes over them, blowing them away along with the Disaster.

Looking at Kuroyukihime’s broken avatar, he realizes that the laser came from Niko. He begins to scream at the Red King, questioning why she had attacked them even though she knew that Kuroyukihime would lose all her points if she died. Coldly walking towards the half dead Chrome Disaster, she cynically states that all Burst Linkers other than oneself was an enemy – there was no such thing as friends in the cruel world. Instructing them to leave now while they still could, she stands atop the broken knight, preparing the Judgement Blow.

Watching this scene, Haruyuki is hit with a wave of indescribable sadness. Remembering the previous night’s scene of the two Kings peacefully sleeping, he wonders if that sight had simply been an illusion, a coincidence. However, at this moment, he hears a metallic screech. Looking up, he sees Chrome Disaster holding Niko up into the air. Had Niko not activated Judgement Blow?

From the side, Kuroyukihime asserts that the two Burst Linkers, Cherry Rook and Scarlet Rain, were parent and child – Niko had not been able to bring herself to kill her Parent. Kuroyukihime states that Niko, more than anyone, wished to trust someone. Following, she tells him to go help Niko – their friend. Kicking off the ground, he dashes towards the chrome knight and punches him to the side, freeing Niko from his grasp. Surprised, the Red King asks him why he had come to help. In response, Haruyuki answers that they were friends, above all else. Calling him a jerk, she turns to the Fifth Chrome Disaster and declares that it was time to end everything.

However, at this moment, the Disaster raises his hand skywards and leaps to the nearest building. Realizing that this was the long-distance jump, Haruyuki flies off to pursue him. Aiming a dive kick, he shoots towards the fleeing knight. However, the Disaster suddenly changes direction midair, dodging Haruyuki’s kick. Surprised, he approaches the Disaster once again and tries to launch a punch. Once again, Chrome Disaster changes trajectory midair, miraculously dodging his strike. However, in this brief encounter, Haruyuki’s eyes caught a surprising sight: a thin wire stretching out from the Disaster’s hand. Realizing that he was using the wire as a grappling hook to swing from building to building, Haruyuki comes up with a suicidal plan.

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Haruyuki catches the Disaster's hook

Flying at a high speed, he moves in front of the Disaster, catching the wire’s hook with his own back. Carrying the monstrous weight, he slams the Disaster’s body into the metal wall of the Sunshine City. Smashing through the solid wall, Chrome Disaster suffers heavy damage. However, the broken knight suddenly reaches out its hand once more, pulling Haruyuki towards him. Realizing that he could not be eaten at all costs, Haruyuki counters the wire’s pull with the thrust of his wings. Pulling the Disaster behind him, he flies all the way to the summit of the tower, then doubles back to activate a dive kick, driving his foot into the Disaster’s throat.

At this moment, the Disaster’s visor slides apart, revealing Cherry Rook’s face within. The innocent face quietly speaks that he had only wanted to get stronger. Haruyuki screams back that “wanting to get stronger” was no excuse to hurt others – everyone, not just him, desired to get stronger, to improve themselves. Plunging downwards at an even greater speed, he drives the Disaster into the ground.

Chapter 8[]

The dive kick from the extreme height creates a tremendous explosion. Haruyuki manages to survive, but the Fifth Chrome Disaster’s armor is completely shattered. However, even though the wire had snapped, the hook was still attached to his back. Ignoring this small detail, Haruyuki raises his face and looks towards the small cherry-pink avatar lying in the crater’s center. At this moment, Niko appears behind him, telling him that he had done well. Walking towards the pink avatar, she put the gun to his chest. After exchanging a few words, she activates Judgement Blow. Immediately, the cherry avatar disintegrates into countless ribbons of light, drifting upwards into the sky – Cherry Rook has permanently left the Accelerated World.

Walking back towards him, Niko explains her relationship with the former Cherry Rook. The two were both enrolled in a school for abandoned children – both had been left by their parents from a young age. A few years ago, she was approached by Cherry’s real-life persona. Stuttering, he gave Niko the Brain Burst program. In the time that followed, he taught Niko all about the game, protecting her from danger and assisting her in battles. However, at some point, Niko surpassed him in level and became a Level 9 King. Slowly, their interactions began to lessen. Wanting to continue being her parent and protecting her, yet not having the power to do so, Cherry Rook had turned to the Armor of Catastrophe.

At this point, Niko begins sobbing. Comforting her, Haruyuki tells her that Brain Burst was not the only reality – the real world was equally important. In both worlds, they were friends. Slowly regaining her original attitude, Niko exclaims that he was at most a subordinate. Afterwards, they regroup with Kuroyukihime and the revived Takumu and travel to the nearest portal. However, right before that, Haruyuki hears a strange voice whispering to him. Brushing it off as his imagination, he walks through the portal.

Chapter 9[]

In the next Territory Battle that Saturday, Haruyuki successfully dodges the sniper’s bullets by watching their avatar itself instead of the gun.

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Niko giving Haruyuki cookies

Congratulating him on the victory, Kuroyukihime explains that winning or losing wasn’t the most important thing – he shouldn’t beat himself up over a few losses.

That afternoon, when Haruyuki enters his apartment, he finds a message from his mother saying that the child of one of her co-workers was coming to stay over. Suspecting something, he freezes and starts looking around, but is unable to find anyone. Then, he hears distant laughter stemming from his room. Opening his bedroom door, he finds Niko lying on his bed reading his manga.

Greeting him in her “angel-mode”, Niko says that Cherry Rook was moving out of Tokyo. Realizing that he could no longer gain Burst Points in the remote area, he had become impatient and ended up accepting the Armor of Catastrophe.

After this brief explanation, Niko pulls out a bag of cookies and gives it to Haruyuki as a thank-you gift. Eating the cookies, Haruyuki begins to cry. Seeing this, Niko, embarrassed, calls him an idiot and yells at him to stop.

Gallery[]

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