"In exchange, your comrades are being wiped out as we speak."
"It was bound to happen sooner or later. This was a losing battle from the start."
Gunner X paused, looking puzzled. "Then why did you even join the Heike?"
"Isn't it obvious? You can't fight Shana if you're on the same team."
"...That is surprisingly logical."
Gunner X led him to the center of the clearing, where he finally stood face-to-face with Shana.
"Yo."
"Hey."
"Shall we?"
"Let's. I'll be using this for the finale." Xeexeeed reached for his belt with his left hand and drew a single combat dagger.
"...Huh?" Shana stared at the blade.
"What? You got a problem with it?"
"No, it's just… can you even use a knife?"
"Well enough."
"I mean, fine, I guess… but I'm just going to use this." Shana pulled out a standard Glock.
"Fine by me."
The spectators in the city erupted in confusion.
"Wait, they swapped roles?!"
"Xeexeeed is using a knife? What kind of joke is this?"
"What is even happening anymore?!"
The crowd went silent, breaths held, as the two stood ten paces apart.
"Alright, Max. Count us down. You okay with that, Xeexeeed?"
"Yeah. Start whenever you want."
Gunner X raised her hand, palm open. She began to fold her fingers one by one.
"Five… four… three… two… one…"
The moment she hit 'one,' Xeexeeed's right hand—which had been hidden behind his back—whipped around. He wasn't holding a knife. He drew a concealed handgun and fired a point-blank shot directly at Shana's head.
"Sucker!"
In the next heartbeat, a flash of pale blue light sliced through the air. Xeexeeed's bullet didn't hit. Instead, the projectile was cleaved in two, the halves whistling past Shana's ears to impact the ground behind him.
"Wh—?!"
Xeexeeed stood frozen, his finger still on the trigger, unable to process what had just happened.
The city fell into a deafening silence. Then, as the realization set in, a roar of pure shock shook the streets.
"Did he just…?"
"He sliced a bullet?! He actually cut a bullet out of the air?!"
"I mean, maybe if you see the bullet line, you could parry one… but he cut it?!"
"He's a goddamn monster!"
The players were terrified, unaware that in the vast world of VRMMOs, even greater monsters existed. But they would learn that soon enough.
"Coward," Gunner X spat, her voice dripping with venom.
Shana, however, just chuckled. "Now, now, Max. Neither of us said the fight started at zero. I told you to count, and he told you to count however you liked. There were no rules."
"But…!"
"Coming at me with everything he's got, rules be damned, just to snatch a win… I don't hate that." Shana smiled, perfectly mimicking Yamikaze's signature line. "Besides, I knew from Yamikaze's report that his main gun didn't have semi-auto or full-auto capabilities. If I knew only one shot was coming, I figured I could handle it."
"I see. Sasuga, Shana-sama. And good job, Yamikaze."
"What the hell is that Glock?!" Xeexeeed finally found his voice.
"This? I borrowed it from Sinon. Look at the slide—the color matches her hair perfectly. Beautiful, isn't it?"
"I don't care about the aesthetics! I'm asking why you're using someone else's gear!"
"Because if I used Akht-X against you, it wouldn't even be a fight."
"Don't you look down on me! Use your real weapon! Fight me with everything you've got!"
"I am fighting you with everything I've got."
Shana sighed, holstered the Glock, and drew the twin blades of Akht-X.
"Fine. Whenever you're ready."
"Damn you! Stop mocking me!" Xeexeeed screamed, firing a desperate volley from his handgun. Shana clicked the blades together into their staff form and spun them like a propeller, the glowing blades creating a shield of light that swatted the bullets aside effortlessly.
"How are you even doing that—?! Dammit, I'm out!"
"Out of ammo? My turn then."
"Wait—so fast—!"
With a burst of pure explosive speed, Shana vanished and reappeared in Xeexeeed's space. In one fluid motion, he cleaved through Xeexeeed's torso.
"And that's the end. Yamikaze, Max… consider the debt paid."
"Damn it… I really can't beat you…" Xeexeeed muttered as his HP hit zero.
"I don't plan on losing. But hey, I'll play with you again whenever you want—as long as it's not over some stupid rumor like this one."
"Tch. Fine."
Xeexeeed shattered into data fragments. At that exact moment, a triumphant fanfare blared across the entire server, accompanied by a system announcement:
[The Genpei War has concluded. Victory: The Genji Army.]
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