Members None

• Shinkawa Shouichi [新川昌一]/ Sterben [ステルベン]
• Shinkawa Kyouji [新川恭二] / Spiegel [シュピーゲル]
• Kanamoto Atsuishi [金本敦] / Johnny Black [ジョニーブラック]

Death Gun [死銃] was a player group for the VRMMORPG title Gun Gale Online. Founded by brothers Shinkawa Kyouji and Shikawa Shouichi. Shikawa Shouichi was also a former Sword Art Online player and member of the red guild, Laughing Coffin. Through his connections with other Laughing Coffin members, the two would later invite Kanamoto Atsuishi, an SAO survivor, to coordinate Laughing Coffin's actions in assisting with the deaths of players in the real world.

In Gun Gale Online, the group takes control of their avatar Sterben, to mysteriously forcefully cause players to log out after being hit by their "Death Gun", resulting in their death in the real world.
Sterben can be identified by his dark gray optical camouflage coat, his skeletal mask with illuminated red lenses, and his "Death Gun," a Type 54 "Black Star" pistol.

History

After escaping from Sword Art Online, Shinkawa Shouichi was invited to play Gun Gale Online by his brother. Reluctant to engage in another game after being trapped in Sword Art Online, his interest in the game increased after purchasing a metamaterial optical camouflage cloak through the RMT system. This special item allowed him to conceal his appearance, stalking other players unnoticed. To his advantage, he could spy on players as they entered their private information into various terminals in the Governor's office.

After some time, during a discussion between the two brothers regarding the player XeXeeD and their promotion of fake skill-granting tips, Shouichi noticed that he had private information about XeXeeD at his fingertips, including his home address. A plan was hatched leading to what would become known as the Death Gun. Using a stolen muscle relaxant called succinylcholine , one brother would use the avatar Sterben, while the other would break into XeXeeD's house, injecting him with a lethal dose of the relaxant, synchronizing their actions to stage a scene where it would appear that XeXeeD had died due to an in-game action.

While XeXeeD had been the first target, the two had fun killing more people, compiling a list of seven potential targets that met all the requirements for someone to infiltrate their homes. Their next target became Usujio Tarako, a reputable Gun Gale Online player who led the second-largest squadron on the server. While talking to his squadron in SBC Glocken, he was approached by Sterben and shot with the Death Gun. All damage taken was negated due to city security, but shortly after, his avatar logged out, and his body was found dead in his apartment a few days later.
After these two incidents, rumors began circulating about Sterben and the Death Gun, but many players dismissed them. Unhappy with the outcome, the two men decided to take the next step, choosing to kill three players during the third Battle of Bullets tournament.

The targets Pale Rider, Garrett, and Sinon had been marked for death. However, this led to complications regarding how the two brothers would coordinate their actions, primarily because Sinon lived further away from the other two competitors, making her a target the brothers would have difficulty eliminating alone. To solve this problem, former Sword Art Online player and Laughing Coffin member Kanamoto Atsushi was invited into the group. Atsushi became responsible for eliminating Pale Rider and Garrett , while Shinkawa targeted Sinon during the events of the second Battle of the Bullets.

After the events of Gun Gale Online, Kanamoto managed to evade local authorities and go into hiding, armed with the last dose of succinylcholine. After stalking Kirito and Asuna late one night after an offline encounter at the Dicey Café, Kanamoto attacked Kirito, injecting the lethal dose into his bloodstream, putting him into cardiac arrest.

References

Death Gun - SAO Fan Wiki
Kanamoto Atsushi — SAO Fan Wiki
Shinkawa Kyouji — SAO Fan Wiki
Shinkawa Shouichi — SAO Fan Wiki
Type 54 "Black Star" - SAO Fan Wiki