Phantom Bullet is the 3rd Arc in the Sword Art Online series . It covers the Gun Gale Online- related events that occurred between November 9 and December 6, 2025, corresponding to volumes 5 and 6 of the SAO novel, the Phantom Bullet manga, and episodes 1 to 14.5 of the second season of the anime.

History

On an MMO translation stream broadcast at a bar inside OG, XeXeeD, the champion of the 2nd Bullet of Bullets (BoB) tournament, explains that the game's rebalancing has blunted the advantage of agility builds and disparages those who still use it; second-place holder Yamikaze simply attributes XeXeeD's victory to the strength-vitality build thanks to his rare weapon. The bar patrons lament XeXeeD's change in tone as he previously promoted agility builds. A masked and hooded black man arrives, brandishes a gun, and shoots at the translation screen, which elicits laughter, but seconds later, XeXeeD clutches his heart and logs out. The hooded man boasts of his "true power and strength," says that he and his weapon (a Type 54 "Black Star") are calledthe Death Pistol , and then logs out.

Kazuto is invited to a cafe by Kukioka Seijirō, a member of the Home Ministry's Virtual Division and the man who first met Kazuto at the hospital after SAO's case was solved. Seijirō explains that XeXeeD's real body was found a few days later thanks to the smell (causing unease among those who had come to eat at the cafe). He also says that another prominent GGO player, Usujio Tarako, died in a similar manner. After some deliberation, a dismayed Kazuto and Seijirō agree that no weapon in the game can kill real people this way, and Kazuto accepts a well-paid offer of in-game investigation.

Asuna and Kazuto go on a date at the ruins of Edo Castle while discussing their adopted daughter Yui's possible interaction with the real world. Kazuto informs Asuna that he will be doing GGO for some time.

A renowned markswoman, Sinon is hired by Dyne's Squadron to help them ambush a merchant caravan. They run into trouble with their guard, Behemoth, and are nearly annihilated, but decide to make a stand and win after a spectacular duel between Sinon and Behemoth.

Asada Shino is caught by her ex-friend, the school bully, who knows Shino has a gun phobia and is angry about a finger gesture with a gun. Shinkawa Kyōji arrives and scares the bullies away. Kyōji is the boy who introduced Shino to GGO so she could deal with her phobia. He tells her that Behemoth is known for its toughness and laments that his AGI build excluded him from the best STR-locked firearms. Later, Shino comes home and tries to hold a toy gun to see if she can do it. She shudders and has a flashback to the one time when she was 9 years old, and a junkie walked into a post office after her and her mother and tried to rob the place, and Shino tried to protect her mother, which escalated into her shooting the man to death.

Death Gun stares at his computer screen, pondering aloud how certain he is of power, unlike the Black Swordsman's. His target list is displayed on the screen, with pictures of XeXeeD and Usujio Tarako crossed out, and one of Sinon. He adds that his "mind and body could become [his] own."

Kazuto prepares to dive into a safe room, assisted by the military-affiliated nurse Aki, who cared for him during the SAO incident. His new avatar has long hair and is female, but GGO retains the player's actual gender. He must enter the next BoB and tries to decide what to do next, and finds Sinon passing by. Kirito decides to talk like a girl just in case; Sinon agrees to show him around. Needing money for equipment, he wins the jackpot on the unbeatable arcade machine based on the player's agility, explaining to a dumbfounded Sinon that he was predicting the prediction lines. He buys a suit of armor, an expensive lightsaber, and a semi-automatic pistol. Sinon then realizes they might be late for the tournament, so Kirito rents a motorcycle that few players seem to even be able to operate properly, and they speed down the street.

Kirito and Sinon register for the tournament, and the system asks them to enter their real addresses and names so the actual prizes can be delivered; Kirito skips this. Sinon begins changing and learns that Kirito is male. She tells him they are enemies after that. Kyōji's avatar, Spiegel, makes an appearance. Kirito then fights his first match in the preliminaries (the fights are broadcast for everyone using automated in-game cameras), then encounters a man resembling Death Gun who asks him if he is the real Kirito. Kirito notices the man's tattoo of a smiling coffin and recalls the raid to deal with the player-killing guild Laughing Coffin in SAO, and how their leader, PoH, escaped. Kirito killed a few people there, and this makes him remember and panic.

Sinon faces Kirito in the final round. He wins but won't hurt her either way. She decides he's her rival.

Kazuto is reluctant to explain his work in GGO to Suguha. He goes to work and tells Aki about his panic and killing LC members. She convinces him that he did what he should have done and that his guilt itself is proof that he hasn't switched sides to evil, earning the right to justify his actions by saving others.

Shino and Kyōji spend time together, but Shino continues to resent Kirito for his sense of fairness, his fighting prowess, and what appears to be patronizing manner. Kyōji notices that she is distant and offers to help her defeat Kirito, but Shino also wants to play fair. She even makes a finger gun gesture without getting upset, and Kyōji is pleased with her newfound strength and hugs her. She pushes him away strongly and then apologizes, asking Kyōji to wait for her to resolve her problems first. She wonders if the bank robbery incident led to her arrest of men.

Kirito convinces Sinon to explain the main rules of the tournament. Sinon says the map is ten kilometers by ten and a satellite scan highlights players every 15 minutes to prevent camping, which still gives the snipers enough time to complete their cycle. Kirito also asks her which tournament participants are newcomers. She points out Jūshi X, Pale Rider, and Sterben. As they part ways, Kirito promises to stay alive until the rematch between them.

Continued on page 2

References

• Ghost Bullet Arc - Fan Wiki
• Volume 5 - Fan Wiki
• Volume 6 - Fan Wiki