As Sterben, aka "Death Gun", prepares to kill Sinon, with Sinon bemoaning how she wished she could get strong by watching Kirito, Sterben is forced into retreat by gunshots and a grenade.
The grenade is only a smoke grenade, thrown by Kirito. Kirito grabs Sinon and makes his escape, even though Sinon asks him to abandon her. As Kirito takes a buggy, Sterben gives chase on a mechanical horse. Kirito tells Sinon to man the buggy's her sniper rifle, but Sinon's deep in the throes of a PTSD-induced panic attack, rendering her unable to pull the trigger. Kirito reaches back and pulls the trigger for her. While the shot misses Sterben, it hits his horse's fuel tank, making it explode and allowing them to escape.
Sinon grows to learn that Kirito's strength comes from his determination, his willingness to do whatever it took to protect his friends.
The two take up shelter in a cave, both to avoid the satellite scan and so Sterben would not be able to ambush them. Kirito explains that he came to her aid when he realized Jushu X was not "Death Gun": Jushu X was a woman, and her name was meant to be based on the Japanese word for "Musketeer", rather than "Death Gun".
After consoling Sinon, to her embarrassment, Kirito planned to leave to confront Sterben, afraid of him, but determined to protect those dear to him, both in the real world and the virtual world. Sinon, now realizing the true extent of Kirito's strength, vows to help him. Kirito, however, refuses to let Sinon endanger herself and die alone. Sinon, flashing back to the post office, breaks down, shouting at Kirito that people already saw her as a murderer.
After calming down, Sinon tells Kirito about the day at the post office, and how she can't bear to look at a gun in the real world, as she would see the face of the robber she killed. Also, when she saw "Death Gun", she felt more like her scared real self and less like her in-game character. To her surprise, Kirito also confesses that he killed people in the past. He and Sterben were survivors of SAO, and after recounting the battle between the Assault Team and Laughing Coffin, vows to defeat "Death Gun" in this world.
