The Raven Dark Hero 116

Chapter 116 : Those Who Confront

TL:SummerPeanut

Tokyo

A top-class hotel in Tokyo. The BAR lounge on the top floor is usually a popular spot to enjoy the night view, but today it was a private party.

Sitting on a sofa by the window and looking down at the night view, is the boss of Kuroyume, Shinichiro Kiryu.

Even though his long-cherished wish was almost fulfilled, his expression was not good.

“You still haven't found the boy?”

Just then, the boss of Shiroyume, Hakuda, who is an old friend of Kiryu's, arrived.

“Yeah……. Good grief, I have no idea where on earth he has gone to.”

“And you’d arranged for him to be a real hero too.”

At Hakuda's words, Kiryu let out a sigh. Then……

“Wow, you old farts sure are fast, huh. Even though there’s still 30 minutes before the appointed time.”

The man who appeared was Ukyo Kirisame, the boss of Kagerou, who had been a longtime rival of Kuroyume.

“It's rude to call me old. I'm still active. If you can't see my appeal, then that just means you're still a little kid.”

“Heh~? What are you still active on, old lady?”

Kirisame gave a friendly smile to Hakuda. It's as if he were a real child or grandchild of Hakuda.

Then, the last person for this meeting arrived.

“I can understand Kiryu and Yuki-san, but I'm surprised you're here before the appointed time, Kirisame.”

The man who appeared was General Toshiaki Zaizen of the National Defense Force. He is one of the central figures in this country, and is in charge of not only the NDF, but even the dark side specialists who are still known as filths.

“Tsk, you're a pain in the ass. Just so you know, I'm not cooperating with you, so don't misunderstand me on that.”

Kirisame’s expression clouded over as he smiled calmly in front of Kiryu and Yuki.

“Don't worry. I don't trust you either, you hyena bastard.”

“What was that~?”

At Zaizen's sarcasm, Kirisame stood up with his battle aura. However, Kiryu controlled the situation and forced Kirisame to sit on the sofa.

“You're wasting your time in vain. Get to the point, Zaizen.”

“I know.”

Kiryu, Zaizen, Hakuda, and Kirisame.

Four of the top gifted in the country, with no exaggeration, were all gathered here.

“Now, in Japan, we have succeeded in suppressing the return of the first phenom as planned, and we are now sending reinforcements to other countries. The Assembly will soon pass a bill to create an equal society for people with gift and ordinary people which has been our long-held wish.”

“Oh? But some members of the ruling party are still opposed to it, let alone the opposition, aren't they?”

As Yuki said, the success of Zaizen, Kiryu, and Kirisame in defeating the phenom in the early stages of the war has tipped public opinion in the direction of supporting the passage of the bill.

However, only the Assembly that would decide the future of the country. Most of the members of the Assembly are non-gifteds.

“There are plenty of ways to do this. Tokugawa's approval rating is stable, and more than half of the ruling party now understands the need for the bill. When that happens, the opposition will be irrelevant.”

“……Good grief, it has been long, far too long. Getting to this point.”

Kiryu closed his eyes as he watched the night view.

Kiryu and Zaizen were two of the ten survivors of Armageddon twenty years ago.

Zaizen was not there for the direct confrontation with Unknown but Kiryu was one of those who witnessed the direct confrontation with it, along with Onijima and Elvin Kruger, the strongest specialist at that time, was killed in the line of duty together with the Unknown.

Kiryu thought that with the Unknown defeated and the vicious phenoms gone, a peaceful world where everyone could live in peace would come.

However, the non-gifted who feared that the gifted would become the center of the country, made laws to suppress them one after another to let them know that they were the ones controlling the gifted and they built an environment where they could keep the gifted under surveillance.

Of course, Kiryu and the others rebelled. However, they missed the opportunity because the non-gifted were too quick to act. In addition, the non-gifted people outnumbered the gifted.

Let's say that a war broke out between the gifted and the non-gifted in the country.

Even if the gifted have an overwhelming advantage in individual strength, the non-gifted have chemical weapons to make up for it.

Most chemical weapons were ineffective against phenoms of level 9 and above, but that’s not the case with humans. Even if it was a gifted in question.

Gifted at Kiryu and Onijima classes would be able to compete with the majority of soldiers with weapons but other gifted would never be able to compete with the power of numbers.

Knowing this, in order to prevent the blood of gifted other than his own from being spilled in vain, Onijima, who was known as a hero, chose to follow the path of being a member of such an organization.

However, Kiryu and Zaizen were not convinced.

Determined to change the world ruled by the non-gifted, Zaizen stayed in the NDF while Kiryu became a member of the filths. In order to change the world from the front and the back, everything they did was for that purpose alone.

“The bill is important, of course. But it will all be for nothing if the world is destroyed. The Unknown will be back soon……”

Kiryu's words changed the atmosphere of the place.

“According to the prophecy, we have six months before Unknown is unsealed. The resurgence of the phenom in various places proves it. This time, humanity will be able to hold out despite the sacrifices but if Unknown returns, it's going to be tough for our current forces……”

Kiryu had analyzed their current strength and believed that they would not be able to defeat the Unknown at this point.

Zaizen nodded at that analysis.

“The Unknown, huh……. 20 years ago, specialists from all over the world came together to form an elite group. All of them were comparable to general-level class in current NDF. And yet… out of 100 of them, only 10 survived.”

“I don't think I’ll lose to the Onijima in his prime back then. But if I were to ask myself if I've surpassed him now, I can't say with confidence that I have.”

Kiryu's words brought a surprised expression to Kirisame's face.

“Even old man Kiryu thinks he can't win, so how good is this Elvin Kruger guy?”

Elvin Krueger. The man was from the United States and would be of the same age as Kiryu if he were still alive.

His gift is the World Master, the highest recorded S in history, which Hiro manifested after his awakening. It was a gift so great that it could literally rule the world, depending on the holder’s proficiency.

“Sanada Hiro has also awakened World Master but he is still far less proficient than Kruger. At the rate he's growing now, he'll need at least another 10 years to reach Kruger's proficiency.”

Zaizen's analysis was accurate. Still, even at the current stage of Hiro's career, he was already probably one of the ten most powerful gifted in the world. In other words, he concluded that Hiro's current strength was inferior to what Kruger was at the time.

“……As of now, there's only one other person with the ability who could possibly be on par with Onijima and Kruger back then, besides me……”

“……Suou Kouki, Bright, huh.”

Kiryu and Zaizen both thought of Bright who possessed multiple high-ranked gifts by making use of the gift of Revived Hunter, a unique gift.

“I mean, Bright's been missing since he killed those old guys, hasn't he? Isn't he dead already? At least if there's a dead body, I can still lead him as a shadow.”

Kirisame muttered, and they all fell silent. Each of them had their own thoughts on the matter…….

Then, Zaizen glanced at Kirisame, thought about whether he should say something or not, and then opened his mouth…….

“This is the information I got from Dr. Strohm, who recently defected from Germany and I'm hiding him personally…… it’s better to forget about Bright.”

Dr. Reuter Strohm.

He was a mad scientist who was researching Revived Hunter in Germany.

He was chased out of the institute by Bright and fled across Germany, but Zaizen, who thought he might have something to do with Bright's disappearance, took him into custody a few days ago.

Forget about Bright. ……Kiryu wrinkled his brow at the words that could have been derived from Strohm's knowledge of Revived Hunter's secret.

“Forgot about Bright? What is this about, Toshiaki?”

“Especially you, Kiryu. For your sake, and maybe for Bright's too, who disappeared for your sake, it's better to forget about him……”

Zaizen then told them the secret of Revived Hunter that he got from Strohm.

The conditions for activating the ability and its harmful effects. If he doesn't kill Kiryu, Bright's ego will collapse and he will become a fighting machine.

When Hakuda heard this, tears welled up in her eyes.

“Is it really…… that’s why the boy……”

“So, he put Kiryu's old man before his own madness. It's a complicated choice, but one that I can understand. Actually, I owe a lot to my mom and dad, so I can understand how he feels…… Whoa-!?”

Then Kiryu, who had been silently looking down, smashed the table.

“……Bright…… that fucking idiot……”

Kiryu's expression was not one of sadness or confusion, but one of clear anger.

“Relax, Kiryu. No matter how much Bright's ability is comparable to yours, you and he have different levels of experience. The experience of having faced the Unknown once, you should know better. So, if he puts your life before his own, you should just shut up and do what he wants.”

Kiryu started thinking about Bright. And then……

“The experience of facing the Unknown, huh……. That's exactly why, there’s some things only I understand.”

Kiryu stood up and started to walk away.

“Hey, Kiryu! Could it be, you better not be thinking about something stupid!”

Zaizen grabbed Kiryu's shoulders at the bad feeling he was getting.

“Don’t worry. I'm not going to give my life away to save his. I just have to make sure he is safe.”

Kiryu and Zaizen stared at each other for a while.

Eventually……Zaizen removed his hand from Kiryu's shoulder.

“Our…… The longing of many comrades who sacrificed their lives for you and me will finally be fulfilled. If you die now, they will have died in vain. Don't you ever forget that, got it?”

Since the establishment of Kuroyume, many of his friends…… Many of his comrades had supported Kiryu's goals and had scattered away.

And Bright also made the decision to become one of those comrades. Kiryu understood this very, VERY well.

“I know this because I've confronted Unknown. That's why I'm going to do the best I can. ……Don't worry, I'm not going to die for nothing.”

After saying that, Kiryu left the bar…….

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