The Raven Dark Hero 103

Chapter 103 : The Man Who Broke the Wall

TL:SummerPeanut

“GUGYAAAAAAH!!”

In Shibuya, Kameyama was wrapped in the magma of Jiren, screaming in desperation.

“Do you understand now? This is the difference in power between us, Kuroyume Numbers, and you, the four heavenly kings of Kagerou.”

Jiren was bewildered by Kameyama's unpredictable moves in the beginning but he quickly responded and stopped Kameyama with ease.

“God dammit~……as expected. I'll admit defeat……. But, this war, we, the Kagerou……will win……”

With the last of his strength, Kameyama pulled out a switch from the inside of his shell and pressed the button.

“Kh! Shit!”

At the same time that Jiren instantly put up a barrier of flame on his body, a large explosion occurred.

The bomb exploded on the seventh floor of the sixteen-story Rosean Building and was powerful enough to collapse the building from the seventh floor up.

The shock of the explosion subsided……. Jiren, unharmed, jumped over to the next building and looked at the crumbling Rosean Building.

“……I've made a bad move. I didn't think he would be able to detonate it……”

Then, several police cars and armored vehicles of the NDF arrived and surrounded the building.

“This is bad. If I stay here any longer, I’ll be made the bomb terrorist.”

Jiren left while the NDF was distracted by the exploding building.

(There's no point in regretting it. Let's go to the next place.)

――Skytree Ruins

A bomb threat had caused panic in Shinto Kyoto. The armored vehicles of the NDF arrived at one of the bomb sites, the former Skytree in Roppongi, as if to go against the crowd of people trying to escape the city center as quickly as possible.

The skytree was snapped off from XX meters above the ground during the 2X2X phenom attack, and remained like that until today.

“A bombing in Tokyo……”

One hundred and sixty soldiers get out of the armored car. The last one to disembark was Hiro Sanada, commander of the NDF's Byakkotai.

“Captain, there's a lot of mixed information about this case but do you really think it's the work of Kuroyume?”

Sagara, the second-in-command of the Byakkotai, asked Hiro.

“I wonder……. Kuroyume has been appealing to society's good books lately. I don't think there's much merit to this bombing, normally speaking.”

“So, is it really a case of Kagerou trying to undermine Kuroyume?”

Hiro looked up at the Sky Tree.

“We'll know that when we get there.”

The elevator was already out of service so someone was looking down on the Byakkotai from the upper floors of the Skytree as they began to ascend the stairs.

“Tsk, I was waiting for Kuroyume but the NDF got here first. That's troublesome.”

“That's right. Why don't we just detonate the bomb and get out of here?”

Skull and Joker. Formerly members of Kuroyume, now of Kagerou, the Dangerous Duo were entrusted with the task of placing bombs in Roppongi.

“……Hmm? Hey, Joker, that guy, doesn't he look familiar?”

“Hmm? ……Ahh, that guy, the one from that time……”

Skull and Joker remembered Hiro, who had given them a hard time along with a mysterious man that day during the attack on the shopping mall.

“Kukukuh, It's a good opportunity. I failed to kill him that time. Time to make it up.”

In Skull's mind, Hiro was only the reputed young soldier with insufficient skills as long as he’s alone. But Joker…

“……That guy, somehow I feel like he’s wearing a different atmosphere now. I have a bad feeling about this……”

Joker had noticed a change in Hiro. Hiro was no ordinary young man of the NDF but he had acquired an aura that only the fiercest warriors of the past could have…….

“What are you scared of? Then let's give it a try. Hey, you guys, let's give them a fancy welcome.”

On Skull's orders, twenty Kagerou soldiers attacked the Byakkotai.

“Incoming! It's the filths!”

The Byakkotai, which had been climbing inside the Sky Tree, reacted quickly to Kagerou soldiers’ attacks under Sagara's command.

Although Kagerou’s troops outnumbered members of Byakkotai, they were no match to the squad that had received strict training under Sagara’s command. One by one, they were being subdued.

Then, countless thorns were unleashed. The thorns attacked friend and foe indiscriminately, piercing several of the shimmering soldiers.

“Everyone, on alert!”

When Sagara gave the order, all the members of the team took defensive stances and looked in the direction of the flying thorns.

“Welcome, trash of NDF!”

It was Skull who appeared. He was clearly different from the rest of Kagerou soldiers, with his strong presence.

Looking at the Skull, Hiro was also reminded of that day.

“You are…… from that time.”

“Yo, newbie!  It's been a long time……I'm not gonna let you live this time, okay?”

At that point in time, Skull was so powerful that Hiro could never match. He was also the one who had reminded him of the bitter experience of himself causing Kouki's existence to die because of his own uselessness.

“If you guys are here, does that mean that Kuroyume was the one who led this attack?”

In Hiro's mind, Skull and Joker were still considered members of Kuroyume.

“So it IS Kuroyume…… alright, all teams, spread out and surround the enemy…… what!?”

As Sagara tried to surround the Skull, he realized that his legs were entangled in the sticky liquid and he could not move. The same was true for the rest of the Byakkotai.

From behind a pillar, the Joker emerged.

“Welcome to the world of Devil Illusion.”

“Kuh!? What is this green liquid?!”

The green sticky liquid was also clinging to Hiro's legs. He had seen this ability before but this time there was no sense of panic in him at all.

“World・Master……”

In the next moment, the liquid disappeared in an instant and the restraints on the troopers were released.

“Heyheyhey, what are you doing, Joker!?”

“What? How could my illusion……”

Hiro smiled at Skull and Joker who were both upset by the sudden turn of events.

“I’ve seen this technique before. Looks like I’m being severely underestimated. Do you think the same move will work over and over again?”

“Tsk, so it’s you, newbie~”

“Wait, I knew it, he's not the same guy as before. I think we should retreat here……”

But Skull didn't listen to Joker's warning and started running towards Hiro.

“I'll show you your place!!”

Countless thorns were shot at Hiro. But……

“My place, huh……. It's true that if I had known my own worth back then, the future might have been different……. But unfortunately, the you right now don’t have the right to do so.”

When Hiro held out his hand towards the thorns, they changed direction and all went back towards Skull.

“WHA-!? UGYAAAAH!!”

Skull was……cruelly skewered all over his body by the thorns he had released and collapsed.

“Skull!? What the hell happened, just now!”

Joker shouted incomprehensibly as Skull had fallen due to his own ability.

“Now then, next is your turn, illusionist.”

Joker realized that his bad premonition had come true. Hiro was no longer the recruit he had been back then. He has become much more powerful than he could have been in a year.

(Are you kidding me? That new recruit according to my gut feeling…… it’s telling me that he's on par with Kiryu or Bright.)

At this point, the originally apathetic Joker might have chosen to flee at once. But Joker did not choose to run away at this moment.

(To get out of this situation, just running away is a bad idea. Even if I tried to escape normally, I wouldn't be able to escape from that new recruit anyway. Then…)

“Hmm……I know it's not in character, but there’s no other way. This Joker will show you the illusion of life.”

The Joker took out ten knives from his chest. Then, tossed them at once towards Hiro.

“You want to go through what your partner went through?”

Hiro dominated Joker's attack and pointed the knives back at Joker, just like he did to Skull earlier. But the Joker pulled out a cloak from his chest and covered his entire body. Then……

“He disappeared?”

A knife sliced through the unmanned cloak and passed through. Joker had disappeared from the scene.

Then suddenly Joker appeared behind Hiro and swung the knife down.

(You’re dead!)

He swung the knife down with conviction. But Hiro, too, had vanished from the scene…….

“……Wha-? He disappeared!?”

When Hiro disappeared and his attack came up empty, Hiro, who has been behind him for some time, mutters in the ear of the astonished Joker.

“I just did the same thing back. It’s just that, with a different process, I guess.”

The Joker felt a chill run down his spine. He thought he might die.

Joker used the Devil Illusion to make himself disappear using his invisibility cloak. The effect lasted about five seconds so he dashed around behind Hiro, but Hiro used World Master to stop time.

(Stopping time is difficult and most importantly, inefficient. But as long as I can stop it for just one second, I can change the course of the war.)

The World Master is the ability to literally control every object in the world……even the very situation itself. However, depending on what you control, the stamina consumption will vary, as will the duration, and the effects.

For example, it doesn't take much stamina to dominate a gift or an object that is less skilled than you.

When it comes to controlling humans, controlling those with high combat ability and mental strength is more difficult and less effective.

And controlling a situation is the most difficult, with a limit of one second to stop time.

Stopping time, depending on the training, the duration could be extended. However, Hiro had decided that it would be more efficient to develop his other powers if he was going to spend the effort on that.

(One second of stopping time would not be enough to break down Bright's defenses. It would take five years of training alone to extend by even one second longer. So I’ll have to strengthen other parts more.)

“Well then, so long, illusionist.”

Hiro's hand blade struck the Joker in the neck. Joker collapsed like a puppet with broken strings.

However, Hiro felt something strange about the fallen Joker and put his hand on it to check……

“……Hmm? This, it's really a doll!?”

“What do you think of my Devil's Illusion?”

When he responded to the voice from above, he saw Skull and Joker standing there.

“Wha-, you shits, I thought you killed yourself earlier with your own attack……”

Indeed, Skull had fallen under his own attack by Hiro's gift. So Sagara shouted in surprise at the unharmed Skull.

“It's my gift. I can erase it as quickly as I can! You amateurs! I'm gonna kill all of you!”

Skull was cunningly looking for an opening, luring him off guard by showing him that his thorns had pierced him.

Joker had prepared to die, but only for a moment, and while Hiro was about to stop the time, he had created his own substitute.

As a result, Hiro became impressed with Skull and Joker who were still unharmed. And……

“……Most Dangerous, huh. At that time, I thought I was just inexperienced, but I see what they mean. You guys aren't just a bunch of ruffians. I should change my evaluation of you two……”

Hiro's eyes, which up until now had exuded the composure; the characteristic of the strong, though he had not been caught off guard, completely changed to the eyes of a hunter. At that moment, Joker pulled on Skull and leaped into the air, riding away on the flying surfboard he had pulled out of his chest…….

While flying, the unconvinced Skull questioned Joker.

“Joker, you shit! Why are we running away?!”

In contrast to the angry Skull, Joker was shivering from the cold sweat running down his body.

“Skull, you should be thanking me. If we'd escaped even one second later……We'd all be dead right now.”

“Huh? What are you saying, you fucker. Sure, that new recruit was getting frighteningly strong, but……”

Joker didn't hide his annoyance at Skull, who although acknowledged Hiro, still didn't feel threatened by him.

“Know your place, Skull. There are two people in this world that I would never want to fight. That's the boss…… Kiryu, and THAT Bright. They are ‘man who broke the wall’ that no one else could ever reach. But today…… another guy managed to get on to the list.”

Joker was so different from his usual self that even Skull changed his opinion of Hiro.

“Is, is he really……”

“It is better to think that we were perhaps the one percent winners to have survived. From now on, that new recruit……Or was it Sanada? If we run into that guy, we'll run away without a single word.”

Hiro, on the other hand, was inwardly furious at himself for letting Skull and Joker go. He was angry at himself for being so disappointing.

“……It can't help what I’ve let them go away. As soon as we find the bomb, we'll be on our way to the next location.”

But he didn't show any of his emotions as he took command. For he was the captain of the squad right then, and if he gets upset, it will affect the whole squad.

……Kirara, the number 9 of the Kuroyume Numbers, was observing this scene with her own gift.

(That guy…… he’s bad news. I don't think I'll be able to beat him. ……But he's pretty good-looking.)

While targeting Hiro in many ways, Kirara was also moving to another location.

Author’s Note:

Number 7, ‘Seven’ is finally unveiled. The one to intercept them is the Hanagekitai led by Fuuka!

Next time:『The Man Loved by God』

※Here's the fifth interview to celebrate the publication of the book.

Takahiko: “Yo, Hiro. Long time no see.”

Hiro: “Ahh, indeed.”

Takahiko: “Regardless of everything, thanks to you the comment section has always been chaotic, don’t you think~?”

Hiro: “Urgh…You're really going for it.”

Takahiko: “I mean, even in this chapter you're really giving off the aura of a powerful guy in this story. Even though you were such a scumbag character.”

Hiro: “……somehow, I’m sorry.”

Takahiko: “I'm tired of making announcements all the time, so today I've made a special effort to ask the author how Hiro ended up in his current position in this series.”

Hiro: “Eh? That’s quite curious. I've always wondered that myself. If they're going to make me a rival, why was I such a jerk in the beginning?”

Takahiko: “That's the thing, though. When the author was writing the first chapter, he hadn't thought about what he was going to do with you yet. That's why he was trying to make you a perfect role that could turn out to be both righteous and evil.”

Hiro: “Was that the case? No, it turned out to be righteous but the criticism came because it was subtle, not exquisite……”

Takahiko: “Don't say that. The author regrets it too. In fact, at the time of the meeting with Bright in Shiroyume, at the beginning of the story, he was even thinking of having Hiro die. He seriously considered about it.”

Hiro: “Ahh…That's when I went a little crazy…”

Takahiko: “Yeah. But, he said that when he finished writing it, it turned out that way. You did a great job in your own way.”

Hiro: “There, I was just…, I was so self-conscious…”

Takahiko: “Well, You yourself were just barely able to hold on to your rival's position. I've heard that if the second volume ever makes it into print, your character will be heavily revised.”

Hiro: “Oh, then I'll definitely have to read the second volume!”

Takahiko: “To that end! As I'm sure you've all figured out by now, sales of the first volume are crucial!”

Hiro: “Please! Make me a rival who isn't a scum!”

Takahiko: “With that~being said, if you haven't made a reservation yet, do it now! So, tomorrow's guest... who will it be? See you tomorrow!”

Hiro: “I'm hoping the web version will eventually fix my description…”

Takahiko: “Ah, about that, he said he'll think about it when the book is canceled.”

Hiro: “Ugh…That makes me feel even more complicated! Then the me in web version can stay as a piece of crap!”

Takahiko: “He's also showing off the book's cover illustration on Twitter, so if you'd like do follow him, please do! The account is silver@17678125! See you tomorrow~!”

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