The Raven Dark Hero 102

Chapter 102 : The Summit Battle Begins

TL:SummerPeanut

『……Regarding the bombing terror happening, Kuroyume has not interfered in any way. The whole thing is an act of Kagerou's own making and an act to humiliate us, Kuroyume. We, the filths, cannot allow this despicable act to go unpunished. Currently, our members are on their way to disarm bombs in various places……』

In response to the Kagerou, a statement was also issued from the Kuroyume side.

However, the opponents, who had been overwhelmed by the supporters of Kuroyume, now began to loudly proclaim how harmful the filths were through SNS and the media.

“Kukukuh, after all, the people are stupid. I never thought they'd be so easily provoked.”

――Shibuya. Kameyama, one of the four heavenly kings, was waiting for Kuroyume's arrival in front of the bomb with five of his own soldiers while calling Kanbe, another member of the four heavenly kings.

As for Kagero, they had thought that the statement in this terrorist attack would only be profitable if it caused even a slight loss of trust in Kuroyume, so the current public opinion movement was more than they had expected.

……Of course, from the shimmering side, Kanbe took the lead in sending out opinions on social media to discredit Kuroyume and encourage public opinion.

『That's right. But considering the extent of the damage to their credibility, then maybe Kuroyume's campaign to improve their image wasn't really that effective. Did I overestimate them too much?』

On the other end of the phone, Kanbe, the man who came up with the media control strategy, was satisfied that the strategy was more effective than he had imagined.

“Now then, I wonder where they’ll show up first~, those Kuroyume-san. If Jiren would just show up, my arms would be ringing in joy.”

『The only number currently in New Tokyo is Jiren. But he's probably going to spread his forces across all the bomb sites, so there's no guarantee that he'll come to you. But even if he does, we'll have to wait and see, right?』

“Don't be a cheapskate. Will Jiren come~ or not~……eh, whoa!?”

Suddenly, a ball of flame hit Kameyama.

“They’re here! Looks like I hit the jackpot. I'm hanging up the phone!!”

Jiren appeared in front of Kameyama's eyes.

“The four heavenly kings, Kameyama……. I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to kill you instantly.”

As soon as he said that, Jiren wrapped his fists in flames and started running towards Kameyama.

“I couldn’t ask for more! Come at me!!”

Kameyama's appearance changed. His body became larger, his whole body turned green, and he carried a huge shell on his back. Kameyama, who had become a man-turtle, used the shell to firmly guard Jiren's fist.

“……Tsk. As expected, it’s hard.”

“GAHAHAHAHAH! Let’s see if you can break down my ironclad defense!”

Kameyama's gift, the ‘Phantom Turtle’. It's a rank B gift that allows one to transform his body into a turtle.

Kameyama jumped up, retracted his neck and limbs into its shell in midair, and attacked Jiren with a sharp sideways turn.

“Tsk, you're faster than I thought.”

Jiren evaded the shell but the turtle shell continued to fly in all directions. The power of the blow was greater than that of a dump truck hitting you at a speed of 100 km/h. If he took it directly, even Jiren would take a lot of damage.

“GUHAHAHAHAH! What’s the matter? If you keep running, the bomb's gonna go off!”

Jiren pondered while avoiding.

(This movement, it looks like maybe he’s not in control of it. But that's why it's so hard to read. It's hard to hit it with an attack and it looks pretty solid……Well, maybe not as hard as the boss.)

The Phantom Turtle is a Gift ranked at B but it must have been very suitable with Kameyama. With a steady increase in proficiency, it had grown into a very useful gift.

“HEYHEYHEYHEYーH! If you don't avoid it, you're deadー!”

“……Tsk, don't get too conceited, this muscle-for-brain.”

――Kuroyume North Kanto Branch

“Tsk……What's with all these shadows!”

In the North Kanto branch of Kuroyume one of the Numbers, Vendetta, was struggling against attacks by Kirisame’s Shadow Soldiers.

“Sheesh~! My gift won't work against shadows! What a terrible match!”

Vendetta's gift, the Nightmare Lure, is the ability to create illusions in a target but since the target is a shadow; not even a living being. It was impossible to create an illusion in a shadow.

“Hahaha! Even the mighty Vendetta seems to be helpless against the shadow army the boss has created!”

As Vendetta struggled, ‘Zarko’, a member of the Kagerou who had been following as the shadows’ escort, shouted in triumph.[1]

“……you really know how to move your tongue. Although, my gift wasn't the only thing that made me a Numbers.”

Vendetta's expression changed. Like a cold-blooded queen…….

A shadow attacked Vendetta who was standing motionless. This shadow was a man who had been a major in the NDF before his death, a man of considerable combat prowess and excellence.

“Hmph!!”

However, the shadow disappeared after being hit by Vendetta's spinning kick.

“Even if I can't use illusions, I'm probably not far from Jiren when it comes to physical combat without using gift”

Zarko was astonished by Vendetta's ability to assassinate the shadow.

“Wha-! That shadow was a pretty good one too……”

“Fufufuh, have you forgotten who you've been fighting with? We're Kuroyume, remember? Take a look around you.”

When Zarko was told, he looked around and saw that all the shadows had disappeared and several members of Kuroyume were standing there instead.

“Wha-……wi, wiped out?”

"Within Kuroyume, there are a lot of people who are as good as your four heavenly kings. It's not just the Numbers. Do you understand now?”

“Uugh…… DAMMIT!!”

Zako started to flee immediately. There were only enough transfer stones for a one-way trip, so he had to escape on his own.

(What a mess……! The four heavenly kings said that the boss's shadow would be a good match against her but they're no match at all! What bullshit!)

“!?”

Suddenly, Zarko's legs became heavy. When he looked down at his feet, he saw that the shadows that had been erased were holding onto Zarko's legs.

“What the hell!?”

“……NO ESCAPE……Put it down……COWARD……”

The shadow, which should not be speaking, spoke to Zako with a grudge.

“HIIH! What the hell is wrong with these shadows!”

Zako tried to shake off the shadow with all his might, but it kept disappearing and reappearing, clinging to his legs and refusing to leave.

“GIVE ME YOUR BODY!!”

“Wha-……GYAAAAAH!!”

A shadow entered Zarko's body through his mouth. One shadow, and then two shadows……

“AGOGOGOGORGH……”

As a result, Zarko fell down with the whites of his eyes…….

Vendetta comes under the fallen Zarko.

“What an idiot. Even if my gift doesn't work on shadows, it works on you. What do you think? In your eyes, did I look like I was struggling at first?”

Vendetta's initial struggle with the shadows was also a vision that Zarko had dreamed. As a result, the other members of Kuroyume were able to defeat the shadow without Zarko noticing but even if Vendetta hadn't used her gift on Zarko, the result would have been the same.

“It doesn't change the fact that even if my gift doesn't work on shadows. And since you're the only one I've given a nightmare to, you should be grateful.”

The members of Kuroyume gathered under Vendetta.

“Anyway, I'll fly to headquarters right away. You guys can defend this place just in case.”

She then took out a transfer stone from her chest and threw it into the air.

(Kagero seems to be serious this time, so we can't be too careful……)

ーーKuroyume Headquarters

When Vendetta transitioned to the headquarters, the Numbers that had already scattered to the other branches to fight off the shadows that had attacked their respective branches were already gathered there.

“Aren’t you too slow, Vendetta-GUGEH!?”

When Crow, who was the first to arrive out of the Numbers said so with much pride, Kirara's iron fist flew at him from the side and he was violently blown away.

“Don’t talk to dearest sister like that, I’ll hit you.”

But she'd already hit him……No one said anything. Ignoring him, Chronos, the number three, approached Vendetta.

“You were fooling around again, weren't you? Good grief……”

Chronos was forty-nine years old, older than Jiren in terms of age. However, he still looked to be around 30, and he wore his fluffy hair in a ponytail. Now that Kiryu had left, he was the oldest amongst Numbers.

“Was it that obvious? Anyway, it's been a long time, Chronos-sensei. I've been worried about you since you rarely poke out of Hokkaido.”

“Hahaha, I'm not so far gone for you to be worried about me, you know?”

Before Chronos was stationed in Hokkaido, he was the one who was supposed to be the educator of the Kuroyume members. That’s why Vendetta respected him so much that he was the only one other than Kiryu that she uses honorifics towards.

“Geez~ Those Kagerou bunches, trying to pick a fight with us in earnest now, what a pain in the ass~”

Numbers Seven, ‘Seven’……a man with wheat-colored skin and a careless hairstyle that extended to his chest, muttered absently.

“It's been a long time, Seven. I've heard you've been spending your days lazying in the tropicals.”

“Hmm? That’s rude. Even if I'm not here, the other members of the Okinawa branch are very strong. And there's also less trouble than on the mainland.”

Vendetta looked at Seven and thought that having a boss who can't do anything is probably the most important factor in an employee's growth.

“Now that we have all the Numbers in the country, I'll have you guys head out to disarm the bomb YO.”

After saying thus, Line put a purple cloth bag in his hand.

“The dimensional bag……. That's where you put the bomb.”

“That's the thing. You're not professionals so you can't disarm the bomb on the spot, right? If you put something in this bag, it'll stop its time temporarily.”

A dimensional bag. The inside of this bag is cut off from the outside world, and all flow of time is stopped. The size of the bag is that of a supermarket plastic bag but it can be expanded and contracted to a certain extent to accommodate a single human being.

Incidentally, the bags are made using Chronos's gift.

“Right now Jiren is already on his way to the scene, so you guys better get moving YO.”

“Dear me, to think that we are being put on the back foot by the likes of Kagero. Should I return to headquarters? After this is over, I'll give you guys a good beating from the bottom up all over again.”

At Chronos's words, everyone in the room turned pale.

“……We-well, that can wait until we see the results of this case, can't it? Hey, Seven.”

“Oh, I'm going back to Okinawa as soon as this matter is settled!”

“Chronos-sensei’s lessons……I definitely won’t let that happen!”

“Ouch ouch ouch……. Oh! Chronos-sensei, I'll take any kind of punishment you can throw at me!”

Only one of them seemed to have regained his nerve, but the rest of the team vowed to avoid the lessons and headed towards the scene.

Author’s Note:

The NDF is on the move to put down the bombing. Hiro heads to the ruins of the Sky Tree, one of the terror scenes, and is reunited with the two men he has a history with…….

Next time:『The Man Who Broke the Wall』

※Here is the fourth interview to commemorate the book launch.

Takahiko: “I'm here! Today marks the fourth interview in celebration of the book release. Today's guest is the main heroine's opponent, Teaser!”

Teaser: “Wait, what do you mean, ‘main heroine’? I'm not trying to be one though?”

Takahiko: “You're not being honest~. Now then, in the first volume of the book, it seems that you're getting a lot more showtime than me, right?”

Teaser: “That's right. I don't care what you think about me, but expect to see more of Yoger and Mist.”

Takahiko: “Those two were good characters, weren't they? I'm glad to see you're getting more time with them.”

Teaser: “Ara? We didn't have much contact with you, did we? Even I only started talking to you after you became partners with Bright-kun.”

Takahiko: “Please don’t care about the tiny details! Anyway, I haven’t gotten to the important question. What do you think of the book version?”

Teaser: “Thoughts, huh…. I'm only a supporting character, and unlike Kouki and Fuuka, I don't have really have the right to voice my thoughts.”

Takahiko: “Well…If you just look at the first volume, Teaser has more showtime than Fuuka, so readers who just read this will think Teaser is the main heroine, right? It seems like they're adding that kind of description.”

Teaser: “Nonsense, I'm a supporting cast. I know my place.”

Takahiko: “There are a lot of works where the character who says that goes on a giant-killing against the main heroine in the end~”

Teaser: “Fufufu…well, whatever will be will be.”

Takahiko: (This woman, It's not all bad, huh?)

Teaser: “Anyway, it's great that the book is being published. I hope as many people as possible will actually pick it up and read it!”

Takahiko: “I know, I know. As I said the other day, the author’s really adding a lot of new stuff. I think you'll enjoy it even if you don't change the axis of the story and then reread it all over again from the beginning.”

Teaser: “Is that so? If that's the case, I'm guessing Volume 2 will have a lot of additions as well.”

Takahiko: “Of course! But for that to happen, the sales of the first volume are crucial. So, the first volume of The Raven Dark Hero can already be pre-ordered online at various sites, so please buy it where you can! Of course, if you see it at your local bookstore, get it immediately! ......Huh? I think this is the first time I've been able to promote it properly.”

Teaser: “A good supporting cast never misses the point.”

Takahiko: “Hohh…As expected of a capable woman, how different from the norm!”

Teaser: “Well, my work here is done, good bye~”

Takahiko: “Oh-owh…… A good woman hates waste. Tomorrow's guest, who you probably don't want to see, will be our protagonist rival, Sanada Hiro! Looking forward to working with you”

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TL’s note:

1. A homonym for scrubs in japanese.