The Raven Dark Hero 100

Chapter 100 : The Beginning of a Long Day

TL:SummerPeanut

――Kuroyume Headquarters, Operation Control Room

The Sendai branch of Kuroyume was destroyed in an attack by the Kagerou.

This was completely unexpected, even for Kuroyume, and Line was in turmoil. This was because the incident occurred while Kiryu, Kuroyume's boss, was away.

At the same time as Bright and the others left for Germany, Kiryu left a message saying that he, too, ‘was going out for a while’ and disappeared.

In the past, Kiryu had always disappeared suddenly, and there was always a reason for his disappearance, so Line had resigned himself to the fact that this was the usual case.

But things have changed. One of the branches had been destroyed. He wanted to report it to Kiryu right away but he would not be able to contact him at all during his disappearance.

On top of that, three of the Numbers, Number 1 Bright, Number 6 Evil, and Number 10 Teaser, were absent.

The situation was becoming very difficult.

“At a time like this, the boss is still out of touch, and even Bright and the others are YO……”

“Take it easy, Line. First, let's get the Sendai’s report straight.”

-Kuroyume Headquarters, Operations Control Room.

The five members of the team, including the General Manager Line, Number 2 Jiren, Number 4 Vendetta, Number 8 Crow aka ‘Fierce Gold Wolf’ and Number 9 Kirara aka ‘Diva of Darkness’ gathered to the emergency meeting. The five of them gathered for an emergency executive meeting.

“……I understand, Jiren. Three hours ago, the Sendai branch of Kuroyume was almost completely destroyed by Kagerou’s attack. As of now, there are nine confirmed dead and twenty-nine seriously injured. Number 5, Hydro, is in a critical condition, currently unconscious, and has been transferred to the headquarters infirmary where he is undergoing treatment.”

“I didn't expect Hydro to be downed……. I guess Kagerou is finally getting serious about starting a war.”

Vendetta muttered; her tone calm but with obvious anger on her expression.

“This time, Kagerou raiding party consisted of the main Kagerou force, led by the number two, Kaburagi, as well as thirty members, including those who had left our company, and…… ten of Ukyo's Shadows. Although it wasn’t within our expectation, to think they would move that amount of force.”

“That's 30 people, including the ones who left us, and 10 of Ukyou’s shadows…… Shit, that's why I didn't want to allow anyone to leave!”

Due to the change in direction of Kuroyume's activities, many members who found it hard to fit into the new line of work chose to leave the band.

Jiren had suggested to Kiryu to not allow the members to leave the group, fearing that the members who left would become enemies but Kiryu gave priority to the members' autonomy.

“There's no point in talking about things that have already happened. The boss's operation is coming to a close……I'm sure all the numbers know that. If they get in the way here, there's a chance the operation will be blown out of the water so we have to do something about it ourselves.”

“That’s right. The boss is probably working to get that last piece, so even if we can't get in touch with him, we'll have to do something on our own.”

As the conversation continued in a relatively calm manner, a man who could not remain silent in the atmosphere pounded on the table.

“If that's the case, why don't we just attack Kagerou’s headquarters?! Huh!?”

Number 8 Crow barked. His blond, regent hair emphasized his wicked character.

“But even so, there's always the possibility that if we raid their headquarters, it'll be a trap as they target our headquarters which is already been stretched thin. We should prioritize information now, and wait until you have enough strength to split into two groups YO.”

“Enough strength? I say our strength is more than enough!”

Line was calm, but Crow was not.

“No, let's at least wait for Bright-kun's return. I've sent an urgent email to Evil, and he'll be back from Germany tomorrow……”

“Bright? HAH! Even without that newcomer, I can still kick Kagerou's ass!”

Looking at Crow’s lively place, Vendetta replied in amusement.

“……Who was it that was always picking fights with Bright and getting beaten back each time?”

“Gurgh…… I still haven’t lost yetー! I'm still on my way to winning!”

Crow had fought Bright a total of twenty times in the past year. And the mock fights that took place at the training grounds(?). All of which ended with Bright's victory. By the way, Bright always seems to be annoyed with Crow.

“That bastard is a coward! He disappears, he uses invisible attacks, he's fast, he's hard, he's the impersonation of foul play!”

“Oh? Don’t you get it? That kind of strength is exactly what we need right now, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Erghh……”

No matter how many times he lost, Crow never acknowledged Bright. Because above all, he hated Bright.

The reasons were that he was strong (although Crow himself refused to admit it), had an aura of handsomeness (although Crow himself didn't know his true face), and most importantly, he didn't like the fact that he was always with Teaser whom he secretly had feelings for.

“Line, Bright, and the others are finishing their mission in Germany, aren't they? Can't you get them to come back a little earlier?”

“Mhn~. The instantaneous transfer is out of range overseas after all. So they have to rely on air transport until they reached Japan. So it'll be tomorrow at the earliest YO.”

Jiren pondered for a while over Line's words. Maybe……No, he was sure that Kagerou was aiming for this timing.

If so, there was a great possibility that he will make another move before Bright could return.

“With the exception of Bright and the others, we and the Numbers stationed at various locations will defend this headquarters and the remaining branches in a distributed manner. We'll keep in close contact with each other, and if anything happens, we'll be able to rush to others via transfer, we'll have to focus on defending ourselves first.”

“Huh!? Is the almighty Jiren letting this scare the hell out of him!? Don't take the long way around. Let's just attack them!”

Crow, who doesn't speak respectfully to anyone but the boss, bit at Jiren.

As Jiren, Line, and Vendetta felt troubled about how to respond to Crow’s antics, the previously quiet number 9, Kirara, opened her mouth.

“There’s truth in what Jiren-san said, don’t you think? Putting aside how you've always been all talk and losing to Bright-san, I believe it will be better if you moderate your words.”

Kirara is usually quiet and demure. Her tone of voice is that of a demure young lady. With her gift’s characteristics, she made her debut as a singer and as a part of Kuroyume's strategy, she quickly rose to stardom; becoming an advertising tower for Kuroyume on par with Bright.

That Kirara shows such a strong attitude only towards Crow. Reason being…

“GuGuGuh……, big sis, as usual, you say the harshest thing……”

Crow and Kirara. They are biological siblings.

“Not to mention, your gift is completely defensive and thus you are clearly on the support role, isn't it? What can you do on your own? Ah, if you have some ideas, why don't you share with me?”

[Invisible Shield]. Gift rank at A-. It's the ability in the same tree as Invisible Slash. In spite of his personality and aggressive appearance, Crow's gift is a defensive type.

The maximum length of the shield is five meters while the width is three meters (adjustable), and it can withstand several of Kiryu's attacks. Even if it is shattered, it can be quickly restored. The shield can appear anywhere in a 30-meter radius, so it was completely a rear support type gift.

“GuGuGuGuh……I can…. Beat someone with my shield…”

“That kind of method would only work up to above-average opponents, right? That’s why your attacks were unable to even touch a top-notch gifted like Bright-san at all, isn’t it?”

“No, that's because he's too fast……. If it’s other people, I can……”

A blue streak appeared on Kirara's face as if she had grown numb to Crow's whining excuses.

“……Ah? So you're saying it'll work on me? Come on, try it.”

The expression and tone of Kirara's face, which was like that of an innocent idol, changed to that of a delinquent, just like Crow. They are, after all, sister and brother.

“Kirara, your bad habits are showing again, you know? Come on, just like I taught you, smile smile smile.”

“Ha-!? What did I just…… I am terribly sorry, dearest sister.”

When Kirara first joined Kuroyume, she had been even rougher than Crow but Vendetta had corrected her and she had come to worship her as her big sister.

“Anyway, if my prediction is right, there's not a moment to lose. Let's get to work.”

At the sound of Jiren's voice, everyone in the place stood up at once and went to their assigned tasks.

From that moment on, the longest day of Kuroyume's life was about to begin.

Author’s Note:

Kuroyume and Kagerou. The top executives of both sides are gathered and the decisive battle is about to begin……

Next time: "Bomb Terror”

※↓ Below is the second interview to celebrate the book launch.

Takahiko: “Good evening. This is everyone's idol, The God's Eye, Matoba……”

Kouki: “You said that yesterday. Ah, I'm Suou Kouki, the main character. Nice to meet you.”

Takahiko: “You fucker, you're also naming yourself!! ……Now that we've got that out of the way, what are the major additions made to the book?”

Kouki: “Oh, the continuation of yesterday's story. As for the additions, well, I guess they're making more appearances for non-main characters.”

Takahiko: “Except for the main characters. Such as?”

Kouki: “For example, Yoger and Mist will have more screen time, and the highlight is the introduction of a new character from the book.”

Takahiko: “A new character!? Eh? Who is it??”

Kouki: “That is……well, I hope you will read the book!”

Takahiko: “Such a good marketing! A new character…… Ah, I’m so curious~. Maybe that's why I'm not in the story as much?”

Kouki: “Eh? What are you saying? I mentioned the book’s up to volume two, right?”

Takahiko: “Yup, you did say that………… eh, AAH!! There's not much for me to do in Chapter 2!!”

Kouki: “That's right. Well, depending on how well the first the book sells, there might be talks about the second one and that's where you come in.”

Takahiko: “Please! Everyone, buy the book! And then, let me play a part in volume two, please!!”

Kouki: “Such a good marketing (LOL)”

Takahiko: “So, in order to get everyone to buy the first volume, I'm going to start buying and promoting it tomorrow!”

Kouki: “My true feelings (LOL), but the author has made a lot of changes to the book. I'm sure that the book version will be a fresh and new experience for everyone who has read the web version. Please give it a read if you like! Oh, and Takahiko. I've heard that the author added a story about you as an afterword, just because he felt sorry for you.”

Takahiko: “Eh…… REALLY? YEUSH! Okay then, everyone! Looks like I'm in, so you'll definitely have to read it!”

Kouki: “Best regards~”

Takahiko: “Well then, tomorrow's guest is Mizutani Fuuka! See you later, Kouki!”

Kouki: “Owh! Well then, everyone, thank you very much!”

<<Prev 

Next>>