The Raven Dark Hero 91

Chapter 91 : The First Strong Opponent

TL:SummerPeanut

“Aah…… my, my Revived Hunter i..is……”

Exideth no longer moved let alone even twitch. Strohm fell to his knees in despair as he looked at Exideth that would not be revived by Revive Hunter again.

Bright gazed at the observer seats where Strohm was.

“Well then, I've got some questions for you. Various questions.”

“Sh, shut up! This spot is covered with tempered glass that can't be shattered by a missile! Even you can't get to me!”

“I see…… If that’s the case……”

The next moment, Bright's body disappeared.

“……Eh?”

Then the tempered glass shattered to pieces and a jet-black figure flew right in front Strohm's eyes.

“That's some pretty brittle tempered glass.”

The tempered glass that could block missiles was shattered by a single fistful of Bright's Lonsdaleite.

“HIH, HIIIIH! Wh, what are you going to do to me!?”

“I'm taking you into custody. You will be held as the main suspect in the kidnapping case. The German government will be investigating the extent of the involvement of Core headquarters itself in this matter. ......but first, you're going to tell me everything you know about the Revived Hunter.”

Squeezing out any information of Revived Hunter. This action was not within the original plan and there was a high probability that Strohm would find out that he was also a Revived Hunter, but the information about Revived Hunter was something that Bright could not afford to miss.

“I, I knew it! You are also a Revived Hunter user, huh!?”

“No? You could be right, but you could be wrong also.”

“But, just now you were dead, and then you came back to life!”

“You're wrong about that. I just wasn't dead.”

Bright's words were not a lie. The current Bright is able to use his Cell Flame ability to forcibly recover from wounds that would normally be fatal, and it happens forcibly without caring whether he wants it or not.

This is of course an advantage but it also drastically reduces the chances of Revived Hunter being activated.

In fact, ever since he was killed by Nature White, Bright had never died. Or rather he'd never even received damage that would result in him dying.

As a result, Bright had lost the opportunity to gain new gifts since Revived Hunter wasn’t triggered. Bright thinks of this as Nature White’s curse but it's not clear if this is actually the case because White is dead.[1]

Even so, he didn’t think it's necessary for him to get a new gift. This was because the Revived Hunter's details were still unknown and it would be risky to gamble his life while trying to obtain new gifts, and above all, he was satisfied with his current strength.

He already had high-rank gifts for attack, defense, mobility, and recovery purposes. He could already claim to be the strongest in the world, with no exaggeration added.

If you calculate the probability of manifesting Revived Hunter and being able to gain as much power as the current Bright based on the calculations from Strohm’s experiments…the number would probably be abysmally close to zero. But standing now in front of Strohm was Bright who overcame that same odds.

“I, I won’t talk that easily! Wh, Why should I share my important research results with strangers for free!”

“I don't care what you want. My partner will be here soon.”

“He called me and I came, JYAJYAJYAJYAN drumroll please.”

As soon as he said his piece, Evil who had been watching the battle outside the laboratory just a moment ago arrived.

“You’re quick, Evil.”

“You can say that again~. Teaser's got the labs under control so it's been a smooth ride here with no interruptions.”

The institute had been overrun. Upon learning of this fact, Strohm's shoulders slumped down.

“I never thought I'd be able to get to the bottom of Revived Hunter’s mystery here……. It's none of our business but it seems to be a fantastic ability, so let's get a lot of information out of him.”

Evil camouflaged himself to make sure that they were not related to Revived Hunter gift. It’s not like it would definitely prevent the truth but he was just following up with what Bright had done lightheartedly to mask the fact.

“So, where should I start?”

“Good point. Since I already know about the triggering conditions and the conditions for acquiring gifts... why does the user get the urge to kill? Is there a way to control it? These questions I guess.”

“Okay~. Now then doctor here’s a question for you.”

“I, I won’t answer!”

Evil asked Strohm the questions that Bright wanted him to ask. First, he asked why the user have the urge to kill, and Strohm stubbornly refused to say anything but in front of Evil's God's Eye, it’s no use.

“Why does the urge to kill occur? The urge to kill the person who done in you becomes more intense might be due to defensive reaction to prevent you from being killed again…… that’s what he said“

“!? H, How did-!?”

Strohm was surprised that his mind has been read.

“……A defense mechanism? If it's a defensive mechanism, I'd say it's more in line with the urge to run away so you don't get killed again..”

Following Bright's words, once again, Evil asked Strom directly.

“Revived Hunter does not activate if you are killed twice by the same person. Therefore, the result is a strong urge to kill the target…… or so. Furthermore, killing the person who killed you tends to increase your proficiency in the associated gift…… That’s what he said.

That this could lead to a stronger urge to kill in order to gain more strength and more gifts…… that’s what he said.”

So far, Bright only had himself to compare with. In fact, he didn't know exactly how fast other people improve their proficiency but he could certainly feel that his gifts’ proficiency increase faster than others compared to what others said about theirs.

“I see, so it is to reduce the risk of being killed again by the same person, but more importantly, to increase the proficiency of the user’s new gift.

So, how does one suppress the urge to kill, and if they don't kill the person who killed them, is there any harm to it?”

Evil tossed Bright's question to Strohm in the same matter-of-fact way.

“…………What did you say?”

Then…… The answer left Evil speechless.

“Evil, what’s the matter?”

While Evil was aghast and Bright being worried about Evil’s condition, Strohm suddenly burst out laughing…….

“……KUhKUhKUh, the gift that reads minds, huh? Well, whatever. I'm glad you bought me some time. Thanks to you, it looks like my pet has finally arrived……”

In the next moment, a huge quadrupedal beast appeared, destroying the walls of the experimental room. The beast was about five meters long, with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a viper.

Strohm had pressed the emergency switch to summon helpers the moment Exideth was defeated.

“……What is that thing? ……If I’m not wrong, it's called chimera?”

Evil shouted in surprise. Chimera is a dangerous level 8 phenom that has threatened humanity in the past. After the defeat of Unknown, there is no record of a phenom of level 7 or higher appearing on earth. But why was it here?

“That chimera is also the result of my experiments! It's an artificial chimera but its strength is no less than the genuine chimera phenom. And on top of that, it's a watchdog that's loyal to my commands!”

“GURUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

The chimera's roar rang out. The space trembled from the sheer volume of the voice.

“Tsk, EAT THIS!!”

A laser beam shot out from Evil's eye. However, the chimera dodged the attack with agility that was unthinkable for its huge body.

“It’s a real m-monster!”

“HAーhHAhHA! Now, kill them, chimera! Chew these two up!!”

“GURUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

In response to Strohm's order, the Chimera rushed toward the target. Bright clicked his tongue at the chimera. It was because it was in the way of obtaining important information.

“……Get out of my way, shit dog.”

Bright also activated his Flash and rushed at the chimera, slamming his fist into the lion's face.

“GUOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

A clash of one with light speed and one with exceptional swiftness. However, although the Chimera was counterpunched by Bright, it did not stop its rush and on the contrary, it blew Bright away with its body.

“Guh!?”

As Bright was slammed into the wall, he wondered when was the last time he received a proper attack by an enemy but quickly changed his mindset.

“Looks like this shitty doggy is more than just a dog……”

“Bright! Are you alright!?”

When Evil stared at him with concern, Bright just looked at him back and told him he’s alright.

“HAーhHAhHA! Even that Bright is no match for a chimera with a danger level of 8!”

Strohm's high-pitched laugh rang out. But Evil called out to him in dismay.

“……Idiot. Do you really think you can defeat Bright with only a level 8 threat?”

“Huh? It’s level 8, you know? It's a level that takes three hundred people with combat-type gifts to barely win. In fact, do you really think you can defeat a chimera by yourself?”

Evil smirked and looked at Bright.

“Well, let me tell you. If you put Bright on the same danger level system…… I'd say he's probably a level 10 threat.”

Danger level 10, the highest level of danger, is roughly equivalent to a thousand combat-type gifteds.

“What kind of nonsense are you……”

“Oops, I guess I should do my job. Tell me a little more about the Revived Hunter……”

From Chimera’s point, Bright's current attacks were not ineffective. Rather, it was experiencing the sensation of pain for the first time in its life. This made it hesitant to pursue Bright.

“What’s the matter, little doggy. Are you scared?”

Chimera's instinct was telling it to run. But the Chimera had been created in Strohm's experiments and had known for as long as it could remember that it was the strongest. It had killed dozens of humans as easily as if they were scrap paper.

The person in front of it right now was just a weak human. Why should it be afraid of such a person? That's what it thought.

“GURUAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

The chimera roared out loud to nullify the incomprehensible emotions. All of the people that faced the Chimera had been scared shitless and flinched by this roar but the person in front of it showed no such signs of being cowed.

“That's sad, doggie. If you had the courage to follow your instincts, you might have had a small chance of survival…… hah!”

Bright made a quick upward movement with his hand from the bottom to the top. And jet-black flames appeared from underneath the chimera's feet, enveloping the body in an instant.

“GUMOH!?”

’Hot! My body is on fire! But I can't move my legs!’ The jet-black flames…… the Quarth Flame clung to the panicking chimera as if to hold it in place.

It realized it needed to quickly move away. The chimera managed to move the head of the snake, which was its tail, and spat out its venom at Bright.

“Hoh, that's quite the guts. But…… it’s useless.”

Bright easily dodged the venom and unleashed an Invisible Slash, slicing off the tail that was probably much harder than steel!

“GUGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

“Those eyes……. You're afraid of me yet you still look down at me thinking that I'm only a human. I see. I guess humans were just weaklings to you…… until now that is.”

Flash activated. Bright instantly dived into Chimera's bosom and hardened both of his fists with Lonsdaleite.

“Unfortunately for you. The first person you've met that’s not a weakling, is me! ORAORAORAORAORAORAAH!”

A rush of punches to the chimera’s body right from below. The impact of the barrage of punches caused the goat's head to spit out blood, causing it to die as its body gradually float in the air.[2]

“I don't know how many people you've eaten and killed in your life but remember that there are......strong humans as well!”

Putting white flames on his right fist, he put all his strength into it…….

“ORAAAAH!!!!”

Then he slammed his fist into the lion's face again, and the chimera rolled to the ground.

Even so, the chimera stood up with strong determination. However, it noticed that there’s something wrong with its body.

“Unfortunately for you, you are already dead.”

“GURURURUu~~……GURUH!? GOAGAGAGAH, KYAN!!”

The Chimera's lion swelled rapidly and burst open with an explosion.

By using the Cell Flame, Bright had obtained the ability to destroy not only the outside of one’s body but the inside as well.

At the very end of its life, Chimera finally knew why its instincts had told it to run. But it was all in hindsight. The giant body dropped to the ground and fell into an eternal sleep…….

“……Even for an artificial beast, the blood’s still red, huh.”

Author’s Note:

Evil was astonished from learning the mystery of Revived Hunter. It was something that would change Bright and Kiryu as well.

Next time:『The Perils of Revived Hunter』

(I can't tell him. I can't tell him! I can't tell this cruel secret to Kouki now… No, not even to the boss, I can't tell him!!)

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TL’s note:

1. A curse from gift ability. I think the author is trying to imply gift ability will get disabled if the user dies.
2. Supposed to be goat body and lion head but the author literally wrote goat head here. So maybe this is a chimera with 3 heads, the goat body has a goat head.