The Raven Dark Hero 89

Chapter 89 : The Same Wielder

TL:SummerPeanut

The laser beam that pierced Kouki's back also pierced Exideth with the same momentum.

“……Aah~, you did it now, Captain Destod.”

“No, force majeure! It can’t be, I didn't mean to!”

“You're the guards hired to make sure that my research runs smoothly and undisturbed. If you kill the results of my research, I'll question your raison d'etre. But actually, I've been targeting the captain's gift for a while. I suppose this is convenient.”

Even though it was chalked up as convenient, Captain Destod didn't know what it meant. He didn't know what Revived Hunter was capable of.

“It's a good opportunity. Since there's still time, I'll tell you about the Revived Hunter, the gift of the century that I've discovered.”

“Revived Hunter……. Does it mean…. coming back to life?”

“Yes. In fact, you've probably seen the decapitated Exideth revived, so it should be a quick story, right?”

After saying that, Strohm began to speak with much pride. Kouki pretended to be dead as he listened to this.

(Whoa, I didn't expect to hear about the Revived Hunter this early in the game....... It's definitely a good call to play dead.)

The attack that he had just made was certainly an attack that could have been fatal under normal circumstances. However, Kouki purposely took that attack. In order to learn the secret of Revived Hunter.

“Revived Hunter is the gift that allows the holder to come back to life after being killed. ......And in addition, learning the gifted ability that was used to kill the wielder.”

“You can come back to life after death? And also acquire a new ability in the process? ......That's ridiculous. I've never even heard of that ability.”

“That's right. I'm the one who discovered it. But perhaps there have been a few people in the past who have awakened to this ability. But it has not been discovered until now. That's why you won't find it in any literature or records in the world. There is a reason for this, because there are conditions for this ability.”

Up to this point, even Kouki knew this information. What he wanted to know was rather from here.

“First, it doesn't trigger when you die from anything other than an attack by a gift.

Second, it does not work if you are killed again by the same person.

Only when you can get past these two conditions will you be able to realize that you are a Revived Hunter.”

……It does not activate except for attacks by gifts.

……If you are killed twice by the same opponent, it will not trigger.

It was a hypothetical possibility that it would not work if the same person killed you twice, but the fact that it would not work except when you were killed by a gift sent a chill down Kouki's spine.

(Seriously……. So if I were in a car accident or sick and dead, I couldn't come back to life?)

“From the conditions I've just mentioned, it's likely that there have been people who have died without activating the Revived Hunter ability or who have died immediately after activating it.

So far, I've been able to find four people with Revived Hunter gift. One of them escaped, and two of them died during the experiment, so the only one I still have is Exideth but thanks to their noble sacrifice, I was able to get a lot of information.

And I'm sure that there are other people who are potentially putting this gift buried without even noticing it. That's why I've been kidnapping the non-gifteds and experimenting on them.”

“……That's why you killed so many people. How many people do you think have died needlessly because of your research?”

He was not a man with a strong sense of justice and he knew how to differentiate work and emotion, but he had seen innocent people being used as materials for experiments without knowing anything about it and he had an aversion to such researchers.

“Hey hey~. Your hands are not that clean, are you? I need test subjects, and you play with the junk that didn't live up to my expectations……It's a win-win situation.”

“We dispose of the junks because that's what you had us to do. I don't want to be lumped in with you researchers.

……So, according to you, this Exideth guy will come back to life again, right? And he's going to learn my Death Eraser."

“That's right. But don't worry. That doesn't mean you'll lose your powers…….at least not your gift.”

Unable to grasp the truth of Strohm's words, the captain looked at the corpse of the Exideth. Then, the supposedly dead Exideths woke up abruptly. The hole that had been left in its body was now firmly closed.

“……He really came back to life. I still can't believe it even after witnessing it with my own eyes.”

“Good morning, Exideth! So now you have another gift that you are capable of. This is a great day for you!”

When he got up, Exideth turned his head lightly to check if his body was normal.

“Ah…… I feel incredibly good. So much so that I want to kill someone right now.”

The captain called out to Exideth who had truly come back to life.

“Hey, you. Is it true that you can now use my Death Eraser?”

“Hmm? Doctor, did you tell him about the Revived Hunter?”

“Of course! From triggering conditions to how it obtains others’ gift.”

“I see. That's not enough, is it?”

The captain had fired his Death Eraser at the wall just to make sure he hadn't lost his ability.

“……I see, it isn’t gone. But still, Revived Hunter, huh... That's truly one enviable ability.”

“Jealous? Doctor, I knew you didn't tell the Captain the most important thing.”

Strohm makes a deliberate, smug gesture. The captain doesn't understand what he's talking about. Then……

“The most important thing? What do you mea…… GAHARGH!? Wh, Why……?”

……A hole appeared in the captain's stomach. It was the Death Eraser fired from Exideth.

“AAHー, I’ve done it now~! I’m so sorry, captain. When one is revived by Revived Hunter, he gets an uncontrollable urge to kill. In particular, the urge to kill those who have killed him is so strong that you should have run away immediately....... Ah, is it too late?”

The captain had fallen and was no longer moving…….

“Shitt, I've killed so many people so quickly, I still can't get over it! Doctor, get me those junks! I'm going to need to kill about ten of those!”

“Hey hey~, it’s easier said than done~. It's not easy to prepare ten people, you know? ......But well, today is a reward. I'll make it special for you.”

“Yes! Quickly please…… hnn? Hey, doctor…… That japanese guy, did you take him somewhere while I was asleep?”

When told, Strohm also looked at Kouki, who had fallen…… But, Kouki was nowhere to be found. The only thing that was there was the blood on the floor that must have belonged to Kouki.

“No…… I didn't move him anywhere. What the hell? What the fuck is going on!?”

Strohm, who had never lost his calm demeanor before, suddenly became impatient. He was the type of person who was overly anxious about unexpected events.

“Don’t tell me, he’s alive? No, there's no way he could have survived that wound! ............could it be, he's a revive……”

He started to say something and stopped mid-sentence. Strohm knew it was highly unlikely.

As mentioned earlier, the survival rate of Revived Hunter during the activation or after is low. So far, his research had shown that the possibility of a person with Revived Hunter being able to grow to a certain level without the support of someone else is close to zero.

“Dammit…… Where is he? Where the hell is he!?”

Strohm put on his infrared goggles and searched the room. Then he saw a person standing in the center of the room.

“Exideth! That guy is right over there!”

“……I don't have goggles. Hold on, I'll go grab a goggle…… no, I don't think I need any goggles, huh……”

Exideth picked up the already dead soldier's goggles but felt a hint of sinister presence so he threw them away.

……Kouki appeared. Clad in a jet-black costume with a black aura of malevolence, he looked exactly like the jet-black demon that even Strohm had heard of.

“……I am the light within darkness, Bright. I am the one who will condemn you scoundrels to the depth of hell……”

“C-could it be, you are THAT Bright!? You, that japanese!?”

Strohm could not hide his dismay at Bright's sudden appearance. But Exideth was different.

He was confident of his new gifts he gained after his revival. And his unquenchable urge to kill made him misjudge the difference in strength between himself and Bright.

“Are you that infamous Bright......? Kuh kuh kuh, then, I guess I've mastered your gifts!”

The expression on Exideth’s face was one that did not doubt that he was the better gift user compared to Bright.

“Are you sure? If the same person kills you again, you'll die for real right?”

“HAhHAhHA! No wonder I can't seem to stop the urge to kill, you killed me and you're still alive! Well, let me tell you something! As a Revived Hunter holder, the moment you kill someone who killed you is the most exciting!"

In case you were wondering, Bright's words are in Japanese, so they are understood by Strohm who is capable of the language but not by Exideth. On the other hand, Bright is able to understand German through Takahiko's simultaneous interpretation.

Exideth turned his right fist into a blade and activated Silent Stealth. Exideth’s body turned transparent.

“This blade...... is ridiculously hard! And on top of that, I have this gift to erase my body! These two gifts alone make me invincible! On top of that, ......HAah!”

A death laser was fired from Exideth's left hand. But Bright dodged it with ease.

“If you're talking that loud, there's no point in you becoming invisible. ……or rather you're back visible when you shoot the laser beam.”

Bright also used to lose the effect of Silent Stealth when he used flying means such as Invisible Slash. However, now that he’s more proficient, the effect no longer disappears even if he activates Invisible Slash while in stealth.

“I see……. So that's the theory. Then, I guess I'll just have to leave it at that! TAKE THISS!”

Exideth stopped using his Silent Stealth and fired Death Lasers at Bright. But Bright didn't avoid the laser beams, he used Lonsdaleite to harden his palms and hit them away.

“Laser beams, huh. Although this ability isn't bad, it’s like a treasure being left to rot with a stupid holder.”

Just by watching the exchange of attacks and defenses, Strohm could see the overwhelming difference between Bright and Exideth.

Silent Stealth and Lonsdaleite, just from these two gifts alone clearly showed their difference of level in proficiency.

“Stop, Exideth! This man, the current you can’t……”

“SHAAAAAーH!”

Without listening to Strohm's cautions, Exideth activated Silent Stealth again and attacked Bright.

“I told you already, what's the point of being invisible if you make all these noises every time you attack?"

Bright countered a front kick by hitting Exideth in the gut.

“GOHARGH…… Wh, Why?”

“You understand, don't you? The other benefits of Silent Stealth improved your capability to detect presence. So, what else? You obtained your gifts from me, didn't you?”

“KAHAhKAHah….. What the fuck, man!? Silent Stealth and Lonsdaleite, I have the same gifts you have but why!”

(Hmm…… I see. In summary, the gifts obtained from Revived Hunter’s activation are only limited to the ones being used…)

When Bright killed Exideth, he used the Lonsdaleite to finish him off with Silent Stealth activated. In other words, although Bright had other gifts, he was only able to obtain gifts that were active.

Kouki had never been aware of it before because he was the only one with the Lonsdaleite and other gifts but thanks to Exideth, one of the mysteries of the Revived Hunter has been solved.

“Don’t you fuck with me…… I'm the invincible Revived Hunter! Do you have any idea how many hells I've lived through? I can't let someone like you  beat me!”

Exideth had survived Strohm's harsh experiments to gain the power he have today. Of course, activating the Revived Hunter means dying at least once. This is a painful sensation that can only be understood by those who have died before, including Kouki.

And two of his comrades who also possessed the Revived Hunter gift died during the experiment.

Exideth had vowed. He had vowed that when he obtained invincible power, he would kill Strohm by torturing him thoroughly. And now, just when he was convinced that he had finally obtained that invincible power.

“YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!”

Bright waited with mixed feelings as Exideth jumped at him, ready to break his bubbles.

(Even though we're enemies, this is the first time I ever met another Revived Hunter holder. But……)

The two intersect. ……Then, Exideth's body was sliced in half by Bright's blade-turned-arm, and he never got up again…….

“……No hard feelings. The foolish me only knows one way to repay someone who aimed his killing intent at me…”

Author’s Note:

While Bright was confronted with the shocking truth, Teaser went to the laboratory to free the hostages.

Up next, 『The Goddess of Sky』

“Let me remind you, I'm one of the Kuroyume Numbers.”

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