The Raven Dark Hero 52

Chapter 52 : A New Resolution

TL:SummerPeanut

“...I suppose it’s a good opportunity now. I've talked about this a little before, but I'm going to tell you about Kuroyume’s ideals, not just a dream, but our goals. ...Come here.”

With that, Kiryu grabbed Kouki's arm and forced him to walk away.

Kiryu walked silently to his destination while pulling Kouki along with him.

"Boss... where are you going?”

Kiryu didn't say a word. Then they came to the deepest room of the Kuroyume headquarters hideout.

“...Where am I?”

The room was dimly lit and there were stone slabs all over the place. If you look closely, you can see that there are countless names carved into the stone slabs.

"This tablet is engraved with the names of the members who have passed away since I started Kuroyume ten years ago…”

Kouki had not counted all of them, but there were probably more than 200 names engraved. And Yoger and Mist's names were also engraved there.

"My... no, our ideal is to change this country…”

“Change… the country?”

“Indeed. This country is much more difficult for people with gift to live in than any other countries. The absolute number of non-gifted is incomparable to the gifted, so the non-gifted inevitably lead the country. It's the same in other countries, but in this country, the central government is afraid of us, gifteds, and decided to suppress us. In a sense, the specialists of the NDF can be said to be at the mercy of the government. And those of us who don't do as the government says are persecuted as filth. Can you tolerate such unreasonableness?

We, Kuroyume, will eventually take control of this country. And we will create a nation where the gifted and the non-gifted are equal, regardless of whether they are filths or specialists!”

To rule this country... Kouki had only been vaguely interested in Kuroyume's existence until now, but when he heard Kiryu’s ideals again, he was strangely able to accept them easily.

"So, you're saying that all the names engraved on this tablet died for the sake of that ideal?”

“...half of them, yes. Half of them knew the ideals of Kuroyume and died for them. But the other half are the ones who died before they knew.

Like you, they all come to Kuroyume at first because they have nowhere else to go. They have no other choice. If they were to be informed of the true purpose of Kuroyume in their situation where they are cornered to the wall, some of them would feel that the ideals are being forced upon them.

It might be the ideals of the organization. But that doesn't mean we're going to force it on every member. After a certain period of time, we will only tell the truth to those whom we feel it is safe to tell our ideals to.”

“...But there will come a day when you have to tell all the members, right?”

“...Yeah. And that day is near. Perhaps, when it is announced to the entire organization, some members will leave Kuroyume. That can't be helped.

But, we can't stop. Not when we've spilt the blood of so many of our brothers and sisters, and now that we're finally here. What about you? What do you think of our ideals?”

“I…”

...He didn't have to think about it. He had already experienced the unreasonableness Kiryu had said twice.

His resentment alone was more than enough reason to recognize the country itself as an enemy.

However, depending on how you look at it, the specialists of the NDF are also gifted. He thought that reducing the strength of the NDF was a little different from the ideal that Kiryu had described.

But the current NDF is also clearly an enemy to Kouki. Even if they are going to eventually share an equal world, he could easily understand that it would be better to destroy it once before rebuilding it. This is probably because he has experienced it himself.

"...change the world... That doesn’t sound bad at all. It sounds like a truly evil organization, though.”

“We may be an evil organization now, but we will be on the side of justice once it’s realized. It's not my intention to have gifteds destroy each other for this reason, but most of the soldiers in the NDF, who are the dogs of the government, have an ingrained sense that they are better than filths as specialists. So, even though they're the same people with the same abilities, they won't change their minds unless we destroy them once. To do that, I need your help. Do you understand?”

Kouki was not completely over the fact that his existence had been written off as dead. But he is still alive. Even though he is dead in the registry, Suou Kouki is certainly alive. He was also excited at the thought of being able to use his power for the organization, for the many people with circumstances similar to his own, and also for himself.

...because it was a longing that the truly dead comrades whose names were engraved on the stone monument in front of him could no longer do even if they wanted to.

“A country where people with gift are equally valued... If such a country had already been realized, I might not have gone down this path.

If that's the case, I'll... no, we'll create such a country! And I'll definitely make a world where people like me don't have to suffer!”

Until now, even when he gained power, his purpose was vague, and he spent his days tormented by guilt. But finally, Kouki found the place where he should wield his power. He finally found the place where he should wield his power, his purpose, and his belief.

Kiryu didn't say anything, he just grinned. As if he had already predicted Kouki’s answer.

“Then you have two options for your future. Do you want to completely abandon your public face and live only as Darkflash Bright?

The other is to take on the identity of a completely different person from Suou Kouki and live two lives at the front and back like before? That's it…”

“A completely different person? How is that even possible?”

"...I thought you would have talked about this with Teaser for sure. Just so you know, it's not impossible to get a new identity.”

Teaser had never told about how she got into Kuroyume, but when he thought about it, it was unusual for a high school student to be in Kuroyume.

Afterwards, Kiryu told him something that he could not believe.

The government does not usually force people to join the NDF. If there is a job suitable for your abilities, they will help you find it.

However, those with useful or strong gifted abilities will be semi-forcibly encouraged to join the NDF. Those who refused to join, or those who once joined but caused problems and possess gift that could become a threat to the NDF in the future, will be eliminated by the government.

“The same goes for Teaser. She refused to join the NDF after high school because she doesn’t like killing others. She has a gift for manipulating the weather, a gift that, if trained, would allow her to manipulate the weather within a one-kilometre radius, with the potential to attack anything within a one-kilometre radius. That's why Teaser was erased from the country.”

"Erased? But isn’t she living her life as a high school student just fine now?”

"Rumi Amami. Her current name is fake. The girl with her real name is already registered as dead.”

Rumi is actually an alias, and the person who was originally Rumi has been treated as dead. This fact at least upset Kouki.

“I was the one who saved her from being hunted down and dying in the hands of NDF. And it was Kuroyume who gave her the name and citizenship she has now, after publicly announcing her death.”

"Wha... so Teaser's family is...?”

"Family? Ahh.., they'll think their daughter is dead. But if Teaser go ahead to meet them, there would definitely be consequences for her parents. I feel sorry for her, but Teaser will never be able to see her parents again.”

Teaser---Rumi had always been someone strong. But knowing that she hid such a tragic past behind her smile, Kouki was indignant. He now knows her pain of being unable to meet her parents even though she’s clearly alive and fine.

But if the filths are allowed to exist, and an equal world is realized...or so he imagined.

"...I understand. ...Then I don't need a new identity. I will continue to live as Darkflash Bright. And one day, when I have restored peace and order to this country, I will proudly go meet my family and friends.”

That way, he could see his family again. Both himself and as well as Teaser.

"...Are you sure? You're still at that age where you want to enjoy your youth, right?”

“It’s fine. I’m just floating around in school without any purpose anyway and it’s not like I have many friends. I don’t want to make my parents worry, but I believe there will come a day when we will be able to meet again as parents and child.”

"I see. I suppose I'll have you work at your full capacity from now on. Aah, and I know I said that earlier, but I have to give you the credit for your actions this time. I didn't expect you to defeat two of the Nature Stranger. As a special bonus, I'll clear your debts.”

"...Are you sure?! Yes!!”

The sadness from his own existence being written off had not disappeared. Still, Kouki smiled, determined to live a positive life.

Because he has a new goal to strive for now.

There is no time to grieve. He had already made up his mind.

Author’s Note:

※I am very sorry for the confusion caused by the erroneous update two days in a row!m(__)m

Well! There's no point talking about what's already happened, so tomorrow, after some quiet time, Chapter 4 will finally begin on the 25th!

As I've announced before, I've been updating every day, but from now on I will only be updating once every two days, so please don't get angry!(^_^;)

I'm updating my activity report with more details, complaints, and requests, so please take a look at that as well.

Also, this one is being serialized. It will reach the climax soon!

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https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7633fu/

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