The Raven Dark Hero 32

Chapter 32 : The Special General Conference

TL:SummerPeanut

Author’s Note:

※Yuka-san's name was changed to Kashiwagura

※General's name was changed because it was the same as Haruka's.

Three days have passed since the attack on the Nerima branch of the National Defense Force by the Kuroyume. That attack dealt a heavy blow to the NDF. It resulted in the deaths and injuries of 149 soldiers, including the new recruits. Of those, 100 were caused by just one filth.

Above all, the loss of two promising lieutenants, Saejima and Iori, was quite a blow to the NDF.

-General Headquarters of the National Defense Force.

A special conference was held with three generals of NDF. The Army, Navy, and Air Force and the marshal as the head of NDF.

"Well then, about this time’s case...Onishima-san, don’t you think this is a terrible blunder that the new recruits of the Air Force got attacked during their training?"

Army General Gonda Seikichi (54 y.o) criticised the Air Force General Onijima Heikichi (60 y.o) in a roundabout way.

"I have no excuses..."

"No, there were two lieutenants and three second-lieutenants there as escorts and instructors. And one of them was that Saejima. I’m sure you understand the security placed is more than enough."

The youngest of the generals (45 years old), Admiral Zaizen Toshiaki, defended Onijima, who frankly admitted his mistakes.

"In the end, Saejima and the others were destroyed, no? Shouldn't there be a clear line of responsibility?"

"As I was saying, I'll take the responsibility. I'll gracefully go down from my position as general..."

"No, you can't. Onijima-sensei is always trying to get freedom like that. You are a hero. You're the symbol of the NDF, you know? It’s about time for you to accept that."

"Nuh...I'm old already so you should allow me to be free..."

When Zaizen glared at the grumbling Onijima, Onijima could only stare at the sky as he let out a sigh.

"Anyway, I’ve already taken action regarding this time’s case. Don't worry, no information will be released to the mass media. So I don't think there's any need to play the blame game."

"Even if you say so, I don’t think the ‘higher-ups’ will stay quiet."

"I am already thinking of countermeasures for that. First, let's talk about the main issue that brought us together today."

"The main issue..."

Gonda groaned with a bitter face.

"This time the attack to Nerima branch was done by 4 members of Kuroyume; a filth organization headed by Kiryu Shinichiro that escaped special prison camp for gifteds previously. Two of them have been confirmed dead, but the death of the remaining two has not been confirmed. There is no doubt that they are still alive now.

And these two... or more accurately, one of them is thought to have murdered Saejima, Iori and 100 soldiers alone."

"Alone eh...Saejima was an excellent soldier who could fight even an army of thousand enemies single-handedly. The filth who killed Saejima...now I'm curious!"

Onijima’s face turned into a smile as if he had found a new toy. ...this man is also similar to the battle maniac Saejima.

"I believe it is better to ask the parties concerned about those two. ...Private Sanada, please explain."

"Yes, sir!"

Hiro, who was standing in the corner of the room, was overwhelmed by the aura of the three generals and looked as if he was about to be crushed by the pressure, different from his usual relaxed attitude.

“Calm down a little. If you're that nervous, you won't be able to convey information properly, will you?"

"Yes!"

"Damn...he's just a new recruit, isn't he? You sure he’s the correct guy?"

Zaizen urged Hiro who was glared at by Gouda to talk quickly with his eyes.

"...I am confident that the individual who killed Lieutenant Saejima is the one who named himself as Darkflash Bright."

"Darkflash... I've never heard of him."

The NDF receives information on filths from all over the world. Some have dangerous powers, while others might become a threat in the future. But of course, Bright's name is not on that list.

"But that Bright was supposed to be dead. He was killed by myself and Lieutenant Iori. I am sure that his heart was stabbed through from behind!"

"Hey, kid. It's fine if you want to sell yourself, but it's not ‘you and Iori’, it's ‘Iori’ only."

"Ye, yes! B-but it was the result of cooperation where I was the one distracting Bright so that Lieutenant Iori was able to take him out..."

"Hmm, so you’re nothing but a decoy?"

"Calm down a little Gouda-san, the presence of decoy affects the performance Lieutenant Iori’s gift. And he’s still a promising specialist with gift of rank A+, you know? Let’s listen to him first."

Gonda turned his gaze away as if he had lost interest in Hiro.

"...after Bright died, I went to call for support at the order by Lieutenant Iori and directly after that I received treatment in the medical office so I do not know what happened after. According to the report, I only heard that the members of the first class and above who were sent there for support was wiped out..."

"Damn it, you've got your ass handed to you right where it counts huh!"

"I-I'm sorry, sir!"

"Gonda, shut up for a minute."

Onijima had been listening quietly until now but his abrupt voice changed the atmosphere. Hearing that, Gouda and Zaizen could only swallow their tongue in silence.

"What I want to know is how did that Bright fight Saejima. Will you tell me?"

"Yes! Probably, Bright has two gifts. An acceleration and slashing type."

"A two-gift holder? Hmm. And then?"

"Bright moved with blinding speed, and with a medium to long-range slashing gift similar to Lieutenant Saejima's. He gradually cornered Lieutenant Saejima, and in the end, they traded hits after the distance was closed by Bright... Lieutenant Saejima slashed off Bright's right arm, but Bright pierced through his stomach, killing him."

"...I see. So he fought Saejima squarely and won?"

"......Yes."

Hiro kept quiet about the fact that he had interfered at the last moment. He was afraid that Gonda would shout at him again if he spoke out too much. But it was the right thing to do. If he had said that he had intervened to take credit for distracting Bright for a single moment, Onijima would have guessed the actual situation. He would have deduced that Hiro's action caused miscalculation for Saejima.

"Darkflash...Bright, huh? It looks like someone troublesome has appeared."

Onijima looked up to the sky again. But his face was smiling this time.

"And that Bright belongs to that Kuroyume, isn’t he? Such annoyance... should we take this opportunity to destroy them once and for all?"

Gonda spat out with an abhorrent expression. But Zaizen calmly replied.

"Within the nation, Kuroyume is... no, even in the world, it is one of the most dangerous filth organization. If we're going to mess with them, we need to be prepared to completely crush them with the help of other nations."

"So you're telling me to keep our mouths shut?! One of our branches has been basically destroyed!!"

"The Navy has been preparing to overthrow Kuroyume for several years now.

By the way, Private Sanada, is that all the information you have on Bright?"

"No, actually, I know Bright's true identity."

The three generals' gazes focused on Hiro.

"In fact, Lieutenant Saejima and I have met Bright before. It was on the mission to capture a former NDF stray named Kurosaki, but Bright killed him. Second-lieutenant Kashiwagura and I captured him as he was fleeing."

"You and Second-lieutenant Kashiwagura? Bright, who defeated even that Saejima?"

"Ah, Bright was injured quite a bit at the time. I believe he was injured in a battle with Kurosaki."

The generals here all knew about Kurosaki. And his strength. That's why they were convinced by Hiro's words.

"...So? Why did you let Bright escape?"

"No! At that time, Lieutenant Saejima, who came later, split Bright in half and killed him. We left the scene, letting the corpse disposal team handle the cleaning... but it seems that Bright is still alive. He killed everyone, leaving only a single member of the corpse disposal team..."

"Oi! How come he's still alive when his body was cut in half? Is he a zombie?!"

"Hiih! N-no, but he was definitely dead!"

"...I see. According to your deduction, Bright's gifts are acceleration and slashing type. But perhaps he had another hidden gift that made him appear to be dead? Or maybe he did die and come back to life later?"

"Die and revive... That kind of gift....no, maybe there is such a gift in the past... But whatever the case, is that guy an immortal(Nosferatu)?"

"...maybe not. If so, he faked his death with an illusion-type gift...?"

When the conversation died down, Zaizen stood up from his seat.

"...either way, there’s no doubt that Bright is a threat. Similarly with the headquarters of Kuroyume, let’s let them swim around a bit longer for now. I will inform you of our future plans now..."

Zaizen thought that it would be unwise to give any more information about Bright to the two generals.

(Bright… According to what I’ve heard, but I'd really like to have him on our side. I suppose I can look into it a bit more...)

In the conference room where the three generals had left, there was one man left.

During the meeting, Tougi Daigo (50 y.o), the marshal of the NDF, was listening to the generals' conversation without saying a word. This was due to the fact that he was both a non-gifted and someone dispatched from the central government.

Generations of NDF marshals have been appointed from non-gifted chosen by the central government. Furthermore, not only the position of marshal but also key positions in the organizations are held by non-gifteds. The reason for this is to let people know that the central government has the NDF under its control.

But in reality, Tougi, as a non-gifted, has no way to speak directly to these gifteds...

(......When General Onijima's mood changed just now... I think I leaked a little...)

He was forced to endure such deplorable situation every day.

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