The Raven Dark Hero 27

Chapter 27 : The Higher Dimension Fight

TL:SummerPeanut

Thanks for the peanuts Kevin and Alex Gilmore!

Bright activated the Invisible Slash that he had been hiding!

He closed the distance in an instant, appearing two meters away from Saejima. That meant he had more than enough power left. The higher gear of Speed Star he hadn’t shown until now and his Invisible Slash that he kept hidden should be out of Saejima’s prediction.

Following a violent metallic sound, Saejima retreated greatly from the impact.

Seeing how Saejima was actually pushed back, the people in his surroundings were dumbfounded. However, Bright’s face under the helmet was distorted from disappointment.

Saejima who was pushed 5 metres back, had already fixed his stance. Meanwhile, Bright's chest was covered with scars from a slash.

(This bastard....he blocked Invisible Slash with his sword and fired a counter himself while letting the force push him back to gain distance?! ...Fortunately, I was unharmed due to the fact that the power was reduced with that distance and my bodysuit was tough enough…)

Bright was surprised, but Saejima was even more surprised than him.

“...just now was a slash-type gift? The activation method seems similar to mine…it’ll be a bad joke if it’s true.”

Bright reevaluated Saejima. Just because Saejima’s skill was mid and long-ranged, he assumed that as long as he could bring it to close-quarters combat he will gain the upper hand.

(To think he could respond to my speed...That guy is probably a master in close-range combat too.)

"Damn!

He wanted to slap himself who believed that he had already surpassed Saejima. Against this opponent, trying to save his ace in the hole is nothing short of a foolish decision.

"Saejima... From here on out, I will give my everything in my power to defeat you!”

"That's... interesting! As expected you're the best, Bright! More! Let me have more fun!”

(Tsk...battle maniac!)

Bright created a sharp blade with Lonsdaleite on his other arm, wielding two swords now.

"Eat this!”

He activated Invisible Slash with both hands simultaneously.

"Wha!? I knew it! This is Invisible Slash!”

Although Saejima was surprised by the attack from the same gift as his, he still took a step back and activated the invisible slash himself to barely offset the attacks.

(Tch! Even though I’m using Invisible Slash with two swords, the other side’s single slash with only one sword could cut down two slashes of mine.)

“Goddammit! Let’s see how long you can last!”

He fired another series of slashes with his two swords again. And at the same time, he activated Speed Star to close down the distance.

“Uoo?!”

While the slashes cancel out each other, Bright’s let loose a kick to Saejima’s abdomen! However, Saejima managed to block that kick with his arm.

“Kuuh..! That ...hurts!!”

Saejima drew a line! But, Bright had long since disappeared from that spot.

“Why? Why do you have the same gift as me?!”

"The same? ...Isn’t it just the same slash-type gift.”

After Bright increased his Speed Star’s gear by another step and moved haphazardly, it became harder for Saejima to follow Bright’s movement.

Saejima pondered.

(Same type? ...plausible enough. Then, it’s the lower-ranked version of Invisible Slash? What about higher-ranked version? Nah, it shouldn’t be the higher-ranked...well, not that it matters now.

Anyway, he is really good! It's even faster now after he increased his gear! Even I can only barely follow it with my eyes...)

Bright moved at an almost unperceivable speed, firing at him with the occasional slash and close-quarter melee attacks. Bright gradually cornered Saejima in a hit-and-run combat style.

“...oi, Mist. Are you confident in winning against Bright?”

“...that’s a foolish question. I’ll probably die before I can activate my gift.”

“Amazing... He might even be able to become one of Kuroyume’s [numbers]...”

Hiro was also staring at the battle and realizing how helpless he was.

"What the hell? What the hell is wrong with these people? I have a promising future, don't I? They're expecting great things from me in the NDF, right? Was that a lie? Against these people, there's no way I can beat them no matter how hard I try, isn’t it!!”

Iori called out to Hiro.

"Have you finally noticed how overconfident you've been?

".........”

Hiro couldn't say anything. Getting ahead of himself even though he is just a mere new recruit, then losing many of his comrades, and now he was made to realize how powerless he is.

“Your gift definitely has incredible potential. But that must be accompanied by the capability to use it. I'll be sure to report your actions to the higher-ups. Be prepared for severe punishment. And of course, I'm just as guilty for not being able to stop you myself.”

Iori placed a hand on Hiro's shoulder with a determined expression.

“We still have work to do. Bright could become a major threat to the NDF. It would be dangerous if we let him go unchecked. ...if only Lieutenant Saejima can somehow survive through this though.

...Saejima will be angry. But even if it means interrupting their battle, we, as soldiers of the NDF and the flag bearers for the country will have to kill that man right here and now.”

Understanding what Iori was trying to say, Hiro nodded vigorously.

Saejima closed his eyes. He thought since it was impossible to follow Bright's movements with his eyes, he’ll just use his four other senses... or rather, his well-honed sixth sense to try to read his movements.

(I can feel it.)

“There!”

As if he had anticipated Bright's move, a slash was launched right in front of him!

“Seriously?!”

However, Bright blocked with his hardened two arms. His shoulder, however, was defenceless and received a clean hit.

(Just from a bit of scratch, this supposedly slash-resistant bodysuit was cut through like paper. A direct hit to the vitals will kill me instantly!)

You could say as expected of the original Invisible Slash holder. His mastery of gift is way higher than Bright at the current stage.

After that, Saejima's attacks continued to pressure Bright with a gradual increase in his accuracy.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself!!”

Bright, too, was steadily putting damage on Saejima with his hit-and-run attacks.

“Gasp gasp gasp, you know you can be less persistent!”

“Hahaha...Hey, Bright. Even though I’m being cornered so much, I wonder why is this so fun?”

Saejima happily asked Bright whose cool character had already collapsed a while ago. This is despite him being under the situation where receiving even a single clean hit from Bright means his death.

Although frankly speaking, Bright is also in the same situation where any clean hit from Saejima will result in an inevitable fatal injury. But unlike Saejima, he couldn’t find any shred of enjoyment in the fight. So he decided to resolve himself to end the current situation.

“Fine then. The next one will decide everything…”

"What? ...I guess so. Fun time won't last forever after all. Besides, I'm almost at my limit.

Both of them had used their gifts for an extended duration, resulting in them reaching their physical limit.

Saejima sheathed his sword back into his scabbard, took his stance before he closed his eyes again. Bright, too, held up both his hands which had basically become blades.

Everyone on the scene felt time being frozen. And then...

(Speed Star, activate!)

Bright moved! But Saejima showed no sign of reaction!

(You are aiming for a counter, right? I've already seen through your sword line!)

After the almost endless repetition of hit-and-run, Bright had been able to see through Saejima’s sword.

(The victor of this duel... is me!!)

At that moment, right in front of Bright's eyes came a myriad of weapons... swords, spears, clubs, and other weapons belonging to the already defeated recruits.

Bright rushed forward and knocked down the weapons. When he turned his gaze sideways, he saw Hiro who activated his gift.

(Hiiiiroooooooo!!)

The momentum of his rush weakened just a little. But that slight difference is what caused the miscalculation.

Holding back an abnormal amount of bloodlust, he turned back to Saejima’s direction. But that Saejima had already entered the slashing motion...

?!

Something flew into the sky upwards.

The two crossed each other.

Saejima kept his head down.

And...Bright’s right arm was cut off from the root.

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