The Raven Dark Hero 26

Chapter 26 : The Fated Rival

TL:SummerPeanut

Author’s Note:

※The comprehensive evaluation of this novel reached 20000 points! Thank you very much!

"I am the light within darkness, Bright. I am the one who will slaughter you..."

The man in a pitch-black bodysuit was wrapped in a jet black cloak where only the eyes part of his mask were glowing ominously red.

“Light within the darkness? What kind of cringey name is that? Aren't you ashamed of calling yourself that?”

Bright didn't even twitch from that comment. ...but his face was bright red inside his helmet.

"...Is that your last words?"

He regained his composure and shouted at Hiro.

"My last words? You cosplaying bastard. No matter what you do, with my gift......."

It was literally a flash. Bright unleashed three jabs at high speed. Hiro could not see them at all. But he was definitely hit in the nose, chin, and cheek, almost simultaneously.

"Guh ......!?"

Hiro was about to fall down, but he tried his best to hold it himself up and glare at Bright... but Bright was no longer there.

"...too slow."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind him, and when he turned around… He was hit hard in the face, making him like a rag rolling on the floor.

(It's a strange feeling. Just a moment ago, I was still wondering if I could kill someone...)

"It looks like I won't have to hesitate at all to kill you..."

"Kahagh... w-what?"

Bright’s attack which was completely unrecognizable caused Hiro to feel agitated.

"What on the earth? What just happened...?"

Darkflash Bright. It was the first time Iori, a lieutenant, in the National Defense Force had ever heard of the name.

Most of the dangerous criminals’ information is disclosed within the NDF. However, Iori also heard that Kuroyume has a considerable number of strong filths whose names are still unknown. But she never thought there would be such a filth at Bright’s level.

She already understood that Bright was dangerous. If this continues, Hiro as a new recruit will be in danger. But still, Iori could not move from the shock of Bright’s first appearance.

"Damn it... area master! ...Puhgya?!"

This time, a straight right landed on Hiro's face, pushing him back and have him falling on his knees.

"Kuh...I don’t have the chance to activate Area Master at all!"

Hiro forcibly stood up again. However, Bright appeared before him suddenly.

"I think you said our compatibility is the worst previously? Mine and your gift that is."

"What? ...No way, you are?!"

Hiro remembered. That day that guy was certainly killed with his corpse turned into two by Lieutenant Saejima. However, members of the corpse disposal team were slaughtered later and a message for him and Saejima was found instead.

"I see, you are from that time?! So you're alive after all!"

"Why are you confirming it again? Didn't I leave a message for you?"

"Kuh...I should have known better that all filths are criminals! That time with the corpse disposal team, and now you killed so many innocent people!"

"Isn’t that the same as you? Did I do something wrong back then?"

"Y-you killed Kurosaki!"

"If I didn't, he would've killed me. You guys didn't even listen to what I had to say."

"Shut up! The filths are state-sanctioned criminals! Your very existence is evil!"

"Hmm... So my existence itself is evil... I see. If the country decides that I'm evil, then I'll just continue to be evil..."

In Bright's right arm, a sharp blade hardened by Lonsdaleite materialized. It was as if a dagger grew out of his arm.

"Even when branded as the wicked, I will walk forward following my conviction...that’s my new way of life!"

At that moment, the word "death" definitely crossed Hiro's mind... The stinging presence coming from Bright made him feel despair. Like a child standing in front of a hungry phenom.

...But Hiro was freed from the murderous intent that had been directed at him when Bright suddenly jumped away from his position. A slash appeared on the spot where Bright had been standing previously.

Bright turned to the man who fired the slash and muttered.

"I wasn’t expecting you to be in the Nerima branch..."

The man, Lieutenant Saejima, had a lively smile on his face, different from the sour expression he showed before.

"That gift...acceleration-type? Are you the one that killed Kurosaki back then!"

"...Indeed. I came back from hell to kill you."

Saejima smiled happily even though his life is being targeted by others.

"Hahaha! That's nice! Actually, I’ve been expecting you ever since that moment! I wanted to fight you in perfect condition. Especially when you took the trouble to leave a message and declare war on me!

The name’s Saejima Eiji and I'd like to know your name if you don't mind."

The moment he saw Saejima, Bright felt that emotion raging inside him.

"...kukuku...to think I would meet you here. I am the light within darkness, Bright. I am...the one who will drop you down to hell...!"

"Bright, huh? Hehehe...then let's begin our deathmatch..."

Saejima pulled his sword out of the scabbard and at the very next instant, Bright jumped backwards where another slash occured again.

(That’s the original Invisible Slash user for you! It's vastly superior to my current Invisible Slash in terms of power, area of effect, and even the activation speed!)

"Wheww! That’s fast! As expected of the same type gift holder that defeated Kurosaki in his own game!"

Bright moved at high speed so that Saejima unable to lock down on him. A slash occurred with a slight delay at the place where he passed. If he tried to approach any closer, a slash would be fired as if his movements were read. Hence the stalemate where he wasn’t allowed to approach nor attack.

"What's wrong? Are you just chickening away?"

(This guy... he’s pretending while having that carefree face. He's also attacking multiple spots so that I can't close the distance!)

The same development continued repeatedly. That scene was witnessed by the dumbstruck trio of Yoger, Mist and Teaser who had already defeated the three second-lieutenants.

"When Saejima came out, I thought we had no choice but to retreat, but this newbie is doing pretty good."

"Hmm...I can’t even follow Bright’s movement."

"Or rather, I’m pretty sure there aren’t many that can fight toe-on-toe against that Saejima even within Kuroyume right? Bright-kun is incredible."

From the sidelines, it looked like an endless loop of stalemate, but Bright was actually observing the original Invisible Slash.

(Saejima’s original Invisible Slash can reach up to 100 metres eh. Even if the power decreases as the range widens, it still more has than double the firepower compared to mine currently.

Considering that his Invisible Slash is at least twice stronger and that I will still receive quite the damage if I got hit at this range. Although it’s hard to say, it might be instant death if I got a proper hit at a closer distance I guess? So the only question left is how much stamina he has...)

"What's wrong? Bright! If you're waiting for my stamina to run out, it’s useless. I can still keep up with this pace for ages! But I want to see how long you can maintain your speed."

(Looks like he knows what I’m trying to do. If I keep going like this, I might run out of energy before he does. Speed Star isn't very fuel-efficient compared to the Invisible Slash too...)

Bright came to a stop. Saejima, being wary, stopped firing his slashes.

"...no more playing around."

"Hahaha..is that so? Then you can still entertain me, right?"

Bright had actually set up traps during the previous repeating situation.

"Let's end this..."

"Try me."

The first was the speed at which he was moving with Speed Star.

Up to this point, Bright had been moving at a fixed speed. Saejima would have thought that that was his max speed.

So, he will raise the gear of Speed Star by another step. Using that slight delay to Saejima’s reaction speed, he will close the gap that he wasn’t able to up until now.

"Have a taste of this!!"

"?! This is!"

And this is the second trap. The same gift as Saejima that he had been saving up until now, Invisible Slash.

To begin with, there are not many people with multiple gifts and even with only Speed Star, Bright is already quite the threat. And what is the possibility of him having the same gift as Saejima? ...Bright hoped that he be shaken a little. Because that one moment can make or break the game.

A chain of attacks by combining these two gifts is the current Bright’s certain kill attack. This is where he activated it!

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TL: Although it's not explicitly mentioned, Saejima is likely using a katana instead of normal sword.