"It was nothing."
Raven deactivated his transformation, waved dismissively, and said, "It looks like you're pretty badly hurt. I'll take you back."
"Thank you," Kiba replied with a grateful smile. In this despairing world, there were still good people. This was why he refused to attack humans.
"Wait a minute, who exactly are you...?" Takumi desperately wanted an answer. He also deactivated his transformation and questioned Raven.
"We met before, didn't we? You should know," Raven told him.
"Before? Was it the time you beat me up?" Takumi asked, puzzled.
"Wrong. It was even before that," Raven shook his head.
Takumi mentally searched his memories, a growing impression forming. Then his eyes lit up as he suddenly realized.
"I know... it was the Café that time!" Takumi remembered. Raven was the new owner of the Café where he used to work. Since he had left in a hurry, his impression of Raven wasn't very deep.
Raven, who had already helped Yuji Kiba onto the Junglaider, spoke without turning his head. "That's right. I'm just a Café owner, nothing more."
Vroom! Vroom!
With the sound of the engine roaring, Raven sped off with Kiba. Takumi mounted the Auto Vajin and left the area as well.
Some time later.
The pile of sand Jay had left on the ground began to coalesce. Eventually, it reformed into a human shape. Jay's resurrection ability was demonstrated.
He was expressionless, but his strength was already vastly different from before. It was as if he had ascended a rank. After his successful revival, he slowly left the factory.
Meanwhile.
Takuma rushed back to the Clover Bar, sweating profusely.
"Takuma, why are you so flustered? Did something happen?" Saeko Kageyama leaned against the bar, asking curiously.
"N-nothing," he quickly replied. He grabbed a drink from the bar and swallowed it down, which finally helped him calm down.
"Oh, Kitazaki came back for a bit, but he left again," Saeko said, pointing to an empty glass nearby.
Takuma looked over and saw the glass spontaneously burst into flames and turn to sand. This was Kitazaki's power. Anything he touched could be destroyed by the powerful Orphnoch energy within him.
"If it's Kitazaki... maybe he can deal with that monster," Takuma thought. In his mind, Kitazaki also belonged in the category of "monsters."
"What's wrong? You look like you genuinely messed up. You didn't actually suffer a big loss to those traitors, did you?" Saeko asked with a teasing tone.
"How could I! Not only the traitors, but even Faiz is no match for me!" Takuma emphasized strongly.
He then recounted everything he had witnessed to Saeko.
"You're still too timid," Saeko said. Having killed countless people, she felt no fear. She concluded that Raven was simply a person with dark taste who enjoyed dissecting corpses.
"But Jay was utterly helpless against him," Takuma argued.
"Jay hasn't reached his true power yet. You don't need to worry," Saeko was confident in Jay's Complete Form. That was only his first life.
"Though, I'm quite interested in that guy," Saeko licked her lips, her eyes filled with intense curiosity, a sign of some plan forming in her mind.
Seeing this, Takuma sighed, lamenting that none of these people were remotely normal.
....
At the Smart Brain headquarters.
Kyouji Murakami had received information from Smart Lady, who had been secretly monitoring the Lucky Clover's movements. He looked deep in thought.
At this point, the entire problem seemed to center on this guy named Raven.
"President, it seems even the Lucky Clover couldn't gain an advantage," Smart Lady said, sitting nearby with a look of disappointment. The scene of Raven being taught a lesson, which she had been hoping for, had yet to materialize.
"It's too early to jump to conclusions. They are the best of the Orphnochs," Murakami naturally wouldn't let their morale drop. Overall, he had great faith in the Lucky Clover.
"However, you mentioned the Faiz Driver has returned to that man named Takumi Inui," Murakami continued.
"Yes," Smart Lady nodded.
"I recall that Takumi Inui is living with the former president's adopted daughter." Murakami, crossing his legs, suddenly came up with an idea.
Since brute force wasn't working, they would try a subtler approach.
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