Black Bird

**Black Bird** (ブラック・バード, *Burakku Bādo*?) was a minor character in the 86 -Eighty Six- series introduced in Run Through the Battlefront.

He was a Name Bearer Eighty-Six Processor, who served as the captain of Sledgehammer Squadron, before the First Great Offensive.

## Appearance

Blackbird was a young man with short black hair and eyes; he wears the standard desert uniform issued to Eighty-Six Processors.

## Personality

Black Bird was a brave combatant who wasn't afraid to lay down his own life. In his last act, he tried to encourage his fellow Processors who served under him.

## Background

When he was just a fledgling, Black Bird met his first Squadron captain, who presented himself as a Republic soldier of the old ground forces. The captain had taught him how to fight, survive and handle explosives.

After a year of service, as per Processor tradition, he was allowed to bear a Personal Name, settling with Black Bird.

Black Bird would continue his service on the battlefield of the Eighty-Sixth Sector before being transferred in his fifth year to the Northern Front's First Ward, becoming the captain of the First Defensive Squadron "Sledgehammer."

## Chronology

### Volume 2: Run Through the Battlefront (Start)

**Interlude**

At the onset of the First Great Offensive, the Legion approached the Northern Front to begin its invasion of the Republic of San Magnolia. Black Bird and his Squadron sortied to engage the enemy. The Legion annihilates the Sledgehammer Squadron without much effort, leaving Black Bird as the last man standing.

While fighting the Legion, a Löwe closed in and struck Black Bird's Juggernaut, leaving it disabled, and gravely injuring the Processor. With his right hand crushed and his lower leg severed, Black Bird dragged himself out of his wrecked unit and reclined on a stone guardrail near an old bridge. Knowing the bridge had been previously rigged with explosives, he wasted little time arming the detonator with his one good hand.

Though with the loss of blood and his right leg as well as a Löwe creeping toward him, imminent death was inevitable.

In his final moments, Black Bird broadcasted a one-directional transmission to all Eighty-Six Processors. He declared the Republic's reckoning and congratulated all Processors on a well-done job.

As he ended his broadcast and the Löwe was about to deal the final blow, Black Bird detonated the explosives and destroyed the bridge. His corpse and the Löwe that had attempted to eliminate him fell into the river below.

Black Bird and The Sledgehammer Squadron's sacrifice delayed the Legion's advance, if only for a short while.

## Abilities

As a Name Bearer as well as his position of captain of the Sledgehammer Squadron, Black Bird was a competent Processor with a certain degree of leadership skills. He appreciated the teachings of a former Republic soldier, making him very proficient in combat, survivability, and handling explosives. The latter proved convenient as he demolished a bridge to deny the Legion advances.

## Quotes

* > **"All Processors listening to this. All those who fought to the bitter end. All those who survived. We're finally discharged. We all... did a great job. Serves you right."** ― Black Bird last words.
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## Trivia

* In the light novel he is described to hold a remote control detonator in his final moments, while the anime adaptation shows him holding a manual explosives detonator.