Sixth Hunt - Demon Friend Translator: Aoi Proofreader:: Wolfjackle, Wryn, Noobzilla Demons never cease Searching for comrades; Humans never cease Becoming demons. Ezart sauntered lazily into cla.s.s, late as usual. There was a pause in the usual chaos as everyone watched him approach. After determining that Ezart"s mood was fairly average, the room returned to its disarray. Ezart strutted over to his seat, carelessly tossed his bag onto the floor, and began to do what he always did during morning cla.s.ses: sleep. However, Daren, who had been sitting in his seat waiting for Ezart, chose that exact moment to suddenly stand up and slam both hands down on Ezart"s desk, making sleep impossible. This caused Ezart to lift his head and look at him with indifference. The cla.s.s fell silent again, and everyone froze in their various poses with their mouths agape as if they"d seen a ghost. "Get your hands off my desk, or you"ll end up in the hospital," said Ezart in a cold voice. Daren, however, did not back down. Instead, he sternly replied, "Ezart, come with me. I have something to ask you… and something to tell you!" What"s this idiot doing... Ezart sized Daren up suspiciously. Does he honestly think he won"t get beaten up? It was as if Daren knew what he was thinking since he brought it up himself, "Let"s go to the roof. If you still want to hit me after you"ve listened to what I have to say, you can do it all you want up there." Oh? He"s even prepared to be hit? That kind of courage at least made it worth listening to a bunch of nonsense. Ezart stood up and easily agreed, "Okay; to the roof." Daren silently breathed a deep sigh of relief at Ezart"s reply. He had been really worried that Ezart wouldn"t even go to the roof with him! Ezart followed Daren at his usual slow and lazy pace. Right before leaving the cla.s.sroom, he casually turned to address the cla.s.s, "Anyone who dares to eavesdrop on us had better be prepared to go to the hospital with him!" Then, the two of them left the cla.s.sroom: one behind another; one in a hurry, the other leisurely strolling behind. After a while, the startled crowd in the cla.s.sroom finally recovered. Someone said blankly, "I didn"t think that nerd could be so brave…" No one else was on the roof. Then again, it was cla.s.s time and the roof was off limits to students. After Daren reached the roof, he didn"t even turn to face Ezart. He simply dropped his bag on the floor and stood there, motionless. Just before Ezart completely lost his patience, Daren spoke, "Ezart, I don"t know which taboo of yours I"ve violated.." "And I don"t know why you"re mad, why you don"t want to come to school with me, or why you won"t let me talk to you." Daren sudden turned around and yelled, with a determined expression, "But I won"t follow suit! I don"t want it to end like this. I want to be friends—friends that walk to and from school together, eat together, hang out together, have midnight snacks together!" Daren"s outburst left Ezart speechless. All he could say was, "Are you an idiot...?" Daren"s expression gradually transformed. The determined look and naïve nerd aura were gone, now replaced by an unfeeling expression. His child-like face seemed to suddenly take on a mature appearance. "Hey! Dar, what are you doing?" Ezart asked, surprised. Dark Sun ripped off his student uniform, revealing the red shirt and jeans. Then he reached down to take boots, which looked to be made of rubber, out of his bag along with a silver visor… After he put the visor on, he asked Ezart in a tone that betrayed no emotion, "Haven"t you always wanted to fight me? Let"s fight now." Dark Sun! That idiot Dar... is actually Dark Sun?! d.a.m.n! What kind of situation is this? Ezart was unable to react and resorted to staring blankly at the mysterious person, Dark Sun, who, just a moment ago, had been the childish Dar. But at that moment, Dark Sun took the initiative by throwing a relatively slow punch to remind Ezart that their battle had begun. Ezart was in such a daze that he only realized what was happening when the punch was inches from his face, and was barely able to dodge it. "My name is Dark Sun, currently nine years old." What? Ezart avoided Dark Sun"s kick. "I"m a cyborg; born after Daren Solaris" father locked him in a laboratory when he was seven." Daren Solaris…? Isn"t he Daren Avery? As their battle went on, Ezart continued to dodge Dark Sun"s attacks while getting more and more confused. Are Dar and Dark Sun the same person or not? Why does it sound like they are two different people? "Dark Sun is the ultimate bodyguard designed to only follow his master"s orders, who also happens to be Daren Solaris" older brother." Dark Sun"s voice was disinterested as if he were merely reporting some unrelated incident instead of the story of his life. Ezart couldn"t hold it in anymore and counter attacked with heavy punches, yelling, "What about Dar? Then what is Dar?" "Daren Solaris is… a normal boy who had been locked up by his father for seven years until he was eventually saved by his older brother. He didn"t know anything. and all he wanted to do is follow the orders his brother gave him: be a normal kid, go to school, make good friends, be happy…" Right then, Dark Sun"s punch landed on the roof, leaving behind a large dent… "But he doesn"t think going to school is fun at all." "The only time he is happy going to school is when he walks to and from school with Ezart. He was at his happiest the time he had the midnight snacks with Ezart." What...? Before Ezart could make sense of those words, he received a heavy punch from Dark Sun. Even with his strong body, he couldn"t withstand the blow and doubled over in pain, leaving him vulnerable to Dark Sun"s next move. "What do you have against him? Tell me, or I will kill you." Suddenly, the nails on Dark Sun"s right hand extended and his eyes, black as the night, held the intent to kill. If Ezart refused, Dark Sun really would kill him. He would kill the man who made Daren miserable; who made him disobey his master"s order to "be happy". …… What"s up with those nails? Ezart knelt on the floor holding his stomach. And how did Dar"s thin arms exert such force? However, those questions could be asked later. The important thing now was that Dark Sun was approaching, and it looked like he really would kill him! But… Dar really hadn"t been trying to use money to have himself protected. Ezart was sure of it. With this kind of power, who has the right to protect him?! "You won"t say?" By now, Dark Sun was right in front of Ezart. He continued unfeelingly, "Then I"ll kill you." "Dar, you idiot!" bellowed Ezart. Dark Sun"s movements stopped. Ezart slowly got to his feet as if he couldn"t see those deadly claws. He spat out some blood and yelled at Dark Sun, "Who gives money to their friends?! Between friends, money isn"t a concern! Don"t you understand?" "Don"t…understand…" Dark Sun"s icy expression disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Daren took off the visor, his face showing obvious confusion. "Dar? It"s you, right?" asked Ezart a little uncertainly. By the change in expression, it seemed that the idiotic Dar was back. Holy s.h.i.t! He"d much rather see Dar"s dumb expression any day than to ever have to see Dark Sun"s lifeless look again. Daren nodded, and asked, unhappily, "Ezart are you mad because I wanted to give you money to help pay for your tuition? But if you had money you wouldn"t have to fight in the arena you hate, right? So why did you get angry?" Ezart buried his face in his hands. Has this guy been living in a cave…? Wait, didn"t Dark Sun say that Dar had been locked up by his father since he was seven? "When were you rescued by your brother?" blurted out Ezart. Daren tilted his head as he counted. Then he replied, "One month and eighteen days ago." He has been locked up from the time he was seven until just over a month ago… Ezart finally understood why this guy didn"t know anything about the ways of the world; he was practically a child! G.o.d! He was arguing with a guy whose mental age was probably not yet ten? That thought gave Ezart the urge to bang his head against a wall. "Why did your father lock you up and what"s up with your nails? What in the world is Dark Sun? You guys are the same person, right?" He felt exhausted and had to sit down. He might as well ask all the questions now and prevent a major misunderstanding later. Daren carefully observed Ezart"s expression. Has he...forgiven me? But he could not make out anything on Ezart"s face other than his normal bored expression. He could not decipher anything and had to ask, "Ezart, are you still angry with me?" Be angry at a ten-year-old kid? A queer expression settled over Ezart"s face. Embarra.s.sed, he replied, "I wasn"t mad. But in the future, don"t talk about giving me money. I hate being bought." "Oh... Then I won"t give you any more money." Daren began to cheer up a bit, but he was still somewhat concerned. Even though Ezart wasn"t angry anymore, he never said that he still wanted to be friends… "Mm." "Then I can still walk to and from school with you, right?" "Yeah." "And I can still talk to you, right?" "Yes!" "And…and, we can eat midnight snacks together, right?" "O. K." "So we"re good friends, right?" Ezart suddenly sat up straight, planning on teaching this chatterbox a lesson, but as soon as he looked up, he saw those eager eyes… This brat… Ezart impatiently replied, "Yes, yes, yes! Okay? You"re really annoying! Just hurry up and answer my questions." Daren was so happy he nearly jumped up and cheered. It was great. Eloise was right—as long as you told your friend everything, you"d be great friends! Ezart was now his best friend! He was wondering where he and Ezart would eat their midnight snacks that night when he suddenly got a knuckle punch on the head, followed by the sound of Ezart gritting his teeth, "Are you going to tell me or not?" Aaah shoot, Ezart"s getting angry! Daren quickly began to explain his past, "M-my father hated me because my mother died giving birth to me..." Ezart leisurely laid down with his head on top of his hands and listened as Daren describe his past as if he were telling a story… "... Finally, my brother rescued me. Now, my older brother, Papa Avery, and I live at home." After a moment of silence, Ezart asked, "Your brother really loves you, right? He doesn"t treat you like a robot bodyguard?" Daren answered without hesitation, "Gege loves me the most and hates it when I"m in the form of Dark Sun. Last time, he even got mad at me when I went to save him!" Ezart mumbled a "hmm" and said, "That"s good..." "Dar! Where are you? Did that jerk Ezart bully you~~ Oh my Dar!" A shocked expression spread across both Daren and Ezart"s faces at the same time. Eloise was the only person whose voice could be heard from hundreds of meters away. Ezart glanced at Daren and exclaimed, "Your clothes!" Daren looked down; he was still wearing his red shirt… Oh no! By now, the sound of Eloise"s strong and speedy footsteps had almost reached the roof. Daren quickly grabbed his clothes from the ground, but didn"t have time to put them on. Panicking, he grabbed his entire bag and hid behind the water tower on the roof. Daren had just gotten himself out of sight when he recalled Eli"s mind reading ability. He quickly switched to Dark Sun"s emotionless mode. Eloise forced open the metal door to the roof with a bang. She stormed in like a demon yelling with rage, "Ezart! Don"t you dare bully Dar~~" Ezart lazily sat up, "Why would I bully him?" "You!" Eloise finally paid attention to their surroundings. Weird! Why is Ezart the only one here? She was sure she had heard the people in cla.s.s D say Ezart and Daren were talking it out on the roof! It"s obvious. Daren"s so cute, so gentle, so innocent, how could he hope to talk anything out with Ezart, the violent jerk?! Nooo! I wonder if Daren"s adorable face has been beaten into a pulp… "Where"s Dar?" asked Eloise. At that moment, two others slowly climbed up behind her: Elian and Eli. "Eloise, I don"t think Ezart would hit Dar. Don"t be so unreasonable." suggested Elian with a smile. But, in your heart, you"re full of even more rage than Eloise... thought Eli. "He went home." said Ezart casually. "You"re lying!" Eloise reflexively shouted before she continued the interrogation. "Your cla.s.smates said you came here with him to negotiate. How could he have gone home…? Unless…! You already threw him off the building! Oh G.o.d, my Dar!" She immediately ran to the side of the building, climbed up the wire fence, and looked down, searching for a broken Dar. "Then can you please tell us where Dar is?" The smile on Elian"s face became more p.r.o.nounced as he questioned Ezart in a gentle and polite manner. Howver, Eli, who was standing right next to him, backed up several steps, as if he couldn"t stand being too close to Elian. Ezart stood up slowly, and replied impatiently, "I said he went home; can"t you understand?" Elian clenched his fists tighter, and asked again, slowly, emphasizing every word, "Where. Is. Dar!?" Unfortunately, Ezart wasn"t someone who could be intimidated. He merely laughed coldly and repeated his answer, "Home." Elian"s smile widened, but his face was menacing and he gave off a frightening aura. A closer look would reveal that his hands were already at the hilts of his double sabres. "Elian, he..." Eloise was in a panick. She rarely saw Elian like this. Wasn"t he supposed to be calm and composed? Eli backed away further from Elian and explained to Eloise, "Just now he was very worried about Dar, and now he"s become extremely angry, no, he"s beyond furious!" Beyond furious?! Eloise turned to look at Elian. His smile had become terrifying, and she instinctively backed up a few steps until she was standing next to Eli. "Elian looks so scary. I should just leave Ezart to him, I"ll go find Dar." Eloise uttered and immediately turned to leave... Ah! "What are you doing, Eli? Let go of my collar. I"m going to find Dar..." "You want to run away, don"t you?" Eli had grabbed Eloise"s collar tightly with both hands and had slowly turned to face her. Half his face was shrouded in shadows, his voice icy, "You want to leave me behind to face a destructive Elian alone?" "..." Eloise could not even think of a comeback. "Don"t forget that we"re partners. Would you want me to give you misleading information during battle?" Eloise howled hopelessly, as if it was the end of the world, "Aaaah Eli, let me go. A furious Elian is too powerful and too terrifying. I don"t wanna stay! Help!" The furious Elian is powerful and terrifying? After hiding behind the water tower, Dark Sun had planned on jumping off the building and leaving. Especially since Ezart had covered for him by lying, he had planned to go along with it and actually go home. However, Eloise"s words stopped him in his tracks. Really powerful, huh... Dark Sun"s desire to face strong fighters grew in his mind… or rather in the chip within his brain. Instinctively, he took a step out from behind the water tower. No! Ezart even lied for me. I can"t let him down! shouted Daren in his head. Dark Sun"s foot slowly retreated... But at that moment, Eli suddenly shouted, "Eloise, there"s someone behind the water tower!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Eloise gave the water tower a flying kick. She put all her strength into it, and broke the entire base of the tower. Large amounts of water surged out of the tower as it toppled backwards before collapsing with a loud boom. Fl.u.s.tered and exasperated, Elian yelled, "d.a.m.n, what if it"s Dar..." Eli suddenly interrupted Elian as he stared directly at the back of the tower, "I can barely hear his thoughts… I"ve only met one person like this." The stream of water slowly thinned, and the dust gradually settled. Out of the cloud, a tall and lanky silhouette appeared in front of the crowd—silver hair, similarly coloured visor, red shirt, skinny jeans, and boots. "Dark Sun!" Upon seeing him, Elian chuckled coldly. He looked at Ezart and commented, "Interesting! You do know Dark Sun." Ha! I also just found out I know Dark Sun… Ezart scratched his head, but didn"t bother explaining. Just why is this idiot Dar still here? All my efforts to hide his ident.i.ty were wasted. "Hey! Dar really went home. You"ll see him again tomorrow as good as new." Ezart really did not want to continue arguing. "Then why did he go home?" Elian sneered in disbelief, "It"s still cla.s.s time; Dar is a very hard working student and wouldn"t skip without a reason." Ezart was speechless. He really could not come up with a good reason for a good student like Dar to go home. "The young master went home at the request of the master." Everyone stared blankly at the one who had spoken: Dark Sun. "Who"s this "young master" you speak of?" asked Elian, a little hesitantly. "Young master Daren Avery," Dark Sun replied blankly. Of course, it was just a lie to help Ezart out. Dark Sun"s mind had concluded, after their past several encounters, that Eli"s mind-reading ability would not be able to detect the lie. After all he could not read Dark Sun"s thoughts since Dark Sun did not really have thoughts. He just had the microchip to help him decide on the best tactical solution for any situation. "Dar is your young master?" exclaimed Eloise. "Does that mean you"re not a student and you"re only here to protect Dar? You"re Dar"s bodyguard?" "I"m not obliged to explain my job to you," Dark Sun stonily replied. With a bodyguard like Dark Sun, even Ezart can"t hurt Dar! This calmed Elian down and he was finally able to fully grasp the situation now that he was no longer worrying. Ah! The Dark Sun that they"d been searching all over for on the headmaster"s orders had finally appeared! "Eloise, Eli, surround him!" ordered Elian immediately as he returned to his senses. The two responded immediately. Each took up their position and formed a triangle with Dark Sun stuck in the center. Dark Sun did not move an inch and allowed himself to be surrounded. He had planned on fighting Elian anyway. The sudden change in the situation left Ezart scratching his head. Should he help Dar, or not? Elian was strong; Ezart knew that from personal experience, but compared to Dar… He had no idea. He had never fought Dar before. I must spar with Dar regularly in the future… Ha! Never imagined that Dar would turn out to be Dark Sun. This isn"t half bad! Dar just standing still like that definitely means he wants to fight Elian! Ezart decided that he would just observe from the sidelines. After making up his mind, Ezart moved to the side of the building and leaned against the wire fence, leisurely watching the show. By this point, Elian"s twin sabers were already unsheathed and he had taken a stance which enabled fast reflexs. He declared, "Dark Sun, the headmaster of YeLan Acadamy wishes to meet you. We can avoid this battle if you agree to come with us. If you disagree, well, we will have to take you by force!" Even though he issued the challenge, Elian was truly hoping that Dark Sun would just agree to go with them peacefully. Learning that Dark Sun was Dar"s bodyguard made him lose any desire to fight him since it felt like a betrayal towards Dar. After a moment of silence, Dark Sun asked, "What does he want me for?" "The headmaster didn"t give us a reason... But by the looks of it, he probably wants you to join the ECS so you can work for him," answered Elian honestly. "Tell him I only take orders from my master." His words made Elian sigh. "Then you aren"t willing to see the headmaster?" "No," answered Dark Sun simply. "Then we must fight." Elian didn"t waste words on unnecessary conversation; Dark Sun might be Dar"s bodyguard, but it had already been decided that if an agreement couldn"t be reached, a battle was the only solution. "Yes," agreed Dark Sun curtly. Even had he been willing to see the headmaster, this fight between Dark Sun and Elian was inevitable. His instincts were urging him to fight this strong opponent so he could become stronger and reach his full potential to carry out all of his master"s commands… even if the said commands had nothing to do with battle. "How about we make a deal," asked Elian, flashing a charming smile. "If I win, you come with me to see the headmaster. If I lose, I"ll give up the mission. If you agree, I"ll tell Eloise and Eli not to interfere with our battle, but you"ll have to promise not to run away in the middle of it." "I won"t run away. We can fight one on one or three on one." Since his only goal was to become stronger, Dark Sun didn"t really care who he fought. Being surrounded might even be better. As for losing... that possibility never even crossed his mind. Elian might be very strong, but no matter how strong he was, he was still human! As for Dark Sun... half of his body was well beyond normal human boundaries. Still, Dark Sun didn"t underestimate him. He could see how poised Elian"s stance was as he held his twin light sabres; how natural it seemed, as if they were simply extensions of his arms. He must be very adept with those weapons. Although, there was a weapon that Dark Sun was just as proficient with, i.e. the Reaper"s Scythe, since he wasn"t planning on killing Elian, there wasn"t any need to use it. As long as he… His nails flashed a cold metallic light as they suddenly extended. … had this! Everyone froze when caught sight of the nails that had extended almost ten centimeters and to top it off, had distinct l.u.s.ter of a blade. One couldn"t help but swallow in fear. "What an interesting weapon." remarked Elian, the most calm among them. He merely admired the nails. Dark Sun cut to the chase. He put one hand in front of his chest while the other remained dangling. The stance was simple, but allowed him to quickly respond to any situation. Elian also had his own battle stance. His right arm was poised by his waist while his left was raised high above his head. One of the blades was positioned upright, level with his chest; the other was set to strike from above at any moment. "Left handed?" asked Dark Sun disinterestedly. He noticed so quickly? Elian smiled and replied, "Yes." Dark Sun instinctively realized that the blade held by Elian"s right hand, was positioned mostly for defense rather than offense, whereas, the left hand, held high above his head, seemed poised to strike. Since the dominant hand is naturally stronger than the other, it only made sense to use it mainly for attacking. Dark Sun himself, however, was ambidextrous. His arms were moderated so that there was no difference in strength. Elian and Dark Sun faced one other. A calm, almost relaxed, atmosphere surrounded them. Both knew well that it was futile to remain tense. There was no sound on the roof except for the whistling of the wind. "Are they going to fight or not?" whispered Eloise. She was already bored of waiting, and decided to bother Eli, who was standing next to her. Eli replied softly, "They"re waiting for the moment the opponent shows his weakness... At least, Elian is." "Looking for what weakness? They"re both so strong, how can they have a weakness in their battle stance?" Eloise said impatiently. Eloise"s words seemed to affect the two fighters, however, Elian still didn"t move. His fighting style was more suited to reaction rather than action. "I"m attacking first." Dark Sun announced. Without wasting any more time, the red figure shot forward like a streak of lightning. Elian concentrated on Dark Sun"s figure, despite the glare off those nails that kept obscuring his vision, and moved only when they were a meter apart. The light sabre in his right hand flashed to the rhythm of Dark Sun"s attacks, completely blocking them. The one in his left hand strick mercilessly as Dark Sun sought to attack him from the left. With Dark Sun"s strength and the durability of his nails, grabbing a blade in midair was nothing. However, Elian was wielding sabers of condensed light energy which would be damaging if touched. Therefore, Dark Sun could only evade. With superhuman speed and impeccable grace, Daren had to jump and twist his body in midair to avoid the light saber"s pincer attack. Elian didn"t miss a beat and relentlessly carried on with his attacks. He was clearly an experienced and competent member of the ECS to be unmoved by Dark Sun"s impossible evasion. Suddenly, all that the spectators could see were flashes of blue light, as if Elian was holding two rings instead of the curved light sabres. Dark Sun"s movements, however, were much more complex and unpredictable. Even against the pincer attacks of the light sabres, the inability to come into contact with them, and the absence of a long-ranged weapon, Dark Sun did not sustain a single scratch. Although the opportunity to attack had not manifested, Dark Sun was not anxious. He knew, that as the fight prolonged, Elian would become fatigued five times faster than he did. This fatigue would affect Elian"s movements, whereas only physical damage could affect his own. As long as his body was uninjured, he could fight on till death by ignoring fatigue and hunger. Humans had to stop fighting due to exhaustion, but non-humans would fight to the death because of an order. Their destinies were incomparable. "Dar…Dark Sun"s movements are kind of similar to Shain Baylian," muttered Ezart as he watched. It was the truth. Dark Sun had uploaded Shain"s skills into his microchip and seamlessly integrated them into his own moves during battle. This was Dark Sun"s strength. Since he was a fast learner, the more he fought, the stronger he became. "Watching this is making me dizzy; it"s all circles." Eloise complained. She could only see two constantly spinning rings, even when she closed her eyes. Eli was impressed, "So fast; now this is a true expert. I probably would have been beaten even with my mind reading abilities. I would"ve lost even before I got a chance read his mind. An expert"s moves are akin to reflexes." Despite the speed at which his hands were moving, Elian"s mind had no problem keeping up with the battle. However, he quickly realized that at this rate he would fall before Dark Sun. He did not like the idea of losing due to fatigue. So, he immediately changed his approach; he would take the offensive and strike down Dark Sun! Dark Sun, on the other hand, did not care how he won, so he took his time to fight. His only goal was to incorporate his opponent"s strengths to achieve his goal of becoming stronger. But now he noticed that Elian had increased his tempo. His brain immediately a.n.a.lysed that Elian had gone on the offensive. Then, how should he respond? The microchip provided him the best approach: pull away from the enemy and throw heavy objects from afar. This was the easiest way to win without the Reaper"s Scythe. And if Devon had not activated Dark Sun"s emotional switch, he probably would have done just that. But right now, Dark Sun knew that this was not the approach he should take against someone like Elian who had the dual ident.i.ty as a friend and an enemy. Then what should he do? While he was considering his options, Elian"s light sabres formed an X and snapped at him. He was trapped. His only option was to sacrifice his arm. Two streaks of seared flesh instantly appeared. Elian did not rejoice at the successful attack and used the opportunity to press his advantage. He pushed of the ground and shot towards Dark Sun, his light sabres aimed right at his face. Elian locked eyes with Dark Sun, and silent words pa.s.sed between them. It was if he was asking, Are you just going to die like that, Dark Sun? I don"t think so right? If you were, you wouldn"t even be worth taking to see the headmaster. If it"s unavoidable, then... Plasma strands activate! Shielded by the visor, Elian did not discover the strings of digits scrolling through Dark Sun"s midnight orbs. "Plasma weapons" were cutting edge technology. It was to be the focus of future weapons development. Compared to traditional guns, plasma guns did not require bullets; they only had to be recharged with energy. The guns could even be adjusted to discharge varying amounts of power. Metal such as steel could be liquefied effortlessly by plasma knives, and the elemental properties absorbed for further enhancement. The only technological weakness at the moment was that plasma guns consumed too much energy. One energy cartridge could only power six shots. It was drastically limited as compared to traditional guns which could fire 50 to 100 rounds. But, blade prototypes did not have this hurdle. Plasma blades used for battle could last up to 6 to 8 hours without any problems. The two light sabres Elian wielded were top quality; they could last in a constant battle for over 12 hours, non-stop. Since very few humans could fight for over ten hours, the blade prototypes have progressed significantly compared to guns. Nevertheless, there was one small problem: they were extremely expensive. They were so expensive that an average person hardly saw one, let alone afford it. Obviously, the group of scientists who originally designed Dark Sun did not neglect this future weapon development and hid an plasma weapon in his hair! Dark Sun"s short silver hair suddenly extended and the long strands swirled, a rendition of a male version of the Bride with White Hair1. The strands converged on the two light sabres, binding them tightly and rendering them useless. Elian was suddenly a fly in a spider web, face to face with a demonic non-human with silver hair whipping around in a frenzy. His pupils dilated. No matter how calm he had been, he did not get the time to react. At that moment, Dark Sun grabbed Elian"s shoulders. His 10 cm long steel nails dug into flesh, forcing the latter to let out a grunt of pain, his face becoming as white as a sheet. Dark Sun then kicked Elian in the abdomen, sending him flying several meters. Dark Sun had not gone easy on the kick and it left Elian lying on the floor, unable to get back up. "Elian!" Eloise and Eli hurried over to help him up while an eye on Dark Sun in case he suddenly attacked. "Okay, you really are too strong," Elian finally said with a smile after catching his breath. "It looks like I can"t force you to go." "You"re strong too, really strong." Dark Sun said honestly as he withdrew the plasma strands. His long hair returned to its normal length. For a modified human like Elian to have been able to hold out against the cyborg Dark Sun, and force him into utilising his plasma strands, no other word besides "strong" could describe him. Elian smiled. He did not need Eli"s mind-reading to know that Dark Sun sincerely thought he was strong. "Are there any students stronger than you in the ECS?" This was what Dark Sun wanted to know the most. "You still want to fight other people? You"re frightening enough with your hair and nails. I really don"t know what kind of supernatural powers they are." He smiled bitterly, but still responded to the question, "It also depends on what you mean by strong. In a way, Eli"s ability is more attention-grabbing than mine." "In terms of battle," Dark Sun said simply. Elian contemplated this for a while, then said, "There is a guy... But if your fighting abilities are only your nails and speed, you can"t beat him." "Name?" "Shi. No one knows his real name, but the headmaster calls him Shi." At that moment, Eli interrupted, "You"re wrong, Elian. What the headmaster says isn"t "Shi", but "Sin"!" Elian stared back blankly. I see. "Sin", huh? It really is a suitable name for that guy... Dark Sun"s phone rang just as Dark Sun was about to ask where to find this Sin. There were only two people in the world who would call him: Devon Solaris and Theodore Avery. And those two people were more important than anything else, so, without hesitation, Dark Sun tossed the thought of Sin aside, and picked up the phone. "Gege..." Dark Sun"s mask slipped a little back to Daren, but he suddenly remembered the mind-reading Eli, and stayed as the heartless Dark Sun. He walked off to the side to explain his situation to Devon. Seeing that his opponent left to answer a phone call, Elian collapsed onto the ground. He wondered what would happen if the headmaster were to send Sin to capture Dark Sun. He probably won"t, right? The headmaster should know that if he sent Sin, the headmaster would end up finding someone in a bodybag. In the ECS, Sin"s ruthlessness was infamous. Whenever he fought, a life ended. Even though he was so strong, he still hadn"t graduated because the headmaster hardly gave him any missions. Unless it was an a.s.sa.s.sination request… "That was brilliant! I"d love to fight you again!" Ezart came to Elian"s side and heartily slapped him on the back so hard that the latter couldn"t help but laugh bitterly. That really hurt and I"m already seriously injured… "If you want to fight Elian, you have to get through me first!" Eloise was more than a little put off by this Ezart guy whose fighting style was very similar to her own. "Then let"s fight right now." Ezart was very eager. The amazing battle between Dar and Elian had gotten him pumped up for a good fight. "Okay!" Even though he got on her nerves, Eloise had to admit that Ezart"s straightforwardness in battle was quite to her taste. The two eager fighters were just about to start when unknown people climbed onto the roof. Without hesitation they fired upon Dark Sun, who was still on the phone, with heavy artillery. Suddenly, the whole roof was filled with the roar of machine guns and the occasional explosion from the powerful firearms. The sudden and relentless attack caught even Dark Sun offguard. Though he managed to jump out of the way within a split second, he couldn"t avoid all the shots. Fortunately, he was able to avoid the blasts from the bazookas, thereby preserving his vital organs. There was no time for him to counterattack; all he could do was determine the enemies aim, and avoid the shots with his incredible speed. "Eli?!" Elian shouted in the midst of the roaring gunshots. There were so many people hidden nearby, yet the mind-reading Eli hadn"t given any warnings. This was a clear dereliction of duty! But Eli was even more surprised than Elian. He stuttered, "Th-they... are like Dark Sun. I can"t read any thoughts!" Elian stood up immediately. Although he was seriously injured, it wasn"t enough to keep him lying on the ground obediently when faced with real danger. Ezart immediately noticed that these people were only attacking Dar. Their target is Dar? Dark Sun was facing so many attacks he could barely fight back. Their speed wasn"t much slower than his and the powerful bazookas kept him constantly on the defensive. Not to mention he was greatly outnumbered by the enemy who also had excellent teamwork… No! This isn"t teamwork; it looks like their battle formation was configured by a computer. That was when he noticed that their bodies were mostly modified, like his… but it was clearly inferior work. The modified metallic arms and legs were exposed without any coverings while the backs of their heads were just half spheres! "Are these robots?" gasped Eloise as she voiced the question everyone else was thinking. Ezart suddenly joined the fray and knocked over one of the robots while yelling, "Who cares what they are! They"re Dark Sun"s enemies!" They are Dark Sun"s enemies... But man, we don"t really have any friendship with Dark Sun to speak of. Elian laughed bitterly. "What"s with that look? Isn"t Dark Sun"s enemy Dar"s enemy?" Ezart yelled. He realized that while these robots might not be stronger than Dark Sun, they could not be underestimated. It would be better if he could get Elian & co"s a.s.sistance. Right! Dark Sun is Dar"s bodyguard… the ECS members realised. They evaluated the situation and came to the conclusion that these people may not be targeting Dark Sun, but rather Dar, his charge. After realising this, Eloise joined Ezart without a second thought, and began pummelling the robots! As her comrade, Eli had no choice but to join the battle. If he didn"t, he"d be left without a partner after Eloise was transformed into a holey honeycomb by the guns and cannons. Elian, on the other hand, was much calmer. He cooly observed and a.s.sessed the robots abilities. He figured that in his current condition, he could handle a single robot. Ezart would also be able to take one, while Eloise and Eli, even without his mind reading abilities, could probably take on a third. There are six of them... Can Dark Sun deal with three by himself? Elian worriedly glanced at Dark Sun. He hadn"t been severely injured during their battle, but since the robots attacked he had received several gunshot wounds… Now Dark Sun was just dodging and... talking on the phone! Suddenly he didn"t feel like slicing up the robots. Better to slice up Dark Sun instead! Infuriating! But since he"s so laid back, it probably means that Dark Sun doesn"t see these robots as worthy opponents, right? Either way, I"ll just help for Dar"s sake! Elian shook his head, took out his light sabres, picked a robot, and began fighting. Meanwhile, Dark Sun, who was talking on the phone, wasn"t feeling relaxed at all! But his brother, on the other end of the phone, was about to explode in fury. "Who? Who dared to send them to attack you! I will destroy him. I will flay his corpse. Even if he is already dead, I will send him to Theodore"s laboratory to prevent his reincarnation!" Being sent to Papa Avery"s lab means no reincarnation? Well, thinking about it, it really would be impossible for those shredded bodies drenched in all sorts of chemicals to reincarnate. Daren wasn"t sure if he should laugh or cry. "Gege, these people are probably from the same group as the last set of modified humans. Just cheaper models, it seems." Out of the corner of his eye, Daren saw that the others had joined the battle. Ezart even rolled his eyes at him when he saw he was on the phone. But they had really lifted some of his burden by joining. Not just the physical burden, but also the emotional one. He suddenly felt as if he had four more good friends fighting alongside him. "Oh? That"s great! Kyle is close to figuring out who those people were. Hehehe. Dare to challenge me? I want you to die a horrible death and never rest in peace!" The man on the other end seemed to have dived into hatching the most terrifying and bloodthirsty plot of revenge of all time... But, nothing is more important than the danger Dar is in. Devon returned to his senses and asked gravely, "Dar, can you handle them?" "Yes." Hearing the master"s question, Dark Sun returned in a flash, dodging the string of bullets fired by the enemy. Naturally, Devon also heard those hair-raising gunshots on the other end of the phone. But he knew that if he sent people to help Dar, they wouldn"t be of much help. Instead, they might expose the fact that Dark Sun was one of Solaris Emperor"s men which would most likely bring even more danger to Dar. Taking these into account, Devon could only reiterate, "Be careful, Dar. Don"t get hurt!" "Uh..." Daren looked down at the bullet wounds on his legs and arms . He didn"t know how to reply; it was already too late. "You"re hurt? You"re hurt, aren"t you?" His brother"s sounded as if he was going berserk. Daren even had to pull the phone away to prevent himself from going deaf from his brother"s furious screams. "Gege, I need to go fight, or I"ll get even more injuries. When I go home I"ll get Papa Avery to treat me. Good luck at work!" With that, Daren hung up, because if his brother continued to listen to the gunshots, he might decide to come and personally nuke the people who dared to shoot his brother. He was also keenly aware of the several glares Elian had shot at him. He felt very sorry for making the others fight the enemy while he was on the phone. After he put away his phone, Dark Sun unleashed his full potential. His nails extended like sharp blades. He moved as fast as the wind, zig zaging through enemy bullets. He dashed before one his a.s.sailants, quickly ducked to the side, somersaulted and appeared instantly behind the adversary. He mercilessly stabbed both sides of the enemy"s spine with his steel nails. Its bones broke with a crunch. Whoever saw him felt chills at the sight before them, especially Elian, who had just fought with Dark Sun. A shiver ran down his spine. Oh right, I think Papa Avery said something about wanting a few modified human corpses... Wouldn"t he be even more pleased with live specimens? Daren"s thoughts gradually emerged. "Avery, modified humans?" Coincidentally, Eli had been focusing on Dark Sun. He had heard a couple of phrases and had unconsciously said them out loud. Dark Sun whipped around to look in Eli"s direction. Oh no! Had he heard something he shouldn"t have? What"s worse, the enemy was aware of it! Eli backed up several steps in Elian"s direction, afraid Dark Sun might want to silence him forever. However, regardless of whether he wanted to kill Eli, Dark Sun was evidently more preoccupied with the enemies who were attacking him. he was constantly flitting in between several of them, at such speed that his enemies could not even keep track of his movements. Dark Sun proceeded to sequentially break the enemies limbs, but did not injure them fatally. "He"s... being a little cruel, isn"t he? Eloise gulped. Even though she had sent more than a few people to the hospital with broken bones, it was never like this. He could have finished the enemy off with one strike, yet he seemed to be toying with them, breaking their limbs until they could do nothing but twist around on the floor in an attempt to continue attacking. Seeing this, Eli moved even closer to Elian... "What are you doing?" Elian asked, He was surprised to see Eli retreat behind him. "I accidentally read Dark Sun"s thoughts and said them out loud, so he heard it." Eli explained simply. "...... got it." Elian made a face, this was not the first time Eli was almost killed for discovering others" secrets. But this time, even with Eloise here, would it be possible to stop Dark Sun? "Eloise, come back!" Panicking, he yelled for her. Although Elian had an urge to run for it, Dark Sun happened to be blocking the exit. If they pushed past him, they might infuriate him further... "What?" Eloise was in the middle of fighting. She had finally knocked an opponent down to the floor, when Elian"s yell surprised her. She could only put the enemy down and quickly retreat. "Eli is in danger of being silenced again." "What?" Eloise yelled, "Don"t tell me the person who wants to kill him is Dark Sun!" After a moment of silence, Eli said, "Sorry." "We"re the ones who should say sorry. This time, we might not be able to protect you..." Elian grimaced. Dark Sun slit the throat of the enemy that Eloise had abandoned halfway. He ignored the floor that was littered with enemies and slowly turned to look at Eli. He faintly radiated animosity, as if he considered Eli to be another enemy he had to deal with. Elian and Eloise immediately stood in front of Eli. Dark Sun would have to get past them before thinking of touching Eli. But Ezart was puzzled. Weren"t they teaming up against the modified humans just now? Why are they staring each other down? "What? Dark Sun wouldn"t kill Eli." Ezart said casually. Because Dark Sun is Dar, and Dar wouldn"t kill Eli. He turned to Dark Sun and yelled, "Right, Dark Sun?" Dark Sun was silent for a long time. So long that Ezart was beginning to suspect that he might actually do it, Then Dark Sun answered, "Master Daren wouldn"t allow me to kill you. But remember, if you ever read mine or Master Daren"s thoughts, never tell anybody, or I will kill you no matter what my Master says." "I won"t tell. Thank you for sparing me." Even though Eli"s expression showed calm, his heart was pounding hard. He knew he had just barely escaped death. "In exchange for letting me go, I will give you a piece of information." Dark Sun waited silently for him to continue. "Just now there was someone peeping from behind the door he left with frustration when these guys were defeated." "Who was it?" Dark Sun asked with an expression devoid of all emotions. "It was the same person who Elian fought in the battle simulator last time. I don"t know his name." "Shain Baylian," Dark Sun said. He should have known. Last time, his Master had been attacked after Shain Baylian had spoken with him. Shain Baylian"s father was the leader of the Lunaris Group. Was the Lunaris group the mastermind behind these modified humans? When Dark Sun realised who was really behind the multiple attacks upon Devon Solaris, an instinct was triggered...... Hunt down all of Devon Solaris" enemies!

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