No Hero Volume 2: The Hero Grim Reaper
Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)
Legend of a Hero Chapter 9: Conflict Arises, the Selfish Hero – translated by ErodingPersona
Gēge, what is the line between humans and non-humans?
Nearly my entire body has been altered from top to bottom, filled with steel that normal people shouldn’t have, and even made to hide energy weapons. Do I still count as a human?
It’s okay, I’m not upset… After all, Charles and Melody both aren’t human either! Luckily, I’m not the only non-human at home.
That’s why, it doesn’t matter anymore. It doesn’t matter even if I am not human.
I rushed to the edge of the building and frantically looked down…
X slowly walked over, placing his hand on my shoulder. He sighed. “Don’t blame me. Your young master is really far too powerful. I could only defeat him by doing this. Even though he’s been thrown off the building, he probably won’t die. He is strong!”
He really is… too strong. I lowered my head to look down and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
A figure jumped up in front of me, somersaulting in midair. He twisted his legs above his head, bracing himself with his hand on the ground. His body made another half-turn, right leg whipping right at X’s head, as swift as a raging wind.
This time, it was X’s turn to be caught off guard. He had no time to duck, and only managed to raise his left arm in time to block the kick. Although he did manage to raise his arm to protect his head, he could not block the power of the kick, so he was viciously sent flying by the kick and only just managed to avoid falling off the roof from the force.
X slid several meters before finally regaining his balance. When he lowered his left arm, it was shaking nonstop; he looked rather injured. He raised his head and roared at Dark Sun, who was utterly unharmed, “What sort of a monster are you! Since you’re so tenacious, fine! Let’s try and find out – exactly which one of us won’t die as easily, you or me!”
X? Has he lost his mind?
When this thought flashed by, I stared at X in alarm, who was hurtling toward Dark Sun. He grasped both his shoulders, and ignoring all attacks, single-mindedly shoved him backwards. Dark Sun had already been standing right at the edge of the building, so they had barely gone a few steps when both of them dropped off the edge.
I hurriedly looked down. This time, Dark Sun was not able to hold onto the building’s wall again. He was exchanging attacks with X and fighting for the upper position in mid-air. Finally, both of them crashed to the ground with a loud bang. Following that, the crowd below also screamed.
Dark Sun had managed to stay above X in their grappling, and with him as a buffer, he looked like he had not suffered any injuries. The moment they landed, he fell on top of X’s body, rolled several times to the side, and immediately got up.
I was a bit worried for X, but he should not have any problems. He could use his blood ability to protect himself, so falling from a building would not hurt him much.
“Hurry! Take me down there to have a look.”
I flinched, turned around, and realized that First Wind had woken up.
Seeing him, only then did I remember that he was grievously injured, so we could not tarry. I hurriedly said, “Let me get an ambulance for you first.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ve already sprayed hemostatic, and am transfusing blood to myself.” He must have seen my surprised face. First Wind gave a sheepish smile and explained, “If a hero goes about without bringing some first aid supplies or medicine, he could very well die from his injuries.”
Hearing this, I felt relieved, and hurried over to help him up.
First Wind looked at me and asked, “Are you on Dark Sun’s side, or are you on the vampire’s side?”
I smiled and purposely used the vampire’s hollow roar. “Do you not think it is a little too late for you to ask about this now?”
“I was only asking for fun.” First Wind shrugged his shoulders. Although he grimaced at the pain, he immediately smiled and said, “It’s rather hard to believe that your young master actually has a vampire for a butler. But after giving it some thought, it is really rather appropriate. A young master who is a hero and a butler who is a vampire… It’s hard to decide who is more unique between the two of you.”
I stared at First Wind. His words…
“I heard you calling Dark Sun ‘Young Master’.” He continued quietly, “If I still could not guess that you and Dark Sun were Charles and An Xiang Ye, then I definitely would have to be a little too oblivious. I guess you two realized even earlier that I was Ji Luo Chu, right?”
I stared at First Wind, unsure of what to do. What is to be done now that everything has been brought to light?
First Wind laughed, but the laugh gave way to b.l.o.o.d.y coughs. I hurriedly patted his back.
When he stopped coughing, he raised his head and said, “I’ll help keep your ident.i.ties a secret, and both of you will do the same for my ident.i.ty, deal?”
Of course it would be great if this whole matter could be dealt with just like that! But I looked at him, unsure if he would keep his promise. He smiled and said, “I won’t even tell Luo Lun! Actually, I can’t tell him even if I wanted to, he has absolutely no idea that I’m First Wind. His favorite hero is Dragon Peace, and he keeps on saying that First Wind is just a pretty face, that d.a.m.ned brat…”
I smiled as well. Before, I really had heard Luo Lun saying those exact words. I did not hesitate any longer, agreeing immediately. “Deal.”
“Let’s go check up on your young master’s condition!”
I nodded, picked up First Wind, and activated my blood ability. Then, I jumped off the building.
When I landed, I caught sight of DSII speeding straight toward Dark Sun. About ten meters away, the bike listed sideways, braking in an ear-piercing screech. Finally, the bike stopped at a distance of barely ten centimeters away from Dark Sun. All the while, Dark Sun had not even flinched.
At the scene, only deep breaths could be heard in the silence.
X broke the silence with a disbelieving tone, “A bike?”
DSII’s seat opened. Dark Sun reached within the s.p.a.ce, pulled out two stick-like segments, and joined them to make a staff. Then, he removed from the half-moon shaped compartment by the side, a similar half-moon shaped blade. The blade’s surface was large enough to be able to slice a person in half in a single stroke.
Could it be… the Death Scythe? The young master had used it before to lop off DSII’s head.
Dark Sun locked the blade and staff together, and the Death Scythe emerged, far taller than even the average person. He lifted the huge scythe and stood silently where he was. However, he gave off a strangely heavy pressure. Gasps kept on sounding throughout the surrounding crowd.
He said emotionlessly, “Leave. If you don’t, then either you die, or I die!”
X however, laughed. His laughter was both sorrowful and strong. “If you could kill me, I might even feel grateful toward you!”
The moment the word ”you” sounded, X’s blood ability exploded greatly. He concentrated a huge amount of his blood on both hands and morphed them into a pair of gigantic, dense black, blood claws.
Neither of them wasted any more words. They stared at each other… and kicked off at the same time, finally starting their head-on confrontation.
Two shadows flew across from opposing sides and met in the middle. The Death Scythe clashed against the pair of claws with a deep bang, as though serving as the opening gong for the impending battle…
They started fighting. X may have had an edge speed-wise, but Dark Sun seemed to be far more powerful, making up for the difference in their speed. The scythe’s metallic sheen and the blood claws’ dense black raged back and forth, both parties unyielding. Every time scythe met claw, dust and small stones would fly from the ground.
But it’s a tarred road…
First Wind, still being supported by me, reverently breathed, “Good heavens, is this a battle between monsters?”
I fervently agreed. In all my one hundred fifty years, among all the battles between non-humans and humans, this duel was far more… far more like a battle between monsters!
Witnessing this duel, even the crowd who loved a good show kept on backing away. Even the reporters did not dare to go too near the two of them, and I myself could not help backing away a few steps.
First Wind praised me with a pale face, “Great idea! If I get hit again, I may really die.”
Bang bang!
I froze. What is this sound? Gunshots?
Suddenly, X slipped and fell. Dark Sun took the opportunity to sprint forward, raising the Death Scythe up high, preparing to slash downwards…
I could no longer attend to First Wind. I loosened my hold and sped forward at the upper limits of my speed. Then, I spread my arms, putting myself between X and Dark Sun… the gigantic Death Scythe stopped just in front of my face. The wind from its swish even moved my hair.
Only then did I realize that I had broken out in a cold sweat. I looked straight at Dark Sun, unable to say a word for the longest time. Earlier, I had just begged X not to kill Dark Sun. Now, the situation was completely reversed.
“Young… Dark Sun, please do not kill him.”
We were on the street. Although it was night time, the moon was so bright it was as if it were a giant light bulb in the sky illuminating the entire world.
In the sky, the thunder of the helicopter’s propellers whirred incessantly. The crowd formed circle after circle around us, but no one made a single sound. They only stared silently.
Dark Sun stood right in front of me, wearing his usual red and black outfit. He carried the Death Scythe in his hands, whereas I was completely unarmed as I stood opposing him. More precisely, I was obstructing his path.
He opened his mouth slightly but did not say a single word. I could understand however, that the media was hurriedly taking pictures and video-taping not too far away. This equated to the whole world watching, so of course he could not say anything.
“Step aside,” he finally demanded, even though I believed that this was not what he really wanted to say the most.
I could only keep on pleading. “Please do not kill him!”
“Endelis, don’t you interfere!” Behind me, X shouted angrily.
I smiled bitterly. How could I leave behind X, who is both a father and brother to me?
Maybe this time, I may really have to fight with the young master. If I attacked him, I am afraid I would no longer be able to continue serving the young master as his butler. Even if the young master did not mind, I would not be able to shamelessly allow myself to continue working as the young master’s butler after such an insubordinate act.
Dark Sun looked at me, like he did not know how to respond. Maybe I should strike first, so that the young master would no longer need to be troubled by this?
Ring ring…
“…”
Exactly who is calling me at a time like this?
Ring ring… ring…
And so determinedly at that.
“You can receive the call.” Dark Sun tilted his head slightly and said, “I won’t attack the person behind you in the meantime.”
“Thank you.” I lowered my spread-out arms and retrieved my cell phone. “h.e.l.lo! Can you please call back later? I am busy right now…”
“Press the loudspeaker.”
I started, recognizing Melody’s voice, then obeyed her and pressed the loudspeaker.
“LIKE h.e.l.l YOU’RE BUSY!!“
I hurriedly stretched my arms out to get the cell phone away from me, but it was still a little too late. The sudden explosive roar still hurt my eardrums…
The voice from the cell phone continued shouting using a vampire’s hollow roar. “Who allowed you to fight against Dark Sun? You pathetic vampire who can’t even utilize your own blood ability properly would dare to stand against him? Even if you don’t care for your life, at least consider his dignity; fighting against you is an absolute disgrace, do you even realize that?”
Hahahaha… Behind me, X started roaring in laughter. Before me, even Dark Sun’s lips twitched upward.
Melody, could you not have just chewed me out in private? It felt as if my face were burning.
Melody continued scolding me for quite a while before finally calming down and saying, “I investigated the hunting of heroes. Their target isn’t the Four Great Heroes. They actually just want First Wind.”
I gave a weak smile and said, “We already know about that.”
“Wait a minute, I don’t…”
A weak voice sounded. I turned my head and saw First Wind sitting on the floor, face even paler than before. Seeing him so weak, I felt extremely apologetic. That sudden fall must have worsened his injuries.
Melody explained, “First Wind especially hates drug-related crimes, so most of his captures are related to drug dealers. However, those in charge of the drugs are real honest-to-goodness mafia bosses. They definitely won’t be like the average small-time criminals, thinking that they’re unlucky just because they got caught by heroes. Therefore, they want to murder First Wind to prevent him from getting in the way all the time.”
“They contacted me, wanting me to kill First Wind in exchange for information on my enemy.” X eyed First Wind. “So can you die with all your questions answered now?”
First Wind smiled. “If possible, I still would rather not die.”
Melody snapped coldly, “X, you’ve been tricked! The person who’s been using Cornell’s whereabouts to hire you to murder First Wind is Cornell himself! Cornell is the behind the scenes boss of the western district; First Wind disrupted his drug deals numerous times already. He’s been longing to get rid of First Wind, and it was a great coincidence that you were after him. So he decided to let the two of you destroy each other. In the end, no matter who came out the victor, he would take the opportunity to kill the survivor.”
I was speechless. What exactly is going on?
I looked at X. He had a steely expression. After a period of silence, he suddenly called out. “Dark Sun.”
Dark Sun turned his head to look at him, confused, “Is something the matter?”
“Do you have people hiding close by, and did you order them to snipe me just now?”
Dark Sun’s voice was puzzled. “I don’t have anyone stationed and fired no shots.”
X stood up, digging out something from his legs with his hands. When he splayed his palms before us, two long bullets were cradled in them. They were armor-piercing bullets.
So I really had heard gunshots earlier? And X fell down because he got hit?
“Silver bullets used against vampires!” X’s expression turned furious. He roared at the sky using the vampire’s hollow roar. “Cornell! How dare you deceive me!”
Screaming at the heavens when you have no idea how many people are in hiding and targeting you, seems not to be an intelligent thing to do…
“What an idiot! As expected of someone you would know.” Melody said mercilessly. “Hurry up and get Dark Sun and First Wind away from there. The enemy has probably realized that you guys know the truth by now…”
Before Melody finished her words, I heard the light click of a gun and hurriedly turned and dove at X, using my blood ability to shield both of our bodies. Just as the shield was formed, I immediately felt the impact of the bullets on the blood shield.
Dark Sun yelled at the crowd, “Everyone, leave immediately and head inside the closest building!”
A flurry of gunshots sounded the moment he finished speaking. The formerly quiet crowd began shrieking and stampeding toward the nearest building.
Dark Sun shouted again, “DSII! Get First Wind to where X is!”
DSII’s engine revved up, and he made a sharp turn while accelerating. He sped to First Wind’s side and loudly complained, “I wish I could protect Dragon Peace instead.”
First Wind did not climb aboard the bike but instead grabbed onto its side, letting it guide him along, using the bike to block most of the bullets.
Once First Wind was brought to my side, he looked curiously at DSII and asked, “You can talk? And you prefer Dragon Peace…” Following that, he mocked himself, “My little brother likes Dragon Peace, now even a bike likes him, can’t anyone like me instead?”
DSII comforted him, “Melody likes you!”
“Melody?”
“The girl speaking over the cell phone just now was Melody.”
While the two of them were talking, I leaned down, picked up a bullet, and realized that these bullets were all specialized silver bullets made to take down vampires. It looked like Cornell was far more interested in killing X than anyone else.
I turned to look at X. He had buried his face in both hands, and looked extremely distraught. I sighed. X, you had better hurry up and pull yourself together; my blood ability is not something to be trusted.
Just then, Dark Sun whirled about, using his nimbleness and the Death Scythe to dodge or deflect the bullets. After making sure that all the civilians had safely ducked into buildings, he stepped back to join us.
Halfway to us, he suddenly started accelerating and yelled, “Up your defense to its maximum!”
Hearing that, I immediately released all my blood ability. At the same time, he slid over, slamming the Death Scythe’s blade before First Wind. That was still not enough, so he even used his own body to shield First Wind.
Then, I saw the reason for Dark Sun’s sudden anxiety. A missile appeared before my eyes. Then, it blasted apart.
Bright light exploded… A huge noise deafening anyone nearby…