No Hero

No Hero Volume 3: Non-Human Killer

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)

Human, Non-Human Killer Chapter 10: Non-Humans and Humans Together, Raise Their Heads and Believe—translated by Raylight (proofread by Trespa.s.serby, Rose, C/E edited by Doza, lucathia)

June 3, 2110, Drizzling

I was fired.

I thought that the little young master… Once again, I had showered someone with unwanted affection.

“Melody-jiě” was just a way of addressing me.

Hateful, it’s just so hateful! What’s the meaning of firing me with tears in your eyes? You’re undoubtedly the one who wanted to fire me; don’t make it look like I’m the one leaving you!

Little Young Master… What are you doing now? Are you still crying? No, right?

Mr. Stone flew over the building swinging his claw, knocking down a large section of the railing on the rooftop, along with slabs of concrete. The debris fell to the ground and made a loud crash. Although no one was injured, it became the gong for the war to begin.

Black shadows started pouring in from all directions, attacking any human who held a weapon. Those with stronger firepower were targeted first, so the Church naturally bore the brunt of the attacks, followed closely by the police.

Naturally, neither group would sit obediently and let itself be attacked. Everyone began fighting back with their ma.s.sive firepower. In that moment, the scene really looked like a battlefield. Gunshots and explosions sounded non-stop, interwoven with screams and cries of agony. Occasionally, even rocks and gla.s.s from broken windows fell from the sky.

In the chaos, Yue Gang, with his gun in one hand, grabbed the young master with his other. He called out to Melody and me, “Quick, come with me!”

I shouted at him hurriedly, “Yue Gang, do not bother with us. Get the police to retreat immediately! They must not open fire on the non-humans!”

Yue Gang looked stunned. I grabbed hold of both his shoulders and screamed into his ear, “Make the police retreat now!”

Yue Gang froze for a moment and then turned around and yelled, “Retreat! Protect the civilians and retreat! Do not open fire! Let’s go!”

This is good… The non-humans were not specifically targeting the police or civilians, as long as neither was attacking them. I doubted that the non-humans would want to turn the city into a ghost town. The non-humans who had chosen to live here would absolutely not want to destroy the place they called home.

As of the moment, there was nothing more we could do. It would be best to leave quickly.

“Where is the young master?”

Melody rolled her eyes at me and said unhappily, “Didn’t you see him being dragged away by Yue Gang? He probably wanted to take the young master with him as they retreated! Let’s go… Ah!”

Melody looked behind me, and her expression morphed into shock. I immediately turned to look. A battle between a non-human and a Church member was blocking the path of Yue Gang and the young master. At the same time, numerous rocks were falling from the sky… Yue Gang turned around and hugged the young master, trying to use his body to shield him.

If it were only the young master, he might accept getting injured to conceal his ident.i.ty. However, Yue Gang was there. He definitely would not let someone next to him get injured, or even worse, die for the sake of not revealing himself.

As expected, the young master raised both hands up high, preparing to deflect the rocks… and also preparing to reveal his ident.i.ty as Dark Sun.

In the next second, the rocks were intercepted. However, it was not by the young master’s hands! It is…

Dragon Peace! He used his entire back to shield them from the rocks in the young master’s stead.

The young master looked shocked. He stared at Dragon Peace with his head raised, as though he were about to say something. Thankfully, Dragon Peace cut him off before he could say anything. He picked up the young master and Yue Gang, and with a few large strides, caught up to the retreating policemen and civilians. After he threw them both into the retreating crowd, he marched back into the fray.

However, he seemed to be at a loss as to what to do next. He looked at the chaotic battle between the Church and the non-humans, seemingly torn between which side to join.

I empathized with his plight. I did not know what to do either. Apart from allowing the non-humans and the Church members to fight it out until someone from either side took the initiative to retreat, there seemed to be no end in sight… But by then, how many corpses will litter this plaza?

Must non-humans and humans fight until only corpses remain before they are willing to let the other side go?

“Charles!”

Melody’s shout called me back to my senses. I focused my vision and noticed two bullets. I could even tell that they were explosive bullets. Once they hit an object, they would explode into fragments. They were one of the most lethal types of bullets to humans. With a tiny slide step, I moved a mere ten centimeters to the side, allowing the bullet to harmlessly fly past me.

“Wow!” Melody gasped in admiration, but then asked in suspicion, “Did you dodge a bullet just now? How could you be so fast… Or did you not move at all, and the bullet’s trajectory was merely off?”

Before I could answer, Dragon Peace rushed over with leaps and bounds to shield Melody and me from more bullets.

“Thank you.” I thanked him sincerely, not only for blocking the bullets but also for protecting the young master earlier, so he did not have to reveal his ident.i.ty as Dark Sun.

While covering us, he lowered his head to ask, “What should we do?”

I looked up at Dragon Peace and said with an indifferent smile, “This time, even the heroes cannot resolve this. You do not have to be bothered about it. Neither the Church nor the non-humans are innocent civilians.”

Dragon Peace kept his head lowered to look at me. His tone seemed disapproving when he said, “This is Sunset City.”

This is Sunset City? I felt a little perplexed, but I could still understand that Dragon Peace did not wish to be a bystander. Therefore, I suggested, “Then, let us go and help the civilians retreat first.” Although there should not be many civilians left.

Dragon Peace thought for a moment and nodded his head. However, just as we were about to go around searching for civilians, a thunderous roar suddenly came from the sky.

“Stop, all of you!”

Dragon Peace and I stopped simultaneously and raised our heads toward the source of the voice… Dark Sun was standing on the roof of a building, his silver hair shining beneath the moonlight. He was not alone; First Wind was standing beside him, his cape fluttering in the night wind.

Anceo immediately roared, “Look now, that boy has nothing to do with angels. He is Dark Sun!”

“Nonsense!”

I looked over and realized that Yue Gang had run back, dragging the young master by the hand. The young master looked very afraid, and tears were even rolling down his cheeks. Yue Gang shouted at me unhappily, “What are you doing? Waiting for death here? Your brother was being noisy about coming back for you!”

Dark Sun and the young master appeared at the same time?

“Dark Sun should be DSII right?” Melody whispered.

I looked at the crying young master and then at Dark Sun on the rooftop and shook my head in disagreement. “No, I do not believe so. I do not know when he switched, but…”

“Dark Sun is the young master.” Melody continued, muttering, “The little young master would never pick the boring side. He would rather fight until he is covered in blood than stand on the sidelines obediently.”

“Dragon Peace!” Dark Sun shouted down, “Defeat the non-humans!”

Dragon Peace raised his head to look at Dark Sun and First Wind. He roared in reply and started attacking the closest non-humans… excluding Melody and me, of course.

Dark Sun squatted down, picked up a rocket launcher at his feet, and took aim at the plaza below.

“What is the young master planning?” Melody shouted in shock, “He’s not trying to bomb all of the humans and non-humans here together, is he?!”

No, the young master definitely would not do that. However, what exactly is he planning?

At this moment, a pair of giant bat wings appeared behind Dark Sun. Dark Sun merely turned his head slightly and simultaneously pushed First Wind away. Instead, he himself was sent flying from the roof by Mr. Stone. He did not open his wings, but continually grabbed onto things within his reach to break his fall down to the plaza.

Mr. Stone still refused to let him go. Once again, he flew over and hurtled down at top speed, wanting to stomp him to death with his feet. With a roll, Dark Sun avoided the attack. However, his situation was still perilous as Mr. Stone continued attempting to stomp on him.

“Hero of humans, I forbid you to hurt non-humans! Scram! This battle has nothing to do with you.”

Dark Sun rolled left and right, constantly evading his attacks. However, he refused to let go of the rocket launcher in his hands. Finding an opening, he seized it and leaped. He immediately followed with a slide step and sidestepped some distance away from Mr. Stone’s feet, then turned to look at him.

Mr. Stone froze and asked, “You are a vampire?”

“Whether I am human or non-human is not important.” Dark Sun coldly replied, “I merely wish to stop this foolish war.”

Mr. Stone opened his eagle beak wide and screeched, “It’s the Church who started the battle first. They stepped onto our territory and attacked the non-humans!”

“Indeed.” Dark Sun lifted the rocket launcher. He did not take aim, but merely fired at random, both near his feet and far away. Strange bullets the size of fists were shot out continually, but they did not explode. Instead, they erupted into large clouds of white smoke.

“Therefore, they have to pay a price. However, their crimes were not lethal, thus the price to be paid cannot be death.”

After Dark Sun finished speaking, he threw away the rocket launcher in his hands and began attacking the non-humans. However, he was weaponless and actually fought barehanded against the non-humans. On top of that, he was even using slide steps to move around constantly.

His slide steps had evidently confused Mr. Stone, who seemed unable to determine whether he was human or non-human.

At this point, the Church members started coughing loudly, and their tears flowed non-stop. It seemed that they had practically lost their ability to fight.

What exactly happened? I was extremely puzzled.

“It’s tear gas.”

I froze and looked to the side. At first, I did not recognize who had spoken because of the strange mask on his face. However, right after that, I recognized from his attire that he was First Wind.

“Vampires are not afraid of tear gas, right? Good. I only have one gas mask.” First Wind’s voice came from behind the mask, sounding especially strange. He continued, “The tear gas will take care of the Church, and we will deal with the non-humans. In short, beat up both sides! That is what Dark Sun said.”

Melody and I glanced at each other and said at the same time, “Agreed! We will help out too.”

First Wind nodded and said, “However, you have to follow me first. Solitary b.u.t.terfly is sniping targets from afar… Don’t worry, the projectiles are just strong tranquilizers. I’ve heard that they’re also very effective against non-humans. Thus, we have to let her see that you are comrades, so she won’t shoot the two of you down.”

I quickly nodded my head and followed First Wind. He no longer held his extremely lethal energy whip, but a single tonfa. He grasped the tonfa in his left hand and started his attack against the non-humans.

“Dark Sun said that he can dislocate their joints with his bare hands and rob them of their ability to battle. Therefore, he does not need any weapons. When the battle ends, he will help those non-humans reconnect their joints.”

As he spoke, First Wind jumped up and hit the back of a werewolf’s head with his tonfa, knocking him unconscious. He continued helplessly, “However, I am unable to do that. So, I can only say sorry to these non-humans and give them a large b.u.mp on their heads. Hopefully none of them will get concussions.”

“It is, at least, better than encountering Dragon Peace,” I said with a stifled laugh. Dragon Peace was a lot rougher than First Wind. He would usually throw a punch or a kick and send the opponent flying. Not only would their heads swell, they might even break a bone or two.

“That is true.”

First Wind nodded, spun beautifully, and dodged an attack from a non-human. The non-human turned around, wanting to pursue First Wind. However, he was smacked on the back of the head by Melody. Still, he struggled to try and get back on his feet, but Melody grabbed his hair and whispered fiercely in his ear, “This old lady here is Melody, an eighth generation vampire. I’ll see if you dare to crawl back up!”

The non-human lay down obediently and stopped moving.

First Wind had just ended combat with another non-human. He turned around and, seeing how the non-human was already lying on the floor, praised Melody, “Well done!”

“Thank you,” Melody replied in a polite tone that I had never heard her use before. Her reply seemed a little coy as she asked, “Mr. First Wind, could I trouble you with something?”

“Of course,” First Wind smiled and answered. “Although I do not know what it is, how could I refuse a lady?”

Melody excitedly said, “When you are free later, could I have your autograph?”

“As you wish,” he answered with a smile.

I wonder, if Melody were to discover that First Wind is Ji Luo Chu, would she be angry to the point of murder? I remember her saying that she doesn’t need an autograph from someone she sees every day. Although she technically doesn’t meet with Ji Luo Chu every day, she does often accompany the young master to the studio for photo shoots…

Now is not the time to be bothered over such matters. I should go and deal with the other non-humans. After I called out to First Wind, I shot a glance at Melody. She seemed to have no intention of leaving and was asking First Wind bashfully, “I can’t defeat the non-humans on my own! Mr. First Wind, could I follow you?”

“Of course.”

“…” I decided not to comment and left, so as to keep myself from joining the non-humans lying on the ground.

I looked around for non-humans. Only then did I realize that actually, the majority of the non-humans were already crumpled on the ground. A large shadow caught my attention, even though he was not moving.

I walked up to Mr. Stone and raised my head to look at him. He was simply very majestic and beautiful. His eagle head was very heroic. At first glance, his feathers looked bluish-green. However, the color appeared to change under different lighting. As for his body, he had no feathers, but was covered with scales. The scales were golden, and they were all so polished that the surrounding scenery could be reflected off them. I could even see the battle happening behind me in those scales… However, even such beautiful scales could not reflect the likeness of a vampire.

He lowered his head and looked at me, as though his eagle eyes could see through everything. He called softly, “Charles Endelis.”

“Yes, Mr. Stone.”

“Do you truly believe that Dark Sun will stand with the non-humans and chase away the Church?”

“Dark Sun is a hero. Regardless of whether they are human or non-human, as long as they are willing to raise their heads and gaze into the sky, he will fly to the rescue of… anyone and anything that requires his help.” I paused for a moment, and added, “That includes you, Mr. Stone.”

“For the sake of finding E.X., the Church no longer cares about their means. They have even barged into Sunset City. Do you think that they will stop there?” Mr. Stone softly said, “Charles Endelis, the Church’s main target is you. You are the only non-human who knows E.X.”

I froze.

Mr. Stone continued, “Madam Sadina is my benefactor. I promised her that I would protect you, but I am unable to do so in the daytime. In the event that Dark Sun is unable to fend off the members of the Church, you would be taken away by the Church and used as a tool to capture E.X. Do you understand your position now?”

I fell silent for a moment. Turning around, I saw Dark Sun agilely grab hold of a non-human and dislocate all his joints. Once done, he went off in search of his next target.

I said sincerely, “If something like that really were to happen, then I will gaze into the sky and wait.”

Mr. Stone laughed involuntarily and said, “You really don’t feel like a vampire. No vampire would await rescue.”

I smiled. “I was raised by my honorable human father and have lived in a human household, the butler family, for over fifty years. Moreover, I have watched too many hero movies.”

“In the end, you’re even serving a hero.” Mr. Stone smiled as he said, “Charles Endelis, I am full of expectations as to what kind of changes you and the master you serve, who are both in-between human and non-human, will bring to this world. Sigh! I’m getting old. Let this old fellow go back to his rooftop and return to his comfortable life as a statue!”

“Thank you for your care, sir.” I gave my heartfelt thanks, and silently thanked my cousin Sadina as well. She always spoiled me too much.

Mr. Stone gave a cry skyward and then spread his wings and flew off.

Under the caress of the large gust of wind from Mr. Stone’s wings, I saw Dark Sun, First Wind, and Dragon Peace each using their own fighting styles to defeat the non-humans one by one. Occasionally, a non-human would fall down for no apparent reason. I believed that to be Solitary b.u.t.terfly’s work.

Regardless of whether they were human or non-human, they all fell to the ground. Once the fallen had filled the entire plaza, and virtually no one was standing, the policemen and civilians finally started returning. Abruptly, I remembered that I had to disguise myself as a human. I quickly rubbed my eyes and knelt on the ground, pretending to cough incessantly.

Melody walked to my side and without asking anything, joined my charade.

At this moment, a man wearing a gas mask dashed over. When he ripped off his mask, it turned out to be Yue Gang. He asked anxiously, “Are you okay? It’s only tear gas. Don’t worry… Okay! I know what you want to ask. I’ve already taken your little brother to a safe place!”

I faked two coughs. I was just about to speak when Yue Gang bent close to my ear and asked quietly, “Is the person beside you that fifth sister you spoke of? Why does she look a lot older than twenty? Ah! But she’s really beautiful, especially her figure, which is really top grade! If you have time, introduce us? I am older than her by eight years, but mature men are more dependable!”

Actually, Melody is approximately three hundred years older than you. Moreover, I do not think that a person who nearly starves himself to death on a regular basis can be called dependable.

On top of that, you’re asking me to introduce her to you with this kind of timing? I simply felt helpless at that and could only alert him, “Your comrades are looking at you.”

Yue Gang turned back and noticed the forty or so policemen glaring at him. He coughed several times and shouted loudly, “Surround them! Surround all of them!”

Hearing that, the policemen encircled the plaza with their weapons aimed at the humans and non-humans within the plaza.

“They are not human!” Anceo coughed as he roared. “This is very obvious now, right? You ought to kill them! Not us!”

No movement came from the policemen. Instead, they were looking toward the center of the plaza, where Dark Sun, First Wind, and Dragon Peace stood. Dark Sun did not even spare a glance at Anceo and merely told the many non-humans on the ground, “Those who promise not to fight anymore can leave this place.”

The non-humans looked shocked, as though they could not believe they were being spared. Defeat equaled death. That was practically the definition of defeat to the non-humans.

“You want to aid the non-humans?” Anceo nearly jumped up at that, and he yelled, “As expected, you are not human either! None of you policemen would follow his words? Right?”

Hearing that, hesitation appeared on the faces of the policemen.

“Sunset City is my city. I will help all who belong to it,” Dark Sun said in a low voice. “I am also certain that you all are not a part of Sunset City. You have brought a large quant.i.ty of weapons into Sunset City, and not only have you provoked the non-humans, you have also provoked the humans! The conditions that I will give you are the same as the ones given to the non-humans. Promise that you will not attack again and will return to the place you belong. Then you may leave.”

“If we don’t leave, what do you plan to do about it?” Anceo asked with a cold laugh. “Do you plan to kill us? Who do you think you are? Murder is a crime! Or has this city degraded to the point where murder is taken so lightly?”

The heroes remained silent. In particular, Dark Sun’s lips were pursed tightly. Perhaps he was recalling the fact that he was wanted precisely because of murder!

However, at that very moment, Yue Gang and all of the policemen behind him raised their weapons and aimed… at the Church.

Even the civilians watching from the sides dug out their weapons. Although they did not aim their weapons at the Church members, indignation and disgust were openly reflected in their eyes. They started cursing aloud.

“It was you guys who attacked Dark Sun last time. He is our hero!”

“Now you even dare to threaten our hero! d.a.m.n you, you all were obviously the ones who started shooting wildly!”

“You guys also made the angel cry!”

“You even bad-mouthed our Sunset City!”

“Who do you think you are? You think you’re so great just because you drove twenty black cars over?!”

The scene simply left me stunned. The non-humans lying on the ground were in a similar state. Whether they were vampires, werewolves, demons… They were all staring blankly at the enraged policemen and people around them.

Humans would actually stand on the side of non-humans, and not on the side of the Church, who are also human?

The scene also left Anceo fl.u.s.tered in shock. I doubted he had ever encountered humans siding with non-humans, opposing the Church. He nervously called out, “Yina, Yina! Tell them how those vampires mistreated you when you were captured!”

Yina was standing among the Church members. When Anceo called her, the others all backed away so that Anceo could see her clearly. However, Yina did not speak a single word. Instead, she kept sneaking peeks at Melody, but her expression showed no hatred.

I shot a glance at Melody, and she said quietly, “What are you looking at? Do you think I have a hobby of torturing people? When I captured her, she had plenty of food and sleep. I even taught her how to apply makeup and lent her my pretty clothes!”

I nearly broke out into laughter at that. So that’s what happened.

Melody said indifferently, “Rather, when I returned her, her comrades were all staring at her with suspicion. I guess they probably thought I had really turned her into my blood thrall.”

“She probably will not have a place in the Church anymore,” I lamented.

“What’s so bad about that?” Melody did not seem to mind at all as she said, “For a delicate and pretty girl like her, if she would just dress up a little, the number of people attempting to woo her could form a queue an entire street long. Staying in the Church is truly a waste!”

Hearing Melody say so, I felt that I had been foolish. Indeed, perhaps Yina could take the chance to find a broader sky.

It was just like how I had received setbacks one after another and experienced working under five employers who were all so horrible that I had no choice but to resign. In the end, I had practically given up and resorted to looking for an employer on the streets. Yet, if I had not done so, then how could I have met the young master?

I looked at Dark Sun. Now, what will he do?

The truth was that he had not moved, not even a single step. A motorcycle drove toward him, and on it was his Death Scythe. He a.s.sembled the weapon and raised it high.

The Hero Grim Reaper looked at the humans and non-humans lying all over the ground with his coldest and most heartless look.

“Scram or die! Make your choice.”

That is really not a very difficult choice to make, I thought.

Originally, things would not have ended there. The Church would not have given up looking for X, and I was one of the few friends that X had. Therefore, they would not have pulled out of Sunset City unless I had gone with them.

As long as the Church did not retreat from Sunset City, the non-humans definitely could not live there peacefully.

Even if the heroes were to join forces, it would not have been possible for them to deal with all of the miscellaneous conflicts that would continue between the Church and the non-humans. Everything would have stayed the same as it had been earlier, ending in a stalemate.

However, once a certain brother found out what had happened at the plaza, everything was stopped and put to rest.

After the young master finished listening to my explanation about how I was the main target of the Church, he contacted the secretary, Mr. Kyle. Through some kind of intricate and complex set of connections, we finally managed to arrange to meet with Anceo for negotiations.

At the start of the meeting, I clearly stated, “X is no longer in Sunset City and has not been here for quite a long period of time already. It is also impossible for you all to find where X has headed, for he has always just wandered wherever he pleases. You all have pursued him for over a thousand years, so you should understand that very well.”

Anceo froze.

Before he could speak, I quickly continued, “If my guess is correct that you plan to capture me to lure X out, please give up!”

I smiled. “Believe me, X could take eight to ten years to discover that I have been captured. However, it would take merely eight to ten days for the butler family to find out about it. They would resort to anything to force you all to let me go.”

Anceo coldly replied, “Do you think the Church is afraid of the butler family?”

“Naturally, I would not think so,” I smiled as I answered. “However, Madam Sadina is not a good target to provoke. I believe that you all have already known this for a long time. Is that not so?”

Anceo’s expression abruptly turned very ugly. However, in the next second, his gaze moved to the young master, and he threatened, “It’s best that you leave this vampire! Otherwise, sooner or later, we will find evidence to prove that you are Dark Sun. At that time…” He jeered icily.

In response, the young master laughed. When Anceo looked bewildered, the young master indifferently replied, “You can try. Then see what kind of trouble awaits you.”

Before Anceo could retort, his cell phone suddenly rang. He answered the call with furrowed brows and repeatedly answered “yes” in a polite tone. Evidently, the person calling was in a very high position. However, the strange thing was that Anceo’s face turned paler by the second.

At last, when he ended the call, he was practically expressionless. Stiffly, he stated, “All of the Church members will leave Sunset City within three hours. We will never come back.”

I looked at the young master, astonished. The young master was not surprised but merely smiled faintly.

Anceo looked at the young master, appearing conflicted. In the end, he did not say anything. He did not even give a goodbye and just turned and left.

After he walked several steps, the young master began conversing with me, “Charles, you said that Mr. Stone is a gargoyle, right? Would he hate it if I went to look for him? I really want to go and find him! He can fly! I want to go flying with him…”

“This is truly a sick place!”

Anceo suddenly turned and shouted angrily, “A sick city! Do you know what a gargoyle is? It’s a monster! To think that you can’t differentiate between humans and monsters. Even if you invited me back, I would never want to step into this dark city ever again!”

The young master looked at him, seemingly unable to comprehend why he was angry.

“I believe that this is the reason we like Sunset City.”

I told Anceo with a faint smile, “Humans who like to modify themselves until they do not look human, and non-humans who enjoy living in the bustling city. All of us are living together. Humans and non-humans are both residents of Sunset City, and we are all a part of Sunset City.”

There is still a large difference between non-humans and humans, like that of the sky and the earth. In Sunset City, however, both understand that the other is not a species that is completely impossible to understand, due to their common actions and hopes. When that understanding evolves further, they will be able to tolerate the other’s existence.

Perhaps one day, the boundary between humans and non-humans will cease to exist…

Raise your heads and believe. The hero will raise his hand, and under the gaze of both humans and non-humans, fly toward the skies.