Eclipse Hunter - Volume 1 - Chapter 6

"Should I buy Japanese or Greek cuisine?" "This is not the most pressing issue at the moment, Solaris Emperor." "Oh?" Devon Solaris perused the long menu in his hand, wondering which of the two his little brother would prefer for dinner. "What is the most pressing issue at the moment then, Bill?" The solemn secretary flipped through his events list and reported evenly, "Solaris Emperor, my name is Kyle, and the most pressing issue now is to reply to the terrorist's demands. Although an explosion would not affect this special office, many of our staff would be hurt; the company would then descend into stagnation and our reputation would be severely damaged." "Oh? Isn't this something that the security personnel should sort out?" Devon raised an eyebrow, slightly displeased, "What are the security guards doing? First they lock me in here, not allowing me to go home, and now they can't even handle the situation? Tell the highest security executive to come see me!" "The highest security executive was shot dead when he was activating the emergency lock down button for your office. I'm afraid he is unable to see you," Kyle said calmly as he typed "Searching for a Security Executive" in the vacancy section on his iPad. "Oh?" Devon's eyes never left the menu. He then thought of something and said, "Remember to publicise it when we compensate the executive's family. Don't let the media run a story calling me a bloodless, tearless vampire." Kyle paused in his typing, and threw a strange glance at Devon. Cold-blooded, heartless Solaris Emperor..... this is already well known to the public. As his personal assistant, Kyle could definitely attest to the claim that the Solaris Emperor was irrefutably cold-blooded and heartless. Losing an employee only meant the delay of a work process, not the loss of a life. But people were still willing to work for the Solaris Emperor because of a few perks: his generous salary and bonuses, comprehensive welfare benefits, and a fair reward and punishment system. The executive who had selflessly activated the emergency lock down button probably knew that even if he died, the compensation would be enough to feed his family for a few generations, especially since he was protecting the life of the Solaris Emperor himself. Kyle made a few calculations. The compensation will at least be in the tens of millions. "Kyle?" Devon asked impatiently after not having received a reply. "Yes, I understand," Kyle responded promptly as he realised he was spacing out. But he was still baffled. Solaris Emperor had never been concerned about his own reputation. Even when he was painted as a bloodless, tearless vampire, he never had any inclination to dispel any misconceptions, so why was he now......? Mm, didi must be hearing a lot of rumours outside. I can't be a bad example to didi. Devon put serious thought into building his image as a good person. Kyle's attention was drawn to the news report on his iPad. After watching it for awhile, he heaved a sigh. Looks like today's matter won't be settled without a few thousand deaths. Kyle felt pity for these people. The reporter said, "Solaris Emperor, the terrorists are giving you an hour. If you aren't out by then, the entire building will be destroyed." "Is that so?" Devon Solaris frowned. A difficult situation had emerged, just when he had made up his mind to be a good example. Logically, he should not care about it and just stay in the specially constructed office where he would remain unharmed. Besides, if he were to really die, the resulting global financial crisis would be the real disaster...... However, thousands of lives were currently hanging in the balance. Devon massaged his temples saying, "Alright, I'll go out." As expected, he cares only for his own life... Kyle thought absentmindedly. Wait a second, what did he just say? He hastily mumbled, "Begging your pardon, Solaris Emperor, but could you perhaps repeat what your decision was?" Devon raised an eyebrow. "I said, I will go out." Kyle gaped. Although he reserved some criticism for the Solaris Emperor's indifference, he didn't really wish for him to head out. If the Solaris Emperor were to lose his life... It would be no joke, the entire world's economy would be in turmoil - the extent of the aftermath would be truly devastating. "No Sir, you can't go out there! It's too dangerous! If anything were to happen to you, the entire economy would collapse!" Kyle loudly protested as he hastily stood up. Devon was already standing and waved dismissively. "Don't worry, aren't they just terrorists? Just give them all the money they want. Even if they were hired by my enemies, I am confident I can give them ten times the amount and change their loyalties at the last moment." "But, but..." Kyle protested, still worried. "Kyle..." Devon abruptly turned around to ask, "Do you have a younger brother?" "Eh? No, I don't..." Kyle stared with wide eyes. Today, it seemed as if something was not quite right with the Solaris Emperor. Not only was his behaviour completely out of character, he was also asking about irrelevant things at this crucial moment. "Sometimes, for the sake of the younger brother, the older brother has no choice but to commit foolish acts." Devon smiled briefly. "Just stay here. When I'm not around, the Solaris Federation will depend on you to keep it functioning." "I understand," Kyle said, feeling moved for the first time. This was the leader of the Solaris Federation, his leader. Devon pressed the release button to the office and slowly stepped out... On the streets, a hovercraft bike was racing past, weaving in and out between cars. The rider was heading straight for the nearby skyscraper. In truth, this was the tallest building in Asia, one of five head quarters belonging to the Solaris Federation. The rider stopped before he neared the building; there were too many civilians and too much media coverage. If he were to charge into the skyscraper in front of the media, the terrorists would be the first to realise. Even the the most dim-witted, third-rate thief knew to use the seamless media coverage to monitor police movements and the situation outside. "Oh! My god! Dark Sun, your stupid idiot brother actually walked out of the office. Get up there quick - they look like they are planning to abduct him from the roof." Theodore Avery's agitated voice sounded from the ear piece which he had prepared specially for Dark Sun. Theodore was in charge of monitoring the current situation and relaying it to Daren so that he could make the optimal judgement. Dark Sun briefly noted his surroundings. Since the skyscraper in question was the tallest among the surrounding structures, he would be unable to gain direct access to the roof via a neighbouring building. In that case, he would have to resort to a different method. Dark Sun swerved his hoverbike to a halt beside a building closest in height to his target and swiftly entered the building, ascending via the elevator to the top floor. It was a couple of levels below the roof, but this slight difference in height was hardly an obstacle for what he was about to attempt. "Did you make a reservation, Sir?" The waiter approached dutifully. This was a high class restaurant, but the customer before him was wearing an exceptionally unusual yet simple, fitted top, with trousers tucked into his long boots. He was also disregarding basic etiquette by wearing his shades indoor. However, the waiter noticed that although this patron's clothes looked casual, the workmanship was intricate, the material of fine quality, and the boots handmade from a renowned brand. "Is there a big window from which you can see that building over there?" Dark Sun asked. The waiter, assuming that Dark Sun only wanted a window seat, replied courteously, "Of course, this way please." The waiter led Dark Sun before a full length window. A simple square table was placed before it. The waiter gracefully pulled out the seat for Dark Sun, but the latter seemed to have no intention of sitting down. The smile froze on the waiter's face, unsure of this patron's intentions. Dark Sun looked out the window, this was certainly a good position. The building was tall enough, and coincidentally was in the shadow cast by his target. This would hide his silhouette from the spectators below. Steel wings. Activate! The malleable steel seeped from his bone marrows, forming the frame of his wings. Two pieces of feather-like steel pierced through his shirt bilaterally. Like a fledgling spreading its wings in fast forward, the steel feathers fanned out. In hardly a minute, wings spanning 6 metres had emerged from Daren's back. "A... an... angel!" The waiter stumbled and fell backwards in shock, staring blankly at the winged patron. Dark Sun turned around and gave an emotionless smile. "Wrong. I'm a demon." The waiter continued to stare witlessly at those wings and realised that the seemingly soft feathers had become razor sharp. Is he really a demon? Dark Sun lunged towards the window and smashed through the full length glass panel... Waiters and others rushed towards the commotion... All they saw was a demon flying in the pale blue sky with an ethereal beauty. "Interesting...... you're really not accepting my suggestion?" Devon was slightly perturbed, but he still maintained his carefree appearance. To think that these people were completely unmoved despite the numerous lucrative conditions he had offered to undermine their relationship with their employers. Nothing seemed to be working, a fact that greatly surprised Devon. Traversing the business world from a tender age had earned Devon quite a few achievements. Debating, compromising, undermining were akin to breathing for him. Even a seasoned old hand could not escape from his grasp, so why was this small group of terrorists so persistent? "Move!" A few hoodlums roughly dragged Devon along. "Don't touch me!" Devon roared in fury, the majesty of the Solaris Emperor flaring up. He laughed coldly, " You don't have the qualifications to touch me. I can walk by myself." He shook off the terrorist's arm and walked with regal grace towards the helicopter. "What's that?" asked one of the terrorists when he noticed a suspicious object in the sky. It was hard to tell what it was. It seemed like a bird but was too big to be one. He didn't need to think much further since the flying object in question seemingly withdrew its wings and plunged vertically downwards, landing heavily on the roof. Daren Solaris left a deep footprint on the concrete where he landed. Devon was a little surprised. He turned around to see what could have "fallen" onto the rooftop of the country's tallest skyscraper... A human? He blinked. Isn't that silhouette somewhat familiar? The terrorists were struck dumb. They were unable to comprehend how a human could just fall from the sky. "Who are you? Get away from that man!" The terrorist shouted, his massive machine gun already raised. The other terrorists, sensing the situation, raised their weapons as well. "Get on the helicopter," Dark Sun muttered to Devon. "D-" Dar!? Devon abruptly stopped himself from completing the name, as he recognised his little brother. Why is Dar here? "Hurry up!" Dark Sun growled, turning his head slightly. Devon frowned but climbed into the helicopter as instructed. But isn't this the terrorists' helicopter? The terrorists were probably thinking the same thing and hence did not bother stopping Devon from getting in. But the moment Devon climbed inside, Dark Sun slammed the door shut, and broke the handle. He then whipped out his gun from the holster and killed the pilot to prevent the helicopter from taking off. But the show was just starting. Dark Sun had asked his brother to enter the helicopter because its bullet proof material and could protect him from stray bullets. He had also destroyed the handle to prevent the terrorists from seizing Devon, and last but not least... Dar!? Devon pounded the bullet proof glass of the helicopter and pulled on the door with all his might, but it had been jammed shut by Dark Sun and was impossible to release. …to prevent gege from rushing out to protect him... Dark Sun silently laughed at the thought. Excluding Devon Solaris, there were twenty odd terrorists and Dark Sun remaining on the roof. Watching Dark Sun execute the pilot infuriated the gang and since their target was somewhere safe, they no longer had any restrictions. The nearest muscular terrorist roared as he sprayed bullets at Dark Sun from his heavy machine gun. Dark Sun revealed a mirthless smile as he rapidly dodged the onslaught. The ground was pockmarked from the gunfire, but not a single bullet had touched Dark Sun. Dark Sun was aware that the ultimate strategy for fighting a mass of people was to create confusion. He dashed speedily among the terrorists, causing a few to fire reflexively. The shots missed Dark Sun and instead hit their own. Soon enough quite a few people were lying on the ground groaning. "Stop! Stop!" one of them yelled, recognising the unfavourable situation. Realizing that they were harming their own, they quickly ceased fire. It was a pointless move because Dark Sun did not allow them any time to strategise. He immediately protracted razor sharp steel claws and with only a few swipes, people soundlessly crumpled to the floor. Everyone was shocked. Some started shooting at Dark Sun again, but he dodged behind one of the terrorists, directing all fire at the unsuspecting human shield. Once his human shield was riddled with holes, Dark Sun would dodge behind another person. If the terrorists ceased fire, Dark Sun simply went on the offensive; the flash of his steel claws became the stuff of nightmares. Within moments, there were only ten left standing. The terrorists ceased fire once again, but this time when Dark Sun made a swiped at a throat all he cut was air. This was the first time he had made a mistake since leaving the laboratory. If he were the emotionless android that he had been before, he would not have had any reaction other than to follow up with another attack. However, now that his emotional switch was activated, he was slightly taken aback. During this brief period of hesitation, the terrorist had turned around and with a swift slash, which Dark Sun was unable to avoid completely, opened a gash on his arm. Dark Sun paid no attention to his wound, but instead fixed his gaze on his attacker. The opponent was wielding a kris. It's blade was curved like a snake in motion and created a larger wound than a regular dagger. Among the ten remaining, five of the terrorists discarded their guns in favour of various exotic weapons. There was a pair of ancient katara, a massive morning star, a flail with an extremely long chain, a scythe and a double-headed battle axe. It was just like a weapon exhibit. Dark Sun became grim. There was something amiss. In normal circumstances, modern hoodlums were only armed with guns and maybe an additional dagger. Yet here were five people wielding weapons which could only be found in exhibitions. In addition, the vibe that these people were emitting was different from the garden variety of hoodlums. However, Dark Sun was unable to pinpoint exactly what it meant. While he was contemplating these oddities, the five lunged forwards. The foremost was the double-headed axe wielder with bulging muscles. The steel claws were too fine to block heavy weapons of this kind. Dark Sun decided to dodge the blows of the axe and opted to target his opponent's weaknesses instead. Dark Sun nimbly spun on his leg, avoiding the swing of the axe while moving close to the attacker. The fatal claws were mere millimeters from the terrorist's throat when the kris arced towards Dark Sun's hand forcing him to withdraw rapidly. Sensing the danger approaching from behind, he hastily turned in time to narrowly avoid the morning star brushing against his arm. He realized that the three people surrounding him had skills above par. Their coordination and team work were admirable and put him at a great disadvantage. He retreated a few steps, as he considered using his gun to resolve the situation. Before he could act upon it, he felt a strong killing intent from behind. He reflexively spun on his leg as the katara almost stabbed his chest. In a flash, Dark Sun grabbed the blade of the katara with both hands. His strength kept the terrorist stock still. Although, both his hands were occupied with grasping the weapon, Dark Sun was not troubled. He raised his right leg and solidly kicked the terrorist, sending him flying five metres away. Most people would immediately go unconscious after receiving such a kick. "Agh!" Dark Sun's right arm was suddenly clobbered. He remembered then that there was another long range flail wielder. His thirst for blood unquenched by the successful sneak attack, the man struck again. However, this time Dark Sun was prepared. There was no way he was going to let this terrorist get away with it a second time. He latched onto the flail with unerring accuracy, and began rotating it in order to fling the terrorist away. By then, the other three terrorists had reappeared. Brandishing their weapons, they launched intense attacks. The steel claws alone were insufficient for fending off these weapons. In addition, it was difficult to win with speed alone when surrounded by four opponents. Dark Sun felt pressured for the first time. No! Dark Sun felt something was off kilter. Even at a battle school like Yelan Academy he could defeat so many with his speed, there was no reason for him to feel pressured in a fight with only five people. While he was blocking the blows, he began analysing with his microchip. Within the exchanges of a few blows, he analysed that the speed and strength of these five people were three times that of a normal person. Strength can indeed be increased exponentially with intense training. But increasing speed was no simple matter. It was possible to increase one's speed by 50%. However, to be three times faster than normal… one would require a talent found in only one in million. How could there be five of them together at the same place? The present circumstances did not permit Dark Sun further rumination. He could only note down his suspicions and continue battling the five curious individuals. Soon enough the assassin that had been kicked aside stood up and rejoined the fray, causing Dark Sun's position to become even more unfavourable. Although he was inflicting damage on his opponents, wounds gradually accumulated on Dark Sun's body. The worst injury was the initial wound inflicted by the flail which was impeding the movements of his right arm. For someone who relied on intricate movements and superhuman speed like Dark Sun, it was a severe problem. "Didi! Didi!" Seeing his little brother injured, Devon picked up a small fire extinguisher and repeatedly bashed it against the bullet proof window with all his might. However, the helicopter window was so thick that it could not be shattered. But even then Devon refused to give up, and continued bashing it violently... Ring ring... Devon paused and looked towards his mobile phone. He originally wanted to ignore the ringing, but the ring tone indicated that it was from home. The only person who would call from home would be Theodore Avery. Devon paused and answered the phone. "Devon?" It was indeed Theodore's voice. "You!" Devon roared in anger, "Why did you let Dar come? Do you know he's hurt?" "Eh… I know. But that's not the crux. Dark Sun wanted me to deliver weapons. I am already in the building, but was stopped by the policemen. Think of a solution quickly, or Dark Sun will receive even more severe injuries." Upon hearing that, Devon dialed Secretary Kyle's number without hesitation.

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