Eclipse Hunter - Volume 4 - Chapter 5

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Lesson 5: Willfulness, apart from servitude.

Translator: Irid (contribution)

Editor: Arc, Lin, Laridae

The next day, Daren Solaris still didn’t manage to meet up with Ezart before school. However, he didn’t feel upset. This was because he had already found out, through Theodore Avery, that all of it had been arranged by his brother. His brother had sent men to inform Elian, Ezart and the others that they were to ignore Daren no matter what. 

In fact, all of this was for the sake of infuriating him, to force ‘Dar,’ who had been hiding behind Dark Sun, to reveal himself.

So despite not being able to meet Ezart today, Dar felt quite buoyant. He was in such a good mood that he felt like soaring.

“Okay! Let’s fly to school today!” Daren shouted loudly and with enthusiasm.

After making the decision to fly to school, Daren turned around and walked back into the house. He hugged Theodore and said, “Papa, I’m going to school.” 

“All right.” Theodore nodded his head and reminded him again, “Your brother hasn’t left for work yet this morning. Do you want to wake him up, and say bye to him now?” 

Daren’s expression tightened and he snapped angrily, “No! Ask Little Dar instead.” 

After saying that, he stormed indignantly toward the secret door in the living room and left.

Theodore Avery saw Dar off from the secret door. He did not tell Daren that even the issue of the Solaris Emperor liking DSII was false. Anyway, the Solaris Emperor really did treat DSII as Dar’s replacement before, so to say that he likes DSII is not necessarily false!

Retribution, this is retribution! Theodore drank his coffee while sighing in his heart, though he wore a smile on his face. 

“Has Dar already left for school?” 

Theodore nearly spat out the coffee he had in his mouth. After coughing several times, he quickly raised his head to answer, “Yes, that’s right!” 

Devon calmly leaned on the railing as he stared at Theodore. Theodore returned his gaze, intending to watch him go off to the study, as per usual, before heading back to his laboratory. Usually, Devon would turn around and return to the study directly, without sparing him a single glance.

However, today the Solaris Emperor’s attention seemed to linger on the poor little doctor. 

He continued to lean on the railing, his eyes still fixated on Theodore. Though his gaze wasn’t annoying, the world’s most powerful person was actually wasting his valuable time to stare at him… At least, Theodore couldn’t think of any other explanation, other than it being the calm before the storm. 

“Well...don’t you have to work today?” 

Theodore felt so unnerved at being stared at that his skin broke out in goosebumps and chills shot straight up his spine. However, the imposing Solaris Emperor was currently looking right at him, and so he didn’t dare turn around to return to his laboratory. For all he knew, he might be struck down once he had his back turned.

“Of course I have to. Recently, I’ve been worried about Dar’s issues. I haven’t been able to focus in the office, and work has piled up as high as a mountain.” 

Despite saying that, Devon Solaris didn’t move from the railing, with seemingly no intention of resolving the mountainous pile of work.

Seeing this, Theodore Avery summoned his courage to say, “Then, I’ll be returning to the laboratory first.” 

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Devon Solaris said with a faint smile, “You’ll still have enough time for experiments even after having breakfast with me, right?” 

Crazy, this is crazy! Devon has really gone crazy. 

It must be because he hasn’t seen Dar’s smile for so long that he turned crazy. Help! I still haven’t finished the experiment on Yue Baylian yet… No, no! I haven’t brought Yue Baylian ‘back to life’, so how could I just die like this!

Theodore Avery panicked. When he raised his head to look again, Devon Solaris was still leaning against the railing and looked down at him with a beautiful, God-like smile. 

Oh! Dar, your father has let you down...

He truthfully narrated, in detail, to the person above him, “Dar has already returned to normal. Ezart was right, he was only being difficult with you, and that was why he hid behind Dark Sun and refused to come out. There’s absolutely no problem with turning on his emotion switch. I believe that from the very start, ever since you turned on the switch, there was no way to fully turn it off again.” 

After hearing that, Devon finally wiped his smile off and replied indifferently, “Uh-huh.” 

“You…knew?” 

Theodore was brimming with curiosity. The Solaris Emperor seemed to be a bit too calm. As for how much he loved Dar, Theodore was definitely the best witness for that. If the Solaris Emperor had heard of this for the first time, then who knew? He might even have jumped down from the second floor in joy!

Devon raised an eyebrow, commenting, “I found out last night, a little earlier than you.” 

“So it was like that.” Theodore gave a bitter smile. Dar, oh Dar. Just who are you trying to fool? 

“Shain Baylian seems to have something to do with Dar suddenly regaining his emotions,” said Devon with a frown. He didn’t know whether this was a good or bad thing, and ‘not knowing’ in itself made him very uneasy, especially when it concerned Dar.

“Shain Baylian?”

Theodore thought for some time, before realizing it was very similar to the name of his test subject, Yue Baylian. This person had to be Yue Baylian’s son, Dar’s classmate.

Though he didn’t know how Shain Baylian had managed to drag Dar out from hiding behind Dark Sun, he was even more curious about another matter at that moment.

“How did you know that?” 

“Who do you think I am?” Devon Solaris glanced down haughtily, and then said deliberately, “In this whole world, there is nothing that I wish to know that I cannot find out.” 

There is! That time when Dar ran away from home, weren’t you unable to find him? Theodore Avery would never dare say this aloud, but he felt secretly happy. Hehe! I was the one who created Dark Sun’s superb skills. 

“Also, you actually dared to keep news of Dar’s return from me.” Devon’s tone took on an alarming edge.

Theodore immediately tried to redirect the accusation. “This was Dar’s request! He didn’t want to tell you about it, so what could I do?” 

“Why?” Devon’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He couldn’t deny that he felt a bit hurt. Dar had kept things hidden from him, and yet he had shared these things with Theodore. 

“This...” 

Theodore felt a little guilty, rendering him speechless. After all, if one sought out the heart of the matter, the main reason was because he purposely didn’t tell Dar that his brother didn’t like DSII. Hence, he had let Dar continue to misunderstand his brother. 

Devon’s face darkened. He said coldly, “It seems like he likes you, his father, more…” 

“No, no!” Theodore was almost frightened out of his wits. He understood all too well that within the list of things which the Solaris Emperor hated the most, having the position of ‘Dar’s favorite person’ snatched away from him was definitely among them. 

“I discovered his return to normalcy on my own. It wasn’t because he took the initiative to inform me. Moreover, he seems to be a bit jealous of DSII. It looks like you have treated DSII too well in the past.” 

Theodore especially emphasised the phrase ‘in the past’. Of course, it was in the past! It definitely wasn’t ‘afterwards’ when Devon pretended to treat DSII well!

Devon fell silent. Regarding the matter of having truly treated DSII as Dar’s replacement in the past, he had always felt guilty. Now that Theodore had brought it up, he felt even more upset. Therefore, he completely missed Theodore’s guilty expression. 

Looking at the Solaris Emperor’s depressed look, Theodore tried his best to tie his conscience to a large rock, and then sink it to the bottom of the deep ocean. 

Devon Solaris seemed a little tired as he said, “I know. Since Dar doesn’t want to tell me, then don’t say anything!” 

“Uhh…but you already know, don’t you?” Theodore Avery reminded him.

Devon Solaris growled, “He doesn’t know that I already know he has recovered. That also means that I still don’t know he has already recovered, isn’t that right?” 

Know, don’t know, pretending not to know. Aren't you worried that saying such confusing words will get you tongue-tied? This pair of awkward brothers... Theodore shook his head helplessly. 

Devon Solaris said impatiently, “In conclusion, don’t butt into this! No matter what Dar wants, I will always give it to him. Even if he wants to be willful, it’s fine! Anyway, little brothers will always be willful from time to time.” 

Is that so?

Theodore Avery shrugged. If he didn’t need to butt in, then that was fine as well. Anyway, he would soon be busy with Yue Baylian’s experiment. At this moment, he suddenly recalled something important. Hastily, he said, “That’s right, there’s something that I need to inform you about. I intend to use DSII’s microchip to save Yue Baylian.”

He felt uncertain while saying this. After all, Devon has once been nice to DSII. Furthermore, DSII looked exactly like Dar. Devon might get angry after hearing that he planned to destroy DSII…

Devon shot a glance at him and casually said, “Oh? Then just do it! Just as well, I’m lacking a secretary, the type that can do everything.” 

Theodore fell silent for a while, but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked, “DSII looks exactly the same as Dar, aren’t you reluctant to do this?” 

“So what if he looks exactly the same?”

Devon coldly added, “Even if he were a real person and is the same as Dar, from his appearance right down to his genes––even if his personality is exactly the same as Dar’s––did he throw a ball at my face when he was young? Did he wait in that small attic every day, waiting for me to look for him? Did he cry while he hugged my waist, begging me not to leave? Did he make a pinky promise with me, making me swear that I’ll protect him, or else I’d have to drink a lot of bitter melon juice?”

Understanding suddenly dawned on Theodore’s face.

Devon gave a cold laugh, and expressionlessly answered, “DSII is only DSII. He doesn’t share a past with me. He is not my Dar! Since he is not my Dar, then whoever they are, they are all the same. The people who are more useful to me shall stay. Right now, what I lack is a secretary who can do everything, and DSII is not that.”

Devon Solaris looked at Theodore Avery out of the corner of his eyes, his utterly emotionless eyes. 

“Understood.” Theodore gave a nod of his head. 

After receiving a reply, Devon turned around and headed towards his own study. However, Theodore’s voice rang out behind him. “All the same, I should still tell you that Dar seems to be very happy that Yue Baylian is not dead, and is also looking forward to him being brought back to life.” 

Devon paused in his footsteps, spun around and yelled, “Then even if you die, you have to bring Yue Baylian back to life! Otherwise, I’ll put a bullet in your head, understand?” 

“...Yes.” 

　　＊＊＊

Daren Solaris furiously burst out from the hidden door. The exit was in a dark alley and he was certain there was no one there. Otherwise, he would have sent out a warning before opening the hidden door.

“Steel Wings, activate!” 

Metal unfurled behind his back instantly, forming wings out of the alloyed pieces. To vent his anger, he shot up in flash. Within seconds, he was soaring high in the skies.

His speed was simply too fast. Halfway to school, he actually bowled into a flock of birds, scattering them. The birds had no idea what had just happened, but they circled around the ‘especially large’ bird which had dispersed their formation as though they were analyzing what he was.

Daren stopped in the air. As he flapped his wings, he studied the birds surrounding him. Uncertain whether it was because he had wings as well or because the wild birds were extremely brave, a few of them had actually flown up beside his face, as if they wanted to touch him. 

Daren curiously reached his hand out to pet the birds. The birds avoided him at first, but a few of them did eventually let him touch them. Afterwards, one of them even landed on his hand. 

At this, he laughed. After he played a while with the bird in his hand, the microchip reminded him that he was soon going to be late. 

He was going to be late!

He flew in the direction of the school urgently. Several birds actually followed him, and then the rest of the flock of birds tagged along, too. With Daren at the head of the flock, the birds formed a triangular shape as they flew with him. They were all following behind him, as though Daren was their leader.

Seeing the situation, Daren paused to chase them away. However, the birds were not afraid of him at all. They started circling around him again. This made him feel a bit helpless, but he also found it amusing. 

He was going to be late!

Daren Solaris felt that increasingly urgent nudge in his head again. He turned around and accelerated, but behind him, he heard the sound of wings flapping furiously… When he turned to look, the birds were still following him. 

He stopped his flight abruptly.

The birds flew past him. After flying for a short distance, they realized that something was not quite right. They turned around and flew back again, hovering around Daren’s side in circles.

“How stupid. Ahahaha, you silly birds!” 

Daren couldn’t help but clutch his stomach and laugh heartily.

At this moment, a bird landed onto Daren’s shoulder and pecked him, as if urging him to quicken his pace. 

Daren looked in the direction of the school and murmured, “All of you should be migrating south for the winter about this time, right?” 

However, the school was in the west. 

The bird pecked at him again.

　　＊＊＊

“Where’s Dark Sun?” 

Elian’s face was deathly pale. Right now, it was time for the third lesson, but there was still no trace of Dark Sun. Because of this, the principal had bombarded him with questions for one whole hour. The principal’s rage, however, was not quite enough to frighten him. Right now, what he was truly afraid of had absolutely nothing to do with his onslaught. 

With a loud ‘bang,’ the principal’s door was suddenly kicked open. Both he and Elian turned at the sound, and the first thing they saw was Eloise’s foot.

After kicking the door open, Eloise dashed in energetically. Behind her, Eli sauntered in at his usual pace. The former immediately started yelling, “I can’t find Da…Dark Sun!” She received a sharp pinch from Eli and managed to change her words in time. 

Eli unhurriedly explained, “When I called his house, his father said that he left home early to head for school.” 

“This is so frustrating!” 

Antonias suddenly roared, giving the three students a fright. He angrily rounded on the nearest student, spraying him with saliva as he bellowed, “It’s a good thing that singing fellow is also late. Otherwise, how am I supposed to deliver a bodyguard to him? If you have a plan, then say it! Elian, where the hell is Dark Sun?” 

Elian made a bitter face. How would he know? 

This was bad. Originally, he hoped that the reason Dar wasn’t here was because he was at home doing a body check-up, brain scan, or something along that line. However, Eli’s words had utterly destroyed his hopes. 

Dar was really missing. 

This shocked, worried, and scared Elian all at the same time. He was shocked that Dar had actually gone missing, worried as to where he had gone and whether something bad had happened to him. He was afraid of… certainly, of the Solaris Emperor’s reaction.

Compared to the Solaris Emperor’s frozen glacier face, the principal’s saliva seemed like a light rain from heaven.

“Find Dark Sun and bring him to me! Right now! Immediately! This instant!”

The ghostly wailing intensified many times over, and the three students simultaneously covered their ears. 

At that moment, the sound of someone knocking on the door rang out. However, the door had long since been kicked to one side by Eloise, so that person had only been knocking on the wooden door out of politeness. 

Everyone turned their heads towards the door at the same time. 

“Da-Dark Sun!” The three students had called ‘Da’ in unison, and then shut their mouths, and called him Dark Sun instead. 

Once Antonias saw him, he went completely berserk, yelling, “Where have you been? Don’t you know that today is your first day of work?” 

Dark Sun just replied in a flat tone, “To send off a little bird.” 

Hearing that, Antonias looked towards Elian expressionlessly. The look plainly asked him to translate for him. Elian looked toward Eli by reflex, for mind-reading was his forte. 

Eli fell silent for a moment, and then he glanced at him rather dispassionately. He said, “I cannot read Dark Sun’s heart, as you should know.” 

Elian went quiet, and then he hesitantly interpreted this for the principal. “Maybe he had a pet bird, and this morning, that bird unfortunately…” 

“Oh, is that so?” Principal Antonias frowned. This was considered pardonable. Who knew this icy extraterrestrial student was a bird-lover? That he was willing to come to work even though his bird had died was commendable. After all, it wasn’t very polite to trouble others like this.

Did Dar have a pet bird? Eloise and Eli, who had visited Dar’s house countless times, tried their best to control themselves from revealing any looks of suspicion. 

Elian nodded his head vigorously. Whether the story was true or not didn’t matter. What was most important was that Dar was back, the principal believed it, and the Solaris Emperor’s face also wouldn’t freeze over!

“Fine, in any case, thankfully that fellow Lance is also late, so nothing major happened.” 

This was also the reason why Antonias so generously forgave Dark Sun. However, he seemed to have lingering fears as he added, “Just wait here for Lance to come, and then follow him to Class A for lessons together.” 

Hearing that, Elian asked in doubt, “With Lance’s strength…” 

“Of course he wouldn’t be able to get into Class A.” 

Antonias replied without any intention of hiding things. “That fellow’s fighting ability is good for show, but not practical. If he were to come in and take the exam normally, I would have to consider carefully whether to let him into Class C or not.

Hearing the principal’s answer, Elian pondered over it for a moment, finally coming to an understanding.

“The students in Class A will be able to help protect Lance?”

Antonias clapped once, and then said with certainty, “That’s right, that’s how it is. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Elite Combat Section has never had lessons, and a curriculum arranged at the last minute would definitely expose us, I had even considered letting him into the Elite Combat Section for lessons. That way he would have had thirty or more bodyguards so strong they are like aliens.” 

P-Principal, don’t say that the students are like aliens right in front of their faces… Elian forced a smile. At the very least, he comforted himself with the knowledge that he was still an earthling, born and bred. 

“Right, Elian, I have already arranged the spot where you and Sin will be lying in wait. It’s right next to Class A.”

“Me…and Sin?” Elian responded with some difficulty.

“Class B is next to Class A, right?” Eloise interrupted to ask. Recently, for the sake of watching Dar, she had often run to the classroom where the normal class held lessons, and hence she was extremely familiar with it.

Antonias said expressionlessly, “Your news has become outdated. Starting from now, beside Class A will be Elian’s and Sin’s own private classroom.”

“Oh!” Eloise’s eyes shone, and she asked in anticipation, “Can I go sneak a peek?” 

“If you want to go and be the third and fourth wheel, both you and Eli are free to do so,” Antonias answered approvingly. “As long as you all remember to help out when Lance is in danger.” 

Eloise replied enthusiastically, “Relax, we will only be looking on secretly from the wings. We wouldn’t go in and be a third or fourth wheel. We aren’t that insensitive, right? Right, Eli?”

Eloise nudged her companions with her elbow, and Eli gave Elian a look of sympathy.

Elian raised both of his hands up high, as he looked towards the sk...the ceiling. 

God! To have to work together with a seriously dangerous guy, and that wasn’t even the worst part of it! The worst thing was, peeking in on them from the sidelines would be a girl, a girl with an excited gaze...

“My apologies, I am late…oh! What exactly has happened to this pitiful door?”

Everyone turned around to look and saw Lance standing at the entrance, looking over the slanted door. He was wearing a student uniform that had been ironed until it was pencil straight, and he was even carrying an equally new school bag in his hands. As expected, he really did look like a student, except…

His school uniform was white as snow. However, the YeLan Academy’s uniform had always been blue and black. 

Antonias looked at the snowy-white clothes blankly. Combat uniform? More like a model’s outfit! 

This kind of sparkling white clothing, whether going on a date, appearing on stage in a fashion show, or even attending a upper class ball––it still wouldn’t be disrespectful, but...it was simply unsuitable for combat. 

Antonias threw away his pride, wanting to put on a smiling face to flatter him, but realized that it was really too difficult. He could only switch to show a principal’s dignity, as he coolly said, “So you made it. That’s good. Let Elian show you two to the classroom.” 

Hearing that, Lance only nodded his head, and then all of his interest and attention went to Dark Sun. He gave a slight smile at Dark Sun, saying, “I have made you wait for a while, sorry about that!” 

Dark Sun only nodded his head, and gave no reply. 

“Then, shall we work hard and study together?” Lance extended a hand in his overly friendly way. 

Dark Sun didn’t take his hand. 

The atmosphere became a little awkward in that moment. Elian promptly smoothed things over by reminding them, “Let me take you all to the classroom! Otherwise if we wait too long, class will have finished already!” 

Hearing that, Lance withdrew his hand with a slight smile, and his expression was very natural, as though he had already shaken hands and was now pulling back.

“Then we’ll be going ahead first, Principal.” 

Elian quickly turned around to bid the principal farewell, and then he led the two out of the principal’s office.

As they were leaving, Lance’s passionate inquiry could be faintly heard. “Dark Sun, how old are you this year?”

There was silence for a few moments, but instead it was Elian’s voice that spoke, “Dark Sun is sixteen.” 

“Wow, you’re so young! You’re even younger than I had thought…” 

At this moment, within the principal’s office, Antonias suddenly turned around to ask the remaining two students, “Dark Sun is sixteen?” 

Eloise and Eli both nodded their heads.

Antonias held his face blank as he asked, “Then did he start learning martial arts in the womb, and so trained for a total of seventeen years?” 

“He started when he was seven.”  Eli had remembered it very clearly. Daren Solaris had said before that he was around seven years old when the modifications on him were started.

“Only started when he was seven? He has only trained for about ten years, and he’s already so strong that he doesn’t seem human anymore?” Antonias’ face twitched, and then he shouted loudly, “Aliens, as expected, they’re all aliens! The two of you, go and follow them back to Mars!”

Hearing that, Eli silently walked towards the entrance, and Eloise followed him in a hurry. 

　　＊＊＊

Daren Solaris had a taut expression, pretending to wear Dark Sun’s heartless look. Though he felt pity for El, who had been working very hard to help smooth things over by talking, he still didn’t want to return to being Dar. 

On one hand, Daren really didn’t like Lance, even if he himself didn’t understand why. Lance always seemed to present himself as a nice person, but everytime he spoke, it made Daren feel…as though he had been as though a knife was going in his back. 

On the other hand, it was because of the actions of Elian and the trio and Ezart. Who asked them to listen to Gege and purposely ignore him?

Though he knew that Elian and the others weren’t exactly in the wrong, Daren still felt indescribably angry. Who asked them to listen to Gege? And Gege...Gege…

“Gege said, that in the future, I will be called Little Dar and not DSII. Dark Sun, you have to remember it, okay, don’t call me by the wrong name.”

Daren clenched his fists without realizing it. I hate Gege the most!

At this moment, Elian stopped in his footsteps, and turned around to tell the two, “We’re here. This is Class A.” 

“I’m very thankful to you, this classmate with a beautiful heart.” Lance gave him a gentle smile.

A beautiful heart… Elian silently gave a bitter laugh. He knocked on the classroom door and then opened it. As he did so, he replied courteously, “No problem. I believe that the principal has already talked to Class A, so you two can go in directly.” 

Lance gave an elegant nod of his head, and then took the initiative to walk first into the classroom. Once he stepped in, the whole classroom became a sea of dead silence. Even the teacher forgot his lesson. 

However, once Dark Sun had also walked in, the entire classroom erupted into all kinds of noise, such as shouts, screams, and the sound of people falling off of their chairs. Every kind of shocked noise that one could possibly imagine echoed throughout the room.

Outside the classroom, Elian smiled humorlessly. It was indeed something to be shocked about. To simultaneously see the most famous singer in the world as well as the most mysterious expert fighter in YeLan Academy, there simply wasn’t anything that could possibly be more shocking…other than having a gun put to your head by the one person at the top of the world, the Solaris Emperor.  

At that thought, Elian gave a helpless sigh. He once again hoped sincerely that the Solaris Emperor wouldn’t find out that his most precious darling brother had actually become someone else’s bodyguard.  

Elian stayed until the noise in the classroom quietened down before he left. He walked to the classroom next door. Once he opened the door of class B, he saw that all the chairs had been pushed to the furthest wall and stacked up into a haphazard mountain. The desks had been arranged side by side, right in the middle of the classroom. On top of them were piles of tidbits and biscuit packages strewn about. Sin was lying within this whole mess, using a newspaper to cover his face while he snored loudly, dead asleep.

Elian looked at this whole mess a little helplessly, and then took a deep breath and stepped into the classroom…

“Who’s there? Don’t think that you can sneak attack me!” 

Sin gave a loud roar and jumped up, causing the newspaper on his head to scatter pages everywhere.

“Elian,” Elian reported his own name. 

Hearing that, Sin froze for a moment. After he stared at him, he confirmed that it was indeed Elian. With that, he promptly lay down again. While he covered himself with the newspaper again, he murmured, “Oh, it’s Elian! I have set up your position, it’s that chair by the blackboard. You just sit there, and then use the convenient peephole that the principal has drilled there to survey the situation..just like that. I’m going to sleep.” 

He watched Sin finish speaking. As expected, once he lay down, he didn’t move even a bit. Elian felt a bit stunned, but still walked to the blackboard, grabbed the chair and sat on it. Once he sat down, the peephole was directly in front of him, not a inch to the left nor right. 

He looked at that peephole, and then helplessly gave another sigh. With some difficulty, he tried to make himself feel less embarrassed. “No matter how I look at it, I feel like I’m a pervert peeping on females.” 

Thankfully, Dark Sun is male… Speaking of which, peeping on a male seems even more perverted? Elian thought, wondering whether he should laugh or cry.

Chapter 5 END