Volume 9, The End NO. 9: Heroes (1/2)

Volume 9, The End NO. 9: Heroes

Charles looks so weak. As expected, eating too many blood candies is a big problem.

It’s just that the numbers aren’t there anymore, so I have no way to appraise his thoughts.

Since there’s no other way, I can only ask him directly.

“Charles, if one day both X and I are in mortal danger, who would you save?”

“Then if it’s X and the Elysees family? Who would you save?”

In the end, Charles didn’t give me an answer. Is it time to go back using the numbers and analyses to determine who he considers most important?

The results of the microchip’s self-diagnostic tests didn’t indicate any damage. I should be able to turn its functions back on…

Except, I’m looking at Charles without wanting to open fire. There are no threat levels, and no prompts to eliminate the target. It seems like I can simply refrain from shooting.

Without the numbers, haven’t things improved?

At the very least, the world looks so clean. People come and go, and there aren’t any numbers next to their faces. Lots of passers-by are looking at me. Do their expressions mean they like me, or do they think I’m weird, hm? Well, there should probably be more people who like me, right?

I sat on a bench by the sidewalk and watched for a long, long time.

“Microchip, bring the system prompt functions out of sleep mode.”

If I wanted to go save X, I would need those numbers.

***

“Charles! Charles, you’d better answer me!”

The young master’s voice sounded like he was about to fly into a rage. Although he was wearing Dark Sun’s outfit, he was missing Dark Sun’s indifference. With the Death Scythe in his hands, he did not look like he was about to save people; rather, he had a fiercely imposing manner, as though he wanted to annihilate everyone in the world

Hurriedly, I shouted, “I am fine, Young Master.”

The young master’s movements halted for a moment, which even caused him to be shot. Fortunately, Melody, Bramble, and the others immediately stepped forward to cover him and did not allow him to take any further damage.

Father Yue’s face, crazed with anger like an evil spirit’s, would not at all lose out to the young master’s. As he released vast amounts of firepower, he roared, “Dark Sun, are communications restored? What about my son?”

The young master replied simply, “Charles is still alive, so Yue Gang should be fine.”

“Yue Gang is fine,” I quickly said.

Yue Gang angrily spoke up, “Huh? Who said I’m fine? Tell my old man, he even dared to dupe his son. When Mom gets back, he should just wait for her to bury him!”

The young master really passed the message on, “Yue Gang says you should prepare for your burial.”

With a face full of calm, Father Yue said, “As long as my son hasn’t been buried yet, the child’s mother wouldn’t let it happen to me either.”

I was nearly speechless. In this kind of a situation, such clamor from Yue Gang and his father unexpectedly dissipated the tense atmosphere by more than a small amount. However, the reality of the current situation was that they were surrounded by groups upon groups of people, without even an escape route. For some unknown reason, though, the Church was somewhat delayed in deploying its large-scale weaponry to deal with the five people… Wait, five people?

From whose perspective am I actually seeing everyone?

“Whose viewpoint is this? Who is wearing the visor?”

“It’s DSII!” DSII replied in the same voice as the young master, though his tone was completely different. The vivacious and playful boy’s voice, accompanied by cannon fire as background music, was rather subtly unnerving, to say the least.

Mr. An Te Qi, are you certain that DSII is a robot? There were no other changes or mutations?

“The map with the infiltration route has been sent,” Ni Cai’s cold tone sounded practically like an angel at present.

Sure enough, a map appeared on the visor. I shouted with joy, “Young Master, I will soon arrive…”

“Charles, you can’t come over,” the young master said unexpectedly.

My expression changed, and I said, “Young Master, there is no way I can place you all in a dangerous situation while avoiding it myself!”

“That’s not it. If you come here, we’re dead for sure.” The young master briefly summarized the situation, “Based on Father Yue’s information, my guess is that they’re waiting for you on purpose, so they can kill you and X in one fell swoop. So, as soon as you get here, there’ll definitely be weapons with strong firepower directly bombarding us to death. There won’t even be a chance to dodge.”

I was stunned.

Don’t tell me, I must either watch the young master struggle to fight on in front of my eyes, or ask him to retreat, then watch as X dies?

With great difficulty, I asked, “Then, if your theory is correct, is there still a chance to rescue X?”

The young master did not actually respond, saying simply, “Right now, the Church is still waiting for you to take the bait. If I retreat and you haven’t come, they’ll probably give up on using X to lure you out and kill him at once. They probably won’t even move him anywhere else; they’ll probably just stay here. Those vehicles simply aren’t planning to break through.”

I was silent for a moment, then asked once more, “Young Master, is there still a chance to rescue X?”

This time, the silent one in the exchange had become the young master. During this time, he was both dealing and receiving injuries himself. In the end, he ultimately opened his mouth and said, “It’s very low. Essentially, the system won’t display that the probability’s zero, because there’re always exceptions.”

So, the probability is zero?

X…

I closed my eyes, then opened them once more. Firmly, I said, “Please leave this place, Young Master.”

Straightforwardly, the young master refused, “I won’t. If I leave, you would definitely come over, even if the probability is approaching zero. After all, Charles, you were the one who taught me that things can’t be calculated with numbers.”

I laughed bitterly. I had not actually thought that I would be hit in the face with my own words, nor that I would actually use the young master’s words to counter him.

“However, you were the one who taught me when to use reason to decide. Sometimes, all we can do is make a choice, and when probabilities state something is impossible, the only choice we have is to give it up.”

I had learned this too late. If it had been just a bit earlier, the young master would not have had to push himself until his whole body was covered in wounds.

“Young Master, what I least wish to see is the simultaneous loss of you and X. Please, do not let this come to pass.”

The young master split apart the huge shield the Church was using as defense, then circled around, jumping onto the front part of the truck. Taking advantage of the artillery shots being temporarily lured away as the others jumped up to follow him, he reached out to pull out a few bullets lodged in his shoulders. Meanwhile, he asked, “Then, after I’ve left, will you come over?”

I opened my mouth, but discovered I could not speak. All I could do was grit my teeth and squeeze out the words, “I will not.”

“I can’t tell.”

I flinched. “What?”

“I can’t tell if what you said was the truth or a lie, Charles. You’ve been corrupted by Ezart.”

The young master smiled and said, “If I’m right, X should be right under my feet. Do you really want me to give up and leave?”

The young master began to smash the top of the car with the Death Scythe, but members of the Church were not such easy prey. They surrounded this truck en masse, firing frantically at the roof. If not for the group of people on top of the truck returning fire with weapons that were no less powerful, in addition to the fact that their opponents had to fire up at them, and the truck itself blocking more than a few bullets, I had no doubt that they would have long been shot up into honeycombs. Even as things were, everyone in the group was still injured all over.

“I’ve decided on you!”

I could not stand watching them continue to get hurt, and yelled loudly, “Young Master, you are more important than X! I beg you, leave at once!

The young master turned up the corners of his mouth, but did not leave as he had said he would. He still continued swinging and hacking with the Death Scythe. As for the truck, it seemed to be constructed of an unknown material, as it was actually able to withstand the young master’s scythe. He had slashed it so many times, but had only hewn open a seam in the truck’s roof.

“Haha, just wait! I’ve got to tell X, Charles thinks I’m more important!”

Young Master? I did not understand. Why is he still not leaving? The young master should have been the most logical one. I had already chosen to give up on rescuing X. For what reason would he still not wish to leave?

“They can no longer retreat,” Ni Cai said softly. “This is very clear to Dark Sun, so he kept talking to you, delaying you from going over there.”

How could this be? The Church would not want to provoke the Sun Emperor, and the young master is Sun Emperor’s most deeply beloved!

Immediately, I said, “Inform the Sun Emperor! Show him the feed from the young master’s visor. He can stop the Church!”

“Dark Sun has asked me to do that since earlier, but there isn’t the slightest response.”

Hearing this, my heart sank and seemed to freeze over. I suddenly remembered that it was the Sun Emperor who had leaked the news about X to the Church. Had he known the situation would end up like this? Has the Sun Emperor given up on the young master? Or even… Did he do this on purpose?

Softly, Lieder said, “I guess this time, Dìdì was just too disobedient.”

I immediately activated x-speed.

“Charles, don’t come!”

Impossible!

“Charles, listen to me! They’re waiting for you! They won’t kill X and me until the last minute, but as soon as you get here, they’ll immediately bomb the area to take care of us all at once. They don’t care about their own people here. That’s why Sin isn’t here!”

I stopped running.

“Charles, you just said, when probabilities state something is impossible, the only choice we have is to give it up.”

I…

“Let us go. Even if you come, all you can do is die with us. I’ll try to break apart the truck and see if I can undo X’s restraints before the bombardment. My guess is that X has managed to escape for a millennium, so he probably won’t die so easily. Maybe if he has another way to escape, and just needs to be untied, there’s a chance that X can still survive…”

There was a higher chance that the young master and X would just die like this, and I really would watch this happen in front of my eyes. How could I let this happen?

“Young Master, I am sorry. I did not learn to give up. I was lying to you just now.”

If I released all my blood ability as a protective shield at the moment of the explosion, perhaps I could protect the young master and X. They were both very powerful, and could certainly escape.

“Charles!” The young master said furiously, “Think of Curtis! If you die, what will he lead your family to do?”

I could not help but laugh as I said, “What Curtis would lead my family to do… what I would do if you and X die at the hands of the Church?!”

I only realized by the end of my speech that I was howling, and decided I may as well howl out the rest. “Young Master, please wait for me!”

The young master opened his mouth, but ultimately shut it again. Forcefully, he hacked downward and cleaved a large gash in the roof of the truck. The situation inside the truck was already visible.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

The young master crouched down. From this angle, it was almost impossible for the bullets to strike him. He said to the group, “Everyone leave right now. As long as I stay, the Church shouldn’t waste energy on stopping you.”

Ezart scowled and shot a glare at the young master, but soon afterward was busy sending the others down one by one.

Melody screamed, “Young Master!”

Mr. Bramble yelled even more angrily, “We are your bodyguards!”

Hauling open the top of the truck, the young master looked inside, moved in one step further, and said, “DSII, cover the others. Go with them and get out of here.”

DSII dutifully said, “But Gēge said that the meaning of my existence is to protect Ah Ye. Well, then again, Gēge also said I have to listen to Ah Ye. I’ll listen to Gēge, Gēge wants me to listen to Ah Ye, so I’ll listen to Ah Ye!

There must something wrong with this robot.

Father Yue did not even have the chance to turn his head, and could only shout while shooting, “If we go, these guys will climb up here at once! You won’t even have time to save E.X.!

“They won’t come up here,” the young master said coolly. “If they had wanted to come up here, they would have come up long ago. With the firepower of just you few people, how could you have possibly blocked everyone? Right when I get in the truck, they’ll most likely retreat immediately, so they don’t get caught in the heavy artillery bombardment.”

Resolutely, May shouted, “Young Master, we’re not going!”

Dell mournfully said, “We’re totally dead,” but his actions, on the contrary, included holding and rapidly firing his gun with absolutely no intent to leave.

Angrily, the young master yelled, “Shut up! If we say Charles, X, and I still have a small chance at survival here, then there isn’t the smallest chance for you all to make it! DSII, take them all and go!”

Before anyone had the time to protest, DSII quickly made several trips up and down the truck, kicking each and every one of them off the roof. On the ground below, there were Church members everywhere; if anyone wanted to force their way back onto the truck, they would become a living target. That left only the choice of retreating from the area.

But somehow, Ezart had seemingly seen this coming. He evaded DSII’s assault, and was left as the only one not kicked off the roof.

As though he had expected this, the young master only said, “Ezart, help me rescue the others. You can’t help me anymore here.”

Ezart made a “tsk” noise, muttering, “Whatever. If you kick the bucket, your big bro’ll annihilate the world anyway. It’s death either way, so this makes no difference.” After saying that, he jumped off the roof of the car.

Just then, DSII walked forward, using his own body as a shield and taking countless bullets. Because I was watching from DSII’s perspective, I could not see him, but I could occasionally glimpse his arms and legs. I realized that DSII’s condition was not far from that of a thoroughly destroyed piece of iron.

There was one cause for joy: the young master was correct and those priests from the Sin Elimination Committee truly did not have much interest in the others. The greater part of the priests’ guns were still aimed at the roof of the truck.

The perspective shifted again. Right in front was a piece of steel that had been torn apart. This piece of steel was so thick, it was practically a wall. No wonder the young master had to hit it for so long, even with the Death Scythe.

The young master jumped into the truck. The space inside was not large, but surprisingly, there were no guards. It seemed that the young master was correct; this was actually a giant trap, with the intent to kill us in one fell swoop.

X’s entire body had been solidly confined to the bottom of the truck, with the metal covering him perhaps no thinner than the truck’s roof. As soon as he saw the young master, his eyes grew wide, and he said angrily, “Leave! This is a trap! Why are you here? Hurry and get out!”

The young master ignored him and moved straight onward, checking X’s bonds. He pulled at them with his hands, but they were absolutely immovable.

“Charles, if X’s limbs are shattered, or are even cut off, will they grow back?

“Young Master, you need not concern yourself with any injuries he may receive.”

It is said that vampires with lower generation numbers can indeed regrow severed limbs, as long as they had significant amounts of time to spend on it. While I did not know X’s generation number or if the legend would apply, I did know that survival was a blessing under circumstances such as these. Lost arms or legs could be considered but minor sacrifices.

The young master picked up the Death Scythe and struck the restraints at X’s feet. Laughing, he said, “I’m not concerned. I just asked because I was curious.”

“Hurry and go!” X roared. I had never seen this side of him. Is this because he is too anxious, or has the Church done something to him?

“Young Master, I am here.” I stood behind a shelter and looked out. Sure enough, the Sin Elimination priests surrounding the truck really had not climbed onto it, and had indeed even retreated somewhat. However, the group continued to surround the truck with their guns aimed at it and solemn expressions on their faces. I did not know if I had been influenced by the young master’s theory, but I could not shake the feeling that their expressions were those of stoicism in the face of death.

The young master immediately said, “Don’t come over for now. As soon as you get here, our deaths are assured.”

X howled, “If you still refuse to leave, everyone’s deaths are assured! Beat it!”

The young master slashed a few more times, but those restraints were really sturdier than the truck’s roof. While perhaps the Death Scythe would be able to slice it open if the young master continued hacking at them, there was truly no time left. There was certainly a surveillance camera within the truck, and there was no way the Church would look on as the young master sliced open the restraints right in front of their eyes. I was almost afraid it was about time already; if the young master still did not leave, then he would only be buried with X.

“Young Master, would you please…”

Seriously, the young master asked, “X, may I kill you?”

X was stunned for a moment, then shouted at once, “I don’t need you to kill me. Hurry up and scram!”

Oh no, now that Young Master has said these words, I am afraid that… I immediately dashed straight toward the freight truck. From the visor, I could see a fiery light coming from under X as the young master immediately leapt upward.

Just when I had dashed up onto the truck’s roof and stopped, the young master burst upward out of it. Before he had finished saying the word “go,” I was already using X-speed.

This time did not go as smoothly as the last. Because I was too hurried, I could not control the timing well. By the time I had pushed off, I had already missed the best moment to ride the blast. This time, being blasted was by far the best way to describe my flight, rather than running away; though, even like this, all I could do was try my best to run as fast as I could. Still, it was impossible to tell if the result was my own controlled sprint or if we were being blasted outward by the explosion.

Not a few moments later, my whole body was so battered that I was a jumbled mess. If it were at all possible for me to lose consciousness, I admit I likely would have passed out long ago.

“Young Master…”

I pushed myself up and looked around. The young master was lying right behind me. I was just about to crawl over and check on his condition, but discovered dense, dark shadows had gathered around us. Raising my head, I found that we were thoroughly surrounded by the black robes of the Sin Elimination Committee.

There were giant shields in all directions, and there were even strange beams of light enveloping the empty air. They crossed to form the shape of a net, and it would be quite apt to say it was encompassing heaven and earth.

I turned my gaze back, crawling over to examine the young master’s injuries. His eyes were still open, but he was lying on his side and motionless on the ground. There were wounds all over his body, and a whole piece of his back had even been scorched. His left leg was also twisted and misshapen. Even if he could just barely walk, he could make no precise movements to speak of. Just like that, Dark Sun’s strength had fallen far short of its usual levels.

The young master had just managed to climb onto my back. It was he who had helped me block most of the explosion’s might.

“Charles…” the young master softly said, “you’re so fast. How about you rush out by yourself?”

I shook my head. Even if I was able to, I could not.

“So not even an explosion of this level could blast you two to death.”

Sin walked out from behind a huge shield. He looked at us with an awe-struck expression, as though we were not a pair of wounded soldiers, but instead a grotesque, final boss.

I tried to stand, but even my two legs were shaking. I took a step forward to block my young master’s broken figure, though I knew this was futile. We were completely surrounded on all sides. How could I block him?

“I have received no inheritance from X!” I said severely. “Do you really want to provoke the Elysees family for that?”

Upon mentioning X, I felt a pain in my chest. Behind Sin, and beyond the Church’s huge shields, only a scorched, leveled plain was left. The motorcade that had originally been there had ceased to exist, of course. As for that truck we had just faced, which had even been able to withstand the young master’s Death Scythe, I was now unable to find any traces of it. In this kind of explosion, no matter how strong X is, there is no way he could have survived…

But at this moment, I could not wallow in loss and grief. With a heavily wounded Young Master just behind me, the only feeling I should have is one of fighting on, of defending him!

Sin said indifferently, “You’ve received no inheritance? Then how could you have escaped such large explosions twice, Charles Endelis? You’re a vampire that hasn’t even lived for two hundred years yet; if vampires had such strength, our Sin Elimination Committee would have long been annihilated.”

I could only speak in half-truths. “In the past, I drank a dose of medicine, and it was that medicine that made me like this. It had nothing to do with X!”

“We can go with that, but this is best opportunity to settle things once and for all. There’s E.X., you, and that Dark Sun, who’s just as dangerous—no one can stop our measures for eliminating sin, no matter if it’s the Elysees or the Sun Emperor.”

Sin slowly retreated. When he was in the very center of the giant shield formation, he declared, “Here and now, we put a full stop to our thousand-year pursuit! You non-humans who disturb the peace of our world can descend into Hell together!

This lunatic! I released countless blood shields to encircle our surroundings and continuously condensed them, but if we had no means of breaking through the blockade, even the thickest shields would be pierced eventually. Right now, though, just standing actually made my legs tremble. How could we escape?

“That’s ridiculous. Charles and I are both human.” Swaying and shaking, the young master stood. The Death Scythe was already gone from his hands, and firearms were completely out of the question; they had long since been blasted away somewhere. Still, one limping step at a time, he walked over to my side and extended his long, metallic nails.

“Clearly, all we had to do was give up, and only X would die. But now, the result we’ve achieved is that we’re all about to die. Only humans would do such silly things.”