Eclipse Hunter Volume 1: Brothers
Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)
Chapter Eight: Demon, Soar—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by Lala Su and Minthe; C/E edited by lucathia)
The rooftop of the tallest building should naturally be a place with intense sunlight, but at the moment, there was a dark and cold feeling, as though even the lofty, radiant sun in the sky was no match for the person standing on the roof—Dark Sun.
“Dark” meaning black—Dark Sun, a black sun!
The floor was covered in blood and flesh. Only Dark Sun stood calmly in its midst.
At this moment, the “banging” on the glass finally caught Dark Sun’s attention. He turned his head, a genuine smile appearing on his face as he walked to the side of the helicopter. With a single tug, his slender arm opened… No, directly pulled off the helicopter door. Ri Xiang Yan immediately leaped out.
Smack!
The crisp sound of a slap was heard. Dark Sun held his cheek. It didn’t hurt… No, it still hurt—his heart hurt.
“Why did you do that?!” Ri Xiang Yan seemed to want to scream out the worry, regret, and resentment he had accumulated over these long years in a single breath.
Ri Xiang Ye had completely frozen. He hadn’t expected his brother would actually hit him.
Drenched in blood, with his clothing torn and an enormous scythe in his hand, Ah Ye resembled a demon who had just crawled out of hell!
Ri Xiang Yan buried his face in his hands. His voice was choked as he said, “I don’t want you to be like this. Don’t you understand? Why can’t you be a normal boy? I don’t want your hands to be stained with blood. I don’t want you to be… the demon Father said you were!”
Ri Xiang Ye had no idea what to do. He’d never seen his brother like this. At a loss, he could only pat his brother’s back. He cautiously apologized, “I’m sorry, Gēge. Ah Ye won’t do this ever again.”
Put on the spot, Ri Xiang Yan was unable to accept the sight of his little brother murdering so many, but he didn’t truly blame his brother.
He had always understood that this wasn’t his brother’s fault at all. If someone was to be blamed, then perhaps he could only blame his deceased father. Or even… himself, for walking into danger and forcing his little brother’s hand!
“Then promise Gēge that you’ll be an ordinary boy. Don’t do these sorts of terrif… Dangerous things again.” Ri Xiang Yan switched to a different word in the nick of time. He would never use words like terrifying or horrifying to describe his little brother. Never!
Ri Xiang Ye looked at his older brother in a daze. There was a trace of helplessness on his face.
“What? You won’t promise Gēge?” Ri Xiang Yan grew anxious and hurriedly pleaded, “Promise Gēge already! You’ll be an ordinary boy and won’t ever do these sorts of dangerous things again!”
All of a sudden, there were several sounds of explosions. It sounded like they were coming from downstairs. At the same time, the floor of the rooftop violently shook—the building was exploding!
Ri Xiang Yan panicked. He wrapped an arm around his little brother, wanting to carry him to the special safe room to take cover. Only, he had forgotten that his brother was no longer a seven year old child. Although Ri Xiang Ye looked slim, he was a cyborg who weighed over ninety kilograms!
Exerting all his strength, Ri Xiang Yan could only barely lift his little brother and was completely unable to carry him away. He could only turn and shout, “Ah Ye, climb up. I’ll carry you. Hurry!”
At this moment, the sounds of the explosions seemed to already be beneath their feet.
Ri Xiang Ye lowered his head to look at his big brother’s back. He was a little shocked. In his memories, his brother’s back was broader, like that of a giant who could hold the sky up. However, at this moment, his brother only looked like an ordinary person.
“Gē… I can’t do as you say this time. I’m already not an ordinary boy. If Gēge insists that I never use my full power, I can do that… Only, Gēge, then all the operations that I went through will be meaningless.”
“Ah Ye…” Ri Xiang Yan hesitantly called out. He never would have expected that this was what his brother thought.
The sounds of the explosions came again and again. The floor was already beginning to break apart. Many pieces of rubble flew about from the blasts. Without delay, Ri Xiang Yan turned to hold his little brother, not letting any pieces of debris hurt him.
Although he knew that his little brother was stronger than he was, and knew that the one who really needed to be protected right now was himself, Ri Xiang Yan couldn’t just let his little brother go and not care. Because… He was his big brother!
Immense steel wings unfurled once again. Ri Xiang Yan looked in a daze at the two wings extending from his brother’s back. He was entirely enveloped in the shadow cast by the wings.
“Please, let me protect you, Gēge. Not only does Gēge want to protect Ah Ye, Ah Ye also wants to protect Gēge!”
Ri Xiang Yan lowered his head to look at his little brother, who was half a head shorter than him. His little brother who had originally not even reached his chest had now grown so tall…
The building began to collapse. Ri Xiang Ye’s arms firmly held his brother. The floor beneath their feet finally broke apart, but the two of them didn’t fall.
Ri Xiang Yan looked down. His feet were in midair. The immense steel wings flapped and glided, then followed the winds into the azure sky, leaving behind a streak of silver.
We’re flying! Ri Xiang Yan couldn’t help but laugh. It was a little scary to have nothing below his feet, but when he looked at his little brother, he no longer felt any fear because he knew Ah Ye would never let him fall!
“Gēge, I realized just now. I no longer hate Bàba.”
Ri Xiang Yan was stunned. He no longer hates Father?
He couldn’t help looking at Ri Xiang Ye, wanting to see if he was just putting on a brave face. How could he not hate Father after being tortured by him for so many years?
However, Ri Xiang Ye’s face broke out into a smile, as pure as the white clouds in the sky. He exclaimed, “Gē, look at how pretty the sunset is!”
Ri Xiang Yan turned his head to look. Reds and oranges and all sorts of beautiful, brilliant rays centered on the half-sunken sun. The sky already had a few stars unable to resist stealthily peeking out.
One half of the sky was still illuminated by the setting sun. The other half was already dark. This sort of sky, half lit and half dark, had a strange beauty, just like… the sometimes innocent and sometimes cruel Ah Ye.
Ri Xiang Yan once again directed his gaze to his little brother’s face, and only saw an adorable and happy expression there.
“Being able to protect Gēge really is great! I really think this way. So Gēge, can we stop hating Bàba? You know, if not for Bàba, we wouldn’t be able to fly in the sky like this.”
Ri Xiang Ye smiled at his big brother as he said this, changing the direction they were flying in at the same time and delighting in the comforting evening breeze.
This was the blue sky he had yearned for since his childhood. From Ri Xiang Ye’s point of view, being able to fly in this sky was the best.
“Are you happy, Ah Ye?” Ri Xiang Yan suddenly asked.
Ri Xiang Ye blinked and, right after, vigorously nodded his head. “Yeah, very happy! Really, very happy! I made a friend (Ezart felt a chill run down his spine), battled with a strong fighter (Bai Lian Xing covered his mouth and gracefully let out a huge sneeze), and most importantly, Ah Ye protected Gēge!”
“So it’s like that?” Ri Xiang Yan’s expression became gentle and soft. Smiling, he said, “Then, promise Gēge that you’ll be as happy as this every day!”
“O.K.!” Ri Xiang Ye replied, loudly and cheerfully.
Up above in the azure sky were the silhouettes of the two brothers happily in flight.
Ah Ye, as long as you’re happy, I’m content. No matter what you wish to do—Go forth!
Go forth and do whatever makes you happy.
If you want to destroy the world, then I’ll prepare the nukes for you.
If you want to destroy me, then before you kill me, please call me Gē one last time.
Dìdi, Gēge won’t limit you anymore. I’ll use all my power to protect you, to protect your freedom, and let you soar freely in your own sky.
I swear to protect you, my dìdi. To protect you and to protect your freedom.
dollyfishe
Yay first flight *cheers*
I always like this scene, where ah ye promise to always be happy while soaring in the sky
♪☆\(^0^\) ♪(/^-^)/☆
Miaka_Mei
OMG…. Sun Emperor is such a domineering, terrible bro-con…
His brocon-ness is unmatched…..
[PR]Trespasserby
T^T So much good stuff added into this chapter in the newer edition:
Ah Ye’s heart hurting after being slapped.
Ri Xiang Yan desperately telling Ah Ye that he would carry him, even though it was clear he wouldn’t be able to.
Ah Ye realizing his brother was just an ordinary person after all.
Ri Xiang Yan enjoying flying too…
Ahhhhh
Idk if we can call the Sun Emperor ordinary.
Ahhhhh
They attacked first, so Ah Ye is still innocent to me.