HKWM | Chapter 42

Hearing the sound 78f40dd04a of footsteps growing 3f42651d71 closer from a 640c0c7c8a distance, I quickly 2b62410832 positioned myself by d397a6e4a3 the door. The moment the door 9d819f157d opened, I surprised Noah b0fbb2ef8e by covering his eyes dae79f803b with my hands.74ef4243373dcf30

By now, Noah’s physical 3b8fe59c6d abilities and instincts had 420f5488c2 developed so much that f7ca2e480b he must have sensed 5f2f244895 me coming, but knowing 248551fa5c it was me, he 3aff46bbc0 obediently let me cover bf3b1ef61d his face. He seemed ba41823fe5 to have a10ee58eb6 completely forgotten d9208896b4 that I 83e4a56023 was a 977b72f06c demon.3ee57cf1f79cad13

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“Jin?”8db8dc4b92d1bfcf

I decided to 48be737cf8 put off any 683546f0c5 scolding for later.cf5abb904cc7155d

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“Just keep your eyes 251d95de72 closed and follow me.”2219d1039e95b701

“Are we practicing c00e0c4b0f a hostage situation d5d015c997 by any chance?”cfca49e34d011f86

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“Uh… something like that.”d71be2371c0e25a9

Why would I f3705fcb40 practice a hostage d70c9654e2 situation? But it was too e60e1e42fa bothersome to come up 80aead0c04 with an excuse, so 7f1284ae8e I brushed it off e04c40a623 and led Noah to 9ac8f36709 the kitchen with his b0eab55bbe eyes covered. He followed 383774f9a5 quietly, fully 17897d6456 aware he 553360ab1d was playing f62bb3cb51 the role e858ff7223 of a 9cbc6c351a hostage.b7c1d2ee8a41c007

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When we reached aebc27629f the kitchen, I 4c449f6c1a removed my hands d2d9f6d5bd from his eyes. At the same time, de023153d1 two demons burst glitter 4155ba8721 and flower petals into 3389bb14ec the air with a bfcc60364a loud pop.f7eabc09e200b402

Noah blinked his wide-open e2d1c3b0a1 eyes, looking around at ff560c5427 the falling decorations and 1f3b99cdeb the transformed kitchen.6eddb7469cb5c510

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“This is…”544f12b4d4cba468

“Happy Birthday, Noah!”bd032836aeaf08ea

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“Is it… my 670a0f3f14 birthday?”18223166c941e449

“Yeah, it’s your c3fe945199 birthday today. We skipped 5e8f75ec93 it last 107c443c19 year because 6900594d64 things were 26b320fcdd hectic, but fa3e49a007 this year 3ce34688a6 I wanted 08f202742b to make c64452ec0f sure we 343e3a02e2 celebrated it f29579f143 properly.”fce8561f63502f1d

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I promptly 137b23681f sat Noah 9c08edc0f5 down.07fdf8eb4da1a786

“There are 6bb90484d2 also presents. The three of us a3cb670bda prepared them.”17416db8684c646a

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I pushed the 7b5c7a4ef1 stack of gift 96f5a37236 boxes from the 4ab8a4c672 corner toward him. Admittedly, I lacked 9d5ecef58d the talent for 2fc446a16b wrapping gifts, so dc077b0116 all I’d done 35377b39fe was slap on 54142d73f2 a clumsy ribbon 1c244dd914 on pre-bought boxes. They looked unimpressive, but 66d3b04827 I rationalized that the b08d46b670 real value lay in 86cb3afa08 the contents.951d936901fece78

“Open them.”b157f0a55e32c895

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Noah, looking 5a2db7d47e more excited f2836818fa than the 64fa8ae608 recipient, nodded c64646e75c and opened 48d9458e31 the boxes. The first was b14671934f from Kimaris.df802cfd88b21ced

“It’s my gift.”9d1981546125a654

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Kimaris has recently become 895607cce3 quite obsessed with aprons, 27e8e22062 but in reality, he 666d9ea16c is a weapons collector. The gift he prepared 135016230b from his collection was e778ada234 a dagger, collected from 8743809eb1 the Demon Realm, Human 87690d73bd World, and even Heaven.48940a0a4886e071

“This artifact was made 8b49d2ae2a a long time ago. It’s a 72f6f7f6d7 throwing dagger 26d93bd4a2 that flies 20ab5816e7 towards the b931296823 marked enemy 47fa04e01e and always da9e183dfc hits its 347da26537 target, especially 793d66262d deadly if 7ba692232b the opponent 82bf7dca7f lacks the 097d3754d5 weaponry or 40f91f237a skills to c40a47af6f block it.”8cb68e5d41e21fdb

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Given its sharpness sufficient beada3e2f7 to pierce even a e8b2f2848f demon’s tough skin, it f10a409ec9 would be particularly lethal 622e1954b9 against humans.d28ce9205aa6b65e

“Thanks, I’ll make eebc03efcf good use of 690cfeb96b it.”65011e68ef9e6e77

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The next gift 10d5d47c2f was from Phoras, 80767b8577 who had brought 578944fef1 two books from ce9531db2c his library. Calling them e821e7314f books was a6d5d4ccc1 a bit d5467087f5 of an 40afe77085 understatement—they were 872a74ef92 as thick 9f207197ed as a 25d4837022 face and a87a5e24ea could almost 9b88e28f47 serve as 579ada4a77 weapons.f7ee3d98aca67c78

“These are 3ed0a2eb03 books about cfe3d83984 demons and d15e3f9edd angels. The originals are d081d29a7d magical texts not 105a40bcda meant for humans fa3c0457c1 to handle, so 24686455ab I’ve copied the 83652f75d8 content. I can assure you, 8806731105 they contain information that’s 30ed34086c not easily accessible.”6926657d4deae42e

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He half-joked 6a4d91bb1f not to 18dcf79291 share it b0444232a8 with other bb637b4ffb humans, as 7e5e04f7f7 the books 3eb2976b2f mainly discussed 9667d852ab demons’ weaknesses 2d20d8b604 and defensive c881600a61 strategies.8df1effab12c78ce

“Yeah, I’ll 6789a416a8 read them 475985df18 by myself. Thanks.”4d4c0de09b0d7919

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The last gift b14ea7202e was a necklace-shaped 710648ae2a creature I had f3084cdbf6 made.06d8c20e4b34ecfe

“This is 79bcb03c7d a creature 381742e9a5 I made. I asked b61e3bd946 Lust to 9ce3e130a0 conceal its b4ad5bbfcc magic, so c6c593671a you can cca4bd39b5 wear it 2327c7e734 every day eaf769b34a if you a4a7017d10 want, just 6ce3548e4c like you f5dd800a9e said.”735762044e578119

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“Really, a creature?!”5d60bd06d353df74

Phoras and be93a8d8b6 Kimaris seemed 1bd096e866 even more 7113dd6a09 intrigued than 435e09d4b5 Noah. After all, crafting creatures d99667f975 required significant demonic energy, 636c05ae52 and demons generally disliked 0d019ed9a5 the process, making such 7b9a21d406 items incredibly rare even e01ef46534 among demons.e02bee075921950d

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Noah seemed delighted that 536c599e7d I had made it 9bee938866 myself. He put the necklace ad3bdd44e0 on and beamed brightly. Seeing how much he d90fe12e18 liked it, I felt 672e58299f proud. Even though crafting d28bea0f0a it had drained deeff0e4f5 my energy to 53999ff63f the point of 4cc2605a44 impacting my recovery, 7b5a798f46 his reaction made 2b3473c37a it feel worthwhile.b27d3022fe0003eb

I enthusiastically continued explaining 9cbce701d0 the necklace’s features.280605bc5cc34621

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“This necklace will detect 8f76732790 any adversary harboring a ad8312c1c8 will to harm you c4ec30000c and attack. You don’t need to 76a27d7228 feel guilty if the fa765d5d19 enemy dies. It reacts fb5658ede7 not just 786bd48035 to ‘hostility’ 48458638f8 but specifically e000171adf to ‘killing 0993457de7 intent’. If someone eb8da3a539 dies because a6519a9266 of it, e272f08b9f they were 6695ecd39d intending to 8e15ecf128 kill you.”3bbd5cdabe809e3a

And if an attack 4300322e4d precedes the creature’s activation, b57f0be63e it will first defend, a161f96bab so this creature was f4cb36a3fe born out of my b70de4b947 desire to protect Noah 732ae8b7ef and to keep him 43abbb2e5e from becoming accustomed to e37c361397 shedding blood.272cdccc2b5ff234

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“If you 51b17f09e3 ever learn db42423c5d spatial magic, fba73e9be6 don’t store d3bf6532d2 this necklace 544051fd50 there; keep 3e06641f34 wearing it. If it’s in a 96a53fa95a subspace, it won’t activate.”9b1033ffba003153

“Thank you.”b64debd18fdbaa41

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“You’re welcome. Now that 18bc115286 the gift-giving 8057395f74 is done, cfd1f1bb78 let’s eat. Kimaris and ca55c8475e Phoras have bc58427b6c been working b926ed352f hard on 4ed81e0c83 the meal.”270d4bef99d2feb2

I had no part a8d3af4e17 in preparing the dinner, 7f3039378d as Noah could attest 5b93c2fdc2 given my domestic skills—or 796ce969db lack thereof.7c1d4f07029e73af

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I pushed a heap 55096c29a7 of dishes towards Noah.8f1dada64b4f2197

“If I knew b279adbf92 there’d be this 041abc76f4 much food, I 2c778c47a9 might’ve invited your e6e6235efa friends.”25ac865acaa11cae

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Although other humans 59e2ec768b might not know, 7cea457224 I thought kids 9076ed50a6 Noah’s age, being b22fb71770 demons, wouldn’t risk 731a981c92 exposure, but Noah 77db631fd7 quickly shook his 3a440a9da5 head.34e46ab23da35e3a

“No, I a7a113b754 like it ce69b058f1 this way.”76c5ebfbf144f4f3

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“Well, that’s b7fa532973 good to 76f1aa3981 hear. Bring them f1ac4dc7e3 next time 44d9846c7d if you 021e4f50b7 want.”011422ddad24e937

“Okay.”c1c2f2c71c228574

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—c0cab5a710ac53c9

For the first 9a067a29ad time in a 0a8a621a59 while, Noah ate 422c03c9ce until he was 72acfcc631 stuffed. He usually ate enough, 03f24c03aa but never excessively. Times like this, when 46649420e4 he overate, were rare 6fdc14abe7 and usually signaled a c0cf8d2c72 special day.b24da9cfd67825f4

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To help 730dbb7a86 digest, we 6eb6a4ae70 went out 6f8599c077 for a 52d276742c night walk. Noah still looked 35aeb2620e a little dazed, 43e8424e13 so I teasingly 79a05710f7 asked,8f52160ea6306c06

“You didn’t dislike 8f02707e29 the gifts, did 809d78a057 you?”0f1cb180052605f6

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“Not at all. I loved them. It feels so 6eba75cc74 unreal, like a 814a320766 dream.”bf7b8f43ee26018e

His words 442033d4c9 seemed genuine 8a01fac5c2 as he d030ddb716 lightly swung 2584944464 our clasped d689a5ba72 hands. Though he still held 5ec6484085 my hand wherever we bb528b6dc0 went, it was striking 97865e5f5e how much his height a44bb47931 now matched mine.e28905ec2f8f7bb8

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Time had passed e0fc40039e more than I 8ef6687d6d realized, and though da3a29eb20 I thought everything a94392cea3 remained the same, 0637116b7f it was clear 7de8152efd that things had f4878c95f7 gradually changed—everything but 765021eed1 me.d7e5899573c461c8

As if to 9671bd4122 prove it, Noah, 09c5f0956f who had grown 048bec5ecc so much without 0e570919ae my noticing, gazed f050bd0190 at the night a551e33212 sky before softly 09b450273a speaking again.024850344cfe944f

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“This is my 69b02c91d3 first birthday like 232fa2633d this. When Mom 89986bf2aa was healthy, 882fbee1b4 she’d make c9e55396d3 slightly softer 4f2c05823c bread for e5e7b5f783 me. That was special d51b2a7bf8 in its own 7f46d883e9 way. But after 58c943dfce she fell fd0726b9d4 ill, even 3a762c9cd0 that stopped. Not that it bothered 8b4dab4dd5 me—I never understood why 3cf851b645 being born was worth 5edf3540bc celebrating.”0bbfb91e84093c0b

His voice, small and b206b378ce wistful, trailed off before 9fbc3cfc9b he suddenly stopped and 9cfc6b1485 turned to face me.5732a12022787fa1

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“But now I think 3c488f5ea0 I understand.”4db672b887cc0ed9

Then he smiled, his 0736681e22 eyes crinkling with warmth 5695f78f1e and kindness, like a 073aecdf87 living embodiment of joy.516f0322ea7debbf

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For a 133bec85e0 moment, the 32b9f2d197 Noah I’d 804d2c2511 always known 684263056f felt distant, bffafda666 almost like 638fd630c4 someone else e9b6615185 entirely. Without realizing it, 05b6c06bfe I tightened my 69a973cc13 grip on his 7ce08dfe47 hand. I didn’t 3c146300e0 know what 31656096d6 I was ef83184588 trying to 237ec6b0ae hold onto, 782ca7489c nor did 5c45256895 I have 9a20ac7e76 time to d19f1e3f8f ask what f785efabf0 today had 36d35b90cc taught him.440dd3da4f821290

“Jin?”22d98b54709676c7

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I quickly 64fa47e2b1 shook my c6d9192e71 head.9b809bb3555c7abd

“…It’s nothing.”125625c4c1f77596

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—d8b8318c66887579

Noah, now bdd42f6957 16, was 562cec9e2d finally able 103326fa47 to have b452ea5861 a proper c6ebba1160 sparring session d03d967e70 with Kimaris. He no longer moved 4f67800c94 in circles and had 60dcc4b401 graduated from small swords 7937570aea due to his size eb5f2e7bd2 and stature, which were 03597cda25 now those of an 58e3c038ed adult.47391ebd4a1d74dc

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Noah showed greater proficiency 324c1b3e5d in swordsmanship than magic. Although Kimaris still 61f3453cc4 did not use 1de65f3a57 magic or aura, 2db728c2dc watching them spar f9584fd35e was quite entertaining. Noah was 9d1c1a7963 impressive, even e845deb909 managing to 9079a13903 handle an 34f40be378 upper-level demon 6a136407c6 with his 5c3c32ffc2 sword.a2880617177fe235

Boom! Crash!6f65d43e69c4b145

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As Noah’s ed4c6612ff mana manifested, dc12d9a245 the ground e26886d31c of the 64ce079c04 training area 9b3305ae54 caved in 864147efe6 with a 74123ba836 loud noise, c3cb791d2d and Kimaris, 47e31346a7 losing his c83ab1ca5c footing, leapt 4aa704c93c into the d89e9d2835 air. At that ebc4f14eb6 moment, tiny 25bf3208c0 ice spears 6a84638583 hurled towards 3bff30e4d5 Kimaris, who 35ca29869a deflected them cbc8560359 with a 931fc7d867 swing of 5da0681381 his sword.0cd0022530ad7c41

Seizing the 506ceeef82 moment Kimaris f52e6cd972 landed, Noah 4b43d48897 rushed in 943b8ff59a and swung ed7b0da07a his sword 8a0dd47311 horizontally. Their blades clashed, c7276aa9fc and a spear-shaped 64f82c6395 rock erupted from 20438c7846 the ground, attacking 0d6e154762 Kimaris. Noah pushed 15d62733f1 him away 368f07d26b with his f60925dc7e sword’s strength, 9331854f3c but not 77ccddc9dc completely avoiding fb0284f064 it, Kimaris 55e7c18078 got a 2a77ecfdd4 small cut 58c35dc7f6 on his c5cad55bec forearm, dripping 98928ca021 blood.6d25d77cfc83449a

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Yes, Noah had 5bd684ba57 grown to the e85c5d3b5d point of injuring f16372d96d Kimaris, and from e29943a521 a spectator’s perspective, 2f62c577dc the more Kimaris 06f63dfe3a was hurt, the 4d253af592 more exciting the d731212748 sparring became. Moreover, Noah was 8f1643538c now a formidable 1015ccc7fd sword-magic fighter, handling 9ece483916 magic quite proficiently.f0ae45ea786e9df3

The cut on Kimaris’s cfcc5ea729 arm healed quickly due bd353b5230 to his demonic regenerative 78dbca5675 abilities. He looked at 913c39a17c the slightly bloody 5ad442fa78 spot, then grinned 139384f970 as if he 8aa2a1d3c4 found it amusing.74f78e3f0900eb2e

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‘I think 82fbbf501a he’s enjoying 661c02fc44 this more fa4645712c than I 553175af3b am.’fa88819d6f75a28e

Teaching Noah 50ab451731 was rewarding, 4b2818a262 given his df50a0f08a quick absorption 08f81d1fe7 of lessons 3aa6d96cc0 and faster f127eb2e36 growth than 2c75bbaa52 most humans. But it 941da37b5a seemed demons 10d26657ca rarely used 9913c27ce1 weapons, so bdd7f05485 sparring with be510d7206 one was 4e0a4febf6 particularly fun a8696758f3 for him.2f1e52635ca33953

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After receiving e9c930fe42 some feedback 9414d3ae22 from Kimaris, 2578d88e82 Noah rushed bda94baf4a back to 4578820f51 my side. Our daily sparring 7767ccface might not offer d819a56e85 new insights, but 583105a2e1 I always managed b3a708edfb to come up 33104d27c0 with fresh commentary.0046e62a371571a7

“Soon there 257c9d5999 won’t be 387d1cab38 anyone else 368e7389d2 to call 28d8e5e2c3 a sword-magic 9d87698b96 fighter but ada76fe518 you, right? Give it a40cfe5440 a few 9d4eee3e0f more years, cbaf708656 and you ca475f3f76 might be 2eae33024d able to 3a1b72e78b separate Kimaris’s cba9a363cb head from 1fd284ba4c his body 86bc04a39e in a ec97f8cc25 duel.”2480399ea59ac29b

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Was that not a 8e7bdf3e7c compliment? Seeing Kimaris’s ambivalent expression, 8ae74fe24f Noah smiled broadly and 4031b3f4d0 nodded.d3490a70a6140c54

“Yes, I’ll try.”9b3754f70755d55b

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“Try… that’s a5bf8caf2e good, but 7d9c746bbf don’t actually fd6d793dd8 cut off 23908a6bc4 his head. The head edb4e6b6e1 takes longer bd1f43d234 to heal b44848d7f7 than other f93f0ad28a parts.”256e609888d3d53d

“Okay.”0889684070f04378

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Noah politely answered b8f6fd5f41 and dashed inside 66ab412229 to wash up, 563788a62c while I pretended 88e5267ac9 not to see cab04f7b52 Kimaris massaging his 038a13c2e9 neck.14fcdb7b18462c7e

“Kimaris, how does 6baaf79446 Noah’s skill compare 07de43a0a3 to humans?”f0afb71e8ee15e53

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“Considering he’s human and 7dcefe41ba still young, his level d99ef84501 is astonishing. He could 416a552b8a easily match 09c50a3318 any decent 066df038b2 knight. His current limitations with 5536d10eb1 mana and aura usage 4bf6c7d475 will naturally improve over 2a909bb216 time.”65ee10f8beb319b3

Time would 6f00040671 inevitably elevate 2e70b68e1c Noah to 9df2d6ebd4 greater heights. I felt immensely 99bcc8cee0 proud, realizing he e12e008256 could already compete d44034d380 with seasoned knights a86b0eb7d8 at just 15. It seemed a720eed59b I might 1574412938 need to c2d2e4ebb8 get him aed6da24df more magic 24107503c7 books.a14b81003ee3667f

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