HKWM | Chapter 7

“Go to sleep.”

After dinner, I planned to just check on Noah and head back, but he didn’t look like he was planning to sleep anytime soon.

“Do I need to put you to bed every day?”

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He really needed to get some rest. I glanced out the window, noticing faint noises and a lingering presence—it seemed the mercenaries from earlier hadn’t completely retreated.

“Where are you going?”

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His intuition was too sharp… Without showing my concern, I responded.

“Nowhere in the middle of the night. Stop the nonsense and go to sleep.”

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Noah’s lips twitched slightly, clearly a sign of his own form of protest, but eventually, I sighed, amused, and gently held his hand, soothingly stroking his chest with the other.

“There, okay? Now close your eyes.”

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Finally, he obeyed without a fuss, and soon, regular breathing indicated he had fallen asleep. Once sure he was asleep, I quietly slipped outside.

Even if those thugs were lost in their folly, they wouldn’t dare enter the room, but just in case, to prevent any harm to Noah, I intentionally walked outside the inn to a secluded area, drawing the mercenaries toward me. It seemed they wanted to intimidate me, forgetting I could detect their sloppy attempts at stealth.

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Finding ourselves isolated, I stopped and turned around. The mercenaries revealed themselves, flaunting their weapons, and one of them, who had made eye contact with me earlier, was visibly trembling behind his comrades.

“Look, he knew we were following! I told you we shouldn’t have come…”

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“Shut it, you fool! They’re just naive kids, don’t freak out.”

I watched their pathetic squabble with a mix of amusement and disbelief.

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I hadn’t yet killed anyone or consumed a soul. These fools were certainly sinful, but nothing compared to the atrocities I’d seen on the day I first met Noah. In this world, killing a person or two didn’t amount to a significant crime, not to mention that knights and mercenaries were inherently expected to harm others.

As I was contemplating, I sensed someone approaching with light, cautious steps, staying just out of reach—I assumed it was a wild animal. But to my surprise, it was Noah, not a beast, who walked out from between the bushes.

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“I thought you were sleeping… How did you get here? And what can you possibly help with?”

“Are you planning to kill these people?”

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His tone was as casual as if discussing the weather, and I found myself speechless. But Noah didn’t stop there.

“Humans usually die if you hit their neck, heart, or lungs. Skin is tougher than you think, so you need a sharp blade or a lot of force. If the blade hits a bone and gets stuck, twist the wrist slightly to bypass the bone and push deeper.”

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“What… Noah.”

“Ah, don’t you use a knife?”

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His offer to help was clear, but I was at a loss for words. Never had I expected a lecture on how to kill from a child.

“Shall I do it for you?”

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He wanted to repay me, so if it was okay, he would do the killing. The proposal, following his morbid instructions, left me needing to catch my breath.

“Let’s… talk about this tomorrow.”

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“Huh?”

“Sleep well, Noah.”

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With that, I covered his eyes with my palm and teleported him back to the bed in our lodging. The mercenaries, who were bickering nervously, paused in shock as Noah vanished.

“What the… Was he a wizard?!”

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“Damn it… A wizard? Why would someone like that be here… Did he just use a scroll?”

If only they knew a wizard would have been less of a threat.

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I waved my hand, and the mercenaries collapsed without a sound, their lives extinguished as simply as if I had swatted flies.

Killing them and consuming their souls was as easy as moving my body, and not as horrific as I had anticipated. Only then did I fully realize that I was no longer anything close to human.

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The Demon Lord didn’t worry about my lingering human memories. From the moment I was reborn as a demon, and throughout the time I spent alone in the fortress, my humanity had been gradually eroded away.

***

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After disposing of the mercenaries’ bodies, I returned to the inn and collapsed on the bed. My thoughts naturally drifted to Noah.

I had known from the first that he was an exceptional child, but I hadn’t realized his understanding of basic moral concepts was so lacking. Teaching him seemed a daunting task.

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Knock, knock—Creak—

Lost in thought, I was startled by a knock and the careful opening of the door as Noah entered without waiting for a reply, clearly anxious.

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“…Jin, did I do something wrong?”

His voice was tinged with insecurity, prompting me to finally address the thoughts I’d been wrestling with.

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“Come here, Noah.”

He hesitated, then approached.

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“Do you remember I told you I’d teach you how to live normally?”

“Yes.”

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“Randomly killing people isn’t normal, at least by human standards. You’ve survived in a kill-or-be-killed environment, but you know that’s not normal, right?”

“Yes.”

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“It’s not that you should never use force. Trying to talk to someone who’s immediately threatening you with a knife is foolish. What I mean is, it’s better to resolve things through dialogue whenever possible.”

“Like when you negotiated the price of the house yesterday?”

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That was unexpected. While I believed in rational spending, that example made me slightly embarrassed.

“Well, yes. Anyway, if dialogue fails, then physical confrontation can follow, and if that’s not enough, weapons may be necessary. Sometimes, a situation only resolves when someone dies. But my point is…”

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Noah waited quietly for me to continue.

“You should avoid shedding blood whenever possible.”

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“Okay, I’ll do as you say, Jin.”

His prompt response was admirable, but I wondered if he truly understood. He hadn’t simply shifted from outright killing to considering more covert methods of violence, had he?

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“Especially you, you might have to endure more than most.”

“Why?”

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“Because you’re going to be stronger than most humans.”

He looked confused, so I clarified something I should have mentioned earlier.

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“Do you know why you were made a gladiator slave?”

“Because I was weak.”

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“Partially true. You’re weak now, but soon you’ll be far stronger than most humans. That’s why a child like you could be a gladiator slave. Being strong means having things that others can’t easily take from you.”

Blood stains on the body wash off with a bath, but sins etched on the soul do not. While Noah’s exterior seemed freshly cleaned, his soul still bore the marks of bloodshed. Yet, with more days ahead of him than behind, his future actions could change everything.

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Heaven offers humans opportunities to redeem themselves, never fully withdrawing the path of righteousness unless they’re utterly corrupt. But demons capitalize on human folly, quickly claiming souls to ensure they don’t lose their due.

Being claimed by a demon means an end to the cycle of rebirth and a permanent fall from grace.

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However, Noah still had a chance to turn back, and I wanted to ensure he lived a normal life.

“Being strong doesn’t mean you have the right to commit sins. So, living normally, like others, will require even more patience from you. Remember, enduring is the path to a normal life. If you don’t want to meet another demon like me, choose the hard path. Do you understand?”

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“Yes.”

“Let’s really go to sleep now.”

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Noah took my hand and quietly followed me.

Yes, the child who had awkwardly fidgeted with his fingers when I first held his hand, had now naturally grasped it. Even if he didn’t understand everything now, continued guidance would change him.

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I smiled warmly and led Noah by the hand.

***

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After ordering from the now familiar menu and while waiting for our food, Noah, lost in thought, asked,

“Jin, what happened to those mercenaries yesterday?”

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Should I tell him the truth or add a little fiction? After a moment of hesitation, considering Noah wasn’t a child easily frightened or whose innocence would be shattered, I decided to be straightforward.

“I ate them.”

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The answer omitted much context, but smart as he was, Noah seemed to understand. However, sensing something off in my expression, he inquired further.

“Why? Did they taste bad?”

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“Taste? I don’t really know. I was very hungry, so I think they tasted alright.”

I truly didn’t remember much. It was my first time killing someone and consuming a soul, and the heightened state of my senses at the time obscured my normal perceptions.

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“Was it because you hadn’t eaten souls in a while?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

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“Why didn’t you eat sooner?”

Flustered by his barrage of questions, I felt slightly foolish for hesitating to kill as a demon. But knowing Noah wouldn’t spread rumors—and who would believe him if he did?—I decided to be honest.

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“I just didn’t feel like it. You might find it funny, but I don’t like unnecessary killing. I waited as long as I could.”

Noah nodded profoundly, as if he had come to some realization. Whatever he was thinking, he seemed to have resolved some internal questions.

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“Should I help you?”