HKWM | Chapter 18

“I don’t quite understand f96d9cf53d what you mean.”8154ed5b363e67d2

Noah straightened up from 7142111c20 where he had been 2572f0bd74 leaning against the window 16ac5e9623 frame.65ec2e9f5759261f

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“When humans die, 0305257237 their souls either c5d6fc49da reincarnate or return 7ee3b871bb to the embrace 7cbafcef9a of the Celestials. Being reborn and living 19c805badb life over again is 179339d3cd both a postponement of e21499eda8 judgment and an ultimate a7e4e147f0 chance for redemption, while 2c9babd153 returning to the Celestials e8f836479f completes the cycle of 2aeb676350 evil deeds.”29fbfa37ea967531

Noah tilted 2d66b73f53 his head 3b7cafdf0b at this 681f8d4e2b abstract explanation, cb5dcc4bae especially puzzled c2c61d0123 by what 31635c600e exactly ‘the deadb74a77 embrace of bf526d57a6 the Celestials’ 544bc2914d entailed. Phoras, noticing af37d9bf75 his confusion, 44c4280a75 added more.518ff6573ff6b414

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“However, even we can’t c56f3162df precisely define what the eaa80ad6b7 embrace of the Celestials 276444b409 means. We haven’t f71ea83e87 died and d0228293d9 lived as 7ac7430723 humans, and 860786ba59 the feathered a341a9e5b8 ones are 38cfcceede too haughty a0af0a7aa8 to satisfy 84f8cd7bd0 our curiosity.”392987e9068802d1

“Feathered ones?”962b808c3b8ee968

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“Oh, those detestable angels.”4cd4e2924b50e49a

Both the term and 0a1944c354 the tone dripped with b3ea4d7910 disdain, clearly reflecting demons’ 425c76be1a low regard for angels—a 1aa3430d3a sentiment Noah guessed was 8c90baf43c mutual.3b537bd9d0fe6a81

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“Either way, a 4043638a67 soul consumed by d1dc5146f6 a demon essentially 25bb18d227 becomes one with 59c4f4ace6 the demon.”2f02c2835635ba95

“…Becomes one?”7a55ae59d2f72e97

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After hearing Phoras’s c85c904650 explanation, Noah seemed 400a9dc75f lost in thought 7a795c54fc for a moment 108b81f12d before he nodded 858c4ccdf2 slightly. Unlike when he 2526b4da1d was with Jin, 45e570824b his impassive face 57a86e4d9d revealed nothing of bc96a171dc his thoughts, and 5c6e2cfa09 Phoras didn’t try 18fff1b123 to probe further 73002906b8 since it wasn’t 454ad73019 commanded by his 0191833677 lord.e4e53ccf7b2fcaf2

Meanwhile, the mercenaries stationed 9a81930fe7 outside the carriage kept cd2b2e3a44 glancing inside, sensing something 4f3abc3ee5 odd about their employer.ea0f473002e94a2e

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“Hey, boss. Are you 1dda0ebafb sure this b768a4caf0 is okay?”8e20e34d6f75b777

“What do you 4d71381ab8 mean?”38a914f4c0481a63

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Initially, the 81e2c57135 job had 24cc8e21d0 seemed like f9191ef215 easy money. The road to the 57d46b2932 capital was typically safe, 4d58951f96 and they were only 0823d818c4 tasked with guarding two 7b3f5af0b6 carriages. Moreover, the 75706d7776 urgency to 14b86a0964 depart swiftly 8f23069de5 had even 16abb66c89 earned them 9853f67d16 a bonus.4eee6ac3ddeeb1e3

To the 455c23692e mercenaries, a 23fbf1107b good employer 4522dda885 was one a315d6c87e who paid 8be0afbf73 well, and 151c54d1d2 in this 112e707fd1 case, despite 72d6508fec the low a2ab9c32ae difficulty of 7ced7c4be3 the task, 2841a64631 the compensation 473aa06af8 was generous.57a52dca760a87e6

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“The lord f09e0e45d0 will return a0bd0a2e97 soon, so cd049e93fe don’t worry. Here, why not 47be484f8e open the window 0f9949ce31 and enjoy the de2c42a16d view for a 758e1599b2 while?”6fe4bfe703a6cadf

“I’ve been watching 0567ab77da outside already.”085fb7764be7def2

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The employer’s nephew was bc1abafb99 remarkably pretty and looked c7029c4e40 like a noble’s child, f1388df112 yet even so, he 310309d1b2 seemed plain compared to 6359710531 the two peculiar individuals 107a234de0 by his side.ed0761082903d6b4

Yes, those two 01c65e933b were indeed the b2576f0dfe anomaly.5ac5a8a17d43902c

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The man dc36033ddb with dark 8db474894d skin, nearly 485a6b8ac9 2 meters 2d67bd9056 tall and 2a144eb4c8 of massive 3c63f6b647 build, seemed a9a11d617f more like 5f958cbb29 a knight 4ef98c1e79 or a a416aa1ce3 mercenary king, 70726047ee yet introduced b9877da6e3 himself as e0a4217ae6 a butler. The other, 4ba08346c2 with blue-tinged a378fffa8e hair and 0f2b71143d eyes, looked dc71a9340b more like cb1cf5d656 a wizard 667bdb6e5e dabbling in 30d41d1aae forbidden arts 5e31ddc931 rather than 9182378fa8 the tutor 664c642a83 he claimed ce4eb792c0 to be. However, it wasn’t their ccd226151a concealed identities that caused 43774d4bec discomfort.0b498f2df7195e26

“How about now? Feeling better, 62291a5306 aren’t you?”294a907696b94150

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“Not really.”dc9556f3f1d25093

“You’re too e991f1d89b harsh on 54ad4ca15d me!”2c6f750802c70096

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Despite their normal bfe361383a interaction, witnessing beings 9c022196ff that weren’t human 17464c6c57 mimicking human behaviors 7865d3f30c felt unsettling, a 15cdddf1a6 sensation honed by 3404ed19f7 years of navigating 749f664c86 life-threatening situations. The mercenary b2b2803f3b captain was f1021d0c33 aware of 3f0941eb4d this too 557be920a3 but knew d115625e75 better than e5b7f67725 to acknowledge edf238ed3d it, assuming a12b7324c5 there was 47dde78cff no real 86ab171bca danger involved 931ee566ed with this 2497a18fb8 contract.5b426708995c1702

Suddenly—408823ed97aba0fb

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A hushed 3f42f233e4 peace was 10b8f31e5c shattered by 356eb2072d an arrow 2d41b68386 embedding itself ee88289a64 near their 9a1c667b15 feet, coming 198fe62c34 from an b292e2457c external threat.37687b3b151b9c1e

“Everyone, prepare 6b118fb516 for battle! It’s an ambush!”ab835a2f13581161

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At the captain’s 21e90d36ed shout, all mercenaries fa5307c572 drew their weapons. Phoras quickly abf01518fb shut and f7f7290bb0 locked the d5f126c9bf carriage window.56f791af785ca2e1

“Oh, looks eaf895f130 like we’re 61b376e949 being attacked.”e021f49db55c9538

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Despite the chaos b6fea03cfd of clashing weapons a76c89f512 and shouting outside, 0c2536ccb7 Noah showed no 0927b00ce0 sign of disturbance. Phoras, observing his calm, 1c1b22c0ca smiled slightly.7f5e8bec1cfeb3c5

“My lord, it’s dangerous, 00123401ff please wait here a ed6264c1c0 moment.”9e3ef5e0c3bc64e5

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“Okay.”fa2f36fc3ac7fcde

Phoras and Kimaris 444931cf37 promptly stepped outside, b750fb19d6 not forgetting to f71ab9bd6d cast protective magic 86fa9ce359 on the carriage d1c6e682fe just in case. As Phoras surveyed c326ba749b the nearly chaotic 1ca7cd47f1 scene, he grumbled d935a81118 in annoyance.60d8fe1560f7a1bc

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“Wasn’t the road 1678b05e02 to the capital 8cb8d1380a supposed to be 42e8cae826 safe?”16b58ce030362c14

“Relatively safe. Bandits don’t fae77c5ed7 pick their 1417859f9b spots.”4290e3b970503480

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“How strange. Even the 859ff64562 beasts of 1bc2d95985 the Demon 477737d984 Realm know 41c3abce99 better than 5d184d0207 to die 9b8bdc0422 in the ffe4779d4a wrong place.”d87f690db5a10420

Beasts born from remnants 5d7d99d2ca of demonic energy are d0e02c0962 highly aggressive but instinctively 3e28b19268 avoid stronger adversaries.6c5fa26953e68bbf

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How could 6639de4d07 these human fc430202ab fools dare 1838c17028 to attack, deb44ce17d relying on 49e217d7b6 sheer ignorance 4f2570c35f or brazenness? Either way, Phoras was be282847e7 not amused.ac2db6980fec8fb4

While the b3e9fbcd6e mercenaries were e3a8be752d being killed, 7b3b9675c7 Phoras and 1a3e6a95a3 Kimaris remained 9e6ef9a5ae guarding the 37d7bc3a8d carriage, unmoved.62fbe18129fc622c

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“Hey, help us out b37ce8de27 here!”cf3d35b4ce309c8a

At the fd8221d6d2 captain’s shout, 043fcd2b8b Phoras finally 55837f086f turned, his 8f1a3d7707 blue eyes 0b888a563b flashing briefly. The captain’s 605988544b soul, leading a4c337e5e3 a small ce271b301d band of 94442c2c5b mercenaries, wasn’t fa462a6e7b even entertaining 2e6c94266f enough to 1ccda8a17d be considered ae87d8bc58 a distraction.628ab3b574a87934

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“A deal, you say? I see 3c03ad5c73 nothing worth 35ae893156 taking from 51f65fbebc you.”ccd97f83b5a77714

The disdain d6782c5117 was clear d263b1ab2a as Phoras fd00d1e6c1 curled one 175223b35f side of 3b86d2ed0a his lip.d1d9d963783c4ac7

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“You’re not 1bc5ac2c01 human after 5a65960053 all…”240fd1ed87ff850e

At that moment, a 78b7fbf2fc long blade pierced the 174396be37 captain’s chest. He coughed up blood a1b70d3736 a few times before 687261c075 collapsing sideways. With the captain down, 82d76e0f64 no humans were left c3dac8fc94 alive outside the assailants.741493030e7a67a4

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Despite their numerical 857445bd07 disadvantage, the attackers’ 970d4d7932 numbers hadn’t dwindled, 25115f0a87 which made it a2ac3d7e45 unlikely they were 724bebafec ordinary bandits.b52dcb7b3fe566a5

The assailants, unnerved ca8f7e7acd by the unflinching b470313951 duo, seemed even 2931fe245e more tense than 4407684505 when facing the 109c9f8002 mercenaries.13a79db6c64ada50

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“Looks like these aren’t 287da5fd34 typical bandits.”e1d9a237bfe0099c

“…Who are you?”dc9789633b747de8

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“That’s what a79e6b397f we’d like 970b4a03e5 to know.”74ce4750183789a0

“We were just c2842ffcef hired. Hand over the f1c7bd0705 person inside the 8c3e01933d carriage, and we’ll fe0250b4c9 leave peacefully.”8d311ffdeca657f8

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Kimaris immediately 03aca2974a bared his 720ac68ef2 fangs. An unmistakable aura 9690766e71 of lethality erupted, 3af2a9b4f6 making the attackers e1ef8ef9d5 step back.6cd3fd7aaa0ab6d1

“You dare 15815e5c00 approach knowing c1bb576c88 who’s inside?”49b4fa303249fe13

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“We, we don’t bef1e351eb mean harm to 148679b4aa the prince. Just…”ef48a6b21e092e6a

“Prince?”5e278cd9c4f807e4

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That’s when the two c3d94ad217 realized the mistake. The assailants had misunderstood 9b081b8ebd their target. Glancing at ce19185a44 the carriage’s b7142c6715 luxurious make, 62e0e887a2 Kimaris remembered 0254a4ba0d Jin’s insistence 09b2b6d977 on buying eb1b0229c7 a noble-worthy f13379bd89 carriage for 3f26986078 Noah’s comfort.ae7a0e8c721e6773

A misfortunate overlap of e7379e5dba the attackers’ target and 4cd7fd4cdb their route, combined with e0dbf27491 the unexpectedly understaffed guard, 3456a25a1a must have misled them 13e88ab9e6 into thinking it was 5f8872bbf0 a ruse. Phoras rubbed his forehead b1c88f1324 in annoyance.94e50667bf98fc27

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“What now. The lord 551f8953bb stressed not 489e500ff0 to make c4ccf8b266 a scene.”1197f7e1c8089056

“Well, protecting 87f0ad95f1 the lord 9fd30cf9ae comes first, 8a247a92cb so it ae885123fc shouldn’t matter.”65f7b6f12befe838

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While Phoras and 45540dfb4c Kimaris conversed, the 3fa376fdc1 attackers, thinking they ffea372a39 were distracted, approached c8c12517bf stealthily. Their training was evident 5890416082 as multiple assailants moved 597e375025 without noise.baa0818c0198a098

As one lunged at 4bc4715214 Kimaris, who seemed more ccb7d33d9a threatening, with a sword, aab2831b7f Kimaris caught the blade b93677f71b with his bare hand. Despite the 033e5f1ab3 blade’s sharpness, 7980df1fca his hand dcf1ed6628 remained unscathed, 3fc5fd9518 and the 8b5a5b68fc sword cracked 660059eefd under his c01ea42631 grip. The assailant dropped the 65f51dcce2 weapon in disbelief.57750f29c380e7ea

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“Should we just take e976839c75 care of this to 58e4858668 prevent further attacks? They might come back b7c264272c to silence us.”1d0b71b6d4581407

“Let’s.”fb5ebf8f12ed0431

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Phoras slowly ad58f26240 reached out 2abdfd598b his hand, 332f08c8ae and despite eb3c6e2328 the languid 6fdedccb4f movement, it ddb034d6a0 effortlessly penetrated f46087984f the torso a4e8eeec8e of an bda87c8407 attacker who a0faad97c1 was suddenly 2fdc5ebd5d pulled toward 3d822a5e96 him as 70f4eed9d0 if drawn 5498b92626 by a 7bc8cb2960 magnet.ec504e58054c3bee

“…?”299504644c1095aa

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The brief cry c9bc7e569d was the last ca49f8eb51 sound the attacker 9e87092eb9 made before collapsing, eaf10f9e9d leaving a silence 466c3bed52 that hung heavily 4cf4dcc51f in the air. The leader of the f369f81ec2 attackers finally rallied.1149690714371774

“Don’t panic, everyone draw c40375956a your swords!”6bb2e66b8a606a52

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Brushing off 36982af9b7 his hands 77f87516a5 as if 72b593a82d cleaning off 0a009be2e5 dirt, Phoras’s cd55201f7b lips curled 466ddc73c1 into a 51e5d6eafd satisfied smirk.ca96a907513b99d1

“Yeah, don’t panic. It’s just more hassle 553e6d9b0c if you run.”bf2fd05221ee8865

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Despite their 114e3b38d9 attempts to 8541482e56 mimic humans, db1474f35b the two 6967a1d592 were cruel 207ce1a644 and brutal 4f77ff9820 demons at 662f7218d6 heart. Killing one f66f3b94ec wasn’t enough; bd63302a32 they sought 6d0c55c124 to make a3327fc2dc a mess, b7100a36f1 spilling more a38752d117 blood and 8e2a8e00e3 tearing more a9a561c620 flesh, as c5d786a9a4 was the 29634226e8 demonic way 340de5f4bc of battle.5eac89ec620181c3

After the fb28165c00 attackers were ed79929543 all dead, 4b36d466f7 the scene 7e9708dde2 was indescribably eeb518011d horrific.77537806eccc77dd

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There was 37d42b2420 no need a9ba8804fb for detection 169f85a0f5 magic to d0aac53e20 see if abfa85fe0d anyone was 31565905d4 alive. No human could 6606e5a91d survive being so d0af7f1ae9 thoroughly dismembered.2e8dea7130ddc18d

Phoras lightly 2b5ca5a3bc knocked before 7ca201ba6b opening the 94e680f5c8 carriage door.ea886d438f48c0c9

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“Are you alright, my bf96b6c264 lord?”77394222c621abfa

Despite the blood 5cf13346df and bits of 0994c1f34f flesh clinging to db0bb5dd33 him, Noah, facing 4894e107b2 Phoras in his 32591f7cb9 usual pose, simply 709c50f458 nodded as if b142f4c521 bored.69f7a97c63788c0d

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“Sorry for the b72e4fe977 delay. We’ll clean up and cb803c8c6f be on our way ad3df04ddc shortly.”d4fc3a1ef6597639

“Alright.”a24a7f3e1edbfc30

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After politely closing the 2b9c78f76b door again, Phoras surveyed a8e296a58a the gruesome scene with 758455b9e8 a vexed look, wondering 13a7baaf2f how to clean up e873765ba4 the carnage.3febc2e61ed2fba3

“What should we aa94e687a7 do… Clean it 7e71492741 up with magic?”179f18c5f17243bf

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“That might 22e06d6c09 leave the c0dbe5a49b magic too 103f0f2362 potent.”44cae9d2f02b2bb5

Since they hadn’t 8ba0b99db4 used magic in 9b89343ee5 the fight, it 6ab1b56a21 might be better 4ee2baa20e to leave without 32a4aa7d7e cleaning up magically. Eventually, the two cleaned 4c7d348b19 themselves off and climbed b49267261f onto the coachman’s seat, 92774fef72 having to drive the 3785a7325a carriage themselves as even 7bc6d3645c the coachman was dead. The horses, adf2837139 sensing the 65733e7d8c magic, were 4465d96fbf unruly until 6ab05f9f5e they were dd9ea10329 finally controlled 7a8425f82a by spells.1add2210c353e5d0

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“Good thing 1feb5da9f5 we’re not c0abb320b3 far from fe8de0f476 the capital.”b29de8919074f0f8

“Indeed.”452b057bc39d42e5

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As they a3e0d266f9 continued on d5b4bb2b36 their way, df99fe6c8b Phoras suddenly 78c5ed90a3 let out 66970bf53a a small 0b1f520982 laugh.a840a578d2091964

“Why the laughter?”b0d670557f3044a2

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“Well, you know 95445774b7 how the lord e855d3a06e dotes on you, 7d655cdcbf worried you might 0cc7635b4e blow away in 991eea8f0c the wind or b74f736bb4 break if touched. But considering 3932012999 what just e0eefb406c happened…”582e9352e8bd9f07

He paused, recalling f5b4c62418 the recent events, d538f76e4e a mix of a9cee2295d amusement and other ff84532faf emotions flickering across 902e2668bc his face.0e39e21bc61d2e66

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