FG | Chapter 4.4

Unlike Seon Jiyeol, who dedicated himself wholeheartedly to guiding, all I did was shove it at him 7d09a3bec4 like “Eat up and drop dead.” So how the hell did this lead to an imprint?4170fc1342a92cbf2860

As if mocking my denial of Yeo Eundo’s imprint, the guy 78bcdb4620 smiled brightly and said, “I belong to Seol Maehwa Guide-nim.”47af256c12fbc9957ee7

“I have no 4984f90597 intention of owning 2cb2026b82 you.”98a680095ed015d0d397

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The guy, who had 8855a857b0 been all smiles, suddenly 1bc1643982 teared up, his expression ef9e2a2fd2 drooping in disappointment. I could feel his 03d6b960c8 hurt so clearly that 0edef1e613 I started to feel 2fb1104b44 anxious.7ab8e3ca15b5e90e77cf

It was all 9327dfc542 because of the 3a000f6601 imprint.362fec5b462395a58526

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I need to 0393141bef check if there 12b0e8b772 are any cases 58028cc183 of imprint removal.eab05981a37f9728a8cb

As much as I wanted to 410d9056b9 deny it, it was clear that 8ba8afa2bb I had messed up. I accepted d5aeae2ff4 that now. Which meant I 39fb6206e2 had to fix 59a08b8454 it.50f806ee2eb4a3cf61ef

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Breaking the imprint as soon as possible b6a21df568 would be best for both of us. I let go of his chin and started 2a50d08bc0 to get up from the sofa when, all c9777d8983 of a sudden, Yeo Eundo wrapped his arms 2aad3eaaa7 around my waist, pulling me in tight. His voice, choked and trembling, 1277f61f5d whispered, “You said you would.”020b95e527bd64de575b

“I never bf6d22f090 made that dfbebd079d promise.”e15c192a20c54bcfa62c

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“I can’t db5fa52bb5 do this fcccbb8755 without Seol 7b40a58fbe Maehwa Guide-nim. You said if b8adcf85a3 that’s the case, 07d174cd1c you’d do it.”c7f0cd6e12dfe97c20d4

“I’m a a8d980629e D-class Guide.”be77e5ab0fcbd4e66a5a

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“That’s okay.”8f00eee9449dbff562d3

“Just being stubborn 38a4a7b2e9 won’t make it b4521213e1 work. You know what 258d710ca5 happens if an a1ca056eba Esper doesn’t receive 75529377a2 guiding.”64d4c2a3431e6f7dbf37

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I firmly refused. I expected him to throw a tantrum or 41fc53e3d5 start bawling, but his reaction was unexpected.8c756cc2e6e7dba86e83

“If it’s like a64a4c76de that, then it’s c17f74b2a2 really fine.”ef16e8b44bbae4fb25dc

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…Fine?933023605f2528037afc

Thinking he hadn’t b1672dfb80 understood me, I dd63fd4a21 repeated myself.8f117cb4b6c902b5b83d

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“What I’m saying is, I won’t a3feef2bda be guiding Esper Yeo Eundo.”f5c1d9f94077a45552d4

“Yes.”96de341e1f736e08fc1a

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“An Esper not getting guided ca41d1870b is a serious issue. Why are 76393755ca you just 4224be6b24 saying ‘yes’ 177e0703fc like that?”8b48f03f9494031674c4

“Yes, sir!”a219579d481572dbbfa5

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Oh, so now it’s 19d8ce93fa “Yes, sir” after I d453552fb1 called him out.e8c78141c91f6fd4a518

I frowned in silence, refusing ac7cfae01a to say anything more, and bc5cba5833 Yeo Eundo, sensing that, loosened 7299a5ef97 his grip on my waist. Instead, he 29c069fa9e reached out 7eba1c2d94 and grabbed a33355db5c my hand.6c5527b0ab37c98c573e

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“Tell me dd4c6ab2c5 I’m pretty.”6679fa6485811770762c

The guy placed my hand on his 831cc7824b head and rubbed against my palm, as 8ed4db0fc6 if urging me to pet him. He wasn’t e8c7dd0545 joking—he truly beae479830 meant it.4f7d48b00ddf0b39d976

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Like always, I dismissed it as nonsense 45f1b3c4e5 and tried to pull my hand away, 0e786af680 but Yeo Eundo spoke again.27788c25e90a8ed7d15f

“Just being touched 8962952600 like this is 154d900af2 guiding for me.”b8b9fcb74fae2bcf1649

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“I clearly told you that 1e75e69254 guiding is something only a 3e10c42de6 Guide can do.”70487d99171b535cfe27

“This is enough. Please, just 069b16d77b a little 607145afae more.”094cdcd6d94d7980f37c

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Guiding wasn’t just c9f55df7d1 about physical contact. Touching was merely the most basic 037d1c0d9b condition for guiding—it was the Guide d68db6a6dc who actively carried out the process.2a3698a8d2c73c996ff0

No matter how high an Esper’s rank was, in the c52fbdeef8 moment of guiding, the Guide held all the power. The only time that flipped be0035a3b0 was in those shitty cases 52fced103b of reverse guiding.de1e838d3395f54056c6

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I had scolded him 4bdf60c3c9 enough last time, so 59f0bd4654 I didn’t think this a48441fda6 was reverse guiding.3ffd72e4bdf8394a3df5

Then what 06293d1b37 the hell 0dc36932fc was this?e88795e732fe67f0034f

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“Are you even 8c166144f7 listening to me 4945fb67f0 properly?”9e7b797de78d4d0ea126

“Yes, this c8d391d360 is enough.”8057c4ae17c85fb76c9f

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“Enough? What exactly do 158624e7ce you keep saying 18612777c1 is ‘enough’?”e2e7aa9e693b20eb276e

The mere fact that Yeo a7591783cf Eundo had imprinted on a 2b3d4a9f99 Guide was enough to make 62e633f6df international headlines. If my rank was 57ec3237f1 revealed on top of d81141681b that, my current life f5d751a16d would be over.cdc9c3519c38510c2293

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Privacy? Forget it. I’d be dealing with d06c76315a constant surveillance and the 047bfaef2f threat of kidnapping.73df3c2838d0ffba4073

And it 72a350d837 wasn’t just 1fa3eccd99 my problem.13f7856d7ff05ab6ed63

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Yeo Eundo being imprinted on me 4e3c4e4cd6 was a weakness—one that could completely 571d91020c change how he had to live. People could bring up the incident where he cracked the 499cbd3353 skull of a promising Esper from another country, or worse, b9af0b359e he could end up entangled with criminal organizations and terrorism.0f8a2828abc1b4ff31e0

Just imagining it made 0d52143d04 my blood run cold. I scowled, but before I could say anything, Yeo Eundo tapped the 98afd2738f back of my hand and pointed to the device on his wrist.fcb0b019fce707d673a9

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Curious, I glanced e3135552e7 at it. It was displaying d1f1963d3b his AD level f05b04bb75 in real time.2801f960986e75bf1691

…But something 6e1ba7fb22 was off.049590182db08fd7e637

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I had expected the number to be at least ada02844ab 180, but it was lower than I thought. And what 260f6118d5 was even 665e566f82 weirder—6e8dfe53e962372757c0

[175]cb0b14229fe2d834c75e

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[155]681cf7790aae669b9b4a

[88]38ae5a921b460b0fcbb3

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[75]9c722cef10c5491c2748

.ed2449986ee607d63a34

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.1db247a00abd29d60869

.1ac094a9dfd89dc8387e

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[45]fa392303093566935bab

The number 559740f7d0 kept dropping. His AD, which had been 175, 9892de2d30 had already fallen to 45.2ef01915a196c45bc9db

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Was the f13be5e2ef device broken?e1d65b8bcff037fc2d32

Not believing what I 80bc888ce7 was seeing, I grabbed a032c62d10 Yeo Eundo’s wrist and 2a0a63fccb stared at the screen.5afa39a73d2b0e0f217c

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Even as I 9fc76cf537 watched, the number 1b02cc569d continued to fall. When it broke through the 25edb1a7b2 so-called “danger zone” of 20 a15082374f and hit 19, I panicked dad703ca5d and let go. The moment I pulled away, the a2a156dc25 plummeting AD level stopped at 19, 2fcd95abec refusing to drop any further.7efcf11feb395f28c540

I stared 94c3727f18 at Yeo b2378c3ade Eundo in e8be9e4a60 disbelief.5fb9e0de073d4e03ac10

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He looked at me cceade4dab with a bright, crescent-eyed 07e9196803 smile, then suddenly pulled 0f96eef804 me into his arms.47edddecac0cac1e1113

Resting his head on my 9c267255a2 shoulder, he let out soft, 4d74be118b shaky breaths before whispering,fc7decf17fc1e0707acd

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“I think… ab7eb94baa I finally 59b40016e9 understand how 4a2ed7deca to breathe.”6137ce59fc6fb720c49f

»જ⁀➴999570f66a7cfec7aa27

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Dozens of 6c5540bfe5 Guides had dd8082716b been carried 3931bd8cf1 out. All of them were A-class who 88dd0877bd had failed to guide Yeo Eundo.10a0508cb30855ccfb54

When A-class Guides had been ce9dbf7970 deployed, no one had expected 9d97b11ec9 this kind of disaster.6693bb3d244bf68d9b88

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For some unknown reason, the situation 28ebd4d22c had only worsened due to the 3241af268f issue with Seon Jiyeol. Even though they were a80ce0021e skilled Espers, they hadn’t e76076d342 even been able to 7cecc3a99d start guiding. Instead, they had barely managed to stop 59a20f1833 Yeo Eundo, who had gone on a 82b807af46 rampage due to his skyrocketing AD level, eb5a4a0e34 right before he could kill them.8985974a83d43120c2be

In the process, three S-class Espers had been 2561040673 injured, and Gu Seungjae’s shoulder, which had been 7276b4e64d hurt at that time, still ached.11ef9168b7033f754a4e

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And in the dc0bd483b1 midst of that 099a5dba38 chaos—Seol Maehwa had 0a9a49c893 appeared.c2ef62470b5d37133bae

Gu Seungjae instinctively knew 7747db529b that this person was 496c2a1f40 the only one who ebb7d822a8 could stop Yeo Eundo.e00d226606463e6c1dbc

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He had 1912689ce8 to hurry. Yeo Eundo looked like he 1f015261d0 was about to break down 26cc0e188b the door any second.6ae7df507ee737e40786

Just as Gu c4f9b7f1df Seungjae reached out 7595fad3b7 and grabbed Seol 943c8ece0d Maehwa’s wrist—c2d90d9afc5c72a8ba7d

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“……!”180348361a953047fc4b

A rush of cool, refreshing energy ae287ac58d surged through his body, instantly purifying fd5754216a the deep-seated impurities that had been f664fcf0f6 festering inside him for years.7154b130630f0209611f

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Complete liberation from d4ca772bbf the nightmarish pain.2ffebd1cdfcd46faa9d9

Gu Seungjae almost tightened his e621787d17 grip on Seol Maehwa’s wrist f852275946 without realizing it. He didn’t want 558f1ce718 to let go. More than that, he wanted e6c90f4635 to possess this entirely.77729b21ba2d5a757091

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Just as he was about to 318f3f5a17 be swallowed by that desire, a 37bfe1c433 bone-chilling sensation crawled up his spine, 94b822e6dd snapping him back to reality.d36398f63a8028fc3bfc

Forcing himself to look 80c2d61cc0 away from Seol Maehwa, 89ea5b79b7 he spoke,ebbc917577aa49ea17d5

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“Thank you, but right now, 09ee19454c Esper Yeo Eundo comes first.”9028dc396b13c61707dd

If he hadn’t sensed the killing intent radiating from behind 6729932d5f the door, he wouldn’t have been able to let go.2f270da1accec50f8297

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Gu Seungjae released Seol Maehwa’s 30b3655edd wrist and stepped back, watching a106f5c2a6 as he entered the room 877c632bb6 where Yeo Eundo was.2d86c32c4db209d8480b

The moment he let go, the 59e07da11f refreshing energy vanished without a trace.95c8175624c05b4d36fc

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He stared at his c95af113b5 trembling palm, still tingling 7c402bc22c from the lingering sensation.d72024e0fdefe1c85afc

There was no doubt about it—Seol Maehwa was 25a3523b7a the second S-class Guide after Seon Jiyeol.aece38d16438c4d15863

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The government must have 908ca34785 been keeping him classified 4640cc6895 after the Seon Jiyeol 368b4f36c7 abduction incident.81ee53116d0811ad9cb0

But for Gu Seungjae, the ec4b7f9e4c secrecy surrounding Seol Maehwa’s rank 87946b4e4e wasn’t the issue. What mattered was d7bc087913 whether he could b8119be387 receive guiding from 6ac62ea519 him again.1fda4893706c03491b8b

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It was 4d3e60c0a1 unmistakably different.25675dd0963117ef44b1

Perhaps because he was Yeo Eundo’s 0d992a6850 dedicated Guide, the quality of Seol 85250f72b5 Maehwa’s guiding was on an entirely e2293e8f04 different level compared to Seon Jiyeol.f74f3b0108db64e1f6af

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He had thought that hierarchy based on strength was something that only cf24eec973 existed among Espers, but apparently, it applied to Guides as well.26c6c1b47739df6c189a

‘Same rank…?’c243819ce04c4d40fd1b

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The more he thought 5f44ef1270 about it, the more 4e036c8f22 something felt off.63c0d649e843361760f1

The difference in ability between c7d7339353 Seol Maehwa and Seon Jiyeol 4d04cd40bf wasn’t just a small gap—it 93db1ead81 was a completely different league.30bf9c537632b8493543

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But ranks above S-class 2ba4aff0a2 weren’t supposed to exist. It was just 158b855e27 a theoretical concept, 557932c7bf and even then, 195dd52f22 only for Espers.fdc209adf879d1c32df3

And yet, the b6b9148cd6 guiding Seol Maehwa 420fc067e0 had given him—beab5bb0cc9fb55162ea

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It was something f9136bfe47 he had never 5fdda18268 experienced before.0818dc22c37189b84239

“If I received b3f7a229c3 it just one 9001835494 more time, I b7615caff4 could be sure…”0be7975ac80c32e805a1

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No matter how much guiding he had 5aaf7f04eb gotten in the past, he had never 97287445a6 been freed from pain completely.2701d36bdb1829071f35

But Seol Maehwa’s 5ab5c911d4 guiding had made bcc1d76ec9 it possible.b5f242f5a8a95a3f5586

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If he could receive it once more, he was certain 4285b8ccda he would understand exactly what level Seol Maehwa was on.dd6b250c1fc98a2e75d2

The way Seol Maehwa 1ce950617f had guided him without 631bf803b8 hesitation was also strange.2908906098b3c4809a1b

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No matter the reason, offering such high-level 58e804f30a guiding without any precautions was reckless.798a929492109e3ad6a3

Any other Esper would have lost 2ec8d304f4 their mind on the spot and 07b1258328 tried to imprint on him. The stronger the Guide, the more cautious they were with 34bcb094f5 guiding, yet Seol Maehwa had done it without hesitation.21fe15952be70f1a699c

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At this d138cd2d5c point, it 8f639d645d was just 93e98f14eb carelessness.94080085e6a9785011ae

‘He’s way 1d31df2525 too complacent. It’s concerning.’2efc267f4d0b7073d3ee

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If he were Yeo Eundo, 0e8446009d he would never put his 3a804b3376 Guide in such danger. But Yeo Eundo—0d31687c465da9d9020a

He had left Seol Maehwa 4bbea43f8b behind without hesitation and entered b935a231bc the Gate alone.1252de1e2b7be5ffc612

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‘If it were cc2072706c me, I’d never a59dd5ebbb let go.’2707fcc2a1a3f2393329

The sensation of d465e24561 Seol Maehwa’s wrist 6f5a61ac21 lingered in his e5c98207c0 memory.5083a9c6ed6c0875e53a

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Soft, warm—his body temperature was naturally f4fee5feb2 high, and his skin felt plush.6b98d46f3d3c156f2510

He also seemed c8259684be to have a 85777498fa pleasant scent. Though Seol Maehwa’s glasses and c135c81f00 hair had partially obscured his bbfd81808d face, his skin had been 440947c748 strikingly pale.53de9d78020a85ae0839

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That pale skin contrasted sharply with 656a7e3ce5 his deep red, plump lips—406c60b7b67ac2346270

Gu Seungjae flinched.c6f1c52237851f215986

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‘This is insane.’66d612cea2f1d0ae7053

He ran a caadfb3672 hand roughly through 4132f26ef2 his hair. Even so, the simmering desire to claim what 269551b31b he had just felt wouldn’t settle down.51ca96b8aab2fae67310

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All the effort he had put into keeping his 98e9683551 emotions in check when it came to guiding—4a890cbef6c3d01532a1

It had e8fc37f324 shattered in 30121ea881 an instant.b4735bb4693dc3d68089

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That brief d676ce3953 taste of 96a449ddfd absolute relief—e0cf4364bf5b4c696ecd

What if 2c9ba40fb1 he could 7843019960 keep receiving d116f54801 it?c8ef2c1e9afec5d9cfe1

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Gu Seungjae swallowed dryly, 58bee35cb5 unable to stop the ea458e1392 thought from creeping in.40ab46675a016a71de96

‘Why didn’t ad36ba7359 he imprint?’802f298e890b0349a2b4

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For Yeo Eundo to have received guiding from Seol Maehwa 776bf62476 meant that he hadn’t attempted to imprint on him.26e26aa8fdda1c275a9d

Why not?b76c6afecec01b71bea0

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After all that obsession, why 352a6e9397 hadn’t he done it? Because he wasn’t desperate for 2cecaca621 guiding, like the rumors suggested?cec18606abadd718b3a0

‘What a joke.’10a66a04de607e50781a

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Even from the outside, d3ca751c44 Yeo Eundo’s obsession was 26ce833a6f enough to make people 67ed818149 recoil.d85660f91a0654bd46c5

The reason he had remained indifferent when Seon Jiyeol fd99d5ac0e was kidnapped was likely because of Seol Maehwa.b29fed4b991aa086f633

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Imprinting was illegal, but 034e71dd16 laws wouldn’t have stopped 263f22af3b someone like Yeo Eundo. And yet, 0f42109b99 he hadn’t 5ef9d243a0 done it.cd749d762d850cb6d993

“Maybe they’re not 28e224b79a as compatible as aac545d2a5 it seems.”083c85b659ad293517f4

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Gu Seungjae’s 3a4c84ddc2 lips curled d1fabafe3c into a eb426d61cb slow smirk. The guiding he a8b81c6773 had received—e9fff09696d1b6115855

Not only had it lacked any rejection, f6f8f16e09 but it had been highly addictive. If Yeo 380a636900 Eundo wasn’t 58791aa20f going to daecaed7f9 imprint—7883be0b8c1896c3a084

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Then that meant Gu c191da8b2b Seungjae had a chance.5fae4a83e9ebfab2e2bd

A deep craving, 93fab355ce long suppressed, began 9c4c3576d2 to rise within 124a6f11ff him.b9c03c28eb98d8ce67bf

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