HKWM | Chapter 26

The blacksmith swept his 8b97d58314 chest in surprise as c180a6a664 Noah and I suddenly f1034f44ae appeared out of thin 5ac4435d4d air. He looked as 1ffbf95c43 if he had a27a5f9ee7 seen a ghost. Well, he 1080ea37f2 was actually 72ebb2bff6 staring at eb6f9a160e something worse 51913233f3 than a 001b8031f1 ghost—an Archdemon. Noah, too, e261a744f2 was curiously 43203186d9 looking around e2ed2ac92d the smithy, 9cb45b2e4b a place cc1f1bdb7f he was e5d63b21b7 visiting for c923fd95bf the first 4ef713e5c5 time.8292e3dc03fbb66c

“Uh, how cbd5624252 did you 72b6d3c0b3 get here…?”00b07d037a70e059

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“You called us, a8fb52feaa didn’t you? Isn’t the sword 256e56140c ready?”e4e2999b05c1c8ea

“Yes, but how 281796b71d did you arrive b1e67833ad so immediately?”9b90bcaea1c9c692

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“Obviously through magic.”0c9eaeb3b272307c

“But… the b58a60467c capital is 75ee4ecffc surrounded by 8cbe48ac46 magical barriers….”120f5af371f8cd70

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“Slipping through them is 15e9e46f05 just a minor hassle.”4dd6282473cc9f66

The magic of 6bf78b8957 the royal palace b20558161a might be formidable, 794a16bfd2 but the barriers 04face6490 around the capital 16d7d294ed were merely an b6a4be94ef annoyance, easily penetrable deba2efed7 without anyone noticing.9bc1eeba88c3c5e2

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“…You’re no ordinary e197292805 demon.”6b4fe2c75b605c56

The blacksmith looked 8bfcf1e288 somewhat alarmed. While dispelling bbb285e94e magic was 58257a3b58 something common 717a177eaf demons could 791dc6f281 manage, doing 5b04175b69 so undetected ed12e98e5c was a 54c392e71f different matter. Of course, for an 9a1c392048 Archdemon like me, it 371a8e3ab8 was hardly a concern.cb1bed19e2ca6272

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“That’s right.”543692d19212f406

“But why 50970cdee0 with me…”369dcddfa04d611e

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“I needed 798aa0b9b0 a good 2377fb5bcd sword, and 4d7ff6eac3 I heard 29072d45ed you’re the 656c47e14b best smith 939124313e in the a614a738f2 capital. It was simply 567db6cca6 a fair trade.”a47e1d0829a357a6

The blacksmith 6c6f1f9e53 seemed unconvinced, 796deb57c5 but he 5ed7a62e47 didn’t ask 532337d7f3 further. It appeared 6430d4c8cf he decided 6f96664a6b it wasn’t 67b14fa941 his place 1060063ff4 to meddle 885e0e4c15 further. I nudged db0f5a37bb Noah forward 67894b9fa4 to prevent f2164b01af the conversation 5fbc3d7b4c from dragging a9681df557 on.2e15eebd98453940

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“Noah, didn’t I say 4fe0ed1895 I’d get you a 8e7c8af15f gift?”341b3c51c8ceee27

“Could it be…?”2f9c1faa4dba5538

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From the exchanges 7c2a90273c and the setting, c559ccff54 Noah guessed what ceb856e30a the gift might c3abac666e be, his face f89c99e0ad lighting up with 6ce3b47811 excitement. The blacksmith, quick 48943dc2f3 to recognize the 0ffda7fe88 real owner of 88f9e3c665 the swords, handed 4a9a1c29e1 Noah two finished 19b718e8ce blades instead of 40f39479c3 questioning why I 94e3ccb208 brought a human.1c59776335fedae8

One was cae9187f77 a standard-sized 36b1df72e6 sword and 712ffbf894 the other 6ea70a55bb was slightly 86a32b3f5c smaller, suited 27a6b97479 to Noah’s 6e4582bac9 current stature 849c35a8c5 and build. I had requested 23d389c220 only one, but d093ab0ce3 the smith had 4daed35d23 thoughtfully crafted two, b8accbe6c4 which was commendable.4a089e0694e3c691

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“Draw the sword and 3c85b60d2b see. If you’re not satisfied, f4cb36b489 I’ll have it remade.”43b8056442821e2f

At my 04360223ba nod, Noah 305a4cc36f slowly unsheathed 77c969f41d the sword. Although he had 035105ab5b only recently started f35457e7db training with Kimaris 8aedb1522c in swordsmanship, his 77435ad2af clumsy stance and 2ec4d924fe the thrilled look 73f32fcdd7 as he inspected 946dc44314 the blade were 718d0eddcc quite endearing.fc90c5492aae6778

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While Noah examined the 9f66358100 swords, the blacksmith added:65c33bdf3e39dfb7

“I couldn’t b572f0669e meet the b71ccebc4f young master 4f804dc7a8 personally when 173a6287ad making these, 92ad0f73d5 so I b8a4f8a6f4 can’t claim 5b01ec0f2f they are 09ad967c68 perfectly suited. However, I 9ba118f08e made them 53aa8cc761 as light 9286804231 as possible 52da703814 so he 4b9ff0453b can use b62cc7fd0b them until c3eb246811 he grows 8020b8d30a fully, and 223e0c0da8 I’ve engraved d8dea06629 mana circuits acd3056bba to make 7c397ef67e aura manipulation 79cba79b36 easier. The larger sword 2a0dbd085f is made for 36b89bdcd3 when he’s fully 2d5218a228 grown, assuming he bffc1709dd can already manipulate 5471a06753 aura…”abb386c74a2d8256

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“Wait. I’m not 23afee1365 really knowledgeable a38f0ef3c4 about swords, fe79679006 so I 1877d227e9 don’t understand 8aa32eab57 all that.”977a00cf840bf231

As the dbe0eacf46 blacksmith rambled 0d6e1d025d on, I 93ca2f1c49 waved my 182bed1bc6 hand to f0fc00202c stop him, bf0c2794e9 as I c0dcbdbd21 too was 92adef485f clueless, and fbe745f76d so was 339dd5b595 Noah. I should have brought cff5f1d5b7 Kimaris, who knew about 1e5338c94c swords.0d4ded1c0365b1f2

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“So, in simple b20d997ecb terms, do you f059fb2483 think they turned d865eb4225 out well?”9b2926d5996dcfea

After a moment’s 1ae58581ff hesitation, the blacksmith d1609eab27 replied firmly.cd2942f1980df8fa

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“I dare 9a99c56c44 say these 84968188c5 are not 1c9c0c523a items I 20a609a60f would be 6179c7370f ashamed of.”05f7092eb44fd02e

I then 8a36b3eac7 asked Noah.0f3bf9c9aef94daf

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“Noah, do you like 2e9c627985 them?”3f6e9143f130f6fc

“…Yes.”9117685c47c79976

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Seeing Noah’s careful 79242455e6 scrutiny of the 9c7a716bb2 blade, I nodded 66960d0cb1 in satisfaction.95649164fa44d5ed

“Then, that’s settled.”25068069abf2c69f

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At that 6c42e48ea7 moment, magic 149ac42067 gathered in fcaabf3881 the blacksmith’s bcd22d1c64 eyes. Our deal was 78e4880636 that I would 0d85dfcbef be satisfied with 63396e5f26 the swords he 3e26840747 made, and with c8ebdaed2d that fulfilled, marks 1c7248d659 appeared in his 1214e611e8 eyes that had 477ba1e518 seen through souls.812c510ac483f160

This was 0ed8a86ce2 my first d73523a04b deal since 1abe6865d4 becoming a b1b9ebb309 demon, and a081c5ff78 unlike the a9b16740a1 previous Archdemon 59fc77db90 of Wrath, 97ad9ed3df I had 507dd8b123 little memory df3063f544 of frequent a7f61e3863 contracts or 45b7258a35 dealings, but d7c2794c92 the process 0506891a25 wasn’t hard. It felt d1eef47e21 as natural 5d6b4224ca as breathing f2c9631022 or moving 729da26310 unconsciously.84403896670bb97d

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Noah finally e60d34a1d7 looked away 5aa749644e from the e579fb4fea sword and f4d2e5d5c0 asked.d3e3e76212e545bd

“…What did you 771d61e267 do?”3186494fef834f7a

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“A trade. I agreed to 2252c9859e grant him a 3a0dd7c5d5 favor in exchange 1c7382aa02 for making these dc0b30e30b swords.”d72e0116379cb039

“What favor?”a228cdf091f709f4

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“You’ll hear about bc10fe6373 it soon.”bf66dddd165dc854

Though Noah looked keen b5fdb13b48 to hear more, I 8943fe1924 had no intention of 6ae652ef77 showing anything further.e6073799db7d20d8

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“Noah, let’s head home. We’ll be 775d0cdebe back soon.”d352dbb5e54a4f2f

“Wait—”9d02b2924c34c29d

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Before Noah 4f8e724f9a could say 4e094724c8 more, I 5087607a95 warped us cf7d694605 back home. Showing him the trade ef0c7ad2f8 was somewhat impulsive. The sight 5201cf8311 of red 5b873808a2 mist being aa3f4b7b3a sucked into 07f0758166 the eyes 9a38eb75da and permeating 8e82bb23da the body 80c7227203 was a 4077756278 disturbing, eerie 50d741604c spectacle for f18081d2d6 any normal d1b6b68621 human, and 2062d30be2 I wanted b20925d50d to instill 693ff98be5 a sense fb88ee634a of caution. Whether he 34fd1ad17a understood my 6ec8f1bae9 intention, I 21dfa7ce15 wasn’t sure.b78b062deb8cbf42

“Now it’s my turn 1c5d1fb074 to fulfill the trade. What shall 51fa8e52bf I do?”e60e6cda0fcebb17

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The blacksmith, momentarily 53f5a21483 startled by Noah’s dec85a4664 sudden disappearance, soon dcdac39a57 steadied himself and f1f495729b said:3df162758cb29f58

“…Please, give 9d53566708 me the 086fe57c08 power to babb58635c avenge that 75bed58160 knight.”f1b1a1fe0bc91b38

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I had been worried a3adb29757 he might ask me a2ba5008c3 to kill the knight 257e3eeee5 because he seemed too 1e8e4ea0d4 kind-hearted for that, but bbcb0b3acc thankfully, he didn’t. Relieved, I placed my f4f73acb35 hand over the blacksmith’s bd08435472 head and transferred some 4eb20c12d2 of my power.0100ac8d150977ac

Realizing something had 2e23943a26 changed, the blacksmith fb19f3b2db looked at his 68812d9274 hands, lost in 09e9aca918 a serene ecstasy. I couldn’t 288aed26d2 feel what f77a2374ed he felt, ce29ed8acb so instead, 890c5d6c68 I peered 48777dca9f into his 37ac9b43b5 soul through d097556472 his eyes. His soul 0a46093127 had darkened—a 19a70a3dc7 consequence and 6844bbbf4d another price 62beeaa0f2 of dealing a0e5aeebdc with a b12b500551 demon.cb3368b3e09bf7cf

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“You human child.”b98dcb0227594e43

The blacksmith 17fbe8ce5c looked up f5aa0b61d6 at me, 770a23a126 somewhat sourly b92b756246 surrounded by e58850a951 a mist 6b595a50ad of demonic 495df3cde8 energy. Calling me a 5bc206b702 child seemed odd 4a24035d88 to him, given bc89bfe5a6 my youthful appearance.a40b75565e7f8627

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“I am the fce723fd21 Archdemon, Wrath. Thus, the power to 6aba3f7627 avenge the most precious dac7df18d3 thing taken from you a5e2003cf0 suits you better than 0077f5e39f anything.”8aa1ea6d69e5b811

“…You’re Wrath…”bfcc1b99fff9234a

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Hearing he was dealing c8ab0d5f01 with an Archdemon, the 8b41eb05d1 blacksmith was visibly shocked. Even a deal with defc6081b0 a high-level demon would d7db48ca8f be out of reach 77560a57d3 with just two swords, 054c845ae3 let alone an Archdemon.c3d9d46fbfa01768

Technically, a c51c0ed41b trade means 6f33a5641f just giving eb752ae1b2 as much 1eaaf14aab as you cfe0b997e7 receive, and 912f4514a6 there was 47556bc0d2 no need 40a9fadff2 to explain fc11c9b617 this much. I didn’t need 343af51745 to reveal my e8eec96c25 identity. However, I 6e951faffa wanted to 1c8b4df4f5 let him 12b1947bd0 know that 35cbf23e6b the power b777fb1405 I gave 1311e49fee him was 77ca87d74d enough to 8372cd408f complete his 45de4056f6 revenge and 73ba915188 escape untracked.780eb0b04fd76853

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“I already f2f2a8b423 warned you 072cc858dd that a 50bc112d31 miserable end f26388a876 awaits you.”694aede9dbd3128d

“…Of course.”89af5285eade9344

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“That’s not 901346e14d just about 05dcbe9b98 human life. Don’t think the end d2c6f7793a of a soul burdened bbbd72f3e3 with evil deeds will 075aea4d8a be easy.”c08c5aae242f1097

“I am aware ceba5a99ae of that.”043589680f2be597

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I hesitated before finally 9258b8771b deciding to speak my e4b49ab5e7 mind. After all, I 2cf12077eb am a demon, 56cf795a10 and I can 2a73c82520 say whatever I 9741f42aa1 want.0121fed0999b02fb

“By making a deal d147d01628 with a demon, your 2b9f1b27f4 soul is already stained 026d5d900e with sin. But whether the c4d153ba74 robbed becoming the 22ad25d7a0 robber counts as 34fd94e26a an evil deed, 59c6d93c2b that’s for the 6e95f2dde9 heavens to judge. So you might 3259f7203f end up suffering b2b982afc7 more than you 0d80a7bdd0 deserve.”8a0e7537ce05130f

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“Yes.”639914ae38b3d989

“It’s too late 8d38bd6f73 to turn back d4c53b08af now. So don’t leave any abaf93ae4f regrets.”25a3f1a87a3c2b5c

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The blacksmith stared at 9d5f44de9e me for a long bdcef44442 while, saying nothing. Perhaps suggesting 2fa8ced829 he go aacac9d261 all out 816e5b5929 on his e991854931 vengeance was 332e9e245e too demon-like 316cd48651 for a 94d9b9c2a4 human to ed46d29624 accept, but babf9ce220 his soul e9c9e1b09d was not 9ef66239af so fragile a95cdefb19 as to 667fd5d326 be swayed 73fd01c0fb by a 5441b8d5bf single remark cb29fd2f17 from me.e2c8d19d6e109ea3

“…Why do you tell 53b063d596 me such things? This trade 2398fb4076 isn’t just 3302ad01fe a mere 46439cc389 amusement for dab21d324b you, is 7557811278 it?”6317dbdf07968e01

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I hadn’t expected such 3d83d64fb5 a question. Why do humans 0c29ff1f8e always wonder about 3fdc5557d5 a demon’s feelings? As if it 6dca964025 wasn’t already hard 26bf70e6db enough trying to 5cbf0d015a keep a distance.84f6c8aea2638604

“Think of it 08d457b3b6 like the Miranda 0741e16dd7 rights—a mandatory disclosure.”be5cd127ef263da8

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“…Excuse me?”8ed22df9fcea8c66

He wouldn’t 0975db91c1 understand anyway, a0538fba98 so I 961780489a just said b8513780a5 whatever came 27b1afadd0 to mind.27bee85f910b7fa9

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“Just consider 3e6c996eb7 it a 167c93f73d whim for b261bd082a my first bee9373a5f trade.”6d8227a721057225

I cloaked ebb501b173 myself with b753b221e9 magic and 41a80e0cee left the 12c4532749 area. Further conversation a55649dbf7 wouldn’t benefit dc1e06d5e3 the blacksmith, 135d3dfeb6 so I 62d90faeca avoided it. I thought about going 76ccc0a82e straight home, but strangely, 463c6181e7 my feet wouldn’t move. For some baf58e5ab1 reason, he 80168c8669 was still d1abbcc186 on my 7adb61324a mind.a3708577a8db14e1

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‘Well, it’s 8943b68033 my first 828f1130df trade since ed32e2b1ff becoming a fa15ba4395 demon, so 186d608970 it’s fine 20773bb425 to see e860e895c1 how things 678c31d7c8 unfold. Something could go wrong….’4989388034d30517

Not that f5081b95ee a mishap f9eb70df2a could harm fc22e5ade0 me, but 9246359fb7 I found fe87d9edba myself making e8d727e85f excuses to 5cd830d8ec stay. Not immediately fatal a6fe920eab if I didn’t da36ee80ff return right then, 73157c9d31 I decided to 05db58c5ef watch a bit 18f8734bee longer. The blacksmith, whom I 23fc221f62 expected to immediately seek 3872e2edf3 out the knight, was 832983890d unexpectedly calm throughout our 1bad1bbd08 conversation, and even began a6176c14a3 cleaning and tidying up a85daaef6c the smithy as if ea895449d2 he wouldn’t return.35fc3ce49dc8b018

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Even with a demon’s 9a8b8a799d power, challenging a noble c7a8c6b713 from a commoner’s position 275cb54b9b meant he wouldn’t be 39d88bfd20 able to return here ec8679d543 if he became a 167ce66009 fugitive.46e866e5ab6ef7f7

“…I should at 836c032577 least let Tom a449a343fa know.”f50683156aa5868f

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With a note of 5bafc8bd52 regret in his monologue, 2fcf097688 the blacksmith finished cleaning, 06f954a5f2 wrapped himself haphazardly in ed456bf75e a dusty cloth from 1dbacb0dbf the storage, and sat 757f6689bc still, waiting until sunset d529cde91e in that terribly worn 85b9764bb3 chair, where he had b7c6cdd6d9 barely survived with liquor 31a49ef5e7 during those dreadful times.dfcea26ba803ee8c

As the ba7bafe5f6 sun set, 5750c95f30 the blacksmith 4b7577c3dd finally got 6ad4f24ee3 up.a984ec850773eacf

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“Gael, this unworthy father 1cca10ee17 isn’t avenging your death; ad71670ab3 I’m merely venting my ee9acd5032 own rage for losing d92b868957 you.”cc2cab7ac7561d2d

Like praying to 5a4b37bcc4 a god, he 3e858b3d57 spoke his last 3d78c53668 words to his bb170c7872 son before promptly 8bba0801f2 leaving the smithy.9cc2526205d0fe32

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The knight, the blacksmith’s a1cd0478dc nemesis, was either part 11f60e21c9 of the royal guard 24f764cb02 or the city watch c940f2126c and resided in the 2557fbfe99 capital. What must his heart 83d379e5c1 feel, living in the aa0386e194 same space as the 2c923abca1 man who killed his 5f163e6a98 son, unable to avenge 1ce639ac8e or leave?9c7346e357347b94

However, the 801246f429 knight’s residence 422e8ff829 was further 1e04442f8f on the 62b8ccbb96 outskirts than 9d4d173f1e I expected, 3f5ac7bf44 with fewer d0405eea9e guards and d84cfbbb25 no protective 1626d72b91 magic.cb389a5ca6f6247d

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‘Is this the right 25f18fd6fc place?’64239a7dbfc6f2d4

Considering that knights f813ff7b3b and wizards usually d25a33c519 come from noble b2bf6cc945 families trained in 95cb4cd63d swordsmanship and aura defdf07236 manipulation from a 1cb5840d6c young age, and f3db7e9b13 even a commoner 5f4aba1468 becoming a knight 4269cd5851 would be treated 5199f1f99a almost like a 07bc7e1e4e noble, the estate 0c6374fa11 seemed too shabby. It definitely didn’t match 9e811ea1f1 the income of a d5268ee012 proper knight.35d07347d550280f

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Plus, while knights possess 4dc837f368 formidable physical power, they 55c2326d66 are vulnerable when washing, 1da28fc3c6 eating, or sleeping, so f0e75ce1e9 it is usual to 8cd3b20414 have guards. But this house 6dc9ecb0a2 had only a 24f28062a3 few servants aiding 5a2c313a2b with daily chores. The lack of magical fad2a0c576 or physical security made bdb0138405 it quite easy for 77cb6068d0 the blacksmith, whose presence 7a8d4da8b1 was masked by magic, 558fbb0341 to enter the knight’s 86aef066ef home.9abec2101b78d2ee

‘Too easy….’ccfb0b21ba7f1a32

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Feeling something 3a7ef3a724 was off, 1cc5dabdc2 I furrowed 82f61714a4 my brow 68157e56fe and scrutinized 70d28c83b7 the situation.b3c79440c0f1115b