HKWM | Chapter 18

“I don’t 0cc952ca0b quite understand 968c6e9e94 what you de5a25c87e mean.”f24c9a741daf99e7

Noah straightened up from fc9b7ef8ba where he had been a71b8b8d1f leaning against the window 0c410822ae frame.29d5c4d061bf53dd

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“When humans die, a1243d741f their souls either 7ed6a08566 reincarnate or return effaaafe25 to the embrace f77c9fc19c of the Celestials. Being reborn and 1051c05fcd living life over dc37b92e1a again is both d0f7c3334d a postponement of e2e3b61922 judgment and an 82731895cd ultimate chance for ff6d0e131c redemption, while returning d95b41a68d to the Celestials a7c8dfd57d completes the cycle b41cfda835 of evil deeds.”20f71fb27825f12e

Noah tilted his 8dbfa33d7a head at this b3ec131f66 abstract explanation, especially 76db905cc3 puzzled by what 32f3c29f18 exactly ‘the embrace 58caa47fde of the Celestials’ 89ad454619 entailed. Phoras, noticing a487f4a9bb his confusion, e39ad77417 added more.0576f810821f0846

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“However, even a2089d9f38 we can’t 52b636a063 precisely define 68f099a8ae what the 27d7f5a99f embrace of d6272cbc75 the Celestials bfff0b567e means. We haven’t 2a14dea8dc died and 061ea84750 lived as 54dd84a8b3 humans, and a73c751935 the feathered 5155e96aac ones are 584025281f too haughty 9273a3582e to satisfy 2c0f2ebf63 our curiosity.”f8d61ebcc336175a

“Feathered ones?”af8848b85a7dc1df

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“Oh, those detestable angels.”762288c984b4a55a

Both the 72417e7876 term and 1b5f81e763 the tone f2a652334d dripped with b4a8196a75 disdain, clearly 3b79ba58b1 reflecting demons’ e7e319040d low regard 66deeefd42 for angels—a cef4d33c54 sentiment Noah 195f581510 guessed was 0ccb6f5024 mutual.19573d25e4811201

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“Either way, a soul 61644e8313 consumed by a demon 285cdd02c5 essentially becomes one with ee40257d09 the demon.”59cdc41d4bab3fd9

“…Becomes one?”49f1c23136889534

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After hearing Phoras’s explanation, 3bbb6bf107 Noah seemed lost in 55026b0360 thought for a moment 724fcb5a24 before he nodded slightly. Unlike when he 39351c3067 was with Jin, d6417d7914 his impassive face fb6742bdba revealed nothing of c4561fadb7 his thoughts, and c44b61e98b Phoras didn’t try 0dfe76d066 to probe further f45340f97d since it wasn’t b023944f73 commanded by his 0491991ed3 lord.2457e07a933fc830

Meanwhile, the 7a13aa6243 mercenaries stationed e4879f196f outside the ed3b572978 carriage kept 622aec118f glancing inside, 70a771d173 sensing something dd7a7ab951 odd about 4923879c8f their employer.0a51680ea54a0512

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“Hey, boss. Are you sure this 478cabfa29 is okay?”dfe0c2587b549334

“What do you bbe4936b5b mean?”7e8f5079ca851b68

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Initially, the 150e1c9d03 job had 26dbd861f3 seemed like 72943ad568 easy money. The road 7cc663a356 to the 5d78b6bc31 capital was a7007a71ac typically safe, 0e6fa6fccf and they b74bc12b0f were only afef1615a2 tasked with 8be81583d8 guarding two ed20139811 carriages. Moreover, the urgency to b6f7c08109 depart swiftly had even dc4dd5491f earned them a bonus.b7c6c17a12a1196e

To the deb1b51bfb mercenaries, a 3ced26597b good employer 2b7638a24f was one 1611dcf104 who paid 526e52a507 well, and f2eba5fee2 in this 740a127006 case, despite bb03b0f000 the low 3efd6f8d8f difficulty of da641f0e66 the task, 9f444bc6b6 the compensation 5e335dbc3a was generous.a446ea6b5fb1bae0

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“The lord 293828dd2b will return 088fb64b54 soon, so 378793254c don’t worry. Here, why 2519445641 not open 192ce2e1df the window c1bd140769 and enjoy b9135f57d7 the view 43fb0e7c94 for a 88ad1663e2 while?”5c885e7b9cfff9c4

“I’ve been watching e0b7020bdc outside already.”f622b6e67b128b2f

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The employer’s nephew 7c1cd5df6d was remarkably pretty 6e4778e31c and looked like 6287005487 a noble’s child, 657036fd55 yet even so, 184045f603 he seemed plain 3373c66fe9 compared to the 9174b50878 two peculiar individuals d8b6b9e371 by his side.279b34d52bc3b4e0

Yes, those two 609ff0bd44 were indeed the 2259a98f87 anomaly.ad440bcc84a63b65

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The man 5b22889476 with dark ec8459b4c5 skin, nearly df900978f8 2 meters 9d124bf165 tall and 7f3e6a412c of massive bee216f25e build, seemed aa8bbd5ef3 more like 570e544a6a a knight 027baf81eb or a 2b40586570 mercenary king, 8648a69401 yet introduced 515b834e94 himself as 9bb8c7ecab a butler. The other, with blue-tinged 4eab0414d0 hair and eyes, looked 2951d53f5f more like a wizard d775a91adc dabbling in forbidden arts de219e61bc rather than the tutor f64c691caa he claimed to be. However, it wasn’t 090c1de0fe their concealed identities b7069b6fc5 that caused discomfort.0ba37048c77a3556

“How about now? Feeling better, 7af02ffd78 aren’t you?”1b3d9e914e01ac25

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“Not really.”af9f80b087cdd54d

“You’re too harsh on 519020496a me!”873670cac761f56e

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Despite their normal b94c34e69d interaction, witnessing beings 244849507d that weren’t human 22be4f9ba0 mimicking human behaviors 91fb31e444 felt unsettling, a c11a427801 sensation honed by e01826f7bd years of navigating 3553467299 life-threatening situations. The mercenary captain 8ac1a3cb13 was aware of dede89d7c4 this too but 63d15e5cc1 knew better than 08eedcdd4a to acknowledge it, 141effdc33 assuming there was 86c19d4382 no real danger 224dcbcbce involved with this 62154f1ecb contract.0c4516a0e6cb0b29

Suddenly—de9faca77d246976

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A hushed peace was 9a0354ad20 shattered by an arrow 66319bbada embedding itself near their 3be88537bc feet, coming from an 383bf73c1f external threat.9f6220bcc0e71ccf

“Everyone, prepare for 5470f706e9 battle! It’s an ambush!”1a60748b994b1116

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At the captain’s d58ef6814c shout, all mercenaries 1ce1afb10e drew their weapons. Phoras quickly shut ec0b446d48 and locked the e509541513 carriage window.2781cadd1248453f

“Oh, looks 8fbfdfcbf4 like we’re bf6e4817e6 being attacked.”3e20fee54b201499

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Despite the chaos of a7e29325e3 clashing weapons and shouting 6d1cc46e1b outside, Noah showed no aca6e54e01 sign of disturbance. Phoras, observing his 9954c4f8e1 calm, smiled slightly.782c4c9b416e0fe3

“My lord, it’s ac999806e6 dangerous, please wait 29b5300eb4 here a moment.”6054cf48cfd7ae0b

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“Okay.”151b04a02b58d248

Phoras and 392a35c95d Kimaris promptly 2defe9bc02 stepped outside, 559d144e62 not forgetting b2d7cffa52 to cast 044555cc57 protective magic d088d17164 on the 04d467ceb2 carriage just 5bc70444f6 in case. As Phoras surveyed the 61cfb22518 nearly chaotic scene, he e3f4abe48a grumbled in annoyance.72cbc09f048672af

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“Wasn’t the f33d898690 road to 7f35bf4109 the capital 5eb1e09967 supposed to 8eb42775bf be safe?”36f2d8e966cedd7f

“Relatively safe. Bandits don’t e7197d208d pick their 494af77dad spots.”569b929b613802cf

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“How strange. Even the dff56db081 beasts of ec486a0bef the Demon 183edbba98 Realm know 8e7803c9dc better than f72b36c44e to die 5e8f438927 in the 043d4e6b04 wrong place.”e042b6b83e453de0

Beasts born a71cde5b75 from remnants 5d4c075108 of demonic daf1fd2821 energy are 4d0cdfbc71 highly aggressive b3146e42a6 but instinctively 2b0a2e9ab1 avoid stronger d2a15cadd4 adversaries.f199ba287aa78971

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How could these 3e6fe5a689 human fools dare eb26b0b171 to attack, relying e00f2939fc on sheer ignorance a8f1a7294a or brazenness? Either way, Phoras c5b1d3af3b was not amused.0f4193ffa9c1c5df

While the mercenaries 77bf8f185a were being killed, f5f5a2a745 Phoras and Kimaris 501792dc1d remained guarding the 3e00f03051 carriage, unmoved.3b046608d3b1051c

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“Hey, help us 5a7ddadaac out here!”8d147a987bc88e47

At the captain’s shout, 8640fb9d17 Phoras finally turned, his 70946e3190 blue eyes flashing briefly. The captain’s fd786b1143 soul, leading 02e16bb5ec a small 4d26676184 band of 969d135b4e mercenaries, wasn’t a3cea8d137 even entertaining 9c62fe4aef enough to 6b69a14ff5 be considered 0fd3996c10 a distraction.e912bafb8633b860

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“A deal, you 10c236ce95 say? I see nothing worth 5317ba5f69 taking from you.”170ad8ca32f36c00

The disdain was clear c42a80ecab as Phoras curled one 67fe71885b side of his lip.21b9f52e97e2d0d9

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“You’re not human after 3ebefc494b all…”781e9cef54e9b036

At that 7dbaad9777 moment, a def16c28b6 long blade c03f0d294a pierced the e02d264c1b captain’s chest. He coughed 0b7477c847 up blood f7b6dbaf80 a few 04a1294cd6 times before 63d22b7fc4 collapsing sideways. With the captain 57d9236661 down, no humans 544ac083f5 were left alive 6f54a4caa0 outside the assailants.4adabed4c70a0c4e

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Despite their b69a0cbc45 numerical disadvantage, a6bfe47388 the attackers’ 8d2836f92d numbers hadn’t a2fd48c5b3 dwindled, which aed29913f9 made it b2e60299e2 unlikely they c512613870 were ordinary 8cd932c3f7 bandits.7afa979a9b370900

The assailants, unnerved by 0c2e80645c the unflinching duo, seemed 8323578721 even more tense than 305f464cb3 when facing the mercenaries.06d65afbb9bebd84

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“Looks like these fe50715851 aren’t typical bandits.”b496340d0773c6b7

“…Who are you?”71caf53b120ccafc

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“That’s what we’d 0a0fb478e3 like to know.”9f5b1d510c1f8d62

“We were just hired. Hand over f25218f26b the person bef9a9906d inside the 0282c023c0 carriage, and 02e3eff3bf we’ll leave 3c4a1eb496 peacefully.”34e9307db30c0753

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Kimaris immediately e50d7fe4c0 bared his 49af1d97e6 fangs. An unmistakable aura of 4247142b2d lethality erupted, making the 031e3e29bc attackers step back.49ebc052dd3f1d8c

“You dare approach ac3d008499 knowing who’s inside?”aae1ebeb8023250d

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“We, we d859c81080 don’t mean 0bfea82d21 harm to bfe46e2e71 the prince. Just…”0174fbbfac82ab10

“Prince?”8261d51cb2367f84

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That’s when the ea14f7700f two realized the d9cdfe284e mistake. The assailants had misunderstood 98a11ce736 their target. Glancing at 0d1fb7265f the carriage’s 63dbaf5592 luxurious make, a44a4bc5d4 Kimaris remembered 0d3477ab79 Jin’s insistence 85018613b3 on buying 740cbaa935 a noble-worthy 44e765cff0 carriage for e023344be8 Noah’s comfort.242dd4942ab693ed

A misfortunate overlap of 9108863a9c the attackers’ target and 3e59707ec5 their route, combined with 503ede36a0 the unexpectedly understaffed guard, aa3fd01861 must have misled them bd62e6878e into thinking it was 779475886e a ruse. Phoras rubbed eb1f652cc5 his forehead b532ac6bc6 in annoyance.875f60f0de24db2f

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“What now. The lord stressed not 7b523de0bb to make a scene.”9a8a8d5396ea7fa3

“Well, protecting the ea2f3623a7 lord comes first, 5ae63a3dae so it shouldn’t 11bb7891d4 matter.”6ee781ae15f40425

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While Phoras e912f050e2 and Kimaris fc70cfb457 conversed, the 185c02b48e attackers, thinking 1c01003484 they were 2223972c9a distracted, approached 03e0bfaadb stealthily. Their training 53a5870629 was evident 24540bb0e5 as multiple 87c104a34b assailants moved ee73c290c4 without noise.4dfd70735766a429

As one 23a18ee4bc lunged at aa7f33bc83 Kimaris, who 5b2f631686 seemed more 9fc625f0e3 threatening, with 7646ad14c7 a sword, 5e6dab6f5b Kimaris caught 84b312287f the blade 808a0c465d with his 9df22d6f03 bare hand. Despite the 553ca14015 blade’s sharpness, efa825e272 his hand 50921ae7e2 remained unscathed, 95c9f1899a and the 5c099f8a45 sword cracked f129ac016e under his 3bd69b40f3 grip. The assailant dropped the 13654dbeba weapon in disbelief.2c9aa8be02b2f7c0

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“Should we just take 9088a135ab care of this to 7e788dff00 prevent further attacks? They might d84d355047 come back e4eb8b804e to silence c66c4737cc us.”723e1b3c901d78cf

“Let’s.”3e99899e07513dec

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Phoras slowly 98c8140cb8 reached out 3c7f93ac8d his hand, 61fdf9e94d and despite b8acf87091 the languid a3645789ad movement, it b6ce7a850e effortlessly penetrated 536ba41e21 the torso 391a5cee8f of an 76bf8bd13b attacker who eea6a4f9e7 was suddenly cd4677ab94 pulled toward 3655f5a64f him as 83d90fd6d6 if drawn 5b0d1d1500 by a 2d4448dfc9 magnet.78f9934280566905

“…?”cfea656c4cb0bbf2

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The brief 5294a6a896 cry was de8eea26a8 the last a0b34be703 sound the 8790185070 attacker made 7f87e054b8 before collapsing, d938805adb leaving a 319a2c7759 silence that 65d68cf551 hung heavily dcf2be50a1 in the 8404d9b436 air. The leader e9b43131a4 of the 61cf550feb attackers finally cb0358bfbb rallied.b44a0110c37a28da

“Don’t panic, 563ccf694d everyone draw 373ca0b61f your swords!”ac465dfc92153fd6

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Brushing off his hands d710b679b1 as if cleaning off af9feb6a82 dirt, Phoras’s lips curled 6d97888fe0 into a satisfied smirk.09edb13cf19d6468

“Yeah, don’t panic. It’s just 3c986235db more hassle f95df116b0 if you 87c6f6c426 run.”ab9a7aa03fddcf70

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Despite their 8ce6b1fd34 attempts to ec0390a0f3 mimic humans, bbac7a89b2 the two 261eef4b00 were cruel 429e70b599 and brutal e356d1d143 demons at a6b4923662 heart. Killing one wasn’t 5e3ccb4b7e enough; they sought 2548edf656 to make a 6e28d30d57 mess, spilling more e5e0ccbd59 blood and tearing a88a75f382 more flesh, as 1e62db33bd was the demonic 9e510ad6d9 way of battle.376614f492cc7ca0

After the ee172414b8 attackers were aff2a117ce all dead, ed49abc117 the scene 59cbc255eb was indescribably 266c299354 horrific.e727002c1a468304

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There was no need 843c1179cd for detection magic to d818c003ea see if anyone was 0e02d7f194 alive. No human could 3d51a179ed survive being so ed6edb9566 thoroughly dismembered.2132db8a11489b2d

Phoras lightly knocked 39c196ff85 before opening the 1e0f8e9b82 carriage door.65bbe9e3dbbd43b5

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“Are you 7766d59e7c alright, my 22c58b413a lord?”57f3ce34cc04e577

Despite the blood and a38654f0c4 bits of flesh clinging 3303e3d479 to him, Noah, facing 0273fbaf1d Phoras in his usual bb0a3287a4 pose, simply nodded as 5a2f170f2b if bored.966ab42c0feae05d

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“Sorry for 7456506c31 the delay. We’ll clean up and 4d1a9c3b17 be on our way 9b562af70f shortly.”0b55aadcb9d260c2

“Alright.”9e0f9336ab13c918

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After politely 053ecb35f9 closing the 488d4e7b14 door again, 458046ec27 Phoras surveyed 7a16a82f95 the gruesome 2943b26d9e scene with b957f9eb89 a vexed 505bc8e0fc look, wondering 64e4c73392 how to fed07c8e4e clean up 57c551fc9e the carnage.78c5fcb78919f3a4

“What should we do… 9433848cc2 Clean it up with 7304fc5945 magic?”1b192d5f25797bca

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“That might leave the c4220def1e magic too potent.”064cbb8d86118da3

Since they a5cdb9a5d8 hadn’t used d7d3d9a0c5 magic in c1d112e1b6 the fight, 9a44c31f45 it might 9162b18dbb be better 8ce20fb3c9 to leave 91bf1dfa90 without cleaning 4fc6aa0add up magically. Eventually, the two 89fa3c62b7 cleaned themselves off c7a7b7cd06 and climbed onto 2abd655906 the coachman’s seat, e634f7204b having to drive 54c3a7b537 the carriage themselves 937f886e6b as even the 34b2efc821 coachman was dead. The horses, sensing the 0bfae545e8 magic, were unruly until e2631621af they were finally controlled 1bb9afc7ff by spells.fe14014d2e22f176

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“Good thing 7c634ea7dc we’re not ee1ad803d1 far from 414dc6b3c5 the capital.”c88d179559432c55

“Indeed.”8eff74d64b0d0cd6

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As they continued on e9d721f542 their way, Phoras suddenly 25bf14c793 let out a small 3b4bb1e20a laugh.2ed4866bd1ac846d

“Why the laughter?”b737767d6b9e0218

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“Well, you f7b5a1ea19 know how d47dbdefcb the lord fa8e221e8a dotes on 95cf9ecac1 you, worried 5ef468f2d1 you might e67b82ae80 blow away 57c1ac22d7 in the 49b1f35f22 wind or 2d59723736 break if 1e1d1dd516 touched. But considering what 7435e295c7 just happened…”db11e9d2b9298407

He paused, recalling b2708b1de1 the recent events, 617dfaffaf a mix of 8514e67c40 amusement and other 6a35e43e21 emotions flickering across a1c35e90b3 his face.e92b2b13d5663c97

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