All Chapters of Ethan Storm’s Dark Awakening : Chapter 411
- Chapter 420
427 chapters
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The ram-horned demons spread out, boots crunching against stone as they formed a loose half-circle around Ethan. Steel slid free of leather. One cracked his knuckles slowly, deliberately. “Last chance,” one of them said. “You here to beg, or just watch?” Ethan stopped walking. He turned slowly, brow creasing—not in fear, not in anger, but in mild, genuine irritation, like someone had tracked mud across a clean floor. He sighed under his breath.“I’ll just have to deal with them,” he sighed.He could only steel himself and deal with the ram-horned demons.The nearest one leaned in, sniffing at him like he were some kind of spoiled meal. “You know, little brother,” he said, voice low and mocking, “I thought you’d be bigger. Stronger. At least a bit intimidating.”Ethan’s gaze didn’t flinch. He let his hands hang loosely, coat swaying slightly with the motion. “Size isn’t everything,” he murmured, voice calm but edged with an unspoken warning.The demon barked a laugh that boun
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The demons froze again, laughter faltering, just long enough for tension to coil tightly around the room. The succubus’ grin widened, eyes sparkling. “Yes! That’s it… make them feel it! Make them regret ever thinking they were stronger than you!”One ram-horned demon stepped forward, claws gleaming. “We’ll see,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “We’ll see how clever you really are.”Ethan shifted his weight slightly, like a predator calculating the best moment to strike. “I warned you,” he said softly. “I’m patient. But I don’t wait forever.”The succubus let out a small, excited laugh. “Oh, they’re going to learn tonight… they’re going to learn.”Another demon barked a laugh, rubbing his hands together. “This is going to be fun. Little brother thinks he’s some unstoppable force, huh? Can’t wait to ruin that confidence.”Ethan’s eyes narrowed just a fraction, calm as ever, as if measuring them all in a single glance. “Confidence is earned,” he murmured. “Let’s see who earns it tonigh
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Another demon roared and leapt.“Get him!” someone shouted, voice cracking. “Don’t let him breathe!”Ethan turned, caught him by the horn, and calmly redirected his momentum—slamming his head into the ground with a dull, echoing boom.The stone floor shuddered.Silence followed. Heavy. Shocked.A few demons stared at the cratered stone. One swallowed audibly. Another took an unconscious step back.“…That was Grenth,” someone muttered. “He weighs half a ton.”“No way,” another whispered. “No way a wanderer does that.”The leader stared, breathing hard, eyes flicking from the broken body to Ethan’s relaxed stance. “You… you’re not a wanderer.”Ethan finally looked directly at him, eyes flat and unreadable beneath the mask. “I never said I was.”A low ripple of unease passed through the remaining demons.“Boss,” one hissed, “maybe we—”The succubus was practically bouncing now, clapping her hands. “Did you see that? Did you see that?” She spun in a circle, tail flicking wildly. “I told y
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For a heartbeat, no one moved.Then the demons laughed.Rough, ugly sounds, relief and triumph crashing together. “There it is!” one barked. “He does bleed!”Another pointed, giddy. “Did you see his face? He felt that!”The leader’s grin spread wide. “See?” he snarled. “Just another body waiting to drop.”The succubus stopped clapping.Her smile vanished, color draining from her face as she stared at the blood seeping between Ethan’s fingers. “B-Brother…?” she whispered, voice trembling.Ethan looked down at the wound. Blood. His own blood, dark and vivid against his sleeve.Then back up. His eyes blazed. Fury ignited, sharp and relentless.“I gave you your last chance to run,” he said, voice low and deadly. “I warned you. But no… you didn’t listen.”The demons laughed, a rough, mocking chorus.“Ha!” one jeered. “Is that all you’ve got? A little scratch?”“Look at him, boss!” another called, grinning. “He bleeds just like the rest of us!”The leader stepped forward, sneering. “You tal
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The succubus’s voice rose, frantic now. “Stop! Please… I’m begging you—don’t make him angry! Don’t test him! You don’t understand!”Her wings fluttered erratically behind her, the thin membranes trembling as if they might tear from the strain of her fear. She stood there, hands clenched into fists at her sides, nails biting into her palms. She didn’t know why she trusted him—only that every instinct she had, ancient and sharp, screamed that he was one of them and strong. The succubus’s voice rose, frantic now. “Stop! Please… I’m begging you—don’t make him angry! Don’t test him! You don’t understand!” The succubus didn’t know Ethan but somehow had a blind faith and trust in him. A demon scoffed. “She’s worried. Maybe we should listen to her advice, boss.” The leader barked a harsh laugh. “I need no counsel from a scared little thing!” Ethan’s fury coalesced into a single, sharp point. He leaned forward, eyes cold fire. “Then get ready to regret it.”The words weren’t shouted.Th
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There was a sound—dull and deep, like a hammer striking wet clay. The shockwave rippled through the leader’s body, armor denting inward, flesh collapsing around the impact. His momentum died instantly, halted as if he’d slammed into an invisible wall. His eyes went wide, bulging as all the air fled his lungs in a choking gasp. Spittle flecked his lips as his mouth opened soundlessly. For a heartbeat, he remained standing, disbelief frozen across his features. Then his knees buckled. He collapsed forward, hitting the ground hard. The impact echoed through the chamber as his massive frame struck stone. His breath rattled out of him in broken, uneven wheezes—once, twice— —then went terrifyingly still. The remaining ram-horned demons stared. Weapons slipped from numb fingers, clattering uselessly to the floor. Jaws hung open. The arrogance that had filled the room moments before drained away, replaced by raw, animal fear. One demon took an involuntary step back. Another whispered,
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The demons stood there, frozen like statues carved from fear.One finally swallowed, the sound loud in the quiet. “We… we surrender.”Another nodded too fast, horns bobbing. “Y-yeah. No more fighting. No more anything. Please.”A third shook his head slowly, eyes never leaving Ethan. “That wasn’t strength. That was judgment.”Ethan tilted his head slightly, considering them the way one might consider spilled tools on a workshop floor.“Interesting choice of words,” he said mildly.One demon dropped to a knee. Then another. Then all of them—armor clanking as they knelt, heads bowed, tails stiff with terror.“We didn’t know,” the first one said quickly. “If we’d known who you were—what you were—we never would’ve—”Ethan raised a hand.The demon snapped silent instantly.Behind him, the succubi were having the time of their lives.“Oh my gods,” the smallest one whispered loudly, absolutely failing to whisper. “They’re kneeling. They’re actually kneeling.”The biggest succubus crossed her
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One spun in a circle, wings flaring wide despite the damage. “We’re alive! We’re actually alive!” Another rushed forward and hugged the smallest tightly. “We made it. We made it!” The smallest succubus looked up at Ethan, eyes bright and reverent. “You scared them. You scared all of them.”Ethan didn’t react to their comments.The smallest succubus hesitated for half a breath—then stepped forward.She stopped a few feet from Ethan and bowed deeply, wings folding tight against her back. When she straightened, her expression was still bright with relief, but there was something softer there now. Something earnest.“Thank you,” she said. Her voice wavered, then steadied. “You saved our lives. All three of us.”The other two succubi immediately followed her lead.The biggest one dipped her head, one hand pressed over her heart. “Truly. If you hadn’t shown up when you did—” She let out a slow breath. “We wouldn’t be standing here.”The third nodded quickly, tail curling nervously. “We
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“Yes,” she said firmly. “A life-debt. Three, technically.”The other two nodded immediately.“Name it,” the biggest one said. “Gold. Information. Safe passage.”“Contacts,” the third added. “Favors. Blackwater remembers its debts.”Ethan frowned. “I didn’t do this for payment.”“I know,” Karpeta said. “That’s why I’m offering it anyway.”He studied her for a moment—really looked at her now. The damage to her wings. The grime on her face. The way she was holding herself straight despite the tremor still in her hands.“…You shouldn’t throw titles around lightly either,” he said.“I won’t,” she said quickly. “I swear it.”The biggest succubus grinned faintly. “She learns fast when she’s terrified.”Karpeta huffed despite herself, then sobered again. “Whatever you decide, we’ll honor it. If you want nothing from us, we’ll accept that too.”Silence lingered after her words.Ethan looked away again, toward the empty road where the demons had fled, jaw set like he was weighing something unpl
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Karpeta shook her head immediately.“It’s not charity. It’s exchange. You saved my life.”Ethan opened his mouth to object, but she barreled on, wings twitching despite the torn membranes.“Whatever debt you think you don’t want,” she said, jaw tightening, “it already exists. Pretending otherwise doesn’t make it disappear.”Her voice wavered for half a heartbeat—then steadied.“Let me help you with yours.”The biggest succubus let out a quiet, knowing huff. “Told you. Once she decides something—”“She does not bend,” the third finished dryly. “She collides.”Karpeta shot them both a look. “You’re not helping.”“We’re being accurate,” the biggest one said, hands up. “There’s a difference.”Ethan studied Karpeta again.Really studied her this time.The way dirt clung to the edges of her armor. The shallow cuts she hadn’t bothered to treat yet. The wings—torn, uneven, still trembling faintly from strain. And yet she stood straight, shoulders squared, chin level, like pain was simply ano