2026-02-18 23:53:39
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Karpeta’s posture had returned to its noble composure.Velthra seemed constantly alert, scanning their surroundings.Ilyss, meanwhile, asked Ethan far too many questions.“So humans really build cities tall?”“Yes.”“How’s the human world?”“Not really different from the demon world.”“That’s fascinating.”Velthra groaned. “Ilyss, you’re interrogating him.”“I’m learning.”Karpeta chuckled quietly.Ethan shook his head. “You three are strange.”Velthra smirked. “You fought a war-captain alone.”“Fair point.”**** ~The Royal City~Several days later, the horizon changed.And then Ethan saw it.He slowed.“…That’s the Royal City?”“Yes,” Karpeta said.Before them stood a massive city stretching across a vast obsidian plateau.The Demon Realm’s capital was surprisingly familiar.High stone walls.Watchtowers.Banners hanging from battlements.Inside the walls rose narrow streets, stone buildings, crowded markets, and large halls with towering spires.It looked—“Medieval Europe,” E
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The terrain gradually shifted as they traveled.Jagged highland rock gave way to smoother obsidian roadwork—old, deliberate, carved by something far more organized than wandering warbands. Faint demonic script ran along the edges of the stone like veins beneath skin.The air felt denser the farther they went.Civilization.Or something close to it.For a while, no one spoke.Then Ethan glanced sideways at Karpeta.“You were heading somewhere specific before all this.”She nodded.“Yes.”“Blackwater?”She hesitated.“No.”Velthra’s lips curved faintly. “Not this time.”Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Then where?”Karpeta straightened slightly as she walked, composure returning in layers.“I was traveling from Blackwater City,” she said, “to the Royal City of the First Demon Domain.”Ethan looked at her. “That sounds important.”“It is,” Ilyss muttered.Velthra gave her a pointed look.Karpeta continued calmly. “My aunt resides there.”“Aunt,” Ethan repeated.“Yes.”“The Royal City?” he press
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Ethan straightened slowly beneath the weapon, arms trembling—not from weakness, but effort against enormous force.“You talk,” Ethan said through clenched teeth, “too much.”With a violent twist, he shoved the blade aside.The sudden displacement broke the formation’s rhythm.For half a second—Just half—The lattice flickered.Ethan saw it.He moved.He pivoted and drove his elbow into one of the linked soldiers.The barrier flared——and shattered like glass.The demon flew backward, armor caved inward.The red lines connecting the formation snapped.The captain roared.“No—reform!”Too late.Ethan was already moving again.He grabbed another soldier by the chest plate and hurled him into a third.Bones crunched.The fourth tried to retreat—Ethan closed the distance in a blur and struck him once in the sternum.The demon dropped instantly.Now only the captain stood.Silence returned—thick and stunned.Behind the stone, Ilyss whispered in awe, “He broke a lattice…”Velthra exhaled s
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“You think this is about pride? About cruelty? No. This is infrastructure. Supply chains. Border gates. Merchant coalitions. When a single noble house controls passage between three trade arteries, the war is already decided before swords leave their sheaths.” Karpeta’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t interrupt. “With her,” he continued, “we force compliance without siege. We redirect shipments. We starve competitors. We destabilize two minor houses and isolate the third. No prolonged campaign. No wasted legions.” His burning gaze returned to Ethan. “This is not personal.” Karpeta’s voice rang out from behind Ethan. “My father will burn your holdings to ash.” The captain laughed—a low, grinding sound like stone dragged across stone. “He will comply. Nobles always do when blood is involved.” Velthra stepped forward slightly. “You miscalculated.” “Oh?” The captain tilted his massive head. “You didn’t account for him.” The captain’s gaze returned to Ethan. A beat passed. “…No
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“…Impossible,” one of his soldiers whispered.The word drifted over the ridge like ash.Ethan stood amid the fallen, boots planted between broken weapons and cooling armor. He rolled his shoulder once, slow and casual, as though testing a joint after sleep.No strain.No rush of breath.No trembling in his hands.A thin line of smoke curled up from the stones at his feet where something had struck and shattered. He didn’t look down.The leader stepped forward.Each footfall landed with enough force to send a shudder through the rock beneath them. Pebbles danced. Fractured blades rang faintly as they shifted.“You,” he growled, voice lowering until it seemed to vibrate in the bones rather than the ears, “are not ordinary.”Ethan glanced at him mildly, as if assessing a merchant who’d just offered a poor bargain.“I’ve heard that tonight.”A murmur rippled through the surviving demons. It wasn’t anger.It was uncertainty.The leader’s jaw clenched, thick cords in his neck tightening ben
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“You misunderstand again.”He raised one massive hand, claws glinting in the red haze.“You are not negotiating.”Ethan’s expression didn’t change. His eyes remained steady. Unimpressed.“You are obstructing.”The leader’s voice hardened, low and resonant like stone grinding over stone.“And since you refuse cooperation… we will remove you.”He gestured lazily, as though dismissing an insect.“Break him.”Three armored demons lunged at once.Fast.Disciplined.Not wild like the ram-horned brutes from earlier.One came low, blade slicing toward Ethan’s thigh.“Let’s see if you bleed, mortal!”Another came high, spear thrust aimed for the throat.“Kneel!”The third moved wide, flanking with deliberate patience.“Don’t kill him too quickly. Captain wants him screaming.”Ethan stepped forward instead of back.The low blade swept in——and sparks burst as it struck his leg.The demon blinked.“…What?”The spear thrust——and shattered against Ethan’s forearm.The crack rang across the ridge.
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