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The witch Bonnie's barrier could restrain vampires.
But it couldn't restrain Hawk.
He took a single step forward. As his Cosmo surged, the witch's barrier rippled like a calm lake disturbed by a stone.
As the ripples spread outward—
Hawk walked through without resistance, his gaze calm as he observed Katherine. She was instantly on guard, instinctively hissing and baring her fangs like a cornered cat.
"Hello, Miss Pierce."
Addressing someone you didn't know by their first name was incredibly rude.
Especially when dealing with women.
Hawk had no intention of building a harem. He didn't want one, and more importantly, he didn't want Gwen to think he had any such intentions.
So whenever he was at NYU and a female classmate approached him, or when he was at Empire State University with Gwen, he always addressed women by their last name plus "Miss"—unless they were mutual acquaintances he and Gwen both knew personally.
Just like with Katherine right now.
The moment Hawk entered, Katherine instinctively took a step back. She stared at him, her expression wary and tense.
"Who are you? One of Klaus's people?"
"Heh."
Hearing that, Hawk's mind flashed back to Damon mistaking him for Klaus. Now Katherine was making the same assumption.
But he understood why.
It was like his relationship with the Seventh Sense.
Before he'd glimpsed even a corner of the Seventh Sense, perceiving it had been like a frog at the bottom of a well gazing at the moon—distant and unreachable, but at least visible.
But the moment he'd actually glimpsed a fraction of the Seventh Sense, he'd understood completely. Seeing the Seventh Sense in full was like a mayfly trying to comprehend the vastness of the sky.
Damon and Katherine's perception of him was similar.
After all, in their understanding, Original vampires were the pinnacle of vampire power. It was hard for them to imagine anyone more powerful than an Original.
Hawk smiled and shook his head.
"I don't know any Klaus. I came here for you."
"..."
Katherine listened to Hawk's words, and a seductive smile spread across her delicate features. Her entire demeanor shifted—suddenly warm, inviting, and alluring as she moved toward him.
Hawk watched this display and immediately took several steps back.
He had no intention of going home and having Gwen smell another woman's perfume on him.
Once again—
He had no interest in building a harem. And he didn't want to give Gwen any reason to worry. So whenever he was out, he maintained strict boundaries with unfamiliar women.
Trust wasn't something that appeared out of thin air. It was built slowly, bit by bit, over time.
Like now.
Put it this way: even if Gwen's best friend MJ came back from Los Angeles and swore up and down that Hawk was cheating, Gwen wouldn't believe her.
The reason? Hawk always maintained his distance from other women.
That was also why Gwen hadn't asked what he was going out to do tonight.
Because of trust.
...
Katherine watched Hawk retreat several steps, and the seductive expression on her face froze slightly.
Seriously? You're actually backing away?
Are you even a man?
Hawk's expression remained neutral as he looked at Katherine and cut straight to the point.
"Let's make a deal, Miss Pierce."
"What kind of deal?"
After Hawk's retreat, the seductive expression vanished from Katherine's face, replaced once again by wariness. Even her aura turned ice-cold.
Hawk was direct.
"I can get you out of here."
"In exchange, let me examine your soul."
"How about it?"
Yes.
That was why he'd come here tonight. The moment he'd seen Katherine, he'd confirmed it—the soul of Dr. Merrick he'd captured shared the same essence as Katherine's soul.
Just like souls that emerged from the Hell Dimension all carried Hell's mark—
Katherine's soul and Dr. Merrick's soul bore the same signature.
But it wasn't Hell. It was another Dimension that wielded control over the Laws of Life and Death.
Hawk was curious. He was also disgusted with Mephisto.
The old demon had been so self-righteous, declaring that "souls belong to Hell, sacred and inviolable."
And the result?
Old Meph, your house is getting robbed...
Katherine listened to Hawk's request, initially stunned.
Then—
Whoosh!
Katherine's figure blurred into motion, disappearing from where she stood.
Hawk's smile didn't waver. Using his telekinesis, the moment Katherine vanished from her original position, he froze her mid-movement, binding her in place.
Katherine reappeared, her form revealed once more. She felt the invisible force pressing in from all directions—like a swamp holding her completely immobile. Her expression turned panicked and desperate as she struggled.
In that moment, Katherine lost all her masks. Her true self was exposed: anxious, terrified, and unwilling to accept her fate.
Hawk chuckled softly and released his telekinetic hold.
One second, Katherine was certain she was about to die. The next, she felt freedom return. Her expression froze again as she stared at Hawk.
She'd thought he was going to kill her.
After all, Hawk had mentioned her soul right off the bat. Of course she'd tried to escape.
But now—
Katherine's brow furrowed as she looked at Hawk, whose calm gaze hadn't changed.
"You just said you want to..."
"Examine your soul. In exchange, I'll get you out of here. Of course, you're free to refuse."
Hawk's tone remained even.
He was now one hundred percent certain that the captured Dr. Merrick was a clone with a soul.
Hawk was just curious which Dimension that soul came from.
That was all.
So if Katherine agreed, it would be a bonus. If she refused, that was fine too. He'd already gotten what he needed.
Katherine barely hesitated.
"Then I refuse."
"Alright."
Hearing Katherine's answer, Hawk was equally straightforward. He turned and prepared to leave.
Just then—
Katherine watched as Hawk took a single step and passed back through the seal, apparently genuinely intending to leave. She quickly called out.
"Wait."
"..."
Hawk stepped back inside the seal, looking at Katherine, who had stopped him.
Katherine's voice was serious. "You said you want to examine my soul. Just examine it—you won't do anything to it?"
Hawk's answer was concise.
"No."
"After you examine it, you'll help me leave here and won't demand I follow you?"
"..."
Hearing that, Hawk looked at Katherine. "I have a fiancée, Miss Pierce. I love her very much."
Katherine's mouth twitched. She took a deep breath.
"So how exactly are you planning to examine it?"
"Simple."
Hearing that, Hawk smiled faintly. He extended his right hand. His Cosmo instantly flickered in his palm like a projection, and soon his Underworld appeared as if contained within his hand.
The Underworld in his palm.
Instantly—
Hawk's Law of Life and Death activated. Katherine's eyes glazed over, falling into a daze, while Hawk entered Katherine's soul world.
What did a vampire's soul look like?
Ugly? Bloody? Filthy?
In fact, that was accurate. Just like Damon's soul.
But Katherine's soul...
Holy!
Light and warmth. No matter how you looked at it, just examining Katherine's soul alone, you'd never believe she was a vampire. Instead, it looked like—
An angel?
Hawk's thoughts stirred. He stared at Katherine's soul—eyes gently closed, radiating brilliant light that could only be seen by entering her soul directly. His mind flashed to the bound angel skeleton in the basement of the Fox estate's secondary building.
Of course, he wasn't saying Katherine's soul was that angel skeleton's soul. But he remembered something William Fox had said at the time.
Jesus died and rose again on the third day, ascending to heaven.
The next second, Hawk's mind conjured the image of Elena—identical to Katherine. Not just similar. They looked like they'd been carved from the same mold.
Then—
Doppelgängers.
This was one of the most mystical concepts in The Vampire Diaries.
According to the show's lore, doppelgängers weren't simply two people who looked alike. A true doppelgänger was chosen by fate. They shared identical DNA, identical appearances, identical voices—everything was the same. Even their souls.
That was why, the moment Hawk had seen Katherine, he'd known for certain that the Dr. Merrick he'd captured was a clone with a soul.
He hadn't been comparing Katherine to Merrick.
He'd first seen Elena, then Katherine, and made that judgment.
Because Elena's soul and Katherine's were identical.
The only difference was that Elena's soul didn't have what Hawk was now seeing deep within Katherine's soul—this sacred radiance.
Also—
The captured Dr. Merrick didn't seem to believe he was a clone.
Hawk still hadn't figured that part out.
But as for why Katherine's soul contained this sacred light at its core—Hawk already had a theory.
It went back to the war between the Heaven Dimension and the Hell Dimension over Earth's dominion.
In that conflict, Mephisto had won decisively, while the Heaven Dimension had retreated in defeat.
Countless angels had fallen in that war.
The number was definitely substantial. The fact that there was an angel skeleton in the Fox estate's basement alone proved that.
Theoretically, the souls of those dead angels should have belonged to the new victor—Mephisto.
...
"Mephisto!"
After seeing Katherine's soul essence, Hawk muttered the name internally, then acted without hesitation. He appeared in a spatial rift, used his Law of Life and Death to pinpoint Hell's Dimensional gate, and threw a punch directly at it.
"ROAR!"
"HAWK!"
Hell's Dimensional gate shook. Mephisto instantly understood. Furious, he manifested his demonic true form and stared at Hawk—who had shown up at his doorstep yet again—roaring in rage. "Do you really think I won't start a war with you??"
Hawk's expression was blank.
"You want to start a war with me?"
"What??"
Mephisto's massive demonic face showed complete confusion. Hearing Hawk's words, he couldn't help but freeze before roaring furiously, "Do you think acting like this lets you break the oath you swore before the Goddess of Death? You're already breaking your promise, and now you're trying to frame me too??"
He felt wronged.
If the Goddess of Death gave him a chance to do it all over again, he swore he'd never antagonize Hawk.
No other reason.
Because he'd just discovered that Hawk's strength had grown. Again.
This wasn't scientific.
No, wait...
This wasn't mystical either!!
Hawk listened to Mephisto's angry yet aggrieved tone and raised an eyebrow.
"It wasn't you? You didn't team up with HYDRA to set a trap for me?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Mephisto's voice was low. "What's HYDRA?"
Hawk frowned, saying nothing. Instead, his gaze dropped, revealing Katherine's soul below.
Mephisto followed Hawk's line of sight.
The next second, The moment Mephisto's gaze landed on Katherine's soul, his expression shifted. Then, as if realizing something, his voice grew even lower and more furious.
"YAHWEH!"
"..."
Hawk's thoughts stirred. Hearing Mephisto's genuine anger, he looked at the demon lord. "Didn't you drive the Heaven Dimension out?"
Mephisto sneered coldly, staring at Katherine's soul. "Apparently, they snuck back in."
With those words—
Mephisto's demonic hand opened, reaching to seize Katherine's soul.
But...
Hawk's will shifted. With a sharp BANG, his right hand shot out, meeting Mephisto's demonic claw.
The turbulent currents of the spatial rift shook violently.
Mephisto roared.
"HAWK!"
"Oh, shut up."
Hawk instinctively dug at his ear, then looked at Mephisto, who seemed to shout at the drop of a hat. "You're a Dimensional Lord. Can you act like it? She's not dead yet. Dead souls belong to you. Living ones don't."
Mephisto sneered, continuing to stare at Katherine's soul.
"She's already dead."
"She's a vampire. She's not dead."
Hawk shook his head, correcting him. Then he explained the situation with Dr. Merrick—the possibly-souled clone—his arrival here, discovering Elena and Katherine's identical souls, and then seeing Katherine's soul essence. That had reminded him of the Heaven-Hell divine war, which was why he'd mistakenly thought Mephisto had teamed up with HYDRA.
After listening, Mephisto fell silent. His dead-fish-like demonic eyes stared at Hawk.
Their gazes locked...
For some reason, this time, Hawk felt a little uncomfortable under Mephisto's stare.
After what felt like an eternity—
Mephisto's voice was quiet.
"Hawk..."
"Yeah?"
"I am a God. HYDRA is a worthless organization created by humans. They're not worthy of partnering with me."
"What about Ghost Rider?"
"He's my messenger. Do you really think I'd team up with some organization created by mortals to deal with you? That's an insult. I am looking for ways to handle you, but I haven't fallen so low that I'd partner with my own food."
When Mephisto spoke those words, his voice was calm. The earlier fury had vanished.
Who was he?
The ruler of the Hell Dimension.
What was HYDRA? A villainous organization of ordinary humans who'd failed at world domination twice.
But that wasn't the important part.
Forget HYDRA. Even the Big Five nations were all the same to Mephisto.
Food.
He could be ruthless in pursuing his food, but he would never partner with it.
Hawk met Mephisto's calm demonic gaze. "Sorry."
Admitting fault when wrong wasn't something to be ashamed of. He could be a tyrant, but not a foolish one.
Still—
After apologizing, Hawk quickly shifted the conversation back to the two identical souls.
"I thought souls were unique."
"They are." Mephisto's voice was heavy. "But angel souls from the Heaven Dimension are the exception."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Mephisto looked at Hawk.
"Every Dimension has its own unique characteristic. Like my Hell Dimension—its trait is demons."
"Demons don't eat or drink. They thrive by tempting and stealing souls."
"Those bird-people from the Heaven Dimension have their own trait too."
"Dual-state souls."
"Those feathered bastards used that trait to silently invade and conquer countless life-bearing planets under other Death Lords' jurisdictions."
Simply put—
Angel souls had a dual state. When on life-bearing planets under Heaven's control, the trait manifested as resurrection—even if an angel died, they'd come back.
Just like Jesus rising on the third day and ascending to heaven.
But on planets controlled by other death lords, the manifestation was different.
After all, if you pulled off a resurrection on someone else's turf, you'd basically be announcing to the death lord that you were invading.
So on foreign territory, the dual-state nature of angel souls changed.
Just like Katherine.
Katherine had been human once. But she'd become a vampire. Vampires were supernatural creatures, but they also had another name: the living dead.
So—
The angel's dual-state trait activated, splitting off an identical soul. To avoid alerting the local death lord to the anomaly, that soul replaced Katherine in going to Hell. It went through reincarnation, was born again, and that soul gained a new name: Elena.
That was how the Heaven Dimension invaded other death lords' territories.
One soul carrying Hell's scent might not seem like much.
But two, three...
By the time the local death lord noticed, Heaven was already sharpening its blades.
"I need to go."
"I wasn't scheming against you. At least not this time."
"Stop banging on my door!!"
After finishing his explanation, Mephisto thought about Heaven's covert tactics and seemed to realize something. He dropped those parting words and vanished.
As for Hawk—
He didn't even bother addressing him.
In fact, Mephisto was secretly thrilled. He'd love nothing more than to see Hawk go to war with Heaven.
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