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Gwen led Caroline and Hawk back inside the manor.
Stefan, Elena, and the black witch Bonnie remained outside.
Oh.
And Damon, who had exactly one hour left before sunrise turned him to ash amid endless agony and screaming.
But...
Damon didn't want to die.
"Stefan... Stefan..."
Hawk had only released the binding on Damon's mouth. His limbs were still locked in place. He stared at Stefan, whose expression was unreadable as he walked closer, desperately calling out for help.
Stefan came to a stop in front of his brother. Looking into Damon's eyes—which were filled with desperate, clawing hope—he shook his head with a bitter expression. "Damon, you messed with the wrong people this time."
That was exactly why Stefan had never used compulsion to win a woman's affections.
Sure, mostly it was because he didn't need to. But also because compulsion was a violation. It was a crime.
Usually, no one held vampires accountable. But once someone did—and that someone had the power to crush you without breaking a sweat—you didn't even have the right to complain.
Because Damon had been in the wrong from the start.
Damon had compelled Caroline first. Maybe Caroline didn't have the power to get revenge on her own. But Caroline's cousin? She had a fiancé who could knock both Stefan and Damon unconscious with a single glance.
Stefan shook his head, looking at Damon. "There's nothing I can do this time."
If Stefan were stronger than Hawk, maybe he could have argued that Damon didn't know better, that Caroline wasn't seriously hurt, and forcibly taken his brother to safety.
It wouldn't be about morality. It would be about strength.
If he were stronger than Hawk, he really would have done it.
After all, no matter how much of a scumbag Damon was, he was still Stefan's brother.
But Hawk—who could knock Stefan out with a look, who could teleport Damon across space—was terrifyingly strong.
And most importantly, Stefan couldn't even claim the moral high ground. Hawk had every right to do what he was doing.
Damon had made the first move.
He'd spent years compelling this person, compelling that person, and now he'd finally compelled someone connected to a power he couldn't handle. And in doing so, he'd compelled himself straight into an early grave.
Elena stood nearby, looking at Damon frozen in place. Her mouth opened, but in the end, she said nothing.
Bonnie looked at Damon and shrugged. "Try being a good person in your next life, Damon."
Damon was stunned.
He stared at Stefan, who said he was screwed. At Elena, who remained silent. At Bonnie, who told him to be better next time. He was completely dumbfounded.
Wait.
This wasn't right. Shouldn't the three of them be doing everything in their power to save him? Setting Stefan aside for a moment, why were Elena and Bonnie looking at him with disgust?
'All I did was compel Caroline.'
It wasn't like she was the only one. Over the years, he'd compelled plenty of women.
What was the big deal? And now they wanted him dead for it?
How was that fair?
Damon's thoughts raced as he looked at the sky beginning to lighten. He turned toward the direction where Hawk and the others had disappeared and shouted, "Caroline, I—"
His mouth was open.
It moved desperately, forming words.
But no sound came out.
Back inside the manor, Hawk—who had just sat down on the first-floor couch—smiled faintly after sealing Damon's voice again. He looked at Gwen. "Continue."
Gwen frowned. "Is there a way to turn Caroline back into a normal person?"
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Caroline, hearing this, looked at Gwen. "Gwen, I don't want to turn back."
Gwen turned to her cousin.
"But you're only seventeen."
"I know. But compared to being a normal person, I prefer being what I am now. I can hear things from far away. I can run faster than I ever could. I can live forever."
Caroline described her heightened senses and the near-immortal lifespan that came with being a vampire. "And besides, I've seen another world now. I don't want to go back."
Gwen listened to Caroline's words, then instinctively glanced at Hawk, remembering something he'd said before.
Their eyes met.
Hawk shrugged, as if to say, See? Told you.
It's easy to go from poverty to wealth. It's hard to go back.
Once again—
A normal person who becomes a vampire and experiences that surge of strength and speed? They're not going back to being out of breath after running a few steps.
It was like the mutant cure in the X-Men world.
After the mutant cure was developed, who actually went and took the injection to become normal again?
The ones who wanted to go back were the lowest-tier mutants—those whose mutations were purely cosmetic, giving them no abilities at all, just a different appearance.
Even Professor X, who constantly advocated for peaceful coexistence with humans, never gave up his telepathy to become normal.
Most people chase benefits.
Sure, vampires had drawbacks. But compared to those drawbacks, the near-immortal lifespan alone was enough to outweigh everything else.
Besides—
Hawk glanced at Caroline, then met his fiancée's gaze and shook his head. "Vampire transformation is irreversible. And even if I could reverse it, you wouldn't want me to."
Gwen frowned.
"Why not?"
"She was already dead before she turned. Remember? That's what triggered the transformation and brought her back to life."
"..."
Gwen recalled the transformation process Caroline had described. She looked at her cousin, who clearly had no desire to return to being human.
Just then.
Her phone rang.
Gwen pulled it out, glanced at the screen, then handed it to Hawk. "Natasha."
Hawk took the phone, stood up from the couch, and brought it to his ear.
"Natasha."
"Gw—Hawk. The results are in."
"You were right."
"Dr. Merrick we captured—his DNA telomere length doesn't match normal human DNA."
"His bone age test also came back wrong."
"Even though this Dr. Merrick looks identical to the one in our database from the outside, his bones show no signs of damage. No microfractures from daily life. Nothing."
"His skeletal structure is as smooth as a newborn's."
Natasha, currently at SHIELD headquarters, stared at the two test results displayed on her computer screen. She spoke to Hawk with disbelief in her voice. "But I don't understand. You said clones don't have souls. He has a soul."
Hawk chuckled.
"Clones aren't supposed to have souls."
"Then how does he—"
"I already know the reason."
"What?"
Natasha blinked, momentarily confused. Wasn't Hawk on vacation in Georgia? How had he suddenly figured it out?
Hawk smiled, deciding not to hide anything from SHIELD. "It's related to a dimensional war. As for why I got dragged into it, I'm still investigating. Once I have answers, I'll tell you when you ask again."
Dimensional War?
Natasha knew a little about Dimensions, but she knew a lot about war.
Her instincts immediately kicked into high alert.
"Does SHIELD need to do anything?"
"Not for now."
Hawk's tone was light. "Alright, that's all for now. I'm hanging up."
He ended the call, then turned his gaze toward the lawn outside, which was gradually brightening with the rising sun.
As the sun climbed higher...
Damon, still frozen in place, met his end.
Thin wisps of smoke began rising from his body.
Damon's mouth opened wide.
He seemed to be screaming, seemed to be wailing in agony, but no sound escaped. His mouth just hung open, silent and horrifying.
Hawk glanced at Gwen, who had walked to his side. She stood with her arms crossed, watching the scene with a calm, detached expression.
"Want to hear him scream?"
"Will it wake up Grandpa?"
"No."
"...Never mind."
Gwen thought for a moment, then shook her head. She looked at Caroline. "This is what vampires are. Lose your daylight ring, get caught in the sun, and you die. Are you sure you still want to be a vampire?"
Caroline looked at Damon on the lawn—his mouth stretched wide, his face twisted in agony, thick smoke billowing from his body. Then she looked at Gwen. "Gwen, the human Caroline is already dead."
Gwen stared at her cousin.
After a moment.
She sighed, reached into her pocket, and pulled out the daylight ring Hawk had taken from Damon. She grabbed Caroline's cold right hand and slapped the ring into her palm. Then she looked at Caroline, her voice tinged with helplessness.
"Keep a spare ring on you at all times."
"...Thank you, Gwen."
Caroline looked down at the daylight ring in her hand. When she heard those words, she froze for a moment, then looked up at Gwen with a radiant smile.
At the same time.
Damon vanished from the lawn.
Physically vanished. Though compared to being vaporized instantly by Hawk's Phoenix beam, at least dying by UV exposure left behind proof that Damon had existed—a white outline burned into the grass.
Stefan stared at the white mark left behind on the lawn, his expression unreadable.
Elena's emotions were equally complicated.
Only Bonnie looked at the white stain on the grass with a single thought running through her mind.
'Thank God. That menace is finally gone.'
God himself could testify—in Bonnie's opinion, most of the disasters plaguing Mystic Falls had either been caused by Damon or made worse by him.
Now that Damon was dead, Bonnie genuinely believed the town's problems would drop by at least ninety percent.
Gwen turned away from the window and looked at Hawk. "I'm going to rest for a bit."
Hawk raised an eyebrow. "I'll come with you."
Gwen smiled and didn't refuse. She turned and headed toward the stairs.
Caroline, still standing there, watched her cousin walk away. "Gwen, I..."
Hawk glanced at Caroline.
"You should say thank you."
"Thank you."
Caroline reflexively said it, then watched as Hawk turned and followed Gwen without looking back.
"But what should I—"
"Do whatever you want. We came here to spend time with Grandpa and relax."
Hawk's voice trailed behind him as he caught up with Gwen. The two of them disappeared up the stairs together, planning to catch some sleep.
Soon enough—
Hawk and Gwen's figures vanished into the upper floor.
Caroline didn't look away until they were completely out of sight. Then she turned and walked back outside, joining Bonnie and Elena.
She watched Stefan, who had somehow found a plastic bag and was carefully collecting the white ash from the lawn. She opened her mouth, wanting to apologize.
But Caroline suddenly remembered something.
She was the victim here!
Snapping out of it, Caroline looked at Stefan, who was crouched on the ground, and swallowed the words she'd been about to say.
Bonnie walked over to Caroline's side and said quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know Damon was controlling you back then."
She didn't like Damon. And back when Caroline had been helping Damon, Bonnie hadn't liked Caroline either.
But now she knew the truth.
Caroline looked at Bonnie, who was apologizing to her, and smiled faintly.
Elena stepped forward and hugged Caroline, also murmuring an apology.
As for Stefan—
Stefan finished collecting his brother Damon's ashes, stood up, and looked at Caroline. His mouth twitched slightly before he also said, "I'm sorry."
"It's over now. Damon—"
"He was never a good person." Stefan cut Caroline off. "So maybe death is a release for him."
Damon was his brother.
If Damon had been killed for no reason, Stefan would have done everything in his power to avenge him.
But Damon had brought this on himself.
Again.
You compelled someone. Their relative found out, got angry, and killed you.
How was Stefan supposed to avenge that?
And honestly, When Stefan said death might be a release for Damon, he was also thinking that maybe it was a release for himself too.
Damon caused too many problems. And he never cleaned up his own messes.
To put it bluntly, how many young, attractive female tourists visiting Mystic Falls had Damon fed on over the years? And every single time, Stefan had been the one running around compelling them to forget, cleaning up after his brother.
And most importantly.
His brother had competed with him over Katherine back then. And now he'd been competing with him over Elena too.
Good riddance.
Still, Stefan thought to himself as he tucked the plastic bag away. He looked at Elena. "But without Damon, when the Original Klaus arrives..."
They'd already learned Klaus's intentions from the Original Elijah.
And they'd made a deal with Elijah: help him find the moonstone, and Elijah would ask his brother Klaus to forgive their transgressions and spare them.
But now, with Damon gone—their strongest fighter...
The moonstone...
They probably didn't have a chance of getting it anymore.
Elena's expression stiffened at the mention of Klaus.
Caroline, noticing this, turned to Elena. "Don't worry. Hawk will handle it."
Elena looked at Caroline.
"He'll help?"
"Why?"
"That's what he said."
"Uh..."
Caroline looked at the three pairs of eyes now staring at her intently. She repeated what Gwen had said earlier—that they "didn't need Damon anymore"—and told them what it implied. Then she looked at Elena. "So don't worry."
Elena nodded. "Thank you, Caroline."
Caroline smiled. "We're friends. Once Gwen wakes up, I'll confirm it with her."
Elena forced a smile and nodded.
...
Inside Hawk and Gwen's room.
"What?"
"You're saying Katherine is an angel?"
"But isn't she a vampire?"
Gwen pulled the blanket toward herself. As Hawk rolled to the side, she wrapped it around her body, then looked at him and blinked. "And didn't you say Heaven got driven out by Hell?"
Hawk, currently in a brief post-coital refractory period, glanced at Gwen—who, even wrapped in a blanket, still radiated an enticing warmth—and smiled. "Obviously, they've made a comeback. And Katherine isn't an angel. I said her soul comes from the Heaven Dimension."
Gwen nodded thoughtfully, then asked with curiosity, "But what does this have to do with you? The fight for control over Earth's life and death—that's between Heaven and Mephisto, isn't it? How did you get dragged in?"
"Yeah, I'm curious about that too."
Hawk chuckled. After confirming he'd recovered, he shifted closer and pulled Gwen into his arms. He breathed in the scent of her hair as he shared his theory.
"First possibility: it's an accident."
"The real Dr. Merrick might have made a deal with the Heaven Dimension. Using cloning technology to help Heaven release more souls onto Earth, speeding up their silent conquest of Hell and Earth."
"Second possibility: it's deliberate."
"Dr. Merrick is Heaven's agent on Earth. He's envious of my power, so he's trying to replicate it for himself."
Gwen was his fiancée. As he'd told her before, as his fiancée and future Mrs. Phoenix, Gwen had access to everything he was.
Gwen and he had started from nothing. He had nothing to hide from her.
Hawk wasn't some bureaucrat.
He was a Saint.
Throughout history, you heard about bureaucrats divorcing their wives after gaining power. You never heard about warriors abandoning theirs.
Gwen listened to Hawk's two theories, then looked up at him. His eyes were gleaming with thought.
"Which one do you think it is?"
"I hope it's the second one."
"Hm?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow at his answer. "You hope Heaven deliberately made you their enemy? Why?"
Hawk's smile widened.
"Because—"
"The stormier the seas, the pricier the fish!"
"..."
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