[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dawn-walker":3,"chapter-dawn-walker-dawn-walker-chapter-201":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Dawn Walker",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1836809,2443,"Chapter 201: Midnight Theft VIII","dawn-walker-chapter-201",201,"\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon flinched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Sekhmet looked back to Reyan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And you believed them,\" Sekhmet said quietly. \"That is the funniest part.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reyan shook violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can fix it! I can... I can help you! I can give you names! I can...!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet crouched beside him. His shadow covered Reyan’s face. Reyan went still, trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s voice was soft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You wanted to sell my house,\" he said. \"So I will show you what it feels like to be owned.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reyan’s eyes widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No... no...!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auri tightened her foot slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reyan screamed. Sekhmet’s fangs slid out. Dickon’s breath hitched. His mouth opened. No sound came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet bit Reyan’s neck. Reyan convulsed. His scream broke into a wet choking sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet drank. Just enough to take control of the moment. Warm blood rushed into Sekhmet’s mouth. He stopped before killing. He pulled away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reyan collapsed, shaking, eyes rolling back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s voice stayed calm as if he had simply signed a contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now,\" Sekhmet said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not say the system words out loud. He did not need to. His will moved through his blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a command... A decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reyan’s body jerked. Then it began. Reyan’s veins darkened under his skin like ink flooding paper. His spine arched. His fingers curled into claws. His mouth opened in a soundless howl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His teeth lengthened. His eyes reddened. His skin paled into a sick corpse-white. The change was not beautiful. It was ugly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A punishment made of flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon stumbled backward, eyes shaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you doing,\" he whispered, voice breaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reyan’s throat made a guttural sound. Grrrk... His bones cracked once. Then he went still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not dead. Worse... he became a ghoul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at the ground, panting like an animal, drool slipping from the corner of his mouth. His mind was broken down into obedience and hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon’s face went white. When he looked at Reyan. Then at Sekhmet. Then at the void seam still open behind Sekhmet, breathing cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon’s pride shattered visibly. His lips trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" he whispered. \"No, no, no...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stood. He looked down at Dickon with calm authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This,\" Sekhmet said, nodding at Reyan, \"is what you hired.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon shook his head, barely breathing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And this,\" Sekhmet continued, voice still soft, \"will be your fate if you keep barking like a dog.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon’s eyes snapped up. He felt fear. Pure fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You wouldn’t,\" Dickon whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s lips curved faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I already did,\" he replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon’s mouth opened. He tried to speak. Then he tried to crawl backward again, like fear could pull him through stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stepped closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon flinched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet spoke quietly, but every word landed like a nail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You said your father would destroy me,\" Sekhmet said. \"Good. Let him come.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon shook his head violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don’t understand,\" he gasped. \"He— he—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet cut him off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand perfectly,\" he said. \"He is a bigger dog. That is all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon’s breathing became ragged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can’t fight Iron House,\" he whispered, voice cracking. \"You can’t—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet leaned down until his face was close. His eyes were cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And you cannot fight me,\" Sekhmet said. \"Look at what is left of you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon’s eyes filled with tears he hated. His mouth trembled. He looked away like a child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet straightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Auri,\" Sekhmet said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auri turned instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, master.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Throw Reyan in,\" Sekhmet ordered. \"He will learn what hunger feels like when it has no dignity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reyan’s ghoul body twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auri grabbed his hair again. Only a few hairs remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reyan made a wet sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auri tossed him into the void. He was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon watched it happen and made a broken choking noise. It sounded like his mind trying to run away from reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet grabbed Dickon by the collar again and lifted him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon’s feet kicked uselessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please,\" Dickon whispered again, pride dead now. \"Please. Please—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, like a drowning man grabbing any rope, he threatened again through tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My father—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s eyes sharpened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You should save your breath,\" he said. \"You will need it in there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon’s eyes widened in horror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet walked him to the seam. The darkness licked at the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dickon started crying openly now, not noble tears, not dramatic ones, just ugly terrified tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m the young master,\" he whispered. \"I’m— I’m Iron—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s voice stayed calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not tonight,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he tossed Dickon into the void. Dickon vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seam remained open for a breath longer while the last of Raka’s men dragged bodies into line and tossed them in too. The corridor emptied until only Sekhmet’s people remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet closed the void land. The air snapped back into normal. The corridor suddenly felt too quiet. Too clean. As if the whole raid had been swallowed by night itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet turned to the others. Raka stood straight, waiting for orders. Auri’s eyes were cold and satisfied in a controlled way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vera and Vela stood close behind Sekhmet, like new blades finding their place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet exhaled once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good work,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raka’s face shifted slightly. He felt pride. Not loud. Just real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you, master,\" Raka replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet’s gaze hardened again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dispose of any blood traces that could lead city guards here,\" he said. \"Make it look like nothing happened.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raka nodded instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet looked at Auri.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We will return. Watch the building until dawn,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auri bowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, master.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet looked at the twins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You return with me,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They nodded in perfect sync.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet turned away and began walking back through the internal route toward Dawn House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body felt warm with fed blood. His injuries were mostly sealed. But his mind did not feel light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he knew what he had just done. He had swallowed fifty enemies into darkness. He had taken a noble heir and turned him into stored prey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had taken a traitor and turned him into a monster. He had escalated the war without letting the city see the blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Note: Support the story by giving power stones and Golden tickets.)\u003C\u002Fp>",1011,"2026-06-09T06:31:32.937Z",1,"novelbin.me","3d1e241f4bcaf49ae72bed2a5f560afba6f0298a6c201bacb118488c19ea5c94","dawn-walker-chapter-202","dawn-walker-chapter-301",359,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdawn-walker-cover.jpg"]