The Birth of the Night Haunter

Knock knock knock.

There was a knock on the door of a house in Nostramo.

The homeowner did not respond—to the Nostraman, anything that knocks at night is not considered human.

Although there is no clear distinction between day and night in Nostramo, people still need rest, and even the whole city needs rest after a long day of intense work.

Originally, the work didn't take this long—until recently, the family started a new cycle.

They increased various exorbitant taxes and levies, and threatened people with the arrival of Night Haunter to force them to contribute to their factories.

If so, they too would follow the example of the Night Haunter, publicly executing those who strongly resist, branding the taste of fear into the hearts of Nostraman.

As the family intensified its pursuit of profit, the entire Hive City society followed suit.

Originally disappeared under the suppression of the Curze, the family's Black Glove gang has begun to operate in all the Hive City districts of Nostramo as well.

Using all sorts of righteous and unrighteous methods, until everyone is completely squeezed dry, so that even if they live a mediocre life, they will not be able to accumulate any wealth for themselves.

Even worse.

They exploit them to the bone, using usurious loans to forever burden them with inescapable and terrifying debts.

In order to survive, people at the bottom of society sell everything, from their souls to their bodies.

Male thieves and female prostitutes have always been the way things are.

Are Nostramo's sons born robbers? Are Nostramo's daughters born shameless?

"I think it's hard to say."

"I won't allow you to call yourself a son of the beach, Sevitar."

"You! Fine, I don't count."

With various factions squeezing and plundering each other in Nostramo, there is no longer any sense of safety here at night.

Perhaps after the Night Haunter appeared, the entire neighborhood experienced a brief period of peace where doors were left unlocked at night and lost items were left unattended.

But soon, with the Night Lord leaving Nostramo, everything returned to normal.

"Who's outside?!"

After sensing someone knocking on the door, the homeowner told his children and wife to retreat and hide in a secret room, while he himself carefully approached the door one by one, carrying an automatic rifle.

He asked cautiously.

The fact that a house in the Nostramo Hive City neighborhood has survived to this day suggests that the owner is no pushover.

But he still dared not ignore the knocking at the door late at night.

Someone once deliberately refused to answer the debt collectors from his family in an attempt to escape, and the result was that he died a gruesome death in the street, showing everyone the consequences of daring to disobey orders.

From then on, no one dared to ignore knocks on the door, whether they came from gangs or families.

The homeowner cautiously approached and peered through the peephole—this time, the uninvited guest hadn't shone a flashlight through the peephole, so he could see everything clearly.

Those were three petty thieves dragging large bags.

Please forgive his preconceived notions.

But judging from their demeanor and physique, none of these three men seemed to be seasoned family henchmen.

Judging from their somewhat immature appearance, these three were nothing more than low-class, idle street thugs.

They didn't seem like they were there to rob or collect protection money.

It was as if someone had a gun pointed at their heads and forced them to be community volunteers.

Who are you? What do you want?

"Who's coming? You go."

"Tsk, why should I do it? Why don't you go?"

"Hurry up, the boss is still waiting for us."

Amidst a few quiet shoving, a young man stepped forward and reached into the doorway, taking something out of the large bag he was carrying.

"Cough cough."

"Hello, I am Night Haunter."

This is arguably the least Night Haunter way to describe oneself in the world.

The homeowner thought to himself.

"This is a gift we give to every honest citizen. Please accept it."

"Please inform and pass on this message to the other citizens— the Night Haunter has returned to Nostramo."

As the other person finished speaking, a strange metal object was slipped through the louvered door panel where the envelope was placed and tapped a few times on the floor.

Then, those who claimed to be Night Haunter, but could never be Night Haunter, fled like mischievous children.

Only the sound of heavy footsteps remained.

"What exactly is this?"

Really? The Night Haunter has sent us gold coins?

Could it be fake?

He tried to bite the thin piece of gold coin with his teeth.

It's very hard.

Not only were there no marks left by the teeth, but there was also no sign of the gold paint peeling off the gold coin.

Could this be Adamantium?

Try bending it harder.

It can't be bent. It really seems to be Adamantium!

The homeowner looked at the small, thin, Adamantium with great joy.

This gold coin is priceless; even when the Night Lord was still alive, the occurrence of Adamantium was extremely rare!

How did those thugs manage to get their hands on so many Adamantium and distribute them to everyone?!

"Could it be that..."

"Has the Night Haunter really returned?"

"You did a good job."

Kasgar: "Or rather, if you can't even do something this small, you might as well just die on the spot."

After distributing all the Adamantium locally, Kasgar and Sevitar, using memory fragments extracted from flesh and blood genes, launched a joint raid on several Hive City districts.

They were instructed to continue distributing money to the residents near their Hive City until the very end of the final day, at which point the three thugs were released.

Judging from their expressions, they seemed to be enjoying the day.

Seeing this, the three guys smiled sheepishly.

"How does it feel to give money to the residents?"

"Great. I could keep doing this as long as I wanted."

"Okay, that's right."

Kasgar continued, "But I must warn you—after today, you will only have nine days left to live."

Cherish it.

Then, he and Sevitar jumped for joy, and after several leaps on the roof, they quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.

The man was gone, but Kasgar's words struck the minds of the three men like a heavy hammer.

I have nine days left to live.

The lively atmosphere vanished instantly like a receding tide, leaving only the fear of life counting down to its final moments.

Why are you emphasizing their inevitable death?

Sevitar's question was tinged with confusion, "I don't understand why you're doing this."

"Oh? Which ones don't you understand?"

"Almost all of them. Including those three thugs who were given money."

Since they've committed evil deeds, it's better to just kill them.

The fact that Kasgar isn't killing them now, and instead letting them pay them (which is clearly less efficient than Kasgar and Sevitar doing it themselves), is obviously slowing down their ability to create fear in the Hive City.

In the end, these people won't survive anyway, so why not just give them a quick death and then choose a more efficient method?

"This is a shameful waste of resources," Sevitar added. "We shouldn't waste our time on these useless guys."

"So what do you think we should do? Regardless of everything, keep killing any evildoers until this planet is once again at peace in fear."

"Um."

Sevitar nodded heavily.

"No, my friend. That's impossible. Fear may exist for a time, but it will never last."

"Fear will only ever exist on the planet's most worthy objects of fear."

I disagree.

Sevitar retorted, "The fear of us Night Lords will forever be rooted in the hearts of our enemies. Nostramo is nothing but a corrupt and stubborn rock, and this is not our fault!"

"Yes, fear is actually an effective tool."

Kasgar replied.

"But if the Night Lords can use fear against his enemies, how can you be so sure that the enemies won't use fear against other citizens of the Imperium?"

"Sevitar, temporary check-up—tell me why the Emperor opposes religion."

At the question posed by the commander of the Sons of the Emperor, the Night Lords recruit Sevitar stood at attention.

"To help humanity escape ignorance."

"Although the beginnings of religion may lead people to good, the result is always that people use religion to wage war, burn cities, and massacre people."

"Do you know why religious believers do this?"

"Fear."

Kasgar answered for him.

"Fear of man, fear of the afterlife, fear of all that is unknown in the world."

"And will this religious fear ultimately be forever unable to escape the fate of being seized by those in power, allowing an individual to hold the power to define who is most worthy of fear?"

In the end, what is the difference between "believers must donate to him, or their souls will go to hell" and "if you dare to disobey the tax law, the Night Haunter will publicly execute you"?

There is no difference.

The legend of Night Haunter is essentially a religion that worships evil gods.

Out of fear of misfortune, they were forced to live according to the rules of the Night Lord.

Like the beginnings of all religions, Curze also wanted to [lead people toward good].

"But I believe in him! We all believe that Night Lord can remain steadfast; he will not become greedy, and he will always be our absolutely righteous Night Lord!"

"Maybe."

A philosopher on the ancient Terra thought the same thing.

He fancied himself as the sun, possessing boundless light and heat, giving without expecting anything in return. However, his fate ultimately mirrored that of Curze.

—They've gone mad.

"The Night Lord might be able to do it, but what about his men?"

Fear can become entrenched over time. The desire to avoid making mistakes leads to repetitive actions and wasted resources in people's activities.

"For example—there was once a planet at war. The defending forces fought bravely against the enemy but were still facing a shortage of ammunition and were requesting assistance from their superiors."

Kasgar's speaking speed suddenly increased.

But instead of reinforcements, they were met with ships that came to collect taxes—not only were they given no ammunition support, but they were also forced to hand over their already scarce ammunition as part of the planet's tax revenue.

"Perhaps it is cruel to do so, but their sacrifice may be given to those who need it more on the battlefield."

"This doesn't prove anything."

After a moment of contemplation, Sevitar retorted.

"Of course, that's because I didn't finish speaking."

As if anticipating the other side's reaction, Kasgar said, "The collected ammunition was not immediately deployed to other battlefields, but was piled up on a designated planet."

But for some reason, the ships that came to the planet to collect the munitions never appeared again, and the munitions could only continue to accumulate on the planet.

"But this time, because there was simply no room left in the warehouse, these munitions had to be destroyed on the spot."

Countless munitions were piled up like mountains, yet not a single one dared to be used on the battlefield—out of fear.

Out of fear of taking responsibility, no one dared to ask where the ammunition ultimately went, nor did anyone investigate how many human heroes and loyal subjects had been killed in this incident.

Everyone acted mechanically out of fear.

Avoiding mistakes out of fear will only lead to bigger mistakes in the end.

"That's absurd."

"How could such a thing possibly happen?"

Sevitar was somewhat shocked by the 40K.

—It seems he didn't realize that this was just an ordinary day for 40K.

Seeing that Kasgar did not answer, he still did not believe the other party's statement. "This really is not a made-up story?"

Of course not.

Even if you were to sleep in a stagnant field for ten thousand years, you would probably see something similar when you woke up.

Kasgar doesn't need any examples.

The occurrence of such Tithe chaos in the 40K is as smooth and natural as Guilliman losing a one-on-one fight; it doesn't need to be "fabricated."

Even in his statements, Kasgar could be considered to be "embellishing" his image.

"Now, Sevitar."

Kasgar said calmly, "Do you know that fear cannot bring lasting peace?"

"So what if I know?"

Sevitar shouted in a somewhat resigned manner, "Since you look down on Night Lord's actions, what can you do about it?"

What to do?

Have no idea.

For the next few days, Kasgar kept dropping gold coins all over Nostramo's Hive City.

Initially, the process was indeed slow, but the clever Kasgar quickly led Sevitar to infiltrate the Governor's residence and "borrow" a speedboat belonging to the planet PDF.

Then it underwent some modifications and was transformed into—

Batmobile!

The dark blue paint job, combined with the streamlined and sleek lines, already indicates that this is the best of the best among the speed-attack Batmobile.

With the help of the Batmobile, the next eight days of Robin Hood-like life were quite enjoyable.

While robbing the rich, Kasgar did not completely abandon the advanced experience left by Curze.

After each time he killed a corrupt bureaucrat or family member, he would write the name of the Night Haunter and the damned crime in conspicuous bloodstains.

The murderer is Night Haunter!

Although everyone knows that the current Night Haunter are slightly different from those of the past, they may even choose to redistribute the money that has been collected and put into the treasury.

But their methods don't seem to have changed much.

Those targeted by Night Haunter still meet a gruesome end.

The Scola Vore Family Mansion.

"How many times is this?"

As the head of the Scola Vore family, a middle-aged man sat in his opulent office, decorated with Adamantium everywhere, and let out a disgruntled roar.

All those sent by the family to other Hive City regions fell victim to that guy who called himself "Night Haunter".

Night Haunter! Night Haunter!

The Scola Vore Patriarch slammed his fist on the table in extreme impatience.

If Curze really came, he would definitely run away on the spot.

In order to defeat other families and thus control all of Nostramo's resources—especially the mining and refining of Adamantium —he did a lot of dirty work and assigned many dirty tasks in the mines of Hive City.

However, as long as they can control the lifeline of Nostramo's Adamantium ore and increase the production of Adamantium for future Tithe, those Imperium bureaucrats will not have the energy to care about what they are doing in the Hive City.

As long as it's not Night Haunter returning, everything is fine.

Of course, this guy is clearly not Night Haunter.

—Kasgar Sherlock.

They disappeared without a trace after landing on the Nostramo Prime.

Who else could it be but the commander of this Sons of the Emperor?

I don't know what got into this guy, ignoring what's happening on his own planet, he comes to Nostramo to act like a tyrant, how arrogant he is!

The key issue is that we can't retaliate on our own.

The other party was, after all, a high-ranking combatant from the Imperium. As the Chief Lord Commander the Emperor's Children Legion, he held a prestigious position.

The death of Governor might be less forgiving if he paid enough Tithe, but the death of the second-in-command of the Legiones Astartes would not be.

As Fulgrim's husband, Scola Vore had no doubt that if he were to disappear, a Primarch would expend tremendous effort to turn the entire Nostramo upside down.

"Then, sir, what should we do?"

"What to do?"

Scola Vore shook his head. "At least we have new recruits in the Night Lords Legion, so he probably wouldn't dare to really provoke a conflict between the two Legiones Astartes."

"Since he enjoys playing house, let him do it. Inform all members of the Scola Vore family at all residences to minimize going out and not to act alone."

"He likes to give money to the poor, so we can get ahead of him and distribute the Adamantium in areas where we have a surplus. When they have their fun and leave, we can collect double the amount back."

As he spoke, Scola Vore's eyes revealed a hint of vengeful malice.

"We'll make plans after this storm passes."

Scola Vore instructed.

It's already the end of the ninth day.

Kasgar looked at his three assistants. Compared to the previous thugs who were full of malice and arrogance, their eyes were now filled with tension and unease.

Although he spent those nine days robbing the rich to help the poor, living a spectacular and glamorous life.

But according to the agreement, they will die tomorrow.

They were not prepared for the death they were about to face.

Perhaps they already knew their fate of dying tragically in the streets when they were born in Nostramo.

But when that moment actually arrives, there's still a sense of resentment.

The good news is that being able to die painlessly while being targeted by Night Haunter is a kind of blessing from that ghost.

Kazan thought to himself, as if trying to comfort himself.

"I can tell that none of you want to die."

Kasgar said, "If that's the case..."

"I will give you this choice, the choice to survive."

!

In an instant, the gloom in the eyes of the three assistants vanished, replaced by an incredulous excitement.

Is there any chance of survival?

There's a chance I can survive!

How to do it?

What are the conditions?!

"The conditions are simple: you don't need to come here to meet tomorrow, and I guarantee I won't retaliate against any of you."

Ah?

Kazan couldn't even believe what he was hearing.

The conditions offered to them by the Night Haunter were as easy as having none at all.

"But if in the end none of the three of you show up, I will turn around and leave."

Kasgar: "From now on, the Night Haunter will never return to this planet, and from now on, those corrupt bureaucrats will collude with their families here. Our game ends here."

"And if you are willing to believe that I am the Night Haunter myself, capable of sweeping away all evil with justice, then come here at this time tomorrow."

"At that time, your lives will end along with theirs."

"Also, here are the gold coins you received. Keep them safe."

As he spoke, Kasgar flicked three Adamantium from his hand to the three of them.

With this Adamantium, they could fly far away, leave the troublesome place of Nostramo, and go to another planet.

"Everything is up to you to choose."

After saying that, Kasgar lightly leaped and disappeared from their sight again along with Sevitar.

"What does this mean? They're not killing us again?"

Seated aboard the Bat Speeder, Sevitar impatiently asked Kasgar a question.

"This is my final test for Nostramo."

"Kasgar said."

"Unlike you, I believe in humanity."

"What kind of humanity is this? Brother, do you really believe they would choose to sacrifice themselves for the death of a complete stranger?"

"What difference does it make whether you believe or not?"

In the end, the results will speak for themselves.

Kasgar answered, facing the damp air that rushed into Nostramo's Underhive.

Clutching the gold coins in his hand, Kazan walked home shakily.

He no longer knew what he was thinking, or even how he got back.

All he remembered was that the Adamantium felt warm and hard to the touch.

It felt a little different from when he used to hand out money everywhere—this was his money.

He's rich now!

I strolled back to my home—which was less a home and more a small area carved out of a sewer.

He has been living here ever since he was driven out of his home by those officials.

Kazan looked at his little nest in front of him, as if he had returned to the past.

He originally had a real home, the kind with family.

Although he had a hard childhood, he could feel the hunger of lacking food and clothing. This seemed to be the root cause of his current thinness.

But their lives only began to improve for the first time when the legend of the Night Haunter spread and the Night Lord ruled over all of Nostramo.

Gradually, they were able to move into black houses, and with the supplies provided by the family, their lives were secured.

In their family, besides Kazan and their parents, there is a strong older brother and a clever younger sister; the five of them live happily together.

Kazan greatly admires the Night Lord.

Even though he felt uncomfortable with the torture he performed during his live streams and even vomited on the spot, Kazan would still convince himself that it was necessary.

Otherwise, he would have to live in the sewers.

This is why, when the two Bat-Man jumped down and claimed to be Night Haunter, Kazan immediately stood up and identified them as definitely not.

But the good times didn't last long.

Not long ago, the Night Lord joined the Imperial Crusade, leaving Nostramo to be governed jointly by the family and the Governor.

Just as the previous repression was better released, those who were afraid of the Night Lord's torture revealed their true colors at this moment.

Not long after they left, they began to escalate their behavior.

Amidst frequent extortion, taxes, and fines, the little savings I had accumulated were quickly spent.

Kazan's father couldn't repay his debts, so his leg was broken by bodyguards hired by the family. He then fell ill and died soon after because he couldn't afford medicine.

Seeing this, Kazan's brother decided to confront the family, believing that the Night Haunter would appear to uphold justice and thus foolishly walked into their trap.

As a result, during the argument, he was slashed by a member of the family, bled profusely, and died that same day.

The burden of the family's medical expenses and the fines for his elder brother's troublemaking fell on Kazan's shoulders.

In order to repay the debt, Kazan has signed a work contract with his family in just a few months, a contract that will likely last him forever.

But he had to do it for his mother and sister at home.

Perhaps seeing how hard and tiring it was for Kazan to repay his debts, and how he could only eat contaminated Corpse Starch on a daily basis, Kazan's mother actually lost her mind and went to steal the leftover meat and vegetables from the family banquet that were about to be dumped down the drain.

Theft is an evil deed that Night Haunter absolutely cannot tolerate!

According to the family, as a form of punishment, they chose to burn Kazan's mother alive in a live broadcast in the local neighborhood.

As for Kazan's sister...

When she realized that her brother was unable to repay the money, she secretly went to be selected as a maid for the family, but was taken away from the Underhive by the bodyguards.

Before she left, she told Kazan that she was going to Upper Hive soon, a place where she could live a good life—even if she was just a servant, life would definitely be better than in the sewers.

Moreover, after she becomes a maid, she can bring Kazan a large sum of money, making it easier to pay off his debts.

My sister smiled.

But Kazan could tell that her smile was forced.

But what happened next?

I later heard that she had died.

The guy from the family impatiently informed him of this matter.

After hastily announcing that his sister's compensation payment had been offset against Kazan's debt, he left with a disdainful expression.

No matter how much Kazan begged to see his sister one last time, it was no use.

The dregs of the Underhive could never reach the Upper Hive —he didn't even have the chance to collect his sister's body.

How did my sister die?

What kind of treatment did she receive when she died?

He didn't want to think about it, and he dared not think about it—it was all too cruel, Kazan couldn't bear to think about it anymore!

Sevitar was never wrong.

Having lived on this planet his entire life, Sevitar knew all too well just how hopeless Nostramo was.

There's really no one on Nostramo; they're all the worst of the worst!

As for Kazan, he became numb under the immense and tragic impact.

These past few months have felt so long; he can't even find someone to stay with him through it all.

A few days later, he finally understood everything.

He no longer wanted to let others dictate his destiny!

He wants to be the villain!

He wanted to be as ruthless as the thugs and assassins of those families, to show them his fangs, and then to trample on others!

He wants to climb to the top step by step!

So, Kazan gathered a bunch of cronies (to be precise, there were only three of them including him) and formed the super gang that would one day be known throughout the world— the Sawtooth Gang!

He believes that all the spirits of his loved ones in heaven will protect and bless him.

This will allow him to fight his way out of the cannibalistic Nostramo and become an immortal legend.

Unfortunately, his first attempt at extortion resulted in him encountering Night Haunter.

The Sawtooth Gang died.

Kazan has never had that kind of talent.

But it seems that fate gave him one last chance, allowing him to escape all of this and never again be controlled by his damned family.

That's right, it's about escaping all of this.

Kazan looked at the warm, Adamantium in his hand.

This gold coin seems to be thicker and heavier than the ones I've issued.

As long as he is alive, given the rarity of Adamantium, he can definitely travel to other planets by ship. Not to mention Upper Hive, he can certainly live in one of those hives without any problem.

To survive is all hope.

Revenge can wait until later—even though Kazan knew that once he left, he would never come back, he still comforted himself with this thought.

With that in mind, Kazan began to gather his valuables.

Actually, there wasn't much money or valuables.

Apart from the gold coin in his hand, there was nothing worth taking with him.

—Apart from this photo.

Kazan, somewhat dazed, took out the photo that had been hidden deep inside.

Those were photos taken by them in the neighborhood while the Night Lord was still around.

The father, mother, older brother, and younger sister above seemed to be speaking at this moment, advising him.

Let's go, let's go now.

Do not seek revenge for them.

Don't seek revenge, just live a good life!

Don't seek revenge; when will this cycle of revenge end?

Don't seek revenge; it's all meaningless and will ultimately amount to nothing.

Kazan saw the spirits of his loved ones urging him to leave and go far away.

Yes

Don't seek revenge.

Kazan's feet began to move uncontrollably toward the passage leading to the upper level.

He didn't want to die; he had to live, because only by living could he fulfill his family's wishes.

Don't seek revenge.

Even if he really wipes out the entire family, another family will come to take their place.

There's no point in doing this. Let's just leave now and go live a better life on another planet!

Kazan gripped the Adamantium in his hand even tighter.

Don't seek revenge.

Click!

"Ah!"

Kazan unleashed a roar that even he could not have imagined.

Bone-chilling frost condensed at his feet, and a strange, indescribable aura lingered around him.

The coins, originally made of Adamantium, were gradually bent into the shape of a "∧" by his power.

He can't do it.

He can't do it!!!

So what if I die?

When will this day end? You and I will both perish!

Kazan suddenly raised his head, ignoring the blood and tears streaming down his chin, and gritted his teeth as he recited each word.

"I want revenge!!!"

Kazan never actually saw the Night Haunter.

He didn't know what Night Haunter was either.

But from this day forward, he will be Night Haunter.