Alex stood on a spacious balcony, and at his feet lay an unnaturally mutilated human body. This disfigured body belonged to Micolash — a man who was ready to do anything to achieve his goal, including kidnapping people and carrying out the bloodiest sacrifices. Micolash's body was mutilated beyond recognition: the bones of his limbs were crushed and twisted as if someone had tried to squeeze liquid out of them.
What remained of Micolash's face could hardly be called a human face — his teeth had been knocked out after dozens of blows against the stone balcony railing, the bones of his face were shattered, and one eye was missing. Alex, standing over Micolash, was covered in blood that belonged to Micolash. Raising his hand to wipe the blood from his face, he only smeared it across his skin even more.
Alex looked at the still-living Micolash and was impressed that he had managed to stay alive for so long. Only half an hour had passed since Alex had caught up with Micolash on this balcony. And all that time, Alex had been relentlessly mutilating Micolash's body to inflict as much pain as possible. During the entire process, Micolash had only managed to say a few phrases.
But, having lost his teeth, all he could do was laugh like the true madman he was. Shaking the blood off his fingers, Alex reached into his pocket for a cigarette. Lighting it, he clenched it between his teeth and brought his hands to his hair. Exhaling smoke, Alex brushed his hair back, raising his gaze to the ceiling.
"You fucking bastard, now it's clear why you're as hard to kill as a cockroach," Alex said, brushing his hair back and lowering his gaze to Micolash.
The mutilated Micolash, lying at Alex's feet, only made a gurgling sound, trying to laugh at Alex's words. But all he could manage in this state was to spit out blood that endlessly flowed from his mouth. Before meeting Micolash, Alex had no idea that this insane bastard had used his students and comrades for such a mad scheme.
Alex had thought that Micolash had used himself and all the members of the School of Mensis to make contact with the Great Ones. Micolash had not only made contact with the Great One named Mensis to gain his knowledge, but had also achieved what his teacher — Master Willem — could not. Micolash had used the minds of the School of Mensis members, merging them with his own brain.
In this way, he had tried to expand the boundaries of his cognition so as not to go mad during contact with the Great Ones. And he had partially succeeded. He had not gone mad upon making contact with the Great Ones and had even gained some control over the Nightmare world, becoming something like a follower of the Great One named Mensis, in whose honor Micolash had named his school.
When he first met Mensis in the Nightmare world, Micolash had seen in him everything he wanted to achieve. And the sight of the huge brain covered in eyes had shown Micolash the path he should take. Thus, during the final ritual, Micolash had merged his mind with the minds of his followers. But what he had not taken into account were the consequences that would follow such a ritual.
Now Micolash was a collective of human minds trapped in one body, with Micolash himself as the dominant one. That was why Micolash always spoke of himself in the plural. Because he was now a collective of many people's minds.
Alex quickly understood why Micolash had seemed strange to him from the very first moment. But that did not change the fact that Micolash was one of those responsible for what had happened in Yharnam. Even if he and the others had been manipulated by other Great Ones waging their own war for the right to rule this world.
Alex also understood that humans had almost no chance of resisting the influence of such beings, who existed outside ordinary understanding of life. The only thing that had saved this world from destruction was that the Great Ones had decided to transfer their confrontation into an endless cycle that had been torn out of time, constantly starting over.
Alex could not help but shake his head at the fact that these Great Ones, who were offspring of Outer Gods, were simply hiding in dimensions they themselves had created, continuing to interfere with each other. Alex even thought it was quite ironic and amusing that such beings were fighting over one world. And the people of this world had played a significant role in it. Looking at Micolash again, one of the culprits, Alex could not express anything but contempt.
"You thought that by performing the ritual this way, you could Ascend, you pathetic mutt? Don't even dream of it," Alex snorted contemptuously, pressing his foot down on Micolash's chest.
"What kind of ritual did he perform?" came Maria's voice as she stood nearby.
Alex shifted his gaze to Maria, who was holding his cloak and hat, leaning her back against the wall. From the very beginning, Maria had not said a word about what he was doing to Micolash. Maria herself also considered Micolash guilty of many things, and therefore did not even think about showing compassion or stopping Alex.
The only thing that interested her was what ritual Micolash had actually performed and why Alex had said that such a ritual would not help Micolash Ascend. Looking at Maria, Alex exhaled cigarette smoke and began to explain to her what Micolash had done, what he had tried to achieve, and what it had led to. Hearing the explanation of Micolash's actions, Maria could not hide the contempt on her face toward him.
"If it were possible to Ascend by absorbing people's minds, I would have done it long ago. You're right to call this trash a pathetic mutt," Alucard said, sitting on the stone balcony railing and looking away from her nails.
"I don't need to explain the difference between worlds, do I? Or should I remind you that even the Heavenly Host and Hell preferred to stay away from you?" Alex said, looking at his wife with a blank gaze.
"Ah, them… It's not my problem that those trash are such cowards. Even that self-proclaimed King of Hell ran to hide under the tail of those he had wanted to kill many times," Alucard said, lazily waving her hand as if it were something insignificant.
"Fuck, I forgot about him…" Alex slapped himself on the forehead, remembering that he had forgotten again.
"What happened? Who did you forget?" Maria looked at him with a surprised gaze, noticing the expression on Alex's face.
"I forgot to hide my alcohol supplies. Those two idiots Dean and Crowley will drink everything. Or they've already drunk it all…" Alex groaned, covering his face with his hands.
Maria looked at Alex with a blank gaze, not understanding what alcohol had to do with anything and why the conversation had suddenly shifted to discussing something like that. Alex was not sure that Lucina, Alice, Enid, and Samantha would hide the alcohol. And even if they did, Alex was sure that Dean would still find it.
Groaning once again, Alex remembered that he had been absent from the Bunker for nearly a whole month, which he had spent in London helping the Hellsing Organization. Stopping his sighing, Alex shifted his gaze to Micolash, who by this point had already died from blood loss from his wounds. Looking at Micolash's corpse, Alex crushed his head for good measure to completely destroy Micolash's essence.
At that moment, Micolash's body turned to ash, which settled on Alex's shoes.
"So what's next on the list… Hmm… The brain, then the little bastard. And that seems to be it," Alex muttered, opening his notebook and crossing out Micolash's name with a pen.
"And what will happen to Yharnam after everything is over?" Maria asked, approaching Alex and looking over his shoulder into the notebook.
"Good question, my dear Maria. The next day will come. And if everything is done correctly, the maddened inhabitants of Yharnam who turned into monsters will become humans again. And no one will remember anything," Alex said, tapping Maria on the nose with the pen.
"As I understand it, no one will remember anything. And for them, it will be just an ordinary night?" Maria asked, stroking her nose and looking into Alex's eyes.
"Something like that. Carmilla, you don't mind if I handle the rest myself?" Alex said, putting the notebook back in his pocket and turning his head toward Alucard.
Hearing her husband's words, Alucard narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. Alucard thought about fighting such beings, but seeing Alex's gaze, she understood it was better to leave everything in his hands. It might have been an exciting fight for her.
But she was already tired of this world, which had stopped bringing her even the slightest pleasure or interest. She was tired of these monotonous monsters and people who had also turned into abominations. After thinking for a bit, Alucard calmly nodded her head, showing that she had no objection to Alex handling the rest himself. Seeing his wife's agreement, Alex smirked with a smile and prepared to move on.
"Then let's go. That big-eyed brain is very close," Alex said in a cheerful tone, beckoning Alucard and Maria to him.
"So no more wandering around?… Nice to hear that," Alucard said with a slight smile, leaning on Alex's shoulder.
"I also don't want to wander around this place anymore. Even if my mind is protected. This place gives me unpleasant sensations," Maria said, nodding her head and placing her palm on Alex's shoulder.
Looking at the two women, Alex exhaled through his nose and took a step forward. In the next moment, they found themselves in a completely different place. The place they appeared in was the very tower where Mensis was suspended on chains. Being so close to Mensis, Maria felt nauseous at the sight of something so repulsive so near.
Alucard could not hide her disgust toward such a being, whose existence was almost impossible to perceive normally. Ignoring the fact that Mensis's Brain was making strange sounds while staring directly at them, Alex calmly looked into Mensis's huge insane eye.
"Up close, you're even more disgusting. A lowly bastard who can't even change form. What else could you expect from creatures born from such beings," Alex said with contempt in his voice, tossing his burning cigarette into Mensis's eye.
"You called this being Lowly again. Why?" Maria asked, trying not to look at Mensis.
"It's all about the Hierarchy. Even such beings have one. As they say, there will always be someone who stands above the rest. And those like him and his kind are essentially Lowly Gods in their place of residence," Alex explained, tapping his chin as he tried to explain the reason for his words.
"I shouldn't have asked. I still don't understand anything. I'll just try to remember everything you say," Maria said, rubbing her forehead, feeling that she was very far from this topic.
"Over time, you'll get used to it, and it will seem ordinary to you. Trust me," Alex said with a chuckle, giving a thumbs up.
"Alright. And how are you going to kill this being?" Maria asked with a sigh, nodding toward Mensis, who continued to stare at them.
"I'm also curious, my love. And if you're going to touch this creature with your hands… then you should tear your own hands off if you want to touch me afterward," Alucard said with a sweet smile on her face, running her nail along Alex's neck.
Alex froze in place and looked at his wife. He saw that Alucard's gaze was extremely serious, and she was telling the truth. Shifting his gaze to Mensis, who continued to make a strange humming sound while looking at them, Alex lost all desire to kill such a creature by touching it with his hands. Searching through his memories, Alex found many ways to kill Mensis without touching the creature with his hands.
"The choice is obvious. I won't touch it. But this thing still needs to be killed," Alex said, nodding his head as he found a solution to his problem.
"And how?" Alucard asked with a smile, wrapping her arms around Alex's neck from behind.
"Since I can't touch it, only execution remains… Guignolvenuéz," Alex said, pointing his finger at Mensis.
After Alex uttered the spell, black mist began to form around Mensis, quickly taking on a completely different shape. The black mist surrounding Mensis took the form of a giant black scaffold with a guillotine. Once the scaffold was fully formed, black chains wrapped around Mensis, fixing him in place and preventing any attempts to escape, even though Mensis effectively could not escape anyway.
The guillotine hovering directly above Mensis burned with black flames that devoured the surrounding light. And with the appearance of the guillotine, emotions for the first time flashed in dozens of Mensis's empty eyes as its very core began to sense what awaited it. Alucard and Maria looked at the appeared guillotine differently.
Maria felt a strange mixture of emotions that she could not describe at that moment. No matter how much she looked at the guillotine, she could not describe the emotions she was experiencing except for one thought that flashed through her head for a moment. Alucard, on the other hand, felt an unfamiliar power emanating from this guillotine.
And knowing the true nature of her husband, Alucard understood that this was the power of Destruction, from which no one could escape or hide. Seeing how Mensis's gaze had changed, Alex smiled widely and flicked his finger downward.
Along with Alex's gesture, the guillotine fell down with a whistle. The black blade perfectly sliced Mensis's brain into two even halves. Before the two halves of Mensis's brain could fall, they flared with black flame, instantly turning into ash.
"That's it. The execution has been carried out," Alex said, snapping his fingers to remove the scaffold.
"What was that just now?" Maria asked, staring at the place where Mensis's Brain had previously hung on chains.
"It was a conceptual execution. I didn't just kill him — I literally erased him. Mensis no longer exists. And never will," Alex said, touching Maria's palm to bring her out of her shock.
"Sometimes I forget that you are the scariest monster, my love," Alucard said, exhaling cold air into Alex's ear.
"Oi, I'm not a monster. I'm such a cutie," Alex said, cupping his cheeks with his hands.
Alucard looked at her husband, who was trying to make an innocent face after her words, and could not hold back her laughter. Maria, holding Alex's hand, turned away with a smile on her face. Even knowing who Alex truly was, she still could not consider him a monster. After all the hours spent next to Alex and seeing his power, Maria had never been able to start thinking of him as a monster.
Chuckling slightly, Alex stopped pretending to be an innocent guy and took the notebook out of his pocket. Crossing out Mensis's name, Alex looked up. All that remained was to kill Mergo, who was the source of this Nightmare's existence. And when Mergo died, only one last being would remain, who would not be able to sit still. Putting the notebook back into the inner pocket of his coat, Alex was ready to move on.
"Well, the last stop — Lumenwood," Alex said, lighting a cigarette.
"Then there's no point in delaying. Since this is the final target," Maria said, nodding her head.
"Heh, final… I wouldn't say that," Alucard chuckled, turning her head toward Maria.
Maria didn't understand what Alucard was talking about. But before she could ask a question, Alex placed his hands on their shoulders, and they disappeared from the tower. In the next moment, Alex, Alucard, and Maria found themselves in a spacious corridor at the very top of the castle. The entrance to the Lumenwood was right in front of them.
And from there, the maddening cry of a child continued to sound endlessly, supporting the existence of this place. Along the entire corridor to the exit were the dried corpses of the School of Mensis members, who even in this place were nothing more than dried mummies with cages on their heads.
Even though the child's cry had no effect on Maria, she covered her ears with her hands because this cry evoked old memories that reminded her of the Orphan of Kos's cry. Maria wanted to forget all these sounds and never hear them again.
Seeing Maria's condition, Alex leaned closer to her and whispered a few words in her ear. Hearing Alex's words, Maria's cheeks turned bright red, and she hit him on the arm. She had not expected him to say such things at a moment like this.
"I don't mind. But that requires time, my Hunter," Maria said in an embarrassed tone, turning away from Alex.
"Stop acting like a virgin maiden, girl. If you want something, just take it. No one will wait until you decide," Alucard said, looking at Maria with a blank gaze.
Maria responded by looking at Alucard with an equally blank gaze, showing that she was not going to yield to this woman. Alucard and Maria stared at each other, and a moment later Alucard smiled and looked away. Alucard thought it was not as interesting to deal with Maria as it was with Seras, who instantly panicked over every little thing.
Alex, standing between the two women, decided to stay silent about the fact that his words had only been a joke to distract Maria from Mergo's cry. And he perfectly understood that if he said his words were a joke, he would most likely get hit. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Alex began walking forward to ascend to the Lumenwood.
After walking down the corridor and climbing the steps, Alex, Alucard, and Maria stepped out onto a spacious open-air platform. The Lumenwood was a circular stone platform surrounded by the remains of columns and arches that were partially destroyed and already overgrown with vegetation.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, and a bright full moon illuminated the scene with cold light, giving the entire landscape an ominous and mystical appearance. And in the center of it all stood a baby carriage, from which the child's cry continued to sound endlessly.
"Well, it's time to finish this," Alex said, summoning Yamato into his hand.
Holding Yamato in one hand, Alex snapped his fingers, creating a barrier around Maria and Alucard to hide their presence from the one guarding Mergo. Gripping Yamato in his hand, Alex walked forward toward the carriage. Getting close enough, Alex saw what was inside.
What was inside the carriage could hardly be called a child or a living being. What Alex saw with his own eyes, he could only call an abomination. Mergo looked like an incomprehensible creature: its body was lumpy and scaly and completely wrong.
Mergo's body had several round mouths studded with needle-sharp teeth that emitted a loud, continuous cry. Massive tentacles extended from the lower part of its body, wrapping around its own carriage.
Seeing such an abomination, Alex quickly understood whose child Mergo truly was — it was Iddon, who had conceived himself with the Pthumerian Queen named Yharnam.
"Oi, cunt! How long are you going to hide, or should I kill this bastard first!" Alex shouted, raising his gaze to the bright moon.
As soon as Alex shouted, a tall dark silhouette appeared in front of the bright moon and rapidly approached. A moment later, a tall being dressed in a black robe that hid its face fell from the sky. This being was Mergo's Wet Nurse, created with only one purpose — to protect Mergo until it was fully born.
Mergo's Wet Nurse was a strange tall creature with six skeletal arms and two black torn wings on her back. Her body was covered with a thick black cloak adorned with silver ornaments that made a slight ringing sound during her movements.
Covering the carriage with her black wings, Mergo's Wet Nurse hid Mergo himself in her pocket dimension created specifically for his protection. After hiding Mergo, the Wet Nurse stared at Alex through her thick hood.
"As I understand it, you're not one of the most talkative beings… Well, that's even better," Alex said, drawing Yamato from its sheath and pointing the tip at the Wet Nurse.
In response to Alex's words, the Wet Nurse only leaned forward, and black mist began to gather around her six arms. A moment later, long yatagans appeared in each of the Wet Nurse's hands, which she crossed in front of herself. The Wet Nurse swung three arms, and Alex sharply jerked to the side.
At the very last moment, Alex dodged the Wet Nurse's attack, which sliced through the space next to him. Alex looked at the Wet Nurse in surprise — she was capable of something like that. Narrowing his eyes, Alex took a step forward and instantly appeared in front of the Wet Nurse, who had raised all six yatagans above her head. Alex quickly sheathed Yamato and drew it sharply.
In an instant, the Wet Nurse's body was cut into many pieces. But instead of falling apart, her body turned into black mist. Seeing this, Alex sensed a presence behind him and raised the hand holding Yamato's sheath above his head. The Wet Nurse appeared behind Alex and instantly struck downward.
The yatagans collided with Yamato's sheath, sending sparks flying in all directions. Having blocked the blow, Alex delivered a quick kick backward. The Wet Nurse crossed her lower arms holding the yatagans to block Alex's kick. But she was still thrown back. The Wet Nurse slid across the ground, leaving distinct grooves on the stone floor.
"If this is all you can do, then I'll quickly tear off your wings," Alex said, sheathing Yamato.
At that same moment, the Wet Nurse's body disappeared. And she instantly appeared next to Alex, delivering a quick downward slash with her yatagans. Seeing this wide swing, Alex raised Yamato in front of himself to block it. The yatagans collided with the sheath once again, and Alex felt the force of the blow, which sent him flying high into the air.
Having thrown Alex into the air, the Wet Nurse flapped her black wings and instantly flew up to catch up with him. Finding himself in the sky, Alex spun sharply, grabbing the hilt of Yamato. Drawing Yamato, Alex delivered a horizontal slash, deflecting the Wet Nurse's attack. Alex and the Wet Nurse began fighting in the air, exchanging blows.
Deflecting the Wet Nurse's attacks, Alex had not expected the battle to take place in the sky. Continuing to deflect the Wet Nurse's blows, Alex spun sharply and delivered a downward strike with the sheath, hitting the Wet Nurse's yatagans. From Alex's blow, the Wet Nurse raised her arms upward, giving him a chance to strike. Quickly sheathing Yamato, Alex instantly appeared above the Wet Nurse, stepping on her yatagans.
"Let's continue down below… Seismic Step," Alex said, pressing down on the Wet Nurse's yatagans that she held above her head with his foot.
Pressing down with his foot, Alex forced the Wet Nurse to begin falling rapidly downward. Recalling Yamato, Alex instantly appeared below, watching the falling Wet Nurse. When the Wet Nurse was almost touching the ground, Alex quickly drew Yamato, making a wide horizontal slash.
As soon as Alex delivered the strike, the Wet Nurse froze in the air for a moment. Spinning sharply, Alex touched his forehead with two fingers, creating a doppelganger, and made a sharp dash forward, slashing the Wet Nurse dozens of times with his sword.
After delivering the slashes during the dash, Alex spun sharply and instantly appeared next to the Wet Nurse, who was still frozen in the air. Alex's doppelganger also appeared in front of the Wet Nurse. Alex and his doppelganger began delivering rapid blows to the Wet Nurse's body, cutting her form, which quickly regenerated.
Alex and his doppelganger sheathed their blades. And Alex's doppelganger delivered a spinning kick, sending the Wet Nurse flying. Alex disappeared from his spot, appearing in the Wet Nurse's path, and Beowulf was already on his hands and feet. Alex clenched his fist and delivered a forward punch, sending the Wet Nurse flying back.
The doppelganger met the Wet Nurse with a downward kick, launching her into the air. When the Wet Nurse flew up from the kick, Alex was already waiting for her above. Being above the Wet Nurse, Alex delivered a diving kick, piercing through the Wet Nurse at supersonic speed. Falling down together with the Wet Nurse, Alex pushed off her body, performing a backflip.
Before the Wet Nurse could touch the ground, Alex's doppelganger began delivering a series of rapid spinning kicks. After delivering several kicks, the doppelganger performed a quick double spinning kick. From the latest series of blows, the Wet Nurse was once again sent flying to the side, where Alex was already waiting.
Alex held the Moonlight Sword in a reverse grip, charging the next attack. Alex swung the sword sharply, launching two energy slashes toward the Wet Nurse. Colliding with the energy slashes, the Wet Nurse was thrown upward again, where Alex's doppelganger was already waiting. When the Wet Nurse reached the same height as the doppelganger, he clasped his hands above his head and struck directly into the Wet Nurse's chest, sending her downward.
At that time, below, Alex had already taken a stance for drawing his blade, gripping Yamato with both hands. A blue aura began to emanate from Alex's body, distorting the very space around him. And when the Wet Nurse was almost touching the ground, Alex drew Yamato sharply. At that moment, the Wet Nurse froze in the air.
And a moment later, the space was covered with distinct cut marks, which slowly slid apart and then immediately restored. The Wet Nurse's body was cut into a huge number of pieces that fell to the ground in front of Alex. Straightening up, Alex brought his hand to his hair and brushed it back.
"You just wasted my time," Alex said, looking at the scraps of black robe that remained after the Wet Nurse.
At the same time, inside the barrier stood Alucard and Maria, who had been watching how the battle had unfolded. Watching how Alex fought and how it all ended, Alucard's red eyes shone with a bright red light. Alucard slightly licked her lips, not taking her eyes off Alex.
She really liked what she had seen. Maria once again became convinced that Alex's battles were a completely different kind of art that she could not stop admiring. Lighting a cigarette, Alex drew Yamato and sliced through space to open the Wet Nurse's pocket dimension.
Opening the portal, Alex reached his hand inside and pulled out the disgusting creature that was Mergo. Mergo continued to cry loudly, and once in Alex's hands, it used its powers. Alex's arm began to become covered with a layer of stone, rising up his arm. Alex smirked contemptuously and thrust his other hand into one of Mergo's mouths.
"Sorry, you little bastard. But your abilities don't work on me. You simply shouldn't have been born. Ever," Alex said, squeezing the foundation of Mergo's existence in his hand.
Squeezing his hand, Alex destroyed the foundation of Mergo's existence, and it began turning to ash. When Mergo's body completely disappeared, Alex looked at his petrified arm and shook it slightly, shattering the stone. Alex was quite surprised that Mergo had managed to petrify the barrier around his body. Moving his hand, Alex looked at Alucard and Maria.
Noticing his wife's gaze, Alex flinched slightly, perfectly aware of what that look meant. Swallowing, Alex made his face as calm as possible and began walking toward Maria and Alucard. As he got closer, Alex hoped that his wife would not decide to ride him at such a moment, especially with Maria nearby. Approaching closer, Alex removed the barrier surrounding the two women.
"Carmilla, don't look at me like that. I'm scared," Alex said, taking a slight step back under Alucard's gaze.
"I don't understand what you're talking about, my love. I'm simply admiring how you fought," Alucard said with an innocent smile on her face.
"I almost believed you. Really. About this much," Alex said, raising his hand and showing how much he believed his wife's words, to which Alucard only rolled her eyes with a smile on her face.
"So this is the end. What now? Are we going back?" Maria said with a long sigh, feeling a sense of relief spreading in her chest.
"I don't want to ruin such a moment. But there's still one more," Alex said in an embarrassed tone, raising one finger.
"Sigh… The last one in the Hunter's Dream. Right?" Maria said calmly, looking into Alex's eyes.
"Yes. When the last one dies, the cycle will finally be broken," Alex said, nodding his head and taking Maria's hand.
Maria only nodded, showing that she understood everything. Because of her connection with Doll, Maria felt something strange in the Hunter's Dream. But this feeling was so insignificant that she had not even paid attention to it, as if the Moon frozen in place in the Hunter's Dream was watching them. Squeezing Alex's hand, Maria showed that she was ready to return and already prepared to meet the dawn.
Alucard was also ready to finally leave this world and return to the place she could call home. Seeing that both women were ready to return to the Hunter's Dream, Alex had no objections either. Taking the Black Cube out of his pocket, Alex threw it on the floor and approached the Messengers' lamp. After all, it remained to erase the last trace of the Great Ones in this world.
To be continued...
(So, next up is the final battle, and finally the return. I understand you're still waiting for the return. So yes, we'll be back pretty quickly. I already sped up this ending as much as I could so I wouldn't miss anything, and everything would be as it should be. So what's next for us... Hmm... An old fool, and a moon dick. And then home. I think Alex will quickly return to the US, and Doll will go with him; after all, she's attached to Alex. And there are girls around Alex who will help Doll get used to it. Mm-hmm. Okay, now it's time for food and beer. Peace, love, and im the storm that is approaching.)
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