Supreme Warlock System : From Zero to Ultimate With My Wives

Warlock Ch 119. Not My Ego

Evelyn reached out, placing a comforting hand on Damian's arm. "It'll come back," she said gently. "We just need to be patient."

Damian opened his eyes, looking at her with a mixture of gratitude and guilt. "Thanks," he said quietly. "For sticking with me. Even when I didn't deserve it."

Evelyn smiled softly, her hand lingering on his arm. "Always."

Cassius, watching the exchange, rolled his eyes. "Touching," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Damian turned to him, his expression shifting into a smug grin. "Of course, it's touching. But you wouldn't understand, Cas. A perpetually single guy like you? You should stop frowning so much. Smile a bit. Who knows, you might actually get a girlfriend someday."

Cassius's eyes narrowed into a death glare. "I wonder who keeps giving me a reason to frown every damn day, huh? How can I smile when you're always the reason for my headaches?"

Damian squared his shoulders, meeting Cassius's glare with one of his own. The tension in the room felt sharp enough to cut, but then, just as suddenly, they both broke into smiles. Damian chuckled, leaning back against the pillows, and Cassius let out a small, reluctant huff that might have been a laugh.

"I'm glad you're alive," Cassius said, his tone softening.

Damian's grin widened. "And I'm glad you haven't changed. Someone has to keep me grounded, right?"

Cassius nodded, his expression turning mock-serious. "Well, someone has to. That 'almighty warlock' attitude of yours could float you straight into the sun." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"True," Damian admitted with a shrug. He looked down at his hands, his fingers flexing as if trying to grasp something intangible. "I'm not fully back yet. My memories… they're still fractured. And my power… it's not what it used to be."

Evelyn, who had been quiet during their banter, placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Take your time, Damian," she said softly. "Your health comes first. Oh, wait. But now that you've started remembering… should I call you Kaelan again?"

Damian hesitated. "No," he said finally. "Damian is fine. Kaelan… that name carries too much. If I start using it again, they'll come after me. And worse, they'll come after you."

Cassius's expression grew serious as he straightened, crossing his arms. "Speaking of your past, I have a few questions," he said, his voice steady but probing. "Now that you've heard what we know, do you think what you did back then was right? Do you think it was all a mistake? And… Do you think those decisions are why you chose to be reborn?"

The room fell silent.

Damian frowned, his gaze distant as he tried to piece together the fragments of his memory. Finally, he spoke, his voice quieter than before. "I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe that's part of it. Maybe I was running from my mistakes—or trying to fix them. But… I don't believe I made those decisions lightly. Or that I meant to hurt anyone. Like… becoming a self-proclaimed Demon King. I didn't do that to stroke my ego. I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do."

Cassius tilted his head, his expression skeptical. "But you made it worse."

Damian shook his head firmly. "No. Something happened. Something or someone twisted my intentions and flipped the narrative. Look, I'm not naive. The demon king had a lot of followers, and I knew some demon lords wouldn't take kindly to a warlock stepping into their territory. But leaving that throne empty? That would've been worse. It would've thrown their realm into absolute chaos. A war between the factions."

"And you think your way stopped that?" Cassius asked, his tone challenging. "Wouldn't the end result have been the same?"

"No," Damian said with conviction. "The casualties would've been different. The scale of the destruction would've been different. With no leader, they would've torn each other apart. Cities, villages, innocent lives—caught in the crossfire. At least with me there, I could hold things together, even if only temporarily."

Cassius leaned back against the wall, his expression unreadable. "That's a hell of a gamble," he said finally.

Damian let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, well, I've always been a betting man."

Cassius snorted, his arms crossed. "And that's exactly why you're always in this kind of mess," he said, his tone cutting but not without a hint of grudging affection. "You make insane bets, and then I have to clean up the fallout. Honestly, it pisses me off."

Damian smirked, throwing his hands up. "Hey, at least I keep life interesting for you, Cas."

Cassius shot him a flat stare. "Interesting? I'd settle for boring."

Evelyn placed a calming hand on Damian's arm. "Take a rest, okay? You've been through enough. Cassius and I will prepare lunch for you."

Damian perked up, his grin widening. "Oh, can I have Behemoth Steak Slabs and Dawn's Vitality? Y'know, for the recovery." He blinked innocently.

Cassius groaned, his glare sharpening. "You're impossible."

Damian clutched his chest dramatically, pretending to cough. "I'm hurt, ya know! I need nutritious food. I need to heal quickly. I'm just a lowly rank E warlock who somehow managed to defeat a rank B warlock and almost died."

Evelyn tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. "Malthus was rank A."

Damian froze mid-drama. "Wait. What?"

"Malthus," Evelyn repeated, "was a rank A warlock."

Damian stared at her, his brain struggling to catch up. "Rank A?" he echoed, his voice an octave higher than usual.

She nodded. "Yes."

He slumped back against the headboard, his eyes wide. "Oh, damn."

Cassius smirked, shaking his head. "Told you, you're an idiot."

Damian ignored him, his thoughts racing. "I mean, I knew he was strong, but rank A? That's... I shouldn't even be alive right now."

"You're lucky you are," Evelyn said softly. "And you're welcome, by the way."

Damian grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Evie. You're the best."

Cassius sighed, pushing off the doorframe. "Let me guess. You're going to milk this for all it's worth, aren't you?"

Damian's grin turned mischievous. "What, me? Never."

Cassius rolled his eyes. "Right. Behemoth Steak Slabs and Dawn's Vitality it is. But if you complain about anything, I'm feeding you ration bars instead."

Damian gasped, clutching his chest again. "You wouldn't dare."

Cassius didn't respond, already heading down the hall. Evelyn followed, shaking her head with a fond smile.