LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 315: The Sabotage
Warlock Ch 315. The Sabotage
The ceremony finished.
No applause.
No fanfare.
Just murmurs. Displeased looks. Whispers exchanged between council members and examiners, their faces unreadable but their thoughts loud as hell.
Damian stepped down from the platform, the glow of the magic circle still burning behind him. His body felt… weird. Not in a bad way, but not in a good way either. It was like standing in the eye of a storm, knowing that the real chaos was still waiting to hit.
He walked up to Aria, exhaling heavily. "Thanks."
Aria turned to him, arms crossed, her face still as unreadable as ever. "I just did what I was supposed to."
Damian huffed a tired laugh. "Yeah, well, that makes one of us."
Aria tilted her head slightly, her gaze flickering with something unreadable. Then, as if deciding to humor him, she added, "Besides, you've helped us. If the fae princess died, it would have been… dangerous."
Damian raised an eyebrow. "Understatement."
Aria didn't argue.
One of the council members, an older man with sharp eyes and an even sharper tongue, stepped forward, his voice cutting through the tense air.
"But the fae princess signed the agreement that she would follow the rules," he said. "We can't guarantee her safety. That was never a condition."
Aria's head turned slowly, her gaze locking onto him with dangerous precision. "Oh…" she murmured, her voice laced with something cold, biting. "Is that so?"
The temperature in the arena seemed to drop. Then, she smiled. And somehow, that was worse. "That explains why this year's exam really felt like a death match," she said.
The murmur among the audience grew louder.
The council members, clearly annoyed by the attention, stepped forward, one of them adjusting his cloak.
"But a Rank S should have that ability," one of them said firmly. "This isn't a Rank A exam. We would be ashamed if we granted an S-rank to an incompetent magus."
Damian, who had zero energy left for this conversation, let out a breath through his nose. 'Oh, for fuck's sake…' he thought. 'I was away for like fifty years and they are still like this?' he grumbled internally.
Aria, however, didn't take the bait. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, as if considering their words. Then she spoke. "You're right," she said calmly.
The council members blinked, almost surprised at her agreement. "But that doesn't mean you get to play with their lives like toys."
Tension spiked.
Damian crossed his arms, watching.
Aria's voice didn't waver. "A Rank A versus a Rank A," she continued, "will result in two outcomes. One—both of them die in the process. Or two—one of them survives, but crippled. And then what?" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You have an useless S-rank."
One of the councilmen shifted uncomfortably, but another stepped forward. "That's the risk of the title."
Aria didn't blink. "Previously, all exams were about survival and adaptation. Yes, of course, there were cunning ones who betrayed their comrades, but the exam itself encouraged cooperation between magi. The goal—so that we, as magic users, become united, to help each other face greater challenges." She took another step forward. "But this year…" She looked around, her gaze sweeping across the arena, the participants, the audience. "Why does everything seem to push them into competition?"
The murmurs from the audience grew louder, but she didn't waver. Instead, she took another step forward, her gaze locked onto the council members standing before her.
Her lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile. "That doesn't make sense," she said, her voice calm, measured, yet laced with something dangerous beneath. "We claim to want the best magi. We claim to want strength, intelligence, adaptability. And yet, instead of fostering that, instead of pushing them to be better, to work together, we're forcing them to kill each other."
Aria didn't stop. She lifted a hand, gesturing toward the remnants of the exam. "The fae princess almost died," she continued, her voice colder now. "Because of that." She tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "Do you think the fae royals are stupid?"
One of the council members shifted, their lips pressing into a thin line.
"They'll do their own investigation," Aria said, her voice like a whisper of a storm. "And when they do… what do you think they'll find?"
A few of the council members exchanged glances.
Damian, standing beside her, crossed his arms. He wasn't sure where Aria was going with this, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to end well for the council.
Aria turned her gaze to the crowd, then back to the council. "The fae princess was poisoned, wasn't she?"
The tension in the arena snapped tighter.
"I believe no magi are allowed to carry poison," she added, her voice almost mocking. "Right?"
The moment the words left her mouth, one of the older council members stepped forward as he turned sharply toward Damian. "He brought it."
Damian's brows shot up.
"The poison," the councilman continued, his voice rising above the murmur of the crowd. "It came from him."
A cold, sinking feeling settled in Damian's chest. "No," he said, voice steady but sharp. "It wasn't me."
The councilman sneered. "Oh? Then where did it come from?"
Damian's fingers twitched. His patience was already wearing thin, but he forced himself to stay still. "We were attacked," he said, his voice unwavering. "Segment one of the exam. Mercenary assassins. All of them are dead now, but before that, the poison got to her."
But, of course, the council wasn't interested in logic.
"Liar."
Another council member, one who had been silent until now, took a step forward, his expression twisted in distaste. "This," he said, gesturing toward Damian, "is why we did not agree to give him an S rank."
A few nods of agreement.
"Look at him," the man continued, his voice gaining strength. "You've given an S rank to a villain."
Something in Damian snapped. His fingers twitched again, this time with more force. He could feel the heat rising in his veins, the raw energy coiling inside him like a beast ready to be unleashed. He could end this. Right now. He could wipe that smug look off their faces, could tear down their precious ranks and titles with nothing but pure, unfiltered destruction.
But if he did—if he let that part of him take control—then he would prove them right.
His jaw clenched.
And then a laughter came.
Loud. Unapologetic. Amused.