Supreme Warlock System : From Zero to Ultimate With My Wives-Chapter 405: Phase One

Warlock Ch 405. Phase One

The door clicked softly behind her, leaving the room quiet again. For a moment, all Damian did was exhale. Not the dramatic kind. Just the tired kind—the type that came with not enough sleep, half a breakfast, and the creeping realization that today was already shaping up to be worse than yesterday.

He leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking slightly beneath him, and lifted two fingers.

"Summon…"

In an instant, shadows gathered at the edge of the room like ink bleeding into reality. One by one, dark figures formed from the edges—bodies cloaked in formless black, featureless, obedient. His shadow servants.

Damian didn't bother standing. He just sat there, chewing the last bite of his half-stale mana bread as the fifty summoned shadows knelt in front of him.

"All right," he said, brushing crumbs from his shirt. "New task."

They waited, motionless.

"I want you to investigate the current whereabouts of Prince Cedric and Sir Alric. I want confirmation—visual, magical, and physical—that they were taken by actual fae soldiers from the royal domain. No illusions. No forged seals. No borrowed uniforms. Got it?"

The shadows nodded in perfect sync.

"Also," Damian added, narrowing his eyes, "find out what happened to the rest of the fae escort. I want names. Status reports. Last seen locations. If they vanished, I want to know when and where. If they're dead, I want to know who did it."

Another nod.

"Split up. Prioritize stealth. If you get caught, vanish. Don't engage unless you're 100% sure it won't blow our cover. Go."

One by one, they melted into the floor like liquid darkness, vanishing without sound. The room dimmed slightly for a second as the mana pull of their summoning dispersed into the warded air.

And just like that, he was alone again.

Damian leaned forward, dragging the abandoned bread closer. He didn't even bother warming it. He just bit into it like a man chewing on regrets. The texture was dry, vaguely sweet, and absolutely depressing—but it was all he had time for before Aria barged in.

His jaw worked slowly, eyes scanning the far wall.

He didn't like this. Not one bit.

The mess he made last night still hadn't cooled down, and now? Now he might have to move against the Central Archive vault tonight.

If Cedric was taken, if Alric was out of commission, if the fae royals were compromised—he couldn't wait.

And moving in a city like Haven?

That never ended clean.

"Of course it never ends clean," he muttered, taking another angry bite of bread.

"You say that like you're surprised," a voice said casually.

Damian flinched slightly—just slightly—as Cassius suddenly appeared in the armchair across from him, one leg crossed over the other, a cup of something that wasn't mana bread in his hand. The smell of roasted coffee drifted faintly across the room, warm and somehow mocking.

"How long have you been there?" Damian asked, deadpan.

"Long enough," Cassius said, taking a slow sip. "This is really bad."

"Yeah," Damian sighed, sinking further into his chair. "Did you hear all that?"

"Every deliciously stressful word," Cassius replied, his voice way too calm for someone who had just heard the equivalent of a political disaster wrapped in royal bloodlines.

Damian leaned his head back and groaned. "Then I don't have to repeat it."

"Nope. But I do have to ask—are you going to tell Selena?"

The question hit harder than Damian expected. He stared up at the ceiling, jaw working, something bitter resting in his throat.

"Not yet," he said finally. "I need clarification first. I need facts. Not guesses. If I go to her now and I'm wrong…"

Cassius nodded slowly. "Then you've just accused her entire kingdom of betrayal."

"And if I'm right…" Damian's voice dropped.

Cassius didn't finish that sentence. He didn't have to.

Damian set the bread down. It didn't even taste like food anymore.

"If Cedric was taken," Cassius said after a moment, "then I bet you anything they brought him to the Central Archive vault."

Damian's mouth twisted. "I was thinking the same."

Cassius set his cup down on the side table. "And if he's there… then whoever's behind this already has the key."

Damian's jaw clenched. "Yeah."

He stared at the wall for a long moment, mind racing, piecing together every bit of data he had—every rumor, every spy report, every twisted council update.

It was adding up.

The wrong way.

The vault beneath the Central Archive was ancient. Pre-Senate era. Built during the last convergence war. And locked behind layers of racial magic only the original bloodlines could bypass. If the wrong people accessed it—especially with Cedric's blood…

He stood up suddenly, the legs of his chair scraping across the polished floor.

"I have to go," Damian said, voice steady but sharp.

Cassius looked up, brow furrowing. "You just sent out your shadows."

"I'm not waiting," Damian replied, already pulling his cloak from the back of the chair. His fingers were quick, practiced—wrapping the fabric over his shoulders in a single fluid motion. "If my gut's right—and it usually is—I need to get ahead of this before they finish whatever the hell they're planning."

Cassius stood too, coffee forgotten. "Then I'm coming with you."

Damian shook his head firmly. "No. You stay here."

Cassius opened his mouth to argue, but Damian cut him off.

"Someone has to watch Selena. If they couldn't get to her before, they'll try again. Especially if Cedric was just phase one."

Cassius's jaw clenched, but he exhaled through his nose and gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. But Damian?"

Damian paused, half-turned toward the hallway. "Yeah?"

"If you're going into that vault tonight…"

A tired smirk tugged at the edge of Damian's lips. "Yeah, yeah. Take a shower first."

Cassius let out a dry snort. "I was going to say don't die. But that too."

Damian gave a lazy two-fingered salute and stepped forward. The protective wards around the mansion shimmered as they recognized him—bending, parting, making way.

He was halfway through the door when Cassius added, "Oh, and Damian?"

He turned back.

Cassius stood with his arms crossed and a grin that didn't quite hide the concern behind his eyes. "Bring something that explodes."

Damian's eyes gleamed faintly as he replied, "Already packed."

And then he was gone.

Vanishing into the hallway. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Into the chaos.

Into the storm.