Warlock Ch 312. The S-Rank Gamble
Damian let out a long breath, tilting his head back against Evelyn's shoulder once again.
"Damian's about to pass out," she announced.
"Yeah, no shit," Cassius muttered, crossing his arms as he stared down at Damian's half-conscious, blood-drained form.
Damian didn't answer. Not because he was ignoring them—no, he would have loved to throw out another snarky remark—but because he actually couldn't. His body felt like lead, and if anyone decided to attack them right now, he'd be useless.
That thought alone pissed him off.
He hated being a burden.
Hated the fact that if soone tried to capture them, the only thing he'd be good for right now was getting carried like a damn sack of potatoes.
His fingers twitched weakly, but yeah, that was all he could do. Great. Fantastic.
Aria, who had been standing silently all this ti, finally spoke.
"We need to give him the S-rank now."
Cassius snapped his head up, blinking in disbelief. "Now?"
Aria's eyes didn't leave Damian's limp body. "Now."
Cassius scoffed, gesturing at Damian's barely-functioning state. "I don't know if you've noticed, but he's not exactly in a good state to accept anything right now."
Victoria's expression sharpened, her usual amused deanor replaced by sothing colder. "Maybe I should remind you, Lady Aria, that he is under my protection."
Aria t Victoria's gaze, her expression unreadable. Then, without hesitation, she turned toward the examiners and council mbers still lingering in the room.
"Leave."
There was a beat of hesitation before they exchanged wary glances and slowly filed out, so more reluctant than others.
But Damian knew.
At least one of them was reporting this.
To those people.
The ones who wanted Kaelan dead in the past.
The second the doors shut, Aria spoke again.
"I know," she said, her voice low, serious. "But the choice is to take this now or never."
Evelyn frowned. "What is that supposed to an?"
Aria's gaze flickered back to Damian. "This decision belongs to alone. The councils here? They're not on the sa level as . But I can guarantee that one of them is reporting this already. If…"
She paused, inhaling deeply before continuing.
"If they show up and say no before we manage to give him the title… he might never get that title in his life. He will stuck forever."
Victoria's expression remained unreadable, but her fingers tightened slightly at her side.
Cassius scoffed, shaking his head. "You can't be serious."
Aria's gaze snapped toward him. "I'm serious."
Damian, who had been quietly listening, let out a weak, hoarse laugh. "This is the worst ti to be making life-changing decisions." But one question in his mind was, why did she decide to help him?
Aria ignored them, stepping closer. "He deserves this. You know he does."
Victoria narrowed her eyes. "And you expect to just let this happen without question?"
"Yes," Aria said simply.
Cassius groaned, rubbing his temples. "This is insane."
Evelyn glanced at Damian, who still looked like he could pass out at any second, then back at Aria. "Fine. Give him the damn rank."
Victoria remained silent for a long mont before finally speaking.
"If this backfires—"
"It won't." Aria's voice was firm, unwavering.
Victoria's eyes bore into hers for a second longer before she finally let out a soft huff, brushing so dust off her coat. "Alright," she said. "Let's do this before he actually collapses and we have to force-feed him potions just to keep him conscious."
Cassius sighed. "I hate everything about this."
Damian, still half-lucid, smirked weakly. He didn't know whether he should be grateful or annoyed about all this. On one hand, yeah, getting an S-rank was a big deal, but on the other… he was the main witness to what happened to Selena. Which ant so people—dangerous people—weren't going to like that. So of them might even try to kill him.
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Well, we can't have Damian dying on us, can we?"
She reached into her pouch, pulling out a small glass vial filled with a rich, glowing blue liquid. "Drink," she ordered, shoving it into Damian's hands.
Damian blinked slowly at the potion, his brain struggling to process the simplest of tasks. "...I feel like if I pass out before drinking this, you're just gonna force it down my throat."
Evelyn smirked. "You'd be correct."
Damian snorted, lifting the vial to his lips. But the doors to the chamber slamd open. The entire room tensed.
Because yeah, of course the fae prince just walked in unannounced. No knocking. No asking for permission. Just barreling in like he owned the damn place.
Cedric's eyes swept across the room, lingering for a second on Aria, before locking onto Damian.
Aria sighed, smoothing out her robes. "Is there anything we can do for you, Prince Cedric?"
Cedric didn't look at her. Instead, he stared at Damian with an unreadable expression. Then, finally, he said, "Nothing. I'm here because my stupid sister asked to help that warlock."
Damian huffed, tilting his head lazily against Evelyn's shoulder. "You don't sound happy about it…" he said weakly.
"I'm not," Cedric deadpanned.
Cassius smirked. "Then why are you still standing here?"
Cedric's jaw tightened, but instead of snapping back, he simply exhaled and crossed his arms. "We're going to need his help finding the mastermind behind all this. The assassinations. The ambush. It wasn't random."
Aria's eyes narrowed slightly. "So you believe soone within the Sanctum is responsible?"
Cedric glanced at her. "Of course, I believe the attack was planned. Whether it was an inside job or an outside force using this exam as an opportunity remains to be seen." Cedric's gaze snapped back to Damian, sharp and calculating. "I have to make sure he stays alive before we can extract information from his head."
"Wow… You make it sound like I'm so fragile artifact…" he tried to joke around despite his condition.
Cassius snorted. "I an, right now? Kind of are."
Cedric reached into the folds of his coat. "Also… she asked to give you this."
He pulled out a small ornate bottle, the glass shimring with a deep erald glow, and handed it to Evelyn.
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