NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: Brokenhearted And Dangerous
Warlock Ch 42. Brokenhearted And Dangerous
Damian's throat tightened. "So... what happened?" he asked, his voice low. He had a sinking feeling he already knew the answer, but part of him hoped he was wrong.
"They tried to kill him," Evelyn said, her tone sharp, bitter. "But they couldn't. He was too strong for them, and that only made them more desperate. They hunted him, made him a target. Some wanted him dead, others wanted to capture him, to drain his power and use it for themselves. He was hunted like an animal."
Damian leaned back in his chair, the weight of her words pressing down on him. "Did they get him?" he asked, almost afraid of what she'd say next.
Evelyn's gaze softened, but there was a deep sadness in her eyes. "No," she said, shaking her head. "He fled. Disappeared before they could catch him. But the man I knew—my mentor—he wasn't the same anymore. He was... brokenhearted and thought that the world would never accept him for what he was, and that the only way to survive was to become something greater than any of them."
"Greater?" Damian echoed, his voice hollow.
"Yeah," Evelyn whispered, her fingers tracing invisible patterns on the desk as she lost herself in the memories. "He thought if he could just unlock more power, become more than what the world feared, then maybe he could control it. He became obsessed with mastering everything, every kind of magic. He thought it would save him. But all it did was push him further away from the person he used to be. He became isolated, paranoid... dangerous."
Damian felt a chill crawl up his spine. "Dangerous how?"
Evelyn sighed deeply, her gaze drifting toward the window as if looking for an escape from the story she was telling. "He started experimenting with magic that no one should touch—dark, forbidden spells that could twist reality itself. He thought he could handle it, that he was strong enough. But magic like that... it changes you. It feeds on your ambition, your fears. And soon, he wasn't just trying to protect himself from the world; he was trying to control it. He wanted to reshape it in his image."
Damian swallowed hard, her words sinking in. "And that's why they wanted him dead."
Evelyn nodded slowly. "By the time they realized what he was becoming, it was too late. He was already too powerful, too far gone. And they were terrified. So they sent hunters after him, mages trained specifically to take down threats like him. But even they couldn't stop him. He was... unstoppable." Her voice wavered slightly, but she kept going. "He disappeared after that, completely off the grid. No one's seen him in years, but the stories still circulate."
Damian leaned forward, his brow furrowed. "Do you think he's dead?"
Evelyn let out a slow breath, her fingers still absently tracing the wood grain of the desk. "I don't know," she admitted, her voice heavy with uncertainty. "If he were alive, his power would be impossible to hide. He was too strong, too connected to magic. Someone would have felt it, sensed his presence. But at the same time... magic like his doesn't just vanish."
Damian's thoughts swirled, trying to make sense of it all. A mage who became too powerful, hunted for what he'd become... and disappeared without a trace. But something about this story, about the way Evelyn spoke, struck a chord with him.
"What if he's still out there?" Damian asked, his voice quiet but insistent. "What if he's just hiding, waiting for the right moment to resurface?"
Evelyn didn't answer right away. She seemed lost in thought, her expression distant. "If he's alive," she said finally, her voice almost a whisper, "I wouldn't mind being his student again. Following him like I used to." She paused, her eyes filled with a mixture of longing and sadness. "He did so much for me. His power didn't make him lose himself completely. Dangerous? Yes, because he was that powerful. But he wasn't evil, Damian. He wasn't trying to destroy the world. He just wanted to make a world where someone like him—someone like us—could be accepted."
Damian stared at her, the weight of her words hitting him hard. "So, he was trying to create something... better?"
Evelyn nodded slowly. "In his own way, yes. He believed that the magical world and the non-magical world couldn't coexist as they were, and that the only solution was to reshape everything. It wasn't about power for power's sake, but about control. About making a place where people like him, like us, wouldn't have to hide or be hunted."
Damian's mind raced as he tried to piece it all together. The way Evelyn spoke about her mentor—it wasn't just respect. There was something deeper there, almost like admiration. She didn't see him as a villain or a monster, even though everyone else did. To her, he was someone who had tried to change a world that was broken.
"But if that's true," Damian said, his voice quieter now, "then why did everyone turn on him?"
Evelyn's gaze dropped again, her fingers tracing the edge of his desk. "Because fear is stronger than understanding," she said bitterly. "People didn't care what his intentions were. They only saw his power, how unstoppable he was becoming. And when someone has that much power, the world tends to see them as a threat—no matter what their goals are."
Damian leaned back in his chair, feeling a mix of emotions churn inside him. He wasn't sure how to feel about it all. On one hand, he understood the fear—someone that powerful could do unimaginable damage. But on the other hand, if Evelyn was right, then her mentor had been trying to create something better, not destroy it.
He glanced at her, seeing the conflict in her eyes. "Do you think he was right?"
Evelyn hesitated, her jaw tightening. "I don't know," she admitted softly. "I believed in him, in what he was trying to do. But the world wasn't ready for him, and maybe... maybe he wasn't ready for the world either. He tried to take on too much, too fast. And in the end, it broke him."