Supreme Warlock System : From Zero to Ultimate With My Wives-Chapter 282: Maniac [Part 1]

Warlock Ch 282. Maniac [Part 1]

The first contestant's hand twitched toward his daggers. "You expect us to believe you don't have any sigils? That you've just been running around empty-handed?"

Damian took a slow step forward, letting his magic hum around him, flickering like a hungry beast waiting to be unleashed.

"Believe whatever you want," he whispered, voice barely above a growl. "But I'm starving."

Then he moved.

A blur of darkness.

One second he was standing still, the next he lunged forward, hand outstretched like a predator reaching for its prey. The contestants barely had time to react before he was upon them.

The dagger-wielder cursed, jumping back just in time. "Shit! He's fast—!"

Too late.

Damian's hands crackled with energy, and without hesitation, he unleashed [Dark Chains].

Thick, obsidian chains burst from the ground, wrapping around the second contestant's staff, yanking it from his grip.

"Oops," Damian sang mockingly, his grin widening.

The man panicked, reaching for another spell, but Damian didn't give him the chance. He lunged again, his speed unnatural. His hand shot forward, grabbing the contestant's collar and slamming him into the nearest wall.

The contestant let out a choked sound, gasping as his back hit the stone.

"Look at you," Damian murmured, his voice dripping with amusement. "So fragile. So weak." He pressed closer, his breath warm against the man's ear. "You really thought you could take me down?"

The dagger-wielder hesitated. He was clearly torn between helping his partner and saving himself.

Damian laughed again—louder, wilder.

It was the sound of someone unhinged, someone who enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.

The contestant flinched.

And that was all the hesitation Damian needed.

With a snap of his fingers, [Curse of Agony] activated. The bound contestant let out a strangled scream as his body convulsed, the curse eating away at his energy, sapping his strength.

The dagger-wielder cursed. "Damn it! We're wasting time—!"

Damian turned to him sharply, eyes alight with a manic gleam.

"Oh no, no, no," he cooed. "The fun's just getting started."

With a flick of his wrist, [Dark Dominion] erupted around him. A suffocating wave of darkness expanded, the air thickening with a terrifying aura. The contestants gasped as fear took root in their bones, their movements sluggish, their instincts screaming run.

But Damian wasn't done.

He licked his lips. "Maybe I should take my time," he mused. "Rip you apart piece by piece." His fingers twitched, and his [Hellfire Spear] materialized in his grasp, glowing with molten destruction.

The dagger-wielder bolted.

"NOPE, SCREW THIS—!"

His partner, still bound, panicked. "Wait! Don't leave me—!"

Damian cackled. "Oh, you boys are no fun!" His voice rang through the corridor, the sound bouncing off the walls in eerie echoes.

Selena just… watched.

Not with fear. Not with disgust. But with understanding.

He had planned this. Every little action. Every word. He knew exactly what would happen.

And it worked.

The two contestants disappeared down the labyrinth, their hurried footsteps fading into the distance.

Damian straightened, rolling his shoulders before flashing Selena an easy grin. "Well, that was entertaining."

Selena exhaled, shaking her head. "You're insane."

He smirked. "You're just now figuring that out?"

She crossed her arms. "You acted like a maniac."

Damian grinned, stretching his arms behind his head. "Yeah, that's the idea."

Selena scoffed. "And that's supposed to be a good thing?"

He leaned slightly toward her, voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "Think about it. No normal person wants to deal with a lunatic with a twisted mind. They prefer an opponent who fights with logic. Strategy. Someone they can predict." His smirk deepened. "But a madman? That's an entirely different problem."

She wanted to argue, but—damn it—he was right. His erratic, unhinged display had completely thrown those contestants off. No one wanted to fight someone who enjoyed the battle too much. It was terrifying. Unpredictable.

"I hate that this actually makes sense," she muttered.

Damian laughed. "See? You're learning."

Selena sighed, rubbing her temple. "Fine. But what if this strategy doesn't work next time?"

He shrugged. "Then we fight them normally. You don't mind that, right?"

She met his gaze, her expression steady. "No. I know it'll come to that eventually."

"Good." He tilted his head, eyes scanning the dimly lit corridor they had taken cover in. The labyrinth walls pulsed faintly, a sign that the structure was still shifting. But something on the ground caught his eye. A faint glimmer—small, but unmistakable.

A crystal.

Someone must've dropped it in their panic.

"Well, look at that," Damian murmured, crouching down to pick it up. He turned it between his fingers, examining the faint glow within. "Let's see what little gift they left us."

With a flick of his fingers, he activated [Observation].

[Stealth Veil Crystal]

Type: Consumable

Effect: Grants the user temporary invisibility for 30 seconds when crushed. The effect is weakened against detection-type magic. One-time use.

Damian's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Huh. Interesting."

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Selena leaned in, glancing at the notification. "A stealth crystal?"

"Looks like it. Thirty seconds of invisibility." He smirked. "Not bad. Could be useful for an ambush. Or escaping."

She frowned. "It's weakened against detection magic."

"Most things are," Damian pointed out, pocketing the crystal. "Still, it could buy us a few seconds when we need them."

Selena hummed in thought. "Wouldn't it be better to use now? To avoid unnecessary fights?"

Damian clicked his tongue. "Nah. It's a one-time use, and we don't know what's waiting deeper in the labyrinth. Better to save it for when we really need it."

Selena hesitated before nodding. "Fair point."

Damian dusted off his hands and stretched. "Alright, let's keep moving."

They walked side by side, deeper into the twisting corridors. The further they went, the quieter it became. No distant sounds of battles, no echoes of spells being cast. Just the faint hum of the living maze shifting around them.

Selena finally broke the silence. "You don't seem worried."

Damian raised a brow. "Worried about what?"

"About how this whole thing is designed for people to kill each other," she said bluntly. "Most competitions, even brutal ones, still have some sense of fairness. But this?" She gestured around them. "It's a bloodbath disguised as an exam."