My Lust System: I Inherited The Sin Of Lust And His Three Wives

Chapter 377: Making A Powerful Enemy

Damian’s face twisted into an ugly frown, but thanks to the hand fan covering the lower half of his face, the only thing visible was the brief knitting of his brows before they relaxed almost immediately. Ever since the chaos he had unleashed upon Lebanon without lifting a finger and his clone’s humiliating defeat at Hagrid’s hands in a battle of illusions, he had begun taking emotional control far more seriously.

Every lapse in judgment, every burst of anger, every moment of frustration had become another weakness for his enemies to exploit. He no longer wished to simply suppress his emotions. He wanted to erase them the instant they appeared.

Slowly, he was learning to use Lust’s authority upon himself, stripping away feelings as soon as they manifested. He drew a slow breath into his lungs, held it for several seconds, then exhaled. Along with that breath, the irritation, resentment and lingering humiliation dissolved without a trace. By the time his eyes opened again, they were calm and unreadable as he regarded Kaizer across the volcanic throne room.

"The one who ruined your plan to kidnap my woman was me, not him. The one who destroyed your influence throughout the Middle East in mere weeks was me, not him." Damian spoke without raising his voice, yet every word seemed to settle over the throne room with tremendous weight. "So must you hide my achievements behind the man you cannot defeat? Are you truly afraid to admit that a deity who has existed for centuries is being outplayed by a human who has existed for less than three decades?"

Bam!

Kaizer exploded from his throne with an inhuman roar that shook the entire hall. Crimson aura erupted from his body in violent waves, making the rivers of lava surrounding the chamber surge wildly while countless weapons hanging upon the walls rattled against their mounts. Even the dragon statues appeared ready to come alive beneath the pressure.

Damian, however, remained seated exactly where he was. His robes did not flutter. His posture did not change. This was merely a conversation of consciousnesses. Kaizer could vent all the rage he wished, but he could not truly touch him here.

"Believe me when I say this, boy..." Kaizer snarled, every syllable vibrating with restrained fury. "You do not want to make an enemy out of me."

For several moments he simply glared at Damian before releasing another long breath. His shoulders slowly lowered and he sat back upon the Throne of Wrath once more, rubbing his forehead as though trying to suppress a splitting headache. It was painfully obvious that he was forcing himself to remain composed.

"I’m giving you one opportunity to begin again with a clean slate. Undo whatever you have done, leave my domain, and I shall regard today’s events as an unfortunate misunderstanding. From this day onward, you will remain in my good favor."

Despite how generous those words sounded, there was no kindness behind them. Kaizer had invested centuries into cultivating influence throughout the Middle East while remaining hidden from Heaven’s eyes. Then Damian arrived and dismantled everything in the span of weeks.

He had only involved himself in Hagrid’s operation because Greed had promised him complete dominion over the Middle East and Africa once Damian was eliminated. It had seemed like the perfect bargain. After all, Damian himself had become the very reason the Blood Dunes were exposed to the world. From Kaizer’s perspective, Damian had wronged him just as deeply as he had wronged Damian.

"You should quit drinking. It’s clearly making you delusional."

Buzz!

Kaizer nearly spat blood from the sheer disbelief of what he had just heard. He had expected rejection. He had expected arrogance. What he had not expected was outright ridicule.

"What?" Kaizer nearly growled, the single word echoing across the throne room.

"That planet is my home world." Damian’s voice remained steady and unwavering. "Only I can rule and protect it properly. You and Greed have no place there."

There was no hesitation. No room left for negotiation. Damian had finally reached the conclusion that compromise with his siblings was impossible. Every concession merely delayed another attempt on his life. If he wished to protect Earth, then every rival prince with ambitions toward it had to be treated as an enemy.

"And even if taking that world makes an enemy out of me?"

"Yes." Damian answered almost before Kaizer had finished asking.

Silence consumed the throne room.

It was not the silence of uncertainty but of finality. Every argument had been exhausted. Every possibility of cooperation had died. Neither man expected to convince the other anymore.

Kaizer slowly leaned back against his throne, his burning crimson eyes never leaving Damian’s face.

"Then prepare yourself." His voice became frighteningly quiet. "From this day onward, only bloodshed awaits you."

Damian merely shrugged, completely unmoved.

"I’ve been hearing that ever since I inherited Lust." A faint smile appeared beneath the edge of his fan. "Threats lose their meaning after hearing them enough times."

He slowly rose from his seat and looked directly into Kaizer’s blazing eyes.

"Do well to watch your own back as well." His purple eyes glimmered faintly. "Or this little fox might be the one who catches you by surprise."

Snap!

With the sound of his fingers, the volcanic throne room vanished into darkness. The oppressive heat disappeared. The smell of sulfur faded. Slowly another scene formed around him. He found himself seated upon the couch in his own room overlooking the ocean.

Gentle sunlight reflected across the water beyond the glass wall while the quiet sound of waves crashing against the shore replaced the distant rumbling of volcanoes. The cup of coffee he had been holding before his consciousness was dragged away remained in his hand, still warm enough for steam to lazily rise from its surface. It was almost unsettling how ordinary everything looked after standing before one of the Seven Sins.

"Ooh, you’re back?"

Rin’s familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts. The little fox sat comfortably upon the round glass table between the couches with his tail lazily swaying behind him. Judging from the relaxed expressions around the room, Damian realized his sudden return had interrupted an ongoing conversation rather than caused any panic.

"I heard you were speaking with your brother who was involved in the attack." Clara looked at him with unconcealed curiosity. "How did it go?"

Damian remained silent for several seconds. For reasons he could not quite explain, conversations involving his siblings always became awkward whenever Clara was present. She had never belonged to this brutal world of princes, inheritances and endless conspiracies. Yet because she had become important to him, that same world had reached out and tried to devour her anyway. No matter how much he wished to separate her from it, reality refused to allow it.

He lowered his gaze toward the coffee in his hand before finally answering.

"Nothing new." He took a slow sip. "We just cursed at each other and swore to murder one another."

He delivered the statement with such casual indifference that Clara simply stared at him, blinking several times as though she had misheard.

Slowly, she turned toward Rin.

The little fox nodded matter of factly.

"They really did."