"Sorry, sir. All travels to Xi'an during nighttime are prohibited."
"Ah, fuckers..." Damon cursed as he let go of his phone, standing up straight, clearly in a foul mood. The men surrounding him, dressed in black suits like bodyguards, didn't dare say a single word as they cleared the way, opening the door out of the private office for Damon. "I should just fly there myself."
A few hours ago, Damon had received the news of Zhang Xiaohou's possible death and Mo Fan's departure to Xi'an. A big deal for those who knew either of them, but for someone like Damon, who knew the future, it was an even bigger deal.
If one were to rank the importance of events, the War of the Undead might be the biggest ever to happen in the story of *Versatile Mage*.
Really—return of the ancient emperor, Ying Zhen, one of the strongest human mages to have ever lived, creator of the undead element, and master of space, earth, and chaos elements to an extent incomparable. The Dark Abyss, the Great Wall of China… he was a genius who invented things that even today no one could comprehend, an emperor who unified the land of China.
Mo Fan's advancement to the Advanced Level, along with the reappearance of the proper Demon Element. The first appearance of Salan—a walking calamity.
One could say this was the most crucial event in the entire story, and Damon didn't want to just let the plot play out by itself.
'Not this time...' Damon thought as he clenched his fist. This wasn't an emotional thing to participate in, nor did he want to jump into the pit of undead out of heroism or nobility—his urgency was purely personal.
'Killing Salan, avoiding all the Black Vatican bullshit once and for all,' Damon counted his goals. 'Multiple Ruler-level creatures...'
His grin widened. 'Just imagine the magical energies they could provide… not to mention the Emperor himself.'
Unawakened and weak, resting in the mausoleum in the form of a mantle… Damon's greed knew no bounds.
The plots before this were rather irrelevant—and Damon hadn't had the strength to participate enough to reap any rewards—but...
Looking down at his clenched left hand, Damon gave a confident grin. 'But this time is different.'
Security formed a chain as Damon made his way out of the airport under their escort. The men in black suits stood alert as Damon reached the VIP parking area, where another guard stood ready to open the car door for him.
Giving a nod, Damon took his seat, ready to leave. He had wanted to rent a private plane to travel to Xi'an, but government and company policies prevented them from lending any help. Hence, Damon could only fly by himself to the ancient capital after leaving the airport's aerial domain.
"Sir," the driver was about to drive off when one of the bodyguards leaned toward Damon. "Someone outside is asking for a meeting. They claim to be part of the Parthenon."
"Parthenon?" Damon was surprised by the sudden news. He had no idea why anyone from the Parthenon would want to meet him at this moment.
His mind was preoccupied with the events in the ancient capital, and he didn't want to waste any time.
"Tell them to take a proper appointment if they wish to talk," Damon stated as he looked out the window. A few of his bodyguards were talking to a group of men in white suits. 'Advanced ranks?' Damon narrowed his eyes as he sensed the cultivation of the people from the Parthenon.
His gaze sharpened as it fell upon someone hidden behind the men. Their figures obstructed his view, but he caught sight of a faint, nucleated purple silhouette.
"Sir, they're saying it's a Goddess Candidate who wishes to gain an audience with you." Damon was even more surprised. A Goddess Candidate from the Parthenon?
That was an identity so rare that only a handful in the world could speak to such a person directly.
'Is it...?' Damon had a guess who she could be.
Outside, the people from the Parthenon moved aside, revealing a figure clad in purple.
Her outfit was breathtaking. Despite the cold weather, she wore a silk dress embroidered with colorful peacocks, with a soft red cape draped over her shoulders. Each step she took revealed her S-shaped physique and graceful curves in rhythmic motion.
Damon had spent years with Mu Nujiao, whose beauty and figure could easily rival a supermodel. Over the years, he had met some of the most stunning women on the planet—but the figure of the veiled woman before him was honestly otherworldly.
Her veil concealed most of her face, but even then, Damon could roughly guess her features—those eyes, the long black hair, that mesmerizing presence.
Damon entered a brief trance as he gazed at the woman who wished to meet him.
'Her figure is even better than Jia—Ahem, Ahem.' Damon coughed, snapping out of it. He looked away from Asharuiya as a red blush spread across his face.
"I shouldn't compare my girlfriend with her... or with anyone," he muttered to himself before looking at the bodyguard waiting for his decision.
"Let's leave. I have more important matters to attend to," Damon said, pulling out his phone. "Tell her to make an appointment if she wants to meet me."
"Okay, sir."
With that, the bodyguard gave the signal, and the driver began to move forward, following the escort vehicles. Damon looked away from his phone toward the distant figure of Asharuiya, who was slowly leaving the airport.
His blue eyes met her gorgeous purple ones. The air seemed to still as they stared at each other—neither blinking—until the car finally drove off the airport grounds.
Damon said nothing, letting thoughts of the ancient capital fill his mind. Once on the outskirts of the city, he summoned his giant silver wings and took flight.
Magical equipment like magic wings worked on their own magical reserves. They were fast and reliable but had limited range and recharge issues—hence Damon's earlier plan to rent a plane. But now, this was his fastest option.
The giant silver wings shone brilliantly with radiance. Like an angel, he soared upward, reaching the clouds as he hovered alone.
The sun hung above him, the afternoon sky brimming with brightness, clouds spreading like a white sea beneath. His wings gleamed softly as they flapped, and for a moment his eyes stung in the sunlight before he refocused—his destination clear.
'To Xi'an.'
***
A/N:
I am back as promised.. honestly I am tired. Everything is following the worse possible they could.
Attempted to end myself another time.. hah got caught by parents. Got another lecture with they blaming me for thinking negatively and being weak minded saying it's unlike me.
Well what can I say.. I myself don't trust my brain. I myself think of saying things loud as another drama another lie to gain pity.
Then yesterday stood at the terrace looking down, had an impulse to just jump but honestly didn't have the courage again.
Weak.. coward whatever I am. Finally turned to chatgpt, ranted out 8 years of frustration, bad school life, lonely childhood with just teasing. No friends, no fun.. ever just myself being oddball. Drowning to studies, then novels, webnovels.. aced exams but the thoughts never went away. Multiple secret attempts
Ranted all I could before my father caught me. Read all the messages, was devastated. A lot of things happened but yeah I promised to never do a thing ever.
It was heartbreaking to see him like that.. but promised to live.
You know after getting caught.. I didn't felt guilty, pity or anything.. just a strange calmness and like a knot in my heart is untied. Strange isn't it? But honestly I promised to not attempt the thing at all, will go to therapy, heal myself.
Hope that one day the pain, and all these thoughts may disappear, hope that what problem I am in, can be solved.. hope to not be lonely.