Chapter 593: Linda’s Demands

Damian sat on the Throne of Power with his eyes completely closed while Abel hovered before him, his crimson eyes carrying a cold gleam.

His time here had given Damian plenty of time to reflect on what had happened with Elsa, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that his reaction could be considered an overreaction. He had every reason to suspect that she had ulterior motives for bringing up Eden, but Abel’s interference had certainly made the situation worse.

"Are you trying to fuck up my relationships?" Damian asked while rubbing his head.

"You were already going to delay the plan to enter the Dark Continent by three years. If I let her have her way, you would have scrapped the original plan to work towards hers... That I cannot allow," Abel said boldly.

He showed no remorse for his actions, apparently convinced that preventing Damian from making a potentially disastrous decision justified everything he had said.

Damian kept his eyes closed, his thoughts scattered between irritation and reluctant understanding. Abel had a point. The possibility of obtaining the Fruit of Life was tempting enough to derail his plans, especially when the fruit could repair his soul and grant him true immortality.

Yet he still hated the thought that Elsa might be trying to push her late husband’s dream onto him under the guise of helping him. If Abel hadn’t shown up and forced the truth out of her, would she have gone into details or would she have made the journey seem possible?

His eyes slowly opened, and a tired sigh escaped his lips. "Linda is all I have right now," he mumbled with a weak smile.

Abel nodded. "I approve of that relationship. She’s the most agreeable and the only one capable of giving you an offspring. The others are simply pleasure tools. Their words should bear no value to you."

Damian’s face twisted with anger, and he rose from the throne. "Don’t say that again about my girls," he warned.

Abel simply nodded and began dissolving into a plume of black smoke. "As you wish. But do not forget, you are the Prince of Lust, not Love. Your desire for them must not go beyond their bodies or you may die the same way Lin Qui did."

His fading voice rang across the chamber.

Damian did not respond, but he understood what Abel was trying to say. Lin Qui had loved his wives, and that love had driven him to go beyond the limits of his inheritance, ultimately sacrificing himself to kill Majin and secure the Abyssal inheritance for Damian.

If Lin Qui had remained true to his sin rather than allowing love to dictate his choices, he might still have been alive today. Damian hated that possibility, not because he considered love a weakness, but because he understood how easily it could turn into a vulnerability that even the most powerful being could not afford.

Pushing the thought aside, Damian rose from the Throne of Power and walked toward through the chamber doors. Beyond them lay an empty room with little worth seeing, its bare walls offering no decoration or comfort. Damian crossed the room and approached the exit, a much smaller door compared to the enormous stone entrance behind him.

As he reached it, his body began dividing, dozens of clones emerging from his form and taking shape around him. Each possessed a fraction of his power and carried a specific purpose, allowing him to attend to several matters without personally visiting every location.

The moment Damian opened the door, the clones shot in different directions, vanishing into the palace corridors. Some headed toward his ministers of Velmora and while others went to meet his women.

A few were dispatched to Lord Astaroth and the other individuals Damian needed to contact following the war. He had two realms to govern and too many responsibilities to waste time handling everything himself.

The main Damian, who retained roughly half of his original strength, continued toward his private chambers. He had barely stepped inside when his eyes settled on Linda, who stood before the large window overlooking the city. She wore loose robes that draped comfortably around her body, while her blonde hair fell freely down her back. The sunlight illuminated her features as she gazed at the distant buildings, seemingly lost in thought.

She was so absorbed in whatever occupied her mind that she did not notice Damian entering the room or approaching her from behind. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into an embrace, startling her so badly that she yelped and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she realized who had caught her, and a blush quickly spread across her face.

"What are you doing?" Linda asked while trying to break his grip, but it was impossible.

His arms felt like an iron restraint around her waist, and her body barely shifted despite her efforts.

"I know you don’t hate it... I can perceive your desire," Damian said as his body shrank rapidly until he stood only seven feet tall.

His transformation brought their faces closer together, and Linda suddenly became acutely aware of his breath against her neck. It carried a peculiar fragrance that made her want to lean closer, an effect she found irritating precisely because she could not deny enjoying it.

Linda looked away in an attempt to resist the temptation and shifted her gaze toward the city below.

"I can’t get stronger here. I’m surrounded by demonic energy which is not conducive for divine energy," she said, trying to redirect the conversation toward something practical.

"Sleeping with the Sin of Lust not only improves your strength, it increases your lifespan, potential and so much more. My predecessor wives have nearly reached the God realm just by sleeping with him. I have also helped my concubines raise their strength. Clara’s absurd potential was because of me. Your case won’t be any different," Damian responded.

"Your concubines don’t like me," Linda said.

"And when does the words of concubines carry weight in the presence of a queen?" Damian raised a brow.

Linda exhaled loudly, tightening her hands around Damian’s arm. She wanted to believe his confidence, but the reality of her situation was difficult to ignore. She was a human woman with an affiliation to the heavens, surrounded by demons who had spent centuries viewing beings like her as enemies. Even if Damian accepted her, that did not mean the rest of the Underworld would welcome her.

"Demons won’t accept a woman affiliated to the heavens as their queen," Linda argued.

"Just the same way they didn’t accept me at first. Over sixty thousand demons died by my hands to win this throne and over a hundred thousand more will die, if that’s what it takes to get the others to accept you," Damian said.

Linda’s heart skipped a beat. She had expected reassurance, perhaps a promise that he would protect her from those who opposed their relationship. Instead, Damian had casually offered the possibility of killing hundreds of thousands of demons to secure her position.

It was evil yet it made her blush.

She pressed her lips together before asking the question that had been troubling her. "What if Clara returns..."

Buzz!

Damian’s expression twisted into a frown, and his grip tightened slightly. Linda felt the change immediately and tried to turn around. This time, Damian allowed her to face him, leaving them standing close enough for her to see the tension in his eyes.

"We both spoke extensively on your relationship with her...." Linda started.

Damian shook his head and released her, taking several steps away. "Linda... You are trying to open a closed wound by bringing up this topic." He cut her off before she could continue.

He turned around and walked toward the three seater sofa, where he poured himself a glass of wine. The liquid filled the goblet with a soft splash, but he remained focused on the drink rather than looking at her.

"You are not the only one hurt by what happened... She has been living with the pain of regret since the very day you left. You can’t keep looking at this from a one sided perspective, two people lost the person they loved dearly," Linda said with a deep frown.

Damian paused just before the cup reached his lips. His frown tightened, and the image of Clara crying flashed across his mind. His free hand instinctively reached toward the place where his human heart had once been, his fingers resting against his chest as though he could still feel the absence of something that had been taken from him. He said nothing, but the tension in his grip made the goblet creak faintly.

Linda took a breath before continuing, determined not to let him dismiss the matter again. "I will marry you on the condition, that you don’t kill her when you find her and try to talk things out with her.... I don’t care if it works or fails.. just give it a try."

Damian chuckled lightly as he perceived Linda’s desire and understood what she feared most. Her concern was not that Clara might return and reclaim her place in his life. It was that he would destroy the last remaining friendship she had, simply because his own pain made forgiveness impossible.

"You are just worried about what I would do to your friend when I finally find her," Damian said.

Linda nodded without hesitation. "Clara is the only friend I have left... You killed everyone I knew. So the least you can do is keep last one I know for my sake." She gave a deep bow and kept her head lowered.

Damian looked at her bowed head before letting out a defeated sigh.

He rose from the sofa, walked over to Linda and crouched before her. Reaching into her hair, he gently lifted her face until she was looking directly at him.

"I agree to your conditions... Now, let’s make a baby or two," Damian said in a dead serious tone.