6 A Warlock’s Wish

After Dante gave the two women his input on the event where a demon chased Megan, Camille asked him if there was a way to kill one.

"Of course. Demons don't die from old age, but they can certainly be killed," said the warlock.

Going deeper into his explanation, he said that warlocks had the ability to kill a demon's soul, as killing them with normal means would just send them back to hell.

"Demons are very vengeful creatures, so sending them back to hell is just like setting a timer for them to come back and hunt you…" he continued.

As he kept explaining the different ways he had to kill a demon, they were interrupted by the same waitress from before, who was guiding a woman with short, blonde hair into the office.

The woman was wearing pajama shorts and a cropped tank top, showcasing bags under her beautiful blue eyes, which were a sign that she had been woken up in the middle of her slumber.

"Dante, this is Sophia Ragucci…" Camille introduced the two.

The warlock recognized her name from the story that Megan had told him a few minutes prior to her arrival—the second girl who survived the demon's attack.

Sophia was a bit confused, but she still extended her arm to shake Dante's hand, who held it abruptly while staring into her eyes.

The blonde woman felt a little nervous at the warlock's gaze, thinking that his crimson eyes were beautiful and scary at the same time.

"Yup, she also has it…" Dante muttered as he grabbed Sophia's palm with both of his hands.

"Dispell…" he continued, producing the same gust of wind as before.

Sophia was perplexed at what just happened, thinking that it was a magic trick and that a vent had been placed somewhere in the office to create that effect.

Camille asked Megan to explain everything to Sophia, but the brunette didn't know where to even start without sounding absolutely crazy,

Luckily for her, Sophia trusted Megan's words, no matter how insane the things she said were.

As the two childhood friends talked on the side of the office, Camille approached the warlock, still looking quite distressed.

"Dante, you said that curse was a tracker. How long did they have it for?" the handler asked.

"Hmm, I can't say for sure, but it looks like they had it for years. You hadn't encountered any demons since that time, correct?" he replied, inquisitively placing a hand on his chin.

"Correct."

"Then it was probably placed on them the night of the attack…" the warlock said.

Camille suspected that was the case, but she wanted to make sure. However, now that the curse had been dispelled, she wondered if the demon would come looking for them.

If the monster had been tracking them for years, then it was safe to assume that it knew the location of their apartment.

Moreover, the curses were cleansed at Midnight Bar, so it was possible that they would come looking for them as it was the last place the two women were tracked.

"The bar is compromised…" Camille muttered, ordering the waitress to close down the establishment for the night.

As the waitress rushed out of the office, the platinum-haired woman stood closer to the warlock.

"Dante, I want to ask you something. Now that you are here in this world, what is it that you want?" she asked, her gaze locked onto his crimson eyes.

The warlock closed his eyes and reminisced about his life in Terra, his old world.

He spent a long time training to become a powerful warlock, traveled through hell for a few years, fought thousands of demons, and protected his world from tyrants, monsters, and evil gods.

It was an eventful life and one that he didn't regret living. However, it wasn't a peaceful life, and now that Dante had the chance to live a second, he wanted to live it more leisurely.

"You know? When I was 25 years old, me and my friends received a blessing from a goddess…" said the warlock, recounting a story from his past world.

During the times that he was traveling the world with his party, they ended up saving a city from the grips of a powerful demon. 

After the battle, the four of them were visited by a goddess, who chose them as the protectors of Terra, giving them a blessing that stopped their aging.

Dante and his party weren't immortal, as they could still die, but their bodies would never age and would keep the same appearance for eternity.

However, even after being given all the time in the world, the warlock and his party could never enjoy the peace they brought to cities in Terra, as they were always on the move, from one battle to another.

He was seen as a villain in some places, while others looked up to him as a hero, but his reputation was never something he personally cared about.

He had only been on Earth for a few hours, but in that short amount of time, he could feel that his body resumed aging, which meant that the goddess' blessing didn't reach that world.

Back in Terra, Dante put up with all of the battles because he believed that he would eventually live peacefully.

He didn't mind battling for a few hundred years if it meant he could relax for a hundred more, but obviously, that didn't come to pass, as he ended up sacrificing himself to kill an evil god on the same day of his 225th birthday.

"Now that I know this new life of mine is limited, I want to live it peacefully. That's what I want," said the warlock as he finished telling his story to the handler.

He wasn't in the body of an ageless 225-year-old man anymore but in the body of an ordinary 25-year-old.

Camille chuckled a little, "We have similar goals, then…" she commented.

"I know we already had a deal, but I'll do it again. Dante, let's work together and achieve our peaceful lives!" she exclaimed, shaking hands with the warlock.

"I'll be under your care for some time, so I'll help out with anything I can," he replied with a smile, making Camille blush slightly at his unapparent gentleness.

*Ahem-* "Very well then, for starters, you will be staying with Megan and Sophia!" Camille exclaimed, catching the attention of the two girls on the other side of the office.

"Wait, what!? We don't have space for him at the apartment," Megan refuted.

"So? Just have him sleep on the couch for now. It's not like he is going to be there forever…" Camille replied.

Megan was grateful to Dante for helping her out earlier in the alley, but she didn't feel comfortable taking him to her apartment, as he was basically still a stranger to her.

Sophia didn't seem to have a say in the matter and just kept staring at Dante with a curious gaze, still processing the information about him that Megan had summarized for her.

"Look, I understand, but Dante is the only person who can see and sense this 'umbra' energy…" Camille explained.

With the tracking curse cleansed, there was a possibility that the demon would try looking for them at the places they frequent the most, so having Dante with them would add a layer of protection.

Megan reluctantly agreed, and as the establishment was cleared of guests, they guided the warlock to the back exit, where another black SUV was waiting for them.

"I'll visit tomorrow to bring a change of clothes and some other stuff that you are gonna need to make your life in this world a bit easier…" said Camille to Dante as he boarded the car.

"Thank you, Miss Camille," the warlock politely replied.

"Please, just call me Cami or Camille. I'm not much of a fan of honorifics…"

Once the car drove away, the platinum-haired woman called one of the servants to approach her, instructing her to "beef up" the security around the bar.