Sequel to IRONY

Final Chapter

The Final Chapter part 2

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"The nameless condition that plagued your little friend... It's spreading all over the world, it seems. We've had the most number of sick people this year. Over a hundred and fifty blokes compared to the last."

"A curse—w-what—"

"Dark Curse. It's a rare curse used in the Dark Arts. It's so undetectable and unheard of, the whole world thought it as a natural disease for so long. It sucks the magic out of miraculous owners. Used by some generations ago to gain more power. Hawkmoth cast the same, only a more powerful one, affecting hundreds of people, draining their life sources to feed his own soul."

"Sweet God," Rose gasped. Marinette stared at the ground in disbelief. After all the years she'd spent making the Denovorum for what she thought to be an illness... What do you do if the truth suddenly distorts everything you've once known?

"Because Hawkmoth needed power for his soul to cross from the world of the dead to the living. Damian has known this the moment he became heir," Nino said. "It was his task to bring Hawkmoth back to life, to bring a vessel for his soul once he emerges from the arch... But after you bonded—" he paused and closed his eyes, calming himself a little. Marinette could only keep staring. She was at a loss of what to do, what to think. All the revelations— it was overwhelming. "After you bonded, Marinette, he changed. I think he felt something. So he decided to abandon his task and to do whatever it took to keep it from happening."

"I told you to trust him," Rose said from behind her.

"He knew there were other of Hawkmoth's followers— knew there were more that might have been assigned the same task, should he fail. He knew that the only way he could find them was by pretending he was still on their side. So he had to pretend, all this time."

"He could've asked for my help. He could've told me."

"Would you have believed him?" he spat, chuckling darkly. "Even if you did, would Alya, the heroes, the public— would they have believed him? He had killed too many people and he knew that if he were to come back, he would surely be sent to jail. So he took matters into his own hands."

"He had found the only counter to be the Denovorum. But he couldn't make it properly, so when the News announced that you were making a Denovorum, he couldn't believe his luck. He insisted that he had to come back. But honestly, I think all he really wanted was to see you again."

Suddenly everything started making sense— why Damian had paid for the Denovorum. And the black hole in the Wayne Manor— it was probably an attempt to make the potion. A failed attempt— but an attempt all the same.

"So the Denovorum was for Hawkmoth..." Alya said, staring at Rose in amazement. Rose smiled back dreamily. "He funded Marinette's projects so he could destroy Hawkmoth."

"Yes, Alya, And to see her engaged to Luka... Damian was so angry, he did nothing to stop their deaths," Nino continued. "He is not yet fully recovered. There is still some monstrosity left in him, if not more. But it's a wonder he's kept it tamed inside him just because of his love for you."

By this time, Marinette couldn't help but let a few tears leak from her eyes, but she wiped them clean furiously. She stared at Nino again who was watching her with curious eyes, like he had done at high-school so many years ago, wondering what her next act would be.

"What can we do to help him?" Marinette said finally, a new strength overcoming her. If Damian could be so strong, so would she. She wore the glass vial around her neck and with it, her new resolve.