My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 287 - 288: Beautiful Skin

The mirror showed her something vile… something she did not wish to see… it unveiled the hideous truth before her eyes.

Under the table, from the angle she tilted it, Sylvia stared into the mirror—at Belʼs reflection. But the beautiful black-haired woman… was gone.

What stared back at her was something else.

Sylvia looked upon pulsing, pale skin stretched over a twisted frame. Horrible, chalk-white hair was scattered across a half-bald scalp, her head unevenly shaped and grotesque. Her face—gaunt, with sagging wrinkles—was riddled with warts. A long, thin chin jutted downward from a sunken face. Her teeth were tiny, brown, and rotting… maggots squirmed between her gums.

She was hunched, draped in tattered clothes, the sleeves of her gown loose like shed skin. Her eyes—pitch black—held eerie, irregular brown irises that glowed faintly in the dim light.

Sylviaʼs breath caught in her throat.

The name rose in her mind unbidden.

”Bel… her name was Bel… sheʼs… sheʼs a beldam…”

How? How could Sylvia not have seen it before? How could she not have known what a beldam was?

Bel had claimed she was a witch. And when Sylvia asked her book, it had confirmed that she was telling the truth. But witches and beldams… they werenʼt the same.

All witches were beautiful—glamorous, ethereal. Supposedly kind priestesses of the forest.

But beldams… were something else entirely.

They were the nightmares children feared. A beldam was still a witch, yes—but one of ancient malice. A predator that fed not on power, but on innocence.

ʼShe preys on children…ʼ

Sylviaʼs heart thundered in her chest as she racked her memory for everything she had ever learned about Beldams.

They lured children in with warmth and false kindness. They gave love, attention, comfort—until the childʼs guard fell. And then…

They would fatten them. Feed them. Nurture them.

And then devour them.

Their souls were twisted, consumed for dark arts… bound and trapped in eternal suffering.

”Never to find peace…”

The mirror trembled in Sylviaʼs hand.

ʼShe wonʼt act yet… not until sheʼs revealed… sheʼs still gaining our trust…ʼ

Sylvia glanced at Damon, her lips twitching as a knot of dread formed in her gut. He seemed calm… almost trusting toward the Beldam.

No… that didnʼt make sense.

Damon was too cautious. He never trusted easily.

There had to be an explanation.

Sylvia bit her lip, mind racing, combing through the events, until it struck her.

When they first entered the Beldamʼs home… Damon had been unconscious.

In their panic… Evangeline… she had said his name. Just once.

Sylvia clenched her fist.

”She wasnʼt present… she didnʼt hear his name… and even if she did… it shouldnʼt have worked on him…”

But then it all clicked into place.

This place… this house… it wasnʼt part of the Whispering Forest anymore.

It was the Beldamʼs domain.

ʼIf she can establish her own area of influence… then…ʼ

Sylviaʼs blood ran cold. Sweat dripped down her face.

ʼSheʼs in the fourth class…ʼ

Her legs nearly gave out beneath her.

If that was true… then there was no hope of defeating her.

They had to escape… into the forest.

”Sylvia…? Sylvia…”

Damonʼs voice snapped her back. She looked up, blinking, her face pale as she struggled to keep calm.

”Y-Yes…?”

Damon frowned, concern flickering in his eyes, though there was a distant haze behind them.

”You okay? You look like youʼve seen a ghost…”

Bel smiled gently at Damon… but beneath Sylviaʼs hidden mirror, the Beldamʼs true form smiled back—a hideous grin, full of maggots.

And then… she looked down. Right at where Sylvia hid the mirror under the table.

A knowing glance.

”Maybe she did… perhaps she saw something she shouldnʼt have…”

Sylviaʼs heart pounded, her veins running cold.

ʼShe knows…ʼ

Evangeline sighed loudly beside her, oblivious to the danger Sylvia had uncovered. She was annoyed, but unaware—unaware that the six teenagers in the room, including herself, were now seated with a Beldam.

”This is about when we leave… I want to go to the ruined City. As party leader, you should prioritize our mission. You said to put your faith in me…”

Sylvia barely heard her. The Beldamʼs eyes never left her. A crawling, suffocating dread coiled around her chest, tighter and tighter. She could barely breathe.

Damonʼs voice cut through again, sharp with frustration.

”I know what I said. I said put your faith in me…”

Sylviaʼs fist clenched. Her elf ears twitched slightly. Slowly, she lifted her eyes to meet the Beldamʼs.

She still wore the skin of a beautiful woman.

ʼIʼm the only one who knows… I have to…ʼ

The Beldam smiled again, warm and maternal—on the surface. She turned her attention to Damon, who had now shifted his gaze to Evangeline.

”Ahh, my dear child… you never quite told mother your name…”

The sound of clattering utensils stopped instantly.

Everyone froze.

Damon had set that rule himself: never speak your name in the Whispering Forest.

He looked at her—at Bel—his expression unreadable, yet faintly… warped.

”Of course, mother…”

He placed a hand on his chest, smiling softly.

”My name is Damon.”

A hush fell across the room.

The Beldam glanced sideways at Sylvia.

”What about your friends…?”

The others turned toward Sylvia, finally sensing the danger. Leona shot up, slamming her hand against the table.

”You canʼt do that!”

But Damon stood, his voice low and cold as he glared at her.

”Sit down. Itʼs rude not to share our names after so long. Mother told us her name… we can trust her.”

He turned toward Sylvia, who stared at him, stricken with horror.

”Trust me.”

Xander flinched as Damon pointed at him.

”The ugly one is Xander. The fairy girl is Matia…”

He gestured at Evangeline, whose mouth had gone dry.

”The golden-haired one—Evangeline.”

His eyes fell on Leona… then Sylvia.

”Argh…”

There was hesitation.

But then…

”Those two are Leona and Sylvia.”

The Beldamʼs smile widened. It was gentle. Warm. But Sylvia saw through it now.

It was the grin of a predator.

”I see. Thank you, Damon. You are a good boy… youʼve made mother very happy…”

Damon smiled… not like himself. It was soft. Innocent. Wrong.

”Thank you, mother… youʼre so… kind…”

Bel stood from her seat. Her body moved silently as she turned.

”I suppose we should all go to bed now. I have some work to do. You children should rest.”

She drifted away, her steps soundless.

Her shadow—on the wall—twisted and warped. The shadow of a hideous hag.

The others sat pale and stunned as Damon followed her, his smile unwavering… devoted.

Sylvia watched him go, her body frozen in lingering fear.

ʼSheʼs going to make preparations…ʼ

ʼIf I can prove sheʼs a monster… Damon will come to his senses.ʼ

ʼWe have to escape tonight.ʼ

She clenched her fist, her jaw tight with resolve.

”Weʼll take our chances with the horrors of the forest outside…”