My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1001: Chapter 1003: Hidden Clues

”Then why did Mugu end up the way he did? From the mural of that fae woman, it’s clear he was obsessed.” Damon argued, his voice low as his eyes lingered on the carving. His fingers flexed unconsciously at his side, resisting the urge to look again at the mark on his palm.

”Don’t ask me. I’ve never fallen in love, so I wouldn’t know,” Paimon replied with a small shrug.

”Did the other Paimons not experience love?” he asked, stalling for time as he felt the mark continue to draw something in.

”If they did, I’m unaware of it. We pass knowledge down, not feelings.”

Damon was about to speak when a faint chime sounded in his mind.

[Wish Mark has absorbed memories of Mugu]

[Dream magic will be activated when you slumber]

He did not glance at his hand. Paimon was watching him too closely.

Instead, he stepped forward casually.

”Let’s go. Tell me more about the temple.”

Paimon’s expression brightened slightly. She turned and began walking again, her steps light against the ancient stone. She clearly enjoyed speaking about things she knew. Knowledge, to her, was something meant to be shared.

”This is the oldest temple in the world. Unlike the Goddess Temple, which was officially formed after us, we have been here far longer. In those days, the Goddess was not formally worshiped. The lesser gods stood in her place. By the end of the First Epoch they were all gone, and the era of man began. That era was ruined by the descent of external forces, which gave rise to our demon race.”

She spoke as they walked, recounting ancient history with calm familiarity.

Damon followed her slowly, his gaze drifting, waiting for the right moment to activate the communicator and summon Seras. But first, he needed to be sure of the temple’s layout. He needed them deeper inside.

They entered the next chamber.

Here, names were carved into the walls.

Damon slowed.

His eyes moved across them.

Beelzebub. Malacoda. Satan. Lucifer. Lilith. Paimon. Bael. Asmodeus. Sitri. Dantalion.....

There were many more. Some names he had never heard before.

”These names are meant for Demon Lords,” Paimon said as she folded her arms. ”This list is the registry of names. It was created by Lord Ashcroft.”

She glanced around the chamber with quiet reverence.

”This is one of the most venerated chambers in this temple. Most of these names are inspired by the Ars Goetia.”

”Ars Goetia? What’s that?” Damon asked, turning to her.

Paimon shook her head.

”I do not know. This was a memory passed down to me from the First Paimon. She once heard Lord Ashcroft mention it.”

”So every name here belongs to a Demon Lord?” Damon asked, eyes still scanning the wall.

”Yes. Some are active. Some are not. Some names are more venerated than others.”

Damon turned to her slowly.

”Why did you bring me here then? This isn’t a place just anyone can enter.”

Paimon studied him for a moment.

”Perhaps one day you will be a Demon Lord and carry one of these names. My bet is on Lucifer.”

She gave a faint smile.

”Even Lord Ashcroft had a name from here, though he preferred his own. He went by Satan. It was a symbol of his arrogance.”

She gestured toward the corridor ahead.

”Let’s go. Your rewards are in the next chamber. You will have to proceed alone.”

Damon nodded. So his name was Satan Ashcroft

He looked at the beautiful priestess and smiled briefly, then activated the communicator discreetly, summoning Seras as he stepped toward the next room where the Ashcroft fragments were kept.

He had to do this quickly.

He needed to return to Wendy, whom he had left outside waiting for him.

As for the coil, he suspected it was in the opposite chamber, hidden beneath layers of magical seals.

Damon pushed the heavy door open, expecting it to take mere moments to devour the fragments, level up, and gain more power.

As soon as the door opened, he froze.

”Ahh man, come on. This should be easy.”

It was not.

The fragments had fused into a grotesque mass of bone and flesh.

Damon could make out eyes embedded between ribs, wings jutting from a twisted spine, fingers protruding at impossible angles. He had no idea how many fragments were gathered here, but the sight alone made his skin crawl. Their aura pressed against him, heavy and suffocating, and from the mound radiated a maddening desire to merge with him, like a silent scream clawing at his mind.

But Damon had not come here to fuse.

He had come to devour.

If this were truly Ashcroft, perhaps it would have been fusion. But Damon was a usurper. He had stolen the title of Dominator from Ashcroft. These lesser, soulless fragments knew it.

And they did not want to be devoured.

Damon took a cautious step forward, eyes scanning the mass, when something made him pause.

He leaned slightly to the side.

”Ohh... there’s a brain here too.”

The moment he spoke, the mass convulsed. Parts of it tried to lunge toward him, stretching grotesquely, but a sudden flash of light erupted from the floor. Seals and runes ignited across the chamber, forcing the fragments back down with violent restraint.

Damon exhaled through his nose.

”Nice. I really should thank the Demon Continent for gathering you all up. There should be more of you... but I’ll enjoy what I have for now.”

This would give him more Dominator fragments. It would push him to the peak of the Fifth Class Advancement. If he could steal the Ouroboros Coil afterward, he might even ascend to Demon Lord outright.

His shadow began to rise from his feet.

The Ashcroft fragments writhed in response, struggling again, but this time the shadow expanded rapidly, spilling across the floor like ink in water. It climbed the walls, swallowed the ceiling, and consumed the entire room in absolute darkness where no light could exist.

Then, just as suddenly, the darkness recoiled.

The shadows slithered back to Damon’s feet as if nothing had happened.

A chime rang in his mind.

[You have leveled up]

...

More chimes followed in quick succession.

Damon gasped.

His knees hit the floor hard as pain tore through his body. His muscles tensed violently, veins bulging as something inside him shifted and twisted. His bones felt as if they were being reforged from within.

His rank was being forced into the Fifth Class Advancement.