My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1011: Chapter 1013: Familiar Face

Damon’s eyes lingered on a severed priestess. Her eyes were still open. Still staring. She was dead now, no longer was she a beautiful priestess

He swallowed down his anguish, why was this their fate, why was this the choice made for them.

”What is all this for?” he whispered.

”What are we even fighting and dying for?”

Ashcroft exhaled slowly.

”War exists in every world. Conflict drives progress. That much is natural. But this world’s madness is not.”

Damon shook his head sharply.

”No. It’s the Pillar of Conflict. As long as it exists, we will never know peace.”

Ashcroft fell silent for a moment before answering.

”Perhaps. But you will soon find that even without it, peace never lasts forever. You would only be delaying the inevitable.”

”So be it,” Damon said, lifting his head. His eyes were dry now, hard. ”I will find a way. But first, I will kill Morticai.”

Ashcroft did not respond.

Above them, Orbitus’ spell pressed down on the heavens like a collapsing sky.

”It seems you may yet survive today,” Ashcroft muttered.

In the distance, streaks of light raced back toward the battlefield.

Orbitus laughed. ”This world is interesting. You always seem to have more than a few people at this level. Too bad your destiny is to rot here without ever seeing a higher world.”

Ittorath’s form flickered as he appeared beside the wizard.

”Enough. You could not send them far. Those closer are already returning.”

Orbitus only smiled as his spell weighed down Seras, Paimon, the headmaster, and the elf king. Of the seven, only four still endured, straining against the crushing magic.

Morticai glanced down toward Damon and smiled faintly, knowing Wendy was gone.

”Shall we destroy this continent?” he asked casually.

”I would not advise that,” Zhang Dafei said as he appeared beside them. ”Unless you wish to provoke the Goddess of Doom.”

”But we can leave them a little gift.”

He raised his hand and pulled downward.

Space tore with the sound of ripping fabric. He gripped it as if it were cloth, then tossed it toward the ground. It drifted downward slowly, like a falling feather.

”Run!” Seras screamed to those below.

But there was nowhere to run.

Paimon raised both hands.

A formation hidden beneath the ruined temple lit up beneath Damon’s feet.

Ashcroft spoke quickly. ”That is a fail safe. It allows the priestess to teleport everyone out if the temple falls. There is no telling where we will end up.”

Damon lifted his head and locked eyes with Morticai. The phoenix looked back at him with cold arrogance.

”The next time we meet,” Damon said quietly, ”you will die.”

The world vanished.

He was pulled into a violent spatial current. Something slammed into him mid transfer and everything went black.

When Damon opened his eyes, his head throbbed.

He groaned and pushed himself up.

Beside him sat a young woman with dark hair. Her face was familiar, but the expression she wore was not. When she noticed him moving, she smiled with a warmth he had never seen on her usually cold face.

He frowned.

”Erm... Abellona?”

She rushed forward and hugged him tightly.

”Oh, thank the goddess you’re okay. I was so worried about you.”

Damon blinked, confused.

Then her expression hardened.

”What is wrong with you, Mugu? I told you not to do something so dangerous.”

Damon froze.

”What did you just call me?”

She placed a hand on her waist.

”Did you hit your head? Mugu?”

His eyes widened.

She leaned closer, concern replacing irritation.

”Mugu... are you alright?”

Damon slowly raised his hand and stared at it.

This was not his hand.

He stumbled toward a nearby wash basin and looked into the water.

The face staring back at him was not his own.

[Author’s Note]

[End of Arc 7]

Arc Seven is finally complete. It feels like I’ve been writing forever, but I truly enjoyed the journey.

For lack of a better name, I will be calling it the Demon Continent.

Damon has come a long way. He carries a growing list of crimes and secrets he can never reveal to the world. He stands torn between the human life he painstakingly built and his existence as a demon, caught in a dangerous dance of working with, or against, the Unknown God.

More than anything, Damon is still trying to learn how to live. Or perhaps, in his heart of hearts, he sometimes wishes he were gone. Nevertheless, he endures.

In this arc, we finally explored the Evil Forest. We witnessed another great dragon and came to understand just how terrifying that place truly is. Even for someone at Sera’s level, it remained deadly.

There were lighter moments too, crossing the sea, reaching the Demon Continent, and seeing just how far Damon has outgrown his peers. His arrogance remains intact: still the honey badger willing to challenge a lion. But we have also seen signs of growth.

Meanwhile, Iris and Luna continue digging into the past. They already suspect that Amon is the one who killed Carmen Vale. All that remains is discovering who Amon truly is. And when they do, the prophecy will begin to unfold, Damon will be betrayed by someone close to him.

Unfortunately, it won’t be Wendy. She’s... mostly dead. Her fate was sealed from the beginning. But there are still a few names left on my list. I wonder who will fall next.

There is much to look forward to in the next arc. Mugu’s past must be settled. The search for the Pillar of Conflict has begun. Perhaps we will learn more about Lysithara and the Ascendants. I hope the Outsiders felt as threatening as they were meant to be. If not, perhaps it’s time for the old gods to return and remind the world what true power looks like.

As for the rest of the Outsiders, Ittorath will be working to free them. The race for the Pillar of Conflict has officially begun.

Thank you for reading.

See you in the next arc.