My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1261: Chapter 1262: God [1]

Ranar could not scream or even move past saying the word ”Ric.” She prayed and hoped that Ric would hear her, but even if he could, there was nothing he could do. She knew that.

As the entity reached out to grab her, someone suddenly pulled her hand, and that was when she noticed herself being dragged toward Ric. At that same moment, Annalise raised her head and saw something she could not quite place. It was only a blurry image of a tall figure, and in the next moment, it grabbed Ranar, pulling her away and disappearing along with Ric, who was still holding onto her.

”Ranar!!!” she screamed, completely lost, terrified, and confused. Just as she was about to scream for the guards, she turned her head and saw the child appearing inside the projection on the battlefield.

Right between Damon and Emilia.

Damon raised his head. He had lowered it because he could not watch Emilia getting dragged away for speaking the truth, especially when her only proof was meaninglessly screaming his name.

However, when he looked up, he saw Ranar standing in front of him, and Ric had been brought along with her. There was no ripple in space, no fluctuation of magic, and no sign of any spatial spell. They were simply there.

Along with them was the illusory form of a beautiful angel.

Damon could not see his face because it seemed as though his face did not exist, yet at the same time, it was as if he were wearing a mask. His skin was ebony, and his wings were the most beautiful white, matching his long silver hair.

Seeing him made everyone stop to admire his beauty.

Everyone stopped to gaze at his unspeakable horror.

He was neither he nor she.

Man or woman, saint or sinner.

He was beautiful and grotesque.

Here and not here.

This was the...

”Unknown God,” Damon whispered.

The Unknown God unfurled an old scroll in his hand. Ranar did not move. She could not move, and neither could Ric beside her.

Xander let go of Emilia’s hand, and she immediately turned to look at the Unknown God.

The scroll suddenly flew into the air and unfurled itself. When it did, a wave of energy spread through the air. When that wave passed, it did not affect anyone except Damon.

He felt his Faceless skill disappear.

It had been forcibly deactivated.

”As per the terms of the contract you signed, I am here as the arbiter. Emilia Hightower has deciphered the identity of the signatories, and as a secondary signatory, I deem her entitled to the clause upon which were added.”

”Clause...” Damon whispered as he stared at the Unknown God floating before him.

Xander was even more shocked by the identity of Amon, who was a perfect copy of Damon.

”There’s two of you...” he muttered.

Damon did not pay him any attention.

The Unknown God was here, and he would not come for no reason.

Luna’s hands trembled when she saw who Amon truly was. It was not the fact that her brother had a clone that frightened her. It was the long horns growing from his head and the enormous wings on his back.

More than that, she saw Iris shaking when she glanced at Amon, or rather, Damon.

To think her brother had been the one who killed Carmen Vale.

To think he was the cause of so much suffering.

”That’s... no. No...”

Damon glared at the Unknown God.

”What do you mean, what clause? I never signed anything.”

”Oh, but you did. Your agreement with Xander Ravenscroft to take his firstborn son in exchange for a chance to kill you. The agreement was modifiable when Xander got married, adding his spouse to the list of signatories, as Xander no longer had full ownership of either himself, his son, or any agreement concerning them. After all, a couple are effectively one soul.”

”That’s sophistry!” Damon screamed.

A copy of the contract appeared in his hand. He quickly read through it, his eyes moving across the words until he noticed another clause at the very end.

It had been signed by Emilia.

And what it read made his expression change.

”This is what happens when you invoke a demon... and now I shall collect.”

”By the agreement with Emilia Hightower, I, as the arbiter of this agreement, declare its condition fulfilled. Xander Ravenscroft has handed his son willingly, and the identity of Amon is known. Therefore, he shall receive a fair chance to kill you.”

The moment those words were spoken, Damon felt his power being sucked out of him as though something had divided his very existence. His injuries suddenly felt more painful. His mana dropped, his strength weakened, his will was also corroded and even his breathing became heavier.

[Notice]

The system panel appeared before him.

[You have been placed under a conditional divine curse. All stats will be reduced.]

[Certain skills will be affected.]

The Unknown God was not done with him.

Damon gritted his teeth and glanced at the Unknown God before looking toward Xander, who was staring at him with both betrayal and killing intent.

Damon did not care.

His gaze was on Ranar and Ric.

”And by the condition signed by Emilia, I shall take away something of equivalent value to what you have taken from her.”

The Unknown God glanced at Damon before moving Ric upward.

A scale appeared in the air.

A glow emerged from Emilia’s chest, and Ranar suddenly flew toward the other side of the scale. That same glow entered Damon’s chest.

”I have determined that the value of one child equals another. Therefore...”

”No. No!” Damon screamed, already knowing where this was going.

”I shall take your daughter.”

When the Unknown God said those words, his form turned into fog-like light and moved into Ranar’s body.

”Daddy!”

Ranar struggled.

Damon teleported toward her, reaching out with his hand, desperate to grab her. But when he reached her, Ranar’s hand suddenly moved toward his neck.

Then her eyes opened.

But he did not see the familiar golden color.

He saw deep, dark eyes.

A swirling abyss that reflected his despair-filled face.

Her aura slowly began to change.

Her rank began to rise.

Fourth Class.

Fifth Class.

Sixth Class.

Seventh Class.

Then it stopped at the very peak of the Seventh Class.

Her aura became so deep that the world itself seemed to groan beneath its pressure.

With that, the contract conditions had been fulfilled.

Damon was smashed into the ground by an invisible force.

A wide explosion filled the air, leaving behind a deep crater stained with Damon’s blood.

The Unknown God grabbed Ric.

Emilia opened her hands to receive her child, but the Unknown God did not hand him to her, even though he was so close.

He hovered in front of her.

She reached out, but the Unknown God pulled him away.

”What... why?” she shook as she stared at him. ”This wasn’t what we agreed. Give me back my child!”

”Your child?”

The Unknown God wore Ranar’s cute face, but his expression was anything but innocent. There was a sinister cruelty within it that made Emilia’s blood run cold.

”I don’t think so.”

”Why?”

”This is not part of our agreement. Our agreement allowed you to add one clause, but you chose the wrong one. Your clause was to take something of equivalent value to the person who took your child. It was never a clause to return your child, and so, for that reason, Godric Ravenscroft is still the property of the individual Damon Grey.”

”That’s... that’s not fair! You didn’t say I could state a clause!” Emilia lashed out.

”Mortals. Always looking for fairness.”

The Unknown God tilted his head.

”There is none. Embrace the truth. There is and has never been fairness. You have lived it, Emilia Hightower.”

Damon slowly stood up, blood dripping from his body as he held Ric in one hand.

He glanced at the Unknown God.

”These are children. They have nothing to do with this. Ranar is innocent. This doesn’t involve her. If you want a vessel, take me. I won’t resist. I won’t fight back. Just please... let my little girl go.”

The Unknown God touched his chin as if he were giving the request some thought.

Then, using Ranar’s adorable face, he smiled.

”No. I’ll pass.”

He began walking toward Damon, surrounded by smog and ash.

”You are wrong. This has everything to do with Ranar. You didn’t really think I gave you a daughter out of the Goddess of my heart.”

Damon’s expression flickered.

”Oh, you did. How disappointing. I fear it’s not that simple.”

The Unknown God continued approaching.

”You see, from her birth to her attribute, I was creating a perfect vessel for my power. You must have thought I was going to use Lilith Astranova or even Sylvia Moonveil as a good vessel, but I want nothing less than perfection.”

The Unknown God floated directly in front of Damon. His voice remained calm, sounding very much like Ranar.

”Everything I have done from the very beginning was for this singular moment. Long before I gave you the Womb of Healing, long before I turned that Wendigo into a person and took advantage of her desire to have offspring, long before you walked into the Evil Forest, from the moment Lazarak called me, and even during the era of Mugu, who was very much like-minded, I knew that the fools I lured into this world would fail to get me the Pillar.”

His smile widened.

”So I planned to do it myself.”

Damon’s face was filled with horror.

So was everyone else’s.

”The only problem was that no vessel would do, and I couldn’t create one without the blessing of the Goddess of this world. So I had to go about it in a roundabout way.”

The Unknown God placed a hand against Ranar’s chest.

”Thus, Ranar.”

His voice became softer.

”She was born in Doom’s world and subject to Doom’s laws, but at the same time, she was perfectly designed to host me.”

”It was you,” Damon whispered.

The Unknown God smiled.

”It was me, Damon.”