My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Damon took deep breaths, sweat beading on his forehead as he gripped his dagger tightly, staring at the building ahead.

It was an old, abandoned structure—one that felt disturbingly familiar. Of course, how could he forget?

This was the same place he had killed Marcus Fayjoy.

“Ahhh, you’ve got to be kidding me…”

The dark spirit summoner had a twisted sense of humor. He had chosen this exact spot to summon the spirit and had used Sylvia as a vessel.

But Damon didn’t have time for rueful thoughts. Not now.

Before him, a massive swarm of dark spirits gathered, a sea of writhing nightmares. At the center of it all stood the terrifying projection of Ignath, its oppressive gaze locked onto him and Lilith.

But it did not move.

The spirits came in all shapes and forms—some like beasts, others like twisted humanoids, and some… indescribable horrors straight out of nightmares.

A grotesque mass of countless blinking eyes embedded in a single, massive eyeball. A writhing, black-flamed entity covered in slithering tentacles. A hulking abomination dripping with malice.

Lilith narrowed her eyes.

“How do you suggest we get past all that? There are too many of them… and that big one is going to be trouble.”

Damon bit his lip, then gave a thin smile. “Way ahead of you.”

He pulled out his pager.

“I didn’t spend the past three weeks making out with Lady Margan for nothing…”

Lilith frowned, glaring at him.

He smirked at her. “Don’t worry, I’m still a virgin. If I was going to sleep with Tobias’s mother, I’d only do it if he were alive to feel the pain of knowing I nailed his mom. Otherwise, there’s no point.”

Lilith’s expression turned ice-cold. “I take it back. I won’t forgive you for what you said back then.”

Damon sighed.

After all the trouble he went through with Lady Margan—the sheer number of times he had to escape her room so she wouldn’t defile him… The widow certainly wanted him, and he intended to use that to his advantage. Why else would he have wasted his time with her?

He dialed her number on his pager, requesting immediate deployment of her knights. And, of course, he subtly made it sound like he would pay her a visit afterward.

After ending the call, he glanced up to find Lilith still glaring at him.

“Man whore.”

Damon sighed. “Now we have backup. Her knights can mop up the little ones… you handle that big one.”

Lilith followed his gaze and narrowed her eyes.

“That thing is the strongest projection… and it’s close to its host vessel. It’ll be stronger than all the others.”

She pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

“I have no idea where your confidence in me comes from, but I’ll try my best. If I fail, well, we both die.”

Damon sneered. “You don’t look like someone marching to her death.”

She chuckled. “Never said I intend to die today. My enemies are still out there.”

Then she turned, her sharp gaze shifting. “Your friends are here. And Lady Margan’s knights aren’t here yet.”

Damon had already sensed their shadows. He didn’t need her to tell him that.

Evangeline stood at the front, clad in light armor with white plating and gold accents. She held a thin rapier in her hand, its polished blade gleaming under the chaotic glow of the battlefield.

Beside her, Xander was covered head to toe in heavy armor, a massive tower shield strapped to his back. To Damon’s surprise, he wasn’t carrying his usual sword. Instead, he wielded a large spear, its wide point measuring at least seventeen centimeters across. For close-range combat, two short swords hung at his hips.

And last but not least was Leona. She wore a silver chest plate—though Damon wasn’t sure what material it was actually made from. Large gauntlets covered her arms, and her legs were protected by metal boots that reached up to her knees. She carried no weapons, only those gauntlets.

Damon could already guess what she was thinking. She hadn’t come to raise a weapon—she was here to save a friend, not kill them.

He sighed. Naïve thinking. But if she weren’t so naïve, she never would’ve endured his cold treatment of her when she first forced her way into his life.

The three of them approached, sweat beading on their foreheads.

Evangeline nodded at Lilith in greeting, and Lilith acknowledged her with a curt nod in return.

“You found where Sylvia is?”

Damon jerked his head toward the abandoned building behind him.

Evangeline studied the structure, eyes narrowing at the swarm of dark spirits guarding it. Then, to his surprise, she said, “It’s less than I expected.”

Damon frowned. “Yeah… now that you mention it. Ignath probably doesn’t want to draw too much attention to Sylvia’s location.”

“Did you get any backup?”

Leona shook her head. “Everything is too chaotic. The professors have their hands full, and all the senior members of the academy—like the headmaster—are gone… for some reason.”

Damon already knew that. Why else would the summoner be acting so brazen?

Xander scanned the area. “We need help. The nobles who came to the academy only care about their own safety. They won’t help even if we ask, and if they do, it’ll be one lengthy negotiation.”

Damon smirked. “Don’t worry. They’re already here.”

He turned toward the distance, where a force of knights charged forward, banners of House Margan flying high. Their heavy armor glinted in the sunlight, their powerful steeds thundering across the ground as they stormed toward the battlefield.

Xander blinked in surprise. “H-How did you get House Margan to help?”

Damon smiled.

‘By giving their lady the impression that I’d sleep with her.’

He chuckled. “I’m a man of the people. Why wouldn’t they come to my aid?”

Lilith shot him a glare.

The others, on the other hand, gave him skeptical looks.

Damon? A man of the people? He was the farthest thing from it.