My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 616: Chapter 617: Revenge Is Bitter Sweet

The feeling of someone in a higher class crushing him was overwhelming, however he knew he could not linger. If his Faceless skill was somehow disabled, Damon would be in serious trouble.

Faceless gave him an air of mystery. He was an unknown, even if he was weak right now, he was still something to be feared. Unknowns were things humans feared, it was a subconscious thing.

“Hahahahahah…”

He laughed in the courtyard while holding Xander with one hand.

The Grand Duke hadn’t shown himself yet, however Duke Aspen Ravenscroft was there, standing in front of Damon with all the fury of a father who had lost his son.

No, worse, he was staring at the murderer of his son.

It was one thing to let Xander avenge his brother… he needed that closure more than Aspen himself. He understood how much these two brothers loved each other.

But still, he was their father. How could he have any self-control watching this monster clutch his son’s bleeding heart like a trophy, his corpse taken by it?

“You killed my son…” he muttered softly, as if he was forcing himself to accept this new dire reality.

“I’ve killed many people’s sons… yours isn’t even that special…”

Damon spoke coldly. This was the best outcome he could hope for. He had to make them kill him.

He knew he was in trouble if Aspen tried to capture him. That would be a disaster. His Shadow Clone skill would be exposed, and it would cause trouble for his main body.

Biting his lips, Damon decided to play into a role he had already considered—or rather, in this case, give subtle clues.

His shadow energy reserves were higher than before thanks to his level up. His pool was deep with a lot to spare, and now he had the Heart of Shadow Skill which made him passively recover shadow energy, so he was in no danger of running out anytime soon.

He pushed Xander aside, noting the calm in Aspen’s face.

The entire courtyard was fully lit by large magical lights focused on him, as if he were a performer on a stage. The lights brightened up everywhere, arrows pointed at him, their glow making his skin prickle with deadly intent.

Aspen stood there, Xander between him and Damon.

“Before you die… I wish to know why…”

Damon glanced at Aspen as he moved shadows around himself, trying to burn shadow energy as quickly as possible. The lights had rendered the ability to passively generate shadow energy useless thanks to the absence of deep shadows.

“Why… is that your question? Or are you worried I might crush what’s left of his heart…”

He smiled at the heart in his hand, tossing it to Xander.

“There’s no need. I ripped it out so you could have something to bury…”

That was more than anything Damon’s parents had ever had. They didn’t even get their organs buried—only objects they had owned.

“Who are you? Has my family offended you in any way?”

Damon walked around the courtyard as arrows followed him from the balcony, ready to shoot at any moment.

“No… you have not…”

Aspen’s hands trembled, trying to stay rational.

“Has someone paid you and offered you a contract to kill my son?”

The faceless entity smiled, shaking its head.

“Not at all… no one paid me for this…”

Aspen’s voice rose with a soul-suffocating aura that made it difficult for Damon to breathe. His head felt like hammers were smashing it.

“Then why did you kill my son…!!!”

Damon would have coughed up blood if he could, but it turned out his shadow clone had no blood—it was just that, a shadow.

“Because I can… and I did… there is nothing you can do about it… you can’t even kill me…”

As soon as he said those words, the world compressed into a single point. Then, right before Xander’s eyes, a small black ball fell to the ground. The gravity exploded inward, space returning to normal.

He glanced at the ball of compressed space. That was all that was left of the faceless entity.

Dead just like that.

Xander looked at a grand balcony where an old man, who looked like his father, stood with eyes closed. Aspen glanced at him as well.

It was the old man who had made a move.

“Anyone who dares provoke House Ravenscroft will perish… let them all bear witness. Justice has been served…”

Xander squeezed his fist as he knelt there holding his brother’s heart, tears streaming down his face. The black ball that had once been someone’s body compressed to a single point in space with overwhelming power lay there like a little marble.

Then… the ball spoke weakly, as if to spit on all their faces.

Xander felt as if a defiant, arrogant gaze was drilling into him.

“Don’t celebrate yet fools… were you not listening to a word I said…”

The whole place went silent. The ball of compressed space spoke.

’Good thing I’m a shadow,’ Damon thought as he willed the last dregs of his consciousness in this body to speak.

“I am not dead… I cannot die. You have not killed me, and you never will. He is dead, and there is nothing you can do about it—nothing you can do about me.”

Damon was a death seeker, but more than that, he was still angry about his parents.

Godric had done something abominable, but he could not tell the world that. If he did, he would end up causing a war.

Now that he was dead, the world would forget his sins. They would never come to light.

Damon had carried Godric’s sins by killing him.

And since this persona of his was meant to be an unstoppable Demon Lord, Damon would play that role well.

“I will leave today because that is what I want… I will let this transgression go… however, do not be misled into thinking that you have killed me…”

Aspen’s gaze narrowed with rage, however he didn’t make a move, because the aura of the faceless entity had gone bleak. It had faded completely.

Somewhere far away, Damon’s true body collapsed, unmoving, blood falling from his mouth, his consciousness gone, his face pale…

As the voices of two women rushed to his aid, even then he had a faint smile on his face.

The taste of revenge was bittersweet, despite who got hurt in the process.