My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Damon was having a terrible day.

He had no idea how many monsters he had killed so far, but it was getting annoying. Worse still, he could tell he was slowly losing his mind, which shouldn’t even have been possible since he possessed the Crown of Lysithara, an artifact that prevented its wearer from going mad.

Which meant whatever was causing his bloodlust was far more insidious than a mere mental hex.

Many times more sinister.

He wiped the blood from his hands with the back of his wrist and stared into the distance.

He had sensed Ric activate one of the magical devices he had given him, the one containing the black flames born from his Ashborn skill.

Without another thought, Damon spread his wings.

With a powerful flap, he shot into the sky, soaring toward that direction. Across the Anarchy Mountains, countless shadow drones shifted at once, silently changing course as they converged toward the same destination.

Then...

A sudden chill crawled across his skin.

The wind itself tore into his side like an invisible blade.

Before he could react, something massive dropped from the sky and latched onto him with enormous talons.

Its claws screeched against his body as sparks burst from the impact.

Damon’s expression remained cold.

He twisted his body midair, swept his wings violently, and kicked upward with all his strength.

The creature staggered back for an instant.

It was enough.

Both of them tumbled out of the sky.

Damon crashed through several rocky peaks before finally slamming into the ground, carving out a small crater.

Dust rolled across the mountain.

He slowly rose to his feet and looked upward.

High above him circled an enormous bird.

Its wingspan stretched across the sky, while violent gales and miniature tornadoes spiraled around its body.

He could feel the immense pressure radiating from it.

A Roc.

Damon let out a long sigh.

”How annoying.”

He raised his sword, shadows swirling around the blade before he launched himself skyward.

Their collision shook the mountain.

Steel clashed against wind.

Shockwaves burst outward.

Yet Damon was at a disadvantage.

This body was simply too weak.

There was always the option of burning the straw doll Sylvia had given him...

But that had another purpose.

It was meant to alter the barrier surrounding the Anarchy Mountains.

Using it now would be wasteful.

Damon landed against the mountainside and immediately sprinted across the near-vertical cliff face.

The wings of the shadow drone he possessed rapidly regenerated as he ran.

With another leap, he shot back into the air, spreading his wings wide.

Invisible currents surrounding the Roc suddenly pressed down upon him.

The air itself became unbearably heavy.

Before he could even reach it, he was forced downward.

Damon clicked his tongue.

Instead of resisting, he folded his wings and dove beneath the creature before abruptly veering toward a fog-covered mountain peak.

Within moments, his figure vanished into the thick mist.

The Roc let out a furious cry.

Not wanting to lose its prey, it immediately chased after him.

The instant it entered the fog...

A silver glint flashed beside its eye.

Then came unbearable pain.

A blade pierced straight through its eye.

”Cawwwweee!”

Its agonized shriek echoed throughout the mountains.

Standing atop its massive head, Damon calmly maintained his balance despite the creature’s violent thrashing.

He looked down at it without the slightest hint of fear.

”You didn’t really think I was running from you, did you?”

He slowly raised one hand.

”[Magical Arsenal.]”

Dozens of magical swords materialized around the Roc.

For a brief moment they floated silently...

Then they descended.

One after another, they impaled the creature’s enormous body.

Blood sprayed across the sky.

The Roc gave one final cry before crashing into the mountains below.

Damon jumped off moments before impact, landing lightly on the rocky ground as the gigantic corpse slammed into the earth behind him.

He rubbed his forehead.

A headache throbbed behind his eyes.

”What an annoying Fourth Class creature.”

”If I didn’t have wings...”

”...I’d be in quite the sorry state.”

At least it was only one.

The thought had barely crossed his mind before he instinctively looked toward the sky.

His expression froze.

From mountain peak after mountain peak...

More Rocs took flight.

Their massive silhouettes emerged through the clouds, one after another, until an entire flock was soaring toward him.

Damon stared at them for a long second before letting out another sigh.

”Just my luck.”

He didn’t wait for them to surround him.

Turning on his heel, he leaped off the cliff and disappeared into the sea of fog below.

Ric and Ranar continued their journey through the Anarchy Mountains.

Since the adventurers knew the way, they simply followed behind them.

Across valleys...

Across cliffs...

Across deep crevices.

The Anarchy Mountains was no place for the weak.

Wherever they went, they saw death.

The remnants of violence littered the landscape, and sometimes something even worse.

There were skeletons the size of houses.

The rotting corpses of fallen behemoths lay scattered across the mountains, serving as a reminder that, big or small...

Anyone could die here.

Seeing all of it, Ric and Ranar couldn’t help but appreciate the lives they had lived before.

They had never gone hungry.

They had never slept every night wondering if they would still be alive by morning.

At least...

Not like the children traveling with them.

Those children had not been so fortunate.

They had starved.

They had been beaten.

Abused.

Every day had been spent wondering where their next meal would come from...

...or whether they would even survive long enough to eat it.

Even so, for some reason, they had decided to remain with Ric and Ranar throughout the journey.

Ranar remained confident.

If they could just reach Anarchy City...

...her father would surely be there looking for them.

The journey itself wasn’t made up of only dangerous terrain.

Several times they had to fight monsters lurking among the mountains.

Eventually they crossed the narrow edge of a cliff before climbing down into a broad valley.

Gunter suddenly raised a hand, signaling everyone to stop.