My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Shadow drones began to appear in all directions, surrounding them from every side. When Ranar looked around, she saw corpses and blood scattered across the ground around the shadow drones.

The people who had been in the area of the city were all dead, their bodies lying motionless beneath the shadows.

Then she saw something approaching them. It seemed to be a man made of shadows and metal, his body mangled and damaged, a sword hanging from one of his hands.

Maybe it was the gait of the way he walked, or perhaps it was those dark eyes, but the moment Ranar saw him, tears instantly filled her eyes before she suddenly burst into tears and ran toward him.

”Daddyyyyyyy!”

She threw herself into his metallic arms and began to cry, all the fear, pain, and grievances she had been carrying seemingly pouring out at once.

It was as if simply seeing him had made everything she had endured disappear.

Damon stood there for a moment before wrapping his damaged arms around her as carefully as he could.

”It’s okay, there, there. Don’t cry. Daddy’s here.”

Damon didn’t even know how she had instantly recognized him when he was inside the body of a mangled shadow drone, but then again, she had always been like this whenever they were separated.

At least this time she wasn’t pretending to be angry.

Seeing her Damon felt his soul shake, a weight was lifted from him. She was covered with the scent of blood, her clothes were bloodied and dirty and she had seemed afraid. That alone was enough for Damon to feel a cold chilling rage.

Ric was no better and so his anger doubled.

Even so he still wanted to hug his daughter first and make sure they were both safe.

His entire body was a weapon, so he wasn’t even bold enough to give her a proper hug, afraid that the damaged metal and sharp edges of the shadow drone would hurt her.

Ric, on the other hand, simply stood to the side, completely confused. He was sure that this was Damon, his master, but why was Ranar calling him Daddy? He tried to put two and two together, but his mind couldn’t quite make sense of it.

Still, he was just happy to see him.

Damon glanced at Ric, who was standing to the side while trying his best to act tough. A faint smile appeared across the half-destroyed face of the shadow drone before Damon reached out and gently rubbed the boy’s head.

The moment he did, Ric’s expression trembled. He sniffled and tried to hold back his tears, but Damon simply pulled him into a hug.

”What a touching reunion. You almost seem like a different man.”

The city lord’s voice came from the giant balcony above them.

Damon slowly glanced up at him before letting go of Ranar and Ric. Ranar immediately moved behind him and grabbed onto one of his mangled wings, holding it tightly as though she were afraid he would disappear again.

Damon felt her hand against his damaged wing and understood what she was doing. He remained still, making sure she knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

”I take it you’re the city lord. Is the tacky outfit really necessary?”

”I suppose it would be difficult for you to recognize me beneath this hood. Perhaps you would recognize this.”

The city lord removed his hood and pointed toward his own face.

His face was heavily scarred, the skin ruined from years ago, but that was about all Damon got from seeing it.

”You’re ugly. Noted. Anything else?”

The city lord suddenly stopped. His face seemed to scrunch up, or at least attempt to, although the scars covering it made even the simplest expression difficult to form.

”You... you don’t recognize me?”

”Am I supposed to know you? And can you cover that up? We have children here.”

Damon kept his voice calm and collected, but his hands hanging at his sides had already clenched into fists, tiny sparks of magic flickering between his fingers.

There was nothing he wanted more than to kill this man in the most agonizing and violent way he could imagine. Yet he held himself back. Ranar and Ric were watching him, and this was not the kind of world he wanted them to see.

”You... you truly don’t recognize me. You... you were the one who did this to me.”

”I’ve scarred many people. You don’t seriously expect me to remember every little thing I’ve done.”

The city lord went quiet.

All those years of hatred, all those years of grudges, and he wasn’t even worth remembering.

No more words were needed.

He would make himself unforgettable to Damon.

The city lord slowly raised his hand.

”Kill those two children.”

His voice boomed through the city, and suddenly Ranar and Ric realized they were surrounded on every side. Figures stood across the buildings, balconies, streets, and rooftops, watching them from every direction.

”This is Anarchy City. Here, I am God.”

Damon scoffed, his voice filled with disdain.

”No. You’re just a man.”

He raised his hand, and shadows immediately began to gather around him. Knights, mages, and countless other figures made entirely of shadows began to emerge from the darkness, forming an army around him.

”You’re not the only one with an army.”

The shadow soldiers lowered their weapons as one, their presence filling the streets.

”Mine is just better.”

The city lord’s eyes narrowed.

”So... Amon’s army, I see. So you’re the leader of the Unknown Order.”

Damon smiled softly.

”Don’t worry. None of you will share that secret with the outside.”

His voice was calm, but the bloodlust inside him could no longer be suppressed.

Kill.

Kill.

Kill.

Kill them all.

The thought repeated itself over and over inside his mind, each repetition becoming heavier, darker, and more violent. It was as if some ancient force had reached into his chest and wrapped its hand around his heart, squeezing until every trace of restraint threatened to disappear.