My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Aetherus saw the sword descending like a beam of light. It was gigantic, but also fast, incredibly fast. He scoffed, then raised his hand and whispered,

”Soltheon.”

He called the name of the very continent they were standing on, and then something blocked the sword.

All the swords in the area vanished, and when the impact came, everything across the continent of Soltheon trembled as if there had been a massive earthquake.

Aetherus had used the entire continent to block the attack.

He smiled at them.

”Is this the best you can do? If I were any normal person in this rank, I could have died at your hands. I admit you are all strong for your rank. The Ascendant Armor, the Zero Attribute, and that witch who uses the void.”

Evangeline saw his expression as he held the giant sword with one hand. It didn’t budge an inch. Blood leaked from her eyes and nose as she pushed herself harder, even this only being possible because Renata had held him in place and suppressed his power.

”Aren’t you getting a little cocky, Mister God?”

A small ball was resting in Lilith’s hand, and it seemed to distort everything around it.

”Begone.”

She unleashed it, and then it simply vanished. It didn’t shoot toward Aetherus. It was just gone.

He wondered if it was a failed attack, but then he suddenly felt a pull in space. He looked down at his own chest and realized the attack had already touched him.

He scoffed.

”Well played. But it would have been better if you were trying to kill me. A banishing spell is not very effec...”

He vanished before he could finish speaking.

Evangeline took a deep breath and fell to her knees as her domain vanished.

”What did you do?” she asked Lilith.

”We can’t kill him. He’s too powerful and too important to this world, so I just banished him somewhere else. He’s in some far corner of the world. It should take him a little while to get back here.”

Her face seemed a little pale, so Evangeline figured it had not been an easy spell.

Just as she was about to say something, day turned into night. The world seemed to spin around them, and then...

Just like that, Aetherus was standing in front of them.

”Foolish mortals. Did you forget this world is my body? I can do with it as I please. You sent me off to a faraway island, but all I had to do was rotate the planet.”

”You rotated the planet?” Evangeline whispered.

”Yes. I am God, after all.”

Then he raised his hand.

”Foolish mortals. I sentence you to cast your screams unto the heavens above.”

The world itself lifted them against their will. The wind was ripped from their lungs as gravity crushed them and pulled them upward. Lightning shot toward them before they were suddenly dragged back down, crashing into the ground in a massive explosion of dust that reached miles into the sky.

However, Aetherus turned his attention away from them and narrowed his gaze on a coffin carrying Damon’s body.

Then he vanished.

Evangeline forced her body up, but vines suddenly rose from the ground and drove into her mouth, crushing her lungs as blood spilled from her body.

Lilith eviscerated the area around her and teleported after him, but he had already reached Lana. He grabbed her by the mouth and crushed her into a blood mist before kicking away the coffin.

He picked it up and saw Damon’s body inside, sleeping, or rather, empty without a soul. He reached out to grab it with a smile, but Lilith tore open a rift and came out above Aetherus, striking his head.

He headbutted her and then grabbed her, slamming her into the ground. She flipped with her waist, climbed on top of his head, and dropped her elbow onto him.

With the same movement, she summoned a void scythe and pushed it down toward him. He twisted his waist and got out of the way just in time for Renata to stab him in the neck with a broken sword.

Golden blood poured from the wound.

A slice from a rapier followed as a quick series of attacks impaled his chest.

However, he still didn’t let go of Damon. In the last moment, when Lilith’s scythe was coming down, he raised Damon up and used him as a shield.

She stopped her scythe and changed its direction.

Aetherus knew she would do that.

With that, he thrust his hand through her gut and impaled her, blood dripping from the wound. He was about to eviscerate her organs when Evangeline slashed down at his hand, cutting it off, while Lilith slammed a miniature black hole into his face.

He moved back and then raised the stump where his hand had been. It turned into sparks of light before his hand regenerated.

With a look of anger, he scoffed and then said,

”I already have what I want. I will deal with your lot later.”

Space seemed to shift around him, and then he vanished, taking Damon’s body with him.

They all watched in horror.

Renata collapsed against a tree, breathing heavily.

Evangeline gritted her teeth until they bled, while Lilith couldn’t even remain standing. She pressed her hand against the hole in her stomach and whispered,

”Damon... I’m sorry.”

”Sorry for what?”

A woman’s voice sounded behind her.

”What’d I miss?”

The woman was unfamiliar, but her body language, attitude, and the children standing with her made her identity obvious.

Lilith bit her lips before saying,

”I’m sorry, Damon... but we lost your body. Aetherus took it.”

The woman glanced at them for a moment before letting out a deep breath.

”I’m glad you’re all okay.”

”As for my body, it’s my second one. I can make a new one if it gets destroyed.”

”But only if it’s destroyed. So we’re still going to have to get this one back. I have stuff in there.”

”Damon, this isn’t a joke!” Lilith screamed, coughing blood.

”I’m being serious,” he said slowly. ”You did your best to protect me. Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out. I always do.”