My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

”I would like to call this meeting to order.”

The one who spoke was the Emperor of Valtheron, sitting at the center of a large council chamber with the flags of the empire flying behind him. He seemed satisfied, and the coldness in his eyes could easily be seen.

It was evident that he had waited a long time for this, and he was going to enjoy every single second of it.

After all, for the first time since its inception, the Empire, no, all the nobles, had now turned against the Temple.

They who called wind and rain.

They who dictated the way of the world.

They had called them to trial.

Not a single noble here was afraid or worried. After all, the Temple was now a paper tiger. Its wealth had been lost, taken by Amon, and it was heavily in debt, with Damon Grey holding them by the neck.

Not just him, either.

A lot of powerful nobles had their hands around the Temple’s throat. Damon was simply the biggest among them.

As for why he was willing to part with such wealth, it was because he was rich enough to affect the global economy with his whims. To think he had built all that wealth in less than a decade.

There was a saying about Damon Grey that had spread through noble circles.

They said that when he shit, he shat gems, and when he bled, he bled gold.

He was that rich.

The ones on trial today were the Holy Emperor himself and several members of the clergy, although it wasn’t really a trial. It was more like they were here to give an explanation for why the Temple had attacked Damon Grey and stolen his body.

The Holy Emperor was more of a puppet ruler. The one who truly held the power was the High Templar, and even he had lost much of his influence to Aetherus.

At least, that was how things appeared on the surface.

The truth was that the High Templar still held the reins of power, and the faithful still obeyed him.

After all, one thing the Temple had done when it was founded was simple.

They had moved the faith away from the living God, Aetherus, and toward the Goddess of Doom, a goddess whose very existence was debatable.

That meant all the power would be placed in the hands of whoever led the faith as the right hand of God.

The people did not follow Aetherus, after all. How was he any different from those who held power at the Seventh Class?

The Holy Emperor held his staff with both hands.

”We, the faithful devotees of Doom, have heard these wild accusations. I assure you, in the name of the Temple and all that is holy, we do not have a hand in this incident.”

Of course, the Temple had long denied any accusations against them and tried to silence any such tales, but it was a lot harder now.

After all, House Astranova and House Brightwater were among the houses pushing for this.

There was also the Imperial Family.

In the past, with a single word, the Holy Emperor could have declared them excommunicated.

But now, with the world coming to an end and the Temple losing faith and followers, even if he said it, it would mean nothing.

”I would like to call the victim, Damon Grey, to the stand.”

The voice of the Emperor echoed throughout the chamber.

Then, from one of the front seats, a young man walked forward. He was handsome, with long dark hair and eyes like two pools of darkness.

He was dressed in black, almost as if he were in mourning.

This young man was Damon Grey, one of the most influential people in the entire empire.

He stood there with a solemn expression, slowly closing his eyes as though remembering a painful experience.

At this point, everyone wore a deadpan expression because they already knew Damon.

What they didn’t know was what to expect from him.

”Damon Grey, you are the victim of a most heinous act. Can you recount the events of what happened?”

Hearing the Emperor’s words, Damon closed his eyes before slowly opening them again.

”I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was only a few days ago. I am a family man, so I wanted to take my family for a small picnic down at the Anarchy Mountains.”

When he said that, one of the noble’s expressions immediately fell.

”At the Anarchy Mountains? Who takes their family there for a picnic?”

A few murmurs spread through the chamber.

The Emperor of Valtheron cleared his throat, bringing the room back to order.

Kadelas, who was sitting on a high chair, held his temple. He was already beginning to sympathize with the Holy Emperor and the Temple.

”I was there with my daughter, and then she wandered off. I left my body vulnerable to find her, and just as I left, he came.”

Damon placed a hand over his mouth, then slowly closed his eyes.

”He... I knew he only wanted me for my body... and when I wasn’t on guard, he punched me.”

The entire chamber went quiet.

”Everyone was quiet. Why did he have to make it sound so suggestive?”

”My friends tried to protect me, but they were assaulted. Aetherus said he was God and that all mortals should not be allowed to hold power, that we should be slaves, our children should be eaten, and women should be turned into breeding tools. He said he would bring back the glory days when we were all savages!”

Aetherus had not said most of that.

But who was going to defend him?

He wasn’t here.

”My body is the first step. Whose is next? Maybe yours. Or yours. Or even the children.”

Damon pointed toward several nobles, his finger moving from one person to another as his expression grew increasingly grim.

”That is preposterous! Lord Aetherus would never—”

”Were you there?”

The Holy Emperor froze.

Damon stared directly at him.

”No, you weren’t.”

The Emperor of Valtheron could see the outrage spreading across the nobles’ faces.

Years of anger, suppressed because of the Temple’s power, came rushing back all at once.

Unacceptable.

We can’t let them do this.

Years of human progress... all that mindless cruelty...

We are the Goddess Races, not the Aetherus Races. We can’t let this stand.

”The war is approaching, and now the Temple betrays us! We can’t go into battle when we haven’t put out the fires at home!” another noble roared, slamming his hand down on the table.

”Agreed!”

”Then shall we put it to a vote?”

The Emperor’s voice echoed through the chamber.

The Holy Emperor lowered his head.

He knew it was over.

After all, this meeting was nothing more than a pretense.

They had already made up their minds long before they came here.