My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1291: Chapter 1292: How Have You Been

”What did you decide?” Lilith asked a few hours after their meeting.

Damon was sitting alone under a tent when Lilith came over and sat next to him. Her familiar scent of gardenias made his shoulders relax a little, and he found himself breathing more easily in her presence.

”I like that fragrance,” he muttered.

”What fragrance?” Lilith asked, looking at him in confusion.

”Yours. It smells like flowers. I’ve always wanted to ask what type of perfume you use. Or is it some kind of ladies’ skincare routine? I never figured it out.”

Lilith tilted her head. That was an odd thing to ask now of all times.

”I... I’m not wearing anything. This is just how I smell. I thought you’d know that by now.”

He glanced at her as if trying to gauge whether she was hiding something.

”Well, I’ll be damned. So women really do smell like strawberries and sunshine.”

Lilith held her temple, looking as though she were already regretting this conversation.

”No, we don’t. I just smell like that, and yes, some ladies do have intensive self-care routines. Think of it like how men want to have bulky muscles. Some men naturally have them, while others have to work hard to build them.”

”So which one are you?” he asked, raising a brow.

”I’m all natural, thank you very much.” She crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin as she gave him a pointed look.

Damon chuckled at her expression, then gently brushed her hair to the side.

”You look beautiful, just like you did at the academy.”

Lilith lowered her head slightly, a faint smile touching her lips.

”I thought you said I was always beautiful.”

Damon smiled, then let out a breath.

”Even when you’re being mean to me.”

Lilith fell quiet before whispering, ”I’m sorry.”

”For what?” Damon asked, genuinely unsure why she was apologizing.

”For dragging you into all of this. Now look where we are. The world is as good as gone.”

”I’m not,” he said firmly.

He looked at her for a moment, his expression growing more serious as he considered his words. ”I admit I feel guilty about a lot of things. I regret a lot more, and I wish I could change even more. But this isn’t one of them. I was glad I met you when I did. Having someone I could trust unconditionally saved me more than you know, so thank you for saving me, Lilith.”

He placed his hand over hers, gently curling his fingers around it as he continued.

”Because of you, I have faith. Not in cruel, capricious gods, but in humanity. I wasn’t lonely from the moment I met you.”

Lilith closed her eyes, taking a moment before slowly opening them again. Her gaze lingered on his face, as though she were trying to understand just how much he had changed.

”Looks like you’re in a better mood than I thought. You’ve grown stronger than you know.”

”Yeah, I reached the Seventh Class,” he muttered.

She shook her head. That wasn’t the kind of strength she was talking about.

Lilith placed a hand on his chest, right where his heart would be.

”You grew stronger here.”

Damon didn’t know why, but the fact that she believed that almost made him want to cry. The truth was that it hurt right where she had placed her hand. It felt as though his heart were lodged in his throat, and if he opened his mouth, he would vomit out the eviscerated pieces of whatever remained of him. He wasn’t even sure if he had any reason to go on.

Even then, a faint ember kept him going. That was hope in the face of absolute despair. Damon could still hope, and he had people who told him he could.

Iris, who had forgiven him. Abellona, who had told him of the future. Evangeline, who had reminded him of the present. Maybe none of them could make him strong enough to overcome his own despair, but each of them gave him one more reason to move forward.

Now Lilith, sitting beside him, gave him one more. It was something as simple as having someone there with him. With her, he could be himself.

”I hate that goddamn bastard,” he said, his voice thick with frustration.

Lilith nodded slowly, her fingers remaining on his chest for another moment before she withdrew her hand.

”I hate him more.”

”That’s it. I’ve made up my mind about it.”

She glanced at him as he rose to his feet, brushing the dust from his clothes.

”We’ll be setting out soon, so I want to leave without any baggage.”

With that, he turned and disappeared in the direction of Renata, who was giving Ric a bath in the central tent.

When Damon entered, he looked around for the bathing area in the luxurious tent.

Damon had never planned to let Abellona sleep in filth, so regardless of everyone’s condition, he had taken out her magic tent, which he had stolen years prior, and set it up as the central tent. It gave them decent living spaces, a luxury they could hardly afford in this ruined world.

When he got inside, Renata seemed to be talking to Ric, so he stood nearby and listened.

”I’m sorry, Ricky, but you can’t come. You have to stay here where it’s safe.”

”No, I don’t want to! Ranar is in trouble, and I want to save her!” Ric protested, his expression turning serious despite his small frame.

Renata took a deep breath and rubbed his wet hair with a towel before using her magic attribute to remove the dampness.

”It’s scary out there, Ric. Aren’t you afraid?”

Ric paused, remembering the entity that had taken Ranar. His legs and hands wouldn’t stop trembling at the memory, but after a moment, he shook his head with a fearful expression.

”I... I’m not afraid.”

Renata smiled when she saw him trembling yet still insisting that he wasn’t afraid. That was fine. After all, he was just a child.

”It’s okay to be afraid. You’re still growing up. Leave the scary stuff to us adults, okay?”

Ric wasn’t convinced. He opened his mouth as though he wanted to argue, but then he noticed Damon standing nearby with a smile on his face.

When Ric saw him, he hurried toward him, nearly slipping on the floor in his haste.

Damon was soon followed by Lilith, who entered the tent not long after.

He gently touched Ric’s head.

”Master, you’re back.”

”I didn’t really go anywhere, now did I?”

Damon squatted down next to Ric, bringing himself to the boy’s eye level.

”You don’t have to fight. Leave it to me. I’ll get Ranar back.”

Ric fell quiet, his head lowering as he struggled with his feelings. After a moment, he whispered, ”Do you promise?”

Damon nodded slowly, holding his gaze.

”I promise I’ll bring back Ranar.”

”And Auntie Luna, too,” Ric whispered.

”Yes, Luna too.”

Ric nodded, then raised his pinky finger. Damon hooked his own around it, sealing the promise.

”But first, there’s someone you should see,” Damon said, picking Ric up and turning around.

When he met Lilith’s gaze, she took a deep breath before nodding her head.

He turned to leave the tent with Ric in his arms.

Ric glanced up at him, his face close to Damon’s.

”Master, where are we going?”

Damon smiled, then answered with a sly expression.

”I’m going to sell you. I already have a buyer in mind.”

”What? Nobody wants me? I’m too cute!”

”Someone who was cute would never say that.”

Damon stopped outside another tent.

After a moment, he stepped inside with Ric still in his arms.

When he entered, he saw Emilia and Xander sitting beside a fire in the middle of the tent.

When they saw him, they both looked up. They weren’t alone, however. There was a man inside the tent whom Damon hadn’t seen in a long time.

’Linga Felt,’ he thought to himself before walking farther inside.

”There are very few things as resilient as your marriage. I’m surprised you’re both still together.” Damon sat down and placed Ric in front of him.

Emilia couldn’t take her eyes off her son. Her gaze remained fixed on him, as though she were afraid that looking away for even a moment might cause him to disappear again.

”I’d rather not hear you gloat about how great your life is today, Damon,” Xander replied.

”I’m not. My life is in shambles, and so is everyone else’s.”

Then he glanced at Linga, who kept his head lowered and continued muttering softly.

”Linga Felt, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

”Bang!”

Linga slammed his head against the ground, prostrating himself before Damon.

”Please forgive me. This is all my fault!”

”I tried ...I really tried I couldn’t....” Linga begged on his hands and knees.

Damon could barely understand him due to the tears and how muffled his voice was but then again he didn’t need to.

Linga felt, was the only clue that was solid enough to reach Damon and ruin everything.

It was arrogant of Damon to not think he could be caught actually he could he knew that and he was ready to deal with the consequences.

Damon sighed then asked.

”How have you been Linga, I hope the years have treated you kindly.”