My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 883 - 884: Curse

Blood trickled down the edge of his head. Clearly, he was enduring brutal physical torment.

It seemed like those two aimed to end him before he could end himself.

In one hand, he gripped a sword, while the other clutched a sphere of fire.

They weren't doing any better themselves. Their locks were in wild disarray, and a severe gash marred Sylvia's shoulder.

"You two aren't really committed here. See, I'm not even angry that you're blocking me. Actually, I find it totally understandable. However—"

He stopped as the fire compressed, turning solid into ice crystals. An icy chill permeated the atmosphere.

Frost overpowered

"I won't allow you to proceed."

Frozen shards surged ahead, twisting and encasing all they touched. Sharp snapping noises resounded through the space.

With a flick of her wrist, Lilith shattered the ice with ease. She cast a look his way.

"You're correct. One fact I had to face up to is this: You've advanced, Damon. You're more powerful now. If it was just me against you, I'd be defeated. Even in a straightforward battle, I'd still fall."

Damon scowled. He was aware of his increased strength, yet Lilith's expression stirred deep discomfort within him.

"That's precisely why I never intended to."

She turned her eyes to Sylvia, who gazed intently at the Unknown God’s Journey tome.

"If we halt you now, how can we halt you later?"

Her tone remained steady.

"It would drain us completely. That's why we picked a different path."

Damon's danger instinct didn't trigger, yet his gut yelled that disaster had struck hard.

The psychic image lurking in his thoughts displayed a strained look.

Right after Lilith's words ended, Damon drew in a sharp breath.

"Oh shit."

His advance came to a stop.

Beneath his boots, a mystical array unfurled, covering the whole chamber. It shone with a pale light, inscribed with myriad unfamiliar symbols. Right at its heart, under his position, stood the emblem of the Unknown God.

Damon shifted ahead.

The array's core shifted along with him.

"Hm. What's going on? Some kind of incantation."

At last, Sylvia voiced her thoughts, her head shaking while she gnawed her lip until blood welled up.

"No. It's a hex."

Damon arched his brows. No agony struck him. The enchantment neither scorched nor pressed down on him.

It seemed like it had fastened itself to him.

"A hex. Explain."

Sylvia realized he was stalling for time. They were playing the same game.

"It's a hex designed to torment you. It implants a false urge to survive deep in your soul and compels you to act in ways that safeguard your existence. The hex lifts only once you grasp the essence of real living."

A dark epiphany dawned on Damon.

"So this amounts to a real execution order. No. Even harsher. It's a pass to endless torment."

His tone stayed even, dissecting the situation.

"A hex hinges on its victim. Cursing a plump fellow to stay plump does zilch. But dooming a fit warrior to gain weight? That turns into agony."

His gaze rose.

"It qualifies as a hex only if it inflicts suffering on its mark. And for me, this stands as a truly awful hex."

He tilted his head back and chuckled, insanity pouring out unchecked.

"Incredible. Absolutely incredible. You put in real effort to ensure my pain. What a brilliant hex."

Anger didn't touch him. Having discarded his crown, madness already ruled him.

This hex struck fatally at Damon due to his Deathless ability.

Skill: [Deathless]

The stronger your wish for your demise, the more unlikely occurrences arise to block it. Demise arrives solely when you crave it the least.

That ability rendered Damon nearly unkillable. Regardless of his wild risks, destiny twisted to preserve him.

All because Damon yearned for death.

Should the hex activate, his longing would flip.

He'd crave survival.

Deathless would cease its safeguarding.

On the contrary, it would unleash every unlikely deadly mishap straight toward him.

Existence would turn into nightmare difficulty.

No. Far grimmer.

He might skid on a banana skin, plummet down stairs, crash into a servant hauling a tub of corrosive liquid, plunge in, endure, just for the structure to crumble, burst into flames, overflow with water, and drag him to the waves, where a massive beast gulps him down. After seven days in its belly, unable to break him down, it spits him back out into the depths, smack into a magical disturbance.

He halted the notion abruptly.

The truth endured.

Should this hex succeed, his days would morph into one endless barrage aimed at his end.

Damon eyed Sylvia and offered a gentle smile.

"What toll did you offer for this hex?"

Her eyes locked with his, grief carved profoundly into her features.

"If you're wondering about the fee for the incantation, you'll be pleased to hear the Unknown God handed it over without charge."

Damon inclined his head gradually.

"I get it. He truly desires my continued existence for some scheme of his."

He faced Lilith.

"Yet he never hands out gifts without strings. Enacting this demands a price."

Lilith affirmed with a nod while she and Sylvia started to invoke the incantation.

"It demands the passing of multitudes, which you kindly supplied through the conflict raging beyond. The essence of a single deity. Plus, half our remaining years."

She regarded him with icy detachment.

"Well done, Damon. Keeping you breathing costs a fortune. Now you grasp your life's true value."

Damon inclined his head. He comprehended the hex's framework.

Completion eluded it still.

Seraph Null remained to perish.

Little surprise the Unknown God orchestrated this horror. A deity's vitality served as its power source.

Damon curved his lips in a subtle grin.

"That's fine and all. Yet the hex isn't done. If I end myself prior to your finishing it, victory is mine."

He blinked out of sight, blinking toward the lance.

Lilith gestured, making the lance vanish, then rematerialize within her hold.

That lance alone could claim his life.

Other approaches he might attempt.

But Deathless guaranteed his endurance.