My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 924 - 825: Seras Plan

Divine energy.

This particular force stemmed directly from the Gods. It originated within the essence of Divinity itself and possessed the ability to merge with various other energies.

No being had ever wielded both without facing dire repercussions, save for the enigmatic Unknown God alone.

Damon observed as the shadows grew intensely darker, surging with greater might. In every place they extended, the surrounding light vanished completely.

Through his skin, he sensed that immense force flooding into each and every pore.

It loomed over him like a devouring threat.

His feet lifted off the earth, propelling him to float high several meters upward.

Seras witnessed his actions and clenched her jaw tightly while blood streamed from his nostrils.

She bounded onto the encroaching shadows, gliding up a swelling tendril before slashing with her sword.

A sharp wail of anguish echoed.

The beast hidden in the treetops let out a horrific shriek, its tone utterly alien—a harsh noise that caused ears to ring and pulse with discomfort.

Guided by Damon's command, the shadows twisted into enormous spikes that shredded through the forest's overhead branches. The mighty old trees creaked loudly as colossal shadow limbs yanked them free from the soil.

The entire woodland seemed to lean precariously.

A devouring blackness erupted, hauling trees skyward while deadly sharp spikes devastated the surroundings.

Inky black blood cascaded from the shredded canopy, accompanied by the creature's piercing cry.

It writhed in torment.

Yet Damon's suffering dwarfed it entirely.

He sensed his Seed of Depravity releasing waves of demonic power to claim the void abandoned by his depleted divine energy.

With every throb of his heart, excruciating agony surged through him, as though his heart was repeatedly squeezed and torn apart.

Damon clamped his teeth together.

His sole exposed eye widened dramatically from the searing torment.

"Arghhh—"

He hoisted the uprooted trees skyward beyond the canopy and then hurled them downward, smashing across vast stretches of the Listening Canopy.

The earth shook fiercely as an enormous, mysterious mass collided with the ground.

In that instant of impact, the world appeared to bend beneath a fresh governing principle.

It howled while attempting to escape, now bereft of its protective treetop shelter.

Damon refused to allow it any such opportunity.

The shadows coalesced into a solid sphere encasing it, locking it away completely.

The very second it was confined, it burst a puncture from inside the sphere.

Damon hacked up blood.

He ground his teeth.

That suited him perfectly.

He had already forged the breach he required.

The moment the beast shattered his shadow sphere, it created a fissure wide enough for a tachi to pass through.

The sword plunged inside.

Though the shadow sphere hid its exact shape from view, upon the blade's return—

It gleamed wet with fresh blood.

The sphere fell motionless.

A heavy quiet descended.

Dark blood soaked into the forest's ebony earth as Damon toppled rearward.

Before he could strike the soil, a figure emerged from his shadow to support him.

Her gaze held the chill of frost.

With no shift in her stoic face, she steadied him back onto his feet.

"Thanks, Matia..."

She gave a single nod, then creased her brow faintly.

"You should have called me sooner," she stated in a monotone complaint.

Damon offered a feeble grin, left with just one eye and one arm.

"Hehehe... you're my secret weapon, I can't just call you out..."

He wheezed, dizziness washing over him as shivers wracked his frame.

He felt a demonic horn starting to emerge from his skull.

Matia erected an icy barrier around him.

Without pause, she seized the budding horn and tore it free.

Blood erupted fiercely, splattering over her features.

She showed no reaction.

She drenched his scalp with healing potions, watching the gash seal gradually while his injuries mended.

She nudged him gently.

No stir came from him.

Her pulse almost halted.

Deliberately, she bent her head to his torso, straining to detect his heartbeat.

She held her ear close against him.

After a fraught pause—

She breathed out in deep relief.

He still lived.

There was no call for alarm.

Even as his wounds knit together, fresh harm afflicted him simultaneously.

The trouble lay deep within his core.

She detected his instinctive draw on shadow energy still.

That eased her worries.

Had he ceased—

Death would have claimed him.

"Watching over you feels like a never-ending task..." she whispered evenly, eyeing the sturdy ice enclosure around them.

She dissolved the shield and drew in a firm breath as Renata and Wendy hurried over to him.

Renata assumed control of his care, while Wendy and Matia kept vigilant watch, blades at the ready.

The remaining knights hastily assembled a protective circle as the servants swiftly pitched a shelter.

Seras surveyed the scene.

She had already cleared away the monster's remains.

Not one of the soldiers lost here today had glimpsed its real appearance.

It proved wiser that way.

Much more secure.

Even lifeless, its body held the power to corrupt anyone nearby.

Seras clenched her tachi tighter.

Leading such a large group into the Evil Forest had been a perilous choice.

Given this realm's deadly nature, it was astonishing they'd advanced this deep with so few casualties.

This had been merely one beast.

Countless others lurked.

It ranked nowhere near the most fearsome.

And then there existed Damon Grey.

He alone justified their decision to stand and battle.

In truth, engaging in combat hadn't been the wisest move.

At this pace, exhaustion would overtake them long before the sea.

Seras extended her awareness outward.

This technique went by the name of Magic Sense.

It resembled Shadow Perception in function, but relied on the surrounding mana to forge an extra sensory layer.

Typically, it emerged among those who attained Fourth Class progression.

Some honed it through dedicated practice.

Others unlocked it on their own.

Plenty ignored it altogether.

The flood of data could burden the psyche.

Only a lunatic would maintain it nonstop.

It proved cumbersome to wield.

Seras had mastered it through rigorous training, yet deployed it solely when essential.

Most elite warriors followed suit.

Why rely on it endlessly when it lacked any element of subtlety?

Opponents could detect its activation.

And in hazardous zones like this, careless use might lure something truly horrifying.

She unfurled her senses with utmost caution, ensuring no provocation to the woods.

Attracting notice could invite assault.

After probing for some time—

She located her target.

"Hmm, displacement flowers..." she murmured, lightly tucking a strand of hair.

These blooms held the power to teleport individuals to random spots without notice.

"I shouldn't entertain this—it's too hazardous, and the dangers outweigh the benefits..." she whispered to herself as a bold notion took shape.

The concept was straightforward.

"Why didn't I consider harnessing the displacement flowers for transport? If we did, we could shave off weeks from our journey..."

Or—

They might find themselves stranded in a remote forest expanse, miles from their destination.

The metallic tang of blood wafted through the exposed canopy.

A chilly gust stirred her hair, sending it streaming back.

The dual moons bathed the woods in their silvery glow, mirroring in her gaze as her thoughts deepened.

Moonbeams draped over the bodies of the deceased.

The soldiers advanced in hushed silence, too wary to celebrate lest they rouse the forest's wrath once more.

Should they press on in this manner—

Perish they would.

Damon lay insensate.

"Yes, that could succeed..." she pondered while approaching him.

A strategy had crystallized in her mind.

The deepest stretch nearest the sea bore the name Bone Hollows.

It marked the forest's final zone, bordering the ocean.

That area doubled as a lethal trap.

Yet it remained within the Evil Forest's bounds.

From her knowledge, it brimmed with innumerable craters and vast bone-strewn plains.

Every pit teemed with swarms of beasts and restless undead.

The displacement flowers fell short of extending there.

Thus, she opted for the subsequent viable choice.

"The Hanging Paths."

She knew that territory intimately.

Trees there soared to unbelievable heights, with no sign of terrain below.

Just an infinite drop.

Myths warned that a plunge there led straight to the world's edge.

Flight attempts ended in fatal crashes.

Navigation relied on vine-woven bridges dangling amid colossal trunks.

And that scarcely scratched the surface.

The Hanging Paths attuned to one's inner feelings.

When dread took hold—

"Ahh—" she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"It's perilous, but we'd bypass countless threats. I guess I truly owe that lich for the intel; without it, I'd stumble blindly into the upcoming peril."

Years had passed since her previous venture into the Hanging Paths.

On that occasion, she had entered from the sea, traversing the Bone Hollows to arrive.

She had pursued a demon that had escaped into its depths.

"In the end, I never managed to slay him... just witnessed his tumble into the abyss below..."