My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 931 - 932: Across And Above

Still air hung motionless. A thin mist shrouded the vines, and underneath lurked a sheer drop that offered nothing but doom.

Damon had no interest in uncovering what hid below. The one time he'd leaned over the brink, he'd caught sight of blurry outlines, forms that struck him as utterly inhuman. Ever since, he'd figured out to hold his tongue and press on.

Seras positioned herself at the lead, clutching a map—or more precisely, the trail etched by Amadeus the lich for their group.

Two weeks had dragged by since their entry into this realm. The nagging doubt that they might be trapped forever began to fester among them like decay.

As if matters weren't dire enough, far up in the haze, the remote outline of a dragon continued its sweep across the heavens. Rexagon hunted for them. Hunted specifically for Damon.

Unease made his legs grow leaden with each passing second. In this place, terror carried real mass. An unseen force pulled at them, binding like heavy shackles.

Renata kept it unspoken, yet Damon sensed their provisions dwindling. No hint of freedom appeared from this damned labyrinth.

He wiped moisture from his throat and eyed a warrior up front hauling a limp companion.

That's the method they'd used to endure these past two weeks. Anyone overwhelmed by dread got stunned and borne along. Still, exhaustion closed in relentlessly. No matter their superhuman traits, mortal boundaries persisted. And not everyone qualified as human. The party formed a diverse blend of species, each hauling their personal frailties ahead.

Damon extended his shadow sense deeper along the misty trail. Emptiness. He let out a deep breath, his eyes shifting to Kael, who took quiet pulls from a water flask.

At the very least, no fatalities had struck. They just needed to locate the way out and depart.

Seras lifted her arm and pointed forward. Damon traced her direction and grasped it right away.

A wave of ease unclenched tension in his torso. The gravitational strain lightened. His breathing came freer, his stance lifting unaware.

In front, the vines parted to reveal a fresh passage. Countless thinner tendrils twisted around a colossal main vine that vanished into the vapor. At its far end loomed a enormous cranium, vast as a peak. Past that sprawled a terrain strewn with pale skeletons and timeless cadavers.

The Bone Hallows.

Seras gave a single nod and advanced onto the huge vine. The rest trailed after, their expressions gaunt and drained.

Damon looked rearward at the Orchard of Regrets and spotted the far-off beat of Rexagon’s wings. Fourteen days gone, and the beast persisted in the chase.

Did fury burn that hot in him? Patience run that deep? Or just a refusal to allow Damon survival?

He faced front again.

Once I cross to the far side, he'll lose sight of me forever.

A cry ripped through the quiet.

A fighter bearing a senseless ally stumbled as fright overtook him. His form pitched toward the vaporous depths.

Kael moved like lightning, lunging to seize his limb. For an instant, they dangled poised between survival and the void.

Then the burden hit.

Terror intensified. The pull intensified in response.

The dazed figure roused in horror, and the abrupt surge overwhelmed them. Kael’s limb twisted unnaturally with a gruesome snap as both tumbled into the haze beneath.

Their wails reverberated well after they disappeared.

In this domain, cries endured. They wove through the mist for ages, clinging on even post-mortem.

And that very cry was the signal Rexagon had anticipated.

The wyrm understood tracking them proved tough amid the Hanging Paths. Thus, he bided. Inevitably, one would tumble. They amounted to mere rodents, after all. Slip-ups came naturally.

A booming growl thundered over the firmament.

"Rwaaggh... hahahaha little mice."

His roar rattled the skies. Immense wings unfurled, whipping fierce gusts across the fog.

"I have found you. Now you die."

Seras refused to linger for his approach. The instant his aura registered, she broke the hush protocol.

"Run. We need to reach the giant skull," she bellowed.

The Bone Hallows offered their sole hope. Amid the infinite pale relics, concealment from the dragon’s gaze might succeed.

Yet dread outpaced their strides.

Rexagon’s colossal frame emerged from the mist, and the mere glimpse sufficed. Panic bore down on their shoulders. The Hanging Paths reacted without delay.

A woman knight’s breaths turned labored. Alarm surged in her blood. The force around her intensified until her plating groaned.

Then she exploded into a mist of crimson.

Her dread had spiked beyond her frame’s tolerance.

"Stay calm. It is not over yet," Seras yelled, her tone slicing the turmoil. "Remember who you are. We are the goddess races. We are chosen."

Her gaze blazed with fierce resolve.

"Goddess races feel no fear."

The troops bellowed in reply, shoving bravery into their frames. The crushing load eased slightly.

They dashed onward.

Damon seized the moment. As Seras boosted spirits, he bolted ahead, the massive skull nearing with each pulse.

Seras vaulted abruptly, soaring several paces skyward. She touched down before Damon, barring his route.

"Come on. We need to buy time so the others can escape that dragon," she declared, tone unyielding.

Damon halted, gazing at her as if she'd gone mad.

"We? Who is we?"

He attempted to dissolve into the shadows and bolt, but Seras clamped his wrist and hauled him close.

Her stare pierced as she withdrew a blade from her storage box.

"We as in me and you. Stay alive and I’ll give you a kiss."

Damon flicked his eyes from her to the nearing dragon, whose flaps stirred cosmic gales overhead.

"No. No thanks. I choose life. Beautiful lips come and go but my life is—"

She hauled him onto a side vine just as a beam of ruin shredded the spot they'd occupied seconds prior.

The tendrils surged from the mist, whipping at the dragon in reprisal.

Damon slammed into the offshoot, tumbling before regaining balance.

"You owe me a lot more than a kiss after this," he grumbled.

Then he delved into his shadow and pulled forth a massive blade.