My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Once again Damon found himself out in the forest with Abellona, the Valtheron princess known for her beauty and destructive capabilities.

Seeing the lush forest and feeling the fresh humid breeze, Damon felt a sting in his chest and a deep-seated grudge.

The last time he was outside, Ashcroft had toyed with him and showed off his overwhelming powers. Damon had felt the insurmountable gap in strength between the demon lord of domination and himself.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue. He wasn't even sure he would win if they were the same rank. This must have been how the Ascendants felt when they fought the Outsiders.

Even at the same rank, the Outsiders had more experience and knew what higher levels of power were like, having already touched them themselves.

That was Damon's dilemma.

'No... it's future Damon's problem.'

For now, he only needed to focus on the task at hand.

Abellona squatted down under some shrubs, her eyes narrowing. She turned to Damon and yanked at the shackles tying them together.

"Don't get distracted. This is the place, right?"

Damon was jolted out of his train of thought.

"I wasn't distracted. I was thinking of important stuff."

Abellona didn't look convinced.

"Very well then."

Damon sighed, glancing around. This should be the place. They had arranged a meeting with Damon's pets through the woodpecker, and the two animals had chosen this as the spot where they would reveal the location of their targets.

He closed his eyes, spreading his shadow perception carefully, keeping it slow to avoid detection by anything that might trace it back.

There was still lingering trauma from when his mind had almost been fried by something in the Whispering Forest.

After a moment, Damon reached out and grabbed Abellona's hand, pulling her between two trees.

Her eyes flickered, but she didn't resist. He had done worse than hold her hand against her will.

Following him, she found herself at a tree where a brown squirrel appeared, carrying a nut in its tiny hand. This was not the red squirrel she knew.

It stopped on a branch and squealed softly, as if speaking in a language she couldn't understand.

"What's it saying?" she asked Damon.

"He's asking for a password," Damon replied, realizing his pets might have been busy with their own affairs.

That wouldn't be strange. Damon had once been the nemesis of all ravens in the academy until he made peace with Croft. Only then had they stopped harassing him.

If they had been busy, then maybe he could use this ability of theirs to his advantage.

"Password is… Lilith Astranova is prettier than Abellona of Valtheron."

Abellona froze the instant she heard her name.

"Wha... what? That's not true at all! I was number one on Fashion Monthly four times in a row!"

Her expression shifted to anger.

"Are you trying to rile me up? If you are, it's working! Whose side are you even on? Are you one of those men enthralled by Lady Astranova? That is not a factual statement! I'm not inferior to Lady Astranova... what can I expect... from—"

Damon raised his hand, cutting her off.

"It's not that deep."

He muttered to himself.

'Geez, women really do hate comparisons. This is the most I've ever heard her talk.'

He would be wise never to mention Lilith in front of her again.

The squirrel didn't care about her rant. After hearing the password, it squeaked again, asking another question.

Damon sighed softly.

"Nuts are the best."

The squirrel squealed happily, then jumped to another tree, slowing its pace so they could follow.

Damon pulled Abellona along, following the squirrel as it led them deeper into demon territory.

They crawled under fallen trees, moved through thick shrubs, and passed burrows until they reached a tree that had toppled over a stream. The squirrel crossed it nimbly while Damon and Abellona simply jumped across as if it were nothing.

Finally, they came to a cluster of trees. There, they noticed something unusual—birds of different kinds perched in the branches, squirrels and rodents patrolling like guards.

Abellona raised an eyebrow.

"What is this?"

Damon almost blushed in embarrassment. It looked like his pets had formed a forest mafia—or was it more accurate to call it a kingdom?

When they reached the center, he wasn't surprised to see the raven surrounded by other birds. At its side was the red squirrel, seated on a pile of nuts and acorns while several others flapped and fed it.

Damon's expression went flat. He walked forward slowly, grabbing both of them, scattering their followers back into the trees.

"You two little shits... while I've been out there getting my ass handed to me and dying, you've been living the high life."

He bit his lip, then glanced at Abellona behind him.

'Most of all... they're embarrassing me in front of the princess.'

Abellona studied the unusually intelligent creatures, then gave Damon a strange look.

He really was something. To tame creatures from the evil forest—rare, exotic, and priceless. She knew they fetched sky-high prices, and even if one bought them, they could never truly be domesticated.

Given his personality, she was surprised he hadn't thought to sell them.

'He must be sentimental at heart. I knew he had a chivalrous side.'

No—that wasn't it. The truth was Damon simply didn't know how valuable they were. If he did, he'd sell the bastards without hesitation.

Better yet, he'd run a scam—sell them for a fortune, wait for them to escape their new owners, then sell them again to someone else for even more money.

It was a good thing he didn't know.

Damon began to question them, and before long, he pieced together a mental map of the forest. After several minutes, he nodded, a cold smile tugging at his lips.

Turning to Abellona, he chuckled.

"I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

She drew a deep breath.

"Good news first."

He nodded, smirking thinly.

"The good news is Ashcroft is on the opposite side of our targets."

She frowned, knowing full well he could still cross that distance easily.

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is Gaston is in the same forest region as the Balrog."

Her lips tightened. She couldn't face both.

"I can't kill them both."

Damon nodded.

"Well, it's a good thing you have me. I'll deal with the injured Balrog and give you the chance to kill Gaston."