My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Damon gritted his teeth while tightening his grip around Lilith’s hand.

Valerie and Valcara had already crossed into the restricted zone. If he got any closer the knights would attack immediately.

“Damn it.”

He released Lilith’s hand and bolted forward anyway.

He needed to reach them.

Even a single conversation might change something.

He sprinted with all the strength his weak borrowed body could muster. The moment he took his first step he realized something was wrong.

He never managed to take the second.

His right leg remained behind.

For a split second Damon stared blankly at the limb lying on the ground before unbearable agony exploded through his body.

A shot had blown his leg clean off.

Damon crashed violently onto the street, blood spraying outward in a massive arc.

People screamed nearby.

But he was still Damon Grey.

Even now.

Even crippled.

He grabbed a handful of his own blood with trembling fingers and carved a rune onto the ground.

The rune ignited instantly.

Boom!

The explosion launched him upward toward Valerie and Valcara.

The sudden commotion caught their attention.

Unfortunately Damon was already finished.

Streaks of light shot toward him from every direction. Before he even landed multiple beams pierced through his body, punching bloody holes through his chest and shoulders.

By the time he crashed beside the two sages blood was pouring from him endlessly.

Still Damon forced his shaking hand upward.

He carved another rune weakly into the air.

He never finished it.

His body suddenly went still.

Blood spread beneath him across the stone.

Valerie immediately knelt beside him.

Without hesitation she waved her hand and golden light poured from her fingers, spreading across Damon’s ruined body and slowly healing the fatal wounds.

Valcara wore a worried expression.

“Is he okay…?” she asked softly before glancing toward the distant knights. “Why would he do something like this?”

Valerie’s sharp eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

“I’m certain he wasn’t heading for the tower,” she murmured. “He was desperate to reach us.”

Footsteps thundered nearby as the knights rushed over.

Valerie slowly rose to her feet and glared at them coldly.

“Why would you use such lethal force on a civilian?”

One of the knights immediately stepped forward and bowed his head deeply.

“Apologies, my lady. This is a restricted area. Our orders are to issue a warning shot and resort to lethal force should the target attempt to breach the perimeter.”

Valerie bit her lip.

She already knew those protocols.

Still, seeing them used so mercilessly left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Finally she sighed softly before looking back at Damon.

“Who is he?”

Lilith slowly approached, careful not to end up like Damon.

Once she reached Valerie she bowed respectfully.

Valerie studied her calmly.

“Are you with him?” she asked.

Lilith nodded.

“Yes… we actually wanted to see you.”

Valerie raised an eyebrow slightly.

Lilith hesitated before speaking again.

“Can we talk with you?”

“What is going on here?”

A man’s voice suddenly interrupted them.

He appeared seemingly from nowhere, space itself rippling faintly around him.

The moment Lilith saw him her eyes widened slightly.

Mugu.

The Wicked Prophet.

He glanced briefly at Valerie and Valcara before speaking calmly.

“We don’t have time to waste. I’ll have the knights handle this. If you’re worried about your friend, you are both free to go.”

Then his gaze shifted toward the knights.

“Lead them away.”

Before Lilith could even respond, a single wave of Mugu’s hand distorted the surrounding space.

The world blurred.

And instantly they were moved away from the area entirely, appearing inside a nearby building.

Damon held his head tightly when he finally woke up. A pounding ache assaulted his skull while dizziness washed over him in violent waves from the sheer amount of blood he had lost.

“Ahhh…” he groaned painfully.

His vision slowly steadied.

When he looked down his expression froze.

His right leg was gone.

Everything below the knee had vanished completely, leaving only tightly wrapped bandages around the stump. Even so, he could still feel pain coming from a limb that no longer existed. It burned and throbbed like invisible needles digging into flesh that was not there anymore.

Damon clenched his jaw.

How could he still feel pain from something he no longer possessed?

He slowly pushed himself upright only to find Lilith sitting quietly beside his bed. The room around them was small and rough, with cracked walls and a leaking ceiling. The scent of mold lingered in the air. It was very clearly not a medical facility, nowhere near the standards Lysithara prided itself on.

The moment Lilith realized he was awake she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Without saying a word she leaned forward and hugged him tightly.

Damon remained still for a moment before his eyes drifted back toward the missing limb.

“Why don’t I have a leg?”

Lilith hesitated.

Then she reached beside the bed and slowly lifted something into view.

It was crude and poorly carved.

“A wooden prosthetic limb,” Damon muttered blankly.

The sight of it almost made him laugh.

Almost.

“Why didn’t they just heal me?” he asked bitterly. “Regenerating a lost limb is easy here.”

Lilith lowered her gaze toward the floor.

“They didn’t treat you at all,” she whispered quietly. “We were turned away. You’re only alive because Valerie Sunwarden already began healing you before we were taken away.”

Damon went silent.

He understood immediately.

They were being treated as less than human.

No…

Not even that.

Animals were probably treated better.

Oddly enough he could not even feel anger anymore. Just exhaustion.

He inhaled slowly before forcing himself calmer.

“Let’s get out of here.”

With difficulty Damon grabbed the crude prosthetic and began fastening it onto what remained of his leg. Every slight movement sent sharp pain shooting through his body. Once he finally stood he nearly collapsed immediately, forced to steady himself against the wall while breathing heavily.

The wooden limb felt unnatural.

Heavy.

Wrong.

Still, he forced himself forward.

Together he and Lilith slowly made their way back toward the abandoned building they had been using as shelter. Damon staggered with every uneven step, the wooden prosthetic scraping awkwardly against the ground while Lilith silently supported part of his weight.

By the time they arrived something already felt wrong.

The entire area was surrounded.

Knights stood around the abandoned structure in full armor while civilians watched nervously from a distance.

The moment Damon and Lilith approached several knights immediately moved, surrounding them before they could react.

Metal clanged sharply as weapons were drawn.

A knight stepped forward holding two heavy chains in his hands.

“You are under arrest for child trafficking, murder, illegal experimentation, and crimes against humanity.”

His voice dripped with disgust.

Then he spat directly at their feet.

“People like you make me sick.”

Damon and Lilith froze.

They did not even get the chance to defend themselves.

Bodies.

Small bodies.

One after another the corpses of children were carried out of the abandoned building wrapped in stained cloth. Some were so deformed Damon almost could not recognize them as human anymore.

His stomach twisted violently.

The knights brought out boxes filled with potions and crude medicine.

The same potions Lilith had been brewing to ease the children’s suffering.

Now they were evidence.

Lilith’s lips quivered violently.

“Where is Maya…” she whispered weakly.

The knight looked at her as though she were filth.

“Filthy inhuman witch,” he snarled. “You killed all these children.”

His hands tightened around the chains.

“We have failed as protectors of this city if monsters like you were allowed to roam freely for this long.”

Damon gritted his teeth so hard blood filled his mouth.

“We didn’t do anything,” he growled. “We’re innocent. We were trying to save them.”

The knight’s eyes held no sympathy whatsoever.

“Tell that to the judge.”

Without another word the chains were slammed around their wrists.