My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Time waited for nobody.

It drifted onward at uneven speeds, bound to one’s perception. Yesterday became a memory, while tomorrow remained a distant haze untouched by the present.

How quickly time had flown by.

Seven years.

That was how much time had passed since the destruction of the Holy City.

Seven years was fleeting, little more than a passing memory to those ancient monsters who had lived for centuries. Yet to Damon, seven years still felt like a very long time.

A lot had happened during those years.

And yet, strangely enough, they had also been peaceful.

The world was still at war, but the conflicts had slowed considerably. Only scattered skirmishes remained, most of them fought against the Whispering Forest.

The land itself had changed.

Entire regions had been reshaped, while the once endless forest had been reduced little by little.

They were not far from Lysithara now.

Damon knew these peaceful days would not last forever. Soon enough, they would be eclipsed and replaced by violence on a scale the world had never seen.

Over the years, he had remained in contact with most of his friends, though Sylvia was the only one he spoke to solely through the pager.

She had promised that she would return to Soltheon someday.

But only after she was ready.

Damon had no idea what she was doing, yet he respected her decision enough not to pry. After all, he still needed her help if he wished to enter the Anarchy Mountains.

The suggestions she had given him over the years had been invaluable.

Even so, they had not been enough.

After seven years and expeditions into several danger zones, Damon was now almost certain.

The Pillar of Conflict was hidden somewhere within the Anarchy Mountains.

That said, much had changed across the world during those seven years.

One of those changes was surprisingly simple.

Who had the most money.

That title had once belonged to the Temple.

Then they had been robbed blind.

Afterward, desperate to maintain their influence and rebuild the Holy City, they had fallen into enormous debt, borrowing from major financial organizations such as the War Banks and various noble houses. Eventually, they had been forced to put much of their wealth and property up as collateral.

Then the Unknown Order had done something cruel.

They had systematically targeted those assets, destroying or destabilizing them until many lenders began to lose confidence.

Only the War Banks had continued investing.

Over seven years, in their attempts to preserve appearances and finance the reconstruction of the Holy City, they had spent several trillion zeni.

Honestly, even Damon thought that number sounded absurd.

Ironically...

He possessed that kind of money as well.

During those same years, the rise of demonic humans and other races had become impossible to ignore. Each one belonged to the Unknown Order, transformed into demons by Damon himself.

The leader of this growing faction was Lana.

Officially, she remained one of House Brightwater’s knights.

Unofficially...

She was among the highest-ranking members of the Unknown Order.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish ordinary humans from those connected to Damon.

Yet one thing could not be denied.

They were powerful.

Damon sat in his office, sunlight pouring through the tall windows and casting his shadow across the floor.

He leaned back in his chair and glanced at it.

”We really came a long way, didn’t we, buddy?”

For years now, his shadow had become quieter and quieter.

Yet, for the first time in a long while, it moved.

The dark silhouette raised a hand, gave Damon its old salute, then slowly lifted a thumb.

A faint smile spread across Damon’s face.

Long ago, his shadow had been his only companion. As more people entered his life, he found himself speaking to it less and less until it became little more than an ordinary shadow.

”I guess I’m not lonely anymore, huh?”

Only now did Damon truly understand.

His shadow had never acted so strangely because it wanted anything.

It had simply wanted to keep him company.

A knock echoed through the room.

The door opened, and a woman with violet hair stepped inside. Beside her walked a leprechaun wearing a green hat and carrying his usual shady smile.

The woman was Renata.

As for the leprechaun, he had once worked for the Adventurers Guild before Damon had lured him away with high-grade potions.

Renata dropped several documents onto his desk and folded her arms.

”The Temple’s high clergy are here to see you, just as you requested.”

She paused, glancing down at the reports.

”And I looked into the demons. It seems our suspicions were correct. There is indeed a demon spy inside the Temple.”

She looked back at him.

”I also arranged a meeting between them and your alter ego, Amon.”

Damon nodded and turned toward the leprechaun.

”Kudi, you’ll make sure we take them for everything they’re worth.”

He tapped the desk lightly.

”I want the Temple’s financial lifeline to run entirely through us.”

Kudi adjusted his monocle, a greedy smile spreading across his face.

”Do not worry, my lord. Carls and his men have already begun spreading rumors throughout, about the War Banks and their impending financial collapse.”

He chuckled to himself.

”The people are rushing to withdraw their savings, and because the banks lent so much money to the Temple, they are in a very difficult position.”

He spread his hands dramatically.

”That is where we come in. We rescue them, seize control of the banks, and gain the perfect opportunity to clean all the money we stole from the Temple.”

The grin on his face somehow grew even wider.

Damon nodded in approval.

”I knew you were a man of vision the moment we met, Kudi.”

Standing nearby, Renata narrowed her eyes.

’You mean the moment he tried to scam you.’

Still, the records before Damon were accurate.

Somehow, the petty pickpocket who had once stolen to survive had become one of the richest men in all of Aetherus.

And most of that fortune...

Had been stolen.

Well, it could not be helped.

A petty thief had become a financial mogul.

Renata looked between the two men and rubbed her forehead.

”Can you two stop smiling like that? It’s getting creepy.”

Her deadpan expression made it clear that she was worried they might burst into evil laughter at any moment.

Damon cleared his throat and stood from his chair.

”Ah, yes.”

He straightened his coat and walked toward the door.

”Time for the meeting.”