My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

A moment later, she remembered why they had come here in the first place.

Spinning around, she pointed accusingly at him.

”You promised me a friend my age. I don’t want a pet or anything weird. I want an actual kid, and they had better not be scared of me.”

She stomped her foot.

The jagged cliff beneath them cracked under the force of her Fourth Class strength, pebbles tumbling down the mountainside.

Damon could not help but admit to himself that, up close, his daughter was terrifying.

Even if she was his own child, a normal kid would never know how to deal with someone like her.

He remembered his days at the academy. Back then, merely standing near someone in the Second Class had felt like the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders.

Ranar was in the Fourth Class.

And she was only ten.

Seeing that her tantrum was accomplishing nothing, she immediately changed tactics.

”Daddy... Daddy...”

She grabbed his cloak with both hands and tugged on it, whimpering like a lost puppy.

Damon deliberately avoided looking at her face.

He already knew that the moment he did, he would lose.

She was simply too cute.

And he was far too weak to resist.

”Daddy...”

Ranar suddenly jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Then she unleashed her finishing move.

”I love you, Daddy.”

Damon immediately felt a stupidly sheepish smile spread across his face.

The instant Ranar saw it, a triumphant grin appeared on hers.

She knew she had won.

”Fine, fine.” Damon sighed dramatically. ”As promised, of course. Did you really think I forgot?”

At his words, she jumped backward excitedly.

The moment her feet struck the stone, the cliff cracked beneath her.

Her footing slipped.

For a brief instant, she stumbled forward, tumbling headfirst toward the invisible barrier.

Damon lunged to catch her.

But her own reflexes were even faster.

She twisted in midair and rolled directly into the barrier.

He braced himself for the sizzling sound of flesh burning.

But none came.

She simply passed through.

Damon froze.

His hands trembled.

Against all logic, against everything he knew about the Anarchy Mountains, there was not a single scratch on her body.

Ranar blinked at his horrified expression.

”What?”

Damon rushed forward and reached for her.

The barrier stopped him instantly.

Smoke rose from his hand as his skin sizzled.

Even so, he forced himself onward.

An unbearable pressure descended upon him.

It felt as though the entire world had been dropped onto his shoulders.

The barrier was still active.

His knees buckled.

He dropped to one knee, and the earth beneath him split apart under the weight.

Ignoring the blood dripping from his nose, he reached out and grabbed her shoulders.

”You... are you okay?” he asked frantically. ”Are you hurt? Tell me if you’re hurt.”

Ranar stared at him in confusion.

”Huh? I’m fine. I’m not hurt.”

Then her eyes widened as she noticed the blood running down his face.

”Are you okay? You’re bleeding...”

Damon quickly pulled her back through the barrier.

The instant he crossed over, the crushing pressure disappeared.

He collapsed to his knees, coughing violently.

Ranar knelt beside him in panic, desperately trying to heal him with light magic.

Damon caught her small hand and shook his head.

”I’m fine.”

Then he slowly turned his gaze toward the invisible barrier.

And back to his daughter.

”You... aren’t affected by it.”

Ranar followed his gaze and finally realized there was something there.

Damon reached up and gently held her face, his brow furrowed.

”But you’re in the Fourth Class Advancement.”

His voice dropped to a whisper.

”How is that possible?”

Ranar did not understand why he looked so troubled.

She was simply relieved that he was all right.

Damon stared at her, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

For countless years, this law had existed.

It had been there since the beginning of their world.

Yet somehow, his daughter had ignored it completely.

”How?” he whispered.

Evangeline soon came running over with Lana close behind. Damon quickly wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand before turning toward her.

”We’ll be camping out here for a while.”

The golden-haired woman slowed to a stop and glanced first at the invisible barrier and then at Damon himself.

”Didn’t I tell you not to try forcing your way in? You never listen.”

Damon let out a sigh and folded his arms.

”I didn’t. I am the victim here.”

Evangeline placed a hand on her waist and stared at him for a moment before speaking calmly.

”Why are we even here? This isn’t a place for children.”

Damon shrugged.

”What? It’s not my fault. I asked Sylvia for a favor, and she divined that Ranar would gain a friend somewhere around here. I’m merely trying to fulfill her wish.”

Evangeline opened her mouth to object, but her gaze drifted downward to Ranar.

The little girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Seeing that expression, Evangeline could only sigh.

”Fine. We stay, but only for three days.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Ranar let out a joyful cry.

She jumped straight into the air, her tiny figure soaring over two hundred meters upward. The force of her leap sent a violent gust of astral wind tearing across the mountaintop, scattering stones and shaking the nearby trees.

Evangeline watched her disappear into the sky and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Then she looked back at Damon.

”You had better hope she isn’t about to meet something weird.”

Damon placed a hand against his chest as dozens of enormous shadows burst from beneath his feet and shot into the sky after the falling girl, catching her before she could crash into the mountains below.

”Cross my heart,” he muttered.

Still, his thoughts lingered on another problem.

Finding Ranar a friend was one thing.

Finding a way to make their meeting seem natural was something else entirely.