My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1201: Chapter 1202: Lack Of Understanding

Damon remained calm. Even though his body had been destroyed, he could always construct a new one with his skill. The problem was that he couldn’t create another body while his old one still existed. He couldn’t simply construct a replacement and abandon the one Aetherus had taken.

His connection to his body had not been severed either, so he could still sense that it was there. He knew there was a chance he could get it back by giving up on this body, but he doubted he would be able to reclaim it without risking his soul being destroyed.

Damon was in real trouble.

That said, he had options now that he was outside the Anarchy Mountains. One of those options was the seventh-class shadow drones. He could easily possess one of them, even if doing so would put a considerable strain on his already damaged soul.

If he could get close enough to his body, he could simply take it back.

He was still lost in thought when Ranar suddenly rushed into Evangeline’s arms. Seeing the two of them together again made Damon smile faintly.

Evangeline was covered in wounds that even her magic had not been able to heal. Her armor was dented in several places, some sections completely caved in from the force of Aetherus’s attacks. Strands of her golden hair were stuck to her face, stained red with her own blood, and her breathing was still somewhat ragged.

Yet the moment Ranar threw herself into her arms, none of that seemed to matter.

Evangeline immediately wrapped both arms around the little girl and pulled her tightly against her chest. Her hands trembled slightly as she held Ranar, almost as if she were afraid that if she loosened her grip even for a moment, the girl would disappear again.

She buried her face against Ranar’s hair and closed her eyes, silently holding her daughter close.

Damon watched them for a moment, and the faint smile on his face grew slightly wider.

Ric, on the other hand, had rushed into Lilith’s arms, his face streaked with tears. Damon wasn’t sure whether he was frightened by everything that had happened or because he had seen Lilith standing there with a massive, gaping wound in her stomach while Renata desperately tried to heal her.

Damon was sure he had forgotten the plan, but so be it. Evangeline was too busy holding Ranar to notice, and even if she did, he was far beyond caring at this point.

He had just come up with another hole to patch in the floodgates of lies he had already told her.

Lilith gently held Ric’s face between her hands and turned it from side to side, checking him over to make sure he wasn’t injured. After making sure he was fine, she whispered something to him, and the boy nodded obediently before returning to Damon’s side.

After a few minutes, the knights managed to regroup and pull themselves together, waiting for orders.

Evangeline’s eyes were cold.

”Contact my father and inform him of what happened. We will not sit quietly and accept an unprovoked attack.”

Lana, who had survived the battle, nodded and limped away to carry out the orders.

Finally, Evangeline turned toward Renata, who was badly bruised and still recovering from the battle. She glanced at her for a moment before turning back to Damon.

”Care to explain where all these children came from?”

Damon glanced at the five wild children he had picked up alongside Ric and Ranar. They stood a short distance away, covered in dirt and grime, their clothes ragged from their time in the Anarchy Mountains.

He nodded.

”Actually, it’s a really long story. I found them in the mountains. They’re sort of orphans, so I decided to take them in.”

She didn’t really believe him, but she still nodded. Then she pointed toward Ric, who was standing almost directly behind Damon.

”What about him?”

Damon glanced back at Ric. The boy looked a little like Xander, sharing several of his features, although he was far too young.

”Oh, this is Ric. He’s the little kid Ranar was chasing.”

”I know that. What I want to know is who he is,” Evangeline said, placing one hand on her waist.

”Why are you asking me? I found him,” Damon said with a shrug.

”Why are you getting defensive?” she fired back.

”I’m not getting defensive. And if I am, it’s because you’re making things difficult for this kid. You do realize it’s not his fault, right?” Damon answered, smoothly trying to turn her words around.

”I didn’t say it was his fault. I was asking you who he was and how he’s even so close to you. Don’t treat me like a fool. The other children just so happen to be standing a few feet away while he’s practically glued to your side.”

Damon glanced at Ric. The boy immediately looked away awkwardly.

”Yeah, obviously I’m amazing, and the kid sees me as his role model. He and I hit it off. It’s not like I have a child behind your back.”

”Wouldn’t be the first time,” she said, placing her hand on her waist.

”Fine. I’ll just ask him myself.”

She squatted down to Ric’s level and looked him straight in the eye. The moment Ric met her golden gaze, a chill ran down his spine. There was something about her eyes that made him feel as though she could see straight through him, and he didn’t dare lie.

”Evangeline, don’t you think it’s already hard enough for the poor boy? He’s been through the Anarchy Mountains, and you want to bully him? Shame.”

She was speechless.

Why was he trying to make her the villain? She was just asking the boy a question.

”When did I even do anything?”

”Forget it,” Damon said slowly.

Then he turned toward Lilith and Renata.

”Renata, you and Lilith can adopt this poor motherless child.”

Lilith’s lips twitched, and a look of disbelief crossed her face. This was the lie he had come up with?

She sighed, deciding to play along with the sloppy act.

She squatted down on one knee and opened her arms toward Ric before giving him a warm smile. Her smile was genuine, and Ric had seen that smile for as long as he could remember.

He didn’t hesitate.

The boy immediately rushed into her arms. The familiar scent of a flower he couldn’t quite name filled his senses, and his tense body finally relaxed as she held him.

Damon shook his head at Evangeline.

”I can’t believe you.”

Evangeline sighed. He really had just done that to her.

”Fine. Though I would have appreciated it if we knew where he came from.”

She glanced at Damon, who was still inhabiting a woman’s body.

”So what are we going to do about getting your body back?”

”The temple. That’s where Aetherus most likely went. He probably has plans for my body, which, if I’m not mistaken, must be to remove Lazarak’s divine spark from it. We have to stop him, since he might rip out half of what makes me me.”

”How does that even work? The divine spark is linked to your soul,” Lilith said slowly, her brows furrowing as she glanced toward Damon.

”That’s true, but Aetherus is a part of Lazarak. They share the same source, so while he can’t simply remove it... or maybe he can. I don’t know much about divine sparks, but if he took it, I’m sure he has a way. Maybe draining it would work.”

Damon wasn’t entirely sure how it worked himself. He simply had the divine spark, and that was the extent of his understanding.

”Then what do we do? Are we supposed to attack the temple and get your body back?” Renata asked slowly.

When she spoke, Evangeline’s attention shifted toward her. Her eyes lingered on Renata for a moment before she looked back at Damon.

”Do you know?” she asked quietly.

”Know what?” Damon asked.

”Know what she is... did you know?” she whispered again.

Damon’s eyes narrowed. He remained silent for a moment, weighing his answer. Then he spoke with certainty.

”I knew.”

He was sure Evangeline must have figured out that Renata was a demon. Why else would she react like this? As for what Evangeline intended to do about it, he didn’t know, but he was already prepared to stop her if necessary.

”You knew? Since when?”

”For years now. Even back when we were at the academy. I knew.”

Evangeline lowered her head while still holding Ranar’s hand. A strange expression appeared on her face, one Ranar had never seen before.

Damon couldn’t see it. He was taller than Evangeline, and she had lowered her head while he was still inhabiting the tall woman’s body.

Her lips trembled slightly.

”Why... why didn’t you tell me?”

Damon closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.

”There was no need to burden you with that.”

Evangeline slowly raised her head and glanced toward Lilith Astranova. Her gaze was calm, almost unnaturally so, but there was no warmth in it.

”But Lilith Astranova knows, right? Of course she does. You would tell her.”

”Eva, I—”

”You what? Will you tell me everything?” Her voice remained quiet, but the words carried a sharp edge. ”Maybe start with the boy. I’m in the sixth class, Damon. It would be a little hard for me to miss something like that.”

Damon looked away.

There was so much to tell her.

”You... wouldn’t understand.”

She let out a soft scoff.

”Right. I wouldn’t.”

Evangeline bent down and picked Ranar up into her arms. The little girl looked between them, confused by the tension she could feel even though she didn’t understand what had caused it.

Then, in a flash of golden light, Evangeline vanished.

Her voice echoed down from the sky.

”I’ll talk to our grandfather about getting your body back.”

Damon let out a deep breath and stood there silently for a moment.

Then he glanced toward Renata.

She immediately looked away, lowering her head.