My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Seeing is believing. What you saw with your own eyes was far more believable than anything, because you were the witness.

It was damning evidence.

A man armed with a sword, covered in blood from head to toe, stared coldly as he stood over the dismembered remains of a little girl.

What else could it be? There was no one there… just him.

The despaired cries of the father, who did not care if he was cut down as well, were the only thing that echoed out as he tried in his meager way to put his dead daughter back together.

It was hopeless. Even if he stitched every fiber of her body back together, she would not come back.

Even then… he still dipped his hands in the bloodied remains of his eleven-year-old child and tried putting the arms, organs, and legs back with her head.

Tears dripped from his eyes as he called out her name again and again — Sena, Sena, Sena. His desperate voice made Damon feel a small ache in his heart.

The man kneeled in his daughter's remains, crying like a child.

Damon didn't say anything. He still couldn't sense the evil spirit that had done this.

The man raised his blood-stained hands, his voice hoarse from calling his daughter's name. With a helpless, powerless, and ragged expression, he cried out.

Why… why did you do this to my little girl… whyyyyy?

He wailed helplessly. Helpless because he knew he could not do anything with his meager power to bring justice for his child.

How could common folk fight someone so powerful?

All he could do was cry, rage, resist, and die.

Whyyyy… he roared.

Damon narrowed his eyes. The crowd at the side of the alley whispered fearfully.

"He killed a little girl…"

"What a monster… she was just a child…"

"He needs to be stopped… demons like this can't go free…"

"Where are the adventurers?"

The adventurers among their ranks grew tense. Damon was powerful — too powerful for them to do anything.

"Just because you are powerful doesn't mean you can go around killing whoever you want." A swordsman cried out.

Damon sighed, ignoring the adventurer, his eyes focused on the man with tear-stained cheeks clutching the head of his daughter.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Sorry… you're sorry? You killed my daughter and all you can say is sorry?"

Damon frowned.

"I didn't kill her."

"It was a woman… with long dark hair, sharp serrated fangs, and eight feet tall. She did this. I tried to fight her… but she escaped."

The man trembled with tears in his eyes.

"What eight-foot-tall woman? You're the one covered in my Sena's blood. You're the only one here."

The crowd of travelers and villagers watched with rage and disgust.

"He killed her."

"He's a murderer."

"Hang him, monster."

The adventurers among their ranks were already drawing their weapons.

Driven by righteous hatred, all were united in a shared desire to protect the children from this monster.

Damon narrowed his eyes. This was annoying. If that was the evil spirit's intention, then it was highly intelligent — it had poisoned the minds of these people against him.

Not that the village liked him anyway.

His dark eyes glared at them all.

"Silence."

"Think for a moment, you fools. Did any of you see me kill the girl? No, you didn't. You can't just jump to conclusions."

A merchant's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Then why are you covered in blood? Why are you carrying a weapon?"

He pointed at the remains on the floor.

"Those are sword wounds—only a sword in the hands of a sadistic swordsman can make cuts like that."

Damon took a closer look at the remains. Those were truly sword wounds, and from the looks of it, made from a sword of a certain type — with fast and speedy slices.

Many slices designed to kill slowly and agonizingly.

The merchant opened his mouth, pointing at the village head. Damon already knew what he was going to say.

"Just three days ago, you promised to kill the old village head with a thousand slices — a slow and agonizing death. Now you did it on an innocent child."

This was truly damning. Damon realized that no words could clear him here… these people wanted to believe he was a monster.

They already believed what they saw. His words were nothing against that.

He took a deep breath as they rained insults on him.

As he stood there watching them…

Unnoticed, Singularity passed through the crowd with his party. When they saw what was going on, their eyes widened.

Saint immediately rushed toward the remains, eyes trembling with anger.

"W… who would do this…"

The villagers and travelers pointed at Damon with venom in their voices.

"It was him… it was this evil man."

"We saw him do it."

Damon narrowed his eyes coldly.

They saw him do it? When? What a bald-faced lie.

He took in a deep breath.

"This is annoying. You saw me do it? Yeah, right. You fools know clearly — if I wanted any of you dead, who here could resist? I could take on everyone in this village at the same time and still kill you. Do I need to hide if I wanted to do something like this?"

Damon dismissed his dealer's hand. It turned into a wave of shadows fluttering and then vanishing.

He walked toward the crowd. The adventurers held their ground with weapons in hand.

"Don't let him escape!"

Damon merely glared at these common side characters, his aura pressing down on them.

"Ahhh…" a swordsman in front roared, willing himself to strike. His sword was effortlessly caught between Damon's fingers.

"I'm in a bad mood. Except if you want to die… I suggest you screw off."

He walked toward the crowd, all of them parting with hate in their eyes.

From behind him, the father of the girl cried out with bitter resentment.

"Damn you nobles… I curse you. I curse you. First you took my wife, now my daughter… my everything. If there is a god who listens… I pray to the most vile of demons, anyone…. I pray you suffer."

Damon paused, touching the gleaming crown on his head. Right… he was still wearing that. No wonder he was mistaken for a noble.

He gave the man one final glance.

"There is a god who listens… you're just not part of his domain."

"If you meet him… you can cry out your resentment to him."

Walking through the parted crowd, he added…

"I pray you never pay his price."

As he was walking away, unnoticed, Singularity grabbed his hand.

"Did you do it?"

Damon glanced at him, walking away with fury in his heart.

"What do you think?"