My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

What was the difference between dark spirits and evil spirits? The answer was actually quite negligible, yet also very different.

For one, a dark spirit was not necessarily evil — however, all evil spirits were evil. Know the difference.

A dark spirit was a spirit with dark affinity powers, fueled by resentment.

Evil spirits, on the other hand, didn't need to have dark affinity powers… they were just evil, that's it.

Their objective wasn't to get a price that benefited them. Their objective was to demand a price so painful for you to pay that it broke you.

They were evil for the sheer sake of it.

An evil spirit simply wanted to make you suffer. There was no other satisfaction in it for them.

Dark spirits could destroy cities… but evil spirits broke minds.

Seta pushed herself as far away from the eight-foot-tall lady as she possibly could, her eyes wide with dread.

This whole time… the spirit had been right next to her.

"How did you know…" it asked in a beautiful, feminine voice.

"Because you lied… If that little girl Ena had really seen me… why did it look like a lie?"

He raised his sword again.

"And you — I couldn't sense your shadow, or see through you with appraisal. That really gave you away…"

Her long hair stretched and swayed as she began to laugh — a chilling, resonating sound — her hair dancing unnaturally in the wind.

The travelers watched in horror as the woman's full form loomed before them: eight feet tall, serrated teeth gleaming in her mouth.

The adventurers instantly drew their weapons.

Damon sighed, releasing his control over the village head. As soon as the old man returned to himself, blinking and confused, Damon grabbed him by the hair.

"This… is what you allowed to be unleashed upon this village." His voice was cold and heavy.

"After this is over, you all have some serious explaining to do…"

He tossed the old man aside like discarded rubbish.

The eight-foot-tall lady tried to teleport away, but before she could move, a sword sliced across her back in a blur.

Twilight's eyes flickered. "I see you…"

She tried to move again, but gashes appeared across her body in rapid succession.

Damon narrowed his eyes. He hadn't sensed the attack at all, even when it passed directly by him.

It came from Unnoticed Singularity.

"Ahhhhejejjejjejheh!" She laughed with pure malice, yanking on her own hair with long, clawed hands.

"Ahhhrgggg…"

Saint roared, his body erupting in golden light as he bound her in radiant chains. His expression was a mask of furious rage. Instead of casting a spell, he slammed his fist into her body with raw force.

Bang. Bang. The sharp crack of magic guns echoed through the square.

"Debuff bullet — Soul Corrosion!" Wimpy shouted.

Damon felt the soul of the towering woman weaken under the barrage.

Dred raised his hand, a full moon materializing behind him.

"Moon Shatter."

The illusionary moon blade fractured into countless shards, each one slicing at the evil spirit with merciless precision.

Damon sensed it immediately — a soul attack, and a particularly vicious one.

Ilukras lifted his lamp, muttering under his breath.

"Edge of the Scale."

The world seemed to shift. The aura and power of the evil spirit were suddenly cut in half, while everyone else's strength surged.

"Ahhhj!" The spirit shrieked in agony.

What followed was a cruel bombardment of attacks so relentless Damon began to wonder if he even knew these people at all.

He didn't even get the chance to join in.

They had her surrounded on all sides, not giving her a second to breathe or escape. Her piercing screams rattled the air, disorienting everyone's senses.

Taking advantage of the moment, she darted into the air, flying toward the edge of the village.

Saint's eyes flashed with golden light as he drew a bow to shoot her down — but Damon stopped him with a thin smile.

"Don't worry… she won't escape."

Saint glanced at him in surprise.

"I wasn't just wasting time doing nothing these past few days…"

Damon pressed his palm to the ground, pouring mana into it.

All around the village, hidden runes began to glow — etched into doors, walls, even the fur of small critters. Each one, meticulously carved, bore the same single word: Seal.

"Rune magic takes a while… so I had to wait."

With that, Damon stepped into the shadows and reappeared at the village's edge, where the tall woman was clawing at an invisible wall of mana.

He walked toward her casually.

"Yeah… it was annoying when you escaped the first time. So I took some precautions. I knew if I sent Unnoticed Singularity's party to your home, you'd follow to see what was going on. During that time, I created this little net. I placed runes all over the village…"

His broken sword floated around him in a slow, deliberate circle.

"I admit, moving all those runes was tricky… but I had something you overlooked."

She turned to face him, smiling. "Hehehe…"

"The raven and the squirrel," Damon continued, his voice steady.

"Seems even you overlooked them. They were instrumental in moving the rocks and objects I'd carved runes into, placing them exactly where I needed."

He sighed.

"Put simply — you thought you were playing me… but I already had you in checkmate."

She floated higher, black hair swirling in the air like smoke.

"I can't be killed… I am immortal."

Damon stood face to face with her.

"Who said anything about killing you? You… are my meal, fool."

As soon as the words left his mouth, something tore free from Damon's body — and smiled.

It was his soul.

It lunged at the spirit, gripping her by the neck, pinning her down with crushing force.

[Skill: Astral Projection]

[Description:]

A forbidden soul technique practiced by the Dreamwalkers of Y'shara, Astral Projection allows the user's spirit to leave their body, traversing unseen planes and hidden paths between worlds. Only those with extreme mastery of ether dare to travel the metaverse.

[Effect:]

Allows the user's soul to leave their body, drastically increasing soul-based abilities but leaving both soul and body vulnerable while separated.

[Type:]

Active.

[Cooldown:]

0 seconds.

Pinned by his astral form, she glared up at him with disdain — until his shadow, still at the feet of his physical body, began to move.

It rose from the ground like a living thing, coiling around her body.

She tried to scream and break free, but it was too late.

The unkillable was devoured by shadow.

As soon as she was gone, Damon's soul snapped back into his body, cold sweat beading across his skin.

[You have slain Doguwa, the Eight-Foot-Tall Lady.]

[You have acquired the skill: Soul Conduit.]