My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

"Didn't you run away from him." she sneered.

Damon raised a hand.

"Run.. no I didn't run I just don't like getting involved in other people's matters.. it's called minding your own business.."

She resisted the urge to blast him with all her magic. Seeing the absolute lack of shame, based on the thickness of his skin, he might as well have been a castle wall.

"Right… I must have been delusional.."

He took a sip of his drink.

"What are your thoughts on its power…"

She narrowed her eyes.

"Not its, his power…"

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Right he seemed to have a particularly vibrant personality…"

She raised her hand with a cold expression.

"I'll stop you right there.. the goblin isn't important since we aren't fighting it.. what we need to worry about are the lesser demons, and any Balors or Goristro.."

Naturally Damon didn't forget about these demons lurking in the woods.

He nodded slowly.

"Lesser demons are fiends. Legends say this species of monstrous demon was created by Ashcroft, the demon lord of domination…"

He held his chin. This was one of the most discussed types of demons in demonology class. He could even remember some excerpts.

"These demons were first spotted during Ashcroft's invasion of Vuldren. With hardened scales and long sharp claws, they had been mistaken for mere beasts brought forth by Ashcroft to carry out his unholy will. However, we were soon proven wrong. Behind their monstrous forms, the lesser demons… had a perverted intelligence.

With each part of their body a living weapon, they were built to kill. Every inch of their form was a masterful design to inflict death.

Their presence decimated our rank and file, creating seas of blood and battlefields without corpses, as they devoured all in sight.

With each kill they laid their eggs, bringing forth more of them. With each that fell, they would devour their own remains, birthing more and consequently growing stronger.

Each one was part of a hive led by a queen, and each battle created more queens.

Our folly was belittling these creatures. How could abominable monsters created by the unknown god be anything but nightmares."

Abellona didn't say anything more to him.

"Which means we'll be dealing with a monstrous relentless swarm…"

He put down his cutlery.

"What if we kill the queen.."

She shook her head, biting her lips.

"These ones don't have a queen… they're all directly under the goblin. He can control them even without a swarm.."

Damon could see what she was hiding. With a soft sigh he raised his hand at her, then whispered.

"Mind Dominate…"

Her figure trembled when he said those words. However, seeing his smile and the fact there was no mental attack trying to dominate her, she knew she was safe.

He tilted his head coldly.

"What… did you think I was.."

He stopped without finishing.

She narrowed her eyes with a trace of accusation.

"That word should never leave your lips."

There was a coldness in her voice.

"What are you implying…"

Damon smiled softly, leaning back in the chair.

"I'm not implying anything. I just thought of an old saying."

He leaned forward with a soft chuckle.

"One doesn't encounter Ashcroft, one survives Ashcroft."

When he said that, her hand trembled.

He smiled lightly. He should not have known about Ashcroft's powers well, because an epoch had passed since he was around. At this point he was just a myth. Most people knew his name and his supposed power, but he was just a myth.

Or so the world would have you believe. But Ashcroft was very real. Damon knew that. This world had tried to forget Ashcroft, like it had Mugu, but Ashcroft was just too unforgettable. His name could not be erased.

No one knew Mugu anymore, but even the blind and deaf knew Ashcroft, even if they didn't believe he was real.

The demon lord of domination who had single-handedly almost taken over the whole world.

Ashcroft, who had defeated the legendary sage Athor… he who had never known defeat, the one and only arrogant monarch.

Who thought himself above all and beneath no one. He who stood before the statue of Minerva, the goddess of doom, and called her the bride of the demon god.

Well, that last part got him killed, but the whole thing only cemented a myth into fact. Ashcroft could not be defeated by any mortal. Only a true god could defeat him.

Because he was Ashcroft.

The proud son of heaven.

"How did you know… did your household tell you about him"

Damon smiled. His household, right. His grandfather, the grand duke, would know, but that wasn't the reason why.

The one who had told him was Sylvia. She had once been possessed by Rashi Ignath and had seen the memory of that dark spirit's birth. He had been born when Ashcroft set his sights on the Verdant Continent. From the resentment and passion of countless fallen elves, the unknown god created Ignath.

It was in that memory Sylvia saw Ashcroft use Mind Dominate.

Naturally she told Damon. Of course the outcome of that battle ended in Ashcroft's victory.

'That guy really never suffered a loss..'

Damon put on airs in front of Abellona, who, like anyone raised in this world, would be spooked by that demon's name.

She bit her lips.

"If you know I don't have to hide anything. As you know, Ashcroft was promised to return by the unknown god, and as you can imagine, his promise has been fulfilled.."

Damon nodded knowingly, though he was just trying to pry information from her.

"The goddess created this world. However, the unknown god found a way to slowly spread his influence here. Ashcroft was his greatest weapon. While the goddess acted once to destroy him, which in and of itself is unprecedented, a god on her level would not care for our tiny world.."

He smiled. It seemed she didn't know about the pillar.

"That sounds like blasphemy to me."

She bit her lips, misunderstanding.

'He must be a man of deep faith.'

"I mean no disrespect to the goddess. We have been preparing for his return all these years, searching for where his first fragment would show itself. Because that would be his main fragment. If we destroy it, he would never reassemble his body or regain his power.."

Damon narrowed his eyes.

'Fragment.'

Was she trying to imply there were parts of Ashcroft all over, and they just happened to run into his main fragment that carried his personality and will.

She clenched her fist.

"We are no match. But if we escape and report to the capital, those in the seventh class would mobilize to end it all before it starts… we would be saving the world.."

She spoke as if he was already in the loop, while Damon acted like he knew everything.

While in his heart he was more baffled by the unknown god's sick humor.

'The great demon lord reincarnates as a typical nobody.'

'No worse.'

'The great demon lord reincarnates as a goblin.'