My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 995: Chapter 997: When The Time Is Right

Anti-climactic.

That was the only word Damon could use to describe this.

He had come prepared for fire and blood. He had even gone out of his way to make the situation more difficult for himself.

And yet the entire battle was won without a single blow being traded.

All because they believed he was the reincarnation of some damned demon lord.

He walked back toward his tower in a daze, steps slow and heavy, eyes unfocused as he passed rows of demon kin still kneeling with their heads bowed. None of them dared to look up as he went by.

Of course, Damon did not forget to make them sign oath contracts to keep his identity secret.

But he knew that was only temporary.

Right now, he was certain of one thing.

He was about to be neck-deep in demon politics.

When he reached the top of the tower, Renata was already there waiting for him, staring with wide, unblinking eyes.

“Of all the horrible ways this could have ended, I did not imagine this,” she said.

Damon slowly raised his head and let out an awkward, breathy chuckle.

“Hmm.”

That was all he offered.

Wendy crossed her arms and tilted her head, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

“So what? You won, didn’t you? Isn’t that good enough for you? Why do you look like you swallowed a frog?”

Damon looked at her for a moment, struggling to find words for something far more complicated than her question.

“If I had swallowed a frog, it would be better than what comes next. Sure, I won the battle… but I may have potentially lost the war.”

He dragged a hand down his face and exhaled deeply through his fingers.

“This looks like glad tidings. It’s not. This is a death trap. My current identity is Ash, and while I may have changed most of my features, Bakemon Baal still said I look like Damon Grey.”

He shut his eyes briefly, jaw tightening.

“That’s fine for now. Since I can be in two places at once, I can just say Amon used magic to copy my appearance. I’m sure there’s a decent lie in there somewhere.”

“Right,” Renata said, already picturing the consequences. “And that would make you less able to move freely. You’d be under constant scrutiny.”

Damon shook his head slowly.

“There’s no other choice. Starting now, I’m sure I’ll be neck-deep in demon continent affairs since I am now the sole ruler of this city.”

He lifted a hand to his head and paused.

His horns were growing.

Not subtly. Not gradually.

They were pushing outward at an alarming rate.

His heart pounded heavily in his chest, swelling with demonic energy. It was so intense that he could feel his heart of shadow pushing back against the change. His back itched violently, the sensation so sharp it felt as if wings would tear out if he bent forward even slightly.

“Dammit.”

Even his rank was being dragged closer and closer to the fifth class, and he still had no understanding of a domain.

“We need to take advantage of this situation,” Renata said.

Damon lowered his hand and looked at her.

“Now that you’ve won, this would be a good opportunity to attack the Snake Temple. You will most likely be invited there to retrieve the Ashcroft fragments. If you go, you can reveal its current location to Seras, and we can mount an attack.”

Damon paused.

Right.

That had been their original goal.

The Snake Temple did not have a fixed location. It drifted. There were public branches, of course, but the real temple was hidden, constantly shifting. The one everyone visited easily was only a decoy.

The true temple was far too important to the demons.

Even demon lords did not enter it recklessly. It was holy ground.

And mostly because it was ruled by Paimon.

“Hmm. That makes sense. Paimon is usually the only one there along with the priestesses. If we reveal its location, Seras can fight her while we take the seal.”

Wendy narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Wait. What about your mission to act as a spy? Won’t the higher-ups want you to keep playing the enemy?”

Damon let out a quiet chuckle, shoulders loosening slightly.

“Technically, I’m playing both sides.”

With that, he reached into his shadow storage, pulled out the communicator, and called Seras.

“Vice Commander Damon Grey reporting to High Command. Do you read me, High Command?”

“What are you doing?” Seras replied, her voice languid and suspicious. “Since when did you care for military language? Wait. What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

She already knew.

If he was this polite, something terrible had happened.

“Well, it’s not that I did something bad. It’s more like… I may soon be allowed into the Snake Temple.”

“Ohh… ohhhhhh.”

The surprise in her voice was unmistakable. He hadn’t expected that reaction from her.

“That was quicker than I thought. By two whole years. You really know how to pull off impossible tasks.”

Damon scratched the back of his head awkwardly. His situation wasn’t all that bad, at least not on the surface. He went on to explain how he had gotten into an epic confrontation and won by using fear to subdue the tower lords.

She believed him.

The real question was whether High Command would.

“When do they intend to take you to the temple?” she asked.

Damon shrugged, the motion careless.

“I don’t know. For now, my victory is being reported. I still have to do some menial tasks, like restructuring my new demon army. Wow. Those are words I never thought I’d be saying to you…”

“Damon. Damon. Focus,” she cut in.

“Right. Right,” he replied quickly.

“I should be going there any time now.”

Seras went quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“Good job. I will report to High Command and make sure you are rewarded accordingly. For now, wait for my response. I will be using a spatial magic artifact to cross the distance so I can reach any location on the continent, though it’s a one-way trip until its cooldown period is over.”

Damon nodded even though she could not see him, then cut off the communicator.

After a while, Seras contacted him again.

But this time, Damon knew it was not her.

This was High Command.

Which meant all those old people were listening.

They asked a few questions here and there, but there wasn’t nearly as much scrutiny as Damon had expected. Instead, they gave him further instructions.

“Your position is too vital for us to ignore,” the Emperor’s voice echoed through the communicator.

“For that reason, we would like to give you a new mission. Help Seras steal the Ouroboros Coil while making sure you keep your involvement hidden from the demons.”

Damon felt a chill crawl slowly down his spine.

How was the difficulty increasing?

He could actually die.

“You shall make sure Seras has an escape path while you remain behind enemy lines.”

Damon suddenly felt as if the world had gone dark.

Wasn’t Seras his lifeline?

She was the one thing that guaranteed his escape if things went wrong.

And now he was the one meant to ensure her escape.

This was a suicide mission if he had ever seen one.

“Can… can I refuse?” he whispered.

This was clearly Deathless setting him up to die by removing Seras from the equation.

“No, you cannot. We need you, Damon. You are our most capable operative. Your talents are the best I have seen.”

“Then don’t send me to my death,” he actually said that to the ruler of the empire.

“Damn you higher-ups, can’t you see I’m still young? I don’t want to die. I want to live. I don’t even have a wife or children. If I die, I leave nothing behind. Where is the justice in that? I’m just eighteen. I’m too young to die…”

“We’ll give you twenty billion zeni,” the Emperor said flatly.

Damon froze.

He blinked twice to make sure he heard correctly.

“Come… come again?”

“We will give you twenty billion zeni. Immunity. And one hundred percent tax exemption.”

Damon straightened immediately and placed a hand over his chest, posture dignified. This was his moment of truth after all he was a good citizen speaking to the ruler of Valtheron.

“If I don’t die for my country, who will? I am a citizen of the empire, a hero of the people. I do this because it is right. The people need us, and I must stand as their sword in the darkness and the shield that guards the realms of man.”

His shamelessness was almost refreshing.

The Emperor had actually been prepared to offer more. He would have even offered one of his daughters, but that was not an option. The imperial household could not marry into any ducal house.

“Very well. When the time is right, you shall make your move. When the coil is taken, we can advance inland.”