My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 1004 - 1006: For The First Time The King Felt Dread

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Previously on My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger...

Damon hurries through the temple, hiding his demonic traits while guided by Ashcroft's voice, dodging priestesses amid distant battles. He uncovers the first ancient Nexus Gate, learning from Ashcroft its role in interrealm travel, territorial control by gods, and demon creation under the Unknown God. As he prepares to destroy it, a Sixth Class guardian emerges to defend the structure.

"Left, left, dodge you fool. Why are you so daft? Down... don’t roll. Attack. Use a wind spell!"

Like a sharp whip cracking inside his head, Ashcroft’s voice scourged Damon’s mind.

Across the chamber Damon’s body hurtled, crashing against the distant wall like mere fabric tossed by a raging tempest. The collision jarred his skeleton and expelled the breath from his chest even prior to striking the ground. Blood coughed onto the rocky floor as he tumbled while the gigantic beast pressed forward.

It resembled a wolf.

Yet no ordinary wolf bore scales covering its fur like armor crafted from a slain dragon’s remains. Its frame stretched beyond thirty meters. Icy blasts erupted from its maw, etching grooves into the walls and solidifying the atmosphere.

Sixth Class.

Damon had genuinely attempted to battle it.

The futility of that effort dawned on him now.

The divide separating Fifth from Sixth Class wasn’t merely a single stride.

It loomed like an insurmountable chasm.

"Cough—" Blood spewed from Damon’s mouth as he hauled himself upright right when an icy blast ripped through the spot he’d occupied moments before. That mere wind snatched him airborne and flung him aside.

"How do I get past that.." he grumbled, gaze fixed on the colossal scaled wolf.

"You don’t," Ashcroft replied icily.

Damon clenched his jaws.

"Then how am I supposed to stop Paimon from getting reinforcements?"

A sigh echoed within Damon’s thoughts from Ashcroft.

"How did you manage to kill me when you are this foolish?"

Retort nearly escaped Damon’s lips when Ashcroft continued.

"Don’t try to get past it. Just ensure your strikes graze the gate. Notice how it’s bound to its spot. It can’t venture far from the Nexus."

Damon halted in mid-stride.

His gaze darted back toward the beast.

It hadn’t pursued him during his flight across the room.

Always confined within a fixed perimeter.

Fury made his eyebrow spasm.

"Yo—you did that on purpose."

"What do you think I am, your mother? Do I need to hold your hand through everything? At this rate I may yet die again in this wretched body," Ashcroft sneered.

Damon lifted his palm.

Compressed air coalesced into a sword.

Then he uttered the words.

[Magical Arsenal]

Ripples distorted the surrounding air.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

Swords materialized in the atmosphere encircling him.

The scaled wolf bellowed and charged, yet it failed to intercept them all. Like a deluge in a cyclone, the barrage of blades streaked beyond it and hammered straight into the Nexus.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the obsidian stone.

It fragmented.

Shards burst outward while the runes blazed fiercely before crumbling away.

A tremendous magical eruption surged throughout the chamber.

"Run..." Ashcroft murmured.

"What—" Damon started.

"Run!" Ashcroft bellowed.

Space warped and twisted inward.

Behind the Nexus, reality tore open like shredded fabric. Portals yawned in the air, revealing sights that repulsed Damon’s psyche—endless cosmos, myriad stars, and a radiant barrier that ignited abruptly.

That brilliance pulverized the spatial tear inward.

Squeezing it.

Densifying it.

Shaping it into a burgeoning black hole.

Damon reacted without hesitation.

Teleportation was his attempt.

It faltered.

"Fly, fool, fly!" Ashcroft thundered.

Fully unfurled, Damon’s demon wings erupted from his back, expansive, shadowy, and feathered akin to those of a corrupted celestial. A thunderous sonic crack reverberated as he propelled ahead, blending sprint and soar through the corridors.

The realm behind him fractured.

The suction commenced.

Screams pierced the air.

Voices.

Wails from entities alien to this realm.

"Don’t look back. They aren’t real as long as you don’t observe them!" Ashcroft cautioned.

Damon’s pulse thundered.

He resisted the urge.

He denied himself the glance.

Already aware of the terrors dwelling in this plane, he shunned those lurking past the firmament.

His shoulder collided with a column as the tug abruptly ceased.

Quietude descended.

Slowly he pivoted.

The Nexus arch remained.

Intact.

Motionless.

Yet the atmosphere encircling it had transformed. A dark, ashen blight crept over the stone like decay devouring tissue.

"Is that... rot?" Damon breathed.

"Yes. Corruption from the void. The Nexus prevents corruption and even heals lands touched by it. By breaking it, rot spreads now."

Damon sank to his knees, eyes fixed on the stone shards.

"If you put them back together, they will reform," Ashcroft stated evenly.

"Now onward to the next one."

For long moments, Damon offered no reply.

He merely gazed.

Then gradually rising, he tilted his head skyward. High above, Paimon’s clash with Seras raged on. Panic etched her features.

Excellent.

Damon dashed forth.

Locating the second Nexus proved simple.

Yet solitude eluded him this time.

Armored priestesses akin to valkyries formed ranks before the staircase, shields hoisted, blades unsheathed. Each embodied a masterpiece of a holy fighter.

"Protect the Nexus," one ordered.

Damon let out a breath and gave his head a faint shake.

He unsheathed his sword.

"Ladies, leave. I won’t kill you."

Shields rose up in reply. The front ranks snapped into a defensive formation as magic sparked to life and a barrier shimmered into existence.

"Do not hesitate because they are women. They would not hesitate because you are a man. I hate to break it to you, there is a zero percent chance you’ll get lucky tonight," Ashcroft's voice echoed in his mind.

"Unfortunately," Damon muttered while advancing, "I happen to be an advocate of gender equality."

He surged forward.

Mana flooded into his blade.

The clash dragged on for three minutes.

Once finished, the ringing steel fell silent.

The final priestess's eyes stayed wide as her headless form slumped at the stair's base, her severed head perched above.

Blood dripped along the steps, its foul odor saturating the chamber.

Damon gazed upward.

A colossal serpent twisted around the Nexus.

He held back from nearing it.

Ice swords materialized in the air behind him and plummeted like a storm as he pivoted and strode to the door.

Damon had vanished by then.