My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 1143 - 1144: Lost Children

Ranar stared at him as he posed dramatically at the edge of the cliff, trying his hardest to look imposing despite the swelling on his cheek.

Honestly, he was kind of interesting.

He carried an absurd number of magical artifacts for someone his age, which meant he definitely was not some ordinary child.

"Well, well, well." She smacked her fist into her palm and smiled menacingly. "Any last words?"

Ric straightened his back. Though one side of his face was swollen, he remained calm.

"Last words?" he repeated, placing a hand on his chest. "Yes, I do."

He flashed her a grin.

"Catch me if you can."

Then, to her absolute horror, he jumped.

Without hesitation, he leapt off the cliff.

For a split second, Ranar froze.

Was he insane?

He was only in the Second Class. A fall from that height would not kill him outright, but he would certainly be crippled—and worse, neither of them knew what lurked below.

Cursing under her breath, she sprinted after him and dove from the cliff.

Meanwhile, Ric plummeted headfirst through the darkness.

Wind roared past his ears as he reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a silver scroll covered in intricate runes.

He had no intention of splattering against the mountainside.

This was his trump card.

A teleportation scroll.

More specifically, one he had stolen from his master without permission.

The artifact could randomly transport its user anywhere within a vast region. It was a priceless escape tool and precisely the reason Damon had hidden it from him.

Mostly because Damon had absolutely no control over where it would send him.

Ric tore the scroll apart.

Mana burst from the parchment, wrapping around his body in shimmering light.

Then, just as the spell was about to activate, something grabbed his ankle.

He looked down.

Ranar was hanging onto his leg with both hands.

She looked up at him and smiled.

Ric’s eyes widened.

"W-What are you doing?!" he shouted. "Are you crazy? Let go!"

"Not a chance!"

Only then did she notice the magic gathering around him.

"Huh?"

The light spread across her body as well.

The two children began to fade from existence.

At that exact moment, every shadow in the surrounding mountains erupted.

Darkness surged upward like an all-consuming tsunami as countless shadows rushed toward them, attempting to stop the teleportation.

But they were too late.

Or rather, their presence only accelerated the scroll’s activation.

After all, this was an artifact created for escape.

In an instant, Ric and Ranar vanished.

Silence fell over the mountain.

A second later, Damon emerged from the shadows.

For the first time that night, the relaxed smile on his face was gone.

His expression had turned pale.

His hands trembled slightly as he stared at the empty cliffside.

He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to calm down.

Then his shadow perception exploded outward.

It swept across the mountains in the most tyrannical fashion imaginable, flooding every valley, cave, and forest. Every hidden corner fell under his gaze.

And yet...

He found nothing.

The only thing he sensed was the invisible barrier surrounding the Anarchy Mountains, blocking his perception from reaching farther.

"Oh, damn it," Damon muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

How had Ric even gotten hold of one of those scrolls?

He had gone out of his way to keep them hidden.

The artifact had a limited range.

Which meant that if the children had not been teleported outside the mountains...

Then they had crossed the barrier.

The shadows behind him twisted, and two Seventh-Class shadow guardians emerged from the darkness.

Both had been secretly assigned to protect Ric.

And both had failed to follow.

The mountains would not permit their entry.

Damon sighed.

"Come."

Dozens of eyes formed within his shadow.

They resembled floating eyeballs with small bat wings sprouting from their sides.

Pointing toward the mountains, he gave a single order.

"Find them."

The search drones immediately scattered.

Unlike his combat shadows, these creatures had been created solely for tracking. They possessed little fighting power, but their senses were unparalleled.

Alongside them, Damon dispatched several flying shadows beneath the Fourth Class and a handful of knight-class drones.

They dissolved into darkness and sped across the mountains.

"Bring them back."

Through the eyes of his creations, Damon watched the world.

For now, they should be safe.

At least, he hoped so.

Ranar was powerful and cunning.

Ric was stubborn, adaptable, and strangely resilient.

More importantly, Damon himself had trained both of them. If danger came, they could survive.

This was merely a trial by fire.

One he was certain they would overcome.

...assuming they worked together.

Damon stared into the darkness and sighed.

"Eva and Lilith are going to kill me for this."

He took a deep breath and turned just in time to see a flash of light descend onto the spot where the children had vanished.

"Damon," Evangeline called softly as she stepped forward.

Her voice was calm, but her expression was anything but.

"Where is Ranar?"

Damon scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Where is Ranar? Did you forget that Ranar is her own person? She can go wherever she wants."

Evangeline did not react. Her face remained perfectly still, yet the intensity in her gaze only grew stronger.

"She’s here," Damon continued, waving his hand vaguely at the mountains. "Somewhere in this mountain range. She’ll be just fine. Absolutely fine."

"Where in this mountain range?" Evangeline asked sternly.

Damon scratched the back of his head and looked away.

Then, after a long pause, he reluctantly pointed in one direction.

"Beyond the barrier."

Evangeline blinked.

"Beyond the barrier?" she repeated.

"Yes..." Damon answered weakly. "But this was all part of my plan."

She did not believe him for even a second.

On the other side of the mountain range, Damon was enduring an almost identical interrogation.

Lilith and Renata stood before him, both wearing expressions that suggested they had already guessed exactly what had happened.

"Of course it was planned," Damon said, trying his best to sound convincing.

"I wanted Ric to experience life. This is a world of war, after all. I want my child to grow strong to be able to stand on his own. A sheltered child won’t survive in this world."

Lilith stared at him in silence.

From the sweat gathering on his forehead and the stiffness in his posture, she could tell he was under enormous pressure.

Whatever excuses he made, he was worried sick.

There was no point scolding him now. What had happened had already happened.

"I’ll assemble a search party," she said.

Almost at the exact same moment, miles away, Evangeline uttered those very same words.

"I’ll assemble a search party."

For the first time since the children disappeared, Damon did not argue.

Evangeline vanished in a streak of golden light, returning to the camp, while Lilith and Renata immediately began summoning the Tomb’s weakest shadow drones.

One after another, dark shapes emerged from the shadows.

Their orders were simple.

Find the children.

And bring them home.