My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 1226 - 1127: The Door Kicked Down

Far away, in some distant town, there was a typically beautiful settlement that had only recently been formed. It was peaceful, with newly built houses lining its streets, and in one of those houses, a family lived.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on their door.

The woman was surprised. She wasn’t expecting anyone at this time of night, so she hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to open the door.

Crash!

The wooden door was kicked off its hinges.

The woman stumbled backward as splinters shattered around her. She raised her arms instinctively to protect her face before falling hard to the ground, blood spilling from the cuts on her body. Her children cried out in fear while her husband rushed out from inside the house, both of them trying to understand what had just happened.

She looked up.

Several armored men stood before her, their large swords already in their hands.

"Are you Linga Felt?" one of the men asked, looking at her husband.

They didn’t even wait for him to respond.

One of them lunged forward, grabbed Linga by the hair, and slammed his face into the ground.

Blood sprayed across the floor, and several of his teeth shattered against the ground. The knight then yanked him back up by his hair, leaving blood running down his face.

"You’re coming with us."

"No! Daddy! Let my daddy go!"

Their son ran toward his father, tears streaming down his face, but without even looking at him, one of the knights casually swung his hand.

The slap sent the boy crashing into a wall.

His small body struck it with a sickening crunch before sliding down the wall, blood spilling from his mouth.

"Ahhhh! No! Aldine!" Linga screamed his son’s name, his eyes widening as he struggled against the knight holding him.

"Please! He’s just a little boy! Have mercy!"

His voice trembled as he looked desperately between the knights and his injured son.

"What have we done to deserve this? I beg you, show my family mercy!"

There was no way he could fight them.

These men were all at least Fourth Class.

Then a woman’s voice slowly echoed through the house.

"Your crimes are many, Linga Felt. But your most recent one would be lying to high nobility."

Linga froze.

His struggling stopped completely.

He slowly lifted his head, blood dripping from his face as his eyes searched for the source of the voice.

A blonde woman stood by the doorway.

A thin fog surrounded her, curling gently around her body, while there was a coldness in her eyes that made Linga’s blood run cold.

Linga glanced past her and looked outside.

The entire town was covered in fog.

People continued going about their daily affairs without noticing anything. No one seemed to realize that something was wrong. No one heard their cries for help.

It was as if their house existed in an entirely different world.

"You... you are Lady Terra Hightower."

Linga recognized her from their earlier encounter.

"Good. You recognize me."

Terra stepped forward slowly, her footsteps quiet against the floor as her gaze remained fixed on him.

"I have many curiosities, and unlike my gentle older sister, I don’t particularly like lies. They keep me from the truth of the things I want to know."

Her gaze settled on Linga.

"And right now, you are the third most interesting thing on my agenda."

She tilted her head slightly, studying him with a faint curiosity in her eyes.

"Why don’t you tell me what you’re hiding?"

Linga was covered in blood, his face bruised and swollen. His breathing was heavy as he looked at Terra, but despite the fear in his eyes, he shook his head.

"I... I am not hiding anything, my lady. I swear. Please, have mercy on us."

Even then, Linga refused to tell her.

After all, he was protecting his benefactor.

He would never reveal their identity.

"Take him away," Terra ordered the knights.

Terra didn’t need to bring any knights with her.

The truth was that these men had been modified with forbidden magic. They were alive, but their loyalty belonged entirely to House Hightower.

They were men who lived like the dead.

The knights dragged Linga away as his body struggled against their grip.

His wife screamed.

His children cried.

Terra simply watched, her expression remaining calm as though none of it had anything to do with her.

"I will get my answer one way or another."

Being born is a great sin.

Being born a commoner or a peasant is an atrocity upon your soul, being pulled from the nothingness and thrust into a life of difficulties.

One so small should not be quick to breed, yet it is the poor who have a dozen starving children while the rich are content with a few.

The selfish act of bringing life into this world where you do not hold the power or even gift them with a fair fighting chance for opportunities is truly an act of evil.

Therefore, birth is not the greatest act of creation.

It is the greatest act of condemnation.

What great folly for one so small, filled with such great hubris, to condemn another life to suffer?

For I decree that each birth should be like the day of death.

Let us weep and mourn another who has been born to suffer.

Terra could see this suffering, and she was part of its design.

The only difference was that she was born among the highest echelons of nobility.

She was born beautiful, talented, and praised just for existing. Someone like her had it all.

A fair chance at life.

That was far more than most people had.

She would never beg for scraps of food or fear another’s cruel will being subjected upon her because of... birth.

The mother and children could only cry and beg, crawling on the ground because that was all they had.

That was their birthright.

Their life.

Terra turned around and ordered her knights to leave.

The house was broken and covered in blood. When she stepped outside, her skill was still in effect.

This was an application of her skill and domain.

A Fog World.

It was not the house that was trapped in fog.

It was the town.

And no one knew it.

So they went around living their lives, oblivious to the family suffering even if they knew they wouldn’t do anything. The crowd was just as guilty because they would be complicit by doing nothing.

Terra turned to the mother and children.

Tears and fear filled their eyes as they looked at her.

Terra stared at them for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

"I hate to separate a family."

She paused.

"Bring them too."