My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 933 - 934: Bone Hallows

Damon tumbled into the depths of the skull, his back colliding with a sharp edge that wrenched a ragged cough from his chest, sending blood trickling over his lips. He tumbled onward, scraping along the old bone with his fingers while Seras leaped in after him through a separate empty eye socket. Trailing them came rivers of molten lava and furious fire surging via the gaps, casting a wavering orange glow that played over the timeworn exterior of the ancient skull.

Damon hauled himself to his feet right as a tremendous claw hammered against the skull, with Rexagon attempting to shatter the relic bones. The blow triggered fissures to spiderweb across the outer layer and chunks to rain down nearby, its talons gouging and rasping over the bone, though insufficient to demolish the venerable structure.

Seras seized Damon's arm and yanked him along as they dashed deeper into the skull, their boots resounding emptily off the arched walls inside. Damon stumbled a bit while the ground quaked once more, and peering over his shoulder, he caught sight of Rexagon's enormous eye glaring into the skull, blazing with unchecked fury.

Damon kept moving without pause. He rounded a bend farther within the skull and discovered expedition force members concealed in a hollow that he figured must have been the neck area of the gigantic beast this once belonged to.

His energy drained away completely.

He dropped to his knees, smearing blood away from his mouth's edge before bursting into sudden laughter as he drew forth a massive fang he'd ripped straight from Rexagon's jaws.

Damon clutched the fang close, his arms bulging under its colossal mass. It surpassed the length of a long spear and bulked wider than four full-grown cows.

"Hahaha hahahha.." Damon chuckled, out of breath and thrilled. He'd truly misjudged how potent the Sword of Nicholas proved against enormous foes. Who could've imagined it might snap Rexagon's fang? Damon had channeled all his power into might, but still, the sword seemed to pulse with its own intent, directing the blow as if possessed.

The group stared at Damon in stunned silence. Witnessing him cling to the fang, or try to anyway, felt utterly bizarre.

"Yo.. you broke Rexagon’s fang.." Renata whispered. Those words rang utterly implausible to all around, but sight trumped doubt, and their vision held true. That was indeed Rexagon's fang.

As the others stayed frozen in awe, a chill deeper than ice gripped Seras's heart. The fang itself didn't startle her. The deception did.

Damon had asserted he hailed from the Moon Glades, offspring of Kadelas Moonveil, the elven monarch dubbed the White Ruler.

Such a scheme was utterly fiendish. The motive was straightforward. Should Rexagon fail to locate Damon, its fury would pivot to his fabricated origin and wreak havoc there.

Under usual circumstances, that origin meant the Valtheron Empire, Damon's true birthplace, but now Rexagon was convinced Damon was Kadelas's heir.

'I must take care never to anger this fellow.' She pressed her lips together. 'He's an exceedingly perilous individual.'

For all anyone knew, Rexagon could traverse the continent and raid the eastern realms of the elves, hunting the Moon Glades to raze them utterly. Or try to, at least. Kadelas wasn't one to underestimate.

Regardless, it wouldn't slay Kadelas or obliterate the Moon Glades, but it would spark a tremendous headache.

The group had already clustered around Damon, showering him with acclaim, when Seras advanced, gripped his shoulder, and drew him off to the side.

"Are you crazy.." The deeper she pondered it, the more insane it seemed.

Damon shook his head, brimming with mock offense.

"Of course not. I’m actually insane..." he amended. Crazy suited ordinary folk. He'd descended into madness ages back.

Seras drew in a steadying breath and hauled him to a more secluded spot out of sight.

"Do you realize you just painted a bullseye on the Moon Glades during wartime? They're a vital ally to the empire in this demon conflict, no less."

Damon lifted his hand to halt her words.

"I just spared you from grave harm and instead of thanks, I get scolded..."

He lifted his hand once more, jabbing a finger her way as he closed the distance boldly.

"And by the way, don’t you owe me for all this hassle..."

Advancing yet another step toward her, he disregarded the intimidating aura she radiated or her status entirely.

"I believe you owe me a little something something... or are you reneging on your promise.."

Seras breathed in gradually, his bold expression causing her to waver. She hadn't overlooked it. She was merely bashful, nothing more.

She fidgeted, tucking her hair aside, dipped her chin a touch, and planted a swift kiss on Damon.

Next, she shoved him away, accidentally launching him through the air. Damon scarcely registered the moment before crashing down and gradually lifting his hand.

"That.. erh.. doesn’t count.."

She spun about at once.

"Let’s go. We need to sneak out of the Bone Hallows before Rexagon spots us."

She began striding off with Damon trailing, massaging his scalp.

"Speaking of which, how are we gonna get to the demon continent? I mean, the Bone Hallows is by the sea. We need a boat, except if you can fly us over the sea.."

Seras nodded.

"Flying spells are easy to learn. Anyone can learn them. It’s just no one bothers because they’re also easy to disrupt."

She halted briefly, absorbing the somber gray haze enveloping them.

"We have airships now, although I wouldn’t advise using them to get to the demon continent. Air defence magic has come a long way. We can’t get in without being seen and shot down."

"So we’re going through the sea then," Damon replied.

"That still doesn’t answer my question. Or wait, it does. Is there a boat? No, in this case we’re taking a ship. There’s a ship waiting for us, isn’t there.."

Seras nodded gradually as they headed back to the expedition force, who continued to gaze at Damon's dragon fang in wonder.

"Yes, there is.."

Damon nodded, then his features twisted in irritation.

"If they were giving us a ship then why did we have to go through the evil forest.."

He had a point. Why not slip via safer territories or settlements, or even unexplored yet milder zones?

Seras shook her head.

"Because you and I are too high profile. The enemy wants to know our location at all times. The demon races’ spy networks are actually quite complex, as you’ve seen with the priest. We don’t know who is a spy or who isn’t anymore. Following the unknown god isn’t about race anymore. It’s an ideology... and there’s also the fact that some of the goddess races’ continents openly worship the unknown god."

She pivoted to confront him, her armor shimmering softly.

"We can’t trust anybody or even ourselves.."

Damon nodded gradually. It clicked logically.

Seras offered a composed smile.

"As far as the world is concerned, you and I are in the Aether Academy having a special secret one on one training to prepare you for the battlefield, which means the enemy thinks we are still there."

Damon grinned slyly, eyeing the bleak terrain and the far-off flap of dragon wings plus sporadic bursts of fire beyond.

"Well, it’s definitely not a picnic."

Seras returned to the expedition force alongside Damon. No commands were necessary from her. After weeks battling cursed vines, the entire group slumped down to recuperate, fatigue claiming them inside the skull's refuge.

Damon soaked up the adulation and vividly retold his triumph over Rexagon, snapping its fang. He earned even greater hero status. Naturally, true to form, Damon highlighted rescuing Seras's life and depicted her as a damsel from a legend.

Each time he spun an over-the-top yarn, the expedition force shot looks toward Seras, but she never challenged him or denied his embellishments, letting the legend balloon.

Inevitably, one recounting led to more until the expedition force buzzed with an outlandish saga of Damon shattering Rexagon's fang while rescuing Seras.

He held firm and, lady in one grip and sword in the other, severed the dragon's fang.

That wasn't the reality.

Seras overheard soldiers bickering close by.

"You bastard, I saw it with my own eyes. He was a real hero. She was in his left hand and his sword in his right.."

"You’re mad. I saw it. She was in his right hand and his sword in his left. You think an honorable gentleman like our vice commander would mistreat a lady by holding her in his left hand..."

The dispute was absurd, given nobody had witnessed a thing.

Seras shook her head.

Damon, meanwhile, reveled in the hero worship, the admiring stares from the expedition force, and the gentle care as the healer tended his injuries.

He sensed true heroism surging through him. Life truly whisked a person to wild destinations. Had he not been in the Bone Hallows, he'd have savored this triumph with even greater zeal.

"Right, speaking of which, what kind of bones are these anyway?" he queried the air.

Seras responded evenly.

"These are the bones of the enemies of the wicked prophet, all relics of an ancient battle all the way from the demon continent to here in Soltheon."

Her voice fell to a hushed murmur.

"Have you heard of the graveyard of gods."