My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 941 - 942: Holyman

Damon positioned himself on the vessel's deck alongside Seras, sharing initial salutations with the ship's captain. The fellow displayed a composed demeanor, arms crossed firmly behind him, as the ocean breeze playfully yanked at his coat's borders.

Seras offered a single nod. The captain inclined his head in deep respect, verging on a full bow from the midsection.

"It’s a pleasure to meet the legendary hero Seras Blade."

His eyes flicked toward Damon, lingering steadily for an instant, before he abruptly dropped to his knees. The heavy thump resonated across the wooden planks.

"Please grant me your sacred blessing, Your Excellency."

Damon felt a touch surprised. His eyebrows arched, mouth opening faintly, until the realization hit that he held a clerical role.

He had no clue about the ritual, yet he relished the moment.

Deliberately, he advanced. He rested a palm atop the captain's crown, fingers splaying with purposeful force, while assuming a grave countenance like etched stone.

"You receive my blessing, my child. The goddess observes us all..."

The captain shut his eyes in devotion, his frame quivering subtly.

Seras rolled her eyes, arms locked across her torso. The realm was indeed twisted. A figure like Damon deemed sacred.

"With each passing day, we drift ever further from divinity," she whispered softly at the spectacle.

Damon's gaze swept over the vessel and its crew. Every sailor anticipated his benediction, some doffing their caps, others prostrating themselves prior to any summons.

Seras scoffed in revulsion. She recognized that seafaring folk harbored deeper superstitions than land-dwellers. Still, seeking boons from Damon. What madness gripped the world?

They approached Damon sequentially. He laid a hand upon each scalp, digits applying steady pressure, murmuring incantations beneath his breath before proffering his hand for them to venerate the ring.

No such ring existed when last she observed.

Now, five shining bands adorned his digits, including the thumb. Crafted from gold, silver, and dark iron, each embedded with a unique gem that gleamed in the fading light.

"You are blessed."

Seras exhaled deeply, shaking her head at the absurdity unfolding.

The captain removed his cap, pressing it against his heart before inquiring in a measured tone.

"Your Holiness, what destiny awaits our ship on this journey to the demon continent?"

The answer seemed obvious. Peril loomed inevitably. They traversed multiple hazard areas, and to evade detection, they skirted standard maritime paths and commerce lanes.

Damon lifted his palm skyward, fingers outstretched as though balancing unseen celestial bodies.

"Allow me to foresee our path."

He drummed his fingers repeatedly, mimicking computations of cosmic forces. Seras squinted suspiciously. She never knew him to possess prophetic talents, so this struck her as pure fabrication.

Damon's features darkened progressively. He furrowed his forehead, clenched his jaw, then gradually shook his head.

"Dreadful events. Dreadful events loom ahead. I foresee ferocious tempests."

The captain's complexion drained of color. A crewman let slip the line from his grasp.

"Your Holiness, how might we evade this doom?"

Damon hesitated. How to evade it?

He lacked the knowledge. His words sprang from improvisation. Naturally, he couldn't glimpse the future. Though he had consumed foes relentlessly, no fresh ability had emerged since departing the war games. It felt as if some enigmatic deity bore a vendetta against him.

Moreover, he voiced these warnings knowing his Deathless ability would hurl dire ordeals upon him.

He descended his arm gradually, lids drooping halfway.

"The path... the path proves straightforward. We advance resolutely and endure. The goddess accompanies us and shall assay our devotion."

He extended his arm toward the assembled crew, digits fanning out theatrically.

"Let us commence prayer..."

All shut their eyes while Damon intoned, his timbre resonant and performative.

"Heavenly mother, I revere you. I glorify your essence..."

Seras' eyes flickered irritably. The ship drifted aimlessly, bereft of steering, solely because Damon sought to flaunt his prowess. The helm remained forsaken, groaning faintly as tides prodded the hull.

Following several minutes of blatant time squander, he wrapped the invocation with grand gesture.

"I shield us beneath the blood of our adversaries."

Indeed, her blade could achieve likewise.

The captain swiftly offered Damon his quarters, inclining repeatedly in obeisance, and lavished undue privileges. Evidently, clerics outweighed genuine saviors who safeguarded existence.

Seras received a marginally superior berth compared to the rest. Certain souls bunked together. Renata quartered with Wendy.

Thus commenced their seafaring odyssey, oblivious to any underlying strangeness.

Aboard the deck below, a youthful knight perched along the edge, his footgear swaying near the ebony waves. He idly sketched loops upon the barrier.

A presence stirred below.

A form pierced the surface briefly, enough to raise its head and survey the craft. Twin ghostly orbs winked once prior to submerging seamlessly, leaving no disturbance.

As dusk fell, post a prolonged slumber, Damon emerged while the ship bobbed upon the inky depths, steering clear of skeletal protrusions rising from the ocean like a toppled deity's framework.

He spotted Seras upon the deck, gazing toward the distant skyline, her tresses dancing in the wind.

"You know, with a ship available, why not simply infiltrate via the conventional passage rather than that cursed woodland?"

She folded her arms, leaning onto one hip.

"I believe I clarified this before. Why persist in griping? I mentioned spies infest every corner. Do you suppose no intelligence webs monitor all illicit paths? This route offered the utmost security."

Damon regarded the profound obsidian sea as a crisp maritime gust assailed him, sweeping his locks rearward.

"Hah, fair enough. It's not terrible, I suppose. At least I can tout surviving the evil forest on my credentials."

She grinned, tilting her head faintly.

"You possess a truly entertaining nature."

A vivid glow emanated from her grin, momentarily stunning Damon. His stare fixed upon her unwittingly.

"And your beauty shines when you smile. You ought to indulge more often."

Seras swept her strands aside, exposing her elegant nape, a gentle curve lifting her mouth.

"You've grown accustomed to bantering with me so freely. Does the fear of my slaying you not linger?"

Damon eyed her. She exuded an aloof vibe that unsettled others, a tension gripping the ribcage.

He sensed none of it.

Rather, her increasing inapproachability only spurred him to tease further.

"No, hardly. You fail to intimidate me. I find you adorable in your fury."

Seras caressed her visage leisurely, digits gliding over her skin as if verifying its reality.

"I’m adorable... that's novel. No one has ever labeled me thus. Even my father deemed me grotesque, deeming it fitting since I embodied a weapon. I'm not meant for affection or allure."