My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 947 - 948: Precious

Damon's eyes gradually scanned the men and women aboard the vessel.

'Did any of you carry a cursed artifact? Or suspect you did? I understand if you were greedy. I can also understand if you were under some kind of mental hex.'

His tone stayed steady.

'I promise there will be no punishment if it was you. Just come clean.'

Nervous looks passed between the crew members, with soft whispers rippling over the deck.

Not a single person came forward.

A shadow fell over Damon's eyes.

'I already know who it is.'

His voice grew chillier.

'If I have to point you out... I will kill you.'

He flicked his hand in dismissal, even though he suspected no one would confess.

After all, who could be certain that he truly knew?

It might just be a simple bluff.

Nobody wished to risk their life on such uncertainty.

Damon let out a slow sigh.

'So that’s how you want to play it... fine then.'

He stood tall and directed his stare at the assembled knights and sailors, his gaze lingering on each face in turn, observing them quietly.

Then, he halted before one individual.

Before the man could respond, Damon advanced. His shadow extended oddly over the deck, behaving like a creature alive.

Damon bent low and contacted the man’s shadow.

Then he withdrew his hand.

'Ahrggg—'

The man barely managed a full scream as his legs gave way, sending him crumpling to his knees. His shadow detached from the deck like dark fluid and flowed into Damon’s grasp.

Damon remained standing, clutching it.

His face showed no emotion, icy and inscrutable.

The man gripped his chest like a crucial part of him had been torn away. His breaths came in gasps. Perspiration streamed down his features.

It seemed Damon held his very soul.

'Your shadow is mine,' Damon murmured.

This technique was known as the Shadow Seizer skill.

Under usual circumstances, Damon would avoid deploying such a power before numerous onlookers. It appeared excessively sinister.

Yet at this instant, he paid it no mind.

As a temple member already, in a way, he represented the top spiritual leader on board this vessel.

Should anyone possess the authority to condemn corruption, it would be him.

'It was you, wasn’t it,' Damon stated icily.

The man bent over, holding his chest tightly. He couldn't fathom the source of his agony.

'You are one of the people I haven’t interrogated yet,' Damon went on evenly. 'And honestly I don’t even need to anymore.'

His gaze stayed frosty.

'Your body is already enough proof.'

Damon had identified the guilty party.

The man lifted his head bit by bit, his complexion ashen and quivering.

'I... I haven’t done anything,' he croaked faintly.

From her position close by, Seras furrowed her brow. She too failed to grasp Damon's actions completely.

'Yes... maybe you believe that,' Damon answered steadily. 'I can see you aren’t telling lies.'

He knelt until his eyes met the man’s at the same height.

'Then explain why you are slowly getting corrupted.'

Damon seized the man’s gauntlet and yanked it free.

Under the metallic covering, the man’s skin was starting to alter.

It was shifting to gray.

Slender, pointed strands like hair emerged from split skin that appeared parched and fragile.

The corruption crept gradually up his limb.

Damon examined it briefly.

'I know the stench of rot.'

The man’s eyes shook fiercely.

'What did you take?'

The man’s hands quaked intensely.

Damon’s question resounded in his mind.

What did you take?

Set gazed at his arm like it was foreign to him. The gray corruption slithering under his skin instilled a silent dread unlike any he'd faced in battle.

He had assumed it would fade.

He had figured it was just passing.

Now fear gripped him.

'I... I... what’s happening to me?' he questioned, his tone trembling. In that instant, his state concerned him above all else.

Damon looked down sternly, his stare harsh and unforgiving.

'You’re being corrupted,' he declared bluntly. 'You touched something you shouldn’t have. Your soul has been tainted.'

He squeezed the squirming shadow in his hand tighter.

'Nothing can save you now.'

Horror widened Set’s eyes. His mouth quivered before he bowed his head mutely.

Close at hand, Lana cast her eyes downward, witnessing a comrade transform into a beastly form.

'Why, Set,' she murmured gently.

Set clenched his jaw. Guilt contorted his features as the burden of his knightly shortcoming weighed heavily.

'I... it was a moment of weakness,' he uttered roughly. 'I saw something on the beach. It was lying in the sand... shining.'

He gulped deeply.

'I reached for it... but I swear I didn’t take it. I resisted.'

Gradually, he delved into the pouch at his waist and drew forth an item.

A circular golden artifact lay in his hand.

It shimmered softly beneath the crimson-tinged heavens.

One red gem occupied its core like an observant eye, encircled by old runes carved into the gold.

Damon’s look intensified.

'Then how do you still have it,' he demanded frostily.

In truth, this fellow was among the knights tasked with his protection.

Set regarded the item in his palm with a tormented visage.

'I don’t know,' he breathed. 'When we boarded the ship... I found it in my bag.'

His tone softened further.

'I didn’t throw it away because... I thought it was fate.'

Damon’s face stayed impassive.

'Until you realized it started corrupting you,' he noted softly.

Set’s posture tensed.

'And by then,' Damon pressed on, 'you couldn’t tell anyone. So you kept your mouth shut and let everyone else deal with the consequences.'

His tone chilled more.

'You let people die.'

Set shut his eyes.

The corruption advanced more. Gray lines snaked over his arm resembling stone fissures, with slender dark barbs starting to emerge from the flesh.

'Dispose of it,' Damon commanded.

'Throw it overboard.'

Set inclined his head gradually.

He raised the artifact a bit, seeming ready to hurl it into the ocean.

Then he halted.

His action stalled midway.

Bit by bit... so very gradually... he brought the item back to rest.

Upon raising his sight once more, his countenance had shifted.

The terror had vanished.

A different presence peered from his gaze now.

His features set rigidly as he spoke in a hushed tone.

'You’re after my precious.'