My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 963 - 964: Origin Of Demon kin

"On your knees," Damon ordered with a gentle yet commanding tone.

At once, obedience followed.

The trolls.

The goblins.

Lana too.

Every one of them fell to their knees, heads lowered in deference to him.

Lana shuddered.

Confusion and terror flickered in her eyes from the breach of her own will. Still, her form yielded instantly to Damon’s directive.

Even more unsettling, an odd sensation stirred in her chest.

It whispered that this was proper.

That submitting on her knees to him was the highest privilege imaginable.

Domination... she pondered.

That ability...

It was Ashcroft’s, the Demon Lord of Domination.

Then why...

Why could Damon wield it?

Damon remained oblivious to her inner turmoil. And should he know, it wouldn’t concern him.

None of it counted anymore.

Lana now bent to his overpowering intent.

Demon Dominate wasn’t completely unbreakable. Damon was aware of this.

Theoretically, a sufficiently mighty individual might defy it.

Up to now...

No one had ever managed to escape its hold.

His determination stayed unmatched.

Overwhelming.

Relentless.

"Haha... hahahah..."

Laughter began to spill from his mouth.

His gaze swept over the figures prostrated before him.

Demons.

Indeed.

Demons they had become.

"Jahahahaha... hahaha...!"

His chuckles rang through the open field.

Renata observed quietly from nearby.

In that instant, Damon appeared every bit the villainous demon lord, delighting in his might.

At last, he flicked his wrist dismissively.

"You may rise."

Gradually, they lifted themselves up.

Not a single one risked looking directly at Damon.

Their eyes remained downcast, forms rigid with awe and dread.

Damon’s focus shifted to Lana.

Next, he invoked Demon Dominate once more.

Directed solely at her this time.

Lana sensed a forceful intent wrap around her consciousness like a unseen snake.

It burrowed further and further, squeezing into her very ideas.

"Lana Mesh," Damon uttered softly.

"From now on, you will protect my secrets with your life. You will never reveal them, nor will you ever act against me."

The directive burrowed into her.

Beyond her thoughts alone.

Into her very essence.

Her complexion drained of color as the instruction rooted itself profoundly in her core, wiping out any lingering defiance.

Her gaze dulled briefly before clarity returned gradually.

As a Demonic Human forged by Damon, she counted as his demonkin.

Though Damon wasn’t a full demon himself.

Merely in part.

Due to this, Lana had evolved into a unique entity.

Something fresh.

A Demonic Human.

Damon examined her without a word.

Then comprehension gradually lit his features.

It clicked for him.

At last, he grasped the origin of demon races.

Everything fell into place.

The initial stage in demon transformation was resentment.

A soul brimming with resentment would spawn a kernel of corruption.

As that kernel matured and flowered...

A demon would emerge.

Yet this only covered personal metamorphosis into a demon.

It failed to account for whole demon races arising.

For the resentment needed for such change wasn’t mere spite.

It ran far deeper.

The sort of toxin that could taint the entire realm.

Becoming a demon involved harboring sentiments so fierce that each pulse roared in agony.

Love.

Hatred.

Melancholy.

Ennui.

Envy.

Lust.

Pride.

Obsession.

Hopelessness.

Fear.

Anger.

Acceptance.

All churning within one spirit.

Beyond feelings lay cravings.

The frantic craving for survival.

The craving for oblivion.

The craving to triumph.

The craving to defy destiny.

The craving to glimpse past visible limits.

The craving to listen in a realm overrun by loathed noises.

The flavor of existence.

The aroma of creation.

Damon’s eyes expanded a touch.

He was grasping a deep truth.

But this insight didn’t spring from his mind alone.

It originated elsewhere.

His shadow.

The darkness under his soles remained still, but wisdom seeped from it like a murmur.

Genuine demons arose from sentiment and yearning.

"I see it now," Damon whispered gently.

"I understand."

Upon first acquiring Demon Dominate, the system had displayed its details.

[Skill: Demon Dominate]

[Description]

A demon is not cruel because it lacks kindness, nor hateful because it cannot love.

Demons are creatures of overflowing emotion, beings who have drowned within their own myriad of desires.

Any who bear a name, when consumed by depravity, become demons. And the truest of demons are the demon kings who have fallen from grace, enduring damnation for the sole purpose of surpassing their greatest enemies.

A heart swollen with resentment against those who did not see, who did not understand.

A demon is one who resists, who endures, who shatters and yet continues even while broken, for even depravity cannot extinguish the fire that burns within.

They bewitch with beautiful promises, yet deliver only cruel outcomes.

[Effect]

Grants the authority to dominate demons. If the wielder’s will surpasses theirs, demons, whether feral or intelligent, must yield. Demonkin and higher demons resist more fiercely, but in time even they shall kneel beneath the power of the Dominator.

[Cooldown:]

0 seconds

Such was the essence of a demon.

A spirit brimming with feeling.

Damon pondered Ashcroft.

Ashcroft had entered the world as demonkin.

Still, Damon felt sure that eventually he had ascended further.

Into a real demon.

Not akin to ancient primal entities, but elevated past typical demonkin.

This brought the core inquiry.

How were demonkin first brought forth?

The response hit him abruptly.

It unfolded before his eyes.

Much like his alteration of the goblins, trolls, and Lana via Bestowal.

Ages past, the sinister prophet Mugu had likely performed the identical act.

He had granted strength to the peoples inhabiting this land.

And via that strength...

They turned into demonkin.

That summed it up.

Should Damon fully embrace the demonic route one day, maybe following a dire catastrophe...

He might then possess the power to forge authentic demonkin.

A subtle notion emerged in his thoughts.

Could this be Ashcroft’s grand ambition?

To seize the realm...

And convert all peoples into demonkin?

Damon breathed out quietly.

Oddly enough, it seemed to resolve all conflicts.

Considering...

Should all transform into demons...

Racial conflicts would cease.

Damon grew quiet.

Just for an instant...

The notion didn’t appear misguided.