My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 969 - 970: Not Here

Sylvia did not attain the fulfillment she had anticipated from them.

Ultimately, this was purely because she had rendered them senseless.

The notion that such insignificant entities could prevent her departure appeared almost comical to her.

Maintaining a composed mien, she traversed the castle corridors.

Locating her progenitor presented no great difficulty.

Her left orb throbbed with a faint heat, and fragmented visions of the future manifested before her—fleeting glimpses of the precise location where their paths would cross.

Yielding to these premonitions, she paced leisurely through the halls.

The rhythmic sound of her movement resonated throughout the expansive citadel of the Moonveil royal clan.

Ornate decorations of silver and translucent crystal enhanced the galleries, their grandeur testifying to eons of elven dignity.

In her wake, guardians shouted and scrambled about the hallways, struggling to organize their response.

Nevertheless, Sylvia simply strode forward.

She remained utterly unseen.

Her movements flowed naturally through their cognitive blind spots, her trajectory directed by the rapid pulses emanating from her peculiar ocular anomaly.

Her pace held firm, faltering only during the brief pauses when subsequent glimpses of the path ahead emerged.

Ultimately, she halted before a massive set of portals.

Towering casements flanked the threshold, allowing radiant beams to wash over the polished stone.

Sylvia emitted a soft breath.

It appeared avoidance was not an option in this instance.

There existed no potential destiny where she successfully navigated this passage undetected.

Consequently, she abandoned any attempts at stealth.

She proceeded with direct intent.

The guards identified her immediately.

One member emerged from the rank, lowering his armory in a sign of deference.

"Princess," he stated with measured caution, "beseech your forgiveness, but our directives mandate you remain under house arrest."

Sylvia offered no spoken response.

Instead, she invoked a solitary term.

"Razaka."

An immense surge of refined moonlight coalesced within her palm before detonating outward.

This incantation was not exclusive to the goddess lineages; if anything, it was significantly more prevalent among the balrogs of the Demon Continent.

However, Sylvia had mastered an esoteric variation sourced from the concealed wisdom of her tome.

The strike manifested before the sentries could mount a defense.

Resistance proved negligible.

A ferocious wave of kinetic energy tore through the passage.

Forms were hurled against the masonry.

The colossal entrance behind them splintered inwards with an explosive sound.

Low whimpers filled the atmosphere as the defenders collapsed.

Crimson essence pooled across the floor, slowly encroaching toward Sylvia's feet.

Her composure remained undisturbed.

Although they had refrained from initiating hostility, she had incapacitated them without a stutter of hesitation.

Those who retained consciousness stared at her in utter dread.

None had perished.

Yet, many likely entertained the desire for such an end.

Sylvia inhaled deeply.

Sunlight bathed her countenance as she stepped over the wreckage of the threshold.

Beyond lay a sprawling sanctuary.

Her steps fell silently upon the wooden path winding through the floral expanse.

Her lengthy gown shifted, exposing her bare feet.

Hundreds of lunar blossoms decorated the space, their petals flickering with ethereal magical radiance.

Luminous wisps drifted through the air like delicate tufts of cotton.

It was a sight of beauty.

A haven of serenity.

Yet, Sylvia’s expression stayed cold.

She traversed the winding trail until she reached an ornate pavilion.

Vines and floral arrangements intertwined with its pale pillars.

The structure had been fashioned from pristine moonstone, its reflective surface mirroring the serene luminosity of the heavens.

Standing within the pavilion was a solitary figure.

His back remained turned to her.

Sylvia halted.

Her lips parted, a complex surge of sentiment rising within her breast.

Before she could utter a word—

His voice reached her.

Quiet.

Melodious.

"You carry the scent of carnage, my child."

The man performed a slow pivot.

Cascades of white hair tumbled down his back, revealing the pointed ears characteristic of the elven lineage.

His piercing gaze lingered upon Sylvia.

"Violence has never been your nature."

Sylvia sustained his look with solemnity.

Then she delivered her reply.

"Perhaps..."

Her tone was hushed.

"I am no longer a child."

"What is the span of your existence?" he questioned with glacial intensity. "Barely two decades. Within a lifespan that spans centuries... you have scarcely commenced your journey."

"Your status remains that of a child."

Sylvia tilted her head in a downward arc.

A moment passed, followed by an exhale laden with quiet resignation.

"Am I then to be sequestered within this sanctuary indefinitely," she queried softly, "as if I had committed some heinous sin?"

"My actions are performed to ensure your protection," her sire, Kadelas, returned with severity.

Sylvia offered a faint nod.

"I harbor gratitude for your protection."

She then raised her eyes.

"Now, I request that you grant me my liberty."

"Your understanding is nonexistent, is it not?" Kadelas barked. "You are but a child. You lack the necessary readiness."

"You may have reached the Fourth Class Advancement, but that signifies nothing. The world is far more treacherous than you fathom."

His tone chilled further.

"And for you... the path is significantly more perilous than for any other."

"Due to my spirit affinity?" Sylvia asked in a low voice. "You desire for me to persist in perpetual dread. Is that your aim?"

"Perpetual?" Kadelas muttered with bitter disdain. "Even my existence is not infinite."

He averted his eyes briefly.

"You are unprepared."

"The determination of that is not for you to decide," Sylvia rejoined, her vision wandering to the garden flora.

"It rests solely with me," Kadelas snapped.

"You have permitted that pathetic human youth to imbue your mind with falsehoods and delusions. He is a liar, Sylvia. A deceiver."

"Why does this remain hidden from you?"

Sylvia afforded a brief, light smile.

"Most clearly I perceive it."

She rounded on him once more.

"He is indeed a liar and a deceiver. That knowledge is already mine."

Her shoulders lifted with a shrug.

"You speak of it as though it were some dark mystery."

"It is no such thing."

"Simply put, I remain indifferent."

Kadelas clamped his lids shut.

Upon reopening them, a monumental aura surged from his frame.

The pavilion shuddered.

It then levitated momentarily before disintegrating, moonstone shards plummeting into the gardens below.

Blossoms and brilliant wisps were scattered by the subsequent draft.

"It is evident that persuasion is futile," Kadelas declared frigidly.

"Very well."

"Retire to your chambers."

Sylvia stood motionless.

Not a single increment of distance did she yield.

She signaled a negative slow motion with her head.

Then, she bowed.

"Forgive me, Father."

For a fleeting instant, Kadelas’s features lightened.

If only she grasped the reality...

If she had finally chosen to concede—

But she persisted.

"My return did not stem from a lack of alternatives."

"I arrived back by the exercise of my own volition."

"I shall depart by that same prerogative."

Her eyes met his with cool detachment.

"With all deference due to you..."

"I came to bid you a final farewell."

Silence reclaimed the desecrated garden.

Sylvia examined her father’s visage.

"In your position," she murmured, "I would direct my concern toward more pressing matters."

"Matters of greater import than hindering my exit."

Kadelas knitted his brows.

Sylvia’s expression had drifted into a chilling frost.

"The destiny of the Moon Glades hinges upon the choice you make."

"What is your implication?" he demanded.

Sylvia elevated a hand slowly, gesturing toward the horizon.

Kadelas observed the sky.

Initially, nothing disturbed the firmament.

Then, his pupils constricted.

He deployed an ocular spell for long-range surveillance.

The spectacle rendered his features taut.

In the far reaches of the horizon, hundreds of kilometers distant—

A dragon was inbound.

Colossal pinions sliced through the nebulous clouds.

"Rexagon... the Gravewing," Kadelas wheezed.

Sylvia’s voice remained composed behind him.

"You possess but a few minutes."

"If you depart immediately, you might obstruct him."

"If your endeavor meets failure... millions shall fall."

"The woodlands shall be reduced to ash."

Sylvia turned away.

Kadelas had only heartbeats to determine his strategy.

His decision was instantaneous.

He lunged toward Sylvia, intending to render her unconscious before making for the dragon.

But as his palm reached her location—

It passed through her form without meeting resistance.

Kadelas stood immobile.

Sylvia offered a faint, thin grin.

"Oh."

"My apologies."

"I neglected to mention something."

She tilted her head at a slight angle.

"I am not truly present here."