My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 995 - 997: When The Time Is Right

Utterly anticlimactic.

That single term perfectly captured Damon's feelings about the whole ordeal.

He had braced himself for flames and carnage. He had deliberately ramped up the challenge for his own trial.

Yet the fight concluded without a single strike exchanged.

It all stemmed from their conviction that he was the reborn form of a cursed demon lord.

In a stupor, he trudged back to his tower, his footsteps dragging heavily, gaze distant as he strode past lines of demon kin still prostrated with heads lowered. Not one lifted their eyes while he passed.

Naturally, Damon ensured they bound themselves with oath contracts to guard his true identity.

Still, he realized that safeguard was merely short-lived.

At this moment, one certainty gripped him.

He was plunging headfirst into the tangled web of demon politics.

Upon ascending to the tower's summit, Renata awaited him there, her eyes wide and fixed without a blink.

"Among all the nightmarish outcomes I foresaw, this one never crossed my mind," she remarked.

Damon gradually lifted his gaze and released an uneasy, airy laugh.

"Hmm."

Nothing more came from him.

Wendy folded her arms and cocked her head, a subtle grin playing on her mouth.

"So what? You claimed victory, right? Isn't that sufficient? Why the face like you gulped down a toad?"

Damon eyed her briefly, grappling for words to express a dilemma far knottier than her query.

"Swallowing a frog would beat what's looming ahead. Yes, I seized the battle... but I might have just forfeited the war."

He raked a hand across his face and breathed out heavily between his fingers.

"This seems like fortunate news. It's anything but. Pure peril awaits. My guise is Ash, and though I've altered much of my look, Bakemon Baal noted my resemblance to Damon Grey."

He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, his jaw clenching tight.

"That works temporarily. With my ability to split presence, I can claim Amon mimicked my form via spells. Surely a solid cover story exists there."

"Right," Renata responded, already envisioning the fallout. "It would cramp your movements severely. Constant watch would hound you."

Damon shook his head deliberately.

"No alternatives exist. From this point, demon continent matters will drown me, as I'm now this city's undisputed lord."

He raised a hand to his head and halted.

His horns were sprouting.

Not discreetly. Not inch by inch.

They thrust forward with shocking speed.

His pulse thundered in his chest, surging with infernal power. The surge was so fierce his shadow heart resisted fiercely. His back prickled with savage itch, as though wings might rip free at the slightest hunch.

"Dammit."

His rank edged perilously toward fifth class, yet domain knowledge eluded him still.

"We must exploit this turn of events," Renata urged.

Damon dropped his hand and met her stare.

"With your triumph secured, striking the Snake Temple now is ideal. Expect an summons to claim the Ashcroft fragments. Once inside, disclose its spot to Seras, enabling our assault."

Damon hesitated.

Indeed.

That remained their prime objective.

The Snake Temple wandered without anchor. It roamed ceaselessly. Public outposts existed, sure, but the core sanctum hid away, ever relocating. The accessible facade fooled the masses.

To demons, the genuine temple held paramount value.

Even demon lords approached with utmost caution. Sacred soil defined it.

Chiefly due to Paimon's dominion.

"Hmm. Logical. Paimon typically guards it solo with her priestesses. Expose the site, and Seras clashes with her as we snag the seal."

Wendy squinted faintly.

"Hold on. Your spying role? Won't superiors demand you stay undercover as foe?"

Damon uttered a soft laugh, tension easing from his frame.

"Technically, I'm balancing both factions."

Then he delved into his shadow storage, retrieved the communicator, and dialed Seras.

"Vice Commander Damon Grey reporting to High Command. Do you copy, High Command?"

"What are you up to?" Seras answered, tone lazy yet wary. "Since when the formal military talk? Hold. What mess have you stirred now?"

She sensed it already.

Such courtesy signaled disaster.

"Well, nothing outright wrong on my end. More like... access to the Snake Temple might open soon."

"Ohh... ohhhhhh."

Her shock rang clear. He hadn't anticipated that from her.

"Far swifter than anticipated. Two years early. You excel at the impossible."

Damon rubbed his neck sheepishly. Surface-wise, his plight wasn't dire. He detailed the grand clash he'd turned via intimidation against the tower lords.

She accepted it.

High Command's faith was the true test.

"When do they plan your temple visit?" she inquired.

Damon shrugged indifferently.

"Unclear. Victory reports are outgoing now. Menial duties await, like reorganizing my fresh demon forces. Wild words I never imagined uttering to you..."

"Damon. Damon. Concentrate," she interrupted.

"Right. Right," he snapped back.

"I expect the trip anytime soon."

Seras paused briefly before replying.

"Well done. I'll inform High Command and secure your due rewards. Stand by for my word. A spatial artifact will bridge the gap for me anywhere on the continent, though one-way till recharge."

Damon nodded unseen, then ended the call.

Soon after, Seras reached out anew.

Yet Damon knew this wasn't her.

High Command now.

Every elder tuned in.

A few queries flew, but scrutiny fell short of Damon's fears. Directives followed instead.

"Your role proves too crucial to overlook," the Emperor's voice boomed via device.

"Thus, a fresh task: Aid Seras in seizing the Ouroboros Coil, concealing your hand from demons."

A cold shiver snaked down Damon's back.

How had stakes escalated?

Death loomed real.

"Ensure Seras's retreat while you hold the front."

Darkness seemed to engulf Damon's world.

Wasn't Seras his escape clause?

She assured his bolt if chaos erupted.

Now he guaranteed hers.

Suicide ploy, plain as day.

"Can... can I decline?" he murmured.

Deathless clearly plotted his end by yanking Seras away.

"Refusal isn't possible. We require you, Damon. Prime operative. Unmatched talent."

"Then spare me from doom," he blurted to the empire's sovereign.

"Damn you leaders—can't you see my youth? I crave life, not death. No wife, no heirs. My end leaves voids. Where's fairness? Just eighteen. Too soon to perish..."

"Twenty billion zeni," the Emperor stated bluntly.

Damon stiffened.

He blinked repeatedly to confirm.

"Say... say that once more?"

"Twenty billion zeni. Full immunity. Total tax relief."

Damon snapped upright, hand to heart, stance noble—as befitted a loyal subject addressing Valtheron's lord.

"If not I for the nation, then who? Empire's son, people's champion. Duty drives me. Citizens rely on us; I stand as shadow blade and bulwark for humanity's domains."

His audacity nearly charmed.

The Emperor had readied higher bids—even a princess, but ducal unions barred imperial ties.

"Agreed. Strike at the opportune hour. Coil secured, we press inward."