My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

"You do realize that's a bad idea, right…"

Lilith spoke coldly into her pager, her voice crisp with irritation. She could already hear Damon's low chuckle from the other side.

He didn't seem to care.

Typical.

She sighed, closing her eyes in frustration. All that talk about the two of them being together, all those promises… and the first real chance he gets, he leaves her to go chase after revenge.

That was fine.

She didn't even care.

So what if he might provoke all of Valtheron's criminal underworld?

Clearly, he was either overly confident in his power… or just suicidal.

She was leaning toward suicidal.

Still, she muttered under her breath, 'I certainly hope that Deathless skill is just as good as advertised…'

Because he was going to need it.

Lilith stood from her office chair, the sleek surface of her desk reflecting the faint shimmer of the Academy's luxurious runes. She walked to the window and stared out—

Only to see an irritated white-haired elf girl below, her expression furrowed and clearly pissed.

"Hmph. Did you leave because you didn't want to get involved with our elf friends?"

Damon's chuckle came again through the pager, quieter now.

"No… I left because I was sure if they annoyed me, I'd kill them."

She blinked.

A normal person wouldn't even think of threatening the Elven Royal Guard—let alone say it out loud.

But Damon?

He wasn't normal.

He'd absolutely do it. Even knowing the consequences.

'I really hate how he knows the consequences and still acts however he pleases…'

Sylvia Moonveil wasn't the only one who had returned. Leona had come back. Evangeline. Even Xander.

Lilith was mostly alone now.

Well—she would have been, if Damon hadn't left Matia behind.

He must've summoned her through the shadows again. Or maybe… maybe he couldn't, not at such a great distance.

She hung up after their brief conversation, the click of the pager's shutdown echoing faintly.

Communication with Matia—Damon's shadow—was… difficult.

She didn't seem to like responding to anyone but Damon. Still, he had told her to do as she pleased.

Lilith turned away from the window.

"Mati—"

But Matia was gone.

Lilith's eye twitched slightly.

Of course.

She sighed.

That was fine.

If Matia had followed him, then she was doing as instructed.

"Next time, give her a clear order," Lilith muttered under her breath.

She opened the door to her office and stepped out. She was leaving the Academy for a while too, just like Damon as his accomplices.

Damon wasn't exactly forthcoming about what happened in the Death Zones, and the Academy was hoping to get more out of his party members.

She walked down the corridor with purpose—until she turned a corner and bumped into someone.

The second it happened, her irritation spiked.

"Astranova, watch where you're going," came the snide voice of Renata, the violet-haired bitch.

Lilith closed her eyes.

Nope. Not today.

"I won't stoop to your level," she said coldly. "Goodbye."

She walked past Renata, ignoring her gaze, heading for the war halls to get her luggage.

She'd need to stop by Athor's Sanctuary to pick up Luna and Iris on the way.

That bastard left his little sister and apprentice in his quest for vengeance…

Suppose that was a sign of trust.

As she left, Renata narrowed her eyes.

"Hmmm… What has she been up to this past month?" she whispered.

She had time to kill.

Smiling faintly, she waved her hand—her presence erased, her magical signature vanished. Her attribute concealed everything.

Lilith reached the war halls, stepping into the elevator on the ground floor.

Only to bump into her.

Sylvia Moonveil.

Her presence alone made Lilith's irritation go from zero to a million.

She didn't even know why.

She just suddenly… disliked Sylvia.

Deeply.

Lilith moved to one corner of the elevator, giving a curt nod—formal, as was expected from a senior and the student council president.

Sylvia's face remained cold. Irritated. Her white hair drifted slightly despite the still air.

The elevator hummed quietly, its runes glowing faintly. Several seconds passed in silence.

Then Sylvia spoke.

"The feeling is mutual, you know."

Lilith glanced at her.

"I don't like you either. You don't have to pretend with me or wear a mask. I can see right through you."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm a Seer, in case you didn't know."

Lilith smiled sweetly, but her eyes were pure ice.

"Oh, I see. Thank you. Thank you for being a tactless bitch. But pray tell—why do you hate me? I've barely ever spoken to you."

Sylvia nodded slowly. Her white hair drifted again, unnaturally.

"I should thank you for responding in kind," she murmured. "I would've been embarrassed if you didn't act like a total bitch. It's good to know you're not a better person than me. That's a relief."

Her eyes met Lilith's—piercing.

"As for why I hate you… I'm sorry. I really don't want to. I just can't help it."

Her fists clenched at her sides. Fingers trembling.

Maybe it was the pressure from her father. Maybe the weight of being treated like a fragile doll who needed to be hidden and protected.

Her voice cracked.

"You're not more beautiful than me… your breasts aren't bigger, your hips aren't wider, your legs aren't longer, you don't have a better voice, or more wealth…"

She whispered through clenched teeth.

"So I just… I just don't understand. Why."

Her gaze turned icy. But her voice…

"Why does he… always pick you? It's not fair. You're not better than me. Why does he have more assurance in you? Why does he trust you more?"

A crack formed.

"Why does he see less of a risk… being with you than me… why… am I not good enough?"

Sylvia's voice trembled, her lips quivering.

"Is my love not good enough? Is it weaker than yours? Am I that weak of a woman?"

A single tear slid down her cheek.

Just one.

A sign of frustration—of weakness she had no choice but to show.

Because this life… this princess life, politics, expectations—it had chained her.

And despite all that, it wasn't in the Death Zone where she'd felt most suffocated.

No.

It was here.

Here, where society said she wasn't good enough for the man she loved.

She knew it wasn't Lilith's fault.

But still—she couldn't help but feel it.

Lilith didn't comfort her.

She couldn't.

This was her rival.

And no rival of hers was allowed to be weak.

So, she smiled coldly.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said quietly. "It's because, unlike you, Princess, he knows no one can stop me from getting what I want. Not my father. Not my grandmother. Not even the Goddess."

She leaned in, her voice sharp as a blade.

"And then there's you—so easily stopped. So easily defeated. How can he trust a woman who won't even take on her measly little father and one measly kingdom?"

Ding.

The elevator door opened.

Lilith stepped out.

She glanced back once, her eyes gleaming.

"I'm prepared to take on the world and watch it burn. Are you?"