Damon held Sylvia's hand as he led her out of the building. She followed him, their figures starkly contrasting— a bloodied black-haired human boy with eyes as dark as the night, holding the delicate hand of an elven girl with white hair and piercing gray eyes. Despite their differences, they made for a striking sight, as if their disparities only served to make them stand out more.
As they stepped outside, Damon's gaze fell upon the knights. They stood amid ash and ruin, their armor battered, their bodies weary as they attempted to salvage what little remained of their fallen comrades. But there was nothing left—Ignath's flas had erased them completely. No bodies to bury, no remains to return ho. Only the echoes of death and destruction lingered.
And yet, they had fought for his cause. They had risked everything. It felt wrong to let their sacrifice go unrecognized.
Damon walked toward the knights, Sylvia's hand still in his grasp. Their helted faces were unreadable, but he could feel their silent, expectant gazes upon him. He stopped before a half-lted sword, its wielder long turned to ash. The crest of the House of Margan was still visible on its ruined blade.
He lifted it high into the air and roared,
"Victory!"
The knights, silent at first, erupted into cheers, their remaining swords raised high.
Damon released Sylvia's hand and declared,
"Let this day be rembered as the day the Knights of the Deep vanquished the great dark spirit, Rashi Ignath!"
A resounding cheer tore through the knights, their voices shaking the very air. Healers from the academy rushed to their aid, tending to the wounded. The battle had left minimal casualties within the academy itself—the brunt of the losses had been borne by the knights, along with a handful of professors who had joined the fray.
Damon's gaze swept across the battlefield, searching for Lilith. He finally spotted her sitting in the shade, supporting a badly injured Renata Malcrist.
The sword slipped from his grasp. His body felt heavy, his vision swaying from blood loss.
He barely acknowledged the approaching healers, rely handing Sylvia over to them before turning on unsteady feet toward Lilith.
She was leaning against a tree, her expression weary but calm. Renata sat beside her, an arm encased in a cast, wincing from the pain.
Damon ignored Renata completely and focused on Lilith. His chest tightened at the sight of her pale face.
"Hey… are you okay?" he asked.
Lilith offered a tired smile. "As okay as I could be. You, on the other hand… don't look so hot."
He chuckled despite himself. "Well, that's better than how I would've looked if Ignath had gotten with his flas."
Lilith smirked.
A groan interrupted them. "Arrgh… you lovebirds are just gonna ignore after I fought the hardest?" Renata complained, looking thoroughly annoyed.
Damon turned his cold glare on her.
She blinked, confused. "Huh? What's with that look? Are you still holding a grudge? Co on, my bad— I thought you were a weak loser."
His glare didn't waver.
She grinned. "What? You're mad? Didn't I suffer enough from house arrest? No one likes a petty man, that's so uncute."
Damon's stare remained unchanged, though his mind churned. So, now that he'd proven his strength, she no longer cared about her past grudges? She was pragmatic, he'd give her that. It was just another example of how the world worked—people only valued you based on power or importance. At the very least, Renata was blunt about it.
Yet, sothing about her felt off. A strangeness in her shadow. He couldn't quite place it.
Before he could dwell on it further, Renata yanked him down, forcing him to sit between her and Lilith.
She tilted her head, examining him. "Hmm… I don't know what it is about you, but there's sothing I like."
She leaned in closer, staring into his dark, lightless eyes. "Maybe it's your eyes…"
Before she could get any closer, Lilith scowled, grabbed Damon, and pulled him toward her, his face landing against her ample chest.
"Don't touch," Lilith snapped, glaring at Renata. "You horny creature. I see it now… you have a latent sluttiness. Don't spread it to my junior."
With a flick of her wrist, she teleported both of them away.
The world spun, and before Damon could process it, they reappeared not far from the war halls. Lilith trembled slightly, exhaustion evident in the way her body swayed.
She began to fall.
Damon caught her.
She smiled. "Did you get it…?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I did. I leveled up so more."
She gave a weak nod, her body still heavy with exhaustion. Despite his own injuries, he lifted her into his arms with ease, carrying her as he walked.
"We won this ti," he murmured. "Everything went according to plan… I guess we owe that mysterious potion maker for the elixir."
Lilith remained silent for a mont, resting against him. Then, in a quiet voice, she asked, "A few people died… do you regret it now?"
Damon shook his head. "Not this ti. I gained more than I lost. For a gamble with less than an eighty percent chance of success… it was an acceptable outco."
Lilith rested her head against his chest as they neared the dormitory.
"I suppose so. We were dealing with a dark spirit… and the academy is still standing."
She lifted her gaze, locking eyes with him. "But we aren't done yet."
Damon remained silent.
"The dark spirit is gone, but Ignath isn't actually dead," she continued.
"We've made a terrible enemy today. And more than that… the summoner is still out there. We know next to nothing about them, while they seem to know plenty about us."
Damon exhaled slowly. "We have no suspects—at least none we both agree on. But I still think it's Kael. I don't have definitive proof yet, though. For now… all we can do is wait. And I'll keep getting stronger."
Lilith gave a thin smile. "And when you reach your first class advancent… we can start recruiting like-minded allies to our cause."
Damon's gaze drifted downward, to the long, stretched shadow cast by his form.
"Until then…" he muttered, watching the darkness shift. "My living shadow will devour—to make stronger."
As the sun set, a silent thought passed through his heart.
'The world won't accept a monster like . So I'll give them a reason to fear.'
His shadow stretched unnaturally in the fading light, twisting, shifting—growing.
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