My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1292: Chapter 1293: Return To Sender

Linga could not raise his head to meet Damon’s gaze. He could only hold his hand to his chest and cry. Damon was quiet for a moment, then placed a hand on Linga’s back. It was a quiet gesture, but when Xander saw it, his eyes flickered.

Damon already knew what had happened. He could more or less tell by looking at Linga’s face. This was a man who had seen despair. He glanced at Emilia, who lowered her head slightly.

After a while, Linga stopped sobbing, and Damon asked him again.

"How have you been?"

Linga’s head was still lowered as he replied.

"I am fine now, and so is my family."

Damon was a little surprised that Linga had a family, but he was happy for him. After all, no one should be alone. Linga had lived a harsh life, and he deserved a little happiness.

"I hope they are okay."

"Yes, they are fine. We were together at the capital when the Great Fall happened, and we landed in an area that was safe. We were one of the lucky ones. No one died, and we all made it safely."

Damon nodded slowly. The Great Fall. That was what everyone was calling it. No single person had come up with the name. Everyone had simply decided to call their fall from their world to the one beneath it the Great Fall. Whole continents, communities, and kingdoms had been tossed into this lifeless world, into the chaos of a godless land.

Suddenly, everything they had been fighting for no longer seemed to matter when everyone’s survival was on the line.

"How did you end up in the capital?"

Damon already knew the answer. Even so, it would help Linga to tell him what had happened.

Linga hesitated, then bit his lip.

"My whole family was taken by Lady Hightower."

Damon glanced at Emilia with a glare, but Linga shook his head.

"Not her. It was Lady Terra Hightower. She came, and the next thing I knew, I was in a terrible place."

Linga began to recount his ordeal and the events that had led to it. He told Damon about the torture and abuse that his wife and child had been forced to endure, as well as how he had betrayed Damon.

"I’m so sorry. I have disgraced..."

Damon raised his hand, stopping Linga from saying more. His fists clenched as he listened.

"I should be the one apologizing. I dragged you into my troubles. I’m sorry," he whispered to Linga. "I promise that if I’m still alive at the end of all this, I will make it up to you and your family. In the meantime, the least I can do is make sure you receive some degree of fairness."

Then he glanced at Emilia.

"I assume you didn’t know about this, did you? Seeing how disturbed you look."

She bit her lip and lowered her head.

"I didn’t know."

"Where is Terra?" Damon asked coldly. "She and I have accounts to settle."

Emilia was quiet when Terra was mentioned. Xander moved a little closer to her, then took her hand.

"Terra is dead, Damon. Most of those in House Hightower are either missing or dead. A lot of people died when the Great Fall happened."

Damon sighed, then glanced at Linga.

"I’m afraid I can’t get you any sort of vengeance here when the perpetrator is already dead."

Linga shook his head slowly.

"I wasn’t expecting any, neither do I want it. My family has suffered enough. I have suffered enough, and I... I just want us to live peacefully. That’s all I want."

Then he gestured towards Emilia.

"Lady Emilia has been kind to us these past months. I am grateful."

Emilia shook her head slowly.

"That’s the least I can do. If anything, I feel responsible for everyone’s suffering. It was I who made the deal with the Unknown God. I didn’t know what I was walking into, and my selfishness doomed the whole world."

She placed her hand on her chest and whispered, "I am to blame."

Ric, who was sitting next to Damon, glanced at her, still unsure why Damon had brought him here.

"At this point, we are all beyond that. Who is to blame and who isn’t doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is what we do next, and I’ll be damned if I accept the way things are."

He paused, looking at everyone around him.

"That’s why, come tomorrow, I will be heading out, and I’ll be taking anyone else who wants to come."

Xander took a deep breath. He saw a faint, stubborn spark in Damon’s eyes. It wasn’t the same selfish, arrogant, and cruel light he had seen before. It was subtle, but a persistent spirit remained, one that Xander could see clearly. It was older and gentler.

"When did you grow so strong?" he muttered.

Damon sneered, not understanding what Xander saw.

"I’ve been beating you since we were kids."

"That’s not what I..." Xander paused, then shook his head. "Hmph. I suppose so."

Linga bowed slightly and took the opportunity to leave. Since Damon was here, it was obvious that he wanted to speak with Xander and Emilia.

Damon took a deep breath, then glanced at Emilia.

"A few years ago, I told you I would return your son, and as promised, I’m here to return him."

Emilia’s eyes widened. Even Ric, who had been getting a little drowsy from the boring adult conversations, suddenly perked up, his eyes widening in shock.

"Wha... what are you saying? I don’t understand," she muttered.

Yes, Ric was her son. Yes, everyone now knew Damon had him. But Ric had been exchanged, and the Unknown God had used the terms of the contract to find a loophole that prevented her from getting her son back from Damon until he was an adult. Yet right now, Damon was here, saying something else.

"I admit it’s not fair for me to keep him. In fact, he’s the last thing holding that contract together, and I think it’s time to let go."