Damian stood there, his hand still gripping Admond’s face, black energy pouring from his palm into the skull relentlessly.
Admond’s screaming cut off abruptly, his body going completely still, his eyes staring at nothing as the last of his consciousness was consumed entirely.
In Damian’s peripheral vision, text flashed.
[Perception: 400 → 405 → 410]
His hand clenched, fingers digging into Admond’s skull–
Crack Crack CRUNCH
–And the head crushed like an overripe fruit, bone fragments and brain matter spraying between his fingers.
He released his grip, and the corpse fell backward into the snow with a heavy thud.
’Such a pity...’
Damian’s thoughts came cold and analytical.
’If only both their bodies weren’t already crippled by the interrogators.’
He looked at his bloodied hand, then at the corpse.
Whatever the Northern Governor’s people had done to Ashley and Admond during those days of torture had destroyed their bodies completely from the inside.
Devouring them wouldn’t give him any increase in physical stats, their flesh too damaged and their Aura cores too shattered to provide meaningful sustenance.
His mind shifted to the Devouring Body Art itself, analyzing what had changed.
’Previously, at Minor Success level, the art only let me devour bodies to increase physical stats. Sometimes I gained skills as well, but that was inconsistent.’
He flexed his fingers, feeling the difference in the devouring energy.
’But now that it’s reached Major Success...’
Understanding crystallized.
’I can devour minds to increase mental stats as well.’
The implications were staggering, but questions followed immediately.
’But shouldn’t there be limitations? Whenever I devoured multiple beings of similar rank or higher before, I got temporary debuffs in mental stats and my Aura Control... Side effects from absorbing too much too fast.’
He frowned, searching through his body’s current state.
’What about now? Are the limitations gone completely because my understanding of the devouring principles increased? Or am I just not feeling them yet?’
His head shook, dismissing the speculation.
’Something to figure out later... But I definitely need better control over the art. I was only able to absorb some of the memory fragments, not everything.’
Indeed, Damian had managed to grasp fragments of memories from both the soul fragment and Admond during the devouring process.
From Admond, the memories were mostly theoretical knowledge about skill and weapon art creation, advanced concepts that would take some time to properly integrate.
Useful, certainly, but not immediately applicable.
But the memories from the soul fragment–
’Who would’ve thought.’
His jaw tightened.
’This bastard was the reason I and the other students were sent into that creature portal in the first place.’
He remembered the old voice in his head, the fragments of boasting, and matched it with the information he’d absorbed.
’It looks like I was lucky just now... The main soul fragment was already killed by the Chairman.’
The thought carried weight.
’If I’d encountered the main fragment instead of this weakened remnant...’
He didn’t finish the thought, because he genuinely didn’t know if he could have devoured something that strong.
’Chairman.’
His mind turned towards that mysterious figure with complicated feelings.
From bits of the fragmented information, Damian understood clearly that the Chairman knew about President Eleanor being possessed by a soul fragment.
He’d known, and he’d still let the attack on the ACC Stadium happen, let thousands of civilians die and let the chaos unfold.
But he’d also sent Damian a Will growth treasure previously, an incredibly valuable item delivered without any explanation or expectation.
’Forget it.’
Damian pushed the thoughts down.
’He has shown no malicious intention toward me so far... And from what I understand, he’s the most neutral entity in the Federation. Maybe the only one not playing any sides.’
He waved his hand, and his Telekinesis activated.
Admond’s corpse lifted from the snow, sailed over the mountain’s edge, tumbling down into the mist below.
But as he watched it disappear, darker thoughts surfaced.
’Seers and variables.’
His jaw tightened.
’There was no information regarding them in the fragments... Nothing concrete, just references that led nowhere and hints about something larger.’
’What’s really going on? Who is actually after me? And for what reason?’
The questions multiplied, each one branching into more uncertainty.
’Is it the Shadow Council pulling strings? They called me a variable and targeted me specifically.’
’Or is it the seers who were supposedly after the Bloodworth family, the ones who didn’t want another Desiderius to rise? Do they know my real identity?’
His grandfather’s words echoed in his memory.
’Or is it really the hooded figure’s side? The ones who want the future to remain unchanged?’
Damian sighed, exhaustion crashing over him like a wave.
’So many mysteries... So many enemies I can’t even identify... And I have no fucking clue what’s really going on with my life.’
His hands clenched at his sides.
’I’m... really starting to hate the word "seers" and this so-called "fate" everyone keeps talking about.’
BOOM BOOM
Suddenly, thunder crashed above him, loud enough to make the mountain shake.
Damian’s head snapped up, pulled from his spiraling thoughts.
Only then did he notice the dark clouds that had gathered overhead, thick and roiling, blocking out the brightness completely.
’What... is it now?’
The thought came tired and exasperated.
He stared at the churning sky, at the way the clouds seemed to be forming directly above him, centered on his position.
’This seems to have started when my Will stat hit–’
BOOM
Another crash, closer this time.
The air itself felt charged, crackling with energy that made his skin tingle.
Whoosh
A massive shadow passed overhead, wings beating hard.
BOOM
Lily landed heaving on the mountain peak with snow exploding outward.
Agatha slid off the dragon’s back, her eyes immediately finding Damian’s exhausted form, taking in the blood covering his face and the way he swayed slightly on his feet.
’What the hell happened to him?’
Her thoughts came sharp with concern.
’I was only gone for an hour at most. How did he end up looking like this?’
Then her gaze lifted to the dark clouds thundering directly above him.
’And what did my grandson do to anger the heavens themselves?’
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