Chapter 486: Chapter 488: With A Bang Damon didn’t need to look to know those fools would die soon — but still, he watched. He wanted to see how the so-called boogeymen of an underworld group would fare against his shadow... in the same rank. He did not have high hopes. For them. Matia moved forward, her eyes holding that same unshaken resolve. Damon knew she was still in there... but watching her fight like this always left him doubting himself. She was his shadow now. Bound. Obedient. Yet fighting with her own will. Her wings spread. And before Damon — or the two Charkata family members — could react... there was a winter. Buildings froze under sheets of ice and snow. The air thickened, time seemed to crawl beneath the weight of her freezing power... and then — she vanished. No. She moved so fast it only felt like she did. The beastkin barely reacted in time, his spear jerking up purely on instinct. What collided with it wasn’t her weapon — it was her fist. Ice exploded across the shaft of the spear, swallowing it whole. Then his arm... He yanked back right as his fae partner flung a glowing chakram at Matia. She caught it with her frozen sword, the impact sending a sharp ring through the air. The beastkin stumbled, shaking his spear free of ice. But his fingers felt numb... and worse... the cold deepened every second, spreading like a silent death. This... was Ruin’s End. Her Third-Class Skill. It felt like a domain. Damon studied the beastkin’s weapon. That was the annoying part about Matia — and Leona too. Fight them, and their attributes would crawl over your weapons. Leona spread lightning... mostly to things that conducted it. Matia? She didn’t need conductors. Just standing near her was like being tossed into a blizzard — naked. Every touch... every clash... she laced it all in deathly cold. That was why Damon had learned to coat his weapons in flame when fighting her. The beastkin signaled the fae, who took to the air. The fae hurled his chakram — glowing with space magic. Damon narrowed his eyes. A flying fae with space control? "Annoying..." Still, he wasn’t going to help Matia. She didn’t need it. He hadn’t gained any skills from wiping out Quick Hand — just some items. The usual junk... and a special potion called Bedevilment, which he got from killing Lumberjack. His level-up requirements were complete now that most of Quick Hand was dead. One last task in Valerion. And yes... it’d probably get him labeled a terrorist. But who cared? In a few weeks, the law wouldn’t be able to touch him anyway. Might as well run wild. He watched as Matia conjured a barrage of ice spears... and shot the fae out of the sky. The notification chimed in his mind. [You have slain Smikiris Taitis] Damon didn’t even look twice. The other one would be dead soon. He turned his attention elsewhere — just in time to see Matia toss the corpses aside. Far from the battle, a raven and a red squirrel cheered her on as they dug into the fresh meat. The raven went for the eyes. The squirrel? It dove straight into the corpse’s pants. No respect for the dead whatsoever. Damon smiled — not at those two twisted pets he’d adopted... But because Matia was moving on her own will. That was enough to make him grin. He flicked open his skill window. Might as well check it. His next level-up was over a thousand kilometers away anyway. --- [Skill: Shadow Reconstruction] [Description:] Lured by greed and dreams beyond their station, they cast aside their vessels to descend into the lower realms. Yet upon arrival, their ranks fell, their powers shackled. They forged new bodies — carrying dark ambitions in lesser shells. [Effect:] So long as your Heart of Shadows is intact and your soul remains, the destruction of your physical form can be undone. In the embrace of shadows, where light cannot reach, you may rebuild yourself. Yet, the process requires time, resources, and leaves you at your most vulnerable. [Active] [Cooldown: 1 Month] --- A peculiar skill. He could restore his body — but only if his Heart of Shadow and his soul survived. And even then... he’d need shadow energy, which mostly meant devouring corpses. "Guess I’m still a corpse-eating shadow freak ..." Damon muttered, closing the panel. Then he glanced at his shadow. "Hey... what’s a Heart of Shadow anyway?" The shadow raised a hand. Roughly translated to. ’I’ll stop you right there. You don’t have it. If you die now... you’re dead.’ Damon sneered. "Don’t threaten me with a good time. I kinda wanna die anyway." Still... a lot of conditions. Heart of Shadow. Soul intact. Time. Resources. And worst of all... total vulnerability during recovery. "In a dark place, no light, munching on corpses... yeah, sounds about right." He clicked his tongue. "Motherf—... Is this just my Deathless Skill trying to screw me over again?" This skill was built to make sure he would not die when he wanted to. When he looked up, the battle was over. The cold vanished. All that remained was frozen ruin. A shattered district of ice and broken buildings... and at the center... stood a dark fairy in fractured ice armor. In her hand... a severed head. Frozen mid-scream. Her visor locked on Damon — cold blue eyes meeting his with silent understanding. She walked up to him... Knelt... Drove her sword into the ground... And held the head out to him. Her task complete. Awaiting his praise... or his next order. He took the head, studying it. "Erhm... good job. But... you really didn’t have to bring me his head." Before he could say more, a raven snatched it away. Croft — always eager for a snack. No need to waste a perfectly good set of eyes. At least... that’s what Damon heard him say. He chuckled. "Shall we go?" He asked, glancing at Matia with a faint smile. "There’s one more building I wanna blow up before we leave Valerion." He turned away. "Since we already pissed off half the city’s underworld..." His eyes narrowed with a devilish grin. "Might as well leave with a bang."