Draconic King of Shadows-Chapter 71: The Ascent

"Necromancy?" Damion raised a brow, not really sure he heard right.

"Yes," Nyx replied. "You don’t know how it’s done?"

Damion shook his head.

"Well, I’m not quite sure either, but I once heard my liege talk about a skill he named Shadow Puppet," Nyx said, making a confused face that belied his real thoughts. "If memory serves, he manipulates the shadow of the target and assimilates it into the target’s body to gain control over it."

Damion wrinkled his brows. ’Isn’t that what happens to me when I use Shadow Possession?’ he thought.

"However, if the body has been dead for long, he wouldn’t be able to use the skill on it."

Damion shook his head again. "I don’t have that skill yet."

"Well that’s quite unfortunate," Nyx responded.

"I can save it in my storage though, and when it’s tim..."

"That wouldn’t work," Nyx said, not bothering to listen to what Damion had to say. "Once you take the body into your storage, the shadow wouldn’t go with it but would disperse instead."

"How?..." Damion wanted to say, but Nyx cut him off again.

"Don’t ask me how, I don’t know," Nyx said bluntly.

’Rude,’ Damion thought. "Let’s just keep going."

Damion took the body of the fat boy into his storage, after almost releasing the contents of his stomach again. The brain matter splattered around made for a grotesque picturesque, but he pushed through it to store the body. He couldn’t leave any traces of the body behind.

With the Blessing of Knowledge helping him, Damion did something he didn’t know was possible. He stored the blood, brain matter and flesh that clung to him inside his storage, making all evidence that traced back to him disappear.

He was shocked when this happened, and the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile, thinking of the possibilities with the skill.

They left soon after, and not long after that, a Wolf, similar to the one Damion and Jane fought, appeared in that spot.

"We’re getting closer," the Wolf spoke, before moving ahead.

***

The shortcut Nyx showed Damion turned out to be quite faster than he expected. He arrived at the base of the mountain, where the jungle ended, and looked up, seeing the mountain’s top far ahead.

The mountain wasn’t that high. It was climbable, but that didn’t mean it would be easy to scale.

He took a path that had formed from constant passing of people and beasts, and followed it carefully.

Damion raised his guard, careful not to slip or accidentally run into a beast too powerful for him to handle.

Dragon’s Authority spread out, scanning the surrounding thirty five meters for anything.

It wasn’t easy to scale the mountain as there were some spots with unnecessary slippery slopes.

Calling it unnecessary was maybe stupid, but Damion figured out the mountain was artificial. It looked to have been formed by an Earth Ability and some other abilities.

It took some time, but he eventually reached a point where his feets couldn’t take him. He had to jump.

"Do it," Nyx said bluntly, not caring for the sweat rolling down Damion’s face. "It’s not that far."

Damion scrunched his brows and shot Nyx a stare.

Nyx hovered in the gap between the two points, staring at Damion silently.

Damion looked down at the gap, staring at the deep abyssal space. One wrong move and he’ll probably fall to his death, so readied himself, calmly regulating his breathing and waiting for the right moment.

He counted down in his head, and when he reached zero, he leaped as far as he could, traveling through the air swiftly and reaching the other side.

He landed with the grace of a rock, stumbling over himself, his legs high above and his back slipping off the mountain.

Fortunately, he found a crevice and latched onto it, hooking his fingers in it and stopping his fall to prevent a catastrophic situation.

Slowly, he stood up, dusted his cloth and looked back, taking in the view of the jungle.

By now, he was halfway to the top of the mountain, and though the bottom parts were easier to climb, he found the task getting more challenging and tougher.

He sighted tiny figures in the jungle moving towards the mountain, and he knew time was running out. He had to get the Wild Pink Rose before anyone else, or all his efforts would be in vain.

Damion moved on, undeterred by the tall task ahead and the approaching students behind.

As he continued his ascent, the air grew thinner, and the wind picked up. The strong gusts of wind threatened to throw him off, the slopes became more deadly, and the treacherous path he followed became narrower.

His footing was compromised many times, but he held onto the rough stone to keep balance and pull himself up. Fortunately, he was able to hold on long enough till he reached an open area with a cave ahead.

Damion dropped to a knee, staring at the ground and gasping for air. It seemed like the low amount of oxygen was beginning to affect his stamina.

Regardless, the enemy lurking in the shadows of the cave didn’t let him catch his breath before sauntering out, walking menacingly towards Damion.

[Lower Rank 5 Extraterrestrial]

[Lesser Alpha ??? Wolf]

Nyx sized up the Wolf before him rudely, uncaring about its visible scowl and deep growl.

"Get lost," Nyx said casually.

Damion almost fainted after hearing that. Wolves were known to have decent intelligence, so it might not have understood what Nyx said, it would surely know what he was trying to pass across. Also, the Wolf’s rank was the same as the Rhinos he and the team fought on the first mission, making it a strong opponent, but Nyx didn’t seem to care.

"Welcome to my abode, human," the Wolf suddenly said, ignoring Nyx as its jaws snapped shut and transformed into what looked like a grin.

’Did it just speak?!!’ Damion screamed in his mind, but he kept a stoic expression on his face as he stood up, pretending to be unfazed.

"Seems like you didn’t hear me," Nyx said from the side, his violet eyes beginning to glow as his body lit up with a purple flame. "I’ll give you one more second... leave,"