CHAPTER 600: CHAPTER 601: SEEN TOO MANY TIMES

There, standing behind a tree, was a young girl. She looked to be somewhere around Damon’s age, peeking her head cautiously from behind the trunk where she hid in an attempt to avoid Damon and Lilith’s gaze.

There was a small tear welling in her eyes, and she looked haggard. Her clothes were torn in several places, and the fabric that still clung together carried smeared patches that revealed how worn and poor she was.

It was just a frightened young girl.

Damon glanced at Lilith, who nodded at him before she cautiously stepped forward. Her movements were measured, careful not to startle the child.

"Hello," she said softly, waving with a thin smile.

The girl’s lips quivered. She swallowed, fear trembling in her voice as she whispered, "Hel...jello."

She seemed so harmless... so...

Her head flew off her shoulders. Blood sprayed across Lilith’s face. She froze, her eyes wide as she turned sharply toward Damon in shock.

But before she could even form words, the girl’s body moved. Her arms had twisted, forming claws, and though her head was gone, her body lashed out subconsciously, attacking with the desperate memory of instinct.

Fur sprouted along her hands. Sharp claws gleamed. And from deep within the forest came the sound of howls—an answer to her death.

[You have slain: Lycan of the Borderlands]

"She’s a lycan," Lilith muttered, staring at the corpse as disbelief flickered across her face. She blinked and looked at Damon. "How did you know...?"

Damon only shrugged, watching the lifeless body twitch one final time.

"I didn’t."

Lilith’s smile twisted awkwardly. "Then why did you cut off her head? She could have easily been a victim of a bandit attack."

Distant howls grew louder. Damon nodded slightly.

"That’s true. I thought so too... but while I couldn’t trust her, I could trust that something terrible will always happen to me."

Lilith pressed her fingers against her temple.

"That’s the most shallow reason to kill a random passerby..."

Damon understood what she meant, but he had found no reason to trust the girl. Everything about her had been too perfect—the condition of her clothes, her expression, even the way she acted. It had all felt rehearsed, as though she had done it many times before. That was why he killed her.

And Lilith... would have noticed it too, if her mind had not been weighed down by something else.

"Well, be that as it may," Damon muttered, his eyes narrowing. "We have company."

The approaching growls grew louder, enough for both of them to hear. From where Damon stood, hulking forms emerged—creatures as large as orcs, their bodies covered in fur.

Their massive snouts, gleaming fangs, and jagged claws made them appear beastial, but it was not those traits that made them terrifying. It was the human parts—the humanoid bodies that looked as though someone had stitched together wolves and men in mockery of nature.

"It’s almost like someone decided to dress up as a wolf, but forgot wolves walk on all fours."

Lilith frowned at his words.

"This would be a different story if they were more powerful..."

Damon nodded slowly. "Yes, it would. A shame really. I’m the one with power... and for that reason, I’m the one who decides their life and deaths."

His voice was calm, almost casual. "Kill them."

At his command, his shadow rippled. From it rose the coldness of winter itself, incarnated in the beautiful form of a woman. Her wings resembled those of a fairy, though they shimmered with frozen ice instead of gossamer.

The moment she appeared, her blue eyes glowed through the visor that framed her face.

With a single beat of her wings, the world darkened. Shadows thickened, and a storm of frost swelled outward, casting the forest into a gloom of biting winter.

The first of the lycans charged forward, but their movements grew stiff. Their bodies and souls alike were caught beneath the cruelty of her skill—Ruins End. Their thick coats began to frost over, their growls choked by the weight of the soul bitting cold.

Before they could act, the storm erupted. Spears of ice rained down from the sky like the charge of an army of frost knights. Each spear slammed into the earth or pierced flesh, shattering bones and silencing snarls.

"Rawr... awooohh!"

One lycan’s head was crushed beneath an ice spear. Another was impaled where it stood, its body frozen solid before it hit the ground.

The dread in the air was palpable, but the lycans did not flee. Their numbers gave them confidence. This was only one opponent. Surely they could still win.

At the back, a larger lycan snarled, raising a humanoid hand and gesturing. The pack split apart, scattering in different directions.

It was a smart move. Matia’s storm had overwhelming force, but her accuracy was poor. She was not aiming—she was drowning them in numbers. To split her attention was their best chance.

Damon sneered, his breath fogging in the frigid air. He stood beside Matia, untouched by the cold. After all, this was his shadow. Her power could never harm him.

His disdain, however, was reserved for the lycans.

"You should have stayed together... well, not that it matters. You’ll die either way."

The fairy’s weapon shifted, her delicate hand molding ice into a sword. With a single swing, she cleaved four lycans in half before they even reached her.

The storm roared louder. Her slaughter grew more vicious. Growls turned into wails. Blood spilled freely, freezing before it could touch the ground. The forest became a tomb.

By the time the storm dissipated, the world lay blanketed in frost and death. Blood had hardened into crimson crystal, and a mountain of frozen corpses remained as a monument to her power.

Damon smiled faintly, clapping his hands.

"Well done. I suppose creating a shadow had its benefits. I almost didn’t notice how close you are to ranking up."

Lilith’s eyes narrowed in surprise. This was her first time seeing Matia fight outside the controlled environment of tests and sparring. From her technique to her execution, Matia was a monster—lethal beauty made flesh.

"She’s... amazing..." Lilith muttered, unable to stop the words.

Damon cleared his throat, ordering his shadow to slither through the battlefield.

The corpses were swallowed one by one into the darkness. A shame he hadn’t received any skills.

He walked toward a nearby tree, his eyes fixed on the distance ahead.

"Now that we’ve dealt with that... are you ready to talk about what’s bothering you?"

Lilith’s eyes flickered as she lowered her head. She sighed softly, then forced herself to smile.

"I suppose I can share tales of my childhood with you..."

Her eyes lifted to meet his own.

"Where should I start?"

Her smile turned faint. Her voice grew quiet.

"I killed my mother."