Damned Healer

Chapter 495 495: Fast Pace

Darian gently picked up Tir and Eleri. "Good job, take a break." He stored them in his inventory — the three of them had worked hard and were completely exhausted.Then, he turned to Niara, who was at a distance. She understood his look and smiled, roaring toward the army. "Go, hurry up!"

Everyone snapped out of their daze and started running, crossing into the Ring of Death, now completely free of enemies.

Niara spread her wings and shot off in the opposite direction like lightning, disappearing beyond the horizon for a few minutes — until she came back, carrying a body on her back.

She landed near Darian, and he returned to his true body. Turning around, he grabbed the ethereal body, finally realizing the true potential of that weapon of his.

The body of a Spiritual Guardian in that universe was an extraordinary gift, crafted from the primordial bloodline of the Mannaz.

But this body of Darian's had received a lot of extra upgrades — elements of the highest level. In other words, it was an incredibly sharp and useful "weapon." He'd take it back to his universe, certain there'd be plenty of chances to make use of it.

Quickly, everyone moved through the Ring of Death, though they hadn't crossed it yet. Darian and Lucy guided them through all the fortresses and hidden spots there. Every enemy had been killed, and they left everything behind for the group to collect.

The army was split into four teams, heading toward the best areas to gather anything useful. Lucy went to the castles of the dead Kings, planning to study their training inscriptions.

Meanwhile, Darian and Niara went alone toward the entrance of the small world where the Divine Flame Of The Mind had been sealed earlier.

When they entered, Niara's eyes sparkled at the sight of the massive energy lake — it was a magnificent treasure.

"Get in the lake. The Divine Flame Of The Mind is still alive, with a small remnant of its soul, and it'll help you," Darian said seriously.

Niara nodded and dove in quickly. Darian nodded back, and a small rune appeared before him — one that no longer held even a trace of its flame. There was no power left, only the primordial heart.

"Thanks for the help. Without you, I wouldn't have made it," Darian said with a sigh.

That entity hadn't just given him all of its remaining power — it had sacrificed its life and soul as fuel to boost his mental strength. But Darian had asked it to stay alive, just so it could merge with Niara perfectly.

"Lord missionary, all five of us lived for countless years being tortured and trapped... at least at the end of our lives, we managed to free ourselves and vent some of our rage."

Darian nodded silently. Thanks to that entity's power, he'd managed to wipe out every White-Blooded one — even the Golden-Blooded one. You could say it was vengeance on its behalf.

"With your help, I'll free the other three. In the future, I'll end all the Risen and the Celestial Shadow. So you can rest easy and move on to your next life."

The small rune in his hands trembled slightly, then floated slowly toward Niara, who was submerged in the lake.

A bright light surrounded her, and Niara felt the rune sink into her draconic core. But that entity wouldn't just fuse with her — it had told Darian earlier that she could use the energy lake to nourish her body.

That was a trait passed down from a Primordial Dragon, though Niara didn't know how to use it. Dragons were the Gods of beasts, but they also had affinity with all kinds of energy and could devour them directly to grow stronger. Niara, who carried an absurd bloodline and the heritage of the Divine Dragon, could, with a little help, absorb all that natural energy into her body.

At that moment, Niara felt an intense heat, like she was submerged in a sea of lava. There was no pain — it was as if her muscles were swelling and heating up fast.

"Relax and get some sleep. I'm not leaving for a while," Darian's calm voice echoed.

Niara heard him, nodded faintly, and closed her eyes, letting the process take its course.

Meanwhile, Darian sat by the edge of the lake, exhaling deeply as he activated his domain. Around him, he felt a vast ocean of Power of Merit converging toward him.

No surprise — he'd wiped out a terrifying number of enemies, all allies of the Celestial Shadow.

Without hesitation, he directed it all to the rings on his forehead.

Several minutes of continuous absorption passed. Darian felt a bit tense — after all, from the fourth ring onward, the amount of Power of Merit needed to advance was absurd, multiplying several times with each new level.

Lucy, Lucius, and the Academy crew had spent ten years attacking Risen-infested planets across the galaxy. They cleared one planet every few days, then moved on to the next, and the next.

Each planet held thousands, sometimes millions, of them. Even so, they'd only reached seven rings.

On the other hand, the Power of Merit from those Darian had defeated was several times greater than that of a common Risen. When he absorbed about 95% of it all...ic, almost frightening charm. Darian's eyes scanned her, clearly surprised and unable to look away.

"The big lady looks way prettier now, huh?" Awel commented lightly. "Master, why are you staring at those two high spots? Did they get bigger, and I just didn't notice?"

Darian's eyes went wide, and he quickly looked away.

"Ahem... that's where her primordial core is. I was just... analyzing it."

Awel nodded, pretending to understand.

Niara stood up, looking at herself and feeling the changes, amazed. Her body had gone through a true rebirth. She could feel terrifying power flowing inside her, ready to burst out.

"Oh! Now I've got a glow and charm kinda like Dan's." Niara grinned, then looked straight at him, "You like it, huh? Thinking about changing your mind about that?"

She teased him, feeling refreshed. Darian snorted and turned away.

"Let's go, everyone's probably waiting. We've got a lot of work to do."

Niara smiled, noticing that he really had been shaken.

Then she turned to Awel and caught the mischievous smile on the girl's face. At that moment, Niara realized something surprising... was this little one pretending to be innocent around Darian?

No — Niara was sure of it. Awel knew *exactly* what she was saying and doing. And she was clearly helping her out a little.

The two exchanged silent glances, full of meaning.

Meanwhile, Darian stopped and called out to them again, sounding impatient. Both turned and waved, running back toward him.

He snorted, though inside, he was thrilled. Now he had six rings, and his power had multiplied several times. But Niara... her power had multiplied hundreds of times, evolving at a shockingly fast pace.