Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 49B2 .2

“Fuck,” he mouthed, staring at the claws of an Armored Letuar jutting from the back of a Mountain Defender’s head. The humanoid had pierced straight through, killing the defender instantly. And the unfortunate soldier was not alone. Neither was the Armored Letuar. There were three of them, each one cackling as their claws drained the Mountain Defenders' life force.

He should have been there, not watching Zachariah and the winged serpent. How could he have been so foolish!?

He caught the winged serpent turning back to the regressor and channeled Blood into his vocal cords.

“I need lightning, Zachariah!” David roared at the top of his lungs, while bloody tendrils surged from the dwarves’ wounds at his behest.

He intoned Words of Power, and his Source trembled as the tendrils grew in number and thickness. They coiled around the Armored Letuar’s arms and intertwined, pulling the three Armored Letuars together. David used [Blood Armor] and altered it, while more Words of Power spilled from his lips. The shields covering [Blood Armor] intertwined and transformed into similar tendrils, keeping the Armored Letuar in place.

They shredded the tendrils, but for every one severed, two—sometimes three—took its place.

It was not a perfect solution and drained his reserves considerably, but a few seconds was all he needed to remove the last of the Armored Letuar. They may not be the most powerful enemy on the battlefield, but the Letuar were certainly the most annoying.

David caught a glimpse of Zachariah barreling toward him, and he smiled, casting [Blood Aegis], overclocked around the Armored Letuars, confining them momentarily. However, he did not protect himself and transformed into the Armored Letuars’ main target. Their claws, once freed of the blood tendrils, lunged toward him, and David let them be. Their claws pierced his skin and flesh with some difficulty.

[Venom has entered your body. Toxication (Stage-1)]

[Highly potent venom has been detected in your bloodstream. Toxication (Stage-2)]

[Venom spreads through your entire body, corroding your veins, muscles, and Energy Pathways rapidly. Toxication (Stage-3)]

It was not a great feeling to be drained of lifeforce. His body tried desperately to fight the venom surging through him, but while it slowed the spread, it consumed his lifeforce as well. Still, David could not hide the smile even as blood trickled from his lips.

I trust you, he said in his heart, confining the monsters until Zachariah and the lightning bolt reached them. But while he did trust Zachariah would arrive, his trust was meant for someone else. Someone who did not have to hear his shout to know what he wanted.

Hopefully.

Zachariah arrived, staring at him with the ‘You know what you’re doing, right?’ look as the winged serpent screeched, releasing a lightning bolt at them.

One moment, everything was dyed in a mixture of black and violent, making David shudder as it felt like death was the only way to escape the winged serpent’s tremendous power. His hair stood up at its end as the crackling currents caressed his skin. The weight of the monster’s pressure and the lightning bolts lethality weighed hard on his shoulders, but not for long.

In the next moment, the world around them resumed its normal course. He felt a sudden pull, and his smile widened as he, alongside Zachariah, teleported several dozen meters away from the area of impact. Without the Armored Letuar, whose life signals flickered wildly for a few seconds before they diminished.

“That was neat,” David muttered, electricity currents still crackling on his skin.

He first channeled [Sacred Aura], coating his Energy Pathways, and isolated the venom passing through them. Once the isolation was complete, merely requiring a simple mental command, he removed the venom with [Purify]. It was a nuisance to overclock the Rune, but toxification at the third stage was not easily tended to.

Better be safe and sound than stingy and dead, David thought, adding [Greater Restoration] to heal his wounds within seconds.

“Neat? If you say so,” Zachariah coughed up, patting his bare chest. His charred clothes were no more, leaving merely half-burned leggings to safeguard his pride, “I, for one, am in pain.”

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I am not–... David was about to respond, but hesitated when he realized that while his wounds had healed, the reminiscent of the pain lingered. That was new and unpleasant.

He shook his head, putting all thoughts of the lingering pain away.

“Since you’re already in pain, you might as well continue.” David flashed Zachariah a smile, “There are a few more troublemakers in dire need of a ‘bath.’”

“You do it,” the regressor hissed, pointing accusingly at him. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

But how was he supposed to do it when the winged serpent targeted Zachariah?

David gestured to the creature occupying the sky: the same creature that charged another lightning bolt to end them once and for all.

“You are the fighter and the serpent’s target. I, on the other hand, am just a lowly Healer. Isn’t that right? I have other duties.”

Zachariah looked at him, his frown deepening. He didn’t even seem to care about the lightning serpent anymore as he asked, “You…Did something happen?”

A memory of his parents flashed before his eyes, followed by the information he’d acquired in the Familia. He pressed his lips together, which seemed to be enough. Zachariah nodded, spinning on his heel, his sword flashing brilliantly.

“Alright. I will remove the threads. But you better make sure Maja teleports me out of the mess before Electra kills me.” Zachariah glanced back and winked. “Or you will have to restore me from ashes.”

Zachariah was… joking? And it wasn’t even a good one. The winged serpent, Electra, or whatever, was no joking matter. It was powerful—too powerful for them to defeat. Not even Zachariah was confident, or he would have killed it already.

How were they going to deal with it? Maybe that was something to think about later. Electra’s lightning bolts were strong—powerful enough to kill Silver Ranks—but they were far weaker than the lightning bolt that destroyed Arc.

David guessed it might not have any more Divine Essence left to use.

The ground beneath Zachariah cracked as he transformed into a flash, and the winged serpent spun around in response. Why was it so adamant about killing Zachariah?

A force stirring within him pulled him back to his senses. He was teleported, the space around him twisting as the landscape changed drastically. The destination was different than expected. David emerged in the Dwarven Sanctuary. He stood atop the highest building, staring at Maja. Her hair was drenched, sticking to her face, and her breath came in ragged gasps. She clutched her chest as if afraid her heart would burst from her ribs, and her legs buckled. David shot forward, catching her arm before she collapsed onto the rooftop.

He helped her sit on the ground, his eyes flicking to Zachariah.

The regressor had trusted Maja to rescue him, but she was completely spent.

“You used your lifeforce to compensate for the lack of Mana,” David stated the obvious. “Stupid.”

Maja flinched, her head drooping. Was she too weak to look at him, or was she embarrassed? It was hard to tell.

“Regardless, I would have done the same. Probably. Well, except for using every last drop of Mana—” Only now did David notice the glass vials sprawled across the rooftop.

“—potions until your body couldn’t take any more, and your lifeforce, when the plan was different.”

Her intentions had been great, but the execution of her plan was a mess. She should have saved enough energy to eliminate the strongest foes instead of aiding every wounded defender she found. It sounded harsh, but if they couldn’t defeat the Grand Horde, everyone would die—not just a few defenders.

But he couldn’t blame her.

An image formed in his mind. A man dying in his arms when he could have overclocked [Greater Restoration] to rescue him. Though it had never actually happened, David recognized the dilemma. Maja had the means to help more people, so she did. She hadn’t wasted energy on those beyond saving but had focused on those with a chance at survival. The open sickbay had made that much fairly clear. Almost no one there had died. They were mutilated but still alive.

But the image wasn’t done. More details filled in until the man didn’t look like a stranger anymore. The man dying in his arms was none other than his father.

His eyes widened, and he shook his head, but the image wouldn’t disperse. A groan escaped his lips, and he bent down to grasp Maja’s shoulders.

“I need you to stay with me,” David said, casting [Greater Restoration] on her.

Her complexion improved slightly, but it wasn’t enough. He infused [Sacred Aura] into her body and channeled Origin Energy through it. However, instead of restoring her, Maja coughed up blood. Her eyes were glassy, the spark of life in them dim.

Was it total mental exhaustion? An overexertion of her Mana Core? Or was the problem worse?

David struggled to pinpoint the issue and did the only thing he could think of.

He took a deep breath and unleashed [Sacrifice].

Take whatever is necessary for Maja to recover, David thought, preparing his tribute.