Damned Healer

Inside all nine sects of the Wild World, disciples and common Elders were training or studying as usual.

The sect leaders and High Elders were absent, but within the sect walls and under the protection of the inscription, they were sure nothing could cause them trouble... until that day.

**RUMBLE!!!**

All of a sudden, the walls of the Great Chorus Sect exploded and the entire sect shook.

An alert of maximum danger echoed through the whole sect.

"AN ATTACK!!"

Everyone rushed out of the buildings in shock, raising their eyes to the skies...

... it was supposed to still be daytime, but everything was dark and gloomy, as if black clouds had swallowed the heavens.

That sect was known as the home of the Heavenly Elemental Spirits. But recently, almost a third of them had abandoned the sect. Still, many of those who remained couldn't understand why so many had turned traitor.

When they came out and looked up, their eyes were instantly drawn to a solitary, sinister figure floating at the center of it all.

The abyss-black eyes of that figure locked directly onto the Heavenly Elemental Spirits.

For a brief instant, Darian felt something again... pain, immense pain.

He took a deep breath.

In that moment, the Heavenly Elemental Spirits sensed the blessing of Heaven's Will within him, but also... his overwhelming killing intent.

Darian's eyes shifted, turning empty once again.

That's when the Heavenly Elemental Spirits understood: there would be no conversation, no words exchanged. He had come to kill and destroy everything, and that sect was his target.

"Run!" one Heavenly Elemental Spirit shouted, spinning around to flee.

Just like him, all the other Heavenly Elemental Spirits realized the same thing and turned to escape.

But... the other races present only grew furious.

"TRAITORS! HOW DARE YOU RUN!"

Ordinary Elders shouted, but there was no time to capture them. They drew their weapons and ordered the others into battle against that enemy.

"Activate the inscription defenses immediately!" another Elder roared.

He didn't know.

No one besides the High Elders and the Leader knew that the diagrams—the very core of the inscription—had been taken far away from the sect. Which meant... the inscription was completely useless now.

The leaders knew the enemy sect and everyone else would be wiped out in one go, and since every sect carried their diagrams with them, they saw no problem leaving their own sects defenseless for a short while.

By doing so, they had already decreed the end of their sects.

Darian only paused for a brief moment, taken aback when he saw that race. Then, he drew his daggers and exhaled sharply.

In his inventory, there was an almost endless sea of runes given by the system, ready for use. Using just a small portion of them, he had reached that sect in only a few minutes.

With a grunt, wind and fire runes condensed in the skies above the sect.

Then, a colossal blade, dozens of meters long, took shape.

Everyone below saw it, and their eyes widened. Instincts kicked in immediately. Death was felt without a shred of doubt.

It was the Whirlwind Flare, but now it looked like a blade that could shatter worlds.

**KBOOM!**

The blade came down, crashing into the sect grounds and unleashing terrifying destruction.

All the buildings collapsed, the earth split and twisted. But the people managed to use their powers to defend themselves. That first strike wasn't meant to kill them, but to destroy the entire underground inscription.

Darian knew exactly where to hit, because all the sects had the same type of inscription and had been built together, nearly identical.

The survivors crawled out of the rubble, relieved they were still alive. But...

Up above, another blade was already ready—and it fell without delay.

This time, it really was meant to kill.

...

After barely five strikes, in just a few minutes, that sect had been completely reduced to scorched earth.

Almost all the Heavenly Elemental Spirits managed to escape in time, but everyone else died without even getting the chance to fight back.

Darian didn't stop there. He shot off toward the other seven sects, arriving quickly at each one.

Just like the first time, he began by destroying the massive gate. He felt nothing, but instinctively did it to give at least a minimal warning sign to the people inside.

When they all came out and looked up at the sky, they knew instantly who he was—and that he had come to wipe everything out.

The first strike of the Whirlwind Flare was always focused on destroying the inscription and causing massive physical devastation, not on killing. But if, after that first attack, they didn't understand that they should run immediately, they wouldn't get another chance.

Unfortunately for them, almost no one besides the Heavenly Elemental Spirits tried to escape from the sects. They all believed their sect could never be destroyed and that they could kill him.

They paid with their lives, without even having the time to regret it.

...

In just a few hours, the eight sects that had ruled that place for countless years... were gone forever.

Then, Darian finally headed for the Wilding Kin Sect.

This time, he didn't destroy the entrance. He just raised his High Elder emblem, opened the gates, and shot in like a black flash.

He went straight to one of the institute buildings and descended into the underground. There was the first diagram.

After stealing the first one, a high-level emergency alarm rang out across the entire sect.

Darian had already mentioned that he would take the diagrams, but only to the Leader and the High Elders—and it was supposed to happen once they returned. Because of that, no one else knew, and the alarm sounded as if an enemy was stealing them.

All the Elders and disciples ran around in complete panic.

Then they saw Darian come out of the building without saying a single word, heading straight for the next institute.

It became obvious he was the one responsible. Still, no one dared to question or ask anything. They chose, on their own, to trust the one who had already done so much for the sect.

They had no idea what they had just escaped. If anyone had spoken a single word at that moment, that sect would've probably ceased to exist. And the Wild World would've gone back to being completely savage.

After collecting the three diagrams...

[Congratulations! Special Mission Complete!]

Darian saw the green confirmation screen without showing the slightest reaction.

The mission had ordered him to eliminate the 27 Blood Sins. He didn't destroy them but placed them in the inventory—a separate space—making them disappear from the world. Since they couldn't be sensed anymore, the system counted them as eliminated.

Darian leapt through the skies, blasting forward with wind and lightning runes.

He had calculated the timing precisely. The great eruption would happen one full day after the chaotic zone had first appeared. He had left to destroy the sects while there were still more than six hours left.

Burning almost 90% of his runes to move quickly, he managed to wipe everything out as fast as possible. Now, with less than an hour left, he returned to the starting point.

...

Inside that place, everyone was still stunned and silent, waiting for Darian to return.

Suddenly, the ground started to quake, announcing the great eruption bursting forth. At that moment, a black bolt cut through the skies at high speed.

"Brother Darian!"

All the young Heavenly Elemental Spirits shouted when they saw him return.

But... Darian didn't descend, nor did he look at them. He just stayed above.

Those young ones, lacking much wisdom, were left completely shaken, unable to think of anything or say a word. They just felt a deep pain in their chests seeing him like that.

*Buzz*

The ground split open quickly across the entire central region. An immense amount of primordial power gushed out.

High above, Darian began absorbing it.

His core filled up in just a minute. Then, he started storing massive amounts in his inventory. He calculated exactly what he needed to complete all the cycles and even kept a huge surplus.

After storing everything, he turned and left without looking back.

Everyone there absorbed as well, filling up their cores. When the twenty thousand were full, they realized the eruption had ended. Darian had left just enough for them.

By the end of it all, the chaotic zone slowly began to disperse and return to normal. In about twelve hours, nothing was left, and everyone could leave safely.

All the Heavenly Elemental Spirits started desperately looking for Darian... but... none of them could find him.

***

Ten days later, inside a cave, Darian opened his eyes.

[Primordial Points for next realm: 5000/5000]

[Do you wish to break through to the next realm?] [Yes / No]

He had completed all one hundred cycles, and still had a large amount of primordial power left in his inventory.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face.

"Radiant... King..."

He spat those two words out, heavy with a murderous will.

He confirmed the choice in the system, and right away, his body began to float, being taken to the final trial... where his vengeance was destined to happen.