Damned Healer

Using wind runes, Darian flew through the skies toward the region occupied by the main powers of the Heavenly World. He was fast, but that place was huge — so he traveled for almost fifteen days without finding anything.

He had a simple map, taken from some idiots who'd tried to rob him in the past. Leaving the area marked as wild, he expected to find sect disciples or clan members everywhere, but strangely saw no one... everything was oddly quiet.

Darian followed the map to a large city marked on it. Just as he was about to approach, thunderous sounds echoed.

He looked up, then saw golden flying ships whistling through the air at high speed.

In the Heavenly World, knowledge and creations from the universes were left behind. Flying ships were one of them — built to travel much faster, and with many people inside, their energy consumption was way lower.

But those... they didn't look like they were made just for travel. They were huge and imposing, like metal beasts. Runes flowed across their whole structure, and a murderous aura radiated from them — they were impressive.

Luckily, Darian was the size of a mosquito compared to those things. They flew right over his head without noticing him; probably too focused on something else.

Without hesitation, he darted in the same direction as those ships, following them closely. After pausing on the peak of a mountain, he spotted a large city in the distance, surrounded by an endless sea of primordial beasts and races with gigantic bodies.

The city had a huge inscription protecting it. Outside that barrier stretched a sea of enemies.

When the flying ships reached the outside, a small hole opened in the city's barrier, and more flying ships shot out from within.

The city's ships weaved through the sea of giant monsters. Sharp arrows blasted from them, piercing enemies with precision and blowing them apart. They carved a bloody path through the demonic beasts.

*BOOM!*

Just as the ships from both sides were about to clash, the ground exploded and gigantic figures surged up from underground — another group of flying ships.

The first ones, on both sides, were golden, like they were forged from the same powerful material. The newcomers, though, were black.

The moment they appeared, the city's ships panicked. They quickly changed direction, trying to retreat back to the barrier, but the enemies threw themselves in the way in a suicidal move to block them.

At that instant, more thunder boomed from the skies.

Gigantic figures descended like mountains, one after another. Now there were thousands of colossal Aberrants and Fiendgods. The flying ships were completely surrounded.

Darian watched it all calmly. This was clearly a war to the death, and where there was conflict, there were opportunities for him to enjoy.

He took a deep breath and moved stealthily closer to the center of the battlefield.

"Hahaha, you've walked right into our trap! Hurry and surrender. I swear on the reputation of Radiant King Dohans: I won't touch a single hair on any of you." The voice of a primordial beast echoed from atop one of the black ships.

After that roar, the enemies who had been fiercely attacking the city also stopped. They simply surrounded the flying ships, giving no room for escape.

From inside one of the city's golden ships, a tall woman appeared, with long tied-up multicolored hair and a fierce gaze. She roared:

"The reputation of that bastard?! Cut the crap! The Divine Seven-Star Sect only has heroes who'll die on their feet. We don't have scum who kneel to live. So what if we die? General Remira will definitely avenge us."

'Remira...' Darian heard the name and felt grateful for the coincidence.

The woman turned toward the city, "Don't be afraid! We'll fight them to the death, using our blood to show we won't submit!"

Her voice carried a stirring tone. As soon as she finished, a multicolored light suddenly burst from that flying ship and slammed directly into the enemy in an almost suicidal strike.

"Courting death!" came the furious roar from the black ship.

*BOOM!*

The two ships crashed, fragments blasting in all directions. From the wreckage, countless Chromaraics and humanoid-sized primordial beasts emerged, wielding weapons.

Both sides roared in frenzy; a battle of colorful lights and thunder erupted.

In that moment, the city's inscription shook, and other flying ships lined up, about to fly out and help.

"Don't come! If you leave, you'll fall right into their trap!" shouted the Chromaraic woman who seemed to be the city's leader.

She was right. There were tons of enemies around, but only the weaker ones attacked; the rest were waiting for an opening — it was clearly a trap.

Those people knew they weren't making it out alive, but they weren't about to die without taking as many enemies as they could with them. That's why they had to fight smart till the very last moment.

When the city reinforcements suddenly stopped, the enemy leader blew up in rage. His original plan had failed, so he directly ordered the strongest ones to attack.

*BANG! BANG! BANG*

Countless enemies struck at the barrier, shaking heaven and earth.

In a sudden, sharp move, the enemy leader slashed at the Chromaraic woman with his blades, making her grunt in pain. She was sent flying, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Leader Hirel!"

Seeing her wounded, the others fighting alongside her snapped in fury. Their formations instantly fell into chaos as they charged straight at the enemy leader.

"Idiots! How many times did I tell you?! You can't let the formations fall apart!" The woman saw their disorder and spat even more blood.

That last strike had already left her with a serious wound, but watching their formations crumble tore at her emotions so hard her condition worsened.

"Die in silence. Radiant King Dohans gave you a chance to kneel, but you all chose the path of the weak."

The enemy leader seized the opening, shooting through them like a black bolt of lightning. His blade pierced straight through the woman's chest—fast and merciless, leaving no chance for them to save her.

"NO!" Seeing that, the others despaired, but couldn't stop it.

Until suddenly…

**RUMBLE**

With a huge blast, blood and shredded bodies sprayed everywhere—a sinister rain of death that made everyone's eyes go wide.

All froze and turned. Right there in the middle… stood a man completely cloaked in darkness, as if wrapped in a black shroud.

He held two daggers, while a twisted, evil aura coiled around him. At the same time, the ground around him was clear—dozens of body parts scattered all over.

Everyone swallowed hard. It was like a god of death had descended from the skies.

While they were all locked on the battle, Darian used the moment to break free of the encirclement.

Then… he slowly turned his gaze toward the enemy leader.

His pitch-black eyes oozed a dense, terrifying bloodlust.

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, a black shadow flashed in front of the enemy.

"What—!"

A punch smashed into him like a meteor.

*BANG!*

The figure shot away like a bloody missile, crashing into the ground with brutal force.

At the same time, the Chromaraic woman felt her body being held up in the air. A quick hand reached in, yanking the blade out of her chest in one swift pull.

"!"

Her mouth opened in shock and pain. But, without a word, his hand tossed the blade aside and moved fast, shoving a pill into her mouth that dissolved instantly inside her body.