Damned Healer

The flying ship whistled through the air at high speed. Darian stood in the center, looking at the view from there and thinking about everything.

That world was truly vast and full of infinite potential. And the region they were in now was the most incredible of all. Still, to really explore that potential, it was necessary to build more fortresses and cities. Only then could people search and explore safely; otherwise, everyone would just get killed and robbed easily in some wild struggle.

Having a safe home to return to had always been essential. And nowadays, with a terrifying war going on, anywhere outside the city was just too dangerous. That's why you couldn't see anyone exploring or living freely in this region.

The war had taken everything from everyone. Nobody could live the way the system was designed… maybe that's why there wasn't any special quest to complete.

During that year, Darian had been confused about not having something like that in this phase of the Trial. Now that he figured out the situation, he understood the hidden message of the system.

The quest was to win and end it all. And the reward was to take everything this place could offer to the victor.

After a while, Hirel came to Darian's side, explaining some things along the way.

The power of the Divine Seven-Star Sect really couldn't be underestimated: they had the heritage of more than thirty Devil Kings and Radiant Kings of the past, along with the absolute inscription of the nine Mara Demons.

That was the race of those demons, who had also created the nine sects in the previous phase. They had lived and died a long time ago; they never reached the Devil King realm, but still left their marks.

The Devil King and Radiant King realms corresponded to the third level, but were insanely hard to reach. Even the sect leader was only at level 9 of the second realm, and he had no hope at all of breaking through.

That's why Radiant King Dohans was so powerful; but he wasn't just in that realm, he was already at level 9, reaching an absolute level of power.

Worse… he had a first general at the initial Radiant King realm, making him practically invincible.

Even so, the sect was still holding on in an almost magical way. They had a few hundred thousand disciples, and all of them managed to grow in just a few years, reaching between levels 5 and 7 with relative ease.

Part of that came from the fact that their territory was one of the richest in the whole Heavenly World. Even having lost over 70% of it, with what remained and with what they had stored through the centuries, they still managed to hold on.

But slowly, the sect was crumbling — and not because of their enemies, actually.

"In our current state… we really don't see much hope. The higher-ups are way too stupid. They keep fighting each other and there's no unity at all." Hirel concluded bitterly.

Darian snorted. "It's not completely their fault, after all, the sect's been in this situation for generations, right? Each person's life is always in their own hands. Complaining is the most useless thing. It only leads you to the habit of blaming others. In that case, even if you manage to get to the position of the higher-ups, your attitude won't change and you'll just live to become the very existence you hate."

He spoke, remembering the time when he lived in fear, locked inside his home and protected by his family. Back then, he lived scared, always complaining and running away from people… but that only led to his mother's death.

Darian's words made Hirel go quiet and fall into deep thought.

...

Five days later, Darian finally saw a world covered by a massive defensive inscription stretching all the way up to the sky.

"Big B…" Hirel stopped when she saw his cold look. "Lord Darian… this is the first layer of defense, from the sect's central inscription. We're absolutely safe here."

The flying ships got closer. They then stopped at the border of the entrance.

Everyone got off and moved toward a checkpoint. This was to prevent enemies from sneaking in. If anyone showed anything suspicious, they'd be attacked by the inscription without hesitation.

Unlike the inscriptions of the nine previous sects, this one had offensive power just as strong as its defensive.

Everyone had long gotten used to this. They calmly brought Darian to the checkpoint, but when Hirel saw the people there, her expression changed.

"Damn it…"

At that moment, those responsible for the checkpoint spotted Hirel and the others. At first, they mocked them with disdain, but when they noticed Darian, their expressions shifted.

Immediately, they drew their weapons and rushed forward.

"You dared bring a spy! Capture him!" the leader shouted from the back.

Hirel yelled angrily, "He's one of us! Don't push it too far!"

Darian had already heard from her before. The disciples of the Divine Seven-Star Sect were split into four factions. Each one was led by a War General.

A little while ago, there were only three generals and factions. But Remira was added, making a fourth, and she had to build her faction from scratch, ending up with the weakest members at first.

Factions were rated by performance and power, getting resources accordingly. So the other three took advantage of that weakness to pressure them and keep them down, always leaving them last.

Nobody dared kill, but the pressure and harassment were extreme. They were like water and fire compared to the other three factions. Whenever the other side had a chance, they did everything they could to humiliate them.

Darian narrowed his eyes. Facing the current crisis, instead of uniting everyone against common enemies, the sect kept allowing this kind of internal fighting. It was ridiculous.

He activated his curse and stared at the approaching leader. In that instant he saw… it was black and very dense. That wasn't normal at all. A tiny smile curved Darian's lips.

"Quiet! Resist and you'll be executed!" the leader sneered as he arrived.

Clearly, they didn't care whether Darian was a spy or not. They just wanted an excuse to mess with that faction.

Hundreds of armed guards surrounded them. Hirel trembled with anger at the sight.

"Gumos, do you know who he is?! If you don't back off—!"

The man called Gumos didn't wait for her to finish. He suddenly pointed his sword at her, making her shut up mid-sentence. Then he looked at Darian with contempt and said:

"Who does this hybrid think he is? I won't say it twice, so listen well. Lie face down with your hands behind your back, or you'll be executed. I'll count to three: Three… two—!"

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his throat. It was as fast as lightning, leaving no time to react.

Darian grabbed him by the throat and stared coldly.

"Lord Darian!" Hirel shouted, alarmed.

At that moment, more than ten people attacked him at once.

*CRACK!*

An explosive, high-pitched sound rang out—metal shattering mixed with the sound of bodies being ripped apart.

People didn't even get a clear look at what happened before those attackers exploded along with their weapons.

They were all dead.

Hirel and the others were stunned. He… he actually killed sect members?! Now they were horrified. Killing was completely forbidden!

"You asked me who I think I am? Why don't you tell me who you think I am?" Darian said, still holding the man's neck, eyes icy.

The idiot trembled from head to toe, unable to say a word.

All Darian's eyes showed was hatred and an endless will to kill. He still kept his revenge in check, but when brainless people provoked him, it was like opening Pandora's box.

Applying a bit more force, the man's body cracked… and then grotesquely exploded.

At that moment, the inscription thundered, as if someone had activated it. Hirel's and the others' hair stood on end. They'd been targeted by the great inscription!

Suddenly, Darian flew and slashed with a dagger.

**Slash!**

With a dry cutting sound, everyone saw a hole open in the barrier of the great inscription.

"WHAT?!"

Everyone jumped in shock.

But now that a gap had opened in the barrier, a deafening alarm blared throughout the sect.

Darian looked back at Hirel and the others.

"My time is precious. The whole sect is one step from destruction, just like this world is about to be dominated by that bastard. These idiots aren't just causing trouble for their faction—they're deliberately infecting the whole sect. I didn't come here to play games, so I'll kill until this is fixed."

He spoke slowly, then turned, went through the hole in the barrier, and walked toward the rest of the sect.

They swallowed hard at his words and his aura. That terrifying pressure scared them even more than his words.