Damned Healer

Despite the apparent end, nobody announced Darian's victory. That was because Lachlan hadn't passed out or died yet. After crashing to the ground, his body twitched, making that clear.

Darian still didn't move.

Everyone swallowed hard — anyone else in his place would've finished the fight without a second thought. But him... he was clearly letting Lachlan recover… just to humiliate him even more.

If Darian had been just a little stronger than Lachlan, people would've accepted it. But now they realized he was like the vast skies, while Lachlan was nothing more than an ant. The entire crowd sat in dead silence.

"Boss is strong!"

"Boss is awesome and cool!"

Male and female voices echoed from Remira's battalion. Now, the rest of the arena finally understood their devotion. In their shoes, they'd be fanboying and fangirling the same way.

Darian waited calmly. Until, after two minutes, his so-called 'opponent' desperately started trying to get up.

The scene looked ridiculous. He squirmed and flailed on the ground like a cripple trying to walk again. Little by little, he finally used his head and called on the power of wind to help.

After stabilizing himself — still trembling and exhausted — his eyes locked onto Darian.

"No rush, no rush. Take a breath, even pop a pill if you want." Darian's mocking voice echoed.

Without another word, Lachlan actually pulled out a pill and swallowed it. Within five seconds, his body began glowing and healing.

Then... he pulled out twin hammers. It was an extra weapon he sometimes used when he needed to push his lightning power to the limit.

The two hammers pulsed, sending out vicious, abnormal waves of wind and thunder.

"DIE!!"

Without hesitation, he unleashed 100% of his lightning rune. Everyone noticed — it was a desperate, suicidal move. Doing that boosted his power several times over, but with every strike came the risk of backlash that could kill him on the spot.

With a boom, Lachlan charged. In just a second, his hammers came crashing toward Darian's chest.

At that moment, Darian snorted. Then...

A chilling feeling swept over the entire arena. Everyone watched as Darian's body completely changed, corrupted by darkness.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Six hammer strikes, insanely violent, were completely blocked by the backs of Darian's hands.

"Heavens... how..." people murmured in the stands, almost panicking.

Those concentrated impact sounds weren't at all like a heavy hammer hitting flesh; they sounded like a hammer slamming into solid rock.

When the six blows landed, shock spread across Lachlan's face. Even with twin hammers and the full power of thunder, he was still being blocked over and over by his opponent's bare hands!

"FUCK YOU, BASTARD!!"

Lachlan roared, and at that moment he unleashed his final restraints. His entire body pulsed with the power of chaos.

That power was meant to suppress the thunder and keep him from dying pathetically to his own technique. But now, he threw it all out at once, not caring anymore.

A grayish energy surged through his body, flowing uncontrollably. He spun his two hammers at high speed and, like a raging hurricane, attacked with each strike more brutal than the last.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

In just moments, dozens of hammer strikes rained down, but...

...all of them were still blocked by the backs of Darian's hands and wrists.

The more Lachlan attacked, the more shocked the audience became. Finally, with a thunderous roar, Lachlan gathered 100% of his lightning power into a single strike.

The hammers fell at the same time, carrying far more pressure than before — several times more.

Darian grinned, but instead of taking the blow head-on, he magically stepped back five meters.

When the twin hammers hit nothing but air, they slammed together with a deafening crash. A bolt containing a massive concentration of electrical energy burst out and shot straight toward Darian's flank.

"He fell into the trap! Now he can't run!" Dean Zlark shouted, hyped. That strike had gathered all his stored power—nobody would dare take it head-on.

But…

Everyone's eyes widened. Darian smiled and simply pointed a finger forward.

On his fist, the ring activated. Suddenly, when the lightning hit him…

*BOOOM!*

An explosion; electric currents spread everywhere.

Everyone saw thousands of tiny lightning runes floating in the air, like they'd been tamed and controlled.

Then Darian waved, and everything moved toward him, vanishing into his inventory.

Silence.

Now the crowd felt real fear. What the hell had they just seen? That hybrid… is he even real?

Soft footsteps echoed across the martial stage.

Darian walked toward Lachlan, calm. With a faint smile, he said, "You already kneeled, and now you've given me offerings. Fine… I won't be too harsh. Let's finish this quickly."

He kept coming closer slowly…

"You… don't come any closer…!" Lachlan screamed, terrified, feeling death closing in. He was clearly out of power—he'd used everything and showed off earlier—but in front of Darian, it looked pathetic.

Darian took a quick step.

Then he grabbed Lachlan by the neck and lifted him like a chicken.

"You gonna admit defeat?" Darian murmured.

Everyone stayed silent. Would someone proud like Lachlan admit defeat after all that? They'd rather die.

"Looks like you don't have that courage… good." Darian smiled and his hand trembled.

"Stop!"

A figure flew through the air toward the martial stage. It was Dean Zlark, Lachlan's father.

But suddenly the whole sky heated up. The heavens turned red; a sun-sized fireball appeared overhead.

Zlark looked up and froze, feeling enormous danger. "Sect Leader, what does this mean?!" he shouted.

"Isn't it obvious? Take one more step and I'll declare you a traitor and have you executed." Murral spoke slowly, his gaze full of murderous intent.

"The rules were made clear by me: if he doesn't die or admit defeat, no one may interfere. I told everyone to watch and wait patiently, but it seems my message was ignored."

"AHH!"

Everyone turned back to the stage and saw Lachlan let out a scream of pure despair.

He wailed as a black mark pulsed on his forehead. Veins bulged all over his body; his roars were terrifying, like he was enduring unimaginable pain.

Darian held him with an indifferent look.

"Too bad for you, I'm very good at making someone suffer. I can destroy your soul forever so you never reincarnate." Darian's voice sounded like a demonic omen.

"If you only want to die and still reincarnate, you better answer my questions right. Who's the real person giving you orders?"

After speaking, Darian squeezed the neck and poured even more black power into him. Lachlan's screams grew higher, sending chills through everyone.

Suddenly, Lachlan shouted, "Please kill me! I can't take it! I'll tell you anything, anything you want! I'm an informant the Radiant King set up! I'm not the only one in the sect—there are many others!"

"What?!" the crowd gasped.

Those words caused an uproar. Everyone stared at Lachlan, unbelieving.

Darian asked slowly, "Oh? You have proof, right?"

"YES! In my space crystal! The evidence is sealed in it! If you use my blood, you can open it and see!" Lachlan rasped.