Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 13B3 - Nest

Mountains fell from the sky, squashing the weaker Witherling Fiends mercilessly. There was also the occasional dense rock blasting from a golden portal, small rifts in space that twisted the Witherling Fiends’ bodies, and larger rocks blocking the monsters’ paths and attacks.

The ground around David shook violently as some of the larger rocks crashed to the ground near him, but he paid little attention to them. It wasn’t like they were aimed at him in the first place. If anything, David doubted Maja would ever let it get that far. She was not one to make mistakes like that.

He was struck by a few pebbles and loose soil that sputtered in all directions as the heaviest rocks plunged deep into the ground. David erupted a small shield when a stronger Witherling Fiend’s roots whipped toward the rocks, shattering them. Taking the Fiend’s distraction to his advantage, David used [Phantom Rush] once again, closing in on the creature that blocked his path to the Nest.

The Class Skill consumed a considerable amount of energy, but it was acceptable with the multitude of energy storages at his disposal.

He reached the Witherling Fiend, cast [Herald’s Blessing] on himself and Serpent Fang, before willing the lightning currents crackling across the sword’s surface to gather at its edge. The Will etched into the sword resisted ever so slightly, but David squashed it easily, his focus never diverting from the enemy ahead.

He slashed the Fiend, Serpent Fang cutting through the monster’s tough hide with some resistance. Yet, as the creature’s upper body collapsed to the ground, its body shriveling faster than he could conjure the Obsidian Blade, its lower body continued to move. It wiggled, and roots burst from the ground, threatening to pierce David if he hadn’t called upon [Bloodbound Bastion] in time.

The roots were blocked, the shield unscathed, but the fight was not over. David willed the Obsidian Blade back to his mind space and materialized it back into his right hand. Words of Power slipped out of his mouth, working their wonders on the soulbound weapon as he threw it.

The blade whistled through the air and lodged into the severed lower body of the Witherling Fiend, draining the condensed mass of lifeforce that had retreated underground. The Witherling Fiend shriveled and turned into a lifeless husk, joining its upper half in the afterlife, while its lifeforce retreated further—deeper.

“You won’t be able to recover,” David uttered coldly, draining the remains of lifeforce until nothing was left to recover.

He took the opportunity to glance at Zachariah, checking if he needed some help eradicating the Witherling Fiends, but he should have known better. The Regressor eliminated the Core of the Witherling Fiends instantaneously, long before they sensed impending death. They couldn’t even attempt to retreat, to pull their lifeforce and Essence underground where they could recover slowly. Death consumed them faster than any of them could react as Zachariah reaped their souls.

That shouldn’t have been a surprise with Zachariah—not anymore, at least—but it did.

I have to get used to this. He is a Regressor and was a god before he returned to initiate the final Cycle with his divine buddies, for fuck’s sake! He cursed in his mind, infusing more blood into his eyes even if that wasn’t necessary to sense the life signals of the Witherling Fiends that had been squashed by rocks.

Most had been taken by surprise, preventing rapid retreat beneath the surface, but some Witherling Fiends survived—or their Essence did. But cleansing the battlefield was not of utmost importance. Their current task was something else.

David’s head flicked to a grotesque, slimy mass of flesh coated in what appeared to be gelatine. It looked like a disgusting, disfigured version of a cocoon the size of a family home, fleshly tendrils jutting from beneath, piercing through the ground, trembling violently as they tensed, keeping the structure upright. It pulsed and wiggled, releasing puffs of smog from a small opening at the top, looking oddly similar to a chimney as David looked at it properly.

The smog is probably the only similarity to a chimney. Even then—whose chimney expels smog containing tainted lifeforce? David grimaced, his eyes drifting to the mountains of corpses covered in the same gelatinous substance which preserved the corpses and the lifeforce they contained.

He didn’t require Bloodthrone Dominion to see the lifeforce compressed within the corpses engulfed in liquid.

Small creatures emerged from the piles, carrying several corpses toward a small, convulsing opening at the lower end of the construct.

David’s eyes lingered on the opening—the Nest’s Hearth—for a moment, and he tensed.

Zachariah had been right. The Nest, albeit created in the events of a natural phenomenon, was no longer a creation of the Earthen Union. It had been tainted, modified, by the trace of utter darkness that had been planted in the Nest’s Hearth.

Now that I see it firsthand, it’s easy to tell that the swirl of the Void is not supposed to be there. The Nest, including the fleshly structures, appear to be a perfect entity. They’re one and the same and work together to create something great—whatever that is supposed to be. But the Hearth is different.

What should have worked in a beautiful manner of union had been transformed into something grotesque.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

David cast [Blood Blast] a few times, piercing the fleshly constructs that resembled ants as he stepped closer. Zachariah was still busy with a few Witherling Fiends at the lower end of the Gold Ranks, but he would arrive shortly as well. In the meantime, David was to interrupt the creation of more Void-infected creatures.

Once pierced, the fleshly constructs rippled and burst apart. David erupted a shield in time, blocking chunks of flesh that would have struck him instead.

“What now? Zachariah mentioned a ‘cleansing,’ but how are we supposed to do that? Can I pierce the Nest and be done with it? Probably not.” He tilted his head, resummoning the Obsidian Blade in his empty hand. Serpent Fang, on the other hand, returned to the Sacred Beast Core.

Should I drain its lifeforce? That would do, right?

David considered the option and decided against it. He approached the monster corpses covered in glibbery liquid instead. Words of Power rolled from his lips again to empower the soulbound weapon’s properties before he stabbed the first corpse. The blade thrust easily through the gelatine and dug deep into the monster’s flesh, rapidly draining its preserved lifeforce.

Maybe he could have done something differently, but stabbing the corpses—draining their lifeforce before the Nest’s Hearth could absorb anything—seemed decent enough. It wasn’t like the Nest could move on its own either way.

In the first place, a Nest was not something to be afraid of. If anything, it was a heavenly treasure, often used to create training grounds for youngsters. Of course, that only worked as long as the Nest produced weak monsters, which was said to be relatively easy—or so Zachariah mentioned when he’d shared his plan.

But as useful as a Nest would have been for the Dwarven Sanctuary and the weakest integrators, as their dire need for training and real combat experience in a relatively safe environment was crucial, the Nests had to be destroyed.

David sensed a pulse of lifeforce and got up with a groan. He still hadn’t finished draining half the preserved corpses, ushering him to release tendrils of Blood into the surroundings. He used [Blood Manipulation], transforming the tendrils’ ends into spearheads that lodged into the corpses around him, draining their lifeforce at his command. He then turned to look at the Void-infected Nest.

Zachariah had given them a fancier name, but “Void-infected” rang better in David’s ears. After all, that was exactly what their targets were. Infected by the Void—the Fissure, to be precise. A swirl of the all-consuming darkness had embedded itself within the Nest, transforming it into machinery capable of producing Void-infected creatures.

Thus, their mission: the destruction of all Nests.

Maybe the destruction of the Void Fragments sounded more important, but they were of equal importance, as Void-infected Nests could produce Sproutlings at times. Sproutlings may rarely come into existence through Nests, but it is within their means.

But as unfortunate as they usually were, their current situation appeared rather promising.

A revolting smell struck David’s nose as more waves of lifeforce erupted from the Nest.

The upper portion of the cocoon split open in layers that resembled the petals of flowers when they blossomed. However, what had been a pleasant and beautiful memory in his mind transformed into a grotesque scenery right before his eyes. The cocoon split open, revealing a small frame engulfed in an all-too-familiar darkness.

David tensed, his mind rattling as the Nest rippled once more. The frame, still unmoving, slipped from the gelatinous substance covering the cocoon and slumped to the ground as the Nest’s flesh petals snapped closed once more.

There was no time to think, so David moved instinctively, his Source screaming as he unleashed [Primeval Pulse]. A beam of energy gathered in his palm and erupted, glimmering translucent grey as it crossed the distance to the creature that couldn’t have been taller than a generic goblin.

The creature’s eyes fluttered open, and their eyes met for a moment—but that was already more than enough. David’s throat tightened and his hair stood on end, a mixture of excitement and anxiety clinging to his heart. However chaotic he felt as their eyes met, his attack still landed.

A sickening crunch resounded, but David couldn’t tell if that was his hand, lower arm, or wrist as it rang in his ears. Still, the corner of his lips curled upward as [Primeval Pulse] pierced the ominous creature, killing it on the spot.

[Void Fetus has been defeated.]

David slumped to the ground, searing pain passing through his arms as they scraped across the bottom, but the tension did not leave his body even as the darkness-shrouded creature collapsed to the ground.

He attempted to cast [Greater Restoration], but it didn’t work. His Source screamed again, dried up and on the verge of cracking.

I used all Blood to activate [Primeval Pulse]? Makes sense my body couldn’t endure the strain.

He grimaced but didn’t panic, channeling Blood from the Storages and Beast Core into his Source. Trickles of Blood riveted through his body, filling the Source slowly until it contained enough to accelerate the productions. He drained the lifeforce of the corpses around him faster and activated [Aether Breath], flooding his body with life and Aether.

Only then did he cast [Greater Restoration] again, fixing his broken bones. Deryadus’ Arm was barely damaged, but it healed just as easily as his broken bones.

“It was probably a good decision to come here first.” Zachariah appeared beside David, coated in dark blood.

“A Fetus,” David said, not even looking up to greet the Regressor.

“Also known as an incomplete Sapling. The Nest must have reacted instinctively to the impending danger, releasing the Sapling before it could fully form.”

If the Nest had already consumed the piles of corpses, they would have been faced with a full-fledged Void Sproutling, and another creature of the Void would have wreaked havoc in the Earthen Union.

Then again, David was certain he, Zachariah, and Maja would have handled the Sproutling just as well.

Still, it might have been best if they found it before the Sapling had fully formed.

He emptied the corpses behind him and pointed at the Nest, the remaining lifeforce flickering wildly.

“Can I drain it?”

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶