Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 17B2 - Power

He refused to give up on the Origin Essence floating behind the Giants’ defense line. It fused with the ambient Aether, creating a mixture that was easier to absorb. Most lifeforms naturally absorbed the combination of Aether and Origin Essence, including the Giants. But David was different. He didn’t want Aether to fill his body, wasting the space that could have been occupied by Origin Essence.

He wanted more than a few traces of Origin Essence!

Through his crimson-tinged vision, David spotted the vibrant glimmers of Origin Essence around him, their clarity unmistakable. He cast [Holy Touch] and conjured several tendrils that spread outward to reach for the Origin Essence, consuming it on command. His head flicked around, analyzing the battlefield as the Origin Essence flowing into him empowered [Dao Comprehension] before it could fully settle.

Strengthening his physique was important, but wasting [Dao Comprehension]'s full potential now would be a mistake. It granted him much more than the minor physical enhancements he could achieve from settling the energy in his body. The Legacy Skill gave him a sense of true power and what he could accomplish if he used every means at his disposal.

He leaped off the Brachiosaur’s back and conjured a crimson shield to kick off. Repeating the process, David jumped higher and higher into the air. The flock of avian dinosaurs attacking the Giants avoided him, dispersing quickly as he closed the distance. Paying them no heed, he continued jumping through the air, using [Blood Aegis] as a springboard to bypass the chaos below.

To ensure his trip past the Giants remained peaceful, David overclocked [Symphony Control] on himself and the surrounding creatures. A white dove materialized before him while black doves pursued the avians, transforming them into prime targets. David ignored the human-sized bolts whizzing past him, their blunt thuds echoing as they struck unseen targets, and brushed past the Stone Giants below.

Once he was past the Giants, David descended and reached a small stone structure resembling an altar. Several massive pillars surrounded a large pedestal made of a dark material permeated with azure threads that looked like veins. Aether and Origin Essence—especially the latter—circulated through the pedestal. But David was far more interested in the cow-sized sphere levitating above it.

The violet sphere exuded an enormous amount of Aether, but even more so, Origin Essence. David stepped closer to the sphere—likely the Rift Core—and felt the flow of Origin Essence double as it entered his body.

He resisted the urge to let the Origin Essence settle. He could tell it would help him, and a part of him wanted to save it for [Reinforce] later. However, his instincts and a much larger portion of his mind urged him to channel all of it into [Dao Comprehension].

And [Dao Comprehension] responded drastically. Origin Essence was more potent—more efficient—than Blood, which David could feel more clearly as the pure energy surged through him. Step by step, he inched closer until his body was wreathed in it. He dispersed the ambient Aether or devoured it instantaneously, amplifying [Holy Touch] as its tendrils surged outward to pull more Origin Essence closer.

He savored the feeling of [Dao Comprehension] unraveling one mystery after another. Concepts that had seemed distant or difficult now came into focus, including the combined use of Skill Runes and the intricacies of the Law of Blood. Words of Power escaped his lips, but not to access the Law of Blood further. Instead, he used them to expand his understanding of the Legacy Skill.

His senses perked up, feeling something amiss, and his gaze flicked back to the battlefield.

One of the blue-skinned, mana-wielding Giants turned around, finally noticing him. It roared, drawing the attention of more Giants, but David only smiled.

He watched several blue Giants charge at him, releasing fireballs, icicles, and mana projectiles. He responded in simple fashion: waving his arm and manifesting two dozen bloody projectiles. Without hesitation, he fired them, targeting the incoming attacks.

The fireballs exploded upon impact, while the icicles and mana projectiles shattered into pieces.

At last, David manifested the Obsidian Blade. He closed his eyes briefly, inspecting his wildly trembling Source in his mind space, and infused traces of Origin Essence to replace Blood as he cast an overclocked [Blessing] on himself and the Obsidian Blade. He applied [Slash] and [Holy Touch], then charged the towering figures.

The Giants released more magic projectiles, but David didn’t hold back. He conjured a crimson shield to block the deadliest attacks and evaded the rest as he closed the distance to the Giants. One of them swung a massive club at him, but [Blood Aegis] deflected the attack. More Words of Power spilled from his lips, coating his blade in a crimson-gray mixture as he reached the first target. He stabbed the Obsidian Blade into the Giant’s leg and dragged the blade along. Warm blood splattered on his face, and an idea formed in his mind.

He split the stream of Origin Essence entering his body, infusing one portion into his words and augmenting the Words of Power. David had no idea how he concluded it was possible or how he actually did it, but it worked regardless.

He pulled his blade out and tapped into the Law of Blood before leaping at the blue Giant, ramming the soulbound blade into its chest. The Law surged, shrouding his Source in vibrant crimson light as its power came to light. David smiled, feeling the surge of power flow through his palms into the Obsidian Blade.

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The blade cut deeper into the Giant, which roared in defiance, pain, and anger at first. Soon, the roar transformed into a shriek. David watched in glee as the Giant’s skin shriveled—its abundance of life drained by the Obsidian Blade within seconds.

David couldn’t quite tell how he’d done it, but the Law of Blood had amplified his soulbound weapon’s innate effect over a dozen times. It drained him, exhausted his mind, and, most importantly, strained his Source, but it worked.

I don’t have much time left, David thought grimly, kicking the shriveled corpse to leap into the air. He cast [Blood Aegis] to block the incoming attacks and charged the other blue-skinned Giants after landing softly on the ground.

He evaded several magic projectiles, followed by a large club, and slashed at the next target. The blade cut the Giant’s tough hide easily, inflicting wounds much bigger than David had anticipated. However, he accepted the phenomenon with a vibrant smile and continued, hacking and slashing the second and third Giants until their corpses were either drained of lifeforce or torn to pieces. If a corpse still held lifeforce, David drove his blade into its stomach, draining it dry before moving on to the next target.

His chest heaved heavily, and his skin burst open as he moved, but David reached the next target, a Stone Giant, appearing behind it as the creature turned to face him. He thrust the Obsidian Blade straight into its Bloodstone. It took only a single attack to pierce the Stone Giant’s durable body and Bloodstone. The creature fell apart before his eyes, its lifeforce drained at once.

David pulled the blade back and froze—it was changing. The Obsidian Blade shifted and expanded. Its blade extended and curved slightly inward all of a sudden, taking him by surprise.

That’s not how I remember you, David thought, watching the Obsidian Blade shift back to its original form.

Maybe it— He frowned, thinking of a scimitar, and the soulbound weapon extended again.

“Much better,” he grunted, licking his bloodied lips while recasting [Slash], [Holy Touch], and [Blessing].

His Source squirmed, but David continued. He was finally back in melee; he couldn’t possibly retreat after slaying a few measly Mages! David clutched the Obsidian Blade tightly and charged at the closest enemies, targeting the most dangerous Giants to drain and kill.

His attacks grew increasingly destructive, but David felt his Source stir violently. The letters of the Law of Blood glowed vibrantly, shrouding his energy reservoir. Yet, that did not stop a Lifeweaver from sensing his own physical condition—he, or rather his Source, was on the verge of collapse.

Was the power granted through the Legacy Skill too much? he wondered, shaking his head. This strength was necessary. He had come to the natural Rift to grow stronger, and that was exactly what he was doing right now!

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David weaved past the Tyrannosaur, casting [Blessing] and [Restore] on the creature, and severed a Berserk Giant’s leg before cleaving upward, nearly cutting the monstrous Giant in two with a single strike.

So strong! he thought, draining the Berserk Giant while feeding the Words of Power and the Legacy Skill with more Origin Essence. At that moment, David realized the truth. His attacks were growing stronger, but not primarily due to the Law of Blood. Another force was at work, amplifying his slashes and thrusts drastically.

It hurt. His chest tightened, which made breathing harder, but David pressed on. He blocked incoming attacks with [Blood Aegis], evaded those that shattered the crimson shields, and cleaved through the Giants’ tough hide and flesh.

Every attack seemed to drain his strength and strain his Source. Despite this, David pressed on until the tenth shriveled corpse collapsed to the ground. Spinning around, he noticed for the first time that he had returned to the valley’s center. The Rift Core shimmered brightly, stirring something deep within him—an unrelenting desire to do more. To keep going and to grow until the Rift Core couldn’t push him any further.

He glanced at the battlefield and clicked his tongue, noticing that the bloody massacre had slowed. His vision blurred, and his legs buckled beneath him.

So that’s my limit, he thought with a frown. So what? I’m a Lifeweaver! His battle wasn’t over just because his body had failed. His mind and soul were still intact!

David stopped supplying the Legacy Skill with Origin Essence and deactivated the Law of Blood. While it felt like his vision had returned to normal, the area around him was still coated in crimson.

Several roars pulled his attention back to the battlefield, forcing him to prepare for the inevitable—a fight without his body. However, no monster charged at him. The Giants stayed away, and the prehistoric creatures backed off. Did they retreat…from me? David frowned, trembling in exhaustion as he retrieved two healing potions prepared by Zachariah.

He struggled to remove their caps and shuddered uncontrollably even after emptying the vials. Yet, despite his clear weakness, the monsters—both Giants and prehistoric—kept retreating.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly before his shivering subsided. Slowly, David regained control of his body, his gaze settling on Zachariah as the regressor approached. Zachariah’s expression was unreadable as his eyes scanned the crimson-stained area around David, a faint smile tugging at his lips. Without a word, he rushed past David.

Melach arrived next. He opened his mouth to speak but froze mid-step, halting abruptly as if encountering an invisible barrier. David watched the elf struggle to approach, only to retreat a few steps back. Finally, Melach sighed in relief, saying, “I’m glad you’re not my enemy.” He summoned an Earthen Elemental using soil and stones infused with Origin Essence.

Torb arrived last, his battered armor glinting under the crimson-stained light. Without pause, the dwarf manipulated the surrounding earth, seamlessly repairing his damaged armor as he approached.

He glanced at David with a raised brow and asked suddenly, “Are you the Blood God’s Incarnation or his Prime Champion?”

David blinked in confusion, frowning deeply. “Asmodeus? No, I’m not. Why are you asking?”

Torb turned away, muttering under his breath into his beard, “...Something is wrong with him…his head…”