Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 25B2 - The Way

Sometimes, he wondered how much his mind could handle. His head throbbed, but not just from listening to Zachariah. David had to use [Healing Sphere] and [Restore] for nearly an hour since the regressor refused to stop talking.

Zachariah only slowed when speaking about them—he had yet to specify who "they" were—but barely enough for the healing to take effect, ensuring he wouldn’t collapse. Meanwhile, David’s only consolation was that his Skill Runes’ proficiency kept increasing and that tending to Zachariah barely drained his Source.

Regardless, they finally devised a plan—if one could even call it that.

“You should know best which paths to take and which trails to avoid. That feeling—as if your Class is pushing you toward something or warning you away—you know it too,” Zachariah said. “All you have to do is think carefully before making a final decision—or just follow your instincts, depending on what fits better.”

David felt like cussing the regressor out, but before he could say anything, Zachariah jumped up. A sudden, dangerous aura radiated from him as silver blade currents burst from his body. He unsheathed his sword, his head snapping toward the sky.

“Something’s coming!”

What the—? David’s eyes followed Zachariah’s until they landed on an enormous mass of life. At first, it seemed distant and motionless—but it wasn’t. Not at all. It was closing in—fast and relentlessly.

David shuddered, struggling to comprehend how something could contain so much lifeforce.

“How did something like that end up here!?” Zachariah cursed, mantling his whole body in Sword Intent.

David had numerous questions, but his focus remained locked on the massive creature weaving through the clouds, rising high above the System Sanctuary. He could only see part of its body, but that was enough to induce fear. A serpent-like form, dozens of meters long, with massive feathered wings that stretched far, eclipsing the afternoon sun.

It hovered above the settlements in silence. An eternity passed in mere seconds.

Then, the creature opened its beak and unleashed a thunderous screech that reverberated through David’s entire body.

His ears rang, and warmth trickled from them, but his eyes never left the beast. He stared in defiance, his heart hammering as the true meaning of domineering power dawned upon him.

Then, something shifted.

The monster opened its beak again—not to screech, but to gather energy. David could sense traces of lifeforce swirling within the black, crackling mass forming inside its mouth.

What was that? He shuddered as the dark energy condensed.

“Use everything you have!” Zachariah shouted, his skin bursting as unfamiliar words escaped his lips. “NOW!!”

The atmosphere thickened instantly, and the cuts across David’s skin stretched—longer. Deeper.

He glanced at Zachariah, who stood defiant, his sword expanding into a massive, several-meter-long broadsword. The regressor groaned, blood spurting from his torn skin as he lifted the blade. The sickening crack of breaking bones echoed in David’s ears. His eyes widened as bones jutted from Zachariah’s elbow and shoulder, but the regressor showed no sign of noticing.

He only stared at the creature above them, then slashed.

The single strike unleashed a silver crescent beam—smaller than the monster’s fang, yet carrying everything Zachariah could draw from the Sword Law without dying. His eyes dimmed, his life signal flickering dangerously as his legs buckled.

A moment later, the regressor lost consciousness, final words escaping his lips.

“Not… enough…”

David barely had time to process the attack before the black, crackling mass tore through the sky.

For a moment, he mistook it for a lightning bolt, but that thought disappeared as it obliterated Zachariah’s attack in an instant. He couldn’t even tell if Zachariah’s move had done any damage—the black lightning bolt simply tore through it, continuing its relentless descent. It raced toward the ground, leaving him no time to react.

Good thing I listened to his warning, David thought, continuing where he’d left off.

Time seemed to crawl when he acted. He rapidly recited Words of Power, hoping they were comprehensible enough to work efficiently while moving toward Zachariah. He may not have had the means to heal Zachariah while making his preparations, but he could at least protect him from the aftermath.

The black lightning bolt was about to hit the ground—was it targeting the market square?—when he covered Zachariah with his body. He activated [Blood Armor], overclocking it, and cast [Blessing] on himself and Zachariah. He also blessed [Blood Armor]—of course, overclocked with as much Blood as he could spare—and the dozen massive crimson shields that vibrated with an abundance of Blood as he attached them to the back of [Blood Armor], covering his back and the rest of his body like a tortoise shell.

He cast one last glance toward the market square and cursed inwardly as an explosion echoed. Hundreds of life signals vanished in an instant. Then, a thunderous shockwave struck him.

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David cursed as the first [Blood Aegis] shattered. He pressed himself tightly against Zachariah as the second shield followed. The third and fourth broke within seconds, yet all David felt was the staggering amount of Blood draining from his Source.

The shields are too weak. Even the Law augmentation is not enough, he realized, forcing himself to use his lifeforce to empower his Skill Runes. He knew he didn’t have time to hesitate and accessed the Law of Blood, draining a portion of his lifeforce to strengthen the remaining shields as they shattered one by one.

David couldn't tell how much time had passed, but at some point, the thunderous cacophony around him faded. However, he didn’t move, remaining atop Zachariah, expecting a second attack. But the second attack never came.

David maintained his Skill Runes until only a single drop of Blood remained. He looked up, the only sounds reaching his roaring ears being screams of pain and terror.

David’s head darted left and right, but the winged serpent was nowhere to be seen. It had left, leaving Arc in ruins. The structures around them were destroyed, and the plant life burned to cinder. Even the cobbled street had been obliterated by the thunderous shockwave. Black lightning crackled sporadically, and it wasn’t long before his eyes fell upon the first burned bodies. But there were dozens, most likely ordinary residents.

“Fuck,” he blurted aloud, slumping to the ground. His arms and legs trembled, but his Source was worse off. It tremored violently. Had he overused the Law of Blood again?

David tried not to expect the worst, but if the area around them was already like this, he dreaded what the market square might look like. Only the Sanctuary’s outskirts seemed to have been spared the worst. The life signals he sensed from further away were distressing but mostly intact. Maybe some unfortunate residents had been struck by the weakened remains of the shockwave, injuring them slightly. However, their lives weren’t at risk.

On the other hand… David turned toward the market square, his expression darkening. In the few seconds he took to analyze the situation, dozens of life signals dispersed, and hundreds reached a dangerously low threshold.

His body felt like it was about to fall apart, but he couldn't just sit there. Not with pained screams ringing in his ears.

“Fuck this shit,” David growled, scrambling to his feet. He turned to the regressor. Zachariah was unconscious, his arms looking like a mangled mess. “At least you’re still alive.”

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He rummaged through Zachariah’s stuff until he found the glass vials in his potion belt. David pulled out a healing potion and retrieved a Fragment of Blood from his spatial necklace.

“You better not break me here,” he cursed, whispering Words of Power as he removed the potion’s cork. Next, he crushed the Fragment and dropped the shards into the vial. David swirled the potion, watching as the shards dissolved with the final words of his incantation.

He pressed the glass vial against his lips and emptied it in a single gulp. A gasp escaped him, and he hurled the vial aside before turning back to the regressor.

“You wouldn’t mind, right?” David muttered as he pressed his palm firmly against Zachariah’s chest. “It’s just a little bit.”

A moment later, he drained a portion of Zachariah’s remaining lifeforce. As he activated [Holy Touch], crimson tendrils unfurled. The ambient Aether crackled dangerously, but David devoured and annexed it greedily. Next, he channeled more Aether into the Source, urging the blood to form naturally, hoping it would compensate for the lifeforce he lacked.

How many can I save with this? David asked himself grimly as he rushed to the market square.

It was a mess. The Familia was gone. A massive crater yawned where their building once stood. Was that the monster’s target? he wondered, turning to the Panthea. The sacred alley leading to the Pantheon still stood, but that didn’t surprise David. It would have been more shocking if the Pantheon had allowed their statues and temples to be destroyed. After all, he remembered the Pantheon’s gods to be prideful.

But at the end of the day, David didn’t care how the Panthea survived the sudden attack. He was just glad that some people had survived—though none near the impact zone remained unscathed.

David rushed toward them, channeling Blood into his Skill Runes.

He cast [Weave of Life], expanding the weave as much as possible while shouting, “Bring the lethally wounded to the network on the ground!”

It wouldn’t heal anyone, but [Weave of Life] was his best Skill for preserving lives. He added [Healing Spheres] a few times, attaching them to the weave before repeating the process two more times—once in the middle of the Panthea and again at the end of it.

He found several men and women buried beneath a collapsed building near the Panthea. My modified eyes deserve some praise, he thought as he carried them to the weave.

“You! Help, or I’ll make you!” David snarled at a young Tirac cowering among the wounded. He was scratched and bleeding from his head, but his life signals were strong, albeit in disarray. The Tirac was merely afraid and, from the looks of it, unwilling to move.

“I am injured!” the Tirac hissed back, but David wasn’t having it.

In an instant, he appeared before the Tirac, his hands coiling around his scale-covered neck. He didn’t squeeze; killing him had never been the plan. Instead, he unleashed a burst of [Holy Touch], tendrils of holy power latching onto the Tirac and draining his lifeforce.

He spared the man’s life, but just barely. The Tirac crumpled as his lifeforce drained away.

“Fucking selfish piece of shit,” David cursed, tempted to kick the Tirac’s limp body.

But he hesitated.

What… am I doing here? he wondered, struggling to recognize himself. Was it necessary to be so angry at the Tirac? If this had been a few weeks ago, wouldn’t he have acted the same way?

No. I was worse than that piece of crap.

He recalled what he had done to Jake and his little girlfriend. He remembered how he had reacted when the Demon Horde attacked.

Had something changed since then? He couldn’t think of anything.

“Whatever. I’ll reflect on it later,” David cursed through gritted teeth as the pained screams and groans echoed in his ears.

He had people to rescue. The more, the better.

That’s the way of the Lifeweaver.

David clenched his fists, tapping into his dwindling power, barely recognizing the vibrant glow shrouding his Source.