Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 27B2 - Challenge

“It looks like the Monster Horde is mostly made up of venomous insects,” one of the mildly injured Protectors said, looking up from a paper slip.

A few Protectors who’d only been lightly wounded had left the Panthea with similar slips earlier, and David finally understood why.

“Can they tell how strong the monsters are? How many are there?” David asked while gesturing to the merchants to move forward. “Show me what you got. Potions—Serum would be even better—and Fragments would be best.”

“There appears to be no Elite among them,” the Protector reported, but then he fell oddly silent.

“What’s the issue?”

“The Undead Horde. There… are not only Infected. If Semian is right, there are also Skeleton Warriors and Undead Riders.”

David grimaced. He didn’t know how strong Skeleton Warriors and Undead Riders were—he had only heard of them for the first time today—but they didn’t sound like pleasant enemies.

He rummaged through several bags that the merchants had managed to carry to the Panthea in time. From what David understood, the residents trusted the Pantheon to protect them, which—as annoying as it sounded in his head—was the case. Their unshakable trust in the Pantheon was the sole reason they had survived.

It was Gods’ grace, as they called it.

David pocketed a few potions when his attention landed on two small vials. Merchant Elion, albeit trembling like a thin branch in a thunderstorm, held them out.

“Mental Fortitude Serum and Recovery Serum.”

David accepted the vials with a smile and drank them without hesitation. The headache dwindled, giving him more headspace to decide what he had to do.

I have too little Blood, David grimaced at the thought, clenching his fists. He closed his eyes, feeling the Source’s strain, and winced. It was possible to use the Law of Blood again, but he couldn’t overdo it. Not after the earlier stunt.

“I sure hope your Recovery Serum works wonders,” he commented, his attention drifting to his status.

[Three Attribute Points have been used to enhance the User’s Body.]

High(Intermediate) → Lowest(Advanced)

He felt the effect immediately. Sickening crunches rang in his ears, followed by searing waves of pain. It was almost like someone was stabbing him with thousands upon thousands of blazing blades.

But while the pain threatened to consume him, David wasn’t given any time to adjust.

The Protector holding the paper slip shuddered. “The first monsters will reach Arc soon.”

That was hardly helpful. David rolled his eyes and turned away from the idiots who couldn’t even get their act together. The situation was a disaster, but what they were doing was a death sentence. If they wanted to survive, they had to move—do something.

His eyes locked onto the tallest temple and deepened.

“If you don’t want your stuff to be ransacked and your power stolen (wouldn’t that be humiliating?), you might as well lift a finger and help us out here. If not…” David thought about it for a moment. “If not, I might as well take the Essence you guys imbued into the Panthea for myself!”

He hoped to receive some sort of response, but nothing happened. Not even a lightning bolt struck him.

Useless pieces of shit, he thought, spinning to the nearest statue.

If the others had agreed to leave, he would have left, even if that meant giving monsters and the undead access to the Divine Essence imbued into the Panthea. But the residents were too stubborn to abandon their gods.

Whatever. If they don’t want to help, then… I’ll help myself, David thought, pressing his hand firmly against the nearest statue—a woman he had never seen. She had long hair and a voluptuous chest so exaggerated it seemed like it could break her back.

He shrouded his hand in [Holy Touch] and was about to drain the transcendental power imbued into the statue when, unexpectedly, it flowed into him on its own.

He was pleasantly surprised, but the power entering his body ceased within seconds. David tried to insert every bit of it into his Source, but the power split apart. A portion entered his Source, producing Blood, while the rest formed a Rune.

But the Rune did not resemble any Skill Runes he’d seen before. It was semi-translucent and didn’t connect to his Source.

Notifications flashed to life before his eyes.

[Your selfless actions and drive to protect shall be rewarded.

You have been graced with the power of Unity.]

[Time until the power of Unity disappears: 0H:59M:59S]

The first screen shattered into countless glistening particles after he read it a second time. However, they did not disperse; instead, they reformed into a second notification.

[Unity enables the immediate annexation of all forms of energy.]

David scowled at the message, trying to grasp how he was supposed to make use of it. On a whim, he cast [Holy Touch] and absorbed the ambient Aether—only to annex it instantly.

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David swallowed. If he could do that with lifeforce as well... replenishing Blood would be effortless. He could annex both ambient Aether and foreign lifeforce instantaneously. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. Keeping Unity permanently and combining its power with [Meditation] and [Reinforce] would be invaluable… but this would have to be enough for now.

As long as he—

David spun toward the Protectors. “I can handle the insects. Their lifeforce is all I need to wipe out the entire horde. It won’t take long.”

He smiled wryly. “But I can’t fight the Undead and Monsters at the same time.”

Nearby, the merchants were distributing their potions to the Protectors, but it wasn’t enough. The few Protectors still alive were either too wounded or unconscious—just like Zachariah.

A high-pitched voice cut through the air. “Mister, can you take my power?”

David turned to find a child staring up at him. He raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, kid, I don’t have time for this.”

He turned to leave, but small fingers gripped his shirt. Annoyance bubbled inside him, but he hesitated when he met the child’s dead-serious gaze.

“What do you want, kid?”

The little Tirac shuddered but didn’t break eye contact.

“You took my brother’s power to heal others,” the kid said, pointing at an unconscious Tirac. “Do the same with me…please…I want to help too!”

Was that child serious? Did he really want David to drain his lifeforce?

David was about to reject the idea when a resident stepped forward. “That thing… can you do it with me instead? If it helps us survive today, take as much as you need!”

The following seconds unfolded like a miracle. One by one, more residents stepped forward, offering their lifeforce—because it was all they could do to help.

The first few offers caught him off guard, a strange warmth filling his chest. But David did not hesitate. He siphoned their lifeforce until they were on the brink of collapse, simultaneously absorbing ambient Aether. Both were instantly annexed and transformed into Blood, creating enough to cast [Healing Spheres] half a dozen times. He attached the spheres to the worst-wounded Protectors before casting [Restore] on as many as possible.

He helped a dozen to their feet, including Zachariah, who needed two casts of [Healing Sphere] and an overclocked [Restore] before finally regaining consciousness.

But that was enough.

“Undead are coming this way. Kill them with the Protectors.”

David said quickly, casting a wry glance at the statue of the voluptuous woman.

“Thanks a lot,” he murmured, realizing—for the first time—that he was genuinely grateful for the Pantheon’s aid. However, while he appreciated the act of one being, the knowledge that others could have intervened long ago left a sour taste in his mouth.

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Why had the others stayed silent while this one had acted?

“But I’m not sure if one hour is enough. How about giving me the power of Unity permanently?”

He didn’t expect a response. One hour of Unity and some Essence to fire up his Blood production was already far more aid than he had ever expected from the Pantheon. But asking didn’t cost anything. It might be rude and cross some boundaries, but he was probably already known as a troublemaker among the gods. So he might as well act accordingly.

However, contrary to his expectations, two notifications flashed before his eyes.

[You have challenged the creator of Unity. Your challenge has been accepted.

Apprehend the Horde of Zehir’s Disciple without any support, and Unity will be yours to keep.

Warning: If the Rune disappears before you succeed, Unity will be lost forever.]

[Failure will bring consequences far worse than Divine Tribulations!]

The second notification felt different as if it had been typed by someone else—maybe Unity’s owner.

“That was you, wasn’t it?” David stared at the statue, smirking.

He did not expect a response, and there was none. Instead of waiting for something that wouldn’t come, he turned to Zachariah and the others. “Take care of the damn Undead. The insects are MINE!”

A wave of bloodlust surged through him as he growled, “I will kill everyone who dares to touch them!”

No more time was wasted in Panthea. He’d used most of his Blood reserves to heal the Protectors, leaving him with a quarter of a droplet, some lifeforce, and an abundance of natural Aether. That had to be enough, David thought as he rushed west toward the life signals appearing on the horizon. More than a dozen had already arrived at the outskirts and entered, with more about to follow.

David cast [Blessing] on himself and accelerated toward the first intact buildings. He leaped onto the rooftop of one of them, conjuring more than a dozen projectiles around him. His Blood reserves were on the verge of drying up, but he released [Blood Blast], killing the creatures that trespassed onto the Sanctuary grounds. The rooftop beneath him cracked as he kick-started, closing the distance to the masses of venomous monsters in one jump.

He took a deep breath, studied the life signals mid-air, and used his remaining Blood to cast [Symphony Control], attaching a black dove to himself.

The first insects, hound-sized spiders, were the first to react. They spun toward him and spat a greenish substance. David sidestepped, dodging the first attacks, and noticed the ground sizzling and corroding where the acid landed.

Acid. Nasty stuff. He grimaced and materialized the Obsidian Blade. He cleaved the first spider in two and turned to the second, but blood splattered onto his clothes before he could strike. His clothes sizzled, and the burned smell struck his nostrils.

This was going to be a problem, he thought as he cleaved the second and third spiders in two.

He moved fast, killing several insects in quick succession, but several acid splashes and acidic blood hit him regardless. It couldn’t have been a whole minute before David was forced to de-summon the Platineershirt. His bare body was exposed to the insects, which seemed to double their efforts to bathe him in their substances.

David grunted, coating the Obsidian Blade in [Holy Touch] as soon as his Blood reserves recovered. He increased the speed with which the blade absorbed lifeforce at will, splitting the stream of incoming energy between [Holy Touch] and his soulbound weapon. Bits of lifeforce entered his body, where Unity annexed it instantaneously for him to use or process.

David funneled lifeforce into [Blessing], amplifying the Skill Rune before channeling it into the Obsidian Blade, pushing its lifeforce absorption to the limit.

His Source worked quickly, consuming the incoming lifeforce with every attack, but David was surrounded by insects, forcing him to cast [Purity] as the first warning notifications popped up. He redoubled his efforts, casting [Restore] while silently thanking [A Body’s Purity] for bolstering his resistance to both poison and venom.

Once his body brimmed with lifeforce and natural Aether, David let the attacks come. He let the acid splash onto him, ignoring the incoming claws and bites. If anything, David studied their movements and beheaded them at the peak of their strikes.

He was drenched in blood, venom, and acid, but despite his body breaking down, his smile never faded. He had an Advanced Body, a powerful blade that granted him infinite lifeforce given the circumstances, and an opportunity to acquire an incredibly powerful Rune.

He would not waste this opportunity, no matter how much he had to endure!