Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 27Book 4: : Brawl

The army of Sworn Giants was dead, and no more giants emerged from the prehistoric Rift.

That was… unfortunate. It was truly disastrous and couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

Close to 300 giants fell in the Dwarven Sanctuary after razing it to the ground, but fewer than half of their corpses remained. The rest had been consumed once their sealed lifeforce was fully depleted. That left close to 150 carcasses, though they were barely useful at this point.

They retained some lifeforce, but it was barely enough to produce 100 pure Blood droplets or to sustain [Mender’s Lattice] long enough to heal him. Regardless, it was uncertain if that’d be enough to defeat William.

Beads of sweat mixed with the masses of sticky blood that drenched every inch of David as he evaded more incoming attacks.

He applied [Bleeding] and [Lacerate] on the blood and willed it to form razor-sharp blades. They whipped outward at a blinding speed that should have taken William by surprise, but his eyes glowed, and he transformed into a whirlwind of movement one moment later, shattering the blood blades before they could hit the Venomancer.

David retreated another step, attention lingering on [Lifeweaver’s Bond]’s analysis of the strain that was weighing on William’s body. The abomination was not a proper Ascendant from the looks of it. At least, he shouldn’t be, given how much every divine ability strained him.

David could use his Arcana freely, without any restraints, but the same did not seem to apply to William, despite him using so many simultaneously. While that was great and wore on his body, William’s monstrous regeneration counteracted most problems.

“Are you tired already?” William roared as he closed the distance between them once again.

He was tired. Dead tired, even. But that mattered little. Nobody cared how exhausted he was. In the first place, he could rest once he was dead. Until then, he would keep going.

David’s feet shifted on the ground. He adjusted his stance and prepared for the attack ahead when the clouds overhead caught his attention. Crackles rippled through the dark clouds, and a lightning-fast bolt of dark violet descended from the sky. William clearly didn’t expect the attack from above. He sensed something, but he didn’t slow down; instead, he attacked David, who shifted with [Phantom Rush] active.

David evaded the incoming attack and watched Electra’s lightning tear through William’s defense. William roared in pain and froze momentarily. David manifested the Obsidian Blade and would have attacked if it wasn’t for the defiant scream echoing in his mind.

A massive, sinuous frame descended from the sky. It burst through the dark cloud like a crimson flash and crashed into David.

“You do realize you don’t have to charge at me at top speed whenever you want to fuse with me, right?” he snickered, as Electra’s massive, feathered wings sprouted from Scalemore’s back. A halo of the Sacred Beast formed around him, all while the raw power of 800 pure Blood droplets and the Might of a Champion, with the power of lightning and the experience and knowledge of an ancient Sacred Beast, settled within him.

The Mythical Electra had long since stopped resenting him. She was no longer resisting him either. Electra wanted to use him instead—for revenge. To regain freedom. To be who and what she desired to be. And David was willing to support her ambition. He did not hold her back and instead gave her what she desired most.

However, this time—against William—their ambition was one and the same. They wanted the same and were willing to risk it all to succeed.

Electra desired vengeance, and killing the Fragment Holder of the Poisonous Beast God was the first step she took to accomplish that.

David wished for revenge as well. He wanted to repay William for what he had done to Torb. But more than that, David hoped to free William from Zephyr’s grasp and the endless hunger for power. He would do everything to free William, even if that meant he had to kill him.

The mind of the Ascendant and his Champion merged as David and his Echoes fused. It may only be temporary, but their powers became one even as their minds remained split.

More lightning arcs gathered in the dark clouds, but this time they weren’t merely dark violet. Pristine-white arcs whistled through the clouds, thundering aloud as a grayish hue fused into the bolts, both dark and pristine, empowering both. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

At the same time, [Archaic Shackles] burst from the ground with more vigor than ever. Vitae seeped into the chains as [Herald’s Blessing] empowered them further. Simultaneously, a massive lightning bolt of dark and pristine colors burst from the sky. Only the chains were David’s doing, whereas Electra controlled the clouds, [Origin Lightning], and [Herald’s Blessing] freely.

In the same instance, David reactivated Cycle’s Embrace. It was now at Level 26 and finally useful.

However, there was no time to hesitate anymore. It was time to counterattack and to beat the living shit out of William. Deryadus’ Arm shifted back to a hand cannon, and he released [Primeval Pulse] once again, all while Words of Power rolled from his tongue.

William tried to block the incoming attack using a divine ability—Fortress’s Might?—but he was struggling. Fear flickered in his eyes for the first time, and David could see a glimpse of the same old William he had known before the Earthen Union descended into chaos, but he did not hesitate. This was not the time to show weakness.

William made his decision, and he would have to live with it – or die.

Mercy was not something David could afford. He released the traces of Vitae that had seeped into [Archaic Shackles] and forced them into the abomination’s lower body, infesting William with an even worse ailment than he’d inflicted mere minutes ago.

William’s serpentine eyes widened, and space distorted around him, but he failed to teleport. Perfect!

The corner of David’s lips curled into a thin smile as he moved closer. The Obsidian Blade, in its smallest form, materialized in his fully regrown sword arm, and he attacked, using more primordial Words of Power to fully submerge Rend in the might of the Law of Unbinding.

William struggled. He couldn’t leave the battlefield and teleport away, and he must have noticed what awaited him as he listened to the primordial Words of Power rolling from David’s lips.

There was no hesitation in his frightened eyes as he aimed the sworded arms at himself—to sever his own lower body.

Space distorted around them once more the moment William’s lower body was severed from the rest of him. The fear in his eyes disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, but David did not let that stop him.

He slashed William, releasing Rend, although the Ancient Law had not taken full hold of the Intent just yet. No more Words of Power escaped his lips, but he issued a quick second attack as Rend carved through William’s searing flesh. David’s calculation had been perfect. Electra’s fused lightning bolts weakened William’s scaled defense just enough for [Primeval Pulse] to burn through scales and flesh. And that was just about enough to rupture William’s chest as Rend, drenched in the Ancient Law – albeit incomplete – impacted.

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David moved quickly, relying on his movement abilities to ram the Obsidian Blade into the gaping hole in William’s chest. The small blade found its target and dug deep, but David couldn’t even utilize his full momentum as his enemy disappeared. At least, his upper body did.

His lower body was still chained and fully restrained.

But was that enough? David didn’t think so.

Although it looked different this time, William’s monstrous regeneration kicked in. His sworded arms retracted and revealed William’s clawed hands, and his divine abilities deactivated, other than his monstrous regeneration—which seemed to be even stronger than before now that it was the only active ability.

It took David quite a bit of effort not to smile as William’s chest healed, creating a weave of fleshy tendrils that formed around the Obsidian Blade as they reconnected. The soulbound weapon continued to drain William’s lifeforce alongside Cycle’s Embrace, and it would take a greater effort to remove it now that William’s chest had healed, forming skin and several layers of scales to protect the abomination.

William stared at David with wide eyes, and it took him a moment to look at the mess behind. His lower body had already begun to regenerate, yet the abomination glanced over to the silver chains where his “old” lower body had once been.

David didn’t have to look back to know what happened. He knew the lower body had been consumed by the Vitae, which had finally gathered in the ground.

It’s time to end this.

Dominion was ready. The Sanctuary had been consumed, and David was half-certain that William hadn’t noticed that at all. It was difficult to conceal the fact that the ruins of the Dwarven Sanctuary were missing. That everything had been consumed other than the defenders’ corpses and the prehistoric Rift, but it did not look like William noticed anything. Not even the changes to the market square attracted his attention.

But that was probably for the best. He was better off as long as William was oblivious to everything awaiting him.

David rushed at William. Serpent Fang materialized in his hands, which Electra soaked in condensed arcs of lightning. They crackled on the claymore’s surface and zipped in all directions as the Sacred Beast infused more and more power.

His attacks were swift and relentless, releasing a destructive force that should have had no issue cleaving through William’s flesh and bones. But Serpent Fang struggled to carve through the layers of scales, let alone the flesh beneath.

A thick, brownish hue poured out of William, protecting him from greater harm even as condensed arcs of lightning whipped through the air. The currents of electricity pierced the brownish hue and burned through the scales, yet they did little to inflict severe injuries. Even as Serpent Fang finally passed through the brownish hue, David failed to inflict lethal wounds. Mild burns and light cuts were all David managed, which William’s monstrous regeneration countered easily.

William was back at full health within seconds, his lower body fully regenerated, and he was stronger than ever.

He’s already digested the Might of the Champions he devoured earlier, didn’t he? David guessed, reaching out to the Weave to confirm his suspicion.

Fuck.

He’d been certain it would be over soon, but now?

No, it had to be over soon. No matter what, the victor would be decided shortly!

William teleported again. He reappeared behind David, who could barely turn around before the abomination was on him. William was faster than before, and it took David a moment to feel the thumping in the back of his head. He analyzed his own body in a moment and was surprised to see that the back of his head was missing.

His brain hadn’t been injured, but the backside of his skull was missing. It was only held in place thanks to Electra’s tireless efforts to maintain his fighting condition.

When did that happen?

It had to be no more than a second ago—probably when William blinked through space. But how had he failed to notice anything?

David gritted his teeth and cast [Transcendent Restoration] twice.

He relied heavily on [Unyielding Vitality] to sustain him, which was badly needed when William released another aether beam. The abomination’s attacks were faster than before. William now called upon his divine abilities with greater ease—and they weren’t even weaker in exchange for the quicker charges. Quite the contrary, the Venomancer’s divine abilities were even stronger than before.

David used [Phantom Rush], and it was not a moment too early. He sidestepped and twisted his body as the azure beam blazed toward him with blinding speed, yet he was too slow. The beam reached him mid-twist and pierced his chest with ease. Even worse, it grazed his Corrupted Divine Heart, forcing David to cast and overclock [Transcendent Restoration].

[Unyielding Vitality] sparked to life and ensured safe recovery, but that didn’t mean William stopped attacking. He was just getting started.

David was once again at a disadvantage. Yet William was not the only one who had gotten stronger since the start of the battle. David was constantly growing as well.

Close to 300,000 bonds generated a constant stream of power, which had flowed into the Divine Seed in his heart for the last few days.

It was not easy to get used to the ever-present sensation of growing stronger, but it was about time to make use of it. He had to if he wanted to survive.

David reached out to the Weave while his half-mind and Electra worked tirelessly to escape William’s wrath.

He accessed the Might within the Divine Seed and grasped the stream of power flowing out from the Weave all the same. It took only a moment to perceive the Weave, and not much longer to utilize Might to alter it. The initial modification was subtle and required only a trickle of Might. William didn’t seem to notice anything, and David released more Might to alter the Weave more obviously.

It was so obvious, William should have sensed it easily. Yet… he didn’t.

David tested William’s senses with a few more blatant alterations in the Weave until it was clear the abomination couldn’t access it. Was that because his power was stolen? Because it wasn’t rightfully his? Not even the Divinity Fragment belonged to William. It was the Poisonous Beast God’s power and had never truly been William’s. Was that it?

David stared straight at a highly condensed aether beam as he used more Might to tear through William’s attack. He simply willed it to split in two, and the aether beam bent to his command. It split before his eyes and whistled past him—left and right. The beam never touched him.

William stared ahead and conjured two aether beams, one in each clawed hand. He released them simultaneously and had to watch the projectiles whistle past David, never getting close enough to harm him.

“Speed,” David muttered as he willed the Weave to bend to his desire.

The ground tore open as his feet pressed firmly into dry soil, and he barreled toward William.

Space distorted as David finally caught up with the Venomancer. He raised Serpent Fang, which shimmered vibrantly from Electra’s augmentations, yet the blade was bound to never reach William.

“Spacelock,” David added, his voice laced with authority, and the distortion in the space around them ceased.

William’s eyes bulged. He raised his arms, which expanded as a brownish hue oozed from his scales.

“Power. Destruction,” David growled, sacrificing several hours of his progress to the second Star without hesitation.

A surge of power bloomed from his regenerating chest. It surged toward his arms and into Serpent Fang, gracing him with supernatural power as he cleaved down.

His muscles burned in agony as the claymore impacted. It felt like his arms had been thrown into hellfire, yet David did not stop. The thought didn’t even cross his mind as a guttural roar escaped his lips.

Cracking noises rang blissfully in his ears, followed quickly by movement. Serpent Fang carved through the browning hue and William’s scales. The enormous blade cut into William’s arms and dug deeper.

With a second roar—defiant and many times louder than the pained hisses of his adversary—David’s strike landed true and severed William’s arms.