Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 48B1 - The Hunt

David charged the closest Herculean Darkai, not forgetting to cast [Bless] and [Oasis of Harmony] on the men and women surrounding the Mini-Boss.

He drew the Herculean Darkai’s full attention while enhancing the allies the creature ignored. The Herculean Darkai quickly released three black fireballs, but David blocked the first two with [Shield of Faith] while evading the third. It exploded beside him without inflicting any damage.

The Herculean Darkai’s massive wings flapped, and it barreled forward with shocking speed, clawing at him in rapid succession. The first strike was blocked by a [Shield of Faith], which shattered, and the second and third attack missed him by a hair’s breadth, but the fourth attack hit the mark.

He twisted his body, resisting the pain that threatened to overwhelm him—a sensation dulled by his current state: yet the Darkai pierced his upper arm. It impaled his arm and pulled downward in a smooth motion, which was nearly enough to cleave David’s right arm.

Pain surged through him, but he moved without hesitation. He used an overclocked [Cure Wounds] thrice and circulated [Holy Touch] through his damaged arm, stimulating his nerves and natural regeneration. The Recovery Serum continued to work, but David’s Skill Runes proved far more effective. [Cure Wounds] worked wonders and healed him much faster than before. It also drained him faster and used far more crimson motes.

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A shift rippled through his mind space. First, a pristine light pulsed in his mind, catching his interest.

One of his Skill Runes was changing. The rune inflated, split into countless particles of light that shone bright like the stars of a cloudless night and gathered again. They formed a new Skill Rune.

David was overwhelmed. [Cure Wounds] was no more, yet his intent to heal was still there, flooding him with life as the remnants of [Cure Wounds] were relayed to the new Skill Rune.

Time seemed to slow. It was only for a second, maybe even less, but that was enough to glance at the notifications.

[Proficiency of Cure Wounds reached 100%.]

[Tier-0 IX] → [Tier-0 X]

[Cure Wounds reached its limit. Initiate Tier progression.]

[Cure Wounds: Tier-0 X] →[Restore: Tier-1 I]

[Cure Wounds] advanced to [Restore]. The Skill Rune’s name was still as simple as before, but its power as a Tier-1 Skill was incomparable. It was more potent, more efficient, and more focused. [Cure Wounds] was difficult to concentrate on a specific point of his body, but [Restore] was different. It restored what David wanted to mend even before he’d verbalized his intent.

The Skill Rune was more sensitive, consuming much more energy at full power, but that made it incredibly powerful. David could have healed his half-severed arm with a single use of [Restore] instead of three overclocked [Cure Wounds].

Reality snapped back into motionDavid barely had a moment to process the surge of new power before the Herculean Darkai struck again. The demon towered before him and released a fireball in his face. It would have exploded in David’s face if he hadn’t used [Shield of Faith] to conjure a large crimson shield.

The shield resulted from his Skill Rune reaching Rank V. The shield endured the explosion and blocked the Darkai’s advance, creating an opening for the other Protectors. David wondered briefly if the others would arrive or if they had retreated. A quick glance revealed they had been fending off ordinary Darkai when the Mini-Boss charged him. How unlucky could one be?

The Darkai were dead, and the Protectors arrived at the scene. Two Mages unleashed [Arcane Blast] while the Warriors’ blades and axes were glowing and humming. One of the Warriors severed the Herculean Darkai’s left leg with a mighty cleave, whereas the others rammed their blades deep into the Mini-Boss’ back.

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"The Herculean Darkai roared in pain and fury, unfurling its wings to knock the Mages back, sending their frail bodies hurtling through the air as it spun. Fireballs shot toward the Protectors as the Darkai accelerated, clawing at them relentlessly. Blood and guts spilled everywhere.

The Mini-Boss was growing stronger. It wasn’t fair, but then again, life rarely was.

David pushed off the ground, casting [Oasis of Harmony] on himself. He seized the moment while the Mini-Boss’s attention was elsewhere, leaped into the air, and landed smoothly: as smooth as one could land on a walking demon: on its wings. He swayed briefly, noticing that the connection between the wings and shoulder blades was thinner than it first appeared, but quickly regained his balance.

David coated his soulbound weapon in a thick layer of [Holy Touch], causing it to glow, not with pure light, but in a vibrant crimson shroud as he thrust the Obsidian Blade forward. The Herculean Darkai stirred, its wings flapping in an attempt to shake David off, but he had already driven his blade deep into its neck.

[Holy Touch] surged into the target to work its wonders while the Obsidian Blade drained the Mini Boss’ blood.

The following seconds felt like an eternity. The Herculean Darkai froze as dark blood poured from its mouth. Its neck convulsed and expanded, but there was no explosion: David couldn’t tell exactly what holy power did to the Darkai, but he knew it was effective. Simultaneously, the Protectors attacked. They sensed their opportunity and assaulted the unmoving demon.

After a moment of eerie stillness, the Herculean Darkai twitched. It counterattacked, clawing its perpetrators like a desperate beast, and…collapsed.

[You have defeated Herculean Darkai (Mini Boss).]

[Proficiency of Holy Touch reached 100%.]

[Tier-1 VII] → [Tier-1 VIII]

David dropped to the ground atop the demon, rolled, and sprang smoothly to his feet. Something materialized beside him, but his attention lingered on the Protectors and the turmoil within him.

Almost. A little bit more and–

He ignored the drop and rushed to the Protectors. Their bodies went stiff as statues under the touch of David’s mist-wreathed hand.

“Stay still!” David commanded, and the Protectors would have tensed up even more if that had been possible.

He used [Restore] and [Cleanse] on the Protectors. Their wounds were swiftly cleaned and tended to, which was good. Their power was needed.

“Focus on the ordinary Darkai for the time being. Kill as many as you can. They cannot reach Arc!” He added but proceeded to rush to the Mages without waiting for a response.

The Mages looked a little bit worse. Their limbs were twisted unnaturally, and their breaths came in ragged gasps. They lost consciousness and breathed heavily, yet there were no major external wounds.

The worst injuries come first.

David used [Restore] and [Cleanse] again, but he had to apply [Restore] twice on both Mages. Their condition was bad, and they did not wake up even after the worst had been taken care of. Meanwhile, David’s reserves were sucked dry. Using his Skill Runes excessively drained him rapidly.

He absorbed the surrounding crimson motes, but fractions of the crimson motes he had produced were used every time he activated a Skill Rune.

It drained him, emptied him, and sucked him dry. He couldn’t even tell what was drained from him. Of course, David had some theories, but nothing had been confirmed yet.

It was dangerous, maybe even suicidal. However, it was necessary.

Close. The feeling is there.

David licked his lips. He was close to it. He could feel it; the sensation of fullness. It was there, trying to break the final barrier.

But he needed more. Just a little.

The last pair of Herculean Darkai turned to him. Their eerie glares lingered on him. He could perceive them and returned the gaze, which made him feel like the demons could see into the deepest parts of his body, but David didn’t look away. His eyes drifted from one Herculean Darkai to the other.

They ignored the Protectors around them and charged simultaneously. David saw the Protectors move from the corner of his eyes, but he saw something even worse behind them.

The Rift Boss was all alone, approaching the System Sanctuary. The defenders fighting the Rift Boss must have been killed or knocked out: nobody was stopping the ginormous demon.

“Stop the Rift Boss. Stall some time,” David roared at the top of his lungs, “I will take care of these two fuckers!”