Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 54B1 - Death to the Boss

Stabbing himself didn’t feel great.

David felt every moment as his razor-sharp, soulbound weapon cut through his skin and flesh. It scraped his rib cage and dug deeper until most of its hilt disappeared in David’s chest.

His chest heaved with effort, each breath sending bursts of agonizing pain through his body. Did he do the right thing? He couldn’t tell. The Rift Boss’ eyes stayed locked onto him, its hulking form closing the distance slowly. But David refused to run. Instead, he cast [Oasis of Harmony] on himself, conjuring a black dove that circled above his head.

Searing pain radiated from his chest as his Skill Rune flared to life, but David caught a subtle change in the Rift Boss’ expression. The corner of its lips twitched, then distorted as the monstrosity accelerated toward him.

“There is a hole in its chest!!” A surprised shout resounded through the vicinity.

David saw it too. The Rift Boss surged forward one moment, only to pause and glance at its chest. A small, several-centimeter-long cut marred its surface. It looked deep enough to hurt the demon. Or was it just surprised? He couldn’t tell.

David gritted his teeth and clutched the Obsidian Blade’s handle tightly before twisting it in his chest. The edges scraped against his ribs, but that wasn’t the worst part. As he yanked the weapon free, a gaping hole was left behind. Blood poured from the wound, drenching his clothes.

A wave of weakness nearly overwhelmed him, but David rooted his trembling feet in the ground.

He forced himself to stay upright, took a shuddering breath, and deactivated [Equivalent Exchange] before casting [Restore].

The gaping hole in his chest was tended to at once. A searing heat engulfed his chest, filling him with an abundance of life. It flushed through him and rapidly healed the gaping hole. However, the pain lingered, as if reminding David of what he had just done to himself.

David’s gaze shifted back to the Rift Boss’ chest.

“Are you serious?” David cursed, “Is that it?”

The Rift Boss’ chest wound had grown. It stretched over ten centimeters now and looked deeper than before, judging by the torrent of blood spurting from it. Still, it wasn’t enough. A monstrosity like this wouldn’t fall so easily.

[Equivalent Exchange] wasn’t a bad Skill Rune. It marked previously injured targets, forcing them to share David’s wounds. But it wasn’t perfect.

He couldn’t let the Rift Boss squash him outright; that would kill him before the damage transferred. Stabbing his heart wasn’t an option either. While the mark worked, stronger targets resisted it to some degree. The Rift Boss likely had incredible resistance—or maybe the vast gap in their strength was to blame. Either way, the self-inflicted wound that should have killed him had barely registered as more than a minor cut on the demon.

But it was a start. The Rift Boss didn’t heal as fast as David, who could use [Restore] and [Equivalent Exchange] to wear down the Rift Boss or combine [Oasis of Harmony] and [Bless] to keep the demon’s focus on him while the Protectors kept bombarding the monstrosity of a Darkai.

David’s eyes flicked to the Rift Boss’ left leg. It was under constant attack, covered in dozens of cuts that drained the demon’s blood slowly but steadily.

Its natural regeneration isn’t fast enough to cope with the injuries. If we keep going like this…

David’s thought broke off as the Rift Boss spun abruptly. The black dove above David’s head remained, but the demon lashed out violently.

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It beheaded a Warrior in a single swipe, then hurled a massive fireball at a Mage. The explosion engulfed the unfortunate elf, her scream piercing the air before she collapsed.

David clenched his jaw. [Oasis of Harmony] wasn’t as effective as he’d hoped. Gritting his teeth, he surged forward, channeling [Bless] to bolster himself and the remaining Protectors.

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He prepared to cast [Holy Touch], only to stop cold.

The Blood droplet in his Source had reached its limit. A minor portion of the droplet was remained, but it wasn’t enough to use [Holy Touch] at full power. Maybe he could cast [Restore] once or twice with the last bits, but even that would be a stretch.

David’s mind raced, his gaze frantically looking for something.

Will that be enough?

He wondered, discarding several ideas as foolish. What remained were only a handful of risky strategies. Then again, everything about fighting a Rift Boss like the monstrous Darkai was risky. There was no way to close the Main Rift without embracing danger.

Cursing under his breath, David charged forward, abandoning his earlier strategy.

The demon spun toward him, claws slashing wide, nearly cleaving him in two. But instead of retreating, David pressed on. Ducking beneath the massive claws, he reached the creature’s left leg. The Obsidian Blade glimmered dangerously in his hand as he drove it into the demon’s hide.

He strained his wrists, gripping the weapon’s handle so tightly his knuckles turned white. Yet all his focus stayed on the demon’s leg. David dashed around the Rift Boss, dragging the Obsidian Blade along its hide and leaving a black trail of blood in his wake. At first, it was a thin line, but everything changed once the Words of Power spilled from his lips.

Since he didn’t have enough Blood left to cast multiple Skill Runes, he reverted to a more brutal tactic.

He let the power of blood rule.

David dove to the side, rolling to avoid a fireball. He never let the incantation falter. His Source heated up, its engraved words glowing faintly at first. Soon, a crimson hue blazed in his mind space as more words tumbled from his lips.

The Rift Boss lashed out in a frenzy, claws aiming to tear David apart, but a crimson shield materialized in front of him. The [Shield of Blood] absorbed the impact, shattering into countless particles, but the momentary reprieve gave David enough time to retreat.

Three Protectors appeared at his side, their bodies shrouded in crimson light.

“Don’t stop!” One of them shouted while shifting his position to block the Rift Boss’ next attack.

A sickening crunch echoed as the Protector’s shield splintered, and he groaned in pain. His arms hung at an unnatural angle, but the others surged forward to cover him. A fireball exploded against one Protector’s face while the demon’s massive fist crushed another.

They were likely dead before their bodies hit the ground.

Few Protectors remained, and even fewer had the strength to attract the Rift Boss’ attention. Those capable of dealing significant damage had been killed or had retreated after expending their strength.

David scanned the battlefield. Most of his allies had fallen, yet for now, the absence of enemies nearby was enough to keep him focused.

He couldn’t find a single ordinary Darkai. The Rift Boss was probably the last living enemy.

David kept ushering Words of Power as the demon turned back to him. It shot several black fireballs at him in quick succession, nearly hitting him over and over again. He evaded the first and the second, but their explosions pushed him into the third fireball. David hurled the Obsidian Blade at the third fireball, ensuring the projectile exploded before it could hit him.

The soulbound weapon disappeared into his mind space only to materialize in his hand again as the demon bore down on him. Its arms rose, poised to crush him once and for all.

David didn’t flinch. Instead, the corner of his lips curled into a faint smile as he completed the incantation.

He embraced the next few seconds with a warm smile.

The wounds across the Rift Boss’ body: no matter how small: burst open. Fountains of black blood sprayed in all directions. Yet, instead of drenching him and the Protectors, the demon’s blood froze mid-air. To David, time seemed to crawl as the blood gathered in the air. He watched with a satisfactory smile as it gathered into larger drops that shifted as their structure changed entirely.

The black blood twisted and solidified into countless finger-sized daggers, spinning violently around the Rift Boss.

It must have been only a second, probably less, but it felt like an eternity until the blood returned to its source.

Time snapped back to its normal pace as the blood daggers surged inward, stabbing the Rift Boss with horrifying velocity.

David could barely follow their path as they pierced the Rift Boss’ body.

The last sounds he heard were the Rift Boss’ anguished screams and the deafening explosions as the daggers detonated within its body.

His Source was sucked dry as he activated [Shield of Blood]. Whether it materialized in time, David would never know.

Darkness consumed him.