Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 50B2 - Powerhouse

Sacrifice’s Rune towered over the other tiered Skills in the void of his mind space. It trembled wildly as David willed the Class Skill to activate. Something surged out of [Sacrifice], though David struggled to perceive it clearly. It was dark—possibly a pitch-black haze—and shifted through his mind space, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth before bursting forward.

David’s hair stood on end, sweat pouring down his temples as his mind space transformed into a bloody massacre. The dark entity oozing from [Sacrifice]’s Rune reached the nearest tiered Rune and… devoured it. David gasped for air as a tinge of pain overtook him, but the monstrosity was not done. It consumed multiple Runes, severing their connection to the Source while David remained still, eyes closed, silently witnessing the massacre.

Power filled every fiber of his body as brilliant golden motes oozed from [Sacrifice], but only a handful—a single golden blob—surged through his arms and out of his body.

David opened his eyes, staring at Maja as her complexion improved. Color returned to her face, and the dim light of life in her eyes regained vigor. She took a few deep breaths, her eyes widening like she couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“Wha–...”

Maja’s lips moved, but he couldn’t hear anything. The tinge of pain was no more. It had been replaced by something worse—something David wished no one to feel. True pain engulfed him, shrouding his entire being without warning.

It was not tangible—he did not experience physical pain—yet it reached every part of his existence, ensuring he would never forget this moment. He should have expected it. What else was he supposed to feel at the loss of several Skill Runes? It would be stranger if his Soul remained intact after the Skills, once fused to his Source—to his very Soul—had been forcefully removed. Devoured.

The knowledge and experience were still present, but the power was lost. All that just to bring Maja back to health—something that wouldn’t have been necessary if she hadn’t made a mistake. David tried to suppress the rising anger, but it was difficult while his Soul screamed in pain, tearing him apart from the inside out.

But what was he supposed to do? He could not stop [Sacrifice]. Not after it had already started to tear his Skill Runes apart. Maybe it would come back biting him. Maybe it would destroy him. But he tried. Everything!

Sacrifice did what I asked. And more, David thought, clutching his chest. His breath was low and subdued, his Soul on the verge of collapse from sudden self-inflicted damage. But it was necessary. Deep down, David knew he wouldn’t make it out of here without [Sacrifice], even if that meant the loss of several powerful Skill Runes. If that was what it took to survive. To win. To… defeat the winged serpent.

So be it!

David channeled a mere trace of [Sacrifice]’s oozing power into his eyes. His perception sharpened instantly, unveiling the entire battlefield before him. He saw everything he needed to see, his gaze trailing Zachariah and the carnage the regressor had left behind.

The Grand Horde was not defeated just yet, but most of the strongest had been obliterated. That was enough, David thought, gnashing his teeth as his Soul’s scream echoed through his very being.

Or…?

He tilted his head. Was that even his Soul? He felt its pain, the havoc it wreaked within him, struggling to mend the gaps left by the sudden loss of several Runes. But… did that mean his Soul was screaming at him?

He closed his eyes for a moment and saw that the Obsidian Blade had returned to his mind space. It was vibrating violently, emitting a high-pitched sound that filled his entire mind. Was that the scream? The sound of metal scraping against… something.

The Obsidian Blade had vibrated before, but the scream was new. It sounded odd. However, it didn’t feel like a cry of despair. It was different. Maybe it was thirsting for blood. The blood of a serpent. Was it… excited?

David conjured the Obsidian Blade again. He infused the soulbound weapon with the golden mass seeping from [Sacrifice] before looking at Maja.

“Bring me up,” he said, earning a wide-eyed stare from her. There was no time for hesitation.

“Now!” he commanded coldly.

Maja flinched but moved, conjuring a portal before him. She trembled, her legs shaking like jelly, but the portal remained steady.

“Protect Zachariah,” David added before jumping through the portal, trusting that Maja knew exactly where he wanted to be.

Words of Power rolled from his lips as the scenery around him shifted again. The rooftop underfoot was no more, but it wasn’t replaced by bloodied soil or the Sanctuary’s cobbled streets. David continued ushering Words of Power even as the portal spit him out high above the ground. His lips twitched as the battlefield below came into full view, but he didn’t stop.

His grip on the Obsidian Blade tightened as he fell, his gaze drifting to the winged serpent—Electra, or whatever Zachariah had called it. His attention reverted to the soulbound weapon, and he threw more Words of Power against the torrents of wind brushing through his clothes and hair. A thin, grey, semi-translucent hue formed around the Obsidian Blade as he activated Rend. It intensified until the hue seemed to turn tangible. Golden, intricate specks formed on the hue and merged with it until it appeared as though the Obsidian Blade, Rend’s hue, and the golden specks had always been part of the same weapon.

The Words of Power ceased as he closed in on the winged serpent, which released another lightning bolt at Zachariah. Had it not noticed him? David’s lips curled into a sharp grin, his Source shaking as he gathered every bit of Rend’s power into the Obsidian Blade. He brandished his weapon and struck the monster the moment it looked up.

Too late! He screamed in his mind, releasing everything as the Obsidian Blade lunged forward. A grey blade covered in golden particles surged out at blinding speed.

Rend whipped through the air, too fast for David to follow its trajectory. All he saw was an afterimage of the crescent blade bursting out of his weapon before he heard a faint but audible crack. It wasn’t the winged serpent’s electricity crackling across its body as it gathered energy for another attack, but a crack in its scales. The remnants of Rend’s power lingered in his attack, yet all David found was a single deep cut carved into a scale at the back of the serpent’s head.

Is that it? He asked himself, his eyes widening.

The attack had been fast enough to overwhelm the winged serpent. However, Rend’s attack power was… lackluster? How could that be?

David couldn’t believe it. He knew Rend was strong—it was one of his most powerful attacks. Even more so when he used every bit of power at his disposal. The energy oozing from Sacrifice was immense, and so was the might granted through the Words of Power. His Source was strained and could likely not be used to unleash a second attack of that nature. Yet, all his attack had done was carve a deep cut into one of the winged serpent’s scales?!

It was hard to believe, especially when the recoil hit.

It struck hard and suddenly, slowing his fall yet sending him hurtling upward with a sickening crunch. Pain surged through his arms, and he noticed them bent at odd angles.

He overclocked [Greater Restoration] for a moment, fixing the mangled mess when a familiar sensation flooded him. His arms snapped back into place as his Skill mended them, and his position shifted. David vanished and reappeared on the winged serpent’s back, staring straight at the half-broken scale.

The monster’s scales rippled beneath him, yet Electra did not move. It could have shaken him off, but it remained still, allowing him to stand on its head.

Was it foolish, or just so confident that he would never be able to break through its defense? David guessed the latter, which didn’t make things any easier. Tidal waves of energy pulsed beneath him, black currents slithering across the surface.

It was preparing for the killing blow. To kill him.

But so was he.

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He ripped his spatial storage from his neck. Clenching his fist, David applied [Blessing] on himself—cast and overclocked with pure Origin Essence—and punched the damaged scale. A sickening crunch resounded as the bones in his hand and lower arm shattered, but so did the scale. David smiled grimly, draining the storage necklace’s energy reservoir as he released it.

He stepped back, cast [Greater Restoration] to fix his arm again, and prepared for the inevitable. David overclocked [Blood Armor] with [Sacrifice]’s power, pouring Blood and whispering Words of Power to fortify his defenses as much as possible.

Barely a second had passed since he shattered Electra’s scale when black lightning struck him.

Immense power surged through his defense, pierced through it, and swept through his body, albeit weakened. His insides burned as much as his outsides as the weakened lightning wreaked havoc, but David was already familiar with lightning. The divine lightning from the Pantheon’s temple at that time had been almost as painful.

But he had better means to heal himself this time around. David smiled, gritting his teeth through the pain as he unleashed [Greater Restoration] and [Healing Sphere], draining his Source. However, his eyes lingered on the spatial storage and the last traces of blood that had just been consumed.

His smile widened. At last, the storage necklace was out of energy. It deactivated, triggering its defect, and the weight of everything stored within crashed down. Directly onto Electra.

David was electrocuted—every fiber of his body burned even as it regenerated rapidly—but that didn’t diminish the happiness in his heart as the monster beneath him rumbled. The winged serpent hissed aloud and flapped its massive wings. However, it never ascended. Quite the contrary. Gravity worked its wonders, pulling Electra to the ground. They descended fast, and it didn’t take long before they plummeted. Electra’s head struck the ground first, and the earth burst open. Currents of lightning surged in all directions, burning various monsters to ashes.

Pained squeals and screams filled the air, accompanied by the acrid scent of burned flesh, as the life signals nearby flickered out. Meanwhile, the necklace pressed hard onto the winged serpent. David was shaken to his core but quickly regained balance, his wounds healing instantly as his eyes drifted to Electra’s broken scale. The necklace had left a deep imprint in Electra’s skull, which couldn’t withstand the immense weight.

Understandable, David thought, shuddering at the idea of having a necklace weighing tens—if not hundreds—of tons pressed onto his own skull. Electra writhed on the ground, trying to lift its head, but it was to no avail. The rest of its body still moved, though, forcing David to act before its thrashing tail erased him from existence.

Rend? He shook his head. Rend would probably destroy the necklace, tearing it open instead of pushing it deeper. The plan forming in his head did not align with Rend’s characteristics.

How about…

David grimaced, gathering the golden motes swirling through his mind space.

So that was why Sacrifice devoured so many Skill Runes. It knew what he wanted to do before he was even aware of it. David snickered and gathered the motes, his remaining Origin Essence, and the blood within the Source and two blood storages to trigger his Advanced Skill—Primeval Pulse.

Familiar cracking noises rang out as his wrists and hands shattered and deformed—again—while particles shimmering like starlight gathered in his right hand, and abyssal-dark particles coalesced in his left. He didn’t think twice as he combined them, forcing them to unite.

The particles revolved around each other as they expanded, forming a sphere of black and white streams that never assimilated.

Tremors rippled through the beast beneath him as its tail whipped past his head, missing by a hair’s breadth—but the events around him felt like a dream as he strode forward. His hands continued cracking, yet there was no pain. Was he already beyond pain? David discarded the thought with a shrug, his hands pointing at the broken scale as he released the attack.

The sphere impacted instantly, and a pained roar—powerful yet weakening—resounded. But the sphere did not stop upon impact, surprising David greatly. He was certain Primeval Pulse would injure Electra, possibly push the storage necklace deep enough to form cracks, but he suspected the weight pressing onto the serpent’s skull must have done a lot more than he had anticipated, as Primeval Pulse’s sphere pushed deeper, piercing Electra’s skull.

A hiss—weak, pitiful, almost a desperate plea—reached David’s ears, but his movements never faltered. On the contrary, he accelerated, overclocking [Greater Restoration] to fix his hand just enough to materialize the Obsidian Blade in its smallest form. Words of Power rolled from his burned lips while the black lightning wreaking havoc inside him dwindled.

A moment later, David stabbed Electra through the gaping hole in the back of its head, unleashing a burst of Rend inside its skull.

Electra thrashed around, its movements slower—weaker—than just moments ago as its lifeforce rapidly diminished, drained by wounds and the Obsidian Blade. David absorbed part of its lifeforce, sustaining himself, using it to cast [Greater Restoration] repeatedly.

His Source was in a sorry state, looking as though it were about to fall apart, but the Words of Power continued flowing until the serpent stopped twitching and the message he had been waiting for appeared.

[You have defeated Mythical Electra (Sacred Beast, Spawn of Zephir).]

He exhaled, tension leaving his body. At last, the winged serpent was dead. The notification was all he wanted, but it was only the first of many.

[Emergency Warning! Your Source has been damaged due to excessive usage. Do not use your Source!! fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Time until recovery: [38H:59M:59S]]

That was unexpected. David double-checked the message, furrowing his brows. The countdown was decreasing faster than it should have. By the time he reread the notification, it had already dropped to [38H:59M:37S]. He accessed the lifeforce stream flowing toward the Obsidian Blade and channeled more energy into his body. Crimson motes of lifeforce surged toward his Source and vanished, accelerating the countdown even further.

David nodded slowly, infusing the remaining energy from his final Blood storage into [Greater Restoration]. The Rune activated, mending his Source and drastically reducing the recovery time.

“That should be more than enough,” he muttered, turning to the next messages.

[You have slain a Sacred Beast, besting a creature leagues above your weight class with minimal support. You are a beast. The Beast of the Battlefield! Your achievement has been verified and recorded!]

[The drop rate for the Mythical Electra has been increased to its limit.

Your Primary and Secondary Class increase by one level.]

[+5 Attribute Points, +1 Body.]

[New Class Skill has been unlocked for reaching Silver V with your Primary Class (Lifeweaver).

[Class Skill (Blood Manipulation) has been fused to your Source.]]

David rubbed his temples. The notifications wouldn’t stop, and he had a nagging suspicion that the most important messages were yet to come. The black slate, crackling with electric currents, and the leathery scroll engraved with intricate silver-gold letters suggested as much.

[To protect your people—your allies, but also strangers and dear friends alike—you threw yourself into mortal danger.

You slew the Spawn of Zephir, defying all odds and achieving greatness.

However, you never abandoned your purpose as a Lifeweaver—your faith as a Healer, Protector, and Fighter.

You have fully embraced the existence of the Lifeweaver.]

[Your Primary Class increased by two levels.]

[Silver V → Silver VII]

[+6 Attribute Points, +10 Blood]

David raised an eyebrow at the messages. At this rate, he’d reach Gold Rank sooner than expected. Not that he had any complaints, but the speed of his progression was surprising.

Ignoring the ongoing battles around him, he reached for the Slate and the Scroll.

[Scroll of Skill Combination (5) has been discovered.]

[You have discovered a Skill Slate.]

[Chaos Lightning]: [Middle: Basic]

[Do you wish to acquire Chaos Lightning?]

The notification suggested that he could refuse the Skill, but the Slate’s light dimmed as the electric currents surged toward him. They vanished into his fingers, and a Skill Rune began forming in his mind space.

[Chaos Lightning is not compatible with the Host’s personality, energy, and Class principles. The Basic Skill will mutate into one of the following pathways: 1) Blood Lightning 2) Origin Lightning]

Huh? David tilted his head. Was he being given a choice here? That was interesting.

But how was he supposed to decide? Was one stronger than the other? Or was there some kind of compatibility factor? He couldn’t sense anything like that.

Asmodeus told me to rely less on Blood. [Blood Manipulation] doesn’t count—that wasn’t my choice, David thought, rubbing his chin.

Origin Lightning it is.

There was no need to waste time playing the guessing game. Without hesitation, he made his choice.

The Rune—another Basic Rune—formed in his mind space and fused with his damaged Source. David exhaled in relief, seeing that the fusion hadn’t caused any issues. He smiled, conjuring pristine white lightning in the cusp of his hand while the blood around him responded to his mental command, slithering toward him in streams like living serpents.

That didn’t feel too bad.

Well, except for the cracking sound his Source made as he used it against the System’s advice.

The damage notification resurfaced. The countdown extended.

“…Whoops.”