Damned Healer-Chapter 193: Mediocre Clowns

Darian saw the enemy rushing in... but didn’t move. He just channeled the ring’s power into his cloak. The runes on it lit up, forming a defensive barrier around Niara, who was tucked inside the hood. She snorted, clearly wanting to fight too, but held back, clinging her tiny body to his neck.

Everyone watched Darian activate that thing, completely stunned. It was just a plain cloak — even the smallest wave of Woldi’s power should’ve shredded it instantly. What the hell’s he thinking...?

"Watch out!" a bunch of humans and elves shouted from afar.

Woldi’s claws came slashing down with brutal force. But Darian didn’t even flinch.

A dull thud echoed.

Right in the epicenter... Woldi’s claws slammed straight into Darian’s chest, shocking everyone. The two just stood there. His claws had pierced into Darian’s chest... but then... Woldi’s expression twisted.

"That’s it?" — this time, it was Darian who mocked.

With a flick of his hand, dozens of daggers materialized around him, shooting toward Woldi. His eyes went wide, trying to dodge — but in the split second he shifted focus, he didn’t even see the fist coming.

*BANG!!!*

The daggers didn’t even move. It was just the punch. And that poor beast went flying again, smashing across the ground for dozens of meters. Meanwhile, more and more of that sinister black power quietly crept into his body. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Everyone’s eyes locked on Darian, completely shaken. He was covered in blood — those claws were massive and had stabbed straight into him. Anyone else would be one second away from death. But then... a soft white light flashed... and the wounds just closed. Instantly.

"He... he’s a healer..." Irana muttered, her voice trembling.

"Hmph, of course he’s a healer," Lucy snorted. "Big bro’s just messin’ around a little."

Everyone around them heard that... and had to take a deep breath. All this... was just his extra power?

"AAAAAAAAAAAARGH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!"

Woldi got up in a total frenzy — then charged straight in again.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

The whole damn world shook over and over, while Woldi kept spitting blood nonstop.

Minutes passed. The two just kept clashing over and over. Darian didn’t throw out any fancy moves — weirdly, he just stood there, letting himself get hit... then threw a punch right back, sending Woldi flying again.

Normally, firing off attacks this violent — or taking hits like that — would force anyone to pause and recover. It was really hard to pull off back-to-back attacks of this level... but the two of them weren’t stopping.

It almost looked like a pure strength competition... though everyone knew it wasn’t exactly that. In the end — power, stamina, even equipment — it became painfully clear... those daggers weren’t normal. Woldi lost.

"This is the ’superiority’ you’re so damn proud of? You show up with this pathetic excuse for skill? Man... I’m seriously curious... how the hell did you survive this long?" Darian said coldly.

Even after forcing Woldi to retreat, Darian didn’t press the advantage. He just stood there, staring him down with total contempt, shaking his head. His disgust was written all over his face.

"Holy crap... he’s really plucking him!" someone pointed at Woldi, half in shock, half kinda impressed.

It was only after the fight slowed down that people finally noticed... Woldi had... like... a third of his feathers left.

Niara giggled. "Just a little more... then I can make a glorious feather dress. Way more useful than stuck on this pompous idiot."

She thought the feathers were pretty, but told him to pluck him as a joke beforehand. Darian, though... he seriously started yanking out feathers to give to her. Every time he punched, he’d hit a spot and a few would come out.

Woldi froze. The level of humiliation was just... indescribable.

Meanwhile, Darian kept on absorbing the Yin and Yang essences. All by himself, he was sucking in like 90% of everything falling from the skies. He honestly did look like he was just having a bit of fun.

Until...

*BZZZ*

The sky started buzzing — vibrating softly.

Everyone looked up, startled.

Unlike the first stage, this one had clear signs it was about to end. It was designed that way — to push everyone into fighting harder for the essences. If you hadn’t gathered enough... then the only choice left was to steal from whoever was closest.

That’s why this stage was so dangerous. On top of the shadows everyone had to fight earlier... now, if you dared absorb any essence, you became a target for literally anyone around. Back then, Rhea didn’t absorb a single one — she knew she’d die if she even tried.

But Darian... every one of his allies gulped hard. Was he seriously turning himself into a target... on purpose?

Every single Spiritual Guardian from the powerful planets — except those two demon leaders — was now staring coldly at him.

If this kept going... weren’t they basically just handing all their essences over to Darian? Were they seriously gonna let him steal everything?

Woldi took a deep breath, glancing around, smiling to himself. Yeah... he knew he couldn’t win. Plus, that supreme artifact pouring golden power into the sky... so far, it had only released about a third of its true power.

That’s why he’d burned his bloodline earlier — he didn’t wanna fully unleash the artifact’s real power, ’cause doing that would damage it. And once an artifact got damaged like that... there was no fixing it. Its storage capacity would be permanently nerfed.

Woldi calmed himself. Honestly, for someone who’d just been humiliated like that... it was kinda impressive how he could still stop and think. He hadn’t completely lost his mind... not yet.

Now that both Darian and Woldi stopped moving, the fight between the natives and the others kept raging full force.

"SIR!"

"HELP!"

"NOOOO!"

Screams echoed from the Spiritual Guardians. They were dropping one after another. Sure, the natives were dying too — but their numbers were way bigger. The final outcome was already pretty damn obvious. But...

"Trash. Die quietly." Woldi spat without even turning his head.

Seeing that Darian wasn’t coming for him, he started absorbing essences too — fighting for whatever scraps were left in the area.

Everyone immediately realized why. He was stalling — waiting for his artifact to fully unleash its power. Once it did... he probably figured he’d have the confidence to face Darian head-on and kill him.

And since Darian wasn’t looking to kill him right now... he just quietly kept absorbing too.

The sky was gonna buzz one last time — signaling less than half an hour left.

For everyone else... this was bad. They wanted to hold back, waiting for the final moment so nobody else could swoop in. But now... that only benefited Woldi. If he really killed Darian at full power... he’d take everything.

"Sir! We’re from Earth! Please, save us!"

Screams from people in the other empires rang out toward Darian.

He didn’t even turn around. The audacity of these idiots to beg for help now. Honestly, he felt like turning around and killing them himself.

Everyone knew Woldi was Irana’s enemy. They chose to side against the human girl who’d offered to help them... and they damn well knew Woldi’s whole plan. They agreed to slaughter the natives anyway.

All for greed.

Yeah, the empire leaders made that call. But the people in the group? The moment they found out Woldi’s plan, they could’ve left. If they’d gone to the Milky Way Alliance, they would’ve been welcomed. No problem.

The official orders from Earth were to join the Milky Way Alliance and fight alongside their allies. The decision to split off was already super shady. Straight-up betrayal, really. When they went back to Earth later, they could just claim that... maybe even dodge punishment entirely.

So yeah — they chose this.

"Bastards... did any of you feel bad for the natives when you were out there killing ’em?" Niara snapped, her voice full of disgust.

Yeah... people like this definitely didn’t have a shred of kindness in their own universe either. No way. Potential traitors, the whole lot of ’em. Better they all just die here.

Minutes passed. The screaming slowly faded... one voice at a time.

*BZZZ*

The sky finally buzzed again — the last warning. The second trial was about to end.

Right then... the last of Woldi’s six thousand-man alliance was breathing their final breaths. They’d been completely wiped out — not a shred of mercy shown.

"Alright... how ’bout we team up and kill Darian?" one of the demons from the faction that hadn’t joined Woldi said. "Once he’s dead, his essences scatter. Then we fight over ’em with our own skills."

The 58 from planets 8 and 9 took a deep breath. They didn’t answer. Didn’t agree. Didn’t refuse either. It was basically silent agreement. They really didn’t have any better options.

Everyone could see it — Darian was strong enough that anyone who wanted to kill him would pay for it. But... if everyone attacked at once, they could take him out fast without too much cost. Then it’d be a fair fight for the essences. No one would be able to screw the others over.

Woldi nodded, already expecting this. His artifact’s full power would only kick in during the last five minutes.

But secretly... he felt relieved. Deep down, his instincts were screaming that there was no way he could beat Darian alone. He needed everyone else to help take him down.

The demon faction, plus Woldi and the 58, started moving — surrounding Darian. Thousands of powerful figures closing in on one man.

Right then... every single one of Darian’s allies watching from afar felt their hearts clench tight.

Every one of these people was releasing an overwhelming aura... holding weapons that were obviously supreme artifacts. Honestly, they weren’t that much weaker than Woldi. The people watching felt like their hearts just... stopped.

The natives roared — then rushed toward Darian.

It was clear. He was the one who saved them, who helped them. They couldn’t just sit there and watch him get buried like this.

But...

Darian turned to the natives and waved his hand, telling them to stay put.

Then... he turned to face everyone surrounding him.

"Yeah... maybe you were born in some fancy place, maybe you got handed some super valuable treasures... but in the end? You’re all just a bunch of mediocre clowns. You think teaming up changes anything?"

His voice boomed like thunder through the air, shaking everyone. His tone carried pure arrogance. Pure dominance. A will that looked down on everyone.

Everyone surrounding him narrowed their eyes.

Sure, they might’ve been a bit weaker than Woldi — but it wasn’t that big of a gap. And now this guy really thought he could take on all of them alone?

"Yeah... we’ll see who the clown is..." the demons growled, their voices dripping with rage.