Damned Healer-Chapter 199: No Turning Back

The two demonic silhouettes stared at Darian coldly. They were fragments of immortal souls, created with the bare minimum amount of power. That was the only way they could stay hidden inside those two young demons.

Everything had been planned with zero room for failure. Even the variables—meaning the other contestants—had been properly negotiated and lined up to guarantee total cooperation.

As their final card, they sealed themselves inside the two youths. With their race’s bloodline power, they could break free and fix any situation... but then... this terrifying anomaly showed up.

Where the hell did he come from? — Both of them stared at Darian, asking themselves the same question.

But Darian easily noticed—through their karma—that they were almost gone. They’d burned through everything left in those fragments for that last attack with the power of the two phoenixes. Now, they were forcing themselves to stabilize and talk... but that meant they had no power left.

That’s why Darian was absolutely sure... there was no way they had the ability to read him and figure out who he really was. If that happened... he’d be throwing himself off a cliff.

"Human, being young and arrogant isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I wasn’t much different at your age. But... you should know your place and not overstep," the blue silhouette spoke lightly, not a trace of anger. To him, getting upset over the words of an insect would be ridiculous.

"Let’s settle this properly," the red silhouette continued dryly. "We’ve spent a long time preparing to get these two seeds. We even made deals with other planets to avoid complications. We couldn’t predict that someone like you would show up. Anyway... we’ll be fair."

The wills of the two phoenixes trembled in the sky. Their forms started to fade, but in that crucial moment, they forced themselves to hold on, fighting desperately. They looked at Darian, tense and anxious.

The blue demon then finished, sounding casual, "Just let one demon from each of our planets take a seed. We’ve got no shortage of supreme artifacts or any kind of resources. We’ll give you ten years’ worth of profits from both our planets. What do you think? Not even in a thousand years would your pathetic little planet earn a third of what ours pull in ten. And all of that... will be yours."

Even Irana was stunned hearing that. Even her own planet wouldn’t make in a thousand years what two top-10 planets could generate in just ten. The gap in missions, rewards, and resources was insane.

And now... all that... would go to just one single person?

Also, who the hell would be stupid enough to make enemies out of these two? After all, this was just a special mission. A contest for big rewards. Everyone came here aware of the risks but willing to try. Saying yes to this deal sounded... obvious.

Everyone turned to Darian. But he stayed expressionless, unmoved.

He knew very well how the laws of the world worked. Saying yes to that deal would mean the death and destruction of 99% of life in this universe. It would cripple it forever. And beyond that... the karma he’d carry would be irreversible.

Accepting that... would mean betraying his master, the Heaven’s Will itself... and more than anything, himself.

If he gained that much without effort, without growing the right way... would he ever be able to face his real enemies in the future?

And most important of all... he’d promised to help the phoenixes. His word and his dignity were the most valuable things he had.

Silence took over. Not even five seconds passed before Darian answered, slowly:

"I’m not interested. I’ll earn my resources myself, just like I earned both seeds. And like I said before... both of them are mine. If you don’t like it... come at me... or go fuck yourselves."

Everyone swallowed hard. Was he insane?!

The two silhouettes stared at him coldly.

"Human... seems like you didn’t understand," the blue silhouette said seriously.

"We’re not negotiating. Let me make this clear. Either you accept our generous offer... or we guarantee... we’ll personally go to your pathetic planet, wipe out everything and everyone. Then we’ll make sure that anyone from your galaxy who helped you vanishes too. Everything you’ve ever known... will burn and be forgotten forever. What do you say?"

The whole place turned cold and heavy. Nobody could even breathe.

The two phoenixes trembled. Their light was already gone, they were like nearly transparent silhouettes. Even so, they gathered strength.

"...this is our fault," the fire phoenix murmured.

The ice phoenix sighed, "You don’t have to... the sins are ours alone..."

But Darian didn’t even listen. He shot back at the silhouettes without hesitation:

"With just you two?" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Everyone felt their hearts skip a beat. But Darian wasn’t being reckless. He caught something in their words...

...they threatened to destroy whoever helped him, but in the end, they only mentioned the planets in the Milky Way. Clearly, Irana and the few from her alliance weren’t included. Why?

He didn’t know... but... a little woman far away was holding something tightly in her hands, whispering something, fully focused.

All the elves and Zroots were trembling. This low-level mission was now deciding the fate of their homes and everything about them. Despair took over, but... they couldn’t even move, just like almost everyone else there.

Darian sighed. Before, his plan was to show himself as someone talented and dangerous... but only to the newbies in this mission. Maybe he would become a little known in the universe, but nothing too crazy. When he got back to Earth, nothing would really change, and he’d just keep growing quietly. But... now there was no turning back.

The last line that couldn’t be crossed... would be exposing himself as a missionary of Heaven’s Will. He had to keep that hidden no matter what... or his life would turn into absolute hell—if he even managed to stay alive at all.

The silhouette let out a heavy sigh but forced itself to stay calm. This was way too important for them. So, it tried one last time, "Young human..."

"Fuck off, bitch!" Niara roared, cutting him off furiously. "Dan’s a man of his word and doesn’t negotiate with pathetic bastards. Tuck your tails between your legs and hide. If he gets pissed, he’ll come after you."

Her voice boomed like thunder, all her power and outrage exploding. That universe was in the same miserable state as hers... and that made her feel it even deeper.

Right after speaking, her metamorphosis lost power. Darian sighed and grabbed the little dragon, gently placing her back on his head.

"...so that’s the power of a Primordial Dragon. Interesting... you’re hiding a lot," the silhouettes easily recognized it after her outburst.

Darian, however, looked completely uninterested and just went back to absorbing the seeds—faster than ever now. He was almost done.

"HUMAN! If you don’t stop right now, we’ll leave this place and go straight to your planet! We’ll hunt down every single relative you have and—"

"Silence..." a cold voice echoed out of nowhere, making the entire atmosphere shift instantly.

A golden light exploded. It was so sudden and blinding that everyone was instantly left unable to see.