Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 26Book 4: : Struggle

Defeating William was easier said than done.

David’s situation didn’t improve in the least after the initial attack. He lost an ear when he was too slow to escape a wind blade that materialized seemingly out of nowhere. The wind blade did not afflict David with the verdant lines, but it was maddening to see his old friend play with him like that.

He cast [Crimson Bulwark] in harmony with dozens of shields manifested via [Bloodbound Bastion]. His defense was far from perfect, even after Scalemore had been conjured and reinforced, but it helped him stall for time.

Evading the incoming attacks and getting used to William’s speed, strength, and cunning consumed most of his attention, especially since evading and blocking the Venomancer required [Phantom Rush], [Herald’s Blessing], and his other defensive abilities. Accelerated movement speed and stronger measures to defend against William were crucial, but they weren’t omnipotent.

The least David could do was regulate the drainage of pure Blood. Therefore, he focused on [Two of a Mind] to maintain the tethers connecting him to the Giant corpses. He siphoned their lifeforce after anchoring it within the recently deceased. Once the lifeforce was anchored and unable to escape until he willed it, David complemented the siphoning with [Aether Breath].

Producing a highly potent energy mid-combat was not something everyone was capable of, yet it did not negate his expenses. He created a lot of pure Blood, but the numbers didn’t align, and he was still in the negative—barely.

David understood that he was stalling the fight, pushing the inevitable defeat to the back of his mind, but it was not like he could catch up to William just because he wanted to. Whenever he amplified both his body and Obsidian Blade enough to reach the Venomancer and fight him head-on, William teleported away.

It was frustrating, and that definitely had nothing to do with William’s constant provocations.

He didn’t mind the Venomancer’s taunts. Most of the time, David couldn’t even hear his old friend. Rather than getting frustrated for no reason, he paid twice as much attention to [Lifeweaver’s Bond].

He took a nasty blow to his leg and had to carve out a chunk of his thigh when he focused too much on the information provided by [Lifeweaver’s Bond], but that was easily solved. David didn’t have to amputate his leg, so he continued to fight as his flesh and skin regenerated.

William stopped using those damn verdant leeches.

To be precise, the Venomancer hadn’t used the verdant lines since he severed David’s arm. Instead, he relied on a different ability that blocked any energies approaching the wounds he inflicted. It didn’t drain any lifeforce, though it forced David to keep wounding himself. That, however, was also solved with blades of blood.

It was painful, and it drained his already scarce mental power as he continued to fight while wounding himself.

David was fortunate that William’s attacks did not pierce [Bloodbound Bastion], [Crimson Bulwark], and Scalemore nearly as often as he had feared when the fight began. That, combined with his analysis of William’s attack patterns, his stolen abilities, and the information package [Lifeweaver’s Bond] provided, taught him… a lot.

He was learning all about his old friend and the being he had become in his pursuit of power. For the sake of power, William had given up everything else. Even his humanity.

It was a mess, and the memories of old times certainly didn’t help as they flashed through David’s mind. No matter how messed up their situation was, and no matter how much he wanted one of the people of his old world to survive the integration, he couldn’t allow William to keep going. William would destroy everything as long as he was alive. Everything would crumble.

But how was he going to kill William?

David shot toward the distorted space and attacked as the Venomancer emerged. However, William was prepared and released an azure-blue beam from his maw. The beam was made of highly condensed Aether, yet it tore through the crimson shields, blood armor, and Scalemore as easily as an overclocked [Primeval Pulse] would have.

The beam pierced his chest, narrowly missing the Corrupted Divine Heart, leaving a gaping hole. David gritted his teeth and moved forward, healing as he fought, trying to gain the upper hand.

That wouldn’t happen unless something changed. David spread his senses out, impatiently waiting for Electra’s call, which should have reached him a long time ago. Finally, after what felt like eons, Electra informed him that the Sanctuary was clear—that he didn’t have to stall any longer for the others.

The first thing David did was move the Pillar of Life. He removed the Pillar on the other side of the Sanctuary and remanifested it in the market square. It required a few Words of Power, but David anchored the network of lifelines to the new pillar and shrunk the network to encompass no more than the market square and a few meters.

The shrunken network spread its healing energy throughout the smaller space with much more intensity, preserving the lives of the half-dead Champions while also healing David. ŕåΝỔ𝔟Ëṥ

William appeared behind him and clawed at him, but a tenfold barrier, augmented by [Herald’s Blessing], was more than enough to block the abomination’s attack.

David called upon the Law of Blood and released tendrils of blood mixed with pure Blood to locate the Giant corpses and hold onto them. The tendrils seeped into the carcasses and drained their lifeforce once David was certain that the lifeforce of the recently deceased had been sealed properly.

Sure enough, the Giants that were still alive didn’t like how he treated their brethren’s carcasses, but they couldn’t do much against him. On the contrary, David kept up his support. The defenders, though fewer than he would have liked, were empowered by [Herald’s Blessing], overclocked and applied to their armaments, and constantly healed by half a dozen [Healing Sphere]s attached to their bodies.

However, the best by far was the combination of healing and Cycle’s Embrace. David maintained Cycle’s Embrace on his allies, and he even cast it on himself. Instead of unleashing the death presence into the surroundings to attach it to the nearest enemy, David gathered the death presence and released all of it at William.

William seemed to notice something and teleported away, but death’s presence moved fast and unbidden. It was merciless and seeped into the abomination, slowly draining William’s lifeforce—or it would have if the Venomancer hadn’t resisted the effect.

I should have expected that much, David thought grumpily, though he wasn’t disappointed. Cycle’s Embrace wasn’t functioning as intended, yet it was a thorn in William’s eye. It forced the abomination to resist Cycle’s Embrace constantly, which would wear him out eventually.

It also weakened his mental fortitude and prompted David to recreate the synergy of Bloodlust and [Fearwrought]. He overclocked [Fearwrought] and unleashed Bloodlust at full power.

William froze for a moment—a flicker of fear crossed his eyes—but he regained his composure shortly after. A quarter of a second was all the synergy of Intent and Class Skill created, yet it was all David needed. [Phantom Rush] carried him to William’s side, all while [Primeval Pulse] charged in the hand cannon he’d formed with Deryadus’ Arm.

He pointed the Ancient Relic at the abomination and released the grayish beam.

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The smell of burned flesh and acid struck his nostrils and blended with the cacophony of shattering scales. A hiss, laced with fury and a trace of disbelief, resounded. The life signal and [Lifeweaver’s Bond]’s information didn’t show any drastic changes in William’s condition, but David was not done either way. He applied Lightning Rend, [Lacerate], [Bleeding], and [Herald’s Blessing] to the Obsidian Blade and swung his sword arm at William the moment [Primeval Pulse] ceased.

Adding the Law of Unbinding would have been beneficial as well. However, applying the Ancient Law would have delayed his attack by a few seconds—seconds he didn’t have to spare.

David cast [Archaic Shackles] instead, hoping the Class Skill was strong enough to stop or delay William’s ability to teleport.

Against his expectations, William didn’t even try to teleport. He looked David straight in the eyes as the Obsidian Blade carved through his chest, unleashing the fury of [Lacerate], [Bleeding], and Lightning Rend.

David stopped holding back and unleashed the curses hibernating within the Obsidian Blade as well. He had yet to analyze them, but they were curses—and they had caused trouble when the Ancient Death Knight used his cursed sword to impale him.

Yet, even as a fountain of blood gushed from the massive gash in William’s chest, David couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. Lightning Rend and [Lacerate] tore through firm flesh and even bones, putting the Venomancer in critical condition, all while [Bleeding] did its work perfectly. The Obsidian Blade’s trait to drain blood and lifeforce applied as well. It lasted only a moment since the blade was not lodged in William’s torso, yet it drained a considerable amount of lifeforce.

And it did not affect the abomination in the slightest.

William’s ferocious face transformed into a vibrant grin as his arm shot forward. David had no idea when that happened, but the clawed hand was no more. A scaled sword had replaced the abomination’s arm, and it transformed into a dazzling flash of vibrant green as it arced through the air and flesh.

It was as if the layers of crimson shields, the firmness of the blood armor, and Scalemore’s resilience didn’t matter in the slightest as the sword-arm phased through all of them. The bladed arm cleaved cleanly through skin, flesh, and bone, severing David’s sword arm at the shoulder.

His arm flung through the air, and blood spurted from his shoulder. It was bad, but it shouldn’t have been as severe as William’s wound. Maybe he would have considered his position advantageous—if not for the gleeful smile on the Venomancer’s face. [Bleeding] stopped working, and the abomination started to heal, even as the last traces of Lightning Rend and [Lacerate] continued to wreak havoc within his body.

He was healing at fucking visible speed.

“Fuck your regeneration,” David cursed, storing the Obsidian Blade in his mind space as it flung through the air. He stepped back and cast Rend on himself, severing his shoulder bone as verdant lines threatened to spread deeper through his body.

David groaned and cast [True Restoration] on himself a dozen times while sapping healing energy from the network of lifelines beneath him. He extended his awareness to gauge how far along the power beneath the lifelines had progressed, then continued to retreat with a sour expression.

William teleported to his back, but David had already adapted to the ability’s pattern. The space distortions and [Lifeweaver’s Bond]’s mark were all he needed to determine where William would reappear. Thus, David cast [Phantom Rush] and evaded the blade storm heading his way the moment the abomination emerged. William was a little slower than before. Cycle’s Embrace had finally begun to sap his lifeforce, but he was still too fast.

I’m not healing fast enough, David groaned. Sure, the Skill was growing stronger by the second, but it was not yet as powerful as William’s monstrous regeneration. Not until it reached the threshold David had been waiting for…for weeks.

That was about damn time, he grumbled inwardly, his eyes flicking to a new System notification.

[True Restoration reached its limit. Initiate Tier progression.]

[True Restoration – Tier-3 XL] → [Transcendent Restoration – Lowest – Basic]

[True Restoration]’s evolution was not necessarily unexpected, but it was a pleasant turn of events. [Transcendent Restoration] was several times more potent than the Tier-3 Skill had been, yet it was not nearly enough to deal with all the wounds William inflicted.

The abomination’s arms, both of them, had now transformed into bladed limbs that bypassed all defenses. David dispelled [Bloodbound Bastion] and [Crimson Bulwark] and reinvested the pure Blood required to maintain them to empower [Transcendent Restoration] instead. He only kept Scalemore, though the battered armor was unlikely to last much longer as William’s barrage of sword strikes, thrusts, and swift slashes hammered against it.

David evaded most attacks and blocked others as he conjured the Obsidian Blade in its scimitar form in his left hand. He was not left-handed and had never been, but [Two of a Mind] allowed him to access his brain equally. It did not make up for the experience he’d accumulated using his sword arm, yet it was enough to block a few attacks.

As for the rest, they tore through his abdomen, thigh, and even his right arm as it healed. More verdant lines spread through David’s body, forcing him to react drastically. He drained a trace of Vitae from the ground and spread it through his body as [Transcendent Restoration] slowed them. Once Vitae flooded his system, it detected the foreign substances and shot toward them at blinding speed, consuming them within seconds.

The Venomancer’s power tried to resist and consume Vitae, but Vitae Nihilum was far superior. David was surprised at the amount of Vitae that formed from the consumption of the verdant lines, though he could hardly complain. He increased [Transcendent Restoration] and circulated Vitae through his body to deal with the wounds the moment William inflicted them.

It worked fine, yet David was not satisfied. It was not fast enough. It…was inferior to William’s rapid regeneration.

William failed to resist Cycle’s Embrace as he charged ahead with his sworded arms, inflicting various wounds using several divine abilities simultaneously, and David made use of that. He infused the abomination’s highly potent lifeforce into his system while relying on the information provided by [Lifeweaver’s Bond] to replicate William’s regeneration. He had information from two instances that forced William to amplify his regeneration, and enough lifeforce to do so.

Adding Might to the list of factors, David focused on his body. He sustained more and more wounds by the second, and none of them was being healed as the effect of [Transcendent Restoration] wore off. David guided the lifeforce that flooded his system. He released threads of pure Blood into his body and took note of the lifeline web that spanned the market square to create a similar network within his own body, spreading lifeforce and pure Blood that reached every cell within him.

Relying on his understanding of [Vitael Weave] and a spark of Might, David managed to ignite the network and heal himself.

Several notifications appeared, with one of them mentioning the use of Might to jumpstart the creation of Sparks, but his eyes flicked to the last line.

[Mender’s Lattice] – [Tier-3 I]

It was far from perfect, but it utilized raw lifeforce to mend all ailments rather rapidly. Even better, it did not require David’s attention to distribute any power as it absorbed all surplus lifeforce to circulate it constantly through the life-like network. The lifeforce circulating through David’s body was not consumed either and provided enough energy to keep him energetic.

The only downside was its inability to restore lost body parts and the considerable amount of pure Blood and lifeforce required to recreate the weave in regrown limbs. Additionally, all the lifeforce and pure Blood circulating in severed limbs would disperse.

David would have probably fixed the issue right away, but the situation at hand made that rather difficult. Instead, he focused on the battle ahead and infused Vitae into [Mender’s Lattice] to remove the harmful substances inflicted by William’s attacks before the Spark’s healing would reach them.

William must have noticed what David had done, as his attacks grew more erratic. The sworded arms transformed into flashes of energy that would have escaped his sight if not for his vision abilities.

He also caught the first flicker of anger in William’s distorted face, even if it was quickly replaced with excitement.

“You never cease to surprise me, David!” he hissed, and his body bulged. He accelerated once again, amping his power as [Lifeweaver’s Bond] recognized the use of one more divine ability weighing down on his body.

Using half a dozen—maybe more—divine abilities strained him, but it was definitely worth it. William overwhelmed him once again, and his swords tore through David’s right arm, severing it once again.

David healed almost instantaneously, and a grim smile bloomed on his lips. The best thing about healing and getting injured all the time was clearly Cycle’s Embrace.

David was unsure whether William was no longer bothered or if he had simply forgotten about the Arcana, but Cycle’s Embrace was still active, and it sapped more and more lifeforce from William the more David had to heal himself.

And that, as painful and cursed as it was, became an ongoing ordeal.