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Apocalypse Healer - B1 Chapter 34
🕑 Added 2024-11-04 11:00:14 +0000 UTCDavid lay among dead bodies, soaking in his blood. The Rift Boss’ claws hadn’t disappeared. They remained embedded in his chest, piercing through.
Another notification popped up from the ID slate, materializing before him as he looked at it through a blur.
[The Demon-type Rift is expanding. The spawn rate of demons has come to a sudden halt, but the Aether overflow affects the surrounding environment. A connecting link has been detected, spreading the Main Rift’s Aether to maintain and supply the Common Rifts. However, with the clearance of the first Common Rift, the distribution channel has been destroyed.
To avoid further problems, do NOT clear the remaining Common Rifts! Cripple the Bosses if possible and retreat right away!]
David had expected the Familia’s emergency notification, but he had hoped for something else. He didn’t know how he came to think the Familia would reward him by healing his cracked Holy Sea, yet that was exactly what David had been hoping for.
Delusional.
He cursed himself softly and took matters into his own hands. Despite the crack in the Holy Sea, no message indicating it had sustained too much damage to be used came through… yet. Quite the contrary. The Holy Sea continued absorbing the crimson motes and altered Aether in his energy pathways. David tried focusing on his energy pathways to absorb everything a little faster, but his mind wasn’t listening to him. Every mental command felt like someone was stabbing his brain with a searing hot blade.
The pain was unbearable.
His breath was rough, and time seemed to trickle slowly. David lost track of time as he struggled to gather enough mental power and energy to use [Cure Wounds]. He glanced at Torb, who had been guiding him; although David couldn’t hear him, he saw the Dwarf worried grimace through the blur.
Worry about yourself, dork!
David thought before gesturing to Torb, who didn’t look much better, to get started.
Torb hesitated, but only for a second. He bent down, tearing his wounds open again, and ignored the blood spurting in all directions as his arms coiled around the Rift Boss’ claws. Torb heaved heavily, pulling the Alpha Fang’s claws out of David. When he was done, Torb collapsed to the ground. He didn’t get back up.
Don’t you dare die!
David shouted inwardly, feeling far from well himself. A wave of cold washed through his body, his fingers went numb, and his mind threatened to drift away. David didn’t think he had ever been this close to death before. There had been bad times before, especially in the last week, but his current condition was the worst.
Yet, David refused to surrender. He had come too far to give up now. There was no way he’d allow someone to take away his hard-fought freedom. David wouldn’t give up his freedom, whether it was to his parents or death. They could all fuck themselves if they kept trying to control his freedom!
David endured it. His body screamed in defiance while [Cure Wounds] jumped into action.
One instance of [Cure Wounds] wasn’t enough to mend his wounds, but the Skill Rune overclocked version was enough to stabilize his condition. Somewhat. David still felt like he might turn into a block of ice at any moment; however, fatigue no longer weighed heavily on him. Death’s beckoning no longer loomed over David.
David continued using [Cure Wounds] at any possible moment, but he barely remembered what had happened. Everything he did after using [Cure Wounds] the first time had been swallowed by what felt like a long, eerily long, fever dream.
The only reason he wasn’t panicking and asking how many days or weeks had passed was the countdown of the Horde’s emergence.
[5H:21M:45S]
A little bit more than half an hour had passed. That was not too long, but not too short either. It was the perfect time to heal from a massive hole that went through his chest. David had been lucky the Alpha's claws hadn't severed his spine as they pierced through his back. If not for that, the outcome would have been…different.
He closed his eyes and checked his Holy Sea for a moment. The small cracks mended quickly as the energy reservoir consumed the crimson motes while his holy power recuperated slowly. He got up slowly. His legs trembled, and he nearly toppled over. David planted his feet firmly in the ground, gritting his teeth to regain full control of his body.
The corners of David’s lips tugged upward as he stared down at his body. His clothes were torn into shreds again, drenched in blood, and beautiful new scars were added to his collection. The warm, wet blood all over his body was sickening, and it only took a few moments before the remains of his shirt landed on the bloody battlefield.
With a smile, he walked over to Torb using [Cure Wounds]. The Dwarf, still breathing, sighed in relief as David’s Skill Rune sprang to life.
“That was a mess,” Torb smiled and tried to get up, but he fell back and winced.
“[Cure Wounds] isn’t omnipotent. Your body is a mess, Torb. Rest a little bit while you still can,” David lectured Torb, his attention diverting to the battlefield, “We survived.”
"Melach was still alive, but to David, he looked as though he belonged among the Infected. His eyes were bloodshot, his complexion deadly pale, and he swayed left and right like he was one of the undead.
“Not everyone survived,” The Elf grimaced. He inched closer to David and Torb, but his eyes were glued to their dead allies.
“Not everyone…that’s right,” Torb nodded, his gaze fixated on the cloudless sky, “But it’s not our fault. If not for us, nobody would have closed the Rift.“
“And if not for us, the Aether overflow wouldn’t be threatening Arc’s survival either,” Melach added sourly.
“You are a pessimist,” David said, shaking his head in mild frustration. People like Melach were…unique and hard to please. They would never be satisfied with anything.
“If we hadn’t cleared the Rift, someone else would have cleared one of the other Common Rifts. It doesn’t matter who cleared the Rift. What’s important is that we’re alive, even though the Boss was... weird,” David added.
“Are Rift Bosses from Common Rifts always like this?”
Torb hinted at a shrug. “I don’t think I’ve heard of a Rift Boss killing his subordinates before. That’s possible if a Double Rift and the Rift Types spawn two predatory monsters that hate each other to the core. But that wasn’t the case here. The Alpha Fang killed one of its Betas while watching the rest die without making a move.”
As a Rift Boss, and the leader of a pack, the Alpha Fang must have had some unique abilities related to its pack. Since it killed its own pack, it probably could summon the remnants of power within the recently deceased Fangs. If I’m not mistaken, the Alpha Fang was willing to sacrifice everything to possibly evolve,” Melach explained, but the hesitation in the Elf’s voice got to David.
He’s hiding something.
“It absorbed those crimson motes to gain strength and…evolve?” David asked while studying Melach’s reaction.
“What crimson motes?” Torb asked. Melach’s features contorted at the same time. He stared right back at David, “You can see them?”
David nodded, “They emerged after the last Mini-Boss died. The Alpha Fang did something, but I don’t know what exactly it was, and the crimson motes emerged after that. I forgot about them and couldn’t see them until I toppled over a Fang carcass.
Melach’s expression changed, and he suddenly looked like a researcher on the verge of making a world-changing discovery. David considered telling Melach he could absorb the crimson motes and ask questions about them, but the Elf’s behavior stopped him.
Fortunately, Torb sat upright before Melach could ask any more questions. He got up while cursing and complaining.
“I think we should leave soon. I would much rather stay here and recover, but I don’t think it’s safe here.”
They were surrounded by a sea of blood, corpses, and innards, and the commotion they’d caused was not to be underestimated.
Nobody could fight anymore. They were beyond exhausted.
“Let’s leave,” David nodded, but Melach shook his head.
“Why would we leave like this?”
David wondered if that was really Melach speaking. Had he finally lost his sanity?
“The Bosses are not looting themselves!”
Torb’s eyes lit up, “Of course, the loot!”
Right. They hadn’t been given any rewards for clearing the Fang Den or for slaying the Rift Boss and its underlings.
Lots of loot was waiting for them!
