Damned Healer-Chapter 475: Possession

All the lower-ranked enemies blocking the army from the front and sides instantly stopped their attack. It was like they had just received a higher command. Without hesitation, they all started running, scattering in every direction and pulling away from the army of two hundred and fifty thousand Summoners and Spiritual Guardians.

"Stay where you are," Darian ordered quickly before anyone left formation.

Then he took a deep breath and pushed his senses to the limit.

Staring at that massive army ahead, he noticed something subtly different among them — so subtle that he wasn't even sure what he was sensing.

At first glance, they all just looked like ordinary Heavenly Beasts of the Black Blood type — nothing special about them.

Several flashes of thought and possibilities rushed through Darian's mind, but he couldn't afford to reflect too much or waste time there. The attack from that terrifying creature — one with potential above average even among nine-ring Spiritual Guardians — was just seconds away from being unleashed.

Intercept it before it fired? Impossible. The distance was far too great, and his movement technique wasn't designed for long-range travel. On top of that, his control over space was limited and wouldn't get him there in time.

"Dan, its physical defenses are weakening fast. After this attack, it'll be really vulnerable for a few seconds," Niara said quickly beside him.

Darian nodded. That strike was definitely terrifying, but he could still activate everything he had and block it. Of course, his body would be almost completely destroyed, but he could heal himself in a second using the white power. The problem was, after that, he wouldn't have time to counterattack.

By the time he recovered, the creature's vulnerability would already be gone. Still, it wasn't all bad — the attack clearly used the Bloodline blood of all the recently dead, meaning there wouldn't be a second strike on the same level.

But... the current Darian didn't have enough strength to directly kill someone with power equivalent to eight rings. He needed a major opening to invade the enemy's body with the black power.

Unfortunately, he didn't see any options. He'd have to block that strike, then go all out against the creature, hoping that some miracle chance would fall from the heavens as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, those behind him would be extremely vulnerable to the enemy army. Even with Niara helping, there were hundreds of them, and she couldn't possibly block and protect everyone at once.

The strike was about to be unleashed. Darian grunted and turned to Niara, ready to move, but...

Her amber eyes were locked on him — sharp and intense. Staring back at that gaze, he felt a spark of anger coming from her.

"You're gonna fight alone? Forgetting something?" she said dryly.

Darian swallowed hard. "Err... there's no other way."

"Forgot how we've always fought and won before?! I'm the one who blocks the attacks and keeps you alive. You think I'm just some useless partner now?"

Darian tensed up — he could feel the blast coming within the next five seconds. Still, when he looked at her, he took a deep breath and nodded.

Niara puffed out her chest, her expression shifting into a confident grin. "This is my time to shine. Watch closely! I can handle that thing — you finish it off right after. You trust me, right?"

Darian didn't have time to think it through, and a deep sense of dread hit his chest. That level of attack wasn't a joke — there was no way Niara could block it alone.

But he didn't dare deny her. He'd visited Vadise and knew all the insane effort Niara had gone through over ten years. She had given everything to become stronger — to never again feel like just his accessory.

Darian nodded, still worried. Then he grabbed a plain dagger marked with a rune seal and flooded it with as much black power as possible. He was going to strike with everything, way beyond what that weapon could handle — the impact would cause an even bigger explosion, sacrificing the dagger in the process.

The shattering fragments would create a wider wound, hitting the surrounding army too. That way, his black power could wipe out the Raid Boss along with several other enemies.

*Divine Dragon Possession!* 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Beside him, Niara roared. Her body pulsed with a radiant green light, and her amber eyes glowed like stars.

In that instant, green scales covered her completely. The heavens and earth trembled, and a dragon's roar echoed throughout the world. The light around Niara expanded for dozens of meters, and the serpentine shadow of a green dragon appeared within it.

When that green dragon emerged, it resonated with the laws of the world. She looked like a true Dragon — furious and ready to bring calamity.

Darian stared in surprise. In every one of the thousands of green scales covering her body, he could see a small primordial Bloodline rune pulsing with power.

It was a new version of the old *Green Divine Armor*.

Back then, that armor had been Niara's weakest, useful only in specific situations since it boosted her Draconic Bloodline to the max. Using Darian's white or black power, she had always been stronger in battle. But now...

She had created a new version, one that radiated an oppressive, terrifying power. Even he, with a semi-immortal soul, could feel it faintly.

The rest of the nearby army had gone pale, and the Mannaz were trembling. Niara was like a tigress — and they were sheep frozen under the hungry gaze of a predator.

Even if Darian were to channel all his power into her again, it wouldn't even reach ten percent of her current level. Niara truly didn't need him anymore — she'd become powerful on her own.

Everything happened in less than fifteen seconds after those enemies appeared.

At that moment, Niara turned to Darian and smiled.

He could sense the level of power emanating from her... and he was certain that even if she took the full hit, she wouldn't die now.

But blocking that attack was another story. Even with her new technique being as insane as it was, that strike would tear through her body and wipe out the entire army.

"GO!"

She spread her wings and shot forward through the air, heading straight toward the enemy ahead.

Darian moved along the ground at the same time, pushing his movement technique to its limit.

The whole army stayed behind, frozen, watching that duo charge toward the enemy's overwhelming power. Every single one of them wanted to run — if they scattered in all directions, maybe some could survive. But...

The remaining enemies would hunt them down, and without formation, they'd be in extreme danger even if they managed to escape for a moment. Besides, Darian had ordered them to stay put. They remembered Niara's words: no matter the situation, they had to follow orders — or they'd die for real.

Right then, the eight-circle creature brought its arms together in front of its chest, hands pointing toward them all.

A red light pulsed — becoming the only color in the world. In the next second...

*RUMBLE!*

A colossal explosion shook heaven and earth.

The attack shot forward like a devastating beam of light. Darian could only lift his gaze and see that Dragoness roar, taking the impact head-on with unshakable confidence.

To him, everything seemed to happen in fragments of seconds, as if time itself had slowed down.

Suddenly, Niara placed her hand over her chest. Then...

"!"

Darian felt the laws of the world twisting.

"IT'S REALLY A BLESSING!"

**KBOOOM!!!**

The explosion threw the surrounding space into complete chaos. A terrifying energy spread outward, forming a mushroom-shaped cloud that rose into the sky. Winds of pure energy swept across every direction, turning mountains into dust over a vast area.

The people from the army behind managed to shield themselves using every bit of power left in their rings, and because they were farther away.

The view ahead was impossible to make out — distorted space made everything blurry, almost unrecognizable.

But...

Through karma, Darian could sense exactly where his target was. He didn't hesitate to rush forward like lightning.

When he felt he was only a few meters away, he made a sharp full-body movement and threw his dagger like an arrow.

The blade, with its rune seal activated and loaded with black power far beyond its capacity, ripped through the chaotic space in a straight line.

**BOOM!**

A second violent explosion echoed.

Space twisted and slowly began to stabilize, letting him see more clearly ahead. There, Darian saw a gigantic crater.

At its center, a colossal humanoid lay still, a massive hole in its chest, its entire body covered in black lines.

"Success."

He nodded, pushing his black power to the limit, erasing every trace of life left in that creature instantly.

Then he turned his gaze and saw space behind him stabilizing completely.

The first thing he noticed was the army in the distance — whole, alive. She had actually done it.

But then...

*AHHHH!*

A hoarse, furious, distorted scream echoed.

Darian focused on a point in the sky and saw something that made him narrow his eyes.

Niara was there, but her eyes and body were radiating a crazed energy. Her scales were vibrating, sparks of pure energy bursting out uncontrollably — not like a focused power, but like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

Her face was visibly distorted. A rougher, deeper snarl escaped her lips as she turned forward.

Darian barely had time to process what he was seeing before Niara shot toward him — her eyes completely empty of reason, ready to annihilate everything in her path.