Damned Healer-Chapter 477: You Know That, I Know That

When Darian brought everyone from the army, the Black Bloods who had fled earlier didn't try to block them. So, they all reached the mass of celestial essence left behind by the hundred dead five-circle enemies, along with the dense energy from those with eight circles.

All the Mannaz absorbed that energy, becoming radiant. Soon after, they moved on, managing to cross that line and reach the region of life.

The one they were in had been the second line; since they'd crossed it, the Array would keep that area as a safe zone for a full day.

There, the sun shone again, and the calm, fresh air welcomed them. They were in a forest with spaced trees and simple vegetation.

Darian turned to everyone and ordered the Mannaz to sleep and rest for eight hours. Until...

"Dan... hungry..."

He heard a pleading murmur coming from his shoulder.

The Mannaz could go a week without eating and be totally fine. Since they'd only been there for two days, he hadn't planned to bother with that yet. But... he definitely wouldn't dare let that woman go hungry.

He quickly ordered everyone to eat first. To save time, they each took out large food stocks stored in their spatial rings.

Soon, everyone gathered, lit fires, and began heating their meals, eating happily.

Darian did the same — when the food started to boil, he thought about calling Niara, but she was already wide awake and practically leapt at the pot.

"..."

She ate his entire supply at once. It was the equivalent of a year's worth of meals — in the amount that satisfied her — originally planned to last with one portion every three days.

When she finished, she moved closer to him, who was sitting leaned against a tree, and settled beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. She soon fell into a deep sleep.

Darian sighed, making an important mental note: after using her Blessing, Niara needed to eat nonstop until she filled the "black hole" in her stomach — and then sleep as much as possible.

All the Mannaz did the same, recovering their energy. Eight hours later, they woke up — but noticed Darian and Niara in a corner, she still sleeping deeply.

"We've got sixteen hours left. This place has lots of rare treasures. It shouldn't be too dangerous, so you can spread out and search for ten hours. If you find any Golem, send me a signal."

Darian spoke calmly. If anything unusual came up, he'd easily feel it through karma — that whole line was within his senses.

Everyone nodded and split into small groups for safety. Soon they vanished from sight.

As soon as they were gone, Darian sighed.

"You did great. But you could've told me about that Blessing of yours before..."

Niara opened her eyes, a faint smile forming as she clung to his arm.

"That was the first time I used it... I didn't know if it would actually work. Only now I have my real body, so I could finally test everything at once."

Darian's expression grew serious, "Y-you did all that without even being sure it would work?"

"Hehe... look who's talking. We're partners for a reason. In the end, it worked!" she replied, amused.

Darian huffed.

"Alright, let's get going...!"

He tried to stand up, but Niara moved fast — she spun her body and settled in his lap, facing him. She crossed her legs around his waist, pressing him against the tree he was leaning on.

Darian stared at her, caught off guard. Her face was just a few centimeters from his, her eyes full of expectation.

He sighed, thinking it was about what had happened before.

"Sorry. I learned my lesson. I won't think of you just as a soldier anymore, but as someone who—"

"No, it's my fault," she interrupted seriously, "You didn't know how much I'd changed. So you thought I was still the same as before."

They felt each other's breath for a few seconds.

He was confused by her words. Niara, though, carried a deep pain — something she had held inside for a long time; her gaze trembled, and she finally murmured,

"Now that you've seen my evolution... I need to apologize for before. I relied on you too much," her voice cracked, "I wasn't giving my all... The Divine Dragon saw that back then, that's why it gave me extra things without telling me. I was throwing all the responsibility on you, trusting that you'd always handle everything."

Darian reached out. Without saying a word, he used his thumb to wipe away a tear running down her face.

"Don't be silly. I feel what you feel..." he said softly. "When I took you to my house on Earth, I felt your pure, extreme joy for living there. It was something you'd never felt before. Seeing that, I just wanted to spoil you — to see you happy, living in peace."

Niara nodded, her face twisting even more with emotion.

"No, that's not fair to you! I'm too greedy... no, I became a leech that just kept following you around. I'm your partner... I should be the one helping you, not always being helped..."

"That's the problem," Darian cut her off, a faint spark of sarcasm in his eyes.

She looked at him, confused, her red eyes locked on his.

"Partners are supposed to help each other, but neither of us wants *just* that. You gave everything you had for ten years because you wanted to keep up with me, right? And me — I'm even greedier than you are." Darian smiled — a light, genuine smile.

"I want half of everything that's yours. I want a piece of your bad and good sides, a share of your happiness and your sadness. That way, I can give you the same, and we'll both be satisfied." He saw her eyes widen suddenly in surprise and shock. "Am I wrong?"

Niara stared at him for a few seconds...

"Yes! I want *all* of you, not half!" she said with fierce urgency. The fire in her eyes — even with her tear-stained face — was wild.

"All of it? You're really damn greedy..." Darian muttered, feeling weird, trying to say something poetic he'd read back on Earth... but she clearly didn't get it. Even so, his chest burned with that warm feeling coming from her.

Niara leaned in — her intensity was almost an attack.

"Yeah! I won't leave a single thing for anyone but me. And also... I'll fight with my life to make sure no one takes you away. I want to stand by your side, and I won't be some dead weight dragging you down."

"You sure about that? My life's kinda messy..." Darian teased softly.

"Yeah, I love you, Dan! Damn it! You know that, I know that... I can barely hold myself back now that we're finally this close. I'm still weak, but I'll prove to you that—"

"You don't have to prove anything to me." He cut her off, his voice turning serious and steady. "Prove? Why do you think I'd want that from you?"

Darian looked genuinely stunned, staring deep into her eyes.

"Because..." Niara didn't hesitate — she knew what was inside him. "You always look at me secretly, thinking I'm attractive and wanting to touch me, but holding yourself back as much as you can... You're clearly afraid of hurting me, since you know I love you. If I can't keep up, you'll have to leave me behind."

Darian scoffed. "That's a huge misunderstanding." Niara felt a shift in his tone — something had changed.

Without another word, he pulled a small sealed box from his inventory.

"You're way off. You know why I went to Vadise and stayed there for months?"

She frowned, thinking. "You wanted to get chosen by the Matriarch for that Draconic Trial, so you could improve your physique, right? You were also after some Dragon Cores..."

"Don't be silly," he interrupted, his chest heating up. "I went there with a single goal, and I didn't give a damn about anything else. Everything else was just a bonus. But luckily... I got what I wanted."

Niara's eyes grew even more curious and confused.

Darian opened the small box in his hand.

She focused on what was inside... and her eyes nearly popped out in shock.

Inside was a small ring, studded with tiny blue celestial stones. It was the *Phantom Vow Ring.* (Chapter 322)

Niara froze. Instead of that usual possessive joy, she felt a massive shock — she could feel Darian's intentions perfectly, yet couldn't believe them.

Darian let out a pained sigh, fully understanding what she felt.

Niara had spent nearly her whole life suffering, fighting, and struggling to survive — all on her own. So, to her, this relationship was just another kind of life-or-death battle.

She thought she had to prove herself to him, and to herself — believing happiness was something distant, unreachable. All she'd ever known was to keep fighting with everything she had, hoping to taste just a tiny bit of that feeling.

That small bit of happiness she'd felt back on Earth was clearly crumbling now, and she... she felt a deep guilt for having relaxed and leaned on him, keeping that buried in her heart for a long time.

"You still don't get it? I went to that planet because I wanted to marry you. I went straight to ask your new mother for your hand. You like her and everyone there, right? My only goal was to make you happy..."

Then he told her slowly about his entire journey in Vadise.

Halfway through his story, Niara's shocked expression finally broke. Her eyes locked on Darian with fierce intensity; her heart pounded like a drum, and something inside her felt ready to burst.

At the end, Darian took the box and pulled out the ring.

"Let's make this clear. I love you. You know that, I know that... and every time you feel unsure, I'll say it again. You don't need to prove anything to me — and there's no one in this world like you. We didn't become partners by coincidence. Heaven's Will brought us together because it knew something about us — that we're a perfect match."

She didn't move, just stared at him. Darian then took her hand and met her gaze.

"You gonna reject me or what?"

"NO!!" she snapped out of her daze, emotions bursting out of her like a broken dam.

He nodded, sliding the ring onto her finger slowly.

She looked at it in her hand... and her whole body started to tremble.

"Good, now—"

She didn't let him finish. Niara threw herself at him, pressing her lips to his with almost desperate intensity. What she felt was so powerful, she'd never imagined any living being could feel something like that. Their world flipped upside down as they stayed there, alone, beneath the tree.