Damned Healer-Chapter 478: Perfect Foundation

After some unknown amount of time, Darian's mind slowly began to clear. When he pulled back slightly from her lips, he saw that flushed face staring back at him, her breathing quick and shallow, matching his own.

Niara gave him a slow, mischievous smile. Her hands slid up to her own shoulder, brushing against the fabric of her white dress.

Slowly, she pulled it down — all the way to her waist.

Darian's mind went blank. She wasn't wearing anything underneath, and right before his eyes, he saw the familiar curves where he'd comfortably rested so many times before.

Her hands moved to his, guiding them gently toward her. Darian felt his mind blur completely. He heard her soft, seductive groan as warmth and softness filled his hands.

But then, he took a deep breath...

...and pulled from deep within his soul a willpower he didn't even know he had. He moved his hands slightly to the edge of her dress and quickly pulled it back up, covering her again.

Niara's eyes shifted. He looked at her and said in a low, rough voice, "Let's take it slow..."

Niara grabbed the dress, frustrated. "...Why? I've waited so long for this... You want it too — I can feel something very excited down here."

Darian swallowed hard, breathing deeply, trying to control the heat radiating from him. He knew Niara was a storm, and if he opened that door, it'd never close again. But he couldn't think only about the momentary desire.

In a tense voice, he muttered, "We've got our whole lives for this, but the first time — we only get one. The start of everything, the foundation of anything that matters, should always be built as perfectly as possible."

He looked her straight in the eyes, his gaze filled with warmth and certainty.

"We're in the middle of a mission, and we could get interrupted anytime. I don't want this to be rushed or forgettable... I want it to be something you'll remember forever. If we set a high standard now, then after that, we'll both always aim to match and surpass something amazing."

Niara took a deep breath, feeling clearly how hard he was fighting to stay in control. She knew — if she pulled her dress down again, he'd give in without hesitation.

But he was thinking about her — about them. That warmth in her chest grew stronger; the uncontrollable feeling from before flared up again.

She sighed — a sound that was half frustration, half acceptance. "When we get back... and fix the problems on Earth... you're not gonna make me wait again, right?"

Darian swallowed. "Yeah, it shouldn't take long. We just need to make things a bit more stable, one step at a time."

Niara gave a small smile, locking eyes with him — now radiating a seductive glow totally different from the one he was used to.

It made Darian's heart pound. Chaos filled his mind. If she kept looking at him like that, he wasn't sure he could hold out much longer.

He forced himself to look away. Then muttered softly, "That ring on your finger means everything; you don't need to feel insecure or hold yourself back every time we're alone. Just... we won't go too far for a while."

Niara nodded, moving closer — but only buried her face against his chest, hugging him tightly, breathing in his scent and the fast rhythm of his heartbeat. A calm and warmth she'd never known before washed over her; in that moment, all she wanted was to stay there in silence forever.

Darian stroked her head, taking a deep breath... He definitely felt the same.

***

Ten hours later, the whole army returned.

When they arrived, they found Darian sitting with his eyes closed, meditating near a tree like before. Beside him was Niara, who turned toward them...

...and everyone noticed something different. She seemed to be glowing with her own light. Even with her calm expression, her aura radiated an intense, burning energy.

As they approached, Darian opened his eyes and quickly listened to their reports. Almost everyone had found all kinds of strange herbs, but none had seen any beasts or golems.

Darian frowned — that was wrong. It'd be impossible for the Black Blood creatures to survive here, feeding only on their own kind; there should've been simpler forms of life.

But everything in this place had already proven different from what he'd expected. Unfortunately, he hadn't had the chance to investigate what was really wrong with those stronger enemies.

"Get ready and form up. There's not much time left, but I'm about to do something potentially dangerous," Darian ordered, and everyone nodded, preparing themselves.

In the first battle, they'd still been getting used to the formations; efficiency had been way below ideal, and they'd burned through nearly all their pills and supplies.

That was expected — Darian hadn't allowed them to bring many resources, since they couldn't rely on external aid to fight. Pills carried impurities, and the more you used them, the less effective they became.

Those items were meant only as support in the beginning; now they'd have to show they'd learned to fight properly — managing their power consumption and taking turns to recover naturally.

A few minutes later, Darian led the entire army forward, heading toward the edge of the next Death Line.

Then, he turned to the three leaders. "Stay alert to the position — I'm not sure how the array will react. I'll cross to the other side with Niara to capture a few of the stronger ones."

The three leaders nodded nervously. Someone invading before the scheduled time was extremely rare. Maybe when he did that, the array would trigger the invasion event earlier than expected — that's why they needed to stay sharp.

Without delay, Darian turned to Niara. They had to move as fast as possible and come back right away.

Both of them exhaled in perfect sync.

Then, their bodies pulsed — releasing a terrifying light that made the world lose all color. Darian activated the Primordial Physique, surrounded by a multicolored aura, while Niara invoked the Divine Dragon Possession.

Everyone behind them held their breath. Were that man and woman really just a Mannaz and a Spiritual Guardian? They looked more like two unpredictable monsters.

"Go."

Darian spoke, and the two shot forward.

Ahead, a subtle spatial ripple marked the boundary — not really a barrier, just a sign of the frontier.

The moment they crossed it, they found themselves in a dark, misty world. Luckily, there weren't any enemies nearby at first.

Darian instantly expanded his senses to the limit. Since he had already felt that faint, strange presence inside those creatures before, he was able to track the same kind of energy all around the area.

Meanwhile, Niara scanned the surroundings and realized the array was still stable. They could enter and leave within a few hours without putting the others, behind the border, in danger.

"Found them. Over three hundred with five circles this time. And there's another one with eight circles, a bit farther from the rest."

Darian confirmed, focusing intensely. Now that he had a little time, he could prepare the spatial movement with maximum precision.

After almost five minutes, several low-level spatial runes surrounded them both. Darian sighed. He was terrible at this and could only produce a mediocre spatial power — but it would be enough.

He turned to Niara and gently took her hand. Then, he moved the power of pure chaos around them, creating a grayish layer that completely wrapped them both.

It was a simple but effective technique using chaos power. All energies are born from it, so if Darian had the time to study, he could perfectly mimic other types of energy and fluctuations. In direct combat, it wasn't too useful, but for disguises and ambushes, it worked perfectly.

Within seconds, Darian and Niara were emanating the exact same energy waves as the Black Blood creatures that lived there.

"If I can collect a bit of their bloodline and mix it in, the disguise should get even more realistic," Darian muttered.

Once everything was ready, he controlled the spatial runes and activated them at full power.

The two shot forward in a straight line at a terrifying speed. Even so, thanks to Darian's forced control over the energy, they didn't cause any major disturbances. Only someone very alert to the skies could notice them — and even then, they'd just look like two of those same creatures, moving quickly for some reason.

Seconds later, as they approached the stronger enemies, Darian smiled slightly. No one seemed to be on guard, not even the most powerful one.

His original plan had been to capture one of the weaker ones and retreat — but seeing how relaxed they all were, completely sure no one could attack before the invasion time, he decided to be a bit bolder.

The two flew right above the five-circle creatures.

About five hundred meters ahead, they spotted a humanoid figure standing alone on top of a mountain. It radiated a strong crimson aura. Its eyes were closed, but Darian could clearly feel it had eight circles, just like the one before.

If things played out like last time, there was no guarantee they could take it down quickly. So, he'd take advantage of the opportunity now.

Niara sighed and let go of Darian's hand, drifting a little away from him.

At that exact moment, the disguise around her vanished, and she released her full draconic power.

The creature opened its eyes, completely stunned.

Niara stared coldly, and a primordial pressure flooded the area — as if a true dragon had just roared in fury.

The figure immediately stood up...!

*PIERCE!*

Suddenly, a short blade went straight through its back with surgical precision.

It tried to release its power, but its body was instantly overwhelmed by the black force.

"Got it," Darian murmured with a grin. Niara really was the perfect bait.

Without hesitation, he sealed all movement and any chance of reaction from the creature. Moments later, roars echoed from every direction, closing in fast.

Niara landed beside Darian. He grabbed her hand and held the captive tight with the other.

This time, Niara spread her wings and burned her Bloodline to the limit, blasting through the sky at insane speed. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

If he'd had time and space, Darian could've warped them across long distances even faster — but in this kind of situation, Niara at full power was quicker, though it came at a heavy cost.

In seconds, the two tore through the skies. The enemies tried to block them, but those with five circles or less were just insects before their strength.

When they reached the border, both clenched their fists and pushed forward again. Luckily, nothing went wrong. The array seemed to have its own intelligence and understood that this enemy had been defeated and captured, so it didn't stop them from passing.

Soon, they returned to the Life Line, still with more than two hours left before the battle. It had been a fast, flawless raid — a perfect assault using both their abilities in perfect sync.