Damned Healer-Chapter 487: Protect Everything

The moment the battle began, the entire army advanced — but not in a straight line toward the next boundary. Darian led them in a very specific direction, now aware of the peculiar regions of the Root World.

Before being imprisoned in that smaller world, the Divine Flame of the Soul and the other four that had been used didn't stay in fixed places.

That Array had also been built so that the Blood Race could grow faster; each world gave them a different kind of boost. To make their energy grow rapidly, the five were moved constantly from one place to another. Because of that, Darian had gained a ton of knowledge about everything.

As the battle started, everyone moved, wiping out the enemy army with ease — until, after ten hours, they reached a strange valley. There was a majestic, intimidating rift there, where the land looked like it had been split in half by some ancient force.

Darian rushed to the edge of the crack and channeled his chaos power, sending it deep inside.

That was one of the four points where the surface opened up closer to the underground Dragon Vein. He used a simple technique with chaos power that allowed him to remotely activate his energy to try to move and steal it all.

However, he'd have to reach all four locations — and even then, he felt it probably wouldn't work unless he first cut the Array's main connection to the Dragon Vein. Still, it was an opportunity to keep for later.

He finished in a few minutes and returned.

By then, Niara was waiting for him to go after the enemies with five circles and the leader with eight. Even though that small world had been destroyed, the weaker ones that were already outside were still in position — probably unaware of what had happened and still following orders.

Darian knew where the stronger ones were — three hundred of them had five circles — and this time, he brought the army to face them head-on. The 250,000 were already confident, easily beating enemies with four circles; now, it was time for a real test.

The couple, on the other hand, would only target the eight-circle leader.

Their fight was straightforward; together against one opponent, they were a terrifying combo. Niara could block him completely like a tank, no matter what he did, while Darian could finish him the moment he slipped.

A tank's weakness was usually slowness or lack of flexibility — but Niara had neither. She could change her fighting style fluidly. And the damage-dealer classes, like Mages or Fighters, were usually fragile — but Darian was even harder to kill than Niara.

After just a few exchanges, the enemy lost momentum, and Niara hit him with a mental strike that made his mind spin. In the opening that followed, Darian's dagger, filled with dark power, finished him off.

Meanwhile, the army was struggling — but thankfully, it was 250,000 against three hundred. When one got badly hurt, another covered for them so they could retreat.

When Darian arrived, he healed everyone and gave the three leaders new instructions on how to coordinate better. After several hours — and many of them coming dangerously close to death — their teamwork paid off.

Everyone was thrilled, but there was no time to waste. They pressed on until they crossed the next line. When they did, there was less than an hour left in the day.

Exhausted, they practically collapsed. They had been pushed to their limits, almost dying for real. Niara smiled faintly, certain that none of them would ever be the same again.

Darian could've easily defeated everyone and absorbed all the Merit Power himself, but he couldn't advance to five circles yet — otherwise, the Array would immediately send him to the next place — and besides, there would be no shortage of enemies later on.

Since he still needed to reach the three locations within the Root World — and that would take time — training those people would be more useful in the long run.

While everyone was resting and eating, suddenly...

"!"

Darian felt strange fluctuations coming from inside his inventory. His eyes widened, and he quickly pulled out the three daggers.

Niara, who couldn't resist eating again, stopped immediately when she sensed it. She turned and rushed toward him.

Darian held the daggers with trembling hands, feeling the presence of the three inside them. Slowly, their eyes glowed in sync.

They were observing the world around them, trying to understand where they were.

"Hmm... Master Darian...?" Tir's voice came through.

It was as if the three of them had lived through a long, endless dream — only now waking up. Their fluctuations were messy, and they all seemed disoriented. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Big brother, who's that?" Awel's serious voice asked.

Niara reached out and touched Darian's fists, which still held the daggers, slightly trembling. He had a blank expression, unsure what to say — but deep down, she could feel the storm of emotions raging inside him.

Sensing that, Darian took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"I'm Niara. You're the little wind girl... Awel, right? Dan told me about you," she said softly, feeling the daggers' faint changes.

At that moment, Darian snapped out of his stupor. He took a deep breath and channeled all the power from his ring into the three daggers. "I'm sorry... but this will be your new body for now. Use it to trigger your metamorphosis."

The three of them listened and burned that power, already knowing exactly what to do.

In seconds, three small figures — identical to the ones Darian held in his memory — appeared before him.

At that instant, Darian's eyes trembled, but he swallowed his tears.

Only he knew the pain he had felt — the pain of failure, of weakness. He had spent a whole year wandering alone, full of sorrow and guilt, trying to find the strength to move forward.

Now, he had truly brought them back...

...and that made him deeply emotional, but at the same time, the pressure he placed on himself rose drastically. In his mind, there was only one mantra: he never wanted to go through that again. He would go to the very end if that's what it took to become stronger.

And now, feeling those warm hands holding his, feeling their concern as they tried to comfort him — he wanted to live. He wanted to protect everything and everyone he cared about.

The three looked at him, still confused. Awel tilted her head, her eyes wandering up and down Niara, lingering on the curves of her dress.

Niara frowned at that look.

Darian's eyes went wide as he remembered something from years ago — when Awel had once asked for a more detailed physical description of Niara. He'd tried to keep it vague, but the questions just kept coming, so in the end, he'd been as detailed as possible...

"I thought you'd be cuter, taller... like a giant beast. So that's what Brother meant about having a figure with volume and curves. I see..."

Eleri and Tir stayed silent, not understanding. Niara, on the other hand, turned to Darian, realizing the kind of description he'd given about her. He'd emphasized exactly what he'd paid most attention to — what he'd seen and remembered best.

Then, she smiled softly. They had been apart for so long, and he'd used every bit of his memory to recall every detail about her he could. Having someone to talk to, to speak freely with, had done him good.

Darian quickly changed the subject. "Eleri, Tir, Awel — do you remember anything after that incident when we got separated?"

The three looked at Darian and noticed the deep worry in his eyes. Tir and Awel took a deep breath.

Eleri, however, spoke without thinking too much: "I think I remember a few things... but it's all so distant and fragmented that I'll probably forget soon. Brother Darian, don't worry. You taught us to be strong people, to never cling to the past."

Darian swallowed hard, feeling the calmness radiating from them. It seemed like leaving them unconscious and letting them recover slowly had been the best choice. They'd had time to let everything settle and detach from those painful memories.

"Good. From today on, we'll always stay together." Darian muttered, looking into their eyes.

At that moment, the three of them seemed to hear something wonderful and lit up with excitement. Niara smiled faintly, seeing the purity and genuine bond they shared with Darian.

Taking advantage of the free day, Darian brought them to a distant place and began to tell them everything that had happened after their supposed deaths, all the way to the present moment.