Damned Healer-Chapter 491: Perfect Heist And Escape

"Bro, these White Blood people actually have a pretty useful talent. I can use my blessing on this body so we can force that dumb King to use it properly."

Lucy said that with full confidence. Darian looked into her eyes, instantly understanding what she meant, and nodded.

That sister of his was seriously talented — she never even had a master to guide her blessing, unlike him.

She and Lucius had relied only on their own comprehension and the need to develop certain abilities Darian required. Step by step, they grew stronger together. Lucy, besides specializing in reading memories, could also manipulate inscriptions and assist perfectly in situations like that.

"Lucy, let's switch bodies. I'll use this King," Darian said.

...

A moment later, King Stem suddenly struck Lucy's previous disguise, destroying it completely.

**BANG!**

A furious roar echoed like thunder: "What treasure?! You dare trick me?!"

"Your Majesty, please spare me! It really is a treasure!" Lucy cried out.

"Shut up! If it weren't for the intel you brought me that's still useful, I'd have killed you already!" the 'King Stem' yelled.

In truth, Darian was just shouting so the two guards outside the castle could hear.

Then King Stem stormed out of the castle furiously. The two guards stayed frozen in fear. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"You two, clean my cave," King Stem snarled.

The guards immediately rushed in to collect the shattered body. The body Lucy had been using was disposed of, along with the life of its original owner. That way, the transition from three to two was completed without raising suspicion.

With Darian controlling King Stem, they quickly descended the island. Darian had originally planned to infiltrate the core of that entire race, but he gave up once he sensed how many powerful entities they had.

There were hundreds of individuals with nine circles hiding there, all with sharp perception. There was no reason for him to take that risk.

Through King Stem's memories, Darian knew exactly where the entrance was to the small world that held the Divine Flame of the Mind. Stealing it and escaping would be simpler — that King had plenty of valuable things.

King Stem's power wasn't equal to the other three Kings living in the Trunk World — he was slightly weaker. Those kings were actually the ones who had failed tests to become powerful allies of the Risen Lords, with no chance of progressing beyond nine circles.

So, they stayed behind to rule that world under orders. Those who passed were taken elsewhere — probably to one of the two worlds that were extremely hard to reach.

As for the other hundreds of figures with nine circles, they were either failed candidates as well or ones still preparing for their Trials.

In a remote corner of that world, the duo approached what looked like an ordinary place. But that was where the secret entrance was. Using King Stem's authority, Darian activated access to the small world.

Of course, outside, they passed by many watchful eyes. But since he was one of the Kings, none of them dared to interfere.

Inside, however, there were many high-ranking guards, all responsible for keeping anyone from getting near the Divine Flame of the Mind. They didn't care about the King's status — they could question him if needed.

But Darian reported to everyone that an emergency order from above had arrived, and that he needed to go to the location personally. The guards, in turn, were told to remain on high alert against possible intruders.

The guards went pale — everyone had already heard the news about the theft of the Divine Flame of the Soul. So it wasn't unreasonable to think the thief might show up there next.

Letting the King pass didn't scare them, since it was impossible for someone at his level to break the seal or do anything suspicious. Not even in their wildest dreams could they imagine someone invading and controlling the King's body without leaving the slightest fluctuation or trace.

All of them drew their weapons and focused completely on the single entrance to that world. Even the faintest energy fluctuation would be enough reason to attack without hesitation.

Then...

"..."

While all their attention was fixed in one direction, a dagger appeared from behind, slicing through the air and forming a massive blade of wind.

*Slash!*

It was one single, clean strike — the huge wind blade cut through a dozen guards at once. Black power from Darian spread through them, burning away their lives instantly. It was a perfect tag-team move.

"Nice work, Awel."

Darian murmured, catching the dagger again and feeling its excitement. His three daggers had now become highly specialized allies, each with unique abilities that perfectly complemented his powers.

The place went deathly silent — the calm before the storm. Darian and Lucy didn't care; they advanced swiftly toward the inner area of that world.

The place was bright, filled with intense white light, with a massive lake at its center. They flew over the lake toward the other side. The water was actually made of condensed pure energy, drawn from things that existed in the Trunk World.

The White Bloods needed that energy to grow stronger, instead of devouring lives like the Black Bloods.

That's why they had been gathering everything they could for generations into one single place — not to benefit everyone, but a select few who'd have a chance to surpass ordinary power. All of that was done even before the nearly exhausted flames were given to them.

After about an hour, they reached the other side. But they didn't see or sense anything there.

Darian's expression turned serious. Most likely, what they were looking for was hidden within the space itself — a second layer of security. Even with his powers, if he didn't know exactly where to look, finding it would take a long time.

"Huh? Bro, there's a chain over there," Lucy suddenly pointed out. She had managed to notice something faintly in one corner, almost invisible.

Darian couldn't see anything, but when he focused his senses exactly where she pointed, he realized there really was an entrance hidden within the space.

"Lucy, how'd you notice that?" Darian asked.

She replied, puffing out her chest: "I just felt it. Because of my studies with inscriptions, I had to learn a bit about space-time power. That's when I discovered I've got some kind of natural talent for sensing and using that power. I just never had the time to actually learn how to use it yet."

Darian nodded, understanding. He'd never noticed that talent in her before, but he knew their father — who had an Ancestral Awakening and created a variant spiritual root — had a strong ability to manipulate space. Back in that old tournament, Vanh had used spatial power through their father's spiritual root.

Lucy had inherited that, and maybe — if Darian hadn't interfered with her spiritual root and created the current Twins' Blessing — she would've developed a blessing based on spatial power.

Darian stepped closer to the spot and activated his power, forcing space itself to open. It was like tearing open a two-meter-wide door in the void.

They quickly entered, and inside, Darian saw a scene that looked just like the previous one. Inside a cage wrapped in golden chains burned a small violet flame, with a faint rune pulsing at its center.

The instant they got closer, they felt that soul's gaze lock onto them furiously.

Darian stopped, already guessing what would happen next. Then he turned to Lucy and gestured that they should leave their hosts.

In a flash, the sealed figure saw two ethereal presences leaving the bodies in front of it, completely stunned. It knew they were Spiritual Guardians, but it hadn't realized they were actually controlling those bodies. Doing that so perfectly, without a single trace of incompatible energy, should've been impossible.

That's when the figure became sure…

"The missionary… has finally arrived." The voice trembled, full of emotion.

Darian nodded. "I came to free you. I've already done the same with the Divine Flame Of The Soul."

"Sir, inside this primordial heart lies the hidden power of the Celestial Shadow. Even if you manage to free me, you'll become an easy target for it." The voice sounded pained.

"Don't worry. My partner can't come here, but she's waiting for you. She received a primordial heart from the Divine Dragon, and the Divine Flame Of The Soul fused itself with her body, removing all influence of that enemy."

After saying that, Darian turned and re-entered the King's body.

When he opened his eyes, he took out a golden crystal that the King possessed. It was one of the keys that could release part of the seal and the power of that Flame. Each King had one. Of course, that alone wasn't enough to fully break the seal — freeing them was theoretically impossible — but it created a small gap, just like the one Niara had made before.

He approached with the crystal in hand, dripped some of the King's blood on it, and pressed it against the chains.

The seal loosened, opening a narrow gap. Darian turned to Lucy, who nodded and immediately activated her blessing, getting ready.

After that, Darian focused, channeling chaos power through the gap and touching the primordial heart.

"I'll completely seal you with my power. That way, I'll keep you in the inventory and we can escape." He said seriously to the figure.

A few minutes later, Lucy muttered, "All done, bro." The King's body was now engulfed in dark light coming from her.

Darian took a deep breath, then nodded, activating the Divine Seal on the Divine Flame Of The Mind. That extinguished its life and presence temporarily. In the next second, he moved it easily, passing it through the gap and storing it in his inventory.

**BUZZZ!!!**

A sharp hum echoed across that entire world, and moments later, beyond it, the whole Ring of Death vibrated with an even louder alarm. Everyone instantly knew something had happened.

Without hesitation, Darian left the King's body. Lucy exited hers too, and both hosts pulsed with intense black light.

*Boom!*

Their bodies exploded, and their blood essence turned into a scarlet vortex. Darian and Lucy entered it, vanishing without leaving a trace.

The next moment, the vortex collapsed. They'd pulled off a perfect heist and escape.

Barely had they disappeared when the most powerful beings of that race stormed into the small world and surrounded the area at high speed.

When they reached the center and saw the aftermath, their eyes widened in panic. Then they felt the energy fluctuations.

"That's the *Life Sacrifice Channel*?! A traitor's among us! Seal all exits from the Ring of Death!"

They realized a secret art had been used — a technique that sacrificed the life of a high-level White Blood being to create a transport channel for someone else.

That was one of the greatest abilities of the White Blood race, since they could study and manipulate any element with ease, including space-time. Those who mastered it — like King Stem — could ignite a terrifying spatial power through their own lineage in sacrifice.

The technique could be activated willingly or by force, allowing someone else to escape instantly.

Darian and Lucy reappeared in King Stem's cave and castle. They immediately killed the two guards, silently.

In Darian's hands, Awel pulsed, manipulating the winds. He and Awel shot into the sky at high speed, heading toward a specific region of the Ring of Death.

It was atop a mountain — a secret place known only to the Kings and the oldest figures. There was a transport inscription there that connected that Ring of Death to the other two.

Darian could use it to travel to any of them, so the enemies wouldn't know where he'd gone, forcing them to split up — giving him time to flee to a Ring of Life with ease.

Thanks to Awel, he and Lucy arrived fast. She was only a bit slower than Niara when it came to long-distance flight.

Once at the mountain's peak, Lucy knew exactly what to do and managed to activate the inscription. But right then, the void trembled.

A beam of light shot out from the center of an island, sending waves across the horizon. They were spatial runes — and the entire Ring of Death began to be covered, creating a massive blockade.

However, Darian smiled. The transport inscription was already active, and Lucy had broken the control mechanism, making it impossible to stop or track them through the same route.

In the next instant, space warped, and the duo was pulled in, disappearing — but…

**KBOOOM!**

Before they could vanish completely, a violet thunderbolt suddenly crashed down from the skies, striking the mountain dead-on. The impact shattered their teleportation, violently breaking the spatial power.

The mountain exploded, and Darian and Lucy were thrown far away.