Damned Healer-Chapter 604: Nethergod Spirit

Darian stared at the old man coldly, and a fierce killing intent flowed out of him. In that instant, the old man suddenly stopped.

His expression changed, and his eyes filled with shock.

Darian snorted. That old man seemed to have understood the silent warning. He wasn't looking for trouble and preferred to leave peacefully, but he also wouldn't back down if they were stupid enough to provoke him.

The old man took a deep breath, swallowing hard.

At that moment, Ailik cried out in joy and ran over to him. She pointed at Darian and then at Zaowe, saying something.

Zaowe tried to interrupt, but under the old man's crushing glare, he shut up immediately.

After Ailik finished her explanation, the old man nodded. He took out a black stone and handed it to her.

When the others saw the stone, the men of the race started shouting again. However, with a cold grunt from the old man, everyone fell silent, not daring to say another word.

Ailik happily handed the stone to Darian and said, "My father has allowed you to use our Nether Knowledge Stone. Try connecting your soul to it. That way, you can absorb knowledge of our language."

Darian hesitated before nodding. He imagined it was something like a Jade Slip, containing a large amount of knowledge. But when he touched it…

…a bright light suddenly burst out of the black stone. The brighter it became, the more shocked the others looked.

Information poured into his mind.

That stone didn't just contain their language; that was only a small part of it. With his semi-immortal soul, Darian activated the stone completely in an instant.

The old man's expression shifted to deep fear. Only someone of their race could read it fully. Darian clearly could do it if he wanted to; all of their deepest secrets were laid bare.

But… he could clearly feel the fluctuations coming from the stone.

Darian merged only with the part that contained the language, without even trying to read the rest. That made the old man's expression soften, and he nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Darian returned the object to Ailik.

"I'm sorry for causing internal conflict within your tribe. As I said before, the incident with the Nether Beasts was a pure coincidence. They wanted to kill me, so I had no choice but to kill them. You don't need to thank me. Also, you helped me when I escaped the spatial rift, so we're even. I have things to do, so I won't trouble you any further."

Now that he knew their language, Darian spoke directly, slowly, and clearly so everyone could hear. That made many of them feel a bit ashamed.

"Everyone, don't fall for this! Invaders are always cunning and despicable. He's trying to win our sympathy! We must stay vigilant!" Zaowe shouted.

Ailik roared furiously, "Darian is the benefactor of our race. You've been turning against him the whole time. Is this how you treat those who help us?! Or do you think I won't kill you if you keep this up, you bastard?!"

"You've been enchanted by this pretty, pale-faced boy! Have you forgotten how much pain these invaders have caused us? How many of our people they killed in the past?!" Zaowe shouted back with equal fury.

Darian sighed. Zaowe was calling him an invader, probably thinking he came from some distant place in the universe, like a foreigner from another planet. He had no idea just how far Darian had really come from.

Zaowe's hatred likely came from the fact that there were humans in that universe, like in almost every other one. Humans were always troublesome and often oppressed other races. There had to be a very bad history.

"You bastard!"

*Slap!*

Ailik slapped Zaowe across the face in fury. He didn't even see what hit him and was sent flying several meters away, crashing to the ground and rolling multiple times.

The expressions of the others around didn't change. It seemed like this was nothing out of the ordinary.

"That's enough. Regardless of whether he came here with intentions or not, he hasn't done anything yet, and you two have already taken it this far. Isn't this foolish?" the old man said with a stern expression.

Ailik fell silent. The old man waved his hand and walked toward Darian.

He was a head taller than Darian and still imposing despite his advanced age. Like a fierce lion.

His gaze fell on the woman on Darian's back. Then he spoke in a calm voice.

"Young man, I don't care if it was a coincidence or not, or if you had other intentions. My race does not forget its debts. You saved Ailik back then, and according to our rules… you now belong to her and have become my son-in-law."

Everyone around them was stunned. Ailik's eyes trembled, while a vein bulged on Zaowe's forehead as he got back up.

As for Darian, his expression was a mix of shock and anger. He had turned into a slave, and Ailik was his owner? What kind of logic was that?!

It sounded suspiciously like marriage… not that it was all that different.

"Don't be ridiculous. The one on my back is my wife. You're lucky she's sleeping and didn't hear that, or even I wouldn't be able to control her fury…"

"Oh? If you refuse, you'll be showing contempt for us. That will prove you're a spy sent by hostile outsiders. Do you want to die?" the old man demanded, raising his hand.

More than ten thousand arrows were instantly aimed and ready to fire at Darian. With a single word from the old man, Darian would become the mortal enemy of the tribe, and everyone would try to kill him with everything they had.

"Father!" Ailik shouted.

"What? He belongs to you by right. I'm demanding what you should already have," the old man shouted. Then he turned to Darian. "Life or death, you choose."

Darian shook his head. "My wife is the only woman I will ever love in my life. As for my life or my death, that won't be decided by you. Keep being the king of this mountain. I'm leaving."

If they all attacked right now, Niara on his back would be put at risk. There would be too many arrows at once, and they carried a strange power, making it very hard to dodge everything perfectly. She wouldn't suffer serious injuries, but there was still a chance an arrow could hurt her.

That chance was tiny, but even that tiny chance was enough to drive Darian insane. So if they dared attack even once, he would create a river of blood here.

When Darian reached an extreme level of rage and killing intent, he became absolutely calm and cold. That was why he replied indifferently and began to walk away.

After taking only a few steps…

"You can come back. It was just a test." The old man's stern expression vanished, replaced by a faint smile.

Darian turned around and looked at the old man with a strange gaze.

"Young friend, please don't be angry. Throughout our history, we've been deceived many times by outsiders, so we must be cautious." The old man walked up to Darian and bowed, showing one of the race's strange etiquettes. "Thank you for your help. You prevented many casualties among us."

"No, I already said it was a coincidence," Darian replied quickly.

"Even if he isn't a spy, he fell from the God Roc! Everyone who dared approach it saw cursed people! He will bring us misfortune!" Zaowe said. His hostility toward Darian had lessened, but not completely.

"Whatever must come will come. Our race does not mistreat others because of superstition." The old man waved his hand, signaling Zaowe to drop the subject. Turning back to Darian, he asked, "May I know your name?"

"Darian. This sleepy one here is Niara," he replied politely. "I have something I'd like your help with. May I ask?"

The old man gave a faint smile. "We owe you a debt. So please, go ahead."

"I want a map of these lands, as large as possible. I also need information about other races. Sorry for being rude, but I'm in a real hurry," Darian said without hesitation.

The old man nodded. "We do have maps. But if you want more detailed information about races or distant places, you'll need to ask the Nether God Tree."

"Nether Tree God? Can I go see him?"

Darian got excited. If it was anything like a World Tree, that entity had to be extremely ancient, maybe even an immortal. If that was the case, getting what he wanted would be easy.

"Do you really dare to go see him?" Zaowe mocked. "Our God will immediately sense your intentions. So, are you going or not?"

He obviously still didn't trust Darian. Either he still saw him as an enemy, or he was jealous… probably both.

That made Darian certain that the earlier "test" hadn't really been a test. However, Darian's refusal made the old man cover it up, since he knew Darian couldn't be provoked.

Ailik glared at Zaowe angrily, but he ignored her. Everyone else also wanted to see how Darian would react.

Darian snorted as he observed all of that, then activated his curse while staring straight at Zaowe.

There was black karma, almost solid. It didn't seem to come from this life. So his past clearly wasn't pretty. But right now, he wasn't evil, nor was he kind. Everything depended on the choices he made in the present.

Unfortunately, sensing the fluctuations and Zaowe's gaze, Darian had the feeling that the idiot would do any kind of madness for Ailik, even if she herself didn't want it. He looked like the typical fool who only cared about what he wanted.

"Why are you hesitating? Are you scared? Looks like you really are plotting something against our race..."

Zaowe's rant stopped abruptly. The moment Darian locked eyes with him, he felt as if a wild beast was staring him down. His entire body stiffened, and an overwhelming sense of death paralyzed him.

"I don't have patience for spoiled brats. I'll say this for the second and last time... I'm already married, and Niara is the only one in my life. Don't provoke me for no reason. If I wanted to kill you, not even your leader would be able to protect you," Darian said coldly.

At that instant, his killing intent was released. There had only been a small misunderstanding between them, so Darian was trying to make things as clear as possible.

"You brainless idiot, shut up!" Ailik cursed furiously.

Darian ignored both of them and turned to the old man. "Is it very far?"

"If you go with our Blood Moon Falcon, you should arrive after one day of travel."

"Great. I'd like to go see him," Darian nodded. One day was still acceptable. If he really got everything he wanted, it would be worth it.

Zaowe fell silent. Ailik snorted and walked over to Darian. Turning to the tribe leader, she said, "Father, allow me to guide him to our God."

The old man nodded, a gleam flashing in his eyes. "You may accompany him. Zaowe, you will go with them as well. It's very far, so take care of them."

Zaowe narrowed his eyes. "But he—"

"This is an order!" the tribe leader shouted furiously.

Ailik snorted and pulled Darian away, heading toward the mountains behind her. Seeing her walking side by side with Darian and leaving, Zaowe clenched his teeth.

*BANG!*

The old man suddenly kicked Zaowe in the ass, sending him flying forward.

"You idiot! If you don't follow them, she really will be taken away!"

Zaowe quickly got up, startled, and ran after them.

In the distant mountains, Darian saw an ancient forest pulsing with vitality. It was an extremely peaceful life energy.

A giant falcon, completely blood-red, was waiting for them inside. It flew over to Ailik and cried out happily.

"This is one of our Divine Beasts. There are almost no Divine Beasts left, because the Nether Beasts devour and kill them whenever they get the chance. Only a few selected Demonic Beasts still exist, and they've become slaves of that race," Ailik said with a pained expression.

"We're very close to them. The Blood Moon Falcon is extremely fast, and not even the strongest demonic beasts can catch us," she explained, stroking the falcon.

Darian nodded. In that universe, Demonic Beasts and Divine Beasts still existed, but the Nether Beasts were oppressive and brutal.

The two of them jumped onto the falcon's back. At that moment, Zaowe caught up and jumped on as well.

Ailik didn't even look at him. She and Darian sat side by side on the giant falcon's head. Zaowe sat alone, farther back, glaring at the two of them with fury.

The beast let out a cry and took flight.

During the journey, Ailik took a deep breath. She had heard that Darian wanted knowledge about races, so she sent him a mental message, asking if he also wanted to know about the Nether Spirit Race.

From her expression, Darian could tell that Ailik wanted to explain something important. So he nodded in agreement.

Ailik was straightforward, explaining everything from the beginning. Darian's suspicions were confirmed: the Nether Spirit Race was exactly like the Heavenly Elemental Spirits.

However, just as the beasts of that universe had mutated and become creatures called Nether Beasts, the Heavenly Elemental Spirits had also changed into another kind of race, becoming the Nether Spirits.

They were born as small runes, in places with great elemental power. However, in that universe, the five pure natural elements didn't exist.

As she explained, Ailik gently waved her hand, causing five small runes to appear and showing them to Darian. He analyzed them and was shocked.

They were runes with only 10% of the power of the five natural elements he knew. Everything else was made up of a strange power that the natives called *Void*.

Darian felt that Void... it was the power of space-time at an extremely high level, but altered by the laws of that universe. On his first mission as a Spiritual Sovereign, he had visited a universe that created a similar abnormal power; this place was similar, but on a level a thousand times greater.

At the same time, there was also another abnormal power called Nether. It was a malicious power that affected people's minds and was the core of the Nether Beasts. Fortunately, it existed in smaller amounts than the Void. The Nether Spirits, on the other hand, were a strange and unique race in the universe. They had control over both major powers, but chose to control only the Void, because they didn't want to risk being affected by the malice of the Nether.

In short, two terrifying powers emerged in that universe, both capable of corrupting everything around them. These powers completely shaped everything that existed there, giving rise to unique races and phenomena.

Ailik explained that everyone of her race was born connected to one of the five elements corrupted by the Void. However, if they depended on nature to exist, they would have gone extinct long ago, since only one was born every few hundred years. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Because of that, their ancestors created a technique using materials from that universe, called the Nether Body. It was an ethereal body that could become completely solid and functional, identical to that of a flesh-and-blood race.

This technique created bodies close to humanoid races, since they had a very high reproduction rate. Of course, there were major physical differences, like the four arms, but their aura was very similar, so much so that Darian initially thought they were some kind of humanoid race.

Everyone of their race used this and was divided into two genders. With these bodies, when two genders united, it was possible to create a proto–essence rune, and from that generate a new being. It still took ten years of great effort for a couple to succeed, but it was a thousand times better than relying on nature.

But...

As generations passed, something surprising emerged.

For every one hundred million Nether Spirits born, one was completely different.

That one wasn't born with affinity to just a single element, but to all five. On top of that, they had immense control over the Void.

They were called Nethergod Spirits. The name wasn't exaggerated; these figures were like deities of the race, with an incomparable level of power. Ailik was one of them, the only one in her tribe, and one of the few in the entire race.

But there was a big problem.

All that power of the Nethergod Spirits wasn't easy to use. Ailik could only use 5% of her strength, or her body would undergo a reversal and explode.

The only way for a Nethergod Spirit to release all of their power was... finding a suitable partner.

Not in a romantic sense or anything like that. There were Nethergod Spirits whose partners were their own parents or siblings, for example.

That partner needed to possess a single essential attribute: a strong karmic connection with the Nethergod Spirit.

Darian's eyes widened. 'Wait? You can feel that?'

Ailik nodded slightly, looking Darian straight in the eyes.

'I felt it in you, very, very strongly. Before, I was innocent and thought I felt something with Zaowe, something I didn't even know was imagination or real. I turned 18 and became an adult just a few months ago. It was already decided that, in two months, I would go to our God to take the test with Zaowe. He would say whether Zaowe really had that with me. But now that I've met you, I'm sure he's not that person.'

Darian snorted. Zaowe was her childhood friend and obviously felt something for Ailik, especially since she was a unique and powerful woman.

Ailik, however, clearly didn't see him the same way. But because he was someone very close to her, and because she didn't fully understand her own power, she became confused and believed Zaowe was the one she was looking for.

Zaowe was more than excited about that. But with Darian's arrival, everything changed. That explained why he was so furious and genuinely wanted to kill him.