Damned Healer-Chapter 659: Conceited Asshole

With a wave of his hand, the Sacred Treasure that controlled the power of the Nether appeared in Darian's hands. He focused completely, using that treasure as a catalyst to control the black sea in front of him.

Through memories from the past, Darian saw the creation of the temple at the bottom of the sea. Of course, there was no clear explanation, but he managed to get an idea of what to do and where to go.

Slowly, the entire sea ahead began to churn, growing more and more turbulent. After several minutes, the waters started to move, splitting apart in two directions.

In front of Darian, a corridor appeared, its walls made of black water, as if they were frozen solid. The corridor slowly expanded, creating a path over ten meters deep and stretching several kilometers forward through the sea.

Darian snorted, looking toward the end of it. The corridor in the sea led to a distorted region, as if space itself had collapsed and formed a dome hundreds of meters wide.

He didn't hesitate and moved forward slowly. Niara walked alongside him.

The last time Darian met Meru, she told him that if he ever had the chance, he should take Niara with him to get the book. Darian hadn't understood, since Niara had no connection to the will of the heavens; she shouldn't even be able to get close. Still, if his master had said it, he wouldn't dare question it.

They walked forward slowly. All the Nether power in the walls was completely solid and stable; as long as Darian didn't remove it, this passage wouldn't close for a long time.

When they reached the distortion, Darian took out the other four Sacred Treasures.

The moment they left the inventory, they suddenly began to glow. Darian felt a different energy inside them, then used his control to force it out of the five treasures.

Five small runes emerged, floating through the air as they were drawn toward the distortion.

*Buzz*

The moment they touched the distorted region, everything began to hum and tremble. In seconds, as if swept clean by a storm, everything ahead was cleared away.

"Wow."

Niara looked ahead and saw a small but astonishing structure. It was a temple, but unlike the other places with books that Darian had seen, this one was absurdly luxurious and beautiful. It was extremely detailed, built from minerals that radiated a unique energy and shone with a striking silver light, as if they glowed on their own.

At the front, there were three entrances. The two on the sides were sealed by doors, while the one in the center had no door at all and stood completely open.

Darian waved his hand, putting away the five treasures. Then he held Niara's hand and stepped forward, positioning himself slightly in front of her.

They approached the only entrance, and Darian relaxed when he felt no resistance preventing Niara from entering.

The inside was a large open hall, just as beautiful and radiant as the outside. At the very center stood a small altar, with a closed book resting gently on top of it.

Without delay, the two moved closer. When they were less than two meters from the altar, the entire environment suddenly changed. The book trembled and floated into the air on its own.

Then it opened, and a blinding light burst out from within.

Darian took a deep breath, already mentally preparing himself for the scolding from his master after the terrifying training she always put him through. Still, she truly cared about him, enough to watch over what he was doing. And on top of that, every time he met her, he gained far more than he had ever dreamed of.

Then, to Darian's surprise, what appeared wasn't a female silhouette.

A pair of gigantic eyes opened before them. They were red like two beacons, and when they locked onto the two of them, they felt a very familiar pressure bearing down on their souls.

Niara narrowed her eyes. Darian stared straight at those eyes and felt their fluctuations; immediately, he remembered feeling something similar in the past, twice.

"Yin Chaos Dragon?" he asked seriously.

"Yes." A female voice sounded, absolutely cold and devoid of emotion. The eyes quickly passed over Darian, then fixed on Niara.

Darian had already spoken with the will of this being when he visited the Painita universe. Later, that same being appeared to help Darian and Niara in the final battle inside the Enfield Sacred Tree.

Several silent seconds passed, the gaze still locked on Niara.

Until Darian broke the silence. "Senior, where is my Master?"

The voice replied without turning to him: "That brat can't see you. She made a deal with her father and, because of that, received something good for you. If you want to see her, you'll have to get another book. This time, I came to see this idiotic woman here…"

Niara heard that, and her expression changed, tinged with anger. She didn't even know this being and had already been called an idiot. Her self-control wasn't good enough to just swallow something like that.

Darian swallowed hard, focusing on Niara. "Calm down. She knows you from another time, another life, when you were very different."

Hearing that, Niara turned to Darian, surprised. Then she looked back at those eyes and nodded. "Fine. I'll accept being cursed by my past self, but not by my current self."

"So now you think you're amazing, huh? Looks like you evolved into a conceited asshole," the voice replied, emotionless.

Niara spat back coldly: "Fuck off, watch your mouth! Dan and I have never actively looked down on anyone. But we've always heard challenges like that. In the end, people always regret it one day."

"That missionary really can be arrogant sometimes. But you? Are you sure you're good for anything other than causing trouble?" the voice shot back flatly.

Darian was immediately stunned.

Niara clenched her fists tightly. Darian reacted fast and stepped in front of her.

"Senior, why did you come here?!" Darian tried to change the atmosphere quickly, almost desperately.

With a snort, the voice replied, "I can finally see my idiotic disciple. Why wouldn't I come?"

"Disciple?!" Niara suddenly blurted out, shocked.

"I already regret accepting you. But I promised I'd take care of you," the voice replied, now carrying hints of emotion that seemed on the verge of bursting out of control.

Silence fell again. Niara and Darian could tell that the being was trying to rein in its emotions.

After a few seconds, the eyes fixed on Niara once more.

"You… betrayed me and everything I taught you. Do you have any idea how much I had to humiliate myself to clean up your mess?"

In the end, her voice came out with growing anger in every word. Niara and Darian swallowed hard and almost forgot how to breathe.

The voice was clearly angry, but it was a unique kind of anger, different from the usual rage they saw so often. It felt like…

…a mother scolding her own child, with anger, guilt, and love subtly mixed into the harsh words.

If this had been the Darian and Niara of not so long ago, they wouldn't have noticed the difference. But now, both of them had the experience of raising Alear, and Niara had had to scold her harshly several times. Darian had seen it all up close and sometimes even got caught in it himself, since he spoiled her more than he should have.

"I…" Niara didn't know how to respond. She didn't know what had happened in the past, but now she was sure she had messed up badly.

"Niara did act on impulse, but I can guarantee she's learned now," Darian, who knew everything, tried to help.

With a sigh, those eyes turned to him. "Really learned? Isn't she still explosive and impulsive?"

"Uh…" Darian stammered. "That part really hasn't changed. But…"

"Why change it?" Niara shot back, puffing out her chest. "Dan is the complete opposite of me. The two of us work perfectly together like this. We're a balanced pair. I listen to him when it matters, and he listens to me when he needs to. We keep winning and moving forward like this."

The eyes locked onto her, narrowing, and there was still a trace of anger in that gaze.

But nothing was said.

Silence returned, and this time Darian felt it was better to keep it.

Niara snorted and proudly grabbed Darian's hand, as if she refused to back down under that stare.

After a few minutes, the gaze shifted, focusing on Darian.

"She really did change because of you…"

Darian let out a relieved sigh. He had already heard from this same being about who the Divine Dragon used to be in the past.

That being had been completely indifferent and reckless, someone who cared about nothing but themselves, to the point of risking something that could destroy the universe… and almost succeeded. Because of that, everything in that universe exploded, and the Celestial Shadow ascended.

"Not exactly," Darian replied calmly. "We inspired each other to live and move forward. I like her the way she is and want to keep it that way forever; I believe she feels the same. She didn't change her essence; she just tasted the extreme bitterness of life and learned to value sweetness."

"Indeed." The voice replied coldly, turning back to Niara.

"Niara. You are, and at the same time are not, the person I once knew and accepted as a disciple. You're still an idiot who acts before thinking… but that's not so bad, if used properly. I know everything you've been through. I know more about you than you know about yourself. That's why I've forgiven your past mistakes and came to see you again."

After a brief pause, the eyes emitted an even denser red glow.

Darian's eyes widened as he understood and quickly said, "Accept her as your master again."

Niara turned to Darian, still somewhat confused. She felt the honesty and subtle affection coming from those eyes, and now, seeing Darian's expression, she swallowed hard, stunned.

Darian didn't need to say anything else. Niara understood that she owed that person far more than she could even imagine.

Niara nodded and, without hesitation, knelt down and lowered her head. With a long breath, she spoke slowly:

"I'm sorry if I disappointed you. But I feel like I'm my best version now, and I'll never make the same mistakes again. If you're willing to accept me again, I'll do my best. Dan needs me to be the strongest wife in the world because he's always facing bigger and bigger dangers. I have to protect him. I don't care about the consequences of doing that."

The eyes stared at her, then the voice echoed indifferently: "Good. If you want to be someone worthy of inspiring a Missionary to keep living, I hope you're ready."

"I will never fail!" Niara raised her head and answered firmly.

The eyes turned to Darian. Suddenly, a rune of light appeared and floated toward him.

He received it, and the rune embedded itself directly into his mental sea, dissolving into a colossal amount of knowledge. Darian's eyes turned white, and he felt his mind and consciousness spin wildly.

Niara panicked and grabbed him quickly. That was a knowledge rune. What kind of knowledge could do that to Darian? How vast and dense did it have to be?

After a minute, Darian's eyes regained focus. He felt a sharp headache, but turned his gaze forward.

"As I said, that brat did something good for you. I've already given you what you needed; now get the hell out of here. I'll train this idiot personally." The voice sounded malicious and excited, like a devil eager to torture its victim.

"B-but…" Darian didn't know what to say; his mind was still spinning.

"I'll stay for 360 days, until the power inside the book runs out. You can even stay if you want, but it'll be wasted time for you. To use the technique you received, you'll need help from that other girl."

Darian listened and nodded, understanding. He turned to Niara, who nodded back, her eyes shining. She understood that this was one of the greatest chances to become stronger in her entire life.

"Okay," Darian said.

*Whoooosh!*

Right after his words, a sudden wave of wind erupted and wrapped around him, instantly ejecting him from inside the temple.

Darian didn't even have time to scream. When he realized it, he was already flying through the sky and falling back onto the island.