Damned Healer-Chapter 664: Get Ready

*BANG!*

An explosion of raging flames erupted in the middle of the frozen forest. At the center of it all, that man had his eyes wide open and was blasted several meters backward, only stopping after crashing to a halt.

His flame weapon, created through his blessing, was capable of injuring even a Risen Lord. Even so, the figure in front of him merely made a subtle gesture, and all of that power scattered in every direction.

Darian spoke calmly, staring straight into his eyes.

"Don't be so hasty. Why did you attack me? Can't you recognize the academy leader's tablet?"

"Don't give me that bullshit. The Celestia Academy has a tablet just like that one, and it's not hard to create copies with subtle changes. They even tried to use that to invade the galaxies of my Shadows of Heaven Academy in the past. Why would I fall for that?" the young man spat coldly.

"Oh? That's new," Darian replied, completely emotionless.

At that moment, thousands of Abyssal Corrupted Wolves surrounded Darian from all sides of the forest. In the skies, countless Spiritual Guardians with eight and nine rings appeared as well.

All of them stared at Darian coldly, radiating extreme hatred, ready to attack with everything they had at that man's command.

Darian snorted. He was using his true body, but the ethereal bodies of people with nine rings emitted fluctuations identical to normal bodies. Darian didn't have nine rings, but there were blessings that could help with that.

As for the physical traits of a human from Earth, those were easy to replicate when constructing an ethereal body.

Darian regretted not going straight to the academy on that planet and instead coming to this forest. Inside the Academy, with his tablet, he could have used it and proven it was a real leader's tablet. Now, surrounded by people clearly eager to attack him, it was hard to prove his identity.

"Brat, the enemies are slowly corroding the inscription. Are we really going to waste time on nonsense? If you doubt me, let's settle this quickly, just call Howlyn and—"

The moment he mentioned Howlyn's name, Darian stopped, because he felt that man's emotions had changed abruptly. It was as if infinite fury and pain had exploded inside him. That left Darian stunned.

"Wait? Is she okay? What happened?" Darian asked quickly, feeling his heart race.

"You…" the man spat those words, trembling.

Darian sensed that something terrible had happened, but apparently, she was still alive. At that moment, Darian's eyes pulsed.

"!"

A multicolored light burst from his eyes like a beacon, accompanied by a furious and terrifying will.

Everyone there felt the air freeze in their lungs and was left stunned.

"Speak, where is she?!" Darian demanded, his voice echoing like a god issuing a command.

The man narrowed his eyes. "A spy dares to give orders? Fine, it doesn't matter if I say it now. She survived the first attack after the complete resurrection of the Celestial Shadow. Thanks to her intelligence, Master Howlyn forced it to retreat using everything the Academy had. But… that made her burn through the little life she had left…"

"She was full of life before, how does she have no life left?! What happened before that?" Darian asked urgently.

"Before? Are you stupid? Master Howlyn has already lived millions of years and, after being cured of corruption, lived more than seven thousand years. Her lifespan naturally ran out; after all, she isn't a Summoner."

Darian listened and swallowed hard.

Considering those thousand years lost earlier, that meant a little over six thousand years had passed in this universe. Which meant that in Earth's universe, not nine years had passed, but eighteen. The time difference between the universe he was in and his own was exactly double.

"Great, I arrived in time to heal her," Darian said, relieved.

The man snorted, then summoned a new flame sword. "Stop spouting meaningless nonsense. It's impossible to restore someone's life when their body naturally consumes it; the laws of the universe don't allow it. Anyway, enough talk…"

**KBOOOOOM!!!**

Suddenly, the world fell into chaos as space-time shattered. An absurdly violent and thunderous sound made everyone there feel pain deep in their souls.

Darian's eyes widened as he looked up at the sky.

Around the galaxy, the entire defensive inscription cracked, covering the area in fractures. At the center of it all, a massive black blot, as large as a sun, appeared.

"FUCK! Everyone, prepare the defenses!!!"

That man roared with all his strength; the entire planet heard his voice.

At that same moment, a figure hurriedly appeared behind them.

"Sir Alirio! Both Academies have reported a massive attack by Risen Lords!"

The man clenched his fists tightly. He turned toward Darian with a cold gaze, even before opening his mouth…

…Darian activated his semi-immortal soul.

Everyone on the planet felt as if a divinity had opened its eyes; their bodies and energies froze instantly.

In the very next second, a splendid, multicolored light appeared. Darian activated his primordial physique, and his aura could be felt across the entire galaxy.

Darian looked at that man, whose name was Alirio. At that moment, he was completely catatonic, his eyes locked onto Darian.

"Tell me, what the hell is that? How is this inscription breaking so fast?"

Alirio began to tremble. His mind returned to the moment he had asked the first question to the figure before him. His name.

"D…" He stammered, but under Darian's gaze, he stopped, took a deep breath, and spoke quickly.

"We've been under attack at three different academies for quite some time. We knew the enemies would strike soon, but… the Celestial Shadow chose to come to ours; only he has the power to cause damage on this scale all at once. On top of that, he sent Risen Lords and their armies to the other Academies. That way, the others can't come help us, or they'll be invaded."

Darian nodded, thinking quickly. The Celestial Shadow had managed to fully revive; that was already a fact. Before, Howlyn had speculated it would take at least twenty thousand years, but apparently, he had found a way to speed up the process, catching them off guard.

Even so, if the Celestial Shadow were at one hundred percent of his strength, the defensive inscription of the Academies wouldn't be able to withstand his power.

Fortunately, the damage to the inscription before his eyes was terrible, but still manageable. In other words, the Celestial Shadow had recovered from his injuries and practically 'resurrected', but he still hadn't regained his full strength. Most likely, restoring his primordial power wasn't something quick.

"He did the same thing before. This first attack is meant to create a small opening and wear down the inscription. He's accumulating energy, and in the next strike, he'll create a subtle breach, allowing powerful Risen to enter and attack the academy. With each strike, the opening gets bigger and stronger and stronger Risen can come in. After half a dozen… he'll be able to invade, and by then we'll already be worn down," Alirio said rapidly.

"In the past, Master Howlyn realized he was without his true power and allowed him to enter the galaxy. Then she burned all the resources at once into the inscription, making it erupt with terrifying power and driving him out, catching him by surprise. Now… we don't have that option anymore."

Darian snorted. Howlyn was clever, and the Celestial Shadow had no idea about the absurd amount of resources Darian had left behind at the Academy. Because of that, he ended up retreating and possibly getting injured a bit.

Now he had returned after recovering somewhat, certain that the Academy couldn't repeat that move a second time. He was in a hurry and chose to attack even without much energy, since it was obvious Darian hadn't been present for a long time.

"All right," Darian said calmly, turning upward and beginning to slowly float. "I'll deal with this quickly. Get ready. When I give the order, everyone must use the connection between the academies to support the other locations. We need to retaliate by killing as many enemies as possible."

His words were heard by everyone, and not a single person even considered disobeying. The light and presence Darian emitted were the most oppressive and powerful things they had ever felt in their lives. At the same time, no one felt any danger, as if he were the most reliable safe harbor in the world.

Darian began to move away.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Alirio's voice sounded like a roar, making Darian stop and turn back toward the ground.

"You… you…" the man stammered, unable to form a sentence.

Darian sighed, understanding exactly what he wanted to ask.

"You look a lot like your father, and I sense a warm aura and the smell of medicinal herbs on you. Your mother taught you alchemy, and your father taught you how to be a man and a reliable leader. Yes, it took me a while, but I'm back. I'm sorry for disappearing and not seeing you grow up…"

Darian spoke slowly, with a faint hint of bitterness. He looked him in the eyes and finished, "Get ready. I'll throw the trash back where it belongs, quickly."

His voice made everyone there tremble.

He… he called the Celestial Shadow trash? He was implying that he would go alone to deal with that terrifying, invincible creature? Everyone thought in unison, unable to believe what they had just heard.

After speaking, Darian turned and shot forward, piercing through space.

"Uncle…" Alirio murmured, his voice choking as his eyes stayed fixed on the horizon.

He came back.

The figure he had been born and raised hearing about, and whom everyone he knew admired.

The figure his father and mother taught him about, the one responsible for everything good that existed around him.

And the one who, one day, would return.