Damned Healer-Chapter 667: Immortal Corruption

Possibly, Howlyn didn't want to tell the truth to anyone because she knew she wouldn't live much longer. It was better to spare Alirio and the others from that cruel truth.

She took full responsibility for taking care of that universe in Darian's absence, since Lucy, Lucius, and all the other strongest and most reliable figures had become immortals. Without Niara to open the portal and bring them physically, none of them could use the altar of Heaven's Will to reach that universe.

Howlyn had to communicate with them through weaker Spiritual Guardians who came there. Alirio, being the son of Veyle and Lucius, was the person she trusted the most and the one who had the most contact with her during that time.

During the first assault of the Celestial Shadow, after it recovered, it wasn't simply expelled from the galaxy with a resource-burning tactic.

When Darian first heard about it, he found it strange; even if the Celestial Shadow hadn't expected the Academy's terrifying resources, it shouldn't have been injured badly enough to be forced to flee.

Now, he was certain. In truth, Howlyn used a very cunning and indefensible tactic to buy time: she allowed the Celestial Shadow to enter the galaxy and reactivated the old connection that existed between her and that entity.

She had once been a Risen Lord. Even though Darian had cut the connection between them, that was only like cutting a rope linking the two. The "rope" still existed, even if it was severed.

Howlyn took advantage of that fact and restored the connection, luring it in.

The Celestial Shadow, who knew very well who Howlyn was, felt that the commander of everything had accepted defeat and wanted to survive, so it gladly lowered its guard.

Thus, before it could influence her decisions and force her to betray Darian, everything happened. She didn't just burn the Academy's resources in the inscription; she also used the connection between them to strike the enemy from the inside, using herself as a channel.

It was an explosion of energy so abrupt, both physically and spiritually, that the Celestial Shadow suffered a heavy injury. As a result, it was forced to break the connection with her of its own will.

But it didn't let that go.

Before breaking the connection, it left a curse on her. Its primordial power was converted into corruption, which contaminated her soul.

The corruption coming from an immortal Primordial Beast, filled with all its fury and killing intent, afflicted a simple mortal like Howlyn.

At first, Darian tried to restore her energies. But the life powers he injected weren't absorbed. They simply overflowed and evaporated, refusing to inhabit a body whose time had already expired.

It was like trying to fill a broken jug.

It wasn't exactly an injury or something that could be healed. In truth, it was as if an invisible hand was pulling everything out of her from the inside. That hand was, precisely, the laws of the world.

Darian knew the laws of the world very well. They were different from the laws of the universe, which could create strange things and vary greatly from place to place. The laws of the world were like a foundation of immutable rules that all universes had to obey.

When a mortal burned their vital energies over time, or simply lived for a certain amount of time, depending on many factors, one of those inviolable rules would be applied: the time to die had arrived.

No matter how many resources existed to extend life, nothing worked, and the laws of the world would remove any attempt in that direction.

Things worked this way because otherwise, in high-level universes, powerful figures like Emperors and Kings would never die. They would just burn resources to refill their bodies and live forever, as long as they weren't killed.

But that was impossible. The more time passed and the more resources a mortal used to extend their life, the less effect it had. Pills and other methods could be used to live longer, but that time had a limit. Once that limit was reached, nothing could grant more time.

That was one of the reasons there were so few immortals in the universes: everyone's time was limited. And it was also why everyone wanted to become immortal and escape those laws.

Because of that…

The Celestial Shadow's curse was the cruelest thing Darian had ever seen.

Before breaking the connection, it sensed that Howlyn was very old and that the laws of the world wouldn't allow her energies to be restored. It created a critical situation where she couldn't be saved by anyone.

The corruption was slowly eating her away, torturing her and weakening her, until it destroyed her existence completely. And no matter how much Darian tried to heal her, the very laws of the world would reject the energies.

The only solution would be to purify the enemy's corruption. But just like in the past, when Darian couldn't cure the corruption of powerful Risen, now he also couldn't cure, with his white power, the supreme corruption of that main enemy.

The Celestial Shadow didn't know where Darian was or when he would return. So after its attack failed, it assumed Darian would come back quickly. That's why it did that to Howlyn, to make sure she would truly die.

After several minutes without success, Darian stopped, his mind working as fast as possible, searching for any possibility.

She would die, possibly in a few more days. Before that final moment, the corruption would completely shatter her soul, and Darian wouldn't be able to save her.

'Master! I think I can help!'

Suddenly, Ailik's voice echoed in Darian's mind.

He focused on it as if it were the only light at the end of the tunnel.

'That Bloodline of hers… that type of demonic beast is pretty strange. Can you give me more information?'

Darian nodded and explained everything quickly. The Abyssal Corrupted Wolves were, in fact, very peculiar. They were the only race capable of absorbing the corruption of the Risen and even feeding on corrupted things, becoming stronger.

Hearing that, Ailik spoke hurriedly, 'That's it! Those Abyssal Corrupted Wolves are somewhat similar to the types of beasts from my universe that became Nether Beasts. They were several different races with a very high affinity for evil things. In the end, all those races adapted and became Nether Beasts. It must be convergent evolution. I'm almost certain I can save her using the power of the Nether.'

"How?! What do you need?!" Darian asked immediately.

'Her body can't be saved, but her soul can, because of the race. If the master can get more of their Bloodline and place it into her body, I can fully corrupt her with the power of the Nether. Nether Beasts have corrupted body, mind, and soul, and the power of the Nether grants abnormal resistance to those energies. With that extra reinforcement, I'm sure her soul will be able to survive, even if it's just a remnant.'

When Ailik finished, Darian's expression changed completely.

The power of the Nether wasn't a life energy, so the laws of the world wouldn't remove it, since they wouldn't interpret it as an attempt to extend her life. In fact, it wouldn't save her body from death, but it would give her soul extra power, thanks to something anomalous coming from another universe.

Without any delay, Darian turned around and vanished from the room.

He didn't say anything to Alear or Niara, leaving them stunned by the sudden change.

But Niara was able to sense every shift in Darian and was certain that he had found a solution.

The very next second, Darian appeared in the middle of the forest near the Academy, a place where the Abyssal Corrupted Wolves lived.

He looked around quickly. Soon, he found a familiar figure.

It was an already elderly wolf who had fought alongside him in several battles and knew him well. Currently, he was the leader of the race, appointed by Howlyn.

He appeared in front of him in an instant. When he saw Darian, that wolf trembled from head to toe, his eyes wide open.

Darian didn't want to waste time and stopped him from bowing or doing anything else. He said directly what he wanted: "Howlyn depends on this. Call everyone of the race, I need to take a bit of Bloodline from all of them."

Without hesitation, that wolf summoned millions of Abyssal Corrupted Wolves scattered across the galaxy.

Among them were the youngest ones who had been alongside Alirio in the beginning. Alirio himself had already been on that planet for some time, but still hadn't found the courage to go see Darian.

Darian removed a minimal amount from each wolf. Since there were so many, it wouldn't make any difference to their power, but it would be enough. After storing everything, he vanished and reappeared in the room.

Niara and Alear were waiting calmly.

Darian approached the wolf and began moving the Bloodline runes into her body, stabilizing them and fully fusing them.

Doing this wasn't viable for most races. Absorbing another person's Bloodline brought many impurities with it. It harmed more than it helped, sometimes even greatly reducing someone's lifespan.

That was why Niara's mutation was so valuable to the Mannaz of that universe, and why she was hunted by them at the very beginning. The Bloodline coming from her could be absorbed completely, without any impurities or problems.

But for Howlyn, impurities didn't matter at all at that moment. Her body would die anyway in a short time, but the benefits of that addition would still be useful.

After a few hours, Darian finished.

At that moment, Ailik had already managed to create some Nether power. Howlyn could still live for a few more days, so more and more Nether power would be created and placed into her.

Darian reached out and touched Howlyn's black, aged fur.

Through his hands, the Nether power coming from Ailik flowed, invading her body and moving under his control.

Slowly, all of her Bloodline, rune by rune, began to absorb the Nether, in the same way it absorbed corruption.

Feeling that, Darian experienced an unmatched sense of relief and happiness.

Niara and Alear noticed it and smiled.

Alear was deeply moved; tears subtly streamed from her eyes. She grew up traveling between Earth and that universe, so she had known Howlyn since birth. To her, that wolf was family and had gently taught her several things.

The Nether wasn't like corruption; it was far, far more sinister and powerful. As a result, her entire body was quickly corrupted. Then, her soul and her mind.

At that moment, Howlyn began to tremble violently.

Darian felt pain in his heart. On top of the Celestial Shadow's corruption, she was now dealing with the Nether's corruption in her body. The pain she was experiencing had to be something impossible to imagine.

"Dan! Take proper care of her!" Niara said quickly, making him turn toward her.

Niara snorted and made him sit on the bed, then moved the wolf onto his lap. Howlyn was quite small compared to others of her race, standing at about one and a half meters at the shoulder.

With her in his arms, Darian moved his hands, gently stroking her black fur, transmitting his warmth and support. Immediately, her trembling lessened.

Darian sighed; she knew he was there supporting her, and that he wouldn't leave.

Even with all that pain, Howlyn instinctively trusted that everything would be fine because he was there. No pain would overcome her or make her feel despair.

Niara and Alear smiled softly. Both of them sat on the bed beside Darian.

The hours passed slowly.

From time to time, Ailik moved more Nether power into her body. This would ensure maximum resistance for Howlyn's soul, even if it made her feel even greater torture.

Darian held her without letting go for a single second. As the pain increased, her senses focused on him even more intensely. Noticing that, Darian, Alear, and Niara began talking to her, speaking about everything they had lived through in the past few years.

Even without her responding, they spoke slowly without stopping, supporting her and distracting her from the pain.

The days passed calmly.

Until, on the sixth day, everything ended. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Her breathing stopped, her heart ceased beating. It was as if death itself, with its cold expression and scythe, had come to take her away once and for all.

Too bad that entity would fail at its job.

"It worked..." Darian murmured, his words filled with emotion.

Even with the Celestial Shadow's corruption, her soul endured thanks to the power of the Nether, and it wasn't completely destroyed at the final moment.

With that, Ailik quickly pulled her soul into the spiritual inventory. Inside it, it would be easier to fully restore it and nourish it further.