Damned Healer-Chapter 675: Renovation Project

While several figures moved closer to offer help, the man in white smiled in gratitude. Without him knowing, nearby, someone else was wearing an even bigger smile than his.

Niara murmured, with an amused grin: 'I feel like a total con artist! And it feels great!'

From all appearances, that figure's name and status were extremely convincing, making everyone who came from other places quickly strike deals with him.

No one hesitated to hand over their precious Qi crystals, because their real goal was to establish a connection with the man in white. As a result, hundreds, then thousands of crystals flowed into the "divine diagram."

Darian couldn't steal everything right now, or the Celestial Shadow would notice. He also didn't want to waste time manually collecting those things, since it would take months to move it all. The enemy could act at any moment, and he had already been inside the Cemetery for over a month. It was better not to push his luck too far.

To avoid raising suspicion, Darian instructed Niara to gradually dim the glow of the runes, giving the man in white the impression that success was getting closer and closer.

...

Three days later.

Everyone inside that world eventually moved to help the man in white. But after giving him their crystals, they didn't leave and instead stayed to watch. Everyone was curious about that divine diagram; after all, the Celestial Shadow hadn't said anything about it.

But after those days, that idiot had not only exhausted his own resources, but also those of everyone around him.

At that moment, only a single rune on the divine diagram was glowing faintly, as if it were about to go out.

"Does this divine diagram really need all the crystals to open?" someone speculated, causing the man in white's expression to change.

He didn't actually know how to open it; he had just assumed Qi crystals were the key. Now, after so many, if that wasn't the case, it would be unbelievably humiliating.

Suddenly, the man in white's expression turned incredibly ugly, as if he had just been told his parents had died and would be buried in shit. With a heartbroken look, he clenched his teeth and reluctantly turned to his Summoner.

That figure sighed and nodded, taking out a strange object from a spatial ring.

'Wow!' Niara's eyes widened. 'That's a mark of the Celestial Shadow! He's going to hand it over himself, thinking it'll open it. That way, the big bastard won't notice anything wrong!'

Darian nodded, also excited. That was unexpected and, at the same time, more than perfect.

Before, he was 100% sure he couldn't kill the Celestial Shadow right now; that's why his plan was to kill all the Risen Lords and deal as much damage as possible to it and its resources.

But now, with that, there was a real chance to end everything right here. It wasn't a big chance, maybe only 10%, but it was still a possibility.

The people around looked at that mark with envy. The man in white was the only one who had it, making his high status obvious.

The Celestial Shadow had only told everyone that they needed to find and take away the Universe's Qi core. But to take away whatever was supposedly inside the diagram, it was clear the seal would need to be removed. If someone forced it open, the risk of a backlash killing them was high.

Since the Celestial Shadow hadn't explained anything about the diagram or the seal, it was likely a test, and now it seemed clear that the man in white had failed.

Everyone watching nearby was excited about his failure, already imagining the massive fight that would break out to decide who would try next.

That's why the man in white attempted his last desperate move. No matter how high his status was, he couldn't monopolize the diagram forever, or he'd be in trouble.

He had never felt this frustrated before. The most agonizing part was seeing the tempting reward hanging right in front of him, yet still out of reach.

The mark was absorbed.

*Buzz*

Just as he was about to give up, the divine diagram began to tremble.

"What?"

Everyone was stunned; meanwhile, the man in white's expression completely transformed into pure joy.

The last rune faded away, and that figure stared at it with intense anticipation. The divine diagram twisted and spun, shrinking as it did. Finally, it turned into a three-meter-wide sphere.

The sphere of light slowly floated toward the man in white. Seeing this, his eyes shone like stars.

"That's it! Now I'm taking off!"

After saying that, the sphere of light trembled, and a glowing hand emerged from it, stretching toward him.

"Hm?" He was confused. Wasn't it supposed to be a core, containing the essence of all the Qi in the universe?

This could only be a reward from the Celestial Shadow for whoever succeeded! He thought.

In response, he also reached out his hand.

However, in a bizarre move…

…the hand veered off course, swatting his filthy hand aside and slapping him hard across the face.

*Pow! Crack!*

The sound of bones breaking echoed through the air as the man in white was sent flying. The scene left everyone around completely stunned.

In truth, the energy hand didn't do anything. The moment it moved, a figure emerged from the Void in front of him and attacked in perfect sync.

At that moment, everyone present could see a Dragoness wrapped in a distorted cloak, with a pair of amber eyes shining like beacons.

Niara's slap almost tore the man in white's head off.

"It's her!"

Everyone knew perfectly well who Darian was, as well as all the people close to him. Even though Niara looked a bit different, she was still easily recognizable.

If it really were Darian, everyone there would have fled without a second thought, in utter despair. But since it was only someone connected to him, they all felt they could handle it and that, after capturing her, they would gain a lot from it.

"You dare deceive me?!"

The man in white stood up with his face shattered, then roared furiously, every word loaded with bloody killing intent. That humiliation was something he would never be able to erase.

"Deceive you? Please, you don't even have the budget for one of my lies. I didn't trick you; I just saw that punchable face of yours and, being the charitable soul that I am, I couldn't ignore the call. Honestly, breaking your bones was more of a renovation project—I thought if I took you apart and put you back together, you might actually improve. But it looks like the raw material is just cheap... even my techniques can't fix a factory defect like you," Niara shot back with a mocking grin.

"How dare you! You'll die a painful death!"

Fire runes appeared around the man in white, radiating a bright red light that illuminated the surroundings. At the center of those runes, Niara saw a beastly shadow emerge.

'Doesn't that look like a manifestation?' she asked mentally.

Darian, watching through her eyes, replied: 'It's something similar, but adapted to be used with the power of the ring. This should be a Magic Technique of the Alvs, something they developed after visiting a universe where true manifestation techniques existed.'

"Run!"

When they saw that near-manifestation, everyone around recognized the Magic Technique. A sense of impending doom washed over them, driving them to run as fast as they could.

Even the man in white's Summoner ran, because that thing carried an unprecedented destructive power.

"DIE!" the man roared furiously, using his blessing again to summon a massive net of fire falling from above.

In the blink of an eye, the ground burst open, revealing another net rising from below. It was a terrifying double move, forming with him and Niara at the center, making escape impossible in time.

Those two nets covered an enormous area. Luckily, those people ran immediately, or they would've been trapped between them.

He wasn't feared for nothing. His blessing was designed to bind, while his Magic Technique carried explosive killing power. If the enemy couldn't escape and had to face him head-on, the situation would become extremely complex.

"Damn it! He's going to take everything! She got too close, and now there's no way to stop this move," one of the distant onlookers said.

**BOOM!**

To everyone's surprise, when the two nets crashed down, Niara wasn't cut to pieces or even injured.

The distorted energy cloak around her pulsed subtly, protecting her as if those nets were nothing at all.

"What?!"

Seeing this, the man in white snorted and drew a sharp saber. Without hesitating, he shot forward and attacked.

The Magic Technique moved along with him, wrapping him in a terrifying aura. In an instant, he looked like a gigantic monster covered in flames. The entire area trembled in anticipation. This was an attack with nearly unstoppable explosive potential.

He reached her in a single second.

But… she simply extended her hand forward.

The cloak around her twisted, as if it were expanding.

In that instant, a sinister sense of mortal danger seized that figure's heart, making his hair stand on end. Even so, he didn't retreat and attacked with everything he had.

A dull sound echoed.

There was no explosion, no destruction like everyone expected.

Niara was calmly holding the saber with her bare hand. Her amber eyes locked onto the man, and then… a glow capable of making gods and demons feel fear appeared within them.

"Disappear!"

She roared, and her draconic Bloodline subtly activated.

A light erupted from her out of nowhere, replacing the light of the world. It was like a spiritual supernova that didn't burn flesh, but unraveled the very core of existence, expanding like a silent shockwave.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of lives were abruptly silenced as the wave of pure energy passed through their bodies. Mannaz or Spiritual Guardians, all of them were executed in a single instant.