Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 49B2 .1 - Need of Lightning

The smile on his lips didn’t waver. Blood trickled from the corners, and strength ebbed from his body, but he still twisted the Obsidian Blade deeper into the armored monster—just as it clawed through his chest, trying to tear him apart from the inside out.

His rib cage bent, and David was certain several ribs would have shattered if he weren’t as tough. Then, the monster’s other arm lunged forward, piercing him.

He stared back at the creature, willing his blood to move. Spikes made of blood came into existence, jutting from his wounds and penetrating the armored monster’s wrist. A moment later, the first Mountain Defenders arrived behind it. Its ears twitched, and it was about to turn when David cast [Symphony Control] on himself, conjuring a black dove. The monster turned back to him while the Mountain Defenders lifted their war axes, war hammers, and clubs. Aether surged out of their weapons as they struck down, smashing the armor plates covering the back of the monster’s head.

The war hammers were the first to hit, crushing most of its defense, and the clubs finished the job. David locked eyes with the monster, holding it in place as the war axes tore into the back of its head, one by one. The life in its eyes faded, and the monster’s claws loosened, releasing his rib cage and organs.

Too complicated, he thought, commanding the Obsidian Blade to transfer the absorbed lifeforce into him. He glanced at the Mountain Defenders and nodded toward Torb while overclocking [Greater Restoration] on himself, draining the shoulder Blood Storage’s reserves.

The Mountain Defenders took the hint, turning to their Prime Champion. Torb held his ground with unyielding defense. Not even the armored monster—called Armored Letuar by the System—could easily bypass him. Maybe David could have done the same. He was fairly sure he could have, but defeating the fast, well-armored creature would have been a hassle if he’d blocked its attacks repetitively. Sacrificing his body, using a monster’s desire to tear its enemy apart against it, seemed like the best solution.

“One dead, more of these fuckers left to go,” he muttered, skimming the battlefield again.

Less than one-third of the defending forces remained, and even fewer were in good condition. David eyed one cavalry unit—the last from the looks of it—and caught the prehistoric mounts throwing their bodies around. Several riders fell, and their mounts charged in different directions—away from the Grand Horde.

David knew the prehistoric mounts weren’t to blame. Most had either already died or fled the gruesome battle, leaving the defenders to fight for their Sanctuary’s survival. In his mind, it was already a surprise that so many cavalry units had survived this long. Unfortunately, without generating the desired results.

He sighed deeply, watching the diminishing number of magical projectiles whistling through the air. Some Mages and many Hunters were still on the hunt, but their resources were limited.

Will we lose another Sanctuary? He wondered, glancing at the Mountain Defenders struggling to kill the second Armored Letuar. They were great defenders and highly durable, but their attack power was miserable.

“If only—…” David’s mouth sealed shut mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he caught a whiff of something behind the rampaging masses.

Was this just a cliché, déjà vu… or fate?

He enhanced his eyesight, studied a familiar figure’s distressed life signal, and spun on his heel to look at Maja. She was barely standing but had noticed something too. When their eyes met, he caught a faint smile before he pointed at the horizon.

A moment later, a golden swirl formed before him, and Zachariah stepped out. He was drenched in sweat, his clothes charred.

“Hey there,” Zachariah smiled wryly. “Can you heal me a tad?”

***

Zachariah bolted once [Greater Restoration] took effect, and the soil underneath him crackled as he accelerated. The regressor emerged beside the Armored Letuar, which was preoccupied with the dwarves and attacked. His sword flashed through the air like a stream of stars, brilliant and radiant, and thrust into the Armored Letuar’s eye. The monster twitched and thrashed, but Zachariah twisted the blade and released a wave of Sword Intent into its skull.

The monster collapsed, its life signals fading. The Armored Letuar was dead within seconds. Zachariah had killed it—just like that.

How had he become this strong?

David had no problem following Zachariah’s movements with his eyes, but he would be too slow to catch up to him. The Armored Letuar had already been faster, but the regressor was in another league entirely.

Zachariah spun on his heels and smirked at him. “Don’t look at me like that. I am already on my last line. Quite literally.”

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David tilted his head slightly, scanning Zachariah. Everything seemed normal—or as normal as a regressor’s life signal ever was. While Zachariah’s increased strength was a mystery—a pleasant one—something else was much clearer and far more troubling.

Explosions roared across the battlefield again. This time, however, they were louder than the defenders’ explosive traps. The earth shook, and… David’s head flicked left. Dozens, possibly over a hundred, life signals vanished instantly as massive lightning bolts crashed from the sky. Fierce and destructive, they struck the battlefield and burst into countless smaller electric currents, which snaked in all directions, scorching the ground, burning through poisonous fog, monsters, and defenders alike.

His eyes darted back to Zachariah. “You do know what has been following you, right?”

The regressor winced, trying hard—too hard—to uphold his smile as his eyes drifted back to the sky. “I guess so. But it’s not like I planned to bring it. How was I supposed to know this monster was waiting for me? It struck when I least expected it, and I’ve been running ever since.”

David looked back at the familiar creature—a massive serpent with long, darkish-violet glimmering scales, black-feathered wings that spread far, shrouding a part of the battlefield in darkness, and an elongated, wide-open beak from which shot a pitch-black lightning bolt.

It burst toward the ground, sweeping across the battlefield until the ginormous winged creature located him, Zachariah, and the dwarves. David instinctively conjured a dozen crimson shields, and the dwarves followed suit, using their Runes to erect defenses, but they had never been the winged serpent’s target. The lightning bolt locked onto Zachariah, shattering [Blood Aegis] one by one.

Zachariah clicked his tongue and turned away. “I should make a run for it.”

David’s eyebrows lifted as his heart skipped a beat at the devastation unfolding before him. The winged serpent had only attacked once—not even focusing on the Grand Horde or the defenders—yet its lightning had already killed hundreds. Not only monsters fell victim to the black lightning, but that concern would have to wait.

His eyes widened, and a chill ran down his spine. Was that… excitement? The corners of his lips twitched, curling upward.

“Race through the Grand Horde,” David shouted, casting [Blessing] on the regressor.

Zachariah glimpsed back with a grin. “That was my plan.”

Zachariah disappeared, and a lightning bolt struck his old position. The bolt exploded, launching dry soil and pebbles in all directions. Dark electric currents, resembling serpents, slithered across the battlefield, charring the ground, but they did not harm him. A pair of crimson shields was all he needed.

He’s not at full speed. David’s smile widened as he scanned Zachariah’s movements. The regressor was not slow by any means, but he slowed intentionally, barely moving fast enough to stay ahead of the black lightning, which swept across the battlefield like a one-hundred-meter-long, several-meter-wide laser.

Zachariah twisted his body, escaping the threat of a few incoming attacks, but nothing slowed him down significantly. He swung his sword several times, cleaving through monsters obstructing his path, yet his focus remained on running.

Monsters were dying in the hundreds, falling victim to the lightning bolts, and so was the poisonous fog, dissipating rapidly under the intense currents. It may not have been alive, but the electric currents burned through it with satisfying speed, far outstripping the intensity of the Mages’ fireballs. Not even the azure flames could compare to the potency of the black lightning.

Excitement gripped David’s heart at the winged serpent’s tremendous power, but it felt different from before. Not weaker, at least as far as he could tell. Just… different. He could still think calmly when, under normal circumstances, excitement would have overwhelmed him.

David prepared for battle. He conjured dozens of pea-sized projectiles, attaching [Purify], [Blood Patch], and a weak version of [Healing Sphere] to them before releasing them in a burst. He cast [Blessing] on the Mountain Defenders, then spun on his heel to manifest ten crimson shields, blocking the incoming attacks of seven monsters before they could tear through a group of defenders.

[Blood Aegis] and [Blessing] sprang to life in a dozen locations as he pushed forward, cutting down a few monsters. But David quickly realized he could not rescue everyone—just as Maja could not teleport all the wounded away from the battlefield.

He spotted a group of Blighted Kobolds tearing through the defenses of a lightly armored swordsman. They ripped through his throat, gutted him, and feasted on his flesh and intestines—all while the man was still alive. He could not be salvaged, leaving David no choice. He pierced the man’s forehead with [Blood Blast] and released blood spikes to take revenge in the swordsman’s stead.

His hands twitched as he turned toward a pained scream. Zachariah hollered past a group of monsters, which were struck by the lightning following the regressor. However, a Carnosaur was also hit. It burned alive before David’s eyes, its roars of agony fading as its body crumbled to ash.

Why do I feel like this? David wondered, his stomach lurching and his brows furrowing as he watched the winged serpent’s predictable movements. The monster was clearly fixated on Zachariah, relentlessly attacking him, trying to burn him to cinders, and ignoring everything else. Not even the monsters and defenders falling victim to its attacks seemed aware of its presence.

But why would the winged serpent concern itself with anyone besides its target? Why, though? And why had the serpent suddenly switched targets, turning toward the Dwarven Sanctuary to wreath itself in black currents?

The latter turned out simpler than expected. The winged serpent charged a lightning bolt and released it toward the Dwarven Sanctuary’s walls. It was clearly a stronger version of the attacks used against Zachariah, the thick, pulsating lightning zipping through the air as the monster unleashed its power. David held his breath, and his eyes narrowed as the lightning struck, tearing through the towering dwarven wall. He caught a glimpse of black lightning spreading through—and across—the wall before the cackling noises reached his ears.

David gritted his teeth, his head snapping toward the cackling.