Apocalypse healer 3 a li.., p.12
Apocalypse Healer 3: A LitRPG Adventure, page 12
He did not hesitate as he severed his arm. There was no time for it. The Void creature—presumably a Sapling, as it appeared weaker than the Fragment Zachariah was fighting—bolted at him.
A spatial fluctuation encompassed David once more, and he accepted it, letting it teleport him behind the Sapling. He looked for Maja but didn’t find her. She was nowhere to be seen, which was a surprise, but a welcome one. If she wasn’t present, then nobody would be able to attack, let alone kill, her.
David conjured the Obsidian Blade in his left hand and formed several blades from the blood spurting from his severed arm. At the same time, he cast and overclocked [Greater Restoration] on his arm once enough of his blood littered the ground. The bleeding slowed at once and stopped after a moment, and David welcomed the intense itching sensation that came with the restoration of his arm.
But restoring his arm wasn’t instantaneous, and it was highly unlikely the Void Sapling would be patient enough to wait.
It spun around and struck again, only to be hit and slowed by a reinforced blood blade.
Words of Power rolled from David’s lips, and the first blood blade whipped toward the Void Sapling’s face. The Sapling lifted its arm swiftly and shattered the blade into countless fragments. The fragments, instead of liquefying, transformed into needles and surged toward the Void Sapling, piercing the all-consuming darkness.
David’s lips curled upward at that moment, only to sour when [Equivalent Exchange] didn’t trigger. He lost control of the blood needles the moment they touched the Void, catching him by surprise.
How am I supposed to injure them if they block Rend and the like so easily? Even without countless special abilities, this is…
His heart drummed fiercely against his chest, threatening to rip through his rib cage as the Void Sapling closed in once more.
David conjured Scalemore—though not entirely, since his right arm had just begun to regenerate. Regrowing it would take a little while.
He side-stepped, evading a claw strike, and cursed as the Sapling’s eyes glowed. The pressure on him increased drastically, but he continued to move, dodging two more attacks before it became clear that the Sapling was faster. Not only that—it was also more flexible and had two arms to swing at him.
He cast [Bloodbound Bastion], amplified by [Herald’s Blessing], and conjured [Blood Armor] atop Scalemore, even if it wasn’t strictly necessary. After the first few attacks, David caught a glimpse of the Void Sapling’s pattern and strengths. He had yet to discover a weakness, but knowing an enemy’s strongest abilities was just as good. He strengthened [Bloodbound Bastion] just enough to block one attack, then weakened the second with a bloody projectile. The projectile smashed into the Sapling’s claws, slowing its strike just enough to fail to penetrate the crimson barriers protecting David.
[Bloodbound Bastion] failed to block a third attack, but that was within David’s range of acceptance. He used [Phantom Rush], and his presence disappeared for a moment, pulling the Sapling’s attention to the crimson replica that appeared in his place.
The replica didn’t survive long—a stab to its chest scattered the crimson figure—but David used the momentary distraction to strike.
He slashed at the Void creature twice and stabbed it once in a series of quick movements, but his attacks never connected. Applying [Herald’s Blessing] on the blade should have been enough to pierce the all-consuming darkness, but it failed. Still unscathed, the Void Sapling accelerated once more. It was angry, and its follow-up attack pierced [Blood Armor] easily. However, it didn’t even touch Scalemore before he vanished from the spot.
The space around him twisted, and he reappeared beside the Void Sapling, plunging the Obsidian Blade into the side of its head—or it would have if the all-consuming darkness hadn’t blocked the attack.
Forced to end his strike prematurely, David had to shift back into defense. His defenses, as long as they weren’t weakened, were good enough to hold up against the Sapling. But even that was only feasible with Maja’s support. The Sapling was faster and more flexible than David; however, he had [Herald’s Blessing], several layers of defense, and Maja pulling him away from certain death when that wasn’t enough.
As the battle continued, David used a moment of silence to take a risk. He glanced at Zachariah, a wince escaping his lips at what he saw. Zachariah wasn’t faring much better than they were. Still, the Regressor had all his limbs and hadn’t been affected by the Void yet. He might have to survive a little longer, but if anyone could endure the Void’s threat, it was Zachariah.
There wasn’t much David could do to help the Regressor anyway. He and Maja were already busy dealing with the Sapling.
His arm’s recovery was fast, another burst of [Greater Restoration] accelerating the process. But as helpful as it would have been to have his arm back, David could not ignore how much Blood regrowing it cost while fighting the Void Sapling. He couldn’t afford to hold back on his expenses, resulting in one empty Blood Storage and a second Blood Storage with only five droplets left.
As for the last Blood Storage, it was filled with altered Blood, which had circulated through Deryadus’ Arm whenever David had spare time. He could have used the healing-enhanced Blood to restore his arm faster, but he had put it aside for emergencies. While unlucky, the loss of his arm was not yet an emergency. He still had one more to fight with, after all.
“Strike the chest!” Maja’s sudden shout resounded as the sparks of a rift materialized right before the Void Sapling. It came to a screeching halt, but not before the all-consuming darkness shrouding its chest disappeared into the golden twinkling sparks that vanished into thin air.
The shroud of darkness was no longer complete!
A high-pitched scream, pained and miserable, rang in his ears, but David steeled his heart and struck, spitting Words of Power from his lips as he accessed the Law of Blood. He applied and overclocked [Herald’s Blessing] and used [Phantom Rush] in an instant.
He closed the minute gap separating him from the Void Sapling just as the hole in its perfect shroud began to seal. He thrust the Obsidian Blade deep into the frail-looking, grayish skin beneath.
It was tougher than it appeared at first glance, yet it was not as impenetrable as the all-consuming darkness shroud. The blade impacted and dug through the skin, piercing into the Void Sapling’s flesh. [Equivalent] Exchange triggered at last, the corner of his lips curling upward even as his danger sense flared.
Claws came for him from the left and right, but David cast [Phantom Rush] again, emptying the second Blood Storage as he sent a final wave of Blood into the Obsidian Blade, accelerating its innate property.
The Sapling’s claws scraped across [Blood Armor] and pierced it, but they failed to penetrate Scalemore when they collided.
Suck him dry! David screamed in his mind, all while more Words of Power rolled from his lips, unleashing the Law of Blood onto the Obsidian Blade.
He left the soulbound weapon inside the target and watched in bliss as waves of lifeforce poured out of the creature.
However, as the Void swirl stirred once again, David moved instantly, retrieving the Obsidian Blade before the Void could damage it permanently. Inflicting more damage would have been perfect, but he could not afford to lose the blade.
This drained a lot more lifeforce than expected, he thought, pressing his lips together as he checked the Source’s condition. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to fight and kill a Void Sapling. That much was sure.
15
SHARD
Now that they had found a way to injure the Void Sapling, they were finally at an advantage—if they could repeat the same stunt and remove the all-devouring darkness’s protection, that is.
David narrowly dodged a deadly claw swipe, briefly turning his head toward the source of the scream. He had to take the risk to check on Maja, a dark shadow masking his face as he found her on the ground, bleeding from all orifices. While her life signal was erratic and hard to read, she was alive and not infected by the Void. That had to be enough.
The momentary distraction gave the Sapling enough time to close in and attack again. It accelerated suddenly, piercing through [Bloodbound Bastion]’s barrier with a fierce thrust while its other arm lunged forward. David flooded [Blood Armor] with a trace of Origin Essence, but the enhancement wasn’t enough.
Claws slashed through the Skill and scraped across Scalemore, leaving deep marks on the soulbound armor.
David’s heart skipped a beat as he focused his attention on Scalemore. Even though the armor could repair itself, courtesy of being soulbound, it was hard to tell how much damage it could take before its connection would be severed. Could it be mended even if it became infected in the first place? David didn’t know—but it looked like he didn’t need to. Scalemore hadn’t been infected by the Void!
As surprising as it was, the soulbound armor hadn’t been touched by the Void.
Is the armor immune? David thought, a glimmer of hope flickering in his heart.
No, that doesn’t make any sense. The Void swirl didn’t move.
It had only stirred once before—when the Sapling’s claws had already dug deep into his flesh, draining a portion of its power to infect him.
David backtracked, his eyes narrowing to tiny slits. If the Sapling was unwilling to infect his armor, destroying it in the long run, that would mean it couldn’t afford to be generous when parting with Void traces. That was the only logical explanation that came to mind. After all, sending a Void trace into his armor would most likely render it useless and shatter his greatest defense.
He recast [Herald’s Blessing] and kicked the ground to propel forward as the Void Sapling did the same, wondering if he should drain its Void and how to do so without having to sever a few more limbs. He twisted his wrist and stabbed the Sapling, but the Obsidian Blade’s tip failed to pierce the all-consuming darkness. Several crimson shields blocked the Void creature’s counterattack, more doubts plaguing his mind.
I don’t have an infinite amount of Blood and Origin Essence to waste, whereas the Sapling has yet to use more of the Void’s power after it infected me once. Maybe sacrificing parts of my body to drain it is the best option I have.
He couldn’t hide the grimace as he reconsidered his options.
Could Deryadus’ Arm devour the Void?
As absurd as the thought sounded, David couldn’t help but think about it more in depth. He blocked several incoming attacks, but more claw marks etched into Scalemore as their battle continued.
Maybe it was possible for the Ancient Relic of a Fallen to devour the Void. Maybe not. It was probably worth a try, but not now. Not when he couldn’t afford to make a mistake. David considered giving it a try later, with no more than a trace of the Void, once he’d researched it to the fullest. However, as interesting as it was, David did not have the time or energy to experiment wildly.
He overclocked [Origin Lightning] for the first time and whipped out a pristine lightning bolt from the stump of his half-regrown right arm after blocking a quick series of lethal strikes. Exhaustion was catching up to him, but [Greater Restoration] worked phenomenally to replenish him in his fatigued state.
The pristine lightning bolt didn’t have much distance to cover, leaving the Void Sapling no time to escape. It twisted its upper body until a sickening crunch resounded, yet it was too late. The lightning bolt struck the Void Sapling in the shoulder and exploded in a firework of white sparks and electric currents.
The all-consuming darkness didn’t vanish, but Bloodthrone Dominion caught a glimmer of something. The shroud flickered for a moment, appearing less stable than before.
“Firepower it is then,” David grunted, sending a wave of healing-enhanced Blood into [Greater Restoration] to overclock it.
The rest of his arm recovered much faster and surged with life as he added a portion of Origin Essence to the fray. However, his arm had not yet fully recovered when grayish sparks gathered into a sphere atop his regrowing arm.
Words of Power rolled from his lips, straining his Source several times more than the earlier uses had, but that was within acceptable limits.
[Primeval Pulse] formed in his arm, its pressure enough to force the restoration to a screeching halt. It had yet to shatter his arm—not that it mattered much since that would happen one way or another. Nonetheless, David gathered more power in his right arm while blocking the increasingly desperate attacks of the Void Sapling.
It tore a portion of Scalemore’s pauldron off and would have ripped through his chest if he hadn’t been teleported away. But he’d caught a glimpse of Maja getting back to her feet earlier and trusted she would come to his aid.
He didn’t appear far from the Sapling, but the teleport had granted him another second—enough to infuse more of Rend’s Intent into [Primeval Pulse]. The Intent shaped the Advanced Skill and transformed it into something else. The power resting within the modified sphere was tremendous. But David wasn’t done yet.
He overclocked [Herald’s Blessing], applying it to the sphere forming in his hands, then layered [Purify] on top, hoping it could cleanse and weaken the all-consuming darkness somehow.
A bad headache crept up the back of his mind with every additional power he applied to the sphere. Beads of cold sweat poured down his temples, and it felt like his head was about to split apart—but that was all within his expectations. If anything, David was surprised his Source had yet to scream at him. Pushing Soul to the Apex grade had clearly been worth it.
Regardless, the pressure weighing on his regrowing arm was too much to bear. Most of the flesh and bones that had just regrown were torn apart, splattering blood everywhere. But rather than mending the wound and stopping the bleeding, David cast [Blood Manipulation], ignoring the ever-increasing pain assaulting his mind. He formed dozens of blood blades and willed them to levitate around him.
The Void Sapling hadn’t been idle in the meantime. Though it must have noticed him, it had shifted its attention to Maja and attacked her several times. However, she teleported instantaneously, stalling for David until no more Words of Power resounded.
She emerged behind him, her voice ragged as she asked, “Backside?”
David barely finished a nod before the familiar pulling force erupted around him.
Maja teleported him behind the Void Sapling. It must have sensed him, yet the creature turned to Maja, ready to charge.
David cursed inwardly and overclocked [Chain of Will] as he cast it on the Void Sapling. It hesitated for a quarter of a second, which was enough to enact his plan.
Since that worked on the Fetus, this had better kill you too! he growled internally, releasing the sphere of [Primeval Pulse]—infused with the Intent of Rend, empowered by the Words of Power, overclocked [Herald’s Blessing], and [Purify].
It erupted—the release tearing through his arm, shoulder, and chest—creating a cacophony of crunches in his body as half a dozen bones and ribs broke. The Void Sapling flinched, the all-consuming darkness fluttering, as the pain of breaking his bones reached the mark of [Equivalent Exchange]. However, David was far from done. He caught the Void Sapling’s claws twitch, hinting at more follow-up movements, and willed the blood blades to stab... himself.
Since he couldn’t bypass the all-consuming darkness easily, David stabbed himself. The blood blades whipped toward him—Scalemore vanishing into thin air right before the razor-sharp blades carved through his skin. They dug deep into his flesh—feet, calves, and thighs.
Searing pain passed through his entire body, but David didn’t groan. The corner of his lips curled upward instead as his eyes landed on the Void Sapling and the unstable flicker of its all-consuming darkness.
In the next instant, [Primeval Pulse] impacted.
David wanted to know what happened, but he could neither see nor sense the details of what unraveled before him, as the all-consuming darkness exploded outward the instant his attack struck the target. However, while his vision was clouded, he could still hear the blissful screech filled with pain. It resounded in his ears, telling him all he needed to know: the attack had worked.
He had almost no Blood left in his Source, which was also strained and out of Origin Essence, and fatigue slowly caught up to him. Despite that, David continued to move. He willed the blood blades to disperse and become liquid once more before pulling it back into his body, using his remaining Blood to cast [Greater Restoration], focusing the Skill on his legs and the severely bleeding arm—or what was left of it.
His right arm was no more, and the rest of his body didn’t appear to fare well either. But his broken shoulder and rib cage took only a moment to recover as he added droplets of healing-augmented Blood from the storage in his left shoulder.
Only Scalemore, Serpent Fang, and the Sacred Beast Core held enough Blood to continue fighting. However, he split only a portion of Blood from the Beast Core to stimulate his Source and augment his body temporarily.
That had to be enough.
You’re still not dead? David grimaced as a croaked squeal reached him. He could sense the power of Rend etched deep inside the Void Sapling, tearing it apart from the inside out. However, even after everything David did to kill the Sapling, it had survived.
David conjured Scalemore again and cast [Phantom Rush] to reach the Void creature in an instant. While the Void creature appeared severely wounded and incapable of evading his attacks—let alone blocking them—he was unwilling to risk anything. [Phantom Rush] consumed most of the Blood he’d siphoned from the Sacred Beast Core, which mattered little as he plunged the Obsidian Blade downward, stabbing the exposed flesh within the gaping hole in the Void Sapling’s chest.
Grayish-black blood pooled around the Void Sapling as David continued stabbing it, flooding him with streams of immense lifeforce as he attached strands of Blood to the Obsidian Blade, siphoning as much as possible to replenish his spent energy.
However, he never lowered his guard. The Void Sapling was clearly on the verge of death, but the darkness still clung to the dying creature. It was weak and clearly growing weaker by the second, yet David didn’t dare to risk anything.
