Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death

Zachariah charged forward, leaving afterimages as he emerged before the first raptor. His blade whipped through the air, cutting into the monster, but David didn't see any blood as Zachariah withdrew his weapon.

The regressor evaded the raptor's claws with practiced ease, releasing several silver lights that slashed through its plumage. Finally, blood soaked the monster's feathers, but it showed no signs of weakening.

"They're tough," David muttered, casting [Blessing] and [Blood Aegis] to shield Zachariah from further attacks and enhance his strength. The regressor's sword glowed, its form appearing to expand as he leaped into the air. David cast [Blood Aegis] again when the raptor shifted, aiming to strike Zachariah in the head. The crimson shield absorbed the blow, saving him.

While the Utahraptor's attack failed, Zachariah's did not. David caught only a glimpse of the final strike—Zachariah's blade pierced one of the raptor's eyes and drove through the back of its skull.

The first Utahraptor collapsed, but the others charged at David and Melach. Torb stepped forward, bracing himself as he raised the Shield of Taurun. A faint hue shimmered around it, deepening as a darker glow joined.

David conjured a black dove above Torb's head to lure the Utahraptors to him, then followed with [Blessing], strengthening all his allies. Despite this, he doubted Torb could hold back the raptors' charge. Yet the dwarf defied expectations. A semi-translucent barrier materialized in front of him as he slammed his shield into the ground. The Utahraptors crashed into the barrier but failed to break it.

With their momentum disrupted, David dashed forward, his body wrapped in crimson light. He gripped the Obsidian Blade tightly, activating both [Slash] and [Holy Touch] as he closed in on the nearest Utahraptor. It turned and snapped at him, but David conjured a small crimson shield to block its jaws.

He ducked beneath its claws and drove his soulbound weapon into the raptor's abdomen. Its tough hide resisted the blade, but with a surge of [Holy Touch], the weapon pierced through. Gritting his teeth, David roared and pushed the blade deeper, overclocking [Blood Bullet] and unleashing a barrage of them to hammer the weapon further into the beast.

A claw strike forced him to retreat, though it grazed his side, leaving a sharp sting of pain. He grimaced, enduring the discomfort until [Restore] flooded his body with soothing warmth.

David retreated further, Words of Power spilling from his lips. Only a few words rang out—just enough. His connection to the Obsidian Blade deepened, revealing the Essence it drained with each passing second. The amount was staggering, but what truly surprised him was the sheer lifeforce within the Utahraptor.

It had more Essence than the Behemoth Darkai, he guessed, swallowing hard. Even with the Obsidian Blade working as quickly as it could, killing the raptor this way would take too long.

"Support it is," he muttered with a sigh, leaving the blade embedded in the creature. If the weapon needed more Essence to grow stronger, so be it.

Four Utahraptors were still alive. Two attacked Torb, whose shield had started to crack, while one seemed to be closing in on Zachariah. The last—the raptor David had attacked—hesitated, glancing between him and Torb. David caught it stepping forward, but a magical snare entangled its legs, halting its advance. Frustrated, the raptor turned and lunged at Torb instead.

David overclocked [Blessing], using all its instances on Torb as the dwarf braced against the combined assault of three Utahraptors. A crimson barrier materialized before them, blocking several strikes, but the overwhelming force pushed Torb back. His enchanted shield shattered into countless fragments, leaving him vulnerable as the raptors advanced.

"Die!" A sudden high-pitched scream cut through the chaos, drawing David's attention. A massive projectile, nearly his height, streaked through the air, leaving a glowing trail. He barely registered its path before it slammed into the ground near Torb.

David hurriedly cast [Blood Aegis], shielding Torb from the explosion that followed. The earth trembled violently, and his crimson shield crumbled as debris filled the air. Torb was flung across the battlefield, landing with a heavy thud near David. Ignoring the ringing in his ears, David rushed to the dwarf's side, casting [Restore] to mend his injuries and layering [Blood Patch] for additional healing.

"Up you go," David muttered, pulling Torb to his feet. His gaze darted across the battlefield, squinting through the haze of smoke and debris. His eyes locked onto one of the three Utahraptors that had been fighting Torb—now reduced to a pair of scorched legs.

"What the…" David muttered, his words trailing off as he caught sight of Melach's beaming face amidst the chaos.

"Amazing, isn't it? I'm not even tired!" the elf shouted, wiping sweat from his brow. "All it took was overclocking [Arcane Blast] and a few seconds to charge it with my new Skill, [Sphere Explosion]!"

David exhaled sharply, a mixture of relief and irritation. At least it wasn't the raptor he'd been targeting, though Melach's reckless use of his new Skill had nearly taken out Torb as well.

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It's a good thing we have a solid Healer, David smirked, his pulse still racing from the explosive display of power.

He recast [Symphony Control], conjuring a black dove above Torb's head to lure the raptors while placing a white dove above Melach's for support. He followed up with several [Blood Bullet] spells, hurling them at the staggering pair of Utahraptors. While the attacks inflicted little damage, David's true goal was distraction. The monsters turned toward him, their attention drawn by the stinging impacts on their snouts and necks.

"Get them, buddy," David said to Torb, giving the dwarf a firm shove forward. "You can do it."

"I. Hate. You," Torb growled, gripping his magical shield tightly as he stepped forward.

David conjured a dimly glowing light that enveloped Torb, sealing his remaining wounds. Without wasting time, he retrieved several Velociraptor corpses from his storage necklace. Words of Power rolled off his tongue as he began draining the lingering Essence from the bodies.

Simultaneously, David cast [Holy Touch], drawing in the ambient Aether. Dozens of crimson tendrils erupted from his palms, writhing chaotically before spreading out and gathering enough energy to fill his Energy Pathways. Under his command, his Source resumed producing Blood, the flow steady and unrelenting.

He glanced back at the battlefield. Zachariah's opponent looked battered and close to defeat. Overclocking [Blessing] and applying a single instance to the regressor should provide enough support for him to finish the raptor within a few exchanges. The remaining instances of [Blessing] were distributed among Torb and Melach, bolstering their efforts against the last pair of Utahraptors.

A relentless storm of fireballs and emerald wind spears rained down on the raptors, eliciting shrill cries of pain. Torb added to the chaos, bashing the creatures with his mace and slamming his shield against their bodies. Though his attacks lacked the power to kill outright, they were enough to stagger the beasts.

The tide shifted when one of Melach's [Spear of Aeryon] spells pierced a raptor's eye, triggering an explosion.

"Release more!" Torb bellowed over the cacophony of pained shrieks.

Melach responded with another barrage of wind spears and fireballs, each explosion further injuring the raptors. However, none of the subsequent projectiles landed a critical hit like before.

David prepared to join the fray, casting and overclocking [Blood Bullet] with the intent of charging into battle alongside Torb. Just as he was about to act, something caught his attention in the corner of his eye.

More wind spears and fireballs filled the air, exploding upon impact and inflicting considerable damage. However, David didn't spot another magical projectile piercing the Utahraptors' eyes. He cast and overclocked [Blood Bullet], ready to give in to his urge to fight on the frontlines with Torb when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

His expression soured, and he retracted the Blood channeled into [Blood Bullet]. Zachariah emerged, his sword drenched in blood. The regressor leaped at the first raptor, driving his blade into its back and easily piercing its burned plumage. The monster screamed in pain but stiffened and collapsed without warning.

David watched as Zachariah raised his arm, conjuring a silver blade that drilled through the raptor's injured eye. The blade burst through the back of the monster's skull before disintegrating mid-air.

[You have contributed to the defeat of Reborn Utahraptor (Elite).]

David checked the notification, which looked the same as the others, and diverted his focus back to the battlefield. Zachariah appeared slightly exhausted but uninjured. Torb's wounds had been mended, and Melach wore a content expression, clearly enjoying the turn of events.

"Elite Monsters," David muttered, approaching the bodies. He made his way to the corpse holding his soulbound weapon and uttered a few more Words of Power.

"What are you doing?" Zachariah appeared beside him. "Oh, you've started nurturing your soulbound weapon. It's about time."

David raised an eyebrow. "You know a bit about soulbound weapons, right? I can tell the Obsidian Blade is getting stronger, but other than being sharper and more durable, I can't sense much. Well, apart from our connection growing."

"You're using Essence to nourish it, right?" Zachariah asked.

"Yes, but only because that's the only thing it consumes. When I first used it, I thought the Obsidian Blade consumed blood, but I was wrong. It needs crimson motes, just like my Source."

Zachariah studied him for a few seconds. "Are you sure? You can't nourish it with Aether?"

David nodded.

"That's interesting," the regressor muttered. "Don't get me wrong; this is a good thing. The better the resources consumed by a soulbound weapon, the higher the chance of an evolution. It's also possible your weapon will mutate, depending on the amount and type of Essences you let it consume. But that shouldn't be a concern for now. For now…more is better."

David mulled over Zachariah's words, questioning whether he'd been overly cautious in feeding the Obsidian Blade.

"And since you can feel your connection to the Obsidian Blade growing," Zachariah continued, "it means you're far from reaching its origin limits—so you should give it more Essence to consume."

Mutations and evolutions? David knew a bit about both, but they were typically associated with living creatures—not a piece of metal. He shrugged. Since Zachariah said it didn't concern him yet, he decided to let it be.

"How about we dissect them first?" David asked with a grin. "And by we…I mean you. My blade's busy devouring Essence."

Zachariah glared at him but complied. He walked around the body, waving his sword a few times to remove the beast's head before gutting its abdomen. The regressor cursed under his breath as he painstakingly worked on the corpses. After a while, he waved at David. "Go ahead. Collect everything."

David stored the dissected bodies and their parts in his storage necklace. He felt the energy consumption of the spatial device increase considerably and fueled it with Blood.

This should last a while, he thought, feeling the strain of energy consumption diminish.