Damned Healer
Chapter 131: Revenge With Fists

Chapter 131: Revenge With Fists

Darian took a deep breath. That move cost him 100% of the ring’s power on his forehead. Luckily, that planet only had weak Risen. After he arrived and used the white power to clear out the miasma, their defenses were drastically weakened.

Then, all he had to do was use the planet’s elements to invade their bodies and reverse the black karma — the source of their power. The key was that the planet wasn’t completely dead.

The conditions were perfect. Normally, summoning the elements of an entire planet wasn’t that easy — Darian didn’t even have the strength to dream of pulling that off.

But this planet was almost dead and desperate to survive. When Darian tried, it gave him everything. Yeah, planets were alive and had consciousness. That was something he’d learned from that book.

All planets were called Gaia — some smart enough to communicate, but most of the time they were just instinctive consciousnesses, impossible to really interact with.

He gambled that Gaia would help him, and in the end, he managed to do something way beyond his strength.

"All clear. Let’s head for that cave," Darian said quickly.

Niara nodded, and they moved out.

"What happened here? Why were you in such a bad situation?" Darian asked as he got into position on her shoulder.

She settled in with a sigh, then explained what she knew about what had been going on in the universe.

"That Risen Lord... so all that blew up into something way bigger..." Darian muttered.

Now it all made sense. That big pile of Merit Points he’d received could only mean he’d played a major role in all of it. On top of killing that enemy, a bunch of others had been seriously hurt too.

Continuing the story, Niara shared what the Celestia Academy had discovered about the battle between the Risen Lords. Then she explained the possibility that they might try to take back the Divine Dragon Academy — though she didn’t know many details for sure.

About nine months ago, an order came down for all the Mannaz in the universe to head to the frontlines. At first, they stayed alongside the Spiritual Guardians and Summoners, being trained and prepared to fight properly.

But lately, all the Mannaz had been left on their own. They weren’t fully ready — and it didn’t seem like this was a direct order from the Celestia Academy.

Those Spiritual Guardians, who were supposed to leave after thirty days, had decided to return a bit early, to prepare ahead of time — while the market prices were still low. After all, once they returned to this universe, they’d be heading into a huge battle, and everything would cost ten times more.

The Mannaz were being sent off in droves to be sacrificed. For the powerful folks, they were gonna die anyway. Giving them slightly better chances of survival didn’t really matter.

As long as there were enough of them to sacrifice, the weaker Risen wouldn’t be able to break through. Even that Risen Chief — if he had invaded the proper way and left this planet — would’ve been detected by a major inscription, and thousands of Mannaz would’ve rushed him and killed him through sheer numbers.

"Why were you here alone?" Darian asked seriously.

She scoffed. "That traitor Elder from before. Since I’m considered the strongest non-summoner Mannaz, he sent me here with the weakest army..."

Basically, it sounded like a decent enough plan. She could handle those Risen on her own — all the others had to do was hold them off for a bit. It was simple enough that she had the weaker ones retreat and take up safer positions on other planets while she fought alone.

But... that Risen with the space pearl? That definitely wasn’t a coincidence.

She explained what that Artifact was. And just like that, Darian was sure. Knowing that Elder was a traitor, he’d clearly sent her to that place with the intent to get her killed.

With her death, the southern region would be invaded quietly — probably using some other method to avoid triggering the inscriptions.

That Elder’s goal was probably to cause a collapse in the galaxy and force the attackers to retreat or split their forces.

Darian nodded. "Great. I promised you we’d get him. If he’s in such a hurry, let’s help him out. Besides, I need to get our treasure back from before."

He was talking about the ancient Rainbow Lily he’d gotten during the first trial. After he brought it back, it became "academy property." But Darian was sure that Elder would find a way to get his hands on it and stash it away.

In this world, the safest place to keep anything was inside a spatial ring protected by its owner. There were expensive rings that were tied to their owners’ lives. You couldn’t steal them or take them by force — if you tried, the ring would blow up and everything inside would be lost.

That was the common understanding. The ring held the power of space. The Mannaz were way too weak to stop its destruction, and the few Spiritual Guardians who could control space were super rare.

Even if one existed, only those with more than six rings had the speed and power needed to prevent the explosion.

But now for Darian... doing that would be as easy as breathing.

Niara perked up the moment she realized what he was planning. Now she could get revenge with her own fists — and even take their stuff back.

Once he finished explaining everything, Darian told her exactly what happened when he was taken away.

She listened, surprised. That canine tooth really let him talk to another Risen Lord? How?

Darian nodded, catching her thoughts. "I’m not sure. But we’ll meet her again someday."

"If that Risen had that spatial pearl you mentioned... then maybe that Elder has another one too..." Darian said, thinking hard.

"The strong ones are probably gonna launch a full-on attack at the closest galaxy. And the Risen will defend by spreading out their few soldiers. So, if we find another pearl like that... why not sneak in and steal the good stuff from one of their galaxies?"

Niara’s eyes lit up. He wanted to go into another galaxy full of enemies and rob them? It sounded absolutely insane...

"I like it. Things are always more fun when you’re around," she said cheerfully.

The two of them were equally nuts. Darian knew that — and didn’t even worry about her turning down the idea.

He nodded, then focused. Inside his soul, his inventory ring was still there, perfectly intact.

"You’re really drained. You should rest a few hours," he said calmly, pulling a few things out from the inventory.

There were pills and potions made for quick recovery. And also...

The smell of food filled the cave.

"My brother prepared all of it. It’s been a while since you’ve eaten, right?" Darian said, pulling out tons of pots and using a bit of fire to heat them up.

Niara swallowed hard, her eyes trembling. She didn’t *need* food or sleep, but he... he was always so thoughtful. Her eyes landed on the slug, a mix of surprise and something tight in her chest that stopped her from speaking.

"I figured this might help... I did tell him you eat like thirty starving giants."

Darian figured she probably thought he wasn’t coming back, so he had this prepared as a peace offering. He needed to calm her down fast — he’d already had to deal with two angry women before, and that was pure hell.

But now, feeling what Niara was feeling... it hit differently. A soft smile bloomed on her lips. Then, with a ravenous appetite, she began devouring everything like it was the best meal in the world.

By the end, Darian was sure that even if he’d brought twice as much, she would’ve eaten it all.

With a satisfied sigh, she leaned back against the cave wall. She downed a recovery pill and potion — a short nap would be enough to fully recharge her.

But instead of closing her eyes right away, she looked at the little slug on her shoulder. There was something deep in her gaze. "Don’t go anywhere, okay?" she whispered, voice barely audible.

Darian nodded silently.

Niara shut her eyes. But her senses stayed locked on him the whole time — like she just needed to make sure he wouldn’t disappear.