Damned Healer
Chapter 155: I’m Gonna Beat

Chapter 155: I’m Gonna Beat

After five intense minutes, the Risen Chief suddenly stopped and didn’t attack right away. Instead, she backed off a few meters...

...and then, glowing red lines pulsed across her entire body.

Niara swallowed hard. The enemy had just figured out how to stabilize a large part of her power. Niara could feel a huge sense of danger — like the Risen Chief’s killing potential had just skyrocketed. But...

’That’s it!’ Darian said mentally, now sensing things more clearly.

When Niara heard that, the hairs on her neck stood up. On instinct, she spun around and punched her own side with everything she had.

The Risen Chief had been right in front of her — but the moment Niara moved, it was like the enemy materialized beside her, colliding perfectly with her punch.

*BOOM!*

That clash shattered Niara’s fist.

This time, the Risen Chief didn’t give her even a second to breathe. Her hand shot straight for Niara’s throat. If she managed to grab it, things would get really bad.

Darian attacked with his daggers at the same time Niara roared, activating the Divine Aura of Life at full power.

That threw the Chief off just enough for them to pull back. But she changed her strike into a black claw, which still tore through Niara’s shoulder, ripping out a massive chunk of flesh.

Niara broke into a cold sweat. This was a whole new level... her power had just jumped to something almost on par with a three-ring Spiritual Guardian. Maybe not quite there — but damn close.

It had already been impossible — now she had to go all out just to stay alive.

And yet...

She felt an excited energy coming from Darian, which made her heart race.

Darian felt it in his body — he moved a bit of an energy that hadn’t existed before.

In that last hit, Niara had taken the full force of the Risen Chief’s energy into her body. Meanwhile, Darian had used the rings to control it... and it had worked.

’A Risen Chief’s power is the three energies of life... or almost. But their essence is the same.’

Darian felt like the is life energies were the clean, blue waters of a river. The enemy’s, on the other hand, were muddy and filthy — but still the same water, at the core.

He remembered that Abyssal Corrupted Wolf he’d faced back in the beginner trial. That thing had been right on the edge of transforming into a Risen. Its life energy and soul had already been completely corrupted, but its mental sea was the last part — once that was taken, it would’ve become a full Risen.

Now, things made a bit more sense. A Risen was someone whose three life energies had been totally corrupted and consumed. That’s why they weren’t considered truly alive anymore.

Their evolution into a Risen Chief happened when that corrupted body recreated those three energies again... but in a different way. Kinda like the ring powers of a Spiritual Guardian — this was their most powerful corrupted form.

It looked like some unique, unrelated power with no ties to the three energies of life. No one had ever connected the dots. But Darian’s newly-evolved rings told a different story: it was the same thing, just heavily diluted and mixed with karma. That’s what made it feel so weird and strong.

He had tested it — let Niara get beat up — and with every impact, he’d felt the enemy’s corrupted body more clearly, using the rings.

Now that the Risen Chief had finally created that energy and used it to attack, he managed to turn it back into its original form. It was just karma and life energy — he just needed focus to separate them and shatter her power.

’This unstable Risen Chief was a real gift...’ Darian thought, excited.

He’d never have had a shot at fighting — or studying — a Risen Chief this early. But thanks to his evolved rings, he’d just uncovered something big.

"Gwaaar!" The Risen Chief attacked again, now a bit more skilled with her new power.

’Don’t worry. Fight to kill her with everything you’ve got. I’m gonna beat this bitch,’ Darian said in her mind, and Niara nodded, fired up.

The Risen Chief’s black robes billowed in the wind. A dark red aura covered her body and shone like a twisted sun, making the space around her ripple.

"COME ON!" Niara roared, radiating a savage aura. She wasn’t focused on defense anymore. She activated both martial arts at full force, holding nothing back.

Her torn white dress and the enemy’s black robes crashed into each other like meteors, unleashing all their power.

**BOOM!**

Their fists, packed with max power, collided and turned the battlefield into a monochrome world.

It was 100% of what Niara had in her spiritual root. Even that Risen Chief couldn’t take her down head-on — after all, the white power was still super effective against corruption. The problem was, the energy cost was insane, and Darian could only keep it up two or three more times before he ran dry.

The Risen Chief felt a brutal shock go through her body, blood rising up her throat. But when she looked at Niara... she was completely fine, like she’d just punched a training dummy.

Darian smiled inwardly. He’d managed to suppress 80% of the enemy’s offensive power. The rest? The white armor around Niara blocked it so well she didn’t even get scratched.

A sphere of light burst out from where their fists clashed, and both of them were sent flying back.

"WHAT?!" From a distance, the Academy Leader was stunned.

The Risen Chief stabilized mid-air. But right then, she saw Niara right in front of her — just a meter away — roaring and throwing wild punches.

The Risen Chief tried to defend herself, but the moment Niara’s fist touched her, it was like all her strength slipped out of her control. That newly awakened power still wasn’t fully hers — and that gave Darian an opening.

*BOOM!*

The enemy crashed to the ground, leaving a huge crater. She got up fast.

"DIE!"

Before she could recover, Niara was already behind her, attacking mercilessly.

No time to dodge. The Risen Chief growled and blew all the energy in her body outward. It was practically a suicide move — something that’d hurt both of them.

**RUMBLE!**

A violent blast shook everything.

The twins and the others, fighting the Risen further away, were hit by the shockwave. Their eyes went wide as they were thrown even farther back. Luckily, they weren’t hurt and managed to stabilize.

When the dust settled, Niara coughed up blood.

She’d barely managed to dodge at the last second. If that blast had hit her directly, focused as she was on attacking, it might’ve killed her on the spot. Even so, she got messed up pretty bad, and not even Darian could absorb all of it.

More blood poured from her mouth, and her bones felt shattered. Still, she stayed on her feet, barely.

When they could see ahead, the Risen Chief was still standing — and behind her, the Academy Leader had a face twisted with rage.

But the Risen Chief looked a hundred times worse than Niara. It was clear Niara could keep fighting — the Leader could tell she wasn’t even close to done. But the other one? Her body was a wreck. It was doubtful she could keep going at all.

That’s when fear crept into the Academy Leader. A deep, primal fear — for the first time. How the hell was this happening?

That Risen Chief still didn’t quite have the power of a three-ringed Spiritual Guardian, even if she was super close — the gap was razor-thin.

If she really were a full-blown Spiritual Guardian, even with just two rings, Darian would’ve been dead for sure. But against a Risen who relied on karma and corrupted life energy? It was like trying to drown a fish by throwing water at it.

The Academy Leader took a deep breath, and his body trembled.

He raised his hand, holding his emblem. Then he placed it on top of the Risen Chief’s head.

It happened fast. Darian felt the Academy’s full power surge and pour into the enemy.

Niara’s eyes widened. She roared and wanted to charge in and stop it — but Darian held her back.

If she did that, the Leader would make the Risen Chief explode with ten times the power. They’d both die.

In the silence that followed, the sound of blood dripping echoed like the ticking of a clock — counting down someone’s life.

Ten seconds later, the Leader pulled his hand back. His face was pale — he was clearly drained now.

He retreated quickly. At the same time, the Risen Chief raised her hand.

A black aura — incredibly dense and overwhelming — emerged. It condensed, becoming solid. In seconds, it turned into a massive, pitch-black ethereal blade.

"..."

When Niara saw that blade, a feeling of defeat hit her heart like a rock. That attack... it was gonna be way stronger than the last one. And on top of that, it was focused and completely unavoidable.

’What’s wrong? Lost faith in me already?’ Darian’s voice rang in her mind, snapping her out of it.

’Of course not. It’s just... I can’t block that for you,’ she replied, sighing. ’And it’s your chance to look cool. Go end her, Darian! If you win, I’ll let you negotiate your debt with me... however you want.’

’...’

She smiled a little. ’What? I haven’t forgotten. We just haven’t had any free time yet.’

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