Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death

Torb looked like he was in unbearable pain, his movements stiff and labored. David guessed that several bones were likely broken in the last collision, but the determined glow in Torb's eyes remained unyielding.

David watched as another fireball flew past Torb just as the dwarf reached the giant Infected. The ball of fire exploded in the Infected's face moments before Torb's mace struck. He targeted the same leg as before and crushed it with a thunderous impact.

The Infected's leg buckled under the blow, but the undead pressed forward. Its massive arms swept downward toward Torb. The dwarf evaded the first strike by a hair's breadth, but the second slammed heavily into his shield. Torb screamed in pain, yet he stood firm, defiantly pushing forward against the towering foe.

Drenched in sweat, David appeared beside Torb with a confident smile. His glowing sword streaked through the air, leaving a radiant trail as it severed the Infected's arm in a single decisive strike.

The shimmering blade didn't falter, cutting through the Infected's corrupted flesh and bone with ease. David pressed forward, and the Infected's grayish, almost black, blood splattered everywhere, coating both him and Torb.

[You have been infected.]

David ignored the notification and advanced. His Holy Sea was depleting rapidly, but he had just enough holy power left to continue. Twisting sharply, he ducked under the Infected's remaining arm and drove his blade into its uninjured leg. The sword passed cleanly through decayed flesh and brittle bone, severing the limb in one swift motion.

A familiar throbbing pain pounded in David's head, but he pushed through it while retreating. [Holy Touch] withdrew from his sword, coursing back through his energy pathways until the remaining power was spent. It was enough to stir the mutation of Aether, but now he'd have to fight without any Skill Runes.

The severed leg remained rooted to the ground, but the rest of the Infected's body toppled over, crashing down. David's sharp eyes noticed its crushed leg already regenerating, while the severed one showed no signs of healing.

"Good job!" Torb shouted. "Now heal me and cleanse our infections!"

David grimaced, cold sweat running down his face. "Do you think it's easy to coat my sword in [Holy Touch] this long?! My Holy Sea is not an ocean, flat-nose!"

"Don't talk about my nose like that, boy!" Torb snapped, his cheeks turning a fiery red.

The Infected no longer looked as imposing now that one leg had been severed and the other crushed. Yet the undead was far from defeated. Its remaining arm lashed out, aiming for David, but Torb stepped in between. Raising his shield, he blocked the strike and countered with a fierce swing of his mace.

"Good job keeping the undead off balance! Don't let it recover! We're finally at an advantage!" Melach barked from the rear.

A large missile whistled through the air, soaring past David and Torb. It struck the Infected square in the face, tearing through its flesh and one of its eyes. The projectile failed to pierce the brain but inflicted significant damage.

That's Flora's [Mana Bullet], but…bigger, stronger, and faster.

David thought, recognizing the magic.

As a trace of holy power replenished his Holy Sea, David prepared to strike again—but Torb beat him to it. The dwarf's face twisted in pain as he swung his mace with surprising ferocity, crushing the Infected's arm. Torb raised his shield again without hesitation and surged forward, moving so quickly he became a blur. His shield slammed into the Infected's face with devastating force, stunning it.

Capitalizing on the moment, Torb swung his mace once more, smashing through the Infected's skull in a single blow.

David's eyes widened as Torb let out a booming laugh, sweat pouring down his thick, brown beard.

"Impatient fool," Melach muttered irritably, hastily casting another spell. A larger, enhanced version of [Mana Bullet] streaked through the air, zeroing in on the crack Torb's mace had left behind. The Infected's shattered hand jerked upward in a last-ditch effort to block the attack, but it was too slow. The glowing blue projectile shot through the exposed opening, splattering the undead's brain.

[You contributed to the elimination of a Mutating Giant Infected.]

[You have defeated a Pseudo Mini-Boss.]

"Pseudo Mini-Boss?" David asked, panting for breath as he wiped his face. He tried to ignore the grayish-black blood coating his clothes, but it still made him shudder.

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He focused inward, circulating holy power through his trained energy pathways. Over the last few days, he had nurtured them diligently, and recovering his used-up holy power wasn't difficult anymore.

With his power restored, David cast [Cleanse] on Torb, removing the infection.

[Patient's infection has been cleansed.]

[Proficiency of Cleanse increased.]

[[Proficiency of Cleanse reached 100%.]

[Tier-0 II] → [Tier-0 III]

"The Giant Infected was mutating and would have transformed into a proper Mini-Boss if we hadn't killed it in time," Torb said, turning around with a small crystal in his hand.

"It dropped a Fragment?" Melach, covered in sweat, approached the others with hurried strides, his brows furrowing narrowly. "That shouldn't be possible."

His expression soured as he inspected the purple crystal. Blue motes of light swirled in his palm as he willed them to revolve around it.

"Fragment of Power," Melach muttered, his voice tense. "Not even full-fledged Mini Bosses at the Iron rank should drop something like that."

He turned to Torb, gripping his staff tightly. "The intel was wrong. This wasn't your average Mutating Giant Infected. The mutation pushed it close to the Bronze Rank."

Torb's expression mirrored Melach's. His face turned sour, then grim. "You're saying the Infected would have transformed into a Bronze Rank Mini-Boss if we'd wasted any more time? The mission was clear. I remember every little detail about the mission!"

The Dwarf tapped his head a few times with an know-it-all expression.

"That's what I'm saying. Something went wrong!" Melach retorted, his voice heavy with frustration.

David ruffled the back of his head and cleared his throat. "I have no idea what you guys are talking about. The Fragment of Power is one thing…so how about we're just happy to be alive?"

He had countless questions, but bombarding the Dwarf and Elf wouldn't help. They were both clearly confused and angry about something.

"I guess… it's good the mutant is dead. If we'd wasted any more time eliminating it, we would have died instead," Melach said, trying to force a smile, but it fell flat. His lips twitched upward before flattening into a thin line.

David hadn't had many good experiences with others since the Earthen Union integrated into the Pantheon. Yet, he didn't feel too bad around Melach and Torb. That was likely because Torb had saved his life when the Giant Infected attacked him after severing his limbs.

David felt something on his back, and he reflexively turned to attack—only to realize it was Torb's firm hand slapping him.

Torb laughed. "I guess you helped us a lot, human."

Clearing his throat, his expression turned serious. "That's also why I'm being generous today. I forgive you for insulting me! But this is a one-time thing. Do not ever call me flat-nose again!"

David was ready to crack a joke but caught the warning in time. Torb was dead serious.

Was it really that bad to call him flat-nosed? Then again…you never know how a Dwarf thinks.

Even as Torb grumbled and Melach calmly studied the crystal, David struggled to reconcile the reality of standing beside a Dwarf and an Elf. It felt surreal. If it had been a week ago, saying something like this aloud would've landed him in a psych ward. Dwarves and Elves weren't supposed to exist. But then again, neither were the undead, Kobolds, and everything else he had seen in the past week.

He was a Healer, capable of mending broken bones with holy power.

"If not for you, we would be dead. At least Torb would be dead since he got infected even before you jumped in to help," Melach said, ignoring the Dwarf's glare. "I'm sorry for asking such a personal question, but did you say you have [Holy Touch]? I thought I heard it earlier…but that makes no sense."

"A Cleric who has [Holy Touch], but no [Purification]. That's just nonsense!" Torb interjected, ridiculing Melach's confusion.

Melach only shrugged. "You saw his sword and how easily he severed the Giant Infected's arm and leg. His Body property is even lower than mine, yet he was strong enough to do that."

Torb's lips parted, ready to start a verbal spat with Melach, but David cut in.

"I do have [Holy Touch], yes. Is there a problem with that?"

The Elf and Dwarf turned to David in unison, their silence speaking volumes.

"I got it for surviving a battle I shouldn't have won. I guess someone has been watching me. Apparently, they're interested in me or something."

Torb's jaw nearly hit the ground, while Melach's eyes widened slightly.

"You've garnered the interest of the Pantheon? Already?" Melach asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

David only shrugged. "It's only been a week since the integration of this world, hasn't it?"

He nodded slowly, losing track of time but fairly certain it hadn't been longer than a week.

"This world is different from what I expected," Melach murmured, his gaze drifting back to the Fragment of Power before returning to David. "Do you want to come with us?"

David instinctively upped his guard at the Elf's sudden offer, but curiosity won out. "Go where?"

Torb snapped out of his stupor and nodded vigorously. "You should join us. Come with us to Arc!"

Melach noticed David's confusion and smiled.

"Arc is what we call the nearby System Sanctuary."