It was hard to tell what he truly desired, yet he was certain it was one of the three things. At least, those were the only things that made sense.

Intelligence from several Hawk Echos reached him simultaneously, informing him that more enemies had arrived. Several Fragments were heading his way from multiple directions.

David patted his chest and smiled in the face of danger. He cast [Herald’s Blessing] and circulated both Vitae and pure Blood through his body as he rushed toward two of the Fragments. The Echos informed him of a subtle shift in the other Fragments’ movements, but the fight ahead was more important.

He retrieved a leather flask from his spatial storage and tossed it into the air for a Hawk Echo to catch, just as his eyes locked onto two strong life signals. The pressure of two powerful Voidlings descended upon him, yet David brushed it off with ease. His feet dug deep into the ground, and he accelerated once again. He reached top speed, replaced Serpent Fang with the Obsidian Blade, and applied [Origin Lightning] fused with Vitae.

A bipedal Fragment riding a four-legged beast—a cross between an elephant and a bull—entered his view, and his smile widened. Four-legged Voidlings were relatively rare, and they all had one thing in common: they were powerful.

Words of Power escaped his lips for the first time since he had been forced into the dark realm. Something felt off, but the Words of Power still worked. His voice, suddenly much deeper and husky, rang through the nothingness around him, filling it with something. David willed [Blood Manipulation] to life and tapped into the Law of Blood.

His Source stirred. It rippled, the intricate carvings etched across its surface shimmering to life. His blood was warm as it circulated through his body—not boiling, but it felt as though it were on fire. Yet David embraced the sensation as more Words of Power flowed from him.

The distance to the Fragments shrank rapidly, and neither enemy slowed. If anything, they moved faster than before—until less than ten meters separated them. It was an insignificant distance for beings at their level. A quarter of a second was all they needed to close the gap. And that was all David needed. His mouth sealed shut as the Law of Blood moved as intended.

[Blood Manipulation] surged toward the edge of David’s control range, just as [Bloodlife Echo] triggered, pouring the pure Blood that shaped the Hawk Echo into the flask filled with Vitae-infused blood—the Blood of a Platinum Variant Boss.

The Echo vanished as the last remnant of pure Blood flowed out of it, and the leather flask plunged to the ground. David came to a screeching halt, his ankles screaming in anguish, and released a rapid trio of white crescent blades.

The four-legged Voidling’s maw shot open and snapped shut as the first Lightning Rend reached it. The projectile was stopped mid-air and crumbled to shards before disintegrating. The second Lightning Rend struck the beast but failed to pierce the Void Barrier, while the third struck and nearly breached the bipedal Fragment’s defenses.

No damage was done, but the Voidlings lost momentum, their attention lingering on David — until the flask entered their periphery and exploded.

Blood erupted in all directions and expanded rapidly as David side-stepped, suddenly redirecting its trajectory. He willed the blood to halt and shape into spears with grayish-black tips, unleashing the accumulated power of the Law of Blood at once. The projectiles reached top speed the instant he let them loose.

The spears whipped forward and pierced their targets. The four-legged beast tried to escape, but it was too large and heavy for such extravagant movement. While it couldn’t avoid the barrage entirely, it twisted its body and suddenly slowed, attempting to use the bipedal Voidling as a shield instead.

The bipedal Voidling’s roar echoed as Nihilum burst from its Void Barrier, but the attack could do little against the Law-enhanced blood spears—especially with the coat of Vitae absorbing all the Nihilum and drastically weakening its defenses.

The Fragment died and collapsed to the ground, yet even the four-legged beast couldn’t evade all the spears. A pair pierced into its back, spreading Vitae-coated blood through the beast’s insides. David willed the blood to course through the Fragment’s bloodstream, coagulating into spikes and blades, destroying it from within—all while Vitae did the same, weakening the creature without neglecting its duty as a protective force.

David’s body hadn’t remained unmoving while his mind raced. He had closed in on the beast as it thrashed, releasing Nihilum in all directions like a frantic monster. Wasting no time, he seized the opening to drive the Obsidian Blade into the beast’s Void Barrier.

The soulbound weapon disappeared within the barrier as it dug deep into the beast’s abdomen, and David pushed it even deeper until his hand on the blade vanished as well. Then, once he poured most of his Vitae reserves through his arm into the blade, he retreated, letting Vitae’s greed and the Obsidian Blade do the rest. More Fragments were heading his way, their killing intent compressing the nothingness in the vicinity.

David spun on his heels and surged forward when he was certain [Lifeweaver’s Bond] had taken hold of the beast. He circulated more Vitae and pure Blood through his body, reinforced [Herald’s Blessing] once more, and reached the Fragment—Serpent Fang materializing in his hands. He slashed at the creature in a hurry but missed the agile target. It pivoted around his blade and inched closer, Nihilum oozing from its claws as they neared his face.

A smile bloomed on his face, though his eyes remained cold. He’d made a mistake and would have to pay a hefty price.

David instinctively willed [Primeval Pulse] to life and released a deadly beam the width of his upper arm. It was clearly overkill, but he knew that even before activating the Advanced Class Skill. To make sure the Fragment didn’t behead him, he paid the price in pure Blood. After all, he didn’t know what would happen if someone were to behead him. He was a Healer, not an Immortal.

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The Fragment screeched, then slowed and stiffened as [Primeval Pulse] pierced through its claw, chest, and Maelstrom in a flash. A heavy sigh of relief escaped his lips as it collapsed, dead, to the ground—only for him to spin around and dodge another attack. One more Fragment to deal with.

No—David’s eyes narrowed. There were two more Fragments to deal with besides the beast.

He twisted away from the incoming attack but had noticed the creature lurking in the shadows too late. It emerged and clawed at him. David tried to retreat, but not even his superior speed could help him here. So he coated Serpent Fang in Vitae and thrust it deep into the first Fragment’s chest. The shadow Fragment pierced his joint protectors and cut into his elbow—yet it barely penetrated his skin.

That surprised both the Fragment and David.

Still, he didn’t let the moment distract him. He let go of Serpent Fang, shoving the massive blade deeper into the dying Fragment, and released more Blood from his spatial storage.

[Blood Manipulation] and Vitae surged toward his right hand and fused, shaping into blades that grew from his knuckles. The shadow Fragment was fast and agile—but it was also intelligent enough to notice something was off as David advanced, slashing at it with the knuckle blades.

David forced the Voidling into retreat, his smile widening as the final member of the skirmish rejoined the battle. The beast returned, but it was slower—weaker—than before. That didn’t make it any less dangerous, though, and David pressed forward, cornering the shadow Fragment.

The beast hadn’t cared before, and it didn’t care about the other Fragment now. It bleated aloud and charged at David, seemingly oblivious to the shadowy Fragment it squashed in its rush.

Curious—to witness the power of the Void negate itself.

It was the first time David had seen Void-aligned forces thrash one another.

As interesting as it was, the shadowy Fragment wasn’t dead. Crushed and weakening, but still alive. David raised his hand, took aim, and released the knuckle blades with a burst of pure Blood. The beast shifted slightly to the side, but the attack hadn’t been aimed at it. The blades reached the squashed Voidling and pierced its eye and chest. Still, it clung to life.

But not for long. Vitae surged through its body like venom, consuming it from within.

Satisfied, David turned back—only to freeze in place. [Lifeweaver’s Bond] alerted him to something unusual, and he saw it a moment later. The beast’s lifeforce and Nihilum were being drained rapidly by the Vitae and the Obsidian Blade, yet what caught David’s attention was a sudden surge of Nihilum pulling from the Maelstrom’s reserves.

His hair stood on end as space itself seemed to twist around him.

How could he have forgotten the beast’s charge? It didn’t squash him. It didn’t even hit him.

But… why couldn’t he remember that?

David couldn’t tell what was going on, but the beast was nearby, a crimson glow beneath the Void Barrier’s shroud drawing his attention. He tried to gasp for air but found himself incapable. Suddenly, moving became impossible, and he was forced to watch in silence as the beast’s neck extended.

Neither David nor the beast moved from their spots. However, their conditions were not the same. The beast could still move its head and neck, whereas David’s body had stopped listening to him.

It looked grotesque, to say the least—but that wasn’t the problem. He remained paralyzed, even as the beast’s maw shot wide open. Its neck extended several meters and snapped shut once no more Nihilum remained.

It was enough. Not to crush David’s head and kill him outright. But the neck extension and everything else it had done were enough to reach his outstretched hand and bite it off.

Only then did he regain control of his movements, Vitae screaming at him.

Was that a Void-based ability? But why didn’t Vitae resist it?! David screamed inwardly, though he already knew the answer.

Most of his Vitae was deployed elsewhere. It was either feasting on the dead Fragments or embedded within the Voidling beast. His Maelstrom was almost empty, offering little resistance to the abilities of the Void.

But how had I never seen this kind of ability before? David wondered, releasing blades coated in Vitae through his severely bleeding hand—or what remained of it.

The beast had no more Nihilum to protect itself. Whatever it had done to restrain him had drained it, too.

No, what drained it was the act of moving and extending its neck while frozen. It had also been affected by the ability it used...

The beast swayed, and for a moment, David considered charging ahead. He decided against it when the beast pushed forward instead. Though slower than before, it was still a mighty creature.

He sidestepped and released more blood projectiles coated in Vitae. Due to the lack of Nihilum at the Voidling’s disposal, its Void Barrier failed to repel the incoming attacks. It didn’t take long before the Vitae surging through its body did what the Void’s power was best at—wreaking havoc among the living and draining everything that sustained life. It devoured everything until only nothingness remained.

Still, David didn’t let Vitae consume everything. Not right away, at least. He focused on [Lifeweaver’s Bond] and his understanding of the average Voidling’s anatomy, directing Vitae to specific areas before giving it free rein.

David released more blood projectiles aimed at the beast’s neck, side, abdomen, and front legs, a grin forming as the first fruits of his hard labor began to show. The Voidling charged at him for the third time when its legs buckled beneath the behemoth’s weight. It crashed to the ground, unable to muster the strength to rise again.

“That is harder than expected,” he muttered, retracting his weapons as his will dominated Vitae, forcing it toward the beast’s head and chest to devour brain and Maelstrom.

“And you are more troublesome than expected,” David added, shifting his focus to his right arm. [Blood Manipulation] stopped the bleeding, and he used [True Restoration] at its lowest output to jump-start recovery of his right hand.

The four-legged Voidling didn’t die right away, but it was too slow to move. The Void Barrier dispersed slowly, and David got to work. He materialized the Obsidian Blade again and coated it in pure Blood before ramming it into the dying beast. Calling upon the Law of Blood, David began to siphon the Voidling’s lifeforce, infusing it into [True Restoration].

Sure, the effect wasn’t as strong as it could have been if he had relied solely on pure Blood, but his hand was healing. Lifeforce was unrefined and lacked the same properties as pure Blood, but it was still lifeforce. David’s work was crude, not as refined as it used to be, but even traces of pure Blood were enough to correct the flaws caused by the unrefined lifeforce. It worked well enough and allowed him to conserve more pure Blood and Origin Essence for later battles.