CHAPTER 176: LOSSES

Darian jumped and wrapped himself around her in desperation. Celestial Corruption worked just like regular corruption—the same kind that killed or turned the living into Risen. But this... this didn’t come from a Risen Lord... it came from the supreme, immortal entity above them all.

When Niara—or any Summoner—got hit by corruption from a Risen, even a really high-level one, the corruption didn’t invade their life energies right away. That was a natural resistance Summoners had. If they got healed quickly enough, nothing bad would happen.

But... if the corruption had already contaminated their life energy... Darian had been through this before with that demon beast. Back then, he couldn’t even heal the corruption from a Risen Chief.

Now, with two rings, maybe he could... but he hadn’t tested it yet. And in this situation with Niara, his power was totally useless.

Far away from the huge crater where the central building used to be, Howlyn, the twins, and their Summoners climbed out of the rubble.

Looking around... and at the faint golden layer on the horizon... their eyes went wide, and their bodies trembled.

"Bro... he actually did it..." Lucy muttered, in disbelief.

That’s when Howlyn suddenly caught a strong smell. "Corruption?!"

She turned toward the building and dashed with everything she had.

Everyone else followed her, running full speed. When they arrived, they saw the Dragoness lying on the ground... her entire body pitch black... no sign of life at all... only corruption leaking from her.

Darian, on the other hand, was wrapped around her, eyes closed, totally focused.

When Howlyn got close, he opened his eyes.

"Quick! I used my black power and stopped the corruption at the last second. She’s still got a chance." Darian said, his eyes showing pure, raw desperation.

Howlyn swallowed hard. All he could do now was rely on her knowledge.

She took a deep breath, locking in her focus. Then she moved closer to Niara and touched her forehead, analyzing her.

Howlyn had been a Risen Lord once... she’d spent millennia controlling corruption. Now... it was like a fish choosing to live out of water.

Minutes of suffocating silence passed...

"Her mutation... I can still feel her bloodline runes alive and fighting back," Howlyn murmured.

Darian nodded and explained what he knew. Niara’s mutation could absorb external bloodlines, even if they were contaminated and weak, purifying them and making her stronger. It was an insanely useful mutation for her growth.

At the same time, her bloodline became so pure it allowed others to kill her and absorb her power without any side effects.

Of course, killing her and wasting that treasure was technically stupid. But... Niara wasn’t someone who could be captured and used either. A single Mannaz wasn’t strong enough to contain her. Killing her and taking back everything that had been invested... was the only option the Dragon King had back then.

"Purify... it might be possible..." Howlyn muttered, deep in thought. Then she sensed something even scarier coming from Niara. "Why does she feel insanely more powerful than a Mannaz? It’s like... she’s not even mortal..."

Darian spoke quickly: "She’s got a spiritual root, and that gives her a power kinda close to the Divine Dragon’s. Long story... but the truth is, I’m her Summoner...not the other way around."

Everyone froze for a second, stunned. After thinking for a few moments, Howlyn’s eyes lit up.

She turned to the academy’s core.

"I think this’ll work. I know how to save her and purify all this corruption... but... it’s gonna take a really, really long time..."

Darian didn’t hesitate: "Doesn’t matter. If she stays alive, I’ll find a way to speed up the process later."

Howlyn nodded and explained seriously: "We need to seal her body inside the academy’s core. She’ll connect with the entire inscription, taking the place of the Divine Dragon’s power that’s supposed to be there. That’ll make the inscription work at 100%, or close to it, and it’ll start absorbing universal energy way faster."

She took a deep breath: "Of course... we’ve only got one member of the inscription active... so we’re at like a quarter of full capacity. But... because of her mutation... and the fact her bloodline’s still fighting back... I feel like she’s gonna manage to use part of the inscription’s power to purify her body. Her mutation... it might not be limited to just her bloodline."

Darian let out a heavy sigh. He had no power to do anything right now... all he could do was count on the inscription... and on Niara herself to recover. But... Endi was a specialist in inscriptions. Maybe, if he studied everything, he could help find a way to speed things up.

"Let’s do it." Darian said, and Howlyn nodded.

She stepped forward and touched the academy’s core and the inscription. Right now, it was a pulsing sphere, like a heart. It was about the size of a human skull, but made entirely of runes and energy.

"Link the inscription’s runes to her body. Her bloodline should take care of the rest." Howlyn said, and Darian nodded, activating his rings.

Niara’s body started floating. The sphere grew and grew, now looking like an egg big enough to hold her inside. The moment the runes touched her, a golden and celestial blue light pulsed around her.

She was instantly pulled inside.

The sphere was pretty transparent, letting everyone see her perfectly inside.

"!" Lucy and Lucius’s eyes trembled at the sight of the change.

Her skin, once covered in corruption, started changing, immediately clearing up.

"It worked," Darian said, breathing heavily.

But... it was just the skin. Internally, she was still exactly the same.

He analyzed her, feeling a pain in his chest. Why had that will put them as priority targets?

He sighed, full of guilt.

He wasn’t some super genius, or a perfect strategist. His plans had worked out decently so far, but nothing could ever be flawless. The main reason... was that he was weak.

Being weak made him rely on luck and enemy mistakes... and that was a recipe for always having losses.

Now... Niara was paying the price for his weakness. She couldn’t use her body... and maybe it would take years for her to fully recover.

How long would it be before he could talk to her again... and hear her completely shameless jokes?

A huge, soul-tearing pain filled him. It felt like a giant blade stabbing through his soul. He’d only felt like this once before... when his mother died.

His mind raced, looking for any tiny bit of comfort.

"!"

Darian’s eyes widened. "Wait... only her body got corrupted, right?"

Howlyn nodded.

"I’m her Summoner! I can use Summoner support techniques!" he said quickly, turning toward her body.

He closed his eyes, focusing.

In seconds, the twins, who had been silent and shaken, felt their metaphorical hearts beating like drums—even though they didn’t have hearts right now.

An identical soul to Niara’s floated out of her body, slowly rising.

Darian nodded, and the soul moved toward him. Moments later, it was like she entered inside him.

That was the most basic support technique for Summoners. Back when Darian first met Niara in the dungeon, since he didn’t have a physical form yet, she used this same technique to let him stay inside her body.

It was an energy-sharing method, letting two souls exist in the world without being considered dead things by the laws, which would normally try to drag them away.

Normally, only a Summoner could use this kind of technique. But Niara had already done it with Darian before, even without technically being a Summoner. That happened because their connection had always been weird, created by his curse power.

Her consciousness slowly woke up.

Then...

She saw Howlyn and the twins staring at her with emotional looks.

She immediately felt something wrong. Looked around... getting more and more stunned.

Darian let out another breath. Now, she didn’t have a body to use. But... he felt a strange euphoria knowing she could stay by his side.