Damned Healer-Chapter 104: Tiger Watching An Ant

Leander and Eric both felt the shift in Darian and turned to him, confused.

Darian took a deep breath and looked at the two of them. "It's probably just a coincidence... but we have to go in anyway."

After thinking for a bit, Gregor ordered, "Everything's already planned, we're going all in from the start. I don't want to lose anyone, so don't forget your roles and battle positions."

Everyone nodded.

Darian, on the other hand, was deep in thought. Instinctively... no, definitely, both rings on his wrists started to hum. Their energies stirred subtly, like a compass pointing straight into that place.

It was a call. He had to go in.

He thought about everything tied to that book. Then, everything tied to himself. The connection was obvious now. And maybe, just maybe, he was about to uncover something important.

Gregor and Leander stepped forward, setting up the remaining artifacts. They placed them carefully—buried in the floor, the walls, and even the door itself. These particular ones could be triggered remotely.

In the end, Gregor turned to Eric, who activated his power through a small, round, red object.

Gregor's plan was pretty bold—he'd even hide the supreme artifact. Once the target let their guard down, they'd blow the whole place up from its blind spot. It was all or nothing.

With the setup complete, Gregor turned to Darian and asked, "What are you thinking? Do you know what that book is?"

"I'm not sure, I need to confirm. But I think I might've found that same book on Earth," he answered honestly.

"So that's the Red River Pact clan's secret?" Leander muttered. "How the hell did they know..."

He trailed off, and Gregor picked up:

"In the missionary's altar, when a mission comes through, it gives a full description, but also includes info that sometimes doesn't matter much—like how old the universe is, what the common races are, and even the name it's most known by."

"By comparing lots of missions over the years, you can figure out some patterns. The older the universe, the more you can guess about its level of knowledge and tech. That doesn't mean it's more powerful, but advanced tech often means rare artifacts to bring back to Earth. And knowing the dominant races helps us know if infiltration will be easy. If there aren't a lot of humans, it's a pain in the ass."

Leander scoffed and added, "This universe we're in? Insanely old. There are naming patterns for universes like this. This one's called 'Final Salvation Universe, number 5XXXX.' As you can imagine, there are tons of others just like it, with different numbers. You don't get to choose where you go—the missions are random. Maybe that clan's been waiting to land in one of these for a long time..."

Gregor nodded. "If they knew that universes with that name and age might have some amazing hidden bonus... maybe that's why they went through all this trouble. But what the hell could be so valuable in a book?" He shot a serious look at Darian.

He shook his head. "I'm not sure, but now that we're here, we'll find out."

Everyone agreed. They had to see it to understand. Then, Gregor pulled the core from the supreme artifact.

At the same time, everyone stepped forward and pushed the massive door—it opened easily.

*GRRRRRRRR!*

The heavy door groaned open.

A huge underground hall, almost completely empty, lay ahead. At the center stood a small two-meter altar, with what looked like a book resting on top.

No one stepped in yet. All eyes were on the floor inside.

All across it were carved violet marks that resembled runes, all connected. The mission target had likely created this setup.

It was a kind of trap—just thinking about stepping forward sent a wave of danger through them. Gregor spoke seriously:

"I'll say it again. We need to take him down first. We don't know what that thing really is. We'll move the moment I activate the light-dispersing artifact. Then we wait. It lasts three minutes, and he won't be able to see us. All we can do is hope he falls into the trap."

Everyone nodded and drew their weapons, ready.

Gregor's group included a female tank, a female support, a male mage, and Eric, who was a fighter. Gregor himself was considered a support, but once he used his blessing, he was drained and couldn't fight—so he had to be protected. That's why he specialized in staying at the back, analyzing the battlefield and leading.

Everyone trusted him. He was known for making sharp decisions and reading both allies and enemies with ease.

Everyone nodded again. This was an all-out move, aimed at dealing the most damage or killing the target outright.

Once a mission goal is completed, the Spiritual Guardians are automatically brought back to their home universe. But this one had two goals: kill the target and destroy the core of this universe's mutant power.

Unfortunately, the book wasn't the core. The core had to be on this planet, since the target lived here. Once he was taken down, they'd have the time and safety to figure out what the deal was with the altar—and then finish the mission.

Gregor turned to the group, pulled out his artifact, and they all took deep breaths. He activated it, and a yellow aura wrapped around them.

"Go!"

They all stepped in.

Right after, Gregor triggered the door's artifacts.

That caused the doors to move on their own and slam shut.

*Buzz!*

A metallic hum echoed through the space. Everyone could feel the runes on the floor light up. It only took a second for a dense fog to start flowing from the carved marks, flooding the entire chamber.

'Oh?' Leander immediately looked at Gregor.

Gregor got the message and turned to Eric and Harper, who both nodded.

It was the enemy's ultimate defense mechanism. It created a condition similar to the one where the veil covered the planet—only way denser than usual.

Inside, it made the enemy way stronger, making it insanely hard for intruders to escape. He had built this setup to crush standard challengers, thinking he'd always have the upper hand. His arrogance and ignorance would be his downfall.

"He's coming!" Leander warned.

It took less than two seconds. A wave of fury and power shot straight toward the chamber.

One second.

Gregor clenched his fists, sensing the approach through the artifacts on the door.

Two seconds.

"Now."

*Crack!*

**BOOOM!**

The artifacts blew up with devastating force. The doors gave way as a blast of fire and lightning exploded through, unleashing pure chaos.

A thick cloud of dust and destruction poured in from the other side.

Matteo and a woman clad in earthen armor—Gregor's tank—rushed forward in sync.

At the same time, Veyle and the mage gripped their staves, which flared with orange energy. They closed their eyes and focused everything ahead.

Gregor took a deep breath, and in an instant, his eyes lit up with a golden glow.

"Submit!"

His voice boomed, his blessing activated, and the laws of the world twisted to his command.

A golden aura came from him, spreading into every corner. The sinister violet power that filled the area was transformed, like time had frozen the particles of air and earth.

A dual scream exploded on the frontline:

"DIE!"

*Clang! Clang!*

Darian couldn't see the fight ahead, but the metallic sound of weapons slamming into a steel barrier filled the hall. Matteo and the tank woman struck at the same time, their weapons hitting the enemy dead-on.

Veyle and the other mage raised their staves, channeling their blessings. A thick white mist, mixed with a cloud of sand, rolled forward like a relentless tide.

*ROAR!*

A deep roar echoed, followed by a violent crash.

*BANG!*

Two blood-covered figures were thrown back like crimson torpedoes.

They smashed into the ground hard, the sound of bones breaking was terrifying.

Everyone turned to their two tanks. In just seconds, their armor and defenses were gone, their bodies completely shattered and the two were out of commission.

"We're close to capturing it!" Veyle shouted, raising her staff.

*Rumble!*

"Watch out!"

Leander yelled, and the Primitive Beast moved like lightning, surging forward with a devastating charge.

This enemy was a grotesque mix of predators, nearly twenty meters tall. Its leathery, torn wings barely held its weight, casting shadows that danced with the thick violet aura pouring from its body. It had four limbs, a long, heavy tail, and its body was covered in violet scales that gleamed menacingly. Its claws, sharp as razors, scraped the floor with each step, making the ground tremble.

No one could react—it was insanely fast and destructive.

It was heading straight for the support in Gregor's group — a short, thin woman whose support blessing created wind barriers.

She raised both hands in front of her, throwing up a desperate shield.

Nobody noticed another figure running. All eyes were on the beast. But one young support with only a single ring had already moved — before the beast even appeared.

*BANG!*

Her barrier shattered like glass struck by an iron hammer.

"NO!"

The enemy's claw came down on her like a guillotine.

That's when everyone finally saw Darian.

With a quick move, he threw himself at her, hitting her from the side. She was small, so she was thrown far away, out of the deadly range.

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Darian standing in front of the claw, now just inches from his face.

The most shocking part — the Defensive Blocking Ring on his finger was already glowing.

A subtle distortion in space formed around him. The claw lost all its strength, stopping in midair like it had hit an invisible wall.

The beast twisted its face in fury and opened its mouth. Instantly, a destructive light lit up inside.

That blast was like a Dragon's breath, full of raw and devastating power. This thing wasn't called a Primitive Beast for nothing.

Darian smiled. His cloak lit up, absorbing the ring's power without hesitation.

A wave of destruction fell on him!

His enchanted cloak shone brightly, absorbing everything.

His ring's power drained at an alarming rate, but the blow became nothing more than a hot breeze.

The beast roared. Then, in a burst of rage, it planted one foot and slammed the other forward in a brutal kick.

*BANG!*

Darian took the hit hard and was sent flying like an arrow.

He hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Everyone swallowed hard, turning pale. But then, a white light appeared through the dust — and everyone let out a breath of relief.

It all happened way too fast. In one second, the beast had taken down the two tanks. That left the nearby supports exposed.

Then the enemy struck with abnormal speed... but Darian...

...everyone was confused. There was no way he moved that fast, saved the girl, and still managed to activate the ring and the cloak in time.

It was like...

Like he could sense the enemy's moves before they happened.

Darian was only lightly injured. The beast did hit him, but it was already weakened after using two massive attacks. Meanwhile, Darian could heal himself.

Gregor clenched his fists, focusing on the frontline. Leander and the two mages were beside him. He stared at that colossal Primitive Beast, then gave a cold smile.

"That maniac support..."

That thing had unbelievable strength and natural defenses. It tanked artifact explosions and the tanks' strikes, then wiped them out like they were nothing.

And then there was its speed... and unpredictable offense...

Even though all the power from the Demonic Cloak had been canceled, it still had its body and some kind of inner energy. Gregor knew the reason. Inside that Primitive Beast was a core that stored its power.

It was like the Spiritual Guardians — even when their blessing was blocked, they still had their ring's power. If this thing was at full power, not even three full teams, each with two rings, could take it down.

"ROAR!"

The Primitive Beast roared in rage, but it couldn't move...

It had tried going all out to kill some easy prey. Two attacks, both ruined by Darian. That created the perfect opening for the mages.

Its lower half was half-buried in the mist, while its upper body was covered in sand.

Clearly, it was ignoring the sand — it didn't pose any threat. But the mist was different; it could seep in through its skin or any other gap. Once it got inside, things would get messy.

A colorless energy poured from the beast's body, and this weird aura made Veyle's mist slowly pull back, unable to enter.

"Veyle's mist is the only thing that can break through its body," Gregor muttered from afar.

Turning around, his eyes widened when he saw Matteo and the tank woman getting back up. They were completely healed, not a scratch on them, back to 100% in mere seconds. Darian had gotten up and silently healed them.

Gregor nodded in satisfaction, then gave the command: "Leander, Eric, Harper. The tanks will make the opening!"

"Go!"

They responded firmly. The two tanks gave Darian a quick nod of thanks before charging again, full of fury.

Darian let out a breath...

His heart was pounding out of control...

Sweat was pouring down his body...

It wasn't nerves. Something was very wrong.

He turned to the altar behind him.

The underground hall was huge, at least five hundred meters wide. They had been thrown far, but the book at the center was still in the distance.

That strange feeling Darian was having was coming from that direction.

'This feeling... it's like someone's watching me closely, tracking my every move,' he muttered mentally, feeling seriously weird.

He couldn't see anything, couldn't sense anything there — it felt like his imagination. But he was sure someone was there.

Whoever it was... definitely wasn't someone he could handle. It was like a tiger watching an ant, intrigued by how simple it was.