Am I a Healer? You'd Better Think So!-Chapter 46: Strange People

Everyone in Leander and Nayara's groups felt the same thing as Darian. By the time they reacted, it was already too late—they were trapped, surrounded by a strange distortion. It was as if space rippled like turbulent waters, creating an invisible prison.

"Raon! What the hell are you doing?!" A furious female voice echoed.

No one could see clearly around them, but through the group crystals, they could hear the voice and sense everyone's location with ease.

This was clearly caused by the support's blessing in his group, but she was using artifacts to amplify its effect and power.

"Don't be so hysterical." A sarcastic voice rang out. "Look at the sky."

Only then did they realize that, while they couldn't see their surroundings, they could see perfectly above them. They were in an open field under a starry night, with no moons or major landmarks in sight.

Looking up, they felt something approaching from a distant direction.

Focusing the power of the rings in their eyes, they caught a glimpse of something violet moving toward them from far away. And when they looked around, they realized—it was coming from all directions at once.

Raon's voice was dry: "Yeah, the Shroud of Malice Law is at most an hour away from covering everything. We're on the main planet of this universe, where our target is located. We can't waste time—every hour, we grow weaker. We have to settle this immediately."

"Fuck off! I'm the mission leader! Why the hell did you trap us?!" she snapped, furious.

"Isn't it obvious? You want to sneak in slowly while we get poisoned? That's just plain stupidity. I came prepared to complete the mission easily and in the safest way possible."

As he spoke, he pulled something out, and everyone immediately felt the space around them shift. Suddenly, it stabilized completely, blending seamlessly into the environment.

"Feel that? This is a well-known artifact, isn't it?"

"Is your father insane?! Is that the Red Pact Artifact?" Leander asked, shocked.

Darian had no idea what that was. After all, he had only forty days to train and study whatever he could. He hadn't had time to read much about well-known artifacts or other clans. But considering Raon's clan was called Red River Pact, he was already getting the picture.

Laughter followed the answer: "Hahaha, of course not, idiot. This is just an artifact core. But it's enough for me to use a third of its full power."

"What are you planning? This will be considered insubordination! Even if we complete the mission, you—"

"Quit overreacting. Your plans are stupid and would probably get everyone killed. Meanwhile, I'll finish the mission in less than a day, perfectly. Why would they punish me? At worst, I'll get a warning."

"You—!"

He cut her off without a care: "Shut up. I'm activating this core, and you know what that means. Since this universe is similar to ours, it'll be easy to dominate all the planet's natural laws, drawing our target's attention."

"You're sacrificing your allies, you bastard!" she roared.

"Stop yelling, you bitch. Yeah, blood is needed to use my clan's artifact core, but I'll just be settling my debt with these five here. Sure, we usually use this on our enemies, but for a surprise attack, sometimes this kind of measure is necessary."

"The rewards for this mission and its difficulty are justification enough. As for these five, they're just rookies with a single ring—completely disposable. With my blessing fully active, I'll strike suddenly and gain even more power with the core. This will all be over in a few hours."

"Don't be stupid! You don't know the target's power. Mission intel is never accurate, and we always have to act carefully, even if it's dangerous for us too," she said seriously.

He just scoffed. "Against absolute power, surprises mean nothing. My plan is way safer, and as the leader, you should focus on the objective. But hey, you can just stand there while I handle everything myself. It'll be fun watching your clan get punished for your incompetence later. After all, the mission is more important than any personal grudge, right? Hahahaha..."

Hearing his laughter, she spoke firmly. "I'm the leader. I've heard your plan, and I won't allow it. You think the Amazon Sentinels clan will let this slide?"

"Who gives a damn what your little clan thinks? Just shut up and obey. If you do anything, I'll simply get rid of you too," Raon sneered and gestured.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

No one could see anyone else—only their voices echoed in the void. But they all felt that movement. Suddenly, everything closed in around them. They tried using the group crystal to locate each other, but nothing registered. They were completely blind.

"Fuck! That bastard!" Leander roared in fury.

He and all his allies were clearly shaken, like rats trapped in a cage. There was no escape—they were just going to die without even a chance to fight back.

Leander remembered back in the clan's conference room. His brother had raised the possibility of Freon handing over the artifact's power to his son. But their mother, who was highly experienced and had seen the artifact in its complete form before, refused.

That artifact was something sinister, requiring blood and bodies. The Red River Pact clan had to burn through a massive amount of their members' points for the Empire to bring in high-quality blood and nutrients from other universes to strengthen it.

Only the clan's elite squad carried a core on rank S missions. This was the clan's greatest weapon for completing their objectives—only two others in the entire Empire had anything similar.

Using a core cost the equivalent of decades of stored energy. Rank S missions only appeared once every few years. If they used it now and another mission came up later, then what? Why the hell would they give it to Raon?

He was just an arrogant idiot. Even though he was the vice leader's son, he wasn't remotely important.

But... he did have a core.

'There's something about this mission they didn't tell us. Something here is as valuable as a rank S mission...' Leander thought quickly, tension tightening his chest. 'What does the Empire gain by hiding this and only revealing it to their top clan?'

There were too many questions, but all Leander could feel was despair. He couldn't save himself, and his mother and brother would never recover from this new wound.

As for Darian...

Before him, space twisted open. Just a few meters ahead, a figure with eyes full of malice emerged. He walked forward slowly, his face twisted into a dark, twisted joy.

He stopped three meters from Darian and locked eyes with him.

"Feeling scared? Desperate?"

"Oh?" Darian looked at him with complete indifference. Only when he heard the question did his expression finally change.

First, he let out a small sigh, like he was relieved.

Then, he smiled.

"Scared? I would be if you were smart enough to wait patiently for the right opportunity. That would make me nervous. But now... I'm actually really concerned... Did I hit you, and you liked it? Why are you so eager to hand me gifts?"

"You—!"

Darian snorted. "I've been dealing with such weird people lately... But hey, you came at the perfect time. I wanted to test something new."