DAKU
Thousands of years ago, Healers were worshipped and praised. Everyone respected them as they believed they were sent by the gods to relieve them of their pain and suffering from all sorts of illnesses. However, Healers rarely exist compared to other classes. And because they rarely exist, there were years when there was no Healer at all.
That was why potion-making was established, and along with it was the discovery of healing magic. The rise of new magic paved the way for a new era and ended the glory of the Healers. Since then, Healers have been tagged as useless, and because of their weak base stats, no party wanted them.
But I was not just a healer. I was also a fighter, and fighting didn't mean I had to be on the frontline. Even though I was fully capable of delivering offensives, I was fully aware as well that someone could do better than I. I was still gonna fight, but in a different way.
Accessing the thoughts inside my mind was not an easy thing to do. It required great concentration and focus that put the person in a meditative state. Fortunately, Thelah taught me how to achieve such a state during my training with her. With her strict and bloody guidance, I was able to do it in just a minute.
My mind warped into nothingness, and the noise that surrounded me earlier disappeared like a bubble. Everything was dark and quiet, and I couldn't see or hear myself. I tried to scream but heard nothing.
I tried to remember the moment when Thelah sent the information into my head back then. And as I was doing it, image after image appeared before me. Each image depicted a different technique. Some of them were something that I had used already, such as proximity healing, distant healing, mass healing, defense magic (barrier/shield), support magics, and purification. But mostly were unfamiliar and unused ones like:
A. Mana Manipulation. It is the ability to manipulate mana, such as the following:
a. Mana Share: the ability to share one's mana with the desired target.
b. Mana Drain: the ability to absorb mana from the other to oneself.
c. Mana Transfer: the ability to transfer mana from one person to another.
Speaking of mana, as a Healer, I could regain my mana by gathering energy from my surroundings. So basically, I had an unlimited supply of mana, and I had the freedom to use it as much as I wanted.
This was great. If only I had thought about this before, then maybe I wouldn't have had to do this mind dive anymore. I could have just helped them now right away. But I could do nothing about it now. For now, let's focus on getting this job done.
Aside from techniques, there were images of what I thought would be memories of someone. A little girl who looked like a younger version of Thelah. Or was it her? The younger Thelah was standing before an altar, which I believed to be inside a church. She faced the crowd while her eyes were closed and her hands clasped together close to her chest. And not long after, her body glowed green.
She was a healer like me, and at a young age, she awakened to be one just like Kana. But now she was the Goddess of Health. Did she transcend and become a god? The archives stated nothing about such phenomena, but if this were really her memories, then maybe it happened.
Questions after questions poured into my mind like raging waters in a ravenous river. But my attention was disturbed when my eyes caught a glimpse of something. This one stood out from the rest because it was the only one tinted in red while the rest were illuminated in white.
And because the other images masked it, I failed to notice it in the first place. But now it intrigued me as to why it was different from the rest. Something inside me was saying that this memory would not do anything good, though. The way it glowed in crimson red as if it was warning me of something. That I should go back and ignore it.
But you knew what happened when something you couldn't touch or know made you want to touch and know about it even more. The more I resisted, the closer I became to the memory. I convinced myself multiple times to just walk off and return to the real world, but it was too late. I was already standing before it.
There was nothing in it. It was blank, yet it gave me this much tension. A second later, an image gradually appeared, and it was...me. Was this really a memory or a prediction of the possible future?
With furrowed brows, I watched the scene play before me. I was on the battlefield fighting, but something was strange. My entire body was glowing green except for my palms, which were bathed in red. An enemy approached from behind, only to get stopped by me when he held the enemy's neck without looking at it.
"That's one sick of instinct," I commented, feeling a bit proud of my...future self?
But the pride was replaced by fear when red tendrils originating from my other self's hand spread throughout the enemy's body like roots. The enemy screamed in intense pain before exploding into pieces, shocking me out of shock.
Chills ran down my spine, and my skin hairs stood up as the scene progressed, and it was much scarier than the first one. I saw myself break a skull just by touching it. I saw two enemies get transfigured and deformed into an unrecognizable figure. I saw skins being melted and decayed. Lastly, a large, ominous red and black magic circle appeared covering a large area, and the enemies on top of it stopped moving, and their bodies were stuck in different awkward positions.
I took a step back out of terror and shock when the other me inside the memory moved his head to look at me. And as much as I wanted to run now and avoid his gaze, I was drawn by it. I thought he would smile or grin or say a word, but instead, he just stared at me with his expressionless face. Even his eyes hid no emotions at all, as if he no longer had a soul.
Then suddenly I was wincing in abrupt pain as if a knife was stabbing my head multiple times. Each throb and pulsate of the pain sent an immeasurable pang of suffering into my system, rendering me immobile. I wished for my body to just lose consciousness and sleep through the pain, but my mind was wide awake. All I could do was withstand and endure the pain until it stopped. And it seemed like my mouth was jinxed when the pain suddenly disappeared. I breathed heavily as droplets of sweat formed on my forehead. The pain was indeed gone, but the memory of it remained.
I raised my head, hoping to see the images again, but what remained was only me. Then a bright white light devoured every inch of darkness within the space until I found myself back in the real world. The moment my body switched from being unconscious to conscious, I heard the clashing of swords, explosions, and noises of fear.
I opened my eyes to observe the surroundings, only to be surprised by the state of the arena. Three figures were battling four robed strangers under the influence of the Evil Remnant. I recognized the three as Kenshi, Kenshi's Father, and the King himself. Kana and Shino were also on standby to provide support, while Grosi and Shiro, despite the commotion, remained focused on their job of making the potions. The wounded were tended by the civilians by giving them healing potions.
I could tell that they had been fighting for a while due to their heavy breaths and shaking hands. And anytime they would be defeated if they continued to fight in such a condition. So I decided to use the technique that I just learned a few minutes ago.
With the technique in mind, I pointed my right hand at the three, followed by the apparition of a small green magic circle on their heads resembling a halo. The King and Kenshi's father were astonished to see themselves glowing green while Kenshi remained nonreactive and focused on the fight. By imbuing healing magic into the technique, it not only provides them with mana but also heals them along the way.
"So, you're the new Healer?" the guy around my age near the entrance asked. I had yet to know his name, but the way he looked at me and the way he grinned at my presence, I could tell that his intention was to murder me. "The moment I received the news that a new Healer has awakened in this era, I felt so excited. We Healers are rare to exist, so to find another one like me, the feeling of longing and alone disappeared. So why don't you join me, Daku? Join me, and no one will look down on us again."
He was a healer like me, and there was only one person I knew who was alive until today. "It was indeed blissful to meet a Healer like me, Hirako...or should I say, Ren." Upon hearing his old name, I sensed a bit of irritation in him. "I was praying to meet someone like me, and now that you're here, I couldn't wait to ask you about a lot of things about being a healer."
"Right? I mean, imagine all the things we could do! No one can harm us, and no one will dare to harm us. I can teach you a lot of things, Daku. Things that others will not understand but could make this world a better place for everyone," he shared, and the grin he had earlier widened even more.
"But even though we are both healers, we are not the same." Hirako's smile slowly turned upside down, and his relaxed and confident aura shifted into a feeling of worry and alertness. "Your intention was to cause harm to innocent lives, and that alone makes you nothing like a healer. Instead of providing them with the comfort and relief of healing, you tortured them and worsened their suffering. We are nothing alike. Never."
Hirako suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing my words. He laughed so hard that he even wiped off the tears that formed under his eyes.
"You're funny, Daku," he commented as he regained his composure and looked at me again with his smug face. "Are you ignoring the fact that you learned the forbidden magic?" My brows furrowed when Hirako said those words. What did he mean by that? "I know Thelah gave you the technique, and I know you saw it with your own two eyes. That headache? It is a sign that you have absorbed the instruction, Daku."
"Still, I'm never gonna use it!" I protested.
"Let's see about that."
Hirako's pawns retreated to his side after hearing those words. He touched two of them, and the next thing that happened was horrifying. The bodies of the two throbbed and jerked involuntarily. Along with their weird movements were changes in their body. In just a few seconds, their once humane appearance turned into something grotesque and monstrous. Anyone could tell that these people were transfigured and deformed.
"Let me show you the power of the forbidden Rupture Magic."
Hirako waved his hand, and the two abominations charged at Kenshi. The three prepared to engage, and when the enemies were within range, the three delivered and joint attack. But with the Evil Remnant flowing through their bodies, their attacks became ineffective. And even though they managed to inflict some damage, Hirako's healing magic would just heal the injuries as if the wound never existed in the first place.
This kind of fight would get us nowhere.