Chapter 510: The Battle Ends, But the Wounds Remain

The Battle Ends, But the Wounds Remain

The moment Fean died, Eddy finally released Victor’s body and returned to their soul realm.

The strange pressure that had weighed down the entire battlefield disappeared with him.

For a few seconds, nobody moved.

After everything that had happened, the silence felt almost strange. Dust drifted through the cavern, floating beneath the faint light that filtered through the damaged ceiling. Broken stones covered the ground. Deep cracks ran across the floor and climbed the walls, leaving behind a clear reminder of how fiercely the battle had raged.

Then Victor swayed.

The moment Eddy left, the strength that had kept his body standing vanished.

His knees buckled. His upper body lurched forward, and his long black hair fell over his face.

He was about to hit the ground.

Diana moved before anyone else could react.

She rushed forward and caught him in her arms. One hand slipped behind his back while the other supported his head, preventing it from striking the unforgiving stone.

"Victor?"

Her voice came out softer than she intended.

There was no response.

His eyes remained closed. Strands of black hair covered his handsome face, which had grown frighteningly pale. Blood stained his clothes, and wounds covered nearly every visible part of his body.

Diana stared at him for a moment.

It was over.

Fean was dead.

They had won.

Yet there was nothing satisfying about looking at Victor in this condition. The sight of him lying helplessly in her arms made the victory feel painfully hollow.

Blood was still seeping from several wounds. Some were so deep that the damage beneath his skin was impossible to ignore.

But his right shoulder was the worst.

A large chunk of flesh was missing. The wound looked raw and horrifying, and it had barely improved even when Eddy had taken control of Victor’s body.

Diana’s heart tightened.

She adjusted her hold, drawing him a little closer as if that alone could keep him safe.

"Someone, call a healer! Quickly!"

Her sharp voice rang through the cavern.

A short distance away, Evelyne stood frozen in place. She was still struggling to process everything she had witnessed. There had been too much to take in, too many shocking things happening one after another.

Diana’s shout finally brought her back to her senses.

Her gaze immediately fell on Victor.

Then she looked at Diana.

Finally, she glanced around the battlefield.

The shattered ground. The scattered rocks. The destruction left behind by the battle.

Even now, she could almost feel traces of the overwhelming power that had filled the cavern moments earlier.

Fean was dead.

Victor was alive.

But looking at the blood covering his body, Evelyne couldn’t help wondering how much longer that would remain true.

She swallowed nervously.

"Right! I’ll get one immediately!"

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and hurried toward the damaged passage.

Her footsteps echoed through the cavern, growing fainter with every passing second until they disappeared into the distance.

Once Evelyne was gone, Diana lowered her eyes to Victor again.

She forced herself to remain calm.

Panicking wouldn’t help him. She knew that much. She had witnessed countless battles and seen people suffer injuries that would make an ordinary person lose consciousness from the pain alone.

She had learned long ago that fear and desperation rarely solved anything.

But knowing that didn’t make this any easier.

Not when the person in her arms was Victor.

Diana gently brushed the hair away from his face.

He looked exhausted.

No, exhausted wasn’t the right word.

He looked as though every last ounce of strength had been torn from his body. His face was pale, his breathing weak, and his body showed the terrible price he had paid to survive the battle.

Diana couldn’t afford to waste time worrying about what might happen.

She needed to do something.

Fortunately, she had a way to help him.

Their souls were connected by a bond that allowed her to sense his condition. It was unlike anything an ordinary healer could experience. She could feel the faint fluctuations of his life force and sense the strain his body was under.

And right now, those sensations were far from reassuring.

Victor was alive.

His life force hadn’t faded.

But his body was dangerously close to its limits.

Diana took a slow breath and focused on their connection.

She reached through the invisible bond between their souls, carefully guiding her power into his battered body.

She had to be precise.

Victor had lost too much blood already. If she couldn’t slow the bleeding, his condition would continue to deteriorate while they waited for the healer.

Diana concentrated on the worst of his wounds.

Her power spread through his body, reaching the damaged areas one by one. She guided it toward the wounds that were still bleeding, doing everything she could to slow the loss.

Gradually, the bleeding began to subside.

It didn’t stop completely, but the difference was noticeable.

Diana watched closely, making sure the wounds weren’t worsening.

At least that was something.

He wouldn’t continue losing blood at the same rate while they waited.

She released a small breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

"Good," she murmured.

It was only a temporary measure, but it bought them some time.

Next, Diana turned her attention to the mana she had accumulated through her scythe.

This wasn’t ordinary mana.

It had been refined through her connection with the Divine Relic she represented. Its purity and quality surpassed what most cultivators could hope to gather, and even a small amount held considerable power.

Using too much at once would be wasteful. More importantly, she needed to make sure her power helped Victor rather than placed any additional strain on his already damaged body.

So she proceeded carefully.

A faint glow appeared around her hand.

Diana guided the energy into Victor’s body, allowing it to seep beneath his skin and spread through his damaged tissues.

She watched his face as the mana took effect.

Little by little, his breathing became steadier. The tension in his body eased, and his breathing no longer seemed quite as strained as before.

It wasn’t a miraculous recovery.

His wounds remained, and his body was still in terrible condition.

But at least he seemed a little more stable.

Diana continued channeling her mana while keeping him securely in her arms. Every so often, she shifted her position to make sure she wasn’t putting unnecessary pressure on his injuries.

Only after she was satisfied that his condition had stopped deteriorating so rapidly did she allow herself to examine the full extent of the damage.

And the more she looked, the heavier her heart became.

Thank goodness his body is as sturdy as it is.

Her gaze traveled over the wounds covering his chest and arms.

There were cuts everywhere. Some were shallow, while others had torn deeply into his flesh. Dried blood clung to his skin, mixing with the fresh blood that had yet to stop flowing completely.

It was difficult to look at him without wondering how he had managed to endure so much.

If someone with an ordinary constitution had suffered the same injuries, the outcome might have been very different.

Victor’s body had always been extraordinary.

His physical strength, resilience, and ability to recover from injuries had long surpassed what most cultivators could achieve at his level.

But even that wasn’t enough to protect him from everything.

Diana knew that better than anyone.

There was a difference between being resilient and being invulnerable.

And Victor had come dangerously close to discovering where that difference lay.

Her gaze eventually returned to his right shoulder.

The moment she saw the wound again, her expression darkened.

Those cuts are deeper than they first appeared. And that missing piece of flesh...

She stared at it for another second.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

It looks even worse up close.

The injury was appalling.

A considerable amount of flesh was missing, and the surrounding tissue had suffered severe damage. It was the kind of wound that would require more than a little mana to repair properly.

Diana resisted the urge to touch it.

There was no point making things worse by handling the injury carelessly.

Instead, she supported Victor’s arm as gently as possible, keeping it in a position that wouldn’t place additional strain on his shoulder.

He had endured far more than an ordinary body could withstand.

The fact that he was still breathing was remarkable in itself.

But she couldn’t let that fact give her a false sense of security.

His muscles had been pushed beyond their natural limits. His bones had endured tremendous stress, and the blood he had lost was placing an increasing burden on his body.

Even if his injuries began healing, the exhaustion wouldn’t disappear overnight.

His recovery abilities were impressive, but they weren’t limitless.

Not even Victor could simply shrug off the consequences of a battle like this.

And Diana had no intention of letting him pretend otherwise once he woke up.

For now, though, she could only do what she could.

She adjusted her grip again, making sure his weight rested comfortably against her. One hand remained behind his back while the other supported him near his uninjured shoulder.

Victor didn’t stir.

His head rested against her, his long black hair brushing against her arm.

Diana looked down at him.

For all his strength, all his confidence, and all the times he had stood before enemies who should have been able to crush him, he looked painfully vulnerable like this.

It was an unfamiliar sight.

And one she never wanted to see again.

She brushed a stray lock of hair away from his forehead. Her fingers lingered there for a moment before she pulled her hand back.

Then she leaned closer, lowering her voice so that only he could hear.

"Don’t you dare die on me now," she muttered.

Her words sounded almost irritated, but the hand supporting his back tightened slightly.

"After all that trouble, you’d better wake up."

Victor remained silent.

Diana stared at his face, waiting for even the smallest response.

Nothing came.

She swallowed the uneasiness rising in her chest and continued channeling her mana into him.

The healer would arrive soon.

Until then, she wasn’t going to let him go.

Her voice was low enough that it almost disappeared into the silence.

Victor didn’t respond.

His head rested against her arm, and his breathing remained shallow but steady.

Diana looked at his face for another moment.

"Honestly, you really know how to give people a headache."

There was a faint trace of exasperation in her voice, though it did little to hide her concern.

She shook her head and continued channeling mana into his body.

For now, that was all she could do.

She would keep him stable until Evelyne returned with a healer. Once someone with the proper skills arrived, they could deal with the more serious injuries.

At least, that had been her plan.

Then Victor’s fingers twitched.

Diana immediately noticed.

She lowered her eyes to his hand, watching as his fingers moved again.

A moment later, his breathing changed.

His eyelids trembled.

Slowly, Victor opened his eyes.

The familiar golden color emerged beneath the strands of black hair hanging across his face.

For several seconds, he stared blankly at the cavern ceiling.

His consciousness returned in pieces.

The world around him seemed distant and strangely quiet. His thoughts were sluggish, and he struggled to make sense of where he was.

Then the pain arrived.

His shoulder throbbed first.

A second later, he felt the ache in his ribs, followed by the soreness spreading through his arms, legs, and back. Even his head hurt, as though someone had struck him repeatedly with a hammer.

Victor drew a slow breath through his nose.

What a mess.

He tried to move his fingers.

They responded.

Good.

He shifted his attention inward, checking his condition as his thoughts gradually cleared. His body felt heavy, and his strength was nowhere near its usual level, but he could still move.

That was enough.

Victor exhaled and began to sit up.

Diana immediately noticed what he was doing.

"Victor, wait—"

He paid little attention to her warning.

With a small effort, he pushed himself upright and pulled away from her support. His legs trembled when he tried to stand, forcing him to pause for half a second.

Then he steadied himself.

Blood was still trickling from several wounds, staining his already damaged clothes. His body protested almost every movement, but Victor’s expression remained remarkably calm.

He raised both hands.

Then his fingers began moving.

One pressure point.

Then another.

He tapped several precise locations across his body, each movement deliberate despite the exhaustion weighing on him. His fingers followed a familiar sequence, targeting the points responsible for controlling the flow of blood.

It took only a few moments.

The bleeding gradually stopped.

Victor lowered his hands and closed his eyes.

Next came his Zenith Aura.

He circulated it through his body, guiding the golden energy into his muscles, bones, and internal organs. The familiar power responded to his will, moving through him in a steady current.

But he wasn’t finished.

Victor drew upon his mana as well.

The two powers began circulating together, intertwining as they spread throughout his body. His Zenith Aura reinforced the damaged areas while the mana supported the recovery process.

The effects appeared almost immediately.

The smaller cuts across his arms began closing. Damaged tissue gradually repaired itself, and the bruising beneath his skin started to fade. The pain in his muscles eased as the accumulated damage slowly disappeared.

Victor remained still for a few moments, concentrating on the process.

Then he opened his eyes.

Diana watched him without saying a word.

She had seen Victor recover from injuries that would have left most people incapacitated for days. She had witnessed his absurd resilience often enough that she should have grown accustomed to it by now.

Yet somehow, it never became any less ridiculous.

Just moments ago, he had been lying unconscious in her arms, covered in blood and barely able to maintain a steady breath.

Now he was standing on his own and repairing his injuries as though he were dealing with an inconvenient scratch.

Diana stared at him.

Does this man even understand what it means to be seriously injured?

Victor, naturally, seemed completely unconcerned with her thoughts.

He rolled his left shoulder once.

Then he rolled it again, testing the movement.

He flexed his fingers, turned his wrists, and carefully moved his neck from side to side. After that, he checked his ribs, taking a deeper breath to see whether the lingering pain interfered with his breathing.

It didn’t.

His vision had cleared, his breathing was stable, and most of the damage to his body had already been repaired.

He could move properly again.

Almost.

Victor lowered his gaze toward his right shoulder.

The missing chunk of flesh was still there.

Unlike the smaller wounds, it hadn’t regenerated. The surrounding tissue had begun recovering, but the damage itself remained far too severe to disappear within such a short period.

He stared at the injury for a moment, his golden eyes narrowing slightly.