Am I a Healer? You'd Better Think So!-Chapter 71: Blood And Life

At the start of that day, Celestia Academy was buzzing with activity. It was a special day — a bunch of Spiritual Guardians were returning to their Summoners, and new Summoners were also being chosen.

Basically, every month, a big group would come back while another fresh batch arrived. But only once a year, all the planets in the Divine Protection Universe send their new Spiritual Guardians.

In theory, it was just supposed to be a busier day than usual. But this time, something was different. Hundreds of the most powerful Spiritual Guardians were all returning at once.

The reason was simple: eleven months ago, Celestia Academy had sent out a message through those who'd be heading home. And that message was shocking — a Risen Lord had been killed in an extremely bloody internal battle.

The info came from a powerful figure blessed with memory-reading abilities. He'd looked into the minds of some high-ranking Risen and discovered that several Risen Lords had been seriously injured during that fight.

At first, one of them seemed close to death, and the others teamed up to finish him off. But something unknown happened. The execution suddenly turned into a free-for-all war.

In the end, the wounded Risen Lord died quickly. But the others kept going at each other until two more fell. The survivors ran, badly injured.

Of course, it wasn't just the Risen Lords who fought. They brought their strongest soldiers — and about two-thirds of them were wiped out. Meaning, the Risen Lords who ruled the universe were now seriously weakened, both in numbers and power.

It was a once-in-history moment. As soon as the Spiritual Guardians heard about it, they called a massive meeting — and now, they were coming back to this universe all at once.

This was the perfect time to strike back hard. And for the Spiritual Guardians, a golden chance to rack up Merit Points.

Without wasting time, a high-level meeting was called at Celestia Academy.

In a massive hall, hundreds of Summoners and Spiritual Guardians listened to a full report on the state of the universe.

"In the closest galaxy, the core of Divine Dragon Academy is still intact. Not even a Risen Lord can destroy it, and we confirmed that through the memories of some Risen," said a woman with a pair of red wings.

"If we manage to invade that planet and fully reactivate the academy's core, the sacred power of the Divine Dragon will purge all Risen from the planet. A temporary barrier will also rise, blocking further invasions. Then, we can use the link between the academies to go there directly."

People nodded, understanding. In the past, there had been 101 academies in that universe, one in each galaxy. Among them, six stood out as the biggest and most powerful — built around cores left by the Divine Dragon and Elfield.

Three of those academies had Divine Dragon cores, the other three had Elfield's. Besides tons of benefits and unique techniques, those cores massively boosted the Mannaz, letting them strengthen their bloodlines and use way more powerful skills. Let's not forget that the Mannaz are the living beings who were not summoners. A summoner who loses his Spiritual Guardian is also considered a Mannaz again.

Back then, thanks to those cores, a Mannaz could grow strong enough to fight side-by-side with a Spiritual Guardian, evolving together. Sure, there was a limit, but Mannaz weren't seen as some weak link that needed to be protected at all costs.

Nowadays, though, all six of the main academies and their galaxies had been taken by the Risen. The once mediocre Celestia Academy and its galaxy had become the only ones left standing.

"With the enemies this weak, if we can take that fortress back, we can expand the territory around the academy. Reclaiming that galaxy before the Risen Lords recover is totally possible. This is the biggest chance we've ever had," the red-winged woman went on, clearly trying to keep her excitement in check.

A Spiritual Guardian that looked like a massive white tiger spoke up:

"We can't count on luck. We need a flawless strike — that's why we spent months planning. It'll be done in three waves. Everyone agreed on the plan."

The academy members nodded quietly. Then a Spiritual Guardian who looked like a small flaming phoenix added:

"One-third of the strongest will come each month. In the first wave, we hit the galaxy and push them back. Second wave, we move in on the planet and lock it down. Third wave, we go all-in — because there's a good chance the wounded Risen Lords will show up to defend it."

The Mannaz got it. Over in the Universe of Heaven's Will, as soon as the news hit, the major planets gathered to organize the best possible offensive. Earth, though — just a level 2 planet — didn't have any empires invited to join. They'd just follow orders.

"We've got no time to waste. In three days, we strike. And we can't mess up. There are a lot of weak Risen out there who'll just drain our energy to kill. So summon every Summoner and their partners from across the universe," the white tiger finished, his voice dry.

The red-winged Mannaz nodded:

"We already started prepping a few days ago. Unfortunately, sacrifices have to be made. To make sure this galaxy doesn't get hit while we're attacking, we've moved all non-Summoner Mannaz to the galaxy's defensive lines."

Everyone nodded again. Since the stronger Risen are fewer and wounded, they'd likely just send the weak ones to keep the pressure on this galaxy.

But even those weaker ones — could regular Mannaz really stop them? Probably not.

But in a whole galaxy, the number of Mannaz was huge; they all had divine bloodlines and could fight. If ten of them sacrificed themselves, they could take down one mid-level Risen — among the weaker ones, at least.

That way, the defensive lines could be held temporarily under control. The regular Mannaz would literally use their blood and lives to protect the place, while the Spiritual Guardians went on the offensive.

After everything was discussed, the call was made, and everyone started getting ready for the big, historic battle. The three days ahead would be for prep, but also to wait for the new Spiritual Guardians who were just returning from their trials. They needed some initial support and, in the final days, would join the galaxy's defensive lines to train and help the locals.

The Mannaz already stationed on the frontlines had been in place and training even before the arrival of the new batch of powerful Spiritual Guardians. Everyone knew they were going to die there — but no one backed down. Not at a moment like this.

In the southern region of the galaxy...

On a planet almost entirely covered in miasma, right on the first line of defense.

A lone, slender figure roared and attacked in a near-frenzy.

She was covered in green scales, now almost entirely stained with her own blood. She fought non-stop, killing day after day, with no rest.

She was a Summoner who had lost her partner, but still refused to stop fighting. In her mind, there was only one reason left to live:

'I have to fight and save your world. All the innocent blood spilled by your hands can't have been for nothing!'

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But reality was harsh. A simple Mannaz couldn't even beat an above-average Risen. She knew that, but didn't back off. She'd rather die fighting than just stand around.

"DIE!"

*Crack!*

Purple blood rained down from the sky. In that moment, after slicing a Risen in half mid-air, the muscles and scales of that Dragoness locked up...

She'd been fighting the whole time, doing her best not to get hit or poisoned. But there were too many enemies, and some of them were smart enough to set traps.

Her eyes turned purple, and a maddening fury started taking over her mind. The end of her fight was near — the life inside her was draining away, eaten up by corruption.