Chapter 59: A Most Aggressive Form of Healing

Just as everyone was rendered immobile by the pure, crushing pressure of death, and despair began to bloom like a black flower in their hearts…

A calm voice, laced with a hint of genuine curiosity, shattered the tomb-like silence of the church.

“Huh, so it actually works?” Celeste flexed her arms and legs with great interest, her posture completely relaxed and at ease.

The terrifying pressure that could instantly drain a top-tier Shield Warrior like Wang Lei and leave even a Paladin like Selene unable to lift a finger had absolutely no effect on her.

She could feel a passive skill stirring within her—the [Blessing of the Pink Fairy Lady]—continuously emitting a soft, gentle power that perfectly insulated her from the cold, profane necromantic aura flooding the chamber.

‘Seems like besides being a little obsessive about aesthetics, this blessing is pretty reliable when it counts,’ she thought, giving a certain pink elf a mental thumbs-up.

Her gaze then pierced through the stagnant air, landing squarely on the Necromancer in the stone coffin.

As she took a step forward, then another, closing the distance to the sarcophagus, an extreme sense of revulsion rose unbidden from the very depths of her soul.

It wasn’t fear.

It was more of a physiological disgust, like a germaphobe encountering a mountain of filth; it was the natural correction of chaos by Order.

More than anything, it was the ultimate rejection of the entity before her—a being that represented “evil” and “chaos”—emanating from someone blessed by Miss Pink Elf herself.

To put it in the bluntest terms her mind could conjure— ‘So gross…’ Celeste calmly analyzed the situation.

Everyone else was completely frozen; she was the only one who could move.

And the blessing she carried was clearly this thing’s natural enemy.

An extremely logical deduction instantly formed in her mind: if the passive effect was this potent, what about the active skills?

Without the slightest hesitation, she raised the pink staff in her hand, a weapon that looked like it was pulled straight from a magical girl anime.

‘Let’s test it.’ The thought was clear and firm.

A speck of warm, pink light ignited at the tip of her staff.

It was the most basic of skills for a Priest—a Healing Spell.

Yet, the moment that mote of pink light appeared, the tightly shut eyelids of the Necromancer sleeping in the stone coffin trembled violently.

“Sister!

Don’t!” Selene managed to squeeze the broken syllables from her throat with the last of her strength.

She could sense a terrifying energy brewing, an energy capable of destroying the entire Domain!

It was too late.

The speck of pink light drifted lazily from the tip of Celeste’s staff.

Its target was the pale, exquisitely beautiful cheek of the Necromancer, Farina.

Sizzle—!

There was no devastating explosion.

There was only a faint, melting sound, like a red-hot iron being plunged into a wisp of ethereal black mist.

That insignificant speck of pink light, the moment it made contact with the Necromancer’s body, became the final judgment that shattered the entire system of death.

Farina’s body churned and twisted violently like boiling ink.

She snapped her eyes open.

There were no pupils within those eyes, only two endless, dark green whirlpools.

And at this moment, those whirlpools contained nothing but utter shock, absurdity, and disbelief.

She opened her mouth, seemingly about to unleash a silent roar that could tear the heavens and the earth asunder.

But in the next second— Voom!

A pillar of pure white light, centered on the stone coffin, erupted toward the sky.

The pillar carried no heat.

It simply exploded outward, transforming into a purifying torrent that swept through the entire Domain.

That wasn’t light.

That was the pure concept of “purification” itself.

It was the absolute law that scoured away all “impurity” and “error,” now made manifest as an unstoppable tide.

Zhao Shihao, Wang Lei, Jiang Xue, Mo Chen…

The consciousness of every single examinee within the Domain was swallowed by the pure white light and forcibly expelled.

…

Linjiang City Examination Site, Preparation Area.

The three members of Zhao Shihao’s team stumbled out of the teleportation array, their eyes dull and their expressions dazed.

“How did we…

get out?” Zhao Shihao looked around.

This was, without a doubt, the examination site.

[Ding!

Settlement of exploration contribution for the Domain ‘Shadow of the Calamity’ in progress…] [Your team has obtained points: 5,000.] The notification from his bracelet only deepened his confusion.

…

Jiangning City Examination Site, Preparation Area.

Wang Lei and his teammates materialized out of thin air beside the benches in the rest area, startling the other examinees nearby.

“Captain?

Weren’t we…?” The Priest on his team wore a “who am I, where am I” expression.

Wang Lei ignored his teammate’s question, his eyes fixed on the prompt that had just appeared on his bracelet—their team had been awarded 4,500 points.

…

Jiangcheng City Examination Site, Preparation Area.

Mo Chen was leaning against a wall when Jiang Xue appeared beside him.

The two locked eyes, seeing the same unspoken question reflected in each other’s gaze: What just happened?

The only thing seared into Mo Chen’s mind was the image of that white light piercing through heaven and earth, and the memory of Celeste’s pink, almost joke-like “Healing Spell.” The notification of 4,300 points being credited to his bracelet felt incredibly hot against his skin.

…

At that exact moment, a broadcast echoed across the entire examination venue, reaching every site simultaneously: [Notice: The hidden Domain ‘Shadow of the Calamity’ has been cleared.

The Domain is now permanently closed.

Point rewards for all examinees who participated in the Domain exploration have been distributed.] …

Inside the church, it was empty.

Completely and utterly empty.

The grand cathedral that had been saturated with suffocating death energy just a moment ago was now as clean as if it had been washed with holy water a billion times over.

Even the air was crisp and fresh, like the world after a cleansing rain.

The blinding white light slowly faded.

Celeste blinked, her eyes taking a moment to adjust.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.

Zhao Shihao, Wang Lei, Mo Chen…

the teammates who had been fighting alongside them just moments ago were all gone.

In the entire church, only she and her sister, Selene, remained, staring at each other across the silent hall.

Celeste’s gaze finally fell upon the magnificent stone coffin.

It, too, was completely empty.

That impossibly beautiful and impossibly terrifying Necromancer had vanished.

Not even a speck of dust remained.

[Congratulations to examinees Celeste and Selene for perfectly clearing the Domain ‘Shadow of the Calamity’ and completing the final purification.] [Your team has obtained points: 16,000.] A series of prompts chimed from the sisters’ bracelets.

Simultaneously, a system notification sounded in Celeste’s mind: [Ding!

Detected that the Host has completed an unmatched achievement: “High School Examinee Purifying a Domain.” Rewards are being distributed…] [Reward: “Purified Pocket Church” x1 (Special spatial item, can be placed in the class storage space, cannot store living beings)] Celeste lowered her staff.

She looked at the stone coffin, which was now cleaner than a freshly washed basin, then down at the gorgeous pink staff in her hand.

An expression of deep, research-driven realization dawned on her face.

“So that’s how it is,” she muttered.

“This isn’t attribute suppression at all.

It’s aesthetic crushing!” ‘Miss Pink Elf is truly terrifying!”Still, with this “Purified Pocket Church,” it’ll be way more convenient to carry supplies into Domains from now on.’ Selene’s mouth hung open in a perfect “O.” She looked at the coffin, which was cleaner than the day it left the quarry, then at her sister’s look of sudden enlightenment.

She felt as if her entire worldview had been seized by an invisible giant hand, crumpled into a tight ball, and then carefully unfolded and smoothed out again.

She recalled that world-ending pillar of purifying light and then looked at her sister’s pure, flawless gaze.

Her brain, she decided, was simply not equipped to process this.

Meanwhile, after the initial surprise wore off, a chill quietly crept up Celeste’s spine.

She stared at her right hand, her expression growing a little stiff.

‘Wait a minute…

did my brain just short-circuit and make me casually toss a Healing Spell at a hidden final boss whose level I couldn’t even see?’ What if…

what if that hit wasn’t a purification, but a crit-heal that fully restored the boss’s health and slapped a berserk buff on her for good measure?

A chill even colder than the Necromancer’s deathly pressure shot up from her tailbone straight to the crown of her head.

Her back was suddenly slick with cold sweat.

This hand of hers was sometimes truly faster than her brain.

‘I definitely can’t be this reckless next time.’ …Probably.

[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story?

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