Reincarnated as a Healer : Why are my powers so filthy?
Chapter 54: bravado

Chapter 54: bravado

Even Terya was starting to look uneasy, but she maintained her bravado for Leon.

Zara marched ahead, her massive axe thudding against her back, her silver hair tied in a rough tail, her shoulders trembling beneath the strain.

She staggered, one hand bracing against a tree, its red veins pulsing under her touch, and her knees buckled, her breath hitching.

The curse marks along her thigh and hip flared—glowing a molten red through torn cloth and sweat-slicked bandages, brighter than before, spiraling like living flames.

Leon rushed to her side without thinking, his pack sliding slightly. "Zara—"

"I’m fine," she snapped, her voice tight with pain, her blue eyes sharp but strained. "Just keep going."

She wasn’t fine.

She was burning up.

Leon dropped beside her, his hand hesitating above the seared flesh of her leg.

"I’m going to try again. Hold still," he said, his voice steady despite the unease in his gut.

"Tch... do I have a choice?" Zara muttered, her jaw clenching, her hand gripping the tree tighter.

His palm met her skin—hot, almost scalding, the curse humming with malevolent power.

A jolt ran up his arm, like grabbing a live wire soaked in blood.

His wind magic, tied to Terya’s bond, flickered, but his core healing ability pushed through, a golden glow sputtering, then steadying under his fingers.

Zara let out a long, shaky breath, her muscles relaxing, the curse’s glow dimming slightly, enough to ease the pain.

She still had some holy water as backup which Leon denied her from drinking until an emergency.

Her blue eyes flicked to his, narrowed but unreadable, a spark of something beneath the pain.

"Don’t get used to touching me, kid," she said, her voice gruff but lacking its usual bite, a faint flush creeping across her cheek.

Leon tried not to smile, his face warming. "Too late."

Terya leaned against a branch, arms crossed, her smirk smug as she watched.

"He’s good with his hands, Zara," she chimed in, her green eyes glinting. "Give him a chance."

"I’ll give him a bruise if he keeps touching my thigh like it’s a love confession," Zara said, her tone dry, but she didn’t pull away, her flush deepening.

Leon cleared his throat, quickly pulling his hand back as the golden glow faded, hiding the faint burn on his palm. "Right. Professional. Totally professional."

"Keep your hands professional," Zara echoed, turning her head, but not fast enough to hide the faint smirk tugging at her lips.

Terya’s grin widened. "You’re blushing."

"Shut up," Zara snapped, her voice sharper but her eyes softer.

The forest’s whispering changed, growing louder, more rhythmic—not just wind through leaves, but a chant, deep, guttural, alien, pulsing in time with the trees’ red veins.

Terya reached for her knives, her smirk fading, her eyes sharp.

"It’s warning us," she said, her voice low. "Or taunting. Maybe both."

Zara straightened with a grimace, rolling her shoulder, her axe shifting.

"I hate talking trees," she muttered, her blue eyes scanning the mist.

Leon’s fingers twitched, his wind magic pooling faintly, sluggish under the Crimson Veil’s weight, like wading through tar.

"Whatever it is, it’s close," he said, his voice tense.

They pressed on, deeper into the maze of red and bone, the whispers following, the mist curling thicker.

Somewhere—just beyond the mist—a shadow moved, silent but heavy, its presence a blade in the air.

All of a sudden.

The forest was too quiet.

Their meager campfire—fueled by Leon’s struggling wind magic—crackled with weak life, its faint glow barely holding back the red mist that curled like tendrils around the blood-weeping trees.

The sap glistened like wet veins, the air thick with the stench of iron and rot.

Leon sat with his back to a log, clutching his reforged dagger, its blade glinting in the dim light, half-expecting it to snap in his grip.

Terya lounged near the fire, one leg propped, twirling a dagger on her finger, her leather top clinging tight to her sweat-slicked curves, a bead of sweat tracing her collarbone from the day’s march.

Her green eyes gleamed with a mix of alertness and mischief.

Zara sat apart, sharpening her massive axe in methodical strokes, the blade catching the firelight.

Her silver hair was tied back messily, her face unreadable, the curse marks on her thigh pulsing faintly beneath her torn leathers.

Then came the sound—not a growl, not a hiss, but a roar—wet, deep, guttural, like the forest itself had vomited a demon.

The red mist split like torn fabric, and shadow-beasts lunged from the darkness—twisted, multi-limbed creatures, their flesh shifting like smoke, eyes burning like coals.

Their movements defied logic—crawling, slithering, walking all at once, their forms a writhing mass of shadow and bone.

"Here we go," Terya said, leaping to her feet, her voice sharp, excited, her knives flashing into her hands.

She was already moving, her cloak swaying, revealing the lean strength of her hips.

Leon stood, panic clutching his spine, his heart pounding.

He raised his hands, focusing, his wind magic flickering along his fingertips, sluggish under the Crimson Veil’s weight.

He cast—a spiraling arc surged forward, a weak gust that grazed a beast, barely scratching its smoky flesh.

The creature reeled, annoyed more than hurt, its coal eyes locking onto him.

"Why is this so creepy" Leon shouted, scrambling back as it lunged, its claws slashing the air.

Terya blurred into view, her daggers a storm of wind arcs, her movements fluid despite a beast’s claw tearing her leather top, slicing across one breast, revealing flushed skin beneath.

She didn’t flinch, her grin fierce as she flipped backward, her next arc severing a limb clean off, black ichor spraying.

"Don’t blink, hero," she said, sweat glistening on her collarbone, her green eyes sparkling. "You’ll miss the sexy part."

Zara moved like a thunderstorm, planting her feet, gritting her teeth, and swinging her axe with a force that shook the ground.

The blade cleaved through one beast’s chest, splitting it in half, black ichor spraying across her arms, steam hissing from her curse-lit skin.

"Keep up, kid!" she barked, her blue eyes flashing, her silver hair whipping as she turned to face another.