SSS-Ranked Surgeon In Another World: The Healer Is Actually OP! - Chapter 236: Standing After Oblivion...

Chapter 236: Standing After Oblivion…

That had been too close.

Meddling with a soul like that, an awakened, complete SSS-ranked existence, was not something one walked away from casually. If not for Bane’s soul resisting from within, acting as an anchor and a second blade pressing against Adoni’s control, Bruce knew the outcome could have easily been reversed.

The one who would have shattered. Would have been him.

Bruce straightened slowly, still breathing hard.

Beside him, Bane did the same.

For a brief moment, neither spoke. They simply stood there in the ruined battlefield, two figures catching their breath, shoulders rising and falling in quiet synchrony. In that instant, the age gap between them vanished entirely. There was no senior and junior, no patriarch and outsider, just two men who had survived a battle that should have killed them both.

Bane was the first to break the silence.

He turned his head slightly and looked at Bruce.

“…Thank you,” he said quietly.

The words were simple, but they carried weight far beyond them.

Bruce glanced at him, then let out a soft breath and gave a faint smile.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he replied casually. “If I were in your place, I’d hope someone would do the same. Besides… we’re family now, aren’t we?”

Bane froze.

For a second, he simply stared at Bruce, as if the words hadn’t fully registered. Then he exhaled slowly and turned his head away. His expression tightened, just for an instant, before he lifted a hand and brushed at his eye.

A single tear slid down unnoticed.

He wiped it away casually, as though it were nothing, and let out a quiet sigh.

’I’ve finally avenged your death, Lyra…’

His chest felt lighter than it had in years. Joy, quiet, profound, overwhelming, settled deep within his heart. And with it came gratitude. Not just for surviving, but for the man standing beside him. He couldn’t help but feel relieved, no, glad, that Sophie had met someone like Bruce. Someone who had already done more for the Reign family than words could properly express.

Bane turned back and extended his hand.

Bruce accepted it without hesitation.

Their handshake was firm, steady, grounded.

“Thank you once again,” Bane said sincerely. “The Reign family forces were thoroughly thinned out by this invasion. And with my pride stopping me from seeking outside help… I would have woefully failed if not for your interference.”

He paused, gaze lowering slightly.

“Looking back now, my actions in the past were… unreasonable. My judgment was clouded the moment I recognized those familiar fodder beasts, the same ones that accompanied the Labyrinth invasion ten years ago.”

Bruce shook his head lightly.

“None of that matters now,” he said calmly. “You did what you thought was right at the time. What matters is that you’re still here… and they’re not.”

Bane nodded slowly.

“With Adoni’s soul gone, and this Labyrinth claimed… we can only hope they have no way of coming back.”

Bruce let out a quiet sigh of relief. Just Adoni alone had pushed him to the brink. The thought of facing the other two made his head ache. He didn’t want to imagine what that fight would have looked like.

At Bane’s silent command, the SSS-ranked Labyrinth Will responded.

Space warped gently and the two of them vanished from the devastated battlefield.

When they reappeared in Velmora, the atmosphere felt entirely different. The tension that had weighed on them earlier was gone, replaced by a calm that felt almost surreal. They spoke as they walked, nothing formal, nothing heavy. Just conversation. About the battle. About mistakes. About the future. It felt less like a discussion between powerful figures and more like two friends talking after surviving something unforgettable.

Eventually, Bane stopped and looked at Bruce with a faint smile.

“You should go,” he said. “Sophie must be waiting for you. After everything that’s happened… she deserves to see you safe.”

Bruce smiled.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “You’re probably right.”

With that, he turned and headed off, leaving Bane standing there, watching his back, his heart strangely warm.

As Bruce moved, he took the chance to study his own soul with Life Glance. The image formed clearly in his perception, smooth, whole, radiant. The cracks left behind by Adoni’s soul pressure were gone, completely erased, as if they had never existed. A moment later, a familiar notification surfaced before his eyes.

[You’ve gained immunity to Adoni’s Soul Pressure.]

Bruce let out a quiet breath and smiled to himself. Relief washed through him, slow and steady, easing tension he hadn’t fully realized he was still carrying. Without wasting another second, he increased his speed, heading straight toward Sophie’s place, the spot where he had dropped her earlier.

The remaining breakout beasts Vaelith had been moving to cull were in a different region of Reignland. Sophie’s area had been untouched.

He arrived in just a few seconds.

Sophie was already there, standing right in front of her house as if she had been waiting the entire time. When Bruce stopped, his gaze softened instinctively. Even after everything he’d just endured, the sight of her made the world feel lighter. She smiled brightly and waved at him, her presence alone washing away the remnants of exhaustion clinging to his soul.

Before he could say a word, Sophie stepped forward.

Her hands rose to his chest, steadying him, and then she leaned in and kissed him.

It was warm and unhurried, filled with quiet reassurance. Her lips pressed against his with a softness that carried relief, affection, and something deeper, an unspoken understanding of everything he had just faced. Bruce felt the tension finally leave his body as he returned the kiss, his hand resting at her waist, holding her close as if grounding himself through her presence.

When she pulled back, her smile was gentle.

She leaned close and whispered against his ear, “Thanks for the help…”

Bruce exhaled softly, his forehead resting briefly against hers.

“Come,” she said next, her tone light but caring. “You need a bath. We both do.”