Chapter 149: Demon Disease, Again (4)

When do you think a person loses their childlike innocence?

The day you realize the tragic truth that the Santa Claus who visited every Christmas was actually your uncle?

The day you realize the myth that your pet puppy went ahead to wait for you was actually a lie?

The day you realize the New Year's money your mom said she’d save and give you later was used on stocks?

No.

At least for me, my childlike innocence wasn't broken by things like that.

Of course, the day I realized my New Year's money was spent on stocks during my senior year of high school, I lost my mind and protested to my parents,

but that didn't become the reason my childlike innocence was broken.

Since those stocks were from a semiconductor company, I even kissed my parents' feet later on.

My first childlike innocence was maintained for a longer time than others.

Until I walked the path of a surgeon, falling in love once with the image of a surgeon in a drama, and once more with the Advising Professor who covered up my mistakes,

I was a person who valued a child's romance more than an adult's profit.

I even protected my childlike innocence after going to the military, which can be called the grave of childlike innocence.

Others say their childlike innocence is broken by the absurdities of their predecessors in the military, but a military doctor doesn't experience such things......

The incident that caused someone like me to lose my childlike innocence.

It was due to none other than unpaid wages.

'He definitely said he would buy me something delicious.'

The Advising Professor clearly said he would buy me something delicious during the summer vacation, so I followed him.

When I opened my eyes, I was in the middle of an overseas disaster site.

— "Advising Professor."

— "What is it, punk."

— "How in the world does this place look like a 3-star Michelin restaurant?"

— "The meal you eat after saving people is 3-star. What else would be 3-star?"

— "Excuse me, but would it be alright if I cursed to your face?"

— "I am your Advising Professor."

After that day, The Little Prince living in my heart ended up wearing a red headband.

From that day on, the boy who lost his childlike innocence learned how to make legitimate demands and calculations.

— "If I leave, no Trauma Surgery juniors will come in for the next 10 years, can you handle that?"

— "......I'll let you cut a steak before we return to Korea."

— "Nice."

Even that ended up being mocked once more by the dirty and nasty tricks of an adult.

Fuck, I didn't know the steak meant an In-flight Hamburg steak.

In the end, on the airplane returning to Korea, The Little Prince became Captain Hook.

......The Little Prince is the kid who lives in Neverland, right?

Anyway.

The process of a person breaking the childlike innocence they cherished and accepting reality is quite difficult.

Admitting that life doesn't flow the way one thinks is even harder.

That is why I could only watch Freya's late adolescence from afar and quietly cheer her on.

Of course, if I were an exemplary adult, I would neatly break that childlike innocence with perfect logic.

'Poetic justice? That's nice. But reality is too dark for that.'

That reality is not like that.

That your abilities are insufficient to do so.

But I was not like that.

I was hoping that Freya's noble ideals would not be broken.

Even if she gets hurt, fades, and becomes tattered in the process.

I hoped that conviction would continue.

That is why I waited for her.

Instead of breaking her ideals, hoping this would serve as tempering to make her conviction even stronger.

Two months passed like that.

As the sweltering summer passed,

And the second semester of the Academy Territory approached.

An incident occurred.

"Older Brother. You surely have a treatment method for this Hero, right?"

"......I do, but for now, there is a possibility of failure. The magic side has not yet reached completion."

An incident where her conviction finally shone.

***

Two months since the storm of late adolescence hit Freya.

She had silently received arcane magic from Count Barlot during the Summer Vacation.

During those two months, she was able to achieve an astonishing accomplishment.

"Young Lady Nihilrit. By any chance, is the Nihilrit family a branch family of ours?"

"It is not."

"Then how can you absorb our family's Secret Technique so well? If you weren't a young lady of a Viscount Family, I would have immediately adopted you as our family's adopted daughter."

The compatibility between Freya and the Barlot Family's Arcane Magic was astonishing.

To the point where in just two months, she reached a level of accomplishment similar to the Nihilrit Family's Secret Technique she had honed for half her life.

This was because the talent needed for the Nihilrit Family had excellent synergy with the Barlot Family's Secret Technique.

"Didn't you say a listening ear is important in your family? Seeing as perception is important in our family, it seems it meshes well with your family's methods."

"It is all thanks to you, Count."

Freya bowed her head in farewell.

This was the final class.

Because Freya had to return to her studies.

"If there is anything lacking or if you have any questions, come ask anytime."

"Thank you for your goodwill, Count."

The day the final class with Count Barlot ended like that.

Freya walked on the road back to the Academy Territory as usual.

It was the tail end of summer.

Sunlight scattered by the Smog was laid out yellow over the paving blocks, and the cries of a Demonic Insect resembling a cicada leaked out from among the ivy.

Technically, this Demonic Insect was classified as a Demonic Beast.

However, it only cried all night and masked the sounds of approaching Demonic Beasts; its own threat level was zero.

This was also why the Academy's Barrier didn't bother filtering out this Demonic Beast.

However, separate from its threat level, the dormitory students would burn with hatred and kill these cicada-like Demonic Beasts because they cried at night.

But since they were hard to find near the Mansion where Freya lived, she didn't bother going through the trouble of catching these cicadas.

There was also the fact that if that cicada decided to flee, the effort of chasing it down was much greater.

Pow!

At that moment, a Magic Bullet was fired toward the cicada's cry.

The Demonic Insect was split into dozens of pieces and fell into the flowerbed before it could even react.

Freya turned her head in the direction the Magic Bullet was fired from.

At the end of her gaze, an old guard was waving his hand at her.

"Have a good afternoon, Young Lady."

"I hope you have a good afternoon as well, Elder."

It was a face she passed by every day.

The students did not know the name of that old guard.

Most only knew that he always stood in the same spot, guarding the front door in the same posture.

Other students did not really look at him.

They merely considered him, standing rooted in the shade next to the front door, as a part of the scenery.

But Freya offered a greeting every time.

It was because she knew not only this old man's name but also his past history inside and out.

'Lord Inel is dignified even as he ages.'

Inel, Hero of the Spear.

He was a Hero who was active about 30 years ago.

An ill-fated Hero who contracted Demon Disease and retired right after making a name for himself, before he could fully engrave his face into the minds of the public.

The reason Freya knew all about even such a Hero was, naturally, due to her hobby.

'Is it because he was active in the bug-infested Southern Region? The finesse of his Magic Bullet is extraordinary.'

She was just passing the front door after greeting the old guard as usual.

"......Um, Elder?"

"What is it, Young Lady?"

"Does...... your stomach...... Does it hurt a lot?"

Freya's gaze headed to the old man's abdomen.

It was because an unusual sound could be heard from there.

It was a sound she heard often.

It was a sound frequently heard from Erika's stomach when she drank milk that had gone bad enough to smell like yogurt, proudly claiming it was just fermentation with an imposing manner.

Or it was a sound she could hear from peers who drank too many potions.

Gurgle—

However, the sound coming from the old man's stomach was even worse than that.

It was at a level where she wondered if his bowels were twisting.

Only then could Freya see that the old man's complexion was bad.

Normally it was earth-toned, but right now he was sweating cold sweat and looked slightly pale.

There was one more strange point here.

His posture was somewhat awkward for a former Hero.

In the end, Freya couldn't ignore the strangeness and asked directly.

"Elder. By any chance, if you have an upset stomach......"

"Ah, you don't have to worry, Young Lady. I recently had surgery from the Lord Saint. The Lord Saint also said my digestion might be somewhat reduced......"

But the old man couldn't finish his words.

The old man grabbed his stomach and stumbled.

His posture completely collapsed, and he stood slanted, leaning on his spear.

The cold sweat on his forehead poured down like a waterfall, and his lips trembled without a trace of blood, reminiscent of a Bloodfiend.

"......Elder?"

The moment Freya took a step forward.

Thump.

The spear fell first, and the old man collapsed right after.

"Elder!"

A fishy smell suddenly wafted out.

Freya knew that smell.

She found it difficult to describe that smell accurately.

But she could instinctively tell.

The smell of death.

The smell mixed with blood and stool that a dying life gives off.

It was her first time smelling this, but she could tell it was that kind of smell without anyone explaining.

She looked at the old man.

The old man's lower garments were getting soaked dark red.

Regardless of his will, he was pouring his own blood into his pants.

Veins bulged on the back of the old man's hand as he clutched his abdomen.

"Urgh......"

The old man couldn't even let out a proper groan.

Freya did not hesitate.

She lifted and hoisted the old man onto her back.

Her body, honed by Magical Power, effortlessly took on the old man's weight.

"Just hold on a little longer."

Freya ran without hesitation toward the nearest Infirmary.

She didn't really need a reason.

Because no reason was necessary when helping someone, especially when helping someone who had performed good deeds.

*

Freya, bursting through the doors of the Meyer Clinic, shouted.

"We have a Patient! Fecal incontinence accompanied by severe hematochezia!"

She shouted in the Briefing format she learned over her Older Brother's shoulder.

At the word hematochezia, the Healers in white Priest's Robes instinctively raised their heads.

This was because hematochezia severe enough to be rushed to the Emergency room was one of the super-emergencies where every second counts.

One of them approached to examine the old man but paused.

"......This person is......"

The Healer looked back and forth between the old man's earth-toned face and his lower garments soaked dark red.

The Healer's facial expression was consequently dyed in a dark hue.

And from between those lips, a cruel sentence dropped.

"We cannot treat him."

"What?! Why?!"

"He is a Demon Disease Patient."

At that single statement, the air in the busy Infirmary sank.

Everyone's gazes pierced into the old man.

It was due to their curiosity being stirred by the words Demon Disease.

The Healer tending to Freya gestured to the others.

It was a warning meant to say that a Patient was not a spectacle.

The Healers dropped their heads, feeling shame for their barbaric curiosity.

Afterward, the Healer who tended to Freya spoke.

"This person is someone we performed Surgery on a few months ago."

"Ah, I heard. The Lord Saint performed Surgery on him."

"Yes. That's correct."

The Healer took off their Eyeglasses and pressed down on their eyelids.

"He is a Demon Disease Patient, someone the Lord Saint performed Bowel resection surgery on, saying there was currently no way to treat it."

"Then did the Surgery scar burst?"

"That might be the case."

The Healer let out a deep sigh.

"However, it will be difficult to cast Healing Magic on him."

"......Because it's Demon Disease."

"Yes. That's correct."

Demon Disease.

A disease that should be cured by Divine Magic, but instead worsens as it devours Divine Power.

Freya also knew the horrors of this disease better than anyone.

Because it was none other than the disease she herself had contracted.

"Originally, we would attempt Bowel reconstruction surgery using Divine Magic after the Bowel resection surgery, but...... we couldn't even do that because he is a Demon Disease Patient."

The attending Healer knew the horrors of this disease even better than Freya did.

In a standard Bowel resection surgery, using Greater Heal well can restore the excised bowel to some extent.

Trauma Patients often have their internal organs restored in such a manner later on.

However, even this is a Taboo for a Demon Disease Patient.

This was because in a past Experiment using a Pig, it was confirmed that casting Heal on a Demon Disease Patient causes a Recurrence of the disease in the excised bowel.

In the end, the only thing even the Saint could do for this Patient was to cut out his bowel.

"Lay him down for now. In that corner over there. We should be able to administer a Painkiller."

"The treatment is......"

"At that time, we cut out half of his large intestine. If he undergoes Surgery again this time...... Even before that, it's a Doubt whether he can withstand it given his age."

Freya dropped her head.

It was because she had faced the limits of Reality again.

Beyond that, her own powerlessness felt like it was gouging her heart out.

Someone might ask this.

Why are you grieving so much for this old man, who is just a passing Guard?

But Freya had a good reason.

'If the ending of a Hero is like this...... That shouldn't be right.'

A fitting reward for the good.

A fitting punishment for the evil.

To her, who had lived pursuing that conviction, this Reality was far too absurd.

'A way to treat this person......'

She was sinking into a Sense of powerlessness once again just like that.

"I apologize, Student. We will call the Lord Saint, but there's likely nothing we can do on our end......"

The moment she heard the Healer's words, one person's face flashed through her mind.

The Black Saint won't do.

But...... what if it's him?

"......Wait a minute."

Freya laid the old man on a bed and stood up from her seat.

Perhaps if it were her Older Brother.

If it were Professor Yulian.

It might be difficult for the Saint, the Symbol of Divine Magic, but if it were Yulian, the Symbol of Black magic,

Just as he had done for her, couldn't he save this person with Black magic?

Harboring that small hope, Freya immediately rushed out of the Meyer Clinic.

A few minutes after that.

"Older Brother. Have you made any progress in your Demon Disease Research by any chance?"

Freya visited Yulian's Laboratory, where he was efficiently working the new Graduate student he had obtained a few months ago.

Yulian welcomed Freya, who had shown up out of nowhere, without panicking.

"The Triage for Demon Disease is roughly finished. I plan to disclose it together once the Treatment Method reaches Completion. But what's the matter?"

"About that......"

Freya explained how she had somehow moved the old man to the Infirmary.

Having finished her explanation, she looked up at Yulian with bright eyes and said.

"Older Brother. You surely have a Treatment Method for this Hero, right?"

"......I do, but for now, there is a possibility of Failure. The Magic side has not yet reached Completion."

It was an answer that would normally make someone give up.

But Freya didn't give up just yet and said.

"Then how much progress has been made on the Magic Research?"

"The Catalyst has reached Completion."

Yulian said as he glanced at the room where the former Black Sorcerer Graduate student was locked up.

"Because a rather excellent Assistant came in."

Anyway, the remaining work in the Steroid Research was selecting Mold and Yam for Mass Production.

That labor was so heavily Manual labor-intensive that it was taking some time, but if limited to small-scale production rather than Mass Production, it was still enough.

In terms of quantity, it was enough to attempt the Demon Disease treatment about 4 times.

The problem, however, was the Magic side.

"I have Completed the Catalyst and crafted the Runic formula to some extent, but I haven't been able to prepare the Symbol and Chant yet."

Creating a Black magic Runic formula to use in tandem with the Steroid was even more difficult.

He was working hard to Exchange ideas with his Teacher, the Great Sage, from afar to create the Runic formula, but

Because it was a completely new Magic that didn't exist at all and whose Idea was entirely novel, the progress of development was very slow.

"It's unfortunate for that Patient, but the treatment will be difficult."

"Why is that?"

"He is a Crohn's Disease Patient. If it's to the point of getting Hematochezia after Surgery, his responsiveness to Steroids won't be that good."

If he were to make a cold Calculation, it was a waste to use the still precious Steroid for that old man.

In his eyes, it was better to treat someone he could definitely save.

Because Yulian's Conviction was always like that.

"To me, the people who can be saved are more important."

"......Then what if you, Older Brother, use that medicine as a Catalyst to cast the Magic you used on me?"

"Well......"

Yulian thought.

In truth, the reason the Steroid was reduced to 4 doses was because of the instability of this Magic.

He had attempted the Magic several times during the development period, but the Magic's Success probability was not even 10%.

'Even I don't know the Variable, you see.'

He had tried the method he used on Freya countless times already.

Using the same Variables and the same Symbolic objects for everything.

He even wondered if he should believe in Feng Shui, so he went as far as attempting it at the same location over the Weekend, borrowing the brass Holy Symbol used by Ayla's Mother.

But even after doing so, the Success rate showed no Indication of rising above 10%.

Even that was the result of maximizing the Success rate after continuous Improvement.

As the initial Success rate was barely 5%.

'Was it a Miracle that I cured Freya, I wonder.'

Anyway, the point was that even if he used Magic, the probability of Success in treating the old man was extremely low.

"There are still too many unstable elements in the Magic to even enter Clinical Trials. It's difficult to control the intensity, and there's a risk of turning it into a state of Immunodeficiency if we make a mistake."

"......"

"Do you still want me to treat him?"

"......Yes."

Freya nodded.

"I think a Reward must follow a good person, and a Hero must always meet a happy Ending......"

"Wait a minute."

At that moment, Yulian cut her words off.

He suddenly checked the Runic formula he had been Researching, and then said to Freya.

"Could you say that again?"

"Do you mean the part about a Reward having to follow a good person?"

"Yes! That was it!"

Yulian grabbed Freya's Shoulder and cheered.

"Why couldn't I think of that. Pity and Mercy are emphasized even in Divine Magic, so why was I leaving that out in this Healing Magic."

Countless Variables flashed through Yulian's mind.

Among them, there was one Variable he had been overlooking until now.

That was pity.

— "I apologize, Lord Saint. We cannot treat this person."

Even Healers couldn't cast Divine Magic on a Criminal they couldn't pity,

There was no reason for Black magic aimed at treating Demon Disease to be an Exception.

Seeing as will is an important element in Magic in the first place.

'Unlike with Freya, I didn't have any Desperation when I was Researching.'

That was the cause.

Filled with conviction, Yulian grabbed Freya's hand and dashed out of the Laboratory.

Freya could have resisted that delicate touch.

Because Yulian's muscle strength was just that weak.

But instead of resisting, she relaxed her body and let herself be led by his touch.

It was because she felt like she knew the meaning behind him suddenly rushing outside.

While getting into the car Perisia had started the engine for, Yulian spoke in a slightly excited voice.

"Your Words are right, Freya. A Hero is meant to have a fitting happy Ending."

"If so......"

"This time, your method was truly the Correct Answer."

Yulian looked at Freya and smiled brightly.

"I told you. This is why a conversation is needed."