Chapter 421: The Hardest Problem

They went to the treatment room as Arnie put her down on the bed.

Auric was scanning everything from top to bottom. All he could find was an energy signature that wasn’t hers. It was chaotic and blinding.

In his eyes, it looked beautiful, but the more beautiful it looked, the more complex the situation was.

This body was a mess.

Even Auric couldn’t contain his frown despite knowing that maintaining a calm expression was the norm when dealing with a patient.

He never thought that this was the state of someone who managed to survive elemental turbulence. In fact, without proper care, it was normal for this person to die.

The Director seemed to have spared no effort in making sure that his daughter was all right.

“Do you have a solution? Can you treat her?” Arnie asked. While he planned to keep his promise, it wouldn’t change anything if Auric didn’t know how to treat her. In other words, if Auric just said no, Arnie would have fulfilled his promise. The result wasn’t what Arnie had originally expected.

Auric remained silent. Even Maya gestured for Arnie to shut up.

Auric was thinking, trying to figure out a solution. In a way, he thought that his chaos element would be useful for the treatment.

Still, he wanted to see the extent of the damage. If he used his power carelessly, he might end up making a mistake.

After ten minutes, Auric closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to rest his eyes. He let out a long sigh and turned to the others.

“What’s wrong? Is it impossible?” Arnie asked carefully.

“Well, I won’t be lying to you, but the situation is extremely complicated. Maybe it’s because her condition has gone untreated for so many years that it has gotten this bad.

“So, I will tell you the extent of her condition. As a result of the elemental turbulence, she is developing symptoms of magic poisoning. This is the same type of symptom you will get when you touch the ruins’ barriers.

“The energy is flooding into your body, and it will paralyze your body if left untreated.

“However, the true terror of elemental turbulence is the fact that your entire body is exposed to all those elements contained within the shock wave.

“That is why her entire body is in this state. That power has affected her brain, paralyzing it, which is most likely the cause of her coma.

“So, there are a total of three elements poisoning her body. If that’s the condition, I can easily solve this.

“However, the condition worsens because it has been treated for so long. This is more like a mutation. Something like cancer.”

“Cancer? Untreatable?” Arnie crossed his arms.

“Not exactly. I’m just saying it’s similar to cancer, but not cancer. All that energy is gradually mutating and starting to create accumulated energy. If that’s all, it will be similar to Mr. Jacob’s condition.”

“That’s true.” Supervisor Jacob nodded.

“However, because of the density of energy that the barrier contains, it mutates and forms an accumulation of multiple elements. You can imagine a sphere separated into three portions, with each portion containing one basic color. So, normally, you will have red, green, and blue energy streaming in your body.”

Arnie nodded in understanding.

“In her case, the dense energy from the barrier has mutated and caused the energy to fuse with each other.”

“Elemental Fusion?!” Arnie gasped. “An elemental fusion inside one’s body?”

Auric nodded with a serious expression. “That’s why I call it cancer. This meant the energy contains multiple elements, and you couldn’t do anything in a normal way. The only way to combat this is to either use an elemental fusion directly opposing this element or use a unique element that can break down such a thing.”

“Can you do it?” Arnie knew Auric had elemental fusion, so he thought there was a chance that Auric could treat her. After all, Auric hadn’t said anything about it being impossible.

Auric thought for a moment. “I’ll just be honest. I don’t know. Without trying, I can’t really answer that.”

“Well, you are probably the only one who thinks you have the chance to treat her in the world. So, just do it. Whatever happens will be my responsibility.” Arnie nodded with a serious expression.

“Got it.” Auric nodded. “The element lodged in her body is already spreading throughout it. It has left her paralyzed, so even if I remove the source of the problem, you will probably need a top level healer to stop the paralysis. Only then will she have a chance to wake up again. I mean, a chance. I’m not sure if she can wake up at all.”

“That will be fine. I have plenty of friends who are willing to take care of the healing process. The only problem right now is all that energy.”

“In that case…” Auric turned to Supervisor Jacob first.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me. Focus on treating her first. I can wait.” Jacob raised both hands, reassuring Auric.

“If you say so.” Auric nodded before smiling at everyone.

They were confused at first, but Maya simply grabbed both of their arms and started dragging them out. “Okay. Let’s leave and wait outside.”

“Oh!”

Once he was alone, Auric turned back to the woman and felt fascinated by those lights. ‘Lindwurm, are you seeing what I’m seeing?’

“I sure see all that energy.”

‘Now that I think about it, you’re using my own senses, right? Does that mean you can see the true form of magical energy?’

“Yes. The particles, right?”

‘You haven’t told me about it.’

“I’ve always told you that I’m sensing what you’re sensing. Sight is one of the five senses.” Lindwurm shrugged. “It’s bold of you to assume that I can’t see those particles.”

“…” Auric’s eyebrows twitched. ‘In that case, the Great Lindwurm should be able to figure out what I’m currently thinking, right?’

“Nope. You’ve gotten better at hiding your thoughts. Normally, I can read your thoughts because you are saying them in your mind, but I can’t exactly think what doesn’t actually flash in your mind. How do I say it? You’re getting better at thinking with an empty mind?”

‘That’s one way to say I’m out of my mind.’

“I don’t mean that, but I definitely want to say it. However, I will let you off by saying you’re thinking outside the box if you tell me what you’re thinking.”

Auric chuckled before saying, ‘Elemental fusion in the body. Don’t you think it’s possible now?’

“Elemental fusion in the body… What are you trying to do, exactly?”

‘I’m planning to fuse my elements into a single one. I’ve told you about this plan before. I’m not thinking about all of them. I’m talking about all the elements in every category. In other words, my element will have higher density and be closer to that of a barrier.’

“Well, yes. However, the ruins are supplying a huge amount of energy to the barrier. You don’t have such a thing, so if you want it to function exactly like the barrier, it’s going to be impossible.”

‘Fair point, but having a higher density means my power packs more punch. Besides, it will also camouflage all my elements. All they will know is that I have nine elements, not the Sun element, the Phoenix element, and so on and so forth.’

“That’s indeed possible. However, I don’t know if this is enough to do that.”

‘It’s not enough, but my dad told me that this person will provide a clue to a much larger problem in the world. In other words, I have to check the cause, which means I have to go to the collapsed ruins to figure out everything. And it might lead me to a clue about how to do a permanent elemental fusion.’ Auric grinned.

“That’s a good idea. Still, you’re not going anywhere for at least two months.”

‘I know.’

“Since you’ve such a thing in mind, it’s better for you to start.”

‘Right!’

Auric took a deep breath, examining the body once again. After knowing all the points he needed to focus on, he started with the woman’s right foot.

He grabbed her foot with both hands before channeling multiple elements into it. He wanted to try multiple combinations to see if normal methods were viable.

When he combined fire, water, and lightning, the elements simply passed each other. There was a reaction, but it wasn’t big.

He tried another combination, such as fire, earth, and plant because the elements inside her body were made up of plant, earth, and wind. He thought that if every single element countered the corresponding element, he could cause a reaction.

He did. It was stronger, but it wasn’t enough.

‘Hmm. I used all elements different from the ones in her body, but it showed nothing. I used elements countering each of them, and nothing happened as well. Is the chaos element the only thing that will work?’

Lindwurm shook his head. “There is one more trick you haven’t used yet.”

‘And what’s that?’

“What your dad taught you.”

“!!!” Auric was startled.

“You need to apply your power to your surroundings. For example, you could use the Dream Creation to turn this room into something like inside building blocks. Try it first.”

Auric hesitated for a moment, but since this might be a viable option, he planned to try it.

Auric released his gray energy and tried to utilize his power like his father.

He spread his energy, but it was actually harder than he thought. Multiple bulges appeared on the walls and floors, but the changes affected only the surface. He didn’t manage to turn the walls and floors directly into the building blocks.

“Hmm…” Auric frowned. ‘If I can’t succeed in ten minutes, I will just do it with my chaos element. After all, that just means I’m not skilled enough to use that power to fix this person’s problem.’