Chapter 83: A temporary, but dangerous solution

"K-Kill them? Taking out the plant will kill them? How?" You could see Alue’s hands shaking, the fear of accidentally taking one’s life hanging over his shoulders.

"This plant latches onto one vital spot of the body, specifically organs. It then spreads its roots into that organ and begins feeding off the person. If we were to remove it, we’d have to perform a specific type of surgery that we simply don’t have the tools for."

"Surgery? What’s that?" Yala didn’t know that Kanan had healing knowledge that she wasn’t aware of.

"Just something Lord Nemean told me. We don’t have the tools or knowledge for a task like that, so don’t worry about. For now, we have people to save, so let’s stop wasting time."

Everyone moved in sync as they began the operation.

As instructed, the Herbalists injected the poison into the patient’s body. Since no syringes had been created yet, he had them use a sewing needle to poke a small hole closest to the plant’s location, then administer the poison through a string attached to it.

It was a crude way of doing something like this, but it was better than nothing. This way, the poison wouldn’t touch anyone or any other part of the patient’s body.

Kanan didn’t even know if it would work, but after seeing the poison be absorbed into the string and enter the body, he was glad it worked.

Now came the hard part: waiting.

There were three things that could happen. One, the patient would die; two, the plant wouldn’t be affected; or three, they would be too late to save the patient even if the plant was affected.

For this specific patient, it was the liver that the plant attached itself to. Very crucial organ for survival, as it filters waste in the body as well as having a few other functions.

"Nnghh!" The patient began stirring, the poison starting to melt his insides.

While Angler Poison was potent, the only upside it had was how slow it was. You could have the poison in your system for days and only get mild poison symptoms that look like a normal sickness.

Luckily for everyone, the patients were already weak and lacking energy, so the poison was able to act faster but not fast enough to melt the patient’s insides into goop.

"Come on. Come on! Work!" Kanan muttered. He needed this to work. Waiting for the spirit spring wasn’t an option at the moment, so he needed this to work right now.

Even if the method of this cure wasn’t the best, it was an option, and if they had an option, they would be able to survive.

Unfortunately, nothing happened even after five minutes. So, Kanan made a tough call.

"Increase the dosage."

"Kanan!" Yala shouted in defiance

"Increase it!"

The Herbalists knew that Kanan had authority on the level of the Village Chief, but even then, they feared being responsible for killing their own kin.

"Do as he says!" Nala demanded.

It was like her voice flipped a switch in their heads because they instantly administered more poison into the patient’s body, another level of the dosage they had administered before.

Five minutes later, a total of ten minutes, and still no reaction, though the patient had started to sweat profusely.

"Another dose!" Kanan demanded.

The herbalists increased it once more.

Again, no reaction besides the patient now starting to convulse.

Yala put her hands over the patient, ready to heal him, but Kanan stopped her.

"Kanan, we need to heal him. He’s weak, so the poison will act faster than normal, especially if you keep upping the dosage."

"If we don’t do anything, then he’ll die either way. All you will be doing is prolonging the inevitable. Up the dosage one more time."

"Kanan!"

"Do it!"

For one final time, the herbalists increased the dosage. With this last one, it was a total of four times the initial dosage.

Everyone waited, feeling on the edge of their metaphorical seats. They expected a reaction, needed a reaction, something to let them know that the plan was or wasn’t working. Anything.

"Uhh, Kanan, t-the person’s body is turning green." Alue pointed out.

"Hmm?" Kanan noticed it as well. Those green vein-like markings started to move again. This time, it was concentrated around the liver and was spreading outward.

"No way, right?" He gently placed his hand where the liver would be and injected his spirit energy into the patient’s body.

He had never done something like this before, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Closing his eyes, Kanan attempted to sense what was going on inside the body.

’Let’s take a good look at how you’re feeling, Verminus Plat.’ Kanan could already sense things with spirit energy, and if his own spirit energy was touching something, he would be able to sense whatever was happening even better.

This normally only applied to the invisible round barrier that he had around his body, but now that it was inside the patient, he could sense what was going on inside the body as well.

And boy, was he glad that he decided to check.

"Alue! Come, now!"

Alue rushed over to Kanan, his hands being grabbed by his friend. They were placed on the patient’s body where Kanan’s hand once was, and he felt it: the presence of a strong plant inside the person.

"W-What is this?!"

"Try removing it as best as you can. Yala, Golin, start healing the poison damage. Nala, Telah, please hold the patient down; he might start acting wildly."

Nala held the patient’s arms while Telah held his legs.

Yala and Golin began healing the body, but only the damage where the poison had spread to, not where it was concentrated. They didn’t want the plant to be healed as well.

Alue had the hardest part, trying to control the plant.

"Nngh, t-this doesn’t feel like a normal plant. I-It’s like it’s alive, fighting me for control. I normally use my power on seeds."

"But you can still use them on existing plants. I’ve seen you do it before." Kanan remembered

"Y-Yes, but it’s harder to control due to the roots and the energy of nature. T-This feels like nature, but it has a mind."

Kanan turned to Nala, a grim expression on his face. "So it truly is a plant-based monster. This is dangerous."

"I feared this might be the case. We need to find a way to limit contact with monsters just in case."

"I-I’m getting something!" Alue shouted.

Everyone looked and saw that the vein-like markings started to retract, returning to the area where the liver was.

"It’s...it’s working! Keep it up, Alue! That’s it!"

Hope wasn’t lost just yet.