Chapter 63
Anyway, the condition of King Vittorio III of Rotaringia was not entirely as mentioned before. The king’s body was thoroughly soaked with synthetic poison and the foul energy of demons.
Just how much effort had been put into ruining his body… The combination of various toxins and curses permeating his body maintained a state that seemed to have been meticulously crafted with persistence and precision.
“It’s vicious. It’s almost a wonder how he’s still alive.”
“That’s why we can’t recklessly remove the Maggot. And that’s also why your role in this procedure has become more significant. So, what do you think? Can you do it?”
In response to Sophia’s question, Conra grinned and said, “Master, what do you take me for? I’m Conra.”
As he laughed, Conra wiped the tip of his nose with the back of his hand. It seemed like he was trying to mimic the manly gestures he had seen on the streets, but with his still boyish face, Sophia found it nothing but amusing.
Regardless, Sophia could roughly guess why the boy was trying to act tough, so she chuckled and ruffled her disciple’s hair. Soon, Conra’s protests mixed with screams echoed.
“Ah, Master! Don’t mess with my hair!”
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There is a treatment method called Spirit Medium Surgery. It is a technique where, in situations where it is difficult to open the body with a knife, one uses magical means to directly insert their hands into the body to perform the treatment. When combined with the ability to see through objects, it becomes the ultimate treatment method that every surgeon in the world would dream of.
However, even though Spirit Medium Surgery doesn’t involve shedding blood, the burden on the patient’s body is still significant. If the patient is on the verge of death, one must be even more cautious.
This is where Conra’s role becomes crucial. By using the Druid’s technique to connect the patient’s life force with that of plants, temporary physical issues can be resolved.
Before starting the procedure, Conra raised his Ash Tree Staff and shouted, “Com-patriot Parda-kona-í Agus Spiora-dalta! (Long live, sacred kin!) Lo-win do hór-sa saoil! (Share your life force with me!)”
As the incantation imbued with the power of nature resonated from the boy’s vocal cords, the spell matrix in Conra’s mind was released.
With a rustling sound, small shrubs and parasitic vines sprouted around the bed where the king lay. The shrubs and vines emitted a green and light green aura. As Conra extended his index and middle fingers towards the patient on the bed, the aura surrounding the shrubs and vines began to envelop the patient.
“Ready, Master.”
“Alright, now it’s my turn.”
Sophia stepped forward next. After washing her hands with sterilizing liquid and evaporating the moisture with her inner energy, the shrubs and vines surrounding the bed moved aside to make way for her.
The next moment, as Conra gestured again, the bed on which the king lay rose to a height slightly above Conra’s waist. To be precise, it was the floor beneath the bed that rose. Confirming that the environment for treatment was now fully prepared, Sophia spread her hands.
Soon, Sophia’s blue eyes began to glow with a deep blue light, and her hands started to emit a milky aura. It was the etherealization phenomenon for Spirit Medium Surgery. After confirming that her hands had become completely translucent, she nodded and pushed her etherealized hands into the patient’s body.
Her hands, upon touching the patient’s body, penetrated smoothly as if sinking into water. Yet, not a single drop of blood seeped from the patient’s body. Just as a ghost can pass through a wall without breaking it, Sophia’s hands were doing the same at this moment.
As she busily moved her hands inside the patient’s body, Sophia reorganized the treatment plan in her mind.
‘First, surgically remove the parts that need to be excised, and save what can be saved by other means.’
Every time Sophia’s hands went in and out of the patient’s body, the tray beside her began to pile up with excised dead organ tissues. Her ghostly hands skillfully avoided blood vessels and precisely carved out only the dead parts of the organs, bringing them out.
The excised tissue surfaces were immediately treated with the healing effects of Light Power. The Light Power applied to heal the excised surfaces also had the additional function of breaking the curses that were killing the patient’s body, which risked disrupting the balance between the curses and toxins.
Therefore, Sophia had to use the Light Power sparingly, timing it precisely to avoid overuse.
As Sophia continued the procedure, beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Despite her mastery of the Heart Sword, the level of concentration and skill required for this task was so high that it made her sweat profusely. If she hadn’t regained her Heart Sword’s clarity, even she might not have been able to guarantee success.
Click.
“Phew…”
Finally, Sophia threw the last excised tissue onto the tray and straightened her back, relaxing her shoulders. She had only completed the initial treatment. Of course, the procedure couldn’t end here.
Currently, Vittorio III’s body was being sustained by the Maggot in his brain and the life-sharing technique Conra had deployed. If Conra’s spell were to be released in this state, it was hard to say what would happen to his life. Therefore, if they were to proceed, they had to perform the next procedure immediately.
“How’s the preparation for the next procedure going?”
“Completed!”
In response to Sophia’s question, Conra immediately answered. Having absorbed the teachings of Esras-Hermes, Conra had become proficient in double-spell techniques and used telekinetic spells to clear the tray and set up nourishing elixirs, detoxifiers, moxibustion materials, and various long needles of different lengths, thicknesses, and materials.
Sophia wiped her sweat with a towel, sterilized her hands again, and once more made her hands translucent for Spirit Medium Surgery.
The next procedure was not surgical but involved energy manipulation and yoga techniques.
Using the methods of Chugong and Abhyanga, she stimulated the meridians and chakras throughout the body, adjusted the alignment of the spine, shoulders, and pelvis, and softened stiff muscles. She had to forcibly revive the function of weakened organs and reconnect blocked energy pathways.
The elixirs and detoxifiers were necessary preparations for this procedure.
Vittorio III’s body was so weakened that even with the techniques of Chugong and Abhyanga, it was difficult to gather any energy. Moreover, Sophia’s effort to expel the poison with her inner energy was too much for the patient’s current condition.
Therefore, the elixirs were needed to supply the lacking energy, and the detoxifiers’ potency was required to create allies to suppress the poison. Sophia had to wield these two forces to guide the entire treatment process while simultaneously using Light Power to break the curse’s energy.
‘So, first, revive the liver.’
The liver is the primary organ that absorbs medicinal potency. If the liver is hardened and dysfunctional, the body cannot utilize any substance or energy beneficially, and anything ingested would harm the body.
If the liver wasn’t revived before administering the elixirs or detoxifiers, the patient would immediately go into shock and die. In that case, the life-sharing spell Conra was maintaining would be useless.
Sophia’s still glowing blue eyes could clearly see inside the patient’s body. Not only the internal organs but also the flow of meridians, the interaction between chakras, and the connection between ethereal muscles and the ethereal brain.
Sophia picked up one of the long needles. She intended to insert it into the patient’s liver, specifically into the acupoints or chakras distributed around or connected to the liver. Without hesitation, she plunged the needle, as long as a fork or knife, deep into the patient’s body.
Normally, acupuncture isn’t performed on patients with weak physical strength, but with the life-sharing technique in place and the mystery of Spirit Medium Surgery applied, the burden on the patient was relatively light, so she didn’t hesitate.
In an instant, several long needles were inserted into various points connected to the liver. Simultaneously, Sophia’s inner energy, Kundalini, and the golden and jade-colored Light Power surged through the needles.
Then, a faint crackling sound began to resonate softly. It was the sound of the inner energy and Light Power pushing against the poison and curses.
As the poison and curses were pushed back and the meridians were unblocked, the life force sustaining the patient’s body through the life-sharing technique naturally began to gather in the liver. As the healing power of Light Power and the life force from life-sharing merged, the shape and color of the liver in Sophia’s vision began to change noticeably.
The hardened, brown liver gradually began to return to a healthy, soft red color.
‘Now!’
Confirming that the liver had fully recovered, Sophia immediately inserted an ampoule of elixir and detoxifier into the patient’s blood vessel. Soon, the medicinal potency dissolved in the blood spread through the liver to the internal organs and limbs, followed by Sophia’s inner energy and Light Power.
Then, an indescribable, strange change began to manifest in the body of the patient, King Vittorio III of Rotaringia.
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A few days after Sophia returned from the royal palace, a summons in the name of the current king was sent to the noble families, prestigious houses, and influential figures gathered in Ravenna.
