Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World as a Skeleton Chapter 220 220: A Gift from the Heavens

William carried his reed basket, the rhythmic thump-thud of his polished cane

marking ti against the forest path.

Beams of sunlight lanced through the canopy, painting shimring, dancing coins

of gold upon the dirt. The air was a heavy perfu of damp earth and wild

clover—the kind of scent that made a man want to find a patch of soft moss and

surrender to a long afternoon nap.

This patch of woods wasn't particularly large. The residents of Orlando wandered

here often to gather firewood or hunt for mushrooms; the trails were as familiar

as the lines on William's own palms.

William bent his stiff back, uncovering a healthy cluster of wormwood at the

roots of an ancient oak. Good for minor fevers and free for the taking, he

thought. He drew a small utility knife, severed the stalks at the base, and

tossed them over his shoulder into the basket.

A few paces further, near a babbling brook, he struck gold: a patch of wild

mint. Excellent. Steeped in hot water tonight, it'll save the copper I would

have spent on tea leaves.

William straightened up, thumping his lower back with a closed fist. He decided

to push slightly deeper into the thicket, hoping to find sothing rarer.

That was when the wind shifted.

William froze. His nose wrinkled. He recognized that sll—the iron-sharp,

cloying scent of blood. It was heavy. It was fresh.

He knit his brows and followed the trail of the odor. Pushing through a stand of

brush taller than a man, William stumbled into a scene that made his aged heart

skip a beat.

A figure lay in the grass. No—it was barely a person anymore.

It was a mass of mangled, blood-soaked flesh.

William hurried over, dropping to his knees. From the tangled ss of

silver-white hair and the general fra, he could tell it was a young woman. But

her features were unrecognizable, a map of jagged lacerations. Blood had

saturated her clothes and pooled in the dirt beneath her in a dark, visceral

puddle.

"This is..."

William had seen many ways to die. He had walked through battlefields in the

Empire of Vollachia and tended to those rotting in the plagues of Gusteko. He

had seen every flavor of the grave.

But these injuries... it looked as if she had fallen from the literal heavens

and then been pulverized by a mountain. Even in the lawless days of the warring

states, this level of trauma was reserved for the most extre of executions. If

this wasn't the result of a noble's private torture, any perpetrator found

responsible would have been swinging from a gallows by sunset.

William reached out, his fingers searching the side of the girl's neck. Beneath

the cold, clammy skin, a pulse throbbed—faint, stuttering, but there.

"Still alive?"

William's eyes widened. With injuries like this, she shouldn't have been

breathing at all.

He didn't waste another second on wonder. He cast his basket aside and hovered

his right hand over the girl's chest. A pale, golden light erupted from his

palm, manifesting a complex, rotating magical circle in the air.

"Honestly... I'm getting too old for this level of Od-expenditure," William

grumbled under his breath. He began to chant, his voice low and rhythmic.

Tier 6 Healing Magic — [Fountain of Life]

A brilliant radiance enveloped the girl. The torrential flow of blood slowed to

a sluggish crawl. Her shattered bones were anchored by invisible threads of

Mana, and the internal hemorrhaging began to coagulate.

But that was all he could do.

Sweat beaded on William's forehead. This child's body was a ruin; his personal

magic could only serve as a temporary anchor for her soul. For a true recovery,

she needed the concentrated power of the Cathedral's dicine.

He gritted his teeth, stripped off his worn coat, and draped it over her broken

form. Then, with agonizing care, he hoisted her onto his back. He adjusted his

stance, ensuring her head rested firmly on his shoulder to keep her airway

clear, and began the long trek back to town.

He left the basket of herbs behind. Life ca first; herbs could be gathered

again, but a snuffed soul stayed dark forever.

The streets of Orlando were as mundane as ever.

A market aunt was screaming about the freshness of her potatoes; the clink-clink

of the forge remained an unbroken soundtrack; and a pack of rowdy children

nearly sprinted headlong into a patrolling skeleton.

And then, they saw William. More specifically, they saw the blood-soaked

nightmare on his back.

"Gods above!" "What happened?!" "Is that... is that a person behind Doctor

William?"

The town went silent. Tools were dropped. Conversations died mid-sentence. Every

eye locked onto the old doctor as he trudged past. Martha the baker peeked out

her window, turned a ghostly shade of white, and retreated into her shop,

clutching her mouth. The old blacksmith set down his hamr and stood in his

doorway, his eyes wide with horror.

"Who did this?" he whispered. "This is beyond cruel..."

The murmurs rippled like waves behind him. William ignored them all, keeping his

head down and his pace steady toward the town square.

Suddenly, three Skeleton Berserkers in black armor rounded the corner. The

soulfire in their sockets burned with a steady, clinical blue. One of them

raised a gauntleted hand, blocking William's path.

"Halt, human," the skeleton commanded. "You are required to submit to imdiate

investigation."

William panted, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he looked up. "This child

is fading! If she isn't treated now, there won't be a body left to investigate!"

The three Berserker exchanged a look. Their soulfire flickered in a silent,

high-speed communication via soul link. A second later, the lead skeleton

stepped forward and extended its bony arms.

"I am assuming custody of the casualty for rapid transport."

William blinked, then reacted imdiately, carefully shifting the girl into the

skeleton's grip. The Berserker took her with surprising, chanical gentleness.

Then, the skeleton turned and bolted.

Its speed was superhuman. The black silhouette blurred into a streak of

obsidian, vanishing toward the end of the street in a matter of heartbeats. The

remaining two skeletons looked at the wheezing William.

"Human, you cannot depart yet," one said. "We require your testimony. It is

Imperial regulation."

William nodded, wiping sweat from his brow with his sleeve. "I know. I'm heading

to the Cathedral anyway."

He set off again, the two skeletons flanking him like an honor guard—or a

funeral procession. They kept a precise three-ter distance, their presence a

silent reminder of the Empire's absolute order. Passersby parted like the Red

Sea. So whispered in concern, others watched in awe, but no one dared

interfere.

The doors of the Evernight Cathedral were wide open.

The skeleton that had run ahead was already there, cradling the girl. William

hurried inside. The Orc Priest was standing over the body, his expression grim,

already clutching a vial of diluted Erald's Respite. The Elven Nun had

gathered a pile of clean linens and a basin of fresh water.

"Place her here," the Sister said, pointing to a pew.

The skeleton set the girl down and stepped back, standing as rigid as a statue.

William approached the pew, looking at the face that was more scar tissue than

skin, and took a deep breath. He pulled a leather pouch from his robes,

revealing a collection of gold and silver coins.

Without hesitating, William counted out three gold coins and pressed them into

the Orc Priest's hand.

"Use the Erald's Respite Original Solution," William commanded.

The Priest took the coins, sparing William a long, searching look. His

expression was one of profound curiosity. Three gold coins. Since the Sovereign

unified the continent, the currency was stable and prices were fixed. Three gold

coins could support a common family in luxury for an entire year. And here was

William, a retired doctor who had only been in town a few months, handing it

over for a stranger without blinking.

The Priest asked no questions. He turned toward the rear sanctum and returned

monts later with an exquisite crystal vial. Inside, a verdant green liquid

shimred with an inner light.

"Here," the Priest said.

William took the vial, uncorked it, and carefully trickled the dicine into the

girl's mouth. The Erald's Respite flowed down her throat.

Almost instantly, a miracle of biology occurred. The girl's wounds began to knit

themselves shut at a visible speed. Shattered bone fused, torn skin sealed, and

new muscle sprouted from the ruin. However, her face... the damage had been too

deep. Even the Sovereign's dicine couldn't fully erase the trauma. The scars

that remained were jagged and shocking.

William let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. Her life was anchored.

He turned to face the three silent Skeleton Berserkers. "What do you need to

know?"

One skeleton stepped forward, beginning the formal inquiry. "Location of

discovery?"

"The eastern woods, near the brook."

"Subject's status upon discovery?"

"Near-death. Multiple compound fractures. Internal hemorrhaging. Severe facial

trauma."

William answered with clinical honesty.

"Cause of injury?"

William shook his head. "Unknown. But judging by the impact pattern, it suggests

a high-altitude fall combined with repeated blunt-force trauma."

The skeleton paused for a few seconds, processing the data. "Do you recognize

the subject?"

"No."

"Then why pay the price for her soul?"

William looked the skeleton in the eye and gave the only answer that mattered to

him.

"Because she was still breathing. As long as a patient has a single spark of Od

left, a physician does not look away. It is the fundantal oath of my craft."

The skeleton's soulfire pulsed once. "Understood."

It turned to its comrades. "Data logged. Report to the Centurion. Initiate a

sweep of the forest sector. Confirm if there are additional casualties or a

perpetrator on site."

The other two nodded. Simultaneously, the three skeletons turned and marched out

of the Cathedral with synchronized, echoing footsteps.

Silence returned to the hall.

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