A scream tore through the room.
It was raw and hoarse, ripped straight from the throat before breaking apart into a wet, choking cough that ended with blood splattering against the side of the bed.
The sound was deafening.
And frankly, it was a brutal contrast to the joyous laughter and casual conversations that likely filled the other areas under the sa roof.
Then again, who would’ve known that within the sa confines of DG’s booth, a different kind of operation was going on.
It was a good thing the room had been encased in a spiritual barrier. Otherwise, Princess Kira would have been another patient they would have had to deal with before the entire procedure was over.
Luca didn’t look up right away.
He remained hunched over the patient, eyes fixed, breathing slow and controlled, every ounce of his attention locked onto the task at hand. It took a long mont before he finally spoke, his voice hoarse from concentration rather than fear.
"D-29," he said quietly, "another scan please."
As he waited, Luca tilted his head slightly, as if trying to shake sothing loose. Tension had crept into his shoulders without him noticing, and he forced himself to roll them once, twice, grounding himself before he let the nerves fully take hold.
He didn’t want to do this anymore.
He could imagine exactly how much it must have hurt. Even without being awake, the body reacted instinctively, reflexively, screaming where the mind couldn’t. Luca didn’t particularly enjoy the fact that he understood it a little too clearly.
But stopping wasn’t exactly an option.
If even a trace was left behind, if even one mutated branch escaped notice, it would likely just fester and contaminate everything else they had worked hard to clean.
Sure, maybe they could do this over again, but who would want to experience this twice?
Well, certainly not him and likely not the guy currently writhing in pain.
Removing the corrupted goo itself had been the easy part. That, at least, had been straightforward. The little money-grubber had vacuud it out carefully, thodically, and if he was being honest with himself, even happily.
But the sa couldn’t be said about everything that followed.
He had hoped the pathways were only in the throes of rging. Or that they had rely been overwheld by corruption, like the other new areas the creature had fled to once it was discovered.
If that had been the case, purification would have been possible.
But for the sections the parasite had occupied for a long ti, purification wasn’t the right word.
This was a purge.
There was nothing left to revert to.
The creature had not rely mutated existing pathways. It had carved its own. It had added branches made entirely of corruption, forming new routes that went undetected until Luca took a closer look with the aid of Queen of the Night.
Yes.
It would have been insanity to charge headfirst into pathways that tight. Especially when Luca’s spiritual energy was, by all definitions, an invader itself. They had no choice but to risk a concentrated dosage, hoping it would serve both as a relaxant and a crude form of anesthesia.
But even if the body was knocked out in every physical sense, there was no way to soothe what was happening in the spiritual sea.
Not while Luca burned away the caverns the parasite had dug into.
The waiting stretched on, thick and heavy, until finally the system chid.
"Host! I have perford three scans, all of which are showing no similar markers to the parasite we’ve been tracking."
Luca let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
The little system had learned quickly. Since identifying the parasite, it no longer relied solely on spiritual energy signatures that returned hollow or misleading results. Instead, the hard-working manager tracked related components unique to the offending creature.
That adjustnt had made everything easier.
And at the sa ti, far more horrifying.
Because now they could see it clearly. The full extent of the damage. The warped internal landscape left behind in the creature’s wake.
It was insane that Luca even considered doing it. Because really, not only would it be uncomfortable for the Prince, but it would most definitely be an unsettling thing for the golden-eyed cadet.
As expected, even Luca, who normally would have been rejoicing at the sight of CP gains, found himself thinking it might be best to buy a few things for the elf.
Maybe several revive pills. Definitely more than one, considering the one Elior absolutely had to take now.
Or, at the very least, a few emotional support power saws. They seed to be working wonders for his comrades, so maybe everyone deserved one.
Then again, as Luca straightened slowly and felt exhaustion finally crash over him, he considered that he might need a few more for himself as well.
That thought, faint and tired, was the last thing that crossed the golden-eyed cadet’s mind before he realized he needed one hell of a nap.
__
anwhile, just as one Elven Prince was arched toward the skies, his body bearing witness to a miracle of reconstruction, another Prince who bore the sa face stood alone before a mirror.
Water dripped steadily into the basin as Prince Eren lifted his head, droplets sliding from his hairline and tracing the sharp lines of his features. The room was quiet, save for the faint echo of running water, the kind of stillness that made every sound feel deliberate.
A knock ca at the door.
"Your Highness," Bram’s voice followed, respectful and asured, as always. "The ship carrying Princess Marin has departed as ordered. All related personnel are in place and awaiting her arrival and future instructions."
Eren reached for the towel without looking away, pressing the cloth to his face as he listened. He wiped slowly, thodically, as if the act itself required no thought at all.
Only then did he look properly at his reflection.
The mirror stared back at him, unblinking.
A smile curved his lips. It was the sa practiced smile he had worn countless tis before, polished and familiar. Yet this ti, only half of his face obeyed. The other remained stiff, pulled into a visible scowl that refused to soften.
His left eye glinted at the insubordination.
A heartbeat later, the right side of his face followed, the scowl smoothing away until the smile was complete once more.
The man scoffed in satisfaction.
He tossed the towel aside and turned slightly, his voice calm as he addressed Bram through the door.
"Let them et."
There was a pause.
"In fact," he continued lightly, "let them bond."
His gaze lingered on his reflection as the words settled.
"Because only then would loss be magnified."
Footsteps could barely be heard. But in a few monts, the door behind him closed, the sound echoing through the room with a chilling finality.
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