Chương 437: B7—Chapter 20: Sometimes I’m a Badass

Ash lay in one of the ER beds, most of his body covered with acid burns. I cast Clean on him to strip away the corrosive residue, then continued the healing process. These burns needed more than one or two spells. A commotion rose in the hall, and the door burst open. Two fighters with wand-rifles stalked in, Oos right on their heels.

"Who is the lightning guy?" one of them asked, eyes scanning the room.

"What's the problem?" I asked without stopping the spellcasting on Ash.

"We need your help outside." I shook my head.

"No. Those people need my help."

"What do you mean no?" he shouted, his voice rising. He stepped closer, puffing up his chest.

"Do you know who I am?" Here we go again.

"No, and it doesn't matter. I'm a healer; my place is here." I kept my eyes on Ash and cast another Healing Touch. The angry man bristled and made a move toward me, but the other caught his shoulder and held him back.

"Excuse Lord Su Jook. But we really need your help. A swarm is heading for the outpost, and if we don't stop it, you'll have many more injured and dead." I exchanged a look with Oos. She met my eyes and gave a slow, tight nod.

"I need to finish with my patient," I said, forcing calm into my tone.

"No time," the angry one snapped.

"The swarm will be here any moment." I sighed, cast the last spell, stood, and followed them out of the healing hall.

"You'll regret the way you spoke to me," the angry one hissed from behind me.

"Trash commons need to know their place." I'd had enough of this noble bullshit. I cast Explosive Diarrhea at him. He yelped, doubled over, and an awful smell filled the hall. I froze for half a second. Oos's face went white. A nurse gagged. Oops. I should have done it outside. When we got outside, I gulped a fresh breath of air. Definitely do it outside next time. The nice one pointed at the sky. A big black blob was moving fast toward the outpost.

I couldn't make out the creatures from this distance, not even with my high Perception, but there were a lot of them. The black cloud stretched wide, blotting out the horizon. I kicked off the ground and flew toward it, shaping an action plan as I climbed. The blob was massive, far too large to take out with lightning alone. But I had learned something back in Marita, fighting the yellow slaver. When I was close enough, I threw both hands forward and commanded the wind.

A vortex spun into life, swelling with each heartbeat, sucking mana straight out of me. The pull grew stronger, dragging the swarm, until one by one the fliers vanished inside. My reserves ran low. I didn't bother to check since I could feel it. I switched to maintenance, holding the vortex steady through my link with the wind, letting it whirl on without feeding it more mana while I actively regenerated. With my spirals and the world's mana, I recovered about a thousand mana per minute.

Ten long minutes passed while I dragged in mana as fast as possible. I scanned the edges, ensuring no fliers had slipped free. Once I was certain, I thrust my hands forward again and unleashed concentrated red lightning. The stink hit instantly. Charred bug flesh, ozone, and a cloying sweet smell that made me dizzy. I cast Neutralize Poison on myself, and the nausea eased. The lightning roared, flashing through the vortex, until lightheadedness set in and forced me to stop.

I told the Wind to ease off, and the vortex unraveled. A rain of giant roasted bugs pelted down to the ground. Some staggered into the air again, and I cut them down with smaller bursts of regular lightning, well within my regeneration rate. It took about fifteen minutes before no bugs stirred. I let out a heavy breath. My mana channels screamed from the strain, my arms still trembling from the dense outflow, but I was also proud of myself. That was hard, but I had done it.

I almost dusted my shoulders, but remembering the injured waiting for me, I sobered and flew back. When I landed, everyone near the healing hall stared at me with their mouths hanging open. The nasty noble met my eyes, gave a small eep, and looked away. I walked back inside and returned to healing Ash, who by then had regained consciousness. He gave me a weak smile, and I could tell he was glad to see me. I worked for three days straight, healing and regenerating, until I could hardly stand from exhaustion.

During that time, I felt through the bond that Rue was fighting, and a couple of times I sensed him getting hurt. I didn't feel the pain itself, only the jolt of his mental and emotional reaction to it, and every time I almost jumped up to rush to his side. The only thing that kept me in place was the wave of relief that always followed. I knew they had potions, but it was still hard to keep my worry under control. He was part of my soul, after all. The narrative has been taken without permission.

Report any sightings. On the evening of the third day, Rue padded into the healing hall, Mahya right behind him. He pressed his head against my arm, tail giving a slow wag. I scratched his ears and diagnosed him. He was fine, thank the Spirits. Mahya planted herself at the foot of the bed I was working on, arms crossed tight.

"You need to rest."

"I'm fine," I said, though my legs wobbled as I stood. Her eyes narrowed.

"Right. Tell that lie to somebody else." Rue huffed through his nose and nudged me again, harder this time.

"All right, all right," I said, holding up my hands.

"I'll rest." Neither of them looked convinced, but they left me and went to rest themselves. Ten hours later, they returned, this time with Al in tow.

"We're headed back out," Mahya said.

"I have brewed enough potions to last the Cleaners for a while," Al said, handing me a box filled with potion balls.

"Mana potions. Please remember to take them as needed."

"I will," I said. Rue licked my cheek, then turned for the door, Mahya and Al following after him. Pi brought me food every once in a while, kissed my cheek, and went back to the reception area. This time, she had no pearls of wisdom to share, just a smile, a kiss, a pat on the hand, and then back to work. After four days, I was done for and needed sleep ASAP. Once I finished healing the last Cleaner who had taken a poisoned needle to the eye, I gave him water, fed him, and sent him back out to fight.

I then cast Clean on the bed and dropped into it like a sack of potatoes. The hell continued once I woke up. In the evening, they brought in Im. Once I grew his leg back, he went back to working as a Cleaner. The minute he saw me, a huge smile spread on his face, and he lifted his leg.

"Look. This time I didn't lose it!" I laughed, shook my head, and healed him first. Some people did lose their limbs. If they didn't bring the limb back, there wasn't much I could do. I healed the injury and told them I would regrow the limb once the wave was over. But if they did bring it back, I quickly learned an interesting fact. Quite by accident. Well, maybe not an accident, but a Hail Mary attempt that I didn't think would work, but it did!

If I held the severed limb to the body and cast healing spells on it, it didn't take and didn't connect. At first I thought it was my spell failing or maybe that the flesh was too damaged. I tried again and again, pouring more mana in, and still nothing. Frustration built until I almost gave up. Then I got an idea from the healing books I had read. Instead of working on the flesh, I burned open the mana channel in the body at the site of the injury, and another one in the severed limb.

I held them together and created a mana shell to keep both ends in place. After that, I cast Healing Touch, and it worked. The limb didn't reattach immediately. It still needed a few healing spells for bone and flesh, plus some reinforcement for the channel, but it did work. The next time Oos stuck her head in, I waved her over.

"Let all the fighters know that if somebody loses a limb, bring it. I can reattach it." She stopped short, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Truly?"

"Yes." Her face lit up, and she rushed forward, throwing her arms around me.

"You are the best man I know." I patted her back, a little awkward with my hands still slick with blood, then pulled away and got back to work. The next day, Bo was the one checking on me while Oos rested. She came in, balancing a tray with a steaming cup of tea and a flaky pastry, and set it on the table beside me. I took the cup, grateful for the short break, and used the moment to clear up something that had been bothering me.

"How come I'm treating so many people? I know the Cleaners don't have that many." Bo perched on the edge of a chair.

"Not all of them are Cleaners. They also bring in everyone who came for the wave but doesn't have an Eliminator contract."

"And Fu is fine with it?" I asked between sips. She smiled.

"He is happy as a fish in water. Half of them have already signed a Cleaners contract. The outpost lord is less happy, but he doesn't have a choice. They have a problem with healers since the war with House Pelmen." I winced, my shoulders tensing. That war was kinda my fault. Bo leaned forward, catching my expression, and shook her head firmly.

"Do not feel guilty. I know what happened, and it is not your fault. House Pelmen crossed all the boundaries lately. They raised their prices a few times since the anomalies started, and if a person can't pay and needs urgent healing, they make them sign a contract that is almost slavery." She tapped her fingers against the table, her voice hardening.

"Somebody needed to hit their knees and make them bend. So maybe you were the first hit, but Archduke Jook and others were looking for a reason for a long time." I shrugged. In that case, I was totally fine with it, especially the knee bending. On day eight of the wave, when I was ready to drop again, Al staggered into the hall with Mahya limp in his arms. Her head lolled against his shoulder, blood streaking down her side. I abandoned my patient mid-spell and rushed over.

"What happened?" Al lowered her carefully onto the nearest bed, his jaw clenched, eyes sharp with fear he was trying hard to hide.

"A stampeding herd of heavy essenceborn. Mahya leaped among them, using their backs like springboards to slow the stampede. One of them caught her with its horn. She fell, and several trampled over her. I fed her potions, yet her body is too damaged, and the potions could not mend it. She requires your aid at once." Diagnose showed that most of the bones in her body were broken, her internal organs were injured, some of them already showing signs of potion healing, and she had a brain bleed.

I started with her head, cutting a small hole to drain the blood before closing and healing it. Next came the organs, then the bones, one after another. It took me more than an hour to finish. I knew how many bones were in the human body—I had learned them all in uni—but only when you heal almost every single one do you truly understand what that number means. Finally, I stopped the Anesthesia and let her rest. Only then did I notice the blood on Al's clothes and Rue's fur.

"Are you two okay?" I asked. Rue stayed curled up under the bed, sleeping soundly. Al straightened, though his shoulders sagged from exhaustion, and gave me a weary nod.

"Yes. I suffered some injuries while retrieving Mahya. But since they were not as severe, potions were enough." I frowned, ran a quick Diagnose on him just in case, and cast a couple of Fortify Life Force spells. His body stiffened under the magic, then loosened, and he nodded in thanks.

"You should go rest," I told him. He pushed himself up with a groan and headed for the door. Before leaving, he paused, one hand on the frame, and looked back at me.

"You too."

"Yeah, I will. Don't worry." I returned to the patient I'd abandoned and finished his healing. The whole time I thought about sticking to Mahya like glue for a couple of days, while sighing and huffing over her shoulder, to give her a taste of her own medicine. I knew I probably wouldn't do it, but the thought was enough to lift my mood. By the time I closed the last wound, I was smiling, already picturing Mahya's face if I actually did it.