Chapter 150
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Revival
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A bag of IV fluid filled with clear liquid swayed faintly, holding a dim glow.
Drip, drip.
Drops formed in the transparent tube fell at regular intervals.
Amid that, a loud snoring rumbled: grrr, grrr-grrr.
The man lying on the hospital bed was wrapped head to toe in bandages.
Bandages that had needed changing countless times, yet still soaked through with fresh red blood.
And beside him, sitting at the bedside, was one person guarding the sleeping man, oblivious to the world.
Dark blue eyes with lowered lashes.
The piercing gaze that had once chilled others to the bone was now tinged with worry.
Grrr.
His rough, irregular breathing continued. Whether from his injuries or sheer exhaustion, no one could tell, but seeing him rest like this brought some relief.
"...Really."
A voice thick with emotion.
Her gaze slowly drifted downward.
Even wrapped in bandages, scars too numerous to hide were visible.
A chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.
Traces of battle still vivid.
Just then, as her outstretched hand hovered uncertainly near his cheek—
Knock knock.
A quiet knock at the door. Katrina flinched and pulled her arm back.
"Pardon the intrusion."
The elderly healer approached with soft footsteps. His wrinkled face and practiced hands checked Jin's condition as he stood by the bed.
"How does he seem, watching over him like this?"
"...He's just been sleeping the whole time."
"I see."
The old man's hand summoned mana into the air. A healing spell formed in an instant and seeped into Jin's body like spring rain. Watching it, the elder slowly spoke.
"Don't grieve too much. Considering his initial state, surviving at all is nothing short of a miracle."
Katrina's fingers unconsciously gripped Jin's collar.
"That bad?"
"To be frank, survival itself was touch and go. It was that serious."
"......"
As Katrina's gaze shook while fixed on Jin—
The elder sighed and spoke in a meaningful tone.
"But now, he's recovering at an astonishing rate."
"Astonishing?"
"An unprecedented speed. One might even question if he's truly a purist—his regenerative power is that extraordinary. Perhaps—"
The blood he'd vomited endlessly, the foul rot that required bandage changes over and over—perhaps remnants of his body purging what it could no longer heal—
The elder swallowed the thought.
No need to voice it now, and above all, his words would fall on deaf ears with his young mistress in this state.
At some point, Katrina had taken Jin's hand.
"Thank goodness. Really."
She closed her eyes and drew in a quiet breath.
Slowly exhaled.
For a few seconds like that.
When she opened her eyes again, her gaze had softened.
Her fingertips brushed lightly over the back of his hand as they withdrew.
"And Mother?"
"She's resting comfortably. As I said, just mild dizziness aside, her health is fine. No need to worry."
The elder held back the rest again.
That he'd barely stopped the matriarch from rising to check on Thunderclap herself once she'd regained consciousness.
Meanwhile, Jin's snoring showed no sign of stopping.
As if the thunderous noise didn't bother her at all, Katrina gazed down at his sleeping face and spoke.
"...Did you find out who did it?"
A curt question.
But the weight beneath it was anything but light.
The healer let out a quiet sigh like a breath.
"Tracking them won't be easy."
"......"
Katrina's gaze turned slowly.
Her eyes turned icily cold, like a lie.
The elder continued calmly.
"The crashed transport and wrecked tank both had self-destruct functions activate, wiping all internal data. The cyborgs too. Total data loss, and most parts melted down—"
The air grew chill in an instant.
Katrina remained seated by the bed, but her presence had shifted dramatically.
Hidden only by monstrous peers her age.
She too was a genius who'd reached rank 2 at a young age.
Ice Snow Harmony.
The "harmony" not of flowers, but of unity.
A cold, icy aura spread deep in her eyes, naturally infusing her voice with frost.
"It happened on Margiez land to Margiez blood. If we don't know, who will?"
A blade-sharp tone allowing no rebuttal.
No anger in Katrina's eyes.
Only something far more terrifying: resolve.
"We'll find out. And don't forget—we are Margiez."
The elder met her gaze briefly, then bowed his head.
"Understood."
It was a full day later when Jin finally came to.
Please treat us well.
Anyway, nice to meet you.
As his brand-new organs, fully refurbished while he slept, greeted him warmly—
"Gah, ack."
A shuddering cry of pain escaped.
Pain everywhere, impossible to pinpoint.
Elbow? No, ribs? Wait, glutes? Groin? Back?
No, his whole body was in revolt at once.
"Hah, ack! Gah! M-med, medic! Ow, ugh! Hiss."
Jin sucked in a labored breath. And instantly regretted it.
As his lungs expanded, his new organs—or rather, the muscles and skin over them—screamed in unison.
We're not ready yet! You bastard!
What was that supposed to mean—
Think of his current state as a reverse porcupine for easy understanding.
The moment the missile shredded the AV.
Debris like a tsunami from the massive blast pressure tore into his skin and lodged deep in his muscles.
So why hadn't it been removed until now?
Hold on—consider the healers' side too.
The human body struggles even with glass shards embedded; pieces deep in flesh require digging each one out painstakingly, suction if unreachable, or incision as last resort—fiendishly tricky surgery.
And Jin had been at death's door.
With his guts pulverized by blast pressure leaking blood from every orifice, who in their right mind would've picked at shrapnel one by one?
They'd just piled on healing spells nonstop.
A corpse in all but name.
For the sake of their weeping young mistress, they'd do their duty to the end.
So the healers had done their utmost.
They were probably more shocked than anyone.
They hadn't expected him to recover like this.
Of course, Jin was oblivious.
He just groaned, recalling a childhood pencil stab that left a scar, now multiplied hundredsfold in depth and number.
That was when—
"Jin!" "Blockhead!"
The door flew open noisily, and in their rush to enter the cramped space together, Brof and Bagmar tumbled in with a crash.
Hearts ahead of heads, literally; Brof, ignoring his age, writhed clutching his waist.
Undeterred, the sturdier dwarf sprang up from the floor and dashed to the bed.
"How's the body holding up?"
"Not at all."
As Jin answered, he gently unwrapped the bandage on his wrist. A glint of metal peeked from his skin.
He gritted his teeth, trying to pinch it with thumb and forefinger, but it kept slipping.
Even a superhuman can't pluck a thorn without grip—same as any civilian.
Irregular this, eternal evolution that, reconstruction blah blah—all that posturing, yet they left this? Ridiculous. Damn it. Worthless hacks.
No target for his curses, Jin vented at his own body. Pointless as spitting while lying down.
Truth be told, his body had it worse than the healers.
They'd prioritized internals amid the carnage inside and out, saving what they could—now he whined about pain. No appreciation for their nonstop toil.
But what could be done?
He hadn't seen the organ rebuild; just the maddening, painful foreignness of embedded debris.
But that lasted only a moment.
True to his grit, Jin endured and asked:
"Where's Katrina? The matriarch—is she safe?"
"Worry about your own half as much. Knew you'd push it with that tough body and bite off more than you could chew."
Brof's words, as he shuffled over unsteadily.
He plopped into the chair instead of Bagmar.
"They're both fine. Thanks to someone going all out to protect them."
"Oh."
Jin raised a brow.
Clueless that Brof meant him.
He'd fought hard, sure—but a deathmatch against hordes to shield them? Not quite.
Even self-aggrandizing Jin played it safe here.
Margiez must've pulled out all stops for them, he figured.
Unaware of events post-blackout, naturally.
Including this: even unconscious, he'd kept pouring mana into the matriarch and Katrina.
A bloodied rag on a stretcher.
Two women shielded by that rag.
Mana spent on others even dying.
"Stop," they'd begged to no avail.
Brilliant violet lightning.
Thunderclap.
Everyone in the family that day had witnessed it, near or far.
"Lately the mood felt off, like trouble brewing. Coming for artifacts, and this happens."
"Who knew. So, who fired the missile?"
"Katrina asked us to look into it. Just came from checking the wrecked transport with Bagmar. Data's fully wiped—reverse-tracking's a nightmare. They're trying to ID the model, but it's so modded, originals are unrecognizable."
Brof sighed.
Glanced around, then lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"Atmosphere's grim. Matriarch and daughter endangered on their turf? Says it all. Armed with high-end gear too—gives those corp-hating folks all the justification they need."
Bagmar chimed in.
"Brof was worried sick. Second war might break out."
Jin furrowed his brow.
Second war—not implausible.
If corps targeted them deliberately, Margiez wouldn't sit idle.
Then—
"Why not bow out now?"
Brof's low, clipped words.
Veterans' instinct: don't escalate.
"Deeper involvement's risky. Or rather, you're already too deep. Without you, those two would've died ages ago. Planners know you now. 'Outsider' excuse won't fly anymore."
Jin pursed his lips, silent a moment.
Then shrugged lightly.
As if unbothered.
"Can't be helped. Whatever."
"...What?"
"Friends and her mom nearly die in front of me—how do I just leave? Dad's on borrowed time too. Duty or not, can't shake the feeling of bailing. Need someone by their side now."
He tried yanking the metal shard again—fail, hiss—and added:
"Anyway, Gramps, you go. Feel bad sticking you in the workshop suffering. But like you said, us three holing up here ain't right. Pack before it's too late. Might not cover their ransom, but I'll toss in Katrina's fee as penalty... "
Jin rambled on.
No hesitation ditching the quest.
Eternal East recreation?
55,000 XP?
Screw it. Friends' safety trumps that.
As he groped for his comms—
"Knew you'd say that. Madman."
Brof twitched his nose.
"If together, fine—but leave you and sneak off? Nonsense. Stuck with a blockhead in my twilight years, life's ruined. But treat me like that? Ungrateful. Gotta leave a will for Wonder, poor Silvia'll bawl, but we ain't leaving without you. Hm."
Bagmar took the tail end, clicking his tongue.
"Me neither. After all I've endured? Pack now? Bull. Ever seen a dwarf quit mid-job?"
Jin scratched his head.
Hm. Touching moment?
Kinda awkward.
Death pacts should feel nobler.
Stubborn clashes leading coincidentally same—whatever.
Staying's what matters.
Thus, Jin hauled his aching body up with a groan.
"So, Katrina?"
"In a meeting with the elders, looks like."
"Got it."
No sooner said, Jin slid off the bed.
Every inch throbbed, but he threw on outer clothes, ignoring Brof and Bagmar's protests to stay put, and headed out.
Jin did things properly when it counted.
As friend, as hired solo.
Thus, the conference room.
As he arrived, sweating under the chin—
"You. All right?"
A supportive hand on his back.
Glancing back: familiar middle-aged face watching him.
Mateus, was it?
Nivrax elder.
"Heard your condition's dire. Why come this far?"
"To show Katrina I'm fine."
"For that? Look at you... Hm, no. My mistake. Makes sense, yes, exactly the time."
Mateus nodded to himself in understanding.
Then patted Jin's shoulder.
"You did us a huge favor. With the matriarch away, you snuffed a spark that could've spread uncontrollably."
Flash of his trademark suave smile, a nod.
"Shall we? Already late—getting glares. With you, it'll pass."
Jin silently watched Mateus stride ahead, shoulder brushing naturally.
Was he always this much?
After a month, his presence felt vastly different.
Hard to judge from two brief meets, but...
Deeper, somehow.
Like facing glacial ice.
Brow furrowed briefly.
Jin limped after.
Next instant—
The conference room's fervent cheers welcomed him naturally.
And far off—
Pale-faced Katrina looked his way.
"Ah."
A smile as shadows lifted.
Somehow changed.
Jin waved lightly as always in reply.
Mouthing silently.
This body's back.