The Surgeon's Hands
The soldiers in black combat gear were marching in. The emblem of the Ironclad was etched onto their chests. Igor’s hollow eyes read the insignia. 'Damn it. To think the Ironclad Special Forces would show up.'
They were a private military group infamous in the underworld. Every single member had expensive magic seals carved into their bodies and possessed an endless supply of ammunition. The combat power of a single one of their regular soldiers was on par with Boris. Furthermore, they moved in units, coordinating formations like highly trained soldiers. It was the absolute pinnacle of throwing money at a problem. It was no wonder the black mages of the underworld were so hesitant to face Director Shun head-on.
As soon as they appeared, Igor had already finished his calculations. 'There’s no chance of winning. We retreat.' Why had he tried to kidnap the people around Director Shun to use as sacrifices instead of attempting an assassination in the first place? Because a direct confrontation was impossible. Now that Director Shun himself had arrived, retreating was the best policy.
Igor signaled to Boris with his eyes. 'Retreat.' Boris’s vertical pupils flickered slightly. It was a signal that he understood. Both men took a step back simultaneously. However, Commander Shen had no intention of allowing that.
The moment he saw Igor’s heels lift from the stone floor, Shen was already fumbling with the controls of the magical device strapped to his back. With his left hand, he flipped open the gauge panel attached to the side of the device. Several scales were lined up under the glass: remaining mana stone capacity, atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, and more. Shen’s gloved index finger swept across the scales once.
Shen’s thumb turned the control valve next to the gauge a half-turn. With a metallic screech, the vibration of mana being compressed inside the nozzle traveled up his arm to his shoulder. The needle climbed.
“Ignition.”
Shen warned his allies calmly and pulled the trigger.
Whoosh—!
A sea of fire swallowed the corridor. A wave of crimson flame, incomparable to the fire from moments ago, surged toward Igor and Boris.
“What kind of….”
The students watched the overwhelming firepower, completely stunned. They were the ones who were called geniuses in the high school division, but the battles of real adults were on a different dimension.
“This is… the true fight of mages….”
The sweat beads on Freya’s cheeks evaporated before they could even touch the floor. The stone walls glowed red, and the mana lamps on the ceiling cracked under the intense heat. Boris stood in front of Igor, shielding him with his arms.
“Igor! I can’t hold this for long!”
“I’ve already analyzed it.”
Snap! Igor snapped his fingers. The flames, which seemed as if an entire furnace had been poured out, vanished like a candle being blown out. As soon as the fire died, Igor sneered at Commander Shen.
“You used such a basic fire spell. Using oxygen and dust for combustion? Isn’t that a formula from a hundred years ago?”
“…….”
The gaunt mage Igor feigned composure to provoke him. But Commander Shen didn’t fall for the taunt. He just silently fumbled with the controls of his device.
Click. No fire ignited.
Click. Click. Sparks only flew from the nozzle; no flame formed. Commander Shen’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s a Dispel.”
The ignition conditions for the magical device had been altered. Whirrr— The wingbeats of insects flying through the air were scattering the dust, hindering the collection of combustible materials. On top of that, the bugs crawling along the walls were rapidly changing the symbolic nature of the location. At this rate, he couldn’t properly ignite the fire. But Commander Shen didn’t panic.
“I will identify a bypass within five minutes. Provide cover.”
The short order was given. The soldiers immediately dispersed. Igor clicked his tongue at the mention of five minutes. 'Five minutes is enough to break through.' He had realized it from those two short exchanges just now. That man was accustomed to combat. The claim that he would find a bypass in five minutes couldn’t possibly be a bluff. Therefore, he needed to get out before then.
Igor’s gaze shifted to Boris, who stood beside him.
“Five minutes, huh.” Igor muttered, chewing on an unlit cigarette. “You’ve done well, Boris.”
“What…?”
Before Boris could even grasp the situation, Igor parted his lips and snapped one of his fingers. Snap! A sound like bones colliding echoed. At the same time, Boris clutched his own temple. With the feeling of something wriggling inside his brain, the edges of his vision began to turn red. He knew instinctively that something had gone wrong.
“Igor… you son of a bitch… don’t tell me….”
Boris’s vertical pupils trembled. He had known since he received the chimera procedure from the black mages that something had been implanted in his body. He had left it alone because the power provided by the chimera procedure was too great. He had been prepared, and he had even planned to run away if things went south. But now that it was actually happening, he couldn’t help but curse.
“Fuck…. This isn’t… right….”
With those final words, the light of reason in Boris’s eyes went out. In its place, pure impulse for violence filled the void. Director Shun’s eyes narrowed.
“Berserker transformation using Toxoplasma gondii as a catalyst, is it?”
“……?”
The gaunt mage wanted to ask the meaning of the term that flowed from Director Shun’s lips. As someone who explored black magic, the knowledge Director Shun possessed was quite covetable. But now was not the time.
“Boris. I’m counting on you. Use this to buy as much time as possible.”
Igor snapped his unbroken finger. The beetles that had been covering the mage’s body swarmed over Boris. Their dark blue shells glistened like oil under the residual light of the mana lamps.
“Grrr….”
Boris’s vertical pupils scanned the corridor. The reptilian instincts and violence remaining in him dictated one clear path: destroy the most dangerous thing first. And the most dangerous thing in this room was Commander Shen’s flamethrower.
“Graaaah!!”
He charged, clutching his great hammer. Every time his scaled legs struck the stone floor, the ground cracked.
“Fire.”
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat! The soldiers’ muzzles erupted in unison. When the bullets embedded themselves in Boris’s shoulder, two beetles were crushed and flew off. Blood sprayed from the occasional puncture in his skin. But Boris didn’t stop. His pupils were fixed on Commander Shen from start to finish.
Shen took his hands off the magical device he was dismantling and looked up. “…Tough, aren’t you.”
As the great hammer rose, a shadow fell over Commander Shen’s gas mask. Then, relying solely on gravity and brute strength without any technique, the hammerhead fell toward the crown of Shen’s head. However—Clang! Before it could make contact, the hammer stopped in mid-air.
What had wedged itself between the hammerhead and Commander Shen’s skull was a single handaxe. Following the handle of the handaxe, a red-haired girl in a gas mask stood there. Boris’s vertical pupils widened. He felt a greater threat from the young girl than from Commander Shen.
Skreeee! Immediately after, the handaxe slid down the handle of the great hammer. The red-haired girl—Erika—who had hooked the axe head like a claw, slammed down with her full weight.
“Oof.”
Boris, who hadn’t let go of the handle, had his upper body naturally jerked forward. Watching that scene, Commander Shen clicked his tongue in admiration.
“Using mana and aura simultaneously. Isn’t she already good enough to be called a knight apprentice?”
The lizard-like body tumbled forward. Using the reaction force of the slam, Erika vaulted over the lizard’s head. Her handaxe hooked under Boris’s thick chin.
“I was told not to kill you.”
Crack! The lizard’s neck turned at an angle different from that of a human. The sound of cervical vertebrae screaming under the scales echoed throughout the corridor. Focus vanished from Boris’s eyes. His massive body collapsed to the floor along with the great hammer.
Thud——
The red-haired girl jumped lightly off the fallen Boris and swung her axe once as if dusting off dirt.
“Where’s the mage?”
Erika’s gaze turned toward the end of the corridor, toward the stairs. She saw the back of Igor running toward them.
“Not so fast. Cruor.”
Sizzle. Erika’s palm grazed the edge of her axe. Bright red blood flowed along the blade. Erika took a stance and threw the axe. The axe, coated in dark red aura, tore through the air.
Thwack! The axe blade grazed Igor’s thigh as he rounded the corner of the stairs and embedded itself in the hem of his robe.
“Hngh!”
Igor gritted his teeth and hurried his pace. Shedding the robe that was firmly stuck to the wall, the black mage descended into the basement. Watching that back disappear into the darkness, Erika clicked her tongue.
“I’m sorry, Director Shun. I missed him again.”
Annoyance and self-reproach were mixed in Erika’s voice. But Director Shun waved a hand at her.
“It’s fine. He won’t be able to run away this time.”
His gaze fixed on the robe dropped on the floor. He approached the discarded robe, muttered a few words, and then turned his body toward Commander Shen.
“Commander, please continue the pursuit. If the mage disappears, don’t pursue him further; just return and report.”
“Understood.”
Commander Shen nodded briefly. The reinforcement circuits etched under his combat suit glowed red. Two soldiers followed behind him. The three-man pursuit team disappeared into the darkness, following Igor’s blood trail.
Director Shun watched their backs for a moment. Soon, he adjusted the brim of his fedora and walked toward the students who had collapsed against the wall. His gaze was fixed on one student the entire time.
“Student Karl.”
No answer returned. What came from his mouth wasn’t words, but a metallic rattling sound. His lips were turning purple, and cold sweat was streaming down his forehead. Director Shun quickly diagnosed Karl’s condition.
“It’s a pneumothorax. Were you hit in the chest?”
Karl nodded with difficulty. Director Shun knelt and sat beside Karl.
“Fortunately, you’re still conscious.”
Director Shun’s gaze stopped at Karl’s left chest.
“Student Ellie.”
Ellie. The scholarship student from the Alchemy Department. Her two hands were covered in blood as she was driving a quill-pen tube into Karl’s chest. Her glasses were crooked, and her fingers holding the tube were trembling.
“Director…!”
Ellie called out to Director Shun, on the verge of tears. Director Shun smiled as if to reassure her.
“You performed the treatment well. Thanks to you, you saved Student Karl’s life.”
The tube was embedded between Karl’s second ribs. Every time Karl’s chest rose and fell, a faint hissing sound came from the end of the tube. It meant the makeshift thoracic decompression device was working well.
“You didn’t let my words from our meal slip through the cracks.”
“B-but why can’t Karl breathe?”
Director Shun didn’t answer and lowered his gaze further. On the surface, there appeared to be no problem. However—tap, tap—thud. When he tapped his left and right chest alternately, different sounds returned. A clear sound came from the right, but a dull, heavy sound returned from the left.
“…Blood has pooled inside your chest. Hemothorax is progressing.”
Director Shun quickly opened his bag. First, he took out a brown bottle with a Latin label. [Erythroxylum Coca]Pop! After flicking the cap off with his finger, he filled a syringe with the drug from the brown bottle. Director Shun said while expelling air from the tip of the syringe.
“Student Karl. You must not fall asleep.”
Karl’s left thoracic cavity. Between the fourth and fifth ribs. Director Shun’s fingers traced the lower edge of the ribs to find the position. And then, he plunged the needle in.
“It won’t hurt as much now. Even so, you must not fall asleep. Student Ellie. Keep talking to Karl so he doesn’t fall asleep.”
“Yes?”
“I mean, talk about the day you two first met or something.”
While he was speaking, Karl’s expression became much more comfortable. The injection from moments ago had provided anesthesia. Julian prepared for the next procedure immediately. He opened his surgical tool case, changed his gloves, and poured disinfectant over his hands. Then, he picked up a custom razor that looked similar to a scalpel.
“Student Karl. Don’t be surprised now.”
The razor sliced through the flesh between the ribs. He cut through the subcutaneous tissue and incised the skin along the fiber direction of the anterior serratus and intercostal muscles. The time it took until the pleura was opened was less than a minute.
“Student Karl.”
“…….”
“It’s going to hurt a little.”
Immediately after he finished speaking, Director Shun’s index and middle fingers forced their way between the ribs. And then, his entire wrist entered Karl’s chest.
“…!!”
“…!”
The students and Ironclad soldiers present all held their breath at once. Hot blood soaked Director Shun’s sleeve deep red. He began to search for the torn part, relying solely on the sensation in his fingertips. 'It should be around here somewhere… hmm… ah, found it.'
The lung was torn. A broken rib had punctured the lung, causing blood to pool inside the chest. The solution in such cases was simple. If a faucet is leaking? You just shut it off. The human body was no different.
'Here it is.'
Director Shun gripped the root of the lung (hilum) where the bleeding was spurting out with his hand. And then, he twisted and snapped the root of the lung 180 degrees. Crunch!
“????”
“????”
An ominous sound effect was heard from Karl’s chest. The mouths of the students watching fell open. A gun dropped from the hand of one of the Ironclad members with a clatter. But the more surprising point was that Karl’s condition began to improve rapidly afterward.
“Haaah!”
Wheeze—wheeze— Karl’s breathing, which had seemed like he was on the verge of passing away just moments ago, returned. Color began to return to his lips, which had been turning purple.
“My god….”
While the students and soldiers rubbed their eyes at a sight they couldn’t believe even after seeing it, Director Shun had already finished suturing the skin.
“This should be enough. For the rest, you can go back and receive healing magic at the temple.”
Director Shun smiled brightly as he organized his blood-stained gloves. He was feeling proud for the first time in a while, at the fact that he could utilize his primary specialty. 'As expected, I am a Surgeon. My senses haven’t dulled yet.'
He had been worried that he might make a mistake since he hadn’t done it in so long. But as expected, perhaps because he had performed hundreds of such surgeries in his past life, Julian’s body moved on its own as soon as he intended to act.
At that moment, Ellie, who was holding Karl’s hand tightly, asked with a trembling voice.
“D… Director. By any chance, was that just now….”
“?”
“I… is it something like black magic? Like a chimera procedure….”
Director Shun shook his head vigorously.
“No. This isn’t the realm of magic, but… hmm… that’s right. It’s a rudimentary technique. It’s a technique that everyone here could do if they practiced.”
From Julian’s perspective, surgery was a realm that could be managed through effort compared to magic. It didn’t require any ridiculous talent like feeling the symbol of arrogance or sensing the energy of rage. In other words, surgery was a realm that could be reached with human-level effort even without superhuman talent. Director Shun had spoken to the group with that intention.
'No. I don’t think I could do that, Director.'
'Isn’t that visionary magic?'
'Older brother. You really are amazing…!'
Though that intention wasn’t conveyed very well.