Chapter 465: Elixir (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 465: Elixir (3)
Her sister, who had been bedridden for so long, returned from an examination—the first time she had left her room in ages.
And the doctor who returned with her wore an expression of utter bewilderment.
It was understandable.
“The congenital mana deficiency… has been completely cured. No, it’s hard to even call this a cure.”
The symptoms of congenital mana deficiency, known in Hunter society as an incurable or untreatable disease, had vanished.
But that wasn’t all.
“I don’t know how this happened, but… patient Baek Hyeon-jin’s physical condition is incredibly good.”
“Good, you say…?”
“I mean, once she regains consciousness, all she’ll need is proper nutrition, and she’ll be well enough to walk… no, to run around.”
Wasn’t it absurd?
That a patient who had been unconscious for over a decade, unable to even turn over on her own and relying on nurses to reposition her, was only lacking nutrients.
Both the attending physician and the guardian were baffled, unable to comprehend the situation.
Their gazes naturally shifted to Kim Do-jin, who was sitting on a chair a short distance away, dozing off with a face etched with fatigue.
They both realized it at the same time.
‘It has to be him.’
He was the only one who could provide a clear answer to this incomprehensible reality.
Without a word, they both started walking toward Kim Do-jin.
A shadow fell over him in an instant.
As Kim Do-jin lifted his head with a dazed look, Baek Hyeon-a spoke.
“The examination just finished. Hyeon-jin… they said she’s completely cured.”
“Hehe, that’s great.”
Kim Do-jin smiled, his laughter filled with unadorned, pure joy.
“…Can I ask you something?”
“How I treated your sister?”
“Yes.”
Two pairs of intense eyes were fixed on him.
One was a mage, the other a doctor.
Both belonged to professions that would be offended to be called second-best when it came to satisfying curiosity, resolving questions, and understanding the unknown.
But it was a pity.
The answer he was about to give belonged to a realm far different from the understanding or resolution they sought.
“This probably isn’t the answer you’re looking for, but if I have to say it… I just overwhelmed it with the power of an elixir.”
It was an unexpected answer, one that fell far short of their expectations.
The doctor, who had been watching quietly, cautiously stepped forward.
“There have been frequent attempts to treat congenital mana deficiency with elixirs until now. And all of them have failed.”
Everyone else failed, so how could you alone succeed?
“Well… that’s probably because the elixirs other people used were too weak, right?”
The doctor’s expression soured at the remark, which seemed to dismiss all their previous efforts.
“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we’ve tried most of the existing elixirs as a form of treatment for this disease…”
“Right. ‘Most’ means there were some you haven’t tried. I used one of those.”
It was frustrating.
This wasn’t a game of twenty questions, yet he kept picking at the end of every sentence.
But for Kim Do-jin, this process was necessary.
This wasn’t just any elixir; it was a treatment performed using the Elixir, the greatest miracle drug in existence.
Even if it was to repay a life debt, wasn’t this enough to move the other party?
Ever since his past life, Kim Do-jin had never been one to hide such good deeds.
Why should he?
He wasn’t claiming to have done something he hadn’t; he was simply stating a fact.
As Kim Do-jin continued his deliberate, dramatic way of speaking, the doctor’s patience reached its limit.
“So, the elixir you used this time… could you perhaps tell us what it was?”
“Of course.”
Unlike before, he answered readily. He took a small bottle from the box beside him and showed it to the two of them.
“This is it.”
“Hmm… this is…?”
Just as the doctor, unable to contain his curiosity about the elixir, leaned forward…
Kim Do-jin continued.
“Elixir.”
“Huh…?!”
“Oh my…!”
The sudden appearance of the greatest existing miracle drug.
Both of their faces were painted with shock.
* * *
Things had gone wrong.
In fact, “wrong” wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how distorted everything had become.
Every result has a cause.
So she looked back.
She traced back to where it all began.
The answer came quickly.
“Kim Do-jin…”
The moment he started running rampant, all her smoothly progressing plans began to grind to a halt.
“Haa.”
She regretted it.
She should have done something when she first realized what a significant threat he would become.
Back then, she thought she had plenty of time.
But she was wrong.
‘He grew up far too quickly.’
In the blink of an eye, he had grown far too powerful.
So powerful that even she couldn’t handle him completely.
Thanks to him, her own situation had become precarious.
The major and minor incidents that had occurred in Korea.
A portion of the responsibility for failing to prevent them had been shifted onto her.
“……”
Of course, they couldn’t directly harm or sanction her.
Her role was, after all, that of an ally.
She was walking alongside them because she sympathized with parts of their cause, not because she was their subordinate.
But at the same time, she wasn’t in a position to completely ignore their opinions.
It was while she was deep in thought…
Vvvvmm—
A smartphone vibrated.
“……”
It wasn’t her usual phone on the desk, but another one, hidden deep inside a drawer.
This phone only ever rang for one reason.
A summons.
“Haa.”
Letting out a small sigh, she immediately stood up, took the elevator, and headed to her laboratory.
The spacious area was packed with facilities and equipment.
Among them was a single piece of equipment unrelated to research.
It was a transparent crystal ball, placed in a corner of her desk.
It was not, of course, for decoration.
It was a communication device.
An Artifact she had secretly developed, never revealed to the public, and used solely as a means of communication with the organization.
When she infused mana into the empty crystal ball, it connected to another ball at a designated coordinate, showing what it saw.
A dark background and a faint silhouette within it came into focus inside the crystal.
—“It’s been a while, Scarlet Witch.”
The warm, affectionate voice of a young man followed.
In stark contrast, Han Ju-hee responded coldly.
“I’m busy, so just get to the point.”
A voice full of regret came back.
—“My… still so cold. I was hoping we could have a closer relationship.”
Her brow furrowed.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I sympathize with your cause, but I have no intention of getting personally close to you.”
—“Haha… you put it so bluntly, there’s nothing more I can say.”
There is nothing more rude, or more damaging to a relationship, than willfully crossing a line that has been drawn.
Knowing this, the man took a step back at her firm response.
—“Fine. We’ll get straight to the point, just as you wish.”
His tone lowered.
Simultaneously, the atmosphere shifted.
The warm, affectionate mood vanished, replaced by one so cold it was chilling and sharp. He continued.
—“You are aware, I trust, that the recent failures in Korea and its neighboring countries have been quite painful.”
“……”
—“Of course, it’s not your fault. However… we’ve concluded that if you had been a little more proactive, the outcome would have been better than it is now.”
It was true.
She had, in fact, maintained a passive stance during several incidents.
That was because in every case that went wrong, Kim Do-jin had been at the center of the chaos, along with her daughter.
A surge of anger rose in her at the memory, and she shot back with a sharp glare.
“So what are you trying to say?”
—“Suspicion.”
“Suspicion… you say?”
—“Because there’s no way someone as thorough as you wouldn’t have anticipated this outcome. Am I wrong?”
“……”
She fell silent again.
It would be a lie to say she hadn’t anticipated it at all.
But her fault was only a small part of it.
“It’s also a result of the organization being weaker than I thought.”
—“……”
She wasn’t the only one being pushed around by a single nuisance.
The organization was in the same boat, unable to catch him and facing failure after failure.
The man was silent for a moment before readily accepting her sharp retort.
—“You’re not wrong. It’s true we’ve been neglecting Asia, as matters here are more urgent.”
But he didn’t just accept it.
—“…And that’s why we were counting on your assistance.”
His voice sent a chill down her spine.
It was a warning.
A warning that this was as far as she could go in shifting the blame onto the organization.
She changed the subject.
“So… because you suspect me, you want me to prove myself again?”
—“Not prove, exactly. It’s just that there’s something I’d like you to help with.”
She curled one side of her lip, sneering at his words.
It was a pathetic word game.
If dispelling their suspicion through this ‘help’ wasn’t a test of proof, what was?
If she had her way, she would have cut off the communication and let them suspect all they wanted, but she held back.
And she asked.
“What do you need help with?”
The man flashed a wide grin, revealing his white teeth as he answered.
—“Brain Washer. We need him.”