With the pleasantries out of the way, both Auren and Dr. Bafu turn serious—the time for idle talk is over as they both switch into work mode.
One by one, Dr. Bafu walks Auren through each case. He carefully and precisely explains how the patients contracted their infections, the probable cause, and the treatments currently being administered. He ends his reports with the outlook for every patient's recovery. "Nobody here shows any promise of recovery. Without a new cure—which we'd have to develop—they'll die. Most of them won't last longer than a couple of weeks."
"How long does it take to develop vaccines and medicine to combat these issues?" Auren asks. "I can't remain here forever. As far as I know, it takes years... maybe a decade? This is more serious than I anticipated."
"We have our most skilled people working on it. I'm in charge of that task." Dr. Bafu's voice stays steady. "These diseases are unknown, but they're not fundamentally different from known diseases. The world-famous Disease Hunter, Cheadle Yorkshire, has made astonishing advancements in that field, and she has provided all of her knowledge and findings to certain organisations, research labs, and V5-run hospitals without profit as their main goal. Of course, it's strictly confidential, so it doesn't fall into the hands of people trying to profit from that knowledge."
He pauses only briefly, then continues, a hint of amusement on his face. "Using my old position as one of the leading medical professionals in the Kingdom, I took it all with me when I joined Hollow Blade. Together with a few cells, it was quite easy to obtain that information and even valuable samples. Though I suspect I'll be an international fugitive when my deeds finally come to light, which should take around half a year, thanks to the slow-moving bureaucracy."
He has sacrificed a lot... all in, huh?
"Though it's not my speciality, using the samples I've brought with me, along with the samples from our patients, along with my Hatsu—which will aid me—I don't think I need longer than a month or two to develop a first working vaccine. I have skilled people helping me and more and more experts are arriving every month. Each wave of new migrants brings in countless experts. I hope the first version I'm developing will suffice for our emergency needs. I'll simply tweak it along the way until it improves. The same is true for various antidotes."
Impressive... though I worry when I hear about these damn cell activities again. Hollow Blade's actions are getting bolder... this is risky.
"That sounds promising," Auren says, nodding, trying his best to remain calm. "I'll stay here for a while until you develop your vaccines. Please focus on them. I'm sure you'll agree that's the highest priority."
With a permanent solution in sight, Dr. Bafu and Auren continue their private visitation through the tiny ward.
It takes over thirty minutes for him to walk Auren through all the infected people in the room.
I have no idea how I would even treat these issues conventionally. I barely understood their conditions with whatever basic medical knowledge I bothered to learn. I can only rely on Azure Restoration. In fact, that's what I want. I want my Hatsu to do the impossible. Trying to mix in half-baked medical knowledge will only remove the ability further from what I want it to be.
"You may leave the room for now. I'll give you and the others five minutes to turn off the cameras," Auren announces. "I'll talk with you afterwards. I might have more questions."
"This... I... I understand," a torn Dr. Bafu responds, trying his best not to show his disappointment.
"Dr," Auren says, addressing him. "My methods are not guided by logic. You won't learn a thing. It serves no useful purpose to have spectators. Curiosity is not a valid reason."
"I understand," Dr. Bafu replies, swiftly waving towards a few other doctors and nurses currently tending the patients, signalling them to exit the room with him.
One nurse hesitates and speaks up, "Vice-Leader Auren, please treat the patient on bed 14 soon. I fear he won't last long without our care."
She has guts. I like it.
"Understood," Auren replies. "If you have useful information, always speak up. I'll get angry if you leave things out because of my position."
With a smile, the nurse follows after the others, leaving Auren and Vanessa alone with the patients, most of them unconscious.
"Heh, you are kinda cool, Auren," Vanessa says, hugging him from behind and pressing her body against his. "I guess you're a very cool little brother."
"... and you are a very clingy and silly big sister. Stop pressing your fat against me, or I'll have to get angry," Auren returns.
"... Grow up already," Vanessa says, puffing. "You should be grateful, you brat. I'm one of the most popular bachelorettes in the world, and I'm giving you a hug because you were cool." She squeezes him once more anyway, not giving in. "Be grateful. Little kids usually instantly fall in love with me and get all teary-eyed and blush when I pay attention to them."
"I am not a little kid," Auren notes. "I also think your definition of love is a little inaccurate, not that I want to go into more details."
"Fine, stay like that," Vanessa says, sounding a little annoyed. "In a few years, you'll be all over me, and at that point, I won't be able to hug you like that anymore... You'll only stay cute for a few more years. Afterwards, things will get complicated, and your big sister can't be this lovable anymore...."
She sighs loudly. "Stingy and stubborn little brother."
"Don't get cocky, woman. Shut up and actually take a look at how I'll cure these people," Auren says, walking up to the first patient—a male worker in his twenties who can only breathe with the help of machines. "According to Dr. Bafu, his condition is so bad he'll die within days. Now pay attention. Maybe you'll get a tiny hint of how a true Nen prodigy operates."
Auren then activates his Hatsu, dyeing the entire room in the familiar, mysterious Azure colour.
"I am looking," Vanessa says, stubbornly. "What am I supposed to see? I'll only see Azure Aura. It makes you look cool, beautiful, mysterious, and even a little... it doesn't matter... but that's all I see." She snorts. "Also, that arrogance doesn't suit you. Don't even pretend, you are far too cute for that."
"Use Gyo and inspect the patient... not me," Auren remarks. "This might take a while. If any patient needs urgent help, tell me. This is serious."
Auren, one by one, carefully uses Azure Restoration on every patient.
Their bodies are tired and weak, a condition I could fix in seconds—however, that would only temporarily help them. It would only last a short while before the underlying conditions quickly deteriorate their bodies once again.
Instead, I need to focus my Aura and my intent towards the goal of curing the diseases themselves.
It takes time—almost fifteen minutes—before Auren succeeds in curing the first patient. Thankfully, the process hasn't used up too much Aura, and Auren's face remains confident.
I see... this is not about Aura quantity. It's about control.
It's about successfully using Azure Restoration to target the disease, not just a specific body part, while letting most of the Aura disperse through the body without wasting it.
I need to target the specific ailment which, in this case, is the disease itself. I need to use Azure Restoration on the patient's entire body and then restore their body into one without the disease. If I leave out a part, I'm wasting my time.
In other words, I simply have to remove the microscopic anomalies inside their bodies that are slowly killing them.
It takes almost no Aura, but a lot of control. This is something new. I'll be able to progress a lot if I heal them all... it was a good decision to come here. This is a huge chance to take my Hatsu even further.
Time to learn and improve.
In waves of around 20 minutes, every single patient miraculously recovers, waking up, requiring at least five minutes to grasp their condition. Vanessa, under Auren's stern gaze, helps each patient leave the room, escorting them outside before Auren continues.
Exactly three hours later, an exhausted Auren, followed by Vanessa and the last of the ten, now perfectly healthy patients—who still have tears running down their faces—join the doctors and nurses on the other side. Every medical professional stares at Auren in total shock, not believing their eyes.
"This is... unscientific," one especially stunned doctor can't help himself and remarks. "With that ability... you could get rich!"
Oh really....
"Thank you for that ingenious insight. I'll take a break and continue with the other patients in the other shacks. There is no reason to attend to me. I'll find my way around," Auren announces. "Keep up the good work."
After that, he quickly gives Dr. Bafu his card with his number and receives the doctor's card in return.
Thankfully, the Beetle works anywhere, even in this godforsaken jungle, thanks to its built-in antenna. I wonder how that works... aren't we in danger of getting tracked? No... it should be fine. There are no satellites here... what was a satellite again? Whenever I think about these things, my mind hurts.
After saying their goodbyes to the doctors, Auren exits the shack, with Vanessa strolling after him. Auren confidently walks further out, away from the settlement and towards the wild.
A few minutes later, they reach the very edge of the forest. After walking around a little, Auren and Vanessa sit on top of a small hill they stumble across, the forest behind them and the growing settlement right in front of them. The added height lets them see even the harbour and the small airport near the coast.
"This spot is crazy," Vanessa says. "This place is a mix between hell and a paradise. This could become a really nice place if we could just secure it properly. This is so exciting. Nobody knows that we're secretly creating a kingdom here."
"There is no king..." Auren remarks bluntly.
"Queendom," Vanessa corrects.
"Rakshala is not a queen either," Auren informs her.
"Then what is this place or country called?" Vanessa asks, looking confused.
"It's best you don't stress over the details." Auren shrugs. "For now, this is merely Landing Point A, belonging to the organisation Hollow Blade. Details will follow soon... hopefully. Let me rest a while. I plan to finish this today, and I need to recover my Aura."
Auren then sits down cross-legged and uses Zetsu to recover as much Aura as he can, as quickly as possible. Vanessa sits down behind him, their backs touching, with her overseeing the forest and him looking towards the settlement.
Trying to empty his mind, Auren closes his eyes and fully focuses on his recovery, choosing to meditate while remaining completely still.
With his senses sharpened, he vaguely hears the machinery in the distance, digging up the earth. He hears the thousands of people near the tents, the workers near the harbour, and the container city further away. On the other side is the forest with its endless lifeforms and birds. The contrast between those two zones feels strange, and he is sitting right in the middle of it.
Despite the tumult, he manages to relax, and his Aura recovers at a fast pace.
An hour passes.
Suddenly, Auren feels a shift behind him, sensing movement.
He opens his eyes and turns around.
Vanessa is gone.
En!
Auren quickly creates an En bubble around him. At the very edge of his radius, he spots Vanessa, with multiple large creatures around her.
This idiot! Why doesn't she ask for help?!
Slightly panicked, Auren rushes forward, trying to back her up.
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A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
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