?
Zach had promised him that the illness would subside this time truly but Drew didn't dare to expect too much even though he trusted Zach somewhat more than others.
The frown on his forehead vanished completely as if it hadn't existed in the first place. His pursed lips let out a relieved sigh and a smile appeared on Drew's face unconsciously. He was completely surprised by the outcome of the surgery.
His old friend was slowly regaining his vitality. The process seemed to be slow but it was definitely happening and that was the most important part of the process if he was ever going to recover.
Ever since he began to treat his friend for his illness, Drew had never been able to pull off such a feat. Every time he tried to heal his friend, he had to resort to suppressing the disease since it was a complicated ailment that couldn't be resolved easily. And every single time, Marico's body grew more burdened by the suppression of the disease. The next time the illness came back, it was always stronger than it was in the past because it had slowly been eating away at the old man's vitality.
But this time, the old man seemed to be recovering his vitality slowly instead of being juiced by his ailment. Drew could barely contain his excitement any longer. The rate at which his vitality was recovering, Drew felt that it wouldn't take long for his friend to get rid of the disease he had been suffering from for a good portion of his life completely and an inexplicable happiness replaced his solemn attitude.
For Drew who had been a master of healing ever since he first found his healing attribute. He had never been envious of other people and had carefully walked the path of a true medicinal practitioner which was why he knew of almost all the procedures that could be carried out on a body.
But even he had never seen or heard of any such medical procedure that could allow the sharing of the organs with other human beings. He felt as if a whole new world had opened and had broadened his horizons. He could never bring himself to say that he had learned everything that the life had to offer regarding the subject of healing and medicine.
But when faced with Zach's crazy and outlandish treatment methods, Drew felt like he hadn't done his best for his patients before. This kind of barbaric method that utilized the bone marrow of a loved one to save the patient was bordering at the edge of insanity but turned out to be extremely effective. It made him want to rethink every treatment he had ever done. He wondered how many patients had lost their lives in his hands just because he wasn't willing to take the risk of exploring into the unknown or dabbling into taboos in order to cure the patient.
That was the reason he couldn't stop admiring Zach because he had the courage to do anything for his patients. He had probably come up with such treatment methods because he cared enough for his patients and was willing to learn. Unlike him, Zach had not stagnated after becoming an accomplished healer. Unlike him, Zach didn't want to be called a healer. Rather he wanted to heal the sick. Both Zach and Drew healed patients but the difference between the two was just the motives.
While Drew was busy fantasizing and admiring about Zach's medical expertise, he vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to return the favor to Zach for healing his old friend.
…
Zach was still keeping Luna's body under his watch. No one was allowed to go into his room without his permission because of Luna. He had been trying to keep Luna from those who might want to harm her because she was a succubus. Although he knew that there was probably no one among his followers who might want to harm her, Zach couldn't help but remain cautious because human heart could be a fickle thing. There were countless motivators that could lead a man astray and greed and wealth was one of them.
Zach didn't want to endanger Luna because of someone's cheap or greedy nature.
Therefore, when Drew went to visit Luna in order to return the favor, Zach was the one who personally led the way into the room.
Zach stopped by the bedside and cast a longing look towards Luna who refused to respond to him even though he had been pleading with her for so long. He had been whispering sweet nothings to her, coaxing her to wake up every time he was with her but Luna had shown no inclination of waking up so far.
Drew nodded towards Zach compassionately and went over to the empty bedside opposite to Zach. The same white light engulfed his hand as he waved it over Luna's body like a modern day 3D scanner. He then proceeded to touch her forehead and closed his eyes. The tendrils of light plunged into her body and helped Drew assess her condition.
Drew's expressions changed after a few seconds as he withdrew his hand from her forehead as he drew successive heavy breaths to calm himself down.
"I have finished examining her body. It's not a disease or any ailment as far as I can understand. She is in a state of dormancy at the moment and cannot feel anything around her. Think of it as someone who is alive but no longer in contact with the living world. She is just sleeping."
Zach had assumed as much as well. He knew that Luna was probably in a coma or a vegetative state. Since his AI Medical system was unable to tell him what was wrong with Luna, it was probably a magic related ailment. Therefore, he needed the old doctor to tell him a possible solution and the probable cause of Luna's condition.
"That aligns with my line of thought as well but what could be the cause of her condition?" asked Zach with some concern. He needed to discern Luna's condition accurately in order to search for a possible solution to her problem.
"Although, the succubi and the humans are both bipedal intelligent races who have similar appearances, the structure and the functioning of the physical bodies are actually much different. Unlike humans, some rare succubi have the ability to hibernate like animals in order to avoid their deaths or any situation that might cause them severe harm. Their bodies basically enter into such a state as a sort of defense mechanism in order to keep them safe. And the succubi have the ability to wake up on their own when the danger has passed or their senses deem it safe enough."
Zach felt slightly energized after the old man's explanation. Luna had actually been in life threatening situation before she fell into this coma. It might have been the result of the Black Panther trying to harm her. Her body might have shut down due to that.
Feeling excited Zach asked Drew "Is that what happened to Luna? Is she one of those special succubi you are telling me about?"
"At first I thought that was the case with Luna but sadly her condition appears to be much more serious than self-induced hibernation. I have heard about some cases like these but none of them reached even close to hers in terms of severity."
Drew didn't even hesitate before crushing his hopes completely. Only after cruelly telling the truth did he realize what he had done to Zach. He could only plaster an apologetic expression on his face as he asked for Zach's forgiveness employing full use of his visage that was riddled with the signs of old age.
"If it isn't a self induced hibernation, then what is it? Why isn't she waking up? She has had enough rest to outlive all kinds of diseases. Is there something wrong with her body?" Zach's concern was overflowing as he asked the doctor about Luna's condition. He couldn't bear the mystery any longer and requested the doctor to be direct with him.
"I can't tell you the exact reason because I think you might know it better than me. I can only assume that she previously carried out some task that was far beyond her capabilities and used some racial secret of hers to consume everything in her body at the same time in return for a momentary increase in her capability. Her body is like a completely drained well that is entirely devoid of mana. Not a single trace of mana still remains in her body. It is almost as if she is an ordinary person who has never been able to wield mana. But being a Succubus, I can assure you that such a thing isn't possible. That can only mean that she has used her body's complete potential somewhat recently and her body shut down in order to prevent her life force and vitality from being consumed as well. Had she been more reckless, she might have lost her life as well."
Drew explained the situation to Zach in a solemn manner because he knew that the succubus was extremely important to Zach.
Zach on the other hand was completely shocked. He hadn't expected the situation with Luna to be so serious. His brows furrowed and a hint of sadness engulfed his eyes as he tried to hold back his urge to cry. He couldn't believe the price Luna had to pay in order to save him from the Black Panther.
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