Chapter 93: Emergency Surgery (2)
Ray created a small scalpel with mana.
He gently sliced through Ziks abdomen, making an incision, and Pia and Iriel gasped in shock.
What are you doing? I thought you were going to heal him!
Ahhhh! Zik is going to die!
Iriel, who had entrusted Zik to Ray, recalled the time Ray had healed the Dukes daughter during the last royal command and was considerably startled.
To make a wound in order to treat one, what kind of madness was this?
Contrary to their alarm, Ray did not change his expression while making an incision in Ziks abdomen.
Be quiet. If I cant concentrate, he really could die right here.
Instead of reassurance, they received a scolding.
But hes a saint, so there must be some way? Hes the one who even defeated the bone dragon
The trust given by the title saint silenced Pias protests.
Ray, who had been carefully examining Ziks internal organs, turned his head and said,
Iriel, make sure that no poison gas comes near me.
Understood.
Upon hearing Rays words, Iriel immediately exhaled holy power.
Then the poison gas was quickly pushed back with a whoosh.
Even if she cleaned the air, poison gas would just form again.
It would be less exertion of holy power to push it away.
Ordinary poison gas would be purified by the holy power emanating from Ray if it got near him, but if by some chance the poison gas infiltrated Zik, the situation could become much more serious.
That was why he had asked Iriel to do this.
Ray looked over the organs inside Ziks chest.
Even with a cursory glance, the condition of his body came to mind like a picture.
The lungs were fine, but the heart was quite serious.
But that did not mean there was a heart available for transplant.
Ray looked at the heart of the bone dragon that was placed next to him.
It had the hard texture of a rock and was about the size of a watermelon.
If such a thing had been implanted in Ziks chest in place of a heart, he would have almost certainly died on the spot.
It was doubtful whether it could have been joined in the first place.
There are no medical devices, nor organs for transplantation
The surgery was nearly impossible. Even if it had been done together with the grand immortal, it would have been difficult.
Yet, there were about three methods available.
The first was to find an organ for transplant.
But it was impossible to move to Hana Castle, and there was no time to find a donor.
Moreover, there were a total of eleven people present.
One was the patient, Zik, and another was Ziks surgeon, Ray.
Then there was Pia, the daughter of a prestigious family, one of the three great families serving the saint, and Iriel, the saint herself.
The remaining seven were those guarding Ray.
None of these people could afford to die.
Thus, the first method was not an option to heal Zik.
The second was to heal Zik as he was.
To mend the torn heart, and to find the proper place for the mashed intestines.
Of course, that alone would have been possible. It would have been possible for him, who was once known as a legend in the modern world.
That would have been if Ziks body was normal.
Right now, Zik was in a state where his body was severely eroded by dark energy, enough that it was flaring out of him.
Iriels healing seemed to be taking effect, the holy power gradually suppressing the dark energy, but the progress was slow.
If it had continued at this pace, he would surely have died.
The third method, the only one left, was to absorb the dark energy.
Objects with relatively less mana had a tendency to absorb mana from other objects.
To explain with an example, when there was an object with mana below a certain standard, that object absorbed the mana from the atmosphere until it had the standard amount of mana.
This applied to divine power and demonic energy as well.
This theory had led to the creation of the Mana Drain magic.
From there, he altered the Mana Drain that only absorbed mana. If one could control the atmospheric mana, then even demonic energy and divine power could be absorbed.
Before the atmospheric mana could replenish ones own mana, that mana was temporarily frozen.
As a result, the relatively increased demonic energy was drawn towards oneself.
Just like a sponge absorbing water.
Theres no other way but this.
Gulp-
He swallowed his saliva and took a deep breath.
If he protected his hand with mana, then demonic energy wouldnt be absorbed.
But even for Ray, it was dangerous to absorb demonic energy directly without any protective measures.
Huuu
He exhaled and temporarily froze the mana that was actively circulating in his left hand.
Just that action alone invaded his left hand with an unusual fatigue that he had never felt before.
Placing that hand on Ziks body, the demonic energy inside Zik, delighted, transferred into Rays body.
Iriel and Pia were horrified at the sight.
They knew what he was doing; they had eyes to see.
Absorbing demonic energy? Was he in his right mind!
The rampaging demonic energy was absorbed along Rays left hand.
Ray, despite sweating profusely, suppressed the mana that was trying to react uncontrollably.
Ugh
His hand began to tremble. He had only been cut a few times, but how could there be so much demonic energy inside him!
After absorbing all of Ziks demonic energy, Rays left hand discolored to a yellowish-brown.
In contrast, the color of Ziks skin returned to a healthy tone.
Ray immediately began the surgery thereafter.
There was no time to calm the demonic energy.
He joined the valves in the incised chest to the heart.
If he left the valves as they were, the blood in the heart would keep missing its mark, potentially leading to death.
Luckily, the heart muscle was only slightly punctured, so it wasnt a big issue to leave it as is.
Normally, one maintained the systemic circulation on a cardiopulmonary bypass and operated while the heart was stopped.
It would have been much easier to perform the surgery that way, but what could one expect in a world without medical equipment?
Ray operated while the heart was still active.
Of course, that didnt mean the patient would die.
However, operating on an active heart was dozens of times more difficult than on a stopped one.
The miraculous dexterity of his hands took place over Ziks chest.
If the blood pressure suddenly rose or fell, it would be over.
Therefore, Rays touch was extremely cautious.
If any modern doctors saw this, they would be aghast.
Risking the patients life on an adventure! If the proficiency in heart surgery was a bit lacking, the patient could die during the operation.
However, Ray never gambled with a patients life.
How could that be proven?
The fact that Zik was still breathing was the proof.
During the surgery, when a severe pain surged in his left hand, Ray swallowed his groan.
Ugh! Damn, it hurts!
He bore the pain and sutured the heart. He had repaired the ragged heart well enough to function, so all that was left was to let it heal naturally.
After successfully suturing the chest, he looked at Ziks abdomen.
The surgery was not yet over.
The heart, which was the most critical, was fortunately put back on track, but the abdomen had not yet been treated.
It seems bearable enough judging by the color and degree of inflation of the lungs.
Unlike other doctors, Ray didnt consider the patients condition based solely on one organ.
It was the collective functioning of various organs and muscles that constituted the human body.
How could one judge the overall condition of the patient by a single organ?
Zik was indeed worthy of being called a Swordmaster, a being at the limits of human capacity.
Even after such extensive surgery, he still had physical strength left.
He was not in a state where he could undergo the next operation.
Ray immediately proceeded with the surgery on the abdomen.
In modern times, many would have clamored for the chance to perform surgery even once with him.
But now, there was neither a common assistant nor an anesthetist not even a surgical nurse was present.
The surgery had to be done even faster and with more precision than a machine for it to be successful.
Suppressing the pain that assaulted his left hand, Ray picked up the scalpel.
He looked once more at the organs through the incised lower abdomen.
The ileum (the last part of the small intestine leading to the cecum) is a mess It must have been more than a mere fight to get this bad
Fortunately, there was no sign of secondary infection.
The internal tissues had not yet begun to necrotize.
With this condition, it was definitely possible to save him!
Ray washed his hands again.
Clean.
With a swish-
Even though his mana-covered hands continued to be accompanied by pain, it was not something that could be remedied immediately.
Iriel, filled with a toxic aura, purified the atmosphere while anxiously watching over Ray.
Saint
It was evident that Rays surgical skills, while treating Ziks heart, were not of a novice.
Moreover, after Rays treatment, the once irregularly beating heart was now beating quite regularly, which inspired confidence in the surgery.
Although it was an absolutely forbidden method of treatment, his treatment was clearly effective.
Pia, seemingly sharing Iriels thoughts, watched, holding back her tears.
Ray checked the condition of the other organs in the abdomen by touch.
The healing speed has increased significantly Is it thanks to absorbing mana?
Naturally, as a Swordmaster, his self-healing ability couldnt be less than that of ordinary people.
Ziks miraculous rate of self-healing was probably due to his original physical condition.
Ray stirred around the mesentery a few times before removing his hand.
There were no additional organs with abnormalities.
Likely, this was due to Zik receiving all the attacks from the undead in similar places.
The small cut on the flank, the ileum in the lower abdomen, and even the heart.
If there were places that required surgery, these three would be it.
Ray started suturing the torn areas of the intestine, returning it to its place.
His suturing with a thread created by mana, at precise intervals, was incredibly meticulous.
The index and thumb held the thread, while the ring and little fingers tied it off.
This series of movements was impressively precise and quick.
How much practice must he have done to be able to perform like this?
The damaged internal tissues gradually regained shape and found their place.
Whenever sweat threatened to disrupt his concentration, he immediately used magic to remove it.
Since there was no one else to assist, it was only natural.
Having repaired the ileum in the lower abdomen, he promptly turned the tip of the scalpel.
The cut on the flank was not severe.
But if there had been a problem with the descending colon next to it, he might have needed to be connected to a tube to pass stool for the rest of his life.
Of course, in this other world, where would one find such a tube?
Checking the descending colon repeatedly for other injuries, Ray found no other abnormalities.
It appeared that only the skin on the flank was cut.
It was a stroke of great luck that the injury was only this minor despite having been cut.
Ray quickly sutured the flank and the lower abdomen.
Long surgery time was not beneficial.
The surgery was successfully completed. All that was left was for Zik to regain consciousness and for him to endure.
Bruises and scrapes would, well, heal cleanly on their own if left alone.
Ray finished the surgery and relaxed.
At that moment of relief, a severe pain in his left hand struck the back of his head like a hammer.
He collapsed on the spot instantly.
Argh
Upon seeing this, Iriel and Pia were shocked and hurried over.
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