Raven looked down at himself, unable to move properly, and let out a bewildered voice.
"What's this? Why? Why have I stopped moving?"
"Well, your soul might be rotten enough to be used as fertilizer, but it seems this oath is still etched in your memory."
I named the oath I had just recited the first line of.
"The 'Protector of Humanity Oath.'"
"..."
Like doctors on Earth recite the Hippocratic Oath.
This was the oath doctors in the Lake Kingdom swore upon receiving their license, in front of the people in the city square.
Raven's smog-like body shuddered backward as if hit by a wave. I smirked.
"So, you remember now?"
"Impossi..."
"Back when you were a sane human, on the day you received your medical license, you recited this oath in the city square!"
In the game, there's a tablet found in the 'Hospital' dungeon.
This tablet contains the 'Protector of Humanity Oath' along with a note left by someone - <In honor of all the protectors who fought against the plague>.
When encountering Raven after reading this tablet, a gimmick becomes available to recite the contents of the tablet to him.
The effect lasts only 1 turn but results in complete immobilization.
In the game, whether or not this gimmick was used made a huge difference in the difficulty of clearing the boss. So, before confronting Raven, I always prioritized conquering the 'Hospital' dungeon.
But in this reality?
There was no need to visit that dungeon. I had recited this oath so many times in the game that I had memorized it!
I continued to recite the 'Protector of Humanity Oath.'
"First, I shall abide by all laws and systems for the benefit of humanity."
"Stop it..."
"Second, I shall always follow the highest moral and ethical standards, no matter the situation."
"Stop! Just stop!"
Raven cried out in agony.
Why does this monster, fallen into a pit of evil, react to such an oath?
Who knows.
Some people remember they were human by looking at gold coins, others by looking at portraits.
Maybe some remember they were once human when they hear the oath they once recited.
But what's certain is that this works as a 'gimmick' for the strategy. And so, I will actively use it for the boss kill...!
"Third, from this moment forward, I shall live for the welfare and happiness of humanity in suffering."
"Stop it, I said stoppppp!"
Raven, scattering a terrible aura, charged at me.
But Crown, the Nightcrawler unit, and now the Sword Demon and Spear Demon, stepped forward and blocked him with their bodies.
Of course, I don't stop.
"Forth, I shall respect all life, and will not tolerate any life being neglected or disregarded."
Raven keeps advancing, rotting and burning all life in front of him.
"Fifth, I will always use all my knowledge and abilities to work for the survival of humanity."
Even though he's hindered, Raven still managed to crush the immortals in front of him with all his malice and curses.
As Raven, swept in with a hot gust of wind, finally reached in front of me.
"Sixth, as a guardian of humanity, I fully understand my responsibilities and duties, and based on this understanding, I voluntarily commit to performing all these clauses..."
I was already reading the last line of the oath.
Looking straight ahead, focusing on his blurred form, I uttered the final sentence.
"I solemnly swear."
Thud.
And then, Raven completely stopped.
Right in front of us, his smog-like form frozen as if it had turned to ice.
The 'complete immobilization' effect provided by this gimmick lasts for 1 turn, just 3 minutes.
I have to kill him within these 3 minutes...!
"Everyone!"
I looked at my party members and shouted.
"Finish him off!"
***
In his immobilized state, Raven was seeing his past.
A distant past, hundreds of years ago, when he was still human.
***
In the Lake Kingdom, being a doctor was a scorned profession.
In this advanced city, always shrouded in the miracles of magic, the royalty and citizens never needed to rely on medicine.
Any illness could be cleanly cured with just a few spells.
As magic advanced, it increasingly took responsibility for people's health. Medicine naturally lost its authority.
However, there was still a need for doctors.
Among the slave class - the 'non-citizens' in the kingdom, who didn't receive the benefits of magic.
They needed scalpels, bandages, and medicine, as they couldn't bask in the light of magic.
Though they were scorned and called 'non-citizens,' they were indispensable for handling all sorts of menial tasks within the city.
Doctors were always needed to ensure their survival, so medicine managed to maintain its existence.
During this decline of medicine, a boy was born.
He belonged to the high-ranking citizens of the Lake Kingdom - close to royalty and nobility.
As a child, the boy suffered from an unidentified epidemic and was left with after-effects that magic couldn't cure. He was completely healed by a doctor in the kingdom.
From that day, the boy decided to pursue medicine.
Despite opposition from his parents, relatives, and even neighboring nobles, the boy stubbornly studied medicine and eventually joined the hospital where the doctor who cured him worked as an intern.
It was then that his family completely disowned him.
After a long internship and showing talent, the boy obtained his medical license. The day he read the 'Protector of Humanity Oath' aloud in the city square with a clear voice.
"I solemnly swear that I will dedicate my life to serving humanity."
Everyone mocked the noble boy who threw his life into a despised discipline, dealing only with non-citizens.
Choosing a dirty and lowly path over the clear road of nobility, the boy among swans was called a crow -
Mockingly nicknamed 'Raven.'
Ironically, the boy liked the nickname and started referring to himself as Raven.
***
Raven, being from a noble family, was also talented in magic.
He combined magic with conventional medicine.
This treatment, which he called 'Magical Medicine,' was highly effective, not only treating non-citizens but also rare incurable diseases of the citizens and royalty.
"If you combine magic and medicine, there's no disease you can't cure."
Young Raven was always confident.
However, many frowned upon his attempts.
The city's mages disdained the idea of combining sacred magic with something as mundane as medicine.
Many were worried about the secrets of magic leaking to non-citizens.
Even among his fellow medical practitioners, opinions were divided.
Traditional medicine had always been a separate independent path from magic, able to treat what magic couldn't reach. There was widespread fear that combining the two would eventually let magic overpower medicine.
Raven faced ostracization even among his fellow doctors. He was openly scorned as 'a white crow trying to mix with the black.'
But Raven didn't care.
He had no doubt that he was walking the path of truth.
Above all, Raven had always received support from his mentor - the doctor who cured him as a child.
"What does it matter what means are used? I know you're a medical practitioner who works harder than anyone to save lives. Don't worry about what others say; follow the path you believe in."
Thus, young Raven continued his research.
As his reputation grew day by day, and he became accustomed to the envious glances from other medical practitioners, the city's Tower of Magic started to take notice of him.
Then, a plague broke out in the Lake Kingdom.
It was a vicious plague. While the inner parts of the kingdom, always under the effect of purification magic, remained tranquil, the outer Zones were devastated by the plague.
Non-citizens were rotting alive.
Corpses piled up in alleys, and smoke from burning bodies filled the air.
Raven realized immediately upon encountering this plague that it was beyond the current medical capabilities of the Lake Kingdom.
Desperately, he tried to create a cure using all his knowledge of magic.
However, his understanding of magic was shallow, and he failed to derive a formula for a plague cure.
"No, this can't be..."
Trembling, Raven looked toward the hospital entrance.
Fellow doctors, wearing crow masks for protection against the poison, were preparing to go back to the non-citizen residential areas.
Most of the doctors were already afflicted with the plague.
But they were quietly gathering bandages and medicinal supplies, coughing blood-laced coughs.
"Stop it..."
Raven, rushing out, spoke in a trembling voice. But the doctors ignored him and started leaving one by one.
"Stop it, please! You'll all die!"
Someone stood in front of Raven, trying to stop him. It was his mentor.
"Raven. We are doctors, and there are people suffering from the disease outside."
His mentor, coughing, whispered kindly.
"Have you forgotten the oath we took? As protectors of humanity, we have a duty to treat them to the best of our abilities."
"But, Master...! There's no medicine yet! Isn't this a death sentence?"
"No, it's not. We're administering test drugs to patients on-site, adjusting the medication based on their reactions. We're seeing meaningful therapeutic results."
His mentor's thin hand rested on Raven's shoulder.
"Raven, I don't have the talent for magic like you. I simply follow my experience, treating symptoms, trying to improve the patient's condition... more concerned about saving the person in front of me than pursuing academic truth."
"No, Master, you are..."
"But it's because of this simple approach that we can find answers."
Behind the crow mask, it seemed like his mentor's warm smile was visible.
"Raven, stay here. I'll create the medicine for this plague. Continue creating treatments using magical applications."
With that, the doctors left for the battlefield.
Gritting his teeth, Raven ran to the Tower of Magic.
"Please help! We need magic application immediately! If we don't act now, everyone living on the outskirts of the city will face a terrible disaster!"
But,
"We refuse."
The mages of the Tower refused.
"Magic requires a rightful cost. Non-citizens neither have the means to pay this cost nor the right to receive magic treatment."
"If cost is the issue, I'll give my entire fortune! Just..."
"It's not about money, Raven."
The mage looked sternly at Raven without blinking.
"Magic is a noble study for the citizens of the Lake Kingdom. Non-citizens do not fall under this category."
"People's lives are at stake, and you're talking about...!"
"All the mages in the kingdom are well aware of your actions... We will not cooperate with someone who has insulted magic."
With a sneer, the doors of the Tower closed.
"Deal with it using your so-called ‘Magical Medicine.’"
Bang!
Raven tirelessly visited numerous towers in the kingdom, but the response was the same everywhere.
Finally, Raven went to the government office to warn that people outside would die en masse if nothing was done, only to hear an absurd response.
"If the non-citizens die, we can simply replace them from outside the kingdom."
"What...?"
"The city was already cluttered and troublesome. Now is a good opportunity to automate all the menial tasks with magic. Oh, this should be formally proposed to the royal family..."
"Shut your insane babble, you madman!"
After punching the official, who was coolly spouting madness, Raven was thrown out of the government office.
"..."
Returning to the hospital, Raven put on the last remaining crow mask, an unpainted white one.
Then, Raven stepped into the heart of the plague.
Three days later, when he found his mentor and colleagues,
Inside the tent set up as an emergency treatment center, doctors wearing black crow masks were all dead, cold.
In their last moments, they were still researching the combination of drugs, dead over the table strewn with vials and flasks.
In the innermost part of the tent, his mentor was still barely breathing.
"Ray, ven... you came..."
"Master!"
"Here, the formula for the medicine... If prepared like this, it can immunize against the plague and alleviate symptoms..."
As Raven's trembling hands took the paper with the formula, his mentor grasped his wrist.
"Understand, Raven. Don't harbor hatred."
"Yes?"
"Pass this wisdom to the next generation."
Behind the crow mask, the mentor's eyes, red with blood, sparkled.
"Create the medicine and let our sacrifice... be the next step for humanity... We fought for that..."
"..."
"Don't hate or resent... Never forget the oath we took..."
Thud.
The mentor's arm dropped to the ground.
Raven, holding back his tears, pocketed the formula.
Then, he stood up with a determined expression.
***
Raven tested the completed medicine on himself and several patients, verifying its effectiveness. He then went to the government office to request facilities for mass production and distribution.
"This medicine was built upon everyone's death at the hospital. If you provide the facilities for its production, we can overcome the plague...!"
But the official nonchalantly examined the vial Raven offered and then,
Clang!
Threw it to the floor, shattering it.
Raven's eyes widened in fury.
"What... What are you doing, you maniac! Do you know what this medicine is!"
As Raven lunged forward, other staff restrained him. The official laughed mockingly.
"Haven't you heard the news, Raven? Such a medicine is no longer needed."
"What?"
"The gracious King of the Lake Kingdom has issued a mobilization order to all the towers. Mages are already spreading purification magic in the non-citizen residential areas... The plague will be suppressed in no time."
Raven's face turned blank.
Looking down at Raven, the official burst into laughter.
"Praise the King's mercy for bestowing magic even on non-citizens. And hopefully, you'll realize how inferior your ‘medicine’ is compared to magic! Hahaha!"
And it was just as he said.
The plague that consumed the lives of countless non-citizens and numerous doctors was easily cleaned up by the mages in a ridiculously effortless manner.
Raven sat down, dumbfounded, watching the back alleys of the Lake Kingdom, now cleared of all disease, in less than a day.
Mages passed by, mocking Raven as they went.
"...With such power, why."
Raven muttered quietly.
"Why didn't you help...? Why did you just watch as they died?"
Raven looked at his own hands. His body, already infected with the disease, was half-rotted but was now slowly recovering.
It was then Raven realized.
They don't understand. The pain caused by the disease.
Always enveloped in the blessings of magic, never having experienced illness, they wouldn't know.
Nor the pain of discrimination.
The pain of inequality.
They wouldn't know because they had never experienced it.
"Then I'll make you understand."
Putting the crow mask back on, which he had thrown to the ground,
"The pain of the body decaying, the helplessness of being unable to do anything while patients, colleagues, and my mentor died before my eyes, the despair spreading uncontrollably..."
All the deaths they had to endure for not being considered human.
"I'll make you... understand, without fail...!"
Raven resolved to create a plague so powerful that it would transcend even the magic of the Lake Kingdom... No.
A plague powerful enough to surpass all the contradictions of this world.
His mentor's last words, the oath he took when becoming a doctor.
The resolve of his younger days to save people.
All had already corroded and vanished in the face of hatred.
Raven headed to the hospital ward where patients still infected with the plague, not yet fully cured, were admitted.
Bang!
Raven roughly opened the door to the ward.
Patients who had recovered thanks to Raven's medicine greeted him happily upon his arrival.
"Hello, Doctor!"
"Doctor! Thanks to you, I'm better now! How can we ever repay you..."
"...Everyone."
Raven looked around at the people he had saved with a faint smile, then asked in a chilling voice.
"I need volunteers for an ‘experiment’ with a new medicine... Will you help?"
That day, one good died in this world,
And one evil was born.
--TL Notes--
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading