Chapter 654: A cure?
"Really?!" Reed asked, already hopeful.
"Yes! And it’s because of this person right here: Michael!" Serena said, introducing the golden-haired boy right next to her.
"That’s impossible," rebuked Theodora. "Even Master Sinclair has not been able to find a way to solve the curse of the Beastfolk."
Theodora noticed that Michael was only barely in his teens. She would have had a much better chance of inventing the cure rather than him.
Even Aerith couldn’t help but express her doubt. "Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and set up these expectations. Princess Serena, Michael, can you please explain your claims?"
But just as Serena was about to explain, an intense shockwave suddenly erupted from the room, causing the plants and candles to be knocked over, and the incense to be put out.
Michael felt the GodForge pieces in his heart react to the shockwave.
This was not born from a physical explosion. This was caused by none other than the eruption of Aubility Power!
Everyone turned to Nixie, the very source of the shockwave. The little mermaid was now floating in the air, with droplets of water manifesting in the air and revolving around her.
Reed immediately went over to his daughter to hold her, but the water droplets suddenly morphed and created a thin wall that rejected his advances. He fell on his back, wincing from the pain in his hands. Just from that brief contact with the water, he had suffered severe burns in his hands!
Even without using his Aubility Drone Vision, Michael could see the aura surrounding the little mermaid. She was exhibiting Aubility Power tremendously, much more than what a normal child like her should be able to use!
It could practically rival Alaric or Potbol’s Aubility Power intensity!
Right now, she was exhibiting a 9th stage strength!
"What’s happening?!" Reed asked the apothecaries.
Juniper approached the floating Nixie with a frown. "The worst possible situation has just occurred," she said. "It seems that your daughter has just awakened as a Blessed."
Nixie had just turned ten years old, which meant that she was at the age where she would find out if she was Blessed with the Ocean King’s power or not.
Usually, those with the curse of the Dao Heart turned out to be part of the Unblessed group of mermen so Reed never even thought that this would happen to his daughter.
"What’s going to happen to her?"
"Her Dao Heart is currently getting flooded with power from your Supreme Being," Juniper explained. "This should have baptised her body, making it stronger to accommodate the new power in her Dao Heart.
However, her Dao Heart is already weak from the curse. Any additional power it receives will only cause further damage in her body. If this continues on, her Dao Heart will explode.
We’ll have to operate on her or else she’ll die."
Reed was faced with a tough decision.
Now, surgery wasn’t that uncommon in this world. After all, all Maugnetics had to go through this process every time they needed to add GodForge pieces in their hearts.
Humans have made strides to make that process as safe as possible.
However, this surgery was a completely different matter. First of all, she was a mermen; she had a different physiology than what these apothecaries were used to. Secondly, operating on a Dao Heart while undergoing a Blessing could cause the power in her body to suddenly leak out of her heart with extreme force and pressure.
"Can you save her?"
Juniper took a breath. "I’m not sure. However, if we don’t operate on her now, then her death will be guaranteed."
Reed gritted his teeth before nodding. "Do it. Do whatever you have to do to save my daughter."
With the consent from the parent, Juniper immediately rushed into action. She raised her hand, and Theodora immediately knew to bring a sharp knife to her palms.
"I’m starting the surgery," Juniper said, moving towards the floating Nixie.
Watching this, Michael couldn’t help but fidget in place.
They’re having surgery in this unsanitary place?
It didn’t even look like Juniper washed the knife that she was going to cut Nixie with.
"Wait," he said, interrupting them. "You should sterilize the entire surgery room first or else it could cause complications."
Theodora looked at him, offended. "I’m sorry, but we are professional apothecaries. Not only that, but senior Juniper herself is the second best healer in the entire world! She knows what she’s doing without someone giving her advice."
It did seem incredibly rude for Michael to have interrupted them, especially since they knew he had no experience with medicine or healing at all.
But of course, he did have the knowledge of his previous life. And even if he wasn’t a doctor, he knew that sterilization was one of the most important things to do in surgery.
"I’m going to have to ask you to leave," Theodora said. "This is a time sensitive matter, and we can’t have—"
Theodora was cut off by Juniper, who raised her hand and stopped her words.
"What do you suggest we do?" she asked Michael.
And before Theodora could object, Michael reached into his pockets and clicked a switch, revealing his Unity Saber.
With the glowing Unity sword in his hands, he approached Juniper.
The old apothecary didn’t flinch nor did she feel intimidated by his weapon. She simply let him do what he planned to do.
Michael took the knife in her hands and gently used his Unity Saber to skim the very surface of her blade, eliminating all bacteria.
After that, he casted a spell that created an isolated rectangular box, giving just enough freedom for Juniper to operate on Nixie safely.
And finally, he made a sweep inside the isolated surgery box, making sure to eliminate any and all harmful bacteria that was present around them.
Watching this, Theodora couldn’t help but express her doubt.
"Senior Juniper, why would you yield to the boy’s whims? Is it not important to fix Nixie’s heart as soon as possible?!"
"It’s because he may be right," Juniper said, not taking her eyes off of Michael.
"What do you mean?"
"Sinclair has long hypothesized that the diseases and complications brought about during surgery were caused by these creatures too small to be seen by the naked eye.
She said that the only way to ensure the safety of the patient while in surgery was to eliminate those creatures and prevent their spread into the body.
She had yet to publish her findings about this because she has yet to create a foolproof way of eliminating those creatures. But it seemed that this kid solved it all on his own: sterilization."
Juniper couldn’t help but be amused at this unknown kid in front of her. Sinclair would be very amused to meet such a boy.
"Can we get on with the surgery now?" Reed asked worriedly.
Juniper was about to enter the surgery box, when Michael interrupted yet again.
"There’s just one thing left. We need anesthesia. It’s a way for her to not feel any pain during surgery," he explained.
Nixie was already experiencing pain everyday. She didn’t have to feel someone cutting through her body.