Chapter: 104
Chimera, a being created by combining two or more life forms.
In the land of the Demon King, where human rights are thrown out the window, these beings were churned out like cheap rubber stamps. Those who survived the cruel experiments and kept their sanity lived on as smart monsters.
Chimeras lacking sanity? Just weird, creepy critters getting the side-eye from everyone.
There were a whole bunch of reasons people cooked up chimeras.
You had your classics like “let’s create a new humanity,” “let’s snag some immortality,” or even “I just want a super strong buddy.” But then there were also the weirdos with personal goals, like “I want a pretty face,” “let’s whip up something for dangerous explorations,” or “let’s build my ultimate crush!”
Typically, the results from those chasing immortality or the new race dream looked nightmarish—think a human with orc arms and two heads!
In contrast, those whose targets were beauty or “ideal types” ended up with chimeras that looked halfway decent. A chimera with a decent appearance could fetch a pretty penny or blend into the human crowd without raising eyebrows.
‘If he’s a chimera… understanding who made him is key.’
Mukan continued her train of thought while looking at Noah, who was frozen in a state of shock and awe.
‘Based on that snazzy appearance, he might have been conjured up to be a sex slave.’
Mukan pulled her gaze from Noah and scrutinized Lian yet again.
‘The fastest way to confirm would be checking his lower half…’
Usually, chimeras crafted for sex slave duties ended up with orc bits in the nether region. Mukan hadn’t seen this firsthand, but she’d heard the tales from around town.
‘…Nah, wait. There’s a good chance he’s not a sex slave. His insides are totally odd for that.’
He might actually be a chimera made for creating a new race or grabbing immortality. Mukan concluded that she couldn’t gather more info just from eyeballing Lian’s exterior.
‘Tsk, with the info I have now, I can’t dish out proper treatment.’
Clicking her tongue lightly, Mukan turned her gaze to someone who might know Lian a bit better.
“Chimera… a chimera?”
It took Mukan less than a minute to size up Lian and draw her conclusion. Poor Noah was still stuck in shockville.
To get any real info from Noah, a little calming down seemed necessary.
“I’m just asking to double-check; I’m not saying the patient is a chimera.”
“Oh…”
Only after Mukan explained did Noah finally regain her focus, like a camera lens snapping into clarity.
“He’s not a chimera, but has he been through any experiments before?”
“Yup…”
“Okay, to provide proper treatment, we need to know what experiments he went through.”
At Mukan’s words, Noah’s face paled alarmingly, likely flashing back to the horrific experiment scenes in her mind. Her voice trembled as she murmured,
“Do we really have to know that?”
“This patient’s body is nothing like that of an average Joe.”
Mukan pointed to Lian’s abdomen.
“Especially the conditions of the organs inside… they are real whacky. Because of this, medicines that work on humans could turn into poison for him.”
Mukan continued with a straight face.
“The reason he’s coughing up blood is probably that. His organs are not normal, so it results in blood vomiting.”
“…!”
“To fix this, using holy water or high-grade potions might improve things, but it won’t be a complete fix. If his organs have a ‘demonic’ attribute, we could have even bigger problems.”
Mukan gazed steadily at Noah as she said that.
“So, to provide proper treatment, we need to find out what experiments the patient underwent before. If not… we might need to slice him open to identify the root issue.”
Noah’s trembling glance drifted to the floor.
‘What kind of experiments?’
She rummaged through her memories, recalling the terrifying experiments Lian had endured. It felt like a sticky river of blood was trickling down her eyes.
‘I can’t spill those details without Lian’s permission. But…’
Noah’s stare moved to Lian, who was lying limply on the bed.
‘For the sake of treatment…’
As thoughts raced through her head, Noah had a shocking realization.
‘Wait a second.’
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“When you say his organs are odd, do you mean they were messed up by experiments?”
“No, more like…”
Mukan paused for a moment, struggling for the right words, then bluntly revealed the harsh truth,
“His organs have been swapped out for non-human ones.”
“…! So, that means…”
Doesn’t that mean Lian is a chimera?
The unfinished sentence nestled deep in Noah’s throat.
Creak.
Mukan made noise by placing her hand on the side of Lian’s bed, pulling Noah’s gaze back.
“If you don’t have any info, I’ll have to wing it and try another method for now.”
“Another method?”
“Uh, you don’t have any more additional info you can share, right?”
At that, Noah bit her lip and nodded. The ‘quick healing constitution’ had been around before she even met Lian.
This essentially meant it made sense to think he underwent some experiment that switched his organs to non-human types.
Noah pondered with a heavy heart.
‘I… don’t know a thing about Lian.’
How did he end up like this? What experiments had he been subjected to? What were his thoughts on things?
She didn’t know diddly-squat about him.
“Luckily, it doesn’t seem like he has an ‘evil’ attribute.”
“…?”
Noah’s gaze shifted back to the bed at Mukan’s voice cutting through the silence. Mukan held a tiny vial of holy water—just a diluted version that really shouldn’t even count.
Its potency? Let’s just say it was about as effective as a low-grade potion, but in the land of the Demon King, it was like gold dust—hard to find and costly as heck.
Mukan sprinkled a few drops of the holy water on Lian’s left hand, nodding in contemplation.
“If he had a ‘demonic’ attribute, there would have been some kind of reaction.”
After giving Noah the rundown, Mukan pulled out a potion.
“I’ll start with emergency treatment. Please lend a hand for a bit.”
Noah did what Mukan asked and helped prop up Lian’s upper body. Mukan opened Lian’s mouth to pour in the potion, gently lifting his chin to coax him to swallow.
“It’s a high-grade potion, so most wounds should be all healed up without any fuss. But…”
Mukan’s gaze drifted to Lian’s abdomen, where that eerie vibe still lingered.
“This likely won’t completely cure him.”
“Ah…”
Once Mukan had finished administering the potion, she wiped Lian’s face with a damp cloth. With a troubled expression, Noah looked at Lian, who appeared to be sleeping like a celestial being. She could feel the warmth creeping up to her eyes.
“This is the best I can do for now. Further treatment will depend on Lian providing us with more information once he wakes up. By the way… your communication device has been ringing for a while now. Shouldn’t you check it?”
“Oh.”
Buzz, buzz.
Noah had been so out of it that she hadn’t even noticed the constant vibrating of her communicator. In a hurry, she whipped it out.
It was a message from Lily.
Only then did the realization hit Noah that she hadn’t informed others yet that she’d found Lian. Quickly responding, she told them she found Lian and asked them to spread the news to everyone else.
Buzz…
Not long after, the communicator went silent, leaving only the soft sounds of Lian’s breathing and Noah’s regret hanging in the infirmary. Mukan, sensing the special bond between them, quietly stepped back.
‘Might as well not get involved too much.’
Mukan returned to her previous spot and began to chew on herbs, flipping through the books on the infirmary’s shelves.
Even if she couldn’t find an exact treatment for Lian, she hoped to uncover some helpful info. Despite her indifferent demeanor, her heart was genuinely in it for the patients.
*
“Hmm..?”
Lian slowly blinked his heavy eyelids and let out a drowsy breath.
‘Where am I?’
He felt puzzled looking at the unfamiliar ceiling, but that thought quickly faded. The pleasant drowsiness felt like he had just woken up from a good sleep, luring him to shut his eyes again.
“Lian!”
“Hyung!”
“Oppa!”
“…!”
Just when he was about to fall back asleep, worried voices flooded the air around him. His sleepy mind jolted awake. Half-opening his eyes, Lian spotted Lily, Nero, and Noah encircling his bed.
Still buffering from just waking up, Lian stared blankly at the three of them.
Though still groggy from sleep, to others, it looked like he was completely out of it due to his poor condition.
“Mukan!”
“Please step aside for a moment.”
Mukan approached Lian’s bedside, examining his face. When she brought her fingers close to Lian’s eyes, he blinked reflexively.
Next, she snapped her fingers near his ear, causing Lian’s gaze to instinctively turn toward the sound. Confirming that he was fully awake, Mukan spoke up.
“Can you hear me, patient?”
Hearing Mukan’s question brought Lian back to full awareness.
‘They brought me here after I collapsed.’
Recognizing a familiar face from his healing missions made the situation click for him. He attempted to sit up and say he was okay, but Mukan’s tense voice interrupted him.
“…Could it be a hearing problem?”
“…?”
Since Lian didn’t respond while sorting through what was happening, he inadvertently ended up being perceived as someone who couldn’t hear.
End of Chapter.
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