The atmosphere in the Inner Palace’s Moonlight Palace surgery preparation room was heavy with tension.
The anesthesia team had gone in first to prepare, making sure Acella remained soundly asleep. They would be responsible for her circulatory system throughout the surgery.
Ker-chok, ker-chok.
During the disinfection process, Chloe, wearing a mask, coughed. It always smelled like copper, no matter when you encountered it.
No one else dared to speak.
With the help of the nurses, I changed into surgical attire.
Today, Chloe wasn’t just a nurse; she was the lead assistant. She wore a surgical gown next to me.
The green surgical gowns felt a bit harsh on the eyes, so I had switched to a light blue one recently.
After finishing with the cap and mask, gloves were put on my hands.
They were made from the remnants of highland slimes, molded and hardened. The material was almost like latex—thin yet excellent.
Hmm, it’s really quiet.
Everyone seemed overly tense.
Surgery on royalty comes with great responsibility, and considering past incidents under the Emperor, it was understandable to be scared.
Though the Moonlight Palace had handled royal surgeries before, some members were doing this for the first time.
I casually broke the silence.
“By the way, Hugo, you must have been waiting for quite a while since you’ve been on a business trip for three months.”
“Oh, I saw Eri yesterday. She was doing well.”
“Hey, don’t play coy.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean the flower shop lady. She looked like she was waiting longer than Eri.”
Hmm, you don’t say…
“Is there anyone in the office you don’t know? Chloe?”
As I tossed the question out, Chloe responded with an enthusiastic nod.
“There’s no one, no one at all!”
…Uh-huh.
Hugo awkwardly shrugged his shoulders, complaining a bit about the anesthetist.
Shrugging off the lighter atmosphere, we stepped into the surgery room.
What caught my eye first was Acella, peacefully lying down.
Well, she was mostly covered except for the necessary areas.
The team members took their places, preparing for their roles.
The anesthetists checked the circulation to ensure there were no issues with Acella’s condition.
The equipment manager did a final check on the laparoscopic equipment, while the nurses arranged everything I would need in sequence for immediate use.
The monitor displayed the images on a white wall. I opened the status window and activated the MRI.
The patient’s insides appeared on the monitor. Not being able to see directly was inconvenient—I had to visualize the three-dimensional in my mind from the flat images.
The influence of the magnetic field is…
In fact, having only the analog equipment proved helpful. The subtle magnetism generated by my skill didn’t affect the surgical instruments.
“Chloe, is the view sufficient?”
Chloe stared intently at the screen.
Her usual dazed demeanor vanished, and her pupils sparkled with focus.
“It’s sufficient!”
Her confident reply made me feel comfortable leaving it to her.
“Standby.”
I made eye contact with all the members.
Confirming everyone was ready, I reached my right hand toward the nurse.
“We’re starting the surgery. Blade 15.”
[Surgery (Basic) B activated]
A light mithril scalpel was grasped by my hand.
It was the blade used for making small openings, moving as if united with my fingertips in an instant.
Four necessary openings.
The largest opening, the belly button, would allow the main instrument to enter—used to inflate the stomach, usually a place for the camera to go.
Basically, it was the same as a normal surgery. My left hand held the forceps, while my right hand gripped the scalpel.
A cylinder was pre-positioned in one of the small openings, and through the other, the long tool was inserted to operate inside the abdomen.
The other opening would be used by Chloe with her forceps to lift the gallbladder and create the necessary angle for my cuts.
Acella’s not afraid of the scalpel, just the needle.
She’d probably ignore this small wound as trivial.
Thinking about her reaction, I made the first opening at the belly button.
Drip, drip, the shallow blood oozed out, and the nurse promptly suctioned it away.
From the solar plexus to the side, there would be a total of three openings.
I inserted the cylinder. The human body is elastic, so a cylinder larger than the one-centimeter hole can be inserted.
“Inflate.”
I pumped air to create space within the abdomen.
Next, I was handed the laparoscopic equipment.
My left hand held the clean tissue, a device for delicately grasping tissues. In my right hand was the ligator, which had small clips for tying off veins and such.
Chloe used the retractor.
We focused on the screen.
The internal condition was more apparent.
The gallbladder clung beneath the liver, with the stomach to the right.
“I’m inserting it.”
I carefully placed the equipment into the cylinder.
“Gallbladder retraction.”
Chloe concentrated on the screen, looking as if she felt the sensation at the end of the instrument. She pushed up the gallbladder while lifting it beneath the liver.
With her arms fixed in that position, she made microscopic adjustments to the angle according to my movements.
Then I spotted the bile duct connecting to the liver, just behind the exposed gallbladder.
[Surgery (Laparoscopy) C activated]
With the message, the magic surged forth.
All my nerves concentrated. I felt as if the equipment had become part of my body, and I was alive with sensation.
This feels…
Like I was directly touching the insides with my fingertips.
I could distinctly feel the vigorous blood flow.
This is the artery, and below is the gallbladder duct.
The gallbladder is connected to the body by two ducts.
I’d expected the delicate work of tying off the blood vessels would be challenging due to the limitations of the MRI.
Click, in a moment of hesitation, without courtesy, I swiftly tied off the artery with a clip.
I forcefully withdrew the equipment and set the next clip. I tied off the gallbladder duct similarly.
“Exchange.”
I switched to the next set of equipment.
In my right hand was a scissors.
I mean, they’re literally scissors. The blade features a function that creates high heat using magic stone, sealing the cut surface to prevent bleeding as soon as they slice through tissues.
I inserted it through the cylinder.
With the clip tying off the duct, I snipped through.
A bit of blood oozed out. It was nothing to worry about; it was less than what could be absorbed by the body.
In fact, I’m more concerned about the blood loss when removing from the liver.
There are instances where, if there’s too much bleeding threatening the patient’s life, not all of the gallbladder can be entirely removed.
Of course, this time that wouldn’t happen. I had to pray Acella could hold on.
I couldn’t carelessly use the healing spell now.
Once I severed the curse, a healing spell might work on Acella, but it could also potentially trigger recovery effects for the gallbladder and stomach, possibly regenerating the entire digestive tract.
Acella wouldn’t be able to withstand that.
Health is…
―――――――――――
· Name: Acella von Württemberg
· Health: 15 / 22
―――――――――――
There was a bit of bleeding and anesthesia, but it was manageable.
“Let’s proceed with suturing the incision first.”
After clamping, I decided this was a priority to finish the surgery as quickly as possible.
I tied off the clothed area with sutures.
…Are you really suturing blood vessels in the belly that you can’t even see right now?
“Your technique is mind-boggling, as always, Teacher.”
“Shh!”
Focusing on the procedure, it was over quickly.
My hands didn’t slip.
Tap, I removed the equipment and replaced it with a cutter.
“Gallbladder detachment.”
I gently scraped off the gallbladder, which was stuck tightly to the liver.
The yellow fat and blood that wanted to flow away thickened and solidified from the heat generated.
Thump thump.
With each cut, I felt something.
“Hugo.”
“I’m ready.”
Hugo held an amulet in his palm, infusing it with mana.
A bizarre shape began to form around him, enhanced by the amulet’s effect.
Ugh.
Chloe broke out in a cold sweat. The hand she used to retract the gallbladder began to pull in a strange direction due to some external force.
“Chloe, hold the retraction tightly.”
“Yes!”
I pulled out the retraction equipment in my left hand. The swap was immediate.
Tap, the next thing I heard was the net.
I created a scoop-like device using the holy arts borrowed from Ambrosia.
Huff.
Without time to wait, I roughly shoved it into Acella’s body.
I positioned the entrance beneath the gallbladder and continued the cutting process.
SSSSSS!
The scent of burning fat rose. I concentrated and increased my speed without restraint.
By now, it had been 8 minutes since the start of the surgery.
Normally, removing the gallbladder doesn’t take long.
From here on was the real fight.
“Five seconds until full detachment, 4.”
Inhale.
At my signal, Hugo released a stronger wave of divine power.
“3, 2. Detach!”
Thud, the gallbladder detached from the liver and fell into the scoop.
“Lock it!”
I pulled the trigger on the retraction with my left hand, immediately sealing the entrance. Simultaneously, Hugo activated the amulet.
And then…
—AAAAAA!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAA!—
It was a horrifying scream, almost unbelievable, that echoed throughout the surgery room.
Tsk.
I forcefully yanked my left hand, intending for the gallbladder to come out with the scoop.
Thud, it caught on the cylinder and resisted.
“Damn it!”
The evil spirit of the curse had already awoken. Realizing it had separated from its host, it went into a rage.
In that brief moment, I immediately assessed and acted.
—Find it!!—
I yanked it out, cylinder and all, from Acella’s body. It was a reckless action, but there was no alternative.
“Teacher!!”
As expected, the curse resisted, still lodged in the cylinder.
I barely managed to lift the gallbladder that was trying to break free from the holy arts and extracted it out of Acella’s body.
—Aaaah! AAHHHHHHH!!!—
A pitch-black soul burst forth, tearing through the holy arts. The scream nearly burst the eardrums of the doctors present.
“Hugo.”
“Attempting…!”
The nurse prepared the sealing box, but it was pointless.
The soul was now freely floating, pondering how to unleash its pent-up resentment.
—Aaaaah, Acella!—
The evil spirit wrapped its mana around itself, beginning to draw something over its head.
It was a magic circle.
“Oh my God.”
“One, two, three… A Rank 6 Circle!? …”
“Teacher, get back!!”
The doctors shouted in horror.
But I wouldn’t step back from Acella.
I didn’t let go of the equipment in my hands.
The evil spirit slowly approached me, wrapping its ghostly tendrils around my neck.
—You…!—
I glared at the evil spirit and said,
“Get back, I’m still in the middle of surgery.”
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