Chapter 104

Chapter 104

A Gag Resident Subjected to Horrible Experiments in the Past

Chimera, a being created by combining two or more life forms.

In the land of the Demon King, where human rights didn’t exist, these beings were commonly made. Those who survived the cruel experiments and retained their sanity lived as intelligent monsters.

Chimeras without sanity were merely treated as grotesque monsters.

The reasons for creating chimeras were varied.

They ranged from common human aspirations like ‘creating a new race,’ ‘obtaining immortality,’ or ‘just wanting a strong being,’ to more personal reasons like ‘having a beautiful appearance,’ ‘creating a being to explore dangerous places,’ or ‘making an ideal type.’

Typically, the results of those who dreamed of immortality or a new race were grotesque, like a human with the arms of an orc and two heads.

In contrast, those who aimed for beauty or an ideal type produced more intact results. Chimeras with intact appearances were often sold at high prices or lived among humans unnoticed.

‘If he is a chimera… the purpose behind his creation is important.’

Mukan continued her thoughts while looking at Noah, who was frozen in shock and horror.

‘Given his rather striking appearance, he might have been made to be a sex slave.’

Mukan turned her gaze back to Lian to examine him more closely.

‘The quickest way to confirm would be to check his lower body…’

Usually, chimeras created for the purpose of being sex slaves had the genitalia of an orc. Although Mukan hadn’t seen it directly, she had heard about it from others.

‘…No, it’s also highly likely he isn’t a sex slave. His internal organs are all abnormal for a sex slave.’

He might be a chimera created for the purpose of a new race or immortality. Mukan decided she couldn’t gather any more information just by looking at Lian’s appearance.

‘Tsk, I can’t provide proper treatment with the information I have now.’

Clicking her tongue lightly, Mukan shifted her gaze to someone who seemed to know Lian well.

“Chimera… a chimera?”

It took Mukan less than a minute to examine Lian and come to a conclusion. Noah was still in a state of shock.

To get proper information from Noah, she needed to calm her down a bit.

“I’m just asking to be sure. I didn’t mean that the patient is a chimera.”

“Oh…”

Noah’s eyes finally regained focus as she came back to her senses.

“Even if he isn’t a chimera, has he ever undergone experiments in the past?”

“Yes..”

“To provide proper treatment, we need to know what kind of experiments were conducted.”

At Mukan’s words, Noah’s face turned pale. Horrific scenes of experiments flashed through her mind. She spoke in a trembling voice.

“Do we really need to know that?”

“This patient’s body is very different from that of a normal person.”

Mukan’s hand pointed to Lian’s abdomen.

“Especially the state of the organs in his abdomen… they are very unusual. Because of this, medications that work on humans might act as poison to him.”

Mukan continued speaking with a calm face.

“The reason for his hematemesis is likely due to this. Since his organs are not normal, he ends up vomiting blood.”

“…!”

“While using holy water or high-grade potions might improve his condition, it’s not a perfect solution. If the organs in his body have a ‘demonic’ attribute, it could cause even bigger problems.”

Mukan looked directly at Noah as she spoke.

“So, to provide proper treatment, we need to know what kind of experiments the patient underwent in the past. If not, we might have to open up his abdomen to identify the exact cause.”

Noah’s trembling gaze wandered to the floor.

‘What kind of experiments?’

She recalled the horrific experiments Lian had undergone in her memories. It felt like a sticky stream of blood was flowing down her eyes.

‘I can’t reveal those experiments without Lian’s consent. But…’

Noah’s gaze moved to Lian, lying limp on the bed.

‘For the sake of treatment…’

As she struggled with the intense conflict in her mind, Noah realized a shocking fact.

‘Wait a minute.’

Her eyes widened in realization.

“When you say his organs are unusual, do you mean they were damaged by experiments?”

“No, rather…”

Mukan paused for a moment, unable to find a suitable word, and bluntly spoke the harsh truth.

“I mean his organs were replaced with non-human ones.”

“…! That means…”

Doesn’t that mean Lian is a chimera?

The unfinished words lingered in Noah’s throat.

Creak.

Mukan created noise by placing her hand on the side of Lian’s bed, drawing Noah’s attention.

“If you don’t have any information, I’ll have to use another method for now.”

“Another method?”

“Well, do you have any additional information you can share?”

Noah bit her lip lightly and nodded. The ‘quick healing constitution’ existed even before she met Lian.

That meant it would be correct to assume he underwent some experiment in the past, which altered his organs to non-human ones.

Noah thought with a heavy heart.

‘I… don’t know anything about Lian.’

How he ended up with such a constitution, what experiments he underwent, what he usually thought.

She didn’t know a single thing about him.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to have a ‘demonic’ attribute.”

“…?”

Noah’s gaze turned back to the bed at Mukan’s voice, which broke the silence. Mukan held a very small bottle of holy water. It was a diluted version of holy water, known as fake holy water, heavily diluted with water.

Although its effect was reduced to the level of a low-grade potion, it was still a prohibited item in the Demon King’s land and thus hard to obtain. It was also quite expensive.

Mukan had dropped a few drops of the holy water on Lian’s left hand and was nodding her head.

“If it had a ‘demonic’ attribute, there would have been a reaction.”

After explaining to Noah, Mukan took out a potion.

“I’ll start with emergency treatment. Please help me for a moment.”

Following Mukan’s request, Noah lifted Lian’s upper body. Mukan opened Lian’s mouth and poured the potion in, then gently lifted his chin to help him swallow.

“Since it’s a high-grade potion, most of the wounds should heal without any issues. However…”

Mukan’s gaze turned to Lian’s abdomen. It still exuded an eerie aura.

“It’s unlikely that this will completely cure him.”

“Ah…”

After feeding him the entire potion, Mukan wiped Lian’s face with a damp cloth. Noah, with a troubled expression, looked at Lian, who was sleeping like an angel. She felt her eyes burn with unshed tears.

“This is as much as I can do for now. Further treatment will require additional information from the patient once he wakes up. By the way… you’ve had a communication device ringing for a while now. Shouldn’t you check it?”

“Oh.”

Buzz, buzz.

Noah had been so distracted that she hadn’t even noticed the vibrating communicator. She hurriedly took it out.

It was a message from Lily.

Only then did Noah realize she hadn’t informed anyone that she had found Lian. She quickly answered the call, informed them she had found Lian, and asked them to relay the information to others.

Buzz…

After a while, the communicator turned off, leaving only the quiet sound of Lian’s breathing and Noah’s regret in the infirmary. Mukan, sensing the deep connection between the two, discreetly stepped back.

‘I’d better stay out of this as much as possible.’

Mukan returned to her seat and began chewing on herbs again while flipping through the books on the infirmary’s shelves.

Even if she couldn’t find a way to treat Lian, she was searching for any helpful information. Despite her indifferent expression, she genuinely cared about her 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 the thought soon faded. Feeling the pleasant drowsiness as if he had slept well, he felt his eyes starting to close again.

“Lian!”

“Hyung!”

“Oppa!”

“…!”

Just as he was about to fall asleep again, worried voices filled the air around him. His hazy mind snapped awake. Half-opening his eyes, Lian saw Lily, Nero, and Noah surrounding his bed.

Still buffering from just waking up, Lian merely stared blankly at the three of them.

Though he was still groggy from sleep, to others, it seemed like he was out of it due to his poor condition.

“Mukan!”

“Please step aside for a moment.”

Mukan approached Lian’s bedside and examined his face. When she brought her fingers close to Lian’s eyes, he blinked reflexively.

Next, she snapped her fingers near his ear, making Lian’s gaze unconsciously turn towards the sound. Confirming that Lian was fully awake, Mukan spoke up.

“Can you hear me, patient?”

Hearing Mukan’s words, Lian finally woke up fully.

‘They brought me to the infirmary after I collapsed.’

Seeing a familiar face from his healing rounds, he understood the situation. As he tried to sit up and say he was okay, Mukan’s tense voice interrupted.

“…Could it be a hearing problem?”

“…?”

Because Lian didn’t respond while he was figuring out the situation, he had unintentionally become someone who couldn’t hear.

End of Chapter.