Emergency Treatment and Emotional Turmoil

“Ah, you’ve arrived. Perfect timing. Please take positions and guard the vicinity. I’ve already dispatched the monster, but I can’t be certain there aren’t others lurking nearby.”

“And the children? How are they faring?”

“I managed to rescue them. However, one child’s condition is not very optimistic; I’m currently administering emergency treatment.”

“Is he… still in danger?”

Wiping a bead of cold sweat from his brow, Reed’s heart hammered against his ribs. Under these dire circumstances, should anything untoward befall these children, he, as the Village Chief, would undoubtedly bear the full weight of the blame.

“Jack!”

A moment later, a heart-wrenching cry echoed through the air. It was Mrs. Beard. Upon learning of her son’s disappearance, she had ignored all pleas and warnings, relentlessly pursuing them. The arduous chase had worn a hole in her shoe, revealing a foot already seeping blood.

“Oh, no—”

What greeted her horrified gaze was Jack, sprawled on the ground, drenched in blood and utterly unconscious. Nearly swooning at the sight, Mrs. Beard seemed to lose all sense of herself. With frantic, stumbling steps, she surged forward, collapsing beside Jack. The sight of his ghastly wounds sent fresh tears streaming down her face.

“My poor, poor child! What agony have you suffered? How could this happen? What am I to do?”

“Mrs. Beard, please, you must calm yourself. I am administering emergency aid to Jack right now; he will be alright soon.”

“You—”

“Now, tell me, child, what exactly transpired? Why did you leave the village and venture into such a perilous place?”

Seizing the opportunity, Reed knelt before Fanny. She was leaning against a tree, her eyes wide and vacant, clearly still reeling from the recent ordeal.

“We… we… wanted to go to the city.”

Despite the disjointed reply, Reed still managed to glean the crucial information. Yet, before he could utter another word, Mrs. Beard, who had been standing nearby, exploded.

“It’s all your fault! It must have been you two little rascals who tricked my son, luring him out of the village! That’s why this terrible thing happened… leaving my son in this state!”

Pointing an accusatory finger at Fanny, Mrs. Beard unleashed a torrent of curses. At this point, she was beyond reasoning, her face flushed crimson, her features contorted into a grotesque mask of rage.

“You two despicable little wretches! Not only did you trick him, but you even used him as a shield against the monster! He’s gravely injured, yet you two sit here, completely unharmed!”

“Calm yourself!” Elise roared back, a rare flicker of anger gracing her features.

Mrs. Beard immediately whirled around, opening her mouth to retort, but her gaze fell upon Jack, still lying on the ground receiving treatment. With a final, venomous glare at Elise, she fell silent.

“…”

Observing Fanny’s gaze grow even more desolate, Reed let out a weary sigh. He stroked his beard, then gently patted Fanny’s head before turning and departing without a single word.

For a time, an unsettling silence descended upon the scene. After treating Jack’s surface wounds, Elise carefully propped up his body. She then produced a small knife from her pocket and, with practiced precision, cleanly incised a section of his skin.

“What are you doing?”

“Several of his bones are broken. I need to reset them before necrosis sets in.”

With a single swift cut, a torrent of dark, clotted blood immediately welled from the bruised flesh. After a quick dab, the exposed bone beneath became chillingly visible.

“He… he can be cured, can’t he? What if he’s left crippled? His entire life will be…”

“He can be healed. While the treatment will be lengthy, the necrosis isn’t severe. However, I fear there may still be some lasting after-effects…”

“After-effects…”

“That is not what we should be focusing on now. Please, I implore you to be quiet. I must begin setting the bones.”

Taking hold of the fractured bone on either side, a soft glow emanated from her hands. Miraculously, the broken fragments began to knit back into place, inch by painstaking inch. Elise, utterly absorbed in controlling her magic, had beads of sweat, large as peas, constantly trickling down her forehead.

After what felt like an eternity, the two fractured bones finally reconnected. Following this, the surrounding flesh began to slowly mend, leaving behind only a faint scar.

“There’s still another one here…”

Having successfully mended that fracture, Elise immediately moved on to the next broken bone. She was in a desperate race against time; the longer she delayed, the more extensive the necrotic tissue would become, potentially condemning Jack to a lifelong disability.

After an untold duration of intense treatment, by the time dusk began to settle, Elise finally concluded her arduous work.

“This should suffice for now… My magic cannot fully heal his wounds, and the bones have only been roughly set. He will still require a considerable period of recovery to fully mend…”

“…”

Cradling her still unconscious son, Mrs. Beard’s face was, at some point, entirely streaked with tears. She held him carefully, delicately, her strength to speak utterly depleted.

“Hm…”

Just then, South Creek, who had also been unconscious, stirred awake. She struggled to open her eyes, and it took a considerable effort for her to fully emerge from the oppressive darkness.

“Where am I…?”

“You’re awake?”

A weary smile gracing her lips, Elise settled in front of the recently awakened South Creek. She drew a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped the grime from her smudged little face.

“…I remember… the monster…”

“It’s alright now… I’ve killed it.”

It took a moment for the meaning of Elise’s words to fully register. South Creek fell silent for a beat, then inquired: “Jack? And Fanny?”

“They’re both alright… Jack merely sustained some injuries.”

“Is that so…”

South Creek attempted to push herself up, but a sudden, searing pain, as if a thousand needles were piercing her brain, assailed her.

“Ah…”

Collapsing back down, she glanced at her hand, only to feel something warm splash onto her face.

“Sister Elise…”

“You’re alright… you’re alright… you’re alive… thank goodness… Do you know how worried I was? I was so afraid… If I had arrived even a second later… would I have lost you? Would I really have lost you?”

“I’m sorry…”

Countless words rose to South Creek’s lips, yet they dissolved into ephemeral bubbles, leaving only a hollow apology. For the very first time, South Creek witnessed Elise in such a vulnerable state; tears streamed incessantly from her eyes, and the exhaustion on her face threatened to overwhelm her.