Chapter 113: Ashford’s Surgery and Intentions

Ashford’s Surgery and Intentions

“Where is the person?”

“Over here, Professor!”

“Move aside, don’t crowd around like this... Where are the things?”

After the professor arrived, he walked straight towards Lucy. On his way, his eyes inadvertently glanced at the red-haired girl standing alone not far away, slightly taken aback.

Somewhat familiar... Isn’t this the girl I saw when I went looking for my scholar Adele? How is she from the Judicator’s Court... I remember back then...

Never mind... I might need her help with something now. After this is over, I’ll just tell Adele not to get too close to her.

The professor merely nodded slightly towards Ciel, then knelt beside Lucy and began examining the horrifyingly fractured wound on her head.

At this moment, Ciel, seeing the professor already preparing his tools, looked up and scanned the crowd.

Among the crowd, she saw a male “Ascetic” wearing the robes of the Church of the Savior Goddess also standing by.

Just then, the “Ascetic’s” gaze met Ciel’s. The moment their eyes met, the “Ascetic” quickly lowered his head and bowed towards Ciel.

Holy crap? Did I wake up wrong? Why am I seeing the plague god?

After several seconds, he secretly raised his head again, finding the girl still looking at him, even raising her hand and waving in his direction.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down his temple. He glanced left and right, confirmed she was calling him, then carefully bypassed the “Physicians” and walked towards Ciel.

“Your Excellency Judicator.” The man bowed his head deeply, greeting respectfully in a low voice.

“Watch this sealed artifact until Commissioner Lucy wakes up.” Ciel pointed to the gold coin on the ground and said.

Ciel had also considered asking the Deton Manor employees directly to watch it, but after thinking from the perspective of a “Gambler,” she abandoned the idea.

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Who knew if some “Gambler” might impulsively decide to take a chance and snatch this sealed artifact while no one was looking?

She couldn’t command the Redemption Society’s “Physicians,” so she could only grab someone from the Church of the Savior Goddess for the task. After all, if you threw money at an “Ascetic,” they’d probably just give it away.

“Understood.” The man breathed a sigh of relief.

So it was just helping watch an item.

He had been racking his brain just now, wondering if he had done anything wrong, already planning how to cry foul later.

With someone helping her watch the sealed artifact on the ground, Ciel took two steps forward, maintaining a distance of about four meters, and observed Professor Ashford’s procedure.

She saw him pour a familiar bottle of fluorescent green potion into Lucy’s mouth. A faint minty scent drifted to Ciel’s nose.

One whiff told her it was Adele’s potion.

Stimulated by the potion, the previously semi-conscious Lucy slowly regained consciousness. She opened her eyes, saw Professor Ashford’s face, opened her mouth, but couldn’t utter a sound.

“Your condition is very serious, Your Excellency Silva.” Professor Ashford’s voice came from behind the silver raven mask. He looked at Lucy and continued, “Your brain has suffered irreversible damage... If I had arrived a few minutes later, you might have lost consciousness completely, consumed by the potion.” Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“You know the abilities of a ‘Reborn’... If you want to live, look at me. If you don’t want treatment, close your eyes.”

The underground sanctuary was mostly cleared of people by now, leaving only the involved parties, a few assistant “Physicians,” and the “Ascetic” helping watch the sealed artifact. The sanctuary was very quiet.

Lucy didn’t speak, just stared intently at Professor Ashford, not blinking even when her eyes felt sore and dry.

“I understand.” Professor Ashford nodded and beckoned to an assistant beside him.

The assistant “Physician” opened a black leather square toolbox. Ciel noticed that the toolbox itself seemed to be made of transcendent material, though she didn’t know if it was a sealed artifact.

From Ciel’s angle, she couldn’t see what was inside the toolbox, but she could see the professor’s white-gloved hand reaching into the toolbox and grabbing something.

“Roar—!” A strange roar came from within the toolbox, followed by intense howling. The tearing sound was like someone scraping a blackboard from end to end with a carving knife, making Ciel’s scalp tingle slightly.

After recovering for a moment, Ciel realized the source of this buzzing howl seemed to be coming from within her own mind.

She held her breath, but looking at the faces of others, they seemed unaffected...

Was it fear?

From that box?

Professor Ashford’s hand slowly withdrew from the toolbox.

The originally pure white cotton glove was now stained with purplish-red unknown slime. What he held was a strange, marble-sized, yellowish-green eyeball with three purple pupils.

“Your Excellency Silva, your current condition is unsuitable for anesthetic potions. I have just given you a high-quality stimulant made by my student. It will keep you conscious but will amplify your senses... Please endure it.”

After speaking, Professor Ashford directly used two instruments to hold open Lucy’s eyelids. Two assistants reached out to help him hold the instruments steady.

Next, the professor picked up a sharp scalpel, aimed it at Lucy’s bloodshot eyeball, slowly lowered it, and precisely cut an incision from top to bottom.

Bloody aqueous humor and vitreous fluid flowed out from the opening in her eyeball. The professor, holding the glass-marble-sized eyeball, slowly inserted it through the wound.

The tendrils beneath the eyeball seemed to come alive, squirming into the slit.

“Mmph!!!!” It was unknown what kind of pain caused the veins on Lucy’s hands to bulge violently. Her hands gripped the white sheet she lay on so tightly that it was crushed by her own strength.

Professor Ashford’s speed was very fast, and he seemed quite professional.

He quickly took out various items from the toolbox: some skin with unknown spots, soft green brain worms with leg-like appendages and brain patterns, and various fragments of unknown monster corpses Ciel had never seen before. One by one, he stitched them onto Lucy’s face or directly stuffed them into the cracks in her skull.

This scene made even Ciel feel a bit dry-mouthed, subconsciously crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Wait? Do people of your path perform surgery like this?

“Reborn”... You basically just changed her species, didn’t you?

If one had to live with such a face... it could only be considered living, not to mention the potential side effects.

Only about ten minutes passed before the surgery concluded.

Lucy, lying on the ground, had completely lost consciousness. On her face, countless indescribable “objects” writhed wildly. Even her skin had lost its original color.

The surgery was performed on her head, yet the flesh beneath her black formal dress began to squirm, as if undergoing some kind of life transformation.

The other “Physicians” had already turned their heads away, unable to look directly. Even the “Ascetic” behind Ciel had turned around and begun slowly reciting prayers in his heart.

Professor Ashford, who had been kneeling, slowly stood up, took a deep breath, and turned to look towards Ciel.

-

“Was it you who called me here, Your Excellency?” Professor Ashford took a few steps towards Ciel and said, “The ‘treatment’ is complete. How much of the potion’s impact she can withstand... depends on her.”

“Mm.” Ciel nodded and said, “When she wakes up, I will have her send the money to you, triple the amount.”

“Haha...” Professor Ashford chuckled and shook his head. “The opportunity to complete the ‘Reconstitution Ritual’ is rare. I’ll just charge for the materials. Thank you, Miss Ciel, for this opportunity.”

After speaking, the professor turned back, instructed the “Physicians” behind him to leave, and even sent away the “Ascetic” behind Ciel.

Soon, the entire sanctuary was empty except for the unconscious Lucy and Ciel and Ashford standing opposite each other.

“I often hear your name from Adele, Miss Ciel. Please don’t mind me addressing you directly by your name,” Professor Ashford raised his hand, removed the silver raven mask from his face, and said, “I haven’t formally introduced myself. My name is Ashford, a professor at the Redemption Society.”

The old man beneath the silver raven mask looked surprisingly ordinary.

His head was bald, with a tuft of white mustache on his upper lip. His face had many dark spots. If seen walking on the street, Ciel might mistake him for some ordinary old man.

Except on his bald head, something seemed to bulge beneath the skull, looking like mutated bone growth, almost about to pierce through the scalp.

“Ciel, Avena Roswell’s assistant.” Ciel nodded, saying little else.

After all, she didn’t seem to have any other identity to introduce.

Hearing Ciel’s introduction, Professor Ashford paused for a moment, then gave an awkward smile and said, “Haha... Your Excellency is quite witty.”

Ciel didn’t speak, waiting for the other party to initiate the topic.

He was a third-tier “Reborn” from the Redemption Society. His respectful attitude now probably meant he needed something from her.

“Actually, my willingness to come here this time was indeed due to one matter.” After a few exchanges, Professor Ashford roughly figured out the girl’s personality.

She was the type who preferred directness. Facing such a person, he just needed to state his needs. Whether it could be accomplished depended on the other party’s consideration.

“You should have heard, it’s quite shameful to say, I was Sherlon’s mentor...” Ashford shook his head somewhat helplessly. “I was always engrossed in new research and neglected the discipline of my disciple, leading to such consequences. I bear a share of responsibility for this incident.”

“I made a special trip this time mainly for one thing.” Ashford paused here, but couldn’t discern Ciel’s thoughts from her expression, so he had to continue, “I would like Your Excellency to persuade Adele to return to the Redemption Society.”

Seemingly worried Ciel wouldn’t agree, he quickly explained:

“Adele is very talented in medicine, especially alchemical pharmacology. Staying at the Redemption Society would allow her talents to flourish more.”

“Moreover, at the Redemption Society, her safety would be better protected... Didn’t we see in that ‘Administrator Kitty’s’ spiritual notebook that she actually wanted to investigate Adele? If she could return to Ansu with me, she would receive more protection, which would also benefit her academic research.”

“If Your Excellency is willing to help me with this, after Adele returns to the Redemption Society, I will pay you 2000 Su pounds as remuneration, plus a personal favor. What do you think?”

2000 Su pounds plus a favor from a third-tier transcendent?

It sounded like a good deal.

But Ciel just shook her head and said, “Unfortunately, Mr. Ashford, Adele’s decision to stay or leave is entirely up to her own will. I have no reason, nor the right, to interfere.”

Hearing Ciel’s reply, Ashford took a deep breath. After a long pause, he finally said, “Then I apologize for the disturbance. Your Excellency Silva will likely wake up soon. If there are subsequent treatment issues, feel free to contact me for a follow-up consultation anytime. I should be staying in Berren City for a while longer.”

Professor Ashford put his mask back on, turned towards the secret passage, and sighed inwardly.

Adele’s friends... why is each one harder to communicate with than the last?

That Roswell young lady, needless to say, her face is as cold as ice, and she has absolutely no interest in Su pounds.

2000 Su pounds! That’s 2000 Su pounds! Enough to buy a country villa outright or a fairly spacious house in Ansu city center.

Not to mention my personal favor.

Yet both of them ignored the money. Their indifferent attitude made Professor Ashford begin to doubt when his favor became so worthless.

Am I still third-tier?

Professor Ashford’s figure quickly disappeared into the secret passage.

The entire underground sanctuary was left with only Ciel and the unconscious Lucy.

Ciel lowered her head, recalling Professor Ashford’s words.

It seemed the professor’s main purpose here was to persuade Adele to return to the Redemption Society. Did the higher-ups of the Redemption Society... also see some potential in Adele?

And the notebook mentioned the professor looking for Adele. He was likely unrelated to her misfortune... But why did disaster strike immediately after encountering him in the simulation?

Could it be that the person arriving here wasn’t the key...

Who she met wasn’t the key...

The key was...

The act of “establishing contact with a transcendent”?

Ciel quickly recalled the mind map she drew in the inn earlier. Comparing them point by point, a relatively clear pattern emerged before Ciel’s eyes.

Almost every instance of misfortune occurred after she had established contact with different transcendents in some way.

Contact with Avena and the others only resulted in minor disasters, but contact with higher-tier individuals intensified the disasters?

Following this line of thought, more than half the disasters could be accounted for.

I... encounter misfortune whenever I meet transcendents?

Did this happen before?

Ciel’s thoughts hit a dead end.

Just then, a soft cough sounded. Ciel looked down towards where Lucy lay, seeing her slowly open her eyes, then raise her hands painfully to clutch her head.

“Gurgle...” A gurgling sound, like drowning, came from her mouth, as if something was stuck in her throat.