The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

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"Hmm... the tubing on the instrument is actually some kind of life support device, used to deliver spiritual energy and nutrients to the items inside the cabinet. In other words, they are actually 'petri dishes'."

Fran raised his hand and opened one of the metal coffins, revealing a transparent quartz vessel inside its rust-iron exterior.

Following the incandescent light emanating from Sigrid's hand, one could see a humanoid creature covered in malignant adenomatous tumors placed inside, immersed in an unknown solution.

Upon seeing this "person" who had become like an evil heir, Haida narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on the wooden-handled folding knife slightly.

By now, the origins of the eerie creatures that had lingered inside the clock tower were no longer a question. The dilapidated, aged containers provided the obvious answer.

The Order of the Hunters does not oppose research involving the private parts of the human body, just as the Medical Court has never rejected biological experiments. However, all of this must be within the scope defined by the Dust Order Commandments.

The actions of the Star Abyss Society in Morion Zero were too insane, and they had already strayed onto a heretical path.

"Ho-"

Seemingly sensing the disturbance from the outside world, the "person" sealed within the quartz vessel showed signs of revival. The swollen, proliferating flesh on his face compressed his eyeballs, so that only a bloodshot red patch could be seen in his eye sockets.

With a sudden burst of immense force, the entire quartz vessel shattered, scattering a sticky, unknown solution along with crystal fragments all over the ground.

"It's truly disgusting..."

Looking at the experimental subject slumped and writhing on the ground, Shitia found it hard to suppress her deep-seated disgust.

What she found truly unacceptable was that these crude and repulsive creatures all carried the aura of the Heir remnants... Who could tolerate their race's bloodline being so wantonly and carelessly altered and desecrated by others? Who could bear that this writhing mass of rotten flesh was their "compatriot"?

A chilling anger ignited in Shitia's heart, growing ever stronger.

As her glossy lips moved, a near-whispering chant quietly echoed. Several pale, sharp rays of light appeared like threads, and the experimental subject's bloated body was instantly sliced ​​into several broken pieces of flesh.

"Clap."

The neatly cut pieces of meat slowly slid to the ground along the cut lines, making several sticky, muffled thuds.

The second type of superior secret technique is [Mercury String]. It can use mercury to awaken the lunar element, shattering the selected target into pieces. However, members of the Heir clan with sufficiently pure blood can directly use their tassels to perform the spell, without needing mercury.

“Ms. Shitia, this is a fresh test subject; I haven’t finished taking the sample yet…”

Fran slightly pursed her lips, looking at Shitia with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but... I just couldn't control myself."

Xitia lowered her head and expressed her apology quite sincerely.

For a fleeting moment, her emotions surged violently; she almost wanted nothing more than to tear apart this lump of rotten flesh tainted with the blood of Heil. If she could, she would even have wanted to destroy the entire Sleeping Sand Bell Tower.

However, after purging the experimental subject, Shitia quickly returned to calm. At the same time, she felt a profound sense of release…

"Don't worry about it, it's just a mutant. But its body structure is quite interesting; it's surprising that humans, as highly evolved vertebrates, exhibit echinoderm features..."

Fran waved his hand, then used his lancet to lift a piece of flesh writhing in the crimson blood.

"Some starfish have 'eyespots' at the ends of their arms, which are their visual organs and can distinguish between light and dark through photoreceptor cells. The tumor-like structures on this experimental subject correspond to the arms."

"Therefore, eyes are also distributed at its end."

As he spoke, the pointed, dark red piece of flesh slowly twitched and extended, and at its tip... was embedded a bloodshot human eyeball.

"Oh, this is truly... amazing."

Heda maintained a strange and subtle expression throughout, as if she wanted to say something. But seeing Fran's smiling and enthusiastic look, she ultimately only uttered a brief remark.

Even after spending a long time together, she still sometimes found it hard to resist the doctor's peculiar tastes...

Xitia was more surprised by this. Even though she was a member of the Abyss Clan, she did not immediately think that there was some similarity between this lump of rotten flesh and a starfish.

From this perspective, Dr. Fran's understanding of marine species is probably extremely profound, almost to the point of knowing everything about them.

Vivian kept her eyes narrowed and her lips tightly pressed together the whole time.

If it were her past self, she would probably have experienced physical stomach discomfort at this time. But now, she actually feels like she's gotten used to it.

The thought that such scenes might occur frequently and become the norm in the future made her pessimistic about her career as an agent... She gradually felt relieved after stroking the downy feathers on Mu Ning's chest several times.

After the academic presentation, Fran summoned Sigrid and had her burn all the pieces of flesh on the ground.

This time, she didn't take a sample because Shitia's secret technique had damaged the experimental subject's physical integrity, rendering it worthless for research.

"Of course, although it possesses characteristics similar to echinoderms, it is more like an imitation piece made from existing human limbs. It is more akin to a product of genetic convergence."

"And what causes these numerous mutations is precisely the high purity of the Heir bloodline."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze to the point where the pipes converged, the center surrounded by all the metal cabinets.

Pushing aside the vines and thick layer of ash, one can see an unassuming small arcane furnace core. Its surface is covered with etched prayer runners, densely packed like ants in a line. 8

“Dr. Fran…please let me open it.” Hmm.

Suddenly, Shitia made a request.

Her gaze was deep and clear, her expression carrying a resolve I had never seen before. Lu

“I could feel the call of the creature in the furnace. And his pain and struggle…”

"Please go ahead." (San)

Fran had no objection. She slightly closed her hands, smiled, and stepped aside.

Xitia stepped forward slowly, her tail tassels twisting slightly as she deftly sliced ​​through the secret furnace core, which was sealed layer upon layer by unknown prayers.

The next moment, the cut on the core of the secret furnace healed without warning, the incision, large enough to split the entire furnace, appeared as if it had never existed. At the same time, no spiritual energy remained.

Although the furnace was only opened for a moment, Shitia accurately detected the source of that familiar feeling; there was no mistake.

Pure, noble, cold, yet full of compassion.

It is the spirit of the late King Hezmut of Heil, and this hearth... holds his remains. Or perhaps, parts of his remains.

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I need to have perfect attendance in April!

Chapter 123 The Blazing Sun's Glow

"The remains of the late king..."

Xitia's expression was momentarily dazed. Perhaps even she herself didn't realize that her body was trembling almost imperceptibly as she spoke those words.

Among the Heir descendants, only pure-blooded nobles can be called mythical beings. They are offspring born from the Abyss, each completely independent, with no direct kinship ties.

The other Heirs all branched off from the original nobles. Compared to asexual self-replication, their reproductive method was closer to "fabrication," adding differences to their offspring by adjusting their spiritual composition.

And so, after the corpse of the Abyss cursed the entire ocean and the deep sea, no new pure-blooded nobles were born in the world. This made each of them extremely precious, truly one of a kind.

"Hmm... the remains of the late King Heil are placed inside this secret furnace?"

Fran seemed quite interested in this.

Oh, that's the remains of an ancient mythical creature at the Apostle level... It's of unparalleled value, whether used for research or as material for nurturing spirits. However, considering that Xitia was present, the doctor still showed considerable restraint.

Even the most precious corpse is not as valuable as a living person... especially since she was his patient.

"But the core of this secret technique furnace was clearly cut open just now, so why did it suddenly recover?"

Sigrid seemed somewhat puzzled by this.

This secret furnace is made entirely of steel, and the inscribed prayers are mainly to prevent the furnace from overheating and melting, as well as to prevent the energy from leaking out. In theory, it does not have the ability to self-repair.

Restoring the cut on the metal in the blink of an eye is not difficult for the casting craftsmen, but when they perform the casting technique, they inevitably release a large amount of light and heat, and the whole process has very distinctive characteristics.

The living metal provided by Dr. Fran does possess similar self-healing abilities, but even that doctor had extremely limited quantities of this material. It's virtually impossible to obtain outside of Fog Street.

After a moment's thought, Heda answered Sigrid's question.

"Perhaps it's 'time'."

In the ruins of the library in Yarlin Town, she launched a close-quarters attack on "Nezer," the son of the Bearded Tree who was parasitized by the Time Aphids. That guy's body was thin and weak, just like most ordinary scholars who had no training experience.

However, thanks to the properties of the Time Aphid, no matter how many times he suffered the fatal wound of having his skull split open, he would instantly return to a completely unharmed state. The situation of this arcane furnace was all too similar to his own.

"I'm afraid that's true. I didn't see the process of the cut being restored, but the furnace wall had already returned to its original state."

Xitia agreed with Haida's statement, then slowly stepped forward and gently stroked the outer wall of the secret furnace core with her index finger. A few specks of grayish-black dust were visible on the tip of her finger.

"The Mercury String cleaned away the dust at the contact point during the cutting process, and now that dust has returned to its original position."

Her discovery corroborated Heda's earlier assessment.

However, two new questions have arisen... First, where does the self-regression characteristic of the Arcane Core come from?

Secondly, the entire arcane furnace is completely sealed and inscribed with numerous unknown prayers. Without considering using arcane techniques that might completely destroy it, how can it be opened to retrieve the remains of the late King Heil?

Just as Shitia was still pondering this question, she suddenly noticed that Fran had opened his medicine box and taken out a strangely shaped box.

"Dr. Fran, you are..."

Seeing this, she narrowed her eyes slightly, a strange premonition creeping over her.

"Hmm~ I'm preparing a safe enough 'new home' for the little guy living in the heart of the arcane furnace."

As she spoke, Fran reached out and pressed her palm against the steel furnace wall. As dark dust rose, a small banyan sapling appeared in her hand.

"Oh? Not the Time Aphid?"

Looking at the lush green seedling, she tilted her head slightly, seemingly somewhat surprised.

The Nightmare Raider "Lyons" was a plunderer who had once visited the Sons of the Trees' Archives. Given the professional habits of thieves, it wasn't impossible that he brought back one or two weakened, living Time Aphids. And what had just appeared in the furnace was indeed the familiar Temporal Element.

But what she found at that moment contradicted her previous judgment. The thing residing in the furnace was not those time-devouring bookworms, but a plant.

"The branches are shaped like a banyan tree, but the leaves have the streamlined features of marine plants, similar to red algae."

"This is probably the effect of Heil's blood. Can it even affect plants?"

After a brief examination, Fran was able to confirm that the object in his hand was indeed a seedling of the Ancient Banyan Tree of Time, and that its spiritual essence was rich and pure, possibly even the remains of the physical body of that deity.

Although every root of the ancient banyan tree has the potential to form a trunk, the power of the gods is ultimately not infinite and cannot withstand this form of division.

Therefore, cuttings obtained from branches are merely inferior secondary species, such as the "immortal branches" provided by the Six-Eyed Raven Cult. Only seedlings grown from its seeds can be called the true "offspring" of the ancient banyan tree.

"There's really no other way. Leaving such a dangerous thing outside could have a negative impact. We have no choice but to keep it for now."

The doctor has always been open to such unexpected gains.

Fran skillfully put it away, the whole process was so smooth and natural that the others didn't even see her put the seedling into the medicine box.

Watching her actions, Xitia fell silent.

Perhaps, as I initially suspected, she truly was a six-eyed raven-like apostle. Otherwise, how could I explain her penchant for casually taking other people's treasures and her ability to remove herself, along with the entire Ridge Palace, from the Sleeping Sand Bell Tower?

But that's not entirely true. The spirit of the Six-Eyed Raven never seems to manifest as mist... and she is always surrounded by an elusive, misty aura.

"The timing mechanism on the core of this arcane furnace has now been deactivated, and it can be opened."

After losing the ancient banyan sapling, reddish-brown rust spread across the core of this secret furnace almost as if it were "growing." A few breaths later, the entire steel furnace wall collapsed, revealing what it contained.

That was a pale finger bone.

"Hazmutt..."

Xitia lowered her gaze slightly, momentarily speechless.

In fact, the concept of kinship among the pure-blooded nobles of Heir is quite weak; their relationship is more like that of simple "friends" than that of brothers, fathers, and sisters.

Even so, seeing the remains of those who shared the name of Heil right before her eyes, desecrated in such an absurd way, she still felt a deep sense of sorrow rising within her.

No one present spoke up, but anyone with even a little knowledge of esoteric rituals could tell from the characteristics of the red algae growing on the sapling that the finger bone was placed there as "nutrients."

“Dr. Fran, can you give it to me? Hazmut was, after all, the former king of Heil. At least... his remains should return to their graves and find peace.”

As she said this, Xitia felt inexplicably guilty.

The remains of apostles hold an irresistible allure for any practitioner of esoteric rituals. In addition to the rich spiritual essence attached to them, some esoteric disciples can also glimpse the ethereal and illusory stages of ascension by "consuming" them.

Judging from the way this doctor treated the corpse of the evil creature from the Abyss, she doesn't seem to be the kind of person who respects the deceased very much...

Furthermore, since it was because of her that he was able to escape that desolate and dark sea ridge prison, he shouldn't have made any other demands.

“Oh, of course, please take it. I have no intention of taking the remains of the late King Hyjal.”

Compared to Shitia's worries, Fran readily agreed to her request. She was always lenient when dealing with the patients she treated.

"...Thank you for your understanding."

For some reason, Shitia felt that this doctor possessed an unusual sharpness. It seemed that none of her thoughts could escape those amber eyes, and that he could read her mind before she even spoke.

Clearing her mind of distractions, she stepped forward and curled up her long, slender tassels to conceal the pale finger bone.