Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 231

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 231

I immediately used my Magic Eye to examine Anastasia’s entire body.

Here and there on Anastasia’s slender frame, I could see dark, brownish energy lingering, and between them, the flow of mana was stagnant.

Traces of curses and internal injuries.

Moreover, she wasn’t breathing, and her heart wasn’t beating.

I quickly took off Eunhan and covered Anastasia’s back with it, then immediately channeled my mana.

“Young Master Lee Cheol! Lady Guild Master is…”

Natalia, who had arrived just in time, saw Anastasia’s condition, and her eyes widened in shock.

“The hospital… I’ll contact the nearby hospitals right away. I’m in your care, Young Master Lee Cheol.”

Even in her shocked state, Natalia made a calm decision.

But I shook my head.

“The doctors won’t be able to fix it. And she’ll die before they even arrive.”

Anastasia’s body and mana system are different from ordinary people.

Her mana control method was also created to suit her unique physiology, having become half-spirit.

“Does that mean you have a way?”

“Yes, I do. No, even if I don’t, I’ll create one.”

I placed my hand on Anastasia’s forehead and took a deep breath.

“Natalia, please guard the surroundings. I can’t afford to lose focus for even a moment.”

With those words, I focused all my attention on Anastasia.

Whoosh!

Vast amounts of mana surged into Anastasia’s entire body.

The mana didn’t gather in one place but permeated everywhere.

‘I can do it. I can’t let her die.’

I gritted my teeth and focused my Magic Eye.

Ordinary treatment can’t heal Anastasia’s body.

But I can.

I was the one who created Anastasia’s unique mana technique and healed her body before, so I should be able to restore her now.

‘First, the breathing and heartbeat.’

Thump!

Suddenly, Anastasia’s chest popped up.

The body, which had stopped functioning, began to move, forced back to life by mana.

Soon, a faint color began to return to her pale skin, and her still chest began to heave shallowly.

‘Ah…!’

Natalia watched the scene from behind Lee Cheol, utterly speechless.

What Lee Cheol was doing now was forcibly moving a body that had ceased all activity.

It was an impossible task even for a mana user who had reached a high level.

It was a feat that could only be achieved with the knowledge and ability to completely control the human body, which is so complex that it is called a microcosm [a system reflecting in miniature the entirety of the universe].

‘And Lady Guild Master’s body is different from others!’

It was then.

Natalia saw a drop of cold sweat running down Lee Cheol’s forehead.

Even Lee Cheol, who had reached that level, was pouring tremendous concentration into this moment.

‘Please, Young Master Lee Cheol. If Lady Guild Master… no, if Milady comes back to life, I will repay you with my life.’

Biting her lip and muttering Anastasia’s name, Natalia took a few steps back to avoid disturbing me as much as possible and suppressed her emotions.

Meanwhile, I was having a hard time treating Anastasia.

‘Her breathing isn’t coming back on its own.’

I thought she would be able to breathe on her own by now, but if I relaxed for a moment, her body would try to stop functioning again.

This won’t do.

I’m forcibly holding on now, but eventually, her body must start functioning on its own to move on to the next treatment.

‘Why?’

I urgently examined her body again with my Magic Eye.

‘…Could it be.’

And I discovered the ominous energy spread throughout her body.

A curse.

The curse that Yau cast using the photograph as a medium.

Her body is mixed with the remnants of that curse.

This was a phenomenon that occurred because Anastasia was undergoing spiritualization [a process of becoming more spirit-like].

If it had been dispelled in a normal way, it would have been fine, but the remnants are left, pulling her to her death.

‘I can’t let go now. What should I do…!’

Curse, internal injuries, external injuries, the characteristics of a body undergoing spiritualization, abnormalities in the mana system…

Her current state was too complicatedly mixed.

It’s a miracle she’s alive.

If I had come a little earlier, I could have treated her quickly.

‘That’s a useless thought. Think of a solution now.’

The biggest problem is the curse.

There is a way to extract only the curse.

Even just emitting the power of Gyeongcheon [a powerful energy technique] can blow away this level of curse in an instant.

The problem is that the moment I let go, she stops breathing, and her heart stops beating again.

There is also a way to temporarily stop the mana supply and quickly use Gyeongcheon, but…

‘There will be aftereffects. There may be damage to the brain, and there may be internal injuries.’

That is unacceptable.

She, who had finally been cured of her heavenly punishment and was living a normal life, would be disabled again.

I had to come up with an answer quickly.

Ugh!

Suddenly, blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.

The internal injury in her stomach had recurred.

“…Ugh!”

Natalia, who was watching from behind, tried to groan but covered her mouth.

There is no time.

Feeling the sweat running down my face, I quickly let go of my hand.

* * *

Anastasia recalled her past memories.

Her life was always intertwined with death.

The first to leave was her father.

She often shed tears as she watched her father, who was becoming more and more frail.

At that time, her father hugged her and said.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Don’t forgive this father.”

Her father kept saying that.

Anastasia didn’t understand her father’s words.

Why did he tell her not to forgive him?

Why was he sorry?

After that, death was always with her in her life.

Unlike her ancestors, her spiritualization progressed rapidly, and she had to give up her normal life in exchange for gaining intelligence and wisdom as a result of spiritualization.

She lived in a situation where she didn’t know when she would die.

And she thought that she would die like her father, and that it was fortunate that no descendants would be born to have the same experience as her.

But life came to her.

Life was more brilliant and beautiful than she thought, and the more beautiful it was, the more she could understand the meaning of her father’s apology to her.

-…No.

It was then. She heard someone’s cry.

-I can’t let her die!

Whose voice is it?

No, it wasn’t a voice.

It was the thoughts and feelings of a person that were being conveyed and flowing in as they were.

-I can’t send her away like this again.

Beyond her blurry vision, she could see Lee Cheol and Natalia.

Natalia was filled with helplessness and sadness, and Lee Cheol was desperately trying to save her.

Again, had he lost someone before?

-I can save her. I can do it. Lee Cheol!

It was the cry in the heart of Lee Cheol, who was her benefactor and only friend who had given her life.

It was actually the first time she had seen him so anxious and desperate, and she realized for the first time that he was a person who could express such extreme emotions.

And that’s why she felt even more sorry.

‘Leaving first is so sinful.’

Death may actually be more painful for those left behind.

Knowing that fact, she felt a great pain in her heart.

And the next moment, she felt Lee Cheol’s hand falling away.

He must have finally given up.

Even she thought there was no hope for her.

‘Thank you. Lee Cheol. And I’m sorry.’

Because she knew Lee Cheol and had the experience of helplessly watching her father’s death.

Anastasia understood how painful it must have been for Lee Cheol to give up on her.

The next moment, a terrible coldness covered her, as if she had fallen into the winter sea.

It felt like her whole body was freezing and hardening into ice, and all her blood was stopping.

But she could feel that cold energy being pushed away.

The moment the coldness was about to reach her heart, hot air suddenly filled her lungs through her mouth and throat.

“Hoo… !”

Only then did she realize that Lee Cheol was giving her artificial respiration.

And in the moment he maintained her breathing in such a rough way, a pure white spear appeared behind Lee Cheol, who had mana to spare.

Flash!

A light so bright that it dyed the world burst out.

The light gently wrapped around her body, and Anastasia finally felt the senses of her body, which had been far away, returning.

“…It’s done! The curse has been pushed back. Natalia! Come and hold Anastasia!”

“Yes!”

For a moment, there was a brief respite in Lee Cheol’s desperate expression, and immediately afterwards, determination filled him.

“Ah, ah…! ?”

Thump, thump, thump!

Her heart beats, and her breathing begins to continue.

The moment she regained consciousness, Anastasia felt terrible pain.

There were still many scars left on her body.

“You have to hold her tight! You can’t shake!”

“I know!”

“I’ll take it out on three. As soon as I take out the bone that pierced her intestines, I’ll immediately continue with hemostasis [stopping blood flow] and treatment of internal injuries!”

“Yes!”

Thwack! Crack!

Instantly, Anastasia opened her mouth wide.

The pain was so great that the breath she had barely regained was lost again.

“Hold on tight!”

Her arms and legs jumped up without her knowing, and Natalia grabbed them tightly.

And, almost simultaneously with that pain, the pain that had been heavily pressing down on Anastasia’s body was washed away.

The afterglow of the pain remained, but she could breathe.

The cold energy that had been filling her whole body had turned warm.

…Thump, thump.

Her heart was beating.

…Hoo, hoo.

She was breathing.

Anastasia instinctively felt that the life that had been briefly away from her body had returned.

“…Haa.”

And she saw Lee Cheol taking a deep breath and slumping back down.

Tears fell from Natalia’s eyes onto her face.

“You’ve worked hard, Anastasia. It’s okay now.”

Then she heard Lee Cheol’s voice.

It was a voice that evoked deep trust and relief, just like when he had removed the heavenly punishment that had resided in her body long ago.

Anastasia closed her eyes tightly.

With the certainty that everything would be alright now.

* * *

Soongmu Manor, main building.

Lee Gun-seong looked at the few people sitting in front of him and snorted.

“Puppet Master. You clearly said that even if it wasn’t the finished product, it wouldn’t die, right?”

“Ah… well, I don’t know either. It’s really an immortal that never dies, but how did you kill it?”

Lee Gun-seong gave a cold look to the Puppet Master, who looked like a boy.

“No, don’t look at me like that! It’s true! It had at least the martial power of a top-tier 3rd-class warrior, super regeneration ability, and no soul, so it had tremendous resistance to spells and magic? It couldn’t have died unless it was broken down into molecules!”

“But as a result, one Black Knight was destroyed.”

Lee Gun-seong said, looking at the reports he had received.

“And… I clearly told you not to target the Black Blood Guild Master.”

At Lee Gun-seong’s words, the Puppet Master stopped moving.

He grinned.

He shrugged his shoulders with a strange smile.

“Why would I just leave such a good material alone? That’s ridiculous.”

The Puppet Master said that and jumped up.

“Either way, haven’t you achieved most of your goals? You like to talk only about results, right?”

“The output of the experimental subject was below expectations. If he died to the youngest, that says it all.”

“Ha! Okay! I’ll report to the main group and work harder! Okay?”

“…Good. I’ll hand it over.”

Lee Gun-seong threw a document he was holding in his arms.

The Puppet Master frowned as he read the documents.

“It’s a copy? Where’s the original?”

“There’s no way I’d give it to you. If you only need the research method, that’s enough.”

The Puppet Master opened the book and read it.

It was a book with the names of Lee Cheong-mu, the former head of Soongmu Manor, and Lee Cheol-jung, the head of the Council of Elders, written on it.

And the stories written on it contained shocking facts.

“Anyway… it’s interesting. You, and your family.”

The Puppet Master shrugged his shoulders and left the room.

Lee Gun-seong sat in the room and unwrapped the bandage tied around his hand.

It was a wound he had sustained in the battle with Lee Myung-jung in this incident.

Stroking the wound with his hand, Lee Gun-seong looked around at the scenery of the main house, where darkness had fallen.