Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 406: Elders Are People Too

An Elder was dead.

Ruskinia, a high noble of the Mist Duchy, a single being possessing the strength of an entire city, was gone. No one knew exactly how it had happened, but the renowned master of blood-based martial arts had perished before he could even regenerate.

But what did that have to do with me?

Humans die.

And since Elders were also human, there was no reason they couldn’t die too.

Sure, I put on a show of respectful mourning for Tyr’s sake—he had been one of her subordinates, after all—but a man I’d never even met, who had died more than ten years ago? I felt nothing.

Right now, my stomach was more concerning.

Ugh. If I left it to heal naturally, it would take a while... What a pain.

“Knock, knock! Father, how’s your stab wound?”

Hilde came bouncing in, her arms overflowing with food. She set it all down on the table, while I lazily raised a hand in greeting from my spot on the sofa.

“Where have you been all this time?”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started! Unlike you, who arrived with the Progenitor, I got completely shafted! They tossed me into some tiny room and told me to sit quietly! The difference is unfair!”

“Can’t be helped. I’m Tyr’s personal guest.”

If she wanted better treatment, she should have picked the right side from the start.

Hilde squinted at me and muttered,

“Are you sure you’re just a guest? Not her consort?”

...Tch. Hard to argue with that one.

Even vampires—who lacked heartbeats and felt little emotion—had preferences. I wasn’t a vampire, so I didn’t fully understand it, but some humans had blood that smelled or tasted especially enticing to them.

Even vampires who saw humans as nothing more than livestock would treasure those humans as beloved consorts.

Tyr had already stated outright that my blood was disgusting.

But that didn’t change the fact that I was, essentially, her favorite pet.

...If this kept up, would she eventually turn me into an Elder herself?

I swiftly changed the subject.

“Shouldn’t you be more worried about yourself? Even if you abandoned your faith, the moment people realize you were part of the Sacred Sword Order, the entire country will turn against you.”

“Oh, right! That’s actually why I came! Father, let’s check your stomach!”

“...Why?”

“To make sure it’s healed properly! Now, lift your shirt!”

“...Why are you drawing a knife?”

The glinting dagger aimed at my stomach made my blood run cold.

I barely blocked her wrist in time before she could slice me open.

Hilde frowned, still inspecting my abdomen.

“We have to cut it open again! We need to erase all traces of the healing magic!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?! No! My stomach isn’t a piggy bank—you can’t just cut it open and seal it shut whenever you feel like it!”

“I healed it, so I can cut it open again!”

“By that logic, kids owe their parents their lives? Once you give something, it’s given!”

“If we don’t erase the traces of the healing magic, I might be the one who gets drained dry!”

“Then maybe try acting like a proper daughter for once! Losing a little blood is a small price to pay for family!”

“Respect for elders! You should be the one to go first!”

“You’re older than me! You keep calling me ‘Father’ so much, you’re starting to actually believe it!”

We were seconds away from strangling each other when the door suddenly burst open.

Sensing another presence, both Hilde and I froze, still gripping the dagger between us.

The intruder was white.

As if dipped in ink, jet-black hair was pinned up beneath a white headscarf. A garter skirt peeked out beneath a crisp white apron. Their pale, bloodless skin was offset by piercing blue eyes that gleamed with an almost icy sharpness.

The white intruder regarded us expressionlessly and spoke.

“I was told there was a patient. Where are they?”

Even without using mind-reading, it was obvious—they were a vampire.

But with mind-reading, I knew something else—

This was the physician Vladimir had sent.

...Nice work, Crimson Duke! That was fast!

I hurriedly pointed at Hilde and pleaded,

“Right here! She’s attacking me!”

The physician merely observed my outstretched hand for a moment, then shook their head.

“You are not yet a patient. Therefore, you are not my concern.”

...What?

I blinked in confusion. The physician instead turned to Hilde and asked,

“What are you doing with that knife? Hurry and cut open his stomach so I may begin treatment.”

...Excuse me?

Did they just tell her to wound me so they could treat me?!

I yelled in disbelief,

“You’re supposed to stop injuries, not encourage them!”

“I am a physician, not a mediator. And a physician can only exist if there is a patient.”

“That doesn’t mean you should just let people become patients!”

“The creation of patients is beyond my concern. I have no interest in such matters, nor the ability to prevent them.”

...Okay. Fair.

You wouldn’t ask a doctor to stop a knife-wielding maniac, after all.

But that was only true for normal doctors.

“You’re an Elder! You can stop it! If you can, then do it!”

The physician, who had been calmly pulling on their white gloves, paused at my words.

...But only for a moment.

Then, they smoothly adjusted their cuffs and replied,

“I have not yet been acknowledged by the Progenitor. At present, I am neither an Elder nor a Yailing... Merely a physician summoned for their duties.”

Then, in a flat yet expectant tone, they turned back to Hilde.

“Now, when will the incision begin?”

Hilde let go of the dagger, shrugging.

“Oh, you took that seriously? That was just an act~.”

“An act? You were not actually going to cut him?”

“Nope~. I wouldn’t just recklessly open up Father’s stomach! We were just playing along~.”

Of course, I had already read her thoughts.

But if I reacted too soon, my mind-reading would be obvious.

Besides, when dealing with Hilde, even a “joke” could be deadly—if I didn’t resist properly, I could have actually gotten stabbed.

“...I see. A shame.”

“A shame? What’s a shame?”

“Allow me to explain. Hand me the dagger.”

Hilde obediently passed it over.

With effortless precision, the physician twirled the blade expertly between their fingers—

—And drove it straight into my stomach.

...Wait.

Before I could even react, the razor-sharp blade sliced through me like paper.

I hadn’t sensed any malice from them.

No—even now, with a dagger buried in my gut—

I could tell—

This person genuinely wanted to help me.

“What the hell—?!”

Even Hilde was shocked into silence.

Calmly spreading open the fresh wound, the physician introduced themselves.

“From this moment on, you are my patient, and you are now under my strict care. I am Lir Nightingale.”

Tyrkanzyaka had mentioned an unrecognized Elder, the vampire who had inherited Ruskinia’s True Blood.

And if I had to guess, this was the legendary healer known as the Doctor of the Future.

The rumored vampire of the Mist Duchy spoke coldly, with unyielding devotion in their voice.

“If you do not comply... I will ensure you do.”

"That can't be right! There's no way she's the Divine Healer! What kind of lunatic psycho even qualifies as one? She’s more suited to being a serial killer!"

I have a strong stomach. Watching someone's guts squirm around in front of me might put me off my appetite for a bit, but I can generally handle it. But when it’s my own stomach being opened up? That’s a whole different story! Terror and pain mixed with revulsion surge over me like a tidal wave.

"Aaaaagh! My stomach! My stomach—!"

"Patient, please relax. Your muscles are tensing up."

"Relax?! My stomach is sliced open! How the hell am I supposed to relax?!"

"Even a frail woman like me can do it. Are you telling me you can't manage even that?"

"Frail, my ass! You're an Elder! Of course, you can do it!"

"Tch. Still thinking clearly, I see. Has the anesthetic not spread properly?"

"Anesthetic?! You haven’t even used any yet! Gaaaaaah!"

Talking while my stomach is split open sends a sharp bolt of agony through me. She really cut me open! My skin is sliced, my insides are exposed—this is actually happening!

Lir glanced between her hands and my gut before making a small noise of realization.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

"Oh."

"Oh, my ass! Do something—!"

Lir reached for her thigh holster, pulling out one of several ampoules. Holding it between two fingers, she snapped it open. A crimson liquid floated around her fingers before she guided it toward my open wound.

A chilling sensation spread through my bloodstream. As the foreign substance coursed through my veins, something settled inside me. The pain hadn’t been unbearable to begin with, but now my body no longer felt entirely my own, growing distant, detached.

Lir suddenly asked, "How do you feel?"

"Huh? About what?"

"I was pinching your stomach. Since you didn't notice, I’d say the anesthetic has taken full effect."

I could see her fingers still pinching at my split-open flesh. I was too dumbfounded to even react anymore. I wanted to run away from this madness, but where the hell would I go with my stomach cut open and my guts on display?

Powerless, I could only watch in a daze as Lir rummaged through my insides.

"O-oh," I stammered.

"A penetrating wound caused by a bladed weapon," she muttered clinically. "The edges of the wound show signs of burning. Blood from the unhealed internal organs has pooled inside the abdominal cavity. This level of bleeding... If you hadn't trained in qi techniques, you would have been in serious danger."

I am in serious danger! My stomach is wide open!

I couldn't even find my voice anymore. I was terrified that if I tensed up the wrong way, my intestines would spill out. I might be insensitive to hostility and slow to recognize kindness, but no matter how benevolent she is, I don't want to follow someone who slices me open like this. Groaning under the effects of the anesthesia, I turned to Hilde with pleading eyes, hoping she'd step in.

But Hilde wasn't looking at me. Her gaze was fixed on Lir's hands, which were rummaging through my wound with reckless abandon. With an intrigued expression, she murmured,

"Despite such a large wound... there's no bleeding?"

Through my hazy vision, I looked down.

She was right.

There was no blood flowing from the incision. Rather, the blood that should have been spilling out was floating midair, clustering together before sinking back into my body as if being reabsorbed. Just as usual.

Vampires with exceptional hemocraft, especially those who have achieved full control over their own bodies, can regenerate even the most grievous injuries. Vladimir once dismantled his own body and reconstructed it.

But that only applies to their own bodies.

Even vampires, for all their undead nature, still have a body. The physical form they remember serves as an anchor, keeping them from straying too far and becoming something inhuman. When they rebuild themselves, they retain that shape—because it’s the form they define as "themselves."

And yet, the Elder in front of me wasn’t reconstructing her own body.

She was reconstructing mine.

She sliced me open and let my blood flow freely. My inside and outside became one. In that brief moment when my boundaries blurred, she forcefully seized my scattered blood and returned it to me.

She knew my body better than I did. She saw with her eyes, traced with her hemocraft, read its flow, and understood its flaws—then fixed them. Using her abilities, she refined my wound and drained the dead blood. Under her guidance, my blood followed an orderly path.

At some point, the procedure was complete. Lir pressed my skin back together and reached for a strand of my hair. I was still too dazed to react in time. Only when pain pricked my belly did I realize what was happening.

Using my hair infused with blood, she traced a zigzag motion with her fingers. It felt like tiny needles piercing my skin. When I came back to my senses, all that remained of the gaping wound was a thin line of stitches. I could hardly believe that just moments ago, my stomach had been split wide open.

"The procedure is finished," Lir announced.

Even after performing surgery, not a single drop of blood stained her gloves. Her mastery of hemocraft was so precise that not even another person's blood could soak into her.

"You must rest completely," she continued. "Your blood supply is low, so avoid feeding any vampires for the time being. Focus on consuming meat."

Her medical knowledge, her dexterity—she had evolved in a completely different direction from any other vampire. Reading into her thoughts with mind-reading, I saw not just her techniques but an almost obsessive belief in her own methods. And I was certain.

The ‘Divine Healer’ I had glimpsed in a regressor’s memories—it was her.

Hilde, having been exposed, chuckled sheepishly.

"Oh dear~. I wanted to keep that a secret, but I guess I’ve been found out."

"The flow of blood was clearly unnatural. If not me, anyone else would have noticed," Lir said matter-of-factly.

"But now that I have scars again, no one will suspect, right? Well, except for you, of course~."

Is she planning to exterminate the undead?

No—exterminating vampires was already an absurd goal. Lir was someone who could snatch a soul from the afterlife and drag it back by the scruff of its neck.

Ordinarily, this would be the part where I scoff and provoke an argument, but Lir simply shook her head, gathered her belongings, and said,

"I have no intention of speaking about it."

"I don't believe you," Hilde shot back instantly.

"You know full well about the long-standing conflict between vampires and the Holy Crown Church. If you're a vampire, then the moment you recognized me as a Sacred Sword knight, you should have tried to kill me. That is the duty of an Elder who carries the True Blood of the Progenitor."

It was an expected response. The progenitor and the Holy Crown Church had been at war for centuries. By now, their mutual enmity was so deeply ingrained that fighting on sight had become second nature.

But nothing is absolute. Just as a knight of the Sacred Sword Order had walked into the Mist Duchy of her own volition, so too could an Elder offer her goodwill.

"I am a physician. As I said earlier, the emergence of a patient is of no concern to me. Only their survival is."

Maybe it was because she was a vampire, or maybe she had been like this from the start, but the chillingly obsessive kindness in her voice was unmistakable.

"And besides, healing magic is just another tool to ensure a patient’s survival."

If anyone else in the Mist Duchy had heard that, they would’ve led a public execution—for her and Hilde both.

As Hilde got distracted by the weight of Lir's words, the Elder finished gathering her things and turned to me one last time.

"More importantly, I have a question for you, travelers from the Allied Nations."

I managed to regain some focus. "...What is it?"

"Are there patients there?"

I let out a dry chuckle.

"There’s no shortage."

"Good."

With that, Lir’s next destination was decided.

"Your treatment is done, so I will take my leave. Do not die without my permission. You are my patient."

"Like hell I'm dying just because you say so. My life’s too valuable."

As she walked away without hesitation, I suddenly had a troubling thought.

‘Wait. Where did the scalpel she used to cut me open go?’