Volume 1 Chapter 17: Passing the Torch
"So, what do you mean by 'need this little help'?" asked Hans, who was munching on bread, with some slurred words.
Does the bread seem to taste good?
"Ah, I'll heal the sick, and you'll use this name to get famous. You see, I've hired you well enough, right?"
The technique was as clean as when he untied the human body......
This extremely unappetizing thought popped into Hans's mind, and then he choked on it.
"Hmm...... cough, cough, cough ......" He covered his neck and coughed for a long time before he finally got through this "life and death crisis".
And the epidemic doctor is still cutting the sausage unhurriedly.
"I'm afraid that this kind of fame is going to harm me, and there is a big conspiracy in here, so you are not afraid to come to the door?" asked Hans, after pondering for a long time.
"Of course there's a big conspiracy. Otherwise, why would I let you come out. ”
The epidemic doctor unabashedly and very bluntly expressed his willingness to harm the other party.
"Poof......" Hans, who had just recovered from his senses, squirted out again, "No, no, no, no, if you think so, they will naturally find you when they come to the door!"
Hans hurriedly tried to get the "epidemic doctor" to give up this dangerous idea, and at the same time felt a little crying and laughing.
"Anla, you don't have to be afraid, I won't really hurt you, after all, no matter what you say, you are my junior. The plague doctor shrugged, "With me to protect you, and Mr. Zero as a guarantee, you'll be fine...... Probably not too much. (whispering)"
"Okay, okay, what are you going to do, can you teach me?" asked Hans, curiously.
After all, although the other party is a monster (abnormal), it seems that the level is far beyond his own epidemic doctor.
"Of course I can teach you. I have never been stingy with my peers. The plague doctor let out a strange laugh, "But I'm willing to teach...... Are you willing to learn?"
His laughter sounded as ugly as a crow.
"Of course I have to learn if I can cure the disease...... Wait, it can't be that kind of supernatural phenomenon, right?" Hans seemed to suddenly remember something.
"I'm an anomaly. The epidemic doctor said with a straight look.
"You can guess what the power used is, right?"
"Besides, if it's an ordinary medical skill, why would Mr. Zero look for me?" the plague doctor shrugged.
"It's something that can't be popularized, but it's a shame to want to get it. ”
"And when are you going to start?" Hans began to chew on the sausage as well, but after comparing the "epidemic doctor" with himself, he was disappointed to find that his knife skills still seemed to be much worse.
"Let's put it this way...... I can lead you into that world and gain supernatural powers...... But are you really willing to step into that anomalous world?"
"That crazy world that has lost its order. ”
The plague doctor laughed again.
"Maybe one day I'll have that thought, but I don't want to be with you just yet. There's something else that ordinary people can learn, right? I want to know that. Although Hans restrained himself, he also knew that there must be a little disgust on his face.
As a doctor, even if it is an epidemic doctor, I believe more in science than in the flow of "magic" beyond comprehension.
Perhaps the power that the church calls the devil is not too far off. Hans thought.
“...... You were meant to be my peer. If you think so, I need you to see it all the more......" he said, and then took Hans's hand.
"Hey, what are you going to do, wait-"
Hans was in a trance, as if he were sinking in the sea. Not only does this mean that he has an inexplicable feeling that he is about to be drowned, but his vision is full of fluctuations like water waves.
Immediately, Hans saw countless images flash around him.
I don't know how many generations of epidemic doctors have been painfully searching for ways to deal with the plague, and then they have failed again and again.
Hans watched them be misunderstood by others, disliked by their families, treated as ominous incarnations, and even attacked and executed.
He couldn't help but think of his family. Although he has been looked at by others with disgust, discrimination, and rejection because he was born in this family, he is lucky compared to these epidemic doctors......
Because the family is full of epidemic doctors, it will definitely not be abandoned by the family.
But correspondingly, you must also bear the pain of the premature death of all your family members......
As he pondered, Hans saw that when they were angry, when they were in pain, when they were in pain, when they were lost, when they were desperate, a viscous and ominous black aura overflowed, and finally converged into a standard image of a plague doctor: black robes, beak masks, white gloves, scalpels...... Wait a minute.
"That's how I was born. ”
Hans heard a faint voice coming from behind him.
"......" Hans turned. "So, do you regret it? We should have had this kind of consciousness when we put on this dress, otherwise we would have been able to live well if we had taken it off and become a pharmacist," said Hans, pointing to his clothes.
"You seem to have misunderstood something. I'm an anomaly, not you humans. I have no right to regret it. That's how I was born, and when it's no longer like that, when I'm gone. I am the vessel that bears the grievances of the epidemic doctors, and when it is no longer like this, it will no longer exist...... It was like this. ”
Hans felt more grounded, the distorted environment of the deep sea gradually became normal, but when everything calmed down, you didn't see the room you used to see.
"My 'concept' as an anomaly was changed by Mr. Zero. The "plague doctor" said in an admiring tone: "What a remarkable thing...... It's like a miracle. ”
"Last time...... You were there that time. But you're an ordinary person who hasn't stepped into the anomalous world, so you can't see or understand. ”
"Of course, the grievances of the epidemic doctors being treated unfairly are still my foundation. If I lose this, I will die in an instant. ”
"But now I am also composed of the beliefs of the epidemic doctors. ”
"He magnifies goodwill and suppresses malice, so that the two are finally almost balanced. ”
"The beastly nature of resentment subsided, and the rational self was born. ”
"You see, now I can tell you almost calmly about my existence. ”
"I can't thank him because he killed me and raised me again. ”
"But there's no denying that I owe him a favor. ”
As he spoke, he put away the scalpel, and at the same time slowly raised the lantern in his other hand very slowly, as if he was afraid of waking up something.
Under the illumination of the light, Hans could see the scenery around him vaguely.
It's like I'm in the midst of a giant. However, the surrounding area is a more monstrous color, brilliant and changing.
The giant slept in vague obscureness, and thousands of bright eyes flickered in the outer void, watching the giant's body.
However, the giant's body was eroded and decayed, and large chunks of the body fell from the skeleton as a pulp.
However, the dying giant remained silent.
Hans's vision was blurry, and he could only guess the scenes from the blurry clumps of color that were twisted and huddled together.
When he wanted to see more scenes and details, he heard the epidemic doctor whispering in his ear:
"Now, I have a new opportunity...... Mr. Zero summoned me to return from the seal, presumably for the sake of that. ”
"Maybe I can extend the concept and ...... it further"
The blurred image faded away, and Hans woke up to find that he had already sat back down at the warm and comfortable table.
He felt that he was in the illusion he had before, and he seemed to have some inexplicable chills.
He trembled slightly and listened to the "epidemic doctor" continue to speak as if he was explaining the aftermath, but he also seemed to have an inexplicable sense of indistinctness through a veil.
It's as if you're still in a dream.
“...... Mr. Zero is kind to me, and I can't refuse him. ”
"But then I, we, will face a plague born of divine power, a plague intended by God. ”
"I have no divinity. I'm vulnerable to that kind of thing. ”
"But I am made up of the hope of the plague doctor to defeat the plague—well, even the resentment of the plague is the grudge against the plague—and I have to settle it now that I have returned from my slumber. ”
"I don't know if I'll survive. Maybe Mr. Zero can move faster—before I am unnoticed by God, destroyed by God at the snap of a finger—to complete God's intentions. ”
"But if I can't continue to exist, I want you to take this lantern and pass it on to future generations. ”
"Just like you guys...... It's like what we, the doctors, have always wanted to do and are doing. ”