〈Episode 17. SSS-Rank Talent (4)〉
"The greatest saint can, at any moment, turn into the worst butcher."
That was the sentence used to describe 'Turtle-Rock Divine Physician' in Ways of Survival.
Turtle-Rock Divine Physician, Heo Jun.
According to the records of Ways of Survival, the subject Heo Jun devoted himself to in his later years was not medicine, but poison. Like many great figures who later became constellations, Heo Jun of that era had reached a realm far beyond what actual historical records described.
"If one can create a poison capable of killing anyone, then one should also be able to create a miracle pill capable of saving anyone."
Exiled after King Seonjo's death, Heo Jun obsessed over a single question until just before his own death in the seventh year of King Gwanghae's reign.
Why is it that some poisons become medicine for certain people, while others become deadly toxins?
And one day, in his twilight years, he finally arrived at a mystical answer.
"What determines a poison's effect is not the body , but the soul."
A poison created by analyzing a thousand souls.
The result was the Heavenly Spirit Poison now flowing from Lee Seolhwa's entire body.
And the [Dongui Bogam] was, in truth, Heo Jun's record of failure in his attempt to reach that Heavenly Spirit Poison.
"Kiiit, kiiit!"
As Lee Seolhwa continued pouring out Heavenly Spirit Poison, I struck her without mercy.
Thud—!
Lee Seolhwa was sent flying.
Once her poison was neutralized, Dokhee Lee Seolhwa was not particularly difficult to subdue.
More than anything, it was that Heavenly Spirit Poison that had solidified her fame as one of the Ten Evils.
If I hadn't obtained the [Dongui Bogam], I too would have become a sacrifice to the legend she would go on to build…
This time, however, luck was not on her side.
[The constellation 'Turtle-Rock Divine Physician' looks at you apologetically.]
[The constellation 'Turtle-Rock Divine Physician' hopes for your leniency.]
[You have received 300 coins.]
The Parasite infection was likely not part of Turtle-Rock Divine Physician's intentions.
Which meant that Lee Seolhwa attacking me was not her own will either.
That said—hoping for leniency with only 300 coins…
[The constellation 'Seoae Ilpil' hopes for your leniency.]
[The constellation 'Bald Righteous Army Commander' hopes for your leniency.]
[You have received 300 coins.]
Ignoring the reactions of the constellations, I walked toward Lee Seolhwa.
She crawled backward across the ground in terror.
From afar, I could feel Yoo Joonghyuk watching this scene.
If Lee Seolhwa died here, Yoo Joonghyuk would likely be deeply wounded.
Looking down at the fallen Lee Seolhwa, I spoke.
"Hey."
More precisely, I was speaking to Antinus, the thing parasitizing her.
"Come out nicely while I'm still asking."
"Kit?"
"It's not too late. Go back to your proper role as a 'Guide.' Teach people skills, get along with them, live peacefully."
"...."
"If you live diligently like that, who knows? You might even become a constellation someday."
Contrary to appearances, the Queen of the Parasites, Antinus, was a powerful hero.
Though currently bound by plausibility constraints and unable to exert her true strength, if she continued her role as a Guide and accumulated history, becoming a constellation one day was not impossible.
"I… hate you humans…"
The problem was that such a powerful being regarded humans as enemies.
Enemies she loathed beyond reconciliation.
I glanced at the [Disaster Meteor], which continued to tremble intermittently.
"I'm sorry your world was destroyed. But that doesn't mean you have to destroy this world too. Are you really going to reenact the same tragedy here?"
"…You will all die."
Watching Antinus chuckle with a kit-kit sound, I let out a sigh.
If she wouldn't leave on her own, then there was no other choice.
I'd have to force her out.
Honestly, I didn't want to use this method. It would cause Lee Seolhwa great pain, and once Antinus left her body, I'd have to face her directly.
I glanced up at the sky.
The constellations of the Korean Peninsula.
I'd owed them once before—this time, it was my turn to make a concession.
[Activating special option of 'Dongui Bogam — Incomplete Edition.']
['Dongui Bogam — Acupuncture & Moxibustion Volume' imparts the mystical essence of traditional medicine to you.]
Because my [Dongui Bogam] was incomplete, I couldn't perform miracles like creating supreme poisons or saving someone at death's door.
But simple treatments were possible.
For example—removing a parasitic insect from a human body.
For the procedure to go smoothly, her body needed to be restrained, so I had no choice but to twist Lee Seolhwa's arms and pin her down from behind.
It was a posture that could easily be misunderstood, but hand on my conscience, I had not a shred of ulterior intent.
Unless I were insane, there was no way I'd make a move on Yoo Joonghyuk's ex-girlfriend—especially right in front of him.
[Exclusive Skill, 'Acupoint Striking Lv.2,' has been activated!]
Pat. Pat. Pat.
I immediately began pressing down on Lee Seolhwa's acupoints all over her body. Before long, patches of her skin flushed red, and one by one I embedded needles made of mana into the acupoints that reacted.
This was my first time doing it—honestly, I wasn't sure if it would work.
"Kiiit! It hurts! It hurts so muuuuch!"
Lee Seolhwa screamed and wailed.
I kept locating and pressing the acupoints.
"Kiiit! Kiit! Kyaaaaaah—!"
Then, little by little, the nature of her screams began to change.
From the cries of an insect… back into a human voice.
To think that just a few needles could drive a parasite out of someone's body—traditional medicine really was mysterious. I was almost ashamed of how I'd practiced blind Western-worship all this time, believing only in modern medicine.
[The essence of mystical traditional medicine takes effect!]
[The constellation 'Turtle-Rock Divine Physician' looks down at you with satisfaction.]
Leaving behind Lee Seolhwa, who was panting in utter exhaustion, I stood up.
From her entire body—where pitch-black poison had been secreted until just moments ago—yellow mucus now slowly began to seep out. That mucus was the true body of the Insect King species, the 'Parasite.'
"Ghk… guh…."
This should be enough to satisfy the constellations.
[The constellation 'Turtle-Rock Divine Physician' thanks you for your good deed.]
[You have received 500 coins.]
Lee Seolhwa's eyes slowly opened. Life had returned to her pupils, but they were still unfocused.
That was because she had been infected by a Parasite just moments ago.
With her five senses half-dulled, she probably couldn't even see my face clearly right now.
"Who… are you?"
I knew very well what kind of events would follow if I answered that question.
Something similar had happened in a few regressions where Yoo Joonghyuk had successfully recruited Lee Seolhwa without incident.
So what mattered right now wasn't who I was.
"Yoo Joonghyuk sent me."
—Kim Dokja. Don't do anything unnecessary.
Yoo Joonghyuk's furious voice stabbed into my ears.
A change came over Lee Seolhwa's expression.
"…Yoo Joonghyuk? Who is that?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Dokhee Lee Seolhwa absolutely had to become part of Yoo Joonghyuk's party here.
After the appearance of the and the destruction of the 'Absolute Throne,' the flow of this world had already begun to deviate little by little from the trajectory I knew.
Inheriting the original story's mistakes would be a problem—but it would be just as problematic for futures I didn't know to keep appearing.
That was why, at every key point of major events, I needed to personally adjust the balance.
Some things should flow as they originally did.
Others needed to flow differently.
There had been twists and turns, but all things considered, Yoo Joonghyuk's current "regression" was gradually approaching what I considered an ideal approximation.
And Dokhee—no, Medical Immortal Lee Seolhwa—could become one of the finest decimal places of that approximation.
"Kim Dokja, we're done over here!"
When I turned around, Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah were approaching, covered in blood.
I was surprised.
The two of them had wiped out that many people?
Even with Dokhee absent, for the two of them to sweep away the main fighting force of the "Dokhee Group" alone…
It was enough to render our original plan meaningless.
With coordination like that, they might even rival the combo of Lee Jihye's [Ghost Fleet] and Gong Pildu's [Armed Zone].
"Wait—don't come any closer."
I stopped their movement.
It would be bad if they approached now, without immunity to infection.
The battle wasn't over yet.
Kiiiit... human...!
The mucus that had exited Lee Seolhwa's body was gathering around a single point in midair.
The Queen of the Parasites—Antinus.
She was terrifying even while parasitizing someone, but even more terrifying when she wasn't.
The viscous masses moved like tiny flying insects, gradually shaping a form.
A body formed from nutrients she had absorbed over countless years.
A torso with beautiful curves, legs boasting taut muscles.
Dragonfly-like wings, and a tail resembling that of a scorpion.
Most of her body was covered in an insect's carapace except for her face, but overall she resembled a bipedal creature more than an insect.
The real battle started now.
"Back off! Before you get infected!"
Swaaak!
A sharp tail stabbed toward my abdomen.
[The item 'Dongui Bogam — Incomplete Edition' effect is active.]
[Your body gains immunity to Parasite infection.]
She was so fast that even with my agility over 50, I couldn't dodge completely. I barely managed to grab the tip of her tail, avoiding having my stomach pierced—but if I'd taken that hit directly, there would definitely have been a hole in my gut.
Kit.
Using the fact that I'd grabbed her tail, she slammed me straight into the ground. My body flew and smashed down hard, and intense pain flooded through me.
She's strong.
She was even stronger after shedding her parasitic form.
This was the power of a being comparable to a Grade-5 Insect King species using only her true body.
If Antinus fully unleashed her power, she'd display combat strength on par with the degraded Fire Dragon species I'd fought before.
Even if her world had been destroyed, she had once been a hero of an entire world.
She was a powerhouse on the same level as Lycaon, who had emerged from the [Yellow Meteor].
But it wasn't a hopeless fight.
For a 'Guide' to cause such havoc before the fifth scenario even ended was a blatant violation of scenario rules. Worse still, she hadn't just killed a few people—she'd attempted to force an early hatching of a disaster.
That meant she had abandoned her own plausibility.
Chzzzt, chzzzzzt—
Signs of a plausibility storm were already descending upon Antinus's body. If a little more time passed, even without my attacking her, her physical form would begin to collapse at an accelerated rate.
This was a battle I could win just by buying time.
Kiiiit!
The problem was how much I'd get tossed around while buying that time…
It was then that the 'Immunter Clan's Talisman' tucked inside my clothes began to tremble faintly.
Wooooong.
Ah. Right.
I straightened my aching joints and spoke to her.
"Sorry, but I'm not your opponent."
Kuuuuung!
The moment the words left my mouth, a silver flash tore across the sky, creating a sonic boom. A splendid mane scattered through the air, and a massive figure landed in front of me with a thunderous crash.
Over three meters tall.
The prince of Immuntar, Lycaon, rose to his feet, radiating fierce fighting spirit.
"Apologies for being late, Master."