Chapter 80. Joint Treatment
Dunyarzad suddenly collapsed forward, her face contorted in pain as Eleazar flared up without warning.
"MISS!!!!!"
Dehya's eyes widened in alarm.
She had never expected Dunyarzad's Eleazar to erupt at a moment like this.
Quickly supporting her Young Miss, she hurriedly reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of medicine, intending to give it to her immediately.
Dunyarzad had not yet lost consciousness. Enduring the intense pain, she accepted the medicine from Dehya and swallowed it.
Ever since Eleazar had begun spreading on a large scale five hundred years ago—or perhaps even earlier—the Akademiya had maintained a high degree of vigilance toward the disease.
Yet after countless investigations and studies, they had ultimately arrived at a single conclusion.
Eleazar was an incurable disease. No one could completely cure it. Anyone afflicted with Eleazar was doomed.
Doomed.
Every person who contracted the disease eventually met the same fate.
Death.
It made no difference whether one possessed rare medicinal ingredients, an exceptional physique, or even a Vision holder.
Once Eleazar took root within a person's body, their life entered a countdown.
And that countdown moved with frightening certainty.
At first, some could rely on their vitality to endure. But sooner or later, the disease would claim them all.
Dunyarzad had suffered from Eleazar since childhood.
Had it not been for her family's resources and her own remarkable strength of will, she likely would have passed away long ago, just like countless other victims of the disease.
But now—It seemed she had finally reached her limit.
"Miss! Miss!!!"
Dehya looked at Dunyarzad, whose condition showed no improvement even after taking the medicine, and panic immediately appeared on her face.
She had never imagined that her Young Miss, who rarely left home, would suddenly suffer such a severe outbreak.
What was happening? Just a few days ago, she had been perfectly fine!
Unable to understand the situation, Dehya could only stare helplessly at the suffering Dunyarzad in her arms.
Her thoughts ground to a halt.
She did not know what to do.
Eleazar was incurable.
The specialized medicine had always been capable of suppressing it before. But now, even that medicine had lost its effect.
What should she do? What could she possibly do now?
"Buzz—!"
At that moment, a verdant light blossomed into existence.
Vibrant life energy flowed into Dunyarzad's body, gradually easing the pain on her face and stabilizing her breathing.
Even the ominous aura surrounding her began to recede.
"This?!"
Dehya instinctively turned toward Futsu Mitama. The source of that vibrant energy—
It was his hand.
How had he done it? He was actually capable of suppressing Dunyarzad's Eleazar.
Yet at the same time, the rich Dendro energy stirred memories of ancient legends within Dehya's mind.
Legends of Maha Rukkhadevata. The God who had created the rainforest and brought life and prosperity to the people of Sumeru.
Back then, in addition to being known as the God of Wisdom, Maha Rukkhadevata had possessed another title.
The God of Life.
The flourishing rainforest she created stood as the greatest symbol of vitality itself.
It was simply that her achievements in the domain of wisdom had been so extraordinary that the world eventually remembered only her title as the God of Wisdom, gradually forgetting the title of God of Life.
Dehya remembered this because she had grown up in the desert.
As a child of the Scarlet King's descendants, she had spent her entire life gazing upon endless golden sands while witnessing the lush rainforest that flourished beyond them.
The contrast was impossible to ignore.
As the saying went, comparison made differences all the more obvious.
Because of this, many Desert dwellers still remembered that forgotten title.
In contrast, many citizens of Sumeru likely remembered Maha Rukkhadevata only as the God of Wisdom.
"This is different from Collei's situation."
Futsu Mitama suddenly spoke, his expression becoming noticeably more solemn.
"I can only suppress it temporarily."
His voice was serious.
"At most, I can prevent it from worsening further. Shenhe, set up a barrier. Aila, Shinobu, the two of you watch the surroundings. Kokomi, assist me."
Shenhe nodded and immediately began establishing a barrier to conceal what was happening from outsiders.
Aila, Black Aila, and Kuki Shinobu disappeared from their positions, moving to secure the surrounding area. If any suspicious individuals approached, they would stop them immediately.
Meanwhile, Kokomi was secretly startled by Futsu Mitama's words. She had not expected Dunyarzad's condition to be even more severe than Collei's.
Even Futsu Mitama could only suppress it temporarily.
"Protection of the Deep Sea."
Kokomi immediately summoned her healing arts and began treating Dunyarzad. As the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, her medical expertise and healing abilities were exceptional.
However, the moment she began, she realized something was wrong.
An unknown force within Dunyarzad's body was resisting the Hydro energy she was channeling.
At the same time, Kokomi sensed something even more troubling.
Dunyarzad's body felt hollow. As though everything sustaining her life had already been exhausted.
Her life force resembled a flickering candle of flame, capable of being extinguished at any moment.
Futsu Mitama was forcibly stabilizing that fragile flame through the life energy contained within the Dendro Archon's inheritance.
Even so, Kokomi found herself unable to improve Dunyarzad's condition.
It could not be cured. How could something like this possibly be cured?
For the first time in a long while, Kokomi felt genuine anxiety. Again and again, she poured Hydro energy into Dunyarzad's body, doing everything she could to ease her suffering.
The nourishment from her healing power improved Dunyarzad's complexion slightly.
But only slightly. The condition of her body remained as terrible as before.
'Something isn't right. What's going on?'
Futsu Mitama frowned.
Even he could not immediately understand the situation. Dunyarzad had seemed weak earlier, certainly. But she should not have suddenly collapsed like this.
Then a thought struck him.
The Akademiya. The God Creation Project.
Suddenly, everything seemed to connect.
Tighnari's earlier weakness.
Dunyarzad's sudden collapse.
This was clearly connected to the Akademiya. Under normal circumstances, Dunyarzad should have been able to endure for several more years. But because of the God Creation Project, her condition had deteriorated drastically.
"Has your Young Miss's condition ever worsened this suddenly before?"
Futsu Mitama asked Dehya.
"Ah?!"
Seeing how desperately Futsu Mitama was trying to save Dunyarzad, Dehya immediately searched her memories before nodding seriously.
"Four days ago, Miss lost consciousness, and her Eleazar began worsening continuously. At the time, she was at home, and there happened to be a doctor treating her. But the Doctor said she wouldn't survive and told the Master and Madam to prepare for her funeral."
"When they heard that, it felt as though the sky had collapsed on them. They rushed to her bedside immediately."
"But unexpectedly, Miss suddenly woke up. The Eleazar in her body was somehow suppressed, allowing her to survive that crisis. Afterward, the Master and Madam believed that staying indoors for too long had worsened her condition, so they encouraged her to go outside and relax."
As she spoke, Dehya suddenly seemed to realize something.
She turned toward Futsu Mitama.
"Could it be that the reason Miss survived a few days ago was because of Lesser Lord Kusanali?"
Earlier, Futsu Mitama had said that Dunyarzad was someone favored by a god.
Although Dehya still found the idea difficult to believe, if Dunyarzad truly possessed a god's favor, then why had she suffered so much? Were gods not omnipotent? How could even they be unable to solve Eleazar?
Now it seemed that Eleazar was far more troublesome than anyone had imagined.
Futsu Mitama and Kokomi were both doing everything they could, yet all they could manage was to slightly improve Dunyarzad's condition.
Neither of them could eradicate the disease. One had to remember that Futsu Mitama was the acknowledged successor of the Electro Archon. His abilities should not differ greatly from those of the current Electro Archon.
Yet even he could not resolve it.
"Mm. That's most likely the case."
Futsu Mitama believed it had indeed been Nahida who saved Dunyarzad, though he did not know the exact method she had used.
Judging from the current situation, Nahida would likely arrive soon to save one of her most cherished followers.
The problem was that Dunyarzad's condition had already become extremely unfavorable.
Even Futsu Mitama could do little more.
Collei had inherited the Dendro Archon's Vision and possessed a body far healthier and stronger than Dunyarzad's.
When treating Collei, all Futsu Mitama needed to do was provide a small amount of life energy.
That alone was enough to make her feel liberated from Eleazar and able to live almost like a normal person.
Dunyarzad was different. Her body felt as though it had already been hollowed out. No matter how much life energy he poured into her, it merely offset the damage rather than healing it.
As for further treatment, Futsu Mitama currently had no answer.
His own path inherited much of Raiden Ei's approach, emphasizing overwhelming force.
Even Zhongli's inheritance focused on sealing arts, spear techniques, and mastery over Geo.
Among all the inheritances available to him, the Dendro Archon's inheritance was the most suitable because it specialized in life and the soul.
It was precisely the correct remedy.
The unfortunate reality, however, was that he had not possessed that inheritance for very long and not focused too much on Life. If he continued flooding Dunyarzad with life energy, her fragile body might not endure the strain.
That was also why he had requested Kokomi's assistance.
'No choice.'
While continuing to channel life energy into Dunyarzad, Futsu Mitama quietly opened the group livestream.
Since he could not solve this problem himself, he could only seek help from those within the group.
The Group Leader, Futsu Mitama, has started a group live broadcast.
Keqing: "What happened?"
Cyno: "Hmm?"
Bosacius: "A group live broadcast suddenly started?? Did something incredible happen?"
Guizhong: "Starting a live broadcast without saying anything first... something unusual has definitely happened."
Guizhong: "Otherwise, Futsu Mitama would have explained the situation beforehand."
Klee: "Eh? Who's that big sister? She doesn't look very well."
Cyno: "This is Eleazar?! And it's already reached the late stage?!"
Futsu Mitama: "Long story short, I need your help. This young woman is someone Lesser Lord Kusanali watches over, but her Eleazar has flared up, and she's on the verge of death."
Albedo: "Eleazar? That's a very troublesome condition."
Paimon: "Ah?! Eleazar?! What's that? Mitama, don't you have Maha Rukkhadevata's inheritance? Can't you save her?"
Lumine: "If he could save her, he probably wouldn't have needed to start a group livestream."
Venti: "Ah, this problem— Well, if you're not worried about exposing yourself, you could use the power of the Anemo Gnosis."
Venti: "The wind can heal all things. Whether it's the body or the mind, it can soothe and restore them."
Zhongli: "Futsu Mitama and the others are currently within Sumeru City. Using the power of the Anemo Gnosis here would be akin to throwing a stone into a still lake."
Zhongli: "More importantly, what is her current physical condition? Only by understanding her condition can the proper remedy be prescribed."
Raiden Makoto: "It appears to be quite serious. Both Kokomi and Mitama have been treating her, yet her condition still hasn't improved."
Raiden Ei: "Why not use authority directly and see if this so-called Eleazar can be destroyed? The splendor of lightning is capable of annihilating all harmful things."
Kuki Shinobu: "No... If we did that, Dunyarzad herself might disappear along with it."
Kamisato Ayaka: "Eliminating Eleazar by eliminating the host as well—"
Maha Rukkhadevata: "Eleazar, is it..."
Maha Rukkhadevata let out a quiet sigh.
"This is indeed a difficult situation. If her physical condition were better, Futsu Mitama probably wouldn't have come to seek our assistance."
Sangonomiya Kokomi: "Dunyarzad's physical and mental state are both extremely fragile She's practically standing at death's door. Mr. Zhongli, if you intend to prepare medicine, you absolutely must avoid strong remedies."
Zhongli: "Understood."
Sangonomiya Kokomi: "Based on my observations, the only reason she's still alive right now is because Futsu Mitama is continuously supplying her with life energy."
Maha Rukkhadevata: "Is that so?"
Maha Rukkhadevata paused briefly before continuing.
"If that's the case, then she can still be saved."
Futsu Mitama: "How? Please explain in detail."
Maha Rukkhadevata: "First, stabilize her mind. Then have her consume Fake Purified Water and Fake Condensed Resin. Eleazar is, in essence, a curse born from forbidden knowledge. Begin by having her drink the Fake Purified Water and observe whether it alleviates her symptoms. If it proves effective, then have her consume the Fake Condensed Resin to strengthen her mental state."
"That will make the subsequent treatment process much easier. And after that..."
While Maha Rukkhadevata continued explaining the treatment process, Futsu Mitama had already taken out the Fake Purified Water.
He handed it to Dehya and instructed her to give it to Dunyarzad.
Naturally, Dehya did not object.
At this point, she was willing to try anything that offered even the slightest chance of saving her Young Miss.
Supporting Dunyarzad carefully, she helped her drink the Fake Purified Water before watching anxiously for any change.
"Sizzle—! Sizzle—! Sizzle—!"
The moment the liquid entered Dunyarzad's body, wisps of black mist began rising from her skin.
At the same time, the grayish-black scales covering portions of her body gradually began to fade.
The reaction was immediate.
And unmistakable.
The Eleazar was being suppressed.
Although it had not been eradicated, it had clearly weakened.
Seeing this, Futsu Mitama immediately retrieved the Fake Condensed Resin, preparing to continue the treatment according to Maha Rukkhadevata's instructions.
At that very moment, a familiar figure rushed toward them with obvious urgency written across her face.
"Katheryne" had arrived.