The searing blast of strong liquor mixed with medical alcohol jolted the demon hunter awake from his faint, his face contorted in agony (ヾ????????).
He trembled, scrambling forward on all fours. "Enough! Enough! Let me go! Let me leave—now!"
Lynn sharpened his knife earnestly, grinning. "Leave? Sir, are you joking? We've only just finished debridement and disinfection. The most important step is still ahead—look!"
"While you were passed out, I even carved a little design to help you relax. Isn't it lovely?"
The hunter turned his head in terror, glancing at the wound on his shoulder—and his eyes bulged (ΩДΩ)!
[Demon Hunter's Sanity: -20]
Instantly, his blood ran cold. On the exposed blackened bone of his shoulder, Lynn had neatly carved a tiny "??"—and somehow, it looked… eerily cute!
"Don't you feel more relaxed already?" Lynn asked seriously.
The hunter stared in horror (ΩДΩ), spitting curses: "Relax my ass! You son of a bitch! I'll kill you!"
He fumbled shakily for his revolver at his waist, aiming it straight at Lynn.
Whoosh—
Lynn flicked a small knife, piercing the barrel of the revolver. His voice dropped low: "Sir, the surgery isn't over. Killing me now would be the most irresponsible thing you could do to yourself. I'm saving your life, yet you're trying to kill me—isn't that shameless?"
"I'll have you know I have medical ethics. Even if you want to kill me, I'll finish your surgery first!"
"I'll never let a patient of mine abandon treatment halfway!"
He adjusted his monocle with the back of his hand, his expression solemn. A sharp glint flashed across the lens with a faint "ding."
The hunter trembled. Bang—Bang—Bang—
He fired a dozen shots at the ceiling. "I warn you—stop with the stupid designs! Stop stalling! What else do you need to do?!"
Lynn held up a small knife, serious: "Scrape the poison from the bone!"
...
A few minutes later, the hunter stared in disbelief as Lynn bound him tightly with chains he'd dug up somewhere—tied up like a mummy.
"Why the hell are you tying me up?! Do you really think these flimsy chains can hold a demon hunter?! You're naive!"
Lynn adjusted his glasses, his face grave. "Sir,"
"I don't want to tie you up. But I'm afraid you'll snap from the pain mid-surgery and blow my brains out."
"My death doesn't matter—but if the surgery fails, it'll be the greatest insult to me, and the worst neglect of your own life. I have no choice but to do this."
Lynn stepped behind him, holding up the knife, his tone earnest and solemn: "Sir, I'm going to scrape the bone. Hold on—it'll be a literal bone-deep pain this time."
"Wait, let me prepa—"
Sizzle—Sizzle—Sizzle—
"Aaaah—!"
The hunter's mouth gaped open, letting out a long, bloodcurdling howl. If the debridement had felt like being hacked through gristle, this raw bone-scraping was like someone delivering a hundred uppercuts to his very soul!
"Goddamn you! Fuck you!!" He thrashed violently, the chains creaking as if about to snap.
[Demon Hunter's Fear of You: +10]
[Demon Hunter's Fear of You: +10]
"Stop! Stop! It hurts! It hurts like hell!" The hunter screamed, his resolve shattering completely.
Lynn gritted his teeth, holding him down as he scraped the blackened bone with quick strokes. "Bear it! Real men don't fear pain! Better a short, sharp agony than a long, drawn-out one—just grit your teeth and it'll be over!"
Sizzle—Sizzle—Sizzle—
[Knife Skill: +2]
[Knife Skill: +2]
The hunter howled at the ceiling, clamping down on the chains so hard sparks flew from his teeth. "Anesthesia… give me anesthesia!! I can't take it! I can't!"
Lynn scraped furiously, his expression dark (╬￣皿￣). "Anesthesia won't help now—I can't inject it into your bones! Just hold on a little longer, it'll be done soon!"
[Knife Skill: +2]
"I don't believe you! You lying bastard!"
With a roar, the hunter snapped the chains in one burst of strength. He reached for his revolver on the counter, determined to blow Lynn's head off.
Seeing his movement, Lynn lost his temper. Dammit!
I'm slaving away scraping poison from his bone, and he keeps trying to kill me! This is going too far! Way too far!
(╯‵皿′)╯︵┻━┻
Whoosh—
Lynn grabbed the revolver first, shoving the barrel into the hunter's mouth. He snarled, exasperated: "Try moving again! I dare you!"
"If you don't cooperate, I'll blow your brains out right now!"
"I'm a doctor! You can insult my dignity, but you can't insult my compassion for the injured! Today, I'll risk everything to heal you—whether you like it or not!"
Lynn roared. The hunter stared in terror, tears streaming down his face as the barrel pressed against his tongue. He wanted to give up! He couldn't take it anymore!
After wandering the dark world for years, enduring countless wounds, this was the first time he'd felt so helpless—so utterly tormented—at the hands of a doctor. The pain was unbearable; the man was scraping his bone raw!
"Damn it (╬￣皿￣), no more messing around. Time for the big guns!"
Lynn raced to the backyard, then charged back moments later, clutching a chainsaw, his jaw set.
The hunter's eyes bulged (ΩДΩ)!
[Sanity: -10]
[Sanity: -10]
"What are you doing?! What the hell are you doing?! Stay away from me!" He scrambled backward in terror.
Lynn pulled the chainsaw's starter cord angrily (╬￣皿￣), and it roared to life with a deafening sizzle.
"Your bones are too hard. Scraping them manually would take hours. We might as well get it over with quickly!"
"This beauty will scrape the poison in one go—short pain is better than long pain!"
"Here I come!"
"Wait a minute (ΩДΩ)!!"
Sizzle—Sizzle—Sizzle—
In an instant, a shrill, terrified scream echoed through the sky.
[Demon Hunter's Sanity: -20]
[Demon Hunter's Sanity: -20]
...
"Boss, I'm here for some recovery potions. Do you have any new stock?"
Outside the door, a female ghost with long hair drifted sideways (*￣︶￣), her body light and ethereal—clearly not a hostile customer.
But the moment she stepped into the doorway—
Snap—
A hand suddenly grabbed her ankle. Her expression froze.
Peering down, she saw a deathly pale demon hunter clinging to the threshold, his lips trembling violently. He grasped her ankle weakly, his voice shaking: "Help me… please help me!"
Then, from behind the curtain, she heard the ear-splitting roar of a chainsaw. Dazed, she raised a pale hand and gently pulled back the curtain a crack.