The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

"Aren't you going to use it? Aren't you going to use that sword on your back? Aren't you going to try and summon the false sun to burn me to ashes?"

You mean the sword on my back?

Haida now understood why the other side had chosen her as their target.

His sudden decision to carry a sword after the Suncasting Order incident is indeed quite suspicious and easily leads to related speculation.

In addition, he clearly knew that Sigrid could transform into a sword. But this information was probably only known to the Hunters and those within the Sunforge organization.

Is this vampire truly from the Sunforge Temple? How should I put it? A cult that worships the sun having vampires... it just doesn't seem right...

Since this guy dared to make me draw my sword, he probably has a way to counter Sigrid. Otherwise, given a normal vampire's constitution, his eyes would burn just from looking at her.

"A vampire unafraid of sunlight, and having undergone unknown alchemical modifications... If that's the case, it should be enough to put Dr. Fran's sword to the test."

Heda drew her power sword "Nir" from its leather sheath, exhaled softly, and pointed the gleaming blade at Byers.

"Ok?"

Upon seeing a sword blade completely different from what he had imagined, Byers showed a look of astonishment. At the same time, he felt a deep and chilling aura of death firmly locking onto him.

“Sister, isn’t that sword you’ve sheathed called ‘False Sun’?”

Byers took a step back, seemingly wanting to retreat into the shadows.

"It seems I was a bit hasty. Um, is it possible to reconcile?"

-

Chapter 54 Control Components

“You’re very humorous.”

Haida joined two fingers together and gently wiped the mirror-like blade of the power sword [Nirvana].

If Byers hadn't harmed the wanderers, there would still be room for negotiation and compromise. The Hunter and the Sunforge were both among the four orthodox priests in the hierarchy, and she could tolerate a certain degree of overstepping her bounds.

But to eat the inhabitants of Norlington was undoubtedly a breach of her principles. It was a trampling and desecration of the Hunter's Commandments.

Let alone the vampire whose strength is unknown, she would not be afraid to draw her sword even if he were one of the three Sun Riders.

"Left hand."

Haida's eyes were slightly closed, and as her lips moved, she uttered a single word softly and slowly.

Just as Byers was pondering the meaning, he saw a cross-section of his left arm from his shoulder blade to his armpit.

The entire arm was detached from his body almost instantly. Haida's figure was also very close, and her breath could be heard.

"Right hand."

The swing of the power sword created a deafening roar as it sliced ​​through the air. Haida wielded the heavy straight sword, yet her movements possessed a rhythmic, dance-like quality, as if stepping on an invisible, silent drumbeat.

Byers' entire right arm slid off with a thud, and even the cut seemed to freeze for a moment before blood gushed out.

The heavy, massive power sword moved with the lightness of a bird's feather in Haida's hands, seemingly easily lifted with just two fingers. While maintaining a two-handed sword stance, she could switch to a one-handed grip at any moment, her movements seamless and synchronized.

Another blindingly sharp blade flashed past, and Byas's left leg snapped off.

"Hey! Why didn't you warn me first this time?"

As Byers's dissatisfied complaints rang out, his last right leg was also detached from his body.

In just a brief exchange, this vampire had been reduced to a human pig.

Although his physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary humans, he appeared as weak as an infant in front of Haida, almost powerless to fight back.

"Although it is not as dazzling as the 'False Sun,' the sword in your hand is still a masterpiece... even the sword of the Sun Rider cannot compare to it."

Even with only his torso and head remaining, Byas did not stop speaking. His body began to split apart again, and bats woven from shadows and blood emerged.

Haida's eyes were cold and clear, as if she had expected this all along.

Just as she was about to thrust her sword, Byas's body did not transform into a swarm of bats; instead, it melted away, collapsing into a pool of sticky, black blood.

The blood-red Beas quickly turned its back to Heda and fled, disappearing into the cracks of the sewer at the street corner without looking back.

"...Did you notice?"

Haida squinted, gave her sword a slight shake to remove the dust from its blade, and then put it back into its sheath.

"Vivian, let's go back. Let's take our spoils with us."

"okay."

Vivian agreed to Haida's request, and then she saw the nun pick up an arm that had been left on the ground.

In the rush, Byes was unable to take one of his arms with him along with the blood.

……

Having reformed into human form, Byes moved slowly and weakly through the sewers, using his only arm to support himself against the wall.

"The sword's aura was unusually restrained, even the inscriptions were hidden inside. Yet it could exert a certain influence... like it was yearning for life."

Byas's bandaged hand trembled slightly. After being struck four times in succession by the opponent's sword, his self-healing ability and energy were weakened.

His skin and bones were replaced with composite metal covered with Sunforge inscriptions, and even the fluid flowing in his veins was a liquid formed from the Philosopher's Stone.

This gives its body extraordinary toughness and makes it immune to direct sunlight.

At the same time, he can also use the racial talents and related secret techniques of the vampires. These are the previous [Bat Transformation] and the later [Blood Transformation].

"And that nun, that look in her eyes... Is she really not the supervisor? No, even if she were the supervisor, she might not have that kind of intimidating presence..."

Byas snatched a fat, gray rat from a crack in the ground, quickly decapitated it, positioned the severed head against the mouth under the bandage, and then forced the contents completely down its throat.

The reason he didn't resort to the same bat transformation again was because he noticed the movement of Haida's pupils.

Those chestnut-colored eyes moved three times in an instant, each time locking onto the heart that it kept trying to hide.

At that moment, a chilling premonition enveloped Byas, like the cold breath of death whispering in his ear.

How many years had it been since he had felt this way? The feeling surprised even himself. What made him think that a head maid of the Funeral Court could accurately hit the one formed from a heart amidst a swarm of bats?

But at the last moment, Byes followed his instincts.

He forcibly ended his bat transformation and used [Blood Transformation] to dissolve himself. The sudden dissolution of his entire body left him very weak, and he also lost an arm.

"Heh, but this trip wasn't entirely fruitless. At least I know Sigrid isn't with Heda. But the keepsake Thiel gave me didn't react at all. Where is she...?"

-

Throughout September, Norlington remained calm and uneventful, presenting a false impression of tranquility and peace.

The astral tremors caused by the "Servant in the Cup's" descent through the first type of ritual foreshadowed a terrifying trend, and his silent demise was even more chilling...

This caused many esoteric sects to go into hiding; clearly, no one wanted to get involved in the conflicts and schemes between the gods.

No. 13, North District, Fog Street Clinic.

Inside Fran's private operating room, Heda was still wearing her funeral maid's robes, but over them was a white uniform coat worn by a nurse.

In front of her was Fran's small medicine box, which contained a variety of strangely shaped surgical instruments and tubes containing unknown solutions.

"Weapon No. 07, Philosopher's Stone Lancet. It is equipped with a rose-red round blade."

“♀¨泀￠｀似〓♂叁{≮钐∈琳5蒐索:好。”

Fran extended her hand, and Haida steadily and deftly handed her the designated equipment.

"Potion No. 103, yes, the one with the green leaves floating on top. It maintains the chemical stability of the alchemical system..."

Generally, due to the presence of the "dust-removing and dirt-removing" effect, Fran does not need to follow ordinary operating room rules when performing surgery. The area covered by the dim light is nearly sterile and dust-free, so there is no need to worry about infection.

The reason for the stricter requirements this time is mainly for the purpose of teaching Haida.

After all, one's head nurse can't really be completely ignorant of medical matters but be unparalleled in battlefield mobility... even if she knows a little bit, it's fine.

"Do you feel any burning, tearing, delirium, confusion, or other discomfort?"

Fran asked Sigrid, who was on the operating table, with concern.

She was lying face inward, covered with a thin sterile gown, revealing her fair back skin and delicately shaped shoulders.

"I feel very stable in my body right now, and there are no signs of it getting out of control."

Sigrid's body possesses all the physiological sensations of a normal person when she is in a human state, but that is a product of alchemical simulation... She can adjust the range of sensations herself.

Now, she wants to amplify this virtual sense to the highest degree in order to keenly perceive the subtle changes in her body.

"Oh, that's good. The lack of pain means the cracks in your body are gradually healing, and we can proceed to the final stage of treatment."

Fran clasped his hands together slightly, his words carrying a hint of eager joy.

Calcination, shaping, quenching, tempering—any mistake in any of these steps can cause gaps to appear inside the sword.

Sigrid's alchemical process was fraught with difficulties, which made her, who ultimately became a blade, imperfect and unstable.

If Fran hadn't brought her back to the Fog Street Clinic, and the Sunforge Order hadn't been able to retrieve her... then she would likely have disintegrated on her own in a few years. After completely releasing all her energy, she would have reverted to a fragment of the "Primordial Sun."

"Are the eight principles governing the structure of the body and the operation of alchemical organs no longer necessary to be studied?"

Although lying almost naked on the operating table made Sigrid somewhat embarrassed, she was actually quite interested in her current state.

Moreover, since the subject was Dr. Fran, she did not feel offended by the research and therefore did not resist it...

"Not for now, dear Sigrid, believe me... I know my body better than you do now."

"What is the topic of the 'final treatment'?"

"Hmm...it's your body's 'back door'."

Fran pondered for a moment, then gave his answer.

"……what is that?"

Sigrid didn't understand what Fran was trying to say for a moment, but for some reason, she felt a burning sensation rise up her cheeks.

"It is the 'command component' used to control you. It is inscribed in the alchemical program that makes up your body so as to bypass thought and consciousness and directly manipulate your body."

Fran took out a rose-red scalpel carved from the Philosopher's Stone crystal and deftly and precisely cut open the biological tissue surrounding Sigrid's spine.

From the skin to the periosteum, until the entire spine is fully exposed.

"Remember at the Tower of the Sun? After Anderson used some kind of secret technique, you uncontrollably transformed into a sword. At that time, I already had a suspicion... that the person who forged you probably had the means to forcibly manipulate you."

"And now, I need to remove this unfriendly backdoor program."

Fran clearly knew the location of the "command component" inside Sigrid's body, and he acted without the slightest hesitation.

With the brutal yet precise cuts of the circular saw, she removed a section from the intact spine...

This vertebra appears perfectly normal, its color and texture blending seamlessly into the overall spinal structure. However, upon closer inspection, one discovers it densely covered with indistinct, colorless prayer characters…

Haida's gaze became somewhat subtle. Although she wasn't the one undergoing surgery, she still felt a strange, phantom pain in her back.

"Dr. Fran, I'm not feeling well."

Sigrid bit her lip tightly; she had blocked out the pain, but could feel her body rapidly losing stability.

My heart was pounding erratically and violently, as if it were about to leap out of my chest.

Her chest glowed red-hot like molten metal, like a reactor with malfunctioning temperature control, irresistibly heading towards melting.

"A clever yet insidious design. Forcibly removing this component would disrupt the overall stability, causing a collapse from the inside out..." Jiu

Fran grinned, her lips curving into a wide, excited smile. (I)

"Sister Heda, give me solid preparation number 081. Yes, that glowing vertebra." (Death)

As Haida handed over the vertebra that was emitting a clear, faint light, Fran precisely fitted it into the missing part of the spine.

Sigrid then let out a long sigh of relief, and the heat and light on her chest cooled down. (Tumor)

"Fortunately, your body doesn't have the neural networks and capillaries of a normal human. Otherwise, the grafting would have been a huge undertaking."

[Your resolution change: Forbidden Alchemy (24% → 28%)] Hedgehog

Seeing the increase in resolution, a look of satisfaction appeared in Fran's amber eyes, and he immediately began the stitching and finishing touches. 4

"Dr. Fran, what you just used... was it made from the 'Stairway to Light' material from the Abyss?"

Sigrid, now recovered, seemed somewhat familiar with what Fran had just used.

“That’s right. I did bone-shaped carving on it and did some finishing work using living metal techniques.”

Fran gently stroked the gruesome stitches on Sigrid's back, which then slowly but visibly faded and closed.