Our Family Has Fallen

After all, if he were to die suddenly, where could I find such a useful, high-caliber workhorse?

Amanda, hearing this, thought for a moment and understood, but one crucial question remained.

”But it seems the treatment hasn’t finished yet. When can leprosy be truly cured?”

”Today!” Lance’s smile grew even brighter, his every movement filled with confidence.

As he spoke, he turned to Amanda with a gesture. ”Since you’re so curious, come and have a look.”

Honestly, Amanda was indeed a bit curious. After all, this was an ailment that had plagued humanity for thousands of years. The Romani had also suffered from infections; they had attempted to save the afflicted, but in the end, they had no choice but to give up.

So many physicians, so many mystic Transcendents had failed to achieve large-scale treatment, and now it was being managed by three people—rather incredible, to say the least.

But what pleased Amanda more was that Lance had included her. It was a sign of trust; she had earned his recognition.

Strict management regulations were in place at the Leprosy Camp. Even if Lance knew that leprosy wasn’t highly contagious, this wasn’t a world operating under normal assumptions. Who knew if some special Transcendent mutation might occur?

Not to mention, the Old Ancestor was still watching covetously. If he took the opportunity to meddle and imbue the virus with Supernatural Power, that would be troublesome.

Caution is a virtue, so Lance’s isolation measures were very strict. Only three people could enter or leave; even he had to don a mask, a gown that covered his entire body, and gloves.

After exiting, this gear had to be disinfected in boiling water and dried under the sun. Even if he faced no risk of infection, he still adhered to the regulations he himself had established.

He had to set an example to prevent others from underestimating the infectiousness of leprosy. Everything was for the sake of stemming the spread of the epidemic.

After putting on all the aforementioned gear, Amanda also entered with him.

Truth be told, Amanda had mentally prepared herself, but it was only upon entering that she realized she had been too naive.

It was morning, and the patients were sitting outside, basking in the sun. Their exposed skin, waxen and covered in lumps of various sizes, along with their distorted, grotesque faces—almost unrecognizable as human—imposed an indescribable pressure on Amanda.

It was like stepping into the Abyss and facing an Aberrant Demon head-on; an instantaneous surge of terror pressured her body to instinctively reject this place, to turn and flee.

Her hands made subtle movements, ready to draw a weapon at a moment’s notice. If those patients dared to approach her, she would likely attack without hesitation.

”That revulsion is natural,” Lance said. ”The battle between viruses and humans goes far beyond historical records, but our instincts remember. Their appearance signifies danger; instinct is warning you to leave.”

Lance did not deny her reaction; on the contrary, he affirmed it.

This was the reaction a normal person should have. Even I couldn’t stand it at first, so there’s no need to demand too much from her.

”Wait for me a moment,” Lance said, then walked toward the patients.

Only then did Amanda react. She saw Lance greeting the people and striking up a conversation, seemingly completely unaffected by their condition.

And judging by the patients’ attitudes, this was not something unusual.

To her, the very notion of a Noble Lord interacting peacefully with commoners was already bizarre. The so-called Nobility she had encountered, even a mere Knight, wouldn’t spare a commoner a glance, let alone Great Nobility. Yet, here he was, in the presence of contagious patients, acting with such equanimity...

In truth, Lance wasn’t doing much, just inquiring about their situations.

Unlike the herbs used on Baldwin, which were potent and fast-acting but also harsh, the ones given to these patients were gentler, aimed primarily at controlling the condition.

After a period of recuperation, though they still looked deformed and odd, their condition had improved. They were at least able to take care of themselves, and if they faced difficulties, they could help one another.

”There’s no divine punishment or Curses, just a virus at work,” Lance explained, taking Amanda for a brief walk around the outside, detailing the situation with leprosy and the persecution its sufferers faced from both religious and secular society. ”It’s not the sickness that has pushed them into the Abyss, but the fear of others.”

”I had never considered such things before,” Amanda mused. She was surprised by these revelations.

As a Transcendent, Amanda had an organization behind her handling various matters. She more often faced missions and hunted down enemies; fighting for the organization was the primary responsibility of a Seeker of Omens.

She had basically no contact with the lives of ordinary people, let alone an understanding of this situation.

”To be honest,” Lance continued, ”contracting leprosy is no different from being dead. There’s simply no cure available at the moment, even with the use of Supernatural Power. And who could accept the cost of that?”

”Mmm,” Amanda nodded in subconscious agreement, but then quickly realized something. ”But...”

Just as she was about to ask, Lance shifted his gaze to the entrance of the camp.

”I know what you want to say. But that was their fate. This situation will end today.”

Lance strode over, muttering to himself, ”Divine punishment? Hmph.”

Amanda followed his gaze and saw two people, similarly ”fully armed,” walking in. They, too, seemed to sense the tense atmosphere.

But since she was already here, she could only steel herself and follow them into the ward.

”Baldwin, how are you feeling today?”

Lance walked in first, his voice filled with a positive tone, a stark contrast to the negative emotion he had exhibited when facing Amanda earlier.

”Very well,” Baldwin replied. ”I can feel my body recovering. But after the treatment course was changed, the recovery time needed after each treatment session has been getting longer.”

Baldwin’s speech was still fairly coherent; his voice, though somewhat hoarse, was not so breathless that he couldn’t finish a sentence.

His condition had clearly improved significantly compared to his previous half-dead state where he struggled for every breath. The swelling on his face had mostly subsided, finally allowing him to open his eyes fully, and his pale eyeballs had regained some of their luster.

The grotesquely enlarged tumors on his body had shriveled and diminished considerably, leaving his skin looking like dried bark—dark and wrinkled, like necrotic, desiccated tissue.

These were the irreversible scars left by the leprosy virus; even eradicating the leprosy bacteria could only maintain this disfigured appearance.

Lance understood what Baldwin meant. A step had been missing from the recent treatment process: his use of Flesh Reconstruction to mitigate the negative effects of the Potion.

The reason was that, after several treatments, Baldwin’s body had already shown significant improvement, finally gaining an advantage in its fight against the virus.

Therefore, to prepare for treating other leprosy patients, Grendel began trying to use herbal remedies and the patients’ own recovery abilities to eliminate the aftereffects of the Potion.

This proposal had been unanimously agreed upon by the three of them, as Paracelsus wanted to obtain research data related to the Potion’s side effects.

Lance, for his part, was happy to save his Spiritual Essence and also to observe whether this approach could be widely adopted. After all, he couldn’t intervene daily; his time was precious.

The consequence was that Baldwin needed a longer recovery period before undergoing the next round. The Potion’s effects also became more complex, requiring Grendel to formulate new herbal remedies.

But after many days, they had progressed through most of it, and now, at last, they had arrived at the final treatment session.

Lance and the two doctors first conducted a detailed inquiry with Baldwin, then examined him and recorded his condition. Only after these preliminary preparations were complete did Lance speak.

”Let’s get ready, everyone. Success or failure depends on today.”

His words made everyone serious. Amanda, on the side like an outsider, also felt the atmosphere grow heavy. But since she didn’t understand anything, she could only stand there obediently.

Meanwhile, the others had already begun the familiar treatment process.

Lance took the Potion from Grendel’s hand and passed it to Baldwin.

Baldwin drank the Potion and lay down on the hospital bed.

”Seventh Treatment Course: Observation Record...” Paracelsus announced in his usual indifferent tone, his quill scratching something onto the paper.