The speed of the flesh rotting was beyond Cheyenne’s imagination. Just moments ago, she knew the location of the bite on her calf, but now it had spread below her knee. There was no doubt that if this continued, her entire body would rot and fall off until only a skeleton remained.
The pain was unbearable, akin to being slowly tortured alive.
Watching a young and beautiful warrior suffer from such agony made Cheyenne’s nose tingle with emotion.
“What happened?” she asked.
Iker felt uneasy too. Although he had put his life on the line when he chose to enlist in the military, Monica was under his command and it was his responsibility that she got hurt.
He leaned closer to whisper in her ear about their secret mission tracking down a group of criminals near Yocmery border. They got lost while entering into a forest and were ambushed by enemies at nightfall. Iker pretended defeat and fled towards a nearby lake where they laid an ambush for their attackers. But during their fight with one strange enemy who could play flute to summon countless poisonous insects, snakes and scorpions, Monica got injured while protecting one teammate from those creatures’ attack.
They initially thought it was just an insect bite on Monica’s leg which could be treated with antibiotics injection but as time passed by, things worsened rapidly. Those who got bitten all had similar symptoms like hers.
Cheyenne listened carefully but became intrigued when Iker mentioned someone who played flute to summon poisonous creatures.
“Who is that guy? If we find him maybe we can figure out what caused this disease,” she said hopefully,
Iker shook his head regretfully. “That guy is very cunning; he ran away during chaos before we could catch him even after searching through forests for days.”
But there wasn’t much time left as doctors suggested amputation as best option given how serious Monica’s condition had become due to delay in proper treatment earlier…
But she was a warrior, and if these legs were to be disabled, it also meant she would have to leave the military camp she loved so much, and face the hardships that lay ahead in her life.
Iker had been sitting in a wheelchair for three years due to his disability, going from being a proud and accomplished individual to feeling like a worthless burden. He knew all too well the pain and hardship that his subordinates were about to face, which made him take this matter very seriously.
Meanwhile, Cheyenne had put on a pair of clean white gloves and was slowly inspecting Monica’s leg. She used tweezers to pick up a piece of loose skin and placed it in a white container for examination before gently pressing on Monica’s leg.
Even with just the slightest bit of pressure, Monica cried out in pain as her once beautiful face twisted into an ugly expression. “Ah! Don’t… don’t touch me… it hurts…”
“It hurts that much? That means your legs still have sensation. Wait here while I give you an injection to ease the spread of toxins. If we don’t act quickly enough, more than just your foot may become useless,” Cheyenne said calmly.
Monica was truly scared; she was only 25 years old with so much life ahead of her. If she died on the battlefield amidst gunfire and explosions, she wouldn’t feel regret because that would be her fate as a soldier. But dying at the hands (or rather bite) of such small creatures would be too frustrating… even if she died, she wouldn’t accept it.
The woman grabbed onto Cheyenne’s arm tightly; because it hurt so badly, she didn’t know how much force she used herself – tightening her grip until her knuckles turned white…
Cheyenne felt like her arm might break any moment now; imagining how painful this must be for Monica made her heart ache even more than before but instead of pushing away from Monica’s grip or scolding at them both –she tried comforting words instead: “Dr Lawrence is here for you… I will do everything I can… As long as you don’t give up hope then neither will I.”
She had overcome such serious epidemics before – surely this tiny bug wasn’t something they couldn’t handle?
After speaking those words softly yet firmly enough, Cheyenne pulled out what looked like silver needles from their bag which glinted under bright lights.
“This process cannot be disturbed by anyone else,” Cheyenne declared sternly while looking straight at Master Iker who stood nearby watching over everything happening inside the room with concern etched deeply into his features despite trying hard not to show any signs worry outwardly. “You should wait outside.”
“Um, I’m outside. What do you need?” Iker looked worriedly at her feet. With such a long time standing, could she hold up? But once Cheyenne was immersed in her work, she would enter a “self-forgetful” state. She twisted one silver needle after another and almost turned Monica’s leg into a pincushion. She didn’t even remember her own foot injury.
Most of the patients she treated over the years had common illnesses that didn’t require the use of silver needles very often, and even if they did… she wouldn’t have to use all of her skills.
Even with a complete set of Fourteen Needles applied to Monica’s poison, Cheyenne couldn’t completely remove it. She could only gather all the toxins together with golden needles to prevent them from spreading.
Unknowingly three hours had passed by and Cheyenne was exhausted and sweaty all over when she finally pulled out the last silver needle. Her hand that had been pinched by Monica earlier trembled uncontrollably as soon as she finished.
Cheyenne rolled up her sleeve to see that her small arm was purple and swollen… even slightly numb…
“Hiss! I’m too amazing! Working for three hours despite my injury.” Cheyenne chuckled self-deprecatingly before taking a deep breath.
Just as she tried to step out, however, her foot swelled like a bun while the other went numb so much so that she couldn’t walk at all.
Outside the door, Iker kept a close eye on the activity inside the ward. Cheyenne had been busy inside for three hours, and he had sat outside for the same amount of time without even blinking.
When he finally heard some noise from inside, he stood up from his seat with a “swoosh” and quickly pushed the door open to take a look.
Cheyenne was staring at her legs in frustration, looking very much like a child sulking after not getting to eat grapes.
He found it extremely adorable.