An F-Rank Veterinarian Physically Heals an S-Rank Magical Beast - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10
[Entering: Abyss – Sector 0]
[Warning! This is not the domain of the living.]
[Ambient magical concentration exceeds lethal levels.]
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The moment I crossed through the dimensional gate, a stench that pierced my lungs and a bone-chilling cold enveloped my entire body. It transcended the mere concepts of temperature or odor. It was as though hundreds of millions of needles were piercing my skin, and putrid water was being forced down my throat—a primal revulsion that defied description.
A blood-red moon hung in the sky, staining the world crimson, while the earth lay blanketed in decomposing black soil and the byproducts of demonic beasts. A perfect land of death, devoid of any trace of life.
Yet in the very heart of that desolate wasteland, there burned a single, fragile flame of life—flickering like a candle on the verge of extinction.
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“Haa… haa…”
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Yoo Yi-soo was barely standing, using the broken hilt of her sword as a staff. The woman who had once been called the “Goddess of the Battlefield” and commanded South Korea now presented a pitiful sight.
Her once-radiant silver hair was matted with blood and dust, transformed into a dull, tattered brush, and her legendary armor, the “Valkyrie’s Breastplate” supposedly forged from dragon scales, hung in tatters—so damaged that her bare skin showed through.
Before her eyes, an endless tide of demonic beasts undulated like waves. Tens of thousands of low-tier Abyss creatures—[Ghouls] and [Skeleton Warriors]. And behind them, the bloodthirsty gazes of mid-tier beasts, watching for any opening.
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‘I’m exhausted…’
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Three years. There was no day or night in this place—only the eternal twilight cast by the red moon. Thousands upon thousands of sleepless nights, kept awake by hunger, thirst, and creatures that would tear at my throat the moment my eyes closed.
The only thing that kept me from losing my mind was a single promise—the final words exchanged with my husband, Kang Jin-hyuk, whom I’d left on Earth.
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‘I’ll be back soon. Have dinner ready.’
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That trivial promise was the sole pillar sustaining humanity’s strongest Hunter. The image of the apartment living room visible behind my husband’s back as the gate closed. His rough hands, preparing stew as he waited for me.
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“Damn it… I want to eat… kimchi stew with chunks of pork…”
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Yoo Yi-soo let out a hollow laugh as her consciousness began to blur. I had reached my limit. My mana core had been depleted long ago, and my life force was running on emergency reserves. If they pushed forward just once more, this gate would shatter. And Earth would fall.
With trembling hands, I reached into my chest. A last resort. To trigger a mana overload in my heart and detonate myself. At the very least, I had to destroy this gate and prevent them from crossing over to Earth.
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“I’m sorry, honey. It looks like I’m going first… dinner… let’s eat it in the next life.”
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As I closed my eyes and began to reverse the flow of mana within my body—
Kuguguguuu—!
The black sky of the Abyss screamed. A sound of a different magnitude from the roars of beasts—the very fabric of space tearing apart. A brilliant violet rift tore through the pitch-black darkness, splitting the heavens wide open.
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[Kuoooooo—!]
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A roar that shook heaven and earth poured down. My eyes snapped open. Beyond the rift, a massive crimson form descended like a meteor. A phantom beast wreathed in hellfire. The apex predator that struck terror even into the hearts of the Abyss’s denizens. An S-rank Fire Dragon—Balakas.
And standing atop the dragon’s back, a single incongruous white speck.
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“Move it!! Guardian of a patient coming through!!”
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The voice blared through amplification magic with a piercing resonance. It was a petulant tone that clashed entirely with the apocalyptic landscape surrounding us, yet to Yoo Yi-soo, it was more familiar than any angel’s trumpet call.
That grumbling voice she had yearned for even in her dreams.
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“J-Jin-hyuk?”
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CRASH!
Balakas descended to the ground. Or rather, plunged directly into the midst of the horde of demonic beasts. The moment of landing unleashed a colossal wave of flame that rippled outward in all directions. Thousands of ghouls, swarming like ants, vanished into ash without even a scream.
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“SHRIEEEEK!”
“Grrrrr…!”
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The surviving demonic beasts scattered in panic. As the dust settled, the massive silhouette of a crimson dragon emerged. And from atop it, a man leaped down.
Dressed in a pristine white coat stiffly starched instead of armor. Carrying a worn leather medical bag instead of a weapon. The way he removed his sunglasses and brushed off the dust was as natural as if he’d just descended into the heart of Gangnam.
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“Hey there, Team Lead Yoo.”
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Jin-hyuk trudged forward. The intermediate-tier demonic beasts around him growled and lunged, but when Balakas, standing behind him, glared and snorted, they yelped and scrambled backward. Jin-hyuk, as if the beasts were beneath his notice, approached Yoo Yi-soo, who stood dazed.
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“What’s this state you’re in? You look like a beggar. Haven’t you showered in three years?”
“You… are you really… Jin-hyuk?”
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Yoo Yi-soo’s voice trembled. Was this a hallucination? A lantern show before death from exhaustion? She staggered forward, extending a shaking hand to touch his cheek. Not the cold sensation of armor, but the warmth of living skin. The human warmth that differed from the frigid air of the Abyss.
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“Yeah, it’s me. Let’s grab some food. Were you planning to starve your husband to death?”
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Jin-hyuk chuckled softly and grasped her soiled hand. In that instant, the suspicion of ‘hallucination’ vanished from Yoo Yi-soo’s mind. It was real. My husband has come.
Relief, joy, and indignation crashed over her like a tsunami. The tears she had held back burst forth from her eyes like a collapsing dam.
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“Wahhhhh! You bastard!”
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SMACK!
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“Ow!”
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Just as a touching embrace seemed imminent, Yoo Yi-soo’s sharp palm came down hard across Jin-hyuk’s back. He cried out and tumbled forward. Even with his mana depleted, an S-rank Hunter’s smash made bones ring when taken bare-handed.
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“Are you insane?! Why did you come here?! Do you know where this is?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
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Yoo Yi-soo grabbed Kang Jin-hyuk by the collar and shook him, her face streaked with tears as she snarled.
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​”Go! Leave now! This is no place for an ordinary person like you! Every breath you take rots your lungs! Do you understand me?​”
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She was desperate. She was already ruined, but her husband—he had to survive. She’d ridden Balakas here, so she could return on him. She had to send him away quickly.
But Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t budge. He rubbed his aching back and instead pulled Yoo Yi-soo into a tight embrace.
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​”I’m not leaving.​”
​”What? Do you even understand the situation?​”
​”I’m not leaving you behind. Either we go together, or I’m staying here with you.​”
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Kang Jin-hyuk’s voice was resolute. The sound of his heartbeat echoed through his chest. Yoo Yi-soo’s body went rigid. Her resistance crumbled, her hands falling limp. She buried her face in his chest and began to sob like a child.
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​”Hnngh… ugh…​”
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That scent she’d missed so desperately. The mingled aroma of disinfectant and coffee—the smell of home. It was the only fragrance of heaven permitted in this hell.
The three men watching from behind—Lee Shin-woo, Ma Dong-tak, and Seo Ji-hoo—stood awkwardly in place.
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​”Um… are we invisible or something?​”
​”Read the mood, you tactless bastard. Ma Dong-tak, are you crying?​”
​”No, sir! Dust just got in my eyes! *sniff*​”
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Even South Korea’s mightiest Hunters were nothing but background scenery before this touching reunion of husband and wife.
After crying for a long time, Yoo Yi-soo pushed Kang Jin-hyuk away. Her expression darkened once more. Reality had set in.
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​”…I can’t leave.​”
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Yoo Yi-soo murmured in a small voice.
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​”What did you say?​”
​”I can’t leave. I can’t go back to Earth.​”
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Yoo Yi-soo lifted her head. Her ashen eyes trembled. She pointed to her chest. Through the shattered gaps in her armor, something grotesque was revealed. Dark, twisted veins sprouted from around her heart, extending deep into the ground below. Like the roots of a massive tree, they bound her to this land.
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[Diagnosis: Abyss Assimilation Syndrome]
[Status: Heart shares life force with the ‘Core of the Abyss’.]
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Kang Jin-hyuk’s eyes narrowed. His [Eye of Truth] pierced through her condition with brutal clarity.
Three years ago. She had performed a sealing ritual, using her heart as a medium to suppress the ‘Core’ of this land and hold back the flood of monsters. As long as she lived, the Gate remained closed. But the moment she left this place, the seal would break and the passage to Earth would open permanently.
To make matters worse, the changes to her body were far more severe.
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[Warning! The patient’s body has adapted to The Abyss and undergone mutation.]
[Exposure to Earth’s atmosphere will result in immediate respiratory failure and shock-induced death.]
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The transformation was already halfway complete. Earth’s clean air had become pure poison to her in her current state.
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“If I move, the door opens. And… I’m not human anymore. If I go to Earth, I’ll die.”
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Yoo Yi-soo laughed bitterly. That smile was so forlorn it pierced the heart of anyone who witnessed it.
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“So please, just go. I’m begging you… don’t make this any more pathetic than it already is. Just let me hear that you’re living well. That’s all I need.”
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A hopeless situation. Medically and magically, there was no solution. An ordinary person would have given up, shed tears, and exchanged a final kiss. They would have spent the rest of their life yearning for her.
But Kang Jin-hyuk was no ordinary person. He was the man who had cured a dragon’s constipation with a plunger and performed eye surgery on a giant with cataracts. Before South Korea’s greatest “quack doctor… no, master physician,” there was no such thing as an incurable disease.
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“Ha, seriously.”
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Jin-hyuk snorted in exasperation. Then he flicked Yoo Yi-soo’s forehead harder than before.
Flick!
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“Ow! Hey! That hurts!”
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Yoo Yi-soo cried out, clutching her forehead.
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“It hurts? Then you’re alive. That’s all that matters.”
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Jin-hyuk pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and roughly wiped the grime from Yoo Yi-soo’s face.
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“I hit you because you wouldn’t listen. Hey, who am I?”
“Who? You’re just a foul-tempered porter.”
“Correction. I’m a doctor. And one who can even cure S-rank dragon constipation at that.”
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Jin-hyuk kicked the leather bag he’d set down on the floor.
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“Can’t go to Earth? You’ll die because the air doesn’t suit you?”
“Yes! That’s why you need to go!”
“Then we’ll just live here until I fix it.”
“…What?”
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Yoo Yi-soo’s eyes widened. What had she just heard? Jin-hyuk gestured to Lee Shin-woo, Ma Dong-tak, and Seo Ji-hoo, who were standing nervously behind him.
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​”Listen up, you assistants. Start unpacking.”​
​”Huh? Here… here?”​
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Lee Shin-woo asked, his jaw practically unhinged in disbelief.
Look around.
Ghoul corpses piled like mountains, toxic miasma hanging thick as fog—and he wanted me to unpack here?
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​”Yes. If the patient can’t come to the hospital, then the hospital must come to the patient. Isn’t that what a house call is?”​
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I rolled up my sleeves. My eyes gleamed with purpose. This wasn’t mere bravado. I was reframing this entire situation not as a ‘disaster,’ but as a ‘challenging surgical environment.’
Operating room too filthy? Clean it.
Patient can’t move? Bring a bed.
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​”Can’t go? Then we stay here until they’re healed. Besides, back on Earth I never had time to spend money anyway, and the air is… well, the air’s terrible, and the scenery’s not much better either. Might as well recuperate while we’re at it.”​
​”J-Jin-hyuk? Are you out of your mind?”​
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Yoo Yi-soo gasped in shock.
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​”Quiet. And you—patients shouldn’t talk so much. Your nutritional status is appalling. First, let’s set up the tent. We’re hungry, so let’s eat.”​
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I began laying down a mat right there. In the heart of the Abyss, where demonic beasts swarmed. This was the moment South Korea’s Hunters’ base camp was established.
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​”Ma Dong-tak! Move that rock! It’s in the way of the mat!”​
​”Ah, yes! Understood!”​
​”Seo Ji-hoo! Turn on the air conditioning with ice magic. It’s hot.”​
​”This is a demonic realm! The mana efficiency won’t work here!”​
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Yoo Yi-soo stared blankly at the scene. It was hell. Surely it was hell. So why was she laughing?
For the first time in three years, the sounds of human life echoed beneath the crimson moon of the Abyss.
This was the beginning of the most reckless, most romantic, and most absurd ‘life in the Abyss’ in Hunter history.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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