An F-Rank Veterinarian Physically Heals an S-Rank Magical Beast - Chapter 15

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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 15
Eastern Forest, Throne Room of the Castle of Illusions.
For three hundred years, this place had been saturated with screams and madness. Now, an unfamiliar and peaceful silence permeated the air. Morning sunlight filtered through the shattered mirror fragments—not the crimson glow of the Abyss, but light purified by magic.
The Phantom King, who had been sleeping like a corpse on a latex mattress, slowly fluttered his eyelids.
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“Mmm…”
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He opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a man sitting at his bedside, peeling an apple. A human doctor in a white coat—Kang Jin-hyuk, arrogant as ever.
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“You’re awake? Good morning.”
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Jin-hyuk offered a slice of apple carved into a rabbit shape. The Phantom King accepted it in a daze. His mind was clear. When he closed his eyes, the terrible nightmares that used to assault him and the whispers of phantoms that haunted his ears had vanished. His body felt light as a feather.
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“Did I… actually sleep?”
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The Phantom King’s voice trembled.
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“Yes. You slept for a full fifteen hours. Your snoring was so loud I thought the castle would collapse.”
“Fifteen hours…”
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The Phantom King gazed at his own hands. The fingertips that had always trembled were now steady. The bloodshot eyes that seemed ready to burst had calmed and settled. Fifteen hours of uninterrupted sleep after three hundred years. For a demon king, it was a blessing more precious than victory in a conquest war.
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“It’s a miracle… this is truly a miracle.”
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The Phantom King sprang from his bed and suddenly grasped Jin-hyuk’s hand.
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“You have saved me! You have freed me from this wretched curse!”
“It’s not a curse, it’s insomnia. With proper sleep patterns, it’s completely curable.”
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Jin-hyuk replied matter-of-factly and handed over a bill.
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“Now, save the gratitude for later. You need to complete the discharge procedures.”
“Discharge?”
“The medical fees, that is. Nothing in this world is free.”
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The bill read as follows:
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[Medical Treatment Invoice]
1. Psychological counseling and sleep anesthesia procedure: 1 Essence of Phantoms.
2. Medication fees (including topical ointment): Exclusive medical rights for Arcana Hospital within the Eastern region.
3. House Call Service Fee: Free passage through the Eastern Forest.
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The Phantom King scanned the invoice.
[Essence of Illusion].
It was a fragment of his own heart—a crystallized condensation of his power as a Demon King.
Any ordinary Demon King would have thrashed about and refused such a demand.
After all, it meant severing a piece of his own strength.
But the Phantom King did not hesitate for even a second.
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​”Is that all?​”
​”Pardon?​”
​”You grant me three centuries of peace, and you settle for merely one essence?​”
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The Phantom King plunged his hand into his own chest.
Uuuoong—.
Violet light rippled, and from within his chest emerged a [Radiant Jewel] the size of a fist.
An SSS-grade material that radiated an ethereal, mysterious aura.
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​”Take it. A fragment of my very soul.​”
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I accepted the essence without quite knowing what to do.
It was heavy.
I now held the first component to replace my wife Yi-soo’s heart.
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[Item Acquired: Essence of Illusion (Legendary Grade)]
[Description: A magical core containing the Phantom King’s power. Possesses the ability to ignore dimensional interference.]
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​”And medical monopoly rights? I grant them. As of today, every demonic beast and elf in the Eastern Forest is your potential patient.​”
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The Phantom King waved his hand, and a magical contract materialized in the air before being stamped with a resounding thud.
Thus, I became the ‘officially designated hospital’ of the Eastern region.
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​”Thank you. I’ll make sure to provide excellent after-sales service. Just contact me if you run out of medicine.​”
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I carefully placed the essence into my bag. The S-rank Hunters watching from behind broke into applause.
Lee Shin-woo whispered to me.
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​”Wow… you just shook down a Demon King.​”
​”Shook down? This is fair compensation for honest labor.​”
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As I left the castle after finishing my consultations.
Kayla and her dark elf soldiers saw me and my party off.
They now revered me like a god.
After all, I was their savior who had cured their unbearable itching.
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​”Director! Please visit us again anytime! We shall prepare the finest wines for you!​”
​”We have arranged a black panther palanquin for your comfortable journey!​”
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Such lavish hospitality. I climbed into the black panther palanquin and waved my hand.
Then, a commotion erupted from the corner of the castle gate.
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​”You filthy half-breed! How dare you lay your dirty hands on me!​”
​”I-I’m sorry! I just… your wound looked so severe…!​”
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Crack!
A vicious blow echoed out, followed by a small cry of pain.
My brow furrowed.
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​”Wait.​”
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I halted the palanquin and walked toward the source of the noise. It was in the corner of the castle wall, beside a garbage heap.
Two dark elf soldiers in ornate armor were kicking a small girl who lay crumpled on the ground.
The girl wore tattered rags, but her appearance was striking.
One eye was crimson red, the other a brilliant blue—heterochromia.
A small horn protruded from her head, and tattered bat wings hung from her back. She appeared to be a half-breed of dark elf and nightmare.
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​”What are you doing?​”
​
My voice turned glacial.
The soldiers flinched and spun around. Seeing me standing before them, they panicked and bowed their heads.
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​”Ah, Director! It is nothing. This lowborn half-breed dared to lay hands on a regular army elf, so we were disciplining her.​”
​”Lay hands?​”
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My gaze fell upon the girl sprawled on the ground.
In her hands was a crushed [bundle of medicinal herbs].
And looking at the soldier’s leg, I could see a wound that appeared to have been sustained during training.
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​”She was trying to treat you, wasn’t she?​”
​”Treat us?! If we were healed by the filthy magic of a half-breed like this, our flesh would rot! It brings nothing but bad luck!​”
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The soldier spat at the girl.
The Demon Realm was a rigidly hierarchical society built on pure bloodlines.
Half-breeds were treated as worse than slaves.
The girl trembled violently, curling into herself.
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​”I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I just… there was so much blood…​”
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I exhaled slowly, then approached the girl and crouched down before her. My eyes blazed with the [Eye of Discernment].
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[Name: Luna (Half-Breed Demon)]
[Occupation: Slave (Herb Gatherer)]
[Traits: Genius-Level Alchemy (S), Mana Sensitivity (A+)]
[Status: Malnutrition, Contusions, Emotional Trauma.]
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‘Interesting.’
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My eyes widened slightly.
Genius-level alchemy?
I picked up the crushed herbs the girl had been holding.
She had mixed [Hemostatic Herb] and [Paralysis Toxin Antidote] in precisely a 7:3 ratio.
It wasn’t merely stopping the bleeding—it was the golden ratio that would ease the pain as well.
This was a sense that couldn’t be learned, nor could it be achieved without innate talent.
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​”Did you make this?​”
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I asked.
Luna, the girl, nodded with fearful eyes.
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​”Yes… please don’t hit me…​”
​”Who said anything about hitting you?”
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I pressed the herbs directly onto the soldier’s leg wound with a soft pat.
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​”Ugh! What are you doing, Director! Why something so filthy!​”
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The soldier shrieked. But three seconds later.
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​”Huh…?​”
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As the bleeding stopped, the throbbing pain vanished. The effect was every bit as remarkable as the hospital’s own salves.
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​”See? Medicine has no prejudice. It’s your rotten eyes that discriminate against people.​”
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Jin-hyuk struck the soldier across the back of his head.
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​”I-I’m sorry!​”
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The soldier fled, crushed beneath the murderous glares of the S-rank Hunters.
Jin-hyuk extended his hand to Luna.
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​”Get up.​”
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Luna stared blankly at his outstretched hand.
No one had ever offered her their hand before in her entire life.
Carefully, she placed her soiled hand atop his pristine white coat.
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​”What’s your name?​”
​”…Luna.​”
​”Where did you learn herbalism?​”
​”Over someone’s shoulder… and I’ve tried various things on sick animals in the forest.​”
​
Clinical trials completed, then. I smiled with satisfaction.
The hospital was desperately short-handed at the moment.
Ma Dong-tak had only brute strength and couldn’t even distinguish herbs; Lee Shin-woo was obsessively clean and hated getting blood on himself.
Seo Ji-hoo complained constantly about the cold. I desperately needed proper [nursing staff].
And if she were a local guide familiar with the area, that would be the cherry on top.
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​”Want to come with me?​”
​”Huh? Where…?​”
​”The hospital. I’ll give you food, clothes, and a salary. In return, the work is pretty grueling. My personality’s a bit difficult.​”
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Luna’s eyes widened.
Food? Clothes? A salary?
Those were privileges only nobles enjoyed.
A human offering such terms to a half-breed like her.
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​”Is… is this really true? Would you really take someone like me? I’m a half-breed…​”
​”So what if you’re a half-breed. Mixed breeds are naturally smarter and more resilient anyway.​”
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Jin-hyuk helped Luna to her feet and called out to Commander Kayla.
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​”Commander. I’ll take this child with me. Consider the medical fees from earlier as payment.”​
​”That child? Hmm… if the Director wishes it.”​
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Kayla was reluctant, but Jin-hyuk’s gaze was so resolute that she couldn’t refuse.
Jin-hyuk draped his spare white coat over Luna’s shoulders.
It was far too large for the girl, trailing behind her like a dress, yet that pristine garment became her new identity card.
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​”Come now, introduce yourself. From today on, you’re my first nursing assistant.”​
​”Th-thank you! Master!”​
​”Not master. Director.”​
​”Yes! Director! I’ll dedicate my life to this work!”​
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Luna bowed at a ninety-degree angle, tears streaming down her face. Jin-hyuk chuckled softly and climbed onto Balakas’s back.
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​”Let’s go. Team Lead Yoo is waiting.”​
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[Arcana Hospital – Abyss Branch]
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​”You’re back?”​
​
Yoo Yi-soo sat in her wheelchair while Lee Shin-woo, the moment he arrived, settled into a chair suspended by spatial magic as she came to greet them.
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​”Yeah. I’m back.”​
​
Jin-hyuk withdrew the Essence of Illusion from his bag and displayed it.
A lustrous gem shimmering with violet light.
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​”Is this… a Demon King’s heart?”​
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Yoo Yi-soo gazed at it with wide, astonished eyes.
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​”That’s right. I’ve collected one now. Three remain.”​
​
Jin-hyuk stored the essence in the hospital’s underground vault.
Then he introduced Luna, who had been hiding behind him.
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​”Say hello. She’s our new recruit starting today.”​
​”H-hello…”​
​
Luna bowed deeply, her entire body tense with anxiety.
Yoo Yi-soo stared at her for a moment, then let out an amused chuckle.
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​”You’re adorable. And you have horns too.​”
​”I’m… I’m a hybrid…​”
​”Hybrid or not, have you eaten yet?​”
​
Yoo Yi-soo’s warm words melted away Luna’s tension. She shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears.
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​”Ma Dong-tak! Prepare dinner! We’re throwing a welcome party for our new recruit!​”
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Kang Jin-hyuk shouted.
That evening’s menu was a [grilled pork belly feast].
Amid the sizzle and aroma of meat cooking over the flames, Luna experienced something she had never known in her entire life—the warmth of a full belly and the comfort of belonging.
An eccentric doctor in a white coat, a fierce warrior in a wheelchair, and terrifying S-rank Hunters.
It was an odd combination, but to Luna, they were the most perfect family in the world.
Peaceful days stretched on. Luna adapted swiftly to her duties at the hospital.
She possessed encyclopedic knowledge of every medicinal and poisonous herb in the Demon Realm, and understood the habits of all demonic beasts.
Whenever Kang Jin-hyuk asked, “What plant is this?” she would instantly reply, “A toxic herb. Eating it causes diarrhea.”
Thanks to her expertise, the clinic’s efficiency surged by 200%.
But the calm before the storm never lasts long.
One afternoon, the scent carried on the wind from the North changed. It was fishy, sticky, and nauseating.
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​”Cough! Cough!​”
​
The hyenas playing in the hospital courtyard suddenly collapsed, hacking violently. This was no ordinary cold. Black foam dripped from their mouths, and crimson pustules erupted across their skin.
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​”Director! We have patients!​”
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Luna cried out urgently.
Kang Jin-hyuk rushed outside. His gaze hardened as he examined the collapsed hyena.
The status window revealed by [Divine Eye] showed their condition.
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[Disease: Black Plague – Mutated Strain]
[Cause: Deliberate dispersal.]
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​”It’s an epidemic.​”
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Kang Jin-hyuk adjusted his mask.
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​”This isn’t a natural occurrence. Someone released the toxin.”​
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Jin-hyuk’s gaze turned toward the northern sky.
Dark, roiling clouds were gathering there, advancing toward the hospital.
The ruler of the North. A Demon King who commanded plague and death—the Plague King. This was his omen.
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​”How dare you spread a virus in my territory?”​
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Jin-hyuk stripped off his coat and retrieved a hazmat suit.
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​”I’m declaring an emergency. Everyone, put on your protective equipment.”​
​”Are we going to fight?”​
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Ma Dong-tak hefted his axe.
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​”No.”​
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Jin-hyuk strapped an enormous disinfection tank to his back.
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​”We’re going to conduct decontamination. Against germs, disinfectant is the answer.”​
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The second Demon King subjugation.
This time, it was a [biological warfare] battle.

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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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