NOVEL NEXT Chapter 159: Trypanophobia
'This won't work.'
The first sword-wielder crewmate had taken damage in the earlier fight with ghoul crewmates, then again during the battle with Ghoul Valen.
He was holding on through stubbornness alone.
I looked around to check the others.
The second Exorcist was sticking talismans onto the large Exorcist, who had taken the blast at the closest range.
I recognized the symbols on the talismans.
They were for pain suppression, nothing more.
The second sword-wielder crewmate was also badly hurt.
Although he could fight, his combat strength was probably down to mid Rank 3 now.
The gunner was the only one still functional.
The two cannon crewmates weren't injured in the Ghoul Valen fight, but the earlier battle had left them in a weak state.
'Honestly… these injuries are light considering we fought a Rank 5 Exorcist.'
I searched for Saint Maverick but didn't see him at first.
That was when Judy floated toward me.
A compartment opened in her round mechanical body.
A long tube folded outward, ending with a thick needle.
"New directive: begin emergency treatment. Please allow me to administer this to the injured crewmates. This will heal them," Judy said in her robotic tone.
"What is that?" I asked, though I already had an idea.
"A Cursed Item. Function: healing. Side effect: contamination. Not suitable for humans. However, Cursed Spirits like the crewmates can withstand it."
I nodded slowly.
These crewmates were already contaminated by the Rank 5 Cursed Spirit Bermuda Triangle.
The syringe's contamination wouldn't work on them.
It would only heal them.
Judy leaned toward the first sword-wielder crewmate with the needle.
The moment the needle got close, he started shouting. "Back off, ye shiny tin demon! Keep that sea witch's spear o' pain away from me hide!"
Judy paused and turned to me.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
This damned Cursed Spirit was afraid of injections?
Perfect. Just perfect.
I asked him if he'd rather die than take the syringe.
He lifted his chin and nodded fiercely. "Aye! I'll take death with pride! Syringes be forks o' sea devils, I tell ye! Ain't lettin' that damned thing poke me!"
"Har har! Look at ye quiverin' like a rat in a storm! Scared o' a wee needle, are ye?" The second sword-wielder crewmate burst into laughter.
Judy ignored the shouting and injected the second sword-wielder crewmate.
Then she moved to the gunner. Then the cannon crewmates.
Each time the large syringe emptied, it refilled on its own.
Finally, Judy approached the large Exorcist, who nodded once.
She injected him as well.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crewmates kept taunting the first sword-wielder crewmate.
"Come on, matey, take the poke an' stop cryin'!"
"Aye, ye jelly-brained guppy! Even the pretty shadow lad took it!"
"Don't make us drag ye down and hold ye still!"
He shielded himself with both arms. "Stay back, ye scurvy dogs! I'll gut the lot o' ye before lettin' that pointy devil spear me!"
Their voices filled the clearing, overlapping and ridiculous despite the destruction around us.
I sighed and looked at Judy. "Where's Saint Maverick?"
Judy pointed toward a cluster of scorched trees.
"Processing location. Directive received from Saint Maverick: perform emergency healing on Cursed Spirits. Saint Maverick declared he will perform self-repair until the directive is achieved."
I looked in the direction she pointed.
Saint Maverick sat on the ground with a screwdriver in one hand.
He used it to tighten bolts on his legs, calmly repairing himself like a mechanic fixing a broken machine.
I shook my head and walked back toward the crewmates.
The first sword-wielder crewmate was still refusing treatment.
At this point, he was going to die out of stubbornness, not injury.
Finally, the large Exorcist approached him.
He knelt down, shadows shifting around his body, and spoke with surprising softness.
"Please accept healing. We do not wish to lose you. The syringe is for your benefit—"
"Oi! Pretty boy!" the first sword-wielder crewmate shouted, cutting him off instantly. "Take yer fuck-face and trot it somewhere else! I ain't takin' nothin' from ye, ye black hearted mutt!"
The large Exorcist froze.
The second Exorcist tried and failed to hold in his laughter, shoulders shaking.
I couldn't help laughing too.
"You were telling me 'Cursed Spirits are brother this, Cursed Spirits are good that.' How does it feel to get insulted by one of them?" I asked.
The large Exorcist straightened slowly. "Language differs for every individual. His choice of… words does not make him an enemy."
I grinned. "Sure. If you say so."
The first sword-wielder wiped blood from his lips. "Aye! An' I'll insult ye twice more if ye try that devil fork again!"
The cannon crewmates cackled in between their injuries.
"Har! Bold lad even at death's door!"
"Maybe the needle scares him more than the ghoul!"
"Or maybe he thinks the pretty shadow boy's tryin' to court him!"
The first sword-wielder crewmate turned red. "Shut yer pie holes or I'll make ye walk the plank right 'ere!"
Despite everything—the crater, the smoke, the bodies, the collapse of the domain—it felt almost normal hearing them argue.
Maybe that was why nobody stopped it.
Judy floated closer. "New directive: priority target remains untreated. Probability of survival without injection: eight percent. Recommending forced treatment."
The first sword-wielder crewmate scrambled backward. "No! The metal hag speaks doom! Keep it away from me!"
The crewmates laughed even harder.
Yuna shook her head.
I looked at the large Exorcist, who had a hurt expression after the first sword wielder crewmate refused him. "I'll show you how to work with Cursed Spirits."
Them, I turned to Judy. "Use the syringe when you get an opening."
Judy nodded, and I looked at the first sword-wielder crewmate.
He frowned at me.
"Oi, Officer, why be ye starin' at me like that? What ye plannin'?"
I snorted and pointed toward a random direction. "Seems like the captain is on the way here. If you die like an idiot because you refused healing, you can explain it to him yourself."
The first sword-wielder crewmate froze.
Then he jumped up as if he had never been injured.
He snapped into a perfect salute.
"Welcome aboard, Captain! I was just—"
There was absolutely nobody there.
He blinked, looked left and right, then turned toward me with confusion.
That was Judy's moment.
She jabbed the syringe straight into his backside.
The first sword-wielder crewmate screamed.
"ARRGH! Officer, ye tricked me! And ye tin can—where in the seven seas are ye pokin' that cursed thing?!"
"New directive: treatment executed. Target location chosen for maximum compliance. He should have accepted earlier if he preferred a different injection site." Judy's tone was flat.
She was probably holding a grudge because the first sword-wielder crewmate's tantrums made her waste time.
I chuckled, then I looked at the large Exorcist. "See? Some problems can't be solved by talking. A simple trick gets the job done."
He frowned but couldn't argue.
At that moment, Judy floated closer. "Update. New information acquired. Location of the inn girl: confirmed."
I turned to her. "Alright. I'll bring her back. Did you find anyone else?"
"Negative. It appears all other crewmates became ghouls. Only the crewmates present here and the inn girl are alive other than our group and Exorcists."
I nodded.
That matched what I expected.
The Exorcists and Saint Maverick survived because they figured out kneeling was important when the shadowy figures kneeled in the market.
I survived because I already knew kneeling was the key.
The crewmates survived through sheer luck, though most of the others died during the blackout.
As for the inn girl…
She was special.
That's why she lived.
I was about to leave when the large Exorcist stepped forward.
"What are you trying to do here? Why suddenly care about a Cursed Spirit?" he asked, suspicious.