Chapter 81: Good Healer (9) |
*
Archbishop Raymond Raylick.
His life could be summarized as follows.
He began his service as a military doctor on the Western Front.
His great performance on the frontline was acknowledged, and he rose through the ranks of Surgeon General to become the Imperial Exclusive Healer.
And five years after becoming the Exclusive Healer.
At his earnest request to care for ordinary people according to God's will, the Imperial Court let him go.
After that, he took on the position of diocesan head, managing all the infirmaries and cathedrals in the Imperial Capital.
The public called him ‘The Main God’s most faithful servant.’
Because whether his knees were in the mud of the West or kneeling on a silk carpet,
he always held one conviction in his heart.
'A servant of the Lord must always be among the Lord's flock.'
His life, metaphorically, was that of the eldest son who had worked most faithfully in the Main God's courtyard.
The Scripture said that the eldest son must help the father protect his siblings.
The fine clothes and abilities granted to the eldest son were given by the father for that very purpose.
So he had always guarded against arrogance and lived a life of service to the people.
It was also written in the Scripture that the eldest son does not ask for wages.
That it is enough for the eldest son to protect his father's house.
So he had lived a life that pursued the will of the Main God first, not wealth.
Raymond had always tried to live by that divine will, and he was proud that he was living by that will.
It was five years ago that he heard the name Director Schun.
The man in the Crow Mask who was said to be continuously performing the miracle of healing that healers could not.
The Order's initial reaction was caution.
Because someone not affiliated with the Order had invaded their territory.
However, Director Schun soon supplied all the medicine he made only to the Order's affiliated healers.
— “Medicine can become poison depending on its dosage instructions. Our company will strictly manage it so that no one but a Specialized Healer can handle our medicine.”
Director Schun passed on all the techniques he developed only to the Order's infirmaries.
The Order immediately let down its guard against Director Schun.
The man they thought would be hostile to healers was, on the contrary, a staunch supporter of healers.
Even after that, Director Schun's actions were a continuous stream of goodwill.
When developing medicine, he always requested cooperation with the Order.
He hired healers with nowhere to go for his clinic and opened his own wallet to provide treatment to commoners.
He taught numerous secret arts, which would not have been strange to keep as his family's secret techniques, for free and without any conditions.
There was no reason for the Order to dislike Director Schun.
Before long, caution had turned into gratitude.
The Archbishop, too, as a healer and diocesan head, felt admiration and respect for Director Schun.
But, at the same time, he was jealous of him.
'Why him?'
He had always been the Lord's faithful servant and eldest son.
He believed that because he had served God faithfully, God had granted him these abilities.
But Director Schun was different.
He had never sat at the Order's table.
He had never once uttered the Lord's name.
He had never knelt in a sanctuary, never opened a prayer book, never performed a fast.
And yet, the Main God,
'Why have you granted such abilities to a man like that, over me and the priests who have offered prayers our entire lives?'
It was as if the Father, the Main God, loved Director Schun more.
So the Archbishop was jealous of Director Schun.
Like the envy of an eldest son who felt his parents' love had been stolen by his younger siblings.
'I've prayed for over fifty years. Is this vessel of mine still in such a state?'
At times like that, he would often place a hand on his chest and lament so.
After lamenting, as he had always done, he covered the place where envy had been with prayer.
Feeling shame for his own pettiness.
Then one day.
'Triage... is it...'
News came that the Subjugation Expedition had suffered a devastating blow from a Variant Demonic Beast.
As the diocesan head, Raymond hurriedly sent a cooperation official document to the other infirmaries.
By the time he had requested all the infirmaries' cooperation and checked the clock, two hours had already passed.
'I must hurry.'
He urged his aging body and got on the carriage.
And on the way to the North Castle Gate.
He was able to hear about the situation at the scene from his attendant priest.
“They say Director Schun is leading the healers from his clinic and holding the line in our stead.”
That man again.
“And they say he proposed a new sorting method there called Triage.”
Triage.
A completely different sorting method from the existing patient classification method.
In the existing system, the priority of the injured was often decided by their rank and title of nobility.
It was for the strategic reason that the life of one Rank 1 was more precious than the lives of three Rank 0s.
But Director Schun's Triage proposed a completely different standard.
The more urgent person before the person who can hold on.
The Rank 0 who might die soon before the Rank 1 who won't die right away.
The logic of this method was simple.
Change the order.
And give up on neither the Rank 0 nor the Rank 1.
It was a perfect solution, strategically, doctrinally, and academically.
To the point where he wondered why no one had ever proposed such a method until now.
'Why have I never thought of something like this until now?'
The feeling of jealousy rears its head again.
I want to make this accomplishment my own.
A method came to mind as well.
It was a simple matter of receiving the right of command in the name of the diocesan head.
If I take command at this scene.
History will record the name of Archbishop Raylick, not Director Schun, as the one who applied Triage in actual combat.
History and records tend to focus on what is seen.
As an archbishop who had avidly read and studied the Scripture, he knew this fact well.
But.
'Good heavens... the viper rears its head again.'
He shook his head and cast off the temptation.
It's something I must not do.
That would be disappointing the Main God as his eldest son and servant.
He steeled his heart.
'At this scene, I must be but a single healer.'
As he composed himself over and over, he arrived at the scene.
The scene was, quite literally, pandemonium.
Insufficient manpower. Insufficient resources.
And yet, the struggling healers and rescuers.
Reflecting on himself, who had once again been blinded by a desire for fame, the Archbishop headed for the guild building.
“Make way! Out of the way!”
“It’s the Cult's Healing Delegation! Please open a path!”
Walking the path his attendant priests cleared, the Archbishop set foot in the guild building.
And when he stepped inside the building,
he could finally see him.
The man with the crow's beak—Director Schun.
'It's the first time I'm seeing him in person.'
The Archbishop barely suppressed a certain emotion welling up and spoke to Director Schun.
“I heard the gist of the story from the other healers on my way here. A Triage Classification Method, you say. It is a truly wonderful sorting method.”
— Hand over the right of command to me.
The sentence rose to just under his chin.
— I am the diocesan head of the capital's archdiocese.
— I am a former Imperial Exclusive Healer.
— I want my name to remain on the first page of this historic moment.
— Because I have dedicated my entire life.
— Because I am growing old.
— Because I want to be remembered in history.
Barely suppressing his ugly desire for fame, he spoke his next words.
“By any chance, what is it that I should do here?”
Having asked, he felt a sense of relief inside.
That he had managed not to fall for temptation today either.
But the next moment.
Director Schun made an unbelievable proposal.
“Archbishop.”
“Please speak.”
“In that case, would you be willing to command the field classification from now on, Archbishop?”
“—?”
Raymond held his breath for a moment.
For a second, he wondered if Director Schun had read his mind.
The Archbishop couldn't help but ask without realizing it.
“...Then what about you, Director?”
“It seems I need to return to my main profession.”
The crow's beak briefly pointed toward the red flag and the black flag.
The Archbishop was speechless for a moment.
If he had his way, he wanted to accept immediately.
It was a chance to leave his name in that historic moment.
But as a religious person, he could not bring himself to accept it, swayed by a desire for fame.
So he refused once.
“Director. I don't know the reason, but I don't think this is a position I should take. You are the one who created this sorting method, so wouldn't it be right for you to continue to command?”
“No. I created the sorting method, but I am too lacking in many aspects to apply it to reality.”
But the Director's attitude was firm.
“I do not know how far healing magic can reach. It is because I cannot use Divine Magic myself. My field of view is not very broad either. I have no experience commanding on a battlefield, nor do I properly know how to distribute resources.”
This was his sincere feeling.
He had managed to command the scene somehow until now.
But that too was at its limit.
Director Schun was well aware of how lacking he was as a Triage Officer.
His Triage Classification Method was based on the 21st Century Republic of Korea, which had no Divine Magic.
But in this current situation, that standard was not right.
The equipment, the manpower, the miracles that could be used.
The classification criteria were different in every aspect.
“I was able to create the draft of Triage, but its completion is impossible. That is why I need your help, Archbishop.”
The Triage Officer needed right now was not a 21st-century doctor.
What was needed was someone who had experienced countless battlefields in this world and had experience leading numerous healers.
“And besides, I think saving people with my own hands suits my constitution better.”
But the biggest reason was one.
It was because the role of Treatment Team Leader, rather than Triage Officer, was where he could perform his best.
“So please, Archbishop, classify the patients in your own way. I will save the people under the red flag.”
“...”
The Archbishop silently looked at Director Schun for a moment.
'I misjudged the man.'
He had simply thought of him as a lucky genius.
He had even felt jealousy, wondering why the gods had given this man abilities greater than his own.
But,
'Did he not even need to belong to the Order?'
Now, he thought he understood.
Why the gods had granted him such genius.
Philanthropy.
Director Schun was naturally practicing the very spirit that the doctrine so emphasized.
Rank, fame, title of nobility.
That sublimity of purely wanting to save people, without any interest in all the things of the secular world.
How could one not respect such sublimity?
He now understood why the gods loved him.
It didn't matter that he was a man outside the Order.
It must mean that the gods wished for him to achieve something outside the Order.
“...I understand, Brother.”
The jealousy melted away like snow.
In its place, pure feeling of respect filled the void.
“I will command the scene. May God's will be with you, Brother.”
*
Before Yulian—Director Schun—changed his position to Treatment Team Leader.
He made sure to impress a few facts upon the Archbishop.
“Now that the criteria have changed, you and the healers will have to perform re-triage.”
“I understand, Brother.”
Triage was a very flexible sorting method.
It wasn't strange for patients to move between yellow and red depending on the situation at the scene.
“Classification must be done again at least once every 10 minutes.”
Furthermore, the Triage Officer must periodically check on the patients again.
A patient in the yellow category could suddenly worsen, and a red patient could receive treatment and become yellow.
This was also the reason why it had been difficult for Director Schun to focus on healing.
Classifying, treating, commanding, then re-classifying again.
Among these, it was the re-triage work that particularly held him back.
But now, that was over too.
“Lastly, this is the most important thing.”
Director Schun said, pointing at the black flag.
“Before classifying them under the black flag, if they are still breathing, please contact me at least once.”
“Pardon?”
“I trust your discerning eye, Archbishop, but I still don't want to give up on a patient I can save.”
“By that you mean...”
“That patients who you would consider red, you should send them my way.”
It was a bold declaration.
A glimpse of the confidence that he could save patients that other healers had to give up on.
“Will you be alright?”
“I've handled patients far worse than this.”
Yulian was confident.
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine.
Those were not his majors.
That was why he had relied on the convention of the Misunderstanding Genre.
But Trauma Surgery was different.
'This isn't a misunderstanding.'
He had even operated on a case with a bullet lodged in the heart.
And that was in a world without the miracle of Divine Magic.
So how would it be in a world with miracles?
“So, even if there seems to be no hope, please contact me at least once.”
“I understand, Brother.”
“Then I will be preparing at my clinic.”
Leaving those words behind, Director Schun headed for D-Sector, where his clinic was located.
Along with the students they had brought.
Afterward, Archbishop Raylick, as the Triage Officer, began to classify patients with his attendant priests.
“Send this yellow patient to the Plenilunium Infirmary in Sector 3.”
“I'm told there's room at the Rheinfeld Infirmary in Sector 2. Send only 3 injured there.”
“Please contact the Merkur Clinic in E-Sector and tell them we're sending two people.”
When an injured person came in, they were first classified,
then transported to an infirmary in order of urgency,
and if necessary, treated with Divine Magic on the spot.
The healers had been worried if Archbishop Raylick could replace Director Schun,
but as if to dispel their worries, the Archbishop successfully performed his role as Triage Officer well.
In fact, his command was even smoother.
“Cast Greater Heal on this patient and classify them as green.”
“You all, switch with those in the prayer room. Even those whose Divine Power isn't completely depleted, go and come back.”
Unlike Director Schun, he actively incorporated Divine Magic into Triage.
Because appropriately distributing the limited resource of Divine Power was something he had done to death on the battlefield.
The Archbishop also felt quite proud.
Although it was like he was just putting a spoon on a set table, he was still able to add the experience he had accumulated on top of the foundation that Director Schun had prepared.
It was while the management of the injured was gaining vigor.
“This person is...”
In the middle of re-triage.
The Archbishop's gaze lingered for a moment on a Black Flag Patient.
A patient with a large claw mark carved into their stomach.
Their intestines were spilling out from beyond the open wound.
He could be saved if Regeneration was used.
But doing so meant giving up on 100 patients who could be saved with Greater Heal.
That's why he had been classified as black, but...
'If it's Director Schun, maybe...'
He held on to hope and contacted the D-1 Trauma Specialist Clinic.
A reply came back immediately.
— [We can take up to 3.]
If any other healer had replied that way, he would have scoffed.
Saying their Divine Power was rotting away.
Asking if their youthful vigor had made them lose their minds.
But since it was Director Schun who said it, it didn't sound like a bluff.
The Archbishop's deliberation was not long.
“Reclassify all Black Flag Patients with these injuries to red, then send them to the D-1 Clinic.”
As he said this, the Archbishop's heart was pounding.
With the hope that those tragedies he had to give up on at the battlefield until now,
might become a story of the past starting today.
***
Inside the D-1 Clinic.
Before the trauma patients sent by the Archbishop began to pour in.
I quickly gave instructions to the healers under me.
“First, the Apprentice Healers will focus on casting Minor Heal on patients as they come in to keep them alive as long as possible until surgery. And for pre-operative anesthesia, we will use Chloroform.”
Chloroform.
It was the second anesthetic I was introducing to this world, following Cocaine.
The creation of Chloroform dated back quite a while.
During the Star Anise Incident in the past.
The anticonvulsant I used when giving an enema to the Count's family's newborn was the brother of this anesthetic.
The anticonvulsant's name was Chloral Hydrate.
It was originally an anticonvulsant that was accidentally created while trying to make an anesthetic.
And as a result of repeated improvement of that anticonvulsant, the anesthetic I desired was completed.
“You must have the patients' surgical preparations finished before I begin the surgery. Time is life, so I ask for your full cooperation.”
““Yes!””
The healers immediately prepared to receive the patients who would soon flood in.
And in the midst of that chaos.
I nodded at Ayla.
“Student Ayla, how much more Refresh do you think you can use?”
“I'm not sure, but I think I can try as long as my strength lasts.”
“Good. Then you, student, come into the operating room.”
Ayla, who still had plenty of Divine Power, to the operating room.
Her friends whose Divine Power was depleted also had things to do.
I took one friend to be an operating room assistant, and placed the remaining three next to each of the healer-sems in the emergency room.
In a situation like this, you can never have enough hands.
And so, a few minutes after Ayla had been standing like a folding screen in the corner of the operating room.
The patients sent from the scene flooded into the D-1 Clinic.
“Director, we have a patient! A male patient in his 30s, with multiple penetrating wounds and lacerations across the abdomen from a demonic beast's claw. In particular, four deep lacerations are confirmed on the right upper abdomen and left flank, and a significant portion of the small intestine has prolapsed outside the abdominal cavity.”
Healer Kou gave a quick briefing.
He originally specialized in diabetes.
But it wasn't that he couldn't see other patients.
From the beginning, all healers at this clinic had to go through the emergency room as a basic requirement.
That fellow once worked with me in the emergency room too.
So I made him my Tai (surgical assistant).
“A wide-ranging bruise and edema that look like blunt trauma are observed on his back, a sign of hitting a wall or floor hard while being thrown. His consciousness is in a stupor, and while there has been no massive leak of intestinal contents yet, the possibility of claw fragments remaining inside the abdominal cavity seems very high. He is currently at high risk of rapidly progressing to multiple organ failure.”
“It's been a while since I've worked with you, Mr. Kou. I like how clean your briefing is.”
“Thank you, Director.”
“I will perform a laparotomy immediately.”
As soon as I confirmed the patient was anesthetized, I prepared to cut open his stomach.
Before that, there was one thing to do.
“Student Ayla's friend. What was your name?”
“It's Joelle, Director.”
“My hands are tied right now, so I need someone to do the Time Out. Would you record the time, student?”
“I will!”
“Then I will begin the Time Out. 30s male, 9:14. Now, let's begin the surgery.”
First, I don't force the prolapsed intestine back in; I cover it with water-soaked gauze and gather it on the right side.
After that, the scalpel began to cut the patient's stomach.
“Student Ayla. Refresh.”
“Yes. Casting Refresh.”
The minor bleeding that occurs when cutting the stomach was stopped by her Refresh.
Normally, you'd burn the flesh with a Bovie (*Electric Cauterizer) to stop the bleeding.
Here, I used Refresh instead.
That shortens it by 1 minute.
“Mr. Kou, please suction the blood. I will do the Packing.”
“Suction.”
While Kou was suctioning out the blood pooled inside the abdomen,
I push four pieces of gauze into the abdominal cavity.
Respectively in the upper right, upper left, lower right, and lower left.
Since serious bleeding often occurs in these areas, you press down with gauze first, whether you can see it or not.
“Heal. Minor. Just until hemostasis, not blood vessel regeneration.”
“Heal.”
Normally, you'd need time to apply pressure with gauze and wait for hemostasis.
But I skip that with Minor Heal.
This shortens it by 3 minutes.
“I will begin the internal assessment. Grade 2 spleen rupture, right hepatic lobe laceration. Confirmed blunt trauma to the back and related artery rupture. Confirmed lacerations in three places on the small intestine. I will start with the spleen.”
Do I need to do an excision of the spleen?
It seems a bit of a waste to excise it for a mere Grade 2.
“First, I will check the reaction to Divine Magic. Student Ayla, Refresh.”
“Refresh.”
No reaction.
Unfortunately, I had to cut it out.
If the patient crosses the Jordan River because I held on to a foolish hope, it would be putting the cart before the horse, so I immediately began the excisional surgery.
I gently lift the spleen, then tie off the blood vessels.
I double ligate the splenic artery and vein respectively, then, snip.
The minor bleeding in between is immediately stopped with Ayla's Refresh.
'Dealing with all this tiny, minor bleeding is a pain. This is so convenient.'
This is why I'm fond of Ayla.
Who cares if she can only use Refresh.
Originally, micro-bleeding is what makes surgery annoying for people.
And it's a waste to use Heal on such micro-bleeding that can be handled by pressing with gauze.
But if Ayla is here, the story changes.
I have never seen her Divine Power depleted so far.
So I, too, can request Refresh without holding back.
Thanks to that, the spleen excision that would have taken 15 minutes was handled in 10.
“Spleen excision complete. Now let's treat the aorta rupture. Give me the Bovine pericardium patch.”
The assistant healer handed me something like an adhesive bandage.
Bovine pericardium patch.
It's an adhesive bandage made by processing a cow's pericardium.
With this, you can patch up a torn aorta or heart.
It was also something I used to favor in my previous life.
Snip, snip.
I cut the patch to fit the torn aorta, then sew it with thread.
And this time too, Heal.
“Good. Aorta rupture is also treated.”
Already, two serious problems were solved in a flash.
Next, the liver and small intestine.
These two aren't difficult either.
Put in gauze, cut off the parts that seem unsalvageable.
And Heal.
With this, all the bleeding was stopped.
“Now, let's do the surgical irrigation.”
After that, I rinse the inside of the abdomen once with Holy Water,
“I will perform a Temporary Abdominal Closure. Gutta-percha, please.”
Gutta-percha.
I began to heat the sheet made from tree sap.
I covered the open abdomen with the sheet, which had become pliable from the heat, and secured it with thread.
The reason I don't close the abdomen was the same as why I didn't put the skull back in a craniotomy.
Right now, the organs inside the abdomen are all swollen up.
If I close the abdomen in this state, the organs can push against each other and necrotize inside.
So you leave it open like this and put something over it.
At least until the swelling goes down.
“Let's do the reconstructive surgery in three days.”
I postponed the surgery to reconnect the cut intestines for a few days.
Surgery is a stressful act on the patient's body.
If I did everything from hemostasis to reconstruction in one day, the patient might not be able to endure it.
Therefore, today, I focus only on keeping them alive.
The so-called Damage Control Surgery.
It's a surgical method propagated by a GOAT professor of Trauma Surgery in 21st century Republic of Korea.
“Alright, then I'll finish the surgery. Student Joelle. Please do the Sign Out.”
“...Huh?”
“I'll do it. 9:35. Surgery time, 21 minutes.”
All the healers in the room, except for Kou, were staring at me, dumbfounded.
They probably never imagined that I would save a patient who needed the miracle of Regeneration in just 20 minutes.
And with only Minor Heal and Refresh at that.
In the middle of those gazes, I savored a moment of euphoria.
'Look. If I just focus on treatment, I can save someone with a hole in their stomach in about 20 minutes, you see?'
That's why I told them to classify patients like this from black to red.
A surgery that would normally take 40 minutes can be cut in half with just Divine Magic.
And just Minor Heal is enough for that.
There was absolutely no reason to give up.
“Teachers, please finish up with this patient. Mr. Kou, Student Ayla, and Student Joelle, please move to the next operating room.”
If I run the operating rooms here in a factory-style, I can shorten the time even more.
The keyword 'factory' might bring up a negative image of a factory-like hospital, but surprisingly, it's a formal operating method in Trauma Surgery.
Staggered Operating.
It's an operating room management method used in trauma medicine.
While one surgery is in full swing in one room, they start preparing the next surgery and opening the abdomen in another room.
Then I go into the next room and take the baton, and the preparation team moves on to the next patient and starts preparing again.
This way, I can save another 10 minutes or so.
For a patient where every minute, every second is precious, this trivial detail would greatly improve the survival rate.
“Student Ayla, you too, change into your scrubs and come straight to the next operating room.”
I urged the healers who were staring blankly and moved on to the next operating room.
And in the next operating room, I felt a shallow thrill at the chilly sensation in my fingertips.
'Yes. This is the thrill.'
This chilly and heavy sensation.
Indeed, a person should make a living doing what they're good at.
