FVHB 07

Chapter 7

“Is this… a hospital or a haunted house?”

The lobby of Apgujeong’s ‘Apollon Medical Center,’ once proud to be Korea’s top hunter hospital, had fallen deathly silent in just one week. The appointment monitor displayed a pitiful number: [Waiting Patients: 0].

Director Choi Myung-seok stared at the empty lobby, downing whiskey straight from the bottle.

“Where did everyone go… Where did all those VIPs go?!”
“C-calm down, Director.”
“Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down? Our stock price is cut in half!”

Choi Myung-seok hurled the bottle. Crash! After Kang Jin-hyuk’s live broadcast, Apollon had plummeted into the abyss.

Branded with the frame of ‘incompetent healers only chasing money,’ hunters had fled without a backward glance to Gangnam’s ‘Zeus Medical Tower.’

All that remained were a few small-to-medium guilds staying out of obligation to the Association. But even they were watching their chances, ready to defect at the first opportunity.

“An opportunity… I just need an opportunity. If that bastard makes a mistake, or if we show overwhelming results, they’ll come back.”

Choi Myung-seok bit his nails. Just then, the Chief of Staff burst in, out of breath.

“D-director! Jackpot! An opportunity has come!”
“What?”
“US Rank 3! The guild master of ‘Phoenix Guild,’ ‘James King,’ just landed in Korea! He’s here to treat his partner monster, the [Immortal Phoenix]!”

Choi Myung-seok’s eyes lit up. Phoenix Guild. One of the top five mega-guilds in the world. And the Phoenix itself was a top-tier S-rank entity.

“Why would such a big shot come to Korea?”
“He was originally going to go to Kang Jin-hyuk’s place. But… Kang Jin-hyuk turned him away, saying ‘appointments are fully booked’! Told him to come back in a month!”
“That crazy bastard… Is he out of his mind? Turning away the Phoenix Guild master?”

Choi Myung-seok rejoiced. Kang Jin-hyuk’s arrogance had reached the heavens and was now digging his own grave. He’d heard the Phoenix was in critical condition. There was no way it could wait a month.

“Contact them right now! Tell them we’ll take care of it! With our best medical team—no, I’ll perform the surgery myself!”
“Yes, sir!”

This was the last lifeline heaven had thrown. If he could save the Phoenix, he could overturn the public opinion leaning towards Kang Jin-hyuk in one fell swoop. Choi Myung-seok grabbed his gown with trembling hands.

“Just you wait, Kang Jin-hyuk. I’ll show you what a real doctor is.”

An hour later. Apollon Hospital VIP Suite.

The large American, James King, paced anxiously in front of the operating room. He had come here grasping at straws after being rejected by Kang Jin-hyuk.

“Mr. Choi. Can you really heal it? Our ‘Blaze’ is barely breathing right now.”
“Don’t worry. Don’t worry.”

Choi Myung-seok smiled confidently. He entered the operating room with 10 S-rank healers in tow.

A massive bird lay on the operating table. The legendary monster, Phoenix. But now it looked as shabby as a plucked chicken. Its feathers, which should have blazed brilliantly, had turned to grey ash, and its body temperature was growing cold.

“Life force depletion. Classic senility.”

Choi Myung-seok made his diagnosis. The Phoenix is a firebird. It dies and is reborn. But now, that cycle had been severed. They needed to inject powerful healing energy to ignite its flames again.

“Everyone, deploy healing circles! Begin mana infusion!”

Whoom—!

The mana from the 10 S-rank healers poured into the Phoenix. Divine light filled the operating room.

“Live! Blaze!”

Sweating, Choi Myung-seok poured in his mana. Theoretically, it was perfect. This amount of life force could revive a dead person. But.

[Warning! Target’s life responses are decreasing.]
[Mana rejection reaction!]

“Kyaaahk!”

The Phoenix shrieked in agony. Far from igniting flames on its ash-grey body, only black smoke billowed out. The more healing it received, the more it suffered, edging closer to death.

“H-huh? Why is this? Increase mana output!”
“Director! The patient’s vitals are stopping! Approaching cardiac arrest!”
“No! This can’t be!”

Choi Myung-seok panicked. According to the textbooks, it should have gotten better. Why? Why wasn’t it healing?

Just then, the operating room door burst open.

“Get out!!”

James King stormed in. He went berserk seeing his dying partner.

“You quack bastards! Are you trying to kill my Blaze?!”
“N-no, it’s not that, it’s a nether-reaction! Just hold on a little longer…!”
“Shut up!”

James King grabbed Choi Myung-seok by the collar and flung him aside. Then he scooped up the limp Phoenix.

“I heard there’s only one doctor in Korea. Seems that was right.”

James carried the Phoenix and fled the hospital. Lying on the floor, Choi Myung-seok stared blankly at the ceiling. It was over. This time, it was truly over.

At the same time. Zeus Medical Tower.

Jin-hyuk was eating cup ramen in his office. It was unusually quiet today.

“Director, are you really not going to see him? James King, I heard he’s on his way here crying.”

Chief Park Chul-woo asked.

“He went to Apollon first, right?”
“Yes. I heard they almost turned the Phoenix into a complete corpse there.”
“Tsk tsk. See? I told him not to go.”

Jin-hyuk clicked his tongue while sipping the broth. Actually, Jin-hyuk had refused James King as a tactic, ‘push and pull.’ He already knew the Phoenix’s condition. The creature wasn’t ‘sick.’

Boom!

The first-floor lobby doors shattered open. James King, drenched in sweat, ran in.

“Doctor Kang! Please! Help me!”

James King knelt at Jin-hyuk’s feet. Pride of a world ranker? That didn’t exist. The Phoenix in his arms was no longer even breathing.

Jin-hyuk slowly put down his chopsticks.

“I told you to get in line in the first place. Why did you have to go to some random place and mess up the kid?”
“Sorry… I am so sorry… Please, just save it. I’ll give you all my fortune!”

Jin-hyuk stood up and approached the Phoenix. A bird turned to ash.

Regular healers would see it as ‘lack of life force,’ but Jin-hyuk’s [Eyes of Providence] were different.

Deep within its heart, a small ember still remained. However, that ember was so hot that it couldn’t burn through the outer shell and was suffocating from the inside.

“This isn’t a disease. It’s ‘incomplete molting.'”
“M-molting?”
“Yes. Metamorphosis. It needs to shed its skin and be reborn, but it lacks the energy to break the shell. Then they went and reinforced the shell by pumping it with heals, making it suffocate to death.”

Jin-hyuk shook his head. Ignorance is bold; those Apollon idiots nearly buried the Phoenix alive.

“Then what do we do?”
“Simple. We peel the shell off. With a very powerful ‘fire.'”

Jin-hyuk pressed the intercom.

“Hey, Balakas. Get up here. Time to earn your keep.”

A moment later. Balakas, coming up from the basement, stuck his massive head through the office window. James King was horrified at the appearance of the S-rank Fire Dragon.

“D-Dragon?”
“Don’t be alarmed. It’s just our hospital’s medical equipment.”

Jin-hyuk brought the Phoenix to the window. Then he commanded Balakas.

“Light. Just a very light ‘breath.'”

[Kuuooo… (What a bother.)]

Balakas opened his mouth. A blast of furnace-like flame shot towards the Phoenix.

“No! Stop!”

James King screamed. But Jin-hyuk threw the Phoenix into the flames.

Whoosh!

The Phoenix’s body was instantly engulfed in fire. Ash-grey feathers burned away, black smoke rose. Everyone thought it was the end. But then—

Kyaaaahk—!

A clear cry burst from within the flames. The charred black shell crumbled away. And from within, resplendent golden wings unfurled.

[Molting/Rebirth Successful!]
[S-rank Monster ‘Immortal Phoenix’ has regained its true form.]