Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Chapter 79

Lysander lowered his gaze toward the wound. He had felt his strength returning earlier, but he hadn’t paid much attention to the changes in his body. His only concern had been finding Ingrid, and once he learned what had happened to her, his injuries had become little more than an inconvenience. He hadn’t even considered that his body might be recovering more quickly than usual.

"Is that a problem?" he asked.

"Not necessarily," Maya replied, still looking thoughtful. "A fast healing rate is usually a good thing, especially after the injuries you sustained. However, the speed of your recovery is unusual enough that I would like to understand what’s causing it. It could be related to your Beastman characteristics, but I don’t want to make assumptions without examining you more thoroughly."

Lysander said nothing. He wasn’t particularly interested in explaining his body’s condition to the Hunter’s Guild, especially when he had already seen how they treated people they considered useful. Maya appeared genuinely concerned about his health, and he had no reason to be rude to her, but that didn’t mean he intended to reveal everything she might want to know.

Fortunately, she didn’t press him for an answer. Instead, she continued examining the remaining wounds, cleaning the areas that needed attention and applying fresh dressings where necessary.

She put away the medical supplies and checked the monitor beside Ingrid’s bed after she was done with him. Her temperature remained high, but the readings were stable, and her breathing showed no sign of immediate distress.

Maya adjusted the blanket around Ingrid’s shoulders, then moved a small table closer so she could keep her equipment within reach.

"She should be left to rest," Maya reminded him. "Don’t shake her awake or try to force her to respond if she starts talking in her sleep, if anything, speak slowly to try to calm her down. The procedure seems to have frightened her badly so she may need some time to settle down even after she regains consciousness."

Lysander’s expression darkened at the reminder. "She kept saying, ’Don’t kill me,’" he said quietly. "What could they have done to make her say that?"

Maya’s hands stilled. She didn’t know much about the procedure that they had done but she had heard enough about the memory search to know that it could be a frightening experience, especially for someone who hadn’t agreed to undergo it.

The procedure forced a person’s mind especially those who resisted in the first place to revisit memories, and depending on how it was conducted, it could make painful experiences feel distressingly real, forcing them to relieve it over and over and over again in their mind. It makes them feel trapped in their memories and that’s why it’s especially dangerous to conduct. That’s how the victims turn into fools and lose their minds.

She couldn’t know exactly what Ingrid had seen, but the words Lysander repeated suggested that the experience had brought her face-to-face with something terrible.

"I can’t tell you what she experienced without hearing it from her," Maya answered carefully. "But memory searches can bring painful memories to the surface, and the person undergoing one may react as though they’re experiencing those events all over again. If she was already carrying difficult memories, the procedure might have made them much worse."

Lysander’s fingers curled against his knee.

Difficult memories.

The phrase sounded far too mild for the terror he had heard in Ingrid’s voice. Ever since she first came to the village, Lysander knew that Ingrid had faced something traumatic, that’s why at first, she was closed off and never let anyone get near. But she had slowly changed and become a bit more jovial, at least until Falcon and Hawk made her retreat back into her shell.

Now, Berthanon made her relieve those fears again after how hard she tried to bury them. They would all pay for what they did to her!

"Though I have something to ask you, I’m so curious that I can’t keep it to myself. How exactly did you manage to move that fast?" she asked, unable to hide her curiosity. "I was standing right there, and I couldn’t even follow your movements properly. One moment, you were holding Ingrid, and the next, you were already standing in front of Jowe with your hand around his neck. I’ve seen plenty of powerful Beastmen, but I’ve never seen anyone move quite like that, not even a snake beastman like this."

She also looked up at Lysander’s horns, they had gotten brighter than before. Now, it was shining silver and it’s tips were longer.

"I’ve also never seen a snake beastman with these kinds of horns." Maya’s voice held wonder and awe. Lysander though was still in no mood to answer her. All his mind was in Berthanon.

He raised his head and looked at Maya. "How long has Berthanon been at the Hunter’s Guild?"

The nurse blinked at the sudden change of subject, but then, she paused to consider the question before answering, her expression turning thoughtful as she recalled what she knew about the Guild’s senior officials.

Although she had been working at the infirmary for several months after the zombie apocalypse started, she wasn’t particularly involved in the affairs of the higher-ups, so her knowledge of Berthanon was mostly based on what she had heard from other people.

"He joined the Hunter’s Guild about seven months ago," she explained. "From what I’ve heard, he rose through the ranks rather quickly, and he’s now one of the most respected people in this branch. Many of the hunters consider him a good leader, and even some of the younger officials look up to him. Why do you ask?"

For a moment, Lysander simply stared at her, then he chuckled. It wasn’t a particularly loud laugh, but there was enough mockery in it to make Maya look at him more closely.

"A good leader?" he repeated, as if testing the words on his tongue. "Berthanon is a good leader? You all must have been bewitched by him one way or the other."