Chapter 70: Saving a Person
It was deathly silent inside the treatment pod. Everyone held their breath, their gazes fixed on Sophie Wexler.
Sophie Wexler released her spiritual power, slowly venturing into Leo Fane’s Spiritual Sea.
Only after entering did she discover the terrible state of his Spiritual Sea. It was riddled with scars, scoured by years of violent spiritual power rampages.
As her spiritual power flowed in, she gradually saw the countless black undercurrents within the Spiritual Sea.
They were the same as the ones she had seen in Cillian Forrest’s Spiritual Sea, but these were weaker by comparison.
The black undercurrents rampaged through the Spiritual Sea along with his own spiritual power, wreaking immense havoc.
Sophie Wexler had to use her spiritual power to envelop them bit by bit, peel the toxic undercurrents away from the normal spiritual power, and then purge them.
The entire process demanded immense stamina. It wasn’t too strenuous at first, as she was only working on the periphery of the Spiritual Sea.
Her current Level was S, so it wasn’t an overwhelming task. She was just a bit clumsy at first due to her inexperience.
As she peeled away more and more of the toxins, her speed gradually picked up. At the same time, she could feel her own spiritual power draining rapidly.
Sophie Wexler gritted her teeth, doing her best not to reveal her discomfort.
As time trickled by, everyone grew more and more tense. The treatment pod was unnervingly quiet, the silence broken only when Sophie Wexler let out a breath. "The toxins on the periphery are all cleared."
However, she didn’t stop. She controlled her spiritual power, driving it toward the deeper layers of the Spiritual Sea to continue the cleansing.
As her spiritual power delved deeper, the color began to drain from Sophie Wexler’s face.
She thought she was doing a good job of controlling her expression and not betraying her pain.
But in reality, her face had already become deathly pale, completely drained of color. The bangs on her forehead were plastered to her skin with sweat.
"His vital signs are improving!" the Medical Master exclaimed, looking at the data from the adjacent machine.
The instrument’s screen was filled with dense rows of data representing Leo Fane’s various vital signs.
He had been in critical condition before, but now the data on the monitor had clearly improved.
This meant he was temporarily out of danger.
The Medical Master knew this, as did Cillian Forrest. But Cillian’s furrowed brow didn’t relax in the slightest, even though Leo Fane was out of danger.
His gaze remained fixed on Sophie Wexler, unblinking.
Sophie Wexler’s complexion grew steadily worse. The Medical Master couldn’t bear to watch any longer and spoke up. "Miss Wexler, he’s out of danger now. You should take a break and recover your spiritual power before you continue."
Sophie Wexler gritted her teeth. "There’s no need."
"I can keep going. If I push a little harder, I can successfully separate this whole section of toxins."
She couldn’t give up now, or all her progress on this section would be wasted. She felt her spiritual power draining, mentally calculating the cost to finish.
’I can still hold on a little longer.’
Just as she was about to channel her spiritual power again, a hand suddenly grabbed hers.
Sophie Wexler looked up in surprise at Cillian Forrest.
Assuming he was also trying to stop her, she began, "I really can—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Cillian Forrest pried open her tightly clenched fist, one finger at a time.
Then, he placed a Crystal Stone in her palm.
It was unlike any Crystal Stone she had ever absorbed before—purer, with a much higher energy content.
The Crystal Stone’s energy was rapidly absorbed through her palm, flowing into her Spiritual Sea.
She looked at Cillian Forrest in astonishment. "This is...?"
"An SS-level Crystal Stone."
Sophie Wexler started to say something else, but Cillian Forrest cut her off. "The treatment is still in progress. Focus on absorbing the energy. Don’t lose your concentration."
Sophie Wexler immediately swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue. She said no more, instead focusing all her attention on clearing the toxins from Leo Fane’s Spiritual Sea.
A moment ago, she’d felt her spiritual power was about to collapse, but now, supported by the Crystal Stone, she felt she could push even deeper.
She even felt like she could purge all of it. She had now reached the very depths of Leo Fane’s Spiritual Sea.
It wasn’t as easy as it had been on the periphery. As she delved deeper, she felt an oppressive pressure from his higher Spiritual Power Level, crushing her own spiritual power and resisting her intrusion.
However, Sophie Wexler’s Healer-class spiritual power was gentle. Although she met resistance and the cleansing process became arduous, it wasn’t impossible to continue.
Sophie Wexler gritted her teeth, forcing herself onward: enter, envelop, peel, purge.
Her attention was entirely focused on purging the toxins. She was completely unaware that Cillian Forrest had already replaced the Crystal Stone in her hand several times.
Cillian Forrest watched her condition constantly. He wanted to make her stop countless times, but seeing her determined, teeth-gritting persistence, he held back. He simply continued to replace the Crystal Stones.
But Sophie Wexler’s absorption rate grew faster and faster, until the Crystal Stones were all gone. Cillian Forrest’s brow furrowed.
’I should have brought more.’
The next moment, he took her hand in his, their fingers intertwining.
His broad palm completely enveloped hers.
His strong, powerful knuckles formed a stark contrast with her slender, pale ones.
Cillian Forrest felt the fine sheen of sweat on her palm and the way her grip kept tightening from the strain.
He said nothing, silently allowing her to absorb his own spiritual power.
Watching this, a worried expression appeared on Ethan Cross’s face.
’The Marshal’s condition isn’t good either! He already used most of his spiritual power while wiping out the Starbugs.’
’And now Miss Wexler is absorbing his spiritual power. At this rate, he won’t be able to take it!’
But then he looked at Leo Fane lying in the pod, and at Sophie Wexler giving her all to purge the toxins. Ethan Cross pressed his lips together and swallowed his words of protest.
Time seemed to stretch on infinitely. Finally, a bright light flared in Sophie Wexler’s eyes.
"Success!"
The toxins in Leo Fane’s Spiritual Sea had been completely purged.
She turned to Cillian Forrest, her eyes shining, and repeated, "I did it! The toxins are gone." In her pride, she was oblivious to her own terrible condition.
She gave his hand an excited shake, only then realizing that their fingers were intertwined.
And that she was unconsciously absorbing his spiritual power. Sophie Wexler froze.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to," she said, trying to pull her hand away.
"It’s fine." Cillian Forrest tightened his grip, his gaze locked on hers. "I’m the one who took your hand."
"You’ve expended too much energy," Cillian Forrest explained deliberately. "There are no more Crystal Stones, so we’ll have to make do with this for now."
As he finished speaking, Sophie Wexler checked her own Spiritual Sea. Only then did she realize it had been completely depleted at some point.
’If Cillian Forrest’s spiritual power hadn’t been supporting me, an act like that would have definitely caused severe damage to my Spiritual Sea!’
At that moment, the exhaustion from the immense expenditure and the emptiness of her Spiritual Sea washed over her all at once.
She had been running on sheer adrenaline, but now that it was gone, she instantly felt her body’s warning signs.
"Thank... you," Sophie Wexler managed to say, her voice incredibly faint.
The words had barely left her lips when Cillian Forrest shot to his feet, catching her as she collapsed and pulling her into his arms.
"Sophie Wexler!"