Chapter 254: Another Black Slime?

"Alright, it's done!"

I said as I finally peeled off all the black coating inside the corpse and putting them in a glass case.

After peeling off the coating, the corpse's internal organ looks just like a normal human's organs.

I even split the skull of the corpse so I can peel its brain's coating. As for the organ that have been infected, like the corpse's eyeball, there's nothing I can do. Even Kayla's healing magic doesn't seem to have any effect on the corpse, or the victims.

"How is it, Roy?" Albert asked.

"According to Ellen's information and what I can see from the corpse, I don't think that it's contagious. You will no longer need those gloves and masks, and the infected people no longer needed to be restrained. But you four are still need to stay here."

I had Victoria release the restraints on the four infected can now move on their own. I don't need to carry them any longer.

"So, you four were either attacked by an unknown person or drugged, right? Though that might be untrue since we won't really know the answer until we find the perpetrator. At the very least, we know how to cure you from this disease."

"Really!? Please, help them!" It was Nana who asked for help.

"Whoa! Why is it you that asking me? Aren't you the terrible leader of a party who couldn't handle her own party and have everyone else leave? And are you fine staying in this building? What about Ellen and Jessica?"

Those three were trapped in a dungeon before. That mean Nana might not be the only one with claustrophobia.

"As long as there are other people, I'm fine." Nana answered.

"I was a bit afraid when you suddenly restrained me, but I'm fine." This time, it's Ellen.

"Although I was trapped back then, I don't have any fear of closed space. I was just surprised that you somehow suddenly restrained me without a single gap." Jessica said.

I guess they are fine here.

As for the two villagers, the sister of the quest giver is hugging her child and the quest giver is hugging them. I'm sorry, what I said was a lie. I still don't know if it's contagious or not. That's why I had you approach them on purpose. At least I know that as long as you don't touch the black thingy directly, it won't spread.

But from the look of it, you are still fine. That mean touching won't spread it.

And Albert is looking at me slightly angry. I know he must have noticed my lie.

"Don't look at me like that. You also did it before." I said to Albert.

What I meant is the fact that he let the stampede happened on purpose and letting many people died as the result. Just to show the people that we have an enemy that we need to fight against.

We're both guilty here.

"Sigh… how will you cure them?" Albert asked.

"Whatever I do, it will just be an experiment for the first time. So, there might be danger in it. And it might not be one hundred percent recovery as well. You're a smart king, so you should have realized what I will do after seeing me doing the autopsy, right?"

"…you're saying that the black coatings are needed to be peeled off, right? But what about the brain? Are you telling me that you need to cut their skull?" Albert asked.

"Probably. But first, there's another thing we have to try first. Look at this."

I showed everyone about the black coating that I peeled off inside a glass case.

"What about it?" the guild master asked.

"Now, Victoria, create some clones."

Victoria made some Blobbies and I put some of them on the ground and only picked one. Then with one hand on a Blobby, and the other in a glass case, everyone can see what I mean.

"They look the same! Are they Black Slimes as well?" Albert asked.

"Probably. That's what I will experiment. If it's a Black Slime, can you absorb them into you, Victoria?"

"So that's how you intend to help them! You want me to absorb the black coating without having you to cut off their skulls, right? You want me to see if I can absorb them from any place?" Victoria noticed what I wanted her to do.

"That's right. But that's the most difficult part. For now, let's see if you can absorb it or not."

Instead of Victoria, I had the Blobby to do it. If the clones can do it, it will be easier for me to cure the infected.

I put the Blobby on the glass case as well, and I can see little by little that the Blobby is absorbing the black coating.

During the operation, I used Blobbies as my surgery tools. But they won't absorb it on their own, only when either I or Victoria made them to.

"Oh! It's absorbing… that thing! Does it mean…" The guild master and everyone watching was surprised seeing that the Blobby I had can absorb those black coating.

"That's right. It means that this thing is also Black Slime. And since it can be absorbed by my summon's clones, we can assume that these Black Slime is either weaker than mine, or the weaker clones of the real body. So, is there any Black Slime in your village?" I asked the villagers.

The two adults shook their heads. But the kid one shouted as if he remembered something.

"I remember! I see that the old beggar in the village sometime would play with a black ball like that! When we asked if we could play with that ball, the beggar was so angry at us!" The kid said.

"Beggar? Is he a summoner?" I asked the adults villagers.

They looked at each other and shook their heads.

"We don't know. It was about two years ago when he suddenly appears in the village. We don't know where he sleeps at night either and he never seems to work." The man said.

"Oh! Because he was never registered as a villager, no one really cares about him. But I never see him in the past few months. Don't tell me that he's the one responsible for this!?" The woman asked.

Hmm… there's a high chance that he's a summoner. But to think that there's another Black Slime as well.

"Victoria, has Javier told you if there are other Black Slimes either in this world or the Monsters World?"

"No. There should be no other Black Slimes. Unless…" Victoria hesitates to continue.

"Unless what?"

"Unless back then, a long time ago, Javier made some clones of himself, and he forgot about it. Then once he became a contracted monster, that clone of his is counted as separate from his body. That's why it's weaker than me. Whether it's true or not, the fact is that there's only one true Black Slime. Which is me. That's what Javier told me. You know what power Black Slime has, so if there are other Black Slime… you know, right?"

Victoria stopped from speaking anymore because there are other people here. But Albert, Kayla, and I understand what she meant.

The biggest power of a Black Slime is its ability to go back to the past. I don't know how Javier has the confidence in saying that there's only one Black Slime, but it's true that anything with the power to turns back in time is dangerous.

"Well, I'll leave the discussion for later. For now, we can be clear that Victoria and her clones are able to absorb the black coating in the infected people's body. We can easily cure them. But about the blood, they are black already. Even if we cure the organs, the infected might still die because of the black blood. That's why whoever want to be the first person to be cured will have to risk their lives. I need to absorb the black coating carefully while making sure that the blood will turn red. Kayla, when you try to heal Ellen, her blood turned red for a while. I need your help in carefully healing only some area so their blood will turn back to red while Victoria absorb the black coating. We need to work together. So, is there anyone willing to volunteer for the first operation?"

Hearing that they need to risk their lives, they hesitate to do it. And the young kid is being hugged by his mom. I don't intend to do it to the kid on the first try. And it will be cruel to do it to his mother while the kid is waiting. That means there's only either Ellen or Jessica left.

"I'll do it." Jessica volunteer first.

"Are you sure? You might die? How about we grab some other people from that village so he can experiment on them?" Nana suggested.

"I don't need you to worry about me. I'm no longer a hunter who needed every little advice from you anymore." Jessica said.

Whatever happened with the former Gladius, is not my problem. They can take care of it themselves.

"Alright. Jessica, take off your clothes. Celestine, build a wall so no one can see her stripping. But Jessica, during the operation, at least the king will need to see it for himself if it works or not. And obviously, I will as well. Since my sleeping gas is not working on you, you will have to stay conscious at all time. That mean when I cut open your body, you might feel pain. Please endure it as much as possible."

Now, it's time for my first surgery after returning back in time.

The autopsy didn't count.