"Leo Moon. Please stay there, or I really wouldn't know how to proceed. Not like I'm someone experienced with formal customs. Anyway, how have you been feeling?" Leo bowed slightly.

"Much better lately. I heard it was because of you?"

"Only a few temporary changes. Nothing effective long term, your doctor should be able to explain further to you later, if you desire so."

"Can you treat it?" Eloise asked suddenly, going directly to the point.

"Treat isn't a suitable word, more like destroy it, or extract it. The process would be as painful and destructive as being beaten to almost death. However, against such substance, I can't think of any cautious counter-attack."

"The way doesn't matter. How effective would it be?"

"What I would consider success should be around 80%. If anything interrupts me, the chances would be around 20, but continuing would implicate my chance of surviving later. Stopping in the middle would mean you had a few months in a coma, then nothing their money or might can get would keep you in this world."

While Eloise seemed to be considering the options, Leo heard Ginn sigh. He also noticed that they began to look at each other. He wasn't sure if this was a staring contest or if they were talking with their eyes. Probably both.

While they communicated, Leo began feeling comfortable as he got used to the surroundings. His presence rapidly adapted to the multiple arrays.

While no one noticed, he took over many subsystems of the complex array, like a silent virus spreading.

"Go ahead." Eloise accepted the treatment.

After receiving the confirmation from Eloise, he turned to Ginn.

"Take over the control unit. I'll need your support in the process. Also, you can send Yuri in, and he can be the one keeping an eye on the process."

Beforehand, they had agreed since the treatment needed to be too aggressive, Ginn himself would assume the array control. And use his advanced mastery in energy control to increase the chance of success.

"Hold on there, love. I'll be in the next room," Ginn spoke with his wife in a lovely tone before leaving.

---

Once he felt the controller of the room finally changing, Ginn began ordering the people around. Over at the side, Yuri was already overseeing them.

"The four elemental array masters can assume the four cardinal positions. But don't connect the asked support direct to the main system. I'll be tipping your array directly when needed."

He then looked at the five medicinal specialists and points.

"You get me set B and F. The other four can begin filling the medicinal pool."

Looking towards the two left, Leo pleaded.

"Also, Array Commander, please don't interfere, even if I don't follow your standards. Since I don't have your formal education, don't expect to see me following the set of rules you find fundamental. Also, don't expect to see me knowing how to react when confronted with a commander changing the flow of the array, even if to correct something or make something better. In this situation, I can only ask one thing from you: please focus on keeping the array core working, even if everything else begins to break down. Just do your best to keep it running. That would be the best help you can offer a misfit like me. And the only reason I accepted the help of someone who can screw me over and use misunderstanding as an excuse later."

As he finished what he wanted to say to the Array commander, the woman with blueish hair that he asked some sets earlier came back with a tray.

Leo checked the things as the woman held the tray.

He then talked with the Main Doctor. "As her doctor, your job will be to keep your eyes open and remember whatever you can that may help when dealing with her post-treatment recovery. However, if you can't understand something, I'll not be explaining it later."

After checking it, Leo returned one of the scalpels to the tray. But in the middle of his motion, he inserted it swiftly into the assistant's heart.

At the crucial moment right before the fatal attack, her expression changed, and she tried retreating. However, she couldn't move, as Leo had used the array to immobilize her.

Seeing her dead, he slowly removed the scalpel.

Everyone was on their feet due to the surprise attack and struggling due to the array's pressure that filled the room. But Leo stayed calm.

From his pocket, he removed a small bottle. He then inserted the bloody scalpel inside one of the filled containers and dropped some liquid from the small bottle, mixing it all.

He placed the bottle away and the scalpel down on the tray calmly. Next, he took the container that showed no reaction to his nose. He took his time smelling it and looking closer at it before finally putting it down.

He then held the tray, removing it from the woman's hands.

The engravings that had appeared and had been supporting it lowered the dead body.

"I asked for trustworthy people, so why have you chosen someone who plays with repressive poison? Are you only using your holy eyes to filter such shady characters? I advise you against such ignorance. You can do much better than this, thus avoiding such potential trouble. Don't be overconfident. Never." Leo voiced loudly in the room.

He then withdrew all the pressure he had suddenly imposed and spoke to Yuri.

"Come and help me put this tray somewhere and bring the set A and D to me."

Yuri waited a moment before following the orders.

With his now free hands, Leo turned to Eloise.

"I'll be putting you to sleep. Are you okay with that? I don't recommend staying conscious through the pain."

"I've chosen to put my life in your hands, so please do as you believe fits best the treatment." She looked down at the floor, but the body was out of her vision field. "If you can do what we can't, I'm sure we can take care of the rest."

Once she finished speaking, Leo touched her head, putting her to sleep.

The staff surrounding him went back to focusing on their job. But, the shadow of fear stayed in their hearts.

Yuri came back with a new tray. His eyes held a bit of expectancy as he finds himself in the same position as the woman that was alive a few moments ago.

Yet Leo explained nothing. He just retrieved the tray and put it on the bedside table. Then, he took a few bottles of medicines from who knows where.

On the tray, Leo mixed a recipe in one of the cups.

The mixed content emitted a blue-red gradient glowing color as a visceral smell filled the room.

Yuri, who was closer, noticed Leo dropping one small white pebble-like object in both the cups available in the tray.

Leo then took the cup and, surprisingly, drank it.

Yuri's shock didn't stop there, as he noticed the outline of blood veins becoming more and more apparent on elder exposed skin.

After he stopped looking at the man with his gaped mouth, he turned his head towards the tray. He noticed some changes in the white medicine.

Unfortunately, despite knowing what went into it, he couldn't pinpoint what had a single pebble done to it. But his intuition screamed to him that the medicine had changed somehow.

As Yuri returned his attention to Leo, he caught the moment he opened his now bloodied eyes.

While he looked at Leo's serious expression, it somehow calmed him down.

Leo then removed his overcoat, exposing in his lower back a single simple dagger that no one had noticed so far.

Things appeared out of nowhere even though they all went through a vigorous check before entering the room.

Dropping the overcoat, Leo retrieved the dagger with his right hand and used his left hand to retrieve and throw the last cup of medicine on the ground at his back.

The force Leo used was enough to break the container, spreading medicine and pieces of this glass-like material all over the floor.

Yuri moved two steps back as he looked at the medicine on the floor.

Somehow, he felt attracted to it, so he saw when the engravings began to absorb the mixture, including the pieces of glass.

It took a few seconds only, and the floor was clean again.

Not long after, Yuri heard a fast movement in the air.

Looking back at Leo, he saw him moving the dagger with a fast and circular motion above Eloise.

Yuri stepped far back as the room began to tremble due to the abrupt energy flow.

In his corner, the Array Commander groaned as he struggled to keep the array as stable as possible.

However, he couldn't stop the tremors because Leo kept stimulating the array beyond its limits.

Yuri could see it, even while far back. Many veins were bulging out from this senior his neck, almost popping.

"WOW!" Yuri exclaimed.

The engravings in the surfaces began to levitate as they seemed to have gained life.

The sight was incredible. As the lines floated in the air, they braided together and began to emit more and more light. This change transformed the place into a bright room.

Some engravings flew towards the bed, others in the direction of some medicines and tools.

The elemental array masters all held a shocked expression, even while trying to focus on running their arrays. This interference was too alien for them.

The medicinal specialists felt their medicinal energy pool drain at an incredible speed.

Yuri looked to one side and another. He was lost, without knowing where to focus his attention.

He saw medicine disappearing on the tables as the stronger light illuminated the room.

He could also see the culprit's simple movements but chaotic presence. As his weak aura precisely ordered these beautiful phenomena, like a master and his orchestra.

He could feel the array cracking and coming back together multiple times every second, despite feeling suffocated by the thick energy flow in the air.

"AH!" he screamed. He saw Leo abruptly inserting the dagger, which now didn't seem so simple in Eloise's stomach.

The sound of needles hitting each other permeated the room. Those zoomed from the tray at high speed and stopped floating at precise positions above the patient.

As the needles halted on Eloise's skin, the room calmed down.

The flow in the air became gentle. The light level decreased until a point of comfort.

The compound array stopped struggling, but it mutated so much that the people that worked in it would never recognize it as their own.

Smaller branches had grown over the thick braided engravings, stabilizing the system.

While the structure looked mystical, any array specialist would also say it was archaic, rudimentary, and lacked finesse. Because the knowledge applied was a mixed mess and abided by no order.

Yuri moved around to look at the dagger from a better angle, and, fortunately, he didn't see any blood. But focusing on Eloise, he noticed engravings all over her body.

Time passed. Seconds. Minutes.

Yuri finally breathed again as he freed himself from a haze. For some reason, he had begun to hold his breath the moment this all started.

He thought the elder had died due to the change of pace and increasingly silence. But the small changes he could see here and there in the room notified him that Leo was still working, somehow.