"No need for anesthesia, Miss Viola. I must ensure I do not lose consciousness. Please proceed directly with the wound cleaning."
"But... that will be extremely painful."
Just witnessing such a wound, Viola felt she could almost physically sense the pain.
During high-stakes, life-or-death battles, copious adrenaline secretion can make one nearly immune to pain. But after hormone levels drop... the suffering from injuries persists like a stubborn, deep-seated affliction.
"You truly don't need anesthesia?" Gazing at the sister's calm face, Viola asked worriedly once more.
"I have my reasons."
Anesthetic drugs would cause prolonged mental sluggishness, an effect that could even impact psychic sense. Haida didn't know how long she would stay here, nor whether undiscovered dangers existed here.
For prudence's sake, it was better not to accept treatment too complacently. This was not the real Norlington.
Seeing she couldn't sway Haida, Viola had no choice but to respect her opinion.
"If it gets too painful to bear later, don't push yourself. I can prepare anesthetic at any time."
Haida didn't speak, merely nodding to indicate the other could begin.
Wound disinfection, removal of polyps, extraction of fragments... Viola began deep cleaning of the wound on Haida's shoulder blade.
This series of actions would absolutely exceed the limits of what an ordinary person could endure, but this sister's gaze remained steady; she did not cry out in pain.
Her endurance even made Viola, seasoned in surgery, feel her fingers grow somewhat weak.
Just as the doctor was concentrating on treating the wound, Haida spoke.
"Is the war between Attilan and Loredon still ongoing this year?"
Viola's hand movements abruptly halted.
Sister Haida actually had the spare energy to chat with me while undergoing anesthesia-free wound cleaning? Could she not feel pain? No, with each incision, she had a slight reaction; it couldn't be a rare condition like congenital insensitivity to pain.
Following this, she instinctively began pondering Haida's question.
Hmm... The last war between Attilan and Loredon was a century ago, wasn't it? Why would she ask that?
"The 'Attilan-Loredon Non-Aggression Pact' has been signed for nearly eighty years; there has been no war up until recently..."
"Or is it, Sister, you've just returned from abroad and know of the latest frontline developments?"
Though answering Haida's question, Viola's hand movements remained precise and swift.
"Apologies, I was talking nonsense. Just to distract myself... Miss Viola need not pay it any mind."
Haida decisively and swiftly ended the topic, cutting off any potential for further inquiry.
Because she had already obtained what she wanted to know...
The "Attilan-Loredon Non-Aggression Pact" had not yet been torn up, and nearly eighty years had passed since its signing. This meant the medical station she was in existed before the Great Plague outbreak. The plague would occur roughly five to six years later.
Yes, this was the "past"!
"Mhm..." With a hint of suspicion, Viola gently raised an eyebrow.
"If the sister doesn't wish to speak, that's fine. I know the Burial Court's confidentiality agreements are very strict."
Though her gentle nature made her seem somewhat naive, she wasn't foolish. She naturally knew the sister wasn't telling the whole truth; if she asked this, she must have her own intent.
But the Burial Court already had many eccentric individuals; no need to dwell on it too much.
This small interlude was soon forgotten as Viola refocused her full attention on the wound cleaning.
...
Bone fragments, rusted metal shavings, glass slivers. The blood-soaked debris within Haida's wound was completely removed and placed on a nearby tray.
As the bandage was tied into a neat slipknot, Viola, having completed the finishing touches, clapped her hands and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
But she didn't immediately prepare to rest; instead, she took out a warm, steamy square cloth and wiped Haida's forehead.
Even though fine beads of sweat had formed on her brow, this sister hadn't uttered a moan, at most her muscles trembling instinctively a few times. Her endurance was truly astonishing, worthy of being a Burial Court supervisor...
Haida also tried moving her arm; though the stabbing pain was intense, the stiffness had indeed eased considerably.
"Thank you, Doctor Viola."
"No need to thank me, Miss Haida. Hunters undertake the most dangerous missions, while I've only done insignificant work."
With a touch of satisfied accomplishment, Viola narrowed her eyes, revealing a gentle, sweet smile.
"Sister. Look, the snow seems to have lightened."
As she spoke, she raised her hand, pointing outside the medical station window.
The faint, warm light of the winter sun reflected off the accumulated snow, glistening brilliantly.
Haida followed the direction of her finger towards the windowsill and suddenly saw a familiar figure. That person stood by the window, lightly tapping the door with a finger.
Hair pale as frost, a familiar white lab coat, amber eyes.
Without a doubt, it was Dr. Fran!
If Dr. Fran was outside, then who was the Flamel beside her...
Intense confusion brought near-panicked shock. Haida sharply turned her head, discovering that Viola and the children around the hearth had vanished without a trace. Flamel, however, hadn't disappeared; she was still in deep sleep.
The surroundings had quietly transformed in the instant the sister looked back.
This was no longer the medical station, but the long-abandoned dwelling within Silent Hill. Through the dilapidated walls, one could vaguely see the ubiquitous iron mesh and rust stains.
As for that door-tapping "Fran," naturally, she was also nowhere to be found.
Haida and Flamel had returned to Silent Hill.
"Mmm..."
A light, dream-like murmur sounded. Flamel rubbed her eyes somewhat drowsily and slowly awoke.
"Sister Haida, where are we?"
"...Inside the second building."
After a moment of dazed contemplation, Haida picked up the injured Flamel and walked towards the building's exit.
"Flamel, you woke up just in time. We should go."
Unlike the spacious, complex mansion, the dwelling required only a few steps to traverse to the other side. Soon, the two were back in the alleyways.
Confused? No. The sister only felt excitement rising from her heart, fervent, nearly fanatical, like prey long sought finally revealing its tracks.
Clues, connections, logic.
Only upon glimpsing that "Fran" knocking from outside the medical station did Haida vaguely touch the reality beneath Silent Hill's illusory facade.
The scenes presented in those two buildings were all things from a certain past... she had intruded into memories of bygone days.
Ahern at that time was in a rage, so he would attack everyone nearly uncontrollably. Viola was a kind Medical Department physician, so she treated her.
She was a variable that shouldn't have existed, needing elimination. After elimination, the scenes within the buildings displayed a certain predetermined past.
That "Dr. Fran" knocking outside the Secrets-Hunter medical station was also part of this memory.
At first glance, the knocking "Dr. Fran" didn't seem different from the one she was familiar with, but upon closer thought... the knocking figure's neck didn't have black suture lines... This precisely indicated she was one of the individuals manifested by this memory.
What the second building displayed was likely the past of Fran and Viola's initial meeting.
If her hypothesis wasn't erroneous, then the third building would also contain some memory of the past... or perhaps, a "secret" sealed away in history.
—
Since she had intruded into "memories," who exactly was the owner of these memories?
Haida glanced at Flamel beside her. The latter tilted her head, meeting her gaze with those clear amber eyes.
The Ahern in the first mansion, in his mad ravings, mentioned Dr. Fran. The Viola in the second building directly encountered her... The answer seemed right before her eyes.
Make bold hypotheses, verify carefully.
Now Haida needed to proceed to the third building to test her conjecture. If the scene that appeared still related to Fran, it would mean her theory was largely correct.
However, she still had some unresolved questions.
The most important among them was: Why had Dr. Fran transformed into this harmless, childlike form... It was truly rather perplexing.
Setting aside distracting thoughts and clarifying her mind, Haida followed Flamel's guidance towards the last building standing between them and Hishem Hospital.
...
As they drew closer to Hishem Hospital, the density of monsters around them increased very noticeably, and they bore more or less characteristics of medical staff. Their skin was dissolved, necrotic, and stiff; they held weapons covered in mottled rust—either scalpels or syringes.
Close to forty nurse-like evil creatures stood stiffly before the door of the third building, blocking the path.
Thin tops revealing bras, exposed open collars, and white mini-skirts showing thighs... Their attire was less like medical uniforms and more like some kind of fetishwear.
Contrasting with their bodies, which provoked primal desire, were hideous heads. Discolored, rotting bandages wrapped around their faces, barely exposing features that were all twisted, swollen flesh.
One nurse surrounded by many of her kind faintly heard some sound in the distance. She mechanically turned her head, trying to ascertain the specific source of the commotion.
The next moment, a pitch-black streak charged past, like a black steed treading on snow.
A cold gleam flashed. This "nurse's" head shot skyward with the sound, her remaining body then collapsing weakly to the ground.
The power sword "Nirvana" emitted an exhilarating, almost frenzied metallic cry. Its blade swept unimpeded through the bodies of numerous nurses, each swing leaving a spray of blood and severed limbs.
Haida's form was like the eye of a hurricane; anyone daring to block her was shredded to pieces.
Faced with a group of "nurses" standing like wax figures, Haida's choice was... to force a breakthrough.
Rather than attempt to hold her breath and slip through gaps between the monsters, incurring unnecessary risk, it was better to crush through head-on. The physical strength of these nurse individuals was similar to ordinary humans, completely incapable of stopping her.
Flamel was currently clinging to the sister's back, tightly holding her neck. Judging by her dazed expression, she might be feeling a bit motion-sick.
"Sister Haida, you're moving too fast; I'm feeling a bit unwell..." the girl reminded weakly.
She spoke mainly because she was worried she might not be able to hold back the dizziness and vomit on Haida.
"We'll be there soon."
The sister's voice was calm, reassuring.
After slicing apart the last few "nurses" blocking the doorway, she raised an elbow, thrust forward, and charged through the door of the third building.
The scenery transformed swiftly in an instant. Haida's expression settled slightly; she had once again returned from the alleys of Silent Hill to that Norlington existing within some sealed-away memory.
Just as expected. The scenes in all three buildings were "memories."
Including the scene in that mansion.
Thinking about it now, that place was probably one of the Meredith family's estates... The main reason Haida hadn't recognized it upon first seeing the mansion was the severe rust stains hindering her judgment.
So, which past would this third building be?
Haida swiftly and meticulously surveyed her surroundings. Her gray-chestnut eyes immediately focused.
All she could see was a city street in ruin and desolation. Dark green, nearly black fungal patches were everywhere, with unknown pale white spores and things writhing and crawling in the shadows.
On the roadside and in the depths of street-corner alleys, one could see afflicted individuals lying on the ground, gasping. Their lives were suspended in the twilight between life and death, lingering only to more enduringly harbor and spread the "Divine Pestilence" within their skins.
It was during the Great Plague...
Almost the moment she confirmed this, Haida took out two temporary filtering masks and put them on herself and Flamel. The phrase "armed to the teeth" was no mere saying; she truly carried a large amount of equipment for special operations.
Of course, if it were the Divine Pestilence, the only function of these two pieces of protective gear would be to comfort herself.
If such things could resist the plague, the Secrets-Hunters wouldn't have paid so many casualties for it... But it was better than nothing, better than having none.
"Sister... save me, please. My brain, it's so itchy..."
Just as Haida was somewhat hesitant about her next move, an infected person still able to move crawled to her feet.
Haida didn't attempt rescue but directly pulled Flamel back, putting a safe distance between them.
"Don't go, I beg you!"
The infected person let out a wail, his words carrying nearly pleading despair.
"I don't need you to waste medicine on me, I no longer need treatment either. Please, give me a bullet... That would be the final antidote for me..."
Due to the excessive movement of lifting his head, one of his eyeballs fell out. Then, a deep green, nearly black, viscous fluid flowed from the eye socket onto the ground. A thriving fungal cluster sprouted and spread from where the fluid dripped.
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL