"Because you look unwell-heavy dark circles, a pale face, icy wrists. Lately, have you been unable to feel full no matter how much you eat? And do you often feel hungry?"
The Pighead Demon hesitated and sat back down.
Although the earlier diagnosis had been unreliable, this one hit the mark.
He had indeed been feeling hungry frequently lately. Even binge eating did little to ease that hunger.
"How did you know?"
Lynn kept his expression neutral. He stood up, fetched a wooden basin from the back, and filled it with clean water. Then he took a bottle of pale green potion from beneath the counter and poured it into the basin.
Whoosh-
A wisp of green smoke shaped like a skull came howling out of the wooden basin.
Lynn clapped his hands and said, "This is a Demon-Summoning Potion. Put your hand in. If you really have Evil Spirit Parasitism or some other unnatural mutation inside you, this potion can bring some of the truth to light."
The Pighead Demon gave him a doubtful look.
He extended his snout and sniffed.
After deciding that there seemed to be no danger, he tentatively put his hand into the wooden basin.
Instantly, he felt a chill slowly rise from his abdomen.
"This... this is!" His expression shifted slightly.
The green water in the basin began to boil, while wisps of eerie black vapor slowly emerged from his body.
And in the very next moment-
A sudden cramp twisted his abdomen, and a giggling face bulged out of his belly.
"Heeheehee! Heeheehee!"
"Aaargh-Aaargh-" The Pighead Demon's hair stood on end (ΩДΩ).
"My belly! My belly!!"
The giggling suddenly changed in an eerie way, becoming a series of wails.
"Waaah-Waaah-"
At the sight, the Pighead Demon completely lost his composure.
"What the fuck is that thing?!"
Bang-
Lynn decisively grabbed the frying pan beside him and slammed its bottom into the protruding face, flattening the demon's belly.
The crying and giggling stopped abruptly.
Thump-
The Pighead Demon dropped onto the stool, looking dazed. "This... this..."
Lynn pushed the wooden basin aside and said calmly, "Preliminary diagnosis: Evil Spirit Parasitism. But judging by what that pan did, this little ghost hasn't fully formed yet. You're incredibly lucky you ran into me."
With that, the Pighead Demon was completely convinced.
He fell to his knees with a thump and said shakily, "Young man! I was a little too aggressive earlier. Please don't hold it against me! Save me! Please save me!"
He was truly frightened now!
If he had to face an actual evil spirit in a head-on fight, he would have been fearless.
But an evil spirit growing inside his belly? He genuinely had no way to deal with that!
Holding a pen, Lynn asked calmly, "Do you remember eating anything unclean?"
The Pighead Demon trembled. "A month ago, when I was out, I remember eating a little ghost. I sucked it down in one gulp. Other than that, I only eat pigs and humans."
Lynn thought for a moment.
Then he raised his head and said seriously, "Let's cut you open and take a look!"
A short while later.
Inside the dim operating room.
Several candles and bronze mirrors directed beams of light onto the pigheaded monster's greasy potbelly.
The pigheaded monster lay trembling on the operating table, which made him deeply uncomfortable, and said:
"You're deciding to cut me open just like that?! Aren't you going to examine me more carefully first?!"
Lynn put on gloves and a mask, calmly disinfected the scalpel, and said:
"Cut straight to the problem. Simple and direct is best. You need to trust my diagnostic skills and ethical standards. I'll make an incision in your belly. If I can cut it out, I will. If I can't..."
The Pighead Demon trembled. "Then I'll cut you!"
Lynn shook his head.
He took out the boning knife his teacher often used and began sharpening it right in front of him.
Scrape-Scrape-
The Pighead Demon lay there in a daze.
He stared at the iron hooks dangling overhead in the operating room, and at the various terrifying monster tissues soaking in large jars around him.
For some reason-
He felt like a boar lying on a butcher's block, about to be slaughtered.
Scrape-Scrape-
Sparks flew everywhere.
"Stop sharpening it! Stop sharpening it!!"
Unable to stand the shrill sound of the sharpening blade, the Pighead Demon roared at him to hurry.
"Almost done."
Lynn rinsed the sharpened surgical blade in disinfectant. When he lifted it again, its keen edge gleamed.
Carrying the blade, Lynn walked over to the Pighead Demon and pressed his ear against the demon's greasy belly to listen.
Then, with a professional air, he took out a pencil and, on the lower part of the demon's belly-
Drew a cross.
Lynn asked calmly, "Are you ready?"
The Pighead Demon trembled. "R-ready..."
Clack-clack-clack-
Lynn pressed a button beneath the operating table, and four iron shackles immediately locked around the Pighead Demon's limbs.
"Aaargh-Aaargh-" The Pighead Demon screamed in terror (ΩДΩ).
Lynn frowned, holding the blade. "Don't scream. I haven't even cut you yet. These restraints are to stop you from struggling and interfering with my surgical work. It's for your own good."
The Pighead Demon trembled. "Have you ever operated on anyone before?"
Lynn scraped his knife and fork together with a clatter and said calmly, "I've watched my teacher slaughter pigs. You're my first patient, but it's pretty much the same. I'm still very confident in my surgical skills."
"..."
A brief silence followed.
"Aaargh-Aaargh-I'm not doing this! I'm not doing this! Aaargh-Let me go! Let me go!!"
The Pighead Demon roared (ΩДΩ), struggling frantically.
Lynn's gaze instantly turned savage, and he shouted:
"Are you kidding me?! I've already sharpened the blade, and now you say you don't want to do it?! Aren't you afraid your belly will keep growing until the evil spirit bursts out of it?!"
"Once you're on my operating table, I'm responsible for you! Today, you're having this operation whether you like it or not!"
Slice-
Aaaaaargh-
Half an hour later.
[Knife Skills experience +10] [Knife Skills experience +10] [Surgical ability +1]
The Pighead Demon lay dazed on the operating table, his entire body twitching nonstop. He had already lost count of how many times he had passed out from the pain and woken up again.
And in the very next moment-
"Waaah-"
A loud, clear wail rang throughout the operating room.
Lynn held the little ghost with a smile, wiped away his sweat, and said:
"Congratulations. The surgery was completed perfectly."
At that moment, the infant's panel appeared before his eyes.
[Evil Spirit Blood Infant (not fully formed)] [Race]: Evil Spirit [Alignment]: chaotic evil [Level: 1] [Description]: A ghost formed from condensed resentment and ghostly energy, which absorbed vast amounts of blood energy from living creatures to become an Evil Spirit Blood Infant. Once fully formed, it will devour its host's soul and flesh, gradually growing stronger until it becomes a calamity.
The Pighead Demon murmured dazedly, "Stitch... stitch me up..."
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