Amid the noise around him, Mutsuto struggled to open his eyes.
Identical light fixtures swept past his eyes, one after another.
In his field of vision, Mutsuto saw Yanbai holding Toneri and talking to a group of people dressed in white beside him.
They were all moving swiftly.
Their conversation mostly concerned Mutsuto's condition.
From their exchange, Mutsuto learned that these people in white clothes and masks were emergency responders.
Mutsuto himself lay on a wheeled hospital bed they were pushing deeper into the building.
His entire body felt unbearably cold, too stiff to move, while his breathing was so erratic that he was almost suffocating.
The taste of iron spread through his mouth, the distinctive taste of fresh blood.
Mutsuto knew that taste all too well.
On top of that, blood was entering his lungs, making his suffering even worse.
When they had first arrived, Yanbai had tried to help Mutsuto with Instant Healing.
But only after experiencing it himself did Mutsuto realize how much agony that technique caused him.
Years of illness had raised his pain threshold, and he had been able to endure tremendous suffering.
Yet Yanbai's healing had reawakened Mutsuto's sensitivity to pain.
Under those circumstances, the return of his illness had struck like a sudden storm.
It was like someone who had never experienced pain suddenly being subjected to agony most people could not endure.
Mutsuto could not bear it at all. He would rather Yanbai had never healed him.
Yanbai had no other choice but to bring Mutsuto to the hospital and have its doctors treat him by conventional means.
The medical staff gently reassured Mutsuto.
They kept saying, "You'll be saved soon," "Please don't worry," and "Everything will be all right."
As they spoke, they pushed his bed along.
Those comforting words were