Zeke now had permission to perform the operation. He pushed the wooden table away and ensured the Queen was comfortable as she lay on the couch.

He eyed the frightened fairy and approached her as amicably as possible. “What’s your name?”

The fairy looked away and answered meekly. “Tansy.”

Zeke couched a bit so they would be of the same eye level. He hoped she wouldn’t take it as some gesture of mockery regarding her height. “I need you to help me…” he said, picking his words carefully. “For Her Majesty.”

Tansy glanced at the Queen. “I don’t understand. You said she had Mana Enervation… but Her Majesty mentioned a worm in her. What condition does she actually have…?”

“It’s all the cause of a worm,” Zeke replied, recalling one of his many study sessions in the Infirmary’s Library. “Its name is ‘Taenia Occularis.’ When its egg is ingested, it goes for the brain after it hatches, specifically the occipital lobe, which is the visual processing center. It leaves its curse mark there before it returns to the intestines, causing appetite loss. Queen Titania has been exhausting her Mana to see, leading to the Mana Enervation.”

“I see…” Tansy nodded. “What is the cure?”

Zeke pursed his lips. “It’s simple. We just have to remove it and all the symptoms will go away, but I don’t have the right tools with me to do that. I have another idea… but it is going to be very painful for her.”

“How so?”

“I am going to attempt to remove the parasite through her mouth… and I need your help.”

To Zeke’s surprise, the fairy nodded sternly, showing her acceptance as his surgical first assistant. This specific weight of responsibility came with a sense of status that made Zeke smile, and he felt even more empowered as it was up to him to teach the petite fairy how to perform the X-ray spell, which was more of an MRI the more Zeke thought about it.

Thankfully, she learned fast and nailed it on her first try. Zeke kept his envy in check, remembering she was a mystical, Mana-based being who had probably been using magic before she could walk. Still, there was some distress he was experiencing as he and his assistant approached the Queen.

Without the adrenaline rush of falling out of the universal stream and having literally every bone in his body shatter, it just hit Zeke that this would be an operation he’d be doing without any other Healers present. It was like a Math final: no redos and no aid who will have your back.

Zeke kneeled before the Queen. “Are you ready, Queen Titania?”

The Queen turned her bony face to him and nodded. Her small neck looked so weak that it might’ve snapped if she had moved her head any quicker. Good thing her regeneration was fantastic.

The first step of the procedure was on the surgical assistant. Tansy made several hand signs, and at the end, with her hands pressed together, she slowly pulled them away from each other, and a magical energy stream formed between her hands.

Zeke pointed at the Queen’s gut, and Tansy held the stream over it, showing a window to the stomach and intestines. Of course, with her smaller hands, the view of the organs’ inner workings was narrower, but Zeke had a clear view of the purple parasitic bum living off the Queen’s nutrients rent-free.

Raising his hand, the red and blue veins snaked out Zeke’s sleeve, ready to play. “Now, please, Tansy, I will need you to guide me.”

Tansy nodded and slowly moved the stream up as Zeke had the veins go into the Queen’s mouth. “This’ll be very uncomfortable,” he warned the Queen—no use sugarcoating it.

Tansy was an excellent guide, moving her hands down as the veins traveled the esophagus. Zeke couldn’t help being giddy with the process as he kept his eyes on the magical stream, giving him a view of the Queen’s insides while he piloted his veins like a professional examiner with an endoscope and observing a monitor.

As the Queen began to choke and writhe, Zeke instinctively held out his hand; she grasped it and squeezed with all her might.

Zeke took his eyes off the magical stream to glance at Tansy and the Queen. Their twisted faces of pain were almost identical. The Diagnostician realized it might’ve not been his words that got through the Queen but her desperation to get rid of her symptoms. And as for Tansy, she was only doing this because the Queen said so. She was just as terrified since if anything went wrong, not only would she lose her Queen, but she would be shunned by her community for being the heathen who trusted a member of the Tainted Generation and helped him kill her.

The deeper the veins got in the Queen’s body, the more Zeke realized the long list of ramifications if he botched this operation. He trembled but forced himself to stop immediately by clenching all over and maintaining a brave face. He couldn’t show his hesitation to the two fairies who put not only their lives—but the fate of their entire community—in his hands.

He needed to look the part. He needed to fake it till he made it.

The veins were past the stomach and venturing into the coily deep-red junction that was the intestines. Zeke focused on the imaging as he moved the veins through the undulating path of the duodenum and found the target in the jejunum. He had the veins wrapped tightly around the wriggling parasite.

“We’re almost done,” Zeke said, noticing tears falling down the Queen’s sunken cheeks.

Zeke stood up and pulled his arm back, making his veins backtrack the path it took now with a reluctant companion. The constrained worm snaked up through the middle and top sections of the intestines, dragged through the stomach, and then came the part that had the Queen gagging painfully.

Zeke let go of the Queen’s hand and pulled as he walked back, forcing the worm up the Queen’s esophagus. It must’ve felt like trying to give birth through the mouth. He wanted to close his eyes to save himself some discomfort watching the Queen’s purpling face as she fought for air, but as a doctor, he needed to suffer with her and get the job done. Zeke pulled and kept walking back.

The worm was now showing its face out of her mouth. Zeke grabbed the veins with his other hand and hauled the slimy, cursed parasite out of the Queen.

Acting quickly, Zeke contained it in a ball of veins, and then Tansy ran up to it, making a war cry, and extended her hands with open palms.

The ball ignited with sparkling blue flames, and then she stomped on it. She jumped on the small fire repeatedly until only ashes remained. Zeke and Tansy shared a look. He gave her a thumbs up.

The Queen’s retching called back their attention.

“Tansy, I need you to do the spell again, and this time for her brain, okay?”

“Okay!” Tansy did the spell and had the stream over her forehead. The front of the brain was fine.

“I need to see the back of her head.” Zeke approached the Queen and carefully lifted her. Tansy gave him a view of the occipital lobe and the symbols the worm left behind were disappearing.

“I… I can see,” Queen Titania said feebly.

Zeke smiled as he let go of the Queen and stepped back. “How is it like seeing the world not via Mana-powered lenses?”

“It’s beautiful,” Queen Titania said, looking around the house with sparkling eyes.

There was the gnawing need to pester or rather lecture the Queen on how she didn’t consult anybody about her condition. Zeke figured it was a reason related to pride and didn’t want to embarrass her in front of a Fairy Realm denizen.

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Tansy dropped to her knees, crying. “My Queen! I am so happy you are okay.”

Queen Titania smiled and then redirected it at Zeke. Her eyes returned to their regular ultramarine blue like the Mana River. “Thank you, Diagnostician. The both of you.”

“Her name is Tansy,” Zeke added, settling his hands back into his pockets.

“She was fearless.”

“Yes, she was. I am forever grateful, Tansy.”

Tansy blushed and cupped her face as she shook her head. “Not only is the Queen in my home, but she is expressing her gratitude to me. What a fantastic day!” She got up and shyly asked, “Pardon me, my Queen, but I am confused. I thought the Tainted Generation were all monsters.”

Just as the Queen was about to open her mouth, Zeke said, “We are.” He searched for his doctor’s bag and then picked it up. “But sometimes a good apple can fall from a bad tree.”

The Queen settled her hand over her stomach. “I’m hungry,” she said with a smile.

“Excellent!” Zeke celebrated. “You’ve got your appetite back already! Have your retainers prepare you something scrumptious.”

And there came that warm but scarily fragile feeling of hope. Zeke gave himself a pat on the back and tried not to focus on his anxiety.

“I help with the cooking,” Queen Titania added and stood up. “First, I’ll allow you to take some of the extraction you need.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Zeke turned to Tansy and held out a hand. “And thank you so much for helping me.”

Tansy wrapped her small hand over three of Zeke’s fingers and shook it up and down. He chuckled.

“I’ll take you back to the castle now,” Queen Titania said to Zeke.

###

The Queen had Zeke (one hand holding onto his doctor’s bag) gliding through the sapphire blue sky with her by just gripping onto his wrist.

Zeke had no idea how she was holding him up without his arm feeling like it was going to be torn out of his socket. They were parallel to each other, almost as if he was flying too.

As they neared the royal castle, Zeke was alarmed by the lack of lightning and ominous dark clouds, which made him wonder what had happened to Akachi. Zeke knew he should’ve said something about Akachi and Aida, but for some reason, he just didn’t, and the Queen seemed to have forgotten to ask.

They flew past the courtyard and into the main hall. The Queen briskly slalomed through the castle and halted when they reached the basement door, which was already opened.

The Queen descended to her feet, let go of Zeke, and ran down the staircase. Zeke followed.

The research lab was in bloody shambles.

Zeke ignored everything around him and kept his focus on Violet. There she was in an oversized floral knit sweater with her shoulder exposed and matching shorts. Incongruous to her innocent-looking outfit was the blood splattered all over her as if she showered with it, and oh, of course, her shimmering purple eyes of malice.

She sat on a desk with her legs crossed, fixated on a glass jar in her hand. Several fairies were clamped inside, and their screams could not be heard.

“Vee!” Zeke shouted and then scanned the horror around him. He could feel the Queen seething near him, but she didn’t move. Maybe it was the paralyzing aura Violet emanated. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“They’re allied with the angels, Ezequias,” She responded and shook the screaming cramped fairies in the jar.

“Of course they are!” Zeke shouted and dropped his bag. “The Tainted Generation have been torturing them for centuries! The angels stepped in to help—”

“These little pieces of shit are helping Irin with her project!” Violet snapped. “They’re hurting humans and—!”

A flying katana interrupted Violet and had her leap from the desk as it was sliced in half. Not long after she landed on her feet, a rabid Aida lunged at her and launched her into the air with a vicious claw slash. Aida joined Violet in the air and cut her up a few more times as she flashed past her.

Aida clung onto the wall using her claws and then slid down to jump onto Violet, pinning her to the floor. Aida was growling and attacking with her maw. Violet’s screams grew louder as the attack went on, making it certain Aida was getting good bites.

Zeke ran to intervene just as Aida was pushed back with a kick. She slid to a stop next to Zeke. Aida was in hybrid form on all fours; her mouth was soaked with blood, and she spat out something that landed before Zeke’s feet like a house dog bringing home a hedgehog it killed as some strange form of showing affection for the family.

It was Violet’s bloody nose.

A mix of anger and concern rose in Zeke, which had him glare at Aida right before running to Violet. “Vee!”

A muscular hand gripped his shoulder, bringing him to a halt.

Zeke looked over at Akachi—doubled over and panting heavily.

“Hey, Shortstack… just want to make sure of something. You’re going to attack her, right?”

“I…”

“Whose side are you on? Here’s a hint.” Akachi pointed at Violet as she got back on her feet, covering her face with her hand. “Her side is the bad one.”

Violet picked up the jar of fairies and dashed backward to a nearby door. She turned and drew a bloody sigil quickly,

“She’s getting away with the fairies!” Aida said and chased after her.

Zeke and Akachi followed the girls.

Past the doors, they were now running down the tunnel of a sewer system. Aida was in sight, running on all fours. Abruptly, she collapsed.

“Koshiko!” Akachi shouted and slid down to her. Aida transformed back to normal. “You’re all out of Mana, babe.” He looked up at Zeke. “Mana bottle now.”

Zeke froze with widened eyes. He forgot his bag.

“Oh, come on, man, isn’t walking around with that thing your whole character?”

“I’ll summon it,” Zeke said and made the hand signs.

Nothing happened, and then his Healer’s Garb disappeared.

“You’re out of Mana, too,” Aida said, breathing heavily.

“What about your bag?” Zeke said to Akachi.

“It’s hard to keep track of your belongings when you become a giant freaking cloud,” Akachi replied. “There’s nothing we can do. We gotta wait till our Gauges replenish.”

“What the hell happened?” Zeke asked.

Akachi put his hands on his hips and explained, “The fairies who were fighting me felt some kind of disturbance coming from the castle and dipped. I followed them and found Aida fighting Violet.”

“I found her there after she finished her carnage,” Aida added.

Zeke stroked his chin. “What does she want with the fairies?”

“Chaos, Zeke!” Aida said and sat up. “That’s all she wants!”

“There has to be a reason.”

Akachi groaned. “I’m out of Mana, but believe I can kick your ass easily with just my fists.”

Zeke stood his ground. “We have to give her the benefit of the doubt,” as the words left his lips, they left a sour aftertaste in his mouth. Yet, he kept going. “Naomi was trapped in a cage for hundreds of years just because of being a demon-angel hybrid, but thanks to us believing in her, we’ve proven that she isn’t a threat!”

“Exactly!” Aida rasped. “Ever since she’s been out of that cage, she hasn’t done anything to put the universe in danger, but Violet has! Time and time again! Proving that she’s a….”

“That she’s a what?”

“A piece of shit!” Aida screamed back. “It’s why the angels hate us! It’s a good reason! It is because of what all thirteen previous versions of us have done in the past. Because of the Violets, the Isaacs, and the Kians that live to make everything worse! Sometimes, Zeke, you have to forfeit all the belief you have in a person. Some people are just lost causes! It’s time to lose hope.”

This time Zeke had no urge to refute and was scared to see what he would say if he opened his mouth. He just stared back with his lips pursed.

Then, Aida fisted the wet, concrete ground. “Damn it!”

Akachi grabbed hold of her wrist. “Whoa, stop!” He glanced at her bloody knuckles. “Right now, just focus on calming down and letting—”

“I can’t let that monster be alone with those fairies any longer,” she said as she forced herself back to her feet.

“Koshiko. Violet is fully pumped with Mana. You won’t stand a chance. She won’t let you get that surprise attack again.”

Aida looked back at Akachi, and her stern expression grew weaker by the second. “I’m failing at everything.” She said with a brittle voice.

Zeke neared the two as Akachi grabbed onto her shoulders. “Ey, Koshiko!” Akachi said. “What’re you talking about?”

“That monster is always beating me. She’s just… stronger than me.” Aida stopped to snivel. “I let Shadow die….”

The boys’ eyes widened.

Akachi let go of Aida. “Wait, how do you know about that? We didn’t….”

“Oh, come on, Aka,” she said while giving him the ‘ya shoulda already known, dumbass’ look.

“Sorry,” he said, backing up.

“I used a live summon for personal gain. I went against my own rule and got that innocent creature killed.” Aida said, then retreated to the curved wall to curl up into a ball and cry.

Akachi and Zeke exchange looks. They both took on the role of counselor and moved up to Aida. The two sat, each on one side. Akachi put her arm over her.

“It’s that goth bastard’s fault he’s dead. Not you.”

As a connoisseur of negative emotions, Zeke picked up on the flavor of wallowing self-deprecation Aida was going through. He raised a hand. “Maybe she doesn’t want to hear that stuff now and would prefer to just sit in silence.”

“No offense, bro, but shut up,” Akachi said. “I’ve known her for years—”

“Silence would be great,” Aida said with her face pushed against her knees.

Akachi gave Zeke a sour look.

So, the three sat in silence.