Inwardly groaning did Halkias express his appallment. He diverted his eyes towards the young man's chest, and at that point, his groan became audible.
"What do you think does this mean, Sir Reverend?" Halkias asked all the while tapping his foot on the ashes.
"There's only one way to find out, Commander. Let your men continue the digging. There might be more clues underneath all these ashes. As for you, Commander Halkias, you're well aware that each individual has a unique aura that's manifested in the Manna circulating in their bodies."
Halkias nodded slowly, understanding what Reverend wanted him to do. He took out the gloves from the pocket of his coat and wore it immediately. Halkias then picked up the cardiac organ that was still beating. It made him feel strange that he was holding someone else's heart.
No, it wasn't disgust nor sorrow. He had no room for sympathy to others.
Halkias merely wanted to grip the heart so tightly until it's reduced to smithereens. If only he wasn't responsible for the investigation, he would've acted on his urges the instant he happened upon such an incident.
The Commander began to pour a small amount of Manna to the heart, just enough to cover its surface with a thin membrane. Thereafter, he went beside the woman and hunkered down. He went on and covered the woman's body with a thin membrane as well.
"Cota dearb-aithne"
Once he cast the spell, the membranes he conjured started to emit a dull white glow. Their hues started changing in colour almost immediately. In harmony, the membranes seized the shade of red that everyone should be familiar with.
Their appearance gave the impression that they were thin sheets of blood, ever nauseating and alarming.
"It's confirmed, Sir Reverend. This heart belongs to that lady."
"I see. If I may recommend, please reinstate her heart to where it should be. Since it's still beating, some of our healers might possibly salvage the life of this young woman."
Halkias furrowed his eyebrows slightly upon hearing Reverend's statement. It was evident that he didn't believe him.
"Salvage? Do you mean this? Out of all the preposterousness of the Obel--"
The Commander, thankfully, shut his mouth in that instant. He could only utter his gratitude in silence to Reverend who had given him the signal to stop. Halkias cleared his throat prior to speaking again.
"Sir Reverend, don't utter any absurdity from now on. For this woman to return to life, resurrection is the only way, isn't it? However, our healing capabilities have yet to reach that height." Halkias said in disagreement.
Still and all, he made it a point to heed Reverend's suggestion. There was nothing to lose by placing the organ to where it really belonged.
"This woman is already dead. Even if you stitch her heart back, she won't magically come back to life."
Ironically, magic was the sole way that could revive the woman. Halkias was aware of that. Nevertheless, as he said, resurrection was an idea beyond the current capacity of Manna. It could give birth to a new form of life, but resurrecting it was an entirely different process.
Manna could only assist in repairs, not an extensive restoration.
For instance, a stab wound could be healed in an instant by commanding Manna to reconnect the skin, muscle fibres, and blood vessels. It goes the same for any other wounds that were not life-threatening.
For diseases, as long as the sorcerer was aware of the identity of the disease, they could help in reducing the symptoms until the patient could recover. Then again, this method could only be applied to diseases that weren't terminal.
So, how should life-threatening wounds and diseases be addressed?
According to the protocol given by the Obelisk, they would dispatch sorcerers that were well-versed in healing, or as they called it, repair magic. Once they had done all they could, physicians would be called in to give their diagnosis. Basically, traditional medicine would be the final resort.
What's left was to wish for a miracle.
Be that as it may, there was one possibility that might overturn the procedures that current society had been following. And Halkias was just thinking about the reasoning.
"Unless…" Halkias cast a glance at Reverend, an uncanny smirk plastered on his face. "The Obelisk had discovered a sorcerer with a Rachichna related to restoration of some sort. You sound confident, don't you, Reverend?"
Reverend, or rather, one of the sorcerers sent by the Obelisk to deal with the incident, didn't confirm nor deny Halkias' claim.
To evade the suspicions of the people around them, Reverend and the sorcerer changed to each other's appearance the moment they entered the estate's barricade. The smoke effectively concealed their movements.
The sorcerer acknowledged that he had indulged Halkias' queries far more than necessary. It was regrettable since Halkias was a Commander, meaning that it wouldn't be easy to deflect his cynicism.
The Obelisk wanted as much privacy as possible with regards to their research after all. The sorcerer blamed himself for not watching what he was saying. Thus, silence was a way of showing his adamance to answer.
Sighing at the sorcerer's quietude, Halkias just opted to focus on what he was doing. He carefully lowered the heart down the gaping hole on the woman's chest. The man didn't bother cleaning the organ off of the ashes that stuck to it.
When he was done, Halkias quickly stood up and approached the sorcerer. For a second, he engaged the sorcerer in a staredown of obstinacy.
"I won't go out of my way to inform the Emperor of the Obelisk's exploits. However, if I, or anyone among the Empire's forces, do discover the existence of a sorcerer that has the ability to restore life, we will not be generous enough to inform the Obelisk as well."
It was a direct challenge to see who destiny would side itself with. Halkias didn't want to give the Obelisk the security that the Empire was dependent on its sorcerers.
Instead of responding to Halkias' provocation, the sorcerer sealed his lips. Withal, Halkias' sentiments didn't fall on deaf ears. Certainly, the Commander's words would be in the minds of the rulers of the Obelisk after the investigation.