A few days later...
The Fuller family group eventually managed to escape the area that was affected by the battle of the two Sovereigns and continued making their journey towards Saltstar City.
Moving without horses or a carriage, they had to travel very slowly along the perilous roads of the region. Luckily, there weren't many dangers that victimized them during these days.
After passing through two villages with no information regarding any local doctor, they finally reached a new town this morning.
Days of slow progress took a severe toll on Vicente, Lauren, and Nina, their conditions worse off than a few days before, while the youngest was fighting between life and death.
Upon reaching the town, Andrew immediately rushed along with the two guards in search of any local doctor's house.
After paying some money to the local guard for information, they finally got the address of a local doctor and directions to his place.
So, when the night's chill slowly drove the town's residents to take shelter in their homes, these three adults arrived in front of a residence on the south side of town, which, according to the directions given by the guard, belonged to the doctor.
The place looked quite noble and well-kept, featuring well-maintained streets lit by street lights and paved with hexagonal stones.
There were no holes in the sidewalks, and all the residences in the region were large enough to occupy families of 10, with each having its own design.
It wasn't hard to say that this neighborhood belonged to the affluent or nobility.
"THUD THUD"
"Please! Attend to us, Doctor Marcus, please! My children are at the risk of death!" Andrew wasn't bothered by where they were and desperately shouted for help as he knocked on the door of the house.
Andrew was holding a frail Nina against his chest while Vice and Lauren were in the arms of the two guards.
All of them were dressed in clean clothes and didn't have any wounds or bloodstains in sight.
Cleaning up someone and stopping their bleeding was something anyone with the ability to control mana could do.
However, these men, especially Andrew, hadn't had the opportunity to bathe or change clothes since that ill-fated day.
Andrew's disheveled appearance included a messy beard and the stench of perspiration. It was so overwhelming that any other person that only those people who were as dirty as him or were unconscious wouldn't care to stand by his side.
Meanwhile, deep dark circles marked the outline of his eyes, eyes filled with deep sadness and regret.
However, there still remained a gleam in them, the only conferred to anyone who noticed him that he hadn't completely given up yet after all the tragic fate they had encountered.
Amidst his cries, filled with emotion and fear and desperation, the door before him was opened, and a man who stood nearly two meters tall with white hair, and crinkles near his eyes, appeared.
This person was dressed rather socially, with black suspenders holding up his trousers.
"Please help me save my children! I will pay you what is necessary!" Andrew pleaded, even though he wasn't sure if this person was the doctor who lived in the residence.
That man had a stern expression when he opened his door, seemingly irritated due to being bothered during his dinner.
He was no longer in office hours and did not typically receive patients at his home.
However, upon seeing the little girl in the arms of the disheveled man at his door, this old man couldn't help but change his expression a little.
Nina's small, chubby body was as pale as a sheet of paper, trembling, and her eyes rolled continuously.
It was clear that she was suffering!
The man's eyes narrowed, and he inquired, "What's wrong with this girl? What happened?"
He could have refused them or asked where they got the audacity to come to approach his home at such an hour during the night. However, if he refused to help, he was sure this little girl would likely not survive!
No matter how angry he was, he could not ignore helping these people!
This society might be complicated, full of people capable of committing atrocities. But there were also many people who held their moral principles and had their professional honor.
Seeing that child who could die in a short time if not treated, he, being a doctor who could be capable of saving her, couldn't simply ignore her case.
As a father of five, he knew he would carry the burden of this child's fate if he were to not attend them.
"We got caught in a conflict between experts. We tried to escape as quickly as possible, but the two Sovereigns were too powerful for us to escape in time." Andrew explained as he handed his little daughter to the doctor.
When Doctor Marcus heard this, he wasted no time and rushed to his office in his residence. "What?" he exclaimed upon hearing the title 'Sovereigns' from Andrew's mouth.
As Andrew and the rest of the group followed the doctor, a middle-aged woman and two teens appeared in a hallway within the residence.
"What's going on, honey?" Asher Marcus's wife asked. However, upon seeing the injured children, she immediately discerned the situation, 'Those children are not well.'
Though she wasn't a doctor herself, she had helped her husband over the years and gained some medical knowledge.
"Children, stay here, and don't bother your father and me," she instructed before she rushed into the office, following behind the four adults who had already rushed in.
In the office, while the two guards placed Vice and Lauren on an armchair big enough for the two of them, Doctor Marcus placed Nina carefully on a stretcher and began examining her frail, little body.
"Doctor?" Andrew pressed his hands together, his heart pounding in his chest in anxiety.
The doctor remained momentarily silent while his eyes started to glow in a majestic green, matching the mana coating his hands.
Using an instrument resembling a coin, he better understood the problems in this little girl's body.
"I have good news and also bad news," Doctor Marcus said after a minute while his wife had already gotten to his side and was helping him.
Gulp!
Andrew swallowed hard before he asked. "What's the good one?"
"Your daughter will live." Marcus nodded with a serious look.
"And what's the bad one?" Andrew took a deeper breath, bracing himself for whatever was about to come.
"Her sense of hearing is lost. She will never perceive sound again... She's deaf," the doctor then continued, "Part of her brain has also been affected. But that I can attempt to repair.
However, you should know that there are no guarantees about the outcome. The procedure may lead to side effects, ranging from impairing her mobility to even affecting her magical talents."
The people in the room fell silent until Marcus asked.
"Do you wish for me to proceed? But know that if I do nothing, her condition could get much worse."
"Please do your best, Doctor," Andrew replied, sinking into a chair and lowering his head, hiding his face from the people present there.
"Dear, get her ready. I will check the situation of these two before we continue to proceed," he said to his wife before approaching the chair where Lauren and Vice were placed.
While his wife was caring for Nina, the doctor quickly examined her and came to the conclusion that Lauren had lost her sight and that some part of her hearing was affected. However, with treatment and patience, her hearing would likely return to normal.
Both Lauren and Nina had other internal injuries. But these were of little concern for them as with proper care and rest. The two girls could fully recover from these injuries.
In Vice's case, the doctor was pleasantly surprised after noticing that this boy had suffered almost no injuries when compared to the ones his sisters had suffered.
Although he was unconscious, and his hearing was also affected, his case was the easiest to treat among the three.
The doctor couldn't help but sigh, 'This boy seems to have been lucky...' he then put Vicente aside and wrote certain things down for his wife to bring for the treatment while he took care of Nina.
"One of the Sovereigns you guys ran into must be old Dax from the Bone Mountains... Sigh, you guys really had terrible luck," he commented as he linked things.
"But don't worry, these two will be fine after a while. Especially the boy."
"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you!" Andrew expressed his gratitude while his body shivered.