Chapter 827: The Source of Organs
Establishing a connection with such a large, specialized hospital would be of great help to Amelia. For instance, she could come here to procure supplies from time to time, learn the latest medical knowledge, and earn some extra income through her scalpel skills.
Severing this connection abruptly was a significant loss for Amelia. However, she clearly loathed the so-called Vice Dean even more, preferring to cut off ties with the hospital entirely rather than have anything to do with him.
“We’re here,” the Assistant Youth said. He pulled out a key and opened an iron door beneath a staircase. It was clear he had boundless potential, being the Director’s assistant and prized disciple at such a young age.
As the doorway opened, a wave of cold air billowed out. Magic Crystal lights flickered on one by one, revealing a massive cold room inside.
I followed Amelia in. The room was filled with countless jars and bottles containing various tissues and organs. Most were human, but some I didn’t recognize at all, clearly not belonging to humans.
Setting aside other things, I couldn’t believe that a heart with eight atria and over ten blood vessels, similar in structure to a human one, was a human organ. What’s more, this heart was alive and still beating! To maintain its vitality, a large glass jar connected to countless tubes was placed in the warehouse for this purpose.
Additionally, there were vast quantities of various medicines, from liquid formulations to capsules, tablets, and suppositories. Even many raw medicinal herbs were stored here.
“The artificial skin you requested is here. Additionally, your other ordered medicines and instruments have already been prepared by the teacher,” the Assistant said, pointing to a pile of already-packaged medical supplies.
First and foremost was the artificial skin necessary for treating burn injuries. It wasn’t simply applied directly but came as pre-sealed patches. It was amusing to think that the application method was similar to a medicinal plaster. One would stick the artificial skin onto the wound, peel off the sterile film, and then spray a healing agent to promote skin growth.
Furthermore, to treat large-area burns, these artificial skin patches were made exceptionally large. One piece, when unfolded by Amelia, measured about half a meter in length.
After examining the plasters, she then turned with satisfaction to inspect the other instruments, taking inventory one by one. I watched curiously from the side, while Elia, her face filled with disgust, simply closed her eyes and refused to look at the organs.
I understood. Constantly looking at these organs would surely lead to nightmares. Although I could comprehend that transplantable organs could save lives, for an Elf, it was undoubtedly a desecration of life.
What intrigued me even more was the origin of so many human tissues and medical samples. In this era, donations were out of the question, and purchasing them with money seemed unlikely. Could it be that they resorted to kidnapping people and harvesting their organs directly?
If that were the case, the entire healthcare system would have been inverted, transforming from one that saved lives into a market for organs that caused harm. Therefore, I meticulously observed these organs, trying to ascertain their source.
Surprisingly, I felt a familiar aura from some of the organs. Not only did the aura feel familiar, but it also seemed somewhat similar to my own.
Finally, I spotted markings on several metal organ containers. I recognized two of them: one was a circle of blood droplets surrounding a skull, rotating clockwise, and the other was a three-dimensional carved skull.
“Hey, these, these boxes of organs, where did you get them?” I couldn’t help but ask immediately, my composure shaken by the sight of those two markings.
The Assistant gave me a puzzled look. He didn’t know me and had initially assumed I was Amelia’s nurse. “I’m sorry, but the source of donated organs is a matter of privacy, and hospital regulations prohibit disclosure.”
What absurd hospital regulations! Donated organs, of all things. Utter nonsense. I didn’t need him to tell me; as soon as I saw those two markings, I knew their origin: Falbedy Cemetery.
I had seen these two markings in Falbedy Cemetery before. Weren’t these the holy emblems of the Lord of Murder, Baal, and the Lord of the Dead, Milgo? With their holy emblems legitimately marked on them, it indicated that these organs actually came from these two churches.
I recalled the Church of the Lord of the Dead acquiring corpses, with prices clearly marked, the fresher the better. Simultaneously, I noticed that the residual magic on those organs was likely from a preservation spell, designed to keep separated organs viable.
Because the residual magic had a high compatibility with mine, even a tiny residue directly triggered knowledge of the Dark Life Preservation Technique in my mind. This was a basic yet practical Black Magic spell, essential for various methods of transferring price or performing rituals.
Furthermore, due to the similar nature of the power, I could use it directly now. This meant that a significant portion of these organs had undergone preservation by people from the Murder Church before being sold here.
The question was, the Church of the Lord of the Dead acquired corpses; why would they hire the Lord of Murder for preservation work? Did their preservation techniques stand out? Clearly not. The markings of the two churches on the containers here were separate, and there were even more Blood Drop Skull holy emblems of the Murder Church.
This indicated that from production to preservation to packaging and shipping, the entire process was handled by the Murder Church. The Church of the Lord of the Dead collected corpses, but where did the Murder Church get their organs?
The answer was self-evident. They obtained them from the people they murdered. I had investigated after returning; one of the doctrines of the Lord of Murder stated that any property plundered from the scene after a murder was wealth promised by the god to his believers, which they could freely take.
Any murder performed through a ritual would form a contract, a soul offered to the gods. Therefore, the seized wealth was a boon granted by the gods to the murderers. Anyone attempting to obstruct or reclaim stolen goods would face the divine retribution of the Lord of Murder.
In that case, the corpses of the deceased should also be considered part of the wealth obtained from murder, shouldn’t they? It was highly likely that these organs all originated in this manner.
Only after witnessing such absurd doctrines could I comprehend the monstrosity of this cult. In comparison, even the followers of Gluttony seemed harmless, merely eating a lot.
However, if this was indeed Baal’s doing, and if this Lord of Murder was truly a dual aspect of Beelzebub, then I could only say that He was exceedingly idle to issue divine retribution for mere murder for profit. Truly worthy of being known as the god with the most frequent divine manifestations.
Wait a moment. As I was lost in thought, killing someone and then removing their organs… I seemed to recall a case with a very similar modus operandi. Wasn’t that serial murderer exactly like this?
Each time she killed a young girl, she would take one organ. Although she imposed restrictions on the victims and the number of organs, it more closely resembled some kind of purposeful cult ritual.
Perhaps, I could investigate this line of inquiry through the Murder Church? After all, they were most adept at such matters.
