The Fictional Late 19th Century: The Age of Medicinary563Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0KKVuNuaa
Venaheim, St Lewis
It was a full-moon night, and two brothers were fleeting in the middle of a forest not far from the capital of Venaheim, St. Lewis.
Aiken Gray, the twenty-eight-year-old elder brother, was holding a black briefcase filled with all sorts of medicine and medical apparatus. His twenty-four-year-old brother, Alex Gray, was carrying a mid-range rifle on his back, running parallelly with his brother at the same speed.
The pair were no ordinary fellows. They were skilful and agile and had a flair for leaping across walls and roofs. They wore slim, black tuxedos and black capes draped over their bodies. Blacktop hats rested on their heads, while black, leather, bird-like beak masks covered their faces. A white symbol was printed onto their black cloaks. It was a coat-of-arms of a knight wielding a shield, which had the Rod of Asclepius—the God of Medicine.
As commoners saw the emblem and the brothers' full attire, they knew at once that the two were the "Médecins de Peste", aka the "Black Dukes", appointed by the Association Nationale des Grands Médecins, and their names were recorded in "The Asclepius List". Yet, their appearances are always marked with the coming of death…
The forest at night was a beautiful place to bury bodies. Consisting of Cunninghamia, about a hundred metres tall, the woods were impenetrable except for the moonlight that briefly shone onto its edge.
The forest was enveloped in darkness, and danger lurked at every corner. Its aura of destruction silently filled the air, making everyone shiver with fear.
In the local language, the forest was named "Forêt de la Mort," meaning "The Forest of Death". It was infamous for the uncountable number of deaths in the woods.
"Brother, we're almost there." Alex ran in front of his brother. They had already caught sight of the forest's border and arrived at their destination.
Aiken looked at Alex before quickly saying, "We are, indeed."
The brothers knew the terrain of the forest like the back of their hands. They wouldn't lose their way even in the pitch-black woods.
After a short while, the duo darted out of the Forêt de la Mort. From behind, they could see Lewisburg, the city of St. Lewis, towered above the mountains and peered down on the entire forest.
However, the brothers had no intention of slowing down. Behind them, a pack of pursuing beasts, the "Fenrir wolves", came out.
Fenrir wolves, aka "Fenrius", were giant wolves infected by the Raëlian virus. Once infected by the virus, their pituitary glands incessantly secrete growth hormones, causing their bodies to grow abnormally large.
The Raëlian virus was a cousin of the rabies virus and could be transmitted by saliva and blood. The Raëlian virus would invade the nervous system, making canines abnormally irascible and aggressive. When bitten by the infected or having come into contact with their blood, humans may also contract the virus. The mortality rate for contracting the virus was 99% without treatment, and it was still as high as 64% even with treatment.
The prime time to treat infected humans was eight hours after they were infected with the virus. If they hadn't received any treatment within these eight hours, the Raëlian virus would quickly spread onto the cranial nervous system, causing encephalitis, haemorrhagic fever and septicemia. People infected would generally die within four days.
"Alex, look out! On your right!" Aiken shouted at his brother as he saw a Fenrius ambushed and pounced from Alex's right side.
Despite the situation, Alex had no fear at all. He took out his electrode machete from his waist, and in the blink of an eye, he chopped off the wolf's head.
The electrode machete was one of the Black Dukes' sidearms. The blade would instantly heat up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit when connected to the electrodes. Muscles and blood would be melted and vaporised at this temperature, so dismembering became a piece of cake.
The electrode machete was sixty centimetres long. Perpendicular and lancet-shaped, its blade was changeable. The Black Dukes usually stow it on their belts and only use it when in danger.
"Alex, are you alright?" Aiken watched closely at Alex's movements near him, but at the same time, he felt something moving behind his back. As he pulled out his sword to turn around and strike, another Fenrius sprang out and revealed its fangs before his eyes, just as he had expected.
The sharp fangs of the Fenrius could easily cut open half a human. Aiken could hardly make his escape if it weren't for his blade, wedged against the wolf's teeth with brute force. The heat from the electrode machete scalded Fenrius' mouth, and it let out a loud, painful cry. Aiken forced his blade into the wolf's heart in one quick jab. It fainted and never woke up.
Since the temperature of the blade was so high that it could vaporise blood, no blood spewed out of the incised wound, and the blood carrying the virus wouldn't come into contact with the body. This significantly decreased their chance of being infected.
After the two brothers had dealt with the two wolves, the other wolves following close behind immediately rushed forth angrily, surrounding the duo.
From his observation, Aiken deduced that there were eight Fenrius. The only way to escape was to kill all of them.
"Alex, there are eight wolves. Pay attention to the one at nine o'clock. He's probably the pack leader." Aiken pointed at one Fenrius.
It gave them an icy glare. A big scar was across its eyelid, and its body was covered in old and new wounds. It seemed to be the most experienced one among the pack.
"Got it, brother! You should be careful too. Eight of them aren't easy to handle!" Alex answered with his back against Aiken's as the wolves surrounded them from all sides.
"You take care of your side. Don't worry about me!" There was a hint of worry in Aiken's words.
Although well-trained, they were still human. One mistake, and they would be dead.
The Fenrius usually attacked their enemies as a group. A second later, one of the wolves led the charge, followed by other wolves who made their strike quickly afterwards.
Aiken and Alex looked at them calmly. They waved their blades with skilled hands, ready for combat.
Alex leapt into midair and cut up the wolf that lunged towards him in one swing. Turning his head back, he kicked away another Fenrius with a roundhouse kick before slicing the wolf's stomach with his machete. Intestines went flying out of its stomach immediately. The wolf dropped to the ground, struggling in pain.
Witnessing its fellow companions being slaughtered one after one, the other wolves became more savage and focused their attacks on Alex.
One of the Fenrius opened its mouth wide and darted towards him with saliva pouring out, desperately wanting to bite off his neck. Yet, Alex was no amateur either. He immediately put away his machete, quickly dodging its fatal blow. He took out his sniper rifle, aimed it at the wolf's head, and fired.
A silver bullet carrying silver nitrate shot out from the muzzle. It went directly into the wolf's brain through its occipital bone and cervical vertebrae.
To Fenrius, everything went black, and it was killed on the spot, not even feeling a speck of pain.
But right at the same time, the old wolf saw this as an opportunity and bolted towards Alex's side. It was sly and cunning, as if it had everything planned out.
Alex spotted the old wolf yet couldn't react in time to duck the incoming fatal attack.
The wolf's ferocious glare made his heart stop beating for half a second. He could almost see the end of his life.
"Will Death come upon me today?" Alex asked himself.
A crossbow bolt made of pure silver swept past his eyes in the nick of time. Its sparkle in the moonlight pulled him back to reality.
The silver arrow pierced through the wolf's jaw and tongue. Aiken was standing right in front of Alex. In a split second, Aiken brutally slashed the wolf's mouth along with its tongue and teeth.
Alex watched Aiken's massive figure from behind with admiration. Yet, on the other hand, he silently held a grudge against his brother. He looked around. He wasn't aware that the other Fenrius had all been killed by Aiken only until now. Despite every wolf's violent death, they died on impact, so they didn't suffer too much before dying.
Even if they weren't killed, the Raëlian virus would eventually torture them to death. Someone once dissected the heads of Fenrir wolves, and they found that the wolves had a large part of their brains destroyed by the virus and had melted into a puddle of the brain that reeked severely. Thus, to these hopeless creatures, dying at the blade was a humane way to go.
The Raëlian virus is a cousin of the rabies virus and can be transmitted by saliva and blood. When bitten by the infected or having come into contact with the virus, humans may contract it. The mortality rate for contracting the virus was 99% without treatment, and it was still as high as 87% even with treatment.
- Abstract from The Federal Medical Journal
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