Emile made up his mind. With a scalpel in hand, he neared one of the parasites.
It needed to be quick, he couldn't linger, lingering could lead to the parasites reacting and reacting was not what Emile needed.
He bent his wrist, arched it up so he could rapidly snap it down when the moment was ready, and it was.
Emile resolved himself. He gently flinched and immediately his wrist snapped down, the blade followed, severing the parasite's pincers from its body.
A shallow screech pierced the air and shook Blood's intestines. Moments later, Emile's hand was in Blood, squirming between his innards, struggling to grip the blood soaked, slime infested worm.
And now the second parasite was awake. Its jaws unclenched Blood's intestines before it sank beneath the surface, retreating deeper and further into Blood's body.
Emile's hand ejected, the parasite tightly wrapped between his fingers, but it was so slimy. It slid between his fingers and launched into the air.
As it soared, time slowed. Emile's attention split. One part of his brain watched the parasite fly through the air, as if belittling him, while the other remembered the second parasite.
Emile let the parasite go, surely Willow would handle it, and continued to rummage through Blood's organs. He pushed his arm up and through.
Now elbow deep in Blood, Emile moved cautiously. He wiggled his fingers around a curved spike, the rib cage, and obeyed Ray's instructions.
The parasite was near Blood's lungs, a part of the body Emile wasn't even sure he'd be able to reach. He calmed down and slowed down.
Blood's diaphragm expanded, gently pushing Emile's arm against his rib cage. It subsided and Emile continued.
"It's right in front of you," Ray commented.
Emile shoved his arm forward, tearing some skin and opening the wound further. Blood pooled and seeped off the table.
Emile clenched his fist around something and pulled, ripping his arm out of Blood's chest. He immediately began healing Blood, he folded the cut layers of skin and muscle over and patted them flat.
Then, he poured his essence into Blood without stopping, until eventually, the boy groaned. His eyelids fluttered and he twitched.
Shocked, Emile forgot to check what he grabbed. Unfurling his palm, Emile gripped a small sack-like organ.
'The gallbladder?!'
Emile dropped the organ. It hit the side of the table and splattered against the stone floor.
Just then, Willow stepped forward and crushed it. A crisp 'pop' was made as guts splattered the walls. She hovered above Blood's chest and turned to Roy:
"Am I above it?"
"You are."
Immediately, Willow plunged her hand into Blood's chest. She tore through his chest, the skin, the muscle, and cracked two of his ribs.
Just as quickly as she struck him, Willow ripped her hand out along with the final parasite. Then, she tightened her grip and the parasite popped between her fingers.
"I didn't know you could cut into people and keep them alive, I could have pulled these guys out sooner," she remarked.
Emile, stressed, confused, and relieved fell back onto the blood soaked floor.
"It was that easy…" he groaned, "the whole time?"
***
A few days passed and normalcy returned. Blood recuperated mostly, his flesh wounds all healed without a hitch, but his ribs were still bruised.
And, the incident with his gallbladder was quickly addressed, but Emile wasn't sure the gallbladder did anything. Instead of reopening Blood and checking for internal bleeding, Emile decided to wait it out.
He heals Blood often enough so that any internal wounds should repair themselves, but if it doesn't, and Blood feels any uncommon pain in his chest, then they'll go back in.
The camp was also functioning more than adequately. The alchemists rapidly burned through their specimens, the sap and roots, and were still attempting to revitalize the water.
The plan moving forward, according to Jazz, was to farm the living bacteria and larva found in the water. From there, they would slowly introduce the miasma to these specimens in a plethora of different circumstances: with fresh water, salt water, different concoctions, etc.
With that all said and done, they say history repeats itself, and with Blood back on the team it was finally time to breakthrough their ranks.
Willow led the team through the caves of the Hollow Mountain, deep beneath the sea level. The black stone molded beneath their steps from the heat, they were heading straight towards the base of an active volcano.
Why?
That's where Willow was trained when she was young, the Lava Pools. An egregiously hot island that rests in the center of an ocean of magma, contaminated with ruthlessly strong beasts that have evolved with near impenetrable defenses.
A hell on Earth, well, a hell somewhere far beneath the surface.