By the time Gavial arrived at the scene with Kal'tsit and Warfarin—both of whom had been alerted by the commotion—the battle had already long since ended.
It had started abruptly and ended even more so.
What greeted their eyes was a scene of aftermath: Skadi sat slumped on the ground, Specter lay unconscious, and the only two still standing were Steven and his so-called adopted daughter, who was staring at him with eyes full of admiration.
"Could you help me explain exactly what just happened, Mr. Steve?"
Kal'tsit turned to Steven, a trace of doubt in her voice as she prepared to question him about the incident.
However, in the very next second, something about him made her pupils contract slightly.
The room was still filled with residual Originium energy, but the aura emanating from Steven now was unmistakably one that only an Infected would possess.
This mysterious young man who had claimed to have a way to cure Oripathy—had he somehow messed up and gotten himself infected?
Compared to Kal'tsit, who had only just noticed the anomaly, Warfarin—being a vampire—picked up on it even earlier.
Her expression turned serious as she stepped closer to Steven, offering a concerned warning.
"I think you need treatment. It's still in the early stages, so if we control it now, it won't cause you any serious harm."
Warfarin held a certain degree of goodwill toward Steven. After all, it wasn't every day she found someone she could converse with so effortlessly.
Seeing him infected with Oripathy? It made her feel a little uneasy.
"Hah? What do you mean? I need treatment?"
Steven had been just about to demand compensation from Kal'tsit, but the expressions on both her and Warfarin's faces—expressions one would give to a terminally ill patient—completely threw him off.
What was with this atmosphere? Why were they looking at him like he was on his deathbed?
Glancing at the upper right corner of his status bar, Steven finally noticed a newly added debuff.
[Oripathy: Early Stage] (Originium is currently eroding your body.)
"Eh?"
It was then that Steven remembered—sure, he had looked pretty cool breaking up the fight between the two Abyssal Hunters, but in doing so, he had also been exposed directly to the Originium energy leaking from Specter's wounds.
So, Warfarin was right. This stuff was, in fact, infectious.
However, now that he understood what was going on, Steven wasn't worried at all. Instead, he simply gave Warfarin a reassuring smile.
"Oh, that's all? I thought it was something serious. No problem—I just need to eat something, and I'll be fine."
When it came to Oripathy affecting the native inhabitants of this world, Steven wasn't yet confident in claiming he could cure it completely.
But when it came to himself?
This was way too easy to deal with.
Reaching into his inventory, Steven pulled out yet another bucket of milk.
Holding it like a casual drink, he began chugging it down right in front of everyone.
Gavial twitched her nose—this scent, it was unmistakable.
She was sure it was the exact same liquid from the previous bucket.
The so-called "milk" Steven had been talking about.
And then, after finishing the entire bucket in one go and letting out a satisfied burp, something happened that left the three medical Operators completely stunned.
Just moments ago, Steven had been radiating the unmistakable aura of an Infected.
But now?
It was as if someone had completely washed him clean—like the infection had never happened at all.
As if the person who had been infected a moment ago had been someone else entirely.
Could this really be happening?
Was Oripathy... truly curable?
Kal'tsit's gaze toward Steven shifted subtly—there was now something indescribable in her eyes.
The very thing she had been pursuing for years was now within arm's reach, lying right in front of her.
Yet, instead of joy, what surfaced in her heart was something far more complex.
Unlike Kal'tsit, Warfarin was far less reserved in her reaction.
Excitement was written all over her face.
After all, the entire reason she had joined Rhodes Island was to search for a cure for Oripathy.
And now, Steven had just demonstrated it right before her very eyes.
How could she not be thrilled?
"Y-You—how did you do that?! What exactly did you just drink? Do you have more?!"
Warfarin's cold, slender fingers latched onto Steven's arm, her face full of eager anticipation.
At that moment, she even forgot about the two Abyssal Hunters still lying on the ground.
All she wanted was to drag Steven onto a hospital bed and dissect him for answers.
Kal'tsit, though silent, was also watching him with expectation in her eyes.
When Steven first claimed that he might be able to cure Oripathy, neither she nor Warfarin had truly believed him.
How could they?
As Warfarin had pointed out, this was someone who hadn't even known what Originium was until recently—so how could he possibly hold the cure for a disease that had plagued the world for decades?
The only reason they entertained the idea was because they didn't want to let go of any possible hope.
But now?
Steven's actions had completely shattered their doubts.
Inviting this mysterious young man to Rhodes Island… had undoubtedly been the right choice.
However, just as the two women were about to demand more answers, Steven frowned slightly and poured a bucket of cold water on their enthusiasm.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. First of all, yes, I do have more. But let me remind you of one thing—see that Abyssal Hunter over there?"
He gestured toward the unconscious Specter.
"She also drank the same thing, and look what happened. Without my body's constitution, drinking this stuff recklessly might not give you the results you're hoping for."
Warfarin and Kal'tsit froze.
Their excitement turned into an uneasy hesitation.
Steven, on the other hand, turned his gaze toward his status bar.
The [Oripathy: Early Stage] debuff had disappeared—confirming his theory.
For him, Oripathy was nothing more than… a bucket of milk.
But more than that, after testing it on himself, he finally understood why Specter had gone berserk.
The principle was simple.
Oripathy worked by fusing Originium into the body's flesh and cells.
His milk, however, purged all infected parts.
Which, in Specter's case… meant that the drink had just ripped those parts out of her body.
Calling it painful was an understatement.
From what Kal'tsit had said earlier, Specter's infection was concentrated around her spinal cord.
So, drinking all that milk at once was practically the same as... having her spine ripped out and reconstructed on the spot.
How could she not go mad from the pain?
Steven doubted anyone could endure something like that.
"H-How could this be…?"
Warfarin's voice wavered in disbelief as she examined Specter's unconscious body.
The cracks in her skin had stopped leaking Originium energy, but in return, she now looked incredibly weak.
Yet, what shocked Warfarin even more was—
The Originium crystal density in Specter's blood had… decreased.