SSS-Ranked Surgeon In Another World: The Healer Is Actually OP! - Chapter 344: Ruthless Truth..

Chapter 344: Ruthless Truth..

Ivana was in pain as her right arm twisted backward with a sickening crack as the pressure forced her joints past their natural range.

Her knees buckled.

Yet the invisible force held her upright.

Claire’s voice remained calm.

Almost apologetic.

“Sorry, Ivan.”

Her crimson eyes gleamed coldly as she watched her former ally struggle helplessly within her control.

“But you’re worth a lot of points.”

The theater fell completely silent.

Ivan’s body twisted further.

Her spine arched painfully as her arms jerked backward under the unnatural pressure. Veins bulged beneath her skin as the blood within her own body turned against her.

Every breath became a struggle.

Her vision blurred.

Yet her eyes did not lose focus.

They locked onto Claire.

And something dangerous flickered within them.

Then—

Her head snapped forward.

Something shot from her mouth.

A metal thorn.

But this one was different from the one she usually spew out of her palm…

The spike screamed through the air with a piercing shriek that cut through the clearing like a blade of sound itself. It moved far faster than any of the previous thorns Ivan had fired during the battle.

The audience could feel the sudden shift in the moment.

This was not desperation.

This was calculation.

Claire’s eyes widened.

She instantly released her control and threw herself sideways with explosive speed.

The metal thorn tore through the air past her head

So fast it left a faint blur behind it.

The projectile vanished deep into the trees behind her with a thunderous crack as it buried itself somewhere within the forest.

But the moment Claire’s concentration broke—

Ivan moved.

Her battered body slammed against the ground as gravity reclaimed her, the sudden loss of the blood manipulation sending her collapsing forward. She rolled violently across the dirt, her limbs jerking painfully as she forced them back into motion.

Her breathing was ragged.

Every movement looked like it should have been impossible for someone whose body had just been twisted nearly to the breaking point.

Yet she pushed through it.

Grit.

Fury.

Survival instinct.

Her hands slammed against the ground as she forced herself upright again.

Her limbs trembled violently beneath her.

Her right arm hung at a slightly unnatural angle.

But her eyes—

Her eyes burned with fierce determination.

Claire’s fingers twitched again as she attempted to seize control of Ivan’s blood once more. The crimson threads of mana lashed forward like invisible whips, reaching toward their target.

But it was already too late.

Ivan burst forward.

Despite the damage done to her body, she moved with shocking speed. Her boots tore through the dirt as she sprinted toward the edge of the clearing with desperate, relentless momentum.

In seconds she had already crossed half the battlefield.

Claire’s eyes narrowed.

Her hand lifted again as she attempted to grab hold of Ivan’s blood once more.

But the distance had widened too far.

Ivan reached the tree line.

Then she turned briefly while running.

Her twisted body straightened slightly as she flashed a wicked grin back toward the clearing.

Even through the pain contorting her limbs, the expression on her face carried unmistakable defiance.

“Don’t worry, Claire!”

Her voice echoed across the clearing.

“I’ll definitely pay you back for this!”

Then she vanished into the trees.

The forest swallowed her.

Claire stood alone once more.

The battlefield fell silent again.

Wind drifted through the shattered branches as the aftermath of the battle settled across the ruined clearing. The scent of blood lingered thick in the air.

Claire slowly lowered her hand.

Her gaze remained fixed on the forest where Ivan had disappeared.

For a few seconds she simply stood there.

Then, She frowned.

Her gaze dropped slowly toward her own body.

A thin metallic spike protruded from her stomach.

Her brows furrowed.

For a moment she simply stared at it, as though her mind refused to accept what her eyes were seeing.

She clearly remembered dodging the attack.

She had seen the thorn pass beside her head.

She had felt the air split as it tore through the space behind her.

Yet somehow—

The metal spike had pierced through her from behind.

Claire touched the wound carefully.

Warm blood seeped slowly between her fingers.

Her crimson eyes lifted again toward the distant forest where Ivan had disappeared.

Her expression darkened slightly.

“Does it track…?” she murmured quietly.

The realization settled in.

That final thorn had not been fired blindly.

It had followed her.

Claire’s lips curled slowly into a thin smile despite the wound.

“That girl…” She exhaled softly. “…is troublesome.”

The narrator’s calm voice faded as the scene shifted once again.

The massive screen continued replaying the events of the trial with chilling clarity, each moment unfolding before the theater audience as if the battle had never truly ended.

Only minutes earlier the audience had watched the brutal encounter between Bruce, Donn Chitt, and Aria.

The clash had been short.

Decisive.

Merciless.

Even now the weight of that moment lingered in the theater like a heavy fog.

Donn’s arrogance.

Aria’s desperate attempt to flee after Donn died from a single punch.

Neither of them had lasted long.

The moment their bodies collapsed onto the forest floor, a ripple of uneasy murmurs had spread across the audience.

The silence that followed had been even heavier.

Lily sat quietly among the sea of spectators, her small hands clasped together in her lap as her eyes remained fixed on the enormous screen.

She hadn’t moved for a long time.

The brother she was watching… felt different.

The Bruce she knew was calm. Gentle. Someone who teased her endlessly but always made sure she was safe. Someone who patiently explained things when she didn’t understand them.

The Bruce on the screen was something else entirely. Cold. Decisive. Unforgiving.

For a brief moment, the difference unsettled her.

It felt strange watching him move through the battlefield like that so distant, so ruthless, so completely devoid of hesitation.

It all felt strange, but when Lily remembered what Donn and Aria had tried to do, the uneasiness faded.