Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 231

“……You’re worrying about truly useless things.”

McQueen, his face hardened, swung the staff in his hand once.

Crack!!

At the same moment, the statue’s arm, shattered by Lenok’s lightning strike, fell off, and a new arm sprouted from the shoulder. Considering he had unhesitatingly sacrificed Arjumarta’s arm just before, it was clear that this summon possessed powerful regenerative abilities from the start.

Lenok, observing this calmly, shifted the topic.

“They say that skyscrapers are designed with a certain degree of flexibility and elasticity to withstand wind pressure.”

Lenok continued, looking down at the building trembling from the overflowing power emanating from McQueen’s body.

“But at this rate, it won’t last long.”

“What are you so calmly spouting about?!”

McQueen, rebuking with a stern voice, stepped back and quickly completed his hand seals. He leaped onto the statue’s head and glared at Lenok from a dozen meters above.

The tattoos engraved on his entire body rotated fiercely, and at the same time, a bright yellow light formed in both his hands, glowing intensely.

Whoooosh!!

“You also accepted this job because you coveted the position of president… Don’t act so high and mighty, and reveal your true intentions!!!”

As the statue opened its mouth wide, he threw the gathered light into it. Arjumarta, having swallowed a massive energy source, circulated that energy within its belly and then spewed it out towards Lenok.

[Pillar Destruction and Liberation Cannon]

The bright yellow beam that shot out of Arjumarta’s mouth pierced through the spot where Lenok had been and slammed into the ground below the building.

Kkkkkkkkkkk-!!!

The secret technique of the renegade monk, Parden McQueen. The highest-grade bombardment incantation of the liberation technique that temporarily releases Arjumarta’s output seal and converts internal power directly into firepower.

Not only did it melt half of the skyscraper’s rooftop, but the beam, shot straight down to the ground, left a long scar on the surface. If there had been enough space to evade, it might have been different, but on the top floor of the building, and with Arjumarta limiting the evasion area to the extreme, this was an unavoidable blow. Wasn’t the reason he chose this place for the showdown with Lenok because of this technique, which was by no means inferior in destructive power?

“Hah, hah…!!”

Large beads of sweat dripped incessantly from his wrinkled skin. A real battle after decades. And against a formidable opponent he had to face with all his might. His aging judgment and clouded thoughts made precise mana manipulation difficult, and his body, aging day by day, couldn’t withstand the burden that came with using high-level techniques.

But even while panting, McQueen leaned on his staff and continuously focused his power towards the spot where Lenok had been.

“Uaaaaaaah!!”

[Mystic Formula Line]

[Scorching Light of Harm]

Kwaaaang! Kwaaaang! Kwaaaang!

The bombardment techniques, shot out as if screaming while holding the staff, poured down mercilessly. The building, which had been swaying and shaking, began to slowly lose its balance, creaking under the impact that exceeded its limits. But even in that moment, McQueen was desperately trying not to lose his concentration for even a single instant.

‘Where is he…!!’

How much research and analysis had he done on the magician, Ban, for this battle today? A magician who freely wielded the lightning element, said to be unmatched in firepower. He was proficient not only in the fire and heat elements but also in ice and manipulation elements, and he was also very skilled in handling firearms. How many had fallen before his powerful skills, which allowed him to fight head-on with warriors due to his unique sharp intuition and unparalleled combat sense?

It took over a week to gather all the information about his combat style, known for his brilliant achievements as a freelancer, and to create a countermeasure. Contrary to his incomparably powerful firepower and endless variety of attack patterns, almost all of the defensive techniques needed to protect his own body were replaced with shield magic. If he narrowed the range and poured out powerful techniques instead of giving space and room to evade, he would surely be able to pierce through the defense.

But even after successfully executing his own plan, McQueen was not complacent. His opponent was not someone who would be defeated so easily. The talent and judgment that pleased Oliviera Ron Maze. The experience and intuition built up through countless battles could not possibly end here. McQueen knew that better than anyone else. He, too, was once a Saint-level magician who had crossed countless life-and-death situations to reach this point.

‘It can’t possibly end like this…!!’

“Where are you!!”

The answer to McQueen’s shout, unable to hold back, came from an unexpectedly close place.

“I’m not very interested in the position of president. Nor am I interested in working for an organization.”

McQueen, in shock, turned his head towards his back, but something piercing through his belly was much faster.

Thud!!

“……!!!!”

His body, once trained through arduous practice, his body that had been at the forefront of defeating countless enemies with his unique powerful martial arts, was too easily pierced. The corners of his mouth trembled as he identified the object that had pierced through his belly.

“Merilda’s fang… Avid’s one…”

Merilda’s tooth, with powerful magic resistance. Even if it couldn’t break through a technique made solely for defense, it was enough to pierce through the body of a magician filled with mana.

Lenok, who had appeared behind McQueen, on the head of the giant statue Arjumarta, answered calmly.

“But I wouldn’t mind accepting a nominal position. That’s probably all that woman wants anyway.”

Crack!!

As he twisted the fang he was holding, blood began to pour out of McQueen’s side.

“Ugh…!!”

McQueen retched from the pain that was ravaging his mind, but even with the pain of his insides being torn apart, he did not take his eyes off Lenok. Even after directly enduring the bombardment incantation, the Pillar Destruction and Liberation Cannon, which had pierced through the rooftop of the building and plunged into the ground, there was not a single wound on Lenok’s body. Even though he had chosen the rooftop of a high-rise building, where there was no place to escape, as the battlefield, and had poured out a constant barrage of noisy attacks.

What was the reason he was able to grab McQueen’s back, as if mocking him, without even allowing all those attacks? Only after confirming Lenok’s left magic eye, which was slowly rotating, did he realize the truth, and his eyes widened.

“A, an illusion magic… Were you deceiving me from the beginning!!!”

“Do you understand now?”

Lenok’s actions, which had been strangely frequent in making eye contact with him. And Lenok’s strangely passive counterattacks and responses. The lightning that the lightning strikes scattered was so dazzling that, as the electricity rotated, it stirred up the surrounding mana and deceived his senses, so he did not notice the truth behind it. From the beginning of the battle, Lenok had been planning to deceive McQueen. Using the magic eye he had stolen from Iola as a catalyst, he deployed powerful illusion magic while hiding his incantations and hand seals. The fast-paced battle and the narrowed field of vision. It was not that difficult to penetrate the extremely heightened concentration. The important thing was to perfectly deceive his senses and approach him at the critical moment of using the Pillar Destruction and Liberation Cannon. Taking advantage of that moment when his senses were confused, he hid his life signs with Nix’s emblem and traversed the empty abdominal space of Arjumarta. At the same time as grabbing his back, he had stabbed Merilda’s fang into McQueen’s side.

“I, I was mistaken…!!”

McQueen bit his lip as he finally realized the whole story. As much as his resentment, red blood flowed down in streams.

“A magician like you… would come this close to fight…!!”

“I’ve torn up your insides pretty badly. You won’t be able to last long.”

Lenok said, looking down at McQueen as he staggered and slumped down. From the moment he realized that the place to settle the matter was the rooftop of this high-rise building, Lenok had some idea of what McQueen was aiming for. Three days to prepare for the duel. It would be enough time for a magician like McQueen to analyze his opponent’s style. It wouldn’t be strange if he had seen through Lenok’s strengths, as well as what patterns he liked and whether he avoided combat. For whatever reason, a magician of that caliber would have noticed Lenok’s style of avoiding close combat, which was strangely unusual.

‘He must have thought that the reason, whether it was a geas [a magical compulsion] or a physical problem, was not important.’ He had concluded that there was no chance of winning in close combat and had chosen a battlefield where he could not escape, aiming to settle the matter with a head-on firepower battle. That was why Lenok had used illusion magic to strike at the decisive moment. By piercing through the gap that was completely outside of McQueen’s perception, a close-quarters battle that did not use mana.

Lenok watched with cold eyes as McQueen slowly lowered his waist. The moment the mana-resistant fang was embedded in his body, it would have become difficult to even move his power. But McQueen gritted his teeth and grabbed the staff he had once dropped again.

“Not yet…!!!”

Whoosh!!

At that moment, McQueen, who had forcefully pulled out the fang that had been stuck in his abdomen, quickly distanced himself from Lenok as if disappearing from his spot. Even though the blood he had spilled from his torn abdomen was forming a puddle, there was no flaw in his movement-type technique. The wound on his stomach, made by Merilda’s fang, had healed, and Lenok, feeling a familiar trace of mana in the puddle of blood at his feet, couldn’t help but laugh.

“Did you use your former subordinate’s blood mage’s serum to dope yourself…? Well, it has to be at least this much!”

“…!!!”

McQueen, who had his plan instantly seen through, gritted his teeth, using Avid’s serum to enhance his overall physical strength and regenerative abilities. As he quickly made hand seals with one arm and slammed the staff he was holding down, Arjumarta moved. Lenok immediately tilted his shield and pulled up his mana, but the statue’s arm was aimed in a completely different direction.

Kwaaaang!!

As he struck the side of the building that had been supporting his body, the upper part of the building, which had already been swaying, broke off. Creeeeak!! In an instant, the statue’s massive body tilted to one side, and the two people on the statue’s head also fell down. The statue, over ten meters in size, and the two magicians fell together, facing the fierce wind, 800 meters below.

As soon as he realized that setting the battlefield narrowly was a mistake, he did not hesitate to smash the upper part of the building and change the battlefield. Whoosh!! While facing the rushing wind, Lenok immediately turned his head towards McQueen. Even as he fell to the ground with his summon, there was not a trace of agitation on his face. Rather, he had closed his eyes and was sitting in the center of the falling statue’s chest, holding his staff. Following the hand seals that flowed smoothly from both hands, Arjumarta’s arms also drew soft arcs. The dual incantation performed by the master and the summon as one. It was not difficult to imagine what awaited beyond the secret of the summoning technique that drastically inflated the scale and power of the technique. The blood of McQueen, which had flowed out due to Avid’s serum, enveloped the magician along with the statue, creating a huge blood membrane to protect against external attacks. The serum created by a level 6 blood mage at the cost of his subordinates’ lives accelerated McQueen’s consciousness in an instant while assisting his superior’s technique.

Lenok laughed as he watched this, even as he fell upside down. It was too late to interfere with the technique. And from the beginning, he had no intention of stopping it. An old and tired level 7 Saint-level magician. He had forcibly boosted his condition through the serum, but his rusty combat sense could not even properly draw out Lenok’s full power. The moment he was deceived by Lenok’s illusion due to his fear of elaborate psychological warfare and confusing tactics, the outcome had been decided. The moment McQueen tried to resist and grabbed his staff, Lenok could have killed him in at least twenty different ways. But why didn’t he do that? Why didn’t he finish it after being meticulous and thorough, and perfectly succeeding in all his plans without wasting a single moment of carelessness?

Lenok knew the answer. ‘An opportunity like this will not come again.’ It was because if it wasn’t now, he wouldn’t have the chance to experience the domain battle between high-level magicians. No matter how sharp and keen the realization he had gained, it was difficult to truly feel its power without wielding it directly. That was why Lenok had to confirm it right now, not in a precarious moment where he had to risk his life. In this convenient environment, where he didn’t have to consider any interference, in a one-on-one duel between magicians that was most comfortable for Lenok. He had to see how far the answer he had reached could go. At the same time as he grabbed the mana core that had popped out of his sleeve, McQueen’s incantation ended, and he opened his eyes wide. In a state of concentration where his eyes were turned over, leaving only the whites, he used mana to shout with a powerful roar.

“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

A strong will flowed through the space and began to transform everything around it.

[Domain Expansion]

[Mental Imprint]

[White Rakshasa Cloth Temple]

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!!!

A swirling white wind. The air brushing against his cheeks was cold, and it mercilessly scratched his earlobes. His nose felt clear, and his ears suddenly went numb. A strange phenomenon as if the atmospheric pressure had suddenly changed. But the scenery that appeared before Lenok’s eyes was far more mysterious than such changes in his body. A snow-covered mountain range with white snow. In the middle of that vast mountain range, where no human civilization could be seen anywhere, a huge temple painted in bright red stood tall. A secluded snowfield surrounded by high mountains. In front of the huge gate of the temple, built with the passage of time. A man buried in the snow was kneeling with his head bowed low.