Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 327

He knew it.

That Aris’s participation in the fortress capture operation wasn’t solely out of concern for the safety of the citizens.

He also knew where the faint suspicion within her was directed.

And that to prevent that suspicion from turning into certainty, he should have acted much more thoroughly than he had.

He should have hidden his techniques, changed his manner of speaking, and tried to distance himself from her.

But the reason Lenok didn’t do that, despite knowing it, was partly due to the pressure to succeed in the capture operation immediately—.

It might also have been because of a naive belief that Aris would forgive him even if she noticed all of this.

A belief that even if she looked at him with a cold face, after hearing all the details, she would sigh and say it couldn’t be helped.

Harboring such a complacent thought in his heart, Lenok could now confirm his thoughts.

The selfish desire that she would remain ignorant of all these secrets.

“…….”

Every time he faced a moment where he had to confront someone’s feelings like this, a forgotten fact resurfaced.

The shackles of shadow hidden beneath Lenok’s transcendent talent, a lifespan that even he couldn’t fathom.

The most fatal and dangerous characteristic of [Talent and Beauty Bring Early Death].

How much time was left?

Was it right to drag someone into this journey that was rushing towards a cliff without knowing the end?

Aris would share his pain. She would share his sorrow.

Knowing that well, he didn’t want to see such a reaction even more.

It was said that pain shared is pain halved.

Lenok didn’t believe such obvious words.

If he had to make her cling to a hope without a promise, he would rather…….

“Haaa…….”

In the awkward silence.

Aris, who had been staring intently at Davi, who was frozen with her front paw raised, let out a deep sigh.

She closed her eyes for a moment to ponder, then glanced at Hina, who was fidgeting right next to her.

Then, she shook her head decisively.

“It seems I was mistaken.”

“Is that…… so?”

At Lenok’s words, Aris nodded readily.

“Yes. The spirit I know isn’t that big, and it doesn’t wear a strange mask.”

“…….”

“Besides, it’s not cute enough to make such adorable cries.”

[…….]

Only then did Davi realize what she had done and slowly lowered her front paw.

Was it Lenok’s imagination that the tips of her three swaying tails turned slightly red?

Aris, who had resolved the situation in just three words, closed her eyes again and leaned against the rock crevice.

“I made you worry with unnecessary words. I’ll focus on recovering my mana, so please wait a little longer.”

“Then, I’ll go check around. I think the Deputy Director is also nearby.”

“……I’ll also search around the fortress. There might be some useful items left.”

Since the surrounding desert area was flat, the surrounding scenery was clearly visible.

They had dealt with all the enemies in the area, so no one would be in danger, and even if something happened, they would know immediately.

Lenok replied as such and quickly took Davi with him towards the fortress he had destroyed.

He had made a suitable excuse to avoid the situation, but it wasn’t entirely a lie.

Because he had encountered Aris and Hina right after defeating Trepen, he hadn’t been able to properly collect the spoils of war.

[I feel like I’ve been completely played by the professor.]

The cerebral spirit, carrying her master on her back, muttered in a sulky voice.

[I won’t forget this humiliation easily…….]

“You’re planning to forget it, aren’t you?”

Walking through the wreckage of the collapsed mobile fortress, Davi asked Lenok.

[Does she know, or does she want to know? Her attitude is so ambiguous that I don’t know either.]

“Aris isn’t stupid. She’s much more perceptive than other people.”

The fact that Aris didn’t pursue Davi’s identity to the end in that situation was, in a way, natural.

Regardless of her intentions, Hina, an agent, was also present.

Whether or not Hina O’Neil could be trusted, revealing the relationship between Ban and Lenok was extremely dangerous, she must have judged.

“Perhaps, she might think that she’s already obtained the certainty she was aiming for in this matter…….”

[You admit that you were more careless than usual.]

“Whose side are you on anyway?”

[Hmph, I don’t know. I’ll never do that again.]

Lenok smiled wryly and stroked Davi’s head, who was pretending to be sulky with her head turned away.

Davi also pretended not to notice and quietly accepted Lenok’s touch.

While searching through the fortress wreckage for useful items, the mana that had filled the spirit’s body disappeared, and her size gradually decreased.

Even after returning to her fox cub form, her three tails remained.

Lenok naturally placed Davi in his coat pocket and discovered something while searching through the wreckage and extended his mana thread.

Crack!!

“Found it. I knew it would still be here.”

[Is this…… a fragment of the fortress’s calculation core?]

“It’s something Gearsid directly modified to make Trepen Level 8. There’s more to dig into here.”

Lenok, who had put the calculation core fragment, which had been broken into fist-sized pieces, into his pocket, immediately turned around.

“This operation has yielded more than I expected. I’ll be busier from now on.”

Although it wasn’t intentional, Lenok had learned a lot by directly witnessing Trepen’s unstable Level 8 manifestation.

Not only the method and clues for transcending ranks, but what struck him most directly was the space jump he used within his microcosm [a personal, self-contained dimension].

Lenok had repeatedly sensed the method of interfering with space as a result during the battle and had found room to apply it to his own space magic.

[We’ve secured the data, but the question is how well it will work in practice.]

“It’ll be enough if I can reduce the mana efficiency a bit more. Right now, the mana consumption is so extreme that it’s almost impossible to use…….”

Thinking that, Lenok returned to the rock where Aris was resting.

Hina had already finished looking around and was sitting next to Aris, quietly catching her breath.

Lenok didn’t bother to disturb them and sat down at a distance, taking out a cigarette.

Flick!

Just as he was about to light it and take a full drag, Hina, who had appeared next to him, snatched the cigarette away.

Thud!

Lenok looked up at Hina with a bewildered expression.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean, what am I doing?”

Hina said with a smile.

“Shouldn’t that be the question asked by someone who was ejected from a fighter jet hundreds of meters in the air?”

“…….”

“I think you have something to say to me.”

Lenok, belatedly noticing the vein popping out on her forehead, quietly shut his mouth.

She had something she had been holding back, but she hadn’t been able to say it because she was reading the situation.

Lenok, slightly averting his gaze, replied.

“There would have been a parachute in the seat that was ejected with you. You wouldn’t have died.”

“Is that what you have to say right now?”

“……I admit it was a somewhat rough method.”

Hina, who had been glaring at Lenok, sighed deeply and shook her head.

“It’s okay. Either way, I’ll consider it a good experience thanks to the efforts of the two mages.”

“A good experience?”

“Yes. The one Aris deployed at the end of the battle—.”

Thump!

Aris, who had been listening to their conversation with a tired face, quickly raised her hand and covered Hina’s mouth.

Aris whispered to Hina with a bright smile.

“We agreed to keep that a secret, didn’t we?”

“Ah…… I’m sorry. I just…….”

Hina closed her mouth with a slightly flustered expression.

“I don’t want to reveal it to others yet.”

Aris, slightly averting her gaze, replied with a calm expression.

“There’s someone I need to show it to first, so it’s actually a bit reckless even now.”

“……I’ll take it to the grave.”

Lenok, reading the subtle gap in their conversation, faintly furrowed his brow.

It seemed that the two of them had also pushed themselves to some extent in the process of destroying the fortress.

Otherwise, Aris wouldn’t have walked out leaning on Hina with such a tired look.

Watching the two of them, who had become much closer than when they started the operation, Lenok slowly stood up.

“I should contact the main force.”

He could roughly guess what kind of magic Aris had used.

And that it was a courtesy between mages not to ask about it in this situation.

Lenok understood that and changed the subject appropriately.

“The magnetic storm is getting worse. We need to assess the situation before the satellite city’s communication network is completely cut off.”

A desert area filled with nothing but sand without any obstacles.

However, due to the magnetic storm raging near the undeveloped area, not only was communication between cities completely cut off, but the satellite city Delta, located several kilometers away, was also not clearly visible.

Since he had left the main force, including Ilya and Felix, near the city, he needed to check their situation and provide support if necessary.

Lenok was looking up at the raging magnetic storm while thinking about this and that when.

“Ban.”

Hina suddenly called out to Lenok.

Her face was stiff.

“A message has arrived from Councilman Meyer.”

“……A message?”

In a moment when communication was difficult due to the intensifying magnetic storm.

Communication with the large cities was completely cut off in the vicinity of the desert area.

How could Councilman Meyer send a message at a time like this?

“It’s an emergency communication network only permitted for the highest-ranking agents. It’s a space transfer using a top-tier artifact hidden in the headquarters’ underground vault. It’s an emergency protocol that can transfer an object about the size of a finger, and it can only be used once every two years.”

“So, there’s something they need to tell us right now, even if they have to use such a network.”

Aris continued with a stiff face.

“I inherited the authority from the Deputy Director right before the operation started, and I was keeping the communication network…….”

As she said that, Hina took out a thin chip from her pocket.

Lenok silently accepted the data chip and immediately inserted it into his phone.

A recorded voice message began to play through the speaker.

[Ban, Pallard. Can you hear me? Anyone is fine. Please deliver this message to all our allies.]

It was Meyer’s voice, sounding extremely urgent.

[The City Council has declared a temporary martial law. The military, temporarily exempt from the legal restrictions, has been deployed. The order is to eliminate the defense forces that have staged a coup and their hostile forces.]

The gazes of the three people who raised their heads simultaneously crossed.

[Communication is cut off due to the magnetic storm, and I can’t reach the generals there. This is the only way I can contact you. Get out of there right now!!]

The voice message ended, followed by silence.

A tense atmosphere filled the air between the three of them.

“Military? What on earth are they talking about?”

Aris opened her mouth while pressing her temples.

“Are you saying that there’s a military force that’s completely different from the defense forces?”

“……For now, that’s the only conclusion we can draw. It seems Councilman Meyer was very urgent.”

Lenok replied as such and turned his gaze towards Hina.

“Is there anything you can think of from what the councilman just said?”

Hina O’Neil was one of the agents who held a special position within the agency and had moved around various departments.

She might be aware of classified information only permitted to high-ranking officials.

However, Hina shook her head with a confused expression.

“The existence of a project to replace the defense forces is a well-known rumor, but I’ve never actually witnessed it myself. However, according to the Director…….”

“According to him?”

“It was transferred to District 13 and left the hands of the agency…….”

“…….”

District 13, was it not just a diversion to shift attention?

It seemed there was a backstory that he hadn’t heard from Trepen and Gearsid.

However, it was impossible to ask Trepen, who had disappeared with his consciousness, about the situation now.

Lenok, raising his head, quickly made a decision.

“Let’s move. We need to move near the satellite city and inform others of this fact.”

“Ban is right. We need to move before the City Council’s new military force reveals itself…… Aris?”

Instead of answering Hina’s words, Aris raised her gaze towards the sky, which was blurred by the magnetic storm.

Almost simultaneously, Lenok, who had expanded his sensory range and realized the same thing as her, frowned silently.

Immediately after, something emerged from the clouds, piercing through the blurry magnetic storm.

Kugugugugu!!!

A massive flying object, so large that its true size couldn’t be estimated from the ground.

A steel ship, made in the shape of a pentagon, pushed through the magnetic storm and advanced leisurely.

Black spheres were constantly rotating through the circular holes scattered throughout, causing the massive flying object to float in the sky.

A ship, or rather, should it be called an aerial fortress?

There was no need to ask what project was being carried out in District 13 after it left the hands of the agency.

It was natural for a military force of that scale to be carried out through a different department, not the agency.

The City Council had neatly eliminated the ground forces of the defense forces and was building an even greater air force.

While Hina was looking back and forth between the two with a bewildered expression, Aris opened her mouth.

“I’m truly disgusted by the City Council’s attitude.”

“I think that’s a fair statement.”

Lenok muttered, looking up at the sky.

“No one would have thought that they would let the defense forces die and be making something like that.”

Woo woo woo……!!

A strange vibration spread through the entire sky, and the ship slowly sped over the heads of the three people.

[Trepen…… that friend ended up leaving like this.]

A strange voice echoed from below the ship, which was flying leisurely in the sky.

[But on the other hand, I expected it. The only role that can be entrusted to a man who cannot read the times is that of a captain of a sinking ship.]

“…….”

[At least he fulfilled that role very well. As the first opponent for our Vulcan Air Force fleet.]

“They succeeded in creating an airship that can withstand the magnetic storm…….”

It wasn’t that the City Council lacked the technology to strengthen its air force.

The undeveloped area and the vicinity of the outer front lines, where magnetic storms raged from time to time, were difficult environments for operating ships of that size.

Small flying objects like fighter jets could block the intrusion of iron sand by sealing the joints, but that was impossible for ships.

As a result, only ground forces, including mobile fortresses, were available on the outer front lines, but even so, the City Council had been preparing to acquire air force power.

Continuous experiments to build a fleet in the closed area.

Every time the project achieved results, they diverted the budget that had been put into the defense forces to the air force and called in key figures who had noticed the signs to take charge of the air force reorganization.

And the result of that, and the first time it was put into practice, was that massive pentagonal ship.

Wiiiiiiiiing!!

The fierce noise of engines turning echoed loudly from the sky.

From all over the ship, dozens of fighter jets took flight.

At the same time, the gun ports on the ship opened, and they all turned their muzzles towards the middle of the desert.

Towards the broken mechanical sphere and Fortress No. 3.

And towards the location where the three people were standing.

[In that sense, you guys should keep your mouths shut here. In order for our achievements to be recorded in the City Council’s minutes, we need the grand justification that the agency failed.]

“…….”

[Three superhumans had already finished the situation before we arrived…… Don’t you think that’s a story that doesn’t sound very good?]

“It wasn’t that we couldn’t receive Meyer’s call.”

Lenok, narrowing his eyes and examining every corner of the ship, muttered.

“They didn’t intend to receive his call from the beginning.”

[Please understand with a generous heart. It’s not a rare occurrence for the ignorant people who roam the back alleys of the city to die for some unknown reason.]

The voice that had been echoing leisurely became cold.

[Actually, you don’t need to understand.]

Kiiiiiiing……!!

Hundreds of gun ports, emitting mana light, popped out from all over the ship.

Even if it were to cover a vast area like a satellite city, the destructive power would be enormous if that bombardment were concentrated on this spot.

The three people quickly gathered their mana and began to think.

“I’ll take the first barrage.”

Lenok said, glancing at Aris while making a summoning seal.

“In the meantime, let’s find a way to bring that ship down from the sky.”

“We can’t let it get closer to the satellite city.”

Hina quickly replied.

“Unlike the mobile fortresses that moved on the ground, if it’s a ship floating in the air, we could be unilaterally bombarded to death.”

“Let’s move towards the fortress we destroyed. We can set up barricades there and devise a means to reach the ship—.”

“Wait a minute.”

Aris interrupted the two and pointed to a corner of the sky.

“What is that……?”

Shuuuuung!!!

Above the ship, in the empty space of the sky that no one had paid attention to, a pure white light was rising.

It was falling towards the ground, drawing a heavy line of light like a meteor.

Something that had fallen from a dizzying altitude directly hit the upper part of the ship.

Circular shockwaves rippled out several times over the hull of the massive ship, creating a huge ripple.

Kuuuuuung!!

The massive pentagonal ship, which had been heating up its gun ports, tilted sharply to one side, and the lights flickered wildly.

[……!!!]

The chaotic noise mixed in from inside the ship made it clear how panicked they were about the current situation.

But even that confusion was momentary. The shockwave that had been slammed down overlapped and exploded once more, as if crushing everything.

The meteor that had fallen vertically from the sky crushed the ship, slamming the massive flying object into the ground.

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!]

With a desperate scream, the pentagonal ship crashed into the sand of the desert.

Kugugugugugugu!!!!

The ground shook with vibrations, and a massive sandstorm swept across the area, turning the ground upside down.

Lenok and Aris simultaneously deployed shields in all directions, receiving the aftermath while leaving only a minimal space.

The sand in the vicinity was pushed away like waves, creating a huge crater centered on the circular shield.

The ship, which had been boasting a majestic appearance just a moment ago, had turned into a pile of junk on the ground in the blink of an eye.

Hina, who had been standing behind the two, muttered with a dumbfounded face.

“What on earth is going on……?”

“The situation is turning strange.”

Aris said, looking at the crash site of the ship.

In the chaotic landscape where the sandstorm hadn’t completely subsided, making it difficult to see properly.

It was difficult to grasp what was happening now.

“That mana just now didn’t belong to any of our allies. It seems there was an intervention from an outsider targeting the air force ship…… Ban?”

Aris accepted a pencil that Lenok handed her, looking puzzled.

Lenok threw five fingers of an Enac pencil [a type of pencil that can be used as a weapon] from his pocket to Hina as well and said.

“We need to run right now.”

His face, unlike before, was stiff.

“A ship is not the problem. That mana just now……!!”

Hooooooong!!

A massive shockwave exploded once more from the crash site of the ship, sweeping away all the sand dust in the vicinity.

The first thing that came into view was the massive pentagonal ship, which had been horribly destroyed.

It was as if the ship, which had been majestically floating in the sky just a moment ago, had been halved, revealing its interior.

Crew members were groaning and bleeding inside the shattered structure of the ship.

And at the center of all that destruction.

A crocodile-like giant was crouching.

Even though it was crouching, its size was as majestic as a mountain.

The scales, which were so hard that they shone with a dark color, and the tail that stood straight like a steel bar.

The long snout and the murderous intent emanating from the bright yellow eyes peeking out from behind it were so overwhelming that they froze the whole body.

The crocodile giant slowly raised its head, and Lenok’s eyes met at the same time.

Only one person twisted the corner of his mouth.

“Long time no see, kid.”

Even now, if he closed his eyes, that image was clearly remembered.

The factory raid he had embarked on for his second freelance request. At the end of it, he had faced the figure of a monster that transcended humanity.

Just like the memory of that day when he felt the crisis of his life for the first time.

Croken Acillus was standing in front of Lenok.