Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 430

The moment I burst through the door, a strange ringing filled my ears.

Peeeeee…!!

A grating noise echoed through the unusually quiet streets near the workshop. It was immediately clear that this was a ploy to naturally disperse the people around.

Thump!

I tossed the man, bound by magic threads, onto the asphalt. At the same time, a dozen or so men and women quietly appeared from various points in the street.

Lenok smiled as he watched them stand neatly, as if surrounding the workshop.

“You’ve kept us waiting long enough.”

They were dressed in plain clothes to avoid attention, but their unique, refined, and composed aura was unmistakable.

These were priests of the Order, moving directly in the field. Moreover, they were fanatics who had fully embraced the doctrine and made it their standard.

It was the first time I had encountered so many at once, but it wasn’t difficult to recognize them.

“It’s okay. I’m used to waiting,” Amila replied, leisurely scrutinizing Lenok’s face.

“Nice to meet you, Evan. I’m Amila Bainzer. You can call me Amila for short.”

She smiled brightly and extended her hand, then spoke again.

“I’d like to talk for a moment. Do you have time? It’s not a bad offer for you either.”

Lenok smiled and raised a finger to his ear, asking,

“Can you hear the music box?”

Only then did the other priests slowly begin to hear the Order’s hymn.

The priests, realizing their identities had been exposed in an instant, subtly hardened their expressions, and Amila sighed deeply.

“Even too much faith is a problem. I told them to leave behind anything that could leave a trace, but none of them listen properly.”

“……”

“Well, I didn’t plan to hide for long anyway. We’re not very good at concealing our identities. Maybe if we were just blending in with the crowd, but when we’re moving directly like this, it’s even harder.”

Amila dusted off her knees and stood up, grinning.

“Shall I introduce myself again? I’m Amila Bainzer, the bishop of the Northeastern branch of the Order. You can call me Bishop Bainzer now.”

“Understood, Amila.”

“……You’re not very good at listening either, are you?”

Amila said this and raised her hand, beckoning. The other priests were naturally drawn forward by her gesture, and a tense atmosphere began to build.

Clank, clank!

The priests began to pull out their equipment from inside their robes.

Bone saws that made eerie sounds, long, sharp skewers and stakes, ritual knives with blades on only one side, and even large scythes made as if to behead people.

They were weapons seemingly designed to overwhelm the opponent, quite different from the urban underground’s superhumans who generally pursued efficient combat.

Cassia, standing behind, swallowed hard at the intimidating scene, and Archwood quickly stepped in front of Lenok.

“……?”

Lenok raised an eyebrow at Archwood’s unexpected movement.

Archwood, gathering magic power in both hands, boldly shouted at the priests.

“How dare you, you arrogant cultists, try to covet the talent of Lavatenon!!”

“……”

“Assistant Professor Bylon’s brain is an irreplaceable treasure in this city, and you should know that you are not the only ones who wish to be with his intellect!”

“……”

It was hard to believe that he was the same person who didn’t even know Lenok was the author of the paper until just now.

Cassia, too, blinked, her tense expression gone.

“Already, countless investors, including myself, are waiting for a decision to be made to work with the assistant professor. If you want to kidnap the professor, you’ll have to get through me first!!”

In the midst of all this, he subtly included himself in the group of investors and appealed to them. He even added a layer of flattery to the title, now calling him ‘professor’.

The words flowing from Archwood’s mouth were as natural as if he had been thinking that way for a long time.

Lenok was impressed by Archwood’s blatant opportunism, switching his stance as easily as breathing.

“That’s quite the silver tongue for a noble’s son. But isn’t your ulterior motive a bit too obvious?”

“……Today, I will not let you cultists get away with this!!”

Archwood, forcibly ignoring Lenok’s words, immediately formed hand seals and began chanting.

[Charyeonsasu (Linked Carriages)]

[Gurhamjipyeong (Scattered Water Lilies)]

Dududududu!!!

The magic system used by Pavlen Archwood was a wind-attribute, air current system.

It was a technique that honed the flow of the atmosphere, the speed of the wind, and its sharpness to the extreme, manifesting its power in various ways.

At Archwood’s gesture, wolves of wind rose from beneath his feet and raced across the road, while blades of wind began to fall from above the priests’ heads.

At the same time, a powerful wind swirled around the area and gathered at Archwood’s fingertips, transforming into a massive sphere of wind.

[Wind Moon]

Kiiiiing!!

The flow of air currents condensed between his hands was manifested with the chant, sweeping across the entire area.

A huge moon shape was manifested in the middle of the deserted street. He had created a massive sphere of wind with the flow of air currents alone, bringing immense pressure down on the spot.

Kwaaaaah!!

Before starting the battle in earnest, he reorganized the surrounding environment to his advantage and restricted the opponent’s movements.

As expected of a noble’s son, he had received basic combat training, and he seemed to have a rough idea of how to engage in offense and defense as a mage.

Archwood smiled triumphantly as he saw the priests struggling to move and raise their equipment.

“Hahahaha!! Even the warriors of the Order are no match for the great Archwood’s magic…!!”

At that moment, a figure shot through the wind like lightning and kicked Archwood in the stomach.

Thwack!!

“Guh…!!”

Archwood’s body bent backward, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed.

Foam mixed with saliva was flowing from his mouth as he convulsed.

Thud!

The opponent, who had grabbed Archwood’s collar in mid-air as he fell limply, ruthlessly swung his hand towards the back of his head.

A sharp blow that would have shattered Archwood’s skull in an instant.

At that moment, a flash of light erupted from behind Archwood, engulfing the opponent and swallowing him whole.

Kwaang!!

“That’s enough.”

“Kahaak!!”

The man who had been lying at Lenok’s feet shot out like a rocket and slammed into the opponent who was trying to kill Archwood.

The man who had been shot out was also not doing it on purpose, and they were both groaning in pain as they tangled together.

Lenok, having pulled Archwood away with magic threads, spoke as he looked at the two people writhing on the ground with broken limbs and joints.

“I’m sorry, but I have no business with the Guido Order. I can get funding for my research results elsewhere.”

“Oh my, that’s a shame. I thought you weren’t very interested in this kind of thing since you were just watching like a fool,” Amila said with a smile.

“Well, I didn’t expect a positive answer anyway. But I think your mind might change after I break your limbs.”

“……”

Clank!!

The dozen or so priests slowly began to move, raising their equipment towards the defenseless mage.

The opponent was just an assistant professor at a university. Moreover, he was a spirit mage with no physical abilities.

If they could strike first before he summoned his spirits, the outcome of the battle was as good as decided.

As long as they kept his head and heart alive, they could extract information by any means.

Amila slowly began to form hand seals behind them and said,

“If all else fails, we can just lock him in a room and play the Order’s hymns at 128x speed. I know it’s a really crude method, but it always works well.”

“E, Evan…?”

Cassia, who had returned with a tense face after Archwood’s untimely blunder, asked.

“I’ll try to buy some time, but shouldn’t Evan run away first…?”

Lenok glanced at the priests slowly approaching him and quickly asked Cassia,

“Do you have any practical experience?”

“…I have some. I can at least hold them off…!!”

“Then I’ll do it,” Lenok said, cutting off Cassia’s words.

“As I said before, I had a lot of different experiences before I started working as an assistant professor.”

“Ah, I heard about that, Evan,” Amila added from behind the priests.

“I heard you were an explorer who went around collecting artifacts? I’m sorry to say, but that kind of experience won’t be enough to deal with our people.”

“……”

Were they also eavesdropping on the conversation between Lenok and Cassia inside the workshop?

It wasn’t unexpected, but he didn’t expect them to talk about it so openly here.

However, instead of being flustered by those words, Lenok reached into his pocket.

Although he was mainly known for his research papers, Evan Bylon was officially a spirit mage.

Naturally, he had prepared dozens of tactics in case he had to fight as Evan.

Lenok, feeling a slight anticipation for the first demonstration of his spirit magic, which he had never had the chance to use, was about to draw up his magic power when…

“Davi, start with the promised Formation E…”

[Booooo…]

“…Davi?”

[Boo.]

Lenok paused at Davi’s appearance, repeating only whimpering sounds as if he had forgotten how to speak.

He had obediently crawled out at Lenok’s touch, but he seemed a bit listless.

After a moment of quick deliberation, Lenok unhesitatingly took Davi back.

“…Come here.”

[……?]

He hugged Davi, who was about to float into the air and unleash his magic power, and stroked his head.

“If you’re not feeling well, I’ll do it myself. Don’t worry.”

It was not clearly verified how a spirit’s condition is affected by the environment.

However, if the ringing noise the Order was spreading through the streets or the unknown aura of fanaticism was degrading Davi’s condition, there was no reason to overwork the spirit.

Thinking that, Lenok began to stroke Davi’s head and chin, and then stepped forward.

As Davi’s head was being rubbed and squeezed by Lenok’s touch, Davi’s tail regained its strength and stood upright.

[……!!]

Paat!

Davi, who had jumped out of Lenok’s arms at that moment, instantly raced through the air above the priests’ heads and began to emit electricity like crazy.

[Formation EMP, going in!!]

Pajijijijijik!!!!

At the same time as a vast electric field was created around the electronic spirit, all the electricity in the area converged on the spirit.

[Boo… Wooooong!!]

Pshooooo…!!

A bright blue wave spread out in concentric circles, like a tide, in all directions.

The traffic lights, streetlights, and store lights went out in an instant, plunging the street into a blackout.

In the street that was instantly plunged into darkness, bright blue lightning struck the priests’ heads accurately.

Pajijijik!!!

“Ugh, wait…!”

“I can’t avoid…!!”

“Be careful, if he’s a spirit mage, he’ll definitely… Huh?”

The priests, who had been cowering from the relentless lightning strikes, began to stand up with bewildered expressions.

The firepower itself was not very strong for an attack from an electric-type spirit.

It was an area-of-effect attack that was so weak that it was almost anticlimactic, considering it had plunged the entire street into a blackout.

“Well, that’s about it,” Amila nodded, not looking surprised.

Although he was a rare spirit mage, it was also unlikely that he was very skilled.

No, if Evan Bylon was a powerful spirit mage in the first place, he would have been much more famous than just being an assistant professor at Lavatenon University.

Moreover, the ear-piercing ringing that they were constantly making in the streets was something that strongly scattered the concentration of people other than the priests of the Order.

It was only natural that there would be limits to what he could do in this situation, even if he tried to be resourceful.

[Hek, hek… I did my best…]

The spirit, looking exhausted, stuck out his tongue and slumped in Lenok’s arms.

Amila looked at Davi as if he was cute.

“He’s a very likeable kid. I wonder if there was a cage in the Order’s warehouse that could isolate spirits…”

“He’s not someone a fanatic would covet,” Lenok muttered coldly and stepped forward.

“The battle is already over.”

Amila smiled.

“So, after playing the Order’s gospel for 100 hours straight, you’ll still be able to say the same-!”

Kiiiiing!!

At that moment, Amila’s vision suddenly went dark, and she could no longer hear anything.

Her limbs were flailing uncontrollably, and her senses were not working as if they were broken.

“Kuhuh…”

At the same time as her body tilted forward, the priests, whose eyes had suddenly rolled back, began to groan strangely and collapsed one by one.

Thump!! Thump!!

The priests, convulsing and foaming at the mouth, were completely different from the fanatics who had been charging forward so fiercely just moments ago.

“Uh… huh?” Amila asked, tilting her head while sprawled on the ground.

“How… did you do that? It’s hard for me to say this myself, but our Order’s people are usually not easily affected by mental attacks.”

“Is that so?”

“Whether it’s an illusion or a hallucination, it usually doesn’t work on them. If you had chanted a spell powerful enough to break through our doctrine… I wouldn’t have missed it.”

Even in this moment when the tide of the battle had turned in an instant, Amila, who was calmly asking about their tricks, was not in her right mind.

“I messed with bioelectricity.”

Lenok answered and took out a self-defense pistol from his pocket.

It wasn’t a dedicated piece of equipment that he carried as a half, but it was something he had prepared for any eventuality when he was going by the name of Evan.

Click!!

A simple slide-type pistol. Lenok, having finished loading, pointed the muzzle at the heads of the fallen priests and fired one shot at a time.

Bang! Bang!

The priests, unable to resist, died in vain.

Amila was just staring at it, and she seemed more curious about Lenok’s answer.

To buy time until all the priests were dead, Lenok also willingly opened his mouth.

After all, the longer he could stall here, the more advantageous it would be for Lenok.

“By using the spirit’s magic resonance ability, I built a powerful electric field. Then, I scattered electromagnetic pulses that could interfere with bioelectricity throughout the area. It’s enough to cause confusion in the senses by disrupting the nervous system.”

Amila blinked, not understanding what Lenok was saying for a moment.

“You’re saying you reversed human senses and forced them to faint… Does that even make sense?”

It was not something that could be done simply by having a powerful spirit magic spell.

It required a deep understanding of the body’s nervous system and bioelectricity, as well as a powerful ability to manipulate electricity comparable to that.

He was casually spouting words that could only be attempted if one had transcended fields and areas and was playing with magic at a high level.

It goes without saying how difficult it is to convert and manipulate magic-created electricity to the point where it can interfere with human bioelectricity.

It was not just a matter of changing the nature of magic, but of completely converting its system and lineage.

“What are you?”

Only then did Amila, realizing that the mage in front of her was more skilled than she had thought, glare sharply.

“You’re definitely not just a smart researcher…!!”

Bang!!

“I know how the Guido Order roughly instills their doctrine into people.”

Lenok, having shot her in the face to shut her up, said something else.

“They train them harshly until their bodies and minds are transformed, literally engraving the doctrine into their bones. Their sensory organs must already be messed up, making it easier to manipulate them.”

Bang!!

“Rather than directly touching their minds, which are heavily armed with fanaticism.”

“……”

Lenok, who had killed more than ten priests with just a single gun without using any magic, dusted off his hands and stood up.

Thud!!

He placed his hand on the head of the last surviving Amila and began to draw up his magic power.

Amila, realizing what Lenok was about to do, grinned.

“Are you trying to look into my memories? It won’t work.”

“No, it’s possible. I’ve already tried it once on your missionary.”

“…What?”

Lenok smiled as he saw Amila’s smile disappear.

“I don’t need to break through your mental barriers. It’s enough to deliver the necessary stimulus to drive your mind into a corner and observe the image that comes to mind most clearly in that situation.”

“Wait, then does that mean that the one who killed Walter Martinez was…!!”

“Let’s begin.”

It was not without reason that Lenok had subdued the other priests and then killed them one by one, and then captured Amila.

Just as he had read Walter Martinez’s mind and found the location of the Palgong Fortress where he was hiding.

Lenok was trying to do the exact same thing to Amila this time.

At the same time as his purple magic eye rotated, a sharp thought penetrated Amila’s mind.

It passed through the mental barrier created by the Order’s doctrine and reached its base in an instant.

At the same time as he extended his consciousness through the pillars of white light, he connected to her memories and implemented the data as it was.

Memory restoration that could not be attempted without the powerful computational assistance of the electronic spirit.

At that moment, the image of a pure white palace unfolded before Lenok’s eyes.

Paahhh!!

* * *

She was already a child of the Order by the time she had come to her senses.

Instead of food and clothing, she learned the doctrine and had her aptitude tested.

There were friends of hers who disappeared every quarter, but the headmaster only said that they had gone to a better place.

As she grew older and her mind hardened, she knew it was a lie, but it didn’t matter.

Was the Order’s doctrine correct?

Were the end-of-the-world beings from the outer sea really gods coming to save them?

Was their paradise really beyond that closed sky?

She was intelligent and knew that no one could give her a proper answer to all those questions.

That was why she began to accept the doctrine based on her own judgment and embody it.

If it was something that could not be answered, it was not difficult to choose which side to stand on.

That thought crumbled after she met the leader of the Order in person during the festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Order.

She was mixed in with tens of thousands of believers, and even though she was only looking at him from afar, she could tell.

The man, wearing white clothes and sitting in the center of the Pantheon, looking down at them with benevolent eyes, was definitely a being worthy of such worship.

Perhaps it was from that moment that Amila Bainzer began to try to get even closer to that place-

“Was it Evan, you said…”

Crack.

Her consciousness was cut off.

Grand music and endless processions.

In the middle of that mental image, which was just playing back events from a very old memory like a movie.

The leader of the Order, who should have been a part of that memory, was turning his gaze towards this side.

“Nice to meet you. I thought this day would come someday.”