Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 584

[Hurry. Someone tell me who Evan is.] Even with a shotgun waving in front of their faces, the undergraduates avoided eye contact and refused to answer. They knew that giving up Evan wouldn’t improve the situation. Before the enraged leopard could recklessly pull the trigger again, Lenox stood up first. “I’m here.” [What, it was the teacher?] The leopard muttered, then scratched his chin as if he had just remembered something. [Right, I heard he presented some thesis. So, it wouldn’t be these brats here.] ‘He’s not interested in anti-gravity technology. Yet, he’s looking for Evan Bailon… What’s the reason?’ If the goal was Evan’s abilities or achievements, there would be no reason to make such a big deal out of it. It would be more efficient and less risky to target Evan alone, rather than terrorizing the entire school. From the moment things escalated like this, it was clear that the focus was on something other than Evan. However, even so, there must be a reason why they specifically called out Evan’s name during the operation. ‘Was there something among the abilities or characteristics that Evan Bailon showed that caught the eye of the sorcerers?’ While he was lost in thought, the leopard poked Lenox’s back with the shotgun. [Come forward and wait. Someone will come to pick you up.] “If I go, can you release the students?” It was a meaningless question, but it was necessary to throw it out there to gauge the opponent’s reaction. […No.] The leopard, as if surprised by the question, stared at Lenox’s face as if he was about to hit him, then shook his head. [If you ask one more question, I’ll blow your head off, so just do as you’re told.] Thud!! At that moment, the back door of the lecture hall burst open loudly. A white, chubby figure wearing a pig mask. Like the leopard, it was a grotesque sight, as if he had taken the head of a living animal, emptied its insides, and put it on his own head. He glanced around at the trembling undergraduates, then let out a low laugh with a greedy look. [The kids here look much tastier than the ones I ate earlier. They’re definitely worthy of a magic school.] [Pig. Stop talking nonsense and take this one.] The leopard pushed Lenox’s shoulder from behind with the shotgun. [This guy is Evan Bailon. They said he’s a precious one, so he’ll be kept separately. You know what to do with the rest, right?] However, the pig seemed to ignore the leopard’s words and asked, as if throwing a question. [You take him. I’ll stay here and guard.] [What?] [It doesn’t matter who does it anyway.] The pig’s eyes glowed turbidly. [I just finished cleaning up the research building, so you take him to the elephant. Do you not understand?] [Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think I don’t know what you’re trying to do?] The leopard and the pig glared sharply at each other. [I’m not interested in your low-class eating habits, so do as you’re told. Do you want to get on the lion’s bad side?] ‘An elephant and a lion… It’s like a zoo.’ Thanks to that, he confirmed that there were at least four members of the Evil God Palace. All that was left was to find out why they had terrorized District 34 and then sneaked into the magic university without stopping. Unfortunately, the conflict between the leopard and the pig ended faster than expected. As soon as the leopard mentioned the lion’s name, the pig eventually gave in. [Damn it… You’re going to die after this is over.] The pig, after making a menacing threat, grabbed Lenox’s collar and dragged him out of the lecture hall. Watching Lenox being dragged away, Priscilla gritted her teeth and tried to gather her mana, but Lenox instead put his finger to his lips, stopping her. He pointed to himself and Cassia, then gestured with his eyes towards the shotgun the leopard was holding. The shotgun’s power itself was weak, and it wasn’t a weapon that could inflict fatal wounds. “…!!” As if realizing something, Priscilla nodded with a stiff face. The exchange of signals happened in a split second. Priscilla and Cassia alone might not be enough to resolve the situation, but Lenox wasn’t worried. If Lenox’s guess was correct, reinforcements who had not yet revealed themselves would surely be moving this way. * * * In the hallway of the Department of Elemental Studies. The pig roughly led Lenox and began walking on the wide marble floor. [For a school, the facilities are pretty good, huh?] The pig grumbled as he dragged Lenox along. [It makes my stomach churn to think that young prey is being raised in a place like this. I’m hungry…] Looking at the staggering, chubby figure drooling through the pig mask, Lenox asked. “Is it your hobby to eat people?” [What?] Lenox changed the subject as soon as he heard the indifferent answer. “No, rather, you just like meat filled with mana. You don’t care if it’s a person or an animal.” […] “I’ve seen a few types who are satisfied and gain power through consumption, but they all had a hard time controlling their appetite. Perhaps that itself is close to the price of choosing a convenient method…” Thwack!! While listening to Lenox’s words, the pig suddenly kicked him in the abdomen. Lenox’s back bent in half, and he flew backward and fell. The pig grabbed Lenox’s wriggling collar and pulled him up. [I was listening because they told me not to kill you, but you’re just spouting nonsense. Is this really the top researcher from Balkan?] “Hoo…” [If you’re so smart, you should know what not to say.] The pig said that and grabbed Lenox’s shoulder tightly, then began walking briskly down the hallway. [If you’re useless when I take you to the elephant, I’ll eat your limbs right away. I’m already annoyed, and this insignificant snob…] “Ah, wait a minute.” A quiet voice came from Lenox’s mouth as he was being dragged by the pig. “My shirt is about to tear, can you not touch my shoulder?” [Haaaah…] The pig sighed deeply and turned his back. [I can’t stand it, you arrogant bas…!!] Swish!! At that moment, the pig’s five fingers that were holding Lenox’s shoulder were cleanly cut off and fell to the floor. The pig stared blankly at his right hand, which was now just a palm. Lenox got up from his spot, dusted off his shirt, and adjusted his collar. [You…] A swift cutting magic that the pig himself didn’t even notice. The pig’s eyes changed instantly as he realized that his opponent was no ordinary researcher. The pig, who had turned from a beast preying on its prey to a seasoned veteran sorcerer, quickly gathered his main force and tried to start a spell. At that moment, a sharp steel beam that had fallen from the hallway ceiling pierced the pig’s shoulder and impaled his body like a skewer. Crack!! […!!] The pig was unable to even scream, and was pinned to the wall of the hallway like an exhibit. Even in that state, he desperately tried to form hand seals to complete the spell, ignoring the pain. But his left arm, which was still intact, was also pierced by a steel beam fragment that fell after it, severing his muscles. [Kkyaaaak…!!] The sorcerer finally screamed like a pig being slaughtered and thrashed wildly. “Be quiet, it’s noisy. No matter how much you scream, no one will hear you.” Lenox said that and pulled the pig’s mask off, which was stuck to the wall. A strange face with greasy hair and all sorts of piercings, including earrings. His mouth was stained with someone’s dried blood, as if he had stopped eating something halfway through. “Kkeuheueue…!!” It seemed that the animal mask had a voice modulation function, as a low groan came out of the chubby man’s mouth. Lenox took out his phone and took a picture of the chubby man’s face, muttering. “It’s a good thing I knew that I could manipulate the internal structures of the lecture hall. It could have been a hassle.” The way Lenox had just subdued the pig was not through special magic or artifacts. It was the authority to manipulate the internal facilities of the school, which was given to the school’s faculty. Originally, it was a spell designed to make it easier to manipulate the seats, ceiling lights, or speakers inside the lecture hall, but Lenox had slightly increased the scale of that authority and tampered with it in a way that collapsed the internal architectural structures of the lecture hall itself. If there was a mastermind behind the Evil God Palace as he suspected, he couldn’t ignore the possibility that they were watching the terrorist attack at Lavatenon Magic University from the outside. Unless he was confident that he could resolve the situation by using his true magic, risking the exposure of both his Ban and Evan identities, he needed to handle things here by using only the abilities and magic known to be Evan’s as much as possible. “Generally, sorcerers use a trigger action to draw out power beyond their limits.” Lenox said that and made eye contact with the pig. “If I cut off all the fingers on one hand and sever all the ligaments in your limbs, will it be difficult to use magic, or will it become more powerful instead… Aren’t you curious?” Lenox closed and opened his right eye, and his pupils began to rotate, emitting a stream of black light. The sorcerer’s expression, who had only been groaning, changed completely as he met Lenox’s magic eye. “S-save me.” “Save you?” “What do you want? I’ll tell you everything if you’re curious. Please…!!” As he said that, the pig’s tongue moved stickily in his mouth, and he shot something out from between his uvula. A tiny needle, barely visible to the eye, headed towards Lenox’s forehead at bullet speed. Crack!! It stopped right in front of him as if caught by an invisible force and crumpled. The pig’s face contorted as he realized that his last resort had failed miserably, and Lenox picked up the crumpled needle with his mana thread, muttering. “It’s a poison. I’ve heard stories of similar weapons being used in the jungles of the Southern Continent.” An ordinary sorcerer would not have the skill or sense to hide such a long and sharp needle in their throat and use it as a secret weapon. Despite his seemingly dull impression, he had hidden a trump card. However, the pig, who had failed even in his last struggle, seemed to have already lost all will to live. “Kill me. I have nothing more to say.” A detached attitude that was completely different from the way he had been begging for his life. However, Lenox thought that this was closer to the true nature of this man. Although the origins were different, he was a high-ranking member of a criminal organization that had bombed District 34 and infiltrated Lavatenon. Aside from his terrible habit of eating human flesh, it was highly unlikely that he was the type to fear death or betray his organization easily. The reason he had begged Lenox for his life just now was probably because he thought he could take advantage of Lenox’s carelessness. So, instead of answering his words, Lenox asked something else. “Tell me what you know about the elephant and the lion.” “…” “How many executives of the Evil God Palace have infiltrated Lavatenon University for this operation?” The pig, who had been trying to ignore the question, stared intently at Lenox after hearing those words. The fact that he knew the name Evil God Palace was proof that Lenox was aware of what was going on. “That damn monkey completely missed the mark.” The pig muttered, grinding his teeth. “You’re not just an ordinary researcher, damn it…!! If this is the case, the operation is completely…!!” “If you don’t intend to answer, then it’s fine.” Lenox said that and pushed the light of his magic eye into the pig’s mouth. “Uuugh…!!” “It seems you like meat filled with mana.” Lenox smiled as he watched the pig’s complexion rapidly turn black. “Then try eating until your stomach bursts.” “Kkeueueue…!!” The main force flowing within the pig’s body went berserk, devouring and rampaging through his own body. Blackened blood flowed from between his chubby nose and ears, and his bloodshot eyes slowly rolled back. With one last shudder, the sorcerer poured out black blood from all his orifices and died. Lenox stood up, leaving the pig, who had quietly died, impaled on the steel fragments on the hallway wall. There were plenty of ways to kill him easily if the opponent was careless. However, the reason why Lenox had gone through the trouble of dealing with the pig in this way was because he was concerned about the eyes of anyone else who might be watching this lecture hall. What would happen if Evan, who was known to be a spirit summoner but not a high-ranking mage, suddenly dropped a divine-level lightning bolt on the lecture hall? Lenox had neither the confidence nor the intention to deal with the aftermath if that happened. The only thing he could do was to kill the pig as quietly as possible using mana threads and his magic eye, which left no traces. ‘Considering the leopard’s attitude, the undergraduates won’t be hurt any further if possible. I need to focus on finding the executives of the Evil God Palace.’ He had left Cassia and Priscilla, along with the other students, in the lecture hall with the leopard, but Lenox had a backup plan. If Priscilla had properly understood the meaning of the hand gesture Lenox had mentioned at the end, she would surely be able to handle it properly. Thinking that, Lenox took out a bottle containing blue powder from his pocket and sprinkled it evenly on the animal mask he had taken from the pig. One of the experimental tools he had used in the lecture he had given today in place of Baila. Deski powder, which made it possible to see traces of the same mana with the naked eye. The Deski powder that had stuck to the animal mask glowed faintly and turned a hazy fluorescent color. At the same time, as if in response, the path at the far end of the hallway that Lenox had not yet walked began to glow in a similar color. It must be marking the path that the pig had walked alone to the lecture hall where the leopard had taken over. As he continued to walk in the direction where the mana was glowing, he moved to the research building where the professors’ research labs were located. Lenox’s face hardened slightly as he confirmed the research lab located at the end of the direction where the powder was glowing. The fluorescent light was leading into Baila’s research lab, where she had been working as a temporary professor in place of Aris. While Lenox was hesitating in front of the research lab door, a voice echoed from beyond the door. [If you’ve arrived, come in quickly. What are you dawdling about?] “…” Lenox casually threw the pig mask he had been holding into the hallway trash can and immediately opened the research lab door and stepped inside. The scene inside the research lab was filled with a vast amount of papers and research materials. It seemed that Baila had not given up on her own research even while performing her duties as a temporary professor. Beyond the textbooks and research equipment piled up everywhere, someone wearing an elephant mask was standing with their back turned. [Evan Bailon. Aris Richelren’s most trusted assistant professor, right?] The sorcerer, who had stood up and adjusted his elephant mask, said to Lenox with a strange, smiling tone. [I want to know something about her. You’ll have to work with us on one thing.]