Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 589

It was true that Mila’s lateness almost caused things to go wrong, but Lenox had no intention of wasting time pointing it out.

Since Antares knew that Ban and Evan were the same person, he knew that nothing would happen to Evan’s safety.

Even so, the reason for assigning mercenaries as escorts was simply because there needed to be a ‘fact’ that someone was protecting Evan.

Rather, it was highly likely that the security arrangement was loosened to accommodate Lenox’s schedule and movements.

In order to provide security only during Evan’s commute to the university, someone from the unit had to be on standby inside the school and adjust to Lenox’s schedule.

It was too sudden of a situation to hold anyone accountable for the security gap that occurred in the process.

It wasn’t something to just overlook, but it was also a situation where he knew there were reasons for the mistakes, so there was no point in digging into them.

Lenox knew that there was a good solution called money in times like these.

‘It would be enough to claim damages from the Antares Mercenary Company later.’

Of course, there seemed to be a possibility that the compensation costs would be taken from Mila’s wallet, but that was none of Lenox’s concern.

Unaware of Lenox’s thoughts, Mila’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the two shamans who had fainted following him.

“One of them is the leopard mask I caught, and who’s this? What’s with the disgusting monkey mask?”

“They are a shamanic group called the ‘Weird God Palace’.”

Lenox stopped thinking and calmly answered Mila’s question.

“They are the ones who are currently occupying Lavatenon University and causing terror.”

“I know these bastards were trying to take the kids here hostage. What exactly is their goal?”

“I think we need to find out the reason from now on.”

Priscilla, who had been listening to their conversation, asked in disbelief.

“Wait, so you didn’t even know who they were, and you just caught them and beat them up?”

“In my personal experience, guys who wear weird masks are all suspicious idiots.”

Mila said confidently.

“Looking at it, it seems like things worked out well to some extent thanks to me!”

“…….”

Priscilla, who had been looking at Mila with a dumbfounded expression, let out a deep sigh.

“Okay. Anyway, it’s good that we rescued Assistant Professor Cassia safely. Good job.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right. You understand what’s important!”

Mila, who had been subtly watching Lenox, quietly whispered as she approached him.

“I thought I could make up for it by catching this leopard mask bastard, but I guess not……?”

“Many things happened at once.”

Lenox smiled without batting an eye.

“Still, it’s a relief that things worked out well.”

Unless they knew how many shamans from the Weird God Palace were scattered throughout the Elemental Studies lecture hall, it was necessary to quickly identify and neutralize them.

He had mostly handled things alone, concerned about the leopard’s attitude, external surveillance, and the students’ gazes.

In the end, it was thanks to Mila’s help that things worked out well, so he had to say it was a relief.

“With things like this, where the heck is the Dean……!!”

“Judging from the fact that communication with the outside is still not connected, it’s certain that someone is behind these shamans.”

Lenox calmly replied to Cassia’s words.

“The Dean is probably tied up by the person behind them, making it difficult for him to move officially. So…….”

[Baa-baa!!]

Lenox, who had picked up a fluffy spirit resembling a mountain goat that was constantly crying at his feet, said.

“I was trying to send your spirit instead to report the anomaly.”

“Oh, this cotton candy-like thing is a spirit?”

Mila took the Dean’s spirit from Lenox’s arms and started to rub it.

“Amazing. It actually feels great to the touch? So… does that mean all spiritists carry around pets like this?”

[Abooboo!!]

The spirit wriggled its body as if protesting Mila’s actions of rubbing its fur, and then jumped back onto Lenox’s shoulder.

Lenox gently stroked the spirit’s head and continued.

“The strange situation where the Dean and the spirit are separated, the meaning that the Dean himself cannot move, and the message that the essence of the current situation is related to spirits are all included.”

“That is…….”

“You mean the beast that the shaman was using earlier was a type of spirit.”

“But I don’t think the Dean would have sent the spirit with such deep meaning in mind…….”

“…….”

Cassia’s answer seemed to lack trust in the Dean’s planning.

“The problem is that, apart from dealing with the shamans in the Elemental Studies lecture hall, we haven’t yet properly identified the mastermind behind this incident.”

Lenox cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.

“If we don’t decide on their purpose and how to deal with the students here, we won’t be able to move any further.”

“Do you need someone to interrogate these shamans? I was wondering what was so difficult.”

Mila grinned and began to gather her magic power.

“Take the kids out for a bit. I’ll make these beast bastards talk within five minutes.”

* * *

Mila’s method of getting the shamans to talk was simple.

She put the monkey and the leopard in separate lecture halls, coaxed and threatened them, and compared the information they had.

She demanded cross-verification, saying that the guy on the other side had spilled the information, and in a situation where they couldn’t trust each other, she made them spit out the information first.

It started with the information Lenox had obtained from the other shamans.

The shamans, who had begun to suspect each other, had no choice but to fall for it, even though they knew it was a common tactic.

“A spirit growth promotion ritual?”

“……Yes.”

The shaman wearing the monkey mask said in a weak voice, his limbs bound.

Perhaps he thought there was no hope for them since the leopard had been caught.

“The spirits that our shamans use are fundamentally similar to other spirits, but their essence is bound to a system of spells called shamanism.”

Perhaps he was worried that the invisible leopard would spill the information first and be at ease.

The monkey quickly chose his words while watching Mila’s expression.

“That’s why we can make the spirits stronger by offering high-grade catalysts or shamanic materials, and eventually transform them into beings that transcend the limits of spirits.”

“Beings that transcend the limits of spirits…….”

“It doesn’t just end with gaining higher intelligence and greater power. It’s a special power that is not fundamentally allowed for spirits…….”

The monkey stopped talking and looked up, staring intently at the area near Lenox’s shoulder.

[…….]

Davi, who received the gaze, flicked his tongue as if annoyed and rubbed his forehead with his tail.

Lenox knew roughly what the monkey was thinking, but he changed the subject before unnecessarily drawing more attention to Davi.

“You mean that in the process, you chose humans as the materials?”

At Lenox’s words, the monkey shut his mouth with a resentful look.

“You don’t want to answer anymore?”

Mila grinned and tapped the monkey’s cheek.

“Then I’ll just listen to that idiot in the leopard mask. But you know what will happen to you if that friend says something, right?”

At the sight of her getting up and leaving the lecture hall, the monkey’s mouth opened again.

“We warm up with ordinary humans, and then we offer up magicians.”

“…….”

“We sequentially offer up low-ranking magicians in stages to elevate the existence of the spirit.”

The monkey continued in silence.

“The purity of magic power is important. We need a large number of magicians who are in good condition and of low rank. And the only environment that can satisfy that in this city is…….”

“It was Lavatenon Magic University, is that what you’re saying?”

Lenox shook his head as he said that.

“You’re crazy. It’s absurd that something like this is happening in the inner area of the Balkan.”

“Evan, you said there was a mastermind. Isn’t this something that happened because of them?”

“Even if the Central Council is behind it, it’s actually unrealistic to take on this level of risk.”

“Why?”

Mila asked as she kicked the monkey, making him fall to the floor of the lecture hall.

Thud!

“Among the students of the Magic University, there are many nobles from prestigious families and wealthy people. They should know that the aftermath of this incident will be significant, yet they condoned the Weird God Palace’s plan to use students as offerings…….”

Lenox nodded, looking at the shaman’s shaking gaze.

“It’s hard to explain unless someone among the councilors decided to share the achievements of the Weird God Palace or went on a rampage to cover up a plan equivalent to that.”

“Ugh……!! If you’re going to kill me, just kill me quickly!!”

The monkey said with a face that had given up all hope in life.

“I’ve told you everything I know. You don’t even intend to let me live……!!”

From the monkey’s perspective, knowing that pigs and elephants had died at Lenox’s hands, he could not have dreamed of a future where he would survive here.

However, the reason he willingly spilled the information under the threat of the leopard and himself was to reduce the pain on his way, even a little.

It wasn’t because he succumbed to the physical pain that would come.

He knew that because Lenox was a spiritist like him, he could inflict even more pain and suffering than others.

However, Mila shook her head while stepping on the monkey’s shoulder.

“No, you haven’t said the important thing yet.”

“What is it……!!”

“The leader of the Weird God Palace. Where is he now?”

Looking at the monkey who was speechless, Lenox poured magic power into Davi.

Crack!!

Lenox looked down at him with the cybernetic spirit, which had begun to emit brilliant electricity from his body again, and asked.

“If you infiltrated Lavatenon after committing terrorism in District 34, then the leader would have been with you. It doesn’t make sense for the leader not to participate in an operation that puts the organization’s fate on the line.”

“…….”

“If the shamans who targeted the students of the Elemental Studies Department are all of them, then their leader would be targeting another department in the school. Where is it?”

“I, I can’t say…….”

The monkey’s face gradually swelled, and then it began to burst like foam on its flesh.

“I, I didn’t want to end up like this…… with my spirit, just……!!”

Bang!!

The monkey’s head exploded on the spot, scattering its contents all over the lecture hall.

Naturally, the liquids, including blood, splattered on Lenox, who was standing in front of it, but Davi, who had already gathered his magic power, burned it all away on the spot, leaving no trace.

Mila frowned at the stench that filled the lecture hall.

“So, what do we do now? Should we go to that leopard guy and do the same thing?”

“……It won’t be of much use.”

Lenox answered as he walked out, avoiding the bloodstains on the floor.

“To put this kind of suicide trigger on a high-ranking superhuman, many people often have to agree on a single rule at the same time. By now, probably…….”

Thud!!

A dull thud echoed from the lecture hall next door, where the leopard had been locked up.

It was obvious without asking that it was the sound of a corpse falling over, having lost its head, just like the monkey.

Mila, pouting, shrugged her shoulders.

“There was a reason why you set the question about the leader of the Weird God Palace as the last one. You were thinking from the beginning that it would turn out like this?”

“They are crazy enough to commit terrorism in the sunny area of the Balkan and even take another step from there.”

Lenox sighed.

“It wouldn’t be strange if all the members of the organization shared this kind of extreme secret oath.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you have any other opinions?”

“No, it’s not that…….”

Mila said, resting her chin on her hand and narrowing her eyes.

“Somehow, the way you think is very similar to the magician I know.”

[…….]

Davi, who was in Lenox’s arms, swallowed hard.

“Yeah, the electricity that spirit emits is also a bit similar. The magic pattern is completely different, but the ferocious speed is similar, I should say.”

“If a member of the Antares Mercenary Company is close to a magician, he must be a skilled person.”

“Skilled? Well, no need to say it… huh? I feel like I’ve had a similar conversation before. Or am I wrong?”

“I don’t remember it well.”

At Lenox’s expression of playing dumb without batting an eye, Mila tilted her head for a moment and then shook her head.

“Well… I don’t think that guy would be a teaching assistant at school either, it’s just that the feeling is similar. This is a very, very great compliment.”

“I see.”

“Maybe you could have been a great success if you had changed your career path to a combat magician instead of a researcher.”

“…….”

Should this be called good intuition?

“Anyway, I’ll take care of the scene, so you explain the situation to the others.”

“Understood.”

Lenox left Mila, who was roughly cleaning up the bodies of the shamans who had worn the monkey and leopard masks, and went out into the hallway outside the classroom.

“A spirit growth promotion ritual…….”

[Master. I want to receive praise and worship from all living things, not necessarily offerings.]

“What?”

Lenox inadvertently asked back, then chuckled as he realized the meaning of what Davi was saying.

This fox spirit was worried that Lenox would try to grow Davi through human sacrifice.

“Don’t worry about unnecessary things. Apart from the efficiency of human sacrifice, I have no intention of making you do anything that would defile your spirituality.”

[Hmph, I wasn’t worried…….]

Although he knew how absurd the efficiency of human sacrifice was through his contact with the Guido Order, Lenox had no intention of using such forbidden arts in the future.

Apart from the issue of individual morality and ethics, human sacrifice is a geas [a magical compulsion or taboo] based on the depraved image of sacrificing the same human beings.

It was a fatal distortion that could change even the direction of the answer Lenox himself had chosen the moment he stepped into it.

Even if it was unavoidable to contact them while dealing with them, Lenox should refrain from using that forbidden art himself.

What Lenox was thinking about was not about human sacrifice.

“The spirit growth promotion ritual itself is a secret art passed down among shamans, and the Weird God Palace is sacrificing humans to increase the efficiency of the ritual.”

[That’s right…….]

“Then, if the ritual itself is well adjusted and manipulated, wouldn’t it be helpful for your growth too?”

[Huh?]

Lenox smiled as he watched Davi raise his tail straight up.

“As a reward for attacking the Far East branch of the Guido Order, Grisha said that I could freely use everything on the island.”

[Oh? Then…….]

“Starting from today, we might be able to try it until we completely drain the assets of the Order’s Far East branch.”

If it was a ritual that they were trying to carry out even while committing terrorism at Lavatenon Magic University, then the effect and efficiency of the ritual were certain.

If such a ritual was directly applied to Davi, who shared some of Lenox’s talents, how far could the rank of the cybernetic spirit be raised?

It was a rare opportunity to grow the rank of the spirit, not Lenox himself.

He knew that he could not only stop the terrorism but also gain new growth potential for the spiritist formula.

‘It’s been a while since Davi’s tail stopped at the fourth one.’

Until now, he had left it alone for Davi’s natural growth, but if there was no change, it might be time for external stimulation or trial and error.

To try anything, he would first need to obtain the complete magic circle of the spirit growth promotion ritual.

Lenox thought that far and immediately called Cassia to tell her the facts he had learned from interrogating the shamans.

“You mean he died trying to talk about the leader of the Weird God Palace…….”

“It’s a measure that wouldn’t be necessary if the leader hadn’t infiltrated the university.”

Lenox nodded at Cassia’s words as she pondered.

“It seems almost certain that the leader of the Weird God Palace is conducting another ritual inside the school.”

“Are you going to stop it?”

Cassia said, looking back at the students.

“But if we move to stop this situation now, it will be difficult to protect the students. And it’s too late to wait for outside help now…….”

The situation was too bad.

By now, the other executives of the Weird God Palace would have begun to realize that the shamans dispatched to the Elemental Studies Department had died in large numbers.

If they just stayed in the lecture hall like this, what would arrive might not be outside help, but the shamans of the Weird God Palace.

“Then it’s simple.”

Lenox nodded.

“We can safely evacuate the students and move to find the leader of the Weird God Palace.”

“……What?”

“Assistant Professor, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Cassia and Mila shook their heads in disbelief.

How could the people gathered here solve the problem of protecting the students and resolving this situation at the same time?

Two goals that could only be achieved by moving in completely opposite directions, whether in terms of purpose or means.

But Lenox was saying that he had a way to deal with both.

“Do you remember what kind of transportation the shamans of the Weird God Palace used when they entered Lavatenon Magic University?”