Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 635

At those words, the lake fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone realized what Hermes was hoping to achieve with this act, and how dangerous his idea was.

‘He’s insane…’

Even as his mind was fading amidst the overwhelming amount of information flooding in, someone desperately cried out.

‘Do you believe there’s a sane soul left at the end of a perished world, Hermes…!! What do you intend to do by summoning someone who has already seen the end?!’

‘That’s a rather contradictory statement. Didn’t you all also use ordinary humans as a price for the knowledge of the Old World?’

Hermes shook his head in front of the wide-open gate of light.

‘You may have consoled yourselves by saying you only took their memories, not their lives, but did those who lost their memories live normal lives?’

‘……’

‘You probably never even cared. I understand.’

Hermes, mocking the silent Meisters [Master Craftsmen], pushed Harvester’s neck into the gate.

‘Aaaah!!!’

As if sensing something, Harvester desperately shook his head and wailed.

Hermes gently stroked Harvester’s cheek, as if to comfort him.

‘We have already become accustomed to sacrificing something to gain benefits from beyond the gate. We’ve accepted unreasonable exchange rates and even paying extra.’

‘No, no…’

The sight of the blood-soaked silver-haired youth caressing the older man was grotesque yet somehow sacred.

‘Now, unless we pay a much higher price, the Machine City cannot move forward. Do you understand?’

‘I, I have dedicated so much to this city!! There’s still, still so much…!!!’

Hermes didn’t watch Harvester’s struggle for long.

Instead, he simply grabbed the handle of the folding blade that was stuck in his neck with his other hand and slowly pulled it out.

Pshhh!!

The wound opened, and blood splattered, scattering the crimson liquid all over Harvester’s face.

At Hermes’s actions, which had reached a level beyond grotesque and into the incomprehensible, Harvester gaped blankly.

The folding blade, falling vertically, pierced Harvester’s crown precisely.

Thud!!

‘Gack…!!’

With a final scream, Harvester’s eyes rolled back, and thick saliva leaked from his mouth.

Without hesitation, Hermes threw Harvester’s instantly deceased body into the gate.

Splash!!

The radiance that had been continuously bursting out gradually faded as it passed through the gate, and a strange sound like water splashing was heard.

As everyone watched, barely breathing, Harvester’s body disappeared as if torn apart by the spatial rift.

‘……What do you intend to do now?’

As the radiance faded and the unknown information that had been flooding their minds disappeared, the Meisters gradually regained their breath.

Oason, a Meister who didn’t hide his hostility and glared at Hermes, asked.

‘Are you going to kill us all and throw us into that gate, just to observe the results?’

‘……’

However, Hermes didn’t answer Oason’s question, his face expressionless.

Instead, as if the time had come, he simply looked beyond the gate.

‘It’s coming up.’

‘Coming up? What the… Hah!!’

The other artisans, following Hermes’s gaze, widened their eyes and gasped.

Kiiing…!!

The shape of the huge, pure white gate began to be instantly dyed with a crimson glow.

The ring of light that had been emitting a neat and noble light was now covered in a sticky, dark red glow, shining brilliantly.

Glug, glug…!!

As if spitting out sticky blood, an unknown liquid poured out from beyond the gate.

Chwaaaak!!

From beyond the dark red fluid, Harvester’s body appeared, bouncing onto the surface of the lake and sprawling there.

At the same time, the fluid that had burst onto the lake’s surface disappeared as if sucked into all the holes in Harvester’s body.

Glurrr…!!!

Harvester’s body, which had been lying twisted with broken limbs, convulsed and writhed like a worm as it absorbed the fluid.

‘H-Heek…!!’

As the other Meisters recoiled in horror, Hermes, on the contrary, smiled brightly and spread his arms wide.

‘Look. Even just summoning the memories of a soul, this overwhelming presence… If a method to kill a god existed in the Old World, we are certainly!!!’

At that moment, Harvester’s back arched backward, and in that position, he supported himself with both feet and slowly stood up.

‘Ugh, aah… Ack.’

His whole body was dyed dark red, having absorbed the crimson fluid, and his hair was disheveled, making him look like a ghost.

His bloodshot eyes rolled back, and black tears of blood streamed down his face. He looked more like a demon possessed by a ghost than a human.

At the same time, an overwhelming storm of magical power emanated from his body.

Goooooo…!!!!

Everyone kept their distance from him, yet they couldn’t take their eyes off his miserable appearance.

As Hermes had said, Harvester’s current state was the result of the trial and error he had desired.

The souls and memories of the Old World, which had already met their end and vanished.

To bring something that they couldn’t even be sure existed beyond the gate back to this world, at the cost of a human life.

It was proof that Hermes had actually attempted and succeeded in something that was difficult to even conceive, let alone try.

‘Ah…’

The groans that had been constantly leaking from Harvester’s throat suddenly stopped.

Hermes, who had been watching with his hands behind his back, asked.

‘Great Transcendent. Can you hear me?’

‘……’

‘I’ve already communicated my intentions several times from beyond the gate, and I want to make a deal. If you can hear me, please respond.’

Instead of answering, Harvester raised one hand and pulled out the blade that was stuck in his crown.

Pshhk!!

Blood and other bodily fluids flowed out stickily, but Harvester ignored the wound that had split his head in half and stared at the blade.

Hermes, his neck half-cut and dangling, was also watching.

‘The first thing you show interest in is a blade… According to my memory, you didn’t rely on equipment…’

Thud!!

Hermes’s words, as he was touching his chin, suddenly stopped.

Harvester, gripping the folding blade, had stabbed the blade into Hermes’s chest on the spot.

There was no time to react or evade.

The moment he gripped the sword, it felt as if time had shifted, and the blade had leaped forward, piercing his solar plexus.

Faaaang!!!

Immediately after, a dark red wave erupted from behind Hermes, echoing throughout the lake.

‘……Cough!!’

The moment Hermes coughed weakly, unable to speak, dark red blood splattered out.

Before everyone could fully register the sight of Hermes, limp and unable to resist the blade piercing his heart.

Swoosh!!

Harvester, twisting the blade that had been stabbed into his solar plexus, broke Hermes’s collarbone and cleanly severed his neck.

A miraculous feat of swordsmanship, piercing the heart with the blade and then beheading him.

However, more than that mystical swordsmanship, the Meisters’ gazes were directed elsewhere.

Hermes’s head, which had been cut off so easily that it seemed futile, fell to the ground and rolled around.

Everyone was stunned by the stark incongruity of his once dazzling silver hair being cut off along with his head.

‘H-He’s dead…!!’

‘What do we do? What do we do…!!’

Even the Meisters, who had lived for a long time, lost their reason and were confused by what had happened before their eyes.

But an even more astonishing thing happened next.

‘It’s a little different from what I expected. Hmm, I didn’t anticipate such uncooperative behavior…’

Hermes’s head, which had been severed, began to move its lips while upside down.

‘Whether the price was insufficient or the output was lacking, I can only assume there was some error.’

‘Ugh, uaaah!!’

Screams erupted from somewhere at the sight of Hermes’s head and body, still talking normally even though they were separated.

The fact that Hermes was not an ordinary human caused the Meisters to lose their minds and start running away.

Hermes, with his head cut off, couldn’t stop them from escaping.

Realizing this belatedly, the other Meisters also quickly turned their backs and ran, watching Hermes and Harvester.

‘Oh my, are you leaving?’

Hermes watched the Meisters indifferently and chuckled.

‘But it seems this one doesn’t intend to let you go so easily.’

‘……’

Harvester’s body, which had been standing still as if dead after cutting off Hermes’s head.

The unidentified entity that had newly taken residence within it slowly turned its gaze towards the fleeing Meisters.

Lenox, also hiding his presence, watched the scene and pondered.

‘If I’m going to intervene, now is the only chance. But…’

Harvester, who had been staring blankly at the Meisters’ backs with cloudy eyes, dropped the folding blade he was holding.

Immediately, a stream of blood erupted from his wrist, engulfing his entire body and covering it in a dark red blood armor.

Clank!!

The form of a blood knight, having covered his head with the sticky blood armor.

The moment he raised his hand, which had hardened into sharp, demonic claws, the blood flowing from his surroundings rose like a wave, covering the entire lake area and beginning to rotate.

Kwaaaaaa…!!

The manifestation of an unbelievable, transcendent magical power. The monster’s will, pressing down on the entire space itself.

The Meisters’ faces were filled with despair as they realized that this will was filled only with the murderous intent to tear apart anything that moved.

Just as the blood knight clenched his fist, ready to tear apart human flesh and blood.

The water of the lake beneath his feet rose and froze, turning into a mirror of pure white ice.

Faaaang!!

The blood-colored wave, filled with magical power, directly hit the surface of the ice mirror.

It twisted its trajectory, hit the ceiling above the lake, and erupted with a powerful roar.

Clang!!

The impact shattered the ice mirror completely, scattering hundreds of shards of ice like snow over the lake.

The blood knight flinched at the sight and belatedly turned his gaze towards the source of the magical power.

At that moment, a massive shockwave pressed down on the blood knight’s face as if grinding it, pushing him backward.

Kwaaang!!

The manifestation of repulsive force, as if a truck weighing tens of tons had suddenly appeared and pushed him away.

The blood knight reacted immediately, but unable to overcome the force, he fell backward.

Splash!!

Harvester’s body, unable to withstand the impact, sank below the surface of the lake.

Although some measures had been taken to allow walking on the lake surface in this space, the immense pressure was enough to throw the blood knight directly under the lake.

Hermes’s head, which had been staring blankly at the scene upside down, turned its gaze.

Amidst the sharp wind where the ice fragments reflected the lake’s water, creating a dazzling radiance all around.

Lenox stood there, amidst the scattering ice.

Wearing an iron mask that completely covered his face, he looked down at Hermes silently.

Seeing this, Hermes smiled as if relieved.

‘That was a wonderful response. It was the best method you could have used right now.’

‘……’

‘But that alone won’t be enough to completely suppress the divinity. If it’s a flame that maintained its power even from beyond the gate, it won’t be extinguished by just one or two collisions.’

Even though he had no idea of Lenox’s presence until just now, Hermes was not at all surprised by his sudden appearance.

Rather, he began to offer various pieces of advice to Lenox, who had stopped the blood knight’s rampage in his stead.

‘I apologize to someone I’m meeting for the first time, but would you help me until I can communicate with that person?’

Hermes’s eyes shone transparently.

Even though they were so close, his gaze, with his head cut off, shone purely white, making it impossible to read his true intentions.

‘I want to confirm whether that person is truly the transcendent who killed a god in the Old World. A madman with the ambition to challenge the Ascension.’

‘Is that so?’

Lenox cleanly ignored Hermes’s words and approached the form of the gate, standing proudly.

Although a vast amount of light mixed with information was leaking through the still-open gate, Lenox didn’t care.

He was quite used to this phenomenon of being pressed down by the sheer volume of information itself.

After all, he just had to let the information flow through his mind without trying to understand it, as it was impossible to understand anyway.

However, Hermes seemed even more intrigued by Lenox’s behavior.

‘It doesn’t seem like you’re using any specific memory-erasing or forgetting techniques, yet you’re facing the light of the gate head-on… You have incredible mental fortitude.’

‘……’

‘I know who you are. The thick iron mask and your strange and unique skills. I’ve heard about you before.’

Lenox’s hand, which had been carefully touching the gate’s handle, stopped.

Hermes spoke slowly, as if trying not to miss even a single reaction from Lenox.

‘The person who dealt with the assassins from the side squad first and escaped from the execution agency during the attempted assassination of Nasisa Solmer. You were still in this city.’

It seemed that by revealing that he knew Lenox’s identity, he wanted to turn Lenox’s interest towards himself.

However, even after hearing those words, Lenox was more focused on observing the gate than being surprised.

Based on the circumstances he had observed so far, Hermes was a member of the Ex Machina committee. A powerful figure with a fairly high rank within Ex Machina.

He probably heard about what Lenox had done through the execution agency’s internal information network.

Hermes spoke again, as if giving a warning to Lenox, who was not paying any attention to him.

‘You won’t gain anything by observing the gate for long. It will close again soon, and I’m the only one with the authority to open it.’

‘The corpse that holds the soul of the Old World from beyond the gate doesn’t die even when injured.’

‘……Excuse me?’

At those words, Lenox slowly turned his gaze from observing the gate to Hermes’s head.

‘You too are still alive and babbling even with your head cut off.’

‘……’

‘Hermes. The reason you were so eager to find the souls of the Old World, isn’t it because you are also a similar being?’

At Lenox’s words, which immediately pierced the core, Hermes was momentarily speechless.

The corpse that had obtained the soul of the Old World from beyond the gate moved perfectly even when injured.

Lenox’s words were a question of whether Hermes, who was still alive even with his head cut off, was also a similar being.

Seeing Hermes not answering, Lenox nodded lightly.

‘If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. That wasn’t why I intervened.’

Lenox had intervened at this crucial moment, just before everything was about to fall apart, for a different reason.

He had no interest in the lives of the Meisters, but he knew that keeping them alive was most in line with his goals.

Lenox lightly nodded his head towards the huge ring of light floating above.

‘I’ll take that.’