Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 648

Thud!!

Two massive heads of the statue, each the size of a person, fell to the ground.

From the severed necks, a dark crimson fluid began to gush out, pulsating like the blood of a living being.

Watching Mayah nonchalantly retract her short sword, Lenok spoke with a dumbfounded tone.

“Is it alright to damage the prototype like that? It will be difficult to use the statue’s abilities if it’s made like this.”

“The doctor didn’t give me these coordinates to trade using the statue’s abilities.”

Mayah replied with a blank expression.

“Among the materials that make up the statue’s abilities, there’s something we need for this plan.”

Instead of answering, Lenok looked around, then dipped his finger into the oozing fluid and muttered.

“This is… an archangel’s fluid.”

“Did you know?”

“I’ve faced an archangel that Hermes summoned in the Mind Palace.”

Didn’t a dark crimson fluid overflow the moment Archangel Kashuin descended by borrowing Meister’s body?

Lenok realized that what was gushing out like blood from the severed necks of the statue was the archangel’s fluid itself.

As proof, the lingering compassion of the archangel, who had absorbed Kashuin’s spirit, was faintly vibrating.

“I didn’t think it could be used anywhere due to its poor mana conductivity, but it was being used as the statue’s power source?”

“Archangel’s fluid is one of the very few catalysts that can exchange information between the current world and the old world.”

“Exchange, huh…”

Is it because they worship a failed god in both the old and current worlds, based on faith?

Lenok could somewhat guess why the archangel’s fluid could exchange information between the two worlds.

Mayah turned to Lenok, looking surprised, and said.

“Your words are more interesting. Are you saying Hermes summoned the archangel’s spirit from beyond the gate?”

“To be precise, it was in the form of possessing a human body…”

Lenok briefly explained how Hermes had summoned the archangel at the time.

After hearing the story of the events, omitting the story of the failed god, Mayah fell into thought.

“Drawing spiritual energy directly from beyond the gate was something that almost always failed during the planning stage… It seems Hermes’ skill in using the gate has reached a new level.”

“According to Hermes, injecting the archangel’s spiritual energy into a human seemed more like an experiment.”

Lenok, who had naturally collected the archangel’s fluid into an empty vial, replied.

If the fluid itself acts as a catalyst, there is a need to collect data.

“Now that we know that the spiritual energy of the old world can reside in a human body, he will now try to summon the transcendent himself.”

Hermes is an artificial ego that has been consumed by the memories of the Ascended [beings who have transcended human limitations].

He identifies with the memories of the Ascended, but strictly speaking, he is not a transcendent.

However, if Hermes summons the true spiritual energy of the Ascended from beyond the gate, the story changes.

That would be the same as the Ascended of the old world directly descending upon the machine city of Machina.

Having confirmed that there were no problems with the plan through the descent of the archangel, they are creating a new ascension gate through district transfer.

The moment the plan is completed, Hermes will attempt to merge with the spirit of the Ascended, which he will summon directly from beyond the third gate.

‘I’m curious what will happen when the Ascended of the old world descends into this world…’

While Lenok was lost in thought, Mayah moved towards the heads of the statue she had cut off.

Two heads with their eyes closed and necks severed.

She brings her short sword to their eyelids, cuts them open, and extracts each of the ten eyeballs from the statue.

The statue’s heads faintly twitch as if in pain, spilling dark crimson fluid.

However, the moment Mayah extracts all the eyeballs, they lose all their strength and become stiff as if dead.

Lenok looks at the ten eyeballs extracted from the statue’s head and asks.

“So, it wasn’t the statue’s abilities that you needed. You wanted these eyeballs from the start?”

“The prototype made by Artermeier was not fully functional, so it was partially made using the power of Machina’s myth-grade artifacts.”

Mayah replies, holding the eyeballs in her hand and carefully crushing them.

Crack!!

She carefully gathers the dark purple crystal that served as the pupil of the statue’s eyeballs.

When the extracted pupil fragments are gathered, they naturally merge and turn into a mirror the size of a finger.

Thump, thump…!!

The jewel mirror, with a heavy dark purple glow, vibrates irregularly while held in Mayah’s hand.

Lenok stares at the dark purple jewel mirror, which is pulsating like a heart, and faintly frowns.

“The space…”

The space around the mirror that Mayah is holding is actually swelling and contracting.

A strange phenomenon where the space itself expands and contracts following the pulsation of the jewel mirror.

Mayah’s hand also swells and contracts with the space, her skin tearing and blood flowing.

“…”

There’s no need to mention the durability and recovery of an 8-level physical ability user.

Yet, Mayah’s hand, just by holding the mirror, swells and tears, showing how intense the spatial fluctuations are.

However, Mayah’s expression doesn’t change even as she sees her hand swelling, tearing, and bleeding.

She simply holds out the mirror, with blood dripping from it, to Lenok.

“Do you know what this is?”

“…I only know that it’s something that holds a very powerful concept.”

Lenok mutters, carefully examining it.

“It doesn’t have any mana mixed in, so it’s not an artifact or a jewel. It’s not something made by natural phenomena or cause and effect in the first place.”

“It’s a materialization of the concept of the 9-level Ascended, Madrea Falsier, the Sky-Gazer.”

At that moment, Lenok, who didn’t understand the meaning of the answer, fell silent.

He knew all too well the meaning of the name Mayah had suddenly uttered, which was why he couldn’t understand it.

“…What?”

“The Sky-Gazer’s conceptual territory, which is said to see farther than anyone else in this world. It’s an extract created by extracting the foundation of that concept.”

“…”

Lenok, who couldn’t say anything, quickly composed himself and asked.

“The Sky-Gazer… Are you saying that it’s a conceptual material made by extracting the conceptual territory of that lighthouse keeper?”

“When the ascension gate plan was underway in Machina, we made several of these extracts with the help of the Sky-Gazer.”

Mayah replied.

“Among the great Ascended, the Sky-Gazer was relatively friendly to humans. That’s why we were able to obtain this conceptual material after offering a huge tribute to the Philemon Autonomous Territory.”

“…”

“Most of them were used as signposts in the process of creating the ascension gate, but this is one of the things Artermeier secretly took and hid.”

Mayah muttered self-deprecatingly, clutching the jewel mirror.

The conceptual territory that a 9-level Ascended unfolds by completely overlaying their own mind onto reality.

Lenok knew well from his encounter with Jin-Doon how unrealistic that concept was.

The conceptual territory that Jin-Doon Zygis Ethernore had unfolded in the snowy fields of the Northern Continent, the Hanghasa Labyrinth [a vast, complex maze].

A vast maze that could accommodate thousands of superhumans at once, overlaying his life as a barrier master onto reality.

It was a power that went beyond simply dominating and controlling the area, but also allowed him to seize the power of life and death over everyone who entered the conceptual territory.

Mayah was saying that she had extracted a part of the Sky-Gazer’s conceptual territory and materialized it.

‘Did Madrea Falsier extract her own conceptual territory and spread it to the world…’

Why did the Sky-Gazer, in her lifetime, lend her power to Machina’s ascension gate plan?

Perhaps she hoped that the machine city’s method would be the answer to the end of this world.

If so, Lapis, who inherited the role of the lighthouse keeper, must also know this fact.

Perhaps the Blue Eye’s plan to build lighthouses all over the world and regain the lighthouse keeper’s functions is related to the Sky-Gazer’s conceptual territory.

While Lenok was lost in thought, Mayah continued to speak.

“The will of a qualified transcendent is a power comparable to the level of this world. If we borrow that power, we can twist the timeline and forcibly create a fixed point.”

Is she saying that they materialized the concept of the Ascended and used it as a power source to tear through the walls of the world and use it as a starting point for the gate to the next world?

Lenok, who intuitively understood how absurd Machina’s technology and ideas were, nodded unconsciously.

“You’re saying that they materialized the Sky-Gazer’s concept and used it as a signpost to forcibly fix the starting point of the plan. That’s insane…”

The core of the ascension gate plan is to create the gate to the next world itself.

However, as it transcends the world itself, a starting point is needed to return at any time amidst the rapidly changing timelines.

Without a fixed point that transcends the relativity of time, they could get lost and drift away forever while the plan is in progress.

That’s why the ancestors of the machine city tried to materialize the concept of the Ascended Sky-Gazer and use it as a signpost to succeed in their plan.

“If it’s the concept of the lighthouse keeper who sees the farthest, it can certainly become an eye that finds the way even from the other side of the world.”

“…You understand faster than I thought. Have you had a similar experience?”

Mayah turned to him, slightly surprised that Lenok had immediately understood the explanation.

Lenok, who had also been thinking about what abilities were needed to manipulate time magic, was able to immediately understand what role the jewel was playing.

“Anyway, I understand that the jewel mirror is a catalyst that materialized the Sky-Gazer’s concept. Is this the method Artermeier was talking about?”

The doctor, Artermeier, was the one who copied and implanted the ascension gate opening code into the mind of Ellava Artermeier, who was known to be his blood relative.

Considering that, it wouldn’t be strange if the doctor had left a means to forcibly close the gate.

Although he reacted as if he had no attachment to the ascension gate, he still had a means to intervene in the gate’s system in case of an emergency.

That meticulousness and mad thirst for knowledge were one of the reasons why Lenok felt the doctor was particularly dangerous, even among the geniuses and monsters of Pandemonium.

“Hermes’ method is just going out of control in a direction that has nothing to do with the failure of the ascension gate… There is no attachment or answer to that fact.”

Mayah said coldly, self-deprecatingly.

“I can’t accept such an alternative. There must be a way to fundamentally fix the errors of the ascension gate.”

“…”

“I will definitely find a way before the end comes… Until then, no one can manipulate this city as they please.”

What was reflected in Mayah’s eyes was not mere enthusiasm or motivation.

A relentless, cold, and shining obsession and madness. The resolve of a failure who is ready to do anything to achieve her goal.

It was a shortcut to destruction, knowing that it could not extend in the right direction.

The moment Lenok opened his mouth to say something about it.

Saaak…!!

From afar, a chilling coldness and a sharp presence that pressed down on all sides began to spread like paint.

Almost simultaneously, the two turned their gazes and immediately recognized the identity of the presence.

Unlike the mechanized corps close to firepower units or the secretive and insidious side squads, it was a sharp and clear presence of individuals.

The best elite special forces of the machine city.

The symbol of Machina’s power and the agent of order.

The Execution Agency had directly surrounded the Central District.

* * *

Thud thud thud thud!!!

Near the clock tower in the furiously vibrating Central District.

Amidst the buildings filled with only the noise of the violently reverberating vibrations, the sound of the entire street swaying.

Several dozen superhumans wearing dark gray uniforms were standing on the roofs of different buildings, silently looking at one place.

The machine city’s elite special forces, the Execution Agency.

Elites who are officially granted the title of Executor only after going through dozens of actual battles, all gaze at one place and wait for the right moment.

Chiiik—!

A stiff female voice echoed through the silent communication network.

[I’ll go first. I’ll ask the other Executors to rescue the Ex Machina committee members.]

“…Isabella.”

Philo, one of the branch managers in charge of commanding the other Executors on the field, spoke up.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

[He’s the one I selected as a candidate and called to the Meister selection ceremony.]

Isabella replied in a voice devoid of any emotion.

[I am also responsible for how things have turned out.]

“…”

Without waiting for Philo’s reply, Isabella moved immediately.

Her figure, melting away as if disappearing into the shadows, immediately stood in front of the clock tower.

[If something happens, don’t worry about me and start the operation as planned.]

Isabella is the person who brought Lyman to the selection ceremony. Therefore, taking responsibility, Isabella goes to the most dangerous front line.

Ujat bit his lip as he watched, but he also couldn’t say anything and watched the situation.

Isabella, standing in front of the clock tower’s main gate, slowly took off her hood and stepped into the lobby.

Squeak…!!

The sound of the door opening echoed, but Isabella didn’t bother to hide and calmly walked inside.

The dark clock tower lobby, where no light existed.

Only the vibrations that occasionally echoed as the districts shifted faintly stirred the lobby.

In the middle of the various statues surrounding the lobby ceiling, a man stood with his back turned.

Isabella called his name in a cold voice.

“…Lyman.”

“Is this the first time we’ve met since the lower workshop district?”

Lenok spoke first without turning to look at Isabella.

“You’re still using the amplifier, I see. I thought you would come back to me at least once.”

“…”

“It’s something that needs periodic adjustments. From now on, it would be better to ask another artisan to adjust the device.”

“Why?”

Isabella asked.

“Your talent as an artisan is so outstanding that it’s hard to compare to anyone else in this city.”

It was a small voice as if whispering, but even that tone echoed clearly in the quiet lobby.

“If you had just focused on your work as an artisan and devoted yourself to the city, glory and success would have been guaranteed.”

“That question is a bit wrong.”

Lenok smiled.

“Didn’t you know that I was an outsider, Executor?”

“…”

“You gave me the name Lyman to participate in the selection ceremony, and you created an alibi by borrowing the identity of a dead artisan.”

Lenok spoke calmly to Isabella, who didn’t answer.

“I’ve just flowed along with the situation and reached this point. Isn’t it too late to blame anyone now?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Isabella said, clutching the amplifier in her hand.

The four blades that had been folded inward opened, and the mana rotating between them was amplified like crazy and turned into a sphere of light.

A mana sphere the size of a fist. But the mana compressed and rotating inside it is powerful enough to vaporize the clock tower.

The dark clock tower lobby was illuminated so brightly that it was blinding just by that mana light.

Crack!!

Isabella, who moved the amplifier and aimed the sphere of light at Lenok’s back, said.

“So now it’s time to take responsibility for what I did back then.”

Only Isabella’s calm voice echoed through the blinding light.

“We have secured circumstantial evidence and related testimonies at the scene that the culprit wearing the iron mask is you. I am arresting you on 12 counts of special felony charges, including the assassination of the Meister and Ex Machina committee members, and treason. Close your eyes and put your hands forward. You are not allowed to make any statements until the escort is over.”

“Treason, huh…”

Lenok muttered, tilting his head back.

He chuckled, not caring that the rising sphere of light was getting closer.

“It seems Hermes was thinking about this matter that way.”

“Lyman. I think I told you before?”

Isabella said, immediately putting strength into the hand holding the amplifier.

“I hate repeating myself.”

Fwoooosh!!!

The sphere of light at the end of the amplifier rotated and was accurately fired at Lenok’s back.

A tremendous amount of light burst out in front of the two, illuminating the surroundings with a hellish heat.

Kugwagwagwa!!!

Isabella’s expression, who had fired a mana cannon at the artisan who had repaired her equipment, did not waver in the slightest.

She also knew that she had to make a decision at the point when the name Lyman began to have a meaning beyond that of an artisan.

Kwaaa!!

Without hesitation, she reached into the storm of heat that she could not see through, and roughly grabbed Lenok’s collar.

“If you’re really the culprit who turned the Mind Palace upside down, you wouldn’t be unable to withstand just this much.”

Whoosh!!

“All that’s left is to drag you away and get all the details in the interrogation room…!!”

But the moment Isabella realized that what she had grabbed was not Lenok, but someone who had grabbed her hand, her words stopped.

Hwaaaak!!

From beyond the flames of mana, someone wearing an iron mask walked out in front of her without hesitation.

A crude and violent mana that was incomparable to Lyman’s.

Behind the iron mask, who was walking forward while dripping with overwhelming killing intent, Lenok was looking back at her with a blank expression.

“…!!!”

The moment Isabella felt a strong sense of confusion and her face hardened at the fact that the identity of the iron mask was not Lyman.

Lenok, who slowly rose from his seat, said.

“It’s a shame that things have turned out this way, Isabella.”

“This is…!!”

The moment Isabella pushed away the iron mask’s hand and quickly reached for her communicator, the iron mask, who had penetrated her gap, kicked Isabella in the solar plexus.

Thud!!

“…!!!”

A super-fast blow that seemed to compress the trajectory to the limit by splitting the space itself.

Isabella’s body, unable to even react, bent over and was thrown against the clock tower wall.

Kwaaaang!!

“Cough!!”

But even while letting out a painful scream, Isabella did not let go of the control of the mana contained in the amplifier.

The strong mental fortitude and outstanding talent of the Executor were manipulating the output despite the shock that was enough to cut off her consciousness.

The huge sphere of light that followed Isabella turned into a lightning-like pillar of light on the spot.

It became a heavy bombardment that would blow away the clock tower itself in an instant and fell to the ground.

Fwoooosh!!

But the iron mask standing in front of Lenok quietly muttered while looking at the falling mass of mana.

[…A nostalgic resonance.]

A stiff voice, whose identity was difficult to guess, echoed from beyond the iron mask.

[It’s such an old memory, I didn’t recognize it for a moment.]

“Cough!! What…?”

[You said he repaired your equipment. I see. Clark already…]

Isabella’s expression distorted at the sight of the iron mask, who couldn’t continue speaking and quietly lowered his head.

It was because she felt a strong sense of incongruity from the fact that he knew Clark Renslit’s name and seemed to be shaken by the realization of his death.

Meanwhile, the iron mask slowly began to walk forward, tilting his head to the side.

[It’s all my fault, Isabella.]

“…Who are you?”

[It’s all my responsibility. I’m sorry.]

“Take off your mask and show your face…!!!”

The moment Isabella spat out in a low voice and forcefully fired the mana contained in the amplifier as a bullet, the being wearing the iron mask deflected the mana bullet with one hand and bounced it to the side.

Kwaaaang!!

The wall of the clock tower building exploded and a fierce gust of hot wind blew.

The communication network became noisy. The sharp presences of the Executors, who had been surrounding the clock tower, began to move all at once.

Amidst the intense heat that would melt the ground in an instant, the iron mask lightly waved his hand and swept away the hot wind.

Amidst the hot wind, the iron mask spoke without turning to look at Lenok.

[I don’t plan to give you a separate signal, so start whenever you think it’s appropriate.]

“I’ll take care of that myself. But are you sure you’ll be alright?”

Lenok asked, gesturing towards the other side of the clock tower building, which had been destroyed after the hot wind had subsided.

“There seem to be quite a few of them to deal with alone.”

The shadows of superhumans, who were revealing their presence one by one from beyond the dust storm.

They were all scattering sharp and refined killing intent and staring down from all directions.

The momentary exchange with Isabella.

But as if taking the pillar of light that had destroyed half of the clock tower as a signal, the other Executors had begun to move.

It was practically like dumping dozens of Executors on her alone.

But at Lenok’s words, the iron mask let out a cold sneer as if it were absurd.

[Don’t talk nonsense, just watch from behind.]

Clank!!

At the same time as the iron mask lightly waved his hand, a small sword was grabbed in his hand from one of his forearms.

The iron mask, holding the sharp silver blade in reverse, began to walk forward without any hesitation.

[Because there is no such thing as me losing in this city.]