Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 695

Sector 54.

A ruined city district, its expansion halted, now abandoned.

The cold wind howls through the unfinished buildings, scattering skeletal concrete and broken neon signs.

Among these ruins, a small library stands relatively intact.

Lenox and Tatiana had taken shelter inside, seeking refuge from the wind.

“Libraries are usually built sturdy from the design stage, considering the weight of the books,” Lenox said, perched on a fallen bookshelf, a cigarette in his mouth.

“They’re also considered disaster shelters, so they’re relatively well-preserved and maintained. You chose a good spot.”

It didn’t take long to contact Virgil, explain the matter, and set a time and place.

Though he had never properly worked or gone to the office, Lenox was, in fact, an outside director of the Cartel [a powerful corporate alliance].

Based on his accumulated performance, he held authority comparable to the board of directors.

Having a direct line to the board, arranging a meeting was not a difficult task.

“I knew you’d been active in the Balkans for a long time, but I didn’t expect you could summon Oliviera Ron Maze herself,” Tatiana asked, looking around the ruined library.

“Well, it’s not strange for a mage of your caliber to have some sort of connection with her…”

“You seem interested in Oliviera.”

“Well… yeah. She’s quite different from other mages.”

Tatiana admitted frankly.

“Even in the Central Front [a region known for its powerful mages], where all sorts of monsters gather, it’s rare to see someone change their lineage. To gamble on processing innate abilities, even at the cost of hierarchical demotion… she’s quite exceptional in many ways.”

“…”

Tatiana leaned against a shelf opposite Lenox, as if recalling memories.

“She wandered the continent, and because of that, many in the Magic Tower’s leadership remember her. I’ve heard stories about her from time to time.”

Considering that the moving sorcerer Grisha from Qing and the matron of the Summoning Magic Tower she met in the Hanghasa Labyrinth had mentioned her, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

The fact that many sorcerers remembered her was proof that Oliviera’s past actions were intense and unique.

Yet, after finishing her travels, she returned to the Balkans, buried herself in the Cartel, and focused on research, making her seem all the more peculiar.

When you think about it, there were many parts of Oliviera’s officially known history that didn’t make sense.

“It’s not that I’m not interested in those rumors or stories…”

Lenox nodded, subtly touching his left arm, hidden by his coat.

“I don’t know if Oliviera will come herself. I just asked for a meeting because I have something to discuss.”

“…You just called her to meet without any specific reason?”

“I told them it was about Dead Rise, so their leadership will likely respond.”

Lenox replied.

“Besides, I haven’t had much contact with the Cartel recently… I’m not even sure if my position is still valid.”

“…”

To pinpoint the last time he met Oliviera, he had to go back to the time of the magic particle exposure incident in the closed area.

Lenox’s eyes deepened as he recalled the memory.

‘She must still remember what happened in the closed area.’

The 25th closed area where he had looked into Kaise’s past.

Back then, in the ruined power plant, he had dealt with the disaster alongside people from decades past.

Lenox had clashed with the past Oliviera, who had mastered Radiant Magic, and in the end, they had dramatically cooperated.

At that time, Oliviera had even given Lenox direct advice, piercing through the timelines of the present and the past.

She, too, would know what choices her past self had made and what end she had met.

And Lenox understood to some extent what it meant for her to have helped at that particular moment.

In the end, the ending that Oliviera Ron Maze desired was-

“…Ban.”

“Yes.”

At that moment, Lenox and Tatiana turned their gaze almost simultaneously, feeling an intense sense of déjà vu from the other side.

“It seems she has arrived in person, thankfully.”

Clang!!

With the sound of a small bell, a dazzling light erupted from the ruined city street in the distance.

At the same time, hundreds of attendants appeared from all over the ruins, forming a massive human barricade.

The empty city district was instantly filled with signs of life, yet a strange silence prevailed, with no footsteps or voices heard.

Thump!!

Hundreds of attendants filled every corner of the street, creating a path, and at the end of that path, they placed the library.

At that moment, a palanquin, draped in five-colored silk, slowly appeared from the end of the ruins, walking towards them.

Thud!!

Four muscular giants with red skin carried the palanquin, moving towards the library.

Each step of the monstrous, demonic giants, who didn’t even resemble humans, shook the ground, and a desolate magical power poured out in all directions.

The magical pressure of the approaching palanquin intensified, pressing down on the library, and just by standing in front of it, the door shattered, turning into a passage for the palanquin.

Thump!

As the five-colored palanquin entered, a brilliant light seemed to spread over the drab lobby of the library.

The four red giants carrying the palanquin slowly knelt and lowered their shoulders.

The palanquin seemed to hover just above the ground, yet it was slightly floating in the air.

At the same time, the dazzling doors of the palanquin swung open, revealing the scene inside.

A vacant frame was placed inside the wide palanquin filled with colorful flowers.

Behind it, only a small doll, bowing its head, was hugging the frame.

“What is this…”

Tatiana frowned at the incongruity. At that moment, the bowing doll spoke in a clear voice.

[It’s been a while since I’ve seen that shameless face, Kenroe.]

The calm yet chilling voice of a woman came from the doll.

The doll, having put down the frame it was holding, stood up gracefully and slowly stepped out of the palanquin.

With a splendid robe and a veil that hid her face, she leisurely covered her mouth with one hand.

Her appearance and every gesture were no different from what Lenox remembered.

Except that the doll’s height was so small that it didn’t even reach Lenox’s waist.

“…I didn’t expect you to show your face in this way.”

Lenox, who had been silently staring at the doll for a long time, smiled.

“Oliviera. Have you abandoned your research and become obsessed with playing with dolls?”

Oliviera Ron Maze, an 8th-level archmage and the chairman of the Cartel.

One of the leaders of the Three Heads [the three most powerful factions in the underworld], and a wealthy individual with the most immense capital and businesses even in the shadows.

The head of the corporate alliance, who could never be left out when mentioning the shadows of the megacity, had not ignored the message Lenox had sent.

However, instead of leading her own body here, she had sent only this splendid palanquin and doll as representatives of her will.

Even going so far as to simultaneously deploy hundreds of attendants in this area to escort the palanquin and doll.

[And you, you’ve become even more unbearable to look at in the meantime.]

Oliviera, using the doll’s consciousness, scoffed.

[To be able to enjoy an outing so comfortably after crippling your limbs, your arrogance is almost comical.]

“…”

[I heard you caused a ruckus in Machina as well? Seeing that, it seems karma does exist after all.]

Lenox smiled bitterly at the retort that pierced him as soon as she saw the patient’s appearance, wrapped in bandages and holding a cane.

“And you. If you can’t even go out with your own body, aren’t you in a more serious condition than I am?”

[It’s not a matter of efficiency, but of procedure.]

The doll uttered a leisurely voice from behind the veil.

[If I want to avoid troublesome matters while carving away at my inner self, I need to take some precautions.]

Was she saying that she was in a situation where it was difficult to go outside due to her personal research?

Considering that she had been walking around perfectly fine during the closed area incident, it was right to think that her condition had deteriorated rapidly recently.

Even so, she had chosen this cumbersome method to talk directly after receiving Lenox’s call.

However, Lenox was more interested in the reason she had casually mentioned than in Oliviera’s answer.

“Carving away at your inner self?”

[Will and desire have form, and it’s natural for them not to align with the purpose that reason points to.]

The doll replied.

[If you cut away the unnecessary parts, unintended directions arise, and if you process them well, you can consciously control chance.]

The doll, lightly holding down the swaying veil with one hand, smiled.

[As always, I was just playing around between cause and effect. There’s nothing else to say.]

“…”

Lenox knew why Oliviera had chosen the Evil Eye instead of such powerful Radiant Magic.

The failure of the Black Consumer Project.

At the end of the plan’s failure, she had awakened the Evil Eye of the Seven Colors and gained its power.

As a result of twisting her lineage, even at the cost of hierarchical demotion, she had become an archmage who transcended the hierarchy with Evil Eye magic.

The only reason she had taken such a huge risk and gambled was because she had gained the power to directly interfere with the concept of causality through the ability of the Evil Eye of the Seven Colors.

At the time, he didn’t understand why Oliviera was so obsessed with that ability, but now he understood a little.

To forcibly rewrite the end of a story he had once witnessed.

To change even the cause of a timeline where the result was already determined.

Because that required a sacrifice that threw everything away and a miracle that transcended reason.

[As you know, I can’t enjoy outings for long. Showing my will outside in this body is just unpleasant.]

The doll straightened its back and tilted its head back as if looking down on Lenox and Tatiana.

[So, quickly explain why you called me here. If you’ve received the honorable position of outside director, you should fulfill your duty.]

Tatiana turned her head with a bewildered expression.

“Is she, like, always this way?”

“She seems much more arrogant than I remember…”

Lenox muttered, then nodded.

He understood that Oliviera couldn’t come in person.

First, he should explain what had happened so far.

Lenox immediately explained that the Blaver Magic Tower and Dead Rise had joined hands and were building a satellite using humans as materials.

He also mentioned that Dead Rise’s executive, Peisha, had returned to the Balkans for this purpose and was working on the engine.

While mentioning that he had received Tatiana’s help, he subtly hid the details.

It took less than two minutes to convey his plan to attack Tentacion’s satellite factory.

[It’s an interesting story, but there are a few important facts missing.]

Oliviera said as soon as she heard the story.

[Kenroe, you should know who those people you mentioned are.]

“…”

[They have a self-assertiveness and drive that is so excessive it’s arrogant. They wouldn’t move like this with just those conditions…]

The doll, having stepped back and sat on the palanquin, nodded.

[It seems more explanation is needed. It seems the mage you brought is more deeply involved.]

Oliviera asked with a playful tone.

[Is the Fire Magic Tower trying to set foot in the Balkans now-]

“I’m planning to build a Magic Tower.”

The doll’s voice stopped abruptly the moment Lenox said that.

“I’ve met the necessary authority and conditions through a deal with Tatiana, and now it’s just a matter of making it public.”

The doll did not answer.

It just sat on the palanquin, having stopped moving as if its consciousness had been cut off.

It was a little while later that Oliviera spoke again.

[I see. A new Magic Tower…]

Oliviera, muttering those words quietly, asked.

[Did the Central Council finally hand over that authority to you?]

“I acquired the authority through a deal with the Chairman of the Central Council’s Senate.”

Lenox nodded.

“You, who are acquainted with Madrich Onion, would know. It was originally an authority that was only offered to him and a few others.”

There were several candidates, including Onion and Lenox, but Lenox was the only one who officially received approval to establish a Magic Tower.

However, all of those candidates would have been great archmages capable of establishing their own Magic Towers and passing on their magic systems.

And Lenox had something he wanted to ask Oliviera from the moment he started this conversation.

“Oliviera. Have you ever been advised by the Central Council to establish a Magic Tower?”

Considering that she wasn’t surprised by Lenox’s words, it was clear that Oliviera knew that the Central Council offered authority over Magic Towers.

However, Lenox wanted to know if Oliviera had ever been offered that authority by the Central Council.

If so, why had Oliviera rejected that offer and created the Cartel?

[You’re interested in an uninteresting fact.]

However, Oliviera shook her head while being cynical.

[Among the people who participated in the project, Onion was the only one who officially received that offer.]

“Why?”

[Because he was the only one who met the conditions to establish a Magic Tower. In the first place, among the people involved at the time-]

The doll stopped speaking as if it was boring.

[…Well, the past doesn’t matter. The fact that you accepted the deal is more interesting.]

Oliviera smiled.

[I knew you weren’t interested from the moment you left unnecessary titles and rumors alone, but were you not interested in taking on a title in the first place?]

“…”

Just as Lenox was about to ignore her words and ask something else.

The doll slowly nodded.

[Alright. But I’ll make it a condition that you capture Peisha Grisban alive and bring her to me.]

“Capture?”

[There’s something I want to confirm with that possessed killer. There are also some notable parts of the achievements that the Ghost Princess made in the Central Front…]

Oliviera cut off her words abruptly.

[Let’s just say it’s a personal matter. Will you accept?]

“No.”

Lenox shook his head.

“That’s not worth it for me. You should know how difficult that is.”

The Ghost Princess of Dead Rise.

A transcendent spear user who fights by possessing ancestral spirits, and a powerful physical combatant who had fought Antares one-on-one.

It would be a difficult battle even to face her head-on, but to keep her alive and drag her to Oliviera was a challenge of a different dimension.

It was an achievement that could not be easily obtained with mere fighting prowess.

Oliviera seemed to understand that and nodded.

[That’s right. Then I’ll have to match the conditions.]

“Match the conditions?”