Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1026

Signpost (14)

The Sixth Apostle of the Order, Yukcheon-Geop Armas von Anathema.

A noble exiled from the central city, a name possessing causality unaffected by the prohibitions.

And a turncoat who, as an Apostle, received the power of an Outer God and coveted a physical body in reality.

Although the situation was resolved when he fell as an Apostle and was subsequently defeated by Lenok, the aftermath he left behind was as immense as his reputation.

The level 8 meeting that ended in chaos, with a promise for the future.

The Order’s intervention, the deaths of participants in the ensuing melee, and even the battle for the forbidden weapons that Anathema possessed.

But who would have thought that the nobles of Ars Nova would arrive in Balkan so quickly for his funeral.

[Kyonroe. This way.]

“Madam.”

The Madam, with a black veil, guided Lenok with a leisurely gesture.

Passing through a corridor lit with dazzling lights, a dressing room appeared, filled with various kinds of clothing.

[You need help before meeting the nobles of the central city~]

Madam chuckled, lightly patting Lenok’s shoulder.

[You came to the right place. Then, of course, you need my advice, not Jenisia’s.]

“It’s true that your advice was helpful during the hearing.”

Lenok replied, looking around with a blank expression.

“If I have to deal with nobles, it’s best to have at least some prior knowledge.”

[Of course, of course~]

Madam nodded, letting out a bewitching smile.

[My business motto is to take on outsourced work like this, and then steal the client.]

“……”

[Oh my, was that too sensitive of a business secret to reveal here?]

Immediately after the battle with Kyonroe and the Thousand Battles, the city council hearing was held against Kyonroe.

To prepare for the Ars Nova’s trial regulations used there, Lenok had sought advice from Madam.

In fact, by exploiting the loopholes in the Geas [a magical binding oath] that she had advised, he was able to smoothly conclude the hearing.

Madam, being a long-lived vampire, is an expert in past etiquette and rituals.

With her help, he could prepare for meeting the nobles from the central city.

“However, I didn’t expect it to start with the dress code.”

[If the nobles from the central city came because of Anathema’s funeral, then it’s already decided who will come.]

Madam said, skillfully placing a shirt and suit in front of Lenok.

[If you don’t want to be unnecessarily bound by their old laws, these minor procedures are surprisingly important.]

“……”

Does Madam already know who among the nobles from the central city has come to this city?

No, it wasn’t that kind of nuance. It wasn’t that she had heard about it, but rather an answer that implied it was obvious who would come.

“You know about the nobles who survived the fall of Ars Nova.”

Lenok, who had quickly come to a conclusion, stared at Madam with a lowered gaze.

“Who are the nobles who have come to this city? Are they another survivor with the name of Anathema?”

[Ah, please get an explanation about that from Oliviera.]

Madam chuckled softly behind her black veil.

[If a vampire like me were to carelessly speak about Anathema without his causality, I would be hit by the backlash of the prohibitions.]

“……”

[You’ll know as soon as you meet them, no need to rush. Because of their nature, they don’t bother to hide themselves.]

Madam said, taking out a coat with an antique gold trim.

[In a way, they are quite similar to Kyonroe, you know. The contradictory nobility that stems from their inhuman aspects… I quite like those things.]

“……”

Lenok’s gaze, which was fixed on Madam, lowered.

“You haven’t given up on that nonsense about the city’s phase, have you?”

During the hearing, Madam had said that the reason she was helping Lenok was to see an unapproachable phase [a state of being or existence].

In the end, she had said that the chess pieces that moved according to her will could not escape the limits she had set.

They had exchanged frivolous words about being a kingmaker, but he had left it alone, thinking that the decision itself was to side with Lenok-

[I met Thousand Battles recently. I wonder if you already know?]

“……”

[He was a great man, but there were so many people who had already laid claim to him like a lighthouse keeper, so I lost interest.]

Madam looked at Lenok with a strange smile.

[I don’t like being tied down to anything. I’d rather not be able to grasp it at all.]

“You speak as if you have the right to choose.”

Lenok scoffed.

“You’re completely different from how you used to be, holed up in your castle. Did something change your mind?”

Even after recognizing Lenok’s existence, Madam had avoided direct contact with him for a long time.

It was only after Lenok had directly sought her out to meet Murphy that he was able to see her face.

But now, her words and actions are as proactive as if she were ready to return to the field at any moment.

No, she must have already made her decision when she joined hands with the Cartel and faced Thousand Battles.

[What, it’s not that big of a deal.]

Madam, who had turned back to Lenok as if she had decided on the formal attire, replied.

Her shadow, which had been rummaging through the shirts hanging in the dressing room, stretched out ominously for a moment.

[I thought I had let go of a lot, but there were still things I was tied to.]

“……”

[If there are problems that cannot be resolved by simply being content, then wouldn’t it be necessary to change one’s attitude towards the rest of one’s life?]

The change of heart of a vampire who had lived for so long that even Virgil consistently sought her advice.

That must be related to the 7th Apostle, Lariata Armush, who had regained her senses in the Order.

What kind of relationship does she, who has lived as a vampire for so long, have with other vampires?

How far does the power and the source of her blood magic, which she has been hiding, reach?

Even Lenok cannot clearly read what Madam has hidden within that shadow.

‘I had suspected it since she said that collecting the blood of superhumans was her hobby….’

Madam had told Lenok that she considered collecting the blood of superhumans as a hobby.

But no matter how much of a vampire she is, could a being who has not reached a high rank easily handle such blood?

[Let’s get changed and prepare right away. I’ve already reserved a sedan, so you can take that.]

Madam, who had handed Lenok the entire formal attire, clapped her hands lightly.

[Lastly, I’ll tell you two things to be careful about in front of the nobles.]

* * *

The dark sky as the sunset faded and evening approached.

A bustling skyscraper in the city of Balkan, with a clear view of the cityscape.

Lenok, standing on the rooftop of the skyscraper, opened his mouth as he looked at the tall woman standing at the edge of the terrace.

“Oliviera.”

[You’re late.]

Whioooo!

Oliviera stood precariously at the edge of the building’s rooftop, as if she might fall at any moment.

Her appearance, wearing a splendid robe, was no different, but she was wearing a small coronet on her head.

Lenok shrugged his shoulders, pulling at his shirt sleeves at Oliviera’s cold rebuke, as if she had been waiting for it.

“It took longer than I thought to choose the formal attire. And Madam gave me some advice.”

[Did you get an explanation from Tribier?]

“I only heard the precautions briefly. She said you would explain it directly.”

[…….]

Lenok, who had approached Oliviera from behind, asked as he looked at the night view spread out below her feet.

“I’d like to hear why you chose this place before we start.”

Now that the nobles from the central city have come to Balkan for Anathema’s funeral, it is understandable that they have to meet them.

Regardless of the fact that Anathema had fallen as an Apostle, it was clear that the two of them were deeply involved in his death.

Not only did they share his remains, but Lenok and Oliviera, who had completed a deal before the meeting, could not back out.

But what Lenok was truly curious about was not why they were going to meet the nobles now.

From the moment he killed Anathema, he was prepared to bear the responsibility and ownership of the remains.

If he had to meet the nobles to resolve that issue, he would, but the problem was the means.

Why did he have to wear formal attire and stand with Oliviera on a skyscraper, not a banquet hall?

If he were to speculate based on what Madam had casually explained, perhaps….

“Is it because the nobles who have come to Balkan have the ability to impose rules on their opponents?”

[You’re half right.]

Oliviera let out a soft sneer.

[But there is a much more sublime and vile reason than that.]

“……”

[The nobles of Ars Nova have been breeding to match bloodlines and roles for a long time. Through this, they have obtained thoroughly refined bloodline abilities.]

Lenok also knew what kind of breeding she was talking about.

When he inherited the ability of the Eight Trigrams from Anathema, Lenok had also felt a sense of discomfort in the Eight Trigrams formation.

A strange and eerie sense of incongruity, as if the genes themselves had been arbitrarily manipulated, and the innate abilities themselves had been honed.

Oliviera was saying that such a sense of incongruity existed not only in Anathema but also in other nobles.

[Among them, the one who has come to Balkan now is the funeral director in charge of the nobles’ requiem.]

Oliviera, who had looked up at the night sky from the edge of the skyscraper, whispered softly.

[A monster born with a self-field ‘attached’ to them.]

“……What?”

[He’s coming.]

The moment Lenok paused at Oliviera’s explanation, which had exceeded his expectations.

The far side of the darkened evening sky began to transform into a bright blue meadow.

Chrararak!!

It was transforming the empty space, where there was nothing to step on, into a meadow as if it were nothing.

“That is….”

White tombstones were densely lined up on the swaying grass.

The shape of a huge church, towering among the long tombstones.

The intense presence of a mental image that was approaching, completely redrawing the empty space.

A self-field [a manifestation of one’s inner world], of a vast size was spreading from that distant sky towards them.

“……”

Only then did Lenok understand Oliviera’s explanation and the current situation.

The nobles from the central city had not demanded that they wait on the skyscraper to meet them.

In order to come into contact with such a vast self-field without being harmed, they had to be far away from the ground from the beginning.

Saaak…!!

The landscape of the meadow, which had reached the edge of the skyscraper’s rooftop, split open, revealing a path leading to the church.

Only then did Oliviera, who had moved her steps towards the meadow from the edge of the terrace, open her mouth.

[Let’s move.]

“……”

[They will be waiting.]

Lenok, who slowly moved his steps, following Oliviera who was walking slowly on the meadow, asked.

“I want to hear an explanation about the words ‘born with a self-field.’ Does that mean that their source mental image was determined even before they were born?”

A self-field is the power to transform reality by projecting the caster’s source mental image into space.

A source mental image is a miracle created by combining the caster’s origin and life.

It is a miracle that cannot be determined by the caster’s will, as it is proof of the time and life the caster has lived.

To be born with such a self-field means that the being’s source mental image was determined even before they were born.

[Because he was a noble who was given the role of a funeral director even before he was born.]

Oliviera replied as she walked among the tombstones on the path leading to the church.

[That is why he himself is a field and a graveyard, and everywhere he moves and resides becomes his field.]

“……”

[Balancing the curse and the blessing… the end of those who played with their innate bloodline and even their nobility.]

Clank!!

At the entrance of the grandly built church, a cold smile seemed to appear on Oliviera’s lips for a moment.

[There were those who imitated it like Kabahim, but they failed and only bore a vile curse. In the end, all that remains now is-]

Kiiiik…!!

At that moment, the huge wooden doors of the church opened, and the vast scenery of the chapel unfolded before Lenok’s eyes.

Hundreds of choir members, singing softly with blindfolds over their eyes.

A huge, empty golden coffin lying diagonally in the middle of the chapel.

Silver candlesticks emitting light from all directions, and colorful stained glass that dyed the windows.

[-The empty feeling that our failures mean nothing to them.]

“……”

At the end of the vast chapel, a man stood with his back turned.

A tall figure that exceeded 2m, and a gaunt, emaciated appearance that seemed to be skin and bones.

Just facing his alien appearance, which did not feel like a human, gave a strong sense of déjà vu.

Something that made one realize the moment they faced someone who was born fundamentally different and had lived differently.

Is this the proof of the central nobles that Madam had mentioned, who did not bother to hide themselves?

The man with a gaunt, almost ascetic face, looked down at the Bible in his hand and said.

“The mirror of the Seven Colors has arrived.”

[…….]

“Is this the first time we’ve seen each other since Travesh’s funeral?”

A calm tone that did not feel any will or power.

Not even a trace of emotion could be felt in his expression or gestures.

It was a message that felt as businesslike as if he had come to handle official duties.

While Oliviera remained silent, Lenok turned his magic detection around the church.

‘There are three presences.’

Two that were burning without any intention of hiding themselves, and one that was so faint that it was hard to tell if it was even there.

Are these the central nobles who came directly to Balkan to hold Anathema’s funeral?

The moment Lenok recalled the answer he had prepared in advance about what to say about what had happened with Anathema.

“I want to start the requiem right away, but there is something I need to do before blowing the trumpet of commencement.”

The tall, thin man, presumed to be the funeral director, turned his ascetic face.

“It’s a request from Akendrias El Torben.”

“……El Torben?”

The moment Lenok’s expression hardened at those unexpected words.

“Ah, I’ve finally found you.”

A deep male voice echoed softly from above the chapel.

A tone that was thunderous and resounding, like a clap of thunder, even though he did not raise his voice.

A very intense yet familiar sound, like lightning, just by his presence alone-

‘Familiar?’

Pajik!

Lenok, who had suddenly raised his head, saw an old man with a strong-featured face smiling in front of him.

“You are the owner of the Extreme Lightning that I have been searching for so desperately.”

An antique appearance with white hair roughly swept back.

Too vigorous to be an old man, and yet the passage of time could be felt, making him seem like a middle-aged man.

That contradictory and explosive vitality seemed to envelop the old man in front of him like lightning.

“How long did it take for Bonno to grasp the direction of the original lightning after crossing the horizon of thought?”

Pajik, pajik…!!

Intense lightning flashed around the old man’s body.

No, it was as if his entire body was scattering into a single bolt of lightning.

“I’ve made you wait a long time, so we should start right away, shouldn’t we?”

The technique of lightning transformation that Lenok had never attempted before, and had never even thought of attempting.

Yet, the owner of this magic system, which felt so familiar, was-

Kiiiing…!!!

“Show Bonno the resonance of the lightning you have seen, and show it clearly.”

“No way, Torben’s…!!”

There was no time to even speak.

The moment the old man took a step forward, an immeasurable, enormous thought pressed down on Lenok.

A huge lightning dragon soared above the hall of promise, dyeing the night sky bright blue.

Kwaaaaaang!!!