Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1205

The Price (7)

Inside the outermost hangar of the command headquarters, which was shaking as if about to collapse.

Lenok and Songha moved through the vast passageways lined with fighters and airships.

In this moment, their figures were alternately hidden and revealed by the massive metal structures.

The distant roar and vibrations from outside faded into a quiet stillness.

Kugugugu……!!!

A grand mage who had reached level 8 and Dead Rise’s most powerful individual force.

Two transcendents, possessing more power than anyone else in the entire current command headquarters, walked side by side.

As they walked through the endless hangar facility, they naturally gauged each other’s distance.

Without needing to speak, they headed towards the most suitable place to unleash their powers.

“You had a very interesting conversation with Ethan, didn’t you?”

Songha asked, slowly moving with his hand on his sword.

With a languid expression, Songha scratched his head and looked up at the hangar ceiling.

“A secret of the project. I didn’t think there would be someone in this world who would chase it all the way here.”

“……”

“I wanted to come quickly too, but I thought I should check something first, so I was a little late.”

Was Songha’s late appearance because he prioritized checking on Ethan’s condition over Lenok?

A sacred bone from Vulcan. As a person involved in the project’s failure, he couldn’t have moved rashly either.

Lenok, who quickly grasped the situation from Songha’s rambling words, asked as he moved.

“Where is Ethan now?”

“He’s probably asleep by now.”

Songha scratched his cheek with a nonchalant tone.

“He was injured, but he also used too much power, so he’s quite worn out. Ethan using blood means that.”

“……”

“It’s probably because of you.”

Songha, who had jumped forward, looked down at Lenok with a dazed expression.

“Your existence was a variable not accounted for in the parade. So, if Ethan used more power than necessary, I can accept it.”

“……I see.”

Was it a great strain for Ethan to give his blood to Lenok’s avatar? [An avatar is a manifestation of a person’s spirit or power.]

That must be because Ethan’s very existence was not based on ordinary methods or means.

And the fact that Songha was telling Lenok this without trying to hide it meant…….

“There will probably be a big change in the legion after today’s parade.”

Songha said.

“But that’s what Ethan wanted, or something he already decided. Ethan always wanted to reorganize the operation system.”

“……”

“I can tell without being told. That’s always been Ethan’s way of working. It hasn’t changed since a long time ago.”

Leaving Lenok, who didn’t answer, Songha slowly stopped walking.

The pure white coat fluttered in the faint breeze. His face was hidden by his disheveled white hair.

“So, if I take you back to Ethan from here, there won’t be any problems.”

“I see……”

From the time they met in Yorta, Songha’s attitude had always been consistent.

Respecting Ethan’s will, following his decisions, and affirming his existence.

That was possible because Songha knew Ethan so well.

Watching him from Vulcan for over decades, being with Ethan until the moment the project started and failed.

If he was still serving him even after Ethan died, was resurrected, and returned to the legion—

“Then I’ll ask too.”

Lenok raised his gaze.

“Do you know who Ethan Bajur is?”

“Ethan? Why Ethan?”

Songha tilted his head.

“Ethan is Ethan. Ethan is also Ethan. Ethan is Ethan.”

“……Ethan Bajur had no wounds or scars on his neck.”

Lenok said, turning his gaze away with a blank expression.

“But I don’t think that’s the only truth. There are parts of Ethan’s actions that cannot be explained by that alone……”

“……”

“It’s clear that he took Kaise Bajur’s head. Then is he Ethan himself, not Kaise?”

Lenok muttered, looking up at the sky with a cold expression.

“Is that man just a parricide who cut off his father’s head and took it?”

“……Hmm.”

Songha, who had been listening to Lenok’s words, crossed his arms quietly.

“I see what you’re trying to say. You saw something, didn’t you?”

“……”

“Well, if that’s the case, it’s not strange that you’re curious about Ethan.”

Songha said, walking out slowly.

“But the reason we follow Ethan isn’t like that. It’s a simpler reason than that.”

“A simple reason?”

“Since winning the civil war, the situation surrounding us has always been complicated.”

Songha raised his gaze blankly.

“So, I always tried to think simply. Like I said, I’m not very smart.”

“……”

“I can’t help my comrades when it comes to judging something. But there’s one thing I’m good at.”

Clank.

At the same time as placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, Songha’s presence began to ‘narrow.’

As if becoming a single blade in that spot, he honed his presence to be infinitely sharp and keen.

“The reason Ethan entrusted me with the legion’s sword. The reason I moved to find Ethan’s memories.”

“……”

The moment Songha slowly lowered his gaze and his eyes captured Lenok, goosebumps rose on his spine.

Just by placing his hand on the sword, a transcendent swordsmanship that encompassed everything within his range.

“The reason I exist as the legion’s commander.”

Songha’s voice had turned cold.

“I’ll show you right here.”

‘Evade……!!!’

Before he could even finish the thought, Lenok’s will and intuition moved first.

The flames rotating behind him exploded, pushing Lenok’s body to the side.

A pure white flash shot out like a ray of light, narrowly grazing Lenok’s cheek and soaring upwards.

Faaaaaaang!!!!

The silver sword light did not stop there, but extended behind Lenok, cutting through space-time diagonally.

The sword strike of will, cutting through everything, rotated at supersonic speed and echoed as if ascending into the sky.

It tore apart the vast hangar ceiling where Lenok and Songha were standing.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!!!!

The slash did not stop at cutting the hangar ceiling and outer walls, but continued to extend.

Supply depots, barricades, observation decks, and dormitory buildings around the hangar were cut like blocks and floated up.

Before everything cut by the silver sword energy could fall and break, the two turned their bodies towards each other.

[Eight Flame World]

[Crimson Asura Scatter]

Kiiiiiiing……!!!!

The red wave and the silver sword energy intersected simultaneously, creating a circular ripple that pierced the hangar vertically.

Immediately after, flames and sword energy exploded on both sides of the hangar facility, turning the battlefield into a sea of fire.

Thwack!!!

Between the hangars where acrid smoke rose, explosions of fire and sword light flashed in succession.

The silver sword energy stirred through the smoke, and the flames burst out as if to suppress its power.

Through the storm of heat haze and smoke, the two figures accelerated between the hangars.

Lenok, flying by bursting flames like boosters, and Songha, running while pressing his head with one hand.

Swaaeeek!!!

[Thousand Fire Rain]

A complex magic circle with a reddish hue unfolded behind Lenok, chanting the spell.

Dozens of fire spears fell, piercing through the hangar’s fighters and helicopters in succession.

The fiercely rotating flames pierced through the hard plywood, exploding the instrument panels and engines in a chain reaction.

Amidst the scattering heat, Songha swung his hand without even drawing his sword.

Bang!!!

The moment he clenched his fist and struck the air, the wave of fire that had been pouring towards Songha distorted and disappeared.

The shockwave that burst from Songha’s fingertips surged to the end of the hangar, collapsing and smashing everything around it.

Tutututung!!!

Lenok and Songha moved across space, with the wreckage of fighter jets that had lost their wings and collapsed between them.

Amidst the debris of the collapsing hangar facility and the scattering parts of fighter jets, Lenok and Songha’s figures clashed.

Exploding flames and pure white sword sheaths intersected, alternately driving shock and fire into each other’s bodies.

[Red Build]

[Wave Fire Resonance]

Fubububububung!!!!

In the ultra-high-speed battle that overlapped dozens of times per second, the figures of Songha, who unleashed sword energy with his hand on his sword, and Lenok, who held a flame spear in reverse and slammed it, mixed and distorted.

Towards the falling silver sword light, he pushed and exploded dozens of flame spears at point-blank range, relentlessly closing the distance.

Each time, flames and sword energy burst out, burning the surrounding buildings, cutting them into pieces, and collapsing them.

An ultra-high-speed battle where they repeated acceleration and deceleration hundreds of times in an instant, crossing paths and even switching positions.

In the midst of the explosions that crossed in a trance, Lenok and Songha’s backs briefly touched and separated.

The moment the two turned their bodies almost simultaneously, twisting and exploding magic and sword strikes.

A powerful shockwave burst out in concentric circles, pushing Lenok and Songha’s bodies far apart in opposite directions.

[Build Fire]

[Returning Blade]

Faaaaaaang!!!!!

“……!!!”

“……You.”

The sight of Lenok, kneeling on one knee and struggling to lower his head, and Songha, staggering to regain his balance.

Songha, who was looking down at his hand, which was scorched and burning from the flames, turned to Lenok with a strange expression.

“I heard the stories, but you’re actually a really good fighter.”

Clank!

Songha, who had tucked his sword into his waist, asked.

“Your condition doesn’t look good, but your skills are amazing. Why have you been running away until now?”

“No matter how well I fight…… there’s no reason to face the entire legion alone.”

Lenok replied, getting up while coughing with a pale complexion.

“The moment I try to do that, I’ll only be forced to suffer unilateral losses. I have no intention of wasting my power in a place where the legion’s forces are concentrated.”

“……”

Turning the legion into an enemy might have been inevitable from the moment he clashed with Ethan, but even so, Lenok had no intention of facing all of Dead Rise here.

The location of the 2nd Command was a wide plain large enough for more than six legions of Dead Rise to gather.

It was a battlefield where the entire legion’s firepower and organization could be exerted in the most optimal form.

If he were to face the legion head-on in such a battlefield, Lenok would have to endure enormous losses even if he were in perfect condition.

Nevertheless, considering the presence of the arch-enemy and the commander, he could not guarantee victory either.

Moreover, in a situation where his condition had deteriorated due to the rampage of his avatar, there was virtually no need to discuss the chances of victory.

“I’ve already confirmed everything I wanted. I had already made a conclusion before hearing your answer.”

“……”

“All that’s left is to get out of here.”

He had confirmed that there were no cuts or wounds on Ethan’s neck, but even so, Lenok was certain.

Ethan’s words that equated the project with himself. The power of defying the heavens he used. Even after revealing his identity, his ambiguous answers.

That he was not simply Ethan Bajur himself, but was hiding something more.

He had confirmed it through his avatar at the last moment, so he could leave without hesitation.

That was why Lenok was able to decide to leave the parade at that spot.

“Don’t you think the damage you’ve inflicted on the command headquarters is too great for you to say that?”

Songha shrugged.

“You not only wiped out the elites of the 3rd and 9th Corps, but you also came this far after killing Lieutenant General Lenoir. Half of the command headquarters and nearby production facilities have collapsed.”

“……”

“And above all, that thing floating in the sky. It’s not even using its full power yet, is it?”

Songha shook his head, pointing to something hidden by the hangar ceiling.

“I may be stupid, but I’m not so dull that I don’t know what that is. You’re too dangerous.”

“You’re just blabbering without even using your full power…”

Lenok scoffed as he struggled to his feet.

Lenok knew that Songha hadn’t used his Inner World power even once so far.

That genius whom even Paysha Grisban envied, acknowledged, and even revered.

He knew he was a monster since Yorta, but he still couldn’t gauge his capabilities.

He could only vaguely guess through his composure and skill, not the power he showed against Lenok.

“I know you want to buy time. What do you want to hear from me?”

“Nothing in particular?”

Songha smiled.

“I already said everything I wanted to say. Should I repeat it?”

The moment Songha placed his hand on his sword, a silver flash of light exploded behind Lenok, grazing his cheek.

*Chwaaak!!!*

“……!!!”

A cold blade that sliced through dozens of layers of the Wheel Barrier [a defensive magical barrier] like paper and immediately caressed his cheek.

Before he could even feel the pain, hot blood trickled down his cut cheek.

Feeling the blood flowing down his collar, Lenok stared at Songha with a hardened expression.

‘I didn’t sense any premonition. This is….’

If he hadn’t reacted at the last moment, his head would have been cut off.

Even Lenok, who anticipates and prepares for most attacks from the premonition, had purely relied on his intuition to evade.

The sword strike that erupted before Songha even drew his sword was proof that it had bypassed Lenok’s magic detection, transcending space itself.

An incredible speed that was hard to believe, considering he wielded a sword as tall as himself. The sword light flew from a trajectory completely different from Songha’s position.

Lenok had once faced it as Victor, at the end of Yorta-

Lenok, who had quickly come to a conclusion, muttered.

“A Small Universe, is it?”

“Unleash your domain, Martinez.”

With his hand on his sheathed sword, Songha said in a cold voice, his head lowered.

“The flame flower you used to kill the Grafting Sorcerer. If you don’t use it, you’ll die. Next time, I’ll cut your neck.”

“……”

He knew what he was talking about.

A level 8 swordsman. The source of the Inner World power that the commander of the Dead Rise Corps wields, using his own body as a weapon.

The power of that Small Universe [a personal, self-contained reality created by powerful individuals] would have reached the level of altering reality, beyond manipulating the laws of physics.

Likewise, it could not be received head-on unless it was a domain that used the Inner World power. That was what Songha was warning Lenok about.

But-

“No. I will not use the Thousand-Mile Fragrant Flower.”

Even at Songha’s words, Lenok raised his magic power with a cold sneer.

“That’s not an ability that can be properly used in this situation. Even if I force it to deploy, it won’t even reach the tip of its original power.”

The Self-Magnetic Domain, Thousand-Mile Fragrant Flower, is a power that draws its strength by using time as a geas [a magical compulsion or vow] and blooms to its full potential.

It is a miracle that manifests by using each of the Red Star System’s thermal cores as petals, bending the mysteries of barrier magic to their limits.

It is a power with a particularly unique ability and nature among the Kaleidoscope Domains, but it was not without its drawbacks.

Not only could he not move from the coordinates immediately after deploying the domain, but it also took a long time to unleash its power.

It was not suitable for the current situation where he was escaping from the command headquarters’ garrison area.

It was a means that he had no reason to choose against Songha, who had unique skills among the swordsmen Lenok had seen.

It was a flame that had to be designed and detonated while considering the situation and conditions as much as its unique power.

“Instead… if you want, I’ll show you another technique.”

Lenok slowly clasped his hands together and extended them forward, muttering.

“This is another… one of the points of arrival I have reached in the thermal system.”

Thermal System Unique Magic

Property Change Nuclear Fusion

[Blue Shift]

*Puhwaaaak!!!!*

At the same time as he clasped his hands and raised his magic power, the flames gathered in his hands flashed with a blue light.

The plasma created through the property change of nuclear fusion was compressed in Lenok’s hands, then exploded with repulsive force.

*Pazzzzzzzzzzz!!!*

The blue flames expanded explosively to both sides, spreading like wings from Lenok’s hands.

Like a bird flapping its wings, the plasma-like flames surged wildly, taking the form of a giant bow.

At the same time as Lenok grasped the blue flame bow, he pulled it down and aimed it at Songha.

[Azure Abyss: Illusion Bow]

*Kugwagwagwagwa!!!!*

He reorganized the plasma constructed through nuclear fusion into a single formula by adding his will.

After giving shape to the ultra-high temperature energy by giving it the properties of compression and fusion, he mixed the mysteries of load and resonance, repulsion and rotation to accelerate it.

He stabilized the flames that had transcended their limits by mixing in the concept of detachment, and finally, he ‘carved away’ even time and space.

Another point of arrival that exists in the unique magic of the thermal system.

Inner World

[New Moon]

*Kugwagwagwagwagwa!!!!*

Just as he had learned from Evelyn, he turned his body while taking the stance his body remembered.

The archery Lenok chose to forcibly give direction to an uncontrollable power and shoot it out.

Songha, too, seemed to have realized it as soon as he saw the blue flame bow in Lenok’s hand, and he couldn’t hide his smile.

“Hahaha! Looking at it now, it has a certain charm. I like it!”

*Click!!*

With his hand on the hilt of his sword, Songha took a stance for the first time.

He slid his left foot back, lowered his center of gravity, and turned his shoulder to hide his sword behind his back as if covering it.

The pure white coat fluttered elegantly with the rotation of his body, creating a wind along with the overflowing heat.

Lenok, who held and aimed the blue flame bow, and Songha, who held his sword, faced each other at opposite ends of the hangar.

The moment Lenok and Songha moved simultaneously, and their heightened wills went berserk and unleashed themselves towards each other.

The wings of the bright blue flames devoured and burned the entire hangar facility, soaring up.

*Kuhwaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!*

The wings of the azure flames, dozens of times larger than the Guardian Phoenix wielded by the 8th Corps Commander Townsend, flapped fiercely.

The blue flames that exploded to both sides engulfed and rotated around the hangar where Lenok and Songha were located, compressing it.

The moment the plasma-like supernova manifested on the ground and began to burn even the ‘concept’ of reality.

*Chwaak!!*

Within the ultra-high temperature compression that dyed space-time blue, Songha drew his sword for the first time.

Unlike the repeated ultra-fast draws, he slowly drew his sword, slow enough to be seen with the naked eye.

At the same time, silver sword energy that had lost its direction and speed gathered from all directions and began to converge towards the long sword.

*Kagagagagagak!!!!!*

Inner World Small Universe: Returning Sword Heaven

[Return: Sun Blade]

Not a draw, but a sheathing.

Instead of drawing and swinging his sword, he slowly sheathed his sword, reversing and recovering the sword energy he had drawn out so far.

As if time was going in reverse, he compressed all the steps and processes of swinging his sword into a single moment by reversing them.

The moment Songha’s sword, which had been sheathed with immense sword energy, was completely placed in its scabbard.

A sword strike that seemed to unleash all the compressed Inner World power and will at once, cleaved through the world.

[Slay Heaven]

There was no sound.

Neither the sight of him swinging his sword, nor the sharp silver sword light.

Only Songha’s figure was there, as if he had already swung his sword and was adjusting his stance, putting his sword down.

The plasma star created by Lenok, the collapsing hangar ceiling, and the clouds in the sky glimpsed through it.

All of them were cut diagonally, leaving sword marks and scattering away.

*Kwagwagwagwagwagwa!!!!*

The sound of the explosions, the screams of everything Songha had cut down, came a beat late.

Songha, who had sheathed his sword, moved towards Lenok, who was silently looking up at the scene.

“The power is equal. The Inner World powers have annihilated each other. The formulas and sword energy have been nullified.”

“……”

“Did you burn the ‘time’ when my sword strike would hit, forcibly changing its trajectory? That’s really amazing magic.”

Songha muttered, stopping in front of Lenok.

“But you’ve used it all up at that point.”

“……”

The incomplete point of arrival that Lenok had obtained through the property change of nuclear fusion.

The Inner World power of incineration, New Moon, which compresses plasma-like flames to carve away and burn time and space.

Lenok collided New Moon with Songha’s Slay Heaven to create a state of equilibrium, and finally twisted and blew away the trajectory of the Soul Sword.

But at that point, the magic power and the Red Star System remaining in Lenok’s body had reached their limits and stopped.

In order to counter Songha’s Soul Sword with the backlash of the Incarnation Formula and nullify it, he had used all of his remaining magic power and the remaining power of the Red Star System.

“My sword reaches the end at the same time as it begins, and at the same time, it goes in reverse from the end and returns to the beginning.”

Songha moved slowly, looking at Lenok.

“Because I reach the result first and then complete the process, my sword is not bound by time or space.”

“……”

“You should have deployed your domain from the beginning to receive my sword. You wouldn’t have been able to have an equal match with me without altering space-time.”

Should he use the elixir?

Even after coming this far, Lenok still had several insurance policies left.

The reason Lenok didn’t take them out right away was because it was difficult to gauge how far he had to go against the transcendent swordsman in front of him.

It was highly likely that he was influenced by Ethan’s power, but he was still a transcendent being who was directly interfering with causality with his swordsmanship.

A monster with both talent and experience that was difficult to be sure of victory even in perfect condition.

This moment made it clearer than ever how dangerous and powerful the individual combat power of Dead Rise was.

“I’ve already told you.”

Songha said in a cold tone, his hand on his sword.

“If you don’t unleash your domain until the end, I’ll cut your neck.”

“Is that so?”

A low voice echoed as if answering Songha’s words.

“Then I’ll do it instead.”

“……!”

Songha turned his senses with a cold expression, and almost simultaneously drew his sword.

The moment the sharp silver sword energy was slammed down at supersonic speed towards the direction of the voice.

Someone completed the incantation first.

“Self-Magnetic Domain Deployment.”

Self-Magnetic Domain Deployment

Mystic Order Inner World Imprint

[Southern Jungle Together View]

*Kugwagwagwagwagwa!!!!!*

A huge hemisphere of jungle erupted between Lenok and Songha.

Bushes and trees grew over the burnt and melted hangar, covering all sides.

The dry air, which had no moisture at all, turned into the humid air of a jungle.

It instantly altered and covered the entire landscape, expanding the space.

The overwhelming scale covered not only the hangar where Lenok was standing, but also the entire production facility surrounded by the corps.

Lenok had seen this enormous Self-Magnetic Domain, which was unbelievable even when seen with his own eyes, before.

A long time ago, when Lenok first encountered the Watchers and entered the Eye of Azure-

*Thud!!*

A sorceress wearing an old robe walked out from the center of the endlessly expanding jungle.

A copper-skinned woman looking down at Lenok and Songha from the hill that had sprung up with trees and bushes.

“Go, Evan. I’ll hold this swordsman.”

“……Grisha.”

“You said that just as you were always the same to Lapis, the Eye of Azure would be the same as well.”

Grisha nodded at Lenok.

“I need to repay the debt I owe you, even if it’s just a little.”