Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1020

“It took some time for the spirit bridge of Yorta to open after Kroken Asillus smashed the memorial tower,” Mirva said, filling Lenok’s glass with wine from a bottle in her hand.

“Dealing with those gloomy ghosts made me feel like my life force was being sucked away. I missed being in a place with so many people.”

“……”

“I was stationed near the gate city to take care of the 3rd Corps’ affairs led by Lieutenant General Roberide, and….”

*Clink!*

She filled the glass with clear wine until it overflowed, then smiled, puffing on a cigar.

“To think I’d live to see the Joint Artificer [a powerful mage who combines magic and technology] die and the Ming King [a powerful, possibly demonic, figure] appear. Can a person be this unlucky?”

“Considering that, the corps seemed to move very rationally,” Lenok retorted, raising his glass.

“You were nearby but didn’t intervene in the battle until the end. Rather, you pulled back your forces to assess the situation.”

He had heard about the corps stationed near the gate city, but the situation had been so urgent that he hadn’t paid much attention.

He had only considered how to respond if the corps targeted him.

However, the 4th Corps led by Mirva Neosoto did not move in either direction.

They neither intervened in the battle nor retreated, maintaining a delicate balance while continuously observing the situation.

And Lenok also knew how the 4th Corps had managed to do that.

“The civilians who evacuated behind the curtain in the gate city. The corps must have been escorting them.”

“……”

“Under the guise of evacuating civilians, you were watching the battlefield, planning to intervene if necessary?”

“Now as always, rescuing lives is a good excuse on the battlefield. It’s also convenient to use as a scapegoat or a discardable piece when things go wrong,” Mirva replied leisurely.

“Well, I wasn’t considering all the variables. To be honest, when the Ming King appeared, I thought the problem had become much bigger….”

She took a deep drag from her thick cigar, exhaling smoke with a sigh.

“Thanks to a certain great mage who risked his life to briefly stop the Gabihaeng [a catastrophic event or phenomenon], we all got a brief reprieve.”

“……”

“I received the report from the General Staff that there was a reason you survived your defeat against Kyunroe, but I never thought I’d see it for myself.”

The corps commander’s eyes gleamed as she looked at Lenok.

“You fought the Joint Artificer not long after fighting the Lieutenant General, and you burned down the entire gate city… How much innate magic power do you need to do that?”

She blew out smoke and tilted the glass in her hand to her lips.

As soon as the glass was empty, a nearby officer immediately refilled it.

The corps commander showed no signs of intoxication despite repeatedly smoking and drinking.

Mirva, looking at Lenok through the rising smoke, grinned and said,

“Even among high-ranking sorcerers, there aren’t many mages as blessed as you. At least, you’re definitely the best at burning people I’ve ever seen.”

“I see.”

Lenok smiled and tilted his glass, causing the wine to spill and wet the table.

Lenok slowly placed his finger on the wet table and asked,

“Knowing that, you still thought of having a drink with me?”

*Whoosh!*

Instantly, he felt sharp gazes focusing on him.

The commanders and officers of the 4th Corps, silently lined up behind Mirva Neosoto.

Several superhumans of different genders and ages were staring at Lenok with expressionless faces.

Even though they had suppressed their magic and intent in front of Lenok, they couldn’t hide their instantaneous reactions from him.

They might not show it, but they had all heard about Chunbun, which was why they reacted that way.

However, Mirva remained calm and smiled, putting a cigar in her mouth despite the tense atmosphere.

“That’s right. Even if only half of the rumors about Chunbun are true, I won’t die here.”

“……”

Mirva slowly exhaled smoke towards the silent Lenok.

“Would a Watcher who tried to save even those who tried to kill him during the Gabihaeng, make a move first in a crowded street like this?”

“That’s….”

The fact that she had spoken to Lenok first in the black market meant that she had already made some judgment about Chunbun’s nature.

He knew how Chunbun’s name was currently being received in the Central, but he never expected a corps commander to mention it so openly.

He couldn’t deny that everything Lenok had done in the gate city was open to multiple interpretations.

Even though his actions hadn’t changed much, the fact that Chunbun’s identity was expanding in the opposite direction from Kyunroe’s was strange.

“I know. You’re saying that the evaluation of you doesn’t match your own thoughts, right?”

As if reading Lenok’s mind, Mirva grinned and grabbed the wine bottle.

“I know a few superhumans like you. But you should be careful. You can’t control how others evaluate you.”

“……”

“Especially since you left the Azure Eye [a powerful organization] and don’t belong to any faction. If you’re thinking of starting ‘again’ in the Central Front-”

*Pour…!*

Mirva refilled Lenok’s half-empty glass.

The wine poured from the bottle didn’t stop, filling the glass to the brim and spilling out.

Watching the wine overflow from the glass, she said nonchalantly,

“You have to be careful not to overdo anything.”

“That’s a very thoughtful piece of advice.”

Lenok shook off the wine dripping from his fingertips and asked,

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

“The corps’ parade will be held soon, coinciding with the day the Marshal returns.”

“What?”

“It’s a process of filling the vacant corps commander positions, including Lieutenant General Roberide’s, and officially transferring ranks.”

Mirva, who had casually mentioned an important schedule within Dead Rise, took a sip of her wine.

“Currently, all corps are returning to the 2nd Command. By then, discussions about the ‘Subjugation Operation’ will begin in earnest.”

“……”

“I won’t make it long. You should also participate in the parade.”

The corps commander and Lenok’s gazes met briefly across the table.

“Accept the position of corps commander. Then the Command will prepare the best place for you to take revenge.”

“Revenge, huh.”

Lenok chuckled.

He could understand with that one word who the subjugation operation was targeting and why they were trying to recruit Chunbun.

“Are you saying that even though you know how I dealt with Roberide?”

“I didn’t like Lieutenant General Roberide, but I don’t deny the loyalty he had for the corps,” Mirva said leisurely, shaking her glass.

“He was a fool who didn’t know that the more you overuse the word ‘cause,’ the less valuable it becomes. He was also a maverick who ignored the Command’s orders and ran wild, but surprisingly, an organization needs one such stubborn person to function smoothly….”

“……”

“A corps is a group of strong-willed individuals who form a head. That was the banner that the Marshal and the generals raised when they advanced to the Central….”

The 4th Corps Commander’s eyes gleamed coldly through the rising smoke.

“That’s also why the Main Command is watching you. It’s proof that the fool was that good of a soldier.”

“A good soldier, huh.”

Lenok laughed.

“It seems like you also feel quite attached to the corps, saying that.”

“Hey, Martinez. I’m a soldier. Isn’t it natural for a soldier to be loyal to the military?” Mirva laughed heartily, tapping the table.

“I don’t like the direction the corps is heading, but I don’t intend to get involved in politics enough to forget my duties as a commander.”

The corps commander, who placed a few clinking gold coins on the table from her pocket, slowly rose from her seat.

Her eyes gleamed eerily as she leaned on the table and bowed her head towards Lenok.

“So… let’s hope that the next time we meet, it won’t be on the battlefield.”

“……”

“Once the Marshal returns and Ultima Alert starts moving, everything will be irreversible.”

Mirva said, slowly getting up while puffing on her cigar.

“Whether you become a target for elimination by the Command or become a corps commander following Roberide, it would be good if a decision is made before the parade.”

Mirva chuckled, looking down at the silent Lenok.

“That’s why we were able to sit together and share a drink for a while.”

“……Send the location and date to the gate city,” Lenok said, standing up and meeting Mirva’s gaze.

“I’ll visit if I have time. But as you said, the Marshal must be back in the corps.”

Mirva’s words, as if she had already assigned him the position of corps commander, and the 4th Corps officers who acquiesced to that decision.

The corps’ rules, existing under a distorted order and system, didn’t resonate with Lenok either.

Dead Rise, which betrayed Kaise, and the corps established around his son, Ethan Bajur.

Whether the position of corps commander, which leads the corps, has as much value and meaning as they say.

“If I can’t get an answer directly from the owner of Dead Rise, who supposedly resurrected himself, then this conversation will be meaningless.”

“That’s quite the nerve,” Mirva grinned and turned her head.

“I’m also looking forward to seeing if you can say that in front of the Marshal.”

Mirva walked out of the bar without any lingering attachment.

Surrounded by her escort, her figure disappeared into the distance behind the lamplit street, quickly parting the crowd.

“……”

Lenok, holding his half-empty glass, leaned on the balcony and silently watched her.

Mirva Neosoto. The 4th Corps Commander of Dead Rise. Said to be a commander on par with Daymus of the 7th Corps.

Her excellent political sense, enough to surround and pressure the city as soon as the memorial tower collapsed.

Her unflagging energy, despite fighting countless battles in and out of the Central Front.

Even her judgment to observe the situation until the end despite the Gabihaeng massacre.

Is that the confidence of a commander who is thoroughly specialized in war and group battles?

If the corps turns into an enemy later, she is likely to be a difficult opponent.

‘Should I have killed her?’

Lenok, who had thought that far, immediately shook his head and turned away from the balcony.

The 4th Corps officers were only wary of and watching Lenok.

If he had tried to kill the corps commander here, it would have been impossible to avoid a commotion.

He didn’t agree with Mirva’s words about Chunbun, but her conclusion wasn’t wrong either.

At this point, he was more interested in the parade held at the Command than in making enemies with the corps.

Above all, if Ethan Bajur had finally returned to the corps, Lenok also intended to meet him.

Kaise Bajur’s son. The owner of the corps. A resurrected being who returned from death.

A superhuman who was born with a strong reverse-heaven magic and only gained that talent more strongly after death.

It was ironic that he had gotten closer to him under the identity of Chunbun, but it was clear that even that was a chain of events that Lenok himself had created.

It wasn’t bad that Evan Martinez’s name, who had left the Azure Eye, was gaining a reason again in the Central….

“This should be enough.”

The time he had acted under the identity of Evan Martinez had been much longer than expected.

There was still time until the corps’ parade, and he had things to do under the identity of Kyunroe.

Above all, Lenok did not forget that even this moment was part of his journey to the Outer City.

Lenok, watching Angel and Bernard approaching from the other side of the black market street, took out his phone from his pocket.

By now, news and repercussions from the Central Front should have reached Oliviera.

It was time to return to Balkan.

* * *

*Whoosh…!*

A desolate plateau, withered and dead.

The lush greenery had lost its color, and only death lingered in the plains that had been full of life.

The Ming King of Pandemonium.

The ruins left behind by the Gabihaeng, led directly by the continent’s greatest black mage.

Eredis Javelin was moving along the traces of that Gabihaeng.

*Whoosh…!*

The airship, Nung-hwa, which was only permitted to the ten seats of the vanguard, floated slowly along the wasteland.

The airship moved along the traces left by the Ming King without touching the aura of death engraved on the ground.

Behind Eredis, who stood at the front of the airship, a voice called out to her.

“Eredis-nim.”

A man with an expressionless face, kneeling behind Eredis, asked.

“The ritual weapon, Hyeonghwakseong [a powerful, unique weapon], is it alright to hand it over to Chunbun like this?”

“……”

“Although there was a unilateral decision by the Third Seat, Jellyh, it is originally an item that is not allowed to be inherited even among the same ten seats.”

They had pretended not to see or hear much and left the gate city, but.

Eredis Javelin and the Annihilation Squad she led were by no means foolish.

Chunbun, Evan Martinez, who had made his name known throughout the Central Front by killing the Joint Artificer.

They also knew that the great mage hadn’t even tried to hide his innate talent in front of them.

“Judging by Chunbun’s attitude, he clearly possessed an innate ability. Moreover, the way the ritual weapon materialized….”

A giant flame banner, ten meters long, with a spear and flagstaff integrated into one.

Even the ritual weapon of Eredis, the owner of the Annihilation Squad, was not that ridiculously large.

How vast Chunbun’s consciousness, who had become the new owner of the ritual weapon, was.

They couldn’t even guess the effective range and reach of the completed ritual weapon.

“If we end up confronting Chunbun in the future, this incident will be a constant obstacle. If only Eredis-nim had annihilated the ritual weapon with your ability-”

“Yuto.”

As Eredis spoke, the man bowed his head even deeper.

Eredis, who turned her head with an expressionless face, looked down at the man called Yuto.

“I understand your feelings since you were said to be a contemporary of the deceased 13th Seat.”

“……”

“But if I could have resolved this situation by handing over just one Hyeonghwakseong, I would have done so even if the Joint Artificer hadn’t died.”

“Eredis-nim.”

“Avesta Chapman. It’s hard to believe that that obsessive patient is dead, but it’s an undeniable fact that Chunbun fought and won against the Artificer.”

Eredis’s calm gaze turned towards the bottom of the airship.

“The Gabihaeng has started again, and the situation has changed. It’s a serious situation that could affect not only the ownership of the gate but also the war between the Order and the Alliance.”

“……”

“If the situation in the Central is currently flowing in a direction that is beneficial to Chunbun, I don’t want to go against that flow.”

A cold chill mixed in Eredis’s eyes as she looked at the wasteland filled with death.

“Especially if those who can artificially create such a flow are intervening in this battlefield.”

“……That’s.”

It was impossible for one person to control all situations and causality on the long journey to Ars Nova.

In the Central Front, where human lives bloomed and withered like flowers, and monsters that transcended laws and common sense ran rampant.

If the wills of transcendents were intersecting on unimaginable shortcuts and detours, then it had to become a flow, even if it wasn’t a flow.

The arrival of the Ming King and the intervention of Jinwa. And the change in the direction of the Gabihaeng at the last moment.

The fact that Eredis was able to vaguely read all of those arrangements was because she was also a superhuman who could discuss the big picture from the same perspective.

“Annihilation Squad, all members. From now on, we will stop tracking the Gabihaeng and return to headquarters.”

*Clank!*

Eredis, who had come down from the front of the airship, immediately headed for the deck.

Several dozen members who had landed in the hazy mist lined up behind her.

“If the Ming King truly intends to pass through Jinwa’s lost paradise, then it will be meaningless to predict the results from now on. Now that the Ma-kyung [a type of magical barrier or domain] raid has failed, I don’t want to waste time.”

“We have finished processing the catalysts and medicines you purchased from the black market. Shall we ‘operate’ on Mikal Jellyh right away?”

“No. Meeting the Zero Seat is the priority. The collective mental network has become very loose with the vacancy in the ten seats.”

Eredis said, taking her hand out of her glove and extending it to a member.

*Crackling…!*

The skin was cracking and forcibly disappearing from her fingertips.

While the members remained silent, Eredis, who casually put her glove back on, said,

“As the mental network has become unstable, my abilities have become stronger than necessary, so I won’t be able to last long.”

The collective mental network built by Zero Seat Aphelia was not meant to enhance the power of innate ability users.

It was a measure taken to take on the burden of uncontrollable talents and allow them to live as humans.

The existence of the 2nd Seat of the Ability Awakening Vanguard, Eredis Javelin, was the same.

A monster who was born with overwhelming abilities and could not live without constantly ‘consuming’ them.

The result of a lifetime of learning and symbolizing the old adage that too much is worse than too little was here.

“Let’s hurry. After returning to headquarters, we also need to respond to the message from the corps command.”

“……If the Command sent a message, is it related to the Marshal’s return?”

“No, it’s about the Balkan side.”

Eredis’s gaze, looking at the darkness that had dyed the end of the horizon, turned cold.

“It seems that the Command has completely finalized the ‘target of subjugation’ because of this incident… They are hoping for our participation.”