Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1033

Crash!!

From beyond the shattered cracks of memory, Lenok’s consciousness rapidly surfaced into reality.

Yet, even amidst this, Lenok was reflecting on the memories of Anathema he had just witnessed.

The memory of Anathema’s last day being banished from the central city. The identity of the deathbed vision held by the fallen apostle.

Jinwa’s corruption. Gyebaek’s failure. Seonjong’s corpse. The departed Emperor, and the real reason Anathema was banished.

The hidden wishes and demise of the Ascendants, which he never imagined he would glimpse through someone’s memories.

And finally, the existence of the transcendent being that appeared before Anathema, shattering the sky at the last moment.

After reviewing all those memories, Lenok understood why Anathema’s name could remain unbound by the ban.

‘……’

The reason why Anathema’s name was used as a message to banish him beyond the world.

The reason why, instead of atoning for his sins with death, he was excluded from reality forever.

If all of that was not simply a punishment, but a process to convey their message to ‘someone’.

‘……A process.’

Anathema’s banishment was not the end, but a process.

Because there was a causality comparable to the great failures there, his name was not bound by the ban even after being banished.

Thinking this, Lenok slowly opened his eyes.

“Huh.”

Jutiya, the noble who had been looking down at Lenok as he quietly opened his eyes, scratched his head.

“You’re awake. Did you sleep well?”

“……”

An awkward expression. Lenok could only understand the reason after looking around.

The huge coffin placed in the center of the chapel of the funeral director, Cyrus.

Lenok was making eye contact with Jutiya while lying inside that very coffin.

“The funeral ceremony ended while you were looking into Anathema’s memories.”

Jutiya scratched his messy hair.

“Anathema’s name has been laid to rest. Now, his soul will find peace without wandering.”

“That doesn’t seem like an explanation for the current situation.”

“Ah, you mean you’re lying in a coffin?”

Jutiya’s expression turned bewildered for a moment.

“You shouldn’t ask me that. I just saw your body in the coffin after the ceremony ended.”

“……”

“I stopped Cyrus from closing the lid, so shouldn’t you be thanking me instead?”

‘It’s because of the protocol.’

The moment he heard Jutiya’s explanation, Lenok understood why he was lying in the coffin.

The emergency protocol he had set up to protect his body in case he lost consciousness.

It must have moved his body to a suitable place to create spatial isolation by combining barrier magic and domain.

At the same time, Lenok also realized why the protocol was activated the moment he looked into Anathema’s memories.

In the last moment of the memory, even Lenok had forgotten that he was looking into a memory.

The eerie sense of incongruity that shattered the sky like glass upon its appearance.

He couldn’t properly confirm its shape or face, but it was certain.

Bangung (叛穹) [literally, ‘Rebellious Sky’, a title implying defiance of the heavens], who was called the strongest Ascendant in history.

It was none other than him who banished Anathema’s existence from reality.

“……”

Why Bangung intervened at that moment to help banish Anathema.

Why the door that the Compendium opened at the last moment led to a place where he would meet Bangung.

Even so, Lenok understood why Anathema’s existence could be so thoroughly excluded from reality.

An absolute decree that even the nobles of Ars Nova could not escape.

If such a monster intervened to carry out Anathema’s banishment, then he could understand why he had suffered so much and taken the hand of the cult leader.

[You’re awake.]

“……Oliviera.”

[Crawling into your own coffin, I thought you wanted to become a vampire now.]

Oliviera, who walked out from the back of the chapel, fluttering her veil, laughed.

[I knew you were greedy for your talents, but refrain from changing your species.]

“Thanks for your concern.”

Lenok, who replied indifferently, walked out of the coffin and asked.

“If I was the only one who kept looking at Anathema’s memories, does that mean that other people didn’t see the same memories in the first place?”

“Not everyone who participates in the ceremony sees the same memories.”

Jutiya said, sitting behind Lenok in a languid voice.

“Like organizing a meeting for a farewell, generally, you look into the memory that became the reason you met the deceased.”

“……Reason?”

“I saw the memory of when I worked at the Council of Fate. I met Anathema a few times back then.”

“……”

A memory that became the reason for meeting Anathema.

Then, it should have been the memory of when Lenok killed Anathema.

“I don’t know everything about it either. It’s just a few secret stories I heard decades after the city was destroyed.”

Jutiya, who had been watching Lenok deep in thought, shook his head with his arms crossed.

“If you saw something in Anathema’s memories, it would be better to ask someone else.”

Thud!!

At that moment, the entire chapel that Lenok was leaning against vibrated greatly.

The entire huge church and cemetery that formed the domain were faintly tilted.

[They are moving the location coordinates of the magnetic domain.]

Oliviera said, looking at Jutiya.

[Are you trying to leave Balkan right after finishing the funeral ceremony?]

“You know about Cyrus.”

Jutiya shrugged and got up from his seat.

Jutiya, who passed through the chapel and went out the church door, turned to look at Lenok and said.

“He judged that there was no reason to stay here any longer since you’ve regained your senses. He’s probably planning to leave as soon as he finds Torben’s location.”

“I didn’t think the funeral director was that considerate.”

“No, rather… he needs a reason.”

Jutiya smiled.

“He can no longer distinguish the flow and order of time through normal means.”

“……”

A cogwheel that continues to move according to the given role even after Ars Nova was destroyed.

The time and causality accumulated while continuing the role even after the central city disappeared were truly powerful.

That is why the funeral director no longer moves according to his own will or intention.

What was the role that the Emperor of Ars Nova gave to the nobles?

What does that role mean that it continues to fulfill its meaning even after everything has ended?

Whoosh!!

Walking along with Jutiya through the red-tinged field that stretched out beyond the church. Through the cemetery where the red spider lilies bloomed.

The funeral director, standing at the end of the red cemetery where the wind was blowing, turned his gaze with a blank face.

“Ascension candidate, you’re awake.”

Cyrus, who bent his gaunt body and turned around, looked down at Lenok.

“Are you planning to leave?”

“Even if he is a traitor who betrayed Ars Nova, his death must be concluded in accordance with proper etiquette.”

Cyrus said with emotionless eyes, as if he had no interest in Lenok’s question.

“I thank you for cooperating with the ceremony. The Funeral Return Ship (葬送歸海船) [a ship that returns the deceased to the sea, a metaphor for death] will soon leave the airspace of the undeveloped area of Balkan.”

“……”

“We will conclude today’s funeral ceremony by securing the location of Akendrias El Torben and recovering his person.”

Whoosh!!

As he said that, the domain of the Funeral Return Ship passed through the undeveloped area of Balkan at a rapid speed.

The speed was so fast that it was hard to believe that they were moving by shifting the magnetic domain itself.

It was possible because Cyrus himself was born with a magnetic domain and had never removed it for a single moment.

In the first place, since the domain and the caster are perfectly synchronized, it is possible to move the domain in this way.

The funeral director himself becomes a living domain, mourning and collecting death until the moment the end approaches.

Is that the way Cyrus Ardeltio, a noble, lives?

“Ah, right. There was one last thing to take care of before Torben returns.”

Jutiya, who was sitting down next to Cyrus and looking down at the ground, said as if she had remembered something.

“Since we used Anathema’s remains, which are strictly your spoils of war, for the ceremony, I’m going to pay a small price for that.”

“What price are you talking about?”

Most of their assets were buried in the epicenter of the destroyed Ars Nova.

Besides telling him about the ban, what could the nobles of this destroyed city give to Lenok?

“I told you I was a secretary of the council, right?”

Jutiya, who fluttered her wide-sleeved cardigan, gave a languid smile.

“In the past, I also recorded and managed the tributes offered to Ars Nova.”

“……”

“Among them, I still have the location coordinates of the tributes that Ars Nova failed to bring in when it was destroyed.”

“Hoo……”

Lenok nodded at Jutiya’s boastful words.

“You’ll tell me the location of the treasure, and I’ll take it myself?”

“Strictly speaking, they’re not my possessions, but what does it matter since the Golden Land has fallen?”

Jutiya said leisurely and raised her hand.

Thud!!

At the same time as she slashed through the air, two heavy stone slabs fell in front of her feet.

Did she materialize something that had been invisible to others and place it here?

The moment Lenok tilted his head at the familiar aura he felt from the stone slabs.

“While you were unconscious, I checked the list of tributes and picked out the ones that could be taken right away.”

Jutiya, who placed her hands on both sides of the two stone slabs, asked.

“I can only transfer one with my authority. Which one do you want?”

“Are both of them the location coordinates of the tributes offered to Ars Nova?”

“Yes. To briefly explain the tributes hidden in these coordinates-”

Jutiya said, glancing at the stone slabs.

“The first is a leaf of the World Tree blessed by a fairy.”

“……What?”

“The second is a damaged engine part of a Degenerate Reactor (縮退爐) [a reactor that uses a black hole as its power source].”

Lenok was speechless at the unexpected information, while Jutiya shrugged.

“Decide before we leave the giant city and let me know. I’m planning to leave this city right after the ceremony is over.”

“……”

A leaf of the World Tree and a defective product of a Degenerate Reactor.

It was certain that both were rare items that Lenok could not easily obtain anywhere.

Should it be called a reward worthy of a central noble, or is it something only Jutiya, who held the special position of a secretary, could do?

However, Oliviera’s impression, who had been listening to the story from the side, seemed a little different.

[A Degenerate Reactor, how absurd. Are you saying that they kept such a dangerous thing hidden even after Ars Nova was destroyed?]

“It’s a part, Oliviera.”

Jutiya scolded with a sleepy expression.

“It’s a broken item that can’t be used normally in the first place. I’m just mentioning it in case, since he’s such a great magician.”

[But it is certain that it contains technology worthy of its name.]

Oliviera’s magic eye emitted a strong light from beyond her veil.

[How can you guarantee that you are not trying to pass on a bomb that you cannot control?]

Oliviera’s words were extremely harsh. However, Jutiya did not deny those words either.

It was as if the Degenerate Reactor was a bomb that even the two of them could not easily handle.

Feeling Lenok’s questioning gaze, Oliviera opened her mouth first.

[It is a term for an engine that uses a black hole as its power source.]

“……A black hole?”

[It was originally designed to sail beyond the outer sea, not just the planet.]

Oliviera replied in a cold voice.

[It is a technology that even engineers directly under the Imperial Palace of Ars Nova could not touch. Even if it is a defective product, it is not something that humans can handle properly.]

“Oh, Oliviera.”

Jutiya’s languid smile changed strangely for a moment.

“Was it okay for you, of all people, to say that?”

[……]

Oliviera did not answer any further.

She only snorted and slowly stepped back, with a chilling coldness.

Lenok was lost in thought, looking at Oliviera and the two stone slabs in front of him.

A damaged part of an engine that uses a black hole as its power source.

As he had seen in Anathema’s memories, had Ars Nova already prepared the technology to advance beyond the outer sea?

Why does Oliviera Ron Maze know that fact in such detail?

He could ask Jutiya, who seemed to know something about that, but-

From the moment he heard Jutiya’s proposal, Lenok had already decided what to ask for.

“Have you decided?”

Jutiya tapped the stone slabs as she saw Lenok shaking his head and walking forward.

“The leaf of the World Tree is much more useful than the Degenerate Reactor part in terms of utility, so think carefully.”

“No. I won’t choose either.”

“What?”

“Instead, I’ll ask for something different.”

Lenok’s gaze deepened as he looked back and forth between Cyrus, who was watching from afar, and Jutiya.

“From now on, turn the direction of the magnetic domain Funeral Return Ship and return to the direction of the Magic Tower.”

“……Return?”

“There’s no reason to choose one of the World Tree leaf or the defective Degenerate Reactor.”

Lenok said, looking at Jutiya with a calm expression.

“I will take the time of you and the funeral director, who know that knowledge, as compensation.”

“……”

[……You.]

Cyrus and Jutiya were silent, and even Oliviera trailed off as if she was dumbfounded.

That was probably because Lenok’s answer was an unexpected proposal even from the three people’s point of view.

“Kyonroe, I think you’re misunderstanding something……”

Jutiya shook her head with a dumbfounded look.

“Cyrus and I are the ones who have not abandoned our roles. We don’t move with that kind of justification in the first place.”

“……”

“Don’t you know that even the compensation I’m offering you now is intended to prevent any backlash from this ceremony?”

Jutiya’s eyes shone coldly behind her glasses.

“I like you because you’re more reasonable than Torben, but this kind of coercion is difficult. Or was my explanation still insufficient?”

Unlike Torben, who was looking for lightning, the funeral director and the secretary were the ones who visited Balkan for Anathema’s funeral.

The fact that they are here now is proof that they are fulfilling their duties even after Ars Nova was destroyed.

Therefore, changing the compensation for the funeral ceremony cannot fix their whereabouts.

Did it seem like Lenok, who understood the ban, was being unreasonable even though he knew that?

“I’ve been thinking about it since I first heard about the order of precedence.”

However, Lenok shook his head as soon as he heard Jutiya’s words.

“If Torben’s opinion should be prioritized before starting the funeral ceremony, shouldn’t the order of precedence be applied equally when finishing the ceremony?”

“……”

“To leave Balkan after the ceremony, you will need Torben’s consent. Right?”

“I don’t really understand what you’re trying to say.”

Jutiya asked, narrowing her eyes.

“What does that have to do with the current situation?”

“Akendrias El Torben was eaten by my Magic Tower’s guardian spirit.”

At Lenok’s words, Jutiya blinked silently.

“……What?”

“His fundamental essence has been sucked out, and he is currently detained in the Magic Tower.”

“Wait a minute, then the fact that we haven’t been able to find Torben’s location until now is because……”

Lenok smiled as he looked at Jutiya with a flustered expression.

The chaos and fierce battles of the central front are now having an impact even outside the front lines.