Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1077

Swoosh!!

Following the Bloodsoaked Princess, I entered the vast crimson palace.

The Blood Shadow Palace, which I encountered immediately upon arriving in Kundara.

It exists on the border between reality and the imaginary dimension, an independent territory with no fixed entrances or exits.

Because I entered Kundara through this place, I didn’t pass the Trial of Fear, and things got complicated.

In the process of resolving that, I ended up teaching the long-lived species using the Five Hundred Paths [a method of cultivation or training].

Through that, I heard about Maleon’s ascension, and now I’ve faced the Bloodsoaked Princess again.

It seems the events that started here have come full circle, leading back to this palace.

Kuoohhh!!!

The second time I’ve visited the Blood Shadow Palace, the same eerie silence fills the hall.

Except for the absence of Oliviera, nothing has changed.

Is the Bloodsoaked Princess sitting alone in this vast, empty palace, watching over the Outer Calamity City?

‘Come here.’

However, after bringing Lenok into the Blood Shadow Palace, the Bloodsoaked Princess didn’t sit alone on the throne as before.

Instead, she walked through the corridor behind the lobby and headed to a room where a reception area was located.

The girl, perched on a chair at a long dining table, pointed to the chair opposite her.

‘Sit.’

‘……’

[Where does this bloodsucker get off?]

Dabi grumbled.

Lenok shrugged and sat in the chair opposite the girl, asking,

‘The place is different from last time. Are you planning to serve a meal?’

‘……’

‘If you’re planning to treat a guest, I won’t refuse.’

‘There’s no food for humans in my palace.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess replied with a sulky expression, and as she raised her hand, something dropped onto a plate.

Something like jelly, in the shape of a solidified blood clot.

‘This is…?’

‘Blood curd pudding.’

The girl chuckled.

‘It’s a snack I sometimes eat. If you want, try it.’

‘……’

Lenok, looking dumbfounded at the Bloodsoaked Princess, took out a piece of dried jerky from his pocket.

The Bloodsoaked Princess stared at Lenok, who started chewing it without a word, as if she couldn’t believe it.

‘You had food with you. Why did you ask me for some?’

‘Did you think I wouldn’t prepare food for the journey to Kundara?’

Lenok replied nonchalantly.

‘However, after having a few meals in this city, I found that Kundara’s food culture is quite to my liking.’

‘……’

‘So, I was just curious if you had anything to offer.’

‘……Offer. Right, we were talking about that.’

The girl, leaning back in her chair, looked at Lenok with a crooked gaze.

‘You’re having quite a bit of fun, aren’t you? You say you’re looking for Kaise’s corpse, but you seem very happy.’

‘……’

‘You’re acting as a teacher to the long-lived species, and your face is glowing.’

‘It’s because the vampire who summoned me didn’t take any responsibility and chased me out into the Outer Calamity City.’

Lenok replied, chewing on the jerky and taking out a water bottle from his pocket.

‘I had to work hard to survive on my own.’

‘That’s funny. Is becoming a tutor for the Five Hundred Paths and helping with the Trial of Fear something you can do with effort?’

The girl chuckled in disbelief.

‘You’re a strange human. I’ve heard the stories, but you’re really weird. I’ve seen many greedy humans, but not many as twisted as you.’

‘……’

‘But as a result, that might be why Maleon took a liking to you, so it can’t be helped.’

‘You’re talking as if you didn’t want that outcome.’

‘Oh, does it look like that? To be honest, I don’t dislike Maleon.’

The girl’s red eyes, hidden in the darkness, flashed eerily.

‘It’s true that there aren’t many people with that kind of character among the level 8s. But that’s why he’s dangerous.’

‘Why is that?’

‘What Maleon Gnosis truly dreams of is not the Outer Calamity.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess sighed coldly.

‘His attempt to become an Ascended Being is to fill the empty Nine Calamities with his own existence.’

‘……’

‘Through him, he wants to fill all the nine calamities with life and make the Outer Calamity City function normally.’

‘Does Kundara need life in all spaces from the First Calamity to the Ninth Calamity to function properly?’

Lenok tilted his head.

‘I don’t see why that’s a problem. It’s not a bad thing for the Outer Calamity City to function properly.’

‘No. The fact that the Nine Calamities are empty now is the result intended by the Council of Elders.’

The girl said with a blank face.

‘This city shouldn’t move until the time of the conclusion comes. It needs to be hidden in the misty universe and constantly undergo performance testing, just like now.’

‘……’

‘But what Maleon wants is to make the Outer Calamity City work properly and go beyond the barrier.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess made eye contact with Lenok for a moment.

‘He wants to know if the existence of this Outer Calamity City can truly be the answer. So, he’s trying to use his ascension as an opportunity to test that fact.’

‘This city is like an ark containing the long-lived species. There’s no danger in leaving the other side of the barrier.’

Lenok asked.

Just before he entered Kundara, he saw the shape of a giant satellite floating in the misty universe.

Knowing that it was the Outer Calamity City itself, Lenok found the explanation difficult to accept.

‘If an artificial satellite was created and hidden on the other side of the barrier, its durability and stability would be on a different level than other cities. It wouldn’t collapse from any ordinary shock or distortion.’

‘There are several sustainable agreements and seals due to the fact that Kundara is hidden on the other side of the barrier.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess said quietly.

‘There’s also a balance that’s maintained because we haven’t intervened in the mortal world since the fall of Ars Nova [a significant historical event]. That’s the same both inside and outside the barrier.’

‘……’

‘What would happen if the long-lived species who have lived for hundreds of years joined the central front? What if they flowed into city-states and claimed to be the ultimate power? What if hidden ancient technologies and formulas were released to the world?’

The vampire’s voice momentarily became blurred.

‘The chaos would be much more extreme than it is now. Either way, countless deaths would follow.’

‘I see.’

Lenok said.

Lenok, looking down at the girl with indifferent eyes, threw out a word.

‘If I had heard that fact when we first met, I might have thought about it a little more seriously.’

‘……’

‘You’re explaining this fact only after I met Maleon and heard about the internal affairs of Kundara?’

Lenok, leaning back in his chair, slowly shook his head.

‘I don’t particularly agree. Rather, I’m more surprised that you’re so concerned about the balance of the mortal world.’

‘That’s…’

‘In the first place, you weren’t trying to stop Maleon. You were just hiding that fact and hoping that I wouldn’t contact Maleon.’

Lenok asked with a blank face.

‘Or are you going to make excuses that even that was due to the influence of the prohibition?’

‘I neither agree nor disagree with Maleon’s plan. I don’t have the right to laugh at or belittle other challengers now.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess shook her head.

‘But I just didn’t know how your existence would work in that process. No one can predict what will happen to Maleon after his challenge is over.’

‘……’

‘He probably seemed like a cheerful and capable good person. In fact, he’s a very bold and strong-willed hero.’

The girl’s expression turned cold.

‘But that’s why Maleon Gnosis is a dangerous being. Those who dedicate themselves to a goal greater than themselves, without a hint of malice, are all like that.’

‘Like the people who participated in the project?’

‘……’

For the first time, the Bloodsoaked Princess pursed her lips.

A strange silence flowed between the two people facing each other beyond the candlelight in the dark reception room.

‘After hearing the location where Kaise’s corpse is hidden, I haven’t paid the price for the information yet.’

Lenok, resting his chin on the table, asked.

‘The price I have to pay you instead of the Blood Letter Contract. Do you want me not to cooperate with Maleon?’

‘……’

‘You found me as soon as I arrived in Kundara, and you haven’t intervened at all since you couldn’t recover the Blood Letter Contract.’

Lenok, slowly tilting his gaze forward, asked.

‘Tell me. What do you want in this city?’

‘……No.’

Saying that, the girl pushed herself up from the chair with both arms.

She jumped off the chair, her feet not touching the ground, and turned to look at Lenok with red eyes, saying,

‘As I said, it doesn’t matter whether you cooperate with Maleon’s plan or not.’

‘……’

‘The reason I called you is not related to Maleon’s plan, but because there is a procedure necessary to recover Kaise’s corpse.’

‘A procedure necessary to recover the corpse…?’

The Bloodsoaked Princess said that Kaise’s corpse was hidden in a place called the Ten Tubes of the Ninth Calamity.

Is there something else Lenok needs to do to enter that place called the Ten Tubes?

While Lenok was lost in thought, the Bloodsoaked Princess looked at Lenok and said calmly,

‘If Maleon’s challenge cannot be stopped, then regardless of its success or failure, we must do what we can on our side.’

‘……’

‘Whether he succeeds or fails, Maleon will challenge the Trial of the Ninth Calamity, and you will have a chance at least once.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess, staring at Lenok with deeply sunken eyes, said,

‘Then I should start preparing now to break the promise of the Ten Tubes.’

‘I don’t know why you’re putting so much effort into explaining what the Ten Tubes are.’

Lenok asked, pressing his temple with one hand.

‘Simply put, doesn’t it mean ten pipes? How is Kaise enshrined inside that requires preparation?’

‘Kaise wanted his death to be complete in itself.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess replied.

‘At the end of the project’s failure, he tried to prevent his abilities or nature from being used in any other way.’

‘……’

‘After the betrayal of Paud, Kaise’s corpse was moved to the Ninth Calamity, and the highest-ranking long-lived species with True Blood gathered and made a blood contract.’

The girl said, her red eyes shining.

‘They gather ten True Bloods, draw a blood magic circle, and use the inner space as a giant miniature garden and territory. That’s why…’

The Bloodsoaked Princess said coldly,

‘The Ten Tubes can only be opened by the death of the highest-ranking long-lived species of Kundara who possess True Blood.’

* * *

‘I understand that one of the True Blood species must be killed to open the Ten Tubes of the Ninth Calamity.’

Lenok, following the Bloodsoaked Princess out of the reception room, leaving the blood curd pudding behind, asked.

‘However, if you kill the highest-ranking long-lived species of Kundara, there will be an uproar. Is there a way?’

He had clashed with the Water Dragon King Alogan before entering Kundara, but the situation is very different now.

Unlike then, when he smashed the deep-sea area without caring about the onlookers, there are too many eyes watching throughout Kundara.

If Lenok uses force in an unagreed-upon way, other powerful long-lived species will immediately intervene.

He is confident in protecting himself in any situation, but the more commotion there is, the more difficult it will be to reach the Ninth Calamity.

Since the very decision to help Maleon is to enter the Ninth Calamity, he must avoid a result that reverses the means and the end.

‘As you said, if we kill a True Blood species at will, we can’t avoid things getting out of hand.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess, guiding Lenok out of the Blood Shadow Palace, said.

‘But if we handle things quickly in a place that is not noticeable, there are many ways to fix it.’

‘You mean assassination is easier than hunting.’

‘As for the aftermath, there are ways I can help too.’

The girl, turning to look at Lenok with red eyes, raised a finger.

‘I’m a vampire. There is no long-lived species better than me when it comes to handling blood.’

‘……’

‘If you handle things properly, I can erase the traces left at the scene. At least, I can make it so that no one knows.’

‘You mean it’s possible if you choose the right time and place.’

‘It won’t be difficult. Most of the highest-ranking long-lived species with True Blood have their own fortresses or nests far from the city center.’

Even the Bloodsoaked Princess, who is currently talking to Lenok, resides in her own territory, the Blood Shadow Palace, and rarely shows herself outside.

If other True Blood long-lived species have similar habits, it might not be difficult to kill them without being seen or guarded.

‘The important thing is for you to get the justification to meet them. In this case, the reputation you’ve built so far might be helpful.’

‘Use the fact that I teach the Five Hundred Paths as a justification to find the True Blood species?’

Lenok chuckled and shook his head.

‘If the owners of every fortress and nest I visit die, how well will the secret be kept?’

‘In the first place, the reason you became Maleon’s collaborator was because you were teaching the Five Hundred Paths to the high-ranking long-lived species, wasn’t it?’

The Bloodsoaked Princess’s expression turned cold.

‘By the time it’s known that things are going strangely, Maleon will have challenged the ascension ritual. What happens after that doesn’t matter.’

‘……’

What’s important is to increase the success rate of Maleon’s ascension ritual and for Lenok to safely enter the Ninth Calamity with him.

Is she saying that the commotion or deaths that occur after that are not important at all?

Considering that she didn’t want Lenok to meet Maleon, the Bloodsoaked Princess’s plan is very radical.

‘It’s easy to say, but it’s hard to guarantee that you can actually do it.’

Lenok crossed his arms.

‘First of all, it seems more important to know who the target you’re talking about is.’

‘That’s why I needed the Blood Letter Contract to confirm that part.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess said, reaching out her hand to Lenok.

‘Give it to me. You still have it, right?’

‘……’

As Lenok took out the old notebook, the Bloodsoaked Princess drew blood from her finger and began to drop it onto the notebook.

A strange sight of her using her finger as a brush to draw diligently.

After struggling with the notebook for a while, the girl handed the notebook to Lenok with a proud look.

‘That’s it. This should be enough.’

‘……What is this?’

Something is drawn on the old notebook in a crooked, clumsy style.

It’s a shape that is impossible to recognize, other than that it’s squiggly and grotesque.

At Lenok’s question, the Bloodsoaked Princess snorted with a dumbfounded expression.

‘What, I drew a picture to make it easier to search in the Blood Letter Contract. Are you pretending not to know?’

‘……’

Instead of answering, Lenok opened the Blood Letter Contract and showed the answer that appeared on the notebook.

=It is impossible to interpret the corresponding strange characters, so a valid record cannot be found.

‘……’

=If you are searching for a chimera instead of a long-lived species, please refer to the Joint- of the Order of Mages.

‘Ah, I know!!’

The girl, pouting, snatched the notebook away and raised her hand.

‘We can do it again. Again.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess, grumbling, drew the picture with much more effort than before.

She was so focused that she stared intently at the notebook, moving her lips alone.

Is she the type who mutters details to herself while drawing?

Lenok was waiting, thinking useless thoughts, when.

‘That’s it, I’m not doing it!’

‘……’

The Bloodsoaked Princess flipped the page of the notebook with a flustered expression.

On the back of the page with an even more bizarre drawing, the Bloodsoaked Princess wrote words instead of a picture.

=I want to find a being among the long-lived species who have made a blood contract and who possess True Blood completely.

Perhaps because Lenok was watching right next to her, the Blood Letter Contract responded immediately.

=Information about the corresponding species is being found and displayed.

Srrr…!!

With those words, the image of a snake with white scales slowly began to be drawn on the page of the notebook.

A white, huge, and venomous old snake.

The one who introduced Lenok to the Five Hundred Paths tournament and recommended the elixir of ascension-

‘……This one is.’

‘One of the five highest-ranking members of the Council of Elders of the Eighth Calamity, Nibecks Orosia.’

The Bloodsoaked Princess’s eyes turned cold.

‘An level 8 poison master, and a strange person who hides in the Poisonous Forest he built himself and doesn’t crawl out.’

‘……’

‘And he is also a traitor who secretly recovered the True Blood used in the blood contract and used it to make the elixir of ascension.’

The girl, handing the Blood Letter Contract to Lenok, asked with a cold expression,

‘To retrieve Kaise’s corpse, you have to kill this snake. Can you do it?’

The white snake, Nibecks Orosia, who introduced Lenok to the elixir of ascension and proposed a deal.

The one who must be killed to enter the Ten Tubes is none other than Oliviera’s acquaintance.