Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1095

Whirr! Whirr!

Unkirin’s magic surged, freezing the air as it targeted Maleon.

Ice pillars erupted from the erosion field, and a blizzard descended like a relentless barrage.

[Groooaaah…!!!]

The Mummified Chain Dragon roared, its sharp protrusions tearing into the corridor walls.

Kaga-gagak!!!

The blizzard swept through the sector, while the protrusions, accelerating, ground against the walls.

Maleon didn’t evade the two converging erosion fields. Instead, he thrust his hand into the wave of protrusions.

Drrrrrrrk!!!

The protrusions reacted violently, spinning to grind Maleon’s hand with a tearing sound that could reduce even hardened alloys to dust.

Maleon’s eyebrow twitched, but he tensed his forearm and seized the rotating protrusions.

“Hoo-up…!!”

Kkiiiiik!!

As Maleon’s hand halted the protrusions, the others interlocked and stopped as well. The gears of the erosion field, an impossible sight, were held by a single person’s grip.

[Kkik?]

The Mummified Chain Dragon raised its head, bewildered, as silver light flickered within the protrusions.

Primal Magic: Star Union Eight Extremes Style

Six Forms – Outer Method

[Distorted Star Circulation]

Fwaaaaaaaat!!!

The starlight distorted and warped, tearing through the protrusions. The immense heat melted the erosion field’s protrusions into molten metal.

[Nebula]

Kwaaaaaaa!!!

The starlight spread like a cloud, completely dissolving the Chain Dragon Clan’s erosion field.

[Kkigeggegek!!!]

Even a dead mummy couldn’t withstand the damage to its erosion field. The Chain Dragon wailed in pain as ice pillars fell from above.

The icicles, sharpened like spears, launched at subsonic speed. Maleon’s star cloud evaporated them with its heat, creating steam.

Puh-buh-bubung!!

The steam explosion was so intense it affected Lenox, standing behind him.

‘The outer method of the Star Union Eight Extremes Style is for attack. The inner method is for protection and enhancement?’

Maleon used the outer method against enemies and the inner method for allies. The distinction between inner and outer in the Star Union Eight Extremes Style seemed to be based on friend or foe.

[Buooo?]

The Mummified Unkirin raised its head in surprise but quickly prepared its next attack. However, Maleon no longer chanted incantations to block attacks.

He ignored the blizzard and the protrusions grinding against his side.

Thud!

He stomped his foot to draw attention, and the moment the Chain Dragon charged, he grabbed its head.

Kwaaaang!!!

[…!!!]

The Chain Dragon Clan’s scales were heavy, metal protrusions as hard and heavy as chains. Their weight was far greater than other beasts.

Maleon stopped the charge of such a dragon species with the strength of one arm.

Weeeeeeeng…!!

Starlight rotated in Maleon’s hand, pressing down on the Chain Dragon’s head. The dragon thrashed at the heat boiling beyond its skull.

Maleon ignored the resistance and scraped the Chain Dragon’s back with the starlight in his hand.

Buaaaak!!

The Chain Dragon’s hard scales melted, and its flesh was crushed like tofu. The huge dragon’s body split open, exposing its unrotted organs.

[Kkeok!]

With a final scream, the Chain Dragon collapsed, its tongue lolling out. Its head was smashed, its spine melted, and its internal organs exposed—a fatal injury. Even a mummified long-lived species couldn’t move after such damage.

At the same time, a faint spirit body extracted from the Chain Dragon seeped into Maleon as if being absorbed.

“…Hmm.”

Maleon’s expression hardened, and his movements paused. Unkirin seized the opportunity.

[Buoooooo…!!]

Swaaeeek!!

With a strange cry, it led the frozen erosion field and flew low. Shaking its fins, it surpassed the speed of sound, traversing the frozen corridor.

Unkirin became a sharp flash of ice, ramming into Maleon head-on.

Jjeoooooong!!!

A powerful resonance deafened the ears as the ice shattered. A shockwave mixed with a cold blizzard burst out, freezing everything around it.

“…!!”

Even Lenox considered intervening due to the cold from the erosion field. However, Maleon didn’t budge, even after Unkirin’s supersonic charge. He ignored the cold wave that froze his left chest and opened his mouth, drawing up magic power.

Kiiiiing…!!

The dragon’s mouth, covered in silver scales, opened wide, filling with immense magic power as if breathing. Lenox realized it was the ‘Dragon Species’s’ mind power, activated by mixing his will and mental image with his breath.

Dragon Command Authority: Eldritch Breath

[Holy Release Cannon]

Kwaaaaaaaa!!!!

A brilliant silver magic light exploded from Maleon’s mouth, engulfing Unkirin’s massive body. The beam soared, cutting through the space-time of the Nine Calamities.

Chiiiiik!!

Unkirin’s remains, split in half, fell apart.

Kuuuung!!

“Hoo-oo-oo-oo…”

Maleon, regulating his breathing, slowly turned around. He wiped his mouth, massaged his neck, and said,

“I’ve opened the way. Let’s move right away.”

“…”

Instead of answering, Lenox stared at the battlefield Maleon had left behind. An overwhelming power struggle, stemming not only from superior spell performance but also from physical abilities.

Using the dragon species’ powerful physique to the limit, Maleon crushed the enemy without retreating.

However, Maleon seemed uninterested in the destruction he had caused.

“There might be other founders who noticed the commotion. We must move without delay…”

He spoke calmly, taking slow breaths. He seemed more out of breath than expected, a side effect of using the breath.

Maleon slowly turned around and said,

“No, it’s already a little late.”

“…”

[Kuo-ooo…]

A huge water buffalo with a ring above its head. A dinosaur with plant-like wings. A pure white elephant with blood-red letters engraved all over its body.

The mummies of long-lived species, possessing powerful domains that could erode the glass dome illuminating the outer sea, were approaching. When the mummies of Unkirin and the Chain Dragon disappeared, and Maleon absorbed their residual thoughts, the other mummies noticed the gap and began to sense Maleon’s presence.

Woo-oo-oo-oong!!!

The starlight in Maleon’s hand rotated fiercely, resonating through the barriers and illuminating the darkness.

Maleon nodded and stepped forward.

“Let’s keep going. I’ll open the way first.”

* * *

Splatter, splatter…!!

The torn corpse of a dinosaur was scattered, and the torso of a water buffalo with its head ripped off was crushed. Pieces of dried, unrotted internal organs stretched along the corridor.

Drip, drip…!!

Sticky bodily fluids. An acrid smell that made your head throb. It felt like your lungs were constricting, making it difficult to breathe. A creepy feeling that made it seem like your very existence was collapsing just by standing still. Would this be the feeling of slowly dying inside a facility soaked in radiation?

“Hoo…!!”

Crack-crack-crack!!!

With a low shout, the sound of flesh tearing echoed. The blood of the long-lived species evaporated in the heat of the rotating starlight.

[Erosion Rate 76%]

Inner region of the Nine Calamities.

How many founders’ mummies had he killed, breaking through countless corridors and barriers? Maleon, accelerating while covered in starlight, tore apart the approaching mummies.

[Bbuooo-ooo!!]

Kwaaang!!

He received the kick of an elephant with blood-red letters without moving. Supporting the hoof with one arm, he struck a reindeer running from the side without looking.

Jjeooooong!!

The starlight in Maleon’s hand exploded, scattering a silver shockwave and turning the reindeer into pulp. Ignoring the headless reindeer, he pulled out the elephant’s leg and threw it. The elephant’s belly burst open, spilling its internal organs, as it shot out its tusks like missiles.

Three Forms – Outer Method

[Piercing Star]

Ppeooo-ooo-oong!!!

A huge hornet flapping its wings behind the elephant was pierced before it could sting. The hornet, with its belly burst open, vibrated its wings, creating a roar like an engine.

[Buiiik!! Buiiik-]

Thud!!

Maleon, who had dropped starlight to silence the hornet, turned his body.

“…Ban. Are you alright?”

Above the radiance of the starlight, the thoughts that hadn’t been absorbed swirled. Even while battling, Maleon was concerned about others.

Maleon knelt and met Lenox’s gaze.

“Take a deep breath and calm your emotions.”

“…”

“It’s like we’ve entered a very deep sea. The more excited you are, the closer you get to death. You must maintain your composure.”

“It seems like… it would be better to look after Oliviera first than me.”

Lenox said, nodding with a pale face. How many barriers had they passed to enter the Nine Calamities? In the journey where the erosion rate was increasing, Oliviera stopped first. She no longer moved, stopping at the end of the corridor, looking at Lenox.

“She has overused her magic eye, so the burden she feels will be severe. If you’re going to take care of it-”

[No.]

Oliviera answered quietly.

[Go ahead first. I’ll rest for a bit and then go.]

“…Oliviera?”

[If you open the way ahead, it won’t be difficult to follow the direction, right?]

Oliviera’s magic eye faintly glowed behind her veil.

[I have no intention of giving up the journey now, so I’ll catch up soon.]

“If you’re left alone, it will be difficult to survive alone in this space.”

Maleon said quietly.

“Even a slight imbalance will make it even more difficult. Rather-”

[Is that so?]

Oliviera asked.

[Isn’t it you, rather than me, who is actually feeling the burden?]

“…”

Kuo-ooo!!!

Oliviera’s magic eye turned towards the storm of thoughts swirling above Maleon’s head. The massive amount of thought fragments being absorbed into Maleon. Because he had faced many founders in a short time, many thoughts still wandered in the air.

[Only the thoughts steeped in pain are strongly felt.]

Oliviera looked at Maleon and asked.

[If an Ascender is revealing their thoughts like this, the pain you are feeling now is definitely not ordinary.]

“…”

[How long do you think you can keep enduring like this here?]

The thoughts that flowed out and were absorbed into Maleon each time he dealt with the founders’ mummies. Each time he absorbed the thoughts, Maleon’s expression would harden slightly and then return to normal. Oliviera had noticed through her magic eye that Maleon was feeling a considerable burden in the process of absorbing the thoughts.

“The founders of Kundara completed the Nine Calamities through their deaths, but they themselves were not qualified beings.”

Maleon answered quietly, remaining silent.

“That’s why their deaths were not accepted here and were wandering around the Nine Calamities.”

“…”

“It is inevitable that I, who have gained the qualifications, will collect the meaning left in the Nine Calamities. Their deaths are the same.”

“It’s not something you can just explain away so simply.”

Lenox said with a hardened expression.

“If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean that massive damage is being forcibly accumulated in your mind every time you overcome the Nine Calamities?”

It was easy to say, but it was not easy to taste the deaths that were left behind one by one. They were the thoughts of death left behind by high-ranking long-lived species who could still use erosion fields even after death. The process of absorbing all kinds of negative thoughts, including the pain, memories, and emotions they left behind as they died. The burden on Maleon’s own mind in that process would be truly immense.

“It’s not something that can be stopped or avoided from the moment we entered the Nine Calamities. I have to bear it myself, and it’s something I was prepared to do.”

Maleon answered calmly, composing himself.

“It’s something I had assumed even before starting the plan. This will not stop your and my journey, so rest assured.”

“Maleon.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t change.”

Maleon said, smiling as he looked at Lenox.

“No matter what happens, I will keep my promise to you until the end.”

“…”

Lenox, who had been silent, slowly moved his feet and headed towards Oliviera.

“Oliviera.”

Lenox said, raising a magic circle with his right hand.

“I’m creating a barrier that halves the Nine Calamities’ pressure. I can complete it if I secure a few more variables.”

[…That’s ridiculous. In the meantime, you were looking for a way to adapt to the environment of the Nine Calamities?]

“I understand the method of handling souls intuitively.”

Click, click!!

Lenox muttered, slowly changing the arrangement and symbols of the magic circle in his hand.

“If I can systematize that a little and put a filter on the pressure exerted on the soul…”

He had directly heard the senses and skills of handling souls from the masters of the military spirit arts, who were left behind in the military city of Yorta. He was looking for a way to reduce the pressure on the mind and body by incorporating that experience into barrier magic. Apart from magic power consumption or spell output, the burden of moving the body could be greatly reduced.

“I’ll leave the prototype of this barrier spell here.”

Lenox said, engraving the magic circle he had drawn with his right hand at Oliviera’s feet.

“Follow slowly when your body stabilizes. Until then, Maleon and I will be opening the way.”

[Don’t worry, I have no intention of being left alone in this hellish place.]

Oliviera smiled faintly.

[If you want to go to the end, there is definitely something you should keep in mind.]

“…”

Lenox did not answer and slowly turned around. Since Oliviera had temporarily left the group, from now on, Maleon and he would have to open the barriers and clear the way together.

Maleon was looking at Lenox’s face with an expression as if he was dazzled.

“Amazing.”

“…Maleon?”

“Your talent is not just a power limited to this world.”

Maleon said quietly.

“It’s something that cannot be found even beyond the world, outside this dark sea.”

“…”

“Perhaps, it might have been you, not me, who should have been in this place from the beginning.”

Maleon, who had staggered to his feet, looked down at Lenox without a word. The endless thoughts that were being absorbed into Maleon even at this moment. Maleon’s eyes, which were absorbing their pain and memories, momentarily blurred and then became clear again.

Maleon, who had been quietly looking down at Lenox, asked.

“If I had a talent like yours, would something have been a little different?”

“…”

Even after becoming an Ascender, Maleon had not been able to feel satisfied or fulfilled. The lack and deficiency he felt while looking at Lenox during the promotion ceremony. What was Maleon Gnosis thinking about that fact? That’s why he said it was worth challenging, that it was natural to be a difficult path, but maybe that wasn’t the case. Perhaps, what Maleon truly wanted was-

“…Let’s stop here. Other founders are approaching.”

Maleon, who had slowly opened his eyes, looked at Lenox with a calm gaze.

“I can feel the stench of the erosion fields they are dragging around even from here.”

“…”

“Let’s move right away.”

Maleon was no longer smiling.