Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1099

9 Level (18)

Against the backdrop of the empty cosmos, Kaise Bajur’s decapitated corpse was preserved.

Maleon Gnosis, now a menacing two-headed dragon, was wailing.

And clinging to Maleon’s body, the ‘dead head’ was speaking.

The end of the eons. The final destination of the journey to the deepest Tenth Sanctum.

But Lenox was peering into a deeper, darker secret, beyond what he thought was the end.

Kaise’s end. The secret Maleon had been hiding. The collection of lingering thoughts within the eons.

As all of it connected, it seemed to be hurtling towards an irreversible catastrophe.

“After the three possible ends of life were lost, life and death are practically the same for us.”

“……”

“But that’s just the story of this world. I wasn’t sure if my arrangement would work properly in the eons outside the Outer Sea.”

A strange voice, low yet devoid of emotion.

Was it the resonance of the dead head’s original vocal cords, or was it the true voice of that being?

Even such concerns were rendered meaningless as the other party nonchalantly stated the reason for their appearance.

“A very powerful inflection point that could distort causality. Otherwise, my thoughts wouldn’t have awakened….”

The dead head focused its blurry gaze on Lenox.

“Before everything comes to an end, I thought there would be a big incident regarding Kaise Bajur’s corpse.”

“……”

“I failed once before, but I can only say that it’s fate that such an opportunity has come again.”

The head’s voice, as it looked at Lenox, calmly declared its decision.

“If that is fate, then I am willing to take the hand of fate.”

“……Enough with the useless explanations.”

*Click!*

Lenox, taking out an ampule from his pocket and injecting the stimulant, looked at the Ascendant.

“I know who Paud Older is. And I also know that he can’t be here.”

“……”

The Ascendant’s Good End. Also known as the Usurper Paud Older.

The Kundara’s Fiend. The Rebel Lord. The Guardian of the Law. A true-blooded being from beyond the continent, possessing all sorts of heinous titles.

A rebel who intervened in the project and tried to seize Kaise’s corpse, and an Ascendant who reached the 9th level.

But Lenox already knew how the Ascendant had reached the 9th level.

The term ‘Good End’ literally means a righteous death. Or a sacred death.

It was a term that indicated the origin of Paud Older, who became an Ascendant through the upheaval of death.

“There’s no way an Ascendant who reached the 9th level through death would give up the realm they built and regain life.”

Lenox’s gaze, as he looked at the head clinging to Maleon’s body, turned cold.

“A being that is not an Ascendant but close to the essence of one. Are you a being like the lingering thoughts left by the Ascendant?”

“You could say that’s not wrong.”

The head readily agreed.

“I am Paud Older himself, and also the thoughts he left behind, and the ‘life’ he lived.”

“Life?”

“Life and death are one and the same, like two sides of a coin, so I had to discard one side to become an Ascendant.”

The head smiled.

“I left with death to become an Ascendant, and the ‘life’ that was left behind. That is me.”

“……”

“That’s why I was able to finally regain myself by combining with the ‘death’ that exists in Maleon Gnosis’s body.”

Paud Older, the Ascendant who died to become an Ascendant.

His life, left behind as he became an Ascendant, combined with Maleon’s dead head to finally exist in this world.

A bizarre way of existence that Lenox couldn’t even fathom the principle of, being born again with both life and death.

Lenox coldly laughed at the explanation of the being that was Paud Older and yet not Paud Older.

“You’re putting it elegantly, saying you were looking for an opportunity to parasitize another Ascendant’s body.”

“As you know, Maleon Gnosis is an extremely excellent transcendent.”

The ‘head,’ which called itself the Ascendant’s thoughts, spoke nonchalantly despite Lenox’s cynicism.

As if it wasn’t emotionally stimulated by such provocations.

“He didn’t settle for the blessing of being born a jewel dragon, but constantly tested himself and sought the path of enlightenment.”

“……”

“Even after feeling an overwhelming sense of defeat at the gap between you, he didn’t go astray until the end. He still doesn’t. Look at the thoughts he accepted as he passed through the eons.”

The Ascendant whispered.

“He endured even after consuming the thoughts of long-lived species that have been concentrated for hundreds of years. Don’t you think that’s amazing enough?”

“……”

“You said that Maleon Gnosis was weak against thoughts, unlike an Ascendant, but in my opinion, he has already fulfilled the ideal given to him.”

[Oooooooo!!!]

Under Maleon’s wailing head, he shook the other limp head and smiled.

“That’s why I was able to seize the opportunity.”

“……”

Lenox couldn’t deny those words and closed his mouth.

Because he knew that the scene unfolding before his eyes was proving his words.

Where did it go wrong?

Was it already too late from the moment he forcibly succeeded in a ritual that should have failed?

Perhaps from the time he met Maleon and heard about the plan, this ending was already predetermined.

“Originally, it would have been impossible for my will to reside in this jewel dragon’s body.”

The Ascendant moved the limp head and continued to speak.

“But in an extreme environment that even an Ascendant would find hard to endure, Maleon Gnosis, consumed by a sense of defeat, desperately tried to hold himself together… and ended up losing control over this dead head.”

“……”

Maleon’s reward and sacrifice were so significant that he believed he wouldn’t betray him until the end.

He judged that he could be a reliable companion until the end of the eons, and Maleon actually kept his promise.

But because Maleon didn’t change until the end.

Because he kept his promise until the end, the catastrophe that had arrived existed.

“So, there’s no need to dwell on the failure so much, magician. This wasn’t your mistake, nor Maleon’s fault, nor a flaw in the plan.”

The head whispered as if it was truly sorry.

“It’s just… what can you do about being born that way?”

“……You.”

Lenox glared at the Ascendant with a cold gaze.

Because with those words, he had clearly understood that the being before him was fundamentally twisted.

*Click!*

He discarded the injected ampule with a trembling hand and took out an elixir from his pocket.

A recovery potion that had its efficacy boosted by enduring side effects. A painkiller that suppressed pain and numbed the senses.

He gathered the medicines he had prepared for the life-threatening battle, one by one, into his hand.

Every time he used a spell in the eons, his mana consumption was several times higher than usual.

Even with Lenox’s mana manipulation and mana sensitivity, the efficiency was so low that a normal battle was impossible from the start.

He would barely be able to maintain balance by drinking elixirs and mana recovery potions like water,

and each time, he would have to risk his life while enduring the side effects that would wear down his body.

It was all something he had prepared for. All the items he was ready to use if necessary.

But-

Lenox hadn’t thought that he would be facing not the Maleon who had betrayed him, but the Maleon who hadn’t betrayed him until the end.

[……Ban.]

“……”

Maleon’s blurred voice, as he lost his reason and went berserk, handing over his body to the Ascendant’s thoughts.

The ampule he was inserting into his bruised arm stopped abruptly, and the injection speed slowed down momentarily.

Lenox’s expression, which had not lost its composure until this moment, wavered faintly for a very brief moment.

But immediately after, Lenox, having erased all emotions, turned around with a blank face, having completed his battle preparations.

*Flap!*

He grabbed a heavy musket from his pocket, letting his coat flutter.

The equipment of a musketeer he had obtained from the mechanical city of Machina. [The End of Teremer].

A relic of the old world that could transform into six forms, and an item used by the ‘Commander’.

Lenox, who was not a musketeer, could not use it perfectly, but there was no better equipment in a battlefield where mana efficiency was so low.

*Clank!*

He combined mana and will within the musket and lifted it.

The musket, aimed at the Ascendant’s head, had already perfectly transformed into the form of a sharp dragon.

The Ascendant, perhaps surprised by the existence of the musket Lenox had taken out, let out a faint exclamation.

“Oh.”

“It’s pointless to say anything now.”

Lenox, raising the muzzle, said quietly.

“Let’s begin. I’ll end it with a single shot.”

The old world’s musket. The last and sixth form of the End of Teremer, [Song of the Dragon].

A power that imitates the Dragon’s Authority, shooting the user’s image into the musket, aimed at a real dragon.

If the reason Maleon fell was because he truly thought Lenox’s answer was right, then.

The power of this musket, which shoots out Lenox’s answer, should be able to give Maleon peace.

“It seems you still haven’t understood my words.”

But the Ascendant slowly shook his head, even as he looked at the muzzle aimed at him.

“I’m not here to fight you.”

“What nonsense are you spouting while parasitizing Maleon’s body?”

“If I had intended to kill you here, why would I have waited for you to finish your preparations?”

The Ascendant retorted.

“It was to give you time to accept this situation, and to talk about a more important issue.”

“Is there a more important issue than killing a thought form that has taken over an Ascendant’s body?”

“Of course. The most powerful reason I was able to take over Maleon Gnosis’s body was because of you.”

The Ascendant said.

“Because Maleon Gnosis felt that the talent and answer you showed were more correct than his own, he could not fully complete himself as an Ascendant.”

“……”

“A long-lived species that has lived for hundreds of years. That rare and great jewel dragon was captivated by the answer of a mere human. Isn’t it natural for me to take note of that fact?”

The Ascendant, looking at Lenox with blurry eyes, asked.

“In a sense, you are a being that transcends the categories of jewel dragon or Ascendant. That’s why I’ve been taking the time to explain my descent and persuade you.”

Even while calling himself a mere thought form, the other party possessed an unbelievably logical way of thinking.

Even though he had awakened in the eons, taken over Maleon’s body, and stood before Lenox, he was trying to control the situation instead of eliminating variables.

That was because the thought form before him was the thought form of the Ascendant who had already died.

If the thoughts of a transcendent who had reached the 9th level beyond ‘death’ had the same consciousness and judgment as the Ascendant himself, even as a mere thought form.

“Persuasion.”

Lenox raised his gaze with a hardened expression.

“Are you saying you want to take over Maleon’s body and negotiate with me?”

“Yes. To be precise, it would be more accurate to call it a deal.”

The head smiled.

“It’s a deal, magician. Why don’t you help me revive Kaise Bajur’s body in this place?”

“……What?”

“Neither you nor I can transport Kaise Bajur’s corpse out of the eons in this state.”

In the moment Lenox hesitated at the completely unexpected proposal, the Ascendant said nonchalantly.

“Instead of leaving the corpse forever outside the Outer Sea, wouldn’t it be better to ‘revive’ Kaise Bajur and take him out of the eons?”

“……”

“If things go according to plan, Maleon Gnosis will escape his rampage, and you will also be able to achieve your goal of coming to the eons. It wouldn’t be a bad deal for you either.”

“What does reviving Kaise Bajur’s body have to do with that problem?”

“It’s not a difficult story.”

The head slowly turned its gaze.

“Kundara’s eons are a magical realm that ‘preserves’ death outside the Outer Sea… all the corpses placed here do not rot and remain in their original form.”

“……”

“Although they are mummified due to lack of moisture, it is not difficult to restore the corpse to its former state if sufficient moisture is replenished.”

The Ascendant gestured towards Kaise Bajur’s corpse, placed on the throne between the two of them.

“That fact is the same for Kaise Bajur’s corpse that exists here now.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Kaise Bajur’s corpse, placed in the Tenth Sanctum, is supplied with true blood through a blood contract to maintain its appearance from when he was alive.”

The Ascendant explained.

“The reason why it is not dried up and maintains its original form even with its head cut off is precisely because of that. Do you know what this means?”

“……”

“In other words, if there is a ‘head’ to attach to this corpse, it can be revived at any time.”

“A head to attach to the corpse…?”

A series of proposals that made his head spin momentarily just by listening to them.

Even the topic of reviving Kaise Bajur’s body was absurd, but the method of resurrection was even more barbaric.

“I don’t need to explain how biologically absurd that method is, do I?”

Lenox said, hiding his expression while pressing his temples.

“There will be a rejection reaction at the blood and cell level. The very idea of attaching someone else’s head, not Kaise’s, is-”

“No, there’s no problem. To preserve Kaise’s body, ten true-blooded beings gathered and supplied ‘true blood’ to that body.”

The Ascendant replied slowly.

“What’s flowing in that body right now is not Kaise Bajur’s own blood. It’s the abundant true blood that is only allowed to blessed long-lived species.”

“……”

“Then, if it’s the head of a being with the same true blood, don’t you think it can adapt to that body?”

“……The head of a true-blooded being.”

Lenox asked back with a cold expression.

A body that would not cause a rejection reaction to the true blood flowing in Kaise’s body.

The existence of a ‘head’ that could be attached to that decapitated body.

Lenox had also intuitively understood who that target was referring to the moment he heard the explanation.

“Then, who will be the ‘head’ to be attached to Kaise’s body?”

“I don’t really understand why you’re asking that.”

The Ascendant smiled.

“Do you believe there is a choice other than me in this situation?”

“……”

Yes, in fact, he had known from the moment he heard the proposal.

The Ascendant was not trying to revive Kaise Bajur’s body.

He was trying to steal Kaise Bajur’s body and talent entirely.

And that too, through the most despicable method imaginable, by transplanting the ‘dead head’ attached to Maleon onto Kaise’s body.

“If the deal is successful, Kaise’s body will be revived, and Maleon Gnosis will somehow regain his mind.”

“……”

“You too will be able to safely escape the eons with the help of Maleon and me. Don’t you think it will be beneficial enough for each other?”

Absurd as it was, those words implied what would happen if he rejected the Ascendant’s proposal.

Maleon would continue to rampage while his body was taken over by the Ascendant’s thoughts, and he would never be able to return.

If he got caught up in that rampage, it would be impossible for Lenox to recover Kaise’s corpse as well.

The Ascendant had read that fact and was proposing cooperation, using Kaise’s body as a condition.

If he compromised a little, he could safely survive this situation.

If he turned a blind eye, he might be able to return everything to before the plan started.

But-

“What’s the point of that?”

“What?”

*Clank!*

He pulled up his mana at the same time as loading the musket.

He poured all the remaining mana into the musket as if emptying it out.

Lenox, who had completed his firing preparations and loaded the gun with familiar movements, muttered.

“There was a failure that Kaise reached when he changed at the last moment.”

“……”

“There was a catastrophe that Maleon reached because he didn’t change until the end.”

Lenox, who had been silent while looking at the smooth barrel, raised his gaze.

“If either way is just a failure, then as always, I have no choice but to find a way myself.”

“Wait-”

“Kaise’s revival and Maleon’s recovery would be meaningless in that way.”

*Click.*

Lenox said, slowly pulling the trigger.

“I refuse the offer.”

There was no answer.

Before the Ascendant could say anything, Lenox pulled the trigger.

The old world’s musket flashed, and a golden bullet pierced the Ascendant’s head.