Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1148

Swaaaaaaaash!!!

A night sky with pouring rain. The heavy, humid air pressed against the skin.

A massive, ancient fortress shimmered faintly in the downpour.

A dark, old castle where no sign of human presence or light could be seen.

Lennok, along with the other knights, walked through the sewer tunnel leading to the old castle in the rain.

The plan was to open the [Gate] and obtain the remains of the ‘dead god,’ according to Aronbaiger Kabahim’s plan.

Squish, squish!

Each step caused the rainwater pooled beneath their feet to splash and squelch.

They were making their way through the ruined sewer toward the distant old castle.

“It’s said that this fortress was used as an underground base to protect the royal capital a long time ago,” the boy knight, Uzel, walking next to Lennok, said with a smile.

A thick raincoat covered his sturdy armor, protecting him from the rain.

Even while carrying a load and walking with his subordinate knights, Uzel showed no signs of fatigue.

“However, it’s also an unfortunate relic that was abandoned after communication with the royal capital was cut off due to an accident at the fortress.”

“Is that old castle a fortress abandoned even by Kabahim?”

“That’s why His Majesty chose this place as the location for this plan.”

Uzel nodded with a faint smile.

“We’ll arrive soon.”

“…….”

Indeed, no traces or signs of people could be felt anywhere in the sewers around the old castle.

The environment itself was proof that it had been left untouched by human hands for a long time.

Lennok thought so and glanced back at the other knights walking around him.

Several knight commanders who had helped with training and the high-ranking knights assigned to them.

They wore armor and raincoats, leading the way, clearing away the filth.

A handsome man walked ahead at the center of those knights.

Aronbaiger Kabahim.

Chiiiiiiik……!!!

The heavy rain couldn’t even properly wet his body and evaporated away.

As if an invisible barrier had been cast, the steam rising above Aron’s head swirled in the rain.

It fluttered like hazy wings of mist behind the monarch’s back.

Kuoohhhh!!!

Lennok’s gaze deepened as he watched Aronbaiger’s figure.

‘Is he generating that much heat just by circulating his magic power… He’s at a monstrous level.’

Most magic users rotate magic power throughout their bodies when using magic.

It’s a common and safe method, but if magic power is rotated excessively, heat will inevitably be generated.

Just as heat is generated when an engine is running, it’s an unavoidable byproduct of drawing out energy.

If it were a mage like Lennok, it would be possible to suppress heat generation by maximizing magic power efficiency.

However, most magic users, including physical ability users, cannot optimize the magic power operation process to that extent.

Yet, Aronbaiger didn’t bother to suppress the heat generated by magic power operation.

Instead, he was evaporating the pouring rain with the heat generated by constantly circulating his magic power.

‘If he’s evaporating rainwater with the heat of magic power rotation, his entire body’s cells should already be melting. Just how strong is his physical body?’

Aronbaiger Kabahim is an 8th-level physical ability user and a dual-talent holder.

If the information from the strategy meeting was true, Aron would surely have another talent comparable to level 8.

The problem was that Lennok had not yet confirmed what Aron’s ‘second talent’ was.

Unlike the knight commanders he had fought during training, Aron had never wielded his power in any official setting.

It was essential for this operation to confirm how strong Kabahim’s monarch was and what kind of dangerous talent he possessed.

It was also possible that he might be able to check Aron’s power in some way this time.

Kooong!!

As they stopped walking, the silhouette of the huge old castle was clearly revealed in the darkness.

The ruins of an old castle wall, soaked in the pouring rain, covered with moss and overgrown with vegetation.

Creak……!!

The knights who had stepped forward supported the collapsed gate of the old castle and pushed it open with all their might.

A corridor submerged in darkness appeared with the sound of rotten wood being crushed.

Rainwater dripped from the ceiling, and the air was damp, stuffy, and humid.

The inside of the silent old castle was so quiet that it felt deafening.

Clank, clank!

The sound of the knights’ armor colliding with each other echoed regularly through the dark void.

After walking through the endless corridor, they arrived at a large hall where stairs spread out in a circle on both sides.

Aron, looking at the neatly aligned knights with his blue eyes, spoke.

“From now on, I, along with the great bloodline, will begin preparations to open the [Gate].”

“…….”

“In the meantime, you all are to surround the old castle and prepare to prevent anything from leaking out, both inside and out.”

A calm atmosphere that felt solemn.

“Even though Kabahim’s glory began in this royal capital, I will not let it end here.”

Aron’s expression turned cold for a moment as he looked at the knights.

“I will personally prove that your swords can reach beyond the center.”

“We obey Your Majesty’s command.”

Kooong!!!

The knights lined up in the lobby of the old castle knelt down and bowed their heads.

The other knight commanders, including Uzel, also knelt in their places with solemn expressions.

Hundreds of high-ranking knights resonated as they drew up their magic power, spreading heat in all directions.

The chilling premonition instantly blew away the damp humidity inside the old castle and changed the atmosphere.

“The 4th Knight Order will move to the inner corridor of the old castle. We will block all entrances and vents.”

“The 9th Knight Order will stand guard on the outer walls.”

“7th Knight Order, we will occupy the facilities near the sewer. Let’s go!”

Each knight commander led their subordinate knight orders and moved in perfect order inside and outside the old castle.

The presence of superhumans who were quickly taking control of the rain-soaked sewers with fully armed knight orders.

“I didn’t know Kabahim was dreaming of advancing to the central front,” Lennok said, crossing his arms as he watched Aron amidst the busy moving knights.

Lennok understood the goal that Aron had just mentioned to the knights the moment he heard it.

“Is it just a pretext, or is it actually part of the process?”

“As you also know,” Aron said as he slowly turned around.

“Recently, the Outer Calamity City fell on the western front and officially announced its advance to the central front.”

“……That’s.”

“The Kundara Elder Council explained it as an unavoidable disaster, but there is no one in the center who fully believes that.”

Aron’s eyes flashed as he looked at the silent Lennok.

“Everyone knows that the end is near. That is why the long-lived species must have given up their clumsy outer calamity and returned to the world.”

“…….”

Aron’s answer was that the Kabahim side had also decided to advance to the center after seeing Kundara’s movements.

The knights who protect the royal capital have the advantage of being able to exert stronger power than their original rank through ‘blessings’ [a magical power boost granted by the royal family].

Conversely, that is why most of Kabahim’s knight forces have no choice but to take an extreme centralized form that is subordinate to the royal capital.

Aronbaiger Kabahim was planning to bring the remains of the dead god from beyond the gate and make them into forbidden weapons instead of the ‘blessings’ tied to the royal capital.

‘Considering the value of the remains of the dead god, it’s not entirely impossible…’

Kabahim’s knights are all skilled, and the blessings of the royal capital are also unimaginably powerful.

However, the forces currently dominating the central front are all giants who spread their power across the continent.

The Church and the Alliance. The elite forces that are leading the charge to Ars Nova, spearheaded by the Ability Awakening Front and the Dead Rise, and are attacking the demonic realms.

If Kabahim advances to the center, will they be able to secure the same position and status as them before the end comes?

‘Kabahim had once sent a knight order to the Hanghasami Labyrinth to seize the legacy of Jundun. There were circumstances suggesting they had been dreaming of advancing into the continent.’

When he participated in the Hanghasami Labyrinth raid, Lennok had encountered a knight order dispatched from Kabahim inside the labyrinth.

Led by Knight Commander Dane, they participated in the labyrinth raid, clashed with Jaun Odis, lost all their subordinate knights, and fled.

It was a long time ago, so Lennok’s memory was hazy, but it was clear that Kabahim had been dreaming of advancing into the continent since then.

Now, it wouldn’t be strange if Kabahim’s monarch were to use the ‘power’ sleeping in the royal capital to advance into the center.

“If it’s for the goal you mentioned, we’ll have to find the [Gate] first.”

Lennok, who had been lost in thought, raised his gaze.

He looked around at the knights who had deeply pulled down their helmets and started guarding the lobby of the old castle, and said,

“I don’t feel any reaction that could be the [Gate] in this vicinity.”

According to the clown’s direct confirmation, the coordinates where the [Gate] exists are in the basement of Kabahim’s royal capital.

However, Aronbaiger led the knight order to an old castle where there was no sign of people.

Was it a bluff to hide the location of the [Gate], or did they change the location of the [Gate] after the clown’s visit?

Or, is it even possible to change the coordinates of the [Gate] so freely in the first place?

However, even after hearing Lennok’s words, Aron turned his gaze with a calm expression.

“The sewer where this old castle is located is a large-scale sewer facility that was originally designed to be built outside the royal capital.”

Aron said, slowly moving his steps.

“It’s so damaged now that you can’t tell, but the entire design of the sewer is made exactly opposite, as if mirroring the royal capital.”

“Are you saying that the entire sewer path is designed to be the reverse of the royal capital’s path?”

“That’s why there is a reverse side of the concept that can only be observed here.”

“……”

The existence of a sewer near the old castle, designed in the exact opposite direction to the royal capital.

The [Gate] that exists in the basement of the royal capital, and the talent of duality that allows one to observe a single concept from both sides at the same time.

“…Could it be.”

Lennok, who instantly realized Aron’s purpose, hardened his expression.

“From the beginning, to attempt to open the [Gate] from outside the royal capital-”

“What I intend to open with your help is not the [Gate] of the royal capital.”

Aron said, stroking his eyelid with one hand and closing his eyes.

“I will open the reverse side of the gate that can only be observed in this old castle. The [Back Gate] that does not originally exist.”

Kwaang!!

At the same time as taking a step and drawing up his magic power, a tyrannical aura flowed fiercely from Aron’s whole body.

The heat emanating from his body as he creaked and twisted his head heated up the lobby, which had been damp from the rain.

Aron, who had begun to operate his magic power at full power, slowly removed the eyelid he had been holding down with one hand.

“This will be a shortcut to illuminate the deepest part of the otherworld’s sanctuary beyond the [Gate] in one go.”

Uuung…!!!

Aronbaiger’s dual pupils, shining blue between his fingers, flashed, rotated, and intersected.

The two pupils, roughly undulating inside the iris, narrowed the distance each time he drew up his magic power.

At the moment when they overlapped into one pupil inside his eye, like a solar and lunar eclipse.

Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk-!!!!!

With a bizarre noise that tore apart the eardrums, space twisted and something appeared.

A bizarre rectangle, as if drawn with rough black lines.

‘Something’ that was violently convulsing and undulating, forcibly dragged out in front of Lennok.

As soon as he saw it, Lennok realized that this crack in front of him was the [Back Gate] that Aron had mentioned.

The reverse side of the [Gate] that exists in the basement of the royal castle.

The result of forcibly observing a concept that could not originally exist with the talent of duality.

Pajik!!

With the sound of glass breaking, blood flowed from Aron’s eyes.

The miserable sight of Aron’s eyes breaking and flowing down just from observing the [Back Gate].

However, Aron did not even flinch at the pain of his eyes splitting and calmly turned his gaze.

Aron, who was bleeding tears of blood, calmly turned to Lennok and said quietly.

“Now.”

Cheolkeok!!

Before Aron’s words could even finish, Lennok was already drawing up his magic power.

Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk-

The black magic threads were fiercely pulled out, covering Lennok’s left arm and rotating roughly.

Inside the curtain of magic threads, a glass-colored gauntlet summoned was hidden by a black ring.

Cheolkeok!!

Lennok, who had walked forward, equipping the gauntlet while avoiding Aron’s gaze, reached out his hand towards the [Back Gate].

At the same time as drawing up his magic power, the magic threads covering his left arm rotated fiercely, accelerating like a black ring.

The moment Lennok, who had clenched his fist, thrust the gauntlet hidden by the magic threads into the spatial crack in front of him without hesitation.

Kwang!!

The [Back Gate], which was closing as soon as it appeared, began to twist with a bizarre sound.

A fierce reaction as if trying to close and hide somehow, feeling the power of the forbidden weapon that Lennok possessed.

Tudduk, tududduk…!!

The spatial crack pressed on his wrist, squeezing so hard as if it would cut off Lennok’s hand entirely.

However, Lennok calmly focused his mind despite the pain that was pressing down as if it would sever his wrist.

The magic threads rotated fiercely around Lennok’s wrist, rotating like a black ring.

He slowly began to push back the pressure of the [Back Gate] that was pressing down on his hand.

Uuung!!!

He had already practiced using the power of the forbidden weapon without taking it out several times.

If that was possible, it was not difficult to recall the sensation of grasping a visible ‘concept’ like this.

It was a difficult task that relied entirely on innate intuition, but rather, that was why Lennok was unlikely to fail.

He moved his intuition and instinct simultaneously from deep within, and ‘grasped’ the invisible back door.

The moment he slowly turned his hand, the crack that had been vibrating and narrowing slowly widened.

At the same time as Lennok opened the [Gate], the scenery of the sanctuary beyond it unfolded…

Paahhh!!!

The frozen snowfield that he had once encountered through the Ice Artisan.

The ice monument embedded at the end of the snow mountain, and the frozen knight kneeling on it-

“…Wait.”

Lennok stopped his hand, realizing that the scenery unfolding before his eyes was completely different from his memory.

There was no cold wind that froze his whole body, nor was there a snowfield where everything was dyed white.

Only a huge hole was pierced and rotating above the sky, scattering like broken glass.

Kuoohhhhhh!!!!!

A huge black circle rotated under the broken sky, shedding black tears below it.

The black tears that fell like a waterfall dyed everything around them into a pitch-black darkness.

On a huge throne sinking in the darkness, a huge knight with his whole body broken and shattered was sitting.

The figure of a knight wearing a precarious armor that seemed to crack and break, scattering a chilling cold.

A black hole, dyed black, was rotating and pulsating above the heart of the knight, who was leaning weakly on the throne.

A black sphere that pierced through the chest of the giant knight and descended.

A strange, throbbing sound that was intense and seemed to suck you in, as if replacing his heart.

However, Lennok intuitively understood the essence of the scenery unfolding before his eyes and closed his mouth.

“……”

The scenery and appearance of the sanctuary he had seen through the Ice Artisan were completely different.

The black realm, which was endlessly twisted and corrupted, was rather familiar to Lennok-

“You succeeded.”

Aron, who had wiped the blood flowing down his eyes, said from behind the silent Lennok.

“That is the remnant of the dead god sleeping in this royal capital.”

A calm and composed voice that did not feel pain or emotion.

However, Aron’s eyes, looking at the sanctuary, were shining intensely as if they were burning.

“And that demonic realm where the remains are kept is… the prestige domain of the Half-Palace, ‘Mandala’.”

Aron whispered quietly, leaving Lennok, who had momentarily stopped breathing.

“It is a vessel of the world that can contain even the death of an Outer God in its original form.”