Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1228

Kyunroe Subjugation (20)

“I said it before we came to the tower, but….”

Rewinding time a bit, two days before the subjugation began.

Lenox stood before his companions gathered at the heart of the new magic tower.

“I will be the only one directly participating in the subjugation.”

“……”

Jenny and Aris. Dylan and Mila, Felix and Weian, along with several other transcendents belonging to the magic tower and the mercenary group.

The presence of trusted companions he had known since his days as a freelancer in Vulcan.

In the suffocating silence, Lenox quietly moved his feet.

“But it’s not because I don’t need your help, or because you’d be a hindrance. There’s another problem.”

“Another problem?”

“Once the subjugation begins, there’s a high probability that I won’t be able to distinguish friend from foe.”

Lenox said.

“Some of you may have guessed, but my lightning magic is spiraling out of control. I’ve been trying to suppress it, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to regulate its output.”

“……”

“I plan to unleash my rampaging lightning magic on the legion during this subjugation. It will probably be a one-sided massacre against the legion….”

Walking through the silent space, Lenox said.

“In the process, there’s a high probability that I myself will be swept away. I can’t be certain, but in the worst-case scenario, I might completely lose it and attack you.”

“Van. That means….”

“That’s a hard thing to ignore.”

The expressions of the other companions hardened at Lenox’s calm words.

“Does that mean your lightning magic is that dangerous?”

“This isn’t a normal problem. For Van’s magic, of all people, to be going out of control….”

“It’s not just about the spell, it’s a problem directly related to the hierarchy. Is it okay to participate in the war in this state?”

“The legion is the main force in the subjugation. In a way, I don’t have a choice.”

Lenox answered nonchalantly.

“My life isn’t in danger just because my lightning magic is out of control. I’m just having trouble regulating the output, it’s not like I can’t use magic anymore.”

“……”

“The problem isn’t me, it’s the allies who will be fighting alongside me. Just because I’m safe doesn’t mean you will be.”

“If you’re saying that, Van, it’s practically certain that we’ll be caught in your lightning.”

After hearing Dylan’s thoughts, Felix pondered and asked.

“Is there… no way to solve it?”

“There is a way. I’ll explain it now.”

Lenox raised his gaze.

“I said I’d be the only one going into the subjugation, but that doesn’t mean I can start and end this war alone. The legion also has excellent commanders and powerful transcendents, and they’re advancing in alliance with various forces, including the Ability Awakening Special Forces.”

“……”

“After some time passes once the subjugation begins, they will also recognize the problem I have and try to exploit that gap. And that method will very likely be….”

Looking at his silent companions, Lenox pointed to the magic tower.

“They will target my territory itself, which is established in Sector 49.”

“……The enemies participating in the subjugation will come for Sector 49, not you?”

The mercenaries, not understanding Lenox’s words, exchanged blank stares.

“That… doesn’t make sense. Is it even possible to ignore you on that battlefield and try to enter Sector 49 in the first place?”

“If they try to do that, the legion will also have to endure enormous damage and power consumption. Even if you become unstable, Van, it’s not a likely scenario.”

Most of the companions gathered here had witnessed Lenox and the Torben Magic Tower Lord’s duel firsthand.

They all understood how powerful and transcendent Lenox’s rampaging lightning was.

Even the Torben Magic Tower Lord couldn’t stop the rampaging lightning in his duel with Lenox, and in the end, Ivelyn had to intervene to mediate.

No matter how unstable Lenox became, it was impossible to ignore him and directly enter Sector 49.

At least, it was something they couldn’t even attempt without being prepared to literally grind down the legion’s forces.

But Lenox smiled quietly while listening to his companions’ opinions from all sides.

“No, it will happen. I’ll make it happen.”

“……”

“As long as I move directly, the legion’s annihilation is inevitable. At a certain point, they will be forced to make a decision.”

Lenox’s eyes flashed blue.

“Whether to admit defeat in this war and retreat, or to bet on a low probability and make a gamble… but I don’t intend to leave even that to chance.”

“……”

“There will surely be excellent ‘commanders’ or ‘planners’ who can think like me participating in the subjugation… so I intend to guide even the decisions they make to some extent according to my will.”

“That means….”

Only then did the companions, understanding the meaning of Lenox’s words, fall into thought.

“Even drawing the legion’s forces into Sector 49 is something you intend, Van?”

“It means that the legion will inevitably make that choice at some point during the subjugation.”

“Then, what we have to do is….”

“By now, you must understand what I’m about to ask of you.”

Lenox smiled as he looked at his companions.

“I’m not trying to exclude you from the subjugation and push you aside. What I want is something more important-“

Chwaaaaaak!!!!

Hot blood splattered, and the memory flashback ended, revealing Weian’s cold face.

In front of him, the officer who had been holding a sword collapsed with an expression of disbelief.

“You, brat….”

Glug, glug…!

With one hand clutching his bleeding neck, the officer’s eyes, gasping for breath, quickly lost their light.

Weian, looking down at the scene with a pale face, then raised his magic power and turned away.

“To protect Sector 49 and buy time for Van to return.”

Weian, gripping his twin swords, muttered quietly.

“Is it… finally my turn to do my part?”

* * *

“It’s this way!! He disappeared this way!!”

“Don’t lose your sense of direction. Keep using your magic power!!”

“You have to keep circulating magic power in your body. Concentrate if you don’t want to fall!!”

Dududu!!!

Weian lowered his head, hearing the sound of marching boots from down the corridor.

‘Two flashbangs left….’

“Damn it, he disappeared again!!”

“Where did this insolent bastard run off to again!!”

“Concentrate. He’s already taken down seven officers.”

A cold-looking staff officer calmed the soldiers who were panting heavily, agitated.

“He’s alone, but his senses are surprisingly sharp. He’s far superior to us in reading signs and magic power.”

“Like all of Kyunroe’s subordinates, they have annoying talents… We must kill him here.”

“Drive him into a dead end and kill him, then find a way to contact our allies. First, we need to prioritize Deimus-“

Huuk!!!

Before he could finish speaking, Weian threw a flashbang from the opposite side of the corridor and leaped out as if bouncing.

The legion officers also immediately turned around as if they had been waiting and drew their pistols.

Flash!!

Tatatatatang!!!!

The moment the flashbang exploded and the surroundings were covered in light. The magnum pistols, modified for transcendents, fired in unison.

The magic-infused bullets scattered immediately after being fired, spraying into pieces too small to be seen.

They became black dust covering Weian’s entire body and exploded simultaneously.

Pububububung!!!

A powerful explosion that could turn even a transcendent who had mastered body enhancement into a rag in an instant.

But Weian did not retreat or flinch even when faced with the counterattack pouring down right in front of him.

Lowering his stance and raising his magic power, the moment he gripped the twin swords hanging at his waist with both hands.

Kagagagagang!!!

Weian’s arms rotated at an incredible speed, cutting down all the incoming explosions and bullet fragments.

Under his feet, magic-infused bullet fragments fell in a shower, and the soldiers holding guns looked on in shock.

“I, insane…!!”

“What kind of reaction speed is that!!”

“A monster…!!”

Pat!!

At the same time as re-gripping his twin swords, he ran vertically up the wall, closing the distance in an instant.

He deflected all the supersonic explosive bullets that came right in front of him with the flat of his blade, changing their trajectory.

They exploded loudly behind Weian, raising a red cloud of fire.

Pububububung!!!

“Damn it, keep your distance!!”

“No, fight!! We have to kill him here!!”

Kkiiik!!

He slid down, lowering his body among the soldiers who were throwing away their pistols and drawing daggers.

The moment he rotated his shoulders with his upper body bent backward and swung his twin swords as if stirring the air.

The soldiers’ shins and knees spurted blood, their tendons and muscles severed, and they collapsed.

Pshushushuk!!

“Kuk…!!!”

“Don’t let him get away!!”

“Concentrate!”

Even as their limbs were helplessly cut and blood gushed out, the soldiers did not lose their composure.

All the soldiers who had entered this labyrinth were transcendents who could control elemental changes. They were veterans who had risked their lives on countless battlefields.

They instinctively knew that they had to kill this swordsman with his unusual movements here to survive.

“Kill him!!!”

Paabababak!!!!

Severed muscles and nerves. Ignoring the pain that pierced their minds, they swung their military weapons with all their might.

Blades fell from all directions at an incredible speed above Weian’s head as he slid through the soldiers.

The officers’ sword strikes, having pushed their magic power to the limit, poured down ferociously as if to tear apart his internal organs and muscles.

But Weian closed his eyes and swallowed his breath even as he saw the blades falling in front of him.

“……Hoo.”

Van had said that Weian’s sensitivity was too strong, and that his skills were not enough to control it.

That Weian’s greatest talent was also the shackle that was hindering his growth.

But, while saying that, Van had also told him how to control his sensitivity.

If it was difficult to control his sensitivity, and if it was impossible to balance judgment and intuition no matter what he did – he just had to do the opposite.

He had to let go of all thoughts and judgments, and completely entrust his life to Weian’s own sensitivity.

Without any distractions, he would just reflexively parry everything that came into his senses-

Kung!!!!

At the same time as taking a light breath from within, the world Weian was looking at changed drastically.

With the shock of his five senses flipping and distorting, Weian’s sensitivity reached its limit.

The moment a golden halo rose behind him and rotated sharply, entering the realm of the unconscious.

The twin swords in his hands moved as if they were alive, beyond Weian’s will.

Jjeojeojeong!!!!

Faint silver sword lights embroidered the air, cutting down all the blades scattering in front of him.

A realm of unconsciousness where he didn’t even realize how he was moving his sword, where he was gripping the blade, or how he was swinging it.

The sword light, pushed to its limit, cut down everything that came into his senses, and, conversely, dug into the soldiers’ vital points.

Kagagagak!!!

The twin swords, blurred and twisted like ghosts, pierced the soldiers’ necks and hearts, and the eerie sound of cutting through carotid arteries and vertebrae echoed.

The moment it pierced the staff officer’s forehead, who had resisted until the end, and gently slipped out.

The soldiers spurted blood from all directions and collapsed with expressions of disbelief.

“Kuk……!!!”

“Kkeuek…….”

“You, brat…….”

“Who are you calling a brat?”

Weian scoffed as he looked at the soldiers collapsing with foam in their mouths.

“I’ve been an adult for years now.”

Chwaak!!

Weian, having pulled his sword out of the last officer he killed, finally leaned against the wall with a pale face.

“Hooa…… I, is it over…….”

Following Van’s request, the tower’s companions were tasked with guarding each path of the labyrinth located in Sector 49.

Among them, the area Weian was in charge of was the corridors directly connected to the labyrinth’s gate.

He wasn’t in charge of guarding the gate, but the corridors were organically connected, making the structure complex and the number of enemies passing through excessive.

It was an area where, if you weren’t a transcendent with excellent sensitivity and senses like Weian, you could easily get lost, surrounded, or hunted down.

The soldiers he had just faced were all considerable veterans, so Weian had to put in a considerable amount of effort to deal with them.

“……Let’s move.”

Weian, who had been struggling to hold his stomach and crouching, stood up with a tired look.

Other companions must also be fighting in their respective positions to protect the magic tower.

At least until Van returns to Sector 49, they need to hold out like this and buy time.

The area Weian was in charge of was cleared for now, but it was impossible to know when another enemy would approach-

Kwaaaang!!!!

The wall of the labyrinth corridor exploded in front of Weian’s eyes, and someone appeared.

Unlike the brutal force that crushed and broke the labyrinth wall, the figure was lean and tall.

The opponent, holding something limp and walking casually, turned his gaze towards Weian.

“Oh? There was someone else here.”

“……!!!!”

A pure white coat stained with blood. Red blood dripped stickily from between his disheveled white hair.

His clothes were tattered and torn, revealing flesh and muscles that had been ripped apart.

It was doubtful that he could even stand properly, a miserable figure dripping blood at this very moment.

However, Weian stiffened his entire body as he faced the eerie sword energy emanating from his opponent.

A powerful superhuman who could break through Van’s labyrinth. If he was a swordsman from the Legion who handles the Way [a martial art focused on manipulating energy] –

“So, Songha…….”

“You look quite young, but you know my name.”

Songha tilted his head with a smiling face, blood dripping from his entire body.

“You couldn’t be from the time of the civil war. Has the briefing about us already been completed?”

“…….”

“Then perhaps it was Kyunroe who intended for us to come here. Well, it doesn’t matter much since our forces have been decimated like this.”

Even as he spoke, blood dripped from Songha’s feet.

Not the blood of the enemies Songha had killed, but the blood that Songha himself was shedding at this very moment.

“I’m a mess, right? Your boss did this.”

Songha, feeling Weian’s gaze, smiled weakly even as blood dripped from him.

“I tried to buy time against Kyunroe and got hit, and the wounds aren’t healing. He’s a really scary mage.”

“…….”

“Did he force a change in my nature to completely ruin my body’s recovery and regeneration? Thanks to that, my condition is completely ruined. At this rate, I might actually bleed to death.”

“You crazy bastard…….”

Even after being mangled by Van’s lightning, he was calculating how much more he could fight.

Whether it was the madness of a swordsman or the sense of duty of a commander loyal to the Legion. Either way, he was a superhuman of an untouchable caliber.

Even knowing that his opponent was fatally wounded, it was difficult for Weian to gauge his chances of victory with his abilities.

Seeing Weian raise his twin swords with a pale face, Songha tilted his head with a blood-soaked face.

“But more than anything, what’s scary is… it’s this difficult to face not Kyunroe himself, but his domain.”

“…….”

“A labyrinth without direction. An extreme environment close to the ancient times. Statues resembling long-lived species, and superhumans guarding the gates… It’s by far the most bizarre hell I’ve ever seen among the domains.”

The blood flowing down his face had become eerily expressionless.

Proof that even Songha had seen things he couldn’t believe while navigating through Sector 49.

“Even that sense of incongruity resembles the central magic realm… If I feel this way, the others must have already given up. They might already be lying dead somewhere.”

“……Then, why are you here?”

“I’m going to do the same to you.”

Songha threw what he was holding.

A blood-soaked glaive fell in front of Weian.

“Was it called training? You had some decent spear techniques. The buffs you use were also quite tricky.”

“…….”

While Weian stared at it with a frozen expression, Songha said,

“Looking at your name, it seems you’re from Palgwang Fortress, so I didn’t kill you. I grew up there too. You could say we’re from the same hometown, right?”

“…….”

“I used to have no feelings about my origin or hometown, but these days it’s not the same. I guess I’m getting old.”

Songha tilted his head, leaving the silent Weian.

“I think I understand now why Ethan tried so hard to return to this city.”

“……You.”

Weian, breathing roughly, raised his gaze with bloodshot eyes.

“I’ll kill you.”

Clank!!

Seeing Weian, who was staggering as he gripped his twin swords, Songha narrowed his eyes.

“Kill me, huh.”

Songha, placing his blood-dripping hand on his sword, muttered.

“When was the last time I heard someone say that to me?”

Sreung……!!

At the same time as the silver-white sword was drawn, the sword lights of Weian and Songha flashed simultaneously.

The moment their sword energies closed the distance and collided was instantaneous.

Immediately after, the sword light that erupted shook the corridor, pressing down on the space more than dozens of times per second.

Kagagagagak!!!

The sword light that exploded around the two swordsmen twisted and flashed countless times behind each other in an instant.

Silver-white slashes split and erupted more than hundreds of times towards the back of the corridor, drawing countless vortexes.

A storm of sword strikes rotating and scattering towards the endless golden corridor.

In the center, Weian’s figure staggered, instantly covered in blood.

Kaaaaaang!!!!

“Oh? You blocked it?”

Songha, shaking off the silver-white sword energy, looked at Weian with a slightly surprised expression.

Each of the sword strikes that Songha had just unleashed with his sword was a technique that reached supersonic speeds.

However, the young man in front of him had blocked all of Songha’s sword strikes with his two twin swords.

A miracle that was impossible considering the difference in skill between the two.

Songha immediately realized that the counterattack Weian had just shown was his talent itself.

“Ah, I see. I thought something was strange, but your sensitivity is amazing. This is almost the first time I’ve seen this level.”

“……!!”

“By pushing your sensitivity to the limit, you’re reflexively blocking all attacks that enter your senses?”

Songha scratched his cheek, seeing Weian staggering without even being able to answer.

“There is such a thing as strength achieved by not thinking. This is quite fascinating in its own way…….”

The reason why Songha, with his swordsman’s senses, couldn’t immediately recognize Weian’s presence.

The reason why Weian was able to survive by blocking all of Songha’s sword strikes head-on.

It was because of Weian’s tremendous reflexes based on his sensitivity.

Within the range that he could perceive with his senses, he pushed his sensitivity to the limit and then gave up thinking.

At that point, the limit of a counter that reflexively blocks and deflects all movements approaching within his senses.

Since the series of processes was carried out purely instinctively, Songha himself had not immediately grasped the principle at first.

“Certainly, with such talent, it’s possible to display skills that surpass your vessel. There are many interesting guys in Kyunroe’s magic tower.”

“Cough……!!!”

“But just because you can show such movements doesn’t mean your body can handle it. Aren’t you already at your limit?”

Chwaak!!

Sticky blood dripped from Weian’s entire body as he stood staggering.

In just one moment. In the single moment of enduring Songha’s sword strike, the muscles of his entire body ruptured, his skin tore, and he was injured.

Weian’s sensitivity may have reacted to Songha’s sword, but Weian’s body could not keep up with his sensitivity.

The common end that superhumans with talents that do not match their rank face.

“……Limit?”

However, Weian struggled to raise his blood-soaked face and retorted.

“Considering what Van is doing… this is nothing……”

“…….”

“Come on. Dead Rise [the name of the PMC group Weian belongs to].”

Weian spat out blood and smiled, gripping his blood-soaked twin swords in reverse.

“I can… still do a lot more……”

“……I like you. I want to take you to the Legion.”

Songha smiled wryly and gripped his sword.

“Should I keep you alive and show you to Ethan?”

Swaeak!!

At the same time as Songha strongly gripped the sword handle, a silver-white light was drawn out of the scabbard at a right angle.

Through the mysteries of space distortion, the sword energy, which was superimposed in both directions in the air, accelerated in a trajectory that would cut Weian’s neck.

The moment he was about to cut through Weian’s twin swords and knock him unconscious-

Weian, who had been staggering, suddenly sat down in place, lost consciousness, and collapsed.

Thud-

“Huh?”

I thought he had some guts, but he had already reached his limit.

I thought he was holding out for an unusually long time, but it might have been because of the halo that appeared behind Weian’s back.

Songha had also suffered a fatal injury while fighting Kyunroe, so he had overlooked it, but it was an unusual ability.

It might be a good idea to take him to the Legion and show him to Ethan.

Just as Songha thought that and took a step towards Weian, Kwaaang!!

The floor of the labyrinth where Weian and Songha were standing collapsed, and the entire corridor began to collapse and fall.

Weian’s figure disappeared in an instant beyond the dark blue nebula overflowing from the corridor crack.

“You think I’d let you get away?”

He wasn’t originally planning to let him live, but he had a unique talent that caught Songha’s eye.

Since Songha had never seen a swordsman with such sensitivity, it wouldn’t be bad to take him to the Legion.

The moment Songha jumped into the dark blue nebula without hesitation, the labyrinth began to rotate with a thud!

“……!!!”

Within the dark blue nebula that had spread around Songha, the labyrinth’s facilities echoed as they rotated madly.

The golden labyrinth corridors and facilities all around were in turmoil, changing their shapes and positions.

Kugwagwagwagwa!!!!

“This, no way……!!”

Were the facilities of this labyrinth not fixed, but an environment that could be transformed according to a specific will?

Since it was unlikely that the unconscious Weian or Suren had manipulated the labyrinth, it was right to assume that there was external intervention.

Songha, who realized this a step too late, hardened his expression and gripped his sword, heightening his mental state.

At that moment, a vast golden cavity opened wide beneath Songha’s feet, and a huge gate appeared.

Paat!!!!

Kugugugugu!!!

“That’s… a gate?”

A wide cavity spread out beneath his feet. The shape of a golden arch-shaped gate that rose in the center.

Even in the labyrinth with its incomprehensible structure, Songha paused at the appearance of an unusual structure.

At that moment, a fierce blue lightning bolt appeared next to Songha and struck him at an incredible speed.

Jjeoeoeoeoeong!!!!

“……!!!!”

Even Songha, who reflexively drew his sword, had his face change drastically for a moment due to the immense power.

Songha’s figure, unable to maintain his balance in the air, was slammed into the lower part of the gate, causing a powerful shockwave.

Kwaaaang!!!!

“……This.”

A terrifying and intense lightning that momentarily stopped his breath, but clearly different from Kyunroe’s.

Songha, who landed on the ground dripping blood, smiled wryly as he looked at the opponent standing on the golden gate.

“Why does it have to be you of all people?”

“You bastard.”

Pajijijik……!!!

An old man, wrapped in blue lightning all over his body, looked down at Songha and smiled fiercely.

“How dare a non-secret magic user harass my disciple’s subordinates.”

“For a madman like you to be playing the role of a mid-boss. Sector 49 is truly an inhuman hell.”

Songha, smiling wryly, wiped his blood-soaked sword with one hand and stood up.

“If I could change my opponent now, I would… but I guess that’s not going to happen?”

“Kuhahahat! You started the war first, yet you have so many demands!!!”

Torben, bursting into laughter, raised his magic power and roared.

Buaaaaaaaaaang!!!!!

The old man’s body was engulfed in explosive lightning, turning his entire body into a blue, flickering flame.

Torben, covered in glowing lightning, looked down at Songha and declared in a booming voice.

[Today, in this place, I will punish you in place of my disciple!!!!]

“I already received my punishment decades ago. I’ll pass on a second one……!!!”

Torben’s figure, wrapped in lightning, became a streak of lightning and swirled around the gate.

The blood-soaked silver-white sword flashed ominously, drawing a blood-colored crescent in the air.

Kyunroe’s magic tower and PMC Dead Rise.

The moment the top-tier combat forces from each faction clashed with all their might in one corner of Sector 49 and began their battle.

The giant lightning god slammed his lightning-covered right arm down towards Songha, and the entire cavity exploded violently.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!!!