Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1234

Kyunroe Subjugation (26)

The gateway adjacent to the central labyrinth of Sector 49. A plaza where golden arches soared.

Two people sat facing each other at a small table, sipping tea.

Krrrrrr…

“It’s time. It seems they’ve started over there as well,” Jutiya said, placing her teacup down as she listened to the resounding boom.

“It’s a bit earlier than planned, but if the Outer Clan’s archer decided it, we can trust it. Kyunroe seems to trust her judgment on the field.”

“…”

“Actually, when I first heard about the plan, I never thought this war would come this far… It’s quite ironic.”

Jutiya, averting her gaze from the person sitting across from her, murmured,

“Unless one is a god, it’s impossible to calculate everything and discuss the grand scheme… He even used his own madness as a variable to guide the war to this point.”

“…”

“No matter how it ends, this war will be recorded in the continent’s history. Whether it becomes a massacre by a mad transcendent or a challenge by a great mage… at least everyone will know what kind of human Kyunroe was.”

Jutiya turned her gaze to the person sitting across from her.

Jutiya, narrowing her eyes as if to meet the gaze of the young man whose face was covered with cloth, said,

“Even the fact that he was such a uniquely special being that even the imperial family took notice.”

“…”

Ezekiel did not answer.

Instead, he merely stroked the teacup he hadn’t even taken a sip from with his long fingers.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

He said quietly, looking down at the tea that Jutiya had personally served.

“I remember when you were a secretary for the Council of Fate, you couldn’t even brew a proper cup of tea.”

“…”

“After the fall of the Imperial City, everything was like this teacup.”

Ezekiel slowly raised his gaze and stared at Jutiya, who had closed her mouth.

“Just as my sister did, and as you did, everything changes. We realized that fact too late.”

“…”

“If there is something desired, one cannot remain in the present… and because there is something desired, one does not try to stay still. That’s why we ended Ars Nova’s fate with our own hands, isn’t it?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“It’s clear that in the current situation, that mage is the one who ‘yearns’ more than anyone else in this city.”

Ezekiel said, slowly rising while holding the table with one hand.

“Then I must confirm whether he is the one who carries on the legacy of the fallen empire. Or perhaps, if he is the legacy itself.”

“…Can I assume that’s why you joined the forces of the Backward Walkers?”

“I made a promise to my sister a long time ago.”

Ezekiel said in a voice devoid of any emotion.

“That no matter what, I would never stand on the same side as my sister… I made a promise to do that.”

“…”

“If my small consideration reaches my kin who is watching this war, that will be enough.”

“…I see. Understood.”

As Jutiya closed her eyes, the table and teacups in front of her vanished as if they had been washed away.

Jutiya, slowly rising as she watched Ezekiel’s back, who was not at all surprised, moved without any regrets.

Unlike Ezekiel, who was heading towards the gateway, Jutiya headed towards a small passage on the opposite side of the plaza.

“Are you leaving?”

“Our role in this war is not to die with the legions, but to buy time…”

Jutiya said without looking back.

“From the beginning, I had no intention of holding you for long. Kyunroe wants failure, not success, in this war.”

“…”

“I was half-doubtful, but now I cannot deny that all the conditions have been met.”

Jutiya murmured as she slowly moved her feet.

“Please, I’m counting on you.”

Whoosh!

With that word, Jutiya’s figure vanished as if washed away.

Not only the tea and table she had served, but only an empty wind blew as if nothing had been there from the beginning.

However, Ezekiel was not aware of Jutiya, but of the presences rapidly disappearing throughout the labyrinth.

Kyunroe’s subordinates, who had been fighting the superhuman forces of the legions that had entered Sector 49, were disappearing one by one.

They vanished as if by agreement, leaving only the outsiders who had entered the labyrinth behind.

A ‘premonition’ as if they were clearing the way for a great event to come.

“Counting on me…”

Ezekiel chuckled and moved towards the gateway.

“That’s something the Emperor would have said.”

* * *

Ssssh!

A sharp sound of tearing through the air.

But in this battlefield, that sound was closer to the whisper of death than the wind.

“Dodged?!”

Ermong, who was panting and sprinting, ducked his head and tumbled forward.

A black short spear flew straight into the head of a soldier running next to Ermong.

Thud!!!

A blow that flew in before he could even turn his head, piercing his temple and crushing his frontal lobe.

Even after piercing the skull of a magically enhanced physical ability user, the force remained, embedding his body into the wall of the plaza.

“Ggrk…!!”

He was already dead before he could even groan, with blood foam seeping from his mouth.

A death rattle that came half a beat late from the mouth of the soldier who had instantly become a corpse.

Next to the soldier whose head was pierced and hung on the wall, there were already dozens of corpses who had met the same fate.

Kuuuuuung!!!!

“Eek…!!”

The soldiers and psychics who had been running together from all directions lowered their heads sharply with pale faces.

A chilling scene that even seasoned veterans hesitated to turn their gaze to and watch.

But what was more frightening was the sniping itself, coming from beyond the gracefully rotating golden wings.

Ssssh, then thud. Ping, then crack.

The sounds of tearing through the air were slightly different, but the fact that one of their superhumans died each time did not change.

The part pierced by the incoming arrows was different each time, whether it was the head, chest, or neck.

Thwack!!

“Hiiiik!!”

The head of a priest running behind Ermong exploded and disappeared.

He fell forward with a thud, scattering blood without even screaming.

The moment Ivelin’s arrows surged, a mage grabbed Ermong by the collar and yanked him away.

Ermong, who slipped on the flowing blood, rolled along the floor of the plaza and slammed his head into the wall.

Splat!!!

Thud!!

“Guek!!”

“What a pathetic sight.”

Red light gleamed from behind the obsidian mask, looking down at Ermong with a sneer.

“Did I save a guy who’s just going to switch bodies and run away for no reason?”

“No, if there isn’t a suitable vessel, it’s just a dog’s death-”

Before Ermong could say anything, Victor’s new form was enveloped in a shadow robe and disappeared.

Victor, who had instantly traversed the walls of the plaza, accelerated while avoiding the black-blue lightning that flickered from all directions.

Following his movements, the lightning that flashed fell on the heads of the soldiers moving in various places.

While Ermong was staring blankly at the scene, dozens of black short spears were embedded into the massive body of Quetzalcoatl that had soared above his head.

Thud thud thud thud!!!

“Hwek! Hwaat! Hwiing!!”

The black spear blades pierced through the snake’s scales and flesh, stopping one after another right in front of Ermong’s nose.

In front of Ermong, who was trembling with a pale face, the snake, crushed like a rag, opened its mouth wide.

Chomp!!!

“Black mage.”

The shaman, Baragan, whose whole body was covered in sticky fluid, looked down at Ermong with a grim expression.

“Can’t you keep that goddamn screaming down?”

“Ba, Baragan?!”

Splat!!

Baragan, who had crawled out of the throat, growled while hanging onto the snake’s wings.

“It’s hard to get my bearings because of your annoying voice. The body-switching spell almost failed.”

“No, more importantly, how are you here?! Did you just arrive?”

“I used a totem. I got held up in a useless place…”

Baragan replied, sweeping back his wet hair.

“Kyunroe really set up some annoying arrangements. Thanks to that, I got screwed over properly.”

“…What were you fighting?”

“Enough with the details, just explain the situation quickly. Stop making such a fuss.”

“That’s too much. How can you call this a fuss-!”

Ssssh!! Thwack!!!

Ermong, who had dodged an arrow by using a modified soldier standing next to him as a shield, shouted.

Ermong trembled as he saw the head of the soldier, replaced with machinery, pierced and crushed by an arrow.

“So many have already died, and we haven’t even stepped on that woman’s shadow yet. It’s over, we’re all going to die!!”

“But I can’t deny that the battle situation is more chaotic than I thought.”

Ssssh!!

Esteban, the 5th seat of the vanguard, who had landed behind Ermong, snatched an arrow that was flying low, skimming the ground.

A technique to manipulate the mercury flowing under his feet, wrapping it around the arrowhead, and suppressing the spin in mid-air to stop it.

Crack crack crack…!!!

The sticky mercury twisted spirally along the direction of rotation, emitting a bizarre sound, and stopped after a long time.

Only then did Esteban, who had picked up the black short spear that had stopped inside the mercury, speak.

“They’re sniping us from hundreds of meters away, and the rotational force doesn’t die at all. It feels like it’s actually accelerating as the distance increases.”

“…”

“It rains down from the sky, and then flies low, skimming the ground like just now. The speed, direction, trajectory, and even the target are all unpredictable.”

Crack!!

Esteban’s eyes turned cold as he broke the short spear wrapped in mercury.

“Most dangerous of all, the size and strength of this weapon, which can’t be seen as an arrow at all… There’s no point in talking when they’re shooting such a weapon with a bow.”

“…”

“The Agent’s Black Bow. It’s an even more powerful archery than the rumors. There was a terrifyingly skilled sniper over there.”

“The Black Bow is one of the most dangerous superhumans in Kyunroe’s magic tower, along with the Master of the Torben Magic Tower…”

Daymus, who was fumbling with the mercury that had stopped the bleeding on his shoulder, replied with a pale face.

“She’s a genius who graduated at the top of the Machine City’s executive curriculum, and a veteran who has faced all sorts of monsters and superhumans in the Balkan underworld… She will never waver even in such a chaotic battle.”

“…That’s.”

“In a situation where she occupies a high ground and is unilaterally sniping from long range like now, she is practically the strongest…”

“That’s exactly the problem.”

Baragan clicked his tongue and raised his hand.

Amidst the rain of arrows piercing through the tattered wings of Quetzalcoatl, Baragan glared at the sky.

“High ground that wasn’t there before is constantly being created in this battlefield. And it’s all in a direction that is completely advantageous to that archer.”

“…”

Kugugugugu!!!!

The central area of Kyunroe’s territory in Sector 49.

The sky, enveloped in a dark blue nebula, opened, and Kyunroe’s presence arrived.

Every time the mass of nine golden wings rotated in the center of the territory, the landscape of the plaza was changing drastically.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa!!

Giant golden pillars rose one after another from the ground, soaring high into the sky, drawing huge arches.

The golden arches that rose from all over the thousands of meters of the plaza began to rotate around Kyunroe like a giant ring.

Ivelin was hiding her presence by climbing onto the arches that were rising from all directions, and was firing unilateral snipes from the high ground.

This was the reason why the transcendents who had gathered in the center of the territory were being held back by a single archer.

“The structure of the labyrinth is changing at the same time as Kyunroe’s magic tower arrives at the center of the territory…”

Esteban murmured.

“Is that the prelude to the ascension ritual that the Doctor mentioned?”

“To be precise, it should be seen as a stage that is completely opposite to the prelude.”

At that moment, a somewhat familiar voice echoed leisurely from behind Ermong.

A gray-haired man in a research coat, with his hair disheveled, was lying face down in front of Ermong.

“Doctor!!”

“Sorry I’m late. This body isn’t a vessel specialized for combat, so it was too difficult to break through the labyrinth.”

The Doctor said while lying face down.

“I met a particularly knowledgeable mage, so it took some time. I hope you’ll understand with a generous heart.”

“…”

The moment they saw the Doctor’s face as he shook himself and stood up, the others were speechless.

“Atermeyer. Your face…”

“Ah, do I look a little older?”

The face of the ‘vessel’ that the Doctor was using was drastically older, almost like an old man.

It looked as if he had aged at least several decades in the short time it took to break through the labyrinth.

“Using the knowledge of the Ascension Gate inevitably shortens one’s lifespan. It’s unfortunate for this body, but it can’t be helped.”

“…”

The Doctor said, touching his chin nonchalantly.

“He was a promising engineer who made a name for himself in Endorose, but he died young, unfortunately.”

“…Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem?”

“Anyway, let’s continue with what we were talking about. I want to finish quickly while Victor is buying us time.”

Fwip fwip fwip!!!

At the same time as Victor used blink to accelerate, black-blue lightning rotated and chased after him.

The moment the lightning from all directions was distorted towards one person, black arrows rained down on the battlefield.

Red light and green eyes passed each other almost simultaneously.

Ssssh!!

“…”

Was the complex emotion in the gaze that stared at the obsidian mask suspicion, or conviction?

It was as if she had seen that face somewhere before, the one who had gained trust without giving a definite answer.

But Ivelin did not wait for any further answers and immediately turned her great bow to aim at the ground.

The ending that had to come to this battlefield was a pyrrhic victory that was infinitely close to mutual destruction.

The extent to which the balance of the battlefield had to be reduced for that was already determined.

Kwaaang!!!

Amidst the hail of arrows, the corpse of a pierced soldier was embedded and preserved above the Doctor’s head.

The Doctor, drawing a picture on the floor with one hand, using the blood flowing down the wall, said,

“Kyunroe is currently one step behind us in arriving at Sector 49 and is trying to complete the ascension ritual. At this point, it can be said that the forces that remained outside are virtually annihilated.”

“…”

“Apart from that, the Black Bow is occupying a favorable position and reducing our numbers. Therefore, what you need to do is break through the Black Bow’s blockade and stop the ascension ritual.”

“Doctor. I told you not to talk like it’s someone else’s problem?”

“The problem is that the entire labyrinth facility is reacting and changing as soon as Kyunroe arrives at the center of the territory.”

The Doctor said, lightly ignoring Ermong’s words.

“The labyrinth has been constantly changing, but that was only to the extent of changing the existing environment or facility structure. But now, it’s completely transforming the form of the labyrinth itself.”

“…”

“It’s completely disassembling the floor and re-compacting it, creating new structures and stacking them up… Haven’t we seen a similar change in the subjugation war before?”

“…That’s.”

Immediately after hearing the Doctor’s explanation, everyone felt a strong sense of déjà vu, and then Esteban said quietly,

“Mass Art.”

“Correct, psychic. You’re very clever, as expected of a friend sent by the Lord.”

The Doctor smeared the blood flowing down the wall and drew a picture on the floor again.

“Kyunroe is now casting a Mass Art spell throughout this space-time as soon as he arrives in Sector 49. All of these transformations are proof of that.”

“That’s impossible…”

The expressions of the transcendents, who belatedly understood the Doctor’s explanation, changed in astonishment.

“Throughout Sector 49… He cast that spell that destroyed the headquarters?”

“Are you saying that Kyunroe cast such a transcendent spell on his entire territory?”

“That’s not just attempting an ascension ritual, it’s like he’s already an ascendant.”

“That’s right. It’s impossible in the first place.”

The Doctor, agreeing with the shocked transcendents, said,

“But if we change the preconditions we had in mind, it’s not impossible.”

“What preconditions are you talking about?”

“There’s no time, Doctor. Tell us quickly!!”

“What if this labyrinth we’re in isn’t just Kyunroe’s territory, but part of the magic tower he created?”

“…What?”

“We’ve always thought that this labyrinth in Sector 49 was a territory that existed separately from the magic tower, but that wasn’t the case.”

The Doctor raised his gaze.

“This labyrinth is not Kyunroe’s territory, but the magic tower he created itself. And what we have believed to be Kyunroe’s magic tower until now is…”

Flash!!!!

The golden cocoon, surrounded by nine wings, rotated gracefully and descended from the center of the territory.

While all the superhumans who had arrived late on the battlefield were staring blankly at the scene, the Doctor murmured quietly,

“It was not a magic tower, but merely the ‘engine’ of the magic tower.”

Whoosh!!!

The golden cocoon that had enveloped Kyunroe landed perfectly in the center of the labyrinth and glowed pure white.

Dark blue lightning raced through the golden arches, spreading throughout the labyrinth in an instant.

The moment it regained its lost power source, supplying fuel and awakening its functions as if a fire had been lit in a cold hearth.

White, pale hands began to rise from all over the labyrinth, embracing all directions.

Mass Hierarchy Unique Art

[Creation: Failed God’s Outer Paradise]

[Formation: Great Outer Birth Ceremony Stage 1]

Fwaaaaaaaat!!!!

Pale hands, tens of meters in size, rose one after another along the ground and walls.

The slowly swaying white hands rippled like waves, becoming a wave of grace.

Soon, they joined hands and rotated in a circle, becoming a pale halo and rising into the sky.

Chomp…!!

A pale halo rose above the nine wings, and bizarre eyes appeared beneath the wings.

Hundreds of eyes that appeared on the surface of the wings that enveloped Kyunroe gazed at the ground with blurry focus.

The pale halo created by the white hands joining each other. The golden wing cocoon that ‘opened its eyes’ while being folded inside that hand.

Everyone was speechless at the glimpse of transcendence that was completely beyond the human realm, bizarre and unapproachable.

“A monster has descended into the mortal realm. He’s doing that kind of thing until the very end…”

Baragan said with a hardened expression.

“Who’s his father? Don’t tell me he’s a descendant of some outer god or something?”

“Um, I’m sorry, but this wasn’t mentioned.”

Ermong, who was staring blankly at the scene, murmured with a dumbfounded expression.

“There hasn’t been a moment that wasn’t dangerous in this war, but this is too much, isn’t it?”

“With the engine returning to the magic tower, the entire Sector 49 is being granted Mass Art and transformed into the optimal form for the ritual…”

Esteban said.

“From the beginning, Kyunroe intended to use this entire space-time as an [altar] for the ritual.”

“All the massacres and destruction that have occurred in this war were preparations for him.”

The Doctor stroked his chin.

“I’m honored to be sharing the moment when the history of the world changes with you all.”

“…”

“Now… the final stage of the ascension ritual begins.”

There was no time to complain about the Doctor’s absurd remarks.

As everything turned pure white, the expressions disappeared from everyone’s faces.

Fwaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!