Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1235

Kyunroe Subjugation (27)

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA!!!!

Golden arches soared from all directions, drastically altering the labyrinth’s environment.

The labyrinth’s central area, once a vast circular structure, began to rotate like interlocking gears.

Walls and ceilings disassembled into millions of parts, undergoing real-time reassembly and drastic transformations.

Everything was in a bizarre state of flux, a golden maelstrom where destruction and creation ceaselessly repeated.

AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

Pale hands, rising from the sky and earth, reached towards each other and clasped together.

Each time the hands, tens of meters in size, overlapped, a strange, song-like wail echoed.

Watching this, the cardinals and chaplains of the Order knelt in place and began to pray.

“Ah, ah…!!!”

“The holy will… it can be felt.”

“How can the power of that being be with the Apostle Slayer…!!”

OOOOOOOOO!!!

A pale halo wrapped around the golden wings, and unfocused eyes appeared on the surface of the wings.

Just as everyone silently watched the final stage of the ascension ritual begin.

“A being attempting to ascend goes through a stage of completely disassembling and then reconfiguring itself.”

In the silence, the Doctor spoke with a voice filled with awe.

“If the ritual so far has been disassembly, then from now on it will be configuration… a stage where they mold themselves with the images of destruction gathered through this war.”

“…”

“They won’t be able to move while their body is being configured, but once those wings fully bloom and their eyes open – a new Ascendant will be born.”

Those who heard the Doctor’s explanation did not know that it was a process endlessly similar to the challenge Maleon Gnosis had attempted.

The final stage of the ascension ritual, where one inflicts infinite destruction and creation upon oneself to disassemble the body and configure it as an Ascendant.

The destination Kyunroe reached by choosing Mass Art [a type of magic that manipulates large-scale energies] as the means-

“…Hehehe, keh heh heh.”

Suddenly, Ermong burst into laughter.

“Puhahahah! Doctor, what kind of joke is that? Stop teasing us and give us a proper explanation.”

“…”

“Well, it was a funny joke, not like you, Doctor. There’s no way such a ridiculous thing is possible, right?”

“…”

Thump!

Ermong grabbed the Doctor by the collar and shook him madly with both hands.

“Hurry up and say it’s not true, you old geezer!!!”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“KIEEEEEEEEEK!! Save me!! I want to get out of here!! Please, let me out of here!!”

“Doctor, there must be a reason why you’re telling us this at this point…”

Ignoring the black magician who couldn’t accept reality and was in denial, Damerus spoke.

“Since the ascension ritual is reaching its final stage, there must be something we can do… isn’t that right?”

“Damerus.”

The Doctor adjusted his collar, which Ermong had grabbed, and smiled.

“You are indeed too good to die in a place like this.”

“…”

“The 7th Corps Commander is right. I’d like to watch the moment the ritual is completed, but that’s not what I wanted to say.”

TUTUTUTUTUNG!!!

Amidst a hail of arrows, the Doctor spoke calmly.

“At this point in the final stage of the ritual, Kyunroe should have lost his physical body and be ‘disassembled’… Conversely, that means he’ll be more sensitive to external interference than ever before.”

“That means…”

To configure a new body as an Ascendant, the body is disassembled inside that mass of wings.

Therefore, it means that he is more sensitive to external variables than ever before.

It’s not strange that the most important moment of the ritual is also the most dangerous moment.

However, the fact that the Doctor is bringing up this story at this point-

“If I use up all the remaining lifespan of this body, I should be able to draw out more knowledge of the Ascension Gate once.”

The Doctor said.

“I will open the Ascension Gate myself and temporarily halt Kyunroe’s ascension ritual.”

“…The Ascension Gate.”

At that moment, all the transcendents who were listening to the Doctor’s words stopped moving with stiff expressions.

The Ascension Gate. The failed ascension ritual in the Machine City, Machina.

The plan to become a [Gate] to the Fourth World, the massacre they faced when it connected to the Second World.

Because everyone knew what it meant when Artermeier, the designer of the Ascension Gate, mentioned those words himself.

“I never thought I’d hear that name again here.”

“I heard it was a plan that killed tens of thousands of Machina citizens. Is it okay to use it here?”

“But Doctor. Even if you are the designer of the Ascension Gate, the fact that you can ‘open’ it alone…”

“No, it’s possible. That’s why I was late coming here, to test it out.”

Pat!!

At the same time as the Doctor raised his hand, a holographic screen appeared in front of him.

Damerus, recognizing it, murmured.

“The System…”

“The foundation of the Operation System is based on ‘miracles’ that artificially adjust and edit human talent.”

The Doctor, manipulating the system window to make it visible to everyone, said.

“I delved into the system code and discovered a way to artificially draw out that power. If I use this, I can use up all the lifespan of this body to create a miracle once.”

“…”

“Of course, what I can open alone is an infinitely inferior degraded version of the Ascension Gate… and only for a very short time, but the important thing is not the completeness of the Ascension Gate but its existence itself, so there’s no problem.”

“…Artermeier. Was the reason you traded with the Legion to take over the system from the beginning because of this?”

“Don’t be so angry, Baragan.”

The Doctor smiled, looking at the shaman who had a grim expression.

“It would be a lie if I said I didn’t intend to use the system, but as a result, it will help the subjugation battle. Can’t we let this much slide as a trade?”

“There’s no guarantee that Kyunroe’s ritual will stop just because you open the Ascension Gate. Just letting you do what you want here-”

“No, it will succeed. Although it failed, the Ascension Gate is also a type of ascension ritual.”

The Doctor, interrupting Baragan, raised his hand.

“It was the same kind of challenge as the ascension ritual Kyunroe is attempting in this labyrinth.”

“…”

“Have you ever thought about what would happen if two different ascension rituals collided in one space-time?”

Kyunroe, who made the subjugation battle into an ascension ritual, and the Ascension Gate, which was the Machine City’s ascension ritual.

What would happen if large-scale rituals that alter the world for ascension overlapped in one space?

At the very least, the ritual would never proceed or continue in a normal form.

As the transcendents who had reached level 8 sensed this and closed their mouths, the Doctor explained.

“It would be best if Kyunroe’s ritual fails at the same time as I open the Ascension Gate. But even if that doesn’t happen, it’s certain that the ritual will be temporarily interrupted.”

“…”

“The reason I’m telling you this now is because you must not hesitate in your actions, no matter what happens during the process of stopping the ritual.”

The Doctor’s wrinkled face momentarily turned cold.

“I can only open a degraded version of the Ascension Gate once, using the remaining lifespan of this body. So you must not hesitate, no matter what happens. Do you understand?”

“Artermeier. That’s not the only problem.”

Baragan said with a scowl.

“To make your plan succeed, we need to deal with the sniper first. Otherwise, we’ll all get our heads blown off by that thing that’s not even an arrow.”

PA-BA-BA-BAT!!!

Even at this moment, the presence of the Archer of the Black Bow, scattering his senses in all directions to confirm his ‘targets’.

Every time the black greatbow flashed, snipes that twisted trajectory and speed rained down like a storm.

If they hadn’t used Quetzalcoatl as a shield, they wouldn’t have even had a moment to exchange opinions.

“We need someone to step up and tie down the Archer of the Black Bow.”

Esteban naturally took up the words.

“The Archer of the Black Bow has taken the high ground and is sniping unilaterally… If we try to approach recklessly, we’ll have to take a big loss.”

“As an excellent archer, he will never give up the advantage first unless it’s an unusual situation…”

Damerus said with difficulty.

“The fact that Kyunroe entrusted his cradle to her means that he trusts the Archer of the Black Bow’s abilities more than anyone else on this battlefield… In fact, she is virtually single-handedly stopping our approach.”

“…”

The opponent is a monster who reached level 8 with the rare talent of archery as a specialty.

He is a skilled person even in the basics, but under special conditions, he boasts an almost invincible compatibility as a transcendent.

In an environment where new high grounds are constantly being created, as it is now, and he can take them, it is impossible to deal with him.

“We need to occupy the high ground before the Archer of the Black Bow, or at least give the threat that we can do so… Otherwise, the Archer of the Black Bow will never stop sniping.”

“I’ll do it.”

As Esteban raised his hand with a calm expression, opaque mercury wrapped around his wrist and hardened.

JJEEOK…!!

“My ability is level 8 mercury manipulation, and I can manipulate the four states of matter, so I’m confident in my combat adaptability.”

“Issen Cross.”

“I’m the only one who can deal with the snipes that change patterns every moment. I’ll ask the others for rear support.”

Even as the corpses of soldiers and ability users who had died from the Archer of the Black Bow’s snipes piled up like mountains, Esteban’s expression did not change.

Apart from the risks, he understood that he was the best choice for adaptability and made a conclusion based on rational judgment.

Just as Damerus’s expression hardened at his detached attitude, which did not even exclude himself, Esteban stood up without hesitation.

“If I die, send the surviving ability users of the unit back to the Lord. You don’t have to collect the bodies.”

“Understood. If-”

“No, that won’t do.”

At that moment, Baragan said with a nonchalant expression.

“Come to think of it, it’s better if I just do it. Transcendent, you’re out.”

“What do you mean?”

“If the sniper is as cunning as Damerus said, there’s no way he wouldn’t have thought of the methods we just mentioned.”

Saying that, Baragan stood up.

“He’s still focused on sniping, but he must have prepared for the possibility of us approaching. If we’re unlucky, we could die in one shot without being able to do anything.”

“But if we don’t approach, even if it’s reckless, no variables will occur.”

Esteban turned his gaze with a calm expression.

“We need to create a crack in the battlefield somehow to find a way. We can’t do anything without taking risks.”

“No, I told you. The sniper would have thought of those kinds of plans.”

Baragan retorted bluntly, clasping his hands together.

“Then at least we should try a method that the sniper can’t deal with even if he knows it… shouldn’t we?”

“Lord Baragan. Could it be-”

PAAAAAAT!!!

At that moment, a colorless ripple exploded from under Baragan’s feet, covering the surroundings.

Only after that did the other transcendents realize the meaning of the hand seal Baragan had taken.

Baragan muttered the incantation as if spitting it out.

“Self-Magnetic Domain Deployment.”

Self-Magnetic Domain Deployment

Origin Hierarchy Image Manifestation

[Serpentine Palace of Twisted Souls]

KU-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA!!!!!

A nest of death and snakes, tangled and created.

Hundreds of giant snakes surged from under Baragan’s feet and began to swarm.

The giant snakes bit each other’s tails and intertwined, becoming living totems that covered the battlefield.

At that moment, a corner of the transforming labyrinth battlefield began to ripple, covered by Baragan’s domain.

KA-GA-GA-GA-GAK!!!!

Hundreds of snakes crawled up, gnawed at, and replaced the place where the golden arches had been rising.

The dazzling scenery of the labyrinth transformed into a giant snake’s nest, a miracle that overwrote space-time.

“I see. He intends to overwrite a part of the battlefield that the Archer of the Black Bow occupied with his self-magnetic domain.”

The Doctor, who was watching from behind, stroked his chin.

“The idea of eliminating the high ground itself isn’t bad, but… how much longer can he hold out?”

“Kuh…!!!

BBA-JI-JJI-JIK…!!!

UDUDUDUK!!!

At that moment, pale hands rising from all directions began to press down on Baragan’s domain.

Every time the pale hands caressed the space, Baragan’s self-magnetic domain, which was altering reality, was crushed and distorted.

The snake’s nest that was expanding around Baragan was crushed, and the size of the domain rapidly shrank.

“No way. Lord Baragan’s domain…!!”

JJEEO-JJEEO-JJEEOK!!!!

Due to the backlash of the domain being shattered in real-time, Baragan sweated profusely and chuckled.

“Damn it… I gave it my all, and this is the limit of the size?”

Baragan, a level 8 grand shaman, is a transcendent who boasts a strategic-level scale in terms of mana and spell scale.

If he were to deploy his self-magnetic domain with all his might, it wouldn’t be difficult to cover thousands of meters, but now Baragan’s domain only covered a few tens of meters.

It was far too small to cover all the high ground that the Archer of the Black Bow had occupied. Even that was shaking as if it would break apart, unable to maintain its shape.

That was proof that the influence of thought and imagery was being suppressed to an absurd degree in this labyrinth.

“No, this is enough.”

However, the moment Esteban saw that, he pulled out his mercury and stood up.

“I’ve covered a bit of the Black Bow’s movement route with my domain. This way, we can create blind spots where sniping won’t reach…!!”

“Doctor, start immediately!!”

Ermond also shouted, frantically gathering his dark mana.

“I’m going to tie down the Black Bow right now!!!”

“Kuh…!!!”

Daimus, with a pale face, took out a gem and bit it as he moved forward.

At the same time as Ivelin cast a chilling gaze, dozens of shadows simultaneously sprang out from under Quetzalcoatl’s tattered wings.

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!

Waves of pale hands surged grotesquely from all directions of the labyrinth.

They ran, gritting their teeth, avoiding the hands that slowly swayed and reached out to grab them.

As if waiting for this, a sharp rain of black arrows poured down from the sky.

Pa-ba-ba-ba-bat!!!!

“Kuh-heok!!”

“Kkeueup…!!!”

Soldiers and ability users who had run out alongside the commander were pierced by spears and died.

The mages who had been waiting in the rear attempted to intercept with fire magic, but their numbers were far too insufficient.

Even that was pushed back by force, unable to stop the countless corpses that were being created everywhere.

Teo-teo-teo-teong!!!

“Chebien!!”

“I know… without you saying it…”

The doll, clattering as it rose from among the corpses, climbed up the golden arches.

Its head was shattered by arrows as soon as it approached, scattering debris, but that wasn’t its real purpose.

Mercury mixed among the shattered remains of the doll, hardened, and instantly rose up as a bridge.

“Run!!!”

“If you stop, your head will explode…!!”

A blind spot for sniping that had been temporarily created through Baragan’s domain. A mercury bridge created to take advantage of that gap.

Dozens of superhumans, with pale faces, gasped for breath as they raced across the bridge.

“I, I think I’m going to die…!!”

“Rotate your mana…!! If you lose consciousness, it’s over!!”

The worst battlefield where mana and thought were suppressed. Even breathing and metabolism slowed down, causing life functions to cease.

Pale hands, surging from all directions, slowly brushed past the superhumans, stealing their souls.

“Victor, you were listening, right…!!”

Daimus muttered, breathing out with a pale face.

“I’ll tie down the Black Bow here. I need your support-”

Daimus, who had stumbled, was about to fall off the bridge when a mana user grabbed his collar and pulled him up.

Before he knew it, the manipulationist wearing an obsidian mask was looking down at him.

“…Victor.”

Ku-gu-gu-gu!!!

Ignoring Daimus hanging below the bridge, Victor glanced at the winged cocoon that had risen far away.

Victor, who was gazing at the Gyeollye [a being of immense power], which was surrounded by a pale halo, wrapped in nine wings, and blinking hundreds of eyes, said,

“I did think that things might turn out this way…”

“…”

“But that doesn’t change what needs to be done.”

There seemed to be a faint smile mixed in Victor’s distorted voice.

“Okay. I’ll help you get close. I think that would be better for both sides.”

“What do you-”

Swaeeeeeeek!!!!

Before Daimus could ask, black mana users surged up from around Victor like an explosion.

Hundreds of strands of mana grabbed the superhumans falling below the mercury bridge and spun them around.

Avoiding the falling lightning and arrows, they instantly threw them up onto the golden arches.

“Uwaaaak?!!”

“Wh, what…!!”

The superhumans, who had instantly ascended to the same high ground as Ivelin, stared at each other with dumbfounded expressions.

The ascent, which had been achieved in a fleeting moment, made all their previous efforts and attempts feel futile.

Is this how much a skilled manipulationist’s support can ignore the limits and structure of the battlefield?

While they were mesmerized by the feeling of having made a deal with the devil, the experienced superhumans quickly regained their senses.

“It’s over there!!!!”

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!!!

Ivelin, dodging the falling bombardment, pulled back the huge black bow.

After pulling out the spears that had been pre-planted on the golden arches and placing them on the bowstring, she shot them without looking back.

The series of actions was so fast that it left a blurry afterimage. Each time, superhumans were skewered like skewers and fell from the arches.

Teo-teo-teo-teong!!!!

Archery that had reached a divine level, as if shooting from right in front of them, ignoring the distance of hundreds of meters.

Even as the superhuman who died from her arrow approached the level of a spirit, there was no emotion in the expression inside her visor.

Proof that she was carrying out the battle under a thoroughly mechanical and cold judgment.

The superhumans who had climbed onto the arches with Victor’s help glared at Ivelin with chilling eyes.

“Sniper. Found you!!”

“You won’t die peacefully…!!!”

The fear of sniping coming from an invisible distance was directly converted into hatred towards the opposing sniper.

It was a universal truth that the better the sniper, the more hatred they would attract.

However, Ivelin did not change her expression even as she felt the murderous intent pouring in from all directions.

She simply pulled out a spear, as if it were nothing, avoiding the officer’s sword that was rushing at her from the side.

Pook!!

The spear in Ivelin’s hand pierced the officer’s stomach instead of being placed on the bow.

“Ah…?”

“Didn’t you know?”

Ivelin lowered her visor, looking at the officer who was staring blankly at her.

“I’m also good at close combat.”

Click!!

At the same time as she planted the great bow on the ground, she pulled out spears one by one with both hands.

Ivelin, holding two black spears, turned towards the superhumans rushing in from all directions.

“Dieeeee!!!!”

“No.”

Pat!

Ivelin’s figure accelerated at an incredible speed, and she plunged into the soldiers who had climbed onto the golden arches.

A blurry black figure, so faint that it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, flickered and heaved between the blades.

Every time a sharp green light flashed, blood splattered from all directions, and severed heads and limbs floated up.

Ka-ga-ga-gak!!!!

Swaeek!!

“Keok!!!”

She kicked a chin, knocking them over, climbed onto their shoulders, and stabbed the spearhead into their crown.

As she rotated her body, sliding away from the descending blades, blood poured out from all directions.

Pung!! Deu-reu-reuk!!!

Soldiers, mages, and psychics who had instantly lost their balance staggered and fell from the arches.

Ivelin, who had unfolded the short bow attached to her wrist, looked down at the superhumans falling in the air.

Click!!

“Y…!!”

Swaeek!!

Before they could even shout in anger, a sharp arrow was embedded in their forehead.

Before they could even stop breathing, Ivelin turned around, and mercury blades stirred up the spot where she had been standing.

Pa-ba-ba-bak!!!

“You’re also talented in close combat, huh.”

A calm male voice was heard from behind Ivelin, who had stepped aside.

“But no matter how talented you are, it can’t compare to your archery skills.”

Chwaak!!

Before she knew it, opaque mercury was flowing like water beneath Ivelin’s feet.

The silver-haired nobleman, Esteban, was looking at her with a cold gaze.

“You won’t be able to gain such an advantageous position like that again.”

“…Ha.”

Dozens of superhumans who had climbed onto the golden arches via the mercury bridge.

Quetzalcoatl roaring and Baragan focusing on restoring his magnetic domain.

Even the existence of superhumans gathering at the center at this very moment.

However, Ivelin did not waver even as she looked at those who were sending her undisguised hatred.

She simply slowly lowered the spear she was holding.

“My arrows are specially made to match the size of the great bow, so in terms of size and weight, they’re closer to spears.”

“…”

“So, I use them like spears in a hurry, but they’re still arrows, so they’re not that durable. They’re much stronger than ordinary arrows, but they break easily and the edges dull quickly compared to real weapons.”

Ivelin said in a suffocating silence.

“The production cost is also high, and it takes a long time to make them, so what’s left here is all I have. I wouldn’t have been able to make this many if it weren’t for Ban’s help.”

“…What are you trying to say? Is this like a last will before death?”

“From the point when I used up all the prepared spears, I had no intention of continuing the sniping battle any further.”

Ivelin said that, casting a cold gaze from beyond her visor.

“Because… I knew that you wanted to buy time for a different reason than we did.”

“What…?”

“Aisen Cross!!”

Daimus shouted with a pale face.

“I’m going to kill the Black Bow right now. Use your ability…!!”

Swaeeeeeeek!!

No more words were needed.

At the same time as the other superhumans reflexively gathered their mana, Esteban unleashed his superpower.

The mercury flowing beneath Ivelin’s feet exploded, engulfing her body, compressing and crushing it.

The activation speed that transcends the limits of perception that only a superpower that operates through mental power can show.

Eudeudeudeuk!!!!

However, Daimus’s gaze, watching the mercury prison being compressed, was already directed elsewhere.

The fundamental reason why the legion side wanted to buy time, separate from the Gyeollye.

The fact that Ivelin had already noticed that was clearly-

Swaeeeeeeek!!!

The arrow that Ivelin shot with her short bow just before Esteban could grab her from behind.

One of them was still flying across the battlefield of the labyrinth, falling far away.

A size similar to an ordinary arrow, much smaller and thinner than the spears Ivelin had been using.

The moment Daimus realized that a golden halo was rotating around that arrow, and that the arrow had already reached ‘someone’s’ vicinity.

Paat!!!

The arrow wrapped in a golden halo disappeared, and Ivelin’s figure appeared in its place, as if changing positions.

The Black Bow, who had crossed hundreds of meters in an instant and descended from the high ground to the ground in a flash.

However, even though it was the situation he had so desperately wanted, Daimus could not purely rejoice at that fact.

Thanks to Victor’s assistance, a significant portion of the allied forces had safely ascended near the high ground.

Conversely, because of that, the number of forces remaining on the ground had relatively decreased.

And, on the ‘ground’ where Ivelin had descended-

“Doctor!!!!”

Swaeek!!

The Gyeollye, spreading its nine wings, blinking its eyes, and slowly beginning to ‘breathe’.

Ivelin sprinted towards the doctor, who was concentrating on operating the system with his eyes closed on the other side.

Chebien’s dolls rushed in from all directions, but she lightly leaped over them.

At the same time as she grabbed a thin arrow and leaned her body forward, she explosively accelerated.

She smashed the dolls one after another and reached the doctor in an instant, and at the same time-

Ivelin, holding the arrow in reverse, pierced the doctor’s neck.

Pook!!!!

The doctor, who slowly opened his eyes, muttered.

“…Ivelin, Marcia.”

“Doctor Artermeier. You must be the architect who devised this plan.”

Ivelin said with a cold expression.

“For Ban’s sake, you’ll have to leave here first.”

Udeuk!!

No answer came back.

The moment Ivelin grabbed the arrowhead and slit the doctor’s neck before he could even open his mouth.

The doctor’s head was separated from his neck, scattering blood and floating up in a circle.