Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 127

[………!!!]

It was as if they had just realized that an obstacle they hadn’t even considered was actually a dagger aimed at their back.

[Kkyaaaaaaaaah!!!]

Moving its creaking metal body, it reached out towards Lenok.

Thick, reddish-brown tree roots poured out like a waterfall, rushing towards the direction its fingers pointed, but.

As Lenok looked on, they stopped in their tracks as if they had made a promise.

At the same time, the tree form that had filled the common area began to collapse.

“………”

Lenok muttered, looking up at Craig’s fading wish.

“The analysis of the necromantic formula is complete.”

After figuring out what Craig was aiming for through his conversation with Raul, Lenok had continued his research on the necromantic formula.

If Craig really succeeded in using the necromantic formula to control the retreated monster with an artificial intelligence algorithm, a countermeasure would be needed.

Even the introductory book on necromantic formulas he had obtained at the temporary base was insufficient, so he had even gone to the Lavatenon University’s central library to complete his research, which was not his style at all.

Thanks to that, didn’t he even have to listen to Aris’s meaningless nagging about whether he wanted to become a necromancer?

But because of that, he was finally able to figure out the weakness of the necromantic formula.

A fundamental problem different from the risks that a sorcerer is born with.

He had exploited the vulnerability of the act of necromancy itself.

Necromancy, which uses the unstable energy source of the soul, has a structural limitation that makes dealing with souls extremely sensitive, apart from the convenience and simplicity of the formula itself.

If two souls are summoned in the same space-time, the necromantic formula is canceled.

Conversely, this meant that if two necromancers fought each other, their formulas would be sealed.

Lenok had focused on that weakness in necromancy and had been preparing a single countermeasure during his remaining time.

That was for Lenok himself to learn the necromantic formula and neutralize the opponent’s necromancy, a bizarre solution that a normal magician could never implement.

He could feel it.

In the created domain where a god should descend, another soul is trying to descend.

The immense presence that had filled the common area until just now disappeared as if it were a lie, and the tree branches that had filled the surroundings also began to wither rapidly.

They lost all the momentum they had been using to greedily absorb the surrounding magic and drooped.

“H-How could this happen… such an absurd ending….”

Lenok turned his head at the familiar voice coming from the floor.

Craig’s body, now turned into a broken piece of scrap metal, was lying down, trembling faintly.

“So futilely…!!”

“It seems your consciousness is still there.”

“How the hell could you do such a thing!!”

Craig cried out desperately.

“This is absurd!! This wasn’t in my plan! Such talent… how could a monster like you, at this moment, of all times…!!”

Lenok silently looked down at Craig, who was unable to speak properly due to his resentment.

The moment he realized that his carefully laid plan had gone down the drain, the firm expression that seemed like it would never crumble also collapsed.

“I even succeeded in controlling the Fragment of Extinction to bring down Vulcan, how could this happen….”

If things had gone according to plan, Craig would have used the Fragment of Extinction to invade Vulcan.

A monster that occupies space and sucks up all the magic.

Even if Vulcan didn’t collapse, it would certainly suffer considerable damage.

But Lenok had nullified even that attempt here.

He wouldn’t want to understand.

The absurd fact that his carefully laid plan had been destroyed by the talent of a single person.

“I gave everything…!! I gave everything, but like this!!”

“There are things that are not enough even if you give everything.”

Lenok replied indifferently.

“You know that well, so isn’t that why you’re clinging on like this, killing and taking everything?”

“No!!”

The old black magician shouted at the top of his lungs.

As if he couldn’t bear to deny those words.

“There is something more important than my life. A goal that should never be buried in this rotten city!! I have lived only for that!!”

Kwaaaang!!

With those words, a wave of black magic that rose from Craig’s entire body rushed towards Lenok.

The fierce and savage, yet incredibly dense, momentum of magic.

Just by extending it with will, it becomes a vicious weapon that can tear apart the body of an ordinary person.

But it was nothing more than the last struggle of someone who had lost all hope.

A requiem for a magician who was willing to throw away his life like trash.

Lenok calmly bit down on his cigarette as he watched the wave.

“Yeah.”

He nodded.

“I actually think your way isn’t wrong.”

How beautiful is a way of life that throws everything away for what one desires?

But Lenok’s time was always something closer to a sticky mess, far from beauty or nobility.

He doesn’t want much now.

Just like he had vowed the moment he first opened his eyes, he would struggle to the end to survive.

That was the only thing he could promise himself.

With his resolve, the domain surrounding Lenok further separated the space more clearly.

And with a certainty that even Lenok himself couldn’t understand, he drew up his magic.

He could sense it.

That within the domain, he could reach the realm of magic that he had only known through knowledge, which he could not normally reach.

Pajijijijik!!!

Black currents boiled between his fingers.

He gathered that intense flow and turned it into the rotation of a small star.

Unique magic of the lightning system.

Anti-Thunder (沆雷) Property Change: Black (黑) [Note: ‘Anti-Thunder’ is a literal translation of the term, likely referring to a specific type of magic or technique. ‘Property Change: Black’ indicates a modification of the magic’s nature to a black attribute.]

[Extreme Barrier (極藩)]

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

A black flash that devoured everything drenched the entire common area.

In the immense heat that was unbelievable for a human to wield, Craig’s tattered body was helplessly swept away.

The dark radiance, branching out into hundreds of directions, filled and destroyed all visible space.

The magic that had begun to run wild outside the domain filled the entire common area and exploded, shaking and twisting the unstable underground space greatly.

Kwaaaang!!

The Falcion’s main base, which was intricately intertwined like an ant nest. As the lowest space began to shake, the upper corridors also began to shatter helplessly.

While deflecting the falling rocks with shield magic, Lenok calmed his magic and took a breath.

There was Craig’s figure, now so mangled that even his original form could not be recognized.

He slowly lifted his face, his eyes crushed, and looked in the direction where Lenok was.

“—I wanted to change the world.”

A calmer voice than ever flowed out.

“I wanted to go beyond the limits of a magician and see the scenery beyond.”

Craig said, slowly looking down at his body, which was crumbling into pieces.

“But it seems that the qualification was given to someone else, not me.”

“……..”

“I have a conviction. I’m glad I was able to witness it, even for a moment….”

A small whisper heard beyond the body that had turned into a handful of ashes.

Even a person who burns his whole body for a grand ideal can be easily destroyed in this world.

What kind of human can go higher?

Lenok didn’t know.

It was not the black magician who had thrown everything away, but only the one who was struggling ugly that survived and promised the next time.

Suppressing his complicated feelings, he raised his head.

The quarry, which had been collapsing since the hole was made in the ceiling, was now shaking uncontrollably.

He had to escape immediately, but there was something more important to do.

Lenok immediately approached the spot where Craig had disappeared and picked up the hardware that had been stored under the floor of the common area.

A database originally created to contain artificial intelligence through a necromantic formula.

It had already been destroyed by the previous domain expansion, but if he could extract the data remaining inside, it would be of considerable help.

“……Damn it.”

Jaun must have been aiming for that hardware as well, as he clicked his tongue and stepped back at the same time Lenok picked it up.

Only then did Chen and Hina, who had been stubbornly clinging to him, slowly step back.

There were no more casualties, but everyone was covered in blood, as if no one had been able to avoid Jaun’s attacks.

Just looking at the allied forces, who were breathing heavily, it was clear that their limits were clear.

A very brief lull. But even now, the common area was collapsing.

Jaun looked back at them and sighed deeply.

“What a shitty situation.”

“……..”

“I thought that Craig would definitely destroy the 50th district, but I never thought that he would end up like this without even getting up. Things don’t always go as planned.”

“Is this the time to be saying such things?”

Kaang!

Hina raised her blade as if she had not given up on the fight yet.

“Here comes the righteous hero.”

Jaun replied indifferently, receiving her sharp gaze.

“If I had failed to control the Fragment of Extinction, I wouldn’t have any more business here. It’s not my style to cling to a finished plan. Let’s part ways here.”

“Who said we’d let you go?”

Chen limped forward and raised his curved blade, but all that came back was a sneer.

“That’s not for you to decide, you moron. I’m talking to the magician standing behind you.”

Everyone fell silent at the unexpected words, which they could not refute.

Among all the people gathered here, only two people could be said to have done their part.

Jaun Odis, who had succeeded in holding down more than a dozen people single-handedly.

And Lenok, who had entered the lower part of the common area alone, killed Craig, and crushed his entire plan.

Jaun was blatantly revealing that Lenok was the only one who had the right to discuss the next steps.

In fact, no one could move forward without the agreement of these two strongmen.

“……..”

Lenok silently took the cigarette out of his mouth.

‘I don’t have much magic left.’

Normally, he wouldn’t run out of magic with this level of combat, but the problem was that a considerable amount of magic had been consumed in the process of interpreting and reversing the domain, and canceling Craig’s necromantic formula.

On top of that, after using the property change unique magic [Extreme Barrier] that he had newly implemented inside the domain, even Lenok felt a considerable burden.

It would all recover over time, but it was too much to continue fighting right now.

Especially if he was facing a skilled sorcerer like Jaun.

After a moment of deliberation, Lenok slowly nodded.

“Let him go.”

“Ban?”

Those who were caught up in the excitement of the battle would have a hard time accepting it.

But as a result, Lenok and the agent had done everything they needed to do at the same time as defeating Craig.

It was not beneficial for either side to try to capture Jaun in this place.

“That’s a wise decision.”

Jaun nodded and took out three gems from his pocket and put them on his fingers.

One of the freelancers who was watching the scene muttered in disgust.

“He used so many formulas and still has some left….”

Considering that the power of the freelancers who had first entered had been reduced to less than half, it meant that he still had power left even after fighting so long in a one-to-many battle.