Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 233

KWA-AA-AA-AA-!!

McQueen’s Self-Domain, the White Majesty Realm, had manifested the instant he fell from the building’s rooftop.

Within that high mountain temple, Lenok’s new Self-Domain unfolded.

The new technique, the Eight-Linked Thunder Palace, revealed through Branch Point Observation, surged from beneath the sea of clouds and engulfed McQueen.

At that moment, Lenok’s Self-Domain shattered like a pane of glass, and a whale the size of a house soared into the sky above the mountain.

The immense firepower, capable of incinerating a living human in an instant, writhed and pulsed like a living entity, setting McQueen ablaze.

Even amidst the inferno, McQueen resisted with all his might, using his original techniques. But against Lenok’s divine skill of creating a domain within a domain, his power was meaningless.

The body that had regained its temporary youth was slowly consumed and burned by the waves of fire.

A desperate scream echoed from within the white flames.

“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

The white whale, having burst out of Lenok’s domain, swam through the sky, flashing pure white lightning, before scattering into hundreds of bolts and disappearing beyond the blue sky.

Simultaneously, the snowfield and the high mountain, which had been scattering in all directions, collapsed and vanished.

As McQueen’s domain dissipated, Lenok, who had been thrown out, also fell helplessly towards the ground.

“……!!”

With trembling hands, he formed a hand seal and chanted a levitation spell.

Lenok, barely managing to land on his feet, broke out in a cold sweat and lowered his head.

Koo-oong!

“Huuuuhh……!!”

The fact that he had to use hand seals to cast a levitation spell, something normally achievable by simply manipulating magic power, was a testament to the intensity of the battle.

It was a fierce battle that proved how far the two mages’ fight had escalated.

However, even as Lenok was certain of his victory, he couldn’t suppress a bitter smile.

‘I was foolish……’

There was no falsehood in the words he had spoken to McQueen.

Lenok had indeed achieved a miracle, advancing his mental image to a future point in time while simultaneously observing and realizing parallel worlds.

Looking back from a point ahead, he treated the possible branch points as past points and made them real.

Lenok knew better than anyone what it meant to realize something that should have remained a simple shift in perspective or wordplay within his own mental image.

The problem was that by choosing such a mental image, the cost Lenok had to pay each time he deployed his domain had increased absurdly.

Observing the numerous branching points that split every moment from a future perspective and engraving them within his Self-Domain required an unimaginable amount of capacity.

He had forcibly boosted his condition by doping his entire body with hundreds of millions of cells worth of drugs he had prepared in advance.

If he hadn’t amplified his techniques by imposing various restrictions with the Geas [a magical vow or binding] and Triggers he had learned from Grisha, Lenok wouldn’t have even been able to attempt it with just the magic core he had prepared.

The fact that he had deployed his domain long after McQueen had cast his Self-Domain, and that he had directly explained the abilities of his domain to him, was also to impose restrictions with various Geas and increase his technique manifestation ability.

Even after doing all that, if he had been just a little bit slower, he wouldn’t have been able to properly decide the outcome. It was needless to say how dangerous it was for Lenok to deploy the mental image he had decided on within his domain.

Considering how many times he could have secured victory without deploying his domain, it was truly an arrogant act.

[It was a foolish thing to do.]

Davi, who had emerged from his chest, climbed onto Lenok’s head and said.

[It wasn’t a very Master-like action either.]

“I know, but…….”

He didn’t regret it.

Instead of answering, Lenok slumped down on the spot and looked up at the sky.

From the sky where the whale made of hundreds of bolts of lightning had scattered and disappeared, something that had fully received all that firepower fell down.

KOO-OO-OONG!!

It crashed into the cracked road from hundreds of meters above, and surprisingly, it was still alive and breathing.

“Huu, huuuu……!!”

“…….”

A hideous sight, with the skin of his entire body turned inside out.

Dried blood clung to his face, making it difficult to even guess his original form.

His burned-out vocal cords couldn’t even produce proper words.

However, Parden McQueen was still alive and trying to raise his body towards Lenok.

“I, a-am……Iik…….”

Even after having lost all chances of victory and life, what was it that kept him moving?

The past youth and the lost honor. The lingering attachment to his remaining life.

And a terribly persistent hostility towards Lenok.

It was because he was an opponent with such an overflowing obsession with life that Lenok was finally able to unleash his full power.

If he had been an ordinary mage, he would have lost the will to fight the moment Lenok deployed his domain.

However, because McQueen, who was struggling to survive despite witnessing an anomaly that defied common sense, was his enemy, Lenok was able to fully test the domain he had created.

A kaleidoscope reflecting parallel worlds.

After observing one of the branch points and realizing it within the domain, he deployed a new Self-Domain in a double layer.

He hadn’t even decided on a proper name yet, but this was enough.

This was a necessary step for Lenok to climb higher than he was now.

To unleash all the power he could muster and confirm his own position.

Only after knowing how far he could go could he finally set a proper goal.

A 7th-level high-ranking mage.

Even though his skills had rusted and faded due to the long years, he was more than enough for Lenok to clash his full power against…… or so.

Lenok had to rationalize his irrational judgment in this way.

Otherwise, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to properly maintain the values he had upheld until now.

“It’s dangerous…….”

It was different from before.

Lenok could feel something inside him constantly changing.

It wasn’t that there was a problem with his unparalleled talent.

Rather, as he climbed higher, he realized how dangerous and fatal his talent was, and Lenok’s values were slowly changing.

His human self and his mage self.

How much of it could Lenok definitively claim to be himself?

Did an answer to that question even exist in the first place?

Lenok didn’t know.

But in the end, even such worries were just the luxuries of a survivor.

Lenok, grabbing his trembling legs, got up and took out Merilda’s fang from his chest, gripping it tightly.

He forcefully thrust the sharp tooth into McQueen’s chest as he slowly approached Lenok.

POOK!!

“……Ah.”

McQueen, who had transformed into something that wasn’t even human, didn’t even react.

He slowly looked up at the sky with his skin turned inside out, let out a slow sigh, and then stopped moving.

It was ironic. All the organs needed to maintain life in his body must have already been destroyed.

The residual magic power created by his obsession with life scattered and disappeared into the magic resistance contained in Merilda’s fang.

The first president of the Cartel, and the founding contributor who had been with Oliviera Ron Maze the longest.

The last moment of the powerful figure who had reigned as a power in the underworld for over decades was truly empty.

Only after confirming that did Lenok slowly step back.

Thud!

Lenok, lying down and looking at the clear blue sky, slowly closed his eyes.

“I wish this would be the end of it all…….”

He had done everything he could. The rest depended on the meeting between the Cartel’s chairman and Jenny.

He hoped that such a thing wouldn’t happen, but he had sensed the destruction of the barrier he had laid in the bar just before entering McQueen’s domain.

He could only hope that the measures he had taken would be helpful.

Davi, who had coiled up on his chest, said.

[…….I’ve contacted Drey Creamgal. He’ll probably find Master within two minutes.]

Lenok chuckled at Davi’s cold reply.

“Thank you. Could you perhaps take out a cigarette from my chest?”

[…….]

Instead of answering, the fox spirit burned Lenok’s hair with its crackling tail.

All Lenok could do was laugh wryly as he smelled the burnt odor lingering around his nose.

* * *

[It seems to be over.]

Oliviera chuckled and slowly straightened up from leaning against the bar.

Jenny’s anxious gaze followed her.

[It seems your partner has won.]

“Then……!”

[I’ve lost a friend of decades.]

Jenny, who had been brightening up at her words, shut her mouth tightly.

Oliviera looked down at Jenny’s face and smiled faintly.

The magic eyes containing seven colors of light slowly turned towards Jenny.

For an ordinary person, just making eye contact with those eyes would be enough to cause them to die instantly from the overloaded information.

However, Jenny’s face had turned pale, but she was still looking directly at her gaze.

The winged staff in her hand was protecting her from the power of the magic eyes, even if only for a moment.

Oliviera didn’t know much about the compassion of the archangel, but she could roughly guess how precious that relic was.

[To lend you such a relic before the match with Parden…… I can see how much Ban values you.]

“……Because we’re partners.”

[Well, if that’s what you think, then that’s fine. What’s important isn’t such a superficial relationship.]

“…….”

[What’s important is what Kaise left you as an inheritance.]

At her words, Jenny said with a stiff face.

“I think I’ve already told you about that.”

[What, I don’t intend to interrogate you. I was just curious.]

“Huh?”

[I was wondering how much weight was in the choice Kaise made 50 years ago. Did he really know everything when he made that decision back then?]

“…….”

[I was hoping to solve a long-standing question, but…… I still can’t figure it out. But today is full of enjoyable things.]

She said that and slowly turned her gaze to the doll hanging next to the bar.

A clumsy handiwork that was somewhat shoddy. But the appearance of that doll was quite familiar to her.

The corners of her eyes curved as she recalled a past memory.

[Where have you been and what have you been doing, wandering around the continent with that long lifespan of yours?]

“……What do you mean?”

If she didn’t understand, then that was fine.

It seemed that Jenny didn’t know who had made this doll.

If so, then the one directly related to that bronze-skinned sorcerer was probably that mage.

It was interesting.

That a mage who had only been working in this field for a little over two years had formed connections with so many different people and was approaching so many secrets.

Oliviera didn’t think it was just a coincidence.

No matter how ordinary a coincidence was, if extraordinary results followed, it would turn into a necessity.

Everything that was happening in this city was clearly proving that.

[Agent, Demon’s Lair, Three Heads and the Office…… I want to keep watching where this is going, but I’m done here.]

Oliviera nodded elegantly at Jenny and slowly turned her back.

[If we have another chance, let’s meet again on another stage. Kaise’s child.]

WHOOSH-!!

At the same time, her slender figure disappeared from the bar as if it had been turned off.

She appeared on the rooftop of a building at least several kilometers away, lightly shaking off Jenny’s anxious gaze, and quietly looked down at the ground.

In a secluded alley where her gaze reached, a brawl was in full swing.

Could it be that a fight had broken out in the process of committing a crime and dividing the money?

Gunfire erupted, corpses piled up, and blood splattered everywhere.

She watched the insignificant scene for a long time.

It had been over 50 years since she had settled in Vulcan, but this chaotic city hadn’t changed much.

Even the ugly side of the city that she had once thought was disgusting now felt familiar.

She pressed down on the long robe that was fluttering in the strong wind and muttered as she watched the ground for a long time.

[It’s a long life indeed. I never thought I’d see you step forward yourself.]

“Have you enjoyed your outing enough?”

A tall man with his long hair roughly swept back.

A disheveled suit and a fur-lined coat. Antares, with his hands in his pockets, appeared behind her as if nothing had happened.

Oliviera smiled at the sight of Antares.

[Are you that worried about that child?]

“…….”

[Don’t worry. I really didn’t do anything. That mage had already taken care of everything.]

Even at her mischievous words, Antares answered calmly.

“Actually, I’m not that worried either…… but I made a promise with that friend.”

[…….]

“If you’ve enjoyed yourself enough, let’s go back now. I believe your ‘research’ isn’t finished yet.”

The seven colors of light in her eyes flashed and rotated the moment he said that, but Antares calmly received the gaze.

“You can’t stay away from your position for long, can you?”

[Huhu……. You really know everything. You’re such an impudent fellow.]

The intense pressure emanating from her eyes pressed down on Antares.

Antares didn’t even respond and waited for her answer.

[I don’t know what you’re thinking, but for you to show up in person for something like this…… What did you see in that mage that made you and Myeong-do so anxious?]

“…….”

[It’s been a very rewarding outing for the first time in a while. Thanks to you, I had fun.]

Oliviera said that and slowly raised one hand to cover her eyes.

The moment Antares raised his head to check her appearance, that intense presence had vanished as if it had been washed away.

It was the play of a high-ranking mage who had compiled all of her techniques through her magic eyes.

An application of a movement-type technique that cuts and pastes even the existing space by changing the point of view.

It had been decades since he had seen it in person, but her skills were still not rusting.

It was probably proof that she had not stopped preparing for a single moment while waiting for her time.

Antares, with his hands in his coat, muttered absentmindedly.

“The last time I checked, she had reached the end of the hierarchy…….”

A 7th-level Saint-Rank mage.

Saint-Rank (成位) meant that she had completed all seven hierarchies that defined techniques.

The realm that could be reached with human talent and effort was the limit of the Saint-Rank realm.

In other words, it was practically impossible to move on to the next level without giving up being human.

How far had Oliviera Ron Maze given up being human to climb higher?

Was she now at the 8th level of the hierarchy?

It was unknown.

The meeting between the two people who had reunited after decades ended like that.

They wanted and desired different things, but in the end, their trajectories of time continued to intersect somewhere.

However, it wouldn’t take long for the next time to intersect.

Everything was changing.

The leaders of the Three Heads, who had been holed up for a long time, would now feel the winds of change on their skin.

Antares’ shadow, looking up at the sunset sky, also naturally disappeared into the wind.