Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 308

Silence fell.

Ilya’s words were more unexpected than Lenok had anticipated.

“Ascension Gate, huh…”

The term wasn’t unfamiliar. He’d encountered it while researching the Black Consumer Project.

Ascension Gate.

The machine city, Machina’s, greatest ambition, a top-secret project shrouded in secrecy, with only its name publicly known.

Given its grandiose title, it wasn’t hard to grasp what the machine city’s leaders desired.

Like the Balkan City Council, the machine city was also struggling to avoid its demise, which wasn’t surprising.

However, the fact that Cybrid Echo possessed even a fragment of the Ascension Gate’s blueprint was unexpected.

The mention of this term in connection with Gearside was also surprising.

Ilya observed Lenok’s contemplative expression and spoke again.

“I won’t deny that I leveraged the influence of other council members to participate in this operation. However, I have no intention of opposing Councilman Meyer.”

“…”

“The reason I prevented you from taking full command of this operation was solely to ensure our forces weren’t excluded from this matter.”

She glanced at the corpse she had killed and continued,

“For us, dealing with Gearside is an issue of utmost importance.”

“…You knew who was behind the Defense Force headquarters. You chose to participate in this operation knowing that from the start.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Ilya readily nodded.

“The reason I, the most specialized individual in independent action within the organization, was mobilized for this matter is also for that reason. No matter what happened, I had to survive and pass on the information.”

“…”

“Although I accepted deals with other council members to participate in this operation led by Councilman Meyer, it was merely a last resort for our side, which had no particular connection with Meyer, a new council member. I hope you understand that we have no hidden intentions that deviate from the purpose of the operation.”

Cybrid Echo.

It was certainly surprising that this organization, renowned for its expertise in android production and development within the megacity, was aligned with the infamous Gearside, also known as the Machine Cult.

Was Ilya’s true intention in mentioning the Ascension Gate at this moment to convey their desperation?

Even after understanding that, Lenok shook his head.

“While I’m curious about your organization’s internal affairs, that still doesn’t give me a reason to trust you.”

“…”

“How can I be sure you won’t use the fact that you’re on the same side to contact Gearside?”

“…Wouldn’t it be endless if we delve into such fundamental trust issues?”

“It would have been if you hadn’t brought up this story in front of me.”

Lenok’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“In the end, it’s just meaningless words. Do you think you can gloss over your actions so far with a few words?”

Ilya fell silent at his cold response.

A moment of silence passed before she spoke, belatedly realizing Lenok’s true intentions.

“You want a deal.”

“The list of council members who put you in this operation. Information about related factions. The reason why Gearside is collecting combat data in this way. The inside story about the Ascension Gate.”

“…”

“If you can’t explain all of those motivations, it’s only natural to suspect your intentions.”

Admitting that she participated in this operation at the behest of another council member, her empty assurance that she only wanted to stop Gearside was worthless.

Which council members, hoping for failure, were behind this matter?

Without sharing that much information, it wouldn’t be strange to consider her an ally worse than an enemy.

Ilya hesitated before answering.

“If we share the information of the council member, it’s a given that our organization will be at odds with him. I can’t make that decision alone.”

“Simple.”

Lenok nodded.

“Make a decision before this operation ends. I’ll give you that much time.”

Without waiting for her answer, he mounted his bike.

Woo-oong!!

Lenok ignored the gaze following him and left the parking lot of the abandoned building in District 51.

As he sped along the wide road, Lenok immediately spoke.

“Davi.”

[I am collecting data related to Cybrid Echo. If you scan the network based on the keywords ‘Machine City Machina’ and ‘Gearside,’ you will get meaningful results.]

“Organize the conversation we just had and send it to Meyer. No matter what decision Ilya makes, securing the list of council members who intervened in this matter is important.”

Lenok had no interest in the City Council’s internal power struggles, but he could at least provide Meyer with the necessary information.

If it was Meyer, he wouldn’t forget this deal and would try to maintain a good relationship in the long term.

Lenok naturally hoped that Meyer, who was quite favorable to him, would continue to survive and rise to the top of the City Council.

Having quickly organized his priorities, Lenok activated the interface built into his bike and was about to check his location when…

Beep beep beep

The life signs of the allied freelancers displayed on the map began to disappear rapidly from a specific point.

At the same time, shocked voices echoed through the communication network.

[Defense Force special forces are appearing!! They’re military-grade superhumans!]

[We can’t control them with our current forces! We need support right now!!]

[Aaaargh!!]

“…”

Just as Lenok was about to turn his bike around and speak,

Ilya’s cold voice rang out a step ahead.

[I will join. I ask that the others continue to assist in tracking the other members.]

With those words, a flash of light shot out of the parking lot where Lenok had emerged, speeding down the road.

Ilya, floating on five spears, began to accelerate as she leaped low over the road.

Pee-ing!!

Lenok, who had unconsciously pulled the throttle, stopped his bike and stared at her.

The maximization of mobility using her unique equipment.

Perhaps that was the driving force that allowed her to move around the vast areas and make the operation smooth, like Lenok’s bike.

Although he couldn’t be sure, it was likely that a person named Rundel also had a similar level of mobility, which is why he was able to achieve such outstanding results in this operation.

As Lenok thought that, he started to pull the throttle again.

Today, he had to achieve as many results as possible and reduce the number of Defense Forces that had infiltrated the city.

The more time passed, the higher the possibility that they would realize how they were being tracked, and the more difficult it would be to eliminate the dangerous elements within the city.

Extracting maximum efficiency at this point, when the enemy was caught off guard by a sudden attack, was the framework of this operation set up by Pallad and Meyer.

Just as Lenok was about to lower his head to check the tracking records of the Defense Force special forces members that were being displayed on the interface,

He made eye contact with someone who had climbed onto a traffic light on the outer road, and they quickly passed each other.

Screeeech!!

At the same time as he recognized it, he stopped his bike.

The monster bike with its thick body turned half a circle on the empty road and faced the opposite direction.

Whatever was on the traffic light was still there, looking down at Lenok.

“…”

A motorcycle helmet covering his face. A jet-black rider jacket and leather boots.

He looked even more like a driver than Lenok, who was currently on his bike.

However, the life signs emanating from his body were weaker and fainter than those of an ordinary human.

Lenok, who immediately remembered the other person’s appearance, spoke.

“That’s the face I saw at the meeting.”

It was an ordinary helmet, but if he had been wearing that helmet at the meeting as well, then the story was different.

The man who had been silent in a corner of the meeting room, without any interaction with others.

His attire wasn’t particularly unique, so he was momentarily confused, but it wasn’t difficult to remember.

“The tracking and elimination of the Defense Forces confirmed in this area is over. You should look somewhere else.”

“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t something I started seriously anyway.”

The helmet replied and lightly jumped off the traffic light, starting to walk towards Lenok.

“I just wanted to play around a bit before starting work. Ah, but it’s a bit annoying that I was pushed down to third place.”

“Third place… I see. You were Rundel?”

Considering the statement about third place, this man was the one who had been achieving the next best results after Ban and Ilya.

It meant that he was the one who had been subjugating the Defense Forces with mobility and skill comparable to Lenok and Ilya.

However, the man, Rundel, didn’t care about Lenok’s words and began to close the distance.

“I don’t usually like this kind of method, but I didn’t want to ruin the stage I had prepared, so I took action. But I couldn’t let the woman from Echo get in the way, could I?”

“What are you talking about…”

Lenok’s words, as he frowned and tried to answer, were cut short.

Rundel, raising one hand, suddenly began to crush the helmet he was wearing.

Crack crack crack!!!

What appeared from inside, as if he had broken the helmet with his bare hands, was not even a human face.

A gruesome appearance that resembled a skull. Dozens of mechanical wires flowed out of the empty eye sockets and twisted into his nose and mouth.

An appearance that was both human-like and yet far removed from human form.

Even his subtle behavior, as if he was avoiding Ilya. There was no need to ask who the opponent was, who had revealed himself at this very moment.

Gearside. The organization that had been hiding behind the Defense Force headquarters and directing all of this had begun to move directly.

“…”

Only then did Lenok slowly get off his bike, letting out smoke.

The smoke from his cigarette scattered and disappeared into the cold morning mist.

Lenok, slowly raising his magic power again, asked.

“Since when?”

[Since when, I wonder?]

A stiff mechanical sound that was completely different from before. His vocal cords themselves weren’t moving at all. Was the helmet worn to hide that fact?

Lenok stared at Rundel and said.

“Last night.”

[Oh, you’re right. How did you know?]

“If you had infiltrated this side from the beginning and deceived Meyer, you could have done much more than this.”

Lenok replied.

“You overheard the details of this operation a step late, and then chose someone who was easy to impersonate and disguised yourself, right?”

In Lenok’s memory, Rundel was not a particularly outstanding performer among the freelancers who had gathered here in the first place.

There were too many inconsistencies to say that he had been hiding his skills until today, so it was more accurate to say that the person standing in front of him had killed the real Rundel and taken his identity around yesterday.

Once a trail of reasoning was followed, it didn’t stop and quickly spread.

“If there was someone in the Defense Force’s intelligence unit with this kind of ability, the information wouldn’t have remained hidden. If it’s strange that they’ve been hiding until now and have now revealed themselves, then we can only think of the intervention of a third party.”

[…]

“Gearside. You’ve decided to take matters into your own hands.”

Rundel, who had been listening to Lenok’s words, clapped his hands.

Clap, clap.

The slow clapping echoed emptily into the distance of the deserted street.

[That’s why dealing with smart guys is tiring. I can’t really get a sense of how much leeway I should give them.]

“…”

[But such trivial amusements are quite good entertainment. You’re also enjoying these moments, aren’t you?]

“I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

Lenok chuckled and replied.

“There are too many guys who say the same thing as you.”

He roughly understood what the other side was saying.

According to the information Jenny had gathered, Gearside was a group of magitech researchers. Moreover, it was an elite group created by gathering only a small number of talented researchers.

The person currently facing Lenok must also have considerable pride in their intellect and research abilities.

However, that fact wasn’t that important to Lenok.

Such trivial backgrounds were things that could be found out even after crushing the opponent in front of him.

[Arrogant. But I like it. If you didn’t have that much confidence, I might have been disappointed.]

Rundel, who had been stroking his chin leisurely, slowly lowered his center of gravity and muttered.

[I, too, have been preparing for today’s meeting. Try not to disappoint me.]

Click!!

Rundel’s left palm split open, and a sharp blade emerged from within, and a stiff mechanical sound echoed from his unmoving throat.

[Magician of District 49. Securing combat data of Kyunryeon, Ban. Let’s begin now.]

Rundel’s body, slightly narrowing his shoulders, disappeared from that spot.

Immediately after, a dazzling flash of light and an enormous amount of heat erupted from Lenok’s right rear.

Kwaaaang!!

A powerful bombardment that was unbelievable to be coming from a human body.

The asphalt that had been pressed onto the nearby road was turned over, the traffic lights were all broken, and glass fragments scattered.

[I heard that you are a powerful sorcerer with combat abilities comparable to the front lines, and it wasn’t wrong.]

In the air that had heated up in an instant, Rundel flashed his skull-shaped head.

Weee-ing!!

Rundel’s right wrist, completely flipped over, was using his entire forearm like a gun barrel.

Rundel had just preempted the rear with a high-speed movement that was difficult for even Lenok to notice, and then used his arm as a barrel to fire a huge energy bullet.

As a result, the asphalt on the entire street was completely vaporized, revealing the bare ground, and an unpleasant smell began to fill the surroundings.

[Reflexes. Incantation speed. Spell composition. All are perfect. It’s like a programmed machine.]

“Isn’t a machine with so many words a bit too much?”

A cold voice could be heard from within the smoke.

Immediately after, a blue lightning bolt that had been struck from the sky directly hit the ground.

Kwaaaaaa!!!

An enormous amount of heat that easily surpassed the firepower that Rundel had just fired.

However, instead of taking the lightning head-on, Rundel retreated as if disappearing, and even skillfully avoided the aftermath of the lightning strike.

An excessively sensitive attitude. But more impressive than that was the high-speed leap itself, which he was implementing with that steel body.

A faint presence that was difficult to capture with Lenok’s senses.

Added to that was a positioning that could not be confirmed with the naked eye, so it felt as if he was actually space-jumping in that spot.

The first attack that Rundel had fired was also something that, if he hadn’t sensed the impact location with his enhanced shield and compressed and concentrated its strength, he could have been injured.

[I think you’re misunderstanding something.]

Rundel said leisurely in a smooth voice.

[We are researchers at the forefront of magitech, not fools who worship machines that have no intellect or substance.]

“…”

[And it’s only natural for seekers of knowledge to be talkative. In order to teach the dull idiots, we have to explain the knowledge we have in an easy-to-understand way, don’t we?]

“It seems clear that either way, you’re not in your right mind.”

Lenok let out a cold sneer.

“Are you going to say that you’ve been hunting the Defense Forces until now just to say that?”

No matter how he put it, it didn’t change the fact that Rundel had been impersonating a freelancer and subjugating the Defense Force intelligence unit, which was in a cooperative relationship.

No matter how grand a cause he recited, his essence was ultimately nothing more than an outlaw in the shadows, no different from Lenok.

[I’m not going to say it wasn’t fun. It was enjoyable in its own way.]

Rundel, who had thrown off his tattered rider jacket, shrugged his shoulders.

At the same time, mechanical parts popped out from his body, instantly forming an enhanced exoskeleton.

It began to transform into a form optimized for combat.

[But it’s also true that the more data we secure, the less we need the Defense Force’s manpower. I was just doing some pruning in advance in preparation for that moment.]

“Pruning, huh.”

Lenok couldn’t help but laugh at that confident declaration.

“That sounds like something a terrorist would say, not a researcher.”

It wasn’t difficult to understand what kind of ideology Gearside had just from what Rundel had said.

An elite group that prioritized improvement and development through magitech, and was adept at ruthlessly cutting off anything else.

The results they had produced in that process contained a fanaticism that was different from faith, and that was probably what developed into a form similar to religion, creating the alias of the Machine Cult.

However, Rundel nodded at Lenok’s scathing reply.

[A terrorist, huh. I’ve heard it a lot. Our beautiful homeland has proven that if you make a fuss while thinking about ethics, morality, and human dignity, you won’t be able to do anything in the end.]

“…”

[When you think about it, is it really necessary to cling to the human body? If you can fully express a meticulously completed intellect, then any body that can help you show off that intellect is fine. In the end, the destination we are aiming for doesn’t change.]

Shhh!

Rundel, who had appeared in front of Lenok in an instant, whispered.

[There’s no law that says a machine can’t reach ascension, is there?]

“That means, you’re…!”

Kwaaaang!!

Before he could finish speaking, Rundel kicked Lenok hard.

The shield surrounding Lenok couldn’t withstand the force and flew backward, crashing into the outer wall of a nearby building.

Kugugugung!!

A blow that properly detonated the ground beneath the building.

The empty abandoned building couldn’t withstand the external force and collapsed.

Massive cement dust erupted from the collapsing building, covering the street with gray fog.

[Temporary space interference rate 89%. The adjustment is roughly finished.]